Great Matches: 1998

    An epic battle between two partners for the ECW Television Title. Using classic NWA broadway styles, the two men engaged in an athletic spotfest that hadn't been seen on American pay-per-view before. RVD and Sabu's natural styles were a perfect fit for each other. This is one of the best paced matches of the decade and shows how you can not only engage fans into your work for nearly an hour but artistically put on a fantastic match without killing yourself in the process. I don't think that after seeing 50 minutes of fantastic action end in a draw that any fan was disappointed about the outcome.

-Mick Foley vs. Terry Funk (RAW, 5/5/98)
    The battle for Mick Foley's soul, as Foley calls this match in his first opus. This match was an epic type of storytelling, almost regaling the style of the Norse poem. Foley, a hapless hero in the midst of the corporate war between Vince McMahon and Steve Austin has to choose between what's right, leaving McMahon's side and costing himself lucrative title matches, and what's wrong, becoming McMahon's corporate stooge and benefiting his career in the long run. With McMahon as the devil and Austin as a sort of corrupt angel (another line from Foley's book) this struggle is personified in a battle between Funk and Foley. To prove his undying support to Vince McMahon, Foley must destroy his childhood idol and come over to the dark side. Almost a Star Wars scenario, eh? Well in the end Foley, like Anakin, submits to the will of his dark master and becomes the corporate lackey Vince envisioned him.

-Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko (Slamboree, 5/17/98)
    This match isn't nearly as cutting edge as the Foley-Funk morality play, but it certainly is a classic example of storytelling. Jericho, the glam rocker Cruiserweight Champion, laid waste to all challengers on his path to complete domination of the cruiserweight division. When defeating an opponent he would take a piece of them to symbolize their submission to him. Rey Misterio and Juventud Guerrera had their masks removed, Prince Iaukea had his traditional skirt taken away and Dean Malenko had his pride stolen. Jericho had beaten Malenko at Uncensored in March, forcing him to take a sabbatical from wrestling and reevaluate his life. Jericho continued to disgrace his legacy during the time Dean was away. From mocking his brother to insulting his late father, Jericho would not stop until the Malenko family legacy had been tarnished. Jericho seemed unstoppable until a battle royal at Slamboree was won by an unusual masked man named Ciclope. The rules of the battle royal stated that the winner would immediately gain an opportunity at Jericho after the match. Jericho stepped in to the ring, ready to add another prize to his collection of also-rans. But something strange happened; this luchadore removed his own mask to reveal the cold, hard countenance of Dean Malenko, staring into the soul of the once cocky Poison wannabe. The eruption from the crowd was enormous, especially for a guy that WCW had refused to get behind from a marketing standpoint. Jericho was beaten in about six minutes by submitting to Malenko's Texas Cloverleaf. The match itself was, technically very average, but from an emotional standpoint it was one of WCW's greatest undercard matches of all time.

-The Undertaker vs. Mankind (King of the Ring, 6/28/98)

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