WWF RAW 10/5/1998

Written by: Kevin Kindelberger

WWF Monday Night RAW 10/5/98

RAW had an off week but it was still decent. It is late, and there is not much to say as Vince will be in the hospital and I am sure Austin will be around. Rock too and Kane and UT are having a tiff and they need to expand on that as we get closer to the PPV.  They tie with 4.5’s. RAW had a 4.5 and 4.6. Nitro started strong with a 4.8 before falling to a 4.3 and rising to a 4.5.

Match 1: X Pac (c) v. D’Lo Brown for WWF European Title

I was finishing my Nitro write. But D’Lo has controlled most of the match. He had a chinlock on for a week. Chyna was served papers again and Mark Henry who is at ringside grins at her. Brown slams Pac and misses the splash from the top. Now Pac unloads with some kicks and Brown sets himself up for the Buster and the fans love it. Henry tries to trip up Pac who then leaps onto Mark Henry and he is grabbed and driven into the post. Brown finishes him off with the Frog Splash.

**1/2 Decent start to the show.

Chyna is huffing in anger as she just glares.

Match 2: Headbangers v. ICP

Mosh has the mic and I guess there is only a Headbanger way. He wants to fight ICP and tells them to come on down. The Oddities come out and they do not want them and want those stinking clowns.

The Oddities finally oblige but the Headbangers stop them and demand that the former head to the back so they can show ICP what real heavy metal is all about. Jesus this is taking forever. ICP finally get in the ring and get dismantled. Shaggy is flapjacked. One ICP dude is powerbombed from the top and both are plastered with chair shots to the head. Now the Oddities come out and Headbangers run off and tell ICP that they suck.

NR-a slaughter.

They show Vince wallowing in a hospital bed. Highlights from Sunday Night Heat and Austin destroyed the feed to Vince’s hospital room.

After the break they recap what happened to Vince last week. Now they are in Vince’s hospital room and the nurse tells him that he has a visitor. Vince does not want any damn visitors but the nurse states that he is really big. Vince is getting livid and the heart rate monitor increases! Here comes Mankind with some snacks and Mankind feels bad for him. He has another visitor and that scares Vince but it is a clown who makes balloon animals. They are making noises with plastic instruments and now Mankind brings out Mr. Socko and tries to cheer him up. Vince is getting pissed and yells at them to leave and tosses some stuff and they oblige.

Sable is getting her hair done in the back.

Match 3: Vader v. Marc Mero

Sable is at the announce table. They tease a lock up for a bit and finally do so. Vader slugs him in the gut and whips him into the ropes, Mero grabs them and leaves the ring. Vader goes after him and Mero uses Jackie as shield but will not allow Vader to go around her. Vader shrugs and heads back into the ring and is greeted with some stomps. But Vader is up and drops him with an uppercut and Mero falls to the floor. He is woozy and staggers around. Vader goes after him and Jackie leaps on his back as Mero boxes away with alacrity. Vader is rolled back into the ring as the fans chant for Sable. Vader is sent for the ride, kicked in the gut and kneed in the face. Vader is finally taken down via a lariat. He slingshots onto some knees. Vader crushes him in the corner and then clotheslines him. Now another big lariat and another crushing splash but Marc kicks out. Jackie leaps into the ring and Vader catches her and then just puts her down. Mero nuts Vader and down he goes. Mero slowly heads up top and hits the Merosault and it is over.

**1/2 Actually fun. Vader was so over a year or two ago too…no a jobber and is ousted by one nut shot.

I have no idea what Jackie is slurring out but it is a challenge to Sable. Sable take off the headset and heads towards the ring. She gets in and Mero stops her and the reason she is upset is that she can never satisfy a man like him. She slaps Mero and Jackie has some scissors and starts cutting her hair! She has a hunk of it and holds it up like a trophy as Sable glares.

Back to Vince getting his temp taken.

Regal is squeezing his own OJ and that makes him a real man’s man.

Match 4: Edge v. Owen Hart

Owen injured someone else on Heat; I think. Owen comes down in a dress shirt. He talks about being in the wrestling business for 13 years and after what he did to Dan Severn he saw his wife and children. He never meant for anyone to get hurt. Owen apologizes for what he did and chokes up. He leaves and Edge just stands there as Lawler goes off calling him a wuss.

NR Angle advancement. That would have been a good match too….

Match 5: Kane v. Ken Shamrock

Ken was shown shadow boxing in the back prior to the match. I forgot to mention last week that UT was pissed at Kane and blamed him for the loss with his body language….JR and King are discussing that.

Shamrock nips at the legs and knees. He takes him down but leaps and is caught. Kane slams him and then whips him into the corner, catches him with a big boot to the face. Shamrock slides under and dropkicks him after the whip and he goes for the hurracarana but is powerbombed. Kane chokes him out. He picks him up by his neck, slams him and then chokes him out on the ropes. Kane slams him and gets a two count. Kane telegraphs the backdrop but the kick does not faze him and Shamrock is blasted with a hard right. Kane slams him and drives his fist into his throat getting two. He starts to squeeze the head. Shamrock gets to his feet, elbows free but Kane knocks him down and drops the elbow getting another near fall. Shamrock is up and floats over but gets his head taken off with a big boot. Here comes the Undertaker. Kane strikes with some uppercuts and misses the big boot. Shamrock clips the knee but stands up and is clotheslined. Kane misses in the corner and Shamrock tries to get him off his feet with some flying elbows and finally does so with a hurracarana. He tries to take him down with an armbar but Kane sends him down. He climbs up top. UT is on the apron and Shamrock goes to hit him and while he misses Kane is crotched and then powerslammed off as UT backs up the ramp grinning.

*** Nice long match. Builds tension between the brothers.

Terri is in the back and Val is going down on her. He found her wedding ring and she meows.

Match 6: Val Venis v. Gangrel

He talks about his Magic Johnson. He has the real Magic Johnson.

Gangrel comes down with Christian who now has a name. Gangrel knocks down Val with a shoulderblock. But Val reverses the whip and gives him a spinebuster. Val hammers him in the head and now it is the whip and running knee time. Val straddles him and then pounds him. Gangrel comes back because of….the telegraphed backdrop and he is given a belly to belly. Gangrel now backdrops him. Edge comes down and confronts his brother as now they are acknowledged as such. Gangrel goes out and stomps a hole in Edge and gets counted out.

** Angle advancement.

Some dude comes down and serves Val papers and he looks stunned and cue Goldust’s music! Goldust is on the Tron and is returning next week.

Vince wants something for the pain. On Sunday Night Heat Austin confronted Shane McMahon.

Match 7: Al Snow v. Jeff Jarrett

JJ takes him down and know they exchange hiptosses. Snow grabs him and headbutts him a few times and then clotheslines him. Another one sends him to the floor. Al goes after him, grabs a chair but now he is clotheslined. Slaughter is talking to the ref. JJ is whipped into the barrier and Snow uses the chair to leap into JJ with a spinkick. Snow is crawling towards the Sarge but JJ is up and cracks Snow with a chair. JJ goes to work on Snow, dropping him throat first onto the barrier. JJ breaks the count, pulls him up and rolls him back into the ring. Snow fights back, catches a kick and so does JJ but Snow is able to connect with an enzuguri. JJ misses in the corner and Snow misses with Head but he floats over and slams JJ. Snow has Head and climbs up top and Slaughter shakes the rope crotching him and the match is tossed.

**1/2 Another decent match. I “love” when the ref randomly picks to call for a DQ. Makes no sense when they broke the rules most of the match and it was ignored.

DX is walking in the back.

Match 8: Road Dog v. Mark Henry

This time the Outlaws do not get much of a pop as the crowd does not really help complete the catchphrases. Lawler has the letter given to Chyna and Henry is suing her for sexual harassment!

Henry batters him and drops him with some big blows. Road Dog ducks and shuffles and then strikes with some shots. He drops him and gets two. Henry counters with some heavy blows of his own. He just slings him into the corner, and Road Dog crashes to the mat and Henry does it again. He drops the big elbow. Henry is dismantling him. X Pac goes after Brown and Chyna comes down and decks him. Mark Henry is distracted and Road Dog knocks him out and win.

*1/2 Nothing great. More cheating by DX….it would be nice if they did not need Chyna for one match.

Henry chases after them.

Rock is pacing in the back.

Vince is hitting the nurses button and wants more juice.

After the break he is wallowing in the bed as a nurse stands over him. He is getting upset that his blood pressure is being checked again. It is normal. A doctor is there and he will take it from there. It is Austin and he jumps on Vince and beats the shit out of him. He hits the cast and blasts him with the bedpan! He is tossing him around the room and electrocutes him with the paddles. He bends over a screaming Vince and shoves an enema up his ass!

Match 9: Rock v. Undertaker

UT goes right after him and hammers him in the corner. Rock stumbles around the ring but UT is relentless and keeps hammering him. UT chokes him out in the other corner and after the break he runs the ref to the floor. Rock now fires back but he is dropped and pounded some more. Rock is sent for the ride and ducks but on the second run through is dropped with a flying clothesline. The Nation comes down. Rock is knocked to the floor but he reverses the whip into the steps. Brown and Henry are mockingly cheering on the Rock. Back in the ring Rock rocks him with shot after shot to the head and adds in some stomps. Kane comes down and that distracts the Rock and he turns into a chokeslam. The Nation just leaves and UT covers him but Rock kicks out! UT uses his knee to choke out the Rock and now the ropes. UT is working over the arm and it is rope walk time. JR informs us of his unbelievable ability. After a tow count he applies a reverse chinlock. Rock gets vertical and back suplexes himself free. Rock rolls over and gets two. But UT remains on the offensive, knocks him to the floor and bashes him into the steps. Rock is rolled back into the ring. UT wallops him with punches to the head, and chokes him out with his boot. He turns to glare at Kane and this allows the Rock to get in a brief flurry but it is stopped with a vicious clothesline and UT gets another near fall. Rock gets up and has another second wind but it too is short-lived as he is destroyed by a short clothesline and yet another near fall after a legdrop. UT telegraphs and is kicked and rolled up and the Rock gets a two count. Rock drops him and covers him again getting two. UT counters with the big boot and UT glares at him again. Another rope walk but this time the Rock tosses him off. Rock chips away with big blows to the skull and he gets a near fall after a swinging neckbreaker. UT picks him up and goes for the Tombstone but Rock floats over and takes him down and the fans erupt for the Elbow. Now they go back and forth exchanging shots and down goes the ref. They clothesline one another and are down. Kane shoves the timekeeper and grabs his chair. UT sits up and Rock starts to stir. Both are back up and UT headbutts him and now a forearm to the head. The whip is reversed and UT runs into the chair shot from his brother and it is Rock Bottom time! The ref is still out and UT is up and has the Rock up and Tombstones him right into the chair and the ref is awake and it is over.

**** The main event had its ups and downs. A lot of repetition but then again both put it all out there and it had some PPV moments. The fans were divided on this one as Rock was not has over here as he has been but still had plenty of crowd support.

****1/2 Some strong wrestling and the Vince segments were classic. They are keeping Austin in the background, smart as he does not need to be overexposed. A fast moving, solid program. In fact despite a little too much DX for my taste it worked as a whole and there was little to complain about, ICP getting their asses kicked was fine too. Hopefully they can have a great show next week going into the PPV. Also, it seems they are belatedly showing the split with the Nation and now that Owen is gone too the Nation should be no more and really does need to retire as it ran its course months ago.