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WWF Summerslam 1999

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

Mega Man Legends

Slobberknockers abound
Ringside Shadows #63: The 1999 Summerslam Review

zup kids

The week's just started, but with it comes the beginning of my Junior year of college life. As a direct result, the majority of my free time is going out the window and I won't have nearly as much time to spend writing up columns. That's not to say you won't see me around... I still plan to complete my full WCW talent evaluation, as well as the big project I have on the horizon with Matt Spence. Plus, I'll be here twice a month with both PPV previews and reactions as well as every Tuesday for the usual Tuesday review. In addition, you might just see a random column thrown in out of the blue though not at the same rate as you've seen this summer. Look at me, I take a simple "school's starting.. I won't be here as often" and turn it into a fraggin' epic poem. I could probably give Sid and Hogan a run for their money... Moving on..

I'm a bit slow, but Sunday night was Summerslam.. and my predictions continued their tradition of suck, as I pulled out with a miserable record of 5-4. The best, mind you, of all Triad members (Spence and John both pulled down a 4-5)... too bad I'm not included in the alcohol bet, as very little appeals to me more than free drinks.

Even more disappointing than any of that though, was the result of the Test / Shane McMahon match. Not that I wanted Shane to win, personally.. I was just looking forward to seeing a column today about Nash, Sid and Hogan with nothing bad to say... from John C. Some things just aren't meant to be, I suppose.

Before i finally get into this (I assure you, there IS a column somewhere here..), I'd like to say it's good to see the Big 3 back in full force once again. The problem was truly selective, as I could access the board with no problems from home, but once I arrived at work, "The specified server could not be found". Anyway, on with the

Summerslam Reaction

-Pre-show, we were set to revel in the glory that is the 'new, improved Heat set'.. but instead recieved a shit-ton of feud recaps, set to music. Guess this show's going out the window..

-Early on, Jericho's presence was already known. Looks like the Fink will be taking the place of Ralphus as his flunky in the WWF, which shows us that Chris's debut really was thought out way in advance.. it was the Fink who ratted on Road Dogg and X-Pac during the 'vandalism' of Chyna's car months ago. Nice to see some common sense thrown into the usually-unbelievable booking arena.

-D'Lo is over! Huzzah! Hurrah! The impossible has finally come to pass.. an extraordinary athlete who's been accepted by the fans! Don't stop his push here.

-Sounds like the action from these two was a bit sub-par once again, which is really a shame. Both are great workers, capable of really putting on a clinic, but I wonder if that's even what the WWF wants anymore. Aside from some high-flyers from D'Lo, this one was a disappointment.

-I'd have expected the Debra / JJ split to be a work if it weren't so obvious. This is the second time we've seen this.. if it happens again... well... you've heard of the boy who cried wolf? Completely out of the blue though, was Mark Henry's turn and impact on the match. It looks like D'Lo really HASN'T made the full progression to intercontinental material, as he'll be feuding with Mizark now, over the European glory.

-As soon as I saw the #1 and #2 draws in the Tag tourney, I knew the end result would be disappointment. They couldn't let both of these teams last more than 5 minutes, as that would lose interest and the match would take forever.. so, we're stuck with a mini version of the classic Brood/Hardys feud.

-As for the finish.. I don't have much to say. Val Venis and the Godfather sat out, thanks to Godfather's tail bone injury.. which probably improved the match quality once the smoke had cleared.

-Like him or not, you gotta admit there's no attention-getter in wrestling today like Jericho's Y2J countdown. This guy's gonna be big.

-Sounds like just another WWF garbage-core match.. At least they're trying to throw in something new, with Road Dogg following the action to do real live commentary. What's the deal with everybody stealing Pepper? Al Snow's gimmick seems to have gone the same way as that of Val Venis: there's little that they can do with him which hasn't been done before.

-All good women's divisions in history are constantly turning over in their graves thanks to the kind of "action" that was displayed last night. If nothing else, at least Luna's back. Give her an opportunity, and maybe then I'll have a real reason to be happy.

-The Shamrock/Blackman feud succeeded in going absolutely nowhere, as Shamrock went over again, further dismissing Blackman as a credible challenger. Week after week and now month after month, they keep building this guy up just for Shamrock to kick his ass again. And they wonder why the fans could give a piss.

-On the other hand, the Shane/Test blowoff (I'm hoping..) went against my expectations and was actually watchable. Hell, if they'd featured this on Raw I'd tune to it above another Hogan main event. Shane is crazy, taking the leap from the top rope through a table, and really regained any respect he'd managed to lose in the past. He's far from a credible wrestler, but as an occasionally-active physical mouthpiece, he's taking giant steps.

-Good to see the bookers have learned how to use the Stooges, at long last. So long as they don't constantly ram these guys down our throat, they're a welcome surprise.

-Months ago, X-Pac was quoted as saying Summerslam '99 would be a memorable show for all his hometown fans, sparking internet debate that ultimately placed him in the Intercontinental picture. After the event, I'm left wondering... what's so memorable about dropping the tag titles to 2 oafish main eventers, where they will surely lose most of what glory remains to their name? Had Waltman gone over or just dominated for more than the opening, it would've done wonders for his credibility. As it is, I don't see him going anywhere fast.

-Why is it that the only offense X-Pac usually lands anymore consists of groin shots, bites, spinning heel kicks, and a bronco buster? Shake it up a bit...

-I realize the point of the Rock/Ass match was to elevate Gunn's reputation through association. Now I wonder if bookers realize it didn't work.

-My roommate is addicted to Megaman Legends.

-An expectedly formulaic matchup between the aforementioned Gunn and the Rock. If both had put forth the effort of a lifetime, we'd have seen something between good and very good.. As it were, both men set it on cruise control and let the autopilot glide them into mediocrity.

-The main event looked to have been given ample time, with all three men recieving nearfalls prior to the end. Ventura made a statement meant to lead us into believing he and Vince were still at ends, yelling "go back to your old man" at Shane. I'm not sure what to think of his refusal to count for HHH. I suppose this wasn't a no-DQ match, but why even allow the chair if he wouldn't count for it's result?

-Finally, the WWF surprised everyone, apparantly including JR, as Mankind joined Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and the Rock as 3+ time World Champion.

That'll pretty much do it for me right now. Look for the Tuesday Review later tonight (It's late.. I know.. my apologies) or tomorrow afternoon.

until then, i remain
drq

The Triad

 


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