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Well, King Of The Ring '98 has come and gone, and it proved to be one of the best of all time. A new champion, and new king and one of the most hardcore matches in WWF history. But first.... Since its inception into the WWF's annual ppv lineup five years ago, we've seen many ups and downs:

  • Bret Hart won the first King Of The Ring, probably the best KotR to date, which saw many 5 star quality matches, including Bret's match with Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig.
  • Bret's massive feud with Jerry Lawler started at the first KotR.
  • Owen Hart was the second wrestler to be crowned King, where he began to call himself "The King Of Harts".
  • Mabel won the third KotR, which showed the beginnings of The Road Dog as a competant wrestler.
  • "Stone Cold" Steve Austin won the fourth KotR, which was where the catchphrase "Austin 3:16" was born.
  • Hunter Hearst Helmsley won last years KotR, which is where HHH's star began to really shine. His brutal feud with Mick Foley began here as well.
    • Below is a match by match recap of the 1998 King Of The Ring:

    BONUS MATCH #1: 6 Man Tag Match:
    Headbangers/TAKA vs Kaientai

    This was a decent match, with lots of decent wrestling. I really can't give much of an analysis on this one, since I was trying to order my meal at the same time. I did feel that the match should have gone a bit faster considering the wrestlers involved, but you can't always get what you wish for. Kaientai's manager, Yamagochi has a new look: kind of a skater look. I liked the suit better. Taka gets the win over one of Kaientai with the Michinoku Driver #2.

    Predicted winner (as the match started): Taka & Headbangers
    Actual Winners: Taka & Headbangers

    Interview: Vince McMahon

    McMahon was introduced by Sable, who incidentally was wearing a variation of that skin tight bodysuit. McMahon basically badmouthed the Pittsburgh crowd and talked about how dissappointed they'd all be when Austin lost the title later that night. Highlight was seeing Patterson get slapped by Sable after he patted her fanny as she left the ring.

    Completely unecessary segment. I suppose Vince was trying to rile up the crowd but I think he ended up killing some of the heat for the next couple of matches.

    Second Round of the
    The King of the Ring Tournament:

    Shamrock vs Double J

    Even match for the most part. Jarrett got most of offence by working on Shamrock's legs. But then Shamrock got the upper hand with a series of great moves (spinning heel kick, etc) and ended up defeating Dubba J with the ankle lock submission.

    Predicted Winner: Ken Shamrock
    Actual Winner: Ken Shamrock

    The Rock vs Dan "The Beast" Severn

    Another good match, with Severn showing a little anger by throwing a few uncharacteristic punches at The Rock. When the ref was distracted by Kama and Mark Henry, D-Lo Brown jumped Severn and laid him out with a great frogsplash from the top (the "Lo Down"). D-Lo wore what looked to be a baseball catcher's chest protector to protect the ribs that Severn had injured during the KotR first round. The Rock finished off Severn with the "Rock Bottom" to move on to the finals and face Shamrock.

    Predicted Winner: The Rock
    Actual Winner: The Rock

    Al Snow w/Head vs Too Much

    Stipulation: If Al wins, he gets a meeting with McMahon. If he loses, he leaves the WWF.

    I thought this was a handicap match, but it turned out to not be so. It was a tag match. It was more or less a comic relief match, but the wrestling was still decent. Al came out to no music (I thought "Breathe" by Prodigy was a great choice back in ECW). Jerry Lawler was announced as the special guest referee. Al argued with Head over that one. Al had many pin attempts which Lawler either refused to count, or counted VERY slowly. When Al was in trouble, he made the "hot tag" to Head, which he used to beat up Taylor and Christopher. Al got the Snowplow on both men, but Lawler refused to tag. When Al got distracted by Taylor, Lawler passed Christopher something which he attached to the neck of the head. Christopher laid the Head down, and Lawler did the three count. The object: a bottle of "Head & Shoulders". That got a lot of groans from the crowd at the areana and from the crowd at Don Cherry's that night. So, we discover Al's fate on RAW I guess.

    Predicted Winner: Al Snow
    Actual Winner: Too Much

    Owen Hart vs. X-Pac

    Great match here, with input from just about everybody. Owen & X-Pac fight a very back and forth matchup, with no interference from Chyna. X-Pac takes a viscious bump when he's whipped into the timekeepers table and smacks solid against the retaining barrier. Ouch. The action goes back in the ring for a while until Owen throws X-Pac to the outside near the aisle. Mark Henry runs down and lay a pretty weak splash on X-Pac, when Vader appears out of nowhere and rams into Henry. The force knock Vader to the floor as well. X-Pac gets back in the ring somehow, while the big men duke it out and it put in the Sharpshooter by Owen. Chyna runs in while the ref is tied up with Vader and Henry, and gives a great DDT to owen while X-Pac was in the Sharpshooter. X-Pac reaches over and covers for the pin.

    Predicted Winner: X-Pac
    Actual Winner: X-Pac

    Interview: Paul Bearer

    Paul basically wastes a couple minutes talking about Kane's childhood and how he'll be so prowd when his son becomes WWF champ. This stuff should have been used on RAW. Not here. Bleh.

    Bonus Match #2:
    The New Age Outlaws vs The "New" Midnight express

    Decent match, with the Outlaws getting to show off a bit. Lots of "Suck It" to go around. But, this match had no point other than to fill in time. It ends with Cornette trying to hit an Outlaw with his racket, then getting a swift uppercut to the nads from Chyna. Outlaws do a double Stun Gun on Job Holly for the win.

    Predicted WInners: NAO
    Actual Winners: NAO

    King Of The Ring Finals:
    Ken Shamrock vs The Rock

    This match had to have lasted more than 20 mins. And it was great. I really wish I could have watched this again, since I was distracted again by our waitress bringing our bills for the meal, etc.

    HHH came down for commentary, along with Chyna (who did Spanish commentary). He'll interfere right? Wrong. Hunter was a good little boy for the most part, except when he spat a mouthful of water in The Rock's face. HHH also said he'd challenge the King, no matter who wins.

    The match, like their previous encounters, was back and forth the whole time. The pace was slow at first, then quickened with the last ten minutes. Many pin attempts were made, along with a People's Elbow. But, Shamrock eventually got the AnkleLock Submission ob Rocky. The Rock held on for several seconds, but finally tapped out. Shamrock screamed a bit more, celebrating his win.

    Strangely, there was no coronation ceremony. Just as well I suppose, since Shamrock has little or no mic skills at all. And no new angle to jumpstart either (though Owen could have attacked him like Lawlor did during Bret Hart's coronation).

    Predicted Winner: Ken Shamrock
    Actual Winner: Ken Shamrock

    The Undertaker vs. Mankind

    A photo can't show the brutality of this match, so I'm posting several AVI files from the match in the links below. I'm not sure if Netscape or Internet Explorer will view AVI files with a plugin, so you can save them if you wish. The videos are courtesy of the "Oh My God!!" Wrestling Multimedia site.

    "One word can describe this match: BRUTAL. Sure, this is an old feud. But what better way to cap it off? I liked the Boiler Room Brawl, but since the fans in the arena had to watch it on monitors, the fan reaction wasn't as great as it could have been. But this will be different. Foley is out to outshine Shawn Michaels as the best worker in wrestling today. If he survives the King Of The Ring, he certainly will be. I expect mostly offence from the Undertaker, as he wants that titleshot. And Mankind is in the way. So, I see Foley taking some of the sickest bumps of his career. The Taker will get his ass kicked too, but Foley's gonna be hurtin' come Monday morning.

    The above text is what I wrote for the preview of this match. And boy was I right.

    The match itself was pretty short, though the impact of the moves made up for it.

    First up, Corporate Mankind comes to the ring with a chair. He climbs up the side of the cage immediately and waits for The Undertaker to arrive. When he does, he climbs the cage and they fight briefly on top. Until....

    Mankind gets thrown off the cage.

    He falls the entire 20 feet and crashes through the Spanish announce table. No movement from Foley. At all. Medics arrive. Terry Funks arrives to help his friend. The cage begins to rise with the Undertaker still on top to allow a stretcher through. Ross and Lawler are selling like crazy that the match is over, and its a no contest. They start carting Foley away, his mask is off, his arm looks broken..... but he gets off the stretcher. He heads back to the ring, and climbs the cage again.

    Foley and The Undertaker brawl once again, and a piledriver is attempted. No dice. Instead....

    Foley gets chokeslammed through the cage.

    All the personel who had left a minute earlier rush back into the ring. Funk is telling Foley to quit. The Undertaker will not have it. He drops down through the hole left by Foley and is back on the attack. Terry Funk is chokeslammed. But then... Foley starts some offence. He gets Undertaker with the Mandible Claw! Undertaker is weakened, but foley lets go. A grin appears on Foley's face. His mouth is a mess of blood and teeth. Some strange white object hangs from his nose. He limps away from the Taker and reaches under the ring and pulls out a bag. Is it a sandbag? Is it a pair of brass knuckles? A brick? No.... its a bag of THUMBTACKS!!!!! He begins spreading the tacks on the mat like its f'n grass seed, and returns his attention to the Undertaker who is on his feet. Foley attempts to knock the Undertaker onto the bed of thumbtacks. But to no avail. He jumps on the Taker's back and....

    Foley is driven into the bed of thumbtacks.

    As the Undertaker picks up Foley, we can see the tacks digging into Foley's back and then....

    Foley gets chokeslammed onto the bed of thumbtacks

    From here, its a matter of time. Tombstone...1.....2....3.... your winner: The Undertaker.

    After the match, the medics wanted to carry Foley out of the arena. He refused, and walked out... with a little help from Funk and Sgt. Slaughter. The audience showed their respect with a tremendous applause

    Predicted winner: The Undertaker
    Actual Winner: The Undertaker

    Steve Austin vs. Kane: First Blood Match

    During the Free-For-All, it was announced that accidental bleeding like a scratch or bloody nose would not stop this match. It had to be deliberate and the guy had to be busted wide open. (Austin ended up with a scratch on his back from a loose thumbtack on the ground, so the WWF was smart to cover up early) Also, on RAW last week, Kane said that that if he didn't win the title, he set himself on fire. To hear Kane's voice, click here.

    Kane came to the ring with a new suit, just the old one now with both arms covered. I had suspected that this meant Kane was certainly gonna burn, since there was no exposed flesh. How wrong I was.

    The match itself was a little lackluster compared to the previous match, just because I knew that neither man would do anything near as crazy as what Foley had pulled off. And as I had expected, there wasn't any "wrestling", just punches, kicks, chokes and chairshots for the most part.

    During the match, someone was messing around with the lowering and raising of the cage, and almost crushed Austin's head several times! McMahon was in his own private luxury box cheering on Kane, with Sable at his side. Though it was never said that it was McMahon controlling the cage. The action was back and forth during the whole match, with Austin getting in a few middle fingers in Kanes face, much to the crowds delight.

    The match begins to conclude with interference by none other than Mick Foley. After going through Hell In A Cell, he still came back. (I don't care what anyone says. Foley is the toughest S.O.B. in wrestling today.) Anyways, Foley runs in the ring attempting to attack Austin. But he gets stopped dead in his tracks with a stunner. Kane tries to get Austin as well, but receives a stunner. The Undertaker hobbles to the ring with a chair, and Austin has one too. They both make the big swing at Foley but he ducks, causing both chairs to whap Austin in the face.

    Undertaker immediately tries to revive the ref with gasoline (?) and succeeds. Austin knows he's bleeding badly at this point and starts wholloping Kane with a chair in hopes of him bleeding as well. He delivers one last shot to no avail and the ref finally sees that Austin's face is covered in blood. He calls for the bell, and we have a new champ: Kane, who is unconscious from all the chair shots.

    The ppv ends with Austin standing in disbelief and McMahon nodding and grinning with delight over Austin's loss of the title. Fade To Black.

    Predicted winner: Steve Austin

    Actual Winner: Kane

    The Bottom Line:

    I thought it was a great ppv. Solid wrestling top to bottom. I was really ready for a let down, but the WWF pulled off another great one. As I write this final note, I've watched RAW and I must say that the shock of Kane's win over Austin has been completely erased. As John Petrie said, the importance of the event was lessened greatly when Austin reclaimed the title. Anyways, it was not a perfect ppv, mainly beacuse of the lame Al Snow match and the unecessary interview segments and NAO/Midnight Express match. Otherwise, thumbs up. Rating: 8.5/10

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