Raw is War

Memphis,Tennessee
June 21, 1999

As RAW kicked off live from Memphis, Tennessee, Triple H came to the ring and called out the Undertaker. The Lord of Darkness answered the challenge, but the rest of the Corporate Ministry sprinted to the ring and broke up the melee. Vince grabbed the microphone and said there would be no split in the Corporate Ministry. Turning his attention to Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mr. McMahon promised that after he and Shane defeated the Rattlesnake at King of the Ring, the McMahons would make Austin’s life a living hell like never before!

Stone Cold had his own opinion, however, and he interrupted the proceedings, coming out with a ladder, climbing on top and guzzling a beer. Austin said, as CEO, he was making a stipulation for this Sunday that if any member of the Corporate Ministry interfered in the Ladder Match, the McMahons would be disqualified and Austin would assume 100 percent control of the company. But the McMahons pointed out they still control 50 percent of the company, and they had a stipulation that they preferred: the match would be no-holds-barred, anything goes!

Things appeared to be at a standstill until "Sexy Boy" suddenly blared from the speakers and Commissioner Shawn Michaels appeared! Michaels said he had a lot on his mind, but first he wanted some coffee—and Gerry Brisco and Pat Patterson brought him a cup! Michaels ordered a match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and a Corporate Ministry member of the McMahons’ choice. If Austin won, his stipulation would be enforced, and vice versa if the Corporate Ministry member won. The McMahons selected the Undertaker, and then Triple H, but Commissioner Michaels said both those superstars were already booked by him in a match later on RAW—against each other with the World Wrestling Federation Championship on the line! With that in mind, the McMahons turned to the Big Bossman. To make sure no Corporate Ministry members interfered, Michaels volunteered to be the special referee. Before Michaels retreated to the backstage area, Brisco and Patterson whispered something to him, and Michaels immediately ordered a tag team match between his new associates and the McMahons!

Mr. McMahon attempted to drive a wedge into the Union by ordering Test and Ken Shamrock into a singles match. However, Commissioner Michaels threw a wrench into those plans as well. He turned it into a Triple Threat Intercontinental Title Match with Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett didn’t even have his wrestling attire, but luck was nonetheless on his side. As Test and Jarrett battled outside the ring, Steve Blackman calmly walked to the ring with a kendo stick and annihilated Ken Shamrock, knocking him cold! After throwing Test into the ringpost, Jarrett easily pinned the "World’s Most Dangerous Man" to retain the title. Later, cameras picked up Steve Blackman as he calmly left the building.

In a match involving two of the youngest, most athletically gifted athletes on the roster, The Rock took on Edge. The Brood member was out to prove his mettle in singles competition, and he kicked out of several high-impact maneuvers. Once he took the offensive advantage, Edge took to the air and hit the three-time former Federation Champion with a missile dropkick. Edge climbed to the top rope again, but this time The Rock caught him and dropped him with the Rock Bottom. One People’s Elbow later, and it was over. After the match, the Undertaker came to the ring and dropped The Rock on his head with a Tombstone Piledriver!

After issuing a challenge last night on HEAT, Mark Henry Mark Henry took on Viscera in a Gorilla Press Match. The first superstar to gorilla press his opponent would be declared the winner. "Sexual Chocolate" made a mistake when he climbed to the second rope, which gave Viscera the opportunity to pick him up and drop him to pick up the victory! Viscera added insult to injury when he dropped a big leg over the fallen Henry. Viscera even climbed to the top rope for what would have been the biggest Big Splash in Federation history. But D’Lo Brown came to the ring to help his tag team partner. D’Lo and "Sexual Chocolate" together picked up the 554-pounder and slammed him!

A match was scheduled on RAW between Harry "Beaver" Cleavage and Meat. However, according to Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler, the match was canceled at the last moment.

Commissioner Michaels was the special referee for the next match—Stone Cold Steve Austin against the Big Bossman. As the match got underway, the McMahons came to the ring with the ladder. Mr. McMahon positioned the ladder next to the commentators table and stood on it to demonstrate what he was going to do on Sunday. But when the action spilled to the outside of the ring, Stone Cold tipped over the ladder and Mr. McMahon went flying into the commentator’s table! Back in the ring, Bossman grabbed a nightstick, but Austin ducked and countered with the Stone Cold Stunner for the victory! Therefore, this Sunday at King of the Ring, there will be no Corporate Ministry interference in the Handicap Ladder Match! When the Bossman went back to the locker room, he was gang attacked by the rest of the Corporate Ministry!

Val Venis loves to have fun, but this week on RAW he showed what he can do when he’s pissed off! Val was completely focused and more aggressive than ever. Prince Albert and Droz came down to the ring, and the Big Valbowski attacked them both. He handcuffed Droz to the ringpost and turned his attention to the Prince. After a Money Shot, Val used another set of handcuffs to trap the Prince around the bottom rope. Val broke into the infamous tattoo and piercing briefcase and grabbed the tattoo needle! Before you could say "furious adult film star," Val Venis had tattooed his initials on the Prince’s rear end!

In a huge six man tag team match, Mr. Ass teamed with the Acolytes to take on X-Pac, Kane and the Road Dogg. Before the match got underway, X-Pac asked if the Acolytes would put the titles on the line. Mr. Ass grabbed the microphone and said they would, much to the surprise of the champions. As the other participants battled outside the ring, Mr. Ass grabbed one of the tag team titles and clobbered X-Pac with it to get the victory. Then Mr. Ass walked away carrying the title, once again to the shock of Faarooq and Bradshaw.

The Big Show and Hardcore Holly haven’t exactly been the best of friends lately, so they were scheduled to settle their differences in the ring on RAW. The former Hardcore Champion asked the Big Show if he wouldn’t mind making it a Hardcore Match, and the Big Show agreed. The two superstars battled out of the arena to a nearby parking lot. The Big Show slammed Holly into a concrete wall and, as Holly lay next to the wall, the Big Show climbed up and pushed a nearby car off the wall and apparently onto Holly!!! The Big Show got the pin, and Holly appeared to be seriously injured.

Next up, Brisco and Patterson took on Shane and Vince McMahon. The McMahon boys had no Corporate Ministry members nearby to protect them, and so they were particularly vunerable when Ken Shamrock ran down to the ring! Mr. McMahon was able to escape and sprint back to the locker room, but Shane was not so lucky. The "Boy Wonder" received a devasting belly-to-belly suplex before the "World’s Most Dangerous Man" went after Mr. McMahon. With Shane down, Mr. McMahon’s former stooges took out some aggression on the "Boy Wonder" until Shane’s Mean Street Posse came to the rescue. Patterson and Brisco looked like they would easily handle the young punks until another huge man hit the ring. Apparently another one of Shane’s friends, the man was about 6-foot-4 and looked like a badass. He also fought like badass. He grabbed a chair and put Patterson’s ankle in it before stomping on it! He did the same to Brisco and left both associates withering in pain.

Finally on RAW, Triple H got his big shot at the Federation Championship as he took on fellow Corporate Ministry member the Undertaker. But the match came to an end when The Rock ran out and, avenging a Tombstone Piledriver he received earlier, dropped the Lord of Darkness with a Rock Bottom. The Rock pointed to the arena roof and a large Brahma Bull symbol descended from above. The other members of the Corporate Ministry came to the aid of the Undertaker, but the Big Bossman came out and fought them off along with The Rock! In the fray, the Undertaker was able to escape, but Paul Bearer was left behind, and he was handcuffed to The Rock’s symbol. The Rock said at King of the Ring he would take the Brahma Bull’s horns and shove them up the Undertaker’s candy ass!