In the previous year, due to the suddenly enlarged roster, a shootfighting (unscripted) knockout tournament titled Brawl for All was organized on a voluntary basis, with Bart Gunn winning the tournament on August 24[12] after defeating every opponent by knockout aside from his opening-round opponent Bob Holly. When Holly rechristened himself Hardcore Holly on February 15, decrying poor gimmicks and tag-team partners he had been given in the past, Gunn made his first appearance since winning the tournament, to remind Holly that not all his partners were of a poor caliber.[11] After a hardcore match between the two, which Gunn dominated until a masked assailant, revealed to be "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, threw him off the stage. Williams did this out of revenge for losing to Gunn in the Brawl for All. The week after on Raw Is War, Williams' manager Jim Ross announced to Gunn he would be facing noted mixed martial artist and boxerEric "Butterbean" Esch, who held a 43–1–1 record at the time, who challenged him to a Brawl for All fight.
From November's Survivor Series[13] until the night after St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The Rock and Mankind (Mick Foley) traded the WWF Championship numerous times as Mr. McMahon screwed Mankind time and time again on his quest to headline WrestleMania. In their final match, a Raw Is Warladder match, Paul Wight delivered the Showstopper to Mankind as he was about to win the match,[14] removing his chances of appearing the main event. However, as Mr. McMahon's conspiracy of appointing Big Show as special guest referee to secure The Rock as champion began to fall apart, Mankind constantly offered his services as a second official. With The Rock and Big Show causing infighting in the Corporation, Mankind successfully canvassed for a chance to referee; rather than have two conflicting referees, a match was booked to give the winner the right to officiate.
When Ryan Shamrock (Alicia Webb) appeared front row on Raw Is War on January 11, she gained attention not only from her brother but also Val Venis, who performed a flirtatious dance for her, and "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn, who lived up to his moniker by mooning her. Enraged, Ken Shamrock fought Gunn at the Royal Rumble,[15] then Venis at St. Valentine's Day Massacre, with Venis winning the Intercontinental Championship thanks to help from Ryan.[9] Venis soon dumped Ryan,[14] and she began a relationship with Goldust (Dustin Rhodes). Venis also unwittingly lost his championship to Road Dogg on Raw Is War[10] and found himself defending his championship against the important men in Ryan Shamrock's life in a four-corners elimination match.
After The Rock won his "I Quit" match against Mankind at the Royal Rumble by playing a recording of his voice, Triple H demanded an I Quit match of his own, but as he was about to put Rock through the announcers table, The Corporation came to the ring and Kane held his manager/girlfriend Chyna hostage, demanding that he quit the match. As soon as the match was over, Chyna low blowed Triple H and revealed her alliances with The Corporation, promising a Valentine's Day present at the subsequent pay-per-view. Despite almost having the match won, Triple H suffered at the hands of an interfering Shane McMahon and illegal man Kane's chokeslam.[9] Triple H took revenge on the February 22 Raw Is War by interfering in X-Pac's (Sean Waltman) match with Chyna, causing her to lose. Chyna called Triple H out on March 8, but before they could fight, Kane came to the ring. Chyna held up Triple H as Kane shot a fireball at him, though he would duck out of the way causing (kayfabe) severe retinal damage to Chyna. Despite not receiving any damage, Triple H maintained that the fireball was meant for him, an insult he took personally and an intended injury he wanted to return at WrestleMania. On March 22, Kane prepared to have a match against Goldust, but as he threw off his entrance robes and wig, it turned out he was Triple H holding a flamethrower, shooting flames in Kane's face.[11] Meanwhile, X-Pac, who had altercations with Shane McMahon prior to the February event, was frustrated with Shane's interference in the match and goaded into putting his European Championship on the line in a tag-team match with Triple H against Kane and Shane, which Shane won thanks to Triple H being distracted by Chyna.[14] With Shane claiming himself to be a fighting champion, he agreed to a rematch at WrestleMania, but regularly interfered in X-Pac's matches up until that point, culminating in a Greenwich Street Fight on March 22 that ended in a no-contest when the Mean Street Posse ambushed X-Pac and drove off with Shane in their car.[11]
Tori was sitting front row as a plant as early as September 14's Raw Is War, but it was not until late December that she began to act with stalker tendencies, sending flowers and notes to Sable, the Women's Champion and even helping her to defend her title against Luna Vachon at the Royal Rumble.[15] On Raw Is War the night after the previous pay-per-view, Tori invaded the ring again and was publicly shouted at and humiliated by Sable. Vachon then brought Tori to the ring a fortnight after, reprimanding Sable for her ego, but a still-obsessed Tori helped attack Vachon. The following week on March 8's Raw Is War, Tori fought Vachon with Sable in her corner but after receiving a squash from Vachon, Sable also gave Tori a Sable Bomb, leading to Tori interrupting Sable's Playboy interview by demanding a championship match at WrestleMania.[11]
Having been buried alive in a Royal Rumble qualification match at Rock Bottom: In Your House,[16]The Undertaker disappeared from television while The Acolytes, Faarooq (Ron Simmons) and Bradshaw (John Layfield), began to act strangely, eventually abducting Dennis Knight and leaving him tied up in a darkened room. On January 11, The Undertaker returned in slightly new attire, taking a seat in a ceremonial throne on the Raw Is War stage while Paul Bearer stood beside him and The Acolytes brought Knight out and tied him to a table. There, Undertaker performed a ritualistic ceremony, rechristening him Mideon.[17] Undertaker began delivering ambiguous apocalyptic messages, but after recruiting Mabel, now Viscera (Nelson Frazier, Jr.) and The Brood, he began to be more direct, revealing his plan to attack Mr. McMahon and take over the World Wrestling Federation.
The security of Mr. McMahon's Corporation, Big Boss Man, challenged the Ministry to a six-man tag team match, which ended in a no-contest when the Ministry abducted Shane McMahon and took him to Undertaker, who threatened him while choking him then gave him a letter to give to his father. McMahon replied the following week on February 22 by booking The Undertaker in an Inferno match with Kane on Raw Is War, the first network television airing of that type of match. During the match, McMahon provided commentary, nonchalantly revealing he had placed Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match against Big Boss Man for WrestleMania. During the match, Paul Bearer gave an ominous gift to McMahon, a teddy bear. After Undertaker set Kane on fire, he turned to the enraged McMahon, taking the teddy bear (later revealed to belong to Stephanie McMahon) and setting it alight, reducing Vince to his knees.[18] Trying to defeat either of his problems, McMahon declared he'd never show such weakness again and put Mankind against Undertaker, which ended with Undertaker almost chokeslamming McMahon through the announcers table until Boss Man saved him.[11] Undertaker continued with his mind games on March 8, ordering his Ministry to look for Boss Man all night and attacking any innocents in his way, eventually capturing Boss Man and crucifying him. Boss Man managed to escape while police were being beaten off by Undertaker's minions until he offered himself to the police while being derided by McMahon. The following week he continued his assault, with videos playing throughout the evening of the Ministry at McMahon's mansion ending in McMahon coming to the ring while Triple H brawled with Kane, begging Kane to help him. Kane ripped off his mask to reveal it was actually The Undertaker who grabbed McMahon by the throat as the lights turned off in the arena and when they came up, he was gone with McMahon alone in the ring.
The main event of the evening was another chapter in the ongoing rivalry between Stone Cold Steve Austin and McMahon, which dated back to when Austin won the Royal Rumble in 1998.[19] After Austin won the WWF Championship at WrestleMania XIV,[20] McMahon set on a six-month-long quest to take the championship from him. With the exception of a one day reign by Kane, who won the championship in a First Blood Match at King of the Ring when his (kayfabe) brother The Undertaker caused Austin to bleed first, Austin thwarted each attempt by McMahon until Breakdown: In Your House in September 1998. There, Austin defended the championship against Undertaker and Kane in what was billed as a triple threat match. McMahon added a stipulation, however, that neither brother could pin the other to win the match;[21] this led to both men simultaneously pinning Austin, causing him to lose the match and the championship. This had been part of a deal McMahon had made with the two men to protect him from Austin, with the reward of the championship if they were successful. However, McMahon went back on his word after Austin attacked him on the next night’s Raw and announced he was forcing Undertaker and Kane to wrestle for the vacant championship at Judgment Day: In Your House. He also named Austin the special guest referee, hoping to humiliate him by forcing him to declare a new champion. Austin, however, had other ideas and counted both men out, declaring himself the winner of the match and leaving the championship vacant.[22]
A Deadly Games tournament was scheduled for Survivor Series in November, in which it turned out that The Rock, not Mankind, was McMahon's choice for winner and had the tournament manipulated to his advantage, while Austin lost in a match when McMahon's son Shane, acting as referee, refused to count a pinfall to go to the finals.[13] Knowing Rock would be busy feuding with Mankind, McMahon realized Austin was likely to use the 1999 Royal Rumble, rather than a personal attack, to attempt to reclaim the belt and laid down the stipulation that he must win a Buried Alive match against The Undertaker to be in the Rumble. When he did, with some help from Kane,[16] McMahon further tried to prevent Austin winning back the championship by "randomly" drawing him as the first entrant in the Rumble and drawing himself as the 30th. Having annoyed commissioner Shawn Michaels, McMahon was placed into the match as the second entrant. McMahon would later try to incentivize other wrestlers to eliminate Austin by putting a $100,000 bounty on him during the Royal Rumble match.[23]
Despite this, Austin (and, for that matter, McMahon) managed to stay in the match to the very end, although this was mostly due to he and McMahon leaving the ring at various points to brawl around the arena. Late in the match The Rock, who earlier in the evening had regained the WWF Championship, came to the ring and started arguing with Austin. McMahon took advantage of the distraction and threw Austin over the top rope, thus winning the match.
Since he was officially now the winner of the Royal Rumble, McMahon was entitled to face whoever the WWF Champion was at WrestleMania. On the following night's episode of Raw, however, he announced that, since he was only a part-timer and the champion was a fellow Corporation member in The Rock, that he had filed paperwork relinquishing his WrestleMania championship opportunity and that he would be naming a replacement later in the evening. To his chagrin, Austin and Michaels informed him shortly thereafter that, according to the rules, his actions resulted in Austin, as the runner-up in the Royal Rumble, taking his place.
With McMahon irate, Austin revealed he was willing to put his place on the line and not headline WrestleMania if McMahon would give him the opportunity to fight him one on one with no interference from The Corporation; if McMahon could beat him, Austin would not go to WrestleMania. Their steel-cage match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre mostly consisted of McMahon running away, but eventually the two fought with Austin winning the match under unusual circumstances when Big Show made his debut, coming from under the ring and throwing Austin into the cage with the walls of it coming open, meaning that Austin had inadvertently won.[9]
During the Sunday Night Heat pre-show, Jacqueline (Jacqueline Moore) pinned Ivory (Lisa Moretti) after a back suplex.[25] After the match, Terri Runnels burned her cigar into Ivory's cheek. The second Heat match saw a 21-man battle royal match with the last two competitors becoming a tag team for the evening to face the Tag Team Championship holders. In the event, D'Lo Brown and Test (Andrew Martin) were the last two, still fighting without realizing the match was over when Droz (Darren Drozdov) and The Godfather (Charles Wright) eliminated each other.[25] The show officially began with Boyz II Men singing "America the Beautiful" in the ring before the opening video.[6]
Preliminary matches
The inaugural WrestleMania Hardcore Championship match began with Al Snow striking Billy Gunn as he tried to make a pre-match speech. With Gunn in the corner, Snow fought with Hardcore Holly outside the ring, wrapping his neck in cable but, after some fighting from Gunn, Holly was able to suplex Snow. After Gunn again interjected himself, Snow was able to go underneath the mat to find some weapons including a Philadelphia Flyers hockey stick much to the delight of the crowd. The match ended when Gunn put Snow through a table in the corner, originally intended for Gunn and then used the Fameasser on Snow, driving him into a chair on the mat. As the referee counted, Holly struck Gunn with a weapon, quickly covering Snow to steal his second championship reign.[8][26]
The WWF Tag Team Championship match began with Jeff Jarrett and D'Lo Brown exchanging running maneuvers before both tagging in their respective partners, at which point Test used a pumphandle slam on Owen Hart, but tried again after a failed pin attempt only to be met with an enziguiri and then the Sharpshooter. Brown came in illegally to break it up but was tagged in straight afterward, dominating both Hart and Jarrett with power slams and dropkicks, almost winning the match after a Sky High that was broken up by Jarrett. Referee Jimmy Korderas was distracted when Debra (Debra Marshall) came to the apron to distract Brown only to be pulled down by Ivory (Lisa Moretti), at which point PMS (Terri Runnels and Jacqueline Moore) arrived and all of them began to fight while Test tried to pull them apart. With everyone distracted, Hart missile dropkicked Brown allowing Jarrett to roll Brown up and sit on him, securing a pin count.[26][28]
The Brawl For All match began with the two meetings in the middle, Gunn running into some blows from Butterbean. The two traded punches, neither man managing to contact properly until Butterbean shook Gunn with a left-hand jab followed by a right hook which stunned Gunn allowing Bean to corner him, giving him another right hook which knocked him down. Gunn immediately came back upon his knees but took advantage of the eight seconds before standing up fully. As the fight resumed, Butterbean jabbed Gunn to the body and followed with a clean overhand right which sent Gunn back to the canvas, giving Butterbean a victory via knockout.[26] The match lasted a total of 34 seconds.[27] This was followed with an appearance from the San Diego Chicken, who mocked special referee Vinny Pazienza and was punched to the floor for it.[28]
On the WWF WrestleMania special on HSN later during the pay per view, after the Shane McMahon match "Dr. Death" Steve Williams cut a promo on Bart Gunn in a backstage interview with Jim Ross by his side, saying the Butterbean's punch "wasn't lucky" and that "Bart deserved what he got", telling the viewer to keep watching WWF because "the Doctor hasn't finished his job yet".[29] This was in hopes of setting up an angle between Williams and Gunn, and to continue building Williams as a credible midcarder. However, because of Gunn being released, their feud instead carried over to All Japan Pro Wrestling in the early 2000s, where in Japan the Brawl For All was better received.
When Mankind entered the ring he was immediately headbutted out, but as Big Show followed him out, Mankind slammed Show's head into the steel steps. He then tried a double-armed DDT into the steps but was shoved over the steps falling backward. Show dominated Mankind in the ring afterward, using his sheer size to punch and throw Mankind, with Mankind eventually being tied up in the ropes, which allowed him to back body drop Show out of the ring. Mankind then took out Mr. Socko, a smelly gym sock, and stuffed the foul-smelling sock into the Big Show’s mouth with the mandible claw three times. The third claw came with a low blow, for which Mankind was not disqualified. When Show stood back up, he had Mankind on his back with the sock in his mouth and jumped backward so that his entire body landed on Mankind, breaking up the hold. As the two recovered, Show kicked his opponent out of the ring, grabbing a steel chair and thrusting it into Mankind's chest then hitting it over his back. Big Show threw that chair and another in the ring, setting them both in seated positions and Show Stopping Mankind through the middle of them. At this point Earl Hebner finally decided to disqualify Big Show, with Show taking out his anger by attacking Mankind more with the chair. Mr. McMahon made his way to the ring afterward, berating Big Show for risking the WWF Championship match at which point Show grabbed him by the throat. He then thought better of it and released him, only to be met with another tirade from McMahon and a slap, causing Show to punch McMahon and knock him out.[26][28]
The four corners Intercontinental match began with Ken Shamrock and Road Dogg in the ring, with the latter being thrown from corner to corner until Goldust tagged his way in, with running shoulder barges that floored Shamrock. Shamrock tagged in Venis who came in and instantly attacked Shamrock until Goldust backdropped him. Goldust tried the Curtain Call but Venis flipped over Goldust's back only to be knocked down again by a clothesline from Goldust who then put Venis on the turnbuckle and attempted a superplex but Venis fought back and replied with a diving bulldog following with a fisherman suplex pin which would only make a two count. The two then collided in the turnbuckle, causing Goldust to fall down and Venis to fall on him, headbutting his crotch. Shamrock took a blind tag from Road Dogg, after he replaced Goldust, immediately putting an ankle lock until Venis grabbed the bottom rope. As Venis grabbed the ropes to stand up again Shamrock charged him but was tossed over the ropes as Ryan Shamrock insulted him. Venis went after Ken Shamrock and the two fought up the walkway with Shamrock running back to the ring but not fast enough to avoid a double count-out. Shamrock, not accepting the decision belly to belly suplex slammed both competitors before leaving. When they recovered Goldust Irish whipped Road Dogg but had it reversed and as Goldust ran into the ropes he had his leg caught by Ryan Shamrock, seemingly trying to grab Road Dogg's leg. Road Dogg charged Goldust and was picked up for a powerslam but managed to roll Goldust round, crashing him into the floor and covering him for a successful pin count.[26][28]
Before Kane's match with Triple H, Kane entered the ring only to be attacked while he was performing his signature entrance by the San Diego Chicken. Kane fought back and unmasked the chicken, revealing it to be Pete Rose, trying to gain revenge for the previous year's incident but receiving a Tombstone piledriver.[30] Triple H also tried to ambush Kane by coming through the crowd while all eyes were on the stage entrance, hitting Kane out of the ring and then hitting him into the ring post and whipping him into the steel steps. Kane then picked Triple H up and straddled him on the crowd barrier, pushing him into the Mean Street Posse who were at ringside, picking him up again to ram his back into the steel post three times. Back inside the ring, Kane dominated Helmsley with his rough fighting style, using his foot to choke Triple H and knocking him down with clotheslines and punches until Triple H gained momentum from a reversal, smashing Kane's face into his knee. Kane was allowed time to recover when Triple H was distracted by Chyna coming to ringside. Triple H tried to Pedigree Kane as he stood up but failed while Chyna pushed the steel steps into the ring. Kane picked them up and ran into Triple H, who used the turnbuckle to swing his feet up and kicked them back into Kane causing Kane to stagger backward and drop them before smashing his face into the steps from a drop toe-hold. Triple H then clotheslined Kane out of the ring, following himself and attempting to Pedigree Kane on the steps but was backbody dropped. When they made it back into the ring Kane chokeslammed Triple H while Chyna entered the ring with a steel chair, telling Kane she wanted to attack Triple H, but as Kane turned, Chyna hit him with the chair, causing him to corner her but again was hit with the chair, this time by Triple H, who followed it up with a Pedigree onto the chair. Chyna and Triple H celebrated the reunion of D-Generation X afterwards.[26][28]
X-Pac suffered at the hands of myriad run-ins in his match
The Women's Championship match began with Tori taking her time to enter the ring, Sable grabbing her hair when she finally did and tossing her back out. Tori regrouped outside and pulled Sable out by her legs, ramming her face into the apron and the barricade. She was whipped into the barrier herself and as she recovered, Sable performed a crossbody from the outside apron. Sable continuously assaulted Tori while down on the mat, but Tori delivered two vicious clotheslines to the corner on Sable, then attempted a sunset flip pin which began a series of pinning reversals ending in a stalemate. Afterward Tori tried a running attack on Sable but took out referee Jimmy Korderas unwittingly. Sable then tried to perform her Sable Bomb but Tori jumped out of it. As she tried to perform her own powerbomb, a muscled woman, later identified as Nicole Bass, came into the ring to gorilla press slam Tori. This allowed Sable to Sable Bomb Tori and pin her to retain the championship.
Before X-Pac could make his way to the ring Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco attacked him from behind but caused the little problem to X-Pac who beat them then ran into the ring, with Shane McMahon fleeing. Shane eventually made his way to the ring and was punched into the corner, escaping a Bronco Buster when Test pulled him out of the ring. Shane tried to escape once again but X-Pac chased him and threw him back into the ring, only to be struck down by Test and then have his crotch rammed into the ring post. When he returned to the ring Shane scoop slammed him and attempted a Corporate Elbow, with X-Pac sitting up just before the end but he was brought back down with a low blow as referee Mike Chioda was distracted by Test. Shane continued to push the disqualification boundaries by whipping X-Pac with his belt several times before being back body dropped out of the ring, recovering only to be met with a flying crossbody. The Mean Street Posse tried to restrain X-Pac but he fought back, only to be floored by Test. After a superplex, the pin-count was broken up by Test but he was soon kicked out of the ring then X-Pac whipped McMahon with the belt before round house kicking him into the corner and performing the Bronco Buster. When Chioda checked on McMahon afterward, Test struck X-Pac with the championship belt but by the time McMahon covered him he managed to kick out. Test tried to interfere but took a Bronco Buster too. Triple H and Chyna came to the ring to pull Test out but when McMahon was floored by an X Factor, Chyna distracted the referee to allow Triple H to Pedigree X-Pac and cover him with Shane, turning heel and allowing him to retain the title. The New Age Outlaws ran to the ring and brawled with Triple H and Test until the lights went out and Kane's music began to play but by the time the lights came up The Corporation were clear of the ring and had fled.[26][28]
Main event matches
The Hell in a Cell match began with Big Boss Man punching The Undertaker into the corner until he ducked out and returned the same. Although Boss Man was able to deliver a swinging neckbreaker, Undertaker took control again throwing Boss Man into the cell. Boss Man reversed an Irish whip and threw Undertaker into the cell too, handcuffing one hand to the chain fence. Boss Man taunted Undertaker's lack of control before striking him repeatedly with his night stick causing Undertaker to fall to the floor and rip the handcuffs, though Boss Man carried on using the nightstick and cut Undertaker open. Undertaker fought back by grabbing Boss Man at the throat and throwing him back into the fence again, striking him with a chair and running Boss Man face-first into the chain fence with a fireman's carry. As the two returned to the ring Boss Man tried to clothesline Undertaker but he ducked and performed a leaping flying clothesline of his own before going Old School, ultimately falling into the ropes. The two began a fistfight in the middle of the ring with Undertaker failing a tombstone piledriver attempt, but successfully performing it seconds later and pinned him afterwards.[26] Undertaker stood up and looked to the heavens with his hands upwards, signaling The Brood to descend onto the roof of the cell. They cut open the roof of the cell and passed through a noose, securing the other end to the top of the cell. The Brood then ascended back into the rafters as Undertaker put the noose around Boss Man's neck, with Paul Bearer causing the Cell to rise and take a hanging Boss Man with it.[28] After the match a video package of the Rage Party was shown while Boss Man was taken down and carried off on a stretcher.[6]
Before the main event, Michael Cole announced Jim Ross returning to call the match. Mr. McMahon then came to the ring as the special guest referee but was confronted by Commissioner Shawn Michaels, who explained that only the commissioner is entitled to appoint a referee for WrestleMania, ordering McMahon to the back and barring all members of The Corporation from ringside. The main event began with the two wrestlers insulting each other before Austin threw the first punch, The Rock instantly returning. The majority of the early part of the match took place outside the ring, with Austin being choked with a T-shirt then taking Rock through the crowd before returning into the secure area and into the crowd the opposite end. When Rock threw Austin back into the secure area he choked him on some cable and took him up the walkway, but Austin fought out of his grasp and threw him into the steel barriers, trying to piledrive him but being backbody dropped so that his knee landed onto light support girders. Rock picked up Austin and threw him into the WrestleMania XV sign but Austin circled round and threw Rock into them instead, then dragged him back towards the ring having a suplex reversed on the concrete walkway. Rock then tried to throw Austin back through the crowd at ringside, spitting water in his face but Austin took control and put him onto the Spanish announce table, performing two elbow drops to break the table and then spat water into Rock's face. Austin threw his opponent into the ring, celebrating to the crowd but when he entered the ring Rock sprang up and drove Austin into the floor with a Rock Bottom, following with an unsuccessful pin cover. The Rock grabbed a chair but Austin took it from him, Rock blocked the oncoming chair shot by pulling referee Mike Chioda in front of him, who took the chair shot.[6]
Rock then caught Austin by surprise with a swinging neckbreaker, taking the chair and driving it into Austin's back several times. After another pin attempt, with Tim White now officiating, Austin still kicked out and Rock used a sitting chin hold to subdue him. After holding him for some time, Austin slowly stood up, elbowing Rock and attempting a running attack but was taken out with a Samoan drop, which Austin again kicked out of. The Rock took his frustration out on White, Rock Bottoming him,[6] which gave Austin the time to recover and attack the champion with a Stone Cold Stunner, with Earl Hebner eventually coming in to officiate but only counting to two before Rock kicked out. Mr. McMahon came to the ring, distracting Austin while The Rock low-blowed him; the two men kicking away at Austin in the corner and punching Hebner when he tried to stop them. As the two double-teamed Austin, Mankind came running to the ring in his referee's uniform,[6] throwing McMahon straight out the ring and taking over as referee. Austin tried a roll-up pin, following up with a Lou Thesz Press but Rock soon took the advantage with another Rock Bottom. With Austin in the middle of the ring, The Rock tried the Corporate Elbow but Austin moved out of the way at the last second. Rock caught Austin's foot and spun him around, trying to Rock Bottom him again but Austin elbowed him away and delivered a stunner, finally securing a pinfall and winning the WWF Championship.[26]
Reception
The event was met with mixed critical response.[31][32]Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling section gave the entire event five out of 10 stars. The main event between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship was rated eight out of 10 stars; the Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Big Boss Man was rated five out of 10 stars; the match between Shane McMahon and X-Pac for the WWF European Championship was rated seven out of 10 stars; the match between Sable and Tori for the WWF Women's Championship was rated one out of 10 stars; the match between Triple H and Kane was rated four out of 10 stars; the referee match between Mankind and Big Show was rated four out of 10; the four-corners elimination match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship between Road Dogg Jesse James, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and Val Venis was rated five out of 10 stars; the tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship between D'Lo Brown and Test against Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett was rated three out of 10 stars; and the triple threat match for the WWF Hardcore Championship between Hardcore Holly, Billy Gunn, and Al Snow was rated six out of 10 stars.[33]
Writing for 411Mania in 2009, Rob McNew gave the event a rating of 5.5/10, stating, "Like most Attitude Era shows this one doesn’t hold up very well ten years later" though he praised the main event bout between Rock and Austin.[34] Similarly, Scott Keith gave the event an overall negative rating, while calling the Rock vs. Austin match "solid by default" and complimenting Shane McMahon's performance given his lack of wrestling experience.[35] In 2012, Bleacher Report ranked the event 25th out of the 27 Wrestlemanias to that point, calling the event "underwhelming" and criticizing the Hell in a Cell match.[36]
Aftermath
Stone Cold Steve Austin's feud with The Corporation continued after WrestleMania with Austin demanding the return of his customized smoking skull belt that was taken from him after losing the WWF Championship at Breakdown: In Your House in 1998. With The Ministry of Darkness continuing to threaten his family, Mr. McMahon was forced to comply with his nemesis' demands and requested his son Shane to deliver the belt to Austin. Shane, however, refused and took matters with Austin into his own hands by giving the smoking skull belt to The Rock. This culminated in a rematch between Austin and The Rock at Backlash while McMahon served as a special guest referee. Austin defeated The Rock to retain the WWF Championship after Mr. McMahon prevented Shane from screwing him and handed the smoking skull belt back to Austin.
The Ministry of Darkness continued their ongoing war with The Corporation with The Undertaker going after Mr. McMahon's daughter Stephanie. The Undertaker continued to make sacrifices including Ryan Shamrock leading to a feud between Undertaker and Ken Shamrock who wanted revenge for Undertaker's actions to his family with Undertaker defeating Shamrock at Backlash: In Your House.
When The Undertaker did successfully find Stephanie, Shamrock, in his quest to get revenge on Undertaker, continued to beat down and interrogate members of The Ministry of Darkness for McMahon's whereabouts. After Christian told Shamrock McMahon's whereabouts, Undertaker punished Christian by whipping him and have him face Crucifixion. Edge and Gangrel, who along with Christian were members of their own stable The Brood and were loyal to Christian decided to rescue him, betraying The Ministry. The Ministry got revenge by defeating The Brood in a Six-Man Tag Team Match at Backlash.
Bart Gunn would leave the WWF after his match against Butterbean. On the Dark Side of the Ring episode on the Brawl for All, Gunn said he felt his match against Butterbean was "punishment" for winning the Brawl and knocking out Steve "Dr. Death" Williams during the event (Williams suffered other injuries during the match) which was not what the bookers wanted (they wanted Williams to win to give him a push against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin). Gunn would not return to WWF TV until 2007.
Nicole Bass continued to accompany Sable to the ring and destroyed all competition for Sable's WWF Women's Championship. After HHH washed his hands of D-Generation X and joined Chyna in the Corporation, X-Pac teamed up with Kane to form an unlikely tag team, and captured the WWF Tag Team titles from Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett.
The City of Philadelphia would later host the event again in 2024 with this time being held at the nearby Lincoln Financial Field in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the event held in the city and the 40th anniversary of WrestleMania.
D-Generation X (DX) is an American professional wrestling stable, and later a tag team, that consisted of various members, most notably Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna, X-Pac, and the New Age Outlaws, a tag team consisting of Road Dogg and Billy Gunn.
WrestleMania XIV was the 14th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 29, 1998, at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. A total of eight matches were held at the event.
The 1998 SummerSlam was the 11th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on August 30, 1998, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Eleven matches were contested at the event, including three on the Sunday Night Heat pre-show.
The 1999 SummerSlam was the 12th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on August 22, 1999, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Nine matches were contested at the event.
The 1999 Royal Rumble was the 12th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on January 24, 1999, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. The tagline and subtitle of the event was taken from a promise by WWF Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mr. McMahon that the first entrant in the Royal Rumble, Stone Cold Steve Austin, had "no chance in hell" of winning the match. The theme song for the event, based on the phrase, would go on to become the entrance music for McMahon's stable The Corporation and later, just McMahon himself, which he used until his resignation in January 2024.
The 1998 Survivor Series was the 12th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on November 15, 1998, at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
The 1999 Survivor Series was the 13th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on November 14, 1999, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It was the second Survivor Series held at the Joe Louis Arena after the 1991 event.
The Attitude Era was a major era of professional wrestling within the World Wrestling Federation. The term "WWF Attitude" was used to describe its programming from November 9, 1997, to May 6, 2002. It began during the Monday Night War, a period in which WWF's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro in a battle for Nielsen ratings each week from September 4, 1995, to March 26, 2001. The era officially started on November 9, 1997, at Survivor Series 1997, when a video package aired ending with the first use of the "WWF Attitude" scratch logo; this was immediately before the main event featuring Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, which retrospectively would be known as the Montreal Screwjob due to the match's controversial finish. WWF's programming in this era featured adult-oriented content, which included increased depicted violence, profanity, and sexual content. This era was part of a wider surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and Canada as television ratings and pay-per-view buy rates for the WWF and its rival promotions saw record highs.
Breakdown: In Your House was the 24th In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on September 27, 1998, at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Nine matches were held on the PPV, while three matches were held for the Sunday Night Heat pre-show. The promotional poster featured D-Generation X, whose entrance theme was titled "Break It Down." The event is notable for featuring the debut of Christian.
Rock Bottom: In Your House was the 26th In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on December 13, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The event was named after The Rock's finishing move, the "Rock Bottom". The venue, since renamed Rogers Arena, would not hold another WWE PPV event until Survivor Series: WarGames in 2024.
Unforgiven: In Your House was the 21st In Your House and inaugural Unforgiven professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on April 26, 1998, at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina. This was the first WWF pay-per-view that used the new "scratch" logo for promotional work, which had first appeared on the ring apron at WrestleMania XIV. This event saw the first Inferno match and WWF's first evening gown match.
Judgment Day: In Your House was the 25th In Your House and inaugural Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on October 18, 1998, at the Rosemont Horizon in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. Nine professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card.
St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House was the 27th In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on February 14, 1999, at the Memphis Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee. The title of the event alludes to the Saint Valentine's Day massacre in the year 1929, which saw seven people murdered as a part of the gang war between Al Capone and Bugs Moran. The event saw the WWF debut of Paul Wight, formerly known as The Giant in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and who would later be renamed to The Big Show. It was the final In Your House event until June 2020, as at the time, the WWF moved to install permanent names for their monthly PPVs, which began with Backlash in April 1999.
The 2000 Armageddon was the second Armageddon professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on December 10, 2000, at the Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the final Armageddon event produced under the WWF name, as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002, as the event was temporarily replaced with Vengeance in December 2001 due to the September 11 attacks, with Armageddon reinstated in 2002. It would also be the last Armageddon held before the introduction of the brand extension in March 2002.
The 1999 Backlash was the inaugural Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on April 25, 1999, at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island and was presented by Castrol GTX. The event had originally been promoted as "Backlash: In Your House", but the branding was dropped as the WWF discontinued the In Your House series before Backlash was held. As a result, Backlash was the first non-In Your House monthly PPV held by the promotion outside of their five major events at the time. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWF's flagship event, WrestleMania.
The 1999 Fully Loaded was the second annual Fully Loaded professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on July 25, 1999, at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. Although the event was the second Fully Loaded PPV held, it was the first Fully Loaded not held under the In Your House series, which had been discontinued in February 1999. Matches at the event were fought in a number of venues, including a parking garage.
The 1999 King of the Ring was the seventh annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation that featured the 13th King of the Ring tournament. It took place on June 27, 1999, at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Fully Loaded: In Your House was the 23rd In Your House and inaugural Fully Loaded professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on July 26, 1998, at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California. Nine matches were contested at the event.
The 1999 Unforgiven was the second annual Unforgiven professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on September 26, 1999, at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the event was the second Unforgiven PPV held, it was the first Unforgiven not held under the In Your House series, which had been discontinued in February 1999.
WWF Capital Carnage was a United Kingdom-only professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American promotion, the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on December 6, 1998, at the London Arena in London, England. It was released on DVD in the UK and Europe on July 12, 2010, in a set also including No Mercy (UK) as part of the WWE's Tagged Classics range released by Silver Vision, without any edits to the original content, most notably keeping all mentions and appearances of the WWF logo intact and un-blurred.
↑ Solomon, Brian (2010). WWE Legends. New York: Gallery Books. p.60. ISBN978-1451604504. His last public appearance was at WrestleMania XV in Philadelphia on March 28, 1999.
↑ Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
↑ Sullivan, Kevin (November 23, 2010). The WWE Championship: A Look Back at the Rich History of the WWE Championship. Gallery Books. p.124. ISBN9781439193211. At the time, SummerSlam was one of WWE's "big five" Pay-Per-Views (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, King of the Ring, and Survivor Series were the others), ...
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