SmackDown 1000: The Top 10 Moments In SmackDown History

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3. Triple H vs. The Rock For The WWE Championship: August 29, 1999

Raw was the primary focal point of WWE TV by the end of the 20th century.  It was the flagship show since its debut in 1993, but by the summer of 1999, the WWE was ready to expand its TV product and add another major show for fans to enjoy.

Thus, SmackDown was born.  The show got fans excited to see more WWE programming and it did an excellent job of continuing storylines built on Monday nights.  The first-ever episode of SmackDown took place on August 29, 1999, and the biggest angle on the show came courtesy of The People’s Champion and The Game.

The Rock received a WWE Championship opportunity against Triple H in the main event, but Shawn Michaels would be the special guest referee.  Michaels appeared to be impartial throughout most of the match, but Shane McMahon was in the corner of The Game at the same time.  The match went well and things began to break down towards the end.

Shane decided to get involved, but HBK fended him off.  However, Michaels’ true intentions shined through when The Rock had Triple H in position for The People’s Elbow, only for HBK to hit Rocky with a Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere.  This allowed The Game to hit The Rock with a Pedigree to get the win and retain his title.

This was an epic main event and the perfect way to further a storyline on the very first episode of SmackDown.