-The show opened with a recap of D-Generation X attacking The Rock on Smackdown!.
-The live show opened with The Rock coming out to a huge ovation. In addition to hyping the triple threat match at Survivor Series, he ran down Road Dogg and called him out. Road Dogg came out, responded, and ran down to the ring.
-Match 1: The Rock vs Road Dogg
DX attacked The Rock less than one minute in to end the match. HHH and
Vince McMahon went nose-to-nose, as HHH was promising a "DX night" while
Vince was fully determined to stop HHH and company from taking over.
-After a commercial, the previous incident was recapped. Meanwhile, in the back Vince was chastizing DX for their actions and set up two matches: X-Pac vs Kane and Billy Gunn vs Steve Austin.
-The Big Show was shown backstage. A recap aired of the incident from Smackdown! in which Big Show ran a forklift into a car occupied by Big Bossman and Prince Albert and then throwing a dumpster onto the car.
-Michael Cole interviewed Big Show, who wondered what was he capable of doing to his enemies. Then, Bossman and Albert shot tear gas into Show's locker room and trapped him inside (Cole and the cameraman escaped), causing him to lose consciousness.
-After a commercial, they recapped the previous angle.
-Doctors tended to Big Show, who "was taken to a hospital".
-Match 2: Edge, Christian, Matt & Jeff Hardy vs Too Cool & Hollys
This was a good match in which most wrestlers showed flashes of
brilliance. Some like Brian Christopher, who has a few spectacular
moves but isn't a great worker, really shined here. Edge pinned Crash
Holly after a spear to win the match for his team. Good match.
-Cole interviewed X-Pac, and Tori came in and yelled at him for abandoning Kane.
-After a commercial, Jim Ross said that Tori and Kane were romantically linked.
-Backstage, Mick Foley was with Al Snow. Foley was autographing copies of his best-selling autobiography, and seemed as if he would give every WWF employee a copy. Snow and Foley conversed about different parts of the book.
-Bossman and Albert came out with a bin of weapons. They talked about the Smackdown! incident and challenged Snow to a hardcore title match.
-Al Snow came out, made light of the incident on Smackdown!, refused to fight Bossman and Albert alone, and then brought out Mankind as his tag team partner.
-Match 3: Al Snow & Mankind vs Big Bossman & Prince Albert
Backstage, Val Venis was shown throwing Mankind's books into a trash
can. The match itself wasn't great, but the stiffness was strong. Snow
used a bowling ball as a weapon. He later pinned Albert to win the
match. On the TitanTron, they showed Venis setting the books in the
trash on fire.
-After a commercial, a recap of the previous incident aired. Mankind extinguished the fire but could not save the books, and became distraught.
-Chyna (w/ Miss Kitty) came out. She degraded Stevie Richards and Chris Jericho, saying Jericho "cries and whines like he has a yeast infection". Y2J's music started playing, but instead Richards came out dressed as Jericho.
-Match 4: Chyna (w/ Miss Kitty) vs Y2Stevie (!?)
Chyna won with a pedigree in a squash, although it was entertaining for
what it was. Afterward, the real Y2J attacked Chyna and put her in his
Boston crab.
-DX was shown backstage, and the members appeared to be plotting their next move.
-They showed Steve Austin backstage.
-A recap of Mr. Ass challenging Steve Austin aired.
-Steve Austin came out. He hyped the Survivor Series match, ran down The Rock & HHH, and called The Rock a coward.
-Match 5: Steve Austin vs Mr. Ass
The Rock was watching the match in the back. DX ran into the ring, but
Austin attacked them with a chair and held off their attack. This was a
decent match.
-Test and Stephanie McMahon were talking to each other in the back, and Stephanie appeared to be up to something.
-Test and Stephanie came out together, and Stephanie "provided" color commentary for the next match.
-Match 6: Test vs Val Venis
Venis made a pass at Stephanie early on. Mankind ran in and attacked Val
for the DQ ending and chased him through the crowd. This was a good
match with good stiffness.
-After the match, Stephanie "broke from tradition" and proposed to Test, who accepted.
-Test, Stephanie, and the Stooges were celebrating backstage over what just took place.
-HHH threatened Vince McMahon again.
-Match 7: Kane vs X-Pac
X-Pac called Tori a slut. DX attacked Kane less than 30 seconds into the
match, and X-Pac gave him the bronco buster.
-After a commercial, a video segment aired on Kurt Angle.
-Backstage, DX argued with the McMahons, Kane ran into their locker room, and a pullapart brawl ensued. Vince ordered HHH to defend the title later in the show, and Shane McMahon attached HHH. Shane vs HHH for the title was then set!
-After a commercial, the previous angle was recapped.
-They showed The Rock in the back.
-Match 8: Buh Buh Ray & D-Von Dudley vs Headbangers (Mosh &
Thrasher)
As Buh Buh Ray was about to speak, one of the Headbangers imitated his
stuttering speech on another mic. Although this was a solid match, fans
chanted "boring" at one point. Thrasher pinned Buh Buh Ray after a DDT.
After the match, the Dudleys and Mean Street Posse attacked the
Headbangers.
-They showed Austin in the back and the announcers wondered why he was still around.
-Vince McMahon was brought out as the guest ring announcer for the main event. For the main event, the guest color commentator was Austin, the guest enforcer was Kane, and the guest timekeeper was The Rock.
-Match 9 (WWF title): HHH (champion, w/ DX) vs Shane McMahon
(challenger)
This was another really good match and Shane put forth a spirited
effort. During the match, Kane attacked X-Pac and Austin gave HHH the
stunner, after which Shane gained a dramatic near fall. Vince McMahon
accidentally hit Shane with the title belt and HHH pinned Shane to win
the match. Not a popular finish, but very well-played out ending to an
outstanding show.
-Overall, one of the better Raw episodes in recent memory. While some of the matches should have been a bit longer, all of the angles were at least good, and some were outstanding with flawless execution. Everyone's star power was once again perfectly implemented and the setup for the main event truly gave it a magical feel. Shane is on his was to becoming a megastar as long as he wrestles more often.
-This week, there were no signs that I noticed that really stood out.
-Uses of foul language:
Bleeped expressions: 3
Asshole chants: 2
"Sonofabitch": 4
"Shit": 1
"Bitch": 2
"Slut": 1
(overall a higher volume of strong language than usual)
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