The Piledriver Report 04.25.13: The History of Vince McMahon’s Wrestling Empire: Part Fourteen

LIFE AFTER BRET

The night after the 1997 Survivor Series, the World Wrestling Federation was in complete chaos. The word to describe the scene after the Montreal pay per view would be “betrayal.” Bret felt betrayed by Vince McMahon for screwing him after all of the blood, sweat, and tears that he gave to the WWF throughout most of his wrestling career. The wrestlers felt betrayed, because if a loyal, main eventer like Bret could get screwed over by the company, who’s to say that Vince would never do the same to any one of them. The fans felt betrayed. They were programmed to worship the “Hitman” character, and in one night, Vince tried to destroy the character that they grew to love. They also felt betrayed by Bret Hart, who many felt, had sold out for the riches of Ted Turner. The fans in the building felt betrayed, because they thought the were being robbed of seeing the complete Bret/Shawn match, which they were since the “un-screwjob” plan had the match lasting several minutes later.

After the Survivor Series, Shawn swore to Bret that he knew nothing about it. He told Bret that he didn’t want the belt like that, and would prove it to him the next night on TV. Of course, the next night, Shawn appeared on RAW with the WWF belt in hand. However, the real fun in the post-Bret era was about to begin. On the November 17th airing of RAW, Vince McMahon gave his infamous “Bret screwed Bret” speech where he explain why he swerved Bret Hart out of the WWF World title. This episode was one of the most historic RAWs in the show’s history. The show was actually taped six days earlier, so this taped show went up against a live Nitro. On RAW, DeGeneration X came to the ring with Chyna, and their associate Rick Rude. When you turned on the live edition of Nitro, the New World Order presented their new associate, Rick Rude! Rick Rude was the first person in wrestling history to appear on both RAW and Nitro on the same night. The Bret bashing continued on the November 24th edition of RAW, as Shawn Michaels promised that Bret Hart would show up on RAW. When he called out the “Hitman,” out came a midget wearing a Bret Hart mask. Shawn then proceeded to make fun of Bret, and tell several “short” jokes. Jim Neidhart confronted Shawn and Triple H, who offered him a spot in DX. By the end of the night, Triple H and Michaels turned on Neidhart. During the following week’s RAW, Triple H beat Jim Neidhart. After the match, DX spray painted “WCW” on his back, and sent him packing to the Turner’s federation.

ATTITUDE

The WWF started to plant the seeds for one of the greatest rivalries in the new WWF “Attitude” era. On this night, Rocky Maivia stole the Intercontinental strap from Steve Austin. The Rock/Steve Austin angle was furthered on the November 24th RAW. The Rock was in the ring delivering a promo, when Steve Austin appeared on the TitanTron. All of a sudden, The Rock’s beeper went off. The number on the beeper was 316! When The Rock turned around, Austin was there to attack the “Great One.”

On December 7th, the WWF presented their final pay per view of the year called “In Your House: DeGeneration-X.” In the WWF Light Heavyweight Tournament Finals: Taka Michinoku pinned Brian Christopher to capture the newly created championship. Los Boricuas defeated Skull, 8-Ball, & Chainz. The boxer Butterbean defeated Marc Mero by disqualification in the 4th round of a Toughman contest. WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg defeated the Legion of Doom by disqualification. Triple H pinned Sgt. Slaughter in a Bootcamp match. Jeff Jarrett defeated the Undertaker by disqualification. WWF IC Champion Steve Austin pinned The Rock to retain the title. Ken Shamrock defeated WWF World & European Champion Shawn Michaels by disqualification. After the match, as Triple H and Chyna beat up Shamrock, Owen Hart made a surprise return by knocking Michaels off the ring apron to the floor and pounding on him before escaping through the crowd.

Owen Hart made his presence felt on the next night’s RAW. Shawn Michaels and Triple H were playing strip poker in the ring when the Headbangers interrupted their game. The two DX members started to beat up the Headbangers, when Owen Hart hit the ring to attack Shawn Michaels.

Later that night, Vince McMahon ordered Steve Austin to defend the Intercontinental championship against The Rock. Austin refused to give into Vince McMahon’s orders, so Vince awarded the belt to Rocky via forfeit. Austin came down to the ring and willingly handed the belt to The Rock. Austin then hit the Stunner on Rocky. Austin said “he had plans for the championship belt and that if McMahon wanted ratings he should tune in next week, same Stone Cold Time, same Stone Cold channel.”

The next week’s RAW, which aired on December 15th, Steve Austin took the WWF Intercontinental Championship belt, and threw it into a river, while The Rock and his fellow Nation of Domination members watched on the TitanTron at the arena.

During this episode, the groundwork was laid for the possibility of DX adding new member to their group. During the Shawn/Hunter match against the Road Warriors, the New Age Outlaws attacked the Road Warriors. DX proceeded to join the WWF Tag Team Champions on the attack against the painted warriors. The four men left the ring together, as the Road Warriors were left lying in the ring.

The December 22nd RAW featured the WWF Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter trying to take down DeGeneration X at its core. He announced that Shawn Michaels would defend the European championship against fellow DX member, Triple H later in the show. Triple H pinned Shawn Michaels to win the European title after Michaels laid down following a “splash” by Hunter for the “pin.” After the match, Michaels pretended to cry over the loss. Since Slaughter’s plan failed, he announced that Owen would fight Shawn Michaels on next week’s RAW.

IRON MIKE AND THE BUILD TO WRESTLEMANIA

The WWF presented their first pay per view of the new year on January 18th, 1998. The Royal Rumble was held in San Jose, CA in front of 18,542 fans. Vader pinned The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust. Max Mini, Nova, & Mosaic defeated El Torito, Tarantula, & Battallion. WWF IC Champion The Rock defeated Ken Shamrock following a reverse decision. The Legion of Doom defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg by disqualification. Steve Austin won the 30-man Royal Rumble match by last eliminating The Rock at 55:25. WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels defeated the Undertaker in a casket match. This Royal Rumble will be remembered for two moments. The first was the introduction of Mike Tyson to the WWF, as he sat in one of the luxury boxes, and gave a quick interview to the fans at home. The second incident forever changed the coarse of wrestling history, and one performer, in particular. Towards the end of the Michaels/Undertaker casket match, the “Heartbreak Kid” was backdropped from the ring apron onto the casket. Unfortunately, Shawn’s back hit the corner of the casket, and caused sever back damage. The injury was so debilitating that the Shawn Michaels/Steve Austin World title match at WrestleMania XIV appeared to be in jeopardy.

The night after the Rumble, the WWF started their build up to WrestleMania XIV. Vince McMahon had an in-ring interview with the baddest man in the planet, Mike Tyson. Steve Austin interrupted the interview, and a mini-brawl ensued with the two men being pulled apart.

On the January 26th edition of RAW, Triple H was set to defend the European title against Owen Hart. However, DeGeneration X pulled a fast one as Goldust came out to fight Owen Hart. Owen beat Goldust, and then Michaels and Triple H appeared on the TitanTron. They were celebrating the fact that they were able to get Hunter out of the title defense. Sgt. Slaughter wasn’t impressed. He said that he accepted Goldust as a substitute for Triple H in the European Championship match. Since Owen Hart won the match, he was the new European Champion.

On February 2nd, Cactus Jack fought Terry Funk. Cactus Jack hit Funk, known as Chainsaw Charlie, with a elbow off of the stage onto Funk who was lying in a dumpster. The New Age Outlaws ran to the ring, and locked both men in the dumpster. The WWF Tag Champions then pushed the dumpster off of the stage with Funk and Foley inside.

The WWF’s No Way Out pay per view was held on February 15th in Houston, TX. The Headbangers defeated Marc Mero and Goldust. WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku pinned Pantera.
Henry and Phinneas Godwinn defeated the Quebecers. Bradshaw defeated NWA North American Champion Jeff Jarrett by disqualification. Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson, Skull, 8-Ball, & Chainz defeated Farooq, WWF IC Champion The Rock, D-Lo Brown, Kama, & Mark Henry in a War of Attrition match. Kane pinned Vader with the tombstone. Steve Austin, WWF European Champion Owen Hart, Cactus Jack, and Terry Funk defeated Triple H, Savio Vega (substituting for injured WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels), and WWF Tag Team Champions the Road Dogg and Billy Gunn in an unsanctioned match when Austin pinned Road Dogg with the Stunner.

The February 23rd RAW presented deccension in the ranks of one the leading heel groups in the WWF. Farooq was the leader of a faction called the Nation of Domination. The Nation was supposed to represent a type of Black Panthers radical group from the sixties. The Nation’s other members included The Rock, D-Lo Brown, Mark Henry, and Kama. Steve Blackman beat The Rock in a non-title match after D-Lo Brown tossed Blackman’s nunchucks to The Rock. However, Blackman intercepting them and used the weapon on Rocky. After the bout, D-Lo blames the move on Farooq. The Rock demanding an apology from the leader of the Nation. Farooq ignored this request, and left ringside with Kama and D-Lo Brown.

On the March 8th RAW telecast, Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman defeated WWF IC Champion The Rock & Farooq by disqualification when the Nation interfered. After the match, Farooq held the other Nation members back as Rock was caught in Shamrock’s ankle lock.

On the same show, Triple H fought Savio Vega to a no contest after Steve Austin came to the ring and hit the Stunner on an official, a referee, and Savio. As Austin had Triple H cornered in the ring, Shawn Michaels came to the ring and hit the superkick on Austin.

On March 16th, Triple H defeated WWF European Champion Owen Hart to win the title in an impromptu match when the referee stopped the bout. Owen had an air casket on his ankle, following an injury sustained two weeks before on Raw. While providing color commentary, he was goaded into the match by Helmsley.

WrestleMania XIV was held in Boston, MA at the FleetCenter on March 29, 1998. The Legion of Doom won a 15-tag team battle royal by last eliminating Bob Holly & Bart Gunn. WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku pinned Aguila. WWF European Champion Triple H (w/ Chyna) pinned Owen Hart. Marc Mero and Sable defeated Goldust and Luna Vachon. WWF IC Champion The Rock defeated Ken Shamrock via reverse decision. Cactus Jack & Terry Funk defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg to win the titles a dumpster match. The Undertaker pinned Kane following three tombstone piledrivers. Before to the match, Pete Rose ran down the city of Boston until Kane entered the ring and hit his first, of what would be annual, WrestleMania tombstone piledrivers on the banned baseball player. Steve Austin pinned WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels to win the title. Mike Tyson was the special ringside enforcer for the bout and made the pin after the original referee was knocked out. Leading up to the match, Tyson was portrayed as a supporter of DeGeneration X. However, after counting the pin, Tyson ripped off his DX shirt to reveal a Steve Austin shirt. After a groggy Michaels woke up, he was confused by seeing Tyson celebrating with Austin. To end the show, Tyson knocked Michaels out with a punch to the jaw.

A NEW ERA EMERGES

The next night on RAW, the WWF entered the Steve Austin Era. However, this wasn’t just the beginning of the Stone Cold phenomenon. The WWF used the night after WrestleMania to reorganize DeGeneration X. Following his heroic performance at WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels had retired as an active wrestler. Triple H used this opportunity to take over the reigns as the leader of a new DX Army. He delivered a speech where he talked about Shawn Michaels “dropping the ball” by trusting Mike Tyson. He then proclaimed himself the leader of the new DX. He said that to start an army, he first needed someone that he can trust, so he called one of his closest friends, ex-WCW wrestler X-Pac (a.k.a 1-2-3 Kid/Sean Waltman). Later in the night, Terry Funk and Cactus Jack defended the WWF Tag Team titles against the New Age Outlaws inside a steel cage. Towards the end of the match, X-Pac ran to the ring, and handcuffed Terry Funk to the cage. The New Age Outlaws hit Cactus with a spike piledriver to regain the tag straps. After the bout, Triple H, X-Pac, and Chyna announced that the New Age Outlaws have become the final members of the new DX Army.

Monday, April 6th, 1998 was a historical night in the history of the Monday Night Wars. The previous 87 weeks, the World Wrestling Federation was losing the ratings war against World Championship Wrestling’s flagship “Monday Nitro” television show. On that night, RAW finally beat Nitro 4.7 to 4.6 in the ratings. The card was uneventful that evening on RAW. NWA World Champion Dan Severn defeated Flash Funk. Steve Blackman defeated Brian Christopher by disqualification. Owen Hart defeated WWF IC Champion the Rock by disqualification. Luna pinned Matt Knowles. Ken Shamrock defeated Marc Mero by disqualification. WWF European Champion Triple H and the WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn and the Road Dogg defeated Chainz, Skull, and 8-Ball.

The Mr. McMahon versus Steve Austin storyline was in full swing. On the April 13th RAW, Steve Austin was about to wrestle Mr. McMahon for the first time. However, Mick Foley’s third persona, Dude Love, ruined the party. Towards the end of the segment, Dude Love applied the mandible claw on Austin.

The WWF and “Monday Night RAW”, in particular, were riding a huge wave of momentum. Throughout the early phases of the Monday Night War, WCW went on the offensive. Eric Bischoff gave away pre-taped RAW results. He had Alundra Blayze throw the WWF Women Championship belt in the garbage can. He signed Rick Rude away from the WWF, and had him appear on a live Nitro, the same night Rude was shown on a pre-taped RAW. McMahon tried to retaliate, like with the weak Huckster/Nacho Man vignettes. However, these payback attempts came across as very weak. However, now that the WWF was starting to take their place on the top of the North American wrestling landscape, the fun was about to begin. The April 27th edition of RAW took place at the Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. At the same time, WCW presented Nitro from the nearby Norfolk Scope Arena. DeGeneration X (Triple H, Chyna, X-Pac, and the New Age Outlaws) arrived outside of the Norfolk Scope Arena getting the fans riled up about WCW sucking. Next, they tried to actually get into the building. They were knocking on the door requesting that WCW “Free Hall and Nash!” If Bischoff was throwing grenades at the WWF during the “war,” then the WWF just fired a bazooka! The next week, they threw another bomb at WCW when they taped DX going to CNN Tower to visit the offices of World Championship Wrestling. They actually got into One CNN Center until they were asked to leave.

While this was going on, the WWF’s in-ring product was running strong. They were presenting Austin/McMahon, DX/Nation of Domination, and the King of the Ring was just around the corner. The June 1st RAW kicked off with the Undertaker demanding a World title shot. Vince ordered an Undertaker vs. Kane match later in the show for a shot at the WWF World title. Kane pinned the Undertaker after he was distracted by Mick Foley. A vignette aired which promoted the debut of Edge. There were several King of the Ring Qualifying Matches. Marc Mero pinned Steve Blackman. Jeff Jarrett pinned Farooq. Mark Henry pinned Terry Funk. Other matches on the show included WWF IC Champion the Rock, Owen Hart, & D-Lo Brown defeated WWF European Champion Triple H, WWF Tag Team Champions the Road Dogg & Billy Gunn in an elimination match. WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku pinned Sho Funaki.

The June 8th RAW continued the King of the Ring Qualifying Matches. Ken Shamrock defeated Kama by submission. Owen Hart defeated Scorpio by submission. Dan Severn defeated D-Lo Brown by submission. The June 15th RAW featured the final King of the Ring opening round. WWF IC Champion the Rock pinned Vader. WWF European Champion Triple H defeated X-Pac by count-out. The next edition of RAW featured the King of the Ring Quarterfinals. Ken Shamrock pinned Mark Henry. Jeff Jarrett pinned Marc Mero. Dan Severn defeated Owen Hart by submission. WWF IC Champion the Rock pinned WWF European Champion Triple H. In a non-tournament match, Edge defeated Jose Estrada by count-out in Edge’s WWF television debut.

The King of the Ring pay per view took place on June 28th, 1998 in Pittsburgh, PA. The card is mostly remembered for one match, or actually two spots in particular. The Undertaker faced Mankind in a Hell in a Cell match. The match began on the roof of the cage where the Undertaker threw Foley off the top of the cage falling through the Spanish announcer’s table on the floor. EMTs, Terry Funk, Vince McMahon, Sgt. Slaughter, Tony Garea, and Dave Hebner came down to the ringside area to check on Mankind. They loaded him onto a stretcher. However, Mankind pulled himself off the stretcher and scaled the cage to continue the match. Less than 20 seconds later, the Undertaker hit a chokeslam on the roof of the cage, resulting in Mankind falling through the roof, hitting the mat, and being legitly knocked out by a steel chair, which fell inside the ring on top of him. EMTs and officials ran into the ringside area where Taker hit a chokeslam on Terry Funk in order to buy Mankind time to recover his senses. Undertaker finally pinned Foley with a tombstone piledriver after hitting a chokeslam on a pile of thumbtacks. That match helped turn Mick Foley from a WWF wrestler into a WWF main event superstar. In the WWF World title match, Kane defeated WWF World Champion Steve Austin in a First Blood match to win the title after the Undertaker accidentally hit Austin with a chair. In the remaining King of the Ring tournament matches, Ken Shamrock defeated Jeff Jarrett by submission and WWF IC Champion the Rock pinned Dan Severn in the semi-finals. In the finals, Ken Shamrock defeated WWF IC Champion the Rock by submission to become the King of the Ring. Other matches on the card include, The Headbangers & WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku defeated Mens Teioh, Sho Funaki, & Dick Togo. Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor defeated Al Snow & Head. X-Pac pinned Owen Hart. WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg (w/ Chyna) defeated NWA Tag Team Champions Bob Holly & Bart Gunn.

On the next night’s RAW, Vince McMahon presented Kane with the heavyweight title only for Steve Austin to interrupt and make a challenge for a rematch later that night with Kane accepting. The night also featured the return of Paul Ellering as the Legion of Doom’s manager only for Ellering to turn on them and announce the DOA as his new tag team. Steven Regal defeated Droz by submission in Steve Regal’s debut. In a new shoot fight tournament called Brawl for it All, Steve Blackman defeated Marc Mero via referee’s decision. In the other Brawl for it All contest that night, Bradshaw defeated Mark Canterbury. Val Venis pinned Dick Togo. Ken Shamrock defeated Owen Hart and Triple H by pinning Triple H after the Rock interfered. Steve Austin pinned WWF World Champion Kane (w/ Paul Bearer) with the Stunner to capture his second WWF World title reign.

The summer months featured Steve Austin in a feud against Kane and the Undertaker. On the July 6th Raw, Kane pinned Mankind with a chair shot on the floor to become the number #1 contender for the WWF World title. After the bout, Kane unmasked, revealing himself to be the Undertaker.

Fully Loaded 1998 was held on July 26th in Fresno, CA. Val Venis pinned Jeff Jarrett. WWF European Champion D-Lo Brown pinned X-Pac. Scorpio & Farooq defeated Terry Funk & Bradshaw. DOA defeated the Legion of Doom. Owen Hart defeated Ken Shamrock in the Stu Hart Dungeon in Calgary, Alberta. Triple H fought WWF IC Champion The Rock to a draw in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match when the 30-minute time limit expired. Sable defeated Jackie in a bikini contest. WWF World Champion Steve Austin & The Undertaker defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Kane & Mankind to win the WWF Tag Team titles when The Undertaker pinned Kane. The Austin/Taker title reign only lasted until August 10th’s edition of RAW when Kane/Mankind recaptured the belts in a four corners match against Austin/Undertaker, New Age Outlaws, and The Rock/D-Lo Brown.

SummerSlam 1998 was held in New York’s Madison Square Garden on August 30th. WWF European Champion D-Lo Brown defeated Val Venis by disqualification. Kurrgan, Golga, & the Giant Silva defeated WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku, Mens Teioh, Sho Funaki, & Dick Togo. X-Pac pinned Jeff Jarrett in a Hair vs. Hair match. Edge & Sable defeated Marc Mero & Jackie in a mixed tag team match in Edge’s Madison Square Garden debut. Ken Shamrock defeated Owen Hart by submission in a Lion’s Den match. Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg defeated WWF Tag Team Champion Mankind at 5:16 in a handicap No disqualification falls count anywhere match to win the titles following a spike piledriver onto one of the title belts. After the match, Mankind’s missing partner Kane appeared out of a dumpster at ringside and attacked Mankind with a sledgehammer. Triple H defeated WWF IC Champion The Rock in a ladder match to win the title. WWF World Champion Steve Austin pinned the Undertaker.

The WWF’s next pay per view took place on September 27th called Breakdown. Owen Hart pinned Edge. After the bout, Edge went into the crowd to follow an unknown man, which was Christian’s TV debut. Al Snow & Scorpio defeated Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor. Marc Mero pinned Droz. Bradshaw pinned Vader in a no holds barred, falls count anywhere match. D-Lo Brown pinned Gangrel. The Rock defeated Ken Shamrock and Mankind in a steel cage match. The Rock became the #1 contender to the world title. Val Venis pinned Dustin Runnels. WWF European Champion X-Pac, WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg defeated Jeff Jarrett & Southern Justice. The Undertaker and Kane defeated WWF World Champion Steve Austin when both men covered the champion following a double chokeslam. Pre-match stipulations stated Taker could not defeat Kane and Kane could not defeat Austin. After the bout, Vince McMahon came ringside, stole Austin’s personalized Smoking Skull belt, and taunted Austin with it in the parking lot before driving out of the arena.

Judgement Day took place on October 18th in Chicago, IL. Al Snow pinned Marc Mero. Road Warrior Animal, Road Warrior Hawk, & Droz defeated Skull, 8-Ball, & Paul Ellering. Christian pinned WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku to win the title. This was Christian’s TV wrestling debut.
Goldust pinned Val Venis. X-Pac pinned WWF European Champion D-Lo Brown to win the title. The Headbangers defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg by disqualification. WWF IC Champion Ken Shamrock defeated Mankind. Mark Henry pinned The Rock. The Undertaker fought Kane to a no contest. Late in the bout, Paul Bearer came out and double-crossed Kane.

THE CORPORATE CHAMPION

Vince McMahon declared the WWF World title vacant. A tournament was set up to take place for the championship at the Survivor Series. Leading up to the event, Vince proclaimed that he had a wrestler that would be his corporate champion. Mick Foley was letting Vince know that he could be the WWF’s corporate champion. Vince acted liked Foley was his man, to Mick’s face. However, he made the viewer’s believe otherwise.

The Survivor Series took place on November 15th at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, MO. In the WWF World Title Touranment Opening Round: WWF Hardcore Champion Mankind pinned Duane Gill. Al Snow pinned Jeff Jarrett. Steve Austin defeated the Big Bossman by disqualification. WWF European Champion X-Pac fought Stephen Regal to a double count-out. WWF IC Champion Ken Shamrock defeated Goldust by submission. The Rock pinned the Big Bossman. In the WWF World Title Tournament Quarter Finals, The Undertaker pinned Kane. WWF Hardcore Champion Mankind defeated Al Snow by submission. The Rock pinned WWF IC Champion Ken Shamrock. WWF World Title Touranment Semi-Finals: WWF Hardcore Champion Mankind pinned Steve Austin after hitting a second Stunner, Shane McMahon came out to take over the officiating but instead of giving Austin a 3-count, he gave him the finger. The Rock defeated the Undertaker via disqualification. In non-tournament matches: Sable pinned WWF Women’s Champion Jackie (w/ Marc Mero) to win the title. WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg defeated D-Lo Brown & Mark Henry and the Headbangers.

WWF World Title Touranment Finals: The Rock defeated WWF Hardcore Champion Mankind when Vince McMahon called for the bell as Mankind was caught in Rock’s Sharpshooter, even though Mankind did not submit. Moments after Rock hit the Rock Bottom and then gave the People’s Eyebrow to McMahon. Early in the contest, Vince & Shane McMahon came to ringside. Immediately after the bout, the McMahons presented Rock with the world title belt and all three hugged in the ring. Vince then grabbed the microphone, saying “the people screwed the people”, and said he would elaborate further the following night on Raw. Moments later, a confused Mankind confronted Vince, with Rock assaulting Mankind from behind and eventually hitting the Rock Bottom. Steve Austin then appeared in the aisle before running into the ring, fighting off Rock as the McMahons ran backstage, hitting the Stunner, and tossing Rock to the floor.

On December 29th, the WWF taped an edition of Monday Night RAW, which would air on January 4th, 1999. Before the taped RAW telecast was to air, Eric Bischoff announced the RAW results. Nitro announcer Tony Schiavone mentioned that Mick Foley would be winning the WWF World title, “like that will put any asses in the seats.” Well, one thing it did do was put fingers on the remote control, as millions of Nitro viewers switched over to RAW. Bischoff’s announcing the results of taped RAWs finally backfired on him. With Mick Foley holding the WWF World title, RAW proved once again to be the place where “anything can and will happen.” The Year 1999 would be no different, as the rise of The Rock and Triple H continued the WWF’s recent streak of creating new superstars.

Sources used for this article included www.thehistoryofwwe.com