Wrestlemania XIV
Date: March 29, 1998
Location: Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,028
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This is what you call a changing of the guard show. For the last six months or so it’s been clear that Austin is ready for to be on the top of the mountain and tonight he ascends to the peak. Shawn Michaels is world champion but he has a broken back thanks to hitting his back on a casket thanks to the Undertaker. The main draw of the show though is Mike Tyson as the guest referee. I can’t emphasize enough how huge that was for WWF. Other than that we’ve got Kane vs. Undertaker in a battle of the monster brothers. This is a huge show to say the least. Let’s get to it.

Chris Warren of the DX Band sings an unnecessary rock/metal version of the Star Spangled Banner/America the Beautiful. Thankfully this is booed out of the building.

The opening video is about tradition and the new generation that has arrived here tonight. Tyson and DX are featured along with Austin, even though they’re fighting tonight. Even though they’re fighting tonight, they’re fighting over the same belt that Hogan and Andre fought over. That’s a great point actually.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Los Boricuas (Vega/Perez), Los Boricuas (Estrada/Castillo), Truth Commission (Recon/Sniper), Bradshaw/Chainz, Nation of Domination (Brown/Henry), Nation of Domination (Faarooq/Mustafa), Legion of Doom 2000, Quebecers, Rock N Roll Express, Headbangers, Too Much, Disciples of Apocalypse, Steve Blackman/Flash Funk, Godwinns, New Midnight Express

This is the format of if one member is eliminated then both are out and the winners get a title shot at sometime in the future. LOD returns as the fifteenth team with Sunny as their new (mouth watering) manager. It’s a big brawl to start because there are thirty people in the ring at once. One of the Boricuas is on the floor and is either hurt or is tying his shoe. It’s Savio and he’s helping his partner to the back.

The Truth Commission is out as Cornette and Sunny get in an argument. Barry Windham comes out and eliminates Chainz to tick off Bradshaw. Brown and the Quebecers are out as this is clearing out fast. The other Nation team is done too and there goes the Rock N Roll Express. The Headbangers are out and Mark Henry is still in despite his partner being gone. Ok now Henry is out and there goes Taylor to eliminate Too Much. We’ve still got the LOD, the Godwinns, the Midnights and the DOA. You can actually see the mat now.

The fans are completely behind the LOD as you would expect. Apparently the title match will be next month at Unforgiven. Things slow WAY down as Hawk runs over Henry Godwinn. The bikers (D.O.A.) are gone but they come back in to eliminate the Godwinns for fun. That leaves the returning L.O.D. against Bombastic Bob Holly and Bodacious Bart Gunn. Do I need to draw you a picture here?

Actually I do as the Godwinns come back in and blast Hawk and Animal with metal buckets. Animal is knocked to the floor so Hawk has to fight them both off on his own. Since this is the NEW Midnight Express, that’s about as hard as fighting off a paper bag. Animal comes back in and the Legion easily eliminates the Midnights to win.

Rating: D. As is the case with most battle royals with this many people in the ring, the majority of the match is spent clearing out the ring. Once we got down to a handful of teams left, it was clear who was going to win. That’s fine though, especially when the team is this popular. The tag division SUCKED at this point so bringing the L.O.D. in wasn’t the worst idea in the world.

CALL THE HOTLINE!

We get some clips of the events of Wrestlemania week in Boston, including the DX Public Workout where Austin got tied up in the ropes and Shawn kissed his head. Regis Philbin rubbed Austin’s head for some reason too.

Light Heavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Taka is defending and is pretty much the only wrestler in the division worth anything due to WCW having every luchador and smaller Japanese guy of note under contract. Aguila is Spanish for eagle in case you’re not familiar with El Espanol. He would later take his mask off and be called Essa Rios. No one would care about him though until he got a hot redheaded manager named Lita and then people only cared about her. They shake hands to start and we’re ready to go.

Aguila hits a headscissors to start and a spin kick to send Taka to the floor. A HUGE moonsault press to the floor takes out Taka. Rios never was great but he had one of the most beautiful moonsaults you would ever see. They fight to the apron where Taka throws him back in then dropkicks him to the floor. There’s a GREAT springboard dive to take Aguila out as they’re flying very high so far.

After a quick word from the Spanish announcers, Taka hits a low dropkick for two. Aguila comes back by throwing Taka out to the floor and armdragging the champion off the top rope as he comes back in. A springboard into another armdrag puts Taka down and there’s the running up the corner wristlock that Sin Cara uses to send Taka to the floor. Aguila hits a corkscrew dive to take the champion out again and the stupid northeast crowd doesn’t care. Well screw them because this is awesome so far.

Back in and Michinoku misses a corkscrew dive but Aguila hits a moonsault for two. Taka fights up and hits a smack to the face to put Aguila on his knees. A splash hits knees though and Aguila puts Michinoku back on the top. Aguila hits a big old rana off the top for no cover, allowing Taka to come back with a knee in the chest. A missile dropkick puts Aguila down as does a powerbomb, but Taka misses a moonsault. Aguila dives into a dropkick though and the Michinoku Driver retains the title.

Rating: B. This started VERY fast and while it was clear they got tired by the end, this was still great stuff. It’s not quite Mysterio/Guerrero/Psychosis level stuff but it beats anything else WWF was putting on with this division. Taka was the right choice for the inaugural champion, but he kept the title WAY too long and that’s why the division died. Well among the other reasons I mentioned earlier.

Gennifer Flowers, some chick from the a Bill Clinton scandal, interviews the Rock. First off, what would you do if you were leader of this country Rock? “Well Genny, the term leader is a bit beneath the Rock. Let’s go with……..ruler.” Ok, so how would the Ruler handle the country’s homeless situation? “Well it’s like this: as long as the Rock still has his palace in Miami and those homeless pieces of trash keep their cardboard boxes off the Rock’s freshly mowed grass, everything will be copacetic.”

As for the judicial system, everything will be just fine as long as the people know he’s the judge and the jury. After looking at Gennifer, he makes sure to point out it would be a hung jury, if you smell what he’s cooking (there’s a chance that’s the debut of that line but I don’t think it is). As for the White House, it’s a tough job to run but as long as all the interns underneath the Rock don’t do anything “orally” wrong, everything will be fine. This was HILARIOUS and one of the funniest promos Rock has ever had.

European Title: HHH vs. Owen Hart

HHH gets played to the ring by the DX Band and is defending here. This would be about four months after Owen returned as the only remaining Hart and attacked Shawn, but we couldn’t have Owen vs. Shawn on PPV so let’s feed Owen to HHH instead. Chyna is handcuffed to the worst authority figure ever, Sgt. Slaughter, during this match. Owen has a bad ankle coming in thanks to an attack by HHH.

The brawl is on to start and HHH is backdropped down quickly. Hart fires away right hands in the corner and a standing rana gets two. Owen is sent to the floor but Chyna can’t interfere. HHH tries to dive at the Canadian but hits the barricade instead, keeping the advantage in Owen’s favor. Back in and he loads up the Sharpshooter but HHH pokes him in the eye. There’s a facebuster and a clothesline to put Owen down and HHH finally gets a breather.

The high knee gets two for the champion as does a knee drop. Are you noticing a pattern with this offense? Back up and Owen charges into a boot in the corner but HHH hits a DDT to break Owen’s momentum and get a two count at the same time. HHH finally starts going after the bad ankle as Lawler cackles. Owen is bleeding from the bridge of his nose as HHH takes him down again.

There’s another leg hold as Jerry is very happy to see a Hart in pain. HHH stomps on the bad ankle as the nose is busted even worse now. Owen comes back with some right hands before dropping down in the corner and crotching HHH ala Mr. Perfect. A missile dropkick gets two for the challenger as does a spinwheel kick. There’s the enziguri to put HHH down but Owen can’t follow up.

Hart eventually gets two as we get about our third loudly called spot of the match. HHH powerbombs Owen to counter a rana for two of his own. Owen goes up top and hits a cross body for two more. A Pedigree and Sharpshooter attempt are both blocked but Owen falls face first on HHH’s crotch for two. Another Pedigree attempt is countered and the Sharpshooter goes on in the middle of the ring.

Chyna, despite being handcuffed to the commissioner, manages to pull HHH to the ropes. See? I told you Slaughter was really bad at his job. There’s some powder in Slaughter’s face which allows Chyna to hit Owen low. The Pedigree retains the title for HHH as Slaughter continues to be incompetent.

Rating: D+. The match was watchable but not much more than that. HHH going over was questionable but he would become the new leader of DX the next night so maybe there was something to it. Also, it’s not like Owen wasn’t used to getting jobbed out anyway. Slaughter was laughably bad at his job so at least we had that to laugh at.

Chyna decks Slaughter post match.

Buy the new Austin shirt! Oh don’t worry: A LOT of people did that.

We recap Mero/Sable against Goldust/Luna. This was a weird feud as Mero had been a total jerk to Sable for months as he thought she was hogging the spotlight. Then Luna and Goldie went after her so for about a week, Mero was the gallant hero standing up for her honor.

The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust/Luna Vachon vs. Marc Mero/Sable

The guys start things off with Mero hitting a fast headscissors and a clothesline. Off to the women folk but Luna wants to fight Mero. She gets Sable instead and Luna runs away instead of fighting. We get a lap around the ring and the men come back in before we get any contact. Goldie gets backdropped by Mero and kicked in the ribs by Sable for good measure. Luna won’t tag in so it’s back to Mero so that the genitals match.

Mero pounds away on Goldust in the corner but gets clotheslined down to change control. A quick cross body gets two for Marc but Goldust hits an uppercut to put him right back down. The fans chant for Sable as the men collide. A double tag brings in the girls and Sable spears Luna down. She pounds away and kicks Luna in the corner before bealing her across the ring.

Sable pounds on Goldust as well but it’s back to Mero who doesn’t fare as well. With Sable trying to get back in, Mero hits Goldust low but can’t hit the TKO. Instead Goldust counters into a DDT for two but he can’t hook the Curtain Call. Mero hits a running knee lift and a moonsault press for two. Goldust goes up but gets crotched, setting up a top rope rana by Mero for two.

Marc threatens to hit Luna and ducks just in time to make the heels collide. The TKO on Goldust gets two more as Luna makes the save. Sable tags herself in and covers Goldust but has to avoid a splash from Luna. A Sable Bomb gets two on Luna and she’s back up in seconds. Not that it matters as the TKO (it’s a cutter out of a fireman’s carry) from Sable ends Luna a few seconds later.

Rating: C. This was WAY better than I was expecting it to be. The saddest part of this match though was what happened after: in the back Sable had praise heaped onto her while Luna was basically ignored. Sable could barely do anything in the ring while Luna was a seasoned veteran who received no credit for her work with Sable. Only Owen Hart congratulated her on her success. That’s rather sad when you think about it.

Jeff Jarrett brings out Gennifer Flowers to be at ring announcer for the next match.

Intercontinental Title: The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

This is just after the debut of the new name for Rocky Maivia and he’s defending. He’s also in the Nation of Domination. Flowers isn’t very good at this but she’s trying at least. A few weeks ago on Raw, Shamrock was beating up D’Lo Brown but Rock came out for the save. He hit Shamrock in the head with a chair shot that would get John Cena fired today. He also hit Faarooq, the leader of the Nation, in the head “by mistake. I’m sure.

Shamrock immediately attacks to start and Rocky is in trouble. A clothesline puts the champion on the floor and Rock tries to walk out. Shamrock sends him into the barricade but has to stop the count, allowing Rock to get in some shots of his own. Apparently if Rock gets disqualified he loses the title. Back in and a kick to the chin puts the champion down and Shamrock rams Rock’s head into the mat a few times.

Back to the floor again, this time with Shamrock going into the steps to give Rock his first extended advantage. There’s the yet to be named People’s Elbow for two but Shamrock throws Rock out to the floor again. Ken gets a chair but stops to shove the referee down, allowing Rock to get the chair and CRACK Shamrock’s head with it. That gets two and there’s a powerslam by Shamrock. The ankle lock changes the title out of nowhere.

Rating: C-. This was too fast paced to work that well but Shamrock’s insanity worked really well here. Rocky would move on to the feud that launched him to the stars against HHH soon after this while Shamrock would fight various people until heading to the Corporation late in the year. Decent match but too short to mean much.

Post match Shamrock goes after Rock even more but here’s the Nation. Shamrock easily suplexes Henry down and puts Rock back in the ankle lock. This brings out Faarooq who won’t get in the ring to help his Nation teammate Rock. Shamrock keeps the ankle lock on Rock for a bit before finally letting it go. Instead he beats up referees, which causes the original referee to reverse his decision and give Rock the title back. Gah with the Dusty Finishes. With nothing to lose, Shamrock destroys Rock even more and holds up the title.

Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie

This is a dumpster match which is a casket match with a dumpster. The Outlaws are defending because two months ago they put Cactus and Funk (Charlie is Terry Funk) in a dumpster and shoved it off the stage. Billy and Roadie are about 24 hours from joining DX so they’re not quite what they would become yet. It’s a brawl to start (were you expecting anything else?) and there’s a dumpster at ringside to put a team inside.

Cactus and Roadie trade shots to the head as Billy chokes Funk. Jack tries to charge off the apron at Roadie but gets sent into the side of the dumpster instead. Funk goes into the barricade as the champions are controlling early on. They backdrop Terry into the dumpster but he escapes before Jack can be put inside with him. That’s fine with the Outlaws as they drape both challengers over the edge of the dumpster and slam the lids over the backs of both guys.

Both challengers are put back inside but Jack grabs stereo Mandible Claws to stop the Outlaws’ momentum. We head back inside and Road Dogg gets caught by some neckbreakers before Jack and Billy head to the floor again. The Cactus Elbow with a cookie sheet crushes Gunn and it’s ladder time. Back in and Cactus goes up on top of the ladder along with Billy, onto to have Terry knocked into the ladder, sending both guys on top of it into the dumpster. Cactus climbs out as Terry is powerbombed into the dumpster.

The three remaining people fight into the back and Cactus is rammed into various metal objects. Now he goes into some large (as in 6’0) bottles of Surge and Powerade but Cactus comes back with double arm DDT onto a forklift. Funk pops back in and raises the Outlaws up on the forklift and drops them in another dumpster for the titles.

Rating: C. This was a garbage match (literally) but it was a fun brawl and the good guys got their revenge on the guys that injured them in the first place. What more can you ask for from a match like this, which was the third biggest on the card? Later it would be decided that the title change didn’t count because that was the wrong dumpster, leading to a cage rematch the next night with the Outlaws regaining the belts and joining DX.

Unforgiven is in Greensboro, North Carolina.

We recap Kane vs. Undertaker. This dates back to last summer, when Bearer claimed that Undertaker burned down his parents’ funeral home, burning his brother Kane to deah. One night Undertaker was beating up Paul Bearer but Bearer claimed that Undertaker’s brother was alive. At Bad Blood, Kane interfered in the first Hell in a Cell match and cost Taker the match, much to Undertaker’s shock. Kane wanted to fight Taker but the Dead Man kept saying no. Kane went on a path of destruction throughout the company but Taker wouldn’t fight him.

Undertaker got a title shot at the Rumble and a week before the show, the brothers seemed to bond. Then at the Rumble itself, Kane turned on his brother and locked him in a casket, which was then set on fire. A few weeks later, Undertaker came back and said he would fight Kane at Wrestlemania. This led to a moment I’ve always loved as Taker was on top of the Titantron and sent a bolt of lightning down at a casket, lighting it on fire. It fell apart, revealing a Kane mannequin inside which burned to end Raw. This is a HUGE deal and almost the co main event.

Here’s Pete Rose to be ring announcer. After getting a warm reception, Pete turns heel on the audience and rips on them for losing for so long. Pete sounds a bit drunk here but not too bad. He makes fun of the Red Sox and there go the lights, cuing Kane. We debut a three year long running joke of Kane beating up Pete, this time with a Tombstone, sending the crowd into delirium. There go the lights and it’s time for the mother of all Undertaker entrances. Druids come out carrying torches and we hear music that sounds like Gregorian chanting. Undertaker walks out under a tunnel of fire and we’re ready to go. AWESOME.

Undertaker vs. Kane

There’s the bell and they stare each other down before Taker pounds away with no effect. Kane shrugs them off and LAUNCHES Undertaker into the corner but Taker is too quick. Kane comes back with a clothesline but Taker immediately sits up. A tombstone doesn’t work for Kane so he puts Taker in the Tree of Woe and stomps away. This is only Kane’s second match in the company to date so we don’t have a lot to go on with him.

A clothesline in the corner puts Undertaker down again as Bearer talks trash. Kane draps him over the top rope and there’s a forearm to the back of the head. Back in and Kane pounds away in the corner but Undertaker covers up. Taker gets a running start at Kane and winds up on the red one’s shoulders, only to be (kind of) slammed face first into the mat. They head to the floor with Taker being dropped face first onto the barricade. A Paul Bearer distraction lets Kane drop the steps onto his brother’s back.

Paul gets in some stompings before Kane suplexes Taker back in. Taker says bring it on and hits a few clotheslines, only to charge into a chokeslam for two as Kane pulls his brother up. We hit the chinlock for over a full minute before Undertaker fights up with punches to the ribs. A back elbow puts him back down though and an elbow drop sets up another chinlock by Kane. Taker fights out of that one as well, only to try to crotch Kane on the top rope. That doesn’t quite work though as Kane bounces on the top rope and falls to the floor.

Instead here’s a Taker Dive but Kane throws him through the Spanish Announce Table in a spectacular crash. Back in and the top rope clothesline gets two for Kane and Bearer is shocked. Taker loads up a Tombstone out of nowhere but gets countered into one by his brother but it only gets two. Kane is TICKED so they slug it out with Taker getting the better of it.

A clothesline puts Kane down and there’s a chokeslam by Undertaker. The Tombstone hits Kane but it only gets two. You can hear the fans gasp at the kickout. There’s another Tombstone but THAT just gets two so Taker goes up for a top rope clothesline. The third Tombstone FINALLY ends it, even though Kane would have been up at 3.1.

Rating: C-. I’ve heard this called terrible and yeah it’s bad, but it’s definitely not horrible. They would have been better suited cutting out about two minutes but even without that missing this was still a solid power match. It was clear they were getting winded by the end, but this is one of the matches where the crowd carried things. There’s nothing wrong with that and it worked well here. Nowhere near as bad as I remembered it.

Post match Kane lays out Undertaker again, blasting him with a chair a few times. A tombstone on the chair leaves Taker out cold.

We recap Austin vs. Michaels. Austin was the hottest thing in the history of ever and it was a matter of time until he won the world title. Mike Tyson was brought in to referee the main event and joined DX to desperately convince people that Austin had a prayer’s chance of losing here. Austin’s neck is basically being held together by tape while Michaels’ back isn’t that lucky, so expect a lot of easy brawling here.

WWF World Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin

We get the always awesome shot of the guys walking from the back to the ring. Mike Tyson is guest enforcer on the floor and there’s a regular referee in the ring. JR: “Folks, it don’t get no bigger than this.” They circle each other to start and there’s a double bird for HBK. Shawn pops him with a left hand and does it again a few seconds later. The champion runs away but gets caught back inside as Austin pounds away and pulls Shawn’s tights down to give the girls a thrill.

A backdrop puts Shawn on the floor but HHH gets in a shot to Austin’s back. He sends Austin into the barricade which gets both him and Chyna ejected. Austin beats up HHH in the aisle but it lets Michaels get in a shot to take over. Shawn sends Austin into the dumpster shoulder first and we head back to the ring. The challenger comes back with right hands and there’s a Flair Flip which must feel like murder for Shawn.

The Stunner is countered as Shawn bails to the apron, only to get knocked onto the still standing announce table. Back in and the Austin elbow gets two and we hit the chinlock so Shawn can get his back pain down to only pure agony. Back up and Shawn hits a jawbreaker to give himself a breather. Shawn heads to the floor and it’s clear he can barely move. He tries to wrap Austin’s leg around the post but gets pulled face first into it instead.

Shawn comes back with a backdrop to put Austin into the crowd and there’s a bell shot for good measure. Back in and Shawn lays in some right hands but he can barely move other than that. The fans chant Holyfield to tick off Tyson for no apparent reason. More punching by Shawn but he can’t even bend over to pick up Austin’s legs. Austin comes back with a double leg trip and rapid fire punches to Shawn’s face before sending Michaels back to the floor.

This time though the tripping up works and Austin’s leg is wrapped around the post. It gets wrapped a few more times and we head back inside for some basic leg work. A figure four is countered and Austin kicks him shoulder first into the post. Shawn comes right back with another shot to the knee though before cannonballing down onto it for good measure. A chop block puts Steve down and there’s a very ginger figure four by the champion. After Shawn cheats any way he can, Austin turns the hold over to escape.

Michaels gets caught in a slingshot to send him into the post for two but he comes back with a sleeper. The referee gets crushed in the counter as Shawn is dropped face first onto the buckle again. Austin sends him into the corner and stomps a mudhole but Shawn comes back with the flying forearm. Michaels nips up to blow my mind before dropping the big elbow. He tunes up the band but Austin ducks. The Stunner doesn’t work but neither does another superkick attempt. The Stunner hits, Tyson slides in for the pin and Austin claims his destiny.

Rating: B+. Considering how messed up the two of them were, this was nothing short of a miracle. Shawn was literally wrestling with a broken back and Austin’s neck was close enough that you could say it was broken too. This was a great match and a great way to send Austin to the top of the company, as he beats the previous top guy and the torch is passed. At this point, no one thought Shawn would ever wrestle again so this was a great way to go out. This match is also the definition of “match where everyone and their mother knew what was going to happen and it was the 100% correct call”.

We get the famous line from JR of “The Austin Era has begun!” as Austin gets the belt for the first time. He poses on the ropes in another famous visual before handing Tyson an Austin shirt. Shawn is ticked off at Tyson and gets in his face so Tyson lays him out with a right hand (JR: “TYSON! TYSON! TYSON! RIGHT HAND! DOWN GOES MICHAELS!”). Massive celebrating ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is a pretty solid show and a good example of a shot that doesn’t fit with the individual parts that it had if that makes sense. The main event is by far the best, but this was much more about atmosphere and buildup. The good guys went over in every major match and only the Rock match had a screwy finish. Tonight’s show was about giving the fans what they were supposed to get and sometimes that’s the right move. This show finally launched WWF over the hump and put them on top in the Monday Night Wars, where they would basically stay forever (minus about six weeks in the fall

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal

Original: D-

Redo: D

Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Original: D+

Redo: B

HHH vs. Owen Hart

Original: B-

Redo: D+

Marc Mero/Sable vs. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust/Luna Vachon

Original: C

Redo: C

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Original: C+

Redo: C-

New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie

Original: C+

Redo: C

Kane vs. Undertaker

Original: D+

Redo: C-

Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: B+

Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+

Redo: B

I have no idea what I was thinking on the second and third matches.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/21/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-14-everything-changes-forever/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SATPVKW

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Royal Rumble 1998
Date: January 18, 1998
Location: San Jose Arena, San Jose, California
Attendance: 18,542
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the year of Austin and for once, the WWF is looking good going forward as the debacle that was the main event of Starrcade has caused WCW to hit a brick wall. The main event tonight is Shawn defending the title against Taker because he didn’t want to face Owen Hart, the most logical opponent. Also there’s the Rumble, which is obvious of a winner as there’s been in years, but in this case that’s ok. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is about the two main matches as you would expect. The rest of the card doesn’t mean much anyway.

Mike Tyson is in a skybox.

Vader vs. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust

This is during Goldie’s midlife crisis/PAY ATTENTION TO ME phase. These two had a great match at Clash of the Champions so maybe this won’t suck. Goldust jumps him as Jerry is glad the gold one is in men’s clothing again. Vader shrugs off the shots to the back and chases Goldust to the floor. Vader rams him into Luna as we hear about Austin not being here yet. Goldust is sent into the steps as Vader keeps control.

Back in and Luna trips Vader up, finally allowing Goldie to get in a clothesline. Another clothesline puts him down and Goldust works on the leg a bit. Goldie drops a middle rope elbow to the ribs and we head back to the floor. Vader is sent into the steps so Luna can choke him a bit before we head back in. Goldust pounds away again but stops to kiss Vader. I may not be a pro wrestler, but I know better than to kiss a guy called the Rocky Mountain Monster.

Vader kills him with a clothesline and suplexes Goldust down before getting two off a splash. Vader loads up the Vader Bomb but a low blow stops him cold. Another clothesline puts Goldie down again and Vader sits on his chest. He loads up the Bomb again and despite Luna jumping in his back, Vader drops it anyway and crushes Goldust for the pin.

Rating: D. The place popped for the ending which did look cool, but other than that this was a messed up match. Goldust in this gimmick didn’t really work because at the end of the day, he’s still boring old Dustin Rhodes working the same standard style. It’s not horrible but it’s not a good choice to have on a PPV.

Austin gets here and tells Cole to park his truck. Southern Justice (the heel Godwinns) follow him, presumably to jump him.

Max Mini/Mosaic/Nova vs. Battalion/El Torito/Tarantula

Minis here with Sunny as the referee. Max Mini (more famous as Mascarita Sagrada) is by far the most famous of these guys as he’s about 4 and a half feet tall but can move around very quickly. Nova and Tarantula start things off with Tarantula (on the heel team) being way bigger. Nova takes him down with some headscissors before it’s quickly off to Battalion (military themed guy) vs. Max. Max armdrags him to the floor which brings in Torito, meaning we’re in lucha rules (meaning sending someone to the floor means another member of your team can come in without an actual tag).

Torito can actually get his head over the top rope, meaning he’s just under the size of Rey Mysterio. Mosaic comes in and gets caught in a gorilla press and a release flapjack. A second flapjack attempt is caught in a wrist drag to send Torito to the floor and it’s off to Tarantula. That goes nowhere so here’s Battalion again. The fast tags continue as here’s Nova vs. Torito already.

They both hit the floor so Mosaic speeds things up against Battalion again. Mosaic spins him around again a few times before it’s back to Mini vs. Tarantula. Max gets caught in a spinebuster but goes up top almost immediately for a delayed rana. Max sends him to the floor and Tarantula backs off. Back in and Torito hits a Mafia kick to the back of Max’s head and a chop puts him down again.

For no apparent reason Sunny picks Max up so he can dropkick the villains. I can only assume Sunny is there to give the fans anything to care about. Mosaic and Battalion go to the floor as does Torito so Max can hit his big dive. The others dive on them as well and it’s a big pile on the floor. Back in Max rolls up Torito for the pin.

Rating: C. I’m going with a C because I have no idea what else to go with. I don’t know who these people are, I have no idea why I should care, and I might have seen these guys twice other than this (aside from Max). These matches are really hard to get into because there’s nothing to them. Much like a lot of the luchador matches in WCW had the same issue: why should I care about these people?

The Nation goes to attack Austin but only find an Austin foam finger.

The McMahons are in Tyson’s sky box.

We recap Shamrock vs. Rock. Shamrock has charged through the Nation to get this shot at the unofficial leader of the team. Mark Henry joined the Nation to save Rock from Shamrock less than a week ago.

The Nation argues over which of them will win the Rumble. Rock says the fans of course want to know what he thinks of Clinton and Paula Jones, so he tells the President not to lie down with dogs or you might get fleas. This joke would be done way better over the next few weeks.

Intercontinental Title: The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Rock is defending of course. Feeling out process to start with Rocky trying to get a cheap shot in the corner. Both guys shove the other into the corner and Shamrock blocks a shot to the face before hitting one of his own. They run the ropes a bit until Shamrock kicks him in the chest and knocks the champion out to the floor. Back in and Rock pounds away a bit before hitting a corner clothesline. Ken comes back with some clotheslines of his own but the standing clothesline is countered into a hot shot for two.

They’re trying to get out of first gear here but it’s really not working that well. The champ pounds on him in the corner and but gets caught in a fisherman’s suplex for two. Back to the floor with Shamrock going into the steps and then back into the ring. The spinning DDT gets two for Rock and it’s off to the chinlock. Rock tries the spinning DDT again but gets caught in a northern lights suplex for two instead.

Shamrock pounds away some more and gets two off a powerslam. The Nation comes out and sneaks Rocky some knuckles which go upside Ken’s head for two. Rock hides said knuckles in Shamrock’s trunks, just before getting belly to bellied for the pin and the title. Keep that in mind of course.

Rating: D+. Rock would get better, but at the end of the day this didn’t work that well. It was mainly punching with both guys trying to throw in a move here or there. This feud never quite worked as well as they were shooting for I don’t think and with Rocky holding the title forever, it didn’t do Shamrock much good either.

Post match the referee finds the knuckles and reverses the decision. The referee is beaten up very badly for his efforts.

A Coliseum Video Exclusive from “moments later” show a clean and dry Shamrock in jeans attacking the Rock.

Los Boricuas attack someone who they think is Austin but find one of the Disciples of Apocalypse. Brawling ensues.

We recap the LOD vs. the Outlaws, which is old school vs. new with the Outlaws defending the titles. The Outlaws put a big old beating on the LOD and tonight is their return.

Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Legion of Doom

The Outlaws make fun of the 49ers who lost in the NFC Title game recently to the Packers. The LOD says that Animal’s back is fine and they’re putting the Outlaws on ice tonight. The Outlaws jump the challengers which goes badly in a hurry, as Animal powerbombs the Dogg. The champions try to walk out but get thrown back in so we can start with Hawk (who had one mohawk shaved off earlier in this feud) vs. Roadie.

Off to Animal as Road Dogg’s mouth is bleeding. The pounding continues so here’s Hawk for his one wrestling move in the neckbreaker. Gunn gets the tag and Hawk hits a freaking Lou Thesz Press of all things so he can pound away some more. Animal powerslams both Outlaws down and it’s off to a reverse chinlock on Gunn. Hawk comes in for his second surprise move of the match in an STF.

That goes nowhere so it’s back to Animal, who is tripped up by Roadie. They head outside where Animal is sent into the steps to finally switch the momentum. Hawk gets double teamed in the ring but clotheslines both Outlaws down (Animal is still legal) but charges into the post. Dogg finds some handcuffs and attaches Hawk to the post, making it a handicap match. Animal makes a comeback with a double clothesline, but Dogg hits him with a chair for the DQ.

Rating: D. So with an injury AND his partner tied up on the floor, Animal STILL couldn’t lay down for a pin? Seriously? This match sucked and would have been just slightly better on Raw with less time. The LOD was nothing at this point while the Outlaws were finally starting to turn some heads. Until this point though, they were two jobbers with the titles who kept escaping with them. Brighter days were coming.

The Outlaws destroy Animal until Hawk snaps the handcuffs to make the save.

Some fan wins the Austin truck.

We recap the build up to the Rumble. Basically, everyone knows Austin is going to win and EVERYONE else in the Rumble is trying to stop him but not one has been able to slow him down at all. The only difference here: the fans were eating this stuff up with a spoon.

Royal Rumble

Cactus Jack is #1 and Chainsaw Charlie (Terry Funk) is #2. The intervals are supposed to be two minutes again this year but they would wind up being closer to 90 seconds. Terry brings his chainsaw into the ring so Cactus throws in a bunch of chairs. The referee finally gets the saw out and they pound on each other with chairs. Cactus hits Funk in the head with one, then hands the chair to Funk so he can return the favor. These two aren’t exactly normal if you didn’t catch that.

Tom Brandi is #3 and lasts about ten seconds. Terry punches Jack down but can’t piledrive him on a chair. Cactus suplexes him through two chairs but can’t put him out. Rock is #4 and both hardcore guys are down. Rock pounds on Terry in the corner but Cactus blasts him with a trashcan and the double beating begins. Cactus puts the can over Rock’s head and they pound away on him, knocking him through the ropes and out to the floor. Funk hits Cactus low as Mosh is #5.

Mosh and Funk pair off as do the other two guys. Funk (the announcers are calling him that too) tries a moonsault but it winds up being more of a headbutt than a splash. Phineas Godwinn is #6 and helps Rock beat up Mosh. Not much happens for a bit until 8-Ball of the DOA is #7. Jack misses a charge and Funk backdrops him out to empty the ring out a bit. Apparently someone who might have been Ken Shamrock has attacked Austin.

Funk barely hangs onto the rope to avoid elimination until Blackjack Bradshaw (yes that Bradshaw) is #8 and looking as muscular as you’ll ever see him look. We talk about Mike Tyson while things slow down a bit until Owen Hart is #9. Jeff Jarrett, the NWA North American Champion at the time in a strange invasion angle, attacks Owen on his way in. Yeah this is what Owen gets for not bolting to WCW after the Montreal Screwjob. Yes I know he was under contract but you know Vince couldn’t hold him to it in that situation. Hart can’t get in the ring yet.

Steve Blackman is #10 and he has a hairy chest. 8-Ball piledrives Funk as there are way too many guys in the ring right now. Since people seem content to just tease eliminations on the ropes, no one is eliminated until D’Lo Brown is #11. Rock DESTROYS Blackman in the corner before getting in a fight with his Nation teammate D’Lo. Kurrgan, still a psycho monster at this point, is #12.

Thankfully he gets rid of some people like Mosh and….that’s about it for now. Dang it clear the ring out a little bit already. You’re a monster Kurrgan. Go destroy some villager. Marc Mero is #13, giving us a pop for Sable. Mero pounds away on Blackman in the corner but Kurrgan dumps Steve. Bradshaw pounds on Kurrgan as Rock teases not stomping his teammate before kicking away.

Ken Shamrock is #14 and he immediately kicks Kurrgan down. A big gang takes out Kurrgan as Rock hits the People’s Elbow (not yet named) on Funk. Thrasher is #15, giving us Funk, Rock, Phineas, 8-Ball, Bradshaw, Owen (not in the ring), Brown, Mero, Shamrock and Thrasher, or as they’re collectively known, WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE. Still nothing happens and Mankind is #16, confusing the announcers and immediately punching Funk out.

Shamrock finally gets his hands on the Rock as Mero asks Sable for praise. Goldust is #17 in a silver bodysuit with a thong painted on. A minute or so later he puts out Mankind but there are still way too many people out there. Jeff Jarrett is #18 and Owen runs in to beat him down. A spinwheel kick puts Jeff down, followed by Owen skinning the cat and dumping Jeff. Honky Tonk Man is #19 as HHH (on crutches) and Chyna come to the ring. Rock dumps Shamrock to complete Ken’s humiliation tonight.

HHH gets on the apron and cracks Owen with his crutch to knock Hart out as well. Ahmed Johnson is #20, looking as bored as I can remember a wrestler looking in a long time. WAY too many people in the ring again. Mark Henry of the Nation is #21 and JR says Henry is “handling the big Johnson.” There’s no #22 which was supposed to be Skull, but he was jumped earlier remember.

Johnson is dumped out and he still doesn’t look like he cares. He would be gone next month anyway. Phineas is out after a ridiculous 28 minutes. On top of being in too long, he accidentally kicks a referee in the head on the way down, giving him a legit concussion. Kama Mustafa is #23 to give the Nation four members at the moment. We’re just waiting for Austin at this point.

FINALLY the glass shatters at #24 and the roof goes off the place. Austin comes in through the crowd because he’s got ten people waiting on him as he comes in. There go Mero and 8-Ball and things slow down AGAIN, because we need at least ten people in the match at all times for some reason. Henry Godwinn is #25 and nothing happens. Savio Vega is #26, but since we STILL don’t have enough people in the ring at the moment, he brings in the other three Boricuas to beat on Austin.

Thankfully Austin beats them out quickly but doesn’t eliminate anyone. Faarooq is #27 to give us the entire Nation in the ring. He goes right for the other Nation members though as his face turn continues. Not that anyone cares mind you but he is indeed turning. Austin and Rock tumble through the ropes through the floor to brawl a bit because that’s what those two guys do.

Dude Love is #28 to complete the running joke of the match. He immediately puts out Bradshaw as Goldust is on the floor but not eliminated. You can’t see most of the mat because of how many people are in the ring at the moment. Austin pounds on Rock even more with Rock falling to the floor again. Chainz of DOA is #29 as Faarooq puts Brown out. More brawling ensues until Vader completes the field at #30. This gives us a final group of….hang on I need a breath first…..Rock, Thrasher, Goldust, Honky Tonk Man, Mark Henry, Kama, Austin, Henry Godwinn, Vega, Faarooq, Dude Love, Chainz and Vader, or THIRTEEN PEOPLE.

Vader immediately pounds on Goldust and dumps Honky a few seconds later. Austin dumps Thrasher after an insanely too long 28 minutes. Austin puts out Kama to finally clear the ring out a bit. There goes Vega at Austin’s hands as well before Goldust dumps Vader. Godwinn goes out as well before Faarooq puts out Henry. We’re down to Rock, Austin, Love and Faarooq as Chainz was put out by Austin off camera.

The Nation members are thrown together and Rock gets hit by Sweet Shin Music and the double arm DDT. Austin hits Dude low and Faarooq throws Love out. Rock puts out Faarooq to give us Austin vs. Rock. They slug it out and Rock is thrown to the apron. Austin is fine with Stunning him and throwing him out to go on to Wrestlemania where he would claim his destiny.

Rating: D+. Austin was awesome as he always was in 1998, but the rest of this match pretty much sucked. As I said over and over, there were way too many people in there for the most part. Also you had WAY too many people getting time they didn’t deserve. I mean did anyone need to see Phineas, 8-Ball, Bradshaw, D’Lo Brown and Thrasher all getting over 28 minutes? Not much to see here other than Austin and Foley’s funny bit.

Tyson celebrates “Cole Stone” Steve Austin winning the Rumble.

We recap Shawn vs. Undertaker. Basically they feuded extensively in the fall but then after Montreal, Shawn didn’t want to face Owen for a fear of him trying to legit hurt him. Therefore they rehashed Undertaker vs. Shawn for the title here in a casket match. Most of the video here is about the first Cell match, which is still amazing stuff. Oh and one more thing: DX (still just three people at this point) attacked Taker on Raw but Kane had saved his brother, uniting with him for the first time ever. That was six days ago, and remember that a certain Vince Russo is booking.

WWF World Title: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

Like I said, Shawn is defending and this is a casket match. Taker throwing the lights back on makes Shawn jump out of the ring. It’s a brawl to start and Taker immediately grabs Shawn by the throat. Shawn punches his way out of it but jumps into another choke by Taker. An attempt at putting Michaels in the casket doesn’t work, but a backdrop that put Michaels out of action for four and a half years by slamming his spine onto the casket does work.

Shawn slowly gets up and is kicked into the casket but he immediately bounces out. We head back in with Taker missing an elbow but hitting Old School. Shawn gets whipped into the corner for the Flair Flip to the floor, which is probably the last move he needed to do at this point. Back in and Shawn dives into a powerslam but Taker still can’t slam the lid shut. Shawn comes out throwing powder and manages to get a breather. Taker is sent knees first into the steps and Shawn smashes the challenger’s back with the steps.

A piledriver on the steps actually works for Shawn but he’s got a broken back and can’t follow up. HHH whacks Taker with the crutch (where is Owen if he’s so angry?) as Shawn stays in full control. Back in and a jumping back elbow puts Taker down but he fights out of the casket. Shawn neckbreakers Taker before putting on a sleeper which is eventually countered into a Saito Suplex.

The forearm from Shawn sets up the nipup which sets up the top rope elbow. He must be either high as a kite on painkillers or on a huge adrenaline rush to be able to have a match like this at this point. The superkick knocks Taker out cold but Shawn is Shawn and stops for a crotch chop. Taker grabs him by the balls and we head back inside for the beating Shawn deserves. Another Flair Flip sets up the big boot, but Taker misses a clothesline and lands in the casket.

Shawn drops an elbow into the casket, closing the lid on both guys. Cool spot actually. Shawn crawls out but in a semi famous shot, Taker pulls him back into the casket, closing it with both guys inside again. Back in and Undertaker hits one of the biggest chokeslams he’s ever hit followed by a JUMPING TOMBSTONE into the casket. The Outlaws and the Boricuas run in as we reenact Royal Rumble 1994, but here comes Kane to save the day. By save the day, naturally I mean turn on Undertaker and shut him in the casket to keep the title on Shawn and end the match.

Rating: B. Considering Shawn’s back was literally broken in half during the match, this is a pretty awesome fight. When Taker gets ticked off and wants to hurt somebody, he can lay a beating out like few others in the world. Shawn struggling through a match in this condition is nothing short of great, and the fact that he survived Wrestlemania like this as well is perhaps the greatest physical accomplishment of all time.

Post match Kane nails the casket shut and hacks at it with an ax. He pours gasoline inside and LIGHTS IT ON FIRE to end the show. Taker of course would disappear from the casket once it was opened up.

Overall Rating: D. Good main event aside, this was a REALLY dull show overall. 1998 would wind up being an awesome year, but this wasn’t the best start to it in the world. We saw a lot of the relics of the bad times here, but Austin was coming and there was absolutely nothing WCW could do to stop him. This wasn’t a good show at all, but it was a necessary evil to get us to the glory days.

Ratings Comparison

Vader vs. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust

Original: B-

Redo: D

Max Mini/Mosaic/Nova vs. Battalion/El Torito/Tarantula

Original: B-

Redo: C

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Legion of Doom vs. New Age Outlaws

Original: D+

Redo: D

Royal Rumble

Original: D+

Redo: D

Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker

Original: B

Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: C-

Redo: D

….what in the world was I on back then?

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/01/18/royal-rumble-count-up-1998-austin-isnt-a-lock-to-win-please-believe-us/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PZ1GR7E

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Survivor Series 1998
Date: November 15, 1998
Location: Kiel Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 21,779
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This is what you call a one idea show as the entire show (almost) is dedicated to a tournament to crown a new world champion. Austin got robbed of the title and then wouldn’t count a win as guest referee in a title match, so tonight there’s a big tournament to determine the new champion. Also the Corporation now exists to make sure Austin doesn’t win. There’s also talk of someone joining the Corporation tonight as the Corporate Champion and the new top soldier for Vince. Let’s get to it.

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

I’ve always loved the theme song to this show. I did when I was a kid and I have it on my iPod today.

JR and the King talk about a big brawl that happened on Heat. They don’t actually say WHO WAS IN IT, but it was apparently quite a braw.

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.

Here’s Vince to open things up. If I remember right Undertaker and Kane recently shattered his ankle so he’s hopping to the ring. Vince does a big intro for Mankind who is Corporate but is more of a comedic putz who Vince manipulates to do whatever he wants. He’s also Hardcore Champion.

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

Vince gives a LONG speech about the mystery opponent and it’s….Duane Gill. He was a jobber who injured his shoulder and was gone for two years to WCW. The fans thought it would be Shawn Michaels and are ticked off by the reveal. Then again it’s meant to be a joke so it’s not that big of a deal. The pyro scares Gill to death ala Eric Young. Gill is wearing a Pasadena Chargers shirt, which is an elementary school football team he coaches. Mankind is in a tuxedo and wins in 30 seconds with the double arm DDT. It would seem that a conspiracy is afoot.

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

This is Debra’s PPV debut. The winner gets Mankind and the first round matches only have ten minute time limits. Snow chases Debra around on the floor but hits a flip dive onto Jarrett off the stairs in a cool spot. We head inside and I think a bell has rung but I’m not sure. Jeff hotshots Al onto the top rope to take over but Snow is looking all psycho. Snow comes back and takes Jeff down before going up.

A guillotine legdrop misses and a dropkick takes Al down for two. Snow comes back with a crucifix for another two and counters a spinebuster into a DDT for two. They collide and here’s Debra with the Head. Snow goes to find it but gets Jeff’s guitar instead. Jeff finds Head but the referee gets the guitar out of the ring. During the distraction, Snow steals Head and KO’s Jarrett with it to advance.

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

They’re flying through this so far. Boss Man goes after Austin in the aisle but you don’t win a fist fight against Austin in 1998. Austin sends him into the steps and we head in for the bell. Vince is watching in the back as Austin hits the Thesz Press and the middle finger elbow for two. Boss Man hits Austin low to come back but it just gets a warning. After a quick chinlock there’s the running crotch attack to Austin’s back and an uppercut for two. Austin makes his comeback and stomps a mudhole in the corner. We head to the floor and Boss Man hits Austin in the ribs with a nightstick for the DQ.

Rating: C-. Nothing of note to see here but this was more about story than the match. Did anyone expect Austin to get eliminated by Boss Man? This is the kind of roll Boss Man was good at: enhancing a story and taking something out of the bigger name before we get to the important stuff with the bigger names later on. There’s nothing wrong with that and it kept him employed for years.

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

This is one of those matches that doesn’t need to exist. The winner gets Austin and X-Pac is European Champion coming in. Regal is a REAL MAN’S MAN here. Lawler sings the song as Regal comes to the ring in a funny bit. Either that or the audio messed up there for a bit. Pac kicks him down and suplexes Regal for two. Two of those fast legdrops get another two on Regal but the Bronco Buster misses.

Regal puts on an abdominal stretch on the mat as things slow down a bit. Regal charges into the corner but gets caught in a sunset flip but he rolls out of that too and hits a slingshot to send Pac flying. Off to a surfboard stretch as things slow down again. This is probably the longest match so far and it’s not even four minutes in yet. A gutwrench suplex puts Pac down and it’s off to a headscissors.

Pac rolls that over and gets a freaky looking hold where he was on his back with his legs by Regal’s head but he was cranking on the legs in a Sharpshooter position. That gets him nowhere but it looked good. Regal puts Pac on the top and hits a butterfly superplex for two. Back to another rib/arm hold as the fans are getting a little restless. Back up and they collide in the corner before X-Pac kicks his head off for two. The Bronco Buster hits this time but Pac goes up and gets crotched, falling to the floor. They fight for awhile out there and it’s a double countout to give Austin a bye.

Rating: C-. Much like the other three matches, this didn’t need to exist. The match was ok and one of the longer matches of the night (about eight minutes) but it doesn’t need to happen. This is a match you could easily take out and give to a longer match later on. I mean, did ANYONE see these two as threats to the title? Of course not.

Vince isn’t happy with that and insists on overtime. It’s sudden death too, making it just like every other wrestling match on the show tonight. That goes nowhere though as X-Pac walks to the back.

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

Shamrock is IC Champion coming in. Ken starts with a leg lariat and pounds away at Goldie. Goldust misses a lariat but a second attempt connects to shift the momentum. Shamrock clotheslines him out of the corner for two as this is starting very slowly so far. Off to a reverse chinlock followed by a Russian legsweep for two. A regular chinlock follows that up but Goldust makes a comeback. That lasts about four seconds as Shamrock avoids a charge in the corner. A powerbomb from Goldie is countered and the referee blocks his Shattered Dreams attempt. It’s rana, belly to belly and ankle lock for the tap out win for Ken.

Rating: D-. This was a long and uninteresting squash. Goldust was at a weird point here as he didn’t really do anything and wasn’t weird or creepy anymore. He was just kind of there as a guy who used to be good but in this match he could have been Barry Horowitz and been as much of a threat to Shamrock. Terribly dull stuff here.

Austin has refused medical attention but Cole thinks he’ll be here later in the tournament.

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

Oh wait HHH is hurt so we’ve got a replacement.

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 has Bearer here and is heel but he’s against the other heel faction headed by Vince. Naturally they were working together all along but that wouldn’t be revealed for about seven months. Kane pounds on Taker in the corner and not a lot of selling is going on. Kane kicks Taker down and clotheslines him out to the floor. The masked one stays on the offense on the floor but gets dropped face first onto the barricade.

Back in and Taker slugs away but there still isn’t much selling going on. Kane powerslams Taker down but Taker sits up to avoid an elbow. Kane sits up as well and we get more punching. Taker gets a boot up in the corner and starts working on Kane’s leg. The leg work goes on for awhile because neither guy is capable of doing anything with any kind of speed whatsoever. They get back up and it’s MORE punching. This is slow even for a Taker match to give you an indication of what I’m sitting through.

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.

Rating: F+. This was horrible as it was clear Taker wasn’t interested in trying and Kane was only able to do so much in the first place. The match sucked as a result and things would only get worse as time went on. We would soon get into crucifixions, burials (as in dirt over bodies in graves) and demonic possessions. WRESTLING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

WWF World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Mankind vs. Al Snow

Mankind is still in his tuxedo. Snow jumps him to start and hits a clothesline for no cover. Mankind heads to the floor for a chair but Snow gets in a few shots to block it. A big chair shot misses Mankind against the post and Snow gets dropped on the chair to give the masked guy control. Back in and Snow grabs Head but Mankind suplexes him down to take it out of Snow’s hands. Here’s Socko (which had been stolen by Snow and wrapped around Head’s…uh…self? Mankind clotheslines Snow down but gets caught in a sitout spinebuster for two. The double arm DDT puts Snow down and the Claw finishes Snow.

Rating: D+. Another pretty worthless match but Mankind and Snow always seemed to have fun together out there. At the end of the day though, it’s Al Snow vs. Mankind in a world title tournament match so it wasn’t exactly a secret as to who was going to win. Then again that’s the problem with almost every wrestling tournament you have. Not much to see here but it could have been worse.

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

Winner gets Undertaker. Shamrock gets in a quick kick to the face but Rock clotheslines him down to take over. Ken hooks a quick suplex for two and hits a clothesline in the corner. Rock hits another clothesline to take over. Out to the floor and Rock spits water in Shamrock’s face, prompting Ken to send him into the steps. Back in and Shamrock stomps away before hitting a leg lariat to take Rock down.

A Russian legsweep gets two for Shamrock and a running knee lift sets up a chinlock. Rock comes back with right hands but here comes Boss Man. Back to the chinlock as the fans get on the Boss Man. Rock makes a quick comeback attempt but gets caught in the ankle lock. While that would make Rock tap out in a few seconds back in the day, he’s a good guy now so he fights to a rope.

Double clotheslines put both guys down and Rock starts taking over. Boss Man tries to interfere but it allows Rock to hit Shamrock low. There’s the People’s Elbow but it only gets two. The Rock Bottom is countered but Boss Man throws in the nightstick to Shamrock. Rock intercepts it though and KO’s Ken to make the final four.

Rating: C-. Another not that great match here but it was better than most of what we’ve had so far. Shamrock is another guy like Boss Man who is a great soldier but was never going to get much higher than he was here. He certainly had a better chance at it than Boss Man, but that’s not saying all that much.

The final four are now set:

Undertaker

The Rock

Mankind

Steve Austin

Bearer says Undertaker will win.

Women’s Title: Sable vs. Jacqueline

Jackie is defending. Shane McMahon is referee after being demoted by Vince. Jackie kicks Sable down and, wait for it, runs her mouth. Sable comes back with a TKO but Mero pulls her out at two. Sable kicks Mero low and powerbombs him on the floor. Jackie decks Sable and runs her mouth some more. Did I mention I REALLY don’t like Jackie? Sable counters a tornado DDT and powerbombs Jackie for the pin and the title.

Rating: D-. It came, it went, it wasn’t any good at all. People actually cared Sable, but the title became a prop very quickly. There’s just nothing else to say here.

WWF World Title Tournament Semifinals: Mankind vs. Steve Austin

Austin is banged up from the nightstick attack earlier but he goes right at Mankind to start. He rips Mankind’s shoe off and whacks him in the head with it as Vince is wheeled out. The distraction lets Mankind take over and hit a running knee in the corner. There’s the Thesz Press but Mankind escapes the Stunner. Mankind runs out of the ring and towards the entrance but the Stooges bring him back.

Foley sends Austin into the steps and then into the crowd as we’re firmly in brawl mode here. Back to ringside and Austin goes face first into the steps. Off to a reverse chinlock in the ring on Austin but Stone Cold makes a comeback. They clothesline each other down and Vince is getting worried. Austin rams into him and stomps a mudhole but Mankind goes out and gets a chair. That gets kicked into his face but Mankind hits the double arm onto the chair for two.

A piledriver on the chair is broken up because it would have destroyed Austin’s neck which was already in pieces. The Stunner hits but Vince jumps out of his wheelchair and beats up the referee. Mankind loses his tuxedo pants and puts on the Claw but there’s the Stunner. Shane comes in to count the pin but stops at two and flips Austin off, opening up a BIG plot hole which was probably explained by Russo logic. Remember that it was SHANE that rehired Austin, but apparently he was working with his dad the whole time. So why rehire him? Anyway Brisco hits Austin with a chair and Mankind takes the pin to go to the finals.

Rating: C+. Definitely the best match of the night so far. It was insanely overbooked but it was certainly the best match. Imagine that: take two of the best ever and give them some time and you get the best match of the night. This also opens up the door for a surprise ending, as Austin was the favorite going into the tournament. Basically they’ve done the DiBiase master plan from Mania IV but it actually worked here.

Vince and company immediately get in the limo and leave with Austin in pursuit. Austin hijacks a car and we’ve got a chase scene.

WWF World Title Tournament Semifinals: The Rock vs. Undertaker

Rock pounds away in the corner to start but Taker gets in a clothesline to the back of the head to take Rock down. We head to the floor and after being sent into the barricade, Taker knocks Rock’s head off with another clothesline. Back inside and an elbow puts Rock down before Taker chokes on the mat. An uppercut puts Rock in the ropes and Taker pounds away.

Taker charges at Rock but gets backdropped to the floor and hit in the face with a water bottle. They head into the crowd for a few seconds and Taker gets the advantage back again. They slug it out with Taker getting the advantage again before walking into a Samoan Drop. Here comes the Boss Man again as Taker sits up. Rock comes back and loads up the Elbow but Boss Man trips him up. Taker hits Boss Man for reasons of EVIL, but here’s Kane to chokeslam Rock, sending him to the finals by DQ.

Rating: D. If there have ever been two big names with worse chemistry than Rock and Undertaker, I’d like to know who they are. These two just could not have a good match together if their lives depended on it back in the Attitude Era. It never clicked no matter how many times they main evented PPVs. This didn’t work either but at least it wasn’t that long of a match.

Taker and Kane brawl everywhere.

Mankind is ready to climb his last Rock.

Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Headbangers vs. D’Lo Brown/Mark Henry

The Outlaws are defending of course. This was set up on Raw with both challenging teams doing something that I can’t remember to earn the shot. Billy and Brown start things off but Mosh comes in off a blind tag to try to steal a pin on Billy. Mosh hits a running body attack in the corner on Gunn before diving at Brown as well. This is pretty messy so far. The Outlaws pound on the former Nation guys in opposite corners before the Headbangers double team Roadie.

Brown and Mosh trade pin attempts on Dogg. This is the old triple threat tag match rules where there are three people at a time in there which I’ve always preferred. Off to Henry for a bearhug on Roadie until Mosh makes the save. Off to Brown, Thrasher and Dogg as this continues to be ugly stuff. Gunn gets in a LOUD argument with the referee as Brown ranas Thrasher off the top.

Roadie pounds on Brown and Thrasher but Henry takes his head off with a clothesline. Brown’s running powerbomb to Thrasher is countered into a sunset flip for two. A Henry legdrop gets the same on Dogg, followed by the Headbangers double teaming Roadie for the same. Brown offers a pact with Mosh but gets kicked in the balls for his efforts. JR can almost be heard moaning at how bad this match is. Roadie finally escapes the beating for the hot tag to Billy. The fans LOVED the Outlaws so at least they’re reacting here.

Brown hits the Sky High on Billy but since everyone is out of position, it takes forever to start the count. Jesse Ventura would have a field day with this. To further the stupidity here, Billy hits a Fameasser on Mosh but Henry makes the save with a splash, also hitting Mosh. Mark just stays on top of Mosh for a cover, but after two finisher it only gets two. That Mosh man, he’s TOUGH. Billy finally piledrives Mosh to retain the titles.

Rating: F. This was terrible and there’s no other way to put it. They were all over the place and no one was even reading the same book out there. The referee had to count very slowly so the saves could be made and there was no flow to this at all. Just awful and JR’s commentary makes it even funnier, but in a kind of sad way.

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.

That gets two back in the ring but Mankind kicks Rock low to take over again. Rock is sent back to the floor for the elbow off the apron. Mankind starts taking the announce table apart as JR loses it even more. Mankind is heel for the most part coming in but he’s a sympathetic heel. A legdrop on the table mostly misses Rock but it gets two back inside. Off to the chinlock again and Rock’s comeback is cut short by a backdrop to the floor again.

Back in again and Rock hits a DDT to put both guys down. Mankind sends him to the floor AGAIN but a middle rope elbow to the floor sends the masked one through the announce table. The crash looked great if nothing else. We head back inside and the People’s Elbow gets two. A double arm DDT puts Rock down and here’s Socko. Rock hangs on in the Claw forever and comes out of it with a Rock Bottom but it only gets a delayed two. Rock puts on the Sharpshooter and Vince says ring the bell just like last year, giving Rock the title, because Rock is Corporate. He’s also the new champion.

Rating: C-. This definitely wasn’t their best performance with the constant going to the floor getting old fast. Mankind would have his day but it would take awhile to get there. This was all about the shock which shouldn’t be a shock when you think about it. All night it was assumed that Mankind was the Corporate guy, but let’s look at this.

Rock’s first match was against a corporate guy and he just happens to get the easiest pin ever. Then a corporate guy throws in a nightstick so Rock can beat another corporate guy. Then Rock wins by DQ, and now this. That’s establishing a story and giving clues instead of an illogical swerve. It’s easy to tell which is better as this is shocking, but also MAKES SENSE. This is what Russo was capable of, but we almost never got to see it.

Rock hugs the McMahons and JR erupts. Vince says the people have themselves to blame and the explanation is coming tomorrow on Raw. Mankind isn’t sure what to do. Vince brags about screwing Austin over and Shane brags a bit in general. Rock says it’s time for the fans to pucker up to him. Mankind wants to know why he lost because he never gave up. Rock hits him with the belt and here’s Austin to clean house. This set up Rock vs. Austin for the title the next night in a HUGE match which I believe set a then ratings record.

Overall Rating: D+. This show was ALL about the stories and not much about the wrestling. The matches were mostly bad with a few ok ones, but those aren’t the point. This was about Vince and Shane doing their things and getting their Corporate Champion. All of that was accomplished and this set the stage until Wrestlemania. This show doesn’t really hold up that well on its own, but in context this would have been gold.

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

New Age Outlaws vs. D’Lo Brown/Mark Henry vs. The Headbangers

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.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Summerslam 1998
Date: August 30, 1998
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 21,588
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

A year has passed and a lot has changed. The biggest things of all are Austin being the WWF Champion and Raw dominating the Monday Night Wars. The Attitude Era is in full swing and there’s nothing standing in the way of the WWF at this point. We have Austin defending the title against Undertaker in the main event after a summer of wondering if Undertaker is in league with the evil Vince McMahon. This is the biggest Summerslam of all time and could have easily been Wrestlemania if it was that time of the year. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is about how all the lies will be revealed tonight. Vince has promised Undertaker the title in exchange for something that hasn’t been revealed yet, leading to the conspiracy theories.

European Title: Val Venis vs. D’Lo Brown

Brown is defending and there’s no story to this that I remember. It has a sixty minute time limit, just in case the lower midcard title match in the opening slot pushes going Broadway. Since we’re in MSG we have the old school set with the entrance opposite the cameras instead of off to one side. This is Venis’ first title shot and D’Lo is doing a gimmick where he’s from a different European city each time with tonight being Helsinki. He’s also part of the Nation of Domination here but only has his chest protector for an advantage here.

Brown shoves him into the ropes to start and they slap hands. The champion also slaps Val’s face to tick him off as JR tells us about Austin destroying a hearse which may have had Undertaker or Kane inside. Brown hits a standing splash with the chest protector for added impact to take over. A splash misses in the corner though and Venis takes over with a Russian legsweep. After a quick breather on the floor, Brown comes back in to run the ropes but he gets caught in a spinebuster. A newcomer named Edge is watching in the crowd.

Venis misses a splash and gets caught in a belly to back suplex to give Brown control again. Val comes back with an overhead t-bone suplex but walks into a clothesline followed by a legdrop for two. A leg lariat and a middle rope elbow gets the same and Val is holding his back for some reason. Brown follows up on the injury with a Texas Cloverleaf but lets it go after only a few seconds. Did he learn submissions from No Mercy? Brown misses a middle rope senton and both guys are down. The fans are much more into this than you would expect them to be.

Val hits some running knees to the ribs and a backdrop for no cover. He tries a high cross body but gets caught in a Sky High (lifting powerbomb) which gets a delayed two count. Brown hits a quick DDT but dives off the middle rope into a powerslam for two. A butterfly suplex sets up the Money Shot (top rope splash) but Brown gets his knees up.

The fans LOUDLY chant for D’Lo but he can’t get Val all the way up for a powerbomb. Another try is good for a running Liger Bomb but the Low Down frog splash misses. Val finally rips off the chest protector and puts it on himself before going up top. The referee tries to pull him down and crotches him, earning a toss from Val for the DQ.

Rating: C+. I was digging this until the lame ending. The problem here was the match built up over fifteen minutes and then hit a brick wall with a referee crotching a guy on the top and then complaining that the guy was hurt. That’s not a satisfactory ending to a match with that long of a build, but at least the build was good.

Val slams the referee and hits a Money Shot.

Mankind is mad that Austin broke the hearse (“I have to take it to the Brisco Brothers Body Shop.”) because he wanted to put Kane in it later tonight. Mankind has a sledge hammer and wants to use it on someone.

Insane Clown Posse plays the Oddities to the ring to a HUGE reaction.

Oddities vs. Kaientai

The Oddities are Golga (Earthquake under a mask), Giant Silva (Great Khali’s size and about a tenth of the skill) and Kurrgan (uh….yeah). Kaientai is a four man heel team here and not the comedy guys they would become in a year or so. Golga starts with Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku and the big man rams his own head into the buckle for some reason. He shoves down all four members of Kaientai as we’re firmly in comedy match territory.

Golga steals Kaientai’s manager Yamaguchi-San’s shoes and blasts various people with it before it’s off to the dancing Kurrgan. He gets on his knees to fight Funaki in a funny bit before dancing even more. Three of the four Japanese guys swarm Kurrgan to no effect as he cleans house anyway. Yamaguchi-San is shoved down again and it’s off to Silva to clean the little bit of the house which isn’t taken care of yet.

Kaientai gets in a fight over who comes in but it’s Dick Togo (Best name EVER) who gets the job. All four guys come in again but they can’t combine to lift Silva’s legs. Silva sends all four of them into the corner and crushes them at once before Kurrgan comes in to whip one into the other three. Silva throws Taka over the top onto the other three as this is complete dominance. Back in and Golga tries a seated senton on Mens Teioh but Taka and Togo hit a double dropkick to stagger him.

Two members of the team combine to slam him and four straight top rope splashes followed by four straight legdrops get no cover. A quadruple dropkick has Golga in trouble but a quadruple clothesline puts Kaientai down. The hot tag brings in Kurrgan who takes down everyone in sight and hits a wicked side slam on Funaki. Everything breaks down as managers Luna Vachon and Yamaguchi-San get in a fight. A quadruple chokeslam is good for the pin by Golga on everyone from Japan.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing but comedy, it was overly long, Golga is the only Oddity that could do a thing in the ring…..and I can’t help but love the Oddities. There’s just something so innocently goofy about them that I smile every time I see Kurrgan do his dance. The match sucked but it has no expectations coming in so it’s completely harmless.

Jeff Jarrett vs. X-Pac

Hair vs. Hair here and Jarrett has Southern Justice (the Godwinns) with him. They combined to cut Howard Finkel’s hair earlier tonight so he’s in Pac’s corner in case the ending wasn’t obvious yet. Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter throws Southern Justice out before we get going. In something I never thought I’d see, Fink does the crotch chop. Jeff jumps Pac from behind but a spinwheel kick and a clothesline puts Jarrett on the floor. A big dive takes him out again and the crowd is into X-Pac.

Back in and Jeff hits a pair of great dropkicks to send Pac out to the floor. Pac is crotched against the post and Jarrett pounds away in the ring. A snap powerslam gets two but Pac comes back with a tornado DDT for two. The crowd continues to be white hot as Finkel plays cheerleader. Some kicks in the corner have Jarrett in trouble but he grabs a quick sleeper to stop X-Pac’s momentum.

As is always the case when Jarrett puts someone in a sleeper, the other guy hooks a quick sleeper on Jeff but gets reversed into the corner. Pac misses a cross body out of the corner to give Jarrett two and it’s Figure Four time. The hold stays on for a very long time but Pac gets twoo close to the ropes, making Jeff let go to put it on again. The break lets Pac kick him into the corner before taking Jeff’s head off with a spinwheel kick. There’s the Bronco Buster and X-Pac rolls through a high cross body for two.

A Jarrett leapfrog is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two and Howard is starting to panic. Another Bronco Buster attempt is countered by a low blow but Jarrett stops to hit the Fink, allowing the X Factor to connect for a VERY close two. Southern Justice is back but Dennis Knight (Phineas) drops a guitar, giving Pac the shot to Jarrett for the pin.

Rating: C. Not bad here but it went a bit too long for what they were trying to do. If Southern Justice could come out at the end, where were they for the other ten minutes of the match? The haircut was the move that Jarrett needed as he changed his entire character from Tennessee Guy to chauvinist pig soon after this.

The Outlaws, the Headbangers and Droz come out to hold Jarrett’s arms down for the haircut. This is the debut of Jarrett’s short hair which he’s had almost ever since.

Michael Cole asks Rock about attacking HHH’s knee with the IC Title belt on Sunday Night Heat. Rock threatens to smack Cole with the belt if he asks another stupid question. Tonight he proves he’s the people’s champ. Cole: “Thank you Rock and back…..” Rock: “Shut up. Back to the jabronis at ringside.”

Jacqueline/Marc Mero vs. Sable/???

This is the final blowoff of the long Mero vs. Sable feud. The mystery partner is Edge who has only been around for a month or so at this time. The guys start things off with Edge hitting some quick Japanese armdrags. Off to Jackie who demands Sable come in but runs off to Mero as soon as the blonde comes in. Edge hits a quick flapjack but Jackie trips him up to give Mero a free shot.

The million dollar kneelift puts Edge down and Jackie chokes even more. Mero’s TKO is countered into a DDT and it’s off to the girls again. Sable hits her kicks in the corner and a forearm to knock Marc to the floor but she can’t powerbomb Mero. Jackie gets in a cheap shot but gets caught in a passable TKO (fireman’s carry into a cutter) for two as Mero makes a save.

Jackie accidentally drills Mero (he’s having a bad night) and it’s back to the guys for a dive from Edge. Jackie tries to choke Edge but gets spanked for her efforts. Back in and a high cross gets two for Edge and drops Mero with a neckbreaker out of the corner. Marc comes back with a Samoan drop but gets crotched going up. Sable gets the tag and hits a top rope rana for one. Jackie’s save messes up and everything breaks down. The Downward Spiral lays out Mero and Edge drops Sable on top of him for the pin and a big pop.

Rating: C-. The match kind of sucked but Sable was WAY over. You have to remember how big of a deal she was back then to keep this in context. Sable was the final thing you would see on Raw a lot of the time, much like Cena is today. The biggest problem I still have with this match is what JR says at the end: “SHE DID IT!” This was all about Sable and Edge, the guy they were trying to rub, could have been any other guy.

Mankind doesn’t know what to do because Kane can’t wrestle tonight and he’s lost his sledgehammer. Maybe Michael Cole can be his partner tonight. Or maybe Mankind can go out and play in traffic. If the people want their money’s worth, that’s what he’s willing to do. Vince comes up to calm Mankind down and reminds him of his legacy in MSG. If Mankind can win a handicap match in MSG, he’ll be in the Hall of Fame by Tuesday.

Mankind doesn’t have a weapon but Vince brings him up a cookie sheet. “I’m handing you immortality on a silver platter!” Mankind says if the Outlaws have a problem with him beating them both, he has thirteen words for them: how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. Foley was feeling it here and is pretty keyed up to be in MSG.

We recap Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock. Hart has been trained by Dan Severn, Shamrock’s old UFC rival, to set up a Lion’s Den match which is basically a UFC cage knockoff.

Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock

This is in a theater adjacent to MSG. You win by submission or knockout I believe but JR isn’t really clear on it. It’s a cool visual if nothing else. Shamrock rams him into the cage before taking him down to the mat where we start trading submissions. Ken pounds away at the head and suplexes Owen down before choking away. Owen hits a legal low blow to escape but Shamrock clotheslines him down with ease. I think that passes the point of logical no selling.

Shamrock chokes Owen with his shirt before taking him down with an easy throw. Owen finally realizes he can’t go toe to toe with Ken and rams him face first into the cage. Hart pounds away against the cage and lays Shamrock out with an enziguri. A hot shot into the cage sets up a backbreaker but Shamrock backdrops out of a piledriver. Another kick to Ken’s head changes control again but Shamrock wins a quick slugout. He runs up the cage for a back elbow then kicks Owen in the face.

Hart comes right back with a powerslam and a belly to belly sets up the Sharpshooter. In an awesome counter, Shamrock crawls over to the cage and pulls himself up the wall to escape the hold. A tornado DDT off the wall puts Owen down and a spinwheel kick does the same. Owen sends him into the cage and tries a dragon sleeper but Shamrock walks up the cage to backflip out and the ankle lock gets the submission.

Rating: B. This was different than your usual wrestling match but more importantly it was fun. These two beat the tar out of each other and the whole thing worked very well. Notice the main difference here than what you would get today: you never heard the letters UFC here, meaning there’s nothing to compare it to, making this match seem more impressive. Today you would hear UFC and Ultimate Fighting dropped every two seconds and it would just make you want to watch a UFC show.

Austin is ready.

Tag Titles: Mankind vs. New Age Outlaws

Mankind and Kane are the champions but as mentioned Kane is missing. This is no holds barred and falls count anywhere, making this a hardcore match. The Outlaws are ridiculously over and Mankind is approaching his face turn if not almost already there. Billy and Roadie bring a dumpster to the ring but Mankind meets them with the cookie sheet. He and Billy both get chairs and Mankind wins a quick duel but the numbers game catches up with him.

They take turns hitting him in the head with metal objects and hit a prototype Conchairto for good measure. Mankind comes back with a running knee to crush the cookie sheet into Roadie’s face and gets two off a neckbreaker to Gunn. Dogg breaks up the elbow off the apron and the Outlaws ram Mankind’ s head into the dumpster. Roadie sets up a table in the corner but Mankind sends Gunn through it instead. The reverse 3D gets two for Dogg and the fans are trying to get behind Mankind. A powerbomb through two chairs is only good for two but a spike piledriver onto a title belt is good for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was a weird match as the Outlaws were the automatic heels despite the fans liking them. That being said, it’s Mick Foley in New York. The guy is over like free beer in a frat house so there’s no way the fans are going to be against him. Billy and Road Dogg wrestled like heels here but as JR said, they’re not breaking any rules and they want their titles back. It’s not like you can blame them, but you were supposed to which just made it weird.

Post match the Outlaws go to put Mankind in the dumpster but Kane pops out. He pulls out the sledgehammer and crushes Mankind’s head, officially turning Mankind face.

We recap HHH vs. The Rock. These two led their respective factions in a major war over the summer and this is the final blowoff (not really but for all intents and purposes it was done after this). Rock is Intercontinental Champion and the belt is being held above the ring for a ladder match. The idea is there’s no one left to help Rock or HHH and it’s all about who is the better man.

Intercontinental Title: The Rock vs. HHH

Rock has held the title since December and there hasn’t been a longer reign since. The DX band plays HHH to the ring. Chyna and Mark Henry are the seconds here. The referee takes a long time to get the belt ready which is why it’s usually above the ring when the match begins. Rock talks some trash and the fight is on. A quick clothesline takes the champion down and a facebuster does the same. HHH escapes the Rock Bottom but gets punched down in the corner.

A quick Pedigree attempt is countered with a backdrop to the floor and Rock goes for the ladder. As is the custom, there’s a fight over who gets to bring the ladder into the ring. HHH takes the fight back to the ring before going after a ladder. This time it’s Rock’s turn to stop the attempt and they fight in the aisle again. Rock gets a ladder up against the ring and whips HHH HARD into the steel.

The champion starts his climb but HHH flies in off the top to break it up, but the ladder falls on him to keep both guys down. A hard ladder shot puts Rock down again and HHH drives the top of the ladder into his ribs. Rock pulls HHH off the ladder and the future Game lands on his knee, legitimately injuring it and requiring several months off to heal up. Some elbows to the knee make the pain even worse but the ladder being dropped on it is far more painful.

Rock puts the leg between the ladder legs and crushes it with the chair for good measure. Now the leg is wrapped around the post and the fans are split. Rock bridges the ladder between the steps and the barricade so he can drop the knee across the steel. The ladder is barely in one piece so Rock’s climbing is very slow, allowing HHH to make a last second save. He also shoves the ladder down until his knee can recover a bit.

Rock is shoved to the floor but he catches HHH in a catapult face first into the ladder. The champion tries to slam the ladder onto HHH but a kick to the ribs makes him drop the ladder. A clothesline puts Rock down but he counters a Pedigree into a backdrop onto the ladder. Mark Henry throws in another ladder but Rock does the slowest climb in recorded history, allowing HHH to shove it down again. HHH baseball slides the top of the ladder into Rock’s face to send him to the floor, busting him open bad.

Now it’s time for HHH to climb up but Rock makes another save to send HHH crashing to the mat. Rock puts a ladder on top of the corner and plants HHH with a DDT. Both guys slowly climb for a slugout on top but it’s HHH being shoved off into the ladder in the corner. With one last rush he shoves Rock’s ladder over to get us back to even again. Chyna slides HHH a chair and knocks the ladder into Rock before beating the chair into the ladder over and over again.

HHH can’t follow up so Rock slams him down onto the ladder and hits a People’s Elbow to get the crowd on his side again. HHH somehow gets up again and tries a climb but makes the mistake of diving onto Rock for a Rock Bottom. Rock goes up but HHH pulls him back down for a Pedigree as JR is losing his mind on these big moves. HHH tries to get up but Henry throws powder in his eyes. A blind HHH goes up but can’t see the belt. Rock goes up as well but it’s Chyna with a low blow, allowing HHH to pull down the belt for the win.

Rating: A+. This was a history making match as these two are officially the future and it was time for Rock to ascend to the top of the company. The match is one of my all time favorites and it’s an overlooked masterpiece because of the series these two had in 2000. These two went to war and had Madison Square Garden, the smark capital of the world, eating out of the palm of their hand. That’s only happened a handful of times ever and this was one of the best ever.

As for the match itself it worked for a variety of reasons. More than anything else though it was due to the ladder being a prop for the guys rather than the focus of the match. The story built around the leg injury and the drama instead of the big spots. It’s very rare that you get a ladder match like this anymore and the match is absolute required viewing as a result.

WWF World Title: Undertaker vs. Steve Austin

Do you really need more of an explanation than that? If you’ve never seen the video for this set to Highway to Hell, make sure to check it out as it’s one of the best ever. The basckstory is Undertaker wants the title back and might be in league with Vince in order to do so. He’s also guaranteed that Kane will NOT interfere in this match. Taker is a tweener at this point as he has all the characteristics of being evil but hasn’t made the turn yet.

Austin fires off right hands in the corner to start but Undertaker throws him into the corner to take over. A clothesline gets two on Austin and there’s a double bird. They trade arm control until Austin takes him down with a drop toehold (!) into a hammerlock. Taker fights out of an armbar and whips Austin into the ropes for the spot that changes the entire match: Taker ducks down and gets kicked in the face, but the challenger’s head snaps up and rams into Austin’s chin, breaking his jaw and knocking him silly for the rest of the match.

Taker hits a quick suplex and a hot shot as Austin is still getting his head together. Some punches in the corner put Austin down again but Steve pulls him to the floor and rams Taker’s leg into the apron. It goes around the post as well before Austin takes him back inside before being taking the jumping clothesline. Old School is countered with a hip toss off the top and Austin stomps away on the leg.

Kane pops up at the entrance but Undertaker tells him to go back. The brawl keeps going but Austin goes to the floor to make sure Kane is gone. A somewhat sloppy chokeslam brings Austin back in but he clotheslines Taker to the floor. They fight into the crowd with Taker backdropping Austin onto the concrete. Back to ringside with Austin being rammed back first into the post, making JR scream that Austin may be paralyzed. That would be two years in a row if true.

Austin fights out of the corner but gets sent back first to the apron again. Back to the floor and Taker loads up the announce table which is always scary. He chokes Austin out on the table and goes up top for a HUGE legdrop off the top but the table DOESN’T BREAK! Austin slides off the table and the crash looks great. Back in and Austin is just gone but he kicks out at two. Austin gets up a boot in the corner and they clothesline each other down again.

Back up and Austin wins a slugout but there’s almost nothing behind his punches. There’s the Thesz Press and the (lacking middle fingers) elbow. Austin is whipped hard into the corner and tries a Stunner but Taker falls backwards in an awkward fall for two. Taker comes back with a chokeslam but the tombstone is countered into a very ugly sequence culminating in Austin being crotched. A Russian legsweep puts Austin down and Taker loads up Old School, but Austin crotches him on the top and the Stunner retains the title.

Rating: B-. The injury crippled them out there as Austin was totally out of it for about 90% of this match. The match isn’t terrible but it’s way below what they were shooting for and what the fans were expecting. It was a good idea to keep Kane out of this and it keeps Taker’s character ambiguous which is the right call here. That injury just stopped everything cold here though and dragged the match way down.

Post match Taker hands Austin the belt and walks away to stand next to Kane in the entrance.

Overall Rating: A-. This was built up as one of the biggest Summerslams of all time and that’s exactly how it comes off. Everything feels like a big deal and there’s a masterpiece with the ladder match. The main event was a bit disappointing but considering the injury it’s really quite good. It’s definitely a show worth seeing with the WWF putting their foot down on WCW’s neck and knowing they were on fire.

Ratings Comparison

Val Venis vs. D’Lo Brown

Original: B

Redo: C+

Oddities vs. Kaientai

Original: C-

Redo: C-

Jeff Jarrett vs. X-Pac

Original: B

Redo: C

Marc Mero/Jacqueline vs. Sable/Edge

Original: F

Redo: C-

Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart

Original: B-

Redo: B

Mankind vs. New Age Outlaws

Original: D+

Redo: D+

HHH vs. The Rock

Original: A+

Redo: A+

Steve Austin vs. Undertaker

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: A-

Most of the matches are rated higher and the overall rating is lower. Sounds like one of my old reviews.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/01/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1998-the-biggest-summerslam-ever/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

Monday Nitro #169
Date: December 28, 1998
Location: 1st Mariner Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

Starrcade is gone now and the main story coming out of the show is Nash stopping Goldberg’s winning streak last night and winning the World Title. Other than that we saw Bischoff beating Flair in the big match of their feud, because Heaven forbid Bischoff’s ego not get stroked at the biggest show of the year. We close out an up and down year tonight so let’s get to it.

We open with the announcers talking about the big matches from last night and get to see Eric’s Greatest Hits, which is basically Eric kicking Flair in the head.

Nitro Party winner.

Here are Miller and Onoo to talk about how he’s going to whip somebody. This brings out Jericho and Ralphus of all people, but they’re just here to introduce Cat’s real opponent.

The Cat vs. Shiima Nobunaga

Jericho and Ralphus are in Shiima’s corner. Chris: “COME ON DO SOME KARATE!” Tony points out that Nobunaga doesn’t speak English which makes this funnier. Miller and Jericho have mics during the match but don’t say much of anything. Cat kicks Shiima in the face and catches him in a powerslam. The Feliner is good for the pin in less than 90 seconds. I’m not sure what the point of this was.

Stills of Goldberg vs. Nash last night.

Clip of Flair having a heart attack, even though that wasn’t a focal point of the match at all last night.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Norman Smiley

They circle each other to start until Chavo goes to talk to Pepe. Norman grabs a wristlock as the announcers talk about Nash not seeing Hall interfere. A clothesline puts Chavo down and it’s time to dance. Chavo comes back with a dropkick to put Smiley on the floor and rides the horse around the ring. Back in and Norman takes him down again, setting up the Big Wiggle. There’s the swinging slam and Norman fires an arrow into the air. Chavo gets caught in a chinlock before dancing out of a sunset flip.

Larry officially christens the dance the Big Wiggle to make this show historic. Now it’s time to dance with Pepe but that’s just going too far and sends Chavo into a frenzy. The fans don’t mind but it’s a nice idea at least. A middle rope bulldog drops Smiley and it’s time for Chavo to dance. Norman runs him over and grabs the horse, asking it who’s your daddy. Smiley gets crotched on the top rope and slapped in the face, but the horse distraction lets Norman slap on the Conquest for the win.

Rating: D. For dancing of course. The match was nothing special with the dancing taking up WAY too much time. It’s fun to see it happen once but they hit about seven or eight times. That’s just way too much and it stops being funny after about two. At least Norman won though as his moderate push continues.

Clip of Raven leaving last week.

Booker T. vs. Fit Finlay

Finlay doesn’t feel like waiting and blasts Booker during the posing on the buckles. He hammers away and they head outside where Booker nails a quick kick to the face and whips Finlay into the barricade. Oddly enough there’s no talk of Finlay’s match last night. It’s almost like it meant absolutely nothing at all and even Finlay’s mom wouldn’t have wanted to watch it. Back in and Finlay grabs a quick slam for two and we hit the chinlock.

Booker fights up with some elbows and a clothesline before nailing the side kick. Some knees to the ribs have almost no effect on Finlay as he comes back with a jawbreaker and European uppercuts. Booker is sent into the corner but comes back with the spinning sunset flip for two. Finlay nails an atomic drop and sends Booker outside, only to have Booker come back with another sidekick and the missile dropkick for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but Finlay has really fallen back to earth after his nearly worthless TV Title reign over the summer. It’s the best match of the night so far though, which is likely due to who was in the ring. I still can’t get my head around the fact that Booker didn’t make Starrcade but Finlay did. Finlay is definitely talented enough but it didn’t make any sense.

Here’s Flair with some luggage for the first important moment of the show. He says he doesn’t deserve this kind of a welcome because Bischoff beat him last night. Last night he went back to the hotel, called Arn, got drunk, then called his wife because it was over. He got on the plane and the flight attendant asked him what he wanted. Well Flair wanted to go to Baltimore so he’s right here tonight.

Now Flair wants Bischoff to hear him out for the very last time. Flair rips off his jacket and shirt, takes out another suit from the luggage and throws it down. There’s a third suit with ties to match but Flair is ranting about living the life of a king because the people have allowed him to. Now he unbuckles his belt, saying it cost him $2,000. There’s a $30,000 Rolex to match and now he’s ripping up $100 bills.

A shoe is launched into the crowd and there go Flair’s pants. He struts around in boxers and drops a knee on the mat before screaming that he isn’t leaving until he and Bischoff get something straight. Flair offers his house, cars and every dime he has to Bischoff if Eric will fight him one more time tonight. One more condition though: if Flair wins, he’s in charge for ninety days. Why wasn’t THIS the match for Starrcade?

Flair’s first act if he wins: detatch Eric’s head from Hogan’s censored. Ric goes on another rant about WCW vs. the NWO before going to his last piece of luggage. This time it’s handcuffs and he attaches himself to the ropes. We go to a break with Flair still yelling for Bischoff. If the camera goes off, he’ll be missing his clothes when it comes back.

Back with the boxers still on and Flair saying WOO. He goes off on Bischoff again and now Eric is on his way. Eric laughs at the handcuffed Flair who can’t reach him at all. Bischoff talks about all the things he’s done to Flair recently and takes the money from the mat. He says Flair is going to die of a heart attack. Flair: “When I die of a heart attack, it’ll be on your girlfriend pal!” The challenge is accepted for later tonight.

Nitro Girls calendar.

Nitro Girls.

Barry Windham vs. Prince Iaukea

Windham goes right after him to start but gets caught by a dropkick and some lame right hands. That’s fine with Barry as he pops Iaukea in the jaw and suplexes him down for two. Back up and Windham no sells some more right hands and hits his old jumping DDT. Instead of covering though it’s a belly to back suplex on Iaukea before Barry throws him outside to continue the beating. Back in and Iaukea’s comeback goes nowhere, setting up Windham’s bulldog for the pin.

Rating: D. Total squash here with Barry never even breaking a sweat. Iaukea has done almost nothing in a year and is really just filling in a spot on the card. Yeah he’s a former TV Champion, but he’s still one of the least interesting people I’ve ever seen on a wrestling show. Barry didn’t look great but it could have been worse.

A security guard talks about the stun gun Hall used last night being very powerful.

Souled Out ad.

DDP comes out and brags about beating Giant last night. He talks about the two main matches from Starrcade and that’s really about it. He’d love to work for Flair.

Konnan is arguing with Disco Inferno when Nash and Luger come in. After yelling at Disco even more, Nash offers Disco a deal: if he can beat Nash’s handpicked opponent tonight, Disco is on the team. Nash says he has to go and make things right.

Eddie Guerrero/Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman/Rey Mysterio Jr.

This should be good as it’s fallout from the two Cruiserweight Title matches last night. Guerrero, Guerrera and Mysterio are in the LWO but Rey doesn’t want to be. Mysterio comes out with his LWO shirt folded in his hand. Kidman is Cruiserweight Champion. Eddie throws Juvy into the corner just after the bell but Guerrera backs away without fighting back. Rey and Eddie get things going with Eddie running him over and then suplexing Rey to the mat.

Back up and a Japanese armdrag sends Eddie running into the corner to cower in front of the referee. Guerrero brings Guerrera into the ring with a slap to the face but Juvy backs away from Kidman. The backing off doesn’t seem necessary as he clotheslines Kidman down but Eddie doesn’t feel like coming back in. Kidman avoids a charge in the corner though and suplexes Juvy down before tagging Rey back in. There’s the Bronco Buster in the corner as Eddie is lounging in his team’s corner without looking concerned.

Juvy crawls over and tags Eddie in with Guerrero going nuts to take over. Everything breaks down with Eddie and Juvy taking over, only to have Rey nail a springboard dropkick to knock Juvy into Eddie, sending both of them to the floor. Rey and Kidman hit stereo flip dives to take everyone out. We take a break and come back with Juvy holding Kidman in a chinlock but getting caught in a bulldog out of the corner.

Back to Rey vs. Eddie with the masked man taking over but going after Guerrera instead of the legal man, allowing Eddie to get in a cheap shot to take over. Everything breaks down for a few seconds and Guerrera grabs a powerbomb to put Mysterio down to get control. The match settles down again and it’s Eddie chopping away in the corner. Something like the Eye of the Storm into a neckbreaker gets two on Rey with Kidman having to make the save.

In an awesome double team move, Eddie loads up Rey in a powerbomb and Juvy adds a springboard legdrop to drive Rey down even harder. Somehow Rey is right back up though and whips Guerrero into Guerrera’s boot, only to have Juvy break up a tag attempt. Eddie is already back up and hammers on Rey, but the LWO heels collide and Kidman comes in off the hot tag.

The champion cleans house and holds up Eddie for a powerbomb as Rey adds a springboard seated senton to drive Eddie down even harder than Mysterio was driven down earlier. Juvy makes another save and everything breaks down. Eddie’s powerbomb attempt to Kidman goes badly (of course) but Guerrero is up at two. The BK Bomb puts Guerrero down again and a facebuster does the same to Juvy. Eddie throws Rey to the floor for a big dive from Juvy, allowing Guerrero to nail the Frog Splash for the pin on Kidman.

Rating: B. This is one of those matches that you couldn’t screw up. You took four guys and let them fly around the ring for fifteen minutes while having a story involved as well. What else was going to happen but some awesome work? Those double team powerbomb spots were really cool looking with the powerbomb Eddie took being a big highlight.

That would be about it for the LWO though as Eddie Guerrero would be involved in a car wreck on New Year’s Day, putting him out of action for several months. There would be some closure to the team and we’ll get to that in a few weeks.

Here’s the Wolfpack for Nash’s victory speech. He doesn’t seem too happy though as he’s seen the way the match ended. Nash was there last night for money, power and respect, but apparently money is the root of all evil. He suddenly veers off course to say Disco is facing Bam Bam Bigelow tonight and if Disco wins, he’s in the Wolfpack. Back to Hall, who Nash thinks was doing him a favor. Nash respects Goldberg so much that he’s willing to put the title on the line again next week in Atlanta. The new champion points out that the belt still has Goldberg’s name on it, just like it will going into their match next week. There’s the setup.

Disco Inferno vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Bigelow hammers away to start and throws Disco into the corner with ease. Another whip into the corner is followed by a splash and a big slam but Disco avoids the top rope headbutt. The swinging neckbreaker puts Bigelow down and Disco actually nails the Chartbuster for two. Bigelow pops back up and hits Greetings From Asbury Park (over the shoulder reverse piledriver) for the pin in less than three minutes.

Nitro Girls.

Bischoff is warming up with Curt Hennig.

Flair’s physician says, in a lot of medical terms, that Ric didn’t have a heart attack, but did have toxins in his body, meaning he may have been poisoned. This sounds like backtracking to me, though it does explain a few things. If nothing else it makes WCW look a lot less negligent about the health of its wrestlers.

Bischoff calls the doctor a quack. It sounds like he’s nervous that someone would suggest poison.

TV Title: Konnan vs. Scott Steiner

Konnan is defending. Bagwell runs his mouth before the match but Konnan uses the distraction to lay out the NWO Referee. WCW referee Scott Dickinson comes out to referee instead but Konnan has to save him from a Steiner attack before the bell. A quick clothesline sends Steiner rolling to the floor but Buff gives him a pep talk. Back in and Konnan gets planted with a release tiger bomb before Steiner takes it outside. That goes nowhere so Scott throws him inside again and hammers away. Scott stays on him and spits on the Wolfpack t-shirt for good measure.

Konnan is put in the Tree of Woe so Scott can work on the leg a bit before Buff gets in some choking of his own. A belly to belly suplex sets up the push-ups from Steiner but Konnan counters a powerslam into a reverse DDT. The champion hammers away and hits the X-Factor before putting on the Tequila Sunrise. Bagwell tries to make the save but Luger runs out to stop him. The distraction breaks the hold though and Steiner is back up. Luger knocks Bagwell into the ropes and causes Konnan to fall to the floor, allowing Steiner to put on the Recliner for the title.

Rating: D. So why in the world wasn’t this match on Starrcade? I’m glad Jericho got on the show, but you would think this would be a better option for the biggest show of the year. Granted it’s not like it matters as it’s just more trading wins between the NWO, which really gets annoying after awhile. That awhile was roughly four months ago.

The announcers think Luger is up to something with Steiner.

Nitro Girls.

No Thunder this week due to New Year’s Eve.

Brian Adams vs. Scott Hall

Before the match, Scott agrees with Kevin. There are three things that are important in life: money, money and money. He handed Nash the title and then Nash didn’t even invite him to the victory party? Hall isn’t the man Nash used to know, but Nash isn’t the man Hall used to know. The fans chant for Goldberg before we get going.

Adams decks Hall to start and hits a nice backbreaker for two. Hall comes back with right hands but ducks his head and gets caught in what was supposed to be a piledriver but came out more like a pancake. Instead of covering though, Adams messes with his hair and puts on a bearhug. A belly to belly puts Scott again but there’s still no cover. Brian finally hits a big boot for two and we hit the nerve hold. The fans think this is boring so Adams just lets the hold go. Hall makes a comeback but can’t get him up for the Edge. Instead Brian press slams him, only to pose on the corner. Scott grabs the Edge for the fast pin.

Rating: D-. Nothing here again but at least Hall got a pin instead of being treated like the loser he’s been for so long now. He’s still stuck in the middle of this never ending story with Nash and the NWO but that’s the case for almost every big name in WCW. It’s nice to see Adams lose like the jobber to the stars he should be.

Ric Flair vs. Eric Bischoff

Flair being in power for 90 days vs. all of Flair’s possessions. There’s no Bischoff though as we see him in the back saying no way. Eric comes into the arena to get to an exit but the Horsemen are waiting in his limo to carry him to the arena. Nice move. The bell rings and Flair hits Bischoff low before chopping away in the corner. There’s another low blow and some choking as the referee counts especially slow. Not that it matters as Flair throws Charles Robinson down anyway.

The NWO tries to run in but the Horsemen are waiting for them in the aisle. Flair drops some elbows as the Horsemen cut off another group of NWO guys. The Giant finally comes out as the Horsemen are busy fighting and a big headbutt drops Flair. Anderson, Booker T., Konnan and Page come out as a JACKED Randy Savage and a good looking blonde come out in Black and White gear. It’s a swerve of course as Savage hits Giant low and clotheslines him to the floor. Flair suplexes Bischoff down and slaps on the Figure Four to become the boss for three months.

Rating: N/A. This wasn’t a match but the angle worked very well. This felt like a big moment and a game changer for WCW. That being said, the question should be obvious: why in the world did Bischoff need to get the win at Starrcade? Either have this match last night or have it be a no contest of some sort. This moment taking place is fine, but how many people remember this compared to Bischoff getting the win at Starrcade? This felt like running back to fix an error and it worked to a degree. However, a lot of the damage was already done due to the fans feeling like they had been punched in the stomach the night before.

Tony, Dusty and Larry come to the ring to celebrate as Tenay plays this up as a huge moment. Flair puts on another Figure Four to end the show. Heenan: “I CAN HIT HIM UP FOR A RAISE!”

Overall Rating: C+. This was a hard one to grade because of the first hour. It took me out of the show after wanting to see where things were going after Starrcade last night. The show wasn’t terrible and the ending was especially good, but opening with Ernest Miller followed by Norman Smiley and then Fit Finlay just wasn’t the right way to go here and it really hurt the opening part of the show.

On the other hand there’s a lot of good stuff here too. Savage coming back was a great surprise and Flair winning control of the company was a change they needed to make. Bischoff being in charge just wasn’t going to work and it’s nice to see WCW FINALLY getting something to work right. The cruiserweight tag match was good too. This would have been an awesome two hour show if they had switched the order of some stuff, but as a three hour show it’s just slightly better than ok.

That’s the end of Nitro in 1998 and overall it was more bad than good. The show started off well enough but at the end of the day three hours a week is just too much. There are too many matches on these shows that don’t need to be seen and it keeps the good stuff from shining. There are some solid moments in there though with Flair returning and Goldberg winning the title being high points of the year. Nitro would start going downhill in the future, but there were enough good moments in 1998 to give it a shot.

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Starrcade 1998
Date: December 27, 1998
Location: MCI Center, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 16,066
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan

It’s the biggest show of the year and I don’t know how many people know about it. I don’t remember the same show feeling so different just a year later. Last year Starrcade felt like an event rather than just a wrestling show. This year it feels like it could be a Clash of the Champions TV special instead of the biggest show of the year. I have a very bad feeling about what could be coming here, especially now that I have a fresh memory of how the buildup went. Let’s get to it.

 

The opening video is all about Goldberg vs. Nash, even though it’s arguably not even the main event.

Tony and company tell us that the Horsemen have been banned from the building tonight as per Eric Bischoff’s orders. They talk about the rest of the card for a bit to kill some time.

First up tonight: a commercial for a QVC special later in the week.

Call the Hotline!

Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Kidman is defending and has been trying to defend the title against Mysterio for weeks, only to have the LWO interfere. Juventud is there as the former champion wanting a rematch and LWO leader Eddie Guerrero’s hand picked challenger. Rey stomps on his LWO shirt on the way to the ring. Juvy gets double teamed to start, much to the fans’ delight. He tries to fight back against Kidman but gets caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Mysterio. Kidman whips Rey into the Bronco Buster, even though Juvy was a foot in front of the buckle and had the back of his head driven hard into the corner.

The good guys start slugging it out before nailing Juvy at the same time, only to go at it again. Juvy misses a top rope cross body, allowing Kidman to slam Rey onto Juvy’s chest for two. Guerrera comes back with Mysterio’s sitout bulldog to both guys at the same time before telling the cameraman he’s got it. Mysterio can’t hook a German suplex on Juvy but Kidman clotheslines Guerrera down for two instead.

Kidman is sent to the floor and Juvy backdrops Rey on top of the champion, setting up a big dive to take out both guys. The fans didn’t seem interested for some reason. Back in and Juvy dives again, only to get double dropkicked out of the air. Heenan talks about Bill being here tonight. Tenay: “Clinton?” Heenan: “No Bill Schwartz, an old friend of mine from Cincinnati.” West Coast Pop gets two on Juvy but Kidman comes back with a headlock takeover out of the corner on Juvy with a dropkick to Rey at the same time.

Mysterio is still down as Kidman dives into Juvy’s boots to the face, allowing Rey to pop up and get two on the champion off a slingshot moonsault. Juvy is stood on the apron, allowing Rey to hit a hurricanrana off the top to put both guys down on the floor. Back in and Kidman gets two on Juvy with a layout powerbomb. Juvy hooks an over the shoulder backbreaker for the same on Mysterio before he seds Juvy and Kidman out to the floor. Rey hits a HUGE top rope Asai Moonsault to take both guys down but he can barely follow up.

Juvy gets taken down by a springboard hurricanrana from the masked man but walks into a bad looking Juvy Driver for two. Kidman makes a diving save before planing Juvy with the BK Bomb for two. Mysterio is the only one on his feet but he takes Juvy to the floor with another hurricanrana. Kidman has to keep up with the others, hitting a great looking Shooting Star to the floor, taking out both guys in the process. Eddie Guerrero comes out to the ring and pushes Juvy forward to counter a sunset flip. Rey comes in and dropkicks Juvy back into the sunset flip, giving Kidman the pin to retain the title.

Rating: B. Awesome opener here as all three guys were going nuts out there. That Shooting Star looked great and the other two were their usual awesome selves. Eddie getting involved makes me think a fourway would have been a better option, but there’s nothing wrong with three guys flying all over the place and firing up the crowd to open up a show.

Post match Eddie yells at Rey and Juvy, saying they’re not LWO material if they can’t beat a creampuff like Kidman. Eddie shoves Juvy down and keeps ripping into Kidman. The champion comes out and offers Eddie a title shot RIGHT NOW. Eddie says let him go get his gear on but Kidman doesn’t want to wait. The match is on, making me wonder what was going to get this spot originally.

Cruiserweight Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Billy Kidman

Eddie, in street clothes, decks Kidman to get things going and hammers away. A powerbomb gets two on the champion and we hit the abdominal stretch with Juvy helping from the floor. Mysterio breaks that up twice in a row, drawing Eddie to the floor for a jawing session with Rey. Kidman comes back with a slingshot ankle scissors for two before dropkicking Guerrero down.

Eddie nails a chopblock to take over again and puts on a modified leg lock while pulling on Kidman’s arm at the same time. Kidman makes a rope and Rey tries to give him a pep talk. It works well enough as Eddie is sent into the barricade to give the champion a breather. Back in and Kidman hits a quick bulldog before hammering away in the corner. Kidman is on instinct and fumes here, allowing Eddie to counter a weak sleeper with a jawbreaker.

The referee goes to talk to Rey for some reason, allowing Eddie to take off his boot and blast Kidman in the head for a delayed two. The brainbuster looks to set up the Frog Splash but Kidman pops back up with a superplex. Guerrero is up first and dropkicks the knee out again, setting up a leg lock which doesn’t put much torque on the knee. Mysterio and Juvy get in a fight on the floor over Eddie’s shoe and the distraction makes Billy break the hold.

Kidman fights out of a powerbomb and stomps Eddie as hard as he can. A slingshot legdrop gets two but Eddie counters a top rope hurricanrana. Now it’s Eddie putting Kidman on top, only to get shoved down. Eddie’s bodyguard distract the referee, allowing Juvy to crotch Kidman down. Rey does the same to Eddie though, setting up the Shooting Star to retain the title.

Rating: B. Another awesome match here with the story coming through much stronger than in the opening match. Kidman fighting out of desperation was an awesome story with Eddie not being able to back up his months of talk making it even better. All four guys looked good in their matches, but it’s eaten up a lot of time.

Nash vs. Goldberg video. This brings us to one of the biggest problems of the evening: time. We’re at forty minutes into the show, leaving us with about two hours to go and only three announced matches left. Keep that in mind as this show is about to start its downward spiral.

Norman Smiley vs. Prince Iaukea

Yes on Starrcade, in a rematch of something we just saw on Nitro twice this month already. Norman was getting a push around this time but that doesn’t mean you give him a match against the same guy he’s beaten twice in less than three weeks on PPV. Iaukea takes over to start and sends Norman to the floor for a dive off the apon. The announcers ignore most of the match to talk about Flair vs. Bischoff, making this match seem all the more pointless.

Back in and Norman takes control with his amateur stuff and works on something resembling a Kimura. Off to a short arm scissors as Tony talks about Flair’s promos (his word) and the recent heart attack. Smiley drops him ribs first over the top rope but stops for the Big Wiggle. There’s the swinging slam for two before he dances too long, allowing Prince to get a sunset flip for two.

The fans think this is boring so Norman double stomps Iaukea and puts on a seated abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere so Norman dances on the mat a bit. A delayed butterfly suplex gets two on Iaukea and it’s back to the arm. More dancing follows and Prince suplexes the distracted Smiley down for two. Norman puts on a series of freaky looking arm holds before hitting another double stomp.

Prince comes back with what might have been a low blow but Norman rakes the eyes. More dancing ensues and Prince springboards in with a cross body, only to have Smiley roll through for two. Neither guy can get a backslide so Norman slips behind him and puts on the chicken wing, now dubbed Norman’s Conquest, for the submission.

Rating: D-. Smiley was his usual fun self but this belongs on Thunder or Saturday Night. It got nearly TWELVE MINUTES, or more than Eddie’s match got. Norman is a rising star but what good does it do him to have a boring match that he’s won twice already this month? Somehow, this isn’t the oddest choice of a match so far.

Here’s Hall with something to say. I’ve heard he was scheduled to face Bigelow on this show. That makes sense given what happened recently on Nitro, but I never heard it announced on television. Unless it was announced on Saturday Night, that might have been a rumor or dirtsheet announcement. Either way, Hall comes out with an Outsiders shirt on and the fans seem very pleased with the idea.

Scott talks about how 1998 has been a bad year for him in and out of the ring. Tonight his old buddy Kevin Nash has a shot at the biggest title in wrestling. The two of them used to ride the roads together and talk about what that would mean. A little while back, Nash told him to prove himself to Big Kev. Hall doesn’t think he should have to do that, but he does have to prove something to himself. 1999 is going to be his year.

Video on Bam Bam Bigelow, who isn’t wrestling tonight either. This transitions into a video on the threeway betweeo Bigelow, Nash and Goldberg. We’re over an hour into this show now and this is the third video on the main event.

Perry Saturn vs. The Cat

This one isn’t so much strange as they’ve been feuding for awhile now, but who in the world wants to see this match? Miller of course has to give his usual speech and Saturn of course jumps him. Cat runs to the floor for some stalling before teasint walking to the back. He tries to slide back in to go after Saturn but falls at Saturn’s feet instead. Now the beating is on but Miller bails to the floor to stall again. Back in and Cat sweeps the leg and chokes a bit as the fans are dying in a hurry.

Saturn can’t hook the Rings so he wrestles Miller down to the mat. That also goes nowhere so Miller kicks him in the face and walks around a lot. Saturn comes back with a pair of suplexes for two and a swinging neckbreaker for the same. A top rope ax handle misses and Saturn gets kicked in the face for no cover. Back up and Miller kicks him again but asks Sonny Onoo to come in. Sonny kicks Miller by mistake, allowing Saturn to hit the Death Valley Driver for the pin.

Rating: D-. I’ve watched a lot of wrestling in my day but I will never understand some things about WCW. For one, why in the world did Sonny Onoo keep a job for so long? Miller could at least talk and got decent later on, but why is he getting this spot on this show? At least Saturn won, finally.

Gene brings out Flair to talk because we haven’t wasted enough time yet. Flair says he’s going to beat up Bischoff and lists off what he’s going to do to every body part.

This sets up a LONG video on Bischoff’s history in WCW since the NWO arrived, his abuses of power and his feud with Flair. Again, we’ve already paid for the show so why do we need to get fired up for the matches? This eats up over three minutes and I believe is the exact same video we saw on Nitro.

Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell come in and threaten Konnan but Lex Luger makes the save. Luger vs. Steiner was another rumored match for this show like Hall vs. Bigelow.

And now, perhaps the most random wrestling match in the history of pay per view.

Brian Adams/Scott Norton vs. Jerry Flynn/Fit Finlay

During the video, Tony has been given word that the main event will be No DQ. Adams throws Finlay around to start but Fit nails him in the ribs. Off to Norton who snaps off a powerslam on Finlay and a double clothesline to both opponents. Flynn kicks him in the chin and it’s back to Adams to slow things down. Adams kicks him down and stomps away but gets kicked right back, allowing Finlay to come back in and hammer on Brian.

Adams pops back up with a piledriver as the fans are just SILENT. Norton comes back in and cranks on the neck before hitting a splash in the corner. The NWO takes turns on Finlay with the only interesting move being a gorilla press gutbuster from Adams. Fit makes the ice cold tag to Flynn and everything breaks down. Flynn is distracted by Vincent, allowing Norton to powerbomb him in half for the pin.

Rating: S. For Starrcade, not Saturday Night. Get your shows right for your nine minute squashes.

Here’s Bischoff for ANOTHER FREAKING INTERVIEW. Eric says hi to the Clintons and imitates a Bill Clinton speech by saying how profoundly sorry he is for the pain he’s caused the Flair family. He feels sorry for Flair’s heart attack but the reality is Ric has to fight tonight because he can’t save a dime. Flair paid for all those jets and limos but Bischoff got his boss to pay for his limos and jets.

TV Title: Konnan vs. Chris Jericho

Konnan took the title from Jericho in November but Jericho stole the belt itself on Monday. Jericho gets in a few decent jokes about Konnan not keeping his pants up. He also calls himself the man’s regret, every woman’s pet, the man with the voice and the Jericholics’ choice. We’re treated to part of Konnan’s rap video before we’re ready to go.

Feeling out process to start with a shoulder putting the champion down. Konnan comes right back with a seated dropkick but walks into a regular dropkick from Jericho. Chris goes up top but Konnan grabs his own crotch for a distraction. They head outside with Jericho sending Konnan into the barricade to take over. Back in and Chris poses a lot before getting two off a suplex and the Arrogant Cover.

We hit the chinlock on the champion for a bit before Jericho goes up top and dives into the boot. The rolling lariat and a jackknife cover get two on Jericho before Konnan throws him out to the floor. Jericho is sent ribs first into the steps for two but Jericho counters the X Factor into a Liontamer attempt. The referee gets bumped and Jericho hits Konnan with the belt for two. That goes nowhere so Konnan hooks the Tequila Sunrise for the submission to retain.

Rating: D. This felt like they were painting by numbers, going through the motions or whatever other term you prefer for a match that was as basic as you could ask for. Konnan was all talk at this point and the matches just weren’t backing it up at all. Jericho knew he was leaving in 1999 at this point and really didn’t care at all.

Giant is ready for Page tonight and threatens Lee Marshall with violence.

Ric Flair vs. Eric Bischoff

Bischoff immediately heads to the floor but Flair gets his hands on him against the barricade. The beating is on quickly and they head inside for some choking in the corner. There’s the knee drop to the head and a right hand, which Flair says is for his wife. Ric goes after the knee in the corner but Bischoff gets in a kick to the head that knocks Flair all the way to the floor. He sends Flair into the barricade as Tony gets in the semi-infamous line about how anyone that follows tournament karate knows that Bischoff is a force in that sport.

Flair is busted open as Eric hammers away in the corner. Ric Hulks Up but another kick to the head puts him right back down. It’s nothing that a low blow won’t stop though as Flair takes over. Two more low blows put Eric in the corner and Ric chops away before shoving the referee down. Shattered Dreams has Bischoff screaming and a pair of suplexes make it even worse. The Figure Four goes on but here’s Curt Hennig to nail Flair with an object, giving Bischoff the pin, thereby killing the audience deader than dead. I mean they go SILENT.

Rating: F. For failure. That’s what this match was: a complete failure. This match went against the basic idea of wrestling: the villain runs his mouth and then gets beaten down by the hero at the end of the day. How does this help anyone other than Eric Bischoff? It ticks the fans off, doesn’t make the villain look right, and makes Flair look stupid. That’s fine once in awhile, but it’s the problem for WCW: the hero almost never got his day. It was always a screwjob of some form and the hero was supposed to fight another day. Eventually the fans got tired of waiting though and these moments stopped meaning anything.

As for the match itself, there’s really no logic to it either. Bischoff had WAY too much offense here as a single kick was enough to knock Flair all the way out to the floor. Last year Larry Zbyszko was staggered by some of his kicks but didn’t go out to the floor as a result. The heart attack angle was mentioned in passing by Tony and nothing more, making that almost entirely pointless. But hey, people think Eric Bischoff is a tough guy so everybody is happy right?

We recap Giant vs. Diamond Dallas Page, which is really just an offshoot of Page vs. Hart. Page of course has bad ribs coming in, due to a chokeslam off the stage a few weeks back.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Giant

They spit at each other to start before Page drives in some shoulders. An early Diamond Cutter attempt goes nowhere but Page does clothesline him out to the floor. The offense is short lived though as Giant clotheslines DDP down with ease. A headbutt puts Page into the crowd but he finds a trashcan to blast Giant in the head. Again the advantage is short lived though as Giant whips him into the steps and then the post.

Giant throws him back inside and Page bangs his knee up on the landing. The big man lays on the leg to slow things down as the fans just do not care after the result of the previous match. Page rakes the eyes to escape but gets crushed in the corner to stop his comeback cold. We hit the bearhug as this match is dying right in front of my eyes. Giant plants him with a powerslam but pulls Page up twice in a row. Back to the bearhug for a bit before Giant picks him up for a double choke backbreaker.

Giant still won’t cover though and gets caught in a running DDT to put both guys down. The referee gets bumped as well, drawing out Bret Hart who hits Giant with a chair by mistake. That’s only good for two as Giant easily kicks out. Page scores with a pair of top rope clotheslines, only to dive into a choke. Giant takes him to the corner for the super chokeslam, but Page dives at him into a swinging Diamond Cutter for the pin out of nowhere. Page’s shocked look when he hit it is great.

Rating: C-. The match was boring but the ending helped it a lot. That jumping Diamond Cutter is one of my favorite endings ever in WCW and it still holds up really well. I’m not sure why this wasn’t Page vs. Bret for the title, but to be fair we had seen that match several times before so it was kind of nice to see something new.

Yet another Goldberg vs. Nash video.

WCW World Title: Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash

Goldberg is defending and it’s No DQ. Nash won the shot by winning World War 3. They’re treating this like it’s a big showdown ala Hogan vs. Warrior in 1990 but it just doesn’t work with these guys. They pose at each other to start with the fans pretty split. A lockup takes both guys into the corner and the referee splits them up. They circle each other some more until Goldberg ducks a right hand and suplexes Nash, sending him out to the floor.

Back in and Nash takes him into the corner for all of his usual stuff but Goldberg just shoves him down. The champion chokes away but Nash tries a freaking cross armbreaker of all things. Goldberg laughs his way out of that and tries his ankle hold, sending Nash to the ropes for another reset. Goldberg knocks Nash to the mat with right hands but gets pulled face first into the middle buckle.

The spear connects out of nowhere but Goldberg can’t pick him up for the Jackhammer. The delay allows Nash to hit him low and both guys are down again. A bad looking side slam gets two for Nash and he hammers in forearms to the back. The swinging neckbreaker puts Nash down again and there’s the superkick for good measure. Goldberg muscles him up into a powerslam for two but here’s Disco Inferno to distract the champion. That goes as well as you would expect so here’s Bigelow to get beaten down as well. Scott Hall of course sneaks in with a tazer to Goldberg’s chest, setting up the Jackknife to give Nash the title.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t the worst thing in the world but it feels like such an anti-climactic way to end the Streak. After all that, it’s an ending that doesn’t make a ton of sense and almost makes Nash look like a heel, even though the fans popped for the ending. I’d assume it’s because it’s a big moment but they still liked Nash no matter what. It felt like a pro-Nash pop rather than an anti-Goldberg one as the fans weren’t booing Goldberg throughout the rest of the match.

Nash isn’t sure what happened. He didn’t see Hall do what he did and Hall was out of there immediately after.

Overall Rating: D-. Where do I even start? While last year’s show was decent with a bad ending, this one was just bad for the last two hours. This show ranged from bad to downright stupid at times, with some of the most random matches I can ever remember seeing on a major pay per view. Consider the following list of people who either didn’t wrestle or appear on the show.

Bret Hart, Scott Steiner, Booker T., Scott Hall, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Lex Luger, Wrath, Bam Bam Bigelow, Kanyon, Raven, Buff Bagwell

All of those guys have gotten significant television time in the weeks leading up to the show, but none of them could get on the card. Instead we had guys like Jerry Flynn, Scott Norton and Prince Iaukea wrestling instead. The opening two matches are good, but there’s really no reason for one midcard story to eat up forty minutes of an under three hour card. That leaves you two hours for six matches, but then they wasted even more time on the constant videos and interviews.

That’s all before the booking of the show. I can understand the Nash move as the streak had to end somewhere. I don’t care for it for the most part, but there could have been far worse ideas for them to go with. Nash winning the title isn’t a stretch as he’s been one of the biggest starts in the company since the day he debuted. Yeah he booked himself to be champion, but at the end of the day it’s not like Glacier just broke Goldberg’s streak.

Then there’s the white elephant in the room. I really don’t know how you can argue that Bischoff should have gone over Flair no matter how you look at it. That should have been the biggest layup of the year but instead it’s the exact opposite of what it should have been. Yeah things would change in the near future, but the idea of getting the win later doesn’t matter. It should have been at Starrcade with the two having been built up for months. Instead it made Bischoff look good with Flair coming off like a raging lunatic that can’t get the easiest win in the world anymore.

Overall the show was only a step above a disaster. The worst part is that it wasn’t even all that bad, but it was painfully dull. Most of these matches just don’t line up with the stories they’ve been showing on television and it feels like we’re supposed to get to the big show later on. It’s not even that the show is bad, but it just doesn’t work at all, save for two pretty meaningless matches to open the show.

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Monday Nitro #168
Date: December 21, 1998
Location: TWA Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 29,000
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone

It’s the go home show for Starrcade and the top part of the card is set. Unfortunately even after Thunder, I’m pretty sure only four matches have been announced. The main idea for tonight will probably be just tying up loose ends before we get to Sunday, meaning there isn’t likely to be much of note tonight. Let’s get to it.

 

We open with a LONG recap of the NWO forming and Bischoff joining them a few months later. This sets up Flair vs. Bischoff at Starrcade.

The announcers do their thing.

Fit Finlay vs. Scott Putski

Feeling out process to start with neither guy really wanting to do anything. Finlay takes him down to the mat and cranks on a headlock with Larry pointing out how the forearm is right in Putski’s jaw. A hard back elbow is enough to put Putski down again and Finlay cranks on an early chinlock.

The announcers talk about how Flair has Bischoff running scared. The heart attack isn’t mentioned at all, making me think it’s going to be completely wasted and forgotten about in just a few weeks. To be fair that’s probably not the worst thing in the world. Finlay shifts over to a leg lock and we take a break. In this match? Seriously?

Back with Putski fighting back with some forearms but being taken down again with a knee to the ribs. We hit the headlock again as this match has already been going far longer than I would have expected it to. If nothing else the announcers get to ignore the match even longer than they would have in normal circumstances.

Putski fights up again and starts his real comeback. He nails a nice middle rope dropkick and a running clothesline as the announcers actually pay attention here for a few moments. This match has to be ending soon as it’s been going for over ten minutes already. I can’t remember the last time a main event got that long. As I say that, Putski misses the Polish Hammer and walks into the tombstone to give Finlay the pin.

Rating: D. We’re coming up on the biggest show of the yere, there are four matches announced for the show, and the first commercial break is during what is probably the longest match Scott Putski ever had on TV. Who in the world thought this was something we needed to see?

Recap of Flair vs. Bischoff.

Here’s Ernest Miller to run his mouth about the same stuff he always runs his mouth about, but Santa Claus is in the aisle with presents.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Kaz Hayashi

Kaz jumps Chavo at the bell but Chavo easily sends him into the corner and stomps away to take over. Some forearms in the corner sets up an armbar from Guerrero. Hayashi fights back with a quick dropkick but misses a charge into the corner and gets taken down by the tornado DDT for a fast pin.

Video on Goldberg vs. Nash vs. Bigelow from last week.

Nash comes out for the hard sell on Sunday, which isn’t something he’s all that great at but hey, he’s booking the company so it must be the right move. He talks about being World Champion for a year and defending the title 197 times in that span. While Goldberg is out doing movies and TV Guide, Nash has been getting ready. On Sunday, he’ll become the man by beating the man (yes he acknowledges it’s a Flair line).

Kanyon tells Gene that Raven has been in therapy for years. Raven thinks his mom was here last week to get fifteen minutes of fame like Judy Bagwell and hits Kanyon for making fun of him. This brings in Raven’s mom who finally convinces Scotty (Raven) to come home and get some help.

Here’s Bischoff to run his mouth. He says his usual stuff about Ric and Flair’s family, but we cut to the back to see the Horsemen beating down Scott Norton with a pipe. Flair heads to the ring and Bischoff takes off. Ric says he’ll kill Bischoff if he gets his hands on him tonight. The fans were WAY into this.

Video on Page vs. Giant.

Wrath vs. Lizmark Jr.

Wrath shoves the luchador down to start and easily shoves him into the corner for some knees to the ribs. Lizmark’s dropkick has no effect as he gets caught in a side slam for two. A back elbow puts him on the floor and Wrath follows him out to continue the beating. We hit a chinlock for a few seconds before Wrath misses a charge into the corner. Not that it matters as he comes back with a Rock Bottom and the Meltdown for the pin.

Christmas Nitro Girls.

Nitro Party.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero

Eddie rants a bit more about Rey screwing with the rest of the LWO. They start fast with Rey monkey flipping Eddie into the ropes and dropkicking him out to the floor. Rey tries a dive but flies into the barricade to give Eddie control. Eddie whips him hard into the steps before taking it back inside to yell at the fans. We hit the Gory Stretch as Tenay tries to figure out why Eddie keeps Rey in the LWO.

A neckbreaker drops Rey again and Eddie puts on a modified Sharpshooter while also pulling on Rey’s arm. Rey reverses a suplex to take Eddie out to the floor but Eddie comes back with a top rope hurricanrana. The crowd is almost dead here for some reason. We hit a camel clutch with Eddie ripping a hole in Rey’s mask around the eye. The referee makes him break so Eddie nails a great looking release German suplex.

Rey comes back with a springboard headscissors to send Eddie to the floor but a shot to the bad knee puts him right back down. Eddie wisely goes to the knee and cranks on it with a basic hold. We hit an STF from Eddie before taking a break. Back with Rey reversing an inverted Gory Special into a cradle for two but Eddie reverses into one of his own for the same.

The brainbuster looks to set up the Frog Splash but Eddie has to roll through when Rey gets to his feet. Mysterio avoids a charge in the corner to make Eddie crotch himself against the steel. A big dive sends Eddie into the barricade but he’s able to sidestep a springboard missile dropkick back inside. They slug it out in the corner with Rey taking over off a double leg Fameasser. A top rope hurricanrana sends Eddie to the apron and a baseball slide into an ankle scissors drags him to the floor.

The announcers are actually talking about the Cruiserweight Title match on Sunday if you can believe that. Back in and Eddie takes over with a flapjack and a stiff powerbomb for two. A second attempt is countered and another headscissors gets two on Guerrero. The referee is knocked to the floor and here’s the bodyguard to the apron. Rey avoids a dropkick to send the guard to the floor as well but here’s Kidman on the apron. He loads up a forearm on Eddie but hits Mysterio by mistake, giving Guerrero the pin.

Rating: B. This is one of those pairings that is going to work no matter what they’re doing together. It even worked here here where they slowed things down a bit due to Eddie wanting to hurt Rey for all the problems Mysterio has caused and Mysterio having to fight back with whatever leverage move he can. On top of that we get some build for Sunday. Good stuff here.

Here’s Scott Steiner to brag about being in the state of St. Louis, Missouri. He’s here to recruit Mark McGwire to the NWO and brings out….Bagwell dressed as McGwire. I think you can figure out this one for yourselves. Bagwell says he loves the NWO, takes some andro (a then legal substance that McGwire took in the year he broke the single season home run record) and says he’d be nothing without it. Steiner burns the Cardinals hat and jersey while insulting the city. Total filler.

Norman Smiley vs. Prince Iaukea

Oh….joy. Iaukea goes right after Smiley to start and grabs a rollup for two. Norman comes back with an elbow and it’s time to dance! The Prince rakes his eye and hits Norman rather low before getting two off something resembling an Angle Slam. Not that it matters as Norman comes back with the crossface chicken wing for the fast submission. Nothing much here.

Barry Windham vs. Van Hammer

Windham takes over with chops in the corner followed by a suplex but here’s Flair before things go too far.

Ric fires away chops of his own and knees Windham low to put him down. Barry is thrown to the floor and into the barricade before another low blow puts him down again. Ric goes after the eyes and hits Windham low two more times. He fishhooks Barry’s mouth and hits him in the head before taking it back inside. Flair loads up Shattered Dreams but has to deal with Vincent. This brings out Arn Anderson to help out and stomp Vincent to pieces. Benoit and Malenko stop Horace and Adams and they all brawl to the back. Security mace and cuff Benoit and Malenko but leave the NWO guys alone.

Back in the arena Flair is all fired up and has a mic. He rants (would you expect anything else?) about Bischoff trying to break his career and life, but then one day Flair’s son Reid asked why Flair didn’t just beat Bischoff up and wrestle again. This brings out Bischoff who is acting apologetic, causing Anderson to almost have to hold Flair back. Security stops Flair and handcuffs him, but Flair still promises to kill Bischoff on Sunday. The heart attack stuff was barely mentioned at all here.

Booker T. vs. Jerry Flynn

I don’t see this being very competitive. Booker nails a quick forearm to start but eats a spin kick. Flynn hits a knee and elbow, only to walk into the ax kick. That modified spinebuster sets up the Spinarooni and the missile dropkick is enough to pin Jerry in less than two minutes.

Lex Luger vs. Kenny Kaos

Kaos doesn’t have his title belt with him. Seriously, why put it on him in the first place? Luger hiptosses him down to start but walks into a hard slam and some posing from Kenny. Back up and Luger grabs a slam of his own, only to be raked in the eyes. Kenny hammers away with basic offense before a middle rope legdrop gets two. Tony finally mentions that Kaos is half of the Tag Team Champions as Luger makes his comeback with the usual stuff. Rage comes out and distracts Rage, which makes absolutely no difference as Luger was about to Rack him anyway for the submission.

Rating: D. They don’t even remember to bring the title belt out while the jobber champion is getting squashed. There’s so much wrong with that statement that I don’t even know where to start. For the life of me I do not understand the thinking behind putting the title on Kaos. I could probably come up with two dozen people that would make more sense and be a better option than he was and somehow that’s not an exaggeration

High Voltage argues post match. Again, why in the world did Kaos need to be a Tag Team Champion?

TV Title: Konnan vs. Alex Wright

Konnan is defending so we get to see part of his rap video. Before the match we’ve got Disco Inferno coming out and warning Konnan that Wright is crazy. Konnan says get out of his face before being taken down by Wright with an arm wringer. That goes nowhere so they trade some rollups for two each, followed by armdrags from Konnan and a break.

Back with Wright in control and working on the leg. That goes nowhere so Konnan is sent to the floor, only to come back in and throw Wright to the floor. Back up and Konnan hits the rolling clothesline and the low dropkick as the fans are really bored with the match. The X Factor sets up the Tequila Sunrise to retain Konnan’s title.

Rating: D-. This was just bad as the two didn’t connect at all. Wright didn’t do any of the interesting stuff he was capable of doing and Konnan was keeping it in cruise control the entire match here. Also I don’ think the fans bought the idea that the title was going to change this close to Starrcade.

Wright snaps post match and pounds on various things with a chair ala Chris Jericho right before he turned heel a year and a half or so back. Speaking of which, here’s Jericho to blast Konnan in the back of the head with the TV Title. He puts the belt on Konnan’s head for the Lionsault and poses over top of him. “ARRIBA LOS JERICHOS!”

Here’s Disco Inferno in a Wolfpack shirt to call out any member of the Black and White. “Maybe Horace?” That’s not quite who he gets.

Disco Inferno vs. Giant

Giant no sells everything Disco tries to start and knocks him to the mat with a big right hand. Disco keeps trying to fire away to even less effect before Giant headbutts him down with ease. The Chartbuster is thrown away and a chokeslam off the top gives Giant the easy pin.

Post match Giant calls out Page, who will be a dead man at Starrcade. Page is in the crowd, scum is discussed and that’s about it.

Goldberg vs. Scott Hall

Non-title of course. The entrances combine to take nearly four minutes so we barely have any time left. A lockup goes nowhere so Hall grabs the arm for the driving shoulders. Goldberg puts him down with a fireman’s carry and a shove to put Hall on the mat. Nash comes out to the ring as Goldberg counters a slam into a powerslam. Goldberg is distracted by the shine of Nash’s hair, allowing Scott to jump in from behind. The fall away slam has no effect and there’s the spear, but Nash pulls Hall to the floor as Bigelow comes in to jump Goldberg as the show goes off the air.

Overall Rating: D. What in the world was that supposed to be? It wasn’t a go home show and it wasn’t a regular episode of Nitro. Just what was this supposed to be? The show ends with an attack by someone not even on the card on Sunday? There are still four matches announced for Starrcade and one of them should be a five minute squash.

There’s no Thunder on Thursday due to Christmas Eve so this was their final chance (save for Saturday Night) to get people to care. I have no idea what this show accomplished, other than a very good Mysterio vs. Guerrero match. Starrcade has the potential to be an absolute bomb and I don’t expect much more at this point.

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Thunder
Date: December 17, 1998
Location: Independence Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay

It hasn’t occurred to me that there are only ten days until Starrcade and it doesn’t seem like WCW knows either. There aren’t very many matches made for the show yet and one of the only matches has its only wrestler sidelined with a heart attack. It’s almost like this company isn’t thinking for the future at all and is making this up as they go. Let’s get to it.

 

We open with the announcers talk about Flair’s heart attack on Nitro before going to a clip of Scott Steiner offering Luger a spot in the Black and White.

Konnan vs. Kenny Kaos

I think this is non-title. Konnan comes out first for some reason. Oh my goodness I had completely forgotten Kaos was half of the Tag Team Champions at this point. Seriously, when was that last mentioned? Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell storm the announcers’ desk and demand to know why Luger vs. Hall is happening tonight. Steiner says he’s here to keep an eye on Luger and to get Lex’s career back on track. He’ll be helping Luger beat Hall tonight. The camera is staying on the commentators for most of the match but as we cut back it’s Konnan basically squashing Kaos. Kenny comes back with something we don’t see and getting two off a middle rope legdrop. Konnan shrugs it off and wins with the Sunrise.

Here’s Kaos’ regular partner Rage with his arm still in a cast. He wants to know what’s up with Kaos teaming with someone else but Kaos says he has to make a living while Rage is out. None of this is on a microphone so the fans chant about wanting Flair.

Ric Flair’s family (minus Ric) arrives.

We see Flair having a heart attack again with the audio screwing up.

Fit Finlay vs. Mike Enos

Now the video is messing up as well. Finlay hammers away with a series of strikes in the corner, capped off by some European uppercuts. A splash gets two and Fit nails a clothesline to set up a chinlock. We head to the floor a bit so the beating can continue with Enos being sent into the barricade and down onto the cement. Back inside and we hit the sleeper on Enos before he fights out and nails a few clotheslines. The fans are bored and I can’t say I disagree. A nice shoulder breaker gets two for Mike and he follows it up with a nicer powerslam but he stops to gloat and gets rolled up for a fast pin.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t bad but it certainly wasn’t interesting. This is the problem that comes with Thunder so often: these guys never do anything of note so why would I care to watch a just ok wrestling match between them? It’s one thing if you have Juvy and Kidman having meaningless matches that amaze the fans but seeing two power brawlers beat on each other for four minutes doesn’t cut it.

Enos beats Finlay down post match.

Bischoff wishes Flair the best in his recovery.

Here’s Hall in street clothes with something to say. He’s ready for his match with Luger tonight and knows Luger will bring his best because Luger is a world class athlete. Hall is all alone with no friends or family and now all he has is wrestling. He wants to be on top of the world and is ready to go through Luger to get there.

Tony and pals announce Kidman defending against Guerrera and Mysterio in a three way at Starrcade. We get some clips showing Kidman defending against both and dealing with the LWO.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Prince Iaukea

Before the match Eddie Guerrero comes out and says Prince isn’t wrestling tonight. The LWO surrounds Iaukea and the Prince is given a choice. He wisely walks to the back instead of dealing with this horrible gimmick, allowing Juventud Guerrera to replace him in the match.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera

Mysterio scores with a quick shot as Juvy gets in before sending him to the floor with a headscissors. Back in and both guys slip out of slams before Juvy grabs the namesake Driver out of nowhere for two. A tilt-a-whirl slam gets the same on Mysterio and they trade rollups for two each. The announcers of course ignore the match to talk about everything else. Juvy catches a charging Rey on his shoulder and drops him down for Snake Eyes. Eddie is coming to the ring and we take a break.

Back with Juvy still in control but getting caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Mysterio for two. Mysterio misses a middle rope splash and gets caught in something resembling a bulldog for two. Juvy goes up for a dropkick but gets dropkicked out of the air in a nice counter. Not that it matters as Juvy comes back with something like a Liger Bomb. The distraction allows Eddie to sneak in with a Frog Splash to give Juvy a cheap pin.

Rating: C+. That’s pretty much the baseline for these two but this wasn’t much better than most of their stuff. The problem with the LWO angle is it’s dominating the division but there’s nothing for them to fight over as Mysterio is on the team as well, despite not wanting to be there and causing Eddie a ton of issues.

Post match Iaukea comes back out and tells the referee what happened. The referee buys it for no apparent reason and Rey wins by DQ. Iaukea and Mysterio run from the LWO before getting a bad beating.

Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell come in to see Lex Luger (man alive did WCW love alliteration). They want to know what’s up with the main event tonight and if he’s joining the Black and White but Konnan comes in to say Lex is Wolfpack. Konnan leaves and we hear sounds of an attack. Luger goes outside and sees Scott Hall. Lex yells at Hall and checks on Konnan.

Shiima Nobunaga vs. Disco Inferno

That’s quite the random opponent. Disco comes out in a Wolfpack shirt and howls before the match. They trade armbars to start until Shiima hits a pair of dropkicks and cranks on an even better armbar. Disco fights back with an atomic drop and clothesline to send Shiima out to the floor. Shiima takes over with a Stunner across the top rope but charges into an elbow to the jaw. The middle rope ax handle from Disco sets up a chinlock before Shiima fights up and hits a quick reverse powerbomb (as in Disco’s face hits the mat) for two. A top rope cross body misses and Disco grabs the Chartbuster for the pin.

Rating: D+. What was the point of having Nobunaga in this one? I can’t imagine this show had a huge audience and it’s not like there weren’t dozens of guys that could have done this job just as well. The match wasn’t bad but we’re at the point where Disco Inferno is winning squash matches. That can’t be a good sign.

Remember the Flair Family arriving earlier? Here it is again.

Jerry Flynn vs. Norman Smiley

Great, a Jerry Flynn match. Of course he starts by firing off kicks so Norman grabs the leg to take over. Smart man that Smiley. The spinning slam puts Flynn down but he comes back with a belly to back suplex. Jerry tries a sunset flip but Norman stops to dance, allowing Flynn to pull him down for two. More kicks have Norman in trouble and Flynn puts on an ankle lock. A dropkick puts Jerry outside and it’s BIG WIGGLE time! Back in and Jerry fires off more kicks but gets caught in a sunset flip for another two count. Norman escapes a slam and puts on the chicken wing for the win.

Rating: D. I like that someone talented like Smiley is getting a push, but I had to sit through a Jerry Flynn match to get here. He’s another guy whose consistent employment boggles my mind. He was just a step above Glacier in ring work and had nothing interesting at all about him, but he kept a job for years.

We see Bischoff wishing Flair the best again. He promises to do the right thing.

Chris Jericho vs. Perry Saturn

This should be more entertaining. Jericho tries to get in a cheap shot in the corner and gets slapped upside the head for his efforts. They hit the mat for some technical stuff and Jericho gets one, meaning it’s time for an overblown celebration. The fans think Jericho sucks and Saturn eggs them on, so Jericho makes the referee cover his ears. Yep it’s better than the previous two matches already.

They fight over control again until Jericho gets tired of it and nails Saturn with a clothesline. Another celebration allows Chris to pop up and superkick him to the mat. The spinning legdrop gets two for Saturn and a swinging neckbreaker does the same. Perry goes off on Jericho in the corner but misses a charge, only to come back with a release belly to belly suplex.

A top rope forearm sends Jericho into the referee and you can smell Miller and Onoo from here. Saturn hooks the Rings and here’s Miller to break them up. He suplexes both Jericho and Miller but the numbers catch up to him, allowing Ernest to kick him in the head. Jericho puts on the Liontamer and the referee drops Saturn’s arm three times for the win.

Rating: C. The match was indeed more entertaining for multiple reasons, but the biggest is that we’ve been given a reason to care about these two. Rather than just having people who we occasionally see lose elsewhere, these are two guys who have had success in the past and it’s interesting to see them interact. Granted it was a way to push Ernest Miller even more but you can’t win them all.

Side note: Jericho’s eye got busted open off that forearm and there’s blood on the side of his eye. It looks borderline terrifying.

Bischoff again. It’s not the same promo but it’s the same idea.

The Flair Family is brought out, Ric’s wife hugs Tony, and that’s it for them tonight. So glad we spent so much time on this one.

Video on Nash vs. Goldberg.

Scott Hall vs. Lex Luger

Hall comes out with no music as has been his custom lately. Disco comes out to wish Luger luck but is ordered to the back. They fight over a lockup to start with Luger easily shoving him down and flexing. Hall grabs a headlock and here are Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell down the aisle. Luger takes Hall down by the hair, much to Steiner’s approval.

Bagwell starts a Luger chant as Hall puts Luger down with a clothesline and puts on the double arm crank. As in Hall is grabbing Luger’s wrists and bending Luger’s arms behind his back. To really show the stupidity of this show, Luger spins it around so that Hall’s arms are behind his own back. Hall stays in the hold for several seconds instead of LETTING GO OF LUGER’S WRISTS. A low blow gets two for Hall but Lex comes back with right hands. There’s the forearm and Luger calls for the Rack, drawing in Steiner and Bagwell to attack Hall for the DQ.

Rating: F. For that arm thing alone. I can’t get over that. The match was nothing of note.

Post match Konnan comes out and says Steiner and Bagwell jumped him earlier. Wait, so he didn’t tell Luger this earlier in the hallway? Luger had like 40 minutes to get ready for his match and NEVER ASKED? How stupid are the people in this company?

Tony calls out Reid and David Flair to close the show. He’s about to talk to David but here’s Bischoff to interrupt. Eric says he doesn’t want any trouble and is so sorry for what he’s put the family through. It must have hurt David the most as the oldest son. Eric says David wants to be a wrestler and apologizes that David’s dad had such a weak heart. A shot to the back puts David down and sends Reid after Eric’s leg. This brings out Brian Adams and Barry Windham to easily hold Reid back and beat up David. Eric leaves and kisses Flair’s livid wife before WOOing to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. There’s a lot to talk about here. First and foremost, I really question the logic of having Flair taken off television this close to Starrcade. With no Thunder next week (Christmas Eve), Monday is the go home show for the biggest show of the year and the main attraction of the second biggest match on the card isn’t on TV? Come to think of it, the second biggest name wrestling at Starrcade on the show tonight was Rey Mysterio. They’re doing a really lame job of setting up Starrcade, especially with a main event that isn’t the hottest thing in the world.

Second, this is Thunder arguably at its worst. It’s not that it’s bad wrestling as the matches certainly aren’t horrible and some of it is actually good. The problem is that most of it isn’t interesting. Of the matches tonight, three of them have people the fans would care about. We’ve seen Rey vs. Juvy a bunch of times, Hall vs. Luger was more of an angle than a match, and Jericho could have been any given wrestler against Saturn as the match was there to further another feud.

Finally, and this is a mild spoiler (for a show that aired over fifteen years ago so I think it’s ok): a lot of this stuff isn’t going to mean anything at Starrcade. Luger, Hall and Steiner won’t be wrestling on the show, making their entire story pretty worthless. You know who will be wrestling on Starrcade? Jerry Flynn, Norman Smiley, Fit Finlay and Prince Iaukea. The lack of common sense or logical wrestling booking knowledge in this company continues to astound me.

That’s it for Thunder this year as the next two weeks are Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Overall, Thunder in 1998 was…..pretty freaking dreadful most of the time. There’s the occasional good match between the cruiserweights, but more often than not it’s a totally worthless show that adds almost nothing to WCW. Most of the guys on here are on Thunder because they’re not important enough to get on Nitro most of the time and their matches on Thunder aren’t much better. The show just doesn’t need to exist and it’s not getting any better as time goes on.

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Monday Nitro #167
Date: December 14, 1998
Location: Ice Palace, Tampa, Florida
Attendance: 13,187
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyzsko, Bobby Heenan

We’re less than two weeks from Starrcade and again you would think Bam Bam Bigelow was involved in the title match and that Flair vs. Bischoff is the real main event. To be fair though that’s a far more interesting story than Nash trying to break the Streak. Other than that it’s time for more NWO civil war and another three way with Nash, Bigelow and Goldberg in the main event. Let’s get to it.

 

We get clips from the fifteen second main event last week.

Nitro Girls.

Announcers intro.

Nitro Girls calendar ad.

Scott Putski vs. Raven

Before the match, Raven rants about being in a place of pain and the sweet smell of latex. He didn’t get an instruction manual for life and had to rely on his mother’s charity. However, her reality checks were all bouncing and she was never there for him. This brings out Kanyon who tells Putski to leave because there’s not going to be a match here. Kanyon says he’s sick of Raven getting all this airtime without ever wrestling and everyone is sick of it.

Raven says he had a miserable childhood but Kanyon has some history for us. Raven went to an Ivy League school and has a degree in Pre-Med. He had a $3.2 million trust fund and grew up in Palm Beach, Florida. His parents had a Mercedes for him on his 16th birthday. Raven says his mother didn’t love him and walks out as Kanyon says Raven had it too easy. Kanyon asks where Raven is going but Raven walks out.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Villano V

Villano takes over to start and takes Eddie down with a big armdrag and dropkick. Guerrero bails to the floor but gets taken out by a suicide dive. Back in and Eddie elbows him in the jaw to take over before planting him with a suplex. The slingshot hilo (called a slam by Tony) connects and we hit a seated abdominal stretch from Eddie.

Off to a leg lock instead but Villano fights up and snaps off a powerslam. Villano hooks a surfboard to the loudest reaction you’ll ever hear for a Villano match. He goes up top but Eddie’s bodyguard crotches him down, allowing Guerrero to hit a superplex and the Frog Splash for….two, as Eddie pulls him up. Instead Eddie calls out the LWO and the bell rings as they come down the aisle. No contest for some reason I guess.

Rating: D+. I’m wondering why the surfboard got such a big reaction as you would think Villano got a fluke pin. The string of no contests or DQ finishes or whatever this was is getting annoying as you used to be almost guaranteed clean finishes in cruiserweight matches. The match wasn’t much but Villano was game at least.

Post match Villano joins the LWO as Rey shakes his head.

Nitro Party stuff.

Al Green vs. Wrath

Wrath powers him into the corner to start and hammers away until he misses a charge. Al’s offense has about as much effect as you would expect so Wrath knees him to the floor. A hard whip into the barricade has Green in even more trouble before Wrath throws him back inside for a good looking top rope clothesline. Wrath fires off a bunch of elbows to the face, knocks him down again with a shoulder and nails the Meltdown for the pin.

Rating: D+. Still not a good match as neither guy is capable of going more than a few minutes but the fans are still into the Meltdown. I’m sure that’s why Wrath has now been doing the same thing over and over again with his only push towards the top of the roster resulting in Nash easily beating him. But hey, Nash got another push to a match that isn’t thrilling most of the fans and that’s what counts right?

Recap of Bischoff vs. Flair.

Here’s Bischoff to talk about how awesome he is at karate and how his right hand hits hard but the left hand even scares him. I’ve heard some MMA guy say that somewhere before but I can’t remember where. This brings out Flair at a charge but Bischoff bails to the floor. Bischoff tries to sprint up the ramp and gets away around the announcers’ desk as Flair walks back to the ring.

Ric takes some signs from the fans that talk about the Horsemen before dropping elbows and knees on the mat. He rants about how important wrestling is in Tampa and how how awesome Eddie Graham was. After some more insults, Flair does the Flair Flip in the corner, rants some more and then falls down, holding his left arm. Oh I forgot about this episode.

Arn Anderson and a trainer come out with Dusty Rhodes and I believe David Crockett of all people to check on Flair. Eventually a stretcher comes out and he’s taken out as the announcers go into their serious voices. Flair is taken out on the stretcher and the announcers think it’s an arm or shoulder injury. As you may have guessed given that this is being written about a month after Ultimate Warrior’s final appearance on Raw, it wasn’t a shoulder injury.

Bam Bam Bigelow walks past the ambulance and runs into Scott Hall. Scott laughs at him for no apparent reason and gets beaten up. Nash comes in and Bigelow wants to fight him too. Here’s Goldberg to make it a three way fight but Terry Taylor comes in and makes a real three way match for tonight. Like last week right?

Gene wants to talk to Kidman. Now Kidman wants to talk to Mysterio. Rey comes out and takes off the LWO shirt, which is enough for Kidman to give him a Cruiserweight Title match RIGHT NOW. Mysterio of course accepts and promises no LWO interference.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kidman

Feeling out process to start with Mysterio taking over off an armdrag. Rey goes up top but Kidman is right there with him, resulting in Kidman getting crotched on the buckle. Mysterio’s spinebuster is countered into the top rope Sky High and both guys are down. Back up and Rey scores with a hurricanrana to send Kidman outside, followed by a cross body from the apron to send both guys into the crowd.

Back in and Kidman scores with a dropkick to knock Mysterio out of the air. They head up again with Mysterio winning again and scoring a bulldog from the top turnbuckle. The Bronco Buster sets up a split legged moonsault but Kidman avoids a swanton. We get an update on Flair, saying he has chest pains and shortness of breath. A dropkick puts Mysterio on the floor and Kidman hits a nice dive, followed by a slingshot legdrop back inside. Not that it matters as the LWO runs in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. Remember what I said about the cruiserweights getting interfered with too often? It’s really getting annoying as it’s happening nearly every week now with fewer and fewer matches getting to go to a finish. That was one of the few things you could count on from WCW and now we don’t even get that.

We see the triple threat match being set up again.

Here are Jericho and Ralphus with a white board. Jericho says he wants to reenact his match against Konnan so here’s a very skinny guy in Konnan gear. Using the board, Jericho illustrates Konnan hitting him with brass knuckles, a chair and a shovel. After all that, Jericho’s shoulders were counted down while he was in the ropes. Jericho claims to be too legit to quit and beats up the Konnan imposter. It’s much funnier than it sounds due to Jericho making jokes.

Nitro Girls, during which Tony talks about Flair having a heart attack.

Emory Hale vs. Barry Windham

Hale hammers away to start but misses a charge, allowing Barry to take over with a belly to back suplex. They head outside with Windham still in full control and slamming Hale down before dropping an elbow. Back in and Barry nails a big boot followed by a bulldog and the superplex for the easy pin. Squash.

Perry Saturn vs. Norman Smiley

They fight over a top wristlock to start until Saturn grabs a rollup for two. An armdrag puts Saturn down but he comes back with another rollup. Smiley gets tired of these near falls and runs Saturn over with a clothesline followed by some chops against the ropes. Saturn gets all ticked off and hammers away until the referee tries to pull him off. Saturn, in a disturbingly calm voice: “Please keep your hands off of me.”

He calls for the Death Valley Driver but Norman bails to the outside. Back in and the swinging slam sets up the Big Wiggle as Sonny Onoo and Ernest Miller are here. The referee goes down as well but Miller gets up and superkicks Saturn down. Scott Dickinson comes in as a replacement and can see all of it, he counts three as fast as he can in retaliation for Saturn attacking him last week.

Rating: C-. Not a bad match here but the Miller vs. Saturn stuff was old when it started. These are guys that could have a good match if they have the time and a better finish, but instead we get to have a crooked referee dragged into the feud to make it even worse. I’d love to know who thinks this is a good use of TV time.

Here’s Bret Hart with something to say. Gene asks him about Flair’s condition but Hart starts talking about all the people he’s injured recently. Despite being injured, he’s willing to defend the US Title against Page tonight. This brings out DDP and of course the Giant pops up behind him to blast Page with a chair. Giant throws him through the back of the set and chokeslams DDP off the stage in a huge crash.

TV Title: Konnan vs. Stevie Ray

Konnan is defending and has Florida Marlin and a Tampa Bay Buccaneer with him. After the catchphrases from the champion, Stevie Ray calls out to someone from the back. This brings out Booker T. who is told to watch Stevie’s back. Stevie takes over to start but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Konnan to hammer away.

The rolling clothesline and seated clothesline send Ray out to the floor where he yells at baseball superstar Wade Boggs. Back in and Stevie pounds him down to set up the Slapjack but gets sent into the corner. Stevie blasts Konnan in the head and loads up the slapjack (weapon) but Booker shouts at him. The distraction lets Konnan hit a quick X Factor to retain the title.

George Steinbrenner is here.

Here’s a shaken looking Bischoff to say how tonight was something real that happens in wrestling. Bischoff says he’s sorry to Flair’s friends and family and hopes Flair is back soon. No swerve, no punchline, just a commercial.

Booker T. comes out with something to say. After wishing Flair the best, he says he doesn’t know what’s going on with Stevie Ray. This brings out his brother, who takes credit for every bit of success that Booker and Harlem Heat has ever had. It was Booker that made Stevie join the NWO and there’s a place for him there. Stevie hands Booker a shirt and leaves. Booker isn’t sure what to do.

A woman in nice clothes is here to look for her son Scott. Since that gives her about 19 options on the roster, she clarifies that he goes by Raven. Kanyon comes out and says he’ll take her to Raven for $50. That goes nowhere so Kanyon takes her to find Raven.

Scott Hall vs. Horace

The toothpick to the face earns Hall a slap but he calmly grabs the arm and starts in with his driving shoulders. A clothesline has little effect on Hall as he comes back with a quick chokeslam, only to be thrown out to the floor. Back in and Horace hits a string of basic power moves, such as a clothesline, powerslam and splash for two.

A Hogan legdrop sets up a sleeper but Hall quickly hits a belly to back to escape. As you would expect, the announcers spend most of the match talking about Flair. Hall hammers away with his usual stuff and loads up the Edge, but, say it with me, the NWO runs in for the DQ. Were you really expecting anything else?

Rating: D. My kingdom for a finish in more than two matches. Do I even need to talk about this any more? It’s Horace vs. Hall in a match that means absolutely nothing because the NWO war is going on and on with Hall not even being on a side at this point. That’s what so much of this year has been: WCW spinning its wheels and nothing important happening at all because no one has to job.

The NWO beats Hall down until DISCO FREAKING INFERNO runs in for a save. It goes as well as you would expect with Norton destroying him with a powerbomb.

Scott Steiner vs. Van Hammer

Hammer goes after Buff for no apparent reason and gets jumped from behind. Steiner annihilates Hammer and beats him in less than ninety seconds with the Recliner.

Steiner puts his sunglasses back on and calls out an elite athlete, which translates to Lex Luger. Steiner points out all of the times the Wolfpack hasn’t been there for Luger, including Nash eliminating him from World War 3. He offers Lex a Black and White shirt and Luger doesn’t seem to hate the idea. Lex leaves without saying anything though.

Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Non-title of course. The referee just lets them fight as Nash steps into the corner. Goldberg runs Bigelow over and superkicks him down but Nash is right there for a save. Goldberg gets double teamed in the corner and can’t fight out of it this time. That doesn’t last long though as a double clothesline drops Nash and Bigelow with ease.

Nash takes both guys down with clotheslines and gets one on Goldberg. A side slam gets two on the champ but now it’s Bigelow dropping a headbutt on Goldberg for two. Bill fights back with a suplex and spear to Bigelow but Nash breaks up the Jackhammer. Goldberg spears Nash down and kicks Bam Bam to the mat as well but here’s Scott Hall for the DQ.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t horrible but it was just there. It didn’t have anything interesting, it wasn’t particularly hard hitting and the match doesn’t change anything. You knew Goldberg or Nash wasn’t doing the job, so of course the answer was just to have someone run in for a DQ/no contest because that’s only happened FOUR TIMES TONIGHT.

Nash and Goldberg brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was the worst kind of show you can have: a dull one that changes nothing and doesn’t set up anything for Starrcade. The interesting thing is they’re acting like the Starrcade card is set, but there are only three matches announced for the show with one of the being Flair vs. Bischoff. While it’s a selling point, it’s not a very strong one and the show doesn’t feel like it’s soon at all. But hey, at least we got more Miller vs. Saturn stuff.

Then there’s the Flair story. I understand what they’re trying to do and that they’re doing it to give Bischoff a chance in the match, but that brings about the bigger problem: Bischoff shouldn’t have a chance. The match should be a total and complete destruction of Bischoff, lasting about 7 minutes and ending with Flair breaking Eric’s leg in the Figure Four. Instead, WCW is trying to make this a story that no one is interested in, presumably so that Bischoff doesn’t get killed. Because WCW of course.

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Thunder
Date: December 10, 1998
Location: Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan

It’s a taped show because I must have done something horrible in a past life to earn this punishment. We’re getting closer to Starrcade but most of that won’t mean anything here as they can’t let anything significant happen on a taped show. There is actually an announced match though as Rey Mysterio will face Juventud Guerrera for a shot at the Cruiserweight Title at Starrcade 1998. Let’s get to it.

 

The announcers talk about how awesome the Mysterio vs. Guerrera match will be. We also get Black and White vs. Black and Red tonight! Be still my beating heart.

Chris Jericho vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.

Bobby runs him over to start as the announcers talk about Ralphus more than for the rest of his career combined. A chinlock has Duncum in control as we take a way too early commercial. Back with Jericho getting his head taken off by a hard clothesline out of the corner but he catches Bobby with a drop toehold to send him throat first into the ropes.

Now it’s Jericho with a double arm crank but Bobby turns it around, only to have Jericho flip forward and kick Duncum in the chest in the process. Nice counter. Off to a backbreaker from Jericho as he bends the Texan over his knee in a rare power display. The Lionsault misses and Bobby scores with a hard slam for two. Instead Jericho grabs a rollup and puts his feet on the ropes for the pin.

Rating: D+. Much like most feuds that go on for too long, we’ve seen all of this before and I had no desire to watch it again. Duncum could have been something interesting if used better, but having him fight Jericho over and over wasn’t going to get him there. Jericho was going to steal the spotlight from anyone he worked with through sheer talent and that’s what’s happening here.

Post match here’s Konnan to tell the referee what happened so the match restarts. Jericho tries a rollup but Konnan hits him in the head with the belt to give Duncum the pin.

Video on Bischoff vs. Flair.

Glacier vs. Saturn

The ice dude takes over with a quick kick to the ribs but won’t follow up, which is enough to make Heenan stop talking about Goldberg for a second to complain about Glacier. They hit the mat for a decent wrestling sequence before Saturn goes after the leg with a few holds. Can’t blame him for bad psychology at least. Back up and Saturn fires off chops in the corner and Glacier heads to the floor, only to be sent hard into the barricade.

Back in and Sonny Onoo is here in a neck brace to help Glacier because what would WCW be without him. Glacier takes over with a suplex and elbow to the jaw for two before totally missing a kick to the face. Saturn sells it anyway and we hit the chinlock. Saturn fights up and hits a nice t-bone followed by a middle rope knee for another near fall as Onoo is freaking out in a bad stereotype. They trade standing switches into the Rings of Saturn, drawing in Sonny for the DQ.

Rating: D+. The match was acceptable but good night can we please have Sonny sent ANYWHERE else? He’s been doing the same schtick for like three years now and is just annoying. I can see why he sued WCW over his character as well given how it’s as stereotypical of a Japanese tourist as you can get.

Post match Saturn beats up Onoo while avoiding an attack from Glacier. He suplexes Ice Boy to the floor and stands….not very tall actually.

Kaz Hayashi vs. Norman Smiley

Norman stalls to start before easily taking Hayashi to the mat with a headlock, meaning it’s DANCE TIME. Back up and Hayashi punches Norman in the face and takes him down with a headscissors. Kaz’s offense is short lived though as Smiley launches him into the air and lets Kaz crash down to the mat. A bunch of stomps in the corner set up the spinning slam followed by a butterfly suplex for two.

Smiley is acting far more heelish than I remember him doing recently, including stopping to yell at some fans. Kaz gets caught in a belly to back suplex followed by a surfboard before Norman sends him to the floor. Instead of following up though, it’s time for more dancing. Back in and Hayashi scores with a kick in the corner followed by a nice dive from the top. They trade some rollups but Smiley grabs the crossface chicken wing for the submission.

Rating: D+. Norman is another guy that could have been something interesting for the TV Title but too bad because there’s no way it’s getting out of the NWO anytime soon. Hayashi was a good enough guy in the ring but there were too many people who could do what he did much better than he could.

We see part of the main event on Nitro which was barely a match in the first place.

Here are Ernest Miller and Sonny Onoo with something to say. Miller brags about how awesome he is at karate and challenges any fan to come try him. Sonny is annoyed at him for not being there when Saturn attacked him on Monday. They tease fighting before Miller goes to the back to get Saturn. Just let them fight already so Saturn can move on to anything else.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera

They lock up to start until both guys hit the mat for a bit. The feeling out continues as Juvy takes Rey down with a shoulder block before scoring with a Rocker Dropper. Rey is taken into the corner for some chops and whipped into the ropes, only to come back with a headscissors for his first advantage. Juvy bails to the floor and we take an early commercial break.

Back with Rey hitting a splash in the corner and stomping away before hitting the Bronco Buster. Mysterio hammers away in the corner but Juvy comes out with a sweet Liger Bomb out of the corner. This brings out Eddie and the LWO to surround the ring as you can feel the screwy ending coming from here. Rey kicks himout of the air and nails a nice springboard moonsault for two, only to get caught by a quick cross body. A dropkick to the knee puts Juvy back down and a guillotine legdrop gets two more for Mysterio.

Back up again and Juvy avoids a charge into the corner and drapes Rey over the top rope. Mysterio shrugs it off and runs into a boot in the corner to put him right back down. A bulldog gets two more for Guerrera but Rey catches him coming off the ropes, only to get caught in the Juvy Driver. The 450 takes too much time being set up though and Rey crotches Juvy to set up the hurricanrana, only to have the LWO run in for the REALLY annoying DQ.

Rating: B-. They were starting to rock out there until the LWO had to do their thing. Mysterio and Guerrera are two of the best in the company at this point and I’d love to see either of them against Kidman, but having to put up with the LWO is getting really tiresome. At least we got a solid match before the run in though.

Kidman runs out to save Rey from the beatdown.

We see Giant talking trash about DDP from Nitro.

Lodi vs. Booker T.

Booker destroys Lodi like the comedy jobber he is to start before hitting the forearm and ax kick. Here’s Stevie Ray for no apparent reason though to ask Booker what he’s doing. Lodi tries to remember what planet he’s on until Stevie blasts him with the slap jack to give Lodi the DQ win.

Kanyon vs. Chris Benoit

Kanyon does his schtick before the match and thinks the fans say everyone is better than him to make him mad. Speaking of being mad, Kanyon is mad at Raven because the depression is starting to bring Kanyon down as well. “What about me? What about Kanyon?” The fans still don’t seem to care.

The match starts with Kanyon grabbing a quick armdrag and celebrating like he just broke Goldberg’s streak. Benoit takes him down by the arm with ease and grabs a headlock. Kanyon reverses into a neckbreaker but gets caught in the Rolling Germans. He’s able to break it after the first suplex though, only to have his chest knocked off by a chop. Benoit hammers away in the corner before taking Kanyon up for a nice superplex. The overwhelmed Kanyon rolls to the floor but Benoit follows him out for even more chopping.

Back in and Benoit stays all over Kanyon with an elbow to the jaw and some hard whips across the ring. That stiff clothesline drops Kanyon again but Benoit misses a charge into the corner. A Russian legsweep puts him on the mat and Kanyon hits a sweet slingshot elbow for a two count. Benoit fights back in the corner and stomps the heck out of Kanyon, followed by a backbreaker for two. The fans actually chant boring at this for some reason.

Kanyon comes back with a rake to the eyes and a middle rope Fameasser followed by a chinlock. The fans chant boring again despite these two beating the tar out of each other for the last seven minutes. I think they’ve earned a breather. A fireman’s carry pancake gets a close two on Benoit. It’s so close that Kanyon loads up another, only to have Chris counter into a rollup for two. The Swan Dive is broken up but here’s Raven with a can of paint to knock Benoit silly for the DQ.

Rating: B-. Egads did Russo start booking already or something? These DQ’s are getting really annoying when you have solid matches going before them. The match was solid for the most part though with Benoit being all intense as only he can. Kanyon’s offense was stuff we’ve seen before but it’s so different from anyone else’s that it’s still very entertaining.

Kanyon yells at Raven and gets Crossfaced for his efforts.

Vincent/Horace/Stevie Ray vs. Konnan/Lex Luger

We’re ready to go after a bunch of catchphrases and a commercial. I guess Nash was too busy to make the match. Luger locks up with Stevie to start as Konnan plays cheerleader. A shoulder puts Stevie down and there’s the big muscle pose from Luger. Stevie gets him into the NWO corner where all three are knocked around with right hands and forearms. Konnan is fine with letting his partner fight them all off. Vincent of all people finally gets in a cheap shot to slow Luger down and Horace takes over.

Horace hammers away but misses a legdrop, allowing for the lukewarm tag off to Konnan. House is cleaned for a bit until Horace knees Konnan in the ribs, allowing for a tag off to Stevie. The Black and White double teams Konnan and gets to make it a triple team when Luger tries to come in. Vincent gets in some ring time for a change with the generic offense you would expect from a bodyguard. Back to Horace who gets two off a splash with Luger making the save.

Stevie comes in again and chokes a lot before throwing Konnan to the floor. Vincent gets in a few more shots and Luger yells at the referee about it, allowing Horace to help with the assault. Back in and Horace nails a suplex to set up a chinlock for a few seconds before a double clothesline puts both guys down. A double tag brings in Luger and Stevie with Luger taking over via the usual. The Rack to Stevie is broken up by a Vincent jawbreaker but here’s Scott Hall to break up a slap jack attempt. He knocks Stevie into Luger who puts on the Rack for the submission.

Rating: D+. Just a boring handicap match here but they followed all of the usual formulas. At the end of the day though, it’s Vincent, Horace and Stevie Ray on one team which isn’t exactly a team I can get behind. Hall coming in fuels his feud against the Black and White but it’s still not the most interesting story in the world. Konnan and Luger were their usual selves here.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the best Thunder in a long time even though it had some very frustrating problems. First and foremost, we had two solid matches and far less time being wasted as a result. The DQ’s got very annoying but it’s something you have to get used to in WCW. This was a very nice surprise and an easy two hours to sit through instead of the usual drek.

 

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Thunder

Date: December 10, 1998

Location: Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee

Commentators: Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan

It’s a taped show because I must have done something horrible in a past life to earn this punishment. We’re getting closer to Starrcade but most of that won’t mean anything here as they can’t let anything significant happen on a taped show. There is actually an announced match though as Rey Mysterio will face Juventud Guerrera for a shot at the Cruiserweight Title at Starrcade 1998. Let’s get to it.

The announcers talk about how awesome the Mysterio vs. Guerrera match will be. We also get Black and White vs. Black and Red tonight! Be still my beating heart.

Chris Jericho vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.

Bobby runs him over to start as the announcers talk about Ralphus more than for the rest of his career combined. A chinlock has Duncum in control as we take a way too early commercial. Back with Jericho getting his head taken off by a hard clothesline out of the corner but he catches Bobby with a drop toehold to send him throat first into the ropes.

Now it’s Jericho with a double arm crank but Bobby turns it around, only to have Jericho flip forward and kick Duncum in the chest in the process. Nice counter. Off to a backbreaker from Jericho as he bends the Texan over his knee in a rare power display. The Lionsault misses and Bobby scores with a hard slam for two. Instead Jericho grabs a rollup and puts his feet on the ropes for the pin.

Rating: D+. Much like most feuds that go on for too long, we’ve seen all of this before and I had no desire to watch it again. Duncum could have been something interesting if used better, but having him fight Jericho over and over wasn’t going to get him there. Jericho was going to steal the spotlight from anyone he worked with through sheer talent and that’s what’s happening here.

Post match here’s Konnan to tell the referee what happened so the match restarts. Jericho tries a rollup but Konnan hits him in the head with the belt to give Duncum the pin.

Video on Bischoff vs. Flair.

Glacier vs. Saturn

The ice dude takes over with a quick kick to the ribs but won’t follow up, which is enough to make Heenan stop talking about Goldberg for a second to complain about Glacier. They hit the mat for a decent wrestling sequence before Saturn goes after the leg with a few holds. Can’t blame him for bad psychology at least. Back up and Saturn fires off chops in the corner and Glacier heads to the floor, only to be sent hard into the barricade.

Back in and Sonny Onoo is here in a neck brace to help Glacier because what would WCW be without him. Glacier takes over with a suplex and elbow to the jaw for two before totally missing a kick to the face. Saturn sells it anyway and we hit the chinlock. Saturn fights up and hits a nice t-bone followed by a middle rope knee for another near fall as Onoo is freaking out in a bad stereotype. They trade standing switches into the Rings of Saturn, drawing in Sonny for the DQ.

Rating: D+. The match was acceptable but good night can we please have Sonny sent ANYWHERE else? He’s been doing the same schtick for like three years now and is just annoying. I can see why he sued WCW over his character as well given how it’s as stereotypical of a Japanese tourist as you can get.

Post match Saturn beats up Onoo while avoiding an attack from Glacier. He suplexes Ice Boy to the floor and stands….not very tall actually.

Kaz Hayashi vs. Norman Smiley

Norman stalls to start before easily taking Hayashi to the mat with a headlock, meaning it’s DANCE TIME. Back up and Hayashi punches Norman in the face and takes him down with a headscissors. Kaz’s offense is short lived though as Smiley launches him into the air and lets Kaz crash down to the mat. A bunch of stomps in the corner set up the spinning slam followed by a butterfly suplex for two.

Smiley is acting far more heelish than I remember him doing recently, including stopping to yell at some fans. Kaz gets caught in a belly to back suplex followed by a surfboard before Norman sends him to the floor. Instead of following up though, it’s time for more dancing. Back in and Hayashi scores with a kick in the corner followed by a nice dive from the top. They trade some rollups but Smiley grabs the crossface chicken wing for the submission.

Rating: D+. Norman is another guy that could have been something interesting for the TV Title but too bad because there’s no way it’s getting out of the NWO anytime soon. Hayashi was a good enough guy in the ring but there were too many people who could do what he did much better than he could.

We see part of the main event on Nitro which was barely a match in the first place.

Here are Ernest Miller and Sonny Onoo with something to say. Miller brags about how awesome he is at karate and challenges any fan to come try him. Sonny is annoyed at him for not being there when Saturn attacked him on Monday. They tease fighting before Miller goes to the back to get Saturn. Just let them fight already so Saturn can move on to anything else.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera

They lock up to start until both guys hit the mat for a bit. The feeling out continues as Juvy takes Rey down with a shoulder block before scoring with a Rocker Dropper. Rey is taken into the corner for some chops and whipped into the ropes, only to come back with a headscissors for his first advantage. Juvy bails to the floor and we take an early commercial break.

Back with Rey hitting a splash in the corner and stomping away before hitting the Bronco Buster. Mysterio hammers away in the corner but Juvy comes out with a sweet Liger Bomb out of the corner. This brings out Eddie and the LWO to surround the ring as you can feel the screwy ending coming from here. Rey kicks himout of the air and nails a nice springboard moonsault for two, only to get caught by a quick cross body. A dropkick to the knee puts Juvy back down and a guillotine legdrop gets two more for Mysterio.

Back up again and Juvy avoids a charge into the corner and drapes Rey over the top rope. Mysterio shrugs it off and runs into a boot in the corner to put him right back down. A bulldog gets two more for Guerrera but Rey catches him coming off the ropes, only to get caught in the Juvy Driver. The 450 takes too much time being set up though and Rey crotches Juvy to set up the hurricanrana, only to have the LWO run in for the REALLY annoying DQ.

Rating: B-. They were starting to rock out there until the LWO had to do their thing. Mysterio and Guerrera are two of the best in the company at this point and I’d love to see either of them against Kidman, but having to put up with the LWO is getting really tiresome. At least we got a solid match before the run in though.

Kidman runs out to save Rey from the beatdown.

We see Giant talking trash about DDP from Nitro.

Lodi vs. Booker T.

Booker destroys Lodi like the comedy jobber he is to start before hitting the forearm and ax kick. Here’s Stevie Ray for no apparent reason though to ask Booker what he’s doing. Lodi tries to remember what planet he’s on until Stevie blasts him with the slap jack to give Lodi the DQ win.

Kanyon vs. Chris Benoit

Kanyon does his schtick before the match and thinks the fans say everyone is better than him to make him mad. Speaking of being mad, Kanyon is mad at Raven because the depression is starting to bring Kanyon down as well. “What about me? What about Kanyon?” The fans still don’t seem to care.

The match starts with Kanyon grabbing a quick armdrag and celebrating like he just broke Goldberg’s streak. Benoit takes him down by the arm with ease and grabs a headlock. Kanyon reverses into a neckbreaker but gets caught in the Rolling Germans. He’s able to break it after the first suplex though, only to have his chest knocked off by a chop. Benoit hammers away in the corner before taking Kanyon up for a nice superplex. The overwhelmed Kanyon rolls to the floor but Benoit follows him out for even more chopping.

Back in and Benoit stays all over Kanyon with an elbow to the jaw and some hard whips across the ring. That stiff clothesline drops Kanyon again but Benoit misses a charge into the corner. A Russian legsweep puts him on the mat and Kanyon hits a sweet slingshot elbow for a two count. Benoit fights back in the corner and stomps the heck out of Kanyon, followed by a backbreaker for two. The fans actually chant boring at this for some reason.

Kanyon comes back with a rake to the eyes and a middle rope Fameasser followed by a chinlock. The fans chant boring again despite these two beating the tar out of each other for the last seven minutes. I think they’ve earned a breather. A fireman’s carry pancake gets a close two on Benoit. It’s so close that Kanyon loads up another, only to have Chris counter into a rollup for two. The Swan Dive is broken up but here’s Raven with a can of paint to knock Benoit silly for the DQ.

Rating: B-. Egads did Russo start booking already or something? These DQ’s are getting really annoying when you have solid matches going before them. The match was solid for the most part though with Benoit being all intense as only he can. Kanyon’s offense was stuff we’ve seen before but it’s so different from anyone else’s that it’s still very entertaining.

Kanyon yells at Raven and gets Crossfaced for his efforts.

Vincent/Horace/Stevie Ray vs. Konnan/Lex Luger

We’re ready to go after a bunch of catchphrases and a commercial. I guess Nash was too busy to make the match. Luger locks up with Stevie to start as Konnan plays cheerleader. A shoulder puts Stevie down and there’s the big muscle pose from Luger. Stevie gets him into the NWO corner where all three are knocked around with right hands and forearms. Konnan is fine with letting his partner fight them all off. Vincent of all people finally gets in a cheap shot to slow Luger down and Horace takes over.

Horace hammers away but misses a legdrop, allowing for the lukewarm tag off to Konnan. House is cleaned for a bit until Horace knees Konnan in the ribs, allowing for a tag off to Stevie. The Black and White double teams Konnan and gets to make it a triple team when Luger tries to come in. Vincent gets in some ring time for a change with the generic offense you would expect from a bodyguard. Back to Horace who gets two off a splash with Luger making the save.

Stevie comes in again and chokes a lot before throwing Konnan to the floor. Vincent gets in a few more shots and Luger yells at the referee about it, allowing Horace to help with the assault. Back in and Horace nails a suplex to set up a chinlock for a few seconds before a double clothesline puts both guys down. A double tag brings in Luger and Stevie with Luger taking over via the usual. The Rack to Stevie is broken up by a Vincent jawbreaker but here’s Scott Hall to break up a slap jack attempt. He knocks Stevie into Luger who puts on the Rack for the submission.

Rating: D+. Just a boring handicap match here but they followed all of the usual formulas. At the end of the day though, it’s Vincent, Horace and Stevie Ray on one team which isn’t exactly a team I can get behind. Hall coming in fuels his feud against the Black and White but it’s still not the most interesting story in the world. Konnan and Luger were their usual selves here.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the best Thunder in a long time even though it had some very frustrating problems. First and foremost, we had two solid matches and far less time being wasted as a result. The DQ’s got very annoying but it’s something you have to get used to in WCW. This was a very nice surprise and an easy two hours to sit through instead of the usual drek.