Journey Through The Attitude Era Vol 9: WWF Capital Carnage 1998 Review

Welcome one and all to the series that you wonder why it ever existed, yes it is time for another journey through the Attitude Era, today we are looking at the UK pay per view Capital Carnage. Tonight's big matches include The Rock's first pay per view defense of his newly won WWF Championship and Stone Cold Steve Austin is in a fatal four way match against Mankind, Undertaker and Kane with the ring surrounded by the villainous Mr. Mcmahon. Let's get it on!

 

Gangrel vs Al Snow

 

 

 

The Leader of the Brood Gangrel takes on The leader of the J.O.B. Squad Al Snow. Gangrel's entrance still stands the test of time, it is just so epic. The match begins with both men performing some nice mat wrestling. A botch occurs in the beginning of the match where Gangrel hits Snow in the balls with his head and it looks painful. Snow recovers well and arm traps Gangrel and hits a nice looking wheelbarrow suplex. Only a two count so Snow tries a crossbody from the top and Snow gets a two again. Gangrel fights back with a ddt and a series of clotheslines, only two count for Gangrel. Gangrel continues to punish Snow with a stungun and a russian leg sweep. Snow eats another clothesline before reversing Gangrel with a northern lights suplex. The Brood members Edge and Christian come to ringside, looking to interfere. Snow scoop slams Gangrel and goes up for a moonsault. Snow eats the canvas as Gangrel nails a double arm suplex, Gangrel places Snow on the top turnbuckle but it backfires as Snow plants Gangrel with a tornado ddt. Christian distracts the referee by standing on the apron, Snow goes to grab Head and hits Gangrel in the face. As he nails Gangrel, Edge comes off the top rope with a missile dropkick. Gangrel recovers miraculously and drapes the arm over Snow for the win. Well, it looks like Head can knock out people sometimes and other times, it does no damage as Gangrel was up like nothing happened.

 

 

Winner: Gangrel over Snow thanks to Edge!

 

 

LOD vs Headbangers

 

 

Hawk's real life issues with alcohol had been transformed into a storyline because Vince Russo exists and he thinks that is fun. So LOD are no longer Animal and Hawk but rather Animal and Droz, the rookie who had been annoying Hawk recently as he wanted to have his moment and shine as a performer. Hawk had been written off television as he was pushed off the titantron by "accident" by Droz. Loud "we want Hawk" chants as the match starts off with Animal taking on Mosh before Droz comes in and hits a series of powerslams and elbows with the crowd booing the brash rookie. Thrasher takes over on Droz and Droz gets dominated by the Headbangers as they double team and choke out the rookie. Droz finally gets the tag to Animal who runs wild with shoulderblocks and powerslams. Animal gets dropped by one of the Headbangers and in comes Droz pushing Animal to the outside but by pushing his partner to the outside, Droz gets rolled up and the Headbangers walk away with the win. Droz and Animal argue and fight one another being pulled apart by referees. This would be the end of the angle due to unhappiness from Hawk and Animal and they would make very few appearances after this before leaving the WWF.

 

 

 

Winners: Headbangers over LOD via roll-up!

 

 

Val Venis vs Goldust

 

 

I have no idea why these two men are feuding, Terri had confirmed she was pregnant with Val's baby but Val proved he had a vasectomy so therefore the baby could not be his own. Terri had returned to Goldust's side but Goldust rejected her so neither of these men are now involved with Terri, the very reason as to why they had been feuding so basically, the match means nothing. Goldust starts off in control sending Val crashing to the outside. Goldust sends Venis into the steel steps and starts out wrestling Val. Goldust open hand slaps Val and sends him into the turnbuckle before nailing a back suplex assisted by the ropes. Val staggers to his feet and reverses Goldust and nails him with a clothesline. Val hits a knee to the stomach and a russian leg sweep on Goldust. Val poses over Goldust and punches Goldust repeatedly. Val shoots Goldust into the ropes but Val eats a bulldog courtesy of Goldust. Goldust tries to keep on the attack but eats a spinebuster from Val and a nice fisherman suplex for a two. Both men knock heads as Val falls backward and Goldust falls onto the Big Valbowski's  "jewels". Goldust the fresher of the two starts hammering Val with punches and he sets up The Shattered Dreams. At the last second, Val grabs the referee as a human shield and rolls up Goldust for the 1..2..3. Afterwards, Goldust neckbreakers Val and delivers Shattered Dreams. An ok match with no real heat as Terri was no longer part of the feud and the feud had really ended a month ago with Goldust ultimately getting his revenge.

 

 

 

Winner: Val over Goldust via roll-up!

 

 

Tiger Ali Singh vs Edge

 

It seems the apple fell very far from the tree for Tiger Ali Singh as he was not quite the wrestler like his father Tiger Jeet Singh. He does his best in the match but his offense is really bad and I feel for the guy, Edge beats the living hell out of Singh for about five minutes before Singh hits a powerslam and puts his feet on the ropes to secure the victory over Edge. Singh tries to attack Edge after the match but Edge sends him over the top rope and Singh looks like a total geek. DUD let's keep going....

 

Winner: Singh over Edge due to Shenanigans!

 

 

 

Christian & Sable vs Mero & Jacqueline

Mero's last match in the WWF and what a way to go out, you got to give credit where credit is due, he made a fool of himself all for the fans in this match. So on the previous Raw, Mero had been defeated by Dwayne Gill (yes I am serious) and told the fans he would leave the WWF as a result. Mero had also abandoned Jacqueline after she cost him a match so reluctantly they are teammates tonight. During Sable's entrance, she is called hot and variations of the word at least 10 times each by JR and The King which is hilarious as Vince was clearly obsessed with the woman, no wonder she would later sue for sexual harassment. Christian takes over Mero to begin with as The Marvelous One continues to be frustrated by the younger Christian. Christian runs through his offence of spinning heel kicks and reverse ddts before Mero wants a piece of Sable. Mero pulls up his tights to his belly before Christian pulls down Mero's pants revealing his underwear as Sable beats the rap out of her former husband. Mero eats a lowblow from Sable and takes a Sablebomb. Jackie sees her opportunity and attacks Sable as Christian and Mero battle up the ramp. Momets later the match is over as Sable hits the TKO for the victory. An ok comedic match that I thought was fun. Jacqueline attacks the referee being hoisted up on his shoulders before Sable rips off her shirt and we see boobies ladies and gentlemen.

 

Winners: Christian & Sable over Mero & Jacqueline via TKO!

 

(WWF Intercontinental Championship) Steve Blackman vs Ken Shamrock ©

 

 

Bossman comes to ringside to assist Ken Shamrock by standing in his corner for this match against The Lethal Weapon Steve Blackman. Blackman is intense as he nails Shamrock with a spinkick catching Shamrock off guard. Bossman deals with the fans who chant at him "You fat bastard, you fat bastard, you fat bastard" which is just really funny. Shamrock picks apart Blackman with nasty forearms and kicks to Blackman. Shamrocks nails clotheslines, knee lifts and roundhouse kicks to the face of Blackman. Blackman battles back against Shamrock he whips Shamrock off the ropes but it backfires for Blackman as Shamrock hits a calf kick. Shamrock gets too confident and a spinebuster plants Shamrock flat on his back. Blackman who is now in control hits a baseball slide on Bossman and punches out The Big Bossman. He reenters the ring and whips Shamrock into the ropes but Shamrock counters and Blackman hits the ropes. As he hits the rope, Blackman is nailed with Bossman's nightstick in the right leg specifically in the ankle. Blackman crumbles in a heap and Shamrock locks in the ankle lock. Shamrock makes Blackman tap and retains his title. Another screwy finish on the show but it makes sense.

 

Winner: Shamrock over Blackman via Shenanigans!

 

 

 

(WWF Tag Team Championship) New Age Outlaws (c) vs D'Lo Brown & Mark Henry

 

 

D'Lo smacks around Road Dogg and hits a running knee lift to take down one half of the champions. D'Lo misses a clothesline as Dogg ducks and hits his punch and his shake rattle and knee drop. D'Lo powders and Henry calms him down. Billy Gunn comes in and tosses D'Lo around with Gorilla Press Slams and clotheslines. D'Lo powders so Mark Henry comes into the ring and bearhugs Billy Gunn. Billy fights out and nails a double dropkick with Dogg on Henry and a double hiptoss on D'Lo. Road Dogg tags in and tries an armbar on Henry which was never going to work as Henry slams Dogg to the mat, Mark hits a scoop slam and tags in D'Lo. D'Lo hits a legdrop and a clothesline before Road Dogg battles back, the comeback is cut off by D'Lo who nails The Sky High. Henry comes in and splashes Road Dogg and this is where the match gets a little strange. Billy Gunn drags Road Dogg to the corner to make the tag(Smart move), Billy cleans house and hits the fame asser on D'Lo. The pin is broken up by Henry who splashes his partner D'Lo, usually this would be a finish for a match where Road Dogg would attack Henry and Gunn would pin D'Lo but Mark Henry just walks out onto the apron. Billy looks over at Road Dogg and he is not moving, he is just laying like he is dead on the apron.

 

 

 Billy hits a small package on D'Lo and Mark Henry breaks it up again. Still no sign of Road Dogg so Billy lifts up D'Lo and hits a perfect piledriver for the win but there was nothing stopping Henry from breaking up the pin. He left the ring after the small package and just watched as Billy pinned D'Lo which made him look like a moron. The finish had to be botched in some sort of way but I am not sure what was the reason. Perhaps Road Dogg forgot the finish or perhaps he was legitimately injured by Henry's splash. Regardless of the mistake, Billy Gunn does not look happy at the end of the match while Road Dogg does look to be hurt. It was a good match for what it was but the ending was a little weird.

 

 

Winners: New Age Outlaws over Henry & D'Lo via small package!

 

 

Triple H vs Jeff Jarrett

 

 

 

Triple H was supposed to face The Rock for his championship but the title match was instead given to his buddy X-Pac. So Triple H must face the pride of Memphis Jeff Jarrett. Chyna accompanies Triple H to ringside while Jarrett is accompanied by Debra. Jarrett is overconfident int he beginning as the mouthy heel who mouths off a little too much as Triple H punishes him with knees to the face and spinebusters. Jarrett gets a lucky break when he stunguns the leader of Degenration X and takes it to Triple H. Debra distracts Triple H long enough for Jarrett to continue to dish out punishment to his opponent. Jarrett hits a single arm ddt and a swinging neckbreaker before locking in a sleeper hold on Triple H. Triple H fights out of the sleeper only to find himself inside as second sleeper hold as Jarrett claims "He ain't going nowhere" before Triple H drops Jarrett on his head. Inverted Atomic drop and a clothesline by Triple H, he has Jarrett reeling and Triple H goes for the pedigree. Jarrett has it well scouted as he sends Triple H into the turnbuckle but Jarrett cannot take advantage as he eats a high knee from Helmsley. Debra gets into the ring to seduce Hunter but as she is escorted from the ring by the referee, Jarrett grabs a chair from ringside. Jarrett is ready to swing for Triple H but Chyna grabs the chair and Triple H hits the pedigree on Jarrett for the pin. Good return pay per view match for Triple H after his knee injury has slowed his momentum.

 

Winner: Triple H over Jeff Jarrett via Pedigree!

 

(WWF Championship Match) X-Pac vs The Rock (c)

 

 

 

The Corporate champion is in his element as he strolls down to the ring with the title around his waist. I love that belt so much, there is at least three kid replicas of it around my house, there really is no comparison between that belt and the title they have today. X-Pac comes down to the ring, fired up for his match with The Rock. The champion's arrogance costs him big time as X-Pac starts off the match at his pace with deep arm drags, followed by three spinning heel kicks and a leaping clothesline. Rock powders to the outside, gets on the mic and states that he has had enough. Rock walks up the ramp and reaches about halfway before Triple H and Chyna block his exit. Rock is forced back into the ring. X-Pac makes his first mistake as he misses a bronco buster allowing Rock to take control with stomps. Rock scoop slams X-Pac and it is time for the most electrifying move in sports entertainment, The People's Elbow. Only two count for The People's Elbow(Corporate Elbow at the time). Triple H jumps up to the apron as Rock motions for The Rock Bottom but Chyna enters the ring and low blows the champion, roll up by X-Pac TWO AND A HALF!

 

 

 The fans really bought into that one, the drama continues as The Rock sends X-Pac into the referee and nails a powerslam. Rock punches Triple H at ringside and grabs the WWF title, Triple H recovers and grabs the European championship(X-Pac was the champion and had brought it to ringside). The Rock misses X-Pac who ducks but Triple H nails The Rock right between the eyes. The crowd is going nuts as the referee crawls over 1....2....Rock kicks out, the crowd really believed that X-Pac was going to get it done. Rock crawls to the turnbuckle as X-Pac hits the bronco buster but he cannot capitalize as Rock rolls to the outside and shoves Chyna which causes Triple H to lose his head and attack The Rock, the match ends in a dq which some might see as disappointing but the ending protects both guys, Rock gets his heat as he was beaten and cheated his way out of the situation while X-Pac was not pinned so it looks like he might one day beat the champion as he had The Rock on this occasion. Best match of the night from these two.

 

Winner: The Rock over X-Pac by Disqualification!

 

 

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Mankind vs Undertaker vs Kane

 

 

Vince Mcmahon cannot seem to get rid of Stone Cold, wherever Vince goes, Austin is always waiting in the wings. Mcmahon was overjoyed as Undertaker went after Stone Cold as Vince took full advantage by placing Austin in a buried alive match with Taker for Rock Bottom. Mankind was the other thorn in Mcmahon' side as he had screwed Mankind out of the championship after fooling Mankind into believing he was Vince's chosen one. What better way to screw over Mankind and Austin by placing them against each other in a fatal four way which also includes Undertaker and Kane? Just to make sure the odds were against Austin, Vince placed Gerald Brisco as special referee, Pat Patterson as timekeeper, Shane Mcmahon as bell ringer, Big Bossman as outside enforcer and Vince, himself, would be on commentary. Vinnie Jones the special guest of the evening was ejected from ringside at the beginning of the match after pushing Big Bossman(it got a big pop from the crowd so it was good to see).

 

 

Kane and Mankind kick us off as we await The Undertaker and Stone Cold, this is chaotic fun at its best here as each man takes turn beating the hell out of everyone else Undertaker comes down to the ring before Austin and chokeslams Mankind. Austin's music hits and Taker meets him on the ramp, they brawl until they reach ringside where Kane takes over on Austin. Austin enters the ring with his jacket in his hand as he chokes the Undertaker with it. Taker wipes out Austin with his clothesline as Paul Bearer hits Austin with his shoe. Austin fires back though with a Lou Thesz Press and an elbow to the face. Kane breaks it up and all three men brawl to the outside. Mankind emerges after being chokeslammed with a microphone in his hand and he bashes Kane and The Undertaker over the head with microphone. Kane recovers to send Austin into the ringpost and Undertaker knocks down Mankind. The brothers battle it out in the ring before Undertaker turns his attention to Austin. Taker lands on the rope after Old School goes wrong and Kane is sent to the floor also. Mankind and Austin brawl before Foley locks in the Mandible Claw, Austin is saved by The Undertaker as he pulls Foley by the ankles and pulls him groin first into the ringpost.

 

 

 Kane and Taker team up despite the fact that they are enemies and have been trying to kill one another repeatedly recently. Mankind brings two chairs into the ring, he levels Kane with one chair but Taker takes the other chair and smashes Mankind in the face. Austin reverses a chokeslam attempt and hits the stunner but Brisco refuses to count, it does not end well as he eats a right hand from Austin. Taker Chokeslams Kane and Stone Cold before Earl Hebner slides in to make the pin, Mankind breaks up the pin and brawls with Taker on the outside. Kane and Austin remain, Austin reverses a tombstone attempt and Stunners Kane, he hooks the leg and gets the win. Fun match, very fun match with a lot of chaos going on in and out of the ring. Austin wins to send the fans home happy.

 

Winner: Stone Cold over Everyone Else via The Stunner!

 

 

Overall, another good showing from the WWF, the WWF championship match and the Fatal Four Way were the highlights of the night. Good matches and the crowd seemed to love every moment of the night so it was really good. We are almost done the year of 1998, only one pay per view remains and that is Rock Bottom so I will see you next time for the final chapter of 1998!