The War Revisited

[blackHEART]

Aug 6, 2017 11:52:43 GMT -5 Chosen One said:

Wait in the WWF, Shawn Michaels defeated Undertaker for the title without a debuting Kane!? Roddy Piper as the WCW champ... I dig.

Yup!! Michaels did it all on his lonesome. No Kane

[blackHEART]

Chapter 5
"Degenerates Behind the Scenes"
Scene: 1998 WWF

As the WWF had brought up homegrown stars, and we continued to see the dominance of guys like The Undertaker, Diesel, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, these guys and more held up their end on WWF programming and continued to assert their dominance on the wrestling world. Shawn Michaels was another of those, but we began to see some decline in his status as he rubbed people the wrong way backstage, but more significantly the wrong people like Vince McMahon. Michaels was inserted back in the mid-card slot, as room was made for his real-life best friend.

Hunter Hurst Helmsley, towards the end of last year, had begun to get more attention and move up the card. He was aligned with Shawn Michaels and that partnership still exists, but the roles have been shifted. After Michaels failed to recapture the world title in 1998, Helmsley took his opportunity and moved up to the main event scene and with the aid of Michaels at ringside, won his first WWF Championship and reigned for a brief time, this before losing it to The Undertaker towards the end of the year.

While Michaels had rubbed management the wrong way, many figured the same would be for Helmsley. While Helmsley had began to move up the card, there were pictures taken by paparazzi of him and Vince McMahon's daughter Stephanie hanging out after a show. It was later confirmed by tabloids the two were seeing each other, though it has yet to be written onto the show. Many feared this would hinder Helmsley's push, but this was before Helmsley had won the world championship and now some backstage are discontent this is showing bias towards Stephanie's boyfriend. Some feel this discontentment is what brought the belt off Helmsley by the end of 1998.


WWF Championship Title History

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Shawn Michaels	1	March 31, 1996	June 23, 1996	84 days
Diesel	2	June 23, 1996	December 15, 1996	175 days
Bret Hart	4	December 15, 1996	March 23, 1997	98 days
Diesel	3	March 23, 1997	August 3, 1997	133 days
The Undertaker	2	August 3, 1997	October 5, 1997	63 days
Shawn Michaels	2	October 5, 1997	November 9, 1997	35 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	1	November 9, 1997	April 26, 1998	168 days
Diesel	4	April 26, 1998	August 31, 1998	127 days
Hunter Hurst Helmsley	1	August 31, 1998	November 15, 1998	76 days
The Undertaker	3	November 15, 1998

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Chapter 6
"Hulkamania is Over"
Scene: 1998 WCW

While the focus on WCW was the new World order and not Hulkamania, Hogan and WCW mutually decided to part ways in September of 1998. Before finishing up in WCW, Hogan did take on the nWo and even challenged for the world championship twice and falling short of glory. Hogan's final match was against Scott Hall, with the stipulation of Hogan leaving to write a storyline out of it. Hulk Hogan felt there was no room left for him in WCW, but someone on the mid-card benefited from the extra space available.

Chris Benoit had one of the better rivalries in wrestling in 1997 with Cactus Jack. This turned heads and WCW wanted to use both of them in the main event scene. As Scott Hall ran threw WCW with the nWo as the world champion, Chris Benoit joined the fray to help fight against the nWo and its four members. Benoit would eventually beat Scott Hall with support from other roster members for his first world championship. The reign would be short-lived as the nWo would get it back shortly after, but Benoit remained in the picture. Cactus Jack, in his own right, competed in a few #1 contender matches but has yet to get his opportunity.

The mid-card scene remained hot with Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Scott Norton, and with the emergence of guys like Raven and Rob Van Dam. The mid-card scene was hot, but WCW knew they needed to work on the tag team division. While Harlem Heat and the Steiner Brothers were okay, they mixed in a team from the past as the Road Warriors returned. The Road Warriors were able to get back on the mountain top of the tag team division, twice, during their new run. This would help provide depth to every area.

So even with the loss of Hulkamania this year, WCW was able to keep their product at its peak as it continued to fight for survival in 1998.


WCW World Heavyweight Championship Title History

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Ric Flair	4	February 11, 1996	June 16, 1996	126 days
Hulk Hogan	2	June 16, 1996	September 15, 1996	91 days
Lex Luger	2	September 15, 1996	December 29, 1996	105 days
Sting	3	December 29, 1996	April 14, 1997	106 days
Roddy Piper	1	April 14, 1997	July 28, 1997	105 days
Ric Flair	5	July 28, 1997	September 14, 1997	48 days
Scott Hall	1	September 14, 1997	October 26, 1997	42 days
Dean Malenko	1	October 26, 1997	December 28, 1997	63 days
Scott Hall	2	December 28, 1997	May 17, 1998	140 days
Chris Benoit	1	May 17, 1998	July 12, 1998	56 days
Scott Hall	3	July 12, 1998	October 25, 1998	105 days
Sting	4	October 25, 1998	December 27, 1998	63 days
Roddy Piper	2	December 27, 1998

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Chapter 7
"Vince in Power"
Scene: 1999 WWF

On the last episode of 1998, Sgt. Slaughter was relieved of his on-screen duties, and also his backstage role as he plans to spend more time at home. On the very first episode of Raw in 1999, Vince McMahon took over an on-screen role as the authoritative figure, instigating conflict with the roster.

On the road to WrestleMania, creative put together the biggest Mania of all-time. The same night that Stone Cold Steve Austin won the title from The Undertaker, The Rock won the Royal Rumble and finally broke the glass ceiling. On the way to WrestleMania, Hunter Hurst Helmsley and Shawn Michaels broke their bond due to McMahon stirring the pot and this led to a WrestleMania match. Diesel would challenge The Undertaker's Streak unblemished 7-0 record at WrestleMania. Plus, Ken Shamrock challenged Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Championship in a classic. Shamrock would win the Intercontinental Championship back for a second time, The Undertaker would go to 8-0, Helmsley would come out on top against his former best friend, and Stone Cold Steve Austin reigned at WrestleMania. WrestleMania 15 was the biggest of them all, and was a huge highlight of the year.

The World Wrestling Federation did have its fair share of changes. The morning after WrestleMania 15, it was known that Shawn Michaels would not be returning to the WWF with a long conflict with the McMahon family. This prompted Hunter Hurst Helmsley to have a run of his own, and he made the switch to be a heel. Later on in the summer, Owen Hart departed from the company as well.

The WWF still managed to have memorable moments and feuds with Hunter Hurst Helmsley, The Undertaker, Diesel, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin as the main guys. We even saw the debut of Kane at Backlash to cost The Undertaker the WWF Championship match and this feud was a big attraction. Being able to withstand the absence of Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart, the WWF made sure the show went on. The WWF prepares for this kind of situation and are currently grooming Ken Shamrock, Chris Jericho, and Kurt Angle in that spot for future reference.


WWF Championship Title History

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Shawn Michaels	1	March 31, 1996	June 23, 1996	84 days
Diesel	2	June 23, 1996	December 15, 1996	175 days
Bret Hart	4	December 15, 1996	March 23, 1997	98 days
Diesel	3	March 23, 1997	August 3, 1997	133 days
The Undertaker	2	August 3, 1997	October 5, 1997	63 days
Shawn Michaels	2	October 5, 1997	November 9, 1997	35 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	1	November 9, 1997	April 26, 1998	168 days
Diesel	4	April 26, 1998	August 31, 1998	127 days
Hunter Hurst Helmsley	1	August 31, 1998	November 15, 1998	76 days
The Undertaker	3	November 15, 1998	January 24, 1999	70 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	2	January 24, 1999	May 23, 1999	119 days
The Rock	1	May 23, 1999	July 25, 1999	63 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	3	July 25, 1999	August 22, 1999	28 days
The Rock	2	August 22, 1999	October 2, 1999	41 days
Diesel	5	October 2, 1999

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Chapter 8
"Stalemate"
Scene: 1999 WCW

While WCW was still thriving, one of the biggest critiques was the product had become stale. WCW began to fix this when Roddy Piper lost the world championship to Cactus Jack. In failure to get it back, dissension began in the nWo. The new World order evaluated themselves and shocked the world when they turned on Lex Luger and kicked him out of the group. Lex Luger would ask forgiveness from Sting and slowly earned back his trust as they fought a now common enemy in the nWo. Luger and Sting would have Chris Benoit and champion Cactus Jack on their side, so the nWo needed a new member. Earlier in the year, Rick Steiner suffered a spinal cord injury and had been out of action for several months when the newest member was revealed to be Scott Steiner. Eventually, Cactus Jack's reign would come to an end and the title would be back in the hands of the nWo, and this would spark a rivalry with Sting and Lex Luger, both of whom remained outside of the new World order.

Lex Luger, exiting his face-and-face rivalry with Sting, remained as a face and challenged Roddy Piper at Starrcade '99 in which he not only emerged victorious, but he defeated Piper and took back the WCW World Heavyweight Championship out of nWo's hands. This was historic as the fourth time in a row the title had changed hands at Starrcade, and this was the first time since 1996 that a nWo star didn't hold the title coming into the next calendar year.

As Benoit, Jack, and Steiner had all moved up into the main event scene, WCW still tried to keep their product well-rounded. They added tag teams like Monty Sopp and BG James, The Dudleys, and even brought Eddie and nephew Chavo Guerrero together to shape that division up nicely with Harlem Heat and the Road Warriors. This still left a hole in the mid-card scene, especially with Eddie in the tag team division. Rey Mysterio Jr, Raven, Rob Van Dam, and Scott Norton held their ends of the bargain, but guys like Diamond Dallas Page and Juventud Guerrera stepped up to keep things going.

WCW faced this "stalemate" head-on and came away stronger than ever. One year after losing Hulk Hogan, they handled things nicely. The brand did lose Macho Man in the early spring, and Ric Flair retired at Starrcade in a losing effort to Scott Hall, so we will see how WCW handles losing some big names and if they can create stars of their own in the coming years.


WCW World Heavyweight Championship Title History

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Ric Flair	4	February 11, 1996	June 16, 1996	126 days
Hulk Hogan	2	June 16, 1996	September 15, 1996	91 days
Lex Luger	2	September 15, 1996	December 29, 1996	105 days
Sting	3	December 29, 1996	April 14, 1997	106 days
Roddy Piper	1	April 14, 1997	July 28, 1997	105 days
Ric Flair	5	July 28, 1997	September 14, 1997	48 days
Scott Hall	1	September 14, 1997	October 26, 1997	42 days
Dean Malenko	1	October 26, 1997	December 28, 1997	63 days
Scott Hall	2	December 28, 1997	May 17, 1998	140 days
Chris Benoit	1	May 17, 1998	July 12, 1998	56 days
Scott Hall	3	July 12, 1998	October 25, 1998	105 days
Sting	4	October 25, 1998	December 27, 1998	63 days
Roddy Piper	2	December 27, 1998	March 14, 1999	77 days
Cactus Jack	1	March 14, 1999	July 19, 1999	127 days
Scott Hall	4	July 19, 1999	September 12, 1999	55 days
Chris Benoit	2	September 12, 1999	October 25, 1999	43 days
Roddy Piper	3	October 25, 1999	December 19, 1999	55 days
Lex Luger	3	December 19, 1999

[blackHEART]

Chapter 9
"Writing on the Wall"
Scene: 2000 WWF

Headed into 2000, the WWF had a brilliant idea to make a battle royal at the top of Raw on January 3, 2000 to name a #1 contender for the belt later on that night. Kane had won the battle royal and went on later in the night to defeat Diesel for the WWF Championship. This instantly established Kane as a legitimate main event player and this would set up The Undertaker winning the Royal Rumble and having his title opportunity against Kane. Kane, main eventing WrestleMania 16 less than one year after debuting, lost his title to The Undertaker then. WrestleMania 16 didn't live up to 15, but it involved Kurt Angle defeating The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin going over Hunter Hurst Helmsley.

Helmsley had been seeing Vince's daughter Stephanie since 1998 and when he won the world championship back in '98, it was not received well backstage. It was speculated there may have been biased booking with that decision, and Helmsley has not held the belt since. Helmsley and the McMahon family got together in September and decided to mutually end their contract and have Helmsley depart from the company, remaining together romantically with Stephanie. Feeling this would be the best for Helmsley's career, Vince showed a weakness of compassion for his daughter's boyfriend and perhaps made the wrong business move.

This enabled Kurt Angle's move up the card and got more exposure; Chris Jericho and Ken Shamrock staying in the mid-card scenery. WWF let go one of the better performers in the world in Hunter Hurst Helmsley this year, but have a diamond in the rough in signing former football player Bill Goldberg. Goldberg made his debut in August and has gotten well over the fans and officials are impressed with how he's progressing along and feel he'll be a prime player.

The Undertaker would dominate the WWF for a while, that until meeting his kryptonite Stone Cold Steve Austin at Unforgiven in September and Austin finished the year out as champion.

While the main event scene was still good, the mid-card scene along with the tag team scene suffered in 2000. WWF's divisions aren't up to the par of WCW and is suffering as they've had to move guys up the card in order to compensate for losses of Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, and Hunter Hurst Helmsley the last couple years.


WWF Championship Title History

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Shawn Michaels	1	March 31, 1996	June 23, 1996	84 days
Diesel	2	June 23, 1996	December 15, 1996	175 days
Bret Hart	4	December 15, 1996	March 23, 1997	98 days
Diesel	3	March 23, 1997	August 3, 1997	133 days
The Undertaker	2	August 3, 1997	October 5, 1997	63 days
Shawn Michaels	2	October 5, 1997	November 9, 1997	35 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	1	November 9, 1997	April 26, 1998	168 days
Diesel	4	April 26, 1998	August 31, 1998	127 days
Hunter Hurst Helmsley	1	August 31, 1998	November 15, 1998	76 days
The Undertaker	3	November 15, 1998	January 24, 1999	70 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	2	January 24, 1999	May 23, 1999	119 days
The Rock	1	May 23, 1999	July 25, 1999	63 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	3	July 25, 1999	August 22, 1999	28 days
The Rock	2	August 22, 1999	October 2, 1999	41 days
Diesel	5	October 2, 1999	January 3, 2000	93 days
Kane	1	January 3, 2000	April 2, 2000	90 days
The Undertaker	4	April 2, 2000	September 24, 2000	175 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	4	September 24, 2000

[blackHEART]

Chapter 10
"Canadian Invasion"
Scene: 2000 WCW

The reign of Lex Luger would not last long as the nWo got Scott Steiner to regain the title for the group, the first world title reign for Scott Steiner. As Steiner cut a promo along with the rest of the nWo after title defenses against Luger and Benoit, claiming nobody would able to stop them, this is where the invasion took place. The trio of Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Bret Hart has arrived in WCW! They made the mission statement to put the nWo to sleep for good, and this signing was huge. Bret Hart was scheduled to wrestle Scott Steiner once for the world title, but due to a kayfabe injury, Owen took his place and won the world title, something he never did in WWF. Owen Hart would soon lose it to Chris Benoit, thanks to the nWo getting involved.

The nWo would leave the world title hopes alone for now to end their long rivalry with Canadian Invasion at Starrcade 2000. In a match of no disqualifications with the stipulation of one faction disbanding, it came down to the newest member to settle things. This saw the consequences for Vince and WWF, as the man going by the name "Triple H" now would jump the barricade and hit the Pedigree on Roddy Piper to erupt the crowd. Just as Owen Hart was getting up, Triple H hit a Pedigree on him and quickly turned the crowd against him, getting Scott Hall to cover for the win. It was officially announced the following night that Triple H was the newest member of nWo and Roddy Piper was no longer in the nWo. The faction ended 2000 with Triple H, Scott Hall, The Giant, Scott Steiner, and Sean Waltman, who joined the same night as Triple H later in the evening.

While the nWo focused on the Canadian Invasion, WCW filled out the world title picture better. Chris Benoit turned heel and would defend against the likes of Cactus Jack, Rob Van Dam, Lex Luger, and more. Benoit would then enter the Mayhem pay-per-view and fall to Sting then. Benoit was upset over Sting taking away his chance to walk into Starrcade 2000 as champion, so their rematch happened and Sting still emerged victorious out of it.

The mid-card scene featured much of the same, focusing on hardcore and athletic abilities to amaze the crowd. The tag team scene only remained stronger with the exception of the Road Warriors leaving after their contract expired in August of 2000. The Dudleys and The Outlaws (Monty Sopp and BG James) highlighted the tag team year along with Harlem Heat still running strong.

WCW is the deepest wrestling company in the whole world and in 2000, with the massive signings of the Hart family and Triple H, has only improved and made an undeniable leap over the WWF.


WCW World Heavyweight Championship Title History

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Ric Flair	4	February 11, 1996	June 16, 1996	126 days
Hulk Hogan	2	June 16, 1996	September 15, 1996	91 days
Lex Luger	2	September 15, 1996	December 29, 1996	105 days
Sting	3	December 29, 1996	April 14, 1997	106 days
Roddy Piper	1	April 14, 1997	July 28, 1997	105 days
Ric Flair	5	July 28, 1997	September 14, 1997	48 days
Scott Hall	1	September 14, 1997	October 26, 1997	42 days
Dean Malenko	1	October 26, 1997	December 28, 1997	63 days
Scott Hall	2	December 28, 1997	May 17, 1998	140 days
Chris Benoit	1	May 17, 1998	July 12, 1998	56 days
Scott Hall	3	July 12, 1998	October 25, 1998	105 days
Sting	4	October 25, 1998	December 27, 1998	63 days
Roddy Piper	2	December 27, 1998	March 14, 1999	77 days
Cactus Jack	1	March 14, 1999	July 19, 1999	127 days
Scott Hall	4	July 19, 1999	September 12, 1999	55 days
Chris Benoit	2	September 12, 1999	October 25, 1999	43 days
Roddy Piper	3	October 25, 1999	December 19, 1999	55 days
Lex Luger	3	December 19, 1999	February 21, 2000	64 days
Scott Steiner	1	February 21, 2000	April 24, 2000	63 days
Owen Hart	1	April 24, 2000	July 9, 2000	76 days
Chris Benoit	3	July 9, 2000	November 26, 2000	140 days
Sting	5	November 26, 2000

[blackHEART]

Chapter 11
"Looking Elsewhere"
Scene: 2001 WWF

WWF suffered from losing Shawn Michaels, Hunter Hurst Helmsley, and Owen Hart in recent years. It was an even bigger blow when Diesel tore his quad in early January at a house show. Rumors had it that Diesel was going to be a big part of the WWF in 2001 and in more particular, WrestleMania. This just continued to deplete the roster Vince McMahon had to work with and had to look elsewhere for a big headline for WrestleMania 17. Mr. McMahon was able to settle things with Hulk Hogan who left for WCW in 1994. Seven years later, Hulk Hogan signed with the WWF for a one-match contract that happened to be Vince McMahon sacrificing himself. Hogan returned to television in February and defeated Vince McMahon on April 1st at Mania. This was such a great experience for Hogan that he and WWF agreed to a 1-year extension.

WrestleMania was made bigger and better by the other stars. The Rock and The Undertaker had match of the night, one where Undertaker emerged victorious. Bill Goldberg won a war with Ken Shamrock. Kane defeated Chris Jericho to become the new Intercontinental Champion. Then, of course, Stone Cold Steve Austin retained his world championship against 2001 Royal Rumble winner, Kurt Angle.

Another WrestleMania match that stole the show was Edge and Christian versus The Hardy Boyz. This was the rebirth of the tag team division and impressed many wrestling fans watching around the world. This granted these teams more TV time and allowed them to attempt new innovations, such as steel cage matches, ladder matches, TLC matches, and even a 30-Minute Ironman Tag Team match at Survivor Series that year. Other teams joined the division such as The Acolytes and the returning Legion of Doom, but The Hardy Boyz and E&C captured the hearts of fans.

Watching the nWo from the other side, WWF lacked a real faction. This might have pushed creative to make a faction to draw attention from WCW as the nWo got bigger and better. Stone Cold Steve Austin had dominated and when The Rock had his opportunity at Fully Loaded in July, this is when men from the back helped. When the official was knocked unconscious, out came Chris Jericho and Bob Holly to get involved. After Austin had taken care of these two, he turned out into a Spear by Bill Goldberg. The Rock would take the belt off Stone Cold Steve Austin this night and establish Rock's Connections.

It wasn't until a couple months later at Unforgiven that Vince McMahon was revealed to be the man that put together Rock's Connections and renamed them The Corporates. Vince mentioned how he always loathed Stone Cold Steve Austin as the face of WWF and this began to dissolve, leading into a Survivor Series 4-on-4 Elimination Match. Austin had Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan on his side, but this is when Diesel returned from injury and beat The Corporates. This earned Austin a title match the night after and won his championship back.


WWF Championship Title History

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Shawn Michaels	1	March 31, 1996	June 23, 1996	84 days
Diesel	2	June 23, 1996	December 15, 1996	175 days
Bret Hart	4	December 15, 1996	March 23, 1997	98 days
Diesel	3	March 23, 1997	August 3, 1997	133 days
The Undertaker	2	August 3, 1997	October 5, 1997	63 days
Shawn Michaels	2	October 5, 1997	November 9, 1997	35 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	1	November 9, 1997	April 26, 1998	168 days
Diesel	4	April 26, 1998	August 31, 1998	127 days
Hunter Hurst Helmsley	1	August 31, 1998	November 15, 1998	76 days
The Undertaker	3	November 15, 1998	January 24, 1999	70 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	2	January 24, 1999	May 23, 1999	119 days
The Rock	1	May 23, 1999	July 25, 1999	63 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	3	July 25, 1999	August 22, 1999	28 days
The Rock	2	August 22, 1999	October 2, 1999	41 days
Diesel	5	October 2, 1999	January 3, 2000	93 days
Kane	1	January 3, 2000	April 2, 2000	90 days
The Undertaker	4	April 2, 2000	September 24, 2000	175 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	4	September 24, 2000	July 22, 2001	301 days
The Rock	3	July 22, 2001	November 19, 2001	120 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	5	November 19, 2001

[blackHEART]

Chapter 12
"So Cliquey"
Scene: 2001 WCW

The hottest thing about WCW has been the new World order for the last five years. It started out as a trio between Scott Hall, Lex Luger, and Roddy Piper, and the trio has grown into a steady faction to dominate the company. It is difficult to keep things fresh and distributed among the members. The nWo took a whole other turn and was breathed new life in 2001.

Triple H joined the group in late December 2000 and it wasn't long until he got himself an opportunity at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. It was at Spring Stampede in April when Triple H challenged champion Sting for the championship. Every member of the nWo was banned from this contest after they had helped Triple H win the #1 contendership to the belt. However, when the referee was knocked out, Triple H got assistance from an old friend, and the camera shot missed seeing Sting eat a Superkick from Shawn Michaels! The move later renamed Heartbreaking Music helped propel Triple H to the world title and the only change of hands in 2001. This motivated a push for the nWo to kick out Scott Steiner, which was a storyline built in to Scott Steiner's contract expiring and the two sides not coming to an agreement.

The nWo consisted of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman after they also unwisely kicked out The Giant. The Giant, repackaged as Paul Wight, challenged for the world title and failed. The nWo taking more of a friend's bond helped keep the world championship in the group with Triple H holding the world title. Also during this year, it was Hall and Waltman holding the tag team titles, but lost it at Starrcade to The Outlaws in their second title run.

As the nWo ran the company all of 2001, even as the Canadian Invasion tried to destroy the nWo, we saw the same guys hold their own in the mid-card scene, hoping to be launched to challenge the nWo in the upcoming calendar year.


WCW World Heavyweight Championship Title History

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Ric Flair	4	February 11, 1996	June 16, 1996	126 days
Hulk Hogan	2	June 16, 1996	September 15, 1996	91 days
Lex Luger	2	September 15, 1996	December 29, 1996	105 days
Sting	3	December 29, 1996	April 14, 1997	106 days
Roddy Piper	1	April 14, 1997	July 28, 1997	105 days
Ric Flair	5	July 28, 1997	September 14, 1997	48 days
Scott Hall	1	September 14, 1997	October 26, 1997	42 days
Dean Malenko	1	October 26, 1997	December 28, 1997	63 days
Scott Hall	2	December 28, 1997	May 17, 1998	140 days
Chris Benoit	1	May 17, 1998	July 12, 1998	56 days
Scott Hall	3	July 12, 1998	October 25, 1998	105 days
Sting	4	October 25, 1998	December 27, 1998	63 days
Roddy Piper	2	December 27, 1998	March 14, 1999	77 days
Cactus Jack	1	March 14, 1999	July 19, 1999	127 days
Scott Hall	4	July 19, 1999	September 12, 1999	55 days
Chris Benoit	2	September 12, 1999	October 25, 1999	43 days
Roddy Piper	3	October 25, 1999	December 19, 1999	55 days
Lex Luger	3	December 19, 1999	February 21, 2000	64 days
Scott Steiner	1	February 21, 2000	April 24, 2000	63 days
Owen Hart	1	April 24, 2000	July 9, 2000	76 days
Chris Benoit	3	July 9, 2000	November 26, 2000	140 days
Sting	5	November 26, 2000	April 15, 2001	147 days
Triple H	1	April 15, 2001

[blackHEART]

Chapter 13
"The Eh Year"
Scene: 2002 WWF

It was a big year for the WWF as they put as much effort into making WrestleMania 18 as big as in years past. It began when The Rock won the WWF Championship back from Stone Cold Steve Austin at the Royal Rumble, on the same night that Hulk Hogan won the Royal Rumble at age 48. This led to No Way Out when Hogan and Austin battled to determine if Austin got his rematch or Hogan got his due title shot, in which The Rock and The Corporates got involved to make sure there was no decisive winner. This came back to haunt him, in which Vince McMahon and The Rock had a disagreement the night after and gave both Hogan and Austin the opportunity.

WrestleMania 18 saw Diesel overcome the Chairman Vince McMahon in a head-to-head contest. Bill Goldberg had his shot at The Undertaker but failed to conquer The Streak. Kurt Angle beat out Bob Holly, but Chris Jericho won representing The Corporates against Rikishi. While the night saw Kane battle and defeat the newcomer Shelton Benjamin, we also got to see E&C defeat The Acolytes for the WWF Tag Team Championships, marking their fourth title reign. The night had no match like The Rock, Hulk Hogan, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock retained his championship, hitting the Rock Bottom on Hulk Hogan, which landed Hogan into obscurity.

Hulk Hogan left after WrestleMania 18, the event that happened to not please fans like recent memory. With a void, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock finished their rivalry in July, and then after witnessing The Rock and Diesel at SummerSlam, Chris Jericho turned on The Corporates for a shot at the world championship. Jericho ultimately won the title, but The Rock won it back before the year was over.

It was much of the same for the WWF and they made no strides in the WCW rivalry this year. They hope that newcomers through their developmental system will be able to come in and begin to freshen up the product, as we saw at the end of the year John Cena debut, a blue-chip prospect in the WWF.


WWF Championship Title History

Holder	Reign	Date won	Date lost	Days held
Shawn Michaels	1	March 31, 1996	June 23, 1996	84 days
Diesel	2	June 23, 1996	December 15, 1996	175 days
Bret Hart	4	December 15, 1996	March 23, 1997	98 days
Diesel	3	March 23, 1997	August 3, 1997	133 days
The Undertaker	2	August 3, 1997	October 5, 1997	63 days
Shawn Michaels	2	October 5, 1997	November 9, 1997	35 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	1	November 9, 1997	April 26, 1998	168 days
Diesel	4	April 26, 1998	August 31, 1998	127 days
Hunter Hurst Helmsley	1	August 31, 1998	November 15, 1998	76 days
The Undertaker	3	November 15, 1998	January 24, 1999	70 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	2	January 24, 1999	May 23, 1999	119 days
The Rock	1	May 23, 1999	July 25, 1999	63 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	3	July 25, 1999	August 22, 1999	28 days
The Rock	2	August 22, 1999	October 2, 1999	41 days
Diesel	5	October 2, 1999	January 3, 2000	93 days
Kane	1	January 3, 2000	April 2, 2000	90 days
The Undertaker	4	April 2, 2000	September 24, 2000	175 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	4	September 24, 2000	July 22, 2001	301 days
The Rock	3	July 22, 2001	November 19, 2001	120 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	5	November 19, 2001	January 20, 2002	62 days
The Rock	4	January 20, 2002	April 21, 2002	91 days
Stone Cold Steve Austin	6	April 21, 2002	June 23, 2002	63 days
The Rock	5	June 23, 2002	September 30, 2002	99 days
Chris Jericho	1	September 30, 2002	October 20, 2002	20 days
The Rock	6	October 20, 2002