Raw Deal - Raw recap for July 7, 1997

Vince McMahon interviews Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, who shows up to the cheers of the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada crowd while wearing an Edmonton Oilers jersey. It is announced that Hart will face The Undertaker for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam on August 3rd. Hart thanks the Canadian fans for still letting him be their hero and for believing in him. A few weeks ago, he was told "America: love it or leave it." He has traveled all over America and the world, and the one thing he looks forward to is loving leaving it. He says nobody is more proud of being Canadian than he is, and that he's not anti-American as much as he is pro-Canadian. He says that Americans think they are always better than the Canadians - and everyone - and all you have to do is look at Donovan Bailey and realize that they're not as great as they think they are. He calls Canada a place where the sick and the old are still taken care of, everyone still has health care, gun control is a thing and people aren't shooting each other left and right, and racial prejudice and hatred are nonexistent. He is proud to be Canadian, proud to be a Canadian hero and promises to continue being his best as he will not let his Canadian fans down when he wins the WWF Championship for a fifth time at SummerSlam. He then says that if he doesn't come to Canada with the WWF Championship, he will never ever wrestle on American soil again. He then introduces his brother Owen Hart as "the man who beat the great American scum last night." Owen shows up, also in an Oilers jersey, and Bret says he hopes Owen will retain the Intercontinental Championship against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at SummerSlam, then introduces The British Bulldog, who also appears in an Oilers jersey. It is announced that Bulldog will defend the WWF European Championship against "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock at SummerSlam. Bret says that Shamrock got a taste of what The British Bulldog can do last night, and that Bulldog will annihilate him at SummerSlam. Bret then mentions that everything is not only American, but seen through American eyes, and asks everyone to stand up and look at the TitanTron. A picture of the Canadian flag is shown as O Canada plays. Suddenly, Owen, Bret and Bulldog are all attacked from behind with a steel chair by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who then immediately runs off. The Canadian crowd immediately boos Austin.

During he break, Bret "The Hit Man" says that what "Stone Cold" Steve Austin did to him, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog is what he has to go through every night. He doesn't care if the Americans walk over him or his family, but he promises they will not walk all over Canada. Vince McMahon apologizes on behalf of the World Wrestling Federation for Austin's interruption of the Canadian national anthem.

Brian Christopher - now reprising his "Too Sexy" gimmick from USWA - guests on commentary for the next match.

We hear from The Great Sasuke in his native Japanese before the next match.

The Great Sasuke beats Taka Michinoku in a Light Heavyweight Division match.

Los Boricuas shake hands with the Spanish commentary team before the next match.

Savio Vega beats Crush by disqualification when The Disciples of Apocalypse attack Vega. This leads to an all-out brawk between the D.O.A. and Los Boricuas where the bikers easily overpower the Boricuas. Officials and referees have to break up the brawl, and the D.O.A. stand tall in the ring to much fanfare.

Paul Bearer is backstage. Bearer sees no need to apologize for his recent actions, as The Undertaker is the murderer and the one who did all the killing. When asked why anyone should believe him, Kane told him so and 'Taker even said that the fire happened. He says Kane is unbelievably charred and disfigured from the fire and the operations, and that Kane's only hope is that one day he will come face-to-face with his brother. He says that pure, unadulterated hate is the strongest feeling there is, and that Kane harbors it towards The Undertaker.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin doesn't care who his partner is or who he defends the tag titles against. He says Mankind is a freak who deserves to get his ass whipped, as he doesn't care about him even if he can get the job done, and says he'd rather let the WWF pick his partner as they always screw him anyway.

The Hart Foundation (Owen Hart and The British Bulldog) beat The Nation of Domination (Faarooq and D'Lo Brown) by count-out to win the tag team tournament and earn a match against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and a partner of his choosing for the WWF Tag Team Championships after Owen Hart beats the ten-count just in time during a brawl outside of the ring between The Hart Foundation (Owen, Bulldog, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Brian Pillman) and The Nation of Domination (Faarooq, D'Lo, Kama Mustafa). Mankind shows up ad tells Owen and Bulldog that they'll be facing him and Austin next week.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin is interviewed again, this time about his match with Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He says that Helmsley is always eating his can of caviar and that he will open a can of whoop-ass and see how he likes that. As for Chyna, he isn't above punching anybody's lights out.

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

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin blows his nose on the tablecloth of the English commentary table before the next match.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin beats Hunter Hearst Helmsley when Chyna pulls Austin's leg out from under him, distracting the ref. Helmsley tries to use a steel chair placed in the ring by Chyna while Chyna continues to distract the ref, but Mankind shows up and gets hit in the head with the steel chair, allowing Austin to get up and hit the Stone Cold Stunner for the win. After the match, Austin tells Mankind to get up and get in the ring, and tells him that while he doesn't like him one bit, he'll go to war with him if he shakes his hand. Mankind hugs him instead, then Austin hits him with the Stone Cold Stunner before telling him "D.T.A., you stupid piece of trash! Don't ever trust nobody! You ain't ever gonna be my partner, ever, because you're a long-haired freak and you suck!" As Austin leaves, Mankind says he was just looking for a little bit of respect as well as a friend, and he ruined it. Mankind says that drastic measures will be taken, as next week, he will have to do something he thought he will never do again, and that he, Austin and the WWF will never be the same.

Sunny is the special guest ring announcer for the next match. It is also announced that Ivan Putski has issued a challenge to Jerry "The King" Lawler to face him and his son Scott Putski in a tag match with "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher as his tag team partner. Lawler easily accepts, saying that Ivan Putski is "in a nursing home somewhere" and implying that he could easily beat him.

"Too Sexy" Brian Christopher beats Eric Shelley in a Light Heavyweight Division match. After the match, Jerry "The King" Lawler gets in the ring and attacks Shelley along with Christopher to send a message to Ivan Putski, and to tell the crowd what he and Christopher think of all Canadians.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin shows up again, this time to be interviewed in the ring by Vince McMahon, who confronts him for his actions at the end of Canadian Stampede. He says you can handcuff his hands behind his back but you can't silence the fingers. He doesn't care who his partner is, as the WWF will probably pick one for him anyway and he plans to keep the tag team titles by himself. As for Owen Hart, he wants a stipulation for the match: if he can't beat Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Championship, he can pull his pants down and Austin will kiss his ass in front of the entire world if he can't kick it.

Goldust tells Bret "The Hit Man" Hart in footage from earlier today that tonight will be his final curtain call.

Bret "The Hit Man" Hart beats Goldust by reversing a sunset flip. During the match, The Disciples of Apocalypse show up, followed by the rest of The Hart Foundation (Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Brian Pillman), "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock, The Legion of Doom (Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior Hawk) and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Interestingly, there is no brawl after the match.