Raw is War - December 11th, 2000

Vince tries to Oust Foley

Vince McMahon arrives in a limo with Patterson and Brisco. Vince is in a very good mood. He’s here tonight because he expects Mick Foley to resign as Commissioner. Triple H is in traction with a bad back, and Rikishi has a ruptured spleen. He says that if Foley doesn’t resign then he’ll force him to. JR mentions that Chris Jericho was also injured during his last man standing match with Kane last night. 

Michael Cole interviews The Undertaker about Hell in a Cell. They show footage of all the brutal things he did during the match last night. Cole asks him if he thinks that Mick Foley should resign. He starts by saying that he doesn’t give a damn about Mick Foley and doesn’t care if he quits, is fired or retired. But then he stops and says that it wasn’t Foley in the match and he didn’t make him do any of those things. He enjoyed doing what he did to Rikishi.

Al Snow goes to see Commissioner Foley and says all the brutality last night made him miss being Hardcore champion and so he wants a hardcore rules match with Raven tonight. Mick says he shouldn’t give Snow the match since he has a broken wrist but Al says he doesn’t care and neither should Mick. He gives his support to the Commissioner, and Mick wishes him luck. Later in the show after Vince’s comments and Chyna’s injury Mick goes to talk to Al and considers cancelling the match but Snow begs him to keep it. Mick asks Snow not to do anything stupid or get hurt.

In the McMahon locker room, Vince complains to Patterson and Brisco about the reckless nature of Mick Foley booking Angle and Rock in a tables match so soon after Hell in a Cell. 

Vince is shown watching backstage and remarks on Billy Gunn blaming Mick Foley for Chyna’s injury (see the Right to Censor section) and that is the story of this show. People getting hurt and Vince blaming Mick every time. Vince demands Patterson go and see the papers he’s waiting on have arrived yet. They arrive in the next segment and Vince reveals that it’s a resignation statement he intends to have Mick Foley sign.

Kevin Kelly speaks to Stone Cold Steve Austin. He asks him how he feels - Austin says he feels the way he always feels - like kicking somebody’s ass. He feels the same as everyone else but he does feel better knowing Triple H is in hospital with a herniated disk in his back. He promises that when Triple H returns he’ll herniate every disk in his body and ends by saying some nights he finds trouble and some nights he doesn’t and he’s got a feeling that tonight he’s going to find some trouble.

Al Snow faces Raven in a hardcore rules match. Raven tries to jump Al during his entrance and the match starts up there. Snow has a broken left wrist in a cast, hence Mick’s worry. I don’t think it was really broken or even injured. This is a good fun brawl that ends up out in the parking lot. A mystery person in black tries to help Raven but is dispatched by Snow. They fight and run each other into a car which turns out to belong to Lo Down and Tiger Ali Singh. They take issue and jump all over Al Snow and hit him in the head with a concrete block, knocking him out. Raven wins the match but the real story is that for the second time tonight someone is loaded onto a stretcher while JR and King talk about how serious this could be. Mick actually tries to go in the ambulance with Al but an irate Vince McMahon stops him and demands he stay at the arena. He’s not through with him tonight, and all of these injuries are Mick’s fault. 

There’s a segment of all three Holly cousins at WWF New York and some interviews with fans for their thoughts. It’s a mix of people saying that he should either resign because he’s lost control, or he should stay because the fans love him. One guy says he should get back in the ring and let Debra be commissioner. That’s not a bad idea and in hindsight given how many random one off matches Mick would have over the next 15 years is probably what he should have done. It’s a shame part-time wrestlers aren't really a thing back then. These days he’d just have popped up a couple of times a year long into his late 40s. Mick Foley is only 37 years old here.

In the main event segment, Vince McMahon heads down to the ring along with Patterson and Brisco. Mick Foley’s moment of judgement has arrived. Vince starts by reminding us he’s going through a divorce (a fan has a sign that says “It’s cheaper to keep her” which funnily enough is why he didn’t divorce her in real life - Linda and Vince haven’t been a real couple of over two decades despite still being married) “Billionaires have feelings too” which draws laughs and boos. Vince gets worked up talking about how Mick Foley has no care for the superstars and who ignored his warnings that this would happen. Without JR on commentary to explain what’s really going on here - Vince is being a hypocrite and doesn’t actually care about the superstars, he just thinks of them as products and money - I feel like it’s all a bit subtle for audiences in the year 2000. Vince demands that Mick bring his “fat ass out here and resign”. Mick does come out looking very serious and sad. In truth, this is the beginning of the end of Mick’s run as WWF Commissioner and he has said many times since that he didn’t want it to end. This was the happiest time of his career and he loved playing this role on TV. He’s not sure why it ended when the fans also loved it so much and really neither am I. Vince tells Mick that he thinks as commissioner, he sucks.

He does at least say that as a human being he’s not such a bad guy, which is surprisingly honest. Vince implores Mick to think of all the legit reasons he should resign, and says that just because he was willing to kill himself in the ring doesn’t mean everyone else on the roster is willing to. Vince lays it on a bit thick and keeps going on and on (and says “Mick Foley” about 240 times) and cues up footage being played of Mick’s promise to resign if anyone was hurt. Vince kills time as the footage doesn’t play and so he describes the whole segment first and THEN it plays. I hope someone in the production truck got badly yelled at. Vince asks Mick to be a man of his word and hands him the resignation papers to sign. The fans boo and shout for him not to do it - the fans don’t want Foley to go. He teases it for a while, but stops short of signing and asks for a mic. Vince talked for what felt like 25 minutes without him saying a word. Commissioner Foley says he may sign this letter, or he may not but if he does then there’s one official act he’d like to complete first. Before he can say what that is, the European Champion William Regal of all people interrupts. Everyone is deeply confused to see him and he politely asks Vince for his microphone. He’s here to provide his objective viewpoint and says the day to day happenings of this company are disgusting and that he sides fully with Vince McMahon and says that speaks on behalf of the entire locker room that Mick should go. He says that he speaks for the injured Triple H and Rikishi and even Stone Cold Steve Austin himself! He demands that Mick resign immediately. That brings out Stone Cold. No one speaks on the Rattlesnake’s behalf. Austin hilariously takes the time to do his four corner post celebrations as everyone stands around and waits. Regal looks so angry as Steve speaks - this is all so much funnier and meaningful having read Mick’s books and knowing how friendly these guys all were for years and years before even signing with the WWF.

Austin tells Regal to shut his mouth and asks the fans if they want to see Mick tear up the statement and shove it up Vince’s ass, give us a Hell Yeah. He gets it of course, and then he drops Regal, Patterson and Brisco all with Stone Cold Stunners! Vince backs up away from Austin and turns right into a socko-clad Mandible Claw from Mick Foley who does then dramatically rip up the resignation statement. Raw ends with Vince and his stooges on their back, and Austin and Foley standing tall! 

Table for Six

Raw opens with an awesome video package about the six man Hell in a Cell set to “The End is Here” which I’ve captured because I loved it. In the arena, Kurt Angle opens the show - still the WWF Champion - flanked by the new WWF Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian. JR breaks the news that after last night’s main event Rikishi has a ruptured spleen, and Triple H has a bad back injury and can hardly move. The speculation is that Commissioner Foley will resign as he promised due to those injuries. Kurt talks about how his year has been - he had a very good 2000 - and he, Edge and Christian all congratulate each other on their victories. Kurt recaps all the horrific things he witnesses in Hell in a Cell but the most important was his arm raised in victory. He runs through the names of all the people he beat and interestingly to me, The Rock got a bigger pop than Stone Cold. He chastises the people for not showing him more respect - he went through hell and won. The Undertaker isn’t the champion. Stone Cold isn’t the champion and The Rock can make fun of him all he wants but he’s not the champion either. That brings The Rock himself out onto the stage. He gives Kurt credit for the victory, but doesn’t want to talk about last night, he wants to talk about tonight. He offers to give Kurt three gifts - milk, cookies and the ass kicking of a lifetime. He wants a WWF title match tonight. Kurt says he can’t defend the title when he’s not at 100% so instead offers a six man tag against him, Edge and Christian. Christian says that The Rock doesn’t have any friends so it’ll be a three on one handicap match. That brings The Dudley Boyz out onto the stage who silently take his side. The Rock says that since Kurt made the offer and said it would be any kind of match The Rock wanted he picks a table match. (The fans chanted “tables” before he made his pick).

 He, Bubba and D-Von head down to the ring to start the fight early and in the skirmish, Kurt almost gets a Rock Bottom but the championship team manages to escape. After a commercial break, Edge and Christian are worried about the match backstage but Kurt assures them he has a plan.

WWF Champion Kurt Angle and Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian enter first for their six man table match. The Dudleyz enter, already carrying a table, followed by The Rock. A long match with lots of nice teases with the tables and people moving them out of the way to save their partners. The Rock wins it for his team with a Rock Bottom on Edge, driving him through a table. The Dudleyz drive Christian through another with a power bomb off the top rope for good measure. Kurt Angle grabbed his belt and got out of the arena, leaving his friends.

The Right to Censor

Chyna enters the arena and I know I’d said it lots of times but my goodness does she look lovely on this Raw. Incredible. She says that most people don’t mind how she dresses (or undresses) but the Right to Censor do and she’s sick of Ivory interfering in her business. She calls out the Women’s Champion (but makes it clear she has no interest in that title) and Ivory and Steven Richards come out. Ivory says that violence isn’t the answer but sometimes its needed. Richards and Ivory rush the ring and are easily beaten up by Chyna. The bell rings and after a minute or two of Chyna beating Ivory up, fellow RtC member Val Venis jumps on Chyna from behind and with Ivory’s help, gives Chyna a stiff looking spike piledriver. I’m sure it was perfectly safe but it did look dangerous. The RtC all leave as referee’s check on and tend to Chyna who hasn’t moved since she hit the mat. Chyna is loaded onto a stretcher and put into an ambulance. Commissioner Foley goes to check on her and an angry and emotional Billy Gunn screams at him that it’s his fault. 

Jerry Lawler gets in the ring - they’re in his hometown this week. He unveils the NFL’s Memphis Maniacs cheerleaders. He brings them down to the ring and they all start to dance and, for the one and only time, I’m glad to see the Right to Censor. The Goodfather, Bull Buchanan and Steven Richards interrupt and Goodfather chastises them for putting this “filth” on TV while there are children present. Bull calls them all a disgrace and Richards starts on about Rock n’ Roll music and “worst of all, rap”. That brings K-Kwik and Roaddogg out and they start a brawl. Jerry Lawler removes his jacket and lays into Richards with a big right hand until Bull and Goodfather make the save. The fans loudly chant for the home town pervert hero Jerry Lawler. This turns out to have been an official six man tag and Jerry Lawler pins Steven Richards to win the match for him, Roaddogg and K-Kwik. This is Roaddogg’s last appearance. He’s appear twice more on Sunday Night Heat but was released from the WWF on the 23rd of December (brutal). His long standing issues with alcohol and pills finally caught up to him and while these days he’d be offered rehab and looked after, back in 2000 if you didn’t sort yourself out you were gone. He hasn’t amounted to much in the last couple of months but having been on almost every show and every PPV since I started this journey he is a big loss. I talked about this at Armageddon but as one of my childhood favourites it’s worth mentioning again. I’m pleased he finally got clean. 

Other Happenings

• The Radicals team of Perry Saturn (with Terri) and Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko face The Hardy Boyz (with Lita). Matt and Jeff run to the ring and start the match fast, angry at Dean’s treatment of Lita over the past couple of weeks (and rightfully so). Dean throws Jeff Hardy into Lita which crushes her against the ring steps. Perry and Dean win via countout, and then Dean forces a kiss on the unconscious Lita. Jerry Lawler laughs about it and says she loved it. I HATE this storyline, and I HATE Jerry Lawler acting like a straight up rapist on commentary during it. 

• Chris Benoit defends his newly won Intercontinental title against former champion “The One” Billy Gunn. There’s a scary spot as Billy gets Benoit up for a military press and accidentally drops him early, bringing Benoit down high on his head and shoulder. That could have been a disaster. As the match continues, Benoit’s Radical buddy and former IC champion Eddie Guerrero comes down to the ring to watch up close. Eddie’s distraction almost backfires as he distracts the referee to let Benoit use the belt as a weapon but it’s Gunn who uses it instead for a close near fall. He hits the Fameasser and has the match won but Eddie breaks up the pin to cause a disqualification. Benoit locks The One in the Crippler Crossface as Eddie taunts him. 
• Test and Albert face the APA who returned last night at Armageddon. T&A who are still wearing their co-opted “T&APA” t-shirts attack them on the ramp and this is a physical four man brawl. Faarooq and Bradshaw absolutely dominate and strip T&A of their bootleg t-shirts.

Smackdown! - December 14th, 2000

Vince McMahon goes off the deep end

Smackdown opens with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley going to see Commissioner Foley. She’s not here about herself, or Triple H but she’s here about her mother. Linda has been very unwell since Vince asked for a divorce and Mick is partly to blame. She asks him to stop riling up her father and take it easy on Vince. When he’s angry and upset he takes it out on Stephanie and Shane but mostly on Linda. Mick says that for her mother’s sake he will try to lighten up on Vince a bit. 

A limo containing Vince McMahon arrives in the parking lot. Mick Foley goes out to meet him and tries his best to bury the hatchet and asks if they can talk and find a way to co-exist. Vince refuses after the Mandible Claw on Raw. Mick doubles down, so Vince says he’ll think about it.

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley goes to see her dad and walks in on him barking orders about Linda to his divorce lawyers down the phone. She wants to talk about poor Linda’s health and mental state but he refuses and kicks her out of his office. She tries again later and says Linda has lost a lot of weight and can’t speak. Vince says they both sound like good things for her. He also says some gross stuff about their sex life. To his daughter. She leaves but does try again later. She wants him to speak to their mother so he refuses. Stephanie is sick of her father refusing to speak to her about it in private (With TV cameras) so says she’ll do this in public. 

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley heads down to the ring to try and draw out her father to actually talk to her about the divorce and Linda’s well being. He won’t do it in private so maybe he’ll do it in public. She refuses to leave the ring until Vince comes out and talks to her. She calls him one of the most powerful and influential businessmen in America. Eugh. I’m sure they wrote that line with a big smile. She asks Vince why he wants this divorce - is this all because he’s angry about Mick Foley. He took a business disagreement and turned it personal. Stephanie talking about love and how they have a fairytale marriage and still go on dates is all pretty funny and also deeply sad looking back 20+ years later. Vince then goes off on one about how Linda was a poor girl who only married him for money, and he only married her because she had loose morals. Jesus Christ. This is a woman who tried to run for public office later in life. Stephanie cries and looks deeply upset as Vince explains that they went all the way on the first date. I’ve no real idea what the point of this is? I guess that Linda is a nice woman who has put up with Vince and what a terrible person he is for years. That hits very close to home, apart from the part where Linda is a nice person. Certainly based on her politics I think she’s probably not a very good person. He berates Stephanie for being just like her mother and calls them a pair of “ungrateful, spoiled rich bitches” and tells her to get out of his life. Before Stephanie can leave, Vince says some deeply unpleasant things about getting a new Mrs. McMahon after the divorce is final, who'll be a lot closer to Stephanie’s age. That hits WAY too close to home given what a creep and pervert Vince turned out to be in real life. That last comment was too much for even Patterson and Brisco who leave the ring in disgust and go with Stephanie. 

Mick Foley goes to see Vince in his office. McMahon asks if Mick is here to co-exist. Foley gets angry and says that he’s the commissioner and he’s not going anywhere. He says the way he treats his family is disgusting and while Vince might be a good businessman he’s a garbage human being. He’s scum and filth and makes him sick. Foley leaves and Vince leans back on his sofa with a big smile on his face. 

In the final segment of the night, a woman brings an emergency phone call from Shane to Vince McMahon. He listens and says he’ll fly right home on the private jet. He ends the call and tells the woman that Linda has been rushed to the hospital and then once he’s alone and seems upset looks up into the mirror with a big sinister smile on his face and laughs like a crazy person.

The Besmirchers

WWF Champion Kurt Angle heads out into the arena in one of his spiffy America tracksuits. He talks about the lack of respect the people show him and his own lack of respect for Mick Foley. He says that Mick is a hypocrite and has gone back on his word. That’s technically true but the fans overwhelmingly want him to stay. Mick says that Kurt might not want anyone to know this but he actually won a Gold Medal! He says people respected and liked Kurt for that but now that they’ve gotten to know him they don’t. He calls him a snivelling and whining cry baby. Mick defends himself - yes people got hurt in Hell in a Cell but it wasn’t his fault. Triple H’s back injury is an accumulation of matches over his career, and Rikishi wouldn’t have been hurt if Vince didn’t bring a truck down to the ring at Armageddon which Undertaker then chokeslammed him off the Cell roof onto. He can’t resign because it would be rewarding Vince for bad behaviour and he refuses to do that.

European Champion William Regal comes down to the ring and takes Kurt’s side. He complains about the number of times he’s been attacked. Mick Foley doesn’t care about good people like Regal and Angle and protects the hooligans and roustabouts. Mick agrees and says that he will punish the men who keep attacking them, and give them what they want - a tag team match with “the besmirchers” tonight, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin! 

Before the main event, Kevin Kelly interviews The Rock who makes fun of Regal and Angle. Not one of his funniest. It’s mostly about balls. As William Regal and Kurt Angle make their entrance, Kane’s pyro interrupts and he walks to the ring behind them. It seems that Kane is in their corner for reasons unknown, but Angle has a big smile on his face so it looks like he’s the one who set this up.

The Rock enters first for “the besmirchers” and as Stone Cold comes out Michael Cole and King try to figure out why Kane is here. They remind us that Kane was set up to take out Undertaker on Kurt’s behalf before Survivor Series so it isn’t the first time Angle has convinced Kane to help him out. Still doesn’t make sense but they’re trying. As a kid, seeing Austin and Rock as friends was very exciting and they worked well as a team in this match tagging in and out and working together with no tension. Happy times.

Kane gets involved pulling The Rock to the outside and getting in some cheap shots to give Angle and Regal control. Austin and Rock get sick of Kane’s interference after a while and after the referee does down, they double team Kane in the ring. Austin hits a Stunner on Angle. Kane breaks the pin and wants to chokeslam him but Austin boots him with a low blow and sends him to the outside. The Rock sends Regal into a waiting Stunner and that gives Austin and Rock the victory. Kurt grabs his WWF title belt and leaves Regal laying alone in the ring. 

Raven’s Punishment

Commissioner Foley asks to see Raven and after explaining that he injured his close friend Al Snow on Raw with a concrete block he’s being punished with a hardcore match tonight against someone who’s never had one before; The Undertaker. 

Raven faces The Undertaker in a hardcore rules match. I mentioned it at Armageddon but he’s switched his theme song at last to the vastly superior Rollin by Limp Bizkit which thankfully isn’t dubbed on the WWE Network and they even promote the band’s album. Undertaker absolutely destroys Raven, busting him open with the ring steps and blasting him with a stiff chair shot before giving him a Last Ride through the announce table. That, obviously, ends the match. A brutal one-sided beating by The Undertaker while Mick Foley and Debra watch on from backstage. 

Other Happenings

• Edge and Christian face The Dudley Boyz in the opening match. Edge and Christian asked for this match but their tag team titles are not on the line. It gets plenty of time - these two teams work so well together and after a Wazzup headbutt on Edge, a 3D on Christian has victory in hand. Edge hits Bubba in the back of the head with one of the tag title belts and reverses the pin behind the referee’s back and that gives the champions the victory. 
• Lita challenges Ivory for the WWF Women’s Championship. Lita is still selling her lower back from the various beatings she’s taken from Dean Malenko over the past week. Ivory speaks before the match and basically calls Lita a slut and says it's her own fault for the way Dean treats her for the way she dresses. King agrees with her. I despise Jerry Lawler. The RtC and The Hardyz are banned from ringside but that doesn’t include Dean Malenko who comes down and the distraction allows Ivory to retain with a back suplex. 

• Dean Malenko heats out to the ring and calls out Lita. Eugh END this storyline. Jesus. Lita doesn’t come out but Chris Jericho does and calls Dean a nerd and runs to the ring to start the match. These two know each other very well from WCW but their history isn’t mentioned. Dean’s Radical buddy Eddie Guerrero heads down to the ring to watch his partner’s back. Eddie gets involved and allows Dean to pick up the victory, but Y2J has the last laugh as he throws Malenko out of the ring and locks Eddie in a Walls of Jericho until referees manage to break it up. It doesn’t last long as Jericho takes Eddie down and puts him back in the Walls of Jericho a second time! Backstage, Eddie is being tended to by the trainers, complaining about the referee’s not saving him more quickly.

• The One Billy Gunn faces Val Venis, looking for revenge for what he did to Chyna on Raw. Billy doesn’t care about rules and beats Val silly. Ivory tries to give her team mate her women’s title belt to use but it backfires as Gunn blasts Val and gets himself disqualified. He doesn’t care and just wants to hurt the RtC, who escape after that. 
• Matt and Jeff Hardy face Chris Benoit and Perry Saturn of The Radicals. Matt is limping and selling his arm as well before the match even begins. Jeff wins a short match with a fluke roll up on Benoit out of nowhere for the three count. The Hardyz escape as Benoit protests in the ring. 

Raw is War - December 18th, 2000

Commissioner Coup 

Vince McMahon opens the show in the arena. He wants to address his reaction to Linda’s dire medical news on Smackdown. We all saw him smile and laugh. He says that’s not how he feels, he was misunderstood. He says that everyone sometimes reacts inappropriately and smiles when they shouldn’t. He says that Linda has suffered a major nervous breakdown and that he is willing to take “a certain amount of the blame” but not all the blame as Mick Foley also deserves some of the blame. He also allocates some blame to his daughter Stephanie for airing their dirty laundry in public and provoking him into saying all the horrible things he said about Linda on Smackdown. He mostly blames Linda herself though and says he will temporarily halt the divorce proceedings and shows a montage of family photos to remind everyone of the family they once were.

That brings out Stephanie who says that Vince is sick in the head, and she’s proud to no longer be Daddy’s Little Girl. She calls her dad a “mean old bastard”. He gets angry and sets about telling more horrible stories about Linda to rile up his daughter. He says he only married Linda because she got pregnant with Shane! Berating Stephanie brings out her long time friend WWF Champion Kurt Angle. It’s an interesting performance that Stephanie has taken a lot of the annoying high pitched squeak out of her voice when she’s playing a babyface, and is dressed a lot more conservatively too. Kurt says that he’s seen too much and he can’t believe the way that Stephanie is acting. He says she should show respect for her father! You can’t talk to your family like that! As he lectures her, that brings out Commissioner Mick Foley. Mick kicks Vince’s cane out from under him and says that his injuries are about as real as his sentiments. Mick is angry and calls Vince scum, and lower than trash. He says that anyone who talks to their daughter like that is an animal. Kurt Angle jumps to Vince’s defence and says how dare Mick Foley accuse Vince of causing Linda’s breakdown. Kurt calls Mick a terrible father for letting his kids see him get beaten half to death and if he was his wife he’d ask for a divorce. Mick laughs at Kurt saying “If i was your wife…” and says that he’s going to make him defend the WWF title tonight. Kurt isn’t worried - he’s retained the title in fatal four ways and six man Hell in a Cells so what could he possibly have in store. Mick says he’ll face a former WWF Champion and it seems like it might be himself but…he means Vince McMahon! Kurt is going to defend the title against Vince tonight. After a replay and a commercial break Stephanie is shown leaving in a limo.

Kurt goes to see Vince and hopes the match will be cancelled. Vince is now excited about winning the title tonight. Kurt says that with all his billions he doesn’t have gold medals, and he’s not getting his WWF title tonight either.

Vince goes to see Commissioner Foley and tells him that he’s going to win the WWF title tonight and thanks Mick for the title shot with a slap across the face. Foley says he’s not going anywhere so he can thank him later. 

In what feels like the 40th Vince McMahon segment on this show, Trish Stratus goes to see the boss and flirts with him. She loves a man who takes charge. He’s a letch towards her, and she wishes him luck. 

Backstage, an angry Edge and Christian storm out on Kurt Angle, angry that he has basically cost them their tag team titles to The Rock and The Undertaker. (see the next section).

Kurt Angle goes to see Commissioner Foley. Angle says that Mick wins and he’ll do whatever he has to do to get the match cancelled. Either Vince has something up his sleeve and will steal his title or he’s going to have to beat up the boss tonight on live TV. Mick pretends to cry and says he can’t cancel the match or his wife will divorce him. 

Before the main event, Mick Foley heads down to the ring and acts as special guest ring announcer for the main event. He throws plenty of insults at both WWF Champion Kurt Angle and his challenger, WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. Mick then joins commentary as the two men stare down. Vince gets a takedown on the Olympian from behind, and then runs out of the ring and grabs a mic. He thanks Mick for booking this match and brags about scoring two points on an Olympic Gold Medalist…and then jumps Mick Foley, hitting him with the mic! Kurt runs out of the ring and joins in and the two of them beat up the Commissioner two on one before forcing him into the ring. Mick fights back (Earl Hebner gets TOTALLY in the way, surprise surprise) but it’s not enough against two men, one of whom is the current WWF Champion. Mick uses a low blow on Kurt and locks the Mandible Claw on Vince but Kurt blasts him from behind with a chair. Edge and Christian come down to the ring and give Mick a con-chair-to which busts him open. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley returns and runs down to the ring holding a contract. She says that she hopes Mick is ok because she’s about to reveal something that will change the WWF forever - because Linda has been deemed mentally incompetent that the board of directors has granted full power and control to Vince McMahon. She changes her tone to a sweet “my daddy” and gives him a big hug. This was all a big setup and Vince McMahon is now in full control of the WWF again with no Linda to stop him. With that being said, he is now free to fire Mick Foley as Commissioner. He does just that, growling out his classic “you’re fired!” Mick struggles to his feet and charges Vince, but takes a chair shot from Kurt Angle for it. Stephanie has sided with her dad, and this was all a big scheme to get rid of Mick Foley. The fans are in stunned silence during all this. No one wanted to see Mick stop being commissioner.

Main Eventers mix it up with the Midcard Champions

In the Vince McMahon office, he and Kurt sit and discuss tonight’s main event against each other. Kurt calls the match stupid but tension builds as Vince seems to start liking the idea of becoming the champion. Kurt excuses himself and goes to find Edge and Christian. He says that despite everything Foley has done to them he does think that the Commissioner likes them. He asks them to go and see him and try and talk him out of this match. He doesn’t want to fight Vince! Edge and Christian go and see Mick and Debra and suck up to the Commissioner before trying to get him to cancel the match. Christian gets upset at Mick’s suggestion they should just party. They aren’t jokes. They’re the tag team champions. Edge flips his desk. Mick says that since they want to be taken seriously they can defend the Tag Team titles tonight against The Rock and The Undertaker. 

Edge and Christian defend the tag team titles against The Undertaker and The Rock. Kurt apologises to his buddies before the match - this is his fault, he made them go and talk to Mick in the first place. Edge and Christian work well as a team, as you’d expect and manage to isolate and work over The Rock getting near falls with a Spear and a nice double team neckbreaker. After a hot tag to The Undertaker and him running through the champions, the referee goes down. Undertaker kills Christian with a Last Ride but there’s no referee to count. Edge uses one of the Tag Title belts as a weapon but by the time Christian crawls into a cover and the referee wakes up, Taker is able to kick out. The Rock gets the tag and with a spinebuster and a People’s Elbow on Edge, wins the tag team titles for The Rock and The Undertaker! A big title change. These two aren’t friends but seem happy enough to have won gold together.

European Champion and Goodwill Ambassador William Regal faces Stone Cold Steve Austin (in a non-title match). I mentioned it before but this makes me smile knowing how good friends they are in real life. Regal cuts a pre match promo about the scourge to good manners that is the Texas Rattlesnake. Austin interrupts and sprints to the ring to get this match going. Regal gets put over huge as he blocks a Stunner and with the referee accidentally knocked down, he hits a neckbreaker and has the visual three count on Stone Cold! Regal gets his European title belt to use as a weapon and while Austin stops him, the referee wakes up and sees him holding the title belt and so disqualifies Austin assuming he used it. It’s pretty wild seeing Stone Cold pace around the ring holding the European title belt.

The Rattlesnake protests but referee Tim White isn’t having it so he drops him with a Stone Cold Stunner too. Austin celebrates with beers in the ring as a smirking Regal leaves with his title belt. William Regal officially defeated Stone Cold (by disqualification). 

Y2J continues to cross paths with the Radicals

Chris Jericho faces Perry Saturn. This match comes from Dean Malenko cheating to beat Jericho on Smackdown, and then Y2J injuring Eddie Guerrero with a pair of Walls of Jericho. Jericho wins with the Walls of Jericho, and then after the match Terri gets in the ring and confronts him so he puts her in one too! Hes jumped from behind by Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko and Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit and the two Radicals lay out Y2J with a Texas Cloverleaf and diving headbutt combo while Perry tends to Terri on the outside. I’m just pleased Dean didn’t interact with Lita on this show so hopefully that means that storyline is finished. 

Other Happenings

• Matt Hardy gives Jeff a pep talk ahead of his challenging Chris Benoit for the Intercontinental title. Jeff did pin Benoit on Smackdown so that makes sense. Matt, Lita and The Radicals are all banned from ringside. Jeff Hardy is the popular Hardy because he’s the pretty one, but he’s also the better of the two. He has the cooler looking moveset. Benoit wins a good but short match with the Crippler Crossface, retaining via submission. 

• There’s a medical update on Chyna’s condition and the health of her neck after Val Venis and Ivory’s spike piledriver on her last week. It’s a little tasteless given how many members of the roster had suffered real neck injuries. Michael Cole then has an interview with Billy Gunn who is teaming with The Dudley Boyz against the Right to Censor tonight. He promises that one of the members is going down.The Dudleys and Billy enter first and then all three jump Goodfather, Bull and Val during their entrance to start the match. Billy gets distracted wanting to give Ivory a piledriver but Steven Richards saves the day with a superkick allowing Val to follow up with a Fisherman suplex and win the match.

• In the APA offices, Jacqueline asks to join the team. Bradshaw and Faarooq make a few jokes about how long it took them to get the girly smell out of their office after T&A took over (but they mean Test, not Trish). She demands a beer and a cigar and tells them to shut up. They have a six person tag against Trish, Test and Albert. The last time we saw Jacqueline she was a bad guy. She gets a big pop for tackling Trish and is really rough with her in the early going. While the APA and T&A fight on the outside around the ring, Jacqueline spikes Trish with a DDT to win the match for her team. 
• With only five weeks until the 2001 Royal Rumble, we get the first of many Royal Rumble moments. This one is from the 1995 Rumble match when Jake Roberts put a huge snake on Jerry Lawler’s face. 

Smackdown! - December 21st, 2000

Main Event Tag Titles

Edge and Christian arrive in a limo and are greeted by Kurt Angle. He’s in a good mood after getting rid of Mick Foley but they are angry and focused on getting their Tag Team titles back tonight. Kurt promises they will.

Kevin Kelly interviews The Rock who talks about the tag team title rematch tonight. He says that Edge and Christian jumped poor Mick Foley when he was already down and so he and The Undertaker are going to kick both their asses tonight.

Lillian Garcia interviews The Undertaker about his tag team title defence later, and Vince McMahon’s good mood tonight. Undertaker says that he and Vince have an understanding and have known each other a long time so if he stays out of Taker’s way, he’ll stay out of his. He promises Edge and Christian a world of pain tonight. They are shown watching and getting very nervous and Kurt says he’ll see what he can do to help them out later.

Kurt Angle goes to see Vince McMahon and says Edge and Christian are worried about Rock and Undertaker cheating or getting themselves disqualified so Vince promises a “fair” match. When Kurt tells Edge and Christian that they’re underwhelmed - they didn’t want a fair fight, they just want it to be unfair in their direction. 

In the main event, new WWF Tag Team Champions The Rock and The Undertaker have their first defence against former champions Edge and Christian. Before the match begins, Vince McMahon delivers on his promise for a fair match as WWF Champion Kurt Angle comes out in a referee’s shirt. He ignores Edge and Christian and at least appears to be taking his role seriously. After a while, the match breaks down and as The Undertaker hammers Edge with a Last Ride, Kurt is too busy chatting to Christian to count the pin. The Rock calls him out, and drills Angle with a Rock Bottom and stops him out of the ring. The Undertaker gets mad at his own partner for that - who’s going to count the fall now? He probably won’t disqualify them because he wants his friends to win the titles. Christian and The Rock fight on the outside as Undertaker gives Edge a chokeslam. Earl Hebner runs down to count but Christian breaks the pin. The Rock gets the tag and rolls through both Edge and Christian and hits Edge with a spinebuster but as he sets up for the People’s Elbow Kurt Angle pops up and gives him an Olympic Slam and drags Rock into the cover and counts quickly, giving Edge and Christian the victory and making them five time WWF Tag Team Champions! 

Rattlesnake Referee

Vince McMahon speaks to referee Tim White in his office and asks how he is after Stone Cold gave him a Stunner on Raw. Vince promises him that going forward referees will all be treated with respect and he’s going to show him what he means later tonight. Later Vince goes to see Stone Cold and tells him he needs to learn to respect authority (haha) and that tonight he’ll referee the European title match so he can see how hard it is for the referees. Austin doesn’t want to do it but Vince insists. 

William Regal defends the European Championship against Hardcore Holly. Before the match, Regal cuts a promo on his “victory” over Stone Cold on Raw and calls him a filthy uncouth toe-rag. Austin is the last to enter as the referee (standard) and is wearing a custom referee t-shirt - he’s ignored the request to wear a real ref shirt and has just spray painted “Ref 3:16” on the back of his. He reads the riot act to both Regal and Holly making a show of telling them the rules.

As the two wrestle, Austin calls for a beer and is slow to count Regal’s first pin as he’s too busy opening it. Even Holly gets in his face about a delayed count as he’s more focused on his now two beers, and he gets out of the ring and joins commentary to tell us how thirsty being a referee makes him. He does at least count Holly’s count. Austin has the time of his life and is really funny hamming it up as referee, dramatically diving down for pins. It’s all fun and games until Regal accidentally runs into him and crushes both his beers. Austin stuns Regal and then stupidly instead of going for a cover, Hardcore confronts him too so Austin drops the challenger with a Stunner too! Austin begins a standing 10 count until Kane’s pyro explodes. Why is Kane coming out here? Even Austin looks concerned, but that doesn’t stop him from starting the fight. With Regal helping, Kane manages to plant Stone Cold with a big chokeslam and stands over the fallen Rattlesnake and cuing his pyro. Later, Austin goes to see Mr. McMahon and accuses him of being behind Kane’s assault. Vince denies it, but gives Austin a match with Kane on this Monday’s Raw.

Charitable Vince

Smackdown opens with a recap of the sad events of Raw where Linda McMahon’s nervous breakdown has left Vince McMahon in sole control of the company once again. Vince threw the blame for the breakdown around but ultimately it was all a ruse as he and Stephanie were in cahoots. After making the change of control official in writing Vince fired Commissioner Foley and had him brutally beaten and bloodied by Kurt Angle, Edge and Christian. That leaves this as the first show with Vince McMahon in singular control of the company (on screen) since the early summer of 1999. 

Vince McMahon and “daddy’s little girl” Stephanie open the show in the arena. With her now confirmed as an evil character again she’s reverted back to dressing like a heel and putting her silly waves in her hair. It was very current for 2000 but she looks so chavvy. Vince says he’s not a bad guy despite his divorce demands causing Linda’s breakdown or firing Mick Foley the week before Christmas. Stephanie takes the mic and thanks her dad for making her who she is and heaps praise and support on Vince. The fans periodically chant “slut”, “asshole” and “Foley”. It really seems like they were building to a return match for Mick Foley either with Kurt Angle or Vince McMahon himself. That’s because they were. I’m not sure exactly why the plans changed but we will see Mick again before the end of this angle. Stephanie talks about Triple H’s back injury and blames Mick Foley for putting him in Hell in a Cell without checking how bad it was beforehand. Stephanie ends by saying the WWF and its fans are best off under VInce’s firm control. Vince ends by wishing us all a heartfelt happy holidays. After the commercial break, Vince puts Stephanie in a limo and sends her to look after her sick and injured spouse. With Vince alone, he’s again approached by Trish Stratus who gets flirty with him again as he stares at her breasts. She casually mentions Jacqueline beating her up on Raw and suggests Jackie get a title shot against Ivory tonight. Vince ponders it and agrees.

Jacqueline challenges Ivory for the WWF Women’s Championship. After Trish manipulated Vince into giving her this match everyone’s acting like this is punishment for Jackie for beating up Trish on Raw but…it’s a title shot? So Trish must have something else planned. Before the match, Ivory calls Jackie immoral and says she’ll make an example out of her like she did to Chyna. Jackie seems like she might win the title but RtC members Bull, Goodfather and Steven Richards come down and the distraction allows Ivory to win with a roll up. It looks like the Right to Censor might not be done with poor Jacqueline but Bradshaw and Faarooq run down and make the save.

Vince McMahon goes to see Lieutenant Commissioner Debra. He says that Mick didn’t show her enough respect, and that he wants her to be his lieutenant. He asks her what kind of match she would make and she says that the RtC should be punished for what they did to Chyna and suggests Steven Richards vs. Billy Gunn. Vince likes the idea and agrees and the two shake hands, but Debra rolls her eyes after he walks off. 

Raven challenges Steve Blackman for the Hardcore title. Blackman has been pushed for months as the greatest Hardcore champion of all time, but he really hasn’t been on TV much with the title later. I think the creative team got a bit bored of the hardcore title sadly. This is brutal and stays in the ring with both men trading stiff weapon shots for near falls. Blackman retains in one of his better hardcore matches with a DDT off the top rope into a trash can. Quite a cool finish. 

“The One” Billy Gunn takes on Steven Richards. Debra, who set this match up, is shown watching backstage. Billy throws Richards around wanting revenge for Chyna who is still hospitalised and “might never wrestle again”. Billy easily defeats Richards with his big sleeper-slam, which Michael Cole has finally started calling The One and Only. 

Other Happenings

• The Dudley Boyz face Lo Down (with Tiger Ali Singh). I hate this whole gimmick as they were already making Tiger wear a turban and now have D’Lo and Chaz doing it too. King is exceptionally racist here calling Tiger “rag head” and when Tiger says he and his people are more than just taxi cab drivers he asks why they’re dressed like one then. Jesus Chris Jerry. Lo Down try their best but a 3D on Chaz gives Bubba Ray and D-Von the victory. 
• The Radical team of Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko take on Matt and Jeff Hardy and Chris Jericho. I really really hoped that Dean and Lita’s storyline was finished. Jericho makes fun of all three Radicals before the match - Perry’s crossed eyes, Dean having no chance with Lita and shows Benoit with his one true love. It’s a photoshopped picture of him with the robotic maid from The Jetsons cartoon. It’s a chaotic brawl of a match and after Lita runs Malenko into the ring steps, Jericho finishes him off with a Lionsault to win the match for his team. 

• Crash Holly and Molly Holly take on Kaientai in an intergender tag team match. Before the match, Taka and Funaki debut their new gimmick - they talk into the microphone as a deep voice speaks perfect English over the speakers, badly dubbing them like an old kung fu movie. Trivia - it’s Shane McMahon doing the voices. Crash wins it for his team with a missile dropkick on Taka Michinoku. 
• This show’s special “Royal Rumble moment” was of Shawn Michaels winning the 1996 Royal Rumble.

Raw is War - December 25th, 2000

A McMahon Christmas

This special Christmas Day episode of Raw opens with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. Her dad is busy at a soup kitchen,volunteering and so she’s here to run the show. She also says she baked “a fruit cake” for her mother (who has suffered a nervous breakdown). She says that after the way Smackdown ended with The Rock and The Undertaker angry about losing their Tag Team titles and sizing each other up she’s putting them against each other tonight. She riles them up a little by saying neither is afraid of the other’s finisher and the match will determine the greater superstar. She then brings out some great superstars - the Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian, and the WWF Champion Kurt Angle. Kurt has a tinsel around his neck and a santa hat on which is a nice touch. Kurt talks about having won the titles and Edge and Christian mock Mick Foley for getting fired. Kurt then brings out his extended family - it’s five guys all dressed the same as him who he says are his cousins and brothers - and with Edge and Christian playing the kazoo he leads them in a Christmas carol, singing “winter wonderland” until finally they’re interrupted by Chris Jericho. He mocks them calling them nerds and virgins and Stephanie a slut, and it leads to him challenging Angle, Edge and Christian to a six man tag with The Dudleyz as his partners.

Backstage, Kurt Angle introduces his brothers to K-Kwik. After they walk off he calls this “a very white Christmas” which gets a big laugh from the crowd.

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley calls her dad to see how he’s doing as a volunteer at the soup kitchen. He’s pretty clearly with Trish Stratus, which Stephanie picks up on and is angry about. 

Chris Jericho and The Dudley Boyz face the championship team of Kurt Angle, Edge and Christian. Kurt’s extended family (he had four brothers) took a seat at ringside for this match. The crowd get so loud when The Dudleyz set up a Wazzup headbutt on Edge that it blows out all the mics. They are the hottest act in the WWF at the moment. Or at least the tables are. Jericho gets into a skirmish with the Angle brothers in the front row and after fighting them off, Bubba Ray pulls Eric (the one from Survivor Series) into the ringside area and powerbombs him through a table. In the ring, Angle blocks a Lionsault with the knees up and follows with an Olympic Slam on Y2J to win the match for his team. After the match, his three remaining brothers hold Jericho prone allowing Angle to lay in a beating. Edge, Christian and The Dudleyz have already crawled to the back but Bubba Ray and D-Von do run back to the ring and chase the Angles out of the ring. 

Stephanie McMahon goes to see Test and Albert to find out where Trish is. They’re cagey but after she leaves they discuss that yeah, she’s spending Christmas with Vince McMahon. Later when Test and Albert face Too Cool, Stephanie comes out to the ring and after a back and forth, distracts Test (her former fiance) and allows Scotty to roll him up for the victory. In a segment, Albert goes to visit Stephanie. He calls Test a hot head, and says he doesn’t know anything about the rumours of her dad and Trish but he offers to be there for her if she needs anything. Albert wants to suck up to the boss's daughter, but Test has no interest in being friends with his former fiancee and the whole thing is complicated by Vince and Trish - T&A’s manager - relationship with Mr. McMahon.

The Undertaker vs. The Rock

Michael Cole interviews The Undertaker about his match with The Rock tonight. He’s shocked McMahon feels the need to stir the pot seeing as they aren’t friends and don’t get along already. 

Kevin Kelly interviews The Rock and asks if Stephanie was right that he’s afraid of The Undertaker and the Last Ride. He makes jokes about both her and The Undertaker. I can’t do it justice. He tells a Christmas story - Rocky the red nosed reindeer. The other jabroni reindeer were all jealous. The Undertaker’s yard is on the People’s Planet. 

In the main event, The Undertaker and The Rock go one on one. This is a big heavy hitting match as they brawl around the ring and across the announce table. The fans are solidly behind The Rock of course. Undertaker gets a near fall off a big DDT and then follows with a chokeslam. He signals for the Last Ride but we’ll never know if he’d have won as Rikishi returns - his first appearance since being thrown off the Hell in a Cell by The Undertaker - and distracts Undertaker. The Rock hits a spinebuster and tries a People’s Elbow but Rikishi attacks him to cause the disqualification and with a pair of superkicks and banzai drops, is the last man standing over both Undertaker and Rock. 

Festive Can of Whoop Ass

After a replay of Kane attacking Stone Cold on Smackdown, Michael Cole interviews the Rattlesnake about why he wanted a match with Kane for Cbristmas. Austin promises “that big red son of a bitch” a special Stone Cold Christmas and an ass whooping as a present. Even in a short little throw away promo like this, angry Stone Cold is great. 

European Champion William Regal comes to the ring and after lecturing the fans on their poor table manners and gluttony at Christmas, he’s interrupted by Kane’s entrance. Regal takes a place at commentary for this match, and when Stone Cold Steve Austin enters he wastes no time stripping off his waist coat during his entrance and running right at Kane to start the match. It’s a physical match as they fight in and out of the ring but as they get near the announce desk, Regal tries to jump Stone Cold who sees it coming and beats him to the punch, and then knocks Kane down who lands on top of the European Champion. Austin stomps them both at once, and beats Kane up all over the announce table. The Rattlesnake is furious and is taking it out on everyone in sight. The match is brutal and honestly very good. Austin counters a tombstone attempt into a Stunner but William Regal distracts him from going for the pin. Austin fights him off and avoids a chokeslam but is stopped from going for another Stunner by Regal, causing a disqualification. The European champion gets a steel chair and he and Kane try to double team the Rattlesnake but he fights them both off and wipes out both men with brutal chair shots! Austin drinks beer with both villains down in the ring - Merry Christmas. 

Other Happenings

• Matt and Jeff Hardy take on Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit and Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko. Matt asks Lita to stay in the back and stay safe but she refuses and comes to the ring with them anyway. The sooner Dean and Lita stop interacting the sooner I don’t have to listen to Jerry Lawler talk about their storyline anymore. A Lita distraction allows Matt to pin Dean with a Twist of Fate. After the match, Lita tries to save Jeff from a Texas Cloverleaf and Benoit locks her in the Crippler Crossface. She’s helped to the back by referees and backstage as Matt and Jeff tend to her, Benoit shows up and taunts her some more leading to Matt diving at him wanting a fight. 

• Kevin Kelly interviews Lieutenant Commissioner Debra. She says she misses Mick, and so makes a match in his honour - Steve Blackman defends the Hardcore title against Hardcore Holly and Raven.
• In the Hardcore title triple threat, Raven and Hardcore Holly start the first before Blackman is even at the ring. The fight goes up the ramp and through the backstage, with Blackman retaining his Hardcore title with a suplex on Holly onto the hood of a car. Blackman wins the match but as he heads back to the arena, Raven snaps a 2x4 over his head and uses the 24/7 Rule to pin him and win the Hardcore Championship! 

• This show’s special “Royal Rumble moment” was of Shawn Michaels winning the 1995 Royal Rumble.
• The Kat came out in a Santa hat and a red robe and gave JR a present (it was the Divas Postcard VHS) and then stripped for Jerry Lawler. I haven’t mentioned it for a while but they were an item in real life. King was double Stacey Carter’s age so that tracks at least. I mention it again now because it’ll end up mattering quite a bit soon enough.

• Jim Ross conducted an “earlier today” sit down interview with Chyna. She tearfully talks about her neck injury caused by Val Venis and Ivory and how her career is likely over. She needs neck fusion surgery (the kind that Stone Cold had) and she cries as she talks about how much she hates the Right to Censor. Jim does his best to point out the positives as she’s had so much success outside the ring and can hopefully have a full career anyway.

The Acolytes (with Jackie) face The Right to Censor. Before the match, Bull talks about how the people are depraved for buying the APA’s “always pounding ass” t-shirt and asks people to turn away from the internet. There’s chaos as Ivory and Jacqueline fight on the outside and Bradshaw thwarts Steven Richards’ attempted interference but Val Venis is able to make an appearance and hand the victory to his teammates.

Smackdown! - December 28th, 2000

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley throws her weight around

The final Smackdown of 2000 opens with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley pacing back and forth in her office dramatically as Jim Ross stands and listens. She’s demanded his presence because he has “a big mouth and will spread her mission statement”. She books Chris Jericho in a handicap match against Edge and Christian, Kurt Angle to defend the WWF title against Bubba Ray Dudley and suspiciously, Rikishi against The Rock and The Undertaker which seems like an oddly crowd pleasing match for her to make. Tonight is all about her, she says.

The opening match is Chris Jericho against the WWF Tag Team Champions. Before the match Y2J insults Stephanie again, calling her his usual and famous barrage of insults ending in “trash bag hoe”. Jericho holds his own and puts up a good fight against two men but with Christian distracting the referee he misses Edge tapping out to the Walls of Jericho. Stephanie distracts the referee and allows Christian to lay out Jericho and Edge to crawl into a pin and win the match. The Tag Champions continue the beating after the match, holding him for Stephanie to lay in a pair of big hard slaps. This feels like the return of Jericho’s feud with Stephanie but this doesn’t go anywhere long term. Jericho’s been feuding with The Radicals. Backstage after a replay, Stephanie thanks Edge and Christian for their help and they suck up to the boss/boss’s daughter. 

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley heads down to the ring. She wants to share her New Year’s Resolution with us all - to get what she deserves, and that’s the respect of all the WWF Superstars and fans. She talks about her dad and husband so it would seem that she deserves respect because of the men in her life rather than off her own merits. I’m sure that’s intentionally contradictory because she’s a heel. Michael Cole has pointed out continually tonight that most of her matches tonight are fan pleasing with The Hardyz  and Bubba Ray all getting singles title shots, and The Rock and Undertaker getting a handicap match against Rikishi but so far that has all backfired on the good guys. She’s interrupted by Stone Cold Steve Austin who’s burning hatred for her husband Triple H is still intense. She looks like she hates him as much as he hates her, her husband and her family. He tells her that no one gives a rat’s ass about her resolutions. No one cares what she wants, they care what he wants and that’s a shot at the WWF title. He’s not here to raise hell or ruffle features - he’s here to say he’s not going to play her stupid games. She looks disgusted at him as he speaks and says she doesn’t think he deserves a title shot. He asks the fans their opinion and gets a loud “Hell Yeah”. Stone Cold says that since he’s not getting a title shot he’ll drown his sorrows with some beers. He chugs a couple and then tells Stephanie that just because he hates her dad and husband doesn’t mean he has to be rude to her and offers her a beer. He hands her one and when he toasts her beer splashes all over her, as King calls it, $10,000 dress. Austin says that he doesn’t normally waste beer but he’ll make an exception for Steph and dumps two full cans all over her head and leaves her looking like a drowned rat. The fans loved it. Backstage after a commercial and a replay she screeches at the makeup lady about the state of her and her dress and how she smells. 

Kevin Kelly interviews Rikishi about tonight’s handicap match. He says Undertaker didn’t make him famous by throwing him off the Cell, he made himself famous by running over Stone Cold and hitting The Rock with a sledgehammer.

Kevin Kelly interviews The Rock before the main event. The Rock has three New Year’s resolutions - to become WWF Champion again, to remain the greatest sports entertainer of all time and to raise enough money to get Kevin Kelly a sex change. He talks about how he grew up in Tennessee (that’s where this show was taped) and he’s going to go back to school tonight all over Rikishi’s big fat candy ass. 

The Rock and The Undertaker team against Rikishi in a handicap match main event. Why has Stephanie made this match? Well it’s never that simple. Rikishi comes out with a confident smile, followed by Stephanie. This isn’t a two on one handicap match, it’s a three on two handicap match and Rikishi has two partners in Kane and the European Champion William Regal. The match is conducted under tag team rules and with Rock and Undertaker holding their own, Rikishi takes a walk. The Rock chases him down and after a quick beating on the ramp sends him back to the ring. Undertaker drills him with a chokeslam but Regal and Kane are there to keep the match going. Rikishi gets a steel chair and swings for The Rock but hits Regal instead. The Rock drops him with a DDT and that gives Rock and Taker the victory! They get no time to enjoy it as Rikishi and Kane go right on the attack and with a three on two advantage and no longer having to stick to any rules they beat Rock and Taker down. Rikishi gives Undertaker a Banzai drop as Kane drills Kane with a massive chokeslam and the three of them pose and raise their arms over their fallen opponents.

The final shot of WWF television in 2000 is Stephanie McMahon-Helmsely watching in the back with a big smile on her face. 

Tag Team Specialists chase Singles Gold

Chris Benoit defends the Intercontinental Championship against Matt Hardy. This is an offshoot of the Hardyz/Lita vs. Radicals feud. Thankfully they’ve moved on from the gross Lita and Dean stuff and this is more about Benoit putting poor Lita in a Crossface on Raw. This is a good, competitive match with Matt getting to show off what he can do. He gets near falls with a small package and a leg drop off the middle rope but Benoit counters a Twist of Fate into a Crossface. Matt is too close to the ropes, and reverses Benoit into the exposed turnbuckle (Benoit took off the pad) for another near fall. In a great looking spot, Benoit counters an attempted tornado DDT into a Crossface to win the match via submission and keep his title. 

Kurt Angle in Stephanie’s office watches the replay of Bubba Ray putting his brother Eric through a table on Raw over and over. He says he asked for his match with Dudley tonight to be for the title so he can prove a point. I’m not sure what that point is. Bubba Ray Dudley - perhaps the most unlikely challenger for the WWF title in history - enters first followed by the motivated and focused Kurt Angle. This match reminds me of late in 1999 when The Big Show was defending the WWF title against Al Snow and Hardcore Holly and the likes on random episodes of Raw and Smackdown. Kurt cuts a promo on the way to the ring about how Bubba got famous putting women through tables but he got famous winning gold - Olympic and WWF. Another competitive match of a tag team specialist challenging for a singles title. Kurt gets the title belt to use as a weapon. Bubba stops that, but as the referee is distracted removing the title, Kurt uses a low blow and a small package to retain the WWF title. After that, an angry Bubba attacks Kurt but his buddies Edge and Christian run down to make the save. Christian follows and with Kurt still down in the ring, The Dudleyz clear out the Tag Team Champions and give the WWF Champion a Wazzup headbutt and set up a table to drive him through it but thanks to a distraction by Edge and Christian, Kurt is able to give Bubba an Olympic Slam through the table instead. 

Raven, who won the Hardcore title on Raw using the 24/7 rule, faces Jeff Hardy in his first title defence. Raven speaks before the match and says 2001 will be “the year of the Raven” (lol) and seems offended his first title defence is against “a mere Hardy Boy”. It’s a spirited, good fun match with Jeff getting to show off lots of offence with a ladder but Raven just keeps kicking out and after blinding Jeff with a fire extinguisher follows up with a DDT to win the match and retain his title. Raven runs off through the crowd, waiting to avoid backstage and any 24/7 cash ins. 

The End of T&A

Backstage, Test and Albert argue. Test doesn’t like that his tag team partner is sucking up to Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, someone Test has a complicated past with to say the least. Test say that it wasn’t him that upset Stephanie, it was Trish. They argue about whether Trish is “at home relaxing” or is actually spending the holidays with Vince McMahon. 

Too Cool face T&A. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley cost Test a match on Raw out of spite against their manager Trish Stratus and it’s stirred up a whole hornet’s nest within the team with Albert wanting to suck up to the bosses and get in good with the McMahons and Test wanting nothing to do with them. This match mostly exists for Jerry Lawler to talk about Vince doing charity work on Christmas day and Michael Cole to argue that there are no homeless people in Greenwich, Connecticut and that he clearly spent the day with Trish Stratus. Test and Albert are able to put their differences aside to pick up the victory, but then as Test clears Scotty out of the ring he turns right into a bicycle pump kick from his own partner. Albert has turned on Test and continues the beating (he actually falls over while throwing a punch). Stephanie is shown watching backstage and it would seem she’s the one who asked Albert to do this. And so ends the ballad of T&A. They’ll always have their undefeated Wrestlemania streak (1 - 0). Albert continues the beating for a long time as Test bleeds from the mouth, apparently suffering internal bleeding. 

Other Happenings

• After a replay of JR’s tearful sitdown interview with Chyna from Raw talking about the end of her career and her hatred for the Right to Censor, Val Venis and Ivory show their own version where they’re dressed identically to JR and Chyna. Ivory pretends to cry as Val lectures “Chyna” on how she deserved her injury because of the way she lives her life (they do plug her book though) and Ivory thanks the RtC for giving her the chance to fight the good fight and repent.