10 Times WWE Totally Changed Its In-Ring Style

4. Steve Austin Vs. Dude Love - Over The Edge 1998

Eddie Guerrero Kurt Angle
WWE

The TV built the pay-per-view, the pay-per-view settled the TV. That was old, pre-1998 formula the WWF destroyed, wonderfully, at Over The Edge 1998.

The Attitude Era undergoes a fluctuation of appraisal years removed from it. Was it a hot main event scene with rotten, unwatchable dreck on the undercard? Was the booking a necessary and compelling move away from a tired pattern, or a nonsensical excuse to strip women of their clothes and dignity? Has it aged as badly as the music that soundtracked so many of its video packages?

Is the Attitude Era the nu-metal of professional wrestling?

When Steve Austin was anywhere near it, it rolled with the timeless thunder of Pantera. His match - his spectacle, his attraction - with Dude Love at Over The Edge remains the apex of the whole damn thing. Hilarious and violent without compromising either tone, this ultra-gimmicked war fused the incredible TV plotting of the greatest feud ever in Austin Vs. McMahon with a molten, elite-calibre PPV brawl.

A profoundly creative exercise with a constantly unfolding tension/release cycle, this twisting main event distilled all that is great about pro wrestling, much the less the particular era of it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!