WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania 2000, also known as WrestleMania 16, was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It was the 16th annual WrestleMania, and took place on April 2, 2000, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. This was the second WrestleMania at this venue, after WrestleMania XII in 1996. A total of nine matches were contested on the event's card.
The main event was a four-way elimination match for the WWF Championship involving reigning champion Triple H, The Rock, Mick Foley, and The Big Show, which Triple H won after last eliminating The Rock, marking the first time a heel had won the main event of WrestleMania. Main matches on the undercard included a triangle ladder match for the WWF Tag Team Championship involving Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boyz, and The Dudley Boyz, and a two-fall triple threat match for the WWF Intercontinental, and European Championships involving Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit.
Production
Background
is considered the World Wrestling Federation's flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view event, having first been held in 1985. It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history, and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the WWF's original four pay-per-views, which include Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with King of the Ring. The 16th WrestleMania was titled WrestleMania 2000, due to it taking place in the year 2000. It was scheduled to be held on April 2, 2000, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. This was the second WrestleMania at this venue, after WrestleMania XII in 1996.Storylines
The event included nine matches that each resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by writers of the World Wrestling Federation, while storylines were produced on WWF's weekly television shows, Raw is War, and SmackDown!, along with its supplementary programs, Sunday Night Heat, and Jakked/Metal.WWF Championship
The main feud heading into WrestleMania was over the WWF Championship, and involved two feuds that had become intertwined over the previous two months, and eventually drew in the McMahon family.On the January 3rd, 2000 edition of Raw, Triple H regained the WWF Championship, which he had previously lost to The Big Show at Survivor Series in November 1999 due to interference from Vince McMahon. He also used his position as husband to Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley to exert control over the company, and his rivals. This would lead to the firing of Mick Foley, his most vocal rival. Foley, however, was later reinstated, and reverted from his Mankind persona to his more violent Cactus Jack persona, challenging Triple H to a street fight at the Royal Rumble later that January, which the champion won.
Meanwhile, after Big Show's loss, he began showing signs of disdain toward The Rock in interviews. Shortly thereafter, he abandoned The Rock in several tag matches featuring the two, and eventually attacked him, turning heel, and declaring his intent to win the Royal Rumble match and regain the WWF Championship. Big Show, and The Rock both entered the Royal Rumble match, and were the last two men left in the ring, and The Rock apparently won the match after pulling himself back into the ring before Big Show tumbled to the floor. However, Big Show protested The Rock's victory, and insisted that he did not lose the match. Big Show then proceeded to produce video footage that showed The Rock had touched the floor with both feet before Big Show did.
Heading into No Way Out on February 27, a double main event was signed. Triple H would defend the WWF Championship against Cactus Jack in a Hell in a Cell match, with Cactus being forced to retire from wrestling should he lose. The winner of that match would face the winner of a match earlier in the night between The Rock, and Big Show, for the right to go to WrestleMania and face the champion.
During the #1 contender's match, The Rock had hit the Rock Bottom on Big Show and was about to deliver the People's Elbow when Shane McMahon, who had not been seen on WWF television since December 1999, came to the ring and laid The Rock out with a steel chair shot, enabling Big Show to get the pinfall victory and earn the title shot.
Later in the night, the bout between Triple H and Cactus Jack would spill outside of the cell and end up on the roof, where Cactus lit a 2x4 wrapped in barbed wire ablaze and attempted to deliver a piledriver to Triple H onto it. Triple H reversed it by backdropping Cactus, causing him to fall through a panel in the cell's ceiling and hit the ring with enough force to break the ring mat. Once back inside, the champion hit the Pedigree on the challenger to win the match, retain his title, and send Cactus Jack into retirement.
The night after No Way Out, Triple H informed The Rock that he had to start at the bottom of the pecking order since he was no longer the number one contender, and forced him into a match with The Brooklyn Brawler. The Rock easily won the match and proceeded to call Triple H out afterward. Stephanie would then decide to give The Rock a chance to be added into the WrestleMania main event, provided he could pin either Triple H or Big Show, who had formed a formidable, but uneasy, alliance in the previous weeks despite Big Show's challenger status to Triple H, in a handicap match in that night's main event. The Rock won the match, but did so after Shane interfered and broke up a pin attempt. Since this resulted in a disqualification victory for The Rock rather than a pinfall victory, he was not added to the WrestleMania match.
Two weeks later, The Rock challenged Big Show yet again and this time agreed to put his career on the line to get to WrestleMania. Shane would go on to appoint himself as the special guest referee, but during the match, Vince McMahon returned from his exile following Stephanie's betrayal of him at Armageddon the previous December. He knocked Shane out with a chair and counted the pin for The Rock, who won his way into the WrestleMania main event, officially making it a Triple Threat match.
The following week on Raw, Vince announced that the Triple Threat match between the three men would take place that night instead of waiting until WrestleMania. Triple H reluctantly agreed on the terms that the match not take place at WrestleMania under any circumstances. With Stephanie in his corner, Shane in Big Show's corner, and Vince in The Rock's corner, Triple H would emerge victorious and retain the championship after pinning Big Show with the Pedigree. After the match, however, Linda McMahon appeared and informed Triple H that he would indeed be defending the WWF Championship at WrestleMania against not only The Rock and Big Show, but a newly reinstated Mick Foley as well in a Fatal-4-Way Elimination Match. Foley then immediately came out and attacked Triple H. Linda would then announce on the March 24 edition of SmackDown! later that week that she would be in Foley's corner for the match and also announced that should Mick Foley end up winning the Fatal-4-Way, the WWF Championship would be vacated later that night at Wrestlemania, and a tournament would begin to crown a new WWF Champion that would run until the next pay-per-view, Backlash.
Other storylines
Another major feud that had been developing going into the show featured Chris Jericho. At No Way Out in February, Jericho lost his Intercontinental Championship to then-European Champion Kurt Angle after Angle hit him with the title belt behind the referee's back, causing Angle to become a double champion. Over the following weeks, Jericho would make several attempts to regain the championship, with all attempts being unsuccessful, largely due to Angle's sudden partnership with WWF legend Bob Backlund, who had briefly returned to the company. While feuding with Angle, Jericho also started a rivalry with The Radicalz, as Chris Benoit was also trying to win the Intercontinental Championship, while Eddie Guerrero was subsequently trying to woo Jericho's valet Chyna. Eventually, a two-fall match between Angle, Benoit, and Jericho was signed for WrestleMania. The first fall would be contested for the Intercontinental Championship, and the second fall would be contested for the European Championship.Another major feud heading into the event was between Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boyz, and The Dudley Boyz for the WWF Tag Team Championship. On the January 17th edition of Raw, Jeff Hardy was scheduled to face Bubba Ray Dudley in a singles match. The match saw Jeff pinning Bubba Ray after delivering a Swanton Bomb. After the match, the Dudleys attacked the Hardys, in which they powerbombed Matt on top of a table. Later that week, on the January 20th edition of SmackDown!, Matt was placed in a singles match with D-Von Dudley. The win was given to Matt via disqualification, after Jeff and Bubba Ray made their way to the ring, causing both teams to begin brawling with one another. Bubba Ray prepared to powerbomb Matt off the stage, onto some tables that were set up by the Dudleys. Bubba Ray, however, was hit by Jeff with a chair, causing him to fall onto the tables below. The Hardys then set up a table of their own, and Matt proceeded to perform a legdrop on D-Von through the table. At the Royal Rumble, the Hardys defeated the Dudleys in a tag team tables match, with Jeff performing a Swanton Bomb onto D-Von from the arena's balcony. The following night on Raw, the Dudleys showed respect towards the Hardys, and stated they would help them defeat the New Age Outlaws later that night for the WWF Tag Team Championships. In return, the Hardys would have to grant the Dudleys a title shot at the titles. However, during the match, the Dudleys stopped the three count, after the Hardys had the match in their favor, which allowed the Outlaws to retain the titles. After the match, the Dudleys then proceeded to perform the 3-D on each of the Hardys. The Dudleys would go on to successfully defeat the Outlaws at No Way Out to win the Tag Team Championships. Later that night, Edge & Christian defeated the Hardy Boyz in a #1 Contender's match after Terri Runnels, who had been managing the Hardys, turned heel and cost them the match. Over the following weeks, the two teams would begin a feud in which they trash-talked each other in interviews, and cost each other matches. It was later announced that all three teams would face each other for the WWF Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania in a Triangle Ladder match.
Another unique storyline that was developing around this time revolved around the WWF Hardcore Championship. On the February 24th edition of SmackDown!, Crash Holly defeated Test for the Hardcore Championship with help from his cousin Hardcore Holly. After the match, a jubilant Crash declared that he would defend the title any time, at any place, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so long as there was a referee present. This magnificently backfired on Crash, as he would be ambushed and challenged in impromptu matches for the title in various places such as a laundromat, a hotel room, an amusement park, and even the baggage claim at Newark Liberty International Airport. Although Crash was able to retain his title or regain it after briefly losing it each time he was confronted, the constant looking over his shoulder drove Crash crazy, and a battle royal featuring most of the wrestlers who had been ambushing Crash was signed for WrestleMania.