WWF at Molson Centre (March 6, 1998)

Original Airdate: March 6, 1998

From Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Opening WWF Light Heavyweight Title Match: Taka Michinoku v Brian Christopher: Christopher dominates with a few bodyslams to start, punctuated with lots of playing to the crowd. Taka fights back with a spinheel kick and a dropkick, and a clothesline sends Brian over the top. Taka dives after him with a flying moonsault press on the floor, and he tries a suplex back in, but Christopher drops him across the top rope to block. Christopher tries a wheelbarrow suplex, but Taka blocks, so Brian uses a Russian facebuster instead. Vertical suplex, but Taka counters with a rollup for two, so Christopher clobbers him with a clothesline to keep control. Superplex, but Taka blocks, and uses a tornado DDT out of the corner, followed by a pair of seated dropkicks. Rana, but Christopher counters with a sitout powerbomb. Piledriver, but Taka counters with a sunset flip to retain at 5:07. The ending felt a little abrupt, with no proper heat segment to build up to it. It felt like we went straight from the start of the second act to the finish, which I found a bit jarring. * ¼ 

Faarooq and D-lo Brown v Savio Vega and Miguel Perez: Faarooq and Savio start, and Faarooq tries getting in his former underlings face, but Savio won’t back down. Faarooq hammers him to try and get his message across better, but Vega fights back with a spinkick, and he unloads with fists of fury. Over to Perez to work a wristlock, but Faarooq quickly fights him off, and tags out. Criss cross ends in Perez throwing a dropkick, and an armdrag leaves D-lo down in an armbar. Tag back to Savio to unload chops in the corner, and a cross corner whip sets up a corner spinheel kick for two. Tag to Perez to go back to the armbar, so Faarooq throws a cheap shot, and Brown capitalizes with a clothesline. That’s enough to turn the tide, and the heels go to work on Miguel. Faarooq telegraphs a backdrop to allow Perez a DDT, and that’s enough for the hot tag to Savio! Vega runs wild, and Roseanne Barr the door, we’ve got a kettle on! The Nation of Domination trip Vega up during a criss cross, allowing Faarooq to cover for the pin at 8:14. Perfectly decent. *

Barry Windham v Tom Brandi: Windham attacks with his… chaps… to start, but thankfully Tom is able to quickly fight that brutal, brutal attack off. Brandi with a dropkick, followed by a bodypress for two, but he runs into a knee from there, and Barry chucks him over the top. Tom manages to skin the cat to pull Windham over the top with a headscissors, and he adds a baseball slide. That whole sequence didn’t play will, with Brandi struggling to execute his stuff. Tom follows to feed Windham the guardrail, but a helping of post gets reversed, and Windham DDTs him for two on the way back in. Why is Barry wrestling with a vest on? Windham grabs a leveraged abdominal stretch, but Tom manages to escape, and he makes a comeback. Matslam gets him two, and he unloads with a ten-punch, followed by a cross corner clothesline. Cross corner whip follows, but Windham rebounds out with a lariat for the pin at 4:20. Another perfectly competent and decent contest. *

Goldust v Marc Mero: Mero blitzes him, so Goldust bails, but Marc is hot on his tail. Goldust takes a whip into the steps before getting rolled back in, where Mero unloads with rights and lefts. Headscissors takedown leads to a clothesline, and Marc hammers him in the corner. A corner charge runs into a boot, however, and Goldust clobbers him with a clothesline, before dropping him across the top rope to knock the wind out of him. Goldust with a ropechoke to set up a cheap shot from Luna Vachon, and they spill to the outside, where Goldust gets some revenge with the steps. Mero manages a bodypress for two on the way back inside, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and gets clobbered. Goldust threatens Sable, allowing Mero to sneak up with a low blow. He goes for the TKO, but Goldust counters with a swinging DDT for two. Curtain Call, but Mero blocks, and delivers a kneelift. He stops to go after Luna, so Goldust charges, but ends up running right into his valet - allowing Marc a schoolboy at 4:20. They are just flying through this card tonight. *

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Rock v Ken Shamrock: Rock with a sneak attack, but Shamrock quickly fights him off, and unloads in the corner. Pair of clotheslines find their marks, so Rock bails, and stalls his challenger out. The Nation of Domination try a distraction to allow Rock another sneak attack, but Shamrock has it scouted. Bodyslam sets up a magistral cradle for two, so the Nation trip the challenger up, and then drop him across the rail when he goes after them. Inside, Rock hooks the leg for two, and a bodyslam sets up an elbowdrops with theatrics for two. Chinlock, but Shamrock starts fighting free, and hits a bodypress for two. Fisherman suplex gets two when the Nation delay the count, and Rock throws a clothesline for two on the angered challenger. Rock goes back to the chinlock, until Ken escapes, and delivers a swinging neckbreaker. He makes a comeback, but Rock counters a clothesline with a floatover DDT for two. Ken goes right back on the comeback trail, however, and a powerslam gets him two. A sloppy rana leads to a clothesline, but Rock ducks, and the referee eats it. That allows D-lo Brown to nail Ken with a chair, and Rock covers. A second official runs in to count, but the first stops him, and Rock is understandably miffed. That allows Shamrock to recover, and he uses a belly-to-belly suplex to set up an anklelock, but Brown runs in for the DQ at 7:30. These two had some chemistry here, and it was a nice back and forth match, before the super obvious finish. * ¾ 

The Godwinns v The Quebecers: The Quebecers are, of course, super over here. Which is literally the only time anyone ever said that about them in 1998. The Godwinns stall ahead of the bell, and the dust finally settles on Phineas Godwinn in with Jacques. Jacques quickly sends him back to the outside with a dropkick, so Phineas tags out, and Jacques follows suit. Henry Godwinn gets into a shoving match with Pierre, but ends up in a headlock, and Pierre barrels into him with a shoulderblock. With authority, nice! Henry punches him in the brain for that one, however, and the Godwinns manage a double team to gain control. Phineas climbs the ropes, so Jacques distracts him, and Pierre brings him off the middle with a rana for two. A cheap shot from Henry puts a stop to that, however, and Pierre ends up getting sent into the steps. The Godwinns cut the ring in half, until Pierre fights off a double team, and gets the hot tag to Jacques - Roseanne Barr the door! Pierre manages to nail Phineas with a 2nd rope legdrop as the referee works to restore order, and Jacques covers him at 9:40. The match was junk, but the crowd dug it, and the Quebecers seemed motivated. ¾*

Falls Count Anywhere Match: Billy Gunn v Cactus Jack: Both men bring weapons with then, and Gunn tries attacking on the outside to kick start the match, but Cactus fights him off. Jack with a vertical suplex on the floor for two, and they brawl up the aisle, where Billy eats the rail. Jack hits him with a piece of sheet metal on the way back into the ring, where Cactus uses a pair of tongs to grab some eggs. Jack leans a table up in the corner, but Gunn mulekicks him before he can use it. Billy charges, but Cactus is ready with a hiptoss through the table for two, and he slaps the mandible claw on, but Gunn falls out of the ring. Cactus follows to whip him into the steps, but Gunn reverses - only for Jack to rebound with a lariat on the floor. Jack grabs the steps to swing on Billy with, but Gunn swings back with a chair, and wins that battle. Gunn drops him across the steps a few times for two, and whacks him with a trashcan as they climb back inside. Piledriver gets him two, and a bodyslam sets up a 2nd rope splash, but Cactus uses the can to block. He makes a comeback, whipping Billy into the table, and delivering a clothesline for two. Backdrop, but Gunn counters with a rocker dropper. He swings with the can, but Jack blocks, and double-arm DDTs him for the win at 8:04. I wasn’t really feeling this most of the way, but it wasn’t terrible. ¾*

Kane v Skull: Skull blitzes him, and manages a clothesline over the top, followed by a smash into the post, but Kane no sells. Kane with a cross corner whip on the way back in, and Skull rebounds into a powerslam. Kane pounds him down, but a corner charge hits boot, and Skull follows with a big boot. 2nd rope axehandle, but Kane blocks, so Skull uses a piledriver instead. Kane no sells, however, and Skull takes a chokeslam. Tombstone finishes at 3:05. This was about two minutes longer than it needed to be, and the work was sloppy. DUD

Main Event: Triple H v Steve Austin: HHH stalls to start, jawing with the fans, and threatening a walk out. It’s nearly three minutes into the contest before the first contact is made, and then Hunter promptly bails out again for more stalling. Criss cross allows Austin an inverted atomic drop, and a clothesline sends Hunter over the top. This time Austin chases to drop him across the rail, and HHH begs off on the way back into the ring. Steve responds by cranking on a wristlock, but a whip into the ropes ends badly when HHH catches him with a backelbow. Hunter tries crotching him on the post, but Austin reverses, so HHH uses a kneeling facebuster instead, and sends Steve to the outside. Hunter with an axehandle from the apron, and a vertical suplex gets him two on the way back in. Bodyslam sets up a kneedrop for two, so Austin tries a backdrop, but Hunter blocks. Hunter unloads on him in the corner, and slaps on a sleeper to try and put it away, but Steve fights free. Criss cross ends in a double knockout spot, and HHH actually wins the slugfest as they stagger to a vertical base, but Austin just won’t stop swinging. Criss cross ends in Steve putting him down with a Thesz-press, and a pointed elbowdrop finds the mark. Austin stomps a mudhole in the corner, but a cross corner whip gets reversed. Pedigree, but Steve counters with a catapult - right into the referee. That allows Chyna to come in, but Steve fights both heels off, and the Stunner finishes Helmsley at 12:41. Not very interesting. ¾*

BUExperience: This was their first time back in Montreal since the infamous Survivor Series show four months earlier, and they delivered a fun little live event here. Not a must see by any means (or even a ‘good show’ really), but it’s fun, and light - filled with short TV matches, and lots of names.

*