There’s not much to say in the intro this week. The WWF was on the road to Fully Loaded in July with some interesting matches being set up. Here is the synopsis for this episode on WWE Network:
“While the rivalry between Triple H and Chris Jericho continues to escalate, Women’s Champion Stephanie McMahon plans a special surprise for Y2J. Shane McMahon explains his radical new friendship and has him go one-on-one with WWE Champion The Rock. Plus, Lita takes on Trish Stratus in a Street Fight and more.”
The road to WWF Fully Loaded 2000 continued. The main three matches at that show were all set up with angles on Raw when The Rock was attacked by Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle started his rivalry with The Undertaker with a cheap shot and Triple H continued to have issues with Chris Jericho.
Here’s the synopsis from WWE Network: “As the rivalry between Chris Jericho and Triple H continues to escalate, Commissioner Mick Foley gives The Game an opportunity to earn a match with Y2J if he can survive a Handicap Elimination Match. Plus, WWE Champion The Rock teams with Chyna & European Champion Eddie Guerrero for a Six-Man Tag Team main event and much more.”
The WWF in 2000 reviews are back. I took the month of July off from writing these reviews because I needed a bit of a break. I figured if I stopped at the midway point it would be a good time for it. Here is the synopsis for this episode on WWE Network:
“Shane McMahon goes one-on-one with The Rock for the WWE Championship in the main event. While Triple H’s quest for the WWE Championship is put on hold, he is given an opportunity at Rikishi’s Intercontinental Championship. But when Chris Jericho makes presence felt at The Game’s expense, Y2J finds himself in a Handicap Match. Kurt Angle in action.”
This week’s Smackdown follows a newsworthy edition of Raw from earlier in the week. Mick Foley was appointed as the new babyface Commissioner and Vince McMahon went home to make babies with Linda McMahon. Heels lie! It just meant that Vince was taking a break from TV for the next several months.
Here’s the synopsis from WWE Network: “Triple H teams with X-Pac and Road Dogg to face Chris Jericho and The Dudley Boyz in the main event. Plus, Undertaker, Al Snow, and more!”
So we’re back again with another Six of the Best, this time looking at what was, for a while, the fifth biggest pay per view event of the WWF/E calendar in the form of King of the Ring. KOTR as an event ran from 1993 until being discontinued in 2002.
I will be looking at just the KOTR PPV’s themselves for this and not the times WWE brought back the tournament for television purposes. I also won’t be covering any of the tournaments prior to the first PPV version of the event in 1993, as I have actually never seen any of the matches from them and couldn’t even tell you if footage of the matches actually existed or not. If they do then please feel free to confirm that in the comments section.
This one was difficult in the sense that I really didn’t know whether to include one particular match and only eventually decided to go with it after watching it again. We’ll get to that when we get to it. Aside from that particular match, the rest of the list wasn’t too difficult for me to narrow down, as KOTR events tended to be a bit meh when compared to the likes of Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and Summer Slam. As a result, narrowing the list down to Six didn’t take too long as the really good matches from these events stand out quite clearly.
As always, these are just my own personal picks. This isn’t supposed to be some sort of objective list or anything. If I leave out a match that you think warrants inclusion, then please feel free to put it down in the comments section below. As with previous lists, I’ll be listing the matches in chronological order.
So without further to do, let’s take a look at Six of the Best for King of the Ring!
The King of the Ring 2000 PPV saw The Rock become the new WWF Champion and Kurt Angle won the King of the Ring tournament. Edge and Christian also won back the WWF Tag Team Titles. This Raw signified a change in direction for WWE. The heel McMahon-Helmsley group had dominated TV for months, but that was about to change. I’m excited to go through the second half of 2000 again. I remember a lot of good things happening.
The synopsis for this episode on WWE Network is: “Shawn Michaels returns to introduce the new Commissioner of WWE. Plus, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and many more in action!”
It’s time for WWF King of the Ring with a unique main event match that was unlike anything we had ever seen before. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing!
The synopsis from WWE Network: “The Rock, Kane, and The Undertaker vs. Triple H, Vince and Shane McMahon to determine the WWE Champion. King of The Ring Tournament Matches.”
This was the last edition of Smackdown before King of the Ring 2000. On the previous Raw, we found out that King of the Ring’s main event was going to be WWF Champion Triple H, Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon vs. The Rock, The Undertaker and Kane and if Triple H’s team lost, then Triple H would lose the WWF Championship in the tag team match.
Here’s the synopsis from WWE Network: “Mr. McMahon causes more tension within the McMahon-Helmsley Faction by making a unique Six-Man Tag Team main event.”
This was the go-home edition of Raw heading into the King of the Ring PPV on Sunday, June 25, 2000. Due to that, they had six King of the Ring second round matches on this show.
The synopsis for this episode on WWE Network is: “As the King of the Ring tournament continues, CEO Linda McMahon makes an announcement regarding Triple H’s WWE Championship at Judgment Day.” They screwed up the synopsis. It should say “King of the Ring” at the end, not Judgment Day.
Here’s the synopsis from WWE Network: “The McMahon-Helmsley Faction add a stipulation to the King of the Ring tournament. The Rock battles a true American hero in the main event.”
The synopsis for this episode on WWE Network is: “CEO Linda McMahon makes a huge announcement about King of the Ring. The Rock battles Kane in a No Holds Barred Match. Plus, Y2J and more!”
For a while there I didn’t think I was going to get this one posted before the end of May, but I just about got it all put together before the month reached it’s conclusion, like Indiana Jones sliding under a closing drawbridge right before it closes whilst still having time to reach back and grab my hat…
Or maybe not…
Anyway, Judgment Day was an event held by the WWF/E in the month of May from 2000 to 2009 (There was also a show from 1998 using the name that happened in October). It tended to be an event that advanced or began storylines rather than paying them off, and ended up feeling like a “B Show” most of the time as a result.
Despite that though, it was also a show that usually had at least a couple of good matches every time out, and that meant that I struggled somewhat whittling the list down to six. There were some really good matches that I really enjoyed that I had to leave on the cutting room floor, but I’m generally happy with what eventually made the final list.
As always, these are just my own personal picks. This isn’t supposed to be some sort of objective list or anything. If I leave out a match that you think warrants inclusion, then please feel free to put it down in the comments section below. As with previous lists, I’ll be listing the matches in chronological order.
So without further to do, let’s take a look at Six of the Best for Judgment Day!
Pay per view is one of the most important aspects of professional wrestling. You can get a lot out of television, but at the same time you need a big show to build towards. That’s where pay per view came in, though originally they were fairly infrequent. Eventually the shows became more common, and the WWF even offered a series of cheaper shows. That’s where In Your House came into play, though there was a lot more to it than just some lower priced events.
In this book, I’ll be looking at all twenty eight editions of In Your House, which ran over the course of about four years. Each show will be broken down match by match and segment by segment. Included will be analysis and ratings for the shows to see what worked and didn’t work about the entire series.
The book runs about 270pages and is available on Amazon both in a physical paperback for $9.99 or an e-book format for $2.99. In case you don’t have a Kindle, there are plenty of FREE apps you can get from Amazon for pretty much any electronic device, all of which are available at this link.
You can pick up the book from Amazon here in paperback and here as an e-book.
And from the UK Amazon here in paperback and here as an e-book.
Or if you’re in another country with its own Amazon page, just search “KB’s History Of In Your House”.
Also you can still get any of my previous books on the Intercontinental Championship, Monday Night Raw from 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003and the first half of 2014, Smackdown 2003, Monday Nitro from 1995-1999, In Your House, Summerslam, Starrcade, ECW Pay Per Views, Royal Rumble, Saturday Night’s Main Event, the WWF and WCW pay per views from 1998, Wrestlemania, WWE Grab Bag and Clash of the Champions, NXT Volumes I, II and IIIat my author’s page here.
I hope you like it and shoot me any questions you might have.
The road to King of the Ring 2000 continued with The Rock, The Undertaker and Kane all having a common enemy as they tried to get a title shot against the WWF Champion, Triple H.
Here’s the synopsis from WWE Network: “As the McMahon-Helmsley Faction celebrates their success, The Rock interrupts the festivities leading to a Six-Man Tag Team main event.”
The synopsis for this episode on WWE Network is: “The Rock battles The Undertaker and Kane in a Triple Threat match for the chance to challenge Triple H for the WWE Title in the main event.”
The return of Kane was the big news from Raw on May 29. He saved The Rock and The Undertaker from a group attack from the McMahon-Helmsley Regime, so that meant that Kane, Rock and Undertaker all had their eyes on the WWF Title held by Triple H. The next PPV was King of the Ring on June 25.
Here’s the synopsis from WWE Network: “While The Rock and The Undertaker compete in matches for a shot at the WWE Title, Kane seizes his own golden opportunity. All this and more!”
The synopsis for this episode on WWE Network is: “Mr. McMahon forces The Rock and The Undertaker to meet in a Lumberjack Match. WWE Champion Triple H saves Shane McMahon the smell of defeat.”
This is first Smackdown after Judgment Day 2000, which was the return of The Undertaker. Here’s the synopsis from WWE Network: “The McMahon-Helmsley Faction looks to get even with The Undertaker when Shane McMahon battles the American Bad-Ass in the main event.”
This edition of Raw was the follow up to the Judgment Day 2000 PPV. The big news coming out of that show was that Triple H beat The Rock to regain the WWF Championship in a 60-Minute Iron Man Match that had a controversial finish. Plus, The Undertaker returned after missing about eight months of action. He was out for that long due to a groin injury and a torn pectoral muscle that required surgery. It was a different look for The Undertaker too.
The synopsis for this episode on WWE Network is: “After losing the WWE Title to Triple H at Judgment Day, The Rock looks for payback on the McMahon-Helmsley Faction. Plus, much more!”
It’s time for WWE Judgment Day featuring a WWF Title match that saw The Rock defending the gold against Triple H in a 60-Minute Iron Man Match with Shawn Michaels as the referee. There was also a huge surprise return in the main event of this show as well.
