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Post by to4sty on Mar 11, 2022 1:00:19 GMT 1
I know I said I’d be back with where both promotions would be going, so why don’t we start with WCW…..
Obviously while I don’t have the whole year planned out (nor the entire Starrcade card) I do know where I would be going…..and I do know the acts I’d be keeping strong through the year…..while we tried to go from a new generation to a new attitude in the WWF, we really need to move from an old(er) generation to a newer one in WCW now….so DX, Goldberg, Eddie Guerrero, the Sovereignty, Jeff Hardy, Hayabusa etc would continue to get their push…..your established but less, let’s say vintage stars, such as you Giant, your Buff Bagwells, DDP’s etc would have their time on top too…..then you have your older stars that still serve a purpose, but will be quietly phased down slightly…..your Hogan (in moderation) Savage, Sting, Luger……I know that the Rock would soon be smelling what New York is cooking, as he’d be off back to the WWF (he just doesn’t fit WCW for me) while the people who just no longer fit in the grand scheme of the company (your Warrior and Sid for example) would be counting the lights on their way out of the door
In terms of where we would have gone next, (the now officially titled) D-Generation X would obviously be the focal point of the shows, but in terms of trying to keep things realistic from a backstage point, the returning Hulk (not Hollywood) Hogan is going to want to be pushed strongly too…..so that’s what I’d do…..the overlying story would be working towards Michaels vs. Hogan, but I wouldn’t want the match itself to take place until Bash at the Beach (which is a good four months down the line).
Why Bash at the Beach? Mainly because it’s always been a Hogan centric show……Bash at the Beach 94, Hogan and Flair, Hogans first match in WCW and his first WCW Title…..95 pretty much saw him send Big Van Vader packing in a steel cage match…..96 saw the heel turn and formation of the nWo (or in this case the Titans of Wrestling) so I figured BatB 98 should see the first one on one meeting of Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan…..but first we have to get there…..
April would see us feeding Hulks ego, giving him that win back from Wrestlemania VI…..obviously the Titans would have something to say about Hogan’s return, so Spring Stampede would see the red and yellow clad Hulkster going over The Warrior…..
Obviously I don’t have a years worth of full cards set up…..but notable matches here would see:
Shawn successfully defend the World Title against Sting a second time in the rematch
Mike Awesome & Gideon Cain defeat The Forgotten for the WCW Tag Team Titles
Goldberg defeat Eddie Guerrero again to defend the US Title…..in what would be the beginning of a slow face turn for Eddie, who following this defeat would go on to face a number of major players in an effort to cement his place at the top of the card (including a major win at Decembers Starrcade event…..but more about that later)
We would also see the (new and improved version of) the Sovereignty doing everything they can to keep that Television Title around the waist of Chris Benoit, with the TV Title being one of the most hotly contested titles in the company…..
May would see Hogan try and lure away those two little Hulksters Copeland and Cage away from DX…..with the big “will they/won’t they” story taking us all the way to Slamboree, where they eventually show their allegiance by helping Michaels and Levesque defeat the (reluctantly reformed) Mega Powers in the main event of the show…..
We would also see Goldberg cement his place as a real main event player on this show, defeating the Warrior in what is sure to be a terrible match…..but one I’d really have liked to have seen. This would probably see us quietly letting Warrior go as we look to unload a lot of the old guard and elevate the next generation.
The Great American Bash would see the Mega Powers explode again (and the Titans of Wrestling disband), as Savage blamed Hogan’s trust of The Totally Awesome Two for their loss a month prior…..with Hogan winning as usual, which then frees him up for next months showdown with Michaels…..
Michaels himself would pick up a pretty “big” victory on this show too, defeating Sid to retain the WCW Title, while the Totally Awesome Two would become Totally Awesome Two-Time Champions by knocking off the team of Mike Awesome and Gideon Cain to capture the Tag Titles
Eddie Guerrero would also challenge The Giant here (again looking to prove himself) but ultimately coming up short in an impressive display.
With all other titles firmly in the grasp of long term champions, (and after turning away challenger after challenger) Chris Benoit would lose the Television Title on Nitro to Rikishi, only to have the championship hot-shotted back to Benoit the following week, only for Lex Luger to pick up the title come the pay per view.
Which brings us to Bash at the Beach and the Shawn Michaels/Hulk Hogan match we had been building to for months…..a match which Shawn would win, leaving Hogan free to go off and run for president if he so wished……
This event would also see the slow burn for our annual War Games event at Fall Brawl…..with JPL defeating Sting, while the random pairing of The Rock and Jeff Hardy would taste defeat at the hands of Copeland and Cage (with Hardy eating the pin after JPL interfered)
Goldberg would continue the streak with a massive (literally) victory over the Giant, while Eddie Guerrero would test himself again by facing off against Randy Savage…..again coming up short…..
…..but only just…..
JPL would also defeat Lex Luger on this show to capture the Television Title, much to the chagrin of the Total Package, who began to show signs of frustration with the direction his career is taking
The annual Road Wild event would see Diamond Dallas Page come up short when he challenged Shawn Michaels for the WCW Title. Goldberg would officially butt heads with DX as a cocky (TV Title wearing) JPL challenges the US Champion to put the gold on the line, only to get Speared and Jackhammered for his trouble, as the Streak continued…..that wasn’t the end of it though, with the Totally Awesome Trinity joining JPL in jumping Goldberg after the match.
(Goldberg would have his revenge for that early into the month of September, Spearing Levesque out of his boots during a TV Title defence that saw Curt Hennig snatch up the Television Title)
There would be a new arrival to the company at this event…..after trying (and failing) to secure a partner in time for the show, Jeff Hardy would have to face Ray Traylor (instead of Copeland and Cage as he actually wanted) picking up a pretty big victory too after finishing off Big Ray-Ray with a Twist of Fate…..much as they would in the Levesque match later, the Totally Awesome Trinity would assault Hardy after his victory, only for Matt Hardy to come to the aid of his brother…..I guess Jeff found a partner after all.
Matt Hardy wouldn’t be the only new arrival in August, as Billy Kidman would make the jump to WCW early in the month, instantly jumping to the top of the rankings as he challenged Hayabusa for the Cruiserweight Title on this show…..unsuccessfully…..as James Vandenberg’s dominant champion continued his reign.
September would see Fall Brawl roll around…..which means War Games is upon us!
The main event for the show was set to be all five members of D-Generation X, taking on the team of Bill Goldberg, The Rock, Sting and The Hardy Boys…..in typical bait and switch style though, DX takes out Goldberg mere minutes before the match…..it initially looked as though we were going to see a handicap War Games match, at least until Eddie Guerrero made his way out to offer his services…..still eager to prove himself, his teammates were initially (understandably) not very trusting of their new team mate, but Guerrero proved himself by going in at number one and fighting his heart out for the whole match…..
Eventually it would be the degenerates who pick up the victory, after Shawn Michaels choked Eddie unconscious with Taylor’s nightstick…..but as the announcers point out, Guerrero didn’t submit and didn’t surrender…..the official just had little choice but to stop the match when Eddie couldn’t continue…..
The beating didn’t stop there either, with DX continuing the attack post match, only for Goldberg to return, tear the cage door off it’s hinges, and Spear Shawn Michaels clean out of his boots, before telling the WCW Champion in no uncertain terms…..you’re next!
Other matches on the card saw Billy Kidman finally put an end to the impressive reign of Hayabusa to capture the Cruiserweight Championship….while Curt Hennig was successful in defending the Television Title against Lord Steven Regal…..
The fallout from War Games continued into Halloween Havoc, which was a fairly stacked card as Shawn Michaels defended the WCW Championship against The Rock…..in what was ultimately The Rock’s final match before heading back to the WWF…..so final that DX beat the shit out of him post match, only for Goldberg to make the save…..closing the show by again letting Michaels know he’s next.
Sting and Lex Luger rekindled their years long feud on Halloween, with Luger finally going full blown heel on his longtime friend a few weeks before……Rocky and Sting were set to tangle on Nitro to determine the number one contender at Halloween Havoc…..Luger however (still frustrated at his lack of success) was able to talk his way into the match making it a three way…..he lost, Rocky won…..Lex attacked Sting after the match, and here we are…..oh, Sting won here by the way.
With Jeff having finally found a partner, The Hardy Boys challenged Copeland and Cage for the tag team titles…..coming up short in their effort, after the Totally Awesome Two resort to using steel chairs to pick up the win.
Goldberg was successful in running through Ray Traylor to continue the streak
Eddie Guerrero (after being laughed out of the ring by Shawn Michaels when he requested a title opportunity on Nitro) defeated DX’s number two, JPL tonight, winning not only the match, but a shot at DX’s number one next month at Mayhem
Speaking of Mayhem, that’s where we go next…..and after getting choked out at Fall Brawl, Eddie Guerrero does finally get that shot against Shawn Michaels…..and you know this would have been a classic…..Eddie’s quest to prove himself sees him come up JUST short here…..Eddie would come as close to winning as possible, but ultimately it was Shawn that came out on top…..
As for the Mayhem Match itself, that was riddled with surprises (and returns) as we saw Hulk Hogan for the first time since his Bash at the Beach loss to Shawn Michaels…..Hogan wasn’t the only shock however, with both Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett returning to WCW in the Mayhem Match…..and with Starrcade only a month away, we even set up a couple of matches…..
Mr. Frustration Lex Luger found himself tossed from the match by The Hulkster…..only for Lex to pull a “Rumble 92 Hogan”, taking his revenge on the man who eliminated him by helping Ric Flair eliminate him from the match…..while the returning Jeff Jarrett and Diamond Dallas Page managed to eliminate each other from the match, resulting in a brawl all the way to the back…..
In the end though, it was the Starrcade main event that we predominately set up…..because as with last year, the winner of this was going on to challenge for the World Title…..and after telling Shawn Michaels repeatedly that he was next, it was the undefeated United States Champion Goldberg that walked OUT the winner, and IN to the main event of Starrcade.
Starrcade itself was set to be another stacked show and it was always going to be headlined by Shawn Michaels defending the WCW Championship against the United States Champion Goldberg…..Champion vs. Champion…..Title vs. Streak…..and after holding WCW (and the WCW Championship) hostage for the best part of a year and beating every single name possible (from Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Sting, to Dallas Page and Eddie Guerrero…..NO ONE could even shut Michaels mouth, let alone defeat him…..so who’s next…..who do you send to defeat the undefeatable?
Why the undefeated of course…..
The match would have been fantastic…..at this point Shawn Michaels could have a four star match with a broom, and if there’s one thing he does well it’s bump for a monster…..not to mention the unpredictability factor too…..because if we know anything about DX era Shawn Michaels, it’s that he doesn’t lay down for anybody jack…..if anyone was going to break the undefeated streak of Goldberg, the smart money would be on Mr. Michaels losing his smile before he counted the lights…..of course this is my game…..and there’s only one outcome for me…..Spear, Jackhammer…..a hundred and whatever it would be at this point wins, zero losses…..and at Starrcade, “Da Man” would become THE man…..Goldberg wins
Someone else would pick up a huge win here too…..and that man would be Eddie Guerrero.
After months of trying to prove himself against the biggest names of WCW and constantly (just) coming up short, he wouldn’t be too far away from accepting that he was nothing more than (to borrow a phrase) a B+ player…..at least until Sting steps in…..Sting who at Starrcade 1997 defeated Hollywood Hogan to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World, would at Starrcade 1998, call out Eddie Guerrero by name as the man he wanted to face…..not because they had heat, not because of any problems, but because he’s been watching Eddie attempt to redeem and prove himself for the past 9 months, and while Eddie is starting to doubt his ability, Sting has NO doubt in the ability of Eddie Guerrero…..which is why he wants to do for Eddie, what Ric Flair did for him ten years ago…..in 1988, Ric Flair took a young man by the name of Sting and made him a star…..and now, in 1998, Sting wants the opportunity to do that exact same thing for a man he sees great things in.
Eddie is reluctant at first…..having lost to Goldberg, to the Giant, to Randy Savage, to losing War Games and then losing to Shawn Michaels…..Eddie doesn’t feel much like a star….. it a few choice words from the Stinger gets that fiery Latino temper jumping, and finally he accepts the match…..
…..and he wrestles his ass off…..and when all is said and done, it’s an emotional Eddie Guerrero that has his hand raised here this evening, and even in defeat, Sting couldn’t be happier for him…..
…..incidentally, the man who would eventually break the undefeated Streak of Goldberg and capture the World Title at the same time? This man right here…..Eddie Guerrero is the man that’s going to end the streak…..but that’s a story for another day.
Starrcade would also see either the first tag team ladder match in WCW, or potentially the first TLC match, I don’t know how I would have played it…..but it would have been the Hardy Boys capturing the gold from Copeland and Cage in one of those gimmick matches here tonight.
Other matches would see Hulk Hogan defeat Lex Luger……yes I’m trying to raise up the next generation and phase out the old, but Hogan is under contract and let’s face it, still a name…..he’d get a win here.
Speaking of the old….Ric Flair would be back, and let’s face it, whatever his age the WCW faithful are going to be happy to see the Nature Boy…..he’d be counting the lights tonight though, losing to Chris Benoit after unsuccessfully attempting to lure him away from the Sovereignty with talk of reuniting the Horsemen.
His Sovereignty team mate Lance Storm would defeat another of the older generation, pinning Curt Hennig to capture the television title, while Dallas Page would face off against Jeff Jarrett
Going into 1999, WCW would need to start looking at their own “new generation”…..even if it meant embracing some of the old…..
…..yes you would have your Hogan, Flair, Savage and Sting…..but you would also have Shawn Michaels, JPL, Goldberg…..Eddie Guerrero, DDP and Jeff Jarrett…..with names like Lance Storm, Chris Benoit and Steven Regal continuing to level up…..while the Hardys and Copeland and Cage prop up the tag division…..
…..the Cruiserweight division would get a leg up from Billy Kidman, along with names like Shannon Moore, Jamie Noble, Shane Helms and Elix Skipper, while the midcard would begin to see the introduction of names like Vampiro, Chuck Palumbo, the Mamelukes (don’t @ me…..they were a big guilty pleasure of mine)…..there is also a good chance that names like Shane Douglas and possibly a Rob Van Dam turn up on Monday Nights…..and the Dudleys would have to jump somewhere eventually…..
…..basically, so long as WCW keep the Outsiders and any tasers away from Goldberg, WCW should be alright.
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Post by to4sty on Mar 11, 2022 1:07:59 GMT 1
And on the WWF side? Okay…..strap yourself in…..
The WWF would be fully embracing the attitude era as it goes forward…..there was a lot to be done to get WCW to a point where they were competitive again, and a lot more to be done now to try and get them away from the shadow of their late 80’s/early 90’s WWF roster……with the WWF itself though, a lot of the hard work has been done and it’s time to freshen things up slightly…..
…..what I mean by that, is to keep the stars that spent the most of the last two years joined at the hip away from each other……so your Bret Hart/Steve Austin/Brian Pillman…..your Scott Steiner/Kevin Nash…..your Hart Foundation/Wolfpac…..the feuds that we’ve seen for years need to take a break for new battles
Steve Austin would ride high as the world champion for a few months, but everyone knows that the chase is where the money is……the Rattlesnake would clock up wins over two former world champions by defeating Brian Pillman in April (bad chemistry doesn’t concern me as much on a B level PPV - and their overness alone should ensure at least a decent match rating) and then Ahmed Johnson in May (an Ahmed Johnson that picked up a win over Stone Cold on HIS way to capturing the WWF title back in 1997) before entering into a feud with the Undertaker……but it would be Kevin Nash that would end his title reign at the King of the Ring…..
Kevin Nash would spend the few months after Wrestlemania finishing what he started with Scott Hall and Sean Waltman AT Wrestlemania…..we all saw Big Sexy turn his back on the Wolfpac, nailing Scott Hall with a tv monitor and the Powerbombing Waltman through a table backstage…..these few months would signal the end of the Wolfpac as a group and it would signal the return of a Kevin Nash we hadn’t seen in some time…..April would see him defeat a (weakened) Scott Hall (that he had repeatedly assaulted into the run up to the show) punctuating it with a vicious beat down after the match that would put the Bad Guy on the shelf for the rest of the year……May would see Big Sexy take on the newly christened X-Pac (because he’s Ex Wolfpac now……get it?!?) and take him out for a couple of months too…..THEN he would finally do what he said he was going to do…..get the strap back, defeating Austin at the King of the Ring (with a little assist from The Undertaker, who had begun a feud with the Rattlesnake on the lead up to the show) problem was, after all that…..his reign would be short lived…..
Speaking of The Undertaker, Raven really did a number on him in those weeks leading up to Wrestlemania…..and while he got the win on the grandest stage of all, he didn’t get the satisfaction he was truly seeking, as he attempted to go to extreme measures after the match with that casket and gas can combination…..there WOULD be fire at our April event (aptly titled Unforgiven) as Vince McMahon (who stopped the Undertaker and Kane from burning Raven alive at Wrestlemania) would become increasingly annoyed at the Deadman’s erratic behaviour (interrupting matches and Tombstoning people left and right) would punish both The Undertaker AND Raven……by booking baby brother Kane (a man who had already tasted fire in his lifetime) and the Deity of the Damned in an Inferno Match…..a match Raven would win, further pushing the Deadman into the dark side…..
…..so incensed is the Phenom, that his match with Scott Steiner at the same Unforgiven event gets thrown out after the two men stretch the confines of the rules to breaking point…..and it’s only the Million Dollar Corporation that stops the Deadman from Tombstoning Scotty through the announce table post match…..this is swiftly followed by the Deadman putting a halt to a Raw main event of Steve Austin vs. Raven match to get his hands on his nemesis, only to piss off the WWF Champion who dropped him with a Stunner for his troubles…..
…..Raven being Raven was able to manipulate The Deadman and The Rattlesnakes falling to his own ends, so much so that (after the master manipulator had stirred the pot just a little bit) The Undertaker actually cost Steve Austin the WWF Championship at the King of the Ring…..and the two men remained intertwined for quite the number of months…..
…..around five if anyone is counting…..
The Wolfpac weren’t the only faction to disband in the months immediately following Wrestlemania, The Hart Foundation began to show signs of trouble too……
Bret Hart (after his loss at Wrestlemania) would take an extended leave of absence to contemplate his future, leaving the Hart Foundation without a leader, as well as without anyone to keep Chris Jericho (and his ego) in check…..Jericho would continue to berate Test for a number of weeks, before finally pushing it too far and getting destroyed on Raw by his (now former) Bodyguard…..this would lead to a babyface turn from Test and a match between the two men at Over the Edge in May (which Jericho would win by nefarious ways)…..the former Intercontinental Champions ego would grow even more come June, when he won the 1998 King of the Ring…..defeating Booker T (who would get a nice rub here) in the finals…..
…..King Jericho…..let that sink in
Brian Pillman did not take the loss of the WWF Title well…..neither did Mr. McMahon for that matter…..the Corporate Cannon may have been the one to lose the championship, but as far as the LOOSE Cannon was concerned, the blame for that lay squarely on the shoulders of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Mankind…..and he was quick to let them know…..demanding that they redeemed themselves at our Unforgiven event, by helping Pillman regain the World Title…..Flair and Arn did make an appearance in that main event, but only to antagonise the Loose Cannon ahead of him eating a Stunner and the three count…..
…..Arn Anderson was the first casualty of the Loose Cannon after that…..after a public expulsion from the corporate team by Mr. McMahon, our two Horsemen would be forced to atone for their sins, and since they could no longer team together, they would have to go solo…..at Over the Edge, Arn Anderson would face off against Brian Pillman (with Ric Flair barred from the arena) and find himself on the losing end…..it was after the match though where the story was, with The Loose Cannon Pillmanising the Enforcers ankle to the point that he wouldn’t be seen again in the WWF…..
…..that took us up nicely to the King of the Ring, a King of the Ring that Brian Pillman was well on the way to winning the tournament, before Ric Flair should cost him his semi-final match to Booker T, in what was a massive upset…..
Scott Steiner continued to be wooed by the Million Dollar Corporation off the back of Wrestlemania…..not that his answer changed…..he continued to turn down their advances, but was happy that they were present to stop an unhinged Undertaker from Driving his skull through the announce table with a Tombstone at Unforgiven…..a favour that Scotty returned at Over the Edge when he helped his brother (Rich Steiner) capture the European Championship from Booker T…..yes I know that sounds like a step down for Booker, but in reality it was a step UP…..taking him into a feud with former WWF Champion Scott Steiner, followed swiftly by a star making display at the King of the Ring, where he came up just short to King Chris Jericho
As for the rest of the roster, Dean Malenko would channel his best Bret Hart circa 1992-1993, by defending the Intercontinental Championship against anyone and everyone that wanted a match, while Snow & Skippy would do the same in the tag team division.
And that would pretty much wrap up our first quarter, with notable matches from each event being:
April 1998 - Unforgiven
Steve Austin vs. Brian Pillman - WWF Championship - Austin Retains
Kane vs. Raven - Inferno match - Raven is your winner
Kevin Nash vs. Scott Hall - Kevin Nash by pinfall
Dean Malenko vs. Test - WWF Intercontinental Championship - Malenko Retains
The Undertaker vs. Scott Steiner - no contest
May 1998 - Over the Edge
Steve Austin vs. Ahmed Johnson - WWF Championship - Austin Retains
X-Pac vs. Kevin Nash - Kevin Nash by pinfall
Test vs. Chris Jericho - Jericho is victorious
Arn Anderson vs. Brian Pillman - the Loose Cannon wins by pinfall
Booker T vs. Rich Steiner - WWF European Championship - Steiner wins after interference from Scott Steiner
June 1998 - King of the Ring
Steve Austin vs. Kevin Nash - WWF Championship - Kevin Nash wins the WWF Title after interference from The Undertaker
Booker T vs. Chris Jericho - King of the Ring Final - Jericho wins
Booker T vs. Brian Pillman - King of the Ring Semi-Final - Booker wins after interference by Ric Flair
Snow & Skippy vs. D-Lo Brown & Mark Henry - WWF Tag Team Championship - Snow & Skippy Retain
As we hit the height of summer, things certainly heat up as The Undertaker’s war with Raven, coupled with his manipulated (by Raven) issues with Steve Austin spelt bad news for Kevin Nash…..Big Sexy was set to defend the WWF Title against Stone Cold at Fully Loaded, in a rematch from their encounter the previous month…..unfortunately Nash ended up having to defend his newly won Championship against THREE men, when the Deity of the Damned and The Deadman were also added into the match…..and I said earlier that Kevin Nash didn’t hold that belt for long right? Because one month after winning it he lost it again…..
…..to Raven…..
…..and the Deity of the Damned became the Deity of the World Wrestling Federation…..
…..Raven would be quick to exit the battleground (with the WWF Championship firmly in his grasp) leaving the Undertaker to slip further into the dark side, as he took his frustrations out on the Rattlesnake, destroying Austin with a series of Tombstones before driving him straight through the announce table with a chokeslam…..this would take Austin off our screens and OUT of Summerslam…..
…..in an in ring capacity anyway…..
Brian Pillman would continue his campaign of punishment against the (now former) Corporation members that he holds responsible for his Wrestlemania loss (and subsequent rematch loss) when he faced off against Ric Flair…..The Nature Boy was out for revenge following the Loose Cannons treatment of his good friend Arn Anderson (who hadn’t been seen since Over the Edge) and he was able to show Pillman that sometimes old dogs don’t need to learn new tricks, as he caught the Loose Cannon with a low blow, followed by a roll up (with a massive handful of tights) to pick up the victory here, as he cemented his place as the Dirtiest Player in the Game…..
…..Brian Pillman isn’t here to play games though…..and he swiftly took his revenge the following night on Raw, assaulting the Nature Boy with a steel chair, Pillmanising that ankle (as he did to Arn) and then locking on a Figure Four Leg Lock for such an extended period of time that it looked like Flair would be going the same was as Anderson…..gone without a trace…..
…..and he was…..
…..for a while…..
…..the Million Dollar Corporation had a great night at Fully Loaded…..match wise anyway…..Jeff Jarrett doubled the belt count for Ted DiBiase’s group when he defeated Dean Malenko to capture the Intercontinental Championship (obviously by nefarious means) after Malenko had acted like a true champion for the duration of his reign, defending the title against any and all comers…..
…..Rich Steiner was also successful in his European Championship defence against Matt Hardy…..Hardy put up one heck of a fight though, damn near picking up the win (and the title) on a number of occasions, and WOULD have had it not been for the Guitar of Double J…..and just to rub salt into the wound, the Million Dollar Corporation decided to put the boots to poor Hardy post match…..
…..at least until Ken Shamrock made his return to the WWF to make the save, after a several month long sabbatical to compete again in the UFC…..
…..obviously I’ve no idea how Shamrock did in said fight, but in storyline terms it was the Million Dollar Corporation (and his quest to become European Champion) that wrote Shamrock out of the WWF for all these months, so it makes sense that he would pick right up where he left off…..
From there we would head into Summerslam which would feature a main event that would see Raven defend the World Wrestling Federation Championship against The Undertaker, in a rematch from what was undoubtedly the match of the night (and potential match of the year candidate) at Wrestlemania…..
…..I said Steve Austin was out of Summerslam right? Well partly anyway…..because after not being seen for a number of weeks, that glass would shatter towards the end of our World Title main event, with the distraction being enough to allow Raven to deliver an Evenflow DDT for the victory…..
…..and from that, the show would close with The Rattlesnake and The Deadman beating the absolute holy hell out of each other…..
…..Kevin Nash (much like at Wrestlemania) would not respond kindly to the loss the month prior…..particularly since that loss involved losing the WWF Title too…..and he began to beat the crap out of (lower card) people in the back on a weekly basis, with more than most finding themselves on the receiving end of a wooden table backstage…..Rey Mysterio even got lawn darted into a production truck out back…..Nash would destroy Billy Kidman on an episode of Raw (which was really just a way to write him out and to send him packing to the WCW Cruiserweight Division) as Big Sexy continued to throw his weight (and height) around…..
…..Mysterio wouldn’t take it lying down though and would challenge Nash to a match at Summerslam in a true David/Goliath affair……Rey picked up a massive victory at Wrestlemania, but that wasn’t against a man he was giving up a near two foot height advantage and 200lb weight advantage to…..Nash would pick up the victory over the plucky underdog here, and it looked like he was going to give Mysterio the Billy Kidman treatment here, at least until X-Pac (and a steel chair) made the save…..something that didn’t put Nash in any better of a mood as the year went on…..
…..continuing his crusade, Brian Pillman now turned his attention to the final member of the Corporation that let him down, Mankind…..and if there’s one thing we know, it’s that when these two meet, Mankind usually gets hurt…..
…..Mrs. Foleys Baby Boy’s path of acceptance began back at Wrestlemania, as the crowd showed their support for the hapless Mankind, just as he was being stretchered out of the arena after doing the one thing that he turned his back on the crowd for in the first place…..getting himself broken in half for their entertainment…..only this time, Mankind embraced who he was, and the crowd embraced him, flaws and scars and missing teeth and all…..unfortunately he would be on the losing end here, BUT…..unlike Flair and Arn, he didn’t get taken out after the match…..
…..well not by Brian Pillman anyway…..instead Mankind threw HIMSELF into the crowd rail…..the steps…..head first into a discarded steel chair…..all the while telling Pillman that he can break his body all he wants…..but he can’t break his spirit…..so much so that the Loose Cannon waves Mankind off (telling him that he’s certifiably insane - which from Brian Pillman says a lot) leaving Mankind to further integrate himself in the hearts of the fans……
…..in other matches, Chris Jericho would be looking for gold on this show…..but arguably, not the gold he initially had in mind…..
…..historically the winner of the King of the Ring has challenged for the WWF Championship in the Summerslam main event…..unfortunately for the self proclaimed King of the World (Titanic was released a year earlier, of course he’d steal the line) Jericho’s ever expanding ego didn’t want to wait that long…..he demanded his championship opportunity the very next night and got Jackknifed to hell in the Raw main event from then champion Kevin Nash for his troubles…..
…..so after a monumental hissy fit, the only remaining member of the Hart Foundation tried to placate him by offering to chase the tag team titles together……so at Summerslam it was Snow & Skippy putting the gold on the line against the team of Chris Jericho and Owen Hart…..and after a great match, the impressive five month reign of the popular fan favourites was ended by the King of the World and the former King of Harts……
…..off the back of last months event, Jeff Jarrett would be successful in defeating Matt Hardy to both retain the Intercontinental Championship AND send Hardy packing to WCW to reunite with his brother…..Rich Steiner was less successful however, as Ken Shamrock was finally able to capture the European Championship that has eluded him for so long…..
….Booker T would take a step up the card by facing off against Scott Steiner…..Steiner made it clear before the match that Booker was nothing more than a distraction, and his real focus was on getting back his World Wrestling Federation Championship…..unfortunately for Scotty, Booker was far more of a threat than he anticipated, and while Steiner picked up the win, he had to resort to the interference of Sable and his lead pipe to do it…..
…..all of which would take us nicely into fall…..
July 1998 - Fully Loaded
Kevin Nash vs. Raven vs. Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker - WWF Championship Match - Raven wins the World Title
Ric Flair vs. Brian Pillman - Ric Flair wins via pinfall (with handful of tights)
Dean Malenko vs. Jeff Jarrett - WWF Intercontinental Championship - Jarrett is your new Champion
Rich Steiner vs. Matt Hardy - WWF European Championship - Steiner retains
August 1998 - Summerslam
Raven vs. The Undertaker - WWF Championship Match - Raven retains - Austin returns
Mankind vs. Brian Pillman - Brian Pillman wins via pinfall
Booker T vs. Scott Steiner - Steiner wins following interference from Sable
Rey Mysterio vs. Kevin Nash - Big Sexy picks up the victory
Snow & Skippy vs. Chris Jericho & Owen Hart - WWF Tag Team Championship - new champions in Jericho & Hart
Rich Steiner vs. Ken Shamrock - WWF European Championship - Shamrock wins the gold
Jeff Jarrett vs. Matt Hardy - WWF Intercontinental Championship - Jarrett retains
…..we head into Survivor Series season and our September event (titled Breakdown) sees Raven defending the World Wrestling Federation Championship against the man who returned last month, Stone Cold Steve Austin…..the only problem being that The Undertaker wasn’t done with either man, particularly since it was Austin’s distraction that cost the Deadman the match at Summerslam…..not to mention the fact that Austin would cost The Undertaker a match earlier on this very card, dropping the Phenom with a Stunner whilst the official was incapacitated in his match against Kevin Nash…..so it’s probably no real surprise that The Undertaker would make his presence felt in the main event here…..not to help Raven, but to make Austin suffer, as the Deity of the Damned marks another successful title defence…..
…..outside of that there weren’t any marquee matches to speak of, this was more of a showcase for the undercard…..Brian Pillman would have a nice little match with the former Intercontinental Champion Dean Malenko which he would ultimately win, while Chris Jericho & Owen Hart would successfully defend their newly won WWF Tag Team Titles against the pairing of Faarooq & Bradshaw…..Jeff Jarrett would be successful in retaining the Intercontinental Championship against Steve Blackman, while European Champion Ken Shamrock would also walk out with his title in tact when he defended against D-Lo Brown…..all matches (with the exception of Shamrock and D-Lo) designed to give a nice little rub to the lower card guys…..
…..oh, and Bret Hart would defeat Rey Mysterio…..
…..yeah the Hitman would return the night after Summerslam, to congratulate Owen and Jericho on capturing the tag team titles…..well, mainly Owen…..Mr. King of the World is still being kind of a dick…..okay, a huge dick…..
…..Bret would talk about handing the WWF Championship to Steve Austin, about having no complaints about the outcome, again repeating that the better man simply won…..which left Bret wondering if he really was still the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be (insert side eyes from Chris Jericho here…..who I think has an ego that tells him he might just be better than Bret…..
…..Bret says he wants to get back to his roots…..he says he became the best by facing the best…..by facing everyone…..every size, every style, every position on the card…..and he wanted to start by facing the best “little man” in wrestling today, Rey Mysterio…..
…..Mysterio took it as an honour, while Chris Jericho clearly took it as an insult, telling Bret that he’d already dealt with all the Cruiserweights around here…..but the Hitman wasn’t to be put off…..
…..he faced Rey in what was bound to be a great match, finally finishing the fast paced high flyer when he converted a hurricanrana attempt into a Sharpshooter to finally pick up the victory…..
…..Mysterio would exit stage left and head to the back as Hart celebrated, only for the cameras to switch to backstage, where (unbeknownst to Bret) Mysterio would be ambushed by the tag team champions…..but not for long, because X-Pac would make the save…..
….and onto Judgement Day we would go…..
…..Bret Hart would continue to test himself against the youngest and the up and coming on a week by week basis…..clearly trying to redeem himself as a babyface, whilst trying to calm the ego of the King of the World, and at the same time not wanting to ignite another family feud with his brother either (both of whom are still clearly VERY much dressing in the heel locker room)…..Bret would meet (and defeat) anyone and everyone, regardless of size, alignment or wrestling style…..from a big powerhouse like Mark Henry, a pure fighter like Steve Blackman, an old school Texas brawler like Dustin Rhodes, to even a more technical match from a Chris Candido (making a rare singles appearance)…..Bret faced them all one and all, levelling them up as he went…..and at Judgement Day he would again handpick an opponent he felt would test him…..former European Champion Booker T…..
…..the two men (I’m sure) would have a tremendous outing on this show, with Bret making Booker look like an absolute star, before ultimately picking up another victory on the comeback tour…..
…..Mankind would get a huge opportunity to challenge for the WWF Championship at this show (after a stunning victory over Scott Steiner on Raw in a #1 contenders match that saw Big Poppa Pump get nailed with his own lead pipe) as he met the Deity of the Damned, Raven…..these two would have plenty of history to play on, with Raven taking credit for Mankind’s rise, while Mankind would remark that he’s already beat Raven once, he can damn sure do it again…..
…..he wouldn’t…..Raven retains…..
…..in what is a huge match on a relatively small card, Steve Austin and The Undertaker would finally meet to settle their differences…..except they really didn’t…..Austin would win, but in one of those convoluted attitude era victories that saw him count the pin himself and simply declare himself the winner, much to the delight of the crowd, which would set them up for a rematch at the Survivor Series…..
…..the only other real match of any note on the card (fresh off the back of our two Kings beating the holy hell out of him backstage) would be Chris Jericho & Owen Hart putting their WWF Tag Team Titles on the line against the combination of Rey Mysterio & X-Pac…..and you know how Chris Jericho detests those Light-Heavyweights…..so you can only imagine how ticked off he was to not only lose to TWO former Light-Heavyweight Champions…..but they became the new TAG TEAM Champions in the process…..Mysterio and X-Pac win…..
…..there would be a new arrival in the midcard in late august, as Val Venis (without Jenna Jameson) would make the jump from ECW to the WWF…..Val would quickly make an impact as he steamrolled through the lower midcard guys (leaving a trail on innuendo that would make Scott Steiner blush in his wake) before turning his attention to Terri Runnels…..for that he would have to face Marc Mero here at Judgement Day, picking up the win too…..but it was clear that Dustin Rhodes wasn’t ready to let the Big Valboski off the hook that easily…..as we headed into that Thanksgiving (eve) Tradition…..the Survivor Series…..
September 1998 - Breakdown
Raven vs. Steve Austin - WWF Championship Match - Raven retains following interference by The Undertaker
Undertaker vs. Kevin Nash - Nash wins via pinfall following interference from Steve Austin
Chris Jericho & Owen Hart vs. Faarooq & Bradshaw - WWF Tag Team Championship Match - Jericho & Hart retain
Rey Mysterio vs. Bret Hart - Challenge Match - Bret Hart wins
Brian Pillman vs. Dean Malenko - Pillman wins via pinfall
Ken Shamrock vs. D-Lo Brown - WWF European Championship - Shamrock retains
Jeff Jarrett vs. Steve Blackman - WWF Intercontinental Championship - Jarrett retains
October 1998 - Judgement Day
Raven vs. Mankind - WWF Championship Match - Raven retains
Chris Jericho & Owen Hart vs. X-Pac & Rey Mysterio - WWF Tag Team Championship - new champions in Mysterio & X-Pac
Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker - Austin wins after making the count himself
Booker T vs. Bret Hart - Challenge Match - Bret Hart is victorious
Val Venis vs. Marc Mero - Venis wins
Ken Shamrock vs. Mark Henry - WWF European Championship - Shamrock retains
…..the Survivor Series would turn out to be quite the show for a number of reasons…..fresh off the back of his recent form, Bret Hart would be granted a shot at Raven and the WWF Championship…..no complaining needed, no moaning, no blaming other people for his shortcomings…..turns out that all Bret had to do to get that shot he so desperately wanted was to simply wrestle, and be exactly what he claims to be…..the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be…..
…..he was exactly that this evening, and after an extremely hard fought match, he was able to walk out of Survivor Series as the four time World Wrestling Federation Champion…..
…..he nearly didn’t walk out at all though…..because an angry Deity of the Damned attempted to put Hart out for good, only for the return of The Rock to put a stop to that…..the Peoples Champion made his way out to close the show, chasing off Raven and congratulating the new champion, raising the arm of The Hitman as we went off the air…..
…..not one to rest on his laurels, Bret Hart would continue his new tradition of facing anyone and everyone, this time issuing a challenge to face Rocky at our Decembers pay per view (aptly titled) Rock Bottom…..
…..more about that later…..
…..the #1 contenders spot at Survivor Series was actually rather hotly contested, but a myriad of issues stemmed up for the other possible candidates…..
…..Brian Pillman was initially slated to take the spot (still as Mr. McMahons pick) but during the announcement they (“they” being Pillman and McMahon) were interrupted by a returning Ric Flair, who was keen to get his revenge on Pillman…..Flair said he could have waited until Survivor Series to return…..cost Brian Pillman the match…..but he figures that to be the man, you have to beat the man…..and since Brian Pillman couldn’t beat HIM, he can’t claim to be THE man, and as such doesn’t deserve that title shot…..so why doesn’t he face Ric Flair instead…..
…..McMahon would remind Flair that who deserves what doesn’t matter, as long as Vince McMahon is making the matches, while Pillman says that taking back the WWF Title was more important than wrestling Ric Flair…..a statement that Flair balked at, saying NOTHING was more important than wrestling Ric Flair…..but to sweeten the deal, the Nature Boy offered to put his job on the line…..if Flair wins, then he proves again that HE is the man…..and he gets a title shot next…..Flair loses…..then he’s gone…..
…..that was enough for Pillman, and the match was set…..and this time it was the Loose Cannon coming out on top…..and Ric Flair rode off into the sunset (and straight down south to Turner)…..
…..Steve Austin & Scott Steiner both felt they were deserving of the next shot too…..almost coming to blows on a number of occasions throughout the month of November…..but The Undertaker & Mankind respectively, would end up being their focus at Survivor Series instead…..
…..after tasting the WWF Title at Wrestlemania and beyond, Vince McMahon would have been doing everything he could to keep the Rattlesnake away from the top prize for the rest of the year…..and here he used The Undertaker (who continued to slip into the darkside) to occupy Stone Cold once more, in what was originally scheduled to be a standard match…..before Raven (being the master manipulator that he is) planted the seeds in McMahons head that their match at Survivor Series should truly be a match of Survival…..a Buried Alive match…..that Steve Austin would ultimately win following interference from Kane…..
…..yes I know we haven’t heard much from the Big Red Machine…..that’s basically because The Undertaker has spent much of the year ignoring and generally telling his brother to step back into the shadow of the Deadman…..stating that Raven had a point…..maybe family DID make him soft…..
…..Kane (being slightly unhinged at the best of times) would finally snap here…..and so the Brothers of Destruction would be at war once more…..
…..Scott Steiner would still be sore from the loss to Mankind that cost him October’s #1 contenders spot, assaulting him on a number of occasions, with the two eventually opting to meet at Survivor Series…..Big Poppa Pump would ultimately be the one to come out with the victory here…..
…..in other matches, Booker T would begin his second reign as a singles champion…..not by regaining the European Championship, but by defeating Jeff Jarrett to become the brand new WWF Intercontinental Champion…..
…..this would not only be the swan song for Double J (who would soon debut in WCW) but the swan song for the entire Million Dollar Corporation as a unit…..
…..following the Survivor Series Mr. McMahon would be looking to ensure that HIS Corporation was the only one in town, and he did so by first unveiling his newest addition (and man that Ted DiBiase had been trying to bring into HIS corporation for over a year now……Scott Steiner…..he then promptly fired Ted DiBiase and incorporated his assets (that being Rich Steiner & Southern Justice)…..or at least briefly…..because as the reunited Steiner Brothers faced X-Pac & Rey Mysterio for the tag team titles later that evening, Scotty jumped his brother and beat the crap out of him, telling him that Big Poppa Pump might be looking for gold, but it’s SINGLES gold he wants…..the WWF Title…..and he’s NEVER needed his brother for that…..
…..Pillman would join Steiner in beating the snot out of Southern Justice too…..with McMahon telling them that he has no use for pig farmers…..a statement that would lead to the return of The Godwinns…..
…..there would only be one traditional Survivor Series match on the card this year…..you might have noticed that Ken Shamrock has been defending the WWF European Championship against a number of Nation of Domination members recently…..well he would lead a team of “legitimate” athletes into action here, as he, Steve Blackman, and the recently debuted Dan Severn would enlist The Dogs of War to join them in battle against Ahmed Johnson’s Nation…..
…..the Nation would eventually win here, after Shamrock “snapped” on Severn, leading to Ahmed & Kama to be the surviving members of their team…..
…..the final event of the year (as I mentioned earlier) was titled Rock Bottom…..and yes, The Rock was in the main event of that show, challenging The Hitman for the World Wrestling Federation Championship…..
…..as stated earlier, Bret Hart would personally challenge The Peoples Champion, putting his WWF Title on the line for good measure…..one man who took this personally however was The Loose Cannon Brian Pillman…..
…..Brian Pillman’s insecurities at Mr. McMahon bringing Scott Steiner into the Corporate fold began to manifest almost instantly…..Vince made it clear that he had been waiting long enough for Pillman to bring the WWF Title back into the Corporation, and the addition of Big Poppa Pump obviously pushed the Loose Cannons nose out of place…..so much so that he would make his presence felt in the Rock Bottom main event, with his distraction arguably being the reason that The Rock came up short this evening…..
…..unfortunately there was someone else he should have been focusing on if he wanted to guarantee himself a title opportunity…..because after finally ridding himself of the Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin made his intentions to recapture the WWF Championship clear, and Mr. McMahon was NOT happy about that…..he wanted Austin gone, with a Championship opportunity at the Royal Rumble being the reward for the man to do it…..and while Brian Pillman was busy interfering in title matches, Scott Steiner was busy CLAIMING title matches……and that was as well as competing on the event too…..
…..it would be brother vs. brother on this evening when Scotty would clash with the man who had shed his Million Dollar clothes and gone back to his roots as the Dog Faced Gremlin RICK Steiner…..Rick would be looking for payback after the betrayal and beating on Raw…..he didn’t get it though, with Scotty coming out on top…..
…..Scotty also came out on top in the back too…..because after the two men almost came to blows at the Survivor Series, they DID come to blows here tonight, when Steiner brutally assaulted Steve Austin with that lead pipe as he entered the building, taking him out of the picture and claiming the #1 contender bounty in the process…..
…..if only Brian Pillman had thought if that…..
…..other matches on the card would see Ken Shamrock retain the European Championship against UFC rival Dan Severn, Booker T retain the Intercontinental Championship against the challenge of Dustin Rhodes (thanks to Val Venis putting a stop to the interference of Marc Mero)…..
…..Raven wouldn’t be in action this evening, but he would make an appearance, addressing his defeat at the Survivor Series, and vowing to recapture the World Wrestling Federation Championship…..he would soon be interrupted by the pyro of the Big Red Machine Kane though, who (after being denied his retribution by his brother for the majority of the year……which wasn’t a problem now he’d ‘buried’ the issue) was keen to get his hands on the Deity of the Damned…..in typical Raven fashion however, this would only take place on his terms…..and Kane would leave disappointed after failing to take his frustrations on the former WWF Champion…..
…..maybe they’ll cross paths in the Royal Rumble match…..
…..speaking of which, that event is up next…..as 1999 is right around the corner…..
November 1998 - Survivor Series
Raven vs. Bret Hart - WWF Championship - Bret Hart captures the title
Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker - Buried Alive Match - Steve Austin wins
Brian Pillman vs. RicFlair - Career on the Line - Brian Pillman retired Flair
Mankind vs. Scott Steiner - Steiner wins
Jeff Jarrett vs. Booker T - WWF Intercontinental Championship - Booker wins the gold
Ken Shamrock, Steve Blackman, Dan Severn, Crush & Wrath vs. The Nation of Domination - Traditional Survivor Series Match - Ahmed Johnson & Kama survive
X-Pac & Rey Mysterio vs. Southern Justice - WWF Tag Team Championship - Champions retain
December 1998 - Rock Bottom
Bret Hart vs. The Rock - WWF Championship - Hart retains
Rick Steiner vs. Scott Steiner - Scott Steiner defeats his brother
Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn - WWF European Championship - Shamrock retains
Booker T vs. Dustin Rhodes - WWF Intercontinental Championship - Booker T wins
…..which takes us nicely into a new year…..it’s 1999 and the road to Wrestlemania begins at the Royal Rumble…..
…..and a hell of a lot happened here…..
…..in the undercard, Chris Jericho would challenge Booker T for the Intercontinental Championship…..but truth be told, this wasn’t the match he wanted…..
…..I know I’ve mentioned that the King of the World’s ego has become somewhat inflated in recent times, well it’s inflated to the point that he’s spent the last few months becoming increasingly more frustrated by the fact that Bret Hart has been challenging the brightest and the best that the WWF has to offer (including handing title shots out free and willingly) but he’s not wanted to step into the ring with Chris Jericho…..
…..Jericho went so far as to out and out challenge The Hitman to a “friendly” match in the run up to the Royal Rumble, something that Bret declined, still trying to keep the peace with his brother (while trying to calm the ego of the youngster)…..frustrated by this, Jericho instead challenges Booker for the Intercontinental Championship, claiming that when he captures THAT title, Bret Hart will HAVE to face him for the WWF Championship…..
…..except he didn't capture that championship…..
…..because Booker T defeated him…..
…..and Chris Jericho had the hissy fits of all hissy fits…..
…..Bret Hart did put the title on the line this evening, facing Scott Steiner, who was receiving his reward for taking out the Rattlesnake last month…..
…..remember how Chris Jericho’s pettiness lead him to take away the entire Light-Heavyweight Division out of spite? Well tonight, he took Bret Hart’s WWF Championship away out of spite too…..stating that if HE can’t have the title, then Bret can’t have the title either…..and so with the assist from the King of the World, Scott Steiner captured his second WWF Championship here tonight…..much to the delight of Vince McMahon…..
…..Vince was less happy later in the evening however, because the Royal Rumble match itself did NOT go how he saw it going…..Vince had visions of Brian Pillman picking up the victory tonight, leading to an all Corporate Wrestlemania…..
…..that didn’t happen…..
…..because at around the #24 mark, the buzzer would sound, but no one would enter…..at least for about 20 seconds…..
…..at which point the camera would show us the back, where Stone Cold Steve Austin would be stomping a mud hole in someone (let’s say Marc Mero) before reaching down, taking their number, and entering himself into the Royal Rumble match…..
…..other noticeable entrants into the rumble match itself (along with Pillman and Austin) would be former WWF Champions Raven, Kevin Nash & Ahmed Johnson, along with a plethora of stars NOT to have held the big one, such as Kane, Mankind & The Rock…..
…..Raven (being Raven) would willingly eliminate himself the moment Kane arrived in the match…..imploring the Big Red Machine to do the same and “come to me”…..
…..Pillman and The Rock would be a featured interaction, and Kevin Nash would be in for a surprise at the return of Scott Hall…..he’d be even more surprised when the Bad Guy eliminated him too…..
…..with a final four of Austin, Pillman, Rock & Scott Hall, it would be Steve Austin that walked out victorious for the second consecutive year, eliminating Scott Hall first, before tipping both Rocky and Pillman over the top rope at the same time…..
…..and yes, as Jim Ross would remark, “Stone Cold!, Stone Cold!, Stone Cold…..is heading, to Wrestlemania”…..
…..the WWF Tag Team Titles would also be on the line tonight, as Champions X-Pac & Rey Mysterio would face off against The New Age Outlaws…..our plucky underdogs reign would come to a screeching halt here…..
…..not because the Outlaws were better…..
…..but because X-Pac turned on his partner to align himself with Billy Gunn and The Road Dogg…..before beating the holy hell out of Mysterio following the match…..
…..Dustin Rhodes & Val Venis would also clash on the undercard, with Dustin coming out on top…..they wouldn’t end their story there though…..
…..February would roll around, and an event titled St. Valentines Day Massacre…..and it would be a fairly stacked card…..
…..Steve Austin would run roughshod all over the WWF as we get ever closer to Wrestlemania…..and as usual, Vince McMahon would be doing everything he could to derail his journey…..
…..he would tell Austin that since his entry into the Royal Rumble wasn’t official, he was going to strip him of it…..however Brian Pillman would talk him out of it…..the Loose Cannon’s insecurities (which only grew with Scott Steiners WWF Title victory) got the better of him, telling McMahon that he wanted Austin…..he wanted Austin’s shot…..and he wanted him inside a steel cage…..
…..The Rock wasn’t impressed by this revelation, stating that if Pillman wanted the shot at Austin, that’s fine…..then as one of the final participants in the Royal Rumble, maybe HE should get a shot at Scott Steiner and the WWF Title…..which then bought out Scott Hall…..who ALSO felt he was deserving…..
…..McMahon ruled that since he hates Steve Austin, he can’t think of anything better than watching him get destroyed in a steel cage…..and the winner will go onto the main event of Wrestlemania…..and since he hates “the people”, The Peoples Champ (The Rock) gets nothing…..Scott Hall can have the shot at St. Valentines Day Massacre…..
…..so that’s what we had…..it was the battle of the Scott’s when Scott Steiner defended against Scott Hall…..Hall had been working through injury (and battling time decline) in the months leading up to Wrestlemania XIV…..the time off he received will have taken care of that, and even the decline in his ability wouldn’t stop this from being a good match…..in the end though, it would be Kevin Nash that was the difference maker, costing his one time friend the chance to become the WWF Champion…..
…..Steve Austin & Brian Pillman would clash inside a Steel Cage, and if the cage wasn’t element enough, Vince McMahon would also bring in some extra assurances, bringing in the services of The New Age Outlaws & X-Pac in an effort to assure victory for the Loose Cannon…..a ticked off Rock would be the difference maker there though, making his way out to ringside (steel chair in hand) to clear away the floor area long enough for the Rattlesnake to make his escape from the cage and seal his spot in the main event of Wrestlemania XV…..
…..after doing everything he could to avoid tearing his family apart again, Bret Hart would once again be at war with his brother Owen Hart…..and he can thank Chris Jericho for it…..
…..The Hitman would come out on Raw following the Royal Rumble to make another one of his (now traditional) challenges, telling the King of the World that he wanted it, well he’s going to get it…..a match with the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be at St. Valentines Day Massacre…..
…..Jericho would come out to correct him…..saying first of all that he can’t be facing the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be at St. Valentines Day Massacre…..because that would mean he was facing himself…..and second of all, now it’s Jericho’s turn to say no…..
…..but Owen Hart will face the Hitman…..
…..Bret implored his brother not to do this again, but it was for naught, as Owen and Jericho assaulted to Hitman to make their position clear…..
…..so it was brother vs. brother once more…..a match which the Hitman won, only to get assaulted post match by Jericho…..who then tells Bret that he’ll see him at Wrestlemania…..
…..Raven would finally give Kane the opportunity to come to him, as the Big Red Monster clashed with the Deity of the Damned, in a match that was deemed to be a no contest following the surprise return of The Undertaker…..the official would throw his out after the Deadman assaulted both Raven and Kane, before the two brothers went to war (as Raven watched on laughing maniacally)…..
…..after basically handing The New Age Outlaws the WWF Tag Team Titles last month, Billy Gunn and The Road Dogg would return the favour here tonight, as they assisted X-Pac in defeating Ken Shamrock to capture his second WWF European Championship…..
…..Val Venis would challenge Dustin Rhodes to a rematch from a month prior…..this time it would be the Big Valboski that would pick up the victory…..thanks to Terri turning on Dustin to align herself with Val…..a situation that would break Dustin’s spirit and bring about the return of Goldust…..
…..last stop…..
…..Wrestlemania XV…..
January 1999 - Royal Rumble
30 Man Royal Rumble Match - Steve Austin wins
Bret Hart vs. Scott Steiner - WWF Championship Match - Scott Steiner wins the gold
Booker T vs. Chris Jericho - WWF Intercontinental Championship Match - Booker retains
X-Pax & Rey Mysterio vs. The New Age Outlaws - WWF Tag Team Championship Match - Outlaws win when X-Pac turns
Val Venis vs. Dustin Rhodes
February 1999 - St Valentines Day Massacre
Scott Steiner vs. Scott Hall - WWF Championship Match - Steiner retains
Steve Austin vs. Brian Pillman - Steel Cage Match - Stone Cold advances to Wrestlemania
Raven vs. Kane - no contest - Undertaker returns
Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart - Bret Hart wins
Ken Shamrock vs. X- Pac - WWF European Championship - X-Pac, new champion
Val Venis vs. Dustin Rhodes - Venis wins when Terri turns
The New Age Outlaws vs. The Godwinns - WWF Tag Team Championship Match - Outlaws retain
…..and it would be an event that would help usher in the next wave of main event stars as much as it would be about cementing the places of the faces that built this new attitude era…..
…..1997 saw the likes of Scott Steiner, Steve Austin, Kane and Brian Pillman join established names like Bret Hart, Kevin Nash and The Undertaker as genuine World Championship caliber stars, well 1998 (and the early part of 1999) would be about finding the names to join them going forward…..but it would also be about building a strong foundation in the middle of the card too…..
…..one of those names in the middle of the card would beVal Venis, who picked up a massive victory last month (along with a new valet) when he defeated veteran Dustin Rhodes…..granted it was a very tainted victory (after Dustin’s wife Terri turned on him to align herself with Val) but it was a big victory none the less for someone that only a few months prior was plying his trade in the ECW bingo halls…..
…..tonight he wouldn’t be facing Dustin Rhodes though…..rather his bizarre alter ego Goldust…..the betrayal of his wife (and mother of his child) would be too much for Dustin to take, particularly with Val’s graphic descriptions of what he and the Granddaughter in-Law of a plumber had been getting up to (apparently Grandpappy Rhodes wasn’t the only member of the family who knew how to work with some stiff pipes!)…..and the only thing Dustin could do to cope was to revert to androgynous anomaly he was always trying to get away from…..
…..Goldust would pick up the victory here (and get some revenge, after unleashing his newest move, the Shattered Dreams)…..we are trying to get the midcard over but they don’t necessarily have to win every match to do it…..Val already picked up one win, with the feud itself being enough to elevate him much higher on the card than he would have been…..that and Goldust still has enough legs on him to be useful going forward…..
…..while we are elevating talent, we may as well try to get a two for one deal…..two in one match that is…..Ken Shamrock should arguably be much higher on the card than he is by now (and would have been had he not decided to take a several month long hiatus to go train for a UFC fight late last year)…..Ken was scheduled to win the European Championship in late 1997, with a view to climbing up the ranks from then…..as it was he didn’t win the title till late 1998, so we have some catching up to do…..
…..a solid run with the third tier title would be a good start, with a view (much like we did with Booker T) to following that up with a run at the secondary title…..
…..at Wrestlemania though, he would be teaming with another man that would benefit from a high profile match, Steve Blackman, to challenge The New Age Outlaws for the WWF Tag Team Titles…..Ken would be looking for revenge after the Outlaws cost him his European Championship to X-Pac, and so he would enlist his on/off teammate Steve Blackman to do so…..
…..The Road Dogg & Billy Gunn would prove to be too much on this night (particularly since both men are head and shoulders (and knees and toes in Blackman’s case) above the challengers in terms of overness, but the high profile nature of the feud should see Shamrock edge firmly into the Upper-Mid echelon (and bump Blackman up a few places too) putting the Worlds Most Dangerous Man quickly on the hunt for Intercontinental gold…..
…..speaking of gold (as well as the attitude era we have entered) a new Championship would be introduced shortly before Wrestlemania…..the WWF Hardcore Championship to be precise…..and the inaugural champion would be crowned in the run up to this show…..Mankind would begin stating his case for a World Title opportunity against Scott Steiner (given that Foley HAS defeated Big Poppa Pump previously) but rather than dealing with that one, Mr. McMahon would take advantage of Mankind’s trusting nature, telling him that he doesn’t really want the WWF Title, not when Vince has created a title that is perfect for him…..the battered and broken Hardcore Title…..
…..Mankind falls for it too, especially when Vince gives him a bye in the opening round of the Hardcore tournament…..and of course Mick Foley goes all the way to the finals…..
…..his opponent in the Championship match?…..
…..Al Snow…..
…..that’s not to say that Snow & Skippy had some big breakup angle…..instead (after holding the tag titles for a good portion of the year) Snow and Chris Candido would instead decide to take an amicable brief hiatus (and would reunite later in the year) to focus on their singles ambitions…..apparently Al Snow’s singles ambition meant chasing the Hardcore title, and if it was Hardcore he wanted, Mankind was going to give it to him…..
…..these two would have a brawl that would spill all over (and briefly outside of) the arena, before finally returning to the ring area in the closing moments of the match…..Al Snow doesn’t really need cementing in his position within the company (his tag team run with Candido has already seen to that) so when Mankind finishes him off with an underhook DDT onto a steel chair, it really doesn’t affect his position at all…..
…..although he DID probably have a headache for the rest of the evening…..
…..X-Pac & Rey Mysterio would clash over the European Championship (as well as over the fact that Mysterio was looking for revenge following the betrayal of Waltman) and it would be another case of a younger star facing off with an established one…..X-Pac may only be 26 years old here, but rest assured, he’s very much an established star…..from his time with the KLiQ and the Wolfpac, he’s faced some of the biggest names in the sport today, and often finds himself auto-pushing as a main eventer (depending on my booking of him at the time) so it’s safe to say that a victory here for Mysterio would be a big deal…..
…..contrasts would be made between X-Pac’s initial run as the perennial underdog the 123 Kid and Mysterio’s current run (also as the perennial underdog) but if there was any doubt in the ability of the plucky masked youngster, there wouldn’t be any doubt following his victory here tonight…..and while a lot of his contemporaries would be heading WCW bound for the Cruiserweight division, Rey Mysterio would be staying put, with the European Championship firmly around his waist…..
…..Booker T is another name we are slowly transitioning to the top of the card, and after being involved in matches with the likes of Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner & Bret Hart on his way to capturing the Intercontinental Championship (as well as the likes of Chris Jericho after capturing it) he would go on here with another impressive display by defeating Owen Hart…..
…..Booker would continue to hold onto the title for a few months following this (defeating former WWF Champion Ahmed Johnson along the way) before finally dropping it when the time was right to move him into the main event and World Title scene…..late 1999 to the early 2000’s would be a very interesting time for Booker…..
…..not all the matches on the Wrestlemania card would be about elevating younger talent…..and Kevin Nash facing off against Scott Hall is evidence of this…..
…..yes in 1994 this was a hot programme…..but this is 1999 and both men are five years older (and in Hall’s case, beginning to feel the effects of the time decline)…..
…..this would likely be the WWF swan song for both of these men, and while Nash would pick up the victory, it’s likely that BOTH would turn up in WCW not long after this, probably predominantly as a tag team to mask their limitations…..Nash may get a brief World Title programme down south, but you can bet that The Outsiders would be holding tag team gold before long…..
…..at Wrestlemania XIV, The Undertaker & Raven would have the match of the night (and match of the year candidate) when The Deadman defeated the Deity of the Damned…..fast forward twelve months and these two would be meeting a second time, except this time with the added component that is Kane…..and no, this wouldn’t be the Brothers of Destruction tearing the Master of the Macabre to pieces, this would be a three way match in which every man was out for themselves…..
…..one year ago, Raven was making his ascension in the WWF, by any means necessary…..nothing was sacred, no depth was too low, no boundary too far to push…..at Wrestlemania XIV he was a man on the rise…..at Wrestlemania XV he would be a former WWF Champion, and very much a part of the main event scene…..
…..everyone knows by now the Raven is the master of mind games, and he’d use every trick in the book here to draw the advantage…..I’ve said it a number of times, tonight would be about elevating the midcard and cementing the new wave of main event stars…..well nothing is going to cement a star quicker than defeating the Undertaker and Wrestlemania…..
…..except beating the Undertaker AND Kane at Wrestlemania…..
…..which is exactly what Raven would do here this evening…..
…..after initially taking offence to the arrival of The Rock, Brian Pillman would spend the past few months in a war of oneupmanship with the Great One which would culminate here at Wrestlemania…..
…..Rocky spent a year down in WCW running around at the top of the card, but he never truly reached the pinnacle…..sure he faced all the big names, but he never won the big match…..hell, he never even wore gold down in WCW…..not a TV title, not a US title…..certainly not a World title…..
…..so how do you cement a name like the Rock as a genuine main event star? By giving him a win on the grandest stage of them all, against the former World Wrestling Federation Champion Brian Pillman for one…..
…..that’s not to say The Loose Cannon would be slipping down the card any (in fact a battle of the ultimate loose cannons in Brian Pillman and Scott Steiner wouldn’t be too far away) he’s still one of the biggest names in the company (and business actually) and he can take a loss here and there without it affecting his status…..
…..the two men would have some great promo battles in the run up to this, with Pillman desperate to prove his worth after being pushed aside in favour of Big Poppa Pump recently…..ultimately the insecurity and paranoia would be his downfall here, as The Rock would pick up a huge victory which would tip the already unstable Loose Cannon even further over the edge…..
…..Bret Hart has spent the majority of his time this year fighting the brightest and the best that the WWF has to offer (capturing the WWF Title at the same time) but I doubt he’s faced anyone with an ego quite the size of Chris Jericho since his days of dealing with a certain Heartbreak Kid…..
….the King of the World is someone who’s time at the top I’ve actually been deliberately delaying…..Jericho could probably comfortably have held the WWF Title 18 months ago, it’s only really me that’s been holding him back…..well as 1999 gets on, and we move ever closer to the year 2000 (Y2J if you will) it’s time to let go of the strings and let Jericho rise to the top…..
…..I’ve actually been planning this match since the day that Chris Jericho joined the Hart Foundation…..Bret Hart putting over Chris Jericho was always the end goal of this one, and I’d like to think Bret would be happy to put his countryman over at this stage of things (particularly since Bret wanted to start winding down at this stage in his career)…..
…..granted it wouldn’t be clean (and would possibly involve Owen Hart helping Jericho win) but Bret would be doing the j.o.b here tonight, and if you think the King of the World was insufferable before, just you wait…..
…..which would just leave the main event…..and it’s a main event I knew was going to be happening even before Wrestlemania XIV was in the books…..in fact, Scott Steiner vs. Steve Austin for the WWF Championship has been scheduled for Wrestlemania XV since about Summerslam 1997…..
…..Steiner and Austin have had very limited interactions with each other (by design) for the majority of both men’s run at the top, not really even sharing a ring together since July/August…..the seeds of their tensions would began to be sewn around Survivor Series, with Scotty “taking Austin out” in December, only for the Rattlesake to make his triumphant return in January to win his second successive Royal Rumble match…..
…..there would be the brief bump in the road in February (where Austin would have to defeat Brian Pillman to make his victory official) but from there it would be full throttle to Wrestlemania, where the Rattlesnake would capture his second WWF Championship…..
March 1999 - Wrestlemania XV
Scott Steiner vs. Steve Austin - WWF Championship Match - Steve Austin wins
Bret Hart vs. Chris Jericho - Jericho wins
The Rock vs. Brian Pillman - The Rock picks up a huge victory
The Undertaker vs. Raven vs. Kane - Raven wins
Kevin Nash vs. Scott Hall - Kevin Nash for the win
Booker T vs. Owen Hart - WWF Intercontinental Championship Match - Booker T retains
X-Pac vs. Rey Mysterio - WWF European Championship Match - Mysterio claims the gold
Goldust vs. Val Venis - Goldust picks up the victory
The New Age Outlaws vs. Ken Shamrock & Steve Blackman - WWF Tag Team Championship Match - Outlaws retain
Mankind vs. Al Snow - WWF Hardcore Championship Match - Mankind crowned Champion
…..and all of that should help lead us nicely towards the new millennium…..
…..the top of the card would be absolutely stacked…..from the “new generation” main event stars in Bret Hart and The Undertaker to the “attitude era” stars in Stone Cold Steve Austin, Brian Pillman, Scott Steiner & Raven - along with the ‘almost’ names of Kane & Mankind who are just a whisker below them…..then you’d have the newly established main event, wrestlers like Chris Jericho & The Rock, all of which gives us a potential ten people that could realistically hold the WWF Championship…..
…..below those you have a solid undercard…..names like Booker T, Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson, Owen Hart, X-Pac…..Chris Candido and Al Snow, Val Venis, Goldust, Marc Mero, Steve Blackman…..the Nation of Domination would likely split up, giving new options for D-Lo Brown, Mark Henry & Kama/The Godfather…..and then there would still be a certain individual by the name of Kurt Angle to debut
…..I think it’s safe to say that the WWF is in good hands going forward into the new millennium.
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