Jim Reviews WWE Weeklies

[Jim]

"Dumpster Diving"
February 2, 1998

DX starts the show with a taped segment with their state of the union-like address. They promise to no longer use any sexual or racial slurs anymore. There's a lot of DX censorship for some dated comedy.

The real start of the show begins with...DX. Both guys are decked out in Uncle Sam costumes with red, white and blue balloons falling from the sky. The idea is simple, DX are campaigning for Steve Austin vs Mike Tyson. Michaels brings up the Nevada State Commission, but continues to campaign for the huge match. DX even starts a "Let Them Fight!" chant. I know Michaels real purpose is trying to avoid defending the title against Austin, but Austin/Tyson seems so much bigger than Austin/Michaels. It's the biggest show of the year and I'm already disappointed knowing we're not getting Austin/Tyson. Austin comes out and DX instantly drops the comedy (Including removing the Uncle Sam costumes). Austin once again teased fighting Tyson (Why are you still letting fans believe it's going to happen?!), but reassures Michaels that he will be the next World Champion. If it wasn't for the fact that they're hyping a match bigger than the real main event, this would have been a great segment.

LET THEM FIGHT!

In a segment taped earlier, Terry Funk and Mick Foley talk with Jim Ross about how each match could be their last. So they want to see who's the king of hardcore.

Chainsaw Charlie vs Cactus Jack - Hardcore Match
This may be a garbage match filled with weapons (And a dumpster on the stage), but this is an awesome garbage match. There's various highlights including Cactus hitting Charlie with a garbage can, but he doesn't have the heart to hit him again. So he gave the garbage can to Charlie so Charlie can hit him. Charlie doesn't have the heart either. So Cactus turns around and Funk takes the cheap shot and nails Cactus with the garbage can! Everything builds up until the big spot where Foley climbs on the Titantron and drops an elbow on Funk (Who was in the dumpster. That brings out the New Age Outlaws, who lock the dumpster lid and rolls it off of the stage to create one of the bigger Raw moments of the Attitude Era. Personally, I think this match is better than the later Foley/Funk match in 1998. It's just a ton of fun garbage wrestling with an ending that is a great image of Foley diving off of the Titantron and it's followed up by the even bigger moment of the dumpster being shoved off the stage. Greatness all around. 3 1/4 Stars.

For my video, the dumpster falls at 24:16. Including the next match (That follows the storyline), the entire post-match events of Foley/Funk lasts until 52 minutes. The WWE wanted you to know just how big of a moment this was and they accomplished that. Right away, they treat the fall as if it was a shoot. Many WWE wrestlers, heels and faces, come out to check on Foley and Cactus. There's even a moment where a group of heels and faces get in a pull apart with The New Age Outlaws. Even the Outlaws have a moment where they realized they crossed the line and they're speechless. Sunny is so memorable in her reaction. Tears are actually running down her face as if she believes someone is really dying.

At the same time, the sell job is a little too uncomfortable in 2012. It feels a little too real. Since this incident, we've had Owen Hart, Droz, Misawa and Jerry Lawler end up in a real life tragedy. It's especially eerie seeing Owen Hart amongst the other wrestlers out there. Here you have a guy who's going to be in an event so similar a little over a year away. Is he living out his own death without realizing it? It's unsettling to say the least.

In the back, The New Age Outlaws talk with the commentators when they're interrupted by DX. DX tears the Outlaws a new one, but not because of what they did, but because they're so messed up mentally. It's all about RATINGS to DX and the Outlaws went out there and earned them. The story only continues from there.

Owen Hart (c) vs Billy Gunn w/Road Dogg - WWE European Title
Owen had an extra aggression about him tonight. The match was fine, but nothing great. As good as Owen is, he can only produce so much with Billy. Before Owen can get the win with the Sharpshooter, Road Dogg enters the ring to draw the DQ. That brought out DX and it's a five-on-one attack on Owen. DX and the Outlaws brought Owen up on the stage and DX convinces the Outlaws to tease throwing Owen off of the stage before the WWE officials break it up. Even then, DX are still yelling in The Outlaws faces about ratings and how they're stepping up. It's an awesome angle that shows The Outlaws being brought to the dark side by DX. Match was just okay, but the segment made it so much better. Thumbs Up.

It's around this time that Michael Cole (From the hospital) begins calling in to give updates on the condition of Foley and Funk. Once again, it's really unsettling with how similar it is to what Cole did the night Jerry Lawler had his heart attack.

Marc Mero w/Goldust vs Headbanger Mosh w/Thrasher
Initially, Sable, looking sluttier than ever, accompanied Mero to ringside, but when she received a box of candy from her secret admirer, Mero ordered her to the back as he brought out "Marylin" (Goldust in a Marylin Manson get up). Whoever thought this would be a good match should be shot. Bad match that ends with Thrasher attacking Goldust while Mero gets the win on Mosh after a low blow. For the second straight week, the WWE has started a new feud for the Headbangers. Thumbs Down.

Marylin Dust.

In a split screen, Barry Windham with Team NWA blames Bradshaw for the New Blackjacks' lack of success. He and Jeff Jarrett will wrestle Bradshaw if the future JBL can find a partner.

Vignette for the horrible Tiger Ali Singh.

Faarooq w/The Nation vs Chainz w/DOA, Ahmed Johnson and Ken Shamrock
Another build-up match to the big ten man tag at No Way Out of Texas. As expected, it's not good at all. A big part in the failure of the match is the ending when Chainz reverses an Irish Whip and Faarooq gets accidentally tripped up by Kama (Thinking it was Chainz). That pisses Faarooq off and he and Kama argue on the outside until Faarooq is counted out. Can you say lame ending? Finally, tensions cool off and Faarooq forces everyone to do the Nation hand signal at the top of the stage. With all of the problems inside of the Nation, can they get along to win at No Way Out of Texas? Thumbs Down.

The Nation's troubles continue...

Jeff Jarrett and Barry Windham w/Team NWA vs Bradshaw and Flash Funk
Ugh. And the terribleness of the NWA booking continues. Who cares about the NWA when they're facing Bradshaw and the JTTS, Flash Funk? Worse yet, the Rock 'n' Roll Express assault Funk on the outside, so he's carried to the back leaving Bradshaw all alone. Despite it being a five-on-one match, Bradshaw still manages to find a way to win by pinning Jarrett after a Closeline From Hell. The booking made Bradshaw look like a million bucks, but Team NWA just looks like a group of fools. During the match, it's announced that Jarrett will face Bradshaw at No Way Out of Texas. Why? Isn't the obvious match Bradshaw vs Windham? The NWA angle is so terrible. Thumbs Down.

Some guy named Wink Collins (Who?) announces that Wrestlemania 14 is officially sold out. That brings out Kane to tease the Tombstone, but Vader makes his entrance to distract Kane. In the first big moment of someone getting the best of Kane, Vader pulls out a fire extinguisher and sprays it in Kane's one good eye. Kane falls out of the ring and Paul Bearer pulls Kane away. Vader challenges Kane to a match at No Way Out of Texas.

Shortly before the main event, the commentators speak with Michael Cole one last time. It's yet another unsettling moment when Cole mentioned things have become grave and cops have arrived.

Steve Austin vs Road Dogg w/Billy Gunn
The match went maybe thirty seconds before Billy Gunn interferes to draw the DQ. DX comes out and it's another big five-on-one brawl against Austin. All of a sudden, out comes Cactus Jack (With an IV still stuck in him) for the rescue. Terry Funk (While wearing a hospital gown) is wielding his chainsaw. It's a huge pop and the interest in the main event at No Way Out of Texas skyrockets.
---

Match of the night: Cactus Jack vs Chainsaw Charlie
MVP of the night: The Hardcore Legends
Angle of the night: The Outlaws vs Hardcore Legends

[BeastyBoy]

This seems like a good show, I had no idea they were really teasing an Austin/Tyson match

[Hollywood Dook]

Ugh Jim, between DJH/DH/DTNG talk and this... you're definitely interesting me a lot.

This is awesome, and you're one of the best at keeping things like this up even if it takes long breaks in between.

[Jim]

This is awesome, and you're one of the best at keeping things like this up even if it takes long breaks in between.

The ultimate proof of this is the fact that my 'Jim Reviews SNME' that I started back in 2008 is still going on.

[Jim]

"Austin Steals The Belt"
February 9, 1998

Open up with a taped segment where Sunny, as Marylin Monroe, sings happy birthday to Freddie Blassie. It's Blassie's 80th birthday. A rare classy moment in the Attitude Era.

Steve Austin opens up the show by coming to the ring with a white bag. He wants a piece of Shawn Michaels for what DX did to him last week. From the Titantron, DX makes various tying up puns based off of last week's events. Michaels isn't willing to come to the ring though. Austin reveals the contents of the white bag - the WWF World Title. That finally pisses DX off and the story of the night "DX wants the title back" has begun.

The Legion of Doom vs Jeff Jarrett and Barry Windham w/Team NWA
I love how whenever the WWE wants to do a NWA tag match, they use Windham and Jarrett instead of the Rock 'n' Roll Express. The match was all about getting over the story of the Legion of Doom's bad luck and their losing streak. It seems as if the new era of strength in numbers are making everyone believe they can beat the Roadies. This was actually a pretty decent match up until the ending. Once again, the NWA angle doesn't seem too bad at all when they're booked against stars. The ending revolves around Team NWA attacking Hawk on the outside and injuring his leg with the steel steps and tennis racket. This brings out Bradshaw, who without making contact, runs Jarrett and Windham to the back. Somehow, this is DQ worthy and the Legion of Doom loses yet again. In the post-match, Hawk doesn't even sell the leg. Match was flat out ruined by a bad ending. Thumbs Down.

Will DX be able to get the World Title back?! It seems as if Chyna has a plan.

Pierre w/Jacques vs Henry Godwinn w/Phineas Godwinn
An absurdly stupid heel vs heel feud that was started up on Saturday Saturday Night when both teams cost each other matches against fellow heels, Los Boricuas. It's now announced that the Quebecers will face The Godwinns at No Way Out of Texas. Seriously, who wants to see a lowcard heel team vs midcard heel team on PPV? The saving grace of this match is CPO. Pierre was a pretty underrated talent and for a guy his size, he had some awesome looking high spots. The highlight of the match being an over the top rope suicide dive to the outside. While Henry moved, CPO also showed off his senton as well. Clever finish revolves around Jacques knocking Henry out with a slop bucket, but with the referee distracted by Jacques, Phineas nails CPO with his slop bucket. Henry makes the cover and wins. For a match no one should care about, I kinda enjoyed it. Who doesn't love a little CPO? Thumbs Up.

Pierre > You.

In the back, Chyna finds Los Boricuas. Speaking only in Spanish, Chyna works out a deal with Los Boricuas where DX will pay them to get the title back. I love the fact that after a year of seeing Chyna, the most we've ever heard her talk was here, but it was only in Spanish.

Taka Michinoku and Aguila vs Brian Christopher and Pantera
TAKA~! Aguila is the masked Papi Chulo/Essa Rios. Under the Aguila gimmick, Rios is looking so much like Juventud Guerrera. As expected, this was really fun. Aguila's purpose was just to deliver one amazing spot after another. They had a short, but simple match that isn't overloaded with stupid Sports Entertainment booking. Aguila spent a good portion of the match playing the face-in-peril. Ending revolves around a Taka hot tag and Christopher being unable to use a foreign object on him. When the weapon falls out of Christopher's hands, Pantera sneaks in, retrieves it and puts it in his mask. He then leaps from the top rope and gives a standing headbutt to Taka, thus knocking Taka out due to the foreign object. The heels pick up the win and the Taka/Pantera match at No Way Out has a little heat to it. As always, Taka always delivers. Thumbs Up.

Okay...Aguila > Pierre > You.

Paul Bearer and Kane came out to the ring to cut a promo on Vader. Pretty formula stuff up until Bearer gives Kane a Vader clock and Kane uses his magic to lite it on fire. Kane vs Vader - this Sunday at No Way Out of Texas!

The Rock and Faarooq w/The Nation vs Ken Shamrock and Chainz w/DOA and Ahmed Johnson
Yet another preview match of their war of War of Attrition at No Way Out of Texas. Before the match, The Rock cut a topical promo on cloning and claimed the only person worth cloning was himself. The match was just your usual stuff. Chainz played the face-in-peril for a bit before Shamrock nearly had the match won with an ankle lock on Faarooq. A big fight erupts between the other eight man, thus distracting the referee to allow The Rock to lay out Shamrock with a nasty chair shot. Faarooq picks up the win. All of these Nation tags are good enough not to be a negative, but they're not worth checking out. Thumbs Up.

After the match, Shamrock wakes up and realized what happened. SHAMROCK SNAPS~! Shamrock attacks the entire Nation (Minus Rocky), the referee and even hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Chainz. It takes the DOA and Ahmed to hold Shamrock down until his roid rage passes. Chainz gives Shamrock a bro hug to show there's no hard feelings.

A recap from the Wrestlemania 14 press conference is shown. Highlight being Mike Tyson telling Steve Austin that he "Needs to be nicer to people". Of course, they yet again teased a possible Austin/Tyson fight. WHY?!

Steve Blackman vs Recon w/Sniper
The future B Square in action. Almost immediately, the Jackyl descends from the rafters on a platform with a podium. For the rest of the match, he cuts one long promo on the mic. The gits of it is that he's tired of the WWE calling him a cult leader. With the camera cutting back and forth from the Jackyl and the match, you can't enjoy the match and Jackyl earns some "Go away heat". Blackman wins with his Rings of Saturn-like submission that never got over and was retired after a few months. Thumbs Down.

The Jackyl's arrival.

After the match, The Jackyl berates Sniper and Recon for embarrassing him. Recon begs for forgiveness, but the Jackyl only slaps him. Recon snaps, yelling at the Jackyl, but Jackyl only laughs and turns his back. In time, Recon gives up and becomes an emotional mess of a guy who hates his leader, but knows he can't allow himself to turn his back on the leadership. The Jackyl character is amazing, but the Truth Commission were such duds.

The New Age Outlaws come out on the ramp and cut a promo on The Hardcore Legends. It's mostly just mocking what happened last week before they pull out a dumpster. They re-enact the dumpster fall, complete with blow up dolls dressed as Foley and Funk inside. Typical Outlaws comedy. Love it or hate it.

Los Boricuas are shown in the back looking for Stone Cold. They go in the parking lot only to have Stone Cold appear at the doors and use chains to lock them out. Austin has outsmarted DX and their only idea.

TAFKA Goldust w/Marc Mero and Luna vs Headbanger Thrasher w/Mosh
Sadly, Goldust is just dressed up as Marylin Manson again. Despite coming out to the ring, Sable is ordered to the back by Mero. As you can probably expect, this was an utter dull. The fans didn't really care, I didn't care and there wasn't anything interesting done in the entire match. After Luna interferes, Sable returned to help out the Headbangers. Goldust gets slapped by Sable to allow Thrasher to botch the roll-up to score the pinfall. After the match, Sable and Luna are pulled apart. Terrible match and didn't do a thing to make me want to see the Mero/Goldust vs Headbangers match at No Way Out of Texas. Thumbs Down.

DX comes out to the ring to close the show. Michaels wants his belt back. Steve Austin comes out, but as soon as he does, the New Age Outlaws come out as well. With Austin distracted by DX and the Outlaws, Chyna sneaks over to the other side of the ring and retrieves the WWF Title for DX. Suddenly, we hear the sound of a chainsaw and a hole is created in the ring. Out pops Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie. Owen Hart runs out as well and the show ends with a short brawl to preview No Way Out of Texas.

Not even the strangest thing Terry Funk did that week.

---

With the final Raw before No Way Out of Texas now finished, I have to say the WWE made a huge mistake in creating interest in the eight man tag. The idea of Steve Austin and Owen Hart teaming up is interesting. They just had this huge feud six months ago where Steve Austin was nearly paralyzed. Why are you not bringing that up? One of the main interests of the match is whether Austin and Owen can actually get along. Not bringing that up is missing out on a rather obvious little storyline twist to add just a bit more interest. The WWE dropped the ball.
---

Match of the night: Taka Michinoku and Aguila vs Brian Christopher and Pantera
MVP of the night: Steve Austin
Angle of the night: The WWF Title

[Creeping Death]

Jackyl ftdubs.

[ShinobiMusashi]

Love reading these reviews. I've been lurking around reading these for a few weeks now. Such a fun time to be a wrestling fan. Keep up the excellent work. Love the gifs, especially the Terry Funk overselling gif.

[Jim]

Glad you're enjoying my various reviews. If you look around this section, you'll find plenty more reviews dating back to 2008.

[Hollywood Dook]

If people love em so much maybe you should do some more. >_>

[Jim]

If people love em so much maybe you should do some more. >_>

Dude, I literally just did the No Way Out of Texas review.

[Hollywood Dook]

Dude, I literally just did the No Way Out of Texas review.

THAT ISN'T RAW NOW IS IT >_>


Good review though

[Jim]

THAT ISN'T RAW NOW IS IT >_>

It sorta was. Just longer matches and less segments.

[Hollywood Dook]

haha, welcome to the attitude era on PPV.

[whiteyfats]

Great thread.

[Jim]

"Raw Saturday Night"
February 21, 1998

A special Saturday edition of Raw (Raw was postponed because of some programming on USA Network) opens up with news regarding Steve Austin. After hitting Chyna with a Stunner at No Way Out, Chyna is suing Austin for emotional distress.

The Legion of Doom vs The Quebecers
The commentators spent the entire match talking about LOD's losing streak and their inability of dealing with the factions that outnumber LOD. Luckily, it's just a two-on-two match tonight. While the match is fun enough thanks to Jacques' antics and PCO's spots, the match just serves as an angle. Midway through the match, The New Age Outlaws come down to ringside with a dumpster. With the referee distracted, they attack Hawk and throw him in the dumpster. That leaves Animal alone with the Quebecers and once again the numbers prove to be too much for LOD. Finally, Animal grabs a chair and chases the Outlaws away, giving The Quebecers the count-out victory. This would set-up another LOD/Outlaws match, although it's a bit odd since they moved away from the feud and had started a LOD/NWA feud. Thumbs Up.

Hawk? Is that you?

A vignette for Chyna is shown. How is it that a person that has caused so much destruction can feel emotional distress from a Stunner? Is this just a ploy by DX?!

Ken Shamrock vs Sniper w/Recon
It's announced that Ken Shamrock will challenge The Rock at Wrestlemania 14 for the IC Title. The Jackyl joined the commentator's table. As much as I love the Jackyl and find him entertaining, the entire Truth Commission is the black hole of death. Shamrock had some good reverses, but it's impossible to enjoy a Truth Commission match. Shamrock wins with the Ankle Lock. Thumbs Down.

After the match, Jackyl berates Sniper for losing before finally slapping him. Sniper loses it, but Jackyl merely turns his back. Recon tries to hold Sniper back, but Sniper manages to push Jackyl before leaving. As Recon tries to talk to Jackyl, Jackyl turns his back on him as well. Jackyl smiles as Recon becomes an emotional mess.

We're shown a clip of No Way Out where Sable shoved Marc Mero down.

The commentators interview Recon from the back. He tries to dismiss any problems in the Truth Commission, but an upset Sniper barges in and yells that he's had enough of the Jackyl. Sniper wants Recon and himself to leave Jackyl.

Jerry Lawler calls out Marc Mero and Sable. Mero reveals the source of his issues with Sable. While he was recovering from reconstructive knee surgery last year, Sable wasn't there for him. Instead, she was on Raw sporting an Austin 3:16 t-shirt. Mero claims he tripped at No Way Out and that's why he fell, not because of Sable. Mero believes Sable has finally learned her role. Midway in the interview, a man comes out with a bouquet of flowers from Sable's secret admirer. Mero tries to take the flowers, but Sable berates him before leaving with her flowers.

Jim Cornette cuts a taped promo giving his true feelings on the fans. While the fans were behind him during his work shoots, they quickly turned on him once he brought out Team NWA. Cornette hypes The Rock 'n' Roll Express defending the NWA Tag Titles against the Headbangers. The big news is NWA President, Howard Brody, has signed former NWA referee, Tommy Young, to be the official in the match.

The Rock 'n' Roll Express (c) w/Jim Cornette vs The Headbangers - NWA Tag Titles
Early in the bout, Michael Cole vaguely mentions some rule differences between the WWE and the NWA. As anyone who's seen a single episode of wrestling can predict, that's a little foreshadowing for the ending. After the Headbangers nailed their Stage Dive finisher on Ricky Morton, Mosh threw Robert Gibson over the top rope. With Thrasher having the pin on Morton, Tommy Young calls for the bell and awards the match to RnR due to DQ. It's a total Dusty finish, but I sorta liked it. It instantly created an angle between the Headbangers and RnR and helps showcase the gimmick of the NWA title matches. Thumbs Up.

Steve Austin opens up hour number 2 with an interview with Jim Ross. Austin dismisses his actions against Chyna as claiming that's what he did when he was feeling nice. Austin cuts a short promo on Shawn Michaels and Mike Tyson and that's it.

Owen Hart (c) vs Jeff Jarrett w/Jim Cornette - WWE European Title
Before the match, the referee ordered all of Team NWA back to the back. It's announced that Owen Hart will wrestle Triple H at Wrestlemania. These two had a fun little match with Cornette interfering at every chance. Just as Owen nearly had the match won with the Sharpshooter, Cornette ran in to attempt to hit Owen with the tennis racket. That brings on the DQ finish. After the match, Owen locks his former manager in the Sharpshooter. Owen's the most consistent wrestler in the WWE at this point. Thumbs Up.

Short vignette for Michael PS Hayes. Since they're in Dallas, Hayes comes out to be the guest ring announcer. Before he can announce the match, the lights go out and Kane heads down to the ringside. Hayes attempts to fight Kane off with his boot, but Kane no sells the two strikes. Hayes eats a choke slam and a Tombstone. Jim Ross wishes the Undertaker could be here. CAN ANYONE STOP KANE?!

An advertisement for Wrestlemania 14 airs. It's the normal deal with a lot of shots of Austin, Michaels and Tyson. However, there's two other wrestlers also showcased - Kane and the Undertaker. Somehow, the WWE practically gave away the fact that Kane and the Undertaker were going to have a match at Mania before Taker even returned!

Sunny days indeed.

Taka Michinoku and Aguila vs Brian Christopher and Pirata Morgan
Debut of the Mexican star, Morgan. Although I'm 99% sure it's his debut, his mini version, Piratita Morgan, had actually worked Royal Rumble '98. As expected, Taka and Aguila wows with their spots. Biggest spot had to be Christopher hitting a sunset flip to the outside to Taka. It sure was vicious looking. Morgan tends to suck so Christopher handled the workload for his team. When Christopher tried to interfere, Aguila runs and and hits him with a spinning heel kick. This easily allows Taka to nail his Michinoku Driver on Morgan to pick up the win. Taka and Owen are so easily the best parts of Raw. Thumbs Up.

Up next is one of The Rock's early great segments. To show much he appreciates the Nation, he has presents for each member. Kama, Mark Henry and D-Lo Brown are all given $15,000 gold Rolexes. Rocky claims Faarooq is the only one who could ever lead the Nation. As a result, he has something extra special for the leader. Faarooq unwraps his gift to reveal a framed portrait of The Rock. Ha. Faarooq throws it down in disgust.

Faarooq w/The Nation vs Steve Blackman
Less of a match and more of a continuation of the angle. Rock spends the entire match looking at his portrait and raising it above his head. With the referee distracted, Faarooq grabs the portrait from The Rock and attempts to hit Blackman with it. Rocky pulls the portrait out of Faarooq's hands to distract Faarooq. Blackman rolls up Faarooq for the upset to continue his undefeated streak. After the match, The Rock tried to give Faarooq the portrait again. Faarooq just rips it in pieces. Faarooq orders the Nation to leave The Rock alone in the ring. Thumbs Up.

Best present ever?

In the back, Michael Cole interviews D-Lo Brown outside of the Nation's locker room. While D-Lo is trying to dismiss any problems in the Nation, all we here is yelling from outside of the door. D-Lo brags about the watch before going back into the locker room. Does the WWE even realize they had two similar angles going on with two different factions (Nation and Truth Commission) at the same time?

The Hardcore Legends vs Marc Mero and TAFKA Goldust w/Luna
Goldust is dressed up in his old ring gear while Luna is pretending to be Marlena, cigar and all. The idea of this was that the Hardcore Legends were going to work a technical match. It's sorta fun seeing them try to wrestle without brawling. Late in the match, Sable came down to the ringside with her flowers. After laying the flowers down to continue to argue with Mero, Sable watches as Luna destroys her flowers. Once again, this creates a big fight between the two ladies. The distraction allows Cactus to give up on being a technical wrestle and lay Goldust out with a chair shot. After the match, Sable and Luna have a pull apart to end the show. Kind of a waste of Funk and Cactus, but this was already such a B-grade Raw anyways. Thumbs Up.

---

Match of the night: Owen Hart vs Jeff Jarrett
MVP of the night: The Rock
Angle of the night: Factions in turmoil

[ShinobiMusashi]

I'll always prefer heel Rock over face Rock any day of the week. He was a fantastic heel.

[Yuri]

Ziggler would probably end up being paralyzed from the sell job.

Have you seen Scott Hall's selling of it? THAT, my friends, is how you sell a stunner!

[Jim]

Can't say I liked Hall's selling. It was more annoyingly overselling and less entertaining overselling. A good example of a guy who oversold the move to hell, yet made it fun to watch was Rocky.

[Yuri]

Can't say I liked Hall's selling. It was more annoyingly overselling and less entertaining overselling. A good example of a guy who oversold the move to hell, yet made it fun to watch was Rocky.

But for a guy who took 5 stunners... It was quite an enchanting ending to the match... except for all the Nash interference.

[Jim]

"R.I.P. L.O.D."
February 23, 1998

The New Age Outlaws (c) vs The Legion of Doom - WWE Tag Titles
A surprisingly watchable match up until the terrible finish. The Waco, Texas crowd was heavily into the match and everything built up to LOD seemingly readying to regain the tag titles. After a Doomsday Device to Road Dogg, Road Warrior Hawk makes the critical mistake of not leaving the ring while Animal goes for the pin. The referee spent so much time trying to get Hawk out that Billy Gunn was able to lay Animal out with a tag title shot to the head. Outlaws win. Maybe the finish would have been more effective had the WWE been more strict about keeping only the legal men in the match. The finish just screams "This is meant to be an angle" rather than the referee doing his job. Still, fun match. Thumbs Up.

After the match, the long losing streak of the Road Warriors come to a head and they allow their frustrations to explode. Animal and Hawk have a long pull apart while the commentators sell it as if it's one of the biggest events in wrestling. Is LOD over? Tag team/factions internal conflicts of the night: 1.

Hawk's so drunk he doesn't even know he's fighting with Animal.

Ken Shamrock vs Jeff Jarrett w/Jim Cornette
A quality back and forth match with Shamrock busting out all of his creative holds that you didn't see from anyone else at this point. Throughout the match, Jarrett's cheating and Cornette's interference kept Jarrett in the match. Ending comes with the referee slightly hurt from an inadvertently elbow from Shamrock. Cornette sneaks in and tries to hit Shamrock with the tennis racket, but Shamrock ducks with Cornette accidentally hitting Jarrett. Shamrock slapped on the Ankle Lock and the gets the knockout win against an out cold Jarrett. While I'm glad Shamrock won, how does Cornette basically beating Jarrett help Shamrock on his road to the IC Title? Thumbs Up.

After the match, Michael Cole tries to get a quick word from Jeff Jarrett. All Jarrett has to say is that he believes it's time he and Cornette goes their separate ways. Tag team/factions internal conflicts of the night: 2.

In the locker room, Jerry Lawler interviews Animal. Animal claims he doesn't have a brother (As in Hawk, not his two real life wrestling brothers ). Hawk rushes in and the Road Warriors have another pull apart.

The DOA vs Kurrgan and The Truth Commission w/The Jackyl
During the match, it's announced that there will be a 15 team battle royal at Wrestlemania. A match where Recon spent the majority of the match feeding to the DOA? Sounds like fun! Not really. Only highlight of the match was Kurrgan's brief time on offense where he just destroys the DOA. Kurrgan gets the three count on Skull with the Paralyzer. I don't know who has the worst matches. The Truth Commission or the DOA? Thumbs Down.

After the match, The Jackyl berates Sniper yet again due to never tagging in. Once again, Jackyl slaps Sniper. As Sniper goes to attack his manager, Kurrgan locks the Paralyzer on Sniper. Recon tries to get Jackyl to stop Kurrgan, but Jackyl merely slaps Recon. Recon nearly attacks Jackyl, but Jackyl forces him to look at his jewel on his foreward. This somehow convinces Recon to calm down. Everyone leaves with Kurrgan still holding Sniper in the Paralyzer (Awesome image). Seriously, did anyone care about these problems in the Truth Commission? Tag team/factions internal conflicts of the night: 3.

The CLAW~!

Live from Shawn Michaels' San Antonio home, DX cuts a promo for Wrestlemania. Yet again, Triple H can't shut up about ratings. DX officially announces that Wrestlemania 14 will be D-X Rated.

Taka Michinoku vs Barry Windham w/Team NWA
The idea of the match was that due to Taka's poor English, Cornette tricked him into signing a match against the much larger Windham. However, I see it in a much different way. Taka had been working too many Light Heavyweight matches and winning too often. You wouldn't want the small guys getting over! Luckily, Windham's in there to virtually squash poor Taka. Just as Windham has the match won following the lariat, the lights go out and Kane emerges from the back. Match just ends. Thumbs Down.

What happens to all lowcarders when they look too good.

With Team NWA gone, Kane gives Taka a jobber's chokeslam and a Tombstone just to ensure that no one saw Taka as a star. Did the WWE even realize Taka was supposed to be a champion? Terrible booking. Paul Bearer gets on the mic and challenges Steve Austin to a face-to-face confrontation with Kane next week. Good God. RATINGS~!

Outside of the arena, Michael Cole tries to interview the New Age Outlaws as they make their exit. Cole comes off as such a moron asking the Outlaws if they feel bad about the Legion of Doom breaking up. Just as the Outlaws get in their car, their vehicle is attacked by Terry Funk's chainsaw and Cactus Jack's baseball bat.

A vignette for Dusty Rhodes by Goldust is shown. Pretty fun stuff with Rhodes parody's mocking Dusty and each time Goldust mentions how many times he had been World Champion, it increases. By the end, Dusty was said to be a 2,000 time champion. "Da Dweam" talking about how proud he is of Goldust comes off as less comedic and more a sad statement from a son who is so desperate to have the respect of his father. What a depressing segment by the ending.

The Dream returns to the 'E.

TAFKA Goldust vs Bradshaw
Goldust comes out in polka dots Dusty Rhodes gear complete with fake scars on his arms. Really fun match with Bradshaw playing the no nonsense character against Goldust, who was only out there for shits and giggles. The commentators sell Goldust as someone who's only out for attention, but this was another case where Goldust just seemed like a sad son. Bradshaw wins with the Closeline from Hell during a Bionic Elbow attempt. Best and saddest Goldust parody yet. Thumbs Up.

Kevin Kelly tries to interview Road Warrior Hawk as he leaves, but Hawk just ignores "Hermie".

The Rock w/The Nation vs Steve Blackman - Non-Title
On paper, this was actually really interesting. On one side, Blackman was undefeated. On the other is the IC champion preparing for Wrestlemania. So in theory, neither man should be expected to lose. The main story of the match was the problems between Faarooq and The Rock. With D-Lo interfering at every turn, Faarooq keeps climbing on the apron to distract the referee every time Rocky goes for a cover. Thanks to the unpredictabilty of the match, I'm kept interested and it's safe to say it's Blackman's best match thus far in the company. With Faarooq distracting the ref one last time, D-Lo steals Blackman's glow in the dark nunchucks. D-Lo was meant to throw the nunchucks to Rocky, but he throws it too hard. Blackman catches them and knocks Rocky out to score the huge upset. Thumbs Up.

After the match, The Rock berates D-Lo, but D-Lo claims Faarooq told him to thrown the nunchucks to Blackman. As Rocky screams at Faarooq, all Faarooq does is pauses and says "Damn" while pumping his arm in an "Aww shucks" motion. Faarooq orders the Nation to leave Rocky in the ring. Faarooq was really entertaining in all this. Tag team/factions internal conflicts of the night: 4.

In the back, Kevin Kelly interviews Luna about Sable. Best quote of all time: "I will be on you like maggots on roadkill." Fuck, Luna's awesome.

The Rock 'n' Roll Express (c) w/Jim Cornette vs The Headbangers - NWA Tag Titles
In a complete BS move before the match, Commissioner Slaughter forces NWA referee, Tommy Young, to return to the back so Earl Hebner can be the referee. Uneventful match with the RnR teasing a break-up due to what fools they were made to look thanks to the Headbangers. RnR hugs it out to stay on the same page though. The end revolves around the Headbangers throwing Gibson over the top rope and beating Morton with the Stage Dive to become the NEW NWA Tag Champions. I know RnR are supposed to be the heels, but they totally got screwed in this. Meh. Thumbs Up.

In a taped video package, Pete Rose is announced to be Wrestlemania 14. I'm sure it'll go off without a hitch. Wanna bet on it?

A video package for Steve Austin's road to Wrestlemania is shown. It's pretty great. Check it out:

Owen Hart (c) vs Marc Mero w/Sable - WWE European Title
These final matches of the night always are so underwhelming. They're typically overly short and you're just waiting for the show to be over. Yet, Owen does his best to work a decent enough match with Mr. Sable. Yet, a match that already had so much going against it ends in a stupid finish with the referee calling for the DQ (Mero shoved the ref) just as Owen has the match won with the Sharpshooter. Did we really need to protect Mero? Thumbs Up.

After the match, Luna runs out for another pull apart with Sable. Both Goldust and Mero tries (And fails) to hold back their women. Goldust makes the grave mistake of switching his approach by holding Sable back. This causes Mero's jealousy to run wild as he turns on his BFF. Show ends with Sable and Mero seemingly on the same page against their rivals. Tag team/factions internal conflicts of the night: 5.
---

Match of the night: Ken Shamrock vs Jeff Jarrett
MVP of the night: Goldust
Angle of the night: The Legion of Doom exploding
---

MVP of the Month (Top star that held my interest): The New Age Outlaws
Wrestler of the Month (The one who has the best matches): Owen Hart
Match of the Month: Cactus Jack vs Chainsaw Charlie
Worst Act of the Month (The one(s) you can count on for bad matches, gimmicks and booking): The Truth Commission