Jim Ross On Rikishi Taking Hell In A Cell Bump At Armageddon 2000, Why It One Of WWE’s Best Matches That Year

In a recent edition of Grilling JR, Jim Ross discussed Rikishi taking a bump in the Hell in a Cell Match at Armageddon 2000, why it was one of WWE’s best matches that year, and much more. You can read his comments below.

Jim Ross on Rikishi taking a bump off the cell at Armageddon 2000: “I wasn’t overwhelmed with the stunt just because of stunts in general. Mick Foley going off the top of the cell in Pittsburgh in 1998 was not something that had been talked about for weeks that you were gonna do it. I had no idea what they were gonna do. It scared the shit out of me. But the bottom line is, you just didn’t envision somebody doing that. You just didn’t. It had such an impact when Foley hit that table. It was spontaneous. This seemed to be more contrived, and that took away some of the effect it had on me as an announcer and wrestling fan. So, I wasn’t crazy about the stunt.

“But I thought the match itself leading to that moment and how the finish went down was really good. I loved the match itself – look, you’ve gotta be very cooperative, you’ve gotta be very professional. There are six of you in there. You’re not all gonna get your shit in, but those guys did a pretty good job getting their shit in. It told a good story, it led to bigger things – WrestleMania 17 was Rock and Austin, and it set a little something up for that. I thought everybody got serviced well in the match, and it showed that Kurt [Angle] would never have to eat at the kid’s table at Thanksgiving. He’s gonna sit at the grown-up table from now on for the rest of his career……I thought Kurt became a made man that day in the sense of pro wrestling terminology. He hunted with the big dogs, he led the pack. He can do anything he wants and continue to make a lot of money, and that’s what he did.”

On why it was one of the best WWE matches of 2000: “It’s certainly arguable. If it’s not the best match, it’s in the discussion without a doubt. It’s so subjective to say, but I thought the guys executed greatly. I thought everybody came out better than they went in. If you can accomplish that in a multi-person match, you’re really doing your work. I think Pat Patterson’s influence on laying this match out is very prominent. Pat had great ideas, amazing finish man, and he had the trust and the confidence of the talents, especially The Rock, Austin, and some of those guys. Pat was the guy that could lay shit out and connect the dots. The match saved the show. We knew going in it was a one-match pay-per-view.

On how the Rikishi stunt came about: “It kind of made sense considering he was the assailant in the car crash. You just connect the dot storyline-wise there. Plus, he was a huge man that’s gonna look mighty impressive going from the top to that flat-bed trailer. So, I think that was that connection. The assailant connection was pretty viable in the fact that his size was gonna make that bump a little more spectacular, or at least that was the intent.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Grilling JR with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.