WWE SummerSlam: Ranking every main event in history
By Luke Norris
12. SummerSlam 1998: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker
With the Attitude Era in full swing in the summer of 1998 after “Stone Cold” Steve Austin defeated Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV, there was no better opponent for him at the 1998 edition of SummerSlam than The Undertaker. The Rock wasn’t quite at the level he would ultimately reach just yet (although he was really close and essentially got to that level that same night in his fantastic Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match with Triple H), so the obvious choice to battle Austin for the WWF title was The Deadman.
The build and hype for this match was huge. I remember all of the fiery promos leading into this SummerSlam and with WCW still going strong with Goldberg as the champion after knocking off Hulk Hogan the month before, the World Wrestling Federation needed something big. This wasn’t the best match that Austin and ‘Taker ever had together but it was still pretty solid. They went back and forth to start and had some nice ring psychology going on with The Rattlesnake targeting The Undertaker’s knee. Kane, who had beaten Austin for the title earlier in the summer only to lose it a day later, made his way to the ring at one point but The Phenom essentially shooed him away.
The later stages of the match looked a little sloppy, one thing being neither one of their faults when the Spanish announce table didn’t break when ‘Taker landed a big leg drop from the top rope, which looked really painful. The botched Stunner did look bad but they recovered nicely enough from it and Austin hit a Stunner for the victory after foiling the Old School spot. After the three count, The Undertaker sat up and grabbed the title from the ref and it looked as if he might blast Austin with the belt, but he just handed it to him as a sign of respect.
Things got a little strange after that night with the triangle proceedings with Austin, The Undertaker and Kane, which ultimately led to Austin being “fired” and some of the most entertaining television in company history.