The following is a reprint of the Torch Newsletter review of WWF Raw from five years ago this week. For those not familiar with the Brawl for All tournament, it was a real tough man contest that was designed to establish Steve "Dr. Death" Williams as a legitimate bad ass. It didn't quite work out that way as you'll read in coming weeks.

-Jason Powell, Torch assistant editor

* * *

Torch Newsletter Archive
By Wade Keller, Torch editor
July 6, 1998 - WWF Raw
Originally published: Pro Wrestling Torch Weekly newsletter #502
Cover dated: July 11, 1998

(Taped June 30 in State College, Pa.)... [Q1]... (For the initial detailed report on this show, see "WWF Newswire," Torch #501)... The show opened with a video recap of last week's title changes... Jim Ross introduced the show by establishing right away that Steve Austin was in the arena...

Undertaker came to the ring right away as Jerry Lawler and Ross talked about how upset he is with recent events. Ross hyped that Undertaker's more maniacal side is showing through. Undertaker demanded a title shot against Austin "and I want it right now." Michael Cole searched for Austin backstage. Cole finally found Austin and asked him if he accepts his challenge. Austin shoved his way past him and said he didn't have time to talk to him. Austin walked to the ring. Vince McMahon then came out and announced Austin and Undertaker would have to team together. When he gave Austin the finger, they didn't digitize it until a second after it was clear what he was doing. Lawler praised McMahon for asserting himself as owner of the WWF...

(1) Savio Vega beat Brakus in a "Brawl for All" shoot-fight. There was no commercial break between this match and the previous segment, so it came across as humanly impossible to put up the different ring turnbuckle pads in such a short time. Savio shot in on Brakus in the opening seconds. Brakus then took Savio down. Savio threw a barrage of punches at Brakus at the end of the round and had the gloves not been so heavily padded, may have knocked him out. He totally dominated the winded Brakus. Ross said Brakus was saved by the bell. Brakus stared down Savio between the second and third rounds. Savio took Brakus down at the start of the third round. Ref Danny Hodge called for a standing eight count. Savio clearly won on points...

[Q2]... (2) Ken Shamrock fought Jeff Jarrett (w/Tennessee Lee) at 4:24 to a no contest. Ross thanked the fans for making Raw the most watched program on all of cable television last week. They showed Edge sitting in the stands watching the matches. Mabel came out of the crowd and attacked Shamrock. Ross first called him a fan, then acknowledged it was Mabel and that he was a former King of the Ring tourney winner. Mabel splashed Shamrock, then left through the crowd... After a commercial Shamrock challenged Mabel to meet him later on Raw...

[Q3]... (3) Vader fought Bradshaw to a no contest when Mankind and Kane interfered. Ross announced that next week on Raw, The New Age Outlaws would defend the tag titles against Kane & Mankind (the winners of the tag team battle royal).

(4) DOA (w/Paul Ellering) beat The Head Bangers at 3:35. Ross said Ellering has been a recluse in Northern Minnesota for the last few years making loads of money in the stock market. Ellering joined Ross and Lawler on commentary. He called LOD prisoners of their own memory of the glory years. He said he made them stars but their day has passed...

[Q4]... (5) D-Lo Brown (w/The Godfather) pinned Terry Funk at 3:49. Undertaker's chokeslam of Funk after the match seemed purposefully gentle...

[Q5]... McMahon came to the ring and announced the three-way Raw main event. Well done...

(6) Hawk fought Darren Drozdov to a draw. Very even fight. Some solid punches were thrown. Fun to watch...

[Q6]... Marc Mero and Jackie came to the ring. Sable confronted Jackie and set up the bikini challenge for the July PPV. Raunchy and trashy, but funny. Jerry Springer would be proud... (7) Val Venis fought Dustin Runnels to a no contest when Kaientai attacked Venis because of the passes he made at Yamaguchi-san's "wife." Lawler said Val reminds him of cooking big long plump hotdogs on the Fourth of July. Ross said, "Thanks for sharing that with us, King." Ross said he didn't think the fans would like Venis, but he said that's not the case. They're turning him babyface already?...

[Q7]... Ross said DX had been behind closed doors all day. Then they came out to The Nation's music dressed up as The Nation. Totally laugh-out-loud funny. The Owen imitator did a right-on Owen imitation. The crowd was totally into every one-liner and mannerism and yelled "suck it!" with DX at the end. It may have been funnier than the NWO's Four Horsemen spoof from last year...

[Q8]... (8) Ken Shamrock beat Mabel at 2:10. Ross said at the start of the match there would be no more commercial breaks. Shamrock held the hold on long after the bell. Good segment at getting Shamrock over as a giant killer with a temper...

(9) Undertaker (dressed as Kane) pinned Mankind to become the number one contender to Steve Austin's title. Everyone played their parts well, including Austin and McMahon on commentary...

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE FLASHBACK: Kane character debuts 18 yrs. ago today in first-ever Hell in a Cell match - Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

HIAC FLASHBACK: Kane beats Undertaker in HIAC match 5 yrs. ago today, plus Randy Orton vs. Sheamus for WWE Title

ROH FLASHBACK: The aftermath of Joe vs. Kobashi 10 years ago today