Ice Palace, Tampa, Florida
As the 14th annual WWF Survivor Series got underway, announcer Jim Ross told us that a new World Wrestling Federation Champion had been crowned at this show every year for the past six years.
It was a pattern that took us all the way back to Bob Backlund dethroning Bret 'The Hitman' Hart back at Survivor Series 1994 and culminated in The Big Show's largely forgotten victory at the previous year's event.
Would this be the year that Kurt Angle proved himself to be the first man to successfully retain the WWF Championship at Survivor Series since Bret Hart defeated Shawn Michaels back at the 1992 event?
Or, would history repeat itself as The Undertaker once again won the big one at the November show, a feat he accomplished back in 1991 against Hulk Hogan?
Ladies and gentlemen, let's head to Tampa, Florida to find out.
Master of Puppets, Pulling Your Strings
Our opening video package was the kind of compelling stuff that the World Wrestling Federation did best.It featured Triple H boasting about being the puppet master who orchestrated the hit and run on Stone Cold Steve Austin back at Survivor Series 1999 and how, tonight, it would all be game over when the two went head to head.
The show then began with the usual pyro, shots of the live crowd and a look at the rabid audience watching from WWF New York as Jim Ross and Jerry 'The King' Lawler welcomed us to the show.
With that, it was onto the opening contest.
Inter-Gender Six Person Tag Team Match
T&A (Test, Albert, and Trish Stratus) vs. Crash Holly, Molly Holly, and WWF Hardcore Champion Steve Blackman
This was Molly Holly's first WWF PPV appearance, though we'd previously seen her on PPV back at WCW Bash at the Beach 1999 as Miss Madness.In this explosive opening contest, it was Molly and her adversary Trish Stratus who were the real stars, putting together a competent performance with a couple of genuinely crowd-popping spots.
Though they played their parts, you got the feeling that Test, Albert, Crash Holly, and Steve Blackman were all just there to make up the numbers.
Not that it seemed to matter.
This was a hot match with a hot crowd that kicked off the show right away.
After a good battle, Molly got the better of Trish with a match-winning sunset flip from the top rope.
Your Winners: Molly Holly, Crash Holly, and Steve Blackman
Out in the back, Edge and Christian relied on their old, familiar trick of pretending that Christian was sick. It felt like the two did this every single PPV without ever learning that it never, ever paid off.
This time, Christian hilariously suggested that he'd contracted mono after eating bad chili, all because he and Edge didn't want to help Kurt Angle in his match with The Undertaker later.
Christian then made a miraculous recovery when Angle claimed he didn't need their help anyway and just wanted to know if they wanted to go out for a drink later.
Flashing back to earlier in the day, Tiger Ali Singh, D'Lo Brown and Chaz couldn't access the building because they'd been left off the security sheet, because that's how you tell your audience that this tag team doesn't matter at all.
Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
K-Kwik, R-Truth, Chyna, 'The One' Billy Gunn vs. The Radicalz (WWF Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero, WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, and Perry Saturn w/ Terri)Â
The Radicalz had debuted in January, gone their separate ways by the spring and just recently reunited in time for a Survivor Series match against what was essentially a mini DX reunion with the addition of K-Kwik.Making his PPV debut, K-Kwik (R-Truth) looked awesome in his one quick burst of in-ring action before being taken out by an explosive German suplex by Chris Benoit.
With Chyna already eliminated, that left former New Age Outlaws partners Road Dogg and Billy Gunn to battle The Radicalz.
For their part, Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko all looked impressive, and not just because they all chose to color-coordinate and wear matching black-and-yellow versions of their usual attire.
Even though Eddie and Dean were eliminated, the four men still worked well with the unofficial DX reunion to give us a solid match.
In the end, Gunn was left fending for himself against Malenko, Saturn, and Benoit. He managed to take out Dean but the numbers proved too much, leaving Saturn and Benoit as the victors.
Your Winners: Chris Benoit and Perry Saturn
Out in the back, Lillian Garcia tried to get an interview with The Rock, but The Great One ignored her.
Rude much?
Michael Cole has better luck with Chris Jericho, who insisted that his rivalry with Kane was about much, much more than the fact that he recently spilled coffee on The Big Red Machine on Raw.
Chris Jericho vs. KaneÂ
Early on in the match, Jericho went for a suicide dive to the outside and just kind of...forgot what he was doing and fell into the ropes.Honestly, I’ve rewatched that spot three times and I still can’t figure out what happened. He sort of just threw himself at the ropes then went head first to the floor and nearly died.
It looked weird and awkward and very dangerous.
Fortunately, the rest of the match got better. Not by much, I’ll grant you, but enough to keep this fan entertained at least.
Sure, there was a long stretch that basically just saw Kane destroying his opponent, but it made Y2J’s valiant comeback all the more dramatic, and when he had Kane locked in the Walls of Jericho, there was a genuine sense that he might just pull off the upset.
Alas, it wasn’t to be. Chris attempted a Lionsault but got caught by Kane and chokeslammed all the way to Hades.
Your Winner: KaneÂ
Out in the back, The Radicalz we’re resting and recovering after their match when Terri entered the room to let them know that Triple H was in the building and would meet up with them later.
It was only at last month’s No Mercy that The Game engaged in an all-out war with Benoit, but now the two were apparently in cahoots again.
Either that or the reason for Benoit’s diabolical laughter at the end of this segment was because he suddenly remembered a really funny bit from South Park.
World Wrestling Federation European Championship
WWF European Champion William Regal vs. Hardcore HollyÂ
JR told us that this match hadn’t been advertised for the show and was the result of an earlier incident on Heat.In other words, the show needed a filler match and William Regal and Hardcore Holly were it.
You could tell, too.
While the match wasn’t exactly bad, it wasn’t really interesting either.
Regal started with a pre-match promo in which he berated American’s lack of manners before spending most of this very brief match tying Holly in knots.
Eventually, the challenger got fed up and drilled the champion with the title belt for a DQ finish.
Your Winner via DQ and still European Champion: William Regal
Post-match, Holly continued to destroy Regal even though I’m pretty sure he was supposed to be the face.
Clueless Kurt
Out in the back, Trish Stratus told Kurt Angle that since his business partner, Stephanie McMahon wasn’t here, she wondered if the WWF might need some ‘special assistance.’Clearly not understanding that Stratus was offering him some kind of nookie, the WWF Champion glossed morning over her flirting and insisted he’d be fine when taking on The Undertaker.
He Did it For... The Rock
Across the arena, The Rock walked through the backstage area en route to the ring.That brought us to a pre-match video recapping the feud between The People’s Champion and Rikishi.
‘Kishi had admitted to running over Stone Cold and tried to implicate The Rock, even though it had been Triple H who had really ordered the hit.
That was enough for a feud between the two, and for their first PPV match since Rocky Maivia and The Sultan battled over the Intercontinental Championship back at Wrestlemania 13.
Rikishi vs. The Rock
I’ve read a lot of negative reviews for this match and that kind of saddens me because I enjoyed it very much.Was it of the same caliber of The Rock’s usual main event epics?
No, but it still had plenty of suspense and captivating action to keep the crowd on the edge of their seat from beginning to end.
Predictably, The Rock won thanks to The People’s Elbow, but not before getting his ass whooped by Rikishi.
A good effort, even if I’m the only one who seems to think so.
Your Winner: The RockÂ
Afterward, Rikishi recovered, superkicked The Rock into oblivion then sat on him a bunch of times. He may have lost the battle, but he was the one left standing.
Meanwhile, over at WWF New York, Raven stood alone in the crowd, grinning like he'd just taken some really good drugs.
Your Friends are Banned From Ringside
Backstage, Triple H hung out with his old rival Chris Benoit and The Radicalz. The chill-out session was interrupted by Commissioner Foley, who first declared that The Radicalz were banned from ringside for The Game's match with Steve Austin, but then made the match No DQ.I don't mean to be pedantic, but if Hunter couldn't be disqualified, what was to stop Benoit and the gang from getting involved?
The Hs didn't seem too concerned about it either way. He was pretty confident that his opponent wouldn't be able to use his legs afterward.
World Wrestling Federation Women's Championship
WWF Women's Champion Ivory vs. LitaÂ
This short, competent women's match offered little in the way of genuine excitement but was undoubtedly the best match the WWF's women's division was capable of producing at the time.Champion Ivory dominated for the most part while Lita -her face caked in blood after an errant blow from Ivory- fought valiantly to make a comeback.
In the end, interference from Ivory's Right to Censor mate Steven Richards cost Lita the match.
Your Winner and Still WWF Women's Champion: IvoryÂ
Afterward, a battered and bloody Lita was helped to the back by the referee as the crowd's applauded her efforts.
Speaking of battered, Jonathan Coachman was shown outside of The Rock's dressing room. Coach told us that The Great One was in a bad way, struggling to breathe and coughing up a lot of blood, but was being attended to by EMTs.
Elsewhere in the arena, Chris Jericho attacked Kane with a steel chair and proceeded to beat the crap out of him. This was one feud that was far from over.
Dead Man, Inc.
Up next, one of the WWF's always-excellent video packages hyped our impending WWF Championship match. This one saw Kurt Angle gloating about having the most successful rookie year of any new superstar ever since he debuted a year earlier at Survivor Series 1999.It also showed The Undertaker beating Kane, Chris Benoit, and Chris Jericho to become number one contender, claiming that Angle would be the first victim of Dead Man Incorporated, and picking up a non-title win over the champion on Smackdown.
Cutting to the back, Michael Cole reminded 'Taker that he had debuted a year ago to the day at Survivor Series 1990.
Referencing his 'Decade of Destruction' The American Bad Mass cut a convincing promo in which he promised to take out The Olympic Gold Medalist and become our champion once again.
World Wrestling Federation Championship
WWF Champion Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker
The Dead Man already held a PPV victory over Angle from back at Fully Loaded 2000 but, alas, tonight was not to be his night.Undertaker opted to celebrate his tenth anniversary with the company by wearing the ugliest snakeskin pants you’ve ever seen.
I mean, these things were so terrible they almost distracted from the match itself.
Almost, but not quite, thanks to the impressive efforts of both men.
Sure, there was a long period where they chilled out on the mat and put each other in submission holds that could have bored some viewers but, honestly, it only made the whole thing more compelling.
After a solid 20 minute battle, The Undertaker looked to have the match won only for Angle to reveal that he’d pulled a Doink and switched places with a look-alike.
The resulting confusion allowed Kurt to roll up his opponent and steal a victory.
Your Winner and Still WWF Champion: Kurt Angle
Post-match, cameras focussed on the bewildered doppelgänger (who would later be revealed to be Angle’s brother) while the WWF Champion ran to his car and drive away.
A commercial then aired in which the XFL cheerleaders flashed as much flesh as possible. Although the commercial told us not to worry, the girls would be taught how to cheer, there was no mention of the fact that this was an ad for a football league, let alone how to watch it.
Man, I wonder why the original XFL failed?
Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Edge, Christian and Right to Censor (WWF Tag Team Champions Bull Buchanan & The Goodfather w/ Val Venis) vs. The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff Hardy) and The Dudley Boyz (D-Von & Bubba Ray Dudley)
Sandwiched between the championship match and the Austin/HHH main event, it would have been easy for the eight men involved in this traditional Survivor Series match to take it slow and give us a filler match.It's to their credit that they did not do this, instead going all out to give us the best match they were capable of in the time allocated to them.
Though it was a far cry from the usual Hardyz/Dudleyz/E&C weapon-filled spotfests we'd been treated to throughout 2000, it was still nonetheless a fun contest that ended with Jeff Hardy standing tall as the sole survivor.
Your Winner and Sole Survivor: Jeff Hardy
Post-match, Steven Richards joined his Right to Censor posse in beating down Jeff until Matt Hardy and The Dudley Boyz ran to the rescue, dumping the heels through tables.
Triple H is The Game
Out in the back, Triple H colluded with The Radicalz. Although Foley had banned from the match, it was heavily implied that they' somehow play a part in tonight's main event.This led to a video package showing Triple H boasting about how much he benefited from having Rikishi run over Austin.
With that done, it was onto our main event.
No Disqualification Match
Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve AustinÂ
Of all the wild, out-of-control main event brawls Steve Austin had ever been a part of, this wasn't exactly the greatest, but it was still damn good fun.The two men battered each other in the ring, out of the ring, and everywhere in between, all the while telling a well-told story that The Texas Rattlesnake was far more interested in getting revenge than gaining a pinfall.
Though much of this was your standard Attitude Era brawl stuff, there were a few fun spots -Austin taking a beer break and later back-dropping Hunter through a table to name a few- that kept it well above mediocrity, while The Game's gruesome blade job really helped sell Stone Cold's beat down.
Towards the finish, the two made their way backstage where, predictably, The Radicalz attacked.
Chris Benoit lured Austin out into the parking lot where Triple H was waiting, ready to run over his opponent with a car.
Avoiding a repeat of the previous year, however, Austin acquired a giant forklift from somewhere, lifted the car some 20-30ft in the air (with Hunter still inside it) and then dropped it on its roof.
Your Winner by Attempted Homicide: Steve Austin (official result: no contest)
Having been practically murdered live on air, Hunter would return to Raw just a few short weeks later, showing no signs of injury whatsoever.
From beginning to end, the WWF had enjoyed one of their best PPV runs in history throughout 2000, producing some truly outstanding shows.
Never really going above "pretty good," Survivor Series 2000 was not one of those shows, but it says a lot about the creative streak the company were on that one of their most underwhelming shows of the year was still a fairly enjoyable effort.
Despite the ridiculousness of Austin's blatant homicide attempt, the main event stole the show, though the tag team elimination match which proceeded it came a solid second.
For other year 2000 pro wrestling reviews see:
- WWF Royal Rumble 2000
- WCW Souled Out 2000
- WCW Superbrawl 2000
- WWF No Way Out 2000
- WCW Uncensored 2000
- WWF Wrestlemania 2000
- WCW Spring Stampede 2000
- WWF Backlash 2000
- WWF Insurrexion 2000
- WCW Slamboree 2000
- WWF Judgement Day 2000
- WCW The Great American Bash 2000
- WWF King of the Ring 2000
- WCW Bash at the Beach 2000
- WWF Fully Loaded 2000
- WCW New Blood Rising 2000
- WWF Summerslam 2000
- WCW Fall Brawl 2000
- WWF Unforgiven 2000
- WCW Halloween Havoc 2000
- WWF No Mercy 2000
- WCW Mayhem 2000
Other WWF Survivor Series reviews:Â
- WWF Survivor Series 1987
- WWF Survivor Series 1988
- WWF Survivor Series 1989
- WWF Survivor Series 1990
- WWF Survivor Series 1991
- WWF Survivor Series 1992
- WWF Survivor Series 1993
- WWF Survivor Series 1994
- WWF Survivor Series 1995
- WWF Survivor Series 1996
- WWF Survivor Series 1997
- WWF Survivor Series 1998
- WWF Survivor Series 1999
- WWE Survivor Series 2009
- Top Ten Matches from the First 10 Survivor Series events
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1 Comments
If I didn't know better I'd swear Russo booked that show.
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