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WWF Monday Night RAW 06-22-98

Taped from Austin, TX

Airdate: June 22, 1998 (taped 06/16)

Attendance: 10,891

Hosted by Jim Ross, Michael Cole, Kevin Kelly, & Jerry “The King” Lawler

What does Kane have in store for Austin? Who will advance to the semifinals of the KOTR tournament? In addition, numerous accoutrements for the PPV along with Edge’s debut!

Sorry, Chester.

Opening montage.

Mr. McMahon approaches the ring to a chorus of boos. While the Austin faithful chants “Au-stin,” Mr. McMahon introduces “the next WWF champion…Kane.” Meanwhile, due to the beating he suffered last week, Paul Bearer sits at home convalescing. McMahon tells Kane that winning the WWF title will be his “destiny.”

McMahon, on Kane’s behalf, dedicates the WWF title match this Sunday to Bearer. Next, he removes all the normal stipulations from the match and makes it a “first blood” match. That doesn’t seem fair to Austin considering Kane wears a mask.

As the Austin faithful chants “Au-stin” again, McMahon beckons Kane to speak “for the first time.” Kane, through a voice stimulator, notes that should he not win the title, he will “set (him)self on fire.” That’s extremely confident.

TV Rating: 3.8

Match 1 (KOTR quarterfinal): Ken Shamrock versus Mark Henry (w/ the Nation of Domination)

Highlights:

Rating: *

Summary: Shamrock advanced to the semifinals while Henry earned a date with Vader at the PPV.

At the entrance, Kelly interviews Shamrock who’s not going to quit.

DX shills Super Soaker, and hijinks ensue.

Match 2: X-Pac (w/ Chyna) versus Dustin Runnels

Highlights:

Rating: **

Summary: Fun little match where Chyna’s presence directly led to the outcome.

After the match, Runnels offers a handshake to X-Pac but receives a crotch chop instead. HHH joins to celebrate victory with his DX cohorts.

Via satellite from “Paul Bearer’s home,” Bearer has full confidence in Kane’s victory this Sunday.

TV Rating: 4.3

Promo for King of the Ring ’98 airs. It will be LIVE on PPV this Sunday. Order NOW!

Lawler stands in the ring and runs down Al Snow. As Lawler invites him into the ring, Snow, dressed as an old lady, joins him. In exchange for the return of his crown, Lawler offers a meeting with Mr. McMahon. Snow argues with Head, and Lawler informs him that Head has no fingers. In a witty retort, Snow states that chickens have no fingers, but they sell ‘em in restaurants.

The exchange is made, and Snow reads what Lawler gave him. It’s a contract for a tag team match against Scott Taylor and “his son”—Brian Christopher this Sunday. When Snow argues with Head about doing the “J.O.B. on the PPV,” Lawler warns him that if he does just that, he’s “history.” Snow relents by laying on his back: “Pin me, pay me.”

Lawler calls out Too Much, but Snow floors them with Head. After Snow flees the ring, he tells JR that “Head doesn’t lay down for anybody.” He scampers over the steel railing and through the Austin faithful.

TV Rating: 4.1

RAW is sponsored by Castrol GTX, WWF: The Music Volume 2, and Super Soaker.

Match 3 (KOTR quarterfinal): “Marvelous” Marc Mero (w/ Jacqueline) versus “Double J” Jeff Jarrett (w/ Tennessee Lee)

Highlights:

Rating: ***

Summary: Solid match where they gelled quite well despite the sports entertainment-type finish. Jarrett will face Shamrock in the semifinals on Sunday.

At ringside, Kelly interviews Jarrett who wants to be “King of the World Wrestling Federation.”

TV Rating: 4.4

CINNABURST REWIND: Highlights from last week’s “main event” are shown.

WAR ZONE!

Match 4: Kane (w/o Paul Bearer) versus Road Dog (w/o Billy Gunn)

Highlights:

Rating: *

Summary: The ending was never in doubt.

At Paul Bearer’s “house,” he promises to be at the PPV. He believes that Undertaker wanted to eliminate Austin, but Undertaker “didn’t shut (him) up.” The lights flicker, and Undertaker invades his “living room.” After Undertaker asks, “did you think I’ve forgetten where you live,” he pummels Bearer and destroys some furniture. He continues to demolish Bearer until the feed vanishes.

POINT OF ORDER: According to Meltzer, both Undertaker and Bearer suffered ankle injuries from this scene.

Match 5: Edge versus Jose Estrada

Highlights:

Rating: ½*

Summary: Estrada would end up in the hospital with a pinched nerve but would recover and continue his career. During the replay, they show Edge’s right leg hit Estrada straight on the top of his head pushing it down.

After the match, Edge left through the Austin faithful. Perhaps he should rename himself Chrome.

Back in the locker room, Kane destroys everything in sight out of anger over Bearer’s beating. Mankind tries to quell the rage to no avail.

Following a commercial break, Estrada is shown leaving the ringside area on a stretcher.

TV Rating: 4.5

Match 6 (KOTR quarterfinal): Owen Hart versus Dan “The Beast” Severn

Highlights:

Rating: *

Summary: Decent workrate, but Severn is NOT over with the WWF crowd. X-Pac’s chair shot left the back of Owen’s head BUSTED OPEN needing seven stitches. Some would say it’s a receipt from last week.

The NoD comes out to check on Owen who has a visible bloody spot on the back of his head.

JVC KABOOM OF THE WEEK: Replay of X-Pac’s chair shot to Owen is shown.

With Owen still in the ring, Rock grabs the microphone and challenges DX to face the NoD. DX heads to the ring, but WWF officials restrain them.

TV Rating: 3.9

Match 7 (KOTR quarterfinal): HHH (w/ Chyna) versus the Rock

Highlights:

Rating: **½

Summary: I believe this is the first (of many) Rock versus HHH matches. Not bad for a first, but future battles would be better. Rock will face Severn in the semifinals.

After the match, DX sprints to the ring to attack Rock, but the NoD joins the fray. A huge brawl ensues, and Owen and X-Pac could barely be separated.

Back in the ring, a despondent Kane rocks back and forth in frustration as Mankind heads to the ring for the main event.

Promo for King of the Ring ’98 airs. It will be LIVE on PPV this Sunday. Order NOW!

TV Rating: 4.5

Seated in the ring, Mankind cuts a promo as the Cell lowers. His angry promo segues to the Undertaker in honor of his “Uncle Paul” (Bearer). Rather than having Undertaker arrested, Mankind wants to face him in the Cell and promises a surprise at the PPV.

Match 8: Mankind versus “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn (w/ Chyna)

Highlights:

Rating: **

Summary: Methinks the Austin faithful knew that Gunn had NO CHANCE in this one.

After the match, Mankind hightails it back to the locker room, but Kane has vanished.

Sable reemerges and heads into the ring. Next, she introduces Stone Cold Steve Austin who’s wearing a pinstripe Austin 3:16 jersey. If you know where to get one, I’ll take an XL.

Austin advises Sable to give Mr. McMahon a message and manipulates her hand into a bird. HA! Upon checking under the ring for any “surprise” opponents, Austin accepts the first blood stipulation for the WWF title match at the PPV. Following that, he teases Kane about the “setting himself on fire” bit.

Kane reemerges, raises his arms, and “blood” pours into the ring and onto Austin. As a “bloodied” Austin looks on, Kane uses his voice stimulator to vow that at the PPV the blood will be “for real.” Again, he raises his arms, and the turnbuckles explode to end the show.

TV Rating: 4.74

Conclusion: Excellent go-home show for the PPV. The stipulation for the PPV main event, albeit biased in favor of Kane, gets sold like hot cakes. The rage demonstrated by both Kane and Undertaker within this episode is a fantastic precursor to the PPV. The semifinals for the KOTR are set with a clear winner not readily apparent. Edge’s debut was short, so I hope they don’t cut off his nose to spite his face. By far, this episode was much better than Nitro except for the Bret-Benoit match. Check it out!

Could it finally overcome Nitro in the ratings?

Final TV Rating: 4.27

Who won? Yes! Despite being taped, RAW edged Nitro by more than a tenth of a point. Credit goes to the main event angle of Austin/Kane over the Goldberg superman stuff.

Stay tuned for WCW Thunder 06-24-98!

Comments? Suggestions? Send them to me at rsg@rockstargary.com and follow me on Twitter (@rockstargary202).

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