The big news coming into this PPV was that WWE Champion Shawn Michaels had finished his long rivalry with Jim Cornette and his stable of monsters. He'd now beaten Owen Hart, The British Bulldog and Vader. Unfortunately for Shawn, he had now moved onto the most dangerously unpredictable opponent of them all, the maniacal Mankind. Could Shawn possibly defeat not only Mankind, but his evil manager Paul Bearer? Before we found out the answer to that question there were other matters to be resolved. Starting with an issue fueled that very night by a young wrestler by the name of Justin Bradshaw. Bradshaw would later go onto one of the longest WWE Title reigns ever by a heel and co headline Wrestlemania, but tonight he was just a big bloke who beat up Savio Vega when Sav was celebrating a win. This led to a Caribbean strap match, with Sav picking up the victory. Not a good match, but worth a try after Sav's previous strap match against Steve Austin. Also of note here was the presence of ECW alumni Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and Paul Heyman at ringside.
Next up it was Shawn Michaels' manager getting revenge on the evil Jim Cornette, knocking him out in a short comedy match. It was official the Cornette/ Michaels feud was over.
Insult was added to injury for Cornette moments later when he had the British Bulldog and Owen Hart's managerial contracts stolen from under him by Clarence Mason minutes before they defeated the Smoking Gunns to win the Tag Team Championships. Guess that's the last we'll see of him for a while. Tag match wasn't bad. The night then went from bad to worse for the Gunns as their manager Sunny fired them and stormed off.
Next up came the PPV debut of Mark Henry, who destroyed Jerry Lawler after a lot of stalling from "The King." His celebrations were short lived however as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Marty Jannetty and Lief Cassidy came out to the ring to beat on him, but the gigantic Henry powered them all off.
Then came the next match, which saw the Undertaker pin Goldust following a tombstone. This was short, average and contested under "Final Curtain" rules. This meant that you cold only win by pinning your opponent. Always nice to see Terri Runnels at ringside too.
Next came the brilliant main event, which saw Shawn Michaels retain his title following a disqualification. This was a violent, brutal match which allowed both Michaels and Foley to cut loose in a thoroughly entertaining match. It was not even hurt by the ending, which saw Vader interfere by attacking Michaels and thus drawing the DQ. Sycho Sid came to Shawn's rescue, brawling with Vader all the way to the back. But Mankind, and his manager Paul Bearer weren't done yet, and attempted to stuff Michaels into a casket. But the Undertaker, in a heated rivalry with Mankind was waiting inside. It turned out the cat had been playing with the mouse all along.
So a strange little PPV with a tremendous main event. If nothing else it wrote Cornette out of the WWE and split up Sunny and the Gunns. Not great, but well worth catching up on.
Next up it was Shawn Michaels' manager getting revenge on the evil Jim Cornette, knocking him out in a short comedy match. It was official the Cornette/ Michaels feud was over.
Insult was added to injury for Cornette moments later when he had the British Bulldog and Owen Hart's managerial contracts stolen from under him by Clarence Mason minutes before they defeated the Smoking Gunns to win the Tag Team Championships. Guess that's the last we'll see of him for a while. Tag match wasn't bad. The night then went from bad to worse for the Gunns as their manager Sunny fired them and stormed off.
Next up came the PPV debut of Mark Henry, who destroyed Jerry Lawler after a lot of stalling from "The King." His celebrations were short lived however as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Marty Jannetty and Lief Cassidy came out to the ring to beat on him, but the gigantic Henry powered them all off.
Then came the next match, which saw the Undertaker pin Goldust following a tombstone. This was short, average and contested under "Final Curtain" rules. This meant that you cold only win by pinning your opponent. Always nice to see Terri Runnels at ringside too.
Next came the brilliant main event, which saw Shawn Michaels retain his title following a disqualification. This was a violent, brutal match which allowed both Michaels and Foley to cut loose in a thoroughly entertaining match. It was not even hurt by the ending, which saw Vader interfere by attacking Michaels and thus drawing the DQ. Sycho Sid came to Shawn's rescue, brawling with Vader all the way to the back. But Mankind, and his manager Paul Bearer weren't done yet, and attempted to stuff Michaels into a casket. But the Undertaker, in a heated rivalry with Mankind was waiting inside. It turned out the cat had been playing with the mouse all along.
So a strange little PPV with a tremendous main event. If nothing else it wrote Cornette out of the WWE and split up Sunny and the Gunns. Not great, but well worth catching up on.