(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Dude Love – WWE Over The Edge: In Your House

When longtime wrestling fans reminisce about WWE’s Attitude Era, it’s because of matches like this one and what it accomplished.

Steve Austin is widely regarded as the biggest pro-wrestling star in modern times. Even if subsequent made more money for the company, few, if any, matched Austin’s reach, popularity, and appeal. No wrestler has accomplished so much in a 4-5-year period than what Austin achieved between 1996 and 2001.

He was white-hot at the time, but in hindsight some people have begun looking back at his time as a megastar with a different set of eyes. Some have argued that Austin was the only good thing about that period in time. Others have argued that Austin was more of a storyteller than a wrestler and his physical limitations were so bad that he had to be “protected” with heavy gimmickry and more story-driven matches to compensate. Others still think have called him overrated, especially given what was happening elsewhere in the wrestling world at the time.

After sifting through different viewpoints and arguments, once again we revisit a classic match from a bygone era to see if it still holds up after so much time.

Previously I was writing for a site called TJR Wrestling and now this series is coming to Blog of Doom. For now you can check out the series in its entirety here.

The story

Vince McMahon hated Steve Austin. He loathed the idea that Austin, this bald, beer-drinking redneck, was his top star. He wanted someone, anyone, to beat Austin as soon as possible and take his place as champion. At some point, Vince decided that he should take the title himself since, given his egomania, there was no one better and more capable. And if he couldn’t wrestle, then he’d give the title to someone he deemed worthy of carrying his company’s most coveted prize.

So on April 13th, Austin and Vince fought for the WWE Championship, only for the match to end in a no contest because of interference. Said interference came from Mick Foley, who reprised his Dude Love character but tweaked it to make him into a corporate suck-up. Dude turned his back on his fans because he realized he would never be appreciated as much as Austin and this really hurt him. Then he channeled this resentment and jealousy into a big win at Unforgiven two weeks later. It was a win via disqualification, but a win nonetheless.

That disqualification also setup this match. Vince had interfered in that match but Austin had attacked him. At some point during the match the referee got knocked out, and when he didn’t get up in time for Austin’s finish, Austin simply counted his own three-count and declared himself the winner (because, Austin). However, Vince’s stooge Gerald Brisco informed Austin that he had gotten himself disqualified, meaning that Dude Love had won the match. But since that win was via DQ, Austin remained champion.

Determined to avoid a repeat of this situation, Vince McMahon announced that, for this match, HE would be the special guest referee. And to make sure that Austin wouldn’t count his own pin, knock out a referee, or otherwise find some other way to win, Vince said many times that the decision could only come “by his hand”.

In other words, Austin was basically screwed. He knew Vince wouldn’t call this match fairly when it mattered, despite Vince insisting he would. He knew he wouldn’t be on equal footing with both Dude Love and Vince McMahon in the ring with him at the same time. And he knew he wasn’t guaranteed any safety at ringside as both of Vince’s biggest stooges were there to cause trouble. Even though they were non-wrestlers, even the smallest bit of interference could change the entire complexion of the match. Thus to make things somewhat fairer, The Undertaker decided to make himself the special guest ringside enforcer. But even with the Undertaker at ringside, would Austin still have enough in him to retain his title, or would all the cards being stacked against him spell the end of his reign as World Champion?

The match

This match originally took place on May 31, 1998. It was rated ****1/2 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

Before the match begins, Howard Finkel introduces special guest ring announcer Pat Patterson. Patterson then gives an extended introduction for special guest timekeeper Gerald Brisco and an even longer introduction for special guest referee Vince McMahon. All three of them are showered with boos and that continues as Dude Love (I’ll be referring to him as Foley going forward) comes down. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this and my God does Foley look out of place in something other than a shaggy mane and a flannel jacket. Anyway, Patterson starts his intro for the champion and the crowd pops bigtime despite Patterson only getting the words “and now” out of his mouth. Patterson milks this as much as possible by running him down and gets so disgusted that he refuses to finish announcing his entrance. That doesn’t matter because the glass shatters and thousands of fans jumps to their feet for Stone Cold Steve Austin.

The crowd gets so hyped for Austin that everyone almost forgets that there’s one more person scheduled to appear: the guest ringside enforcer, The Undertaker. ‘Taker gets his full entrance and remains by one of the corners as the bell rings to finally begin the match.

This is for Austin’s WWE Championship. Austin gets a semi-clean break on the ropes and flips Vince double birds when forced to let go. Foley knocks Austin down with a shoulderblock and gets a 2.5-count due to some fast-counting from Vince which Austin doesn’t appreciate. Austin gets a standing ovation by doing nothing. Actually, I shouldn’t say “nothing”; he gets a standing ovation by just being Steve Austin, which shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Austin gets his own headlock but Foley knocks him down with a kneelift for a one-count. Some mat wrestling ensues which leads to a “Vince is gay” chant for some reason. Foley gets a ropebreak but Austin knocks him down with some simple strikes and then stomps on Foley’s false teeth. Foley hits back as the crowd rallies behind Austin. Austin lands a Thesz press with punches and clotheslines Foley to the floor. Austin tries to whip Foley into the ringsteps but Foley reverses and Austin hits them instead.

Vince gets the chance to trash-talk Austin while Undertaker skulks around until Foley lands a Russian leg sweep in the ring for a two-count. A “Let’s go Stone Cold, let’s go” chant begins as Foley foot chokes Austin in a corner and then whips him hard into a different corner. Foley does more moves in various corners and then covers for another two-count. Foley attempts a back body drop but Austin counters with a swinging neckbreaker. He hits a few quick clotheslines and some corner stomps. He and Foley dodge each other until Foley locks in a Mandible Claw out of nowhere. But Austin counters by tossing Foley over the top rope and Foley gets trapped in the ropes for a few seconds.

The action spills to ringside as Pat Patterson, per Vince’s orders, announces that the match is now No Disqualifications. Foley chokes Austin with some ringside wiring until Austin rushes forward and sends Foley into the ring bell. Austin takes full advantage of the new stipulation and throws Foley into the barricade and hits more mounted punches. Then Austin hits a big clothesline on Foley as Foley straddles the barricade, sending Foley crashing down onto the floor.

Austin lands a short-range clothesline and goes for a hotshot on the ropes in the ring but Foley dodges and Austin hurts his leg. Foley baseball slide dropkick to send Austin to the floor and hits a swinging neckbreaker on the floor. Suddenly, Vince runs to Pat who changes the stipulation again to Falls Count Anywhere. Foley covers but only gets a two-count twice in a row. Foley goes up the entrance ramp but Austin runs him down with a clothesline. Some brawling ensues and ends with Austin charging at Foley. But Foley hits a back body drop that sends Austin into the hood of a car that’s part of the entrance set. Both men collapse. Foley covers but Austin kicks out once more.

Foley smashes Austin’s head onto the car for another two-count. Austin tries fighting back but Foley thumbs his eyes. Foley charges but Austin flapjacks him into another car. One, two, Foley kicks out. Twice. Austin teases a Stunner atop the car but Foley shoves him forward. Foley does a diving sunset flip onto the concrete floor and covers for another close two-count. Foley drives Austin into one of those cars and hits him with a metal pipe but Austin fights back yet again. Blood pours from Austin’s forehead as he retaliates with punches. Austin teases a piledriver but Foley powers out and covers for yet another two-count. Foley follows with a snap suplex onto the concrete floor, but instead of covering he climbs onto the cars. He goes for an elbow drop…and misses Austin completely. Austin covers Foley but Foley kicks out at two.

Austin fights Foley back to ringside and smashes him into the ringsteps. Foley reverses an Irish whip and Patterson catches Austin’s foot to stop his momentum. That distraction allows Foley to clothesline Austin and punch at his open wound. Foley pulls off a turnbuckle pad and smashes Austin’s bloody head into the exposed turnbuckle. Foley lands more punches and knees to Austin’s head and then locks in a camel clutch of sorts. But then Austin fires up and fights his way out…only for Foley to shut him down with another exposed turnbuckle smash. Referee Vince counts one, two, and – Austin kicks out again.

Patterson hands Foley a chair which Foley smashes into Austin’s gut and back. Foley follows with a double-arm DDT onto the chair but Austin kicks out at 2.9! Foley charges for another chair-shot! Austin gets his boot up and clotheslines Foley to the mat. Austin cracks Foley in the head with the chair! Austin covers! Vince refuses to count! Austin confronts Vince but he knows he can’t lay a hand on him. Foley uses this opportunity to grab the chair. He swings at Austin but hits Vince instead. Stone Cold Stunner on Foley! Another referee runs in and begins the count. One, two, and – no, Patterson takes out that ref. Foley locks in the Mandible Claw again! Austin looks like he’s out so Patterson goes to count. But Undertaker cuts him off. Undertaker chokeslams Patterson through a table! Brisco goes to count instead. Undertaker chokeslams him through the other announce table! Foley tries the Claw again! Austin counters into another Stunner! Austin drags an unconscious Vince McMahon over and grabs his hand. One, two, three! Austin uses Vince’s hand to get the three-count!

Winner and STILL WWF/E Champion after 22:28: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

Post-match, Austin and the Undertaker stare daggers at each other. ‘Taker leaves shortly thereafter to give Austin (and his elated fans) a moment to celebrate.

Review

If you search online for reviews and opinions of this match they generally fall into two categories. It’s seen as either an overbooked and chaotic brawl with limited in-ring action and plenty of melodrama, or as a brilliant piece of storytelling involving plenty of characters that worked together to further the white-hot rivalry between Steve Austin and Vince McMahon. I think this match falls somewhere in the middle but leaning more towards the latter. This was one of those incredibly rare cases where overbooking and chicanery actually elevated the match. Everyone involved in this match played their role perfectly. The story was simple but executed flawlessly. The crowd and the commentary elevated this into something special. While most of the match itself was a bit boring and slow – which was to be expected given how physically limited Austin was – he and everyone else made up for it by playing their parts to a T. This match is widely hailed as one of the early pinnacles of the Attitude Era and for good reason: it showed just how capable these people were at getting so much out of so little and playing a crowd to get the most out of them.

Austin didn’t really do any complex grappling or any high-risk maneuvers because he was already working with a broken neck. Since he couldn’t take any extreme risks he and Foley had to be creative. So what they did was put story and stacking the odds at the forefront of the match. Those two plus Vince and his stooges stacked the odds against Austin as much as possible. He was already physically limited given his injury history and with each passing minute in this match his odds of winning decreased. Even with a new look and personality, Dude Love was still Mick Foley underneath and Foley was known for being able to take an incredible amount of punishment (this was only a month before THAT Cell match yet this reputation of Foley’s was already well-known). Not only that, but Austin had to deal with a crooked official that Austin knew wouldn’t call the match fairly when it really mattered. Sure enough, Vince deceived everyone as he was meant to: he called the match fairly during the first 2/3 of the match when no one believed a fall would come. Then when both wrestlers were battered and Austin had rallied towards a decisive finish, Vince refused to count. All the heat Vince had built up during the match peaked at that moment. It looked like Austin was completely screwed and the machine would crown a new “chosen” champion.

But Vince didn’t count on his own plans and his very explicit “by my hand” planning blowing up in his face the way it did. After Foley knocked Vince out with a chairshot the place became unglued as the shenanigans ensued. Patterson and Brisco played their roles perfectly as the stooges who, despite being mostly comedy foils, actually served an important purpose in slowing Austin’s push forward. Patterson and Brisco both tried to save the match for Foley and Vince but got chokeslammed for their efforts. Unlike in other matches that attempted to shoehorn interference and create screwy finishes only to fall flat, it worked here because Brisco, Patterson, and Undertaker were always present in some way, never forgotten. They, like Vince, kept pushing the story of Austin overcoming increasingly-stacked odds forward in the smallest of ways, only to get their just desserts at the end, even if it wasn’t at Austin’s hand.

In the end, Vince’s choice of words worked for a reason. In the end, Austin found a clever way to work that into the finish that made the most out of the shenanigans that built to it and still made complete sense. It was a terrific example of knowing the ending and building backwards from there. Austin, Foley, and everyone else knew that Austin was going to win. The challenge was creating a believable challenge for him to overcome without exposing him for his lack of in-ring capabilities. And given how smooth this match was for the most part and how iconic the closing few minutes were, they definitely succeeded.

Final rating: ****3/4

While some parts of the Attitude Era haven’t aged all that well, this match definitely has. This was the kind of storytelling in wrestling that didn’t get too wacky yet still had that sense of mayhem that defined the Attitude Era in general. It was easy to follow and easy to rally behind Austin. It was drama but not melodrama. It was one of those rare Attitude Era matches that kept the viewer hooked from bell to bell thanks to mostly smooth pacing and a focus on story that kept changing throughout the match so that it never got too clunky or plodding.

A lot of matches covered in this match review series were serious athletic competitions that add a sense of credibility to the wrestling business. This match was and still is something else: a FUN wrestling match. It was over-the-top, entertaining, wild, and driven by a relatable story with understandable characters. It’s the very definition of a guilty pleasure wrestling match and is still one of the best WWE matches of the 1990s.

Thanks for reading. You can email me with any questions or comments, and be sure to check out my 5-Star and Almost 5-Star Match Reviews series here.