WWF 2000

[FireDoughnut]

Monday 24th April 2000

Only one man could do it.

Only one man came through the first half of Vince McMahon’s test for the six men in the Backlash main event as Kurt Angle triumphed over The Big Show in the RAW is WAR event. Early in the show, Shane McMahon made apologies to Kurt Angle for the beating that The Big Show was set to hand out but they wanted to show Triple H the sheer power that he will coming up against on Sunday in the main event, however The Gold Medallist had the last laugh as he grounded the 500 pound mammoth with an unlucky Olympic Slam for the victory.

In the other two matches, Jeff Hardy lot out to a combined effort of Edge and Christian and suffered a double chair shot while Albert helped Rikishi overcome the WWF European Champion, Eddie Guerrero.

Hardy looked to have the match won as he set Edge up for the Senton Bomb only for Christian to push him off the top rope. Edge capitalised taking the pinfall and then the WWF Tag Team Champions celebrated by thumping Jeff in the skull with a double chair shot.

Eddie Guerrero didn’t get clean either, as the towering presences of Rikishi and Albert were enough to stop him from going to the Backlash main event. Rikishi seemed in control of the match until Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn arrived on the scene. However the duo were chased off by Too Cool before they could do any damage and this left a clear path for Trish Stratus to distract the referee as Albert lined Guerrero up for the Football Kick. Rikishi obliged with the pinfall but later in the show, Vince announced that seeing as Rikishi was able to defeat Guerrero he would be entered into the European Championship match at Backlash as well, much to the displeasure of Albert.

Stephanie McMahon was once again forced to defend her WWF Women’s Championship on RAW is WAR by her brother and this time she went up against Lita, after her impressive victory over Essa Rios. And Stephanie retained the title without the help of D-Generation X, who were beaten to the interference by the leaping Mexican that Lita defeated on HeAT. Rios hit a Hurricanrana on Lita before being chased off by Val Venis. The move was enough as Stephanie slipped in for the pinfall to walk away with her Championship intact.

One Championship that did change hands on RAW is WAR was the WWF Hardcore Championship as Bull Buchanan pulled off a huge victory over Tazz. Buchanan and Tazz were joined by Mideon and Crash Holly in a four way elimination match for the strap and after Buchanan eliminated Mideon, and then Tazz submitted Crash Holly it looked as though the former ECW star would retain as he locked in the Tazzmission. Well he would have, if The Big Boss Man hadn’t got involved knocking Tazz out with his trusty nightstick. Buchanan had enough wits about him to record the pinfall and pick his first Championship reign of his WWF career. Although he will have to defend it on Sunday night at Backlash against Tazz and his mentor, The Big Boss Man.

A match that has been brewing for weeks got a little something else added to it on RAW is WAR as Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit agreed to make their Intercontinental Championship match involve ladders. Jericho came to the ring after having a week off and ‘Y2J’ explained to the fans that he was gone as he wanted to put a lot of thought into how he would break the news to Chris Benoit that he was going to lose the WWF Intercontinental Championship. This brought ‘The Crippler’ to the ring. Benoit was not amused by Jericho’s idle claims, and told Jericho that he was reaching for the stars if he thought he would take Benoit’s Intercontinental Championship. Jericho said that he didn’t want to reach for the stars. He wanted to reach about twenty feet above the ring and Benoit agreed; making the match a ladder one.

Elsewhere on RAW, The Rock had bold claims for Triple H. The Rock tried to reason with Hunter, by asking him if he really wanted a crack-pot like Kurt Angle winning the WWF Championship and then The Rock started laughing at himself. He called himself stupid for even thinking Triple H could understand English (it got a laugh; he’s got better delivery than me.) The Rock promised the fans that no D-Generation X roadblock was going to stop The Great One from carrying on Mick Foley’s legacy as the WWF Champion.

In the opening match on RAW, D-Von Dudley and Farooq fought a no-contest after their respective partners got involved in the match. Bradshaw and Bubba Ray Dudley were in the ring like a shot, not even allowing the match to really start and it finished even quicker as both teams brawled to the back before being split by security. It is sure to one hell of a contest at Backlash this weekend, in every single match.

RAW is WAR Results

D-Von Dudley and Farooq fought to a no-contest

Hardcore Championship

Bull Buchanan def. Tazz ©, Crash Holly & Mideon

Women’s Championship

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley © def. Lita

Rikishi def. Eddie Guerrero

Edge def. Jeff Hardy

Kurt Angle def. The Big Show

Show Rating: 79%

[FireDoughnut]

RAW is WAR News

-RAW picked up a 6.48 rating this week and moved slightly further away from Nitro which posted figures of 5.46.

-Tazz was said to be annoyed by losing the WWF Hardcore Championship only four days after he won it from The Big Show. However, he was clamed down by knowing that he will most likely win the belt back at Backlash. The decision was made by WWF officials to see how the crowd responded to Bull Buchanan as a Champion.

-Too Cool versus Dean Malenko ad Perry Saturn will main event Sunday Night HeAT on Sunday, as both Radicals are expected to be needed for the Championship matches.

-Essa Rios is set to get a slight push to test the audience’s reception of him. Officials are very pleased with his recent work against Val Venis and is expected to remain on the main WWF programming in the coming weeks.

-Mideon is to be repackaged in the coming weeks as a Lumberjack. The WWF want him to shed some weight.

[FireDoughnut]

Preview

Thursday 27th April 2000

There are four days to go to Backlash and most eyes have already become focused on the Pay-Per-View on Sunday, well except for three men who still need to secure their places in the WWF Championship.

Matt Hardy will be hoping to overcome the WWF Tag Team Champions unlike his brother as he faces Christian, while Kane has to take on his former tag team partner X-Pac to secure his place but in the main event will be the huge clash. The Rock, the 2000 Royal Rumble winner will take on the man who held the title before Mick Foley won it at Wrestlemania 2000, Triple H. HHH remains the only obstacle between The Rock and Backlash, although I’m sure Kurt Angle will get involved.

In the other match confirmed for RAW is WAR, Chris Jericho will be joining Too Cool to take on the Radicals trio of Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. The match is filled with emotions all directed towards Backlash so it will definitely not end happily.

Elsewhere, we’ll probably hear from Tazz after losing his WWF Hardcore Championship on RAW is WAR and we’re also set to see Essa Rios, The Big Show and European Champion Eddie Guerrero only on WWF’s Smackdown!

Confirmed Matches

The Rock vs. Triple H

Kane vs. X-Pac

Matt Hardy vs. Christian

Chris Jericho & Too Cool vs. Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn

[FireDoughnut]

Thursday 27th April 2000

We now know how many men will contest the WWF Championship after a tournament that has eliminated the WWF superstars show-by-show and even on Smackdown another name fell from the match; and one point it looked as though two men would be struck from the match.

The Rock opened the show by heading to the ring. The millions and millions of The Rock’s fans were in good voice as The Great One got on the microphone and promised to knock Triple from pillar to post to make sure he made it to the Backlash main event. This brought Triple H to the ring, who said he saw the match as a gentle warm-up for Sunday’s tag team match. The Big Show, Shane McMahon and Kurt Angle quickly followed, leaving the ring quite busy with Kurt, Shane, HHH and The Rock all trading insults but Kurt Angle had the lost word by promising to pay The Rock the greatest insult of all, by costing him the match later on.

In the subsequent main event, Kurt Angle almost came through on his promise as the ref took a bump and The Gold Medallist flew into the ring. He planted The Rock with a steel chair allowing Triple H to cover him. The referee woke up to see the pinfall and counted it, awarding the match to Triple H. The Rock was devastated until the WWF Chairman Vince McMahon strode to the ring and announced in the “interest of fairness” he was re-starting the match. The match re-started and Triple H was no match for infuriated Rocky who planted him with the Rock Bottom for the pinfall. Kurt Angle tried to attack The Rock after the match but The Big Show chased him off as he joined The Rock at the end of Smackdown.

In one of the other matches concerning the Backlash main event, Kane got through to Backlash thanks to the Road Dogg. The D-Generation X member tried to get involved in the Big Red Machine’s match with X-Pac but when he swung at Kane, he missed thumping X-Pac in the jaw and allowing Kane to hit the Chokeslam for the victory. After the match, Kane chokeslammed Road Dogg for good measure.

Matt Hardy made a plea to Edge & Christian before his match with Christian. Matt was alone in the ring as he asked E&C to give him a fair fight in his match later in the night. Hardy attempted that he dreamed of being WWF Champion all his life and he wanted to have a real chance at being the Champion. The Tag Team Champions thought about it for less than second and then jumped on the Hardy Boy. They brutalised him with their Championship belts before Jeff stormed to the ring. The younger Hardy brother chased the duo off but it was a little too late as Matt was already bloodied, and that left him in a tender state for his match with Christian as his opponent at Backlash dominated the match and finished him off with the Impaler for the victory.

In a massive tag match showcasing two matches set for Sunday, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn scored a solid victory over their potential opponents. Jericho, Grand Master Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty didn’t really click as a team and they struggled to impose themselves on a match that always looked like a victory for The Radicals. In an interview with Michael Cole, later in the show all four Radicals had words for their opponents, promising to be 100% successful at Backlash.

Eddie Guerrero’s two opponents at Backlash met one-on-one on Smackdown, with the WWF European Champion providing colour commentary during the match. Albert and Rikishi had a gruelling match that will no doubt leave both men far from their peak condition as they look to take Guerrero’s belt although Eddie didn’t get involved in the match and simply watched on as Trish Stratus distracted Rikishi, allowing Albert to thump him with the Football Kick for the victory.

In the other match on Smackdown, Tazz dominated Crash Holly in a hardcore match showing that the former Hardcore Champion hasn’t missed a beat despite losing his belt on RAW is WAR, although his victory was short-lived as Bull Buchanan thumped both men with his nightstick after the match. Buchanan was applauded by his mentor, The Big Boss Man as he spat down on the former Champion and the challenger to his crown.

Elsewhere on Smackdown, it appeared as though Essa Rios has recruited help for his battle to get Lita back. Essa stood with Viscera as they watched Val Venis flirt with Lita at the end of the corridor. Essa admitted to Viscera that he loved her, and then until she said she didn’t love him he would never sleep.

Smackdown Results

Tazz def. Crash Holly

Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn def. Chris Jericho, Scotty 2 Hotty & Grand Master Sexay

Albert def. Rikishi

Christian def. Matt Hardy

Kane def. X-Pac

The Rock def. Triple H by disqualification

Show Rating: 80%

[FireDoughnut]

Smackdown News

-Smackdown took a huge jump in the ratings to record a 5.48 rating while WCW’s Thunder program dropped to 5.03. Smackdown blame The Rock versus Triple H as the reason for the jump but are quite pleased.

-Crash Holly was a little disappointed by the lack of offence that he got in on Smackdown against Tazz. However, Crash was consoled after a private discussion with Vince McMahon but no-one knows what was said.

-Mick Foley has picked up a slight sprained ankle. According to the WWF, he fell over while at home but some sources have said that Foley was in training. The injury will keep Foley out for around two weeks.

-It was announced that Mick Foley will be appearing as Cactus Jack at Backlash when he hands the WWF Championship to the new Champion.

-Backstage are very excited about Backlash despite the huge success that was Wrestlemania they are hoping the buy rate will be quite strong. Early indications are good.

-WCW’s Saturday Night scored a 1.19 rating.

Edited January 12, 2007 by Flat_Doughnut

[FireDoughnut]

FINAL CARD

Sunday 30th April 2000

WWF Championship Match

Kane vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock

Triple H & Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley vs. The Big Show & Shane McMahon

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Ladder Match

Chris Benoit © vs. Chris Jericho

WWF Tag Team Championships

Edge & Christian © vs. The Hardy Boys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy)

WWF European Championship

Eddie Guerrero © vs. Albert w/Trish Stratus vs. Rikishi

The A.P.A. (Bradshaw & Farooq) vs. The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley)

WWF Hardcore Championship

Bull Buchanan © vs. Tazz vs. The Big Boss Man

Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty & Grand Master Sexay) vs. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn

Predictions are very welcome

Edited January 12, 2007 by Flat_Doughnut

[Hewey]

I been reading this for the past day, And you've done a good job. I am looking forward to Backlash, And also, Kudos for making the title match not predictable.

WWF Championship Match

Kane vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock

I think there might be a chance for Kane to win it here. I don't know why, But I don't think Rock is walking out with the title. And it's way too soon for Angle.

Triple H & Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley vs. The Big Show & Shane McMahon

If Kane does win the belt, Or The Rock, Then they need a heel to challenge then, And who better than the former champ?

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Ladder Match

Chris Benoit © vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho gets the win here, But this feud is far from over.

WWF Tag Team Championships

Edge & Christian © vs. The Hardy Boys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy)

Too soon for the champs to drop the titles.

WWF European Championship

Eddie Guerrero © vs. Albert w/Trish Stratus vs. Rikishi

For some reason, I'm not into this feud, I marked out huge for Rikishi back then, And hopefully you'll do something cool with him.

The A.P.A. (Bradshaw & Farooq) vs. The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley)

50/50 on this one.

WWF Hardcore Championship

Bull Buchanan © vs. Tazz vs. The Big Boss Man

The WWF had big ideas for Tazz before he got injured, And I can see you pushing him.

Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty & Grand Master Sexay) vs. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn

The push of The Radicalz continues.

Predictions are very welcome

[slain]

WWF Championship Match

Kane vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock

Triple H & Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley vs. The Big Show & Shane McMahon

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Ladder Match

Chris Benoit © vs. Chris Jericho

WWF Tag Team Championships

Edge & Christian © vs. The Hardy Boys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy)

WWF European Championship

Eddie Guerrero © vs. Albert w/Trish Stratus vs. Rikishi

The A.P.A. (Bradshaw & Farooq) vs. The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley)

WWF Hardcore Championship

Bull Buchanan © vs. Tazz vs. The Big Boss Man

Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty & Grand Master Sexay) vs. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn

[Downward Spiral]

FINAL CARD

Sunday 30th April 2000

WWF Championship Match

Kane vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock

The Rock, to me, is the only one in a real position to take the title. Angle, as I've said before, just isn't ready yet, although you have been building him up with interviews with JR etc. Kane. I mean, on Smackdown, Kane earned the shot by overcoming X-Pac and Road Dogg, and it's all coming off a little too midcard to be believable for me. It could be a surprise to see him take it but to me it would be without much build-up and a little too random. Plus, I think with Foley handing over the belt, having the Rock winhas more significance, and more of a chance for something shocking to happen (i.e. a turn of some description).

Triple H & Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley vs. The Big Show & Shane McMahon

Difficult to know really who's going to prevail in this one. Both have had their fair share of dominance over the past weeks. Gut instinct would say HHH and Steph get the win, but I'd like to see you try and elevate the Big Show a little more and get revenge for HHH knocking him out of the Backlash tournament.

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Ladder Match

Chris Benoit © vs. Chris Jericho

A potential for a really great match if their match at RR 2001 (I think?) is anything to go away. The adjusted countdown on Smackdown, reading Y2J '6days' I thought was a really nice touch. I'd love to see Jericho come through on this one, because I think after the absence you hyped it would make him look a little weak if he lost. Look forward to seeing which way you go, however.

WWF Tag Team Championships

Edge & Christian © vs. The Hardy Boys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy)

Quite simply, to lose the titles after a month, given that E and C are my favourite tag team possibly of all time, would be lame. Plus, given that Matt was made to look like a whiny little bitch on Smackdown asking for a fair fight, I would not be happy if the better team lost here.

WWF European Championship

Eddie Guerrero © vs. Albert w/Trish Stratus vs. Rikishi

If Benoit's losing the I/C title, then Guerrero needs to retain the European title. Slight reservations, ince you did mention that Eddie was getting a slight push, but I think this would be a good way of increasing the value of the title.

The A.P.A. (Bradshaw & Farooq) vs. The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley)

I have to say this a bit of a coin flipped, but I'm going with the Dudleyz. Thinking of the storylines going into WM, the Dudleyz were complaining about defending their titles in a match where D-Von's fear of heights would adversely affect them. Hence, they clearly need a win to get them back into contention and to earn the fair re-match. Clearly.

WWF Hardcore Championship

Bull Buchanan © vs. Tazz vs. The Big Boss Man

Otherwise the title change is meaningless. Having said that, this is the Hardcore title. What am I thinking? Still though, push Buchanan. I dare you

Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty & Grand Master Sexay) vs. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn

If Saturn and Malenko go over, it would make your new Light Heavyweight champion look exceedingly weak IMO. The only way to rectify that would be to have Sexay turn on Scotty, but I think that storyline would benefit from further buildup. Difficult one to call though

Predictions are very welcome

[FireDoughnut]

WWF Presents...

Sunday 30th April 2000

Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn def. Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty & Grand Master Sexay)

The opening match of Backlash and the Sunday Night HeAT main event saw Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn face off with the dancing duo of Scotty 2 Hotty and Grand Master Sexay.

It’s not often that Perry Saturn is the biggest and strongest man in a match but he enjoyed himself against Too Cool as he dominated Scotty 2 Hotty, throwing him around the ring. The Radicals enjoyed much of the offence in the match as their experience shone through, using quick tags and smart moves to isolate Scotty 2 Hotty before finally Hotty made the hot tag to Grand Master Sexay.

Sexay flew into the ring, taking down Saturn with a flying forearm and then Malenko with a cross-body before hitting back-to-back dropkicks, and as he scaled the ropes for the Hip-Hop Drop it seemed as though Too Cool would be victorious until Eddie Guerrero appeared out of no-where, pushing Sexay off the ropes and into the waiting arms of Dean Malenko.

The former Light-Heavyweight Champion locked in the Texas Cloverleaf on Grand Master Sexay to pick up the victory. The Radicals celebrated on the stage as Sunday Night HeAT drew to a close.

Overall Rating: 81% | Crowd Reaction: 71% | Match Quality: 92%

Tazz def. Bull Buchanan © & The Big Boss Man to claim the WWF Hardcore Championship

Bull Buchanan strode confidently to the ring as he looked set to defend his Hardcore Championship for the first time, but from the off it was clear that Bull and his mentor were going to a few issues.

Tazz took the brunt of much of the early offence as Bull Buchanan and The Big Boss Man worked together to take out the wild card in the match. The Big Boss Man had his trusty nightstick on hand and the pair brutalised Tazz, with Bull Buchanan hitting a vicious Yakuza Kick that sent Tazz tumbling from the ring.

And then the problems seemed to start. With Tazz lying motionless on the ring, Bull and The Boss Man stood staring at each other for a number of seconds before shaking hands, and then breaking into a vicious brawl. The Big Boss Man got the early advantage, forcing Bull into a corner but after missing a nightstick shot, the Hardcore Champion took control, slamming The Boss Man’s head into the turnbuckle before hitting him with a Yakuza Kick.

However it seemed that Tazz’s time on the outside of the ring allowed him to recover as he stormed into the ring, carrying a kendo stick. Tazz slammed it down on the head of Buchanan before hitting an array of suplexes on Bull and the recovering Big Boss Man. The tag team tried to rally but Tazz was like a man on a mission, tossing alternate moves on his two opponents before ducking a Big Boss Man clothesline and locking in the Tazzmission.

The Big Boss Man tried to fight the hold but was no match for it at all, tapping out just as Bull Buchanan broke the hold. He wasn’t quick enough as Tazz slide from the ring and took hold of the WWF Hardcore Championship for the second time in a week.

Overall Rating: 67% | Crowd Reaction: 63% | Match Quality: 71%

A.P.A. (Bradshaw & Farooq) def. The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley)

The Acolyte Protection Agency got jumped on their way to the ring as Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley took an early advantage by pummelling Bradshaw and Farooq as they exited the entranceway. Bubba Ray and D-Von were equipped with a baseball bat each as they swung at their unsuspecting opponents. Bradshaw and Farooq were knocked to the ground as The Dudley Boys took a smart gain in the match and pounded their boots into the Acolytes.

Eventually, the Dudleys rolled the former WWF Tag Team Champions into the ring to get the match started, and needless to say when D-Von entered the ring as the legal man, Farooq was in a bad state.

D-Von was happy to dominate the early going of the match, keeping Farooq far away from his corner and using quick tags with Bubba Ray to use double team moves and get themselves fresh.

Eventually in the midst of all the brawling, Farooq got a second wind and slammed Bubba Ray into the turnbuckle with a vicious Spinebuster before crawling across the ring to Bradshaw. Well, he just about got there. Farooq made the mistake of slamming Bubba Ray into the corner that D-Von stood in and the Dudley brother stalked after him, before dragging him to the centre of the ring.

D-Von picked Farooq to his feet and whipped him across the ring but somehow Farooq dodged D-Von’s flying shoulder and instead dived to the out-stretched arm off Bradshaw tagging in his much recovered partner.

Bradshaw’s fists were a-flying as he levelled D-Von with two successive right hands, before dragging him up to it again, followed by a vicious fall-away slam. D-Von tried to crawl to safety but Bradshaw picked him up and slammed him to the mat and took control of the situation, firing rights and lefts at D-Von.

The Acolytes kept control for a couple of minutes as Bradshaw and Farooq showed their experience in keeping D-Von Dudley down until he managed to make a hot tag to Bubba Ray, however Bubba Ray’s enthusiasm saw him run straight into Farooq’s Dominator.

The pinfall was elementary after that, as Bradshaw and Farooq celebrated their win on their way backstage; however the duo were stopped by a mysterious gold man that walked out of the entranceway and then tackled Farooq to the ground. Goldust marked his return to WWF screens by brutalising the A.P.A. member before fleeing again backstage.

Overall Rating: 83% | Crowd Reaction: 76% | Match Quality: 91%

Eddie Guerrero © def. Albert & Rikishi to retain the WWF European Championship

Albert looked totally pumped up as he headed out to the ring in preparation for the European Championship match before being followed by Rikishi and then the Champion, Eddie Guerrero.

Eddie was definitely the smaller man in the match as he tried to battle against the unstoppable force of Albert and the unwavering mass of Rikishi, and it was the two big men that controlled much of the match using their sheer size and strength to over-power Guerrero before forcing a stale-mate with each other.

Albert was like a man on fire at times, and at one point he hit a devastating Football Kick on Rikishi that had enough power behind it to tumble the 400 pound superstar over the top rope; to the outside. That left Eddie as the sitting duck but Guerrero simply did what he had to do, low-blowing Albert before nailing him in the face with a dropkick.

The action soon spilled to the outside of the ring as Albert and Rikishi brawled at the base of the ramp-way as Eddie Guerrero struggled in the ring with an eye injury. Okay, so we say struggled but Eddie was faking it as Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko raced out from the back.

The victorious team from the opening match of the night slammed Albert and Rikishi with matching chair shots as Eddie kept the referee’s attention. Albert and Rikishi were both dazed but didn’t quite fall over until they were smacked again by the steel chairs.

Malenko and Saturn then lifted Rikishi up and rolled him into the ring as Eddie ‘recovered.’ Sensing the chance to take the victory, Guerrero scaled to the top rope and flew through the air, hitting Rikishi with the Frog Splash as Teddy Long dropped to his knees to make the count.

Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn joined Eddie in the ring as he celebrated his successful defence of the European Championship, with the defeated Albert and Rikishi leaving the ring looking less than impressed.

Overall Rating: 72% | Crowd Reaction: 75% | Match Quality: 68%

The Hardy Boys def. Edge & Christian © to win the WWF Tag Team Championships

This was one of the matches of the night as The Hardy Boys clashed with Edge & Christian to add to the two teams long-running feud.

Matt and Jeff were the first pairing to the ring as they awaited the Champions and when Edge and Christian arrived, the action was fast and furious with quick tags by both teams and equal shares of the offence. Edge started with the initial advantage as he kept Matt Hardy under his control with sneaky eye pokes and then eye rakes. The WWF Tag Team Champions showed real wrestling smarts in the early offing as they tried to keep both Hardys grounded by focusing on their respective left legs.

Matt and Jeff were a lot more scattered as Matt focused on his opponents shoulders while Jeff simply threw himself at them. At one point, when Matt bundled Edge to the outside Jeff flew through the air, cross-bodying Edge into the guardrail before holding on for a reverse DDT. That really got the crowd going as a really sharp exchange of cruiserweight moves that Christian and Matt Hardy exchanged when back in the centre of the ring.

Out of nowhere however, Christian planted Matt with his Impaler but was rescued by a baseball slide from Jeff.

That left Matt vulnerable as he struggled on the ring mat and Jeff was ever present and even at one point perched himself on the top rope just in case, and it paid off as Christian lined up his brother for another Impaler, Jeff flew through the air with a dropkick, knocking Christian over his brothers back, standing him up and then dropping Christian with a vicious piledriver.

That left both men down in the ring with a race to get to their corners. Christian was the first to move, holding his head and neck but it was Matt Hardy that got their first, jumping the last few feet and slapping the hand of the recently returned Jeff, who flew into the ring to meet Edge oncoming. Hardy dropped Edge with a Spinebuster before springing off the second rope with an Asai Moonsault that got a two count as the two fresh men really went at it.

And the end came after Edge missed his Spear and thumped into the turnbuckle. He stumbled into Jeff Hardy’s waiting arms who planted him with a reverse DDT for the second time in the match before flying off the top rope with a Shooting Star Press to capture the second Tag Team Championship of the Hardy Boys careers.

Matt and Jeff struggled to the back with their newly won Gold, and the standing ovation wasn’t just for the new Champions as Edge & Christian also received the applause of the crowds.

Overall Rating: 92% | Crowd Reaction: 85% | Match Quality: 100%

Chris Benoit © def. Chris Jericho to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship

And the tag team match was followed by another match of the year candidate as Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho tried everything to capture the WWF Intercontinental Championship from the point 15 feet above the ring that it had been placed.

The match started slowly with the two man trading technical moves and holds, in what could have been a perfectly technical match quickly turned ugly as Chris Jericho dragged a ladder into the ring but that was thrown back in his face literally as Chris Benoit rearranged Jericho’s nose with a vicious ladder shot.

And so the brawling began. Both men seemed desperate to get to the Championship belt as they used the ladder to their advantage, thumping each other in the skull with it and tossing each other in the head with it.

There were three special moments that made the match however, Chris Benoit tackled Chris Jericho to the ground with the ladder, trapping his right arm in it and then locking ‘Y2J’ in the Crippler Crossface while trapped in the ladder. In another huge move, Chris Jericho was reaching for the WWF Intercontinental Championship as Benoit climbed the opposite side of the ladder and the two started trading punches. Jericho started to lose and it seemed as though Benoit throw him over his shoulder but Jericho held on, sunset-flipping Benoit onto the ring apron with a hard sting.

But the spot that saw Benoit retain his belt came after the aforementioned sunset-flip, Jericho started up the ladder again. Jericho had his back to The Crippler and Benoit climbed after him, after taking time to recover, and German Suplexed Jericho hard onto his back. Benoit released the move and Chris Jericho went limp on impact after being thrown from the top of the ladder.

That gave Benoit enough time to stand on top of the ladder and reach for the Intercontinental Championship and just as Jericho was stirring, Perry Saturn dragged him from the ring to make sure that The Crippler retained his Championship. Benoit grabbed the belt, clutching it to his chest as he dropped to the ring mat.

Benoit was joined by Malenko, Saturn and European Champ, Eddie Guerrero in the ring as The Radicals celebrated a completely successful evening.

Overall Rating: 95% | Crowd Reaction: 91% | Match Quality: 100%

Triple H & Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley def. The Big Show & Shane McMahon

D-Generation X accompanied Triple H and Stephanie McMahon to the ring as they prepared for their battle with The Big Show and Shane McMahon. Stephanie looked very cautious as she stepped into the ring and prepared herself for the match as Triple H held a deathly stare with Shane McMahon, and then The Big Show.

Triple H and The Big Show started the match and despite Hunter taking the early advantage in the match he seemed reluctant to tag Stephanie in, and the Women’s Champion seemed reluctant to get into the ring especially with The Big Show. Triple H knocked The Big Show around and used X-Pac and Road Dogg to his advantage, distracting the referee and using them as his tag team partner.

Shane McMahon got more and more infuriated as he watched Triple H’s blatant cheating and eventually stormed into the ring, bee-lining straight for his sister all guns blazing. Shane delivered a mouth-watering dropkick that knocked Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley straight to the arena floor. However, the move only caused to incense HHH as he stormed at Shane.

Referee Earl Hebner slide from the ring to check on Stephanie which was like a green light to X-Pac and Road Dogg as the D-Generation X pairing attacked the WWF’s Biggest Superstar with their steel chairs. The Big Show tried to battle back but it was no use as he thumped seven or eight times before falling to an X-Factor.

As The Big Show lay motionless, Triple H was schooling Shane McMahon in the corner of the ring before bundling him over the top rope. As Stephanie climbed onto the ring apron, Triple H saw her coming and tagged her into the match. Adding insult to injury, HHH ordered his wife to cover the motionless Big Show as a bemused Earl Hebner counted the pinfall.

The four members of D-X celebrated their collective victory at the entranceway as The Big Show and Shane McMahon began to recover.

Overall Rating: 78% | Crowd Reaction: 81% | Match Quality: 73%

The Rock def. Kurt Angle & Kane to capture the WWF Championship

The main event of Backlash came under elimination rules as first The Rock, then Kurt Angle and finally Kane headed to the ring for the hugely-hyped WWF Championship match. The match failed to really get going as the three men tried to impose themselves on the match and put themselves in pole position. As one man would take control of the match, the third member of the match would blindside them.

Well that was the case until X-Pac and Tori appeared at ringside. The couple strolled to the ring and caught the attention of Kane, making out straight in front of the Big Red Machine. Kane was furious and left the ring, getting himself counted-out and chased after X-Pac, leaving the match a one-on-one affair. After chasing X-Pac backstage, Kane was ambushed by Road Dogg who wielded a steel chair. X-Pac joined in as the D-Generation X pairing left the Big Red Machine out cold in the backstage area.

Back in the ring, The Rock and Kurt Angle battled one-on-one for the WWF Championship trying everything they could to gain the advantage. Angle began by taking the action to the mat as he toyed with The Rock’s limbs working over his left leg; focusing some simple holds and drops on The Rock’s left knee and below.

The Rock battled back, ducking a clothesline and then brawling with Angle, forcing him backwards only for his left leg to give way as Kurt tackled him to the ground and started to dominate him once again.

The People’s Champion fought valiantly against Kurt, blowing the wind out of his sails on every occasion and giving himself a chance to recover, and spurred on by the crowd The Rock struggled to his feet before thumping Angle with a Russian Leg Sweep. The Great One was the first to his feet as he started stomping a hole in Angle before ducking another clothesline and planting a Rock Bottom on the Gold Medallist.

Angle kicked out at two and then climbed to his feet, running at The Rock as he tried to get his balance on his damaged leg but Rocky slide out of the ring and then landed Angle with his own Olympic Slam.

With Kurt out cold in the centre of the ring, the crowd called for The People’s Elbow and even with a hurt left leg The Rock obliged them, landing the Greatest Move in Sports Entertainment before recording the three count to be crowned the WWF Champion.

The Rock climbed onto every turnbuckle, celebrating with the crowd as “Have a nice day!” rang out on the speakers and Mankind made his way to the ring, carrying the WWF Championship on his shoulder. The Rock was close to tears as he embraced his old friend, Mick Foley before turning to applaud the crowd… SMACK!!!

The Rock’s forehead met the WWF Championship full on as The Rock turned to face his friend. Mankind screamed down on the out cold People’s Champion. Mick Foley took a microphone from a stage hand and explained to the fallen Rock that he tricked Linda McMahon into letting him compete at Wrestlemania 16. He never intended on retiring if he won the beelt. Why would he be so stupid as to retire when he was the WWF Champion? Why would he do something stupid like that? Who in their right mind would retire at the peak of their career? Mankind then told The Rock that he would never be at his level. Mankind will forever be The Rock’s superior and tonight was the only first step of proving that. Mankind promised that he would never retire as long as he remained the WWF Champion before posing with the belt as Backlash drew to a close.

Overall Rating: 88% | Crowd Reaction: 98% | Match Quality: 87% | Segment Rating: 83%

Show Rating: 82%

Edited January 19, 2007 by Flat_Doughnut

[FireDoughnut]

Champions Roll-Call

as of May 1st, 2000

WWF Champion

Mankind - The Rock

Won on: April 2nd, 2000 - April 30th, 2000

Successful Defences: 0 - 0

Intercontiental Champion

Chris Benoit

Won on: April 2nd, 2000

Successful Defences: 2

European Champion

Eddie Guerrero

Won on: April 10th, 2000

Successful Defences: 2

Previous Champions

Chris Jericho (April 2nd - April 10th)

Tag Team Champions

The Hardy Boys

Jeff Hardy - Matt Hardy

Won on: April 30th, 2000

Successful Defences: 0

Previous Champions

Edge & Christian (April 2nd - April 30th)

Light-Heavyweight Champion

Scotty 2 Hotty

Won on: April 20th, 2000

Successful Defences: 0

Previous Champions

Dean Malenko (March 13th - April 20th)

Women's Champion

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley

Won on: March 28th, 2000

Successful Defences: 3

Hardcore Champion

Tazz

Won on: April 30th, 2000

Successful Defences: 0

Previous Champions

Hardcore Holly (April 2nd - April 9th)

The Big Show (April 9th - April 20th)

Tazz (April 20th - April 24th)

Bull Buchanan (April 24th - Aril 30th)

Edited January 13, 2007 by Flat_Doughnut

[FireDoughnut]

Backlash News

-WWF management are very pleased with the Pay-Per-View buy rates which are set to reach around 1.27, which is much better than the Pay-Per-View that the WCW ran last week.

-It is expected that The Rock and Mick Foley will be made Co-Champions by WWF Chairman Vince McMahon on RAW is WAR.

-When news of Mick Foley’s injury circulated backstage before Backlash, everyone held their breath. The angle has been planned since Mick lost the Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out and only Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Vince McMahon and The Rock were aware of Mankind’s heel turn until it played out on Sunday night. Mankind will not compete for two weeks but the Judgment Day main event is all but slated to be the Co-WWF Champions The Rock and Mick Foley facing off one-on-one.

-The WWF were a little apprehensive about running the Mick Foley versus The Rock angle so soon after Chris Jericho and Chyna ran the angle at the turn of the year with Intercontinental Championship, however there will be no mention of the previous angle on WWF television to make sure that the current WWF direction goes off without a hitch.

-Some of the backstage men are quite pleased with how the Double Elimination Free-For-All was received by the fans, although it did cause some confusion. With King of the Ring just over a month away, Vince did not want to run two straight tournaments so close together and so instead ran the WWF Championship Tournament as he did. Everyone is quite tight lipped about the plans for the King of the Ring tournament.

-Kurt Angle’s new direction is unknown and it is expected he inject himself as the third man in the WWF Championship scene before feuding with the King of the Ring winner. Generally he may be used to take on a lot of the good guys in the high-profile feuds.

-Triple H and Shane McMahon are set to continue their feud, although it is unclear right now if The Big Show will be involved. Backlash is supposed to be the catalyst for their apparent break-up, but this is just rumours.

-Kane and X-Pac have added another level to their feud after Backlash and are expected to be booked for Judgment Day. X-Pac has now stolen Kane’s girlfriend and his shot at the WWF Championship. The WWF want to build Kane up to take the WWF Championship by the end of the year and expect him to do that against X-Pac, by looking very strong against the Degenerate.

-The Hardy Boys will welcome a more competitive tag team division to WWF programming. Edge & Christian were put over as cowardly Champions, while The Hardy Boys will defend the belts at every opportunity although not always successfully. A huge stipulation match is scheduled for Summerslam and the tag division will be focused towards that for the next four months.

-Eddie Guerrero is set to hold the European Championship for along time, so as to bring the belt some prestige. Tazz is expected to do the same after the comical reign that was Crash Holly’s. Tazz has replaced Hardcore Holly in the WWF’s long term plans.

-Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho’s program is far from over. Perry Saturn will be used as an obstacle for the challenging Jericho to help continue the feud with the huge pay-off match set to come at Fully Loaded when the rest of the card will be transitional.

-Scotty 2 Hotty is expected to defend his Light-Heavyweight Championship against Dean Malenko as reward for Malenko and Saturn beating Too Cool at Backlash. However it is expected that Essa Rios will be the next Champion. The current plan will see Rikishi, Jericho and Too Cool getting in each other’s way as they try to exact revenge on their respective opponents. The WWF hope that it will lead to an interesting dynamic against the cohesive unit of The Radicals.

-Billy Gunn was expected to return at Backlash to help Kane out, but have decided against it. The WWF had big plans for Gunn when he won the 1999 King of the Ring, and there is potential talk that he may win 2000 as well to see if that can get him up to the upper echelon of the WWF.

-Christian has signed a new one year deal.

-Joe E. Legend has signed a six-month deal as the WWF want to monitor his work in OVW before making a decision on his future.

-Albert, Al Snow, D’Lo Brown and Thrasher are all coming to the end of their deals. It is unknown if the WWF will renew their deals. Albert hasn’t really connected with the fans as the WWF would have liked in the past few weeks and he is expected to lose Trish Stratus as his manager in the coming weeks. Al Snow will most likely get another deal so that he can help the younger guys on the roster.

-The next WWF Pay-Per View is Judgment Day on May 21st in three week time.

-A new federation, 21st Century Wrestling has opened at Regional level.

-Predictions results:

Baby Hewey - 4/8

slain - 4/8

Downward Spiral - 2/8

Thank you for your thoughts.

[Downward Spiral]

Well, my predictions may have sucked, but meh, enjoyed reading nonetheless. I'm pleased the Radicalz were kept strong by winning everything, and I hope they get a good push. The Hardyz beating E and C is a major disappointment a month after E and C won the belts. That first reign helped E and C establish the characters that would go on to really help them make a name and it's been cut short. Interested to see how things shape up for Summerslam, however.

Man, Big Show has to be having some serious morale problems for jobbing out to Steph. I know it was through interference but, still. I hope Show recovers and receives somewhat of a push, perhaps setting up a match with Shane like IRL.

Where, by the way, is Test at the moment? I don't think he's been mentioned. I realise that's a random comment, but still!

Yeah, all in all a good show. Nice twist with the title and Rock and Mankind beating the hell out of one another is always worth seeing. Nice to see Goldust returning, although maybe beating up a member of the APA is a little too serious for him? Hoping for some good comedy segments with Goldy and I'm interested in seeing where you take him.

Good show and I look forward to see how things progress towards Judgment day.

[FireDoughnut]

Where, by the way, is Test at the moment? I don't think he's been mentioned. I realise that's a random comment, but still!

WWF News

-Test and Hardcore Holly have both checked themselves into rehab with drug addictions. There is no word now from the WWF as to whether or not they will remain contracted to the World Wrestling Federation. Both were scheduled for pushes in the coming year with both set for solid European Title reigns in the coming months. These plans have now been scraped and both men will be given on-screen injuries to cover.

Thank you for the feedback.

[FireDoughnut]

Preview

Monday 1st May 2000

Backlash kicked up more questions in the minds of the fans of the WWF than the questions it answered but not least of all, the WWF fans will be wanting to hear from Mankind.

Mick Foley, the man behind the mask, retired as the WWF Champion at Wrestlemania 200 but returned last night to deny The Rock his fourth WWF Championship reign but on RAW is WAR we are set to hear from the WWF Chairman who will respond to Mick Foley’s return to the ring and outline how The Rock’s victory over Kurt Angle and Kane affects the WWF Championship.

We are also hope to hear from The Radicals who all helped each other to victories at Backlash. None of their matches were without appearances from their stable-mates as Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero retained their successive belts while Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn were victorious over Too Cool.

And thanks to that victory, Dean Malenko will challenge the man who took his Light-Heavyweight Championship, Scotty 2 Hotty on RAW is WAR. The Too Cool member will need to put the defeat behind if he wants to keep hold of his Championship belt.

Two Championships did change hands last night but the new Champions will have no chance to rest as The Hardy Boys and Tazz will defend their belts just 24 hours after becoming Champions. The A.P.A. have immediately requested a title shot and the Hardy Boys have offered the duo a fair fight. Both teams are coming into the match after successful evenings at Backlash so he should promise to be a great match.

Tazz will have to defend his WWF Hardcore Championship against the former Champion, Bull Buchanan. It’s pretty much assumed that Buchanan is annoyed with his mentor, The Big Boss Man for losing the fall that gave Tazz back his title and naturally, Bull wants the belt back.

All this action plus we believe Kane wants X-Pac one-on-one in the ring… only on RAW is WAR!

Confirmed Matches

Light-Heavyweight Championship: Scotty 2 Hotty © vs. Dean Malenko

Tag Team Championship: The Hardy Boys © vs. The A.P.A.

Hardcore Championship: Tazz © vs. Bull Buchanan

[FireDoughnut]

Monday 1st May 2000

Vince McMahon was the first man to the ring as the post-Backlash episode of RAW is WAR erupted onto our screens. The WWF Chairman, carrying the WWF Championship, did not look pleased with things as he stood in the ring and got straight down to business by calling out The Rock and Mankind.

The Rock and Sock Connection made separate entrances with Mankind appearing on the stage with a WWF Championship belt, meaning there were two in the world. When The Rock arrived to the ring, Vince announced to the world that he was naming The Rock and Mankind as Co-WWF Champions. The roof nearly lifted off the Miami arena as The Rock took the belt from Vince and then hopped onto the turnbuckles. Mankind did not look happy having to watch The Great One celebrate with the fans as The Rock climbed down Mankind launched himself at The People’s Champion, Championship belt flying and for the second time in 24 hours laid out The Rock with a belt shot.

Mankind teased hitting Mr. McMahon with the belt but Vince threatened to fire him as he approached so he backed off. As The Rock picked himself off the ring apron, Mankind’s attack reminded Vince about the second reason he was in the ring.

Vince let the fans know that with his son and daughter having a vested interest in the World Wrestling Federation, he couldn’t himself to stay impartial. He said that for the “proud” actions of Triple H and D-Generation X at Backlash, she could have been injured by Shane’s malicious attack. Vince announced to the crowd that he had a WWF Commissioner and that from the very moment he stepped onto the stage he would be in control of the WWF.

“Cha-Ching!”

And the crowd reacted suspiciously as “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase walked onto the stage looking, well a million dollars. Ted thanked Vince for making a great decision and then turned his attention to the two men in the ring. The Rock was now sitting in the corner, watching everything occur as the new WWF Commissioner announced that at Judgment Day two WWF Champions would become one as The Rock faced off with Mankind, assuming that the two men can keep their hands off each other. DiBiase dared both men to try and attack each other and just watch how quickly he would strip them of their belts.

The crowd erupted in anticipation as The Rock and Mankind shared deathly looks before leaving the ring. Later in the show, Michael Cole caught up with both men and tried to gauge their reaction on the match. The Rock said that for the second time in a year Vince McMahon had made a good decision, as he posed with his brand-spanking new WWF Championship. The Rock then promised to teach the Hardcore Legend a thing or two about pain when they met at Judgment Day. The People’s Champion admitted he was disappointed by Mankind’s decision to return and then announced to the world he would send him away for good.

Mankind was also quite happy with the match announcement as he spoke to Michael Cole. Mankind said he underestimated being retired when he agreed to the stipulation at No Way Out. So when he managed to convince Linda McMahon to put him in the match at Wrestlemania he knew that his career was on the line and promised not to lose. And now here he stands, ready to show the world that he hasn’t missed a beat.

One man who seemed to improve his performance despite competing the night before was Dean Malenko. The ‘Man of a 1000 Holds’ took on Scotty 2 Hotty for the WWF Light-Heavyweight Championship in match that swayed back and forth until Malenko’s tag team partner ran to the ring. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero kept Grand Master Sexay busy as Saturn distracted the referee and Dean hit a vicious low-blow on Scotty. The Champion doubled over in pain before being locked in the Texas Cloverleaf. It was quite an academic matter from then, as Scotty couldn’t hang and relinquished his Championship at the first time of asking. The post-match celebrations brought the victorious Radicals into the ring. Benoit, Guerrero, Malenko and Saturn ran their recent opponents and smiled as they stood in the ring with three Championships between them. They ran down Chris Jericho, Rikishi and Too Cool; laughing at their attempts to defeat the foursome to which they continued to laugh.

All four had responses for them as Kevin Kelly was kept busy backstage. Jericho warned Benoit that he was only victorious because Perry Saturn pulled him from the ring. ‘Y2J’ said he was feet away from knocking that ladder over; and that next time he wouldn’t be so lucky. Rikishi and Too Cool simply called their rivals “un-cool” for their actions and said they wouldn’t rest until they had justice.

In the main event of the show, Kane stood ready and waiting for X-Pac to face him one-on-one but X-Pac didn’t show up. Instead he sent out Triple H. Triple H told Kane before the match that if you challenge a member of D-Generation X, you challenge all of D-Generation X before storming the ring and the match was pretty equal.

Kane tired to dominate HHH but the former WWF Champion was having none of it as he traded punches with Kane; blow for blow. The momentum swayed a couple of times and it was only the injection of X-Pac and Road Dogg that was clinical as Triple was able to Pedigree Kane for the victory. As D-X celebrated over the fallen Big Red Machine, The Big Show’s music hit. Shane McMahon warned Triple H earlier in the show that they were looking for revenge and the seven foot behemoth stormed to the ring tossing X-Pac and Road Dogg from the ring before power-slamming Triple H to the ring. That left The Big Show alone with Stephanie McMahon in the ring and he showed no remorse, hitting the woman that pinned him last night with a vicious Chokeslam. Having got some revenge The Big Show and Shane looked quite pleased with themselves as RAW is WAR drew to a close.

Two other matches occurred on RAW is WAR with the tag team division of the WWF showing no sign of slowing down. The Hardy Boys tried to defend their Championships against the A.P.A. but the match was almost immediately interrupted by Edge & Christian. The former Champions attacked the new Champions straight away, giving them the victory before a huge brawl erupted. However not to be outdone The Dudley Boys were quickly out to the ring and the brawl ended as Jeff Hardy found himself alone in the ring with The Dudleys. Jeff tried to run away but feel victim to a Dudley Death Drop as the WWF Tag Team Champions were left feeling the effects of being the Champs.

The other match on the show saw Tazz teaching Bull Buchanan a thing or two about being Hardcore. The former ECW Champion knocked Bull around the ring and into the crowd as he used the environment to dominate the bigger man before applying the Tazzmission for the win. The Big Boss Man tried to get involved after the match but Tazz ducked the attack and planted The Big Boss Man with a release suplex onto a steel chair before posing with the belt in the ring.

Elsewhere on RAW, Essa Rios proved that the bad blood between he and Val Venis was far from over. As Val and Lita arrived to the arena, Viscera stopped the duo “asking for directions” before Essa tried to run them over in a car. Venis and his new manager managed to avoid the attack as Essa screamed Spanish obscenities at them from his car.

RAW is WAR Results

Light-Heavyweight Championship

Dean Malenko def. Scotty 2 Hotty ©

Hardcore Championship

Tazz © def. Bull Buchanan

Tag Team Championships

The Hardy Boys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy) © def. The A.P.A. (Bradshaw & Farooq) by disqualification

Triple H def. Kane

Show Rating: 79%

Edited January 14, 2007 by Flat_Doughnut

[FireDoughnut]

RAW is WAR News

-RAW scored a 6.45 rating while Nitro was a whole point behind, scoring 5.45. The WWF are very pleased with the rating; coming off Backlash.

-Brian James a.k.a. Road Dogg of D-Generation X has been telling everyone backstage of his new faith. ‘B.G.’ has found God and wants to make sure that as many wrestlers as he knows find God as well.

-The WWF are believed to already have concrete plans for the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. Right now the expected main event is Chris Benoit versus Edge. Yeah, that’s right. Benoit versus Edge. The lack of solid main eveners, HHH, The Rock, Foley, ‘Taker and Steve Austin being the only five means the WWF are very much looking towards pushing new talent up the card.

-Speaking of Austin and 'Taker. The Undertaker is expected to return at King of the Ring and work a program with Mankind or Triple H; whichever doesn't hold the WWF Championship. Steve Austin is not expected to return until Summerslam, with his in-ring return not set until Unforgiven when he will battle the man that drove him over.

-Albert is expected to be written out of television in the next four months. His “semi”-push up to Backlash didn’t connect with the fans, so the WWF are going to invest their time with Test who has recently signed a three year deal. Test has already cut his hair for the push and will be “romantically” paired with Trish Stratus.

-Kane versus Triple H was very well-received and the match only caused to cement Kane in the minds of the staff as a future WWF Champion. This time he will be given more than a 24 hour reign.

Edited January 14, 2007 by Flat_Doughnut

[FireDoughnut]

World Wrestling Federation presents...

Sunday 21st May 2000

WWF Championship Match

Mankind © vs. The Rock ©

Card is subject to change

[FireDoughnut]

Preview

Thursday 4th May 2000

The World Wrestling Federation has two Champions and a BRAND NEW Commissioner. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase returned to the WWF screens as the new Commissioner and his first act was to make sure that Mankind and The Rock keep their hands off of each other. The Commissioner has ordered both men to remain away from each other unless involved in a sanctioned match which means this week, Mankind will have to stay away from his Co-Champion as The Rock will go one-on-one with the WWF Intercontinental Champion, Chris Benoit.

DiBiase made the match as he doesn’t want his WWF Champions going cold before their clash at Judgment Day, stating that every show between now and then he will book them in very difficult matches to make sure that as Judgment Day the fans are given the best match up.

But apart from his orders to the WWF Champions on RAW is WAR, the Commissioner had a quiet night. He put it down to “getting to know his roster” and on Smackdown we will finally see what direction “The Million Dollar Commissioner” wants to take the WWF and the two matches he had already announced shows he is going to be as fair as he possibly came, well at least for the moment.

Goldust marked his return to the WWF on Sunday night as he made a weird decision by attacking Farooq. The Gold One walked out after the A.P.A.’s victory over the Dudley Boys and jumped on Farooq and tonight, Ted DiBiase will force Goldust to explain his actions of face off with the Acolyte powerhouse.

And we will see a rematch of Backlash as Scotty 2 Hotty will take on the man that stole his Light-Heavyweight Championship on RAW is WAR in a tag match. Too Cool will take on Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko once again, looking for a fair fight.

D-Generation X may have picked off more than they can chew after RAW is WAR. Triple H stepped in for X-Pac in the main event as he took the Big Red Machine but the WWF’s Biggest Superstar came to Kane’s rescue as D-X attacked. The Big Show stormed through the rebellious trio and stood tall with Shane McMahon as Raw drew to a close and on Smackdown you just know that both sides will have something to say.

Plus we are sure to hear from Val Venis and Lita after Essa Rios tried to run the couple down… only on WWF’s Smackdown!

Confirmed Matches

Too Cool vs. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn

Farooq vs. Goldust

The Rock vs. Chris Benoit

[FireDoughnut]

Thursday 4th May 2000

Ted DiBiase promised to be as fair as fair is possible when he opened the show and introduced himself to the fans. “The Million Dollar Commissioner” said he only wanted the best for the World Wrestling Federation and would therefore strive to make sure it was the most exciting wrestling product in the world. Ted then went on to announce the two challenges he had set up for The Rock and Mankind. On alternate shows, the Co-WWF Champions would face off with hand picked adversaries in singles matches.

The Rock would face Chris Benoit later in the evening and then Kurt Angle next week. Whereas Mankind would face The Big Show and Kane on separate RAW is WAR broadcasts. The crowd approved of Ted’s decision, but just to make sure there was no hard feelings Ted explained his choice of opponents. DiBiase told Mankind that he too was once retired and he understood how hard it is to get your head back in the game and therefore, Ted was merely helping Mankind by giving him two huge challenges before he had to fight at Judgment Day.

Before the main event could get underway The Rock made his way to the ring. The People’s Champion did his thing, whipping the crowd into an absolute frenzy before he was rudely interrupted by Mankind. Mankind explained to The Rock that he was looking forward to his matches. It was always Mankind’s way to be the underdog and in the build-up to Judgment Day he expected that. And as Mankind spoke, the Acolyte Protection Agency jumped into the ring and started to pound on The Rock. The A.P.A. laid the boots right into The Great One as Mankind stood on the stage explaining to The Rock that “everyone has their price” clearly signifying that he had hired the A.P.A. to be on his side.

The Rock lay battered and bruised as the WWF Intercontinental Champion walked to the ring grinning from ear-to-ear. Chris Benoit started on the offence and worked over on The Rock’s neck, as the People’s Champion lacked any really energy to fight back. ‘The Crippler’ employed some old-school tactics before never got a pinfall as The Rock threw a shoulder at every last second that caused a huge reaction from the crowd and then the comeback arrived. The Rock rallied after ducking a clothesline, forcing Benoit backwards and into the ropes before planting him with a Spinebuster. The Rock then missed his own clothesline but as Benoit tried to take him down for the Crossface, The Great One was able to switch his momentum and plant Benoit with a vicious Russian Leg Sweep. The move brought Mankind down from his viewpoint on the stage towards the ring, and The Rock dared him to get into the ring. Mankind refused and as The Rock turned around he watched into the waiting Benoit; one sick belly-to-belly suplex later and Chris Benoit had pulled off the shock victory.

However, Benoit’s celebrations were cut short as ‘Y2J’ hit the ring through the crowd. Jericho tackled Benoit to the ground and unleashing a barrage of punches before locking in the Walls of Jericho on his rival. Smackdown ended with Benoit locked in Jericho’s submission while Mankind insulted the fallen Rock by pointing at the WWF Championship with glee in his eyes.

Earlier in the show, Chris Jericho announced that he was done playing games with The Crippler. Jericho told his adversary that he was done with countdowns. He was done with ladders. He was done with it all. All he wanted was the Intercontinental Championship and he promised to deliver at Judgment Day when he would get his re-match.

Another re-match from Backlash actually happened on Smackdown as Too Cool clashed with their victors Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. Malenko took great pleasure in carrying his newly won WWF Light-Heavyweight Belt to the ring, much to the displeasure of the former Champion, Scotty 2 Hotty. And as the match got started it appeared as though it would go the same way as the Backlash match as Saturn and Malenko combined to isolate Scotty. However 2 Hotty was able to rally and managed to tag in Grand Master Sexay, and the match was pretty even from there until Malenko was taken down by a double dropkick from the dancing tag team. Scotty saw the opportunity to hit The Worm and with Sexay standing guard, he managed to connect with his crowd-pleasing manoeuvre before pinning Malenko to pull off the reverse result.

One result that did not change was Eddie Guerrero defending his European Champion. The Latino king made he way to the ring for a defence against Val Venis but the match quickly descended into a horrible, horrible mess as first Essa Rios and then Rikishi stormed the ring. Guerrero rolled Venis up for a successful defence and managed to flee the ring safe from Rikishi after combining with Rios to hit the 400 pound Samoan with matching dropkicks.

However as Eddie retreated to the stage he was cut off by the WWF Commissioner, Ted DiBiase. DiBiase has always prided himself on seeing the potential glory in things and in the four men that had just been in the ring, he seen money. DiBiase announced a fatal four-way for the WWF European Championship involving Eddie Guerrero, Val Venis, Essa Rios and Rikishi. All four men looked pleased by the match announcement as the whole situation calmed itself down.

D-Generation X decided to raise their situation to a whole new level as the trio attacked The Big Show and Kane on Smackdown. The two monsters of the WWF were left in the ring as RAW is WAR drew to a close but on Smackdown, D-X didn’t give them a chance to see them coming. Triple H orchestrated the attacks on the two big men; that will only cause to infuriate both.

In the opening match on the card, the mysterious Goldust returned to the WWF ring as he faced off with Farooq. Farooq was looking for an explanation for Goldust’s attack at Backlash but all Goldust did was launch into the match at the A.P.A. member. Farooq battled back and with the help of Bradshaw was able to win the match with a crushing Dominator. However, that wasn’t even enough for Goldust as he attacked the A.P.A. after the match before disappearing into the crowd.

Elsewhere on RAW, Trish Stratus and the Hardy Boys conducted separate interviews. Trish explained to Michael Cole that she is on the look-out for a new client after the disappointment of Albert. She said she wanted a ‘real man’ this time. While Matt and Jeff explained to Kevin Kelly that they would never back down from a challenge. The Hardys ended the interview by saying that if anyone wants a title shot, they can have it.

Smackdown Results

Farooq def. Goldust

Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty & Grand Master Sexay) def. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn

European Championship

Eddie Guerrero © def. Val Venis

Chris Benoit def. The Rock

Show Rating: 80%