Horatio

Hot dog! What a match! I'll say this wasn't a great match, but it contained some really excellent wrestling. It seemed like M.S.G.-level house show match where the workhorses decide to call it in the ring and send the fans home believing they saw some real bad blood fisticuffs get thrown. Some of it was sloppy, but I don't know where being-professional dictates that the work has to be extra-tight.

Two matches to compare and contrast with this one are Mind Games and Bret/Austin at Survivor Series. Under a microscope, this may be the third best match of the bunch, but I wouldn't fault anyone who prefers this one for the sheer spectacle it ends up being... It's worked truly fast pace, and maybe things got thrown off by the handicapped kid who tried to rush the ring at the beginning, but there's reason to watch and re-watch this match. Even the fact that these two are tag champions going into this match comes into play as they walk away together looking sus after working stiff or worked stiff the entire match.

This isn't really a "moves match" it's more of a footwork/rope-running match like Perfect/Hart or Tatanka/Luger several years prior. This is where things get sloppy, because obviously it wasn't rehearsed, but Austin keeps getting the better of Shawn up to a certain point, and when Shawn gets his comeuppance, it's clear that they were building to something that would pay off (that being the multi-million dollar Attitude-era reign of Stone Cold Steve Austin). Ego can become a part of some great wrestlers' in-ring game(s), but Shawn puts Stone Cold over HARD in this match. At one point, he takes a lariat from Stone Cold and lands on the back of his head while doing his best "bounce bump" on his back. I've often thought of Bryan Danielson as the guy who seems to have the most fun while wrestling (and that maybe carries over to him being the best wrestler), but Shawn really seemed to enjoy putting over Stone Cold, who works tight and fast like he's picking up where he left off at Survivor Series '96.

Some things are cool: Shawn legitimately makes a fan of his a priority while Austin shows no such mercy in his thinking, Austin Ultimate Warrior-style press-slam-dropps Michaels on the concrete outside the ring, Shawn takes the Stunner before landing a Sweet Chin Music so it's really difficult to say how this would have ended without the double-DQ. Some things are uncool: Austin pulls down Shawn's pants and the commentators go quiet...

It has the zany anything-can-happen atmosphere of Mind Games, but it's got sprint-y heavyweight action a la Bret/Austin Unforgiven '97 and I don't see how anyone can pass up a chance to see both of those things in one match. Some people started the rumor that Austin 2001 was the best version of Austin, but I don't know ... his '97 seems so on-point, much better than Eddie Guerrero's comparable rise-to-the-top in '03. Likewise, add this to the many highly touted Shawn matches of his skimpy 1997. What more can I say? The punches in the match are tremendous. Stone Cold looks stiff, Shawn looks like he's working which is merciful, because as they walk away together tag champions, you can see that Shawn is visible an inch or two taller than Stone Cold, and with a size and reach advantage, he may be capable of K.O.-ing Austin into better oblivion.

Match rating: ****1/4 because it's that much a spectacle to see these two prove their greatness for the record books. Seriously, Shawn takes a major butt-whooping from Stone Cold and there's hardly that many tricks pulled out of his hat for those familiar with his work; and, Stone Cold shows he's just as good as Bret when it comes to outworking Shawn, at least on this night. I like Shawn better coming out of this match, but Stone Cold's work was nearly flawless aside from the unnecessary butt-crack leakage...