Raw is War - January 5th 1998

• 1998 opens with Stone Cold Steve Austin arriving at the arena. He hears that everyone is gunning for him as they head into the Royal Rumble so tonight he’s going to raise hell and “do unto others before they do unto him” A fitting way for this year to begin! 

• Faarooq faces Ken Shamrock in the opening match this week and Kama and D’Lo Brown are at ringside. The Rock slowly saunters down to the ring once the match is under way and he gives some instructions, telling Kama to go around the ring and to lift a steel chair into the corner. Rock distracts the referee and it backfires as Faarooq is whipped into the chair and then takes a belly to belly suplex. Shamrock wins but the bigger story after the match is Faarooq and Kama arguing over what happened - was that The Rock’s fault or was it just a mistake? As The Rock and Shamrock get in each other’s faces in the ring, Stone Cold fulfils his promise from earlier and comes through the crowd, dropping both men with Stunners and then escaping before the rest of The Nation can get to him! Later in the show, Ken Shamrock says that if Stone Cold is a marked man then so if he and he hopes it comes down to them as the final two men in the match.

• Here’s an awesome commercial for the Royal Rumble 1998

• After his monologue last week about wanting to bring tradition and wrestling back to the WWF, Jim Cornette introduces us to the President and Vice President of the NWA and, after explaining what a big deal the NWA is, declares that the winner of the next match will be named the NWA North American Champion. The men in the match are Jeff Jarrett and former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Barry “Blackjack” Windham. Little bit of trivia - Barry Windham wrestled at the first Wrestlemania as a tag team champion with the man later known as IRS. They remained best friends their whole lives and WWE’s Bray Wyatt’s real name was Windham Rotundo, named after this very man Blackjack Windham. Cornette joins commentary and spends the match talking about how much he misses real wrestling and fair competition, but then shows what a hypocrite he is by hitting Windham with his tennis racket allowing Jarrett to pick up the win and the championship, as well as apparently a new manager in Jim Cornette. Jarrett’s championship celebration is cut short when Stone Cold Steve Austin comes through the crowd again and drops Jarrett with another Stunner! He’s targeting everyone who’s in the Royal Rumble match.

• Sunny is back in her ring announcer role this week, dressed as a school girl. The match is the Truth Commission’s Sniper and Recon vs. Skull and 8-Ball of the DOA. The Jackyl joins commentary and spends this match talking about how great Kurggan The Interrogator is. The DOA win this match but then Kurrgan makes an appearance and locks Chainz in his head claw hold as Sniper and Recon beat up the other DOA members. 

• With Triple H in a wheelchair, D-Generation X makes their way down to the ring. Triple H’s knee injury is very real sadly for him but they’re still hoping to avoid surgery at this point. This is the kind of thing they’d take someone off TV for nowadays but in 1998 with the company fighting for its life against WCW, the company couldn’t afford to lose any stars. Shawn and Hunter start with a joke about Chyna’s boobs again and just openly stare at them. HBK got a laugh out of me as Triple H speaks and in the background Michaels keeps staring down her top and she keeps catching him. She wasn’t able to keep a straight face at all. Triple H talks about Owen Hart so he pops up on the titantron and says that he wants to wait until Triple H’s knee is all healed up so that he can snap and break it all over again. This isn’t the last we’ll see of DX tonight because Shawn is going to come back out later and call out The Undertaker. I guess they’re saving that for during the Warzone! 

• Owen Hart faces Savio Vega but before this match even gets moving, DX comes back out onto the stage to watch the Black Hart in action. Los Boricuas launch sneak attack after sneak attack on Owen so a second referee comes down and ejects them from ringside to give Owen a fighting chance. That’s all Owen needs and he locks in the Sharpshooter but one of his team mates missed their cue so Savio had to survive the hold for a VERY long time before it was finally broken up. Owen wins the match with a roll up and then goes right after DX but he’s jumped by Los Boricuas who seem happy to do DX’s bidding and they hold Owen in place so that Triple H can slap him repeatedly across the face. Commissioner Slaughter and some referees finally come out to stop the assault. 

• Paul Bearer comes down to the ring looking very dishevelled, like he hasn’t slept in days. After the events of last week it seems that he is very troubled by the idea of Kane forgiving and teaming with his brother The Undertaker after he worked so hard to pit them against each other. He pleads with Kane to come home to him, the man who’s looked after him for the past 20 years and accuses The Undertaker of poisoning his mind.

• Marc Mero faces Tom Brandi after weeks of Tom standing up for Sable. Mero heroically uses her as a human shield to get the early advantage in the match and after a TKO, sets up a second one. He doesn’t hit that as Stone Cold comes through the crowd and puts down Mero with a Stunner! Before this match, he also attacked Mark Henry in the locker room and left him in a heap as well. Is that the last Stunner we’ll see tonight?
• The New Age Outlaws face The Headbangers in a non-title match. They’ve got enough teams on their case between the LOD and now Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie and just to make that point, The Godwins also come out to get a closer look at this match from the stage. The Headbangers set up the stage dive but Thrasher misses and hits Mosh so that Billy can get the win with a roll up. The Outlaws get no time to celebrate as a Chainsaw and Cactus come down to the ring and chase them away with a loud, revving chainsaw. 

• After last week’s announcement that the WWF was negotiating with Mike Tyson about a Wrestlemania appearance, this week his manager - the legendary Don King - gives us his takes on the situation. It’s a fun promo which is to be expected as even without knowing much about Don King I know he was famous for his ability to talk and talk and talk. He could sell ice to a snowman and hype everyone up to see Mike Tyson appear at Wrestlemania 14.

• In the main event segment, Shawn Michaels dances down to the ring solo and talks about beating The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. He doesn’t sweat the Deadman and calls him out. The same casket as last week is wheeled down to the ring and Michaels as well as the commentators assume that it contains Triple H and/or Chyna. HBK is about to open the casket and laughs and asks them to come out but then Triple H and Chyna appear on the ramp, waving to him that it's not them. Michaels figures it out too late and the casket lid pops open and The Undertaker grabs Michaels around the throat and drags him inside as Raw goes off the air! 

Raw is War January 12th 1998

• Raw opens with D-Generation X riding in a limo to the arena. They make jokes about college chicks (tonight’s Raw takes place at Penn State University) and Shawn Michaels promises a huge announcement tonight regarding his family, and then moons out of the sunroof of the limo.

• In the arena, the opening match is a four way tag team match. The Godwins, The Headbangers, the Truth Commission’s Sniper and Recon and the Tag Team Champion New Age Outlaws whose titles are not on the line in this match. The titles might as well have been on the line as with a little help from a weapon in his hand (we don’t see what it was) Billy knocks out Phineas Godwin to pick up the win. That leads into a video package about the Legion of Doom who will challenge the Outlaws at the Royal Rumble. This is the same video shown at the Rumble itself so I’ll share it then! 
• During the commercial break, Stone Cold arrived at the arena in his pickup truck and stopped backstage long enough to beat up both Henry and Phineas Godwin. The Rattlesnake isn’t done and drives his truck right into the arena and marches down to the ring for an interview with Michael Cole! Austin says he won the Rumble last year and had the rug pulled out from under him but not this year. He isn’t afraid of anyone and says that Vince might own the ring but he’ll throw out anyone who steps inside it. He draws a literal bullseye on his own chest and tells every WWF Superstar that he is an easy man to find  and they can come and get him! There’s supposed to be a live number drawing later in the show where we’ll find out what entry number everyone will have in the Royal Rumble match so I’m sure we’ll see more of Austin then.

• Outside the arena, DX’s limo is here but there’s a huge truck blocking their entrance to the arena and Shawn Michaels has to get out and investigate. Interesting? After the next match when we go back outside to check on their progress, Owen Hart dives through the sunroof to attack an unprotected Triple H! Michaels and Chyna rush over and then the limo drives off with Owen Hart now all alone in the limo with all three members of DX.
• Kurrgan (with The Jackyl) takes on a pair of jobbers in a handicap match. I didn’t recognise either of them. Jackyl joins commentary and calls a conversation with him “intellectual intercourse” which is a good line. Kurrgan demolishes both men and then tears apart an NFL football helmet to show how strong he is. 
• Marc Mero heads down to the ring and Jim Ross explains that Mero says he’s had a change of heart. He has to explain the storyline for us because Mero’s microphone isn’t working. He brings out Sable, but it’s not Sable - its Goldust wearing very revealing black lingerie with a blonde wig. You know what? He looks pretty good. Goldust has made that look work for him! Mero’s opponent tonight is Vader, who Goldust will wrestle at the Royal Rumble so that explains why he’s involved here. Sable comes down to ringside and gets in Goldust’s face - Mero has utterly humiliated her but he forces her to go backstage rather than let her stay. Mero falls prey to the Vader bomb but Goldust picks his moment and pulls a coconut out of his bra and breaks it over the back of Vader’s head to give him a disqualification victory. It looks like Mero and Goldust have formed a little friendship off their mutual desperate need for attention! 

• DX returns to the arena in their limo but without Owen Hart who they have apparently unloaded and left somewhere far away from the arena. Also backstage, Stone Cold’s path of destruction continues having attacked and beaten up Vader in his locker room. 
• The Rock (who still doesn’t have his Intercontinental title belt) and D’Lo Brown take on Ken Shamrock and Mark Henry, who comes out wearing a Rocky Sucks t-shirt. Shamrock does all of the work but when he finally taks Mark in…he attacks his own partner. Mark lays out Shamrock with a couple of big slams and then a pair of big heavy elbow drops, capped off by tearing off his Rocky Sucks shirt to reveal a Nation of Domination one. The World’s Strongest Rookie has joined the Nation of Domination. The Rock is very happy about it but Faarooq doesn’t seem too pleased - The Rock has, once again, gone over Faarooq’s head and taken action without permission from the leader of the group. 

• D-Generation X head down to the ring and Triple opens up with his now trademark barrage of sexual jokes aimed at the squealing college girls in the audience. Lots of cracks about having the head for things and needing just the tip etc. Shawn Michaels addresses the ongoing rumours of Mike Tyson’s involvement not just in Wrestlemania but also that he’ll be at the Royal Rumble. Owen Hart appears on the titantron with a torn shirt and a bloody nose - DX gave him a beating but they haven’t finished him off yet. Owen comes out to the stage and says he wants to break Triple H’s other leg. Referees and officials come out and separate the groups and don’t let the fight escalate but we’re left wondering what Shawn Michaels’ announcement was going to be and how it involved the Undertaker’s family. JR and Lawler speculate that he was going to bring Kane into D-Generation X?

• Jim Cornette’s crusade to bring traditional, classic (old fashioned) wrestling to the masses continues with the WWF debut of Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton, the Rock N’ Roll Express. They take on the DOA. Gibson and Morton are both in their 40s but look like they’re in their 50s and feuded with Cornette in the NWA for literally a decade so it's weird that he’s managing them here. During this match JR mentions that NWA North American Champion Jeff Jarrett was also supposed to be here tonight but he has some family troubles to attend to. Just like last week, Cornette uses his tennis racket as a weapon to help the NWA team but this week he’s caught by the referee and the Rock N Roll Express are disqualified. They beat up the DOA a little until Chainz runs down to defend his buddies. 

• In a pre-recorded interview earlier today, Cactus Jack talks about the New Age Outlaws and confirms to the fans that Chainsaw Charlie is Terry Funk in a costume. He says that he agrees that the Chainsaw Charlie thing is a little ridiculous but to each his own! The joke there is Mick Foley as Cactus Jack taking issues with someone else having an alter ego, and then that leads to Mankind vs. The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust. Goldust comes out with Luna, but dressed as Dude Love! So it’s Mankind vs. Dude Love? Mick goes right on the attack and locks Goldust/Dude Love in the Mandible Claw. The match ends there as Stone Cold runs down and drops both of them with Stone Cold Stunners! He’s not going to stop until he’s stunned all 29 other men in the match! 

• Backstage, Vince McMahon makes a big announcement about Mike Tyson (and acknowledges that the crowd started booing him as soon as he appeared on the screen) - Mike Tyson will be a special invited guest at the Royal Rumble PPV, and he will be on Raw is War next week live! JR and Jerry Lawler make it sound like Tyson is going to be physically involved at the Rumble and speculate that Shawn Michaels is going to get in his face. That’s misleading, but of course there’s no way to know that until you buy the PPV! They keep bringing up “the last time a sports star was at the Royal Rumble”, which was when Lawrence Taylor got into a fight with Bam Bam Bigelow at the 1995 Rumble. 

• Sunny (dressed as a cheerleader this week) ring announces for a tag team match of Miguel and Savio of Los Boricuas vs. Scott Taylor and Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku. This is a fun match actually. Taka hits a gorgeous moonsault off the top to the floor but Savio catches him and spikes him with a powerslam on the floor to keep him out of the match. Miguel finishes Scott with a superplex to pick up the win and then the four men beat up poor Taka and Taylor. Owen Hart, who Los Boricuas were paid to hurt last week, runs down with a crutch which he stole from Triple H and breaks it over their back, chasing the four of them out of the ring. 
• In the ring, Michael Cole interviews D-Generation X who casually bully him, flicking their hair into his face while he talks and giving him a wet-willy. Shawn Michaels confirms his announcement from earlier; they have invited Kane to join DX and finally have a family. Michaels introduces the big red machine and the lights go out but it's not Kane’s music, it’s The Undertaker’s. The Deadman tells DX to leave his family out of all of this business and then grabs Michaels by the throat, followed by Chyna! Triple H hits him with a crutch and with the numbers advantage, a Sweet Chin Music puts him down and DX begins the beating. Kane arrives just in time and DX runs off rather than fight the big red monster. He returned The Undertaker’s favor from last week and the crowd were cheering and chanting for Kane! They want to see these two monsters team up, not fight. Kane offers out a hand of friendship to The Undertaker and The Deadman returns it - this was awesome, and it seems like Kane has been able to look past Paul Bearer’s lies and mind games and wants to be friends with his brother. 

• In the main event segment of Raw, the ring fills up with superstars who are in the Royal Rumble match. This is so they can all draw numbers for their entry but when Ken Shamrock comes out he immediately tries to fight with Mark Henry and he has to be held back. The fighting keeps breaking out with Vader going after Goldust and others. Stone Cold comes out last and the assumption is that everyone wants a piece of Austin. It’s true too - everyone stops fighting when his music hits but he’s too smart for that and he comes from behind, tipping over the tumbler full of numbers and dropping Phineas Godwin with a Stone Cold Stunner! He escapes and leaves everyone in the ring fighting but he got too confident and at the top of the stage he’s attacked by The Rock, D’Lo Brown and Savio Vega! Austin gets beaten up on the stage while the ring is chaos. A fitting ending for the final Raw before the Royal Rumble.