WWF: SuNDAY NiGHT HeAT
September 27, 1998
Hamilton, ON, Canada
Copps Coliseum

The current WWF champs are as follows:
WWF Champion: Steve Austin (6/29/1998)
Intercontinental Champion: Triple H (8/30/1998)
World Tag Team Champions: The New Age Outlaws (8/30/1998)
European Champion: X-Pac (9/21/1998)
Light Heavyweight Champion: TAKA Michinoku (12/7/1997)
Women’s Champion: Jacqueline (9/21/1998)

IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERRE! Your hosts are Shane McMahon and Jim Cornette. Hey, what’s that blue steel cage hanging from the rafters?

Vince McMahon, Pat Patterson, and Gerald Brisco head down to the ring. Vince apologizes to the Rock, Ken Shamrock, and Mankind for their match on RAW where the winner would get a WWF title shot on this upcoming week’s RAW ending without a decision due to the Undertaker and Kane’s interference, although Vince takes no responsibility for what they did. Since Vince is a man of his word, he grants them a rematch for tonight’s PPV – INSIDE A STEEL CAGE to eliminate any outside interference. Speaking of interference, if anybody interferes in the WWF title match tonight, the match will immediately end and Stone Cold Steve Austin will be stripped of the WWF title. The crowd starts chanting for Austin. Vince’s biggest regret tonight is that this PPV has to take place in Canada. However, he ends the segment by guaranteeing Stone Cold Steve Austin will not leave the arena tonight as the WWF champion.

• Golga (w/the Oddities) vs. Headbanger Mosh (w/Headbanger Thrasher)

They take us back to RAW when the Headbangers turned heel on the Oddities. We go to Michael Cole who is waiting for Steve Austin to arrive to get his reaction to Vince’s decision concerning interference on Austin’s behalf tonight. Golga stops a ten-count corner punch and runs Mosh in the corner. Hiptoss and a series of elbow drops punish Mosh. Remember when Earthquake would elbow drop people and people would groan. Thrasher distracts Golga allowing Mosh to jump him from behind and land a Bossman straddle. Mosh lands a legdrop off the second rope for two. More choking and yelling from the Headbangers. Mosh runs into a slam as Golga hits the GOLGA SPLASH for the win at 2:01. Afterwards, Kurrgan and Silva deliver STEREO POWERBOMBS to the Headbangers. So is that it? Is the “feud” already over? N/R

Backstage, Michael Cole is standing by the DX locker room saying Triple H has been attacked. Road Dogg and X-Pac, probably out smoking a doob, storm past him to go check on their boy.

After the break, DX is standing over Triple H, who apparently got hit with a steel pipe, says Cole. Pissed off, they wind up shoving Michael Cole out of the room.

Mark Henry heads to the ring. He’s supposed to wrestle Triple H over the IC title on the PPV, but he’s out here early. Shane wants to know where Jeff Jarrett and Southern Justice were at when Triple H was attacked. Henry heard what happened to Triple H, but says he came here tonight to impress all his fans and win the IC title. He came here specifically to impress his girlfriend CHYNA. Oh boy. He thinks even the fans should be mad. Cornette wonders how Mark Henry knows so much about Triple H’s condition. Since there won’t be a match tonight, according to Henry, he decides to just leave and go home. Hey look, it’s Mr. McMahon again. Vince tells Henry to stay in the ring and gives him an opportunity against a different WWF champion. While the match would be non-title, he wants Mark Henry to test out the special reinforcement of the steel cage – against STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN. If he wins the match, Mark Henry will go all the way to the top of the WWF. Mark Henry can’t possibly turn down that offer. So yeah, Mark Henry VERSUS Stone Cold – TONIGHT! It’s definitely going to happen!

In the back, Michael Cole says Stone Cold Steve Austin has arrived. The Rock, Ken Shamrock, and Mankind have arrived as well and are now being told what kind of hell they will be entering tonight.

• The Hardy Boyz vs. Teioh & Funaki (w/Yamaguchi-san)

While not the debut of the Hardy Boys teaming up, this is certainly very early in their first big run in the WWF. They’re wearing plaid with neon yellow tights – HOPE & FAITH written on them – if you can BELIEVE that. Corny really puts over the Hardy Boyz as being “dynamite” in a hilarious ironic statement. They fight off an early attack from Kaientai. Matt shows off with a pescado and Shane McMahon acts like *that* was sick. Teioh corners Jeff, but avoids a corner charge and gets a nearfall with a flying bodypress. Double running shoulderblock takes down Jeff. Funaki lands a running elbow in the corner and follows up with a bulldog for two. Jeff ducks a double clothesline and dropkicks both Kaientai boys down. Tag to Matt, he and Jeff deliver STEREO MONKEY FLIPS causing Kaientai to land on each other. They try an early version of Poetry in Motion to the outside, but Jeff completely misses and sentons himself on the floor. Vince couldn’t have liked that. Back in, Teioh fails to whack Matt with Yamaguchi-san’s flagpole, nailing Funaki instead. Jeff tags in and the Hardy Boyz land the flying legdrop/flying splash combo to Funaki for their first WWF win. (3:34) Jeff basically no-sold the missed dive, but whatever. I guess the Twist of Fate wasn’t invented yet. They tried to do too much in 3 and a half minutes. *

We see the mayor of the City of Hamilton give Steve Austin the key to the city and named a street after him. WHOA.

Michael Cole checks on Steve Austin’s dressing room and there’s nobody there but the WWF title belt. Couldn’t Vince just go grab it and take it from him when he’s not around?

• Billy Gunn vs. 8-Ball & Skull (w/Paul Ellering)

If X-Pac or Road Dogg interfere, they won’t get their hands on Jeff Jarrett or Southern Justice tonight. This is all because Vince didn’t like Billy Gunn helping Steve Austin last week on RAW. Gunn jumps one of the DOA boys, but there’s no way this could last forever. They run through Gunn pretty easily as he takes a single-man flapjack to end the match. (3:17) The 3-on-1 beatdown continues after the bell. Since the match is over, X-Pac and Road Dogg run down to help Gunn. Next thing we know, Jeff Jarrett and Southern Justice come down to join DOA and Ellering to make it 6-on-3. The numbers get to DX and they get left laying to end the segment. No heat for the match, but the crowd woke up a little bit once the rest of available DX showed up. ½*

We hear the Undertaker’s theme music. The steel cage lowers towards the ring. The pyro goes off. Vince McMahon comes out the tunnel first with the Undertaker and Kane behind him. Vince gets inside the steel cage to check the sturdiness of the cage – yelling at the ring crew. Mark Henry’s music hits, but there’s no Mark Henry. We check backstage to see Chyna kicking the crap out of Henry near an ambulance. Convenient! Once refs and agents back her up, Henry tells her she couldn’t wait to get her hands on him. As Henry walks over, Chyna gets free and whacks Henry with a lead pipe before making Henry kiss her bare ass. Vince is beside himself over what just happened and wants a microphone. One of the ring crew guys gets shoved out of the cage by another ring crew member. He closes the door and Vince starts to yell at him over his incompetence. He turns around and it’s STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN IN DISGUISE. Naturally, Austin beats the shit out of Vince while the Undertaker and Kane slowly climb the cage to chase him off.

During the break, Vince yells at Taker and Kane for taking so long to save him.

After they play the video package for the Breakdown: IYH PPV main event. Vince is now standing at the tunnel with Patterson, Brisco, and now Commissioner Slaughter surrounding him for protection. Vince yells that he’ll have the last laugh because tomorrow night on RAW at 9PM/8PM central, he will be holding the WWF title in his hands because Stone Cold Steve Austin will not leave this arena with the WWF championship tonight.

WHOA, somebody is mad. Breakdown: IN YOUR HOUSE is next!

Until then, so long for now.

The World Wrestling Federation and Stridex presents “Breakdown: In Your House”
LIVE on September 27 from the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
ONLY ON PAY-PER-VIEW

MAIN EVENT: Triple-Threat Match for the WWF Championship:
Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs. The Undertaker vs. Kane
STEEL CAGE MATCH: The Rock vs. Mankind vs. Ken Shamrock
D-Generation X vs. Jeff Jarrett & Southern Justice
Val Venis vs. Dustin Runnels
Bradshaw vs. Vader