Deadly Game: Survivor Series 1998 Recap

Back in the fall of 1998, Stone Cold Steve Austin sat at the top of the mountain as WWF Champion. The only problem was that WWF owner Vince McMahon loathed him. At the Breakdown pay per view in September, Austin was forced to defend his championship in a Triple Threat Match against The Undertaker and Kane, where the Brothers of Destruction both pinned the champion and therefore the championship became vacant.

The following month at Judgement Day, The Undertaker and Kane fought at a no contest to determine a new champion as special guest referee Austin refused to count a pinfall. Due to the championship hanging in limbo, the annual Survivor Series pay per view was announced to include a tournament called The Deadly Game. Whereas the winner of the Deadly Game would be crowned the new WWF Champion.

The Survivor Series show was held on November 15th in St Louis, Missouri. The opening contest of the evening saw Mr. McMahon's supposed favourite for the tournament, Mankind; pick up a short 30-second victory over Duane Gill. In the lead-up to the event, McMahon had taken a shine to Mankind as he fell out with his own son Shane. Mankind, to please the boss, began wearing a suit at all times. He even did so in matches, including on this night. This introduced a new look in Foley's Mankind character. Following this event, Mankind continues to wear a shirt to wrestle in, along with some baggy trousers. As a sign of appreciation from the Chairman of the Board, Mankind was presented with a Championship belt of his own, the WWF Hardcore Championship, which also made him their inaugural champion.

With Mankind safely through to the second round, the next match saw Mankind's friend Al Snow pin Jeff Jarrett thanks to an accidental distraction from Jarrett’s valet Debra. Snow and Mankind's relationship had become strained thanks to Foley’s involvement with McMahon which meant their next round match added tension as they faced each other. 

Stone Cold Steve Austin began his quest for the WWF Championship in the next match of the evening. The previous month after Austin failed to be crowned the new champion, Vince McMahon lived up to his promise and fired him. Thankfully, Austin was given a new contract shortly afterwards thanks in part to Shane McMahon. The contract contained stipulations for Austin to receive an opportunity to reclaim his WWF Championship along with a guaranteed spot in the Deadly Game tournament.

Steve Austin's first-round opponent was none other than McMahon's bodyguard The Big Bossman. Weeks prior, Ray Taylor had just returned to the WWF to assist McMahon and his stooges. Stone Cold picked up the win to advance in the tournament after Bossman used his night stick to assault him resulting in a disqualification. To Vince’s delight, Bossman pummelled Austin, which decreased Stone Cold’s chances of competing in the next round in doubt. A gleaming McMahon would tell Michael Cole “That the night was still young.”

[Big Bossman attacking Steve Austin at ringside. Pic: WWE.com]

The Rattlesnake's next opponent would be the winner of X-Pac vs ‘The Real Mans Man’ Steven Regal. X-Pac would enter the evening as the reigning WWF European Championship and on RAW leading up to the event, Regal and X-Pac had gotten into a fight. Their match would continue the brawl from RAW and spill to the outside where both competitors were counted out and eliminated from the tournament. To Vince McMahon’s dismay, he ordered Commissioner Slaughter to restart the match, but X-Pac and Regal would continue to fight to the backstage area. With no winner announced, a furious McMahon realized his plans to prevent Steve Austin from winning had fallen short and he now received a Bye to the Semi-Finals.

Another superstar McMahon had a growing problem with was The Rock. The People’s Champion had split from the Nation of Domination, as his popularity started to skyrocket. With a noticeable increase in Rock’s supporters, McMahon had a problem with the people and therefore had a problem with the People’s Champion. In order to eliminate a new problem, McMahon made the People’s Champion compete in matches against Ken Shamrock and Mark Henry on the road to the tournament.

The Rock’s first match opponent was scheduled to be against Triple H, but The Game was unable to compete due to an injury. Under McMahon's order, The Big Bossman was given a second chance as a replacement. As Bossman entered the ring, The Rock quickly rolled him up for the pinfall victory. This became a record for the shortest in WWF history lasting only three seconds.

In the other first-round match, Ken Shamrock faced Goldust and made the bizarre one submit to the Ankle Lock.

The first Quarter-Final match of the Deadly Game featured the two men who received a Bye in the first round, The Undertaker and Kane. The brothers continued their year-long rivalry with Kane holding the advantage after delivering a Chokeslam. For over a year, Paul Bearer had sided with Kane in his battle against his younger brother The Undertaker, but Kane eventually abandoned Paul in favour of working alongside his brother. On this particular evening, it was Paul Bearer who turned his back on Kane. The distraction allowed The Undertaker to sit up and deliver a Tombstone and pin his brother with Bearer holding down the legs of Kane out of the referee's sight.

McMahon’s golden goose Mankind continued his run in the tournament by picking up a victory over Al Snow in the next match, setting up a much-anticipated collision with Steve Austin. The last match of the Quarter Finals saw The Rock defeat Ken Shamrock. The Big Bossman's night continued to get worse as he attempted to interfere but failed once again. Bossman threw his night stick to Shamrock only to be caught by The Rock instead, who would use this weapon to his advantage for the pinfall.

In order to break up the tournament structure and allow competitors and fans a bit of a breather, there were two other championships on the line.

The first non-tournament match featured Sable and Jacqueline compete for the Women’s Championship. Their feud had dated back to the spring when Marc Mero and Sable broke their partnership with Jacqueline becoming Mero's new valet. Their feud included a memorable bikini contest at Fully Loaded along with a mixed tag team match at Summerslam, which involved Edge. Their feud would also include an evening gown match, plus a match on Raw where Jacqueline would defeat Sable to capture the reinstated WWF Women Championship. On this evening in their rematch, Sable would defeat Jacqueline and become the new WWF Women Champion. 

The other matchup saw The New Age Outlaws successfully defend their WWE Tag Team Championships against The Headbangers, D’Lo Brown and Mark Henry. This put an end to the Outlaws and Headbangers feud. Headbangers had picked up a victory over The New Age Outlaws the month previous but only by disqualification. Headbangers pronounced themselves as the Tag Team Champions to the annoyance of Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. This result put an end to that argument.

The first of the Semi-Finals saw Mankind go up against Steve Austin. This put McMahon’s favourite to win the tournament up against his bitter rival The Rattlesnake. Austin seemed to have the match won but McMahon, who had mainly been in a wheelchair for the last few weeks leapt out. He grabbed the referee by his legs and pulled him out of the ring and kicked him down. A shocked Austin stared down McMahon, but Mankind recovered and put Austin in his Mandible Claw. The Rattlesnake, wriggling in pain managed to get out and deliver a Stunner on Foley. Another referee ran down to the ring, and it would be Shane McMahon. Shane, who had been on the outs with his father after granting Austin a new contract, began to make the count. As Shane counted one, two, but before dropping his arm for three, he stopped and raised his middle finger at Austin. Sgt Slaughter then got in the ring and hit the former WWF Champion across the back with a chair allowing Mankind to pick up the victory after a fast count from Shane McMahon.

The McMahons had done everything they could to prevent Austin from reaching the finals and possibly win. They achieved their goal and headed for the parking lot. They left the arena in a rush driving off in their limo. Austin hijacked a car and sped after the McMahon limo. The other Semi-Final matchup saw The Rock take on The Undertaker. During the match, Kane would reappear and enter the ring. Grabbing The Rock, Kane delivered a chokeslam to The People’s Champion causing a disqualification and earning The Rock the spot in the final. Frustrated, The Undertaker attacked Kane and they both battled into the crowd disappearing for the evening.

The main event of the evening was the tournament final with the winner being crowned the new WWF Champion. Both competitors would use a chair and steel steps in the match. Commentators noted that referee Earl Hebner allowed the action to continue to ensure we crown a new champion. Vince and Shane McMahon reappeared as the match continued, they slowly made their way down to the ring mid-match to keep a watchful eye on the final. Mankind applied the Mandible Claw only for The Great One to reverse it and hit Foley with the Rock Bottom. Instead of going for the cover, the Rock would apply the Sharpshooter.

With the Sharpshooter applied, McMahon called for the bell to be rung without Mankind submitting. This was a repeat of the infamous Montreal Screwjob involving Bret Hart that transpired the year prior. With the crowd showing their anger and distaste for the outcome of the match, McMahon would present the championship to the new WWF Champion, The Rock. Vince McMahon grabbed a microphone and proclaimed that he screwed Steve Austin, Mankind and the people. The Rock was now his Corporate Champion.

[Vince and Shane McMahon celebrating with their new Corporate Champion, The Rock. Pic: The Wrestling Insomiac]

As the show was concluding, Stone Cold Steve Austin made his return, running down to the ring to attack the new champion. The Rock along with the McMahons narrowly escaped Austin's wrath as the show went off the air.

Survivor Series 1998 was a brilliant pay-per-view for its intense drama and intricate storytelling. Each tournament match possessed its own built-in storyline that either created a new story, progresses a story or concluded one. Every superstar was intertwined with each other as McMahon manipulated the tournament to satisfy his wishes. The conclusion of storylines also created new scenarios that ushered the WWF main event scene into a new era featuring fresh faces. The Rock and Mankind would continue to headline pay-per-views in the coming months and reinforced that fact WWF didn't need to solely rely on Stone Cold Steve Austin as their WWF Champion in order to create compelling television.

If you feel the urge to revisit this memorable event, it holds up remarkably well. The Deadly Game is also worthy of your time as a potential first-time viewer.