There was no title match on this show, in fact WWE CHampion Shawn Michaels, who had suffered a career ending back injury the month before, did not compete at all on the PPV.
The night started off with a barely passable tag team match won by the Headbagers (Mosh and Thrasher) over the team of Goldust and Marc Mero. Mero was fading fast in the WWE and Goldust with Luna didn't go anywhere. Not the best way to start a PPV.
Next up saw WWE Light Heavywight Champion Taka Michinoku retain the title winning a decent match against Pantera. Even at this early stage, it was obvious that the WWE's attempts to build a little man division was not really working.
Next was another dull tag match which saw the Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) defeat the Quebecers (Jacques Rougeau and Pierre Oullet). I remember being so sick of the Godwinns by early 1998 and I think there were plenty of fans who agreed with me.
For a brief period in 1998 the NWA North American Championship found its way onto WWE PPVs. Jeff Jarrett was the NWA champion at that time and he was appearing regularly in the WWE. Now here's some trivia, his opponent that day was Justin Bradshaw, who would later go onto have one of the longest WWE Title runs ever as JBL. This was his first shot at a singles title on PPV and he won by DQ after interference from Jarrett's manager Jimmy Cornette. Not much of a match.
There was a lot going on in our next match, a ten man war of attrition which saw the good guys Ken Shamrock, Ammed JOhnson and the Disciples of the Apocalypse (Chaniz, Skull and 8-ball) defeat the Nation of Domination (Farooq, The Rock, D Lo Brown, Kama Mustafa and Mark Henry). The story here was that Shamrock was feuding with the Rock over the Intercontinental Championship, Johnson had been feuding with the Nation for years and there was growing tension between the leader of the Nation Farooq and The cocky young Rock. Anyway this match broke down several times before the big finish which saw Shamrock put the Rock into the ankle lock, forcing him to submit. After the match, The Rock and Farooq shoved each other and the Rock stormed off. Farooq called him back and the Rock grudgingly returned to the ring in a show of solidarity and so the tension had resided for now.
The next match saw Kane continue his destructive pillaging of the WWE's mid card, as he defeated Vader without too much trouble here. Vader actually left on a stretcher after being hit with a wrench. NOt a great match.
This led us into the fun main event which saw the good guys Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie defeat D-Generation-X and friends (Triple H, Savio Vega, Road Dogg Jesse James and Bad Ass Bill Gunn) in a fun match with some elements of a streetfight thrown in. It was entertaining and ended with Stone Cold stunning Jesse James to get the pin. Styone Cold then stunned Gunn for good measure and then hit Chyna with one too after she got in his face.
Wow, Shawn Michaels may need more help than just his DX buddies if he wanted to retain his title at Wrestlemania in a month. This was a good little filler show that effectively bridged the gaps to one of the biggest and most important PPVs in WWE history.
The night started off with a barely passable tag team match won by the Headbagers (Mosh and Thrasher) over the team of Goldust and Marc Mero. Mero was fading fast in the WWE and Goldust with Luna didn't go anywhere. Not the best way to start a PPV.
Next up saw WWE Light Heavywight Champion Taka Michinoku retain the title winning a decent match against Pantera. Even at this early stage, it was obvious that the WWE's attempts to build a little man division was not really working.
Next was another dull tag match which saw the Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) defeat the Quebecers (Jacques Rougeau and Pierre Oullet). I remember being so sick of the Godwinns by early 1998 and I think there were plenty of fans who agreed with me.
For a brief period in 1998 the NWA North American Championship found its way onto WWE PPVs. Jeff Jarrett was the NWA champion at that time and he was appearing regularly in the WWE. Now here's some trivia, his opponent that day was Justin Bradshaw, who would later go onto have one of the longest WWE Title runs ever as JBL. This was his first shot at a singles title on PPV and he won by DQ after interference from Jarrett's manager Jimmy Cornette. Not much of a match.
There was a lot going on in our next match, a ten man war of attrition which saw the good guys Ken Shamrock, Ammed JOhnson and the Disciples of the Apocalypse (Chaniz, Skull and 8-ball) defeat the Nation of Domination (Farooq, The Rock, D Lo Brown, Kama Mustafa and Mark Henry). The story here was that Shamrock was feuding with the Rock over the Intercontinental Championship, Johnson had been feuding with the Nation for years and there was growing tension between the leader of the Nation Farooq and The cocky young Rock. Anyway this match broke down several times before the big finish which saw Shamrock put the Rock into the ankle lock, forcing him to submit. After the match, The Rock and Farooq shoved each other and the Rock stormed off. Farooq called him back and the Rock grudgingly returned to the ring in a show of solidarity and so the tension had resided for now.
The next match saw Kane continue his destructive pillaging of the WWE's mid card, as he defeated Vader without too much trouble here. Vader actually left on a stretcher after being hit with a wrench. NOt a great match.
This led us into the fun main event which saw the good guys Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie defeat D-Generation-X and friends (Triple H, Savio Vega, Road Dogg Jesse James and Bad Ass Bill Gunn) in a fun match with some elements of a streetfight thrown in. It was entertaining and ended with Stone Cold stunning Jesse James to get the pin. Styone Cold then stunned Gunn for good measure and then hit Chyna with one too after she got in his face.
Wow, Shawn Michaels may need more help than just his DX buddies if he wanted to retain his title at Wrestlemania in a month. This was a good little filler show that effectively bridged the gaps to one of the biggest and most important PPVs in WWE history.