During commentary Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler mockingly alluded to a recent technical failure on a PPV event of their rivals WCW, in which the broadcast signal cut out before the event was finished this is likely a reference to Halloween Havoc where the feed was terminated during the DDP-Goldberg match due to the event running over its three hour time limit.
The ending of the main event was a reference of the 1997 Survivor Series (the first of many times the company would intentionally rehash the Montreal Screwjob), with The Rock trapping Mankind in the sharpshooter and Vince McMahon ordering for the bell to be rung, despite the fact that Mankind did not submit.
It was headlined with a tournament for the World Wrestling Federation Championship called The Deadly Game. It was the first tournament held with the WWF Championship on the line in ten years, the last being at WrestleMania IV. Coincidentally, both tournaments were 14-man tournaments instead of the regular 8 or 16-man tournaments.
Vince McMahon mentioned WCW for the first time on WWF TV at this PPV.
First Survivor Series to not feature Bret Hart as a result of Hart departing the WWF due to the Montreal Screwjob the year before.