10 Wrestling Photos Taken Moments Before Disaster

7. Steve Austin Takes A High-Angle Owen Hart Suplex

Shane McMahon WWE WrestleMania 39
WWE

Here is an image of Steve Austin taking a German suplex at a high, exhilarating angle deep into a blistering match at SummerSlam 1997. 

It is a distinctly '1997' image.

Austin, after the disastrous finish, would very rarely take a move like it again. He was temporarily paralysed near the finish, when Owen Hart dropped him with a variation of a tombstone piledriver. 

Steve Austin, who retired within six years and missed almost a full year of action at his height, would absolutely disagree with the following take - but...

This was fortuitous as far as disasters go, a total oxymoron. Austin in the aftermath of SummerSlam had to modify his in-ring style. That's not to state that he wouldn't have become the biggest wrestling star of all time, had he not done that, but the brawling-heavy shortcuts of the Attitude Era did a great deal to endear him to the biggest possible audience. It was broad, pulsating fun, watching him take shortcuts and electrify fans on a deep, primal level, and that he was throwing those fists amongst his people underscored, almost every week, that they were his people. 

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!