The Rock won his second WWE Championship, DX continued their war with Corporation and Vince McMahon won the Rumble from No.2 in this entertaining, but not for the wrestling, PPV.
No review for the December PPV Rock Bottom as I've never seen it. But the big news coming into this was the ongoing war between Triple H's DX faction and Vince Mcmahon's Corporation. DX and Steve Austin had aided Mankind in winning the WWE Championship from the Corporate Champion The Rock. Mankind had agreed to a rematch, but only in an "I quit" match, an unloseable match for Mankind as he knew there was no way he would say those words. Several of the undercard matches would feature DX members against Corporation members for the minor championships. As for the rumble itself, Austin had won the right to contest in the rumble when he defeated the Undertaker in a buried alive match at the Rock Bottom PPV. But McMahon, promising there was "No Chance in Hell" of Austin winning the rumble, ensured that the man he thought was a Corporate Comissioner, Shawn Michaels, drew Austin as the No.1 entrant. Michaels did this, but then super kicked Mcmahon and announced that Vince himself would be the No.2 entrant. McMahon then put a $100,000 bounty on Austin's head. Following the Undertaker's loss to Austin, the Phenom started acting a little strangely, talking about Ministries and taking faarooq and Bradshaw as his Acolytes.
The night started off with a bad match, Boss Man taking on Road Dogg. Boss Man, along with Ken Shamrock, had recently won the tag belts from Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. Boss Man wins a short match with the Boss Man Slam. The next match saw Shamrock defeat Billy Gunn to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Shamrock winning a decent match with the ankle lock, and making a good night so far for the corporation and a bad night for DX.
Next up X-Pac gave DX some joy when he defeated Gangrel in a poor match to retain the European Championship. This was followed by a decent )for what it was) strap match between Sable and Luna Vachon, which Sable won to retain the Women's Championship. She had been aided a few times in recent months by a fan named Tori, in the beginnings of a "stalker" storyline that would later be used so memorably in a feud with Trish Stratus and Mickie James.
This brings us to the brutal and excellent WWE title match between the Rock and Mankind. After some great moments, including the two of them walking along the bottom railing of the titan tron, some thumbtacks etc, the Rock handcuffs Mankind and hots him repeatedly in the head with a steel chair until Mankind, unexpectedly said "I Quit" three times. It was later revealed that Mankind had not said the words at all, and it was a sound bite from a poem he had read on RAW the week before. mankind was given a rematch as part of the pre show for the 1999 Atlanta Falcons vs Denver Broncos Superbowl, where Mankind regained the Championship.
This left one match, the Royal Rumble. Austin and McMahon start off, but Austin is lured out of the ring by McMahon, both going through the ropes, and into the toilets, where he is ambushed by the Corporation, badly injured and taken to a local hospital. Mabel is later ambushed by Undertaker and Acolytes as he attempts to enter the match. He would soon become Viscera and join the Ministry. Kane came to the ring, but was soon running away from men looking to take him to the asylum (there were a lot of angles in this match which were much more interesting than the action). Later on in the match, Austin returns, driving an ambulance into the ring. He eventually eliminates everyone, but then calls McMahon, who is commentating, into the ring so he can humiliate him further and then win the match. However, Austin is distracted by the Rock, allowing McMahon to sneak up behind him, throw Austin out and win the Rumble. The Corporate plan was complete and Austin would not be wrestling for the championship at Wrestlemania. Surely this was not the end for Stone Cold?
No review for the December PPV Rock Bottom as I've never seen it. But the big news coming into this was the ongoing war between Triple H's DX faction and Vince Mcmahon's Corporation. DX and Steve Austin had aided Mankind in winning the WWE Championship from the Corporate Champion The Rock. Mankind had agreed to a rematch, but only in an "I quit" match, an unloseable match for Mankind as he knew there was no way he would say those words. Several of the undercard matches would feature DX members against Corporation members for the minor championships. As for the rumble itself, Austin had won the right to contest in the rumble when he defeated the Undertaker in a buried alive match at the Rock Bottom PPV. But McMahon, promising there was "No Chance in Hell" of Austin winning the rumble, ensured that the man he thought was a Corporate Comissioner, Shawn Michaels, drew Austin as the No.1 entrant. Michaels did this, but then super kicked Mcmahon and announced that Vince himself would be the No.2 entrant. McMahon then put a $100,000 bounty on Austin's head. Following the Undertaker's loss to Austin, the Phenom started acting a little strangely, talking about Ministries and taking faarooq and Bradshaw as his Acolytes.
The night started off with a bad match, Boss Man taking on Road Dogg. Boss Man, along with Ken Shamrock, had recently won the tag belts from Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. Boss Man wins a short match with the Boss Man Slam. The next match saw Shamrock defeat Billy Gunn to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Shamrock winning a decent match with the ankle lock, and making a good night so far for the corporation and a bad night for DX.
Next up X-Pac gave DX some joy when he defeated Gangrel in a poor match to retain the European Championship. This was followed by a decent )for what it was) strap match between Sable and Luna Vachon, which Sable won to retain the Women's Championship. She had been aided a few times in recent months by a fan named Tori, in the beginnings of a "stalker" storyline that would later be used so memorably in a feud with Trish Stratus and Mickie James.
This brings us to the brutal and excellent WWE title match between the Rock and Mankind. After some great moments, including the two of them walking along the bottom railing of the titan tron, some thumbtacks etc, the Rock handcuffs Mankind and hots him repeatedly in the head with a steel chair until Mankind, unexpectedly said "I Quit" three times. It was later revealed that Mankind had not said the words at all, and it was a sound bite from a poem he had read on RAW the week before. mankind was given a rematch as part of the pre show for the 1999 Atlanta Falcons vs Denver Broncos Superbowl, where Mankind regained the Championship.
This left one match, the Royal Rumble. Austin and McMahon start off, but Austin is lured out of the ring by McMahon, both going through the ropes, and into the toilets, where he is ambushed by the Corporation, badly injured and taken to a local hospital. Mabel is later ambushed by Undertaker and Acolytes as he attempts to enter the match. He would soon become Viscera and join the Ministry. Kane came to the ring, but was soon running away from men looking to take him to the asylum (there were a lot of angles in this match which were much more interesting than the action). Later on in the match, Austin returns, driving an ambulance into the ring. He eventually eliminates everyone, but then calls McMahon, who is commentating, into the ring so he can humiliate him further and then win the match. However, Austin is distracted by the Rock, allowing McMahon to sneak up behind him, throw Austin out and win the Rumble. The Corporate plan was complete and Austin would not be wrestling for the championship at Wrestlemania. Surely this was not the end for Stone Cold?
