Nickrj’s rant for SummerSlam 1998

 

Live from Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 30th 1998

 

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

 

European Title Match: D-Lo Brown VS Val Venis

Brown is from Helsinki Finland tonight and he’s still wearing that chest protector. They tie up to start and Brown gives a five to Venis. Brown gets a knee to get Venis mad and chasing him around the ring. Brown no sells a fist by saying “Oh hell no!” He uses his chest protector to take advantage and he hits an avalanche in the corner but misses a 2nd one. Venis gets a leg sweep and a drop toe hold followed by a dropkick sending Brown to the outside. Brown in sent back in the hard way and he hits a shoulderblock and blocks a roll up. Venis hits a spinebuster and hesitates before getting 2 as we see Edge in the audience. Venis counters a head down but misses a splash. He hooks the sleeper but is back suplexed and is rammed back first in the corner. Venis hits a northern lights suplex but takes a hard clothesline. Slam by D-Lo followed by a quick legdrop for 2. A back heel kick gets another 2. Venis hurts his back on a slam. Brown hits a 2nd rope elbow for 2. Venis blocks a suplex but his back goes out and Brown does a Texas Cloverlead like move but can’t hold onto it. Slam by Brown and he misses a 2nd rope Senton. Val fights back and hits some knees and an elbow. He hits a backdrop and he goes to the top and D-Lo catches him in midair with a powerbomb and gets 2. D-Lo with a DDT for 2. He goes to the top but is caught and Brown knocks him off and Val catches Brown and gets a powerslam for 2 ½. Val goes to the top but is caught. He stunguns Brown however and hits a double arm suplex. Slam by Val and he goes to the top and Brown blocks the Money Shot with his knees. Brown does a weak powerbomb but then he hits a nice running powerbomb. He goes to the top and misses his Frog Splash. Val gets a second win and pounds on Brown now. He strips the chest protector and he powerslams Brown and puts on the protector. Val goes to the top but the ref makes a stupid mistake by grabbing the leg of Venis and Val goes down. Jim Corderas is booed for that. Reverse Atomic drop and Val throws the ref aside and Val is DQ’d at 15:23. Bad ending to an otherwise good opener. *** Val slams the ref and gives him the Money Shot. I don’t blame him.

 

Mankind is backstage with a sledgehammer and a destroyed Hearst that Steve Austin destroyed on Sunday Night Heat.

 

Handicap Match: The Oddities (Kurrigan, Golga and Giant Silva with Insane Clown Posse and Luna) VS Kaientai (Taka Michinoku, Sho Funaki, Menhs Teo and Dick Togo with Yamaguchi San)

You’ve got 4 of the lightest wrestlers VS 3 of the biggest (and worst) wrestlers. ICP do a rap when the Oddities come on out and I like it! Golga (John Tenta) starts it with Taka. Golga no sells some head rams in the turnbuckle and he cleans house on Kaientai and he steals one of Yamaguchi’s shoes and pours water on it and dumps it on Yamaguchi and Yama is crying. Kurrigan is in now with Funaki. Kurrigan gets a shove and he hits a Bossman slam. They try to triple team Kurrigan but no such luck. He grabs Yama and Kaientai tries to hold him but no such luck either. Giant Silva gets the tag and he clears the ring. Yawn. Togo is tagged but he doesn’t want to go in at first. He is thrown off by the throat. Taka and Togo try to trip Silva and Teo and Funaki jump on the shoulders and Silva throws all of them off. Silva throws all of Kaientai in the corner and he handles them ala Andre the Giant. Taka is pressslammed onto his teammates. Golga is back in and he hits a power slam on Togo. But Funaki and Teo double drop kick and slam Golgo. They hit 4 splashes off the top rope. More quadruple teaming by Kaientai. Dropkick in the face by Taka. Golga clothesline all 4 Kaientai and they keep missing Golga. Kurrigan is tagged in and he hammers on everyone and hits a big boot on Taka and a sidewalk slam on Funaki All 7 men are in now and Kurrigan and Silva has them at their mercy. Yama tries to intervene but is slammed by Luna. Quadruple chokeslam by Kurrigan and Silva and Golga pins them all at 10:11. Comedy match but done pretty well. DUD

 

Hair VS Hair Match: X-Pac (with Howard Finkel) VS Jeff Jarrett (with Southern Justice)

Jarrett has recently gotten rid of his cocky attitude and has become more serious with “Don’t Piss Me Off” written on his guitar. Earlier on Heat Jarrett and company cut Finkel’s hair and so Fink’s with X-Pac here as a one night member of DX. Sgt. Slaughter gets rid of Southern Justice before the match. Jeff jumps on X to start. He blocks a hiptoss but takes a spinning heel kick and is clotheslined to the outside. X hits a springboard bodypress on the outside. Jarrett misses a sunset flip but hits 2 dropkicks knocking X outside. X with some chops but he is rammed crotch first into the ringpost. Boy that doesn’t feel good. Back in Jeff starts to pound on X. He runs into a boot however but he comes back with a powerslam for 2. Clothesline follow up in the corner. But X counters it and hits a tornado DDT from the top rope for 2. Jeff hooks the sleeper. X gets up and breaks the hold and hooks a sleeper of his own but Jarrett sets him on the top rope. X knocks off Jeff and he misses a spinning top rope crossbody. Jeff covers him for 2. Jarrett misses an elbow and X misses a spinning heel kick as I think JR and King are being heard over the PA momentarily. Double J hooks his Figure Four and almost gets a pin out of it. X gets to the ropes. Jeff tries it again but is pushed off and is back suplexed. X fights back with some rights and hits a spinning kick and the bronco buster in the corner. He runs into an elbow however and X rolls through a cross body for 2. Jeff does a hurricuranna which in counted into a powerbomb for 2. X misses a bronco buster and they trade 2 counts. X tries another Bronco Buster but is pushed off. Finkel jumps on the apron to complain about a low blow and Jeff nails him. X gets the X Factor for 2. Southern Justice comes out and Dennis Knight misses the guitar shot and X grabs it and whacks Jeff with it for the pin at 11:11. The Outlaws, Droz, and the Headbangers comes out to help X-Pac cut the hair of Double J. Only the third Hair match in WWF history and it was a good one. ***1/2

 

Dok Hendrix is standing by at the Lion’s Den which is going to be held later on. Meanwhile The Rock cuts a promo about him injuring Triple H’s knee on Heat. It has a hilarious ending.

 

Michael Cole: Thanks Rock, Gentlemen--

Rock: Shut up! Back to the Jabronis at ringside

King: I guess that means you JR.

 

Sable and ??? VS Marc Mero and Jacqueline

The mystery partner turns out to be Edge! Is it me or does Sable’s voice sound fake? I think it does. Mero and Edge start it off. Mero jumps on Edge to start it off. Edge comes out of a slam and turns it into a nice head scissors. Jackie gets the tag and that means Sable must come in. She does and Jackie tags Mero. Chicken! Mark gets a hammerlock on Edge but takes a flapjack. Jackie distracts Edge and it works. Mero hits a running kneelift. Jackie gets a right hand on Edge. Edge comes back with some rights and counters a TKO into a DDT. Jackie and Sable get tags and Sable takes it to Jackie.  Sable hits a veal and nails Mero. Sable grabs Mero inside the ring but is caught by Jackie. Jackie chokes Sable on the 2nd rope. Sable hits the TKO on Jackie for 2 but Mero makes the save. Jackie nails her from behind. Jackie inadvertanly hits her own partner. And Edge gets the tag and hits a suicide leap on Mark on the outside. Edge doesn’t look green to me! Mero is thrown into the steps and Edge is jumped by Jackie but he spanks her. Edge hits a flying bodypress for 2. Edge sets up Mark on the top and hits a neckbreaker for 2 and Jackie puts Mero’s foot on the ropes. Mero inadvertanly hits Jackie and is rolled up for 2. Mero hits a samoan drop and he goes to the top but is pulled down. Sable gets the tag hits a hurricurana off the top on Mero for 2 and Jackie splashes Mero by accident. Edge throws Mero into Jackie and Jackie falls on Mero’s crotch. Edge hits a downward spiral and slams Sable on of Mero top for the pin at 8:26! These guys certainly were motivated tonight! **3/4

 

Mike Cole is with Mankind backstage and he’s lost his partner Kane, his hearst and his sledgehammer. He decides to forfeit the Tag Team title but then Vince shows up and decides that Mankind can defend the Tag Team title by himself. Mankind doesn’t think so but Vince gives him some weapons and Mankind has 13 words for the Outlaws. “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”

 

We look at the feud between Ken Shamrock and Owen Hart. Owen joins the nation by turning on Shamrock and injuring his ankle. A few months later He wins a Dungeon match over Shamrock. A Lions Den match is scheduled for tonight and Dan Severn is announced as Owen Hart’s trainer for this match

 

Lion’s Den Match: Ken Shamrock VS Owen Hart (with Dan Severn)

For those who don’t know, this is an 8 sided Octagon with fencing on each sides. It is set in the theater of MSG while the fans in the arena are watching this on Closed Circuit. Both men are locked inside the cage and Ken places Owen backfirst inside the cage and he goes to a elbow lock. Owen comes back with a leglock. Owen rams Shamrock in the cage and hits a spinebuster. They pound on each other inside. Shamrock hits a back suplex and hooks a sleeper. Owen gets a lowblow. Shamrock comes back with a clothesline. He chokes out Owen with his own shirt. Ken jumps off the cage and hits a dropkick he follow it with a powerslam. Owen rams Shamrock into the support. Owen hammers on the Irishman now. Owen hits an enzuguri and he drives Ken’s face into the cage. Owen hits a backbreaker. He goes for a piledriver but is backdropped. He comes back with a spinning heel kick and he tries the sharpshooter but Ken pushes him off. They slug it out now and Owen hits some uppercuts but is powerbombed. Shamrock hits a clothesline and some kicks. Owen counters a bodypress into a powerslam. Owen hits a belly to belly and hooks the Sharpshooter. Shamrock grabs the cage and climbs it to break the hold. He is driven backfirst in the cage however but he hits a DDT. Shamrock pounds on Owen now and hits a spinning heel kick. Owen throws Shamrock into the support and hooks Severn’s choke hold but Shamrock comes out of it and hooks his armbar into the ankle lock and Severn leaves and Shamrock gets the submission win at 9:15. Unique matchup here ***1/4

 

Tag Team Title No Holds Barred Falls Count Anywhere Match: Mankind VS The New Age Outlaws

The Outlaws bring a dumpster to the ring. Sound familiar? They come in the ring and get nailed by a baking sheet. Mankind grabs a chair as does Billy Gunn and they whack each other with chairs. Road Dogg grabs Mankind’s chair and they pound away on him. The Outlaws whack Mankind upside the head with the baking sheets. Dogg grabs a steel bowl and hits Mankind in the butt but Gunn is backdropped and Mankind drives a knee with the sheet on Dogg in the corner. He hits a neckbreaker on Gunn outside for 2. Dogg hits an elbow however. The Outlaws double team Mankind outside and ram him into the dumpster. They go back in and Dogg brings a table in the ring and he sets it in the corner. Gunn is thrown into it however and Mankind nails Dogg. The Outlaws hit a 3-D however for 2. They set up 2 chairs and powerbomb Mankind on them for another 2. Dogg is getting frustrated. Finally they get the tag title belt and they spike piledrive Mankind onto it for the pin at 5:16. and The Outlaws win the titles for the 3rd time. Match was probally shortened do to time contrants *1/4 The Outlaws then place Mankind in the dumpster. Then Kane pops out of the dumpster and nails Mankind with a sledgehammer. Yeah that makes a lot of sense folks. Why would Kane just lie in that dumpster the whole time?

 

We look at the feud between Triple H and the Rock. DX parodies the nation and makes fun of them. Rock nails Triple H with his IC title and then later Rock Bottom’s him to give D-Lo Brown the European title. Later Chyna hits a DDT on Rock and Triple H hits the pedigree. At Fully Loaded during a 2/3 fall IC match that goes to a time limit draw right when Triple H hits the pedigree. Tonight’s match is going to be a Ladder match for the IC title.

 

IC title Ladder Match: The Rock (with Mark Henry) VS Triple H (with Chyna)

The Intercontinental title is held high on a rung 20 feet in the air and you must use a steel ladder to get it. Slugfest to start it off. Triple H hits a lariat and a face buster. He counters a Rock Bottom but pays a price for it. Rock pounds on Triple H in the corner. Triple H tries a Pedigree but is backdropped over the top rope. Rock goes to the ladder and Triple H catches him. He throws Rock into the railings. They go back in and Rock gets some right hands but Triple H hits a high knee. Triple H takes the ladder but Rock nails him from behind. Rock gets the ladder and brings it to the ring. Triple H stops him and Rock reverses a throw into the ladder and clotheslines Triple H. Rock brings the ladder in the ring. He sets it up and climbs it but Triple H hits Rock from behind off the top rope and the ladder goes down on Triple H. Triple H hits Rock with the ladder and jams it in the stomach. He sets the ladder and climbs it but Rock pushes him off right on the injured leg. Rock goes after the injured leg now. He jams the ladder on the leg and places the leg inside the ladder and kicks on it. He throws a chair in the ring and smashs the ladder on Triple H’s leg on it. Rock rams Triple H’s leg into the post. He grabs the ladder and sets it between the rail and steps. Rock slams Triple H knee first into the ladder and he hits an elbow. Rock sets up the ladder inside the ring and climbs it but Triple H gets in the ring and shoves off the Rock. He throws the ladder out of the ring and throws Rock outside as well. Triple H grabs the ladder and sets it on the rail. Rock fights back and he slingshots Triple H into the ladder. Rock gets kicked in the gut in the aisleway. Rock is thrown into the rail and lariated. Triple H tries a pedigree on the ladder but is backdropped on the ladder. Mark Henry brings another ladder in the ring and Rock sets it up inside. He climbs it as Chyna helps her man. Triple H gets back in the ring but Chyna nails Mark Henry and Triple H pushes the ladder and Rock goes to the outside. Close shave there. Triple H baseball slides the ladder into Rock’s face. He throws Rock into the post and Rock is busted open now. Triple H sets up the ladder. He climbs it but Rock takes him down. Rock pounds on Triple H and he sets up a ladder in the corner. Rock hits a DDT. He climbs the ladder as does Triple H. They slug it out on top of the ladder and Rock throws Triple H into the ladder in the corner but he rebounds and takes down the ladder and Rock is clotheslined on the top rope. Chyna hands Triple H a chair and he nails the Rock on the ladder several times. Rock gets up and slams him on the ladder and he hits the People’s elbow drawing a big pop. Rock is kicked and Triple H climbs the ladder and he kicks the Rock and tries to jump on him but Rock hits the Rock Bottom. He climbs the ladder and kicks Triple H but Triple H pulls him down and he hits the Pedigree to a huge pop! Henry throws powder in Triple H however. He climbs the ladder none the less and so does the Rock they slug it out and Triple H slides off and Chyna comes in and hits a low blow on the Rock. Triple H grabs the IC title and pulls it off at 26:04 becoming the new IC champ and ending the Rock’s near 9 month reign! Wow what an awesome match ****1/2

 

WWF Title Match: Steve Austin VS The Undertaker

Austin with some right hands but UT powers him into the corner and pounds on Austin. Austin starts fighting back though and he takes a clothesline for 2. Austin works on the right arm as does UT. Austin school boys UT for 2. Drop toe hold into an armbar. He counters a headdown and they headbutt each other in the process. UT reverses a suplex he drops an elbow and misses a 2nd. UT stunguns Austin on the top rope for 2. UT goes to work on the lower back now. Austin pulls him to the apron and works on the knees and rams them into the post. Austin takes a flying clothesline and UT goes to a choke. UT does the top rope walk but is pulled off. Austin starts kicking away on the knee of UT. Kane is coming down to the ring now and Austin sees him. But UT tells Kane to go back to the locker room and Kane does so! They slug it out in the corner and Austin pulls UT outside and rams the knee in the apron. UT chokeslams Austin from the apron into the center of the ring. Austin gets up and clotheslines UT outside and nails him from there. They go into the aisleway and then into the audience and they slug it out. Austin is backdropped on the floor. UT clotheslines Austin over the rail. Austin is rammed into the post. Back in the ring Austin hammers on UT now but UT blocks the stunner and goes outside. He catches Austin and drives him spinefirst into the post. Austin starts kicking away but is thrown to the outside. He’s thrown into the steps. UT throws off the top of the announce table and sets up Austin on it. He chokes him. Then he goes to the top rope and he legdrops Austin right through the table! UT gets Austin back into the ring and covers him for 2 7/8! UT throws Austin into the corner but misses a charge. Austin kicks UT but UT stops him. Austin hits a flying clothesline. He gets up and they slug it out now. Austin hits a Lou Thesz Press and hits an elbow. He tries a stunner but is dropped and Austin gets a 2 count. UT hits the chokeslam and signals the Tombstone. He gets him in the Tombstone but Austin gets out. UT sets Austin on the ropes. Russian leg sweep by UT. He tries the top rope walk again but Austin counters it with a low blow and he hits the Stunner for the pin at 20:50!! Another great match ***3/4! UT hands the belt to Austin in a classy move.

 

Summary: Wow! What an awesome show this was! Probally the best show of the year along with Wrestlemania XIV!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED