What the World Was Watching: Monday Night Raw - March 2, 1998

by Logan Scisco

-A video package recaps the confrontation between Steve Austin and Mike Tyson on January 19^th.

-Jim Ross, Michael Cole, and Kevin Kelly are doing commentary for the first hour and they are live from Cleveland, Ohio.

-D-Generation X comes out and Triple H says that the road to WrestleMania has begun.  He says Owen Hart is wearing his European title and that he is going to end his reign at WrestleMania.  WWF Champion Shawn Michaels says that DX is going to make Mike Tyson an offer he cannot refuse.  Michaels offers some generic comments about his WrestleMania bout with Steve Austin, which brings Austin out.  However, before Austin can say anything, the lights go out and Kane walks out as DX flees.  Paul Bearer tells Austin that Kane will prevent him from going to WrestleMania.  They go to the locker room, so Austin goes to the announce table, pushes Cole out of his seat, and cuts a promo saying that he is ready to face Kane and Tyson tonight and he will beat Kane with the lights on or off.  Decent opening segment to get things rolling (1 for 1)

-Mike Tyson, Shane McMahon, and his entourage are shown entering the arena.

-The Outlaws come to the ring in neck braces and there is a dumpster close to the ring.  The Outlaws show footage from their camera from last week’s attack by Chainsaw Charlie and Cactus Jack, argue that Charlie and Cactus will be charged with first degree murder, and that they cannot defend the titles due to their medical condition.  Commissioner Slaughter gets on the Titantron and says that the Outlaws will wrestle this evening and will defend the tag team championships.

-Opening Contest for the WWF Tag Team Championship:  The Disciples of Apocalypse beat The New Age Outlaws (Champions) by count out at 1:24:

This is a quick match that resembles a street fight as Billy Gunn blasts 8-Ball with one of the tag team title belts and then Skull is whipped into the nearby dumpster.  As the Outlaws approach the dumpster, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie jump out and the Outlaws flee into the crowd.  Coupled with the Outlaws interview segment before the match this was entertaining.  (2 for 2)

-A video package chronicles the tensions between Marc Mero, Sable, Goldust, and Luna Vachon.

-Salt-N-Pepa’s performance at WrestleMania XI is our weekly WrestleMania Millennium Moment.

-“Marvelous” Marc Mero (w/Sable) beats Tom Brandi with a TKO at 2:41:

Brandi has become an afterthought as the Mero-Sable program has transitioned to Goldust and Luna Vachon and he gets the jobber entrance for this match.  Sable is sent to the back before the match, since Mero think she is getting too big of a crowd reaction.  A minute into the match Luna Vachon walks out and trips Brandi when he runs the ropes and that sets up a low blow and TKO from Mero.

-After the match, Luna gets into the ring to celebrate with Mero and kisses him.  Mero does not care for that and Goldust hits the ring and ambushes Mero.  A beatdown results until Sable runs in and makes the save.  Mero berates Sable for helping him and Sable pushes him to the canvas and Mero flees.  I don’t really care for Mero running away from Sable, since that makes very little sense from a practical point-of-view, but the crowd loved seeing Sable beat up Luna.

-European Championship Match:  Mark Henry beats Owen Hart (Champion) by disqualification when Chyna interferes at 5:40:

Before the bout, Commissioner Slaughter bars other members of the Nation of Domination from standing around ringside.  During the first minute of the match Chyna walks out and that helps Henry obtain control of the match.  It takes three times for Owen to lock in the Sharpshooter, but Chyna distracts him and forces him to release it.  Chyna pushes Owen off the top rope and into a Henry bearhug, but before Owen’s hand will drop for the third time and give Henry the title, she gets in the ring and gives him a low blow.  A fun big man-little man match that combined some nice psychology and did a nice job furthering the storyline of DX wanting to weaken Owen before WrestleMania.  This was probably Henry’s best match in the WWF up to this point.  Rating:  **½ (3 for 3)

-Vince McMahon is shown talking to Mike Tyson backstage.

-Taka Michinoku & The Headbangers defeat Barry Windham & The Rock N’ Roll Express (w/Jim Cornette) when Thrasher pins Robert Gibson after hitting him with Cornette’s tennis racket at 1:46:

Windham must not care anymore because he has not bothered to remove his entrance gear while wrestling in his last several matches.  This match barely gets going before all hell breaks loose and the WWF TV crew misses the finish.  As the Headbangers celebrate, Cornette challenges them to defend their NWA tag team titles against the Rock N’ Roll Express next week.

-As we enter hour two, Lawler joins Ross for commentary.

-Vince McMahon comes out to a chorus of boos, which he considers surprising, and introduces Mike Tyson.  D-Generation X walks out amid a sea of WWF officials and McMahon is not happy, fearing that this is going to be Austin-Tyson II.  Shawn Michaels tells Tyson that DX is not out to disrespect him and he calls him out.  Tyson says he is ready to go and McMahon is seemingly resigned to having it happen, so everyone clears the ring.  This immediately gets the fans attention and they do a staredown, but Michaels rips off Tyson’s WWF Attitude shirt to reveal a DX shirt underneath.  It’s funny to see Tyson as excited as an eight year old doing the DX crotch chops.  McMahon is not happy with this storyline development since it means that Tyson is not going to be an impartial enforcer at WrestleMania.  (4 for 4)

-After the commercial break, DX and Tyson’s crew are shown celebrating in the locker room.

-Steve Blackman beats Kama Mustafa by disqualification when the Nation of Domination interferes at 3:02:

Like Mark Henry’s match, Commissioner Slaughter bars the Nation of Domination from ringside.  This is Blackman’s third match against a Nation of Domination member in as many weeks.  Blackman and Kama go back and forth for a few minutes until Blackman catches Kama with a pump kick and ties him up in an armbar submission, which leads to a Nation run in and beatdown before Ken Shamrock makes the save.  Throwaway bout that probably sets up a tag team match of some sort next week.  Rating:  *½ (4 for 5)

-Tennessee Lee, Robert Fuller’s WWF gimmick which is just putting lipstick on a pig of his Colonel Robert Parker WCW gimmick, makes his debut and introduces the repackaged Jeff Jarrett, who has moved away from the NWA faction and reverted to his old 1993-1995 gimmick.  You know, the one that he denounced as comic and ridiculous when he returned to the company a few months ago.  Jarrett says that the NWA could not handle him and Lee is the world’s greatest promoter so that is why he has joined him.

-Jeff Jarrett (w/Tennessee Lee) beats Flash Funk via submission to the figure-four leg lock at 3:32:

As Jarrett is repackaged, Funk is heading that way as well as he is growing his hair out and ditching the hat and other elements of his entrance attire.  Funk seems to have the match in hand, but Lee crotches him on the top rope when he goes for the Funky Flash Splash and Jarrett applies the figure-four leg lock for the submission.  I hate when wrestlers have a submission hold and have not worked over the body part during the match.  Rating:  *¾ (4 for 6)

-Gennifer Flowers is introduced as a celebrity for WrestleMania XIV.  For those who are no attune to 1990s politics, Flowers allegedly had a decade-long relationship with President Bill Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas.

-Cole interviews D-Generation X and Mike Tyson in the locker room and DX says that Tyson has joined because they are the hottest act going.

-A video package recaps the breakup of the Legion of Doom and their history in the WWF.

-Steve Austin comes out to wrestle Kane, but is attacked by D-Generation X and knocked out by Shawn Michaels with Sweet Chin Music.

-After the commercial break, Paul Bearer and Kane are still in the ring and Bearer sends Kane to get the timekeeper.  On his way there Kane beats up a fan in an Austin 3:16 shirt and the timekeeper is forced to ring the bell ten times in memory of the Undertaker.  After the timekeeper rings the bell, Kane destroys him with a chokeslam and Tombstone.  Bearer says that Kane has one Tombstone left and Lawler humorously points to Ross at the announce table.  Suddenly the Undertaker’s music hits and the lights go off and after the bells toll ten times, in a nice piece of continuity, lightning hits a casket by the entrance and the Undertaker emerges.  The Undertaker goes into a Shakespearean soliloquy where he says he told his parents in the other world that he would have to face Kane.  Kane makes fire appear near the entrance, but the Undertaker walks through the flames and tells Kane that no one will be there to save him at WrestleMania.  The Undertaker’s promo started to become a parody with all of the discussion of darkness and hell, but it closed well and the lead up to the Undertaker’s return was well done.  (5 for 7)

The Final Report Card:  A very important show in the WrestleMania build as Tyson seemingly aligns with D-Generation X, which stacks the deck against Steve Austin in the WWF title match, and the Undertaker returns to make a WrestleMania bout against Kane official.  There were probably some fans that were angry about the bait and switch pulled with the Austin-Kane main event, but there was no way that match was taking place considering how protected both men were at this point.

Monday Night War Rating:  3.8 (vs. 4.8 for Nitro)

Show Evaluation:  Thumbs Up