WWF: Raw is War
October 12, 1998
Uniondale, NY
Nassau Coliseum

The current WWF champs are as follows:
WWF Champion: Vacant (9/28/1998)
Intercontinental Champion: Vacant (10/9/1998)
World Tag Team Champions: The New Age Outlaws (8/30/1998)
European Champion: D’Lo Brown (10/5/1998)
Light Heavyweight Champion: TAKA Michinoku (12/7/1997)
Women’s Champion: Jacqueline (9/21/1998)

We get a great video package highlighting the last month of issues between Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon. Austin ain’t through with ya, Vince. Not by a long shot.

Earlier tonight on RAW, Mr. McMahon drives himself to the building in his beautiful white Corvette. I would be just kidding you if I knew what year model. Anyways, the security guard takes his sweet time opening the garage door. Once he drives past the door, Vince gives him the riot act. Commissioner Slaughter, Pat Patterson, and Gerald Brisco are there to meet Vince and help him out of the car. McMahon vents about the “idiot” at the garage door. He wants the guy to keep the door open for when Steve Austin arrives. Oh boy. Trouble is a-brewing. Vince has a nice Titan Wheelchair, by the way.

TIME TO GET RAW! Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.

• WWF World Tag Team Championship: The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. Animal & Droz (w/Hawk)

Well, it looks like this current tease of a DX split is just that – a tease. Gunn shows up and lets everybody know he’s had two weeks to think about his future with DX and nothing will change. If you’re not down with that, Gunn has two words for ya. Hawk is sitting this one out and lets Droz be his alternate since he’s recovering from pain pill abuse. Oh man. He joins Ross and Lawler for commentary and Lawler really gives him a hard time. Hawk will join Droz and Animal for a six-man against the DOA and Paul Ellering at Unforgiven: In Your House. The Outlaws take over on Animal as Gunn lands a DDT. Road Dogg hits the Shaky Knee Drop and Gunn follows up with a Shaky Leg Drop. It doesn’t quite look as cool. Cue the DOA and PAUL ELLERING. They run down and attack Hawk. While Animal and Droz join the fray, the HEADBANGERS appear and blast a boombox over Road Dogg’s head. (2:00) First his throat gets hurt, now his head gets busted open. The Headbangers meet the Outlaws on Sunday at Unforgiven: In Your House as well. Ross informs us that that was indeed not a JVC Kaboom! Box because those are UNBREAKABLE! ½*

Ross tells us Vince returned to Titan Towers on Friday and stripped Triple H of the WWF Intercontinental championship, which means we’ll have a one-night eight-man tournament. The issue Ross and Lawler have is that neither man knows who will be in the tournament!

We check in with Mr. McMahon who is sitting with his foot propped up while the Stooges hang out with him. On the split-screen, we see Kane showing up to the arena – ALL ALONE.

• WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament – First Round: Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Blackman

Blackman is still recovering from knee surgery, but was forced into this tournament by McMahon, says Ross. They take us back to moments between Shamrock and Blackman over the last couple weeks. Their relationship is pretty inconsistent to say the least. Ross hears boos for Shamrock, but I don’t hear anything that sounds like boos. Blackman shows off with a standing dropkick, which blows what Ross says out of the water. He leapfrogs into a powerslam and Shamrock goes for the leg. Oh okay. Shamrock tries to get heat, but I don’t think Long Island is there yet. They go from corner to corner to mount Blackman’s comeback. He mounts Shamrock, but gets pulled down into a legbar and into the ANKLELOCK for the tapout to advance. (2:30) Next thing we know, both men are attacked by a mysterious masked figure in blue which Ross says looks like the BLUE BLAZER – or Owen Hart, that is. Shamrock is angered enough to slap the ANKLELOCK back on Blackman until a bunch of refs come down and break things up, but not after scattering in fear once. Shamrock makes angry man noises to get the crowd to hate him. ¾*

Backstage, Mr. McMahon watches the UNDERTAKER walk into the Nassau Coliseum.

We take a look at Val Venis and Terri Runnels elsewhere backstage. These two really need to lay off the ecstasy.

This leads into a special look at Goldust as we revisit years gone by when Goldust beat up current WCW stars Razor Ramon and Roddy Piper.

• WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament – First Round: Val Venis (w/Terri Runnels) vs. Marc Mero (w/Jacqueline)

Biggest item of note here is Jacqueline debuting the *new* WWF women’s title belt, which is the belt that will remain until 2010 when it’s unified with the Divas title. Plus, it’s announced MOTLEY CRUE will be on RAW in two weeks. Well, that episode of RAW gets taped on Tuesday, October 20, when Motley Crue will be appearing, but Ross certainly can’t say RAW is being taped – EVER. Mero and Venis go back and forth to start. While Mero hits a DDT on Venis, Ross and Lawler discuss Sable’s appearance on “Pacific Blue”. Ross says somebody interesting showed up to the locker room and we’ll see who it is after this match. Terri gets up on the apron to distract Mero. He turns around into a Fisherman’s Suplex by Venis for the three-count to advance. (2:15) Jackie and Terri do some catfighting after the bell. Lawler thinks Jackie wanted some more blond hair. Crowd chants for “Sable”. Ross refers to Terri as a “show horse” and not a “work horse”. Can you imagine the Twitter hate on *that* one in 2021? ½*

The man who has arrived to the arena is PAUL BEARER. He’s carrying a briefcase and it appears Vince isn’t happy Bearer is here.

Michael Cole wants to do a backstage interview with Sable, but she walks off and drags Jacqueline by the hair into the crowd. Marc Mero, a bunch of refs, and Tony Garea try to break them up.

• WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament – First Round: Mankind vs. Mark Henry

We get some pre-recorded comments from Mankind about his match with Ken Shamrock at Judgment Day: In Your House. Mankind doesn’t think Shamrock can swing a chair hard enough to hurt him, so he’s not concerned about Shamrock, and if Shamrock doesn’t like it, Mankind has one word for him: Socko. Oh boy. Henry will be facing the Rock at Judgment Day as well. WHY. Mark Henry drops some BARS on Chyna to try and get him a date. He’s suing her over sexual harassment, but wants some loving from her as well. CHYNA comes down to ringside and watches on from the floor. Mankind walks into a gorilla press slam and splashes the knee. He misses a splash off the second rope as HERE COMES MANKIND. Oh nevermind, his knee gives out. Back to the ropes, Mankind ducks a clothesline and hits a DOUBLE-ARM DDT. He then takes his shoe off and pulls Mr. Socko off his foot. He puts the sock on his hand and gives Henry the MANDIBLE CLAW for the win. (3:18) Mankind limps away, leaving Chyna to enter the ring and confront her accuser. Henry says the lawsuit is out of his hands and leaves Chyna behind. ¾*

Backstage, we see a cement truck pulling into the arena – and STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN IS AT THE WHEEL. Commercials!

When we return, Michael Cole has made his way to Austin to ask him just what the hell he’s doing. Austin says the one-legged bastard should come out and check out his work because something’s going to happen which will interest the McMahon family. We see Vince reacting to Austin’s presence in his office. Slaughter trips and lands on McMahon’s injured ankle and McMahon fails to cry out in pain. NEVER SELL, Vince.

ENTER THE WARZONE! Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.

• WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament – First Round: X-Pac vs. Jeff Jarrett

These two also have some history spanning back a few months. They show clips of SummerSlam when Jarrett got his head shaved and at Breakdown when Jarrett got revenge for KABONG’ing X-Pac. Another match for Judgment Day: In Your House is announced as X-Pac gets his rematch with the WWF European champ D’Lo Brown. Back and forth brawling to start. Jarrett catches X-Pac with a huge BAAAAACK BODY DROP. X-Pac comes back with a spinning heel kick and a leaping lariat. Jarrett stops X-Pac up top, but gets punched down. X-Pac misses a somersault dive to crash and burn. Jarrett finds a powerslam, but X-Pac avoids a corner charge and gives Jarrett his Kick Combo before the ref gets knocked down. He tries the Bronco Buster, but Jarrett picks a foot up to block. OUCH. Jarrett goes to the floor and pulls out a guitar case from under the ring. When he opens the case, HEAD is inside! Confused, X-Pac sneaks a rollup on Jarrett for the three-count. (3:09) AL SNOW runs into the ring, grabs Head, and leaves. Jarrett is PISSED, which ain’t good. *½

In another iconic RAW moment, Austin positions his cement truck near Vince’s beautiful white Corvette – and starts filling the Corvette up with cement until all the windows blow out and cement drips down the sides of the car. Austin leaves the cement running onto the Corvette until his truck is empty and walks off like he’s walking away from an explosion.

After the break, STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN heads out to the ring. Austin thanks McMahon for the invitation and mumbles something about the “Austin 3:16 Construction Company”. As long as Austin and Vince are in the WWF together, Austin will make his life a living hell. Now as for Judgment Day, the crowd agrees Steve Austin will make a damn fine referee for the match between the Undertaker and Kane. However, the only hand Austin will raise at the end of the match is his own, and there’s nothing Vince can do about it. Uh oh, Vince won’t like that. Speaking of Vince, he wheels out onto the stage with a hooded figure behind him. A K-9 Unit and a couple canines protect Vince from Austin. They continue to bark while Vince yells at Austin for destroying his Corvette. He also books Austin in a tag match – TONIGHT – with the Rock against the Undertaker and Kane. Vince admits his life has been a living hell while the crowd calls him an “asshole”. Austin sarcastically reminds Vince 15,000 people are calling him an asshole. Vince whines about his crushed ankle and holds Austin responsible. He replays Dr. Austin’s visit to see McMahon in the hospital last week. After all the humiliation McMahon has suffered, Austin will suffer far worse. Vince orders Austin to humble himself and raise the hand of the new WWF champion. If he doesn’t, Vince guarantees he will FIRE AUSTIN’S ASS. Austin doesn’t think Vince has the balls to fire him, but Vince informs Austin he’s got balls the size of grapefruits, and on Sunday Austin will be picking the seeds out of his teeth. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, AUSTIN WILL BE HUMBLED. Once again, Vince GUARANTEES Austin that if he doesn’t raise the hand of the new WWF champion, his ass will be FIRED. Austin’s theme plays while McMahon wheels away, followed by the hooded figure, then the K-9 patrol. Ross reminds us that if McMahon guarantees something, it definitely will happen. What a great Vince segment there.

• WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament – Semi-Final: Ken Shamrock vs. Val Venis (w/Terri Runnels)

Shamrock runs down Venis during his entrance and whips him into the steps. The match finally starts as Shamrock whips Venis from corner to corner. He slams Venis down and applies a camel clutch. Venis tries to come back with elbows, but runs into a lariat for two. Shamrock hits a snap suplex for two. He follows up with a back suplex and then a Boston crab. Venis actually manages to get across the ring, but Shamrock pulls him back to the center of the ring. No tap out. Venis comes back with the kitchen sink knees and a Russian legsweep. Shamrock doesn’t like Val swiveling his hips over him, but takes a back elbow for two. As both guys run the ropes, Shamrock rolls over Val’s legs and grabs the ANKLELOCK for the tapout to go to the finals. (4:36) The LONGEST match of the tournament, if you can believe that. Not a lot of heat either way. *

While Terri is nursing Val, Goldust picks this moment to return. Goldust wiggles out of his robe just like old times crawls towards Val. Goldust pummels Venis, picks him up, and places his legs on opposite sides of the turnbuckle. He then inhales, snaps his jaw, does the pelvic thrust bit, rears back, and kicks Val right in the Valbowski! This is the debut of SHATTERED DREAMS. Goldust’s theme plays while Venis moans in pain and holds his inner thigh. I mean, if any guy deserves it, it’s probably Val. Lawler – “We’re talking severe shrinkage here, JR!”

Coming up next, Michael Cole will try to get an interview with the Rock.

Vince McMahon and the Stooges survey the critical damage done to his Corvette. Mankind tries to help being a positive guy. He uses Mr. Socko to find the keys or a briefcase. Vince starts yelling at Mankind to stop, but Mankind is adamant to find SOMETHING that could cheer up Mr. McMahon.

Michael Cole tries to interview the Rock backstage before being shoved away as the Rock reminds everybody that he’s already beaten the Undertaker and Kane on separate occasions. Well, for that matter, so has Austin. He doesn’t care too much for Austin either. D’Lo Brown and Mark Henry come out to ask why he’s tagging with Steve Austin. Rock says he’ll talk to them outside and they leave.

• WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament – Semi-Final: Mankind vs. X-Pac

Mankind tries to get the rest of the concrete off himself. They take us back to earlier tonight when Mr. Socko is used for the first time in a match. X-Pac is limping after his earlier match with Jarrett. Mankind overpowers a headlock from X-Pac with a back suplex. He pounds X-Pac down in the corner. Little awkward moment as they both come off the ropes. X-Pac catches Mankind with a spinning heel kick, but gets yanked out to the floor. Mankind bounces X-Pac off the steps and grabs a chair. Ref Mike Chioda gets in his way and Mankind actually tosses the chair away without using it. X-Pac stops a corner charge with a foot and connects with his spinning back kick to set up the Bronco Buster. Mankind NO-SELLS and runs down X-Pac before pulling a clump of his hair out of his head. A knee lift from Mankind sends X-Pac to the floor. Mankind runs out and gives X-Pac a swinging neckbreaker as Ken Shamrock comes down to ringside. As Mankind puts X-Pac back in the ring, Shamrock picks up the chair and whacks Mankind in the ankle. Mankind staggers into the ring and gets rolled up by X-Pac for the win to advance to the finals. (3:17) Before X-Pac’s arm is hardly even raised, Shamrock jumps him and gets rid of Mankind. He applies a headscissors crimping X-Pac’s previously injured neck while refs and agents try and stop Shamrock. Meanwhile, the Stooges are out to take Mankind to the back for Mr. McMahon and *not* to help X-Pac. Finally, some “Shamrock Sucks” chants. Commercials! ¾*

• WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament – Final: X-Pac vs. Ken Shamrock

When we come back, X-Pac is serious pain and still wants to wrestle the match. Speaking of injuries, TRIPLE H is out on crutches to support his boy. He grabs a third headset for this match. Shamrock continues to work over X-Pac’s neck. He connects with a hook kick and a hotshot. More hurting on the neck. Shamrock applies a dragon sleeper over the apron which looks pretty painful since X-Pac is making a lot of noise. Helmsley says he’s unhappy with McMahon because he didn’t pick up the phone to tell him he was getting stripped of the title. X-Pac somehow finds a way to deliver a spinning heel kick. He sets up Shamrock in the corner for the Bronco Buster, but I don’t think I would bother with that move. He tries another kick, but Shamrock catches the kick and applies the ANKLELOCK. X-Pac finds the ropes, but Shamrock drags him back to the center of the ring. Another crawl to the ropes, but Shamrock will not let go. He pulls X-Pac back to the middle of the ring and finally gets the tapout and the IC title. (3:56) First Shamrock wins the King of the Ring, and now he’s the IC champ. What a year for this guy. Ross refers to Shamrock as a “calculated assassin”. Mankind is armed with a chair and runs off Shamrock. *½

• Steve Austin & The Rock vs. The Undertaker & Kane

During the entrances, they remind us of Austin pouring concrete into Vince’s Corvette. Taker and Kane control to start, but Austin and Rock fight back. Austin gets rid of Kane so he and Rock can double team back elbow Taker down. Now the match settles down. Austin bounces Taker’s head off the buckle and clotheslines him down for a one count. Taker catches Austin with a jumping lariat as Paul Bearer walks down the aisle. He gets distracted by Bearer, allowing Austin to come back and wrap Taker’s leg around the post. Back inside, Rock tags in and slams Taker for the People’s Elbow. Taker sits up, gets kicked down, and takes the People’s Elbow. Awesome. Here comes the Rock Bottom, but Kane distracts Rock out of it. Rock kicks at Kane, but then turns around into a Chokeslam to Hell. Hey look, D’Lo Brown and Mark Henry are out here. Tag to Kane, he pounds on Rock in the corner. Taker tags back in for more brawling. Back to Kane, he hits a legdrop on Rock for two. Austin makes the save. Kane shuts down Rock with an uppercut, but Rock stuffs him with a DDT. Kane runs down Rock and hangs him out to dry. He then comes off the top rope onto Rock for a nearfall. Over to Taker, he baits Austin into the ring so he and Kane can choke the Rock. Taker dumps out Rock so Kane can do some damage of his own on the floor. Back inside, Kane applies a chinlock. Rock fights up and hits a Samoan Drop. Both men are down. HOT TAG TO AUSTIN! While Austin is opening up a can on Taker, Brown and Henry are attacking the Rock. Henry gives Rock a SPLASH on the floor! That wipes him out. Meanwhile, Taker boots Austin into the ropes and gets tied up. Now what. Austin frees himself and clotheslines Taker. There’s a Thesz Press, but Kane grabs Austin. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot Austin can do against Taker and Kane here. Next thing we know, the hooded figure that was helping Mr. McMahon earlier shows up and BLASTS Austin with a nightstick. (11:13) Well, we know who carries around a nightstick around these parts. The stocking cap he’s wearing gets pulled off to reveal THE BIG BOSS MAN. All three guys beat up on Austin as Mr. McMahon and his Stooges come down with huge smiles on their faces. Undertaker is trying to bend one of Austin’s legs in a direction that it don’t go. Lots of unanswered questions here! Boss Man is wearing a cool flak jacket and look to be in pretty good shape. McMahon starts the show pissed off, but ends the show quite pleased. **½

Until next time, so long for now.

The World Wrestling Federation and 10-10-321
presents “JUDGMENT DAY: IN YOUR HOUSE”
LIVE on October 18 from the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois
ONLY ON PAY-PER-VIEW

MAIN EVENT:
The WWF Championship with Special Guest Referee: Stone Cold Steve Austin
The Undertaker vs. Kane
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Ken Shamrock (c) vs. Mankind
WWF World Tag Team Championship: The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Headbangers
WWF European Championship: D’Lo Brown (c) vs. X-Pac
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship: TAKA Michinoku (c) vs. Christian
The Rock vs. Mark Henry
Goldust vs. Val Venis
LOD 2000 (Hawk, Animal & Droz) vs. The DOA & Paul Ellering