King of the Ring 1998 marks the beginning of the hottest summer in wrestling history, with the war between the WWF and WCW at it's absolute peak, creatively and commercially. This show also features perhaps the most famous Hell in a Cell match ever, as The Undertaker and Mankind did their damnedest to end Mick Foley's career, with several absolutely horrifying and legendary moments of absolute carnage. That's not to mention the crowning of a new King of the Ring, which was the peak of the Rock-Shamrock rivalry, and a historic Attitude Era moment in the main event, as Kane took on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. It's sure to be one hell of a ride, so let's get into it.
- King of the Ring 1998 comes to you from Civic Arena, the former home of the Pittsburgh Penguins, with, as always, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler on the call. It's worth noting that, while she features prominently on that pay-per-view poster, Sable has very little screen time on the actual show itself. You really can't understate the importance of sex appeal during this era of wrestling.
- Opening things up is a six man tag team match, as Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku teams with the Headbangers to face Funaki, Dick Togo and Men's Teioh of Kaientai. I've always been impressed with the kind of action the Michinoku Pro guys were putting together around this time, and we get to see a bit of what they're capable of here. But high quality cruiserweight wrestling isn't particularly over in front of this crowd, and the Kaientai boys are presented like jobbers, so I can't exactly blame the fans for not taking them seriously. Taka puts down future tag partner Funaki with the Michinoku Driver, ending a solid but uninteresting match.
- In the first of two King of the Ring semi-finals matches, Ken Shamrock takes on Jeff Jarrett. Double J is accompanied to the ring by Tennessee Lee, better known for his territory exploits as Robert Fuller or as a manager in WCW as Colonel Robert Parker. Jeff was a part of the much maligned NWA Invasion angle earlier in the year, but has reverted back to his country singer gimmick, which is probably a bit too corny for the more serious fanbase. The match lasts about 5 and a half minutes, and features some pretty basic wrestling, with Lee getting in some interference and Jarrett focusing on Shamrock's ankle. Ken does look pretty good during his comeback, hitting a big powerslam and applying the ankle lock to get the tap.
- We move on to the other semi-final match, as Intercontinental Champion The Rock takes on Dan "The Beast" Severn. I'm a big fan of Severn's intensity and persona, but his complete lack of charisma makes his difficult to support over budding megastar Rocky. Severn's takedowns and vicious limb destroying offense are not over in the slightest, though the fans do pop big for the finish, as Nation members Mark Henry and The Godfather distract the official, allowing D'Lo Brown to nail Severn with a frog splash to keep him down for 3. Brown debuts his famous chest protector gimmick here, so that's a definite highlight for a match that was way too short to have any others.
- For fans of comedy wrestling, here's a definite doozy, as Brian Christopher and Scott Taylor, known as Too Much at this time, take on Al Snow and legendary tag team specialist, Head. Yes, the mannequin head is "wrestling" in this match. Jerry gets up from commentary to officiate the contest, as he's been engaged in a storyline with Al recently, and has promised him a meeting with Vince should he be victorious. Lawler gives us the standard heel referee routine, slow counting for any of Al's attempted pinfalls or ignoring them completely. Snow's offense is pretty electric, combining some great power moves with Head attacks, battering both heels and setting him up for victory. But in a great finish, Lawler fetches a empty bottle of Head & Shoulder shampoo, which he attaches to the base of Head and Christopher then makes the pin for the win. I loved the cheesiness of that ending, absolutely perfect for this complete comedy feud, and I'll admit to being very entertained by Jerry's over the top prickish heel act.
- Here's a match that certainly has some potential, as D-X member X-Pac takes on Nation member Owen Hart. Both guys are capable of putting on some terrific contest, so I was eager to see what they could do in the same ring. Unfortunately, this one was a definite disappointment, as both guys seemed unmotivated to do much, just running through their usual offense with very little drama or storytelling. Perhaps they were uninterested in putting on a great match because they knew there would be another screwy finish, as Mark Henry got involved, leading to Vader running in for a hoss brawl, allowing Chyna to down Owen with a DDT. That finish did get a big pop, Chyna was super over during '98 and '99, but the match that came before massively under-delivered.
- In another pretty boring affair featuring D-X, the New Age Outlaws defend their WWF tag titles against NWA tag champions Bob Holly and Bart Gunn. Former tag partners Bart and Billy get an opportunity to work against each during the match, though the crowd absolutely did not care, which had to be crushing for whomever booked the bout. Chyna is involved in the finish once again here, delivering a low blow to Jim Cornette, as Billy and Road Dogg hit Holly with a sling shot onto the top rope for a very weak finish. When Billy Gunn is the best wrestler in your match, it's probably not going to end up being particularly memorable, no disrespect intended to Billy, who tried his best to get this thing over, but that was never going to happen. Man, I know a lot of people tend to focus on the ECW/WCW invasion of 2001 as the worst example of a failed invasion angle in wrestling, which is fair, but this NWA stuff in '98 is so much worse to me. Just a terrible idea on paper, and so dull in execution.
- It's time for the finals of the King of the Ring, and an actual good match, who would've expected that? It's The Rock against Ken Shamrock once more, the peak of their rivalry throughout this year. European Champion Triple H, who lost to The Rock in their quarter-final match, is sitting in on commentary, and Chyna has joined the Spanish announce team, which was bizarre. Hunter gets involved pretty early on, brawling with Rock for a bit, before staying behind the desk for the rest of the match. Rock and Shamrock tell a pretty good story, trading near falls and revisiting a couple spots from earlier matches, including Ken countering the float-over DDT into a bridging Northern Lights suplex. In the end, Shamrock finally gets a decisive win over Rocky with an absolutely beautiful application of the ankle lock, taking down a standing Rock to the mat and into a seated version of the hold, one of the best applications of a submission hold I've ever seen. Rock taps, and Shamrock has learned his lesson from WrestleMania, quickly releasing and getting his hand raised, as the crowd goes wild. As mentioned, this is definitely the peak of their rivalry in '98, though they would meet later in the year in the first triple threat steel cage match with Mankind. This was a massive improvement from everything else seen on the night thus far, a dramatic and highly entertaining clash between two potential break-out stars, and though Shamrock never really reached his full potential in the WWF, this is certainly a career highlight to be proud of.
- We from a really quality wrestling match to straight up attempted murder, because it's the Attitude Era, as Mankind and The Undertaker face off inside Hell in a Cell. I say inside, but it certainly doesn't start that way, as Mankind climbs to the top of the structure and Undertaker gives chase. We immediately get the first jaw-dropping highlight, this one is intentionally terrifying, as Mankind is sent plummeting from about 20 feet in the air through the eternally unlucky Spanish announce table. JR is just losing his mind on commentary, giving us a couple famous lines. Even though this fall was planned, everyone involved still looks very concerned, and Vince even breaks character, looking worried up in his skybox. Don't worry about Mick Foley too much just yet, the madman is just getting started. Mankind climbs back to the top of the cell, and takes a damn chokeslam through the steel, which absolutely was not planned, crashing to the mat along with a chair, who's life I'm also fearful for. How the match isn't over by this point is just beyond me, but Foley is aware enough to get up and crawl to the corner, giving us the famous shot of him sitting there, bleeding from the mouth with a tooth sticking out of his nose, his jaw dislocated by that effing chair. Terry Funk, scripted to look terrified, has absolutely no problem looking terrified for his friend's life, but nearly dying isn't enough to convince Foley to not finish the match. Mick fetches some thumbtacks, because why not, then takes a bump on them when Undertaker fights out of the Mandible Claw. But even that's not enough, as Undertaker didn't quite manage to plant Mick perfectly in the tacks, so Foley f***ing rolls into them, and I need to go throw up. No, the match isn't over yet, you absolute pansy, because Foley now takes one more chokeslam, this time into the tacks, before a Tombstone finally ends it. What to even say about this? Well, I suppose I never expected witnessing attempted manslaughter to be this entertaining, that's for sure. For as much punishment as Foley put his body through, I think a lot of credit for this match being so legendary should go to JR and The King, who made it more of a spectacle than a car crash. Jerry's commentary is just so different during this one, as it's obvious he can't keep up his heel persona in the face of this abject carnage. So look, I understand why this match may be unwatchable to some people, especially considering the risks Foley was taking here, both intentional and otherwise. But if there's any match in wrestling history that needs to be seen to be believed, it's definitely this one. Mick Foley is a genius, a psychopath, an artist and a bit of an idiot, but is truly worthy of all the respect in the world as one of toughest and kindest human beings to ever live.
- Oh yeah, there's still a main event. It's a first blood match, by far the most high profile in that gimmick's history, as Steve Austin defends the WWF Championship against Kane. Austin has been far from his best since the broken neck about a year prior, whilst Kane has never been known for being a ring general, and is still a bit green at this point. That's not exactly a recipe for success, and so the match is booked to just be a simple brawl, as both men spend a lot of time punching and kicking each other, and it's a bit dull. The Cell lowers at some point, because it's been about 10 minutes since someone attempted serious bodily harm and it got lonely, and appropriately, all Hell breaks loose. Mick Foley can still breath, so naturally he's interfering here, who are you to question him? The Undertaker is also back and ready to attempt more murder, accidentally busted Austin open with a vicious chair shot, though luckily the champ was holding his own chair and didn't quite take a skull rattling hit. Undertaker cleans house, but referee Earl Hebner, somehow always around for a screwy main event finish, sees Austin bleeding and calls for the bell. Kane is the new WWF Champion, but doesn't get to celebrate as the broadcast just cuts to Vince nodding approvingly, and we're out. This is a classic case of booking yourself into a corner, as Kane had threatened to set himself on fire should he lose, and there's absolutely no way that could happen here. Instead, Austin's reign gets interrupted, just for Kane to lose the thing back to him the next night and make this main event almost completely pointless. At least Undertaker's interference would set up his eventual title match with Austin, but this was a very messy and underwhelming way to end an otherwise great final 90 minutes of the show.
8/10
With a better undercard and main event, King of the Ring 1998 could've been something even more special. It certainly deserves a higher rating based purely on the insanity that was Mick Foley's dance with death in the Hell in a Cell match, though Rock-Shamrock was also great and remains very underrated. But I can't overlook the bizarre way the show ended, nor the dull first half of the night, so it gets a respectable score from me, but doesn't feel like a true classic. It's unfortunate that Foley's death defying antics couldn't have come on a better show, but it cemented his legacy as an all-time great and set him up for future world title success, and plenty of guys in this business have done truly awful things to their bodies for much less.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: Fully Loaded 1998, my surprise bonus review for this year. See you soon.
- Henry
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