The Year in PPV- 1999, Part II

Sadly, 1999 continues with one of the biggest tragedies in wrestling history...


6. Over the Edge

I could easily describe the matches that took place at Over the Edge, but at the end of the day, it would be pointless to do so. This show isn't remembered for the matches on the card, but rather the tragedy that befell the company and the wrestling industry when Owen Hart fell from the rafters when his harness broke. Falling more than 70 feet, Owen Hart was rushed to a medical facility, but ultimately died on that evening. After announcing that shocking news to those watching on PPV, the company was left with the difficult decision of continuing the PPV. Even worse, there was no announcement of Owen's death to those in attendance at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Any way going into this, things were not going to look good for the WWF legally or ethically.

While there is a title graphic dedicating the event to Owen's life, there is no mention of the accident at all in the WWE Network broadcast. No pre-match interview that took place during the accident. Nothing from Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler concerning the accident, or Ross announcing to the world that Owen died on that evening. While this movement is absolutely in good taste, the casual fans still know what happened at this event, so the solemn tone is still there. It definitely was not an easy event to sit through, and this show is best left skipped for those who know they can't handle the emotion behind the tragedy.

Skip It


7. King of the Ring

So, the King of the Ring tournament was featured very heavily on this PPV as it always is. However, when the matches consist of Kane vs. Big Show, X-Pac vs. Hardcore Holly, Chyna vs. Road Dogg, and Billy Gunn vs. Ken Shamrock, it was easy to see this tournament was lacking that potential future star element that came when guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H won in previous years. Even worse was when you got to the semi-finals with short matches from Kane vs. Billy Gunn and X-Pac vs. Road Dogg. The finals came down to Billy Gunn and X-Pac and...did anyone really care who would win between those two? Neither of those guys were gonna go anywhere winning the King of the Ring tournament.

The non-tournament matches offered a little more fun, but only for a short time. Edge and Christian fought the Hardy Boyz in a short tag team match to determine the number one contenders for the WWF Tag Team Championships. This was a nice early tease to the rivalry these teams would have in the years to come. The Rock challenged the Undertaker for the WWF Championship in a match that didn't really click in story or in match quality (the ending is darn near laughable). The main event saw Stone Cold Steve Austin face Shane and Mr. McMahon in a handicap ladder match to see who would control the ladder match. It's your standard ladder match, but the most intriguing part of it (the ending) was never answered and still remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in WWE history. Would it had really been that difficult to explain on RAW the next night who kept raising and lowering the briefcase?!?!?

Skip It


8. Fully Loaded

Call me crazy, but I actually enjoyed this show. Similar to St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Fully Loaded realized that the more stipulation matches we add on the card, the more unique the feuds and payoffs will be. Having Triple H and The Rock fight in a Strap match certainly adds an element to their longstanding feud. Having Steve Blackman and Ken Shamrock (two very physical and violent athletes) compete in an Iron Circle match added a unique match stipulation that was new to the fans. Even having Road Dogg and X-Pac face Chyna and Billy Gunn in a match where the winning team would have the rights to go by the name D-Generation X made fans feel like there was something important for these former degenerates to be fighting over.

The main event saw Stone Cold Steve Austin take on the Undertaker in a First Blood match for the WWF Championship. Not only was the title on the line, but if Austin lost, he would never get another shot at the WWF Championship. If the Undertaker lost, Mr. McMahon would no longer be able to appear on WWF television. This match was being called the end of an era, and even if the result didn't matter in hindsight, the match had a big fight feel attached. What raised the stakes even higher was seeing both Taker and Austin get the upper hand on their opponent earlier in the evening by opening each other up and forcing each other to head into the match with fresh stitches.

Recommended


9. SummerSlam

I'll give the WWF credit where credit's due. At least at this SummerSlam, while not every match was a home run, they allowed the stars to feel like they were hitting grand slams. Each match was given a certain amount of time to try and shine, including time to get Chris Jericho over with an in-ring promo against Road Dogg. One of the early standouts on the card was a tag team turmoil match to determine the number one contenders for the WWF Tag Team Championships. This perfectly shows the status of the tag teams for them to have so many in this match, and also have a WWF Tag Team Championship match (Kane and X-Pac vs. Big Show and the Undertaker).

One underrated gem on the card was the Greenwich Street Fight "Love Her or Leave Her" match between Shane McMahon and Test. Shane McMahon is always clutch when it comes to hardcore matches, and this match is a pretty good indicator that Test could have been something HUGE for the WWF. He could've been a star if they pushed him harder after this match. But the main event saw Stone Cold Steve Austin defend the WWF Championship against Mankind and Triple H with Jesse Ventura as the guest referee. This was a standard triple threat, but it had a lot of buildup and follow through with company history. The ending of this match was used to really bring Triple H to the forefront of the main event at the expense of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Mild Recommendation


Thoughts: IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME?!?!?! I'm going to give the WWF the benefit of the doubt at the time and say that they had a tough time bouncing back from the death of Owen Hart. Owen was one of those personalities that was beloved all over wrestling, and his loss really put the company in a rough patch. With that said, even by the time we got to SummerSlam, the shows were only intriguing me with maybe one or two matches per show. By this time, Triple H had really grown into the main event spot, culminating with him "crippling" Austin at SummerSlam and winning the WWF Championship the next night on RAW. This was a defining moment for the Attitude Era, as it found its next main event heel. With Rock and Austin as the two top babyfaces, and guys like Mankind, Undertaker, and Big Show still rounding out the main event scene, the title picture certainly had a lot of intrigue heading into the last few months of the year...starting with Triple H losing the WWF Championship in a match with Mr. McMahon! Yeah, that happened! But how could they bounce back from that debacle as the 20th century came to a close?

Concluded in Part III...


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