20 Greatest WWE SmackDown Moments Ever

12. The Good, The Bad & The Evil

Taking place shortly after the chaotic WrestleMania XV, SmackDown's April 1999 pilot episode had to be wild enough to convince UPN to pick up the show permanently later that year. The Vince Russo-written WWE revealed yet another maniacal plot twist in order to seal the deal.

With Steve Austin and The Rock leading the babyface charge for the company, the heel threat doubled in one night as warring factions The Corporation and The Ministry of Darkness amalgamated for the good of the Shane (and as later revealed, Vince) McMahon cause.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett