WWF Rock Bottom (Version II)

 

Original Airdate: December 13, 1998 

From Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Your Hosts are Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler

Opening Match: D-lo Brown and Mark Henry v Godfather and Val Venis: Terri Runnels and Jacqueline are out with Brown and Henry here. Or, more specifically, with D-lo. Brown and Venis start, and Brown pounds him into the corner, but Val slugs back. A criss criss allows Val a rotating spinebuster, and he passes to Godfather. Godfather misses an avalanche, allowing Brown to unload. Tag to Mark, but Godfather pounds him into the corner, and cross corner whips him. He lands the avalanche this time, but Henry fires back with a powerslam. Mark with a bodyslam, and he unloads in the corner, then delivers another bodyslam. Elbowdrop, but Godfather dodges, and tags out. Val comes in slugging at Henry, but Mark blocks a German suplex, and he whips Val into the heel corner for an avalanche of his own. Tag to Brown for a sitout spinebuster for two, but a flying frogsplash misses, and Godfather gets the tag - Roseanne Barr the door! The hoes get into a fight with Terri and Jackie on the outside, which steals Godfather’s attention, and Jackie nails Venis. That allows Henry a clothesline, and a splash finishes at 5:51. This was energetic enough, but it was mostly punch/kick stuff, and a totally TV level performance. ½* (Original rating: DUD)

The Headbangers v Golga and Kurrgan: Mosh and Kurrgan start, and Mosh tries cornering him, but Kurrgan is too big. Kurrgan tries a big boot, but Mosh ducks, and tags out. Kurrgan hits Thrasher with a sidewalk slam, and he corner whips him, then follows in for a boot choke. Kurrgan is moving like Andre the Giant in 1990 here. Kurrgan with a corner splash, and he passes to Golga for an avalanche on both heels. Golga hiptosses Thrasher to set up an elbowdrop, and he adds a legdrop for two. Back to Kurrgan for a bodyslam, but a 2nd rope splash misses, and Thrasher puts the boots to him. Thrasher tries a suplex, but can’t get him up, so Mosh runs in to turn it into a tandem deal for a one count. The Headbangers abuse Kurrgan with double teams, but Golga gets the tag, so they double team him for the pin at 6:32. If the opener was TV stuff, this was house show stuff. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Owen Hart v Steve Blackman: Hart kickstarts the match, and then kickstarts Blackman. Hart with a turnbuckle smash, and a cross corner whip rattles the ring. Hart with a vertical suplex to set up a legdrop, and he tees off with chops in the corner. Cross corner whip, but Steve reverses, and backdrops him on the rebound. Blackman with a spinkick and a knife-edge chop, before he sends Owen over the top. Hart bails up the aisle, so Steve chases him down with a clothesline on the floor, and he takes it back inside. Blackman delivers a snap suplex, and a backbreaker leads to a Mexican surfboard. Blackman snaps off a backelbow, but Hart fires a leg-feed enzuigiri. Hart keeps coming with a snap suplex of his own, and a kneedrop follows. Hart with a gutwrench suplex for two, and a big chop allows Hart to stomp the groin. The crowd is extremely behind Owen here. Hart with a bodyslam to set up a dive off the middle, but Blackman blocks. That allows Blackman a standing dropkick, and he cracks Owen with chops in the corner. Steve with another vertical suplex to set up an elbowdrop for two, but Owen dodges a kick, and bails. Blackman stays on him with a baseball slide, but Owen manages to put the boots to him as they head back in. Hart with an inverted atomic drop and a spinheel kick for two, then a standing dropkick. Hart with yet another vertical suplex to set up a flying elbowdrop for two, and he grounds Steve in a chinlock from there. Blackman fights free, and throws a shoulderblock, but runs into a knee while trying another one. Hart dives with a 2nd rope bodypress, but Blackman rolls through for two, so Owen throws another leg-feed enzuigiri for two. Hart pops a top turnbuckle pad off, but gets reversed into it, and Blackman dropkicks him on the rebound. Steve snaps his throat across the top rope, and a bodyslam sets up a trio of pointed elbowdrops. Sleeper, but Owen reverses, and shifts it into a dragon sleeper. Steve fights free, but misses a corner kick, and Hart capitalizes with a DDT. That allows Owen to go up with a flying dropkick, but it misses, and Steve puts him in a sharpshooter. And not a good one, at that. Hart makes the ropes, and wisely bails, but Blackman is on his tail with chops in the aisle. Steve stays mindful of the count, and runs back inside, but fails to take Owen with him, and Hart walks out at 10:31. This was a good - if slightly repetitive - match, but a terrible finish for a pay per view bout. ** ½ (Original rating: *** ¼)

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Bob Holly, Al Snow, and Scorpio v Christian, Gangrel, and Edge: Holly and Edge start, and Bob fights off the initial blitz with a powerslam. Holly adds a falcon arrow, but a corner charge hits a boot, and Edge hits him with an electric facebuster. Tag to Christian, as Lawler goes all in with the dad jokes. Holly catches Christian with a powerbomb to allow the tag to Scorpio, and Scorpio delivers a pair of cross corner clotheslines, ahead of a spinkick. Scorpio with a 2nd rope somersault legdrop for two, and he passes to Al for a series of trapping headbutts. Al adds a cross corner whip, and he catches Christian with a clothesline on the rebound. Snow with a suplex, but another clothesline misses, and Christian matslams him, then throws a dropkick. Tag to Gangrel to hammer Snow into the corner, but Al turns the tables. Cross corner whip, but Gangrel reverses. Gangrel tries another cross corner whip, but Al reverses, and a reversal sequence ends in Snow delivering a bridging northern lights suplex for two. Gangrel comes out of the corner with a clothesline, but Snow manages a wheelbarrow suplex. Gangrel with a DDT, as we continue going back and forth without much direction, and the announcers discuss the Beatles. Cole pretending to not know who they are because he’s ‘into the new stuff’ is enough to make you hate him, if you didn’t already. The Brood finally take control of things and work over Snow, until Al fights off a double team, and gets the tag to Scorpio. Scorpio blasts Christian with a jumping clothesline for two when Edge saves, and Roseanne Barr the door! Snow pops Christian with Head during the chaos, and Scorpio capitalizes with a dive for two. Edge comes in to put the boots to Scorpio, and everyone ends up on the outside, as Christian hits Scorpio with a tomikaze at 9:01. This wasn’t lazy, but it felt kind of directionless. * ½ (Original rating: *)

Striptease Match: Goldust v Jeff Jarrett: They feel each other out to start, with Goldust dominating. Goldust with a spinebuster and a sitdown splash for two, but Jeff catches him with a backelbow, and Goldust falls out of the ring. Jeff follows, but loses a slugfest, so he snaps Goldust’s throat across the top rope on the way back in. Jeff with a flying bodypress, but Goldust rolls through for two. Goldust tries a hiptoss, but Jeff counters to a single-arm DDT, and he puts the boots to the man. Jeff with a swinging neckbreaker for two, and a 2nd rope fistdrop finds the mark. Vertical suplex, but Goldust reverses, so Jeff throws a dropkick for two, then hooks a sleeper. Goldust fights free, so Jarrett clotheslines him, and signals Debra McMichael to grab the guitar. Goldust blocks it, and hits the Curtain Call, but the referee is distracted by Debra, so no count. That allows Jarrett to recover with a cradle, but Goldust reverses for two, and this poor crowd is having a collective heart attack. Goldust with a bulldog for two, and he sets up shattered dreams, so Debra comes in to distract him. Goldust doesn’t take the bait, and lands the move, but Jarrett falls out of the ring. Goldust is thrilled to take the count out, but as the official is counting, Debra smashes the guitar over Goldust’s head. Jarrett beats the count, and hits the dazed Goldust with a Russian facebuster at 7:59. A solid match from two pros, but nothing exceptional. Afterwards, Commissioner Shawn Michaels comes out, and decides to use his power to reverse the decision. He’s a huge heel at this point, so that’s kind of odd. But, I guess, boobs trump everything. So Debra starts stripping down, but Blue Blazer runs out to cover her up, just as she’s getting her bra off. ** ½ (Original rating: *)

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The New Age Outlaws v Ken Shamrock and Big Boss Man: The challengers chase the Outlaws around to start, and things settle on Jesse James and Ken. Jesse tries a cross corner whip, but Shamrock counters with a short-clothesline, so Billy Gunn tries a distraction, but Boss Man beats on Jesse to prevent the champs from taking advantage of him. Tag to Boss Man for a bodyslam that sets up a splash, but Jesse rolls out of the way, and tags. Gunn hammers in the corner, before passing back to Road Dogg for a tandem backdrop. Tag to Shamrock, and he tunes James up a little, but misses a big boot, and Jesse throws a series of jabs ahead of a kneedrop. He looks for a tag, but takes too long, and Ken takes him down in the anklelock, so Gunn runs in to save. Gunn tags him, but walks into a hiptoss, and Shamrock delivers a kneedrop, followed by mounted punches. Ken with a cross corner whip into a roundhouse kick on the rebound, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and Gunn hits a rocker dropper. That allows the tag to Jesse, but he walks right in to a belly-to-belly suplex. The challengers take control and work over Jesse, as Shawn works the crowd at ringside, providing the only reactions from them. Just like in 1994, Shawn Michaels is regularly the best worker in a match he isn’t even in. Gunn finally gets the hot tag, and runs wild. A sitout powerbomb on Shamrock gets two when Michaels pulls the referee out, allowing Boss Man to nail Billy with the nightstick, giving Shamrock a dramatic two count. Ken tries a suplex, and Shawn looks to add an assist, but accidentally trips Shamrock, allowing Gunn to topple for the pin at 17:03. The heat segment was punishingly dull, like something off of a house show in the late 80s. The rest was basic. ¾* (Original rating: ¼*)

WWF Title Match: Rock v Mankind: Rock still gets a strong babyface reaction, despite being a great heel over the last month. Rock attacks as Mankind and Vince McMahon negotiate, but Mankind fights him off, and unloads in the corner. To the outside, Mankind whips him into the apron, which rebounds Rock into a clothesline on the floor. Mankind feeds him the announce table before taking things back inside, as Vince grabs the microphone to order the referee to enforce the rules better. Rock unloads in the corner, and they spill back to the outside, where Rock chokes him with some cable. Rock with a vertical suplex on the floor, but Mankind nails him from the high ground as they go back inside. Mankind tosses him back out for a baseball slide, and he goes to the middle rope for a dive, but Shane McMahon hooks his ankle. That allows Rock to recover and slam him off, and he brains Mankind with a chair before taking it inside to cover for two. Rock with a bodyslam to set up the People’s elbow for two, but Mankind manages a swinging neckbreaker, and both guys are left looking up at the lights. They stagger up for a slugfest, and Mankind catches him with a clothesline for two, followed by a legdrop for two. Mankind with a legdrop to the groin, so Vince orders the DQ, but Mankind takes out the referee before he can call it. Vince goes to the timekeeper directly, so Mankind takes him out as well, but that allows Rock the time to recover with a chair shot. Rock with a uranage, but there’s no referee to make the count. Shane comes in with the title belt to knock Mankind out until the official can recover, but he nails Rock by accident. Mankind covers, and another referee slides in to count a dramatic two. Mankind tries a clothesline, but Rock counters with a floatover DDT for two. Rock misses a clothesline now, allowing Mankind a double-arm DDT for two, and he slaps the mandible claw on! Rock goes down, and the referee calls for the bell when he’s unresponsive at 13:36. This was entertaining from a storyline perspective, but the actual work was pretty weak, before the last few minutes. But then after, Vince grabs the microphone, and rules that the title can’t change, since Rock never technically submitted. * (Original rating: *)

Main Event: Royal Rumble Qualifying Buried Alive Match: Undertaker v Steve Austin: Winner gets a spot in the Royal Rumble match. And, also, doesn't get buried alive. They brawl in the aisle to start, and Austin chokes him with his entrance vest. They brawl over to the grave site, but nothing really comes of it, and they make their way to the ring, where Steve lands a Thesz press to set up mounted punches. Steve snaps his throat across the top rope, and he hops to the outside to bash Undertaker’s leg into the post a few times. Undertaker manages to reverse him into the steps, and they turn over an announce table as they brawl around ringside. Steve tries a piledriver on the floor, but Undertaker counters with a backdrop, and he bootchokes Stone Cold. They brawl back over to the grave site, where Austin manages to knock him into the pit, but Undertaker nails him with a wreath before he can shovel any dirt. I’m not even sure that Austin was going for there, as Undertaker wasn’t even battered enough to cover for a two count, but he’s going to bury him alive? They continue slugging it out inside of the grave, and it goes nowhere, so they brawl back to ringside, where Undertaker whacks him with a chair. Inside, Undertaker delivers a chokeslam,  and he drags Steve over to the grave. He looks to get him in, but Austin manages to fight him off with a stunner. He turns a wheelbarrow of dirt over on Undertaker, but that’s not considered enough. Steve goes to find a solution, but Undertaker is out of the grave now, and holding a shovel. Suddenly, a ball of fire shoots up from the grave, and Kane pops out of it. He knocks the shovel out of Undertaker’s hand, and they brawl, with Austin… somewhere. He just kind of disappeared. Kane with a tombstone that allows him to dump Undertaker into the open grave, as Austin shows up with a backhoe. He gets some crew to work it for him, and Undertaker gets buried at 21:31. Austin getting knocked silly at SummerSlam, and still getting a better match out of Undertaker is kind of crazy. Because this was not good. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

BUExperience: A couple of decent undercard match, but not much else, and a real stinker of a main event. This was not good.

DUD