SUMMERSLAM 2000
August 27, 2000, Raleigh, NC
Entertainment & Sports Complex
By 2000 the WWF was burning at its brightest.
Even though the biggest star modern wrestling has even seen was injured and out for an extended period of time, thanks to the ultra hot HHH and The Rock, the emergence of Kurt Angle and the arrival of The Radicals from WCW, they had kept the train rattling in spite of Steve Austin’s absence.
The tag team scene also helped keep things strong at the trinity of Edge & Christian, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz had struck up a rivalry and escalated it through a series of gimmick matches that fond ground here with the first TLC match. Full of insane spots and eye popping spectacle, these six men proved tag team wrestling can still be a vital part of the modern product.
Elsewhere on the card, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit were showing everyone how it is done in Canada by putting on intensely violent matches built on old school hatred and hard work.
The Curse of the IC Title strikes once more as Val Venis didn’t even get pinned or submitted and he lost the championship, thanks to a whacky inter-gender tag team match where if Trish Stratus got pinned, she would lose Val’s title on his behalf. And that she did, dropping his title to Chyna.
To provide us with their thoughts are…
Greg De Marco: Greg plies his trade doing The Wrestling 5 & 1 every Sunday and can also be found has a regular contributor to But & Sell and he also has his very own podcast. Greg is a very busy cat.
Aaron Frame: Recent addition to the 411 clan. His scrutiny of some of wrestling’s most famous matches has been the centerpiece of The Wrestling Framework.
Too Cool & Rikishi vs. The Right Too Censor Winner: The Right Too Censor via pinfall. Time: 5:12
X-Pac vs. The Road Dogg Winner: X-Pac via pinfall. Time: 4:42
Intercontinental Match: Champion Loses The Title If Their Partner is Pinned Inta-Gender Tag Team Match: Val Venis & Trish Stratus vs. Eddie Guerrero & Chyna Winner: Chyna via pinfall on Trish Stratus to regain the IC Title. Time: 7:13
Jerry Lawler vs. Tazz Winner: Jerry Lawler via pinfall. Time: 4:24
Hardcore Championship: Shane McMahon vs. Steve Blackman Winner: Steve Blackman via pinfall to regain the Hardcore Championship. Time: 10:08
2/3 Falls Match: Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho Winner: Chris Benoit two falls to one (submission and pin). Time: 13:02
Tag Team Championship: TLC Match – Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz Winner: Edge & Christian retrieve the title to retain. Time: 14:51
Stink Face Match – Terri vs. The Kat Winner: The Kat via stink face. Time: 3:06
The Undertaker vs. Kane Winner: No Contest Time: 6:28
WWF Championship: Triple Threat Match: The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. Triple H Winner: The Rock via pinfall. Time: 20:09
MICHAEL ORNELASsize=+2>
Best Match: Edge & Christian vs. The Dudleyz vs. The Hardyz (TLC Match) – The first installment of a match that has become so popular, it even has its own Pay-Per-View was an absolute classic and showed us all things we’d never seen before. Four of these men would go on to be a brand or a company’s top champion, and one of the others is pretty high up on the card in TNA. Just eleven years ago they were feuding over the WWF Tag Team Championship…when they actually meant something. A competitive tag division is key to elevating the straps, and these men made the gold mean something for almost 2 full years. This match was a key moment in the feud between the three teams and absolutely stole the show. Worst Match: The Kat vs. Terri (Stinkface Match) – Don’t get me wrong, I love tits and ass as much as the next guy, but come on. This was just a waste of time. It was typical of this era though, so I guess I’m not that surprised it happened. At least it was kept short. Highlight: I know that this show had some excellent matches on it, but whenever I hear “SummerSlam 2000”, I immediately think about Shane McMahon taking that sick bump off the side of the tron. It was padded, but it was a killer visual, and it’s always what I most closely associate with this show (I can’t help it. It should be TLC, but whatever). Hidden Highlight: Edge Speared Lita for the first time during the TLC match. It wouldn’t be the last time (Live Sex Celebration, anyone?). MVP: Triple H – I was debating between Triple H and The Rock, but with Kurt getting hurt in the botched table spot, those two saved the match and Triple H was on a tear in 2000…and since he was more responsible for the match being good than The Rock, he’s my MVP. Overall Rating: 9.5 – This certainly wasn’t a perfect show, but it was excellent. Only the women’s match outright sucked and all the rest that DIDN’T deliver in quality was very entertaining. The 2/3 Falls match, Hardcore match, TLC match, and the main event are all worth seeing. Even the No Contest was a fun brawl. Highly recommended show from me.
SCOTT RUTHERFORDsize=+2>
Best Match: TLC always gets a hug thumbs up and while I would not argue that choose terribly, I would prefer to watch the main event. This is from a time when book usually made sense and HHH had two stories running at the same time with Rocky and Kurt. The stuff with The Rock was the usual “I hate your guts” stuff. The Kurt stuff heavily involved Stephanie and he more than subtle attraction to Kurt and HHH was not please at all. It created a fun dynamic but had nasty undertones. The match itself is notable for Kurt going headfirst through a table and getting concussed but still finishing out the match. While that fact makes us cringe today, it was given high marks on the courage scale at the time. I always found it entertaining and it held up better than the TLC match. Worst Match: X-Pac vs.Road Dogg. Four minutes of crappy wrestling. Really, not much else needs to be said. They fact these two were still hanging onto the Dx name and image and riding it to death was a shitty end to one of the greatest wrestling factions in history. Highlight: The TLC match. While I didn’t rate it match of the night it certainly had the most highlights. Each spot feed the next and built it up to the ending. Simple spots like Bubba doing the full nelson slam from up a ladder look great, but aren’t as dangerous as what some idiot would try for the same effect. Seeing as the PPV was coming from near the home town of The Hardys I always thought they would go over but E&C got the gong n what may have been the biggest highlight of the match. Hidden Highlight: The thread of vignettes and recap packages from the HHH/Steph/Kurt storyline. Great way to help build the main event and have some fun along the way. MVP: Shane McMahon…he will kill himself for our pleasure. You can never accuse him from coasting on his name when in the ring. . Overall Rating: 6. I never really got into the is PPV outside the main event, TLC and the 2/3 falls match. The rest is REALLY shitty and not in a forgettable way. Stuff like RTC had huge potential but for some reason they never let that group get serious wins over anyone meaningful so it all became frustrating and lame. However, the good is really good and makes I watchable if not memorable.
COLIN RINEHARTsize=+2>
Best Match: Edge/Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz (TLC Match) – To put it simply, this is quite possibly the best spotfest of all time. Everything was executed to perfection, everything flowed and progressed logically, there was the perfect amount of time between spots to catch your breath, and it escalated into the craziest finish many had ever seen in a WWF ring at the time. It looks a bit tame by today’s standards, but this match was revolutionary at the time.
Worst Match: The Kat vs. Terri (Stinkface Match) – This one earns the worst match dishonor pretty much by default. This was nothing more than T&A and that’s fine, but as a “match” it was obviously crap.
Highlight: The Next Generation Steps Up – All over this PPV you have guys that would go on to make huge contributions in the coming years to the companies looking great and making big names for themselves. The Hardyz/Dudleyz/Edge & Christian trio of teams solidified themselves here as the best in the business at the time, Kurt Angle stepped up to the main event for the first time and never felt out of place, Benoit and Jericho had another great upper midcard match showing the fire that would launch them to main event status soon enough…all over this card you can see some of the next big stars for the company finding their place and solidifying their spots on the roster, and it’s a joy to watch.
Hidden Highlight: Steve Blackman vs. Shane McMahon (Hardcore Match) – Much like the previous year, Shane McMahon again proved he was kind of insane at the Summerslam PPV this year. The bump he takes off of the titan tron structure is a pretty crazy fall, even if he does land on a bunch of pads underneath the thin wood stage. Blackman carved a fun little niche for himself as the hardcore champ at the time and it was a lot of fun to see the bosses son get so thoroughly beaten down and take such huge bumps here. One of the more fun hardcore matches of the time.
MVP: Hardys/Dudleys/E&C – I can’t choose just one team, so I’m going with all three. These three teams solidified their place in history on this show, and proved they were willing to take the craziest bumps and bust their asses to do anything to get over with the fans and deliver a great match.
Overall Rating: 9.0 – This is another great, great show and at the time was received very highly as such. You’ve got the incredible first TLC match, a rock-solid 2/3 falls match with Benoit and Jericho, the super fun triple threat main event, and even the fun and memorable hardcore title match all on one card and it makes the whole thing a lot of fun to watch. Another summer classic from the company during one of their best periods, and obviously a Thumbs Up.
AARON FRAMEsize=+2>
Best Match: I like this match. Shocking, I know. Can I offer any insight that is different from what my fellow writers have offered? Probably not but my weekly column looks at a match and breaks it down so I will try. When I look at something I focus on five elements (psychology, work rate, spots, crowd and finish) and 4 out of those 5 receive high marks in my book. The only thing that probably lacks is psychology but this is a TLC match and it’s tough to really nail that aspect down. The crowd was rabid, the spots were insane and original, the work of all involved was tremendous and the finish was awesome. Everything has its place and no motion is wasted. If you going to do a spotfest then this is your prime example on how to do one. Worst Match: McMahon vs. Blackman. Everyone remembers the big spot at the end and ratings of the match, in my mind, tend to be inflated because of it. Shane is a great bumper but he’s not a great wrestler and no matter how insane the end spot is, the rest of the match is not very good. Steve Blackman is bland and boring and wrestles as such. Overrated. Highlight: TLC, as I said before, is really a highlight reel. Fans of music history will understand this analogy…Mutt Lange went to Def Leppard before the recording of Hysteria and said he wanted to make a greatest hits album of new material. This match is like that. This has so many great moments, you could have cut it into ten little pieces, taken those spots and stretched them out and made great 10minute matches out of them. Hidden Highlight: I hang my head in shame. The Kat giving Terri a stinkface. People like German porn, others like watching a woman with a horse. I like Kat rubbing her butt in an another chicks face. MVP: Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. They had a touch over 12 minutes to tell a 2/3 story and by good they almost did it. I love work rate and this match was built on it. They didn’t need flashy spots, soap opera angles or lame contrivances to build a feud. They were two guys that hated each other and beat the crap out of each other to try and get the win. I approve of this. Overall Rating: 8.7- I really liked this. I know there is a fair bad wrestling on this PPV but what is good, really bring it up. The TLC s about as perfect a spot-fest as you will ever see. Jericho and Benoit gave us tremendous wrestling. The main event was entertaining and well book, even though Kurt Angle nearly got killed. The whole event had a big time feel and it added atmosphere to every match. If you are a fun of wresting, you will find much to like about Summerslam 2000
-Listen to the latest edition of the 411 on Wrestling podcast! On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka is joined by co-host Andrew Critchell discuss the CM Punk angle, the latest edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, CHIKARA and Juggalo Championship Wrestling on I-PPV, your calls and more!
You can listen to the show on the player below, or you can download the show here.
