Original Airdate: March 23, 1998 (taped March 17)
From Tucson, Arizona; Your Host is Jim Ross, with Michael Cole (hour one), and with Jerry Lawler (hour two)
Kevin Kelly brings Steve Austin out to kick things off, and we’ve got to be just a few weeks away from when they stop going through the motions of having an ‘interviewer,’ and just have a guy come out and cut a promo. Austin is ready for WrestleMania, so Kelly reminds him that DX and Mike Tyson are on their way to the building, so he’d better be scared. You can guess how Steve takes that suggestion, but Commissioner Slaughter joins us before Kelly can eat a stunner. Slaughter is out to deliver a message from Vince McMahon that Steve will wrestle WWF Intercontinental Champion Rock tonight, so Steve gives him the stunner instead in response
The Quebecers v Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie: Pierre and Jack start, and Pierre uses power, but gets slammed off the top when going up for a dive. That looked bad, with Pierre trying to climb the ropes while Jack is fully vertical, and not stunned. Jacques tries a cheap shot, but Charlie comes in to save, and the babyfaces clean house. Meanwhile, WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws show up on the ramp to observe, decked out in tuxedos, for whatever reason. Jack gets distracted and chases after the Outlaws, allowing the heels to attack Charlie, and they go to work on him. Jack gets the hot tag and runs wild, but the Outlaws quickly run in for the DQ at 3:35. DUD
The Bop It Slam of the Week is WWF Champion Shawn Michaels superkicking Austin two weeks ago on RAW
Jeff Jarrett v Steve Blackman: Jeff dominates early, but misses a fistdrop, and Blackman dropkicks him. Backslide gets Steve two, and an inside cradle is worth another two. Criss cross ends in Jeff delivering a sloppy side suplex, and a swinging neckbreaker follows. Backdrop, but Blackman counters with a facebuster, and adds a clothesline. Backbreaker connects, and a corner whip follows, but Jeff blocks the charge. Jarrett goes upstairs, but Blackman crotches him. That allows Steve a superplex, but Tennessee Lee sweeps the leg, and Jarrett topples him for the pin at 2:24. After the bell, another official runs out to try and reverse the decision, but Jeff beats him up before he can. It should be noted that Cole uses the phrase ‘building momentum’ to describe Jarrett’s win, so that’s been a thing for a much longer time than I realized. ½*
DX and Mike Tyson arrive in a limousine
Undertaker/Kane feud video package
Kane and Paul Bearer come out to rant at Undertaker, and honestly, I think the reason the early version of Kane didn’t work for me mainly boils down to Bearer being so damned annoying. Anyway, Paul claims that Kane has the same ‘powers’ as Undertaker, and wants him to demonstrate, leading to Kane shooting sparks out of his hand, and making things explode, and stuff. And the crowd rightly shits all over that childish stuff, which feels really out of place with the more adult direction the promotion has taken. And then Kane ups the ante by setting a crew member on fire, and well, at least that’s a step. Ross does a good job of making this seem scary, though Cole ‘cool dads’ it
The New Midnight Express v Skull and 8-Ball: Bodacious Bart and Skull start, and Bart takes a spinebuster. Over to 8-Ball, as the Headbangers show up at ringside. 8-Ball delivers a swinging neckbreaker on Bart, and Skull tags back in to try a clothesline, but Bart ducks, as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express make their way down as well. Seeing the Express in ‘WWF Attitude’ t-shirts is really jarring. Bart with a vertical suplex, and he tags Bombastic Bob in, as Snip and Recon show up. Savio Vega and Miguel Perez are next out, and you can guess where this is going. The Express work Skull over as the Quebecers arrive at ringside, and finally the big brawl breaks out, and we get a no contest at 3:26. The match was just twiddling thumbs until the finish to hype the tag team battle royal for WrestleMania. DUD
DX and Mike Tyson come out, and man, I’m gonna miss Shawn Michaels’ energy when he’s done after WrestleMania. I mean, yeah, he was a terror in real life, but he was crazy entertaining, and so much more interesting to watch than all the bland heels we had in the time after the Attitude Era
Gennifer Flowers is ready for WrestleMania
Faarooq v Chainz: They scuffle to start, and Chainz gets the better of things. Chainz with a bodyslam and a cross corner whip, but he hits Faarooq’s knees on the charge, and Faarooq dives with a 2nd rope clothesline. Faarooq works a chinlock as Rock makes his way to ringside, and Chainz escapes the hold with a jawbreaker, but misses an elbowdrop. Faarooq ropechokes him ahead of a snap suplex for two, but he argues the count, and Chainz catches him with a small package for two. Faarooq cuts him off with a clothesline for two, and he goes back to the chinlock, but Chainz fights free. He tries a comeback, but Faarooq cuts him off with a spinebuster. That should do it, but Rock comes in with a chair, and hits Faarooq for a DQ at 3:36. This was really bad. Afterwards, Rock plays it off as an accident, and calls the Nation of Domination out to carry their downed leader off. DUD
Bradshaw v Barry Windham: Slugfest to start, won by Bradshaw with a big boot. Bradshaw whips Barry with his chaps until Windham bails, but Bradshaw is on his tail, unloading on the outside. Barry eats the steps next, but manages to take Bradshaw down on the way inside, and he retaliates with his chaps. Turnbuckle smash, but Bradshaw reverses, and he pounds Barry in the corner. A pair of cross corner clotheslines connect, but a lariat misses, and Windham catches him with a DDT. Barry with a side suplex, but the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express distract him, and Bradshaw schoolboys at 3:05. Lousy match with a lousy finish. I mean, the whole thing was built around too big hosses slugging it out, and it ends with a distraction cradle? Afterwards, the rest of the NWA hit the ring to give Bradshaw a beatdown, with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express not hitting the ring until well after the heels leave. Yep, that about sums up this entire angle. DUD
The WrestleMania Millennium Moment is Muhammad Ali appearing at WrestleMania I. Ross notes that this was ‘fourteen years ago,’ because he’s terrible at math
Kelly brings Vince Russo out to present Sable with an award for having the highest magazine sales due to her boobs, and Marc Mero is so proud that he’s going to let Sable ‘have’ the moment to herself. That, of course, draws Luna Vachon out to attack
Rock v Steve Austin: Rock's WWF Intercontinental title is not on the line. Interestingly, the ring announcer announces this as ‘TV time remaining,’ which you almost never heard in the WWF. Rock works a headlock early on, as we see DX and Tyson watching on a monitor in the back. Austin fights back with right hands, but telegraphs a backdrop, and gets clobbered. Rock hammers him with rights of his own, but takes a Thesz-press, and Steve nearly hits the stunner before Rock bails. Austin chases, taking Mark Henry out on the way, and sending Rock into the steps. Inside, Steve unloads in the corner, but misses a clothesline, and Rock bails again. Steve chases again, but gets distracted by the Nation this time, and Rock attacks. Rock dumps Steve across the guardrail out there, and he puts the boots to Stone Cold on the way back into the ring. Steve comes back with a sleeper, but Rock escapes, and delivers an elbowdrop for two. Chinlock, but Austin fights free, and makes a comeback - the stunner finishing at 9:12. Afterwards, DX and Tyson arrive on the ramp so Shawn can cut one last promo on Steve ahead of the big show. *
BUExperience: The wrestling was atrocious almost across the board, but honestly, the angles weren’t much better this week. For such a hot period, and ahead of their biggest show of the year, I expected a lot more here.
Monday Night Wars Rating Chart
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