WWE SummerSlam 1999 Revisited: Top Matches and Moments

Revisit WWE SummerSlam 1999 in Minnesota, including Edge and Christian’s breakout performance and Mankind’s WWE Championship victory.

For the second time in WWE history, SummerSlam takes place in Minnesota. The first event was in 1999, where Stone Cold Steve Austin defended his WWE Championship against Mankind and Triple H in a huge triple-threat match with Jesse “The Body” Ventura as special guest referee. Chris King has gone back into the history books to rewatch the 1999 summer spectacle and give his takeaways on the top matches from Vince Russo’s final WWE PPV event.

Edge & Christian Have A Show-Stealing Performance

It’s crazy to be saying this after Cope and Cage became the new AEW Tag Team Champions at Double or Nothing in 2026, but early in their illustrious careers in WWE, Edge and Christian were finding their footing in the WWE tag team division. Edge and Christian defeated not one but three tag teams and delivered a fantastic high-flying performance, defeating The Hardy Boyz, Mideon and Viscera, and Droz and Prince Albert in the tag team turmoil match to determine the number-one contenders for the tag team titles.

They were easily dominated by hungry and fresh Acolytes (Faarooq and Bradshaw) who just made their way down to the ring. The two powerhouses cleaned house, but before they were eliminated, both young and up-and-coming superstars were on fire.

WWE Hardcore Championship Match

Al Snow challenged then-WWE Hardcore Champion The Big Boss Man for his title. Snow climbed up on top of a scaffolding to jump his opponent during his entrance. Both superstars beat the hell out of each other under WWE’s unorthodox, hardcore, anything-goes championship rules in a falls-count-anywhere match. The action spilled out through the crowd, the backstage area, the street, and even inside a nearby pub. Snow would regain the hardcore title after nailing a moonsault off the pub through a table.

Lions Den Weapons Match

‘The Most Dangerous Man’ Ken Shamrock would face ‘The Lethal Weapon’ Steve Blackman, a mixed martial artist, in a Lions Den weapons match similar to the fight pit matches we saw back in NXT and between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle at the 2022 Extreme Rules PLE. Both competitors entered into the cage and started to beat the absolute tar out of each other.
Blackman utilized his nunchucks, canes, and kendo sticks on Shamrock, but it wasn’t enough. The Most Dangerous Man bounced off the cage to deliver a high-flying maneuver to take control. Shamrock blasted his opponent with hard shots with the kendo stick to secure the victory, as Blackman was left unconscious.

Love Her Or Leave Her: Greenwich Street Fight

Shane McMahon and Test battled for Test’s relationship with Stephanie McMahon. Shane wanted their relationship to end, and to do so, he would have to defeat Test in a Greenwich Street Fight. Throughout the match, The Mean Street Posse got involved, allowing Shane-O-Mac to get the upper hand but not being able to secure the pinfall.

The Posse even set Test up on the announce table for McMahon to hit his signature flying elbow off the top rope, but to no avail. The Briscoes came down to even the odds, and Test managed to deliver his Pumphandle slam to secure the victory and his relationship with Stephanie.

The Unholy Alliance Dominates

In a high-profile WWE Tag Team Championship match, Kane and X-PAC would defend their titles against ‘The Unholy Alliance,’ The Undertaker and The Big Show. Degeneration X’s X-Pac would utilize his fast-paced offense to throw the heels off their feet in the beginning of the match. Undertaker and his now-evil apprentice Big Show would dominate the tag team champions with brute force and the numbers game.

Kane and his buddy would fight back, allowing X-Pac to deliver his Bronco Buster to Show in the corner. While Show had the match won, Taker tagged himself in and added an exclamation point with a devastating Tombstone Piledriver to win the tag team championships. Kane was seconds away from breaking up the pinfall, but Show was playing defense.

Triple Threat WWE Championship Match

The main event saw Stone Cold defending his WWE Championship against Triple H and Mankind in a huge triple-threat match. As soon as the bell rang, both Austin and Mankind formed a temporary alliance against HHH, beating him all over the place. During the match, Chyna interfered in the match behind Ventura’s back, but he saw her ram Mankind into the steel post, grapefruits first.

‘The Cerebral Assassin’ utilized the ring post to damage Austin’s knee. Mankind and HHH double-teamed the champion until HHH broke up a pinfall attempt. Austin and his two challengers fought out into the crowd in front of this red-hot Minnesota crowd. All three superstars could have won the match at any given moment. HHH broke up a pinfall with a brutal chairshot. Ventura refused to count for The Game as he went for two pinfall attempts. The finish of the match saw Mankind kick HHH out of the ring after delivering a Pedigree and hit his signature double-arm hooked DDT to become the new WWE Champion!

Final Thoughts: A really solid PLE with some exciting matches, including the Lions Den weapons match, and the main event was a great high-drama triple threat match for the WWE Championship.