Post by Y2 F'n J on Feb 22, 2021 0:00:35 GMT -5
To understand the events that transpired in WWF’s darkest period, you require knowledge of the previous two years; of the domino effect that two matches can have on an entire industry.
At WrestleMania X-Seven, Shawn Michaels’ boyhood dream came true. He defeated Bret Hart in a hard fought iron man match to attain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, and the crowd cheered for their hero.
On that same show, Jon Moxley exorcised his supposed childhood demons, defeating Cactus Jack in a brutal match that he only barely survived. The crowd booed the villain, but there was a growing admiration and respect for the antihero-like man.
Months later, Moxley had yet another hard fought battle at SummerSlam; he beat the odds, and buried the Undertaker alive. The crowd cheered for their hero.
In a twist of fate, the gold Shawn Michaels had coveted for so long had twisted him beyond recognition. Shawn fought against his former friend Razor Ramon, and used every underhanded tactic in the book to eke out his victory. The crowd booed the hated villain. Now the two were on a collision course; it was inevitable. Shawn had almost everything he had ever wanted- but at the cost of the crowds adulation. Moxley, in Shawn’s eyes, had taken that from him. Moxley had ripped away a piece of that boyhood dream, and Michaels was gonna take it back. In the time since his win at WrestleMania, Michaels had found himself with a group of friends who were similarly rowdy and underhanded. The group had been called Degenerates. They took that and named themselves D-Generation X.
Moxley hadn’t made many friends on his way up in the WWF, but nonetheless he found himself some in the unlikeliest of places. He made amends, believe it or not, with Cactus Jack in the face of a common enemy. He unexpectedly made a deal with a backwoods cult leader by the name of Bray Wyatt and his disciple Brodie Lee. And, most unlikely of all, he broke through to a loner named CM Punk, who probably had made even less allies than Moxley had before. So at that years Survivor Series, it was Moxley’s team against D-Generation X, and it looked like Jon had finally found a chink in Shawn’s armor. It was two to one; CM Punk and Jon against Shawn. However, there was a miscommunication between the two, resulting in Moxley getting eliminated and Punk losing- and getting a beat down for his trouble. Punk was injured, and Moxley had failed.
Shawn tightened his stranglehold on the WWF; DX helped him in every situation he found he couldn’t get out of himself. When he faced seemingly insurmountable odds against a beast named Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, DX was there for him, and Michaels kept his belt.
That night, Jon Moxley fought from number one in the Rumble match; infuriated at the survivor series loss, Bray Wyatt threw everything he could at Moxley, but he was still eliminated. To everyone’s shock, a familiar funeral bell echoed through the arena, and dark hooded figures carried an unconscious Bray from the arena. Moxley continued his battle, finally tossing a debuting ECW superstar, Raven, over the top rope to win.
It was at this point that Jon Moxley was set on his warpath.
From the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania, every single member of D-Generation X was methodically dismantled. The New Age Outlaws suffered multiple beatdowns, and had the unfortunate fate of crossing paths with Cactus Jack and Terry Funk, who would delight in their street fight with the DX members. X-Pac was taken out of action by a brutal DDT on concrete as Shawn Michaels ran away. And Intercontinental champion Triple H? That was easy. After all, Moxley said, Kane had never held a title before. So at WrestleMania, Jon Moxley finally did what he had been waiting a year to do- but it wasn’t easy. With no backup, Shawn had to resort to his immense wrestling acumen, and Moxley had to work for it. But after one brutal lifting double armed DDT, Moxley pinned Shawn Michaels one-two-three, and fulfilled his prophecy.
THE RAW AFTER WRESTLEMANIA X-SEVEN
“MOXLEY! MOXLEY! MOXLEY! MOXLEY!”
Jon stands in the center of the ring, WWF World Heavyweight Championship on his arm, and stares out at the crowd with a smile on his face.
“DAMMIT, this feels GOOD!” He roars, and the crowd roars with him. “I’ve waited a whole year for this,” he looks at the title on his shoulder, “and now I got it. I finally got my hands on that slimy little weasel, Shawn Michaels, and I fought him, man-to-man! And Shawn,” Mox looks straight into the camera, “all due respect, it wasn’t easy. But I did EXACTLY WHAT I KNEW I WOULD DO! I got into your head, Heartbreak Kid. I got you scared, I got you on the back foot... and I broke you down, piece by piece, then I DROPPED YOU ON YOUR HEAD!” The crowd roars in approval, and Mox basks in it. They’re chanting his name again, but they quiet when he raises the mic back up to his mouth. “But now that Shawn’s tucked his tail and ran away, that leaves me with a question. Who’s gonna step up? Last night wasn’t a finale! I got this title cause I knew I was gonna have to fight and claw and break bones! And I WANT MORE!” Moxley is pacing the ring like a caged animal, before stopping and staring out towards the stage.
“So who is gonna nut up, and FIGHT ME?”
The lights go off, and funeral bell tolls.
They come back up, and Moxley isn’t alone in the ring anymore. CM Punk sits, cross legged at the front; he looks different... darker. Bray Wyatt and Brodie Lee are on one side, and Bray cannot contain his laughter. Raven stands on the other side, looking disdainfully at the crowd then back round to Moxley. And in the center of this group, dressed in satanic robes and looking like the Devil himself, stands the Undertaker.
At WrestleMania X-Seven, Shawn Michaels’ boyhood dream came true. He defeated Bret Hart in a hard fought iron man match to attain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, and the crowd cheered for their hero.
On that same show, Jon Moxley exorcised his supposed childhood demons, defeating Cactus Jack in a brutal match that he only barely survived. The crowd booed the villain, but there was a growing admiration and respect for the antihero-like man.
Months later, Moxley had yet another hard fought battle at SummerSlam; he beat the odds, and buried the Undertaker alive. The crowd cheered for their hero.
In a twist of fate, the gold Shawn Michaels had coveted for so long had twisted him beyond recognition. Shawn fought against his former friend Razor Ramon, and used every underhanded tactic in the book to eke out his victory. The crowd booed the hated villain. Now the two were on a collision course; it was inevitable. Shawn had almost everything he had ever wanted- but at the cost of the crowds adulation. Moxley, in Shawn’s eyes, had taken that from him. Moxley had ripped away a piece of that boyhood dream, and Michaels was gonna take it back. In the time since his win at WrestleMania, Michaels had found himself with a group of friends who were similarly rowdy and underhanded. The group had been called Degenerates. They took that and named themselves D-Generation X.
Moxley hadn’t made many friends on his way up in the WWF, but nonetheless he found himself some in the unlikeliest of places. He made amends, believe it or not, with Cactus Jack in the face of a common enemy. He unexpectedly made a deal with a backwoods cult leader by the name of Bray Wyatt and his disciple Brodie Lee. And, most unlikely of all, he broke through to a loner named CM Punk, who probably had made even less allies than Moxley had before. So at that years Survivor Series, it was Moxley’s team against D-Generation X, and it looked like Jon had finally found a chink in Shawn’s armor. It was two to one; CM Punk and Jon against Shawn. However, there was a miscommunication between the two, resulting in Moxley getting eliminated and Punk losing- and getting a beat down for his trouble. Punk was injured, and Moxley had failed.
Shawn tightened his stranglehold on the WWF; DX helped him in every situation he found he couldn’t get out of himself. When he faced seemingly insurmountable odds against a beast named Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, DX was there for him, and Michaels kept his belt.
That night, Jon Moxley fought from number one in the Rumble match; infuriated at the survivor series loss, Bray Wyatt threw everything he could at Moxley, but he was still eliminated. To everyone’s shock, a familiar funeral bell echoed through the arena, and dark hooded figures carried an unconscious Bray from the arena. Moxley continued his battle, finally tossing a debuting ECW superstar, Raven, over the top rope to win.
It was at this point that Jon Moxley was set on his warpath.
From the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania, every single member of D-Generation X was methodically dismantled. The New Age Outlaws suffered multiple beatdowns, and had the unfortunate fate of crossing paths with Cactus Jack and Terry Funk, who would delight in their street fight with the DX members. X-Pac was taken out of action by a brutal DDT on concrete as Shawn Michaels ran away. And Intercontinental champion Triple H? That was easy. After all, Moxley said, Kane had never held a title before. So at WrestleMania, Jon Moxley finally did what he had been waiting a year to do- but it wasn’t easy. With no backup, Shawn had to resort to his immense wrestling acumen, and Moxley had to work for it. But after one brutal lifting double armed DDT, Moxley pinned Shawn Michaels one-two-three, and fulfilled his prophecy.
THE RAW AFTER WRESTLEMANIA X-SEVEN
“MOXLEY! MOXLEY! MOXLEY! MOXLEY!”
Jon stands in the center of the ring, WWF World Heavyweight Championship on his arm, and stares out at the crowd with a smile on his face.
“DAMMIT, this feels GOOD!” He roars, and the crowd roars with him. “I’ve waited a whole year for this,” he looks at the title on his shoulder, “and now I got it. I finally got my hands on that slimy little weasel, Shawn Michaels, and I fought him, man-to-man! And Shawn,” Mox looks straight into the camera, “all due respect, it wasn’t easy. But I did EXACTLY WHAT I KNEW I WOULD DO! I got into your head, Heartbreak Kid. I got you scared, I got you on the back foot... and I broke you down, piece by piece, then I DROPPED YOU ON YOUR HEAD!” The crowd roars in approval, and Mox basks in it. They’re chanting his name again, but they quiet when he raises the mic back up to his mouth. “But now that Shawn’s tucked his tail and ran away, that leaves me with a question. Who’s gonna step up? Last night wasn’t a finale! I got this title cause I knew I was gonna have to fight and claw and break bones! And I WANT MORE!” Moxley is pacing the ring like a caged animal, before stopping and staring out towards the stage.
“So who is gonna nut up, and FIGHT ME?”
The lights go off, and funeral bell tolls.
They come back up, and Moxley isn’t alone in the ring anymore. CM Punk sits, cross legged at the front; he looks different... darker. Bray Wyatt and Brodie Lee are on one side, and Bray cannot contain his laughter. Raven stands on the other side, looking disdainfully at the crowd then back round to Moxley. And in the center of this group, dressed in satanic robes and looking like the Devil himself, stands the Undertaker.
