Fully Loaded 1999 (2016 Redo): And They Mean FOREVER
The old version was awful so here’s a slightly better look.
IMG Credit: WWE
Fully Loaded 1999
Date: July 25, 1999
Location: Marine Midland Arena, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 16,605
Commentators: Jim Ross Jerry Lawler
Since just having Undertaker vs. Austin for the title isn’t enough, there are a couple stipulations added on top. If Austin loses, he loses the title and the chance to ever challenge for the belt again. If Undertaker loses, Vince McMahon can never appear on WWE TV again. Or for a few weeks, whichever comes first. Let’s get to it.
The opening video focuses on Austin vs. McMahon (of course) with the idea that one of them has to go. This is set to an old song with clips of soldiers returning from war and famous goodbye speeches, including Lou Gehrig’s.
Earlier tonight, Undertaker attacked Austin and busted him open as the McMahons looked on.
Austin is looked at by a doctor.
The McMahons deny having anything to do with the attack. Vince guarantees Austin loses tonight.
Intercontinental Title: Edge vs. Jeff Jarrett
Edge is actually defending after winning the title the previous night at a house show. Jeff has Debra with him, who comes out in a green bikini with a jacket. Before the match, Jeff says no one is seeing the Puppies because they belong to him, just like that title. Feeling out process to start with Edge taking him to the mat for a half nelson rollup. Edge fakes Jarrett out with a middle rope cross body and gets two more off a sunset flip.
Jarrett grabs the title and teases walking out but uses it to sucker Edge out to the floor for a whip into the steps. Back in and Jeff starts going after the legs in his best Ric Flair impression, minus the charisma of course. Things get even better when Edge goes shoulder first into the post. Jeff switches over to the arm (to be fair he had barely started on the leg) before flapjacking the champ for two.
It’s off to the sleeper for a bit until Edge counters into one of his own and even backflips out of the belly to back suplex into a rollup for two. Edge falls head first into a low blow, followed by a swinging neckbreaker. Jeff is ready for the spear though and sends Edge outside, only to have the lights go out so Gangrel (recently split off from the Brood) can come out and……get beaten down by Edge.
Back in and a quick sitout powerbomb gets two for the champ as there’s a pool of blood on the floor from a missed Bloodbath (a Brood trademark where the lights would go out and someone would wind up covered in a red liquid) on the floor. Debra gets up for a distraction so Gangrel can snap Edge’s throat across the top though, setting up Jarrett’s forward legsweep (later known as the Stroke) for the pin and the title at 13:20.
Rating: B-. It was a bit too long but this was quite the opening match. Edge was getting better every day at this point and Jarrett was exactly the kind of opponent to make him look good. Jarrett gets a lot of flack for some stuff that he’s done but he’s a perfectly capable midcard hand who could have spent years putting people over and guaranteed himself a very nice career.
Austin is bandaged up and storms out of the trainer’s room. Jarrett is still in the ring as Austin comes out to give him a Stunner and let off some steam. With blood coming through the bandage, Austin promises that Undertaker is going into the match with stitches in his head too.
Tag Team Titles: Acolytes vs. Hardy Boys/Michael Hayes
The Hardys are defending after winning the titles from the Acolytes in a big upset. Hayes, the Hardys’ manager, is added in here because the Acolytes are that confident of their victory. It’s a brawl in the aisle to start with the challengers taking over on the far smaller champions. Hayes gets isolated and hit in the head with the steps. We finally get the opening bell with the Acolytes still in full control until Matt moonsaults off the top to take them both out.
Poetry in Motion hits Faarooq in the corner and Jeff’s Senton (not yet Swanton) gets two. We finally settle down to the regular match as Bradshaw puts Matt down before handing it off to Faarooq for two off a backbreaker. Hayes comes in and gets beaten down just as quickly but a quick running kick to Faarooq’s chest allows the tag off to Jeff. Things don’t go so well for him though as a powerslam lets the Acolytes take over again.
We hit the chinlock but Jeff fights up and dives over for the tag off to Matt. A quick Twist of Fate gets two on Faarooq but Bradshaw comes back in with a belly to back suplex for two on Matt. Jeff hits Bradshaw with Hayes’ cane (the same way they won the titles in the first place) for the same result. The Acolytes finally get smart and double powerbomb Hayes for the pin and the titles at 10:03.
Rating: B-. The ending made sense here and really was the only way they could go. You don’t want a face team to have to cheat to win all the time but it was clear that the Hardyz were the future of the division. Hayes was just there to take the fall (and therefore protect the Hardyz from doing the job) so everyone is fine. There were more than enough big spots to carry this and the match was a fun way to get us back to where everything needed to be.
D’Lo Brown says he’s waited nine months to get his European Title back.
European Title: D’Lo Brown vs. Mideon
Mideon is defending after finding the title in Shane’s bag and being named champion without winning a match. The now face Brown sends him into the corner and clotheslines Mideon out to the floor for a good looking suicide dive. Mideon takes over with the brawling before a weak clothesline gets two back inside. We hit the chinlock as Mideon swears at fans. That goes nowhere so Mideon gets two off a neckbreaker instead. Brown is sent into the buckle a few times but comes out with a bad looking tornado DDT (Mideon’s fault) for two. A Sky High and the Low Down (frog splash) give Brown the title back at 7:10.
Rating: D. Most of this was on Mideon who just wasn’t any good in the ring. He was a guy with some size who could barely do basic moves without screwing things up, such as that tornado DDT. It’s a bad match but at least Brown, who was on a nice little roll at this point, gets the title back and could be interesting as champion.
Al Snow has been even more insane since a spike has been put through Head. Snow talks about how he hears the screams all the time and wants someone to put him out of his misery.
Hardcore Title: Al Snow vs. Big Boss Man
Snow is defending and drops to his knees in front of Boss Man in the aisle, begging to be put down. Instead Snow grabs Head and hits the spike with his nightstick, which finally makes Snow aggressive like his normal (work with me here) self. They fight over to some empty seats before Boss Man hits him back through the entrance to really make this hardcore.
Snow comes back with a cardboard box full of papers for about as much effect as you would expect. Some strikes to the face have some more effect and a suplex through a table gets no cover. They fight further into the backstage with Snow going head first into a metal wall. Boss Man can’t get a golf cart to work so Al hits him with a plant. That just earns him a whip into a concrete wall as Boss Man punches him through a door.
It’s already time to head outside with Snow taking a bulldog on the concrete. A hubcap and traffic cone stagger Boss Man as Snow asks why Boss Man can’t help him. They head into the street where a car has to stop to avoid hitting them. Snow smiles as he’s rammed into a metal sign and Boss Man handcuffs him to a fence. He begs Boss Man to make it stop so Boss Man blasts him with a metal rod for the pin at 10:13 for our fourth title change in just over an hour.
Rating: C+. This worked a lot better than it had any right to as the Hardcore Title wasn’t such a mess yet with the 24/7 rule, meaning they could actually still do some creative stuff and not have to worry about people running in to steal the title for their thirty second reigns. It may not be much but at least it was something different than “I hit you, you hit me” for ten minutes.
We recap Kane and Big Show in a feud that has been going on for months now. It turned out that Undertaker was on Kane’s side again though and easily destroyed Big Show, only to have Undertaker attack Kane’s partner X-Pac to break up the partnership again.
Hardcore Holly, guest referee for Big Show vs. Kane (because he’s the Big Shot, which makes him perfectly suited to this story for some reason), says he’ll beat both guys up if either of them get in his face.
Big Show vs. Kane
JR acknowledges that their previous match at King of the Ring was a disaster, using his “bowling shoe ugly” metaphor. Kane goes after him to start but gets gorilla pressed out to the floor. I know we’ve seen Big Show do that for years but it’s still amazing to watch. Back in and Kane slugs away until Holly grabs his arm. The distraction lets Show get in a punch of his own, followed by a head knocker (as in setting for a powerbomb/piledriver but jumping into the air and coming down on Kane’s head).
Some headbutts only cause Kane to come back with right hands, only to have Show catch him in a powerslam. Even Holly tells him to hook a leg as Kane kicks out at two. More right hands stagger Show and a DDT plants him. Kane’s top rope clothesline looks to set up the chokeslam but Holly chop blocks him, allowing Show to hit his chokeslam for a fast count pin at 8:10.
Rating: D. This was indeed light years better than their mess the previous month (which included a choke hold that should have killed someone three times over) but this is a good example of overbooking. Who in the world thought Bob Holly needed an angle this close to the main event? He was only there for the ending and that’s really not necessary as he looked so out of place in the match.
X-Pac comes in to drop Holly with a kick, only to have Undertaker come out and help Big Show beat X-Pac and Kane down. This is the kind of thing you should be doing on TV, not pay per view.
Speaking of things you should do on TV, Austin attacks Undertaker as he comes through the curtain and sends him into a wall to bust Undertaker open.
We recap Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Blackman, the latter of whom returned from a hiatus to attack Shamrock several times. Tonight they’re fighting in the parking lot in a circle of cars because that’s where kendo sticks and martial arts lead.
Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Blackman
Shamrock is very banged up coming in and there are wrestlers sitting on the hoods of the cars. Oh and since they’re in a parking lot and both guys are in black, you can’t really even see that clearly. They fight between the cars with Blackman putting his foot through a window by mistake. Shamrock gets slammed on a hood and hit low before Blackman sends him into a few more cars. Blackman misses a tire iron shot as they keep leaving the circle of cars. Back in and Ken hammers away before choking him out with a chain for the win at 4:09. I won’t bother rating this as it wasn’t anything resembling a match but it was unique.
Undertaker roughs up Terry Taylor for trying to interview him.
Chyna and Billy Gunn don’t care what happened to X-Pac.
Chyna/Billy Gunn vs. Road Dogg/X-Pac
This is for the rights to the DX name as the team has been split by the countless heel turns and faction splits. Gunn and Chyna have matching thongs under mesh covering to give JR various fits on commentary. X-Pac is very beaten up due to Undertaker and Big Show’s actions earlier. Chyna grabs a headlock on Dogg to start before dropping him with a shoulder.
Dogg dropkicks her into Gunn and it’s time for a meeting on the floor. We get the showdown between Gunn and Dogg with the fans all over Billy. That earns the fans an F bomb before Chyna gets in a cheap shot from behind to let Gunn take over. Chyna kicks Dogg hard in the back and it’s back to Billy for no cover off a Jackhammer. The hot tag brings in X-Pac for more kicks but Gunn is still able to drop him with a hot shot.
The lesson here: Gunn is much tougher than Hardcore Holly, who was knocked silly by a single kick. It’s back to Chyna for a chinlock and a powerslam before we get the front facelock for the unseen tag. Not that it matters as the hot tag brings in Dogg a few seconds later as everything breaks down. The Bronco Buster hits Chyna and the pumphandle slam puts Billy away clean at 11:13.
Rating: D+. As annoyed as I tend to get about the overbooked finishes, something like this was actually needing a screwy ending. It’s a big blowoff match to a personal feud and Dogg just pinned Gunn (which also could have been a big pay per view match) for the win. It doesn’t help that it was just a basic match without anything helping it out, though I’ve seen much worse.
We recap HHH vs. The Rock, which is the rekindling of an old feud. They had an outstanding feud over the course of 1998 with HHH getting the final win in a ladder match. Now the roles are reversed as both guys want to be the WWF World Champion, which Rock has already been multiple times). At one point during this feud, HHH put Rock in a casket and beat on it with a sledgehammer in the first appearance of his signature weapon.
Rock makes fun of HHH for getting emotional over being held down for years over the infamous Curtain Call incident in Madison Square Garden (Shawn Michaels, HHH, Diesel and Razor Ramon broke kayfabe on Diesel and Ramon’s last night in the promotion and HHH was the only one significantly punished). He really was held down because he absolutely sucks. Rock promises to win and get the title back at Summerslam.
The Rock vs. HHH
Strap match won by pinfall (which counts anywhere) for the #1 contendership at Summerslam. HHH comes out to his awesome My Time theme music. The brawl starts in the aisle with Rock sending him into the post for an early advantage. HHH comes back with a few whips into the barricade and shots to the ribs before taking Rock inside for more of the same.
They head back outside and into the crowd this time with Rock punching him further into the crowd. HHH gets sent into part of the barricade but pulls Rock right into it as well. They’re actually using the strap well here, which really isn’t something you see that often. Some choking on the floor has Rock in more trouble. A hard strap shot to the face drops Rock again, only to have him pop up and get two off a suplex.
HHH isn’t that phased though (it was just a suplex) and sends Rock hard into the barricade again. They actually go back to the ring for the second time in the match as Rock starts another comeback. Cue Chyna (JR: “Or maybe it’s her twin sister.”) as HHH stomps Rock down in the corner again. A Rock Bottom out of nowhere should get the pin but Chyna distracts the referee so HHH can hit Rock low. HHH remembers the strap holding them together and chokes him in the corner.
Rock throws him off the top but pulls himself down at the same time. They get up again and fight up the aisle for a bit with Rock still in control. That doesn’t last long though as Chyna gets on the apron for a distraction, allowing Billy Gunn to run in and hit Rock in the head with a club. The kickout only ticks HHH off worse so it’s time to choke some more but Rock low blows his way out of the Pedigree. The strap is unhooked so Rock can hit the People’s Elbow, only to have Billy interfere again. That’s enough for the Pedigree to send HHH to Summerslam at 19:05.
Rating: B. This is one of those pairings that’s as close to a guaranteed good match as you’re ever going to find. The strap match might not have been the best gimmick but they’ve done almost everything else so there weren’t many other options. It’s good stuff either way though, even if I had to see Gunn interfere again.
We recap Austin vs. Undertaker. Austin took the title back from Undertaker on Raw after Undertaker won it 24 hours earlier in the highest rated wrestling match in American cable TV history. Undertaker wanted his rematch to be a first blood match, which is how Austin lost his first WWF World Title, thanks to Undertaker interfering. If Austin wins, Vince is off TV forever. If Undertaker wins, Austin can never have another shot at the title.
WWF World Title: Undertaker vs. Steve Austin
First Blood with Austin defending and Vince on commentary. Austin goes after him in the aisle (a common tactic on this show) and gets sent into the barricade. We even get some common sense as Austin covers his face while Undertaker throws punches. Undertaker beats him up the aisle but neither guy can send the other into the steps. Austin ducks the steps as they fly at his head and they fight into the crowd.
Undertaker ducks them as well though and takes Austin inside to stomp away in the corner. As you might expect, Vince isn’t exactly impartial as he tells Undertaker to kick at the stitches. Austin throws him into the other corner and rips at Undertaker’s cut as you can’t fault the psychology so far. Undertaker’s leg is wrapped around the post (if you can’t walk, you can’t defend yourself as well) but he kicks Austin over the barricade.
Vince is sure that Austin is bleeding when his back is turned to the camera but is proven wrong when Undertaker drags Austin back to ringside, only to miss a big chair shot. Austin sends him face first into the steps and chokes with an electrical cord. Back in and Undertaker trips over the referee and gets tied up in the ropes. That means it’s time for the chair but Austin has to knock out an interfering Shane.
The distraction lets Undertaker get loose and kick Austin in the face though, followed by a low blow. A quick Stunner drops Undertaker and draws Vince out of his chair to swing the crutch, only to have Austin punch him in the face. Undertaker gets the chair but here’s X-Pac to kick it into his face. Austin steals a camera and hits Undertaker in the face as well, drawing blood to retain Austin’s title at 15:31.
Rating: D+. These two just never could have a great match and it showed badly here. This was barely even a match as they were just brawling for fifteen minutes before the logical run-in ending. I wouldn’t be surprised if this style of a match wasn’t a way to hide an injury as neither of them really doing anything but wild brawling.
Vince comes in again and eats a Stunner but HHH comes out to beat down Austin. Rock comes out for the save but Undertaker gets up and goes after beats on Austin some more. Undertaker punches Shane out before leaving as Austin is busted as well. Vince gets one more Stunner, sending him off TV for less than twenty four hours as he was on Raw the next night. If that’s not enough, Vince would be WWF World Champion in September.
Overall Rating: B-. This show was up and down all night but it was strong enough in the parts where it needed to be. The two opening matches set the show on the right path and it was easy to sit through the rest, including a pretty strong strap match. The main event isn’t all that great but a lot of main events from this point really weren’t. It’s a good enough show all around though and one of the strongest from this era.
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