Next, Wolfpack members Diesel and Jeff Jarrett took on Kaientai members Taka Michinoku and Sho Funaki in tag action. On the line were Diesel and Jarrett's respective spots in the Rumble match. The high-flyers from Japan were impressive, but the technical prowess of Jarrett and the power of Diesel proved too much for them. After Diesel delivered a devastating Jacknife to Taka, he actually allowed Funaki to tag in just so he could be victimized by a Jacknife. With an easy win under their belts, Jarrett and Diesel continued to brutalize a bloody Funaki and Taka with numerous Facebusters and Jacknifes.
Finally it was time for the historic main event. After several minutes of high paced action and quick tags, Jeff and Sid managed to isolate Triple H and take advantage with some efficient team work. After suufering a brutal beating, Triple H was able to reverse an Irish Whip from Jeff and land a huge knee to Intercontinental Champion's face. The War Memorial came to its feet in support of Triple H as he struggled to tag in the Undertaker. Undertaker tagged in just as Jeff managed to tag in Sid. The battle resumed and Sid caught the Deadman around the neck and prepared to goozle him. However, Undertaker reversed the hold and goozled both Sid and Jeff! After the huge double goozle, the action spilled to the outside with Taker and Triple H working on Sid. Jeff snuck up behind the deadman and hit him with a chair, but it had no effect! Jeff threw the useless chair into the ring before the WWF Champion chased him down and clobbered him. With the ref outside trying to restore order, Triple H rolled Sid back in and set him up for the Pedigree. However, Sid hit Triple H with a low blow and grabbed the chair. After two huge chair shots, a bloody Triple H lay prone in the ring. To add insult to injury, Sid hit the #1 contender for the Intercontinental title with a devastating powerbomb! When the ref realized that Triple H was pinned in the ring, he came back in and counted to 3. In tainted fashion, Sid and Jeff had managed to escape a beating inside the cage at the Rumble! The action wasn't over, however, as Undertaker came back in and stood toe-to-toe with Sid in a bone-chilling staredown. Jeff again snuck in with a chair, but Sid actually called him off! Unbelievably, Triple H got back to his feet and attacked Jeff, which sent Sid and the Deadman flying into combat! Raw went to commercial with complete chaos erupting in the ring.
Upon return, the announcement of the Rumble participants was interupted by the entrance of none other than......the Rock! The People's Champion had not been seen since losing the WWF title to the Undertaker two months prior at Survivor Series. The Onondaga County War Memorial exploded as the Great One made his way down to ringside. Once in the ring, the Rock gave Undertaker his due for beating him at Survivor Series, then went on to state that it was only a matter of time before the Rock would regain the WWF championship. Syracuse cheered as Rock guaranteed victory in the Rumble and at Wrestlemania XVI! With the return of the Rock and three huge title feuds coming to a head, Royal Rumble promises to blow the top off of Trump Plaza in just six dayz! |
