WWF Judgment Day 1998 (Version II)

 

Original Airdate: October 18, 1998

From Chicago, Illinois; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Opening Match: Marc Mero v Al Snow: Jeff Jarrett is out to try and make this a triple threat, but gets rebuffed. The distraction of that allows Mero to sneak up on Al, and he hammers away, but loses a criss cross to a powerslam. Snow adds a pair of clotheslines, and a turnbuckle smash follows. Al with a rebound clothesline for two, and he grounds Marc for some mounted punches. Al grabs a standing side-headlock, but Marc whips him into the ropes, and catches him with a jumping backelbow. Mero goes for Head, but that allows Al to recover with a schoolboy for two. Mero throws a clothesline to cut him off, but a reversal sequence ends in Al delivering a DDT. Snow uses a bodyslam to set up a flying moonsault, so Jacqueline distracts him, allowing Mero a low blow. Marc adds a DDT for two, and he ropechokes Al from there - complete with abuse from Jackie. Mero with a kneelift, and a flying moonsault press gets him two. Al fights back with a series of trapping headbutts, but a whip into the ropes gets reversed, allowing Mero a clothesline. Al fights back with a leg-feed enzuigiri, and a sitout spinebuster follows. That allows Al to dive with a flying moonsault, but Jackie pulls Marc out of the way. Mero capitalizes with an Oklahoma roll for two, and he corner whips Al to rebound into a Samoan drop. Mero with a flying shooting star press, but Snow dodges, and covers for two. Marc tries getting back on track with the TKO, but Al counters to a scoop sitout brainbuster at 7:15. This wasn’t a bad match, but it was a bad choice for an opener. It just kind of sputtered along. * ¾ (Original rating: * ¼)

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Hawk, Animal, and Droz v Paul Ellering, Skull, and 8-Ball: Animal and Skull start, and Skull dominates with a swinging neckbreaker, after blocking a backdrop. A criss cross allows Animal a clothesline, and a dropkick sends Skull to the outside. Tag to Hawk, so Skull slugs him, and delivers a powerslam. A whip into the ropes gets reversed, allowing Hawk a powerslam, and he adds a clothesline. Hawk with a neckbreaker to set up a fistdrop for two, and he passes to Droz for a jumping backelbow. A distraction from 8-Ball allows Skull to recover, and the DOA triple team. They work Droz over, until things break down when Hawk gets the hot tag, and Roseanne Barr the door. LOD hit 8-Ball with the Doomsday Device, and Droz covers at 5:28. Not great, but it was pretty quick. Afterwards, Hawk fumes that Droz ‘stole’ ‘his’ pin, but nothing actually comes of it. ½* (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Light Heavyweight Title Match: Taka Michinoku v Christian: This is actually Christian’s in-ring debut for the promotion. He hammers Taka at the bell, but Taka dodges a cross corner whip, and unloads in the corner. Taka with a cross corner whip, but Christian reverses, only to have Taka block a German suplex. That allows Taka a spinheel kick, and a clothesline sends Christian over the top. Taka is on his case with a springboard flying bodypress into the aisle, as we spot Edge in the crowd. Taka with a flying kneesmash on the way back inside for two, and he grabs a standing headlock, but Christian gets into the ropes to force a break. Christian with a cross corner whip, and a modified inverted DDT follows. Christian adds a dropkick, and a two-alarm rolling vertical suplex goes into a gourdbuster for two. Christian works a chinlock, but Taka escapes. The champ charges, but Christian hits the deck, and Taka goes flying out. Christian is on him with a springboard bodypress on the floor, and he rolls Taka back in for a powerbomb, getting two. A flying splash misses, and Taka wins a criss cross with a dropkick to put Christian on the outside. Taka is on him with a springboard moonsault press out there, and he rolls Christian in to crack with chops in the corner. A cross corner whip works, but Christian blocks the charge with a backdrop over the top. Taka lands on the apron and grabs Christian in a matslam, but Christian rolls through on a flying bodypress for two. Taka tries a rollup, but Christian blocks. Another try works for two, so Christian tries one, but gets blocked as well. That allows Taka a seated dropkick for two, and he uses a pair of corner whips, but a third gets countered into a Russian legsweep for two. Christian tries another powerbomb, but Taka blocks, and uses a tornado DDT. Taka tries for the scoop sitout brainbuster, but Christian counters into a cradle to win the title at 8:30. Solid stuff, with a focus on storytelling. ** ¼ (Original rating: **)

Goldust v Val Venis: Goldust goes right to work, as the announcers mention that he defeated Razor Ramon in 1996 for about the dozenth time over the last week of programming. They get hung up on the most random stuff from time to time. To the outside, Val tries whipping him into the barricade, but Goldust reverses, and drops Val across the steps. Inside, Val manages to slug him down, and he dumps Goldust to the outside again. Venis dives with a flying bodypress on the floor, but a flying axehandle on the way back in gets blocked, and Goldust delivers an inverted atomic drop. Goldust with a slingshot side suplex, and a cross corner whip for two, as some jackass in the crowd relentlessly wolf whistles at Terri Runnels. Goldust with a snapmare to set up a somersault necksnap, and another cross corner whip, but the charge in misses, and Goldust takes a spill to the outside. Val hops out to capitalize on the shoulder that hit the post, and he hits a clothesline for two on the way back in. Val grounds him in an overhead wristlock, until Goldust escapes, and lands a bodypress for two. Val fires back with a clothesline for two, and he goes back to work on the arm/shoulder. Venis delivers a Russian legsweep for two, and a powerslam follows. Val goes upstairs, but Goldust vertical superplexes him off for two. Goldust tries a 2nd rope elbowdrop, but Val dodges, and grabs a sleeper. Goldust gets into the ropes, so Val charges after the break, but Goldust gets a sleeper of his own locked. Val manages a side suplex to escape, but Goldust backdrops him, and whips him into the corner ahead of a bulldog. That draws Terri onto the apron to shout at him, and the distraction allows Val to recover, but he misses his sneak attack. That allows Goldust a low blow, and the pin at 12:06. This had a good build, but the crowd was surprisingly disinterested. It didn’t help that the actual in-ring storytelling wasn’t great, but they did pop for the finish, at least. * (Original rating: *)

WWF European Title Match: D-lo Brown v X-Pac: D-lo knocks him around early on, and he works a wristlock. X-Pac manages a reversal, and he uses a series of kicks to put the champion on his backside. X-Pac grabs a headlock, but Brown forces a criss cross, and wins it with a clothesline for two. Brown with a bodyslam to set up an elbowdrop, and he unloads with chops in the corner. D-lo with a corner whip, but an avalanche misses, and X-Pac hiptosses him. Into the corner for lightning kicks, but D-lo blocks the bronco buster. That allows Brown a legdrop for two, and a snapmare leads to a chinlock. X-Pac fights free, so D-lo throws a leg lariat for two, keeping control. Brown with a running sitout powerbomb for two, but X-Pac blocks a superplex, and dives with a flying bodypress - only for D-lo to roll through for two. Brown goes back to the chinlock to slow things down, until X-Pac fights free, but a corner dropkick misses. That allows Brown a bodyslam to set up a 2nd rope splash for two, and a backbreaker gets two. D-lo hooks a Texas cloverleaf, but X-Pac escapes. X-Pac tries slugging, so D-lo goes to the eyes, and delivers another bodyslam. Upstairs for a flying somersault senton splash, but X-Pac dodges, and both guys take the count. Both guys stagger up, and X-Pac wins a slugfest, then throws a spinheel kick. A jumping clothesline wins him a criss cross, and a dropkick sets up the bronco buster - successfully this time. Chyna adds a cheap shot to give the challenger two, but another criss cross ends in the referee getting bumped. X-Pac stays focused with a side suplex, as Mark Henry comes out to deal with Chyna. With her distracted, D-lo grabs the title belt, and brains X-Pac. Cover, and the dazed referee counts a dramatic two. Brown stays focused with a corner whip, and another powerbomb gets him two. Brown tries a flying shoulderblock, but X-Pac catches him in a sitout facebuster to take the title home at 13:55. This got really good in the final leg, which made up for a kind of underwhelming early section. ** (Original rating: * ¼)

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The New Age Outlaws v The Headbangers: The challengers attack during the catchphrase, which should make them the biggest heels in the building, I’d imagine. The Outlaws fight them off, and the dust settles on Billy Gunn and Mosh. Gunn dominates, and a swinging neckbreaker gets him two. Tag to Jesse James for a hiptoss, so Mosh goes to the eyes, and tags out. Thrasher charges right into a hiptoss of his own, and Jesse is able to add a dropkick this time. A punch gets the champion two, and a cross corner clothesline connects. He grabs a headlock, but Mosh catches a blind tag, and hits Jesse with a dive. That turns the tide, and the challengers go to work on James. Gunn catches a tag, but quickly gets into trouble, and the challengers cut the ring in half on him instead. Billy nearly gets a hot tag, but the challengers cut him off with an illegal double team, and a frustrated James comes in to attack with a boombox to draw the DQ at 14:04.. Not incompetent, but really dull. And a bad finish, to boot. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Ken Shamrock v Mankind: Ken dominates early, targeting the arm. And he just does that for a long while, as the crowd dies off very quickly. Mankind manages to shake him off long enough to try for the mandible claw, but Ken bails to the outside to save himself. Mankind chases, and Ken steals the high ground, hammering his challenger on the way back in. Mankind manages to win a slugfest, and he gets a chinlock/bodyscissors on, which he tries to shift into the claw, but Shamrock counters by throwing mounted punches. They spill to the outside, where Ken cracks him with a chair, and he hammers on Mankind as they head back in. Ken with a clothesline for two, and he goes after the hand, trying to neutralize the claw. Mankind escapes a hold, but misses a corner splash, and Shamrock grabs him for a belly-to-belly suplex. He tries for the anklelock, but Mankind blocks, and uses a double-arm DDT that leaves both men looking up at the lights. Mankind is up first, and drops Ken into the corner for a running kneesmash, then uses a tree of woe. Mankind with a series of turnbuckle smashes, and a guillotine legdrop follows. A clothesline sends both guys tumbling over the top, and Mankind dives from the apron with an elbowdrop on the floor. Ken comes back with a powerslam that sees Mankind’s ankle hit the steps, and the champ slaps the anklelock on as they go back inside. Mankind makes the ropes, so Ken lets off, but then goes right back to stomping the ankle. The puts the hold on again, but Mankind refuses to submit to another man. He can’t escape or make the ropes, however, so he decides to apply the claw to himself, causing him to pass out, and thus lose with honor at 14:35. This didn’t really work. Both guys are great, but they had no chemistry here, and the crowd was completely dead. ¾* (Original rating: ** ¼)

Rock v Mark Henry: Rock comes in all piss and vinegar, and knocks Henry around. Rock with a vertical suplex for two, so Mark bails, but Rock is on his tail, smashing him into the steps. Into an announce table next, but Henry reverses, and rolls him back in. Rock thunders out of the corner with a clothesline, but gets reversed into the ropes, and Henry catches him with a backelbow. Mark with an elbowdrop for two, and a legdrop gets another two. Mark works a chinlock from there, until Rock fights out, and delivers a DDT for two. Rock uses a bodyslam to set up the People’s elbow, so D-lo Brown comes out, and Henry capitalizes with a clothesline. That sets up a splash, and with Brown holding Rock’s ankles down, Henry scores three at 5:03. Not much to this one. This felt like it would have been more at home on RAW. And, for as entertaining as Rock is as a character, boy, he leaves a lot to be desired in the ring. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Undertaker v Kane: This is for the vacant title, with Steve Austin as the special guest referee, and this months 'McMahon stacks the deck against Austin' theme is that if Steve does not crown a new WWF Champion, he is fired. They slug it out early, with Undertaker dominating. Undertaker covers, but only gets one, following a very slow Steve-count. Undertaker gets in his face, allowing Kane to attack, and a big boot leads to a clothesline over the top. Undertaker pulls Kane out with him, and Steve passes Undertaker a chair, but Undertaker misses a swing with it. Kane delivers a smash into an announce table, and they go back in, continuing to plod around. Steve cheers them on as they beat each other up, and Undertaker gets control, working the leg. For a long time. In really dull fashion. Finally, Kane catches him with a spinebuster, and he adds a clothesline. Both guys end up getting annoyed with Austin, and decide to put their differences aside to beat him up instead. They do a number on him, until Undertaker breaks the alliance by kicking him in the bad leg. Kane fights him off with a chokeslam, as Paul Bearer shows up. He hits Kane with a chair, not Kane no-sells. Kane goes after him, which allows Undertaker to grab the chair, and he knocks Kane silly. Cover, but Steve refuses to count. Well, you guys just kicked his ass two minutes ago, why would you expect him to do you any favors? Instead, Steve drops Undertaker with a stunner, and then counts both men down at 17:37 for a draw. So no new champion, and Austin dares Vince to fire him. Vince doesn’t show, so Steve goes storming to the back to find him, but he’s nowhere to be found. Austin comes back out, and Vince appears in the balcony, firing Austin as promised. A complete piece of shit as a match and a main event, that was more about advancing the story than delivering a result or a good match. And that’s fine for TV, but this is pay per view. -¾* (Original rating: –½*)

BUExperience: Despite a number of title changes, it felt like nothing of consequence really happened here, and the main event was plain horrible. This whole thing felt more like an episode of RAW than a proper pay per view.

DUD