The Montreal Aftermath: WWF 1998

[wrestlingsuicide]

My previous laptop crashed. So, no more NWA. this has been an idea I've been tinkerin with for a long time. So bear with me as I take my time in writing this diary. Don't expect daily updates. I don't want to disappoint people anymore.

THE MONTREAL SCREWJOB

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Screwjob

History

In October 1996, Bret Hart signed an unprecedented 20-year contract with the WWF after considering, then rejecting, a very lucrative offer from the WWF's main rival, World Championship Wrestling. Hart had been with and had remained loyal to the WWF since 1984, and had emerged from wrestling mainly in tag teams to become a popular and respected singles star. Between 1991 and 1996, Hart won the WWF Championship three times and the Intercontinental Title twice. He also won the 1993 King of the Ring tournament, was named WWF Superstar of the Year in 1993 and was joint winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble alongside Lex Luger. The contract he signed in 1996 called for him to wrestle three more years with the WWF and then complete his career in a behind-the-scenes writing and booking position. Both sides felt that it was a suitable and appropriate expression of Hart's loyalty to the WWF and its loyalty to him.

However, by the middle of 1997, the WWF was in serious financial straits, due mainly to WCW taking over as North America's #1 pro wrestling promotion. WWF owner and chairman Vince McMahon informed Hart that he wished to withdraw from the contract and he encouraged him to again seek employment with WCW. However, as soon as the deal was in place, and at the last minute, suddenly McMahon claimed that he could pay out the whole contract as signed, and wanted Hart to stay. However, when asked about his plans for Hart's "Hitman" character, giving McMahon an option to entice Hart with interesting story ideas, the ideas put out by Vince made it clear to Hart that he was not part of McMahon's longterm plans, and he elected to sign with WCW. At this time, Bret was still the WWF Champion, having won the belt for a fifth time that August from The Undertaker.

On November 1, 1997, Hart verbally agreed to a $3m a year contract with WCW. As part of his WWF contract, Hart had complete creative control over his character in the last days of his WWF tenure. Therefore, he had the final say over what he would and would not do and say.

He also had two major caveats: He would not lose his WWF Title to Shawn Michaels, and he certainly would not lose it in his home country of Canada. The legitimate backstage ill-feeling between Hart and Michaels, which had been bubbling for years, meant that neither man was willing to lose face in or out of the ring to the other, but they agreed to work together for the sake of the business. Hart and Michaels, back then, had radically different lifestyles and attitudes out of the ring and had clashed previously. One such incident was provoked when Michaels claimed that Hart was sleeping with WWF valet Sunny, which lead to a physical confrontation between the two. The relationship between both men was very rocky at best, Hart having been angered about how much booking power The Clique (Kliq) had gained during the mid 1990s. At WrestleMania XII Michaels beat Hart for the WWF Championship. Michaels was supposed to return the favor in WrestleMania 13, he however refused to lose to Hart which saw Michaels get written out of the storylines although he did appear at WrestleMania 13. Michaels simply wouldn't lose to Hart and as a result, Hart wouldn't lose to Michaels.

McMahon began seeking a way to transition the title off of Hart. Michaels was booked as the #1 contender to Hart's title in the fall of 1997 however. Of course, Hart took immediate issue with the idea that he would lose the title to Michaels, in Montreal, at the Survivor Series PPV event on November 9, 1997. He did not believe that Michaels would have offered a loss in return had he stayed in the WWF, and moreover he did not want to lose to Michaels in Canada. Hart had offered to forfeit the belt, but McMahon was insistent that the belt would go to Michaels at the PPV in Montreal.

McMahon tentatively agreed to end the match in Montreal with a planned disqualification finish, which would involve various cohorts of both Hart and Michaels running in and disrupting the match. McMahon then told Hart he could either make a live speech on the November 10, 1997 edition of Raw and then hand the belt back, or he could lose the title in a match on December 7, 1997 at the PPV scheduled for Springfield, Massachusetts. After much negotiation, Hart agreed to hand the belt back on Raw.

The Setup

The Wednesday before Survivor Series, Vince McMahon devised what would become the Montreal Screwjob. As Gerald Brisco sat in a hotel room showing Michaels how to defend himself against Bret attempting to shoot on him (hit him for real), Vince decided that he had no alternative other than to make sure that he left the Survivor Series with Shawn as champion.

On the day of Survivor Series, Bret and Vince sat in a room and discussed the different possibilities. Vince seemed to agree to everything that Bret wanted to do, knowing full well that he was never going to fulfill it anyway. Bret left feeling a little more relaxed, despite being warned by several wrestlers (including Vader, who was a veteran of the Japanese scene and knew the prospect of a screwjob could be looming) never to let himself be pinned for more than a count of 1 or be on his back for too long.

However, Hart was deeply aware of the possibility of a last-minute change of plan behind his back and, fearing a double-cross, went as far as asking the match's referee Earl Hebner to swear an oath on his children's lives that he would not participate in such an incident. Hebner shook on this. The match script given to Hart on the day detailed the planned disqualification finish. Shawn would put Bret in the Sharpshooter, and Bret would reverse, only for D-Generation X and The Hart Foundation to run down for a big brawl to end the match. This would then lead into the title being dropped and Bret being free to leave for WCW.

During the match, after an arena-wide brawl before the match had even officially started, Hart allowed Michaels to place him in the Sharpshooter, his famous finishing leglock hold. Michaels then gave Hart his foot to reverse the hold, but clamped down the pressure at the same time. McMahon, positioned at ringside, elbowed the timekeeper and screamed at him to "Ring the fucking bell!" Hebner then signalled to the timekeeper as if Hart had submitted to the hold and Michaels was quickly awarded the match and the title as his theme music began to play. Hebner rapidly ran backstage from the ring, allegedly to a waiting car. This is a very extreme example of a screwjob (hence the term Montreal Screwjob) as well as a shoot event.

Astounded by the unexpected turn of events, Hart was immediately outraged. He stood dazed in the ring as Michaels walked backstage to a cascade of garbage from fans. Michaels himself was told to act even more outraged than Hart, because if he didn't, they feared that Hart may have attacked him and pummelled him for real again (he had done so earlier in the year backstage at a Raw taping), which would have been bad for business if their new champion had been beaten to a pulp on live PPV by the leaving participant. Bret spat at McMahon, hitting him in the eye, and shortly after also destroyed several TV monitors at ringside before climbing the turnbuckles and signing the letters "WCW" to the rabid crowd. Backstage, after cooling off, he learned that many of the other wrestlers were outraged and were forcefully pressuring the now-in-hiding McMahon to face up to Hart (Hart even proclaimed to his wife, "The piece of shit's locked himself up in his office"). Hart's son was physically upset at what had happened and his wife laid a verbal onslaught onto Triple H (whom she rightfully believed knew about the whole thing), while The Undertaker confronted McMahon and demanded that he meet with Hart face-to-face. McMahon went to see Hart, and the incident ended up as a physical confrontation in the Montreal locker rooms. After McMahon tried to apologize to Hart, he was told to get out or get punched in the face. McMahon refused to leave, and got punched in the face. With Shane and Brisco also there, one of them trampled onto Vince's ankle by accident and broke it. He was carried out, somewhat dazed and unaware of his surroundings, in a scene captured on the Wrestling with Shadows documentary.

The Aftermath (This is where history diverges)

After the event itself, several wrestlers threatened to walk out of the WWF, and Vince McMahon held an impromptu backstage meeting with everyone on hand. McMahon lied his way through the meeting, saying that Bret had agreed to give the title up last night in a closed door confrontation with Vince. He then explained that Bret Hart reneged on the agreement made the previous night and threatened to take the WWF Title to WCW.

This appeared to calm down most of the wrestlers, but Mick Foley called Vince's bluff, saying in no simple terms that Vince was "full of shit" and promptly quit on the spot. That one incident, combined with the fact that Vince was most willing to backstab one of the longest employed workers in the company was the straw that broke the camel's back. There was a massive talk of a mass-boycott during the next night on RAW, following the defection of most of the veterans, but as the day wore on many people came to their senses. Hart was reportedly talking to a lot of the guys and told them not to risk their careers for his sake. The veterans were unmoved, but many young wrestlers finally opted to stay. By the start of RAW, most of the young guys were placated. Of course, Smith, Neidhart and Owen did not attend RAW.

RAW was an event full of mid-card filler matches, everyone wanted to know what the hell was going on. Shawn Michaels came out with 30 minutes left on the program, and started talking about last night. Backstage, Michaels was vehement about having nothing to do with what happened at Montreal, but the writing team decided to have Michaels spin the story. Shawn gladly took the microphone and blasted Bret Hart, calling him a coward and that he had run down south to get away from DX. This was despite Michaels telling Hart that he would not do any such thing. Michaels went on and most probably got carried away as he broke kayfabe a couple of times referring to Bret as a self-serving egomaniac who though he was bigger than the business. This did not sit well with most of the wrestlers backstage who felt that Shawn took it too far.

Davey Boy Smith and Jim Neidhart promptly left the company and followed Bret to the WCW. Owen Hart, tied down by a big contract, was forced to stay with the WWF or else face legal issues. In the coming days, Leon White (Vader) and Mark Calloway (The Undertaker) asked for releases. Owen told Vince that he would sit out the remainder of his contract if he had to, and would never return to perform for the WWF. This was a much bigger blow to McMahon than Hart leaving, since this left the WWF dry with no talent in the Upper-Midcard and Main Event spots. Because of his actions on RAW, half the locker room did not trust Michaels, who couldn't have given a shit. WCW was on a roll, picking up Vader and most of the Hart Foundation was a coup. Mick Foley went to the ECW and regained cult status as Cactus Jack. Mark Calloway decided to hang up the wrestling boots as he re-assesed his entire situation with the Montreal Incident and the WWF.

Novemeber - December 1997

Vince and his braintrust (namely Vince Russo) scrambled to attempt to catapult their midcarders into the upper levels. They practically designed the next Pay Per View as a launching pad for the guys they wanted to elevate. The fact of the matter is, Vince already knew that they were going to build up a couple of names on their rosters... a heel Rocky Maivia, now part of the Nation of Domination and a face Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was on the verge of breaking out straight into the Main Event. Vince also had big plans for former UFC star Ken Shamrock, and felt that he had a big future in the WWF.

In the following weeks, Austin and Rocky were thrust into the limelight, with Rocky stealing the IC Title from Austin and putting them into a feud for the better part of December. Jeff Jarrett had jumped ship to the WWF a couple of weeks after Montreal, although there had been no hype about his arrival since he left. Ken Shamrock was being pushed as a legitimate title contender against Michaels, but was not winning over the fans.

"In Your House: D-Generation X" featured the following card:

• WWF Lightweight Championship: Taka Michinoku© def. Brian Cristopher
• Los Boricuas def. DOA
• Marc Mero def. Bob Holly
• WWF Tag Team Championship: "Road Dog" Jesse Jammes & "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn def. Legion of Doom
• Boot Camp Match: Triple H def. Sgt. Slaughter
• Intercontinental Championship: "The Rock" Rocky Maivia def. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
• WWF Championship: Ken Shamrock vs. Shawn Michaels via DQ

The PPV itself wasn't spectacular, with a tag title match featuring a newly concoted tag-team by Vince Russo, putting in two midcarders and trying to turn them into the team of the 90's. The WWF tried to capitalize on DX's brash attitude and basically helped sell the PPV. What was of note, however, was the IC Title match between Austin and Maivia. The WWF were heavy on these two wrestlers and when it came time for the big payoff match, tragedy struck. Austin, whose neck has been legitimately injured a couple of times, was considerably hurt when Rocky botched a DDT attempt. The match finish had to be scrapped and instead of Austin retaining the title, Rocky defeated Austin via pinfall in a hastily concluded match. In the Main Event, Shawn Michaels lost to Shamrock via DQ after HHH came into the ring and planted a steel chair on Shamrock's back. The WWF then teased the audience and smarts and marks alike when they suddenly played Owen Hart's music. Of course, noone came out, Hart was adamant about sitting out his contract. The show ended with DX unveiling a Hart Foundation banner and spray-painting the words "SUCK IT" all over it.

Shamrock would continue to feud with DX in December, but it was clear that fans weren't buying into his clean-cut mat-based wrestler gimmick. Jeff Jarrett would debut the next night on RAW, saving Shamrock from a beat-down by Shawn Michaels and HHH. Jim Ross would start calling Jeff Jarrett as a "2nd generation wrestling superstar who has had enough of DX destroying the tradition of the business". Jarrett received lukewarm response from the crowd, seeing as they last saw him in the WWF as a full-fledged cocky heel.

Austin's injury would seriously jeopardze McMahon's future plans for the company. Further evaluation on Austin's injury determined that Steve would still be able to lace up his boots in the ring, but not at the capacity that Vince McMahon expected him to. At the most, Austin would be able to perform at 1/3 of his previous skill and risk further injuring his neck... which meant that Austin was a no-go as a legitimate in-ring competitor, let alone a Main Event wrestler. Ken Shamrock's lukewarm fan reaction would also be a hindrance, as Vince expected Shamrock to be more over with the general public. Jeff Jarrett was a long way from being able to convice the crowd that he was a face and not a heel-turn-in-waiting. Vince was at a loss right now... here he had one of the biggest heels in the wrestling industry, in a post-Montreal Shawn Michaels... and not a single legitimate babyface to go up against him.

1998 was rolling in, Wrestlemania XIV was just around the corner, Vince McMahon and the WWF were feeling the effects of the Montreal Aftermath.

Edited November 23, 2005 by wrestlingsuicide

[Sting Fan]

Awesome start, you have my full attention.

[wrestlingsuicide]

WWF Shotgun Saturday Night - Jan. 3, 1998

Show Rating: 66

TV Rating: 0.04

• Jeff Jarrett Interview (Rating:79)
  • Todd Grisham opens the show with big news and says that the WWF board has just granted Jeff Jarrett a title shot against Shawn Michaels at the Royal Rumble. Grisham plugs the Rumble, set on Jan. 11, 1998. Grisham then plays an interview of Jarrett taped during the week.
  • Jarrett says that Michaels may have driven Hart out of the WWF, but he has not driven tradition out. He says that he's here to bring tradition back to the WWF and that Michaels and DX will learn first-hand what tradition is all about.
• The Legion of Doom def. Recon & Sniper (M:63 C:63 O:62)
  • Animal and Hawk defeat the Truth Commission, and even thwart an attempted interference by the big giant Kurrgan. Good old fun, fun, fun for the family.
• Stone Cold Interview (Rating:84)
  • Todd Grisham then says that Steve Austin is on the line, live from Texas where he is recuperating after suffering a big injury during In Your House.
  • Austin says that he's feeling better, and hopefully will be back in the ring soon. he says that he's looking forward to raising some hell back in the WWF, and when he gets back the first person on his list would be Rocky Maivia.
• Rocky Maivia def. Flash Funk (M:78 C:70 O:74)
  • Rocky gets lukewarm reaction from the crowd. But he makes short work of Flash Funk. D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry are at ringside, and they help Rocky beat Funk up after the match. Maivia holds the IC Title up high as the match ends.
• DX Interview (Rating:95)
  • Grisham then says that DX is none too pleased with the title shot that Jarrett's getting. He then says that DX has the following to say, and goes into a taped segment.
  • Shawn Michaels and Hunter are with Chyna and they start talking about how they ran Bret Hart out of the WWF, and how they're going to run Jarrett out of the WWF. Michaels makes some ridiculous comments about Jarrett and his inability to "play with the big boys", breaking kayfabe a bit, making referrence to Jarrett's leaving WCW. Hunter then says that Jarrett won't last a minute in the ring with him, let alone Shawn. DX has two words for Jarrett... "SUCK IT!!!"

[wrestlingsuicide]

WWF Sunday Night Heat - Jan. 4, 1998

Show Rating: 72

TV Rating: 5.41

• Brian Cristopher def. Mr. Aguila (M:70 C:46 O:58)
  • Cole and Shane welcome us to Heat, and quickly open the show with a Lightweight match.
  • Christopher got nice heel heat, but Aguila was basically a non-factor to the crowd. Nice match, could have been better. Christopher used a low blow to grab the win against Aguila.
• Stone Cold Interview (Rating:90)
  • We get a recap of Stone Cold's interview from Shotgun
• The New Age Outlaws def. The Can-Am Express (M:83 C:57 O:70)
  • The announcer calls Road Dogg and Badd Ass as the New Age Outlaws, hoping that it would stick with the fans. Good overall match, as both teams seemed to work well off of each other. The Outlaws win after Billy Gunn hit a Rocker Dropper off the top rope, with Michael Cole calling it as a "Fame-asser"
• Jeff Jarrett Interview (Rating:80)
  • Same interview from Shotgun
• Jeff Jarrett def. Bart Gunn (M:75 C:64 O:69)
  • Jarrett goes up against a heel Bart Gunn. Jarrett is looking well in the ring, although the crowd is still on the fence wether they'll buy his character or not.
  • Jarret nails Gunn with a front side-russian legsweep and then cinches in the Figure Four leg-lock to grab the win.
• DX Interview (Rating:95)
  • Same interview from Shotgun
• Ken Shamrock def. Kama Mustafa (M:69 C:69 O:68 )
  • Kama is with D'Lo Brown in this match. The Nation loves sending in their boys during their matches. Shamrock is cautious.
  • Shamrock and Kama go through the motions of a nice match, but nothing jumps out to spruce up the crowd. Shamrock manages to lock in the ankle-lock to win the match.
  • After the match, D'Lo jumps in, but Shamrock promptly fights him. It's 2-on-1 right now, and Shamrock clears the ring of everyone. Bravo.
• Rocky Maivia interview (Rating:90)
  • Rocky shows up on the ramp and starts talking about hearing rumors in the back that Shamrock wants a title shot. Shamrock nods and starts pointing at Rocky. Rock smiles, does an eyebrow and says that he's going to give Shamrock that chance... IF he beats two Nation members tommorow night on RAW.
  • Michael Cole hypes up the handicap match tommorow night involving Shamrock and the Nation, and the show ends.

[daileyxplanet]

Good so far, but I don't think Grisham was anywhere near Titan Towers in '98.

[Hewey]

I'm very interested in this one. You basically screwed yourself by letting your big names go, But it'll be interesting to see what you'll do now that you have only Austin and Michaels as your big names. I'm hoping Austin will be kept around though, As he's your biggest babyface. Though, He'll only wrestle once in awhile due to his injury. And your other options blow. (A face Jarrett?) I was also hoping Undertaker would be kept around so you could do the feud with Kane. (if you still have Kane). I'm interested in seeing what you'll do and how you'll push Shamrock and The Rock. I think Owen Hart will come back later on or get fired and go to WCW, I just can't picture Vince letting him sit out his contract for too long. Your two B shows were good as well. (just not much to comment on except, I hope you push the Light Heavyweight division)

Also, Heat wasn't on in the beginning of '98. But that's just something minor. Looking forward to Raw Is War.

[Guest TheKingofAwesome]

Awesome start! Any chance you could post the data your using. I'd love to have a go at this one.

[Draevyn]

This diary has a very solid start. Foley, Neidhardt and Bulldog are gone. Owen sitting out the rest of his control, although I'm still a bit skeptical on that. Jarrett playing the face is a role I think he should be playing in TNA, but then he'd have to drop the title. DX is probably playing the only role they can at this point with what happened. Other then that there has been nothing ground breaking, but the promise is there.

[Guest GreenTea]

I'm very interested in this one. You basically screwed yourself by letting your big names go, But it'll be interesting to see what you'll do now that you have only Austin and Michaels as your big names. I'm hoping Austin will be kept around though, As he's your biggest babyface. Though, He'll only wrestle once in awhile due to his injury. And your other options blow. (A face Jarrett?) I was also hoping Undertaker would be kept around so you could do the feud with Kane. (if you still have Kane). I'm interested in seeing what you'll do and how you'll push Shamrock and The Rock. I think Owen Hart will come back later on or get fired and go to WCW, I just can't picture Vince letting him sit out his contract for too long. Your two B shows were good as well. (just not much to comment on except, I hope you push the Light Heavyweight division)

Also, Heat wasn't on in the beginning of '98. But that's just something minor. Looking forward to Raw Is War.

[wrestlingsuicide]

Whoops. Accidentally used my dummy profile (created a couple of days ago), I found out that my old one still works. Must have not logged out.

[SpiceDawg]

A very interesting concept for a diary and it's brimming with potential here. You've definitely put yourself in a position where you are forced to make sure your WWF universe is very different from the real world. Lots of cool potential to turn real life midcard lifers into the next biggest superstar of all time.

Backstory:

I'm not sure if I've ever seen anyone handicap themselves as much you have. You lossed almost all your big stars and future big stars. You've gift wrapped almost all of them over to the competition. Which will make it extremely hard to catch up to WCW. I doubt we will be seeing a turnaround in April like we did in the real world. The most notable thing, is you have absolutely no big baby face to confront Shawn Michaels at the biggest show of the year, Wrestlemania. Normally, that would be the big money match but at this point, you don't have anyone close to being a draw. Though it should be noted, Steve Austin was already the biggest face in the company at this point and probably had been until shortly after Wrestlemania 13. The only reason he wasn't champion was because WWF wanted to make the title win a big deal thus saved until Wrestlemania. I would have his overness higher then 85. But 'crippling' Austin is such an interesting idea and probably bigger than the release of the other stars. Austin was the reason for the WWF turnaround. As a non wrestlers, Austin just can't have the same effect. Now, WWF is forced to have to quickly come up with a new star to put the focus of the company into. I'm very curious as to who will win the Rumble and main event the biggest show of the year. In reality, I could see Vince throwing oodles of money and creative control to Owen Hart in an attempt to win him back. A returning Hart would instantly be the company's top face by default. He's probably the only guy right now that could appropriately headline Wrestlemania. If that isn't going to happen then maybe some kind of storyline could put in place to turn Kane into a sympathetic babyface after a falling out with Paul Bearer. Kane is the only guy I could really see being a possibility with Michaels. Actually, Ahmed Johnson was another guy that WWF probably still had some hope in as long as he could remain healthy. I could see a last ditch super push at trying to get Ahmed over (he was on the brink of stardom in '96 before the serious injury). I have to say, the backstage going on and decision making will make this diary fascinating. I also hope you decide to give some information in what is going on in the WCW and ECW. It'll be cool to see what the competition is up to and where WWF is in relation to them. I also feel that continual updates on WWF's backstage could be very cool too.

Shotgun Saturday:

Why the heck is Tood Grisham even in the wrestling business at this point? He couldn't be much older then 19 in '98 or possibly even younger.

Jarrett Interview: I can see a possible risk of Jarret becoming the heel and DX becoming the face. Because of the fanbase in '98, I can't see the wrestler fighting for tradition being much of a babyface. DX was already being pegged as cool at this point. Jarrett's gimmick wouldn't make them seem any less cool. Despite that, I do like the beginning of this feud and think it has big potential. Though will the interviews be written out for Raw? It's hard to see your vision of 'Jarrett' without knowing how he speaks or what he says.

LOD beat Truth Commision: At this point, the best bet is to push all the 'brand name' stars that you have. LOD may be past their primes and lacking ability at this point but they are still probably one of the most recognizable names on the roster. LOD should definitely remain strong until you have some more teams to elevate.

Stone Cold Interview: It's almost misleading to the fans to have Austin promise to be back in ring action soon. Especially since he is essentially a non-wrestlers at this point. Though WWF needs every star they have thus I can see why WWF isn't totally writing out a 'crippled' Austin. A 'retired' Austin is still better than most of your roster.

Mavia beat Flash Funk: I hate to be a nitpicker but I don't think Mark Henry was in the Nation yet. I could be wrong. I have a feeling he didn't turn until some time in very early '98 (maybe in Febuary?). I also don't think you can afford completely jobbing out anyone at this point. Someone as talented as Flash Funk should at least be giving Maivia a run for his money. Unless you plan to repackage Flash real soon (maybe back into Scorpio?).

DX Interview: I'll say it again, I can see DX heading over to the face side with this feud with Jarrett. Unless Jarrett is able to add a harder edge to his gimmick.

Heat Thoughts:

Christopher beat Aguila: With the very thin roster, pushing the lightheavy division would be a very smart move. Some focus on that division may help in hiding the rather weaker main event scene at this point. Christopher is a really good poster boy to promote the division around. I'd say putting some real effort into the division is a smart plan for WWF at this point

Outlaws beat Can-Ams: The tag division is something else that can help out the WWF and thus it'd be a smart plan to keep the division strong. Can-Ams are a great team to help promote the division. At this point, it would be a fatal error to have them as a JTTS team. They should definitely be kept as viable challengers to the titles. Especially since they can pull out some decent match ratings.

Jarrett beat Gunn: I believe this is before Gunn & Holly formed the New Midnight Express which would mean this is the first time Gunn had been on television in awhile. Unfortunately, his return is met with a complete squashing. It would have probably been better to repackage Gunn a bit rather then just have him return as a jobber. Remember, WWF needs all the stars they can get.

Shamrock beat Kama: The Shamrock v. Nation feud looks like it could be a good one. Where is Farooq in all this? It appears you have Rocky running the stable at this point but that wasn't the case.

Rocky Interview: The 'gauntlet' for Raw should be interesting. It's always good when you can build to the next show. It's even better being able to get some stories in place that the fans get get into.

All in all, a decent start to the diary. I really hope you don't just start hiring new talent right off the bat. It will be cool to see you try to make stars with the guys that you have. I really look forward to seeing who will become your WWF's next break out babyface.

I really look forward to more installments.

[wrestlingsuicide]

I used Grisham cause he's here on the roster. As for the small details, I'm using a modified 1998 scenario, so I'd assumed most of it was correct. Mark Henry was already part of the Nation in late 1997, I believe. It was during that time that the Austin-Rocky feud happened wherein Austin threw Rocky's IC belt over the bridge. Farooq is still around, but Rocky was walking like he owned the NOD since he was IC.

WWF Monday Night RAW - Jan. 5, 1998

Show Rating: 75

RAW TV Rating: 5.08

Nitro TV Rating: 6.07

• Vince McMahon w/ Rocky Maivia (Rating:95)
  • Vince McMahon walks out at the top of the show, amid boos from the crowd, and says that he has an announcement for tonight regarding the Royal Rumble.
  • The Nation's music hits, and out walks Rocky Maivia, complete with eyebrow and the IC Title. He tells Vince that he knows he's out here to announce who the 30th entrant in the Rumble is, and that it is going to be Rocky.
  • Vince commends the Rock for having the initiative, but says that if he wants to be #30, he'll have to fight for it, in a 10-man Battle Royale Tonight.
  • Rocky says no problem, raises the eyebrow and says that he's going to start whooping ass tonight. Crowd boos.
• WWF Light-heavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku def. Mr. Aguila (M:69 C:43 O:56)
  • Taka wins the lack-luster match, not the best of both men.
• DX spoofs Double J (Rating:89)
  • Shawn Michaels, HHH and Chyna walk out. Michaels and HHH are wearing cowboy hats and suits similar to the former Double J gimmick.
  • Michaels starts talking about not being able to sing, that why they hired Chyna to sing for them. Chyna sings horribly. HORRIBLY.
  • HHH says that he is the J-E-DOUBLE F J-A-DOUBLE R-E-DOUBLE T whose A-DOUBLE S is about to get K-I-C-K-E-D.
  • Michaels says that Jarret will not win at the Rumble, HHH says that he's going to cripple Jarrett tonight. They want Jarrett to, two words... "SUCK IT!"
• Marc Mero def. Barry Windham (M:64 C:66 O:65)
  • A face Mero wins against a heel Windham in a simple match. Mero got the crowd's attention, if only we can channel that into the storylines.
• New Age Outlaws Interview (Rating:69)
  • Jesse Jammes and Billy Gunn talk about the Legion of Doom and how they defeated them at In Your House. They say that at the Royal Rumble, the results will be the same.
  • Road Dogg does his first Michael Buffer impression as he calls themselves as the "TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS OF THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD!"
• Legion of Doom def. Quebecers (M:73 C:73 O:72)
  • LOD squashes the Quebecers in a quick match. The crowd got pumped for this one.
• 10-Man Battle Royal (M:65 C:67 O:61)
  • 10-man battle royal, The Rock is probably the only guy of note to join the Battle Royale.
  • Rocky starts throwing people left and right. It finally comes down to him and Marc Mero.
  • Rocky hits the Rock Bottom, and the People's Elbow... that gets nothing from the crowd. He grabs Mero and throws him over the top rope to win #30 at the Rumble.
• Rock Maivia interview (Rating:85)
  • Backstage, Maivia is being interviewed. He is asked about Ken Shamrock's match tonight.
  • Farooq shows up and tells Maivia to watch out because Shamrock is going to do his best to win tonight.
  • Rocky says that Shamrock isn't going to win, and that he has complete trust in D'Lo and Mark Henry. He says that he's out for the night, he's going to celebrate #30.
  • Farooq says that Rocky might be the IC Champ, but he's still the leader of the NOD. Tonight, Shamrock gets his.
• Ken Shamrock def. Mark Henry & D'Lo Brown (M:70 C:67 O:68)
  • Shamrock gets good crowd reaction. Henry and D'Lo don't.
  • Henry and D'Lo control the match for the better part, until Shamrock goes into TERMINATOR mode and lays waste to both men.
  • Shamrock wins via an ankle lock on Mark Henry. Kama Mustafa runs in, but Shamrock manages to clear the ring of everybody.
  • Farooq appears on the ramp, looking like he's going to run in... but he changes his mind and smiles.
• Jeff Jarrett interview (Rating:74)
  • A taped interview of Jarrett is played
  • JJ talks about his previous character, breaking kayfabe a bit, and starts talking about being a part of the wrestling business.
  • He says that his father was one of the hardest working men he knew.
  • JJ says that when he came back to the WWF he wanted to bring back whatever good was left in the indusrty.
  • Jarrett talks about being ready for Helmsley tonight, and being ready for Michaels this Sunday at the Royal Rumble.
  • He says that Michaels is a punk and that punks get what's coming to them.
  • Jarrett talks about his father, and how much the business means to him and his family, and to see DX spit on everything... it insults him.
  • Jarrett promises to bring tradition back to the WWF.
• Jeff Jarrett def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley (M:89 C:78 O:83)
  • Good overall match between JJ and HHH. Letter everywhere.
  • Chyna gets sent to the back after trying to interfere.
  • Jarrett goes on a roll and manages to take over the match. He goes for the front side-russian legsweep and connects.
  • JJ doesn't see Michaels sneaking up from behind him. JJ turns around, and WHAM. Superkick right on the kisser. Jarrett drops like a rock. DQ win for JJ.
  • Michaels starts unloading fists on JJ's forehead while HHH holds him up. JJ is practically unconscious right now. JJ's bleeding.
  • HHH holds Jarrett up again, WHAM. Superkick #2.
  • HHH props JJ on the turnbuckle... WHAM. Superkick #3. Jarrett is obviously out and might require medical attention. Paramedics start running to the ring, but HHH starts throwing fists and they aren't able to get in.
  • Michaels and HHH start doing crotch chops at the fallen JJ. The assault began with the fans cheering Michaels for silencing the do-gooding JJ, but now the fans are shocked at Michael's viciousness. Jim Ross calls Michaels a no good bastard, says that JJ might be in no condition to fight this Sunday and the show goes off the air.

[SpiceDawg]

Wow, the Royal Rumble PPV is this Sunday(game time) and most of the show doesn't really seem to be built up at all. At this point, I know four matches(including the Rumble) and one person in the Rumble. Only two of the matches have been built up in any sustainable way. The tag title and the Rumble have nothing built up in it at all. It doesn't seem we have any possible winners of the Rumble at this point. I'd say Rocky and Shamrock are the favourites except they are in an IC title feud. The wondrous joys of being left with only mid carders and unestablished guys. I have a feeling you're going to have a rough time cobbling together a Wrestlemania as exciting at the real '98 version. Then again, this challenge is what makes your diary so intriguing to begin with.

Vince/Rock segment: Rocky is definitely being established as the next big star. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up face within the next few months. I'm assuming he'll probably be in the World title hunt shortly after Mania. I'm assuming he won't win the Rumble but then again, there doesn't seem to be too many other options. This segment was a classic way to establish the arrogance of Rocky and to hype up the importance of the Rumble number system.

Taka v. Aquila: It's good to see you're trying to establish the WWF light-heavyweight division. I wouldn't be surprised if Christopher v. Taka is at the Rumble. Is Aguila's match stats rather low? You'd think Essa & Taka would be able to tear the house down rather then pull out a 69. I also noticed the match rating was low for Aguila & Christopher. What is Aguila's stats?

DX Spoof: Hard to really get a feel for the segment since it wasn't written out. It's definitely something that DX would have done at the time. Though I get a feeling it would have got them over as faces rather then heels. Especially since Jarrett isn't incredibly over as a face yet.

Mero v. Windham: Mero definitely needs to be pushed heavily. WWF needs another top face and Mero is fairly talented. I always thought he could have done better in WWF.

Outlaws Interview: I didn't even know there was a rematch happening between the two teams. Some sort of angle needs to happen in order to put some heat on this match.

LOD v. Quebecers: I know LOD need the heat going into the title match but I disagree with a Quebecers squash. First off, Quebecer would have been coming in fresh from WCW at this point. This may have even been their debut match (since I know they were in WCW as late as November). Quebecers could be a another solid team to help bolster the tag division. It's unfortunate they've already been made out to be jobbers especially when you need to bolster the tag division to make up for the singles division.

Battle Royal: The Battle Royal turned out pointless since Rocky was the only viable winner. Now it appears Rocky may be the only real star in the whole Rumble. I would have gone with an upset winner here in order to get Rocky all riled up. Rocky could have started talking about how Vince is out to screw him or that there is a conspiracy against him. Instead it's Rocky squashing 10 men and doing nothing for anyone.

Rocky Interview: Good build of friction between Rocky and Farooq. It's always good to see some seed planting for future feuds. I wouldn't be surprised if in this universe it's Rocky who is turned into the face. Mainly because the company needs a top face desperately.

Shamrock v. Henry/D'Lo: The match was good for getting Shamrock over as a threat but bad for taking the Nation seriosuly. D'Lo and Henry would have come off as jobbers by being dominated by one guy. Now, the Nation seems like a weak stable and Rocky the only tough one in it. Hopefully, you'll find a way to get their heat back. Though Farooq not saving his stable mates should lead to some interesting friction with him and the gang.

Jarrett Interview: It sounds like it would have been a very powerful interview. I still believe it wouldn't do Jarrett any favours by coming off as a top face. At this point he needs to be replacing Austin and I'm just not seeing that yet. At this point, Jarrett is going to be a very short term main eventer unless he gets a slight make over.

Jarret v. Hunter: This was a perfectly done match before a big PPV main event. The beat down was definitely needed. It adds the much needed heat to the feud and it actually would have gotten Jarrett some sympathy. Fans love a quick stunner or finishing move applied but nobody can cheer an uncomfortable beat down. The DX beat down was defniitely not something fans would want to get behind. This would help establish DX as heels after seeming cool earlier in the night. Now Jarrett needs to have a tougher edge this weekend in order to cement things.

Okay show but felt more built up to the Rumble was needed. I'd say the main even is in a decent place but we only have 4 announced matches. The Rumble doesn't even have any clear participants and deifnitely no favourites to get pumped about. Maybe some more should have been mentioned in your backstory during the month of December? Anyway, I'm very curious to what will happen at the Rumble. Hopefully, some build up happens at Shotgun.

[wrestlingsuicide]

Okay show but felt more built up to the Rumble was needed. I'd say the main even is in a decent place but we only have 4 announced matches. The Rumble doesn't even have any clear participants and deifnitely no favourites to get pumped about. Maybe some more should have been mentioned in your backstory during the month of December? Anyway, I'm very curious to what will happen at the Rumble. Hopefully, some build up happens at Shotgun.

Edited November 24, 2005 by wrestlingsuicide

[wrestlingsuicide]

Royal Rumble '98 Card

January 11, 1998

• Lightheavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku © vs. Brian Christopher vs. Mr. Aguila
• WWF Tag Team Titles: New Age Outlaws © vs. Legion of Doom
• Intercontinental Title: Rocky Maivia © vs. Ken Shamrock
• WWF Title: Shawn Michaels © vs. Jeff Jarrett
• Royal Rumble: 30 Superstars, the winner getting a title shot at WrestleMania XIV

[wrestlingsuicide]

Deleted Grisham, put in Michael Cole and Kevin Kelly as announcers, I might adjust their stats a bit. Cole is in the low 40's and Kelly in the low 50's. Might bump them up to 80 a piece.

WWF Shotgun Saturday Night

Show Rating: 57

TV Rating: 0.05

• Brian Christopher interview (Rating:61)
  • Cole opens the show with Brian Christopher in the studio. Christopher acts like a total jerk, talking about how he's the next big thing in the WWF.
  • Brian says that tommorow night at the Rumble, not only is he walking out at the Lightheavyweight Champ, but as the Royal Rumble winner.
  • Cole wishes Brian luck and segues into the match
• The Godwinns def. 8-Ball & Skull (M:58 C:51 O:54)
  • Basic tag-team brawl. Pretty slow however. Crowd really didn't get into it that much, but the Goddwinns manage to win via a Slop Drop from Henry.
• Nation Interview (Rating:85)
  • Cole introduces a taped interview from the Nation of Domination
  • Farooq is with Rock, D'Lo Brown, Mark Henry and Kama Mustafa. He starts talking about the Royal Rumble and how the Nation is going to DOMINATE the event.
  • He fires off names, D'Lo, Mark Henry, Kama and himself. Then, Rocky takes the microphone away.
  • Rock goes on and starts talking about how it didn't matter that his Nation members weren't able to stop Shamrock, that he would still beat him down at the Rumble. This of course, irks D'Lo, Henry and Kama, who stare at Rocky from behind.
  • Rocky then says that at the Rumble, only one man will survive and that man, is #30 himself, Rocky Maivia.
  • Farooq then takes the mic from Rocky and stares him down. Rocky backs off, with a cocky smile.
  • Farooq says that it doesn't matter who survives, as long as it's one of the Nation members. With that, the interview ends.
• Marc Mero def. Savio Vega (M:73 C:68 O:70)
  • Mero gets off to a hot start, and takes over the match.
  • Savio is able to keep up with Mero and even teases a comeback finish, but Mero manages to hit the Mero-sault and pin him for the three-count.
• Recap of DX beating down JJ (Rating:83)
  • We get a recap of the beating that Jeff Jarrett took at the hands of DX last Monday night.
  • Cole says that Jarrett WILL be at the Rumble, despite the concussion he suffered from being beaten down by DX.
  • Cole runs through the card for the Rumble, and plugs it before signing off.

[SpiceDawg]

I'd think that Aguila's stats should be higher. He at least should be popping out 80 match ratings with Taka. The guy was definitely top when it came to high spots and aerial moves. I think, you're being short changed with the ratings on Aguila.

I can see where you are going with the Rumble idea. I enjoy the fact that WWF is totally booking on the fly due to losing mass amount of talent and not having Austin available to them. I'd think the WWF would at least let us know who was in match. Maybe WWF wouldn't want to do that since announcing the roster may cause fans to not want to order the event. They are hoping that the mystery of the entrants could entice some fans (especially if who they do have is pretty sub par).

I didn't expect Jarrett to take the spot of Austin in one month. But I'm assuming it would be something that the WWF would like to see. Having somebody that can spark the same magic that Austin was able to do. I'm thinking that Jarrett will need rougher edges in order to connect to the fans. I do like that DX is getting a little more bad ass heel. The 'cool' factor ended up being the same thing that hurt WCW in some ways since no fans really wanted to cheer against the nWo because they all seemed more hip then WCW wrestlers (except maybe Sting or Flair in the Carolinas).

I'll patiently wait to see where you're going with the squashes.

I do like the way you're booking WWF in complete chaos. It's very obvious they are trying to throw everything at the wall in hopes of something sticking. It'd be cool to get a quick news report on the WWF backstage and maybe how things are in WCW.

Rumble Predictions:

Lightheavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku © vs. Brian Christopher vs. Mr. Aguila

At this point, the Lightheavyweight title still needs to be established. Taka has only been holding the title for 1 month total. I'd say that Taka pulls out the sucessful title defense in this one. Christopher probably will do an after match beat down to establish a rematch at the next PPV.

WWF Tag Team Titles: New Age Outlaws © vs. Legion of Doom

Outlaws need to cemented as the next big tag team. They also will need a longer reign than one month. Plus another win over LOD will definitely help establish the tag team and maybe even earn them some overness points. I'd say it's pretty important NAO retains the titles here.

Intercontinental Title: Rocky Maivia © vs. Ken Shamrock

Shamrock may win by DQ but I'm doubting he wins the title. I'm pretty confident that the Rock walks out with the IC championship. Right now there isn't a spot for Rocky to compete for the World title because he is a heel thus I'd say it's smarter he remains the IC champion for now. I'm sure Rocky will win by nefarious means thus setting up another rematch.

WWF Title: Shawn Michaels © vs. Jeff Jarrett

There is no way that Jarrett is ready for the title. It would be suicide for WWF to take the title off Michaels right now. There just isn't anyone else in the league of HBK. Besides, Micheals needs to go into Wrestlemania as a really strong heel champion. WWF just has to hope they can find the next great babyface to beat Shawn for the title at the grandest stage of them all.

Royal Rumble: 30 Superstars, the winner getting a title shot at WrestleMania XIV

I don't even really know who is in it. My original thought was that Shamrock would win this but maybe WWF would be hesitant after the failed experiment in December. I'd say WWF pulls a total shocker and has Marc Mero win the Royal Rumble. Mero v. Michaels would be a decent match even if very little crowd heat.

Shotgun:

Christopher Interview: Nice way to establish the Christopher character and put some last minute hype on the title match.

Godwinns v. DOA: This match basically allowed the fans to remember some other teams on the roster. At this point, it doesn't seem either team is going anywhere special. Though maybe you could turn the Godwinns face considering NOA will need some fresh challengers after LOD.

Nation Interview: A good way to continue the friction of the Nation. It was also very good in getting over the egomaniac character of Rocky.

Mero v. Vega: Just another match to try to get Mero over. At this point, he seems to be one of the few guys getting a clear push.

Show probably could have hyped the Rumble just a little bit more. I couldn't see this show selling anybody on ordering the PPV. It was a good show to get some more wrestlers out on TV and to progress a few storylines. Keep up the great work and look forward to seeing what you have in store for the Rumble.

[Hewey]

Good Raw and Shotgun. I do like the obvious desperate state your WWF is in right now. It's interesting to see what you'll do next and who you'll push. Like if Jarrett ends up failing as a face big time, (which I'm sure would happen) who you'll rely on. I think You're going to end up turning Rock face. Kind of like the WWF did since he was starting to get over as a heel and got cheered, Except it'll be done much faster so Michaels can have a Wrestlemania opponent the fans can get behind. Though, I'd love to see Owen Hart come back and face Michaels at Wrestlemania.

Royal Rumble '98 Card

January 11, 1998

* Lightheavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku © vs. Brian Christopher vs. Mr. Aguila

Taka just won the title at the last In Your House. No need to take the belt off of him now. Besides, I think the guy to take the belt off of Taka is someone completely new, Who hasn't lost to Taka yet.

* WWF Tag Team Titles: New Age Outlaws © vs. Legion of Doom

I do agree that the Outlaws need to be put over, And they might win by cheating, But I think LOD will get the win here by DQ. In my opinion, It makes both teams look strong.

* Intercontinental Title: Rocky Maivia © vs. Ken Shamrock

I think Rocky's winning the Rumble. Faarooq could cost Rocky the match, But I think Rocky will pull it off here and then end up forfitting the title.

* WWF Title: Shawn Michaels © vs. Jeff Jarrett

No way is Jarrett taking the title off of your biggest star. Shawn Michaels is a strong heel, But sadly, You don't have any strong faces.

* Royal Rumble: 30 Superstars, the winner getting a title shot at WrestleMania XIV

Rocky will win it. If he loses the strap to Shamrock, He could go into this match and win it against all odds, Possibly getting the crowd behind him. I see Rocky ending up turning face after getting kicked out of the nation and instantly getting pushed against Michaels. I doubt the winner of the Rumble will walk out of WM with the title though.

[Steve Corino]

Royal Rumble '98 Card

January 11, 1998

* Lightheavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku © vs. Brian Christopher vs. Mr. Aguila

I'm with Hewey here. Taka just won the belt, let it get some prestige off him.

* WWF Tag Team Titles: New Age Outlaws © vs. Legion of Doom

DQ ending when the Outlaws join DX, whether officially or unofficially. LOD should have a good winning streak going if they're going to be a major part of the tag division.

* Intercontinental Title: Rocky Maivia © vs. Ken Shamrock

Rocky isn't ready for the big one yet, no matter how many stars were lost. Taking the IC belt away from him now would only damage him.

* WWF Title: Shawn Michaels © vs. Jeff Jarrett

Same as with Rocky; taking the belt away from the champion here would do more damage than good. Let Jarrett feud with Triple H for a little bit, then bring him back to Michaels later on.

* Royal Rumble: 30 Superstars, the winner getting a title shot at WrestleMania XIV

There really is NO ONE who has the possibility of winning here and still taking the belt from Michaels at Mania, save one....Kane. After winning the Rumble, Kane could make a huge face turn and then he could be right there to take the strap.

[Sting Fan]

It's al been said already, great looking diary so far, very realistic and the difficulty shows. Awesome stuff.

Lightheavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku © vs. Brian Christopher vs. Mr. Aguila

- Winner - Taka, To early to lose it I think

WWF Tag Team Titles: New Age Outlaws © vs. Legion of Doom

- Winner - LOD, just a hunch

Intercontinental Title: Rocky Maivia © vs. Ken Shamrock

- Winner - Rocky, I see Shamrock lining up for a title shot before Rocky so I think Rocky stays as champ while Shamrock goes on to bigger things.

WWF Title: Shawn Michaels © vs. Jeff Jarrett

- Winner - Michaels, hotshotting the belt now would be to much of a mistake, better to have the little heat face chasing a hot heel (Room for underdog win) than a hot heel chasing a little heat face.

Royal Rumble: 30 Superstars, the winner getting a title shot at WrestleMania XIV

- Winner - I know at least one other guy picked it but I am going to say Marc Mero. I could see Rocky or Shamrock pulling it off but I'm gonna go with Mero.