WWE Over the Edge 1999 is a show I had to consider doing for “Into the Vault”. It’s a controversial show in WWE’s library because it was the show where Owen Hart lost his life on an entrance stunt just weeks after his 34th birthday.
The controversy surrounding this PPV comes from the decision to carry on with the show after a wrestler died in front of almost 16,500 fans. Of course, the edited version of the PPV is available and as usual, we’ll put the matches in “The Best” pile and “The Rest”.
Over the Edge 1999 went down May 23, 1999 in Kansas City, Missouri and drew 16,472 fans.
The Best
The Hardcore title match saw Al Snow defend his belt against none other than Hardcore Holly. These two are always given enough room to groove. Sometimes you get an unexpected banger but usually, it’s something serviceable.
This match was serviceable. At the Hardcore division level, WWE needed regular participants to really mix it up. They eventually would do that but at this stage, you’re going to see a lot of the same faces and the PPV matches end up slurring together. That aside, I liked the ending to this defense.
I really enjoyed the elimination match between the Union and the Corporate Ministry. It started out as a typical Attitude Era match then it turned into a multi-front brawl that was right up my alley.
The best exchange was between Test and Bradshaw but Big Show slamming Viscera and Mankind going at it with Big Boss Man at the end made this a better-than-watchable match.
The semi-final match between The Rock and Triple H was the best match on the show. I’ll just go ahead and say it because after the intergender match, Over the Edge 1999 just seemed to meander.
Part of it is the show itself but a piece of it is that the rest of the show goes down after Owen’s death and I don’t blame them if most were like “Look, I’ll do my match but you’re not getting my best. Not tonight.”
Triple H and The Rock put on a brief, competitive match that I enjoyed. It didn’t blow me away but I’d say that it lifted things quite a bit as far action and interest are concerned.
The Rest
A Tag Team title bout sees champions Kane & X-Pac defend against D’Lo & Mark Henry. Besides the length of the match, this was alright. It wasn’t going to rock the house but it definitely didn’t clear the house. Kane & X-Pac made for a pretty decent big man-smaller man team.
Meanwhile, the pairing of D’Lo and Mark Henry translated better outside of the ring in angles and the like. However as soon the belt rang, you were risking something that was slow and seemed longer than it was. This match fell in that area but it was fine.
The mixed tag match replaced the intended Owen Hart match against The Godfather for the IC title. You’ve got Jeff Jarrett & Debra against Val Venis & Nicole Bass. I want to say they could’ve scrapped this match and given more time to one or two of the following matches but this was a no-win.
WWE had this match and following it was Billy Gunn taking on Road Dogg and the Union fighting the Corporate Ministry. Neither of those matches needed extra time, honestly. Just hit it with that old skipperooni.
Let’s just knock out two birds with one stone here. Billy Gunn taking on Road Dogg was alright—nothing special. It probably would’ve translated better as a TV match. The energy from the crowd throughout the show was different between TV and PPV and this just seemed like something that would be more enjoyable on RAW is WAR.
Also, the one stone only hit one bird. The main event saw the Undertaker take on Stone Cold for the WWE Championship. Usually, Taker and Austin matches are solid and on occasion, they’re really good but the storyline build is always worth the ride.
This match was solid. They did their thing and Shane wasn’t bad as a special guest referee but it was just a respectable match. It had its thrills and spills but it was another Austin vs. McMahons and associated superstar goon match for the period.
Yes, I referred to the Undertaker as “associated superstar goon.”
WWE Over the Edge 1999 Verdict: Bronze Medal (4.75/10)
This was a show that was impacted by a tragedy and it showed. While the superstars powered through and got the match in the ring, a couple of the matches felt like it was a late-month episode of RAW leading into the PPV. The thing is, about half of these matches would’ve intrigued me on paper but this was a very unfortunate night.
The match of the show goes to Triple H vs. The Rock.
CHECK IT OUT: To get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
