This Day In Wrestling History - July 27

Date: July 27, 1998 (15 years ago)

Event: The Summer of 1998 Monday Night Wars featured the latest developments in a hot "Stone Cold" Steve Austin-The Undertaker angle on WWF Raw TV, plus Vince McMahon's infamous "dime a dozen" speech to Sable, while WCW Nitro from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas featured Hulk Hogan vs. Diamond Dallas Page in the main event.

Data: Raw July 27 in Anaheim, Calif. drew 12,059 for $285,675 (merch. $100,136, $8 per cap). ... Nitro July 27 in San Antonio, Tex. at the Alamodome drew 19,109 paid for $471,485 (merch. $225,599).

Torch Back-Issue: PWTorch Newsletter #505.

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WWF Raw TV Report
July 27, 1998
Originally Published Torch Newsletter #505
Report by Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

(Live from Anaheim, Calif.)... [Q1]... Highlights aired from the PPV the night before... Undertaker came to the ring. He said he would not team with Steve Austin unless he apologized to him for not trusting him. Vince McMahon came out and said he is the one who is owed an apology because Undertaker put his hands on him last week. McMahon said he's not buying that Undertaker and Kane aren't conspiring because it only took one tombstone to put Kane away the night before and at Wrestlemania it took three. McMahon announced that Undertaker & Austin would defend the tag titles against the New Age Outlaws later on the show. Steve Austin came out. Austin said he'd be Undertaker's partner, but instead of an apology, he gave Undertaker the finger...

[Q2]... (1) Vader beat D-Lo Brown via countout at 4:17. It was a non-title match because D-Lo said his representatives told him it wasn't in his best interest to defend the title at this time. D-Lo's mic work before the match was cool. This is a funny storyline with D-Lo so thrilled to have won a title, he doesn't want to defend it and risk losing it. Vader ripped off D-Lo's chest protector and splashed him at ringside leading to the countout... They showed a split screen of Bart Gunn and Steve Williams taping their fists in preparation for their Brawl for All... A feature aired on Darren Drozdov at home. It was filmed "Real World" style. Droz answered his door to his house with a snake around his neck. At the end, Droz began telling a story about Mark Henry. Nice feature to help establish Droz's personality...

[Q3]... (2) Bart Gunn defeated Steve Williams via knockout with five seconds left in the third round. (see "WWF Newswire" for details)... A commercial aired for the new WWF program on USA Network. It was a take-off on "60 Minutes" which it goes head-to-head with on Sundays. DX played the role of the reporters. Funny satire... Owen Hart came to the ring and challenged anyone to face him. Jason Sensation walked out onto the stage and began mocking Owen again. Owen went after Jason, but Dan Severn then walked out in a suit and tie. He accepted Owen's challenge. Owen low-blowed Severn and applied a sharpshooter. Severn escaped. Ken Shamrock ran through the crowd and attacked Severn, then put a choke on Owen. Severn gave a prone Shamrock a choke from behind. WWF officials and Steve Blackman pulled them apart. Shamrock went after Severn one more time. Good intensity...

[Q4]... (3) DOA (w/Paul Ellering) fought Faarooq & Scorpio to a no contest at 3:23. Ross asked Bradshaw if he was upset with Terry Funk for shaking hands with Scorpio before the PPV match. He said he was because he was there for a fight, not to make friends. Ross asked Lawler if he had a question for Bradshaw. When Lawler began making cracks, Bradshaw got in his face and said, "This isn't Comedy Central, I'm not here to hear your jokes. Call the match." Cool. Lawler didn't say a word the rest of the match. Bradshaw ended up running into the ring to attack Faarooq & Scorpio. A five-way brawl broke out. Sgt. Slaughter yelled at Bradshaw to return to the back as officials separated the two teams in the ring... Ross interviewed Rocky Maivia regarding his IC Title defense...

[Q5]... (4) Hunter Hearst Helmsley and X-Pac defeated Rocky Maivia via countout at 7:18 in a Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Title. During his usual pre-match spiel, Hunter said it was his birthday. When Lawler acted surprised that X-Pac and Hunter got to be in the ring at the same time, Ross said, "Yeah, Triple Threat rules. Where have you been the last decade, King?" You tell him, sister! Hunter and X-Pac went after Rocky. At 1:30 Rocky nailed X-Pac with a clothesline, his first offensive move of the night, but Hunter then rocked The Rock with a hard clothesline of his own. Hunter gave The Rock the Pedigree and covered him, but X-Pac got up and yanked Hunter off of The Rock. He went for the cover himself. Hunter yanked him off. Hunter and X-Pac shoved each other. Rock recovered and hit X-Pac, but X-Pac came back with a rock solid spin wheelkick. Hunter got knocked off the ring apron and landed on the announcing table at ringside, knocking the top off the table. Rock and X-Pac exchanged fast-paced near falls. X-Pac kicked out after a People's Elbow. Hunter saved X-Pac from the next pin attempt. With X-Pac groggy in the corner, Hunter worked over Rocky. X-Pac got up at 5:45 and gave Rocky his new face-first powerbomb finisher. Hunter yanked X-Pac off of the Rock. They argued again, then exchanged blows. Rocky grabbed his belt and walked away as the two DX members continued to fight. Ross said Rocky outsmarted the system because he managed to retain the IC Title. Very good action, but the finish made a mockery of a title being on the line in a Triple Threat match. (Just as they went to a commercial, the Goldberg interview began on Nitro)...

[Q6]... Michael Cole interviewed The New Age Outlaws and asked them if there were problems within DX after seeing the last match. They said no because they are family and "money is thicker than water." They then promo'd their main event tag title match...

(5) "German Superman" Brakkus pinned Jesus Castillo at 0:47. Fans chanted "steroids" at Brakkus... They showed Val Venis showering with Yamaguchi-san's wife...

(6) Val Venis beat Brian Christopher (w/Scott Taylor) at 2:03 with a fisherman's suplex. Before the match began Kaientai came out. Yamaguchi-san brought a sword onto the rampway. When Christopher and Taylor began double-teaming Val, Taka Michinoku ran out for the save and helped Val clear the ring. Yamaguchi-san challenged Val & Taka to a tag match next week. He said after they win the match he would have a big surprise for him, then he chopped the sausage in half. Val looked worried. Yamaguchi said, "Choppy choppy your pee-pee." Lawler said, "I think he's going to pull a Lorena Bobbitt."

[Q7]... (7) The Godfather & Mark Henry beat LOD 2000 when Henry pinned Animal. This was about a bizarre a segment as you'll see on TV. Before the match Cole interviewed LOD. Animal talked while Hawk seemed drugged up and barely conscious in the background. Godfather came to the ring with three women on his arms, saying, "What a good day for a pimp." Hawk tripped as he entered the ring. Ross acknowledged it, saying it was live TV. "Hawk doesn't look to be himself," Ross observed. At 1:00 Animal went to tag Hawk, but Hawk didn't tag back. Ross asked, "Has he nodded off?" Ross covered for Hawk, saying he got some disturbing news on a personal level a few hours earlier. Ross said, "You remember, Lawler?" Lawler didn't remember, but Ross nudged him, so Lawler then "remembered." They tried to make it seem as if Ross was trying to cover for Hawk's condition. Hawk went to do the top rope clothesline, but fell to the floor. Godfather then gave Animal a DVD for the win...

Sable came to the ring. Marc Mero and Jacqueline also came to the ring. Jerry Lawler read a note from Vince McMahon that said because paint does not constitute a bikini, Sable was disqualified and Jackie was the winner of the contest the night before. Jackie jumped into Mero's arms and he carried her and the trophy away in celebration. Sable responded by saying she didn't need a trophy to know she was the winner of the contest. She said she isn't surprised by the reversed decision, but only wished McMahon was "man enough" to tell her to her face. McMahon walked out and said, "Did you say man enough?" McMahon kicked ringside cameramen as he walked the apron as he entered the ring. McMahon told Lawler to get out of the ring. He said he has turned a lot of ingrates into becoming stars but didn't think she would be one of them. He admitted that he brought her back from a p.r. standpoint because of how popular she is. He said he does everything he can for WWF fans. He said: "People like you, especially in this town, are a dime a dozen. I could snap my fingers and have you replaced by any number of bimbos and airheads. You owe me, Sable, and when people like you owe me, I generally collect." He began coming on to her, touching her hair and shoulder. He said, "I am your knight in shining armor and will continue to let you be employed by the WWF as long as you don't become an ungrateful bitch." Fans oohed and aahhed. Ross gasped. McMahon smiled and turned his back. Sable gave him two middle fingers and then ripped off her shirt revealing a thong bikini. The crowd popped. Good segment...

[Q8]... (8) Steve Austin & Undertaker defeated The New Age Outlaws at 8:18 to retain the WWF Tag Team Titles. Austin mocked Bad Ass's posing which popped the crowd big. At 2:30 Austin tagged in Undertaker. The Outlaws took over at 3:30 when Gunn clipped Undertaker from behind. A fan threw a beach ball into the ring. Ross said, "The fans here in Southern California are in such a festive mood and who can blame them." Ross just doesn't skip a beat. At 7:45 Undertaker finally hot-tagged in. He went to work on both Outlaws. He gave Road Dog the Stunner for the clean win. Austin opened a cooler at ringside and pulled out several cans of beer. He opened a can and drank some, then tossed a can to UT. Ross asked, "Is this Austin's form of an apology." Undertaker opened the can, paused, and drank it. The crowd popped. Just when all seemed happy, Kane and Mankind attacked Austin. Undertaker came to Austin's aid as the show went off the air...

***

WCW Nitro TV Report
July 27, 1998
Originally Published Torch Newsletter #505
Report by Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

(Live from San Antonio, Tex. at the AlamoDome)... [Qi]... Scott Hudson narrated a recap of last week's Nitro... Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Larry Zbyszko introduced the program. Schiavone said Dallas Page is back this week with some demands in response to being gang attacked last week by NWO Hollywood. The Nitro Girls danced as Schiavone announced that Goldberg would be giving his first interview ever on Nitro with Gene Okerlund later. Schiavone also explained that Jay Leno talked about Hollywood Hogan last week on the Tonight Show... Scott Hall, Giant, Curt Hennig, Brian Adams, Vincent, Scott Norton, and Rick Rude came to the ring. Hall led the interview. He said is he tired of hearing Kevin Nash cry. Hall challenged NWO WolfPac to a match at Road Wild and the last one standing wins. When the Goldberg chants got overwhelming, Adams took the mic and said after Goldberg beat Hogan in a fluke of a match while he was off in Japan beating people up, he rushed back to the States so he could prove Goldberg's win was just a fluke...

[Qii]... Raven sat in the corner and said he was lied to because everybody said things would change after high school, but they haven't. He said he is still hated and still an outcast. Saturn ran to the ring and confronted Raven, calling him a rich, spoiled brat. Kanyon entered the ring, but Saturn gave him a suplex. When Saturn picked up Raven, Kanyon saved Raven by going after Saturn. Raven and The Flock walked to the back...

(1) Hacksaw Duggan pinned Barbarian (w/Jimmy Hart) at 2:42. A brawl broke out with Meng, Barbarian, Hugh Morrus, and Duggan afterward ending with Duggan offering his hand in friendship to Meng. Meng responded by giving Duggan the Tongan Death Grip... They showed a beat up car in the parking lot in front of a parking space with a star in front of it. It was meant to be a biting shot by Bischoff at Leno...

[Qiii]... The Eric Bischoff talk show segment took place. Bischoff first ripped off some of Leno's monologue jokes, then told jokes about Leno's chin. After nearly a ten minute monologue, Bischoff introduced "his mentor," Hollywood Hogan. Elizabeth sat in the sidekick position. Hogan wished "Nitro Nick" a happy birthday "because Hollywood loves you, dude." They played clips of Leno's response to Bischoff and Hogan on the Tonight Show. Hogan responded by saying he is giving Leno one more chance to apologize to Hogan, otherwise he will come to his show in Burbank and teach him a lesson. He told Leno, in all seriousness, he has affected his ability to earn a living. He said he knows Leno will be at Sturgis for Road Wild, also...

[Qiiii]... Okerlund interviewed Dallas Page who said his number one goal is to get of "the almighty god of professional wrestling," Hogan. He challenged him to a match later on Nitro. He got so worked up during the interview he stopped in mid-sentence and paced around the ring... A video feature aired previewing the "last match" between Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko scheduled for later on Nitro...

[Q1]... At the start of the second hour, Dusty Rhodes, Hall, and Norton walked out to the announcing set. Dusty claimed he was the greatest announcer of all time and he accused Zbyszko of stealing his spot in the broadcast booth. A small chant of "Larry, Larry" began. Rhodes held up a gag-rag and said he wanted Schiavone to hold it because Zbyszko is under a "Texas Gag Order." It wasn't clear what he meant, but if it's going to lead to some clue about what was inside Baby Doll's envelope, I'm all for it. Zbyszko said Dusty lost his job because of incomprehensible babbling on the air...

(2) Scott Norton beat Jim Neidhart at 0:13 with a powerbomb. Amazing that it was only the second match of the night this far into the show... A special video aired on Goldberg... They went backstage to Goldberg's locker room. He wasn't inside, but furniture had been overturned and the walls were spray-painted with NWO Hollywood graffiti... The fireworks shot off apparently to officially mark the start of the second hour... Bret Hart came to the ring with the U.S. Hvt. Title belt over his shoulder. Bret said his title win marks one for the good guys. He addressed Dallas Page, then acknowledged that he promised to do his best as champion. He said he was invited to join the NWO, but he respected Sting and what he did for wrestling. He said he recognized that Sting represented WCW and got screwed by the promotion just like he did. He said last week, though, was his fault. He said he had no intention last week of costing him his tag title. He said there are a lot of people trying to lead Sting down the wrong road, but added, "Sting, remember one thing, I'm your friend." Schiavone said the only person Bret has ever helped has been Hollywood Hogan... The announcers wondered what happened to Goldberg...

[Q2]... (3) Chris Jericho beat Dean Malenko via DQ to retain the WCW Cruiserweight Title at 9:22. Early in the match, with Raw in a commercial break, Schiavone pushed hard that a replay would air of the Karl Malone, Dennis Rodman match at Bash at the Beach. At 2:00 they cut to a commercial. At 8:25 Jericho pulled brass knuckles out of his boot. At 9:15 Malenko hit Jericho with brass knuckles and the ref caught him and called for the DQ... Okerlund backstage updated the Goldberg situation. He said they would get an interview with Goldberg soon, but he was cooling off in his locker room. His door was being guarded to avoid further interference...

[Q3]... (4) Curt Hennig (w/Rick Rude) pinned Steve McMichael at 1:30. The announcers talked about Mongo trying to convince Arn Anderson to reform the Four Horseman. The end came when Mongo turned his attention to Rude, so Hennig kicked him and finished him with the fisherman's suplex... They replayed Jay Leno bringing out a small old guy dressed as Hogan and apologizing to him... Bischoff, Hogan, and Disciple came to the ring. Bischoff said he would fire whoever aired that Tonight Show clip. Hogan ripped into Leno for insulting him. He also accepted Page's challenge...

[Q4]... They replayed the main event from the July 12 Bash with Malone and Rodman, but it was edited down to 13 minutes to show Rodman & Hogan on offense...

[Q5]... At 10:10 p.m. they returned to live action with Okerlund interviewing Goldberg in mid-ring. Goldberg came to the ring with an entourage of WCW personnel which made him seem like a very big deal. He said what NWO Hollywood is doing to him deserves revenge and he would make an example out of Brian Adams. The interview was nothing special and he seemed nervous knowing all the pressure on him to be a good talker, but it was short enough to prevent Goldberg from hurting himself too badly...

[Q6]... Okerlund interviewed Arn Anderson. He said Mongo should have been motivated against Hennig since he started the spiraling down of the Horsemen, but he dropped the ball. Anderson said Mongo blew his chance. He said he doesn't want to align himself with an organization with only two wheels and one broken wheel. He said for one last time he would say, "I asked you to let it be. Now I'm telling you to let it be"... After a commercial break, they talked briefly and went right to another commercial break in order to allow more time for the three main events...

[Q7]... (5) Sting beat Scott Hall via DQ at 3:09. At 2:00 Sting hit the Stinger Splash and Scorpion Death Drop. As he applied the Scorpion Death Drop, Bret Hart came to ringside. Sting dropped the hold and jumped to ringside to punch Bret. Bret went down, so Hennig and Vincent attacked Sting from behind. The ref called for the bell. Kevin Nash and Lex Luger came out to make the save. Sting mule kicked Bret and went for the scorpion, but Bret rolled out of it. Tenay pointed out that no one would know better how to escape the hold than Bret Hart... Okerlund interviewed Buff Bagwell & Scott Steiner on the rampway. Scott's arms are bigger than Okerlund's head. Buff stressed that his injury is real. When Scott flexed his bicep and the camera went up close it was pornographic. J.J. Dillon came out and said Buff should be ashamed of himself for getting sympathy from fans for his serious injury and then responding the way he has. Dillon said he would try to get Scott a match against his brother so Rick could set them straight. Buff played with a wheelchair...

[Q8]... (6) Goldberg beat Brian Adams at 1:32 to retain the WCW Hvt. Title. Schiavone said Goldberg has not gotten caught up in his own hype. Adams hit a second rope shoulder block and got an early two count. Goldberg went for the spear, but leave it to Adams to screw up taking that move. He backed into the ropes before he could go down. Vincent ran into the ring so Goldberg speared him. Goldberg then gave Adams another spear followed by the Jackhammer for the win...

(7) Dallas Page beat Hollywood Hogan via DQ at 4:18. Tenay said Hogan wants to prove Page is out of his league and end his career this night. At 2:40 Page went to clothesline Hogan over the top rope, but Hogan couldn't take the bump and rolled under the bottom rope. Page took some nice bumps for Hogan. Hogan gave Page a boot to the face and signaled for the legdrop. Page, though, surprised Hogan with the Diamond Cutter. Hennig apparently saw it coming since he had already run to ringside. The NWO factions brawled with each other. Then Goldberg ran to the ring. Giant chokeslammed Goldberg as the show ended... [WK]

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