Raw History: Episode 262 and Reliving Nitro: Episode 142

Over The Edge Results
LOD 2000 def. The DOA in 9:56 [½*]
Jeff Jarrett def. Steve Blackman in 10:18 [*½]
Marc Mero def. Sable in 0:21 [NR]
Kaientai def. Bradshaw and TAKA Michinoku in 9:54 [**¾]
WWF Intercontinental Championship: The Rock [c] def. Faarooq in 5:02 [*]
Mask vs. Mask Match: Kane def. Vader in 7:20 [¼*]
The Nation of Domination def. D-Generation X in 18:33 [**¼]
WWF Championship Falls Count Anywhere Match: Steve Austin [c] def. Dude Love in 22:28 [****½]

Raw History
Episode #262
June 1st, 1998 | Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois | Attendance: 16,157

WWF Champion: Steve Austin (1) since 3/29/98
WWF Intercontinental Champion: The Rock (2) since 12/8/97
WWF European Champion: Triple H (2) since 3/17/98
WWF Tag Team Champions: The New Age Outlaws (2) since 3/30/98
WWF Light Heavyweight Champion: TAKA Michinoku (1) since 12/7/97

LAST NIGHT ~ Vince McMahon narrates still images recapping the main event. He said that people were worried about the VALIANT McMahon after he took a chair shot to the face. Austin then took Vince’s lifeless hand to count himself to victory. Incredible voiceover work.

RAW! Jim Ross and Michael Cole host.

Mick Foley opened the show in the middle of the ring on a chair. He spoke about losing teeth last night and how it was a bad night. He brought out Vince to apologize for not winning and for hitting Vince with a steel chair. Vince called Mick a failure as a wrestler and person, wanting Mick to beg on his knees. Mick refused because he wouldn’t embarrass himself with his kids watching at home. Vince continued to berate him and when Mick went to retaliate, Vince reminded him of his new house and mortgage. Foley stopped and Vince said the only reason he didn’t fire Austin was because he made him richer, but Mick makes him sick. He then fired Mick, but with a “your services are no longer required” rather than his famous “YOU’RE FIRED.” Vince danced to the Dude Love them in front of a somber Foley.

Chicago Street Fight: The DOA vs. LOD 2000 w/ Sunny
Kevin Kelly attempted to interview everyone but Droz was too busy puking. The teams did a bunch of meaningless brawling until the Undertaker showed up beat up Droz and Chainz. I guess that’s a no contest at 4:00? Either way, it sucked. [DUD]

Undertaker searched for Vince in the hallways and threatened a dude.

Papi Chulo vs. Val Venis
With a name like Papi Chulo, he should’ve had Val’s exact gimmick but in Spanish. Val gave us his first innuendo filled promo as random 90s women were shown smitten in the crowd. Papi got in some decent offense but his was mostly here to showcase Val, who won with the Money Shot at 3:46. A lengthy squash. [NR]

The Undertaker came to the ring in a sweatshirt. He was pissed at Vince McMahon. Before getting to why, he told a story of how Vince gave people chances to be themselves back when he first showed up. After giving Undertaker a chance to be himself, Vince began taking instead of giving. Shortly after his arrival, Taker became the “slayer of dragons” in the essence that Vince put his monsters against Undertaker to save his handpicked champions. When his handpicked champions left for greener pastures, he stayed loyal. Taker mentioned that his two WWF Title reigns were short because Vince didn’t want someone like him as the representative. Even now, Vince allowed Undertaker’s family drama to take center stage purely for ratings. Taker demanded a WWF Title shot, but noted that he had no beef with Steve Austin, who always fought him like a man, which is all he asks. Undertaker called out Vince, who stormed out in disbelief that someone would call him out. Vince asked what Taker has done for him lately. He then asked if Paul Bearer told the truth about his mother being a whore. DUDE! YOU CAN’T SAY THAT! Vince said he’ll give Undertaker a title shot if he can defeat his opponent tonight. That opponent? IT’S GOTTA BE KANE!

JVC KABOOM OF THE WEEK ~ Undertaker chokeslammed Pat Patterson through a table last night.

An ad ran where DX sprayed Sable and a photographer with Super Soakers. HEY, SABLE’S FIRED!

King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Marc Mero vs. Steve Blackman
We got a recap of Mero tricking Sable and beating her last night. MAJOR HEAT for him. Mero told the fans that Sable was home, barefoot and in the kitchen where she belonged. He then introduced his new valet, Jacqueline. “She’s no Sable,” said JR. Rude. The match was nothing to write home about until Mero busted out the WILD THIND (shooting star press) to win at 2:56. Very surprised he used that finisher considering he’s a heel. [½*]

MANCOW ~ Austin’s appearance on Mancow in the Morning was highlighted.

VIGNETTE ~ I’m everywhere. I’m nowhere. I’m everything. A bunch of cryptic things were said over this Edge video.

WAR ZONE! Jerry Lawler replaced Michael Cole.

Elimination Match: D-Lo Brown, Owen Hart, and WWF Intercontinental Champion The Rock vs. WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws and WWF European Champion Triple H
Okay, there’s potential for something fun here. Slaughter showed up to eject everyone who was going to be at ringside. There was a fast pace to this in the early goings as HHH jumped D-Lo. DX used quick tags and a Billy Gunn piledriver to eliminate Brown at 1:30. Rock got rid of Road Dogg with the Rock Bottom at 2:24. It’s strange that Rock is competing after the neck injury angle. Owen got rid of Gunn with the spinning heel kick of death at 3:45. Triple H was left alone against Owen and Rock when Chyna strolled to ringside. Why is that allowed? HHH got worked over through a commercial break and survived the People’s Elbow. He countered the Rock Bottom and nailed the Pedigree to pin the IC Champ at 6:53. Owen and HHH traded shots until Ken Shamrock made his return and attacked Owen for a GQ at 7:26. They rushed a lot of this, but what we got was entertaining. Could’ve been great if it was given 15-20 minutes. [**¾]

Shamrock hit Owen with a belly to belly but the Nation hit the ring before he could apply the Ankle Lock. Dan Severn showed up and beat up the Nation for their attack last week. Dude, WWF totally should’ve run with Severn and Shamrock as Tag Champions. Screw the upcoming storylines involving the main eventers and those titles. Have Dan and Ken destroy the Outlaws and dominate as champions. Dan left and Triple H went after Ken for getting him DQed. Officials broke that up.

Backstage, Vince shook hands in private with Kane and Paul Bearer.

King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Faarooq vs. Jeff Jarrett w/ Tennessee Lee
Lee introduced Southern Justice, formerly known as the Godwinns. They’ll be Jarrett’s bodyguards. Faarooq basically dominated this match, including a stiff looking spinebuster. That looked to wrap things up until Southern Justice distracted the referee. Jarrett used Lee’s belt buckle to clock Faarooq and steal this in 3:22. A lazy match with a lazy finish. [¼*]

VIGNETTE ~ Another video was shown to highlight Vince as a generous and giving person.

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship: TAKA Michinoku [c] w/ Bradshaw vs. Sho Funaki w/ Kaientai
TAKA opened this hot and hit a dive in the first few seconds. Al Snow and Head were at ringside as they posed as Japanese photographers. It was the kind of getup that wouldn’t work in 2018 because it was super stereotypical. Anyway, the wrestlers here just threw everything at each other in a short time. Moonsault, fisherman buster, elbow, missile dropkick and more. Security ejected Snow as TAKA won via Michinoku Driver in 3:10. A really fun sprint. [**¼]

Backstage, Paul Bearer said he was confident in Kane tonight.

King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Mark Henry vs. Terry Funk
Vince McMahon joined commentary here so he wouldn’t miss the main event. I came in expecting a squash but was pleasantly surprised to find there was an actual story. Henry battered Funk from pillar to post, yet Funk kept kicking out and getting up. He was pulling the John Cena “NEVER GIVE UP” stuff. He also took a nasty bump on an Asai moonsault where he hit the guardrail. Henry finally kept him down after a powerbomb and splash at 4:55. Way better than I expected. [***]

Before the main event, Stone Cold Steve Austin came out and joined commentary to Vince’s dismay.

Number One Contender’s Match: Kane w/ Paul Bearer vs. The Undertaker
I’ve never been big on the matches between these two. This one was more of the same. Lots of punching and kicking from both men as they just fight like two big monsters. To be fair, I guess that’s what you want from them. A ref bump came just before Undertaker hit the Tombstone. That triggered a Mick Foley run in. Vince faked like he had no idea why Mick was here. He put Taker in the Mandible Claw to the surprise of the fans. Taker fought him off but walked right into a Kane Tombstone to lose in 6:27. Not very good, but at least it was mostly short. [*½]

Kane stepped outside to confront Austin. The fans erupted as Austin stepped right to him and showed no fear. Pentagon Jr. would be proud. Kane signaled that he was coming for the title and left. A furious Undertaker sat up and went after Mankind, brawling with him around the arena. Vince was impressed.

Reliving Nitro
Episode #142
June 1st, 1998 | MCI Center in Washington, D.C. | Attendance: N/A

WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan (4) since 4/20/98
WCW United States Champion: Goldberg (1) since 4/20/98
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Giant (2) and Sting (2) since 5/17/98
WCW Television Champion: Fit Finlay (1) since 5/4/98
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Dean Malenko (4) since 5/17/98

VIGNETTE ~ The show opened with a video package chronicling some big moments in Sting’s career.

HOUR ONE! Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Larry Zbyszko hosted.

A white limo pulled up. Out stepped JJ Dillon, Diamond Dallas Page, Booker T, and Goldberg. IT’S THE FOUR HORSEM…I MEAN WCW!

LAST WEEK ~ Lex Luger pleaded his case for Sting to join the Wolfpac.

NITRO GIRLS!

Ernest Miller vs. Jerry Flynn
Commentary basically ignored this to discuss the important angles. Flynn and Miller did a lot of fake martial arts stuff for their offenses. Flynn wiped his sweat on Miller as a disrespectful move. It fired up Miller to hit Trouble in Paradise and win in 4:03. Why was this so long? It felt even longer. [½*]

The Wolfpac arrived in a black limo.

It’s the debut of the Wolfpac theme! Kevin Nash did the Scott Hall survey but only on the two nWo factions. Lex Luger took over and did a lot of yelling about how Sting needs to join up with the Wolfpac. To show their dominance, he and Nash challenged any two nWo Hollywood members to a tag match tonight. They prefer Giant and Hulk Hogan. Nash closed things out by saying hanging with the Wolfpac is just too sweet.

THUNDER ~ Bret Hart made the case for Sting joining nWo Hollywood.

Public Enemy vs. Raven and Saturn w/ The Riot Squad
No, not the Ruby Riott stable. This ECW match didn’t go the way I wanted. Instead of having a nonsense brawl, they worked a normal tag. That’s not what Public Enemy do well. They also had the advantage, which the faces usually don’t do. Saturn taking the heat felt off. Public Enemy busted out a move called Drive By. A table got brought out for a somersault plancha. Saturn then hit Grunge with a Death Valley Driver and Raven slid in, hurt from the table bump, to get the pin at 6:43. A strangely laid out match. I don’t get it. [¾*]

Saturn was made that Raven took his win. I mean, Raven was legal and Saturn wasted time celebrating. Raven got on the mic to complain about WCW rehiring Kanyon. He also announced that he rehired the Flock. Lastly, Raven signed Saturn to face Kanyon at the Great American Bash. I remember digging that match.

NITRO GIRLS!

Alex Wright vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Some solid grappling in this one. Each time Wright did a move he stopped to dance. From hip tosses to backbreakers. Chavo went wild and laid into him with punches. After some fighting outside, Wright applied an STF inside. Chavo IMMEDIATELY tapped out in 3:08. Odd finish. Could’ve been better. [*]

Chavo attacked Wright after the match until Eddie Guerrero came out. Wright bailed and Eddie said he spoke with the family. They’re proud of Chavo and he said they don’t have to wrestle this Sunday. Chavo wants to wrestle him and thinks he can beat him. Eddie left looking offended.

Tony Schiavone introduced Randy Savage for an interview. Instead, they played Roddy Piper’s music for about 45 seconds before fixing it to the Wolfpac theme. With Piper being his partner for Sunday, Savage wanted to talk to him face to face. Now, Piper’s music correctly played. They traded some childish insults until Savage got to the point of wanting a match with Piper after their tag at the PPV. Piper accepted but pleaded with Savage to pay attention and figure out Bret Hart’s mind games. Savage didn’t care and left.

HOUR NUMBER TWO!

Tony Schiavone got a word with JJ Dillon about the Sting situation. He said WCW couldn’t promise Sting the Hollywood roles and such that Hogan could, but if he stayed with WCW, he could maintain his legacy. WCW will stay with him if he stays with them. He wants someone like Sting as World Champion, not Hogan.

nWo Hollywood arrived in a limo. They came straight out to the arena. Hulk Hogan spoke first, saying they smiled at the Wolfpac challenge and would enjoy proving to Sting why they’re the superior unit. When the question of Bret Hart’s loyalty was raised, Bret removed his shirt to reveal a Hogan shirt under. He called Hogan the GOAT and said Hogan means the world to him. They’ve done some terrible stuff with Bret since his arrival.

NITRO GIRLS! Bobby Heenan also took over for Zbyszko.

Konnan vs. Lenny Lane
Lane came out rubbing oil called “Absolution” on his abs. So, he’s not just Tony Nese, but also Paige/Sonya Deville/Mandy Rose? I expected a Konnan squash, but Lane got in some offense and talked smack to the crowd. He even picked up a near fall or two. Still, Konnan put him down with the 187 and Tequila Sunrise at 3:09. As usual, a Konnan match isn’t good. [½*]

Tony Schiavone brought out Rick Rude and Curt Hennig. Hennig, on crutches, still slapped the gum successfully. Perfect. Rick Rude bragged about Hennig’s 3000 victories, but said Hennig had to take ten days off for his bad knee so he can’t face Goldberg. They called out Konnan to take his place and Konnan, like a fool, accepted.

WCW Television Championship: Fit Finley [c] vs. Eddie Guerrero
This had potential. Unfortunately, it didn’t click the way it needed to. Finley hit some hard uppercuts, but that was about it in terms of solid strikes throughout. Finley avoided a lot of the trademark Eddie high flying stuff and backed him away with his power advantage. They traded some offense until Eddie hit his signature hilo. From there, it looked like they kind of just stood around until Chavo got his cue to run into the ring. He didn’t do anything, but we immediately got a bell called at 5:02. Disappointing with a bad finish. [*¾]

Chavo pestered his uncle to the back.

NITRO GRILS!

WASHINGTON DC ~ It’s the amazing Chris Jericho conspiracy victim skit. It’s legitimately some of the best stuff WCW has ever produced. Jericho thinking everyone is in on the conspiracy, including the police is amazing, but even better is how calmly he explains the situation to a random woman on the street. Incredible.

Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera
Jericho complained and said he had the proof of the conspiracy from the Library of Congress, but JJ Dillon didn’t come out. These two have wrestled a ton this year. Their chemistry has gotten stronger and it allowed for a fast pace. They just knew each other well enough to make things run smoothly. Jericho cut off the 450 splash but Juvi avoided the Liontamer. Juvi hit a nice rana outside. As Jericho got in, Reese snuck into the ring and attacked Juvi. Jericho held the referee from seeing this and then stole the pin at 5:03. That was going quite well and the finish made sense. [**¾]

HOUR NUMBER THREE!

HIGHLIGHTS ~ We got clips of the first three matches in the Best of Seven Series.

Match Four in Best of Seven Series: Booker T [1] vs. Chris Benoit [2]
Commentary quickly put over how these guys wrestled so much, they need to find new ways to put the other one down. Finley came to the aisle for a closer look. Their knowledge of each other made for a tentative opening exchange. It was as if neither man wanted to make that first mistake, knowing it could be crucial. I didn’t like how Booker didn’t have a sense of urgency about him. A loss puts you in a 3-1 hole, buddy. Step up. Even Benoit lacked some of that, kind of toying around with Booker down the stretch. Still, he used a Crippler Crossface to make Booker tap and take a 3-1 lead at 8:19. It was a good match, but it didn’t feel like the kind of math we needed at this point in the series. [***]

VIGNETTE ~ Another look at the poorly produced Sting video. Based on it, I’d leave WCW.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Riggs w/ Sick Boy
It’s nice to have DDP back. Most of what Riggs got in offensive was to mock DDP. The rest of this was one-sided. DDP won via Diamond Cutter in 1:54. [NR]

WCW United States Championship: Goldberg [c] vs. La Parka
Goldberg sits at 93-0. La Parka should be the one to beat him. Goldberg dared La Parka to hit him with the chair. La Parka did. It didn’t go well. Goldberg no sold and won via Jackhammer in 0:29. [NR]

WCW World Tag Team Champion The Giant and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan w/ Bret Hart and The Disciple vs. Kevin Nash and Lex Luger
This was more about the overall angle than the match itself. It was mostly the guys getting in their signature stuff without having to take too many bumps. Hogan did his best to avoid Nash at every turn. In a strange turn of events, Giant begged off when Luger got tagged in. Maybe he was scared of SCREAMING CLOTHESLINES! It all eventually led to Disciple using the title as a weapon for a DQ at 6:40. A nothing match to set up the big angle at the end. [¾*]

Knowing the match was pointless, the fans came to their feet for the aftermath. Sting answered their hopes by descending to the ring. He revealed an nWo black and white shirt. Giant’s overjoyed reaction was absurd in the best way. Of course, it was all a SWERVE, BRO. Sting took out Hogan and Giant before showing off a Wolfpac shirt. The fans dug it and I get the marketing sense behind it. From a story perspective, it was dumb and made zero sense. Why would Sting turn on WCW?

Raw MVP: Terry Funk
Raw LVP: DOA
Nitro MVP: Chris Jericho
Nitro LVP: Konnan

Raw Rating: 4.4
Nitro Rating: 3.7

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

Raw: The WWF loves to deliver for Chicago. The fans respond by being hot for everything. This was a great episode. While I wouldn’t consider any match great, I thought Funk/Henry, TAKA/Funaki, and the elimination tag were all good. The Foley angle worked well, we got the debut of Jacqueline, seeds set up for Kane/Austin and Taker/Mankind. 8.5

Nitro: It turned out to be a better episode than expected. That first hour was rough and there were some strange booking decisions. However, the fans added a lot by being hot throughout and the usual batch of entertaining guys (Booker, Benoit, Jericho, Goldberg, DDP) did their thing. 5.0