Raw is War 10/19/98
- We open with a recap of the build to Judgment Day and the ensuing fallout, where Mr. McMahon fired Steve Austin for messing with the finish to the PPV main event…we then head right inside the Bradley Center where streamers and balloons are falling and party music is playing…the entire roster files into the ring to hear an announcement from the boss…Ross isn’t happy to be part of this, but King is lapping it up…the amount of streamers and glitter falling just completely drowns out everything else…the roster is huge at this point, just completely overflowing the ring the music stops and Commissioner Slaughter walks out to the ramp…shortly after, Mr. McMahon wheels out, flanked by Patterson, Brisco, Boss Man and K9 security…the boss confirms that we have no WWF champion, but one will be crowned at Survivor Series when there is a sixteen man tournament to be held…good on them to announce that right away…Vince is fantastic at this point, a true heel force…he brags about firing Austin and then refreshes us of last night’s happenings…Boss Man still has his mask on for some reason…Vince takes some digs at Austin as King cackles…firing Austin felt better than sex for the boss…Austin 3:16 has become a collector’s item and now McMahon 3:16 is sweeping the nation…it means “I got the brass to fire your ass”…classic Vince…what an outstanding promo…as he starts to wheel off, we see Austin on the Titantron…he is decked out in camo and packing heat…we go to break
- When we return, Vince’s posse is wheeling him to safety…he sends Boss Man to take out Austin as Vince creates a plan to document tonight’s action…now we head back out to Austin’s truck, where is cleaning and prepping his rifle…back inside, JR & King reset us and take us to the ring for our opener
- Ken Shamrock vs. X-Pac…this is non-title…Shamrock is out first, belt in tow, hot off his dominating performance a week ago…we see clips from Heat last night, when Shamrock attacked Triple H in the garage and slammed a door on his injured knee…this is a rematch from last week’s tourney finals…Shamrock is so crisp at this point…we keep cutting to Vince as JR & King discuss the situation…Shamrock is just hammering on Pac…he grinds him with a front facelock as two homely looking security guards march to ringside…they handcuff Chyna and walk her off…Pac makes a comeback but runs right into a powerslam for a near fall…Pac misses the Bronco Buster and Shamrock makes him pay with a belly-to-belly…JR assumes Chyna’s arrest has to do with Mark Henry’s protection order…Shamrock hits a hurricanrana as Mankind stomps down the ramp…he distracts Shamrock and is able to lock in the mandible claw on the champ…Shamrock blocks it with a belly-to-belly but walks into an X-Factor and a loss…Pac with the upset win, courtesy Mankind…Shamrock looked awesome as always and Pac bumped around for him well
- Backstage, Chyna is put in the back of a squad car as Billy Gunn pleads her case…yeah I didn’t think that would help her much, either…Chyna is driven off…now two of the undercover police officers spy Austin in his truck and go chat hunting and guns with him…after a friendly chat, the cops walk off…elsewhere, Vince is pissed that the cops didn’t arrest him
- Back from break, Vince is demanding that a K9 cop go arrest Austin, but the cop tells him to go screw and walks off…he also happens to look like Frances Buxton with a sweet stache and Wisconsin accent…Vince ain’t happy because he needs protection
- Headbangers vs. LOD 2000…the Bangers have foam title belts on and do a spoof on the Outlaws’ intro…they have two words for us, “You Suck”…Hawk is in the corner again this week as Animal & Droz take the match…JR talks about the LOD’s issues stemming from last night…Animal is all over Mosh to start…LOD showing good teamwork…I actually like this version of LOD, despite Scott Criscuolo’s tears…Thrasher is in and hits a flapjack that nearly kills Droz to turn the tide…Droz comes back with a sitout powerbomb, leading too all four men brawling in the ring…Hawk starts talking to Droz, allowing Thrasher to roll him up for the win…nothing match and the crowd died off a bit…Droz is pissed, blaming Hawk
- Backstage, Patterson, Brisco and Slaughter go to fetch coffee as Vince begs for everyone to hang around and help…what a bunch of jerks
- When we return, Vince is alone and there is a knock on the door…he wheels over, scared, as Mankind walks in to act as security for the Boss…Socko is with them as well…he gives Vince some candy and is excited for their sleepover party…Vince is not happy
- Back inside the arena, Undertaker and Paul Bearer stalk to the ring…JR tells us that they reunited at JD when Paul turned his back on his son…Taker has a pretty damn ominous presence at this point and one of the best versions of his theme plays him out…King tells us that Jeff Jarrett has a big surprise for later…Taker talks about his reconciliation with Paul, who has returned to lead the Ministry of Darkness…he talks about vision and the power of darkness…that also includes the ability to flip your hair out of eyes apparently…Taker is now allowed to focus on the start of a new era…they will release a major plague on the promotion, a plague that will never be understood…those that don’t declare, shall be declared…Paul craps on Kane…JR calls Paul a “rotund demon”…Taker finally admits to starting the infamous fire that killed his parents and burnt Kane to a crisp…he did it because Kane was weak as a child and is still weak…now Kane’s music hits and he pushes a huge casket onto the ramp…he uses his voice box and challenges Taker to a casket match tonight…he vows Taker will rest in peace
- Back in the locker room, Mankind is trying to convince Vince to rehire Austin so they can form their own clique…Vince is disgusted by the thought…Mankind wants to play games…we take a quick break and when we return, Mankind is playing Twister…Vince flips out and throws Mankind out of the locker room…he tells Mankind to get out of his life…Vince is awesome, not much more can be said
- Steve Blackman vs. Jeff Jarrett…Blackman is out first and we get clips from last week when he was attacked by the Blue Blazer…Jarrett is accompanied by Debra McMichael, which is his big surprise, apparently…JJ attacks Blackman off the bell…crowd is flat again…JR announces that the casket match is on…Blackman dropkicks his way back into things…they trade strikes back and forth as the crowd begs Debra to show her tits…gotta love Milwaukee…JJ hits a DDT but this crowd couldn’t give two shits or a fuck about him…JJ eats a boot as he comes off the middle rope…as Blackman starts working over JJ, the Blazer reappears and takes Blackman over with a belly-to-belly…JJ helps Blazer work Blackman over…Blazer runs off as JJ grabs his guitar…Al Snow sneaks in from behind, but Debra distracts him, allowing JJ to bash him with the guitar
- Backstage, Vince is alone and his phone rings…he wheels over pensively and finally answers it…it is Austin, who tells Vince his time is up and he is coming for the boss
- Back from break, Vince is speaking with his limo driver, who does not see Austin…he is directing the driver and has him start his car and open the back door to prep for Vince’s escape…he wheels down the hallway slowly, trying to make it out…Vince spots his limo and makes a break for it…he lunges into the limo, but Austin is in there waiting for him…he drags Vince out and commandeers his wheelchair…Vince is crying and begging as he wheels Vince through the backstage area, hunting bow in tow…he wheels Vince into a wall, yanking and tossing him all around in the process…this is fantastic…Vince is pouting as Austin wheels him into his locker room and slams the door shut
- We rejoin JR & King, who again reset us on the night…after a quick break, we are back in Vince’s locker room…Vince is crying as Austin is just grilling him…he pulls out a knife and asks Vince if it was big enough to handle an elephant…Vince is stammering as we hit the ring
- Rock vs. D-Lo Brown…Rock is out to a huge pop but has some weird ass funky remix…D-Lo and Henry are out next to my favorite version of the Nation theme…Rock comes out on fire as JR says Chyna is being booked into jail…Henry & D-Lo are the only two remaining Nation members as Godfather has moved on his own…D-Lo still has the chest protector on here…I love his in ring taunting…Rock fires back with a clothesline but D-Lo tosses him out to the floor where Henry wipes him out…back inside, Rock hits a sloppy Samoan drop and then stomps away at Brown…he follows with a DDT and People’s Elbow to a massive pop…D-Lo stays alive but jumps right into a Rock Bottom to end the match…Henry hops in the ring and the numbers overwhelm Rock…Henry splashes him twice before officials finally break things up…nifty little match there and Rock was starting to get crazy over with the fans…that music is fucking terrible though
- Back to the locker room where Austin is sharpening his knife and scaring the shit out of Vince as he leaps up to grab an apple…after a break, Austin tells Vince what a great time he is having…he went hunting for jackass and he found one…back to the ring
- Tiger Ali Singh and Babu have joined us…Tiger has a jacket that is seven sizes too big for him…he talks about how much shitty crap Americans eat as Babu grills kielbasa…he offers $500 to anyone that comes and swallows Babu’s kielbasa whole…well, then…Babu picks some weathered hosebeast out of the crowd…guessing she is Brett Carlson’s galpal…Babu gives her the kielbasa and she deep throats the shit out of it…good for her, and Carlson…Tiger pays up as she sucks a second one down…now Godfather is out…he gives lessons in pimping…this is the first real character stuff from him…he says this lady used to be one of his hoes, and she was a good one…Godfather wants to get paid and Tiger is pissed because he wanted an amateur and not a professional…he tells Tiger he could have had that hot action for the whole night for less money…Tiger attacks Godfather, using Babu as a human shield…officials bust things up as we go backstage again…Austin keeps taunting Vince, who is totally despondent…he makes Vince squeal like a pig and Vince obliges maniacally
- After break, the torture continues on…Austin is telling Vince all about the movie Misery, including all the tactics used by Kathy Bates…Vince screams for help as Austin threatens him and eventually duct tapes his mouth shut…what the fuck is taking Patterson & Brisco so long…Austin tapes Vince up and then goes off to find a sledgehammer
- Mankind vs. Val Venis…Mankind out first…Val has Terri with him…despite interference from Terri, Val lost to Goldust last night…Val talks about his audition for the movie Anaconda, thanks to his big snake…Mankind is hobbling around, apparently has a banged up foot from his battle at JD…kind of a sluggish match here as neither man seems to get going…Val hammers away at Mankind as we get more Austin talk…Mankind battles back and lands a double arm DDT…he pulls out Socko, but Terri has the ref tied up…Shamrock shows up ringside and jabs Mankind in the knee with a chair…Val covers and gets the tainted win…blasé match…Mankind attacks Shamrock after the match…they brawl into the crowd, where Mankind uses a chair in the midst of a flurry of strikes…as Val and Terri regroup in the ring, Goldust’s music hits and he appears on the Tron…he mumbles some movie quote and other threats but I couldn’t really make them out…now Terri whispers in Val’s ear, smiling, but Val is not happy as he limps off
- Back to the locker room, where Austin is still ranting on Vince, who is bound to his chair by duct tape…Austin promises Vince won’t feel a thing…after break, Austin puts on the TV for them to watch the next match
- Undertaker vs. Kane…main event casket match time…hopefully this is better than their bout the night before…JR claims Taker is the Undisputed Master of Casket Matches, even though I believe he has lost as many as he has won…Kane attacks his brother and we are under way…there is a random cup in the ring that nobody seems to care about…Taker comes back with a flying clothesline…both men tumble into the casket, where they hammer away at each other…Taker hits a stiff DDT in the casket and the referee closes the lid on both men…they fight inside and end up destroying the casket from the inside, which is pretty cool…the casket is wrecked as they battle out of it…Paul runs away as Kane stalks up the aisle after him…Taker follows and mashes Kane with a chair…Taker and Paul leave as Kane follows after…apparently that is that since the casket is messed up…that match was better than it had any right to be…backstage, Austin takes Vince out of the room as Vince is begging for safety
- After commercial, Austin wheels Vince down the hallways and after a lengthy wait filled by JR & King, finally out to the ring…he forces Vince out of the chair and forces him into the ring…Vince is on his knees in the ring as Austin has the truck replay the party from earlier, including Vince’s proclamations…Vince is in tears, begging as Austin stands over him, taunting the boss…Austin puts an envelope in Vince’s pocket and tells him to read it…Vince is praying, eyes closed but Austin forces Vince to look at himself on the screen…Austin pulls out a gun and promises to make Vince’s eyes pop out of his head…he points it at Vince’s temple, pulls the trigger and a little “Bang 3:16” handkerchief pops out…Austin points out that Vince pissed his pants and then finishes him with a pair of Stunners as the crowd goes ballistic…Austin celebrates and Vince writhes as the show wraps up…classic episode with tons of angle and character development, but little in the way of in ring action, as is the case for most post-PPV Raw episodes at the time
Review Date: March 2013
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