Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WWF Monday Night RAW 4/20/98
The week after breaking the great Streak. I wonder how the WWF will follow up but it is a go home show so it should be pretty solid. Last week was not as great as history has made it out to be but was still entertaining and deserved to win. Now WCW is going to pull out all the stops as RAW came back down to earth but still had a solid outing with a 4.4 off of hours of 4.3 and 4.4 while Nitro shot up to a 5.1 off of hours of 5.2, 5.0 and 5.0 but the NBA Playoffs are coming and at the absolute worst time for WCW and the right time for the WWF. I am sure EB is crying…..Let’s roll with the show it is getting late.
They recap last week’s Vince/Austin/Dude Love drama.
Kevin Kelly is at the cemetery where UT and Kane will brawl and he is updating us that Kane had been there earlier or something.
Dude Love comes out and JR informs us that he is getting the title shot this Sunday. The fans boo Dude lustily, and if there is one way to become instantly hated: Turn on Austin! Dude has the mic and inflatable chairs set up as I guess this is his own show and he calls himself better than Oprah and Letterman. Vince comes and looks bitter. Dude welcomes him and Vince grabs the mic and states that he had Austin right where he wanted him with his arm tied behind his back and he could have embarrassed him, so Vince is fining Dude the enormous sum of 5000 dollars! He then warns him never to do that again and leaves. Dude calls Uncle Vinny an emotional man and then turns to the matter at hand and that is Austin: People have wanted to know why he did it what he did. He came to the ring to restore some peace and love but was assaulted by Austin. He wondered why Austin did what he did and has come to the conclusion that after carrying Steve when they were tag champs that it was the root of all evil: chicks. They were followed by a caravan of pussycats; Dude was a chick magnet and the ladies were big and busty, loud and lusty. Dude laughs and Austin was followed by girls from Richard Simmons tapes and they had hair on their lips and the fans in Nassau know what he is talking about. He may have a match with Blackman tonight but he is willing to forgive Austin and forego the match at the PPV if Austin begs for forgiveness before the end of the night. JR informs us that Austin is not here and that Vince had him sent to a Bar Mitzvah…..okay. Well, Dude claims he always knew he could take out Austin but did not know it would be so easy!
Match 1: Kama v. Farooq
The Nation comes down through the crowd and it is a Russo Specialty: Long Island Street Fight! They are bringing trash cans and even an empty beer keg. They get in the ring and the fans chant that “Rocky sucks.”
After the break Blackman and Shamrock are held back in the back by Brisco and Patterson and they have weapons and want to join the fray. Meanwhile, Kama misses and is belted and then knocked to the floor and hit with the keg. Back in the ring, Farooq grabs the garbage can but is kicked in his injured ribs and then Kama takes a hammer to them. He cracks Farooq with the can and keeps after the ribs. He follows up with a bodyslam, measures him and then drops the elbow. Kama taunts him and kicks the ribs a few more times and then clubs the back getting a two count. Kama takes his time and goes for the splash but gets all knees. Kama though comes right back with a kick to the head and he stomps away. Kama pulls him up and sends him into the corner, Kama charges him but runs right into a big boot. But Farooq cannot follow up and gets hammered some more and Kama goes back to work on the ribs. Kama leaps on his back as he straddles him and does so again. He tries again and Farooq rolls over and Kama gets nutted. Farooq fires off a shot but is sent into the corner and clotheslined after the rebound. Kama stomps the groin area (no DQ obviously) and he gets a two count. Kama boxes him in the corner, and grabs the hammer and strolls back towards Farooq who has taken off his boot and clocks him with it and finishes him off with a spinebuster.
** God Damn that was overly long and really too slow for a street fight but Farooq got the win as he prepares for the PPV.
DX are watching themselves on the monitor pissing on the motorcycles. Gunn tells HHH they had all the fun and HHH goes to whip out his dick….WTF. The Outlaws dare HHH to whip it out in front of the fans, and Gunn wants him to whip out the bazooka and give them a taste, a shower and HHH wants to know if it will be a Golden one and Gunn is for it and they fucking shake on it….FUCKING STUPID!
JJ promo with Sawyer Brown. I have no idea who the Hades he is but I guess he is a country star.
Here comes DX. HHH is wearing a raincoat. Syxx has the mic and screeches if Long Island is down with DX to make a little noise and they respond enthusiastically and then he tells the crowd to show HHH some love. HHH has the mic and wants them to speak to him. Last week DoA talked some trash, rode in on some brass and left with their heads up their ass. Road Dog does his usual about he and Gunn being tag champs as he introduces him and Gunn. He tells everyone that when it comes to LoD 2000 you can polish a turd but it is still doo-doo, yup he said that. HHH tells the crowd that LoD is not coming out with Skanky and tries to get them to chant it. Now to Owen and he Chyna is being suspended over a steel cage and she is flexing. Why even have her ringside and if she interferes HHH loses the title….anyway he warns him that Chyna could break out and break open the cage but it does not matter as he owns Owen. Fuck, no he talks about the size of his dick; I hear Roids decreases that. Now Gunn reminds him of what he was supposed to do and they huddle up and pump something and squirt out water and act like it is his dick….Christ. Here comes LoD and Owen. Hawk has the mic and is staggering and claims they are a lot alike but the difference is they back it up and HHH does the Hall and tells them “to bring it and not sing it” LoD and Owen makes their way down and Slaughter stops them but then makes the announcement that there will be a six man tag match tonight. HHH is fine with that and tells them to “suck it” and Sunny stands and stares for a moment.
Vince is pacing in the back. Some girl brings him coffee and Vince looks happy.
HHH is still squirting stuff and hitting NY Jets players.
Kevin Kelly is at the cemetery again and warns us that when UT arrives all hell could break loose.
Match 2: Mosh v. Dan Severn
Severn takes him over with a fireman’s carry and they lock up again and Mosh is grabbed around the waist and taken down again. However, he scrambles and gets to the ropes. They lock up and Mosh takes him down and they roll around the mat and get to their feet. Now Severn grabs him and tosses him around with a gutwrench and other tosses. He paintbrushes Mosh and then tosses him across the ring again and he does it again. Cornette grabs Mosh and yells at him and Thrasher decks him. This distracts Severn and he is nailed but he comes right back with a bodyslam and now a bodyslam and he goes after the arm and Mosh promptly taps.
* Severn did the same damn moves.
Back to the cemetery. UT showed up and left right away and they heard a scream. Some big dude grabs Kevin Kelly and throttles him wondering where they are at and Kevin whines and cries that he does not know. It may have been UT who grabbed him.
After the break Kelly thinks UT or someone is coming back to the arena.
Here comes Luna and Goldust. Luna is going to strip Sable of her soul and mind. She will also leave her a newborn after she takes off all her clothes including her bra and panties. She will leave here alone in the ring like the pathetic something…..
Match 3: Goldust v. Bradshaw
Bradshaw is on a mission and does not mess around taking off his head with a big boot followed up by an elbow. He takes off his jacket and whips him with it, and after a back body drop Goldust retreats to the floor and Bradshaw follows him out and unloads on him with a series of chops. Back in the ring Goldust is sent into the corner but gets the boot up and he clotheslines Bradshaw. But Bradshaw gets right back down and takes him down, but misses the elbow drop and Goldust DDT’s him. Goldust hammers him in the head and uses the ropes to choke him out with a helping hand from Luna. Bradshaw is taken off his feet with a double forearm. He tries to fight back but is sent into the corner and kicked in the gut. Goldust snaps him over, drops the knee and gets two. He applies a rear chinlock.
It was UT and JR has been hyping up the arrival for Austin at any moment for ten or fifteen minutes!
Okay, Bradshaw is up and off the whip he catches Goldust and nails him with a fall away slam. Both men are down, and now up and Goldust is sent for the ride and eats the boot. He is whipped pillar to post and sandwiched each time and now Club Kamikaze comes in and they finally overwhelm Bradshaw, and two hold him down and the third kills him with a senton backsplash from the top.
** Okay match. But Bradshaw looked strong and it will be interesting to see where they go with him.
Austin has shown up and is not happy.
Austin has come out and wants the damn music cut. He had asked last week who his opponent for the PPV was and Vince claimed that he did not know and Austin calls him a liar. Then Austin puts the belt on the line and he is attacked by a psychedelic jackass and he believes that it is a conspiracy between Dude and Vince and wants a Hell Yeah and gets it. Austin tells Dude Love that he can beat his ass any day of the week but he will pick his ass up and Austin will get his payback. Waiting until the PPV is too long, and he promises that before the end of the night he will get his hands on Vince and Dude Love and he has some ass to kick. He chases the cameraman and shoves him and intimidates Finkel and the bell ringer….not sure why. His character should not be as a petty bully.
Match 4: Terry Funk and Too Cold Scorpio v. New Midnight Express (c)
A Hearse has arrived and they think it is the Undertaker.
Cornette joins the announce table with Severn standing guard. Scorpio and Bob start off and the latter is shoved into the corner after the lock up. They lock up again and Bob is shoved off and Scorpio goes off the ropes and is caught with a clothesline after doing a cartwheel. They tussle and Scorpio nails him with a nice powerbomb, connects with the legdrop. Funk gets the tag and gives him a neckbreaker and he chops away. But Bob shoves him off into the ropes and elbows Funk and now kicks and punches away. He tags in Bart and Funk swings wildly and misses and Bart does not. Bart has the arm, tags in Bob who drops him. Bob snaps him over drills him in the head with his knee waits for him to get up and rocks him with a punch to the head and down goes Funk after a kick there. Bart is back and he whips Funk into the ropes, trips him up and Bob drops the elbow. The two collide after the whip and they are staggering around and both men make the tag. Scorpio springboard kicks him and then unleashes a couple of clotheslines and he strikes with a spinning kick. Bart reverses the whip, hits him in the gut and then front slams him. Bart taunts Funk and this allows Bob to come in and piledrive Scorpio and Bart gets a two count. Funk runs in and they spike piledrive him. Both are focused on Funk, roll him to the floor and they doubleteam him dropping him face first on to the apron. Scorpio flies into them with an over the top suicide dive. He takes Bob into the ring, slams him and then goes for a moonsault and Bob gets his knees up. Bob places him up top and is knocked off and Scorpio hits the 450 and Severn makes his way into the ring but at a slow pace and Scorpio gets the pin. Severn goes after him but Funk has a chair and drives them off.
*** Nice put over match for Funk and Scorpio.
The Hearse is backing up now! Oh boy!
Christ more Venis and he is in a shower with a girl. He wants to cover up as he is shy. There is nothing like a shower after a hard day….and tells the ladies they better get their rest while they can.
Here comes Sable wearing a blue evening gown. Cole is wating for her and he wants to take her back to last week when Luna publicly humiliated her by mocking her (for stripping Goldust….that is humiliating for Sable?). He reminds her that Luna wants to strip her down and Cole is fucking stupid as he keeps saying humiliation and stripping. She asks Cole if this body is humiliating. She does not care if she is stripped down and is willing to be naked as long as she gets her hands on Luna.
Cole has made it to the back and Vince is not too worried about Austin and he has seen too many Oliver Stone movies implying there is no conspiracy. He states he was ready for Austin last week and is not worried about him wanting to get his hands himself.
Match 5: New Age Outlaws (c) and HHH (c) v. LoD and Owen Hart
JR tells us that the PPV is in Greensboro, Flair country….hmmmm.
DX leaves the ring when the faces come down. HHH and Animal start off and Owen points at HHH and he gets in the ring and HHH retreats. Gunn gets in the ring and they lock up and Owen is shoved into the corner but Owen sends him into the other corner and back drops him. Gunn has the arm and they go back and forth and Gunn pokes the eye and tags in HHH who is dropped with a toe hold and he retreats and tags in Road Dog and so Owen tags in Hawk. Hawk clotheslines him a few times, and Animal pops him in the head but Road Dog comes back and pokes the eye. Gunn is tagged in and he holds him for HHH who nails him. Hawk escapes tags in Animal who takes down HHH and gets a two count. Animal has the arm and tags in Owen and HHH runs away.
Commercial.
Gunn runs over Owen but then runs into a spinkick and Owen follows up with a neckbreaker. Gunn is whipped into the ropes and down goes Owen. HHH gets the tag and he unloads on Owen who fights back and catches HHH, slams him and goes for the Sharpshooter but is shoved off. He hits the enzuguri and goes for it again. Outlaws run in and are able to DDT Owen. Road Dog hammers him and then drops the knee getting a two count. He pulls Owen up and whips him into the corner sandwiching him there. Gunn is tagged in and they whip him into the corner and Owen kicks both. Animal gets the hot tag and goes off and now all six are in the ring. Now it is just LoD and Road Dog in the ring and they hit their finisher as Pac corners Sunny and Chyna takes her and Hawk tries to stop her and Pac runs into the ring belts Animal with a chair and Road Dog finishes him with a piledriver.
**1/2 Overbooked to the extreme but still pretty good.
Kane and Bearer bring out a casket and wheel it off.
After the break they are coming to the ring or at least they are on the ramp. Paul is here this evening for one reason and he is here for the Undertaker. They know UT’s parents died in a fire that was set by him and that UT could not attend the funeral so he dug up his parents so UT can have a funeral for them. He bought the cheapest caskets for them and now cue UT’s music and he comes out through the crowd and Bearer tells Kane to pour the gasoline and he does so and UT tells Paul he does not want to light it and Paul does so anyway. UT charges up and is chokeslammed by Kane into his mother’s casket. The other one is on fire and it is just the top….old wood like that would be ablaze. They show bones and maggots in the casket that UT was slammed into as he slowly gets to his feet.
Cole informs us that Kane and Paul fled and the remains have been sent to a secure area and Cole will never forget the look on UT’s face.
Here comes a somber looking Vince. He joins JR and Lawler at the announce table.
Match 6: Steve Blackman v. Dude Love
Dude is backed into the corner when Blackman kicks at him. They lock up and Dude is pushed into the corner and after the break Dude sucker punches him and then after the whip strikes with a knee lift. They go back and forth and Dude knocks him down, runs him head first into the corner but Blackman trips him into the other corner and gets a two count. Dude retreats to the floor and Blackman heads out and rolls him into the ring. Dude gets the upperhand by stomping on Blackman and he gets a near fall after a swinging neckbreaker. He tries again for the neckbreaker but Steve counters with a snaps suplex and then drops the forearm on him a few times. Dude is whipped into the ropes and he goes for an ab stretch and but it is awkwardly reversed and the bell rings and Steve and the ref are baffled but Dude dances and Vince states that it is obvious why that happened and Dude Love is going into the PPV with some momentum. Steve is pissed and beats up the poor bell dude. Vince is calm and states that that was uncalled for and goes to help him and here comes Austin and he runs in and clotheslines Dude and then goes out and assaults Vince. Dude makes the save and they brawl. Vince is in the ring and wants a piece of Stone Cold and Austin gets in the ring and he gives either Patterson or Brisco who had formed a wall a Stunner and Dude blindsides him as Vince slowly leaves looking back and Austin and Dude brawl with Austin breaking free and giving chase.
** 1/2Okay match. Not to keen of doing the Screwjob redux again not only here but Vince is hinting at the PPV too as he kept saying something huge was going to happen or the fans get a refund. Earl is reffing and Vince will be at the announce table.
**1/2 Disappointing follow up. The first hour was atrocious, slow matches and the dick jokes are just fucking forced and lame. This is what overtakes Nitro? Sad if this is going to be the case. The show did pick up with some better wrestling and better pacing. The UT thing is a bit much but whatever, I will watch it. They wisely saved their match for the PPV. Also, they did not have too much time to build so these are just extensions from WM and with Shawn out Dude Love is a decent interim guy for Austin to feud with as Vince tries to screw Austin out of the title. RAW was like Nitro the week before where they did not go all out and just kept with their story and that was good. Meanwhile this week Nitro does go all out and really did not need to. It is nice to step up your game but no need to blow your load. But then again RAW could have been and should have been much better. But with Nitro being preempted soon and RAW live next week they know they are in the driver’s seat and can continue taking their time but RAW needs to be better than this but at least there were some long matches and Austin continues to have me sold. I used to think he dominated too much when I watched him a decade ago but even after a year or more his character is still fresh and I am still enjoying the hell out of him as he has not overstayed his welcome. Though I am not a fan when he randomly bullies as that is not his character he needs to kick the asses of Vince’s goons or security or other wrestlers and an announcer or two is fine but to intimidate little dudes does not make his character an ass kicker….