10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 1999 Facts
9. Crash Holly Had Only Debuted 12 Days Earlier
Who doesn't love a good, "throw every midcarder not already in a match into one big parade of flailing limbs" pay-per-view soiree? WWE's tag team scene in 1999 was starting to come together with the likes of Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boyz, The Acolytes, Too Cool, and an incoming Dudley Boyz. Fortifying that already-impressive group would be Hardcore Holly (in the midst of his best push yet) and an unexpected relative.
Indy journeyman Michael Lockwood, previously best known as leprechaun Erin O'Grady, was getting a shot in WWE after impressing officials with matches against fellow west-coast indy prospect, the immense Vic Grimes. Initially, Lockwood was supposed to play a luchador on WWE's long-since-forgotten Super Astros show, but was was instead packaged as Crash Holly, Hardcore's diminutive, somewhat-goofy cousin.
Crash surfaced for the first time on August 10, 1999, less than two weeks before SummerSlam. The show was a taped Raw which didn't air until August 16, so the time between Crash's debut air-date and his first PPV match (inside SummerSlam's Tag Team Turmoil) was only six days. Talk about becoming a visible player in record time.