MANKIND VS. STEVE AUSTIN

 This match follows the WWF Women’s Championship match (reviewed here). Mankind makes his way out first; he is the current WWF Hardcore Champion. We go through Mankind’s matches so far, and it’s safe to say that he’s had an easy ride so far. Steve Austin makes his way out, and he’s on the other side of the scales. Austin limps out to the ring, and it looks like his left arm is hurt too.

Jim Ross & Jerry “The King” Lawler are on commentary for this match, and Howard Finkel is our ring announcer.

MANKIND VS. STEVE AUSTIN

(Deadly Games Semi-Final)

WWF Survivor Series 1998 (15th November 1998)

  Steve Austin starts the match by kicking and punching Mankind in the corner before removing his jacket and shoes. This is not a Tuxedo match. Austin knocks Mankind down, hitting him with his own shoe.

  Mankind is placed across the middle rope so Austin can hit what Wrestling Bios calls the “running teabag”, and I don’t have a better name for it. The fans start booing as Mr. McMahon is wheeled out by Pat Patterson, Gerald Brisco and Sargeant Slaughter are there too. Back in the ring, Stone Cold sends Mankind’s head into the turnbuckle until Mankind reverses the momentum. But we miss parts of the sequence because we have to see progress of how close McMahon and Co. are to ringside. Mankind stomps on Austin before utilising some chokes and shots to Austin’s throat. JR mentions that Mankind had his fingers extended as Mankind hits his running knee on Austin, who’s slumped in the corner. Mankind hits Austin with his dress shoe, but Austin is sent off the ropes, and he hits the Lou Thesz press. Austin hits the running elbow but Mankind shoves away the Stunner attempt and goes out to the floor and sprints up the entranceway, but he is brought back to ringside. Steve Austin meets them partway and sends Brisco and Patterson’s heads into each other. I can hear Gorilla Monsoon calling that a Noggin Knocker.

Steve Austin knees Mankind in the midsection, but Mankind backdrops out of a piledriver, with Austin landing on concrete. Mankind sends Austin into the ring steps. He gets back in the ring but interrupts the count and sends Austin into the crowd, Mankind is sent back over the barrier to ringside, but he sends Austin’s head into the ring steps. Mr. McMahon looks pissed off as Mankind brings it back into the ring and covers Austin. 1,2, kickout at 2.9! Mankind sits on Austin’s back for the chinlock. Austin makes it back to his feet and escapes with elbow shots to the ribs, Steve Austin and Mankind exchange right hands. Austin sends Mankind off the ropes, Mankind ducks the first clothesline, but we have a double-down. They both make it to a vertical base, Austin backs Mankind into the corner, Mankind reverses the irish whip but gets knocked down as Steve Austin rebounds out of the corner. Steve Austin stomps a Mudhole into Mankind in the corner, then leaves the ring. He pulls Mankind towards the corner by the ankles but Mankind pulls Austin into the ringpost.

Mankind sends Austin back into the ring before fetching a chair. Steve Austin is on his feet in the corner and he kicks the chair into Mankind’s face. Mankind slumps across the middle rope but he avoids the running teabag. Austin landed on the chair, but he doesn’t have a chance to sell it before Mankind hits the double-underhook DDT on the chair. Fuck disqualifications for this match. Steve Austin kicks out just before 3! Mankind calls for the piledriver, but Austin is able to counter, backdropping Mankind on to the chair. Austin hits a Stunner! It seems to have worked, McMahon is stunned. McMahon and Slaughter stop the referee counting 3. Mr. McMahon decks the referee as Slaughter holds him, then McMahon and Sgt. Slaughter get some kicks in. Steve Austin has his attention turned to ringside, so Mankind attacks from behind. Another Stunner attempt is countered, Austin is sent off the ropes into the Mandible Claw! Austin gets out of it with a low blow to set up another Stone Cold Stunner and he covers again. Shane McMahon slides into the ring (he had just been made a “lowly referee” he refuses to count the 3 and flips Austin the double-bird as he gets out of the ring.

JR is livid that Austin should have won the match twice already as Mankind reverses an irish whip and knocks Austin down. Gerald Brisco gets in the ring and hits a terrible chair shot as Slaughter holds Austin. Mankind covers for the cheap win.

WINNER: MANKIND

This was a good match until the last 10 seconds. It all made sense for the story at the time, but the interference from wrestlers that were relevant a decade previous was just as annoying at this point in time as it is in present day wrestling to me. Not their best work, but it was going to have limitations from the format. [*1/2] 3/10

After the match, Steve Austin follows McMahon and friends backstage, he borrows a car from someone in the parking lot and follows McMahon’s limo before we throw back to commentary