The Year in PPV- 2000, Part II

The year 2000 continues with a LOT of quality shows...


6. Judgment Day

With only six matches, Judgment Day doesn't look too promising on paper. However, there is some really good stuff on the card. The Radicalz clash for the European Championship in a Triple Threat between Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko, The Dudley Boyz looked to put X-Pac and Road Dogg (and Tori) through some wood in a Double Tables match, Shane McMahon hopes to defeat Big Show in a Falls Count Anywhere match (I'm serious), and Too Cool fought Edge, Christian, and Kurt Angle in a very entertaining opening match (I LOVE the Five Second Pose for this match). If that doesn't have you interested, then check out the Submission match between Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship, as it is quality wrestling at its finest between one of wrestling's greatest pure wrestlers (Benoit) and one of sports entertainment's greatest entertainers (Jericho).

The entire evening was building towards the Iron Man match for the WWF Championship between The Rock and Triple H. The Iron Man match is a gimmick that is hit or miss for many fans. If they can keep the crowd entertained for the entire duration, then the match is easy to sit through, but if it has its share of boring spots, then it becomes a chore to watch. This match finds its way in between. If you can make it through the first half (which only has a few falls), then the rest of the match will be worth the effort because The Rock and Triple H really put everything they have on the table to make their clash for the title memorable. Also, Shawn Michaels is the guest referee (which is always a fun time for me to watch), so there was a lot of speculation of whether or not he would be impartial.

Mild Recommendation


7. King of the Ring

I won't pretend that this PPV is perfect, it's far from it, but I do like the storytelling that is told in one particular aspect: the King of the Ring tournament. More than one story is told, making it less predictable on who would win it. There were favorites heading in like Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and Chris Jericho, but also unorthodox stories like Rikishi (who was battling through injuries inflicted from post-match beatdowns throughout the night) and Crash Holly (who was sought as the ultimate underdog and wanted to prove his legitimacy). All of the tournament matches are entertaining, and many are even well-wrestled, including a Quarter-Final match between Angle and Jericho (that could've been a GREAT Finals match). Since the name of the PPV was the good part of the show, then it warrants enough of a recommendation from me.

That being said, there is some VERY bad stuff on the show too, particularly an Evening Gown match for the Hardcore Championship between Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco (you heard that correctly). It's one of those "so bad it's good" train wreck matches that must be seen to be believed. The main event was an overbooked six-man tag match for the WWF Championship that saw Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Mr. McMahon defend the belt against The Rock, Kane, and the Undertaker. If Rock, Kane, or Taker won, the scorer of the pinfall would've won the belt, but any of Triple H's teammates could've won the match to keep the belt on The Game. It's very convoluted, but it's still entertaining to see these six elements work off each other.

Mild Recommendation


8. Fully Loaded

Like the earlier PPVs of the year, this show promotes a lot of variety and a lot of that is due to a lot of gimmicks that are put on the matches. It actually reminds me a lot of the RAW Roulette gimmick (the layout is very similar aesthetically), which allows for some very entertaining contests, including a Steel Cage match between Val Venis and Rikishi for the Intercontinental Championship, and a six-person mixed tag match between Test, Albert, and Trish Stratus against The Hardy Boyz and Lita.

The PPV really earns its namesake though thanks to the promotion of three star studded (or fully loaded) main events. The first was a match between Kurt Angle and the Undertaker, which was a very important match for the recent King of the Ring winner (Angle) as it showed that he deserved to be in the ring with one of the most respected names in wrestling history in Undertaker. Chris Benoit hoped to win the WWF Championship from The Rock in a match where Rock could lose the belt on disqualification. Unfortunately, they never really had a long lasting feud or matches with each other (which is a shame, because they had solid chemistry and the feud had fans invested), but this is a great match to main event the show. The show is stolen by Chris Jericho and Triple H, who had a phenomenal Last Man Standing match that was all about respect. This match was more to make a star out of Jericho, while not deteriorating from Triple H's momentum, and it works tremendously (I told you these guys could have good matches together).

Highly Recommended


9. SummerSlam

We have yet another variety show from the WWF, this time it's for the biggest party of the summer, SummerSlam. There is a lot of filler on this PPV, but also enough quality to warrant this show by many fans as one of the best overall SummerSlams in history. The Hardcore Championship match between Steve Blackman and Shane McMahon has one of the most famous bumps (maybe fall is more accurate) in wrestling, and is also proof that Shane McMahon was a very underrated wrestling talent (he knew how to bring the pain, but knew how to take a beating even better). Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho also continue their rivalry (easily the year's best rivalry in terms of match quality) in an impressive 2 out of 3 falls match, that shows just how evenly matched the two were with tons of momentum shifts and near falls.

Thanks to Commissioner Mick Foley (THANK YOU MICK FOLEY!), Edge and Christian were forced to defend their WWF Tag Team Championships against The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz in the first Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. The wrestling industry (particularly the backyard wrestling industry) owes a great deal of gratitude towards this match and these three teams. They completely steal the show with the TLC match and raised the already high standard that they set at WrestleMania 2000 with the Triangle Ladder match (although, that is still my favorite of their matches together). The main event saw the WWF Championship defended in a Triple Threat between The Rock, Kurt Angle and Triple H. The main focus of the match was the intense rivalry between Angle and Triple H over the affection of Stephanie McMahon, that unfortunately makes The Rock (and the WWF Championship) seem like an afterthought. Even worse, thanks to an infamous botch at the Spanish Announcer's Table, Kurt Angle is taken out of commission for most of the match, leaving Triple H and The Rock to improvise (by this time, they could do matches together in their sleep).

Highly Recommended


10. Unforgiven

A lot of the matches here are really built up to be a big deal. Considering that there is an eight man tag, a Strap match, a tag team Steel Cage match, a hardcore invitational, AND an appearance from Stone Cold Steve Austin, and we haven't even gotten to the main event matches yet, you know this show's gonna be an excellent effort from the company. The most heated rivalry on this show is between Triple H and Kurt Angle, who fought in a no disqualification match with Commissioner Mick Foley as guest referee. While their feud over Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley might have seemed goofy and similar to a soap opera love triangle, this match certainly reminded fans of how tough both of these men were in the ring.

The main event was completely full of talent, as The Rock, Kane, Chris Benoit, and the Undertaker all fought for the WWF Championship in a Fatal 4-Way match. Every competitor offered something different in terms of fighting styles (Benoit with more technical wrestling, Kane as a monster powerhouse, Taker as an imposing brawler, and Rock as a charismatic showman), and the title really seemed to be hanging in the balance for anyone to seize the opportunity.

Highly Recommended


Thoughts: There's so much quality in this chunk of PPVs that I don't even know where to begin. I guess a good place to start is in character growth, and we definitely got that through Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, and surprisingly a lot of the tag teams. Also, every show provided many great matches and moments, while also made storytelling in the ring look easy. The only issue that comes from a string of momentum like this is to keep it up, so let's see if they could do it as the year was coming to an end.

Concluded in Part III...


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