So, WCW couldn’t get it done in March with WrestleMania XIV going up against Uncensored 1998. Will the tables turn as WWE Unforgiven 1998 goes up against WCW Spring Stampede?
It’s an In Your House event so you already know what kind of show to expect but maybe WWE actually surprises this time. We’ll see as this show is headlined with Stone scold Steve Austin defending his WWE title against Dude Love!
The Best
The thing I remember most about Triple H vs. Owen Hart for the European title was Chyna being in a cage over the ring to prevent further interference. This bout had a few things going for it.
Again, great match length choice by WWE when you had a young Triple H in action and Owen was a good opponent during this period in The Game’s career. Now, the only problem—and it’s a glaring one—is that even though it was almost 12-and-a-half minutes, it was Triple H-paced.
We’ve seen Triple H really turn on the motor for a match but this was just kind of lethargic. The action itself was fine but the pace was all off for these two.
We looked at the Undertaker vs. Kane inferno match separately some time ago. The action was fine as this was Taker and Kane and they typically worked well against each other. What didn’t work here was that the inferno match didn’t really live up to the hype. It was an impressive image in 1998 but now it’s pretty meh.
Suspension of disbelief was at an all-time high during the Attitude Era. When I look at this match now, it makes me wonder what exactly did I expect: WWE to burn a guy alive on PPV? Overall, it was a fine match between the two and you kind of needed either higher stakes or higher danger if you’re going to run a match back the following month.
The only match that actually lived up to expectations—well, high expectations—was the main event. Foley had proven he could play any character and as long as he delivers a wild ass, buck wild match, fans will care.
Austin was white-hot at the time and while the Dude Love persona seemed like an odd opponent, WWE did everything right here. These two simply worked extremely well together and the booking leading to this match was engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
The Rest
Our opener is a six-man tag with the recently booted ex-leader of The Nation of Domination Faarooq teaming up with Ken Shamrock against The Nation’s team of The Rock, D’Lo Brown, and Mark Henry. It isn’t entirely random as both Faarooq and Shamrock have beef with The Nation.
Blackman was presented as an ally to Shamrock which is why he’s there. The Nation’s team—besides The Rock—wouldn’t really start to shine until later on and their performance in this match was…I’d say it was mid. It was also a bit lengthy and just felt like a match that could’ve been on TV.
Keeping the progression of the card, having the NWA World Tag Team title defending in 1998 in North Carolina seems like some odd fantasy booking but it happened as The New Midnight Express of “Bodacious” Bart Gunn and “Bombastic” Bob Holly defended against The Rock N Roll Express.
The crowd was with this match here and there but not throughout, really. It wasn’t a dreadful match at all, it was just…there. Also, the NWA Invasion storyline is just unnecessary. The talent was there as Ricky and Robert could still go in 1998 while Bob Holly was rock solid if unimpressive in the ring but the razzle-dazzle was all on Jim Cornette and Jeff Jarrett.
Ultimately, it was a midcard story that wasn’t worth investing time in as a viewer. We’re going to give the Luna vs. Sable evening gown match a skip-a-rooni.
Oof, the Tag Team title match saw the New Age Outlaws defend their titles against LOD 2000. The Legion of Doom for the 21st century just weren’t as crisp or impressive as they were in the 80s and early 90s. They’re slower in the late 90s and when paired with a 12-minute match, this one just seemed to go on for a while.
When you factor in that while the Outlaws were a sound team, they weren’t a team that was going to drag a team in bad shape or just a trash team into a decent match. This one just wasn’t it, folk.
WWE Unforgiven 1998 Verdict: Bronze Medal (2.2/5)
In Your House PPVs are odd. It’s so rare to have one from this period that was just enjoyable overall. WWE Unforgiven 1998 is no different. Besides the main event and match of the show—Steve Austin vs. Dude Love—most of the bouts were bad while the ones that weren’t bad were just a notch or two past mediocre. I supposed Undertaker vs. Kane’s inferno match will be the runner-up here.
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