Raw Deal - Raw recap for July 21, 1997

It is revealed that last week, Bret "The Hit Man" Hart challenged three American wrestlers to a six-man Flag Match against him, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog.

Vader beats "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock by count-out after The British Bulldog hits Shamrock with a running power slam into the entrance ramp while the referee is dealing with Vader.

We hear from some Canadian fans concerning tonight's main event flag match.

We see a vignette for incoming German sensation, Brakkus (who wouldn't show up in the WWF until the following year and only for a few matches).

Vince McMahon interviews The Hart Foundation (Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog) in the ring to the joy of the Halifax, Nova Scotia crowd. Bret says that it is nice to be home, and that last week, he had a nightmare that he was in San Antonio, Texas where fans spit on him and threw trash at him for telling the truth. He says that the United States of America is shaped like one big toilet bowl because most Americans are just plain full of crap. He says there are all these American wrestlers in the dressing room - as the crowd chants "U.S. sucks" - that are hiding as he made a challenge last week and not one American wrestler stepped up, proving that they're all full of crap. He tells The Undertaker that they don't have to wait until SummerSlam when they can go at it right now. The British Bulldog says all the great Canadian fans just saw him power slam "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock right through the mat, and there's plenty more where that came from, and and tells Shamrock they can go at it tonight, too. Owen Hart says he would have "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in the ring right now as well if Austin was any kind of man, and though he may not kiss his ass, he can definitely suck his toes. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin shows up and calls Canada "a living hell," and that the truth is he'll shove all their toes straight up their asses. He accepts the flag match challenge and leaves.

It is announced that an eight-man tag team match between Los Boricuas and The Disciples of Apocalypse will take place at SummerSlam, and that all members of both teams have been suspended for one week due to their actions from last week.

"Too Sexy" Brian Christopher beats Bryan Walsh (who is booed for being announced as originally from Canada but now from Pawtucket, Rhode Island before the match) in a Light Heavyweight Division match.

The Truth Commmission makes it debut next week on Raw, and they hope to decimate America's Superstars before America's very eyes.

We look back to the very first In Your House, where WWF gave away a house before moving forward to Your SummerSlam Million Dollar Chance. As Sable and "Wildman" Marc Mero show off the casket with a million dollars inside, it is announced that the fourth clue will be announced later tonight.

We look back at Jim Ross' interview with Mick Foley (Mankind's real name) as Mankind, where Mankind talks about "Dude Love," which was shoved to the side where it would rest in the recesses of Foley's mind due to how Mankind's career went from the beginning until now. We then see a recap of the events leading up to last week, when Dude Love finally showed his face and got the adulation and respect he always dreamed of.

In pre-recorded comments from earlier today, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin says he couldn't believe what he saw last week, and can't tell if Mick Foley is crazy or brave. He does know Foley has what it takes to get the job done, even though he still doesn't want a tag team partner.

In pre-recorded comments from after last week's show, Road Warrior Animal calls The Godwinns (Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn) a bunch of crybabies, and that he and Road Warrior Hawk - The Legion of Doom - will get them at SummerSlam. Hawk says he's been dropped and had people on their backs, but they're still here like the things that wouldn't leave. They broke Henry's neck on accident the first time, but the second time they'll do it on purpose.

The Godwinns (Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn) beat The Headbangers (Thrasher and Mosh) and The New Blackjacks (Blackjack Windham and Blackjack Bradshaw) in a triple threat tag team match to become #1 contenders for the WWF Tag Team Championships.

Tonight on the WWF Superstar Line: Has Sycho Sid wrestled his last match?

The intro to tonight's show is replayed to signal the start of War Zone.

Jim Ross interviews "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, who comes out in brown loafers and navy blue shorts is booed by the Halifax, Nova Scotia crowd much like he was booed two weeks ago in Calgary, Alberta. After he salutes the American flag, he addresses how unappreciative the Canadians are to the American people, saying America freed Canada's ferries, heterosexuals, and tranvestites as they're good with everything. Even though the crowd does not appreciate them, he has deep memories of Canada as he got surrendering Canadian army men one morning for Christmas. He then says America keeps from falling into the ocean is because Canada sucks before accepting Bret "The Hit Man" Hart's six-man Flag Match challenge. The crowd "We Want Bret," and Shawn says they'll get Bret and him in the ring for the first time in over a year. He then says he went to the head of the World Wrestling Federation and gives him a way to get into SummerSlam: replacing referee Earl Hebner and becoming a special guest referee. He says he only works the main event, and he will be special guest referee in Bret "The Hit Man" vs. The Undertaker for the WWF Championship. When asked if Bret "The Hit Man" Hart will see this as prejudicial, Shawn doesn't care how he feels, and that if he does not call the match down the middle, he won't be able to wrestle in the United States and would have to move north to Canada and stay there for the rest of his life. He then tells the Canadian fans that he wants them and Bret to know that "If [Bret] can't trust Shawn, who can he trust?" He then dances around and sticks a tiny Canadian flag down the crotch of his pants.

We see more pre-recorded comments concerning tonight's flag match from the Canadian fans.

The fourth clue for Your SummerSlam Million Dollar Chance is "of luxury". The clues are "The Key," "2A," "Life" and "Of Luxury."

Before the next match, The Patriot has nothing against patriotism no matter what country it's in, but when it comes to picking role models, Canada has much better representatives to choose form than The Hart Foundation (Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Brian Pillman). He reminds the fans to be proud of their country and what it stands for, but not to blind themselves from the actions of some of the people who live in it.

The Patriot vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley ends in chaos. During the match, The Hart Foundation (Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog) show up, and Bret yells at Vince McMahon for allowing Shawn to be the special guest referee for his WWF Championship defense against The Undertaker. Bret slaps the headset off Vince's head, angering Vin, then puts his hands on him and tries to pull at him. A cameraman is knocked down as The Patriot goes after Bret only to be stomped by The Hart Foundation. The bell is rung, and officlas and referees have to keep The Hart Foundation away from Vince and The Patriot. Hunter Hearst Helmsley attacks The Patriot after this.

Paul Bearer says he is not a liar, and that one can tell from The Undertaker's reaction that Kane is definitely alive. He says that Kane and 'Taker share a special bond: they made a statue, cut it in half, took one half for themselves and made a sacred pledge that as long as they both lived, they would keep their part of the statue. Bearer says he has Kane's half of the statue, and hopes The Undertaker has his half. We find out it is a statue of the Grim Reaper, and that Kane's half is charred and burnt. When asked when Kane will be seen, Paul Bearer says nobody will want to see Kane, but if he has to, he will.

Goldust beats Faarooq by disqualification after interference from Kama Mustafa, despite the referee being distracted by Marlena, who is telling him what is going on. During the match, Vince McMahon confirms that "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels has been granted the right to be special guest referee in the WWF Championship match between The Undertaker and Bret "The Hit Man" Hart at SummerSlam, and that Shawn will indeed not be able to wrestle in the United States if he does not call the match down the middle. After saying that he could never picture Bret acting like he did earlier, he gets word from the producers that something bad is happening, and heads backstage. We then hear that Bret was seen coming out of Shawn's dressing room and that Shawn has been injured yet again.

We hear from even more Canadian fans concerning tonight's flag match.

"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels refuses help from officials backstage.

Before the next match, Bret "The Hit Man" Hart stops his own entrance theme, and says tonight's main event will not go on unless Canada's national anthem, O Canada is played. Is it then played, and the image of a Canadian flag being flown is shown on The TitanTron.

Dude Love shows up to help "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in the next match. Before the commercial break, The Undertaker's entrance music plays, confirming The Undertaker as the third man on the American team.

The Hart Foundation (Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog) beat "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Dude Love and The Undertaker in a six-man Flag Match after Brian Pillman pops out from underneath the ring and stops The Undertaker from taking the American flag off the aluminum pole.