Written by: Bob Colling
World Wrestling Federation presents Heat
Date: 12/6/1998
From: Baltimore, MD
Matches:
1.) WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Duane Gill defeated Taka Michinoku to retain the title
2.) Animal & Droz defeated Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor
3.) WWF World Champion The Rock, WWF Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock & WWF Hardcore Champion Big Bossman fought Edge, Christian & Gangrel to a no contest
4.) Jeff Jarrett defeated Mark Henry by disqualification
5.) Kurrgan & Luna Vachon fought Tiger Ali Singh & Babu to a no contest
6.) Mankind defeated the Undertaker by disqualification
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Taka attacks Gill from behind and hits a spinning heel kick. Taka decks Gill with a forearm for a two count. Taka dropkicks a seated Gill and taunts the JOB Squad members at ringside. Taka continues to work over Gill in the corner and delivers a backbreaker. Taka knee strikes Gill in the corner and hits a tornado DDT out of the corner. Taka hits a missile dropkick and signals for the end. Gill counters with an inside cradle and wins the match. (1/2*. The WWF Lightweight division is nowhere near the level of the Cruiserweights in WCW.) After the match, the Acolytes come out and destroy Kaientai.
2.) Animal powerslams Taylor to start off as Droz shoulder blocks Christopher. Animal delivers a backbreaker to Taylor but misses a splash. Taylor dropkicks Animal into the corner only for Droz to chop block Taylor’s knee. Animal focuses his attack on Taylor’s knee and Droz does the same. Taylor is forced to give up as Droz wrenched on the leg. (*. I really liked the intensity of force that Droz and Animal showcased here. I could buy into a badass duo.) After the match, Taylor has his knee checked by Christopher and is carried backstage by his partner.
3.) Backstage, Michael Cole asks why Steve Austin is on Heat. Austin says he purchased ticket and is going to watch matches from the front row, but then goes into his room.
4.) Backstage, the WWF doctor checks on Scott Taylor’s knee.
5.) Owen Hart makes his way down to the ring to be interviewed by Michael Cole for an announcement. Owen has a blockbuster announcement to make. Owen says that Steve Blackman has had enough of Blackman insulting the Blue Blazer. Owen announces he’s coming out of retirement to fight Blackman at Rock Bottom. Owen says that there is a little bit of Blue Blazer instead of everyone.
6.) Shamrock works over Edge with strikes in the corner and against the ropes. Shamrock connects with a spinning kick, but Edge fights back with a spinning heel kick before tagging in Christian. Shamrock elbow drops Christian and tags in Bossman. Bossman delivers a right hand to the midsection of Christian. Bossman tosses Christian out of the corner. Christian boots Bossman in the corner and hits a top rope crossbody for a near fall. Gangrel enters, but Bossman gets control with a headbutt before tagging in Rock. Rock drops Gangrel with a few right hands. Rock clotheslines Gangrel coming out of the corner. Shamrock drops Gangrel with another spin kick. Shamrock and Bossman double clothesline Gangrel. Gangrel tries to fight out of the corner but is stopped by the Corporation. Rock takes Gangrel down with a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Gangrel back elbows Rock followed by more right hands. Rock bails to the floor to regroup. DX runs into the ring and brawl with the Corporation! Outlaws beat up the Brood! The match has been thrown out. After the match, Pac and Triple H confront the Outlaws because they don’t know where they are at. (*. The match wasn’t anything all that great, but the aftermath was nicely down as I liked the Outlaws going after the Brood to keep the storyline a mystery as to where they are aligned.)
7.) Jarrett works over Henry with right hands to start the match and dropkicks Henry after avoiding a splash in the corner. Jarrett hammers away on Henry a few more times. Henry press slams Jarrett to the mat. Henry comes off the ropes and connects with a leg drop. Debra proceeds to get in the ring to distract Henry. Jarrett enters the ring with the guitar, but D’Lo Brown enters to make the save and smashes the guitar over Jarrett’s head. That gives Jarrett the match by disqualification. After the match, Goldust makes his way out and cuts a promo saying that he has a proposition for Jarrett regarding Debra. Goldust wants to wrestle Jarrett at Rock Bottom. If Goldust loses, he’ll strip naked. However, if Goldust wins then Debra strips naked. Jarrett is pissed off and accepts the match.
8.) Luna works over Babu with a few clotheslines and a scoop slam. Luna hits a middle rope splash and sends Babu through the ropes to the floor. Luna tosses Babu into the ring steps and over the railing into the crowd. Luna continues to beat on Babu with strikes and a DDT on the floor, I think. That was the entire match and I’m assuming it was thrown out.
9.) Steve Austin sits down at ringside prior to the main event with a ticket in hand and a beer in the other. Undertaker stares down Austin and gets a beer tossed into his face.
10.) Mankind hammers away on Taker around ringside sending Taker face first into the steps. Mankind grabs a chair and jabs Taker in the midsection. Taker big boots Mankind and rams Mankind face first into the ring steps. Taker brings the action into the ring, which causes the bell to actually ring. Taker works over Mankind with strikes in the corner. Mankind elbows Taker in the corner and connects with a clothesline. Taker quickly sits up and is met with another clothesline. Mankind hammers away on Taker in the corner. Taker tosses Mankind through the ropes to the floor. Taker rams Mankind into the ring steps face first and chokes Mankind with the camera cord. Taker sends Mankind into the ring post face first. Taker scares the referee from the ring before going back to work over Mankind’s face. Taker rams Mankind face first into the corner. Mankind fights back with strikes but Taker big boots Mankind to the apron. Mankind drops Taker throat first over the top rope and heads to the top rope. Taker catches Mankind in midair looking for a chokeslam, but Mankind low blows Taker followed by a running knee lift. Mankind grabs Mr. Socko, but The Rock runs into the ring and gets Socko! Taker decks Mankind and Steve Austin enters the ring to hammer away on Taker. Mankind beats on Rock in the other corner as the show ends. (*1/2. A decent enough brawl between these two and the aftermath was done fairly well, too.)
Final Thoughts:
I’m glad that Owen Hart is back after a fake retirement. LOD showed a mean streak that I could get behind. A decent hour of television this week for Heat.
Thanks for reading.