WWF Royal Rumble 2000 – The Review
Date - January 21st 2000
Venue - Madison Square Garden
Card for the Night.
Kurt Angle v Mystery Opponent
Tag Team Tables Match; the Hardy boys v The Dudley Boys.
Triple Threat Match for The Intercontinental Championship; Hardcore Holly v Chyna v Chris Jericho ©
WWF World Tag Team Championships; The Acolytes v The New Age Outlaws
Street Fight for the WWFChampionship; Cactus Jack v Triple H ©
The Royal Rumble Match
Kurt Angle v Mystery Opponent; Angle makes his way to the ring with his unbeaten streak still intact. In his usual red, white and blue attire Angle finds himself on the mic. Angle talks about how New York should feel privileged to have an Olympic champion in their city. After a few seconds of pause the Mystery opponent turns out to be Tazz. Tazz starts out on top, back dropping Angle over the ropes. After a short period of exchanges, Angle gets on top, utilising a couple of suplexes. Tazz turns the table and turns into a suplexing machine of his own (3 belly to belly's in a row) he then locked in the 'tazzmission'. After a struggle Angle taps out, losing his unbeaten streak.
Winner – Tazz
Match Rating – 6/10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZ6JauK8m0 Match
After the match Angle is taken away on a stretcher (he later claims Tazz illegally choked him out and that his unbeaten streak is exactly that, unbeaten).
The Hardys are backstage talking with Michael Cole about how dangerous their tables match will be tonight, and that Terri (There manager at the time) will be banned from ringside for her own safety.
Tag Team Tables Match; The Hardy boys v The Dudley Boys: Bubba and D-von make there way to the ring sporting there usual striped blue 3D outfits. Bubba steals the mic of Howard Finkel before goading the crowd and pulling a pretty awful John Rocker promo. Hardy's music hits and we go straight out the floor where both sets of tag team members brawl in the walkway. Bubba Power bombs Jeff and goes for a table early. Jeff replies with a nasty chair shot to Bubba, before setting him up on the table. Jeff does his barricade run around but Bubba makes it up in time, slamming the table hard into his Jeff's head (Great start to the match, we're only 2 minutes in). Afterwards Matt re-gains control, the Hardys set up Bubba for a double super-plex from the top rope, only to find D-von has moved the table below.
Matt sets Bubba up on a table, now on the outside. D-von tries to interfere but fails. Matt does a leg drop off a ladder on the outside, planting Bubba through the table, with Jeff coming off the top of the ring apron from the other side of the ring with almost a belly splash like move, both meet at the same time. With Bubba down, the Hardys turn there attentions to D-von, setting a table up on an angle with the steel steps on the outside. Matt heads to the top rope to finish the dudleys off, but D-von moves and Matt plants himself through a table, Jeff tries the exact same move but on a different table, only to find the same result.
From there the Dudleys re-gain control, Bubba powerbombs Matt from the top rope through a table that has been balanced on 2 sets of steel steps, we're now even at 1 member each. The next person to go through a table will lose.
The teams are now fighting in the crowd, with the Dudleys on top. Complacency however allows the Hardys to regain the momentum, Bubba falls backwards off a ringside balcony through 2 stacked tables, but that's not it, Bubba has already been put through a table. Straight after Matt Hardy places D-von on a new table and Jeff Swantom Bombs D-von from the top of a balcony through a table too pick up the win. Excellent match, with some great spots. The Hardy Boys through the attitude era we're off the page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlGA59dCBaw Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBT6MUiC6As&feature=related Part 2
Winner – The Hardy boys
Rating – 9/10.
Next we head to the slightly controversial (well it ends that way anyway) Miss Royal Rumble 2000 contest. Contestants include, Mae Young, Ivory, Miss Jackie, Terri Runnels, Kat and Barbara Bush. The judges are Sgt.Slaughter, Tony Garea, Fabulous Moolah, Johnny Valient and Classie Freddie Blassie (legend). If you haven't heard about this or seen this before, the reason I used the word controversial is because Mae Young thinks its a great idea to go completely topless, revealing her slightly ageing, emigrating ever southwards pair Posted Image, Somehow I don't think this would fit in with the PG era.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHf5kfGMEFg&feature=related
Not sure whether the above is hilarious, disgraceful or a bit of both.
Anyway up next we have the Co - Intercontinental Championship. Both Jericho and Chyna are joint Intercontinental championship.
Triple threat for the Intercontinental Championship: Hardcore Holly v Chyna v Chris Jericho ©: Hardcore and Chyna make there way to the ring, Chyna with the intercontinental championship, before Jericho arrives with the at this time his 'usual' gimmick of 'things will NEVER EVER be the same again, MADISON SQAURE JERICHO' lark.
The match starts out with some back and forth action, mostly between Jericho and Holly. Holly takes control, before Jericho reverses an attempted hurricarana into the walls of Jericho, of corse, Chyna splits it up before it really gets going (that would have been an extra-ordinarily short match for a PPV). Jericho nails Holly with a flying missile dropkick to the outside, before Chyna slams Jericho into the steel steps. Holly returns to throw Chyna over the top rope, before picking up a steel chair that Chyna kicks back into his face (this is actually a reasonable match, considering one of the holly brothers is involved).
Anyway, the action goes back and forth. Holly hits a big super-plex from the top to Chyna, leading to a very close near fall. Ironically Chyna locks in the Walls of Jericho on Holly after she catches him with the intercontinental belt. Jericho comes from behind, bulldogs Chyna and then lionsaults her to pick up the win.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTdqYXaZYxY Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6v-ZQVUSgM&feature=related Part 2
Winner – Chris Jericho
Match Rating – 7/10
We head backstage and Michael Cole is with The Rock. Cole stupidly asks who The Rock fears in the royal rumble match later on tonight. It's safe to say The Rock's replies are slightly humouring. He goes on to tell Cole that he should 'drink some shut up juice' and then guarantees victory. Funny stuff.
WWF Tag Team Titles; The Acolytes v The New Age Outlaws©: The outlaws make there way to the ring first as expected, we have Road D-O double G on the mic, running through the usual script 'tag team champions of the world', 'if your not down with that, we got 2 words for you'. Acolytes sprint down the 'ramp' (if you really want to call it that) and we go straight for a brawl on the outside.
Bradshaw dominates the early going, slamming Gunn and giving Road Dogg a good slapping, before tagging his partner in. Road Dogg eventually turns the tables, before Bradshaw interrupts. This is more like a melee, there's not much structure to it. Anyhow, Bradshaw nails Gunn with a clothesline from hell, but he's not the legal man. Road Dogg gets a spine buster, but Gunn pulls the referee from the ring.
Road Dogg gets back in the ring to find himself double power bombed. As farooq goes for the cover, X-pac comes down, giving Bradshaw a spinning heel kick. This was enough of a distraction to allow Gunn to give a half dozed Bradshaw the Fame-asser for the 1-2-3. This was far too short to be considered anything other than average, but it wasn't boring by any stretch of the imagination.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS_3yAbCDaw Match
Winners – The New Age Outlaws
Match Rating – 6/10.
After the match we had back to ring side to JR, who builds up the next match, the street fight for the WWF title. JR uses familiar sayings like 'its going to be a war'. The build for this match had been fairly big, with the McMahon Helmsley era running the show on Raw, previously sacking Mankind and all the heat it caused with The Rock and the whole 'locker room walk out until Mankind had been re-instated'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poTaEdFpt0A Match Promo (have a look to understand storyline)
Street Fight for the WWF title; Triple H © v Cactus Jack: We start out with a pensive looking Triple H and a determined looking Cactus; both square up and share a few words with each other. We see lots of fists thrown between both men in the early going, with Cactus having a slight advantage in the corner after a succession of right hands. We're straight on the outside; Foley gives Triple H a painful looking neck breaker on the floor.
Cactus dominates until Triple H picks up the ring bell on the sly, slamming it into Cactus's unsuspecting head. Triple H takes his place back in the ring, steel chair in hand and offers Foley his way back into the ring. Of corse he takes it and walks right into a big, nasty chair shot right across the forehead. Cactus just gets back up as if it was nothing and starts unleashing on Hunter. Cactus regains control, DDT'ing Triple H, before giving him kicks and punches to the face and body.
Cactus back drops the game over into the crowd onto the concrete, as they both make there way right through the fans. Back in the entrance way, Cactus gives Triple H a suplex onto a couple of wooden crates, ripping a gash into Hunter's leg (must be an inch wide, inch long and an inch deep). Eventually Triple H back drops Cactus onto a steel can in the ramp way, before heading back towards ring side. The game can't keep Cactus quiet though and now Foley's back on top round before they reach the ring, jarring the game's head into the steel steps in the process.
Things really start to heat up now as Foley pulls out his mate Barbie and heads back into the ring. The game gets a low blow on Cactus after the referee tried to intervene and eventually gives Cactus 2 shots across the back and stomach. Hunter misses his next shot and Cactus gives Triple H a low blow using the 2 by 4, before he turns into a double arm DDT. After a close call, Foley goes on a physco to find the barbed wire that the referee tried to get rid of.
Triple H runs into referee Hebner, squashing him in the corner before Foley gives the game a shot across the head with Barbie before another shot, this time a running dive onto Triple H's head. The game kicks out at the last second, now busted wide open the game tries to escape, but he can't as Foley rubs Barbie across the forehead of the champion. (The game is taking one hell of a beating here). Cactus throws the game over the announce table, removes the lid and attempts to pile drive the game through the table, to no avail as the game backdrops Foley and the table cracks. Cactus regains control again in the ring, catapulting the game into the ring post, before bulldogging him straight onto Barbie.
As we head back outside, the game gives Foley a brutal leg shot into the steel steps; how a persons knees can withstand punishment like that I'll never know. The game finally gets his hands on Barbie and slams it with some venom into Foley knee. Triple H heads outside, and picks some handcuffs up of Howard Finkel. He heads back into the ring and chains Foley up with his arms behind his back. The game is now firmly in control, giving right hand after right hand, though eventually the game attempts to use the steel steps and Foley gives him a drop toe hold.
As they make there way back to their feet the game gives Foley a tremendous chair shot across the back, so tremendous that the top of the chair flies off at some speed. He may have taken a beating, but Cactus still has his wits about him. Foley provokes the game to the ramp way, where he tries to get the game to give him a chair shot, but before he has chance to do so, Foley's friend The Rock comes out and gives the game a chair shot, before allowing a police officer to un-cuff Foley. Now we're back to square one. (Holy crap this match is full of awesomeness).
Foley takes control, giving the game a piledriver through the one remaining announce table (though the table didn't break). Foley throws the game back in the ring, before pulling out a big back of thousands and thousands of THUMBTACKS. Stephanie runs down to ring side to provide some sort of back up. Foley gives the game 3 right hands as he teeters towards the tacks, as Foley goes for the kill, the game back drops Foley into the thumbtacks (Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit), Foley gets up and walks straight into a pedigree, surely that's it?! No, Foley gets his shoulder up after 2 and the game starts abusing the Hebner.
Somehow Foley gets up and walks this time right into a second pedigree, a second pedigree right on the thumbtacks. This time it is over and Foley stays down for the 1-2-3. What an unbelievable match, blood, controversy, weapons, interruptions, thumbtacks, tables. Foley's lay in the middle of the ring with a thumbtack firmly lodged into his forehead.
As the game makes his way out on a stretcher, Foley gets up (somehow) and brings the game back to ring side, to give him one last dose of Barbie, before he leaves the arena with the 'bang bang' sign the lasting image. That was 25 minutes of immense wrestling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGasHD3Mfuw Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-RcRklY3OA&feature=related Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shEELGyx3JM&feature=related Part 3
Winner – Triple H
Match Rating 10/10 (Truly, utterly, epic).
Up next the main event.
The Royal Rumble Match 2000.
I've decided that the best way to run through this is, to gives the order of entry, order of elimination and then talk through the final 3 and the last stages of the match.
Entrance Number
1. D'Lo Brown
2. Grand Master Sexay
3. Mosh
4. Christian
5. Rikishi
6. Scotty Too Hotty
7. Steve Blackman
8. Viscera
9. Big Boss Man
10. Test
11. British Bulldog
12. Gangrel
13. Edge
14. Bob Backlund
15. Chris Jericho
16. Crash Holly
17. Chyna
18. Faarooq
19. Road Dogg
20. Al Snow
21. Val Venis
22. Prince Albert
23. Hardcore Holly
24. The Rock
25. Billy Gunn
26. Big Show
27. Bradshaw
28. Kane
29. The Godfather
30. X-pac
Final 3 and the Winner; X-pac, big show and The Rock. After a sneaky elimination of Kane, X-pac gave the Big Show a bronco buster as he lay dozed in the corner. The Big show reacted angrily, picking X-pac up like he was a feather. Having launched X-pac over the ropes to the floor, The Big show turned into a Rock right hand, then a spine buster, before the peoples elbow, even that combination couldn't keep the determined Big Show down.
Big show up seemingly before the Rock, surprised the rock with a big one handed choke slam. Big show signals the end to the crowd, The Big Show picks The Rock up and heads towards the ropes, where he tries to push The Rock over. All she wrote? No chance, the Rock slips a reversal in at the last second, toppling the Big Show over first (it actually turns out controversially that the Rock's feet may have touched the floor first). The Rock wins and Madison Square Garden goes crazy, to top what has been an amazing end.
Winner – The Rock
Match Rating 8/10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgsvwoaRdrU Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azafuAwpVDg&feature=related Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RqdJcsGI-g&feature=related Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxF4lKfvyzU&feature=related Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5HyjrvRKKk&feature=related Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx2Y0GlMYL8&feature=related
Pay per View Review.
Best Match – Triple H v Cactus Jack
Worst Match – Acolytes v The New Age Outlaws
Overall Pay Per View Score – 8.5/10.
It would have been a touch bigger had some of the undercard had awesome matches. Still it's a good under card and 2 main events that are amazing. The street fight between Triple H and Mick Foley is just epic; probably one of my favourite matches ever. The tag team table's match is excellent as well; you can't beat the attitude era for 'fun' matches as I like to call them.
For anyone that can't be arsed to read or watch the clips, this is the highlights package.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHotvcM3-WY Highlights package.
