WWF RAW 1/5/1998

Written by: Kevin Kindelberger

WWF Monday Night RAW 1/5/98
It has been a bit since I have watched RAW but the last two shows have been better than normal. Owen Hart has been great and all that is needed is some more wrestling and less stupid crap like Goldust. They are heading into the Rumble and the ratings are up as RAW got a 3.0 and 3.7 for a near 3.4 total while Nitro got a 4.6 and 4.1 for a 4.3 total.

Austin talks about beepers and kicking ass. He is going to attack people before they can get to them. He knows they will team up against him at the Rumble so they better watch their pagers as he is coming for them.

Match 1: Farooq v. Ken Shamrock
Ken is whooping ass and knocks him to the floor and then suplexes him back into the ring. Shamrock has him but Farooq counters with a Samoan drop. Shamrock is kicked to the floor and the Nation watches him but the ref is there to make sure not too many shenanigans occur. Ken rolls him up after he gets back in the ring. Farooq clotheslines him and gets two. Ken is tossed to the floor….no Rock at ringside. Nope, he is at the top of the ramp.

Commercial.

Farooq gets two and snaps over Ken and Rock is conferring with Kama and Brown and they look baffled as he gives orders. Ken is stuck in a rear chinlock. Farooq knees him off the whip, raises him over his head and drops the gut on top of his head for a two count. Farooq runs him over, waits for him to get vertical and charges right into a hurracarana. Shamrock pounds the head, and slugs him in the corner but gets his eyes raked. Kama grabs a chair as Farooq hits him and Farooq is whipped into the chair as Rock distracted the ref. Shamrock hits the belly to belly and it is over after the Ankle Lock.
Good opener.

Kama and Farooq are arguing as Rock gets in the ring and he jaws at Shamrock. Austin comes into the ring and Stuns Shamrock and Rock turns away for some unknown reason and he too gets the Stunner!

They will show exclusive footage from Hell in the Cell.

Don King is shown behind his desk talking and it will be shown later.

Cornette and some wrestlers come down to the ring and it is a commercial.

Cornette has put his money where his mouth is. He has brought in the President and VP of the NWA and he brags about its rich history.

Match 2: Barry Windham v. Jeff Jarrett for NWA Title
JJ hiptosses and armdrags him around. He tosses him over again all the while strutting around. Barry’s turn as he takes it to him and picks him up and drops him throat on the top rope. He slams him getting a two count. Barry gets another two after a gut wrench. JJ fires back, whips him into the corner and hits him. JJ is whipped into the corner himself and tries to float over but is caught and slammed and nearly pinned. Barry strikes with a running lariat but JJ gets his foot on the ropes. One of the NWA guys is talking to the ref as JJ is nearly suplexed off the top but Cornette uses the racket on Barry and JJ gets the win.
Really? Cornette pisses and moans about wrestling and this is the result? Cheating? And a mediocre match for the supposedly prestigious NWA belt….whatever.

The NWA belt is even more meaningless as Austin runs down and Stuns him! He leaves the area brandishing a chair.

Ken Shamrock is in the back talking about the Rumble and he wants to get it on with Austin, man to man, eye to eye.

Here comes a sultry Sunny!

Match 3: Recon and Sniper v. Skull and Eight Ball
All four go at it and the Commission gets the worst of it. Recon makes a comeback but he is back dropped to the floor, hitting his back on the apron. Ball gives him a swinging neckbreaker and makes the tag and they double boot him. Sniper distracts him and Skull is hammered out on the floor and gets his head rammed into the announce table. Back in the ring he continues to get hammered. Sniper slams him and Recons gets the tag and he goes up top and misses the splash. Ball gets the hot tag and he cleans house with clotheslines and bodyslams. He goes for the cover but Recon makes the save as I guess he is not the legal man anymore. DoA gets the pin as they pan to Kurrgan coming down and he gets in the ring and is double teamed and he is not budging. Recon and Sniper hit DoA from behind and now Kurrgan lays a beatdown.

Jackyl babbles about a revolution and they never win and Kurrgan cannot wrestle worth a damn but he was in 300. He finally tells Kurrgan to break the hold and he listens.

Here comes DX and HHH is in a wheelchair being pushed down by Chyna. HHH tells Owen that he has gone from the hunter to the hunted. He hurled some pretty strong words but cannot back them up. Shawn has a lollipop and sucks on it staring at Chyna. HHH assures the ladies there is plenty of wood left….and he is willing to call off his cronies and wants a piece of the niblit. Owen is on the Tron and he does not exchange words and he mocks DX as he had Shawn down and out and now it is personal. He is going to break HHH’s leg and then the other one because he has a blackheart and he feels no pain. HHH acts scared and tells him to watch his back as DX is bigger than all of us.

Match 4: Savio Vega v. Owen Hart
Here we go as Owen watches the floor as the Baricuas have the ring surrounded. Owen Thesz presses him and pounds on him. Owen runs him into the corner and mounts him again and mauls him with ten shots and now a back body drop. He goes up top, strikes with a missile dropkick and DX is at the top of the ramp and Vega attacks him from behind. Owen is tossed to the floor and Vega hits the back, rolls him back into the ring and stomps and kicks him. Owen rolls him up for two but gets kicked in the face with a spinning heel kick and applies a rear chinlock. Owen gets to his feet countering with a jawbreaker and gets two after a flying crossbody. Owen is distracted by the Baricuas and is clotheslined to the floor where he is pummeled and another ref runs down and tells them to leave. Vega misses in the corner and is dropped with some clotheslines and a spinkick and it is Sharpshooter time and Vega still has not tapped….odd. Baricuas were not sent out and they distract him again but Vega is rolled up and pinned.
Okay match but nice put over for Owen.

Owen points and heads towards DX but the Baricuas clobber him and haul him up to HHH who slaps him over and over. DX hands the Baricuas some money and the refs tell them to leave.

A dishevelled Paul Bearer comes out. He hopes HBK destroys the Undertaker at the Rumble. He curses the ground he walks on and the air he breathes. He also hates his guts and he lost Kane because of him. He has searched everywhere but cannot find him. He took care of Kane for so many years as he begs Kane to come home.

Austin Stuns Mark Henry in the locker room.

Match 5: Marc Mero v. Tom Brandi
Brandi chases him around the ring and Mero shoves Sable into him and then attacks. Inside the ring he boxes him right as the bell rings. Mero whips him into the ropes and clotheslines him and is upset about the Sable chants. Mero climbs up top but Brandi staggers into the ropes and Mero is crotched. Brandi yells for him to get up and mounts him in the corner and gets some but not much crowd support on the ten shots. He gets two after a bulldog. Brandi chops him in the corner, drills him with a few forearms but gets his eyes raked. Mero is elbowed and falls on top of Sable and he yells at her. Brandi goes after him and then checks on Sable and Mero leaps from the apron striking with a double axe and then flings Brandi into the steps as Sable cries about her ankle. Mero hits the TKO and does another one and Austin climbs in from behind and Mero drops Brandi and turns and stands there so he can get Stunned! Austin sees Sable and looks at her and grins and then struts off as she smiles at him.

Match 6: Flash Funk v. Goldust
Goldust is wearing blackface and a fro wig, not racist at all. Funk tees off on him and after a back drop sends Goldust to the floor. Goldust pulls him to the floor, Funk is whipped into the ropes and Luna grabs the ankle and Funk turns into a clothesline followed up by an elbow drop. Funk blocks a right, takes down Goldust with a spinning heel kick but Goldust kicks out at two and a half. Funk back suplexes him and calls for his finisher. Funk goes up top and Luna shoves him off and the match is called off. Funk is given the Curtain Call and Vader comes in and decleats Goldust who runs to the back.

Headbangers were on Regis and Kathie Lee.

Here comes Jesse James and Road Dog. They do their spiel….

Match 7: Headbangers v. New Age Outlaws (c) for WWF Tag Titles
They go back and forth and Gunn is taken down but escapes and tags in Dog who is hip tossed and Mosh works over the arm. Thrasher gets the tag and they double front suplex him Godwinns are at the top of the ramp glaring. Gunn is tagged in and whipped into the corner but he bounces out and side suplexes Thrasher. Dog gets the tag and he kicks and punches him in the head numerous times. Dog goes up for a dropkick but so does Thrasher and Dog gets it in the nuts. Both are down. Gunn is tagged and Thrasher falls into Mosh and he comes into clean house. Gunn is whipped into the ropes, it was Dog and he is clotheslined by Thrasher and then they faceplant Gunn. They go for their finisher and completely miss and Dog rolls up Mosh for the win. Here comes Chainsaw Charlie with Cactus Jack and he is swinging the chainsaw around. Outlaws leave.

WWF hypes up the signing of Tyson and the media blitz around it. Don King is yapping about how great it is going to be having Tyson at WM. King is working with Vince and then keeps hyping up WM and the date of it and he really just rambles.

Here comes HBK. He makes fun of Owen for not showing his ugly mug, so he decided to call out someone else to see if they are willing to come out to face the showstopper, icon, main event and so on. He has beaten UT time and time again and he is such a glutton for punishment that he just wants more. He will prove that UT is nothing more than a loser and Shawn will walk out being the showstopper etc. as well as the WWF champion. He is willing to give something a little extra tonight and he needs to drag his dead carcass out and face him like a man so Shawn can smack him around in front of the whole world. There is the dong and a casket is being rolled down to the ring by Druids. It is the DX casket and Shawn claims it looks familiar and he chuckles and he is begging for some originality. He thought HHH and Chyna could do better as he did it last week and he wants them to come out. He says the secret password: Break it down and now HHH and Chyna roll out and try to get his attention and Shawn plays dumb for a moment and wants to know who is in the casket and acts dumb like in a cartoon as he wonders who is in the casket as he tries to sound scared. UT rises up and pulls him inside.

Final Thoughts: Wow, no main event? Shitty acting by HBK, an obvious ending to boot. This was really bad. I mean there is sugarcoating this debacle. Stone Cold did his thing to get the crowd riled and the opening match was pretty good but the rest was filler. The matches were relatively short and filled with interference and over just plain boring, though Owen had a decent segment but his interview did seem a bit off kilter. DX is getting on my nerves with their ten year old dick and fart jokes. Seriously, I am counting down the days for when HBK is gone. God damn and the WWF was rolling too. But since Bret Hart left and yes I am a big fan, the show has lost something but the ratings are up and I am stymied as to why. I really hope the go home show gets better but it really is starting to remind me of TNA today. There is so much talent here and yet it feels like it is going and getting nowhere and it needs to change. The Truth Commission is terrible and it is the same thing each week. Mero and Sable are wearing thin and something needs to happen. Goldust is annoying and so are the Outlaws. Even more so than WCW right now it is the same thing each week with nothing new or exciting and it needs to change. Even Austin running around kicking everyone’s ass is starting to grow stale….