10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 1999 Facts
3. The Main Event Ending Has Been The Source Of Controversy
The hasty insertion of Mankind into the presumed Steve Austin/Triple H WWE Championship match was peculiar, and even more head-scratching when Mick Foley won the belt, kicking off a 24-hour run with the gold. Since Triple H, the apparent next-in-line for a true main event push, ended up beating Foley on Raw for the belt, why not put him over at SummerSlam?
The prevailing legend is that Austin refused to put Triple H over, and Foley acted as transitional middleman, acquiescing to Austin's sentiment. Dave Meltzer, in the Wrestling Observer issue following the pay-per-view, has said that Austin did not outright refuse to lose to Helmsley.
Reports at the time claimed that Shawn Michaels was in Triple H's ear leading up to the match, and that Austin's apparent refusal to let Helmsley pin him stemmed from him not liking Michaels' involvement. However, Meltzer's notes at the time indicate that WWE just wanted to run a double-surprise finish for SummerSlam and the following Raw by having Helmsley win the belt on the latter show.