WWF Royal Rumble 1998 (Version II)

Original Airdate: January 18, 1998

From San Jose, California; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Opening Match: Goldust v Vader: Great new entrance set for this one, giving the show a fresh feel right away. Goldust attacks before the bell, but Vader quickly fights him off, and corner whips him to set up an avalanche. Goldust wisely bails, so Vader chases, avalanching him again against the post - with Luna Vachon getting sandwiched in between. Vader chucks him into the steps out there, but the referee stops him from slamming the steel onto Goldust’s head. Inside, Vader continues to hammer him with stiff shots, and he delivers a backdrop. Cue a distraction from Luna, allowing Goldust a clothesline, and a seated version follows. Goldust drops an elbow to the leg, and a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop lands on the crotch. Vader bails to catch a breather, but Goldust is on him with right hands, and he sends Vader into the steps to get a little retribution for earlier. Luna dives onto Vader for some retribution of her own, and Goldust unloads a ten-punch count on the way back in. He makes the mistake of kissing Vader, however, and the big man sends Goldust spiraling through the air with a clothesline. Goldust goes to the eyes as he staggers up, but stupidly tries a bodyslam, and ends up hurting his back. Vader with a vertical suplex to set up a splash for two, and a short-clothesline finds the mark, as Ross notes that Vader is ‘thick.’ You said it, JR. Vaderbomb, but Goldust goes low to block. He tries following up, but Vader sweeps the legs, and sitdown splashes him. Vaderbomb, so Luna runs in to try and stop him, but Vader delivers the move anyway - with Luna still riding his back the whole way! Cover, count, goodbye at 7:51. These two were always a reliable pairing, and this was an entertaining opener. ** ½ (Original rating: * ¼)

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Max Mini, Nova, and Mosaic v El Torito, Tarantula, and Battalion: Sunny acts as the special guest referee for this one. As they had been promising for weeks, Mike Tyson is in the house, sitting in boxed seats with the McMahon family. I think that’s one of the first appearances of Shane McMahon as a named character (as opposed to an unnamed referee), though I believe he appeared in a Hall of Fame video a few months prior. Stuff happens, Max gets the pin at 7:40. I wasn’t really paying attention to the actual match, but I can tell you that Lawler was in rare form with his string of jokes. ½* (Original rating: ½*)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Rock v Ken Shamrock: Someone has a ‘Rock for President’ sign in the crowd, back when that was about the most laughable thing one could put on a sign. Lots of posturing to start, as Rock tries to find a way to engage without getting taken down. He tries trading punches, but Ken gets the better of that, and Rock goes flying over the top. Back in, Rock has better luck with his punches, and manages to cross corner clothesline his challenger. Again, but this time Shamrock rebounds at him with a clothesline of his own. Rana, but Rock hotshots him to block, and he hooks the leg for two. Rock unloads in the corner, so Ken tries a bridging fisherman suplex for two, but Rock cuts him off again. Rock dumps him to the outside for a smash into the steps, but Ken fights him off on the way back in, so Rock counters a clothesline attempt with a floatover DDT for two. Rock grounds him in a chinlock, but Shamrock fights free, and both guys are left down. Ken throws rights as both guys get to their feet, and he delivers a powerslam for two. Mounted punches rattle Rock, and a corner whip rebounds Rocky into a rana. That draws the Nation of Domination out, but Ken fights them off. The distraction allows Rock to slip on a pair of knux, however, and he blasts Shamrock… for two! Great dramatic nearfall there. Rock stays on him, but Ken grabs him with a belly-to-belly suplex, and we have a new champion at 10:33. Afterwards, Rock complains to the referee that he was hit with knux, and tells him to check Shamrock’s tights - where the official finds the weapon! With that evidence in hand, the referee reverses the decision - awarding the bout to Rock by DQ. The match was pretty boring for the most part, but the wild overbooking in the final moments was super entertaining. ¾* (Original rating: ¾*)

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The New Age Outlaws v The Legion of Doom: I don’t get Ross’s constant harping on how the LOD ‘redefined tag team wrestling in the 80s’ as a selling point for them as a team. I just comes off with a giant implied pause, like ‘redefined tag team wrestling… in the 80s’ that sounds terrible. Big brawl to start, with Animal giving Jesse James a powerbomb for two. Billy Gunn rushes in for the save, so Animal chucks his ass over the top, and the Outlaws decide to walk out. The challengers drag them back in, and Hawk nails Jesse with a corner clothesline, as Ross acknowledges James as Bob Armstrong’s son. That’s very off brand for this period. The LOD work Jesse over, so Billy issues a distraction, and James pokes Hawk in the eyes. Tag to Gunn, but Hawk tackles him with a Thesz-press, and delivers mounted punches. Tag to Animal for a side suplex, followed by a powerslam. James runs in, but takes a powerslam as well, and Animal puts Billy in a reverse chinlock, as Lawler compares them for John Glenn. That’s certainly… a comparison. James trips Animal up as he’s running the ropes, allowing Billy to knock him to the outside, and Jesse whips him into the steps out there. That’s enough to turn the tide, and the tag champions go to work. Jesse handcuffs Hawk to the post to keep him out of the way (since, apparently, you couldn’t have a Royal Rumble without a set of handcuffs during this period in history), but Animal fights off a double team, and makes a comeback. Jumping shoulderblock on Billy gets two, so Gunn goes to the eyes. Gunn goes upstairs with a dive, but Animal catches him in a powerslam. Cover, count, but Jesse saves with a chair to draw the intentional DQ at 7:55. The match wasn’t bad, but the finish sure was. And that’s two of them in a row for the title matches tonight. ¾* (Original rating: ½*)

#1 Contender's 30-Man Royal Rumble Match: Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie start, and Jack loads the ring up with chairs to counteract Charlie’s chainsaw. Jack gets the better of that one, but misses a swing with the chair, and Charlie tees off with it himself. They do a weird bit where each guy passes the other the chair and allows them some free shots (direct ones, right to the head), and that shenanigans goes on until Tom Brandi enters at #3. Jack and Charlie immediately put their differences aside to dump him, and Jack suplexes Charlie onto a chair from there. #4 is Rock, so Jack nails him with the trash can right away, and he teams up with Charlie to attack the Intercontinental champ with a chair. #5 is Mosh, and Charlie is so excited that he chucks a chair at him in the aisle - overshooting, and nearly taking out a fan. You’re not in a bingo hall, Terry. Charlie with a flying moonsault on Mosh, but he overshoots with that as well, as Cactus puts the boots to Rocky. #6 is Phineas Godwinn, who adds nothing. #7 is 8-Ball, and he goes after Rock, as Charlie eliminates Jack. Couldn’t they at least book 8-Ball for the eighth spot? Would it kill them? Blackjack Bradshaw draws #8, and he goes for Charlie. Owen Hart draws #9, but gets attacked by Jeff Jarrett in the aisle, and never makes it to the ring. Why waste that spot on a guy who would actually add something to the match? And that’s not even the first time that’s happened to Owen in a weak field (1995). #10 is Steve Blackman, and he nearly gets Charlie out, but Chainsaw hangs on. Meanwhile, Lawler tries to add some drama to this by reporting that someone has taken Steve Austin out in the back, and he probably won’t be able to make it into the match. Does Jeff Jarrett have an alibi? D-lo Brown gets #11, but gets nailed by 8-Ball right away. 8-Ball seems to be sending us a sort of coded message with his actions in this match thus far. Not sure what it might be, though. Rock and D-lo end up getting into a slugfest at one point, since they’re morons. #12 is Kurrgan, and considering we’ve only had two eliminations thus far, I’m guessing bodies are about to hit the floor. Mosh is out, so Blackman tries using martial arts on the monster, but gets destroyed in the corner. And then Kurrgan just kind of blends into the background, since apparently they’ve forgotten how to book. Marc Mero draws lucky #13, and he goes after Blackman with rights and lefts. Kurrgan dumps Blackman, as Rock unloads on D-lo in the corner. Ken Shamrock draws #14, and goes right after the biggest guy, like in prison. He manages to take Kurrgan off of his feet, and everyone gangs up to eliminate him. Oddly, Shamrock doesn’t even look Rock’s way, which is kind of surprising. Thrasher draws #15, and he goes right for Godwinn. Really going for the throat there, ain’t he? Rock and Brown are still fighting in the corner, as the crowd collectively flirts with Sable. #16 is Mankind, and he dumps Charlie right away, in a bit of payback for his old pal Cactus. Shamrock finally finds Rock in this thing, and he goes for an elimination, but Rocky fights him off. #17 is Goldust, and he ends Mankind’s night. Jeff Jarrett draws #18, but Owen runs out to get payback, and apparently they’re letting him into the match anyway, since rules don’t have attitude! Owen eliminates Jarrett, as #19 draw Honky Tonk Man enters the fray, in his first WWF match since 1990 (and first televised since Survivor Series ‘90). Rock dumps Shamrock as WWF European Champion Triple H comes down to ringside, and he whacks Owen with his crutch to eliminate him. Ahmed Johnson draws #20, making his return for the first time since November. He was on borrowed time here, and only had two matches left in the promotion. Mark Henry is #21, and he goes for Johnson, as Lawler works to put Honky over. The buzzer for #22 sounds, but no one comes out, and we’re led to believe that it was Austin’s spot. Give it to them, they’re at least trying to build doubt over the result here. Phineas and Ahmed both get dumped, and here comes #23 draw Kama Mustafa. He ends up fighting with D-lo, just to drive me nuts a little more. Steve Austin draws #24, and the roof comes off the building, of course. Everyone stops fighting just so they can gang up, so Austin comes through the crowd to sneak attack. Bye Mero. Bye 8-Ball. Honky survives though, somehow. Henry Godwinn draws #25, and he hates signs! He goes right for Stone Cold, and the match has died big time, surprisingly. You’d think Austin coming in would have the opposite impact, but nope. Savio Vega draws #26, and he brings his entire gang with him to go after Austin. Faarooq gets #27, and he goes right for Rock, upset at the youngster usurping him in recent weeks. And then, like pretty much everything else in this match, it just kind of dies on the vine. Dude Love comes in at #28, and that’s it for Bradshaw. #29 is Chainz, and he adds nothing. Vader rounds out the field at #30, and he goes right for Goldust. Honky gets in his face, and that’s it for him. He goes flying, too. Austin gets Kama out, and then Savio goes for a ride. Goldust clotheslines Vader out to get some revenge for earlier, and Chainz eliminates Goldust. That has to be a career highlight for him, actually. Faarooq stupidly eliminates Henry, leaving us with Rock, Steve Austin, Faarooq, and Dude Love as the final four. It’s a good field, or at least the best we could hope for here. Faarooq clotheslines Dude out, and he goes for Austin next, as Rock hangs back. He waits until the perfect moment, and sneaks up to dump Faarooq. Slugfest with Austin heats the crowd up, and Austin tosses him, but Rock manages to land on the apron. He sneaks back in, but Steve is ready with a stunner, and he dumps Rocky for real at 55:25. A pretty dull Rumble, with an obvious winner, and a terrible field. But, hey, at least they actually delivered the Austin win, instead of doing some ill-advised swerve. And they did a good job of trying to build some drama around Austin’s involvement. * ½ (Original rating: ** ¼)

Main Event: WWF Title Casket Match: Shawn Michaels v Undertaker: Shawn sticks and moves in the early going, but gets caught in a choke while trying a springboard, and Undertaker tries to press-drop him into the casket, but Michaels blocks. Shawn tries a charge, but Undertaker is ready with a backdrop, and Shawn lands on the edge of the casket as he goes over the top. The bump didn’t look too bad, but it messes Shawn’s back up so badly that his career was thought to be over. And was for over four years. Looked like it was an innocent mistake, with Undertaker a little out of position, but not necessarily his fault, and Michaels may have jumped the gun with his charge. Anyway, Undertaker follows for a press-slam on the floor, but Michaels escapes the casket again. Inside, Undertaker tries another press, but Shawn escapes, so Undertaker clotheslines him instead. Bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop, but Michaels moves. He tries an armbar, but he’s got no leverage, and Undertaker easily reverses. Undertaker nails him with the ropewalk forearm, and the challenger unloads on him in the corner. Cross corner whip sends Shawn flipping over the top, but he manages to snap Undertaker’s throat across the top on the way back in. He tries a flying bodypress, but Undertaker catches him in a powerslam, and he goes for the casket. He manages to get Michaels inside, but Shawn blocks the lid, and throws a handful of powder into the challenger’s eyes. Shawn hammers the blinded challenger, but Undertaker grabs him in a chokeslam, so Shawn goes to the eyes again to block. Michaels with a flying moonsault press to set up mounted punches, and a clothesline sends both men tumbling over the top. Undertaker gets the better of it, and Michaels meets the guardrail. Undertaker tries a whip into the steps next, but Michaels reverses, and then slams the steps onto the challenger a few times. Shawn with a piledriver on the steps, and Triple H hobbles over on his crutches to whack the Dead Man, too. Shawn tees off with a chair before trying for the casket, but Undertaker manages to fight him off, with Michaels taking a nice pinball bump back into the ring. Undertaker follows for a backdrop, but Michaels counters with a swinging neckbreaker, and he latches onto the challenger with a sleeper. He wears Undertaker down to the mat, but the challenger fights back to his feet, and uses a side suplex to break the hold. Shawn keeps coming with a jumping forearm to set up a flying elbowdrop, complete with JR taking his usual jab at Randy Savage. Superkick finds the mark, and it’s casket time. He rolls Undertaker in, but wastes time gloating instead of closing, and Undertaker grabs him by the balls. Literally. Undertaker makes a comeback, but a jumping clothesline misses, and the momentum carries the challenger right into the casket! Michaels with a wild flying elbowdrop into the casket, and the lid falls shut, but there must be a winner. Michaels recovers first, and tries crawling out, but Undertaker drags him back into the box. Undertaker with a big right hand to send Shawn flying out of the casket, and he tries a big boot on the way back in, but Michaels ducks. Undertaker recovers with a chokeslam instead, and he carries a limp Michaels to the apron for a Tombstone into the casket! It’s over, but here come the New Age Outlaws and Los Boricuas run out to stop him from closing the lid. They put the boots to him, until the lights die, and Kane appears. Apparently he and Undertaker are the ‘Brothers of the Night,’ which is okay, but certainly doesn’t have the same ring to it as ‘Brothers of Destruction’ would. Kane cleans house, as Triple H and Chyna pull the champion out of the casket. Undertaker recovers, but Kane hits him as well, and chokeslams him into the casket for Michaels to close at 20:34. A great match that sadly couldn’t have a clean finish. And I mean ‘couldn’t,’ as there was no way you could book that here. Afterwards, Kane locks the casket shut, and sets it on fire, leaving his brother for dead. **** (Original rating: **)

BUExperience: Not everything on this show clicked, and the Rumble itself was pretty weak, but this worked more than it didn’t. At the time, this was considered something of a turning point for the WWF in the war with WCW, and while I wouldn’t go that far, you can see why people felt that at the time. 

After WCW ended their biggest show of the year with a terrible main event and an even worse finish (that left them without a direction in the world title picture to boot), here’s the WWF with a fantastic main event, and real direction towards their biggest show, with their biggest stars aligned. 

Whatever this show lacked in other aspects, it made up for in pure feeling. This promotion felt alive, and with this show, it felt like they kicked off the shadow of Montreal, and were going places.

*