WWF Thunder : Where it's not just for lepers anymore!

World Wrestling Federation Thunder Birmingham, Alabama July 9th 1998

2001 Space Odyssey? Whoo! The champ's on his way to the ring, as we kick off another installment of Thunder. Jesse Jammes and Bart Gunn are there as well, with Jarrett obviously having no qualms at standing side by side with a man who left him stranded in New York this past Monday night. Home Alone 4 : Jarrett in New York. The three men are looking svelte in their Reservoir Dogs esque attire. On tonight's show, we're gonna see a ten man battle royal, with the last two men squaring off later in the program. Whoever wins *that* match will be the number one contender to the Intercontinental Title. A title currently held, as of this past Monday Night Raw, by Goldust! We'll be speaking to Dustin later in the show, and hopefully we'll get the rather screwy finish to Monday sorted out. Well, I see Jarrett's about ready to start talking, so let's go to the ring. Jarrett's wearing shades. Groovy man. Jarrett : Now as usual, I've got a lot of things on my mind tonight. First of all, since Alabama is now devoid of any active wrestling legends in 1998, active meaning talented, I thought I'd make something clear. From this day forth, Jeff Jarrett is now the official *icon*, of Birmingham, Alabama!' Heavy crowd boos. That is that the boos were heavy, as opposed to a *heavy* crowd. By the way, smooth cheap heat Jeff, suh-mooth. Jarrett : 'So as the official icon, I think there's some respect due, and a little quiet. But that's quite enough about Alabama, that ain't really worth my breath, so- Hey, shut the hell up! I'm trying to make a point here, and I'm pointing right at you Bart. I said it backstage, and I'll say it again in front of these twenty thousand *people*. I can't *believe* what you did on Monday night. I can't *believe* you drove off and left me to get my ass kicked by Stone Cold fucking Steve Austin.' Jarrett's the champ and god of all humans, so he doesn't get bleeped. Bart Gunn meanwhile, looks down at his shoes and shuffles uncomfortably. Jesse Jammes is busy strutting about like Vic Vega. Jarrett : 'Now fortunately for me, and you, Steve Austin ended up getting hauled off by police for assault and improper use of a gas pump. *Un*fortunately, I got one hell of a black eye, and that's why I'm wearing shades, and since I got these cool glasses, I thought we'd all dress like someone out of a Tarantino movie. But shit man, I can't even comprehend how you could do that.' Gunn : 'J-' Jarrett : 'Just wait a second there. Bart, you know, and hell, all the internet dirt sheets know it, I could have that tag title belt off of you, and get you out of this company in a blink of an eye. And then where would you go? WCW? They had WCW Thunder last night, and I caught a bit of it, and you know what they were showing? Ernest Miller versus Villano IV. Let me just repeat that, Ernest Miller versus Vilano IV. That's the kind of crap *that* company stands for. And the WWF, it ain't that much better, but Bart, it's the only place your career's gonna mean shit. So go on, speak your peace.' Gunn : 'Jeff, I gotta say something. Monday night, I acted totally irrationally. I didn't think, I just panicked. I- I wasn't thinking. Jeff Jarrett is the true icon in professional wrestling [Jarrett's smiling], and I apologise, sincerely, if I harmed you in any way for my lack of thinking.' Jesse Jammes is currently shaking his head. Gunn : 'I know that Bob Holly is gonna show up at In Your House, forfeit the belt, and kiss your feet, and that's just what deserves to happen. You're the victim in this whole situation Jeff, and I'm gonna make things up to you tonight, by kicking the crap outta my brother in this very ring.' Jarrett : 'Yeah, you do that. Bart, you're a good kid. Birmingham, Alabama, I *urge* you to buy this pay-per-view. You're gonna see everything wrapped up in a nice little package. The tag team titles'll be in sync, either Austin or Michaels'll be out of the business, and I'll *still* be the WWF Champion of the world. To be the man, you've got to beat the man, and ain't nobody beatin' me. Whoo!' The trio make their exit, Jammes having said nothing. Like Bart said, later tonight we'll see brother versus brother as Bart takes on Billy Gunn. Plus, in our opening matchup, Psychosis is gonna take on Juventud Guerrera. But *now*, a run down of tonight's competitors in the ten man Intercontinental Battle Royal : Owen Hart, The Rock, Pierre Oulette, Davey Boy Smith, Chris Chetti, Fit Finlay, Adam Bomb, Savio Vega, Brian Adams, Jerry Lynn Psychosis is making his way down the aisle, so let's go to the first match of the night. Juventud Guerrera vs Psychosis Neither of these two men has appeared on WWF tv in a long while. Psychosis is a former Cruiserweight champion, and this could prove an important match in deciding future contenders. And let's say hello to the latest addition to the referee-ing ranks here in the WWF. He's been under contract since May, but due to injuries has been unable to compete, and won't be fit until 1999. It's 'Mr Perfect' Curt Hennig. And this match gets Hennig right into the swing of things, as Juventud attacks Psychosis before the bell, whips him into the ropes, then surprises his opponent by slapping him in the face then walking away. Oh man, Psychosis ain't taking that, he goes after Juve, spins him round, then puts him on the canvas with a swinging neckbreaker! Guerrera gets right back up though, but gets sent for the ride again, and ends up down again moments later after a backdrop that saw a *lot* of airtime. Slingshot legdrop gets a two count for the man from Tijuana, but he keeps control by picking Juve up and locking him in an abdominal stretch. Cut backstage, where we see Devon Storm and Brian Christopher watching this match backstage on one of those portable monitor thingies. Back to the ring, Guerrera's in the ropes. Clean break from Psychosis, and that gets replied with another slap to the face from Juve. Psychosis slaps him right back, Juve follows with a slap, and so forth. Guerrera breaks the stalemate with a well placed kick to the groin, then executes a fisherman buster on his countryman. Cover for two, and Juve then goes for a Dragon suplex. It's blocked by Psychosis though, and he goes for a snap mare, but that's blocked too. Psychosis *does* regain the advantage by raking the eyes in a non lucha-esque move, and sends Guerrera into the ropes. Juve goes to boot his opponent in the chest on his return, but Psychosis grabs his foot in mid-air. He forgot about the other foot though, and Juventud sends him down with an enzirguiri. German suplex from Guerrera- 1... 2... And out. Belly to back suplex gets another close count, and following a DDT, Juventud decides to go airborne for the first time in the matchup. Flying dropkick hits the mark! No cover though, Juve instead climbs back up the ropes and raises his arms upwards to stir the crowd up some more. Back down to the canvas, another whip in leads to Guerrera nailing Psychosis with a lariat. Legdrop off the ropes, and Guerrera's now going up top again. Moonsault coming up! And it's unsuccessful. Psychosis raised his knees and now both men are down. It's Psychosis who eventually pops up to his feet first, and he drops a legdrop of his own on Juventud. Suplex attempt from Psychosis, but it's blocked and a reverse is attempted from Guerrera. Juve gets his opponent up, but it's countered with a go behind, and Psychosis then nails a German suplex for a *very* close two count. Juve jumps up to his feet as the grip is released, but Psychosis takes him back down to the mat with an armdrag, then drops a knee over the outstretched arm. Pickup, a whip from Psychosis gets reversed, and Juve nails a swinging DDT as the match continues to go back and forth. Cover from Guerrera gets two, then the match slows as Juve gives both guys a little bit of a breather as he puts on a reverse chinlock. Remember folks, it's gonna be Chris Chetti, Jerry Lynn, Rey Mysterio Jr and Devon Storm all fighting for the Cruiserweight Championship at In Your House IV, only on Pay Per View! Psychosis starts to elbow out of the hold, and he breaks it fully by executing a jawbreaker. Guerrera falls down to the mat, conveniently rolling over onto his back, leaving Psychosis free to execute a springboard moonsault! Cover- 1... 2... And another kickout. Guerrera gets picked up, and placed on the top turnbuckle. Psychosis follows him up, signals to the crowd, then gets powerbombed! Hmmm, that wasn't in the brochure, thinks Psychosis [who is really Charlie Norris in a mask by the way - little known fact]. A top rope powerbomb has Psychosis out, but Guerrera finds himself unable to crawl over and cover him. Eventually Juve crawls over and hooks the leg, but Psychosis has by this time recovered and pulls his shoulder up at one. Another quick look backstage sees that Devon Storm has departed that particular area backstage, and it's now just BC monitoring the action. Where'd Storm go? We'll find out, after this: [Commercials] And we see that Devon Storm is making a slow walk down the aisle, as Psychosis bodyslams Guerrera, and follows it up with a slingshot legdrop. He drags Juve into position, then climbs up and nails his Flying Legdrop finisher! Juve gets his foot on the ropes though, much to the surprise of Psychosis. After a brief argument with Hennig [does he speak Spanish?], Psychosis nails a powerbomb, then jumps to the outside. Walking right past the champion, Psychosis grabs a chair and returns to the ring. He sets it up in mid-ring, then takes a running start, and springs off the chair, dropkicking Juventud in the knee. Guerrera falls down to the canvas once again, and Psychosis follows that dropkick with a standing moonsault as the referee tosses the chair to the floor. Right by the feet of Devon Storm. Psychosis gets a two count from the moonsault, then puts on an armbar as Storm picks up the chair on the outside. He climbs up on the apron, but luckily Hennig is there, and he grabs the chair off of the Cruiserweight champ, and orders him down. Storm complies, and starts cursing the ref on the floor. Back to the action, Juve pops up to his feet, but Psychosis then pulls him down to the mat by his hair, and keeps the armbar applied. Repeat twice more, then Guerrera finally breaks the hold by springing to his feet and then yanking Psychosis to the mat by *his* hair, or his wig anyway. Psychosis gets right up to his feet, but Juve's determined to get back into this contest, and starts hammering at his opponent with right hands. Off the ropes, and a shoulderblock puts Psychosis down. Juve goes up top, flying cross body block- 1... 2... Psychosis kicks out. Juve pulls him up, and whips him into the ropes, where WHACK! Storm connects with the chair! The bell gets called for as Psychosis falls down to the canvas. What a crappy finish to a great match. Hennig leaves the ring as Storm enters. Psychosis defeated Juventud Guerrera by DQ in 0:12:04. Rating: **** 1/4 Guerrera charges at Storm with a clothesline, but Devon ducks, then smashes the chair over Juventud's head. Storm gets himself a microphone. Storm : 'We let this spectacle run for a while, but it frankly went on long enough. From what I've heard, it seems the WWF wants to revitalise the cruiserweight division. *My* division. I'm the champion, and *I'm* the one who's gonna be controlling this division. And by control, I mean kill, heh. My man BC did his best to stifle the cruiserweight title a few months back, and then he went and put Rey Mysterio Jr out of action. It was good work Brian, but I'll be taking it from here. On July 19th-' Storm gets cut off as Psychosis gets to his feet and dropkicks him from behind. A clothesline over the top rope completes the job, and we're treated to Psychosis' theme music as we cut to

WWF Flashback : Sponsored by Artline [International] [Cruiser Champion] Brian Christopher vs Rey Mysterio Jr [April 19th] ...grabbing his title belt from ringside and making a run for it! The referee watches him leave for a moment and then calls Howard Finkel over. The two men exchange words for a few seconds. Finkel - ...If Brian Christopher does not return to the ring by the count of ten, then he will lose the match, *and* the cruiserweight championship! Brian screams and then runs back to the ring as fast as he can. Instead of going after Mysterio though, he verbally berates the referee. Mysterio promptly rolls him up from behind and wins the title!

The *new* Intercontinental Champion Goldust is backstage with Michael Cole. Cole : 'Folks, I'm here with the Intercontinental Champion Goldust and Dustin, what is your explanation to what happened this past week on Raw? You didn't win that title belt you have over your shoulder, but who did?' [The finish to the match is shown as Goldust speaks] Goldust : 'Michael, it's none of your business what happened earlier this week, Mr Howard Finkel put it best when he said 'And *new* Intercontinental Champion - Goldust!'. I'm the champion, and no video footage can dispute it, my stars no!' Cole : 'Not withstanding that, tonight Goldust, there'll be a ten man battle royal for a title shot at In Your House-' Goldust : 'There'll be a WHAT? Hmph.' The champ marches out of the camera shot in a huff. Cole : '...' Clips : Austin attacks Jeff Jarrett in his limosuine, from this past week on Raw. Back in the arena, and we see that Chris Chetti is heading to ringside, which means it's time for the big battle royal. Remember, the last two men left in the ring will face off in our main event, with the winner facing Goldust at In Your House. Once again, the participants in this ten man battle royal : Owen Hart, The Rock, Pierre Oulette, Davey Boy Smith, Chris Chetti, Fit Finlay, Adam Bomb, Savio Vega, Brian Adams and Jerry Lynn. It looks pretty good for the MDO, having four men in there. Well, the introductions finally seem to be over, so let's get started. [Commercials] Ten Man Battle Royal It's only the third battle royal in WWF history [not counting the better best forgotten Royal Rumble 98], and the ten men waste no time, hammering away at each other as soon as the bell rings. The camera focuses early on the former champ Rocky Maivia, who starts things off with Jerry Lynn. Lynn, who already has a match at In Your House, could end up winning two titles on July 19th if he's successful tonight. Lynn kicks the shit out of Rocky, taking him down with a waistlock suplex and numerous other offence. He can't get Maivia over the top though, as MDO colleague Brian Adams makes the save on the Rock. Maivia doesn't get a chance to thank Adams though, as Lynn turns and clotheslines him [Adams] out over the top! So much for Crush getting a title shot. x Lynn threw out B. Adams in 0:01:35 Lynn goes back to Rocky, but soon gets dragged away by Fit Finlay, andMaivia gets a breather. Lynn ends up nailing Finlay with his own move,the Tombstone, but can't get him out. Savio Vega then joins in the fun,assisting Lynn in trying to get Fit out. The two come close to getting rid ofthe Irishman, but Fit's holding onto those ropes for dear life. Seeing thatthis isn't working, Lynn turns his attention to Savio, and tosses him out! x Lynn threw out Vega in 0:03:18 That's two of the MDO out already! The cameras have been focusing almost entirely on Jerry Lynn so far, but that comes to an end just thirty seconds later. Davey Boy Smith, who had previously been battling it out with Adam Bomb, strolls across and clotheslines Lynn to the floor. The cruiserweight contender had been talking trash with Savio, and not paying attention to his surroundings. Dumbass. x D.B. Smith threw out Lynn in 0:03:49 Smith goes back to Adam Bomb, another man who may hold two titles after In Your House, and he starts laying the boots in in the corner. In a risky move, Davey Boy executes a superplex on the European Champion! Smith then gets an elbow dropped on him by the Rock, and Maivia starts choking the Brit. Bomb then gets to his feet, grabs Rocky by the back of his neck, spins him around and chokeslams him! Rock is- Oops, I think we missed something. Luckily, instant replay shows that x P. Oulette threw out Chetti in 0:04:41 Meanwhile, The Rock is on the verge of elimination at the hands of Adam Bomb. For some reason, Owen Hart makes the save though, attacking Bomb with an axehandle from behind. Owen and Bomb still have things to settle from months previous, and Hart gets helped by Fit Finlay, who's gonna face Bomb next Sunday. Hart and Finlay hit a double suplex on Adam, but Fit decides to go after Owen before they can try and throw the big man out. Fit shoves Hart into the corner, and starts chopping at his chest. The crowd goes 'whoo', but I don't see what chops have to do with Jeff Jarrett. Pierre Oulette strolls over, and attempts to toss Finlay out, but Fit lands on the apron and slides back in under the bottom rope. Pierre decides he'll take Finlay's place in beating up Owen though, leaving Fit free to join in the Davey Boy/Rock/Bomb fight going on in the other corner. Smith and Bomb are currently double teaming the former champ, but that stops as Fit grabs Smith by the hair and pulls him away. Right and left hands from Finlay, but his downfall comes as he places the Bulldog against the ropes, takes a running start, and attempts to clothesline him out. Davey Boy ducks, and Finlay goes over the top. He landed on the apron though, but Owen Hart, who'd taken the advantage in the corner over Oulette, comes across and boots Fit to the floor. x O. Hart threw out Finlay in 0:07:15 We're down to five : Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Adam Bomb, Pierre Oulette and The Rock. The Rock slips through the ropes to the floor as Owen goes after Oulette, and Smith goes after Bomb. Those two have a *big* power segment, as both men run in to each other repeatedly, but neither goes down. Smith ends up kicking the Euro champ in the groin to gain the advantage, then takes him up high with a gorilla press slam! Davey Boy then pulls Bomb up to his feet, and goes to whip him into the ropes. Bomb reverses though, and sends Smith crashing to the canvas with a hard clothesline. He drops a legdrop on the Bulldog, then climbs up to the top turnbuckle. Smith gets up to his feet before Bomb can let fly though, and he ends up crotching Bomb on the top! Davey Boy climbs up to join him, and sets up for a superplex. Bomb blocks though, and ends up shoving Smith from the top to the floor! x A. Bomb threw out D.B. Smith in 0:08:21 Bomb climbs down from the top, and goes after Owen, who's currently booting The Rock in the chest. Oulette is resting in the corner as Bomb tries to send Hart out. That's not *exactly* how it turned out though, as- x O. Hart threw out A. Bomb in 0:08:45 There's three men left, and it's Owen Hart versus two members of the MDO, Pierre Oulette and The Rock. Rocky charges at Owen, but Hart sidesteps and tosses him *through* the ropes to the floor. Oulette now comes up behind Hart and dropkicks him down. Owen gets whipped into the corner, and Oulette follows in with a clothesline. Pierre starts to try and throw Hart out, but Owen holds onto the top rope with all his strength, and he ain't going anywhere. Hey wait a minute. Where's the Rock. Cut to the aisle, where Maivia seems to be making his way backstage. Pretty good strategy Rock. Back inside, Oulette's given up on tossing Hart out, and executes a DDT. Oulette then goes up top as Owen slowly gets back up to his feet, and in a scene reminiscent of the Bulldog's elimination, Hart gets up and shoves Pierre from the buckle to the outside! x O. Hart threw out P. Oulette in 0:09:59 Owen Hart and Rocky Maivia won a 10-man Battle Royal in 0:09:59 Rating: *** 3/4 That's two 4 star matches so far tonight, with a match between Owen and Rocky still to come. Who needs Torymuon? Hart gets his arm-raised by Earl Hebner, as The Rock is nowhere to be seen. He'll be back later though, as he and Owen square off, with the winner to face Goldust at the Last Chance Saloon! We'll be back. [Commercials] We're back. It's Austin versus Michaels at In Your House, the first event in WWF history not to feature an in-ring appearence by the champion. Here's the card as of today:

Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin
[ Intercontinental Champion ] Goldust vs The Rock or Owen Hart
[ Euro. Champion ] Adam Bomb vs Marc Mero vs Sid vs Fit Finlay
Devon Storm vs Winner of Match 5
Chris Chetti vs Jerry Lynn vs Rey Mysterio Jr
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Booker T
Stevie Ray vs Vader

As we wait for the next match to begin, Jim Ross announces that former partner of the HeartBreak Kid [ in some other bizzaro universe ] , Marty Jannetty will be making his WWF debut in the coming weeks. 2001 Space Oddysey? Whoo! Bart Gunn heads to the ring, accompanied by Jammes and the champ. Billy Gunn then makes his entrance, to no music. After all, DX kinda disintegrated, and *I'm* not writing him any music. Bart Gunn [ w/ Jeff Jarrett and Jesse Jammes ] vs Billy Gunn It's the first time these two have met in a singles match here in the WWF, despite being on opposite sides of the face / heel coin for the last seven months. They lockup, and Billy ends up scooping Bart up and slamming him to the canvas. He goes to end it early with a DDT, but Bart counters with a low blow, sending Billy to the canvas in agony. Bart then gets up and tosses him to the floor, where Jeff Jarrett has no problem kicking the crap out of him. Bart talks jazz with the ref as Jarrett lays the boots in, before the champion tosses Billy back in. Bart starts stomping on the former DX member, then sends him for the ride into the ropes. Boot to the chest, and a jawbreaker puts him on the canvas. Cover from Bart for one. Into the corner, numerous forearm smashes from Bart. He grabs hold of the neck and starts choking, but the referee pulls him off and reads him the riot act. As Hebner warns Bart though, Jarrett jumps up on the apon and continues to choke the former New Age Outlaw. This cheap heel tactical exhibition gets put on hold as the ref turns and orders Jarrett down to the floor. Bart then argues that with the ref, leaving Billy Gunn enough time to get back in to the match. Billy spins Bart round, and starts levelling him with his fists. A whip into the ropes leads to the co-holder of the tag titles getting clotheslined to the mat. Billy pulls him up, sends him for the ride again, but Bart holds on to the ropes and pulls himself out to the floor. Jeff Jarrett strolls over to Bart as we take a quick break. [Commercials] When we come back, Billy has Bart in a reverse chinlock, and this match sucks. Jarrett has joined the announcers table, and is discussing his greatness with Jim Ross and a starstruck Jerry Lawler. Typical Lawler qoute : ' You're absolutely right Jeff. ' Billy whips Bart into the corner, and follows in with a clothesline. Armdrag into mid-ring, Billy then drops a leg across the arm, and puts on an armbar. Jarrett tells the duo at ringside that Shawn Michaels is gonna show up at Raw this coming week, and that Jarrett's gonna have a surprise for him. The King loves surprises, but Ross doesn't seem to excited. Billy goes for a vertical suplex in the centre of the ring, but Bart manages to block and reverse, and now both men are down. Where did Jesse Jammes disappear to? Must have left during the break. Bart gets up first, and goes to pull Billy up, but he gets met with a screamish low blow, and collapses to the mat. Lowblow count is now Bart 1 Billy 1. And now Jarrett's left the table, though he seems to be taking the chair with him. Billy executes a bodyslam on Bart, runs off the ropes- whack! Jarrett smashes the chair against Billy's back, and he falls to the canvas out cold. Tim White didn't see it, and Bart hits a legdrop and covers for the three count. Bart Gunn pinned Billy Gunn with the Legdrop in 0:05:57. Rating: * 1/4 Jarrett enters the ring and helps Bart, who's still holding his groin, up to his feet. Gunn looks around for the Roadog, but he's nowhere to be seen. Jarrett and Gunn raise their hands in victory though, and it's all smiles. Promo : WWF In Your House 4 'The Last Chance Saloon' : Same as July 6th Clips : To June 29th, as Adam Bomb, Marc Mero, Fit Finlay and Sycho Sid have an altercation, leading to the four way European title match at In Your House. Shawn Michaels isn't here tonight [ lazy ass son of a... ] , but he pre-taped these comments: Michaels : ' Well, the HeartBreak Kid Shawn Michaels, is only ten days away from In Your House, and ten days away from one giant step towards the WWF title! And while Steve Austin and Jeff Jarrett are fighting at gas stations, kicking up a fuss, Shawn Michaels is relaxing back home, preparing in style. I'm in my private gym, getting in the best shape of my life, and on July 19th, HBK is gonna be unstoppable! It's been a shitty last few months, but starting next Sunday, it's all gonna be forgotten. TV land? You're looking at the next, World Wrestling Federation Champion, oh yeah! ' The European Champ's in action next : [ European Championship ] Adam Bomb vs Bobby Bradley Here we go. Bomb gorilla presses Bradley within ten seconds, and that pretty much sets the tempo. Side suplex preludes a powerslam, which leads to a flying clothesline, which sets up the Crotch Slam, which produces the three count. Adam Bomb pinned Bobby Bradley with the Crotch Slam in 0:01:08. Rating: * 1/4 (Adam Bomb retained the WWF European Title.) Good one champ. The only two time European champion with a successful title defence that had the audience on the edge of their seats. Raw! Huh, good god! This coming Monday night, Adam Bomb's gonna take on Fit Finlay in a non-title match. Booker T is also scheduled to face the Man They Call Vader, as well as much more in another 90 minute special. More repeated footage of Monday's Jarrett/Austin altercation is shown, then we cut to backstage where Michael 'The Boy Wonder' Cole has a special guest. Cole : 'Thanks JR, I'm standing here alongside a wrestling legend, the man made in the USA, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan! Hacksaw, how does it feel to be in the WWF ?' Duggan : 'Well Michael, I got one word for how I feel : Hoooooo! I'm here, I got my 2 by 4, and I'm gonna beating the heck out of the whole WWF, you can count on that! ' Cole : 'Surely, it's been such a long time since you laced it up with the best in the world, how do you feel you'll handle wrestling in 1998? ' Duggan : 'To be honest Michael, Hacksaw Jim Duggan couldn't give a damn if it's 1998, 1968 or 1928. All I care about, I got my flag, my board, and the support of the fans, and I'm gonna kick ass! Hoooo! ' Cole : 'Hacksaw, it's been a pleasure.' Jim Duggan eh? Bet nobody saw *that* coming. And who would want to? We're gonna take our last [ honest ] commercial break, and when we come back, it's Owen Hart versus The Rock! [ Commercials ] [ Winner faces Goldust at In Your House ] Owen Hart vs Rocky Maivia These two men have met numerous times, and Rocky has always held the edge. Their last meeting saw Maivia knock Hart out of the King Of The Ring tournament in the qualifying round. This is a huge chance for Owen to finally get some WWF gold, whereas Rocky needs to win to get his gold *back*. It's Main Event time! Lockup, and- Hmm, there seems to be some kind of disturbance in the crowd. Can't quite see exactly, but security seems to be escorting someone out of the arena. Anyway, lockup, and Maivia whips Owen into the ropes. Hart ducks a clothesline though, and hits back with a double underhook suplex! Pickup, and Owen dishes out some right hands. Another whip in, and Hart executes a single leg takedown. More right hands as Hart has Rock down on the canvas. Hart whacks him again and again until Hebner pulls him off. This allows Maivia time to get to his feet, but Hart turns and small packages him for a two count. Rocky gets pulled up and shoved hard into the corner, and Owen starts kicking like all hell. Hart looks more determined than I've seen him in the past seven months. A Spinning leg lariat is executed! A vertical suplex is hit, then Hart slaps Rocky in the face and clotheslines him out over the top! We're at the ninety second mark and Rock has had *zero* offence. Tope from Owen! Maivia's head thuds against the concrete, but Owen just springs back up to his feet. He executes a gutwrench suplex to add to Rocky's pain, then slips back inside for the countout win. Well, that was the plan, but Maivia ain't out of this yet. He re-enters the ring at the referee's eight count, but Hart meets him on the way in with a knee to the chest, then turns him round and executes a German suplex for two. A DDT is next, and Owen then goes up to the top turnbuckle. Flying dropkick- 1... 2... Maivia gets his right shoulder up. This is starting to remind me of that Bomb/Bradley match. Only it's been three times as long. Hart hits a suplex for another two count, and then *finally* Rocky gets some offence when he reverses an Irish whip and then nails Owen with a lariat. The former Intercontinental Champ falls to the mat too though, and the ref begins counting both men down. Both men end up getting to their feet at the same time, but it's Maivia who gets the advantage, hitting Hart with a clothesline. Million Dollar Elbow! Two count. Maivia shows his disgust, and wearily gets to his feet and then puts Owen in a front facelock. Shit Rock, you've done nothing all match and you're already resorting to the rest holds? Hart soon breaks out though. after eight seconds to be exact, but Rocky keeps his current hold on the match by knocking Owen back down with a dropkick. Legdrop off the ropes gets Maivia a two count. Two kneebreakers in succession from the Rock. Another cover gets another two count. It's Rocky's fourth cover in a short space of time, and he wants to get this match over with, what with him being dominated for most of it. Maivia applies an abdominal stretch, but within thirty seconds Hart is in the ropes. No submission there. Rocky's disapointed, but the tide in this match has definitely turned, and The Rock's in control. Doh, spoke too soon! Maivia sends Owen into the ropes, but Hart ends up knocking the former champ to the mat with a spinning mule kick! Rocky jumps back up, and gets nailed in the face by a dropkick! He jumps up again, and this time gets met with an enzirguiri! Maivia's in serious shit, as Owen goes for the Sharpshooter! He's got it synched in! Rocky fights the pain for near thirty seconds! Owen Hart made Rocky Maivia submit to the Sharpshooter in 0:06:30. Rating: *** 1/2 Maivia crawls out of the ring as Hart gets his arm raised by the referee. Pencil in Goldust versus Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Title at In Your House. Then the lights go out.