wrestling / Columns

I Was Wrong: Who Ran Over Stone Cold?

October 21, 2014 | Posted by Justin Watry

Doing this for over six years now, there are many perks that come with writing columns about wrestling. Obviously, the monetary gain depending on the website. The chance to interact with other fans. The opportunity to interview/quote wrestlers. The platform to voice an opinion. The ego boost received through emails/tweets from readers. All that good stuff. A part of that comes with the inevitable – gloating about being “right” when the history books are written.

From the man who predicted the sinking of the Titanic (what is his name?) to the man who predicted Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan at WWE WrestleMania 28 would last under a minute (hi!), there is always that motivation. Mine have been numerous throughout the years: WWE stock plummeting, everything about TNA Impact Wrestling’s current mess, Zack Ryder being a flash in the pan (if even that), John Morrison leaving WWE, Mark Henry being World Champion in 2011, Hulk Hogan returning to WWE, CM Punk NOT coming back anytime soon, Sting working with WWE in 2014, weekly television ratings patterns, Daniel Bryan getting his payoff, etc. The list goes on and on. However, there are two sides to a coin…

I have also been VERY wrong over the years. Very wrong. Thus, this concept was born. Instead of raving constantly about ‘calling it’ every week, why not flip the script? Humble myself a little? Sure. Sounds like fun. This week…

I Was Wrong: Who Ran Over Stone Cold?

Quick Backstory – For those still out of the loop, the main event for the WWE Survivor Series 1999 main event was set to be Triple H vs. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. HHH had been doing his best to get over with fans as the arrogant heel WWE Champion, while Rocky and Austin chased him down for the gold as faces. Surely going to be a three way clash for the ages. However, the dream bout was not meant to be. Stone Cold needed neck surgery and would be unable to compete. Now, instead of (rightfully) announcing the news beforehand and saving potential paying customers their money, the company opted for a VERY cheap/dirty bait and switch on PPV night, knowing full well in advance their big main event would be altered come bell time. During a backstage interview at WWE Survivor Series (watch the Youtube video posted), Austin and HHH brawled into the parking lot, where a black car struck down the fan favorite of the Attitude Era, effectively writing him off the program for the time being.

A massive “who done it?” story line had begun….

Video Evidence – Well, Kevin Kelly was the one interviewing Stone Cold. Could not have been him, like that was even in question. As great as the foreshadowing was at the end of the clip above, Jim Ross (and Jerry Lawler) was at ringside during the incident. No heel turn for good ol’ JR. What a twist that would have been? Certainly could not have been Triple H; he was just brawling with Stone Cold. The Cerebral Assassin was ruled out as the driver. Road Dogg and X-Pac (DX allies of HHH) were right there as well. Could not have been those two. Billy Gunn was NOT present but was later eliminated as a suspect, so The Game’s buddies were also ruled out. Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Test arrived to the scene shortly after the hit and run. None of them possibly had the time to drive the car. The Austin vs. McMahon feud was legendary in 1999 but was not the endgame here. Not a ton of real evidence to start, so the burning question remained: Who can it be now?

Was The Rock Guilty? – We quickly learned that it was The Rock’s rental car that struck down The Rattlesnake and only The Great One’s fingerprints/DNA were found. It was repeatedly stated that The Rock had the most to gain with Austin away. Hollywood appearances, media, television time, main events, etc. Hey, remember at Survivor Series 1999, it was Stone Cold vs. Triple H VS. THE ROCK for the WWE Title. While he was a massive face at the time and clearly was the man to take over for Stone Cold while he had neck surgery, I am unsure how many of his fans ever truly believed he was the culprit. I have read stories where Rocky was considered, but he turned it down (obviously) because of his clear spot as the number one good guy. No sense whatsoever for him to turn.

If Not Rocky, Who? – Even though some signs pointed to The Rock early on, there was just no way that was happening. Not even the nonsensical Attitude Era would do that! Billy Gunn was a prime suspect, as he was the only DX member not present at the scene. He was ruled out BUT did reveal a major clue about the hair color of the driver he saw that night. Former DX member Shawn Michaels also made a RAW cameo in 2000 to deny it was him, while pointing the finger at The Rock. At one point, it even looked like new WWE commissioner Mick Foley would be revealed as the driver as he got aggressive in his investigation to find out who ran over Stone Cold. Was he just over compensating to throw off the scent? Kurt Angle debuted at Survivor Series 1999 and was dominating WWE. Was it him? Would Austin’s girlfriend/wife Debra be involved? Every single person in the wrestling world was considered a suspect! Things were getting interesting, as Stone Cold was getting closer to full health…

Clues – As noted, it was revealed to be The Rock’s rental car. As time went on and the all out finger pointing increased, Foley made the unpopular decision to suspend Stone Cold (who just came back to TV) until his attacker was found because Austin was going around just beating up every wrestler in sight. A few more clues came out right before the big reveal was made: The Rock’s sunglasses were found in the glove compartment. The driver had blonde hair, according to Billy Gunn. Plus, as was revealed very late in the story, the seat was situated not just for a large man, but a very large man. The search was being narrowed. Before getting to the payoff, I should discuss one thing I always found a little peculiar.

The Timeframe – Stone Cold was hit by a car in November 1999. The “investigation” was a main focus the next night on RAW but was largely tossed to the side for the next several months. Hardly even in passing very much. Even to this day, that just seemed strange to me. Did WWE just truly have no idea what to do next? Was there no way to draw it out week after week for a full year? Could the company have been planning the final details (driver reveal) of the story line, while skipping the middle parts? For most of 2000, there was just not a whole lot added to the mystery. It was only until Stone Cold was ready to return full-time in Fall 2000 (minus the April cameos) that business picked up, as JR would say. I guess I understand it due to Austin’s health and not being there for a long time, but it always came off extremely weird…almost as if WWE had no idea who would ultimately be the culprit…almost…

…well, yeah. That is exactly what it was.

The Night Of The Reveal – The big night finally arrived on Monday, October 9th, 2000. Mick Foley promised to reveal the news by the time WWE RAW ended. It was quite the tease throughout the evening. Mick looked exhausted and fresh out of ideas as he was shown backstage towards the end of the show. Next up was The Rock and Rikishi vs. Kane and Kurt Angle – the RAW main event! Time was running out on him, and he still was confused. Who did it?!?! His answer came from none other than Scotty 2 Hotty. Yes, Scotty 2 Hotty. On a whim, he asked Scotty (walking by him in the hallway) if he knew anything about what happened at Survivor Series 1999. He casually responded by saying he was just chilling backstage with Rikishi and Grandmaster Too Sexay and saw nothing.

*light bulb going off*

Mick Foley had solved the case.

Rikishi Did It…For The Rock! – Following the Raw main event tag team match, Mick Foley made his way down the ramp to live up to his promise. He WOULD reveal who ran down Stone Cold Steve Austin. After listing all the reasons it was (sadly) The Rock, Foley announced that despite all the evidence, he found him “not guilty.” After a gasp from the live crowd, the commentators pointed out the obvious as RAW was coming to a close. If it was not The Rock, then who was it?!?!?! Mick Foley told the world seconds later…it was Rikishi! You see, he was a large man, had blonde hair, and had no on screen role at Survivor Series 1999! Scotty casually said he was hanging out backstage with Rikishi and Grandmaster that night. Oops! Why would the 400 pound man even be at the event? Plus, Rocky and Rikishi were close so it would not be an issue if one used the other’s rental car. Fans all over the world were shocked as the lovable dancing ‘friend’ of The Rock’s admitted to the attack. He did it for The Rock, the ‘Island Boys’ and because of the great white hope in WWE. Yep, that was the explanation. The mystery was over, and Jim Ross went off the air screaming that Stone Cold was going to gut and quarter Rikishi…

Ripple Effect – Oh boy, it was not pretty. Remember when I mentioned that WWE put this story line on the back burner for most of 2000 before Stone Cold returned full-time? Yeah, they had MONTHS to figure out a worthwhile payoff…and we got a heel turn from Rikishi, something absolutely nobody was asking for at the time. Not only that, it was still Rikishi (Rikishi!) being thrust into a major spot he should not have been in. I liked the guy’s act, make no mistake. As a top villain to a year long payoff during the HOT Attitude Era? Ugh, it was never going to work. Thankfully, WWE realized this and within a few weeks, the focus was not on Rikishi being the driver – it was on who was the mastermind behind the whole hit and run. At that point, it was revealed that Triple H was the real mastermind and resumed his legendary feud with Stone Cold. Rikishi was placed in a tag team with Haku for awhile, off television shortly after that, then back as a face a year later. Yikes!

The Beginning Of The End – More to the payoff being Rikishi: A lot of folks like to whine and complain that the Invasion story line was this huge turning point for WWE business. I have long called that BS for a few reasons. First is the big Invasion PPV doing record business and still the most purchased non-WM PPV in wrestling history. Second is that the train was off the tracks well BEFORE summer 2001. WCW was gone; ECW was gone. Do I need to remind everybody of the Backlash 2001 card or Judgment Day 2001’s top three matches? Yeah, that says it all. Believe it or not folks, things had shifted in the wrestling world in spring 2001, and none of that falls on the Invasion story line. Thirdly was the ridiculous Stone Cold heel turn/alliance with Vince McMahon that turned viewers off in bunches. Just drove away millions of fans. Yeah, The Rock was taking a break, but the Stone Cold heel turn set that all in motion. Blaming the Invasion story line is misguided frustration. When The Rock left TV the night after WrestleMania 17, the tide had already begun to turn. More so, I could argue another ‘turning point’ for business was the payoff of the “Who ran over Stone Cold?” story line. Right when it was revealed to be Rikishi as the guilty party, it was like the air had been let out of this humongous balloon WWE had built the previous three years. Cry about the Invasion story line all you want. Heck, bring up the weeks after WM17 or even the ending of WM17 itself as well. However, October 9th, 2000 was also a pivotal moment in the beginning of the end of the Attitude Era success…

Where Did I Go Wrong? – To be fair, I assume every single wrestling fan on the planet was wrong here. Did anybody anywhere predict Rikishi would be the guilty party after a year long build? For myself, I always thought it would somehow end up being Triple H. I know he was the person brawling with Stone Cold at Survivor Series 1999 backstage, but that was my theory. Not very wise admittedly…but neither was whoever decided on Rikishi. The next time somebody brings up ‘swerves’ and the desire to be ‘shocking’ in wrestling, just mention this payoff. Instead of going with a HHH, Vince, or somebody Stone Cold had a long history with, WWE went with Rikishi. *sighs* I will gladly take predictable, logical, and well written than SURPRISING just for the sake of being SURPRISING! Unfortunately, that is a lesson still being learned to this day – 15 years after the fact…

Voice your opinion in the comment section below – who did YOU think ran down Stone Cold at WWE Survivor Series 1999?

Self-Promoting Finale

Enjoy trick or treating this week! I know I will.

Thanks to everybody who joined me for my third ever live tweeting session a few weeks ago during WWE RAW! Not my cup of tea admittedly, but I said if I reached 600 Twitter followers I would live tweet again, so I did. When will I live tweet again you ask? Well, I will get back to you when I reach 650 Twitter followers. Only 40 away!

Follow me on Twitter @JustinWatry

Go check out my Jay’s Ways column over at the NoDQ website…

…and finally…

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article topics :

Steve Austin, WWE, Justin Watry