WWF Monday Night Raw

May 25th 1998

Chattanooga, Tennesse

Ross - It's Chattanooga Tennessee, and it's Monday Night Raw Live! Right here tonight, we'll be speaking to the former WWF Champion Shawn Michaels live via satelite, as well as the continuation of the King Of The Ring tournament! Plus, Owen Hart will go one on one with "Marvelous" Marc Mero, Adam Bomb will take on Yuji Nagata and much much more! Let's kick things off right away in the ring!

Booker T vs Steve Corino

Booker catches Corino in an abdominal stretch right away, but the ropes are close enough for Corino to grab ahold of quite quickly. Corino can't get any offence in after the hold is broken though, as Booker peppers him with right hands before executing a faceslam for a two count. Numerous two counts from Booker T follow, after a dropkick, a flying forearm and a spinning DDT. On the two minute mark, Booker goes to the top rope and attempts the Missile Dropkick, but Corino is able to duck out of the way, and he then tosses Booker to the outside. When Booker returns to the ring, Corino enjoys a brief spell of dominance, and he gets a two count following a vertical facebuster. His downfall though, comes when he takes Booker up to the top turnbuckle for a superplex. Booker blocks and is able to shove Corino down to the canvas. Corino jumps right back up to his feet, but he is then in perfect position for the Missile Dropkick, which Booker plants with precision. One, two, three.

Booker T defeated Steve Corino in 3-39

Rating [**.25]

Ross - Booker T gets a well earned win there and... well, we got company folks.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley is on his way to the ring, and not too far behind is Dustin Runnels. When Helmsley realises Runnels is on his way down too, he turns and shoots him a look of disdain before entering the ring.

The Rock walks out through the curtain and stands at the back of aisle.

Rocky disappears back through the curtains.

Helmsley leaves the ring, followed not long after by Runnels as we go to commercial.

<-commercials->

Bobby Bradley vs Jim Powers

Powers goes for a sleeper hold almost right away, but Bradley is able to block and send him to the mat with a jawbreaker. Bradley has control for a while before Powers catches him with a dropkick after Bradley let fly from the top turnbuckle. Powers then hits his opponent with a clothesline, but when he tries to send Bradley over the top to the floor with another one, Brdaley ducks and back body drops him to the concrete. Powers paces on the floor, but he is soon on his back looking up as Bradley hits with a flying clothesline off the buckle to the outside. Back inside, Bradley executes an inverted atomic drop on Powers, and then follows it up with a bodyslam. Then it's up to the top turnbuckle again, where what he calls the Flying High Splash ends the match.

Bobby Bradley defeated Jim Powers in 2-26 [.5*]

Ross - Bobby Bradley gets the win, and at this time we're gonna here these brief comments from "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn.

Ross - We're gonna hear from Brian Adams later on as well, and that match is coming up later in the hour. Also still to come, we'll be speaking to Shawn Michaels live via satelite. Up next though, Yuji Nagata is gonna go one on one with the European Champion Adam Bomb!

[Non-title Match]

Adam Bomb vs Yuji Nagata

After a few brief exchanges of boots and fists, Nagata locks Bomb into an abdominal stretch. Nagata's slow style is the opposite of how Bomb likes to do it, and he may have to change his gameplan to win this match. Bomb is in the hold for a good thirty seconds plus before he reaches the ropes. Yuji then goes for an enzirguiri but Bomb ducks. The champion then runs into the ropes, and then he *is* taken to the mat by a Nagata enzirguiri, and Yuji then gets a two count out of it. An arm grapevine is then put on Bomb, as Nagata continues to work on the upper body of the champion. Nagata keeps the grapevine on for another thirty seconds, and the crowd is comatose. When Nagata finally let's go, he hits a thrust kick on Bomb, and gets another two count out of it. He pulls Bomb up to his feet and sets him up for another thrust kick, but Bomb counters with a low blow and Nagata falls down to the canvas for the first time in the match. Bomb then whips Yuji into the ropes, ducks a clothesline, and then nails Nagata with a jumping elbow thrust. Nagata is down, the crowd is back into it, and we take a commercial break.

<-commercials->

Bomb hits a slingshot on Nagata as we come back, before whipping Yuji hard into the turnbuckle. Bomb lays into Nagata with his feet, but Nagata sends Bomb staggering backwards with a hard elbow to the face. Bomb charges in again, but Nagata then knocks him down with a superkick! Yuji goes down to make the pin but Bomb gets his foot onto the bottom rope at the count of two. Nagata then bounces off the ropes and goes to drop a knee across the prone Adam Bomb, but he manages to roll out of the way. Bomb is lightning quick in jumping up to the top buckle, and he then nails Nagata with a flying clothesline for a two count. As soon as Yuji gets his shoulder up, Bomb goes up to the buckle again and nails another flying clothesline. He hits a third before covering and only getting a two count again. Nagata is tossed to the outside, and Bomb runs against the far ropes and flies over the top rope onto Yuji. That was the plan, but Nagata had the presence of mind to get out of the way, and Bomb crashes onto the concrete. After taking a few moments to shake off the effects of those clotheslines, Nagata picks the unconscious Adam Bomb up and rolls him back into the ring. The Nagata lock is put on, and after the referee raises Bomb's arm and watches it fall three times, Nagata gets the victory.

Yuji Nagata defeated Adam Bomb in 7-44

Rating [***.25]

Ross - That's an impressive victory right there for Yuji Nagata, it takes a lot to beat Adam Bomb. Austin couldn't do it, Jarrett didn't do it without cheating, and I could go on. One man that Austin did beat though, is Sycho Sid. Last week on Thunder, Sid and Vader made an announcement that they were gonna destroy the WWF tag team division. On Thursday night, the RoadWarriors were dealt their most brutal defeat in their long and illustrious careers. Two men who claimed that they were gonna put Vader and Sycho Sid in their places were Mosh and Thrasher, the Headbangers. They're gonna go head to head with Sid and Vader next!

[WWF King Of The Ring 1998 Promo - June 21st]

Sycho Sid/Vader vs The Headbangers

Mosh and Vader kick things off in this tag team match, and Mosh rocks the big man with right hands as soon as the bell rings. Vader ends up swatting them away though and starts hammering at Mosh, before taking him down with a lariat. A sleeper hold wears him down, before Vader lets the hold go. A falling splash from the Rocky Mountain Beast gets a two count, before Sid enters the ring untagged. They both nail Mosh with a double clothesline, but Sid is immediately removed from the ring via a Thrasher dropkick. The Headbangers hit Vader with a double back heel kick, before Thrasher returns to the apron. Mosh goes to put Vader down with a DDT, but instead he gets back body dropped and immediately splashed before he can return to his feet. Vader then climbs to the top buckle and, after waiting for Mosh to get back up to his feet, he executes a flying bodypress for a two count. A superplex is then hit by Vader, before Mosh manages to hit a DDT out of nowhere! Mosh makes the tag to Thrasher, who hits a flying headbutt with perfect precision. That gets just a one count, but Thrasher keeps control with a pair of forearm smashes on the big man. Vader retakes the advantage soon after though as he catches Thrasher in a powerslam off the ropes, and then makes the tag to Sid. Sid climbs over the top rope and the rest of the match consists of the following : elbowdrop, lariat, powerbomb.

Sycho Sid/Vader defeated The Headbangers in 3-47

Rating [.75*]

Ross - Sid and Vader continue their distruction of the tag team divsion with another awesome performance. Putting that aside, when we come back, well see Owen Hart take on "Marvelous" Marc Mero!

<-commercials->

Before we go to this match, footage of Hart walking out on Mero at In Your House 3 is shown. As Hart makes his way to the ring, he's attacked from behind by Mero and Fit Finlay [?]. The two men doubleteam Owen in the aisle, before the British Bulldog arrives. He nails Finlay with a right hand and then nails Mero. Bulldog and Owen then toss and Mero and Finlay into the ring, and hey presto we've got a tag match!

Owen Hart/The British Bulldog vs Marc Mero/Fit Finlay

Owen and Bulldog enter the ring as Finlay and Mero get back up to their feet, and they start beating on both of them. Owen sends Mero into the turnbuckle, and Bulldog then whips Finlay into the Marvelous One. Owen charges in with a clothesline and then tosses Finlay over the top rope. Mero is then dumped to the outside moments later and Owen and Bulldog have cleared house. Mero and Finlay discuss their gameplan on the outside as their opponents pose to the crowd in the centre of the ring. When the match finally settles down, Bulldog and Mero retreat to the apron as Hart and Finlay kick things off. The two men lock up, and for the first minute or so, pretty much nothing happens. Holds are blocked, insults and gestures are thrown, moves are missed before Finlay finally manages to land a dropkick on Hart.

He then gets two quick two counts in succession with a piledriver and then a powerbomb. Finlay foolishly protests the two count from the powerbomb and ends up being cradled up for a two count by Owen. Smith is then tagged in and he *dominates* the Belfast Bruiser. Smith gets a two count from a superplex that is broken up by Mero. Hart then re-enters the ring to take Mero out, and then he and Smith take Finlay down again with a double suplex. The team once known as the Hart Foundation dominate the next few minutes of this match, with the team of Mero and Finlay getting little offence in. Hart locks on the Sharpshooter at one point, but Mero easily gets to the ropes. The advantage turns when the action spills to the outside. As the referee is trying to get the two non-legal participants to break it up, Fit smashes Smith over the head with a chair. Finlay tosses Smith back into the ring and has him in a reverse chinlock as we go to these words from Brian Adams.

The match continues as the Bulldog is fighting out of the hold. He nails Finlay with some hard elbow smashes, before lifting him high above his head and gorilla-pressing him down. He then sends the Irishman into the ropes but misses a clothesline. Finlay then turns and hits him with a DDT for a two count. The team of Mero and Finlay has the advantage at this point, but this match is decidedly back and forth for it's duration. Mero uses the ropes and foreign objects around the ring area several times, but he can't get the pinfall on either one of his opponents. Owen and Bulldog can't either, and all four men get counted out brawling on the outside.

Owen Hart/British Bulldog fought Marc Mero/Fit Finlay to a dco in 11-33

Rating [*.5]

Ross - There's chaos here around the ring! We're gonna take out final commercial break now folks, and when we come back, Billy Gunn verus Crush, as well as the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels!

<-commercials->

[Clips are shown of the opening King Of The Ring match between Marc Mero and Bart Gunn, as well as a rundown of the tournament bracket.]

"Crush" Brian Adams vs Billy Gunn

Adams whips Gunn into the ropes after gouging his eyes out of the lock up. Gunn misses a clothesline as he bounces back, and Crush sends him to the canvas with a back body drop. An elbow is dropped across the chest of Gunn, before Adams executes a deadly spinning backbreaker. A gorilla press follows, then Adams gets the first two count of the match after a spinebuster slam. Crush pulls Gunn up to his feet and puts him in a standing headlock, but Gunn shoves him into the ropes. Adams then meets the mat for the first time in the contest as Gunn executes a kneelift on him. Adams jumps up but is then sent right back down as Mr Ass hits a single leg takedown. Gunn hits a belly to belly suplex for a two count, but the advantage then starts to go back and forth. Adams nails a spinning backbreaker, and is close to putting Gunn away when he goes for a piledriver, but the former tag champion is able to block and back body drop his larger opponent. Adams is able to nail the piledriver later in the match, but not before Gunn comes agonisingly close with a DDT. The piledriver from Adams only gets a one count, and whilst he argues that fact with the ref, Gunn rolls him up from behind and gets a one count of his own. Adams springs up right away and floors Gunn with a lariat. He sends him into the ropes and attempts to back body drop Gunn again, but Billy hits him with a forearm to the back, then executes a piledriver. The referee counts the three count, and Billy Gunn will face Marc Mero on June 21st!

Billy Gunn defeated "Crush" Brian Adams in 5-33

Rating [.25*]

Ross - So Billy Gunn advances, and it means that if Marc Mero is to win the King Of The Ring, he's gonna have to have gone through *both* Gunn brothers! Make sure to be here next week on Raw when the tournament continues with Dustin Runnels against Savio Vega. While we try and get our satelite hookup sorted out, take a look at this video package.

[Clips of Shawn Michaels winning the WWF title against Steve Austin from January 1st are shown, along with the finishes to the Jarrett/Michaels match from April 6th, the fourway match on April 19th, and the six man on May 17th]

Split screen. JR / Michaels. Michaels is sitting down on a sofa at his home in San Antonio.

The WWF Champion, mic in hand, runs down the aisle, around the ring, and sits down at the announcers table, puts on a headset. We now have a split screen of Michaels / Jarrett.

Jarrett takes off the headset and leaves the table with the title belt.