The Year in PPV- 1998, Part I

Here we have a year that I'm sure many of you have been waiting to hear my thoughts about: 1998. This is one of the most popular years during arguably the most popular era in wrestling history. Look at the stars: you've got Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kane, the Undertaker, Mick Foley, Goldust, Ken Shamrock, and so many more all competing on one roster at a time. That's a big plus for this time period. Are there any drawbacks? Surprisingly, there is one pretty big gripe I have with this era that would put it in the "overrated" category and that's in actual match quality. While there are tons of iconic matches during this era, they are very formulaic and are far from technical masterpieces. But we will get to that when we get to it.

Let's not waste any more time, let's begin looking at the year 1998...


1. Royal Rumble

With the exception of a very bizarre tag team match featuring lucha libre midgets, the Royal Rumble not only kicks off the Road to WrestleMania properly, but also sets the status quo of many aspects of the Attitude Era. A rivalry between Vader and the newly dubbed Artist Formerly Known As Goldust which started near the tail end of '97 came to an end through a thoroughly entertaining opening contest, the Legion of Doom challenge the New Age Outlaws for the Tag Team Championships in what many could consider a dream feud in tag team wrestling, and The Rock defends his Intercontinental Championship against Ken Shamrock. All these matches have a big fight feel and draw great responses from the crowd, but the match many fans were looking forward to was Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker in a Casket match for the WWF Championship. This match is memorable for two reasons. The first is how it ends and the second is that Shawn Michaels suffers his (at the time) career ending back injury by landing on the casket during the match.

Do you remember the gang warfare stables in 1997? Well a lot of that carries into the Royal Rumble match, leaving the match feeling cluttered with too many spots given to the Nation of Domination and the Disciples of Apocalypse. There are a ton of stars in this Rumble though, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Owen Hart, Ken Shamrock, Vader, Goldust, Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love (you read those last three correctly), and many more. Also keep notice of Mike Tyson in the audience, as he will be an integral part in the Road to WrestleMania. He's such a good fan, who cares if he thinks Austin's name is "Cold Stone?" He's having a fun time, and it shows all over the Rumble match in keeping the fans entertained.

Recommended


2. No Way Out of Texas: In Your House

There was usually a filler show sandwiched between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania PPVs for many years called No Way Out. There were tons of occasions where No Way Out surpassed expectations and actually made the show seem crucial to the Road to WrestleMania. This...is not one of those times. I'm not even entirely sure how this could come after a solid Royal Rumble and before one of the most memorable Manias of all-time but it does. No Way Out of Texas really feels like the booking scraps on 1997 because of some of the gimmicks that are used (not sure if the WWF had the Godwinns and the Quebeckers in mind when they were developing the Attitude Era) and it's really off putting when you know what changes will be happening within the year.

The only few matches that matter are the last three. If you're gonna watch any of this show start with the 10-man War of Attrition match, which saw Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson, and the Disciples of Apocalypse (Chainz, Skull, and 8-Ball to be specific) go against the entire Nation of Domination. Then there's the match between Kane and Vader, which is definitely no technical masterpiece but is certainly enjoyable if you appreciate the ring-work of both big men. In what could have saved the entire show, the non-sanctioned 8-man tag team ends up being another misfire on the card. Thanks to his back injury suffered at the Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels was pulled out of the team of Triple H and the New Age Outlaws (in what would've been an amazing tie-in to the next incarnation of D-Generation X) and replaced by Savio Vega (what a waste of a mystery partner). Then they had this team face Stone Cold Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie. This match isn't actually bad, but it's sorely missing the presence of a great in-ring performance from the Heartbreak Kid.

Skip It


3. WrestleMania XIV

Here we have what many consider to be the quintessential WrestleMania for the Attitude Era. What is it about this show is able to resonate with the fans all these years later? Well, I think it's obviously in a lot of the performers used and some of the long-term effects of the matches, but there's also something to be said about the pacing and structure of the show. The show begins with a tag team battle royal What could have originally been a pre-show match is boosted with energy with the arrival (and return) of one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history. Then, this Mania hooks you in with high quality, fast paced action courtesy of the Light Heavyweight Championship match between Taka Michinoku and Aguila.

Once the audience is warmed up, they are sent tons of midcard main events with some of the top tier superstars. Triple H defends the European Championship against Owen Hart in a true gem of a WrestleMania match, a mixed-tag team match sees Sable and Marc Mero battle Luna and the Artist Formerly Known as Goldust, The Rock puts his Intercontinental Championship on the line against a very motivated Ken Shamrock (don't expect this one to be too long), and Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie hope to get revenge on the New Age Outlaws (for pushing them off the RAW stage in a dumpster) by taking their WWF Tag Team Championships in a dumpster match (oh, the irony).

The entire night has been building towards two blockbuster main events. The first one was between the Undertaker and Kane. It was their first time facing each other in a match, which is incredible since the feud had started all the way in the summer of 1997. Nearly 9 months of buildup and the fans FINALLY got to see the pay off and the match actually lives up to the hype. Add onto the fact that we have an iconic celebrity WrestleMania moment involving Pete Rose and Kane. But if we want to talk important celebrity moments, look no further than the main event. The two biggest attitudes in the WWF fought for the company's top prize when Shawn Michaels defended the WWF Championship against Stone Cold Steve Austin. And to make matters even more interesting, Mike Tyson, who aligned himself with D-Generation X, was named the special outside enforcer. The match is not the greatest since Michaels was suffering from his back injury and Austin was still showing signs of his reconstructed neck surgery, but it's still an important match to watch for the passing of the torch moment. Shawn would spend the next four years away from the ring and Stone Cold would reign supreme as "the man," in one of the Attitude Era's top defining moments.

Highly Recommended


4. Unforgiven: In Your House

Off the heels of an amazing WrestleMania, transition into the Attitude Era became much smoother. By the time Unforgiven rolled around, there was so much audience investment in all the acts and makes each match feel important. That's one of the things I really love about the Attitude Era is the fan participation. Not every match was great and not every gimmick was a home run, but the fans made it feel that way. Why do I bring this up? It is through this show that we get the first major PPV appearance of the legendary rivalry between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon. McMahon hated that a man like Austin was walking around with the WWF Championship and representing the company he owns in such a poor way, that he was determined to have anyone else hold the title. Even Dude Love, who returned and turned his back on his former partner Austin all because McMahon is the man who signs his checks. Austin wanted revenge, Dude Love and McMahon wanted the title. What more needs to be said about storytelling?

This show will best be remembered for hosting the first ever Inferno match, a match where the ring is surrounded by fire and in order to win you must set your opponent on fire. What sick superstars would go to such extreme lengths to win a match and actually set someone on fire? You guessed it: Kane and the Undertaker in an attempt to bring their bitter and personal feud (would I dare call their rivalry...heated) to a close. Unforgiven feels a lot like a precursor to Backlash by having many matches be the results of the fallout of WrestleMania, which isn't bad, but a lot of feuds also carry over to the next PPV which in hindsight makes this show feel more transitional than you'd expect.

Mild Recommendation


Initial Thoughts: So the year is off to a pretty good start thanks to some good minor shows and one of the best Manias of all-time. The star power is definitely there and there have been plenty of memorable feuds on display, but I personally haven't been wowed by many matches at this point. Even some of the main events at WrestleMania are good solely on storytelling. The cookie cutter formula of Attitude Era matches will definitely be discussed within the next 2 parts, as for right now the era was just getting established and the types of matches were not the usual yet.

Continued in Part II...


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