cawthon777

It's not a typo. As to why ... he was booked to wrestle. This was immediately after the PPV and I doubt Owen and Vince had time to do a sit-down prior to that point. It very well could be Cornette. I know he thinks a lot of Bret but he does buy into the train of thought that says, "It's wrestling! How can you really lose a belt when you didn't win it to begin with?"

I remember reading that and having flashbacks to Deep Throat. I wouldn't get too worked up about it. If and when the name is given, it probably won't be any more spectactular than Vince admitting he was the Higher Power.

To provide some background on Mel Philips, he was one of the men accused in the 1992 sexual harrassment case. Apparently Mel had a fetish for the feet of young boys. I don't think he was gay; he just had a young boy fetish. Pretty sure Mel took over Spectrum duties when Gary Michael Cappetta left the company in 84-85.

Kinda sorta, only the McMahons brought out just about every heel in the back to help them beat down the babyfaces.

It eventually turned into Rock, Kane, & Taker vs. Triple H, Vince, & Shane. If the faces won, the winner of the match would become the #1 contender. If the heels won, the KOTR winner would get the title shot at Fully Loaded. At the last minute, Linda spurred on the stipulation that said the winner of the fall would be the champion if the babyfaces won.

Just took a look at these yesterday and thought I would share. Spring 2000 was a fun period, IMO, and the Memorial Day Raws are usually memorable (last night's might have been the exception). As far as the undercard, Benoit was being pushed very hard at this time. On Sunday Night Heat, he would compete in his third title defense of the week with a win over Rikishi. WWF @ Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place - May 29, 2000 (sell out) Raw is War - featured the Undertaker coming out to open the show but, before he was able to say a word, WWF World Champion Triple H, WWF Women's Champion Stephanie McMahon, WWF Hardcore Champion Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson, X-Pac, Tori, the Road Dogg, Vince & Shane McMahon came out, with Triple H formally welcoming Taker back to the WWF and thanking him for putting the world title back around his waist at Judgment Day; after Taker and Triple H had words and Triple H prepared to enter the ring, the Rock came out on the stage and cut a promo on the McMahons and DX; moments later, Vince announced that Taker and the Rock would face each other later in the show; included Edge & Christian meeting Joe C backstage in which they had their picture taken with him, believing he was actually Mini Me from "Austin Powers"; after finding him later in the show, they apologized for not knowing who he was and wanted to make it up to him by doing a 5-second pose in his honor but wanted to know if he was a midget, a dwarf, a knome, or an Ewok; Joe C then told them to go (bleep) themselves and walked off; Vince McMahon, the Road Dogg, and Pat Patterson were all attacked backstage by an unknown assailant during the show; featured Chris Jericho introducing Kid Rock who, alongside Joe C and Uncle Cracker, performed "Cowboy" and "American Badass" live on the stage; during the performance, the censors were late in bleeping at least one obsenity; after the commercial break, Edge & Christian grabbed Joe C backstage and stuffed him in a trashcan, then repeatedly hit the can with a steel chair before throwing it into the wall: D-Lo Brown, Perry Saturn, & Terri defeated the Godfather, WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko, & the Kat at 3:32 when Saturn pinned Malenko with the flying elbowsmash after D-Lo hit the Sky High on Malenko WWF European Champion Eddie Guerrero (w/ Chyna) pinned Kurt Angle at 3:27 with a hurricanrana off the top after Chyna interfered and hit a low blow on Angle from behind, knocking him off the top; Angle's foot was underneath the bottom rope during the cover but the referee didn't notice Too Cool defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Edge & Christian to win the titles at 3:32 when Grandmaster Sexay pinned Christian following a belt shot to the face after Joe C interfered behind the referee's back and used a hockey stick to land a low blow on Christian; Joe C and Rikishi came ringside late in the contest; prior to the bout, the champions did a 5-second pose to honor overrated midget rappers, a reference to Joe C, in which they got down on their knees and put on urban hats; after the bout, the new champions, Rikishi, and Joe C danced in the ring KOTR Qualifying Match: Rikishi defeated Shane McMahon via disqualification at 2:34 when Shane hit his opponent over the head with a steel chair as Rikishi attempted to Stinkface an interfering Triple H; Triple H came ringside early in the bout to be in Shane's corner; after the bout, Shane hit Rikishi a second time before Triple H hit the Pedigree onto the chair and gave Shane a 3-count after he covered Rikishi Test, Albert, & Val Venis (w/ Trish Stratus) defeated Chris Jericho, Matt & Jeff Hardy at 3:25 when Test pinned Matt after Albert, the illegal man, hit the Baldo Bomb on Matt behind the referee's back Hardcore Holly defeated WWF IC Champion Chris Benoit via disqualification at 4:16 when Chris Jericho interfered, as Holly attempted to use a steel chair, grabbed the chair away, and hit it over Holly's head; after the bout, Benoit hit Holly over the head with the chair before all three men chased each other backstage KOTR Qualifying Match: Bull Buchanon (w/ the Big Bossman) pinned Steve Blackman (w/ Al Snow) with the scissors kick at 3:22 after Blackman missed a diving headbutt; after the bout, Snow & Blackman were assaulted and beaten down by Bossman's nightstick until Blackman stole the weapon away and, with Snow, cleared the ring The Rock fought the Undertaker to a no contest in a lumberjack match at around the 30-second mark when both men began fighting the lumberjacks; in the brawl that ensued, the lumberjacks ganged up on both men inside the ring and beat them down, with both men sustaining world title belt shots to the head until Kane made a surprise appearance and laid out several of the lumberjacks with chokeslams, including Triple H; prior to the bout, Vince McMahon came out on the stage and accused one of the two men as being the unknown man who attacked Vince, Road Dogg, and Pat Patterson earlier in the show; the crowd repeatedly chanted "Austin" during the segment; since no one fessed up, Vince made the bout into a lumberjack match; lumberjacks for the bout included WWF world Champion Triple H, WWF Women's Champion Stephanie McMahon, the Road Dogg, X-Pac, Tori, Test, Albert, Trish Stratus, Bull Buchanon, the Big Bossman, WWF Hardcore Champion Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson, Vince & Shane McMahon; the show closed as Kane held the world title belt over his head while Triple H was knocked out underneath him WWF @ Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome - May 30, 2000 (19,000+) Smackdown! - included the Undertaker circling Vince McMahon's limo with his motorcycle upon Vince's arrival to the arena; without McMahon being aware of Triple H's agreement with Kane, Vince gave Taker a chance at a title shot at the King of the Ring but he would have to defeat both X-Pac & Road Dogg later in a handicap match; featured Shane McMahon talking with Edge & Christian upon their arrival to the arena, with Shane saying the Rock had been recently calling him asking to be #1 contender; Shane then told Edge & Christian that if they beat the Rock in a handicap match, they can be #1 contenders for the tag team titles but if Rock wins, he'll be #1 contender for the world title: Matt & Jeff Hardy defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Too Cool via disqualification at 4:32 when Kane, still in possession of Triple H's world title belt, came to the ring and hit a chokeslam on Jeff; after the bout, Kane did the same to Scotty 2 Hotty; moments later, Kane grabbed a microphone and said that if Triple H wanted his belt back, he should come out and take it; the champion then came out with WWF Women's Champion Stephanie McMahon, with Triple H asking that Kane do the right thing and walk up the ramp to give him back his title; after Kane said he wanted a title shot, Triple H said that the only way he could become #1 contender would be to beat the champion in a non-title match later in the show; if he was successful, Kane would get a world title match at King of the Ring; Kane agreed and a referee returned the belt to the champion KOTR Qualifying Match: Kurt Angle pinned Bradshaw with a reversal into the Olympic Slam at 2:46; after the bout, Bradshaw kicked Angle in the head and followed with a powerbomb WWF IC Champion Chris Benoit defeated D-Lo Brown via submission at 4:16 after reversing an attempt at the Sky High into the Crippler Crossface Terri Runnels defeated the Kat in an arm-wrestling match after she spat water in her opponent's face as Kat was about to win; Jerry Lawler was the guest MC for the event; after the contest, Kat attacked Terri and gave her the Bronko Buster but Lawler pulled her off and wanted one done to himself instead; Kat declined and left ringside The Undertaker defeated X-Pac & the Road Dogg (w/ Tori & Vince McMahon) in a handicap match at 2:25 by pinning X-Pac with a chokeslam; mid-way through the bout, DX attempted to leave ringside but was blocked by the Dudley Boyz; after the match, Taker hit a chokeslam on D-Von Dudley; Vince McMahon did guest commentary for the bout; due to pre-match stipulations, Taker became the #1 contender to the world title and would receive a title shot at the King of the Ring Chris Jericho pinned Hardcore Holly at 3:05 with the Lionsault after Jericho dropkicked Holly into Chris Benoit on the ring apron, causing Holly to hit his head against the steel chair in Benoit's hands; Benoit came ringside mid-way through the contest The Rock defeated Edge & Christian (w/ Shane McMahon) in a handicap match at 5:51 by pinning Edge with a spinebuster and the People's Elbow, despite interference from Shane McMahon; due to pre-match stipulations, the Rock became the #1 contender to the world title and would receive a title shot at King of the Ring; had Edge & Christian won, they would have become #1 contenders to the tag team titles KOTR Qualifying Match: Crash Holly pinned Albert (w/ Trish Stratus) at 1:26 by reversing a powerbomb attempt into a sunset flip; after the bout, Trish shoved Crash into the steel ring post on the floor and Albert followed by hitting a torture rack into a slam back inside the ring Kane pinned WWF World Champion Triple H (w/ WWF Women's Champion Stephanie McMahon) in a non-title match at 5:16 with the chokeslam as Triple H attempted to hit Kane with a steel chair; prior to the bout, Kane grabbed a microphone and caused referee Tim White to leave, then said Earl Hebner would be the referee for the bout; after the bout, Kane held the world title belt over his head while the champion was laid out underneath him; due to pre-match stipulations, Kane became the #1 contender to the world title and would receive a title shot at King of the Ring (Hebner's surprise return after being gone a month)

Just got done watching these and thought I would post and hear your thoughts. There's a lot going on at this point. The debut of Lilian Garcia and Miss Kitty. Triple H wins the world title for the first time. Shawn Michaels turns heel and subsequently disappears. Test and Stephanie get engaged. WWF @ Ames, IA - Hilton Coliseum - August 23, 1999 Raw is War - included an opening segment in which Jim Ross introduced the new WWF World Champion, with Triple H and Chyna coming out instead and Triple H cutting a promo on how he was screwed over by Jesse Ventura at Summer Slam and should be the champion; moments later, Triple H put JR in an armbar and called out Mankind, saying that if he didn't come out he would break JR's arm; Mankind then came out and accepted the challenge for a title match later in the night but only if Triple H released the hold; Triple H agreed but then appeared to have broken JR's arm anyway; Mankind took back his acceptance due to JR's injury but Shane McMahon then came out and forced him to defend the title; Michael Cole did guest commentary for the show after JR was taken away in an ambulance; featured Stevie Richards and the Blue Meanie starring in the first segment of "The Blonde Bytch Project"; included Test asking Stephanie McMahon to come out, with Shane McMahon soon following when he thought Test was about to propose; Stephanie told Shane to respect her wishes and Test then asked Stephanie to marry him, with Stephanie replying that she needed some time but she loved him; featured Billy Gunn backsage asking Chyna to watch Jeff Jarrett's open challenge IC title shot contract so he could go find a pen to sign it; after he left, Chyna signed it herself; included Howard Finkel coming out to the Ultimate Warrior's theme music, running into the ring and shaking the ropes before cutting a promo on how Chris Jericho wanted to make the WWF a better place, then asking that the Road Dogg come out; moments later, Road Dogg came out and was shoved twice by Howard; after Road Dogg grabbed Howard, Jericho came out of the crowd and attacked Road Dogg from behind, hitting two powerbombs and placing one foot on his chest to pose; featured an update on Steve Austin's condition in which it was announced he had sustained ligament and tendon damage as a result of injuries sustained the previous night; included Billy Gunn asking Chyna to come out she he could confront her about screwing him over on Jeff Jarrett's open challenge; moments later, as the two came face-to-face in the ring, Jarrett came out and broke a guitar over Chyna's back; as Jarrett was celebrating, Gunn stole a second guitar from Miss Kitty and broke it over Jarrett before leaving ringside: WWF Hardcore Champion Al Snow fought the Road Dogg to a no contest at around the 2-minute mark when Chris Jericho came ringside and began brawling with Road Dogg, seconds after Snow was powerbombed through a table on the floor, with Jericho and Road Dogg then fighting their way backstage; moments later, the Big Bossman came out, assaulted Snow with the nightstick, and stole Pepper the dog; as cameras caught Jericho and Road Dogg fighting backstage, Bossman was shown throwing the dog cage into his car and leaving the arena The Acolytes fought WWF Tag Team Champions the Undertaker & the Big Show to a no contest at 1:38 when X-Pac & Kane, who did guest commentary for the bout, became involved in a ringside brawl against the four participants; after the bout, Taker hit Kane with a steel chair to the head while on the floor while Show hit the chokeslam on X-Pac inside the ring; the bout featured the debut of Lilian Garcia as ring announcer D-Lo Brown (sub. for Meat) defeated WWF European Champion Mark Henry (w/ WWF IC Champion Jeff Jarrett, Debra, & Miss Kitty) via disqualification at the 58-second mark when Jarrett broke the cover after D-Lo hit the frog splash; prior to the bout, Jarrett rewarded Mark Henry for his help the previous night by giving him the European Championship and he rewarded Debra by presenting her with her own personal assistant, Miss Kitty; Jarrett then stated that he had an open challenge to face anyone for the IC title and a contract was taped to his dressing room door for anyone to sign; as Meat prepared to make his way out to the ring, D-Lo attacked Stasiak backstage and took his place in the match (Miss Kitty's debut) The Rock pinned Gangrel (w/ Matt & Jeff Hardy) at 4:33 with the Rock Bottom / People's Elbow combo; moments earlier, Edge & Christian came out to chase the interfering Hardy Boyz backstage; after the bout, the Rock cut a promo in the ring, saying that he should be the #1 contender to the world title and would take matters into his own hands Crash Holly fought Hardcore Holly to a no contest at around the 3-minute mark when the battle went outside the arena Mideon & Viscera defeated X-Pac & Kane at 4:17 when Viscera pinned X-Pac with a splash in the corner followed by a regular splash as the Acolytes, who came ringside mid-way through the bout, attacked Kane on the floor; Paul Bearer, WWF Tag Team Champions the Undertaker & the Big Show did guest commentary for the bout and Michael Cole went without his headset for the match Triple H (w/ Chyna) pinned WWF World Champion Mankind to win the title at 8:43 with the Pedigree; moments prior to the finish, Triple H hit the champion with a chair shot to the head on the floor, then did the same to the Rock, who was doing guest commentary for the bout; seconds later, Shane McMahon - who was the original referee for the bout until being knocked to the floor and having Earl Hebner replace him - pulled Hebner to the floor and knocked him out before sliding in the ring and making the 3-count; Chyna came ringside early in the bout, still selling the guitar shot from Jeff Jarrett earlier in the show WWF @ Kansas City, MO - Kemper Arena - August 24, 1999 Smackdown! (series premiere) - featured Jim Ross, wearing a thin cast on his broken arm, & Jerry Lawler on commentary; included an opening segment in which the new WWF World Champion Triple H, along with Chyna, came out and cut a promo on his reaching the top of the industry, despite being told he would never do it; moments later, the Rock came interrupted and said he would beat Triple H and take the title later that night; after Triple H rejected the challenge, WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels came out, made the match official, and made himself the guest referee for the bout; moments later, Shane McMahon came out and, as owner of the WWF, made himself the second guest referee; Michaels said that wouldn't be possible because Shane would be facing Mankind later in the night; Mankind then came out, with a brawl taking place in which Rock & Mankind cleared the ring of Triple H, Shane, and the Mean Street Posse; included Howard Finkel coming to the ring to the Ultimate Warrior's music, stealing the microphone from ring announcer Tony Chimel, and beginning to give ring introductions - only for Chimel to tackle him and send him to the floor; moments later, Chris Jericho came out and helped Finkel to his feet; as Ken Shamrock came out for his scheduled match against Val Venis, he and Jericho had an altercation in the aisle; Jericho then sent Finkel down to confront Shamrock and, while Shamrock was distracted, Jericho hit Shamrock in the back with a steel chair; moments later, Shamrock ran backstage to find Jericho; later in the show, Jericho sped off out of the arena while Shamrock grabbed Finkel, eventually letting him go after it was implied Finkel had soiled his pants; featured Michael Cole conducting a pre-taped sit-down interview with an injured Steve Austin in which Austin talked about his leg injury and coming back to the ring to face Triple H: Billy Gunn pinned WWF IC Champion Jeff Jarrett (w/ Miss Kitty & Debra) in a non-title match at 2:54 with a roll up and grabbing the tights for leverage after Chyna came ringside and accidentally broke Jarrett's guitar over Debra when she attempted to hit Miss Kitty; after the bout, Gunn attempted to moon Chyna but she hit a low blow on him from behind before he could WWF Tag Team Champions the Undertaker & the Big Show (w/ Paul Bearer) defeated X-Pac & Kane and the Acolytes at 3:47 when Show pinned X-Pac with the chokeslam; the Undertaker did guest commentary for the bout and made Show defend the titles by himself in a showing of tough love The Big Bossman pinned WWF Hardcore Champion Al Snow to win the title at 2:20 after hitting Snow in the head with the nightstick as Snow went for Pepper the dog, who was on the commentary table; prior to the bout, Bossman came out and told Snow that he would give Pepper back if Snow gave him a title shot however, after the bout, Bossman took Pepper with him while Snow was still knocked out The Road Dogg defeated Chris Jericho via disqualification at 4:31 after Jericho powerbombed his opponent through a table set up in the ring; after the bout, Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho until a number of officials made him break it, then briefly reapplied the hold before leaving the ring (Jericho's TV wrestling debut) Shane McMahon pinned Mankind at around the 3:30 mark after Triple H came ringside and hit Mankind in the leg with a steel chair, while the Mandible Claw was applied, as Chyna distracted the referee; prior to the bout, Stephanie McMahon came to the ring and asked Test to come out so she could give him an answer to his marriage proposal; after Test came to the ring, he got down on one knee and asked a second time, with Stephanie saying yes; moments later, Shane McMahon & the Mean Street Posse attacked Test until Mankind made the save with a steel chair; Mankind then grabbed the microphone, told Shane to leave Test and Stephanie alone, and then said that his match with Shane would begin right then and there; to get Shane to agree to the match, Mankind offered Shane one free shot with the steel chair; during the bout, Pat Patterson, Gerald Brisco, Test, and Stephanie McMahon battled with the Mean Street Posse into the crowd Tori defeated WWF Women's Champion Ivory in an Evening Gown match at the 58-second mark; prior to the bout, Tori attempted to come out in nothing but a thong but a number of officials and referees wouldn't allow her to; she eventually came out wearing Tony Garea's shirt after he took it off for her to put on; after the bout, Tori further attacked Ivory until Luna came out to restrain her, as Ivory ran backstage WWF World Champion Triple H pinned the Rock at 9:43 with the Pedigree after guest referee Shawn Michaels hit the superkick on the challenger as he attempted the People's Elbow; early in the bout, Michaels ejected Chyna from ringside for hitting a low blow on Rock while on the floor; Shane McMahon came out moments later; after the bout, Triple H, Michaels, Shane, and Chyna embraced in the ring

I think me and JR had the same reaction. Mine was more out of disappointment

Just recently came across these episodes and thought I would post here considering we're only about a week away from the 6 year anniversary. 1999 was by far not my favorite year for wrestling but these aren't as bad to watch now as they were then, probably because I know I have the luxury of a fast forward button. Having Vince as the Higher Power was too obvious to be predictable but it made sense. And it showed that all the Vince vs. Taker stuff, which dated back to February, was nothing more than a lie to swerve Austin. WWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - June 6, 1999 (sell out) Sunday Night Heat - shown live; included Jim Ross conducting an in-ring interview with the new WWF Tag Team Champions the Acolytes in which, after stating there were no teams that could beat them, the Brood appeared to confront the Acolytes; after all five men brawled briefly, the lights went out and when they came back on the Acolytes were covered in blood; featured a backstage interview with Steve Austin in which he declined to confess who the Higher Power was after seeing his face on the previous week's Raw: KOTR Qualifying Match: The Road Dogg pinned the Godfather at 1:02 after Billy Gunn accidentally hit Godfather in the head with a steel chair as Godfather attempted the Ho Train; after the bout, Road Dogg chased Gunn backstage KOTR Qualifying Match: The Big Show pinned Droz (w/ Albert) with a boot to the chest and the chokeslam at the 59-second mark; after the bout, Show hit a flying clothesline on an interfering Albert; moments later, Steve Austin attacked both Droz & Albert as they came backstage WWF IC Champion Jeff Jarrett (w/ WWF Women's Champion Debra) fought Mark Henry (w/ D-Lo Brown & Ivory) to a no contest at around the 2-minute mark when Debra and Ivory began fighting in the ring, which then led to Steve Austin coming out, hitting the Stunner on both Henry and D-Lo, then chasing Jarrett & Debra backstage; during the bout, Michael Cole & Kevin Kelly discussed Jake Roberts perhaps being the Higher Power Ken Shamrock defeated Meat (w/ Jackie, Terri, & Ryan Shamrock) via submission with the ankle lock at 3:37 after hitting a belly to belly; after the bout, Jeff Jarrett came out and smashed his guitar over Shamrock's head and put him in his own ankle lock before Steve Austin returned to the ring and hit the Stunner on Jarrett and Meat; during the bout, Cole & Kelly again discussed who the Higher Power could be and mentioned Shawn Michaels' name; after the commercial break, Shamrock cut a promo backstage, challenging Jarrett to face him in the Lion's Den on Raw KOTR Qualifying Match: Kane pinned Test with the tombstone at 3:04 after avoiding the pumphandle slam KOTR Qualifying Match: Chyna (w/ Triple H) pinned Val Venis (w/ Nicole Bass) with the Pedigree at 2:14 moments after Triple H interfered and kicked Venis in the groin as he had Chyna down in the fisherman's suplex, with Bass then rolling the groggy referee back inside the ring, not realizing Venis was hurt; after the bout, Triple H and Venis brawled until a number of referees broke the two up; moments later, Steve Austin came to the ring and hit the Stunner on Venis and a number of officials WWF @ Boston, MA - FleetCenter - June 7, 1999 (sell out) Raw is War - included Vince McMahon coming out to open the show in which he cut an in-ring promo regarding the identity of the Higher Power - saying it was rumored to be perhaps Shawn Michaels, Jake Roberts, or a McMahon - and then challenged his son Shane to a no holds barred match with both men's stake in the WWF being on the line; Shane then came out, accepted, and said he was not the Higher Power - despite Vince's accusations - but that the Higher Power would be unveiled in a few moments by the Undertaker; after the commercial break, the Corporate Ministry (WWF World Champion the Undertaker, Paul Bearer, Triple H, Chyna, the Big Bossman, Mideon, Viscera, and WWF Tag Team Champions the Acolytes) came out to the ring with Taker introducing the Higher Power, who then came to the ring wearing a hood; after the Higher Power came out, Shane McMahon appeared on the stage to prove that it wasn't him, then complimented the Higher Power before entering the ring; Shane then asked Vince to come out and witness the unveiling, with Vince appearing on the Titan Tron and asking the Higher Power to take off the hood, which he did - revealing himself to be Vince himself; Vince then cut a promo on Steve Austin, saying that this proves that there's nothing he wouldn't do to make Austin's life a living hell; moments later, Linda & Stephanie McMahon came out on the stage to confront Vince about his deception, with Linda saying that it was a lie when Vince said he and Shane each owned 50% of the company - all four McMahons owned an equal amount of the company; she went on to say that some changes would be taking place at the office, saying the dress code would be more casual, and that profanity and alcohol would be allowed; finally, she said she had stepped down as CEO of the WWF but introduced Steve Austin as the new head of the company; Austin then came out, said that he would have a world title match whenever he wanted, and stated that at the King of the Ring he would face Vince & Shane McMahon in a handicap match; Austin went on to state that Shane would face X-Pac & Kane in a handicap match as a result of his actions the previous week and that Ken Shamrock, Test, and the Big Show would be allowed to face any opponent of their choosing, then wished a speedy recovery to Mankind; he went on to state that Triple H would battle the Rock in a cast match, with Triple H's leg encased in a cast to match the Rock's arm which was also in a cast; after the commercial break, Linda & Stephanie presented Austin with a briefcase full of beer to celebrate; featured Michael Cole conducting an in-ring interview with the Big Show, Ken Shamrock, and Test, in which Show said he wanted the Undertaker in a title match; Shamrock, angered that Vince McMahon used him, said he wanted Vince in a Lion's Den match instead of his scheduled opponent Jeff Jarrett; Test then asked that Stephanie McMahon come out to the ring, which she did; he then got down on one knee and asked if she would go out on a date with him, with Stephanie accepting; included a G-TV segment with Terri, Ryan Shamrock, and Jackie backstage in which they trash talked Billy Gunn, Dustin Rhodes, and Val Venis: WWF Tag Team Champions the Acolytes defeated Edge & Gangrel (w/ Christian) at 3:23 when Bradshaw pinned Gangrel with the Clothesline from Hell; after the bout, the Hardy Boyz & Michael Hayes attacked Christian at ringside, with a brief brawl taking place on the ramp pitting Edge & Christian against the Hardyz X-Pac & Kane defeated Shane McMahon via disqualification at around the 1-minute mark when Pete Gas & Rodney, wearing Mankind masks, made the save for Shane; after the bout, Pat Patterson & Gerald Brisco came to the ring, assaulted the Mean Street Posse, and threw them into the ring; moments later, Kane hit the chokeslam on Rodney and the tomstone on Pete Gas, while X-Pac hit a spin kick on Pete Gas and the Bronko Buster on Rodney The Rock defeated Triple H (w/ Chyna) via disqualification in a cast match at 1:23 when the Undertaker interfered, hit a chokeslam on the Rock, and followed with a tombstone onto a steel chair; after the bout, the Big Show came out and scared Taker from the ring; Triple H wore a cast on his leg to match the one Rock wore on his injured arm WWF Women's Champion Debra (w/ Jeff Jarrett) defeated Nicole Bass (w/ Val Venis) in a swimsuit contest; Jerry Lawler was the MC for the event; after the match, Jarrett and Venis had a brief brawl which resulted in Bass accidentally breaking Jarrett's guitar over Val's head; after Venis came to, he and Nicole got into a verbal arguement; had Bass won, she would have earned a women's title shot for the following week The Godfather pinned Billy Gunn with a legdrop at 2:14 after the Road Dogg interfered behind the referee's back and hit a pumphandle slam on Gunn WWF Hardcore Champion Al Snow pinned Droz (w/ Albert) at 3:01 after hitting him with a sculpture at a sports bar located inside the FleetCenter Vince McMahon (sub. for WWF IC Champion Jeff Jarrett) defeated Ken Shamrock in a Lion's Den match within a matter of seconds when Jarrett came up behind Shamrock, before McMahon let him in the cage, and hit Shamrock in the face with a steel chair, knocking Shamrock into the cage where Vince applied the ankle lock for the TKO win; had any Corporate Ministry member interfered in the bout, they would have been fired on the spot; after the commercial break, Vince & Shane McMahon were shown speeding out of the arena The Big Show fought WWF World Champion the Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) to a no contest at 6:50 when the challenger chokeslammed Taker through the ring; after the bout, Show hit chokeslams on Bradshaw, Farooq, and Mideon; had any Corporate Ministry member interfered during the bout, they would have been fired on the spot (Best of Raw Vol. 1 & 2 DVD)

I don't really think Mania 13 had anything to do with it. Someone had to vocalize their submission, they couldn't just tap out. I believe the tap outs started in WCW maybe 6 months or so prior to Ken Shamrock coming to the WWF. But Shamrock and the ankle lock further popularized it.

I think it was one of the reasons. Road Dogg was getting a lot of heat on him at the time over drug issues and I think Jarrett left with Road Dogg out of loyalty in addition to the other reasons.

If Gorilla said it, it was most likely kayfabed. Regular piledrivers were an automatic DQ in Memphis. Not sure when that was dropped but it was that way during Kaufman / Lawler.

On April 9, I saw them face the original Midnight Express in Lenoir, NC for Carolina Championship Wrestling. Prior to the show, most of the talent was out signing autographs, selling gimmicks, etc. The odd thing was that Ricky and Robert were on the opposite ends of the autograph area. And I heard during the show that Ricky refused to sign certain gimmicks that were being sold by Robert. From my understanding, the heat came from payoffs of their gimmicks ... or something stupid like that. I think there was also a problem with Robert wanting to work a show in the same venue a month later while Ricky and the CCW promoter not wanting that because they didn't want to burn out the territory with the R'n'Rs. By the way, the match was a scaffold match. Ricky was the only one out of the four that took any bumps. He bled, he took a face full of powder, he was the only one to get into the center of the scaffold, and he was the one who took the fall.

yes Yes to the second, no to the first.

Then that was lazy booking. When they came in 6 months earlier they were using that as their tag team finisher but only behind the referee's back.

The spike piledriver was deemed illegal. The Brain Busters often used it behind the referee's back in late 88-early 89 to score wins.

Yeah that's it, didn't they devote nearly a whole show to Douglas going on and on? Pretty much. I have it on tape somewhere. If I can find it, I'll see what else was on that show. Probably just promos and maybe one match.

February - Bossman costs Vader the world title at SuperBrawl April - Vader beats Bossman at Spring Stampede; Bossman goes nuts afterwards and uses the stick; Bockwinkel takes the stick away, the handcuffs away, and the Boss name away May - the Guardian Angels bring Boss into their group June - Boss returns to WCW at the Clash of the Champions under the Guardian Angel name; beats Tex Slazenger, IIRC July - Vader beats the Guardian Angel via DQ at BATB when the referee saw Angel with a stick but Angel never actually used it; Angel still has heat on him since he wasn't pinned September - Vader beats him in the triangle match to, in theory, end the feud October - Vader again beats him at Halloween Havoc to DEFINATELY end the feud Btw, I'm pretty sure Vader had a 100% winning average against Boss / Angel on the house show curcuit during that time.

Why would Obi-Won think that? Anakin was turned by Palpatine, it's not genetic. It's not like Rosemary's Baby.

Yeah, I thought the same thing regarding Doc Oc doing it in Spider-Man 2.

Sounds like you mean the one from the weekly show back in 95 in which he went on in-depth about why he hated Flair.

Savage actually did an interview with Gene Okerlund during the PPV portion of the show (during the intermission), so he was there. No idea why he didn't wrestle that night, as I had him pegged as DiBiase's mystery partner. I thought it was more logical to drop Ax and put him on Hennig's team. The story I've always heard was that if Ax couldn't go, Savage would be his replacement.

I enjoyed myself quite a bit. Anakin was a bad ass, both as a jedi and sith lord, and Obi-Won had some quality fight scenes himself. An emotional downer in terms of the story but it was well told.

The video is posted on the Death Valley Driver forum right now.

I don't think they were given a fair shake. They upset Bulldog & Owen at Survivor Series and had a ton of momentum. Then - nothing. Basically their first non-squash after that was a non-title match loss to Bulldog & Owen the day after the Rumble.