Raw Deal - Raw recap for August 4, 1997

The Hart Foundation (Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Brian Pillman) show up to start tonight's show and be interviewed in the ring by Jim Ross. Bret "The Hit Man" Hart says he came to SummerSlam and proved that he is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be against all odds against The Undertaker and "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. He says he stuck to his word, but as he sees it, WWF is not sticking to theirs as they have not punished Shawn for supposedly showing favoritism. Bret insists that Shawn favored The Undertaker from start to finish, and the only reason he's WWF Champion is because he's a lot smarter than the both of them. He wants to know what the WWWF is going to do, and wants Shawn out of American wrestling and the WWF, whom he says owes him their word. He calls The Patriot's win last week a fluke due to Shawn's outside interference, and tells The Patriot that he is "a missile with nothing in it" and that he means nothing to him. He then commends The British Bulldog for going into battle with "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock, whom he says made a fool of himself and will never get another shot at the European title. As for Brian Pillman, he says the Foundation doesn't wear dresses, as there is a new sheriff is town and Pillman has too much class to lower himself into wearing one. He then calls Owen losing the Intercontinental title "yet another example of American justice," and Owen says he is angry with himself for showing compassion to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and says that he beat himself. He then gloats about hitting Austin with the piledriver that injured Austin's neck, saying he turned Austin into "a crippled freak" and that Austin's career is over and that the only reason Austin won is because he beat himself by showing compassion. He demands Austin return the Intercontinental title to him, or come to the ring and let him beat him up for the belt. We are then introduced to the new Commissioner of the World Wrestling Federation: Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter shows up and says he is the new sheriff in town, not Bret, and that he makes the rules of the WWF, not him. He immediately makes his first decision as Commissioner: Bret will defend the WWF Championship at In Your House: Ground Zero against The Patrior. When Bret asks who The Patriot beat to get a title shot, Slaughter immediately points at Bret and says "You." Slaughter then tells The British Bulldog he will have another match with Shamrock soon. He also forces Brian Pillman to live up to his agreement and wear a dress tonight or else he will be suspended. He then gives Owen Hart a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as soon as he is cleared and when Stone Cold says so. Suddenly, Steve Austin shows up, a neck brace in his hand instead of around his neck, and says so. He doesn't care if any doctors have to medically clear him, and he confronts Owen for dropping him on his head, saying Owen was too stupid to cover him when he had the chance. He calls Owen a loser, not because he says so, but because it runs through his veins. He plans to open up a can of whoop-ass and show him what Austin 3:16 means.

We see fan comments from after last night's WWF Championship match.

We see The Nation of Domination (Faarooq, D'Lo Brown, Kama Mustafa, Ahmed Johnson) backstage, as it is announced that Faarooq will take on Savio Vega and Crush in a Triple Threat Match at In Your House: Ground Zero. Faarooq says The Nation of Domination showed up at SummerSlam to prove they mean business and that they are here to stay. He says that Savio Vega and Crush are crazy to take him on in a street fight as he is a product of the streets, and at Ground Zero, they will both accept their ass-whipping like men. He also promises that Kama Mustafa will take care of "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock and that Ahmed Johnson will take care of Chainz from The Disciples of Apocalypse tonight.

Before the next match, Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter shows up and ejects D'Lo Brown, Faarooq and Ahmed Johnson of The Nation of Domination from ringside to ensure the match is fair.

"The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock beats Kama Mustafa after Miguel Perez and Jesus Castillo of Los Boricuas show up from out of the crowd and attack Mustafa as the ref is dealing with Shamrock.

We see another vignette from Brakkus.

Sunny shows up to be the guest ring announcer for the next match.

Taka Michinoku gets a surprise win on "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher in a Light Heavyweight Division match with a sudden roll-up, handing Christopher his first ever loss in the World Wrestling Federation. Christopher attacks Michinoku after the match as Jerry "The King" Lawler confronts the referee.

Commissioner Sgt. Slaugher shows up at Brian Pillman's locker room and hands him the dress. Pillman refuses, and Sgt. Slaughter ups the ante by telling him that he's wearing the dress every week on Raw until he beats somebody.

Before the next match, Paul Bearer admits he's forgotten more about the business than Chyna will ever know when it is mentioned that Chyna will be the difference maker in the next match, and tells Chyna that he's more of a man than she'll ever be.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Vader wrestle to a double count-out. During the match, Chyna dropkicks Paul Bearer, and after the match, Vader throws the steel steps down in frustration.

Before the next match, The Patriot says he's heard Bret "The Hit Man" Hart bad-mouth America, and while he admits that there are things wrong with this country that need to be corrected, he has decided to stand up and take a stand. He calls Hart being America running down America's people the biggest problem of all, and tells Hart to love America or leave it, and if he doesn't want to go back to Canada, he'll take him back there himself. He tells Hart he had the same opportunity as him last week, and at Ground Zero, he'll prove it's not a fluke. He hopes Hart is watching, as Hart will get a taste of what he will do to him then. The Patriot then shows up for his match, and he and his opponent, The Sultan, wave their respective flags; The Patriot with the American flag and The Sultan with the Iranian flag. As soon as The Patriot turns his back, The Sultan attacks The Patriot from behind.

The Patriot beats The Sultan. After the match, The Hart Foundation (Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog) show up, but Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter shows up and forces Owen and The Bulldog to turn back, unbeknownst to Bret. When Bret looks around for Owen and The Bulldog only to see they are nowhere to be found, The Patriot starts a fistfight that referees and officials have to break up.

The introduction to the show replays to signal the start of War Zone.

Vince McMahon interviews "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels in the ring. He tells Vince that it's just like him, Bret "The Hit Man" Hart and the WWF fans to drop what happened last night is lap and not take accountability for themselves and pass the buck because he doesn't give a damn what anybody thinks about him. Shawn says he went out there last night and did the best that he could and called it down the middle. Vince then asks if Shawn is in cahoots with Bret, which Shawn vehemently denies, saying he knew that Vince was a nimrod, but now knows that Vince is "the dumbest son-of-a-bitch I have ever seen in my life." Vince takes offense to that, and Shawn says he's shuttering in his loafers. Vince then tells Shawn he'll be shuttering in his loafers at Ground Zero when he faces The Undertaker, then hands Shawn the microphone and heads back to the commentary. Shawn tells Vince to "get his ass outta here," then tells the fans what the story is: he is not in cahoots with Bret Hart, and that Bret Hart doesn't like or respect him, but he does need him as he is the only man in the WWF that has beat his ass. He then tells The Undertaker that the two of them have never crossed paths until now. As the crowd chants "Shawn sucks," he tells The Undertaker that he lays down for no one - not The Undertaker, Bret or the fans - then tells the fans to go to hell and tells the Undertaker that the next time he sees him, his superkick is going to be one foot going down his throat. The Undertaker then makes his presence known, and when the lights come back on, Shawn is nowhere to be seen. He says he's not here to tell everyone how bad or mad he is, as he's done way too much talking and that it's time to go back to what he does best: digging holes and making people rest in peace. He tells Shawn he will have to look him in the eyes and pay for his crimes, and that he will rest in peace. As 'Taker is about to leave, Paul Bearer shows up on the TitanTron and calls 'Taker a murderer again before saying he was with Kane last night, announcing that Kane is coming to confront him. As 'Taker leaves, the lights turn red instead of the usual blue.

It is announced in a meeting betwen Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter and a medical doctor that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is suffering from spinal shock syndrome, which affects his neck, lower brain aspects, upper back muscles and arms. It is strongly recommended that he should not be wrestling, and that he not be competing tonight.

Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter shows up before the next match and ejects the rest of The Nation of Domination and the rest of The Disciples of Apocalypse from ringside.

Ahmed Johnson beasts Chainz when Savio Vega and Jose Estrada, Jr. show up and Savio tries to run away with Chainz' bike, distracting Chainz. After the match, the rest of The Disciples of Apocalypse show up and chase Savio and Jose away, then the rest of The Nation of Domination shows up. As The Nation of Domination raise their fists in the center of the ring, Faarooq suddenly attacks Ahmed and D'Lo Brown and Kama Mustafa follow suit. The Disciples of Apocalypse leap off the apron and head back to the back as The Nation attacks one of their own, much to the shock of commentary. Referees check on Ahmed after The Nation leaves.

The Godwinns (Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn) beat The Headbangers (Thrasher and Mosh) after Thrasher distracts the referee and Henry O. Godwinn reverses a roll-up from Mosh into a roll-up from Phineas I. Godwinn with a Slop Drop.

Goldust and Marlena, who are not scheduled to be here, make an appearance. After the commercial break, Michael Cole interviews them from ringside where thy are separated from the rest of the fans by arena security. Marlena and Goldust make it clear that they want to see Pillman in a dress, with Marlena joking that Pillman hasn't done well at being a gentleman and that she wants to see how he does as a lady. When Brian Pillman shows up for his match, he has to be forced off the stage by Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter as he is indeed wearing a dress.

Bob "Spark Plug" Holly beats Brian Pillman by count-out when Pillman is distracted by Goldust and Marlena, who wave around a bra to get a rise out of him.

Bret "The Hit Man" Hart forcefully guests on commentary for the next match. Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter comes to the commentary table and tells Bret to watch it.

It is made official that Dude Love will be taking "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's place in the match against Owen Hart tonight.

Dude Love beats Owen Hart. During the match, The British Bulldog shows up, and as Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter keeps him from coming from ringside, Bret "The Hit Man" Hart attacks Dude Love outside of the ring, allowing Owen Hart to lock in the Sharpshooter. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin then shows up to confront Bret Hart, and as officials and Slaughter try to keep Austin away from Bret, Owen is distracted by what is going on at ringside, allowing Dude Love to win with a schoolboy pin after Austin hits Owen with one of his Slammy Awards. Dude Love then celebrates in the ring with two ladies who were seen at ringside before the match.