[1998-11-02-WWF-Raw] The Rock vs Ken Shamrock

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Vince comes out before the match to announce that if Rock doesn't defeat Shamrock to win the IC title tonight, he won't go to Survivor Series. Very good match with tons of heat, as Rock is getting over big time. Shamrock and Rock had good chemistry and because of the stakes, the crowd is hanging on to every nearfall. I have been pleasantly surprised at how workrate-y Rock-Shamrock matches are. Shamrock grabs a chair after a ref bump but ends up ricocheting and hitting himself. No ref is there to count the fall. Shamrock ends up getting Rock from behind with a chair, so Rock wins the match but by DQ. So it looks like Rock is out.

[soup23]

Good little match between these two and Rock was hugely over. I liked the storyline being played out that even thought The Rock won since he didn't win the title, it didn't look like he would advance on to Survivor Series. Also, kudos for Shamrock not making the chairshot back into the face spot look totally contrived. **3/4

[PeteF3]

Fun match--nothing new under the sun, exactly, but the heat is incredible and it's cool to see these two again with the heel-face dynamics reversed. Shamrock is coming into his own surprisingly well as a heel. Vince's reactions during and after the match are just tremendous, and the direction is really quite good as well.