In the Spring of 1999, WCW had started to lose its footing the Monday Night War. For too long the company had depended on aging stars who were established in WWE to carry their main events. With the exception of Goldberg and longstanding main event player Sting, WCW had not invested itself in its homegrown talent. In an attempt to rectify this, World Championship Wrestling would finally let one of their hardest working employees break through the glass ceiling at Spring Stampede on April 11, 1999. The show’s main event saw World Champion Ric Flair defend the title against Hulk Hogan, Sting, and Diamond Dallas Page, with Macho Man Randy Savage as the referee. DDP was the only man in the match not to have previously held the World Title, and when the dust settled, it was DDP who lifted the Championship over his head. After years of falling short, the WCW Original captured the company’s top prize.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKONOYTE_Bc]
Also at the event, Scott Steiner won his first major singles title, capturing the vacant United States Championship in a tournament final against Booker T. Rey Mysterio successfully retained the Cruiserweight Championship with a win over Billy Kidman, and Goldberg earned a victory over the man who ended his infamous streak, Kevin Nash. An influx of ECW talent could also be seen at the event, as Bam Bam Bigelow, Hak (The Sandman), and Mikey Whipwreck all competed.
I loved DDP. It’s a shame he wasn’t a bigger deal in the WWE when he came over.
Yeah, the stalker angle followed by the motivational speaker shtick didn’t do him any justice.
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