The Rock vs British Bulldog (WWF, 10-17-1999)

WWF No Mercy, Cleveland, OH

This match was famously set up by a sliding people’s elbow and a Rock Bottom into the dog poop. Davey Boy had been back with the WWF for a short bit after a failed stint following Bret Hart to WCW in late 1997, where the biggest thing to happen to Davey was he got his back all jacked up on a trap door meant for the Ultimate Warrior and nearly wound up paralyzed.

But here he is, back home in the WWF in 1999, jacked up, wearing jeans to wrestle in, new, utterly generic music. His goal is simple: to finally become WWF champion.

They throw right hands to start, Rock clotheslines Bulldog over the top to the floor. Rock follows out and throws more right hands. Over to the timekeeper’s table, and Rock winds up with his head bounced off of it. Bulldog whacks him with a chair. Earl Hebner is, like, fine with all this. ATTITUDE!

Bulldog’s whip is reversed and he crashes into the ring steps. Rock with a couple little kicks, then goes for a slam onto the commentary table. Bulldog reverses and drops Rock face-first on the table. Back into the ring with Davey Boy in control.

Snapmare, and now a chinlock. Well that’s one way to slow it down. Rock up and punching his way out. Off the ropes, Rock runs into a kneelift. Two count.

Bulldog with forearms, Rock with more right hands. Bulldog takes a comical flip bump into the corner. Absolutely no velocity on the whip whatsoever but Bulldog took the somersault bump anyway.

Bulldog rakes the eyes, off the ropes, but caught coming off and then hit with a swinging neckbreaker for two. Right hand from Rock, Bulldog off the ropes, ducks a clothesline, kick to the gut, and sets for the suplex. VINTAGE BULLDOG (kinda) with the vertical suplex, no real delay on it anymore. Two count and back to the chinlock. Bulldog positions over to the side with it.

Rock’s arm drops once, drops twice, but not thrice! Rock with right hands again, shocking offense from this technical master. Rock with a backdrop, sorta, where Bulldog just sorta flung himself over Rock, who barely touched him.

More right hands. Bulldog with a low blow with the referee knocked away, and Rock gets Andre tied in the ropes. Bulldog charges with a boot but misses. DDT from Rock for two. Bulldog comes back and hits the powerslam, which even that looks tired and worn out, but Rock gets his foot on the bottom rope.

Rock whipped to the corner, bounces out, Bulldog sets for a bigger powerslam, but Rock shoves him off, ROCK BOTTOM! People’s Elbow! Three count.

Rating: 1.5/5. I remember in ’99 thinking how feeble and washed and just sort of overmatched Bulldog looked in his WWF comeback and rewatching this match did not change my mind. God bless him he was trying, but there was nothing really left in him at age 37. Too many injuries, too many miles. It was and is pretty sad to watch if you remembered not too long before this when Davey Boy could still go. I’ve always thought he was inconsistent as a singles guy, but he could ramp it up and deliver in the right situations. He just didn’t have that ability left anymore.