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Event: Royal Rumble 2000
Date: January 23, 2000
Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, New York
Time: 51:49
Winner: The Rock
Last Eliminated: Big Show
Iron Man: Test
Quickest Out: Faarooq
Most Eliminations: Rikishi
The year prior may have featured far too many jobbers but this one managed to top it. Imagine: Rikishi was the dominant force who tossed the most wrestlers and required six guys to send him out. That was the state of the Rumble at that time.
This match also had the unfortunate luck of having to follow the "Match of the Year" in 2000, the Triple H vs. Cactus Jack Street Fight for the WWF championship, a legitimate five-star affair. And while that match had a great build to a satisfying conclusion, the Rumble had a mediocre build to a terribly disappointing finish.
Yes, The Rock came away victorious, something everyone wanted to happen as he was right in the midst of his run as one of the biggest babyfaces of all time. But the way they got there was by having him flip Big Show over the ropes as Show was trying to toss him out with "The Great One" just barely clinging on.
As it turned out, Rock's feet actually touched the floor, something they built into the storyline in the weeks after. Actually, Rock's win didn't lead to a main event championship match at WrestleMania, at least not in the usual sense. The WWF overbooked the hell out of everything and ended up with one of the worst main events in the history of the "Grand Daddy of Them All."
And it all started with this disappointing Rumble.