WWF Survivor Series 1998 (Version II)

 

Original Airdate: November 15, 1998

From St. Louis, Missouri; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Opening WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Mankind v Duane Gill: Gill is Mankind’s hyped mystery opponent, complete with over the top introduction from Vince McMahon. Mankind brings him in hardway to kick things off, and a double-arm DDT finishes at 0:33. And there you go! This was entertaining as the angle it was. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Jeff Jarrett v Al Snow: Snow chases Debra McMichael around, so Jeff goes after him on the outside, but Al hits him with a somersault senton off the steps. Al adds a slingshot legdrop as they go inside, but Jeff catches him with a hotshot to turn things around. Jarrett stays on him with a backelbow, and he unloads in the corner, but Snow turns the tables. Al with a clothesline, and he snaps Jeff across the top rope with a modified neckbreaker. Snow tries a flying legdrop, but misses, and Jarrett hits a dropkick for two. A criss cross allows Al a crucifix for two, but Jeff cradles for two - reversed by Snow for two. Both guys pop up, and Al lands a right hand. Jeff tries a spinebuster, but Snow counters with a DDT for two, and adds an atomic drop. Cue Debra with Head, but the referee knocks it away from her. That allows Snow to grab it, and he pops Jarrett with it for the pin at 3:49. ¾* (Original rating: *)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Steve Austin v Big Boss Man: This is Boss Man’s first WWF match since early 1993. Boss Man tries attacking in the aisle, but Austin fights him off, and sends him into the steps. Inside, Austin throws some right hands, and a Thesz press allows him some mounted punches. Steve with a pointed elbowdrop for two, so Boss Man goes low, and hammers on Austin from there. Boss Man works a chinlock, but Steve fights free, and the crowd is losing their minds for him. Steve gets nailed while trying a backdrop, allowing Boss Man a straddling ropechoke, and a punch gets him two. Back to the chinlock, but Steve fights him off in the corner, and stomps a mudhole. To the outside, where Boss Man grabs his nightstick, and whacks Steve with it for a DQ at 3:40. A four minute match with two chinlocks. That’s… something. Boss Man keeps beating on him after the bell, not concerned about losing his spot in the tournament, since his main goal is simply injuring Austin. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: X-Pac v Steven Regal: I agree with Lawler: Regal’s theme is incredible. X-Pac wins a reversal sequence with a spinkick, and a corner whip leads to a side suplex for two. X-Pac with a pair of lightning legdrops for two, but a corner dropkick misses, and Regal drills him with an uppercut for two. Regal goes to a mat-based abdominal stretch, and a snapmare sets up a kneedrop. X-Pac tries a sunset flip, but Regal rolls through before he can fully cradle, and catapults X-Pac across the ring. Regal stretches him with a bow-and-arrow, and a gutwrench suplex gets him two. Regal works a headscissors, and a butterfly superplex gets him two. Back to the mat with a keylock, but X-Pac escapes, and lands a spinheel kick for two. X-Pac adds a dropkick to set up the bronco buster, and a vertical suplex follows. X-Pac goes up, but Regal knocks him all the way down to the floor. Regal tries a butterfly suplex on the floor, but X-Pac blocks, and both guys get counted out at 8:11. This wasn’t bad, but a little slow, not especially engaging. Afterwards, a furious McMahon sends Sgt. Slaughter out to demand that we get five minutes of overtime (since the winner is supposed to face Austin in the next round), but X-Pac is battered, and just walks out. ½* (Original rating: ¾*)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Ken Shamrock v Goldust: Ken with a bodyslam right away, and he puts the boots to Goldust, before choking him on the ropes. Goldust tries a jumping clothesline, but misses, and Ken kicks at him. A criss cross allows Goldust a jumping shoulderblock, and a bodyslam sets up a kneedrop. Goldust with a turnbuckle smash, and a corner whip, but Ken rebounds out with a clothesline for two. Ken with a turnbuckle smash of his own, and he goes to a reverse chinlock from there. A Russian legsweep gets him two, and he goes to a chinlock. He tries a vertical suplex, but Goldust reverses, though Shamrock is up first anyway. Goldust manages to fight him off in the corner, and a drop-toehold buys him a little time. Powerbomb, but Shamrock topples him for two. Goldust fires back with a bulldog, and he hammers Ken into the corner for the shattered dreams, but the referee intervenes. That allows Ken to get to the middle rope, and he dives with a rana. Ken adds a belly-to-belly suplex, and the anklelock ends it at 5:56. This didn’t really work. They just didn’t have any chemistry. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Rock v Big Boss Man: This is scheduled as Rock against Triple H, but HHH is still injured, and can’t compete. He hasn’t even been seen on TV in weeks, and they’ve barely even been mentioning him. Anyway, Vince sics Boss Man on him as a last minute replacement, but Rock immediately hooks him in a small package at 0:05! Another one that was entertaining as an angle, even if not as a match. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Undertaker v Kane: Undertaker attacks before the bell, and pounds his brother into the corner. Undertaker with a cross corner whip, but Kane turns the tables on him when he tries to unload. Kane throws a big boot, but Undertaker sits up, so Kane clotheslines him over the top. Undertaker lands on his feet, so Kane chases him to the outside, and feeds him the apron. Undertaker manages to drop him across the barricade in response, and he adds a trip into the steps for good measure. Inside, they trade off on the mat for a bit, and Kane dives with a flying clothesline for two. Chokeslam, but Paul Bearer distracts him, and Undertaker counters into the tombstone at 7:19 - complete with Paul holding Kane’s foot down from the outside! This was cleaner than I’d have guessed. It also wasn’t very good, but it was significantly better than the Judgment Day match, and also not too long. DUD (Original rating: ¼*)

WWF Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Mankind v Al Snow: Al attacks to kick start things, and he cross corner whips Mankind, then hits a rebound clothesline. Al with a dropkick to send Mankind to the outside, so Mankind grabs a chair, but Snow knocks it away from him. Al uses it a few times, and a superkick on the floor finds the mark. Al tries a dive from the rail, but gets nailed, and Mankind flapjacks him on the chair. Al beats the count in, so Mankind chokes him down in the corner, as we see Vince and his stooges on split screen, and learn that it was McMahon who gave Snow Mr. Socko. Al grabs Head, but misses a swing, and Mankind side suplexes him. That allows Mankind to find Socko, but the distraction allows Snow a clothesline. Mankind fires back with a clothesline of his own, as Ross tries to call all of this straight. Al with a sitout spinebuster for two, but Mankind catches him with a double-arm DDT, and finishes with the mandible claw at 3:58. ½* (Original rating: ½*)

WWF Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Ken Shamrock v Rock: Rock brushes off a barrage, and ropechokes Shamrock. Rock with a cross corner whip, but the charge in misses, and Ken unloads on him. Ken with a floatover suplex for two, and a cross corner clothesline follows. Shamrock with another cross corner whip, but he waits too long to follow in, and Rock clotheslines him. Shamrock bails, but Rock chases, and feeds him some announce table. Whip into the steps, but Ken reverses, and adds a bodyslam on the floor. Inside, Shamrock throws a leg lariat, and a Russian legsweep gets him two. Ken with a kneelift ahead of a chinlock, as Big Boss Man shows up at ringside. Rock escapes the hold, so Ken uses a rana into the anklelock! Rock is in trouble, but manages to make the ropes to save his chances. Ken hammers on him, but a criss cross sees both men collide, both left looking up at the lights. Rock rolls over first with a cover for two, and wins a slugfest with a floatover DDT. Rock uses a bodyslam to set up the People’s elbow for two. Uranage, but Shamrock blocks, and manages a belly-to-belly suplex. Boss Man tries passing Ken the night stick to finish him off, but Rock intercepts it, and clocks Ken for the pin at 8:20! The crowd was crazy into this one, and it elevated what was otherwise a pretty simple match. * (Original rating: ½*)

WWF Women's Title Match: Jacqueline v Sable: Jacqueline sneak attacks her, which is pretty bad form for Sable, considering the exact same thing happened to her on Heat! Sable quickly fights her off, and hits the TKO, but Marc Mero pulls the challenger out at two. Sable responds by powerbombing him on the floor, but the distraction allows Jacqueline to recover. She nails Sable with an axehandle from the apron, and then ropechokes her challenger. Jacqueline unloads in the corner, but Sable counters a powerbomb with a backdrop. Jacqueline tries a tornado DDT, but Sable blocks, and hits the powerbomb at 3:14. Short, simple, and the right person won. ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

WWF Title Tournament Semifinal Match: Mankind v Steve Austin: Austin charges right in, and pounds Mankind in the corner immediately. Austin strips him of his tuxedo, and blasts Mankind with one of his shoes, then delivers a straddling ropechoke. That draws Vince and the stooges out, as Austin stays on Mankind with turnbuckle smashes. Mankind manages to reverse one, and he pounds Steve down in the corner to set up a running kneesmash. Mankind tries a backelbow, but misses, and Steve rebounds with a Thesz press into mounted punches. Austin with a pointed elbowdrop, but Mankind blocks the stunner, and bails. He decides to run up the aisle, but the stooges manage to convince him to come back, as Vince chews him out. Austin goes out to drag him back, and he tries a piledriver in the aisle, but Mankind counters with a backdrop. Mankind whips him into the steps as they reach ringside, but Steve is up ahead of the count, so Mankind chucks him into the crowd. Mankind follows to make sure, but Austin recovers, clotheslining Mankind back to ringside. He tries a smash into the steps, but Mankind reverses, and rolls Austin in to cover for two. Mankind gets him in a reverse chinlock, but Austin escapes, and they collide for a double knockout spot. Austin is up first, and slugs him, ahead of a clothesline. Steve stomps a mudhole in the corner, but an attempt to crotch Mankind on the post backfires when Mankind feeds him said post. Mankind grabs a chair, but a charge backfires when Steve kicks it back at him. Steve tries a straddling ropechoke, but misses, and Mankind delivers a double-arm DDT on the chair for two. Mankind tries a piledriver on the chair, but Steve backdrops him on it to block, and he delivers the stunner! Cover, count, but McMahon leaps out of his wheelchair to take out the referee! That allows Mankind to recover, and he gets a mandible claw on! Steve counters to the stunner, but there’s no referee! Cue referee Shane McMahon, but he stops his count at two - and flips Austin the bird! The crowd is in complete shock, and the reactions are both intense and great! Mankind hits Steve with a clothesline, and Gerald Brisco comes in with a chair shot to knock Steve silly - Mankind hooking the leg for Shane to count three at 10:28! This was a pretty good brawl, but it was a great sports entertainment match. * ¾ (Original rating: *)

WWF Title Tournament Semifinal Match: Undertaker v Rock: With Austin out, Rock is now the crowd’s big hope. Rock fights off an attack before the bell, but gets clobbered in the corner, and Undertaker goes to work. To the outside, Undertaker feeds him the steps, so Rock uses a whip into the rail, but Undertaker rebounds with a clothesline. Inside, that gets Undertaker a two count, and a corner whip follows, but Rock blocks the charge in. Rock with a clothesline, but he runs into a backelbow, and Undertaker chokes him on the mat for a bit. Back to the outside, where Rock manages to feed him some announce table, before knocking Undertaker into the crowd. Inside, Undertaker manages a turnbuckle smash, and Paul Bearer whacks Rock with a shoe for good measure. Undertaker misses an elbow in the corner, which triggers a slugfest, won by Rock. He delivers a Samoan drop, as Big Boss Man wanders out. Rock stays on Undertaker with a DDT, and a bodyslam sets up the People’s elbow - only for Boss Man to trip him! That allows Undertaker to hit a clothesline, and he looks for the chokeslam, but Kane comes in to attack! Undertaker shoves Rock at him as a block, but Kane doesn’t care, and chokeslams Rock for the DQ at 8:25. As usual, these two had no chemistry. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match: The New Age Outlaws v The Headbangers v D-lo Brown and Mark Henry: Billy Gunn and Brown start, and trade off. Billy misses a corner splash, allowing Brown a spinheel kick, but Mosh rushes over to cover Gunn himself for two. Everyone comes in to brawl, and Jesse James eventually ends up in trouble, getting worked over by the other two teams. Gunn gets the hot tag, and Roseanne Barr the door! Billy hits Mosh with a rocker dropper, but Henry saves at two. Henry splashes Mosh for two, so Thrasher attacks him, and that allows Billy the room to piledrive Mosh for the pin at 10:05. This was mostly just treading water, as everyone was ready for the main event, and the dynamic of the match didn’t really work. I’d have probably thrown the belts on the Headbangers here, let them hold them for a month before dropping them back to the Outlaws. They had some momentum coming into this, and it wouldn’t have hurt anything (while possibly helping something). ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Mankind v Rock: The crowd is kind of subdued for this one, surprisingly. Rock dominates early on, just kind of working Mankind over, without doing much of note. Mankind bails into the aisle, and Rock chases, but gets decked, and fed the steps. Inside, Mankind grabs a chinlock, as Vince and company head down. To the outside, Rock reverses a suplex on the floor, and they spill into the crowd for a quick brawl. Rock gets the better of it with a backdrop back over to ringside, and they head back into the ring, where Rock grabs a chinlock of his own. Mankind escapes, and a clothesline sends them both over the top. Mankind cracks him with a chair out there, and he grabs the steps, but Rock knocks them back at him with the chair. Rock takes a big swing to knock Mankind silly, and he gets two off of it inside of the ring. Rock unloads in the corner, but Mankind fights him off, and dives from the apron with an elbowdrop on the floor. Ross is putting this over as an all time classic, but it’s plainly not. Mankind with a legdrop on the announce table, and he rolls Rock in to cover for two. Rock tries a charge, but Mankind backdrops him over the top. He tries a backdrop on the way back in, but Rock counters with a DDT. He tries another charge, but Mankind sidesteps, and Rock goes flying out again. Mankind dives at him from the middle rope, but Rock moves, and Mankind goes crashing through the announce table! Rock rolls him in for a bodyslam that sets up the People’s elbow, but it only gets two. Clothesline, but Mankind ducks, and delivers a double-arm DDT. That allows him to get the mandible claw on, and Rock fades. The crowd comes to life to cheer him on, and Rock manages to fight out with a uranage! That leaves both men looking up at the lights, but Rock is able to roll over and cover for a dramatic two. Rock slaps a sharpshooter on, and suddenly Vince springs to life, shouting at the timekeeper, and ringing the bell at 17:17! This was the first - and to date only - good rehash of the Montreal Screwjob finish. Afterwards, Vince and Shane personally present Rock with the belt, and Vince cuts a great victory promo. He also reveals that he was playing Mankind for a fool the whole time as well, and we have a double turn! All that draws Austin out to brawl with Rock, establishing that as the new direction of things. Ross gets an unfortunate line in here during that brawl, noting that Austin is "beating Rock like he owns him." Yikes. This was a great final from a storyline perspective, but it fell really flat as an actual match. Even the crowd didn’t feel invested, and their work did little to change that. Which is unfortunate, because this thing really needed a big, great match to cap it off, and this… wasn’t it. ¾* (Original rating: ½*)

BUExperience: One of the most entertaining shows of the era (or, really, in general), even if the wrestling is pretty much uniformly unimpressive. But, despite that, it never drags, never feels like a waste of time, and the booking is just so logical and well handled, that you can’t help but marvel at it. 

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