WWF Fully Loaded 1998: Rock vs Triple H, Austin & Undertaker Win Gold

Viewer discretion is advised—we are officially back in 1998, and I dragged Kelsey with me to WWF Fully Loaded 1998. After spending some time in the Temple, we returned to the Attitude Era for a three-hour, nine-match pay-per-view that had us recording at midnight, questioning several life choices, and standing on business because we said we were going to watch it. And honestly? For a show I kept putting off, this one kind of delivered. Fully Loaded 1998 is a very strange mix of genuinely great wrestling, very 1998 nonsense, and moments that remind you nostalgia can be cute—but she is not always correct. I walked Kelsey through Val Venis making his pay-per-view debut against Jeff Jarrett, D’Lo Brown and X-Pac putting together a sneaky fun mid-card match, a completely bizarre tag situation with Terry Funk, Scorpio, Faarooq and Bradshaw, and a Vince McMahon-approved meat spectacle between Vader and Mark Henry. But the real pillars of this show are easy. Owen Hart and Ken Shamrock have a Dungeon Match in the Hart family basement that feels less like a wrestling match and more like found footage from a crime scene. The Rock and Triple H go nearly 30 minutes in a two-out-of-three-falls Intercontinental Championship match where you can feel two future stars fighting to steal the show. And in the main event, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker challenge Kane and Mankind for the Tag Team Championships, despite the fact that Austin and Taker absolutely do not trust each other. Beautiful nonsense. Exactly what we came here for. We also, unfortunately, have to talk about the Sable and Jacqueline bikini contest, Jerry Lawler being on his absolute worst behavior, and the parts of the Attitude Era that people love to conveniently edit out when they talk about how great everything used to be. In this episode: I bring Kelsey back to the Attitude Era after our New to the Temple detour We break down the full WWF Fully Loaded 1998 card Val Venis makes his pay-per-view debut against Jeff Jarrett Yamaguchi-san joins commentary and calls Jerry Lawler “Hamburger King” D’Lo Brown and X-Pac have a solid mid-card match with Chyna looking incredible Terry Funk, Scorpio, Faarooq and Bradshaw end up in one of the strangest tag pairings imaginable Vader and Mark Henry collide in a true big meat spectacle LOD and DOA continue fighting over Paul Ellering for reasons we are still trying to understand Owen Hart and Ken Shamrock have a Dungeon Match that feels fully illegal The Rock and Triple H wrestle like two future main-eventers trying to prove they are next We suffer through the Sable and Jacqueline bikini contest so you do not necessarily have to Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker challenge Kane and Mankind for the Tag Team Championships We continue asking the only question that matters: are they in cahoots? If you’re going back to watch **Fully Loaded 1998**, my three match recommendations are simple: **The Rock vs Triple H**, **Austin & Undertaker vs Kane & Mankind**, and **Owen Hart vs Ken Shamrock in the Dungeon**. Everything else? We’ll guide you through it. The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!