WWF SmackDown! Rewind: 09.30.99 – “The One Cut Short for Shasta McNasty”

Previously on SmackDown: Triple H, the heel, is forced to face the odds when he has to wrestle five different gimmick matches in one show. He defeats the odds. In non-HHH content, Chyna gets payback on Jeff Jarrett, the New Age Outlaws reunite and win the World Tag Team Titles, Ken Shamrock loses a First Blood match due to internal bleeding and never wrestles under the WWF umbrella again, and the referees are still on strike as we finish the road to Unforgiven.

Fireworks explode above the Ovaltron as a sea of signs greet us at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. We are taped and on UPN.

WWF World Tag Team Champion Road Dogg (with Mr. Ass) vs Chris Jericho (with Curtis Hughes)

As Road Dogg gives us the usual intro, I note that Earl Hebner is here to referee as the referee strike was settled at Unforgiven. Also at Unforgiven, the Outlaws successfully defended their titles against Edge & Christian while Jericho lost by disqualification to X-Pac. Wait, wasn’t he feuding with Ken Shamrock? Yes, he was. Shamrock left the company after his internal bleeding the week before, though he would later say it was due to the idea of an incest storyline with Ryan Shamrock, which just happened to also be the real-life name of his child. Oh. He’d make a MMA return attempt before bouncing back and forth to TNA a few times.

Dogg chases Jericho to the outside and they fight right into the crowd as Crash & Hardcore Holly march to ringside. Jericho is tossed back over the barricade as the Hollys join the commentary team. Jericho and Dogg trade slaps and Dogg slings Hebner out of the ring, setting a disqualification as Hughes tries to help. Dogg calls for the table. The Hollys attack and powerbomb Dogg through the table and then beat down Ass as well.

Chris Jericho defeats Road Dogg by disqualification. There was nothing to this as it ended in a little over a minute and referees are still being attacked by the good guys.

Lilian Garcia has caught up with Vince McMahon in a wood-paneled office. Vince calls for a WWF Title match with Triple H defending against the British Bulldog. Chyna is banned from ringside, Triple H is fined $25,000 for touching the referee on Raw, and The Rock will be guest referee. Boy, I hope Road Dogg gets one of those fines.

Mankind joins us in the arena in his Rock ‘n Sock Connection jacket. The big “This is Your Life, Rock” segment happened this past Monday on Raw and pulled in a monster rating. He calls out Val Venis for trying to mess up the celebration which we didn’t see happen on the show. “Val, I know what you have in my pants and I want it,” says Mankind. Mankind tells Val to turn his back and asks him to whip it out and give it to him. Val explains that he never swings that way so Mankind offers to describe it – long, white and has a big beautiful head on it. Mankind points us to the Ovaltron where GTV breaks ins in and we see Val pulling Mr. Rocko (the Rock version of Socko that Mankind gifted him on Raw) out of the trash and stuffing it into his pants.

Val gives us what I’ll generously call “shocked anger.” Val declares it a joke for the boys in the back. Val says he has no problem with Mankind but he’ll go to the back and get it for Mankind. Mankind promises to deliver Mr. Socko if Val doesn’t deliver Mr. Rocko. I can’t say Val Venis is the great follow-up to the Rock ‘n Sock segment but here we are.

WWF Champion Triple H and Chyna find Vince and Shane McMahon. HHH tells Vince that he’ll keep finding ways to get past Vince’s attempts to screw him.

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler greet us from ringside.

Lilian is with The Rock. He compares Vince to Monty Hall and says in due time he will be WWF Champion. Tonight he’s going to call it down the middle and offers for Triple H to take his “three foot nose,” turn it sideways and stick it up Bulldog’s ass.

Terri Invitational Tournament Match #1: Edge & Christian vs The New Brood (Matt & Jeff Hardy with Gangrel)

Edge & Christian are an exciting young tag team, says Cole. Tonight, SmackDown is brought to you by Dino Crisis from Capcom, Twix, and Lugz. The Hardys enter to their modern theme despite coming up from the ring of fire with Gangrel.

Terri Runnels struts to the ring as the bell rings, Cole explaining that this is part of the Terri Invitational Tournament. Gangrel is tossed immediately by Jimmy Korderas as Terri sits next to Jerry and he starts talking about puppies. She says she will take the team that wins the best out of five to the top and they’ll win $100,000. The Hardys double team Christian as Terri knows the Hardys will blow off Gangrel if her services are available. Christian and Matt collide, Edge getting the hot tag and spinkicking both Hardys. Jeff is knocked off the top and Matt is clotheslined to the outside, Edge lifting Jeff on his shoulders and Christian leaping off for a massive suplex for the pin. Beautiful spot and the start of what we’d see from these four.

Christian pins Jeff Hardy, Edge & Christian win and go to 1-0 in the Terri Invitational Tournament. Short but sweet and a good match to hook the fans into both teams. As we know, it would go much bigger.

Celebrities! They love SmackDown! Heather Kozar, who guest stars on tonight’s big episode of Shasta McNasty, is at ringside.

Terry Taylor has caught up with British Bulldog who stands facing Taylor instead of the camera. He promises to beat Triple H and wants Rock to stay out of his way.

Mankind is with The Rock, telling Rock that Val has Mr. Rocko. Rock asks, “Who in the hell is Val Venis?” Rock tells Mankind to find Rocko and fakes him out with a high five.

During the break, Stone Cold Steve Austin has a conversation with Shane, but they don’t do us the favor of giving us the audio. They could be talking about anything!

WWF European Title: WWF European Champion D’Lo Brown vs Big Show

Big Show gets the “already in the ring” treatment. Droz and Prince Albert have joined us on commentary which is certainly something. Show backdrops D’Lo across the ring and takes him down with a chokeslam as Albert makes tall jokes about Show. Droz tells us the bookers in the back haven’t given them a shot so they decided to come out and make a name for themselves. Show misses a splash on D’Lo and Albert drops his headset. D’Lo hits the Frog Splash and Show throws him off at the two count. D’Lo walks into a power bomb and Show tosses him to the outside. Albert leaps right into a chokeslam and low blows Show for a DQ. Show shakes it off and chokeslams Albert. Droz attacks D’Lo after the match, Mark Henry makes the save to help his former and future friend. D’Lo shoves Henry away.

Big Show defeats D’Lo Brown by disqualification. This was, as SmackDown matches usually are, short. I kind of loved it though. I’d be interested in a longer Show vs D’Lo match.

Henry grabs a mic after the match and has something to say. There are a lot of addictions – drug, alcohol, gambling. “I’m here today to admit that I’ve got an addiction. I’m a sex addict. It’s not funny, it’s no joke. I lost my fiancée because of this, thousands of dollars flying people in, but most of all I lost somebody I care about. I lost D’Lo Brown, my best friend.” Henry actually works up tears which is pretty incredible for all of this. “I wake up in the morning and I think about sex. At lunch, I think about sex. At night, I think about sex. I get on base more times than Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa together.” He is going for professional help. I know, I know… this was kind of good though. Henry sold it well and serious Cole talking about it added to it.

Now, to follow this segment up a bit: this is our last appearance of Droz as an active competitor. In the tapings for next week’s show, his neck is broken, and he is paralyzed in an accident against D’Lo.

Yesterday, Stephanie McMahon and Test look at bridal gowns.

Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team Match: X-Pac and Kane vs The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley) vs The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq)

Bubba is wearing Rock’s Rock ‘n Sock Collection jacket. We see Stevie Richards, dressed as Dude Love backstage, showing Mankind that Bubba is wearing Rock’s jacket. Kane tosses down D-Von who tags in Bradshaw. Bradshaw tosses X-Pac across the ring and tags in Faarooq as the King jokes about the possibility of X-Pac having a heart condition. The Acolytes continue working over X-Pac as Faarooq shoves referee Mike Chioda who disqualifies the Acolytes. Bubba and X-Pac battle and Pac gets the hot tag to Kane. Kane delivers clotheslines to the field. Kane hits a flying clothesline on D-Von for two. X-Pac gives Bubba the Bronco Buster, D-Von takes a clothesline and Kane and X-Pac win. The Acolytes return to take out Kane and then powerbomb X-Pac.

Kane pins D-Von Dudley, Kane and X-Pac win the triple threat match. This was also pretty good for what it was.

Celebrities! They still love SmackDown! Heather Kozar is still at ringside but now she’s joined by Cindy Margolis, who will be on next week’s big Shasta McNasty. Boy, she better watch out for that Jeff Jarrett after what he did a few weeks ago.

Mankind is pacing backstage. During the break, Bubba tells him that Mankind will have to go through him to get the jacket.

WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett is emptying a cart of plunder into the ring and accompanied by Miss Kitty. He says Chyna’s rematch at No Mercy will be a Good Housekeeping match, an incredibly timely reference at any point in the last forty years. The only places I ever saw Good Housekeeping was on my grandma’s coffee table and at the grocery store checkout aisle. He invites any woman to the ring before he sees Cindy and Heather at ringside. He offers them a handicapped match and they do hop the barricade but here’s Debra, sending Lawler into whistling. Mae Young, Fabulous Moolah, Jacqueline, Lilian Garcia, Julie and Janet (two others Jarrett have attacked) head to the ring. “This is a walking militia, King” notes Cole as Jarrett knocks Young off the apron. Chyna appears from behind and clotheslines Jarrett outside to take brooms, frying pans, and other hits from the women as Jarrett runs. This was over big with the crowd who were definitely into Chyna. Moolah and Young attack Lawler just for fun.

Backstage, Rock is upset that Mankind misplaced his jacket. Mankind promises to get it back.

Terry Taylor is talking with Jim Dotson, Head of Security. At Unforgiven, he speared Steve Blackman to save an EMT and Steve Blackman attacked him on Raw. Steve Blackman knocks the fence background on top of Dotson and stomps away. “You’re the one that is going to need security now!”

Mankind has rejoined us in the ring, calling out Bubba Ray. The Dudleys attack and here we go.

Mankind vs Bubba Ray Dudley (with D-Von Dudley)

Val’s music immediately hits, and he enters wearing Mr. Rocko. Mankind pulls out Mr. Socko and D-Von grabs his foot. As the referee is distracted, Stevie Richards ducks in for a Stevie Kick. Val joins commentary and Mankind grabs his jacket. He calls Val into the ring. Val tells Mankind that he respects him and that Mankind paved the way. He tells Mankind to close his eyes and he’ll give him a surprise, so Mankind does. “I just want to feel your nuts,” says Val as he grabs Mankind right by the balls. The Dudleys join in for the attack and the Dudleys tear the treasured jacket. Val leaves with Mr. Rocko.

Mankind and Bubba Ray Dudley wrestle to a no-contest. This just kind of stopped when Mankind got the jacket back, but there was an opening bell.

And now the WWF Boot of the Week brought to you by Lugz. Bulldog attacks The Rock, causing him a match against Triple H on Raw.

WWF Title: WWF Champion Triple H vs British Bulldog with special guest referee The Rock

The ovations for Rock are wild. WWF No Mercy is presented by Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaper by EIDOS Interactive. Finally, The Rock has come back to Richmond. He compares “God Save the Queen” to “God Save My Roody Poo Candy Ass,” which is certainly a line. Cole directs us to therock.com, which now redirects to WWE.com. Hey, at least they still own this one.

They’ve changed the mix of Bulldog’s theme a little and it is better. Bulldog and Rock argue, Rock clotheslines Bulldog over the top rope and I’m not sure he is unbiased.

HHH attacks Bulldog outside and beats him around outside before finally tossing him into the match and officially starting the match. Cole wonders where Stone Cold might be watching this match. Well, I’d imagine backstage since he was there earlier. HHH hits a knee to Bulldog’s face and goes for a pin, Rock turns and acknowledges the crowd instead. Bulldog low blows HHH and we see Stone Cold watching backstage. Hey, look at that. Bulldog and Mankind brawl outside as the fans chant for Rocky. Rock joins commentary and says this is his show, he does what he wants as Bulldog and HHH brawl down the ramp. Bulldog slams HHH on the metal ramp and Rock returns to the ring, taking in the chants as Lawler questions where Cole got the information that Chyna was banned from ringside. If only anybody at all watched the show.

HHH hits a Pedigree, HHH claps as HHH covers but doesn’t count. HHH swings at Rock, Rock swings back and Rock Bottoms HHH. Rock rejoins commentary and acknowledges the chants again as Bulldog covers for at least a ten count. Rock with a microphone comes in to count. “One, two, IT DOESN’T MATTER IF THE ROCK COUNTS TO THREE.” Bulldog goes to grab the title and swings at Rock who ducks and smacks Bulldog and then Triple H with it. He kicks Triple H to the outside before we take a very rare (at the time) commercial mid-match.

When we come back, Rock gives us the sliding-in-dress shoes People’s Elbow to Bulldog which was one of the coolest things ever at the time and perhaps still today. Rock raises the title to “Rocky” chants as we seem to have found a no contest. Rock leaves with the title in his hands and we end the show with HHH asking where his belt is and punching out timekeeper Mark Yeaton upon finding out where it went. HHH runs up the ramp.

Triple H and British Bulldog wrestle to a no contest. This was entertaining largely due to Rock being The Rock. Loved it.

HHH yells backstage for Rock, punches down several more WWF backstage employees and walks right into a belt shot from Rock. Bulldog attacks Rock from behind and they brawl into the parking lot. With them gone, HHH grabs his belt and walks down a hallway and can’t get into his locker room as the door is locked. He calls for Chyna to open the door and Stone Cold opens it instead to an ambush. Austin leaves as Cole tells us Austin gets his shot at Triple H in two weeks at No Mercy.

The show was shorter this week as well as they cut it down for half an hour to make room for the big episode of Shasta McNasty. Yeah, they were pushing Shasta McNasty HARD. UPN had exactly two hours before local news took over, so cutting the hot SmackDown to try to piggyback Shasta behind it was a move for sure.

It’s funny. Last week’s show with Triple H’s five gimmick matches of doom sucked. This week’s episode? It mostly ruled. There’s still a lot going on, but it was much more cohesive this week, it all flowed well and most of it made sense. They were riding high off the success of “This is Your Life, Rock” and the crowd was FEELING it all. Even the Mark Henry stuff which was ridiculous was kind of fun because the man was into it. He cried! He cried announcing his sexual addiction while Michael Cole covered it very seriously. Most of all, there’s The Rock. Even watching it in 2026, I found myself getting as caught up as the crowd did with everything the man did. He was easily the coolest person in the world during the main event.

It’s almost like the winds of change were blowing through WWF backstage at least at the booking table. Reading through others’ reviews of this episode I seem to be an outlier on this one, but I’d recommend it. It’s only an hour long and it is interesting for sure.