Smackdown

Worcester Centrum Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
September 2, 1999

The No. 1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship was determined as SmackDown! got underway on UPN. It was Mr. Ass taking on Chyna for the right to face current titleholder Jeff Jarrett on Sept. 26 at Unforgiven. Jarrett, accompanied by Debra and Miss Kitty, joined Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler for commentary. After the referee was inadvertently knocked outside the ring, Mr. Ass hit Chyna with the Fame-Ass-Er, but Triple H ran out and Pedigreed Billy Gunn. The Federation Champion layed Chyna on top of Mr. Ass and tossed the referee back in the ring, who administered the three count! It will be Chyna against Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Championship at Unforgiven!

Tired of being deserted by the Undertaker, the Big Show called out the Lord of Darkness. But Paul Bearer appeared instead, and was quickly taken down by the Big Show, who insisted on getting the man, not the messenger. Undertaker did come out and he whispered something in Big Show's ear. The Show's facial expression turned from anger to confusion and wonderment. Undertaker said if Big Show ever threatened him again, there would be hell to pay, and then the two monsters walked off together, with Paul Bearer still prone in the ring.

Mankind and The Rock aren't friends, and they may never be, but they're the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions. On SmackDown! both champions ended up in the ring simultaneously - much the same way they did Monday on RAW. Shane McMahon appeared with Triple H and Chyna and forced Mankind and The Rock to face each other one on one later on SmackDown! The winner would be considered the No. 1 contender and would face Triple H at Unforgiven. But Shane added that if The Rock and Mankind didn't go at each other full throttle they'd both be suspended for six months! Shane turned his attention to Triple H, who he said would be facing "the bald-headed S.O.B." later on SmackDown! Triple H and Chyna could not understand why Shane would order such a match.

One week after Chris Jericho took out the Road Dogg, X-Pac tried to avenge his DX cohort as he took on the Y2J in singles competition. X-Pac had earlier told Kane that he didn't want the Big Red Machine to come out under any circumstances because he wanted to prove that he could get it done on his own. Ken Shamrock, another competitor that wants a piece of Y2J, came out once both competitors made their way to the ring, but X-Pac somehow convinced the "World's Most Dangerous Man" to return to the locker room. As the match got underway, the Big Show and the Undertaker stood at the opposite end of the entrance ramp taking in the action. With X-Pac in control, the Show made his way toward the ring and floored X-Pac with a clothesline, causing a disqualification. Jericho was soon chased off by Ken Shamrock, while the Big Show put a beating on X-Pac. Against the explicit orders of X-Pac, Kane ran down to the ring and battled off the Big Show.

Triple H didn't know what to expect as he came out to defend the Federation Championship - only that he would be facing "that bald-headed S.O.B." Shane told Triple H that he had to prove he is "The Game," and then the bald-headed S.O.B. came out: Gillberg! Gillberg got in a few lucky shots - and he appeared to be as surprised as anyone else - but eventually Triple H took control and was easily able to defeat the man with the perfect record. After the match, Triple H took out some aggression on Gillberg and the referee - clobbering both of them with a steel chair.

The Big Boss Man said he felt bad for abducting Pepper, so he said he would deliver Al Snow's buddy to him on SmackDown! Boss Man met Al in a hotel room and said Pepper was at the groomers and was on his way back. But first, to show how sorry he was, Boss Man had some food prepared for the Lima, Ohio, native. As Al started munching away, Boss Man told him to make sure he didn't get any paws caught in his teeth! Boss Man revealed that Al was eating Pepper! Upon hearing the news, Snow went crazy, and he spit out the food and even vomited. But Boss Man attacked him anyway, making his physical condition as bad as his emotional state.

The Rock and Mankind are the co-holders of the Tag Team Championship, but both want to be World Wrestling Federation Champion. As ordered by Shane McMahon, the two superstars faced off one on one to determine who would be No. 1 contender and face Triple H at Unforgiven. As Mankind slapped on the Mandible Claw, the referee was inadvertently knocked out, and Shane McMahon came down to fill the officiating void. Shane motioned back to the locker room and Chyna and Triple H ran down and attacked both competitors. Shane then called for the bell and announced that, due to outside interference, he ruled the match a double disqualification and declared the neither superstar is the No. 1 contender.

Ken Shamrock had been scouring the arena in search of Chris Jericho. He couldn't find him, but he could take out his aggression on Val Venis, who he faced one on one on SmackDown! Shamrock was able to finish off the adult film star with the ankle-lock submission hold. After the match, Steve Blackman attempted to attack Shamrock, but the "World's Most Dangerous Man" was able to drop the "Lethal Weapon" and pummel him before Chris Jericho appeared. Y2J challenged Shamrock to meet him in the parking lot, and Shamrock immediately answered. Back in the ring, Blackman regained consciousness and attacked Val Venis. Meanwhile, Howard Finkel, dressed in one of Y2J's trademark shirts, duped Shamrock, allowing Jericho to sneak up from behind with a shovel. After leveling Shamrock, Jericho slapped on his patented Boston Crab-like maneuver to an unconscious Shamrock. Finkel grabbed a camera and snapped a few pictures while Jericho - declaring "oh my God, I killed Kenny" - smiled mischievously for the photographs.

As if Mankind and The Rock hadn't been beating on enough, Shane came out with Triple H and Chyna and said that since there was no winner in the earlier No. 1 contender match, Mankind and The Rock would battle again. And to "make sure" there was no outside interference by Triple H and Chyna, Shane named himself the special referee. But Test threw a wrench into those plans. Stephanie's fiancée made a surprise appearance and introduced his future mother-in-law and his future bride: Linda and Stephanie McMahon. Linda reminded her son that with Vince out of the picture, Linda and Stephanie hold the balance of power. Linda said that Shane's plan was void, and instead The Rock and Mankind would team up to face Triple H and Shane for the Tag Team Titles!

Hardcore and Crash Holly faced Mideon and Viscera as the first two teams in a Tag Team Turmoil Match. Once one team was eliminated, another came in until there was only one team standing - and that duo would be declared the No. 1 contenders for the Tag Team Titles. After Viscera accidentally splashed his own tag team partner, Crash Holly pinned him! Prince Albert and Droz were the next duo to enter, but they were eliminated after Hardcore pinned Droz with a powerplex. But the new Brood, Jeff and Matt Hardy, promptly eliminated the Holly cousins after Matt pinned Hardcore. The Acolytes were next, and they eliminated the new Brood once Bradshaw clobbered Jeff with a Clothesline from Hell. Stevie Richards' tag team partner, the Blue Meanie, didn't even make it all the way to the ring before Big Stevie Cool was pinned following a tandem powerbomb. Edge and Christian were the final two competitors, and as they battled the Acolytes, the Dudley Boyz, former ECW Tag Team Champions, appeared for the first time in the Federation and made a statement. They caused a disqualification when they came to the ring with 2x4s and annihilated all four competitors.

The Tag Team Titles were on the line as Mankind and The Rock defended against Triple H and Shane McMahon. The Rock hit Triple H with a DDT, but Shane interrupted the three count. The Rock responded by tossing Shane over the top rope, and then Mankind delivered a baseball slide that sent Shane flying over the commentator's table. Back in the ring, Mr. Ass returned the favor from earlier, and delivered a Fame-Ass-Er to Triple H. The Rock followed up with a Rock Bottom and People's Elbow, and the champions retained the Tag Team Titles!