Live Feed Mania – WWF Monday Night Raw 09/14/98

WWF @ San Jose, CA – Arena – September 14, 1998 (13,161; sell out)

Straight from Wario’s brother himself (Richard Land) it’s a Satellite Live Feed! This time we’re a week away from IYH: Breakdown so let’s get ready with a double header of Monday Night Raw and Shotgun Saturday Night.

Michael Modest vs. Donovan Morgan

Both men are already in the ring apart from Modest’s hairline which is behind the guard-rail.

Morgan lands a hip toss and does a little jump to show he’s full of energy. Modest cartwheels over Morgan before clotheslining him so hard his entire body lands on his neck. Not content with that, Modest lands a German Suplex directly onto Morgan’s head before rolling into a Boston Crab a la Lance Storm. So far it’s been a demonstration of how many cool moves Modest has borrowed from AJW. So an average Nova match then.

Modest does a powerbomb-into-a-running Death Valley Driver which pops the crowd but only gets two. This is fairly nuts for a dark match. Morgan gets a desperate crossbody for two and tries to run under Modest’s legs to get away from him which is unintentionally amusing cos they’re the same height. Modest back body drops Morgan as the moves are all over the place here. Morgan tries a sloppy roll-up but Modest applies the Brock Lock because Modest is a machine tonight. A second German is blocked allowing Morgan to land an elevated DDT for two. That’s Gangrel’s move you idiot. No wonder Morgan didn’t get signed, White Wolf have friends in high places. Morgan lands a decent Quebrada to the outside as the crowd are politely into this. Modest takes a flipping Bret Bump into the turnbuckles before Morgan lands a split-legged moonsault to win at 5:40.

It was a fairly wild selection of moves to present to a mostly drunk crowd but fair play for doing so much. There was nothing in between the cool indie moves to make you think either had a chance to be in the big leagues yet.

Cameras show a dude holding a 2 WORDS: SIGN MODEST sign which is nice. Didn’t work though.

Funaki (w/Yamaguchi-San) vs. The Suicide Kid

Suicide Kid was an APW guy. He retired in 2011. He doesn’t start off with the most fluid of sequences with Funaki, not helped by the fact the previous two guys had bounced each other around a bunch already. Funaki lariats Kid down and rubs his own belly to the crowd. I think that’s disrespectful. Crowd takes it as such. Funaki is full-on heel here and distracts the ref so Yamaguchi-San can pearl harbour sneak attack. Kid makes a comeback after a minute because it’s 1998 and splats an unsuspecting Funaki with a reverse powerbomb with a lot more force than expected. Kid sends him outside to land a nifty Asai Moonsault which gets the crowd roaring. Northern Lights Suplex nearly wins it for the Kid before he misses a turning crossbody off the second rope and Funaki wins with a miserable diving headbutt at 3:07 that barely connects and has fans yelling “that sucked!” before the ref even starts counting.

Oh man Funaki was in no mood for this match. Kid was all spots.

We get the intros for Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross who hilariously make their entrance to Guns N Roses’ Welcome To The Jungle. Yeah, absolutely nailed their characters with that song, no notes. Lawler checks to see if any fans are reading his notes over his shoulder.

We then go live with Monday Night Raw which promises the first ever Evening Gown Match between Sable & Jacqueline, and Kane vs. The Rock!

Cameras focus on the thousands of signs in the crowd, highlighting a “CLINTON HAS TWO WORDS FOR MONICA” one as well as a dozen well-drawn Cartmans.

Oh that was just for the preview they air for the bit during whatever was airing before Raw in September 1998. So Chimel hypes up the crowd for the proper intro for when they go live. Ross asks Lawler if he has any Bill Clinton jokes for tonight. He says he bought a book that was ONLY Clinton jokes but he hasn’t had time to read it. I don’t think you needed a book for Clinton jokes during this time, you just opened your window.

Lawler says we’re missing the Insane Clown Posse tonight. Ross says they’ll be here tomorrow, but the WWF won’t be. Lawler laughs at that and I forgot Ross could be funny when he wanted to be.

A fan tries to talk to Lawler but Jerry says “yeah sure, I’ll talk to you while I’m on the air!” and that ends that discussion. Lawler and Ross have such energy during this time and it’s no wonder given the crazy levels of success the company was experiencing.

The classic exploding warehouse intro starts and the pop from the live crowd is enough to put hairs on your chest. “YEAH THORN IN YOUR EYE, WOOO”.

Mr. McMahon heads out with no theme music cos he’d only get that after Rumble ’99 so he has to settle for a chorus of boos instead. Vince thanks the crowd for the warm Californian reception as he introduces The Undertaker and Kane. The commentators practice their lines as well as the audio which is interesting, isn’t this a live airing?

Vince dares Austin to come out now if he has any guts. And then we head to commercial as HHH’s crotch chops present Stridex. Get a HHH poster where he points at his dick!

We return to McMahon telling Austin that “Stone Cold screwed Stone Cold” and the already hackneyed reference to Montreal is enough to cause Austin to attack McMahon even with the Brothers Of Destruction in the ring. Luckily The Rock, Mankind and Ken Shamrock head out to even the odds. No commentary for any of this.

On Raw we got:

Jeff Jarrett (w/ Southern Justice) pinned WWF Tag Team Champion the Road Dogg (w/ X-Pac & WWF Tag Team Champion Billy Gunn) after hitting him with pieces of a broken guitar

The Rock pinned Kane (w/ the Undertaker) after Mankind interfered and hit Kane with a sledgehammer

WWF IC Champion Triple H (w/ Chyna & X-Pac) pinned Owen Hart (w/ Mark Henry) with the Pedigree

Mankind fought the Undertaker (w/ Kane) to a no contest in a streetfight at around the 7-minute mark when the Rock came out of one of the Dumpsters positioned ringside, attacked Taker as he attempted to hit Mankind with a sledgehammer, pushed Mankind into the front row to protect him, and went backstage; both participants came to the ring in possession of a sledgehammer; after the bout, Taker and Kane stalked Rock backstage (The Best of Raw Vol. 1 & 2)

Gangrel fought Edge to a no contest after hitting the DDT on the floor

Mark Henry defeated X-Pac & Chyna (w/ Triple H) in a handicap match by catching Chyna coming off the top rope and hitting a powerslam

WWF World Champion Steve Austin fought Ken Shamrock to a no contest when the Undertaker, Kane, Mankind, and the Rock interfered

So then we get matches recorded for Shotgun Saturday Night 09/19/98, which you’d think would be recorded before Raw but apparently not. Huh.

D’Lo Brown vs. Scorpio

Brown is the current European Champion after beating Stridex’s very own HHH in July. “I’m the European Champion, and you’re not!” he yells at the camera as The Fink explains he’s representing Oslo, Norway. He’s a day/week from losing it to X-Pac on a pre-taped Raw so he’s enjoying it while he can. Scorpio has finished teaming up with Faarooq (something I have no memory of) until he joined The JOB Squad in November. He gets no pop.

Jim Cornette and Michael Cole start doing test commentary with Cornette reading from the comedy book that Lawler left backstage and saying he was advised to not get on the wrong side of Cole but looking at him, he’s unsure if there is a right side. Cornette is happy with the amount of room they have at ringside with these new “gimmicks.” Chairs?

D’Lo knocks down Scorpio and yells “oh you’d better recognize!” as he hears the silence of the crowd. Scorpio gets a near-fall from a crossbody and then hip tosses Brown over the top rope to the outside, eliciting a very loud “JESUS H CHRIST” from Cornette who wonders what the H stands for. Scorpio manages a Triple Jump Asai Moonsault that is not caught well by D’Lo. Brown yells more at Scorpio but it’s getting nothing. Kevin Kelly pipes up to remind us how heavy D’Lo was when he first started in WWF. “He was 270 but we said he was 300 because it sounded good.”

D’Lo and Scorp bungle a powerbomb reversal so they repeat the spot as Cornette is the only one in the crowd reacting to this. Vince Russo does test audio for the New York feed and I honestly thought it was Cornette doing an impression. So it’s Cole/Cornette and Kelly/Russo? Scorpio tries to remove Brown’s bulletproof vest for a Moonsault but Brown wriggles it back on mid-move so Scorpio hurts himself. “Not tonight, brother!” a spirited Brown yells before finishing with the Lo Down at 3:34.

Crowd were silent for this which I did not appreciate for prime D’Lo. Match was there.

Russo and Cole both plug the upcoming Battle Royal because I guess this aired out of synch. So it’s Russo and Cole doing the NY feed then?

WWF Light Heavyweight Title Match
Taka Michinoku (w/Yamaguchi-San) (c) vs. Christopher Daniels

TAKA is firmly in the first version of Kai En Tai with Mens Teioh and Dick Togo still hanging around. He’d hold the Light Heavyweight Title until Christian upset him at Judgement Day. The Fallen Angel was another APW regular dark match specialist at this point and he still had hair, technically.

The commentators mock Fink’s agility getting out of the ring. “Like a cow on ice!” Crowd are not into more high flying fast paced action as we’ve just seen several matches with the exact same style and pace. Daniels at least has good chemistry with TAKA for all the good it’s doing him. TAKA takes a headscissors to the outside but sidesteps a top rope crossbody so Daniels can splay himself on the guardrail. Cole talks about The 49ers vs. The Redskins game instead of paying attention. TAKA hears the boredom and yells “CHOPPEE CHOPPEE PEE PEE” to no reaction. Wow. Cornette notices the “giant condom” in the crowd and that could either be an insult or the actual thing in 1998. TAKA lands a Tornado DDT as Cole discusses the hotel arrangement with Cornette tonight. Daniels turns a second Tornado DDT into a scoop slam before attempting a Tully Blanchard-style slingshot suplex into a Jackhammer. Cornette is impressed but the crowd don’t care. They do care for Daniels’ Angel Wings which blows the roof off the place.

TAKA calls for the Michinoku Driver but Daniels surprisingly rolls it into a small package for two. TAKA simply tries it again and gets it for the win at 5:31.

Very spirited and high levels of effort here that the crowd begrudgingly got into near the end. Hearing Cornette praise it in real time was neat.

Val Venis vs. Brian Christopher

Venis is focused on annoying Christian Dustin Runnels whereas Christopher is still figuring out the whole Too Much thing.

Cole says Scott Taylor got married on Friday. Cornette: “What’s the guy’s name?” They’re never escaping that one aborted angle. Never mind Horace Hogan, Val Venis is Mr. 1998 right here judging by the crowd’s reaction to him. Kelly says he’s been looking for a copy of A Preacher’s Wife but hasn’t found it yet. Cornette is impressed with the “Val has Yamaguchi Coochie” sign. Venis tells the ladies he’s just like the rubik’s cube. “The longer you play with it, the harder it gets!” Kelly adds “Don’t you mean big in the 80s and now lying lifeless in my drawer?” Cornette guffaws at that.

Christopher doesn’t like Venis and insists HE’S the sexiest. Like he’s some kind of Grandmaster or something. Christopher lands a DDT and his hyena laugh to allow Venis to get up and spinebuster him. Now this is the type of offence the crowd likes. Venis with big dirty chops in the corner that cause Christopher to recline in the ropes like a hammock.

Cornette praises Christopher “selling like a heel, so active.” I agree. Venis catches Christopher off a crossbody into a rough scoop slam, generating a “oof” noise from Cornette. Christopher hams it up with that shit-eating grin of his before landing a Sunset Flip powerbomb to the outside! What? On Shotgun Saturday Night? Cornette worries about the effect on the body that move has. You think? Christopher struts around allowing Venis to comeback with an exploder suplex. Cornette is liking the workrate. Venis busts out the Sexy Taunt w/ Punches and the crowd are so into this that a fan apparently lands a paper airplane into the ring. The crowd go wild but the cameras cut away from it as Venis wins with the Money Shot at 4:56.

Crowd loved Venis but were unsure about the match going longer than three minutes. Christopher was his usual under-rated bouncy self.

Dustin Runnels vs. Darren Drozdov

Dustin is trying to escape the curse of Goldust and stay on the path of the righteous man which makes him a natural heel. Droz somehow has a PPV match with Marc Mero coming up. I vaguely remember that because I owned both action figures.

Cornette wonders if Dustin will be able to turn the other cheek now his wife has turned both of hers. I mean if anyone knows about someone’s wife turning her cheeks for another man….anyway Dustin insists on having a good old prayer in the corner before the match starts. Cornette asks Cole how he’d call that kind of action. Cole says “interesting.”

We clip ahead because there was a disturbance in the crowd. Cole says a woman knocked over a guy and was slapping high fives as she was escorted out of the building to a standing ovation. Dustin the ring veteran goes for another prayer. “An editing prayer” as Cornette calls it. Cornette laughs at how mad Dustin is at waiting all night to wrestle “only to be upstaged by a drunk woman and a guy with green teeth”. I mean that’s valid but who was hankering for Dustin Runnels? Dustin gets the belt-shot on the outside and wins with a terrible bulldog at 3:48.

The match was overshadowed by whatever was happening in the crowd. (edit: I went and checked the broadcast version and you can’t see anything.)

Commentators become flummoxed as the crowd starts throwing loose change at them. Cornette is eager to grab them all.

23 Man Battle Royal

8-Ball vs. Bob Holly vs. Bradshaw vs. Dan Severn vs. Dennis Knight vs. Dick Togo vs. Faarooq vs. Giant Silva vs. Golga vs. Jesus Castillo vs. Kurrgan vs. Marc Mero vs. Mark Canterbury vs. Mens Teioh vs. Miguel Perez Jr. vs. Mosh vs. Papi Chulo vs. The Rock vs. Scott Taylor vs. Sho Funaki vs. Skull vs. Thrasher vs. Tiger Ali Singh

Crowd like The Headbangers but absolutely love The Oddities. Tiger Ali Singh heads out to The Sultan’s music and Cornette points that out, excitedly. More quarters are thrown at the commentators. Papi Chulo’s theme is unexpectedly amazing.

Papi jumps and rolls through the ropes but it’s a Battle Royal so he has to awkwardly pause afterwards to avoid bumping into people which pops the commentators. Kai En Tai have new blue and white gear and look like a real stable now. Cornette wonders if there will be any room to show the match if they’re including all the entrances. (edit: I checked, yeah they showed a few and then cut to commercial and aired the last ones). The Rock is out last and the crowd love him, of course.

Cole jokingly asks if this Battle Royal is to decide who the winner of the Shotgun Title is. Ha! While everyone does Battle Royal things, Cornette says the best Battle Royal moment he ever saw was Bobby Eaton messing with a new guy by calling a spot that required the newbie to bounce off the ropes and come back, with the guy having to move eight or so different directions to avoid hitting anybody. OK that sounds funny.

Crowd chant for “ROCKY” as Kelly explains Rock has been apologizing for the things his drunk Dad has been doing lately. Cornette says if they’re quick they can leave before the fans realize there’s no more wrestling after this. Funaki eliminates Togo, and Cornette yells “hey that’s bullshit!” Cornette notices Mosh is declining to sell anything from Papi Chulo before “lightly and lovingly” kicking him in the ass. Mero starts being cheesy and hits one punch on someone then celebrates like he’s won something. Crowd are into it. Cole ain’t. “This Battle Royal is longer than Raw” he complains.

Mero continues to taunt to the crowd’s delight so Rock throws him out. Rock starts lobbing everyone outside as Kelly remarks that Miguel is only half as hairy as he used to be. He’d still make it into the top ten hairiest wrestlers of all time. Cornette forgets what Severn’s gimmick is and thinks he’s the “World’s Most Beastiest Beast.” That could work. Tiger Ali Singh gets eliminated as Kelly yells “That Asian will only go as low as the floor” so there you go.

Rock is left alone with Southern Justice and that situation is more than enough for the crowd to really get behind him with Cole realising “oh, no more heel for Rock!” Cornette wonders where this crowd reaction has been for the past two months. Yeah once that face pop started it snowballed quickly. Rock sends Canterbury out and gives Knight The People’s Elbow to win at 8:29 to the crowd’s glee.

Commentators decide to run for the hills before the crowd find any more quarters and that’s your lot.

Overall: A nice snapshot of a wild time. Can you imagine running a C-Show taping after the A-Show? Oh wait that’s Rampage. Well not any more. I can’t make sense of the recording schedule during this time but as usual with these things, it’s fascinating listening to the commentators yack away at stuff like they’re bestest buddies.

I’ve been Maffew.