WWF RAW 1999

[Verder]

(Credit for the banner goes to Blink)

The debut of WWF SmackDown! was announced for August 26th 1999 on UPN. The program originally scheduled to be two full hours of God damned Divas, but that soon came to a change as it was decided to become a sister show for Monday Night RAW. Vince McMahon knew that the intorduction of the 'blue show' would sell. Buyrates would go up, the television ratings would be even higher and the Attitude era would usher forward. Four hours of prime time per a week. The rivalry in form of WCW seemingly to be leaping towards a downward spiral like never seen before. Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock. Things were going absolutely well.

Then the WWF creative had an idea, a 'what if'? Bill Banks suggested an idea of making RAW a show full of aggression and rough, tough action package while SmackDown, respectively, would be more of an electrifying and high-flying impact. Brian Gerwitz evolved the idea forward and threw some of his own in it: Let's make the World title exclusive to RAW, while SmackDown would have the Intercontinental belt. That one was soon rejected, with Vince McMahon calling it 'absurd' and 'insane'. Still he felt like something had to be done. Something that would shock people and make them completely abadon the WCW. It must have seemed almost like fate when one of his writers had his brightest idea in years. It seemed almost like somebody would have been re-writing history and deciding that something radical would take place. To make it so that one writer would definitely have a bright idea.

Vince Russo had a bright idea.

On that night, August 26th, in SmackDown's TV debut, "the draft" was announced. Seemingly as the fans had no idea what this meant, Mr. McMahon declared that HE would pick the exclusive rosters for RAW and Smackdown. It would all be in his control. The PPV's would be made brand-exclusive, except the big five: King of the Ring, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and the pinnacle of sports-entertainment, WrestleMania. Smackdown would present Unforgiven in September, while RAW would have to wait until October for their first Pay-Per-View.

The decided rosters weren't too big surprises. McMahon's biggest pains-in-the-arses like Triple H and Steve Austin got drafted to RAW along with The Undertaker and his freak show known as The Ministry of Darkness. SmackDown! got Mr. McMahon's lackies like the recently debuted "Y2J" Chris Jericho, The Rock and even his own son Shane. McMahon also announced himself as the "General Manager" of the blue brand. Whereas the GM of RAW would debut... very soon.

Unrealistic? You bet. Unpredictable? Maybe not so. Fucking diary I'll be sticking with? Well duh...

TGC would like to believe that everybody has one bright idea. This one, mine, wasn't too bright.

Russo's was.

* RAW presents No Mercy on October 3rd.

* The new General Manager will make his official debut at the first show. He will have the full power and control over the whole brand.

* While SmackDown! received Sunday Night HeAT, RAW will have Shotgun on Saturdays that has gotten promoted to a late evening time slot.

* This... Means... WAR.

Monday Night RAW talent pool

BABYFACES

Al Snow

Alex Porteau

Animal

Bob Holly

Chyna

Debra

D'Lo Brown

Giant Silva

Goldust

Hawk

Johnny Grunge

Kurrgan

Mark Henry

Rocco Rock

Scorpio

Steve Austin

Steve Blackman

Triple H

X-Pac

HEELS

Big Show

Brooklyn Brawler

Christian Cage

Droz

Edge

Gangrel

Jeff Jarrett

Mideon

Mosh

Sho Funaki

Test

The Undertaker

Trasher

Tiger Ali Singh

Vic Crimes

Viscera

TITLE HOLDERS

WWF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT - Triple H

WWF INTERCONTINENTAL - Jeff Jarrett

WWF EUROPEAN - Mark Henry

Latest WWF News, A.K.A Shocking Spoilers... But Hey, We're Not Telling You Anything You Wouldn't Already Know

The Next Big Thing?

Unlike previously expected, Vince McMahon does not want to start pushing Mark Henry to the upper midcard scene around November and Survivor Series. McMahon stated in a "creative" staff meeting yesterday that he wants it to begin RIGHT NOW, and if it doesn't then Bill Banks would have hell to pay. Ed Ferrera then questioned the actual senses of pushing Henry, but McMahon simply ignored it and stated that if the push fails, it shall be restarted in 2000. If fails, 2001. If fails again, 2002. If fails yet again, 2003. Nope? 2004. HEEL TURN~! 2005. By 2006, Mark Henry is supposed to be over as a big-ass heel, and his contract would be up. And then McMahon would sign him for another 10 years just for the hell of it AND because he's Vincent Kennedy McMahon and he does whatever he wants to do with his company.

Young female booker, Kelly Andrews, has been sidelined with an injury after Henry tapped her shoulder twice.

-Shut up and listen slapnuts. Bewaring of a shitty catchprase is advised.

-Now that Mark Henry and the Road Warriors are in line for a push as babyfaces, Vince Russo's idea of one rising upper midcard heel has also gone through Mr. McMahon and is now being adapted. This heel is going to be the son of Jerry Jarrett, 32 years old Jeff Jarrett, who is the current WWF Intercontinental Champion and has taken his place in the RAW brand. Everybody in the booking team has high hopes for "Double J", as he is seen as a wrestling traditionalist and he definitely has the charisma and brawling skills to roll with. Jarrett is now rumoured to head into a feud with perhaps likes of X-Pac, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin or Goldust. Everyone of these three is a strong possibility, though Jeff Jarrett is already the IC champion, thus he ain't a nobody, and it should actually be pretty clear who he'll be feuding with if the WWF really wants to build J.J. properly.

-Blah blah blah blah blah

-Vince McMahon has stated that in fact wants to put over a babyface uppper midcarder (Mark Henry) AND a babyface tag team. Besides the Public Enemy, the WWF RAW brand is somewhat in a lack of face tag teams and therefore, intorducing Legion of Doom! The most controversied, popular and experienced tag team in the history of our sport. These trimmed fourty-somethings are still in a good shape, and they are now scheduled to be a BIG part of the tag team division. McMahon wants to put the WWF Tag Team titles on L.O.D and already started planning a storyline to book that happen. Production crew member Gerald Briscoe then reminded Mr. McMahon about the brief fact that the Tag Team gold is on SmackDown and the Road Warriors are on RAW, and therefore, that just wouldn't be logical.

McMahon decided to stick it to Briscoe and show him some damn logic. Monday on RAW, Briscoe wrestled against Hawk and Animal. Expect these two wholesomes to get some screen time very soon... Again.

[James32015]

Not sure I like the idea of a Roster Split in 1999. The WWF didn't have the talent pool to pull it off successfully at the time. They were still in the midst of the war with WCW and all of there efforts should be concentrated on one show instead of two. I'll watch to see where you'll go with it

[Verder]

The Saturday Shotgun PREVIEW

For September 4th, 1999

The first glimpse of the roster split era rolls into Los Angeles, California for Shotgun. All of the Monday Night RAW superstars will be around for the jumpstart into a new beginning of the World Wrestling Federation. See it live or on TV, it will be a night not to miss.

While Mr. McMahon decided to take control of Smackdown and plans to take Thursday nights to new heights just like he did to Mondays, the crimson red brand is currently without a captain. But that should come to an end tonight, as the 'main attraction' for tonight is no doubt the revealing of the new authority figure of RAW. Basically it could be anyone imaginable. You never know what is going to happen next in the World Wrestling Federation. Is it a rookie, a beginner in bussiness deals? Is it a veteran of the sport? Is it somebody from the McMahon family? Whoever that might be, the new GM will be intorduced, TONIGHT.

In the main event, the bizzarre, yet a heart-of-gold freak Goldust takes on the horrific seven-feet tall giant, that weights something about a five hundred pounds, the young Big Show who recently realized where the real competition is and joined the WWF. It will be a "WWF-to-bone" worker versus the new kid on the block, and this one definitely should be some fireworks.

Also, "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry will be defending the European Championship, the WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett will be in the house, and even the Ministry of Darkness have gotten their presence confirmed by the weirdo Paul Bearer.

Tune in for the FIRST EVER late evening Shotgun from the stacked-out STAPLES Center, only on USA Network!

[nihilist]

This could be quite interesting, but I think you need to bring some completely new guys in (like Steven Regal) for it to be an effective split as that Raw line-up's pretty weak. I'm also questioning why Mark Henry has to be pushed- I'd prefer to see Kurrgan turned into a monster, tearing up all in his path as he's a far better wrestler than Henry.

But I'll certainly keep an eye out for the LOD and Double J, as I'd like to have seen what JJ could have done if he'd been allowed the huge push.

[Verder]

nihilist - I don't like Mark Henry one bit in reality. I guess I just want to "do things the hard way" and push guys that seem to be impossible to push, like Baby Hewey pushes Ahmed Johnson and TGC pushes Ron Garvin. Guys that you would never want to see make it to the big level. I also want to see what happens if I get so far in this game that the upper midcard is a mix of guys that were there in reality and guys like Henry etc. And don't worry, I will bring in new guys too. Not immediatedly, but they will arrive sooner or later. Perhaps somewhere in the between.

Jeff Jarrett will certainly be receiving a push. In the WWF, he had no "Triple J" status whatsoever, he was just an underrated, mis-used talent that wasn't allowed to get their 'break' (A bit like Christian was in the WWE last year before jumping to TNA). Here, Jarrett will not be come obsessed about beating up women. And even the starting period of my game serves me very well thank you, as I checked OWW and it says that JJ's "misogynist" gimmick began in the first show of September 1999. Very fine, indeed.

James32015, I know that, just had to come up with something.

By the way, the Russo thing in the backstory - I read something here in the EWB a few weeks ago where Russo said that while in the WCW during 2000, he had an idea for "something that the WWE is doing right now - and it has appeared to be very succesful." So in this diary, I'll just presume that roster split was his "revolutionary" idea and that he actually had gotten it in '99, and that he proposed it to McMahon, and that Vinnie Mac decided to give it a shot, like in a big gamble. If it would fail, McMahon could just state that this was more "attitude" than anything before it. Tune in next week.

...

...

-Los Angeles, California

-September 4th, 1999

We see a short hype video featuring such stars as Goldust, Mark Henry, the L.O.D, X-Pac, Test and Sable (in bikini neccesarily). After it's over, we are taken inside the STAPLES Center where small silver pyros go off. Michael Cole and Howard Finkel welcome us to the show, which promises to be an action packed evening of RAW-brand action!

Singles Match for the WWF European title

Mark Henry © vs. Jerry Lawler

-This was an akward match. Or actually, I could say that my eyes bled during watching it. You got, Jerry "Tha King", 38 years old former World Heavyweight Champion taking on... Ugh... Mark Henry, who signed a 10 year contract with the company a few years ago, so we'll be seeing him rule the ring atleast all the way to 2006. So wrestling fans, in ’06, may the force be with you. However, we'll see how the fall 1999 now turns out, now that the roster split has begun. Atleast one thing is for sure, the WWF indeed intends on pushing Mark Henry towards the upper midcard scene, I've heard. Therefore, Jerry Lawler was just another victim, a lamb, a sheep taken to get executed, for Henry. This even went on for five horrible minutes, until Henry Bodyslammed Lawler and then connected the Death from Above to score the three count. Mark Henry is the winner of this match...

MQ 53% - CR 65% - 61% - Jerry Lawler lost overness from this match. Mark Henry gained overness from this match.

You must be pooping to your pants by now

...And the referee Jack Doan hands Mark Henry the WWF European Championship, who receives it gladly. Henry takes his time to pose off to the fans who have no interest for this man due to the slugfest that we just witnessed. Henry still proudly taps his belt before taunting one more time and leaving the ring... Or then again, maybe not, as the lights go off. The crowd goes CRAZY. Purple smoke fills the stage and the arena so that you can see what's going on the ring. THE BELL TOLLS. Once. Twice. Spooky. Henry looks on at the set, only to get chair-shotted by Christian Cage from behind...

But Henry feels no effect! He simply turns around as Christian freaks off and tries to escape. Henry with a hard right hand, and Cage is down. But there's Gangrel! Gangrel with a Big Boot to Mark Henry, and he is down. So falls the champion. And what's next? Viscera?! Good God, Viscera is in the ring. If you thought the previous asskicking sucked, just wait for this one. Viscera STOMPS Henry while Gangrel laughs on, looking down at the European Champion. AND THE BELL TOLLS YET AGAIN. Viscera and Gangrel look scared as hell and they roll out of the ring. Henry tries to get up to his feet, and... A burning text saying "Rest In Peace" is seen at the TitanTron. Henry looks like he is ready to fight, but nothing happens. Nobody comes out from the back. Henry then grabs up his belt and leaves the ring. Surprisingly enough, Gangrel and Big Buddy Brown have escaped through the audience. Henry walks up the aisle looking some what concerned...

BELL TOLLS AND TWO LIGHTNINGS HIT THE STAGE! HENRY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK. He turns around and THE UNDERTAKER GRABS HIM BY THE THROAT. CHOOOOOOOOOOOOKESLAM. Poorly executed since it was given to Mark Henry. Undertaker disappears as quickly as he came, leaving his mark to be seen.

79%

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Tag Team Match

Public Enemy vs. Edge and Christian

-Edge and Christian wore black tank tops with the Undertaker's symbol in the chest, and black tights. Christian didn't look too stupid with them, while, his brother looked a little silly in them. Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge also came out in somewhat new attires, both wearing army-ish outfits (Similiar to the Dudley Boyz) and Grunge had a silver chain around his neck. He and Rock ran into the ring to start a basic tag team tornado brawl between the two teams. It didn't reach a 'peak' (such as the heels falling from the ring over the ropes), however, as Edge was able to counter some of Rocco Rock's attacks into a DDT. Grunge seemed to get the best of Christian Cage, as he punched him with lefts and rights.

Eventually, as the contest went on for about six minutes, the tables were turned and E&C gained the upper hand. Eventually, it was Edge attempting a Buzz Killer... But Johnny Grunge somehow turned it into a Reverse DDT. Christian then received a clothesline from Grunge, while Rocco Rock was at the top rope, looking to finish things off. The 46 years old Rocco Rock then came off on Cage with a Moonsault for the three count. Public Enemy started to celebrate, as their music played and the crowd cheered for the winners.

However, as it turned out just like to Mark Henry earlier on, lightning bolts soon hit all four turnbuckles of the ring. Rock and Grunge started to look around but nobody else had come to the ring. Then suddenly, 'the bell' tolled... But nothing happened after that. Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock quickly left the ring as the second Shotgun match of the evening came to a close. One has to wonder... What is The Undertaker trying to accomplish with these actions?

MQ 79% - CR 56% - OR 67%

The Intercontinental Champion wants his match

We go backstage, where we see the World Wrestling Federation's Intercontinental Champion, the man who prefers himself simply as "The Chosen One", Jeff Jarrett, storming off out of somebody's office (Of course, the camera cuts so that we JUST can't see who else is inside) with an angry look on his face, the belt in one hand and his face was a little bit red, almost as if he had just yelled at somebody. As Jarrett stormed by the camera, we heard him whispering "...I will get my shot, I deserve more than this belt, Triple H ain't got nothing on me..." before he disappeared from the sight and Saturday Night Shotgun went to a...

87% - Jeff Jarrett debuted his new gimmick (Cocky), it got a positive response.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Singles Match

Bob Holly vs. Test

-The young, the appealing, the talented Andrew "Test" Martin took on the old, grizzled, botch machine Bob "Hardcore" Holly in our next match. It probably wasn't a surprise to anyone that the 24-years old took a somewhat easy win over the veteran of the squared circle. Holly tried to keep up with Martin's speed, but Andrew's technique of intense brawling combined with hard right hands and no over-confidence appeared to be simply too much. Holly even connected with the Falcon Arrow in one point, but Test was put over a little bit as he kicked out of it during the two count. Hardcore couldn't believe it, but he didn't seem to get too frustrated with it. As he picked Test up, he nailed Bob Holly with a low blow without referee noticing it. Test then took some speed from the ropes and nailed Holly with the Big Boot. This was followed by a cover and a count of three. Test survived as the winner of the veteran's assault.

MQ 68% - CR 58% - OR 63%

THIS is what's great in the world of professional wrestling!

We go backstage yet again, where we this time find the arguably most talented announcer in the WWF, and the colour commentator of Monday Night RAW, Jim Cornette, standing by the former WWF Tag Team Champions with a microphone in his hand, alongside with him are the legendary Hawk and Animal, also known as the Legion of Doom.

Jim Cornette: First of all, Road Warriors, why did you ask me here? I've got some work to do with J.R. and...

Animal: Take it easy Jimmy, we're here just to address a couple of things.

Hawk: That's right. It's already been quite some time since our return, just a little bit, oh, two damn years very soon, since we came back to rise some hell here in the World Wrestling Federation. We worked hard, we bust our asses off day in and day out, only for this 'draft' to come by, and just for us to find out that the Tag Team Championships have found themselves a home on SmackDown. That's pretty damn frustrating.

Animal: You're damn right it is! We are the Road Warriors, we are the most legendary tag team EVER to grace the ring! And just because Mankind and The Rock are holding the belts, and they get drafted to SmackDown, we can never again challenge for the Tag Team titles... Or... Whaddya think Hawk?

Hawk: Hmmm? I say the new authority of RAW, WHOEVER that might be, better find out a way soon enough to either bring those WWF Tag Team Championships back home, or at least create a new bunch of gold or something, or otherwise the new kid will eventually have to find out how pissed off the Road Warriors can actually be. And after that is done with, well, we'll only have one thing to say, we won't apologize, we can just note that...

Together: OOOOOOHHHHH WHATTTTTAA RUUUUUUUSSSSSHHHHHH.

The L.O.D then storms off the interviewing set. Cornette looks pissed off, as he throws the microphone down and storms off too, yelling "OOOOOOOOOOHHH, what a waste of time!".

69%

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Singles Match

Goldust vs. Big Show

-'The main event' of the night was this one right here, as the freaky and bizzarre Goldust with a heart of gold too, took on a man with a heart of stone, the angry giant in form of The Big Show. Goldust refused to be intimidated from the very beginning, as he actually spent the first few post-bell ringing minutes freaking Show off with his 'gayish' actions. Eventually, as the Big Show collected himself, he took a clear risk of touching Goldust via a Clothesline. Show then started to stomp Goldie and it of course went on like this for a long time.

The turning point? Around four minutes, Goldust poked Show in the left eye. Not very clean tactics, but hell, Goldust ain't very clean himself either. Presuming Goldust is a 'he'. You never know. Goldust then grabbed up the Big Show in order to attempt the Curtain Call, but that didn't work out too well as Show blocked it into a Neckbreaker. Show then did his trademark 'one arm up' taunt, and by this time the crowd had already gotten somewhat used to what was coming next. Show started to prepare for it, as Goldust humbled his way up, and turned straight around only to get grabbed from the throat. Goldust, however, kicked the Big Show to the gut in order to avoid the Chokeslam. Goldust waited for Show to crawl up and then tried a Shoulderblock...

But then, the Big Show's unbelievable powers came into play, as he slammed Goldust down with a Flapjack. Then, he did a slit-throat motion, before planting Goldust with a Fallaway Slam. Show then simply stood there, waiting, like a blood-hungry animal, just watching as Goldust crawled up, straight to his armpit. Show smiled a sick smile, and then blasted the holy hell out of his opponent with the Final Cut. Yes indeed, it is the final cut and that's why Show covers, and that's a three count... If only Show wouldn't grab Goldust's shoulders up from the canvas from the three. Show shakes his head motioning that it's not over just yet!

Big Show grabs Goldust from the throat, picks him up from the ground, lifts him up high, walks around the ring and THEN plants him down on his back! The Show Stopper leaves it's mark as this easily gets a three count after Show covers. "WEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLL... WELL IT'S THE BIG SHOW!" Show's theme starts to play, signaling his victory. Referee Jack Doan tries to gongratulate him, but Show simply shoves him off. Big Show does his traditional pose and yells like a good angry that giant he should be...

MQ 59% - CR 81% - OR 74%

The Night Ain't Over Just Yet

Big Show continues celebrating. As his music plays, Goldust collects himself as he obviously walks up the aisle dissapointed. Show rises his left arm on the air and yells "AAAAAARRGGGHHH" to make the crowd either cheer him or boo him. Michael Cole is calling it a Shotgun, and we'll see you the day after tomorrow on RA...

"NOT SO FAST BOY!"

As everyone apparently can't believe the voice they just heard, everybody turns their head at the TitanTron, only to see a familiar face: Shawn Michaels is in an beautiful office with a wooden desk, flowers, a "RAW is WAR" logo on the wall and some contracts at the desk mentioned above. This probably is the very office that Jeff Jarrett walked out of earlier on. He is dressed in a suit, whoa, this definitely isn't the Shawn Michaels we used to see early last year. Michaels straightens up his jacket and his cravate, before he touches his beard with his fingers and seems to be thinking about something. Even Big Show looks surprised.

Shawn Michaels: It's been a long time, eh? In my books WAY too long. This place has gotten bland. When was the LAST TIME, you got to see yours truly? Or, or, before I cut straight to the case - When was the last time, you saw Vince McMahon in a Monday Night RAW ring?

The crowd is still in a buzz.

Shawn Michaels: This Monday, I tell 'ya... That was a sight that shall be nevermore. You see, Vinnie Mac here, he got drafted to Smackdown you know. And I'll make sure that now that he's on Smackdown, I'll personally continue to make Stone Cold Steve Austin's life a LIVING HELL. Yes... We've got some issues to deal with. How unfourtunate, though, 'cuz as I get it, that leaves the good ol' crimson red brand without a captain at the helm, right? And without a leader, RAW will be heading towards doom in no-time, right? Out of bussiness? Done? Beat? Finito, right? I said RIGHT?!?

Minor boos. Though most of the people are probably still all like "What in the blue hell?"

Shawn Michaels: Yeah, I've gotten used to that. Go ahead, boo from the bottom of your lungs babies! *Boos yet again, and Shawn Michaels seems to be enjoying himself.* Guess what? I don't care what you think. I call the shots around here... OOPS, SPOILER. Oh, and just in case you didn't know... S*CK IT. *Bleeped, plus a CROTCH DROP~!* Yeah well, now that I accidentally slipped it... The McMahon Family is long gone from this place. There's a new sheriff in town. A new era is dawning. A new HIGHER POWER has arrived. His name...

The following gets a mixed reaction. Yes, you read correctly: No 100% booing out of the building...

Shawn Michaels: ...IS THE SHOWSTOPPAH', THE HEADLINER, THE MAIN EVENT, THE KING OF DING DING, THE HEART, BREAK, KID --- SHAWN MICHAELS. Aaaand I've said it a THOUSAND TIMES and now there'll be 1001 just for the hell of it... I'm the authority. If I go down, I'm bringin' EVERY DAMN BODY with me, and I'm goin' out, IN A BLAZE OF GLORY. Now eat your heart out girls, HBK IS BACK, SO HANDS OF THA' MERCHANDISE!

"Sexy Boy" hits the speakers and the crowd goes CRAZY, some guys in the audience even start to jam to the song. Big Show clearly has no idea what to think. HBK goes all crazy in his office, and some beautiful young ladies march in. Michaels grabs a bottle of champagne, opens it and lets some splash at the screen. As Michaels dances with the girls, nobody can obviously say a thing anymore, and a very unpredictable episode of Saturday Shotgun goes off the air. You'll have to be DUMB to not to tune in to MONDAY NIGHT RAW ON THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW!

85%

Overall Rating for the Show: 74%

We got a 5.41 rating for 'Shotgun'!

The attendance level was 3538 people.

We made $212280 from ticket sales.

Saturday Night are trying to compete with us, but are being destroyed in the ratings.

Edited May 20, 2006 by Verder

[nihilist]

Nice intro...if confusing...I thought X-Pac was European Champ at the start of 1999

[Verder]

If you'd REALLY read the backstory, you'd probably find out that the diary begins in September.

Monday Night RAW PREVIEW

-For September 6th, 1999

After a great episode of Shotgun, the STAPLES Center is looking to become full once again as Monday Night RAW invades the city of angels. And L.A's gotta be ready for the show. The World Wrestling Federation presents some of the best performers in the world.

We like to call it 'the hook', but tonight, it will be the biggest main event in RAW history. The toughest S.O.B in the WWF, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin squares off with The Undertaker in a match that should be one for the ages. Austin is one bad-ass outlaw, Undertaker has the powers of darkness and perhaps The Ministry on his side - so who will actually come out on top?

The monsterical Big Show takes on "Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman. We'll see if Blackman's martial arts experience and superior brawling abilities will be enough to take down the giant.

Also! A hot top topic in the Federation right now has gotta be the revelation of the new commissioner.

And it has now been revealed to be none other than the "Heartbreak Kid" himself, Shawn Michaels. A former WWF World Heavyweight Champion is now in charge, the question is, can HBK resist the temptating of mis-using his powers, or has Michaels gotten a change of heart? What will Shawn Michaels even have to say after his groundbreaking announcement of accepting the role?

Jeff Jarrett will be in the house, D'Lo Brown takes on Jerry "The King" Lawler, the L.O.D face "mystery opponents" AND last, but not, least, TRIPLE H will be in attendance, and according to his agent, he will have a topic to discuss!

Monday Night RAW comes to you LIVE, only on USA Network, on 9/8 C.T. Tune in for the greatest dose of pro wrestling on a Monday night ANYWHERE, brought to you buy the WWF.

[Verder]

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW~!

-Los Angeles, California

September 6tth, 1999

A promovideo plays. It showcases mainly on Triple H, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, Big Show and GOLDUST. After it's over, we go inside the STAPLES Center where the awesome "Throw Your Eye" plays as red spotlights dance around the arena and the camera focuses at the cheering crowd. Or at those seats that are filled...

The Intercontinental Champion still wants his match

We kick off Monday Night RAW with the music of the WWF Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Jarrett. After his edgy "promo" on Shotgun (Well, let's just let slide, a'ight?), Jarrett receives some fine heel heat as he is walking down the aisle with the belt on his shoulder, the trusty guitar in one hand and orange sunglasses on. Jarrett puts the guitar down and steps into the ring in his wrestling gear to celebrate in one of the turnbuckles. Jeff Jarrett seems to enjoy his time despite the boos. Jarrett then gets a microphone. He even has to wait for the boos to settle down until he can speak properly.

Jeff Jarrett: Shut up slapnuts, the Champ is here!

BOO. BOO. BOO.

Jeff Jarrett: You wanna boo me? Go the f*ck ahead, boo me out of the damn building. I ain't goin' nowhere, I'm staying right here, as a matter of fact, I've got a few issues to deal with. Look, look at this shiny golden belt on my shoulder. It says: "World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Champion - Jeff Jarrett". This means, it's my belt. Not yours, not your neighbour's, MINE. I'm the damn Intercontinental Champion, yet, YET, I'm not booked in the card of a LATE EVENING program, let alone the flagship show of the company? This is a disgrace, I DEMAND a match, and I want a big one. I want to challenge for the WWF Championship! I want to go at it with the big nose man! Now SHAWN MICHAELS. You might be calling the shots, but I'm calling the dots or how-damn-ever that thing goes. It's in J-DEMAND that you gimme my match on October 3rd at No Mercy. 'Cause I...

GLASS SHATTERS!

The roof of the arena explodes as the more-than-familiar tune starts to play and every-damn-body at the arena get up to their feet, cheering on as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin marches out from the back, shaking his head in disbelief. And Jarrett is in disbelief also! He can't believe that the "Texas Rattlesnake" has rudely interrupted his segment. Austin makes his way into the ring and does his usual blahblahblah before grabbing a mic from Howard Finkel's hand, who is doing the ring announcing on RAW. Austin looks at Jarrett in almost a sad way.

Steve Austin: When Stone Cold Steve Austin heard that Mikey Tyson was comin' to the WWF, he thought 'Geez, that's boring. Tyson stinks'. After Tyson went and helped me kick Shawn Michaels' ass at WrestleMania last year, that little bastard Rocky Maivia came. And turned himself into The Rock. He became 'electrifying'. He became 'the people's champion'. He became bullsh*t in (*bleeped*) my eyes. And that bullsh*t still stinks on to this day. Quite frankly, I thought it could never get any worse than The Rocky, but uhh...

Austin carefully takes a step towards J.J. First, he takes a look at his quitar, then at his sunglasses and then at his wrestling tights...

Steve Austin: I... I... I gotta say it, you are pretty damn fantastic Jeff - For the first time in eons, Stone Cold Steve Austin is out of words! You're horrible! You're pathetic! You can't sing! You can't wrestle! Yet 'ya dare to stare with those little tiny eyes, with your overwhelming haircut, and your glittering tights, you dare to stare at the baddest man on the planet. And you dare to ask for a World Championship match? When Stone Cold Steve Austin is in the line for a shot too?

Jeff Jarrett: *Points at himself* I do WHATEVER I want, WHENEVER I want, WHERE EVER I want, and...

Stone Cold shuts Jarrett's mouth by putting the palm of his own hand in front of Jarrett's lips.

Steve Austin: Whoawhoawhoa, not so fast, son. You didn't just say you do WHATEVER you want... WHENEVER you want... *Jeff Jarrett yells "You're damn right I did!" at him...* WHERE EVER you want? Guess what? You're standin' Stone Cold Steve Austin's ring. You crossed the line! And that's a line you don't cross! You don't cross the boss, a'ight? Oh, and which brings me to the sad, unfourtunate fact that Vinnie Mac got drafted to SmackDown. That leaves Stone Cold Steve Austin without a puppet to tease and plague WHENEVER I'm havin' a bad day... It's nothing personal, but uhh, since you just happen to stand right there like a little b*tch (*Bleeped*) that you are...

Austin gives Jarrett the middle fingers, and THEN HITS THE STONE COLD STUNNER! Stone Cold Stunner to the Intercontinental Champion! The glass shatters again and Austin starts to march around the ring, yelling nasty things at Jeff Jarrett, before climbing to a turnbuckle and calling for some beer. Jim Ross says that Steve Austin just took out the trash... Jeff Jarrett is out cold as we go to a commercial break, but we'll be right back!

91% - Jeff Jarrett gained overness from this segment.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Singles Match

Al Snow vs. Test

-It is definitely very weird, strange I might say to see Al Snow on RAW at all. Well, sure, it's the first match of the night, but still a rare sight. Wouldn't probably be too special though, as he would be facing the young and arrogant Andrew "Test" Martin, who ripped Bob Holly's winning streak apart this past Saturday on Shotgun. What would you expect from this match? Yeah, squash. That'd be it. The more talented Al Snow tried to fight back, but it seemed that Test's ruthless arsenal of blows and uppercuts was simply too much. Spinebuster. Bodyslam. Powerslam. Callaway Slam, and then something very weird happened: Test motioned Razor Ramon's old "That's It!" taunt, and then signaled the "Call me!" (Well yeah, a poor explanation. You know, the little finger and thumb up. HELL! Cena's taunt, you know!) motion just for the hell of it, to signal that it's over. As Snow struggled to his feet in 6:36, Test attempted the Big Boot. Snow however countered it and somehow slid Test into a School Boy Pin - Al Snow's feet are on the middle rope - THREE COUNT! It's over! Al Snow wins! What an upset victory to kick off Monday-Nite RAW of September 6th! Al Snow quickly escapes from the ring, while Test looks on in clear and obvious disbelief, and yells at the referee.

MQ 72% - CR 63% - OR 67% - Test lost overness from this match. Al Snow gained overness from this match.

The New Commissioner already boils up some hot water

We see X-Pac chatting with a beautiful and sexy blonde girl backstage, and they are seeming to have a good time. Then suddenly, the new RAW commissioner "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels walks by them, out of the screen, disappearing from the view. Then suddenly, he walks back to the view backwards and turns his face at X-Pac and the girl. This actually looked very funny, as it was supposed to be.

X-Pac: Whaddya want?

Shawn Michaels: Oh! Oh! The cruel responses, they slid through my heart! Why! Why! Why do people always expect me to be the 'troublemaker'? Huh? *X-Pac then says "'Cuz you are pretty much just that'. Michaels points at himself in disbelief.* Me? Are 'ya kidding? Listen boy, I sat at home for a year and nearly a half, and I desperatedly wanted to come out here and give my best performance. But instead I saw you. And I've seen your stuff. And I don't like you.

The girl leaves and X-Pac says "See you later", before turning at Michaels again.

X-Pac: You don't like me, eh? What makes you think I give a damn?

Shawn Michaels: 'Cuz I CARE. I give a damn! And when the boss cares, YOU, son, you care. Now why don't you make your way to the South, where they desperatedly need a lower midcard star like you. Or you could go to SmackDown, where you could be kissing Vince McMahon's ass right now as we speak. The point is: I don't want you here.

X-Pac's temper boils, and he pushes Michaels backwards.

X-Pac: Hey! I ain't going anywhere, I'm staying here on RAW! This is where I belong, you don't like it, fine? Whaddya gonna do about it?

Michaels looks like he's going to punch X-Pac, but then he chills down, straightens up his red jacket a little bit, smirks and cockily says "You will learn out sooner than later." After saying this, Shawn Michaels walks off, leaving X-Pac alone and confused.

87%

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Fighting for another 'Nation'

The cameraman is JUST LUCKY ENOUGH TO ROLL THE FOOTAGE IN TIME at the TitanTron. An "Earlier Today" text flickers at the right bottom corner (Yeah, as if you'd actually be watching this from TV), as we see Jim Ross drinking coffee at a table, wearing his black cowboy hat, his traditional glasses and such. Then, D'Lo Brown walks by. He thinks about something for a moment, takes a deep breath and turns around at Jim Ross.

D'Lo Brown: Yo, J.R., have a couple of seconds?

Jim Ross: Yeah, I'd think so. What is it?

D'Lo Brown: Well, I just wanted to say that I'd like to apologize for my actions in the past. I know that I've been acting in... A wrong way, and probably not doing the right things to do... But yo know, for now, I think I'd be doing fine as the Mr. Nice Guy. And from now on, I'll respect people's opinions. I'll respect everybody's opinions, no matter of nationality, outside appeal, or color of skin.

Jim Ross: Well, I suppose that's good to hear, but I just don't get it, why are you telling this to me?

D'Lo Brown: I think you are the backbone of the WWF. No kidding, seriously. You've been calling the action for years. Straight, down, the middle, on Monday nights. We wrestlers make the show worth watching, you make the show worth hearing. And you always bring in your A-game, you always come out there with 110% passion. I admire that. So tonight, when I'll be facin' "The King", I'll bring my A-game too, and I'll go out there, with 110%, no, 120%, pump it, 130%, we need more, 140%, let's say I'll go out there and fight, with all my might. And I just want to know... If good ol' Jim Ross will be calling my match... WITH AUTHORITY? I'd respect that, you know...

Jim Ross: Of course, it is my duty. I call all my matches 'with authority'. It's a routine. But I also appreciate the fact that you came here, swallowed your pride and requested this from me personally. You're damn right you've done some disgraceful actions in the past. But let's let the past be in the past. I'll call your match tonight with 110%, no, Texas- sized passion. And just as a personal note, D'Lo, keep that current attitude up, and I'd say you'll be moving up in the ranks SOONER than later.

D'Lo Brown Thanks. I seriously appreciate this. Well then... If you don't mind, excuse, I'm 'bout to take Jerry Lawler LOOOOOOOOO DOWN, and I'm 'bout to rockettah', SKYYYYYYYYYYYY... HIIIIIIIIIIIII'.

Brown then stormed off as the clip came to a close and Brown's music actually hit the speakers at the arena.

74% - D'Lo Brown gained overness from this segment.

Singles Match

D'Lo Brown vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler

-After both men had made their entrances, Lawler gave Howard Finkel his crown, who handed it to the ringside assistant. Brown tyde up his wristbands a little bit and slapped his own cheeks in order to warm up. Lawler looked at Brown like a piece of garbage. Yeah, after losing to Mark Henry on Shotgun. The action begins as Jerry "The King" Lawler catches D'Lo Brown with an Irish Whip. Brown counters it nonetheless and it's Lawler who gets sent to the ropes and receives a stiff Shoulder Block. Brown grabbed Lawler up and started to hammer him with Steve Austin- like punches that damn sure hurt. Brown then gave Lawler a Reverse Atomic Drop, took some speed from the ropes and sent Lawler outside the ring with a clothesline, heating up the crowd a little bit. After they brawled outside a little bit Jerry Lawler tossed D'Lo to the steel steps, definitely gaining some upper hand here. Brown, however, managed to roll into the ring in the time of eight, only to get a Snap Suplex from "The King", the legendary former World champion. Lawler then brrrrrrrrrrrrrawled with Brown and did anything he wanted, controlling the contest. Eventually, in 5:21, the tables were turned after Brown ducked Lawler's Piledriver into an overflip. Brown took some momentum and took Lawler down with an intense clothesline. Another one. And whoazers, an impressive Spinebuster by D'Lo Brown. That should pretty much do, or at least this should, because Brown just gave Lawler his primary finisher, Sky Hi'. Brown then taunted, went top rope and came on Lawler with the Lo' Down, scoring the pinfall after covering. And so, Jerry "The King" Lawler continues to make a good jobber for promising and not-so-promising young black aspects. There's racism for 'ya. While the winner celebrates, Jim Ross mentions that he'll definitely keep an eye on D'Lo, and that the fans should too, "'cause quite frankly, this kid has all the makings of a star on the rise."

MQ 69% - CR 66% - OR 67% - Jerry Lawler lost overness from this match.

Tag Team Match

Legion of Doom vs. The Stooges

-'The Stooges' consists of Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco. Yeah, I know, shoot me know. Jim Cornette tells J.R. that this match is a part of Shawn Michaels' "Year 2000 Preparation Plan", and that this campaign is headlined by a slogan that says 'We'll Trim The Fat - What A Rush'. Ross then mentions that one would probably wonder if such a campaign exists. Here's a spoiler for you readers: Michaels is trying to piss L.O.D off by giving them shitty opponents. So the Road Warriors go against non-wrestlers in their fifties. Great, this was a complete squash, but I don't understand how it was this good. Perhaps if you put four wrestlers with 0% speed attribute in the same match, you in fact, get good results? That's what happened here. The following events also took place... Punch. Punch. Punch. Bodyslam. Gorilla Slam. Another Bodyslam. Spinebuster. Clothesline... Blah, Gerald Brisco is dropped out of the ring, and this leaves poor Pat all alone with these two painted powerhouses. C'mon, he's Pat motherfucking Patterson, he's the first-evah' Intercontinental Champion, you can't treat him like this! Or atleast that's my opinion. The L.O.D apparently disagree, as Hawk and Animal finished Patterson off with the Doomsday Device in just 1:15.

MQ 70% - CR 67% - OR 68%

The Champ is Here!

We see Triple H arriving to the arena. He's dressed in a track suit, smiling, with a water bottle in one hand and the WWF World Title on his shoulder: He seems to enjoy his time. Then, a man walks by him and suddenly...

Danny Davis: Uhh, excuse me, Mr. Triple H mister. I’ was told to inform you that, Mr. Shawn Michaels wants you to come out to the ring after the main event, tonight.

Triple H: Huh? Why?

But Davis already disappeared as quickly as he came, leaving HHH alone confused. So HBK apparently has a few things to say to The Game - tonight!

87%

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Singles Match

Steve Blackman vs. Big Show

-The WWF wants to put The Big Show over as a credible main eventer, as a credible contender in the top spots. That shouldn't be too hard though, when you're seven feet tall and weightin' something about 500 pounds and look really nasty. But he's not been around here for long yet, so we need to show the fans that he really is as bad as he says he is. And he doesn't talk much, so I'd call it a task. Here we put him against "Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman. Everybody loves Steve Blackman, he's a fairly talented guy with naaaaah' charisma whatsoever. So having Big Show defeat him here (Read: I DID NOT say squash) certainly would put this monster over some more. But it was a good match, the runner-up before the big-ass ME. Lasted for about 6 minutes, and Blackman had his spots too. Just to pick up one, I would mention the moment when Big Show tried to do the Shwo Stopper, but Blackman ducked it by nailing Show to the jaw with his boot, showing off some of his athletism. This athletism of course wasn't just about enough to hold the giant down. There was the ending where Show first nailed Blackman with a Big Boot, and then gave him The Show Stopper and covered for the three count.

MQ 64% - CR 70% - 68%

Singles Match

Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker

-This was the fifth match of the night (Well, if you could call L.O.D vs. Stooges 'a match') and was clearly the main event in terms of superstar power. However, some people backstage and wrestling critics did not welcome it too warmly. A match between perhaps two of the biggest WWF superstars ever, and you're giving it away free on TV - not smart bussiness, my friend. Plus, the gimmicks of these two - neither could really lose. Austin is a 'bad ass', "One tough S.O.B" as Jim Ross dubbed him - how can you beat a guy like that? The Undertaker has supernatural powers, he is "The Dead Man" - how can you beat a guy like that? This was clearly the number one problem here. Nonetheless, it was somewhat a good basic brawl, with Austin clearly being more talented of the duo, but The Undertaker still fighting back with strong lefts and rights. The last minutes of the match saw Austin giving Undertaker a Lou Thetz Press and a few solid punches to head. Austin then gave The Undertaker 'the gesture' and kicked him to the gut, attempting a Stone Cold Stunner that The Undertaker countered into a Dragon Sleeper. Stone Cold managed to get out of this and ducked it into somewhat a Stunner. Clearly didn't have much affect as the 'real' one. Austin got up and checked his opponent with a hard clothesline... But The Undertaker suddenly grabbed him by the throat, and just in a matter of seconds, Austin found himself being lifted up and then planted down with a vicious Chokeslam. Undertaker made the cover and scored the three count in 8:15. As 'Graveyard Symphony' started to play, the crowd was a little bit shocked and disappointed. Their hero Austin just lost cleanly to a Chokeslam, yay. This caused Stone Cold to lost some of his 'image'. Had there not still been Triple H's segment left, some of the fans might have left the STAPLES Center with a bad taste in their mouth.

MQ 76% - CR 91% - OR 86% - Steve Austin lost overness from this match.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

About Ten Thousand Matches Announced

The crowd goes CRAZY as "My Time" starts to play from the speakers and purple and green and blue spotlights start to flicker. Believe me, it is a HUGE chorus of cheers and pops that he walks out to, and who else could it be, than Triple H? He straightens the belt on his shoulder as he makes his way to the ring. He climbs into the ring, poses at all four turnbuckles as the crowd shows their support, and then walks around the ring a little bit, with a mic in his left hand, and the most coveted price in the bussiness in his right hand, the WWF World Heavyweight Championshi.

Triple H: Today, when I walked into the STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, California...

Yeah. Cheap pop.

Triple H: Somebody brought me a message. And this message, was from the new commissioner of the World Wrestling Federation. It was from a man that I know very well... A little too well actually. It's from Shawn Michaels, and you see, this is the problem. I know Shawn Michaels. This man ain't playing fair and square. He's always up to something, and if you trust him, he will use you for his own goals, only to backstab you later. Well I am The Game. I am the World Wrestling Federation Champion. And I ain't gonna let ANYBODY play mind games with me...

"Heyheyheyheyhey!" Well there's the commissioner. HBK is here, no music, no spotlights, nah-nah, nothing. He just comes out and stands at the entrance stage.

Shawn Michaels: Well well well... Look at what we've got in the ring. I mean my God, if it isn't Hunter Hearst Helmsley! Long time no see. You know, before you start blaming me about backstabbing that I recall never doing, I gotta admit, I didn't quite expect you to... Well, I mean, look at 'ya right now: You're the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion. You've earned my respect, Hunter. Or... Should I say Triple H? Isn't that what they call you nowadays, Hunter? You're "Triple H", correct?

HHH does not look too happy about Michaels' obvious arrogance:

Triple H: You're damn right they call me Triple H. But as far as I'm concerned, you Shawn can call me the Champ. How 'bout that?

Shawn Michaels: Very well then. CHAMP. You know, I was about to start gongratulating you about your progress in the industry but uhh... It looks like you pretty much know what's the best for you. Just promise me something Hunter. Promise me this, you will not forget what made you. You will not forget about our friendship, 'cuz, heh, I think you know as well as I do that I was pretty much the top dog something like two years ago. I was in the spotlight, BUT OF COURSE, you played a role too. You played a role, I tell 'ya. I just...

Triple H: Cut to the case, would 'ya?

The Commissioner is starting to some show signs of frustration.

Shawn Michaels: I'm a man of action, Triphter, and you know it. What I do in that ring, I do it big. What I do outside it, I do it big. When it comes to ladies, they do big. Also what we'll see next Monday here on Shawn Michaels' RAW will be big time. Oh boy, what a main event we'll get to witness! I see Triple H, the World Heavyweight Champion, in one corner. And in the other corner, I see the Intercontinental Champion, JEFF JARRETT. It'll be Champion versus Champion next week at the War Zone. Then again, maybe... Hmm... Let me think about it for a few seconds. How 'bout we get a very special referee for that one-of-a-kind match-up?

Yeah, I think I like the sound of that. This Saturday at Shotgun, we'll see two promising young aspects, the always-so-flexable, dear 123 Kid himself, X-Pac and the angry giant Paul "The Big Show" Wight, go at it. The winner of this match, will be walking to Denver, Colorado as a special referee to call a clash of the champions straight... down... the middle. And so, everyone gets what they want. Hurle 8, you got a match, Double J gets his match he wants, we're all like a big happy family now, right? Hunter, I totally count on you on this one. You're the Champ, you got it under control. Just relax, train, eat your vitamins and... Say your prayers. But just don't worry, allright? You're my friend, Hunter. I don't wanna let you down. I'm counting on you... So don't you let me down. Now..."

"Sexy Boy" then hits as Michaels looks pleased with himself and his decisions. Triple H still seems to be a little confused about the fact that he had to come out here just to hear next week's main event. Jim Cornette keeps hyping up next week's Champion versus Champion, while Jim Ross loyally to his style brags about X-Pac's chances (or about the lack of them) to defeat The Big Show on Saturday night. Triple H then shrugs his shoulders and is about to leave the ring...

BUT THERE'S JARRETT! Jeff Jarrett with a quitar shot to Triple H! (*HBK's music cuts off*) The World Heavyweight Champion is down, as the pieces of the instrument form a circle around his body. Jarrett viciously stomps HHH and hammers him with Ax-Handles. J.J. then apparently finally has enough, as he taunts with an nice arrogant smile. Shawn Michaels stares at Jarrett from the top of the stage with a stoned face as RAW goes off the air with an unprecedented ending that striked like a bolt of lightning.

86%

Overall Rating for the Show: 78%

-We got a 6.01 rating for 'Monday Night RAW'!

-The attendance level was 3280 people.

-We made $196800 from ticket sales.

Edited September 24, 2006 by Verder

[JairusCain]

Pretty good diary so far. I skimmed through most of it, just seeing what you were doing with this idea.

There is a few little things here and there that bug me, and I will point them out for you.

1. The booking of your first show. I know sometimes it is hard to avoid, but something just seemed horribly off how you had Christian and co. attack Mark Henry and then head to the back. Then in the very next segment you had Christian make a re-entry to take part in a match. You should have tried to either a) keep Christian out of the opening segment, or b) put the tag match later on the show

2. If I'm not mistaken, Jerry Lawler was not wrestling full time anymore by September of 1999. He was a full time commentator on RAW from February 1995 to February 2001. He then came back 9 months later and has been there ever since. I don't know if you covered him returning to the ring in the backstory, but I didn't see it. So, if you did cover it, I apologize.

Other than that, everything seems pretty good. I will keep an eye on this diary. Keep it up.

[Verder]

JairusCain, thanks for the comments. The Christian thing in the first show definitely bugs me too now, but I didn't notice it when I first booked the show a few weeks ago. I dunno why, I just didn't seem to realize that the tag team match was in fact up next right after Henry got chokeslammed, and it was, indeed, a weakness in the show.

And I think that Lawler didn't wrestle actively anymore in '99, either. And as a matter of fact, no, I do not have it covered in the backstory. This scenario just lists Jerry as an active wrestler, and I decided to run with it. But uhh... Let's just say that Vinnie Mac saw that RAW's line-up was pretty weak and umm... Made Lawler wrestler. Right?

The Saturday Shotgun PREVIEW

-For September 11th, 1999

It will be David versus Golijath tonight on WWF Shotgun, as we are headlined with X-Pac taking on the monsterous Big Show in a match to determine a special quest referee for a match between Triple H and Jeff Jarrett on Monday Night RAW. As confusing as it might be, it is official, and it was booked by the commissioner Shawn Michaels this past Monday night. Make no mistake about it, The Big Show has all the advantage in the world on his side, but you can never underestimate the heart, spirit and attitude of Sean Waltman, and we'll be ready to quarantee that he won't back down without a fight!

The World Wrestling Federation European Champion Mark Henry will be making yet another title defence here tonight. This week, it'll be The Ministry's own Christian Cage challenging for the belt. One has to wonder how Cage has gotten this golden oppourtunity 'just.like.that', but the word is that Cage begged this from The Undertaker, who then, bullied a man in power who actually seemed to be more than glad to make this official. You guessed it, Shawn Michaels! HBK has promised that this will be a suberb wrestling match, and Mark Henry will surely go out there with 110%, but what about Christian Cage? Who will come out on top?

Plus, D'Lo Brown in action, Al Snow tries to topple two lightweights and much, much more.

So tune in, when WWF Saturday Night Shotgun comes to you from sunny San Diego, California on September eleventh, only on USA Network. It'll be a night not to miss!

[Verder]

-San Diego, California

-September 11th, 1999

We see a short hype video featuring such stars as Goldust, Mark Henry, the L.O.D, X-Pac, Test and Sable (in bikini neccesarily). After it's over, we are taken inside the San Diego Sports Arena where small silver pyros go off. Michael Cole and Howard Finkel welcome us to the show, which promises to be an action packed evening of RAW-brand action!

Triple Threat Match

Al Snow vs. Funaki vs. Scorpio

-This match was a mix of talents, as Sho Funaki and Scorpio gave us some cruis... light heavyweight action which of course is always entertaining, but I'll go on the record with saying that Al Snow was the 'real deal' in this match by simply being Al Snow, and that should tell you the whole story. It was a match with not much time to run with, but it definitely showcased all three men very well during that short period of time. We had highlights: Funaki and Scorpio even double teamed once against Snow with a Double Missile Dropkick, with both jumping on Snow from their own turnbuckles. This wasn't too smart though as Funaki soon backstabbed Scorpio by throwing him out of the ring. He then went on to attack Snow, but Al quickly rolled Funaki into a Small Package and scored the three count in 3:07. Funaki then tried to attack Snow, but instead felt the effects of the Snow Plow. Al Snow then climbed to a turnbuckle and clapped his hands and made the crowd cheer, until Edge somewhy ran into the ring in his Ministry attire and attacked Snow from behind, making him fall on the turnbuckle BALLS FIRST, and that's gotta hurt. Edge then was about to hit the Buzz Killer on Snow, but suddenly, lightnings hit the four turnbuckles and Edge rolled out of the ring, leaving Snow battered and bruised. "What was the damn point?", Michael Cole complained at ringside along with Finkel.

MQ 84% - CR 53% - OR 68%

COMMERCIAL BREAK

No Head Included

Somewhere in the deep spaces and final frontiers of the backstages we see Jim Cornette standing at the interviewing area, where he's apparently waiting for somebody, whispering "He's late. Typical. Why do I always have to...". Then, Al Snow surprisingly wanders to the area and Cornette looks relaxed ("There you are!") and starts to interview Al, who is holding his grapefruits in pain.

Al Snow: Ouch! I gotta say, that was some balls shown by the "prince of the darkness"...

Jim Cornette: Yeah, it seems that The Undertaker sent one of his lackies, Edge, to attack you in the most horrified way possible to imagine. But just for the record, you're not the only one, as The Ministry of Darkness have recently been bugging guys like Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge and Mark Henry. While Henry seemed to be pissed off about it, and the Public Enemy left the ring last Saturday in their "own terms", nobody yet has really taken a stand.

Al Snow: Yeah well that's all about to change. Don't get it wrong Jimmy, I'm a down-to-earth guy, I'm all relaxed, BUT JESUS CHRIST IF YOU TRY TO MESS WITH ALL THINGS SNOW, YOU'RE... Hmm, down-to-earth? Let's just say that I'm planning to take out those b*tches *Bleeped* once and for all. The big fat guy. The small fat guy. The crazy guy. The bland guy. The other bland guy. And the King Boo himself. They will have HELL to pay for all the suffering they've cost, mark my words!

Jim Cornette: No offense Al, but you can always run your mouth - it ain't gonna get the job done for you.

Al Snow: Wait a second, are you saying my mouth, my tongue, MY DELICIOUS LIPS, couldn't get the job done, boy? WRRRRRRRONG. The day after tomorrow, on Monday-Nite RAW, I'm about to zapp, wang, BOOM the Ministry. I'm takin' them down, and I've got myself a partner. Ask Sable if you don't believe me. No, she's not my partner, Chyna is not my partner this time... Oh yes, I think I already got him in mind. Of course, just in bussiness attentions. Are you, like, gay Jim?

Jim Cornette: Oh please... Well... No... But c'mon, don't leave us in distraction. Please tell us who you'll be tagging with, when no such match hasn't even been booked yet?

Al Snow: Oh I've got powers backstage, I'll get that match and it'll get numbers rollin'. That's how it goes. Now I've got some bussiness to deal with, if you don't mind...

Al Snow walks off and leaves Cornette alone, muming "Sure! Jimmy never minds..." and then storming off, throwing the microphone down.

70% - Al Snow gained overness from this segment.

Singles Match for the WWF European Championship

Mark Henry © vs. Christian Cage

-Up next was the "World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry defending his European Championship against yet another member of the Ministry, Christian Cage. Cage was wearing typical Ministry of Darkness attire, dark tights, black ripped shirt... That featured a silver Undertaker's logo in the back. This match actually better than expected, as Cage was able to pull a good match out of Mark Henry, who's still being intended for a big-time push. This match was no difference really, as during the five minutes, Christian tried to come up with different ways to take down the big man, but simply couldn't. Cage even came off the top ropes with a Diving Cross Body, but Henry caught him mid-air and blasted him down with The Verdict (F5). This of course didn't end the match as it was just another move, but Henry then grabbed up Christian, taunted for the fans and took the small guy down with a Gorilla Press Slam. Cage fell on his back, and Henry took some speed from the blue ropes (Not much - he's still Mark Henry) and jumped on Christian Cage with the Death from Above to get the pinfall. Henry was then handed the WWF European Championship and hugged it proudly, as the referee raised his right arm on the air. Henry smiled as he tapped his belt and got out of the ring while Cage struggled in the ring in pain.

MQ 67% - CR 60% - OR 63%

He's comin' to getcha

Backstage, we see the Big Show tightening his black wrist bands in his locker room. The crowd boos Show as they see him, but the response quiets down soon. As Show then laces his boots, Michael Cole brings up the fact that the Big Show will be facing much smaller X-Pac later on tonight in a match to determine the referee for Triple H's and Jeff Jarrett's "Champion vs. Champion" match on Monday. Howard Finkel asked about Pac's actual chances against this monster, this giant, this one man wrecking machine. Cole didn't have the time to answer as the Saturday Shotgun now went to a...

86%

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Singles Match

D'Lo Brown vs. Kurrgan

-This was a "friendly" match-up, as both of these man are presented as babyfaces. So this was a clean tactics only- fight, then again an all-out fight. The two had a good chemistry, with D'Lo still clearly being the better brawler of the two. Michael Cole hyped up Brown as "a changed man" after his actions on Monday, and this match was praised by the critics. Too bad that the audience didn't really buy it, as Brown seemed to be "blander" than on RAW. He didn't seem like a bad ass willing to take out anyone who's gettin' on his way, he seemed like a total good guy. Even his moves and punches seemed to be more sloppy than they've been before. One has to definitely wonder if this was such a good gimmick change for him. Kurrgan looked as impressive as ever, but in this match, he didn't really stand that much of a chance. In the end, that being in 5:43, D'Lo Brown first hit the Sky Hi', and then went up top rope, and jumped on Kurrgan with the Lo' Down for the three count. Only time will tell how the negative crowd response will affect on D'Lo Brown's scheduled big push.

MQ 80% - CR 51% - OR 65% - D'Lo Brown debuted his new gimmick (Old School Face), it got a negative response.

He's good, his attitude is good, but not 'good'

Then, EVEN SOME MORE of D'Lo Brown was to follow. We saw short video clip that showed off some Sky Hi's, a few Lo' Downs and many intense punchs and shots given to opponents. There was also a handshake with Jim Ross. The video ended to the words "Ain't No Stoppin' Him Now", which just might not be such a fullproof statement anymore...

66%

Singles Match

X-Pac vs. Big Show

-It was definitely one way to collect viewers to tune into Shotgun. As we all know (You know, right?) that the winner of this match would become the special quest referee for the match between Triple H and Jeff Jarrett, Monday on RAW. Well, I guess the stipulation kinda could have been better, but hey, at least this wasn't here just for nothing, unlike last weeks Goldust versus... Wait, was that Big Show too? As the match begun and the bell rang, the two men stood toe to toe in the middle of the ring, and it was certainly X-Pac looking up to the giant. The size difference was unbelievable, and Michael Cole said that he indeed doubted Pac's chances... But then again, never underestimate this man's heart. Yeah, no, but... How would you expect this to end? X-Pac tried and tried to fight on, but the Big Show always tossed him down, no matter what. You run against him, great, it's like running to a brick wall. You get knocked down, and almost out. You try to hit him with a series of five punches, great, he blocks 'em all. You try a dropkick, and you can make him topple. Give another dropkick, heck, a third just for the hell of it. X-Pac finally was able to make Show walk backwards to the ropes, and that's when X-Pac's fifteen seconds of fame began. There was no way it was going to be fifteen minutes, but if I counted right, it was about fifteen seconds. He hit Show with hard right hands, trying to put the animal down, and nearly even succeeded in it... Hence the word 'nearly'. As Show seemed to have his weak moment, X-Pac in all of his brain decided to go for a Super Kick. Whaddya' think, would it work? Yeah... Big Show grabbed X-Pac from his boot and with one arm, lifted him up on the air as the crowd was definitely impressed. Show then gave him the Show Stopper, which is nowadays already known to be a devastating blow. However, it seemed that the Big Show wasn't done just yet, so he picked the almost dead-looking X-Pac up, made a cut-throat sign and then performed The Final Cut, which was definitely just that. Big Show cover and the referee Roger Pring counted the three. Slowly, but nonetheless. All of this in just 3:05, with the Paul Wight dominating Pac most of the time. Big Show's music started to play...

MQ 74% - CR 82% - OR 79%

HHH is watching you...

And just in case you thought it was over: No. As the Big Show celebrated his victory in the ring, looking solid as steel and as intimidating as always, we were also shown that the WWF Heavyweight Champion, Triple H, was watching the match in his locker room. He didn't seem to be too happy about the result, and you clearly could see Triple H swallowing some spit in his mouth slowly. HHH then closed the TV, took his championship belt, looked at it for a moment and then took his bags, leaving the room soon after. So it's like this, the day after tomorrow on RAW, the Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett goes one-on-one against Triple H, with the Big Show now as the special guest referee. "Expect some hell to get broken loose on Monday Night RAW!", Michael Cole stated as Shotgun went off the air...

87%

Overall Rating for the Show: 74%

-We got a 5.41 rating for 'Shotgun'!

-The attendance level was 3295 people.

-We made $197700 from ticket sales.

[Verder]

Monday Night RAW PREVIEW

-For September 13th, 1999

WWF Monday Night RAW this week will be BIG-TIME. And seriously, we are not kidding here at the website designing group, it isn't an inside joke, it will be BIG. It will come to you straight from sunny San Diego, California, where the whole town is ready for a slice of wrestling madness.

The main event, well, it doesn't really need any intorducing. And neither do the two of these men. It will be a battle of the goldholds, because the WWF Intercontinental Champion, "Double J" Jeff Jarrett will be taking on the WWF Heavyweight Champion, "The Game" Triple H. They've had some blood boiling during the past few weeks, and now they've got a chance to settle it once and for all, when neither title belt is on the line. Since you cannot forget that ANYTHING can and is actually likely to happen in the WWF, you can only be sure about the fact that these two will break San Diego in half.

Oh, did we say 'two'? Really? No, we meant 'three'. THE BIG SHOW will be doing the referee job!

Also recently, the occult Ministry's leader The Undertaker been making an impact, making mainly his lackies beat up WWF superstars all around the locker rooms and even in the ring too. Tonight, the "Prince of the Darkness" goes head-to-head with the returning Goldust. After getting nearly squashed by Big Show on Shotgun two weeks ago, Goldust will surely be on the mood not to experience it again - and he's going to show it too.

Al Snow was one of the guys to get pissed off by Ministry's pointless and vicious assaults. On Shotgun Saturday Night, Snow declared that he'd be getting his payback sooner or later. Well tonight, he takes on Adam "Edge" Copeland and Christian Cage from, you guessed it, Ministry of Darkness. Sure he won't be going to the war alone, since he has promised that he'll have a very special surprise partner with him, in order to take down E&C. Who will it be? Will they have the surprise advantage, or will Christian and Edge somehow be able to survive? Find out on RAW!

Also on RAW, we'll have fine light heavyweight action when the rebellious fan favourite X-Pac takes on Funaki. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin has promised WWF.com that he will make his presence felt, and the Commissioner Shawn Michaels will surely be around to share his "fair" politic actions.

All this and much more on Monday Night RAW - the undisputed best dose for pro wrestling on a Monday night. 9/8 C.T, only on USA Network.

Edited May 31, 2006 by Verder

[Verder]

-San Diego, California

-September 13th, 1999

A promovideo plays. It showcases mainly on Triple H, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, Big Show and GOLDUST. After it's over, we go inside the San Diego Sports Arena where the awesome "Thorn In Your Eye" plays as red spotlights dance around the arena and the camera focuses at the cheering crowd. Or at those seats that are filled, anyways...

Rising Star Awesomeness

The funeral bell tolls once and then a strange music starts to play. I could describe it 'slow punk music without words or lyrics' (So once again, very well described...). Nonetheless, Christian Cage and Edge soon walk out from the back wearing their Ministry of Darkness attire, which now seems to suit Edge well too. They walk into the ring looking as intense as ever, and Edge takes a microphone from Howard Finkel...

Edge: My name is Edge...

He then hands it over to Christian Cage, his "brother".

Christian Cage: And I'm Christian. But that doesn't matter. You already know who we are, and that doesn't matter either. It's about WHAT we are. The disciples... of sin. The key... to the puzzle of eternity. The angels that fell, and were sent towards the spiral of downward. We were lost boys, we had nowhere to go, until The Dark Lord in his great mercy found us and... *Takes a deep breath* saved our souls. Now we are proclaiming his name, spreading his legacy...

Cage hands the mic back to Edge. The crowd apparently has no idea what these two are talking about.

Edge: We are his right hand. And he has given us orders. So tonight, we have been booked against The Snowman and his mystery tag team partner. Nothing matters. And this one, no, it doesn't matter either. Whoever his partner might be, we shall overcome, we shall reign victorious, and we shall inject the poison to the vessels of corruption...

"PLEASE! Nooooooooooooooo moooooooreeeee!"

Edge and Christian turn around to see Al Snow wandering around the stage, acting blind and looking for something to hold on from.

Al Snow: No more torturing! Save our souls, oh, The Great Dark Lord! Please! I'm lost without you, I need your guiding to the new light, and with your bullsh*t *Bleeped*, I shall be destined for weird prases and twenty-minute long promos forever. Thank you.

Snow goes back to his 'normal mode'.

Al Snow: You two are wasting the time of not only these fans, but my time too! So we got the little tag team match tonight, remember? Ready to get the asskicking, of a lifetime? You'd better be, 'cuz it's about to begin, let's say, RIGHT NOW. *Minor pop from the crowd* So I'd like you all to please welcome the man who's going to... With the Snowman by his side, of course... Whipe the WWF clean of you two nobodies. Ladies and gentlemen! My tag team partner, the World Wrestling Federation European Champion himself, the World's Strongest Man, MARK HENRY!

YAY! IT'S HENRY! LET'S ALL STAND UP AND SCREAM FOR THIS WRESTLING MACHINE! Mark Henry walks out from the back WITHOUT the WWF European Championship belt, quickly shakes hands with Al Snow, and without warning, they rush into the ring! The opener is underway!

73% - Al Snow debuted his new gimmick (Extremist), it got a positive response. Mark Henry debuted his new gimmick (No Gimmick Needed), it got a positive response. Edge gained overness from this segment. Christian Cage gained overness from this segment. Al Snow gained overness from this segment.

Tag Team Match

Mark Henry © & Al Snow vs. Edge and Christian

-Considering the fact that here we've got one Mark Henry included in this match, I'd say it's a fucking miracle that this turned out to be this damn good. Fucking miracle, I tell you. This match started off with an ALL-OUT BRAWL~! with members of both teams just beating the living hell out of their opponents. Eventually it came down to the referee having to settle the teams apart to their respective corners to rightfully being able to start the match.

It was well above your average Vinnie Mac Inc. tag team match. It had GOOD SPOTS (Henry is STILL included), technical wrestling and the all-rounder Al Snow mainly took care of the face team's brawling bussiness. He had a good few-minutes' brawl with Adam "Edge" Copeland in the beginning before Edge tagged in his brother Christian, who tried to bully Snow with fingerpokes and such. In a funny turn of events, Cage accidentally pushed Al back to Al's own corner and therefore Snow was able to tag in Marrrrrrrrrrrrk Henry.

The WWF European Champion then had it his way with E&C. The two youngsters tried to fight back, but Henry was put over here as an unstoppable babyface monster. Mark had his neccesary one impressive moment when he tossed Christian Cage way out of the squared circle with a Gorilla Press Slam, straight to the barricade. But, Henry then turned around to a SPEAR~! by Edge, who quickly made the cover and surprisingly enough got a shocking three count in 6:02. Adam Copeland then quickly rolled out of the ring looking very impressed by himself and quickly picked his brother up and actually, dragged him along up the rampway until he got back up to his feet.

And as E&C celebrated proudly on the aisle, Mark Henry still layed on the mat and Al Snow tried to get back to his feet at the ringside: Double teaming, Edge and Christian had previously tossed him at the steel steps.

MQ 83% - CR 68% - OR 75%

Ain't I Great

We go backstage where Jeff Jarrett is standing in his locker room, biting his fingernails and looking for somebody, almost like waiting for a person to come in. Then suddenly, there's a knock-knock at the door.

Jeff Jarrett: Wh... Who are you?!

??? Whoa, now take it is easy champ. It's just me.

Jeff Jarrett: Oh thank God, I was afraid that it'd be... Well, you know... Oh, come in, come in...

Big Show walks into the room, wearing a WWF referee shirt.

Big Show: Look... I know you're not so sure about this anymore. You know, about facing Triple H. He's a trimmed guy, he's on top of his game right now. But ask yourself Jeff, aren't you going there too? I mean, it was you who asked for this. Yeah, I know, no need to remind... Well, just listen: You go out there, tonight, and I'll take care of bussiness that needs to be taken care of. Okay?

Jeff Jarrett: I suppose. You know what? I'm feeling all more pumped up already. I'm THE MAN! I'm JEFF JARRETT, the Intercontinental Champion. Tonight, tonight, TONIGHT is my night baby. Triple H ain't got nothin' on us...

Big Show: Correct, my friend, correct... Well, see you later.

With that, the Big Show walks out of the room where Jarrett is left alone, very pleased at what had just been discussed. He'd now be one hundred percent sure of walking out as the winner. However, around a corner, the Big Show was whispering alone, looking as evil and greedy as ever...

"He ain't got nothing on... US... But what about you?"

79%

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Singles Match

X-Pac vs. Funaki

-And you read correctly. What in the bluest of blue hells is fucking FUNAKI doing on RAW? On the flagship program of the World Wrestling Federation, this japanese sensation got an opportunity of a lifetime to go toe to toe with X-Pac. While Sho Funaki's actual chances had to be guessed here, X-Pac was of course a little weak due to the beating the Big Show gave him this past Saturday night. But in fact, these two gave us an enjoyable light heavyweight bout full of high-impact action. So for about three minutes, Paccy and Funaki showed their best skills. But in the end, it was, just as predicted, Sean Waltman hitting the X-Factor on Funaki and covering for the count of three. That's it. The referee then gongratulated X-Pac as he celebrated his victory... An absolutely fantastic chemistry between these two shown here.

MQ 98% - CR 60% - OR 79%

Like A Bomb That Only Needs A Small Spark...

Triple H is backstage at the training room, lifting weights. The fans MASSIVELY cheer as they see HHH, and the WWF World Heavyweight Champion is right now looking as impressive and intense as ever, as he prepares for a big-time battle later on tonight. Then like out of nowhere, none other than the one and only Shawn Michaels walks into the room, without Trips noticing him. As Triple H seems to have had enough, he puts the lifts back to their place and turns around, only to go nose-to-nose with HBK.

Triple H: Hmm, should've guessed...

Shawn Michaels: Hunter, tonight is your big night. The biggest night of your career. Well, besides the nights that I decided to take you to stardom and, I guess the night that you won m... that championship belt counts too. And I say tonight, you'll be ready to take on Jeff Jarrett. I tell 'ya, he ain't got NOTHING on you!

HHH doesn't look too impressed of Michaels' spirit-lifting chat moment.

Triple H: Shawn... I've never known anybody, who'd run their mouth more than you. Are you here to actually tell me something that matters, or are you here just to stand there and talk and talk and talk?

HBK gives HHH a cocky smile.

Shawn Michaels: I... You know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe good ol' HBK is indeed talking too much. You're a grown man, you can take care of yourself. Sorry that I tried to give you advice as a friend. I'm sorry.

Triple H: Wait, you got it all wrong here, I-I didn't...

Shawn Michaels: Now now, it's okay, it's okay. You know as well as I do that we all need our fifteen minutes of fame.

Shawn Michaels then taps Triple H's right shoulder and walks out of the room with a slightly disappointed look on his face. As HBK closes the door behind him, Triple H takes a very deep breath and seems very frustrated...

84%

He is, simply "Stone Cold"

We see a short, 30-seconds' video focusing on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and all of his recent accomplishments and events, with his theme music playing while the video shows us many Stone Cold Stunners, even more given asskickings and many classic moments of drinking beer. He is in the building tonight - will The Texas Rattlesnake be raisin' some hell in San Diego?

91%

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Singles Match

Goldust vs. The Undertaker

-The bizarre Goldust made his much-anticiapated return in this old-school WWF superstars' match. Hey, I just decided to go with "anticiapated", even though his previous match was about two weeks ago. Nonetheless, here, he was set to go against the Ministry of Darkness' scary leader, The Undertaker. Undertaker looked a bit weird as he came into the ring, almost like he'd have a hangover or something. Sheesh, I don't wanna see the Dead Man wandering around the ring drunk. Maybe UT's situation was one reason why Goldie actually dominated the first five minutes of the match. He hit his opponent with lefts and rights, but then, The Undertaker made a miracle Hulk Hogan-ish comeback...

He started beating the holy hell out of Goldust, eventually planting him with the Chokeslam in the middle of the ring. Then, he made the popular cut-throat motion, picked him up and attempted the Tombstone Piledriver... But Goldust somehow managed to slide behind Undertaker, and roll him into a School Boy... 1... 2... The Dead Man just kicked out before the three! As both men struggled back to their feet, Goldust ran against 'Taker and soon found his own throat being chocked by Undertaker's hand. Taker went for a Chokeslam, but this time Goldust countered it from mid-air into a Diamond Cutter that Jim Ross dubbed as The Curtain Call.

Realizing that he still had somewhat of a chance of winning in time of 6:34, Goldust greeted us by one of his strange taunts, and then he dragged The Undertaker to the turnbuckle. Goldust backed down a bit, and then went for the Golden Globes (Sorry, can't remember the exact name of the move here). However, Undertaker countered the attack into an impressive Flapjack that made Goldust fall face-first into the top of the turnbuckle. As Goldust seemed to be totally out, UT planted him with a devastating Tombstone that gave him the three count.

As "Graveyard Symphony" played at the background and the crowd jeered, The Undertaker flipped his eyes and remained victorious. But Goldust gave him an actual tough challenge nonetheless.

MQ 77% - CR 81% - OR 79%

Hungry for Gold

We see The Legion of Doom a.k.a The Road Warriors Animal and Hawk wandering around backstage, looking for Shawn Michaels. They asked guys such as D'Lo Brown, The Brooklyn Brawler (mwahahahaha) and Steve Blackman if they knew where HBK was. As nobody knew, the members of The L.O.D looked at eachother and nodded. They then started walking towards a corridor. And, like, what was the point of this segment right here? Oh, yeah, filling space.

71%

Singles Match (Non-Title)

Triple H © vs. Jeff Jarrett

-"WEEEEEEEEEELLL, WELL IT'S THE BIG SHOW!" HUGE pyros went off as this seven-feet tall giant walked out from the back, sporting a referee shirt, which is of course one of very big size. He looks at the crowd without really reacting to their boo's, though some people cheer too - simply because he's so damn tall. Show stepped into the ring over the ropes, and once in the squared circle, didn't do his usual taunting motion.

Jeff Jarrett then came out in his typical wrestling attire, this time his pants were silver-purple. He had orange sunglasses on and with the guitar in his hand, he looked very confident. Jarrett then put the guitar down at the ringside, jumped up to the apron and stepped into the ring through the red ropes. J.J climbed into a turnbuckle, gave the crowd a piece of his mind and then looking at the Big Show steadily for a moment, before...

"IT'S OUR TIME... HERE COMES TROUBLE!"

"My Time" hits the speakers. Spotlights start to flicker. The crowd goes nuts. This is what you get, when you're bringing in the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion. Coming out in his usual maneur, Triple H walks down the stage with a water bottle in his hand and the golden belt buckled around his waist. He is sporting a new outfit that features much shorter black tights that say "hHh" in silver, knee pads and black boots, plus "ripped" looking wristbands. Triple H then steps into the ring, drinks a bit of the water, throws the bottle to the audience and gestures Jeff Jarrett one DX-style crotch chop while spitting out the water (I wonder how Shawn Michaels reacts to that?). J.J. goes absolutely crazy due to this and attacks HHH with a hard clothesline.

Jeff Jarrett started stomping Triple H with all of his might. He included ax handles, elbow- and knee drops in there, and eventually grabbed the champion from the mat to greet him with few bland chest chops that received "Woo"'s from the crowd. Jarrett sends HHH to the ropes, but as Triple H runs back, he hits Jarrett with a Standing Facebuster and then takes Double J down with a running clothesline right after it. HHH tides his wristbands a little bit and grabs Jarrett up, pulling him from the little hair that he has, and throws him out of the ring... and jumps to the ringside himself, too.

Triple H punches Jeff Jarrett with hard lefts and rights, as the Big Show is counting to seven. HHH rolls into the ring to stop the count and glares at Show with a confused look on his face. Show looks at least just as stoned. Game goes back outside the ring, straight to a kick to groin by Jarrett. Jeff then plants Triple H with a furious DDT to the concrete floor! Jarrett gets to his feet, stomps HHH a few times and then makes his way into the ring. But Jarrett, seems like he's not going to go out of it again. As Triple H lays at ringside, Double J tells Big Show to make the count faster. The tempo of the ring-out count faces a dramatic quickening as Big Show counts "5-6-7-8-9..." But just wait, he stops there! The crowd goes nuts! Big Show stops the count at 9 and Jarrett starts to yell some things at Show that we cannot print here.

So The Big Show actually waits for HHH to just manage to make it back into the ring and then he says that "he didn't count to ten because Triple H made it in time". Jarrett curses something as he pulls Triple H up and punches him to neck with his elbow a few times. In a hard manner. Jarrett here, with a Neckbreaker, a very well executed one. Double J covers, and Big Show counts one, two, but the WWF Champion Triple H gets his shoulder up. Jeff turns around at Big Show in a slight look of distrust, and soon plants Triple H with a Running Lariat. Jarrett tightens his elbow pads and gives HHH a standing elbow drop. That is soon to be followed by another, and another.

It's 5:15 and Jeff Jarrett has the Federation Champion locked in a Camel Clutch. As Triple H screams in pain, the Big Show goes down to his knees in front of Jarrett and runs his mouth at The Game ("It's your time, huh?!"). While still in the tough submission hold, Triple H spits at the Big Show's face to an "Oooh!" from the audience (Jarrett doesn't care about it at all, he just keeps stretching HHH's throat). Big Show wipes the spit off and nods his head and smiles at Triple H. He then pokes him to BOTH eyes with his fingers while Double J is STILL holding him in the Camel Clutch. In english, Triple H is in deep trouble now.

Finally, J.J. lets go with a huge smile on his face. He salutes the crowd by pointing at himself and then slapping his chest in a cocky gesture. Big Show now seems to be a little bit bored of the whole match, but the competitors don't care. As Triple H slowly tries to crawl up, Jarrett arrogantly walks to him and places his boot on HHH's head, signaling that he has the champion in control. J.J. then raises both of his arms in the air and claps at himself, only to receive a Low Blow from The Game! That would no doubt be a DQ right there, but not in Big Show's book: He decides to continue this match nonetheless!

Now Triple H is the one up, and Jarrett lays down in pain after a uhh... Surprising turn of events. Triple H decides to mock his opponent some more by making him feel the Figure Four Leg Lock experience (It's Jarrett's secondary way to finish a match). He locks up the hold for about 50 seconds before Jarrett gets a hold from the ropes for three seconds, which means Triple H has to let go. HHH shows no signs of slowing down, however, as he punishes Jarrett with an Elbow Drop. He pulls J.J. up and goes for a Piledriver... And he does it! Triple H plants Jeff with a Pulling Piledriver (And it's not exactly the traditional one) and covers. Big Show quickly counts 1, 2... And stops the count, much to a shock of HHH, and the audience too.

Triple H gets back to his feet and tries to negotiate with the special quest referee about his tactics and why in the hell he did what he did. First, he does with a smile, but as Big Show refuses to declare HHH as the winner, Triple H grabs Big Show by the collar of his shirt, points a finger at him and says "Listen punk, you bett.." AND A CHOKESLAM! The much larger Big Show plants the World Heavyweight Champion with a devastating Chokeslam out of nowhere, and the crowd now despises him for it. Big Show, however, still doesn't seem to care one bit as he backs down and waits. Just waits. Now, in 8:36, both of the contestans might be down and out. And the other one of them thanks to the referee.

One would wonder what is the Big Show trying to accomplish here, by sabotasing both competitiors' performing. Jeff Jarrett is of course the first one to get back up, but he seems to be a little weak already. He walks to Triple H and slowly grabs him up, and goes for it... THE STROKE! It connects, and Jarrett falls on Triple H so that his hand is on the Champ's chest and with a "Oh well..."- look on his face, the Big Show starts to count. One. Two. Somebody pulls Jeff Jarrett out of the ring! And plants him with a thunderous right hand! Aaand starts to stomp him to a mudhole and walk it goddammit dry! IT'S STONE COLD! IT'S STONE COLD! IT'S STONE COLD!

Steve Austin takes Jarrett down, but why?! The Big Show seems to ask it too, but, as always, decides to yet continue the match no matter what. Austin rolls Jeff back into the ring and goes there himself too. He places Triple H on Jeff Jarrett and tells the Big Show to count. But nobody tells Paul Wight what to do, that's for damn sure and therefore The Texas Rattlesnake receives a Chokeslam! Steve Austin is down on the canvas and Big Show goes for a threee count... SWEET CHIN MUSIC! HOLY HELL! SHAWN MICHAELS IS IN THE RING AND HE PLANTED THE REFEREE WITH A DOSE OF SWEET CHIN MUSIC! WHAT IN THE BLUEST OF BLUE HELLS IS GOING ON HERE?!

Shawn Michaels! Shawn Michaels! The RAW Commissioner grabs the Big Show's hand and taps it on the mat three times - that's a three count! Triple H wins this match! Triple H wins! "The Game" wins, and Shawn Michaels hands him the World Wrestling Federation Championship. Triple H, here tonight, with some help from Stone Cold Steve Austin (still down and out) and... Well, HBK (Who has a grinny smile on his face), has defeated Jeff Jarrett, the country singer from Tennessee. Oh my Gawd, can you even imagine how Jim Ross is bullshitting right now at the announcing booth? Neither can I baby, neither can I!

As Triple H climbs to a turnbuckle and celebrates with the golden belt with his theme music playing at the background, Shawn Michaels has a quick look at him and then rolls out of the ring, straightening up his jacket a little bit. The last picture of RAW is Big Show slowly turning his head at Shawn Michaels while still laying on the canvas, only with his palms on the mat and on his knees.

He looks like one angry giant.

MQ 93% - CR 86% - OR 89%

Overall Rating for the Show: 79%

-We got a 6.09 rating for 'Monday Night RAW'!

-The attendance level was 3294 people.

-We made $197640 from ticket sales.

Edited September 24, 2006 by Verder

[Verder]

The Saturday Shotgun PREVIEW

-For September 18th, 1999

It's the next-to-last night that the World Wrestling Federation visits California this year, as the action-packed Shotgun Saturday Night hits your TV screens from the home of the Mighty Ducks, Anaheim. And even though Shotgun will just only be heating up the Convention Center for Monday night, tonight, we'll definitely have a solid line-up.

In the main event, we'll offer you a six-man WAR. That's right, the squared circle turns into a rusty, dirty, brutal battlefield tonight, as the most legendary tag team in the history of our sport, the Legion of Doom's own Animal and Hawk team up with the "World's Strongest Man", the WWF European Champion Mark Henry. So a team of powerhouses for you there. But the second team? Well, they certainly won't be lacking in strength either. The Ministry of Darkness' Edge and Christian will be on action tonight, and by their side will be none other than the cult leader, The Phenom, the Undertaker. This supernatural psycho, with his lackies by his side, will be looking to destroy the L.O.D... Where as Henry has told WWF.com that he's looking to ANNIHILATE The Dead Man tonight!

Al Snow has issued an open challenge. After he and Mark Henry suffered a loss this past week on RAW, The Snowman wants to get back into the winning circles. Therefore, he has stated us that ANYONE in the Monday Night RAW-brand locker room can take him on. One would have to wonder how far Al has thought this, but it probably wouldn't matter; In the Snowman's mind, he'll come out on top no matter what. And he just might. Then again...

Also on Shotgun Saturday Night, TWO, not one, not three, not thirteen, TWO lightweights make their debut. Of course, we here on WWF.com could reveal who they are, but nah-nah-nah. Oh well, the one of them has earned himself somewhat a name working in the indepedent wrestling circles and a "hardcore" promotion, "barbed wire city", called ECW. Tonight, he earns his spot to shine on the big arena. And the other one has also appeared in ECW before, so they should know eachother and with some time given for the match, it should make a good bout.

Plus, Shawn Michaels has an issue to adress (again), the Big Show in attendance, backstage interviews and so much, much more on WWF Shotgun, in your early evening, only, solely and exclusively on the USA Network.

[Verder]

And in an goddamn FUCKING AMAZING turn of events, Verder posts a FIFTH, yes, you read correctly, FIFTH show to an EWR diary. This might be a personal record! Massive wootness. By the way, after this month is over, I'm planning on releasing a "massive" report about going-ons in the wrestling world. You know, what's going on at SmackDown!, WCW, ECW... Plus some analyzing concerning No Mercy matches after they're announced. It should be good, and worth the waiting.

...

...

-Anaheim, California

-September 18th, 1999

We see a short hype video featuring such stars as Goldust, Mark Henry, the L.O.D, X-Pac, Test and Sable (in bikini neccesarily). After it's over, we are taken inside the Anaheim Convention Center, where small silver pyros go off. Michael Cole and Howard Finkel welcome us to the show, which promises to be an action packed evening of RAW-brand action!

Whoopin' Ass Since '96

GLASS SHATTERS, and the audience goes totally crazy! What in the hell, Stone Cold Steve Austin marches out from the back in a Shotgun telecast?! He looks very confused and is wearing his typical attire with jeans and a black teeshirt that says "WWF Attitude" in the front and "Come Get Some" in the back. As blue spotlights rally around the Convention Center, the "Texas Rattlesnake" steps into the ring and greets the fans with his usual salutations. He is handed a mic and he definitely wastes no time...

Steve Austin: On RAW, we had Triple H and Jeff Jarrett going head-to-head, with the Big Show as the referee. Now ever since Stone Cold heard 'bout it, he knew that it ain't gonna be a fair game. The 'referee' decided to beat both of 'em up! So Stone Cold makes a decision of his own, and that's to come down, and whoop some seven-feet tall, five-hundred pounds, hair-losing fat guerrilla looking angry giant caveman ass. BUT. As Stone Cold comes through the audience, he notices 'Hey! It's Jarrett! And he's making a stand!' So Stone Cold makes yet another difficult decision, as he decides to whoop the living hell out of BOTH of 'em...

The fans cheer and chant "Austin! Austin! Austin!". Steve gives them a middle finger, and that only rampages them into even more cheering.

Steve Austin: And Stone Cold gives Jeff Jarrett a hard right hand, but as he gets in to the ring, that bastard Big Show decides to Chokeslam Stone Cold, and that's something you don't do! NAH-NAH! So while I was looking forward to whip Jarrett's sorry ass tonight, I think he ain't here in Anaheim right now, so instead I've decided to whip Big Show's sorry ass. If you think Stone Cold should clean the floor, of the Anaheim Convention Center with the Big Show's behind, gimme a hell yeah!

"HELL YEAH!" "Oh hell yeah! One more time!" "HELL YEAH!"

Steve Austin: Now Show, why don't you make your way into this ring, and let good ol' Stone Cold make 'ya cry like a little baby that you are!

Austin certainly does not have to wait long, as Big Show's theme music bursts from the speakers, and soon the big man himself marches from the back with a solid and confident look on his face. He steps into the ring, and it's on! Stone Cold and Big Show, are beating the hell out of eachother! Austin's getting the upper-hand, he goes for a Stunner, but Big Show grabs him by the throat - Austin SPEARS the giant down and continues hammering him with his fists...

83% - Steve Austin lost overness from this segment

So You Saw This Coming, Huh?

Steve Austin continues beating up the Big Show with hard punches and even some chest chops. Austin salutes him with middle fingers and goes for a Stone Cold Stunner. But as he 'turns around' like you have to when executing the move, JEFF JARRETT blasts him to his head with a quitar! Damn, he should've seen it coming man! Jarrett laughs at his brilliancy and soon picks Austin's microphone up from the canvas. He taps it a few times.

Jeff Jarrett: "Jarrett might not be here tonight..." Hahaha, Austin, you silly son of a b*tch (*Bleeped*)! I seriously didn't expect you to be this stupid? Don't you know that the WWF is where the action is? And that Double J is always there where the action is? Hum hum hum, it looks like the Texas Rattlesnake has been slayed. Yeah... Crawl, you stupid animal. You are a snake, so bow at my feet like you should. I...

But just then, the Big Show gets back to his feet and stares a hole at J.J., who of course looks very frightened. You can notice Jarrett's lips saying "Please...". Show shakes his head and looks like he's going to leave the ring... But then he quickly turns around, grabs Austin by the throat and gives him a thunderous Chokeslam! That shook the ring by it's very structures!

Jeff Jarrett: Show... My man, you've done a splendid job. Steve, you thought you could mess with Jay-Ee-Double F two weeks in a row without a cause? Dead wrong, kid. Steve, what I want is a piece of your ass. And I'm gonna give you a lesson you will never forget on Sunday October 3rd, 'cuz on that day, I shall show you... No Mercy!

Jarrett then throws the mic down and shakes hands with the Big Show before the leave the ring, leaving Steve Austin battered and beaten. Rough.

86%

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Singles Match

Aquarius vs. Johnny Smith

-After a short dose of commercials, up next on Shotgun Saturday Night was the debut of two light heavyweights, Johnny Smith and Aquarius. Smith is a splendid technician that matches up in skill to such as Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and WCW's Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. Whereas Aquarius is also a decent technical wrestler and a very fast, high-flying worker, dressed up in blue tights with pictures of silver bobbles in them (You know - underwater, anyone?) and boots with black spikes in them. PLUS a half-face mask (Similiar to Kane's 2002-2003 one) that's blue/black. He is also known in the independent circles as Yoshihiro Tajiri and the word is that he got picked up from Extreme Championship Wrestling. Nonetheless, when you combine two suberb workers like these in one match and give them about 8 minutes time, what else can you expect than a off-the-hook WRESTLING match?

Aquarius matched up well to Johnny Smith's submission skills. Smith was the heel here, but despite acting somewhat cockily, got a fine response from the crowd with a Superplex from the second rope. He covered Aquarius right after it, but only managed to get a two count. He tried another one, this time from the top rope - how unfortunate that Aquarius managed to push Johnny off the top rope straight to the canvas. And then... Well, he jumped off on Smith with a beautiful Moonsault. A pin and a three count were to follow, giving Aquarius the win.

MQ 89% - CR 44% - OR 66%

Snowman in Action

At the backstage area, Jim Cornette is once again standing by an interviewing set that consists of a Shotgun logo, some graphic screens and that's about it. He mumbles something like "Dammitt..." as he takes a look at his wrist watch, takes a deep breath... And just then, Al Snow walks into the picture wearing pajamas and drinking orange juice. Cornette looks disgusted. However, he walks out of the screen just as quickly, leaving Cornette alone again.

Jim Cornette: And I wonder where our dear mister Test is. He should already be here...

But then, Al Snow sticks his head back into the picture, taking a confused look at the camera.

Al Snow: What the... Is this on?

Jim Cornette slowly nods his head and Snow looks very embarrased. But why should be embaressed? He's wearing pajamas and drinking orange juice on national TV. Why should he feel embaressed? Snow walks to Cornette and grabs his microphone to himself.

Al Snow: I... Hahaha, very good one Mr. Clinton! You got me! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? THIS IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS LIKE! I deny exist! I deny exist! I promise, I have NEVER... EVER... I repeat... NEVER... wanted to battle a lady in the ring. Never ever. Yet that's my case tonight. Perhaps I should feel grateful. Maybe I should feel blessed. I get to face Sable in the ring tonight. Government might have won this time, but next time, it'll be a whole new ballgame! YEAH! And Jim, what the head are you staring at?

Jim Cornette: Does it matter, you great wrestling god?

Al Snow: What are you thinking right now?

Jim Cornette: WHAT?

Al Snow: I told 'ya, you heard me! What are thinking RIGHT NOW?

Jim Cornette: Uhh... Does it even matter what I think?`

Al Snow: IT DOES MATTER WHAT YOU THINK! Al Snow tells you this, and the politics tell you that, now who's afraid of the big black cat?

Jim Cornette: WHAT?

Al Snow: Take it easy Stone Cold. Think Chyna, think Chyna... Well! Big! Black! CAT! Got it? No? Blah. Well... Umm... Oh my! Haha, how fast the clock is ticking my friend. My match is almost underway, gotta go, you know... You know that you need to know, that I know that you know that you know that I gotta go, 'ya know?

And then, Al Snow just marches off towards his locker room. This segment had no point nor real common sense. Or logic, in that matter.

74% - Al Snow gained overness from this segment.

Singles Match

Al Snow vs. Sable

-INDEED. SABLE. Al Snow versus Sable, you read correctly my friend. It ain't a print error, I wrote it myself, like this: Al Snow vs. Sable. So Al Snow issued a VERY open challenge then, it seems to me, so open, that Sable accepted. This could either mean that she has a thing for him, or that Snow just happens to lack a helluva lot respect back in the locker room. OR MAYBE the booking team is just trying to put Snow over, hey? Atleast that seemed to be the case in this DUD-Squash. And when you get to combine DUD and squash in the same sentence, my God it has gotta be bad. And it was worse than most of Bill Goldberg's matches, and that is pretty bad. But what could you expect when you book a woman into a match? Nothing else but pure unbleeped, uncensored hundred percent Terry Funk Ranch produced Mae Young-given birth filthy dirty bottom feeding trashbag bullsh*t. Al Snow won in 1:03 with the Snowplow, and after the match she gave Sable a kiss.

Now this could lead to a bad storyline with Vince McMahon going absolutely insane while booking it, but that shouldn't be happening until 2006, so maybe not this time. Scott Keith was out of words.

MQ 30% - CR 60% - OR 50% - Sable lost overness from this match. Al Snow gained overness from this match. Sable basically no-sold everything, which ruined the match.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Who's It Going To Be?

We see the RAW General Manager, HBK Shawn Michaels sitting behind his desk in a fine suit with the typical cocky smirk on his face as he is reading the "Foley is Good" book. He then notices the camera and quickly hides the book.

Shawn Michaels: Ahh, you're here. Ahem... No, wait, I think it was Anaheim... Anyway, as you all may know I'm Shawn Michaels. Huh, what a stupid line. Like it would be possible not to know why I am! And I'm proud to have the priviliged honor of representing Monday Night RAW as it's General Manager. I mean look at what they've got going on over at Smackdown. Foley is writing goddamn childrens' books, I mean DUH... The Rock is still cookin' and it doesn't smell good, and Kurt Angle has now invented some stupid ridiculous dance to his entrance. Kurt, a little piece of advice...

HBK presses his palms on the desk, gets his fat ass of the chair and chews his bubble gum as the camera zooms into his face.

Shawn Michaels: The moonwalk is so OUT.

Michaels sits back on the chair and crosses his legs before laying his feet on the table and crossing his arms behind his neck, taking a real relaxing position.

Shawn Michaels: Now the whole week, people on the street, people in my closet, half-naked people in telephone boxes and people under my sheets have been asking me why I helped Triple H on RAW. And I told Superman the same thing I've told everyone. I just helped out a friend in trouble. Got it? Good. Now let's put that right behind us like Tommy behind Pam, 'cuz the Heartbreak Kid has a shattering announcement to make. The day after tommorrow on RAW, I will announce the main event match of No Mercy, on Sunday October 3rd, live from Cleveland, Ohio. Hah! Cleveland? I don't think so, good ol' HBK was once in Cleveland and I tell 'ya, those people ain't clever at all! It's like Pittsburgh could be called B*tchburg or Clayton could be... Naah, nevermind.

HBK stares at the camera as somebody whispers him something.

Shawn Michaels: What? We're running out of time? Hey kid, I think I AM the boss around here, and you're crossing the line there! Good job, you're fired. Now the bottom line's this... And this goes to every living soul in the WWF locker room... And to those dead farts in the Dubya-See-Dubya locker room too... Try to impress me. And on RAW, we'll see who goes against my man Triple H at No Mercy for the WWF title. May the force be with you, 'cuz my gawd you're gonna need it. And... NO!

HBK then falls off the chair onto the floor as the camera goes back to the arena.

90%

Six Man Tag Team Match

Legion of Doom & Mark Henry © vs. Ministry of Darkness

-So I guess the crowd happened to care at least a little bit. Mainly because of The Undertaker of course, and the Legion of Doom got some good pops from the Anaheim audience. Whereas the Convention Center was quiet during Mark Henry's entrance ( ) and while Edge and Christian where somewhat over - they definitely need much, much more building in order to become superstars. It was a good and solid match that went on for about 12 minutes. Undertaker was in charge as he traded Animal with "soup bones" and big boots that certainly made their effect felt. And as Road Warrior Animal tagged in Hawk, The Undertaker gave him the same treatment, making the L.O.D look just slightly weak. UT then tagged in Edge (who bowed to Taker as he entered the ring) and then started hammering away at Hawk. However, as Edge went for a Facebuster, Hawk pushed him back-first into a turnbuckle... And that just happened to be the faces' turnbuckle.

Adam "Edge" Copeland then received something that we'd call "an asskicking". Henry, Hawk and Animal all tried to beat up Edge as much as they could, and they somewhat managed to succeed in their attempts. That was, until Christian Cage started to taunt Hawk, who went right after him, and as Cage escaped through the audience, Hawk followed. They ran out of sight, but in the ring, the action continued totally non-stop. Henry hammered Undertaker with hard right hands and even succeeded to drop the Deadman out of the ring, over the ropes. However, Henry turned around, straight to a thunderous SPEAR~! by Edge... And it certainly wasn't the first time. Edge had a smirk on his face as he covered Henry's leg and the referee counted 1, 2... And it probably would have been 3, had R.W.A not broken the pin just in time (Michael Cole reminded us that Mark Henry experienced that very same thing this past Monday on RAW).

Animal and Edge started to brawl it out. Eventually, Animal managed to drop Copeland out of the ring with a clothesline. But as Animal turned around, The Undertaker returned to the ring and started to trade shots with Road Warrior Animal. Animal with a kick to gut, and he then attempted a Powerbomb... But the Undertaker countered it into overflip and then greeted Animal with a Running DDT as he stood up. Undertaker started to measure his opponent as Animal started to get back to his feet... But Mark Henry tried to interfere, only to get Big Booted by the Deadman. Warrior Animal got up, to receive a Chokeslam straight to hell! Undertaker covered as the referee Roger Pring counted one, two, three. The funer bell then tolled as The Undertaker taunted with his usual kneeling motion. Purple lights came on as Graveyard Symphony played at the background and the crowd jeered loud...

MQ 73% - CR 71% - OR 72%

The World's Strongest Man

Undertaker gets back to his feet as the normal lights come back on. And then, Mark Henry and The Undertaker (along with the beaten Animal laying on canvas) are left in the ring alone. Mark Henry quickly asks for a microphone and then goes straight to Undertaker and yells this at the Deadman's face:

Mark Henry: Taker... If you really think you are as good as you say you are, and you like to bully people around... Hey!

The Undertaker leaves the ring and starts to walk towards the backstage. Henry looks pissed.

Mark Henry: Don't you go anywhere! Listen, if you think you are half as good as you say you are, then why don't you face me at No Mercy, on Sunday, October 3rd in Cleveland, Ohio? Oh yeah, you'd be getting in to the ring with The World Wrestling Federation's greatest European Champion ever... The World's Strongest Man... Mark Henry. I want your answer on Monday Night!

Henry then drops the mic to the canvas and gets his championship belt handed to him by the referee. The crowd is absolutely wild for Henry's proposition, and The Undertaker turns around at the rampway to stare a hole at Mark Henry. And Mark Henry is staring a hole back! Michael Cole and Howard Finkel say that the programming time is running out right now, and thank us for our company. Shotgun Saturday Night then goes off the air with the staredown between Mark Henry and The Undertaker.

68% - The Undertaker lost overness from this segment.

Overall Rating for the Show: 73%

[Verder]

Monday Night RAW PREVIEW

-For September 20th, 1999

For the very last time until the sports-entertainment spectacular dubbed as WrestleMania 2000 next March, the World Wrestling Federation hits the sunny state of California, as the Anaheim Convention Center heats up for the second time in just three days. This time it will be the biggest show in the WWF, the flagship - Monday Night RAW.

And oh boy, last week's RAW was definitely a shocking one, perhaps one of the biggest RAW's in history. We saw drama, we saw action and we saw a record-setting main event. The WWF Heavyweight Champion and the WWF Intercontinental Champion duked it out and in the end, it was "The Game" coming out on top. But tonight, neither Jeff Jarrett or Triple H will be in action. Straight from the office of Shawn Michaels: The main event will decide the #1 Contender for Triple H's World Heavyweight title at WWF No Mercy on Sunday, October 3rd.

It will be the special quest referee of the main event last week, the seven-feet tall Big Show taking on the rebellious man who interfered that very same contest last week, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. These men have nothing but pure hatred for eachother, as Show has now Chokeslammed' the "Texas Rattlesnake" for two TV shows in a row. Stone Cold has guaranteed to give the Big Show an asswhoopin' of a lifetime tonight, but will the Big Show's desire for the title lead him to victory in this match that will surely be some fireworks? Tune in to find out!

The European Champion and the "World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry stated on Shotgun Saturday Night that he wants a match with The Undertaker himself at No Mercy. The Dead Man has promised to give us his answer on Monday Night RAW.

Also on Monday, the Legion of Doom will take on the uprising team of Ministry's Christian Cage and Edge. After E&C messed with the L.O.D on Shotgun, Road Warrior Hawk and Animal will surely be looking for some sweet payback. But it was Al Snow's and Mark Henry's part last week to find out that you can never underestimate E&C's spirit. Will that 'spirit' come in to play tonight, or will the multi-time WWF Tag Team Champions demolish the young bucks once and for all?

All this and much, much more including an exclusive interview with Triple H and many more matches not announced here, only on Monday Night RAW, 9/8 C.T. - on USA Network, of course.

[Verder]

Whoa. I guess I'm back with this diary, and I've got you a new format and all kinds of stuff. Just to let you know, I was *this* close to post another new diary. I've already started one diary after this one got kicked off, but I got bored about it too, and started thinking about new ideas. Everything from between stupid to IMO brilliant came to mind. For example, WWF 2002 with a newly-shaked roster split was one idea. Perhaps luckily, the Word document for that diary's first show somehow was gone, and I totally lost inspiration to do anything new. I knew it'd just fail.

So... I tried to continue this diary, and finish the sixth show. However, as I wrote the show, I realized - "This format isn't good. This is not that good. This could be better." And one thing led to another and...

Here we are with a totally new format. I personally think this is an improvement from the previous. It might be easier to read, the shows are faster and easier to write this way and, when I read through this show once, I thought to myself, "This is better." So here goes...

And in case you're wondering, yes, The Who's "Teenage Wasteland" has now officially and in a traditional HOSTILE TAKEOVER~! fashion done just that. So it's a goodbye to Whatstheirbandsname's "Thorn in Your Eye", and it's a hello to the EXACT SAME shortened version of "Teenage Wasteland" that CSI New York uses. Luckily, even the original CSI hadn't debuted yet in '99, so we're safe. Kiss my ass Bruckheimer.

-Anaheim, California

-September 20th, 1999

Out here in the field,

I fought for my meals.

I get my back into my living.

I don't need to fight,

to prove I'm right.

I don't need to be forgiven...

We were treated by a mix of old and new as Monday-Nite RAW began: The very same opening video as last week, a brand new theme music. Then again, this "new" music turned out to be The Who's "Teenage Wasteland", and that's an OLD song, so meh. Nonetheless, Jim Ross and Jim Cornette wasted a little time hyping up tonight's show that would be the WWF's last hurrah in California until WrestleMania 2000.

Public Enemy vs. The Stooges

I guess it should be taken as a positive note that the WWF can actually put the Public Enemy and The Stooges in to match to kick off RAW, and at the end of the day, that won't even be the 'big' tag team bout of the night. But then again, you've got Johnny Grunge and a 46-year old Rocco Rock taking on Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson, who, yes, are called "The Stooges". Now, I probably should have seen it coming: Stooges vs. Legion of Doom was slightly good only because, they just happen to be LO friggin' D, the most experienced tandem in the whole World Wrestling Federation right now. If it was somehow almost enjoyable, it CANNOT technically be good against the Public Enemy. Right? It's against the laws of psychology. Pure madness, and that's why this match was no good. The crowd hated it, thank God we didn't see any trashes in the ring, and the quality of the match was three letters, one word: DUD. If WCW could come up with anything as brilliant as the "I'm Jim Cornette, and that's my opinion" thing, this match would be what they would bash. Normally I would describe what happened in the match, but there's another problem. It wasn't really wrestling, it wasn't really sloppy brawling either, it was just there and it was a three minute waste of time. The former ECW superstars picked up the win by hitting the Drive-By on Patterson. NEXT.

MQ 62% - 59% - OR 60%

Kurrgan vs. Gangrel

Hey... I said NEXT. Please don't tell me... Wow. Just wow. The WWF is seriously spoiling the fans of technical wrestling nowadays. Public Enemy verses The Stooges, and NOW Kurrgan vs. Gangrel? Why the heck Gangrel? It's almost like the Federation wouldn't remember that Gangrel is a Ministry member = He should have supa-dupa powers. If Kurrgan wins, and The Undertaker doesn't do anything about it, I really don't know what to think. The match started off with a stiff clothesline by Kurrgan, who then wasted a little time in making his mark and prescense felt. Unluckily for Gangrel, it was him who felt that mark. So how about three spinebusters in a row? Arn Anderson would be proud right now. Kurrgan then simply picked Gangrel up, let out a big "ROOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR" (Yeah, I have no idea) and blasted the poor half-vampire with the Kurrgan Shuffle for the pin. As the babyface monster celebrated his victory, I was thinking about the two minute match I had just witnessed, and I came to think that I can't really rate this match. It wasn't really that bad or that good. Gangrel was there to spoil it a bit, and Kurrgan was there to save something. Kurrgan is a good brawler, and the WWF will probably 'actually' notice it pretty soon. This match too was here basically to show off Kurrgan's amazing powers, as he demolished the Ministry of Darkness member here and there. You might also notice that I was bored while writing this.

MQ 64% - CR 47% - OR 55%

A promo video concering Goldust aired. All kinds of golden glittering, glitz and glamour were present, and clips from some of the "Bizzarre One"'s matches were shown as he promised us that there'd be a name you'll never forget... GOLDUST. We'll see...

84%

Goldust vs. Test

Some slight improving from the previous matches of the night, but not too much. Atleast Goldust and "Test" Andrew Martin were actually able to put on a good show, instead of throwing away a few punches here and there alá Public Enemy. Yes, I'll hate them 'till the night is over. Test came into this match playing the typical brash, arrogant, swimming-trunks young kid, and whose part was then to notice that the old golden bastard still has it. Need to remind that Test jobbed to Al Snow two weeks ago? There's credibility for you, and there's an ass-shot right to the face of Test. Yeah, I'll go the disgusting route and say that Test had a slice of Goldust's booty there. I'm sorry. Like the song says, "I don't need to be forgiven". After humiliating Test and making him look totally gay, Goldust picked him up and continued his bizzare actions on Test, pretending the blow dust at Test's face from his palms. Test seemed to have enough, though, and blasted Goldust with a knee to gut. Test went for a Pumphandle Slam in time of 4:36, but Goldust slipped behind his back and hit the Curtain Call out of nowhere. 1... 2... Wait... 3! Goldust defeated Test! Whoa, he actually did! Goldust rolled out of the ring with a smirk on his face, as Test couldn't believe who he had just lost to. Jobbing to Al Snow and Goldust? Man, is Test on a roll here or what?

MQ 76% - CR 70% - OR 73%

Up next was the WWF's top gun himself, the WWF World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H. We saw a vignette where he was interviewed by RAW's own Mark Madden. They both sat on tall chairs and Triple H had the Attitude Era WWF Championship belt on his shoulder, as the interview began.

"So now then. Tonight, will you be watching the main event? Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Big Show will duke it out, and the winner will get a shot at THAT" *Madden pointed at the championship belt on HHH's shoulder* later. Tell me, who would you rather face, Big Show or Austin?

It was now the champ's turn to speak.

"Ya' know, it's really tough to pick between the two. Big Show? He's a giant, he's capable of slamming everybody around the ring anyway he likes. Stone Cold, he just might be the toughest S.O.B in this whole company. And who'd I rather face for the WWF Championship? We'll just have to wait until tonight, watch them beat the living hell out of eachother, and then we'll see who I wanna face. I guess whoever is in worse condition..."

The discussion then turned into the title match at No Mercy, and Triple H cut a very DX-style skit, telling the viewer to buy No Mercy via your local cable provider, and see nonstop wrestling action LIVE on pay-per-view. Madden then asked if Triple H and Shawn Michaels were interested in forming a faction again this year, but Triple H honestly denied it and said that "Surely, Shawn Michaels is back in town. Surely he's going to take control. And surely it was Shawn Michaels who made the Big Show taste some Sweet Chin Music seven days ago. But yet, it was not a sign of things to come. No, no, no - we both have our own paths now, and besides, just because he's the Commissioner, it doesn't mean we couldn't hang out, right?"

Madden understood and thus ended this segment, which was very well received by the Anaheim crowd.

91%

Legion of Doom vs. Edge & Christian

A match that ALMOST broke the 80% mark, but unfortunately 'almost' doesn't count. You can only imagine what these two teams could produce if the Road Warriors would be in their top shape from the 1980's, and Edge and Christian would be in their... Well, 1999-2000 shape. That's only dreaming, however, and this is what we've got here - A pretty good contest nonetheless. It's funny, you could actually say this was a blow-off match to a short feud that wasn't really a feud; If you look back at the previous five shows, you can see some small hatred between these two teams, and last Saturday during the six-man tag team match at Shotgun, that hatred turned into bad blood. Edge and Road Warrior Animal started things off here, and Edge immediatedly showed why he's definitely a force to be reckoned with. That's because he dominated Animal for a good while until the L.O.D turned the tables and started to gain the upperhand, as Hawk entered the ring and gave Edge an asswhooping of his own.

In the end, the multi-time tag team champions made the young Adam Copeland crawl to his corner and tag in his "brother", Christian Cage. Cage, now, did not seem too happy when he realized that Edge wasn't really able to put on a fight against the L.O.D, and that Hawk and Animal hadn't even broken a sweat. Christian decided to give it try, anyway (You could see him spelling "What the hell, use the bell!" on his lips), and that turned out to be just foolish. Jim Ross had such a good time during this match, watching the youngsters getting totally beaten up by these relics straight from the 'golden era'. The Road Warriors eventually finished the match in 6:53, with the Doomsday Device. I don't want you to get the wrong idea - This wasn't a squash, it's just that Edge and Christian were seriously teached a lesson in this match, and that's what the fans liked.

MQ 89% - CR 70% - OR 79%

We then entered a dark room where a wooden table was placed at the center, and a candle was on it. The candle was barely burning, but it provided just enough light to reveal two characters standing behind it. The other one leaned towards, and turned out to be none other than Percy Pringle, Paul Bearer. Bearer held the urn tight as he started one of his weird promos that consist basically of the words Oh, yes, my, mine, our, Undertaker, revenge and foolish boy. This was directed at the WWF European Champion, Mark Henry, who's bodytype doesn't exactly remind of a college boy, so Bearer should pick his words more carefully. The Undertaker then leaned towards too and said that Henry's grave would be digged to Cleveland, Ohio, and that on Sunday, October 3rd, Mark Henry will rest... in... peace.

Which remains to be seen. The Undertaker accepted Mark Henry's challenge nevertheless. We've got ourselves a MOTY coming at NM.

86%

Elsewhere, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin stood in front of a RAW is WAR logo and was very soon joined by Howard Finkel, who was apparently ready to interview the Texas Rattlesnake about his soon-to-be match with the Big Show.

"Excuse me, Steve, would you want to share your latest thoughts with the fans of the WWF?"

"The latter part sounds pretty good alright, but who the hell are you?"

I told you, it's a The Who night. Who are you?!

"I'm Howard..."

And I'm Stone Cold...

"Stern? 'Ya know what, I changed my mind, I don't give a damn what your name is, at the end of the day, you're here to interview Stone Cold Steve Austin like Shawn Michaels or somebody else told you to, and now while you're here, and now while you decided to waste my time, that's damn rightee what'cha gonna do. So let us start this lil' Q & A."

Howard Finkel, understandably, wasn't exactly pleased by Steve Austin's anti-authority attitude, but he had a job to do so...

"You're just moments away from going head to head against the Big Show. He is the largest athlete in the United States, and perhaps in the world, and it will all be for the right to face Triple H at No Mercy for the WWF Championship."

Austin didn't seem happy.

"So lemme' get this straight. You came here. You interrupted Stone Cold Steve Austin. You sat on your fat ass, on Stone Cold Steve Austin's locker room chair. And then, when you have a slight chance of Stone Cold forgiving you, you 46-year old greesy cheesy bastard decide to tell me something that I've know for a week. Something that I've been thinking about the whole night. Yes, I'm about to step into the ring with the Big Show, and I'm about to whip his Ted Turner-rejected sorry ass like it's never been whipped before! It's gonna happen sooner that later, within 30 minutes, wham, bam, Stone Cold Stunner, and when it's all over, and when the dust has settled, Austin 3:16 has demolished that overgrown fatty."

Austin walked off as his theme music hit the speakers, leaving Finkel standing alone, looking stupid with a mic on his hand.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Big Show

So, the glass shattered and Steve Austin came out, and somebody yelled "IT'S THE BIG SHOW!", and the Big Show came out. Plain enough? Good. The two big men started brawling, and it was made clear from the beginning that the Big Show is bigger. He actually did something that pretty much nobody has been able to do thus far, and that's to badly beat up Steve Austin. Massive Bodyslams and walk-overs were a problem to Austin in the early portions of the match, however, in the time of about three minutes, the "Texas Rattlesnake" finally turned the tide on Show and started to hammer away at him with hard right hands. Austin even tried to clothesline the Big Show out of the ring, but he couldn't do it even when Show was leaning on the ropes, gasping for air - "He is that damn big", Jim Ross made clear at ringside. The Big Show then retaliated with a hard chest chop, so hard that Austin's man boob turned red from one shot. The Big Show gave another one, that seemed even stiffer and then blasted his opponent with a Back Body Drop. He then shouted something along the lines of "YAAAAAAARRGGAAAAHHHH!" before continuing to annihilate Austin.

The WWF Champion Triple H was shown watching the match backstage from his luxury locker room, from a modern plasma TV. In 1999, those weren't exactly in their finest form yet, but still pretty good. And to tell you the truth, Triple H didn't seem too happy as he was forced to watch the Big Show beat up one of his best friends right now. Worse yet, after it'd all be done, the five-hundred pounder might actually come and challenge Triple H for the title at No Mercy, now would that be a giant problem or what? Back in the ring, the match had been going on for about six minutes and sir, the situation has gone nowhere. Steve Austin is still getting manhandled by the 7-foot tall Tampa native. The Big Show now had "Stone Cold" in a Dragon Sleeper Hold, and Austin seemed to have no way out of it. However, eventually he solved the problem with something I'd like to call semi-Stunner. This did not keep the Big Show distracted for long, but was enough to give Austin a break and a chance to hit the Big Show with a clothesline. Another one, and a third to make it fair. "Stone Cold" then went for a Shoulder Block, but here's the problem: It's not going to work against the Big Show. Uh-oh.

In case you are still reading, the Big Show took the Victoria native down with a MASSIVE Military Press. This was followed by pure brutality, as the Big Show placed his foot on Austin's chest and walked over him. J.R spitted as loud as he could at ringside, yelling something like "MAIGAWD HIS BONESAH WER' CRUSH-D IN THAT CRASH!". Thanks, Jim. The Big Show then dragged Austin up from the canvas and started to run his mouth, telling Steve that he had no chance in HELL to go to the title match... And just then, Austin blasted him with the Stone Cold Stunner! A frenzy, one big frenzy was released at the arena, and the crowd went absolutely ballistic by the Stone Cold Stunner's effect! For the first time in this match, the giant, Paul Wight is really down, and we're coming closer to the nine minute mark all the time.

Both men were down, as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin took some support from the red ropes in order to get back to his feet. However, just about then, SHAWN MICHAELS slid into the ring out of nowhere and blasted Austin with the Sweet Chin Music! The referee called for the bell and thus, the Big Show was DQ'd, giving Steve Austin the WWF title shot against Triple H at No Mercy!

MQ 75% - CR 89% - OR 84%

"Not so fast!", were Michaels' first words as he was handed a microphone. Dressed in his typical commissioner attire - A fine suit, a ponytail and shining boots were all present - the Heartbreak Kid announced that this match couldn't end via a disqualification. Therefore, the #1 Contenders' match would continue under Shawn Michaels' special advision. As Jim Ross stated that this was totally uncalled for and absolutely disgraceful from Shawn Michaels, the Big Show lifted Steve Austin up and made him taste the bitter Chokeslam. Big Show covered and the referee was forced to count 1, 2, 3. It now seems that it's actually the Big Show who's going to the championship match!

This was proved true, as Shawn Michaels announced that Triple H vs. Big Show for the World Wrestling Federation Championship would be 'the match to leave it's mark' at No Mercy, on Sunday, October 3rd. As the Big Show's theme music started to play, Shawn Michaels just about flied out of the ring, leaving the Big Show standing alone over fallen Steve Austin's body. Jim Ross ran down the details about tonight's happenings, from the Big Show becoming the #1 Contender, to the Texas Rattlesnake going home battered, bruised and beaten for the third night in a row in the WWF programming, and from there to Shawn Michaels once again almost mixing the role of an authority figure and a wrestler together. Jim Cornette added his fair share, telling us to tune into Shotgun on Saturday. RAW then went off the air with Big Show taunting in the middle of the ring, doing his usual pose...

88%

OVERALL RATING: 79%

TV RATING: 6.10

ATTENDANCE: 3293

TICKET SALES: $197580

Edited September 24, 2006 by Verder

[Verder]

RAW Gets A Stroke of The Market

World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. has today made several new signings in order to make both of it's two brands, RAW and SmackDown, seem stronger in the critical eyes of the wrestling fans. As Thursday Night SmackDown! already had more star power, only one new superstar was sent to the blue brand, and that was Shane Douglas, a former ECW World Heavyweight Champion and a performer considered one of the most charismatic performers in the world today.

That's all of SmackDown, and now, moving on to RAW. It should be safe to say that you can expect a pair of brand new Tag Team title belts to be brought to Monday nights within a month or two - the first two new signings for RAW were Buh Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley, together the Dudley Boyz. Both memembers of one of the most controversial tag teams in Extreme Championship Wrestling ever along with the Public Image (Ironically, also working for the WWF nowadays) signed contracts worth a healthy 120.000 U.S dollars a month. Look forwards to some tables get broken pretty soon on RAW and Shotgun. It is expected that the Dudleyz will be brought in as faces, but that is still unconfirmed and could change. It should also be noted that both Douglas and the Dudleyz were not working for ECW at all when they were signed - Vince McMahon apparently really does not want to hurt the 'Barbed Wire City' - or that's what he wants us to believe.

Some robbing from ECW, however, was done without any shame - the third new competitor signed wasn't just great, or just cool, nor he is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he's Just Incredible. Credible, a talented ECW performer was glad to finally receive a job offer from the 'big leagues'. Not to say that the Land of Extreme wouldn't slowly and steadily be getting 'big', but this is the World Wrestling Federation we're talking about now. Credible, at just 25 years of age, is the youngest of the new signings made today. The first plan made by the creative was that Credible along with the Dudleyz would form a three man stable dubbed 'The Extremists' or 'The Rebels'. However, that plan was terminated soon enough, and now it appears that Justin Credible will be working as a single heel competitor instead.

Now I couldn't believe my ears as I heard the last name. Surely, he's a former WWF performer. Surely, he fits Vinnie Mac's idea of a "superstar". But after signing a bunch of guys like "The Franchise", demn dam Dudleyz and Justin Credible, bringing back Rikishi is something short of weird. Say what you want to say, but this 34-year old Samoan is now back in the WWF ring with a new identity. The performer previously known as Alofa the Polynesian Prince, J.R. Smooth, Fatu the Headshrinker and many more will now appear as a fun-loving, arse-shaking babyface who will use moves called "Stink Face" and "Rump Shaker" as his finishing touches. As temptating as this sounds, I think I'll still wait for the signing of Kurt Angle. It will come. Eventually. It has to. Either to RAW or SmackDown. There's no denying it.

He is a God!

[Verder]

-Columbus, Ohio

-September 25th, 1999

We see a short hype video featuring such stars as Goldust, Mark Henry, the L.O.D, X-Pac, Test and Sable (in bikini neccesarily). After it's over, we are taken inside the Anaheim Convention Center, where small silver pyros go off. Michael Cole and Howard Finkel welcome us to the show, which promises to be an action packed evening of RAW-brand action!

Aquarius & Scorpio vs. The Headbangers

-The announcers billed the babyface tag team as "Aquarius and Scorpio". Whether this means that the creative WWF bunch have actually come up with a stupid tarotzodiacastrologyshizzle thing storyline, or not, remains to be seen, but one thing was for sure: This was a sound tag team match. The Headbangers were still somewhat good, and Aquarius was just too good, and Scorpio was just plain awesome. He seemed to be in possibly the best shape of his whole career in this match, as he tagged with the man known in the indies as Yoshihiro Tajiri. The contest went on for as long as 7 minutes, which was very surprising, considering the main event. The ending was impressive, as Aquarius came on Mosh with the Abyss Dive (Moonsault), while Scorpio made Trasher receive the Tumbleweed. Scorpio then hooked the leg and got the three count. Afterwards Scorpio and Aquarius posed for the camera.

MQ 79% - CR 55% - OR 67%

The Champ's Two Cents

Or rather ten, because Mark Henry always gives all he's got and 110 percent. Nonetheless, here is the World Wrestling Federation European Champion at the interview area, standing all alone, so near the camera screen that you can almost see his breath against it.

Mark Henry: Once upon a time, there was a man who liked to talk a lot of smack. His name was Jeff Jarrett, and, somehow, he had once even managed to win the Intercontinental title from somebody. But that's not my point. This man, Jeff Jarrett, became so arrogant and so full of himself, that he dared to step up to a former World Champion, one of the baddest men on the planet, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. Jeff knew that he couldn't beat Austin fairly, so he hired henchmen to do the dirty work for him. And so it continued. Well, that was until a solution was found: Mark Henry, "The Wrestling Machine", is here and fired up and all ready to go. Yo Steve, I know you're angry, but listen. Tonight, the "Sexual Chocolate" will beat the living hell out of Jeff Jarrett for you. A'ight, Jarrett, you punk ass sucka, I'm comin' for yo' sorry ass!

Fearsome and menacing, plain and simple. Or perhaps just something like those backstage promos of the WWF Attitude game's story mode. The Ahmed Johnson ones.

66%

The Second Day is Always Better Than The First

As we come back from the break, Christian Cage, who's holding a microphone and Adam 'Edge' Copeland are standing in the ring, wearing typical dark Ministry outfits. They look all business this time.

Christian Cage - This past Monday night, yours truly and my brother Edge here tried to put on a best of a showdown possible. We stepped into the ring and we busted our asses, and we just wanted to get noticed - after all, wrestling two bald and ugly has-beens really doesn't 'click' with the audience, right? I mean, hell! You barely even know who we are. Yes, you know he's Edge and I'm Christian, but what else? What else is there to it? You know we can pull off five star matches if we want to, you know we've beaten them all, and you know that we support the Ministry of Darkness and thus the Dark Lord himself, but seriously, what else? While all of you low lifes try to figure that out, here's my brother's two cents...

Christian hands Edge the mic.

Edge - I know you're confused. Christian didn't exactly tell our message in a clearest way possible, but the point is that if we want to get noticed and, like, actually, get into the mainstream in the WWF, we gotta get something big going on. This is what we've come to realize, and this is what we're gonna do. We are going to make it to the mainstream of this brand, and soon everyone in the RAW locker room knows exactly who we are, but until then...

Edge takes a look at the canvas before going on and handing Christian the mic soon after.

Edge - Until then, we've also still got some unfinished business.

Christian Cage - That's the message we're conveying, alright. Now, despite the unbearable fact that, yes, we did lose on Monday night - I think the art we produce in the ring with the Roadies is just too sweet to cut off this soon. One match ain't enough at all, so that's why, Road Warri-ahs', we're calling 'ya out! C'mon, what do you say, da E&C versus the Legion-uhh of Doom-uhh, Monday Night RAW re-match, a little bit over a week from now, at No Mercy! C'MON!

For the first time in about forever, Edge and Christian get pops. That's only due to requesting a match from the L.O.D though, of course...

"OOOOOOOOOOHHHH WHAT A RUSH!"

And the two younglings certainly don't have to wait long, because Animal and Hawk are out on the stage!

Animal: So you two just couldn't get enough of the L.O.D even though you got beaten and bruised. Some kids just never learn; We seriously thought you realized that you just can't beat us already.

Hawk: But we were wrong, I guess. If you want a match at No Mercy, it's plain and simple, and also... IT'S ON!

Edge: Well that's just too good. See you on the 3rd gramps.

The segment then draws to an unexpectable ending, as the Road Warriors nod their heads and Edge and Christian leave through the crowd.

71% - Christian Cage gained overness from this segment. Edge gained overness from this segment.

X-Pac vs. Viscera

-The big, bad and ugly Viscera is already standing in the ring as X-Pac runs down the aisle, his music playing. He slides into the ring and greets the Ministry's big man with a running forearm, and a thunderous series of blows. Unfourtunately, Viscera doesn't feel a thing, and blasts Pac with a Rear Naked Choke. Big Vis already has to gasp for oxygen and disguises that into the form of taunting the crowd - yet, he doesn't even get a reaction. Viscera drags X-Pac up and chokes him mid-air with his palms, as his opponent screams in pain - then, X-Pac kicks Viscera to jaw twice. The big man has to drop him down, and remember, Pacs always land on their feet. X-Pac then climbs to the second rope and manages to take down Vis with an Ax Handle. X-Pac then heats up the crowd, receiving somewhat loud pops. Viscera crawls into a turnbuckle corner, but X-Pac only seizes that as an oppourtunity - Bronco Buster time! After that is done with, X-Pac covers and surprisingly enough, that's it. Sean Waltman then poses for the camera.

Debra vs. Sable

-We bear to witness both womens' entrances and some bare skin, as the WWF tries to appeal to desperate thirty-plus males or young male teens, such as, say for example myself, before the match kicks off. Debra starts off with a slap, and gives away a whole lot of them, until Sable counters one and starts to pull Debra's hair. Steve Austin's 'wife' screams in an awe of pain as Sable continues to pull, and then hits an X-Factor. A cover, and Debra kicks out before the three. That's also going to make Sean Waltman look so poor, not to mention he's working in my upper midcard, but meh. Sable drags Debra up and hits a DDT, and then starts to stomp Debra into a mudhole. Rena Mero soon feels that Debra is beaten up enough to be finished, and hits the Sable Bomb for the three count - thankfully, this one is over with. It was an undisputed two-minute waste of time, and also managed to be the very worst match in my game thus far.

MQ 17% - CR 65% - OR 50% - Debra is losing overness because of her weak gimmick.

Big All Over

A video montage airs, and it showcases none other than the Big Show himself. Show throws his opponents around the squared circle like puppets, beats them up with Chokeslams and Final Cut's, and all in all just looks mad, intimidating and very, very big. The video comes to a close as it says "Big All Over"... And it's officially off the air. Surprisingly good reaction.

82%

Snap Back to Reality, There Goes Gravity

At the Saturday Shotgun interview area, Jeff Jarrett is boasting at the camera as the WWF Intercontinental Championship is shining on his right shoulder.

Jeff Jarrett - Earlier tonight, Mark Henry tried to adress me, tried to adress the fans, the public. Had I understood a damn thing he said, I wouldn't have to be here right now, wasting my precious time, cutting this interview. I'm not saying that Henry doesn't know how to talk or how to cut an interview - rather it's about the way he speaks. 'Dizzle', 'bling', 'yo' - all of this wannabe gangsta crap makes me sick to my stomach. Try to decide between a thug and this 'Sexual Chocolate' thing you've also been doing. And please, Mark, should you decide, try to do it quickly, so I can finish you off as fast as you can. Now, you call yourself a "Wrestling Machine"? Please, everyone knows you can't wrestle for a living. To call you a 'wrestling machine' is an insult and slap to the face of every single real wrestler in this business. You're just living inside your little Mark Henry-bubble in your little Mark Henry-world, living in a FANTASY. Realize this... Tonight, Jay-E-Dubya-F is gonna snap you back to reality.

And with that, Jarrett storms off towards the entranceway. And what was wrong with J.J. in this interview? Only a...

79%

Mark Henry vs. Jeff Jarrett

-The two had an intense staredown to kick off the bout, as Mark Henry held the WWF European Championship right in front of Jarrett's nose, and tapped the name plate that said "Mark Henry". Double J then literally pushed the WWF Intercontinental Championship towards Henry's face, and then slapped him in the left cheek to begin the match. The referee gave both belts to the ring assistant as Jarrett took Henry down with a forearm blow. Jarrett then stomped away at the Euro champ, as he dragged his slow Sexual Chocolate butt up from the canvas and had just enough power to perform a Bodyslam on Henry. A Hogan - Andre moment right there for sure. J.J took some speed advantage from the ropes as he ran against Henry, who, however, countered with a Choke Bomb. Henry then grabbed Jeff's feet and sent him into a buzz with a Big Swing. It's been a while since we last saw that. Henry took some time to pose and fire up the crowd with a dull taunt. He then picked Jarret up, but J.J poked him to the eyes, grabbed his opponent's legs and locked him into a Walls of Jericho-ish submission maneuver out of nowhere. Henry had to struggle and use his final powers to get a hook of the ropes.

Jarrett only saw that as an oppourtunity, however, as he awaited for Henry to get back to his feet. It was then the time for The Stroke to take it's toll. Jarrett made the pin and got the win in just 5:55. And no, I didn't describe everything that took place in this recap

MQ 63% - CR 76% - OR 72%

Shotgun then went off the air as Jarrett posed with his belt and yelled "Austin? Where is Austin?! Oh, he's at home whining!"

Overall Rating for the Show: 68%

[Verder]

-Columbus, Ohio

-September 27th 1999

Monday Night RAW had an action-packed opening segment this week, as we started out by having a ring assistant handing a microphone to Stone Cold" Steve Austin himself. The Texas Rattlesnake said that it's only seven days until No Mercy, and despite having a chance to get his hands on Jeff Jarrett in just those seven short days, he can't help but feeling like opening a can of whoop-ass here tonight. Austin further explained that normally, it wouldn't be this way, but after getting his ass handed to him by Jarrett and "that vanilla gorilla bastard" Big Show three television shows in a row, he's slightly starting to have enough. Stone Cold then called Double J out, and the fans certainly were behind him on this one. Jeff Jarrett did not answer, however, and this lead to Austin marching up the aisle and going to the backstage - all because of getting some revenge on his Sunday night opponent!

Stone Cold really searched for Jarrett every place you could possibly imagine, but the Intercontinental Champion was nowhere to be found. Austin even grabbed a rat from the floor and took a look inside the little animal's backside, but Double J wasn't there either! He then headed to the boiler room, and unfortunately received a hard-hitting guitar shot from the welcoming committee. Jeff Jarrett stomped a mud hole on Austin and even gave him the middle finger - all of this whilst Steve was laying on his back on the floor. Jarrett then said that Austin had absolutely no chance in hell of leaving Cleveland as a winner. And J.J aknowledged that it sounded all too familiar to Austin from the times of Vince McMahon, so he added a little something of his own into the verbal assault. Not to say "Ain't I Great" would strike fear to my heart, but Austin was left beaten up yet again.

Up next, the recently signed Samoan Not-So-Submission Machine Rikishi made his RAW debut, and it was against The Ministry of Darkness' Gangrel. The Ministry's credibility took another blow as Rikishi defeated Gangrel in quite a short time, and that was pretty much just by using his backside. Of course, Gangrel did manage to hit a few punches here and there every once in a while, but in just three minutes time, Rikishi connected the Rikishi Driver. Which is a modification of Tombstone, which, again, is the Ministry's leader Undertaker's finishing move. Oh, the irony. The fat Samoan then dragged Gangrel to the southeast section of the ring and finished him off with the BANZAI Drop, also knows as the Rump Shaker. But let's face it, Banzai Drop sounds cooler, and the fact that it is BANZAI Drop is just plain menacing.

Rikishi wasn't the only one debuting tonight: The former ECW Heavyweight Champion, Justin Credible, also received airtime on tonight's episode of RAW. Credible wasn't in Ohio, though - he made his first WWF appearance via a taped vignette...

"So those wrestlers out there bust their asses off day in and day out. They do this for a living, it brings the food to the table. It keeps their families alive, and some even say that it's their burning passion. But if you look closer, you can see that all these men actually do is go into that ring, throw a few punches here and there and hit some fake, posed finishing move. Then they dare to celebrate and the people and the critics, and the politics behind the curtains say that the wrestlers gave everything they had. And they did it here in the WWF. They say it's fair.

Credible leaned forward towards the screen.

Well if it's fair, then I should be the damn World Champion by the very least right now. My name is Justin Credible, and if somebody does this for a living, it's me. I bled, I sweat, I broke my body in half in Philadelphia - and yet it took the Titan Towers something like two and a half years to sign me. Meanwhile, aaaaal of these fake wrestlers mess around, some even in 'Hardcore Rules' matches. Yet, they have no idea what being 'hardcore' even is. They do it, because that's what they are told to do. Well I'm sick and tired of it.

Credible now sat up, picked up the chair and threw it furiously against a wall. He then leaned towards again, staring at the camera in the lamplight.

"And that's why I'm going to do something about it."

He pulled out a contract with the WWF logo in it.

I was offered a WWF contract a few days ago. Well guess what, I am signing this little piece of paper. I am coming to the World Wrestling Federation. I am going to bring the pain, and I'm going to show you just what it's like to be for real, to really earn what you have. But I won't show you what being 'hardcore' is, at least not first. I'll rather take all of you down in your own game. And believe me - That's not just cool. That's not just great.

One last, intense, mean look at the camera before the picture faded out...

"That's just incredible!"

As RAW came back from a commercial break, the WWF Champion Triple H was standing in front of Shawn Michaels' office. He looked like a concerned man, perhaps slightly frustrated and somewhat in need of help. Just as "The Game" was about to knock the door, it opened and out walked the Big Show, who would be challenging the man right next to him in just seven days at No Mercy. Shawn Michaels soon came in to play aswell, and he managed to keep Show and Hunter apart from each other, saving the big brawl for Sunday. Michaels and Triple H then entered a discussion, and the Heartbreak Kid got right to the point: Hunter had something on his mind. Triple H confirmed that this was very much correct, but it might not be what Shawn thinks it is. HHH said that right now, he'd like to kick Michaels' head in for re-starting the #1 Contenders' match between Austin and the Big Show last Monday. The RAW General Manager answered back quickly by saying that he did what was best for the business, and now with HHH/Show AND Austin/Jarrett headlining the PPV, he had two main events instead of one. Shawn then added that he doesn't want to hurt their friendship, he just confirmed that the RAW brand benefits in a best way possible. Michaels then pulled HHH right next to him and said that when it comes to the WWF title match on Sunday, he is on Triple H's side in this one. The intense segment then drew to a close as Michaels promised that the Big Show wouldn't be walking out of Cleveland as the World Wrestling Federation Champion. Michaels then had 'business' to take care of, and he left the Champion alone. And the Champ didn't seem to trust Michaels too much now either...

Also this week on RAW, we got a little preview the upcoming No Mercy battle between the Legion of Doom and Edge and Christian, as Road Warrior Hawk took on Edge and Animal went toe to toe with Christian Cage. The match between Edge and Hawk took place first, but didn't really differ from the match between Cage and Animal. The first one lasted for nine minutes, and it all ended when Edge managed to hit Hawk with a Spear and got the three count.

Backstage, the reigning WWF European Champion Mark Henry attacked The Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer with his championship belt. This way, Henry tried to send a message to his opponent this Sunday, and how incredible is it that Henry is the babyface here and Undertaker is the villain of the story?

It was now E&C's Christian Cage's turn to take on a Road Warrior. Christian's foe was Animal, and the facepainted powerhouse certainly showed exactly why they call him Animal. If Edge lasted against Hawk for nine minutes and won, Christian's luck was so much worse. Animal threw him around the ring, until Cage managed to poke him in the eye. Christian went for the Impaler, but Animal somehow countered that into an Electric Chair Drop. He then pulled the poor man Christian up and blasted him with a Sit-Out Powerbomb for the win. Afterwards, Edge ran into the ring and tried to attack Animal with a steel chair. Animal got out of the way in time, however, and Edge's chair met Christian's skull instead! Animal then speared Edge and left E&C laying on the canvas, much to the fans' delight. Is this a taste of what's to come?

The seven foot tall, five-hundred pound one man wrecking crew Big Show was in his locker room preparing for a slice of tag team hell - up next!

In the huge Monday Night RAW main event, The Undertaker and the Big Show teamed up to take on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Triple H. Austin didn't seem to be in 100% due to Jeff Jarrett's attack earlier on, whereas Triple H was more prepared than ever to get his hands on the Big Show, his challenger this Sunday night. Both teams had their great moments and the advantage really was traded between the teams often. At one point the Big Show and the Deadman took Triple H down with a devastating Double Chokeslam, but Austin came back to the ring just in time to keep the match going, by attacking the legal man, The Undertaker. In the closing moments of the match-up, HHH blasted The Undertaker with a Pedigree. Austin then went for a Stunner on the Big Show, but 500 pound giant countered the attack into a big boot! Triple H then assaulted Show with the Pedigree and got the three count! The show ended as Stone Cold and Triple H celebrated in the ring, and JR wondered if the two warriors could overcome the odds again this Sunday. Shawn Michaels was shown in his office aswell, watching the closing moments of show very carefully and then closing the TV, and biting his upper lip...