We’re getting closer to Over the Edge and the Corporate Ministry is running roughshod over the company. The Undertaker is about as evil as you could imagine but that would change in the near future. However, there’s now a pair of superheroes to fight him as Rock is full on face and ready for war alongside Steve Austin. Also, Vince McMahon has formed the Union to help in the fight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Shane dominating Raw last week and Rock and Austin being destroyed.

The Corporate Ministry and Union with their respective McMahon leaders walk into the arena.

Kane vs. Billy Gunn

Gunn poses on the floor but Kane jumps him to get things going. A big boot drops Gunn and he tries to leave but Kane will have none of that. Kane drags him to the apron and reverse suplexes him back in as the destruction continues. Billy comes back with some dropkicks to the leg followed by a chop block to put Kane in trouble. He tries to drag Kane to the floor but Billy charges into absolutely nothing to put him down.

I mean, Kane raised his boot, but considering I could see half the Titantron in the gap between the boot and Billy’s face, we can’t call it a boot to the face. They head back inside but Billy nails a dropkick to knock Kane backwards and tie the monster’s foot in the ropes. This brings out Road Dogg and X-Pac to save Kane as the match is thrown out somewhere in there.

Rating: D. That boot was so horrible that I can’t call this a good match as a result. Kane was still at the point where it was hard to find a way to hurt him so Billy did what he could. It wasn’t a good match but at least they tried. The kicks to the leg were smart and this was entertaining enough. That missed boot made me laugh though.

Post match the former Outlaws brawl into the crowd but Mark Henry and D’Lo Brown, the challengers for Kane/X-Pac’s Tag Team Titles come down and attack X-Pac. Kane gets free and makes the save.

Here’s the Union led out by riot guards. Vince tells Shane to come out here right now so here’s Shane, flanked by the Corporate Ministry. Shane says that he doesn’t need Vince anymore because this is his new family. One day, this will all be his. The lights go out and Shawn Michaels pops up on screen. He thinks Shane’s matchmaking last week was ok but let’s see how good Shawn can do it. First of all, he’s going to add Vince McMahon as a second guest referee at Over the Edge. As for tonight, we’re going to have a lumberjack match with Faarooq vs. Bradshaw with the Union as the lumberjacks.

Also let’s have Test vs. Big Bossman in a Nightstick on a Pole match. Third, it’s the Mean Street Posse vs. the Stooges in a Loser Leaves the WWF match. Next, Ken Shamrock vs. Chyna and Big Show vs. Paul Bearer, and if anyone interferes, Undertaker loses his title shot at the pay per view. I’ve lost track of the numbers at this point but there’s also Viscera and Mideon vs. Cactus Jack and Debra vs. Sable in an Evening Gown match for the Women’s Title and if Sable doesn’t show up, she’s stripped of the Women’s Title. Finally, Undertaker/HHH/Shane vs. Austin/Rock/Vince with a special referee.

Shawn is STILL not done as he has the riot guards unmask as Patterson, Brisco, and SHAWN, who claimed to have been in San Antonio. Ok, he made way too many matches at once (EIGHT) but that was AWESOME and totally got me. The segment ran a little long but the payoff at the end was worth it.

Big Show vs. Paul Bearer

Shawn drags Bearer to the ring and sits in on commentary. A big boot puts Bearer down and there’s a huge elbow drop for good measure. Big Show grabs the mic and asks Shawn to waive the rule about Corporate Ministry members coming to the ring during the match. Shawn obliges and here’s Undertaker, but he takes too long and Big Show drops another elbow on Bearer. The Ministry comes in and attacks Show but the Union comes in for the save. No rating of course.

The Corpoate Ministry bails.

Women’s Title: Debra vs. Sable

Shawn is on commentary again. Sable is defending and this is an Evening Gown match. Sable has bodyguard Val Venis with her. Before the match we get the Grind but here’s Val Venis to interrupt. The distraction lets Sable rip off Debra’s gown for the win in less than a minute.

Val is here to see Debra but backs away from Bass, allowing Jeff Jarrett to run out and blast Venis with a guitar. Shawn gets in the ring and tells Bass to “step off mister.” He sees the rules for Evening Gown matches a little differently. We WANT to see women out of their gowns, so Debra wins and is the new champion. This was Sable’s last night in the company for about four years.

Shane gives Undertaker and HHH a pep talk.

Big Bossman vs. Test

Nightstick on a Pole and you win by pin. They run each other over to start and Test goes for the post, only to have his trunks pulled down. This time Test pulls him down off the ropes and kicks him in the ribs. Bossman gets tied up in the ropes and punched a lot before falling out to the floor. A low blow stops Test and gets him caught in the Tree of Woe but Bossman pulls him out.

Now it’s Bossman going up again but Test pulls him down and suplexes him. They head outside with Bossman ramming the Canadian into the steps before we hit a neck crank back inside. Bossman lets go and climbs again, only to get caught in an electric chair. Test gets the nightstick but Bossman pulls out a metal pipe to nail Test. A nightstick shot to the head gives Bossman the pin.

Rating: D-. This was a waste of time as almost all of the match was Bossman going for the nightstick and Test stopping him, only to get beaten up. I don’t know why Russo was so obsessed with these matches as they really weren’t very entertaining due to that same formula taking place every time.

Val Venis goes on a rant against Jeff Jarrett and wants to face him tonight.

Mideon/Viscera vs. Cactus Jack

Hardcore match. Jack comes out with….basketballs? He chucks them at Viscera to knock the big man back before hitting a flip dive off the apron to Mideon. The numbers catch up with Jack though and a double chair shot to the face puts him down. There’s a double elbow drop for two and the fans try to rally behind Cactus.

Mideon nails him in the face with a chair and Viscera stands on Cactus’ chest. The lackeys make the mistake of lowering their heads and get caught in a double DDT. Cactus puts a trashcan over Mideon and blasts it with a chair. Viscera gets knocked to the floor and an elbow chair shot from the apron is good for the pin.

Rating: D+. It’s better than the nightstick match but this year continues to be such a mess as you can’t get into anything with how insane it is. Cactus winning is a good thing as you want the Union to get some wins and he’s the group’s top star. It also shows the value of lackeys like Mideon and Viscera as they can take a beating to give the big stars a win over part of the heel group.

Chyna is ready for Shamrock.

Faarooq vs. Bradshaw

Lumberjack match with the Union minus Cactus and carrying 2x4s on the floor. Faarooq says there won’t be a match because everyone knows who would win. Bradshaw disagrees but they agree to let it go, only to have both try a cheap shot. Mankind joins the Union at ringside as Faarooq nails a spinebuster for no cover. Bradshaw goes to the floor and is violently thrown back in.

Bradshaw nails the Clothesline and now it’s Faarooq being thrown back into the ring. Bradshaw gets two off a powerbomb but dives into a powerslam for two. Faarooq comes back with a Cactus Clothesline to put both guys on the floor but the Corporate Ministry comes in to try and break it up. The Acolytes eventually calm down but the Union cleans house. Too short to rate but of course it was more story than action.

The Union gets in the ring and the Corporate Ministry runs, leaving Viscera behind to take a beating.

Mean Street Posse vs. Pat Patterson/Gerald Brisco

Here’s an infamous one. Losers leave the company. This is two on two as Joey Abs is nowhere in sight. Patterson and Brisco come out in the riot gear to Real American, drawing out a bunch of lame jokes from Ross and Lawler. The Posse beats up the old guys on the floor before the bell, leaving Brisco to fight on his own. He actually does pretty well at first but Pete Gas slams him down.

A double clothesline drops him again but Patterson comes in with the riot helmet to nail both of them. The old guys clean house and it’s Brisco with a Figure Four and Patterson with a Boston crab for the double submission to get rid of the Posse. This is a total joke but it is GLORIOUS and never fails to bring a huge smile to my face.

Ken Shamrock says he can’t hit a woman.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Val Venis

Before the match, Jeff does the Hello Ladies bit but doesn’t go further than saying the words. Val charges to the ring and we’re ready to go. Jarrett is dropped face first onto the steps and then the barricade. Val can’t piledrive him on the floor as Jeff backdrops him to take over. Back in and Val grabs a powerslam for two but stops for some bumping and grinding. A fisherman’s suplex gets the same on Jarrett but he comes back with a quick DDT. After some strutting we hit the sleeper on Val for all of three seconds.

Jeff DDTs the arm for two and the fans want Puppies. They trade rollups for two each before a double clothesline puts both guys down. Val is up first and nails some knees to the ribs and Russian legsweep. Debra gets on the apron for a distraction and Val gets caught in a sunset flip for two. She takes off her jacket as Val heads up. You should know what’s coming now. Jeff nails Val with the Women’s Title for the pin.

Rating: D+. Somehow this was the best technical match of the night. It wasn’t any good and the whole match was spent waiting on Debra to take the jacket off. These two are capable of having a good match, but that’s a bad idea in 1999 and this is a good example of such issues.

More Beaver Cleavage stuff, this time about the mom working on knees. Beaver’s skinned knee that is.

Chyna vs. Ken Shamrock

Shamrock comes out in jeans and doesn’t want to do this. He yells at HHH and threatens him but Chyna slaps Ken. There’s a forearm and Ken snaps but HHH goes after him. The guys brawl and there’s no match.

Chyna gets belly to bellied and Shamrock snaps.

Steve Austin/The Rock/Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon/Undertaker/HHH

Shawn is guest referee and Rock is coming in with a broken arm. Shane jumps his dad before the superheroes get here and the brawl is on fast. Rock comes out to beat up HHH but Undertaker plants Vince with a Tombstone. Rock and HHH fight in the ring as Undertaker strangles the unconscious Vince with a cord. Austin finally comes out to go after Undertaker as Shane has been nailed by Rock’s cast.

There’s no semblance of order at all here of course. Austin can’t Stun Undertaker but he can counter a Pedigree attempt. There’s a Rock Bottom to HHH but Undertaker makes the save. Austin pulls the dead man to the floor as the McMahons get back in. A Stunner puts Shane out but Austin pulls Vince off Shane. Instead it’s a second Stunner to give Austin the pin.

Rating: D+. I’m hesitant to call this a match as the whole thing was insane but it served its purpose of having a huge brawl. I like the character traits between Austin and Vince as they shouldn’t be working together, even when they’re forced to. Shawn really played no important role here.

Overall Rating: D. Most of the matches were bad to very bad and I’m not sure if anything was added to Fully Loaded. Other than the opening match, nothing was made in advance and a title changed hands because a woman lost a match. I know these shows were awesome when they first aired but time has not been kind to a lot of them.

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