Random Network Reviews: Fully Loaded 2000

Fully Loaded 2000
July 23rd, 2000 – Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas – Attendance: 16,504

Man, the WWF was red hot during this time period. Not only was Raw and Smackdown must see television, but the WWE was delivering with nearly every Pay-Per-View during this year as well. This show was billed as having a “Triple Main Event” and it intrigued me as a kid. The idea that three established guys were facing three guys I saw as the future of the company in three singles matches was huge. If I remember correctly, for the most part, those matches delivered.

While the opening video package is not up to par with some of the other things the WWE has done, it still gets the point across. It focuses on the Triple Main Event and the “Crap Shoot” gamble angle the poster for this show focuses on. Commentary is Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.

Six Person Intergender Tag Team Match
The Hardy Boyz and Lita vs. Test, Albert and Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus is very oiled up, meaning I might need new pants after this. Leading into this, Trish attacked Lita by putting her through a table and whipping her with a belt, so Lita is selling the back injury. A quick start takes us to Matt Hardy doing some surprisingly fun stuff with Albert though he falls ugly outside. However, Test gets the tag and Matt hits him with a leg drop. Tag to Jeff, who the girls go nuts for and they do their spin cycle double team move though Test nearly doesn’t lay down in time and it almost gets messed up. He does retaliate with a big spinning sidewalk slam. Jeff nails a modified baseball slide and dive outside. Trish ends up getting the tag and slapping Matt, who actually rolls her up for two. She actually attempts an elbow but misses, leading to Lita tagging in. Trish runs and tags Alberto who fives chase. Why she wouldn’t just tag out is beyond me. The Hardys decide to say forget it as they come in with Poetry in Motion. As they go to double suplex Test, Lita and Trish come in, and the three members of Team Xtreme suplex them together, which was cool. Test and Albert come back with some big spots and the Hardys are bumping like mad men. Jeff avoids a Test elbow and hot tags Matt. He eats a pump handle slam but the pin is broken up with the Swanton Bomb. Lita is tagged and hits Test with a tornado DDT before diving outside onto Albert. God, Lita was so over. She gets an EXTREMELY close near fall on Test but Albert hits her with a cheap shot and then Test powerbombs the crap out of her. She kicks out when Trish arrogantly pins her. The cameraman knows EXACTLY where to be when Trish is in the ring. Trish and Lita actually pull off a superplex and it looked damn good but Albert breaks up the pin. The men spill outside, leaving Lita to nail the moonsault and capture the victory.

Winners: The Hardy Boyz and Lita in 13:12
A really fun choice for an opener. The Hardy Boyz and Lita were red hot and among the most popular acts on the roster. T&A did their job by being the brutes and we get the historic first real chapter in the storied Trish/Lita rivalry. ***½

Albert stops Lita’s celebration which leads to a beat down that culminates when Trish whips Lita with the belt again.

We go backstage with Commissioner Foley until Edge comes up to him to tell him that Christian is sick and they can’t defend the titles tonight. Foley is skeptical but will check on him later. The Undertaker arrives at the arena and wants Kurt Angle, who is nearby. Like a crazed maniac, he chases him with the motorcycle. Is vehicular homicide okay or something?

Al Snow vs. Tazz
I guess Al Snow and Tazz didn’t find their friendship until Tough Enough a year or so later. They start with a brawl like this is some highly anticipated war. Snow gets an early near fall with the D-Lo Sky High. YOUBETTERRECOGNIZE! Tazz slams him rather hard, but it doesn’t last as Snow nails a moonsault for two. A “boring” chant begin, which would be a bit unfair since they seem to be trying hard, but there is no real story that the fans are invested in here so they don’t care. Snow goes to use Head but Tazz stops him and delivers some vicious cross face punches. Snow uses his own head with some headbutts. He goes for a kick but Tazz catches him with the always impressive head and leg Tazzplex. The Tazzmission is nearly countered, but he lock sit in anyway and Snow is done.

Winner: Tazz in 5:20
At least this was kept short. *½

Mick Foley and a doctor come to see Christian, who is totally blowing chunks in a stall. Mick Foley apologizes and the doctor determines they can’t defend the belts. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley are seen in their office when flowers are delivered. She thinks they are from Hunter but he didn’t do it. He reads the card and they’re from Kurt Angle. “Where is it written that a guy and a girl, can’t be just friends?” I loved that love triangle story.

WWF European Championship
Eddie Guerrero (c) w/ Chyna vs. Perry Saturn w/ Terri
Chyna and Eddie Guerrero seem to be having some issues and she pushes him to the ground to go after Saturn who attacked her on Smackdown. Maybe she and Eddie are fine as he goes out to save her and brings Saturn into the ring with him. Eddie hits a suplex and front flip while commentary discusses how they came in as the Radicalz together in January of this year. Eddie proves that he’s always been about lying, cheating and stealing as he distracts the referee so Chyna can clothesline Saturn before he hits a top rope hurricanrana. More cheap shots from Chyna lead to an Eddie splash outside. The one-sided match continues when Eddie gets two after another hurricanrana. Saturn has a cut on his head that looks odd. He finally gets in offense when he counters a head scissors and slams Eddie. He gets in offense until Chyna gets involved and he clotheslines her, which brings Terri back out. Saturn uses her as a shield and while Eddie contemplates his next move, he gets hit with a low blow. Saturn nails his top rope elbow into Eddie’s kidneys and wins.

Winner and New WWF European Champion: Perry Saturn in 8:10
For the most part, this was the Eddie Guerrero showcase. He shined before the finish. I liked how they called back to Saturn’s elbow on the kidneys from earlier in the week too. This allows Eddie to move up in the card. **½

Edge and Christian finally get caught faking their sickness. They were so close weren’t they? Edge, Christian and Mick Foley were always a hilarious combination. Michael Cole interviews The Undertaker, who claims that they’ll need to surgically remove his foot from Kurt’s ass after tonight. Kurt is seen on a monitor trying to mess with Undertaker’s motorcycle but is chased away.

WWF Tag Team Championship
Edge and Christian (c) vs. The Acolytes
Before the match, we get some tasteless comments from Edge and Christian about Dallas. When the Acolytes come out, Bradshaw defends his home state, getting the crowd absolutely jacked. He claims they get cheap heat, but goes on to get himself a cheap pop. Hypocrite. The challengers are angry and Bradshaw hits a big second rope fallaway slam. I still have a tough time choosing who had the best fallaway slam, him or Scott Hall. As things slow to a normal tag match, Bradshaw and Faarooq are just beating the hell out of Edge and Christian. A surprise dropkick from Christian turns the tide and they work over Bradshaw for a bit. He hits a diving shoulder block to make the hot tag to Faarooq. I think Bradshaw, with his Texas pride, should have been the hot tag guy. Faarooq nails a stiff spinebuster and Christian eats the Clothesline from Hell but there’s no pin attempt. As Faarooq hits the Dominator, Edge stops the referee from counting and nails Faarooq with the belt, resulting in the disqualification.

Winners via disqualification: The Acolytes in 5:29
Relatively short and decent. They worked tag formula and Edge and Christian are never dull. My biggest issue was Faarooq getting the hot tag. Also, the DQ finish worked for E&C’s characters, but they should have won with a cheap pin or something. **¼

The Acolytes give out a final beating for Edge and Christian before we cut to WWF New York. The Big Bossman is there, which would have disappointed me if I went there. He bullies a dude at the bar. Quick cut to Stephanie and Triple H and Stephanie tells him that if he’s so upset about the flowers, he should confront Kurt. He goes to do so, and we see Kurt running from The Undertaker backstage. He tricks Undertaker and nails him in the knee with a wrench. There are too many backstage segments, I can barely keep up.

WWF Intercontinental Championship Steel Cage Match
Val Venis (c) w/ Trish Stratus vs. Rikishi
I don’t quite know what happened to the Intercontinental Title. It went from Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle to Val Venis and his terrible techno music. I like Val, but he’s a step down for sure. Commentary is already building the fact that Rikishi is too big to climb out and escape the cage, even though he tries early on. Val tries to go through the door but Rikishi stops him. He calls for the stink face but Val strikes with a low blow. Rikishi does the spot where he flips inside out for a clothesline, which is nice, but looks odd when it’s a guy like Val who does it. Val hits an elbow from the top rope for two. He gets close to escaping over the top, but Rikishi catches him and smashes his face into the cage enough times to bust him open. Blood in an Intercontinental Title match? I miss that. Val is thrown into the cage and hits face first before getting Samoan dropped. Banzai Drop hits but Val gets his foot on the bottom rope. Rikishi decides to just stroll out the door, but Trish slams it shut on him. This allows Val to hit the Money Shot but only gets a near fall. Lita comes bouncing out with a belt and whips Trish. She removes her shirt and is just WHIPPING HER LIKE A GOVERNMENT MULE! Val is knocked off the cage and takes out the referee as he falls. Rikishi decides to go all the way to the top of the cage and looks down at the mat. He shimmies over to the middle of the cage and LEAPS FROM THE TOP OF THE CAGE to splash Val Venis! That was insane to witness because of the risk involved for a guy his size. He goes to walk out the door but a wild Tazz appears and levels him with a camera. This allows Val to pin and retain.

Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Val Venis in 14:10
Well that was damn good. Both guys put in a great effort, we got the well timed Lita interference, a well-placed blade job and some seriously awesome spots. I still can’t get over the splash spot. The only thing I didn’t like was the Tazz interference. Maybe I missed something but it seemed random. ***¾

Triple H finds Harvey Wippleman, who is delivering more flowers to Stephanie McMahon for Kurt Angle. HHH demands to find out where “he” is so Harvey takes him but its Chris Jericho instead! Jericho beats him down, gaining the upper hand before their match.

Shane McMahon comes out in a Just Bring It shirt and challenges the Rock. Not for the WWF Title though since Chris Benoit has his shot tonight. The Rock obliges but knows it’s a setup. Shane runs off and Chris Benoit is backstage in the Rock’s locker room. He rips up Rock’s GQ clothing. Talk about an odd segment. This did nothing and meant less. Did they have time to fill or something?

Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker
The first in our “Triple Main Event” billing is this. Undertaker rides out during Kurt Angle’s entrance because he wants to get his hands on him badly. Undertaker beats him around ringside while completely forgetting to sell the leg injury. Once they get inside, the bell officially rings and yes, he is still not selling the leg. After a near fall, Undertaker clearly tells the referee” Fuck You”. Kurt wisely goes to the leg and Undertaker remembers that it’s supposed to be hurt. Undertaker shakes off the attacks and hits a Chokeslam followed by the Last Ride to end this.

Winner: The Undertaker in 7:34
Extremely disappointing. Maybe it had to do with Kurt Angle still being new or maybe it was that during the American Badass run, Undertaker wasn’t in the mood to sell for much. This didn’t click and it kind of sucked. *½

We see a build-up video for the upcoming match, which focuses on how Chris Jericho kissed Stephanie McMahon at King of the Ring. Jericho and Stephanie hated each other, which even led to Jericho winning the WWF Title from Triple H in April, though it was taken away. The rivalry looked like it was intense, which should make for a great match.

Last Man Standing Match
Chris Jericho vs. Triple H w/ Stephanie McMahon
Just to get it out of the way; Stephanie McMahon was so hot at this time and looks great tonight. Once Chris Jericho reaches the ring, we get an instant brawl which makes much more sense than it did during Tazz/Al Snow. They go outside and Jericho continues the assault by slamming a piece of the announce table onto him and throwing him to the guardrail. Inside, the signature knee to face turns the tide and Jericho is sent outside. Being the Cerebral Assassin, Trips targets the taped ribs of Jericho and drives them into the guardrail. It makes me wonder why people didn’t go after DDP’s ribs more since his were taped for about ¾ of his career. While they’re inside, Trips removes the tape and just hits the ribs with every single move. It’s glorious psychology. During this abuse, HHH holds Jericho for Stephanie to slap him a few times which again, makes perfect sense within the storyline. A suplex on the apron allows the official to start counting on Jericho. He gets up but once they’re inside, HHH applies an abdominal stretch. That’s normally dull but it works so masterfully here. Jericho counters with a hip toss, which upsets HHH who shoves the referee. In a call back to their April match for the belt, Jericho hits a heel kick and tries a moonsault but HHH gets his knees up. HHH goes all Samoa Joe with a rear naked choke but Jericho makes it to his feet. Commentary is doing a fantastic job of playing up his resiliency. Jericho crotch chops HHH, so he gets Pedigreed for his troubles. When that is not enough, HHH is furious and uses a steel chair on Jericho’s ribs and back. He goes for a Pedigree on the chair, but Jericho counters with a low blow and then just clobbers HHH with a chair shot to the skull. HHH is busted wide open. With every move Jericho hits, he holds his ribs to continue his masterful selling. Facebuster onto the chair makes the official count for HHH. He gets up and we go outside, where Trips tries a Pedigree on the steel steps, only to get back dropped. Both guys get monitors and hit each other at the same time with it. Could it be like the previous Last Man Standing match where Rock and Foley knocked each other out? NOPE! They’re up and back in the ring. A Pedigree is reversed into the Walls of Jericho and the crowd ERUPTS! HHH reaches the ropes but it doesn’t have to be broken due to the rules, so Jericho pulls him back to the middle of the ring. Stephanie gets inside and pulls Jericho’s hair, so he puts her in the Walls! HHH breaks that in the same way that he would infamously blow out his quad the next year. After throwing him into the rail, rib first again, he tries to take Jericho’s head off with a sledgehammer but misses and hits the post. The sound is insane. Jericho gets the sledgehammer and strikes HHH in the stomach. They go on the small time keeper’s table, where HHH nails a low blow and a back suplex through the announce table. Both guys are down, but HHH able to stand at nine, only to collapse when it’s over.

Winner: Triple H in 23:11
My god. That was even better than I remembered. The psychology was brilliant as Triple H made sure everything involved the ribs and Chris Jericho sold everything like a champ. His comeback had the crowd on their feet, the Stephanie involvement was pitch perfect and both guys came out looking like a million bucks. There was nothing wrong with that match. *****

WWF Championship
The Rock (c) vs. Chris Benoit w/ Shane McMahon
If the Rock gets disqualified, he loses the WWF Championship taking away his Champion’s advantage. The last time Rock was Champion, he lost it in an Ironman match where the last fall was determined by disqualification. A distraction from Shane McMahon allows Chris Benoit to attack from behind, but he’s sent outside by the Champion. Hot start as Rock gives chase to Shane again, but takes down Benoit multiple times in the midst of this. He tries the Crippler Crossface but Benoit escapes and has to regroup. Once he has time to calm down, Benoit starts to take control inside, with Shane getting in some cheap shots. Rock rallies with a second rope back suplex, but it has nothing on the one that ended the last match. Shane distracts the referee, allowing Benoit to strike Rock with the title for two. I think that came too early as nobody bought it as the finish this soon into the match. A powerslam from Rock gets two before Benoit slaps on the Sharpshooter. Rock gets out but his comeback is halted when Shane pulls the top rope down on him. Rock does drive Benoit’s groin into the ring post and use the Figure Four, which I’ve only seen him do once before but Benoit grabs the ropes. Shane continues to get in cheap shots sporadically. Benoit continues to zero in on the lower back of Rocky. Rock continues to reach DEEP into his bag of tricks by busting out an alley-oop hot shot like maneuver. Benoit nails the diving headbutt, but is too hurt to instantly pin. This allows Rock to get up and hit the People’s Elbow but Shane distracts the referee so it’s just a near fall. Shane lays out the referee with a steel chair but gets chased away with a chair. Rock applies the Crippler Crossface and while Benoit waves his finger “NO” Jim Ross claims its Benoit giving up. How do you figure? Hebner calls for the bell and announces that Rock is disqualified because he thinks Rock hit him with the chair. Your new Champion…Chris Benoit! As Benoit and Shane celebrate, out comes Mick Foley to restart the match. Where was he during earlier screw jobs like the IC and Tag Title matches? Anyway, Rock, with blood on his face, says “JUST…BRING…IT.” Benoit hits three Germans for two and applies the Crossface again but Rock reaches the ropes. Rock fights back and wins with the Rock Bottom.

Winner and Still WWF Champion: The Rock in 22:09
The first real notice that everyone got showing how great Chris Benoit could be. I like how the false finish made Benoit look strong and the Rock hung tough with one of the best technical wrestlers to ever lace a pair of boots. ****

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

One of the better Pay-Per-Views that I’ve reviewed. The Last Man Standing is one of the best matches ever and needs to be watched by any wrestling fan. You get a great main event, a really fun six man tag, and a better than expected Steel Cage match. The only disappoints on the card was Kurt Angle/Undertaker and I wasn’t a fan of Al Snow vs. Tazz. Still, this is a must see show because it delivered on nearly all cylinders.