callanvass
Live from Milwaukee, WIAttendance 9,822Your commentators are Jim Ross & Jerry LawlerLOD 2000 Vs (W/Sunny & Darren Drozdov) Vs Skull & 8-Ball (W/Chainz)LOD wins with an assist to Drozdov. Well, it wasn't exactly good, but it could have been a lot worse...so there is that. *1/2 out of 5The Rock comes out and puts down Milwaukee in absolutely hilarious fashion. Farooq comes out and dents The Rock's head with a piledriver on a steel chair and escapes a beatdown from The Nation. The Rock got quite a few face pops here. The Rock is carried out on a stretcher. His title defense against Farooq is now in question.Jeff Jarrett Vs Steve BlackmanJarrett wins after Tennessee Lee waylays Blackman with one of Blackman's sticks. Really boring for the most part and rather lifeless.*3/4 out of 5Marc Mero Vs SableIf Sable wins, she's free from Mero. If Mero wins, Sable is gone from the WWF. Mero wonders what happened to him and Sable as they used to be so in love. He says if she hates him that much, she'll give her the freedom. Mero sucks her in and cradles Sable to pin and fool her. Sable is gone forever. Weird booking to say the least and it sucked the life out of the crowd.DUDKaientai Vs Taka Michinoku & BradshawThis is a bogus...I mean Bonus handicapped match. The crowd is officially dead. Can't say as I blame them. Kaientai wins. No idea why Vince wanted to push these guys. Another pointless match.*1/2 out of 5Intercontinental TitleThe Rock (C) Vs FarooqThe Rock won't come out...so Sgt. Slaughter threatens to strip him of the title and give it to Farooq if he doesn't come out in 10 seconds. Farooq pins Rock, but The Rock's leg was on the ropes. The Rock ends up winning by putting his feet on the ropes. Well, that was weird. Another crappy match.*1/4 out of 5Mask vs Mask MatchKane Vs VaderKane wins with a tombstone. They are acting like Vader being unmasked is the first time we've seen him. He says Vader time is over and he's a fat piece of s***. Vince thinks we're morons. The match was bowling shoe ugly. Pretty hard to watch at times.* out of 5Mad Dog Vachon, The Crusher get honoured. The Crusher beats up Lawler for trying to get Mad Dog's leg. Lawler gets it anyway to MEGA heat. The Crusher nails Lawler with Vachon's foot.Triple H & The New Age Outlaws (W/Chyna & X-Pac) Vs Owen Hart, Kama Mustafa & D-Lo Brown (W/Mark Henry)The Nation wins after Owen pedigrees Triple H on the European Title. This was LONG and downright dull, to be honest with you. What a terrible PPV this has been.*3/4 out of 5WWF Championship'Stone Cold' Steve Austin (C) Vs Dude LoveVince McMahon is the guest referee, Gerald Brisco is the timekeeper, and Pat Patterson is the guest ring announcer. The deck is stacked against Austin. The introductions are almost as long as the match itself. The Undertaker comes out to be in Austin's corner. It changes to No DQ and Falls Count Anywhere, thanks to Pat Patterson. Austin overcomes all the odds with help from The Undertaker. Just a great Attitude Era style brawl where anything and everything happens. Really exciting and never a dull moment. This match is the only reason you need to see this PPV.***3/4 out of 5Watch the main event and screw everything else. You'll thank me later.4/10
bh_tafe3
It's difficult to see how the WWE maintained such consistent buyrates in 1998-1999 when they put out PPVs like this one. This show had one match that was any better than average and only two matches which even made that category. The fact that one of those matches, the main event between Austin and Dude Love, was one of the best matches in either man's career is the only reason to track this show down.So McMahon has formed an alliance with Dude Love in the wake of his DQ victory in the main event of last month's Unforgiven PPV. McMahon standing at ringside had not been enough to wrest the title from Austin's hands on that occasion, so this time, Vince stacks the deck further, making himself guest referee under the edict that the only way the match can end is by his hand.The night kicked off with another sad chapter in the ill fated late 1990s run of legendary NWA tag Team the Road Warriors as they won an awful match against the Disciples of the Apocalypse. DOA and LOD along with Jim Cornette's Midnight Express just seemed completely out of place in the WWE of 1998, despite of the WWE's best efforts to revamp the tag teams with Sunny as manager. They would eventually find the perfect tag teams to bring interest back to the division with the APA, Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boyz. But for now New Age Outlaws were all we had. THis bought the Rock to the ring to taunt the crowd, but he was then assaulted by Faarooq, the man he had usurped the leadership of the Nation of Domination from and would fight for the Intercontinental Title later in the night.Next match was an average encounter between Steve Blackman and Jeff Jarrett. Always liked both of these guys in their own way. This is a fairly unremarkable match with a cheap finish.Next segment was a continuation in the feud between Marc Mero and Sable. The story going in was that Sable would pick a representative for Mero to fight on her behalf. If her rep won she was free, if he lost she would be forced to leave the WWE. Sable refused to pick a rep, opting to take on Mero herself. Mero screws Sable, pretending to lie down for her to pin him, but rolling her up in a cradle. So that's the end of her in the WWE, for about 24 hours anyway.Next up is a bonus match which saw future WWE Champion Bradshaw team up with former WWE LIght Heavyweighht Champion Taka Michinoku to take on Kai en Tai. Bradshaw squashes them for a long time then Taka tags in. Bradshaw ends up distracted and Taka gets pinned. Kai en Tai win. Not much of a match.THe next match again was more of an angle than anything as the Rock, who had been assaulted earlier in the night refused to come to the ring. He was eventually threatened with being stripped of the IC title if he didn't wrestle, so limped out wearing a neck brace. Faarooq becomes frustrated with the referee for not counting three after the Rock puts his feet on the bottom rope, and then is rolled up in a cradle from behind. Rock wins and retains the title.THe next match was another horrible encounter. Kane defeating Vader in a mask vs mask match. Kane takes Vader's mask off while JR on commentary tells us that without the mask, Vader has nothing left. Don't remember him being around for too long after this. A great WCW champion, it's a shame his WWE run never reached great heights.Next match saw the Nation, which now included Owen Hart along with D Lo Brown, Kama Mustafa and Mark Henry defeat Degeneration X. I like Owen and Triple H in a feud together, though it's a shame this one was pretty one sided. This was one of Hart rare highlights as he pedigreed Triple H and got the the pin fall.Brings us to the main event, one of the great matches of the Austin era, which also told a great story. With McMahon refusing to adjudicate fairly, the Undertaker came and stood at ringside, intimidating McMahon into calling the fight fairly for a time. Dude Love accidentally knocks out McMahon with a chair shot. Undertaker chokeslams McMahon's stooges Brisco and Patterson as they attempt to interfere and then Austin hits a stunner out of nowhere, using McMahon's unconscious arm to count the three and retaining the title. A great match not hurt by over booking. Totally saved what had been a rather lackluster show, that had at least advanced a few story lines.
Spawn Devil
Match 1: Legion of Doom 2000 Vs. The Disciples of ApocalypseLOD had both Sunny & Darren "Puke" Drosdov in their corner, while Chainz led the DOA down the aisle. All 6 men fought in the ring at first, but it quickly got under control. Animal started with a flying shoulderblock on 8-Ball. 8-ball came back with a neckbreaker and legdrop. Skull & Hawk tagged in, and Skull gave him a sidewalk slam and went for a piledriver but Hawk got out of it. Hawk nailed him with a clothesline and then a "Rude Awakening" style neckbreaker. Animal tagged in and the LOD double-teamed Skull. Hawk delivered a lariat, bodyslam, and legdrop, but 8-Ball stopped the pin. Hawk slammed him again and went to the top for his flying clothesline, but Skull got out of the way. Hawk fell outside and Chainz gave him a clothesline. This caused a small skirmish between Puke & Chainz. From here, the DOA isolated Hawk from his corner for a long time. Animal finally tagged in and went to town. The DOA went for a double suplex but Animal flipped out of it and clotheslined both of them. Hawk backdropped one of them to the outside and Animal delivered a belly-to-back suplex on the other. While the ref wasn't looking, the legal DOA member switched places with the other, but Puke saw this and clotheslined him from behind. Animal then powerslammed the DOA member and got the 1-2-3 pinfall.Winners: LOD 2000Match 2: Lethal Weapon Steve Blackman Vs. Double J Jeff JarrettBlackman started with a baseball slide kick and the two fought in the aisle. Steve whipped JJ to the railing and then press-slammed him into the ring. Steve came in with a missile dropkick and then a chop from the top rope. Steve whipped him to the ropes and put his head down, and JJ slammed him face-first to the mat. Blackman came back with a chop and a kick and a quick German suplex but only got a 2-count. Blackman then puts Jarrett upside down in the corner and kicks him, goes outside the ring, and pulls his head back. Tennessee Lee then distracts Blackman, but Steve kept his cool and superkicked Jarrett. In the ring, Lee trips Steve and Blackman goes outside to get him. JJ waits on the other side and nails him with a clothesline. Back in the ring, Blackman slams JJ to the mat and climbs to the 2nd rope but misses a splash. JJ comes back with a picture-perfect dropkick but only got a 2-count. Blackman nails JJ with an elbow and goes for a Vader Bomb but JJ put his knees up. JJ flipped over him for a cover, but Blackman got out of it with a bridge and then put him in a backslide but only got 2. Blackman got up, missed a roundhouse kick, and JJ toppled him with a clothesline. Jarrett then locked in a sleeperhold, but Steve eventually got out of it and gave JJ one of his own. However, Jarrett got out of it with a suplex. The two were almost counted out, and JJ rolled over for the cover but couldn't get the pin. Jarrett attempted a suplex, but Blackman countered with one of his own. He went for a splash but JJ put his knees up again and then the two clothesline each other. Both are down, but Blackman retaliates with some punches, a backbreaker, and a spinning heel kick. After the Lethal Weapon nails JJ with a karate kick, Tennessee Lee gets on the apron and Blackman swings at him. Lee ducks and holds him by the arms for Jarrett to him. Blackman moves out of the way, but Jarrett doesn't punch Lee. Still, Blackman rolls him up and gets 2 and 3/4. Blackman looks at Lee again while JJ grabs one of Blackman's sticks. Blackman turns around and kicks the stick out of JJ's hand and then hits him with it. Here is where Blackman makes a fatal mistake. Instead of covering him or applying his submission finisher, Blackman decides to climb to the top rope. There, he is nailed in the head with the stick by Lee, which allows Double J to get the cheap pinfall victory. Winner: DOUBLE JMatch 3: Marvelous Marc Mero Vs. Sable's Mystery PersonBefore the match began, JR made a funny comment. "Some say Mero looks like Little Richard. Sable walked out in fighting uniform. Mero can't believe it, and asks her what's going on. Sable says, "I don't need any man fighting my battles for me." Mero is shocked and says, "You must really, really hate me. What happened to us? We had it all. When I won the Intercontinental Title, I dedicated it to you because I cared about you. You're willing to risk your body for my tearing up of a simple little contract??" Mero is sad and then announces he will award Sable her freedom. He tells the timekeeper to ring the bell and then lays down flat in the center of the ring. Sable hesitates but then covers him and the ref counts to 2, and suddenly Mero rolls up Sable in a small package for the 1-2-3! Winner: Marc MeroMatch 4: SPECIAL HANDICAP MATCH Taka Michinoku & Justin Bradshaw Vs. Kaientai This "bonus bout" obviously came about since there was a lot of time left for the show. At first, Kaientai collect outside the ring, where Bradshaw press- slams Taka onto all 3 men. Smartly, though, throughout the match, Kaientai would run out of the ring when Bradshaw tagged in and not go back in unless Taka came back in. Taka fought with Togo and gave him a tornado DDT. Funaki tags in and Bradshaw tosses him outside. Bradshaw goes out there, and Teoh attempts a plancha but Bradshaw catches him and slams him down. Taka then does a moonsault to the outside on Funaki. Back in, Togo does a reverse powerbomb (face-first instead of back-first) on Taka and Funaki comes in with a suplex. Teoh comes in and chops Taka and then boots him. A marvelous double-arm suplex follows and in comes Togo, who climbs to the top and gets a reverse sentan splash. Togo then delivers a lightning-quick powerslam on Taka and tags Funaki & Teoh in. The two DDT Taka but Bradshaw stops the pin. Togo does a flying headbutt off the top and Funaki follows later with a spinebuster. Then, Kaientai perform the Boston Crab, then the Camel Clutchn and then a dropkick all in one single combination. Amazing. Teoh hits Taka with a piledriver and Funaki & Togo come in. Funaki misses and Taka nails both of them with spinning heel kicks . Bradshaw tags in and boots all of Kaientai. Teoh jumps off the top but Bradshaw catches him again and slams him down. Bradshaw then viciously powerbombs Funaki. Togo hits the big Texan with a low-blow and then a kick to the head. Bradshaw recovers with a lariat on Funaki while Taka gets a missile dropkick on Togo. Bradshaw then tags Taka, who gives the Michinoku Driver to Togo but Kaientai stop the pin. Teoh choke-slams Taka and then Togo does his tremendous sentan bomb for the pinfall victory.Winner- Taka Michinoku & Justin BradshawMatch 5: INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP Faarooq Vs. The Rock The Rock had to be introduced twice, and he still didn't come out. Commissioner Slaughter came out and ordered Rocky to come out in 10 seconds or he'd strip him of the belt and give it to Faarooq. Sure enough, that sent the People's Champ to come out with a neck brace on. Faarooq grabs him and slams him to the rail and then atomic-drops him on it. In the ring, Faarooq takes off the neck brace and nails Rocky with it and then clotheslines him. After a brief skirmish outside, The Rock retaliates with a clothesline and then the People's Elbow. Faarooq comes back with a kick but ends up on the mat again as The Rock gives him a forceful DDT. Faarooq retaliates with a spinebuster and covered him for 1-2-3, but Rocky got his foot up just before 3 so the ref explained it to Faarooq. Faarooq complained and argued with the ref, and then took out his frustration on Maivia. The Rock comes back though, picks up Faarooq by the legs, and then covers him while hoisting his own legs on the ropes for the 1-2-3. The Rock escapes the bout with his title, but Faarooq grabs him and piledrives him twice before the Nation comes out and attacks their former leader. Winner: The RockMatch 6: VADER VS. KANE (LOSER MUST UN-MASK) This match was officiated by Earl Hebner, who has recovered nicely from the brain aneurysm two months ago. Kane began with a short-clothesline. Vader attempted a suplex, but Kane countered it with one himself. Kane then misses an elbowdrop and the Mastodon clotheslines him. Kane comes back with a flying clothesline off the top and a boot. Kane then choke-slams Vader and Vader rolls outside. There, Vader grabs a wrench from under the ring and nails Kane 3 times in the back with it. Back in, Vader hits an avalanche in the corner and follows with a clothesline. Vader then climbs to the top rope, gets massive air time, but misses the moonsault, allowing Kane to Tombstone him for the 1-2-3. Winner: KaneMatch 7: D-Generation X (HHH & New Age Outlaws) Vs. Nation Of Domination (Owen Hart, Kama, D-Lo Brown) The Roaddog and D-Lo began the bout in which the crowd was clearly for DX. Billy tagged in and floored Owen with a clothesline and then press-slammed the Black Hart. He went for it again but Owen got out of it and nailed Gunn with a spinning heel kick. Owen backdrops Billy and then goes for the Sharpshooter but Billy pokes him in the eye. HHH tags in and hits Owen with a flying knee. Owen retaliates with a kick and an inverted atomic drop but HHH catches Owen off the ropes with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a 2-count. Owen eventually low-blowed Triple H and tagged Kama in. At one point, the NOD triple-teamed Billy in their corner. D-Lo tagged in and went for a huracarana but Billy caught his legs and slingshotted him into the ringpost. Billy comes back with a vertical suplex and HHH later delivers a backbreaker and kneedrop but Kama stops the pin attempt. Owen then cheap-shots Roaddog, but Roaddog nails Owen off the apron into the rail. Kama comes in and then thrust- kicks Roaddog. Owen tags in though to execute a piledriver for 2 and a half. Owen does a neckbreaker and an elbow from the 2nd rope. D-Lo tags in and does a beautiful powerbomb that Billy has to stop the pin for. Owen comes in and does an inseguri on Roaddog and then tries the Sharpshooter again but this time HHH nails him. Kama comes in and misses a Vader Bomb. D-Lo comes in and does a moonsault on Jesse but HHH stops the pin. D-Lo then misses a legdrop and Billy tags in. Gunn nails all 3 Nation members and eventually all 6 men are fighting in the ring. Billy nails D-Lo with a Rocker Dropper. Meanwhile, Chyna gets on the apron and Mark Henry bearhugs her and pulls her down. Chyna then nails Henry in the face with an elbow. HHH tosses a title belt to Billy who lays it down in the ring. HHH & Billy then spike-piledrive D-Lo onto the belt. HHH covers him but Owen elbows him and then Pedigrees HHH on the belt for the 1-2-3. Winner: The NationMatch 8: WWF CHAMPIONSHIP Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Dude Love Guest Ref: Vince McMahon Guest Announcer: Pat Patterson Guest Timekeeper: Gerald BriscoRing announcer Howard Finkel reads some cards to introduce Pat Patterson. Naturally, the cards were full of praise for Vince and his buddies. Pat then introduced Brisco. (A fan held up a hilarious sign that read, "Brisco Bros. Stole My Hubcaps!" JR added, "And we know who does the rear end.") Pat then introduces Mr. McMahon as the guest ref, and Lawler stands up to clap for him. When Vince got in, he tripped on the ropes but tried to play it off. Next, Pat gave a long intro. for Dude Love, who came out in his wrestling attire, although he had a blazer on over it and his false teeth in and his hair in a ponytail. Dude shakes Brisco & Pat's hands and then hugs McMahon. The fans then start cheering for Austin, and Pat tells them to settle down. He insults Austin and then says, "I'm not going to introduce a bum." So Austin comes out anyway to the usual ovation. Vince then asks for the title belt, which he shows to Dude before giving it to Brisco. Vince gets ready to signal the beginning of the match when The Undertaker's music begins playing!! Suddenly, Vince's look of pride turned into horror. Out comes Taker to be the volunteer to make sure Vince is a fair ref. Austin simply smiles at McMahon. Brisco rings the bell and the match starts with Austin breaking a hold in the corner. Vince pulled him off and Austin gave him the middle finger. Dude does a shoulderblock and covers Austin and Vince does a quick 2-count. UT gets on the apron and stares at Vince. Dude & Vince then whisper to each other and Dude knees Austin in the stomach. Stone Cold retaliates with a kick and then picks up Dude's false teeth, which had fallen out, and then steps on them. (Lawler says, "I guess Dude lost his smile.") SC comes back with a Lou Thesz Press and then clotheslines Dude to the outside. SC slams Dude to the railing but then Dude whips Austin into the steps. Vince then yells at Austin telling him to get in the ring because there are "no countouts." In the ring, Dude delivers a Russian leg sweep and then a knee in the corner. Austin strikes back with a neckbreaker and 3 clotheslines in a row. SC later misses a clothesline and Dude slaps on the mandible claw. Austin runs to the ropes and flips Dude over, causing Dude's head to be caught in the ropes. Vince lets Dude out while UT stares at him. Outside, Dude hiptosses Austin onto the Spanish table. Vince runs over and "reminds" Patterson to announce it's now a "No-DQ" match. Taking the cue from Vince, Dude started to choke Austin with TV cables. Austin retaliates by whipping Dude to the timekeeper's table, knocking Brisco down in the process. Austin then viciously clotheslines Dude into the crowd. Back near the ring, Austin walks all over Brisco and clotheslines Dude. Dude gets in the ring and slide-kicks Austin and then delivers a neckbreaker on the concrete aisle. Vince runs over to Patterson and now "reminds" him that it's a "FALLS-COUNT-ANYWHERE" match. Dude puts Austin in a backslide but Austin kicks out and clotheslines him. The two work their way toward the cars near the entrance. Austin charges Dude only to be backdropped onto a car with his leg smashing through the windshield. Dude only gets 2 and slams Austin on the car and covers him for another 2. Austin later drops Dude onto the car while Taker came over to watch over. Austin drags Dude onto the top of a car and goes for the Stunner but Dude pushes him off onto the concrete. Dude stays on the car, goes toward Austin, and does a sunset flip into the pin attempt but only got 2. Dude grabs a lead pipe and hits Austin with it. Austin begins fighting back (although now he has a cut on his forehead that's bleeding a lot, though not as much as WM13) and goes for a piledriver, but Dude backdrops him onto the concrete and almost gets the pin. Dude then does a snap suplex but doesn't cover Austin. Vince doesn't understand why and Dude climbs to the top of the cars and jumps off but misses an elbow. The two eventually get back to the ring where Patterson trips Austin coming off the ropes. Dude clotheslines Austin and then takes off the turnbuckle pad. He slams Austin to it twice and Vince yells at Stone Cold to "give it up!" Austin fights back again but Dude slams him to the exposed metal again and almost gets the pin. Vince gets mad at how close the pin was and then asks for a chair. Patterson hands one to Dude who nails Austin in the stomach and back with it. Vince smiles and gets ready to count the pin. Dude then double-arm DDT's Austin on the chair but somehow SC kicks out. Dude grabs the chair and charges Austin, but the WWF champ kicks the chair into Dude's face and then clotheslines him. Austin grabs the chair for himself and nails Dude in the face with it and goes for the cover, but Vince doesn't move. Austin gets up and yells at him and Dude charges with the chair from behind. Austin moves and Dude nails Vince in the head, knocking him out cold. Austin gives him the Stone Cold Stunner and covers Dude, but now there is no ref. A second referee runs out to make the count, but Patterson pulls him out of the ring and punches him. Dude slaps the mandible claw on Austin again and Patterson gets in to make the pinfall, but UT pulls him outside and then choke-slams him through JR and Lawler's table! Brisco tries the same and UT choke-slams him through the Spanish table. Dude puts the mandible claw on Stone Cold again but Austin then low-blows Dude and gives him the Stunner again. Austin then pulls Vince's unconscious body over to him, remembering Vince's saying, "By my hand only will the match end." He used Vince's hand to count to 3 and remain the WWF Champion!! Winner: Stone ColdThis PPV deserves a C+
