The Original TLC match took full form at SummerslamThe Attitude Era officially kicked off Circa late 1997 and continued till 2002, at the time or after WWE lost the lawsuit to the World Wildlife Fund from using their company’s name in acronym form. The ‘Get The F Out’ campaign began and triggered the end of the Attitude Era.Despite its questionable content, the Attitude Era was the most profitable era for the company which had Stone Cold as the biggest star not just of that era but in all of the company’s mainstream history.As Summerslam 2015 inches forward, it is only apt to reminiscence about the PPV in said era.Here are the 5 greatest Summerslam matches from the Attitude Era-
#5 Test vs Shane McMahon
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The reason behind this match could only be convincing in the realm of the WWE. Test and Stephanie McMahon were once a couple and McMahon’s brother disapproved of this relationship. The obvious argument in everyone’s mind was that Stephanie’s life is none of his business so big brother played the heel, and the fans ate it up and licked their fingers.
And just like his sister and father, Shane McMahon is not a technician but he certainly delivers in every match that he’s been a part of. This was right up his alley with all the hardcore match stipulations.
There were leaps and dives and painful exchanges but in the end Test came out victorious, much to Stephanie’s delight.
#4 Stone Cold vs Kurt Angle
This was an interesting match for the reason being that these two superstars had a role reversal. Austin was an out and out heel. Kurt Angle was a babyface for the first time in his WWE career. This was an era where there were so many superstars who were brimming with main event potential.This match proved that Angle belonged up there with the rest. Before this he had quite a goofy persona combined with his arrogance and athleticism. In this match, Angle kicked out of three stunners and looked set to defeat Stone Cold Steve Austin clean but his victory came via disqualification after both superstars attacked the two referees, Earl Hebner and Mike Chioda, with their respective finishers.
#3 Stone Cold vs The Undertaker
Discussions about Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker will be a bit incomplete without mentioning the role they played in each others careers. These two behemoths faced each other in the main event of Summerslam 1998.The veteran and ageless Undertaker was facing The Face who beganrunning the place. The Attitude Era IS Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The poster showed these two as destructive forces with them hurling the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building and this was quite apt for these larger than life characters. The hard fought match ended when The Undertaker stumbled into a stunner following the low blow after he was going for the Old School. The match ended with Taker handing over the championship to Austin sharing a moment of mutual respect.
They also happened to main event the best Summerslam event till date.
#2 The Rock vs Triple H
Despite the main event being Stone Cold vs The Undertaker, the match that in retrospect remains more memorable is the match between Triple H and The Rock. These two had a storied rivalry, which was one of the best and defining rivalries of The Attitude Era. This match also went on to be the longest that year at the PPV clocking 24 minutes and 32 seconds.
This wasn’t the most iconic ladder match like the one between HBK and Razor Ramon. But it was still one of the best ladder matches ever. The fact remains that these two perfected their rivalry in the mid card first and then moved on to the main event. This match was a testament to how great these two can be as main-eventers.
This was a breakthrough moment for both of them.
#1 Original TLC
This is legendary not just for The Attitude Era but for the company as a whole. Three teams came together to give rise to the concept of ‘TLC- Tables, Ladders and Chairs’. History was made as one of the most exciting and dangerous gimmick matches took birth. The ladder specialists and hometown boys Hardys faced the table specialists Dudley Boys and chair specialists Edge & Christian in an instant classic.
There were broken tables, swinging ladders (even a swinging title which Jeff hardy hung on to), chairs hit all over and ultimately Edge and Christian extinguished fans’ hope of the Hardys winning, by standing on top of the world with their titles intact.
