Every WrestleMania has a ‘tag line’ and WrestleMania 2000 was “All Day Long”, but it should have been
WrestleMania 2000 “Where Less Should Have Been More”
Coming to us in the middle of the attitude era with star power like the WWE has never seen before, WrestleMania 2000(16) was poised to be one of the best ever. How could it not? On the roster, you have Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Foley, Edge & Christan, Jericho, Angle, Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Undertaker, Kane, and D-X was still a thing. However, that wasn’t the case was it?
Let me run down a few quick facts before I get into the matches. WrestleMania 2000 saw 9 matches and only ONE of those were a singles match, and that was Terri Runnels vs The Kat in a catfight which Val Venis was the special ref. It wasn’t even for the Woman’s title. Only 4 matches were over 10 minutes and it should only be 3. The Hardcore title battle championship scramble was set at 15 minutes so there really was no choice. Hell, that was longer than one of the best matches I’ve seen in my time, Angle vs Jericho vs Benoit for the IC and European titles.
This was also the first time ever that the WWE took over the Pay-Per-View channel for an entire day. I still remember it. It was $64.99 for the “all day long” history of WrestleMania from 1-15. Eight hours of wrestling and that was before the show even started. It was glorious.
Looking back though, I know WrestleMania 2000 was total crap. However, when I was 16, it was a great show. Lets take a look back though, at why it was so lackluster even though they had some of the best talent in the world. Let me just state that it was Vince Russo style booking. Throwing anything and everything you can out there to give the guys a payday and let the fans see everyone. It backfired.
The Godfather and D’Lo Brown vs Big Bossman and Bull Buchanan: Who cares? I know we all loved The Godfather, we all cheered for The Godfather. Hell he even had Ice-T sing his theme to the ring with him. That’s awesome! The match sucked though. No matter how much the crowd loves The Godfather, they hated Bossman and Buchanan and not in a heel way. Those guys took “X-Pac Heat” to a whole new level. They also beat Godfather and D’Lo… Bad f’n move.
Hardcore Battle Royal: This type of match would later be known as a championship scramble. You have 15 minutes and whoever makes the pin is the champ. Whoever is the champ when the 15 minutes are over, wins the match and the title. This match sucked too. What should have been maybe a triple threat between The Holly cousins and Tazz turned into a Vince Russo specialty of a cluster f**k. The mean street posse couldn’t have been any less hardcore while they played yet another screwy finish where there was massive debate, even from the commentators, about who actually won. It was Hardcore Holly and that’s cool with me. I didn’t really care about anyone in the match.
Test and Albert w/Trish Stratus vs Head Cheese: This was the WrestleMania debut of one of the all time greatest female wrestlers, Trish. How did they handle it? With giving Al Snow and Steve Blackman mic and ring time. They introduced Chester McCheesyton before the match and after they lost, they beat him up. I get that the fans found it hysterical for Snow to keep getting under Blackman’s skin, I really do. However, WrestleMania wasn’t the place to do that. Put more focus than just a victory on Test, Albert and Trish. Especially since Sex sells more than comedy in most cases.
Edge and Christian vs The Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boyz: Ah yes, 2000. When it was cool to spell your name with a ‘Z’ instead of an ‘S’. You know what else was cool? This triangle ladder match for the WWE tag team championships. It was, in many eyes, the match of the night. Those 6 men were putting everything on the line in a ladder match like none have seen before. It was the first time more than two competitors were in a ladder match. They nailed it. They had amazing chemistry, a great story was told, and some awesome “he’s not getting up” spots were given to us. Everything from start to finish was perfection. I don’t recommend the PPV, but I will recommend that match.
Terri Runnels vs The Kat: It was a catfight that featured Val Venis as the ref. Who cares. It was easily the worst WrestleMania match that has ever been had. Thank God it was only two and a half minutes long. Next…
Too Cool and Chyna vs The Radicalz: Again, spelling with a ‘Z’… that’s TOO COOL! Anyways, this match was decent. I still have no idea why they signed Eddie, Malenko and Saturn only to put them in a 6 man tag with Too Cool, of all people. Too Cool was loved by the masses, but I would have given The Radicalz the win, especially with someone like Eddie pinning Chyna. Get the real heat on them! It was actually a decent match and I give that credit to those three men who jumped from WCW.
Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Kurt Angle: This is the match I’m talking about. It’s one of my all-time favorites. Kurt Angle was the Euro-continental Champion and would put both titles on the line against both me. The first pinfall would determine the IC Champion and the next pinfall would determine the European champion. I’m telling you, watch this match. While it was only 13 minutes, it was amazing! Benoit won the IC Title that night and Jericho captured the European Title. This left Angle, the sniveling cry baby, with zero titles after not getting pinned AT ALL. A great story was told, indeed.
Rikishi and Kane vs D-X (X-Pac and Road Dogg with Tori): Whoa, hold up, wait a minute. Rikishi and Kane were a team? Yup, and it was awkward. Hey, Rikishi had a match with Road Dogg a few weeks before WrestleMania so, why not make YET ANOTHER tag match instead of letting Kane finally destroy X-Pac, his former tag partner and co-champion, who stole Tori from him? The match is what it is. It wasn’t horrible, it wasn’t even bad… but it wasn’t that good either.
Triple H vs The Rock vs Mick Foley vs The Big Show: This is the match everyone was waiting for. This is what was selling tickets and PPVs. However, this match wasn’t about the WWE Title, was it? Nope. It was all about egos. With a McMahon in every corner, backing “their guy” the WWE Championship got lost in the story. It wasn’t about those four men, or the title, or all they’ve done for this company. It was about the McMahon family. Every McMahon for themselves. Linda was in Foley’s corner, Shane was in Big Show’s, Steph was of course in Triple H’s corner and Vince joined up with The Rock.
Anyone who knows Vince, should have known that it was completely against him to side with the good guy, and we should have seen it coming. Hindsight is 20/20 and after a great match, Vince turned on The Rock by hitting him with a chair a few times and allowing Triple H to make the final pin and win the match. Vince stood in that ring embracing Stephanie and Triple H and once again, it was all about him. The show ended focusing on his turn and his alignment with Triple H and Stephanie blah blah blah…
All in all, I was excited to watch WrestleMania 2000 again so I could write this, but it was a horrid show. I’m sorry I offered to write this because my 16 year old self, who remembers a great day/night, is kicking my 31 year old self’s ass. The memory of the show is gone. Reality has sunk in. I’d rather watch WrestleMania 11 again.
