8/30

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The Rock came down to ringside to talk about his ongoing troubles with Triple H. The People's Champ talked at length about his SmackDown! title match which was decided by a superkick from Commissioner Shawn Michaels. The Rock then challenged Triple H to come down and defend his gold, an offer which was ignored by the Champion. This caused The Rock to head to the backstage area, where he was easy prey for an attack by Triple H, Chyna and Shane McMahon. Eventually, Mankind appeared to break up the scuffle, but the damage had been done.

Shane McMahon and the Mean Street Posse then came to ringside to make a shocking announcement - that Mankind and The Rock would been granted Title shots… if they were capable of defeating certain opponents as dictated by Shane. The Rock was then paired up against The Undertaker, while Mankind was told that he would face off against against all three members of the Mean Street Posse in a handicap match.

The latter challenge was immediately accepted by Mankind, causing Shane to add one last stipulation to the match - that Shane would serve as the special guest referee for the bout. As would be expected, the Boy Wonder was hardly impartial, giving a huge advantage to his fellow Greenwich residents. Despite the odds against him, Mankind managed to lay out all three of his opponents, but then discovered that Shane refused to count a pinfall. This brought out Mr. Socko, who was quickly jammed down McMahon's throat, earning a DQ for the Hardcore legend.

Backstage, The Undertaker made it clear that The Rock had no chance at earning a title shot on this night.

The Lord of Darkness then came to the ring, accompanied by Paul Bearer and The Big Show. The Phenom then made the shocking announcement that The Show would be taking his place in the no-holds-barred match. As would be expected, the ensuing contest was unbelievably brutal, with The Rock eventually being chokeslammed through the announcer's table, and the win going to the Undertaker's disciple. Triple H then came to assault the fallen Rock, causing the Undertaker to attack the Champion. Mankind also tried to intervene in the melee, but he too fell before the unholy union.

Michael Cole then interviewed Al Snow, who pled for the safe return of Pepper. Snow's appeal was briefly interrupted by a female voice in the background, seemingly in the throes of passion.

The Big Boss Man then made his way down to ringside, calling out Snow. The Hardcore Champion then apologized to Snow for the entire Pepper situation. The Boss Man then said that he would personally hand Pepper over to Snow on SmackDown!, with no tricks involved.

The Rock was then shown backstage, obviously distraught over his missed opportunity for a title shot.

X-Pac was next up, taking on Taka Michinoku in singles competition. These two young superstars put on an amazing show, with Sho Funaki interfering liberally on behalf of his fellow Kaientai member. The match was punctuated by many explosive maneuvers, ranging from Taka's Asai moonsault to X-Pac's bronco buster. Eventually, the DX member took the win following an X-Factor. Post-match, X-Pac made it clear that he was ready to run with the Federation's big boys.

The Fleet Center then played host to a four-corners elimination match between some of the Federation's best tag teams. Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boyz, The Acolytes and The Hardcore Hollys all faced off for the right to be named the number one contenders for the Tag Team Championship. The battle was soon joined by Mideon and Viscera, Droz and Prince Albert and Stevie Richards and the Blue Meanie, turning the affair into a full-scale war. The pandemonium was such that senior referee Earl Hebner had no choice but to call for the bell, throwing out the match.

The Rock then made another appearance, this time to issue a challenge to both the Big Show and The Undertaker. This brought out Mankind, who offered to team with The People's Champ, an offer that was grudgingly accepted. As The Rock made his way backstage, he was approached by Terri Runnels, who was summarily sent packing by the Brahma Bull.

Runnels' main man, Meat, was then scheduled for singles competition. Before his opponent could be announced, G-TV made its return with a video of Meat getting it on with Marianna backstage (the source of the female voice during Al Snow's interview). This brought out Chaz, and a pier six brawl erupted between all four of the superstars.

The Fleet Center got a good look at some puppies and kitties as Jeff Jarrett (with Debra and Miss Kitty) teamed with Mark Henry in a match against Mr. Ass and D'Lo Brown. The match also featured guest commentary from Chyna, Jarrett's opponent at Unforgiven. The ninth wonder of the world played heavily into the finish of the match, KO'ing Mr. Ass with a well-placed shot from Jarrett's guitar, giving the win to the Tennessee native and Sexual Chocolate.

Backstage, Test was shown asking Pat Patterson and Gerry Brisco to be his best men for his upcoming nuptials with Stephanie McMahon.

Ken Shamrock was next on the card, taking on Gangrel in singles competition. As always, the modern day gothic warrior was flanked by the Hardy Boyz, who had no aversions to interfering on behalf of Gangrel. Eventually, the World's Most Dangerous Man lived up to his name, making Gangrel tap out to a kneebar submission. The victory was soured by the appearance of Chris Jericho on the Titantron, with Y2J issuing a challenge for Thursday's episode of SmackDown!

Ivory then came down to make clear her disdain for Tori. This led to Tori attacking the Women's Champion, with Jacqueline and Luna soon following. A brawl followed which took several officials to disperse.

The main event of the evening saw the unlikely duo of Mankind and The Rock taking on the Undertaker and The Big Show.  For much of the match, it appeared as if the more experienced team of the Phenom and The Show had the match well in hand.  However, the passion of the upstart challengers wound up making the difference in the match, with The Big Show being pinned after a twin dose of The People's Elbow.  A three count later, The Rock and Mankind found themselves as the new holders of the Federation's Tag Team gold!