On This Day...

On This Day: Monday March 3rd 1997

Monday Night Raw - The British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart for the WWF European Championship

The March 3rd 1997 edition of Monday Night RAW was a historic one. Taped in Berlin, Germay on 26th February 1997 it was the last edition of the WWFs flagship show to carry the old 'Monday Night RAW' logo, before the show became RAW is WAR the following week and, more importantly. it marked the crowning of the very first champion of the very first new WWF championship title in 20 years.

An eight man tournament was initially set to decide who would earn the right to compete for the fresh, new championship and also featured Mankind, The Rock, Flash Funk, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Vader and Bret Hart. "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart remained as the final two and the match was made. There was a big-fight atmosphere in the air. The friends, current WWF Tag Team Champions and legitimate brothers-in-law would battle for the WWF European Championship.

The pair were, simply put, the very best tag team the WWF had to offer at that time and, in my opinion, one of the strongest teams ever assembled in that decade. Still on top of the pile in that division, tension had started to play its role in the build up to this main event match and the commentary team were helping to sell this, speculating over a potential implosion for this team when they meet for the title.

As these two often did when handed opportunity, they stepped up their game greatly when given the opportunity to wrestle a near twenty minute main event. The chemistry and understanding between the two in the ring was obvious and the timing of the bout near perfect. The strong, muscular, English powerhouse was not always, I feel, given the credit he deserved as far as technical ability is concerned and many could argue that, despite the WWF putting him over on a few different occasions, Owen Hart was always standing somewhat in his brother Brets shadow. On this night however the spotlight was firmly on the Tag Team Champions and what they produced was nothing short of a pay-per-view quality epic. This is what many would argue was the very best wrestling match and main event that Monday Night RAW had showcased to that point in time and I would have to agree. This may well be the best wrestling match in the history of Monday Night RAW.