WWE - Capital Carnage 1998 & No Mercy 1999 [DVD]

You simply can't get off on the big stars all the time: it gets boring. The reason for the existence of characters like Goldust, Mideon and their ilk is simple. You need a little rubbish now and then to make the bigger stuff seem better. It's like the sense of 'so bad it's good' that so pervades modern pop culture. Long before I ever heard the phrase, I had my own name for it: The Big Bossman Mentality. So heavily did pro wrestling feature in my teenage youth that I named my all-conquering love for that scorned edges of the entertainment spectrum after one of that sport's most pointless and consistently featured stars.

Let me get to the point. I love Capital Carnage and No Mercy (UK) 1999 because they're, for lack of a better word, crap. There are two reasons for this, but the first first dictates the second. Because these events were broadcast exclusively in the United Kingdom, strictly speaking nothing of note could happen at them. This extends from changes in character alignment to changes in title. The biggest thing that happens over the course of these two shows is Light Heavyweight Champion Gilberg's loss in a non-title match (why not?) to Tiger Ali-Singh. That Tiger Ali-Singh features at all is a major factor in my delight. As a result of this reluctance to challenge the status quo, such events feature the interaction of wrestlers on very different tiers. WWF Champion The Rock vs. X-Pac? Who's buying that? But these are exclusive charms that make the events worth those all-important rewatches. Both of these events descend into some sort of chaos where a slew of unnecessary ring invasions escalate beyond the point of feasibility.

I'll reaffirm that there are decent matches to be had here, but as entirely disposable, forgettable UK-only events, it really helps to have a soft spot for the undercard.