Original Airdate: May 11, 1998
From Baltimore, Maryland; Your Host is Jim Ross, with Michael Cole (hour one), and with Jerry Lawler (hour two)
Vince McMahon kicks us off, personally introducing the new madeover Dude Love - complete with shirt, tie, and sport jacket. Still with the sweatpants, but the folded up Wall Street Journal under his arm is a nice touch. So Vince welcomes Dude into the fold, and promises that Gerald Brisco will work as the timekeeper and Pat Patterson as the ring announcer when Dude faces Steve Austin for the WWF Title at Over the Edge. Oh, and Vince has a special guest referee as well - he himself. Funny bit here, as they tease Bret Hart as the referee, before revealing McMahon
Backstage, Sable arrives
Earlier today, DX drove their tank to WCW’s offices in Atlanta Georgia, and generally made asses of themselves
Backstage, Kevin Kelly awaits Steve Austin’s arrival, but gets Al Snow instead. I think this is Snow’s first TV appearance for the WWF as ‘Al Snow,’ last having appeared as Leif Cassidy back in the fall
Vader v Barry Windham: What’s up with the fat-kid-in-the-swimming-pool outfit for Vader tonight? Windham attacks before the bell, but Vader quickly fights him off, and delivers a bodyblock. Barry fights back with a clothesline and a side suplex, as the commentators announce that Vader will face Kane in a mask v mask match at Over the Edge. Yeah, can you imagine if we get to see Vader’s face?! I’m sure whatever the buyrate was, it was all for the intrigue over that one. Windham tries a sunset flip, but Vader blocks, and hits the Vaderbomb at 2:09. This was not good at all, with Vader looking really sloppy and off his game, and Windham not really the guy to carry that kind of worker in 1998. DUD
Backstage, a limo arrives
The Castrol GTX Slam of the Week is Austin hitting Patterson with a stunner last week
Backstage, Austin arrives, and Kevin Kelly clues him in to Vince's big news early. Austin doesn't seem to care. Also, Steve will have to wrestle tonight in a tag match with a mystery partner. That doesn't sit too well with Stone Cold, but only because he doesn't want some jobber holding him back
Hawk v Skull: We get a brawl between LOD 2000 and the DOA to start, and the dust settles with Hawk delivering a bodyslam, but he misses a flying clothesline. That allows Skull to take control, and he works on Hawk. A criss cross ends in a double knockout spot, but Skull recovers first, and throws a clothesline. A backbreaker sets up a 2nd rope dive, but Hawk lifts his boot to block, and makes a comeback. Hawk lands a corner clothesline, but goes to the well once too often, and ends up on the outside. Hawk beats the count, but walks into a (sloppy) inside cradle from 8-Ball at 2:29. They apparently made a switch while Hawk was on the outside, though the camera missed it entirely. This was not only poorly worked, but poorly laid out. It had nothing in the way of flow. -¼*
DX continued their jackassery at CNN Center, where they basically just walked around the lobby like (very nervous looking) tourists. Really making an impact there, idiots. I guess this seemed super cool and edgy to me when I was thirteen, but it just seems stupid now (and kinda sad). I mean, a bunch of guys doing crotch chops while families are touring the Center with their kids is just so cool
Edge vignette
Earlier today, Bradshaw tried teaching WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku how to drive. It did not go well. And then it went even worse, when Sho Funaki, Mens Teioh, and Dick Togo attacked them in the garage. Well, that’s been known to happen in many a drivers ed course
Jeff Jarrett v Faarooq: Jarrett sneak attacks, but gets reversed into the ropes, and eats a clothesline. Faarooq tries another one, so Jeff bails, but Steve Blackman chases him back inside. Faarooq hammers, but telegraphs a backdrop, and eats a swinging neckbreaker. Jeff adds a straddling ropechoke, but gets caught with an inverted atomic drop coming out of the corner, and Faarooq clotheslines him over the top. Steve goes after him again with a bicycle kick, and Faarooq goes the dominator on the way back in, but the Nation of Domination run in for the DQ at 1:56. DUD
Backstage, Austin storms around
Steve Austin hits the ring, and he still doesn’t give a shit about Vince’s machinations for Over the Edge, but he wants to know who this mystery guy he needs to team with tonight is. Cue Vince on the TitanTron, but he ain’t saying, and he teases Steve
Backstage, Sable stretches. That’s just healthy
Val Venis vignette
Marc Mero v Sable: Mero teases her with a TKO right away, but lets her down. Instead, he wants her to give him a public apology right here and now, but Sable responds by kicking him in the balls, and hitting him with a powerbomb. And then she just walks out at 2:00. Not really a match, just an angle. DUD
Undertaker shows up out of nowhere, kicking Jerry Lawler’s ass in response to Lawler’s interview with Paul Bearer last week in which Bearer called Undertaker’s mom a whore. Jerry eats a chokeslam, but the lights die before Undertaker can deliver the tombstone, and Kane shows up with Paul Bearer to cut a promo. And then they just leave and Undertaker tombstones Lawler anyway
Al Snow comes out to try taking over for Lawler on commentary, but gets booted by security
Back to earlier at the CNN Center, where they ‘blow up’ the building with the aid of some computer graphics. This was borderline disturbing, honestly. I mean, think about this outside the context of pro-wrestling. Especially when you consider that X-Pac had just parted ways with WCW under less than amicable circumstances a few weeks earlier
DX come out to gloat about their ‘invasion’ earlier, and X-Pac cuts another bitter promo on Eric Bischoff. “Who?” wonders Ross. This all ends in Owen Hart coming out, and he wants Triple H right now, title on the line or not. Oh, and he’ll have the Nation with him to watch his back
The 1-800-Collect Rewind is Chyna’s involvement in the intergender match last week
Triple H v Owen Hart: The WWF European title is not on the line here, and Jim Cornette takes over for Lawler, who is on his way to the hospital. HHH pounds on Hart early on, so Owen goes low, and does some pounding of his own. Hart with a gutwrench suplex into mounted punches, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and HHH uses a kneeling facebuster for two. X-Pac throws a cheapshot ahead of Hunter using a high knee for two, and a piledriver gets another two. Powerslam, but Hart blocks, and DDTs HHH for two. Owen with a neckbreaker to set up a 2nd rope flying elbowdrop for two, and a piledriver of his own gets him two. Spinheel kick, but HHH ducks it, and he puts the boots to Hart in the corner. Clothesline, but Hart ducks, and throws a leg-feed enzuigiri. Owen goes upstairs, but Helmsley crotches him on the top. Hunter goes up for a superplex, but Hart blocks. He tries another dive, but Chyna crotches him again to block, so the Nation go after her. That ends in a standoff, and the whole thing just kind of gets called off at 7:20. They were just going through the motions with this one. ¾*
Goldust shows up (sans makeup) with a trash barrel, throwing his ring gear in it, and setting it on fire. And he’s pissed at Vince for his perceived mistreatment, blaming McMahon for ruining his relationship with his family, as well as breaking up his marriage. So, from now on, he’s Dustin Rhodes, and ‘Goldust’ is dead. Yeah, we’ll see how that goes
Handicap Match: Terry Funk and Scorpio v Sho Funaki, Mens Teioh, and Dick Togo: The heels come out of the crowd for a Pearl Harbor job, and they triple team. They isolate Scorpio and go to work, so Funk comes in to prevent the blatant triple teaming. Scorpio comes back with some thunderous powerbombs for all three heels, but a flying moonsault misses. Kaientai hit him with a triple dropkick, but it knocks him into a tag, and Funk runs wild. He gives them turns in the spinning toehold, but gets overwhelmed fighting three men alone, so Taka and Bradshaw run in to save, triggering a DQ at 3:13. Not really much to the match, but the Kaientai guys were at least willing to bump like maniacs. ½*
Backstage, Vince gives a pep talk to Austin’s mystery partner, but we don’t see who he is
Al Snow tries getting back in the building, but gets refused entry
Steve Austin and Vince McMahon v Rock and D-lo Brown: So in the end, Vince was the mystery partner all along. Steve starts with Rock, and slugs at him. Stunner, but Rock hits the deck, and bails. Brown comes in, but Steve dumps him over the top, and follows to chase Rock with a clothesline on the ramp. Austin suplexes Rock back into the ring for two, but Brown catches a tag, and pounds Steve down. Backelbow, but Steve ducks, and comes off the ropes with a Thesz-press to set up mounted punches. Another criss cross ends in Steve getting tossed over the top, and Pat Patterson is there with a cheap shot, keeping Austin warm until Rock can get over there to properly abuse him. Inside, the heels work Austin over, and they’re being pretty aggressive with him for the post neck injury era. Rock delivers the people’s elbow for two, and a chinlock follows, wearing Steve down for D-lo to hit with a 2nd rope legdrop for two. A clothesline follows for two, and it’s back to Rock for another chinlock. Rock Bottom, but Austin blocks, and they collide for a double knockout. Rock recovers first with a bodyslam, but Brown misses a flying frogsplash, and Steve is within reach of the tag, but throws Vince the bird instead. He runs wild on the heels by himself, so Vince comes in to hit Steve with a clothesline, and Patterson and Gerald Brisco run in for the DQ at 8:29. Steve fights them off, so Dude runs in, and we have a brawl to end the show. This was watchable enough. *
BUExperience: Not a very good episode at all, but you can’t deny the mojo, as business really picks up in terms of the promotion’s cultural impact.
Monday Night Wars Rating Chart
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