March 28th, 1999
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Venue: First Union Center
Attendance: 20,276
It's 1999, and this would be the final WrestleMania before the millennium closed. With the company's success between the WrestleMania prior and this one, it would be one heck of a party before starting the 21st century.
The company had complete control of the Monday Night Wars, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin continued to be the fan-favorite.
However, WrestleMania 15 would serve as the first act of a story that would have a lasting legacy for years to come.
Philadelphia was the location selected for WrestleMania 15. It would be the first and only time "The City of Brotherly Love" would host the big yearly event.
In the commentary booth, Michael Cole would be making his WrestleMania debut, replacing Jim Ross, who was recovering from a Bells Palsy attack he suffered in March. However, Jim Ross was able to call the main event.
Boyz II Men opened the show with the singing of “America the Beautiful.” When you compare this performance and the year before, let’s say this was a bit more elegant.
Between this and the previous WrestleMania, the phrase “a lot can happen in a year” could not have been more emphasized. It could be described as a “fun mess.”
For starters, McMahon was seriously losing it with Steve Austin as the WWF Champion. He was so bugged; he formed a faction called “The Corporation.” It would be a group who McMahon thought should be the best example for the WWF while trying to find a way to dethrone Austin.
Meanwhile, on the darker side of things (if that’s the best way to put it), The Undertaker suddenly got super creepy and dark. He felt that a “greater power” was calling him to take over the World Wrestling Federation. ‘Taker reunited with Paul Bearer and formed “The Ministry,” rounding up henchman to take care of The Corporation.
These two factions would play a significant role in the lead-up to WrestleMania 15. In some shape or form, either one or both groups were involved in nearly every match in Philadelphia.
Ten matches were slated for the fans inside the First Union Center. Six of those matches had gold on the line.
The night started with the Hardcore Championship in a triple threat match, making its WrestleMania debut. Hardcore Holly dethroned Billy Gunn when he pinned Al Snow to become champion.
On Sunday Night Heat, which aired before WrestleMania 15, D’Lo Brown and Test won the right to face Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart for the Tag Team Championship. The latter retained their titles after Brown and Test couldn’t get on the same page.
After her performance in her mixed tag team match at WrestleMania 14, Sable continued to rise in popularity and ended up winning the Women’s Championship. She entered WrestleMania 15 with the title and retained it in her match against Tori.
Road Dogg hung on to his Intercontinental Championship after beating Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and Val Venis in a Four Corners Elimination match.
Finally, Shane McMahon defeated X-Pac to retain his European Championship after Triple H and Chyna turned their back on X-Pac.
With those title matches out of the way, it’s time to look at the three things that stood out to me.
Brawl for what?
In 1998, the WWF came up with the idea that they needed to do something other than wrestling. That’s not saying they were getting rid of wrestling. Instead, they wanted to add on to their product.
With the excess amount of talent that the WWF had, “Brawl for All” was created. The concept was simple. It would be a 16-man boxing tournament. Now, when it comes to the WWF/WWE, you know that everything’s scripted, and the winners are pre-determined.
Not Brawl for All. This would be a set of real, unscripted boxing fights. What could go wrong?
Everything.
Between June and August, fans would let the company know how much they hated Brawl for All matches. “Boring” and “we want wrestling” chants were echoed in nearly every match.
Yes, while these are athletic men trained for wrestling, they weren’t trained for boxing. Multiple fighters were severely injured due to the lack of experience, leaving a terrible reputation for the WWF.
Bart Gunn was the winner of the inaugural and only Brawl for All tournament. When WrestleMania 15 rolled around, he was granted the opportunity to fight an actual professional boxer.
Boxing legend Eric "Butterbean" Esch was the opponent, who had an impressive 42-1-1 record coming into WrestleMania.
Boxing figures Chuck Wepner, Kevin Rooney, and WWF legend Gorilla Monsoon would be the judges. This would be Monsoon’s final WrestleMania appearance as he, unfortunately, would pass away in October later that year.
Round one began, and in 35 seconds, the fight would be over. Butterbean knocked down Gunn once, and as soon as he got back up, the decisive knockout blow came in.
Sadly enough, this would also be costing for Gunn as he was immediately released from the WWF. It doesn’t seem fair in hindsight, knowing he was placed into a field he wasn’t trained for.
Thankfully, this concept never happened again in the World Wrestling Federation. A note to employers, don’t put your employees in unsafe situations.
A scary sight
If you've been reading these posts since the beginning, you'll know that WrestleMania 18 was the first 'Mania I saw.
The next two I watched would be WrestleMania 17 and this WrestleMania, thanks to my buddy who had them both taped on VHS.
When I finished watching WrestleMania 15 as a seven-year-old, believe me when I say that I left my friend’s place terrified.
As I mentioned, The Undertaker was one evil, sadistic human being and wanted control of the company. He would consistently feud with The Corporation and played some disturbing mind games.
The Undertaker got very personal when McMahon found out he and his Ministry broke into his home late at night.
As Vince’s son Shane consistently called the house to speak with ‘Taker, he realized that the Deadman cut the phone lines, leaving the McMahons in a state of desperation.
Before the Ministry left, Undertaker left his symbol on the front lawn in flames, sending Vince McMahon a message.
In response, McMahon scheduled a Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and The Corporation’s Big Boss Man for WrestleMania.
Now, the match itself was uneventful. For a Hell in a Cell match, it wasn’t as violent as past ones have been. It was what happened after the match that had me and many others looking on in horror.
When The Undertaker won his match, Edge, Christian, and Gangrel (members of the group "The Brood" who were affiliated with The Ministry) descended from the First Union Center's rafters to the top of the cell.
The three would meet at the middle and begin to cut out a hole from the top. Suddenly, through the hole, the Brood brought down a noose and tied the other end to the top of the cell.
At this point, you realized what The Undertaker had in mind as Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler began to freak out, hoping that somebody would stop it. Once ‘Taker wrapped the noose around the Big Boss Man’s neck, a screaming Paul Bearer had the cell's controls and began raising the structure back to the rafters.
I purposely did not attach a photo to this moment because let’s face it, the sight of anybody hanging is extremely disturbing and wildly inappropriate.
With the Boss Man in the air, the lights faded in the arena, which would be the match's closing image.
Now, it's one thing to note that, of course, this was staged, and the Big Boss Man did leave unharmed. When Undertaker was wrapping the noose, a harness of some sort was attached to Boss Man to avoid getting killed, yet still managing to create the horrific image. As a video package was played, Boss Man was safely taken down as escorted to the back.
Regardless, with kids still watching the WWF, it’s safe to say that an image as horrifying as that should never be created. Even if it’s designed for adults, why would you possibly stage a murder? I understand that this character was portrayed as evil, but I still think the WWF went too far.
The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania grew to 8-0, but it’s nothing to be proud of.
Justice is served
We’ve reached the main event, and the road to the final match of WrestleMania 15 was a complicated one.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin was on top of the world, adored by screaming fans week in and week out.
McMahon hated every second of it. Honestly, who can blame him? What manager wants a loudmouth, rebellious, unprofessional employee being their poster boy?
But McMahon was obsessed with finding a way to cost him the championship. At the Breakdown: In Your House pay-per-view, he eventually did when he put Austin in a handicap match against Kane and The Undertaker without a clear winner. The title went vacant, and The Rock became champion at Survivor Series.
When it was time for the 1999 Royal Rumble match, McMahon forced Austin to enter at number one, giving him the lowest odds to win. In a surprising twist, new WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels forced McMahon to enter at number two.
Somehow, McMahon and Austin ended up in the final two. But when The Rock came down to distract Austin, McMahon took advantage and threw Austin over the top rope.
McMahon was the winner of the Royal Rumble match and had an opportunity for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 15.
So, everything’s a mess, what happens now? McMahon relinquished the opportunity for the title and hoped to give a member of the corporation a shot. That was until Michaels came out stating if he did, the runner-up (which was Stone Cold) would be granted the championship match instead.
However, Austin wanted to beat up Vince so bad, that he challenged his boss to a Steel Cage match at the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Pay-per-view. If Austin wins, he gets The Rock for the WWF Championship. If he lost, he skips WrestleMania.
Well, Austin won the match, and that finally brings us to Philadelphia. Once again, I elaborate on the lead up because context is crucial for the World Wrestling Federation.
In a final attempt to screw Austin, McMahon announced himself as the special guest referee. That was until Commissioner Michaels told McMahon to go to the backstage area and tell him it wasn’t going to happen.
As soon as The Rock and Steve Austin met in the ring, they wasted no time and began the fight. The match was scheduled to be a no disqualification match, so the two carried the battle into the crowd.
Once they headed back into the ring, The Rock and Austin exchanged blows with a steel chair, knocking out Mike Chioda in the process. If that wasn’t enough, the next referee who took over, Tim White, also was knocked out. Earl Heber, a third referee, came running down to officiate the match until McMahon returned and tossed Hebner out of the ring.
Mankind (Mick Foley), who won the right to be the special guest referee in the main event earlier in the night, came down and took McMahon out of the equation to the roar of the crowd.
Eventually, Austin regained momentum, nailed The Rock with a couple of Stone Cold Stunners, and became WWF Champion.
The beer bash was on as Austin began drinking a few cold ones with his new prized possession in his hand. He brought Hebner back in the ring and shared some beers.
McMahon, on the other hand, was seen in disbelief ringside. When he tried to tell Austin off, the champion brought his boss back inside the ring, stunned him, and poured beer all over his face.
Justice was served, and WrestleMania 15 closed with what the people wanted. Austin was back on top, and all was right in the WWF.
Final thoughts
Well, what’s there to say about this WrestleMania? I’ll begin by saying that it wasn’t a bad show. I will say that I came into this thinking that the two factions would be an issue. Turns out, they never really were, and they did such a great job making nearly every match mean something.
The only issue that bugged me was the fallout of the Hell in a Cell match. The image of the Big Boss Man lingering in the air would not be acceptable in any media form. It was, and always will be, a horrible sight and decision.
The one thing that does break my heart is that this would be Owen Hart’s final WrestleMania appearance when tragedy struck a few months after at the "Over the Edge" pay-per-view.
Hart was scheduled to perform an entrance from Kemper Arena's rafters in Kansas City under his Blue Blazer persona. As Hart waited for his cue, he unintentionally released the safety pin from his harness and fell to his death in a freak accident.
In this writing project, you learn and see so many moments as the years went by, and Owen was a big part of WrestleMania. It stings a bit on the inside, knowing that this would be the final time I bring up Owen in my WrestleMania postings because of his accident.
It’s been great to appreciate and watch some of Owen’s best moments of his career. I can only wish I had a chance to properly witness his career during his time on earth and recognize his great work.
Finally, the main event between Austin and Rock was a classic. It featured a good mix of brutality and storytelling as Austin overcame his boss yet again. Thankfully, this wouldn’t be the only they meet, but more on that in a few days.
For now, the WWF would close the 20th century in style and look ahead to the new millennium.
That's if a particular family could get along in the new year.
Results:
- Hardcore Holly def. Al Snow and Billy Gunn (c) - Triple threat match for the WWF Hardcore Championship
- Jeff Jarret and Owen Hart (c) def. Test and D'Lo Brown - WWF Tag Team Championship
- Butterbean def. Bart Gunn - Brawl for All boxing match
- Mankind def. Big Show via disqualification - To determine who would be the special guest referee in the main event
- Road Dogg def. Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and Val Venis - Four Corners match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
- Kane def. Triple H via disqualification
- Sable (c) def. Tori - WWF Women's Championship
- The Undertaker def. Big Boss Man - Hell in a Cell match
- Steve Austin def. The Rock - No disqualification match for the WWF Championship
Rating: B-
Thanks for reading. Look out tomorrow when I take a look at WrestleMania 16.
20 days away until WrestleMania 35.
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