The rise of the Corporation faction in late 1998 created a giant heel conglomerate for Steve Austin to battle on his way back to the WWE Championship. It also created an opportunity for the Superstars involved in the group to branch out into side stories with other babyfaces, such as D-Generation X. On December 14, Big Boss Man and Ken Shamrock added the WWE Tag Team Championships to the mix by defeating the New Age Outlaws. Rather than those two bruisers as the new heel centerpieces of the tag division, Boss Man and Shamrock engaged Road Dogg and Billy Gunn in singles feuds over the hardcore and intercontinental titles, respectively. By the time the heels dropped the titles to Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart in January 1999, many fans were left wondering why they were even given a run with the straps in the first place, especially when they took a backseat to the singles gold anyway. The Big Boss Man and Ken Shamrock's title reign in 1998 not only did little to elevate the meaningfulness of the championships, it came at the expense of the New Age Outlaws, who regularly had their title runs cut short by makeshift teams throughout '98.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
