From the Bowery: WrestleMania XIV
Posted by Robert Leighty Jr. on 06.16.2009
Really, there's only one thing to say about this show: The Austin Era has begun!
From the Bowery: WrestleMania XIV
-March 29, 1998
-Boston, MA
-Before we get to the show, I just want to mention one thing: Your 2009 Stanley Cup Champions: The Pittsburgh Penguins. Now on to the review.
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
15 Team Battle Royal
-The Legion of Doom makes their return after getting destroyed by the Outlaws. They are the only team to get a proper entrance in this thing, and they debut a new look, and new manager (Sunny). Honestly, is there are way the LOD won’t win this thing? Our 15 teams are: LOD 2000, The New Midnight Express (Bombastic Bob and Bodacious Bart), Los Boricuas I and II, The Truth Commission (Recon and Sniper), The Nation of Domination I and II, The Quebecers, The Rock N Roll Express, The Headbangers, Too Much (Too Cool before becoming Too Cool), D.O.A, The Godwins, and the devastating team of Steve Blackman and Flash Funk. The only thing going for this chaotic mess is that the LOD are massively over and Sunny looks fantastic. Warrior Princess Sunny was pretty damn hot! The rules are that once one man is tossed over the top rope, his partner also has to leave that match. Savio Vega was the first person tossed, so Boricuas I or II depending on how you scoring at home were the first team eliminated. Barry Windham runs down to toss out Chainz because he was partners with Bradshaw for some reason. Nobody comes between a cowboy and his partner I guess. Things continue to thin out as more teams get bounced with each passing second. Ross and Lawler can’t even keep up with the eliminations. The Final Four teams are LOD 2000, DOA, The Godwins, and the New Midnight Express. Ross informs us the winning team gets a tag title match at Unforgiven next month. Members of the DOA and the Godwins both get tossed, and we have out final two teams. The Godwins don’t go quietly though as they blast the LOD with the slop buckets. The Midnights try to toss Hawk, but he is having none of that. Animal makes the save, and the Midnights are toast at 8:21.
Winners: The Legion of Doom at 8:21
-You standard battle royal minus any drama as to who the winners would be. It did pop the crowd, but LOD 2000 didn’t go anywhere in the long run.
-Taka won the Title in the finals off a tournament back in December by pinning Brian Christopher. Jim Ross tries his best here to come off as an expert like Mike Tenay was in WCW at the time, but it just doesn’t work. Much like the entire Division didn’t work in the WWF because Vince didn’t know how to utilize it. That’s one thing you can put in the win column for Bischoff over McMahon. The action spills to the floor, and Aguila hits a moonsault press from the top rope. Taka escapes a suplex and dropkicks Aguila to the floor. He follows with the top rope springboard splash. Sweet! He continues the onslaught with a seated dropkick to the back of the heat, and then another one to the chest. Taka heads up top again, but Aguila scales the ropes and hits an arm drag. Back to the floor for Taka, and Aguila hits a twisting corkscrew plancha (as called by JR) over the top rope to the floor. No selling of any moves though as Taka casually heads back to the top rope, but misses a moonsault. Aguila hits one of his own for a two count. Taka gets placed on the top and Aguila springs off the rope to get a head scissors. Taka counters a rana into a powerbomb, but Aguila just shakes that off. He heads up top, but Taka meets him on the way down with a dropkick. The Michinoku Driver finishes things at 5:53.
Winner and Still LH Champion: Taka Michinoku via pin at 5:53
-The crowd was only into the spots and that’s what these two gave them. WCW would routinely give their CW between 12-18 minutes, and the crowd would buy into more than just the spots. Here it was 6 minutes to fire off as many high flying moves you can, story be damned. **1/2
-In a famous segment The Rock is interviewed by Gennifer Flowers backstage. The Rock was finding his identity at this point, and this interview just proved how awesome this guy was getting. Just Funny stuff from the Rock here!
-This continued Owen’s war with D-X after the fall out of Montreal back in November. Sadly, Owen never got the blow-off with Shawn, and had to settle for putting Triple H over instead. Sgt. Slaughter will be handcuffed to Chyna at ringside to keep her neutralized. A better way would be to keep her away from ringside, but that’s just me. Owen is selling an ankle injury that cost him the title a few weeks earlier on RAW. A pissed off Owen blitzes HHH to start, and controls with right hands. Ross makes sure to mention that Owen defeated his brother at WrestleMania X. I guess that’s fair game now since Bret is on the other side of the Monday Night War at this point. Chyna tries to get involved, but she can’t get any traction with Slaughter cuffed to her. Owen counters a Thesz Press into a sharpshooter, but HHH counters with a rake to the eyes. A knee to the face puts HHH in control and he follows that with a clothesline. JR mentions Earl Hebnar is in the ICU unit, and wishes him a speedy recovery. A suplex from HHH and Owen is so awesome that he sells the injured ankle by protecting it as he lands from the suplex. Great attention to detail there from Owen. The crowd starts a huge Owen chant, but a DDT kills any of his momentum. HHH finally focuses on the injured ankle. Why did it take him five minutes to go for the injured ankle? HHH works the ankle while Owen screams. The crowd tries to rally Owen, but it does no good as HHH continues to abuse the injured ankle. He finally gets the advantage by ramming HHH’s balls into the ring post. +1000 for effectiveness there. A powerslam gets a two count, and a spin wheel kick gets another one. HHH staggers into an enziguiri, but it leaves Owen down as well because of the ankle injury. Nice! Owen tries for a rana, but HHH must have watched the previous match as he counters with a powerbomb for two. The brawl on the top rope, and Owen is able to get a crossbody for a two count. Owen counters the pedigree to the sharpshooter, but HHH kicks off. Owen falls out of the corner and lands on HHH’s balls. The go through another sequence where the pedigree is countered, and this time the sharpshooter is locked in by Owen to a huge pop. Chyna is able to push the ropes forward and HHH is able to grab them to break. Chyna fires powder into the eyes of Slaughter and gives Owen a low-blow. The Pedigree finishes at 11:27.
Winner and Still European Champion: Triple H via pin at 11:27
-Chyna was more over than HHH in this match, and the fans would have probably enjoyed Owen vs. Chyna more. Still, this was a perfectly acceptable match. They told a decent story with the injured ankle, and Owen sold the thing beautifully. **3/4
Marc Mero and Sable vs. Goldust and Luna
-Mero tried to upstage Sable by getting Goldust to help him. Luna came along for the ride and she took things a little too far by attacking Sable. Mero still resented Sable, but he was here to defend her from the physical attacks of Luna. Thus we get the 3rd mixed tag match in WrestleMania history. The previous two had a link to this mixed tag match. Goldust’s father appeared in the first one, and Luna appeared in the second one. The men start things as Mero snaps off a head scissors. Goldust makes the tag to Luna and the crowd wants Sable. She gets the tag and the chase is on as Luna runs. She makes the tag to Goldust and the crowd is pissed. Back to the men for a bit before they tease Luna/Sable again. It’s a no go as Luna tags right back out to Goldust. Mero gets dropped throat first over the top rope, and Luna gets in a shot from the apron. Mero gets a two count off a crossbody, but sets early on a backdrop and eats a fist. The crowd chants for Sable as they aren’t buying anything from Mero and Goldust. The hot tag is made and Sable goes insane on Luna to a massive reaction. She dominates Luna and even fires off a shot at Goldust. Luna quickly makes the tag back to Goldust so Sable gives him another shot. Mero fires Goldust into the steps and tries a slingshot splash on the way back in, but Goldust gets the knees up. Mero comes back with a low blow, but the TKO is countered to the DDT. The curtain call is countered by Mero with a running knee lift. The springboard moonsault gets a two count for Mero. Back to the top and Mero gets another two count from a top rope hurricanrana. Goldust accidentally nails Luna, and Mero gets a roll-up for two. Mero does get the TKO, but Luna breaks the count. Sable tags herself in, and she covers Goldust. Luna comes off the top, but Sable moves. Sable delivers a pretty good powerbomb for a hot near fall. The crowd was buying that one, and we get another massive Sable chant from the Boston crowd. Luna controls in the corner with some shoulders, but Sable counters a whip into the TKO for the pin at 9:11. In a great character moment, Mero celebrates like he just won the Super Bowl. He does call Sable back into the ring, and raises her hand.
Winners: Marc Mero and Sable via Sable pin on Luna
-This was a fun match, and the crowd was way into Sable. Mero fired off his high spots, and Sable gave the fans what they wanted. Entertaining is an appropriate word for this match. ***
-Tennessee Lee (Colonel Parker of WCW fame) introduces Jeff Jarrett and Gennifer Flowers. Gennifer does the introductions for the IC Title match.
-The Rock was slowly taking over as Leader of the Nation, and that wasn’t setting well with Faarooq. They show the awesome footage from RAW where The Rock absolutely creamed Shamrock in the face with one of the greatest chair shots you will ever see. Just sick stuff. The previous Monday the Rock “accidentally” decked Faarooq with a chair. Shamrock storms the ring and dominates the Rock from the opening bell. A clothesline sends Rock to the floor. The stipulation here is that the Rock can lose the title by DQ. The Rock figures a count-out is good enough and tries to walk, but Shamrock tracks him down. They brawl on the floor and the Rock gets a shot in, but Shamrock quickly regains the advantage by sending the Rock into the stairs. Back in the ring the ass kicking continues as Shamrock bounces the Rock’s head off the canvas. The Rock creates some breathing room by tossing Ken outside the ring. Now Shamrock gets tossed into the stairs. They head back inside the ring, and the Rock gives us the People’s Elbow. A slight pop for the move as it was not yet known as “The People’s Elbow.” Shamrock tosses Rock to the floor, and decides to grab a chair. He tosses the ref out of the way, but it gives the Rock the chance to get the chair. Shamrock eats another sick chair shot, but he is mighty pissed now. A leg lariat drops the Rock and a powerslam gets a two count. Shamrock finishes things rather easily with the ankle lock at 4:50. The other members of the Nation get the shit kicked out of them, and Shamrock applies the ankle lock again. Faarooq comes to help, but he remembers the chair shot, so he tells Rock to stick it. The Rock is bleeding from the mouth as he screams in pain. The officials try to calm Shamrock, but that’s not happening. He drops official after official with suplexes. The Rock is a quivering mass as he gets carted out on a stretcher. We get the announcement that Shamrock was disqualified after the match and the Rock is still the IC Champ. That’s bad news for the Rock as a pissed off Shamrock beats the holy hell out of him in the aisle way. Shamrock leaves to a thunderous pop from the crowd, but not the title. Ken would finally get a clean win over the Rock in the finals of the King of the Ring Tournament in June.
Winner and Still IC Champ: The Rock via DQ at 4:50
-This was basically a Squash, but it was an entertaining one. The ending kept Shamrock strong, and kept the title on the Rock. Not much to the match though. *
-This is a casket match, but with a dumpster. The Outlaws are hugely over even though they are the heels. This was before they became parodies of themselves and their act was still cutting edge and fresh. For his own crazy reasons, Terry Funk wanted to known as Chainsaw Charlie. Jack abuses James on the floor with a running knee against the dumpster. He attempts to toss him in the dumpster, but James counters with a cookie sheet to the face. Jack gets flipped off the apron and splats against the side of the dumpster. Funk gets tossed into the railing and then gets back dropped into the dumpster. In a sick spot, James kills Jack with a Russian leg sweep into the side of the dumpster. Chainsaw makes his way out of the dumpster, but the Outlaws are waiting to slam the lid on his head. Cactus gets the same treatment as the Outlaws alternate between beating each man with the lid. Both men get tossed in the dumpster, but the Outlaws can’t get the lid closed to end the match. Jack lays both out with the Mandible claw. Chainsaw uses the cookie sheet to abuse Gunn, and James gets tossed back into the ring. More mindless brawling as the crowd really isn’t into this match. They finally come alive when Cactus brings a ladder into the match. In a horribly contrived spot Cactus climbs the ladder even though there is nobody for him to drop an elbow on (as he had indicated). Gunn climbs the ladder and they brawl. In a spot that would be lifted for TLC matches, the ladder gets pushed over and Cactus/Gunn got flying through the lids of the dumpster. Just replace the dumpster with a stack of tables and you get the TLC spot. Chainsaw gets powerbombed into the dumpster. The Outlaws brawl to the back with Cactus as the match grinds to a halt. They take time to show up replays of what we saw before we get to the brawl in the back. Cactus uses a chair on the Outlaws and delivers a double arm DDT to Gunn on a forklift. Chainsaw uses the forklift to dump both Outlaws into a dumpster that was sitting backstage. The lids gets closes at 10:01 and we have New Tag Team Champions.
Winners and New WWF Tag Team Champions: Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie at 10:01
-The titles were vacated when the Outlaws lobbied that the dumpster used was not the official dumpster. They would have a rematch for the vacant titles inside a cage that night and that’s when the New DX was born. As for this match, it was a precursor to the Hardcore matches that would be run into the ground. Not nearly as violent or hate filled as one would expect with the participants involved. **
The Undertaker vs. Kane (w/ Paul Bearer)
-Kane debuted at Bad Blood back in October to cost The Undertaker the Hell in a Cell Match with Shawn Michaels. The Undertaker refused to fight his brother until Kane locked him inside and casket and set it on fire. That’s one way to get your brother to fight you I guess. This would be the first of many, many meetings between the two. Pete Rose is your guess ring announcer and takes some cheap shots at the Boston crowd. Ha! Kane becomes the biggest baby face of the night (outside of Austin) by drilling Rose with a tombstone to kick off a running gag that ran for 3 Manias. Taker gets the crowd back on his side rather easily with one of the most epic ring entrances you will ever see. The only thing they didn’t have down yet is these druids show their faces. This just had a big match feel at the time because someone was actually booked on the same level as The Undertaker. In a nice touch to the story, Taker throws the first blow. Kane just takes punch after punch, but won’t go down. Taker charges, but Kane lands a back elbow. It has no effect though as Taker continues to fire away with rights and lefts. A clothesline only annoys Taker as he continues to throw heavy right hands. Kane finally catches Taker on a crossbody attempt and hangs him in the tree of woe. Now Kane controls with some right hands of his own. He whips Taker from one corner to the other, and follows with a running clothesline. Kane hangs Taker on to the top rope with a suplex, and leaps off the top rope to drop a forearm. That sends Taker to the floor, but he crawls back in the ring. They head to the corner and Taker covers as Kane continues to throw heavy blows. The Undertaker leaps onto the shoulders of Kane to deliver some right hands, but Kane casually drops him face first to the mat. Nice power spot there from Kane. They brawl on the floor and Taker eats various objects: the security railing, the post, and the ring steps. Kane abuses Taker with the steps in some pretty painful spots. A kid in the front row uses his foam finger to give Paul Bearer the middle finger. Awesome! I love the irony that they leave that intact, but have to blur out anything with the scratch WWF logo. Bearer gets a few shots in on Taker before the action heads back in the ring. Taker continues to use the rope a dope strategy. Kane says hell with this punching non-sense, and drills Taker with a chokeslam. He makes the heel mistake though of lifting his opponent’s shoulder off the mat to prevent the three count. That’s never a good thing. Things start to drag down as Kane works a chinlock. The crowd tries to rally Taker, but they soon grow tired and go back to sitting on their hands. Taker starts fighting from below and is able to break the hold. He walks right into a stiff clothesline however and Kane stays in control. He goes right back to the chinlock as Ross and Lawler discuss how nobody has ever dominated the Undertaker like this. That has lost significance all these years later after the same thing was said about The Big Show, Khali, etc. Taker breaks and sends Kane to the floor. He follows with his no hands tope, but Kane casually moves, and Taker crashes and burns on the Spanish announce table. Nice! Kane heads to top and delivers the flying clothesline, but it only gets two. The rope a dope strategy continues, and it seems to be working as Kane is losing some steam on his punches. Taker is able to duck a clothesline and sets up for the tombstone, but Kane reverses to his own and it gets a two count. Kane is mighty pissed now, but is out of gas from all the punches he threw. Kane finally gets knocked of his feet with a clothesline and then a chokeslam. Taker kills Kane with the tombstone, but it only gets a count of two much to the shock of the crowd in Boston. A second tombstone follows and again it only gets a count of two. The Undertaker heads up top and hits his top rope clothesline, but Kane sits right back up. A third tombstone barely finishes things at 16:41. This moves the Undertaker to 7-0 at WrestleMania. Paul Bearer gets punched in the mouth, but Kane gets the last word a tombstone on a steel chair.
Winner: The Undertaker via pin at 16:41
-The first of many matches between the two, but this is probably the best of them all. They worked a decent pace, and the rope a dope story added to the match. Taker sold more here than he had in years and it helped put Kane over as a monster heel. **3/4
-Mike Tyson is your special enforcer, and is aligned with DX. They show us both men walking backstage to the entrance ramp much like you would get during Boxing Title bouts or UFC Title bouts. It definitely adds to the big match feel for this contest. Austin gets one of the most massive pops you will ever here outside of a stadium show. The crazy thing is that it more than just a single pop. It’s a sustained roar that just doesn’t die until Shawn is shown on screen. Shawn says this match is “for you Earl (Hebnar).” He also refers to him as his good luck charm. It’s funny how he became that after Montreal. Shawn is coming into this match with a severely fucked up back from a botched spot in the casket match with Taker at the Rumble. Depending on who you believe, some have said Shawn was making this show and dropping the title no matter what condition he was in, while others said Taker had to basically threaten Shawn’s life to get him to drop the strap. I’ll let you, the reader, decide what story to believe. Shawn tries to upstage Austin, so he responds with a double bird. Classic Austin! The early story is that Shawn is using some basic boxing skills taught to him by Tyson. That eventually fails when Austin kills Shawn with a clothesline. He tries to bail, but Austin grabs him by the pants and Michaels shows some ass. A backdrop over the top rope sends him onto HHH and Chyna. That’s kind of a crazy bump for someone with a screwed up back. HHH gets involved and sends Austin into the railing. The ref tosses HHH and Chyna from ringside. For some reason the announcement gets dubbed over by Howard Finkle. The brawl continues by the stage where the DX band performed. Shawn uses a drum cymbal to control, and fires Austin into the side of the dumpster used earlier in the night. The action returns to the ring where Shawn gets caught coming off the top rope. He takes an insane bump in the corner off an Irish whip. An inverted atomic drop from Austin continues the work on the back. For some reason he goes away from the back and tries to work the arm. Michaels gets a little momentum, but a stungun stops that cold. They tease a Stunner, but Shawn bails to the apron. He didn’t get far enough away though as Austin sends him flying off the apron to the announce table. Can’t say Shawn isn’t gone full out even with an injured back. Things slow down as Austin controls in the center of the ring with a reverse chinlock. A jawbreaker gives Michaels some breathing room as he rolls to the floor. Shawn tries to wrap Austin’s knee around the post, but it backfires and it’s Shawn who eats the steel. Austin charges, but Shawn is able to backdrop him over the rail into the front row. A timely bell shot rattles some of Austin’s brain cells. Now Shawn controls with right hands, but you can see on his face that he is in some serious pain. He actually seems pissed off at times because the back is keeping him from doing all he wants to. The crowd starts a “Holyfield” chant to annoy Tyson. Nice! Shawn flips the crowd the double bird, and that only serves to piss off Austin. He unleashes a fury, but gets caught by the post, and the knee finally gets wrapped around the steel. Michaels works the injured knee for a few minutes. He attempts a spinning toe hold, but Austin kicks him off into the post. He falls back into a roll-up, but it only gets two for Austin. He can’t capitalize though due to the injured wheel, so Shawn remains firmly in control. Now Austin hits the floor to create distance, but Shawn drops him with a baseball slide. Tyson finally gets involved as he tosses Austin back into the ring. He tries to stand to confront Tyson, so Shawn casually clips the knee. That’s a classic Flair move, and naturally, Shawn follows that with the figure four. JR is absolutely creaming his pants over this match. Austin is able to roll over to reverse the pressure, and Michaels quickly reaches the ropes. Austin starts to fire away, and catapults Michaels into the top turnbuckle for a two count. Michaels locks in a sleeper to put the crowd back to sleep. That’s just an excuse for the ref to get bumped though as he gets squashed in the corner. Michaels gets caught in the corner, and we get some mud-hole stomping. Michaels ducks a clothesline and hits his patented forearm to leave both men down. We get a kip up from Shawn and you can clearly tell it hurt like hell to do it. The Randy Savage elbow follows, and it’s time to tune up the band. Austin ducks, and goes for the stunner, but Shawn pushes off to try sweet chin music again. Austin catches his boot and spins him around into the stunner. Tyson enters and makes the 3 count to kick off the Austin Era! Shawn is a little pissed to see Tyson sporting an Austin shirt, and confronts him about it. Big mistake there as a short right dims Michael’s lights.
Winner and New WWF Champion: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin via pin at 20:03
-This wasn’t as good as I remembered. Shawn did all he could, but the back really hampered what would have been an all-time classic. The match was slow at portions, and the crowd seemed to be sitting and waiting for the Austin celebration to begin instead of getting invested in the actual match. Still, this combination makes for a suitable match, but check out their King of the Ring match from a year earlier to see what they could do without injuries holding them back. ***1/2
Top 5 WrestleMania Matches (To this Point):
1) IC Title: Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat *****
2) Submission Match: Bret Hart vs Steve Austin *****
3) Career vs Career: Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior *****
4) IC Title: Ladder Match: Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels *****
5) WWF Title: Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage ****3/4
The 411: Nothing on this show is must see, but everything is pretty damned entertaining. The historic value is pretty big as it kicked off the Attitude Era with Austin as the box office draw. The overall event had a big feel to it though after a run where WrestleMania just didn't feel like WrestleMania.
I think you rated the matches & the card overall pretty much spot on, it was a highly entertaining show even if no matches hit the **** mark.
Posted By: jbardo (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 12:33 PM
You grossly underrated the Taker-Kane match. Should have been about 3.5 stars based on the storyline, build up, and ending. This was picture-perfect storytelling during a time when the writing staff had ADD (which would certainly be seen as this feud (and later team) would be run into the ground over the next several years.
And since so many in the IWC love to rate matches by psychology, Austin vs. Michaels should have been 4 stars just based on HBK grimacing through the pain for the entire duration and Austin uneasiness towards Tyson and his role.
Interesting note about the Rock-Shamrock match: this was the 3rd of SEVEN pay-per-view meetings between the two in some fashion in 1998.
-Jan Royal Rumble: Rock vs. Shamrock (IC title match)
-Feb No Way Out of Texas: War of Attrition (Rock /w/ NOD vs. Shamrock, Ahmed, & DOA)
-Mar WM XIV: Rock vs. Shamrock (IC title rematch)
-Apr Unforgiven: Farrooq, Shamrock, and Steve Blackman vs. Rock, D-Lo, Mark Henry
-Jun King of the Ring: Rock vs. Shamrock (finals)
-Sep Breakdown: Rock vs. Shamrock vs. Mankind (#1 contender cage match)
-Nov Survivor Series: Rock vs. Shamrock (quarterfinals)
So the next time people complain about how repetitive matches and feuds are these days, just take a look at this feud during the "heyday", not to mention the other matches repeated ad nauseum during this era.
Posted By: Jason S (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 01:03 PM
So the next time people complain about how repetitive matches and feuds are these days, just take a look at this feud during the "heyday", not to mention the other matches repeated ad nauseum during this era.
Posted By: Jason S (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 01:03 PM
The difference nowadays pal, is that the television isn't a 1/1000th as compelling or entertaining as it was back in those days. So today the same story line gets played out and there is not change...none...triple H and Randy Orton are still fighting over something that happened 5 years ago, and now are having the same exact match that they had 2 years ago...
The current product sucks, and there is no attempt to put on new matches that we enjoy. Edge and Jeff Hardy has been done a million times, but they find ways to keep us entertained. Triple H and Randy Orton just keep doing the same dance. It's like that crappy band that came out with the macaraina, there's no way they'll change.
Posted By: Guest#1004 (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 01:37 PM
I for one loved the main event. Shawn put on a performance most can't even when 100% and should be commended even if it did occur during his Asshole Era.
I really like this WrestleMania. Nothing other than the title match is really that great but it's a hell of a lot of fun. It's the genesis of the Attitude Era to come and, in my opinion, one of the first shows where Jim Ross really began to "own" the PBP role and make it his. Up until this show JR was the number one WWF announcer. After this show JR was the VOICE of the WWF as "Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold!" and "The Austin Era has begun!" became audio milestones.
Hell, from memory I think I can quote the entire final sequence:
"Michaels going for the kick, Austin ducks, Austin going for the stunner, Michaels blocks it. Michaels, another kick, Austin, HE GOT IT! Tyson in! Austin is the champion! STONE COLD! STONE COLD! STONE COLD!"
Posted By: neverAcquiesce (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 02:20 PM
i just watched the Savage/Steamboat match from WM3 last week for the first time. i didnt find it all that impressive but i could see how it would have been great at the time it came out. Since there have have been a bazillion matches since that had alot more high flying stuff, i was somewhat bored watching it.
Posted By: hum (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 03:07 PM
Hum, to really appreciate the Savage-Steamboat match, you had to have been following the build up to the match.
Savage injuring Steamboat with the ring bell, doctors claiming Steamboat's career was over, Savage bragging about it and finally Steamboat's big return.
All the build up over 2-3 months, had the fans itching for the big match.
Now I agree with you that there have been more spectacular matches since then, but the build up to the Savage-Steamboat match really made it special.
Posted By: cbear (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 06:10 PM
good stuff as always. Way to go Pens!
Posted By: Brian (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 09:45 PM
I would love for the Undertaker to write an autobiography, especially when he's done with wrestling/WWE so he can be honest and not have to sanitize anything. I'd like to hear what he has to say about Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels. Would he call Shawn out on his shit? I really don't think 'Taker was crazy about all the pull the Clique had.
Posted By: Zingy (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 10:44 PM
" Since there have have been a bazillion matches since that had alot more high flying stuff, i was somewhat bored watching it."
The point of that match isn't HIGH FLYING though.
Posted By: Guest#8893 (Guest) on June 16, 2009 at 11:04 PM
I would love for the Undertaker to write an autobiography
Agreed, what a great read that would be, imagine the stories.
Posted By: jbardo (Guest) on June 17, 2009 at 07:40 AM
"I would love for the Undertaker to write an autobiography
Agreed, what a great read that would be, imagine the stories."
Never mind that, what about Kane's. From the fire that scarred him, to Katy Vick, to raping Lita...that would be a better book story wise IMO.
In any case, I think the main event was **** considering their injuries and the historic importance of the match. It's one of those matches that I could just watch again and again.
Posted By: Quimby (Guest) on June 18, 2009 at 01:04 PM
"Never mind that, what about Kane's. From the fire that scarred him, to Katy Vick, to raping Lita...that would be a better book story wise IMO."
