The Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and The Big Bossman was excruciating to watch. However, The Big Bossman was in a far worse match inside Hell in a Cell that very year. It’s actually a Cage match inside Hell in a Cell, so technically it’s not a straight Hell in a Cell match. This ‘Kennel from Hell’ match between The Big Bossman and Al Snow has to be one of the worst WWF matches ever…
The story behind the match is just as awful as the match itself, even though it may have been influenced by Shakespeare’s Totus Andronicus. The Big Bossman killed Al Snow’s chiuahua and fed it to him in a stew. I can’t remember the Bossman’s motives, but it’s emblematic of the absurd excesses of the Attitude Era. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The Big Bossman would be in a far more offensive storyline with The Big Show later on in the year, where he drove off gatecrashed Show’s dad’s funeral and drove off with the casket.
However, to settle this particular feud, Al Snow put his Hardcore Championship on the line against The Bossman in a ‘Kennel From Hell’ match. It would take place inside a (old school blue) Cage inside Hell in a Cell…and between the two cages there would be rottweilers (not chiuahuas) ready to tear either or both wrestlers to pieces. The goal would be to escape the two cages.
These rottweilers weren’t allowed to roam wild. Handlers led them to the ring, and kept them on a tight leash. Of course, it didn’t stop them urinating, defecating, and trying to hump/attack each other. Woth no exaggeration, that’s the most entertaining aspect of the bout. The in-ring action is laughable. For the first third of the bout, Snow and Bossman clamber around the two cages, attempting to avoid the rottweilers. When the match officially starts, it turns into a risible Hardcore match. They even blade to bring some life into the match, but it doesn’t work.
Let’s face it, Snow and Bossman were never the best workers in the ring. But constrained by a silly gimmick, not even Shawn Michaels or Ric Flair could make this match work. 1999 was not a banner year for WWE in terms of in-ring action. It’s littered with awful matches. But this has to be the absolute nadir of 1999 WWE matches.
Hammy’s Rating: 0 stars (out of 5)
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