WWE RAW 6/8/1998

Written by: Kevin Kindelberger

WWF Monday Night RAW 6/8/98
A week removed from one of the better RAW’s and one of the better weeks in wrestling period. I am going to be honest right now, I have nothing to say, except the same old shit so I will just get on with it. And seeing as I have a lot less time now to watch, I will get on with it. The first hour dropped to a 4.1 but say a great increase to a 4.5 for a 4.3 total. While Nitro received a 4.1 off of hours of 4.3, and two 4.0’s.

Here comes Mr. McMahon in a tux with Patterson and Brisco who are dressed the same. The fans greet him with boos and chants of Austin. Vince has a big grin on his face as he gets in the ring. He nicely asks for the crowds attention, and thanks them despite their booing. He thanks them for making RAW over time and last week too as the most watched sports entertainment program. He calls tonight a landmark night; the fans only know the TV Vince who displays great mental prowess, and only when necessary display his Herculean physicality. Tonight the fans will meet the true Vince: one of caring and generosity, and tonight as a result of his many years and the fans stop him with chants of Austin and he tells them that he is here. He continues about his contributions to charity and he is honored by two, and he will be named Humanitarian of the Year. JR and Cole are gushing. At this black tie event later tonight he is inviting all the fans here and watching on TV. He is also inviting SCSA and thanks everyone from the bottom of his heart.

Match 1: Ken Shamrock v. Kama

Kama greets him with a series of forearms, whips him into the corner and sandwiches him. Shamrock ducks a blow off the whip and gets two after a flying crossbody. Kama comes back, takes him down and stomps on his ankle. Ken rolls him up for a two count, and is clotheslined. Shamrock gets his ankle worked over. Kama keeps after it but is grabbed and put in the Ankle Lock and Kama taps.

*1/2

Brown runs down and attacks Shamrock and Severn makes the save and keeps the Nation at bay. Ken and Dan glare and Severn leaves as Shamrock huffs and puffs. Severn looks like the guy from the Just For Men ad.

DX is in NY. They are asking if fans are going to SummerSlam, talking to Asians. Bringing up Godzilla etc. Now they are talking to everyone and a Ted Turner lookalike and a woman showing off her boobs!

Match 2: Marc Mero and Jeff Jarrett v. Farooq and Steve Blackman

Mero goes right after Farooq, boxes him with some rights. Farooq spikes him, and now he slugs away and works over the arm. Steve is tagged in, and he goes after the arm. Mero escapes, tags in JJ who works over Blackman but is kicked a few times. Blackman goes for a float over but JJ stops and Steve backs into a side Russian leg sweep. JJ dropkicks him and bridges him for two. He goes for a bodyslam and is rolled up and nearly pinned. Steve is sent for the ride, ducks a blow and drops JJ with a chop to the gut, gets two after a powerslam. All four are in the ring hammering each other. The two faces are whipped into each other. JJ stomps on Blackman, Mero is hopping up and down and Farooq shoves JJ into Mero who falls off the apron and JJ is rolled up and pinned.

** Okay.

Lee is hopping mad, yelling at Mero.

Some more DX in NY. They are heading into a XXX bar. HHH is talking to a cop and Road Dog is yelling in a bar. Fans are doing the Suck It on top of their cars and DX is dancing with locals.

Shit, another one, they are doing the same thing…..nothing great. They are helping an old lady cross the street.Another girl flashes her boobs and some random is dancing and screaming in the street.

Match 3: Scorpio v. Owen Hart

Owen has the arm after some back and forth, Scorpio reverses and has him in a hammerlock. Owen flips over but is shoved back only for Owen to dropkick him. Scorpio is knocked to the floor and hit with a baseball slide and then slingshots into him. Owen gets back in the ring, helps Scorpio back in but is hit and nearly pinned with a crossboyd from the top. Scorpio connects with some armdrags and goes to work on the bicep with his shin. He pulls him up and kicks him in the jaw, and after a delay gets a two count. Owen is shoved into the corner and squashed. Owen counters with a German suplex, now a neckbreaker. He goes to the second rope drops the elbow and gets two. Owen goes back up top and leaps right into a boot! Scorpio unloads with some rights and now a spinning heel kick. He gets a two count and pulls up Owen and powerbombs him. He takes his time going up top and misses the moonsault; Owen takes out his knee and works it over. He turns him over into the Sharpshooter and Scorpio taps right away.

*** Fun match. Scorpio got in some offense and Owen got a win.

During the break Undertaker was looking for Vince in the back.

Match 4: Darren Drozdov v. Chainz

They show Droz when he played for the Broncos. They showed him throwing up on the ball. Dan Reeves is laughing about it. It is not Joe Gibbs JR.

Droz knocks him down. He is put in a side headlock, escapes and now the two slug it out with Droz knocking him down again, now a hiptoss and then a dropkick sends him to the floor. He walks towards Chainz who kicks him, gets two after a big boot. He puts him in a reverse chinlock. Chainz powerslams him after Droz gets to his feet. Chainz goes up and awkwardly leaps and eats all mat. Chainz is whipped into the corner. Can they please get a new maneuver for football players as he gets in a three point stance and charges, he misses and is finished and pinned.

*1/2 Nothing great.

UT comes down and chokeslams both men. He is yelling for McMahon.

After the break, Vince is on the TitanTron talking to some dignitaries and UT heads to the back.

Here comes DX. Pac and HHH are asking the crowd if they are ready. Now Road Dog is doing his thing and somehow he is getting over….not sure how. Same with Gunn. He tells everyone to suck it. HHH states that they have some unfinished business with the Nation and cue LoD. They come out and Animal has a mic. He wants to know if DX is ready as they have bigger problems than the Nation; they have to deal with LoD who want their title shot. HHH tells him to calm down or he will have an aneurysm and tells him they can have their title shots and all they had to do was ask! Here comes DoA, they call BS as HHH wonders how many mic’s the WWF own. One of the Twins claims they beat the Outlaws and so they should get the title shot. HHH huddles up DX, and he states that they cannot fight all of them then they can suck it. Here comes Slaughter. They will all fight tonight and the winner will be the tag champs.

UT is destroying the back, upending tables etc.

Match 5: Mark Henry v. Vader

Poor Vader, way to fuck this one up. He should have been champ, could have been a monster and while he got a push it was always stop and start…..and Shawn Michaels intervened of course.

The two big men square off and Vader tries to pick him up but cannot and tries again to no avail. Henry has him up with ease and slams him. He drops the big elbow and taunts Vader, telling him that it is his turn. Henry drops the leg and clubs him in the corner. Henry is whipped into the ropes and is run down; he follows up with a short clothesline. He goes up to the middle rope but off the leap is powerslammed. Vader is right back up and is getting hammered in the corner. Here comes the Undertaker and Henry turns and stares and gets chokeslammed. Vader stands there like an idiot too and gets chokeslammed.

** At least Vader did not lose!

UT just leaves!

Match 6: D’Lo Brown v. Dan Severn

Brown is taunting Dan and slaps him. Dan does not like that and sticks him and chokes him out. The ref forces the break and Brown knees him in the gut and smacks him in the jaw. He puts him in a waistlock but it is reversed and Brown is taken down. But he comes back and hits him in the back and strikes with a spinning heel kick. Brown taunts him and let’s everyone know who he is. He clubs the back, but is grabbed and given a belly to belly. Dan fires off some forearms, knees him in the gut over and in the corner. Brown has him in a waistlock but he is grabbed and spiked painfully with a German suplex and he curves him in a bow and arrow. Brown finally quits.

* This was really dull. Dan cannot wrestle.

Owen comes down and kicks Dan, he hammers him only to be chased off into the crowd by Shamrock.

HOLY FUCK! They are doing a sad song tribute for Sable. Fuck I want to clean out my ears with a gun. This is horrific and the sad looks they show her giving…..and some nice boob shots too.

Match 7: Val Venis v. Goldust

He compares himself to Rodman as they are both called the Worm….is that a compliment? He is wheezing and puffing. I guess it is Dustin Runnels now, whatever.

They lock up and Val pushes him into the corner Dustin turns him and hammers him. He knocks him to the floor and wails on him some more. Back in the ring, Val is armdragged and his arm is worked over. Dustin jumps on the arm, twists the wrist and Val grabs the hair, pushing him into the ropes and then running his head into the top rope. Val back suplexes him and then looks down the front of his trunks….why? Val drops him and puts him in a rear chinlock. Dustin fights to his fight but is knocked back down and he is straddled and put in a clutch. Val goes to jump but his nuts hit knees. Dustin fires off, gives him an inverted atomic drop. Val is uppercutted and then dropped with a big right. Dustin stumbles off the top but connects with a flying clothesline getting two. Goldust bulldogs him and gets another two count. Here comes UT and he swats Dustin away like a gnat and Val gets a chokeslam and now does Runnels.

*1/2 Not great and UT is making the roster look pathetic but he has not been this interesting in years.

Match 8: DoA v. LoD v. New Age Outlaws (c) for WWF Tag Titles

They pan to the back where UT is beating the shit out of Slaughter. He dumps a plastic can on top of him after ripping his tux!

Gunn giggles at X Pac and HHH who are lounging at the top of the ramp with stupid ass signs. He turns into clothesline from Animal. Gunn fires back but is powerslammedX Pac and HHH who are lounging at the top of the ramp with stupid ass signs. He turns into clothesline from Animal. Gunn fires back but is powerslammed and so is Road Dog. Eight Ball gets the tag and runs in and connects with a big boot, hammering Animal. Road Dog is tagged in and he too gets pounded. Road Dog’s comeback is brief as he is run over and nearly pinned. Sorry, stopped paying attention for a moment but Road Dog escapes and tags in Skull who is getting battered by Hawk who gets two after a neckbreaker. Road Dog is in and he and Gunn are hammering Skull in the corner, the ref forces Dog back who runs over and hits Animal and this allows Skull to make the tag and Dog is side slammed. Gunn makes the save. Eight Ball is in and he works over Dog, but Animal is tagged in and he unloads for a moment and Gunn tags in one of the Twins and now Road Dog is tagged in. Dog is flipped into the ring as Gunn is the other legal man and the two are whipped into one another. JR is baffled as to why they are tagged in and then Dog falls down and Gunn pins him.

LoD and DoA are idiots…..okay match **1/2

Al Snow comes to the announce table and Lawler is happy to see him as everyone has been invited to the party. Security leads him off….

Here comes Vince for his affair. A slew of officers have arrived. They have UT surrounded. The “honored guest” is welcomed: SCSA! He comes down and has a tie on with his vest. Vince is irate that he is not wearing a tux but calms down and welcomes him. George Martin has a plaque (former NY Giant) and he calls his mission dubious as Vince gave less than promised, his check did not clear for a long time and never came to the organization. He does give him in the plaque and then lets him know that his favorite wrestler is Austin! The other guy does not remember getting a check but gives him the plaque too and his favorite superstar is also Austin but Vince still grins! Vince is thanking everyone and is all happy for receiving the award and discusses the HoF and how he will be honored again. Austin grabs some cash out of Vince’s pocket and it is 1200 dollars and on behalf of the tightest SOB in the world he gives the money to the charity and calls him jackass of the year. Cue the dong! Druids are pushing a casket. Mankind comes out from under the ring and attacks Austin and Kane lends a hand and they put him in the casket with Kane standing on top of it and Vince grinning like a fool and we fade.

*** A step down from last week. The wrestling seemed half-hearted and while the ending was fairly classic it did feel anti-climactic. I do like what they are doing with the Undertaker and it will cool to see what they are going to do with him. I just did not really feel anything, perhaps because it was taped but nothing really stood out and it just felt like it went by the numbers. It was not terrible but was a let down, like when you meet a hot girl at a party and then wake up the next morning and the beer goggles have worn off, she is not heinous but then again you weep a bit…. I am rambling. It was an okay show.