#161: Steve Austin vs. Dude Love, WWE Over the Edge (5/31/1998).
Hello readers!
This week, I am taking a look back at that era of professional wrestling that everybody is so desperate to catch in a bottle like lightning - the Attitude Era. It's hard to describe what exactly made this era of debauchery work. Between the raunchy storylines, the sexy women, the ridiculous characters, and just about everything that could possibly blur the lines of cable television, the Attitude Era brought the WWE back from the brink of destruction, and it catapulted them to the top of the wrestling landscape, where they have stayed to this very day.
One of the reasons that the Attitude Era worked is because most of it was based around one feud: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon. The old "I hate my boss and I'm going to kick his ass every week" storyline that every blue collar worker can relate to! Between Vince's ability to play a piece of shit very well on TV (can't imagine where he got that inspiration from) and Austin's amazing ability to just be a great pro wrestler, these two created magic together all the time. Starting things out this week is one of the earlier battles they would have.
This is for Austinâs WWE Championship, with Pat Patterson as the guest ring announcer, Gerald Brisco as the guest time keeper, and Vince McMahon as the guest referee. Vince has also made it known that only his hand can count the 3, and that if Austin lays a hand on him, heâll strip him of the championship.
The crowd is hot for this entire match. The opening introductions are obnoxiously long, and the fans boo the hell out of everyone. Austin comes out to a nuclear reaction. It sounds like the kind of pop that someone would get in 2024 and make people go âwow, fans havenât sounded like that since the 90s!â Well, Austin pretty much created this kind of response on a weekly basis.
Before the bell rings, here comes The Undertaker, who has volunteered to stand at ringside to make sure that the McMahon regime doesnât play unfairly.
The match begins, and McMahon is pissed about the Deadman being at ringside. Austin and Dude tie up, and get in the corner. McMahon separates them, and Austin flips him off. They lock up again, and Dude takes the side headlock. He shoulders Austin down for a pin, and McMahon gives a pretty fast count to 2. Austin doesnât like that one bit. Hell, even Undertaker started to come in the ring for that count. Man, listen to that crowd. They are fucking hyped for the Rattlesnake!
Another lock up, and Austin takes the side headlock. Dude escapes, and drives his knee into the midsection. Dude takes the side headlock takedown next. Austin is up, and back elbows Dude in the face. Side headlock takedown by Austin next. âVince is Gayâ chant. Ah, 1998, back when that was considered an insult. But today? Itâs just fabulous. Dude with some right hands to Austin in the ropes, and then the champion kicks Dude low. Dudeâs fake teeth fall out, and Austin stomps them into oblivion.
Dude with more right hands in the corner, until Austin explodes off the ropes with a Lou Thesz press. Austin clotheslines Dude over the top rope to the floor, and hard. Austin slams Dude into the barricade. Dude irish whips Austin into the steel steps. Dude continues his assault, as Undertaker looms in the background. McMahon is trash talking Austin, as he tells him that there are no countouts. Russian Legsweep by Dude in the ring, and Austin kicks out.
Dude starts biting Austin in the turnbuckle. Big irish whip to the buckle, and Austinâs kidneys are taking a beating. Big knee to the midsection in the corner, and Austin is able to kick out again. Austin fights back with a swinging neckbreaker, and a huge series of lariats. A series of stomps in the corner follow, until Dude fights back with the Mandible Claw. Austin counters and sends Dude over the top rope, hanging in the ropes. Vader probably liked that spot.
Austin and Dude are on the floor, and Dude tosses Austin over the Spanish Announcerâs Table. Pat Patterson gives us a âreminderâ that this match is No Disqualification. Jim Ross, someone who might be a friend of Austinâs, is pissed about this. âSince when? Thatâs not right!â Dude grabs some cables and begins to choke Austin out. Austin is able to counter it and send Dude into the time keeperâs table, also knocking Gerald Brisco out. Austin unloads with quick shots to the head. He sets Dude on the bell table, and lariats him into the crowd!
Austin drags Dude back to ringside, and gives him a clothesline. Back in the ring, Dude avoids a leg drop in the ropes. Brisco is back up to let us know that he still has the hammer. Dude with a baseball slide that sends Austin back to the floor. Dude gears up to slide out of the ring and hit a neckbreaker on the concrete ramp. McMahon runs to Patterson, and he gives another âreminderâ that this match is Falls Count Anywhere. Dude gets a nearfall, as Jim Ross pisses himself criticizing that move. I love that man. Dude celebrates briefly, until Austin knocks him on his ass with a clothesline. Dude backdrops Austin onto one of the cars apart of the stage.
Dude covers, and Austin kicks out. Dude slams Austinâs head off the car, and pins him on the car for 2. Austin with a flapjack to Dude on the car. He gets 2 off of that. I like that Undertaker followed them up to the stage to monitor all of this. Nice touch. Heâs still an asshole for choosing Trump, though. Both men are on top of one of the cars and Austin goes for a Stunner, but Dude throws him off and Austin lands face first on another car. You can clearly see him blade, which is funny. Dude with a sunset flip off the car to Austin for 2.
Dude grabs a pipe, and lightly hits Austin in the back with it. Austin quickly fights back and goes for a piledriver, but he gets back dropped to the floor. Dude gets a 2 count off of that. Austin is, as you mightâve guessed, busted open. Austin is down, and Dude climbs up to one of the cars. Dude goes for the Cactus Elbow, but Austin rolls out of the way! Austin kicks Dude all the way back to ringside. He sends Dude into the steel steps, then back to the ring.
Dude irish whips Austin to the ropes, and Patterson grabs his foot to trip him! Dude takes advantage by digging his fists into Austinâs head. Dude removes one of the turnbuckle pads, and sends Austin head first into it. Dude punches Austin in the corner, and then he drives his knee into his head. Dude with the Camel Clutch next. The crowd is hot for Austin. The champion is back up, and he tries to fight back with strikes, but Dude sends him into the exposed turnbuckle again for a 2 count.
Patterson hands Dude a chair, and he uses it on Austinâs midsection and back. Double arm DDT by Dude onto the chair, and Austin is able to kick out. Jim Ross is losing it on commentary. Austin kicks the chair into Dudeâs face, and then hits a clothesline to him. Austin grabs the chair and hypes himself up so much that it bounces off the ropes and hits himself! Austin with a wicked chair shot to Dude! McMahon doesnât like that, so when Austin makes the pin, he just flat out refuses to count. Dude grabs the chair, but accidentally hits McMahon in the head! Austin hits the Stunner to Dude!
He makes the cover, and another referee comes in. He counts, but Patterson pulls him out and knocks him on his ass. Dude applies the Mandible Claw on Austin. Patterson comes in the ring to make the count, but Undertaker pulls him outside to a nuclear pop. Big chokeslam through the announcerâs table. Brisco comes in to pin, and Undertaker pulls him out as well. A chokeslam to Brisco through the other announcerâs table.
Austin with a low blow to Dude, and another Stunner. Austin grabs the unconscious McMahon, and uses his hand to count the 3 to win and retain the WWE Championship. Iâm not even going to try and understand that logic, considering the stipulations. Austin had against him coming into this. But hey, thatâs the Attitude Era. Post match, Undertaker makes his leave, as he eyes Austin, probably not in an endearing way, but maybe in a sign of respect. Itâs almost as if those two are on...a highway to Hell!
This is one of my favorite plunder matches of all time. None of the action is particularly groundbreaking, but itâs just a big chaotic mess thatâs helped by great character work and a molten crowd that was into every single thing they saw. Austin felt like the single biggest thing to happen to wrestling here, Dude Love put in a great performance in a career not full of them (Iâm talking specifically this character, not Mick Foley himself), Vince played a great heel referee, and Patterson & Brisco were the two bumbling idiots youâd expect them to be. I thought the stipulation âremindersâ were well timed and hilarious. This is how you do a match where the odds are stacked against the babyface. Everything worked here, especially the ending. Hot damn, that ending was on fire! The crowd exploded for everything. This was the last big match that happened in the Attitude Era before the company really started firing on all cylinders across the board. The main event, the mid card, the tag teams, etc. were about to explode going into the summer. Oh, and I was about to become a fan just one month later. Good times indeed.