[1997-09-22-WWF-Raw] Brian Pillman vs Owen Hart / Steve Austin and Vince McMahon

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Last few minutes. Marlena's look when at ringside for Pillman is funny. Catch the subtle emasculation of the Hart Foundation as top heels, with Jim Ross making a point that "at least the Hart Foundation has family values". The fix is in. Owen celebrates his win and dedicates the win to Bret Hart when Austin attacks him from behind before being surrounded by police. Vince grabs a mic and asks the police to back off and wants to talk to Austin. He tries to reason with him and for the first time ever, eats a stunner for his trouble. Vince and Austin are both awesome in this, but as a fan at the time, I will admit that I thought Vince looked like the wrong babyface here (and even thought that for big parts of the feud). Now I get it. What a great angle!

[Kevin Ridge]

This was semifinals for IC tournament which is why they facing each other in the first place. The Harts are now getting outsmarted by Marlena who is wearing a fake nose ring. Goldust interferes leading to an Owen win. Austin beats up Owen and then almost goes after the police. Cue Vince. He tries to have a heart to heart with Austin about his current condition. Austin’s facials are awesome during this as it looks like he's really taking in what Vince has to say. It’s a bad sell of the Stunner by Vince but who cares. The whole moment is so amazing. When Austin did the boot to McMahon's stomach, the crowd were already freaking out before he even completed the Stunner. Perfect that they did this in MSG.

[Dooley]

I think you could look back on this as the definitive night when Austin went from a really hot act to the legit top guy in the company.

 

It's true the Harts were being shifted away as top heels, but at least on this show it seemed like fans were ready to cheer Bret again. Despite still ostensibly an anti-USA heel, the MSG crowd popped hard for the end of Bret's promo when he used the "best there is..." line and added "NYC, you know it!"

 

The obnoxious Shawn heel push seemed like it could be used to turn Bret face again until.....everything else happened.

[soup23]

Marlena's reaction when Pillman gets thrown into the steps is great. I also like Vince blaming the Harts for One Night ONly not airing in the US.

 

Austin vs. McMahon begins and its a great piece of art in front of a MSG crowd. Austin is officially the man now.

[PeteF3]

Pillman just can't do anything anymore--just sad to watch. This was a neat little mini-angle, though, with Owen and Pillman going through the motions of a match a la Chris Candido and the Dark Secret in SMW, but some subterfuge by Marlena leads to both men losing their temper and going all-out. Goldust runs in for the DQ, but since he slugged Owen to get to Pillman, Owen wins. Owen acts like he's already won the IC title and we get a great camera straight-on camera angle of Austin appearing out of nowhere in the background to level him. It's gearshift angle time! The NYPD is out to arrest Austin for violating the restraining order, but McMahon manages to call them off so he can talk some sense into Austin himself. Austin acquiesces and agrees to "work within the system"--right before a boot to the gut and the biggest Stunner of them all. There was great build to this and it was a great idea to save this for the first MSG Raw. THIS is how you manufacture an "MSG moment"--show great Garden clips of the past and follow it up with a monumental segment that works organically, without beating us over the head with slogans like they do every WrestleMania. Watching this, it's hard to believe that Vince had to be talked into going heel after Survivor Series--it's like there's no other path to go besides Austin winning the title at WrestleMania and kicking this to another level.

[Exposer]

The pre-match stuff is fun. Pillman comes out in a sling & says while he was having sex with Marlena the night before he slipped in the bathtub. He's decided to forfeit the match & give it to Owen. Owen is of course in on this & acts all "oh shucks" about it. Sarge comes out & asks Pillman where his x-rays & doctor's note are. Pillman keeps it going until Sarge throws his mic at him & Pillman catches it with his "bad" arm. The match is on. Funny match at the start with Owen & Pillman deliberately half-assing it. During the break, Marlena hit Owen with her purse & Owen got mad & took it out on Pillman. They're having a real go at it now. Not much to it. Pillman is very sad to watch at this point for several reasons. Goldust runs out & hits Owen then attacks Pillman. Pillman grabs Marlena & Goldust chases after them. Owen wins by DQ.

 

Owen is bragging on the mic when Austin shows up & attacks him. The cops surrounding the ring protecting Owen swarm the ring pretty quickly & try to restrain Austin to take him to jail. Tons of heat for this. Vince leaves the announce booth & asks the police to let Austin go for a moment so he can speak with him. Vince is great here trying to reason with Austin telling him to think about his health & that he's gone too far by breaking the law. He tells Austin he'll be back in due time & to just work within the system. Austin says he's the best wrestler in the world & reluctantly "agrees" to work within the system. A few seconds later he hits the stunner heard round the world. Huge pop for it. Austin gets put in handcuffs & flips Vince off in them. He's taken to jail as JR & King speculate he may be fired. Legendary segment. That stunner is the exact moment Austin became the guy for good. One of the most important moments, if not the most important moment, in WWF history.