WWF: Sunday Night Heat
August 9, 1998
San Diego, CA
San Diego Sports Arena

The current WWF champs are as follows:
WWF Champion: Steve Austin (6/29/1998)
Intercontinental Champion: The Rock (12/8/1997)
World Tag Team Champions: The Undertaker & Steve Austin (7/26/1998)
European Champion: D’Lo Brown (7/20/1998)
Light Heavyweight Champion: TAKA Michinoku (12/7/1997)

IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERRE. Your hosts are Jim Ross and Shane McMahon.

KABOOM! We start the show with Paul Bearer leading Kane and Mankind to the ring. They take us back to RAW when Kane whacked Mankind over the head with a chair and then nothing happened between the Brothers of Destruction. WHY NOT? Mankind leans against the ropes on his knees to tell us what he did the day before the King of the Ring. What did you do, Mick? He took his two little children to Santa’s Village and while he sat on the rollercoaster, his little girl reached up and kissed him on the cheek. The reason she did that was because she said her daddy was a good man. It was the most beautiful thing Mankind ever heard and the next day the Undertaker tried to take all of that beauty away from him. He starts calling the Undertaker (or the fans?) garbage who don’t belong in the same arena with him. We see the nastiest highlights from their Hell in a Cell match which made Taker look like a real KILLER. With his arm hanging by a thread and his teeth sticking up in his nostril, he finished the match because he could. Mankind looks over at Jim Ross that if there was ever a man who deserved a standing ovation, it would be Mick Foley. That night, about 200 people cheered, which meant the other 19,800 people were looking at the toughest SOB in the WWF, and they were too stupid to know. Two things became clear: 1) he will not wrestle again for the fans acceptance, and 2) his career will never end in a blaze of glory, but will end with him slowly lose his bodily functions with nobody giving a damn. Wow, TRUTH. Mankind tells Kane that he’s talking about ripping apart his flesh and blood – and if Kane has a problem with that, maybe they can work it out. The fact is the Undertaker needs to fight the guts to come out and face him man to man because Mankind refuses to give Undertaker the satisfaction of putting the final nail in his coffin. If Taker finds the guts, then God as Mankind’s witness, he will tear him apart. Have a nice day. That’s a GREAT promo from Mankind.

WHOA, Shane McMahon has some much hotter ladies with him this week. Hard to pay attention to what Shane and JR are talking about there.

• Mark Henry vs. Vader

Ross calls this a rematch from Fully Loaded In Your House where Mark Henry got the win. Big showdown to start. Henry isn’t impressed and gorilla press slams Vader. INSANITY. Vader heads to the floor, but Henry goes after him. Back inside, Henry double sledges him down and lands an elbow drop off the ropes. That gets two. Vader turns the tide with a couple Body Attacks and hits the splash off the ropes for two. Looks like Henry is busted open from the mouth. He rolls out to the floor and gets blasted by Vader. Henry reverses a whip into the steps and takes Vader back inside for a clothesline and a splash. How about one more. Henry doesn’t want to pin Vader and continues to splash him. With the ref concerned for Vader’s well being, he calls for the bell and DQ’s Henry. (3:36) That decision doesn’t really seem fair since he wasn’t doing anything against the rules. Whatever. Vader gets pounded into dust essentially destroying any chances of getting over anywhere else in the US. ¾*

We catch up with Michael Cole who is camping out by the Undertaker’s dressing room to get an answer to Mankind’s challenge.

• Southern Justice (w/Jeff Jarrett & Tennessee Lee) vs. The Headbangers (w/Darren Drozdov)

Big brawl to start. Southern Justice is Dennis Knight and Mark Canterbury – formerly known as Phineas and Henry Godwinn. Ross announces the four-way match over the WWF tag titles set for tomorrow night’s RAW. The Headbangers do alright against Knight until Canterbury trips up Mosh. Knight does a lot of choking. Tag to Canterbury, he slams Mosh and hits a running elbow drop for two. Thrasher can’t stand all the choking and makes matters worse for Mosh. A nasty clothesline connects on Mosh, but he mounts a comeback only to eat a right hand from Canterbury. The match breaks down, Jarrett attacks Drozdov, and then gets in the ring to attack the Headbangers. When Droz gets in the ring, the ref DQ’s both teams. (3:25) After the bell, Drozdov clotheslines Jarrett out, but then he turns around into a clothesline from Canterbury. Bleh. No heat for any of this stuff. *

• X-Pac vs. TAKA Michinoku (w/Yamaguchi-san)

They take us back to RAW when Chyna helped Triple H beat X-Pac to get a shot at the Rock and the IC title at SummerSlam. This is our first look at TAKA as a heel since he turned on Val Venis on last week’s RAW. X-Pac grinds on a headlock and runs TAKA down with a shoulderblock. Yamaguchi-san trips X-Pac as he comes off the ropes into a spinning heel kick. IRONY. TAKA connects with a low dropkick and leaps off the top rope with a missile dropkick. He heads up again, but TAKA misses a flying splash. HERE COMES X-PAC. He slam dunks TAKA and kicks him down. Time for the Bronco Buster. He swings at Yamaguchi-san on the apron, but TAKA nails him from behind. TAKA then telegraphs a backdrop and eats the X-FACTOR for the win. (2:08) The rest of Kaientai head down to stomp the crap out of X-Pac. Triple H and the New Age Outlaws run down for the big save. Billy Gunn press slams Men’s Teioh onto the other three guys. Meanwhile, Chyna punches Yamaguchi-san back down the aisle and joins the rest of DX in the ring who then decides to moon the paying customer. Shane feels DX is absolutely out of control. *

In the back, Michael Cole was refused to come into the Undertaker’s dressing room with a camera.

• Bradshaw vs. Dustin Runnels

They take us back to Bradshaw turning on Terry Funk at Fully Loaded. Dustin Runnels doesn’t get an entrance and prays in the corner before the bell. He walks over to Bradshaw for a handshake and eats a boot to the face. Bradshaw clotheslines Runnels in the corner and then gets his arm worked over. To the floor, we see some punches exchanged. Back inside, Bradshaw hits a back suplex for two. Droz will wrestle Jeff Jarrett later tonight. Runnels fights back with a clotheslines of his own, but turns around into a flying tackle. Runnels sees Bradshaw trying a backdrop and lands the kneeling uppercut, but then eats the CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL for the win at 2:15. ¾*

STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN – WWF ATTITUDE.

Another installment of Droz’s World. He talks about his crazy tattoos.

• Darren Drozdov vs. Jeff Jarrett (w/Tennessee Lee)

Tennessee Lee accepted this match on Jarrett’s behalf, which might not make Double J very happy. They don’t seem to be having any public issues tonight just yet. Droz stuns Jarrett with a Bossman Slam and then follows up with a spinning back elbow. Big powerslam gets two. Southern Justice saunter out to distract Droz. Jarrett knocks Droz through the ropes and a baseball slide wipes him out. There’s some brief ringside violence. Back inside, Jarrett hits the flying body press for two. Droz punches back, but Jarrett comes off the ropes and slides underneath to hit a DDT. Jarrett delivers a Russian legsweep and continues with a snap suplex for a nearfall. A sleeperhold ensues. Ross and McMahon discuss John Wayne Bobbitt appearing on RAW tomorrow night to talk with Val Venis. Droz fights out, but misses a corner splash. Wait a minute, here comes the Headbangers to ringside. Droz catches Jarrett with a clothesline, but runs into a double-KO. While the ref is busy with the Headbangers, Tennessee Lee throws one of his cowboy boots into the ring. Droz gets the boot away from Jarrett and KABONGS him for the win. (4:21) Talk about putting your foot in your mouth. HI-OOOOOO. Jarrett gets up in Tennessee Lee’s face and starts shoving him around. Tennessee Lee calls for a microphone and labels Jarrett a problem. He gives Southern Justice the signal to jump Jarrett, but then Southern Justice jumps Tennessee Lee as all three guys start assaulting him. Knight gives him the SLOP DROP. Jarrett has three words for ya: if you don’t like Jarrett and Southern Justice, you can “KISS MY A-DOUBLE-S”. Well, that looks to be the end of Tennessee Lee in the WWF. *½

• The Undertaker vs. Mankind (w/Paul Bearer and Kane)

Shane says Mankind has a weapon with him. We’re waiting for the Undertaker to come out. Next thing you know, Kane goozles Mankind while he’s on the apron and shoves him down through the timekeeper’s table. OH MAN. Kane slugs Paul Bearer and then punches Mankind some more. Now he’s whacking Mankind with the ring steps. WHAT HAS POSSESSED KANE TO ATTACK PAUL BEARER AND MANKIND? There’s a TOMBSTONE on the floor! Ross thinks there’s definitely collusion now between Kane and the Undertaker, but then Kane gets in the ring and takes off his mask to show – it was the UNDERTAKER ALL ALONG. THAT’S NOT KANE! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? N/A

That will do it for today. RAW IS NEXT. Until next time, so long for now.