WWF Summerslam 2000

(Guest written by Matt)

General Comments: Well, after a Summerslam for the ages in 1999, we go back to mediocrity in 2000. Summerslam 2000 is just okay. Its actually one of the weaker Summerslams I’ve seen so far, but I have a feeling they’re only going to get much worse from here. There are actually ten matches on this card and it only lasts 2 hours and 33 minutes. What is this, “league”? Most of the matches are quick and pointless and some of them don’t even really get started. The feuds/storylines are a mixed bag, some are really good, and others are terrible. The only really well worked matches on the card are the main event and the TLC match, the rest of the matches are average at best. I did still enjoy the commentary and the overall feel of the event. Believe it or not, I actually thought the HHH-Kurt Angle-Stephanie love triangle was a good storyline which reminds me of Hulk Hogan-Macho Man-Elizabeth from 89. I also thought it was cool that this event took place in the home of the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh and there were lots of Hurricanes jerseys in the crowd. So memory wise, this event is worth checking out again. But the matches themselves are generally not very good.

Right to Censor def. Rikishi and Too Cool: The very first match on this card is a crappy six man tag featuring some of the most annoying lower mid-carders on the roster. I really hated Rikishi at this time and was so annoyed by his stinkface ways and Lawler going nuts over his fat ass in commentary. I also hated Right to Censor, especially their music. This match was pretty awful but fortunately it was less than five minutes long.

X-Pac def. Road Dogg: Yawn! Another awful match. DX by this point were kind of like the NNWO in mid-97 league. They were just so tired and annoying and a bunch of nuggets that just wouldn’t go down with the flush. Again, this match sucks but fortunately it was also very quick.

Chyna and Eddie Guerrero def. Trish and Val Venis: Even though I hated Chyna, I actually did like her storyline with Eddie Guerrero at the time, but that was mostly because of how entertaining Latino Heat was. It was also funny here to see Val Venis as just a nobody in regular trunks with no image or personality. I guess he had abandoned his porn star gimmick by this point. Trish is super hot, but at this point in her career she can’t wrestle at all, and is just a pair of big implants. Other than looking at Trish’s boobs and watching Eddie’s hilarious Latino antics, this match pretty much sucks. Once again, its very short. And Chyna wins the I.C. title by pinning Trish in a mixed tag match and Val Venis was actually the champ. How the fuck does that make sense?

Jerry Lawler def. Tazz: The funniest match on this card. Even though Ross interferes and hits Tazz with a bottle, for the most part Lawler just wins the match seriously in the center of the ring. This feud was pretty funny at the time, but its actually even funnier now because in retrospect Tazz looks pretty ridiculous playing the invincible tough guy role here when he’s actually shorter than Ross and Lawler. I know that shouldn’t matter, but it does. In WWF, you expect tough guys to be big and destructive. With that being said, at least Tazz can wrestle and its pretty dumb to see him job to a non-wrestler here. But funny nonetheless. I also laughed super hard at a sign in the crowd that said “Tazz is the new Brooklyn Brawler”. Hahaha.

Steve Blackman def. Shane McMahon: Why was Shane McMahon the hardcore champion? That’s fucking retarded! As is typical of Shane matches, I enjoyed this match, but it wasn’t as good as the internet fans make it out to be either. I will admit though that the bump off the side of the Titantron was really impressive to see, even if it was also incredibly stupid especially for a non-wrestler.

Chris Benoit def. Chris Jericho: Much like the Wrestlemania 2000 match involving these two and Kurt Angle, I thought this was a good match but it could have been a lot better. The main thing that hurt it was the 2 out of 3 falls stipulation. There’s nothing wrong with 2 out of 3 falls per se, but they booked this match like Demolition vs. the Hart Foundation from Summerslam 90. The first decision happened two minutes into the match with Jericho tapping to the crossface. When it first happened, I was like “WTF?” thinking the match was over because of course they did a poor job of letting you know this was 2 out of 3 falls beforehand. The second decision with Benoit tapping to Jericho came only about five minutes after too. The entire match was only 13 minutes long. You would think they would give great workers like this more time to show their stuff. In the time they had, it was a very well wrestled battle, but the pacing was way off. Basically too many damn matches on this card!

Edge and Christian def. Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boys: This was a great TLC match, maybe even a little better than their match at Wrestlemania 2000, but obviously with nothing on their battle at Wrestlemania X7. I’m kind of getting sick of seeing these kind of matches already, but I’m always impressed by these guys giving it their all in a high risk spot-fest, all for the sake of the fans. Edge and Christian win here yet again as they do in all three of these matches. I think they should have let the Hardys win at least once.

The Kat def. Terri Runnels: This was a stinkface thong match. Yes, really! These are not my favorite divas but their trashiness makes them pretty hot here. The match is absolutely horrendous, but I know its not supposed to be Flair-Steamboat. Why would they have this match again after already having it at Wrestlemania 2000? Why not get some better divas out there for the time filler?

Undertaker vs. Kane: Well, time for the American Fatass to do his thing. I really hated that awful gimmick and it lasted for four years! Thankfully this match never actually starts. They just brawl for a couple minutes and Undertaker pulls off Kane’s mask and he cowers to the back covering his face. What a time waster this was!

The Rock def. Kurt Angle and HHH: Like I said before, even though I hated the storyline with Steph, Hunter and Kurt at the time, I now think it was actually a very well done storyline similar to the Macho-Hogan-Elizabeth storyline from 88/89. According to the ‘net, HHH was supposed to turn face after this, but he didn’t because of Austin’s return, knowing full well that he would have a better chance of staying in the main events as a heel. The weird thing about the build to this match is that The Rock is barely mentioned on the entire show, even though he’s the reigning champ. All of the focus is on Trips, Nips, and Angle. When the match starts, HHH and Angle battle it out for several minutes before The Rock even enters and Angle gets laid out. From there The Rock comes down and he and HHH actually wrestle a great match. I would love to see their match from Backlash 2000 because apparently its really good and a rare case of those two actually fighting one on one. They really do click well together in the ring. Once Angle gets back out, the match is still really well worked, but it starts to take on the characteristics of all of these three way matches which I hate and I’ve already gone over that many times. Anyway, the ending of the match with multiple finishers and false pins is awesome and the Wrestlemania 1 tribute with HHH accidentally hitting Steph was a great way to finish things. Huge victory for The Rock, but his mega-push is on borrowed time. This was a really good main event overall, but unfortunately it headlined a weak card.