Royal Rumble '98

Legacy Review

Royal Rumble '98

January 18, 1998 from the San Jose Arena in San Jose, CA

Commentary: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

The famous "scratch logo", the symbol of the Attitude Era, is making its debut tonight. At least as the watermark on screen, it's not on anything else yet. The stage setup continues to evolve into a more Attitude Era look too, with tonight's mostly being a couple of light rigging circles. Oh, and Mike Tyson's here. His first appearance gets big boos from the crowd.

Vader def The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust (w/Luna) in 7:51- I'm not even going to try to describe TAFKAG's outfit. His facepaint is green and his hair is dyed blue. Vader gets a nice little pop. It's so weird when he's a face. These two weren't completely unfamiliar, they had a few matches in WCW, including a really good one at Clash of the Champions XXIX in '94. Dustin's a very different person now though. Both these guys will be in the Rumble later, the roster was still a bit thin so Rumble double duty was common in this era. TAFKAG jumps Vader as soon as he gets in the ring. Vader reverses a whip and hits his tackle. Avalanche. TAFKAG bails to the floor. After a minute Vader charges him from behind and Luna goes down as well. JR makes sure to tell us Steve Austin hasn't arrived at the arena yet. Vader tosses TAFKAG into the stairs. Goldust did not look like he wanted to take that shot at all, that was horrible. Back in TAFKAG begs off. Vader hits some open hand slaps and a backdrop. Luna grabs Vader's boot to distract and TAFKAG hits him with a clothesline. Diving clothesline. TAFKAG hits a couple of shots a bit south of Tijuana. Vader gets run into the steps on the floor and Luna dives in with a shoe shot. Back in TAFKAG hits mounted punches with the classic Goldust chest rub, and he kisses Vader! An enraged Vader pops out of the corner with a huge clothesline. TAFKAG goes for a bodyslam, which naturally doesn't work. Vader suplex and big splash for 2. Short clothesline. He sets up for the Vader Bomb. Luna distracts the ref and TAFKAG low blows Vader. Sunset flip but Vader squashes him. Another Vader Bomb setup. Luna runs in and jumps on Vader's back. Vader says screw it and hits the Vader Bomb with Luna on his back! That gets the pin. Bleh match, but that fun ending is worth a small bump. *1/4

We go backstage to Austin arriving at the arena. Young goateed Michael Cole wants to know why he's late. "Just park my damn truck and don't get a scratch on it or I'll whoop your ass!". After Austin heads inside the Godwinns accost Cole to find out where Austin went.

 

Max Mini, Nova and Mosaic def El Torito, Tarantula and Battalion in 7:48- It's the one year anniversary of WWF's deal with AAA to bring in some of their guys for the Rumble in San Antonio. The only ones that stuck around long term was a group of lucha midgets, and they're making their final WWF PPV appearance tonight. Sunny is the guest ref in WWF's continual quest to find her something, anything, to do on TV that wasn't managing. Lucha rules for this one so tagging and selling are optional. None of these guys will be in the Rumble later. That would have been something. The match starts with all three heels in turn getting taken down to the floor. Mini is still one hell of a wee little spark plug. Everything gets kind of a "samey" look though because almost all the sequences end with the face doing an armdrag. Mosaic hits some flying headscissors for variety. Mini continues to do the bulk of the work in the ring. Sunny gets caught in the middle at one point and helps Mini out with some double team moves. Such biased officiating. Mosaic hits a little tope con hilo to kick of a run of everyone doing dives to the floor. After that Mini gives Torito a headscissors off the top rope and crucifixes him for the pin. OK lucha midget spotfest. It's kind of too bad there was no market at all for any kind of midget's division, Mini would absolutely have been the star of that. *3/4

The Nation of Domination is at Austin's locker room door. Faarooq tells new member Mark Henry to go in and kick Austin's ass. Guess this is his initiation. Henry kicks the door in, all the Nation members charge in.....and find nothing but an Austin foam middle finger sitting on a chair waiting for them! Fantastic. After that we see both Vince and Shane in the suite with Tyson.

 

WWF Intercontinental Championship: The Rock (c) def Ken Shamrock by DQ in 10:53- Shamrock went through all the members of the Nation on weekly TV to get this shot. During a tag match on Raw Mark Henry turned on him to join the Nation. Also during the preshow the whole Nation was arguing with each other over which of them was going to win the Rumble. Both of these guys will be in the Rumble later. Rock comes out by himself with no Nation backup. The "Rocky sucks" chants start quickly so Rock grabs a mic to rile the crowd up more. He's really starting to get the hang of the character. Still a long way to go though. After the bell both guys move in cautiously for a lockup....and Rock ducks out. More caution and Shamrock swings a kick. Now they lock up. Rock tries to get a cheap shot on a corner break but Shamrock dodges. Another lockup and again Rock tries a cheap shot. This time Shamrock blocks and hits his own punch. Speed run and Shamrock hits a kick. A punch sends Rock 360 to the floor. Back in Rock goes into his kicky punchy offense. Corner clothesline. Corner whip the other way and Shamrock pops out with a clothesline. He goes for a hurricanrana but Rock blocks it and drops him with a hot shot. More kicky punchy and Rock chokes Shamrock in the corner. Shamrock comes back with a punch flurry but Rock cuts it off with an eye rake. Shamrock ducks a clothesline and hits a crossbody for 2. Fisherman's suplex for 2. Rock is up with a clothesline. Spinny DDT for 2. To the CHINLOCK! This is deliberate to piss the crowd off, the way Rock puts it on with such a dramatic flourish. After Shamrock gets out Rock goes for another spinny DDT but Shamrock blocks it into a suplex. Shamrock's swinging and Rock tries to beg off. Shamrock powerslam for 2. He does a bit of ground and pound and almost snaps but manages to maintain control. Hurricanrana! Kama and D'Lo Brown are out. While they're distracting Rock gets knucks out and nails Shamrock with them. He hides the knucks in Shamrock's tights. Cunning. Cover. Shamrock kicks out! Brown's foot is caught up in the ropes and the ref has to help get him out. I think that was a legit accident. Shamrock belly to belly! Cover and a pin! Shamrock wins the title! But wait. Rock complains that Shamrock hit him with something way more than just his fist. The ref checks Shamrock, feels something, points at his tights and says "What the hell is that?". Shamrock reaches in....and pulls out the knucks! The ref reverses the decision, grabs the belt, hands it back to Rock, and says Rock wins by DQ! Naturally Shamrock commits some reficide after while Rock quickly gets the hell out of town. Decentish match, with the Dusty finish being both dumb and great at the same time. Lots of the Attitude Era in a nutshell, really. **1/4

Now Los Boriquas are looking for Austin. The whole world is after him. They run into a locker room and see the back of someone's bald head, naturally assume it's Austin, and attack. Of course it's the Disciples of Apocalypse locker room and a huge gang fight (Vince Russo TM) ensues.

 

WWF Tag Team Championship: The Legion of Doom def The New Age Outlaws (c) by DQ in 7:56- The legendary veteran team (who frankly were a few years past their sell by date by now) are challenging the thrown together team that were quickly establishing themselves as much more than that. During the build the NAO shaved off one of the famous two strips of hair on Hawk's head and hurt Animal's back to the point he barely got cleared for this match. Not far from the truth as Animal had gone through years of back trouble. The NAO have their full famous entrance now, and are both wearing Bret Favre jerseys to rile up the Bay Area crowd. The Packers had knocked the 49ers out of the playoffs two years in a row. During LOD's entrance JR mentions them winning the triple crown of major US tag titles for the era: AWA, NWA and WWF. Only team to ever do that. The NAO jump from behind before the bell. Animal powerslams Dogg and the NAO go to the floor to regroup. They tease walking but LOD drag them back in. Dogg begs off in the ring. Hawk hits his usual stuff, barely getting any air time on the fist drop, while Animal does even less. Dogg gets an eye poke and tags. Gunn runs into a vicious stiff Hawk Thesz press that didn't look to be completely intentional. Animal powerslams both NAO. The LOD keep Gunn under control. Hawk puts on an STF for like 3 seconds. Dogg trips Animal, pulls him out and whips him into the stairs. He attacks Animal's bad back while Hawk looks like he doesn't know what he's supposed to be doing. Finally he attacks Gunn. The NAO try to double team but Hawk hits a double clothesline, but right after does his usual fly into the post and fall to the floor. Dogg gets a pair of handcuffs and handcuffs Hawk to the bottom turnbuckle on the floor. The NAO try to work Animal over but he also hits a double clothesline. The ref actually turns around and looks at Hawk, then goes "OK, looks legit, guess he handcuffed himself on there" and turns back around! Gunn comes off the top. Animal catches and tries to powerslam him, but can't keep control and drops Gunn right on his head. Dogg comes in with a chairshot for the cheap DQ, which almost feels like a mercy after that match. The NAO continue to beat Animal down until Hawk snaps the handcuffs off to make the save. Woof. The NAO weren't exactly known for their wrestling acumen and the LOD were just a mess at this point. 1/4*

 

Royal Rumble- The main story going into the Rumble was defending Rumble winner Austin both pissing literally everyone off and being seen as the biggest threat, putting a giant target on his back. Old school two minute intervals tonight. Man, no one does the Rumble rules breakdown like Howard Finkel did.

1. & 2. Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie- Jack brings trash cans with him to the ring. Charlie is Terry Funk. He was in last year's Rumble as a one off, but was now back in WWF for a longer run. He debuted the Charlie character the month prior as a friendly play on the various personas of his good buddy Mick Foley. They had been an on and off tag team since then, but it's Foley and Funk, they have no issue going at it. Charlie brings his chainsaw in with him and swings at Jack with it. Jack goes out and throws chairs in the ring. One goes right into the chainsaw. Jack gets back in and the bell rings to officially start things. Charlie blocks a chair with his chainsaw! The chainsaw goes down but is still running. Chairshots all around as a ref slides in to get the chainsaw out. Good thing it had been neutered. Charlie wants a shot in the head and gets it. He goes wobblelegged but doesn't go down. He wants another one, but Jack offers the chair instead and wants to take a shot of his own. Charlie gives him one. And another. Charlie gets Jack upside down as we get our first countdown of the night.

3. Tom Brandi- Who? I'd completely understand if you were asking that. This is Salvadore Sincere (also who?) under his real name. Jack and Charlie stop fighting, throw Brandi out as soon as he hits the ring, then continue what they were doing. Jack suplexes Charlie onto chairs! Man, that got almost nothing from the crowd. We need an ECW crowd. Charlie dangles upside down by his legs.

4. WWF Intercontinental Champion The Rock- He picks the bones of Jack and Charlie, who've worn themselves out fighting each other. Jack nails Rock with a trash can, then puts it on Rock and he and Charlie take turns whacking him.

5. Headbanger Mosh- While Mosh is walking down the aisle Charlie throws a chair at him! Mosh DDTs Charlie but Charlie gets right back up and does some more classic Funk wobblelegged selling. Charlie gets Mosh down in the corner, climbs up, and does a moonsault! Well, mostly. He also wasn't close to hitting anything but hey, 50+ year old Terry Funk doing a moonsault. Damn.

6. Phineas Godwinn- Rock and Phineas beat Mosh down. Charlie hits Rock with some chops.

7. 8-Ball- Charlie ducks a charge and Jack is eliminated. Lawler says his sources have told him "someone" in the back has managed to take out Austin. Charlie dangles by his legs again.

8. Blackjack Bradshaw- The future JBL. Charlie almost tosses Rock out but he lands on the apron. Charlie sort of skins the cat, using the ropes to pull himself back up onto the apron.

9. Owen Hart- Post-Montreal Screwjob Owen is now going by "Sole Survivor" and "The Blackhart". He gets a decent pop. Before he can get anywhere Jeff Jarrett jumps him from behind! Jarrett's manager Jim Cornette gives Owen a racket shot. Owen had a feud going with Triple H (more on that later), I can't for the life of me remember why he and Jarrett would have a beef at this point. Maybe they didn't and it's totally random, I wouldn't put that past Russo. After the beatdown Owen never makes it to the ring.

10. Steve Blackman- He goes after Charlie and flips him over the top but again Charlie barely dangles by the ropes and pulls himself back up. 8-Ball piledrives Charlie. Bradshaw hits a short clothesline on Mosh.

11. D'Lo Brown- Nation representative number two. Charlie is dangling again. Rock beats Blackman down in the corner. Brown and Rock team up...then start hitting each other! Every man for himself.

12. Kurrgan- He no sells a bunch of stuff (or just plain doesn't know how to sell, I'd believe that) and dumps Mosh. Blackman swings a big kick in Kurrgan's direction that I'm not sure was no sold or just plain missed.

13. "Marvelous" Marc Mero- Sable is out as well and she gets the pop. Mero goes into boxing mode on Blackman. Kurrgan tosses Blackman out. Blackman still looked extremely raw out there.

14. Ken Shamrock- He comes in with a kick flurry on Kurrgan. A bunch of guys gang up and eliminate Kurrgan. Rock hits the still as yet unnamed People's Elbow on Charlie with no fanfare.

15. Headbanger Thrasher- Bradshaw has been stiffing the shit out of everyone. Mero tries to punch him and Bradshaw cuts it off with what looked like a damn stiff knee to the gut. Guess he didn't want to be bothered. Mero does a bunch of dancing around looking for someone to fight. No one seems to want to work with him.

16. Mankind- Wait a minute. I'm seeing Mick Foley double! Yes, he's back out again with another persona. He goes right after Charlie and their fight is back on. Mankind eliminates Charlie! As usual old Terry Funk looked like he was having a blast out there and did his best to liven things up. Shamrock finds Rock and pummels him in the corner, then tries to get him over the top.

17. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust- He's got a fresh coat of face paint and a fresh outfit that just as ridiculous as the last one. His whole character was "edgy for the sake of edgy" as WWF was looking to see just how far they could push the boundaries. Mero's dancing around again desperately looking for someone to work with. TAFKAG eliminates Mankind.

18. NWA North American Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett- This is during the short Jim Cornette-led "NWA invasion" angle, with Jarrett as the leader of the group. The angle also included the Rock N Roll Express getting a WWF run, as well as Cornette creating another (and hugely inferior) version of the Midnight Express with regular WWF guys. Owen Hart is back! He attacks Jarrett! Spinning heel kick. Jarrett recovers to toss Owen over the top, but Owen skins the cat back in and eliminates Jarrett! Even though he missed his entry spot Owen's allowed to stay in.

19. The Honky Tonk Man- Behind HTM Triple H, on crutches, and Chyna can also be seen making their way out. While that's going on Rock eliminates Shamrock. Chyna tries to hit Owen with a crutch. Owen blocks it, but it was just a distraction as Trips comes from the side, whacks Owen with the other crutch, and Owen is eliminated. Damage done, they leave. I know I said I'd get into the details of this feud. I will with the WWF Title match, it's relevant there.

20. Ahmed Johnson- He does not look in good shape at all. We get a replay showing Rock low blowed Shamrock before eliminating him. I don't think that issue is over.

21. Mark Henry- The newest Nation member and third in the match. He goes right for old Nation rival (and sometimes member) Johnson. They brawl really weakly. Henry was still green and Johnson, frankly, sucked. After a ton of stalling Henry throws some powder in Johnson's face that ends up going nowhere at all.

22. Nobody- It's never mentioned on the TV broadcast but this was supposed to be Skull's spot. He was either legitimately injured or was just selling the beating from the earlier backstage segment. Commentary thinks it was supposed to be Austin. Brown and Henry mercifully eliminate Johnson. Henry also eliminates Phineas. Poor ref Jack Doan took an inadvertent foot in the face as Phineas was coming down. But he's a ref, he's OK. Phineas and Johnson brawl to the back because why not. Brown and Henry start fighting each other.

23. Kama Mustafa- Four Nation guys in and they're all still in the match.

24. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin- Lawler's sources are as good as Bobby Heenan's. Big pop for Austin, but not a massive one because this crowd just didn't have it in them. Everything stops in the ring as soon as they hear Austin's music. But Austin, as usual, is one step ahead. He comes in behind them through the crowd! Mero is eliminated! 8-Ball is eliminated! Austin low blows Brown and chokes him with his vest.

25. Henry Godwinn- He goes right for Austin. The Nation guys are all still fighting each other.

26. Savio Vega- Vega brings his whole Los Boriquas stable with him. They attack Austin and Austin fights them off. Vega escapes taking a Stunner. Austin gives TAFKAG a Greco Roman Nut Stomp.

27. Faarooq- The whole Nation is in and none of them have been eliminated. Rock tosses Austin through the ropes to the floor. Faarooq attacks Rock! The Nation continue fighting. Austin and Rock brawl on the floor while Lawler insists Austin's been eliminated.

28. Dude Love- What?! I'm seeing Mick Foley triple! That's right, this is the all of the Three Faces of Foley enter Rumble. Love eliminates Bradshaw, who got a nice run. TAFKAG takes some more hard shots in and out of the ring. Rock hits a People's Elbow on Brown. Austin attacks Rock again.

29. Chainz- Faarooq attacks Rock again, then eliminates Brown. The first Nation guy is finally gone, and at the hands of another Nation member.

30. Vader- He goes right for TAFKAG. HTM is eliminated. There's lots of guys left at the end run as there's been no big elimination runs yet. Austin eliminates Thrasher. And Kama. Vega tries a spinning heel kick but Austin ducks and eliminates Vega. TAFKAS eliminates Vader. Godwinn is eliminated. Chainz eliminates TAFKAG. Chainz got an elimination, and during the end run? Austin eliminates Chainz, who goes out in the corner and lands on the steps. Ouch. Faarooq gets Henry over and on the apron. Henry starts to step back in, getting one foot back in the ring, then Faarooq punches him and he falls out and is called eliminated. Sloppy.

FINAL FOUR: Rock, Austin, Faarooq and Love. Old tag partners Austin and Love team up on the Nation guys. They're whipped into each other. Sweet Shin Music on Rock! Double underhook DDT on Faarooq! Austin attacks Love! Mandible Claw on Austin! Austin low blows to get out. Faarooq eliminates Love. He gets Austin up in the corner to try to get him out. Rock sees, but instead of helping just sits down and pretends to be winded. After a minute Rock sneaks up from behind and eliminates Faarooq! It's down to Rock and Austin! Again the crowd manages to wake up for this last bit. I don't know what's going on with them tonight but this has been a lame crowd. Rock and Austin slug it out in the middle of the ring. Austin gets Rock over the top but he lands on the apron and gets back in. Stunner! Rock goes out! Austin wins his second Rumble in a row!

Austin joins Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels as the only two time Rumble winners, and crazily enough they all won back to back (Hogan in '90 and '91, Shawn in '95 and '96). Rock didn't win but he did get the ironman run at a little over 50 minutes, and once again when Austin and Rock were in the ring together you were seeing the immediate future of the company. Rock has come a long way. After some wobbles, and the departure of Bret Hart, WWF was finally fully ready to push Austin as the face of the company. This was an OK Rumble. There were quite a few dead spots and a fair amount of jobberitis, but in this era more than any other WWF went for storytelling over wrestling quality and they managed to do some good angle and character work during the course of the Rumble. The final four run was pretty good too. It was also blatantly obvious Austin was going to win. **3/4

Mike Tyson is super pumped his boy Cold Stone won.

When Owen Hart made his surprise return at the December PPV just a month after the Montreal Screwjob and attacked Shawn, the next big money match seemed obvious. Then it didn't happen. Might have been Kliq politics, might have been Vince not fully trusting the last Hart left in the company (Owen never got any kind of main event run post-Screwjob before his untimely death in May '99). Probably both. Instead Owen was shuffled down into a feud with DX #2 and current European champion Triple H. For the Rumble title match, Shawn's blood feud with the Undertaker from the previous year was rekindled one more time. Along with all of this Taker is still dealing with his brother Kane. Kane had repeatedly attacked Taker to try to goad him into a match, with Taker steadfastly refusing to fight his own brother. On the last Raw before the Rumble Shawn tried to get Kane to join DX. Taker came out and made him regret it. After that Kane appeared on stage and appeared to salute Taker. Taker saluted him back. Problems resolved? Are the brothers on the same page now?

 

Casket Match for the WWF Championship: "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels (c) (w/DX) def The Undertaker in 20:30- Taker's only lost one casket match in his career, also at the Rumble in '94 in a WWF Title match with Yokozuna. That time it took half the heel locker room to get him in the casket. Shawn tries to stick and move with jabs at the start. Taker's unfazed and pushes Shawn out of mounted punches. Goozle. Shawn kicks to get out. Shawn springboard off the second rope but Taker catches him by the throat! Taker tries to press Shawn, possibly into the casket, but Shawn escapes. He charges and Taker backdrops him over the top rope. On the way down Shawn's back hits against the very edge of the casket. It doesn't look like much, but we've just seen the cause of the injury that will take 4 years from Shawn's career (but also give him the time he needed to fix himself mentally and spiritually). You can see him fighting his back a bit the next few minutes but for the most part he gets through the rest of this match fine, at least on the surface. Taker goes out and knocks Shawn around on the floor. Press slam on the floor! Taker kicks Shawn into the casket. Shawn immediately gets back out. Back in Shawn tries to speed around Taker but goes down again. Arm wringers from Taker and old school hits. Corner body shots. Shawn flip to the floor. He snaps Taker over the top rope. Shawn tries coming off the top back in but Taker powerslams him. He rolls Shawn into the casket. The lid closes, but Shawn just barely has one hand still sticking out. The lid opens and Shawn throws powder in Taker's face! Taker manages to land a blind shot but after that Shawn gives him some measured jabs in the corner. Taker goozles again and tries to choke slam Shawn in the corner. Shawn gets his feet up on the top rope to break it up. Moonsault! Shawn Cactus clothesline! He has a bit of trouble getting in the right position to skin the cat after. Taker pulls him out and runs him into the barricade. Shawn whips Taker into the steps, then drops the steps on Taker's back. Piledriver on the steps! Trips comes over and gets some crutch shots in. Shawn follows up with some chair shots. Flying back elbow back in. He rolls Taker in the casket but Taker fights out. Shawn counters a backdrop with a swinging neckbreaker. Sleeper. Taker goes down, fights back up and Saito suplexes out. Shawn flying forearm and kip up. Elbow of the top. The band tunes up. Superkick! He rolls Taker into the casket, then decided to gloat by straddling the casket and giving Taker a crotch chop. Taker zeros in on the target Shawn indicated and grabs a Greco Roman Nut Lock! Backdrop from Taker back in. Shawn flip 2 and he lands back in the ring. Taker clothesline. Big boot. Shawn ducks the flying clothesline and Taker slides into the casket. Shawn elbow off the top rope into the casket! The lid closes with them both in there. Guess the match is a draw then. Shawn tries to fight out but Taker drags him back in and the lid closes again. When it opens back up Taker is swinging. Shawn ducks a big boot. Goozle! Huge chokeslam! Tombstone scoop. Taker steps over the top rope. TOMBSTONE OFF THE APRON INTO THE CASKET! Chyna takes the ref out. The New Age Outlaws and Los Boriquas all run out and attack Taker. It's '94 all over again. The lights go out. Kane is here! He fights all the goons off and clears the ring! DX get Shawn out of the casket and they all get the hell out of town. Kane and Taker stare off.....and Kane punches Taker! Beatdown from Kane. He chokeslams Taker into the casket! The lid closes! Shawn wins even though he was halfway to Oakland by then. Paul Bearer locks the casket shut and he and Kane roll it away. Man, it is '94 again. If this ends with Marty Janetty wearing a Taker suit and rising up into wrestling heaven again I'm leaving. Kane and Bearer stop with the casket just in front of the stage. Kane chops a hole in the lid with an ax, then pours gasoline inside and all around the casket. He sets the casket on fire! BAH GAWD THERE'S A HUMAN BEING IN THERE! End show. The match was good, and the best casket match ever to that point, but not nearly on the level of the other Shawn/Taker classics. ***1/2

Maybe Taker should stop having casket matches at the Rumble. They never end well for him.

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- '98 would be the year WWF took the #1 spot back from WCW, partially due to WCW's own missteps (they had just had the disaster that was Starrcade '97, which was the start of the wheels coming off the bus) but also from their own product absolutely catching fire the next couple of years. As I mentioned earlier, during this period more than ever WWF's product was more about the stories and characters (and swerves) than match quality, and on that level this show mostly delivers, which helps make up for the lack of any real standout matches.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: C