WEBVTT
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Welcome back, everybody to another edition of the Fall Count.
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I'm your host, Steve Fall and today we're hopping into
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the wrestling time machine and setting the dial back to
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August second, nineteen ninety nine. We're looking at the twelfth
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annual WWE SummerSlam, coming to you life from the Target Center. Now,
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before we even talk about the first bell ringing, we
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have to talk about the absolute insanity in the landscape
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in nineteen ninety nine. If you live through it, you
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know exactly what I'm talking about. If you didn't, let
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me set the scene for you, the WWE was absolutely
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crushing WCW in the Monday night wars. By this point,
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business wasn't just good, it was historically massive. We're talking
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massive television ratings arenas selling out in minutes, and this
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specific Summer Slam sold out in left less than one hour,
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and pay per view by rates were through the roof.
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But here is the great paradox of nineteen ninety nine WWE. Financially,
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it was one of the most profitable white hot years
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in the history of the business in terms of actual
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in ring match quality, though man it was widely inconsistent
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chaotic throughout the year. We had just come off one
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of the worst Royal rumbles in history, an incredibly average
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WrestleMania fifteen and creative was under a heavy influence of
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Vince McMahon's head writers at the time, Vince Russo and
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Ed Ferrara. This was the absolute peak of crash TV.
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The Russo style, three minute matches, shocking swerves for the
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sake of swerves, bro heavy reliance on violence, raunchy storylines
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in sometimes let's be completely honest, just downright stupid television. Now.
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I love nineteen ninety nine. I love nineteen nine nine
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nostalgia as much as the next guy, but the inn
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ring work was sacrificing substance for speed now. Interestingly enough,
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Russo and Ed Ferrara would pack up and leave for
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WCW just two months after this show, opening the door
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for what many consider WWE's greatest creative year in the
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year two thousand. In the year two thousand, but tonight
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we are deep in the trenches of nineteen ninety nine.
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Stone cool see v Auston is the absolute apex predator
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of the business. Sorry Rady Orton, but behind the scenes,
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his neck injuries are severely catching up. The rock was
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officially turned babyface after his legendary feud with Austin and
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is locked in a clear number two rivalry with Austin
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now just waiting to explode into the stratosphere. But then
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you have Triple H. You have the cerebral Assassin. He
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hasn't won his first WWE championship yet, but he is
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standing on the main event scene desperate to grab that
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brass ring. Oh now, let's not forget the biggest mainstream
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hook of this entire show was Jesse the Body Venturra.
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He was the sitting governor of Minnesota and that's where
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this Summer Slim's taking place, and the WWE managed to
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lock him in for a special guest referee for the
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main event. Now, it caused the mainstream political controversy in
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the state to ramp up. It caused more media eyes
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on the WWE product, but Vince McMahon knew it was
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pure box office gold. Now, the show kicks off with
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an opening video package that sets the tone perfectly. It
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frames the Triple threat man event between Austin, Triple H,
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and Mankind, but it heavily features past referee controversies involving
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Mike Tyson, Vince McMahon Shane McMahon and finishes with a
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massive focus on Governor and Jesse Ventura. Wwe knew exactly
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who the mainstream media was looking at, and they made
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Ventura look like the biggest star in the building before
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the Pyro even blew up the entranceway. Now, speaking of
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the arena, the Target Center was electric. The crowd was
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absolutely drowning in signs. One of the signs that reads
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big Show equals fat bastard, a lovely little nod to
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the Austin Powers crave sweeping pulp culture at the time. Now,
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our commentary team the evening is Jim rosson Drava, King Lawler.
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They quickly hype up the six massive title matches on
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the card before we cut backstage for a quick segment.
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Jesse Ventore is in the locker room with Triple H
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in China. Jesse, in true body fashion, lays down the law.
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He tells Hunter that he is law in order tonight
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and the painfall must happen in the middle of the ring.
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Triple H looked a little intimidated, but he also looked
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Ventura dead in the eyes and says, you make the rules,
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but I'll break if I want, the tension was already simmering.
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From there, we get a quick quick glimpse of the
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newly debuted Chris Jericho backstage with his assistant Howard Finkel,
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whom Jericho kept calling Harold. But let's get to our
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opening match. It's a double titles on the line. Delo
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Brown enters the match as both the inner Continental Champion
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and European Champion. He's facing off against the country music
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singing guitar swingin' Jeff Jarrett. Now, Jeff Jerrett walks out
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with his valet, Deborah, who was wearing a stunning blue
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outfit that leaves very little to the imagination. The crowd
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lets out a deafening ovation. But let's be real, it
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wasn't for double Jay. It was entirely for Deborah. Jared
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Gimmick at the time was being the jealous, controlling partner
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who hated Deborah, who used her looks to distract his opponents. Now,
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even though it won him matches, Jared immediately sends it
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to the back, earning a massive chorus of asshole chants
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from the Minnesota crowd. But the plot thickens hair backstage,
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Deborah runs into del Brown and they get an agreement
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going where she will walk del O Brown down to
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the ring. Now. After the match itself, it was decent,
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but the physical climax comes when Dilo misses his signature
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low down Frog Splashed senses victory and grabs his guitar.
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The referee intercepts the guitar, creating complete chaos. Suddenly, Mark Henry,
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who's Delo's longtime tag team partner and best friends who's
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been out with an injury, runs down. The fans think
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he's there to save Delo, but instead Henry snatches the
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guitar and blasts it over Delo Brown. The referee completely
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misses it. Jericho makes the cover, and just like that,
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we have a new Inner Continental Champion and European Champion,
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and that's Jeff Jarrett. But wait, there's more Russo era
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storyline for you. Postmatch, Deborah runs into the ring and
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tightly hugs Jeff Jarrett. They started laughing hysterically. It was
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a giant swerve. Bro Deborah and Jared had planned the
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entire thing to manipulate Delo into a false sense of security.
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It was a well executed angle that played perfectly into
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what was going on next. Upt theom we slide into
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a massive tag team turmoil match to determine the number
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one contenders of the tag team titles. The rules are simple.
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Two teams start, the winners stay in, the losers are eliminated.
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It must go backstage, and you keep going until only
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one team is left standing. Now, the match kicks off
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with two young, hungry duos who would go on to
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completely redefine the tag team landscape over the next five years.
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It's Edging Christian versus the Hardy Boys, who were known
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at the time as the New Brood, managed by the
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Vampire himself, Gang Grow. Now. At this point, these guys
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were scratching the surface of their potential. The Hardys were
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technically heels here, but the crowd was already starting to
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fall in love with their high flying style. We get
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a blistering opening stretch. Christian takes a beating from Matt
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and Jeff, including an early version of poetry in motion,
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which Jr. Didn't even have a name for yet on commentary.
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Jeff hits what would become the Swantom Bomb, but Edge
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flies in to break up the pin. Then we get
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to the spot of the match, Edge and Jeff both
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literally sprint down the steel audience barricades culminating and Edge
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hitting a spectacular mid air spear on Jeff on the
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outside floor. The crowd goes wild. Christian hits a cross
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body to the outside on Gangrel. Matt hits a moon
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salt to the floor and back in the ring. Edge
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and Christian hit a high impact combination to pin Matt
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Hardy eliminate him. Whoo Now. Historically, just two months later,
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at No Mercy nineteen ninety nine, these same two teams
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would have their legendary breakout tag team ladder match that
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stole the show and changed their courtiers forecas. This Summer
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Slam match was perfect, beautiful teaser of the magic these
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four men possessed, but Edge and Christian out. Next are
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the Monstrous Heels Viscera in Midian boy O boy boy
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O boy Uh. Christian dodges a middle rope attack Tags
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and Edge. They utilize some brilliant teamwork. Edge ducks out
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of the way, causing Massive Vista to accidentally splash its
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own partner Midian. Edge hits the spear, covers Midian. They
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are out in about two minutes, thank god. Next south
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of the Curtain is Draws in Prince Albert again another
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quick match Edge and Christian. At this point they are
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playing the ultimate Iron Man baby face roles by beating
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Prince Albert which is a penis piercing and Darren draws off,
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but the mountain gets too high to climb enter the
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Acolyte Foraruke and Bradshaw, who uh yeah they destroy uh
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edgend Christian as time goes on, but again it's a
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star making performance for Edgend Christian. But the final stage
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of the Turmoil sees the Acolytes face off against Hardcore
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Holly and Crash Holly. Now hard Core Holly actually kicks
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his own cousin, Crash right in the face. In this matchup,
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Fruit capitalizes scoops up Hardcore Holly drives him into the
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canvas with a dominant spinebuster to win the entire tag
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team Turmoil. The Acolytes earn a title shot the very
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next not on Raw. Now, they didn't win the belts there,
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but it did make them heavy hitters and possibly fan favorites.
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As time would go on with the APA, we transition
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though back stage where Alis Knows taking his time in
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talking about his legendary pro We have a little severed
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mannequin head named Head and also a tiny dog named Pepper.
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Al Snow was talking to this dog as if it's
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talking back to him. Pure attitude, Arab beauty. Suddenly, though
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the lights cut out, digital countdown hits three two one,
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Jericho makes his official WWE pay perview debut. Now why
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to Jay just made his debut a rough few weeks
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prior In that legendary segment interrupting the Rock Here, he
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doesn't have a match, which honestly feels like a massive
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missed opportunity by Creative, but he cuts a blistering promo
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on the stage. He's pretty much calling out Road Dog
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Jesse James here and it sets up an eventual storyline.
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But road Dog, though, he does appear and pulls up
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a chair to join Jr. In the king on commentary.
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For the next match, which is for the Hardcore Championship,
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it's Al Snow against Big boss Man. Now, before the
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match can even get to the ring, Al locks his
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dog Pepper safely in a cage backstage, runs out to
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the entranceway, and bushes the boss Man. What follows is
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seven minutes of beautiful Attitude era hardcore garbage can chaos.
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They brawl out of the curtain. Big boss Man picks
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up the actual doggy cage, thankfully empty, and smashes Al
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in the skull with it. He follows that up with
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a crutch to the spine, Ouchie, and they don't stay
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in the arena, folks. They fight out of the building
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through the security doors and right across the public street
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in downtown Minnesota. Al Snow tries to pin boss Man
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right on the concrete sidewalk for a two coup. They
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wind up brawling into the local bar where a bunch
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of actual real life patrons are having a drink. The
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bar crowd realizes what's happening and stars chanting head hood
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hood Stone. Boss Man starts shattering real pull cues over
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each other's back. They brawl into the bathroom onto the floor.
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Snow smashes a beard bottle over boss Man's head. A
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fan hands Al Snow a metal chain which where that
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come from. Snow uses it to choke the life out
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of the boss Man. Snow hops up on the actual
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bar counter flies off with the moon salt, but boss
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Man moves and Snow crashes directly through the wooden table.
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Boss Man head Snow with another beer bottle turns his
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attension to road Dog, who's been here the whole time
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with a live mic doing commentary. Boss Man shoves road Dog,
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or so road Dog retaliates by cracking boss Man in
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the back with a police nightstick. Al Snow grabs two
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pool balls off a nearby table, smashes them directly into
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Bossman's groin, lays him out on the pool table, pins him,
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and referee Teddy Long is there. Yes, that Teddy Long,
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the one who talks about one old bone with the Undertaker.
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He's here as a referee. Al Snow wins the hardcourt
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title across the street from the Target Center. Now postmatch,
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No runs back across the street into the arena, encounter
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as Stevie Richards in the Blue MOONI backstage, and he
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beats them up with crutches just for good measure. They're
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trying to steal his dog, Pepper. Now a dark historical
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footnote here. This feud would notoriously continue, leading to a
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storyline where a Big boss Man kidnap Al Snow's dog
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Pepper and fed the dog to Al Snow in a
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hotel room, which culminated in the infamous Kennel from Hell
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match at unforgiven. A month later, it is widely regarded
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as one of the worst most ridiculous matches in pro
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wrestling history. But to night the barroom brawl was highly
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entertaining in my opinion. Then we get the championship match.
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It's the woman's title, it's Ivory defending against Tory. Set
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up this story line a few weeks earlier, on Sunday
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Night Heat, Ivory had attacked Tory and used black shoe
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polish to write slut on her stomach and skank on
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her back. Gotta love the attituden Eerra. The match itself,
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to put it mildly, is a complete disaster. It is
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negative five stars. Toy was playing a character who is psychological,
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a stalker of Sable. Beforehand, neither woman could get a
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single drop of reaction from the live crowd. Unfortunately, at
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this time women's wrestling was bathroom break. My apologies, but
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they both completely botch a whip it to the corner.
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Tory tries to hit a crossbody off the second rope,
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and the fans couldn't give two turns, zero noise, zero reaction.
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The finish has a complete mess. Tory attempts at sunset
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flip and Ivy was to post to sit down on
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her for the pin, but they completely mistimed Ivory slipped
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off her body. Then it's just chaos. It's chaos. Even
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my notes are chaos. Either way, Ivory wins the match.
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Post match, Ivory continues to assault in tears Tory's top off,
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try saying that three times fast tears Toy's top off,
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leaving her completely exposed on the canvas covering her chest.
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Lunavashan runs out to make the say and chases Ivory
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to the back. Now, the woman's vision in nineteen ninety
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nine was not respectable. It was treated purely as the
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raunchy eye candy rather than actual athleticism. That will change,
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but it won't change for a very very long time, thankfully.
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The other show picks up here and it's we have
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a lines then weapons match between Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman.
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The lions Den Cage was set up to the left
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of the entrance stage, modeled directly after an early UFC
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Octagon to capitalize on SHAMROCK's legitimate MMA background. And they
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had one of these matches last year in Summer Slam,
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so let's do it again and Jimmy Chorus standing on
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a platform above instead of below. In the ring, Steve Blackman,
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a legitimate martial artist, brings the fight early. He grabs
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a pair of nunchucks and starts targeting SHAMROCK's legs. It's
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just one of those matches that when you see it,
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you think this has to hurt. Everything in this match
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has to hurt. Like Shamrock gets wild, he gets to
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that intense look on his face. He grabs a kendostick
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himself and absolutely decimates black Men with four unanswered brutal
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shot to the body and the skull. Blackman collapses completely
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knocked out. Shamrock is declared the winner. It is gratty,
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it is violent, it is unique, and it stood out
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especially during this time in the Attitude era. Except, though,
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is the match that I believe stole the show. It's
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the Greenwich street fight between Test and Shane McMahon. The
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storyline here was pure golden melodrama. Tests was dating Shane's sister,
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Stephanie McMahon, Shane playing the arrogant brother defending his sister's
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honor even though she didn't want that. But the Greenwich,
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Connecticut street fight did not disappoint Okay, Test enters the
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ring with his ribs heavily taped because Shane and his
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corporate buddies had assaulted him earlier in the night. Shane
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walks out to Vince McMahon's no Chance in Hell song
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flank by the main Street Posse. We got Joey Abbs,
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we got Pete Gas, we got Rodney. Now historically, if
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you don't know Pete Ass and Rodney, we're actually Shane's
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real life high school best friends who are brought on
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to TV. And the Posse obviously gets involved. Here mean
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Street Posse street sign is shown up smashing Tests with it.
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The Posse attacks Tests multiple times throughout this. The crowd, though,
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is eating up everything because Test climbs to the top
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rope delivers his signature beautiful diving elbow in Penn. Shane McMahon,
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Gerald Prisco gets involved, Pat Patterson gets involved. They're funding
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the posse. From there, though it was beautiful, Stephanie and
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Test were allowed to continue the relationship and Shim McMahon
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had to respect the honor of his sister and leave
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him the e f alone. From there we moved to
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the WWE tag team titles. The Babyface Champions are Kane
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and xpot defending against the heel powerhouse of the Undertaker
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and the Big Show managed by Paul behar Oh. Kane
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and XPOC were incredibly popular odd couple tag team. This
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was the arrow where Kane was learning to speak and
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him using his voice box to say Socker was a
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weekly pop machine. But tonight they ran into a brick wall.
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The Undertaker in Big Show as the Unholy Alliance. Now
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this match breaks down to a complete brawl. X POC
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manages to hit a low blow on both Taker and
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Big Show right in front of the referee. No DQ,
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he just completely agnoys it because well it's nineteen ninety nine.
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X POC tags himself and eventually again hits the Bronco
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buster on the Big Show. But let's be honest here,
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it's x POC and Kane. I gets Taker in Big Show.
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Taker pins XPOC to win the tag team titles. The
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Undertaken take Young Taker is visibly furious with Big Show
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for his arrogance and lack of focus during the match.
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It was a subtle historic tea showing the internal cracks
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in their Unholy alliance despite capturing the gold. Next up,
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we get a match with a stipulation that can only
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exist in the Attitude era. It's a kiss my Ass
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match between The Rock and badass Billy gun Now, the
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WWE was desperately trying to push Billy gun as a
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top tier single star. In his few of the Rock
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was his ultimate test. The stipulation was simple, the loser
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has to kiss the winner's bare backside. Now, Billy Gunn
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has this large woman and brings her to ringside and
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eventually in the match, tells her to hike up her
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skirt so the Rock can face his punishment. But the
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Rock fights out of getting his face slammed into her butt.
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He grabs his Billy gun overpowers him, and shoves Gun's
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face directly into the woman's ass. Jim Ross famously yells
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on commentary, the Rock just put Billy Gunn's face into
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that large woman's as the Rock just put with the
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Gun's face in that lock from Dias. The Rock falls
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up with a thundress. Rock Bottom throws his elbow patch
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at the crowd hits the people's elbow. Now, it was
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clean and there's a victory for the Rock, But this
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match officially proved that Billy Gunn while a legendary tag
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team wrestler just didn't have the right pieces for the
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puzzle to be the main event star. Now that's WWS perspective.
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I thought Billy Gunn was prepared in ready the main
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event spot. Apparently nobody else did. But The Rock pulls
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off a wind here and it turns out that Billy
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Gunn and The Rock didn't kiss each other's asses. They
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kissed this large woman's button instead. Nah. But now, ladies
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and gentlemen, it's time for the main event of the evening,
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a massive triple threat for the WWE Championship, Stone Cold
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Steve Austin defending against Triple H and Mankind with the
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gunner of Governor of Minnesota Jesse the Body Ventura as
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a special guest referee. Now, the backstage politics of this
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match are legendary. Originally, this supposed to be a one
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on one match between Steve Austin and Triple H, where
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Triple H was scheduled to win his first w W Championship. However,
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behind the scenes, Jesse Ventra was highly uncomfortable with the
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idea of a sitting politician referee, and he's refereeing a
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match where a heel won the title by cheating. Furthermore,
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rumors circulated heavily that Steve Austin flat out refused to
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drop the title to Triple H at this time. To
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solve the political gridlock, Vince McMahon threw Mankind to the
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match the week prior on Raw to act as a
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perfect buffer. Triple A tries to use the steel chair again,
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but Austin intercepts him, hitting Triple AH to a stone
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cold stunner. Triple A trolls out of the ring. Mankind
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then seizes the absolute moment of a lifetime, grabs still
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Uncle Steve Austin hooks his arms, plants him into the
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canvas with a devastating double underhook DDT. Mankind makes the cover.
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Jesse Ventura makes the count, and we have a new
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world champion. Mankind shocks the entire world. It becomes w
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w E Champion. And I'm on one hundred percent honest
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with you. When I watched us live as a child
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and this happened, I stood up and I screamed and
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I ran around my house because I was so happy,
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and Mankind pulled us off. The cry was stunned, but
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they cheer loudly for Mankind, who's one of the most
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beloved figures in the industry. Jesse Ventura raises Mankind's hand
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in victory, cementing a wild, unforgettable image. Now, postmatch, the
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story isn't over. A furious, frustrated Triple Atre turns to
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the ring with a steel chair and absolutely decined made
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stone coal ce of Austin's knees and legs, completely destroying
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the legendary champion to close the show. Now, this brutal
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postmatch assault was done for a massive real life reason.
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Austin's neck in physical health was deteriorating rapidly and the
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WWE needed a storyline reason to take him off the
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road so he could heal. Now, as for Mankind, his
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title reign would be historically short. The very next line,
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on Monday Night Raw, Triple H would finally get his revenge,
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defeating Mankind to it his first historic WWE Championship, officially
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kicking off the legendary McMahon Helmsley era as time would
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go on in the year two thousand. Summer Slam nineteen
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ninety nine was the absolute epitome of the Attitude era.
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It had terrible match quality in places, ridiculous soap opera swerves,
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raunchy antics, but it possessed a mainstream cultural energy, a
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white hot crowd, and a legendary main event that you
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simply cannot replace. Kate today, well, thanks for listening, thanks
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for watching. This has been our account for today, folks.
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Thank you so much for tuning in to fall Count.
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I'm Steve fall and I'll see you next time. Bye
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bye
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Welcome back, everybody to another edition of the Fall Count.
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I'm your host, Steve Fall and today we're hopping into
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the wrestling time machine and setting the dial back to
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August second, nineteen ninety nine. We're looking at the twelfth
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annual WWE SummerSlam, coming to you life from the Target Center. Now,
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before we even talk about the first bell ringing, we
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have to talk about the absolute insanity in the landscape
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in nineteen ninety nine. If you live through it, you
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know exactly what I'm talking about. If you didn't, let
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me set the scene for you, the WWE was absolutely
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crushing WCW in the Monday night wars. By this point,
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business wasn't just good, it was historically massive. We're talking
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massive television ratings arenas selling out in minutes, and this
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specific Summer Slam sold out in left less than one hour,
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and pay per view by rates were through the roof.
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But here is the great paradox of nineteen ninety nine WWE. Financially,
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it was one of the most profitable white hot years
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in the history of the business in terms of actual
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in ring match quality, though man it was widely inconsistent
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chaotic throughout the year. We had just come off one
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of the worst Royal rumbles in history, an incredibly average
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WrestleMania fifteen and creative was under a heavy influence of
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Vince McMahon's head writers at the time, Vince Russo and
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Ed Ferrara. This was the absolute peak of crash TV.
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The Russo style, three minute matches, shocking swerves for the
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sake of swerves, bro heavy reliance on violence, raunchy storylines
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in sometimes let's be completely honest, just downright stupid television. Now.
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I love nineteen ninety nine. I love nineteen nine nine
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nostalgia as much as the next guy, but the inn
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ring work was sacrificing substance for speed now. Interestingly enough,
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Russo and Ed Ferrara would pack up and leave for
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WCW just two months after this show, opening the door
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for what many consider WWE's greatest creative year in the
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year two thousand. In the year two thousand, but tonight
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we are deep in the trenches of nineteen ninety nine.
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Stone cool see v Auston is the absolute apex predator
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of the business. Sorry Rady Orton, but behind the scenes,
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his neck injuries are severely catching up. The rock was
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officially turned babyface after his legendary feud with Austin and
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is locked in a clear number two rivalry with Austin
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now just waiting to explode into the stratosphere. But then
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you have Triple H. You have the cerebral Assassin. He
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hasn't won his first WWE championship yet, but he is
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standing on the main event scene desperate to grab that
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brass ring. Oh now, let's not forget the biggest mainstream
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hook of this entire show was Jesse the Body Venturra.
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He was the sitting governor of Minnesota and that's where
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this Summer Slim's taking place, and the WWE managed to
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lock him in for a special guest referee for the
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main event. Now, it caused the mainstream political controversy in
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the state to ramp up. It caused more media eyes
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on the WWE product, but Vince McMahon knew it was
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pure box office gold. Now, the show kicks off with
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an opening video package that sets the tone perfectly. It
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frames the Triple threat man event between Austin, Triple H,
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and Mankind, but it heavily features past referee controversies involving
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Mike Tyson, Vince McMahon Shane McMahon and finishes with a
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massive focus on Governor and Jesse Ventura. Wwe knew exactly
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who the mainstream media was looking at, and they made
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Ventura look like the biggest star in the building before
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the Pyro even blew up the entranceway. Now, speaking of
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the arena, the Target Center was electric. The crowd was
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absolutely drowning in signs. One of the signs that reads
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big Show equals fat bastard, a lovely little nod to
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the Austin Powers crave sweeping pulp culture at the time. Now,
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our commentary team the evening is Jim rosson Drava, King Lawler.
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They quickly hype up the six massive title matches on
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the card before we cut backstage for a quick segment.
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Jesse Ventore is in the locker room with Triple H
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in China. Jesse, in true body fashion, lays down the law.
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He tells Hunter that he is law in order tonight
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and the painfall must happen in the middle of the ring.
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Triple H looked a little intimidated, but he also looked
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Ventura dead in the eyes and says, you make the rules,
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but I'll break if I want, the tension was already simmering.
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From there, we get a quick quick glimpse of the
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newly debuted Chris Jericho backstage with his assistant Howard Finkel,
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whom Jericho kept calling Harold. But let's get to our
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opening match. It's a double titles on the line. Delo
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Brown enters the match as both the inner Continental Champion
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and European Champion. He's facing off against the country music
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singing guitar swingin' Jeff Jarrett. Now, Jeff Jerrett walks out
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with his valet, Deborah, who was wearing a stunning blue
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outfit that leaves very little to the imagination. The crowd
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lets out a deafening ovation. But let's be real, it
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wasn't for double Jay. It was entirely for Deborah. Jared
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Gimmick at the time was being the jealous, controlling partner
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who hated Deborah, who used her looks to distract his opponents. Now,
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even though it won him matches, Jared immediately sends it
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to the back, earning a massive chorus of asshole chants
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from the Minnesota crowd. But the plot thickens hair backstage,
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Deborah runs into del Brown and they get an agreement
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going where she will walk del O Brown down to
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the ring. Now. After the match itself, it was decent,
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but the physical climax comes when Dilo misses his signature
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low down Frog Splashed senses victory and grabs his guitar.
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The referee intercepts the guitar, creating complete chaos. Suddenly, Mark Henry,
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who's Delo's longtime tag team partner and best friends who's
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been out with an injury, runs down. The fans think
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he's there to save Delo, but instead Henry snatches the
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guitar and blasts it over Delo Brown. The referee completely
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misses it. Jericho makes the cover, and just like that,
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we have a new Inner Continental Champion and European Champion,
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and that's Jeff Jarrett. But wait, there's more Russo era
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storyline for you. Postmatch, Deborah runs into the ring and
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tightly hugs Jeff Jarrett. They started laughing hysterically. It was
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a giant swerve. Bro Deborah and Jared had planned the
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entire thing to manipulate Delo into a false sense of security.
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It was a well executed angle that played perfectly into
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what was going on next. Upt theom we slide into
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a massive tag team turmoil match to determine the number
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one contenders of the tag team titles. The rules are simple.
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Two teams start, the winners stay in, the losers are eliminated.
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It must go backstage, and you keep going until only
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one team is left standing. Now, the match kicks off
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with two young, hungry duos who would go on to
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completely redefine the tag team landscape over the next five years.
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It's Edging Christian versus the Hardy Boys, who were known
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at the time as the New Brood, managed by the
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Vampire himself, Gang Grow. Now. At this point, these guys
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were scratching the surface of their potential. The Hardys were
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technically heels here, but the crowd was already starting to
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fall in love with their high flying style. We get
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a blistering opening stretch. Christian takes a beating from Matt
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and Jeff, including an early version of poetry in motion,
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which Jr. Didn't even have a name for yet on commentary.
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Jeff hits what would become the Swantom Bomb, but Edge
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flies in to break up the pin. Then we get
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to the spot of the match, Edge and Jeff both
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literally sprint down the steel audience barricades culminating and Edge
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hitting a spectacular mid air spear on Jeff on the
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outside floor. The crowd goes wild. Christian hits a cross
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body to the outside on Gangrel. Matt hits a moon
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salt to the floor and back in the ring. Edge
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and Christian hit a high impact combination to pin Matt
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Hardy eliminate him. Whoo Now. Historically, just two months later,
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at No Mercy nineteen ninety nine, these same two teams
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would have their legendary breakout tag team ladder match that
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stole the show and changed their courtiers forecas. This Summer
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Slam match was perfect, beautiful teaser of the magic these
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four men possessed, but Edge and Christian out. Next are
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the Monstrous Heels Viscera in Midian boy O boy boy
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O boy Uh. Christian dodges a middle rope attack Tags
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and Edge. They utilize some brilliant teamwork. Edge ducks out
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of the way, causing Massive Vista to accidentally splash its
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own partner Midian. Edge hits the spear, covers Midian. They
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are out in about two minutes, thank god. Next south
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of the Curtain is Draws in Prince Albert again another
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quick match Edge and Christian. At this point they are
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playing the ultimate Iron Man baby face roles by beating
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Prince Albert which is a penis piercing and Darren draws off,
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but the mountain gets too high to climb enter the
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Acolyte Foraruke and Bradshaw, who uh yeah they destroy uh
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edgend Christian as time goes on, but again it's a
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star making performance for Edgend Christian. But the final stage
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of the Turmoil sees the Acolytes face off against Hardcore
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Holly and Crash Holly. Now hard Core Holly actually kicks
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his own cousin, Crash right in the face. In this matchup,
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Fruit capitalizes scoops up Hardcore Holly drives him into the
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canvas with a dominant spinebuster to win the entire tag
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team Turmoil. The Acolytes earn a title shot the very
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next not on Raw. Now, they didn't win the belts there,
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but it did make them heavy hitters and possibly fan favorites.
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As time would go on with the APA, we transition
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though back stage where Alis Knows taking his time in
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talking about his legendary pro We have a little severed
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mannequin head named Head and also a tiny dog named Pepper.
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Al Snow was talking to this dog as if it's
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talking back to him. Pure attitude, Arab beauty. Suddenly, though
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the lights cut out, digital countdown hits three two one,
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Jericho makes his official WWE pay perview debut. Now why
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to Jay just made his debut a rough few weeks
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prior In that legendary segment interrupting the Rock Here, he
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doesn't have a match, which honestly feels like a massive
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missed opportunity by Creative, but he cuts a blistering promo
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on the stage. He's pretty much calling out Road Dog
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Jesse James here and it sets up an eventual storyline.
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But road Dog, though, he does appear and pulls up
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a chair to join Jr. In the king on commentary.
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For the next match, which is for the Hardcore Championship,
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it's Al Snow against Big boss Man. Now, before the
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match can even get to the ring, Al locks his
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dog Pepper safely in a cage backstage, runs out to
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the entranceway, and bushes the boss Man. What follows is
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seven minutes of beautiful Attitude era hardcore garbage can chaos.
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They brawl out of the curtain. Big boss Man picks
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up the actual doggy cage, thankfully empty, and smashes Al
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in the skull with it. He follows that up with
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a crutch to the spine, Ouchie, and they don't stay
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in the arena, folks. They fight out of the building
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through the security doors and right across the public street
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in downtown Minnesota. Al Snow tries to pin boss Man
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right on the concrete sidewalk for a two coup. They
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wind up brawling into the local bar where a bunch
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of actual real life patrons are having a drink. The
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bar crowd realizes what's happening and stars chanting head hood
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hood Stone. Boss Man starts shattering real pull cues over
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each other's back. They brawl into the bathroom onto the floor.
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Snow smashes a beard bottle over boss Man's head. A
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fan hands Al Snow a metal chain which where that
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come from. Snow uses it to choke the life out
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of the boss Man. Snow hops up on the actual
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bar counter flies off with the moon salt, but boss
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Man moves and Snow crashes directly through the wooden table.
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Boss Man head Snow with another beer bottle turns his
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attension to road Dog, who's been here the whole time
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with a live mic doing commentary. Boss Man shoves road Dog,
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or so road Dog retaliates by cracking boss Man in
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the back with a police nightstick. Al Snow grabs two
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pool balls off a nearby table, smashes them directly into
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Bossman's groin, lays him out on the pool table, pins him,
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and referee Teddy Long is there. Yes, that Teddy Long,
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the one who talks about one old bone with the Undertaker.
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He's here as a referee. Al Snow wins the hardcourt
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title across the street from the Target Center. Now postmatch,
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No runs back across the street into the arena, encounter
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as Stevie Richards in the Blue MOONI backstage, and he
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beats them up with crutches just for good measure. They're
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trying to steal his dog, Pepper. Now a dark historical
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footnote here. This feud would notoriously continue, leading to a
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storyline where a Big boss Man kidnap Al Snow's dog
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Pepper and fed the dog to Al Snow in a
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hotel room, which culminated in the infamous Kennel from Hell
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match at unforgiven. A month later, it is widely regarded
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as one of the worst most ridiculous matches in pro
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wrestling history. But to night the barroom brawl was highly
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entertaining in my opinion. Then we get the championship match.
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It's the woman's title, it's Ivory defending against Tory. Set
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up this story line a few weeks earlier, on Sunday
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Night Heat, Ivory had attacked Tory and used black shoe
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polish to write slut on her stomach and skank on
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her back. Gotta love the attituden Eerra. The match itself,
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to put it mildly, is a complete disaster. It is
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negative five stars. Toy was playing a character who is psychological,
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a stalker of Sable. Beforehand, neither woman could get a
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single drop of reaction from the live crowd. Unfortunately, at
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this time women's wrestling was bathroom break. My apologies, but
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they both completely botch a whip it to the corner.
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Tory tries to hit a crossbody off the second rope,
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and the fans couldn't give two turns, zero noise, zero reaction.
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The finish has a complete mess. Tory attempts at sunset
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flip and Ivy was to post to sit down on
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her for the pin, but they completely mistimed Ivory slipped
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off her body. Then it's just chaos. It's chaos. Even
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my notes are chaos. Either way, Ivory wins the match.
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Post match, Ivory continues to assault in tears Tory's top off,
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try saying that three times fast tears Toy's top off,
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leaving her completely exposed on the canvas covering her chest.
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Lunavashan runs out to make the say and chases Ivory
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to the back. Now, the woman's vision in nineteen ninety
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nine was not respectable. It was treated purely as the
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raunchy eye candy rather than actual athleticism. That will change,
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but it won't change for a very very long time, thankfully.
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The other show picks up here and it's we have
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a lines then weapons match between Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman.
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The lions Den Cage was set up to the left
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of the entrance stage, modeled directly after an early UFC
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Octagon to capitalize on SHAMROCK's legitimate MMA background. And they
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had one of these matches last year in Summer Slam,
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so let's do it again and Jimmy Chorus standing on
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a platform above instead of below. In the ring, Steve Blackman,
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a legitimate martial artist, brings the fight early. He grabs
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a pair of nunchucks and starts targeting SHAMROCK's legs. It's
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just one of those matches that when you see it,
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you think this has to hurt. Everything in this match
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has to hurt. Like Shamrock gets wild, he gets to
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that intense look on his face. He grabs a kendostick
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himself and absolutely decimates black Men with four unanswered brutal
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shot to the body and the skull. Blackman collapses completely
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knocked out. Shamrock is declared the winner. It is gratty,
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it is violent, it is unique, and it stood out
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especially during this time in the Attitude era. Except, though,
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is the match that I believe stole the show. It's
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the Greenwich street fight between Test and Shane McMahon. The
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storyline here was pure golden melodrama. Tests was dating Shane's sister,
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Stephanie McMahon, Shane playing the arrogant brother defending his sister's
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honor even though she didn't want that. But the Greenwich,
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Connecticut street fight did not disappoint Okay, Test enters the
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ring with his ribs heavily taped because Shane and his
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corporate buddies had assaulted him earlier in the night. Shane
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walks out to Vince McMahon's no Chance in Hell song
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flank by the main Street Posse. We got Joey Abbs,
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we got Pete Gas, we got Rodney. Now historically, if
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you don't know Pete Ass and Rodney, we're actually Shane's
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real life high school best friends who are brought on
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to TV. And the Posse obviously gets involved. Here mean
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Street Posse street sign is shown up smashing Tests with it.
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The Posse attacks Tests multiple times throughout this. The crowd, though,
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is eating up everything because Test climbs to the top
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rope delivers his signature beautiful diving elbow in Penn. Shane McMahon,
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Gerald Prisco gets involved, Pat Patterson gets involved. They're funding
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the posse. From there, though it was beautiful, Stephanie and
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Test were allowed to continue the relationship and Shim McMahon
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had to respect the honor of his sister and leave
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him the e f alone. From there we moved to
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the WWE tag team titles. The Babyface Champions are Kane
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and xpot defending against the heel powerhouse of the Undertaker
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and the Big Show managed by Paul behar Oh. Kane
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and XPOC were incredibly popular odd couple tag team. This
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was the arrow where Kane was learning to speak and
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him using his voice box to say Socker was a
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weekly pop machine. But tonight they ran into a brick wall.
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The Undertaker in Big Show as the Unholy Alliance. Now
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this match breaks down to a complete brawl. X POC
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manages to hit a low blow on both Taker and
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Big Show right in front of the referee. No DQ,
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he just completely agnoys it because well it's nineteen ninety nine.
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X POC tags himself and eventually again hits the Bronco
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buster on the Big Show. But let's be honest here,
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it's x POC and Kane. I gets Taker in Big Show.
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Taker pins XPOC to win the tag team titles. The
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Undertaken take Young Taker is visibly furious with Big Show
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for his arrogance and lack of focus during the match.
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It was a subtle historic tea showing the internal cracks
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in their Unholy alliance despite capturing the gold. Next up,
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we get a match with a stipulation that can only
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exist in the Attitude era. It's a kiss my Ass
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match between The Rock and badass Billy gun Now, the
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WWE was desperately trying to push Billy gun as a
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top tier single star. In his few of the Rock
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was his ultimate test. The stipulation was simple, the loser
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has to kiss the winner's bare backside. Now, Billy Gunn
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has this large woman and brings her to ringside and
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eventually in the match, tells her to hike up her
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skirt so the Rock can face his punishment. But the
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Rock fights out of getting his face slammed into her butt.
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He grabs his Billy gun overpowers him, and shoves Gun's
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face directly into the woman's ass. Jim Ross famously yells
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on commentary, the Rock just put Billy Gunn's face into
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that large woman's as the Rock just put with the
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Gun's face in that lock from Dias. The Rock falls
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up with a thundress. Rock Bottom throws his elbow patch
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at the crowd hits the people's elbow. Now, it was
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clean and there's a victory for the Rock, But this
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match officially proved that Billy Gunn while a legendary tag
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team wrestler just didn't have the right pieces for the
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puzzle to be the main event star. Now that's WWS perspective.
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I thought Billy Gunn was prepared in ready the main
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event spot. Apparently nobody else did. But The Rock pulls
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off a wind here and it turns out that Billy
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Gunn and The Rock didn't kiss each other's asses. They
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kissed this large woman's button instead. Nah. But now, ladies
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and gentlemen, it's time for the main event of the evening,
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a massive triple threat for the WWE Championship, Stone Cold
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Steve Austin defending against Triple H and Mankind with the
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gunner of Governor of Minnesota Jesse the Body Ventura as
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a special guest referee. Now, the backstage politics of this
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match are legendary. Originally, this supposed to be a one
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on one match between Steve Austin and Triple H, where
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Triple H was scheduled to win his first w W Championship. However,
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behind the scenes, Jesse Ventra was highly uncomfortable with the
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idea of a sitting politician referee, and he's refereeing a
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match where a heel won the title by cheating. Furthermore,
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rumors circulated heavily that Steve Austin flat out refused to
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drop the title to Triple H at this time. To
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solve the political gridlock, Vince McMahon threw Mankind to the
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match the week prior on Raw to act as a
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perfect buffer. Triple A tries to use the steel chair again,
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but Austin intercepts him, hitting Triple AH to a stone
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cold stunner. Triple A trolls out of the ring. Mankind
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then seizes the absolute moment of a lifetime, grabs still
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Uncle Steve Austin hooks his arms, plants him into the
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canvas with a devastating double underhook DDT. Mankind makes the cover.
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Jesse Ventura makes the count, and we have a new
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world champion. Mankind shocks the entire world. It becomes w
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w E Champion. And I'm on one hundred percent honest
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with you. When I watched us live as a child
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and this happened, I stood up and I screamed and
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I ran around my house because I was so happy,
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and Mankind pulled us off. The cry was stunned, but
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they cheer loudly for Mankind, who's one of the most
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beloved figures in the industry. Jesse Ventura raises Mankind's hand
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in victory, cementing a wild, unforgettable image. Now, postmatch, the
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story isn't over. A furious, frustrated Triple Atre turns to
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the ring with a steel chair and absolutely decined made
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stone coal ce of Austin's knees and legs, completely destroying
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the legendary champion to close the show. Now, this brutal
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postmatch assault was done for a massive real life reason.
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Austin's neck in physical health was deteriorating rapidly and the
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WWE needed a storyline reason to take him off the
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road so he could heal. Now, as for Mankind, his
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title reign would be historically short. The very next line,
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on Monday Night Raw, Triple H would finally get his revenge,
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defeating Mankind to it his first historic WWE Championship, officially
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kicking off the legendary McMahon Helmsley era as time would
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go on in the year two thousand. Summer Slam nineteen
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ninety nine was the absolute epitome of the Attitude era.
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It had terrible match quality in places, ridiculous soap opera swerves,
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raunchy antics, but it possessed a mainstream cultural energy, a
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white hot crowd, and a legendary main event that you
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simply cannot replace. Kate today, well, thanks for listening, thanks
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for watching. This has been our account for today, folks.
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Thank you so much for tuning in to fall Count.
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I'm Steve fall and I'll see you next time. Bye
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bye
