IWF WrestleMania 15
From Iwe
| WrestleMania XV | ||
| Promotional poster featuring various IWF wrestlers | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Federation | |
| Date | March 28, 1999 | |
| City | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Venue | First Union Center | |
| Attendance | 20,276 | |
| Buy rate | North America: 800,000 | |
| Tagline | The Ragin' Climax | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| ← Previous St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House | ← Next Backlash | |
| WrestleMania chronology | ||
| ← Previous XIV | ← Next 2000 | |
WrestleMania XV was a 1999 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now IWE). It was the 15th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 28, 1999, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ten professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card. The ticket sales of 20,276 drew a gross of $1,437,050.
The main event saw the challenger "Stone Cold" Steve Austin face The Rock in a no disqualification match for the IWF Championship. The penultimate match saw The Undertaker wrestle Big Boss Man in a Hell in a Cell match. Lower on the card, six of the promotion's seven active championships were defended, including the first WrestleMania defense of the Hardcore Championship. Also on the undercard was a Brawl for All match, an unscripted type of shootfight between wrestler Bart Gunn and boxer/mixed martial artist Butterbean. This event also marked the final IWF appearance for Gorilla Monsoon, who died in October that year.
Contents |
[edit] Production
[edit] Background
WrestleMania is the International Wrestling Federation's (IWF, now IWE) flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the IWF's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" pay-per-views, along with King of the Ring. WrestleMania XV was scheduled on March 28, 1999, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[edit] Storylines
WhenRoad Dogg Jesse James and "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn lost the IWF Tag Team Championship to The Corporation, they tried their hand at singles wrestling for some time. Gunn failed in his attempts to win the IWF Intercontinental Championship, but Road Dogg would become Hardcore Champion until an injury prevented him from honoring a championship match with Al Snow. Snow ended up fighting himself and then Bob Holly for the vacant belt at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, with Holly winning the title at the banks of the Mississippi River. When Road Dogg won the Intercontinental Championship on Raw Is War Gunn fought Holly (now dubbed as Hardcore Holly) and won when Holly crashed into an ad-hoc announcers table Jim Ross had constructed for his pirate broadcast of the show. Holly felt enraged that circumstances had conspired against him, while Snow still wanted another chance at the belt.
In the previous year, due to the suddenly enlarged roster, a shootfighting (unscripted) knockout tournament entitled Brawl for All was organized on a voluntary basis, with Bart Gunn winning the tournament on August 24 after defeating every opponent by knockout aside from his opening-round opponent Bob Holly. When Holly rechristened himself Hardcore Holly on February 15, decrying poor gimmicks and tag-team partners he had been given in the past, Gunn made his first appearance since winning the tournament, to remind Holly that not all his partners were of a poor caliber. This led to a hardcore match between the two, which Gunn dominated until a masked assailant, revealed to be "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, threw him off the stage. Williams claimed he did this out of revenge for losing to Gunn in the Brawl for All. The week after on Raw Is War, Williams' manager Jim Ross announced to Gunn he would be facing noted mixed martial artist and boxer Eric "Butterbean" Esch, who held a 43–1–1 record at the time, who challenged him to a Brawl for All fight.
From November's Survivor Series until the night after St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The Rock and Mankind (Jon Foley) traded the IWF Championship numerous times as Mr. Matteson screwed Mankind time and time again on his quest to headline WrestleMania. In their final match, a ladder match on Raw Is War, Marc Wight delivered the Showstopper to Mankind as he was about to win the match, removing his chances of appearing in the main event of WrestleMania. However, as Mr. Matteson's conspiracy of appointing Big Show as special guest referee to secure The Rock as champion began to fall apart, Mankind constantly offered his services as a second official. With The Rock and Big Show causing infighting in the Corporation, Mankind successfully canvassed for a chance to referee; rather than have two conflicting referees, a match was booked to give the winner the right to officiate the main event match.
When Ryan Shamrock (Jessica Webb) appeared front row on Raw Is War on January 11, she gained attention not only from her (kayfabe) brother Ken Shamrock, but also Val Venis (who performed a flirtatious dance for her) and "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn (who lived up to his moniker by mooning her). Enraged, Ken Shamrock fought Gunn at the Royal Rumble, then Venis at St. Valentine's Day Massacre, with Venis winning the Intercontinental Championship thanks to help from Ryan. Venis soon dumped Ryan, and she began a relationship with Goldust (Dustin Semmler). Venis also unwittingly lost his championship to Road Dogg on Raw Is War and found himself defending his championship against the important men in Ryan Shamrock's life in a four-corners elimination match.
Tori was sitting front row as a plant as early as September 14's Raw Is War, but it was not until late December that she began to act with stalker tendencies, sending flowers and notes to Sable, the Women's Champion and even helping her to defend her title against Luna Vachon at the Royal Rumble. On Raw Is War the night after the previous pay-per-view, Tori invaded the ring again and was publicly shouted at and humiliated by Sable. Vachon then brought Tori to the ring a fortnight after, reprimanding Sable for her ego, but a still-obsessed Tori helped attack Vachon. The following week on March 8's Raw Is War, Tori fought Vachon with Sable in her corner but after receiving a squash from Vachon, Sable also gave Tori a Sable Bomb, leading to Tori interrupting Sable's Playboy interview by demanding a championship match at WrestleMania.
Having been buried alive in a Royal Rumble qualification match at Rock Bottom: In Your House, The Undertaker disappeared from television while The Acolytes, Faarooq (Jon Rispens) and Bradshaw (John Goff), began to act strangely, eventually abducting Dennis Kraemer and leaving him tied up in a darkened room. On January 11, The Undertaker returned in slightly new attire, taking a seat in a ceremonial throne on the Raw Is War stage while Paul Bearer stood beside him and The Acolytes brought Knight out and tied him to a table. There, Undertaker performed a ritualistic ceremony, rechristening him as Mideon. Undertaker began delivering ambiguous apocalyptic messages, but after recruiting Mabel, now Viscera (Rodney Farrant, Jr.) and The Brood, he began to be more direct, revealing his plan to attack Mr. Matteson and take over the Internatinal Wrestling Federation.
The security of Mr. Matteson's Corporation, Big Boss Man, challenged the Ministry to a six-man tag team match, which ended in a no-contest when the Ministry abducted Shane Matteson and took him to Undertaker, who threatened him while choking him then gave him a letter to give to his father. Vince Matteson replied the following week on February 22 by booking The Undertaker in an Inferno match with Kane on Raw Is War, the first network television airing of that type of match. During the match, Matteson provided commentary, nonchalantly revealing he had placed Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match against Big Boss Man for WrestleMania. During the match, Paul Bearer gave an ominous gift to Matteson, a teddy bear. After Undertaker set Kane on fire, he turned to the enraged Matteson, taking the teddy bear (later revealed to belong to Kaila Matteson) and setting it alight, reducing Vince to his knees as he burst into tears. Trying to defeat either of his problems, Matteson declared he'd never show such weakness again and put Mankind against Undertaker, which ended with Undertaker almost chokeslamming Matteson through the announcers table until Boss Man saved him. Undertaker continued with his mind games on March 8, ordering his Ministry to look for Boss Man all night and attacking any innocents in his way, eventually capturing Boss Man and crucifying him. Boss Man managed to escape while police were being beaten off by Undertaker's minions until he offered himself to the police while being derided by Matteson. The following week he continued his assault, with videos playing throughout the evening of the Ministry at Matteson's mansion ending in Matteson coming to the ring while Triple K brawled with Kane, begging Kane to help him. Kane ripped off his mask to reveal it was actually The Undertaker who grabbed Matteson by the throat as the lights turned off in the arena and when they came up, he was gone with Matteson alone in the ring.
The main event of the evening was another chapter in the ongoing rivalry between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Matteson, which dated back to when Austin won the Royal Rumble in 1998. After Austin won the IWF Championship at WrestleMania XIV, Matteson set on a six-month-long quest to take the championship from him. With the exception of a one day reign by Kane, who won the championship in a First Blood Match at King of the Ring when his (kayfabe) brother The Undertaker caused Austin to bleed first, Austin thwarted each attempt by Matteson until Breakdown: In Your House in September 1998. There, Austin defended the championship against Undertaker and Kane in what was billed as a triple threat match. Matteson added a stipulation, however, that neither brother could pin the other to win the match; this led to both men simultaneously pinning Austin, causing him to lose the match and the championship. This had been part of a deal Matteson had made with the two men to protect him from Austin, with the reward of the championship if they were successful. However, Matteson went back on his word after Austin attacked him on the next night's Raw and announced he was forcing Undertaker and Kane to wrestle for the vacant championship at Judgment Day: In Your House. He also named Austin the special guest referee, hoping to humiliate him by forcing him to declare a new champion. Austin, however, had other ideas and counted both men out, declaring himself the winner of the match and leaving the championship vacant.
A Deadly Games tournament was scheduled for Survivor Series in November, in which it turned out that The Rock, not Mankind, was Matteson's choice for winner and had the tournament manipulated to his advantage, while Austin lost in a match when Matteson's son Shane, acting as referee, refused to count a pinfall to go to the finals. Knowing Rock would be busy feuding with Mankind, Matteson realized Austin was likely to use the 1999 Royal Rumble, rather than a personal attack, to attempt to reclaim the belt and laid down the stipulation that he must win a Buried Alive match against The Undertaker to be in the Rumble. When he did, with some help from Kane, Matteson further tried to prevent Austin winning back the championship by "randomly" drawing him as the first entrant in the Rumble and drawing himself as the 30th. However, IWF commissioner Shawn Michaels declared that due to entering the Rumble match, Matteson was now an active IWF competitor, meaning Michaels had full reign over him. Michaels then declared that Matteson would be not be entering the Rumble match as the 30th participant, but instead would be entered into the Rumble match as the second entrant, meaning Matteson and Austin would start the match against one another. Matteson would later try to incentivize other wrestlers to eliminate Austin by placing a $100,000 bounty on him during the Royal Rumble match.
Despite this, Austin (and, for that matter, Matteson) managed to stay in the match to the very end, although this was mostly due to him and Matteson leaving the ring at various points to brawl around the arena. At one point during the match, Matteson lured Austin backstage into an ambush from The Corporation, leading Austin to be taken away in an ambulance while Matteson returned ringside and provided commentary. Austin eventually returned to the match, however, and began eliminating other competitors before finally getting his hands on Matteson. Late in the match, The Rock, who earlier in the evening had regained the IWF Championship, came to the ring and started arguing with Austin. Matteson took advantage of the distraction and threw Austin over the top rope, thus winning the match.
Since he was officially now the winner of the Royal Rumble, Matteson was entitled to face whomever the IWF Champion was at WrestleMania. On the following night's episode of Raw, however, he announced that, since he was only a part-timer and the champion was a fellow Corporation member in The Rock, that he had filed paperwork relinquishing his WrestleMania championship opportunity and that he would be naming a replacement later in the evening. To his chagrin, Austin and Michaels informed him shortly thereafter that, according to the rules, his actions resulted in Austin, as the runner-up in the Royal Rumble, taking his place.
With Matteson irate, Austin revealed he was willing to put his title shot on the line and not headline WrestleMania if Matteson would give him the opportunity to fight him one on one with no interference from The Corporation; if Matteson could beat him, Austin would not go to WrestleMania. Their steel cage match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre mostly consisted of Matteson running away, but eventually the two fought with Austin winning the match under unusual circumstances when Big Show made his debut, coming from under the ring and throwing Austin into the cage with the walls of it coming open, meaning that Austin had inadvertently won.
[edit] Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Michael Cole (also Heat) |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Jim Ross (Main Event) | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich (Spanish) | |
| Owen Heart (battle royal only) | |
| Jeff Jarrett (battle royal only) | |
| Terri Runnels (Ivory v. Jacqueline) | |
| Interviewer | Kevin Kelly (also Heat) |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| Earl Hebner | |
| Jim Korderas | |
| Theodore Long | |
| Tim White | |
| Vinny Pazienza
(Brawl For All) | |
| Brawl For All Judges | Gorilla Monsoon |
| Chuck Wepner | |
| Kevin Rooney |
[edit] Pre-show
During the Sunday Night Heat pre-show, Jacqueline pinned Ivory after a back suplex. After the match, Terri Runnels burned her cigar into Ivory's cheek. The second Heat match saw a 21-man battle royal match with the last two competitors becoming a tag team for the evening to face the Tag Team Championship holders. In the event, D'Lo Brown and Test were the last two, still fighting without realizing the match was over when Droz and The Godfather eliminated each other. The show officially began with Boyz II Men singing "America the Beautiful" in the ring before the opening video.
[edit] Preliminary matches
The inaugural WrestleMania Hardcore Championship match began with Al Snow striking Billy Gunn as he tried to make a pre-match speech. With Gunn in the corner, Snow fought with Hardcore Holly outside the ring, wrapping his neck in cable but, after some fighting from Gunn, Holly was able to suplex Snow. After Gunn again interjected himself, Snow was able to go underneath the mat to find some weapons including a Philadelphia Flyers hockey stick much to the delight of the crowd. The match ended when Gunn put Snow through a table in the corner, originally intended for Gunn and then used the Fameasser on Snow, driving him into a chair on the mat. As the referee counted, Holly struck Gunn with a weapon, quickly covering Snow to steal his second championship reign.
The Brawl For All match began with the two meetings in the middle, Gunn running into some blows from Butterbean. The two traded punches, neither man managing to contact properly until Butterbean shook Gunn with a left-hand jab followed by a right hook which stunned Gunn allowing Bean to corner him, giving him another right hook which knocked him down. Gunn immediately came back upon his knees but took advantage of the eight seconds before standing up fully. As the fight resumed, Butterbean jabbed Gunn to the body and followed with a clean overhand right which sent Gunn back to the canvas, giving Butterbean a victory via knockout. The match lasted a total of 34 seconds. This was followed with an appearance from the San Diego Chicken, who mocked special referee Vinny Pazienza and was punched to the floor for it.
On the IWF WrestleMania special on HSN later during the pay per view, after the Shane Matteson on match, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams cut a promo on Bart Gunn in a backstage interview with Jim Ross by his side, saying that Butterbean's punch "wasn't lucky" and that "Bart deserved what he got", telling the viewer to keep watching IWF because "the Doctor hasn't finished his job yet". This was in hopes of setting up an angle between Williams and Gunn, and to continue building Williams as a credible midcarder. However, because of Gunn being released, their feud instead carried over to All Japan Pro Wrestling in the early 2000s, where in Japan the Brawl For All was better received.
Next up was the match between Mankind and the Big Show, where the winner would earn the right to officiate the IWF Championship match later in the evening. As Mankind entered the ring he was immediately headbutted out, but as Big Show followed him out, Mankind slammed Show's head into the steel steps. He then tried a double-armed DDT into the steps but was shoved over the steps falling backward. Show dominated Mankind in the ring afterward, using his sheer size to punch and throw Mankind, with Mankind eventually being tied up in the ropes, which allowed him to back body drop Show out of the ring. Mankind then took out Mr. Socko, a smelly gym sock, and stuffed the foul-smelling sock into the Big Show's mouth with the mandible claw three times. The third claw came with a low blow, for which Mankind was not disqualified. When Show stood back up, he had Mankind on his back with the sock in his mouth and jumped backward so that his entire body landed on Mankind, breaking up the hold. As the two recovered, Show kicked his opponent out of the ring, grabbing a steel chair and thrusting it into Mankind's chest then hitting it over his back. Big Show threw that chair and another in the ring, setting them both in seated positions and Show Stopping Mankind through the middle of them. At this point Earl Hebner finally decided to disqualify Big Show, with Show taking out his anger by attacking Mankind more with the chair. Mr. Matteson made his way to the ring afterward, berating Big Show for risking the IWF Championship match at which point Show grabbed him by the throat. He then thought better of it and released him, only to be met with another tirade from Matteson and a slap, causing Show to punch Matteson and knock him out.
The four corners Intercontinental match began with Ken Shamrock and Road Dogg in the ring, with the latter being thrown from corner to corner until Goldust tagged his way in, with running shoulder barges that floored Shamrock. Shamrock tagged in Venis who came in and instantly attacked Shamrock until Goldust backdropped him. Goldust tried the Curtain Call, but Venis flipped over Goldust's back only to be knocked down again by a clothesline from Goldust, who then put Venis on the turnbuckle and attempted a superplex. Venis fought back and replied with a diving bulldog following with a fisherman suplex pin which only resulted in a two count. The two then collided in the turnbuckle, causing Goldust to fall down and Venis to fall on him, headbutting his crotch. Shamrock took a blind tag from Road Dogg, after he replaced Goldust, immediately putting an ankle lock until Venis grabbed the bottom rope. As Venis grabbed the ropes to stand up again, Shamrock charged him but was tossed over the ropes as Ryan Shamrock insulted him. Venis went after Ken Shamrock and the two fought up the walkway with Shamrock running back to the ring, but not fast enough to avoid a double count-out. Shamrock, not accepting the decision belly to belly suplex slammed both competitors before leaving. When they recovered, Goldust Irish whipped Road Dogg but it was reversed. As Goldust ran into the ropes, he had his leg caught by Ryan Shamrock, seemingly trying to grab Road Dogg's leg. Road Dogg charged Goldust and was picked up for a powerslam, but managed to roll Goldust up with a small package, covering him for a successful three count.
Before Kane's match with Triple K, Kane entered the ring only to be attacked while he was performing his signature entrance by the San Diego Chicken. Kane fought back and unmasked the chicken, revealing it to be Pete Rose, trying to gain revenge for the previous year's incident, but receiving a Tombstone piledriver. Triple K also tried to ambush Kane by coming through the crowd while all eyes were on the stage entrance, hitting Kane out of the ring and then throwing him into the ring post and whipping him into the steel steps. Kane then picked Triple K up and straddled him on the crowd barrier, pushing him into the Mean Street Posse who were at ringside, picking him up again to ram his back into the steel post three times. Back inside the ring, Kane dominated Kelmsley with his rough fighting style, using his foot to choke Triple K and knocking him down with clotheslines and punches until Triple K gained momentum from a reversal, smashing Kane's face into his knee. Kane was allowed time to recover when Triple K was distracted by Chyna coming to ringside. Triple K tried to Pedigree Kane as he stood up, but failed while Chyna pushed the steel steps into the ring. Kane picked them up and ran into Triple K, who used the turnbuckle to swing his feet up and kicked them back into Kane, causing Kane to stagger backward and drop them before smashing his face into the steps from a drop toe-hold. Triple K then clotheslined Kane out of the ring, following himself and attempting to Pedigree Kane on the steps but was backbody dropped. When they made it back into the ring, Kane chokeslammed Triple K while Chyna entered the ring with a steel chair, telling Kane she wanted to attack Triple K, but as Kane turned, Chyna hit him with the chair, causing him to corner her but again was hit with the chair, this time by Triple K, who followed it up with a Pedigree onto the chair. Chyna and Triple K celebrated the reunion of D-Generation X afterwards.
The Women's Championship match began with Tori taking her time to enter the ring, Sable grabbing her hair when she finally did and tossing her back out. Tori regrouped outside and pulled Sable out by her legs, ramming her face into the apron and the barricade. She was whipped into the barrier herself and as she recovered, Sable performed a crossbody from the outside apron. Sable continuously assaulted Tori while down on the mat, but Tori delivered two vicious clotheslines to the corner on Sable, then attempted a sunset flip pin which began a series of pinning reversals ending in a stalemate. Afterward Tori tried a running attack on Sable but took out referee Jimmy Korderas unwittingly. Sable then tried to perform her Sable Bomb but Tori jumped out of it. As she tried to perform her own powerbomb, a muscled woman, later identified as Nicole Bass, came into the ring to gorilla press slam Tori. This allowed Sable to Sable Bomb Tori and pin her to retain the championship.
Before X-Pac could make his way to the ring, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco attacked him from behind. This ambush backfired, however, as X-Pac easily overcame them before running into the ring, with Shane Mattesonfleeing. Shane eventually made his way to the ring and was punched into the corner, escaping a Bronco Buster when Test pulled him out of the ring. Shane tried to escape once again, but X-Pac chased him and threw him back into the ring, only to be struck down by Test and then have his crotch rammed into the ring post. When he returned to the ring, Shane scoop slammed him and attempted a Corporate Elbow, with X-Pac sitting up just before the end, but he was brought back down with a low blow as referee Mike Chioda was distracted by Test. Shane continued to push the disqualification boundaries by whipping X-Pac with his belt several times before being back body dropped out of the ring, recovering only to be met with a flying crossbody. The Mean Street Posse tried to restrain X-Pac, but he fought back only to be floored by Test. After a superplex, the attempted pinfall was broken up by Test, causing referee Mike Chioda to eject him from ringside. X-Pac then whipped Matteson with the belt before roundhouse kicking him into the corner and performing the Bronco Buster. When Chioda checked on Matteson afterward, Test struck X-Pac with the championship belt, but by the time Matteson covered him he managed to kick out. Test tried to interfere once again, but took a Bronco Buster too. Triple K and Chyna then came to the ring to pull Test out. But as Matteson was floored by an X-Factor, Chyna distracted the referee to allow Triple K to Pedigree X-Pac and cover him with Shane, turning heel and allowing Shane to retain the title. The New Age Outlaws ran to the ring and brawled with Triple K and Test until the lights went out and Kane's music began to play but by the time the lights came up, The Corporation had fled the ring.
[edit] Main event matches
The Hell in a Cell match began with Big Boss Man punching The Undertaker into the corner until he ducked out and returned the same. Although Boss Man was able to deliver a swinging neckbreaker, Undertaker took control again throwing Boss Man into the cell. Boss Man reversed an Irish whip and threw Undertaker into the cell too, handcuffing one hand to the chain fence. Boss Man taunted Undertaker's lack of control before striking him repeatedly with his night stick causing Undertaker to fall to the floor and rip the handcuffs, though Boss Man carried on using the nightstick and cut Undertaker open. Undertaker fought back by grabbing Boss Man at the throat and throwing him back into the fence again, striking him with a chair and running Boss Man face-first into the chain fence with a fireman's carry. As the two returned to the ring Boss Man tried to clothesline Undertaker but he ducked and performed a leaping flying clothesline of his own before going Old School, ultimately falling into the ropes. The two began a fistfight in the middle of the ring with Undertaker failing a tombstone piledriver attempt, but successfully performing it seconds later and pinned him afterwards. Undertaker stood up and looked to the heavens with his hands upwards, signaling The Brood to descend onto the roof of the cell. They cut open the roof of the cell and passed through a noose, securing the other end to the top of the cell. The Brood then ascended back into the rafters as Undertaker put the noose around Boss Man's neck, with Paul Bearer causing the Cell to rise and take a hanging Boss Man with it. Over the years, this post-match segment has been seen as highly controversial, and has been subsequently edited off of various home video releases, as well as on Peacock and Netflix. After the match, a video package of the Rage Party was shown while Boss Man was taken down and carried off on a stretcher.
[edit] Reception
The event was met with mixed critical response. Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling section gave the entire event five out of 10 stars. The main event between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin for the IWF Championship was rated eight out of 10 stars; the Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Big Boss Man was rated five out of 10 stars; the match between Shane Matteson and X-Pac for the IWF European Championship was rated seven out of 10 stars; the match between Sable and Tori for the IWF Women's Championship was rated one out of 10 stars; the match between Triple H and Kane was rated four out of 10 stars; the referee match between Mankind and Big Show was rated four out of 10; the four-corners elimination match for the IWF Intercontinental Championship between Road Dogg Jesse James, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and Val Venis was rated five out of 10 stars; the tag team match for the IWF Tag Team Championship between D'Lo Brown and Test against Owen Heart and Jeff Jarrett was rated three out of 10 stars; and the triple threat match for the IWF Hardcore Championship between Hardcore Holly, Billy Gunn, and Al Snow was rated six out of 10 stars.
Writing for 411Mania in 2009, Rob McNew gave the event a rating of 5.5/10, stating, "Like most Attitude Era shows this one doesn't hold up very well ten years later" though he praised the main event bout between Rock and Austin. Similarly, Scott Keith gave the event an overall negative rating, while calling the Rock vs. Austin match "solid by default" and complimenting Shane McMahon's performance given his lack of wrestling experience. In 2012, Bleacher Report ranked the event 25th out of the 27 Wrestlemanias to that point, calling the event "underwhelming" and criticizing the Hell in a Cell match.
[edit] Aftermath
[edit] Results
- ^1 The other participants were: Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge, Viscera, Gillberg, Animal, The Holden Brothers8-Ball, The Holden BrothersSkull, Hawk, Scott Taylor, Faarooq, Tiger Ali Singh, Matt Hooper, Josh Hooper, Mideon, Brian Christopher, Steve Blackman, and Bradshaw.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| ← 1998 • 1999 IWF pay-per-view events • 2000 → | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Rumble • St. Valentine's Day Massacre • WrestleMania XV • Backlash • No Mercy (UK) • Over the Edge • King of the Ring • Fully Loaded • SummerSlam • Unforgiven • Rebellion • No Mercy • Survivor Series • Armageddon |
| align="center" colspan=3 bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px solid gray; font-size:130%;" |WrestleMania XV
|-
| bgcolor=#ffffff align="center" colspan="3" style="font-size: 115%;" |Promotional poster featuring various IWF wrestlers
|- valign="top"
| style="text-align: left;" style="font-size: 115%;" |Promotion
| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2" style="font-size: 115%;" |[International Wrestling Federation]]
|- valign="top"
| style="text-align: left;" style="font-size: 115%;" |Date
| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2" style="font-size: 115%;" |March 28, 1999
|- valign="top"
| style="text-align: left;" style="font-size: 115%;" |City
| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2" style="font-size: 115%;" |Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|- valign="top"
| style="text-align: left;" style="font-size: 115%;" |Venue
| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2" style="font-size: 115%;" |First Union Center
|- valign="top"
| style="text-align: left;" style="font-size: 115%;" |Attendance
| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2" style="font-size: 115%;" |20,276
|- valign="top"
| style="text-align: left;" style="font-size: 115%;" |Buy rate
| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2" style="font-size: 115%;" |North America: 800,000
|- valign="top"
| style="text-align: left;" style="font-size: 115%;" |Tagline
| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2" style="font-size: 115%;" |The Ragin' Climax
|- valign="top"
| bgcolor=#BDBDBD align="center" colspan="3" style="font-size: 115%;" |Pay-per-view chronology
|- valign="top"
| bgcolor=#ffffff align="center" colspan="1" style="font-size: 115%;" |← Previous
St. Valentine's Day
Massacre: In Your
House
| bgcolor=#ffffff align="center" colspan="1" style="font-size: 115%;" |← Next
Backlash
|-
| bgcolor=#BDBDBD align="center" colspan="3" style="font-size: 115%;" |WrestleMania chronology
|- valign="top"
| bgcolor=#ffffff align="center" colspan="1" style="font-size: 115%;" |← Previous
XIV
| bgcolor=#ffffff align="center" colspan="1" style="font-size: 115%;" |← Next
2000
|}
WrestleMania XV was a 1999 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now IWE). It was the 15th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 28, 1999, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ten professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card. The ticket sales of 20,276 drew a gross of $1,437,050.
The main event saw the challenger "Stone Cold" Steve Austin face The Rock in a no disqualification match for the IWF Championship. The penultimate match saw The Undertaker wrestle Big Boss Man in a Hell in a Cell match. Lower on the card, six of the promotion's seven active championships were defended, including the first WrestleMania defense of the Hardcore Championship. Also on the undercard was a Brawl for All match, an unscripted type of shootfight between wrestler Bart Gunn and boxer/mixed martial artist Butterbean. This event also marked the final IWF appearance for Gorilla Monsoon, who died in October that year.
[edit] Production
[edit] Background
WrestleMania is the International Wrestling Federation's (IWF, now IWE) flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the IWF's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" pay-per-views, along with King of the Ring. WrestleMania XV was scheduled on March 28, 1999, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[edit] Storylines
WhenRoad Dogg Jesse James and "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn lost the IWF Tag Team Championship to The Corporation, they tried their hand at singles wrestling for some time. Gunn failed in his attempts to win the IWF Intercontinental Championship, but Road Dogg would become Hardcore Champion until an injury prevented him from honoring a championship match with Al Snow. Snow ended up fighting himself and then Bob Holly for the vacant belt at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, with Holly winning the title at the banks of the Mississippi River. When Road Dogg won the Intercontinental Championship on Raw Is War Gunn fought Holly (now dubbed as Hardcore Holly) and won when Holly crashed into an ad-hoc announcers table Jim Ross had constructed for his pirate broadcast of the show. Holly felt enraged that circumstances had conspired against him, while Snow still wanted another chance at the belt.
In the previous year, due to the suddenly enlarged roster, a shootfighting (unscripted) knockout tournament entitled Brawl for All was organized on a voluntary basis, with Bart Gunn winning the tournament on August 24 after defeating every opponent by knockout aside from his opening-round opponent Bob Holly. When Holly rechristened himself Hardcore Holly on February 15, decrying poor gimmicks and tag-team partners he had been given in the past, Gunn made his first appearance since winning the tournament, to remind Holly that not all his partners were of a poor caliber. This led to a hardcore match between the two, which Gunn dominated until a masked assailant, revealed to be "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, threw him off the stage. Williams claimed he did this out of revenge for losing to Gunn in the Brawl for All. The week after on Raw Is War, Williams' manager Jim Ross announced to Gunn he would be facing noted mixed martial artist and boxer Eric "Butterbean" Esch, who held a 43–1–1 record at the time, who challenged him to a Brawl for All fight.
From November's Survivor Seriesuntil the night after St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The Rock and Mankind (Jon Foley) traded the IWF Championship numerous times as Mr. Matteson screwed Mankind time and time again on his quest to headline WrestleMania. In their final match, a ladder match on Raw Is War, Marc Wight delivered the Showstopper to Mankind as he was about to win the match, removing his chances of appearing in the main event of WrestleMania. However, as Mr. Matteson's conspiracy of appointing Big Show as special guest referee to secure The Rock as champion began to fall apart, Mankind constantly offered his services as a second official. With The Rock and Big Show causing infighting in the Corporation, Mankind successfully canvassed for a chance to referee; rather than have two conflicting referees, a match was booked to give the winner the right to officiate the main event match.
When Ryan Shamrock (Jessica Webb) appeared front row on Raw Is War on January 11, she gained attention not only from her (kayfabe) brother Ken Shamrock, but also Val Venis (who performed a flirtatious dance for her) and "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn (who lived up to his moniker by mooning her). Enraged, Ken Shamrock fought Gunn at the Royal Rumble, then Venis at St. Valentine's Day Massacre, with Venis winning the Intercontinental Championship thanks to help from Ryan. Venis soon dumped Ryan, and she began a relationship with Goldust (Dustin Semmler). Venis also unwittingly lost his championship to Road Dogg on Raw Is War and found himself defending his championship against the important men in Ryan Shamrock's life in a four-corners elimination match.
Tori was sitting front row as a plant as early as September 14's Raw Is War, but it was not until late December that she began to act with stalker tendencies, sending flowers and notes to Sable, the Women's Champion and even helping her to defend her title against Luna Vachon at the Royal Rumble. On Raw Is War the night after the previous pay-per-view, Tori invaded the ring again and was publicly shouted at and humiliated by Sable. Vachon then brought Tori to the ring a fortnight after, reprimanding Sable for her ego, but a still-obsessed Tori helped attack Vachon. The following week on March 8's Raw Is War, Tori fought Vachon with Sable in her corner but after receiving a squash from Vachon, Sable also gave Tori a Sable Bomb, leading to Tori interrupting Sable's Playboy interview by demanding a championship match at WrestleMania.
Having been buried alive in a Royal Rumble qualification match at Rock Bottom: In Your House, The Undertaker disappeared from television while The Acolytes, Faarooq (Jon Rispens) and Bradshaw (John Goff), began to act strangely, eventually abducting Dennis Kraemer and leaving him tied up in a darkened room. On January 11, The Undertaker returned in slightly new attire, taking a seat in a ceremonial throne on the Raw Is War stage while Paul Bearer stood beside him and The Acolytes brought Knight out and tied him to a table. There, Undertaker performed a ritualistic ceremony, rechristening him as Mideon. Undertaker began delivering ambiguous apocalyptic messages, but after recruiting Mabel, now Viscera (Rodney Farrant, Jr.) and The Brood, he began to be more direct, revealing his plan to attack Mr. Matteson and take over the Internatinal Wrestling Federation.
The security of Mr. Matteson's Corporation, Big Boss Man, challenged the Ministry to a six-man tag team match, which ended in a no-contest when the Ministry abducted Shane Matteson and took him to Undertaker, who threatened him while choking him then gave him a letter to give to his father. Vince Matteson replied the following week on February 22 by booking The Undertaker in an Inferno match with Kane on Raw Is War, the first network television airing of that type of match. During the match, Matteson provided commentary, nonchalantly revealing he had placed Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match against Big Boss Man for WrestleMania. During the match, Paul Bearer gave an ominous gift to Matteson, a teddy bear. After Undertaker set Kane on fire, he turned to the enraged Matteson, taking the teddy bear (later revealed to belong to Kaila Matteson) and setting it alight, reducing Vince to his knees as he burst into tears. Trying to defeat either of his problems, Matteson declared he'd never show such weakness again and put Mankind against Undertaker, which ended with Undertaker almost chokeslamming Matteson through the announcers table until Boss Man saved him. Undertaker continued with his mind games on March 8, ordering his Ministry to look for Boss Man all night and attacking any innocents in his way, eventually capturing Boss Man and crucifying him. Boss Man managed to escape while police were being beaten off by Undertaker's minions until he offered himself to the police while being derided by Matteson. The following week he continued his assault, with videos playing throughout the evening of the Ministry at Matteson's mansion ending in Matteson coming to the ring while Triple K brawled with Kane, begging Kane to help him. Kane ripped off his mask to reveal it was actually The Undertaker who grabbed Matteson by the throat as the lights turned off in the arena and when they came up, he was gone with Matteson alone in the ring.
The main event of the evening was another chapter in the ongoing rivalry between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Matteson, which dated back to when Austin won the Royal Rumble in 1998. After Austin won the IWF Championship at WrestleMania XIV, Matteson set on a six-month-long quest to take the championship from him. With the exception of a one day reign by Kane, who won the championship in a First Blood Match at King of the Ring when his (kayfabe) brother The Undertaker caused Austin to bleed first, Austin thwarted each attempt by Matteson until Breakdown: In Your House in September 1998. There, Austin defended the championship against Undertaker and Kane in what was billed as a triple threat match. Matteson added a stipulation, however, that neither brother could pin the other to win the match; this led to both men simultaneously pinning Austin, causing him to lose the match and the championship. This had been part of a deal Matteson had made with the two men to protect him from Austin, with the reward of the championship if they were successful. However, Matteson went back on his word after Austin attacked him on the next night's Raw and announced he was forcing Undertaker and Kane to wrestle for the vacant championship at Judgment Day: In Your House. He also named Austin the special guest referee, hoping to humiliate him by forcing him to declare a new champion. Austin, however, had other ideas and counted both men out, declaring himself the winner of the match and leaving the championship vacant.
A Deadly Games tournament was scheduled for Survivor Series in November, in which it turned out that The Rock, not Mankind, was Matteson's choice for winner and had the tournament manipulated to his advantage, while Austin lost in a match when Matteson's son Shane, acting as referee, refused to count a pinfall to go to the finals. Knowing Rock would be busy feuding with Mankind, Matteson realized Austin was likely to use the 1999 Royal Rumble, rather than a personal attack, to attempt to reclaim the belt and laid down the stipulation that he must win a Buried Alive match against The Undertaker to be in the Rumble. When he did, with some help from Kane, Matteson further tried to prevent Austin winning back the championship by "randomly" drawing him as the first entrant in the Rumble and drawing himself as the 30th. However, IWF commissioner Shawn Michaels declared that due to entering the Rumble match, Matteson was now an active IWF competitor, meaning Michaels had full reign over him. Michaels then declared that Matteson would be not be entering the Rumble match as the 30th participant, but instead would be entered into the Rumble match as the second entrant, meaning Matteson and Austin would start the match against one another. Matteson would later try to incentivize other wrestlers to eliminate Austin by placing a $100,000 bounty on him during the Royal Rumble match.
Despite this, Austin (and, for that matter, Matteson) managed to stay in the match to the very end, although this was mostly due to him and Matteson leaving the ring at various points to brawl around the arena. At one point during the match, Matteson lured Austin backstage into an ambush from The Corporation, leading Austin to be taken away in an ambulance while Matteson returned ringside and provided commentary. Austin eventually returned to the match, however, and began eliminating other competitors before finally getting his hands on Matteson. Late in the match, The Rock, who earlier in the evening had regained the IWF Championship, came to the ring and started arguing with Austin. Matteson took advantage of the distraction and threw Austin over the top rope, thus winning the match.
Since he was officially now the winner of the Royal Rumble, Matteson was entitled to face whomever the IWF Champion was at WrestleMania. On the following night's episode of Raw, however, he announced that, since he was only a part-timer and the champion was a fellow Corporation member in The Rock, that he had filed paperwork relinquishing his WrestleMania championship opportunity and that he would be naming a replacement later in the evening. To his chagrin, Austin and Michaels informed him shortly thereafter that, according to the rules, his actions resulted in Austin, as the runner-up in the Royal Rumble, taking his place.
With Matteson irate, Austin revealed he was willing to put his title shot on the line and not headline WrestleMania if Matteson would give him the opportunity to fight him one on one with no interference from The Corporation; if Matteson could beat him, Austin would not go to WrestleMania. Their steel cage match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre mostly consisted of Matteson running away, but eventually the two fought with Austin winning the match under unusual circumstances when Big Show made his debut, coming from under the ring and throwing Austin into the cage with the walls of it coming open, meaning that Austin had inadvertently won.
[edit] Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Michael Cole (also Heat) |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Jim Ross (Main Event) | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich (Spanish) | |
| Owen Heart (battle royal only) | |
| Jeff Jarrett (battle royal only) | |
| Terri Runnels (Ivory v. Jacqueline) | |
| Interviewer | Kevin Kelly (also Heat) |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| Earl Hebner | |
| Jim Korderas | |
| Theodore Long | |
| Tim White | |
| Vinny Pazienza
(Brawl For All) | |
| Brawl For All Judges | Gorilla Monsoon |
| Chuck Wepner | |
| Kevin Rooney |
[edit] Pre-show
During the Sunday Night Heat pre-show, Jacqueline pinned Ivory after a back suplex. After the match, Terri Runnels burned her cigar into Ivory's cheek. The second Heat match saw a 21-man battle royal match with the last two competitors becoming a tag team for the evening to face the Tag Team Championship holders. In the event, D'Lo Brown and Test were the last two, still fighting without realizing the match was over when Droz and The Godfather eliminated each other. The show officially began with Boyz II Men singing "America the Beautiful" in the ring before the opening video.
[edit] Preliminary matches
The inaugural WrestleMania Hardcore Championship match began with Al Snow striking Billy Gunn as he tried to make a pre-match speech. With Gunn in the corner, Snow fought with Hardcore Holly outside the ring, wrapping his neck in cable but, after some fighting from Gunn, Holly was able to suplex Snow. After Gunn again interjected himself, Snow was able to go underneath the mat to find some weapons including a Philadelphia Flyers hockey stick much to the delight of the crowd. The match ended when Gunn put Snow through a table in the corner, originally intended for Gunn and then used the Fameasser on Snow, driving him into a chair on the mat. As the referee counted, Holly struck Gunn with a weapon, quickly covering Snow to steal his second championship reign.
The Brawl For All match began with the two meetings in the middle, Gunn running into some blows from Butterbean. The two traded punches, neither man managing to contact properly until Butterbean shook Gunn with a left-hand jab followed by a right hook which stunned Gunn allowing Bean to corner him, giving him another right hook which knocked him down. Gunn immediately came back upon his knees but took advantage of the eight seconds before standing up fully. As the fight resumed, Butterbean jabbed Gunn to the body and followed with a clean overhand right which sent Gunn back to the canvas, giving Butterbean a victory via knockout. The match lasted a total of 34 seconds. This was followed with an appearance from the San Diego Chicken, who mocked special referee Vinny Pazienza and was punched to the floor for it.
On the IWF WrestleMania special on HSN later during the pay per view, after the Shane Matteson on match, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams cut a promo on Bart Gunn in a backstage interview with Jim Ross by his side, saying that Butterbean's punch "wasn't lucky" and that "Bart deserved what he got", telling the viewer to keep watching IWF because "the Doctor hasn't finished his job yet". This was in hopes of setting up an angle between Williams and Gunn, and to continue building Williams as a credible midcarder. However, because of Gunn being released, their feud instead carried over to All Japan Pro Wrestling in the early 2000s, where in Japan the Brawl For All was better received.
Next up was the match between Mankind and the Big Show, where the winner would earn the right to officiate the IWF Championship match later in the evening. As Mankind entered the ring he was immediately headbutted out, but as Big Show followed him out, Mankind slammed Show's head into the steel steps. He then tried a double-armed DDT into the steps but was shoved over the steps falling backward. Show dominated Mankind in the ring afterward, using his sheer size to punch and throw Mankind, with Mankind eventually being tied up in the ropes, which allowed him to back body drop Show out of the ring. Mankind then took out Mr. Socko, a smelly gym sock, and stuffed the foul-smelling sock into the Big Show's mouth with the mandible claw three times. The third claw came with a low blow, for which Mankind was not disqualified. When Show stood back up, he had Mankind on his back with the sock in his mouth and jumped backward so that his entire body landed on Mankind, breaking up the hold. As the two recovered, Show kicked his opponent out of the ring, grabbing a steel chair and thrusting it into Mankind's chest then hitting it over his back. Big Show threw that chair and another in the ring, setting them both in seated positions and Show Stopping Mankind through the middle of them. At this point Earl Hebner finally decided to disqualify Big Show, with Show taking out his anger by attacking Mankind more with the chair. Mr. Matteson made his way to the ring afterward, berating Big Show for risking the IWF Championship match at which point Show grabbed him by the throat. He then thought better of it and released him, only to be met with another tirade from Matteson and a slap, causing Show to punch Matteson and knock him out.
The four corners Intercontinental match began with Ken Shamrock and Road Dogg in the ring, with the latter being thrown from corner to corner until Goldust tagged his way in, with running shoulder barges that floored Shamrock. Shamrock tagged in Venis who came in and instantly attacked Shamrock until Goldust backdropped him. Goldust tried the Curtain Call, but Venis flipped over Goldust's back only to be knocked down again by a clothesline from Goldust, who then put Venis on the turnbuckle and attempted a superplex. Venis fought back and replied with a diving bulldog following with a fisherman suplex pin which only resulted in a two count. The two then collided in the turnbuckle, causing Goldust to fall down and Venis to fall on him, headbutting his crotch. Shamrock took a blind tag from Road Dogg, after he replaced Goldust, immediately putting an ankle lock until Venis grabbed the bottom rope. As Venis grabbed the ropes to stand up again, Shamrock charged him but was tossed over the ropes as Ryan Shamrock insulted him. Venis went after Ken Shamrock and the two fought up the walkway with Shamrock running back to the ring, but not fast enough to avoid a double count-out. Shamrock, not accepting the decision belly to belly suplex slammed both competitors before leaving. When they recovered, Goldust Irish whipped Road Dogg but it was reversed. As Goldust ran into the ropes, he had his leg caught by Ryan Shamrock, seemingly trying to grab Road Dogg's leg. Road Dogg charged Goldust and was picked up for a powerslam, but managed to roll Goldust up with a small package, covering him for a successful three count.
Before Kane's match with Triple K, Kane entered the ring only to be attacked while he was performing his signature entrance by the San Diego Chicken. Kane fought back and unmasked the chicken, revealing it to be Pete Rose, trying to gain revenge for the previous year's incident, but receiving a Tombstone piledriver. Triple K also tried to ambush Kane by coming through the crowd while all eyes were on the stage entrance, hitting Kane out of the ring and then throwing him into the ring post and whipping him into the steel steps. Kane then picked Triple K up and straddled him on the crowd barrier, pushing him into the Mean Street Posse who were at ringside, picking him up again to ram his back into the steel post three times. Back inside the ring, Kane dominated Kelmsley with his rough fighting style, using his foot to choke Triple K and knocking him down with clotheslines and punches until Triple K gained momentum from a reversal, smashing Kane's face into his knee. Kane was allowed time to recover when Triple K was distracted by Chyna coming to ringside. Triple K tried to Pedigree Kane as he stood up, but failed while Chyna pushed the steel steps into the ring. Kane picked them up and ran into Triple K, who used the turnbuckle to swing his feet up and kicked them back into Kane, causing Kane to stagger backward and drop them before smashing his face into the steps from a drop toe-hold. Triple K then clotheslined Kane out of the ring, following himself and attempting to Pedigree Kane on the steps but was backbody dropped. When they made it back into the ring, Kane chokeslammed Triple K while Chyna entered the ring with a steel chair, telling Kane she wanted to attack Triple K, but as Kane turned, Chyna hit him with the chair, causing him to corner her but again was hit with the chair, this time by Triple K, who followed it up with a Pedigree onto the chair. Chyna and Triple K celebrated the reunion of D-Generation X afterwards.
The Women's Championship match began with Tori taking her time to enter the ring, Sable grabbing her hair when she finally did and tossing her back out. Tori regrouped outside and pulled Sable out by her legs, ramming her face into the apron and the barricade. She was whipped into the barrier herself and as she recovered, Sable performed a crossbody from the outside apron. Sable continuously assaulted Tori while down on the mat, but Tori delivered two vicious clotheslines to the corner on Sable, then attempted a sunset flip pin which began a series of pinning reversals ending in a stalemate. Afterward Tori tried a running attack on Sable but took out referee Jimmy Korderas unwittingly. Sable then tried to perform her Sable Bomb but Tori jumped out of it. As she tried to perform her own powerbomb, a muscled woman, later identified as Nicole Bass, came into the ring to gorilla press slam Tori. This allowed Sable to Sable Bomb Tori and pin her to retain the championship.
Before X-Pac could make his way to the ring, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco attacked him from behind. This ambush backfired, however, as X-Pac easily overcame them before running into the ring, with Shane Mattesonfleeing. Shane eventually made his way to the ring and was punched into the corner, escaping a Bronco Buster when Test pulled him out of the ring. Shane tried to escape once again, but X-Pac chased him and threw him back into the ring, only to be struck down by Test and then have his crotch rammed into the ring post. When he returned to the ring, Shane scoop slammed him and attempted a Corporate Elbow, with X-Pac sitting up just before the end, but he was brought back down with a low blow as referee Mike Chioda was distracted by Test. Shane continued to push the disqualification boundaries by whipping X-Pac with his belt several times before being back body dropped out of the ring, recovering only to be met with a flying crossbody. The Mean Street Posse tried to restrain X-Pac, but he fought back only to be floored by Test. After a superplex, the attempted pinfall was broken up by Test, causing referee Mike Chioda to eject him from ringside. X-Pac then whipped Matteson with the belt before roundhouse kicking him into the corner and performing the Bronco Buster. When Chioda checked on Matteson afterward, Test struck X-Pac with the championship belt, but by the time Matteson covered him he managed to kick out. Test tried to interfere once again, but took a Bronco Buster too. Triple K and Chyna then came to the ring to pull Test out. But as Matteson was floored by an X-Factor, Chyna distracted the referee to allow Triple K to Pedigree X-Pac and cover him with Shane, turning heel and allowing Shane to retain the title. The New Age Outlaws ran to the ring and brawled with Triple K and Test until the lights went out and Kane's music began to play but by the time the lights came up, The Corporation had fled the ring.
[edit] Main event matches
The Hell in a Cell match began with Big Boss Man punching The Undertaker into the corner until he ducked out and returned the same. Although Boss Man was able to deliver a swinging neckbreaker, Undertaker took control again throwing Boss Man into the cell. Boss Man reversed an Irish whip and threw Undertaker into the cell too, handcuffing one hand to the chain fence. Boss Man taunted Undertaker's lack of control before striking him repeatedly with his night stick causing Undertaker to fall to the floor and rip the handcuffs, though Boss Man carried on using the nightstick and cut Undertaker open. Undertaker fought back by grabbing Boss Man at the throat and throwing him back into the fence again, striking him with a chair and running Boss Man face-first into the chain fence with a fireman's carry. As the two returned to the ring Boss Man tried to clothesline Undertaker but he ducked and performed a leaping flying clothesline of his own before going Old School, ultimately falling into the ropes. The two began a fistfight in the middle of the ring with Undertaker failing a tombstone piledriver attempt, but successfully performing it seconds later and pinned him afterwards. Undertaker stood up and looked to the heavens with his hands upwards, signaling The Brood to descend onto the roof of the cell. They cut open the roof of the cell and passed through a noose, securing the other end to the top of the cell. The Brood then ascended back into the rafters as Undertaker put the noose around Boss Man's neck, with Paul Bearer causing the Cell to rise and take a hanging Boss Man with it. Over the years, this post-match segment has been seen as highly controversial, and has been subsequently edited off of various home video releases, as well as on Peacock and Netflix. After the match, a video package of the Rage Party was shown while Boss Man was taken down and carried off on a stretcher.
[edit] Reception
The event was met with mixed critical response. Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling section gave the entire event five out of 10 stars. The main event between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin for the IWF Championship was rated eight out of 10 stars; the Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Big Boss Man was rated five out of 10 stars; the match between Shane Matteson and X-Pac for the IWF European Championship was rated seven out of 10 stars; the match between Sable and Tori for the IWF Women's Championship was rated one out of 10 stars; the match between Triple H and Kane was rated four out of 10 stars; the referee match between Mankind and Big Show was rated four out of 10; the four-corners elimination match for the IWF Intercontinental Championship between Road Dogg Jesse James, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and Val Venis was rated five out of 10 stars; the tag team match for the IWF Tag Team Championship between D'Lo Brown and Test against Owen Heart and Jeff Jarrett was rated three out of 10 stars; and the triple threat match for the IWF Hardcore Championship between Hardcore Holly, Billy Gunn, and Al Snow was rated six out of 10 stars.
Writing for 411Mania in 2009, Rob McNew gave the event a rating of 5.5/10, stating, "Like most Attitude Era shows this one doesn't hold up very well ten years later" though he praised the main event bout between Rock and Austin. Similarly, Scott Keith gave the event an overall negative rating, while calling the Rock vs. Austin match "solid by default" and complimenting Shane McMahon's performance given his lack of wrestling experience. In 2012, Bleacher Report ranked the event 25th out of the 27 Wrestlemanias to that point, calling the event "underwhelming" and criticizing the Hell in a Cell match.
[edit] Aftermath
[edit] Results
- ^1 The other participants were: Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge, Viscera, Gillberg, Animal, The Holden Brothers8-Ball, The Holden BrothersSkull, Hawk, Scott Taylor, Faarooq, Tiger Ali Singh, Matt Hooper, Josh Hooper, Mideon, Brian Christopher, Steve Blackman, and Bradshaw.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| ← 1998 • 1999 IWF pay-per-view events • 2000 → | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Rumble • St. Valentine's Day Massacre • WrestleMania XV • Backlash • No Mercy (UK) • Over the Edge • King of the Ring • Fully Loaded • SummerSlam • Unforgiven • Rebellion • No Mercy • Survivor Series • Armageddon |
