Great Matches: 1998

    Arguably the best big men match of the modern era. The storyline between the two was one of the WWF's best forays into fantasy. Undertaker had burned down the funeral parlor that his parents lived in, killing them and scarring his young brother Kane. Paul Bearer, who had fathered Kane in an affair with Taker's mother, kept the young man in an asylum for years until the time was right to unleash him on the Undertaker. Kane was used as a way to keep Taker in check from ever turning on Bearer to keep Bearer as a high profile manager in the WWF, if Taker left him then Bearer would reveal Taker's dark secret. When Kane debuted, clad in head to toe with a red and black costume which obscured his skin and face from human sight, he made his presence known by ripping a steel door off its hinged and piledriving his older brother to his downfall. Undertaker swore he would never battle his own flesh and blood due to a promise he has made to his murdered parents (who's murder he now grieved) but once he was placed in a casket and set on fire at the Royal Rumble, all bets were off. The interesting features of this match include Kane being portrayed as a true monster should be portrayed: nearly invincible. The majority of the match is Taker getting laid to waste while any offense against Kane is completely ineffective, almost like punching a brick wall. Kane sold hardly any offense in this match until the very end where he began to fade and Undertaker hits him with his finisher, the Tombstone piledriver, three times to put him away. The match established Kane as an absolute force in the WWF (only to have the promotion castrate his character seemingly every month following this match) and kept Taker alive as a never say die babyface. The work in this match is incredible and it stills holds up today.

-Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin (WrestleMania XIV, 3/29/98)
    I almost chose not to include the match seeing as how, from a technical standpoint, it's no better than a lot of matches I left off this list. However this match single handedly launched the Attitude era and officially christened Steve Austin as "the guy" of the company so I felt I had to. The first thing to appreciate about this bout is the fact that Shawn is nearly dying throughout the whole thing. That's not acting, that's really a man wrestling with a broken back. Michaels, amazingly, is still able to give the showstopping performance that he's always been known for, playing the cocky rock n' roll stud to the hilt. Austin is his polar opposite, the Joe Frazier to HBK's Muhammad Ali, zagging when Michaels zigs. A pretty standard brawl, this match is highlighted by the slowly unraveling sense of false security that Michaels surrounded himself with. From his underestimation of Austin to the removal of D-Generation X and the culmination of the match when Tyson turns on Michaels. The image of the Stone Cold Stunner being hit on Shawn with the post match celebration of Stone Cold and Iron Mike are images that will live forever in WWE history and that's why I felt compelled to include this match.

-Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu (WreslePalooza, 5/3/98)

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?