Fully Loaded 1999: The Main Event Saves a Very 1999 Card

Edge enters Fully Loaded as an accidental champion in the best possible sense. He had won the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Jeff Jarrett at a Toronto live event one night earlier after circumstances reshuffled the card. That gives the opener an unusual urgency because the new reign already feels fragile.

Jarrett works the match like someone trying to restore order. He attacks Edge's leg and arm, slows the pace and repeatedly forces the younger champion to win exchanges through athleticism rather than experience. Edge's offense is energetic enough to keep thirteen minutes moving.

The closing stretch becomes crowded with Debra and Gangrel at ringside. Edge survives one distraction and hits the Spear, but another opening lets Gangrel catch him on the ropes. Jarrett follows with the Stroke and regains the championship.

The title change ends Edge's first WWF championship reign after only one day, which makes the match historically notable even without a long-term payoff. It also gives Jarrett his belt back before the program moves toward D-Lo Brown at SummerSlam. The opener accomplishes more than most of the middle card.

The reported Observer rating was three stars, while John Canton went slightly higher at three and a quarter. Cagematch voting for the match sits in the high-four range, reflecting a bout that is good but not especially beloved. WrestleFile lands at B- / 7.2.

The Hardy Boyz and Michael Hayes defend the WWF Tag Team Championship in a three-on-two match that sounds stranger than it plays. The Acolytes are already becoming one of the division's most reliable power teams, while Matt and Jeff supply movement. Hayes is the obvious vulnerability.

The opening brawl gives the match energy before it settles into a more conventional tag rhythm. The Hardys hit dives and quick combinations, while Bradshaw and Faarooq repeatedly cut them off with heavy strikes and throws. The contrast works whenever the rules stay simple.

The no-disqualification stipulation becomes less useful once the wrestlers begin observing normal tags for long stretches. That inconsistency makes the match feel more arranged than chaotic. The crowd also cools during the control section.

Jeff survives a brutal Clothesline From Hell, but Hayes eventually becomes the target. The Acolytes hit the assisted powerbomb and pin him to reclaim the championship. Using Hayes for the fall protects the younger champions while giving the belts back to the stronger team.

The Observer rated the match two stars, and Canton landed at two and a quarter. There are good bursts, but the stipulation and structure never fully agree with each other. WrestleFile lands at C / 6.2.

D-Lo Brown challenging Mideon for the WWF European Championship is a correction more than a rivalry. Mideon had essentially inherited the title by finding it among Shane McMahon's belongings. Brown enters feeling far more connected to the championship than the champion does.

The match is kept short and that is the right decision. Brown supplies nearly all of the athletic movement while Mideon relies on basic control offense. The audience becomes noticeably quieter whenever Brown is not attacking.

A Sky High and Low Down restore the expected hierarchy. Brown pins Mideon cleanly and wins the championship for another time. The result feels more important than anything that happens before it.

The Observer rated the match only a quarter star, and Canton gave it one star. The title change is sensible and the wrestling is forgettable. WrestleFile lands at D+ / 5.0.

Al Snow and Big Boss Man take the WWF Hardcore Championship out of the ring and into the building almost immediately. That is appropriate for a division increasingly defined by wandering fights rather than wrestling under ordinary rules. The match becomes a tour of doors, cases, pavement and whatever objects happen to be nearby.

Some of the violence works because both men commit to ugly collisions. Snow goes through furniture, Boss Man absorbs shots with signs and metal objects, and the fight eventually reaches the street. The improvised setting creates a few memorable images.

The match also contains accidental comedy that undercuts the danger. A golf cart refuses to cooperate, several weapon shots look improvised in the wrong way and the roaming camera can make the action feel directionless. Ten minutes is enough.

Boss Man handcuffs Snow to a fence and pins him while Snow is trapped against it. The unusual finish gives Boss Man the WWF Hardcore Championship and begins the feud that later produces the infamous Pepper material. The result is historically more regrettable than the match itself.

The Observer rated the match 1.25 stars, while Canton gave it 1.5. The creative setting earns some credit, but the execution is too uneven for more. WrestleFile lands at C / 6.1.

Big Show and Kane follow their poor King of the Ring match with another attempt to make two giants colliding feel interesting. Hardcore Holly is added as special guest referee because the existing matchup apparently needs another moving part. The result is still slow.

Show controls most of the match with deliberate power offense that never creates urgency. Kane takes several large bumps and eventually mounts a comeback, but the audience spends long stretches waiting for something to change. The pace works against both wrestlers.

Holly finally changes the match by attacking Kane's knee. Big Show hits the chokeslam and Holly delivers a fast count. The finish makes the referee more important than the winner.

The post-match angle has more consequence than the match as Undertaker and Big Show align against Kane and X-Pac. That development pushes the tag-team story toward SummerSlam. The eight minutes before it remain difficult.

The Observer rated the bout minus one star, by far the lowest score on the card, while Canton gave it half a star. The historical consensus is correct. WrestleFile lands at F / 3.3.

Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman leave the arena proper for one of the strangest stipulations of 1999. The Iron Circle Match takes place in a parking garage with cars forming the boundary and other wrestlers watching from the vehicles. It looks more like a sanctioned ambush than a wrestling match.

The concept is stronger than the lighting. Shamrock and Blackman slam one another onto car hoods, use chains and metal objects and treat the vehicles as the ring itself. The dim garage makes several exchanges harder to appreciate than they should be.

The short runtime helps enormously. Blackman reaches for a tire iron, Shamrock survives and eventually wraps a chain around his fist before choking Blackman out with it. Shamrock then leaves the circle to claim the victory.

The fight advances a feud built around Blackman's repeated attacks and gives Shamrock an appropriately violent answer. It is more memorable as a concept than as polished wrestling. That is enough for a positive middle-card grade.

The Observer rated the match one star, while Canton was more generous at 1.75. WWE still maintains the match as a distinct Fully Loaded 1999 video, which reflects the stipulation's novelty. WrestleFile lands at C+ / 6.5.

The fractured D-Generation X story produces a tag match for ownership of the group's name and trademarks. That is extremely 1999, but it gives Road Dogg, X-Pac, Billy Gunn and Chyna a concrete reason to fight. The crowd understands the personalities even when the legal premise is silly.

Gunn and Chyna control X-Pac for the most useful stretch of the match. Road Dogg's hot tag gives the babyface team a clear comeback, while Chyna's power spots provide contrast to the smaller wrestlers. The work is competent rather than inspired.

The finish is simple. Gunn misses the corner attack, Road Dogg hits the Pumphandle Slam and pins the recent King of the Ring winner. Road Dogg and X-Pac keep the DX identity.

The result ages strangely because the group will change again within months. Gunn eventually reunites with Road Dogg, making the supposedly permanent legal stakes feel disposable. As a self-contained tag match, it remains solid.

The Observer rated the bout 2.25 stars, the same score Canton gave it. There is no hidden classic here, but the personalities carry the eleven minutes. WrestleFile lands at C+ / 6.8.

Triple H and The Rock arrive at Fully Loaded with years of chemistry and a much larger prize than the strap itself. The winner receives the WWF Championship match at SummerSlam. For Triple H, the match is another attempt to make the move from upper-card heel to unquestioned main-event threat.

The stipulation is essentially a falls-count-anywhere fight with both men connected by a leather strap. They brawl through the crowd, use the barricades and whip one another without relying on the traditional four-corners rule. The freedom suits their rivalry better than a ceremonial strap format would.

The match becomes increasingly crowded late. Chyna distracts the referee, Billy Gunn interferes and Rock repeatedly has winning moments erased by outside help. The interference fits the story but makes nineteen minutes feel heavier than necessary.

Rock drops Gunn with the Rock Bottom and turns into Triple H's Pedigree. The win formally gives Triple H the SummerSlam title opportunity and represents another major step toward his first WWF Championship reign. The destination matters more than the strap.

Cagematch voting places the match around 6.3, while the Observer rated it 3.25 stars. Canton also praised it as one of the card's strongest matches. WrestleFile lands at B / 7.8.

Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker enter Fully Loaded with absurdly large stipulations attached to a simple First Blood match. If Austin loses, he can never challenge for the WWF Championship again; if Austin wins, Vince McMahon must leave WWF television. The audience treats the second promise as the emotional prize.

Both wrestlers are bloodied in separate attacks before the bell, which creates an amusing technical problem for a match supposedly decided by first blood. Once the fight begins, they brawl through ringside and repeatedly use chairs, steps and the barricade. The pace is much better than several of their earlier 1999 meetings.

The final sequence layers interference without losing the central goal. Shane McMahon takes a chair shot, Vince tries to intervene and X-Pac arrives to kick a chair into Undertaker's face. Austin then smashes Undertaker with a television camera.

Earl Hebner recovers, sees Undertaker bleeding and awards Austin the match. The post-match chaos immediately adds Triple H, The Rock and another Austin-Undertaker fight before Austin gives Vince a farewell Stunner. The ending is excessive and satisfying in exactly the Attitude Era way.

Cagematch's historical matchguide places the bout around 7.0, while the Observer rated it 3.75 stars, the highest mark on the card. Canton also named it the night's best match. WrestleFile lands at B+ / 8.3.