WWF King of the Ring 1999

King of the Ring 1999 was a return to form for the tournament, as the WWF held the full eight man bracket on pay per view for the first time since 1995, and headlined with Steve Austin battling Vince McMahon for control of the WWF in a ladder match that would trigger the infamous ‘who moved the briefcase?’ debate.

Unfortunately, my friends and I never got the chance to see it. In the weeks leading up to the show, we started seeing flyers posted all around the hallways at school, advertising that a local coffee shop would be airing the show. Since we were a bunch of middle schoolers, the prospect of seeing the show for free (sidestepping the usual begging that went with getting your parents to order one of these frequent and increasingly expensive pay per views) sounded great – but when our group of wrestling geeks showed up the afternoon of the show, we found out it was a prank. That would have made for a good wrestling angle too, but much like Steve Austin in the main event, ‘who posted the fake signs?’ was never solved.

From Greensboro, North Carolina; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.  


Opening King of the Ring Quarter Final Match: Hardcore Holly v X-Pac: Holly wins the initial lockup with a side-headlock, and drives Pac to the mat with a shoulderblock. Another headlock, but X-Pac gets the best of another criss cross with a hip toss - but a blind charge misses, and Holly hooks a front-facelock. X-Pac with a bodypress, but Holly shrugs him off with a powerbomb, and pounds on the neck. X-Pac manages a side suplex, and a spinkick leaves Holly in the corner for the lightning kicks. Those leave him slumped for the Bronco Buster, and Hardcore bails for a chair - blasting X-Pac for the disqualification at 3:01. Too short to go anywhere, leaving it a disjointed TV-level match. DUD

King of the Ring Quarter Final Match: The Big Show v Kane: Big staredown to start, but Kane's mask manages to protect him from Show's breath long enough to strike first. Show shrugs him off in the corner, however, and nearly puts him through the ring with a hiptoss. Kane tries choking to come back, but Show shrugs him off again, this time with a lariat. Kane gets his attention with an enzuigiri (likely because he stopped to ask how to spell it), but Show quickly realizes he has no use for spelling, grammar, or deodorant - and boots Kane to the floor. Kane tries a flying clothesline on the way back in for two, but Show still can't be bothered to sell, but Kane's smart enough to dodge a big boot this time - the referee taking the bump. That draws Hardcore Holly in with a chair, but Kane shrugs him off too, and starts choking Show until he gets him down to one knee. Unfortunately, the referee is out, so the choke lasts a good two minutes before Show counters (the crowd getting antsy, waiting for someone to run in), but Kane whacks him with a chair, and the referee magically wakes up (maybe the sound of the chair shot was an alarm?) to count the pin at 6:36. More no-selling than a sex-toy vender at an STD clinic, but at least it didn't go on for too long. DUD

King of the Ring Quarter Final Match: Ken Shamrock v Billy Gunn: Shamrock got attacked by Steve Blackman during the Sunday Night Heat (the pre-game show), and is 'bleeding internally' as a result. He still manages to show up for the match though, since what's internal bleeding when there's a tin wrestling crown on the line? Gunn takes advantage and destroys him with a backbreaker, and stomps the midsection. Shamrock tries for the Anklelock, but he's too weak, and Gunn easily escapes. Billy pulls him to the outside for drop onto the rail to aggravate the internal injuries, so Shamrock makes another meek attempt at an Anklelock which is again easily broken. Gunn with a flying splash, but Ken dodges, and pulls himself together for a diving backelbow, and a leg lariat. Rana, but Gunn powerbombs him to counter, and Ken starts coughing up blood, so the referee stops the match at 3:34. Psychologically sound, if dull. ¼*

King of the Ring Quarter Final Match: Jesse James v Chyna: Chyna got into the tournament when Triple H (in her corner) felt it was beneath him. Jesse gives her a clean break off of the initial tie-up, but Chyna's not shy shoving him across the ring in return. They trade hammerlocks to a stalemate, so James tries a side-headlock, but Chyna powers out and blasts him with a forearm. Chyna with a headlock, as the crowd is starting to get restless with all the 'I won't hit a woman!!' stop/start bits. Chyna doesn't get things going much by busting out a boot-choke (I think we've all seen enough choking for one night), and they finally work in a highspot when James reverses a whip into the corner, and Chyna bumps to the floor. Triple H gets involved as he tries to follow-up, however, and Jesse gets shoved into the ringpost while Chyna recovers. Back inside, Chyna unloads with knife-edge chops in the corner, and a backelbow gets two. DDT gets two and a kneedrop for two, so Chyna tries a sleeper - only for Jesse to reverse. That looks to be it, but HHH sticks her foot on the bottom rope to force a break. James bitches at him for it to allow Chyna to schoolboy him, but it only gets two, so Hunter blasts him with a pair of knux - but that only gets two. Jesse comes back with dancing punches, and a dancing kneedrop so HHH tries to get back into it, but Shawn Michaels (playing the WWF Commissioner) pulls him back to the locker rooms. The distraction is enough for Chyna to blow Jesse low, but he's wearing a cup (hey, if Chyna were trying to touch my balls, I'd wear more than a cup), and Jesse finishes with a pumphandle-slam at 13:20. First, who the fuck booked this to go fifteen minutes?! All start/stop/stall stuff, with no flow or finesse. Plus, who bought the 'Road Dogg' character as the bastion of chivalry? DUD

#1 Contender's Match: Edge and Christian v The Hardy Boyz: The Hardy's charge in for an immediate four-way brawl, and the dust settles on Christian and Matt Hardy. Christian catches him with a dropkick, but gets railroaded into the Hardy corner when he tries an armbar, and the Boyz double-team. Jeff Hardy tags in, but gets quickly caught with a gutbuster, and Edge comes in with a hiptoss, but gets taken down with a headscissors in the corner. Another try gets him whiplashed, but he manages to lift his boots as Edge comes off the 2^nd rope, and both men tag. Matt takes him to the mat with a chinlock, but Christian fights up to a vertical base, so Matt gives him a Northern Lights suplex for his troubles. Tag to Jeff, but he runs into Edge, and we have a highspot focused four-way brawl - ending in Jeff blasting Edge with the Twist of Fate at 4:49. Both teams had potential, but this was a mess, held together by a few neat spots. ¼*

King of the Ring Semi Final Match: Kane v Billy Gunn: Gunn uses his speed to evade Kane, but gets caught in a choke (oh no...), and hammered in the corner. Short-arm clothesline sets Gunn up for a headbutt, and Kane's fixin' to stomp a mud hole in the corner, so Billy bails. Kane stalks him with the ring steps out there, but Gunn dropkicks him in his face, and mounts him with punches on the floor. Kane takes a couple of trips into the post (it may not be a vacation, but if you do it enough, you'll be forced to take one), and Gunn hooks a facelock in the ring. Kane powers up with a powerslam (hey!), and a big boot has Billy bailing. That draws Big Show back out with a chair, and he manages to whack Kane with it for Billy to pin at 5:26. All punch-kick stuff here. DUD

King of the Ring Semi Final Match: X-Pac v Jesse James: Both guys size each other up for a bit, and Jesse hooks a headlock, but gets countered with a side suplex. X-Pac with a sliding legdrop for two, ad he stops this breakneck pace with a chinlock. Thank God, I was having trouble keeping up with all of the highspots. James fires back with dancing punches and a dancing kneedrop for two, but he walks into a well executed spinheel kick from X-Pac for two. Pac misses the Bronco Buster, however, and Jesse quickly capitalizes with a pumphandle-slam, but Pac counters into the X-Factor to advance to the finals at 3:08. X-Pac tried to work some nice stuff into this, but it was too short to go anywhere, and Jesse's act never properly translated to singles competition. ¼*

WWF Title Match: The Undertaker v The Rock: Undertaker starts the match by decking the referee, so Rock responds with the Rock Bottom - but there's no one to count. Another referee runs in, but by the time he makes it into the ring, Undertaker has recovered, and chokeslams the challenger for the original referee (completely cool with the whole getting attacked thing, apparently) to count two. 'Taker sends the Official cowering into the corner, but the distraction allows Rocky to takeover again - this time clotheslining the champion to the outside. They brawl up the aisle to the entrance area, and we get the cliché whips and rams into various pieces of the set to hammer home that this is a main event level match. Undertaker suplexes him in the aisle on the way back to ringside, and inside, 'Taker goes after the arm. He tries the ropewalk forearm, but gets crotched on the top rope, and Rock grabs a bottle of water from ringside to spit a bit in his face. Somehow, that isn't enough to win the WWF World Title, so Rocky shoves him back to the floor, and they go into the crowd to tour the arena. Rock with more liquid based offense out there (beer!), as apparently he misunderstood Undertaker's gimmick as the Wicked Witch of the West. Back to ringside, Rock tries a chair shot, but 'Taker counters with the ring bell and Paul Bearer (aligned with the Undertaker at this point, for those Bearer-tracking) whacks the challenger with his shoe. Into the ring, Rock tries some closed fists to turn the tide, but walks into a DDT to kill that effort. Undertaker with a chinlock, but Rock fights up to a vertical base, and drops the champ like a Samoan for two. Criss cross ends in a double knockout, but they go nowhere with it, as both guys just sort of get up after a while. After some posturing, Undertaker tries for the Tombstone, but Rock counters into a DDT for two, and drops the People's Elbow, but the referee got bumped in the process and there's no one to count. That allows Paul Bearer to pass 'Taker a chemical soaked rag, but Rocky blasts him with a clothesline before he can use it, and smothers the champ down. That draws Triple H in to Pedigree the Rock, leaving both men on their backs as the referee comes back to life. 'Taker manages to get an arm across his chest for two, and the Tombstone finishes for real  at 19:47. What a horrible, clumsy, clichéd, overbooked match this was. No drama, no heat, no logic (the Undertaker hit the referee square in the jaw at the bell, and no one thought anything of it) - no good. DUD

WWF King of the Ring: Billy Gunn v X-Pac: Billy jumps the battered X-Pac at the bell, and unloads on the injured neck/shoulder before hitting a Stinger Splash. Another one misses, however, and X-Pac manages to clothesline him to the floor, and dive after with a plancha. X-Pac with a flying bodypress on the way back in for two, but he gets caught with a bulldog coming out of the ropes, and Billy press slams him. Billy hooks a front-facelock on the mat, and he hits a powerslam as X-Pac tries to fight his way free. Fameasser gets two, leaving Gunn arguing the count and getting caught with an X-Factor as a result - but he kicks out at two. Pac retains the momentum with lightning kicks in the corner, and the Bronco Buster, but walks into a neckbreaker as he dances around celebrating, and Billy kills him with a 2^nd rope Fameasser at 5:33. That booking decision was pretty much universally derided (both fans and critics alike were groaning at the notion of 'King Gunn'), but the WWF was intent on pushing Gunn as a singles star - going so far as to program him with the Rock for SummerSlam. The match was more underwhelming quickie junk, but again, X-Pac put in a good effort. ½*

Main Event: Handicap Ladder Match: Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon v Steve Austin: A briefcase hangs above the ring, and whomever retrieves it has 'control' of the WWF. Shane had been attacked on Sunday Night Heat earlier, so Vince tries to sub Steve Blackman in as a replacement - but Commissioner Michaels won't have it, and has Shane dragged out. Good for him! He only got attacked by a former UFC champion. Not like he lost his smile, or anything. The McMahon's strategize on the floor, and settle on just going straight for the ladder, but Austin objects by clotheslining them both in the aisle. He beats both McMahon's back into the ring for various mud hole stomping and Thesz pressing, but eventually gets overwhelmed in a double-team on the floor, and choked with some electrical cable. Vince heads up the aisle to retrieve the ladder, but Austin manages to fight off the force that is Shane McMahon, and brawls with Vince by the entrance set. Shane recovers to join in, and he and Steve end up climbing a piece of the set for Shane to fall off of. Austin throws the McMahon's into various ladders set up as part of the entrance set, and then pulls a support piece out from under the set - collapsing some ten ladders on top of the McMahon's, in a cool spot. That allows Steve to take the main ladder back into the ring, but Vince and Shane are at his heels, so he puts Shane though a table with a pointed elbowdrop off of the ladder - only to crash into a table himself when Vince tips the ladder over as he follows the elbowdrop spot up. With Austin in a heap under the table, Vince takes the ladder in to climb, but Austin blows him low to stop him from grabbing the case, and slams Vince off of the ladder. Meanwhile, Shane has recovered enough to get into the ring, so Austin pounds him with the ladder for getting uppity, and fires him into it with a slingshot. Austin climbs, but Vince stops him halfway up by tipping the ladder. The McMahon's try to sit on each other's shoulders to get to the briefcase, but Austin derails that ridiculous plan by simply shoving them over. Both guys gets Stunners for playing, and Steve makes an uninterrupted climb, but the briefcase starts pulling away from him when he gets to the top. Austin assaults the timekeeper thinking he had a hand in it, but while he's busy doing that, Vince is climbing. They meet at the top of the ladder (the wrestling version of An Affair to Remember), but Shane tips the ladder before Tom Hanks even shows up to add his two cents. He makes his own climb, and the case gets lowered right into his hands at 17:11. This sparked the infamous 'whole moved the briefcase?' debate, though unlike with Mr. Burns we'd never learn the truth, and eventually stopped caring. Not a good match (or a good ladder match) in the traditional sense, but it was fun, exciting, and entirely entertaining. *

BUExperience: Dear God, those kids did us a favor! I wish we found out who made up those flyers – I’d send them a bucket of KFC. What a relentlessly boring show. Filled with quickie matches, tons of backstage stuff, a dead crowd, and no real historical significance outside of starting an angle that was never paid off – which happened a lot in 1999 anyway. DUD