A Collective Review of WCW Uncensored 1998 (Hogan vs. Savage, Sting vs. Hall, Hart vs. Hennig) by Lance Augustine

Welcome back to the TJRwrestling retro reviews where we are breaking down every WCW Pay-Per-View during the “Monday Night War” era. We are coming off Superbrawl VIII, which saw Sting capture the WCW Heavyweight Title in a rematch from Starrcade with “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan. It was another match that I felt failed to live up to expectations, but that’s standard for the WCW main event scene at this point. We did have some solid outings though on the card and overall it was a solid show. Read about my complete thoughts on that show and every WCW show we have covered here. This show has Scott Hall getting his shot at the title after winning World War 3 the previous year. Will this show keep the momentum moving forward? Let’s find out!

Here’s the poster that was used to promote the event.

WCW Uncensored
March 15th, 1998
Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Alabama

The show starts with a package hyping up the two big matches on the night.

We are welcomed to the arena by the announcers Tony Schiavone, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and Mike Tenay. They talk about the Steel Cage match later on in the night between Hogan and Savage. Uncensored was traditionally built as a Pay-Per-View that allows the rules to be bent, hence the cage match tonight. Savage has been at odds with the NWO for a bit now, so this would be the ultimate blowoff for that. They also talk about Scott Hall getting his shot at the WCW Heavyweight Title tonight before going down to the ring for the first match of the night.

WCW Television Title Match
Booker T. (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero (w/Chavo Guerrero)

Booker had a coming-out party last month when he had two above-average matches to start that show and walking out with the WCW Television Title.

The bell sounds, but Guerrero keeps his ground and is hesitant to get the match started. He finally gets in the ring and Booker comes in to lock up, but Guerrero goes to the apron again. Guerrero charges in, but Booker hits him in the head and sends him flying with a back body drop. He drops Guerrero with a Sidewalk Slam and hits an elbow to the head as he gets back up. Booker sends him over the top to the outside with a clothesline and Guerrero seems frustrated on the floor. He looks to Chavo for advice, but he has nothing. Guerrero gets back in the ring and looks for a handshake, but Booker grabs it and hits a Side Kick. He sends Guerrero into the ropes and hits Powerslam. Guerrero quickly scurries out of the ring and starts to walk up the ramp. Booker is hot on his trail and hits Guerrero with some shots to the head before hitting a scoop slam on the floor. He sends Guerrero back into the ring and hits another kick for a two-count. He presses Guerrero over his head and drops him on the mat. Booker climbs up top, but Guerrero hits a dropkick and he drops down on the turnbuckle. Guerrero climbs up after him and hits a big Superplex. Guerrero goes for a punch, but it’s blocked, and Booker hits him instead. He sends Guerrero into the ropes and takes him down with a kick to the head. He goes for a Scissor Kick, but Guerrero dropkicks the knee and it causes Booker to hit the mat. He continues stomping away on him before dragging him to the apron to cause some more damage. Guerrero mocks Booker on the outside before rolling him back in the ring. Guerrero kicks Booker in the leg again before starting to stretch him out. Guerrero uses the ropes for leverage before the referee finally catches him. He works Booker into the corner and hits an elbow to the head. He drags Booker over by the ropes and hits a senton on the leg and gets a two count. Booker rolls to the outside, but Guerrero is right behind him with a splash off the top rope. He missed, but the announcers covered and say he was going for the knee. He gets Booker back in the ring and hits a headbutt to grab a one-count. Booker recovers and hits Guerrero with a suplex and follows it up with a Scissors Kick. He sends Guerrero into the ropes and hits a Spinebuster. Booker climbs up top, but Guerrero gets up and Booker lands on his feet. He drops Guerrero face-first on the top turnbuckle and tries to capitalize, but Guerrero hits the knee again. They both climb up on the top rope, but Booker shoves him off, before hitting a Missile Dropkick and picking up the win after 11:08.

Winner and STILL WCW Television Champion: Booker T.
Match Rating: 3/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This match was solid, but nothing spectacular. Obviously, both of these guys are great workers and anytime they got in the ring together it wasn’t bad. Guerrero worked on the bad wheel of Booker throughout the match, but Booker proved to be too much in the end. Booker is one of the better workers in the history of the business, and it seemed like the start of his push is happening right now.

After the match, Chavo seemed to have a smile on his face after Eddie lost. Eddie comes out and they talk about it before he attacks Chavo and leaves him laying in the aisle way.

Konnan vs. Juventud Guerrera

As we remember, Guerrera lost his mask last month in a match with Chris Jericho. This match is being built as a grudge match with Konnan blaming Guerrera for letting Lucha Libre wrestling down.

Guerrera hits a dropkick to start the match and sends Konnan into the ropes, but he is quickly thrown down by the more powerful of the two. Konnan tries to send him into the ropes, but Guerrera fights him off and takes him down to the mat. Konnan slides to the outside and Guerrera teases coming out, but Konnan is one step ahead and pulls him out. He sends Guerrera into the steps before bringing them out and trying to slam him into them again. The plan backfires though and Konnan is sent headfirst into the steps instead. Guerrera springboards off the stairs and takes Konnan out. He gets Konnan back into the ring and comes back in with a dropkick off the ropes. He tries to stay on the offensive, but Konnan drops him down on the top rope chest-first. He locks Guerrera’s leg up and starts to stretch him out. He gets Guerrera into the corner and hits a chop before sending him to the other side. Guerrera gets a foot up, but he is soon back down after a Konnan German Suplex. Konnan steps on the head and sends Guerrera flying into the corner with a slingshot. He stomps on Guerrera in the corner before kicking him in the face for good measure. He throws Guerrera halfway across the ring by his head and goes for a cover, but only gets a two count. Konnan gets him down and locks in a Boston Crab while also grabbing his arms so that he doesn’t grab the ropes. He swings him a couple of times before Guerrera crumples and rolls out of the ring. Guerrera slowly gets back to his feet before getting back in the ring. Konnan is there to meet him and picks him up and stretches him over his shoulders. He slams him down for a two-count. He pulls Guerrera over the corner and puts him on the top. He goes for a suplex, but Guerrera lands on his feet and hits a dropkick to the head of Konnan. Guerrera continues to stay on the offensive with some kicks to the head. Both men exchange Irish Whips before Konnan grabs him and slams him down violently to the mat. Konnan tries to hit a Gutwrench Powerbomb, but Guerrera counters it into a facebuster. He drags Konnan to the corner and attempts a 450 splash, but Konnan gets out of the way. Konnan hits the 187 Cradle DDT, but Guerrera kicks out at it. Konnan hits another move, but Guerrera kicks out again. Guerrera hits him with a backslide when he isn’t paying attention and picks up the win after 10:21.

Winner: Juventud Guerrera
Match Rating: 3/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: I hate the ending with a rollup, but overall, the match was a plus. Konnan was obviously the bigger of the two and used his size to his advantage keeping Guerrera grounded with stretching and power moves. Guerrera had some bright spots as well, and with him picking up the win here, it starts him back with some forward momentum.

After the match, Konnan hits him with a DDT that flattens Guerrera. He then tosses him out of the ring to end the sequence.

“Mean” Gene Okerlund is here and is joined by JJ Dillon. Dillon says that he is here tonight because The Giant reached out to him and told him he wanted The Powerbomb to be legal in his match with Kevin Nash tonight. Dillon says he is here to reinstate the Powerbomb for the night. Dillon leaves the area and they go back down to the ring for the next match.

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Dean Malenko

Jericho cut his famous “1004 holds” promo during this program. If you don’t know what that is, go out of your way to find it.

They both lock up in the ring to start things off. Malenko gets Jericho down on the mat, but it doesn’t last, and both are quickly back to their feet. Malenko takes him down by the arm and starts to work on it. Jericho tries to grab the arm of Malenko, but is quickly taken down to the mat. Jericho is taken down again with a shoulder block and that sends Jericho into one of those classic heel tantrums he would throw around this time. Malenko grabs the foot after a kick attempt, but Jericho comes back with an Enziguri. Malenko rolls to the outside, but Jericho comes out after him with a splash from the ropes. He starts to walk to the back, and the referee gets to an eight-count, but Malenko interrupts the count. Jericho finally gets back to the ring and continues to assert his dominance in the match. He goes for a Lou Thez Press, but Jericho catches him and puts him down with a Spinebuster. He covers Malenko with a foot on the chest, but obviously can’t pick up the win. He stomps on the back of the head of Malenko and works him over to the bottom ropes. He snaps Malenko over and starts to stretch him out with a knee to the back. Jericho snaps him over with a suplex and hits a Lionsault for a near fall. Jericho hits a high knee to the head and continues to wear Malenko down in the ropes. He scolds the referee for not asking if Malenko gives up or not before getting him in a backbreaker-type move. Great heel stuff here. Jericho complains some more before focusing back on Malenko. Malenko starts to fire back with some chops and both men exchange blows. Malenko fires up and hits some shots to the head and takes Jericho down to the mat with a suplex. Jericho recovers and hits him with a splash and gets another near fall.

Jericho kicks Malenko in the side and continues to stay on the offensive. He gets Malenko tied up in the ropes and hits a dropkick to his exposed chest. He chops Malenko and hits some elbows to the head. He starts to choke him with his boot before slapping him in the face for good measure. Jericho hits another chop and sends him to the other side, but comes up empty as he comes in. Both men exchange moves before Jericho gets the advantage with a reverse suplex. He goes for the Liontamer, but Malenko quickly gets to the ropes. Both men get back to their feet and exchange covers before Malenko gets the advantage back. He sends Jericho into the corner, but is quickly taken to the outside with a Jericho dropkick. Jericho comes out after him and continues to work on him before sending him back in. Jericho puts him on the top rope and they both come off with a suplex, but Malenko moved mid-move and actually splashes Jericho and picks up a near fall. Jericho comes back in after some scuffling and he tries to get Malenko in the Liontamer again. He can’t get him over, but makes sure to step on the hands as he walks away. He puts Malenko back on the top, but as he comes back up, Malenko puts him on his shoulders and hits The Gutbuster. That move was always insane to see. He covers Jericho for a two count. Malenko tries to go for a kick to the head, but Jericho catches the leg and puts him in the Liontamer. He almost gets to the ropes, but Jericho pulls him back to the middle. Malenko has no choice but to tap, and Jericho wins the match after 14:42.

Winner and STILL WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Chris Jericho
Match Rating: 3.25/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: For the third time tonight, both of these guys went out and had a very good match. Jericho was on the offensive for a lot of it, but Malenko came back with some great spots, including that top rope Gutbuster. Jericho getting Malenko in the Liontamer and making him tap out was a great way to end the match and gave Jericho some serious credibility and heat moving forward.

Gene walks up to Jericho, but ends up blowing him off in the aisle way. He gets in the ring and starts to go over the past failures of Malenko. He asks him what he thought about it, but Malenko doesn’t say anything. Gene says he is a bona fide loser now. He asks Malenko where he goes from here, and Malenko simply says “home”. Obviously, this is the beginning of an angle for Malenko and we will see it play out as we get further into the year.

Mark Madden and Lee Marshall are backstage with Raven for the internet radio show. Raven says he is tired of hearing about Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Benoit and tonight he is going to shut both of them up for the final time. It’s time for the next match.

Scott Steiner vs. Lex Luger

Last month at Superbrawl, Scott turned his back on his brother and longtime partner, Rick. That was a big heel turn for the time and now he is a member of the NWO. Luger has been team WCW through and through and he is here to defend the honor of Rick, who is taking time off after being stabbed in the back.

Steiner starts to attack right away. He works Luger into the corner and pounds him down to the mat. He locks Luger up and hits a Belly To Belly Suplex before hitting an elbow drop on the chest of Luger. He locks him up in the ropes and sends Luger crashing to the outside. Steiner sends him into the guardrail and slams him headfirst into the stars at ringside. Steiner gets in the ring and tries to bring Luger in with a suplex, but Luger reverses and sends Steiner crashing to the outside instead. He throws him into the guardrail and rolls him back in the ring. He hits an atomic drop and takes Steiner down with a clothesline. Luger signals for The Torture Rack, but Steiner hits a low blow as he goes for it. Steiner locks in The Steiner Recliner, but Luger is underneath the ropes. Steiner jumps out of the ring and grabs a chair at ringside. That brings Rick out to the ring to have a face-off, but Scott Norton comes down to hit Rick from behind. In the ring, Luger hits Scott home behind. He covers Scott and picks up the win after 3:53.

Winner: Lex Luger
Match Rating: DUD

Collective Thoughts: There was not a lot to this match and I thought the finish was weak. Scott is fresh off the heel turn at Superbrawl and having Rick involved in the finish makes sense, but everything felt rushed. The in-ring work was fine, but it was a lot of power stuff and not much else. Rick vs. Scott is something they are building too and this was a situation where the ends justify the means.

After the match, Scott hits the referee and goes to pound on Luger with the chair. Rick gets in the ring and sends him to the outside and stops the attack. Norton and Scott go to the back as Luger and Rick celebrate in the ring.

WCW United States Title Triple Jeopardy Match
Diamond Dallas Page (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Raven

This is essentially a triple threat match with a falls count anywhere stipulation added.

The bell sounds and all three men circle each other in the ring before all three lock up with each other. Benoit hits Page with a shot to the head as Raven hits him as well. They go back to the triple lock-up before all three men go to the outside of the ring. Page gets thrown into the stairs and Benoit sends Raven into the ring. He takes Raven down with a clothesline and he keeps him grounded as Page is on the outside of the ring. He stomps on Raven in the corner, but Page comes up behind him and takes Benoit out. He sends Raven to the outside and starts working on Benoit. Benoit charges in with a Baseball Slide, but Page moves, and he hits Raven instead. Page slingshots his way to the outside and takes out both men in the process. Back in the ring, Page covers Raven, but only gets a two count. Benoit goes for a cover on Raven, but Page breaks it up. Page hits a slam and covers Raven again, but Benoit breaks it up. Benoit climbs up top and hits a splash on Raven, but Page breaks up the count after two. Page knocks Benoit down and covers him for a two-count as well. Benoit and Page exchange blows in the ring before they both fight out of the ring. Raven comes out after them with a splash and covers Benoit on the floor for two. He goes to cover Page and gets a two count as well. Benoit gets up and sends Raven into the guardrail. Page sends Benoit into the other one and starts slamming him against it as Raven comes up from behind and takes Page out. All three men exchange covers in the aisleway. Page and Benoit share shots to the head as they make their way up to the entranceway. Raven comes back with a trash can, but Benoit takes him out. Page puts Raven in the trash can and both men start beating it with crutches. Page and Benoit exchange covers on Raven before Benoit just takes Page out with a shot to the ribs with a crutch.

Benoit grabs the trash can and hits Page with it again. He suplexes Page on the ramp as Raven comes in and works together with Benoit. They throw Page into the screen by the entrance and he goes right through it. They throw him a second time into it and Page is rendered useless. Benoit and Raven continue to do battle on the other side of the entrance. They make their way over to the broadcast booth as Raven crushes Benoit with a table to the head. Raven grabs a rope to start choking Benoit with it Raven sets up the table against the ramp and goes to send Benoit into it, but Benoit reverses, and Raven crashes into the table. They start to work their way back to the ring as Page is still by the entrance. He gets Raven back in the ring, but Raven takes him out with a low blow as they come in. Raven slides back out of the ring and throws a chair into the ring. He sets it up and throws Benoit into the ropes, but Benoit reverses, and he sends Raven face-first into the prone chair. Benoit folds the chair up and wedges it in the corner as the camera shows Page crawling back to the ring. In the ring, Benoit is working on Raven in the corner and sends him head-first to the other side and he crashes into the chair sending him to the outside. Benoit throws him into the guardrail before rolling him back in and covers him for a two count. He hits Raven again and takes him down to the mat with a stiff shot to the chest. He throws Raven into the ropes and locks him in a sleeper hold, but Page gets back in and we have a triple sleeper going on. Raven drops down and all three men are taking down to the mat with a triple jawbreaker. Benoit and Raven get back to their feet and Benoit hits Raven with a series of German Suplexes until Page gets up and they do a Triple Suplex Spot. That was awesome. Raven and Benoit both hit Page and knock him down to the mat before they start going after each other. Raven grabs a sign from ringside that says “use my sign” and he hits Page with it only to reveal a stop sign underneath of it. Raven brings a table in the ring and puts Page on it, but Benoit crushes him from behind with the stop sign. He puts Raven on the top rope and starts hammering away on him. Page gets off the table and knocks Benoit to the floor. He grabs Raven comes off the top with a Diamond Cutter through the table to pick up the win after 15:53.

Winner and STILL WCW United States Champion: Diamond Dallas Page
Match Rating: 3.75/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was nonstop action for 15 minutes. They worked all over the arena and hit each other with everything they have. Page was thrown through the stuff in the entranceway and I thought showing him crawling back to the ring was a great way to put him over as a strong babyface. Once he got back in the ring, they had some really cool triple man spots, before Page hit the Diamond Cutter from the top through the table. Great finish to a really strong match.

The announcers talk about the upcoming matches left on the card, starting with the Giant and Kevin Nash rematch. They talk about the WCW Title match between Sting and Scott Hall and the Steel Cage main event between Hogan and Savage.

The Giant vs. Kevin Nash

The last time these two bulls locked horns, Nash dropped The Giant on his head after a botched Jackknife Powerbomb. The move has been banned since, but as Dillon said earlier, has been reinstated for this match.

The bell rings and both men pose for the crowd before they lock it up. The Giant works Nash into the corner, but Nash slips out. He taunts the big man a little bit before grabbing a headlock. He tries to work on the arm of The Giant, but he is taken down with a clothesline. The Giant comes off the ropes with a series of elbow drops. He works on Nash some more before sending him to the outside with a clothesline. He slams Nash’s head against the apron and tries to send him into the post, but Nash slides off and sends him into it instead. He works on the head of The Giant with some elbows before slamming him into the corner. Nash gets the foot up and chokes The Giant with his boot. He gets The Giant down to his knees with some shots to the head before putting him in a sleeper hold. The Giant fights out, but Nash knocks him down before he can completely come around. The Giant is draped on the second rope and Nash comes into squash him against it. He snatches the neck brace off The Giant and starts to focus on the neck. He charges in to splash The Giant again, but The Giant gets his boot up and crotches Nash. Nash is back up and hits The Giant, but that only fires him up and he takes Nash down to the mat with a headbutt and some elbows. The Giant picks Nash up and puts him down with a scoop slam. He signals for The Chokeslam, but Bryan Adam comes down to the ring and hits The Giant from behind with a baseball bat. The match is thrown out after 6:36.

Winner by DQ: The Giant
Match Rating: 1/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This match was short and uneventful. The Nash Powerbomb botch was still fresh here, so it worked itself into the angle. There were a lot of slow and plodding moments and the match never really went anywhere before the interference. I wish these two would have had a better outing because I know they are capable of it.

After the match, members of The NWO hit the ring, but The Giant takes them all out one by one. He hits Vincent, and Konnan with chokeslams before Nash hits him from behind with the bat. Nash goes to Jackknife The Giant again, but he fights out and the NWO retreats up the aisleway.

Curt Hennig (w/Rick Rude) vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart

All three of these men were in the WWF not too long before this, but obviously have all jumped ship. Rude was the most infamous of the three, appearing on Raw and Nitro on the same night.

The bell sounds and we are underway. Hennig jumps out of the ring immediately to talk with Rude before coming back in and slapping Hart across the face. They lock up with neither man grabbing the advantage. Hart eventually gets him over with a takeover and grinds in the head. Hennig shoots him into the ropes, but Hart takes him down with a shoulder block before going back to the head. Hennig fights out and gets Hart in the corner and lines him up with some chops. Hart fights out and continues to grind into Hennig with another takeover into a headlock. Hennig fights back to his feet and throws Hart into the ropes, but he gets knocked down again. He gets up and Hart just powers him to the ground and he slides outside to talk with Rude. Rude walks to the other side of the ring and grabs the foot of Hart and that allows Hennig to try and grab the advantage. Hart fights him off and outs Hennig in the Sharpshooter, but Rude jumps in the ring and hits Hart in the head forcing him to break the hold. Hennig gets back to his feet and starts working on the leg of Hart. He drags him over to the ropes and drops down on the leg again. Rude starts to choke Hart as Hennig distracts the referee. Hennig drags Hart to the other side of the ring and wraps his leg around the ring post. Hennig gets in the ring and talks to the referee again as Rude does some more damage to the leg around the post. Hennig comes back after him with a kick to the side and throws Hart across the ring by his hair.

Hennig starts slapping Hart in the opposite corner and punches him in the kisser. He drags Hart to the middle of the ring and puts him in The Figure Four and grabs on to Rude’s hands for leverage. Hart almost gets pinned multiple times as Rude continues to assist Hennig in the move. The referee catches the two in the act and forces, Hennig, to break the hold. Hennig continues stomping on the leg and hits some chops in the corner. Hart fires back but is quickly stopped after a low blow. Hart fights out and tries to get some offense in, but Hennig kicks the leg out again. Hennig hits a scoop slam and starts his ascent to the top rope. Hart gets back to his feet and knocks him off. He kicks Hennig’s leg out from under him before tossing him across the ring and he crotches himself on the ring post. Hart hits an atomic drop, clothesline, and rolls him up for two. He hits Hennig with a Russian Legsweep for two again. Hart hits a bulldog and covers Hennig, but he gets his foot on the rope. He comes off the second rope with the elbow drop for another near fall. Hart continues to bring the fight to Hennig with some shots to the head until he is stopped with another kick to the knee. Hennig sets him up and hits The Hennig Plex, but Hart kicks out at two. Rude gets up to argue with the count, but Hart kicks Hennig into him and knocked him off the apron. They exchange roll-ups until Hart gets back to his feet and puts Hennig in the Sharpshooter. Hennig taps right as Rude comes in to make the save and the match is over. It went 13:53.

Winner: Bret Hart
Match Rating: 3/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: You could tell these two have worked with each other a bunch of times before this. Everything was slick and smooth and both men hit their stuff flawlessly. It didn’t pick up to the next level, but it was still a competitive match with some believable near falls. Hart kicking out of The Hennig Plex was a surprise because people didn’t do it very often, but having him go over the way he did was a smart move.

After the match, Hart tries to fight both of them off, but he is hit with The Rude Awakening from Rude. When was the last time we saw that move before 1998? Rude and Hennig celebrate in the ring as Hart is laying faceless on the mat.

WCW World Heavyweight Title Match
Sting (c) vs. Scott Hall (w/Dusty Rhodes)

Hall grabs the belt from the referee as he lifts it and poses with it as Sting gets in his face. He pulls the belt away and starts punching Hall right away, which forces him to the outside to regroup. He tries to take Sting down to the mat, but Sting overpowers him and sends him into the corner. Hall gets a thumb to the eye and takes Sting down to the mat with a chokeslam. He mocks The Giant afterward, allowing Sting to come in with a facebuster, followed by another one. He starts to pound on Hall and hits a Standing Dropkick that sends Hall to the outside. Hall tries to get a punch in, but Sting blocks it and hits Hall instead. He hits the ropes, but Rhodes trips him and Sting turns his attention to him. Hall hits him from behind and takes Sting down with a discus punch. He sends Sting into the corner and charges in after him with a clothesline. He picks Sting up and hits him with a Fallaway Slam and grabs a two count. He stomps on the head of Sting as he gets back up and continues to pound on him against the ropes. Halls hits the ropes and both men collide into each other, which causes Sting to fall and headbutt Hall in the groin. Rhodes slowly gets into the ring and teases hitting Sting while the referee is checking on Hall. He drops an elbow on Sting as Hall slowly crawls over to cover him, but Sting gets the shoulder up at two. Hall continues to pound on him and Sting has noodle legs at this point. Hall continues, but it starts to fire Sting up. He hits Hall and drops him with an Atomic Drop. Hall goes to the corner and gets hit with a Stinger Splash. He goes to put Hall in the Scorpion Death Lock, but Rhodes gets up on the apron to distract him. Sting punches Rhodes off the apron and the referee gets squashed in the corner in the process. Hall grabs something out of his tights and hits Sting with it, but can’t pick up the win. That was a good false finish. Hall signals for The Outsiders Edge, but Sting fights put and hits Hall with The Scorpion Death Drop. He covers Hall and picks up the win after 8:38.

Winner and STILL WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Sting
Match Rating: 2/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: I would have preferred this match to go on last because of the title, but I also see why you have Savage vs. Hogan to close the show. This was about as good of a match as these two were going to have and the crowd was into it a lot more towards the end. I thought it could have been better in spots, though, as well. Scott Hall has always been one of my personal favorites, but he never quite broke through and won the big one. Sting was fine here too, but a little bit of the luster has been washed off of the title over the last couple of months of tomfoolery.

After the match, Rhodes gets in the ring, but Sting cuts him off and tells him to stick it. Sting jumps out of the ring and goes up the aisleway as Rhodes checks on Hall in the ring.

They have a commercial for WCW/NWO Spring Stampede, which is the next show I will be covering.

Michael Buffer is here to make the introductions and it’s time for the main event.

Steel Cage Match
“Hollywood” Hulk Hogan vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth)

Both men circle in each other in the ring ad the lights dim for some reason. Hogan takes him down quickly with some shots to the back and starts choking him with the boot across the throat. Hogan continues to beat on him be working him into the ropes again. He gets a back rake and chops Savage down to the mat. Hogan hits some shots to the head and hits The Big Boot for a two-count. He slams Savage against the cage before sending him into the other corner to continue to keep him isolated. Hogan tries to slam his head against the cage again, but Savage fights him off. It’s short-lived as Hogan takes him down again with a shot to the head. He hits a scoop slam, but Savage rolls out of the way of an elbow drop. Savage starts a comeback and takes Hogan down with a clothesline of his own. He starts to choke Hogan with his shirt before raking the eyes. He continues to choke Hogan on the mat and slams him against the cage. Hogan rakes the eyes to stop Savage in his track and starts hitting him with the weightlifting belt that was around his waist. He works Savage over to the cage again and continues to whip him with the belt as he is against the ropes. Hogan hits some chops to the chest and continues to wear Savage out with the belt. He picks him up and hits a Scoop Slam before going for The Legdrop, but he comes up short. Savage grabs the belt and starts hitting Hogan with it this time. He covers Hogan and grabs a two-count before starting to whip him with it again. He slams Hogan against the cage and continues beating him with the belt. Savage throws him into the cage again and continues to stomp on the head.

Savage punches Hogan and knocks him down to the mat. Savage stirs up the crowd and comes in with a low smash to the head and it knocks Hogan down to the mat. Hogan makes his way back up and throws Savage into the cage as he comes running in after Hogan. Hogan grabs the belt again and continues to whip Savage with it. Hogan is actually busted open here and hits Savage with a Belly To Back Suplex. He pulls Savage back up to his feet and throws him headfirst into the side of the cage, which opens Savage up now. Hogan comes over and starts driving Savage headfirst into the cage. Savage falls back into the ring and Hogan sends him to the other side. He covers Savage and grabs a two-count. Hogan continues to keep Savage grounded by tossing him all over the ring and gets a shot to the head. Savage is back down on the mat after another shot the head and Hogan gets a near fall. Hogan starts to choke Savage with his boot as the referee opens the door and both men get out of the cage. They fight on the outside with Hogan throwing Savage into the side. He slides Savage back in the ring and comes in after him. Savage starts to mount a comeback and slams Hogan against the cage before popping back up. Savage climbs all the way to the top of the cage and he comes off with a double-ax. He covers Hogan, but he kicks out. That was quite the sequence. Savage continues to keep Hogan grounded and starts to climb up for the elbow as The Disciple comes down to the ring and grabs the key after taking out the referee. He comes in and throws the other referee into the cage. It’s two on one now, but here comes Sting from the rafters. He lands on top of the cage before getting in and teaming up with Savage. The four men have a standoff in the ring, but Savage hits Sting with a clothesline and hits him with a Piledriver. Savage gets out of the ring after spitting at Hogan, and I guess the match is over. It went 15:35. Hogan continues to yell at Savage as the show goes off the air.

Winner: No Contest
Match Rating: DUD

Collective Thoughts: It is hard for me to sit here and give a 15 minutes main event match a DUD rating, but this one probably deserved it. I had to pull out all the stops and repeat myself many times throughout the breakdown because it was the same spot over and over again. Hogan throws Savage into the cage. Savage comes back and throws Hogan into the cage. So on and so forth. I have complained about the lack of quality main event matches in WCW around this time and this match is a perfect example of that. It wasn’t very good, the people were not into it at all and the way it ended was so abrupt. What a messy finish to a very solid PPV.

Overall Show Rating: 7 out of 10

I liked this show a little bit better than Superbrawl, but the main event knocked it down a few pegs. I swear if WCW had a show that was consistent with the action we got with the undercard, in the main event, the WWF would have never been able to touch them. There was an issue with WCW shows falling off considerably about halfway through. This show had a lot going for it though. It starts strong with two matches that I rated a little bit higher than Meltzer, and the match of the night was easily the Triple Threat match with Benoit, Page, and Raven. They beat the hell out of each other for 15 minutes. After that, it all kind of crumpled. The middle of the show, with Luger vs. Steiner and Nash vs. The Giant, was alright, but nothing to write home about. The two main event matches are the ones I have the biggest gripes with. Sting vs. Hall was uneventful and I feel like could have been much, much better. Hogan vs. Savage to close the show was what it was, and unfortunately, Hogan has a track record for underdelivering in these main event spots. It’s about how much money you draw I guess.

What did you think of WCW Uncensored 1998? Loved it? Hated it? Wish the main event was better? Either way, keep the conversation going over @collectiveheel on Twitter and let me know your thoughts. Take care of yourselves and each other. I will be back soon enough with some more Collective Thoughts.