WWF SummerSlam

For the third time in its history, SummerSlam returned to Madison Square Garden in 1998. 1998 actually marked the 10th anniversary of SummerSlam, so it was only fitting that the main event would be a battle of two WWE legends. Stone Cold Steve Austin defended his WWE Championship against the Undertaker in the main event in what was deemed the "Highway to Hell." Ultimately, Austin would pin the Undertaker to retain his title. Also at SummerSlam 1999, Triple H defeated The Rock in a brutal ladder match to net his second Intercontinental Championship, and the New Age Outlaws topped Mankind and Kane to nab their third Tag Team Championship.

European Champion D'Lo Brown defeated Val Venis by DQ The Oddities defeated Kaientai X-Pac pinned Jeff Jarrett in a Hair vs. Hair Match Edge & Sable defeated Marc Mero & Jacqueline Ken Shamrock defeated Owen Hart in a Lion's Den Match New Age Outlaws defeated Mankind & Kane to win the Tag Team Championship Triple H defeated The Rock in a Ladder Match to win the Intercontinental Title WWE Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin pinned Undertaker

Overall Mark: B-

That event had great matches especially Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker. I don't know if it's just me but the Crowd at Madison Square Garden that night didn't seem as active as most crowds instead of cheering for some of the moves they clapped very odd compared to the rest of the Crowds for wwf.

A strong looking card . Better on paper good match ups and strong storylines. Have to say it lacked something. I don't know was it crowd was low energy, for me something didn't work. All night long failed to capture my attention like I felt these matches would. Was like drinking coke tastes like coke looks like coke just a little flat. Mankind defending the tag team titles alone Double JJ & Xpac have there hair on the line. Sable new partner being Edge was a highlight facing Mero & Jacqueline. Triple H v The Rock Intercontinental title . Stone cold Steve Austin and the undertaker for the title.

By this point in WWE history, that had re-built from the disastrous mid-90s and put together a talented roster filled with innovative angles. As such, an event like SummerSlam 1998 isn't going to be horrible. For whatever reason, though, the event does seem to fall a bit flatter than those around it.

A few thoughts...

-A new character like Val Venis (basically riffing on a porn star trope) shows just how far into the "Attitude Era" the company really is at this point. -Shamrock vs Owen Hart in the Lion's Den is certainly innovative, but such a clear jab at UFC that was probably un-necessary. -Mankind vs. New Age Outlaws is fun to watch, especially with Foley taking that character to new levels seemingly with every PPV at this point. -The Ladder Match between Rock & Triple H doesn't have a ton of "pop" to it. I'm not sure if this because it is pretty straightforward or because the ladder concept was losing a little steam (I would guess the latter). Maybe it would take TLC matches to rev up that engine again. -Austin vs. Undertaker is a perfectly acceptable finale, but one featuring an angle that really has no "future" in it. This is one of those scenarios where the two "top dogs" are matched up against each other, put on a decent show, and then go their separate ways again.

So, while featuring a solid talent roster, SummerSlam '98 is a bit of a step backward in terms of overall entertainment factor.

This is one of my very favorite shows WWF/E has put on. Forgive me, I haven't watched this in almost 2 years, so my memory may be a bit fuzzy.

European Championship - Probably my favorite opening match of all time, D-Lo Brown VS Val Venis was far better (and longer!) than I could have possibly hoped for. Two very capable (and horribly underutilized) guys getting 15 minutes (!!!!) to shine on a huge show...thumbs up! Great stuff! If you're ever wondering why they kept these 2 around for so long, check out this match.

Oddities VS Kaientai - Nothing too special here, basically a comedy match. In that sense, it was well done. A couple funny spots, and Kaientai is always money. But all in all, they're wasted here.

Hair VS Hair: Jeff Jarrett VS X-Pac - Nothing much to say. I forget the majority of this match, it was nothing spectacular. Then again, I actively dislike both of these guys, so this could have been pretty good and I just ignored it. Check for yourself.

Sable/Edge VS Marc Mero/Jackie - Edge fans, pick up this show for Edge's debut! Nothing spectacular, Edge and Mero looking OK, Sable trying her best not to maim anyone with botched moves. Fairly early in her wrestling career, so don't expect anything special.

Ken Shamrock VS Owen Hart: Lion's Den Match - Not a technical masterpiece, but very solid, given the environment. Limited space for movement inside the modified cage/lion's den seems to handcuff both guys, but they made it work. Worth watching, if only to see something you might not have see before (this type of match occurred only twice, I believe, and the other replaces Hart with Steve Blackman....who would YOU rather watch??)

Tag Team Championship: New Age Outlaws VS Mankind/Kane - Kane no shows, leaving Mankind to defend on his own. If you're a Foley fan, check this out. No one takes a stiff butt kickin like Foley, and there are few examples of that as good as this. Nothing close to the spectacle of some of his other matches, this one is brutally short, emphasis on the 'brutal'

Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match - What a great match. This stands out in my mind as the match that 'made' Rock and HHH. Up until this point, they were upper midcarders leading their respective factions. This match proved to me that they're both very capable of working a main-event caliber match and delivering HUGE. Not as much emphasis placed on high spots in this match, it seems to focus more on (again) brutality and storytelling. VERY well done, one of the forgotten great matches.

World Championship Steve Austin VS Undertaker - A very well done match, especially considering Austin was knocked silly when they knocked heads about 3 or 4 minutes in. Not the greatest match of all time, but an important match nonetheless. The second PPV title match for these two, the first with Austin defending. Great (and unexpected) high spot features Undertaker attempting a huge legdrop from the top turnbuckle onto the announce table. Impressive visual for a guy that size. Good match, great show, check it out!