wwe 1999

[AJS269]

Regards to 1999, At first, the wrestling in WWF wasn't any better, but the main event scene whether it was Mankind vs The Rock (admittedly the only really good thing in the first few months) or the Corporate Ministry storyline kept drawing in the fans, and by the time that started to waver the midcard had improved enough to carry the interest (A bit like TNA when in 2005, come for the main event stars, stay for the wrestling.)

I think there is a lot of rose tinted spectacles, firstly as it was around the time many people got into WWF as fans (My first WWF show I ever saw was in early 1999), and because ECW and WCW were starting to get into a (relative) downturn making WWF look better by comparison.

[King Pitcos]

1999 was one of my best times as a fan. Loads of kids at school were suddenly into wrestling again, and everything was exciting. Looking back, a lot of it was probably rubbish. I never liked Austin even then, and loads of Rock's 1999 stuff was actually cringeworthy, repetitive shite. But it didn't matter at the time. I loved Rock, Road Dogg, Debra, D-Lo, Al Snow, and plenty more. You had Jericho's debut, Rock vs Mankind, Rock vs Austin, the Rock & Sock Connection, the big tag ladder match, Kurt Angle and Crash Holly coming along. And that year had both "WHERE TO, STEPHANIE?" and "IT WAS ME, AUSTIN! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG!"

[The Gaffer]

I've been watching a lot of the Attitude Era stuff recently and whilst it's not all golden 99 seems to be holding up much better than 98 so far for me. A lot of characters were quickly brought in and had yet to fully bloom in 98 so at times it was a weird mix of this new attitude cast but also some unwanted remnants of the year gone by. The 98 B-Shows still played host to such alumni as the DOA which are a group that would be ludicrous to picture at even the shittest of the following years PPV's.

 

99 from about the end of summer on once the Ministry stuff was really wrapped up though was miles ahead of anything that came before it. They really started building towards that greatness that was about to come and it was a really nice period that was different from earlier that year and from the year it was setting up.

 

The Rock took over as the number one face, Triple H managed to completely transform his image simply by wearing short trunks and wetting his hair before a match - sporting that riddiculous leather hat and jacket look outside the ring and being a terrific bastard in the programs with Austin, Vince etc, The Dudley Boyz arrived as Edge, Christian and The Hardyz were becoming a big deal, SmackDown! came along, the production team figured out how to actually drain smoke from the arenas when they went to air, Test seemed cool as biscuits, Steph got drugged and married, Big Show was a big nasty bastard because his momma said so ... I could go on.

 

Fuck it thinking about it it's my favourite period ever in wrestling.

[TheBigBoot]

i have just watched Backlash 1999 and all i can say is what a great event compared to modern day WWE this wipes the floor with anything wwe have done in the last two years. Does anyone think WWE will ever get as good again ?

 

I thought that particular event was great fun (the Austin/Rock rematch in particular had me cracking up at some of the stuff they got up to) and one of the better ones that year but 1999 was a pretty bad year for wrestling overall.

 

1999 was a great year but there seems to be a trend nowadays to say it wasn't as good as made out to be.

 

I've noticed the opposite. Really I've seen more praise for 1999 in the last five or six years than I ever did beforehand. At the time it seemed everyone was calling it the "worst year ever". Admittedly that was twelve years ago now and I'm talking about more websites than I am forums like this (which I rarely read and never posted). Someone who was actually on the original UKFF would be more qualified to talk about whatever the feeling was on here so I'll let them chip in.

 

What I will say is that in general there was definitely a strong online opinion that whilst WWF was as popular as ever the actual product wasn't very good and/or had moved too far away from being a wrestling show. Other than the ones who found the angles and storylines themselves offensive (and there were a few) who admittedly are possibly a different group then the main complaints: too much talking, the lack of wrestling, lack of quality matches when the wrestling did happen, "ADD booking" of the titles (the IC and tag belts in particular seemed to change hands every week at one point) and the noticeable decline of top stars due to injuries (Austin, Foley and Undertaker in particular). They certainly didn't like Michael Cole calling Raw an "action adventure series" either.

 

I also get the impression there were also some who didn't like the fact there were so many casual fans watching, although again someone else might be better at answering that since it isn't the kind of thing I pay any attention to.

 

For the years immediately after then it seemed mostly the same in that people would talk about how great 1997-98 and 2000were but very little praise for '99. If anything it seemed to get even more criticism in that 2000-04 era than it did at the time because people started saying it "didn't age well" (by that I presume people mean what were considered the 'good bits' at the time not the stuff that was already getting panned) as well as the above. If the crap stuff was crap and the good stuff doesn't age well then that doesn't really leave a lot.

 

Not saying I totally agree with any/all of those opinions just that it has always had its critics. In fact I do think there was still some good wrestling however you just have to look a bit harder for it.

 

From a personal point of view it was nice to see it get so popular again, which wasn't something I thought I'd ever see on that level.

 

1999 was fucking rubbish. Russo had basically taken over and the TVs were full of his nonsensical crap, and even the PPVs started to become affected by his nonsense. The only good PPV was No Mercy in October, and that was after Russo had gone.

 

I think a lot of it had to do with Russo and Ferrara gaining more power coinciding with Jim Cornette leaving the creative team for OVW along with Jim Ross having less input into the creative side of the product (not in terms of loss of power since he was still always referred to as the second most powerful guy in the company as Head of Talent Relations but compared to 1995-98 where every other week you would hear about how something to do with creative was an idea he was one of the guys pushing for whereas there wasn't as much of that then other than maybe the Austin/Jarrett thing) in late 1998. Whilst McMahon was (and is) the guy who ultimately makes the decisions, you get the impression Russo was pretty much given free reign to do whatever he wanted with the underneath guys at that point compared to the previous year.

 

There was definitely a change in terms of how the TV was presented from late 1997-to around November 1998 compared to what happened in November '98-July '99. The last three months of Russo were different still, partly because they were getting ready to and then did launch SmackDown and I remember people saying he was burnt out (this would have been around the time he went to WCW since the argument at the time was that having a new roster to work with was going there would "refresh" him again and so he could beat McMahon in the ratings).

[Big Jock Knew]

I loved 1999. I was only 10 years old at the time so everything seemed so unpredictable and amazing. I know perceptions are different when comparing being a child to nowadays, but back then it just seemed like something interesting was happening on the show at all times. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there is plenty of drivel if you look back, but I bought into it so much more back then. I distinctly remember thinking Kane was totally awesome when he turned face. Hell, it was so good at the time that I expected Test to hit stratospheric levels of superstardom.

[JohnnyChimpo]

In my mind, from Mania 14 to Mania 17 is the best era of wrestling. Austin's run as the top guy in the company was a really special time. Austin was something else right up until that "End of an Era" First Blood match with Taker at Fully Loaded 99. From that point, until the he got knocked down at Survivor Series, he was so banged up for Summerslam and his match with Triple H at No Mercy, he wasnt up to much, but he recaptured his aura and form when he came back in September 2000.

 

The formation of the (to me anyway) real DX of HHH, X-Pac, Outlaws and Chyna, and their subsequent feuds with The Nation and then Corporation were excellent. The rise and turn of The Rock at Survivor Series was epic television. My favourite period of this period in particular is from pretty much the moment Triple H won the belt the night after Summerslam up until Mania 17. WWF/E just couldnt put a foot wrong, even the cringeworthy stuff that people are pointing out now was over as fuck. PPV openers like D'Lo v Jarrett were getting more crowd reactions than Wrestlemania main events now. Raw crowds were just wild. A sea of signs, people out of their seats more than they were sitting down, really adding to the atmosphere. Whats now pointed out to be shite stuff, was right for the time and had its place on the card. Even stuff like Mark Henry trying it on with a tranny got loads of laughs from the crowd at the time, so it worked in context. I think the only things I really cringe at when I look back is Mae Young and he general antics. Aside from the Dudleys putting her through a table, she was just terrible. Everything else was A+. Top to the bottom of the card felt stacked, even if looking back it wasnt. The audiences cared for pretty much everyone and everything. Fuck all the people who at the time were complaining that Judgement Day 2000 wasnt headlined by a Guerrero v Malenko iron man instead of The Rock and Triple H. Triple H, DX, Stone Cold, The Rock, Undertaker, Kane, Mankind, Shamrock, Benoit, Radicalz, Jericho, Hardyz, Dudleyz, E+C, Commish Foley, Too Cool and the Kish, Rhyno, Raven, Crash and Hardcore Holly, Val Venis, even Stevie Richards was over.

 

In today's climate, crowds suffer from apparent burnout if there is more than 2 big matches on a card as long as Mania, back then crowds were hot all the time. The live crowds are a bunch of pussies today. 2011's midcard (for whatever reasons) pales in comparison. The likes of The Miz, Punk, Kofi etc all look so shit when compared with the undercard of 1998-2001. The only ones I think you could transport back in time and have fit in would be Cena and Orton, and even then they wouldnt be at the top of the card.

[Mikeymike83]

I thought I was alone in thinking it was pretty poor. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it at the time as I just loved my wrestling back then, however it was instantly forgettable a few weeks later. Which, for a weekly episodic programme shouldn't be the case.

 

I seriously think i'll be the only one to say/admit this, but Rock n Sock bored me, it was good storytelling ie. former enemies now strained friendship etc but it bored me at the time. In fact come to think of it, i'm not really the biggest fan of WWF/E's intentional humour. I detest the 'This Is Your Life' segment. With a passion. I think both individuals can be very funny, but I like my humour to have a bit of inventiveness to it, rather than the same contived shite over and over. Which is why I don't like the Little Britain/Catherine Tate style drivel too.

 

I do remember being genuinely happy with the Hardys becoming Tag Champs, Triple H becoming WWF Champ and Jericho's debut. Getting a kick out of Kanes "Suck It", Miss Kittys whoreish ways! (I was 15-16!), and DX reforming. Being gobsmacked by Hardys /E&C ladder match, Owen's sad death and Miss Kittys tits at Armageddon.

But I also rember feeling generally apathetic towards Vince as the Higher Power, Meat and PMS, Beaver Cleavage, the Val/Gunn/Shamrock three way feud going on, the women's matches, Nicole Bass, Ministry, Austin, Rock n Sock (on their own was fine), Bossman/Mideon/Viscera/MSP/Gangrel/JOB squad etc matches and feuds, WrestleMania. I could list a lot more but feel i'll quit while i'm ahead.

 

It wasn't a terrible year at all but to be classed as commercially and creatively the best year in wrestling is just blasphemous. 2000 kills it, and 1997 from WrestleMania onwards makes it a mockery. And they were just the years close to 1999.

[Van Dammer]

1999 was the year they couldnt do anything wrong, even though they quite often did. The product and shows were so incredibly over that it made any gimmick or storyline seem like a big thing and decent. This was mainly because 1998 was easily their best year in their history to date, a new approach, new stars and new fans too made it immense. After that though each year picked up for me, 2000 saw the product evolve into mega shows every month and even every week, it was a massive mainstream thing and production picked up no end, more lighting and colour made it stand out for me. Thats really how I see the years for me, 1997 was really a good solid year for wrestling and great stories, 1998 was a breakthrough year in gaining new fans and creating a new dynamic in wrestling, 1999 seemed quite a dark year, felt quite rushed together but they just seemed to pull it off somehow, almost like they got a bit cocky and over confident in themselves, I guess they were so big they were happy to push things and try to find the new level theyd been able to find in previous years, 2000 was so big and colourful that it was so fun to watch and from 2001 onwards you got the modern day WWF/WWE and not much has changed since in reality.

[garynysmon]

It wasn't a terrible year at all but to be classed as commercially and creatively the best year in wrestling is just blasphemous. 2000 kills it, and 1997 from WrestleMania onwards makes it a mockery. And they were just the years close to 1999.

 

Yeah, I agree too.

 

Doesn't look like many others do though. There's a big place in my heart for the gang wars and the Hart Foundation running riot!

[Magnum]

I've been watching a lot of the Attitude Era stuff recently and whilst it's not all golden 99 seems to be holding up much better than 98 so far for me. A lot of characters were quickly brought in and had yet to fully bloom in 98 so at times it was a weird mix of this new attitude cast but also some unwanted remnants of the year gone by. The 98 B-Shows still played host to such alumni as the DOA which are a group that would be ludicrous to picture at even the shittest of the following years PPV's.

 

99 from about the end of summer on once the Ministry stuff was really wrapped up though was miles ahead of anything that came before it. They really started building towards that greatness that was about to come and it was a really nice period that was different from earlier that year and from the year it was setting up.

 

The Rock took over as the number one face, Triple H managed to completely transform his image simply by wearing short trunks and wetting his hair before a match - sporting that riddiculous leather hat and jacket look outside the ring and being a terrific bastard in the programs with Austin, Vince etc, The Dudley Boyz arrived as Edge, Christian and The Hardyz were becoming a big deal, SmackDown! came along, the production team figured out how to actually drain smoke from the arenas when they went to air, Test seemed cool as biscuits, Steph got drugged and married, Big Show was a big nasty bastard because his momma said so ... I could go on.

 

Fuck it thinking about it it's my favourite period ever in wrestling.

 

 

A great summary. As you allude to, the period between Wrestlemania and Summerslam seemed a bit directionless, but even then Rock, Austin, Vince and Shane were pulling enough MVP performances on the mic to make it entertaining. The second half of the year, however, was absolutely tremendous for me. I loved the Triple H monster push, and Jeff Jarrett and the Bossman were also doing great work around that time.

 

 

In today's climate, crowds suffer from apparent burnout if there is more than 2 big matches on a card as long as Mania, back then crowds were hot all the time. The live crowds are a bunch of pussies today. 2011's midcard (for whatever reasons) pales in comparison. The likes of The Miz, Punk, Kofi etc all look so shit when compared with the undercard of 1998-2001. The only ones I think you could transport back in time and have fit in would be Cena and Orton, and even then they wouldnt be at the top of the card.

 

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact the crowds back then were largely comprised of pissed-up teens and students who were there to see Austin, Rock and Triple H, but most of all to have a good time. That sort of crowd is just naturally going to be rowdier and more vociferous than kids with short attention spans and a disinterested parent either side of them. For those who follow football, it's like the difference in atmosphere between being in the away end at a match, surrounded by hardcore fans who've had a few pints and resolved to make a day of it, and being in the family enclosure.

 

And before anybody jumps on me with sarky rhetoric and the words 'PG sux lol', I'm not saying anything about whether the direction of the promotion today is right or wrong. Noisy crowds don't automatically translate to more money.

[garynysmon]

And before anybody jumps on me with sarky rhetoric and the words 'PG sux lol', I'm not saying anything about whether the direction of the promotion today is right or wrong. Noisy crowds don't automatically translate to more money.

 

Very good point. There's no doubt that kids will make their parents buy more merchandise than people of my age generally would though.

[Big Jock Knew]

And before anybody jumps on me with sarky rhetoric and the words 'PG sux lol', I'm not saying anything about whether the direction of the promotion today is right or wrong. Noisy crowds don't automatically translate to more money.

 

I think this is an important point to consider. When you think about it, even though there are some enjoyable things on there at the moment; the general consensus seems to be that WWE is currently sterile or going through a bad phase. This is just guesswork as I haven't seen any concrete figures but I imagine the business is quite healthy: the merchandising has expanded globally, the international tours are gold-mines (especially here), what may be considered losses in PPV buyrates dropping are still bringing in a steady cash flow due to their cost effective nature and frequency.

 

But back in 1999, I remember adverts in WWF Magazine for WWF endorsed Zippo lighters etc, and there is the old rumour that Vince wanted to market WWF cock rings and condoms. Also, 1999 was the time when I can first remember my parents taking an active interest in the show's content: we had been watching wrestling in our house since the late 80s, and even as late as 1998 I was always safe in the knowledge that my parents didn't care what happened on WWF/WCW because "it was just the wrestling". Cue letters home from school warning parents that all the children were wrestling at playtime and that it was to be banned etc. My parents never banned us from watching wrestling but I specifically remember them being quite taken aback by the new direction of The Undertaker's character in his feud with Austin/the focus on Debra's "puppies" and an isolated incident in WH Smith when my mum bought me an issue of WWF Magazine with a particularly grotesque image of Gangrel on the front.

 

Back then, it seemed cool to like wrestling. I think really young kids won't notice as much, but certainly when I was aged 10: I think I'd be aware of how watered down the show is. That's not to say I disagree with everything - the anti-bullying campaign is good I suppose. It's just a significant departure from the ads on TV in the late 90s that showed you all the wrestlers wreaking havoc in Titan Towers (God I loved that ad).

[PunkStep]

I think the undercard talent in 1999 and to a lesser degree 1998 was pretty shit, especially when you look at 2000. Far too many stables with nobodies in there for the sake of having stables (which was even more fashionable than peddle pushers and chokers in those days)

[LaGoosh]

While the in-ring action wasn't always the best in terms of storylines 99 had so many rich, multi-layered emotional storylines that lasted months and got everybody involved over.

 

One of my favorite examples being the Kane & X Pac storyline. It started when Kane joined the corporation and hooked up with Chyna for a little while. Kane & Chyna then fueded with Triple H eventually leading to Chyna turning on Kane to go back to her previous bloke and then Triple H turning on DX joining the corporation. Meaning that Kane had been betrayed by his first love interest and kicked out the only group that took him in and X Pac had been betrayed by his best friend. These two lost souls eventually formed a friendship and became a tag team and gradually X Pac taught Kane how to be a human being and was the first ever person to show genuine care and affection for him. During this period Undertaker was fueding with Stone Cold. Undertaker tried to turn Kane back to the darkside if you will so he could help him defeat Stone Cold just like the two of them had toghether in the previous year. For a few weeks it looked like Kane would join Undertaker but when Undertaker attacked X-Pac, Kane realised where his allegiance lied and saved X Pac and chokeslammed Undertaker (in a fantastic angle I've spent ages looking for on YouTube to no avail). Also at this time Kane had been fueding with the Big Show. At Fully Loaded '99 X Pac got his revenge on Undertaker and effectively cost him the WWF Championship. The very next night Undertaker attacked X Pac and Road Dogg, Kane came out for the save and Big Show came out to attack Kane. Undertaker and Big Show dominated Kane and realised that together they were unstoppable and decided to form an allegiance. This lead to their tag team title match at Summerslam 1999.

 

Here's the hype video if you cannot remember this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHohJob46A4

 

It was a detailed, exciting storyline that had it's genesis in February/March and eventually ended in August and it was chock full of twists and turns and emotional moments and it was basically a mid card fued. Nowadays they barely even have fueds for the main event matches let alone for the mid-card. Back in 1999 the cards as a whole were packed with storylines that evolved naturally over months. The standard of wrestling is better nowadays but where's the heart?

[Doog]

It was just a fantastic time to be a fan, the likes of which I dont think will ever be rivalled again.

 

Everyone I knew watched wrestling, it was the 'in' thing, there was hardly anyone that didnt watch it. Every single superstar was over as well, it was fantastic, I just remember feeling sad on a Saturday after Smackdown ended on a saturday morning because I had to wait a whole week till the next episode

 

A lot of it probably wasnt perfect, but it appealed to the masses like never before, I know a lot of people say it doesnt hold up these days, but it does for me because it's just entertaining. Every single segment means something, every superstar has a character and a storyline. You don't have that these days, there was no matches that just happened without reason, every episode ended on a high and just had you begging for more, the main events of every TV show were big and the show built to it.

 

I don't think wrestling will ever connect on such a level again, it still gets me these days just how popular it was, it went with the times, wrestling was cool, I remember seeing loads of people in town with wrestling shirts on, nowadays people get laughed at wearing them. The PPV's were built towards brilliantly, the WWF Championship meant everything. I really miss this era. 1998, 1999, 2000 and some of 2001 will never be rivalled again I dont think, I don't see how wrestling can fit in with society these days like it did back then. It'll get popular again sure, but never on this level. Kinda sad really.