Hey Scott,
Long time reader, and I'm really enjoying the AskScott stuff on the blog recently.
I have a theory about WM and Backlash 2000 - you've said numerous times that the Backlash main event and ending were so perfectly booked and that should have been the WM main event and ending, with Rock going over HHH straight instead of the 4 way mess that we got at WM. I totally agree with that. But watching the main event at Backlash, seeing Austin meander down to the ring, barely able to swing a chair and roll through the ropes - is it possible that all that WAS supposed to happen at WM, but Austin was physically unable to do it? That would lead them to essentially go into holdover mode until Austin would be physically able to go out there, and might be why they needed the ridiculous Foley return 3 weeks after his "retirement", because they wanted Austin to be a part of Rock's win and were painted into a corner in that regard, so the 4 way was the alternative that we got. And that of course would explain why heel HHH was the first heel to ever walk out of WM as champion.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks
Nope. It's an interesting theory, but someone from the company has already gone on record, I think a WWE DVD somewhere, basically saying that they wanted to draw more money by doing a second HHH-Rock at Backlash instead of getting just the single big buyrate out of WM. And it worked, so it's hard to fault them in hindsight. Hell, I bought both shows and was happy to do so.
WM2000 main event should have been the HHH/Foley HiaC and nothing elses. That was a perfect angle from beagininning to end and it should have been the WM main instead of Foley "reatiring" and then doing another match within a month.
ReplyDeleteYou'd almost need to give Mick one title win to keep interest in the series that long, wouldn't you? or am I just subtly campaigning for a cactus jack title run? EVEN I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.
ReplyDeleteI believe the original plan for WM2000 was a Triple Threat main event & they changed it up to add Linda & Foley. So the Foley thing was booked on the fly but I think it worked well -- I know some of my friends believed Foley HAD to win the title there.
ReplyDeleteI think since Backlash 2000 did a top 10 (maybe top 15 at this point) buyrate in wrestling history....they made the right decision.
Eh, he could have lost the Rumble street fight and then takean a few more wweeks to sell the injuries buefore comign back for the HiaC challenge with HHH.
ReplyDeleteRock vs. Big Show might have been a disappointing undercard match tfor them but it's abetter than what they went with.
Triple H walking out of WM 2000 with the belt was AMAZING. The best the year and a half anyone ever had. Triple H was the man.
ReplyDeleteTriple H vs. Rock was perfect for what it was. It truly was the "Michael Bay" of wrestling matches and it even featured an explosion.....of the crowd multiple times! Awesome match. And to think they matched themselves the next month(I can't say topped because well I just can't) But Rock and Triple H had ungodly chemistry. I'd give both those matches ***** Man, why did Triple H have to hurt his quad, gain a ridiculous amount of muscle, and decide to bury people for 2 years?!?! Imagine how awesome it would have been had he NOT been injured. A feud with Jericho(Jericho gets the elusive win maybe?) A feud with Benoit, epic blowoff with Austin, goddamnit if only he hadn't torn that damn quad.
ReplyDeleteOh and I know people don't seem to like the WM 2000 main event all that much, but I'll be damned if that Rock vs. Triple H sequence, which lasted half the match wasn't awesome. Personally I say that Fatal Four Way is **** easy.
Triple H winning at Mania brings about something you don't see anymore:
ReplyDeleteGarbage being thrown into the ring, something I wish would be brought back by the fans. It happened at Mania, it happened at that ECW show where Big Show beat RVD. I honestly think fans should start throwing garbage at Cena during his main events at PPV.
Lord I hated WM2000...
ReplyDeleteJericho states in his second book that the original poster for Mania 2000 had Rock, Big Show, HHH and Jericho. Jericho fell out of favor with management and his theory is that when they asked Foley to step in since they didn't have faith in Jericho. I don't know if there's any merit to that since Jericho was pretty solidly set in the midcard prior to that, but who knows? Was his revoked title win prior to or after Wrestlemania 2000?
ReplyDeleteAs someone who got to see Backlash live that year all I can do is thank them for screwing up WM so bad that year that we got a much superior show. SUCH a great show. People were losing their minds with Rock won. Awesome to be at live. It was my first time seeing a PPV live and I remember thinking that all PPV must be that great live. Man was I wrong...
ReplyDeleteActually, the real switch that should've happened in 2000 was that Washington should've gotten Wrestlemania and Anaheim should've gotten Backlash. WM would've seemed like a much better show in front of that red-hot DC crowd, plus the nation's capital deserved the prestige of a Mania. (And, it would've been a final FU to WCW --- putting Mania in Washington after the city had been stuck with those legendarily disappointing Starrcades.) Can't understand why quiet Anaheim got two Manias in five years, especially since their total lack of reaction almost killed the Iron Man match at WM12.
ReplyDeleteAfter.
ReplyDeleteThey probably should've done Austin vs Rock vs Foley at Wrestlemania 15, then they would've have felt compelled to give him one main event match at Wrestlemania anymore.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to back him up: http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/787/270/wm2000_display_image.jpg?1300232539
ReplyDeletesorry ryan,
ReplyDeletehhh/rock was THE MATCH TO RUN @wm.
...and then we had 2002-2005 HHH
ReplyDeleteThose inital NWO segments when the fans would litter the ring was awesome.
ReplyDeleteI thought WM 15 was gonna be rock/austin/HBK for some reason.
ReplyDeleteThat is... something. Wow. I wonder how they would have gotten there. I mean, I assume the "McMahon in every corner" nonsense just had to happen... so Linda would have backed Jericho for some reason?
ReplyDeleteIt was... and it wasn't. Rock-HHH were the two biggest stars, but WWF had something awesome going with HHH-Foley. It was an amazing feud that deserved a WM payoff.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the end -- we got neither of those matches. Awesome.
To me, it's exactly like WM 22. The main event really should have been Cena-Edge, based on their great feud. But they went with HHH-Cena instead, because they were the two biggest stars.
At least they went with a 1-on-1 match in that case, I guess.
What was the point of the Rock winning at Backlash only to lose it the next month at Judgement Day?
ReplyDeleteInstead of all the cheers and money that they usually throw at cena?
ReplyDeleteHHH being the first heel to win the Wresltemania main event was when it was officially made clear that he had A LOT of power. I guess the build up to Wrestlemania started making it apparent. It was clear with the Foley angle they were ready to push him to the stars. But there is no doubt in my mind that the idea was HHH's. Plus by saying they would pop a better buyrate by having HHH vs Rock the next month probably sold it to Vince. And it worked so that obviously helped continue to build this idea in the minds of everyone in the company that HHH had this great mind for the business. Which of course he does. When ever it pertains to himself.
ReplyDeleteBut as much as I would have liked the main event to be Foley vs HHH, Rock had to be in it. He was the top draw and that was the feud they would be running with for the rest of the year. It probably would have been better if they just go rid of Big Show. Though with Foley already losing the retirement match a month before it did make it somewhat anti-climactic to have him back in the main event. So he the end, HHH vs Rock was what should have been the main event. But I'm sure Vince didn't like the idea of his new top babyface losing in the main event of Wrestlemania. But that was the beginning of HHH becoming apart of the McMahon family. Now, 12 years later if Vince's loving son in law wants to put himself over the entire roster in one night, than by all means. Go right ahead.
I have to agree with Vince on the Jericho thing though. I don't think Jericho was ready for a main event yet. He fit much better in the IC title match with Benoit and Angle. That was one of the things that made that year so great. The mid card was super strong and you had these great feuds for the IC title and the tag titles going on.
That was probably HHH's idea.
ReplyDeleteExcept for that one time Hennig got beaned square in the face with a Big Gulp during a promo, and he just acted like it never happened. I thought that was weird but I guess he couldn't really do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteI think it showed something other than HHH's clout (though there is that, too). I think it showed how different Wrestlemania is now than it was in 2000. Sure, it was the biggest show of the year and all booking roads led up to it, like now. But it hadn't really become the massive, stand-alone brand that is head and shoulders above everything like it is now. I mean, is there any real reason that Rock/Cena at WM28 should've done more buyrates at 65 bucks a pop during a relatively dull era than Rock/Austin at WM17 at 30 bucks a pop, when wrestling was at its peak? No, but that's what happened.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, it was probably WM17 where that started to change, especially with the stadium shows they've mostly done ever since (and even 20-22, which weren't in football stadiums, were in NYC, LA and Chicago). But at the time, having Rock lose at WM to set up a rematch to pop another huge buyrate for Backlash made perfect sense. Would that work now? Hard to say. They know Wrestlemania is going to pop its normal huge buyrate these days, and for the most part they don't fuck up Wrestlemania. But it's kind of a chicken-or-egg question here: do the buyrates for other shows stay so low because of the booking (because for the most part, WWE PPVs these days are good, just not interesting), or do they avoid that kind of booking because they know it's not worth it because no one's buying non-WM PPVs?
If they'd built Big Show up better over his first year in the company, I'd totally agree with your scenario.
ReplyDeleteIronically, there's an instance where having two world titles back then could've helped. Even still, Paul Wight built to be an unstoppable monster for a year going up against The Rock would've been a hell of a co-main event.
According to Foley's book, it was going to be Austin/Rock/Foley until HBK interjected and said the wrestlemania main event has to be a one-on-one math. So foley got to be the ref instead.
ReplyDeleteThe next year HBK wasnt around and it became a 4-way een though foley WoD have preferred to stay retired.
Damnit, I see the typos in there but can't edit them from my iPhone. Sorry. Anyway it was never supposed
ReplyDeleteTo be HBK, he was retired "for good" at that poor and couldn't work.
What i meant was in my lil mark mind at the time, i thought the logical progression was austin/rock/hbk.
ReplyDelete