The WWE Smackdown debut episode was a professional wrestling show that marked the debut of WWE's (then WWF) weekly WWF SmackDown! television show. The show took place on August 26, 1999. Although the episode marked the beginning of the series, an earlier pilot aired back on April 29.[1][2]
| WWE Smackdown Debut | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.svg){kind=logo} The Debut WWE Smackdown logo, used until August 9, 2001. | |||
| Promotion | WWF | ||
| Brand(s) | SmackDown | ||
| Date | August 26, 1999 | ||
| City | Kansas City, Missouri | ||
| Venue | Kemper Arena | ||
| SmackDown special episodes chronology | |||
| |||
The show aired live on UPN, taking place at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.
Storylines
editThe event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[3] Results were predetermined by WWE's writers.[4]
Event
editThe show opened with an opening promo by the newly crowned WWF Champion, Triple H, accompanied by Chyna. The Rock challenged him to a championship match to which he declined. Then WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels made the match official, naming himself as the special guest referee. Shane McMahon entered to declare himself as the second guest referee, Michaels denied this and announces McMahon would be wrestling Mankind later in the night. A brawl ensued with The Rock and Mankind clearing the ring.[5]
During the show ring announcer Howard Finkel entered the ring, using The Ultimate Warrior's entrance theme. Finkel stole the microphone from announcer Tony Chimel, however Chimel tackled him to the floor, Chris Jericho helped him to his feet, and an ongoing skit throughout the show involving Finkel, Jericho and Ken Shamrock was seen throughout the night.[6]
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Results
edit| No. | Results[7] | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kurt Angle defeated The California Kid | Dark match | ||
| 2 | Edge (w/ Christian defeated Matt Hardy (w/ Jeff Hardy) | Dark match | ||
| 3 | D'Lo Brown defeated Hardcore Holly (w/ Crash Holly) | Dark match | ||
| 4 | Val Venis defeated Mark Henry | Dark match | ||
| 5 | Gangrel defeated Chaz (w/ Marianna) | Dark match | ||
| 6 | Mr. Ass defeated Jeff Jarrett (w/ Miss Kitty and Debra) | Singles match | ||
| 7 | The Unholy Alliance (The Undertaker and The Big Show) (c) (w/ Paul Bearer) defeated Kane and X-Pac and The APA (Bradshaw and Farooq) | Triple Threat match for the WWF Tag Team Championship | ||
| 8 | Big Boss Man defeated Al Snow (c) | Hardcore match for the WWF Hardcore Championship | ||
| 9 | Road Dogg defeated Chris Jericho by disqualification | Singles match | ||
| 10 | Shane McMahon defeated Mankind | Singles match | ||
| 11 | Tori defeated Ivory | Evening Gown match | ||
| 12 | Triple H (c) (w/ Chyna) defeated The Rock (w/ Shawn Michaels and Shane McMahon as the special guest referees) | Singles match for the WWF Championship | ||
| ||||
References
edit- ^ (via ProQuest Archiver): Starr, Michael (May 3, 1999). "TV TICKER". New York Post. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
- ^ (via ProQuest Archiver): Deggans, Eric (April 29, 1999). "Networks poised to sweep viewers off their feet Series: On TV; Entertainment". St. Petersburg, Florida: St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
UPN taps the wrestling craze with a two-hour series pilot dubbed WWF Smackdown!
[dead link] - ^ "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. 2006-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
- ^ "WWE Corporate". 2009-02-18. Archived from the original on 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
- ^ "Retro Match Ratings: The "First" WWF Smackdown 8/26/1999 | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ King, Tevon (2022-04-26). "10 Things You Forgot Happened On WWE SmackDown's First Year". TheSportster. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ "Episode #1.1". IMDb.