| Company | WWF/WWE |
| Event | WWF No Mercy 1999 |
| Series | No Mercy |
| Edition | 2 |
| Format | Pay-Per-View |
| Date | Sunday October 17 1999 |
| Venue | Gund Arena |
| Location | Cleveland, Ohio, USA |
| Attendance | 18,742 |
So, WWF No Mercy 1999 is remembered for one match, and one match only. Admittedly, though, that one match happens to be an all-time classic. And you will probably already know what match I’m talking about. But rather than focusing solely on that bout, let’s take a look back at the PPV as a whole.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS TV SHOWS? READ OUR PRE-PPV REVIEWS OF RAW & SMACKDOWN!
WWF No Mercy 1999
The Godfather vs. Mideon
Nope, this isn’t the match I was referring to. Godfather was super-over as an opening match act, so I guess he was in his element here by kicking off proceedings. Mideon, in contrast, rarely found his element, and with the Ministry Of Darkness/Corporate Ministry having folded, he was more or less bouncing around at this point, as was his sidekick Viscera. As a matter of fact, I had forgotten Mideon was even on WWF television in October 1999 before revisiting this card. All of this means that it is no surprise for you to learn that Godfather would have his hand raised, managing to score the pinfall victory despite interference from Big Vis. Nothing much to see here, so let’s move on.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS EDITION? READ OUR WWF NO MERCY 1999 (UK) REVIEW!
WWF Women’s Championship Match
Ivory (C) vs. The Fabulous Moolah
Now, modern fans often accuse those who pine for the return of the Attitude Era of wearing rose-coloured glasses. They say that longtime Attitude fans ignore the moments of poor quality that would blight the product. But I’m here to set the record straight. The reality is, Attitude Era fans were fully accepting of the fact that aspects of the product would be awful. But they would overlook those elements for the genuinely great stuff. It’s not a hard concept to understand, yet those who dismiss a modern-day PPV due to one bad match seem to struggle with that.
All of that is a way for me to fill up a word count when discussing this monstrosity of a battle. Somehow, the then-76-year-old Moolah managed to pin Ivory after interference from Mae Young to become the oldest holder of any title in company history. Of course, her reign didn’t last very long. It’s an interesting footnote if nothing else, and a reminder that anything could happen back in 1999. But you will have to look elsewhere for an even remotely adequate women’s match from this time period. (Between Sable vs. Tori, Ivory vs. Tori and then this, ‘99 may have been the worst year ever for women’s wrestling.)
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS PPV? READ OUR WWF REBELLION 1999 REVIEW!
The New Age Outlaws vs. Hardcore Holly & Crash Holly
Here’s your unique trivia fact of the day. This would be the final PPV match that Road Dogg and Billy Gunn had on a WWF/WWE PPV while portraying babyface characters. The Outlaws had recently reunited, yet they had already managed to win and lose the WWF World Tag Team Championships. Their most recent title defeat had come just days earlier. Which meant that this suddenly became a non-title bout, meaning it had little reason to exist.
Its lack of significance is further emphasised by the fact that it ended in a disqualification finish after Gunn hit Crash with a Famouser onto a steel chair. The Holly cousins would win the Tag Team Hot Potatoes/Titles the next night from, of all teams, The Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection. Meanwhile, The Outlaws would turn heel eight days later as part of a DX reunion. As you can see, storylines would move at a very fast pace in the autumn of 1999.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FIRST EDITION? READ OUR WWF NO MERCY (UK) 1999 REVIEW!
WWF Intercontinental Championship Good Housekeeping Match
Jeff Jarrett (C) vs. Chyna
Up to this point, even as an Attitude fan, I have to admit that this show was dragging badly. Thankfully, we were about to have a turnaround. Jeff Jarrett’s peculiar feud with Chyna, and his denigration of women as a whole, culminated here. A Good Housekeeping match is essentially a No Holds Barred match, but with household items available to use as weapons. I realise the concept works only with a storyline that justifies its usage, but I like the stipulation, and I wish we would see it again. If nothing else, I would pop for someone being powerbombed through an ironing board.
One of the underrated story arcs of 1999 concerned Chyna breaking ground by achieving things previously reserved for males. She had already competed in a Royal Rumble match and the King Of The Ring tournament. And having been denied the chance to win the IC Title previously at Unforgiven on a screwjob ending, here she finally ticked that off. Jarrett seemingly had Chyna beaten after striking her with the IC gold, only for the referee to restart the bout since that wasn’t a household item. But wait, shouldn’t that mean a DQ? Never mind as Chyna whacked Double J with his signature guitar to win the match and the title. It was a historic moment, and one that Chyna had earned. Jarrett’s manager Miss Kitty would side with Chyna the next night. As for Jeff himself, he would appear on WCW Monday Nitro 24 hours later. Wait, what?
Aftermath Of No Mercy 1999
Yes, this is the famous match where Jarrett seemingly burned his bridge with the WWF/WWE for a very long time. Jarrett’s contract had expired the night before, yet he was booked to wrestle, and he was still the Intercontinental Champion. How that oversight occurred less than two years after the Montreal Screwjob, I don’t know. Depending on who you believe, Jarrett either requested a large sum of money that he was owed in unpaid royalties, or he simply demanded a large sum of money, before he would compete. Jarrett got his money, he did the honours, and he then left the WWF. The heat surrounding Jeff’s exit may explain why he didn’t participate in anything related to the WWF/WWE until he was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2018.
The Rock vs. The British Bulldog
This feud is a forgotten chapter of Rock’s career, and is arguably most memorable for Bulldog taking a Rock Bottom into dog poop. Yep. Bear in mind that Bulldog was basically a physical wreck by this point. In another era, it’s likely that Davey Boy Smith wouldn’t even have been medically cleared to compete. But compete he did, though he clearly had no chance of beating the super-over Great One. Indeed, while they got through the match safely, the result was in no doubt, as Bulldog tasted a Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow. Rock later cut a separate promo where he would challenge whomever ended the night as WWF Champion, only for Triple H (the reigning titleholder) to nail him with a sledgehammer. As for Bulldog, his status would be significantly downgraded from this point on, making this the final high-profile match of his career.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LAST EDITION? READ OUR WWE NO MERCY 2017 REVIEW!
Tag Team Ladder Match
Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz
Now for the standout match. These two teams had been feuding for a good while, culminating in a Best-Of-Five Series. Somehow, they ended the series with a tie, meaning that they needed one final rubber match. Somehow, it was decided that it would be the first tag team Ladder match in WWF/WWE history. Adding to the drama, the winning squad would not only win $100,000, but the managerial services of Terri Runnels. The latter gave the name to this mini-competition: the Terri Invitation Tournament, or T-I-T. Get it?
But nobody recalls Terri’s contributions, nor the presence of the cash. Nor do they even recall Matt and Jeff still being heels as members of The New Brood with Gangrel (the latter would be ejected from ringside early on). Instead, everyone remembers the incredible bumps that all four took, bumps that no fan had ever seen in such an environment. Vintage Ladder match spots such as the “Frogger” (where Jeff leaps over the top of a ladder to hit a legdrop), the See-Saw (where Jeff stomped onto a ladder that whacked his opponents in the face) and even the “Wile E. Coyote” camera above the ring all made their first appearances here. There were so many awe-inspiring moves that a previously-uninterested audience rose to its feet many times to applaud their efforts.
Legacy Of No Mercy 1999
Even the finish is great, with Jeff being knocked off one ladder only to climb on another ladder and punch Edge away. This allowed Jeff to retrieve the bag of money after an initial struggle. This is an absolute classic that every fan must see if they haven’t already. The TLC concept, Money In The Bank and the popularity of Ladder matches in general all date back to this encounter. Amazingly, the foursome would top their efforts here several times in the future. Here, however, they treated fans to the best match of 1999, while simultaneously putting their careers on the map. Just incredible (and I don’t mean Aldo Montoya).
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING PPV? READ OUR WWF SURVIVOR SERIES 1999 REVIEW!
Mankind vs. Val Venis
How many people remember the short-lived Val Venis upper-card heel push? Well, it was a thing. Especially with him targeting Mankind, and using Mr. Rocko (Mankind’s Rock-inspired version of Mr. Socko) as a, erm … hmm. What can I say here? Let’s just say that Rocko would keep the Big Valbowski warm. The upshot was this match, which Mankind himself has said he regrets due to his physical condition not allowing him to make Venis look like a million bucks. Then again, with a storyline like theirs, I doubt this would have launched Val into orbit anyway. Just look at the ending. Mankind locked Val in the Mandible Claw, only for Venis to simultaneously grab a Testicular Claw (!). In their lock-up of sorts, both men fell down, and Val pinned Mankind for the win. Did the Val experiment work? Considering his push ended almost immediately after this card, clearly not.
Four Corners Elimination Match
Kane vs. X-Pac vs. Faarooq vs. Bradshaw
Around this time, the WWF Attitude videogame had been released. Because this was 1999, Attitude managed to provide never-before-seen match types that we take for granted in modern titles. One of those was a Four Corners match, where you could put any foursome in the ring and let them have at it. I mention all this because this contest feels as random as a videogame clash. Why not have Kane and X-Pac team up against The Acolytes, even given the storyline tension between the two men? This was Pac’s attempt to prove his immeasurable level of courage could override any size differences.
And after Kane pinned Bradshaw, Pac seemed to prove his point by pinning Kane. It seemed like Faarooq would finish him off, but an X-Factor out of nowhere earned Pac the surprise victory to achieve his goal. Did this lead to an underdog X-Pac World Title push? Erm, no, he turned heel eight days later as well as part of the aforementioned DX reunion. Still, at least he looked good in this oddly-booked bout.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING EDITION? READ OUR WWF NO MERCY 2000 REVIEW!
WWF Championship Anything Goes Match
Triple H (C) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Austin was making his first in-ring appearance since SummerSlam, where HHH injured his knees after a WWF Title match involving Mankind. HHH had won, lost and regained the belt during the previous two months. And now it was time for Stone Cold to get The Game one-on-one for the title. Their TV angles included a memorable segment where Austin seemingly set an actual rattlesnake on Trips. H3 even feigned a huge scar on his face, only to reveal it as a ruse that allowed him to beat up Austin just prior to the PPV. It isn’t discussed amongst the top Attitude Era moments, but I always got a kick out of that one.
The match itself is a strong brawl. HHH was still trying to establish himself as a credible top-line heel, so he needed that top-drawer match to solidify him. This seemed to be that battle, as he held his own with Stone Cold from start to finish. But this would not be the time for him to score a truly decisive victory. Indeed, it took shenanigans for him to retain: The Rock came down, sporting rib tape that Diamond Dallas Page would be proud of, and planned to strike HHH with a sledgehammer. Instead, however, he wellies Austin by mistake, which led to HHH Pedigreeing Rock and pinning Austin to win. Afterwards, Stone Cold seemingly no-sold the sledgehammer blow as he chased HHH away. But he wouldn’t get hold of The Game, as HHH and Chyna left in a getaway car (nowadays I guess it’d be an Uber).
Change
One side note here: though Austin would not wrestle on PPV again for a year due to a neck injury that was about to sideline him, his presentation at No Mercy 1999 is interesting. Over the past 18 months, Austin would be made to wait for a WWF Title shot until a major occasion, or if it came about abruptly, he was a certainty to win. That he received his latest opportunity in a fairly normal manner, and that he lost, is noteworthy. Bear in mind Rock’s involvement, and his growing popularity.
In other words, the WWF was seemingly already telling us that Rock, not Austin, was the real long-term contender. From what I’ve heard, Austin was meant to dethrone HHH at a later date, then turn heel, and lose the belt to Rock at WrestleMania 2000. How differently might wrestling history have been if that scenario played out at this point in time? It’s fascinating to ponder.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING TV SHOWS? READ OUR POST-PPV REVIEWS OF RAW & SMACKDOWN!
No Mercy 1999 Summary
WWF No Mercy 1999 isn’t quite a one-match show, but the best bout on the show overshadows everything else by a wide margin. The Tag Team Ladder match is jaw-dropping and the clear highlight of the night. HHH vs. Austin and Jarrett vs. Chyna are also worth seeing. The rest of the card isn’t worth checking out, to be perfectly honest (unless you love X-Pac). Still, this was an improvement over the previous month’s Unforgiven card, and with a classic match on offer, No Mercy 1999 gets a thumbs-up.
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