Great-ing Gimmicks of the Past: The Return of Dude Love – WWF, 1998
History
The Steve Austin-Vince McMahon feud was really gaining steam after Wrestlemania XIV. A new challenger for Austin’s just-won WWF Title was bound to be on the horizon, but who would it be? After all, traditional names like Bret Hart (gone to WCW) and Shawn Michaels (retired due to back injuries) were out of the picture.
The answer came on the April 13, 1998 episode of Raw. The main event was scheduled to be Steve Austin (with one arm tied behind his back) vs. Vince McMahon. Before the match could get started, Dude Love (Mick Foley, having retired his Cactus Jack persona a week prior) came down to try and smooth things over. It didn’t take long for the Dude to lock the Mandible Claw on Austin.
The next week’s Raw opened with Dude Love hosting a new interview show – the Love Shack. He was interrupted by McMahon, who was irate about losing his chance to humiliate Austin the week before. He fined the Dude $5,000 and left. The Dude then offered to give up his title shot at Sunday’s PPV if Austin would beg him to.
Austin came out later and claimed that McMahon and Dude were working together, then promised to provide proof.
Dude had Steve Blackman in the main event. The bell suddenly rang, which prompted Blackman to attack the timekeeper. As McMahon helped him back to his feet, Austin hit the scene to attack McMahon and Dude. McMahon finally got an opening and cleared out with Austin on his heels.
At Unforgiven, Dude got his title match in the main event. As Austin and Dude brawled around the arena, McMahon made his way to ringside and gave the timekeeper a telling look. In the end, Dude got dropped and McMahon ate a Stunner for his trouble. The end result was that Dude won the match by DQ (since Austin had assaulted a WWF official) but Austin kept the title.
The next night, Dude was back at the Love Shack. He claimed that he’d gained a lot of respect for Stone Cold the night before, but then started outlining several different scenarios that culminated with the Dude winning the title. McMahon added to the fire by making a main event of Austin vs. Goldust for the title (with Gerald Brisco as the special guest referee).
Later on, a bizarre moment took place as Dude walked past Kevin Kelly backstage, muttering about McMahon. When McMahon came up to him, the Dude claimed that things weren’t going according to their plan. McMahon immediately ordered the camera turned off and sent Kelly out of the area.
Sure enough, the Dude interfered in the match. As he and Austin brawled outside the ring, Vince tried to nail him with the belt but clocked Brisco instead. Austin grabbed the belt and returned to the ring to celebrate.
Foley was furious on the next Raw. He was in the Love Shack, but dressed as Cactus Jack and carrying his Dude Love outfit. He went on to complain that McMahon had made a hardcore match between himself and Terry Funk. McMahon came out and explained that Mick should look at the match as an opportunity for a shot at the world title. That brought Austin out who trashed the set.
Austin made his way to ringside to do guest commentary for the hardcore match as special referee Pat Patterson got things ready for what would prove to be a great match. Finally Austin climbed into the ring and threw beer into Foley’s face, blinding him. Foley locked the Mandible Claw on Patterson. Foley let him go and Patterson grabbed a chair before trying to sneak up on Austin. Austin caught him and stunnered him. Foley headed up the ramp as McMahon and the Dude’s girls appeared at the top of the ramp, celebrating. McMahon gave the Dude Love outfit back to Foley and they celebrated a moment before leaving.
A week later McMahon brought out the new Dude Love, who wore glasses, a suit, and false teeth. McMahon then announced that the guest timekeeper for the Austin/Love match at No Way Out would be Gerald Brisco. The guest ring announcer was Pat Patterson, and then it was revealed that the guest referee was McMahon himself.
The main event of the night saw Austin and McMahon tagging against Rocky Maivia and D’Lo Brown. In the end, Patterson and Brisco interfered, which brought out Dude to join in the fun, and that was the cue for DX to attack.
The following week opened with McMahon barring Austin from the building to “protect†him for Patterson and Brisco. McMahon then brought out Dustin Runnels (who had renounced the Goldust character a week before) and set up a number one contender’s match between Runnels and Foley where if Runnels lost he would work for free for 30 days.
With the help of Gerald Brisco, Dude won the match. The main event saw Brisco and Patterson take on Austin in a street fight, which they won with the help of Dude and McMahon.
That brought us to Over the Edge. The match was a wild affair which culminated with Austin covering Dude and using McMahon’s arm (Dude had accidentally knocked him out with a chair) to count the pinfall.
The next night McMahon fired Foley for his failure. Foley would go on to feud with the Undertaker (culminating in the Infamous Hell in a Cell match), while Kane would become the next title contender.
Analysis
To understand this angle, we have to look at the time through a different set of eyes. Today, the Mr. McMahon/Evil Boss vs. Popular Babyface with help of Evil Lackey Henchman angle has been played out over and over and over again. Back then it was all brand new. Remember, all that McMahon had been known for until about four or five months earlier was a television commentator. Mr. McMahon was doing groundbreaking things here. Of course, the stronger the evil boss, the stronger the support grew for Austin as well.
Also this angle showed how the audience would respond to Foley in the main event. After all, as Mankind Foley had had a feud with Shawn Michaels in 1996 over the World title, and had moved on to feud with the Undertaker. This run may have been telling as by the end of the following January Foley (once more as Mankind) was the WWF heavyweight champion and feuding with the Rock.
Foley was also the perfect choice to take part in this angle. The crowd had turned on him after Cactus Jack’s farewell speech, and this allowed him to retake center stage as the corporately-created Dude Love.
Where Are They Now?
Vince McMahon remains the owner of the WWE.
Steve Austin had left the WWE by 2004. His neck (following a botched piledriver from Owen Hart in 1997) had continued to deteriorate, and his in-ring appearances were getting more and more infrequent. Austin’s last WWE television appearances were at the March 18, 2006 Saturday Night’s Main Event (where he defeated JBL in a beer drinking contest) and at the Hall of Fame ceremony that year where he inducted Bret Hart.
Mick Foley left the WWF in 2001. In June of 2003 Foley made a few appearances, then followed it up by becoming co-GM of Raw with Eric Bischoff. Foley went on to feud with Randy Orton throughout early 2004, then began taking independent bookings, including ones for Ring of Honor and Japan’s HUSTLE. Foley returned to the WWE again in September of 2005. Foley vanished again after being betrayed by Melina in August of 2006.
Next Week
A developmental territory puts on a hotter feud than either Raw or Smackdown could pull off.
