5 Worst wrestling matches of 1998

In many ways, 1998 was a watershed year for WWE. They struck gold with the perfect creative formula: ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin + evil authority figure + beat-down + beer = ratings.

With this approach, WWE managed to catapult themselves into mainstream popularity, enjoying a run that was either on par with, or greater than, the era of Hulkamania. This new era of crossover appeal led to some truly fantastic segments…and some really bad matches.

The reason for that latter point is because traditional wrestling was being tossed aside in both WWE and their biggest rival WCW. In its place were shorter ‘crash-TV matches’ that featured little in-ring story. In many cases, more fans kept their heads turned to the entrance ramp wondering who’d interfere than watching the actual matches on weekly TV. Sure, there were some great WWE PPV matches, but those were few and far between.

But hey, at least WWE made the smart choice by putting most of their eggs in the ‘Stone Cold’ basket and had at least one or two possible back-ups in The Rock and Triple H if Austin couldn’t wrestle (which did end up happening). In whom did WCW put their faith? In a bunch of ex-WWE wrestlers that kept coming over one by one for the promise of less work for more pay and control.

The people that came over – especially those involved in the NWO – became so powerful that they managed to book themselves into the top spot, and also managed to take some of the heat away from WWE by putting on some of the most dreadful wrestling matches ever seen.

Here are five of those matches, split more or less evenly between WWE and WCW.

---

#5 Too Much vs. Al Snow & Head – WWE King Of The Ring 1998

This is probably the best bad match in this entire series. It isn’t mentioned on this list because of a bad reaction or some bad in-ring action. The poor official Wrestling Observer rating (-2 stars) is because it was a tag team match in which one of the participants was…Head. You know, the mannequin head that Al Snow carried around so that he could deliver a classic punchline (‘What does everyone want? HEAD!’).

Although this match was actually good comedy (especially with the ending, which saw Brian Christopher put a bottle of Head and Shoulders shampoo into Head’s head hole to pin its ‘shoulders’ to the mat), there were some dumb moments in it as well.

For some reason, crooked ref Jerry Lawler wouldn’t allow Snow to tag in Head, despite it being a literal inanimate mannequin head. Secondly, when Snow did ‘tag in’ head, the action consisted of Snow using Head as a weapon to attack his opponents (because Head didn’t have an actual body to wrestle with), Lawler didn’t disqualify Snow, and instead led the nonsense continue.

This wasn’t necessarily bad nonsense; on the contrary, it was actually fun. But the obvious flaws in logic made it hard to watch when you weren’t chuckling at the countless ‘head’ jokes.

#4 Undertaker vs. Kane – WWE Judgment Day 1998

It’s a bit difficult writing this because Undertaker and Kane are so beloved by fans around the world. However, this match is just so damn bad, both in setup and in execution, that it simply cannot be ignored.

Undertaker and Kane had a bad night here, with their usually-strong chemistry being completely off. The match structure lacked psychology from the beginning, as Undertaker was in complete control after landing Old School one minute into the match. They did some weak brawling outside for a bit, and then botched a move of some kind so badly that the audience – which always cheered for the Undertaker – actually chanted ‘you f***ed up’ at him and Kane.

Although this match could be forgotten if it was judged solely on its below-average action, the story of the match was even worse. The entire premise was built on whether special guest referee Steve Austin would count the pin or not. A person in a non-wrestling role was built to be more important than the wrestlers involved…straight out of Vince Russo’s playbook.

Not only did that gimmick worsen this match, but Austin’s interactions with the Brothers of Destruction were also nonsensical. At one point, Kane punched Austin for no apparent reason, despite the fact that, a) Austin could’ve disqualified Kane for doing this; b) Austin appeared to be showing favoritism for Kane up to that point; and c) the match needed a clean pin to end, so who would do that if not Austin?

Clearly, no one thought of these obvious logic holes when this match took place, making it a complete mess that will definitely not be appearing on the ‘Best of’ special for any of them.

#3 Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan – WCW Uncensored 1998

Randy Savage was once considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, and Hogan was once its most iconic figure. By 1998, both of them had fallen so far from grace, and it showed in this match.

In true WCW fashion, nothing in this match made sense and there were so many bizarre occurrences that it makes your head hurt. The first half of the match featured Hogan literally doing one type of offense and then Savage would do the same thing (down to the moment when Hogan hit Savage with a belt, and then Savage hit Hogan with a belt).

Then, both of them brawl outside…in a cage match. But because this is WCW, no one ever explained the rules, i.e. if you win by pinfall/submission or escaping the cage or both. So upon first viewing, it looks like they’ve both won (or lost?) and want to keep brawling. It’s so confusing it’s impossible to follow any of this.

More shenanigans followed with interference (because, WCW), and this time it involved the Disciple (a.k.a. Brutus Beefcake) and then Sting, who evened the odds for Savage only for Savage to hit him and then Hogan again, changing allegiance twice in less than five minutes.

Even without Vince Russo at the helm, this match was completely asinine and now finds itself on the ‘worst of’ collection for both Hogan and Savage.

#2 WarGames - Fall Brawl 1998

WarGames 1998

https://www.wwe.com/videos/team-wcw-vs-nwo-hollywood-vs-nwo-wolfpac-wargames-match-wcw-fall-brawl-1998-full-match

WarGames is a great concept when the booking makes sense. In 2017, NXT actually did an excellent job in presenting a 3-team WarGames match that was one of the best matches of that year. If only the bookers of that match also booked the original 3v3v3 WarGames match that took place almost twenty years earlier.

In terms of in-ring action, this match had very little, with most of the moves consisting of punches, kicks and other strikes. But that pales in comparison to the creative side of things. This match was over-booked and so convoluted that you couldn’t enjoy it.

Even when one team had more members in the rings than the other two, neither team had a clear advantage. Momentum shifts didn’t come and go, and so it felt like the wrestlers were all stalling for time. The first ten minutes had nothing interesting happen, and it was only towards the final five minutes that things got even remotely exciting.

This was made even more nonsensical by the fact that, despite it being between three teams of three wrestlers, the one wrestler that got the winning decision would get a WCW World Title shot. So we as viewers were supposed to watch carefully in anticipation that one wrestler on a team would betray the others to get the win for themselves. That didn’t happen, but what did happen was outside interference from The Disciple, and DDP won a title shot.

All this proved is that sometimes, the simplest one-on-one matches are the easiest to follow and are better than over-booking and over-participation.

#1 Hollywood Hogan vs. The Warrior – Halloween Havoc 1998

This match is legendary for how bad it was. It was also rated the Worst Match of 1998 by the Wrestling Observer and snagged an abysmal -5 star rating from that same publication. To understand why it was so terrible, let’s look at it more closely.

Both of Hogan and Warrior were WAY past their primes, and couldn’t do anything athletic for two minutes, let alone fourteen. There were considerable stalling, long and boring test-of-strength segments, and interference galore.

Of course, this interference was absolutely necessary, as neither Hogan nor Warrior were in good shape. As Jim Cornette once said of this match, “Hogan and Warrior were sucking wind so hard the entire first row suffered from oxygen deprivation.” That’s as accurate as it is hilarious.

As the ‘match’ progressed, it led to a hilarious botch that actually saved this from being the worst match of all time. Hogan was trying to do the famous ‘fireball’ illusion, but screwed it up and burned himself instead. It was so awkward that fans now remember that funny moment as the only good thing in this horrible match.