The 4 Best (& 5 Worst) Moments Of Raw From 1998
Hey, Do You Remember used to be a podcast that was about many of the films we grew up loving. The show’s three hosts would take off the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia and see how all kinds of movies from the mid-80s to early 2000s held up. With that in mind - “Hey, do you remember the WWE Attitude Era?”
Related: 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Of Raw From 1999
1998: It was a time in wrestling history that plenty of fans think was the greatest time ever. It certainly was ratings-wise. The Stone Cold Era had begun and DX and The Nation were both on the rise. The Undertaker was feuding with both Kane and Mankind, the latter of which would lead to the craziest moment in the history of WWE. It wasn't all gravy, though, as some Raw moments during that era need to be left in the past.
9 Worst - The Brawl For All
If any fan had been wondering what would happen in a real fight between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan, then go back and watch the Brawl For All Tournament to see how terrible of an idea that would be.
Related: 10 WWE Brawl For All Wrestlers: Where Are They Now?
Yes, wrestlers are tough guys, but their trained how to take bumps, not real punches. Watching all of the Attitude Era big men sling fists wasn’t just as boring as it sounds, it was incredibly dangerous and did cost several people months of their careers, if not ended them entirely.
8 Best - Mike Tyson And Stone Cold Steve Austin
The first full year of The Attitude Era got jumpstarted in the biggest way possible the night after the 1998 Royal Rumble. "Iron" Mike Tyson showed up on Monday Night Raw and Vince McMahon was set to announce the biggest coup the WWE ever made. But instead, Stone Cold Steve Austin stomped to the ring for the biggest celebrity-wrestler altercation up to that point (and perhaps still).To date, it's still the most raucous way ever to kick off the Road to WrestleMania.
7 Worst - Hawk's Personal Demons
There are some old school NWA fans that hold The Road Warriors amongst the upper echelon of tag teams. But by the time they returned to the WWE in the mid-90s, there was seemingly nothing left for them to do as huge, nasty bruisers.
Related: Every Version Of The Road Warriors, Ranked From Worst To Best
With Hawk battling his personal demons in real life, Vince Russo decided to translate that into an Attitude Era storyline that saw the Legion of Doom break up. It involved a tasteless angle which saw Hawk being shoved by Droz off the Titantron.
6 Best - Bedpan McMahon
During The Attitude Era, every week was seemingly a “Can you top this?” episode of how far Mr. McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin could go to destroy each other. On one episode of Raw, while recuperating in the hospital, Mr. McMahon had suffered a few fools. No nurse could help him properly and Mick Foley had tried to cheer the boss up with Yurple the Clown and Mr. Socko.
The worst of Vince’s problems came when doctor Stone Cold eventually showed up to deliver a healthy beating. Austin leveled the Chairman with a bedpan before trying to give the boss his own brand of Broken Skull enemas.
5 Worst - Val Venis & Kai En Tai
Certainly a product of the era, Val Venis was the epitome of pushing the envelope. A former adult film star turned wrestler, Val was set to cast his ultimate masterpiece in the WWE. Early on during his WWE run, he ran afoul of Kai En Tai, thanks to his hedonistic relations with Mrs. Yamaguchi.
The group would attempt to actually slice off the Big Valbowski. Just when it looked like he would become the little Valbowski, John Wayne Bobbit, who actually did suffer such a fate, turned the lights off to save Val and fans from a terrible segment getting even worse.
4 Best - D-Generation X Invades WCW
The early stages of the Monday Night War, WCW had several big victories, both in moments and in the ratings. Then something clicked in the WWE and they started literally firing back. DX commandeered an army Jeep and headed across Virginia to the Scope, home of WCW Nitro for the evening.
They nearly did get in the door to rescue their friends and P.O.W.C.W. like Hall and Nash, as well as some of Road Dogg’s Armstrong brothers, but the lesser minds of WCW closed the gates on DX.
3 Worst - Sable
Not to sound like Dave Meltzer or anyone else that bemoaned why Sable was on their TV screens, but honestly, the only reason Sable was on WWE TV was because of her looks and the fact that the powers that be knew it would definitely help WWE get ratings.
Rena Mero was simply breathtaking, there is no argument, but she wasn’t that great of a performer. Wrestling wasn’t necessarily what she was hired to do, but for the most part she took up airtime from others more deserving.
2 Best - Zamboni Ride
After both The Undertaker and Kane pinned Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vince McMahon had decided to have a whole ceremony to name the new WWE champion.
Related: 10 Awesome Stone Cold Vs. Vince McMahon Moments You Forgot About
Unfortunately for him, Raw was broadcast from Hockey Town - Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena. Stone Cold hopped on a Zamboni to crash the party. It was the first time that Austin drove a vehicle of mass destruction to the ring.
1 Worst - The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust
When Goldust debuted in late 1995, he was controversial and something completely ready for the Attitude Era. But since this was still during the days of The New Generation, the character was eventually forced to dial it back down.
When the Attitude Era got cranking, Goldust thought that he needed more to succeed and went completely off of the deep end. He became The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust. He paraded around with Luna Vachon in the most ridiculous wrestling outfits ever seen this side of Beaver Cleavage, which would come a year later.
Next: 10 Years Where WWE Wasn't The Best Wrestling Company In The World
