[2.0] "I've only seen the RVD/Jeff Hardy match. Don't get excited because the Hardyz was a full 2 years away from being relevant in any way and RVD just squashes him. Still surprised the WWF or WCW never stole this guy away from Heyman. Interesting that RVD hits the five star frog splash and back then he didn't sell it like it was a self damaging move."

[6.0] "This show was alright, the promos from Bret Hart and Stone Cold are great. The matches are meh, i mean most of them are short and the main event which was the only one that went longer than 5 minutes is okay at best. The last promo with Bret Hart and HBK it saves the show and its easily the best part of it. Bret Hart called out Shawn and he basically said that HBK didn't have the guts to hit him but Shawn superkicks him into his chair. The Hart Foundation comes out and attacks HBK but Stone Cold saves him. Also another interesting moment of this episode of Raw Is War is when Paul Bearer says that he knows a secret of Undertakers which was Kane. Overall a episode with great promos but it lacks matches. Also it was fun seeing RVD in this one."

[7.0] "The promos with Bret are great on this show, but unfortunately his second one ran over time and the show ended in a weird cliffhanger where it should have ended with HBK superkicking Bret into the wheel chair. It was a wild ending with Austin again making the save when all of the Hart Foundation attacks HBK afterwards, but we'd have to wait for next week to see it. Theres a good set up one with Paul Bearer in bandages blackmailing the Undertaker where he offers to join him in order to keep a secret. Faarooq's promo as the new #1 contender was controversial where he calls Undertaker a "white saviour" and talks about the lack of former black champions in the WWF! Nation had some fun moments in the show where they sent their PG-13 rappers to get annihilated by the LOD in a fun squash and they all attack the Undertaker during his match with Savio. RVD making his first Raw appearance is also a lot of fun and he is very entertaining wrestling heel like this. I'm still imagining some of the matches he could have had if he stayed on back then. The main issue with this show again is the match quality overall isn't very good. There's a couple of fun squashes here but the tag team match is literally just thrown together with teams nowhere near Owen and Bulldog's star power."

"Solid show, nothing crazy, but cool to see Jerry Lawler christen RVD "Mr. Monday Night, " and Faarooq taking Vince to task for never having had a Black WWE Champion to that point."

[5.0] "It was a fun show of course but we didn't see anything so remarkable. Also Bret Hart's last promo exceeded the show's time limit. 5 is what this show deserves."

[7.0] "Enjoyable episode of Raw that is easy to watch and it never became boring. All matches are short and fun. Promos from Bret Hart and Steve Austin are great too and final segment is awesome."

[8.0] "Thoroughly enjoyed this episode of RAW. Not only was it a solid follow up to IYH: A Cold Day In Hell, but it also marked the start of the King of the Ring tournament for 97'. HHH vs Ahmed Johnson was a very standard affair, with yet another screwy finish, which didn't go HHH's way, so looking forward to see how he actually ends up in the tournament. Leif Cassidy put in a solid showing with Scott Putski. The tag match between PG-13 and LoD was amusing to some extent, but hopefully PG-13 will stick to the entrance rap. The Undertaker match was solid and it was good seeing RVD on the card; especially as he got christened 'Mr Monday Night'. The Tag four way was enjoyable to watch, though it did pretty much confirm that Furnas and Lafon were firmly out of the title picture, which is a little sad given their strong opening push. The wrestling overall was solid, but not spectacular, but where the show really shined was in the promo work which is the main reason why I'm giving the show an 8/10. I love everything the Hart Foundation is doing at this point. Bret may have been rambling toward the end, but given the crowd reaction to it, I think it's fine. It also seeded the attack on HBK after the show and also hinted towards a potential team up between HBK and Stone Cold in the future. To round this off, the seeds being planted for the arrival of Kane was great, with both Mankind and Paul Bearer putting on great performances. Looking forward to see where this leads in the next show."

[7.0] "It's the start of the King of the Ring Tournament. Mankind and Paul Bearer promo was great and the 4 way elimination tag team match was entertaining."

[8.0] "Triple H lost the first King of the Ring qualifier so I'm interested in seeing how he becomes that years tournament winner. The largely forgotten Scott Putski debuts, he actually seems really decent in-ring, Leif Cassidy is usually the guy putting on good matches with the young guys in early 1997 (he just needs a different gimmick to become a solid hand). There is a pretty good segment where the Nation makes PG-13 take on the Legion of Doom and they get slaughtered, I'm hoping this is the last I see of PG-13. Faarooq is randomly declared the new #1 contender and cuts a promo about racisim (even asking when his arch nemesis Ahmed Johnson last received a WWF title shot). The main thing that hurt this show is Bret rambled on so much in the final segment, Raw is War actually goes off air without the segment ending, he is just ranting as Raw goes off with JR hollering "Our camera will keep rolling! " I think Vince McMahon is officially done as Raw commentator at this point. A few other things from this Raw, Paul Bearer returned for the first time since being burned by The Undertaker at their April In Your House PPV and I believe planted the seeds for Kane's debut. Also RVD gets the nickname "Mr. Monday Night" from Jerry Lawler and took on a young Jeff Hardy. Very cool stuff."