wrestling / Video Reviews
Hall’s WWE Judgment Day 2000 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Judgment Day 2000
Date: May 21, 2000
Location: Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 16,827
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
So I was twelve years old when this show aired and a friend of mine had an extra ticket. However, being the perfect child (right) that I was, I wouldn’t go because I didn’t want to be tired for the start of the last week of school. Anyway, this is about the Rock vs. HHH in a sixty minute Iron Man match. Let’s get to it.
The opening video talks about what happens in the span of an hour, including births, deaths, lightning strikes, heartbeats and thoughts. How they know how often I think is beyond me, but the Iron Man match is the only thing on the show that gets a feature.
The McMahon-Helmsley Era is in the back, with Vince McMahon calling it “Judgment Night” and telling the team to celebrate because this is going to be a bunch of winning. Hardcore Champion Gerald Brisco comes in to say he’s nervous about defending his title before leaving. The big thing though is that HHH will get the WWF Title back…and Brisco is jumped by the Headbangers.
Shawn Michaels, the guest referee in the main event, has some snappy shorts.
Kurt Angle/Edge And Christian vs. Rikishi/Too Cool
Angle, whose chyron says AMERICAN HERO, says that he is indeed “all that” and gives a nursery rhyme promoting abstinence. Christian talks about being in “Lewisville” and Edge has a new five second pose: the Jug Band, complete with props in the form of a banjo, hats and bad teeth. Even Angle joins in and we’re ready to go.
The villains jump them to start fast but Rikishi sends them into the same corner for a string of running backsplashes. Angle is smart enough to get out of the way (there’s some intelligence) and we settle down to Edge flipping out of Sexay’s belly to back suplex. Instead Sexay hits an enziguri and a dancing double elbow hits Edge, which makes him bring Christian in. Scotty does a bit of dancing but gets whipped into the corner. Sexay is right there to cut off the contact so Edge tries the same, only to get beaten up by Sexay in a funny bit.
Edge gets drop toeholded into a low blow on Christian and it’s time for the bad guys to regroup….as Sexay loses his pants while dancing. Christian gets in a cheap shot and mocks the dancing, allowing Rikishi to come in and clean house. Rikishi misses the sitdown splash though and gets taken into the corner for some Canadian double teaming. That’s broken up and Rikishi fights out for the tag to Scotty, who gets punched down just as fast. Angle hammers away in the corner and gives him a heck of a whip but Christian charges into a raised boot.
Scotty lifts him up for a powerbomb and drops backwards into a hot shot (nice move), which is enough for the tag off to Rikishi. The bad guys are stacked up again for the big splash and there’s the Stinkface to Angle. A DDT has no effect on Rikishi so Edge spears him down and teases a Worm. That doesn’t work for Scotty, who does the real thing and adds another to Angle. The Rikishi Driver is broken up with a ring bell shot but Sexay is up with the Hip Hop Drop so Rikishi can steal the pin at 9:47.
Rating: B. This is a great example of what you could get back in 2000: a hot midcard opener with Rikishi and Too Cool being a very popular team who could still work a good match. On the other hand you have Angle/Edge/Christian and there was no way they wouldn’t work well together. Good stuff here as a six man tag can often be a great choice to open a show.
Post match the dancing ensues and the fans are of course way into everything.
Shawn Michaels suggests he’ll call it down the middle as the referee of the main event. You can grade him after the match, and we’ll see if he was jealous of the Rock.
Eddie Guerrero and Chyna arrived earlier, only to run into Dean Malenko, who wants Chyna to stay out of their match tonight. She doesn’t seem convinced so here is Perry Saturn to say he’ll win anyway.
European Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Perry Saturn vs. Dean Malenko
Guerrero, with Chyna, is defending and Malenko’s Light Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Malenko and Saturn double team Guerrero to start, including a backbreaker/top rope knee drop combination. Naturally the alliance falls apart after all of a minute, with Malenko hitting a leg lariat but walking into a fireman’s carry flapjack. Malenko saves Guerrero from a double suplex and hits a double low blow, followed by a hurricanrana each.
Malenko plants Guerrero for two, followed by a tiger bomb for two more. Saturn breaks that up but gets knocked down, leaving Saturn to pull Guerrero into an electric chair. Guerrero gets dropped onto the top rope to crotch Malenko, who drops Saturn on his face. Malenko’s super gutbuster drops Guerrero and Saturn hits a frog splash. Saturn tries a Texas Cloverleaf on Malenko but Guerrero makes the save with a brainbuster.
Malenko drops Guerrero and hits his own top rope splash (looking rather awkward in the process) so Saturn suplexes both of them. Hold on though as Chyna nails Saturn with the loaded flowers. She goes after Malenko as well but he takes the flowers, only to be tripped onto them instead. Guerrero grabs an Oklahoma roll to retain at 7:56 (ignore the shoulder being up).
Rating: B. This was another case of letting three people get the chance to show what they can do, but Guerrero was wrestling circles around them for the most part. Saturn can do the impressive stuff and Malenko was hanging in there too, but Guerrero looked so smooth out there. It’s something he can do so well and dang it’s fun to watch him, especially when he’s given a chance like this.
In the flowers is of course a pipe.
Gerald Brisco won the Hardcore Title from a sleeping Crash Holly on Smackdown but the referee tripped and the chase was on.
Brisco, having escaped the Headbangers, is now hiding in the bathroom. He gets scared of his own reflection and punches a mirror. More on this later. I hope. I think.
We recap Shane McMahon vs. Big Show. They were friends as recently as Wrestlemania but then Show decided it was time to have some fun. As a bonus, Shane mocked Show for not being so smart and the chase was on. Shane sent various wrestlers after Show and even hit a very assisted chokeslam, because embarrassing Show again was a good idea.
Shane McMahon vs. Big Show
Anything goes, falls count anywhere. McMahon dives over the top onto Show, who easily pulls him out of the air and gives him a posting to officially start. Show does it again and sends McMahon into the steps a few times before throwing him inside for the first time. A hard clothesline drops McMahon so here is the Big Boss Man with some nightstick shots to Show’s leg. Show fights back with a powerbomb so here are T&A (with Trish Stratus) carrying some chairs. Show punches the chairs into their faces and shrugs off a low blow from Stratus.
That’s not enough as Stratus is thrown onto T&A as McMahon crawls away. That doesn’t work for Show, who throws him into the set and grabs a big piece of equipment. T&A come in and beat him down, with McMahon ramming an anvil case into Show. That’s good for two and Show is ticked and takes out the villains. Cue Bull Buchanan with some nightstick shots of his own to put Show down. McMahon shoves a speaker (or some kind of electrical box) onto Show’s leg and then smashes a cinder block over Show’s head for the win at 7:17.
Rating: C+. The match and action weren’t great but this was goofy fun as McMahon gets to win and run away from Show all over again. McMahon wasn’t anything as far as a wrestler, but dang he was fun to watch and crazy athletic. They were doing every bit of smoke and mirrors they could find here and it really worked.
Post match Show has to be helped out and into an ambulance.
Gerald Brisco hides in the referee locker room and falls asleep, with the referees teasing going after the title. Brisco pops up and yells at them before leaving.
HHH talks with Shawn Michaels and accuses him of looking like he’s bananas in his shorts.
We recap Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit for the latter’s Intercontinental Title. They’ve been fighting for months and this time it’s a submission match.
Intercontinental Title: Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho
Benoit (with a bad knee) is defending in a submission match and backs Jericho into the corner to start. Some chops have Jericho in trouble so he slides between Benoit’s legs and hits the bulldog. Jericho teases another bulldog but goes with a Fujiwara armbar in a smart move. That’s quickly escaped so they fight over a Tombstone, with Benoit going with a shoulderbreaker instead.
The Swan Dive to the arm connects and we hit something like a seated abdominal stretch to keep Jericho in early trouble. That’s reversed into a failed Walls attempt so Jericho elbows him in the face instead. The triangle dropkick sends Benoit outside as Val Venis is watching in the back. Jericho is sent into the steps but is fine enough to drop him knee first onto the steps. Back in and the butterfly backbreaker has Benoit in more trouble so they chop it out in the corner. Jericho’s previously banged up shoulder is sent into the post and Benoit snaps off a suplex.
The cross armbreaker stays on the arm as Hardcore Holly is watching in the back. Jericho gets out and avoids a running knee in the corner, followed by a flapjack. Benoit’s knee brace is ripped off and Jericho hammers away with it, setting up the Lionsault. Jericho grabs the Walls in the ropes, which is broken up with some right hands.
Back up and Benoit starts rolling some German suplexes but Jericho tries the Walls again. That’s broken up with a knee brace to the head and Benoit gets the Crossface on the bad arm. Benoit puts it on again in the middle and Jericho screams a lot before passing out (though he did seem to say something) at 13:30.
Rating: B+. These guys (and Kurt Angle) could be put out there in any combination and it would work so well. That was certainly the case here, as they had a heck of a match with the knee vs. the shoulder. Benoit eventually getting the better of things makes sense as he’s a more established submission wrestler and it wound up being a heck of a fight.
Post match Benoit keeps the hold on even longer because…uh, reasons.
We recap the misadventures of Gerald Brisco.
Brisco says everyone is after him, from the airport to the body shop. Then he beats up some suspicious looking concession stand workers.
The Rock warns Shawn Michaels to call the match down the line but Michaels rolls his eyes.
D-Generation X vs. Dudley Boyz
Tables match (both members have to go through), Tori is here with DX and Bubba is in a trance over putting her through a table. Dogg slugs away at D-Von to start and gets dropped with a flying shoulder for his efforts. The spinning elbow puts Dogg down again and it’s off to Bubba, who quickly drops X-Pac. What’s Up hits X-Pac and another hits Dogg as Tori has the referee distracted for some reason.
DX bails up the aisle and gets beaten down again, with Bubba stalking Tori. The distraction lets D-Von get caught in the wrong corner and Dogg grabs a front facelock. D-Von drives him over for the tag but another distraction means it doesn’t count. I’m not sure why we’re having these tags in a tables match but D-Von hits a double clothesline to bring Bubba back in to clean house. Some tables are brought in but DX fights back, with Dogg sending D-Von into the steps.
A pumphandle slam off the steps puts D-Von through a table but Bubba sets up another table. The Bronco Buster through the table is broken up and Bubba powerbombs X-Pac through a table of his own. Bubba DDTs Dogg but the referee…and here is Gerald Brisco. A 3 D puts Dogg through a table but the referee was bumped. Brisco pulls Dogg out so Tori gets in the ring, which isn’t exactly a great idea. Brisco breaks up the super bomb though and it’s a super X Factor (close enough) to put Bubba through the table at 10:55.
Rating: C. Yeah this was fine and if this is the low point of the show, they’re doing pretty awesome. It was mainly about DX surviving as long as they could, with the Brisco stuff being a bit of a stretch. That being said, it wasn’t exactly a great match and the regular tag stuff was a bit much, but it was hardly some disaster.
Post match Brisco yells a bunch and gets a 3D through a table to shut him up.
We get a creepy vignette of young girls playing games and saying his judgment day is now. Interesting.
We recap HHH vs. the Rock for the WWF Title in an Iron Man match. The Rock won the title back Backlash (after he should have won it at Wrestlemania) and now it’s time for a one hour Iron Man match. Shawn Michaels, who has cost Rock the title against HHH before, is the guest referee to add some drama.
WWF Title: The Rock vs. HHH
The Rock is defending in a sixty minute Iron Man match (with rules stating that Rock retains if it’s tied after the time limit expires) but first, HHH tells the rest of his team to go to the back because he wants to do this on his own. That seems to be a bad idea but we’re doing it anyway. They stare each other down for a bit to start (makes sense) and talk some trash before fighting over a lockup. That goes nowhere so they hit it again and grapple into the corner.
Rock shoves him out of the corner and grabs a headlock, allowing him to obviously call some spots. That’s reversed into a top wristlock and Rock takes him down for some fast twos, with HHH bailing out to the floor. Michaels holds Rock back (the first thing of note he’s done) until HHH gets inside again, with a headlock slowing Rock down for a change.
That’s broken up and a right hand puts HHH on the floor again as we’re already over 10% of the way done. No not much has happened yet, but that’s totally fair in a match like this. HHH starts to get back in and then heads outside again, which is a smart way to burn off a few moments, as you can see them using various basic trick. Back in and HHH takes him down into an armbar, which stays on for a few minutes. Rock fights up and grabs a Rock Bottom out of nowhere for the first fall at 10:44.
Rock – 1
HHH – 0
HHH bails out to the floor and the brawling continues, as they’re still finding ways to burn off time. Rock stars in on the leg, which isn’t a bad way to go, and takes him back inside. The Figure Four goes on and HHH is in big trouble, but he manages to turn it over and lean WAY back. That’s not something you see very often but it makes the new hold look so much more painful.
Eventually they make the ropes and go outside again to brawl even more, this time going up into the crowd. A backdrop sends Rock back to ringside and they get inside again. HHH drops a knee and elbow but can’t force rock’s shoulders down (but does spend about a minute trying). Rock starts back in on the knee but gets sent crashing over the top again. A hard whip sends HHH knees first into the steps and Rock gets back on the knee inside. The Figure Four is loaded up but HHH reverses into a Pedigree for the pin at 25:29.
Rock – 1
HHH – 1
HHH chokes and punches away until Rock whips him into the ropes. That’s reversed into a small package to give HHH another fall at 26:28.
Rock – 1
HHH – 2
Rock realizes that’s not good and gets sent outside, meaning it’s time to go up the aisle again. Rock whips him into the set and hits a running clothesline for a rare forward fall. A suplex in the aisle puts Rock down again and he staggers back towards the ring, with Rock hitting a belly to back suplex.
We have half an hour to go as Rock rams him into the barricade. A whip into the apron…has us looking at Michaels (still not a factor in any significant way) and Rock backdrops HHH on the floor again. Back in and HHH hits a quick facebuster into a piledriver for a third fall at 32:26.
Rock – 1
HHH – 3
Things stay slow, with HHH going up top but getting pulled down with a big crash. Rock hammers away in the corner and gets two off a rollup but gets kneed in the face. The sleeper goes on again, with Rock getting his arm up at two drops twice in a row. HHH puts his feet on the ropes but Michaels kicks them away, FINALLY doing something of note (better than him being the focus on the match). Rock is back up with a belly to belly suplex and gets a rather delayed near fall as we have twenty minutes left. Some right hands stagger HHH and a DDT gives Rock a pin at 40:36.
Rock – 2
HHH – 3
They fight out to the floor and slug it out, with HHH grabbing a chair. Michaels takes it away though and Rock keeps punching away. They go around the ring a bit until Rock grabs a swinging neckbreaker. Back in and HHH grabs the chair to knock Rock silly for a DQ at 43:44.
Rock – 3
HHH – 3
HHH immediately pins Rock (with feet on the ropes as he’s a Ric Flair disciple) at 44:10.
Rock – 3
HHH – 4
Rock is busted open so HHH grabs the sleeper. That only works so well as Rock keeps the arm up but eventually passes out at 47:25.
Rock – 3
HHH – 5
Rock immediately starts slugging away but gets knocked outside. HHH takes over on the floor and sends him back inside for two with ten minutes left. For some reason HHH goes up top but gets caught, only to headbutt Rock back down. Rock gets right back up for a superplex and they fight outside again with Rock taking over, including a catapult into the post. HHH fights back and they go onto the announcers’ table, only for Rock to reverse into a Pedigree of his own. HHH can’t beat the count and Rock is a step closer at 56:05.
Rock – 4
HHH – 5
That’s getting pretty close and it’s time for the McMahons to come back. HHH has to beat the count back in at nine and Rock grabs a DDT. That and the People’s Elbow are enough to tie it up at 57:59.
Rock – 5
HHH – 5
Michaels goes outside to yell at Shane but gets bumped off the apron. The villains, including DX, run in to beat down Rock….and the little girls pop up on screen to do their rhyme. Girls: “HE’S HERE.” Cue the returning Undertaker, now a biker, to absolutely massacre the McMahon-Helmsley Era, including some awesome one armed chokeslams. HHH has to save Stephanie (who of course isn’t scared). Undertaker chokeslams HHH and gives him a Tombstone, which is enough for Michaels to call for the DQ to give the fall and title to HHH…at 1:00:12. Yeah they screwed up the time but come on.
Rock – 5
HHH – 6
Rating: A-. The main thing here is that this match went an hour and didn’t feel anywhere close to that length. There were times where they were burning off time, but it was stuff that made sense in the process. What we didn’t have were long holds with the two of them on the mat and not doing much whatsoever. It made for an exciting match as Rock was trying to make the big comeback in the end. It’s a pretty outstanding match and the Undertaker return at the end made it even better.
Post match Rock is livid as commentary tries to explain that the DQ was from the chokeslam, which was BARELY before the time at about 59:58, though Michaels didn’t call for the bell until the Tombstone. Yeah it was a bit confusing and they screwed up, but that’s better of an explanation than nothing.
Results
Rikishi/Too Cool b. Kurt Angle/Edge And Christian – Hip Hop Drop to Edge
Eddie Guerrero b. Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko – Oklahoma roll to Malenko
Shane McMahon b. Big Show – Cinder block to the head
Chris Benoit b. Chris Jericho – Crossface
D-Generation X b. Dudley Boyz – Super X Factor through a table to Bubba Ray
HHH b. The Rock 6-5
