Survivor Series 2000

Legacy Review

Survivor Series 2000

November 19, 2000 from the Ice Palace in Tampa, FL

Commentary: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

The big news going into tonight is, exactly one year after the attack, Triple H has admitted that he is the one that paid Rikishi to run Steve Austin over at least year's Survivor Series to try to protect his WWF Championship. Presumably losing said title to Big Show later that night was all part of the plan. Turning on Austin to do the reveal also cut Trips' burgeoning face run short, but there really wasn't room for him on that side of the aisle. As long term reveals go it's one of the worst ones, Austin himself has called it the worst angle he was ever involved in and that's from someone that spent years in WCW, but it does get the ball rolling on the Austin/Trips story so in that it's not *completely* useless.

WWF Hardcore Champion Steve Blackman, Crash Holly and Molly Holly def T&A and Trish Stratus in 5:06- Molly had just made her WWF debut a couple of weeks prior and is being billed as yet another Holly cousin. Nothing but cousins in that family apparently. T&A all come out wearing APA shirts to remind us they're responsible for knocking the APA out of action. This is "Chyna rules", meaning anyone can wrestle anyone else regardless of gender. Blackman and Albert start with some spunky back and forth. Blackman gets his sweep kick in. Albert catches Crash coming off the top rope but Blackman dropkicks him down into a 2 count for Crash. Albert murders Crash with a clothesline. A double team attempt goes awry as Trish kicks Albert in the little A-Trains. Molly tags in and Trish bails. Chase around the ring and Trish tags Test coming back in. Molly quickly backtracks and tags Crash. Crash hurricanrana for 2. Test gets a big boot. Double faceplant from T&A. Test goes for a pumphandle slam. Crash escapes and pushes Test into Albert. Trish tags herself in, much to Test's dismay. She goes for an elbow drop but Crash dodges it. Tag to Molly. Hiptoss and slam on Trish. Molly drops some elbows. Chops. Test pulls Molly down by the hair from the apron. Molly recovers to suplex Trish and tags Blackman. Or not, ref Teddy Long supposed tag team expert didn't see the tag. They did a good job not making that obvious. Trish works Molly over. Albert tags in and presses Molly. Crash and Blackman run in to save her. DONNYBROOK! The guys quickly take their fight to the floor while the women stay in the ring. After some maneuvering Trish hits Molly with a bulldog off the top rope for 2. Molly goes up top, hits a sunset flip, and that gets the pin. Nothing hugely special but it had energy throughout with no dead spots. **

WWF Champ Kurt Angle asks his buddies Edge and Christian if they're OK in these warmer climes, then checks to see if they're available for some help tonight. E&C back out by claiming Christian got mono from some bad chili. Angle's not worried because he has Taker's number anyway. Meanwhile, earlier tonight on Heat Lo Down and Tiger Ali Singh were denied access to the arena because they weren't on the list. Yeah, I'd keep Singh out any way possible too.

 

Survivor Series Match: The Radicalz (w/Terri) def "The One" Billy Gunn, Chyna, Road Dogg and K-Kwik in 12:41- After coming into the WWF together just after the Rumble, then feuding with each other and splitting off, the Radicalz are now back together. Quite the ride for them this year. They're also now working as Triple H's cronies. Eddie Guerrero is still the Intercontinental champ, while Dean Malenko continues to tote around the virtually ignored Light Heavyweight belt. On the other side, even though they're all teaming together all traces of DX have mercifully finally been erased. We wouldn't see it again until the first Triple H/Shawn Michaels DX reunion tour in 2006. K-Kwik, who you might know today as R-Truth, had spent about a year in the short lived WWF developmental territory Memphis Championship Wrestling and had just made his main roster debut, forming a new tag team with Road Dogg. With that move, Dogg has transitioned from country to rap. And finally, with a renewed Billy Gunn singles push we get a new Billy Gunn gimmick. Out is Mr. Ass, in is The One. Spoiler: it won't help. I like the Radicalz' coordinated black and yellow gear. Saturn and Gunn start. Lockup! Saturn pounds Gunn down in the corner. Gunn responds with a clothesline. Gunn/Chyna double suplex. Chyna hits some forearms. Powerslam for 2. Flapjack. She goes for the handspring elbow. Saturn catches her and goes for a suplex. Chyna low blows to get free. She goes over and pops her ex Guerrero off the apron just because. DDT on Saturn. The pin breakup leads to everyone running in. In the confusion Guerrero nails Chyna with the IC title belt, Saturn covers and Chyna is gone. Dogg comes in, gives Saturn a weak ass slam and covers for 2. He really can't be bothered anymore. Saturn hits a back suplex. Guerrero comes in with a slingshot senton. Dogg gets trapped in the wrong corner. Guerrero hits a basement dropkick to cut off the dancing jabs. The Radicalz work on Dogg's knee for a bit. Dogg gets a superplex on Guerrero and tags Gunn. Gunn quickly also gets trapped in the heel corner but manages to fight his way out. Press slam on Guerrero. Sleeper/reverse neckbreaker from Gunn and he eliminates Guerrero. Gunn gets Malenko up in a press but Saturn clips his knee. Kwik tags in. He goes right into dodge mode, bouncing and flipping all over the ring. He really could move in his younger days. He and Malenko lose their place for a second before Kwik hits a leg lariat. Flying headscissors and Japanese armdrag. Benoit plants Kwik with a German suplex and gets a pin, ending the K-Kwik highlight tape. Dogg comes in and again quickly goes in peril. Saturn hits a northern lights suplex for a pin and Dogg is eliminated. It's Gunn vs 3 now. Gunn tries to fight all three guys but the numbers are too much for him. After a bit he hits a fameasser outta nowhere on Malenko and pins him. Jackhammer from Gunn on Saturn. Benoit breaks the pin up. Benoit's headbutt off the top rope hits. Gunn kicks out! Benoit's furious. Gunn gets a back elbow. He lifts Benoit up for a suplex, but Saturn grabs his foot from the floor and we get the Wrestlemania 5 finish to end it. I'm pleasantly surprised, I figured a Gunn's singles push would mean he'd buzzsaw through all three guys. Perfectly solid and average Survivor Series match. SURVIVORS: Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn **1/2

 

Kane def Chris Jericho in 12:35- This all started because, I kid you not, Jericho accidentally spilled some coffee on Kane. He should be used to hot things on him. After that it became Kane got jealous of Jericho's good looks because of his hideous scars that no one could ever see. Quick slugfest to start with Kane getting the upper hand. Jericho does a dropkick that barely brushes Kane in the chest and Kane goes 360 to the floor. Baseball slide from Jericho. Jericho goes for a running dive, but gets himself all tangled up in the ropes and damn near goes down head first on the floor! It's a freaking miracle he didn't. Kane was right there for emergency protection too. Typical ringside brawl follows. Jericho's springboard dropkick kinda hits and Kane kinda sells it. Jericho throws the stairs into Kane. Interesting reversal of the usual. Back in Kane catches Jericho coming off the top and powerslams him for 2. Faceplant and Kane beats Jericho down in the corner. Jericho fights out of a back suplex attempt but a clothesline puts him back down. Big boot from Kane. He hangs Jericho from his back by the mouth, then goes over and takes a top turnbuckle pad off. Jericho fights out of a buckle shot, then Kane blocks it. Goozle and Kane tosses Jericho over the top to the floor. More typical ringside brawl. Kane presses Jericho back in. He goes up top but Jericho crotches him. Kane fights Jericho off the top rope, then comes off. Jericho dropkicks him in midair! He blocks a Kane big boot and gets a leg takedown. Missile dropkick from Jericho for 2. Kane takes a shot into the exposed turnbuckle and Jericho rolls him up for 2. Walls! Kane fights, then gets to the bottom rope. Jericho drags him back to the center. He goes into a weird transition of leg holds on the mat before Kane fights him off. Not sure what that was supposed to be but it was a mess. Bulldog from Jericho. He goes for the Lionsault. Kane has to visibly move over several feet to get in position, but then he goozles Jericho on the landing! Chokeslam! It's done. Very strangely sloppy and disjointed match from two guys normally known for their smoothness in the ring. *3/4

 

WWF European Championship: William Regal (c) def Hardcore Holly by DQ in 5:06- Holly had just made his return after his arm was accidentally legit broken by a wayward Kurt Angle moonsault. He ducks the lockup and slugs away. Regal responds with some European uppercuts. Nice Regal drop toe hold into some mat riding. Regal hiptoss, Holly armdrag and stalemate. Reset lockup. Regal runs Holly's shoulder into the post, then posts Holly's bad arm. He starts picking away on it. Holly tries to counter into a suplex but Regal cranks the arm again. Wave! Cross armbreaker from Regal. Holly slowly inches his way over to the ropes. Regal stomps Holly out of the ring, waves again and struts a little. Top wristlock from Regal back in. Speed run and Holly gets a crossbody for 2, but his arm is still hurt. He gets behind Regal and tries a German suplex. Regal gives him a sneaky style low blow out of the ref's view. He ties Holly in the ropes and pounds away on him. Holly fights free and hits some clotheslines. He tosses Regal over the top to the floor. Holly gets the belt, whacks Regal with it right in front of the ref, and we have a DQ. Holly continues some ground and pound and tosses the ref away before leaving. This never came together and that finish is weak sauce. I guess Holly knew he couldn't win and didn't want his arm broken again/they didn't want Holly to lose so soon after coming back. The crowd didn't give a shit about any of it either. *

In the back clueless Angle lets another attempt by Trish to flirt with him sail right over his head.

 

The Rock def Rikishi in 13:00- This is the big blowoff match for "I did it for the Rock". Rikishi initially claimed all credit for the attack on Austin a year ago, and said he was only trying to help fellow Samoan Rock out. Rock did not at all appreciate that. Rikishi then tried to help Rock in his title match with Angle at No Mercy. Rock lost the title that night and blamed Rikishi for it. Since then Rikishi's been attacking Rock with his HHH appropriated sledgehammer every chance he got. Now you want some crazy history? This is not really their first PPV singles match. Then IC champ Rock, as Rocky Maivia, defended against a masked Rikishi as the Sultan back at Wrestlemania 13. That was the match the Chicago crowd turned hard on plucky rookie babyface Rock and WWF finally realized he wasn't working and needed a course change. On his entrance Rock sprints in like the Ultimate Warrior and it's on! Belly to belly suplex! Rock goes out and gets a chair. Ref Tim White takes it away from him and Rikishi hits a superkick. Rock's comeback is cut off with a back elbow and legdrop. Slow Rikishi beatdown. Another comeback gets killed with a side suplex. Measured stomps from Rikishi. Speed run and Rock momentum tosses Rikishi to the floor. They do the usual ringside knockaround and White ends up getting squashed and going down. Rikishi goes under the ring and gets the sledgehammer. Rock cuts the shot off with a punch. Rock Bottom! Very slow crawl by both Rock and White and Rikishi kicks out. Rock starts laying in the smackdown punches. Rikishi cuts it off with a headbutt. Diving headbutt. Samoan drop from Rikishi. Butt splash for 2. Corner avalanche and Rock is in position. After much moment milking Rikishi gives him a stinkface. Rock pops up with a clothesline that Rikishi 360 sells! Rock ducks a superkick. Spinebuster! Pad off. People's Elbow! Again Rock is slow to cover because of all the damage, but when he does Rikishi still stays down for the 3 count. After the bell Rikishi gives Rock a superkick, hauls him into the corner, and gives him one, two, THREE Banzai drops. Rikishi goes Ken Shamrock and knocks out a couple of refs, starts to leave, then comes back for a fourth Banzai drop because why the hell not. Despite the postmatch attack this was pretty much the end of the ill-fated attempt to try to turn Rikishi into a top heel. He and Rock would cross paths a few more times the next few months but nothing on this level. The match itself was OK but no more, though Rock was again clearly working hard to try to make it all work. **1/2

Commissioner Mick Foley crashes the Triple H/Radicalz locker room to let them know that the Radicalz are banned from ringside in the main event, and that match is now no DQ. Trips is cool with all of it.

 

WWF Women's Championship: Ivory (c) def Lita in 4:55- Ivory defeated Lita for the title in a four way match on Smackdown at the start of the month. She's now with Right to Censor and is in her Scariest Amish Schoolmom Ever phase. Jump start as Lita tosses Ivory around. Hiptoss. After a very poor speed run Lita gets a kick and enzuguri. Counters and Ivory blocks a roll up. Lita clothesline for 2. Ivory gets Lita down in the corner and we see Lita is bleeding bad over her left eye. Commentary thinks one of Ivory's giant platform boots might have busted her open. Ivory legdrop and elbow drop for 2. Northern lights suplex for 2. Lita gets a flying headscissors counter, then hits a standing hurricanrana for 2. We get a replay showing it was actually an accidental straight punch that busted Lita open hardaway. RTC leader Stephen Richards comes out. Ivory gets tossed out right in front of him. Lita goes to the top rope and dives onto both of them! Crossbody off the top back in from Lita for a long 2. She goes up top for the moonsault. Richards pulls Ivory out and Lita splats on the mat. Richards distracts the ref while Ivory gets the belt. Lita ducks the belt shot! She hits a side suplex. Shirt off! She goes for the moonsault again. Ivory puts the belt up as a shield! Cover and Ivory gets the pin. Lita's probably legit loopy after, she's slow to get up and gets help to the back to an ovation from the crowd. The first half was all kinds of slow and sloppy but the stretch run saved it a bit, and it's still sadly by far the best women's match on PPV in a good long while. Lita gushing blood, intended or not, made her look like a badass. *1/4

Kane is walking backstage. Jericho jumps him with a chair! Noisy pipes falling! Jericho uses those and a 2x4 Jim Duggan left lying around as weapons before the officials gaggle drags him off.

 

WWF Championship: Kurt Angle (c) def The Undertaker in 16:55- Kurt Angle is hitting his one year anniversary in WWF and is celebrating, rightly and truly, the greatest rookie year in WWF history to this point (it will be topped in a couple of years by a guy whose name rhymes with Bork Laser). It's mentioned in passing before the match that this is also the 10th anniversary of Taker's WWF debut. This is actually their second PPV match, they had a very underwhelming one back in July at Fully Loaded. Taker's got some weird ass gold pants on tonight. Those look like he swiped them out of Godfather's wardrobe because he's not using them anymore right now being in RTC. Angle stalls forever on the floor before the bell. Taker hops out, gets a chair, and tosses it at Angle's feet. Angle takes it. Hebner gets it away, but Angle takes it back and whacks Taker with it! Bell to start. Angle beats Taker down in the corner, but completely punches himself out and has to back off to catch his breath. Taker easily weathered the storm and slugs away on Angle. Big boot. Legdrop (Hogan combo). Taker covers but pulls Angle up at 2. Too soon. Slam, elbow drop, another cover and again he pulls Angle up at 2. Old school hits. Angle grabs the ropes off a whip and bails. Back in Angle ducks a punch and hits a German suplex for 2. Taker gets 360 clotheslined to the floor. Angle comes off the apron but Taker catches him and posts his back. Back in Angle dodges a boot in the corner and attacks Taker's leg, wrapping it around the rope. Taker tries to slug back but Angle stays on picking the knee apart. Taker gets a takedown into a Fujiwara armbar! Here come Edge and Christian. Good to see Christian got over his mono. Angle's tapping but Edge has Hebner distracted. Christian snaps Taker over the top rope. Taker shakes it off. Goozle on Angle! Angle kicks the leg he's been working on to get free. Leg takedown into a leg scissors. Diving clothesline from Angle for 2 and he wraps the leg up again. After several attempts Taker manages to fight out, but then he decides to hop out to go after E&C. Hebner then goes out to toss E&C out. Taker chokeslam on Angle! Cover but Hebner's still in the aisle. He runs back in but Angle had enough time to kick out. Taker's pissed. Angle comes behind and rolls Taker up for 2. Taker clothesline for 2. Russian leg sweep for 2. Angle gets back on the knee with some apron shots. Figure four! Angle gets some nearfalls before Taker reverses. Angle screams at almost a Ric Flair level and crawls to the ropes. Taker does a nice scoop, swinging Angle from a side suplex position up into a powerslam for 2. Another scoop. Angle wiggles off Taker's shoulder and gets another leg takedown in the corner. Post wraparound figure four! Hi Bret Hart. After Hebner forces a break Taker lays in the rapid fire body shots. He hot shots Angle onto the top turnbuckle for 2. Angle hits a blatant low blow that there's no way Hebner could have missed but JR tries. Angle scoops Taker into Tombstone position. Taker reverses it! Angle fights it, flips over the ropes and onto the apron. Taker punches him off. Angle goes under the ring. Taker grabs his foot and drags him out. Or did he? Last Ride! Taker covers. Hebner stops at 2! What? He seems to be pointing to Angle's face. Angle comes out from under the other side of the ring! Roll up on Taker! Handful of weird ass gold pants and Angle gets the pin! Commentary is flummoxed. The other Angle gets up and we see that he's almost but not quite entirely unlike Angle. It's not mentioned on TV, but it's Angle's younger but larger brother Eric, who was also an amateur wrestler and had just signed into WWF's developmental system. The match was definitely better than their last time out. It was good to see Angle get out of all brawling mode and start to do some more proper wrestling. You can see the pieces slowly being put together for their future classics. Can't back that finish up though, but like this card placement that's pretty much Angle's first title reign in a nutshell. **3/4

Angle runs down the aisle, right past the altar, down the ramp, out the door, straight into his car and tears off.

 

Survivor Series Match: The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz def WWF Tag Team Champions Right to Censor and Edge & Christian (w/Val Venus) in 10:04- The RTC team of Bull Buchanan and the Goodfather dethroned the Hardyz as tag champs on Raw a couple of weeks prior. Jeff comes out wearing a long sleeve shirt that's practically a sweater and he's clearly favoring one of his arms. He lost to Venus in the preshow match. I'm not sure if it's a legit injury or just selling something from earlier but he gets through the match fine though he definitely has dangly arm a few times. Buchanan and Bubba Ray start with their usual back and forth. D'Von hits his back elbow and tackle. Big boot from Buchanan. D'Von gets caught in the wrong corner and goes in peril. He manages to hit Christian with a reverse DDT. Edge and Matt tag in. Matt takes all the heel team out. Neckbreaker on Edge for 2. EVERYONE IN THE POOL! The face team hits a chained quadruple DDT. The Hardyz shirts are off and they have Dudleyz camo shirts on under! Proper teammates. They hit Poetry in Motion on Edge. Now the undershirts are off. Venus pulls Matt off the top rope. Edge hits Matt with the Edgeomatic, a new move then, and eliminates him. D'Von and Jeff double up on Edge. D'Von clothesline for 2. Christian blind tags in but D'Von double clotheslines E&C. Off a Buchanan distraction Christian hits the Unprettier and D'Von is gone. Bubba Ray flies in and attacks Christian. I can see why he'd be pissed, there's no one to get the tables now. Backdrop and clothesline. Jeff hits a springboard moonsault. Christian throws Jeff into the post. Buchanan press slams him. Jeff dodges in the corner and tags. Bubba Ray has moves for all of the heel team. Dodge and Edge spears Buchanan! Bubba Ray covers to eliminate Buchanan. Bubba Bomb on Edge. Christian's splash off the top rope hits Edge! Cover and Bubba Ray eliminates Edge. Back to even numbers. 2v2 donnybrook with Jeff's arm still seeming to be a minor issue. Goodfather hits Bubba Ray with a DVD and eliminates him. Jeff tries to fight but the two on one quickly wears him down. The match gets a bit sloppy for a minute. Christian gets posted. Swanton bomb! Christian is gone! Goodfather goes for the no more hos train. Jeff dodges. Venus gets on the apron. He and Goodfather take each other out! Jeff covers Goodfather and gets the improbable win! It's short for a Survivor Series match, but fun. They fit in all they could, and Jeff looked great in getting the comeback win injured arm or no. SOLE SURVIVOR: Jeff Hardy ***

All of RTC jump Jeff after the bell. Well, not Ivory. The rest of the face team runs into make the save and we get all the moves they didn't get to in the match. Twist of Fate. 3D. Whazzup Drop. Then the tables are out, RTC go through them, and everyone's happy like Honma's dishing out Kokeshis. Kokeshi make you happy.

 

No DQ: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Triple H no contest in 35:09- Austin looks calm on his entrance but is all business. Vest off in the aisle, up the steps, double finger to HHH, in the ring and it's on. It's all Austin to start. HHH goes to the ol' eye poke to turn the tide. Knee to the gut from Austin. He starts going after HHH's back, which has apparently been as issue lately. HHH hits the facebuster. Austin Thesz press! Right hand flurry and elbow drop. HHH rolls out for some space. Austin doesn't want to give it. HHH gets knocked around up the aisle. Austin lifts up some metal girding sitting on the floor as part of the stage and goes for HHH. HHH blocks it to knock Austin down. Now it's Austin's turn to take some shots around the stage and tech area. They go through a curtain into the backstage area. Well, for a second, then Austin slugs HHH back through the curtain. HHH blocks and hits a suplex on the floor. Back to ringside and Austin goes into the stairs. Austin gets tossed over the Spanish announce table. Whip reversal and HHH takes a stairs shot. Austin takes the entire timekeeper's corner apart to stomp a mudhole in HHH there. Monitor shot for HHH. HHH is busted open. Austin picks up the beer cooler (which has leaked or dumped over and poured water all over that area), decides nah and mudhole stomps HHH some more. Austin opens the cooler, retrieves a beer, cracks it open, hits HHH with the cooler, then sits down and takes a swig. Well he has been out a while, probably needs to pace himself. Austin crunches the empty beer can on HHH's head. Another beer out and another drink. HHH takes some more shots into the stairs. And we're finally back in the ring. Austin gets the bell. HHH jumps him coming back in. Roll around brawl in the ring. Quick low blow from HHH. Coming off the ropes Austin ducks a clothesline. Kick wham STUNN....NO, HHH reverses it into a neckbreaker! Very nice. Measured elbows from HHH and he squashes Austin's head against the ring post. Clothesline from the apron. Cover for 2. Austin's comeback is cut off with a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Austin spinebuster! HHH dodges an elbow off the second rope. Back out to the floor. HHH tosses the bell back in the ring while he knocks Austin around. He sets up a Pedigree on the stairs, but right next to the announce table so we can see what's coming. Austin backdrops HHH through the announce table! He slams HHH on the remains of the table! HHH begs off back in the ring. Austin blocks a kick and hits more stomps. HHH drags himself up by the ropes while Austin waits to strike. STUNNER! Austin doesn't cover. He goes out and gets a chair. He wraps it around HHH's ankle. We've seen this before. Austin invented Pillmanizing. Then Austin changes his mind and puts the chair around HHH's head! HHH rolls out before he can be killed. Slugfest up the aisle back toward the stage. Through the curtain to backstage again. HHH gets whipped into a vending machine. The Radicalz attack! Well, it's not ringside. While they attack Austin HHH escapes the building. All the refs and officials come in to try to break it up. We cut to a shot of HHH getting in his car to leave. Austin and Benoit slug it out while all the other Radicalz get held back. Benoit runs outside and Austin follows. HHH is still there in his car while Benoit and Austin continue to fight in the parking lot. Benoit runs away, but loses track of Austin. HHH tells Benoit to find him. Benoit runs back into the building. HHH peeks out of the passenger side of his car and gets back in. A forklift grabs HHH's car and lifts it up! Austin's got a forklift! He drives HHH's car across the parking lot, then says he's got a ride for HHH. He lifts the car up more! And more! HHH is begging Austin not to. "Austin don't....HOLY SHIT!" Austin drops HHH's car down on its roof! That's it, HHH is dead. Or at least seriously, seriously injured. End show. I suppose that means the match is over too. Does "death of opponent" count as a referee's decision? Second straight Austin PPV match that's ended with attempted vehicular homicide. They definitely wanted that to be more of a fight than a match, which both fit the story and was needed with Austin being more mobility hampered than ever after this last injury. They mostly pulled it off fine but it was nothing near spectacular. They definitely have a great match in them, as they'll prove in the not too distant future. The ending definitely lets it down, that's another one for the "legendary crap in wrestling" highlight reel. **3/4

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- In contrast to the great run Summerslam has been on, this continues the recent trend of less than stellar Survivor Series. Part of that is due to the less than conventional stories that they've done the past few falls. This one does come out a bit better than the last couple, but that's more due to the fact most everything on the show falls squarely in the average category with nothing really good but nothing really awful. They need to move on from the Austin being run over story pronto because it's drug everything down the past couple of months.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: C