[1999-04-26-WWF-Raw] The Undertaker, Stephanie McMahon and Steve Austin

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Thank God for the announcers filling in a lot of the blanks so that we don't have to show all of the details. The Ministry brings Stephanie out on the Undertaker's symbol donned in a black dress. It turns out that Paul Bearer is officiating a WEDDING between Undertaker and Stephanie. Ken Shamrock tries to make a save with a baseball bat, but is quickly laid out and tossed aside. Shane talks The Corporation into waiting to make their move. Big Show tries a save next, but Undertaker uses the baseball bat to get rid of him. Austin finally makes a save and plows through the Ministry before getting in the ring and brawling with Undertaker. He unties Stephanie from Undertaker's symbol and she hugs him, which seems to make him uncomfortable. Vince then hits the ring and reunites with his daughter. For OTT soap opera-fueled wrestling, this was pretty great.

[Tim Evans]

I loved Taker's theme music at the time. I'm not sure what to think of this. It was pretty creepy but it had a good payoff. Big show's big boot to Simmons was real bad. Austin destroys the ministry with chairshots to the head. Taker just says "fuck this" and walks out after taking a few punches. Good segment.

[(BP)]

Maybe my favorite Attitude Era moment, at least of that year. The story of the antihero putting aside his hate for his archenemy to do the right thing and save the man's loved one from true evil really captured my imagination. It was broad crash TV, but also a little nuanced, with Austin's reaction to Stephanie hugging him specifically being great. At a time when creative was getting lazy and crass, this angle managed to flesh out Austin's character a little, make him look like a great babyface without sacrificing his badass aura, and create a new dynamic between Austin and Vince that could have been explored. We ultimately got the Higher Power bullshit, but it doesn't color my admiration for how awesome this was.

[soup23]

This did hold up better as an overall payoff than I imagined and I'm starting to think the reason I soured so much on this angle overall was how lame the Higher Power payoff was just as a reset. Here, we get creepy Taker wanting to go screw Vince by having an unholy wedding with Steph. We get Shamrock and Big Show trying to make the save before Austin finally does. The way Austin reacts to the hug is great and remains true to his character. Vince saying thank you to him is another powerful moment.

[Zenjo]

I'd forgotten that Stephanie had not one, not two, but three wedding ceremonies in 1999. None of them were run of the mill. She said 'no' during her vows so I don't think this one counted. Paul Bearer conducting the ceremony may have been a problem also. I can just imagine Stephanie suggesting having a storyline wedding on Raw to the two Vince's and this is what they came up with.

 

Amazingly it works really well. The Undertakers theme is awesome, and he could get away with doing pretty much anything with his character. Because he's sacrificing a young lady rather than another wrestler there is more of a sense of peril for the audience. Steph is in her element with soap opera overacting. Austin comes down to the ring because it's morally the right thing to do. The aftermath is the best part of all. It made clear that Austin didn't do it for Vince and maintained his badass persona despite his chivalrous deeds. It also added a new layer to the Vince/Stone Cold dynamic whilst building up the match against the Undertaker. Great segment.

[PeteF3]

Yeah, this is actually all pretty well-booked. Bullshit with the Ministry aside, we set up the Undertaker as an evil fuck who makes even Vince seem sympathetic, we get Vince helping Austin, and now with Rock turning babyface as he should, we have a readymade heel for Austin to fight next--and it's a fresh new role as it's not someone Vince wants as champion either. Of course I'm discussing this booking in isolation, conveniently ignoring the Higher Power payoff that renders most of this talk irrelevant. It's good big-picture booking for now and a good segment layout here, with a gradual build until Austin is finally the one to break through and make the save. Even the close-up visual of Stephanie freaking out while the glass breaks in the background is great.

 

Jim Cornette doing commentary in this environment is WEIRD. He doesn't do a *bad* job at all, but it's weird. I'm sure when I get to the Observer back issue in question it will explain where Lawler was but I have no memory of Cornette being on TV this late.