WWE Survivor Series 2000 (2000)

As far as pay-per-views go, the 2000 Survivor Series is a bit lackluster. When it originally aired, the WWF was focusing on one plot line that so dominated the company that other story lines simply didn't matter. Survivor Series 2000 revolves around fallout and revenge revolving around the 1999 plot to end Stone Cold Steve Austin's career. In 1999, Austin was run over by a car, and for the better part of a year, the WWF became a mystery show, dedicated to finding out who was behind the steering wheel. Leading up to Survivor Series, it came out that the Rock's cousin, Rikishi, was driving the car, but the man who masterminded the plot was Triple H. So here we have the epic battles between the Rock and Rikishi, and Stone Cold and Triple H. Both matches are brutal, entertaining, and filled with shocking moments (how about Stone Cold dropping Triple H's car 30 feet from a fork lift?). The DVD gives fans all of the background leading up to these matches. Unfortunately, because the WWF focused so much attention on this story, the other half-dozen matches seem boring by comparison. As result, you get 45 minutes of entertainment and drama, surrounded by two hours of fluff. --Dave McCoy Amazon.com

The True Return of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

At this point in time, WWF fans were getting pumped to see 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin get revenge for being put out of action at the 1999 SURVIVOR SERIES. Austin had finally "returned" in September, battled with Rikishi in October, and was coming for his true culprit - Triple H!

That little story is probably why most fans checked out the 2000 edition of the SURVIVOR SERIES. It's just a shame that HHH, Austin, and most of the wrestlers did a decent job on this PPV...and it still might not be enough.


1) T&A and Trish Stratus v.
Molly Holly, Crash Holly, & Steve Blackman (Hardcore champion)
---This opener was more about getting a crowd pumped than about telling an in-ring story. The match rarely slowed down, both teams used some neat double-team maneuvers, and the ladies did their Catfight antics all for Florida's viewing pleasure. This one-fall contest isn't anything to go out of your way to see, but if you get the PPV, it's a neat 5-minute diversion.
"6.0 / 10"

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2) Survivor Series Match
Road Dogg, K-Kwik, Chyna, & Billy Gunn
v. The Radicalz
---The first of two Elimination Matches for the evening reminded me a lot of the Four Horsemen. Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko, & Eddie Guerrero played the numbers often and effectively to keep their opponents down. The constant gang-ups and cheating might infuriate some viewers, but everyone else might have a good time with this one. Unfortunately, the match really suffered from a couple quick eliminations. K-Kwik (Ron Killings from TNA, now R-Truth in WWE) was easily the most exciting aspect of the match with his Cirque de Soleil performances, and got pinned with maybe two moves. Chyna & Eddie continued their funny couple-gone-bad routine, but "Latino Heat" looked more foolish than skilled. And it was nice to see The New Age Outlaws team up after being apart for so long. To make a long story short, this match is worth your time, but not nearly as great as it could've been.
"6.5 / 10"

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3) Chris Jericho v. Kane
---Wow...this was pretty bad. Never mind that the whole thing started over Y2J accidentally spilling a cup of coffee onto Kane a few weeks prior. Try not to groan as Jericho desperately tried to sell this grudge match as "being about something more than coffee." Well, storylines may age, but good wrestling is forever...sorry folks, but this is far from good. Kane has a very loyal fan base, but the year 2000 was a miserable year for him. His PPV showcases were often bad, as evidenced here. Jericho is a future Hall of Famer deserving of his podium moment, but all of his hard work went to waste. Their Last Man Standing rematch will be released on Kane's upcoming WWE DVD. Maybe give that one a look, first.
"4.5 / 10"

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4) European Championship
William Regal (champion) v. Hardcore Holly
---What we have here is a technician whose skills were ahead of their time, and a tough wrestler whose physicals skills are often undone by his lack of in-ring psychology. After Regal cut a very funny promo (he made fun of Florida's 2000 Election delays), Holly interrupted him to begin their scheduled contest. As I said before, Regal can be a great wrestler, but his old-school European style just wasn't exciting the crowd. Shame on them. Holly has always had athletic ability, but his non-Hardcore matches are often the most generic matches imaginable. Shame on Holly.
"5.5 / 10"

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5) Rikishi v. The Rock
---Be warned: If you think "The People's Champ" is an overrated phenomenon, you better just skip this one. I like to joke that Rock in 2000 was so invincible, that he might've just worn a bright red "S" on his chest. Unfortunately, the match consisted of Rikishi mercilessly beating an injured Rock, with Rock making an occasional comeback. If you enjoy underdog matches or injury angles, then this will be a good one. But if you want the explosive match these two might've been capable of, then I'm sorry to say that this wasn't it.
"6.0 / 10"

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6) Women's Championship
Ivory (champion) v. Lita
---Now pay attention, because this match is more important than you realize. I've loved the Divas in recent years, but the Attitude Era often used them for eye-candy, and most of the ladies back then couldn't perform. And then, the skilled Ivory and fast-rising Lita squared off in this solid match that the crowd got into. Rather than resort to pulling hair or tearing each other's clothes, Ivory & Lita improved the image of women in the WWF on this very night. Hell, Lita even took a nasty cut above her eye! Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a great match. It can get a tad sloppy and soft (women need to work on their kicks & punches). Not as good as I might've made it sound, but still a very significant match in the Women's division's history.
"6.5 / 10"

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7) WWF Championship
Kurt Angle (champion) v. The Undertaker
---Longtime WWE fans know that Taker & Angle are responsible for some terrific matches in SMACKDOWN history, but I remember not expecting this one to be any good. Their last PPV encounter was an enjoyable slugfest that ultimately made Angle look weak. But this time, Angle & Taker got it just right. If you liked any of their other technical showcases, then you're in for a real treat. Kurt Angle walked a very tight line between being an Olympic competitor and a total dweeb; I'm sure it's hard to look great and cowardly at the same time. And nay-sayers who think Taker's "biker gimmick" was terrible need to understand that this allowed him to open up his character, and compete in more mat-based performances like this. If this brief history lesson gets you excited, then the action won't disappoint you. And after watching these two rivals go at it for about 15 minutes, there's a clever twist ending that still holds up today. An excellent match between an underrated pairing of wrestlers.
"8.5 / 10"

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8) Survivor Series Match
Edge & Christian / Bull Buchanan & The Goodfather (Tag Team champions)
v. The Hardy Boyz & The Dudley Boyz
---Compared to the previous Elimination Match, this one might be the better of the two. It's a little longer, and the finishes were more sensible. Even though E&C, Dudleyz, & Hardyz had competed for over a year together, they still managed to put on a good show. And Right To Censor, in my opinion, was an underrated faction. RTC's characters were devilishly annoying, but their in-ring skills were solid for their time. All in all, this match was par for the course - enjoyable, but nothing special.
"6.5 / 10"

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9) No Disqualifications
Triple H v. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin
---Thank God Mick Foley made this No-DQ earlier in the evening. It would've made no sense to see two rivals involved with vehicular assault compete in a standard one-fall contest. These two often had good matches together, and this was one of them. However, if you're hoping this will top their NO MERCY '99 or NO WAY OUT 2001 performances, then don't get too excited. The physiques, characters, & movesets between HHH & Austin complement each other very well. There are two main reasons I prefer their other PPV matches over this one. For starters, this one slowed down a bit more than I really cared for. Back in 2000, HHH sometimes was too calculating and dominating for his own good. His "Cerebral Assassin" moniker wasn't a good thing, at first. But the other reason I'd rather watch their other matches is because of how having no rules plays out. I really hate seeing brawls up the aisle and into the crowd, and I hate being able to call reverals & weapon counters seconds before they happen. For example, there's a spot where HHH attempts a Pedigree at ringside, and any viewer will be able to call that Austin is about to backdrop HHH through a table to counter it. Other than a shocking finish, there are few surprises in this match. It's a good showing from two of the most famous in pro wrestling history. But it's not as great as it looks on paper.
"7.0 / 10"

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OVERALL
---There's nothing really wrong with SURVIVOR SERIES 2000, other than very little is special about. The traditional Elimination Matches from these PPVs are usually fun to watch, but the two on this card aren't anything special, especially because E&C/Dudleyz/Hardyz have had much better matches elsewhere. Austin & HHH delivered a good main event worthy of their year-long buildup, but it wasn't their best showing. Lita & Ivory may have had an important contest in WWE history, but then so is Ultimate Warrior winning the IC Title in 15 seconds...Do you really want to pay money to see it if it's more interesting than great? Undertaker & Kurt Angle pulled off one of the best matches in their rivalry's history, and in SURVIVOR SERIES history.

You might still be curious enough to check this one out, but here's a suggestion: I wouldn't be surprised if the WWE releases a SURVIVOR SERIES anthology in the near-future. I suggest you either get this PPV at a cheap price, or try to catch some of these matches on other websites or DVDs. November 6, 2008

Stone Cold's Revenge & Did The Undertaker Just See Double?

Before I begin, there are a few statements that I want to address on to why this event seems to get a bad name here on Amazon. Survivor Series is usually the one night of the year where the matches that are focused are the elimination matches. This 2000 edition is focused around one storyline & that was the one between Stone Cold Steve Austin & Triple H. On top of that, most of the matches don't compare to the main event as far as build-up is concerned or they are matches that were good but would soon be topped in the future.

Now that I got that out of the way, This Survivor Series had one mission & that was to make up for the previous year's weak showcase. While the 2001 & 2002 editions are much better than this one, there is still some great things to see here:

Six Person Intergender Match: Steve Blackman, Crash & Molly Holly vs Test, Albert & Trish Stratus. One thing I did not understand about this one was that this simply could have been a Survivor Series elimination match with two competitors (you will see who later) that could have been added to this one & save some time. Anyways, this was a good opener for what it was but it was nothing special.

Classic Survivor Series Elimination Match: Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, & Perry Saturn vs Chyna, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, & K-Kwik. First of all, look at the talent that is in this match. We all know the quality that The Radicals can bring but everyone was able to contribute to the project (including Kwik, even though he was in there for 3 minutes). This match could have been longer but it was still solid contest with some nice wrestling.

Kane vs Chris Jericho. If you can get over the stupid storyline going into this match, this was the first great match of the night as these two put forth a strong effort. I think the highlight of this match was the cheers that Kane received, despite being a monster heel. Anyways, it was Jericho's speed against Kane's power in a match that I enjoyed a lot more than their future Armageddon match though it is a bit sloppy at times.

WWF European Champion William Regal vs Hardcore Holly. This was the match that I was referring to in the beginning that could have been added to the opening contest instead of wasting pay per view time. Regal does work hard here but not enough for us to care & the weak finish did nothing for this feud. This was the worst match of the night.

The Rock vs Rikishi. This was one of those "put over a storyline" matches as it was known to be Rikishi that had ran over Austin at last year's Survivor Series & claimed he did it for The Rock (in truth, he did it for Triple H). This was mostly Rikishi dominating the match with The Rock getting a shot here & there before making a comeback victory. The aftermath once again added to the storyline. Good match for what it was but we have seen better performances from these two (especially The Rock in 2000).

WWF Women's Champion Ivory vs Lita. This was the match that showed that Lita was about to turn the Women's Division around as she put on quite a performance that had not been seen in this division for quite some time (remember when Stephanie McMahon was champion or Harvey Whippleman, yes you read that right). The match was average at best but Lita's performance was something to see.

WWF Champion Kurt Angle vs The Undertaker. Due to the heavy storyline between Austin & HHH, this title match is not the main event but not only was it main event material, this was a forgotten classic. This was the first of the Angle/Taker classic series of matches that heavily made up & surpassed their Fully Loaded encounter from earlier in the year as it was just a great wrestling match with cameo appearances from Edge & Christian, along with the surprise ending involving Kurt Angle's brother. Again, match of the night for me & a forgotten classic that would have been a worthy edition for Undertaker's DVD set instead of their Fully Loaded 2000 contest.

Classic Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Hardyz & The Dudleyz vs Edge, Christian, The Goodfather & Bull Buchanan. This did not top the previous match but it was a fast paced electric contest that really got the crowd pumped up with the only negative comment being that since the match was quick, it felt kinda short. The aftermath was great to see as the RTC members were put through tables. Probably the best elimination match of the night.

No Disqualification Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Triple H. Commissioner Mick Foley made the match, "No DQ" before the match started, as well as banned the Radicals from ringside. Even though Rikishi ran over Austin, Triple H was the man behind it as this feud heated up to another level in this match. The match was good quality between these two as it was just an out of control hardcore brawl that went around the arena but this performance would be topped in their next encounter in their classic 3 Stages of Hell match at No Way Out 2001. This was more memorable for the ending where Triple H & his car fell off the top of a high lifted forklift. As a side note, for those who saw Austin's DVD, Benoit's involvement is here & you can see what happened between Austin & The Radicals.

DVD extras include a Sunday Night Heat match between Val Venis & Jeff Hardy. Also has some interviews with Kurt Angle & Triple H.

In the end, this event was better than the 1999 edition (that was not worth seeing) but there were really only two matches on the card that were worth going out of your way to see which were Undertaker/Angle & Stone Cold/Triple H. But again, this event is better than most give it credit for being so I recommend at least checking it out. My personal review for this event is a 3.5 but I will be fair & give it 4 for the two matches that I mentioned above. October 12, 2008

SS 2000

Kickass. It was non-stop action from top to bottom. one of the best dvds of that year. January 3, 2008

It's all about Stone Cold.

Stone Cold Steve Austin broke his neck at Summerslam 97 after a botched piledriver by Owen Hart. Despite this, he kept performing, showing up constantly in late 97 and 98, until returning at the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania to make it to the very top of the company.

Eventually that reckless pace would catch up to him. And it did in late 1999. So rather than admit the truth, the WWF wrote him off for a year with a storyline involving him breaking his neck again after being hit by a car at the 1999 Survivor Series.

2000 saw the rise of Triple H and The Rock as the top competitors in the industry, until Stone Cold returned on September 25, 2000. The ensuing storyling revolved around a "whodunnit?" in which finally Rikishi---seemingly a random pick---admitted hitting Stone Cold, for The Rock to be the top guy in the business. Seemingly out of the blue, Triple H was brought up as the "mastermind" after talk of an accomplice was made.

For the sake of convenience, Rikishi and The Rock would feud, just because, and Stone Cold and Triple H would feud, completely defying sane logic by having Austin focus solely on Triple H and apparently not give a damn about Rikishi. After all, he WAS the guy driving the car that hit Austin, right?

As a result, we get this. Austin sets his sight on revenge, The Rock aims to exact revenge on Rikishi, and to hell with everything else.

To quote another reviewer, this event was quite literally "45 minutes of entertainment, and two hours of fluff"

The matches:

T&A and Trish Stratus vs Steve Blackman and Crash Holly and Molly Holly
I think they should have put Hardcore Holly with the rest of his kayfabe family, just for the sake of gimmicks. Still, the match was something of a dud. There was little excitement, and the only real talented male performer---Blackman---got very little ring time. (3/10)


Survivor Series Match
The Radicals vs Road Dogg and K-Kwik and "The One" Billy Gunn and Chyna
This was a spectacular match. Everything good about the WWF was represented here, with veteran brawling skills of Road Dogg and Billy Gunn, the surprising high-flying reckless antics of K-Kwik, and the very skilled, great to watch Chyna, wrestling like, or even better, than a man. The Radicalz, also, were at the top of their game. While it was sad to see the likes of Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero cut back on their technical prowess, they still got to show off plenty, and this sort of match solidified them as a solid heel stable with excellent chemistry together. (10/10)


Kane vs Chris Jericho
I think the whole provocation for this feud was absolutely ridiculous. What's even worse, it was REUSED recently on Smackdown! Someone spills liquid on Kane, causing a feud that lasts longer than it should. It happened with Finlay recently on Smackdown, it happened here with Jericho. The match wasn't too great, but it certainly isn't as terrible as the Kane/Finlay feud being reused now. (5/10)


WWF European Championship
William Regal (C) vs Hardcore Holly
Rather than be matched with his kayfabe family, Holly is wasted in another dud of a matchup we come to expect from the likes of Bob Holly. Any Hardcore Holly match you watch that isn't a hardcore one, this is just like it. (0/10)


The Rock vs Rikishi
Despite these two's talents with wrestling ability and charisma, this one wasn't entertaining. Rikishi doesn't work well as a heel, and The Rock seemed blindly furious at Rikishi, so much so he just ran to the ring as fast as possible when his entrance hit and started battering Rikishi recklessly. Even Stone Cold had the presence of mind to wait, and size up Triple H. And Stone Cold was the real victim of that car-hit! The match itself was little more than Rikishi dominating The Rock, The Rock getting the upper hand, and Rikishi dominating him after losing. (2/10)


WWF Women's Championship
Lita vs Ivory (C)
The Right to Censor needs to die. Luckily it does some time later, but at this point it had moved beyond Steven Richards and his hooligans being the obvious heels trying to spoil the fun, and more like a cult of Christian fanatics trying to kill people not like them. I don't know if it was storyline driven, or a genuine mistake, but Ivory punched Lita in the face and legitimately caused her to bleed from the cheek. Other than the fun bloodshed, the match was a typical Diva's dud. (1/10)


WWF Championship
The Undertaker vs Kurt Angle (C)
Because the event is all about Stone Cold, the main event gets pushed back two matches. Probably for good reason, as this match had very little going for it. I cannot even remember any major moves being used by either superstars. The only real motivation for the match's existance, other than it being obligatory for the champion to defend at every pay per view, is the trick Angle pulled off, using his brother as a body double for the Undertaker to pin, then get tricked when Angle shows up from under the ring. (1/10)



Survivor Series Match
The Dudley Boys and The Hardy Boys vs Bull Buchanan and The Goodfather and Edge and Christian
This match was simply awful. And I think everyone involved knew it. At the last minute, people started randomly being pinned, just to end the match mercifully. Jeff Hardy was then left against The Goodfather and Christian, and finally won. The end consisted of the Hardys and Dudleys putting Steven Richards and Val Venis through tables on opposite sides of the ring. (0/10)


The Entire Reason for the Pay Per View
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Triple H
It's all about Stone Cold was the theme for the night. For 25 minutes, Triple H and Austin brawled, in typical old WWF style, and it was not great wrestling, but it was great entertainment. As usual, Triple H bladed easily, and Stone Cold shocked me by taking a beer out of his beer cooler, using the cooler to hit Triple H into the corner where the timekeeper usually sits, then sitting on the ringsteps and taking a beer break! The brawl made its way out back, where the Radicalz jumped Austin, and Triple H ran into a car, using Benoit to try and lure him out to get hit. You pretty much know what happens from there. (9/10)


All in all, this pay per view was pretty much all about Stone Cold Steve Austin. That's really a shame, since they had great potential to do more with their other talent here. August 30, 2007

WHOA!

What Stone Cold did to Triple H at the end was TOTALLY INSANE!!!!. One of WWE's better PPV. May 26, 2007

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