SN Heat & Raw - June 6 and 7th, 1999

[cawthon777 0]

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)

[JoeDirt 0]

Wow, look at all those short matches...

 

I remember watching these shows. I believe Kane beat Test when Test tried a tombstone and Kane countered into one of his own, though I could have bad memory.

 

And of course the classic greater power RAW...

[Mecha Mummy 0]

WWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - June 6, 1999 (sell out)

 

I think this was the first full WWF show I ever watched. And I kept watching. So it did SOMETHING right.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

That triple threat match had one of the most predictable main events ever, and I was about a 13 or 14 year old mark at the time. Who couldn't see that the McMahons would regain full control of the company? Although I was eating it out of their hands regardless...

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

I had forgotten that. I still remember the Higher Power revealing, the McMahon Shamrock Jarrett bit and The Big Show chokeslamming Taker, the Austin speech at the top of the ramp, and Bass and Venis arguing. I didn't recall, however, except for the Austin and Higher Power thing, that they were all on the same show.

 

McMahon was priceless when he had the ankle lock on Shamrock.

 

"Do you think I'm afraid of Ken Shamrock?"

 

*marks out*

[Guest jm29195]

I think this was the first full WWF show I ever watched. And I kept watching. So it did SOMETHING right.

 

Damn right, it was also the first Raw I ever saw, we were on a school trip in London and the hotel had cable I guess, I was hooked from then on!!

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

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.

Vince being the Higher Power was a last minute decision, so it's somewhat forgivable for it being obvious and coming off like one big swerve.

[Carnival 0]

Vince: "It's me Austin!"

JR: "Ah, Son of a Bitch!"

[cawthon777 0]

Vince: "It's me Austin!"

JR: "Ah, Son of a Bitch!"

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

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Test actually (very impressive, too) got the pumphandle on Kane, spinning him up and over his shoulder for the powerslam. However, from there, Kane used his weight to do the tombstone spot, reversing it. Good little short match.

[Carnival 0]

When Bischoff tried to spoil the Higher Power angle, and he said something along the lines of "It's a guy named McSomething"

 

I misunderstood him, and only heard part of it, and I thought he was referring to Mick Foley.

 

But then i saw a glimpse of Vince's cleffed chin, and I knew it was him.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I didn't care for WWF in 1999 so much...a lot of it seemed like it was booked basically the same as 1998, which of course was a tremendous year. The matches were REALLY short throughout the year on TV as well, as you can see in the match results. WCW sucked that year, though, so I'm sure I still watched WWF more at the time.

[JoeDirt 0]

Was there ever another plan to have the Greater Power be someone else? (Since somebody mentioned Vince was a last minute decision)

[syxx2001 0]

I loved that episode. I was a 14 year old mark as well.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Was there ever another plan to have the Greater Power be someone else? (Since somebody mentioned Vince was a last minute decision)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The other two choices at the time the decision was made to go with Vince were Mick Foley and Steve Austin.

[Guest OSIcon]

I always watched Nitro over RAW then but with all of the hype for the Greater Power, I watched the opening minutes of RAW instead. Really disliked the payoff of McMahon being the higher power for two reasons. One, I let myself get carried away in all of the hype surrounding who the Greater Power would be. These days, I pretty much don't get excited at any mystery wrestler because they rarely deliver up to your greatest expectations. I was knew to checking out wrestling on the internet and people were speculating a lot of cool choices. Ted Dibiase, Shawn Michaels, and Jake Roberts all seemed like really cool choices so it was pretty disappointing when it was McMahon. Secondly, it didn't make sense. Why would McMahon go through the trouble of having his own daugher kidnapped and everything he went through fighting against Undertaker when he was behind it all along. It was clear to me even at the time that it was poorly thought out.

 

In retrospect, I realize it was ridiculous to either consider that it would be one of the guys mentioned above, but Vince still seems like a dumb choice. Had they actually crafted it in advance so that it made perfect sense for McMahon to be behind it, that would have been on thing. Of course they didn't plan it out that far in advance.

 

I DID like the Austin as CEO thing at the time because Austin was far and away my favorite to watch in the WWF. I probably would have rather watch that really fun hardcore lucha match on Nitro instead of the Higher Power announcment (I didn't get to see the Nitro match until a few years later).

[Jericholic82 0]

Bischoff actually said the HP's initials were "VKM" (Vincent Kennedey McMahon of course). I figured it was Vince, cuz when Austin saw the face, the look on his own face made it clear that it could be only one man he was looking at. So I watched the RAW, still hoping they would have a more creative payoff. I should note that I was a 15 year old smark at the time due to net access. The hot rumor online the day of RAW was that it would be Mike Tyson.

 

 

The one part that has always bothered me was how Vince took off the hood and yelled "it's me austin" kinda stupid,as he had already revealed himself to steve the week before.