10 Unfinished WWE Storylines That Remain A Mystery
3. Who Raised The Briefcase?
As the likes of Billy Gunn, Ken Shamrock and Kane competed for the right to be called King of the Ring, the 1999 pay-per-view saw Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin fight for a more valuable prize.
A key moment in the era-defining Austin/McMahon story that minted Austin as an anti-hero and Vince as the ultimate evil authority figure, the handicap ladder match saw a contract for a controlling stake in WWE sealed in a briefcase, then hung above the ring.
Stone Cold, who’d made his name raging against authority, looked to have sealed victory by downing both McMahons and scaling the ladder, but the briefcase rose away from Austin’s grasp before he could take hold of it.
This gave Shane and Vince the time they needed to recover and win the match, closing the PPV in dramatic fashion. Who had raised the briefcase and cheated Stone Cold of victory, and why had they done it?
The reveal should’ve been a huge moment in the Austin vs. McMahon feud, but it never came to pass. Whomever did it had to be McMahon-sponsored, as they allowed them to win the match. It was originally pegged to be Big Boss Man, but these rumours were quickly denied and the issue was never resolved.
It seems insane that WWE could let such a huge issue pass without explanation, but that was the Attitude Era for you! Still, the perpetrator's identity has WWE fans scratching their heads to this day.