The Attitude Era was a lot of things. It was edgy, it was explosive, it was chaotic, it was adult-oriented content, but it was a whole lot of fun. There’s a good reason why many fans view the Attitude Era as the greatest period in WWE history, despite the entire era lasting all but three years.
It’s hard to believe that the period lasted for so little time because it’s arguably the most impactful period in the company’s history from a business and ratings standpoint. It’s key to remember that 1998 was a very different period of time for WWE. In 1997 we started seeing a tease of what was to come in the Attitude Era, but it was only 1998 when WWE truly pulled the trigger, ushering in an entirely new period of its own.
One of the most important factors was not just WWE’s heated competition with WCW, but it was the fact that two of their top stars for the last few years weren’t around anymore. Bret Hart had left around nine months prior to WCW, whereas Shawn Michaels had gone into retirement and he would only return four years later.
WWE needed to build new stars, and they did a great job of that, mainly in terms of their leading man – “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Austin was in his second reign as WWE Champion, and it might as well have been considered a part of his first, because Kane won the title in between for a whopping one day. That’s right. Kane’s first-ever World Championship lasted all but one day. It would take him another 12 years until he got a proper World Championship reign (not counting the ECW Championship).
The story heading into SummerSlam 1998 was the continuation of Austin’s feud with The Brothers of Destruction. The Undertaker and Kane, who feuded earlier that year (and even faced each other at WrestleMania 14) were both working together and also contending for the WWE Championship.
After Kane had failed to regain the Championship, it was The Undertaker’s turn and the stage was set for SummerSlam 1998, which went with the iconic theme of “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC. The match also probably had one of the greatest video packages in WWE history. You can take a look at it yourself.
(Interesting tidbit – if you watch the match on the WWE Network, there’s no ‘Highway to Hell’ or even any mention of it. It’s replaced by a rock song, which presumably means that WWE didn’t have the rights for the music after the original show to have it featured on the Network. Either way, don’t let that take away what a great show it was.)
SummerSlam 1998 was important for more than just the main event. Perhaps the other match that it’s most famous for was the ladder match between The Rock and Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship. This would turn out to be the breakout performance for The Rock, despite losing the Intercontinental Championship.
He would get the push of a lifetime just months later, and while it took Triple H a bit longer to reach the top, he had a great showing as well. From a pure match quality standpoint, it was very likely the match of the night. However, Austin and Undertaker’s rivalry was more than just about moves that two wrestlers hit each other with inside the ring.
Austin was at peak popularity and this was in the thick of his famous feud against Mr. McMahon himself. The stage was set for the night at Madison Square Garden, where 21,500 people sold out the arena. This was one of those matches with a big fight feel to it, and many fans wondered how Kane would possibly make a difference to the match.
Except, he didn’t. The Undertaker refused to help Kane during the match. However, the most famous incident of this match happens to be the fact that Steve Austin was knocked out after a botch. Austin himself later said that he was even out cold for 2 to 3 seconds. It was Earl Hebner who had to help him through a bit, while The Undertaker took him through the rest of the match.
In fact, Austin was in autopilot mode most of the time, and he ended up retaining the Championship, with The Undertaker giving him some respect as well. This match is by no means an all-time classic, but it’s memorable in the sense that the match had the hype surrounding it and an extremely passionate crowd.
Austin himself stated that he’s not a fan of the match because of the circumstances, but often, wrestlers are their own biggest critics. It was still a solid contest in its own right, and despite his criticism, it certainly translated beautifully in numbers. Summerslam 1998 did an incredible 700,000 PPV buys. Just to put into perspective, The Undertaker vs Bret Hart at the previous year’s SummerSlam did 235,000 buys. Now that’s a massive jump in numbers,a nd it just goes to show how big of a draw Austin was in the thick of the Attitude Era.
It truly was the hottest period in wrestling, and this feud was a major milestone as well.
