Original Airdate: May 25, 1998 (taped May 19)
From Chattanooga, Tennessee; Your Host is Jim Ross, with Michael Cole (hour one), and with Jerry Lawler (hour two)
Vince McMahon comes out with his entourage, congratulating Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco for how well they performed against WWF Champion Steve Austin last week. But, of course, they all pale in comparison to Vince himself, so Vince congratulates himself most of all. That draws Austin out, and he tells Vince’s police force that since Vince just stupidly admitted to assaulting Steve with a chair last week, Austin demands they arrest him. And they do! And the crowd pops huge! This angle is gold, and one reason it works so well is that everyone involved plays their parts perfectly. No one is afraid to go all in, and it makes it. Patterson and Brisco try to intervene, so Austin tells the cops that should qualify as ‘obstructing justice,’ so they get cuffed as well
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Darren Drozdov and LOD 2000 v Chainz, Skull, and 8-Ball: This is Drozdov’s TV debut, introduced by LOD, though he looks more like the newest member of the Headbangers than the LOD. And, of course, we immediately learn that he has the nickname ‘Puke,’ because he, uh, vomits a lot. Truly highbrow entertainment I’ve chosen to dedicate my time to. The heels try working him over, but it goes nowhere, so they work Hawk over instead. Darren with a sitout powerbomb on Chainz at 4:11. Total shit puke. DUD
Backstage, Vince and his stooges are getting hauled off, with Austin mocking them all the while
Dan Severn v Owen Hart: Severn’s NWA World title is not on the line. Dan with a quick series of takedowns, but Owen keeps moving, so Severn gets him trapped in a cross-armbreaker. Owen manages to keep it mostly blocked, and Dan lets off. Owen starts kicking the leg to try and gain the advantage, but Dan chokeslams him, and hooks an Oklahoma roll for two. Owen slugs him, and knocks Severn to the outside, Hart following to unload mounted punches on the floor. Inside, Hart delivers a gutwrench suplex, but Severn fights him off and goes for the armbreaker, so the Nation of Domination run in for the DQ at 3:17. They were trying, but this just didn’t work. Afterwards, the Nation deliver a beatdown. ¼*
Backstage, McMahon and the stooges are locked in the back of the squad car
Edge vignette
Jackyl leads two Howard Stern Show regulars (Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf and Crackhead Bob) out, and we're going to interview them, I guess? These guys are depressing. And this leads to the debut of the Parade of Human Oddities. Oh gosh, the Oddities. Certainly a highpoint of the Attitude Era, one of many
Thrasher v Golga: I still find it so odd that they brought John Tenta back in, put him under a mask, and never acknowledged his identity somewhere down the line. Golga attacks after Thrasher mocks Hank, and he dominates, as Jackyl and Bob do commentary. Golga with a slam at 2:57. A straight up squash here. Afterwards, Mosh attacks, but Giant Silva kills him with a headbutt to put a stop to it. DUD
Al Snow is walking around in the crowd, wearing a cowboy hat with a bandana over his face
Backstage, Vince continues to fume from the back of the police car, as Austin smirks at him through the glass
The Super Soaker Rewind is Paul Bearer being revealed as Kane’s biological father last week
Jeff Jarrett v Vader: Posturing to start, until Vader starts teeing off on him. Vader with a front-powerslam, and an elbowdrop to the leg, ahead of a splash. Cover, but Tennessee Lee is distracting the referee, so no count. Vader stays focused with a powerbomb, but Lee ties up the referee again. Vader goes after him, allowing Jarrett to clip the leg, and Jeff goes to work on it. Vader dodges a splash on the knee, and delivers a short-clothesline, setting up a 2nd rope splash. He looks to finish up, but Kane runs in on him for the DQ at 3:59. ¾*
Backstage, Austin agrees to drop the charges, if Vince gives him a sincere apology. McMahon reluctantly agrees, and he does a great job of looking absolutely miserable as he does it
Vince and the stooges stagger out, looking broken and dejected. But Vince’s spirit isn’t completely broken, and he decides to punish Austin by making him face Undertaker tonight
Earlier today, DX made a bunch of dick jokes at an airport somewhere. This segment felt really pointless
Al Snow hops the rail, getting in Lawler’s face for not delivering on his promise to get him a meeting with Vince last week, before getting hauled off by security
Taka Michinoku v Dick Togo: The WWF Light Heavyweight title is not on the line. Togo attacks before the bell, and suplexes Michinoku right away. Chops, but Taka manages a spinheel kick, and Dick ends up on the outside. Taka dives after him, and a snapmare sets up a pair of seated dropkicks on the way back inside. Michinoku with a missile dropkick, but Togo blocks a flying bodypress with a dropkick. That puts Taka on the outside, and Dick dives after him with a somersault senton from the apron. Inside, Togo tries a German suplex, but Michinoku lands on his feet, so Togo mulekicks him. A pele kick gets him two, and he slaps a nervehold on. Michinoku quickly escapes, so Togo uses a snap powerslam for two, and a bodyslam sets up a springboard moonsault for two. Corner splash, but Michinoku dodges, and tries a tornado DDT, but Dick blocks. Clothesline, but Taka dodges, and hits a rana into a cradle at 3:53. The crowd didn’t really play along, but the action was good. Afterwards, the rest of Kaientai attack, delivering a beatdown. ** ½
Backstage, Undertaker suits up
The Castrol GTX Slam of the Week is Val Venis delivering a flying splash on last week’s RAW
Back at the airport, Triple H commandeers a plane. Life was so different before 9/11
Marc Mero v Faarooq: Mero sneak attacks, and he unloads on Faarooq in the corner. A backelbow finds the mark, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and gets clobbered. Faarooq with a powerslam, so Mero bails, but Faarooq is on him, introducing Marc to the steps. Marc uses Sable as a shield to manufacture a cheap shot, and he puts the boots to Faarooq on the way back inside. Mero with a kneelift and a DDT, so Sable hops on the apron to yell at him, and Faarooq recovers with a clothesline at 2:24. Just going through the motions here. Afterwards, an angry Mero offers her a deal: bring someone to Over the Edge this Sunday, and if they beat Marc, he’ll let her out of her contract. However… if Marc wins, Sable leaves the promotion. ½*
Pat Patterson video package. Narrated by Vince, in a nice touch. Saying that Pat achieved the same level of success as a broadcaster as he did as a wrestler is a pretty nasty insult, actually
And now the payoff for the DX skits, as ‘HHH’ flies a plane over the arena where Nitro is, and skywrites nasty messages
Rock v Triple H: Neither Rock's WWF Intercontinental title nor HHH's WWF European title are on the line. And you know it’s 1998 because Rock has to discuss Viagra in his pre-match promo. Rock gets a standing side-headlock on to win a brief reversal sequence, so HHH forces a criss cross, but eats a shoulderblock. Rock goes back to the headlock, then into a hammerlock, but HHH throws an elbow to break. That triggers a slugfest, and Rock gets the better of it. He charges, but HHH sidesteps, and Rock goes over the top - where Chyna is waiting to abuse him. Mark Henry confronts her, but the damage is done, and HHH hops out to smash Rock into the apron and the announce table. Rock manages to nail him on the way back in, and he unloads on Helmsley in the corner. Mark takes a cheap shot to even the score, and Rock blasts Hunter with the Intercontinental title belt. Cover, but Chyna pulls him off at two. Rock stays on HHH with a bodyslam to set up the People’s Elbow for two, but a backdrop gets countered with a kneeling facebuster. HHH adds a clothesline, and Chyna hits Rock with the European title belt for Helmsley to cover for two. HHH with a suplex to set up a kneedrop for two, so he takes Rock into the corner to unload on. A cross corner whip sets up a backdrop, but Rock uses a swinging neckbreaker to block, and he covers for two. HHH tries the Pedigree, but Rock backdrops him over the top, buying time. Henry attacks, so Chyna whacks him with a chair, allowing HHH to recover, and shove Henry into the steps. Rock hops out to go after HHH, but he gets reversed into the steps, as the referee counts both men out at 9:02. Solid action here, both guys worked hard. Afterwards, Faarooq runs out, piledriving Rock on the entrance stage. **
Backstage, Austin gets his head right
WWF Title Match: Steve Austin v Undertaker: McMahon is introduced as the special guest referee, just to mess with Austin some more. Unfortunately, we never get the match, as Undertaker chokeslams Vince before Austin ever makes his entrance. That draws Kane out to brawl with Undertaker, and they fight to the back. As Vince staggers, now Austin makes his entrance, and that’s bad news for Vince. Steve ties him in the ropes and grabs a chair, but Dude Love runs out before Austin can use it. Steve takes Dude out, but McMahon escapes in the meantime
BUExperience: As usual for this period, lots of stupid and juvenile stuff, but also lots of energy, and generally entertaining… even if the actual wrestling is an afterthought.
Monday Night Wars Rating Chart
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