Rumble Recall: The Royal Rumble 2000

The Royal Rumble in 2000 was a watershed pay-per-view for me. As the first show to be broadcast as part of a deal between (the then) WWF and UK TV channel, Channel 4, it was the first live wrestling pay-per-view I was able to watch and I know I am not the only one for which this is true.

Held in Madison Square Garden, the Royal Rumble in 2000 came at a point where the WWF was at the peak of their Attitude-era success adn would herald a legendary run of pay-per-views that were both commercial and critical successes. With Steve Austin out getting back surgery and the Undertaker out injured as well, the end of 1999 saw the ascendancy of Triple H and the Rock to the very top of the company and continued the feud which these two had been engaged in on and off for the past 3 years. Triple H was in the middle of his storyline dominance of the WWF with on-screen (and later real-life) wife Stephanie MacMahon. Taking control of the WWF after dispatching daddy Vince at the previous month's Armageddon pay-per-view, the MacMahon-Helmsley faction turned their attentions to one of the company's other top babyfaces, Mick 'Mankind' Foley. Another rivalry from HHH's past that was to be re-kindled, it saw the bullying bosses sack Mankind only to have a 'superstar revolt' led by the Rock. With Austin gone, Rock would take his role as the company's lead babyface, and thanks to a moment of rare on-screen solidarity, Rock got Mick re-instated. Challenging HHH to a street fight at the Rumble, Foley claimed that Mankind could not get the job against the diabolical HHH, but that he knew a man who could. Removing the patented Mankind mask and the torn white shirt, it revealed a Cactus Jack t-shirt and Mick Foley had once again unleashed his most violent persona. Foley would go on to use this same reveal against Randy Orton and Edge in the following years, but neither of those would have the same impact that this moment did. The street fight that main evented the undercard of the Royal Rumble in 2000 was the kind of blood-soaked, hardcore brawling classic that would come to personify Mick Foley's career. Everything from chairs and tables to handcuffs and thumbtacks were used in this brutal encounter and would not only help to further seal Mick Foley's reputation as one of the top stars of that era, but also legitimise HHH as a bonafide main event heel.

The Rock on the other hand was engaged in a war of words with a 7 foot monster called the Big Show. These two former champions would be the focal point of Rumble match as the lou-mouth, arrogant Rock was looking over-come this monster who felt he had been unappreciated since his arrival in the WWF and deserved a run at the world title. With these two the

However, unlike other Rumble shows, this card was about much more than just the main event and the Rumble match. The show opened with the debut of ECW stuperstar Taz, facing the undefeated Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. Angle would go on to dominate the WWE in the following years whereas for Tazz, this was probably the pinnacle of his WWF-run until he became an announcer. However on the evicdence of this match and the response Tazz gets from his hometown crowd you could be blamed for thinking their fortunes would be very different.

An bog-standard WWF bikini contest (famous only for Mae Young disrobing) and a lacklustre Intercontinental title match between Chris Jericho and Chyna would fill out the card alongside one of the forgotten classics of 2000. At the No Mercy pay-per-view, the Hardyz and Edge and Christian and made names for themselves in the first ever tag-team ladder match. At the Rumble then, it was time for the other legendary tag-team of that era to get in on the action as the Dudley Boyz challenged the Hardyz to a tag-team tables match (another WWF first). The Dudleyz were, perhaps, more succesful than any other of the ECW alumni during 2000 and matches like this were a large reason why. Leaving broken tables and borken bodies left, right and centre, this brusing encounter would go to lead into the first triangular ladder match at Wrestlemania and eventually the classic TLC matches later that year. However this match stands out above nearly all of thos for it's innovation, it's stiffness and it's daring insanity. Unlike later table matches where one table breaking would be enough to end the match, the Dudleyz and Hardyz smashed up tables offensively, defensively and sometimes, just for the hell of it. The final exclamation point of Jeff Hardy diving onto Bubba Ray Dudley from the balcony would seal Jeff's reputation as one of the most daring highflyers of his generation, but would also damn him to a life of crazy bumps and risks trying to emulate this great moment.

Overall verdict: A+
"One of the best Rumble shows of all-time from a period where WWF was at the peak of it's success. A must-see tables match and an amazing street fight help fill out a card that perhaps personififed everything that was great about wrestling in the late-90s."