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-SuNDAY NiGHT MeMBER-
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Newcastle, UK
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Re: Official WWE DVD Help/Discussion/Review Thread
WWF Royal Rumble 1998 Review
Goldust vs. Vader
Goldust wrestled this match in his "artistic" clothing. Not a bad match but quite slow at times. Goldust seemed to be holding back a little with some weak looking moves but he got some offence in and knocked Vader down quite a few times. For a big guy Vader sold very well to smaller wrestlers. Fortunately it didn't last too long and it ended with a cool spot with Luna jumping on Vader's back for a Vader bomb on Goldust. It looked painful aswell, landing right on her face, but she’s half man anyway so I’m sure she wasn’t that hurt.
Winner: Vader
* 1/2
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Mini's Match:
Batallion, Tarantula & El Torito vs. Nova, Max Mini & Mosaic
Although they were entertaining at times I don't feel as though these matches are really needed on PPV. The time this match took up could've been used to put over some contracted wrestlers rather than these circus acts. A Light Heavyweight Championship match would have been much more appropriate here. It mainly, surprise, surprise, consisted of arm drag after arm drag with maybe a head scissors thrown in here and there. Max Mini was quite over just as he had been in his previous matches, just because he is very small? A funny part of the match was Sunny botching a spot where she had to jump over one of the little guys but she accidentally kneed him in the face. The best part of this one was a series of suicide dives and moonsaults onto the outside but this match predictably ended with the fan favourite Max Mini and co. picking up the win with a rollup. It was fun at times but not a PPV standard match.
Winners: Nova, Max Mini & Mosaic
* 1/2
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Intercontinental Championship Match:
The Rock (C) vs. Ken Shamrock
These two worked really well in the ring and these are two of my favourite wrestlers of all time. They put on an entertaining match with The Rock playing the cowardly heel for the most part. When it looked as though The Rock would complete the match without any Nation interference they came out and helped him. Here's the finish, a little complicated but it came off very well on TV. The Rock hit Shamrock with brass knucks and put them in Shamrock's pants. Shamrock kicked out, hit the belly to belly when the referee was distracted by The Nation and got the pin. The Rock complained to the referee and told him the brass knucks were in Shamrock's tights. The referee searched him, found the knucks and reversed the decision. Great ending that kept both wrestlers looking very strong, and in my opinion this ending was a far better way to put a heel over than anything we get today *cough* Randy Orton *cough* and retaining his title at the same time.
Winner: The Rock (Reverse decision)
** 1/2
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WWF Tag Team Championship Match:
New Age Outlaws (C) vs. Legion of Doom
LOD returned for this one being a bit out of sorts, a storyline they were going through and continued after this PPV. An even bout up until Hawk was handcuffed to the ringpost by The Outlaws. Probably the least remembered of Royal Rumble handcuffings considering what happened at the next couple of Rumbles. Animal looked like he was going to get a beating but he managed to get the upper hand and was about to get the three on Billy Gunn when Road Dogg interfered with a chair and led a beat down on Animal’s back until Hawk made the save. This match carried on the LOD storyline and gained more heat for The Outlaws but it was a bit shorter and slower than expected.
Winners: Legion of Doom (DQ)
* 3/4
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Royal Rumble Match:
Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie, Tom Brandi, The Rock, Mosh, D'Lo Brown, Kurrgan, Marc Mero, Chainz, 8-Ball, Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, Owen Hart, Steve Blackman, Phineas Godwinn, Ken Shamrock, Mankind, Goldust, Jeff Jarrett, Vader, Thrasher, Faarooq, Skull, Ahmed Johnson, Honkey Tonk Man, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Dude Love, Henry Godwinn, Savio Vega, Mark Henry & Kama Mustafa
- Stone Cold went into this one as the favourite.
- Mike Tyson made his WWF debut sitting in the sky box along with Vince and Shane McMahon.
- Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie exchanged chair shots as the first two entrants.
- Chainsaw Charlie was very sloppy, but is still a very tough man.
- Kurrgan, this year’s Royal Rumble monster was quickly eliminated after being knocked down for the first time by Ken Shamrock.
- People say Bradshaw's first push was in 2004, however, he lasted 40 minutes in this Rumble. Pretty impressive for anyone. I'm sure a few people left this match with a few missing teeth.
- A one night rivalry erupted between NWA wrestler Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart. Jarrett attacked Owen when Owen was entering the match.
- Owen returned later in the match and quickly eliminated Jarrett to a hug pop.
- In a very funny moment, when HHH on the outside he and Chyna eliminated Owen Hart, Owen chased him backstage but feel over as he ran up and back down the classic PPV entrance, you know the one.
- And that was the end of that short but fun feud. It should've been carried on after the event but HHH was returning from injury to face Owen and the NWA storyline was just taking off.
- Mick Foley returned, even though he'd already been eliminated as Cactus Jack, firstly as Mankind, and then again as Dude Love. Classic Royal Rumble moment.
- Steve Blackman made his return in this match, along with fellow fan favourite Ahmed Johnson who had been absent for a few weeks.
- Only 29 wrestlers participated in this match.
- Skull, or maybe it was 8-Ball, who knows, never came out for his entrance. I think his excuse was a previous attack off Los Boricuas earlier in the night. However, he participated in a backstage brawl soon after the attack. Strange...
- Nation members attacked each other in the match leading to a funny moment where Mark Henry missed his elimination and was weakly slapped out of the ring by Faarooq.
- The Honkey Tonk Man was this year’s gimmick entrant. The King referred to him as "Cousin Honkey Tonk Man... I mean Honkey Tonk Man," referring to his real life cousin.
- Los Boricuas were easily beaten down by Steve Austin in this match. Jobbers if I ever saw any.
- Faarooq lasted until the final three after eliminating Dude Love.
- He was then eliminated by fellow Nation member The Rock.
- He himself entered at number three and was finally eliminated by Stone Cold.
- This was Austin’s second of three Royal Rumble victories the first being in the previous year’s match.
- Mike Tyson was asked his opinion on Stone Cold's victory. He famously replied with, "Cold Stone," followed by a load a jibberish, probably including Bruno Sammartino.
- Even weirder was the fact that Shane McMahon celebrated Stone Cold's victory.
Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin
*** 1/4
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Casket Match for the WWF Championship
Shawn Michaels (C) vs. Undertaker
This was a rematch of the Hell in a Cell war from October 1997 and it didn’t disappoint. It was very brutal at times with a very nasty piledriver onto the steel stairs by Shawn Michaels which actually sounded as though Undertaker had broken his neck. Early in the match Undertaker over head tossed Michaels onto over the casket on the outside of the ring. Michaels back just skimmed the side of the Casket and that was where he received the injury that forced him out of competing for nearly 5 years. HBK lay Undertaker in the Casket at one point and hit him with a top rope elbow drop but Undertaker fought it off and delivered a tombstone piledriver into the Casket from the apron. A very even match where the winner knew they’d be going on to face Stone Cold at Wrestlemania. Triple H and Chyna were at ringside but didn’t offer a great deal of assistance up until Los Boricuas and the New Age Outlaws came out and attacked Undertaker. Just as it looked as though HBK was going to get the victory Kane entered the ring and cleaned house, including chokeslamming Undertaker into the Casket giving Michaels the match. In one of the most memorable moments in wrestling history Kane and his father Paul Bearer set the Casket on fire with Undertaker inside, or so we thought until the Casket was opened revealing nothing but debris.
Winner: Shawn Michaels
**** 1/4
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Extras
There are no extras of sorts on this DVD other than two Home Video exclusives which were shown on the running of the event itself. The first extra is Ken Shamrock attacking The Rock in the locker room after their mach and the second being an announcement Undertaker made over the speakers in the arena after the Casket had been extinguished and opened.
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Overall
The undercard wasn’t great other than The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock. Some cool endings involved in some of the matches with the main event being on the year’s best encounters. The ending with the Casket being set on fire was a great way to continue the feud between Undertaker and Kane in a very effective way.
This event was also featured a great showing from The Rock who not only retained his Intercontinental Championship, but he also went from number four to being the last man eliminated in the Royal Rumble match.
The Royal Rumble match itself wasn’t great but it featured some nice Mick Foley moments such as the Foley/Funk hardcore confrontation and the classic three faces of Foley in one match.
Pretty much a predictable ending though.
WWF Royal Rumble 1998 Rating – 7/10
Last edited by HeAT : 02-29-2008 at 08:44 PM.
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