Survivor Series 1999 – The Big Show defeating Triple H and The Rock to win the WWE Title
Originally, the main event of Survivor Series 1999 was Triple H, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Triple Threat match, which certainly could be considered a mega-attraction. Unfortunately, Austin was having neck issues, which led to the infamous Rikishi ambush (“I did it….for The Rock”) and removed Austin from the match earlier in the night. WWE does the right thing and holds back the replacement third participant until the last moment, finally revealing The Big Show as the new challenger.
Problem is, Big Show truly wasn’t on that level at that time. Show himself even admits that he had a ton to learn in his early years in WWF, with many stories of guys like Austin and The Undertaker constantly riding him and pushing him to fulfill his massive potential.
However, at this point, Show wasn’t quite there, and the weak path they had carved out for Show after Survivor Series shows they probably should have crafter a better solution to the Austin situation, as nobody was clamoring for a Big Show/Big Boss Man feud at the top of the card. And a failed/mediocre title reign probably did more harm to Show at this point than good, leaving a sour taste in regards to another potential reign down the line. Sometimes, going with an obvious choice like Rock or Triple H is just the right answer.
