On this week’s New to Wrestling, we’re diving into the January 19, 1998 episode of Raw is War—a post-Rumble fever dream packed with betrayal, barbecues, and bald accusations.

Paul Bearer gaslights us all (again), DX gets campy with some cosplay, and Mike Tyson shows up with everyone he’s ever met just to get flipped off by Stone Cold. Meanwhile, Kelsey mourns Kane’s villain turn, Xavier stans Chainsaw Charlie, and we both try to figure out what the hell those girls were doing sitting quietly in a hearse.

Here’s the stacked match card:

• DOA (Chains, 8-Ball & Skull) vs. Nation of Domination (Farooq, Kama Mustafa & D’Lo Brown)
• Marc Mero (with Sable & a boxing robe) vs. Tom Brandi (who we guess is Italian now?)
• The Quebecers vs. Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie
• Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. Blackjack Bradshaw for the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship
• Owen Hart, Taka Michinoku & The Headbangers vs. Los Boricuas
• The Rock (c) vs. Ahmed Johnson for the Intercontinental Championship
• New Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Godwins for the WWF Tag Team Titles

Also featuring:

• A DX/Undertaker segment so unhinged it involves sala
• And the chaotic, era-defining Tyson/Austin confrontation that changed wrestling forever

We laughed, we yelled, we screamed “not the bald!” more than once. Tap in.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:27 Intro
• 4:44 We Went To AEW Dynasty
• 8:33 Cold Open Discussion
• 12:33 Kelsey's Frustration and Hope
• 16:23 Wrestler's Heel Turn Discussion
• 20:52 Wrestling Match Dynamics
• 29:41 Television and Wrestling Segment
• 32:58 Marc Miro's Insecurities
• 37:42 DX Investigates Hearse
• 41:32 Mike Tyson's Entourage and Quebecers' Return
• 46:58 Terry Funk's Match Antics
• 50:27 NWA North American Heavyweight Championship Match
• 55:18 DX Backstage Segment
• 58:23 Iconic DX Segment
• 1:02:18 Triple H's Space Mountain Comment
• 1:06:41 Eight-man Tag Match Discussion
• 1:11:13 Main Event Setup
• 1:15:01 The Mike Tyson Segment
• 1:18:17 Chaos with Mike Tyson's Team
• 1:22:31 Outro

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!