Raw is War & Smackdown - August 23 & 26, 1999

[cawthon777 0]

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

[Aero 0]

When HHH breaks JR's arm in the beginning of Raw, I love the fake noise for the arm breaking. I haven't seen it in a while, but the sound of an egg being crushed comes to mind.

[Carnival 0]

The sound was off on the Live segment, but it was fixed when they showed the replay.

[BUTT 0]

The Fink coming out to the Warrior's music was pretty awesome.

[Aero 0]

Also, on Raw, D'Lo comes out to a MONSTER reaction. As a D'Lo mark, I loved this whole segment. I really thought he was on his way to better things.

[haws bah gawd 0]

I remember watching this RAW and thinking HHH had been pushed too far up the card, and didnt buy him as a champion. Like many others, it wasnt until Mick Foley nearly killed himself bumping like a pinball for HHH at RR2000 and NWO2000 that I finally bought HHH as a legit main eventer.

 

Jericho needs to start re-using his double/triple Powerbomb. It really showed the strength that Jericho possesses and looked like a much more devastating finisher than the Lionsault.

[Guest news_gimmick]

I don't believe the double powerbomb was ever his finisher, but it definately looked very good. I hate how he has turned the Walls of Jericho into a Boston Crab nowadays anyway, he would be better off with the double powerbomb.

[haws bah gawd 0]

I thought for sure I remembered him using the double powerbomb as a finisher in WCW a couple times before he made his heel turn.

[Jericholic82 0]

I thought for sure I remembered him using the double powerbomb as a finisher in WCW a couple times before he made his heel turn.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He did use it against Eddy Guerreo at Fall Brawl 97 (it's on the eddie dvd)

[cawthon777 0]

And Eddie won that match, so if it was his finisher - which I don't remember it being - it obviously didn't work there

[The Dames 0]

The double powerbomb was more of a signature move for him. I don't recall him ever pinning someone with it. He dropped it in the WWE since he was wrestling bigger guys and guys wouldn't go up for it properly.

 

I too hate the Crabs of Jericho now.

 

Dames

[King Cucaracha 0]

RAW had 3 no-contests, a DQ and screwy endings to the final two matches. Say what you will about RAW now, but at least you get more clean finishes and longer matches.

 

Did Michaels appear between that Smackdown and Judgment Day 2000?

[cawthon777 0]

Off the top of my head, I don't believe so.

[Jericholic82 0]

And Eddie won that match, so if it was his finisher - which I don't remember it being - it obviously didn't work there 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

well no, but I was backing up Haws bah gawd's post about remembering him using it before his heel turn in wcw, not saying it was a finisher. In fact I don't even think he had a finisher in his initial face wcw run. He used lots of stuff. Missle dorpkicks, the lionsault, to name a couple of moves I remember him winning matches with. The liontamer came about right aroudnt he same time he lost the CW title to Eddy. So right before he turned heel, he started using the liontamer.