Raw is War - December 13th, 1999

• During the Raw intro I was struck by something odd; Triple H is barely in it. I mean there’s a shot of him from 1997 for a split second. That’ll need to be updated. He’s been all over every show for months now.
• This Raw is the debut of the newer style Raw stage where large screens are added at the side of the titantron to make it look bigger. They have a new logo on them too, which is basically a “black-power” fist. That one doesn’t catch on. It is an important visual change as we enter a new era and the year 2000.
• Backstage, Triple H and his now apparently happy wife Stephanie McMahon walk around holding hands and smiling. You know she’s a heel now because she’s wearing leather pants. Elsewhere, Shane McMahon is out in the parking lot awaiting the arrival of Vince McMahon. 
• In the arena, the new Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho opens the show. I really like that his theme song keeps playing for a bit while he starts his promo. They should make that a thing. He is very proud and happy to be the Intercontinental Champion. His being the champion has given the entire WWF credibility, apparently. As he talks, he’s interrupted by X-Pac. That would seem to confirm that Y2J is definitely a good guy now because everyone hates X-Pac. He says he knows how to treat a lady (he means how many times he’s assaulted Tori lately) and challenges Jericho to a title match. Y2J non-verbally accepts but before Pac gets to the ring, Chyna’s music interrupts and she and Miss Kitty (the new WWF women’s champion) come out onto the stage to watch. Given the way DX has reformed lately it is odd that Jericho’s first challenge after his dealings with Chyna is a member of DX. It doesn’t mean anything but it's interesting. Jericho has the match won with a powerbomb and then a Walls of Jericho but Chyna distracts the referee so he misses the tap out. She then punches X-Pac with a forearm so that Y2J wins by disqualification. Chyna then leaves, and both JR and King are utterly baffled by her motives.

• Triple H and Stephanie go to confront Shane McMahon in the parking lot and taunt him. Shane is furious with her and berates her for what she’s done to her family. She is unmoved.
• The Godfather (with eight hoes this week!) comes out for a match but before we find out who his opponent is, GTV shows us a sweaty Mark Henry in bed gushing about how the sex he just had is the best of his entire life. He sounds like a man in love, and the camera pans over to reveal his partner was Mae Young. Everyone is shocked/disgusted. Mark Henry then enters the arena (looking very serious) as Godfather’s opponent. Sexual Chocolate doesn’t look too amused by Godfather’s joking around about Mae Young. Mae ends up coming down and helping “her man” win the match.

• Vince McMahon arrives in a limo carrying a sledgehammer. Shane desperately tries to get his dad to calm down and think this through. Vince looks like he's in a trance and keeps pushing ahead through the back. Vince goes right to the DX locker room and smashes down the door with the hammer, but there's no one inside. He then takes off to the ring, all while Shane tries to pull him back and refuses to take part in Vince’s mission.

• Vince does head out to the ring after a commercial break and seems hell bent on killing Triple H with his bare hands tonight. He grabs a mic and wastes no time calling The Game out to the ring and calls him a coward and “a rapist” which is intense. Triple H’s music plays but it’s Stephanie McMahon that walks down to the ring. She has had a complete personality transplant since last night, wearing a smug smirk and walking with a swagger. She encourages her dad to hit her with the hammer, convinced he’d never do it. It would be pretty funny if he called her bluff and did it. The fans chant “you’re a bitch” at her. As she talks about how she did have a crush on Triple H this whole time, the fans loudly chant “slut”. And I mean loudly. She explains why she chose to turn on Vince and side with Triple H and reminds us of all the horrible things Vince and Shane did to get at the start of the year when he was “the higher power”. She is right. Vince put her through hell, just so he could screw Stone Cold Steve Austin. (The fans chant “Austin” for a moment). So her logic seems to be that somewhere between Triple H forcing her to marry him, and Armageddon, she made the decision to give in to her evil thoughts and side with The Game. She ends on telling her dad that Triple H “really turns her on” which then brings out her husband. She meets him at the top of the ramp and they kiss as Vince looks on, heart broken.

• After the break, Vince McMahon is backstage screaming at his driver to get him out of here. Shane goes with him. Vince screams himself hoarse saying he can’t bear to breathe the same air as Triple H and Stephanie. The newly weds watch on and realise that yes, this leaves them in charge of the show. 
• The Rock comes out in the arena (to an enormous ovation) and addresses a huge Rock fan - Wade Boggs? I think that’s his name? He’s a baseball player though. After a pandering local promo, his partner Mankind enters next. The Rock did mention that he doesn’t know who his opponents are tonight. I thought that might lead to a big reveal but it’s just The Dudley Boyz. D-Von demands the music be cut immediately. He tells The Rock n’ Sock Connection about the Dudley commandments but before he can finish, The Rock stops him in his tracks. He asks their names (you know where this is going) but he adds a funny spin by stuttering his “it doesn’t matter” and the match begins. The match breaks down and The Dudleyz get themselves disqualified. Before The Rock and Mankind can even react to the news, Triple H and Stephanie come out onto the stage. The Game is pretty much drowned out by “asshole” chants. He says his first act as the man running the show, he’s making this match no disqualification and restarting it. The Rock says he doesn’t give “three drops of monkey piss” about that, and challenges Triple H to come down to the ring and be a man and fight him himself. He also calls Stephanie “the little tramp” which gets a huge cheer. Bubba Ray and D-Von jump The Rock from behind and after the ad break, the match continues and The Rock and Mankind take turns hammering both Bubba and D-Von with chairshot after chairshot to the head on the outside of the ring. The Rock has the match won after a People’s Elbow on D-Von but Bubba pulls the referee out of the ring and punches him out. Triple H and Stephanie then come back out and introduce a new referee (wearing a Vince McMahon mask) who rushes to the ring and fast counts Mankind and The Dudley Boyz win! A big upset but hardly clean. The Rock catches the evil referee and Mankind unmasks him - it’s Al Snow! The Rock n’ Sock Connection start beating up Al but he escapes when The Dudleys jump on them. The Rock gives a Rock Bottom to Bubba Ray, and the original referee revives and counts the three count. So I guess The Rock and Mankind do win, despite the best efforts of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

• Backstage in their locker room, X-Pac (dressed fully in scuba gear?) laughs about some plan he has with Triple H and Stephanie. 
• The Mean Street Posse go to visit Triple H and Stephanie and kiss up to the new bosses. But Stephanie refuses to let them off for their previous bad behaviour and books them against Bradshaw and Faarooq. 
• Miss Kitty defends her newly won Women’s title in a “chocolate pudding” match. Miss Kitty debuts her own solo theme song here and comes out in a very tiny bikini that shows a lot of “cheek”. Lillian Garcia at pool side does the ring announcement and Miss Kitty stops her and says she’s changing her ring name, officially, to The Kat. She did say she’d do that to be fair. Backstage, Tori argues with Stephane McMahon. Tori doesn’t want to take part in this degrading match and says she isn’t even dressed to wrestle but ultra feminist Stephane McMahon tells her to go and wrestle in her bra and panties or it’ll be her boyfriend Kane that gets punished. They wriggle around for a bit in their underwear in the pudding and get covered and Tori locks in one of the worse looking submission holds I’ve ever seen and we then find out why X-Pac was in the scuba gear earlier. He comes out to interfere and Tori jumps on his back. She actually takes a really rough bump on her head as they fall back into the pool. Kat pins Tori to “win” this “match” and then Kane arrives and chokeslams X-Pac into the chocolate pudding! Kane actually breaks the side of the pool while he does so and then slips in the pudding too. Kane is jumped by The New Age Outlaws and the three DX members escape as Kane chases them. When Lillian Garcia announces the winner as “Miss Kitty”, The Kat gets offended at getting her new name wrong and shoves Lillian into the chocolate pudding too. There was a LOT going on in this segment.

• Rodney, Pete Gas and Joey Abs enter for their three vs. two handicap match with The Acolytes. This match has a little history as on Sunday Night Heat last week, The Posse got bold and tried to make a name off Bradshaw and Faarooq. The Acolytes are much cooler with their new theme song and their “love drinking and poker” gimmick is making them popular. The Acolytes beat up all three men and with stiff spine busters, clotheslines, a brutal chairshot to Pete Gas’ head and a double powerbomb on Joey Abs, end their beating and just leave. They don’t even go for a cover.
• In another backstage segment, The New Age Outlaws go to see Triple H and Stephanie. They comment on the huge platter of meats and cheeses on the table, which is funny. Triple H tells them to sit down and watch this cage match - but doesn't say who’ll be in it. 

• Matt and Jeff - The Hardy Boyz take on Edge and Christian in a tag team steel cage match, set up by Triple H and Steph to presumably soften up two of their buddies Roaddogg and Mr. Ass’ top contenders. This match wastes no time with Jeff Hardy missing a Swanton Bomb from the top of the cage, and then Edge hitting his own corkscrew dive down onto Matt and Christian within a couple of minutes of the bell. After some cool spots where it looks like both teams have the match won, its Edge and Christian who officially win.

• Kane and Tori try to leave the arena but Triple H and Stephanie stop them and tell Kane that he has a triple threat match tonight. They’re just making this show up as they go along! In the arena, the WWF Tag Team Champions Roaddogg and Mr. Ass enter and they are to be Kane’s opponents in this “triple threat” match. On his way to the ring, Billy stops to kiss a couple of kids - its future AEW Tag Team Champions Colt and Austin. They are literally babies here. This ends up just being a dressed up handicap match of course and Kane does his best to fight off both Tag Team Champions and does well! He chokeslams Mr. Ass but Roaddogg is there to break up the cover. Even with low blows, two on one odds and a barrage of double team moves The Outlaws have to double pin Kane, only barely get the three count and Kane is back on his feet before they even get out of the ring.
• Triple H and Stephanie in another office segment, they discuss the WWF Champion The Big Show who they apparently forgot about. After the ad break, he enters for a handicap match against The Big Bossman and Prince Albert where if either of those men win, Bossman becomes WWF Champion. The Big Show attacks them on their way to the ring and in the actual match, works fast and is motivated. He seems to be taking his role as champion seriously! He plants Albert with a chokeslam but Bossman is there to break up the pin. He gets drilled with a chokeslam of his own and The Big Show retains the WWF Championship.

• Stephanie McMahon breaks the news to Roaddogg and Billy Gunn that they’re going to defend the tag team titles in the main event. They are unhappy about that and Triple H has to lay down the law and says that he is the new boss. Stephanie says she wants to see her husband compete and so The Outlaws will defend the tag team titles against Triple H and…Test. 
• Stephanie comes out with Triple H for the main event, followed by his “partner” Test. He looks incredibly angry and upset as he makes his way to the ring. The Outlaws sprint to the ring and jump Test on the outside. There seems to be some tension between Triple H and The Outlaws as they object to him throwing his new found power in their faces. The champions work over Test two on one for a long time until Triple H forces Test to tag him. He teases fighting his buddies but as we all saw coming, it’s a setup and Triple H attacks his partner. The Outlaws and Triple H beat down Test three on one while Stephanie smiles and cheers them on. She even gets in the ring and slaps her former fiance across the face over and over. Triple H ends it all with a stiff chairshot to Test’s head just as X-Pac arrives and the show ends with all four members of DX celebrating with a crotch chopping Stephanie McMahon.

Smackdown! - December 16th, 1999

• After a long recap of the events of Armageddon and Raw, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon address the entire WWF roster in a big open conference room. Stephanie says that Vince and Shane are not here tonight and that she and DX are running the show. Triple H says Raw was about them asserting themselves but going forward things will be more fair. Triple H says people have been held back and they will get their shot, and that some people have had things handed to them. He promises things will be fair. Stephanie gives Mick Foley a one on one match with Al Snow. Triple H says that he knows The Rock wants the WWF title, and so tonight he’s going to give him a singles match with The Big Show for the title. Well those are both…good decisions? I think we all smell a rat. Stephanie formally gives this new era its name - The McMahon/Helmsley Era. 

• Hardcore Champion The Big Bossman comes out with Prince Albert. Bossman says that if we thought what he did to Al Snow and The Big Show was bad, wait until we see what is next. Before he can talk much more, he’s interrupted by Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho. Y2J gets some laughs making fun of Bossman and says he’s boring all of his Jericholics. The challenge is accepted by Albert who starts fighting with Y2J in the ring. Chyna and The Kat enter to Chyna’s music and come to ringside to watch. Chyna gives Albert a low blow and allows Jericho to retain his IC title over Albert. Y2J seems very surprised that Chyna helped him. 

• Backstage, Triple H says he could never figure out Chyna and Stephanie apparently takes Triple H’s comments personally as being about “women”. She then says she wants to go to the ring and watch Kurt Angle’s match because “he’s cute” (that's a storyline that runs off and on for the next year and a bit!) but his opponent is Test. Triple H is unhappy about it and doesn’t want her putting herself in danger but she goes anyway. 

• Kurt Angle - still undefeated in singles action - takes on Test. Test had his heart broken by Steph and was beaten senseless on Raw. Before the match begins, Triple H’s music hits and Stephanie comes down to the ring to watch the match up close. She joins commentary and after talking about how cute Kurt Angle is, she has the bell rung and disqualifies Test for using closed fists. He goes out to confront Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley and as he tries to get in her face she leads him up the ramp where he’s jumped from behind by Billy Gunn, Roaddogg and X-Pac. She and Triple H watch as the three DX members beat down poor Test again. After the break it seems like Test has had his nose rebroken and Stephanie goes to laugh at him she’s questioned by Brisco and Patterson - Triple H books them against the New Age Outlaws later and if they don’t compete then they’re fired.

• The Hardy Boyz enter together and tonight they have been booked to face each other! Terri Runnels doesn’t seem happy. I thought the McMahon-Helmsley regime was going to be fair? The match gets heated and the two brothers slug it out, even shoving down Terri when she tries to calm their tempers. Matt wins a short back and forth match and the two hug and shake hands afterwards.
• Tori bursts into Triple H and Stephanie’s office and shouts at them over the degrading pudding match she was booked in on Raw, and Kane’s being beat down. Stephanie takes issue with Tori’s tone and says that she’ll face her tonight! After the break, The Mean Street Posse are the next ones to go and “kiss the ring” and suck up to try and get on the new bosses good sides.
• Tori enters first for the match with Stephanie, who comes out wearing a leather skirt and very much not dressed to compete. She also has Triple H with her. Steph says that this match was to humiliate Tori and as she talks, backstage the Posse attack Kane three on one and use weapons to hammer Kane down, overwhelming him. Tori leaves the ring to go and check on her man but Steph stops her and says that she will instead be facing X-Pac. He quickly hits her with the X-Factor and pins her. After the break, Kane came down and collected Tori and carried her to the back, and then out of the arena. 

• Al Snow vs. Mankind, which was changed to be a no disqualification, falls count anywhere match apparently at Snow’s request to DX. He comes out with a baseball bat but is jumped by Mick before the bell. Al Snow debuts one of my favourite of his gimmicks in this hardcore match, putting on a bowling shirt and trying to throw a bowling ball into his opponents crotch in the corner. It’s counted and its Mankind who uses the ball instead. Snow leads Mick up the ramp as the match continues and they disappear, fighting into the staging area by the entrance ramp. They fight through the back and end up fighting into the DX locker room. The cameraman goes down and there’s the sound of chair shots. Snow collapses back through the door and Mankind crawls out and pins Snow to win the match. This looks like it was an attempted setup by Snow but it backfired. The Rock emerges from the locker room holding a steel chair and pulls the fake “DX” sign off his own locker room door. The Rock n’ Sock Connection outsmarted Al Snow. 

• Ahead of their tag team title match, Patterson worries that The Outlaws are going to kill them but Brisco tries to pep him up! They can do this and win the tag titles! 
• Edge takes on Christian. Much like the tag team cage match on Raw, this seems to be McMahon-Helmsley trying to take out a couple of The Outlaw’s biggest potential rivals. Following a messy counter-counter roll up sequence, Edge pins Christian. Christian is a bit of a sore loser after the bell, but does calm down and raises Edge’s hand. 

• Backstage, The Mean Street Posse try to leave in a hurry after their assault of Kane earlier but Triple H and Stephanie stop them and send them out to the ring for another match with The Acolytes. Faarooq plays a lot up to the crowd when they come out, seemingly confirming that they’re good guys now. The Acolytes win, and then continue the beating anyway with another stiff, brutal chairshot to the head on Rodney and then a pair of double powerbombs. 
• Lillian Garcia interviews Jim Ross and asks for his opinion on the McMahon-Helmsley era. He says he thinks their actions are reprehensible and awful. She asks him for one word to describe Stephane McMahon. He hesitates and doesn’t want to say “bitch” out loud but does call her one. After the break, Triple H and Stephanie get in JR’s face and after some threats from The Game, Stephanie slaps him in the face! He goes down like he was picked off by a sniper rifle which just made me laugh. 
• Too Cool and Rikishi take on Hardcore and Crash Holly, and Viscera in a six man tag team match. The only noteworthy spot is when Scotty 2 Hotty does the Worm, King and Cole argue over whether it's called the caterpillar, or the centipede. Neither lads. The match ends when Viscera bails on The Hollys and Rikishi pins Hardcore with a Banzai drop. Too Cool and Rikishi dance after the match and Scotty gets the whole crowd clapping along with them. They debut the dimming of the arena lights for the dancing during this, and the crowd cheers and laughs. The dancing gimmick is so over! 

• Backstage the New Age Outlaws laugh about how their tag title match is now no disqualification, and that they need to give the old men the beating of their life. Out in the arena, Patterson and Brisco enter “Real American” which is still funny. This match is officially for the WWF Tag Team titles and I think everyone wanted to see the old men pull off an upset. Brisco throws powder into Billy’s face and Patterson pulls a chain out of his pocket and wraps it around his hand and punches Roaddogg. He locks him in a Boston Crab as Brisco takes down Billy in a knee bar! They might have the titles won by submission but Roaddogg fights out and the champions take over. That was fun, hopefully flurry. The Outlaws overwhelm the stooges and pin Brisco with the Fameasser. 
• In the main event, The Rock challenges The Big Show for the WWF Championship. To no one's surprise, this was never as straightforward as Triple H giving his nemesis a title match and before the match begins, Triple H and Stephanie come out and take a seat together to watch from the ramp. He says that this is a lumberjack match and the ring is then surrounded by every heel in the company, led by D-Generation X. The match begins but sure enough as soon as one man is on the outside he’s swarmed and attacked by everyone before being thrown back in. The Rock delivers a Rock Bottom after a distraction from Roaddogg but Mr. Ass breaks up the pin. The Rock is beaten up and then The Big Show hits a massive chokeslam. That pin is also broken up and he's attacked by the lumberjacks. The two fight to the outside and are attacked by all the lumberjacks, but that brings Mankind to the ring with a shopping trolley full of weapons. He uses them to clear out the reem of henchmen, and The Rock and Big Show join in! The show ends with Mankind, The Rock and The Big Show working together with weapons, chokeslams and Rock Bottoms to clear out all the bad guys, as Triple H looks on from the ramp. It’s Viscera who takes the Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow combo to truly end the show and leave the McMahon-Helmsleys fuming. 

Raw is War - December 20th, 1999

• After I drew attention to it last week, the Raw intro has been updated to include a shot of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon together. 
• Michael Hayes joins JR on commentary in place of Jerry Lawler who is in LA for the premiere of Man on the Moon (the Jim Carrey movie he and JR are both in - don’t bother, it's terrible). 
• In the McMahon-Helmsley office, Triple H and Steph discuss the WWF locker room’s lack of holiday spirit. They’re going to start “giving until it hurts”. The Mean Street Posse are standing by in tuxedos, working as their butlers.

• Test - now wearing a protective face gear to cover his broken nose - takes on The New Age Outlaws in a handicap match. Test didn’t know who his opponent was or what the match would be when he came down to the ring. This is a terrible Christmas present. As The Outlaws work over Test, Edge, Christian and The Hardy Boyz are backstage watching. They’re friends with Test and were all part of his wedding party, but also The McMahon-Helmsleys have tried to take both teams out on behalf of The Outlaws last week (with the cage match, and then making them fight their own partners). Billy and Roaddogg focus their attack on Test’s face. Billy finally pins him with a Fameasser.

• Edge, Christian and The Hardyz go to see Triple H and Stephanie together. They’re sick of the games and being made to fight each other. After some giggling and whispering, Triple H books Edge and Matt vs. Jeff and Christian in a “winners vs. losers” match. 
• In the next McMahon-Helmsleys office segment, Kurt Angle goes to see them. Steph flirts with him so Triple H books him against the 500lbs Viscera. 
• Both teams enter with their normal partners, but are then shuffled in the ring. Edge and Matt vs. Jeff and Christian. They fair off and fight each other's partners and the match proceeds. Christian and Jeff Hardy win a fun but short match when Jeff hits a 450 Splash on his brother. Matt is bleeding from his mouth after the match and might have his own broken nose. The four help each other up afterwards and it’s confirmed on Smackdown that Matt Hardy cracked his cheek bone during this match.
• Triple H calls Mae Young and Moolah into their office and books the two old women in a triple threat tag team match tonight against The Dudley Boyz and The Acolytes.
• The McMahon-Helmsleys head out to the ring. Stephanie calls Jim Ross into the ring - she slapped him on Smackdown. JR seems convinced that he’ll be fired but does go. The fans chant “slut” at Steph. They put up their own pictures on the new big screens on either side of the titantron, and after some taunting Stepanie shoves him over Triple H. The Game threatens to break JR’s arm again but Mankind’s music interrupts. JR manages to escape and get back onto commentary. Mick Foley has had enough of these two. He’s sick of Triple H and says that he thinks the McMahon-Helmsley era sucks. He calls Stephanie a hoe, and Triple H fires up. Mankind dares him to fight him but after some whispering from Stephanie, Triple H books him in a boiler room brawl tonight. Mankind desperately wants it to be with Triple H, but he refuses to say who the opponent will be. Stephanie wishes Mick a Merry Christmas and slaps him. 

• Kurt Angle takes on Viscera. Triple H wants to see Kurt get beat up because Stepahnie thinks he’s cute. She sulks. Steve Blackman comes down and cracks Viscera with a kendo stick which allows Kurt Angle to remain undefeated. It's implied that Steph was the one who sent Blackman out to help her crush. 

• Moolah and Mae Young enter first for the triple threat tag team match. They’re both dressed to wrestle and seem keen to compete. D-Von reads them the Dudley Commandments on the walk to the ring. They attack and punch both women in the face and stomp and kick at them before locking in submission holds! The Acolytes make their way to the ring pretty calmly, not feeling the need to save these ladies apparently. They do hold Bubba and let Moolah and Mae Young get in some shots but Bubba takes great delight in punching both women again. He and D-Von perform the top rope double team headbutt to the groin on Mae Young! Bubba pins Mae to officially win the match, but then Bradshaw and Faarooq brawl with them. Mark Henry - Mae Young’s boyfriend - runs to the ring and helps out before tending to his woman. 
• Triple H and Steph discuss who Mankind’s opponent should be and decide on it being Santa Claus. Michael Cole then interviews Mankind who talks about not wanting to fight Santa - like it might be real - but he’s then attacked by the Mean Street Posse who force him inside. Mankind laughs at getting beat up by the Posse of all people, and finds Santa inside. He explains that he doesn’t want to fight Santa and offers to let him win but then a trio of Santa’s attack Mick! It’s three local enhancement talents that Mankind easily fights off with a trash can and a frying pan. Around the corner he’s jumped by two more Santas but these ones are Roaddogg and Billy Gunn who do beat down Mankind and put him through a table. Mankind is the master of the boiler room brawl and fights back against them too. He sings Christmas carols until the final Santa - this one Triple H - who smashes a glass pane over Mankind’s face and officially, Santa Claus wins the boiler room brawl. 

• Al Snow goes to see the McMahon-Helmsleys and demands a Brahma Bullrope match with The Rock tonight. Triple H tells him off for demanding anything, but does grant his request. 
• The Godfather (with six Christmas hoes) challenges Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship. Chyna comes out and once again helps Jericho win.
• Another McMahon/Helmsley sanctioned match - Val Venis vs. Hardcore Holly where the winner gets a shot at the IC title, but Val will have BB in his corner and Holly will have Terri in his. Every time one of them throws the other over the top rope, the other woman has to lose an item of clothing. This continues until one of them is “topless”, but we all neither woman is actually going to show some skin. They both seem very angry about the whole situation. Val is the European Champion, which hasn’t been mentioned since he won the title. Val is his usual massive sex pest self. Triple H does come out to enforce the rules and when both men go over the top, he makes both women lose an item of clothing. They’re both wearing dresses so are immediately in their underwear. It’s all deeply uncomfortable as neither woman looks particularly pleased to be forced to strip. Holly manages to get Val over which means that Hardcore wins and gets an IC title shot on Smackdown. Triple H dismisses Terri and tells BB she has to either remove her bra or she’s fired. She removes her bra, but Triple H covers her up with his jacket so he’s the only one that gets to see, which draws boos. My Time played when he came out and when he left. I love that song, but I feel like since Armageddon I’ve heard it 8000 times on the past three shows. 

• Al Snow debuts his new heel theme song when he comes out to face The Rock. He does still have Head with him and for this match, a thick bullrope. The Rock dominates Snow and has the match won, obviously but with a ton of interference from Roaddogg and Billy Gunn, Al Snow defeats The Rock! 
• After getting on their nerves all night, the Mean Street Posse finally anger Triple H enough to book them in a match. They worry that it’s going to be The Acolytes again but instead it's two members of Too Cool. The Posse are happy with that. After an ad break, Tori is once again complaining to Triple H and Stephanie about their treatment of Kane. Triple H gives Kane a WWF title match tonight against The Big Show, but if Kane fails to win the title then Tori will have to “spend the holidays” with X-Pac. That has a lot of room for interpretation. 
• The tuxedo wearing Mean Street Posse enter for their match against two members of Too Cool, but when they get to the ring learn it's actually a six man tag and Rikishi will be involved as well. Too Cool and Rikishi easily win and then dance and everyone is happy. 
• Kane challenges The Big Show for the WWF title in the main event of Raw. Triple H and Stephanie (yes, with My Time playing AGAIN) come out to sit at the top of the ramp all cuddled up in an armchair to watch this match play out. Kane is very impressive with an enziguri head kick and then a flying clothesline from the top rope to the floor. They fight around the outside and trade the control back and forth but Kane is very focused on winning the WWF title. The Big Show gets frustrated and uses a steel chair to cause the disqualification, but Triple H restarts the match as a no disqualification match. The two keep fighting and are both counted out, so Stephanie restarts it as a no count out match. Triple H tacks on a “falls count anywhere” stipulation too. The match continues as The New Age Outlaws head down to ringside to get a closer look. Kane very impressively gets The Big Show up for a Tombstone but drops him when he sees The Outlaws abducting Tori! The Big Show powerbombs Kane through the announce table to pin him and retain the WWF title. Tori is carried away by DX to spend the holidays with X-Pac and the show ends on a smug shot of Triple H and Stephanie sarcastically wishing us all a very Raw Christmas. 

Smackdown! - December 23rd, 1999

• Smackdown opens much the same as it did last week, with the assembled WWF roster being addressed in a conference room backstage. It’s not the McMahon-Helmsley regime, it's Mick Foley. He thinks that this new era stinks, and he feels like the rest of the roster agrees with him. Who the hell are Triple H and Stephanie to book them in matches? He also correctly points out that no one needs to see the Mean Street Posse seven times in one show. This is his rallying cry, but just as everyone starts to agree Stephanie McMahon walks into the room and reads the riot act. She says that she’s only been in charge for two weeks and that she’s going to stop listening to Triple H. This is now just the McMahon era and makes some matches - Test against Roaddogg, The Rock against Al Snow in a steel cage and Mankind against The Big Show for the WWF title, with Triple H suspended above the ring in a cage so that he can’t get involved. She also invites Test, Edge, Christian and The Hardyz to come to the ring and get their own revenge on Triple H after the match. It seems that Stephanie and Triple H have had a little falling out off screen, but obviously no one believes her. 

• The Intercontinental Champion Y2J Chris Jericho opens the show in the arena. He is fully babyface now, and has been helped to win his last three matches by Chyna, his former nemesis. He is defending against Hardcore Holly, who became number one contender on Raw. The match is short and as Jericho locks Hardcore in the Walls of Jericho, Crash Holly hits him from behind to cause a disqualification. The two Hollys start to beat down the Intercontinental Champion but he’s rescued by Chyna who saves him and then just leaves. Y2J looks just as confused as the rest of us.

• Backstage, Roaddogg and Billy Gunn question Triple H about Stephanie’s announcements and her having seemingly gone rogue tonight. In a different segment, Stephanie McMahon tells Kane that if he keeps her safe from Triple H and the rest of DX tonight then he can have a match with X-Pac on Raw. She lays it on pretty thick with what X-Pac is presumably doing to Tori since she was forced to spend Christmas with him.
• Rikishi - who doesn’t come out to the Too Cool theme song for some reason and has his own generic, bad theme song - takes on Viscera. Big Vis actually has the match won after a clothesline and splash but doesn’t go for the cover. Rikishi wins a short match with the Banzai drop. Too Cool’s music does play at the end of the match, and Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty come out to do their post-match dance ritual. This is the debut of Rikishi’s yellow sunglasses that give him magic dancing powers. The gimmick is complete and the fans love it. 
• In another backstage segment, Stephanie (with her bodyguard for the night, Kane) goes to see Test. He doesn’t trust her, and she’s really cold and short with him but does guarantee Roaddogg won’t get involved in the match.

• The debut of a backstage interviewer. Johnathan Coachman! He interviews The Rock, which is ironic as The Rock making fun of him is what he’d become best known for. It’s a funny Rock promo as he talks about the history of the millennium and all the important things that have happened, most importantly him raising his eyebrow for the first time. The worst nights include the night Mrs. Snow gave birth to Al Snow. 
• Test takes on one half of the Tag Team Champions, Roaddogg who as promised by Stephanie McMahon, doesn’t have any backup. Test wins clean with his good looking Elbow drop from the top rope, and then grabs a steel chair to continue the beating after the match. Roaddogg does escape as referees hold Test back. So Stephanie did keep her word.
• DX goes to see Stephanie about her actions, but Kane tries to grab them. She calms him down and offers him a match with Mr. Ass tonight. Triple H sits down with Stephanie and says he might have gone too far but she needs to calm down and can’t put him in a cage. She says that this isn’t personal and talks about how good their sex life is (gross) but this is business. He says he can’t be put in a cage above the ring and left for all those guys to attack and eat him alive. Stephanie goes outside and gets herself some police officers, to make sure that he doesn’t get involved in anything tonight and that he does get in the cage like she demanded. He’s forcefully removed from the office as he calls out “I’m your husband!” over and over.

• Olympic Gold Medal winner, the undefeated Kurt Angle comes out and talks about how Texas has intensity, and integrity, but no intelligence. His opponent is Edge. This is a good match which Angle wins when much like on Raw, Steve Blackman hits Edge with a kendo stick so Kurt can hit the Olympic Slam. Backstage, Stephanie McMahon gets in Steve Blackman’s face and tells him that she didn’t want him to do that. She has apparently turned over a new leaf, but everyone is sceptical of how sudden it is. 
• Al Snow got a fluke victory over The Rock on Raw thanks to a ton of interference by Billy Gunn and Roaddogg. The Rock gets a rematch in a steel cage, and Al Snow has been told that if he wins this match then he can have a WWF title match! Al attacks the People’s Champion before they’re even in the cage and The Rock beats him up all around ringside before they head inside to officially start the match. This is a really good cage match, which features a lot of creative use of a steel chair. The Rock hits a spinebuster onto the chair and follows with a People’s Elbow to win it and hopefully end this half-feud.

• In the women’s locker room, Ivory shows the rest of the women plans of a pool that is being built for them to fight in. Odd moment as we hear Luna’s real voice expressing that she’s sick of the women being degraded. They’re all united to “save the womens division”. When Ivory comes out to the ring, King and Michael Cole are pretty sexiest as they basically call the girl’s outrage sour grapes. Ivory says that Miss Kitty is a disgrace to the title and she wants to WRESTLE her for the title, any stipulation she wants as long as it's in a wrestling ring and not in a pool or a gravy bowl or something. Women’s Champion The Kat comes out dressed as Mrs. Claus and she does have Chyna with her. I do try not to objectify the women during these articles and maybe it's because heels say such nasty things about Chyna’s appearance for cheap heat but I think Chyna looks amazing during this period. Gorgeous. Kat says she’ll face Ivory in a match that’s no disqualification and no count out. Chyna calls the former Miss Kitty out of the ring and gets in herself. She easily beats up Ivory and hits her with a Pedigree then lets The Kat pin her to retain the women’s championship. Ivory’s complaints about the treatment of the women’s division are totally legit but she’s portrayed as a heel for not wanting to take her top off or wrestle in gravy. The fans do at least chant for “Chyna” so she’s popular. 

• Backstage the Mean Street Posse approach Taka Michinoku and Funaki of Kaientai. It’s very racist as they keep calling them Chinese, talk about chopsticks and rice and make them say words with Rs and Ls in them. Jesus Christ.
• Christian teams up with Jeff Hardy - a weird mix, but needed because Matt Hardy is currently injured. They take on the Kaientai team that Joey Abs. Pete Gas and Rodney were so racist to in the previous segment. The Posse do come to the ring with them too for some reason as well. The action between Taka, Christian and Jeff is really good. Funaki isn’t in the ring enough to really show off what he can do. Not being regular partners and with their history of matches against each other Christian and Hardy get in each others way which lets Taka and Funaki take advantage but its not enough to make the difference and Christian and Jeff win with an awesome Unprettier/Swanton Bomb combo. After the match, the Mean Street Posse patronise Kaientai so they dropkick them in the back and run away from the three on two odds.
• Jim Ross talks to Mankind backstage and wisely says that despite appearances we probably shouldn’t be so quick to trust Stephanie McMahon’s change of heart. 
• Kane faces the other half of the tag team champions, Mr. Ass. I flip between calling him Mr. Ass and Billy Gunn but for those wondering, Mr. Ass is his OFFICIAL ring name, but they do also still call him Billy Gunn. Kane, upset about his girlfriend Tori being stuck with X-Pac, furiously attacks Billy. Kane wins quickly and easily with a chokeslam but when he tries to continue the attack and Tombstone Billy on the floor, Mr. Ass escapes through the crowd. Triple H and Roaddogg run off to try and save their DX mate but the police stop Triple H so its Roaddogg flying solo that has to save the day. As Kane pulverises Billy into the backstage area he runs into Roaddogg who begs Kane to leave him alone and gives up Tori and X-Pac’s location - she’s at the airport! 

• Mark Henry, accompanied by his girlfriend Mae Young and her friend Moolah comes out for his match with Bubba Ray Dudley after he punched the two old women on Raw. Mark reads a poem to Mae before the match. Bubba calls him a disgrace and a big dumb olympic failure. Both are kind of right? That whole “sex addict that sleeps with his own sister” storyline was abysmal. D-Von tries to get involved by Mae and Moolah are there to stop him. The distraction allows Mark to easily defeat Bubba with a flapjack and then a splash on the mat. 

• Stephanie McMahon leads a kicking and screaming Triple H to the ring to be locked in his cage above the ring. Test, Edge, Christian and Jeff Hardy come out to stand up on the ramp, looking forward to getting their hands on Triple H after the match. The Big Show also taunts Triple H, pushing at the cage and laughing. Stephane McMahon joins commentary and the match, officially, is a WWF title match between Mankind and The Big Show. She is playing this as a big change of heart but continues to be really nasty to Michael Cole. This is a good match where they have an entertaining brawl around ringside and use steel steps and chairs as weapons. Mankind hits with a stiff chair shot to the head while standing on the announce desk which looked great! The fans chant for Socko as Mick puts on a sleeper hold, and Big Show gets Mick up on his back and falls, driving all of his weight into the challenger. Show goes for a chokeslam but is kicked low and Mankind gets a near fall with a double arm DDT. Mankind pulls out Socko and readies for the mandible claw and the two men tumble over the ropes to the floor. With both of them laid out, the cage starts to lower. Just like that, a bunch of heels -The Hollys, Kurt Angle, Bossman and Albert, Viscera and move - run out and attack Test, Edge, Christian and Jeff Hardy. Stephanie McMahon unlocks the cage and releases Triple H  and kicks Mankind low. Triple H wraps a chain around his fist and uses it to beat Mankind mercilessly in the ring while the Outlaws run down and beat up The Big Show. Stephanie feigns concern but then cuddles up to Triple H and sure enough, like we all predicted all show long, Stephanie’s change of heart was all a ruse and she was in on it all along. It was a set up to beat down their various rivals. The show ends on DX beating down Mankind in the ring while the fans chant “slut” at Steph.

Raw is War - December 27th, 1999

• The show opens with D-Generation H in full - X-Pac, the WWF Tag Team Champions Roaddogg and Mr. Ass, Triple H and his wife Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. The Outlaws don’t have their title belts, but they are both dressed like spectacular assholes. Triple H says that the end of this millennium is near perfect - all thats missing is the WWF Championship. Triple H books himself in a WWF title match tonight and The Big Show will be the final part of their plan. Stephanie then talks and is shouted down by “slut” chants. She does say that as a McMahon, she will keep her word and give Kane the match with X-Pac that she promised him. Triple H lays down a strong “you are either with us, or against us” and says that Mick Foley will no longer try to rally forces against them and that he has learned his lesson. That brings Mankind out, who won’t be bullied. He says that tonight, he is all by himself and that's all he needs. He reminds us all of his history with DX - they helped him win his first WWF title. We all used to think DX were pretty cool but now they’re just a bunch of gutless cowards, scurrying around being looked after by their mum and dad (he means Triple H and Stephanie). Mick talks to Roaddogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac individually and sings their praises, pointing out that they’re the ones being thrown to the wolves by Triple H and Stephanie. They’re just Triple H’s henchmen now. Mick shows no fear, getting into the ring. Triple H only cares about the WWF title, and he will abandon them all all over again once he has it. He ends on telling Stephanie that The Godfather wants her in the back with the other hoes. That’s too much and DX pounce on Mick, attacking him but his tag team partner and friend The Rock sprints to the ring and saves the day! The Rock n’ Sock Connection clear the ring and DX regroups at the top of the ramp. Triple H says that the WWF isn’t big enough for all of them and someone has to leave - he books Mankind vs. The Rock tonight in a “pink slip on a pole match” where the loser will be fired. 

• Chyna, accompanied by Women’s Champion The Kat, makes her way out to the ring. She calls out Crash Holly, who has been trash talking her apparently. She had a run in with both Hollys on Smackdown after she helped out Chris Jericho against them. Chyna easily defeats Crash, while Hardcore talks about how weak his cousin is.
• Backstage, Tori is reunited with Kane. She, to Kane’s shock, says her weekend with X-Pac was incredible. X-Pac was a total gentleman and she had a great time with him. She stayed just to honour Kane’s word. She says Pac pampered her and gave her gifts but all she thought about was Kane. Kane seems very confused. Tori goes to get him some coffee and as she does, Test approaches her and puts his arm around her. Kane flips out and takes his friendship the wrong way, leaving in disgust. Later, a distraught Tori tells Kane that Test “touched her” and makes it sound like he sexually assaulted her. She pretty openly lies and says that Test said things to her which isn’t true. Kane screams in anguish but it sounds a bit hilarious.

• The Mean Street Posse are introduced as the special referee, ring announcer and time keeper for this next match, which is a four team match. The Godfather (with four hoes) and his partner D’Lo Brown against Edge and Christian, The Dudley Boyz (who debut their classic blue and black camo gear) and The Acolytes. Rodney sucks up to The Acolytes when he does the ring introductions. The match ends quickly when the Posse attack Bradshaw on the outside, and then Joey Abs fast counts Faarooq. The Dudley Boyz win, and the Posse pay for their actions when Bradshaw and Faarooq murder them with stiff chair shots and double team moves after the match. 
• Kane and Tori burst into Triple H and Stephanie’s office and they want a match with Test tonight instead of X-Pac! So I guess X-Pac is off the hook now. 
• Kurt Angle faces Mosh and Thrasher, The Headbangers in a handicap match. Triple H is trying to end his undefeated streak. Steve Blackman comes out again with a kendo stick and helps Kurt win, and then The Headbangers beat them both up after the match. 
• Al Snow comes to the ring and is bitter about his recent career and tells us, the fans, how much he hates us all. That brings out Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho, who makes fun of him and that leads into an IC title match. Al Snow actually seems to have the match won with a Snow Plough! But Chyna gets to the ring and hits him with Head, causing a disqualification. Chris Jericho loses officially, but is still the IC champion. Jericho once again seems very confused by Chyna’s help. 
• Mark Henry asks Harvey Whippleman to come on a double date with him and Mae Young and Moolah. Apparently Moolah is being a third wheel and stopping Mark from getting lucky with Mae. 
• The Rock vs. Mankind, with a pink slip on a pole high about the ring. Logically, it makes sense that whoever gets the pink slip would be fired but it's the loser of the match, i.e. the one who doesn’t get the pink slip. Conceptually confusing. Al Sow runs in and hits The Rock with Head, and tries to help Mankind win. Mankind attacks him when he realises what's happening though - he doesn’t want to win it that way. The distraction does allow The Rock to hit a Rock Bottom. The two go back and forth and it makes me sad to see the fans boo Mankind - they just really want The Rock to win. The two fight on the top rope and The Rock runs Mick’s head into the post over and over until he falls. The Rock wins, but doesn’t look happy about it and just leaves looking back at Mankind. Mick Foley pulls off his mask and waves a sad goodbye to the fans in the arena. They do give him a respectful ovation and chant “Foley”. JR really hams it up, saying this is the last time we’ll ever see Mankind in a WWF ring. Mick says that he was planning on retiring some time in the year 2000, and it's a damn shame that the McMahon-Helmsley regime has cut it short and forced him out early. This is a real farewell speech. 

• Another four corners tag team match, but an intergender one. European Champion Val Venis teams with Women’s Champion The Kat, Ivory teams with Prince Albert, Viscera teams with Jacqueline and Gangrel teams with Luna. Albert and Ivory win after a confusing double pin spot. 
• On their double date in a couple of segments, Mark Henry reads Mae Young a love poem, and Harvey continues to insult Moolah. Then a fan asks Mark for his autograph, but then calls him a loser. Henry laughs it off, but it riles up Moolah and Mae who then attack them! In the final of these segments of the show we find out that the two couples went back to a hotel and Moolah had sex with Harvey. Pure American Pie stuff, which is actually pretty current for this era. I approve of the comedy. 

• X-Pac faces Jeff Hardy and in a short but fast paced match, X-Pac uses a low blow and an X-Factor to pick up the victory. 
• Before his match with Kane, Test explains that he really didn’t do any of the things Tori has accused him of. He has enough women’s troubles of his own. Kane isn’t listening and attacks furiously, using the ring steps as a weapon and shoving the referee down. Tori encourages Kane to finish him, and he drops Test with a Tombstone piledriver. Tori seems unhinged, slapping Test in the face! 

• X-Pac accompanies The New Age Outlaws to the ring to defend the titles against Too Cool. Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty have Rikishi with them as back up to balance out X-Pac. King still calls the worm “the centipede”. X-Pac helps The Outlaws retain by causing an intentional disqualification. The post match DX beat down is stopped by Rikishi who dispatches the D-Generates with superkicks and a Rikishi-driver on Roaddogg. He tries to finish with a Banzai drop on X-Pac but Billy Gunn pulls him to safety. The Outlaws retain but it is nice to at least see DX not coming out on top of every single segment they’re in. Rikishi and Too Cool dance after the match and it is amazing how much the fans love to see it. 
• In multiple segments throughout the show, Making does the rounds saying goodbye to everyone including other wrestlers and the production truck. Eventually, DX has had enough and Triple H and Stephanie have security force him out of the arena.

• In the main event, Triple H challenges The Big Show for the WWF title and the winner of this match will end this millennium as WWF Champion which is a massive achievement in hindsight. The only man to have been WWF Champion at the turn of a century, never mind a millennium. Triple H has Stephanie McMahon and the whole of DX with him. Triple H makes the match no disqualification, and sarcastically asks DX to stay at the top of the ramp and not get involved. The booking of The Big Show is curious and I haven’t really mentioned it before but despite his massive size, he does just wrestle like a normal wrestler in every match. Triple H pummels him and slams him on the announce table and into the ring steps. The champion does come back on the inside and tries an elbow drop off the second rope, which misses. Triple H shoves down the referee for trying to control him but this is now no DQ. The referee does go down, and DX takes the moment to run down and use a low blow and a shot with the WWF title belt. Triple H covers but by the time the referee recovers, The Big Show kicks out (to the biggest cheer of his entire title run). He fights off the rest of DX and might have the match won with a powerslam but the cover is broken up. With all four members of DX beating down The Big Show, Steph comes to the ring to “slut” and “bitch” chants. Show recovers again and hits Roaddogg, Mr. Ass and X-Pac with chokeslams! Triple H uses a brutal chair shot and sets up a Pedigree but the fired Mankind comes through the crowd and hits Triple H with a chair! The Big Show drills him with a massive chokeslam and retains the WWF title! 

Smackdown! - December 30th, 1999

• Smackdown opens with a recap of Mankind’s being fired on Raw. Heartbreaking. I’d make a joke about how he’s still in the Smackdown intro so it obviously isn’t legit but to be fair, Ken Shamrock is still in the Raw intro and he’s never coming back. It took them 12 months to get Bret Hart out of the old Raw intro!
• While Triple H and Stephanie hold each other and are nauseatingly kissy and cuddly, Kane and Tori arrive. Triple H says that Mick Foley got what he deserved and they’re glad they fired him. He says that they don’t want to throw their weight around and that they did Kane a big favour on Raw by giving him Test, so they want a favour tonight. He books him against The Rock in a no holds barred match, and then riles up Kane by insinuating that The Rock makes eyes at Tori. Tori actually sells it and joins in. Later in the show, Stephanie finds Tori on her own and tells her that she’s heard The Rock “violates” women and that he has eyes for Tori. This is all to make Kane jealous so he’ll hurt The Rock later.

• Test faced Prince Albert and Hardcore Champion The Big Bossman in a handicap match. Another match set up by Stephanie and Triple H, and they make fun of Test backstage. Test puts up a good fight but a nightstick shot and a bicycle kick shuts him down and Albert gets the winning pin.
• The show is peppered with classic Mick Foley moments. I could cynically say that they’re working hard to make this fake firing look legit, but in truth his career really was winding down and this is more about making sure fans know how great he is. These are all great and include his dives from cages, hell in a cell (of course) and some classic promo stuff. Anyone who didn’t come out of this Smackdown loving Mick Foley wasn’t paying attention. The recaps of his greatest moments all build up to a sit down interview of Mick Foley by Jim Ross. The key points are that Mick is very sad to have had his career ended against his will, and that he wanted to retire in the main event of Wrestlemania. He holds no bitterness towards The Rock - he did what he had to do. He also says The Rock would continue to electrify audiences for years to come. I wish that was true. His full time run as a wrestler ends in about 14 months when Hollywood comes calling. 

• Al Snow goes to ask the McMahon-Helmsleys for Mick Foley’s spot, so Triple H books him against Jeff Hardy with the logic being that Matt Hardy is already injured so if Jeff goes down too then that whole tag team is eliminated. Snow is very pleased to have taken Mick’s “spot”.

• Rikishi, accompanied by Too Cool, takes on Kurt Angle. Rikishi and Too Cool do their dancing before the match which gives it away that they’re not winning. Steve Blackman comes down to the ring and is handcuffed to the ring post. Kurt and Blackman are both pawns in Triple H and Stephanie’s games. Triple H set this up to stop Steve from helping Kurt. Blackman discreetly unlocks himself, hits Rikishi with some nunchucks, then locks himself back in. Kurt Angle wins again. 
• Al Snow vs. Jeff Hardy. It's a good match but the fans are too busy chanting “Terri” to notice. Snow works on Jeff’s leg and it builds up to him wrapping a chair around his knee and trying to damage it but Matt Hardy picks this moment to return and hit Al with a chair of his own and Jeff Hardy wins the match! 
• Hardcore and Crash Holly face the team of Moolah and Mae Young. This match was set up earlier by Triple H and Stephanie as punishment for Mae and Moolah “attacking a fan” on Raw. Moolah has her new boyfriend Harvey Whippleman, and Mae Young has Mark Henry. The Hollys do just wrestle this match legit, taking both women down with hip tosses and clotheslines and stomping on them. Crash bodyslams Mae and climbs to the top rope but Moolah shakes the ropes and he falls into the corner. She then runs in and (struggles to) hit a Bronco Buster! She pays for it when Hardcore blasts her with a stiff clothesline. Crash does pin Mae to win this match with a running powerslam. Mark Henry attacks afterwards but is overwhelmed by the Hollys. Harvey strips down to his bare chest and tries to help but he’s beaten up too. 

• Michael Hayes interviews The Rock but before he can even speak, Tori arrives and screams hysterically, running away from The Rock. He is totally confused and assumes it was Hayes that upset her. 
• Kane, fully motivated by Tori’s McMahon-inspired paranoia about The Rock’s “male gaze”, faces The Rock in a no holds barred, anything goes match. The two fight up the ramp and The Rock knocks Kane off the entrance ramp, crashing through some tables below. It looked awesome, and Kane just no-sells it and gets back up! He chokeslams The Rock through a table on the concrete right after but that's also not the finish and they fight back to ringside. In the ring, Kane accidentally knocks down Tori when she gets in the ring and The Rock uses a chairshot and then a Rock Bottom on the chair to win the match. Kane consoles Tori afterwards. 

• Chris Jericho gives Chyna her rematch for the Intercontinental title. They show recaps of their previous two matches at Survivor Series and Armageddon, as well as Chyna’s handshake afterwards. This is the rubber match, and Chyna helped Y2J win his last few matches. Chyna has WWF Women’s Champion The Kat with her, who is wearing her “slave” t-shirt because of feminism. Chyna does explain herself and her recent helping of Y2J before the match - she doesn’t admire him, and it's not because of mutual respect. She has been biding her time, letting her thumb heal and wanted to keep the title on Jericho so she can be the one to take it from him. Y2J says that the real reason is that Chyna has a crush on him. The match goes back and forth and both try to cheat with Chyna using a low blow and Jericho trying to use a steel chair when the referee goes down. Chyna does connect with a Pedigree but by the time a second referee runs down, Y2J kicks out. Jericho hits a back suplex onto the steel chair and both referees count on either side, declaring them both the winner! The two referees argue over who won the match and who the Intercontinental Champion is. The ring fills with referees as Y2J and Chyna fight over the title belt, and then just brawl when the belt is confiscated. They should just restart the match? 

• Faarooq (with Bradshaw) faces Bubba Ray Dudley (with D-Von). They’ve reverted back to spelling his name Buh Buh Ray but I’m sticking with the spelling I prefer. The Mean Street Posse come out to watch this match as their weird feud with The Acolytes continues. During this its mentioned, I think for the first time since Armageddon, that The Acolytes are set to face the tag team champions at the Royal Rumble PPV. Faarooq has the match won but D-Von breaks up the pin. That brings in Bradshaw, and then the Posse run down carrying clubs. The five men beat down The Acolytes with weapons and double team moves. 
• Gangrel and Luna (real life couple) take on Viscera and Jacqueline in an intergender match. Viscera wins it for his team with a splash on Luna, and she’s stretched out.
• Michael Hayes, who’s been trying to interview The Rock all night. He asks The Rock, as he’s leaving the building, if he feels bad for getting Mankind fired. The Rock stops in his tracks and goes back - he actually sings Mankind’s praises, he DOES like Mick Foley! He points the blame squarely at Triple H and Stephanie for what happened. 
• In the main event, X-Pac faces The Big Show. It’s been hyped up all night that Triple H told X-Pac he’d fire him if he lost but that seems like another very obvious setup. And it is. Show dominates but then Roaddogg is added, then Billy Gunn, and then finally Triple H. The four of them beat the hell out of the WWF Champion and bloody him with a steel chair, hitting him with move after move until X-Pac pins him to officially win this four on one handicap match. The final shot of 1999 is Triple H holding Stephanie in his arms, kissing.