It's back! After a six-month absence (plus or minus a month), Cageside Seats brings back its weekly live retro blog. What's a live retro blog, you ask? It's like the regular live blogs we do here, except we cover past events as if it were live. Make sense? If not, check out some of these past live retro blogs, including Wrestlemania X-Seven, the 1992 Royal Rumble, and Starrcade 1997.
It'll be structured a little differently this around. Instead of doing PPVs on every one, we'll alternate with PPVs one week, then an eventful TV show (i.e. RAW, Nitro, Smackdown, or NWA World Championship Wrestling for example) the next. Like before, there will be no live retro blogs on PPV weekends (ex: there will not be one on July 16, the day before Battleground).
So instead of twiddling your thumbs idly on a Saturday night, how about you join us for live retro action? All that is required for you to join us is a working Internet connection (seeing as you are on this site, you have one already) and the WWE Network (if you don't, you can get a one-month free trial if you're a new subscriber).
This week's Live Retro Blog is Summerslam 2000, taking place on August 27, 2000 from the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (known today as PNC Arena) in Raleigh, North Carolina. 18,128 were in attendance, with 570,000 homes watching on PPV.
The event featured a pair of triple threat bouts. For the WWF Tag Team Championship, the Hardy Boyz come home to North Carolina as they challenge Edge and Christian and the Dudley Boyz in a TLC match. In the main event, The Rock defends the WWF Championship in a triple threat match against Triple H and Kurt Angle.
The cSs live blog rules will apply here too. No pics and no GIFs.
Event begins AT 8pm ET/5pm PT/1am BST. Everywhere else, figure it out. So bring your retro memories and your WWE Network and get ready for hot, retro wrestling action!
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Hi! I'm Eddie Mac. I'll be your captain for this live retro blog voyage.
CONFIRMED MATCHES (champions in bold)
- TRIPLE THREAT MATCH FOR THE WWF CHAMPIONSHIP: The Rock vs. Triple H vs. Kurt Angle
- TABLES, LADDERS, AND CHAIRS MATCH FOR THE WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Edge and Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz
- WWF HARDCORE CHAMPIONSHIP: Shane McMahon vs. Steve Blackman
- MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH FOR THE WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Val Venis and Trish Stratus vs. Eddie Guerrero & Chyna (The winner of the fall regardless of who gets it will be the Intercontinental Champion)
- TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS: Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho
- STINKFACE MATCH: The Kat vs. Terri (The first to perform a stinkface on the other will be the winner)
- The Undertaker vs. Kane
- X-Pac vs. Road Dogg
- Jerry Lawler vs. Tazz
- Right to Censor (Steven Richards, Bull Buchanan, and The Goodfather) vs. Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty, Grandmaster Sexay, and Rikishi)
Summerslam 2000. August 27, 2000 from the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena in Raleigh, NC.
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Match 1: Right to Censor (Goodfather, Steven Richards, and Bull Buchanan) defeated Too Cool (Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Grandmaster Sexay) in 5:14. Scotty's worm is interrupted by a Steven Kick, and that gets the pin.
Footage of the previous Smackdown where Kurt Angle carried off then kissed a knocked out Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie may or may not have reciprocated.
Michael Cole interviews Hardcore Champion Shane McMahon but immediately runs off when Steve Blackman is within view.
Match 2: X-Pac defeated Road Dogg in 4:41. X-Pac low-blowed Road Dogg, leading to the X Factor and the pin. Post-match, Road Dogg gave X-Pac a pumphandle slam. Safe to say D-Generation X is officially dead now.
Plug for Vinnie's Steak House & Tavern. Backstage with Chyna and Eddie Guerrero followed by Val Venis and Trish Stratus.
RAW is WAR late tomorrow night due to US Open tennis coverage. Regular time if you're on the west coast.
Match 3: Chyna and Eddie Guerrero defeated Trish Stratus and Val Venis in 7:08 in a mixed tag team match for the Intercontinental Championship. Chyna won the Intercontinental title following a military press slam on Trish. Per pre-match stipulations, the winner of the fall got the title, meaning, yes, Trish could have won the Intercontinental title. Instead, the number of women Intercontinental Champions remains at one. And she's now done it twice.
Rewind to Radio WWF last night from WWF New York previewing Summerslam. Cut backstage to makeup lady Janet with Stephanie McMahon, discussing Kurt's quality of kissing. Then a promo package setting up the next match.
Match 5: Steve Blackman defeated Shane McMahon in 10:07 in a hardcore match to win the WWF Hardcore Championship. The match ended with Blackman chasing McMahon up the steel structure that houses the Summerslam logo and the Ovaltron, then Blackman hitting McMahon with a kendo stick until he fell. And he fell down hard. Blackman then dropped an elbow from high above to win the match. Something tells me we'll be remembering that one for a long time. T&A had a hand in the match, but not in the outcome.
Replays of Shane's fall from the structure fill the time. As Shane is stretchered out, Kurt and Stephanie share a moment of concern about Shane-O-Mac, which is interrupted by a Mick Foley zinger. Promo package for the Benoit-Jericho rivalry introduces the next match.
Match 6: Chris Benoit defeated Chris Jericho 2-1 in a best of three falls match at 13:09. The first two falls were both won by submission with each man submitting the other (Benoit with the Crossface first, then Jericho with the Walls of Jericho). Benoit won the deciding fall with a cradle pin while he held the ring ropes for leverage.
Triple H an hour and a half into Summerslam finally arrives. I'm sure he'll be fined. Another replay of the Kurt-Stephanie kiss. Replay of Kurt consoling Steph following the hardcore match. Promo package of the three-team rivalry precedes the next match.
Match 7: Edge & Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship at 14:51. This surpassed their triangle ladder match from Wrestlemania 2000 back in April. All six men brought it again. The final moments saw Matt climbing the ladder, but D-Von pushed Matt off the ladder to two tables on the outside (could have been worse, all things considered. Edge and Christian pushed Bubba Ray Dudley off a ladder on to four tables). D-Von and Jeff climbed the ladder, but Edge and Christian knocked the ladder over, and neither D-Von nor Jeff could hang on. D-Von just dropped, Jeff got pinata'd off.
Backstage, Triple H wants to know what the deal was with that kiss. Also tells Stephanie to stay away from Kurt Angle.
Match 8: The Kat defeated Terri in a stinkface match at 3:04. It was a match that happened.
Cut to WWF New York where we see the APA in their natural habitat: drinking. Free Rock sunglasses if you mail your cable or satellite bill with proof you ordered Summerslam. Promo package for the Undertaker-Kane match.
Match 9: The Undertaker and Kane fought to a no contest at 6:25. The big story was Kane's mask was ripped off by the Undertaker, and Kane running off. The match may not have even officially started. In fact, I'm going to say it hadn't. So... let's call it no match.
Kurt puts in a call. Stephanie's phone rings. Steph's talking to mom. Probably not mom. Triple H grabs the phone and no answer. Promo match for the WWF title match. Where is it written that a guy and a girl can't be just friends?
Match 10: The Rock defeated Kurt Angle and Triple H in a triple threat match to retain the WWF Championship at 17:48. Angle was taken out in the bout's early moments when the Spanish announce table gave way during a Triple H Pedigree attempt. It was mostly The Rock vs. Triple H, and those are always good. Kurt returned late in the match with the encouragement of Stephanie. Speaking of Stephanie, she accidentally nailed Triple H with the WWF title belt. Triple H accidentally returned the favor when he struck Stephanie with the hammer. Trips ate the pin after the People's Elbow and The Rock retained. But the Triple H-Stephanie McMahon-Kurt Angle triangle will be something to keep an eye on, especially since the show's parting shot was Kurt carrying off Stephanie.
EDDIE MAC'S QUICK REVIEW
This was a fun show. Among Summerslams, this is in the top five. It's also among the top five PPVs of the Attitude Era, and is probably in the conversation among the best PPVs ever. Show's about 2 hours, 40 minutes, but it rarely drags. Yeah, there's some stuff that 2016 you will make you cringe, like the many blows to the head with metal objects, the thong stinkface match, and Stephanie McMahon. Other than that, it's an awesome show and you should watch it like right now. That's why Eddie Mac rates it a damn awesome 9 out of 10.