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WWF World Titles – 2000

  • Mar 17, 2020
  • 9 min read

Welcome to my blog. This is the start of a new series, where I’ll be looking back at the history of WWE World Titles (not counting ECW) and ranking all the World Title reigns since the “Modern Era”. The “Modern Era” goes all the way back to the birth of Hulkamania in 1984, and that’s where we’ll end. Today we look back at the year 2000, and we’ll continue to go back from here.

In front of my star ratings for the matches, you’ll either see “HR”, “R” or “RTA”. “HR” means the match is highly recommended ; “R” means the match is recommended ; “RTA” means recommendation to avoid. In case nothing appears, the match is watchable but nothing spectacular.

WWF CHAMPIONSHIP

Triple H (January 3, 2000 – April 30, 2000)

  • Televised matches: 32

  • Record: 19-11 (2 draws)

My match ratings:

  • Triple H def. Big Show(c) – RAW Jan. 3 2000 (**1/2)

  • Triple H(c) def. Cactus Jack in a Street Fight – Royal Rumble 2000 (*****) *HR*

  • Triple H, X-Pac, Benoit, Malenko & Saturn def. Cactus, Rock, Rikishi, Scotty & Sexay – RAW Feb. 7 2000 (****) *HR*

  • Triple H(c) def. Cactus Jack in a Title vs. Career HIAC Match – No Way Out 2000 (****1/2) *HR*

  • Triple H(c) def. The Rock, Mick Foley and Big Show in an Elimination Match – WrestleMania 2000 (**3/4)

  • The Rock def. Triple H(c) – Backlash 2000 (****) *HR*

In Armageddon 1999, Triple H defeated Vince McMahon after interference from Stephanie McMahon, who turned on her dad. From there, the couple started a The Authority like run (only you know, much better) where they screwed all the babyfaces, including putting The Rock and Mankind in a pink slip match where the loser would be fired. On the first RAW of 2000, Hunter defeated The Big Show to win the WWF Championship. The McMahon-Helmsley Faction was now on top of the world. Foley eventually came back after The Rock threatened to walk out on the company with all the other babyfaces, and the two went on to have a spectacular feud that truly elevated Triple H to main-event status for life. Their Street Fight in MSG is a thing of beauty, and their Hell in a Cell Match the following month was a great way to end the story… sort of. At WrestleMania, instead of defending the gold against The Rock, Big Show and Mick Foley were added into the match for some reason, and the bout just wasn’t that great. Triple H retained and kept the title for one more month, dropping it to The Rock at Backlash instead in front of a very hot crowd in Washington. Apart from that unnecessary and weird WrestleMania match, this reign was perfect.

Rating: 9/10

The Rock (April 30, 2000 – May 21, 2000)

  • Televised matches: 7

  • Record: 4-2 (1 draw)

My match ratings:

  • The Rock def. Triple H(c) – Backlash 2000 (****) *HR*

  • Triple H def. The Rock(c) in an Iron Man Match – Judgment Day 2000 (****1/2) *HR*

By the time The Rock won the title, fans were more than ready to get The Rock’s very first run with the WWF Championship as a babyface. His win at Backlash was a moment for the ages, but then for some reason… he dropped the title back to Triple H, just to win it back a few weeks later in a tag match. He does have two highly recommended matches out of two, though, which is really impressive but I just can’t understand all these title changes.

Rating: 4/10

Triple H (May 21, 2000 – June 25, 2000)

  • Televised matches: 8

  • Record: 4-3 (1 draw)

My match ratings:

  • Triple H def. The Rock(c) in an Iron Man Match – Judgment Day 2000 (****1/2) *HR*

  • The Rock, The Undertaker & Kane def. Triple H(c), Vince McMahon & Shane McMahon – King of the Ring 2000 (**)

Why put the title back on Triple H, only to then put it back on Rock at the next PPV in a tag team match where Vince eats the pin? There’s nothing to say about this title reign, it shouldn’t even have started to begin with. At least the Iron Man Match was great, though.

Rating: 2/10

The Rock (June 25, 2000 – October 22, 2000)

  • Televised matches: 35

  • Record: 20-13 (2 draws)

My match ratings:

  • The Rock, The Undertaker & Kane def. Triple H(c), Vince McMahon & Shane McMahon – King of the Ring 2000 (**)

  • The Rock(c) def. Chris Benoit – Fully Loaded 2000 (****1/4) *HR*

  • The Rock(c) def. Triple H and Kurt Angle – SummerSlam 2000 (***1/4)

  • The Rock(c) def. Chris Benoit, The Undertaker and Kane – Unforgiven 2000 (***1/2) *R*

  • Kurt Angle def. The Rock(c) – No Mercy 2000 (****1/4) *HR*

Now we’re talking! After all those unnecessary swerves and title changes, the title was finally where it should’ve been all the way since WrestleMania. The Rock was without any question the hottest babyface in the world at this point, and if you don’t have chills watching him make his entrance at this time you probably have no soul. Business was REALLY good with Rock on top, even with Steve Austin still out due to injury. Rock had some amazing matches with Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit on PPV, hilarious interactions with the likes of Edge, Christian, Angle, Commissioner Foley, Triple H, Stephanie and others on TV, and I’m gonna stop before I stay here all day talking about this awesome title reign! The matches delivered, the crowds were great, every episode of RAW was can’t miss, and it was fun. Guess what this gets?

Rating: 10/10

Kurt Angle (October 22, 2000 – February 25, 2001)

  • Televised matches: 37

  • Record: 19-13 (5 draws)

My match ratings:

  • Kurt Angle def. The Rock(c) – No Mercy 2000 (****1/4) *HR*

  • Kurt Angle(c) def. The Undertaker – Survivor Series 2000 (**3/4)

  • Kurt Angle(c) def. Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker and Rikishi in a HIAC Match – Armageddon 2000 (****1/4) *HR*

  • Kurt Angle(c) def. Triple H – Royal Rumble 2001 (***1/2) *R*

  • The Rock def. Kurt Angle(c) – No Way Out 2001 (****3/4) *HR*

If you were a World Wrestling Federation fan back in 2000, it was quite clear Kurt Angle had everything to be one of the biggest stars in the entire industry. Here was a legit Gold Medal winner, without any doubt the toughest guy in that entire locker room, playing the role of a milk-drinking idiot. And loving it! Once he started being booked as the badass he is, his matches eventually became more intense and overall better, but they were still pretty good at this point. He was hilarious to watch, had the perfect timing, the perfect facial expressions and had a legitimate background that made you believe he could very well kill the other guy if he wanted to. If only he had been booked that way during this title reign. This was still great, but not even close to being at the level of his run with Brock Lesnar in 2003, for example.

Rating: 7/10

ALL-TIME CHAMPIONS RANKING

  1. The Rock (WWF Championship, 25/06/2000 – 22/10/2000) 10

  2. Steve Austin (WWF Championship, 01/04/2001 – 23/09/2001) 9

  3. Triple H (WWF Championship, 03/01/2000 – 30/04/2000) 9

  4. Kurt Angle (WWE Championship, 15/12/2002 – 30/03/2003) 9

  5. Brock Lesnar (WWE Championship, 18/09/2003 – 15/02/2004) 9

  6. John Cena (WWE Championship, 17/09/2006 – 02/10/2007) 9

  7. CM Punk (WWE Championship, 20/11/2011 – 27/01/2013) 9

  8. Daniel Bryan (WWE Championship, 13/11/2018 – 07/04/2019) 9

  9. AJ Styles (WWE Championship, 11/09/2016 – 29/01/2017) 9

  10. The Rock (WWF Championship, 25/02/2001 – 01/04/2001) 8

  11. Edge (World Heavyweight Championship, 16/12/2007 – 30/03/2008) 8

  12. Kurt Angle (WWE Championship, 27/07/2003 – 18/09/2003) 8

  13. Edge (WWE Championship, 08/01/2006 – 29/01/2006) 8

  14. Chris Benoit (World Heavyweight Championship, 14/03/2004 – 15/08/2004) 8

  15. Randy Orton (World Heavyweight Championship, 06/05/2011 – 17/07/2011) 8

  16. Brock Lesnar (WWE Championship, 25/08/2002 – 17/11/2002) 8

  17. Batista (WWE Championship, 21/02/2010 – 28/03/2010) 8

  18. The Rock (WWE Undisputed Championship, 21/07/2002 – 25/08/2002) 7

  19. Brock Lesnar (WWE Championship, 17/08/2014 – 29/03/2015) 7

  20. Edge (WWE Championship, 03/07/2006- 17/09/2006) 7

  21. The Rock (WCW Championship, 19/08/2001 – 21/10/2001) 7

  22. Kurt Angle (WWF Championship, 22/10/2000 – 25/02/2001) 7

  23. Batista (World Heavyweight Championship, 26/11/2006 – 01/04/2007) 7

  24. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, 07/10/2007 – 27/04/2008) 7

  25. John Cena (WWE Championship, 07/04/2013 – 18/08/2013) 7

  26. Chris Jericho (World Heavyweight Championship, 07/09/2008 – 26/10/2008) 7

  27. Triple H (World Heavyweight Championship, 14/12/2003 – 14/03/2004) 7

  28. Kurt Angle (World Heavyweight Championship, 13/01/2006 – 02/04/2006) 7

  29. Batista (World Heavyweight Championship, 03/04/2005 – 13/01/2006) 7

  30. John Cena (WWE Championship, 03/04/2005 – 08/01/2006) 7

  31. The Undertaker (World Heavyweight Championship, 01/04/2007 – 11/05/2007) 7

  32. AJ Styles (WWE Championship, 07/11/2017 – 13/11/2018) 7

  33. CM Punk (World Heavyweight Championship, 07/06/2009 – 26/07/2009) 6

  34. Batista (World Heavyweight Championship, 16/09/2007 – 16/12/2007) 6

  35. Brock Lesnar (WWE Championship, 30/03/2003 – 27/07/2003) 6

  36. Eddie Guerrero (WWE Championship, 15/02/2004 – 27/06/2004) 6

  37. John Cena (WWE Championship, 29/01/2006 – 11/06/2006) 6

  38. Triple H (World Heavyweight Championship, 09/01/2005 – 03/04/2005) 6

  39. John Cena (WWE Championship, 28/03/2010 – 20/06/2010) 6

  40. John Cena (WWE Championship, 01/05/2011 – 17/07/2011) 6

  41. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, 18/08/2013 – 15/09/2013) 6

  42. Kevin Owens (WWE Universal Championship, 29/08/2016- 05/03/2017) 6

  43. Chris Jericho (World Heavyweight Championship, 21/02/2010 – 02/04/2010) 6

  44. Alberto Del Rio (World Heavyweight Championship, 16/06/2013 – 27/10/2013) 6

  45. Seth Rollins (WWE Championship, 29/03/2015 – 04/11/2015) 6

  46. Roman Reigns (WWE Championship, 03/04/2016 – 19/06/2016) 6

  47. King Booker (World Heavyweight Championshp, 23/07/2006 – 26/11/2006) 6

  48. Edge (World Heavyweight Championship, 26/04/2009 – 07/06/2009) 5

  49. Edge (World Heavyweight Championship, 19/12/2010 – 18/02/2011) 5

  50. Chris Jericho (WCW Championship, 21/10/2001 – 05/11/2001) 5

  51. Jeff Hardy (World Heavyweight Championship, 26/07/2009 – 23/08/2009) 5

  52. The Rock (WWE Championship, 27/01/2013 – 07/04/2013) 5

  53. CM Punk (WWE Championship, 17/07/2011 – 14/08/2011) 5

  54. Edge (World Heavyweight Championship, 18/02/2011 – 15/04/2011) 5

  55. Steve Austin (WWF Championship, 08/10/2001 – 09/12/2001) 5

  56. Brock Lesnar (Universal Championship, 02/11/2018 – 07/04/2019) 5

  57. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, 27/10/2013 – 06/04/2014) 5

  58. Daniel Bryan (WWE Championship, 06/04/2014 – 09/06/2014) 5

  59. Christian (World Heavyweight Championship, 17/07/2011 – 14/08/2011) 5

  60. Randy Orton (World Heavyweight Championship, 14/08/2011 – 18/09/2011) 5

  61. CM Punk (World Heavyweight Championship, 23/08/2009 – 04/10/2009) 5

  62. The Undertaker (World Heavyweight Championship, 04/10/2009 – 21/02/2010) 5

  63. JBL (WWE Championship, 27/06/2004 – 03/04/2005) 5

  64. Edge (World Heavyweight Championship, 11/05/2007 – 20/07/2007) 5

  65. Seth Rollins (Universal Championship, 11/08/2019 – 31/10/2019) 5

  66. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, 15/06/2009 – 13/09/2009) 5

  67. Triple H (WWE Championship, 27/04/2008 – 23/11/2008) 5

  68. John Cena (WWE Championship, 29/01/2017 – 12/02/2017) 5

  69. The Rock (WWF Championship, 30/04/2000 – 21/05/2000) 4

  70. Booker T (WCW Championship, 30/07/2001 – 19/08/2001) 4

  71. Sheamus (World Heavyweight Championship, 01/04/2012 – 28/10/2012) 4

  72. Mark Henry (World Heavyweight Championship, 18/09/2011 – 18/12/2011) 4

  73. John Cena (WWE Championship, 29/06/2014 – 17/08/2014) 4

  74. The Rock (WCW/World Championship, 05/11/2001 – 09/12/2001) 4

  75. The Undertaker (WWE Undisputed Championship, 19/05/2002 – 21/07/2002) 4

  76. Dean Ambrose (WWE Championship, 19/06/2016 – 11/09/2016) 4

  77. Chris Jericho (WWF Undisputed Championship, 09/12/2001 – 17/03/2002) 4

  78. Alberto Del Rio (WWE Championship, 02/10/2011 – 20/11/2011) 4

  79. Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship, 07/04/2019 – 04/10/2019) 4

  80. Alberto Del Rio (World Heavyweight Championship, 11/01/2013 – 08/04/2013) 4

  81. Seth Rollins (Universal Championship, 07/04/2019 – 14/07/2019) 4

  82. John Cena (World Heavyweight Championship, 05/04/2009 – 26/04/2009) 3

  83. Jeff Hardy (WWE Championship, 14/12/2008 – 25/01/2009) 3

  84. Kurt Angle (WWF Championship, 23/09/2001 – 08/10/2001) 3

  85. John Cena (WWE Championship, 25/10/2009 – 13/12/2009) 3

  86. Brock Lesnar (Universal Championship, 14/07/2019 – 11/08/2019) 3

  87. Big Show (WWE Championship, 17/11/2002 – 15/12/2002) 3

  88. Brock Lesnar (Universal Championship, 02/04/2017 – 19/08/2018) 3

  89. Triple H (WWE Championship, 24/01/2016 – 03/04/2016) 3

  90. Christian (World Heavyweight Championship, 01/05/2011 – 06/05/2011) 3

  91. Alberto Del Rio (WWE Championship, 14/08/2011 – 18/09/2011) 3

  92. Kane (World Heavyweight Championship, 18/07/2010 – 19/12/2010) 3

  93. Chris Jericho (World Heavyweight Championship, 03/11/2008 – 23/11/2008) 3

  94. Rob Van Dam (WWE Championship, 11/06/2006 – 03/07/2006) 3

  95. Rey Mysterio (World Heavyweight Championship, 20/06/2010 – 18/07/2010) 3

  96. John Cena (World Heavyweight Championship, 27/10/2013 – 15/12/2013) 3

  97. Triple H (WWE Championship, 15/02/2009 – 26/04/2009) 3

  98. Big Show (World Heavyweight Championship, 28/10/2012 – 11/01/2013) 3

  99. Edge (WWE Championship, 25/01/2009 – 15/02/2009) 3

  100. Booker T (WCW Championship, 26/03/2001 – 26/07/2001) 3

  101. John Cena (WWE Championship, 25/07/2011 – 14/08/2011) 3

  102. Goldberg (World Heavyweight Championship, 21/09/2003 – 14/12/2003) 3

  103. John Cena (World Heavyweight Championship, 23/11/2008 – 15/02/2009) 3

  104. The Miz (WWE Championship, 22/11/2010 – 01/05/2011) 3

  105. Randy Orton (World Heavyweight Championship, 15/08/2004 – 12/09/2004) 3

  106. Roman Reigns (Universal Championship, 19/08/2018 – 22/10/2018) 3

  107. Jinder Mahal (WWE Championship, 21/05/2017 – 07/11/2017) 3

  108. Bray Wyatt (WWE Championship, 12/02/2017 – 02/04/2017) 3

  109. Edge (WWE Championship, 23/11/2008 – 14/12/2008) 2

  110. Edge (World Heavyweight Championship, 15/02/2009 – 05/04/2009) 2

  111. Triple H (WWF Championship, 21/05/2000 – 25/06/2000) 2

  112. John Cena (WWE Championship, 18/09/2011 – 02/10/2011) 2

  113. Triple H (World Heavyweight Championship, 12/09/2004 – 06/12/2004) 2

  114. Edge (World Heavyweight Championship, 01/06/2008 – 30/06/2008) 2

  115. John Cena (WWE Championship, 13/09/2009 – 04/10/2009) 2

  116. Roman Reigns (WWE Championship, 14/12/2015 – 24/01/2016) 2

  117. Goldberg (Universal Championship, 05/03/2017 – 02/04/2017) 2

  118. The Undertaker (World Heavyweight Championship, 30/03/2008 – 02/05/2008) 2

  119. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, 04/10/2009 – 25/10/2009) 2

  120. Dolph Ziggler (World Heavyweight Championship, 08/04/2013 – 16/06/2013) 2

  121. Rey Mysterio (World Heavyweight Championship, 02/04/2006 – 23/07/2006) 2

  122. Shawn Michaels (World Heavyweight Championship, 17/11/2002 – 15/12/2002) 2

  123. Triple H (World Heavyweight Championship, 02/09/2002 – 17/11/2002) 2

  124. Triple H (WWF Undisputed Championship, 17/03/2002 – 21/04/2002) 2

  125. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, 26/04/2009 – 07/06/2009) 2

  126. Triple H (World Heavyweight Championship, 15/12/2002 – 21/09/2003) 2

  127. Daniel Bryan (World Heavyweight Championship, 18/12/2011 – 01/04/2012) 2

  128. CM Punk (World Heavyweight Championship, 30/06/2008 – 07/09/2008) 2

  129. Sheamus (WWE Championship, 22/11/2015 – 14/12/2015) 2

  130. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, 19/09/2010 – 22/11/2010) 2

  131. Sheamus (WWE Championship, 20/06/2010 – 19/09/2010) 2

  132. Hulk Hogan (WWF/E Undisputed Championship, 21/04/2002 – 19/05/2002) 1

  133. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, 02/04/2017 – 21/05/2017) 1

  134. Batista (World Heavyweight Championship, 26/10/2008 – 03/11/2008) 1

  135. Sheamus (WWE Championship, 13/12/2009 – 21/02/2010) 1

  136. Jack Swagger (World Heavyweight Championship, 02/04/2010 – 20/06/2010) 1

  137. The Great Khali (World Heavyweight Championship, 20/07/2007 – 16/09/2007) 1

  138. Chris Jericho (World Championship, 09/12/2001) –

  139. Jeff Hardy (World Heavyweight Championship, 07/06/2009) –

  140. Daniel Bryan (WWE Championship, 18/08/2013) –

  141. Seth Rollins (WWE Championship, 19/06/2016) –

  142. John Cena (WWE Championship, 21/02/2010) –

  143. Rey Mysterio (WWE Championship, 25/07/2011) –

  144. Roman Reigns (WWE Championship, 22/11/2015) –

  145. Randy Orton (World Heavyweight Championship, 15/12/2013) –

  146. Finn Bálor (WWE Universal Championship, 21/08/2016 – 22/08/2016) –

  147. Daniel Bryan (WWE Championship, 15/09/2013 – 16/09/2013) –

  148. Triple H (WWE Championship, 07/10/2007) –

  149. Dolph Ziggler (World Heavyweight Championship, 18/02/2011) –

  150. Big Show (World Heavyweight Championship, 18/12/2011) –

  151. Kurt Angle (WCW Championship, 26/07/2001 – 30/07/2001) –

  152. Batista (WWE Championship, 07/06/2009 – 09/06/2009) –

  153. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, 07/10/2007) –

 
 
 

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