With so much praise constantly heaped onto the relatively short-lived period of the WWE known affectionately as the Attitude Era, it's difficult to consider anything about it "underrated." And yet, despite the legions of fans (yours truly included) that won't shut up about how wonderful this time period was, there are still a few elements that remain under-appreciated by the masses. For instances, the matches. For some weird reason, the actual wrestling that happened in the Attitude Era has been largely forgotten, save for a few key, epic in-ring duels. The focus tends to shift to the outrageous characters, entertaining promos, and ridiculous(ly delightful) storylines. And that's a real shame, because although it may not have been the peak of technical wrestling in the WWE, the Attitude Era served up what should have been some truly career-defining matches. For whatever reason, though, they were promptly stuffed in the closet and forgotten about.
10. D-Generation X + Savio Vega Vs. Stone Cold, Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie, Owen Hart - No Way Out Of Texas 1998
Let's start things off with some pure, unfiltered bedlam. Has there ever been a more random goddamn bunch of people thrown together for a match? Yet, somehow, some way, they were able to make this pandemonium look so, so good. There's a lot to dissect in this match, but let's start with the roster involved. Why was Savio Vega in a team with DX? He was a last-minute replacement for Shawn Michaels, who'd injured his back and declined to compete in the match. As for the super strange team on the other side, the short answer is that they all had their own beefs with various members of DX. The more fun answer is who cares, any time those four dudes are on the same side it's going to be a wonderful night. The match begins in absolute chaos, with Steve Austin hitting a Lou Thesz press on Billy Gunn while the world around them goes to complete sh*t: everyone's brawling, kitchen utensils are flying, someone's being strangled with a broom handle, and Road Dogg powerbombs Chainsaw Charlie through two chairs. It's a beautiful wreck. Putting aside Royal Rumbles, there may not have ever been so much going on in a single match all at once. Things do eventually clear up and transform into a slightly more "traditional" tag team set-up, but there's still just a ton of weapon smashing and hardcore-style scuffling. It's a great sight to see Stone Cold mixing it up in that way alongside hardcore legends like Mick Foley and Terry Funk, which isn't something that happens often. (Or...ever.) If nothing else, this match proved that disparate wrestlers could unite over an honorable cause, namely taking DX down a few begs. This match probably isn't revered due to its random nature (there was no one else available besides Savio Vega?), but I see this is as a wonderful example of what fun could be had in the Attitude Era when they got a little loose with their own rules.
