WWE: The Four Greatest Post-WrestleMania Pay Per Views
On April 27th, the WWE, live from Saudi Arabia, will present the Greatest Royal Rumble. This event looks to be one for the ages, featuring a card filled with WrestleMania-level matches, just weeks removed from the Showcase of the Immortals.
Should the Greatest Royal Rumble deliver on what are undoubtedly high expectations, it will join these four events as the best Post-Wrestlemania shows in WWE history.
Credit: WWE.com
#4 – Unforgiven 1998
Fresh off WrestleMania XIV, a huge turning point in the Monday Night Wars, the WWE presented the first edition of Unforgiven. Though the event would eventually become the company’s September staple, this show took place on April 26, 1998, from Greensboro, North Carolina. The Carolinas had long been thought of NWA/WCW territory, but you wouldn’t know it on this night, as a remarkable 21,427 fans packed the Greensboro Coliseum to check out some WWE action.
The undercard was packed with superstars who would go on to become focal points of the Attitude Era such as, D-Generation X, The Rock, the New Age Outlaws, and Sable. The main event featured the man who would *define* the era, as Stone Cold Steve Austin defended his WWE Championship against Mr. McMahon’s corporately groomed challenger, Dude Love. The match itself was very good, but it was the antics surrounding it that left everyone talking. Vince McMahon, who at this point had made it very clear that he wanted the title off Austin, came down to ringside to try and do just that. For his troubles he received one of the most hellacious chair shots known to man. The Texas Rattlesnake was ultimately disqualified, but this meant he left Greensboro with his title in tow.
Yet, even more than the antics of Stone Cold, this event is perhaps best remembered for a match the likes of which had never been seen before. The Undertaker and Kane turned up the heat on their already scorching rivalry, and faced each other in an inferno match. Fire surrounded the ring while the two seven-footers battled inside. Fans oohed and aahed as every move done by a competitor caused the flames to burn higher and higher, culminating memorable in an emphatic fiery chokeslam from the Phenom. Then, in a moment that would become a staple of video packages for years to come, the Undertaker bounced off the ropes, charged the opposite side of the ring, and launched himself into the air, clearing the flames and delivering a topé for the ages.
This event put the wrestling world on notice. The Attitude Era was going to be a wild ride.