Uncensored 1998: WCW Builds a Good Pay-Per-View and Then Lets the nWo Eat the Ending

Booker T and Eddie Guerrero begin with the kind of pace WCW often reserved for the middle of the card, and the match immediately benefits. Eddie keeps attacking Booker's leg, using the ropes when he can and turning every opening into another chance to slow the champion down. Booker sells the damage without abandoning the explosive offense that made his television-title run feel different.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. adds story without overwhelming the wrestling. Eddie repeatedly looks toward his nephew, expecting loyalty that Chavo no longer wants to give. Booker survives the leg work, knocks Eddie from the top rope, and lands the missile dropkick for the clean win. Eddie's post-match attack on Chavo advances the family feud while allowing the title match itself to stand on its own.

Juventud Guerrera enters only weeks after losing his mask to Chris Jericho, and Konnan frames the match as punishment for embarrassing lucha libre. That gives a simple singles bout more context than it otherwise would have. Juventud brings speed and risk, while Konnan works a slower power-and-submission game that forces Juvi to keep escaping from underneath.

The contrast produces several good moments, especially around the ring steps and Juventud's springboard offense, but the crowd never fully commits to the match. Konnan becomes increasingly arrogant and eventually makes a lazy cover after the 187, allowing Juventud to counter into a crucifix for the upset. Konnan attacks him afterward, preserving the grudge. It is competent, occasionally lively wrestling without a sustained stretch that elevates it.

Chris Jericho is now fully comfortable as the obnoxious cruiserweight champion, and Dean Malenko is the perfect opponent because he reacts to arrogance with restraint instead of matching it. Their wrestling is crisp from the opening exchanges, with Malenko looking for the Cloverleaf while Jericho keeps changing the angle of attack and exploiting every hesitation.

The match becomes historically stronger because Jericho wins cleanly. He catches Malenko in the Liontamer and forces the submission, leaving Malenko with another major loss and no easy excuse. Gene Okerlund then asks where he goes next, and Malenko quietly answers, “home.” That moment launches the disappearance that eventually leads to the Ciclope reveal at Slamboree. The wrestling is good; the aftermath makes the match essential to the feud.

Scott Steiner had just turned heel at SuperBrawl and joined the nWo, giving this match a chance to establish his new singles identity. Instead, WCW gives him less than four minutes against Lex Luger. Scott stalls, poses, and leans into the changed personality, but there is not enough time for the match to become anything more than a short angle.

Luger absorbs a little offense, starts the comeback, and catches Steiner in the Torture Rack for the submission. The result immediately hands the newly turned Scott a pay-per-view loss and does almost nothing to advance the Rick Steiner issue that actually matters. The match is not long enough to become a disaster, yet that brevity is part of the problem. A significant character turn receives a television-length follow-up.

Diamond Dallas Page, Chris Benoit, and Raven wrestle with an urgency that makes the United States Championship feel more important than the world title later in the show. The three-way format allows alliances to form and disappear quickly, while Raven's Rules environment adds chairs and tables without turning the match into disconnected stunt work. Benoit supplies intensity, Raven supplies chaos, and Page gives the crowd a clear center.

The closing sequence is excellent. Benoit places Page on a table and climbs for a superplex on Raven, only for Page to recover, knock Benoit away, and catch Raven with the Diamond Cutter through the table. The table barely cooperates, but the impact and crowd reaction still land. Page retains cleanly after surviving both rivals. Cagematch rates this comfortably above everything else on the card, and the consensus is deserved.

The Giant and Kevin Nash have a built-in spectacle: two enormous wrestlers, a previous powerbomb injury angle, and special permission for the Jackknife to be legal for one night. WCW has everything necessary for a simple heavyweight grudge match. Instead, the opening is slow and the match spends too much time teasing the one move everyone expects.

Giant eventually gains control and appears ready to finish Nash, which brings Brian Adams into the ring with a baseball bat for the disqualification. The Giant wins without resolving anything, and the nWo interference immediately becomes more important than the match. The crowd wanted the powerbomb showdown promised by the story. It receives another angle instead. For a six-minute match, it feels remarkably long.

Bret Hart and Curt Hennig carry enormous history into the match, which is both a blessing and a problem. Their WWF bouts created expectations this version cannot realistically meet. Hennig attacks the knee, Rick Rude interferes when the referee is distracted, and Bret is forced to wrestle from underneath instead of controlling the pace through technical exchanges.

The work remains sound. Bret sells the leg consistently, Hennig keeps returning to it, and the Sharpshooter finish feels earned when Hart finally creates enough separation to apply it. Hennig submits, giving Bret a clean pay-per-view victory at a point when WCW badly needs to make him feel important. The match lacks the speed and chemistry of their earlier classics, but it is thoughtful, competent wrestling surrounded by much weaker upper-card material.

Scott Hall waited months for the title shot he earned at World War 3, and Sting is only weeks into the championship reign that took more than a year to complete. Those stakes should make the match feel enormous. Instead, Dusty Rhodes repeatedly interferes, the pace stays conservative, and the world championship never becomes the emotional center of the fight.

Sting eventually survives the Outsider's Edge attempt and wins with the Scorpion Death Drop after a brief closing burst. The crowd responds to Sting, but the match is over before it can build beyond the basic nWo formula. Hall's title opportunity disappears without much consequence, while the broadcast remains more interested in Hogan and Savage. The world champion wins cleanly enough, yet somehow feels secondary on his own pay-per-view.

Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage have enough real storyline tension to make the cage useful. Savage is openly rebelling against Hogan's authority, the nWo is cracking, and a locked structure should finally force the two men to settle something. Instead, much of the match consists of repetitive cage shots, slow punching, and long stretches where the crowd has no clear hero.

The finish destroys whatever momentum remains. The Disciple enters, both referees are taken out, Sting descends to help Savage, and Savage suddenly attacks Sting before leaving. The match is declared a no contest despite taking place inside a cage at a pay-per-view called Uncensored. TJR gives it a DUD, while Cagematch rates it among the weakest major WCW matches of the year. The criticism is justified.