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| WWF King Of The Ring 1998:; :) :) :) :) :) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 19 2005, 08:24 PM (1,650 Views) | |
| Scrooge McSuck | Apr 19 2005, 08:24 PM Post #1 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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- Quick Introduction: This show was one of those gut feeling orders, which only came up 15 minutes before the show began, so I'll include whats left from the Free For All pre-show. Anyway, the angles leading up was another encounter between the Undertaker and Mankind in the 2nd ever Hell In A Cell match, and Kane finally challenging Steve Austin for the World Title. The rest of the card looks OK, but those matches had me sold. There's two reasons why I picked to review this show... one, to see how anyone can claim Undertaker/Mankind is a great match, and the Main Event. (smile here) - Highlights from the previous weeks of RAW, where the Undertaker destroyed Paul Bearer inside the Hell In A Cell, and then the next week attacking him in his own house (or a stage dressed up like a house), for no reason other than because he doesn't know how to let things go. He already tossed a fire ball in his face, smashed a drum over his head, and burned his "son" again, what more else did he have to do? - Mankind interview from inside the ring, with the ominous Hell in a Cell hanging above. Normal Mankind promo, as he promises to deliver pain for beating up Paul Bearer. Michael Cole tells everyone to order the show afterwards, and runs down the card. - WWF Old School Wrestlers (Freddie Blassie, Gorilla Monsoon, Killer Kowalski, Ernie Ladd, etc.) video, which has been used quite a lot over the past few years for several video packages, and very touching as well. - Steve Austin/Kane Video Package. From the June 1st, 1998 episode of RAW, Kane actually pinned The Undertaker, which had the stipulation of the winner becoming the #1 Contender for the World Title at King of the Ring. On June 8th, Steve Austin gets set up for a beatdown from Mankind and Kane, who proceed to stuff him inside a casket at ringside. On June 15th was the teased Hell In A Cell, when Austin beat the shit out of Mankind with a chair, and kicked Kane's ass on top of the Cell. From June 22nd, Kane challenges Austin to a 1st Blood Match for the Title, then later in the show, has "blood" rain on Austin in the middle of the ring. - Michael Cole interviews Earl Hebner, the referee for the Main Event. They do this to cover up any kind of accidental blood, like a botched chair shot or something that can cut you open like that. Austin charges onto the screen, and has Marshmellows and hot dogs with him to roast on the fire that Kane will be if he should lose. - Time for the PPV, like from the Pittsburgh Civic Center on June 28th, 1998. The broadcast team includes Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, and have bottles of gasoline with them, which will be for the main event if Kane loses (talk about a stipulation you damn well know isn't going to happen). - The Head Bangers & TAKA Michinoku vs. Kaientai (w/ Yamaguchi-san): The opening match of the PPV, and this has the potential to be pretty good, but I won't jump the shark yet. Kaientai here, are represented by Sho Funaki, Mens Teioh, and Dick Togo. TAKA is dressed like a Head Banger with the shirt and skirt look. Yamaguchi is wearing what looks like Giants merchandise, probably the Japanese team, not the San Francisco team, but how can you tell? Togo is wearing an Iron Maiden shirt, for those who care. Thrasher and Teioh begin the match with a lockup. Thraser wtih a wristlock, followed by forearms to the side of the head. Teioh with a dropkick followed by rights. Irish whip is reversed, and Thraser with a tilt-o-whirl slam. Teigh escapes a slam attempt, but fails a roll up, and gets caught with a powerslam off the ropes for a two count. Mosh tags in and comes off the top rope with a missile dropkick, and the crowd is into this one. Irish whip, and Funaki makes the tag, only to get caught with a powerbomb from a hurricanrana attempt. Irish whip to the corner, and Mosh comes in with a butt splash. Mosh chokes Funaki across the middle rope, and nails a sit down splash. TAKA tags in for a double helping, and sends Funaki to the buckle. TAKA with some nasty chops, followed by a running kick to the face in the corner. TAKA to the top rope, and he connects with a missile dropkick, followed by a springboard plancha into the entrance area! Togo cheap shots TAKA, allowing a heel beating. Irish whip, and Funaki/Togo with a double clothesline and elbow drop. Togo with several chops to TAKA, but gets caught with a monkey flip. TAKA charges, butr gets dropped on the outside, and Togo follows with a baseball slide head scissors take over. Back inside the ring, and Teioh tags in with a big boot to the side of the head. Irish whip is reversed, and Teioh with a DDT, then tags in Funaki. Irish whip, and Funaki with a butt-butt, then flips off the Bangers. Togo tags back in and TAKA fights back, only to get caught with a flap jack/bulldog combination move from Funaki and Togo. Waistlock by Togo, but TAKA escapes. Togo goes to the middle rope with a cross body, but heel miscommunication leads to a hot tag to.. both HEad Bangers? Double clotheslines to Togo and Sho, then a double back body drop on Teioh. All hell breaks loose, and Funaki with a slam on Thrasher. He misses an elbow drop from the top rope, and Thrasher tags in TAKA for a super elevated splash. TAKA signals for the end, and nails the Michinoku-Driver for the victory at 6:37. ***1/4 Quite good match considering the Head Bangers were in it, mainly for the Light-Heavyweights and keeping a good pace going for such a criminally short match. - I'm not bothering with the Vince McMahon rambling session that followed the last match, because PPV's shouldn't be filled with 10 minute promos, and should feature just the blowoff matches and filler crap. The crowd kinda pops when McMahon suggests the crowd came to see Austin lose. The crowd pops a lot louder for the other part of the main event stipulation. - King Of The Ring Semi-Finals Match: Ken Shamrock vs. "Double J" Jeff Jarrett (w/ Tennessee Lee): Nice to see Jarrett go back to the same gimmick he insulted during his shoot rant from his return in late 1997. Tennessee Lee is the Hick formerly known as Col. Parker from WCW who managed the Stud Stable. Shamrock defeated The Godfather and Mark Henry to get here, and Jarrett defeated Faarooq and Marc Mero. Jarrett attacks before the bell, but Shamrock fights back and nails him with a back elbow to the face. Irish whip and Shamrock with a running high knee. Jarrett gets shoved to the corner, and Shamrock hammers away with rights. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, and Shamrock charges out with a clothesline. Snap suplex by Shamrock and he floats over into a cover for a two count. Irish whip, and Jarrett ducks a high kick and connects with a swinging neck breaker. Jarrett with a short-arm clothesline followed by a sweet looking dropkick. Irish whip is reversed, and Shamrock nails the kick to the head after a few failed attempts, then clotheslines Jarrett over the top rope, to the floor. Shamrock hammers away on Jarrett around the ring until Lee gets in his face. Shamrock drops Jarrett across the security rail as Jim Ross talks about Shamrocks childhood. Jarrett gets whipped weakly into the ring steps, and we finally get back into the ring. Irish whip is reversed, and Lee trips him up, allowing Jarrett to chop block Shamrock like it was the 1995 Royal Rumble. Jarrett works over the injured ankle of Shamrock with sit down splashes, and gets help from Tennessee Lee when the referee turns his back on him. Jarrett continues working the ankle of Shamrock in the corner until the referee pulls him away by the hair. The match starts dragging along now... Shamrock with an elbow to the face followed by a spinning heel kick. Irish whip, and Shamrock with a diving back elbow. Irish whip, and another side heel kick by Shamrock. Irish whip, and Shamrock with a powerslam for a two count. Irish whip is reversed, and Shamrock with a hurricanrana! Ankle-Lock is applied, and Jarrett taps like a bitch at 5:31. *1/2 Wasn't too bad, and thankfully went to the end before it really started to get boring. Shamrock faces the winner of Severn/Rock in the Finals. - King Of The Ring Semi-Finals Match: Dan "The Beast" Severn vs. The Rock (w/ Mark Henry & The Godfather): Severn defeated D'Lo Brown (leading to his injury angle) and Owen Hart to get here, and The Rock defeated Vader and Triple H, both times with plenty of help. Before the match we get a commercial for the D-Generation X tape, which reminds everyone when Triple H was entertaining and NOT pissing all the fans off. The crowd pops for the Rock, then quickly boos, then dies out completely. The Rock is the (at the time) current Intercontinental Champion, but the title is, of course, not on the line here. The referees then decide to throw Henry and Godfather from the ring area, which they did for EVERY Nation KOTR match in the Tournament (all 6 of them). WWE reused Dan Severns theme for "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, but might've only been used for the Attitude game. Severn is also a former NWA Champion, and an accomplished shoot fighter from the UFC. Severn goes for the ankle to start, but Rocky grabs the ropes. Severn with a go-behind takedown, but again the Rock makes it to the ropes. Lockup, and Severn with a modified spine buster-esque takedown and goes for a single leg boston-crab, but another rope break is what we get. Lockup into the corner, and Rocky with an elbow to the side of the head, followed by a roundhouse right. Rocky pounds away in the corner and rams Severn into the buckle as the crowd chants "Rocky Sucks." Severn comes back with a firemans carry into an armbar, then into a modified Dragon Sleeper before the Rock grabs the ropes. Rocky comes back with a big clothesline and the crowd pops the removal of his elbow pad. Rocky mocks Severn to a big face pop then takes him over with a suplex for a two count. Severn comes back with blows to the midsection and a waistlock into the corner, followed by knees to the midsection. Irish whip, and a head collision knocks both men down. Out comes Mark Henry and the Godfather, allowing D'Lo Brown to nail the Frog Splash from behind on Severn with his chest protector on, and allows the Rock to cover for three at 4:26 to another face pop. 3/4* This is what happens when you mix shoot fighting with an entertainer... a sloppy, uncoordinated match that barely goes 4 minutes. The Rock trash talks Michael Cole, then Ken Shamrock, who he faces for the KOTR Finals. - Al Snow & Head vs. Too Much: I'm not even going to explain. Apparently Al Snow was looking for a job with WWE, so he kept showing up dressed up in goofy costumes to sneak his way into the arena, then gets help with Jerry Lawler to get an interview with Vince McMahon. If Snow wins this match, he gets a meeting with McMahon, and if he doesn't, he keeps his job anyway. Too Much is an even gayer version of Too Cool (their second name), and consist of "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher and "Too Hot" Scott Taylor. The Special Referee of the match... Jerry Lawler. Oh, fucking please. Al Snow declares "Head doesn't lay down for everybody" and then says Too Much will get head like they've never gotten before... oy vey. This is going to be bowling shoe ugly, in the immortal words of Jim Ross. Al Snow argues with Head while Lawler comes into the ring. Snow with a bo behind takedown on Taylor, followed by blows to the side of the head. Irish whip is reversed, and Snow nails the dancing moron with an atomic drop, followed by a series of clotheslines. Christopher tags in as the match just stalls and stalls. Lockup into the corner, and Christopher complains about hair pull, even though he has a buzzcut. Christopher does the same and Lawler blocks a punch attempt, then argues with Head. Snow slams Christopher off the top rope, then goes himself before Taylor crotches him. Snow comes back with a top rope sunset flip on Christopher for a... very... slow... two count. Snow clotheslines Christopher out, then back drops Taylor on top of him. Snow wanders to the entrance, then charges with a clothesline, but Taylor springboards with a sloppy clothesline to the outside on Snow. Christopher with a missile dropkick, and now I just give up. Snow makes the superman comeback eventually, but Head gets tagged in... Christopher applies a bottle of head and shoulders to Head, and covers it for a three count at 8:27 to end this pile of crap. -* This was an insult to wrestling, and to a good wrestler like Al Snow having to play along with this. Al Snow eventually got a contract by beating Sgt. Slaughter in a Bootcamp Match for those who wonder what happend to him. - X-Pac (w/ Chyna) vs. Owen Hart: It's a 1994 King Of The Ring Rematch, except X-Pac is a greasier looking rat who likes telling people to suck it, and wasn't one of the most despised wrestlers with everyone. Two weeks ago, Owen Hart costs X-Pac his match against Triple H for a spot on the King of the Ring tournament, and X-Pac returned the favor the next week when Owen fought Dan Severn, and busted him open in the process. So far watching this show, I realized that WWF actually USED their midcarders on PPV's. Sure, half of the time, there was no excuse for them, but it's better than using people like Jim Ross and other non-wrestlers. Just random... I liked Owen Harts Nation theme with random comments from him throughout it. Jim Ross says the last match was Bowling Shoe Ugly... WOOO! I actually predicted it for once, since I haven't watched this show in years. X-Pac with a plancha before the bell, followed by dragging Owen into the ring for some chops. Irish whip to the corner, and X-Pac follows up with some of his signature kicks. Irish whip to the corner again, but X-Pac misses a charge, allowing some stomping from Owen. Owen sends X-Pac to the corner hard, and does it again, since X-Pac has had back/neck problems in the past. Owen with a side back breaker, but X-Pac fights back with rights. Irish whip, and Owen connects with a spinning heel kick for a two count. X-Pac whips Owen to the corner and nails a high kick to the face. X-Pac rams Owen to the buckle and nails a nasty chop. The two exchange blows, with Owen coming out on top with a european uppercut. I didn't know the crowd chanted "Wooo" back then for chops. Fisherman suplex (a.k.a Perfect-plex) by Owen gets a two count. Gutwrench Suplex gets another two count for Owen. Irish whip, and X-Pac catches Owen going for a back drop with a kick to the face. He recovers though, and takes X-Pac over with an inside cradle. Irish whip is reversed, and X-Pac with a back drop followed by a clothesline, sending Owen over the top rope. X-Pac follows out with a clothesline off the apron to the back of the head, but takes a man sized Irish whip bump into the time keepers table and the security rail! Owen with a front suplex across the spanish announcers table, then goes back into the ring and comes off the top with a missile dropkick, followed by a float over double hook cover for a two count. Irish whip, and Owen applies the Sleeper-Hold, which finally slows the match down enough for me to keep up with it. X-Pac fights free with elbows to the midsection and applies his own Sleeper, but Owen quickly escapes, but gets nailed with the X-Factor (before it was his finisher). X-Pac with a series of rights, followed by a front enziguri after having a heel kick blocked. X-Pac kicks away at Owen in the corner, and jumps right into Owens fists balls first. X-Pac no sells though, and goes to the top rope, but Owen catches him... and a fucked up looking spot sees X-Pac crotched and Owen looks like he cut his eye. Mark Henry runs out and Fat-Ass Splashes X-Pac, so CHYNA gets in his face until Vader pump splashes him down. Inside the ring, Owen applies the Sharpshooter, but Chyna comes in and nails a DDT, thus screwing over Owen for the 3rd time on PPV in 4 months. X-Pac covers for the win at 8:31 soon after. *** Good, energetic match from two of the best wrestlers in the WWF at the time, but why must Owen keep jobbing to the D-Generation X crew? Oh well, I still have fond memories of HHH jobbing to Owen with his own finishing move at Over The Edge 1998. Afterwards, Jim Ross pimps Capital Carnage in the UK on December 6th, 1998. Fun show actually, but nothing major, since it's a UK Show. - Paul Bearer comes out to kill even more time... He's got about 7 band-aids across his forehead, apparently from the beatdown Undertaker gave him 2 weeks ago. Paul Bearer rambles a little on Undertaker, and then gives a sob story about Kane watching the Undertaker on Superstars, before going out to party and rape his dates. He predicts victory for Kane tonight. - WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The New Age Outlaws © (w/ Chyna) vs. The New Midnight Express (w/ Jim Cornette): Do I really need to cover who the New Midnight Express are? Let's just say "Bombastic" Bob Holly and "Bodacious" Bart Gunn, a horrible "punishment" on Jim Cornette from Vince Russo. I still don't understand why Cornette even put up with this garbage. Billy Gunn wasn't quite as horrible as he became from 1999-present, and Road Dogg still had some bit of talent and freshness to his gimmick. The New Midnights don't even have the awesome Midnight Express theme music, and are also the NWA Tag Team Champions, when they were as important as monkey feces. Brother vs. Brother on seperate teams here, in Bart and Billy Gunn. Also, the Midnights get absolutely ZERO heat. Road Dogg and Holly lockup to begin, and we get a clean break from the Dogg in the corner. Lockup again, and Holly applies a standing side headlock, followed by a shoulder block. Criss cross sequence, and Road Dogg with an arm drag followed by a clothesline. Irish whip, and Holly catches Road Dogg with his own clothesline, as Cornette looks on thinking "please kill me." Irish whip to the corner, but Dogg boots Holly coming in. Gunn and Gunn tag in, and which Gunn is which doesn't matter. Billy with a boot to the midsection, followed by jabs. Bart with a side headlock and shoulder block, leading a sequence that ends with an arm drag being counters with a clothesline/leg sweep form Bart for a two count. Irish whip, and we get the bridge up into a backslide from Billy for a two count, then nails the Fame-Ass-Er before it was named or a finisher. Irish whip, and Bart over-sells a clothesline like his name was Marty Jannetty. Oh yeah, then Billy mounts Bart and tells him to "Suck it." Billy with a drop toe hold, and Road Dogg comes in with a knee drop across the back of the head. Irish whip is reversed, and Road Dogg gets nailed by Holly in the corner. Holly hammers away with rights and tags in Bart to kick him in the midsection. Irish whip, and Gunn with a drop toe hold, followed by a Holly elbow drop for a two count. Scoop slam by Holly, and he goes UP TOP~! with a sloppy elbow drop for a two count ans J.R. and Lawler don't know who's nicknamed what, which is how I am, so I randomly named them. Bart with a slam, and he press slams Holly on top of the Dogg for another two count. Irish whip, and Holly with his signature dropkick, then tells Road Dogg to suck it, which leads to Billy G. coming from behind... with a bulldog headlock. Road Dogg with a school boy for a two count, but gets dropped with a clothesline soon after. Snapmare, and Holly applies a reverse chinlock. The Dogg escapes with elbows, but gets dropped again. Slam by Holly, and he goes to the top rope again, but meets a boot to the jaw instead this time. Cornette finally does something by slamming the mat, enticing the crowd to chant "Cornette Sucks." Gunn gets the hot tag and hammers on both "Midnights", then sends Bart to the corner. JR calls him a hoss, and goes for a piledriver on Holly, but Cornette nails him from behind... with a title belt, for only a two count. All hell breaks loose in and out of the ring, which leads to Chyna ball-shotting Cornette (J.R.: She hit her!), and a double press slam across the top rope allows Gunn to cover Holly for the victory at 9:53. **1/4 Actually not too bad of a match, but the last half seemed a little too punchy-kicky for my taste, and another finish that included Chyna beating on someone much more awesome than everyone in D-X combined. - King Of The Ring Tournament Finals: Ken Shamrock vs. The Rock: Before the match, Triple H makes his entrance to overshadow everyone (even in 1998), and do color commentary with the King and Good Ol' J.R., who's ass he kicked many times over the next 6 years. I also enjoy Jim Ross name dropping all the King of the Ring winners except Mabel, who won the abyssmal 1995 Tournament. This is a continuation of the feud that wouldn't die, as Shamrock and the Rock have been feuding on and off for the last 8 months! Triple H takes a cheap shot at WCW for having "older" wrestlers pollute their roster. Lockup, and that goes nowhere. Masturbation joke #1 from Triple H: By "one man band" do you mean he played his own instrument? Lockup leads to a criss cross sequence which finishes with a kick to the chest of the Rock from Shamrock. Rocky stalls outside for a while before coming in to rake the eyes of Shamrock and ram him to the buckle. Chyna is on Spanish Commentary, before everyone realized she's fluent in spanish. Apparently she said something about Taco Bell. Triple H: There's a lot of bi things I am, but lingual is not one of them... wait a minute, did I Just mean to say that? Stuff happens in the ring, and Shamrock dumps the Rock to the outside. Rocky gets in Hunters face, and he calls him "Fuzzy Top" before spitting water in his face, which leads to Rocky giving him a pie-face. Shamrock attacks from behind and rams the Rock into the security rail and the spanish announcers table. Rocky with a near-blow blow before tossing Shamrock back into the ring. Triple H: Testies, 1...2....3? Shamrock with a suplex into a cover for a two count. Irish whip, and Rocky dumps Shamrock over the top rope, hanging him up by the wrist in the mean time. Rocky follows out to pound away, but gets whipped inot rail. He no sells though, and charges out with a clothesline. Back inside we go and the Rock with a fist to the midsection, followed by a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Shamrock tries fighting back with rights, but gets caught with a DDT out of nowhere from the Rock for a two count. The match continues to go downhill, as the Rock applies a reverse chinlock. That eventually gets broken, and the Rock goes for the Peoples Elbow, but that only gets a two count, then goes back to the chinlock. Triple H: Why don't you run up their Jim Ross, drop your pants, and measure just how close it was. I just realized why I haven't watched this match in years... because it sucked, and went on way too long considering Shamrock was barely carriable for a good match, let alone anything significant. Shamrock fights free, but gets dropped with another DDT for a two count. Irish whip, and Shamrock connects with a back suplex as Triple H makes fun of Shamrock. Shamrock makes the superman comeback and nails a spinning heel kick, followed by a powerslam for a two count! Fisherman Suplex by Shamrock gets another two count. Rocky comes back with a cheap shot, but misses a charge to the corner, but is able to catch Shamrock with a powerslam for another close fall. Irish whip is reversed, and Shamrock blocks the Laying the Smackdown DDT with a Northern Lights suplex for a two count! Irish whip to the corner is blocked with a short-arm clothesline by the Rock for two count #493. Shamrock returns the favor for two count #494. Hurricanrana attempt, but Rocky hot shots him for two count #495! Shamrock hooks the ankle of Rocky and applies the Ankle-lock out of nowhere, and that gives Shamrock the KOTR Title at 14:08. ** If not for the final 3 minutes, I would consider the match quite bad, but the pace picked up quite well, and Triple H was quite hilarious on commentary, so meh... decent match. - Hell In A Cell Match: The Undertaker vs. Mankind: Yes, it's that match, and if you don't know what I mean... be thankful, because it possible is the most overrated match in the history of wrestling. The Undertaker is coming into the match with an ankle injury, and well, even a healthy Undertaker can barely have a good match. Mankind comes to the ring with a chair, and climbs to the top of the cell after tossing the chair up on the roof. The Underaker soon follows, and they brawl. Mankind dominates for a while, and clobbers Undertaker with a steel chair. Undertaker fights back with rights of his own, and then, in one of the biggest moments, tosses Mankind off the cell and crashing through the spanish announcers table! I'm sorry, but the bump has completely lost it's value thanks to 4,948,448 replays, and 490,000 being only seconds after it actually happend! Foley is down, out, and busted up internally no doubt as a bunch of officials, agents, and Terry Funk come out to stretcher Foley away before the match even begins. Looking back on it, I'm more worried about Foleys health here than the actual bump. Mick Foley, being the nut he is, gets off the stretcher and climbs back up the cell! And in an even more disturbing moment, the cell gives way as Undertaker chokeslams him on the roof, causing Foley to crash through, land 12 feet below, with a steel chair landing on his face, and legit KO'ing him. That wasn't a great bump, it was almost a tragedy, and I don't know how ANYONE can claim it was in anyway "awesome." The match actually starts though, with Terry Funk buying Foley some time by getting chokeslammed out of his sneakers (legit), which made Foley wonder what they were doing in there. Undertaker with a roundhouse right, and Foley just tumbles down. Undertaker goes old school, but Foley is aware enough to crotch him across the top rope. Famous shot of Foley "smiling" with a tooth stuck in his nose (of course, he wasn't really smiling). Foley stumbles around, then knocks Undertaker off the apron into the cage. No bell has actually rung by the way, so I will estimate the time. Foley goes for the steps, but he drops them, allowing Undertaker to ram him in the arm three times. Foley is lost on his feet as Undertaker beats on him against th cell wall, then, in an obvious blade job moment, misses a suicide dive into the cage. Foley comes back for the moment, ramming Undertaker into the cell. Back inside the ring, and Foley with a piledriver onto a steel chair for a two count. One thing I hated about this referee (Tim White I think) is that he made a loud thud when he got down to count, which made it sound like he already started. Foley with a leg drop with a chair across the face of the Undertaker for another two count. Double arm DDT by Foley, and he rolls outside of the ring for a big sack... of thumbtacks! He's Hardcore! He's Hardcore! He's Hardcore! This leads to a bunch of stuff leading up to a bump onto the tacks, culminating with Mankind applying the mandible claw, only to be slammed backwards onto the tacks. The Undertaker, merciful man he is, then chokeslams Foley directly onto them since he kinda missed the previous bump. Finally, the mess ends with the Tombstone piledriver (talk about "overkill" finish) at a roughly estimated 8:10. DUD The match (from well, the imaginary bell to bell) was a complete mess thanks to a brains beaten out Mick Foley and injured Undertaker, and the bumps before the match really aren't that impressive looking back (in a positive manner), other than Foley is lucky to still be alive. Also, since the bumps weren't even during the actual match, I wouldn't count them. Mild Foley chant and standing ovation as a bunch of people held him back to the locker room for some medical attention. - WWF World Championship; 1st Blood Match: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin © vs. Kane (w/ Paul Bearer): It's time for the Main Event, and really, the winner here is obvious. If Kane wins, he becomes the World Champion, and if Austin wins, Kane, in his own words "will set-him-self-on-fy-re." Kane also is debuting his full bodied ring attire, which originally had the left arm cut off, thus exposing only his left hand, to make the finish even more obvious than before. This match marks the first time EVER that I was cheering for the heel over the face in any match in wrestling (I was still a mark at the time, only being 13 years old). I'm glad to see that Ole Andersons voice distorter has been used once more for this angle :P. Austin rushes the ring and takes Kane down with a Lou Thesz Press, followed by the F-U Elbow. Austin with a belt shot to the face, but Kane no sells. Austin nails him again, then rips the buckle off one of the corners. Austin with toundhouse rights, but Kane blocks being sent into the steel. Kane with a knee to the midsection, followed by a series of roundhouse rights. Kane takes Austin down, and begins choking away as the crowd chants for Austin. Austin comes back with a clothesline and rights. Irish whip is reversed, and Kane goes for the Tombstone, but Austin slides out, and dumps Kane over the top rope. Kane lands on his feet though, and drags Austin out, who returns the favor with rights and rams Kane into the steel steps. The Cell lowers down (probably the same guy who raised the briefcase at the 1999 KOTR... Pez Whatley) as Kane rams Austin into the security rail. Irish whip, and Austin gets sent into the steel steps. The cell continues coming down as Austin gets whipped face first into the cell. Kane tries holding Austin under the cell, but he holds it up with super man strength. Kane continues beating on Austin and chokes away as we get a unadvertised second Hell In A Cell Match. :). Kane pounds away with rights and rams Austin into the cage. Kane whips Austin again into the ring seps, and nearly takes out a camera man with him, as we get a shot of a cut across the back of Austin. Austin rams Kane face first into the cell doorway, then stomps a mudhole as the cage is raised up again, taking Kane with him, until Austin punches him off. Kane chokes though and gets dropped on his ass. Austin rams Kane into the security rails several times as we see some ugly guys with painted faces in the crowd. the action continues going up the aisle as Austin tries for a piledriver, but Kane back drops him on the concrete to reverse. Kane sends Austin into the steel now, and hammers him up the miniature ramp. Kane drops a series of elbows across the chest and throat of Austin, but he comes back with knees to the midsection. Austin tries a suplex, but thats blocked and Kane takes him over with one of his own. Kane with a boot to the side of the head as the action continues going all over the place. Austin eats one of the stage lights, and Kane slams an entire security rail across his back. The action finally goes back to the ring, where the cell continues to play "lets make a deal." Austin sends Kane into the exposed turnbuckle several times and chokes him across the middle rope for a sit down splash. Austin dumps Kane outside and back up the aisle we go before Austin drags him back and rams him into the rail and a steel chair. Austin grabs J.R's fan and bashes Kane across the face with it WITH AUTHORITY~! Kane fights back and choke tosses Austin into Hebner, who takes a good smash into the rail. Back inside the ring we go, and Kane comes off the top rope with a clothesline. Kane hammers away on Austin and goes back to the top rope again, but Austin side steps, causing Kane to land face first on the canvas. Kane eats steel again, and Austin with some mudhole stomping. Austin continues ramming Kane into the exposed buckle as we get a shot of the gasoline bottles conveniently marked "Gasoline." Somehow, Mick Foley runs out (or trots) with a steel chair, but Austin fights back as the Cell lowers again. Stunner to Mankind, then a low blow and Stunner to Kane! Austin goes for the chair as Undertaker comes out now, and a conchairto goes wrong as Undertaker smashes the chair into Austins chair and into his skull. Undertaker and Foley brawl some more as we see Austin is wearing a crimson mask. Undertaker throws Hebner into the ring and drenches him in "Gasoline" (probably water), but then gets dropped by a Kane chair shot. Austin avoids the chair with boots, then comes off the second rope with a clothesline. Austin grabs the chair from the death grip of Kane and bashes him across the face, burt Hebner sees the blood and calls for the bell at 14:51, making Kane the NEW World Wrestling Federation Champion! *1/4 The match was your typical Main Event Brawl, except Austin was suffering from a high tempature and some kind of problem that lead to him being hospitalized for several days (I notice a very large bandage job on his right elbow), and Kane is no Mick Foley, but very capable. However, the match allowed very little creativity since the objct wasn't to pin your opponent. Still... mark out moment city for me, as Kane became the first (and to this day) only masked man to win the WWF Championship. Too bad it only lasted for 24 hours, 21 minutes, and 44 seconds. Final Thoughts: Short and sweet, definitely not a great PPV. There are a few good undercard matches, and nothing other than the Al Snow fiasco was complete garbage, but nothing was really stand out great either. The main event wasn't anything special, and Taker/Foley was the worst Cell Match ever, except for, of course, Taker/Boss Man. However, if you're Kane fan, then Strong Recommendation. Otherwise, a Mild Recommendation to Avoid. |
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| jamiegeist | Apr 20 2005, 02:06 AM Post #2 |
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Poops McGee
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I remember watching that show live, and enjoying the main event much more than the Cell match. I remember being dumbfounded Kane won, even though I didn't really forsee him setting himself on fire either. I do remember the original uncomfortable feeling I felt watch Foley though. It definitely stopped being entertaining. |
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| dynamite kido | Apr 20 2005, 06:18 AM Post #3 |
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Harry Reems is my hero.
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I actually was there in person. I remember the show (in ring wise) being pretty much terrible. The best match if I can remember was definately Kane/Austin and the I've never heard the silence around that many people when Foley went off the cage. I mean, it got a huge pop and then everyone was pretty much dead silent after it. |
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| Mad Dog | Apr 20 2005, 06:40 AM Post #4 |
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ho ho who the hell are you?
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Just so you know Scrooge, I was going to hurt you if you gave Taker/Foley more than **. |
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| dynamite kido | Apr 20 2005, 06:44 AM Post #5 |
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Harry Reems is my hero.
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Me and the ninja were thinking the same thing..... |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Apr 20 2005, 06:54 AM Post #6 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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Even when the match first happend, I didn't think it was that good, so me giving it ** (even for the bumps) is highly unlikely. I could change the rating for the main event though, which was completly unbias... for once. |
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| dynamite kido | Apr 20 2005, 07:21 AM Post #7 |
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Harry Reems is my hero.
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Also this thread has made me realize that I have been there live in person for every change of a "World" title that ever happened in Pittsburgh. I was at KOTR 98 for Kane winning over Austin. I was in attendance for Angle beating Booker T on Smackdown for the WCW title. I was there at Unforgiven 2001 for Angle beating Austin. WOW, too bad most of the WWE shows I've seen have been pretty bad overall though......or at least PPV's. |
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| Mad Dog | Apr 20 2005, 07:24 AM Post #8 |
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ho ho who the hell are you?
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I think the only title change Columbus Ohio has had was the Steiners beating Money Inc. |
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| dynamite kido | Apr 20 2005, 07:40 AM Post #9 |
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Harry Reems is my hero.
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I should probably stop complaining then huh? |
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| Mad Dog | Apr 20 2005, 07:56 AM Post #10 |
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ho ho who the hell are you?
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Likes like we got Hardcore and Crash Holly beating Rock N Sock for the Tag Titles and Jamie Noble beating the Hurricane for the Cruiserweight Title. But I've quit going because the WWF has given Columbus shit shows since 1999. |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Apr 20 2005, 08:12 AM Post #11 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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The only title change I got to see was when Angle beat the Rock at No Mercy 2000. That was actually the last show I've been to, since I always lived far away from any arenas WWE visited. Recently though, WWE was in Ft. Myers, FL (only about 25 miles away), but I balked on going to the show, which ended up being the one where Hardcore Holly injured Carlito. |
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