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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Jun 20, 2021 4:46:25 GMT 1
Part IX: WWF Fully Loaded 1998
WWF Fully Loaded 1998
July 26th, 1998 - Selland Arena - Fresno, California
1.) Val Venis def. Jeff Jarrett (with Tennessee Lee)
2.) WWF Six-Man Tag Team Title Tournament - Qualifying Match - bWo (Big Steve Cool, The Blue Meanie, & Hollywood Nova) def. Kai En Tai (Dick Togo, Sho Funaki, & Taka Michinoku)
3.) WWF European Title - D-Lo Brown (with The Godfather) (c) def. X-Pac (with Chyna)
4.) Faarooq & Scorpio def. Bradshaw & Terry Funk
5.) Triple Threat Match - Power Warrior def. Mark Henry & Vader
6.) DOA (8-Ball & Skull with Paul Ellering) def. The Legion Of Doom
7.) Dungeon Match - Special Guest Referee: Dan Severn - Owen Hart def. Ken Shamrock
8.) WWF Intercontinental Title - 2/3 Falls - The Rock (c) vs. Triple H ends 1-1 after a 30 Minute Time Limit Draw
9.) WWF World Tag Team Titles - Three-Way Tag Team Match - WWF Champion Steve Austin & The Undertaker def. Kane & Mankind (with Paul Bearer) (c) and The Triple Threat (Bam Bam Bigelow & Shane Douglas with WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Chris Candido, Sunny, & Francine)
It's been awhile since I've posted in either of my threads, but I'm back! So just like I've mentioned in my thread in my Alternate History of WCW thread, the first year is where we see a lot a similarities mixed in with some difference, as this alternate timeline slowly starts to diverge further and further from OTL. My card for Fully Loaded 1998 is another example of that. A lot of what you see here is exactly what happened on the actual PPV (including a Bikini Contest between Sable and Jacqueline, but I didn't include that here since it's not an actual match), but then you had some new matches mixed in there.
One of these new matches is the debut of the bWo which, of course, consists of Big Steve Cool (aka Stevie Richards), The Blue Meanie, and Hollywood Nova. I see their role in WWF at this time as being, essentially, a lower mid-card version of DX. Now originally, this was going to just be a normal Six-Man Tag, but after seeing the comment left by rabbitman, I decided to make it a qualifying match as part of a tournament to crown the first-ever WWF Six-Man Tag Team Champions (I had actually planned to introduce these much later in this series, but doing it here works too). I guess you can view this as WWF trying something further to held it stand out from WCW.
There's also a pair of three-ways on this card. About halfway through, there's a Triple Threat Match with three big, beefy dudes in the form of Mark Henry, Power Warrior, and Vader. The main event is also a three-way, with The Triple Threat duo of Bam Bam Bigelow and Shane Douglas joining the two teams who were always in the main event of this PPV. Of course, if you recall my previous post, Bigelow and Douglas won the WWF World Tag Team Titles from The New Aged Outlaws on the first SmackDown on July 1st. That reign would be a short one, however, as Kane and Mankind won the titles on the July 13th edition of RAW Is War. Speaking of The Triple Threat, I should note that both Francine and Sunny are in the group now, with the former cornering Douglas, with the latter left The Legion Of Doom to (of course) corner Chris Candido. I believe they were going to have a feud in ECW in real life before Sunny had a run in with the law, but since this is alternate history, we're going to say that arrest will never happen, and they're going to (eventually) get to that match. With those two, plus Chris Candido and Paul Bearer at ringside, you can just imagine the type of chaos and shenanigans that would ensue.
I'll also add a quick note that D-Lo Brown does win the WWF European Title from Triple H just like he did in OTL.
As for upcoming posts in this thread, they're going to be primarily focused on ECW, with Heat Wave 1998 as well as the triple shot weekend at the end of August before the promotion closes its doors for good. |
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Post by rabbitman on Jun 20, 2021 10:26:37 GMT 1
The stuff that's already different to reality, like Power Warrior, the Triple Threat and now the BWO, are making this stand out from reality enough already that it's a worthwhile project even if there were never to be any massive changes.
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Aug 16, 2021 4:56:19 GMT 1
Part X: ECW Heat Wave 1998
So I haven't updated this thread in awhile, and it's honestly because I wasn't sure how to handle these next few parts. It's one thing to rearrange some matches here and there on a preexisting PPV card, like ECW Heat Wave 1998. It's another thing to book the final shows of an entire promotion. As a reminder, during my Extreme Warfare Revenge save (playing as WCW), ECW mysteriously closed with no notice or explanation in August/September 1998. These next two posts are going to be my attempt (key word) to book the finale of the promotion. Again, I have no idea how or why ECW closed in this alternate reality, but you can come up with whatever explanation you'd like to use in this case (I'm sure most of them will revolve around money issues). After looking at how some things are going to turn out for me in WCW during the year 2000 (more on that in due time in my "Alternate History of WCW" thread), I wanted a few things to happen for sure, but everything else was REALLY up in the air. In the end, I decided to book four cards to close out ECW. One card would be in Chicago (at the Odeum Expo Center), one card in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (in the War Memorial Auditorium), one card in New York City (for their first, and only, event in the Hammerstein Ballroom), and finally, one card in Philadelphia (in the ECW Arena, of course). Those were all special live events that would eventually be released on home video, but before we even get to those shows, however, there's ECW's final PPV ever. It's the aforementioned Heat Wave 1998 from Dayton, Ohio!!
 ECW Heat Wave 1998
August 2nd, 1998 - Hara Arena - Dayton, Ohio
1.) Justin Credible (with Chastity, Jason, & Nicole Bass) def. Jerry Lynn
2.) Sid (with Jeff Jones) def. Skull von Crush
3.) WCW World TV Title - Three-Way Dance - Chris Benoit (c) def. Perry Saturn & Raven
4.) Masato Tanaka def. Mike Awesome
5.) ECW World Tag Team Titles - Tag Team Three-Way Dance - Rob Van Dam & Sabu def. Chris Candido (with Tammy Lynn Sytch) & Lance Storm (c) and Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki
6.) FTW World Title - Falls Count Anywhere - Taz (c) def. Bam Bam Bigelow
7.) Street Fight - Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, & Spike Dudley def. The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, & Big Dick Dudley with Jeff Jones, Joel Gertner, & Sign Guy Dudley)
So as always with these early diversions from OTL in my alternate history scenarios, the shows closest to the divergence are similar to what we say in real life, but also different. This show very much fits into that category. On the surface, much of this card remains the same as the original Heat Wave 1998 PPV. The main event, the semi-main event, Masato Tanaka defeating Mike Awesome, and the opener. At the same time, however, I've changed around some things. Second on the card was the ECW debut of Sid (more on him in my next post), as he defeated Skull von Crush in a quick squash. Then, your third match on the PPV card highlighted three former ECW performers from WCW, as Chris Benoit successfully retained his WCW World TV Title in a Three-Way Dance with Perry Saturn and Raven. Finally, the last change (and it's a big ones) sees Rob Van Dam and Sabu winning the ECW World Tag Team Titles from the Chris Candido/Lance Storm team, in a Tag Team Three-Way that also involved Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki from Japan. While we do see Candido and Storm dropping the titles to Rob Van Dam and Sabu in OTL 1998, this title change occurs a little over a month or so later. For what I've got planned coming up, this title change was key.
That's pretty much it for the PPV, but again, there's not much to recap when a lot of what happened on this show also happened in the version of the PPV that occurred in OTL. Tune in for the next post as I go over the final cards of ECW's existence.
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Aug 16, 2021 16:22:45 GMT 1
Part XI: The Final Days of ECW
So here we are. The final events in the history of Extreme Championship Wrestling. An event so big that it required back-to-back posts in quick succession! I already went over some the details in that prior post, but just to recap, ECW just had the final PPV ever in Heat Wave 1998, and are closing up shop on September 1st, 1998. They tend to go out with a bang, and they've put together four huge events in Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, New York City, and Philadelphia. There a few key themes that I'd like to go over quickly before I dive into the cards. Just a few things to key an eye on, I suppose.
- Both WCW and WWF would participate in these final ECW events, in various forms. Each company had already been contributing talent to some of the bigger ECW events (especially after several ECW talents were signed to WCW in January of 1998), and they each reached individual agreements with ECW to contribute on their final events. However, both sides made it very clear that they would not put their contracted talent against each other. There are some cases where people who, at this point in the timeline, are starting to work for WWF, but none of them are officially under contract with WWF (so people like the Triple Threat, despite winning titles in WWF, weren't under contract with them yet......I know, it's very weird). The bottom line is that there will be no matches with WWF contracted talent vs. WCW contracted talent.
- Taz's quest for the ECW World Title. I would say the biggest story of the entire closing tour was going to be Taz's quest to be the final ECW World Heavyweight Champion. He would wrestle Sabu one final time in a #1 Contender's Match in Chicago, and even if he won that title shot, he would have to wrestle Bam Bam Bigelow one more time as he puts the FTW World Title on the line. If he can get through all those obstacles, he would walk into the ECW Arena with a shot to win the ECW World Title from Shane Douglas.
- The arrival of Sid. Of course, Sid made his shocking debut at Heat Wave 1998. After winning a squash at that PPV, he would continue to carve a path of destruction. What was his ultimate goal? Only he and his manager, Jeff Jones, would know for sure.
Those are the three major things, I suppose. I'll try to give brief recaps after each card as well to provide further context.
ECW Anarchy Rulz 1998
August 21st, 1998 - Odeum Expo Center - Villa Park, Illinois
1.) Mike Awesome def. Spike Dudley
2.) New Jack, The Sandman, & Tommy Dreamer def. The Dudley Boyz (Big Dick Dudley, Bubba Ray Dudley, & D-Von Dudley with Jeff Jones, Joel Gertner, & Sign Guy Dudley)
3.) Non-Title Three-Way Dance - WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. def. Chris Jericho & NWA World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Guerrero
4.) ECW World TV Title - Rob Van Dam (c) def. Raven
5.) Sid (with Jeff Jones) def. Mikey Whipwreck
6.) #1 Contender's Match - The Final Encounter - FTW Champion Taz def. Sabu
7.) The Ultimate Grudge Match - The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, WCW World TV Champion Chris Benoit, & Dean Malenko) def. The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, & WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Chris Candido)
Quick Summary: So the big story here is the main event, as Ric Flair comes to ECW for one night only to confront Shane Douglas who, as we all know, hasn't had nice things to say about Ric Flair (or as he likes to call him, Dick Flair) over the years. Their big confrontation occurred in the form of a Six-Man Tag, with Douglas being backed up by the rest of the Triple Threat (again, none of them officially under contract with WWF as of yet) while Flair has fellow Four Horsemen members, and former ECW roster members, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko, backing him up. The semi-main event saw Taz defeat Sabu in what was billed as their "Final Encounter" (at least in ECW). Elsewhere, both Mike Awesome and Sid picked up relatively easy victories over their much smaller opponents, The Dudley Boyz were handed another defeat at the hands of an all-star trio of ECW stars, Rob Van Dam retained his ECW World TV Title over Raven, and Rey Mysterio Jr. won a special Three-Way Dance over Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero. A pretty solid card for the fans in Chicago, but I'll let you guys be the judge.
ECW Born To Be Wired II
August 23rd, 1998 - War Memorial Auditorium - Fort Lauderdale, Florida1.) Sid (with Jeff Jones) def. Tony Mamaluke
2.) Perry Saturn def. John Kronus
3.) Open Challenge Match - Lance Storm def. Konnan
4.) The Dudley Boyz (Big Dick Dudley, Bubba Ray Dudley, & D-Von Dudley with Jeff Jones, Joel Gertner, & Sign Guy Dudley) def. Axl Rotten, Balls Mahoney, & Spike Dudley
5.) Justin Credible (with Chastity, Jason, & Nicole Bass) def. The Sandman
6.) ECW World TV Title - Rob Van Dam (c) def. Jerry Lynn
7.) Six-Man Tag - The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas with Francine, Bam Bam Bigelow, & WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Chris Candido with Tammy Lynn Sytch) def. FTW Champion Taz, Tommy Dreamer, & Terry Funk
8.) Barbed Wire Match - Sabu def. HayabusaQuick Summary: After Hayabusa made a big appearance at Heat Wave 1998, I felt like the one thing I had to do on one of ECW's final cards was book him in a Barbed Wire Match against Sabu. Well, that's exactly what I decided to put here in the main event of this show! I'm sure it's a match that would've gotten A TON of attention if it actually happened. The semi-main event serves as a preview of sorts of both of Taz's title bouts against Bam Bam Bigelow and Shane Douglas. Former tag team partners collided earlier in the show as Perry Saturn defeated John Kronus, while Lance Storm defeated nWo Wolfpac member Konnan in a Special Open Challenge Match. Meanwhile, The Dudley Boyz bounced back with a win over the trio of Axl Rotten, Balls Mahoney, and Spike Dudley in a wild Six-Man Tag, while Justin Credible picked up a huge win over The Sandman. As for the ECW World TV Title, Rob Van Dam retained over Jerry Lynn in a classic, but both men were attacked by Sid after the match. This would set up Sid challenging Rob Van Dam for the ECW World TV Title on the next show.
ECW Massacre On 34th Street
August 28th, 1998 - Hammerstein Ballroom - New York City, New York
1.) WWF Light Heavyweight Title - Chris Candido (with Tammy Lynn Sytch) (c) def. Lance Storm
2.) Four-Way Dance - Justin Credible (with Chastity, Jason, & Nicole Bass) def. Balls Mahoney, Perry Saturn, & Raven
3.) WCW World TV Title - Chris Benoit (c) def. Sabu
4.) Six-Man Tag - The FBI (Little Guido, Tracy Smothers, & Tommy Rich) def. Gedo, Jado, & Ultimo Dragon
5.) Mike Awesome def. Masato Tanaka
6.) ECW World TV Title - Sid (with Jeff Jones) def. Rob Van Dam (c)
7.) FTW Title - Last Man Standing Match - Taz (c) def. Bam Bam Bigelow
8.) Ten-Man Tag Team Street Fight - WWF Champion Steve Austin, The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty), Spike Dudley, & Mikey Whipwreck def. Mankind, The Dudley Boyz (Big Dick Dudley, Buh Buh Ray Dudley, & D-Von Dudley with Joel Gertner, Jeff Jones, & Sign Guy Dudley), & Jack Victory
Quick Summary: The event in Chicago saw one of the biggest starts in WCW make an appearance. Well, this show in New York City saw two of the biggest stars in the WWF making an appearance just one day before SummerSlam 1998 in Madison Square Garden. The main event was billed as a Ten-Man Tag Team Street Fight, but both teams had an open spot for a mystery partner. The open spot on the heel side was filled by Mick Foley, who was portraying Mankind here as (I suppose) a way to troll the ECW fans so that they would boo him (like they're not getting Cactus Jack, they're getting the WWF creation). As for the babyface side, WWF Champion (and ECW alumni) Stone Cold Steve Austin was the mystery partner. I guess there would be concern with putting Austin in this spot the day before a big title defense against The Undertaker at SummerSlam, but given the stipulation/match type, you don't really need Austin to do much at all. He can get away with punches, kicks, and a few stunners here and there. In the semi-main event spot, Taz retained the FTW Title in a brutal Last Man Standing Match with Bam Bam Bigelow, only to be attacked by Shane Douglas afterwards. Meanwhile, to the shock of many fans in the building, Sid actually managed to defeat Rob Van Dam to win the ECW World TV Title. Would the promotion come to a close with this outsider holding that title?
Elsewhere, Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka had a rematch from Heat Wave 1998, with Awesome winning this time. The FBI got a win over the Japanese trio of Gedo, Jado, and Ultimo Dragon, while Chris Benoit retained the WCW World TV Title over Sabu. Justin Credible picked up another win on this tour in a Four-Way, and finally, Chris Candido managed to retain the WWF Light Heavyweight Title over Lance Storm.
ECW One Last Stand
August 29th, 1998 - ECW Arena - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1.) Fans Bring The Weapons Match - The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks (Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney) def. Public Enemy
2.) Three-Way Dance - Jushin Thunder Liger def. Jerry Lynn & Little Guido
3.) WWF Light Heavyweight Title - Chris Candido (with Tammy Lynn Sytch) (c) def. Justin Credible (with Chastity, Jason, & Nicole Bass)
4.) WCW World TV Champion Chris Benoit & Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty) def. The Flock (Raven & Kidman)
5.) Non-Title Match - Dean Malenko def. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Guerrero
6.) WCW Cruiserweight Title - Rey Mysterio Jr. (c) def. Psychosis
7.) Philly Street Fight Gauntlet - New Jack, Terry Funk, & Spike Dudley def. The Dudley Boyz (Big Dick Dudley, Buh Buh Ray Dudley, & D-Von Dudley with Joel Gertner, Jeff Jones, & Sign Guy Dudley), bWo (Big Stevie Cool, The Blue Meanie, & Hollywood Nova), & The FBI (Little Guido, Tracy Smothers, & Tommy Rich)
8.) ECW World TV Title - The Sandman def. Sid (with Jeff Jones) (c)
9.) ECW World Tag Team Titles - The Thrillseekers (Chris Jericho & Lance Storm) def. Rob Van Dam & Sabu (c)
10.) ECW World Title & FTW Title - Taz [FTW] def. Shane Douglas (with Francine) [ECW World]
Quick Summary: This is it. The final chapter for Extreme Championship Wrestling. Of course, the only way to properly close out the promotion was for Taz to FINALLY achieve his destiny by winning the ECW World Title from Shane Douglas. Obviously, this is a huge moment that the fans in the building (which would be packed, I'm sure) would've gone insane for. So on that end, it ends the promotion on a very high note. Right before that main event were two other title bouts. After breaking off his association with The Triple Threat, Lance Storm partnered up with his longtime friend Chris Jericho, and they became the final ECW World Tag Team Champions after defeating Rob Van Dam and Sabu. Another title bout saw the ECW World TV Title up for grabs. Sid and Jeff Jones issued an Open Challenge, daring anyone to step up to him. Well, The Sandman answered the call and, after an assist from Tommy Dreamer, captured the title, much to the delight of the ECW faithful.
For the rest of the card, I just wanted to show off as many current/former ECW names as a I could. New Jack, Terry Funk, and Spike Dudley (what a trio) won a one-of-a-kind Philly Street Fight Gauntlet over a number of notable ECW trios. We then went back and revisited some famous ECW matches, with Rey Mysterio retaining his WCW Cruiserweight Title over Psychosis, while Dean Malenko defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Guerrero in a non-title affair. Tommy Dreamer teamed up with Chris Benoit to defeat Raven and Kidman, Chris Candido racked up another defense of the WWF Light Heavyweight Title by defeating Justin Credible, and Jushin Thunder Liger made a surprise appearance, picking up a win in a Three-Way Dance. Finally, the opening contest saw Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney defeat the returning Public Enemy in a Fans Bring The Weapons Match.
That's it, folks. That's the finale of ECW. Taz is your final ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Chris Jericho and Lance Storm are your final ECW World Tag Team Champions, and The Sandman is your final ECW World TV Champion. The company closed officially on September 1st, 1998, but the status of the title, the intellectual property, and so on, would remain in limbo for a good year or so. In terms of the ECW talents themselves, most of them would be split between signing with WCW and signing with WWF. As I brought up in my "Alternate History of WCW" thread, people like Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Mike Awesome, Jerry Lynn, and The FBI were talents I signed to WCW right at the start of 1998. A few more would also decide to go to WCW, including Tommy Dreamer (would actually showed up in WCW not long after this) and The Dudley Boyz (who would spend the next several months in OMEGA, the developmental territory). Meanwhile, a number of former ECW talents would end up deciding to sign with the WWF. A number of wrestlers who had been working with WWF on handshake deals, such as all the members of The Triple Threat and all the members of the bWo, would officially sign with WWF. Two of ECW's biggest names, Taz and The Sandman, would sign with WWF, and they would show up at SummerSlam, one night after the final ECW show. Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney would also jump to the WWF to bolster their tag team division, while Sid and Justin Credible would also come to the WWF a short time later. As for people like New Jack, they would remain on the independent scene. |
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Sept 2, 2021 4:55:32 GMT 1
Part XII: WWF SummerSlam 1998
WWF SummerSlam 1998
August 30th, 1998 - Madison Square Garden - New York City, New York
Dark Match
1.) Too Much (Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor) def. Al Snow & Too Cold Scorpio
2.) Justin Credible (with Chastity, Jason, & Nicole Bass) def. Mikey Whipwreck
3.) Bradshaw & Vader def. Danny Doring & Roadkill
PPV
1.) WWF Six-Man Tag Team Title Tournament - First Round - The Hell Raisers (The Road Warriors & Power Warrior) def. DOA (Skull, 8-Ball, & Chainz with Paul Ellering)
2.) WWF European Title - D-Lo Brown (c) def. Val Venis via DQ
3.) WWF Six-Man Tag Team Title Tournament - First Round - The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, & Chris Candido with Francine & Sunny) def. bWo (Big Stevie Cool, The Blue Meanie, & Hollywood Nova)
4.) Hair vs. Hair Match - X-Pac def. Jeff Jarrett
5.) Mixed Tag Team Match - The Sandman & Sable def. Marc Mero & Jacqueline
6.) Lion's Den Match - Ken Shamrock def. Owen Hart
7.) WWF World Tag Team Titles - Falls Count Anywhere Match - The New Aged Outlaws def. Mankind (c)
8.) WWF Intercontinental Title - Ladder Match - Triple H (with Chyna) def. The Rock (with Mark Henry) (c)
9.) WWF Title - Steve Austin (c) def. The Undertaker
For SummerSlam 1998, the bulk of the card from OTL remains pretty much the same in this alternate timeline. Steve Austin and The Undertaker headline with the WWF Title on the line, Triple H challenges The Rock in a Ladder Match for the WWF Intercontinental Title in the semi-main event, the WWF World Tag Team Title bout turns into a handicap match, Ken Shamrock and Owen Hart battle in The Lion's Den, Jeff Jarrett and X-Pac had their Hair vs. Hair Match, and D-Lo Brown put his WWF European Title on the line against Val Venis. All of those bouts that happened on the actual PPV in real life happen exactly the same in this alternate reality.
The main differences are on the undercard. Two of the matches are part of the First Round of the WWF Six-Man Tag Team Title Tournament. After seeing that I had about nine potential trios to use for this tournament, I decided to retroactively change the bWo/Kai En Tai bout from Fully Loaded 1998 to a qualifying match. So by winning that match, the bWo qualified for the tournament, and had their first round bout on this show against The Triple Threat. In that particular match, the Shane Douglas/Bam Bam Bigelow/Chris Candido trio emerged victorious, but the big story was what happened after the match, as Taz (who became the final ECW World Champion the day before) made his debut, flanked by The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks of Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney. They brawled a bit with The Triple Threat, and as you can tell, that match along with the post-match was filled with former ECW talent. The other First Round Match saw Animal, Hawk, and Kensuke Sasaki (aka Power Warrior) defeated DOA to advance to the next round. I'll bring up the brackets in the next post.
We saw more former ECW talent later on, as The Sandman made his WWF debut as Sable's mystery partner in a Mixed Tag Team Match against Marc Mero and Jacqueline.
In terms of title changes since the last PPV, there are a few things to make note of. Kane & Mankind won the WWF World Tag Team Titles on the August 10th RAW is WAR in a Four-Way Tag Team Match that also involved The New Aged Outlaws as well as The Nation team of The Rock and D-Lo Brown. Meanwhile, Taka Michinoku managed to regain the WWF Light Heavyweight Title on the August 26th edition of SmackDown when he defeated Chris Candido following some shenanigans involving the bWo.
That pretty much covers it for SummerSlam 1998! Again, as I've mentioned in previous posts, this will be a more general rundown of things compared to the more detailed posts that I make over in my WCW thread.
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Sept 8, 2021 14:51:15 GMT 1
Part XIII: WWF Breakdown: In Your House
WWF Breakdown: In Your House
September 27th, 1998 - Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
1.) Tag Team Turmoil - The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks (Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney) def. Al Snow & Too Cold Scorpio, bWo (The Blue Meanie & Hollywood Nova), Too Much (Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor) & The Triple Threat (Bam Bam Bigelow & Chris Candido with Sunny)
2.) WWF European Title - Big Stevie Cool (c) def. Shane Douglas (with Francine)
3.) Singapore Cane On A Pole Match - The Sandman def. Marc Mero
4.) Falls Count Anywhere - Vader def. Bradshaw
5.) WWF Six-Man Tag Team Title Tournament - Finals - The Hell Raisers (The Legion Of Doom & Power Warrior) def. The Nation (D-Lo Brown, Mark Henry, & The Godfather)
6.) FTW Title - Taz (c) def. Owen Hart
7.) #1 Contender's Triple Threat Steel Cage Match - The Rock def. Ken Shamrock & Mankind
8.) WWF Intercontinental Title - Shawn Michaels def. Triple H (c)
9.) Six-Man Tag - D-Generation X (The New Aged Outlaws & X-Pac) def. Jeff Jarrett & Southern Justice
10.) WWF Title - Triple Threat Match - Kane & The Undertaker def. Steve Austin (c)
So the version of Breakdown: In Your House features some similarities to the same PPV from OTL, but there are also a number of notable differences. In terms of the similarities, most of the main matches (and their results) stay the same. The Triple Threat Match for the WWF Title in the main event still ends with both Kane and The Undertaker pinning Steve Austin at the same time, which sets up the title bout for the next PPV, where Austin is forced to referee Kane vs. The Undertaker for the WWF Title (again....pretty much a carbon copy). The Six-Man Tag in the semi-main event, as well as the Triple Threat Steel Cage Match remain the same. I also kept Bradshaw vs. Vader in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, but I flipped the result, so Vader wins instead of Bradshaw.
The biggest change is the in-ring return of Shawn Michaels. One of the things that I mentioned very early on in this entire process is that the back injury that Shawn Michaels suffers at Royal Rumble 1998 in the Casket Match with The Undertaker ends up being less severe in this alternate timeline. So, as opposed to putting him on the shelf for over four years, he's only out-of-action for a few months after losing to Austin at WrestleMania. Michaels would make his return right after SummerSlam, but the big twist would be that he turns on his D-Generation X brethren to join The Corporation (Michaels did actually join The Corporation for a period in OTL, but in this alternate universe, he joins them as an active wrestler). Triple H ends up getting the worst of an attack shortly thereafter (thanks to Michaels), and that sets up a match for the Intercontinental Title between the two former best friends. Michaels would end up winning the Intercontinental Title with the help of another new member of The Corporation.....Psycho Sid, who (of course) has his own history with Michaels.
As for the rest of the card, we've got ECW alumni all over the pace. Not long after his debut, Taz introduced the FTW Title, which immediately drew the ire of Owen Hart, setting up a PPV match between those two. The Sandman would continue the feud with Marc Mero that started at SummerSlam, which would set up a Singapore Cane On A Pole Match for this show. Meanwhile, Big Stevie Cool (aka Stevie Richards) would bring championship gold to the bWo after defeating D-Lo Brown on the September 16th edition of SmackDown, and with the bWo having ongoing issues with The Triple Threat, a title bout was ultimately set up with Stevie defending against Shane Douglas. Even more former ECW talent was in the PPV opener, as Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney would win a Tag Team Turmoil Match against a number of other former ECW talents (aside from Too Much).
Last, but certainly not least, this PPV card featured the Finals of the WWF Six-Man Tag Team Title Tournament, with The Hell Raisers (The Legion Of Doom and Power Warrior) becoming the inaugural champions after defeating The Nation trio of D-Lo Brown, Mark Henry, and The Godfather. I'll close out this post with the bracket listed below:
Qualifying Match
bWo (Big Stevie Cool, The Blue Meanie, & Hollywood Nova) def. Kai En Tai (Taka Michinoku, Sho Funaki, & Dick Togo)
First Round
The Hell Raisers (The Legion Of Doom and Power Warrior) def. DOA (Skull, 8-Ball, & Chainz with Paul Ellering)
The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, & Chris Candido with Francine & Sunny) def. bWo bWo (Big Stevie Cool, The Blue Meanie, & Hollywood Nova)
The Nation (D-Lo Brown, Mark Henry, & The Godfather) def. D-Generation X (The New Aged Outlaws & X-Pac)
The Oddities (Giant Silva, Golga, & Kurrgan with Luna & Insane Clown Posse) def. Jeff Jarrett & Southern Justice
Semifinals
The Hell Raisers (The Legion Of Doom and Power Warrior) def. The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, & Chris Candido with Francine & Sunny)
The Nation (D-Lo Brown, Mark Henry, & The Godfather) def. The Oddities (Giant Silva, Golga, & Kurrgan with Luna & Insane Clown Posse)
Finals
The Hell Raisers (The Legion Of Doom & Power Warrior) def. The Nation (D-Lo Brown, Mark Henry, & The Godfather)
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Post by Asaemon on Sept 8, 2021 19:36:37 GMT 1
The Hell Raisers I dig it. A great powerhouse tag team.
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Sept 29, 2021 3:23:40 GMT 1
Part XIV: WWF Judgment Day: In Your House
WWF Judgment Day: In Your House
October 18th, 1998 - Rosemont Horizon - Rosemont, Illinois
Sunday Night Heat
1.) The Oddities (Giant Silva, Golga, & Kurrgan with Luna Vachon & The Insane Cloud Posse) def. Kai En Tai (Taka Michinoku, Sho Funaki, & Dick Togo)
2.) Steve Blackman def. Bradshaw
3.) The Godfather def. Faarooq
4.) Triple Threat Tag Team Match - The Legion Of Doom def. DOA (Skull & 8-Ball with Chainz & Paul Ellering) & Southern Justice
PPV
1.) WWF Light Heavyweight Title - Justin Credible (with Chastity, Jason, & Nicole Bass) def. X-Pac (c)
2.) Six-Man Tag - The Corporation (Psycho Sid, Shawn Michaels, & Shane McMahon) def. Los Boricuas (Jesus Castillo, Jose Estrada, & Miguel Perez Jr.)
3.) Fatal Four-Way Match - Jeff Jarrett def. Owen Hart, Too Cold Scorpio, & Val Venis
4.) WWF World Tag Team Titles - The New Aged Outlaws (c) vs. The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks (Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney) - No Contest
5.) If Goldust Loses, He Must Join The bWo - Big Stevie Cool def. Goldust
6.) WWF Six-Man Tag Team Titles - Chicago Street Fight - Al Snow, Taz, & The Sandman def. The Triple Threat (Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido, & Shane Douglas with Francine & Sunny) (c)
7.) WWF European Title - X-Pac (with Chyna) def. D-Lo Brown (c)
8.) WWF Intercontinental Title - Ken Shamrock (c) def. Mankind
9.) Mark Henry def. The Rock
10.) WWF Title - Special Guest Referee: Steve Austin - Kane vs. The Undertaker - Draw via Double Pin
So my version of Judgement Day: In Your House very much continues the trend that's been seen so far in this thread, as well as the first year of my Alternate History of WCW Thread. A lot of similarities, but also a lot of differences. The similarities are very apparent, particularly in the top half of the card. X-Pac still defeats D-Lo Brown for the WWF European Title (Brown had recently regained the title from Big Stevie Cool on the September 30th SmackDown after Goldust got involved.....more on that later), Ken Shamrock defeats Mankind to retain the WWF Intercontinental Title (Shamrock won the title in a Six-Pack Challenge on the October 14th SmackDown, which also involved Mankind, Mark Henry, The Rock, and Triple H....who was barred from the building by The Corporation for this PPV), Mark Henry picks up an (inexplicable) win over The Rock, and the main events ends in controversy, as Steve Austin refuses to crown a winner between Kane and The Undertaker for the WWF Title. Of course, as we all know, this leads to Vince McMahon firing Austin to close the PPV. That still happens in this alternate timeline (minus a masked Big Bossman, who is still with WCW at this point). Pretty much everything that happens in those top matches happens just as it does in OTL.
When it comes to the differences, those are pretty much exclusively on the undercard. The opener sees Justin Credible win the WWF Light Heavyweight Title from X-Pac after interference from D-Lo Brown cost X-Pac his title. Now this is a title that's been bouncing around a lot lately, as it went from Chris Candido (who won it back in June) to Taka Michinoku (right after SummerSlam), then back to Chris Candido (on the September 9th SmackDown), and then finally back to X-Pac on the aforementioned September 30th SmackDown (in a Triple Threat Match also involving Candido and Taka). As for Justin Credible/X-Pac match on the PPV, it was essentially designed to put the title on Credible, while also furthering the build to X-Pac vs. D-Lo Brown later in the show.
Elsewhere on the undercard, the newly created WWF World Six-Man Tag Team Titles were on the line in a Chicago Street Fight. While the inaugural champions were The Legion Of Doom and Power Warrior (also known as The Hell Raisers), they unfortunately didn't hold the titles for very long. The Triple Threat won the titles on the October 5th edition of RAW is WAR, after striking a deal that saw them join The Corporation (in exchange for their help in capturing the titles). As you might expect, this drew the ire of some former ECW alumni, all of whom had a history with The Triple Threat. Thus, a title match was set up, and given the competitors involved, a Chicago Street Fight only made sense.
Some other bouts on the undercard included a Fatal Four-Way Match involving three stalwarts of the WWF's mid-card, and a WWF World Tag Team Title bout between The New Aged Outlaws and The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks ended in a No Contest when a brawl got out of control. There was also a Six-Man Tag that saw in the in-ring debut of Shane McMahon, as he teamed with fellow Corporation members Psycho Sid and Shawn Michaels in a glorified showcase match against Los Boricuas. Finally, Big Stevie Cool and Goldust fought in a match with a unique stipulation. During the month of September, the bWo and Goldust started to get into it (Goldust was offended by the bWo and their style....in terms of their dress, color choice....being rip-offs), and that led to Goldust costing Big Stevie Cool the WWF European Title. This led to a match on this PPV, where Goldust would have to join the bWo if he won. Well....he lost, and thus, he was forced to join the bWo. This would be a notable undercard WWF storyline going forward, as the bWo try to integrate Goldust into the group. |
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Oct 9, 2021 17:21:44 GMT 1
Part XV: WWF Survivor Series 1998
WWF Survivor Series 1998
November 15th, 1998 - Kiel Center - St. Louis, Missouri
Sunday Night Heat
1.) Three-Way Tag Team Match - The Headbangers def. The J.O.B. Squad (Bob Holly & Too Cold Scorpio with Al Snow & Head) & Too Much (Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor)
2.) Taz def. Tiger Ali Singh
3.) Fatal Four-Way Match - Val Venis def. Chris Candido (with Sunny), The Sandman, & Steve Blackman
PPV
1.) Deadly Game Tournament - First Round - Mankind def. Mikey Whipwreck (with Terry Funk)
2.) Deadly Game Tournament - First Round - Al Snow (with Head) def. Jeff Jarrett (with Debra)
3.) Deadly Game Tournament - First Round - Steve Austin def. Bam Bam Bigelow via DQ
4.) Deadly Game Tournament - First Round - Shane Douglas (with Francine) vs. WWF European Champion X-Pac - No Contest via Double Count Out
5.) Deadly Game Tournament - First Round - WWF Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock def. Vader
6.) Deadly Game Tournament - First Round - The Rock def. Chris Candido (with Sunny)
7.) Deadly Game Tournament - Quarter-Finals - The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) def. Kane
8.) Deadly Game Tournament - Quarter-Finals - Mankind def. Al Snow (with Head)
9.) Deadly Game Tournament - Quarter-Finals - The Rock def. WWF Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock
10.) WWF Women's Title - Special Guest Referee: Shane McMahon - Sable def. Jacqueline (with Marc Mero) (c)
11.) Deadly Game Tournament - Semi-Finals - Mankind def. Steve Austin
12.) Deadly Game Tournament - Semi-Finals - The Rock def. The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) via DQ
13.) WWF World Tag Team Titles - Four-Way Tag Team Match - The Corporation (Psycho Sid & Shawn Michaels) (c) def. bWo (WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Big Stevie Cool & Bluedust), D-Lo Brown & Mark Henry, & The New Aged Outlaws
14.) WWF Title - Deadly Game Tournament - Finals - The Rock def. Mankind
It's a Deadly Game! That's right.....it's November 1998, which means going through the Deadly Game Tournament at Survivor Series. Of course, in both OTL and this alternate timeline, the WWF Title was declared vacant following the events of Judgment Day, where Steve Austin (as the Special Guest Referee) refused to crown a winner in the Kane vs. Undertaker WWF Title bout. Now the main beats of the tournament from OTL, as they occurred on the PPV, remain pretty much the same in my version. Mankind appears to be the favorite of The Corporation, while Vince McMahon is trying to screw both Steve Austin and The Rock. In fact, once you get to the Quarter-Finals, it's pretty much identical.
The only slight change beyond the first round is with Ken Shamrock. He never actually joins up with The Corporation (with Psycho Sid and an active Shawn Michaels in the fold, plus the members of The Triple Threat), so he's still a babyface here. The Corporation still try to get involved, in order to make sure The Rock doesn't advance, but it backfires, and they end up taking out Shamrock, allowing The Rock to take advantage of the situation for the win.
Now I did end up making some changes to the first round of the tournament, as shown above in the edited tournament bracket. Mankind's opponent in the first round ends up being Mikey Whipwreck who, of course, has history with Mick Foley. Now while Whipwreck does put up more of a fight than Mankind first round opponent from OTL (Duane Gill), it's still a very easy victory for Mankind. From there, we get Ken Shamrock wrestling Vader in the second round, and those two have a fun, hard-hitting affair that's ultimately won by Shamrock. X-Pac ends up having a double count out against Shane Douglas from The Triple Threat and The Corporation instead of Steven Regal, but the result remains the same, as neither advance. Steve Austin goes up against Bam Bam Bigelow in the first round, and while Austin wins the match by DQ, Bigelow puts a beatdown on Austin, much to the delight of Vince McMahon.
The final first round change involves The Rock. Of course, he was originally set to face Triple H, but due to a knee injury, he never appears. The Stooges (Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco) bring out the late replacement in the form of Chris Candido (member of The Triple Threat and The Corporation) and, just like Big Bossman in OTL, he loses to The Rock in seconds (though that's by design in the end).
Aside from some changes to the Sunday Night Heat card, the only other major change to the card involved the WWF World Tag Team Title bout. In this case, it's a four-way tag team match, with Psycho Sid and Shawn Michaels from The Corporation defending the titles against the bWo team of Big Stevie Cool and Bluedust (aka Goldust), D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry, and The New Aged Outlaws. Michaels and Sid won the titles from The New Aged Outlaws on the October 28th edition of SmackDown.
In terms of other titles changes, the team of D-Lo Brown, Mark Henry, & The Godfather won the WWF Six-Man Tag Team Titles from Al Snow, Taz, & The Sandman on the November 4th SmackDown, while Big Stevie Cool won the WWF Light Heavyweight Title from Justin Credible on that same show. Meanwhile, Mankind was awarded the WWF Hardcore Title just like he was in OTL, so that title is now in play. |
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Post by dxvsnwo1994 on Oct 19, 2021 4:08:44 GMT 1
Part XVI: WWF Capital Carnage 1998
WWF Capital Carnage 1998
December 6th, 1998 - London Arena - London, England
1.) The New Aged Outlaws def. D-Lo Brown & Mark Henry
2.) WWF Light Heavyweight Title - Triple Threat Match - Justin Credible (with Jason, Nicole Bass, & Chastity) def. Gillberg (c) (with The J.O.B. Squad) & Big Stevie Cool (with The bWo)
3.) The Legion Of Doom def. The Headbangers
4.) Val Venis def. Tiger Ali Singh
5.) WWF Women's Title - Anything Goes Match - Sable (c) def. Jacqueline
6.) WWF Intercontinental Title - Ken Shamrock (c) def. Chris Candido (with Sunny)
7.) Triple H (with Chyna) def. Jeff Jarrett (with Debra)
8.) Eight-Man Tag - The Corporation (WWF Hardcore Champion Bam Bam Bigelow, Shane Douglas with Francine, & WWF World Tag Team Champions Psycho Sid & Shawn Michaels) def. Mikey Whipwreck, The Sandman, Taz, & Terry Funk
9.) WWF Title - The Rock (c) def. WWF European Champion X-Pac (with Chyna & Triple H) via DQ
10.) Fatal Four-Way Match - Special Guest Referee: Gerald Brisco - Steve Austin def. Kane, Mankind, & The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer)
So when I was going through the booking of the WWF PPV's in this little experiment, I completely forgot about the UK PPVs! I ended up going back and completing all of those, and we've got our first one right here, wedged between Survivor Series and Rock Bottom. In terms of the top two matches, they're pretty much all the same as they were in OTL (including the involvement of Vinnie Jones in the main event), with the lone change being Bam Bam Bigelow slotted in Big Bossman's spot. Some of the other bouts are the same as the actual PPV, such as Triple H vs. Jeff Jarrett and The New Aged Outlaws vs. D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry (though not for the WWF World Tag Team Titles, as The Corporation are the current title holders). The undercard saw a number of changes, such as an Eight-Man Tag with The Corporation against a team of former ECW wrestlers, Ken Shamrock defending the Intercontinental Title against Corporation member Chris Candido, and a Triple Threat Match (with A TON of people at ringside) for the WWF Light Heavyweight Title.
In terms of the championships, the primary titles (WWF Title, WWF Intercontinental Title, WWF World Tag Team Titles, and the WWF European Title) have remained the same since Survivor Series. The Corporation trio of Shane McMahon, Psycho Sid, and Shawn Michaels are also still in possession of the WWF Six-Man Tag Team Titles. There was some movement with the WWF Light Heavyweight Title, as Gillberg (with the newly formed J.O.B. Squad backing him up) won the title from Big Stevie Cool on the November 18th SmackDown. Of course, as the results above indicate, that title reign didn't last very long. We've also been introduced to the WWF Hardcore Title. Mankind was awarded the title by Vince McMahon on the November 2nd RAW is WAR (so before Survivor Series). Mankind would lose that title in a Ladder Match on the November 30th RAW is WAR, though in this version of events, he loses it to Bam Bam Bigelow instead of Big Bossman.
That's all for WWF Capital Carnage! Up next is Rock Bottom! |
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