[1997-05-11-WWF-A Cold Day in Hell] Steve Austin vs The Undertaker

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Last few minutes. The Hart Foundation purchased five ringside tickets "from a scalper", as "this event has been sold out for weeks" according to Jim Ross. I'm amused at the low blow stuff involving the referee. The last few minutes of this are pretty GREAT. Screwy finish, as Pillman rings the bell after Austin gets a stunner. Austin doesn't cover because he thinks he's won, which distracts him long enough for Undertaker to tombstone and pin. The Harts immediately rush the ring and attack Undertaker, so Austin dumps Bret out of his wheelchair then clears the ring with his crutch. Austin leaves by laying Undertaker out with a stunner. They really did as much as possible to keep Austin strong in losing here.

 

I want to see this match in full now based on the finishing stuff.

[Exposer]

I remember watching this on Austin's DVD a few years back and thinking it was very good.

[Kevin Ridge]

Austin gets huge pop when he gives Hebner the finger behind his back. I’d cheer that one too. Austin gets the Stunner but Pillman and Hart Foundation cause a distraction. Ross was putting over in commentary that Austin should be the new WWF Champion. Post match has Austin hitting Undertaker with another Stunner. Crowd was good in this match and so much louder than Shamrock/Vader.

[soup23]

Really good finish and I too would like to see the full match since they have had some big stinkers since then. The finish was really clever with the harts escalating everything by being at ringside. Pillman does the false alarm bell spot which Lawler has a great call on saying he just got overly excited. I was also impressed with the tombstone reversal sequence and it looks like Austin got dropped right on his dome. Good stuff to close out a B show PPV.

[PeteF3]

Good finishing stretch, with the Harts getting involved but not too much. Undertaker as champ really feels like he's second-rate, as Bret was the year before, like Rey and Punk later, and in a way that people would probably be howling over if it were an Internet favorite. Not a call-out of smark fans, just how I see it. Good chaotic scene in the post-match, as the Hart Foundation swarm Undertaker but leave Bret alone, which Austin takes advantage of. Then after running the Harts off he drops Undertaker with one more Stunner, just because. No question who the future star was, even in defeat.

[Exposer]

Strange match. It's pretty good, but the fans were expecting two badasses to brawl & most of the match they worked holds & body parts. Austin flinging Owen over the railing after the first punch exchange with Taker is awesome. I also think the fans were too distracted with giving the HF a hard time at ringside. Interesting match to watch though with Austin using an STF & Taker busting out karate kicks & half crabs. It's worked around dueling limb work. Fun to watch the whole thing to see how these two work on the mat together if nothing else. The finishing run is hot though. It's more what the fans wanted with the low blow spots & all. Hebner shows some personality for possibly the first time by giving Austin the bird during the whole low blow sequence. Funny. Austin hits the stunner & as he goes for the cover the bell rings & we discover Pillman has hijacked the ring bell. Taker gets back up & we get a WCW level reaction for a tombstone reversal spot. That was cool. Taker hits it & retains. The HF jump both guys right at the bell, but Austin slips out & targets Bret. He pushes Bret over in his wheelchair in a funny moment then takes one of his crutches & chases off the HF with it. Taker nails Owen with a chokeslam during all of this ass. When Fink announces Taker as the winner, Austin takes exception & stuns Taker to a big pop sending him the bird for good measure along with it. Good way to keep the Austin-Bret feud going & protect both Austin & Taker. Austin needed to be protected at this point & Taker needed to keep the belt. Great post-match & ending.

[cactus]

This was a face-versus-face match and the fans seem torn on who to cheer for. Austin is also feuding with the Hart Foundation at this time and they come to ring as fans as they have purchased front-row seats. People seem more into the match whenever Austin would start fighting with members of the Hart Foundation instead of working with Undertaker. We spend a lot of time in holds, but they are always working and the holds always have a struggle to them. I was expecting more of an explosive brawl instead of the slow and methodical match we got. The last few minutes are very exciting, with Austin getting the pop of the night after giving the referee the bird after the ref warns Austin for landing a low blow. Pillman sneaks over the barricade and rings the bell just as Austin has this won. Undertaker takes advantage of the distraction and retains his title and we are treated to a post-match brawl. Undertaker and Austin never had the best chemistry, but this was a so-so match with a molten-hot finish. ★★★¼