3. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon: Cage Match - St. Valentine's Day 1999
The main event of St. Valentine's Day Massacre in February 1999 featured the long-awaited pay-per-view showdown between Steve Austin and Vince McMahon. For the first time since their teased match nearly a year earlier on Raw, a match that turned the tide in the favor of WWE during the Monday Night Wars. Austin and McMahon's feud ran for a year, carrying the company to heights it had never before experienced but they never had that elusive singles bout. In an attempt to keep the various members of The Corporation from interfering, the Austin vs. McMahon was booked inside a Steel Cage. Austin unleashed hell on McMahon, paying him back for a year of torment. He ensured that the Chairman of WWE sported the crimson mask and even sent him flying from the cage, through an announce table, breaking his tailbone in the process. Austin stomped a mud hole in McMahon and walked it dry as fans in Memphis ate every second of the vicious assault up. Then Big Show made his surprise debut, shocking those same fans and creating doubts in their minds about Austin's ability to win the match. After all, they had seen the Texas Rattlesnake screwed over repeatedly and now that the giant competitor had taken to tossing Austin around the squared circle, there was reason to question whether or not bald-headed, finger-flipping ass kicker would leave with the WrestleMania title shot he so desired. As it turned out, Big Show's strength would be Austin's saving grace as the giant tossed Austin into the side of the cage, breaking it and making it that much more simple for Stone Cold to drop to the floor and win the match.
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.
