WWF Judgment Day (October 1998)

From Chicago, Illinois; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.

Opening Match: Al Snow v Marc Mero: Jeff Jarrett comes down before the bell and demands to wrestle Snow instead of Mero, due to Snow costing him a match earlier in the night on Heat, but is quickly sent backstage. The distractions allow Mero to sneak attack, and he unloads on him in the corner, but gets powerslammed as they criss cross. Snow with a pair of clotheslines, and a rebound version gets two. Standing side-headlock, as Lawler uses the word 'retarded' to describe Snow -  something I can't even imagine in today's WWE. Mero with a jumping backelbow as he escapes the headlock, but Snow quickly recovers with a DDT. Bodyslam sets up a flying moonsault, but Jacqueline hops up on the apron to distract him from covering, and Marc blows him low. Well, he WAS Johnny B. Badd. Jacqueline takes some cheap shots at him, and Mero hits a kneelift to set up a flying moonsault press for two. Al with the trapping headbutts to comeback, and an enzuigiri follows. Sitout powerbomb, but he takes too long going for another flying moonsault, and hits the mat - Mero cradling him for two. Samoan drop sets up Marvelocity, but Al dodges it, and hooks the leg for two. Mero regroups with TKO, but Snow counters into the Snowplow for the pin at 7:35. Nothing earth shattering, but a good, solid opener. * ¼

Six-Man Tag Team Match: LOD 2000 v DOA: Dear lord, how many times was this match on pay per view in 1998? I don't even remember DOA in the WWF this long, let alone still doing pay per view shots. Animal starts with Skull, and a distraction allows Skull to takeover early. He hits a swinging neckbreaker, but takes a clothesline and a dropkick out of a criss cross - ending up on the floor. Inside, we get Hawk and 8-Ball, and they trade powerslams. Hawk with a standing neckbreaker for two, and Droz tags in with a jumping backelbow. Skull takes a cheapshot to turn the tide, and the DOA cut the ring in half on Droz. Paul Ellering screws it up when Droz starts no-selling (because Ellering is presented as a manager, and thus less effective than the others), and Droz DDTs Skull before tagging. Hawk is a house of arson to quickly trigger a six-way brawl, and they hit the Doomsday Device on 8-Ball for the pin at 5:55. Nothing, but it was well paced, and over quickly enough. DUD

WWF Lightheavyweight Title Match: Taka Michinoku v Christian: They do some basic counter stuff to start, until Taka hits a spinkick, and clotheslines his challenger out for a springboard bodyblock. Taka hustles back in for a countout, but Christian beats it, so he gives him a flying kneedrop to the back of the head for two. Headlock, but Christian railroads him into the corner to break, and hits a falling-inverted DDT. Dropkick and a two-alarm snap suplex into a forward-falling suplex is worth two. Chinlock, but Taka escapes, only to miss a big charge, and go flying out - in a nice bump. Christian springboard bodypresses out after him, and inside, he powerbombs the champion for two. Bodyslam sets up a flying splash, but Taka dodges it, and manages a dropkick to put Christian on the floor again. Baseball slide and a well executed springboard moonsault out there, and back inside, he works the challenger with chops in the corner. Christian tries backdropping him out, but Taka hangs on, and hits a flying  bodypress - only for Christian to roll through for two. Christian tries a bodyslam, but gets cradled for two, and a reversal sequence ends in Taka hitting a seated dropkick for two. Taka whips him around, but Christian counters a cross corner whip with a Russian legsweep for two. Powerbomb, but Taka escapes, and hits a tornado DDT. Driver, but Christian counters into a cradle on the way down, and he wins the title at 8:34. The crowd didn't give them much to work with, but they tried their best. This is more interesting retroactively, as watching Christian work, even green, you can see how little he really developed his move set. His execution improved tons, but he was basically working the same match from the get-go. **

Val Venis v Goldust: Goldust attacks at the bell, but quickly walks into a big boot, followed by a backelbow. Mounted punches by the big Valbowski, and he tosses Goldust for a brawl on the outside, but it backfires when he gets slammed onto the steps. Venis quickly regroups with a flying bodypress on the outside, but a flying axehandle on the way back in is blocked with a gutpunch, and Goldust adds an inverted atomic drop to set up a side suplex. Goldust with a cross corner whip for two, and a snapmare sets up a somersault necksnap. Blind charge in the corner misses, however, and Goldust flies out of the ring in a nice spot. Val follows and uses the post to work the injured shoulder, and inside, he hits a hammerlock-slam. Armscissors, but Goldust escapes, so Val clotheslines him, and goes to an overhead wristlock. Goldust escapes again with a quick bodypress for two, but Val clotheslines him to cut off the comeback, then hammers the arm some more. Russian legsweep gets two, and a powerslam sets up the Money Shot, but Goldust superplexes him for two. 2^nd rope elbowdrop misses, however, so Val tries a sleeper, but Goldust reverses. Venis with a side suplex to break, but Goldust recovers first, and clotheslines him. Backdrop sets up a bulldog, but Terri hops up onto the apron to distract him before he can cover. Val screws up the cheapshot, however, and Goldust kicks him in the balls for the pin at 12:10. Not a classic, but much better than the Breakdown match the month before, with flow, psychology, and, most importantly, no one forgetting to kick out of nearfalls. *

WWF European Title Match: D-Lo Brown v X-Pac: D-Lo wins a criss cross with a shoulderblock early, and he does the over celebrate. They trade wristlocks, and D-Lo controls though another criss cross with a clothesline for two. Brown slaps him around, but a cross corner charge misses, and X-Pac unloads lightning kicks in the corner to set up the bronco buster, but D-Lo drives his boot into the balls to block. That looked great. Also, ouch! Chinlock, and a leg lariat for two, when X-Pac escapes. Running sitout powerbomb gets two, and he goes for a superplex, but X-Pac counters into a flying bodypress - only for D-Lo to roll through for two. Brown with another chinlock, but X-Pac escapes, so he bodyslams him, and hits a 2^nd rope fistdrop for two. Backbreaker for two, and he slaps on a Texas cloverleaf, but X-Pac powers out. Brown cuts off a comeback with a bodyslam, but a swanton bomb misses, and X-Pac hits a spinheel kick, followed by a jumping clothesline. Bronco buster for two, and a side suplex draws Mark Henry down to flirt with Chyna. Eww. D-Lo bops X-Pac with the title belt in the meantime for a dramatic two, and a powerbomb gets another two. Flying shoulderblock, but X-Pac catches him in the X-Factor on the way down to win the title at 14:36. Took a while to get off the ground, but it was solid stuff once they got into the grove. Overall, about on par with the Fully Loaded match from three months prior. * ¼

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The New Age Outlaws v The Headbangers: 'Bangers attack during the opening spiel, but the Outlaws quickly clean house, and the dust settles on Billy Gunn and Mosh. Gunn controls with a standing side-headlock, and hits a swinging neckbreaker out of a criss cross for two. Tag to Jesse James with a hiptoss, but Mosh rakes the eyes and tags Thrasher. He charges right into a dropkick, however, and Jesse adds a clothesline for two. The 'Bangers double-team to takeover, but Thrasher misses a charge in the corner, and gets side suplexed to allow the tag to Billy. Gunn comes in smoking, but another cheapshot by the challengers ends with Billy falling out of the ring, and getting whipped into the steps. Inside, the 'Bangers cut the ring in half, but Jesse finally gets sick of them cutting off legal tags, and runs in with a boom box (hopefully a JVC model) - getting disqualified at 14:01. Seriously? They couldn't get a clean win over the fucking HEADBANGERS in late 1998? Not much going on here, either. ¼*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Ken Shamrock v Mankind: Shamrock keeps him at bay with some swift kicks early, and a sweep takes him down for a few kneedrops to the knee. He tries for a fujiwara, but Mankind shifts his weight, and Ken settles for a wristlock. Mankind with a bodyblock to break, and a bodyslam sets up a legdrop for two. Ken goes to a hammerlock, but Mankind sweeps him, and they trade punches on the canvas until Ken takes control with a front-facelock. Mankind powers up and into the corner to escape, and unloads rights on him there, but Ken responds in kind, and whips him into the ropes for a rana. Mankind responds with the Mandible Claw, but Shamrock manages to fall out of the ring before he can get it fully locked. Ken hangs out on the floor to break the momentum, and lures Mankind into a chase, but ends up in a bodyscissors on the mat. Claw, but Ken blocks with some punches to the head, and they spill to the floor for Shamrock to smacks his head against the announce table. Whip into the steps is reversed, but Mankind gets a chair kicked back into his face, and Ken whacks him with it for good measure. Inside, Shamrock clotheslines him for two, and he goes for another wristlock, but the challenger bites at him to escape. Cross corner charge misses, however, and Shamrock belly-to-belly suplexes him, but still ends up taking a double-arm DDT. That leaves both guys looking up at the lights, but Mankind is up first, and hangs him in a tree of woe for some abuse. Cactus clothesline puts Ken on the floor for the elbowdrop off of the apron, but a charge is countered with a powerslam by Shamrock - Mankind taking his patented bump where he smashes his ankle onto the steps out of it. Inside, Ken immediately capitalizes with the Anklelock, but Mankind manages to make the ropes. Shamrock drags him back and locks it on once more, and with the ropes out of reach, Mankind applies the Claw to himself - causing himself to pass out, but not giving Shamrock the satisfaction of making his submit at 14:35. Creative ending there. Some fun brutality to this one, along with some interesting submission stuff make it a winner. ** ¼

The Rock v Mark Henry: Rock unloads on him early, and tosses him around the ring with ease. Clothesline and a snap suplex get two, as JR goes into his usual routine of reminding us how YOUNG these guys are three hundred times per pay per view as a taunt to WCW. Henry manages a splash for two, and a clothesline sets up a legdrop for two. Chinlock, but Rock escapes, and DDTs him for two. Bodyslam sets up the People's Elbow, but here comes D-Lo Brown to stop him from covering, and Henry clotheslines Rock into a splash for the pin at 5:03. Crap match, but better things were on the horizon for The Rock. DUD

Main Event: WWF Title Match: The Undertaker v Kane: This is for the vacant title, with Steve Austin as the special guest referee, and this months 'McMahon stacks the deck against Austin' theme is that if Steve does not crown a new WWF Champion, he is fired. 'Taker attacks Kane from behind when the big red retard goes for Austin, and he hits the ropewalk forearm right away. Kane fires back with a powerslam and a clothesline, but 'Taker manages one of his own - Austin refusing to count as he covers, however. Kane with a clothesline for two, as now Austin feels like counting. These are some deadly clotheslines, I'll tell ya. Big boot and (you guessed it) a clothesline put Undertaker on the floor, and Kane follows for a slugfest. Austin gleefully offers them weapons to beat each other with out there, and inside, Undertaker hits a snap suplex. Kane no-sells and clotheslines him, so Undertaker starts kicking at his knee to take him down for a leglock. Glad he's getting some rest in, between all of those clotheslines. The leglock drags on forever, and meanwhile, the crowd amuses themselves by trying to get on camera. Finally, Kane escapes, but 'Taker hangs him in a tree of woe, and wrenches the knee. Look, I appreciate the psychology, but this is boring as fuck! 'Taker chokes him on the ropes for a bit, but Kane manages a spinebuster, and another clothesline. Well, at least they're spacing them out a bit now. Kane decides to chokeslam Austin next, and 'Taker immediately joins in stomping the referee as Kane chokes him on the mat. 'Taker turns on him with a shot to the knee (well, in theory, as it was actually more to the upper thigh), but Kane chokeslams him for being a dick. Paul Bearer shows up (aligned with Kane at this point, for those Bearer-tracking), but turns on Kane with a chairshot for whatever reason. It goes nowhere anyway, and comes off as completely superfluous. 'Taker whacks him with the chair to better results, but Austin refuses to count, and gives 'Taker a Stunner to wake the crowd up. With both guys down, Austin slaps the mat three times, and declares himself the winner at 14:39 - which felt like 40:39. So, McMahon appears on the screen, and promptly fires Austin, as promised. Match was pretty brutally bad, and openly sloppy, but clothesline aficionados would love it! –½*

BUExperience: Some decent enough matches on the undercard, but the main event is just terrible (one of the rare cases of a negative star main event in WWE history), and the show is entirely forgettable anyway. Don’t bother.

DUD