Raw Deal - Raw recap for August 24, 1998

RAW

The Undertaker is in the building. So is Kane, who is right behind him.

The Undertaker and Kane show up to start tonight's show. It is noted by the commentary teams that the cell from the Hell in a Cell matches is hanging high above the ring. WWF owner Vince McMahon shows up with a smile on his face, proclaiming that The Undertaker and Kane have "come out of the coffin" and that this is the best moment since United States President Bill Clinton's mea culpa from last week. Vince tells the crowd "I told you so," and that Kane and The Undertaker together are the most destructive force in the WWF, and that with Kane at his side, The Undertaker will not need his help to win the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, though he will need him again in the future for his wisdom, his brilliant strategy and his friendship. He then asks The Undertaker if he is friend or foe to him, and tells him to think about it before giving him an answer before the end of the night. Paul Bearer shows up, and tells Kane to tell him it is not true, as he has always been the one to be there for him and love him, as his mother - who he calls "that sleazy whore" - did not do. Kane gently keeps The Undertaker back upon that comment, and Bearer tells Kane to look in his eyes as his blood runs through Kane's veins and that he knows who has been honest to him and who has been deceitful to him. He then tells Kane that if he never does anything else for him again, to destroy The Undertaker for him as one last request. Kane turns his back on Bearer, and The Undertaker attacks Paul Bearer. Mankind shows up, and Kane and The Undertaker beat him down. Mankind fails to even fight back as Kane and The Undertaker hit him with a spike Tombstone Piledriver. Vince McMahon then tells The Undertaker that there is only one man left standing between him and the WWF Championship: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Austin shows up immediately upon the utterance of his name, and his boots are not quaking as Vince has just said. A ball of fire shoots out from the stage, and nearly roasts Austin. Austin says he knew along they were together, and that he nearly got choked up by the family reunion because he was happy about it. He is not happy, however, about being nearly set on fire, and says it will take an effort on his part to beat The Undertaker at SummerSlam. With Kane at The Undertaker's side however, he may not have much of a chance, but he nevertheless tells The Undertaker to grow eyes in the back of his eyes as he will take somebody out tonight, and that he will burn The Undertaker's ass if he wants to play with fire and believe he is in Austin's head.

We see footage of Mankind being taken away on a stretcher from the commercial break, then we see Mankind being placed in an ambulance.

"The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock beats Dan "The Beast" Severn by disqualification after Owen Hart gets in the ring and tries to choke Shamrock out. "The Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman gets in the ring and hits a running front kick on Severn. After the match, Blackman tries to keep Shamrock back, but gets hit with a German suplex. Blackman responds with a belly-to-belly suplex, then referees and officials have to restore order. Shamrock then snaps and scares everyone else in the ring out as Blackman leaves, then he butts his head on the steel steps.

Mankind is out of the ambulance, pushing a stretcher around while two people are knocked down.

Mankind makes his way down the entrance ramp on the stretcher, and enters the ring with a bag of tacks. He says he was warned by Vince McMahon that Kane was no good, and he tried not to believe it. Now that it is true, Vince McMahon has offered him his chance in redemption, and redemption lies above his head. Vince knows that when Kane and Mankind are locked in the Cell, he will get his ass kicked. He asks what kind of an idiot whould get in the same match that nearly cost him his life, and says that idiot is him. He has a plan, and it does not involve getting in the ring, but instead, walking up to the top of the cage. If he can get Kane up there, he has a surprise for him: 7,000 thumbtacks that will turn him into the world's largest pincushion. If this all goes his way, history will be made, and if they take a turn for the worse, it wouldn't be the first time he got his ass kicked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Either way, he doesn't give a damn, and he will see Kane in Hell.

We revisit the Hell in a Cell Match between The Undertaker and Mankind from King of the Ring.

Sable shows up and introduces Kurrgan before the next match before dancing with The Oddities (Luna Vachon, Kurrgan, Golga, Giant Silva). "Marvelous" Marc Mero shows up without Jacqueline, and if Kurrgan has any guts, he'll fight him without the rest of The Oddities at ringside. The Oddities leave, while Sable stays behind.

Kurrgan beats "Marvelous" Marc Mero by disqualification. During the match, Sable is attacked by Jacqueline, who is wearing a hat with fake dreadlocks. Mero hits Kurrgan with a low blow, but the referee sees it and disqualifies Mero, who flees through the crowd with Jacqueline.

X-Pac leads a camera crew to the locker room, where he urinates on a pair of cowboy boots.

Before the next match, Road Warrior Hawk guests on commentary. Hawk's speech is notably slurred as he keeps asking questions and saying strange things.

The New Age Outlaws ("Road Dog" Jesse James and "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn) beat Southern Justice (Mark Canterbury and Dennis Knight). During the match, "Double J" Jeff Jarrett rips the headset off the head of a sloshed-looking Road Warrior Hawk and demands X-Pac show up, wanting a piece of him after X-Pac urinated on his cowboy boots and declaring that he will give him a beating and a shaving of the head at SummerSlam. Mark Canterbury is distracted by what's going on with Jarrett, and Gunn hits Knight with a piledriver before Road Dog makes the pin. Jarrett and Southern Justice beat up a cameraman and shave his headafter being warned one too many times not to shoot him from the waist down.

WAR ZONE

Before the next match, Mankind beats up several referees as they try to stop him from climbing to the top of the Cell. Kane goes after Mankind, who then tries to get on top of the cage again, only to be pulled off the top and into a commentary table by The Undertaker. After a beating by Kane, Mankind is finally in the ring and the match begins.

Kane vs. Mankind in a Hell in a Cell Match ends after "Stone Cold" Steve Austin comes out from underneath the ring and stomps a mudhole in Kane. The Undertaker tries to get in the Cell by stomping a hole in the top as Austin hits Kane with a Stone Cold Stunner, and is about to make his way in when the Cell suddenly rises up. It is revealed that WWF owner Vince McMahon is the one at the controls for the Cell, raising it up. Austin hits Kane with another Stunner, then takes a stretcher located near the ring.

After the commercial break, The Undertaker tells "Stone Cold" Steve Austin he has given far too much respect, as he has just come out and proved that he is nothing more than a coward after jumping Kane from behind with no provocation. Is is noted that Kane is bleeding from the head, and The Undertaker tells Austin he just sealed his fate. Before the night ends, Austin will come face-to-face with his destiny, and that this is personal.

Chyna shows up alone, followed by "The Rock" Rocky Maivia, with The Nation (Owen Hart, D'Lo Brown, "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry) not far behind as they carry a ladder to the ring. The Rock tells Chyna that if she wants to be a big shot and call him out, here he is. Before he goes any further, he tells Chyna that he knows this is a set-up and that he is one step ahead. He then tells Chyna to look at the TitanTron. We see D-Generation X ("Triple H" Hunter Hearst Helmsley, X-Pac, "Road Dogg" Jesse James, "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn) trapped in their locker room backstage by a forklift by a door. The Rock then tells Chyna to tell Triple H to face him in New York City one-on-one at SummerSlam for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder Match, where he will climb "The People's Ladder" "rung by damn rung" and prove why he is The People's Champion. The Rock then tries to hit on Chyna, who tries to dump the ladder that The Rock is standing on only to be held down by Owen and D'Lo. The Rock tells Owen and D'Lo Brown to get her on her knees, then implies that Chyna is a whore before threatening to kiss her in the most uncomfortable matter, which he then ultimately decides against as there is no way he would kiss "a piece of trash like [Chyna]." He then tells Mark Henry to "give her the thrill of her life," making the kiss even more uncomfortable than before. He is about to do it when "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels - of all people - suddenly shows up and hits Mark Henry with a steel chair to the back of the head. Shawn then tosses the Intercontinental title to The Rock, then hands the steel chair to Chyna before dancing on the commentary table.

"D-Generation X ("Triple H" Hunter Hearst Helmsley, X-Pac, "Road Dogg" Jesse James, "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn) are seen outside of the arena looking for The Nation ("The Rock" Rocky Maivia, Owen Hart, D'Lo Brown, "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry). "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels guests on commentary from this point forward.

Before the next match, Val Venis says the ladies can forget past cheese steaks and try The Big Valbowski's, as his has "more meat than your buns can handle."

Val Venis beats Taka Michinoku by disqualification when an enraged "Triple H" Hunter Hearst Helmsley smashes a steel chair into Venis' back before hitting Taka in the head with it. Triple H then says "The Rock" Rocky Maivia has just crossed a line, and that at SummerSlam, The Rock's role will become real clear, as The Rock will become his bitch.

X-Pac beats Gangrel by disqualification after "Double J" Jeff Jarrett shows up and hits X-Pac in the head with a guitar. Edge is seen in the crowd during the match. After the match, "Triple H" Hunter Hearst Helmsley chases Jarrett out of the ring, and he and Chyna check on X-Pac As Triple H and Chyna help X-Pac to the back, Edge suddenly rushes into the ring and assaults Gangrel, and referees have to pull them apart. Gangrel is seen laughing during the pull-apart, and Edge leaves through the crowd.

The Undertaker is seen dragging a casket backstage.

An interview with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is promises of Code Red on WWF.com.

Bart Gunn beats Bradshaw by knockdown with 20 seconds left in the first round to win the Brawl For All Tournament and the cash prize of $75,000. (Bradshaw wins $25,000 for being runner-up.)

Michael Cole interviews WWF owner Vince McMahon, who says he will get his answer as to whether he will be friend or foe to The Undertaker, and that he will get the answer he wants.

Chants are heard, and druids bring a casket to ringside. After the druids leave, The Undertaker arrives and states that he will take what is rightfully is at SummerSlam - the WWF Championship - and do it like a man. He will not jump "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and that Austin need not worry about kane as Kane has his own agenda at SummerSlam. The Undertaker says he has been up front from beeginning, and at SummerSlam, it will be him, Austin and the WWF Championship. Tonight, however, Austin made it personal, and tells Austin that when he jumped on Kane, he jumped on him. He dares Austin to take a ride on the highway to Hell tonight, but as The Undertaker continues to speak, WWF owner Vince McMahon shows up. He takes the microphone and tells The Undertaker to forget about Austin, and asks if he is friend or foe. Vince extends his hand, but The Undertaker choke slams him. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin climbs out of the coffin, mouths off at Vince, then Kane also comes out of the casket and attacks Austin from behind before Austin can attack The Undertaker. Austin wisely gets out of the ring and tries to re-enter the ring with a steel chair, but the referee stationed nearby does not let him. Austin leaves, and as he does, a line of fire travels up the entrance ramp. The show ends.

After the show goes off the air, Austin goes back down the ramp without the steel chair, takes his shirt off and heads towards the ring. Kane leaves the ring and The Undertaker gets near the ropes. Austin backs away and leaves, then Kane gets back in the ring and stares towards the stage along with The Undertaker. WWF owner Vince McMahon leaves as the fire on the ramp is put out, but then Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco show up. Vince then heads towards the ring, but Austin returns and pushes the threesome towards the ring while beating them pu. Patterson is choke slammed by The Undertaker, while Briscoe is rammed into the casket. Austin then leaves again.