While it was the middle of winter in Worcester (not so much down here in Australia's sunshine state), this match took place smack bang in the middle of the stiflingly heated relationship between Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin. With Vince McMahon distracted with his issues with Mankind and D-Generation X and Stone Cold just coming off the heels of burying the Undertaker alive, the chances of Stone Cold playing a part in this vital match for the Corporation was not something that the McMahons, The Rock nor Mankind or DX for that matter, were expecting.

So here it was, a no disqualification match for the WWF Championship on Monday Night Raw. The challenger, Mankind, accompanied to the ring by D-Generation X and the champion, The Rock, accompanied to the ring by the Corporation. The hype and anticipation within the DCU Centre was fever pitched as Mankind and The Rock went at it, bringing steel stairs, the ring bell, the WWF Championship, Jerry 'the King' Lawler's headset and the announce table into the equation before they were back in the ring with the crowd on their feet and evil smiles across the faces of the McMahons as The Rock lined Mankind up for the 'Corporate' Elbow, mocking Mankind by moving his hand like a talking Mr. Socko as he brought the elbow down, only to be denied the pinfall by a resilient Mankind.

As Mankind regained momentum, the real Mr. Socko came out to play and soon enough, the WWF Champion was fading away at literally 'the hand' of the Mandible Claw. As The Rock looked like he was in trouble, Corporate thug Ken Shamrock raced into the ring, hitting Mankind with a steel chair before DX's Bad Ass Billy Gunn took Shamrock out of the ring and the two started trading blows on the floor outside of the ring as the rest of DX and the Corporation went to town on other with fists swinging. Seconds later, with the sound of smashing glass the arena exploded as Stone Cold Steve Austin marched down the entrance ramp towards the ring containing a motionless Mankind and The Rock beginning to get to his feet. With Mr. McMahon irate at ringside at the sight of Stone Cold, he could do nothing but watch as Austin smashed The Rock over the head with a steel chair and threw Mankind on top of the WWF Champion for referee Earl Hebner to count 1-2-3, crowning Mankind as the new WWF Champion.