[1997-05-26-WWF-Raw] Steve Austin & Shawn Michaels vs Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Hard to believe that it's May, I've finished watching a third of this set and this is the first full-length Shawn Michaels match. And it's not like we left some big match off. Shawn is almost obnoxiously good in this match. He cuts a hell of a pace and puts on a really great individual performance. Austin is really good too, but I really think Shawn was fantastic in this match. He shows absolutely no ring rust (which is smirk-worthy) and is great as FIP. Shawn and Austin win the tag titles to a HUGE pop and Shawn gets immediately pummeled by the Hart Foundation. Austin is more interested in going after Bret and tackles him on the runway and almost puts him in a sharpshooter. After the match, Austin takes full credit for winning the match and Shawn takes exception. This was the first time they did Tag Team Partners Who Hate Each Other and here it really works! What a tremendous post-match. The match was good, but probably not as great as remembered. Everything surrounding it is gold though.

[ajtroma]

I was there for this one. I was pretty close to the stage on the hard camera side. When those explosions went off at the beginning of the live show, I screamed like a little girl, jumped in fear and nearly knocked down a total stranger next to me.

 

I do love this match. I think youre underrating it actually.

[Childs]

I've never quite gotten why people love this match. Michaels did look good in his return to the ring, and you had a huge amount of star power for a RAW main event. But the work wasn't anything special. Now the angle, fleshing out another permutation of the Hart Foundation storyline, was pretty great. The WWF absolutely had it rolling by this point, outshining WCW for the first time since the NWO debuted.

[Kevin Ridge]

Every sport athlete in the world must have been hounding Michaels about his super recovery from his career ending knee injury. Bulldog versus Michaels seems to always have a crotch spot on the top rope. Maybe not as great as remembered but still a quality tag team match. Michaels and Austin win the tag titles. Austin gets a free shot at Bret Hart after match.

[jasch]

Between this match and Lawler/Goldust this is a top shelf Raw.

[soup23]

I think it is fine for me to rank this with the other around 10 minute super tag matches in history. I thought it was fantastic. Shawn is incredibly good and when he did the baseball slide spot, I was alarmed to think that we are less than 10 months from him being done for 4 years. The work is frantic and keeps a great pace but we have tons of good action thrown in capped with a hot finish and the unwilling partners winning the belts. Austin pummeling Hart at the end was the cherry on top. Super stuff.

[PeteF3]

This was an old-school southern-fried tag match in many ways. The pace is a little rushed, but in about 10-12 minutes they fit in two FIP segments and every tag staple from the double-teams, to the ref distractions, to the false hot tag, to the Hart Foundation swarming the ring as soon as the bell rings, is carried out perfectly for maximum heat. Michaels, for all his obnoxiousness out of the ring, is still bringing the goods once the bell rings. Everyone's at least decent here but he was far and away the best performer in the match. His offense had snap and was surprisingly varied by his standards, and he was great at taking a beating during and after the match. The finish is a little rushed, but it works--it's no Hokuto & Kandori uniting to topple Aja & Bull, but as a free TV match in 1997 it's excellent--probably trailing only the European title final as far as the WWF goes. Austin takes all credit for himself, takes out Bret after the match, and leaves Shawn to the wolves, prompting a backstage argument. This seems to be an increasingly rare Raw that goes off the air in standard fashion, rather than on an in-ring cliffhanger.

[Superstar Sleeze]

WWF World Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs Shawn Michaels & Steve Austin - WWF RAW 5/26/97

 

Shawn Michaels was insanely good in this match. There's a bump he takes off a Bulldog shoulder tackle that is just awesome. Like if everybody took a bump off a shoulder tackle like that shoulder tackles would still be over. In his face in peril segment, he was killing it selling. His movement looked so crisp. I have noticed from other reviews this is a pretty popular opinion so I am going to add this British Bulldog also looked really good in this match. He never ceases to impress me as an athlete. He had very little psychology and was very reliant on who he was in the ring with to construct the match, but he had all the physical tools. I thought he was bumping well and his offense looked great. If we are being totally honest, Austin kinda underwhelmed here. Pop for his entrance was not huge. Michaels started the match red hot with a dive to floor kinda of a dick thing to do when you know your partner cant do it so that kinda showed Austin up. Austin started hot against Owen with lots of energy, but never really did much more. Owen used a nice eye rake on Michaels to get a tag out to Bulldog, which when the aforementioned shoulder tackle occurred. Michaels resorted to a blatant Three Stooges eye poke that I marked out for to bring Austin in. Austin was fine here and in his short ace in peril. Once Michaels tagged back in, Bulldog was bumping for him like mad I started rocking again. Bulldog does the press slam crotch on top rope, which always looks insane. Owen follows up by slamming his back into post. Running powerslam! Austin saves! Owen works a clinic with Shawn (I have watched five Shawn vs Owen matches today. They have great chemistry). They do all the tag staples like the false hot tag and constant cheating. Shawn is working hope spots like sunset flip. Taking crazy back bumps into turnbuckles. It was a short, but very effective heat segment. Owen goes for superplex, but Shawn shoves him off and hits a crossbody. Nice hope spot. Owen misses a charge in corner. HOT TAG TO STONE COLD! Crowd is rocking now! Austin opens a can, but no Stunner, Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music and Austin covers for the three, the tag titles and a nice pop!

 

Hart Foundation attacks Shawn leaving Austin alone with an injured Bret! He almost gets a Sharpshooter before the Hart Foundation hurry to save their fallen leader. Austin and Michaels do the tag team partners who hate each other bit. Fantastic sprint tag team match. Hot shine, bit of a lull (maybe 1, 2 minutes) and then an excellent Shawn Michaels FIP and great finish. Layout was formula, but the Shawn performance was not. No nip up, no typical comeback, some really interesting stuff from him, Bulldog & Owen were on fire too. A little short and just missing that something extraordinary to push it to a MOTYC status. Shawn and Bulldog killed it on this night. ****1/4

[Exposer]

This is fantastic. The crowd is extremely hot for all of this. Just great tag wrestling with Owen & Davey distracting the ref to get the advantage & Shawn putting on a helluva performance in peril. They built to the Austin hot tag very well. Austin stomps a mudhole in Davey & goes for the stunner but Owen breaks it up. Shawn hits a great superkick to Davey behind the ref's back & Austin takes the cover for the win. Their win gets a tremendous pop. Hot post-match with the HF attacking Shawn & Austin retreating. Austin sees Bret at the top of the ramp so goes after him instead of helping Shawn & attacks his bad knee. Owen runs him off but the damage has been done. Austin brags that he won by himself after the break & Shawn takes exception resulting in the two going back & forth about it. Awesome match & segment. This fued keeps on delivering.

[cactus]

Austin and Michaels are teaming up here, but they are not friends at all. They are facing off at the next PPV and it seems entirely possible that this team could combust at any given minute. This is Michael's first match since February and he shows zero signs of ring rust. He's the FIP for most of this match and he's fantastic. He gets crotched on the top rope after a gorilla press from Bulldog. Ouch. The heel team cut the ring in half and keep working down Michaels. There is a lot of teases of Michaels getting the hot tag and the crowd eat it all up. Once Austin's in, he quickly hits the Stunner and gets the win and all hell breaks loose as a massive brawl breaks out. 

The kind of Southern Tag that would make Jim Cornette splooge. 

★★★★