In 1999 Nintendo Had A Actual-Life Wrestling Match Starring Mario

Again in 1999, across the time of the discharge of the unique Tremendous Smash Bros. on the N64, Nintendo had a giant concept. To assist promote the sport they’d go to Vegas, arrange a wrestling ring, get a bunch of actors to put on Nintendo character costumes and have them go at it.

So that they did simply that. The occasion, generally known as Slamfest ‘99, wasn’t simply carried out in entrance of a reside crowd, it was additionally streamed on-line—in 1999!—after which out there to observe for just a few months afterwards as effectively. You’ll suppose that may imply that some footage of the stunt has survived, however someway no, it hasn’t, and so for just a few years now a gaggle of “followers and archivists” from the Misplaced Media Wiki have been scouring the web in search of some.

Right here’s how one among that workforce, bozo_ssb, describes their efforts:

Regardless of the reside broadcast, and regardless of it being out there to be rewatched in RealPlayer for a number of months afterward, no video footage of Slamfest ‘99 is thought to outlive anyplace on the modern-day web – it’s fully misplaced. With little proof of the occasion even occurring, it has languished in excessive obscurity for over 20 years, even amongst hardcore Nintendo followers. Since Might 2020, a gaggle of followers and archivists from the Misplaced Media Wiki have been actively trying to find the misplaced broadcast footage (of which I’m a member).

The unhealthy information is that they nonetheless haven’t discovered any. The excellent news is that they’ve now discovered one thing. The LMW workforce managed to trace down Ed Espinoza, who was the producer for Slamfest ‘99, and Ed was sort sufficient to share a bunch of pictures he took on the day in order that the world may get a recent have a look at Mario punching Donkey Kong within the tit.

Whereas no footage has survived, some eyewitness accounts have, which LMW have catalogued right here:

Mario and Donkey would begin the match. Donkey Kong, being a lot bigger than our favourite plumber, shortly took Mario out. Yoshi got here in and received his revenge on the gorilla. Pikachu would are available in for the monkey solely to be knocked down by Yoshi’s deadly tail. Then, earlier than anybody knew it, Mario went loopy. He worn out Donkey Kong, Pikachu, and his personal teammate, Yoshi. In the end, the match would finish in a crash which knocked out everybody leading to a draw. “Everybody’s a winner!” the announcer yelled – Zelda64

Mario and Yoshi have been on one workforce, Donkey Kong and Pikachu have been on the opposite. It was fairly humorous to see the life-size mascots bouncing round a wrestling ring. Mario went on a crazed rampage hitting everybody in sight, and as an alternative of Yoshi, Donkey Kong by accident hit himself together with his ‘mallet of doom.’ And in essentially the most heated second, all 4 mascot smashed into one another within the middle of the ring, and all fell to the mat. That’s proper, in true Nintendo style, it was a draw…and everyone seems to be a winner! – Nintendorks

Even the ref received in on the act, biting Pikachu’s ear and declaring that it tasted ‘like rooster’. Mario shocked us together with his low blow antics and Kong knocked himself out together with his personal magic hammer, however all of them wound up better of associates on the finish, the match being declared an honourable draw – N64 Journal

We’ve shared just a few of the pictures right here, however right here’s a hyperlink to the entire gallery, which is fascinating not only for the pictures from the bout itself, but in addition for the pictures of the wrestlers warming up out of costume. And enjoyable reality: there’s a great likelihood this complete stunt was simply an opportunity for Nintendo to get their cash’s price out of these costumes, since they’re the identical ones featured within the traditional “Pleased Collectively” Smash business: