Summerslam rewind: Stone Cold vs Mankind vs Triple H (SummerSlam 1999)

A still from the matchThe Attitude Era was essentially built up by a small group of men. All of these men were megastars, and they took professional wrestling to a whole new level.When you put three of these men in one match, and make it for the most prestigious honour there is, the WWE Championship, you can immediately expect a classic. This article looks at this classic, in a split way: The build-up, the match, and the aftermath.So in the midst of SummerSlam season, reflect on a classic SummerSlam match.

#1 The build-up

Austin’s showdown at WrestleMani

At WrestleMania XV, Stone Cold Steve Austin won the WWE Championship from The Rock and would continue to retain for a while. That is, until The Undertaker won it from him at Over The Edge, in all his Ministry Of Darkness glory. In events that could only be praised during The Attitude Era, Stone Cold was made Chief Executive Officer of WWE, and granted himself a rematch the next night on Raw, where he would win it back, and retain at Fully Loaded.

Around this time, Triple H and Mankind were eying the top prize, and the former was unsuccessful a few times. Both men were granted a match at SummerSlam, in a high-stakes match, considering Mankind to be the underdog, and Triple H still to win the WWE Championship until that point. Jesse Ventura, the ever-popular commentator, would serve as special guest referee.

#2 The match

A sweet culmination

Ventura entered first, as a guest referee always would, followed by Mankind, Triple H, who was accompanied by Chyna, and Stone Cold, in all his championship pride.

Mankind hadn’t entered the ring after his entrace, Triple H did. As soon as Stone Cold stepped inside the ring, a brawl erupted between both men. Mankind would remain outside for a while, and would get into the action when Stone Cold delivered an Irish Whip to Triple H. As Trips bounced off the ropes, Mankind grabbed his legs and pulled him out of the ring. A brawl would begin between both men, until Stone Cold interfered. Mankind and Stone Cold teamed up against their opponent, and began tearing him apart together. It all seemed well for the two until they turned on each other.

Now the match was truly becoming a Triple Threat, with all three men delivering offense. While Stone Cold was engaged with The Game, Chyna threw Mankind into the ring post. Triple H introduced a steel chair, and temporarily took out Stone Cold. Mankind would strike quickly and deliver a Mandible Claw to The King Of Kings, who was saved by Mankind.

Stone Cold would return, and engage in a brawl with Triple H that went all through the arena. When they returned to the ring, Mankind this time teamed up with Triple H, which, of course, didn’t last long. Both men would spill out of the ring, and Mankind was down for a while, leaving Triple H and Stone Cold to fight. After even more brawling through the arena, it returned to the ring, where Stone Cold delivered a Stunner and got a near fall on Mankind, thanks to a steel chair shot from Triple H. The Game would assault both men with the chair, and Ventura tried to reason with him. Then Shane McMahon came down, and was given a Stunner. Following, Mankind would deliver a double Mandible Claw, which didn’t end well for him. Eventually a few Stunners were thrown around, until Triple H hit a Pedigree on Stone Cold. Mankind would quickly move The Game out of the way and deliver a Double Arm DDT to Stone Cold, and picked up the victory.

#3 The aftermath

Triple H would win the gold the next night

There are conspiracy theories about why Mankind won. One states that the reason he was even in the match is because Stone Cold didn’t want to put Triple H over. Another claims that Stone Cold had a torn ligament in his knee, which is why instead of a one-on-one match, Mankind was added to the match to ease the pain on the knee. Perhaps it is a bit of both.

Stone Cold was indeed taken out due to his knee injury.

The next night on Raw, Triple H would win his first WWE Championship in a rematch. He would hold it only for a few weeks, until he dropped it to Vince McMahon.