10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 1999 Facts

10. The Opener Gave Mark Henry His First And Only WWE Belt In His First 12 Years As A Wrestler

Mark Henry's WWE career has reached a staggering 21 years. Fans saw Henry at his absolute best in 2011, when he was portrayed as a straight-forward ass-kicker with not an ounce of remorse in his 400-pound body. Life for Henry prior to that was well-paid (he'd signed a 10-year contract with WWE in 1996, despite having no wrestling experience), but not exactly creatively satisfying.

Henry turned on Intercontinental and European Champion D-Lo Brown in the opener of SummerSlam 1999, allowing Jeff Jarrett to win both belts. The next night on Raw, an Attitude Era staple of "belts changing hands through illegitimate means" was carried out when Jarrett simply gave the European title to Henry as a gift.

This not only marked the first belt that Henry would hold, but it was also the only piece of gold he would claim up until 2008. Injuries, along with the struggle to improve, stunted the first decade-plus of Henry's WWE life. It wouldn't be until Night of Champions 2008 that Henry actually won a championship through a legit victory, becoming the ECW Champion after beating two other men that wrestled at SummerSlam 1999: Kane and The Big Show.