WWF Sunday Night Heat (August 16, 1998)

 

Original Airdate: August 16, 1998 (taped August 10)

From Omaha, Nebraska; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Shane McMahon

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Kane and Mankind v Animal and Darren Drozdov: The challengers charge in and dominate, and the dust settles on Mankind and Droz. Droz catches him with a jumping backelbow, but a cheap shot from Kane allows Mankind a double-arm DDT. Tag to Kane for a bodyslam on Droz, but an elbowdrop misses, so an angry Kane delivers a matslam instead. The heels work on Droz, but Animal gets the hot tag, and Roseanne Barr the door! Kane plants Animal with a tombstone at 3:18. Very short. ½*

Backstage, Steve Austin is enjoying a beverage

Marc Mero and Jacqueline are out, and Jackie talks shit about Sable, demanding that she wants her bikini contest trophy back. That draws Sable out to respond by calling her a cheap hooker, which is about the most 1998 response possible. This all results in Sable accepting a challenge from Jackie to… something… at… some point. No more details at this time

Brian Christopher v Edge: Christopher tries a sneak attack, but telegraphs it so loudly that a blind man could have dodged it. Edge hits him with an electric facebuster, as we see Dustin Runnels protesting the show in the crowd. Edge with a side suplex, and a clothesline dumps Christopher over the top. Edge follows to post him, but Scott Taylor trips him up, and Christopher capitalizes with a sunset bomb on the floor. Christopher with a bulldog on the way back in, and a hairwhip slam follows. Christopher with a 2nd rope axehandle, but Edge catches him in a spinebuster, and adds a spear. Edge with a clothesline, so Christopher fires back with a Russian facebuster. Christopher with a flying legdrop, but Edge dodges, and DDTs him at 4:39. Didn’t have the best flow, but solid enough. ¾*

Backstage, Austin continues to lounge

Bart Gunn v Vader: Godfather is out to do guest commentary for this one, ahead of facing Bart in the Brawl For All semifinal tomorrow on RAW. Posturing to start, and Vader tees off in the corner, but Bart turns the tables. Bart with a cross corner whip, but Vader rebounds with a bodyblock, and he adds a splash for two. Vader with an elbowdrop, and he fires off some mounted punches. Bart muscles through a vertical suplex, but Vader shoots back with a clothesline, and gets a fujiwara armbar locked. Bart won’t quit, so Vader tries a short-clothesline, but Bart ducks. Gunn clotheslines him over the top, and he follows to send Vader into the steps, but Godfather attacks Bart for the DQ at 2:31. This was kind of fun, but didn’t go on for long enough to tell a proper story. ½*

Owen Hart/Ken Shamrock/Dan Severn feud video package

Scott Taylor v Gangrel: This is Gangrel’s debut, and he freaks Scott out by drinking blood during the entrances, allowing Gangrel to attack. Gangrel with a cross corner whip, and a backdrop follows. Gangrel with a fallaway slam, so Taylor sweeps the leg, and delivers an elbowdrop. Taylor with a bodyslam, but the follow up gets blocked, and Gangrel delivers an implant DDT at 1:44. Not the most effective debut here. ¼*

Backstage, Austin and Undertaker are both hanging around, via split screen

Tiger Ali Singh is out, and pays some guy in the crowd $500 to eat worms, to prove a point about Americans. This gimmick continues to fail

Southern Justice v Triple H and X-Pac: Dennis Knight and X-Pac start, and Knight rattles the ring with a cross corner whip. Clothesline, but X-Pac ducks, and throws a spinheel kick for two. Tag to HHH, and he pounds Knight into the corner, then hits a high knee for two. Clothesline, but Dennis ducks, and wins a criss cross with an inverted atomic drop, followed by a clothesline of his own. Tag to Mark Canterbury, and he hammers HHH down in the corner. It’s hard to believe these two once met on pay per view. They seem like they’re in entirely different worlds at this point, just a few short years later. HHH fights Mark off and makes a tag to X-Pac, and X-Pac runs wild on Dennis. X-Pac with a spinkick and a bronco buster, but Knight manages a clothesline. Back to Mark for a wheelbarrow facebuster for two, so HHH comes in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Justice double up on HHH on the outside, and Jeff Jarrett shows up to attack X-Pac for the DQ at 3:47. It felt like Jarrett might have missed his cue here, leaving X-Pac just kind of hanging around for a bit waiting. Jeff tries clipping X-Pac’s hair, but Billy Gunn runs out to make the save. ½*

Backstage, Kane paces

Undertaker is out, and while he’s ‘protected’ Austin ahead of their meeting for the WWF Title at SummerSlam, he’s pissed at him for being self-destructive. That draws Stone Cold out, but before he gets to the ring, Kane comes out. We don’t actually get a resolution, though, as time runs out with Austin stuck in the middle between Undertaker in the ring, and Kane at the entrance. Okay then 

BUExperience: An easy watch, though certainly not an essential one.