| Company | WWF/WWE |
| Event | WrestleMania 2000 |
| Series | WrestleMania |
| Edition | 16 |
| Format | Pay-Per-View |
| Date | Sunday April 2 2000 |
| Venue | Arrowhead Pond |
| Location | Anaheim, California, USA |
| Attendance | 19,776 |
WWF WrestleMania 2000
WWF WrestleMania 2000 (the event, not the game; you can read my review for the vintage N64 title here) is one of the least memorable Manias, despite occurring at the height of the famous Attitude Era. There are several reasons that I can use to explain this, but before I go into the specifics, let’s take a closer look, match-by-match, at the biggest wrestling event of the year 2000.
D’Lo Brown & The Godfather vs. Big Boss Man & Bull Buchanan
After Lilian Garcia sang America The Beautiful for the first time at a WrestleMania (she had joined the WWF the previous August), the show kicked off proper with a somewhat underwhelming tag team bout. Godfather was definitely over, and he and D’Lo were an underrated team that might have been taken more seriously had Brown not tried to dress up as his tag team partner and been his own man instead. But Boss Man had become a stale heel with “go away” heat by this point, while Buchanan was unproven, having only recently been repackaged (he was previously known as Recon of The Truth Commission). But the fact that the highlight of this opener was Ice-T performing the Aggression remix of Godfather’s theme on their way to the ring sums this up. The heels took the win after D’Lo took a Boss Man Slam/Legdrop combo, capping off a surprisingly tedious start to the night’s proceedings.
WWF Hardcore Championship Hardcore Battle Royal
I’ve always had a soft spot for this bout because I loved the craziness of the Hardcore division, which was enhanced by Crash Holly introducing the 24/7 rule a few weeks earlier. Cue him being attacked by all sorts of wrestlers in all sorts of environments, so much so that this match was set up to essentially bring an end to the 24/7 shenanigans. The participants were Crash (the defending champion), Hardcore Holly, Tazz, The APA, Viscera, The Mean Street Posse, Kaientai and The Headbangers. Quite a ragbag line-up to say the least, but this was all about relentless weapon blows and quick-fire title changes, and that’s exactly what we got.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS TV SHOWS? READ OUR PRE-PPV REVIEWS OF RAW & SMACKDOWN!
Indeed, over the course of the 15-minute time limit, we had Tazz, Viscera, Funaki, Rodney, Joey Abs, Thrasher, Pete Gas and Tazz again becoming Champion amidst endless strikes with a variety of objects, as well as Crash and Gas being busted open (Pete’s bloodshed was brutal). In the end, Tazz caught Crash in a Tazzmission with less than 30 seconds remaining, only for Bob Holly to whack both with a glass candy jar. At that point, Hardcore pinned Crash, but despite the champ’s shoulders being down for the three-count, Tim White stopped at two, and imitated that Crash had kicked out. To make things even more confusing, Howard Finkel then announced Hardcore Holly as the new champion. A major botch here, then, which was presumably caused by the timing being off, as I assume that the clock was meant to expire in time for Crash to survive. Crash regained the belt from his cousin the next night on Raw to further add to this bizarre situation, and the 24/7 rule would remain active, on and off, for a long time to come.
Before the next match, we had footage from Axxess, with the fan fest making its first appearance proper in 2000 after being trialled in 1994 and 1995. I mention this because Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels all appeared at Axxess, even though none were present on the PPV itself. Austin and Taker were sidelined by major injuries, while Michaels (still the on-screen Commissioner) was presumed retired. This becomes noteworthy when I explain later on about why WM 2000 is rarely discussed nowadays.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS EDITION? READ OUR WWF WRESTLEMANIA XV REVIEW!
Head Cheese vs. T&A
This was the second filler tag bout of the event, which was concerning upon second viewing when you consider that we were only three matches in. Trish Stratus promised to bring some “T&A” to WrestleMania beforehand, while Al Snow was more interested in unveiling Chester McCheeserton, the newest mascot for himself and Steve Blackman. Test and Albert won a totally skippable contest when Test pinned Blackman following an elbow drop, and afterwards Head Cheese levelled Chester, blaming him for their loss. I want to say that this was an amusing scene, but it really wasn’t, as it felt like WrestleMania was really dragging at this point.
WWF World Tag Team Championship Triangle Ladder Match
The Dudley Boyz (C) vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz
Now we get to the good stuff. Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley had just become champions at No Way Out, and here they put their belts on the line against the two teams that had stolen the show with a classic Ladder match at No Mercy 1999, with this bout taking things to another level. Unlike at No Mercy, where fans were taken aback by what initially seemed to be just another mid-card contest, here they were primed for something special, and that’s what we got as all six grafted to put on an excellent stunt match. This received a lot of time for a match involving six Mania debutants (over 22 minutes, plus time for entrances), and they made the most of it with plenty of great bumps and high-spots.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS PPV? READ OUR WWF NO WAY OUT 2000 REVIEW!
Amongst those saw Jeff Hardy almost do himself in with an insane 450° splash straight onto a ladder, as well as Christian splashing off a ladder onto Buh Buh Ray and Matt Hardy at ringside. At one point, all six toppled off side-by-side ladders, and it was then that The Dudleyz brought out the tables to a huge pop. D-Von tried a flying headbutt but crashed through a table; Buh Buh was more successful by pinning Matt through a desk as Jim Ross shouted “Have mercy on this kid’s soul!” Jeff then took an extremely painful-looking ladder to the mush, but he rebounded and soon set up a super-tall ladder in the aisleway, where he hit a Swanton Bomb from 13 feet high that drove Buh Buh through a table in the Mania moment of the night. Back in the ring, Edge and Matt battled on a table platform set above two ladders by The Dudleyz, and just as Matt went to grab the belts, Christian pushed him to flip down through another table. This allowed Edge and Christian to pull down the titles, thus becoming Champions for the first time.
This was an awesome match and the highlight of the night, though they would eventually top this effort with the first and second TLC bouts at SummerSlam 2000 and WrestleMania X-Seven. Interestingly, one of the original plans here was for Christian to turn heel on Edge, thus splitting up their legendary tag team before they ever captured gold. Instead, they won their first of seven Tag Team Titles together (all claimed within a one-year span), and they themselves would soon go heel while The Dudleyz turned face. The Hardyz didn’t win the belts again until Unforgiven, while The Dudleyz had to wait until Royal Rumble, over nine months later, to regain the titles. Great stuff here though.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FIRST EDITION? READ OUR WWF WRESTLEMANIA 1 REVIEW!
Catfight – Val Venis Is Special Guest Referee
The Kat vs. Terri Runnels
To provide a break from the serious action, we then had the nearest thing to a singles match on this card, as The Kat and Terri did battle in a contest where one had to merely throw the other to the ringside floor. This was kept short, and it was notable for Val (who wore a referee-style towel) being kissed by Mae Young kissing him, which creeped out Jerry Lawler. Interference from Terri’s manager The Fabulous Moolah led to Kat losing, though Mae made up for it by giving Moolah a Bronco Buster, while Kat stripped Terri down to next-to-nothing.
Six-Person Tag Team Match
Chyna & Too Cool vs. The Radicalz
This may look like another filler clash on paper, but Chyna was super-over, as were Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty Too Hotty, while Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn and Eddie Guerrero (who were all colour-coordinated here in a nice touch) were in the midst of a strong push, following their arrival from WCW in January 2000. The underlying story was Guerrero trying to woo Chyna, but it had little effect, with Chyna even pinning Latino Heat with a standing sleeper slam to claim victory. Latino Heat would have the last laugh, however, as he managed to charm Chyna sufficiently that the two officially became an item the next night on Raw. This was a good match, though, and a hidden gem on this Mania card.
WWF Intercontinental & European Championship Two-Fall Match
Kurt Angle (C) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho
Next up, we had something very different, as two titles were defended in a three-way clash that featured three debutants to the Mania stage, and with two falls to decide each belt. Kurt Angle entered as a dual-champion (he called himself the “Euro-Continental Champion at this point), and he vowed to remain that way when all was said and done. Angle had previously been managed by Bob Backlund, but he dumped him prior to Mania beginning by choking him out on Heat. Kurt had blamed Bob for his predicament, and as it turned out, disaster would strike for Angle: after an enjoyable battle (albeit one which surely would have been a classic had it taken place in 2003, when all three were performing at their peak), Benoit pinned Jericho to win the IC Title in fall number one following a diving headbutt, only for Y2J to pin The Crippler in fall number two with a Lionsault to claim the Euro strap (presumably the falls were in that order to ensure it ended with a babyface having their hand raised, since the IC gold was far more important). Angle was livid, because he had lost both titles despite not losing either fall! This wouldn’t be the last time that Angle lost a title at Mania without tasting the fall, though he had to take solace from Jericho not even getting through 24 hours as European Champion, as Guerrero ended his reign with Chyna’s assistance the next night.
Kane & Rikishi vs. Road Dogg & X-Pac
The lengthy Kane vs. X-Pac feud finally ended here with a tag bout that was short and sweet, focusing less on length and more on crowd-pleasing spots. And that was a sensible decision, because this made the most of five minutes rather than dragging things out for ten or more. Kane hit X-Pac with a Tombstone Piledriver to settle their score once and for all, and after the match, Rikishi and Too Cool had a dance. They were joined by the San Diego Chicken (bear in mind this show was held in Anaheim), but the implication was that the chicken was actually Kane’s old rival Pete Rose, who had used the same disguise at WrestleMania XV. However, just as Kane went to chokeslam the “hen”, Rose himself ran in sans disguise wielding a black baseball bat (did he receive it from Sting?). But he was caught in the act, and so he tasted a Kane chokeslam (Paul Bearer crotch chopped him in a frightening visual), as well as a Stinkface from Rikishi! This was another entertaining Mania moment involving Kane and Rose, though their “feud” would go no further; Rose was not at WrestleMania again, aside from being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame by (who else?) Kane prior to WrestleMania XX four years later. As an aside, X-Pac has stated that he was suggested a Mania bout with Chris Jericho that he turned down; might that have been an improvement over what we got for both men here?
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LATEST EDITION? READ OUR WWE WRESTLEMANIA 36 REVIEW!
WWF Championship No Holds Barred Fatal Four Way Elimination Match
Triple H (C) vs. The Rock vs. Mick Foley vs. Big Show
Main event time, and it was the most stacked headline attraction in Mania history. With everything from a babyface Rock challenging a heel Steve Austin to Austin vs. Big Show being rumoured for the card dating back many months, it soon appeared that the direction was for HHH to defend the gold against Rock, who had won the Royal Rumble match to earn an opportunity that his followers felt was long-deserved. In the meantime, Big Show claimed the title shot for himself, only for Rock to earn it again in a forgotten classic Raw moment. However, somehow Show was inserted back in to make this a three-way clash, a match that ended up taking place on Raw. That’s because of a late addition to officially make this a four-way contest: Mick Foley, who had seemingly retired at No Way Out. It reads in a very confusing manner, but it made for one hell of a roller coaster ride, as the WM main event was only made official 13 nights beforehand.
Adding to the shenanigans were the tagline “A McMahon In Every Corner”. Indeed, all four combatants were represented by a member of the McMahon family: Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley accompanied her husband HHH, Shane McMahon represented Big Show (Shane caused Rock to lose his title shot to Show at No Way Out), Vince McMahon represented The Rock (his return allowed Rock to get back in the Mania picture), and Linda McMahon represented Mick Foley (she announced the main event switch on March 20 to allow for Foley’s involvement). As an aside, the WWF nicely covered for the eventuality of Mick winning the belt in what he had earlier, and wisely, stated “could be (his) final match”), by noting that a tournament would take place to decide the vacant title if Mick won the gold and immediately retired. Stuff like that doesn’t happen nowadays, where we’re expected to fill in the blanks ourselves. Nevertheless, the prime candidate to win seemed to be Rock, who was itching to grab the torch from Steve Austin as the WWF’s true top babyface, as evidenced by his intense pre-match promo where he vowed to become WWF Champion, a year after losing the belt at WM XV.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING PPV? READ OUR WWF BACKLASH 2000 REVIEW!
I should mention as well that, to promote the match, all four combatants appeared on Saturday Night Live on March 25. Though all contributed to the programme, Rock’s performance stole the show, so much so that he started getting the attention of those within the television and, crucially, movie industries. Indeed, Rock was soon on his way towards becoming a legitimate mainstream star, a respected movie star and, eventually, the biggest and most well-paid movie star on the planet, as well as (crucially) an ex-wrestler. In other words, if the SNL gig hadn’t been arranged, Rock might never have made it to Hollywood, and it’s feasible that he could have remained in the WWF/WWE as a full-time or at least a part-time performer to this very day. Depending on your point of view, that scenario is either a case of “if only” or “thank goodness” (the latter more so because, for Rock himself, the transition to Hollywood was truly life-changing in the most positive way).
The early going was greeted with remarkable silence by the Anaheim crowd, and this didn’t improve much when Big Show took early control. However, as a fan at ringside held up a sign saying “Hogan made WrestleMania” (which was a fair point), a Foley chairshot led to Show being sent out of the match after a Rock Bottom, which woke up the audience. HHH, realising the perilous odds, tried to form an alliance with either of his opponents, only to be double-teamed by The Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection. Foley brought his barbed wire-wrapped 2×4 into the fray (a strange sight for a Mania main event), though HHH commandeered it and whacked Foley in the ribs. Rock took charge and laid The Game out for a People’s Elbow; however, at that moment, Foley locked Rock in the Mandible Claw, which led to a Foley-HHH alliance to heavy boos. Foley’s attempted elbow drop off the turnbuckles towards Rock on an announcer’s table was prevented by Mick falling short on the dive and cracking some ribs. Perhaps due to this, we hurriedly had HHH Pedigree Foley, though he kicked out to a big pop. A chairshot and a Pedigree onto said chair later, Foley was retired again, for good this time, as fans stood up to applaud. He did whack HHH with “Barbie”, though, as a final parting shot.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING EDITION? READ OUR WWF WRESTLEMANIA X-SEVEN REVIEW!
It was now down to Rock vs. HHH, but again something was missing as far as the crowd reaction was concerned. These two definitely worked hard, though, brawling up the aisle and through the audience twice, culminating with Rock suplexing HHH through another announcer’s table. At that point, Shane ran back out to scrap with Vince, which led to Vince being busted open from a monitor shot (fans chanted for Steve Austin at this point), and the Chairman being helped backstage by Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson. After HHH took a Rock Bottom, Shane tried to intervene, but Vince came back out to chase him off. Vince then picked up a steel chair and motioned to hit his hated son-in-law, only to shockingly turn heel and whack Rock with the metal object! JR quickly called him a “son of a bitch”, but Rock kicked out of the cover! A second chairshot did the trick, though, and Rock had been pinned to everybody’s surprise. HHH had retained the belt at Mania, though the three villainous McMahons (who reunited afterwards as fans hurled popcorn and drinks at them) all paid the price, as Shane, Vince and finally Stephanie took a Rock Bottom, with Steph tasting a People’s Elbow for good measure.
Still, it was a huge shock that the top babyface challenger had been vanquished in the Mania main event, even if it came via devious means. Perhaps this is why WM 2000’s main match is hardly discussed, because fans were denied the usual crowning moment, especially for someone of The Rock’s calibre. However, it all worked out, as Rock did dethrone HHH in a white-hot main event at Backlash (which was clearly the plan all along, and not an adverse reaction to the post-Mania fan feedback). One could argue that the exact same scenario that we saw at Backlash could have played out here, but I personally prefer the manner in which the storyline developed, with HHH getting the first heel victory in a Mania main event (unless you count Yokozuna, though he lost the belt straight away to Hulk Hogan) before Rock got his moment in an unforgettable manner at a B-PPV that received a gigantic buy rate. As for HHH himself being the victor, which led to accusations of backstage politicking; hey, someone had to break the chain of the face always winning eventually. One little extra nugget of trivia: two WrestleManias were held at the Arrowhead Pond, and both times, a DX co-founder left as WWF Champion.
On the night, fans were given an extra post-show, which didn’t seem planned and was probably done on the fly due to the show not yet reaching the end of its allotted four-hour window (every Mania would be four or five hours or even longer from this point onwards). This just consisted of extra backstage promos, though we did get Hardcore Holly randomly calling Michael Cole a “shithead”, which was hilarious due to it being totally unwarranted.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING TV SHOWS? READ OUR POST-PPV REVIEWS OF RAW & SMACKDOWN!
WWF WrestleMania 2000 is one of the strangest WM cards to summarise. It is definitely not a bad show, giving us a great Triangle Ladder match, an underrated main event, loads of fresh faces to the Mania stage, and a few enjoyable mid-card bouts. But it has some painfully bad bouts early on, not one traditional singles bout, no Austin (the biggest star of the Attitude Era), no Undertaker (whose Streak was ongoing, even if it wasn’t a proper story arc for the company yet), and a heel retaining in the final match, and during a year when the WWF was mostly flawless on Pay-Per-View. Maybe fans would give this show more credit had Rock become WWF Champion, and maybe the show would seem stronger if either of the aforementioned sidelined mega-stars had appeared. Personally, I enjoyed this event, but I can understand why some consider it to be one of the weaker Mania shows. If you do check it out, though, you’ll still be entertained.
WANT TO RELIVE WWF WRESTLEMANIA 2000? WATCH IT RIGHT NOW ON WWE NETWORK!
