The WWE Championship match that went into the Mississippi river.

This is a script for a video on my YouTube channel which can be found here: https://youtu.be/nIsLQJurbMU

The Hardcore championship had come to exist as a gift from Vince McMahon to Mankind in November 1998,  as a way of keeping Mankind happy to do the corporations dirty work. It was really just the old winged eagle version of the WWE championship given a trashy late 90's makeover, but Mankind loved it dearly for the month he had it. Following Vince's turn on Mankind at Survivor Series, Mankind would lose the title to Vince's new corporate enforcer, the Big Bossman, and so the championship became a regular title.

Starting in early 1999, hardcore title matches began leaving not just ringside, but the arena completely. On the January 4th edition of Raw champion Road Dogg defended the title against Al Snow in a match the left the building resulting in the two men brawling in a blizzard. Road Dogg would retain his championship on this night, but would fail to defend the title in February, and would be stripped of it. Therefore a new champion would be crowned at St. Valentines Day Massacre from Memphis Tennessee, but Snow would have to fight his former ally.

The man formerly known as Herman 'Sparky' Plug, Bob Holly was not yet ready to take his 'Hardcore' moniker yet, but he had spent the previous year as a member of the Job Squad with Al Snow, along with Too Cold Scorpio. The whole idea of the Job Squad being an inside joke on the term jobber, now more respectfully known as enhancement talent. Now looking for a new direction, Holly would have many battles with Snow over the Hardcore title, including two other fun ones being at Wrestlemania 15 and Backlash the following month.

On this night, Snow and Holly would battle to the outside of the building as had happened before. The two would brawl across the street. As it was mid-February the production team had a hard time keeping the action lit, but they did a decent enough job of it. The two battled into the woodlands, before eventually making it onto the bank of the Mississippi river. Both men end up taking a fall into the river, which at that time of year had to be freezing cold and no fun. Holly chases Snow away from the river, braying him with a tree branch. He then see a roll of chain link fencing, and wraps Snow in it to pin him and win the championship. Poor Al Snow is seemingly left out in the cold, soaking wet and still wrapped up in the fencing, as Bob Holly jogs all the way back to ringside to claim his decaying prize, the WWF Hardcore Championship.

Holly would go on to win the championship again at Wrestlemania 15 in a triple threat match with Snow and then champion Billy Gunn. After many failed attempts, Al Snow would finally win the title from Holly at Backlash in April, and would dominate the division until the 24/7 rule was created the following year.