[1998-08-17-WWF-Raw] Steve Austin and the Undertaker

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

They hyped an Austin vs Undertaker match all night, which is yet another bait and switch that popped a rating. I'm surprised they were able to do that so many times and that it never backfired on them. They never show Undertaker's face, which makes clear that it's Kane in Undertaker's getup. Kane looks great here and this is a terrific brawl. Austin ends up throwing him a hearse and is about to drive off, but when he goes to the door, the Undertaker is driving and "Highway To Hell" starts playing. This is great build, even if it doesn't really make any sense.

[soup23]

I didn't really like this. Taker repels down but it is actually Kane. Him and Austin get in a pretty good brawl but JR and King are confused on commentary and things feel too convoluted to me. The reveal of Taker driving the hearse was pretty cool with Highway to Hell firing up but stuff feels a little too contrived overall.

[PeteF3]

THIS IS NOT A MATCH, THIS IS A CONFRONTATION. A familiar refrain over past Raws and more Raws to come. That's one way to avoid the bait-and-switch accusations, and generally when the WWF did this, they hit you with something that made you forget that you didn't get the match that was hyped. I like this build better than anyone else, it seems.

[JKWebb]

I agree - by the end you didn't care if you got the match here.  The moment was fun and the music was great - really good brawl and it had everyone talking the next day.