10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 1999
SmackDown's debut year has a lot to thank 'WWE Champ' Arnold Schwarzenegger for...
"Welcome to SmackDown!"
Those were the words of one Jim Ross as the then-WWF took bold steps into new TV territory during SmackDown's 26 August 1999 debut. The show had actually started with a pilot on 29 April, but the company used Raw's set, Raw's red ropes and weren't all in on their new concept quite yet.
Plus, the pilot felt more like Sunday Night Heat than anything else - SmackDown's importance didn't really become obvious until the late-summer's proper launch. Looking back on those 18 episodes from 26 August-30 December '99 is equal parts nostalgic and interesting now.
The winds of change were about to blow. Vince Russo would be WCW-bound by October and Vince McMahon had two extra hours of telly to produce every single week. Over on Monday nights, established flagship titan Raw was also starting to show some signs of wear and tear.
So, yes, it was an exciting time, but also a delicate one. Here's everything we learned from binge-watching all of SmackDown's earliest output.
Hope you like a car crash product and gimmick matches. SmackDown's first 18 episodes had a lot of them...
10. Some Of The Matches Were Horrible
Actual wrestling wasn't the 'Attitude' era's main focus.
If any top company (WWE or AEW, for example) launched a brand new TV product now, they'd probably deliver some class matches to help sell it. That might be more true for All Elite, to be fair, but WWE know the value of marquee bouts too. Back in 1999, you'd be forgiven for thinking they were trying to tank SmackDown.
Showdowns like Shane McMahon vs. Joey Abs and Triple H vs. Gillberg were all early reminders that storyline trumped bell-to-bell action in McMahon's dizzying "sports entertainment" universe. Plus, there was a forgotten Boss Man vs. Al Snow “Pepper On A Pole” disaster on the 16 September episode.
Even matches that seemed good on paper, like Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac and Kane challenging Triple H for the WWF Title, struggled to get going. This was not a banner period for top notch quality between the ropes.