WWF RAW 8/3/1998

Written by: Kevin Kindelberger

WWF Monday Night RAW 8/3/98
We are entering the dog days of summer. WCW is zeroing in on Road Wild and SummerSlam is around the corner. Both feds have improved as of late with WCW having the superior July. However, their PPV was weak while the WWF had a strong showing. The Rock seems ready to break free, something he has been teasing all year. Austin and UT also should be picking up their feud. I honestly could care less about DX but HHH is entertaining while the remaining three make me want to drill an ice pick into my brain. Sable’s angle is decent because she is so hot. However, the pacing of the shows has gotten better and that has helped. I do not see the point of portraying Hawk’s issues on TV but apparently Russo and McMahon want as much realism as possible and they are in a war against WCW…..Ratings stayed strong with a 4.9 off of hours of a 4.5 and 5.2 while Nitro fell to a 4.2 off of hours of 4.3, 4.0, 4.3.

The Rock has come down with the Nation. The entire world is ready to see Owen and the Rock to take on Austin and the Undertaker. He tells them to bring their candy asses on out so he and Owen can lay the smackdown on them like never before. He calls them out. Slaughter comes out the Rock tells him to head to to the back and get the titles because they have forfeited. Slaughter starts to speak but is told to shut up, head to the back with his 75 cent shirt and grab the titles and know his role before the Rock kicks his candy ass, you jabroni! Here comes Austin, Rock has a comical look when the glass shatters and UT is right behind. Austin gets right into the ring and throws down and UT pauses because Kane is out, and now Mankind too. Austin is getting stomped. Mankind is not out yet, Paul has pushed Kane to the back and Mankind now runs out and clobbers UT. They are brawling out in the crowd area. Austin Stuns Owen but Rock nails him only to walk away for a moment and Austin kicks him back, goes for the Stunner but Rock slides under the ropes. Austin has a chair and keeps the Nation at bay to the delight of the fans.

Okay I had some serious computer issues. Mero and Jackie have come down for a match and Sable comes down and they say it is Goldust but it is not. It is that masked freak. Kurrgan comes down with another dude and Luna is in between them and they are serenading her. I am not fucking kidding…..

Match 1: Marc Mero v. Golga

They said Golga not Goldust. The big dude is beating Mero who has only gotten a little bit of offense in. He walks over him a couple of time and gets a two count. Luna blasts Jackie with flowers and they are brawling. Mero runs into the Giant guy and gets chokeslammed. Golga picks him up and slams him and runs off the ropes leaping on top of him and the match is over.

* Squash.

Dan Severn has withdrew from the Tournament claiming in a squeaky voice that he has nothing to prove and that he does his battle’s without his hands tied…..in reality it would have diminished him greatly had he lost.

Match 2: Godfather v. Scorpio

I missed the Scorpio/Eight Ball Brawl for All two weeks ago? I do not remember it, well Scorpio won. Godfather is willing to forgo the ass kicking and give him three of his ho’s! Scorpio stupidly declines.

First Round: They are slugging one another.

Second Round: Godfather had gotten in a couple of good shots the first round. Godfather dominated this round.

Final Round: Godfather takes him down. Scorpio jukes and jives and connects with a few blows. Godfather blocked the takedown and it is over.

** Godfather wins.

Outlaws are not afraid of anyone just what they are willing to do and fuck they are annoying.

Damn, now they are coming down to the ring and the fans eat that shit up. Then again people cheer for Cena.

Match 3: New Age Outlaws v. Mankind and Kane

Gunn starts off against Mankind and pounds away at him and is drilled with a lariat. Road Dog gets the tag and he is promptly dropped and hammered. Kane gets the tag and flings him into the corner where he crushes him with a clothesline. Kane keeps after him and the Outlaws try to double suplex him but instead they get suplexed! Mankind gets the tag and runs right into Road Dog and both topple to the floor. Mankind has a chair and blasts him in the head with it and Gunn returns the favor. Kane comes over and Gunn’s face gets rammed into the announce table. Outlaws have Kane isolated in the ring and this time the double suplex works and Gunn would have pinned him for some odd reason but Road Dog is put in the Claw and the ref is distracted. Road Dog eats a Tombstone and despite not being the legal man is pinned.

** Nothing much here.

Fuck. They are discussing Hawk’s issues and how he is an embarrassment to his family. Now, Hawk is acting as himself and not Hawk. He is apologizing to the fans, Vince and Titan Sports and now is going to go out and do the Hawk thing.

JJ states that Hawk embarrassed everyone and he is going to be scared straight JJ style.

Match 4: Jeff Jarrett v. Hawk.

LoD were not too fond of this storyline. I do not blame him. Fucking childish and asinine. Anyway, Hawk is dismantling him. He knocks him around for a bit but misses the charge and eats the post and is pulled to the floor where he is flung into the steps. Back into the ring, Lee cannot get his belt off, but Hawk telegraph’s the backdrop and gets a DDT. He finally gets the belt off but it is too late and Hawk finishes him off.

** Fast paced.

Animal comes down to hug Hawk and Southern Justice comes down and annihilates LoD. Droz comes down and takes out JJ.

Austin is pacing in the back.

Vince is in the ring. There is a highway to hell intersecting at SummerSlam with Austin and the Undertaker. But there will be a bump in the road tonight as they will lose the titles tonight. The new winner’s know a bit about family etc. Vince pauses and asks the crowd to show some respect. He shows a clip last week showing UT drinking a beer but Austin does not know the truth and that is UT knew Kane was about obliterate Austin. The same thing occurred tonight. He wants the Undertaker to come out and try to disprove this theory. He now yells that he does not have all night dammit. Here he comes and a minute later after the long entrance Austin comes down and just takes the mic right out of Vinnie’s hand. Austin does not care about trust as he does not trust anyone. He gave him a beer because the sum bitch looked thirsty. He does not need to be his friend just wants to get him to SummerSlam so he can beat his ass. The only belt he cares about is the WWF title and tosses a livid Vince the mic and he has left the tag belts behind. UT is yelling for his attention and calls him boy. He tells him to shut up and listen. He claims Austin is doing what Vince wants him to do. Vince does not want them to be champions. UT came to him like a man and asked for a shot at the WWF title and now he wants Austin to get into the ring and take what is his. He repeats himself. Austin heads back towards the ring and grabs the belt and then slowly backs out of the ring. Vince is displeased. UT has one more thing, between now and SS Austin is the safest SOB in the WWF. But at the PPV he is going to take what is rightfully his.

Rock and Owen are in the back and the former threatens JR for asking stupid questions. Rock could careless about their issues and calls them women. He and Owen are going to be the next champ’s. Owen agrees and he is not a nugget.

Match 5: X Pac v. HHH

HHH strikes with a spinning backbreaker and he gets a two count. HHH holds him up in a vertical suplex and after dropping him down gets a two count after a knee drop. He sends him into the corner with some serious velocity and Pac crashes to the mat. Pac though comes right back with a spinning heel kick. He strikes with a quick legdrop and gets two. Now HHH takes the offensive, and after ducking a clothesline he nails him with a neckbreaker. HHH gets a two count but Pac fights back and kicks him in the gut a couple of times but after the whip into the corner misses the bronco buster. HHH covers him and gets two. Pac dodges a blow and kicks him in the head, and now he gets a two count and now kicks away at him in the corner and HHH sags to the canvas. He is going for the Buster but Chyna trips him up and Pac is baffled and so she knocks him out and HHH finishes him off with the Pedigree despite looking a bit baffled.

**1/2 Okay match. Fans were dead.

They are shoving one another in the center of the ring.

Val is in the ring and talks about how he has the ligthening bolt to charge them up or something. They are in Ryan Leaf country. Oh, fuck what a bust there! But he got a name drop.

Match 6: Val Venis and Taka Michinoku v. Kaientai

Val is chopped at in the corner but Val starts running him from rope to rope driving his knee into him over and over. Val is doubleteamed and suplexed. But he clears them out. Taka leaps into the ring and to the chagrin of Yamaguchi’s wife Taka turns to the darkside and attacks Val. Now Val is being utterly dismantled.

*1/2 Angle advancement.

They drag him to the back….

Match 7: D’Lo Brown (c) v. Dan Severn

Brown is getting some mic time and bragging about beating Ken Shamrock on Sunday Night Heat.

Brown flings him into the corner and clotheslines him. He gets two after a legdrop. Steve Blackman has come down. Brown is choking him out on the top rope. Severn is sent for the ride but takes down Brown and then grabs the arm and throws Brown. He strikes with two belly to belly suplexes. Shamrock has come down and Brown goes out after him but is beaten up. Both he and Mark Henry are thrown into the steel steps. The match is tossed and Blackman calms down Shamrock but Severn is now livid.

**

Edge hits Brown from behind as he backs up the ramp and then leaves. Brown has a befuddled look on his face but Edge got a nice pop.

Val is in the back still getting dismantled.

Tiger Ali-Singh comes down. All American women have no class, morals or self respect. He brings in a fat girl and gives her money and she strips down. I am strangely aroused! Kidding, I think. He has her put on her top and drops money on the canvas and she scrambles to pick it up.

Val is pulled into a room and Yamaguchi has a sword….

Match 8: Rock and Owen Hart v. UT and Austin (c) for WWF Tag Titles

The brawl is on! Rock retreats to the floor and Austin goes after him. Undertaker is busy beating up Owen. UT headbutts him and twists the arm, and drives his shoulder into him. He moves him into the corner where it is rope walk time. Austin gets the tag and he punches away, sending Owen into the corner and he bounces out and down. He sends him for the ride again but Owen ducks and strikes with a spinning heel kick. Austin grabs the leg and Owen misses the enzuguri and now Owen is hammered. He escapes and tags in Rock who promptly gets destroyed. Austin snaps him over and gets two after a suplex. Austin tags in UT who kicks Rock and works over the arm but Rock rakes the face and puts him in a headlock. But UT back suplexes him and drops the big leg getting two as Owen makes the save. UT is battering Rock with fists in the corner, takes his time and after the whip he goozles him. But Owen runs in and clips the knee and I guess a tag has been made as Owen works over the leg with the Rock lending a hand. Now the Rock just comes back in so no tag was ever made. Now Owen is tagged in and they doubleteam him but Rock is clotheslined but UT turns right into a heel kick and he gets a near fall. However, UT strikes back with a boot to the skull and now Austin is in the ring and he stomps away with alacrity. Owen is run into the corner and just stomped on. He turns him over into the Sharpshooter but the Rock clotheslines him and gives Austin the finger. Austin rolls to the floor and the Rock rolls him back in. Rock gets the tag and gets in a few blows but it is Thesz Press time. Rock is up and reverses a whip, dropping Austin with a back elbow and then mocks Austin. The fans get behind him as Owen gets in the ring and puts him in a sleeper. Austin powers out and JR is in awe but he is kicked in the nuts and so much for that. Owen goes for the Sharpshooter but is kicked off, and now the Rock comes in and he punches Austin in the nuts and puts him in a rear chinlock. Austin gets vertical and slugs free, but runs right into the Rock Bottom but Austin counters with several punches but they clothesline one another and they are both down. Both men make the tag and UT is teeing off on both the Rock and Owen. Rock eats a boot to the face and Owen is goozled and chokeslammed. Rock makes the save and now Austin runs in and goes after the Rock, bashing him into the announce table where he pummels him there. Owen is finished off with the Tombstone. Mankind has run down and has UT in the Claw. Kane has the chair and Mankind is the one who gets it. Now UT has the chair and he hits Mankind. Rock has been put through the announce table. Now the Outlaws are down and it is a free for all. Road Dog eats a Stunner!

*** Nice angle advancement. A Russo specialty to put two people who do not really like one another as tag partners. It works sometimes and sometimes does not. This time it seems to be. Both UT and Austin carry a lot of weight, and their feud still has a long way to go, even though it is getting clear that UT is either in cahoots with Kane or prepping a heel turn.

They pan to the back and a sword is coming down towards a naked Val’s penis. Why?

*** I just did not really feel it. There were a couple of decent matches and a solid main event but the show is held down by stereotyping Japanese with samurai swords and now we have the Godfather with Ho’s, which is fine, stereotypes are common in wrestling. We have a porn star and now Tiger Singh is paying fat girls to strip. Every segment is drenched with sex and while fine here and there it is honestly just too much and too immature. Nearly every character minus those at the top do something sexually either overtly or covertly.