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World Wrestling Federation - 2000


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WWF hires Jackson…

According to recent reports, it seems as if the rumours that the WWF has been looking for somebody to permanently take over the creative reins in the wake of Vince Russo’s departure to WCW have some truth in them. Whilst Jim Ross, Eddie Chandler, and Vince McMahon himself have been working at the creative helm, it was always understood to be a temporary measure and the WWF has now found what looks to be a more permanent solution.

Titan Towers issued a statement earlier this morning, December 26th 1999, that they had agreed personal terms with Mark Jackson, who would be joining the writing team and acting in the capacity of Head Booker commencing January 1st 2000. This is somewhat of a bold move from the WWF, in hiring such a pariah, and it remains to be seen how well the gamble will pay off. It is the personal opinion of this column that, if his firebrand tendencies can be controlled, Jackson will be a positive step in the right direction for the WWF.

-- Credit: www.grapplefanatics.com

For those of you on this board not aware of Mark Jackson’s history – and that’s probably quite a few of you – I’ve tried to compile a biography of sorts that details his main achievements and talking points…

Jackson was first hired by the WWF in the fall of 1995. Back then he was an optimistic 22-year old who had come to the attention of the company thanks to some articles written for Pro Wrestling Illustrated and a resume mailed to Titan Towers featuring a mock card for the company’s Survivor Series Pay-Per-View. The writing team did its best in a troubled time to make him feel at home early on, and gradually he built up a reputation as speaking for the “voice of youth” on the creative team and representing the younger fan the WWF was trying to draw in at that point. Whilst the ideas were later credited to others, it is known that the Brood, De-Generation X, and Kane were Jackson’s brainchildren, amongst others, during his time with the WWF.

In 1996 and 1997, backstage politics became a big issue in the WWF locker room, and Jackson was one of the first men to openly criticise Shawn Michaels’ backstage “clique” and stand up for Bret Hart backstage. By this time, he was developing a name for himself as a short fuse and a somewhat outspoken character, who was liable to tell even the company’s biggest stars exactly what he thought of them. When Kevin Nash and Scott Hall left for WCW, Jackson was quoted as saying “good riddance to the money-grubbing bastards” in an unofficial interview, and quickly gained favour in the post-clique locker room. Once Bret Hart made the decision to leave for WCW in 1997, however, Jackson began to lose the ear of the ‘top dogs’ backstage, and won both widespread Internet acclaim and backstage mistrust for his outspoken attitudes to the “utterly disgusting” Montreal incident.

The final straw for Mark Jackson and the WWF came in late 1997, post-Montreal, when he came to loggerheads with Vince Russo. By this time, Russo was rapidly becoming the golden boy of the creative team, and many said he could do no wrong in the eyes of the company. When Jackson objected to numerous Russo ideas based on “utter implausibility” and “sheer stupidity” as well as making his personal dislike of Russo clear, Vince McMahon terminated his contract.

With such a high profile, Jackson found work in the background of ECW early in 1998, and helped them to achieve great success in that year with his racy, clever booking style complimenting the company’s natural tendency to push the envelope and the attitudes of its roster. On the independent scene, Jackson’s acid tongue became well known and was less controlled, and numerous workers left ECW on bad terms due to verbal battles with the booker. Eventually, Paul Heyman began to rely more and more on Jackson, which irritated many of the ECW faithful. This culminated in a backstage fight where New Jack tried to attack Jackson for “killing his character,” only to be arrested and fined. Jackson’s comments towards several of New Jack’s backstage running buddies proved to be his undoing, and he was released shortly before Christmas 1998.

Over the last year or so, Mark Jackson has faded out of the limelight – he was never a central figure on any booking team, despite his new-wave ideas in the WWF or his influence on Paul Heyman in ECW, and he quickly sunk into the shadows. The last reported job he had was booking for the FWA in his native England, a deal which ended on bad terms after numerous arguments with the promotion’s biggest draw, Alex Shane. It seems that, with Russo in WCW and slowly butchering the company with his unchecked, unhinged booking suggestions, that Vince McMahon is ready to bury the hatchet with Jackson, and bring him on to plug the gap left by Russo’s defection. As the grapplefanatics column stated, it seems to be the case that Mark Jackson will be a good booker, nobody doubts that, but whether a year out of steady work has taught him to curb his venomous tongue is another thing entirely.

((Posted by Mike Maddness on 12/26/99, 16:55pm))

Replies...

Mattlandsman – “Nice one! Good to see them getting somebody decent on board. Wonder if he’s still got beef with Michaels over what happened back in 1997?”

LilJoeyPez – “Of course he still has beef with Michaels, Shawn basically had him fired. I always agreed with his ‘outbursts’ myself, he was right on the money when he called Kevin Nash an ‘overhyped, overpaid, oversexed moron’ and New Jack a ‘heat black hole’ IMO.”

James Hearte – “The Nash and NJ comments are basically correct, yes, but the guy is definitely a loose cannon and McMahon is gonna have to work overtime to make sure he doesn’t fly off the handle at the first person who criticises his ideas. Still, anybody who came up with the Brood is fine by me.”

Mattlandsman – “Wonder how HBK and HHH feel about the fact that the guy created DX and yet he spent so long at war with the Clique?”

Mike Maddness – “They’re probably a little pissed off that he’s back, for sure, especially Hunter – but I think I’d be more worried about the ECW thing if I were him, what with there being so many ECW alumni popping up these days. NJ had a lot of friends.”

---

Next post will include more Internet reports, and all the fun of a staff meeting. Oh yeah! This one is like my 4th diary here now, heh heh, but only the 2nd I've been happy with after 1 show or so. This doesn't mean death for my other project, iiW fans, but a short hiatus while I get this one rolling can't be disputed, right?

RK!

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Four released from WCW…

After several weeks’ worth of interest from the WWF, and the appalling run of form WCW has been on of late, numerous WCW talent has asked to be released over the last few days. This column can now confirm that four men have been given their releases – Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn. It is expected that they will sign for the WWF in the coming days, depending on the will of the new Head Booker, Mark Jackson.

What this news means for those who did not get their releases – including Rey Misterio Jr, Konnan, and Shane Douglas – is unknown, although it is likely that they will suffer the concequences of the decision backstage. Misterio’s contract has only 3 months left to run as it is, and he has so far refused to enter into negotiations with WCW to extend it beyond March.

-- Credit: www.grapplefanatics.com

Jackson already turning heads?

Mark Jackson has, apparently, been making comments about the state of the WWF, with several days left until he officially takes charge of the promotion as Head Booker. When asked in an interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated about his vision for the product, Jackson replied we would be seeing “less Russo-fied crap,” “no more ludicrous bullshit or filler” and “better handling of the product.”

Whilst he has set out a wish to improve the company’s product and keep the WWF moving upwards away from WCW, it is possible that his last two comments were a veiled swipe at the work of the temporary booking team. Based on Internet articles written for 1wrestling.com, we already know of Jackson’s negative opinions regarding the Big Show, Gillberg, and numerous other angles, and this column expects these to be among the first renovated under the new administraion.

-- Credit: www.grapplefanatics.com

WWF Staff Meeting, January 1st 2000,

Titan Towers, Greenwich, CT,

10:32am…

Vince is late. He’s always late, as I remember it, in all honesty. He never used to show up to anything on time – staff meetings, contract discussions, even lunch – just to make sure we all knew who was in charge. Two minutes and counting, he should arrive any moment… and there he is. Is he shorter than I remember him?

Vince McMahon: “Sorry I’m late, everyone. Please, take your seats.”

We all sit down, with Vince at the head of the table, and now I can get a good look at everyone else who is involved – Shane and Stephanie McMahon, Jean-Paul Levesque, Eddie Chandler, and Jim Ross. They’re pulling out the big guns for this one… and Hunter, of course.

Vince McMahon: “You all know why I’ve called you here. Since Russo jumped to WCW, we’ve been running with a fairly makeshift booking team, and now we’ve hired a permanent replacement for him. Some of you know Mark, some of you will have missed him first time around, but I’m confident he’ll make a good impression this time around. We’re going to start with some news about the TRAXX camp – we’ve decided to cut our relationship with it, and we’ve managed to negotiate a deal with Killer Kowalski to use his camp as a feeder instead.”

Good move, I’d say, Kamp Kowalski always had bags more potential than TRAXX at any rate. Not to mention that with Rocky Johnson and Dominic DeNucci working alongside Kowalski down there, we’ve probably got the best trainers in the world on hand.

Vince McMahon: “In addition to this, we’ve extended our deal with Ohio Valley, and also signed a few sponsorship contracts for the new year. Right then, I think we’ll hand over to our new Head Booker right now… Mark?”

Here goes…

Mark Jackson: “Yes. I think the first few issues are gimmicks. We’ve got a lot of guys working with gimmicks that we simply can’t get over. I mean, Mideon for God’s sake – do you guys really think the TV networks will allow us to have a naked guy running around all over the shop? No, they won’t. In all honesty, I don’t even know why the guy’s still on the roster – he’s basically talentless.”

Jim Ross: “He’s a company man, he’s been working here for over six years now!”

Mark Jackson: “Jim, I understand that loyalty is a big thing here, but it baffles me that the guy has worked here for half a decade and nobody has worked out that he’s got about as much talent as David Arquette and none of the drawing power. And Mark Henry… Sexual Chocolate? Who the Hell came up with that? The guy’s trying to play a suave lady-killer, despite the fact that the only way he could get a woman in real life would be out of some sort of morbid curiosity. He has no charisma, no looks, nothing, the gimmick is bombing. Then, of course, we come to Gillberg…”

Shane McMahon: “What’s wrong with Gillberg?”

Mark Jackson: “Everything. Back when he debuted, it was all fine and dandy. The WWF needed to make fun of WCW, to make it seem unprofessional and generally stupid. These days, WCW is doing that for itself, so there’s hardly much point in us doing it – and there’s DEFINITELY no point in having the Light-Heavyweight title on him. Go watch Nitro, people – the only reason WCW fans accept the bullshit they put on in main events is because they have the cruiserweights opening the show with some of the best wrestling in North America. Meanwhile, our equivalent of that division is being propped up by Gillberg. As soon as we’re able, we’ll be pulling the belt off of him and trying to restore some credibility to the thing.”

Jim Ross: “What about the Women’s title? You mentioned that in your brief.”

Mark Jackson: “The Women’s division is a joke. In the USA, women’s wrestling is a joke, we use it for T&A on Pay-Per-Views. In Japan, it’s a serious sport, over here we have the belt on the Kat. As far as I can tell, the only reason she’s still employed is because of Lawler. We’ll be pulling that title off of Kat as soon as we can, and trying very hard to make the fans forget we have a serious women’s division. Next up is the main event scene. I trust you all know my feelings on how Big Show’s title reign has gone so far – I don’t think you guys made a good call there, with all due respect. His weight and mobility need to improve before he can be a credible upper-midcard threat, yet he’s carrying the World title.”

Jean-Paul Levesque: “What do you suggest, then?”

Mark Jackson: “We need to overhaul the main event scene. Austin and Undertaker are out, and you can’t carry the company with Duane and Mick on your own. If we can’t bring people in, we need to create main eventers from the upper-midcard. Basically, what I want to say to you guys is this – we’re on top, we’re above WCW, but we’ve gotten complacent. It’s going to be my job to turn that around, to stop with all of the crap and the filler, to get rid of the stuff that isn’t working and the stuff that’s just plain stupid, and get back to the root of it all – wrestling. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot to get done before HeAT tomorrow, so I’ll ask the meeting to be adjourned. Vince?”

Vince McMahon: “Go right ahead. Dismissed.”

Everybody leaves, most of them looking a little surprised at my bluntness and JR looking mildly impressed, and I head on out right after them. This is going to be the best job I’ve ever had, for sure, but it’s definitely not going to be easy. WCW might be the home of backstage politics, but Jean-Paul has Stephanie in his pocket and is sitting in on booking meetings these days, so that says a whole lot about his influence. When you factor in that he’s best friends with Shawn Michaels, who still hasn’t forgiven me for my comments on the Montreal Incident, and that this basically means the McMahon family can be turned against me all over again with a few sweet nothings whispered in Stephanie’s ear, it all adds up to one thing – I’m going to have to tread very carefully indeed…

---

More shenanigans and roster/information in the next post, I think. I'm still feeling out the idea of having a character with his own political agenda and allegiances, as opposed to the totally neutral guys that some of us EWB types like to write ourselves as. Unfortunately, I'm no fan of "Mary Sue" style writing, so my character can have faults and flaws with the best of 'em!

RK!

:smug:

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Head Booker’s Office, January 1st 2000,

Titan Towers, Greenwich, CT

11:05am…

“Piss off, Shane.”

I don’t care if it’s rude, but he’s been asking me if I’m sure I don’t want a doughnut or a coffee for the last half hour. He’s so clearly trying to butter me up, to get my favour and get me on his side (or, rather, in his pocket), that it’s a little cringeworthy in all honesty, but still he keeps on buzzing my office, and now he’s actually come to my door.

“Uh, sir?”

Okay, not Shane. Looking up, at the door is a tall brunette who looks about 23 and is almost wearing a tight-fitting suit and has clearly taken style tips from Ms. Hancock.

“Oh, sorry, thought you were Shane, the bastard won’t stop asking me if I want a snack. And you are?”

“Sophie, sir, your new personal assistant.”

Wow. I didn’t get an assistant like her back in ECW… of course I didn’t get an assistant at all back in ECW, but still. Hopefully she’s got her head screwed on as tight as that skirt, and I’m not fighting off an attack of the blonde at every turn.

“I have some reports for you, Mr. Jackson, sir.”

“Stop calling me sir, Sophie. Mark will do fine, I’m not high-and-mighty like half of the guys around here.”

“Yes sir… uh, I mean, Mark. Well, I have some reports from the sponsors, offering you their congratulations at being appointed and hoping you’ll continue to offer the product they’ve come to expect.”

“They want me to turn out crap?”

Sophie laughs. She’s got a pretty nice laugh, a sing-song of giggle, definitely easy on the ear as well as the eyes. Still, the real test is whether she’s easy on the brain as well.

“No, sir… Mark. I think they mean that they’ll be pulling the plug if the show gets a bit, uh, risky. Not to worry, most of them are pretty lenient in all honesty, I just suppose they were a little concerned when they learned you booked all those flaming table spots in ECW.”

“Oh, right. Shouldn’t be a big problem, I only book those if I don’t like the guy in question. You’d be surprised how long it took New Jack to cotton on, actually.”

There’s that laugh again. Jesus Christ, man, snap out of it! You’re this woman’s boss, for God’s sake! Remain calm and aloof at all times, that’s what the self-help book says, and the guy who wrote it is a Doctor so he knows what he’s talking about.

“Also, Jim Cornette called about a few of the OVW talent. He thinks Tazz is ready to come up now, he was almost ready for TV at any rate. Trish Stratus also looks ready for television, just about, and we have a couple of memos through from Dr. Youngblood… Mark Calloway and Steve Austin won’t be available for about four months, at least.”

“Check. Development talent, and no cripples until April. Anything else?”

“Yes. We received a telephone call earlier, from a man called David Keat. Apparently he’s acting as the agent for the four men who left WCW last week, and a few of the other men who haven’t been granted their releases yet. Mr. McMahon faxed contracts out to Benoit, Malenko, Saturn, and Guerrero last week, and Keat says they’ve all accepted and signed. They’re ready to fly out when you give the call. Also, he says that Rey Mistero Jr. is interested in signing with us once his WCW deal runs out. We could send somebody down if you like, to tie things up?”

“Yeah, okay. Can JR get down there, deal with it, and get back by Monday?”

“I think so, yes. Shall I call him?”

“Please. Right, Sophie… we have a TV show in two days, and it looks like I’ve got a lot of planning to do. Is there anything else?”

Sophie thinks for a moment, shakes her head, and goes to leave. Right as she’s closing the door, something seems to pop into her head, and she rushes back into the room, brandishing a piece of paper at me.

“Oh, yes! This is the preview for HeAT – it’s been taped already, of course,but if you need anything for Raw then the preview is here.”

And, with that, she’s breezed out of the room again, off to tend to her hundred-and-one other duties, no doubt. Right, let’s see what they’ve turned out for this Sunday…

user posted image

WWF Sunday Night HeAT Preview,

January 2nd, 2000…

For the first show of the New Year, HeAT is turning it up! Not only will De-Generation X be in the house for the inaugural show of the new Millennium, but we have two titles on the line as Val Venis defends his European crown against X-Pac in the main event, and Big Bossman puts the Hardcore title on the line in an open challenge match!

In addition to this, the vampiric Gangrel is hoping to make 2000 his year. He’ll be hoping, then, for a big win over Steve Blackman on HeAT this week!

And, in tag team action, the ‘evil’ Kai En Tai will be squaring off with the physically imposing tag team of Viscera and Prince Albert in a mismatch of sizes, as the smallest tag team in the WWF takes on two men who weigh a combined 875lbs!

Confirmed matches…

Kai En Tai vs Prince Albert & Viscera

Gangrel vs Steve Blackman

Big Bossman © vs ??? – Hardcore title match

Val Venis © vs X-Pac – European title match  *Main Event*

...

New Recruits to OVW…

Ohio Valley Wrestling, the WWF’s esteemed developmental territory, has turned out numerous great talents in the past few years. Adam Copeland and Jason Reso, better known as Edge & Christian, trained there, as has hot prospect Trish Stratus who is expected to be called up soon. For the New Year, it seems the WWF has recruited a new crop of talent to the feeder promotion, with a list of new trainees announced today all under written contracts. The list is, in full…

Ace Steel,

AJ Styles,

Air Paris,

Alexis Laree,

Chris Hero,

Chris Michaels,

CM Punk,

Sean Casey,

Sean O’Haire.

The only major surprise in this group is Sean O’Haire, who was released from WCW’s Power Plant facility just before the New Year. Seeing the potential in O’Haire, the WWF have profited from WCW’s move and signed him to an exclusive deal. All of the group will report to OVW for training on Monday.

-- Credit: www.grapplefanatics.com

---

I lied on the roster front, I must say. This is probably classed as postwhoring right now, so I'm gonna ease off for a bit and let y'all sink your teeth into it.

RK!

:P

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World Wrestling Federation Business Information as of January 1st, 2000…

Owner: Linda McMahon

Head Booker: Mark Jackson

Money: $35,000,000

Size: Global

Public Image: 60%

Based In: Greenwich, Connecticut, America

Risk Level: 70%

Production Values: 100%

Merchandising: 100% ($2,000,000/month)

Advertising: 100% ($1,000,000/month)

Main Sponsor: Sports Illustrated

Minor Sponsors: PlayStation 2, Stacker 2, THQ

Development Territory: Ohio Valley Wrestling (Head Booker – Jim Cornette)

Training Camp: Kamp Kowalksi (Head Trainer – Killer Kowalski)

WWF ACTIVE ROSTER (Overness, Alignment, Gimmick)…

Main Event

· Big Show (90, Face, Monster)

· Mick Foley (92, Face, Fun Babyface)

· The Rock (100, Face, Unique)

· Triple H (95, Heel, Bad Ass)

Upper Midcard

· Chris Jericho (85, Face, Cool)

· Chyna (82, Face, Equality Fighter)

· Kane (82, Face, Supernatural)

· Kurt Angle (80, Heel, Legitimate Athlete)

· Rikishi (85, Face, Fun Babyface)

Midcard

· Billy Gunn (72, Heel, Degenerate)

· Bradshaw (70, Face, Bad Ass)

· British Bulldog (80, Heel, Bad Ass)

· Bubba Ray Dudley (75, Heel, Extremist)

· Christian (75, Heel, Cocky)

· D-Von Dudley (72, Heel, Extremist)

· Edge (75, Heel, Arrogant)

· Farooq (70, Face, Bad Ass)

· Grandmasta Sexay (70, Face, Fun Babyface)

· Hardcore Holly (68, Heel, Bad Ass)

· Jeff Hardy (75, Face, Daredevil)

· Mark Henry (70, Face, Suave)

· Matt Hardy (73, Face, Daredevil)

· Road Dogg (74, Heel, Degenerate)

· Scotty 2 Hotty (70, Face, Fun Babyface)

· Val Venis (70, Face, Suave)

· X-Pac (70, Heel, Obnoxious)

Lower Midcard

· Al Snow (70, Face, Crazy)

· Big Bossman (65, Heel, Corrupt Law Enforcer)

· Crash Holly (63, Heel, Putz)

· D’Lo Brown (65, Face, Cool)

· Essa Rios (45, Face, Daredevil)

· Gangrel (65, Heel, Vampire)

· Godfather (70, Face, Pimp)

· Joey Abs (51, Heel, Rich Snob)

· Pete Gas (51, Heel, Rich Snob)

· Prince Albert (64, Heel, Monster)

· Rodney (51, Heel, Rich Snob)

· Steve Blackman (63, Face, Martial Arts)

· Stevie Richards (65, Face, Impressionist)

· Test (66, Face, Bad Ass)

· Viscera (57, Heel, Monster)

Openers

· Gillberg (55, Face, Comedy Character)

· Headbanger Mosh (50, Face, Punk)

· Headbanger Thrasher (50, Face, Punk)

· Ivory (51, Heel, Bitch)

· Jacqueline (48, Face, Legitimate Athlete)

· Naked Mideon (55, Face, Streaker)

· Sho Funaki (55, Face, Comedy Character)

· TAKA Michinoku (55, Face, Comedy Character)

Managers

· Debra McMichael (60, Face, Cheerleader)

· Fabulous Moolah (60, Face, None)

· Harvey Wippleman (55, Face, Comedy Character)

· Lita (58, Face, Tomboy)

· Luna Vachon (50, Heel, Psycho)

· Mae Young (60, Face, Comedy Character)

· Paul Bearer (70, Face, Weirdo)

· Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley (85, Heel, Evil Boss)

· Terri (65, Heel, Seductress)

· The Kat (60, Face, Cheerleader)

· Tori (60, Face, Legitimate Athlete)

Non-Wrestlers

· Shane McMahon (90, Heel, Unique)

· Shawn Michaels (92, Heel, Cocky)

· Vince McMahon (100, Heel, Evil Boss)

Ohio Valley Wrestling (Developmental) Talent

· Ace Steel

· Air Paris

· AJ Styles

· Alexis Laree

· Blue Meanie

· Bo Dupp

· Brock Lesnar

· Bull Buchanan

· Chad Collyer

· Chris Hero

· Chris Michaels

· CM Punk

· Damien

· Dave Batista

· Derrick King

· Doc Dean

· Doug Basham

· Jack Dupp

· Jason Lee

· Joe E. Legend

· Kimo

· K-Krush

· Mr. Black

· Nick Dinsmore

· O.G. Ekmo

· Payne

· Rob Conway

· Ron Waterman

· Russ McCullough

· Scott Vick

· Sean Casey

· Sean O’Haire

· Steve Austin *Injury*

· Steve Bradley

· Synn

· Tazz

· The Damaja

· Tiger Ali Singh

· Trish Stratus

· Undertaker *Injury*

· Victoria

Tag Teams (Members)

· APA (Bradshaw/Farooq)

· De-Generation X (Triple H/X-Pac)

· Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley/D-Von Dudley)

· Edge and Christian (Christian/Edge)

· Godfather and D’Lo (D’Lo Brown/Godfather)

· Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy)

· Head Cheese (Al Snow/Steve Blackman)

· Headbangers (Headbanger Mosh/Headbanger Thrasher)

· Holly Cousins (Crash Holly/Hardcore Holly)

· Kai En Tai (Sho Funaki/TAKA Michinoku)

· Mean Street Posse (Rodney/Pete Gas)

· New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn/Road Dogg)

· Rock N Sock Connection (Mick Foley/The Rock)

· Snow and Mankind (Al Snow/Mick Foley)

· Supply and Demand (Godfather/Val Venis)

· Too Cool (Grandmasta Sexay/Scotty 2 Hotty)

Stables (Members, * denotes leader)

· De-Generation X (Billy Gunn/Road Dogg/Triple H*/X-Pac)

· McMahon-Helmsley Regime (Billy Gunn/Road Dogg/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley/Triple H*/X-Pac)

· Mean Street Posse (Joey Abs*/Pete Gas/Rodney)

· Too Cool (Grandmasta Sexay/Rikishi*/Scotty 2 Hotty)

WWF CHAMPIONS…

· WWF World champion – Big Show (Won from Triple H on 11/14/99)

· WWF Intercontinental champion – Chris Jericho/Chyna (Both awarded the title on 12/12/99)

· WWF Tag Team champions – New Age Outlaws (Won from Mankind & Al Snow on 11/8/99)

· WWF European champion – Val Venis (Won from British Bulldog on 12/12/99)

· WWF Women’s champion – The Kat (Won from Ivory on 12/12/99)

· WWF Light-Heavyweight champion – Gillberg (Won from Christian Cage on 11/17/98)

· WWF Hardcore champion – Big Bossman (Won from Al Snow on 12/10/99)

WWF TELEVISION

RAW is WAR (USA Network, Prime Time)

· Announcer – Jim Ross

· Colour Commentary – Jerry “The King” Lawler

· Last Rating – ???

SmackDown! (UPN, Prime Time)

· Announcer – Michael Cole

· Colour Commentary – Jerry “The King” Lawler

· Last Rating – ???

Sunday Night HeAT (USA Network, Early Evening)

· Announcer – Michael Cole

· Colour Commentary – Johnathan “Coach” Coachman

· Last Rating – ???

---

Hope that gives y'all a better picture of the state of the WWF at this time. Everything is accurate as far as I can remember/find out from various sources, there may be a few mistakes, however! Call me up on any, if you see them.

RK!

:blink:

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Guest Blade

Nice Job Mark, Can't wait to read the first few shows i hope they will be up to par with the old diarys you did at e2-o but knowing you they will always come on top. ill be reading and good luck with this one

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WWF Sunday Night HeAT

2/1/00

From: The St. Pete Times arena in Tampa, FL

Announcers: Michael Cole and Johnathan “Coach” Coachman

The first show of the New Year begins with a short highlights package of Millenium celebrations across America, and at WWF New York in Times Square, before the opening video credits to the show roll – featuring some of the show’s regular talent, including De-Generation X, Kai En Tai, and Al Snow, as well as bigger stars like Mick Foley and The Rock. When the credits are finished, we go over to the St. Pete Times arena in Tampa Bay, Florida, where Michael Cole and the Coach, Johnathan Coachman, are on commentary!

Michael Cole: Welcome to Sunday Night HeAT and a Happy New Year to you all! I’m Michael Cole, he’s Coach, and we’ve got over seven and a half thousand packed into the arena tonight for some great action!

Johnathan Coachman: That’s right, Michael, we’ve got two titles on the line tonight! Val Venis defends European gold against X-Pac, while Big Bossman and Al Snow throw all of the rules out of the window for the Hardcore title!

Michael Cole: Not only that, Coach, but we’ve also got Gangrel vs Steve Blackman, Kai En Tai vs Viscera and Prince Albert, and D-X are in the house tonight! It’s going to be a big night, and a huge year for the WWF!

-- TRIAL BASIS

Essa Rios’ music hits now, and he heads down to the ring to a fair response from the HeAT crowd, sliding into the ring at speed and sending his opponent out of the ring. Howard Finkel introduces the opponent as Chad Collyer, who is in a trial match tonight, and Rios backflips down from the turnbuckle to face the youngster and begin the match.

Essa Rios vs Chad Collyer

The two men lock up to start, and Collyer nails and uppercut before forcing Rios into the corner for a kneelift and a backflip kick. Essa comes back with some punches and a dropkick to take control, and never looks back. The match itself is short, with the more experienced Rios dominating the young Chad Collyer, who manages to get in a few brief flurries of high-flying, fast-paced offense before being closed down by Rios. Eventually, Essa Rios hits a hurricanrana, and then the Moonsault for the 1-2-3 at 3:38!

After the match, Rios helps up Chad Collyer as the announcers wonder if the youngster passed his trial. The two competitors shake hands, and get a round of applause for their sportsmanship as the transmission cuts to the backstage area.

**1/4 (Match Quality 85%, Crowd Reaction 37%, Overall Rating 67%)

-- YEAR OF D-X

We go to the De-Generation X locker room now, where the stable are relaxing on the leather sofa with some tasty blondes. Triple H is sitting with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, feeding her grapes, while the New Age Outlaws are shining their Tag Team titles and flirting with the women, and X-Pac is warming up for his match later on…

Billy Gunn: X-Pac… calm down, you’re givin’ me a headache.

X-Pac: Hey, Billy, this has got to be OUR year, okay? The new Millenium means a new WWF, man, and we’re gonna make it a D-X WWF! You know how I’m gonna do that? I’m gonna bring the European title to this party, man!

Triple H nods his agreement, and stops cavorting with his wife long enough to speak…

Triple H: Right on, X-Pac. This IS our year, y’understand? We have all the power now, we’re the guys calling the shots, and we’re going to make sure that nobody forgets it! Tonight, X-Pac, you win the European title, and tomorrow night on Raw the plan all starts to fall into place.

Billy Gunn: What plan?

Road Dogg: He won’t tell you. He won’t tell any of us. I’ve been tryin’ all day, it’s no use.

Hunter laughs, and shakes his head…

Triple H: Chill out, guys. You’ll all know in due time. Come on, trust me. After all – this is OUR year, right?

All: Yeah!

And, with that, we fade out to a commercial break.

(Segment quality 94%)

-- DAVIDS vs. GOLIATHS?

Coming back from the commercial break, Prince Albert is already in the ring and Viscera is on his way out as well, looking menacing as ever in his all-black attire and with his eerily vacant stare.

Michael Cole: This one is definitely going to be a clash of styles, Coach! The giant brawlers against the speed and aerial tactics of Kai En Tai – which do you think will come out on top?

Johnathan Coachman: Oh, definitely size, Cole! Paint it any way you like, but sometimes the sheer AMOUNT of brawn overpowers whatever clever high-flying moves the opponents might have!

Michael Cole: Well, I guess we’ll find out now.

Sure enough, Kai En Tai’s music plays, and the tiny Japanese team head down to the ring, sporting their “Evil – Indeed!” T-Shirts as usual and getting a nice reaction from the crowd. They face off with their huge opponents, and the bell rings.

Kai En Tai vs Viscera/Prince Albert

Almost immediately, Funaki is flattened by an Albert boot, while Viscera superkicks TAKA Michinoku down! As ‘Big Vis’ deals with TAKA, Prince Albert begins throwing Funaki around the ring with a variety of powerful slams, suplexes, and simple clotheslines and chops. The big men make a tag, and Viscera demolishes Funaki with a belly-to-back slam and a legdrop, almost crushing his opponent! TAKA manages to break the 2-count, and recieves a big superkick for his troubles. Viscera taunts now, allowing Sho Funaki enough leaway to nail a jumping headbutt to the groin and tag in TAKA Michinoku! Michinoku flies off of the top with a missile dropkick to Albert, and then nails another dropkick to Viscera for the pin at 6:25!

Kai En Tai celebrate after the victory, not believing their luck in overcoming two of the biggest men on the WWF roster, and quickly make their way backstage before they can incur the wrath of the giants. Viscera and Albert look furious as we once again go backstage.

½* (Match Quality 61%, Crowd Reaction 54%, Overall Rating 57%)

(Viscera didn’t sell very much, which hurt the match rating)

-- HARDCORE GURU

In the back now, and Al Snow is standing with Kevin Kelly, who is holding a microphone. Snow is wearing black tights a lot like his partner Steve Blackman’s, but is still carrying Head and sporting “!EM PLEH” on his head as usual…

Kevin Kelly: Al Snow, you’ve just asked for an interview on HeAT tonight – why?

Al Snow: It’s perfectly simple! Kevin Kelly, tonight I’m answering the Big Bossman’s open challenge for the Hardcore title – because we all know how the Hardcore title belongs around the waist of a HARDCORE GURU like myself!

Kevin Kelly: How will this match, if you win, effect your relationship with Steve Blackman, your partner and former Hardcore champion himself?

Al Snow: How the Hell should I know? What do I look like to you, some sort of Mastermind or something? If you want to know about Steve, ask Steve! Only, don’t expect a long answer, he’s a little cranky lately, since he’s been teaming with me… I wonder why?

Before Kevin Kelly can state the obvious answer, Snow has walked off, seemingly in a dreamworld of his own, conversing with Head about baseball bats and bowling balls, seemingly arguing about which one hurts more. With that, we head back over to ringside.

(Segment quality 77%)

-- VAMPIRES > MARTIAL ARTS

Back at ringside, Steve Blackman’s music hits and the ‘Lethal Weapon’ himself heads down to the ring to a good reaction, punching and kicking at the air as he walks down the ramp to show off his martial arts moves.

Michael Cole: This guy Blackman is definitely impressive in the ring, Coach, but outside of the squared circle he’s certainly less imposing.

Johnathan Coachman: You mean he’s boring?

Michael Cole: No, I meant what I said.

Johnathan Coachman: Oh. I think he’s boring. Well, maybe teaming up with that schizo Al Snow will liven him up a little, huh?

As Coach talks, the Brood music plays over the speakers and the fans boo as Gangrel rises up from underneath the stage, surrounded by a ring of flames, and walks through the fire onto the ramp. He heads down to the ring, imbibes from his golden chalice, and spits blood at some fans in the front row! With blood still on his lips, he steps into the ring to face Blackman.

Gangrel vs Steve Blackman

Blackman kicks Gangrel into the ropes to start, and delivers a big heel kick to the head, sending the vampire out of the ring – but Gangrel seems to be enjoying the pain! He heads back into the ring, and clotheslines Blackman down before locking up with him. The two men exchange the advantage often in this match, with Blackman preferring to use his martial arts moves and his technical wrestling holds, while the vampire uses a variety of suplexes and clotheslines to wear the black belt down. Eventually, Blackman kicks Gangrel in the chest, sending him falling to the outside, and the vampire grabs his goblet. Taking a deep sip, he steps back into the ring, and spits blood in Blackman’s face! Disgusted, Blackman tries to wipe the blood away, allowing Gangrel to hit him with the Implant DDT for the victory at 5:20!

Gangrel quickly leaves the ring after the match, grabs his cup again, and heads back up the ramp, leaving a beaten and blood-stained Steve Blackman in the ring.

Michael Cole: What did he do that for, Coach?

Johnathan Coachman: To win?

Michael Cole: Yeah, but why the Hell couldn’t he just do it without cheating, huh?

As Gangrel laughs on the ramp, his fangs glistening with blood, we go to a commercial break.

*1/4 (Match Quality 71%, Crowd Reaction 56%, Overall Rating 63%)

-- HYPE CENTRAL!

Back from the commercial break, and we see a video hyping up Triple H. It shows his achievements as a member of De-Generation X alongside Shawn Michaels, him taking over the stable and ‘firing’ Michaels, his alliance with the McMahon family through his marriage to Stephanie McMahon, and numerous images of the Game dominating opponents in the ring. The video finishes with a shot of Triple H posing on the apron, spitting water high into the air, as we hear the familiar words…

Triple H: I am the Game, and I am THAT DAMN GOOD!

From there, the video fades out and we go back to ringside.

(Segment quality 90%)

-- INSANITY WINS THE DAY

Big Bossman’s music plays now, and the WWF Hardcore champion heads down to the ring to a good heel reaction from the crowd, swinging his nightstick around and motioning to the Hardcore belt around his waist. Bossman grabs a steel chair from ringside, and brings it into the ring with him.

Michael Cole: Bossman is obviously preparing for this match, Coach, bringing in the chair.

Johnathan Coachman: It definitely pays, Cole, especially when your opponent is nuts like Al Snow! I mean, that guy could use anything as a weapon!

Sure enough, when Al Snow’s music hits, Snow comes out to the ring brandishing not only Head, but also a large trash can full to the brim with weapons! Bossman looks a little unnerved by the plunder, especially when Snow takes out a golf club and heads into the ring!

Big Bossman © vs Al Snow – WWF Hardcore title

Snow swings the golf club to start, but Bossman blocks it with the steel chair and pushes him into the turnbuckle, following with a chairshot to steal the golf club away. Snow retaliates with a poke to the eyes and a dropkick, and the brawl is on! The two men use all sorts of hardcore weaponary in this match, including Snow’s trash can, a 2x4, and even a ‘Men At Work’ road sign! Bossman uses his power to take the advantage for much of the match here, while Al Snow uses his superior knowledge of hardcore wrestling to outsmart the Cobb County native. Eventually, Snow reaches into the trash can and pulls out a bowling ball, before slamming Big Bossman into the turnbuckle and bowling the ball into his crotch! Bossman yells in pain, and is caught with the Snow Plow for the Snow victory at 4:58!

After the match, Snow raises the bowling ball in victory, picks up Head, and explains to the mannequin that he knew bowling balls worked better than baseball bats all along. Bossman is left in the ring, cradling his groin, as Snow grabs the Hardcore title and makes his way backstage.

¼* (Match Quality 57%, Crowd Reaction 63%, Overall Rating 61%)

(The WWF Hardcore title has gained in image)

Michael Cole: Owch! That bowling ball is definitely going to leave a mark on Bossman, Coach!

Johnathan Coachman: Oh man, I’m in pain from just watching it! I don’t think we’ll be hearing the pitter-patter of tiny feet in the Bossman household anytime soon, Cole!

Michael Cole: Indeed. But now, it’s time for our main event, as X-Pac tries to make 2000 D-X’s year from the word go with a European title shot at Val Venis!

-- X-PAC’S YEAR?

As Cole speaks, Val Venis’ music plays over the speakers, and the European champion heads down to the ring, with the title over his shoulder and his trademark towel wrapped around his waist. Once in the ring, Venis teases the ladies in the crowd by slowly pulling off the towel, and raises his title in the air as he awaits his opponent. “King of Rock” by Run DMC plays, and the fans boo as X-Pac heads down to the ring, wearing the new-look D-X football jersey, taunting Venis and the crowd. Stepping into the ring, X-Pac jumps into the air and chops his crotch as the D-X fireworks fly into the air, and squares off with Venis to begin the main event.

Val Venis © vs X-Pac – WWF European title

The two men lock up, but X-Pac goes low to take control of the match from the outset, and hits a few spin kicks to weaken Venis up before suplexing him hard to the mat. The Big Valbowski comes back with some hard right hands and a DDT, before locking on a side leg lock. The two men go at it tooth and nail in this one, both of them fighting to get their first victory of the New Year and also for the European title. X-Pac uses his incredible speed and quick kicks to get the advantage, while the European champion fights back with his brawling ability and some submission holds as well. Eventually, Venis hits a big spinebuster, drilling X-Pac into the mat, and signals for the finish. As he does, however, Billy Gunn runs down to the ring! Val goes to the top rope, and Gunn shoves him, but it seems to only give Venis momentum for a crushing Money Shot to retain the title at 5:45!

Venis gets up after the match, as Gunn heads into the ring. Gunn tries to hit a Fame Asser on Venis, but the European champion is able to dodge and clothesline Billy down to the mat! Val heads backstage now, as Gunn and X-Pac stand in the ring, cursing their bad luck.

* (Match Quality 65%, Crowd Reaction 69%, Overall Rating 67%)

Michael Cole: Whoa! Billy Gunn’s interference backfired there, Coach, he seemed to actually give Val Venis more impact with that splash!

Johnathan Coachman: Y’know, despite that loss, I still have a feeling that this will be D-X’s year, Cole!

Michael Cole: Well, I guess you’ll have to tune in to RAW is WAR tomorrow to find out! That’s it from HeAT tonight, join us tomorrow night for Raw and next week at the same time for Sunday Night HeAT! Goodnight!

Card Rating – 69%

Head Booker’s Office, January 3rd 2000,

Titan Towers, Greenwich, CT

1:15pm…

“Not a bad show, all in all, from HeAT. The last show of the old order, I suppose, seeing as it had already been booked and taped by the time I took control. But, still, it was a pretty decent performance all around from everyone who was involved, especially from D-X for their hot angle backstage and also to the production team for the Triple H video… did you get all that, Sophie?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Okay. Keep taking dictation, then… a 1.95 TV rating is definitely impressive for a B-Show, and the crowd was pretty hot as well, for most of it. How many were in there, Sophie?”

“Uhm… 7,525, according to the gate information, which means $301000 from ticket sales. Not bad, really.”

“Well, quite. Okay, onto the comments and other assorted constructive criticism… good job to Essa Rios and Chad Collyer, I thought. Chad isn’t ready for TV yet, but if he keeps putting in performances like that down in OVW and continues to improve then he could make it.”

To be honest, I was really very impressed with Collyer, but I don’t want to make the kid’s head too big at this stage – he’s only 21, after all. Next up is…

“Bossman and Al Snow – not a bad match, but definitely a style clash there. The Hardcore stipulation saved it, really.”

That’s definitely putting it lightly, but I don’t want to anger anybody backstage just yet by criticising a show I had nothing to do with. The plunder really saved their asses in that match, or the fans would have just sat on their hands like in the tag team match, which I won’t even be mentioning – I can’t talk about Viscera without yelling expletives.

“Right, that’s done. Anything else, Sophie?”

She looks through a ream of various documents, papers, and e-mails, before producing two sheets that look like e-mails from workers.

“Yes. Al Snow requested a match with Edge, saying he thought Bossman didn’t bring out the best in him… and Jean-Paul wants to work with Duane soon.”

Heh heh. Of course he does. Hunter has been trying to book himself in a classic match with the Rock ever since he got the ear of the old booking team. Well, we’ll see how things go, but I’m definitely not going to throw a match like that away on free TV just because Jean-Paul’s ego demands it.

“Okay, right. Do you have the letters I drafted, Sophie?”

“The ones to Mark Henry and Dennis Knight?”

“Yes. Can you make sure they get the letters A.S.A.P, please? I don’t want things to be awkward at the end of the day.”

“Right.”

The letters are, of course, informing Mideon and Henry that their contracts have been terminated with immediate effect, and that they’ll be given severance pay amounting to a month’s wages. D’Lo probably won’t be happy that we’re letting his weightlifting buddy go, but to be honest I’m not too worried about pissing off a perennial midcarder who used to weigh more than the man in question.

“Okay. That’s all then, Sophie, I’ve got to fly out to – now, to make sure everything goes as planned for Raw. Are you going to be okay here?”

“Of course, boss.”

“Great. And don’t call me boss.”

---

Yeah, so I didn't book the exact same HeAT as the WWF did, despite it already being taped... but whatever, I needed to throw in a couple of angles and things. Hopefully I captured the 'feel' of a WWF show from that time, and as from Raw everything will start to go my way. I'm also not 100% on the format of the shows, so any advice or comments would be nice at this stage.

RK!

:thumbsup:

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Good start dude. I must say this diary has a potential to be a good one, ok maybe, IF you stick to it and stuff(which I know you can).

The rosters are good since they are the actual ones from the year 2000. My gripes are:

AJ Styles hehehe...wow I saw THAT ONE coming anyways but still atleast you didnt give him a push this early.

Coach Let me tell you one thing. From January-October of 2000, the HEAT announce team was Kevin Kelly and Michael Cole. But I dunno maybe Coach was with the WWF during 2000 or was it 2001?

but stll....HEAT was good stuff man. The year 2000, boy I will NEVER forget that year of the WWF.

The year where you see the late Crash Holly beat up Low Ki in two different occassions in Metal. The year where the Radicalz entered the WWF. It was also the year where, uhm.....the Lex Express had a makeover.

As I said, nice start dude. But please assure me, you WILL NOT push your friends into this storyline right? I mean I wont see some unkown person suddenly pushed into the WWF air waves. You know, the typical things I see in your former board and all.

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WWF RAW is WAR Preview,

January 3rd 2000…

The first RAW is WAR of the new Millenium is set to be an explosive night for everybody! Not only do we have some big matches signed, but last night on HeAT Triple H let D-X in on a little secret – he has a plan to make 2000 their best year yet, which will be unfolded on Raw tonight!

We have two title matches tonight, as co-Intercontinental champions Chris Jericho and Chyna must decide which of them will face the British Bulldog in a truly intercontinental match this week, whilst new Hardcore champion Al Snow has been booked up to face X-Pac, who is out to bring more gold to De-Generation X!

As well as this, we’re going to have new number one contenders to the Tag Team titles after Raw, as the Hardy Boyz meet their nemeses, the Dudley Boyz, with the winning team getting a title shot at the Royal Rumble!

In addition to all of this, we know De-Generation X, Vince McMahon, the Rock, and WWF World champion the Big Show will all be in the house for RAW is WAR tonight, so you’re not going to want to miss this!

Confirmed matches…

Al Snow © vs X-Pac – Hardcore title match

Hardy Boyz vs Dudley Boyz

Chris Jericho or Chyna © vs British Bulldog – Intercontinental title match

---

D-Extreme - The HeAT announce team thing was a boo-boo, yeah, but I may stick to it, mostly because Kevin Kelly sucks. Even Coach is better! And, affirmative - no friend-pushing. I never went in for all that jazz anyway, it was a very e2o thing to do though. If they pop up in my diaries, they tend to be random board posters commenting on my decisions, as in this one. Thanks for pointing out the thing with HeAT though. *grumbles about bad announcers*

RK!

:blush:

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WWF at the end of '99 and beginning of 2000 was my favourite time in the company, not really sure why, but I hope you can keep some of the best bits in there. Oh and please give Val Venis the push I always wanted him to have, probably with a slightly altered gimmick.

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Nice to hear that...yes ;)

But hey dont worry, I was just a bit nitpicky about the commentary since I marked out for those days when Kelly was still in the helm and getting his ass owned by The Rock during backstage interviews. Now, well...Coach got that one, and turned heel. I am still waiting for him to do a 'nailz' rendition some day soon though.

RAW IS WAR looks a fine program. I cant wait to see the tag match, cause if its those guys, I'm sure a certain E and a C are nearby.

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WWF RAW is WAR

1/3/00

From: The American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL

Announcers: Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler

The first Raw of the year 2000 opens up with some highlights from last week’s happenings, including the Christmas-themed episode of Raw and the following episode of SmackDown!, as well as some shots from HeAT last night with Triple H promising to unveil his master plan on Raw this week. From there, we go over to the American Airlines Arena for RAW is WAR, and sweep over the excited 7,000+ crowd, taking in such signs as “2000 = The Year of D-X!” and “J.OB. 4-Life!” before we head over to ringside, where Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler are at the announce table!

Jim Ross: Welcome to Raw everybody, we’ve got 7,520 people in the American Airlines Arena with us tonight and they are on their feet for the New Year!

Jerry Lawler: New Year? It’s a whole new Millenium, JR! Not only that, but we know for a fact that Triple H is going to unveil a master plan tonight! He promised D-X last night that this would be their year, and tonight he’s going to take the first steps!

Jim Ross: Indeed, King, but first up, I’ve been informed that Vince McMahon will be heading out to announce tonight’s main event!

-- STACKING THE DECK

Sure enough, “No Chance” plays over the speakers, and Vince McMahon struts out onto the ramp in a grey business suit, getting booed by the live crowd. Ignoring them, McMahon walks down into the ring, and takes a microphone from Howard Finkel before addressing the crowd…

Vince McMahon: Welcome to Raw… you know, every year we say “this year will be different” and “this year, we’re going to make things right” in the WWF, and every year we get the same old, same old. Well, not this year! This year, I’ve made not just a New Year’s Resolution, but a New Millenium Resolution, and unlike you people, I intend to keep my resolutions!

The cheap dig draws some boos, and Vince continues…

Vince McMahon: Tonight, we’re going to see a change here in the WWF, this company is going to be overhauled from top to bottom! And, as always, why start at the bottom when you can start at the top? So tonight, in our main event, we are going to crown a new WWF champion! Tonight, in this very ring, the Big Show will defend his WWF World title against… Triple H!

The fans boo for the match choice, and also for McMahon backing Triple H…

Vince McMahon: And, because we are completely overhauling the company tonight… trimming off the fat, if you will, I have another stipulation to add. Big Show – if you lose the match, not only will you lose your title… you’ll be SUSPENDED!

The crowd hurls abuse at Vince for such a heinous decision, as “No Chance” hits again and the WWF Chairman makes his way backstage.

Jim Ross: What a huge main event! Big Show vs Triple H, the title on the line, and Big Show’s job is on the line as well! But, King, I don’t understand it – after so long spent opposing the Game, of objecting to his marriage to Stephanie McMahon, now Vince McMahon is backing him?

Jerry Lawler: Maybe it’s another New Year’s Resolution, JR? Maybe Vince just realises now that Triple H is that damn good!

Vince heads to the back now, and our cameras head backstage as well.

(Segment quality 100%)

-- HATCHING A PLAN

We are in the D-X locker room now, where the stable is sitting, along with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, seemingly waiting for Triple H. After a few moments, the Game enters the room, and the others all stand up and start talking…

Road Dogg: Yo, Trip, what’s this plan about?

X-Pac: Is it tonight, really?

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley: Hunter, Hunter, c’mon, talk to me! Tell us what’s going on!

Billy Gunn: What’re you plannin’, man?

Triple H holds up his hands for silence, and sits down on the sofa next to his wife. The others sit down around them, and stare intently at him…

Triple H: Yes, it’s tonight. I can’t tell you any more than that, okay? But definitely, it is happening tonight. Just trust me, okay? Have I ever steered you guys wrong? We’re going to make history tonight, all in due time. The best thing you guys can do now is sit back, relax, and let history unfold, okay? X-Pac, you’ve got a title shot next, concentrate on that. Believe me, this is going to be our year, you can count on it.

Appeased, the other members of the group sit back and nod their heads, as X-Pac gets up and leaves the room to go and prepare for his match. We fade out now to a commercial break.

(Segment quality 97%)

-- BOWLING BALLS = DOOM

Returning from the break, “King of Rock” by Run DMC hits and X-Pac makes his way out to the ring, looking confident after Triple H’s pep talk and largely ignoring the boos he is getting from the crowd. He steps into the ring and chops his crotch, setting off the D-X fireworks, and then warms up. Al Snow’s music plays, and the new Hardcore champion heads out to a good reaction from the crowd, carrying Head and a trash can full of weapons as he did last night. Snow heads into the ring, and the bell rings to start the match.

Al Snow © vs X-Pac – WWF Hardcore title

Snow swings Head to start out, but X-Pac ducks and hits some kicks to drive his opponent into the ropes and keeps up the pressure with some chops and a front suplex, dropping Snow’s stomach onto the ropes and sending him to the outside! Snow fights back throughout the contest, using his knowledge of hardcore wrestling and the sheer amount of plunder in his trash can to wear X-Pac down, while X-Pac seems to have a new lease of confidence, yelling “this is our year!” whenever he has Snow on the back foot thanks to his speed and kicks. Eventually, X-Pac drills his opponent into the ropes and signals for the Bronco Buster, but Al Snow dodges and X-Pac crotches himself! The Hardcore champion follows up by rolling his bowling ball into X-Pac’s unmentionables, and scooping him up into a fisherman’s suplex for the 1-2-3 at 4:22!

After the match, Snow grabs the title, stuffs his used weapons back into the trash can, and makes his way backstage, seemingly still ‘arguing’ with Head over the effectiveness of the bowling ball. X-Pac, meanwhile, is furious, gingerly getting to his feet and yelling at the referee, before clotheslining him down! X-Pac makes his way backstage as we go to the back again.

**1/2 (Match Quality 79%, Crowd Reaction 67%, Overall Rating 72%)

(The WWF Hardcore title has gained in image)

-- FINALLY…

We head to the backstage area, where Kevin Kelly is standing with the People’s Champion himself, the Rock! We can hear the crowd’s pop from all the way backstage at the sight of Rocky, who is visibly intimidating the much smaller Kevin Kelly, who stammers his opening line…

Kevin Kelly: R-Rock, we’ve h-heard from D-X tonight – they say this is going to be their year. The Game obviously plans to get the World title back in the m-main event, and he has a master plan to unveil later on. Do you have any words for the DX-McMahon regime?

The Rock stares at Kevin Kelly like he is talking in Swahili, and simply grabs the microphone from the pint-sized interviewer before booting him out of the shot! The fans’ cheers can be heard again as Rock begins to speak…

The Rock: Finally… the Rock HAS COME BACK… home, to Mi-am-i! Kevin Kelly, did the Rock hear you right, did you say what the Rock thought you said? You wanna know how the Rock feels about De-Generation X and their little scheme for world domination? Honestly? Well, to be frank with you, I didn’t get to hear the plan, because everytime Triple H opens his mouth, the Rock runs out of the room, finds the nearest bathroom, and takes one big twenty-minute toilet break until the big bitch is finished talking!

Rocky pauses, and more cheers can be heard from his hometown crowd…

The Rock: In all actuality, it doesn’t matter to the Rock just what the Game’s plan is. Triple H could reveal himself as Vince McMahon’s long-lost baby, slip on the steps of Titan Towers and sue Vinnie Mac for billions, Hell – he could even bring Andre the Giant back from the dead to join D-X, and you know how much difference it’d make? Not a damn thing! The year 2000 will categorically not be their year, Kevin Kelly, because this is a new Millenium and for a new Millenium you’ve got a new People’s Champ! The Rock pledges to each and every one of you that in the year 2000, he will regain the WWF World title, he will continue to raise the People’s Eyebrow and drop the People’s Elbow, and until Triple H and De-Generation X have given up the ghost and all gone home, the Rock promises – no the Rock swears that he will continue to layeth the smacketh down on aaaaaaaaaaaaall their candy asses! If ya smell-el-el-el-el-aaaa… what the Rock…

The People’s Champion pauses and raises his eyebrow, and the crowd can be heard chanting along…

The Rock: … is cookin’.

With that, he tosses the microphone back to Kevin Kelly, gives the People’s Eyebrow to the camera once more, and walks out of shot as we go to a commercial break.

(Segment quality 100%)

-- RUN-INS RULE!

Back from the break now, and the Hardy Boyz’ music is already playing, which of course means we have tonight’s tag team number one contendership match. Matt and Jeff head out to the ring with Lita, dressed in their usual combination of rave and grunge wear, headbanging along to their music and playing to the crowd. As they warm up, a firework drops from the rafters and explodes, as the fans boo and the Dudley Boyz step onto the ramp!

Jim Ross: Listen to the reaction for the Dudley Boyz, King! As talented as they may be, their bad attitude and underhanded tactics have definitely gotten up the hatred of WWF fans!

Jerry Lawler: Oh, what do the fans know, JR? These people buy foam hands saying “The Rock is my favourite wrestler!” for crying out loud! The Dudley Boyz are the best tag team in the WWF, their record speaks for itself, and if they win tonight we’ll have a truly epic bout between them and the New Age Outlaws!

The Dudley Boyz walk down to the ring, taunting the Hardyz and pissing off the crowd, before jumping into the ring to start the match.

Hardy Boyz vs Dudley Boyz

The two teams duke it out in the middle of the ring to start the bout off, with each of them trying to get the other hand by simply pummeling their opponents. The larger Dudley Boyz win this out, and send Matt Hardy over the top rope to the outside, leaving Jeff as the legal man, and start the punishment. The Dudleyz control the first part of the match entirely, working over their opponents with their power and intelligence, also using the chemistry they have built up over years of teaming together to second-guess the Hardyz. Matt and Jeff, after fighting back into the bout, run rings around Bubba and D-Von with their speed, and use the top rope at every opportunity to provide an edge that the Dudley Boyz cannot match with some great double-team moves and last-minute saves from the turnbuckles. After breaking a pinfall with his trademark legdrop, Matt Hardy tackles D-Von to the outside, leaving Jeff and Bubba in the ring. As they lock up, however, two men jump the barriers with chairs – it’s Edge and Christian! Edge silences Jeff with a chairshot, while Christian lays his chair on the floor and DDTs Bubba Ray onto it! The referee has no choice then but to call for the bell to proclaim a No Contest at 11:45!

After the bell has rung, Edge and Christian toss Jeff Hardy and Bubba Ray Dudley to the outside, where their respective partners help them to their feet. The two teams contemplate rushing the ring, but Edge and Christian still have their chairs so they make their way to the back instead. As they disappear behind the curtain, the Toronto blondes grab microphones.

***3/4 (Match Quality 91%, Crowd Reaction 77%, Overall Rating 84%)

-- THEY REEK OF SOMETHING

The fans are still booing the interference in the match as Edge, grinning from ear to ear, begins to speak…

Edge: Hello to all of our fans here in Miami, Florida!

Of course, the boos only get louder, and the brothers share a confused glance…

Christian: Whoa, what’s with all the hate? Oh… I get it, Edge!

Edge: What is it?

Christian: This is so totally because of the Miami Dolphins! C’mon, people, you can’t let your team’s abysmal record get you down, you just witnessed perfection in human form… twice!

The Miami crowd are now loudly booing and jeering the arrogant Canadians, who only grin more…

Edge: Right now, we just wanna pose a little question to Vince McMahon, about that tag team match you just saw – what the Hell were you thinking? I mean, I know your brain’s a little addled right now and you’re still getting used to the idea of Triple H screwing your little girl, but come on! What the Hell do those two teams have that we, Edge and Christian, don’t? Any ideas, little buddy?

Christian: Well, let me think… they spell ‘boys’ ‘boyz’, bro! I mean, what’s with that? Boys with a ‘z’, is that supposed to scare us or make us think you’re badass? I guess that, to get a title shot, maybe I should just take the ‘s’ out of my name and rename myself ‘Chriztian’, huh?

Edge: Totally! Anyhow, we want you all to know this – Edge and Christian are in the running for the Tag Team titles, and we will take those belts from the Old Age Miscreants the first chance we get! We thought we’d end this little tete-a-tete with a familiar line, but you people don’t want to smell what we’re cooking, so instead you guys can smell us, totally reeking of awesomeness, as we go on to become the greatest WWF Tag Team champions of all time! Oh yeah!

With that, Edge tosses down the microphone, and “On the Edge” hits as the two men make their way backstage to boos from the crowd.

(Segment quality 85%)

(Edge gained 3 points of overness from this segment. Christian gained 1 point of overness from this segment)

-- TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT

We cut now to a video, starting with numerous blurred images of men in a wrestling ring, winning matches and dominating opponents. As the video goes on, with voice-overs from earlier tonight and last night on HeAT, the images begin to get clearer and clearer…

Triple H: (voice-over) We have all the power now… tomorrow night on Raw the plan all starts to fall into place… Yes, it’s tonight… We’re going to make history tonight… Believe me, this is going to be our year, you can count on it…

As the video comes to an end, we get an image of four men, standing together in shadows, almost recognisable but not quite due to the lack of light, each of them staring at the camera with their arms folded.

Triple H: (voice-over) Tonight’s the night.

And, with that, the video fades and we go back to ringside.

Jim Ross: Do you think that video has something to do with Triple H’s plan, King?

Jerry Lawler: Are you blind, deaf, or just plain stupid, JR? Of course it has something to do with Triple H’s plan! The Game was speaking in the damn video, for God’s sake, he’s teasing us, he’s letting us in on his plan bit-by-bit! Do you recognise those men?

Jim Ross: I can’t say I made any of them out clearly, but they must be a part of the Game’s plan!

The announcers continue to wax lyrical as we fade out to a commercial break.

(Segment quality 69%)

-- ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS?

As we return from the commercial break, we are in the communal locker room. A couple of the boys can be seen in the background, just hanging out, but the shot is occupied by Chris Jericho, who is lacing up his boots. Chyna walks into the room next, in ring attire and with the Intercontinental title, so evidently they haven’t decided who will be defending the title tonight…

Chyna: Hey, Chris.

Chris Jericho: Hi… hey, why are you changed? Why do you have the belt? What, do you think you’re going to be wrestling tonight or something! This isn’t a game, Chyna, this is my title we’re talking about!

Chyna: Hey, it’s my title too, Chris!

Jericho stands up, going face-to-face with Chyna, who stares right back. Eventually, she backs down, and shakes her head…

Chyna: Look, Vince has already said we have to defend the belt as co-Intercontinental champions for the time being. If we squabble like this, then we’re gonna lose and then neither of us will have the belt. why don’t we just try to get along until we can get into a match, okay?

Jericho shakes his head at first, but thinks about it and then nods in agreement…

Chris Jericho: Okay, fine. How are we going to decide for tonight, then? I mean, it shouldn’t be too hard against British Bulldog, the only thing more dull and boring than a British wrestler is British television, for God’s sake.

Chyna: Flip a coin?

Chris Jericho: No way, coins hate me! I haven’t won a coin toss in five years! We need some sort of decision based on skill and talent, something to really set us apart… I’ve got it!

Chyna: What?

Chris Jericho: Rock, Paper, Scissors!

Chyna looks a little confused, but Jericho holds out his fist so she does the same. They play, and when Chyna unfolds her hand to represent ‘paper’, Jericho chooses scissors…

Chris Jericho: Alright! Okay, I’ll take on Bulldog tonight. Don’t sweat it, C-Money, there’s no way this title is leaving my super-sexy waist tonight!

With that, Y2J grabs the title from Chyna’s shoulder and heads out of the room for his match.

(Segment quality 78%)

-- INTERCONTINENTAL INDEED

We head over to ringside now, where British Bulldog’s music hits and the Bulldog heads down to the ring, getting booed and jeered by the crowd and angrily yelling at them to shut up, which of course only makes them chant louder. As Bulldog prepares in the ring, the 5-second countdown ticks off on the TitanTron, and the lights flicker off, only to come back on again moments later with a blistering pyro explosion! The fans go wild as Chris Jericho struts out onto the ramp and down to the ring, holding the Intercontinental title high in the air.

Chris Jericho © vs British Bulldog – WWF Intercontinental title

Jericho starts out by ducking a Bulldog clothesline, and levelling him with a dropkick, before going to work on his back with a camel clutch and some suplexes, only to find the British Bulldog fighting back with some hard right hands, clotheslines, and suplexes of his own. Smith outfights and outbrawls Jericho in this one, with his power and strikes wearing the co-Intercontinental champion down as the bout wears on, whilst Y2J continues his assault on the surgically-repaired back of the former Tag Team champion with some submissions and high-impact moves such as a high angle backdrop and a double-armed backbreaker! After the backbreaker, Bulldog rolls to the outside and grabs the Intercontinental title. He jumps onto the apron and winds up to level Jericho, only to be pulled down by Chyna! The 9th Wonder of the World reclaims the title, and shoves Bulldog back into the ring, where he is tripped into the Walls of Jericho to tap out at 7:08!

After the match, with Bulldog down and hurting on the mat after the assault on his back, Jericho heads to the outside and raises the Intercontinental title in the air. He thanks Chyna for her assistance, and shakes her hand, before heading backstage with her, leaving Bulldog in the ring.

Jim Ross: It looks like Y2J and Chyna might finally be getting along!

Jerry Lawler: I give it a few weeks at the most, JR! That Jericho has such a big ego, he won’t be able to stomach being a co-champion for long! It’s all looking rosy now, but trouble is just around the corner!

Jim Ross: Well, that may be so for tonight as well, King – Triple H promised us an impact, his master plan, tonight, and we’re running out of time on this broadcast! Will he unveil his plan in the main event?

As the announcers muse on this, we go backstage for our final interview of the night.

** (Match Quality 70%, Crowd Reaction 83%, Overall Rating 79%)

(The WWF Intercontinental title has gained in image)

-- BIGGEST CHAMPION IN HISTORY

Backstage, the Big Show is standing with Johnathan Coachman, who is looking visibly scared of the seven-feet, five-hundred pound WWF World champion…

Johnathan Coachman: Big Show – tonight Vince McMahon has forced you into defending your title against the Game, with your position on the line as well. If you lose, you will be suspended. How do you deal with a match like that?

Big Show: What do you mean, how do I deal with it? I haven’t had time to deal with it! Vince McMahon wants to try and screw me over, fine. He wants to try and prise the title off me, fine. Hell, it’s even fine that he wants to try and have me suspended, but he made one mistake – he made it depend on a match, Coachman, he made it depend on whether or not I kick his little lapdog’s ass all over Miami tonight. It just so happens that I’m the biggest WWF champion in history, Coachman, and kicking Triple H’s ass tonight is going to be as easy as the 1-2-3 I’ll hear when I pin him. I don’t sweat ‘the Game,’ and I don’t sweat his master plan, because he’d have to have found a way to bring down a big, nasty, five-hundred pound WWF champion… and the last time I checked, there was no way to do it. It’s showtime, Coach.

Show glares at Coachman, who quickly sidesteps out of the champion’s way, letting him pass. As Coach watches the Big Show leave, we go to our last commercial break for this show.

(Segment quality 71%)

(Big Show lost 2 points of overness from this segment)

-- ALL ON THE LINE

When we return from the commercials, “Our Time Now” plays and the fans rise to their feet with the biggest boos of the night so far for Triple H as he walks out onto the ramp, looking confident as usual, with his water bottle in one hand and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley’s arm in the other. He spits the water high into the air, and heads down to the ring, yelling at some vocal fans in the front row, before stepping into the squared circle. Big Show’s music follows, and the fans give great support to the WWF champion as he makes his way down the ramp, looking determined and focused, his eyes fixed on the Game.

Big Show © vs Triple H – WWF World title, Suspension match

Almost as soon as the bell rings, Big Show unloads on the game with some fiery right hands, forcing him to bail out of the ring and rethink his tactics. When he heads back in, the Game dives between Show’s legs, clipping one of them on the way, and kicks it out from behind. He continues his assault on the leg for much of the match, wearing it down and working it over with brutal unrestrained kicks and submission holds, trying to keep Show on the mat where the size advantage isn’t as obvious. Big Show, meanwhile, does everything in his considerable power to remain standing, simply throwing the Game around the ring and flattening him with his immensely powerful arsenal of strikes and slams. After a huge stalling suplex, Big Show signals for the end, and grabs the Game for a Show Stopper! Triple H escapes with a knee to the crotch, however, and signals towards the ramp. As Big Show bears down on the Game, some unfamiliar music plays over the speakers, and the champion’s attention is torn away from the challenger. Moments later, Hunter knocks down the referee and four men in street clothes hop over the ramp into the ring! The mystery men jump Big Show, beating on him and leaving the giant battered and staggering, before one of them revives the referee in time for the Pedigree and the pinfall to crown a new World champion at 19:55!

Jim Ross: Oh come on, this isn’t right! Damn Triple H, King, damn the Game! He just screwed the Hell out of Big Show, Big Show is suspended because of him!

Jerry Lawler: Yeah, but who are those four men?

Jim Ross: Well I think I recognise them, but… oh my God, King! My God! That’s Chris Benoit! Dean Malenko! Perry Saturn! And Eddie Guerrero!

Jerry Lawler: Who?

Jim Ross: Only four of the most talented and ruthless men in the business, King! They’ve been working down South for years now, but now the Game has brought them into the WWF! My God, this is Triple H’s master plan, and I think he might be right! With these four men on his side, this could definitely be the Game’s year!

Raw fades out with JR’s ominous warning hanging in the air, as Triple H and his four henchmen raise each other’s hands in the middle of the ring, celebrating with the title over the downed form of the now-suspended Big Show.

* (Match Quality 59%, Crowd Reaction 89%, Overall Rating 79%)

Card Rating – 82%

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RAW IS WAR was an ok show.

As I expected E&C did interfere in the match of the Dudz and the Hardyz. That was a bit bad for me but the promo made up for it big time.

The Rock, Paper, Scisors segment was hillarious since it shows Jericho making a fool out of Chyna. I am going to enjoy how you make this Co-Intercontinental thing out in your diary.

Big Show gone? Hmm...I just hope it will mean he will return sooner than later unlike what actually happened(returns at Rumble 2001)

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WWF Post-Raw Staff Meeting, January 4th 2000,

Titan Towers, Greenwich, CT,

12:03pm…

Vince has just arrived (late, as usual!), so I guess that brings the meeting to order. I try to get these meetings together at least once a week, and usually after every show, so everybody involved knows their role and how things went on the show, so we can all work out ways to improve what needs improving and whatnot. Also, I’m centre of attention for half an hour, which I really dig…

Mark Jackson: Okay, everybody, let’s get started. First off is the ratings battle… Sophie informs me that we pulled in a 6.87 over the two hours, which in my view totally sinks Nitro’s 5.68 at this stage. Of course, Sophie says the battle is too close to call, but I suppose that’s what happens when your P.A. is from Yonkers.

A few laughs from the boys for that one, and I plough on…

Mark Jackson: 7,520 in the AAA, which is pretty much three-quarters full I’m told, and we made a solid $300800 from ticket sales. So… moving on, I’d like to congratulate you all for an excellent showing on Raw. We had a couple of good matches, thanks to Matt and Jeff, Bubba and D-Von, and also to Al and Sean, which is excellent. Chris, Davey, I didn’t think you guys clicked, probably due to the style clash in that one, but good showing nonetheless.

Chris Jericho: Yeah, about that – maybe, now Chris is here, we could work something? I’m sure we could put on a good match or two.

Mark Jackson: I’m way ahead of you on that one, Chris, we’ll discuss that later on if we may? Next up… Jean-Paul, good showing in the main event, but obviously we can’t all be expected to work miracles.

Jean-Paul Levesque: Where is Paul, anyway?

Mark Jackson: Big Show? He’s currently on a plane down to Ohio.

A murmur shoots around the room, everybody seems pretty surprised at that one, which surprises me to be honest…

Shane McMahon: Why is he in Ohio? Have you sent him down to OVW?

Mark Jackson: Yeah, he’s on a little weight regimen that I’ve come up with myself, that should hopefully help him get down a few pounds. I like to call it the “Get down to your 1995 weight by April or you’re fired, tubby” diet, myself. Okay… congratulations are in order for our four newest recruits, good showing out there, especially considering the fact that you’d only stepped off the plane five hours earlier. How’s everything going for you all, backstage?

Chris Benoit: Fine, so far. Everybody’s been really friendly.

Mark Jackson: Glad to hear it. Sorry about the video segment, the production team dropped the ball on that one. It was to be expected, given that we only had one take of your bit and two hours to throw it together from archive footage that wouldn’t get us sued by WCW. We’re going to feature you guys pretty heavily on SmackDown! this week – are you all okay with talking?

The new guys look a little concerned, all except Guerrero, who is a natural on the mic…

Mark Jackson: I know you’re not confident with promos, and for the most part we’ll keep you guys on the “shut up and wrestle” track, I think, but for your big debut I figured that we could squeeze five minutes or so out of you, collectively?

Eddie Guerrero: I’m all for it, esé, if you give us a brief we can work with it.

Mark Jackson: Okay. There have been rumours flying around that we’re in negotiations with numerous WCW guys. As some of you know, we’ve reached a deal with Rey Mistero Jr. for when his contract expires in late March, but there have been some other names flying about, or so I’ve heard. This is your chance – pitch a name to me, and I’ll tell you what we’re thinking.

Chris Jericho: Goldberg?

Mark Jackson: Absolutely not, Chris, no worries there.

Eddie Guerrero: Shane Douglas?

Mark Jackson: WCW won’t release him, as you new guys know, so no at this stage.

Jean-Paul Levesque: Kevin and Scott?

Mark Jackson: What is this, Jean-Paul, 1996? Kevin Nash and Scott Hall will come to the WWF when my blood boils in Hell, and not before.

Levesque looks like somebody has slapped him in the mouth, and a few of the other guys look fairly shocked and impressed – notably Chris Jericho and Duane Johnson, who both look like they’re struggling not to laugh out loud…

Mark Jackson: Basically, very few people that WCW has on contract are available to us now, and those that are, quite frankly, aren’t worth the paper their contracts would be written on. Now, in some very, ahem, bizarre news, Vince has something to say. Vince?

Vince McMahon: Yes, ah… as you know, Linda and I have two children. Well, in fact, that’s wrong, we have a third. Laura was never a fan of the business, she always tried to keep herself with a low profile and whatnot, but… well, she’s just announced her marriage to Paul Bearer.

I know. When he told me, I thought he was joking and laughed for about five minutes before I realised that he was deadly serious. Paul Bearer, 48 years old and overweight to be kind to him, has just married the 21-year old Laura McMahon, apple of Vince’s eye and probably his favourite daughter, or so he told me. Why Vince doesn’t see something deadly wrong with the 27-year age gap is beyond me, but apparently he doesn’t… the boys do, however. The meeting room looks like an audition for the role of “Shocked Man” in a Hollywood blockbuster, to put it nicely. Mark Calloway, especially, looks incredinly confused by the whole thing, while Glenn Jacobs just seems amused and surprised that Bearer could get a woman at all. On the plus side of all this, they’ll be on an extended honeymoon until after WrestleMania this year, so at least I don’t have to put him on TV just yet.

Mark Jackson: Well, then… we’ve pretty much gotten through everything here, I think. I’ll call you all up sometime today if you’re going to be on SmackDown!, and run through what we need from you. Eddie, Chris, Perry, and Dean, if you guys could stay behind and speak to Vince and Shane about your promo for SmackDown!, that’d be great. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lunch date.

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Guest y2gudge

Raw was way too unrrealistic for my liking...

a. Vince McMahon faced Triple H at Armageddon 1999 in which his daughter turned his back on him, why is he now aligned with them when he hates them?

b. The Radicalz left WCW in a dispute in late Jan 2000 and so wouldn't be able to join the WWF til then.

c. E & C were faces at the time.

d. Jericho & Chyna hated each other at the time.

Other than these minor flaws (except for Vince) I thought Raw was ok and will hopefully get better on SD!

*y2gudge*

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always like your diaries RK and this one has started just as good as the past few... RAW & HeAT were good and I cant wait to see what you do with the Royal Rumble PPV... Hopefully you manage to get Mysterio as well once his contract runs out with WCW in March...

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WWF SmackDown! Preview,

January 6th 2000…

The first SmackDown! of 2000 is set to be explosive! After saying on Raw that he had a plan to make the year 2000 the best year yet for himself and De-Generation X, Triple H unveiled four men as the plan in the main event, four men who helped him to victory over Big Show to win the WWF World championship! The men – identified as Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Perry Saturn – will all be in action on SmackDown! this week, as the Game hopes to show off just what a master stroke he has achieved in bringing them to the WWF.

Two of this new group will be fighting for WWF championships, as Dean Malenko goes for Gillberg’s Light-Heavyweight title and Perry Saturn meets new Hardcore champion Al Snow with the title on the line! In addition to this, Eddie Guerrero will meet D’Lo Brown, while Chris Benoit has been earmarked by the Game to take out a man who has been a thorn in the new World champion’s side of late – Mick Foley.

In addition to this, we know that the Rock will be in the house, the rest of the McMahon-Helmsley faction will be present, and that Edge and Christian will be going up against Too Cool in tag team action. For all of this and much more, join us for SmackDown at 9/8 CT on UPN!

Confirmed matches…

Gillberg © vs Dean Malenko – Light-Heavyweight title match

Al Snow © vs Perry Saturn – Hardcore title match

D’Lo Brown vs Eddie Guerrero

Edge and Christian vs Too Cool

Mick Foley vs Chris Benoit

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WWF SmackDown!

6/1/00

From: The Orlando Arena in Orlando, FL

Announcers: Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler

The show opens with some highlights from HeAT and Raw, of Triple H’s promises to his troops of a master plan, and then to the RAW is WAR main event, where the master plan would unfold as four debutants destroyed the Big Show and helped the Game to victory and the WWF title. From there, the show’s video credits roll, and we go over to the Orlando Arena, where Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler are at ringside!

Michael Cole: Welcome to SmackDown!, everybody! 7,503 fans are with us tonight for what could be a huge night! On Raw this Monday, Triple H unveiled his master plan in the shape of four men – Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Perry Saturn. King, you were there on Monday – what was the atmosphere like after the show?

Jerry Lawler: Honestly, Michael, it was one of total shock. I mean, nobody ever expected that the Game would bring in four such ferocious men, four men that could so terrorise the WWF!

Michael Cole: Well, tonight, those four men will all be in action, and two of them with… wait a minute, what’s this?

-- RADICALZ

Cole’s confusion has been caused by some unfamiliar rock-styled music, which immediately turns everybody’s attention to the ramp as the four men of the hour walk out! The fans begin to hurl abuse at the group, showing their disdain, but the men simply ignore them and march down to the ring. They all take microphones, and stand in the middle of the ring, listening to the response for a moment before the first man speaks…

Chris Benoit: In case any of you people don’t know who we are, let us introduce ourselves. My name is Chris Benoit, this man is Eddie Guerrero, this is Perry Saturn, and this man, last but not least, is Dean Malenko… and we are the Radicalz!

Michael Cole: The Radicalz?

Jerry Lawler: I guess that’s what they’re calling themselves now!

Chris Benoit: I know all of you people, you pathetic ingrates, want to know why we did what we did on Monday night… it’s simple. Eddie?

Eddie Guerrero: Orale, esé. We did what we had to do, holmes, to get our way into the World Wrestling Federation, we went where the power is because that’s how you do business, esé! Triple H offered us jobs, money, whatever we wanted, if we could watch his back and make him the champion – and that’s exactly what we did!

Perry Saturn: It’s what we do. Tonight, we’re all wrestling, and we’re going to do just that – wrestle. We aren’t your ten-a-penny talentless nobodies, we are the best wrestlers in this company, and tonight we’ll prove it – by defeating each and every one of the opponents we have.

Chris Benoit: I want you all to listen up, because we’ll only say this once – we are the best damn technical wrestlers, the best damn high-fliers, the best damn fighters… we’re the best damn superstars in the WWF, and I challenge any of you to prove us wrong!

Dean Malenko: Bring on the first victim.

With that, the Radicalz throw their microphones out of the ring. All of them leave except Malenko, who remains in the ring for his match. Guerrero and Benoit head backstage, while Saturn stays out at ringside with his partner.

(Segment quality 88%)

(Eddie Guerrero debuted his new “Cocky” gimmick, it got a positive response)

-- THE ICEMAN COMETH

Moments later, the toy drum music sounds over the speakers, and the sparklers fly as Gillberg heads out to the ring! The Light-Heavyweight champion gets a fairly decent reaction as he circles the ring, clearly intimidated by Dean Malenko, and the bell rings to start the match.

Gillberg © vs Dean Malenko – WWF Light-Heavyweight title

Gillberg goes for a few kicks early on, but the ice-man simply seems to absorb them, and quickly forces his opponent to the mat with a vicious-looking armlock, wrenching it in and causing the Light-Heavyweight champion to yelp in pain. The match is short and brutal, with any attempt at offense from the champion simply batted aside by Malenko, who works on his opponent’s legs for a couple of minutes before hauling him up for a powerbomb and locking up the Texas Cloverleaf for the submission at 2:58 to crown a new champion!

As the Radicalz’ music plays after the match, Malenko raises the Light-Heavyweight title in the air, and calls Saturn into the ring. The two men proceed to beat on the fallen Gillberg, using their boots and the title belt, and batter him into a pulp as we cut to commercials.

¾* (Match Quality 65%, Crowd Reaction 60%, Overall Rating 62%)

(The WWF Light-Heavyweight title has gained in image)

-- PLANET SATURN vs PLANET SNOW

As we return from the break, Gillberg has been removed, but Malenko and Saturn are still at ringside. Saturn is in the ring now, and Al Snow’s music plays over the speakers. The Hardcore champion heads down to the ring with his usual trash can full of plunder, but Saturn doesn’t seem fazed…

Michael Cole: Perry Saturn is looking pretty confident, King.

Jerry Lawler: Yeah, so would you be if your partner had just destroyed his opponent inside three minutes!

Michael Cole: Man, I can’t get over how ruthless and calculating these Radicalz are! They sold their souls to the Devil himself, Triple H, to get into the WWF, and now they’re just destroying anybody in their paths!

Snow reaches the ring, and is immediately set upon by Saturn, who grabs the trash can lid and starts whaling away on the champion as the bell rings.

Al Snow © vs Perry Saturn – WWF Hardcore title

Saturn keeps up his pre-match advantage, using the trash can lid to force Snow down to the mat, where the technical wrestler slams the lid into his arm and goes after it with an armbar, before letting the hold up and once again using the trash can lid. Saturn goes along this route for much of the bout, switching between using Snow’s assorted weapons and his own incredible arsenal of powerful and technical moves, wearing the champion down as the bout goes on. Snow fights back with the weaponary and his own skills, taking the match to the outside and using the ring steps and barrier to his aid, but eventually Dean Malenko comes into play, cracking the Light-Heavyweight title across Snow’s back and sending him down! Saturn drags him into the ring, and nails a Death Valley Driver onto the trash can to become new Hardcore champion at 6:33!

Again, the two Radicalz set upon the fallen loser after the match, this time with both of them using their title belts to open up a large gash on Snow’s forehead, and leaving him beaten on the mat as they make their way backstage to boos and jeers.

Michael Cole: Oh man, that was just brutal! Al Snow could be seriously hurt!

Jerry Lawler: These guys have had two matches, and they’ve now got two victories and two title belts, Cole! This could be one of the most dominant groups in WWF history!

As the Radicalz head to the back, the transmission heads to the backstage area.

***1/4 (Match Quality 86%, Crowd Reaction 72%, Overall Rating 79%)

(The WWF Hardcore title has gained in image)

-- CHALLENGE EXTENDED

We’re in the Faction’s locker room now, where the whole group are in good spirits, evidently having just watched the debut of the Radicalz and their destruction of their first two opponents. Triple H is all smiles, of course…

Triple H: See, what’d I tell you? Our year, boys, our year!

Road Dogg: Man, these guys are just amazing!

As the Faction continue to enthuse about their newest allies, there is a knock at the door, and Kurt Angle walks into the room. He waves at Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, which visibly irritates Triple H…

Triple H: What d’you want, Kurt?

Kurt Angle: I have a proposition for you.

Triple H: I’ve told you like a million times, I don’t want my shoes shined.

D-X laugh at this, but Stephanie scowls at Hunter before turning to Angle…

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley: What’s up, Kurt?

Kurt Angle: By the looks of things, you guys are recruiting, right? I mean, you’ve brought on board those, uh, ‘Radicalz’ already, and I’ve come to offer you my services.

Triple H: … No.

Kurt Angle: Aw, c’mon, at least think about it!

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley: Yeah, Hunter! The guy is an Olympic Gold Medallist, after all!

The Game appears to think about this for a moment, still glaring at Angle, before nodding…

Triple H: Okay, Angle, but only as a favour to my wife.

Kurt Angle: Alright!

Triple H: Whoa, hold up! You’ve got to prove your worth first… in a match, tonight.

Kurt Angle: No problem, boss! Bring it on, anybody you like, and they’re going down!

Triple H: Okay then… tonight, it’ll be Kurt Angle… versus… the Rock.

Angle’s cocky attitude immediately disappears, and Triple H grins sarcastically at him…

Triple H: So, there you go. He’d better be ‘going down’ tonight, Kurt, you’d better impress. Now, get out.

Seemingly lost for words, Angle backs away towards the door, almost tripping over an end table as he does so, and exits the room. The Game laughs it up with his buddies, but Stephanie looks a little concerned as we head back to ringside.

(Segment quality 89%)

(Kurt Angle gained 3 points of overness from this segment)

-- CHEAT TO WIN

We head back to ringside now, where D’Lo Brown’s music hits, and he heads out to the ring, getting a fairly good reaction from the packed-out crowd, looking less than confident after having seen what the first two Radicalz did to their opponents. As D’Lo warms up, the Radicalz’ music plays again, and this time it is Eddie Guerrero coming down to ringside, looking supremely cocky. He openly flirts with a few women in the first few rows, annoying their boyfriends, before heading into the ring.

Eddie Guerrero vs D’Lo Brown

Guerrero starts off by simply circling D’Lo for a moment, before unloading a few quick kicks and a dropkick to send him down. D’Lo comes back with some punches and an Irish whip, but Eddie flies back off of the ropes with a flying forearm to take control! The two men put on a solid bout here, with D’Lo putting on the best showing against one of the Radicalz so far, using his size advantage over the high flier to good effect, whilst Guerrero wows the crowd with a combination of crisp technical holds and great cruiserweight-style moves that are definitely something new in the WWF. Following a big calf kick, Brown goes to the top rope and signals for the Lo Down, but Eddie rolls right out of the way! As D’Lo clutches his chest in pain, Guerrero rolls him up with a hook of the tights to get the pinfall at 7:01!

As if to add insult to injury, Guerrero celebrates his debut win like he’s just won a championship belt, climbing all four turnbuckles, and also mocking D’Lo. Eventually, he heads backstage, leaving D’Lo in the ring as we take a commercial break.

*** (Match Quality 84%, Crowd Reaction 74%, Overall Rating 79%)

-- FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WITH FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY

As we come back from a commercial break and an advertisement for WWF Action Figures, “On the Edge” plays and the fans boo as Edge and Christian, complete with their newfound cocky attitude, come strolling out to the ring for their matchup with Too Cool. The Toronto blondes each grab microphones, tap them to check that they are working, and begin to speak…

Christian: Greetings to all of our fans here in Orlando! Y’know, it really is kinda fitting that we’re in Orlando tonight, right Edge?

Edge: Totally. Y’see, tonight we’re facing off against a team of pretenders, Too Cool, who like to think that they’re contenders. In short, tonight, we’re facing some wannabes, which is why it’s totally appropriate that we’re in the home of the Orlando Predators tonight!

The Orlando crowd begins to hurl abuse at E&C for the shot at their football team, but the blondes continue unabated…

Christian: But hey, don’t feel bad or anything, because tonight you’re going to see the really cool team, and that’s us, get the victory! And hey, we’ll even say that we’re representing Orlando tonight, so you people can have the rare honour of saying that the home team won!

Edge: Right now, we’d like to christen a very special moment on the show, the spot where the two most photogenic, handsomest guys on the show give you the chance to use those cameras of yours and give yourselves a memory that lasts forever! And so, for the benefit of those with flash photography, we call this inaugral pose “Straight Outta Orlando!”

Edge and Christian drop their microphones, and do a fairly comic pose of themselves ‘shouting out’ to their ‘hometown’ crowd, before awaiting their opponents.

(Segment quality 87%)

(Edge gained 3 points of overness from this segment. Christian gained 1 point of overness from this segment)

-- TWO FOR THE FUTURE

Too Cool’s music hits, and the hip-hop-loving duo dance out to the ring, getting a great reaction from the live crowd. They step into the ring, where Grandmasta Sexay pulls out a moonwalk and Scotty 2 Hotty busts some moves of his own, until Edge and Christian attack them from behind!

Edge and Christian vs Too Cool

E&C keep up the pressure early on from their pre-match assault, isolating Too Cool in opposite turnbuckles with chops and punches, before whipping them into each other for a mid-ring collision! After that, Christian sends Scotty to the outside, and concentrates on Grandmasta Sexay. The two teams pull out a great match here, with each of them showing off their great tag team chemistry and agility, as well as high-flying assaults from Too Cool and the newfound rule-breaking ways of the Toronto blondes. Too Cool manage to get the upper hand later on, with some quick tags and some great momentum, isolating Christian. After a big bulldog, Scotty 2 Hotty looks out to the fans… and goes for the Worm! The most popular move in the team’s arsenal connects, followed up by a huge Hip-Hop drop halfway across the ring from Grandmasta Sexya, and Scotty looks to have it won until Edge comes in with a big Spear! Edge drags his brother on top of Scotty for the pin at 11:21!

After the bell rings, Edge helps his brother up and the two men raise their arms in victory, before deciding to head backstage before Too Cool can recover enough to get their own back. As they quickly backtrap up the ramp, however, they walk right into stereo dropkicks to the back from the Hardy Boyz! Matt and Jeff, in a measure of revenge from what happened on Raw, send Edge and Christian running back down to the ring where Too Cool await! Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the cocky blondes instead choose to run, disappearing through the crowd as the Hardyz yell that it isn’t over and we take another break.

**** (Match Quality 95%, Crowd Reaction 77%, Overall Rating 86%)

-- CHALLENGE FAILED?

Coming back off of the break, we get a quick recap of the challenge Triple H set for Kurt Angle earleir on, and then head down to the ring where “Medal” plays and the Olympic Hero comes out onto the ramp! He looks a little spooked by his own pyro, such is the magnitude and pressure of this match for him, but shrugs it off and heads down to the ring. Moments later, the Rock’s music rips out of the speakers and the people go wild! The Orlando Arena is rocking as the People’s Champion storms down to the ring, his eyes fixed on Angle, and takes it to him as the bell rings!

The Rock vs Kurt Angle

Immediately, Rocky forces Kurt into the ropes with some punches, and then connects the spit-punch to send him to the outside! Angle shakes himself off and tries to regroup, before heading back into the ring and locking up with Rock, taking him down with a well-hidden lowblow knee and a fireman’s carry. Angle takes it to Rocky early on with his unrivalled technical wrestling skill and some hard-hitting moves of his own to match Rocky’s brawling, but eventually the People’s Champ fires back with some right-hands, suplexes, and some submission maneuvers of his own to surprise Angle! The two men eventually work things down to the mat, exchanging submissions in a frantic battle of wills, before Angle frees himself from a sleeper and nails a belly-to-belly suplex! He takes a run-up, and goes for a clothesline, but instead only finds himself planted by a spinebuster! The fans go wild with joy as the Rock bounces off one rope and a second, hitting the People’s Elbow for the academic 3-count at 10:58!

After the match, Rocky sticks around to celebrate, while Kurt realises that he has lost his shot to join the Faction and starts throwing a tantrum! He kicks and screams at the ropes, yelling that he had Rocky beat, and heads backstage, leaving the Rock in the ring.

**** (Match Quality 91%, Crowd Reaction 92%, Overall Rating 91%)

-- THE HAUNTING

Rocky jumps down from the turnbuckle finally, and takes the microphone from Lilian Garcia, exchangign a few words with her that make her blush, before getting ready to speak. As he tries to, however, his microphone doesn’t work! The fans boo, assuming a technical fault, as Rocky tries to make the microphone work, before the lights go out!

Michael Cole: What the Hell is this!

Jerry Lawler: Aaaaah! Who turned out the lights, Cole?

Some muffled sounds are heard over the speakers now, sounding like a heartbeat, as smoke begins to rise up in the ring and on the ramp, before the darkness is pierced by a strobe light and spotlights flashing black, white, and orange. In the ring, Rocky looks confused, as the lights get faster and brighter, and the heartbeat sound gets quicker. Eventually, they all reach a crescendo… and then stop, almost as quickly as they started. The smoke clears, and the People’s Champion looks out towards the TitanTron, which has a single word emblazoned across it – “SOON”

Jerry Lawler: Soon? What’s soon?

Michael Cole: I have no idea! Whatever caused all of this, presumably!

The Rock looks utterly, hopelessly confused in the ring, and we go to the back.

(Segment quality 81%)

-- GRIZZLED VETERAN

The transmission switches to the backstage, or more specifically – the darkened, dank locker room currently occupied by Mick Foley, who is sitting cross-legged on the floor, hunched over, and looking at the cameras…

Mick Foley: You know, I’ve seen a lot of things in my time. I’ve been a professional for over ten years, and I’ve gotta tell you, there’s some whacked-out stuff out there in this business. I’ve seen a tough Jewish kid from Brooklyn become a black man from Macon! I’ve seen a farm kid from Nebraska become an overnight pop star sensation! I’ve seen a kid from New Hampshire become a Frenchman! Hell, I’ve seen a man come back from the dead, only to die again!

Foley pauses, letting his words sink in, and continues…

Mick Foley: But, you know… last Monday night on RAW is WAR, I saw something that really got on my nerves. Triple H, winning the World’s title, by the virtue of four little lap-dogs who think they can play with the big doggies… ruff, ruff!

Foley, almost inexplicably, begins barking, before quickly calming down again…

Mick Foley: So hey… I’ve got one question for you ‘Radicalz’ or whatever you guys are called – what’s it like to walk out to the ring, take a look around, and unlike where you last worked actually see people in the audience? I kinda thought about going down South myself once, you know… but then I realised that I wasn’t old enough. I felt kinda sad that day, but right now I’m feeling a lot better, because tonight I get to play the grizzled, cranky old veteran, and I’m going to take you to school, Chris Benoit you young whippersnapper! You’re playing with the big doggies now, boys, the big doggies, and I’ve got only one thing to say to you about that – RUFF, RUFF!

Once more, Foley starts manically barking, and we fade out to a commercial break.

(Segment quality 87%)

-- PLAY THE (NUMBERS) GAME

Back from our final break of the evening, and the Radicalz’ music plays again. Chris Benoit heads out, accompanied by all three of the other Radicalz, cracking his knuckles and moving his neck from side-to-side to crack the cartilage. He stands in the ring, awaiting his opponent, until the sounds of the car wreck fill the arena! The fans go crazy as Mick Foley, wearing the same flannel shirt and sweats as he was backstage, heads down to the ring, and takes it straight to Benoit to start the main event.

Mick Foley vs Chris Benoit

Foley forces Benoit into the turnbuckle with some punches and kicks, but Benoit turns it around, tosses Foley into the turnbuckle, and starts to chop him red raw! The Rabid Wolverine annihilates his opponent’s chest with chops, before dragging him into the middle of the ring and starting to take him apart. Benoit uses mostly his technical arsenal in this match, along with his fearsome brawling abilities and a couple of top-rope moves, while Foley struggles to get in much offense for a few minutes until firing off a huge headbutt! Mick takes control later on with some typically unhinged brawling offense, until the Radicalz start to make themselves known, one-by-one! First Malenko jumps onto the apron, only to be clotheslined down, then Saturn rushes into the ring and takes a Double Armed DDT! Lastly, Guerrero tries to mount an assault, but Foley fights him off. As he does so, however, Triple H heads down to the ring! The Game grabs a chair from ringside and jumps onto the apron, but Foley sees it and starts to grapple with him for the chair. This is all the opening that Benoit needs, however, to come up from behind and drag the veteran into the Crippler Crossface! Foley’s blood-curdling screams of pain fill the arena, and he eventually submits at 16:45!

After the match, the Game enters the ring as the Radicalz watch on, and stomps on Foley. Saturn and Malenko hold Foley up as Triple H picks up his World title, and cleans Foley’s clock with it! Mick is down and bleeding now as the five men circle him like vultures, stomping away at him.

Michael Cole: Oh man, somebody, somebody stop this!

Jerry Lawler: I guess Foley is finding out where the power lies, Michael!

Michael Cole: How the Hell can you find this anything other than wrong, King? Mick Foley is a damn legend in this business and those five men are just stomping away at him like animals! Somebody stop this!

Nobody comes, despite Cole’s pleas, and SmackDown! fades out with a shot of Triple H posing with his World title as the Radicalz surround Foley, still stomping heinously away at his fallen form.

**1/4 (Match Quality 74%, Crowd Reaction 84%, Overall Rating 80%)

Card Rating – 82%

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WWF Sunday Night HeAT Preview,

January 9th 2000…

This week on Sunday Night HeAT we have some big matches booked and an exciting evening promised for all! Just like last week, titles will be on the line, and we also have two big matches that will decide two of the competitors for the eagerly-anticipated Royal Rumble match next week!

In two ‘Royal Rumble Qualifiers’ this week, with the winners automatically entered into the Royal Rumble match and foregoing the usual random lottery draw, Crash Holly will meet Stevie Richards, and Test will go up against Gangrel!

After debuting on RAW is WAR along with the other Radicalz this week and dismantling Gillberg in under three minutes on SmackDown!, Dean Malenko is looking to further make his mark on the WWF this week on HeAT, as he defends his new Light-Heavyweight title against TAKA Michinoku of Kai En Tai.

In other action, Val Venis will be defending his European title against a man who hopes to bring the title ‘back’ to Europe, the British Bulldog, whilst Too Cool, after their good showing on SmackDown!, have been granted a Tag Team title shot at the New Age Outlaws!

For all of this action, join us at 8/7 CT on the USA Network for Sunday Night HeAT!

Confirmed matches…

Crash Holly vs Stevie Richards – Royal Rumble Qualifier

Test vs Gangrel – Royal Rumble Qualifier

Dean Malenko © vs TAKA Michinoku – Light-Heavyweight title match

Val Venis © vs British Bulldog – European title match

New Age Outlaws © vs Too Cool – Tag Team title match

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WWF Sunday Night HeAT

1/9/00

From: The American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL

Announcers: Michael Cole and Johnathan “Coach” Coachman

HeAT begins with some highlights from the past week in the WWF, focusing on the debut of the Radicalz on Raw and their dominant display from SmackDown!, finishing with shots of their beat-down on Mick Foley in the main event and the image of the four newcomers posing along with Triple H. From there, we go over to the American Airlines Arena for Sunday Night HeAT, with Michael Cole and his new partner Johnathan Coachman…

Michael Cole: Welcome to HeAT! We’ve got three titles on the line tonight, including a Tag Team title defence! Not only that, but we have two Royal Rumble Qualifying matches as well!

Johnathan Coachman: Two men will know if they’re in the Rumble match itself tonight, Michael, and they won’t have to go through the usual lottery system! This is quite an opportunity for Crash, Stevie, Test, and Gangrel!

Michael Cole: You can say that again, Coach, and I think the first match is up!

-- RUMBLE QUALIFIER #1

Sure enough, Crash Holly’s music starts up over the speakers, and the more obnoxious of the Holly cousins steps out from behind the curtain, carrying his scales as usual, yelling that he is a superheavyweight and everybody should respect him as the fans boo him. Whilst Crash warms up, Stevie Richards’ music hits, and out comes Richards… dressed as Kane! ‘Stevie Kane’, as Coach calls him, heads down to the ring and steps onto the scales, which somehow show him as weighing 330lbs! Grinning beneath the mask, Stevie steps into the ring.

Crash Holly vs Stevie Richards

Crash clearly doesn’t think much of Stevie to start, circling him and going at him with some right hands, but Stevie seems to absorb them like nothing before nailing a Kane-style throat thrust! Crash hits the mat, confused, as ‘Stevie Kane’ follows up with some jarring right hands and a big clothesline to the pseudo-superheavyweight! The bout is mostly Stevie’s, with him seemingly feeding from his costume and hitting numerous big moves usually associated more with Kane than himself, including a flying clothesline and a big powerbomb! After the powerbomb, Stevie signals for the end and attempts the Chokeslam, but Crash knees him hard in the crotch to escape, before rolling him up with a hook of the tights for the 1-2-3 at 3:39!

Michael Cole: Oh, come on! Crash stole the victory there!

Johnathan Coachman: I’m just impressed he could pull out the win over a powerhouse like Stevie Kane!

Michael Cole: Would you just stop?

After his victory, Crash rolls out of the ring, yelling at Stevie, and makes his way backstage. Left in the ring, Stevie poses for the fans before standing in the centre of the ring and igniting the turnbuckle pyro à la Kane to a great pop, as his music begins to play and we switch to the back.

*3/4 (Match Quality 73%, Crowd Reaction 62%, Overall Rating 67%)

-- MAKING AN IMPACT

We’re backstage now, where Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko of the Radicalz are standing next to WWF interviewer Kevin Kelly, who is looking a little harassed by the cocky Guerrero and the ice-cold Malenko…

Kevin Kelly: Eddie, Dean, uh…

Guerrero, without warning, snatches the microphone, and begins to speak…

Eddie Guerrero: Eddie, ese? Dean, ese? You show us some respect, holmes, you call us by our full names! Tonight, on Sunday Night HeAT, away from the pomp and grandeur of your so-called ‘bigger boys’, the Radicalz shine, ese! Dean Malenko will retain the Light-Heavyweight campionato, man, and as for me? I’m gonna make an impact of my own tonight, ese!

Dean Malenko: TAKA Michinoku, you’re just the first in a long line. I am the player in this division, and you’re just another chump who thinks he has what it takes. I vow that I will defend this title against any and all Light-Heavyweight comers, and I will defeat every… last… one.

Eddie Guerrero: That’s right, holmes! Y’know why? Because we’re the Radicalz, ese!

Guerrero stuffs the microphone back into Kevin Kelly’s hands, and walks off, making doubly sure to knock shoulders with the interviewer and send him stumbling backwards. Malenko stares down the camera, and also walks off as we go to a break.

(Segment quality 79%)

-- RUMBLE QUALIFIER #2

We’re back from the break with Test’s music already playing, and the 6’6’’ powerhouse walking down to the ring, looking confident ahead of his Royal Rumble Qualifying match. He steps into the ring, over the ropes, and looks around at the crowd, before Gangrel’s music hits and the vampiric creature rises up onto the stage amidst a ring of fire, steps through it, and heads down to the ring. He takes a deep sip from his golden cup, and spits blood high into the air before squaring off with Test.

Test vs Gangrel

Gangrel’s blood-spitting has unnerved Test a little bit, and he is uneasy about locking up with the vampire, who is eagerly licking his chops as he approaches. This costs Test, who overreaches his lunge and finds himself hiptossed down, followed up by a big elbow from Gangrel to the sternum. Gangrel controls the early part of the match, using his advantage well and keeping Test on the back-burner with some big strikes, punches, and suplexes. After a couple of minutes, however, Test ploughs back with some fierce brawling, mowing Gangrel down with boots, strikes, some huge suplexes of his own and a spinebuster that shakes the ring, before hitting the Gutwrench Powerbomb for the 1-2-3 at 4:18.

Test celebrates his victory after the match, satisfied with his win over Gangrel, and heads to the back as we take a break.

**1/4 (Match Quality 80%, Crowd Reaction 60%, Overall Rating 70%)

-- THE ICE AGE IS HERE

When we return, the announcers note that TAKA Michinoku is already standing in the ring, warming up with Sho Funaki in his corner. The Radicalz’ music plays, and Dean Malenko heads out to a chorus of boos from the live crowd, holding his title up into the air. Malenko steps into the ring and hands the title over to the referee, before locking up with Michinoku to start the bout.

Dean Malenko © vs TAKA Michinoku – WWF Light-Heavyweight title

TAKA Michinoku wins the initial lock-up with a hammerlock, but Malenko sweeps him down to the mat and quickly cinches in an armlock submission, before switching to the legs almost instantly with a leg grapevine. Dean is in total control for much of the bout here, using his years and years of experience and great technical wrestling prowess to simply deconstruct TAKA piece-by-piece, first feeling him out and then focusing in on the legs as the bout wears on. Michinoku fights back later in the bout, using his grasp of puroresu and the top rope to bring the match back to a stalemate, and nail a huge missile dropkick to tip the scales in his favour. He goes to the top once again, attempting a flying hurricanrana, but Malenko catches him with a sick powerbomb and a Texas Cloverleaf for the submission victory at 8:18!

Post-match, just like on SmackDown!, Malenko continues the punishment, bringing his title belt into the ring and wiping Michinoku out, before re-applying the Texas Cloverleaf and cinching the hold in, disfiguring TAKA until referees and road-agents rush out to pull the Light-Heavyweight champion off.

Michael Cole: Look at this Malenko, Coach, he’s like a machine or something!

Johnathan Coachman: He’s a ruthless competitor, definitely, he’s almost like the Terminator! He doesn’t just beat a man, he takes him apart and leaves him down and out on the mat!

Michael Cole: Indeed, he’s definitely a clever competitor in that ring, which I suppose gives him a lot in common with Triple H, as we saw this past week on SmackDown! The Game, along with the Radicalz, conspiring to destroy Mick Foley, let’s take a look at the footage…

As Cole speaks, we head over to a video package.

***3/4 (Match Quality 88%, Crowd Reaction 64%, Overall Rating 76%)

(The WWF Light-Heavyweight title has gained in image)

-- RECAP CENTRAL!

The video begins with a recap of Mick Foley’s promo from SmackDown! this past week…

Mick Foley: …… last Monday night on RAW is WAR, I saw something that really got on my nerves. Triple H, winning the World’s title, by the virtue of four little lap-dogs who think they can play with the big doggies…… I’m going to take you to school, Chris Benoit… RUFF, RUFF!
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Head Booker’s Office, January 10th 2000,

Titan Towers, Greenwich, CT

10:00am…

Now that we’ve had our first full week of shows and whatnot, I’ve decided to try and compile my thoughts on how things are progressing both on-screen and behind the scenes, to hopefully give the roster an insight into my opinion on how things are going and where we can improve. Based on how angry Jean-Paul Levesque was that I rubbished his suggestion of hiring Nash and Hall at the last staff meeting, this way is probably much safer than a face-to-face meeting every week…

“Ready, boss?”

“Call me boss again and I’ll dock your wages, Sophie. And yes, I’m ready. You sure you can keep up?”

She laughs, and nods her head…

“Of course, I can type one hundred and thirty words per minute, I should be able to keep pace with you, especially since you trip over every fifth word.”

“I don’t! That’s a…”

“…Lie?”

Damnit. It’s not my fault, I was bullied at school and I developed a slight stuttering problem when under pressure or talking in public situations of any kind when things aren’t going exactly my way. It’s a Hell of a problem at job interviews, or when talking to attractive women. Ahem…

“Yes, well. We’ve already covered how Raw went at the meeting, so I guess we’ll start with SmackDown! for now. Great job from the Radicalz with that promo, especially since Chris was wary of talking, and generally a big thumbs up to their performances in the ring as well. Chris and Mick didn’t really gel, I suppose, it was a bit of a styles clash, but we definitely managed to make them something for people to care about. The idea was to have the Radicalz over as extremely competent professionals, which could only be achieved by them being just that. You get all that?”

“I did. Carry on.”

“Okay – congratulations to Adam and Jason for an excellent match on SmackDown!, the same goes for Brian and Scott. Like Cole and Lawler said, those four are all great prospects for the future of the tag team division, and I’m liking the way the Edge & Christian characters are progressing at this point. They could definitely become some really memorable characters with more time.”

“Okay… you want to talk about the ratings?”

“Yeah, probably best. Right… we got a 5.48 Nielsen rating overnight for SmackDown!, which is great as you all know because hardly anything on UPN breaks 5.5. Thunder got a 5.03 in the same timeslot, which production and my PA tell me isn’t much, but from where I’m standing we’re a little under half a point ahead, which is a lot in terms of these Monday Night Wars. We’re winning, people, slowly but surely.”

“Was that a swipe at me?”

“All in good nature, Sophie, I assure you. Anyway… a good few matches from Val Venis this week, he’s put in a great effort and it’ll be rewarded. Same goes for Kai En Tai and Jean-Paul for their work over the last week, it’s been stellar all the way both in and out of the ring. On the subject of ring work, I’d like to bring up Davey Boy Smith. A couple of people have been wondering why we’ve been putting him on TV this week despite his fairly well-publicised issues and injury problems. It’s simple – he’s over, for better or for worse, and he knows that he isn’t the wrestler he used to be. I’ve spoken to him a few times this week, and we’ve decided that we might as well use the heat he has to help others get over, like we did with Val on HeAT.”

“Okay. Next up?”

“The HeAT rating, I guess. 1.89, very impressive, beats WCW’s Saturday show by .63. Another good show from HeAT, well done to the production team for the recap of the Hunter and Foley situation, and kudos to the wrestlers for putting on some solid bouts. A couple of people have asked why we used an interview segment and some development on the show itself when it’s always been seen as a B-show… it’s mostly because I want to move away from the old ‘nothing happens on HeAT’ mindset and turn it into a show that, yes, does focus on the mid to lower-card talent, but also is a show in its own right that will have events of its own. Kudos to Coachman for his work on HeAT since we pulled Kevin Kelly to the sole position of interviewer, he’s doing us proud on that show.”

“D’you want to mention the negotiations with the other announcers?”

“Hmm… best not to at this stage, we don’t know if they’ll even talk to us about the offers we’ve faxed them. We should just leave it on a positive note – no injuries or backstage squabbles to deal with, which is very nice to see as always, and it’s good to hear that everybody is helping the new guys to settle in as well. Thanks.”

“All done?”

“All done indeed, Sophie. I assume you have some work to be getting on with?”

“Mark, I’m your assistant. If you have work, I have work, and you’ve been playing cards with yourself all morning. Do you ever do any work?”

“Only when I have cards to book, and I’ve had this show set up for ages. Everybody knows their places for this one, we’ve been going over it since the weekend. If you’re really not busy…”

“…which I’m not…”

“…then would you like to take an early lunch with me and get something from the Italian place on third?”

“Why, I thought you’d never ask.”

---

RAW preview and various other stuff up soonish - apologies for the week's lack of updates, erk. Ahem. Anyhow, enjoy!

RK!

:ph34r:

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