2000 Royal Rumble Thoughts

   The Attitude Era started to garner some pretty good Royal Rumble events.  The year 2000 proved to be one of the better all around Rumble PPV's.  In fact, this was the first time that every non-Rumble match was good, along with the actual Rumble match itself.  We saw the debut of Taz, Mick Foley reverting to his Cactus Jack character, a match to determine the true Intercontinental Champion, and the first ever Tag Team Tables Match.  Let's get to the action because I'm excited about this one.  

Kurt Angle vs. Taz

 In the Fall of 1999. it was reported that Taz was leaving ECW and the rumors were that he was signing with the WWF.  At ECW's Anarchy Rulz PPV, Taz lost the ECW World Heavyweight Title in a Triple Threat Match against Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka and had a respectful sendoff at November 2 Remember, when the whole locker room, including Paul Heyman, wished him well.  Meanwhile, Kurt Angle was on an impressive winning streak in the WWF and by the Rumble, decided to issue an open challenge to anyone willing to take him on.  Angle came to the ring at the Royal Rumble and awaited his opponent.  

   During the month of January, commercials started to appear on WWF television, consisting of an orange background, a new logo, and the number 13 written in black.  After Angle came to the ring, that commercial played once again and the Human Suplex Machine himself, appeared at Madison Square Garden to take the challenge.  Taz dominated a good part of the match but Angle was no slouch in the ring and took it to the ass-kicker from the Red Hook district of Brooklyn, New York.  It was just a matter of time before Angle was caught in the Tazmission and he passed out instead of tapping out, but his undefeated streak was no more.  Taz was off to a great start!  Unfortunately, it was the highlight of his WWF career, as it was all downhill from there.

Tag Team Tables Match - Dudley Boys vs. Hardy Boys

   These two teams, along with Edge & Christian, had incredible matches for a good three year period. When the Dudley Boys brought their craft from ECW, they put everyone through tables and it wasn't long before the Hardys were in their sights and victims of the aforementioned tables.  The feud escalated to the point where a match between the two teams would take place at the Royal Rumble and it would be the first ever Tag Team Tables Match.  There were incredible high spots in this match, and the Hardy Boys were daredevils in the ring with no fear.  Jeff Hardy missed a Senton Bomb and ended up putting himself through a table. Bubba Ray Dudley performed a Power Bomb to Matt Hardy off the top rope through a table.  The Dudleys were in control but after a low blow, the Hardy Boys gained the advantage and Bubba Ray fell through two tables.  Jeff then performed a Swanton Bomb off a balcony onto D-Von through a table to win the match.  This led to a Triple Threat Ladder match between these teams, as well as Edge & Christian, and by Summer Slam, a new invention came to be in the match called TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs.  Oh my!

Miss Rumble 2000 Swimsuit Contest

   While I did mention that this was one of the better all around Rumbles, it was not perfect.  This right here was the blemish.  Clearly, women in bikinis is never a bad thing but when it involves Mae Young, that's a whole different ballgame!  The contestants included Ivory, Terri, Jacqueline, BB, Luna Vachon, & The Kat. This came about due to the controversial ending to the WWF Women's Championship at Armageddon 1999 when The Kat, then known as Miss Kitty, went topless after the match.  After all the contestants strutted their stuff, the judges were ready to make their decision. Suddenly, they were interrupted by the 76-year-old Mae Young.  She said the contest wasn't over yet and she showed the crowd her swimsuit.  Not to be outdone, she then proceeded to take off her top, to the shock and disgust of everyone.  I just shuddered!  Her boyfriend at the time, Mark Henry, then came out to cover her up.  The judges ended up crowning her the winner anyway.  Yeah, that happened!  Once again, not everything in the Attitude Era was the greatest thing since sliced bread!

Intercontinental Title Triple Threat Match - Chris Jericho vs. Chyna vs. Hardcore Holly

   Chris Jericho and Chyna feuded over the Intercontinental Championship in late 1999 into 2000.  At one point, they both had possession to the belt at the same time.  Meanwhile, Hardcore Holly had became the number one contender. Due to the nature of the situation, in order to determine the undisputed Intercontinental Champion, a Triple Threat Match was ordered. Jericho pinned Chyna to take full possession of the Intercontinental Title. For a short time, Jericho gained Chyna's respect, only to be left for Eddie Guerrero in the months to come.  

Tag Team Titles - New Age Outlaws vs. Acolytes

   It was going to take a lot for the Outlaws to overcome the monstrous Faarooq and Bradshaw, as the Acolytes had the early advantage. However, the Outlaws were always cunning, and had a few tricks up their sleeves.  After a Clothesline From Hell by Bradshaw, it looked like Degeneration X's grasp of the Tag Team Championships was about to loosen.  Billy Gunn pulled the referee out of the ring in the nick of time.  After a double Power Bomb on the Road Dogg, DX member X-Pac came down to the ring and nailed Bradshaw with a spinning heel kick, allowing the Outlaws to get the pin and remain the WWF Tag Team Champions of the Woooooooooorld!!!

WWF Championship Street Fight - Triple H vs. Cactus Jack

   At this point in time, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were now married and on the same page.  The McMahon-Helmsley Era had begun and they vowed to make the lives of those they deemed unfit a living Hell.  One such man was Mick Foley!  He gained a Title shot at the Game but felt Mankind couldn't get the job done.  And so, Foley called upon a very special alter ego to win a street fight, the man from Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico, the one and only Cactus Jack.  Cactus Jack was the perfect persona to handle a Hardcore match like this.  Triple H threw everything he had at the man but Cactus just kept getting up.  Then came the appearance of the infamous barb wire wrapped 2x4!

   Triple H gained the advantage and handcuffed Cactus Jack's wrists behind his back.  Suddenly, The Rock appeared and hit HHH with a chair, saving his now former Tag Team Championship partner. After the handcuffs were removed, Cactus spilled a bag of thumbtacks onto the ring floor.  However, Triple H responded with a back body drop, sending Cactus back first onto the tacks.  Triple H performed a Pedigree and then another one onto the tacks to retain his Title. Even though Triple H won, Cactus Jack was the only one left standing.  As Triple H was taken out on a stretcher, Cactus wheeled the stretcher back, got Triple H into the ring, and nailed him with the 2x4.  Based on the ending of the match, their next encounter would be inside Hell In a Cell.

Royal Rumble Match
   This was the first time in a long time that the WWF was without both Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Undertaker.  In their absence, Triple H, The Rock, and Mick Foley stepped up.  It was now time for the Royal Rumble match.  The unlucky men that drew numbers one and two were D-Lo Brown and Too Cool's Grandmaster Sexay.  After a few others joined the battle, Rikishi made his way to the ring, followed by Scotty Too Hotty.  After the big Rikishi cleared the ring, his Too Cool partners convinced him it was now time to dance.  In a very fun moment, the three men did their patented dance together in the ring.  Suddenly, Rikishi then eliminated both men from the Rumble match. 
 

   The ring soon filled up again with the likes of the Big Bossman, the returning British Bulldog, members of the Brood, and even Bob Backlund.  In a recurring theme during the match, Taka Michinoku and Funaki of Kaientai kept trying to enter the match, even though they were not participants.  For their troubles, they kept getting thrown out. However, they kept coming back several times.  That ended when Taka was thrown viciously over the top rope and onto the floor, which resulted in an injury.  It was one of the most brutal spots in any of the Royal Rumble matches.

   It took six men to eliminated the mighty Rikishi. The Mean Street Posse, Shane McMahon's childhood friends, kept coming to the ring to as well even though, like Kaientai, they weren't participants.  Soon, more wrestlers entered the ring including Chyna, Chris Jericho, The Rock, Big Show, and Kane.  X-Pac then came in at number 30.  The final four consisted of The Rock, Big Show, Kane, and X-Pac.  Thanks to help from the New Age Outlaws, X-Pac eliminated his rival Kane.  However, the Big Show got a hold of X-Pac and threw him out of the ring with ease, leaving it down to he and The Rock.  In a spot where both men went over the top rope, The Rock was able to hang on and win the Royal Rumble.

   This was a really fun Royal Rumble.  All of the matches were good, and some great!  Triple H and Mick Foley proved why they belonged in main events, Taz had a tremendous debut, and the Tag Team scene was making a huge comeback.  The Rumble match had some great spots and a fantastic winner in The Rock.  We were now on the Road To WrestleMania.   In the weeks that followed, Big Show and advocate Shane McMahon tried to dispute The Rock's win, as they thought it was similar to the Bret Hart/Lex Lugar situation.  Triple H would retire Mick Foley after their Hell In a Cell match as well until he was brought back for one more match by Linda McMahon.  The main event at WrestleMania ended up being a Fatal Fourway between Triple H, The Rock, Big Show, and Mick Foley with a McMahon in every corner.




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