Survivor Series 1998 - WWE's Deadly Games Tournament, Revisited

With the 2025 Survivor Series drawing ever nearer, it’s only prudent to look back at one of the most legendary events in the show’s history. To be precise, the 12th annual Survivor Series in 1998… where a Deadly Game took place for wrestling’s ultimate prize.

There was ample reason to order the pay-per-view. Of course, it had been one full year since Vince McMahon had screwed Bret Hart out of the WWE Championship prior to The Hitman’s departure for WCW, and the tide of the Monday Night Wars had ultimately turned in WWE’s favour. The Attitude Era was in full swing, Vince had embraced the role of heelish, on-screen authority figure, Mr. McMahon, and his fierce rivalry with Stone Cold Steve Austin (along with the revitalised product) saw WWE now dominating the ratings.

And now, with so many fantastic storylines being juggled so skillfully, it all came to a head at the 1998 Survivor Series. With the vacant WWE Championship up for grabs after months of turmoil, and so many players now determined to triumph in this Deadly Game tournament. But who were the real players? Who were actually just the pawns? And whoever became the new WWE Champion, things would never be the same again.

Leading Into Survivor Series 1998

The WWE Championship had been vacant ever since Breakdown: In Your House (27th September 1998) after then-champion Stone Cold Steve Austin was simultaneously pinned by The Undertaker and Kane in a triple threat match. The title was subsequently vacated following the controversial finish, and The Undertaker and Kane were booked to fight each other for the vacant WWE Title at Judgment Day: In Your House (18th October 1998), with Austin forced to officiate the bout as Special Guest Referee. The Rattlesnake had been ordered by McMahon to either crown the new champion… or face termination.

Austin naturally refused, and counted out both The Undertaker and Kane, declaring himself the winner. Vince fired The Rattlesnake and the WWE Championship was still declared vacant with the Undertaker/Kane bout officially ruled a no-contest. With no other options left, McMahon announced a 14-man tournament would be held at the Survivor Series where it was guaranteed that a new WWE Champion would finally be crowned. It was certainly an exciting and masterful build-up toward the 1998 Survivor Series, and with the playing field now wide open, it opened up a myriad of exciting possibilities for a new WWE Champion.

Austin had been signed to a brand-new contract by Vince’s son, Shane McMahon, and as the former world champion, had entry into the tournament. The Undertaker and Kane (both former WWE Champions themselves) received a bye and automatically advanced into the Quarter-Finals. Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock and European Champion X-Pac were also in the Deadly Game, and both had the opportunity to become a dual champion by winning the WWE Title.

Following his severe knee injury, it was announced that Triple H would also be returning to compete in the tournament. Jeff Jarrett, Al Snow, Goldust and Steven (William) Regal had also secured spots in the tournament. And there were three wild cards that could secure ultimate victory; a “Mystery Opponent”, one who would face Mankind, the new, inaugural Hardcore Champion who had worked hard to endear himself to Mr. McMahon, and thus was favoured to be the new, hand-picked “Corporate Champion”.

To fill out the undercard, Women’s Champion Jacqueline would defend her title against arch-rival Sable, who had endured months of beatdowns, defeats and humiliation to finally get another title opportunity. And the Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws were forced to defend their titles in a triple-threat tag match against The Headbangers and D’Lo Brown & Mark Henry. It truly was a Deadly Game of epic-proportions, and it would all come to a head at Survivor Series 1998.

One-night-only tournaments are always difficult to book in wrestling, particularly those that feature eight competitors or more. The entire tournament must have an overall narrative, with each match playing its part in keeping the audience invested from night’s beginning to the end of the show. The athletes’ welfare must also be taken into consideration, especially if they’re expected to compete more than once. Just as the competitors themselves must be in top shape to deliver in the marathon that lies ahead. Then’s there the non-tournament bouts which must provide a suitable interlude for the audience.

WWE had booked tournaments on pay-per-view before with mixed results. WrestleMania 4 was historic with Macho Man Randy Savage going the distance to win the 14-man tournament to become WWE Champion, but the tournament itself was mostly disappointing with the only real highlight being Savage’s thrilling victory over Ted DiBiase in the finals. In contrast, the 1993 King Of The Ring featured Bret “Hitman” Hart having three incredible matches with Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect and Bam Bam Bigelow to claim the crown in a remarkable marathon of wrestling. But the tournament at Survivor Series 1998 stands above all others in WWE history because of the presentation, the Giant Skull set, the Deadly Game theme (produced by long-time WWE composer Jim Johnston) and, most importantly the booking.

The First Round

To start, Hardcore Champion Mankind arrived, clean-shaven, washed-hair, wearing a tuxedo, all in an attempt to impress Mr. McMahon and his stooges. Many fans had hoped his “Mystery Opponent” would be Shawn Michaels (sadly, it would be another four years before the Heartbreak Kid could return to the ring following his severe back injury). Instead, the Mystery Opponent turned out to be… Duane Gill: perennial jobber from the Golden Era. Gill was given special treatment such as a big introduction from Vince, a TitanTron video of all his losses, and pyro that frightened poor Duane… and it soon became apparent that Vince had chosen the easiest prey imaginable for his hand-picked champion.

Mankind’s thirty-second win over poor Duane may have been just a squash, but it was actually perfect booking. It gave the impression that Mankind would have the easiest run imaginable in the Deadly Game, but it also made sure Mick Foley could conserve his energy for the night that lay ahead. Al Snow defeated Jeff Jarrett next in a quick, and somewhat forgettable match, but eagle-eyed fans were wondering why Mankind’s friend Mr. Socko was tied around Al Snow’s mannequin Head.

Up next, Stone Cold Steve Austin took on The Big Bossman - McMahon’s personal bodyguard and corporate enforcer - which ended in disqualification, after The Bossman repeatedly hit and injured Austin with his nightstick, raising concerns as to whether Austin would even be able to make it to the next round despite advancing. Afterwards, X-Pac and Steven Regal were both eliminated from the tournament after they wrestled to a double-count, meaning Austin now received an automatic bye into the semi-finals. McMahon went from malevolent satisfaction to irate fury, but there was nothing he could do. The whole turn of events made fans all the more invested in Austin’s journey through hell to become WWE Champion again.

After Ken Shamrock defeated Goldust to take his place in the quarter-finals, The Rock arrived to huge cheers from the St. Louis audience, as he prepared to once again the tear house down with Triple H. Only Triple H didn’t show! Or rather, he hadn’t fully recovered from his knee injury yet, and thus was not even at the Survivor Series. Corporate Stooges, Pat Patterson & Gerald Brisco declared a last-minute replacement for Triple H: The Big Bossman, who had already been eliminated! Bossman rushed the ring, only for The Rock to catch him by surprise with an inside cradle and a shocking pinfall in four seconds! The Rock had once again triumphed over Vince’s obstacles, and the crowd erupted positively as the People’s Champion not only advanced, but made sure he conserved his energy. Like everyone else he still had a long way to go.

So far, the booking of the Deadly Game had been spot-on. In the case of the Mankind and Rock matches, both had scored very quick, decisive wins. It was clear that they were both being booked for the long haul, and their victories in the first-round meant that they could have sufficient rest before coming back out again. As could Austin, who now could have plenty of time to recover without having to worry about the quarter-finals, but would he make it for his next match? And as for the Big Bossman losing twice and Al Snow’s having Mr. Socko tied round Head…well, those were actually mysteries just waiting to be solved.

The Quarter Finals

Unfortunately, the quarter-finals kicked off in disappointing fashion with The Undertaker vs. Kane. Following Kane’s legendary-debut in October 1997, the subsequent feud with Taker had produced epic clashes at WrestleMania and Unforgiven. But by late 1998, the feud had run out of steam, as evidenced by their bad match at Judgment Day. And despite this match only being over seven minutes, it was another bad outing. Thanks to Paul Bearer’s distraction, Taker defeated Kane to take his place in the semi-finals.

However, the remaining quarter-finals made up for this. Mankind engaged Al Snow in a terrific comedy brawl. During the proceedings, Mr. McMahon had revealed to his stooges that he’d stolen Mr. Socko from Mankind and wrapped it round Al Snow’s Head, knowing it would enrage Mankind enough to victory. Sure enough, it had the desired effect when Mick Foley finally found Mr. Socko wrapped round Head. Mick reclaimed his sock puppet and then hilariously beat up the mannequin Head, much to Al Snow’s fury (who retaliated in kind). In the end, Mankind used Mr. Socko to apply the Mandible Claw and defeat Al Snow (who grinned insanely while unconscious!). Mankind’s advancement to the semi-finals was not only splendid entertainment, it was further genius booking of two maniacal characters and their role in the grand scheme of things.

In contrast, The Rock’s quarter-final match with Ken Shamrock benefitted from the two having built-up such a great rivalry over the last year, and here they had a fantastic tussle with lots of drama. The Big Bossman attempted to interfere on behalf of Mr. McMahon and also for revenge on The Rock. Getting on the apron, Bossman threw his nightstick to Shamrock for him to use, but The Rock spectacularly intercepted the nightstick and hit Shamrock behind the referee’s back, thus securing his place in the semi-finals. As exciting as the Rock/Shamrock match had been, it was the amazing finish that truly made this one of the tournament’s best matches, and proof that The Rock was ready to ascend.

The semi-finals were now set, with Austin set to face Mankind, and The Rock preparing to meet The Undertaker. It was an impressive final four indeed, which promised an even more exciting final. Austin vs. The Undertaker? The Undertaker vs. Mankind? Austin vs. The Rock? The Rock vs. Mankind? All exciting prospects indeed between four wrestlers who all had history with each other. But there were even more questions raised regarding Vince’s machinations, such as the seeming incompetence of the Big Bossman. More revelations just waiting to unfold. More plays yet to be made in this Deadly Game.

The Women's Championship

But before the semi-finals took place, an interlude was required in the Women’s Championship match between defending champion Jaqueline and her challenger Sable. Over the last year, Sable had easily become the most popular female star in WWE, and after successful in-ring performances at WrestleMania 14 and SummerSlam 1998, it seemed a smart business decision to put the Women’s Title on Sable at last.

At just over three-minutes long, Sable vs. Jacqueline was a far cry from the high-quality of women’s matches you watch today. Despite Sable being a very capable wrestler, her unwillingness to take bumps and hit the ropes meant opponents like Jacqueline had to do most of the grunt-work. Jacqueline not only sold beautifully for Sable, she also looked a killer throughout delivering vicious kicks to Sable’s abdomen. Nonetheless, the bout was booked perfectly to hide Sable’s weaknesses and the end-result of Sable finally winning the Women’s Championship was the perfect culmination of months of hell her character had endured. A popular result indeed, with Shane McMahon serving as the impartial ref for this contest. Unlike his father, Shane seemed like a McMahon who actually had integrity and human decency.

The Semi Finals

The Deadly Game tournament resumed with the first semi-final, as Steve Austin and Mick Foley once again tore the house down on pay-per-view. Worthy of the epic Stone Cold/Dude Love matches earlier in 1998 (most famously Over The Edge), Austin/Mankind at Survivor Series was a furious, wicked brawl that saw The Rattlesnake literally beat Mankind out of his tuxedo. Despite the injuries he’d sustained earlier in the first-round, Stone Cold was not going to let anything prevent him get back on top. But with Austin now dangerously close to the finals, the wheelchair-bound Mr. McMahon (who’d suffered a broken ankle since October) made his way down to ringside, flanked by Patterson, Brisco and Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter.

When Austin nailed the Stone Cold Stunner on Mankind, Mr. McMahon made his move, leaping out of his wheelchair to pull referee Mike Chioda out of the ring and punch him out. Mankind caught Austin with the Mandible Claw, but Austin quickly countered with another Stunner. The Rattlesnake’s place in the finals was assured as honourable referee Shane McMahon ran to the ring to count the one, the two…

And then gave Austin two middle fingers. The livid Rattlesnake realised that Shane had strung him all along for an elaborate Screwjob. This left a vulnerable Austin to a steel-chair shot from Gerald Brisco, and Mankind to cover for the pinfall which Shane quickly counted. With his hand-picked champion now securely in the finals, a fully-healed Vince skipped away with his son and stooges in tow. A limousine awaited backstage to drive McMahon’s entourage to safety, with a furious Austin stealing a truck to chase after his enemies.

Match-wise, Austin vs. Mankind was another fantastic highlight of the whole tournament, but the shocking climax and development of the overall story is what makes it essential. Vince and Shane’s screwjob of Austin was absolute genius, both in planning and execution. Although Shane had only been on WWE television a few weeks at this point in his career, the fact that he’d been established and accepted as a good man made his betrayal of Austin something no one saw coming. Neither had fans anticipated Vince drawing out his wheelchair charade long after his ankle had fully healed. All of this, along with the ultimate fan favourite (Austin) again being screwed out of the WWE Championship again, made fans furious at the McMahons, and all the more convinced that Mankind was now going to be the new champion.

Unfortunately, the other semi-final between The Undertaker and The Rock failed to deliver. Both were visibly spent from having wrestled earlier, and Taker and Rocky have always struggled to click in the ring. The Big Bossman AGAIN got involved to try and prevent The Rock from winning, only to be clobbered by Taker for his troubles. Kane ultimately came out and Chokeslammed The Rock, giving him the disqualification victory over The Deadman as payback for earlier. Taker and Kane continued fighting into the crowd, and the people were happy that their champion was in the finals, at least. As disappointing a night The Undertaker & Kane had had - and as useless a job the Big Bossman was doing - it was all playing out perfectly for the endgame.

The Tag Team Championship

Of course, Mankind and The Rock needed a breather before they were expected to deliver the eagerly anticipated final bout of the Deadly Game tournament, So for the other interlude, The New Age Outlaws defended their Tag Team Championship against The Headbangers and D’Lo Brown & Mark Henry in a triple-threat tag team match. But unlike the Sable/Jacqueline match - which had great booking and build-up - this bout for the Tag Titles was disjointed and lacklustre. The Outlaws were at the height of their popularity, and naturally were the right team to go over. It was just unfortunate that this interlude wasn’t a better match.

The Final: The Rock Vs. Mankind

At last, after two tumultuous months, a new WWE Champion was ready to be crowned. History was going to be made, but the fact that either Mick Foley or Dwayne Johnson were about to become world champion for the first time in their respective careers made the showdown even more exciting. But as the competitors made their way down to the ring, Vince & Shane McMahon were seen talking backstage with The Big Bossman! The McMahons - who had clearly faked their escape and led Stone Cold Steve Austin on a wild goose chase! - thanked the Bossman for all his help, and said that they would handle business regarding the final match. Everyone was clearly in great spirits, everything had seemingly gone to plan…so if the Big Bossman, Shane & Vince had just been staging an elaborate pretence… what ELSE had been a ruse?

These mysteries served to make the Deadly Game finals - and the entire pay-per-view - essential television. However, going into the final bout, Mick Foley was worried. As he wrote in his 1999 autobiography, Have A Nice Day, Mick was physically & mentally spent having already wrestled three times in one night. And so was Dwayne. After the first few lock-ups, the match immediately felt like it would go down the drain and end the Survivor Series on a sour note.

But testament to the greatness of both The Rock and Mankind, they were able to find their groove. And the crowd started to get into it when Vince & Shane walked down to ringside, with the McMahons making it apparent that they didn’t want The Rock to win. Distracted, the Brahma Bull fell prey to Mankind’s assault, and Vince soon made it clear that there would be no disqualifications or count-outs, so as a new champion would definitely be crowned.

The vicious brawl continued in and out of the ring, featuring suplexes on the floor, a barrage of chair-shots, Mankind hitting a leg drop on The Rock on the announce table, and poor Mick once again crashing & burning through the announce table. The match became more and more physical with great near falls towards the end. Mankind eventually applied the Mandible Claw to The Rock, who looked like he would finally fade. But valiantly, The Rock powered out and hit a thunderous Rock Bottom, only to score a very close near-fall.

After battering each other for over seventeen minutes, it seemed like Dwayne and Mick had fought each other to a standstill. Until The Rock got back up and raised the People’s Eyebrow at Vince, who nodded at The Rock. Bizarrely, The Rock then applied a Sharpshooter to Mankind, and Vince furiously demanded the timekeeper to ring the bell immediately! Mankind had not submitted, but the result was official! The Rock was now the new WWE Champion!

A flabbergasted Foley and the bewildered St. Louis audience could only watch in shock and horror as The Rock and The McMahons came together, laughed and hugged in celebration! It had ALL been a massive screw job to facilitate The Rock as the new Corporate Champion! Mankind had just been the ultimate patsy in Vince’s Deadly Game!

Taking the microphone, Vince explained that Vince McMahon didn’t screw the people on this night, but that “The People screwed The People” (paraphrasing what he said about Bret Hart one year earlier following Montreal), and they were all as pathetic and gullible and Mankind. Vince promised to elaborate the next night on Raw, and he also said that the entire McMahon family was proud that Stone Cold Steve Austin had been royally screwed on this night, and congratulated The Rock on his monumental victory and Shane for an ‘Academy Award’ performance.

Poor Mankind was now left to endure a humiliating beatdown, courtesy of The Rock, as the people furiously booed The Brahma Bull and the McMahon family for their deception, and what they’d done to both Mick Foley and Steve Austin. However, fans would get some form of satisfaction as The Rattlesnake returned to deliver a much-deserved beating to the new WWE Champion. The entire landscape of WWE had changed forever once again at the Survivor Series. The Rock and the McMahons had absolutely triumphed in this Deadly Game… and both Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mankind were now out for their blood.

The Legacy Of The Deadly Games Tournament

WWE had clearly learnt from the mistakes that were made when booking the tournament at WrestleMania 4. Although the build-up to WrestleMania 4, the tournament finals themselves, and Randy Savage’s victory were very exciting, the overall tournament itself suffered from too many short or inconsequential matches, the lack of an overall narrative, and the atmosphere of Trump Plaza being somewhat lukewarm.

At Survivor Series 1998, the Deadly Game tournament had a very exciting build-up and impeccable storytelling/booking from start-to-finish. Earlier bouts were very short to enable wrestlers to conserve their stamina, with more time being allocated to later rounds so that they’d feel like a big deal with higher stakes. Granted, Survivor Series 1998 was much more about the overall narrative of the Deadly Games as opposed to the matches themselves. Most of these tournament matches are forgettable, but bouts like Austin/Mankind, Rock/Shamrock and Mankind/Rock are absolutely thrilling. The Mankind/Al Snow match also deserves flowers for providing great comedy. And really, all the bouts felt like facets of a well-oiled, intricate machine.

Fans & critics can, will & should say what they want about Vince Russo (I certainly have many times), but Survivor Series 1998 is an example of what a brilliant writer/booker Russo could be on his best day. From start-to-finish, this Survivor Series is perfectly booked with plot twists and swerves that no one saw coming. The fact that the show subverted all exceptions is something that Russo can forever be proud of. And the way that WWE (and Vince McMahon) took the previous year’s real-life Montreal Screwjob and utilised it to further endear fans to both Steve Austin and Mick Foley was one of the most brilliant and creative finishes to a wrestling show in 1998.

In the long-term, Survivor Series 1998 created so many directions for WWE programming over the next several months. With Austin more determined than ever to get even with McMahon and The Rock, the plan for Austin/Rock in the main-event at WrestleMania 15 was now well underway. But until then, The Rock could now enjoy his time in the spotlight, as could Mankind. The Deadly Game had also successfully created two brand-new main-event stars for WWE audiences to tune-in to, and fans had now fully embraced the idea of Dwayne Johnson and Mick Foley being world champions. Both of whom had proven so with their marathon performances on this night, and the epic matches between Rocky and Mankind for the WWE Title over the next few months would be a key factor in cementing WWE’s dominance over WCW once and for all.

The overwhelming success of the Deadly Game tournament - plus the smart-booking behind Sable finally becoming Women’s Champion - all made Survivor Series 1998 a massive pay-off. The show did 478,000 buys; nearly double the rate from the previous year in Montreal. There may have been some poor misses here and there (such as the Tag Title match, Shamrock/Goldust and The Undertaker’s bouts with Kane and The Rock), but the reason why Survivor Series 1998 holds up so well today is because the booking was exemplary. Not only is the Deadly Game perhaps the best booked tournament in WWE history, it’s a footnote in history. Amazing for everything it achieved.

Thanks for reading!