WWF RAW 1999

[Verder]

-Cleveland, Ohio

-October 2nd, 1999

The second month with the brand extension in use began with an episode of Shotgun Saturday Night, and this also marked the very last pit stop before the quite possibly mediocre pay-per-view event known as No Mercy. The evening started off with Aquarius taking on the mischievous Sho Funaki. These two japanese warriors had very different reactions from the Ohio crowd, as Aquarius got some cheers and some boos, probably due to the fact that his wrestling attire is somewhat silly, and Funaki just got no reaction at all. The man from the underwater got the victory in no time as he connected the Abyss Dive on Funaki for the three count. Aquarius continues his undefeated streak - yes, well, it's only 3-0 though, but you get the picture..

Last Monday on RAW, we saw a video package hyping up the nearing in-ring debut of Justin Credible. Now on Saturday, another vignette aired, but it wasn't Credible this time. Instead, we had Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley walking down a street somewhere, presumably Philadelphia, PA, and talking about coming to the WWF. Bubba Ray stated that 'they used to live here', but now they're 'moving' to a better place. He continued by noting that they know a few people are trying to make waves in the RAW brand's midcard section, but the Dudley Boyz would be making the biggest impact of all. D-Von added that they are grateful for what "Bruce" (a reference to the name Paul Heyman used while calling to the WWF telephone show titled something I can't recall and insulting Vince McMahon about his booking ideas) did to them, but now it's time to go and try in the WWF and get high, oh brother testify. Bubba Ray then said that the Dudleyz would be making their official debut tomorrow at No Mercy. The video ended with the words "COMING SOON" blasting towards the screen.

A video concerning "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and hyping up the greatest moments of his career, such as winning the WWF title at WrestleMania 1998, seemed to air. However it became soon crystal clear that it was all a prank set up by Jeff Jarrett: the actual video ended in a shot of Austin getting arrested, and then we cut to the smiling face of Jarrett. Double J said that he's heard about Shawn Michaels' decision to put the Intercontinental Championship on the line, when it comes to his match with Austin. Jarrett continued - no matter what Austin has done and accomplished, he can't beat the Tennessee country singer. Jarrett proclaimed that after he beats Stone Cold tomorrow in the middle of the ring, one, two, three, it'll be over, it'll be all over, and then Austin would have absolutely no way to defend himself...

Next on Shotgun, a WWF midcard regular made his 'anticiapated' comeback after the booking team had forgotten about him for a week. That's right, Al Snow made his mark known tonight, as he got on the microphone and said that since No Mercy is tomorrow and there's still room for one more match, he wants to fill that void. He laid down a challenge for a fatal fourway match that would prove the true meaning of showing no mercy. Snow added that he had figured this out with the magnificient Mark Henry earlier on, and thus the winner of the fourway elimination battle royal would receive a WWF European Championship shot... somewhat soon. Only one man answered, and that was X-Pac. He came down to the ring and ended up shaking hands with Snow. Thus far the fourway seemed more like a singles match, but that changed as the night went on...

Edge and Christian will be challenging the Road Warriors at the pay-per-view, but on tonight's episode of Shotgun Saturday Night, Adam Copeland had some other business to deal with. One man, to be exact, and this happened to be the very same man who announced a fatal fourway match-up just few moments ago, Al Snow. That could be a good match, and as for The Snowman and Edge, they put on one hell of a showdown here. In what was clearly the match of the night, Edge just managed to beat Snow, but read 'just' - he was literally on the verge of losing after Snow connected with the Snowplow and the referee counted two and a half. Soonafter, Snow tried to re-create the previous situation, but Edge countered the Snowplow attempt into a Buzz Killer and covered. This time, Al Snow got a shoulder up, which Edge clearly couldn't buy. He pulled Snow up and started to yell at him. Right then, Snow headbutted Edge, causing much trouble for his opponent to remain standing on his feet. Snow took some velocity from the ropes and went for a clothesline, but Edge saw it coming and hit a stand-still Spear (you know, Edge doesn't run at all. Sure seems like a spinebuster but it's not), which finally gave him the victory. The lesson of the story? Buzz Killer doesn't always 'kill'.

The Big Show proved Triple H exactly why the champion should be afraid of him, as we are just 24 hours away from No Mercy. This footage seemed to be from a house show few nights ago though, but atleast it's still fresh. The angry giant assaulted Triple H from behind with a clothesline while he was on his way to his locker room, and then blasted him with the Final Cut, leaving "The Game" laying on the floor of a hallway. Big Show took one last good look at the WWF Championship before kissing it and then placing it on Triple H's chest. The Cerebral Assasin is in for one hell of a task tomorrow. Can he topple the giant?

It's almost as if Edge had gotten extremely self-confident earlier on by defeating Al Snow - backstage, he and his on-screen brother Christian Cage attacked Road Warriors Animal and Hawk. From behind, of course. Everything heelish in the Federation happens... from behind, and that starts to sound a little perverse now, so let's just cut to the chase. Christian had a steel chair in hand and he punished Animal with it, as he hit the painted powerhouse in the back for approximately six times. Edge, on the other hand, got enough satisfaction from stomping Hawk. After it was all said and done, two more babyfaces were left down and out as the heel team walked away. Can E&C make it 1-1 against the L.O.D?

In the main event, the European Champion Mark Henry took on Test in a non-title match. Before the ME got underway, Test informed the announce team that he'd be particiapating in Al Snow's big Fatal Fourway match at No Mercy, and this lead to Michael Cole wondering if Henry and Test would possibly meet again soon for the title. That just might be if Test manages to pull off the victory tomorrow, but right now it certainly didn't seem like it. Henry started out with a running elbow that actually looked pretty fastly executed, and that's big time for this man. The "World's Strongest Man" then continued the beatdown, until Test managed to hit a Big Boot to the chin of the Euro champ. Test then started to furiously punch Mark in the head and punish him in other ways aswell. In the closing moments, Henry had managed to turn the game back on and was about to finish off his opposition with the Death From Above, but at that moment the bell tolled, AND the lights went out. This indeed marked The Undertaker's presence. The lights soon became back on and Henry was now standing face to face with the Deadman! Undertaker attacked incredibly quickly, even before Henry could throw a punch at him, and made an example of Henry with a (poorly done) Chokeslam!

The Ministry's leader, The Undertaker, then got out of the ring as the fans booed, and Andrew Martin got back up. He pulled up the WWF European Champion and ended it once and for all with the Pumphandle Slam for the count of three. Michael Cole then kept hyping up what a big and important victory Test had just gotten. Test kept on celebrating and, though nobody could hear his voice due to the music playing so loud, you could see him syncing together "doing big, it's my destiny". Whether is true or not remained to be seen, but nonetheless, Shotgun went off the air as Henry was out cold and The Undertaker walked up the aisle...

[Verder]

---Cleveland Gund Arena---

WWF World Heavyweight Championship

"The Game" Triple H © vs. Big Show

-The main event of the 1999 No Mercy features the reigning World Wrestling Federation Champion, Triple H, against his most menacing and dangerous challenger yet, the seven-feet tall, five-hundred pound Big Show. On the August 23rd episode of Monday Night RAW, Triple H smashed a steel chair over both Mankind's and The Rock's heads and blasted Mankind with the Pedigree to win the World title - Shane McMahon made the three count. Soonafter, the brand extension came to play and the revenge-woving Mankind was sent to SmackDown, while Triple H "remained" on RAW to meet new difficulties. Difficulties, indeed, as the monsterous giant soon made his way up the red brand ranks, and this all peaked a few weeks ago with Big Show beating Steve Austin in a number one contenders' match. This situation certainly pits "The Game" against huge odds, but you can be sure that he is ready to fight. Not only that, the RAW General Manager Shawn Michaels has also promised that he would not let Big Show leave No Mercy as the WWF Champion. What does this mean? Will Michaels interfere on Triple H's behalf? When the most decorated prize in our business is on the line, anything could happen.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Jeff Jarrett

-Over the past few weeks, Jeff Jarrett has declared that he's going to steal "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's thunder, and that he's going to be proud of it. From assistance from the destructive Big Show or sneaky attacks from behind, to insulting Austin's accomplishments, the Intercontinental Champion has seemingly done it all in order to piss the Texas Rattlesnake off. Usually that's something you don't do and you'll get beaten up because of it, but yet every time Austin has tried to get revenge, Double J has managed to slip out of the trouble one way or another. To prove his point of Austin being a 'wash-up', it was Jeff Jarrett who challenged Stone Cold to this match. Austin accepted, and that sealed the fact that we will be seeing a brawl at No Mercy. Jeff Jarrett claims this match will finish the feud, nobody has heard of Steve Austin's opinion - that remains to be seen...

Mark Henry vs. The Undertaker

-The WWF European Champion, Mark Henry, is a brave competitor. The "World's Strongest Man" has stood up to the Undertaker, who on the other hand has been causing havoc ever since he became the leader of the Ministry of Darkness. In the RAW brand, his actions only seemed to get more intense. This will be a hard-hitting encounter, and this could possibly end up being the most accurate portrayal of showing no mercy. Will Henry be able to overcome incredible odds and slingshot himself into the WWF main event scene, or will The Undertaker make him rest in peace?

Legion of Doom vs. Edge and Christian

-In the second tag team bout of the night, the legendary duo of the Road Warriors Animal and Hawk - the Legion of Doom - go head to head with two men, according to their own words, 'on the rise'... those two being Christian Cage and his brother Adam Copeland, better known as "Edge". This rivalry started when Edge and Christian teamed up with The Undertaker to take on Mark Henry and the L.O.D. The full-force Ministry prevailed, but an intense feud was started. Soonafter, the two tag teams delivered us a fantastic match that had wrestling fans around the world gasping in amazement. The concept of 'the past versus the future' was finally in use, and a rematch seemed neccesary. Very soon, it came official and that's how we've ended up here. Will the L.O.D get the win again, or will "E&C" find a way to walk out as victors?

Al Snow vs. Test vs. Goldust vs. X-Pac

-On Shotgun Saturday Night, the fantastic Al Snow adressed this situation concerning this year's No Mercy's card: there was room for one more match indeed, but no more! The space has been filled with a fatal fourway, elimination rules match, and Al Snow has even taken care of the prizes: the winner will receive a future shot at the WWF European Championship - currently in possession of Mark Henry. There has been no guarantee of the date of this shot, but the alone idea has got some superstars' heads buzzing. X-Pac wasted a little time answering to the challenge with friendly manners, and the powerhouse Test revealed his particiapation later on at Shotgun. It has just been informed to WWF.com today that Goldust will be the 'fourth man' to battle in this brawl. Is the winner of this match bound for glory? Is one of these four men the next Euro Champ? Only time will tell.

The Dudley Boyz vs. The Stooges

-So it has come down to this: Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco are going to wrestle in a pay-per-view. Patterson could almost be acceptable, but we're three months away from 2000, so... Nevertheless, you can expect there won't be much to see of these two, as their No Mercy opponents are the debuting dem-damn-Dudleys. Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley have arrived to Monday Night RAW, and they're ready to make an impact that cannot be forgotten. Then again, losing to the Stooges in your debut match would undisputedly be a shame hard to get off your shoulders.

PLUS: The RAW GM Shawn Michaels has promised to hold a speech at No Mercy concerning the state of his dear brand and some of the top names in the roster...