Undertaker VS Stone Cold Steve Austin - Summerslam 1998

[Lancer]

What is the big deal about this match?

I have always heard it was one of the best matches of either man. Well, I just got done watching the "Greatest Superstars of the 90's" DVD and this one was on there...it was during the height of Austin's popularity, he even had the Smoking Skull WWF Title belt. There were the usual Attitude Era match elements: a brawl, venturing out into the crowd, and outside interference (although Kane came out and just stood there, until Taker told him to go to the back).

In my opinion, it was a really sloppy match. Both men looked gassed not even three minutes into it. Austin botched a Stunner. Taker really botched a chokeslam, I mean really bad. At one point, the two were exchanging punches and Austin just fell on his ass without any evidence as to why. JR and Lawler covered it up by saying the two had bumped heads, although it was hard to see if they actually had.

Then there was the Taker legdrop into Austin through the announce table, essentially the main spot this match is remembered for. Taker clearly overshoots it, and you can see Austin moving pretty far across the announce table in order to compensate. The two pretty much just slide off the table as it never fully collapses.

Then Austin hits a half-ass Stunner to end it. And Taker pretty much pops right back up after the bell is rung and hands him the belt. Weird ending also.

So what garners this match the praise I have often heard throughout the years? In my opinion, the whole bout was sloppy and it seemed like Austin and Taker never clicked. Is this match really a classic? And why...or why not?

 

[Supersayin]

Like you said, the match sucked. The one big moment of the match was when Undertaker put Austin through the annnounce table. If people will remember SS 98, its for one thing only and that is The Rock finally earning the crowds respect. When he put HHH on the ladder to do the Peoples Elbow, MSG was going FU**** NUTS. It was the birth of the chant "ROCKY ROCKY ROCKY ROCKY ROCKY" that made Summerslam 98 special, everything else was SHIT.

 

[avi01]

It wasn`t great...nothing groundbreaking except the legdrop. They`ve had much better matches afterwards. I don`t know why it is considered by some as their best match together..it certainly wasn`t. On paper tho, it was something huge.....important match for the fued.

nah the main event of summerslam 98 should of been the rock vs triple H latter math for the IC title

no way. Yes the IC title match was by far the best match of the night but hey hierarchy.

 

[Felderino]

Don't know who said this was one of the best matches either man had, but there is a legit reason why the match seemed sloppy as the OP put it.

Now I only know this because of KB'S excellent history of summerslam thread, and I implore everyone to read all his PPV history threads. So anyway according to KB, UT & SCSA have an accidental clash of heads early on in the match which resulted in SCSA breaking his jaw which is obviously going to affect the flow and quality of the match.

Hope this helps explain why the match wasn't as good as it should have been.

 

[ronthony717]

What made the match in my opinion was the video promoting the fued/match.. With ac/dc's song high way to hell was used.. I think that video was the best ever and really made the anticipation for this match very high.. I watch that video on youtube all the time lol

 

[therealicon86]

well i have 87 dvds and the actual dvd of summerslam 98 and greatest superstars of the 90's and i will say that was nowhere near austin's best match of the 90's and i still will say that his match with bret hart at mania 13 was his best only to be followed by his match with hbk at mania 14 and if the wwe put that match with undertaker at summerslam 98 as his best match of the 90's then that is really sayin what vince thinks of austin.

think about it men, on the legacy of stone cold dvd that match is nowhere on there but as one of the greatest superstars of the 90's he gets that match to describe him ? come on i think it was a slap in austin's face thats what i think.

 

[X]

Odd, I've never heard this referred to as one of either man's best matches Hank, not sure where you've been hearing that. This match has a really soft spot in my heart though because Summerslam 1998 is one of my favorite pay per views ever, mainly because that was at my height of loving wrestling as a kid and that was one of the very first PPVs I ever convinced my mother to order for me. As a diehard Austin fan, that match delivered and than some back then, and when I've watched it again over the years, it remains a solid match IMO. Nothing spectacular that would define either man's career, but I'd rate it at the very least about ***1/2 stars out of *****, if not more. It's a sloppy brawl, yes, but sometimes that's all you want out of a match, and as a pure brawl this match delivered big time I thought. The leg drop spot is one of my favorite of the 90s, the image of 'Taker just flying through the air and through the table on a blazing hot summer night in 1998 is one that will stick with me forever as a wrestling fan.

I don't think I'd call it one of the best of either man's career though, not at all. Their First Blood Match at Fully Loaded 1999 was definitely better, and is probably one of the best Attitude Era-styled brawls that ever took place.

 

[RatedRSuperstar]

I'm not saying their match at SummerSlam was bad..but they've had better matches.. examples: Their First blood match at fully loaded in 1999...and their Judgment Day 2001 Match was pretty good as well..

 

[jayteeERA]

Hey I loved this match. It wasn't the best Austin match or the best Taker match. I loved it so much cause of the feud I suppose. I say Taker was the one who gets credit for that leg drop on the announce table. After that match Taker became a heel, which was his best heel run of all time. Only thing Austin got was a win and moved on. Still it was a good match.

 

[The Sh4dy Legend Killer]

i forgot this match even took place ....i remember this ppv for two things ....the lader match and kane hididng in the dumpster to attack mankind who was his partner defending the belts what the fuck lmao .... oh didnt double j lose his blonde locks in this match lmao

 

[ashe draven]

i remember this match & was highly disappointed. the match had such buildup & was slop w/ a horrible finish. didnt know about austin breaking his jaw. i totally agree check out KB's ppv rehashes. havent checked out his SS but his WM was platinum. anyways. this match had premium buildup as u could have but was lackluster imho.

 

[Daly1888]

I actually enjoyed this match even though Undertaker lost, at the time i was a huge Undertaker fan and i still am to this day, so i was gutted at the time when Austin won, but i was only 13 at the time and i went into school gutted the following day as my friend was a mad Austin fan, i always hated Austin lol, Anyway this match for me was done to make Austin look even stronger as this was the 1st time Steve Austin pinned the Undertaker in a one on one match.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

Taker's entrance is sweet, and the reception for Austin is really good. Anytime you get all of MSG behind you...you know you are REALLY over. For the match itself...it's not that great. The buildup was forgettable, and the storyline left much to be desired. It was more of a sub-feud to the McMahon-Austin feud, which pales in quality to the later Rock-Austin feud. As for the action itself...I can't recall anything of particular value...making this hardly one of their best matches.

 

[Daly1888]

This buildup was to get Taker over again as a heel, as the satanic deadman arrived just a few months later.

 

[King Douche]

The promos were good, but just like most of the matches in the attitude era it was lack luster. I mean it was an overrated match, which was really an average at best match. WWE superstars need to be more like japanease superstars, more in shape, how can you be gased 3 minute into the match? Come on man!

 

[mrarmageddon]

Russo says he fought with McMahon for whole week leading upto the PPV. Says at one point it got to the stage where he was shouting at McMahon "This whole thing is horrible". The build up had been so good but Austin and Taker wanted to have a belt hand over/beer drinking as they were good friends in real life.

Vince as he often does went with what the top talent wanted rather than writers, hence why the match was so anti-climactic. It should've been more intense with no friends whatsoever.

 

[EStreet]

This was the match and feud that really got me into wrestling. Agree that the match was not as great as it could have been but they had some good matches at other events, I saw the First Blood Match mentioned. I loved the hype and build up..in my opinion this was great storytelling and made the match compelling even without it having ultra good spots, as fans we were engaged. I was a kid and remember this being a ppv that really got me hooked on WWF ... I always thought Austin suffered from pulling off stops, many botched stunners by both him and his opponents at time

 

[Lancer]

Don't know who said this was one of the best matches either man had, but there is a legit reason why the match seemed sloppy as the OP put it.

Now I only know this because of KB'S excellent history of summerslam thread, and I implore everyone to read all his PPV history threads. So anyway according to KB, UT & SCSA have an accidental clash of heads early on in the match which resulted in SCSA breaking his jaw which is obviously going to affect the flow and quality of the match.

Hope this helps explain why the match wasn't as good as it should have been.

Yeah, that might explain the part I described as "Austin falling on his ass for no apparent reason." The two were exchanging punches, and from the camera angle, it was hard to discern what really happened. Never knew that, if that's the case. And yes I have perused KB's thread...but not that in depth apparently.

Odd, I've never heard this referred to as one of either man's best matches Hank, not sure where you've been hearing that.

I have just heard through the years from all my my diehard wrestling fan friends, and even from casual fans, about how this match was so awesome. Perhaps it has to do with the legdrop, or maybe it has something to do with Austin and Taker being Texas celebrities...those two are regarded as legends down here, even with fans who haven't watched since the Attitude Era.

Taker's entrance is sweet, and the reception for Austin is really good.

Yes, I have to admit, Taker has the goth-metal music here, which was simply awesome. And Austin had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

 

[Batman]

I liked it, and I think the reason it gets a high rating is because of the fued itself. The fued between the two was like 4 months long and was very well done that concluded with a very good match that ended it( atleast that part of the fued) very well.