WWF Sunday Night Heat (October 4, 1998)

 

Original Airdate: October 4, 1998 (taped September 29)

From East Lansing, Michigan; Your Hosts are Jim Cornette and Shane McMahon

X-Pac v Owen Hart: The WWF European title is not on the line here. D-lo Brown sits in on commentary here, and accuses X-Pac of stealing ‘his’ European title belt from the back of his car while he was working out in the gym. X-Pac wins a criss cross with a dropkick to put Owen on the outside, and he wants to regroup, but X-Pac forces him back in. X-Pac with a bodyslam to set up an elbowdrop, and he cracks Hart with a chop in the corner. X-Pac with a cross corner whip, but the charge in misses… and Owen walks out? X-Pac drags him back in again, and he delivers a turnbuckle smash, but hits a knee on a corner charge again. Owen tries walking out again, so X-Pac rolls him up, and Hart doesn’t even bother trying to kick out at 3:09. According to the announcers, Hart is broken up about putting Dan Severn on the shelf, and is reassessing his career, since Dan is the newest in a long line of guys Hart has injured. Afterwards, Michael Cole comes out to ask Triple H where Billy Gunn is, but HHH blows him off. ½*

We see that Vince McMahon is in a hospital bed, and are told he will be speaking to us shortly via satellite 

Outside of the building, Steve Austin arrives

Over at the hospital (named as such, not ‘medical facility,’ straight from Vince’s own mouth), McMahon is recovering from the attack by Undertaker and Kane on RAW, and his leg is in a cast. But, despite how angry he is at them, he still blames Austin more than anyone else

Sho Funaki v Matt Hardy: Funaki wins a criss cross with a dropkick, but walks into a tilt-a-whirl slam, and Funaki bails. Matt is on him with a plancha, and he takes Funaki in for an inverted bodyslam. Matt misses a 2nd rope elbowdrop, allowing Funaki to grab a chinlock, but Hardy slugs free. Hardy with a sitout crucifix powerbomb, but Funaki blocks a springboard flying moonsault by getting his knees up. Funaki capitalizes with a suplex to set up a flying headbutt drop at 2:04. They squeezed every bit of juice possible out of that tiny little lemon. *

Backstage, Austin is rooting around

The Headbangers v Kurrgan and Golga: Again?! Mosh and Kurrgan start, and Mosh slugs away, but loses a criss cross to a backdrop. Tag to Thrasher, who promptly ends up in a wristlock. Over to Golga for a corner whip, and he follows in with an avalanche. Golga with a bodyslam to set up an elbowdrop, and he adds a legdrop for two. Golga with a corner whip, but another avalanche misses, allowing Mosh a cheap shot. The Headbangers double up on Golga, so the Insane Clown Posse interfere, and Golga hits a sitdown splash at 2:27. It’s amazing how much effort John Tenta put in with this stupid gimmick. He was more fired up here than in his entire WCW run. ¼*

Backstage, Austin has found an axe, and is heading somewhere, walking with purpose

Steven Regal vignette

Mankind and Ken Shamrock v Skull and 8-Ball: The DOA attack Shamrock while Mankind is still making his entrance, and they isolate him. They cut the ring in half on Ken, as we see Austin outside, trying to get into a production truck. Mankind gets a tag, but immediately gets into trouble, and worked over. He reaches for tags, but Ken doesn’t really stretch much for him. Mankind manages a double-arm DDT on 8-Ball, so Paul Ellering trips him up. Mankind responds by putting him in the mandible claw, so Shamrock runs over, and whacks Mankind with a chair - giving him a receipt from Breakdown. That allows 8-Ball to cover at 4:46. DUD

Outside, Austin has figured out a way into the production truck, and uses his axe to chop the cable carrying the satellite feed to ‘pathetic’ Vince’s hospital bed

Rock v Jeff Jarrett: Austin comes out to do commentary, and Shane is shitting his pants, despite repeating over and over that he doesn’t have anything to do with his dad’s beef with Steve. Rock dodges a blitz, and throws right hands. A criss cross allows Rock a Samoan drop for two, as Austin tortures Shane on commentary. Rock misses a charge in the corner, allowing Jeff a 2nd rope clothesline, and Jarrett throws hands of his own. Jeff with a ropechoke, and a swinging neckbreaker, as an angry Vince calls in to the show to chew Austin out. Jarrett with a straddling ropechoke, and Dennis Knight pulls Rock out of the ring to abuse. Jarrett with a baseball slide, and a flying bodypress on the way back in, but Rock rolls through for two. Jeff cuts him off with a clothesline for two, and he goes to a chinlock. The crowd is crazy into Rock, and it took balls for them to turn him heel so soon after babyface turn. Jeff tries a vertical suplex, but Rock reverses, and crawls over to cover for two. Jarrett recovers with a ten-punch count, and a cross corner whip follows - only for Rock to rebound with a clothesline. Rock adds a DDT, and a bodyslam sets up the People’s elbow - the crowd losing their minds for it. Cover, count, but Knight pulls the referee out at two. Knight attacks Rock, and Austin doesn’t think that’s cool, and runs in to save - the match called off at 6:25. They worked hard here, but with everything going on with Austin, it felt like background. Afterwards, Steve manages to lay out Jarrett and Knight with stunners, and he comes face to face with Rock as the show goes off the air. *

BUExperience: This one just flew by. All killer, no filler.