The Year in PPV- 1998, Part II

1998 continues with some of the most definitive matches of the Attitude Era...


5. Over the Edge: In Your House

The match for the WWF Championship between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dude Love is often looked at as the prototype for how many Attitude Era matches were executed in match structure, pacing, and of course being overbooked. This match is near perfection in storytelling. We have Mr. McMahon serving as guest referee, Pat Patterson ringside as guest ring announcer, and Gerald Brisco ringside as guest timekeeper, all there to make sure Austin did not walk away with the belt. Austin had an equalizer in the Undertaker who made his way to the ring before the match began to serve as the guest enforcer. From there, it's an all out war between Austin and Dude Love to see who would leave the arena with the strap. There's blood, there's brawling around the arena, there's bodies going through the announcers' tables. It's a thrilling main event that had fans on the edge of their seats and is one of the most defining matches of the year and of the era.

Outside of the Austin/Dude Love match, the rest of the show is pretty forgettable. There are a few matches that have a solid concept behind them, like D-Generation X (Triple H, Billy Gunn, and the Road Dog) facing off against the Nation of Domination (Owen Hart, D'Lo Brown, and Kama Mustafa), or The Rock defending his Intercontinental Championship against Faarooq in a match that could bring closure to their rivalry, yet even these matches don't stay in the annals of WWE history among fans. Is the problem with the Austin/Dude Love match that it was so anticipated and remembered that it completely overshadows the card? That's a consequence I'm willing to accept as long as it means I can continue to watch that epic match as many times as I'd like.

Mild Recommendation


6. King of the Ring

After seeing some great King of the Ring PPVs that focused on the actual tournament, I'm not the biggest fan of how the show was formatted these last few years where only the semi-final and final round matches are featured. 1998 serves as a minor exception but not because of the actual King of the Ring tournament. Sure the semi-finals give us two MMA style fighters (Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn) and two superstars that would be considered entertainers (Jeff Jarrett and The Rock) to give two distinct types of a potential winner. Looking at the names, it's pretty obvious which two were going to make it to the finals, which I actually find disappointing because I like a few surprises thrown my way, which would further my statement of why I enjoy having more of the tournament on the card.

The show has two very memorable main events, with the show's actual main event being Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kane in a First Blood match for the WWF Championship. That match itself is just alright, mainly remembered for some historical importance and of course the continuing rivalry between Austin and Mr. McMahon, but there's one match on this card that changed the history of wrestling forever. The Hell in a Cell match with Mankind and the Undertaker is a match that every wrestling fan should see once, but don't be expecting a five star classic. Admittedly, this match is pretty sloppy towards the second half, but it's those two really big spots (you'll know them when you see them) and Mick Foley's never say die attitude that make this match the classic it is.

Mild Recommendation


7. Fully Loaded: In Your House

Once again we have a show where the first half is all filler and the strength of the main events carry it forward. For sheer shock value, they have an infamous bikini contest involving Sable and Jacqueline, complete with Jerry Lawler on epic perverted commentary as the master of ceremonies. We have some mystery surrounding the main event for the WWF Tag Team Championships on whether or not the Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin will be able to function as a team and take the belts from Kane and Mankind. And for a unique match type, we have Ken Shamrock face Owen Hart in the infamous Hart family Dungeon with Dan Severn as guest referee. All of these are fun matches but there's an overall spark that's lacking on making this show stand out.

The best match on the card is the 2 out of 3 falls match for the Intercontinental Championship. Before they were clashing over the WWF title in 2000, The Rock and Triple H were young leaders in the middle of an epic gang war between the Nation of Domination and D-Generation X. This match is not their greatest encounter in this feud (we'll save that for the next show), but it is certainly worth a look to see the efforts these future megastars to break through the glass ceiling. The match has excellent storytelling over how much they wanted to defeat the other and win the Intercontinental Championship. The only downside to the match is that it should have been for both the Intercontinental and European Championships. On the build up to this show, Triple H lost the European title to D'Lo Brown thanks to The Rock. This match could've been much more epic had it been a unification match.

Mild Recommendation


8. SummerSlam

During a big boom in the Attitude Era like this, the WWF needed to delivery with a great SummerSlam, and that's just what they did. No surprise, it's in Madison Square Garden, and once you look at the card it's pretty easy to see why so many enjoy this show. This show has a lot of variety, from a European Championship match (D'Lo Brown vs. Val Venis), to a 4-on-3 handicap match (Kaientai vs. the Oddities), to a hair vs hair match (X-Pac vs. Jeff Jarrett), to Edge's PPV debut (teaming with Sable against Marc Mero and Jacqueline), to a UFC inspired Lion's Den match (Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart), and a handicap no disqualification match for the Tag Team Championships (Mankind vs. the New Age Outlaws).

Then things really start to heat up with a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. This is referred to as the match that launched The Rock and Triple H as the future of the company and it's easy to see why. These guys go above and beyond to keep the crowd entertained and it's a fitting way to bring their rivalry to a close (at least for the time being). Then, it was time for an epic main event, where all you needed to sell the match was to say: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. the Undertaker for the WWF Championship. While it is no technical masterpiece, the crowd is invested all the way through, and the match actually puts the underlying connections to the Austin/McMahon feud to the side. It wasn't about that on this evening. It was just about two of sports entertainment's biggest icons clashing for the richest prize in the business, and they did not disappoint.

Highly Recommended


Thoughts: I'm surprised to say this, but the MVP of this section of PPVs is Mick Foley. He found himself involved in epic matches with Austin, Taker, and teaming with Kane that all showed him put his body on the line to make the fans happy. Also, Rock and Triple H put on solid performances in their feud, and of course, the Austin and McMahon rivalry was the most must-see moments during this time, so it's easy to see where the appeal was with the main event players. However, majority of the shows are crammed with forgettable midcard filler. The crowd is still fully invested in the midcard wrestlers, but it can't cover up the fact that those matches haven't aged the greatest in long-term history. But did the WWF have to rely on solely the main eventers to finish off the year strong.

Concluded in Part III...


All rights and images are copyrighted and owned by World Wrestling Entertainment