From The Shelf- WWF Raw is War 1-24-2000

WWF Raw is War
1-24-00
Philadelphia, PA

Quick point I want to make is that the reason I didn’t review Royal Rumble is because I want to keep the focus on WWF TV in 2000. I’ll get around to that show at some point in the future but I have a bunch of other stuff I want to watch first.

Triple H and Stephanie come out and Stephanie introduces him to the crowd after surviving a war against Cactus Jack. HHH says he lost a lot of blood and a piece of his leg in MSG but he walked out with the WWF Championship. He says as sick as Cactus’ way, he was that much better. He turns his attention to Wrestlemania and he tells Rock he has ten weeks to get in the best shape of his career as he will face HHH at the top of his game. Big Show comes out and complains that he was robbed at the Royal Rumble. He claims Rock’s feet hit the ground first and he asks HHH for a favor. He says if he can prove Rock’s feet hit the ground, he gets a one on one match with Rock for the right to face HHH at Wrestlemania. HHH accepts and now Rock comes out. Rock mocks Big Show’s complaining and says he is going to Wrestlemania by virtue of winning the Royal Rumble. HHH tells Big Show they have a common foe in the Rock and makes a tag match between them and Rock with Rock being allowed to pick any partner of his choosing. He says if he can’t find a partner, then it’s a handicap match. Rock says no matter what, he will kick their candy asses.

Hardcore Holly barges into the women’s locker room and Chyna scolds him for it. He blames Chyna for him not being the Intercontinental Champion. He nails Chyna so Chris Jericho attacks him!!! Several officials have to pull Jericho off of him. Crash laughs at Hardcore so Hardcore attacks him.

Al Snow tries to give Steve Blackman some gimmicks since he has no personality but Blackman wants none of it.

Edge and Christian vs. Al Snow and Steve Blackman
Snow and Edge start. Hip toss and a dropkick by Edge but Snow comes back with a clothesline. Tag to Blackman and he eats a reverse atomic drop. Tag to Christian and he goes for a monkey flip but Blackman blocks. Christian dumps him to the floor and follows up with a springboard crossbody to the floor. Snow attacks him from behind allowing Blackman to drop Christian face first onto the steps. Back in, Blackman stomps away and hits a snap suplex. Slam by Blackman and he goes for the Vader Bomb but Christian blocks with his boots. Tag to Edge and Blackman hits a backbreaker. Snow goes up and hits a legdrop off the top to Edge. Edge is out cold so the ref calls for the bell. Val Venis comes out to check on Edge and B.B. gives him CPR.
Winners- Al Snow and Steve Blackman ** ( Action was actually pretty decent and I actually liked the knock out finish to show that Snow and Blackman were a force in the ring despite Snow’s goofyness backstage. I hated the stuff after the match. )

Crash tells Hardcore Holly he is going to look for a new partner tonight, leaving Hardcore alone for his title shot.

WWF Intercontinental Championship- Chris Jericho © vs. Hardcore Holly
They slug it out to start and Hardcore charges in the corner but eats boot. Clothesline by Jericho as Chyna makes her way out. They trade chops and Jericho hits a bulldog for 2. Powerbomb by Holly gets 2. Elbow drop by Holly and Chyna grabs his leg. Hardcore kicks her away and then hits a big boot on the floor. He grabs a chair and goes to hit Chyna but Jericho takes it away. He slams Hardcore’s face off the steps a few times and back in, Holly hits a dropkick causing Jericho to get tied up in the ropes. The ref tries to help him which allows Chyna to come in and hit the Pedigree on the chair. Lionsault by Jericho gets 3.
Winner and Still Intercontinental Champion- Chris Jericho *1/2 ( Match was fine, I just can’t wait for Hardcore Holly to move out of the IC Title picture. )

The Dudley Boyz confront the Hardy Boyz and says the Hardy Boyz have took them to the extreme. They want a handshake and the Hardy Boyz accept it. The Dudley Boyz say they want a shot at the tag titles if they beat the New Age Outlaws.

Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty and Grandmaster Sexay) vs. Crash Holly and Viscera
Crash and Sexay start. Sexay presses Crash to the mat and hits a DDT to Crash. Viscera tags in and Sexay goes for the sunset flip but Viscera blocks. Tag to Scotty and Viscera catches him with a Samoan drop. Tag to Crash and he hits a hurricanrana for 2. Tag to Viscera and he goes for an Avalanche but misses. Kicks to the back by Scotty but Viscera comes back with a sit-out powerbomb. Big splash misses and Sexay tags in. Rights by Sexay and he catches Crash with a sit-out powerbomb. Double dropkick by Too Cool and they hit a double bulldog to Viscera. Worm by Scotty and Sexay goes up. Death Sentence by Too Cool and Sexay covers but Viscera breaks with a legdrop for 3.
Winners- Crash Holly and Viscera *1/2 ( Again, match was fine but what was the point of sacrificing one of your hottest acts to a make shift tag team no one cares about. The booking of these matches have just been bizarre. )

Video package on Kane and X-Pac’s friendship airs.

Kane w/Tori vs. X-Pac
Kicks in the corner by X-Pac to start but Kane comes out with a clothesline. Kane works over X-Pac in the corner and he hits a hip toss. Kane charges in the corner but eats boot and Kane comes back with a powerslam. He chokes away on X-Pac but X-Pac comes back with a spinning heel kick. X-Pac mocks Tori which allows Kane to dump him to the floor. He follows out and hammers away on X-Pac. Kane goes to battery ram X-Pac but he escapes and shoves Kane into the steps. X-Pac grabs Tori in the ring and makes out with her!!! Kane comes in to check on her, which allows X-Pac to nail him from behind with the chair.
Winner by DQ- Kane *1/2 ( The few minutes they had were intense and it set the stage for what was to come on Smackdown! )

Kane and Tori barge into Triple H and Stephanie’s dressing room looking for X-Pac but they say he already left.

WWF Tag Team Championships- New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) © vs. Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy) w/Terri
The Outlaws attack to start and Gunn officially start with Matt. The Dudly Boyz come out as Gunn hits the Stinger Splash to Matt in the corner. Tag to Road Dogg and the Dudley Boyz set up a table on the floor. Tag to Gunn and he hits the Jackhammer. Tag to Road Dogg and he kicks away at the injured ribs of Matt. Tag to Gunn and he drives his forearm in the face of Matt. Tag to Road Dogg and he sends Matt hard into the corner. Road Dogg leaps off Gunn’s back but eats a dropkick from Matt. Swinging DDT to Gunn and Jeff tags in. He cleans house and Matt hits the Twist of Fate to Road Dogg. Jeff goes up and hits the Swanton Bomb for 2 as Bubba Ray pulls the ref out of the ring!!! He nails the ref and the Dudley Boyz lay out Jeff with a 3D. 3D to Matt and they bring the table into the ring. Terri tries to stop them from hurting the Hardy Boyz. D-Von grabs her and Bubba asks him why he would punch her in the face when they could PUT HER THROUGH A TABLE!!! Bubba goes up and HITS A SUPERBOMB THROUGH THE TABLE ON TERRI!!!! Officials put Terri on a stretcher after the attack.
Match ends in a No-Contest ** ( Match was all over the place at times but the final moments had good heat and the post match stuff was phenomenal and it’s getting the Dudley Boyz over huge. )

Kurt Angle comes out and says he has documents that state that the hold he was put in at the Royal Rumble by Tazz was illegal. Angle tells the fans not to worry because his undefeated streak is still intact. Tazz comes out and he puts Angle in the Tazmission. Angle passes out as the fans chant, “ECW.”

Rock says he’s going to kick Big Show and Triple H’s asses by himself.

Godfather and D’Lo Brown w/Hoes vs. Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq)
Bradshaw and Godfather start. Big boot by Bradshaw and he hits a corner clothesline. He charges again but eats boot and Godfather hits a clothesline. Legdrop by Godfather and he tags Brown. Big boot by Bradshaw and he tags Faarooq. He knocks Brown down but Brown comes back with a leg lariat. Leg drop by Brown gets 2. Spinebuster by Faarooq and he hammers away on Brown in the corner. Tag to Bradshaw and they hit a double shoulderblock. Elbow drop by Bradshaw and Faarooq tags in. Sky High by Brown and Godfather tags in. He cleans house and hits a slam on Faarooq. Superkick by Godfather and he hits the Ho Train for 2 as Bradshaw saves. Tag to Brown and Bradshaw blind tags in. Clothesline from Hell by Bradshaw gets 3.
Winners- The Acolytes ** ( This was a nice surprise. They worked a hard, stiff match and it was a nice intense contest. )

Jerry Lawler brings out the contests in the Royal Rumble bikini contest and he awards Mae Young with her crown and flowers for winning. She makes fun of Mae Young’s boobs but Mae Young says at least her puppies’ are real. This leads to a brawl between the diva’s but it’s quickly broken up. Mae Young begins to strip but Mark Henry covers her up.

Test vs. Big Boss Man
Big boot by Boss Man and he knocks Test out of the ring. Suddenly, Stevie Richards comes out dressed like Test and attacks Boss Man for the DQ. Test lays him out with a Pump Handle Slam and a top rope Elbow Drop.
Winner by DQ- Big Boss Man DUD ( The match lasted less than a minute and the Stevie Richards’ thing served zero purpose. )

The Rock vs. Triple H and Big Show w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
Before the match starts, Rikishi comes out to be the Rock’s partner!!! Rock and Show start and Show stomps away in the corner. Head butt by Show and he drives his elbow into the back of the neck of Rock. Slam by Show and he misses an elbow drop. Rights by Rock but Show comes back with a powerslam. Tag to HHH and he stomps away in the corner. DDT by Rock gets 2 as Show saves. Show charges in the corner but misses and Rikishi tags in. Rights by Rikishi and he hits the flying asshole into the corner. Superkick by Rikishi but he eats a knee to the back of HHH. Rikishi knocks him off the apron but walks into a sidewalk slam from Show. Head butt by Show and he tags HHH. He stomps away in the corner and chokes away on Rikishi. Rights by Rikishi but HHH comes back with a facebuster. Samoan drop by Rikishi and Rock tags in along with Show. Rights by Rock and he hits a DDT. Spinebuster to HHH and he goes for the Rock Bottom but HHH goes low. Head butt by Show and the New Age Outlaws come out and attack Rikishi for the DQ.
Winners by DQ- The Rock and Rikishi **1/4 ( Match was OK but it was very slow and was too short to kick into second gear. )

After the match, HHH nails the ref and looks to nail Rock with a chair but Cactus Jack comes out. The distraction allows Rock to fight back and Cactus cleans house with a 2×4. Rock and Cactus clothesline Show out of the ring with the 2×4 and they stand tall with Rikishi to end the show.

The 411: This was a weird show to follow up what was the WWF's hottest PPV in months. The booking left me scratching my heads on a number of occasions, with random angles and interference that serve no long term purpose. The stuff revolving around the main event scene and the Dudley Boyz have been terrific but they need to start giving the mid-card guys better stuff to do. Skip this Raw for sure.
Final Score:  4.5   [ Poor ]