(Some minor spoilers by no match results listed in this review) Tagged Classics: Royal Rumble 1999 and 2000 Double DVD Part 1: WWF Royal Rumble 1999 "I'm gonna make that son-of-a-b*tch scream 'I Quit' and I'll be damned if he doesn't!" - The Rock The words of the "Most Electrifying Man in Sports-Entertainment" are just one of the many highlights from the first "classic" to be tagged in this very special collection. Up until now the brilliant series has featured the original pay-per-views in all their untouched glory. History will remember the "WWF" logo now thanks to Silvervision. America: be jealous. The Attitude Era is upon us and this collection is a spectacular example of what wrestling used to be like."Ring the bell!" – Sable The first Royal Rumble from 1999 isn't a particularly special pay-per-view in terms of its undercard that mostly features "double-duty" performances (people who wrestle in the Rumble match as well) with forgettable, albeit very watchable matches."I will not, will not say 'I Quit'!" – Mankind Now we're getting to the main reason to own Rumble 1999! The infamous "I Quit" match between Mick "Mankind" Foley and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for the WWF Title isn't a pretty affair. The match was featured on the brilliant documentary "Beyond The Mat" and is talked about in Foley's second book "Foley Is Good" as being a night where Mick got "carried away". The chemistry between the two is undeniable with both wrestlers using a combination of brutal stunts and brilliant mic-skills to get the audience right into the action. It's a shame that this match wasn't included on any of the Foley compilation DVDs (possibly at the request of Foley for how much this match upset his family) because it's an excellent match. The battle eventually builds to one of the most brutal scenes in wrestling history as Mankind is hand-cuffed and beaten senseless with a steel chair. If you've seen Beyond The Mat then you'll know how bad this assault really was and if you've read the book then you'll also know that Foley never quite forgave the Rock for not checking on him after the match. Wrestling historians will enjoy this one."Here are the rules..." – Howard "The Fink" Finkel Some people look at this Austin/McMahon saga as the greatest rivalry in wrestling history while others groan about the quality of the matches and stupid collection of swerves. This is one for the groaners, I'm afraid. Yes the Rumble has its moments but ultimately the ruined by an ending so "unexpected" that it borders on intelligence insulting. It short-changes everyone involved and makes you wonder why you bothered to care about the rest of the match. No, it's not my favourite Rumble then.(includes some bonus footage nonsense that isn't really important but fun regardless)

This PPV took place in Arrowhead Pond arena in Anaheim, California. And it was a very entertaining PPV, as the Austin/McMahon feud was at its best at this time. The undercard of this PPV was also very good. Now lets recap the matches:1) Road Dogg vs Big Bossman - average match. Even though Road Dogg was the reigning Hardcore champion at the time, his title was not on the line. This was a very physical match, and eventually Big Bossman pinned Road Dogg with the Boss Man Slam. 6/102)Intercontinental championship match : Ken Shamrock (c) vs 'Mr. Ass' Billy Gunn - Ken Shamrock worked on already injured Gunn's ankle for most of the match. Near the end of the match, ref got knocked down, and Val Venis came into the ring and gave DDT to Shamrock, but Gunn only received a 2 count. Shamrock took full control afterwards and he made Gunn tap out to the Ankle Lock 6/103) European Championship match : X-Pac (c) vs Gangrel - a good high-flying match, which got screwed up a little bit after the ref accidentally made the 3 count, which should've given Gangrel the victory, but since he wasn't supposed to win the title, the match went on as if nothing happened. X-Pac won in the end after nailing the X-Factor. Just because of that mishap I'll give this match 'only' 7/104) Women's championship Strap match : Sable (c) vs Luna - the first woman to touch all four turnbuckles in succession was to be declared the winner. Sable won after a little bit of help from her 'fan' Tori. 5/105) 'I Quit' match for the WWE championship : Mankind (c) vs The Rock - this was the best match of the night and on of the best matches of 1999. It had so many highlights. One of them came when Mankind got thrown off the aisle onto some electrical boxes. Mankind got handcuffed, and therefore he couldn't defend himself as The Rock hit him in the head with the chair 8 times! Then he 'made' Mankind say 'I Quit!, thus becoming the new WWE champion. It was later revealed that Mankind didn't say those words, but they were instead recorded from the promo that Mankind made on RAW prior to this PPV, and then played out on the speakers. 9/106) 30 men Royal Rumble match : very exciting match. In the end, men who drew #1 and #2, AKA Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon were the last in the ring. And with the help of The Rock, Vince McMahon threw Austin over the rope to win the Rumble match. This was quite a shock for me! 8/10

The 1999 Royal Rumble was billed as "No Chance in Hell," as Mr. McMahon claimed that Stone Cold Steve Austin had no chance in hell of winning the January spectacular and advancing to WrestleMania XV. Austin had won a spot in the Rumble by defeating Undertaker in a "Buried Alive" match at the "Rock Bottom" In Your House Pay-Per-View in December 1998. Knowing that the Rattlesnake was a definite threat to win the event, Mr. McMahon made him enter the bout at No. 1. The cocky owner then said that he himself would be entering the Rumble, and would do so at No. 30! Then, to turn the heat up even more, he placed a $100,000 bounty on Austin's head -- meaning that the superstar who eliminated the Rattlesnake would take home a cool hundred grand! But Commissioner Shawn Michaels had plans of his own. He forced Mr. McMahon to enter the Rumble at No. 2, meaning that Stone Cold could get his hands on WWE chairman! Austin dominated the bout in the early-going, until Mr. McMahon led him into an assault by the Corporate team! The Rattlesnake was taken away in an ambulance -- only to return about half an hour later! Stone Cold was a man on a mission, and the last two men in the Rumble match turned out to be Austin and Mr. McMahon! Stone Cold was in control, until The Rock made his way to ringside. The then-Corporate Champion distracted the Rattlesnake, allowing Mr. McMahon to dump Austin out of the ring! Mr. McMahon was the winner of the Royal Rumble! Also at the 1999 Royal Rumble, The Rock and Mankind brutalized each other in a brutal "I Quit" match for the WWE Championship. Rocky won the title from Mick after destroying his foe with 11 chair shots to the head! But Mick would regain the title just two days later, during "Halftime Heat!"Big Boss Man defeated Road Dogg via pinfall Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock defeated Mr. Ass via submission European Champion X-Pac defeated Gangrel via pinfall Women's Champion Sable defeated Luna in a Strap Match The Rock defeated Mankind in an "I Quit" Match to win WWE Championship Vince McMahon won the Royal RumbleOverall Mark: C+

The WWF was so into their storyline over actual action that they runied an event that could have been so much better. The only real highlight would have to be the Mankind vs. the Rock match for the world title. These guys give it all they got and give definately some of the best performance in their careers. The only flaw of this match is the ending which is the exact same as Survivor Series 98. The rest of the card is not very interesting: Bossman beats Road Dogg out of nowhere, X-Pac fighting Gangrel is pretty weak, Billy Gunn getting pounded by Ken Shamrock isn't too thrilling, and Sable vs. Luna has to be one of the worst matches in Rumble history. As for the actual Rumble, there is such an emphasis by the Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler regarding the whole Austin vs. McMahon issue that you know that one of them is going to win the match. Both Austin and McMahon spend more than half of the Rumble away from the ring and we are stuck with few potential winners(Triple-H, Owen Hart, Shamrock), some longshots(D-Lo Brown, Bossman, X-Pac), a few with even longer shots(Steve Blackman, Dan Severn, Jeff Jarrett), a large number of no-shots(Golga, Droz, Blue Meanie, Al Snow), and even a few that you know were just in it because they ran out of guys(Gillberg, Mabel, Chyna). Besides, how can enjoy a Royal rumble that doesn't have the Undetaker compete?