WWF WrestleMania 2000: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
- Rishabh Singh
- 59 minutes ago
- 10 min read
WrestleMania 2000 arrived with sky-high expectations as the WWF's biggest annual spectacular was headlined by a Fatal Four-Way elimination match for the WWF Championship, featuring Triple H defending against The Rock, Big Show and Mick Foley, with a McMahon in every corner adding unprecedented drama to the main event.
The undercard featured two strong matches - the Triangle Ladder Match for the Tag Team Championship, and a unique two-fall triple threat match for both the Intercontinental and European Championships between Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit. However, despite the star power, the card looked weak, and would ultimately fall short of WrestleMania's legendary standard, with questionable booking decisions and underwhelming match quality leaving fans disappointed. Here's every match from WrestleMania 2000, ranked from worst to best.
WWF WrestleMania 2000 Results
9. Al Snow & Steve Blackman Vs. Test & Albert
This Was Trish Stratus' First WWF/E PPV Appearance
Test Had Recently Turned Heel And Formed T&A With Albert
Al Snow & Steve Blackman were called "Head Cheese", while Test & Albert were a recently formed duo, managed by Trish Stratus. I didn't have any expectations from this match, but I certainly didn't expect this to become the show's worst match.
The action crawled at a painfully slow pace with absolutely zero memorable spots, while the Anaheim crowd sat in complete silence throughout. Test and Albert secured the predictable victory, but the audience showed no interest in their act. The only way this forgettable encounter could've been saved would've been with a Trish cam, but that obviously wasn't the case here.
Rating: DUD
8. Terri Vs. The Kat (Cat Fight With Val Venis As Special Guest Referee)
This Was The Only Singles Match At WrestleMania 2000
The Infamous GTV Segments Led To This Match
Mae Young & The Fabulous Moolah Got Involved In The Match
Believe it or not, this was the only singles match on the WrestleMania 2000 card, if you even want to call this a "match". This catfight was as ridiculous to watch as it sounds on paper, with zero wrestling content to justify its inclusion on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
The only person who appeared to be enjoying this was special guest referee Val Venis as both women kissed him during the encounter, but his enjoyment came to an abrupt end when he was forced to kiss Mae Young. Terri emerged victorious after just 2 minutes and 24 seconds, which is the primary reason I'm not angrier about this segment existing. Normally, I don't rate matches under 3 minutes, but this atrocity forced me to give it zero stars.
Rating: DUD
7. WWF Hardcore Championship 15 Minute Time Limit Battle Royal
Crash Holly Had Recently Introduced The '24/7 Rule' During His Run As Hardcore Champion
There Were Several Hardcore Title Changes During This Match
Crash Was Supposed To Retain The Championship, But The Ending Was Botched
Thirteen wrestlers competed in this Hardcore Championship scramble, with Crash Holly defending his title under unique rules, as whoever scored the final pinfall within the 15-minute time limit would become the new champion. I expected this to be somewhat entertaining given the decent skits we'd seen building to this match, but the execution was absolutely awful. The battle royal barely made any sense, with most of the action spilling outside the ring and had no structure whatsoever.
There were a few violent spots throughout, including blood on both Crash Holly and Pete Gas, with the latter performing an insane bladejob that was completely unnecessary for a match of this nature. The finish saw Hardcore Holly pin Crash just as the time expired to capture the Hardcore Championship. This was an absolute waste of time that dragged on far longer than it should have, and the finish was apparently botched as well, but who honestly cares at this point?
Rating: 1/2*
6. Kane & Rikishi Vs. D-Generation X (X-Pac & Road Dogg)
Kane & X-Pac Had Been Feuding For Many Months
X-Pac Had Defeated Kane In A No Holds Barred Match At No Way Out 2000
Billy Gunn Had Been Recently Kicked Off From D-Generation X
Kane and X-Pac had been involved in an extremely personal feud for months leading into WrestleMania, but instead of booking the natural one-on-one match between these bitter rivals, WWF decided to add Rikishi and Road Dogg to the mix, turning it into a tag team contest. Why? Don't ask me. The match itself is fine for what it is, lasting just around four minutes with the babyface team picking up the victory courtesy of Kane pinning X-Pac.
As a standalone tag team match, I don't have major issues with it, but I absolutely hate the fact that this was how the heated Kane versus X-Pac rivalry concluded, as their feud was genuinely compelling at one point and deserved a proper singles match to provide closure. The post-match segment saw Pete Rose receive a Chokeslam from Kane and a Stinkface from Rikishi. Well... that was something.
Rating: *
5. Big Boss Man & Bull Buchanan Vs. The Godfather & D'Lo Brown
The Big Boss Man Had Been Teaming With Prince Albert Until March 2000
Bull Buchanan Replaced Prince Albert As Big Boss Man's Tag Team Partner
D'Lo Brown & The Godfather Were Both Former Members Of The Nation Of Domination
This tag team match served as the opening contest for the show. I was baffled by the decision to kick off the event with this particular matchup, as it looked terrible on paper. However, it actually turned out to be one of the better matches on an underwhelming card. I expected this to be awful, but the wrestlers made the most of their time and delivered a somewhat decent encounter.
There was a spot in the middle where D'Lo Brown hit the Hurricanrana off the top rope on Bull Buchanan, which was nice to watch. Surprisingly, the heel team of Big Boss Man and Buchanan secured the victory, with Buchanan pinning D'Lo following a leg drop. The babyface team was actually kind of over with the crowd, so giving them the win would have made more sense, but I guess they were planning to push Bull Buchanan? Either way, that certainly didn't work out.
Rating: *3/4
4. The Radicalz Vs. Chyna & Too Cool
The Radicalz Feuded With Too Cool After Joining The Company
This Was Eddie Guerrero's First WWF/E PPV Match
Chyna Turned Heel And Joined Forces With Eddie Guerrero The Following Night
The Radicalz and Too Cool had been feuding for a while at this point, with Chyna being added to the mix just before WrestleMania to set up this six-person tag team match. Eddie Guerrero had been flirting with Chyna and had made some inappropriate remarks towards her, which served as the main appeal for this encounter. The match is pretty fun to watch, with some entertaining spots here and there. They teased the Chyna and Eddie showdown multiple times, but Eddie would always tag out to avoid the confrontation, until he couldn't.
I didn't like the finishing sequence as Chyna basically manhandled (or woman handled if you will) all the three opponents, who were established upper mid-card talent, not enhancement guys. To make matters even more ridiculous, Chyna actually grabbed Eddie by his balls and slammed him down to secure the pinfall victory. I don't mind Chyna pinning Eddie as it made sense within the story, but there was absolutely no reason for her to look this dominant at the expense of The Radicalz' credibility. A better finish would have been Too Cool neutralizing Saturn and Malenko, while Chyna handled Eddie one-on-one.
Rating: **1/4
3. Triple H Vs. The Big Show Vs. The Rock Vs. Mick Foley (WWF Championship: Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match)
This Was The Second Multi-Person Match To Main Event WrestleMania (After The Tag Team Match At WrestleMania 1)
Mick Foley Wouldn't Wrestle Again In WWF/E Until 2004
Triple H Was The First Heel In WWF/E History To Leave WrestleMania As World Champion
This is the infamous "A McMahon in Every Corner" main event where Triple H had Stephanie McMahon, Big Show had Shane McMahon, The Rock had Vince McMahon, and Mick Foley had Linda McMahon in their respective corners. I absolutely hated the build-up for this match. It went from being HHH vs. The Rock to HHH vs. Big Show to HHH vs. Big Show vs. The Rock to HHH vs. Big Show vs. The Rock vs. Mick Foley. At one point, Chris Jericho was even supposed to be part of this match. WWF took card subject to change way too seriously heading into this show.
The story focused primarily on tensions among the four McMahons rather than the actual competitors, who felt like mere representatives in their own title match. The match is extremely weird and overbooked to death. WWF had been building Big Show as a monster for months, only to have him eliminated in just five minutes, which turned the contest into a triple threat. There was a brief reunion between The Rock and Foley as they teamed up against Triple H, before Foley turned on The Rock to align with The Game instead. Okay...?
There was a confusing spot where Triple H broke up The Rock's pinfall attempt on Foley, which commentators explained as Triple H wanting to pin Foley himself, logic that didn't make much sense, but Triple H did eventually pin Foley anyway, leaving him and The Rock as the final two competitors. Shane McMahon would return to attack his father Vince, leading to a brawl between the two McMahons. There's actually a point where Shane and Vince are just fighting at ringside while Triple H and Rock lie motionless in the ring, which was painfully awkward. In the end, Vince turned on The Rock and struck him with a steel chair twice, allowing Triple H to retain his WWF Championship. SWERVE OF THE CENTURY!!
Okay, Vince's heel turn was somewhat unexpected, but that doesn't mean it was actually good booking. Post-match, The Rock returned to hit Rock Bottoms on both Vince and Shane, before being slapped by Stephanie McMahon, who then received a Rock Bottom and People's Elbow for her troubles, as The Rock stood tall to close the show.
If I had a nickel for every time Stephanie slapped Rock at WrestleMania and was then attacked, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened twice. Sorry for the bad joke, but I genuinely lost braincells watching this overbooked mess. If you ignore all the McMahon family nonsense, the match does have some solid action with cool spots, but it dragged on far too long with a payoff that fans absolutely did not want to see.
Rating: ***
2. Kurt Angle Vs. Chris Jericho Vs. Chris Benoit (WWF Intercontinental & European Championships: Two-Fall Triple Threat Match)
The First Fall Was For The Intercontinental Championship (Chris Benoit Won)
The Second Fall Was For The European Championship (Chris Jericho Won)
Kurt Angle Lost Both Titles Without Being Pinned Or Submitted
This was the WrestleMania debut for all three of these guys, and they'd each go on to deliver several classic matches at future WrestleManias. The bout featured a unique stipulation where both of Kurt Angle's championships were on the line - the first fall determined the Intercontinental Championship, while the second fall decided the European Championship. It's extremely weird that WWF put the less prestigious European Title as the second fall, which definitely hurt the match's momentum as the fans didn't care about the second fall nearly as much.
The match is pretty good overall, but you'd expect something better with higher intensity and more dramatic near falls given the caliber of wrestlers involved. Chris Benoit pinned Chris Jericho to capture the Intercontinental Championship, while Jericho rebounded to pin Benoit and win the European Championship, meaning Kurt Angle lost both championships. I liked the story here that Angle lost both titles without being pinned or submitted himself. Kurt's run as the Eurocontinental Champion had been very entertaining, and it's no surprise he would go on to capture the WWF Championship later that same year. A solid triple threat match that looks like an absolute classic compared to the rest of this underwhelming card.
Rating: ***1/4
1. The Dudley Boyz Vs. The Hardy Boyz Vs. Edge & Christian (WWF Tag Team Championship: Triangle Ladder Match)
The Dudley Boyz Walked Into WrestleMania 2000 As The WWF Tag Team Champions
Edge & Christian Won The Tag Team Championship For The First Time
The Three Teams Would Compete In The First TLC Match At That Year's SummerSlam
All three of these tag teams were incredibly over with the audience during this period and booking them in a triangle ladder match at WrestleMania 2000 was absolutely the correct decision. This was a highly entertaining match that saved the show from being a complete disaster. The action delivered numerous memorable spots and innovative sequences, several of which would be refined and reused in their legendary future encounters.
Interestingly, ladders were the only weapons utilized throughout the entire match, a notable detail given how their later battles would incorporate tables and chairs. Edge and Christian climbed the ladder to retrieve the titles and capture the WWF Tag Team Championships for the first time in their careers. This triangle ladder match often gets overlooked because of their two other legendary encounters at SummerSlam 2000 and WrestleMania X-Seven, but this bout is genuinely excellent in its own right and established the foundation for their future classics.
Rating: ****1/2
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next post of this series where we will rank the matches of Backlash 2000. Have a nice day!
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