From The Network- WWF Judgment Day 1998

WWF Judgment Day 1998
10-18-98
Chicago, IL

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.

Al Snow vs. Marc Mero w/Jacqueline
Before the match, Jeff Jarrett comes out and wants some of Snow. The distraction allows Mero to attack from behind. He stomps away in the corner and Jarrett heads to the back, being denied his request to face Snow. Powerslam by Snow and he hits some clotheslines for 1. He hammers Mero on the mat and Mero comes back with a back elbow. Mero goes after head which allows Snow to roll him up for 2. Clothesline by Mero and he hits some forearms in the corner. DDT by Snow and he hits a slam. Snow goes up and he hits a moonsault off the top. Jacqueline distracts Snow, allowing Mero to go low and hit a DDT for 2. Mero chokes Snow in the ropes and Jacqueline provides some of the same. Knee lift by Mero and he goes up. Moonsault press off the top by Mero gets 2. Snow comes back with rapid head butts and Mero comes back with a clothesline. Snow comes back with an enzuigiri and he hits some rights. Sit-out spinebuster by Snow and he goes up. He goes for another moonsault but Jacqueline pulls Mero out of the way. Inside cradle by Mero gets 2. Samoan drop by Mero and he goes up. Marvelocity misses and Snow covers for 2 as Mero gets his foot on the ropes. Mero goes for the TKO but Snow escapes and hits the Snow Plow for 3.
Winner- Al Snow **3/4 ( Solid opening match. The crowd was hot from the opening bell and both guys showed good flashes of athleticism and had an overall solid contest to kick off the show.)

Disciples of Apocalypse (Skull and 8-Ball) and Paul Ellering vs. Legion of Doom (Hawk, Animal, and Droz)
Animal and Skull start. Big boot by Skull and he hits a swinging neckbreaker. Clothesline by Animal and he hits a dropkick forcing Skull to bail. Tag to Hawk and Skull hits a sloppy powerslam. Hawk comes back with one of his own and he hits a clothesline. Rights by Skull and Hawk comes back with a sitting neckbreaker. Tag to Droz and he hits a back elbow. 8-Ball nails him from behind, allowing Skull to attack. Tag to 8-Ball and he stomps on the back of Droz. D.O.A triple team Droz in the corner and 8-Ball hits a clothesline. Tag to Skull and he hits a sidewalk slam. Elbows to the head by Skull and he tags 8-Ball. Flying clothesline by Droz and Ellering tags in. He throws a hard kick to the midsection of Droz and 8-Ball tags in. DDT by Droz and Hawk tags in. He cleans house and the L.O.D hit the Doomsday Device on 8-Ball. Droz covers for 3 as Hawk is upset over him stealing the pin.
Winners- Legion of Doom * ( The wrestling in this match was sloppy and ugly at different points and Hawk was in no condition to be in the ring since he was recovering from his drug addiction. )

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship- Taka Michinoku © w/Yamaguchi-san vs. Christian w/Gangrel
Christian attacks to start and Taka comes back with some rights. Spinning heel kick by Taka and he clotheslines Christian to the floor. Springboard crossbody to the floor by Taka and as Christian comes in; Taka goes up and hits a guillotine knee drop for 2. Shoulders to the gut in the corner by Christian and he charges in the corner but eats boot. Christian comes back with a reverse DDT and he hits a dropkick. Rolling suplexes by Christian and he finishes with a sit-out gordbuster for 2. Snapmare and Christian grabs a chinlock. Taka fights out and he charges but Christian low bridges him, sending him crashing to the floor. Springboard crossbody to the floor by Christian and back in, Christian hits a powerbomb for 2. Slam by Christian and he chokes away on Taka. Christian goes up and misses a flying splash off the top. Dropkick by Taka and Christian bails to the floor. Baseball slide by Taka and he hits the springboard Asai moonsault to the floor. Back in, Taka chops away in the corner and he takes Christian down by the hair. Taka goes up and goes for a crossbody off the top but Christian rolls through for 2. O’Connor roll by Taka gets 2 and Taka hits a basement dropkick for 2. Side Russian leg sweep by Christian gets 2. Taka escapes a powerbomb attempt and he hits a Tornado DDT. He goes for the Michinoku Driver but Christian counters into a roll-up for 3!!!
Winner and NEW WWF Light Heavyweight Champion- Christian *** ( These two had a pretty good match, unfortunately the crowd wasn’t familiar with Christian yet and the battle of two lower card heels didn’t engage the crowd. They won them over at points with their high flying and athleticism though. )

Video package for Venis/Goldust airs.

Val Venis w/Terri Runnels vs. Goldust
This crowd LOVES Goldust. Goldust attacks to start and Venis comes back with a big boot. Rights by Venis and he hits a back elbow. Elbow drop by Venis and he hammers Goldust on the mat. He dumps Goldust to the floor and follows out where he hits some more rights. Venis is reversed into the barricade and Goldust hot shots him onto the steps!!! Venis hammers away as Goldust tries to come back in and Venis dumps him back to the floor. Venis goes up and hits a crossbody off the top to the floor onto Goldust. He hammers Goldust on the mat and back in, Venis goes up. He leaps but Goldust nails him in the midsection on the way down. Reverse atomic drop by Goldust and he hits a slingshot back suplex. Goldust sends Venis hard into the corner and he hits a clothesline for 2. Goldust begins to work over the left arm of Venis and he snapmares Venis into a Mr. Perfect neck snap. Goldust charges in the corner but Venis moves, sending Goldust shoulder first into the post. Venis pulls Goldust shoulder first into the post and back in, Venis hits a hammerlock slam. Elbow drops to the shoulder by Venis and he grabs a short arm scissors. He releases and begins exchange forearms with Goldust. Venis ends that with a clothesline for 2 and he grabs a key lock. Goldust fights out and he hits a crossbody for 2. Clothesline by Venis gets 2 and he snaps Goldust’s arm off the ropes. Side Russian leg sweep by Venis gets 2. Powerslam by Venis and he goes up. Goldust stops him and he follows up. Superplex by Goldust gets 2. Goldust goes to the second rope and misses an elbow drop. Rights by Goldust but Venis catches him with a sleeper. Goldust backs him into the corner to break and he catches Venis in a sleeper. Venis breaks with a back suplex and both men are down. Clothesline by Goldust and he hits a backdrop. Bulldog by Goldust and Terri distracts Goldust. Val charges but misses and almost hits Terri. Goldust goes low on Val and gets 3!!!
Winner- Goldust ***1/4 ( This was yet another good match. It had some solid psychology involving the arm and the finish was clever, as Goldust really did get some revenge for Venis screwing his wife. )

X-Pac promises to deal with Ken Shamrock (who attacked Triple H on Sunday Night Heat) on Raw but tonight D’Lo Brown’s European Title is his.

WWF European Championship- D’Lo Brown © vs. X-Pac w/Chyna
D’Lo is from Milan, Italy tonight, one of the awesome bits of his gimmick along with the CHEST PROTECTOR~!!!! Just as the crowd loved Goldust in the prior match, they HATE D’Lo. Brown overpowers X-Pac to start and he hits some rights in the corner. Brown works over the left arm of X-Pac but X-Pac comes back with a spin kick. Clothesline by Brown gets 2. Slam by Brown and he hits an elbow drop. Chops in the corner by Brown and he charges in the corner but misses. Hip toss by X-Pac and he throws some kicks in the corner. Corner spin kick by X-Pac and he goes for the Bronco Buster but Brown goes low to block!!! X-Pac’s bump off that was awesome. Leg drop by Brown gets 2. Snap mare and Brown grabs the chinlock. X-Pac fights out so D’Lo hits a leg lariat for 2. Blue Thunder Driver by Brown and he gives X-Pac a cocky cover for 2. Brown stomps away and he puts X-Pac on top. He follows up and goes for a superplex but X-Pac blocks. He shoves Brown off the top and X-Pac hits a crossbody off the top but Brown rolls through for 2. Chinlock by Brown and but X-Pac fights out again. X-Pac goes for a corner dropkick but misses and Brown hits a slam. Brown goes to the second rope and hits a second rope knee drop for 2. Backbreaker by Brown gets 2 and he grabs the Texas Cloverleaf. X-Pac breaks and he hits some rights until Brown pokes the eye. Slam by Brown and he goes up. He misses a summersault senton off the top and both men are down. Spinning heel kick by X-Pac and he hits a flying clothesline. Dropkick by X-Pac knocks Brown into the corner and he gets the Bronco Buster. Chyna gets a cheap shot in and X-Pac covers for 2!!! Brown knocks the ref out of the ring by mistake and X-Pac catches him with a back suplex. Mark Henry comes out and he stalks Chyna. In the ring, Brown nails X-Pac with the belt and Henry tosses the ref into the ring. Brown covers for 2!!! Brown hits a powerbomb for 2. Brown goes up and leaps but X-PAC CATCHES HIM WITH AN X-FACTOR ON THE WAY DOWN FOR 3!!!
Winner and NEW WWF European Champion- X-Pac ***1/2 ( X-Pac and D’Lo were having excellent matches during the summer and fall of 98 and this was another quality match between the two. The final few minutes were exciting and X-Pac was bumping like crazy, making both guys look great in the process.)

The Head Bangers are upset about Road Dogg destroying their boom box and they throw out wrestling terms like put over and job to say the Outlaws are going to lose tonight. This is Vince Russo in a nutshell.

WWF Tag Team Championship- New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) © vs. Head Bangers (Mosh and Thrasher)
The Head Bangers attack the Outlaws during their pre match promo and the Outlaws hit a drop toe hold/knee drop combo on Mosh. Leg drop by Gunn and he hits a swinging neck breaker on Mosh for 2. Tag to Dogg and he hits a hip toss on Mosh. Tag to Thrasher and he receives the same. Dropkick by Dogg and he knocks Thrasher down for 2. Corner clothesline by Dogg and Mosh tags in. He hits a second rope clothesline on Dogg and he stomps away for 2. Hot shot by Mosh and he tags Thrasher. Thrasher leaps over Mosh onto the back of Road Dogg for 2 as Dogg gets his foot on the ropes. Thrasher chokes Dogg in the ropes and Mosh tags in. They double team Dogg in the corner and tags Thrasher. He charges in the corner but misses and Dogg hits a back suplex. Tag to Mosh and Gunn and Gunn cleans house. Stinger Splash to Thrasher and he clotheslines him to the floor. Press slam to Mosh and Thrasher low bridges Gunn, sending him to the floor. He sends Gunn into the steps and back in, Mosh covers for 2 as Gunn gets his foot on the ropes. He chokes Gunn in the ropes and leaps onto Gunn in the ropes. Slam by Mosh and Thrasher gord busters Mosh onto Gunn. Second rope elbow drop by Thrasher and Mosh covers for 2. Chinlock by Mosh but Gunn fights out. Tilt-a-whirl head scissors by Gunn and Thrasher tags in to prevent the tag. Jaw breaker by Thrasher gets 2. Thrasher sling shots Gunn in the ropes and Mosh gets some cheap shots in. Tag to Mosh and he grabs an arm bar. Gunn escapes but Mosh catches him with a clothesline. Thrasher comes in and he covers Gunn for 2. Chinlock by Thrasher and Gunn starts to fight out again so Thrasher catches him with the sleeper. Gunn fights out again and he grabs a sleeper of his own. Thrasher breaks with a back suplex and both men are down. Tag to Mosh and he goes for the hip check but Gunn catches him and hits a back suplex. Thrasher knocks Dogg off the apron to prevent the tag and the Head Bangers press Gunn to the mat. Road Dogg comes in and nails Mosh with a boom box for the DQ.
Winners by DQ- Head Bangers ** ( So the Outlaws got their asses handed to them for most of the match, we sit through a boring heat segment, and then they copout with a DQ. Awesome. This was a dull tag match and both the Outlaws and Head Bangers aren’t all that great in the ring. )

Mankind says Ken Shamrock’s promos are the leading cause of teenage suicide (WOW) and he says he won’t tap to the Ankle Lock tonight. Mankind takes off Mr. Socko to reveal his Mandible Claw hand. Yeah, the teenage suicide comment would not go over well today.

WWF Intercontinental Championship- Ken Shamrock © vs. Mankind
Shamrock throws some kicks at the left leg of Mankind and he begins to work over that leg. Shamrock charges in the corner but eats boot and he targets the left arm of Mankind to come back. Mankind comes back with a back elbow and he hits a slam. Leg drop by Mankind gets 2. Shamrock catches Mankind with a hammerlock and he throws some knees at Mankind in the corner. Mankind takes Shamrock down but he rolls over and hammers away on Mankind. Mankind backs him into the corner and he hammers away on Shamrock. Shamrock fights back and hits a hurricanrana. Mankind goes for the Mandible Claw but Shamrock escapes and bails to the floor. Back in, Mankind goes for the Mandible Claw again but Shamrock blocks and he hammers away. They go to the floor and Shamrock works him over. Mankind sends Shamrock into the steps and he grabs a chair but the ref takes it away. Mankind is able to wrestle the chair away from the ref but Shamrock hits a big boot knocking the chair back into the face of Mankind. Shamrock nails Mankind with the chair and back in, Shamrock hits some knee drops to Mankind. Clothesline by Shamrock gets 2 and he works over the right wrist of Mankind. Mankind bites the face of Shamrock to break and he charges in the corner but misses. Belly to belly suplex by Shamrock and Mankind comes back with a Double Arm DDT. Mankind hammers away on Shamrock in the corner and he hits the corner knee strike. Mankind puts Shamrock in the tree of woe and Mankind hits the elbow drop. Mankind hits a guillotine leg drop with Shamrock’s head in the ropes and he hits the Cactus clothesline sending both men to the floor. Elbow drop off the apron by Mankind and Shamrock comes back with a powerslam sending Mankind’s leg crashing onto the steps!!! Back in, Shamrock grabs the Ankle Lock and Mankind makes the ropes. Shamrock pulls him back to the center of the ring and Mankind gives himself the Mandible Claw so that he can pass out from the pain instead of tapping!!! Shamrock gives the ref the belly to belly suplex after the match because it was announced the mandible claw defeated Mankind, not the ankle lock. Mankind puts on Mr. Socko and he gives Shamrock the Mandible Claw.
Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion- Ken Shamrock ***1/4 ( This was an interesting styles clash, with Shamrock using his MMA influenced offense and Mankind tried to have a more ground based match before they end into more of a brawl in the final stretch. They had some awkward moments early but they quickly started to click and they had another solid match.)

Big Boss Man prevents Michael Cole from going in the locker room and getting an interview with Mr. McMahon.

Mark Henry vs. The Rock
Before the match, Mark Henry delivers a poem dedicated to Chyna. Rights by Rock and he hits a clothesline. Suplex by Rock gets 2. Henry bails and Rock follows, where he slams Henry’s face into the steps. Back in, Rock catches Henry with a clothesline and Henry comes back with a back elbow. Elbow drop by Henry gets 2 and he hits a clothesline. Henry chokes Rock in the ropes and Rock fights back with rights. Clothesline by Henry ends that and he hits a leg drop for 2. Chinlock by Henry but Rock fights out and hits some rights. He stomps away in the corner and catches Henry with a DDT for 2. Slam by Rock and he hits the People’s Elbow. D’Lo Brown comes out and Rock knocks him off the apron. Clothesline by Henry and he hits a Big Splash for 3 as D’Lo held down Rock’s leg!!!
Winner- Mark Henry ** ( The result of this match was shocking, but it ended up being a cover up for Rock’s big moment next month at the Survivor Series. It gave Rock vulnerability, which helped make his turn the next month all the more shocking. Match itself was too short to be anything special. )

Video package for Undertaker/Kane airs.

WWF Championship- Kane vs. Undertaker
Stone Cold Steve Austin is the guest ref and if he doesn’t declare a winner, he will be fired. The title was vacated when both Kane and Undertaker pinned Austin at the same time at Breakdown. Taker attacks to start and he goes OLD SCHOOL~!!!! Taker charges in the corner but eats elbow and Kane comes back with rights in the corner. Powerslam by Kane and he hits a clothesline. Kane charges but eats boot and Taker hits a clothesline. He covers and Austin stops his attempt to count the fall. Kane knocks Taker down and Austin fast counts him for 2. Kane clotheslines Taker to the floor but Taker pulls him out and works Kane over. Taker grabs a chair and swings at Kane but misses. Kane hammers away and back in, Taker hits a suplex. Kane comes back with a clothesline and they botch a spot. Rights by Taker and he throws some kicks at the leg of Kane. Taker begins to work over the left leg of Kane. Kane fights back and catches Taker with a sidewalk slam. Taker comes back with a chop block and he grabs a grape vine on Kane. Taker jumps on the leg of Kane in the ropes and he stomps on the bad leg of Kane in the corner. Taker puts Kane in the tree of woe and he continues to hammer the bad leg of Kane. Taker works over Kane in the corner and he charges but Kane catches him with a spinebuster. Clothesline by Kane and both men are down. Rights in the corner by Kane and he sends Taker into Austin!!! Chokeslam by Kane to Austin!!! Taker and Kane double team Austin and Taker clips the bad leg of Kane. Kane comes back with the Chokeslam. Paul Bearer comes out with a chair and he nails Kane in the back with the chair, betraying him. That has no effect on Kane and he goes after Bearer but walks into a chairshot from Taker. Taker covers as Austin recovers and Austin will not count. Stunner by Austin to Undertaker!!! He nails Taker with a chair and he counts both men out. Austin declares himself the winner of the match and he calls Mr. McMahon out to keep his word. Austin says he’ll come find Vince instead and he starts to walk to the back. Austin walks around backstage and then heads back to the ring. Austin says Vince didn’t have the guts to fire him and Vince appears on top of the set. Vince says that we are seeing the last of Stone Cold and Vince says screw you to Austin and declares he’s fired!!! Austin tells Vince he has not seen the last of him. Austin drinks some beers to end the show.
Match ends in a No-Contest * ( Holy crap did this whole thing suck. Taker and Kane went in super slow motion, just moving at a snail’s pace and Taker worked over Kane’s leg for what seemed like forever. Then we had the random attack on Austin and then a really flat swerve by Paul Bearer, and the whole finish was a mess. One of the worst main events in WWF PPV history.)

The 411: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this show. For a show during the peak of the Attitude Era, most of the guys brought their A-game in the ring and the result was a majority of the show being solid wrestling matches and a great showcase for the mid-carders. The main event is overbooked garbage but the overall show is an easy watch and for the in ring effort this show gets a minor recommendation from me.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]