Hello wrestling fans, and welcome once again to Servo’s little column. Sorry about the absence last week. I was feeling a bit under the weather with a combination of the dozen sicknesses that are going around campus this time of year. But I count my illness as a blessing because it gave me more time to think about the best (and worst) of wrestling in 2000.
I’m going to say right now that these wrestlers and matches that I chose are my own opinion. I just don’t want people to get upset if their favorite wrestler doesn’t make number one.
Wrestler of 2000
I had to think long and hard on this before I came up with my choice for wrestler of the year.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley debuted in the WWF as a snotty rich boy. Soon he became a successful mid-card wrestler until joining up with Shawn Michaels to form Degeneration X. Still, Triple H was shadowed by Michaels until Michaels suffered a seemingly career-threatening injury. Triple H was suddenly thrown into the spotlight.
In 2000, HHH and his wife Stephanie McMahon ran the WWF for most of the year. HHH became the biggest heel and one of the most hated wrestlers in wrestling history. His exceptional microphone work and incredible in-ring talents were made evident in his feuds with Mick Foley, The Rock, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and Chris Benoit. Helmsley is one of those heels that the crowd will still cheer for while they’re booing him.
I felt that this four-time WWF champ deserves the title of Wrestler of 2000. Is the game over? You’re damn right he’s over!
The wrestler that I felt gave HHH the most competition for Wrestler of 2000 was Kurt Angle. What hasn’t this guy done? He’s become Intercontinental and European Champ, The King of the Ring, and the current WWF Champ all in about a year. He is also a natural with the microphone, and his amateur wrestling background shines through with each fluid motion in the ring.
Other honorable mentions go out to The Rock, who pretty much held the spot of top face while Austin was healing. Edge and Christian have gone from silent pretty boys with no real charisma to hilarious teeny boppers out of the ring and downright evil monsters in the ring. Also, Lance Storm, Booker T, and Jeff Jerrett have to have some respect and glory for pretty much keeping the WCW from sinking like a brick last year.
Match of 2000
The winner of this little gem wasn’t anywhere near as difficult to determine as the Wrestler of 2000. The battle for the tag titles was hotly contested for all of 2000. The three dominant tag-teams–The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, and Edge & Christian–had many a battle for these belts in 2000. But none of them would hold a candle to the slobber knocker that occurred at Summerslam in North Carolina: the TLC match.
Tables, ladders, and chairs, oh my! This three-fold recipe (get it, folding chairs, folding ladders, and folding tables, hee hee hee) pushed the limit of six men to entertain millions. In the end, Edge & Christian pulled off the win, but the memory of this match will forever live on.
Other matches of greatness were the two matches between HHH and Mick Foley. Just seeing HHH keep up with Foley when it came to hardcore style wrestling gave me a new respect for HHH.
Also, after Austin returned, Benoit challenged him to a straight up wrestling match. Just seeing Stone Cold wrestle like he did back in his WCW days was a joy to see.
Now I bet some of you are wondering where Austin was in all of this. Well, honestly, Austin didn’t do much in 2000 . Other than his match with Benoit, Austin did very little in the ring. I’m sure that if he weren’t injured, it would be a different story. Austin may not have been a major player in 2000, but I’m sure that he will give it all he has to be number one in 2001.
Also, look for the PWF to start back up again in a week or so. Stay tuned to my column for more information on our next night of wrestling.
Servo Sez: Next time you guys wanna dress as wrestlers for the Western/ App game, for the love of God, please put some pants on!
