| King of the Ring | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | ||
| Date | June 25, 2000 | ||
| City | Boston, Massachusetts | ||
| Venue | Fleet Center | ||
| Attendance | 17,651[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 475,000[2] | ||
| Tagline | Coronation of a King | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| King of the Ring event chronology | |||
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| King of the Ring tournament chronology | |||
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The 2000King of the Ring was the eighth annualKing of the Ringprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWE) that featured the 14th annualKing of the Ring tournament. It took place on June 25, 2000, at theFleet Center inBoston, Massachusetts. Themain event was asix-man tag team match between the McMahon-Helmsley Faction (Triple H,Vince, andShane McMahon) and the team ofThe Rock andThe Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker andKane). Triple H'sWWF Championship was defended in the match. Rockpinned Vince to win the title. Theundercard featured the 2000 King of the Ring tournament, which was won byKurt Angle. The 2000 edition was the largest King of the Ring tournament, with 32 competitors taking part.
These other matches featured on the undercard; including athree-on-two HandicapTablesDumpster match betweenThe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) andD-Generation X (Road Dogg,X-Pac, andTori), aHardcoreEvening Gown match for theWWF Hardcore Championship between championPat Patterson and challengerGerald Brisco and aFour corners elimination match for theWWF Tag Team Championship between championsToo Cool (Grand Master Sexay andScotty 2 Hotty) and the challenger teams ofEdge and Christian,The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy) andT & A (Test andAlbert).
King of the Ring was apay-per-view (PPV) event held annually in June by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWE) since 1993.[3] The PPV featured theKing of the Ring tournament, asingle-elimination tournament that was established in 1985 and held annually until 1991, with the exception of 1990; these early tournaments were held as special non-televisedhouse shows. The winner of the tournament was crowned "King of the Ring."[4] Unlike the non-televised events, the PPV did not feature all of the tournament's matches. Instead, several of the qualifying matches preceded the event with the final few matches then taking place at the pay-per-view. There were also other matches that took place at the event as it was a traditional three-hour pay-per-view. Considered as one of the WWF's "Big Five" PPVs, along with theRoyal Rumble,WrestleMania,SummerSlam, andSurvivor Series, the company's five biggest shows of the year,[5] the 2000 event was the eighth King of the Ring PPV and 14th tournament overall. It was held on June 25, 2000 at theFleet Center inBoston, Massachusetts.[6][7][8]
King of the Ring featuredprofessional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds,plots, andstorylines that were played out onRaw is War andSmackDown!—World Wrestling Federation's television programs. Wrestlers portrayed aheel or aface as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[9]
The pay-per-view event featured the annual King of the Ringsingle elimination bracket tournament. At 32 participants, this year's tournament had the biggest field in the tournament's history. The tournament hasn't had a field as large since. The qualification matches for the tournament began on the May 29, 2000, episode ofRaw is War, withRikishi andBull Buchanan defeatingShane McMahon andSteve Blackman respectively.[7][10] The qualification matches continued on the June 1 episode ofSmackDown, asKurt Angle defeatedBradshaw andCrash Holly defeatedAlbert.[7][11] On the June 4 episode ofSunday Night Heat,Chyna andVal Venis defeatedThe Godfather andAl Snow in respective matches to qualify for the tournament.[7][12] On the June 5 episode ofRaw is War,WWF Intercontinental ChampionChris Benoit andHardcore Holly qualified by defeatingRoad Dogg andFaarooq respectively.[7][13] On the June 8 episode ofSmackDown!,Chris Jericho defeatedTest andWWF European ChampionEddie Guerrero defeatedMatt Hardy to qualify for the King of the Ring tournament.[7][14] On the June 11 episode ofSunday Night Heat,Bubba Ray Dudley andPerry Saturn defeatedBig Bossman andD-Von Dudley in respective matches to qualify for the tournament.[7][15] On the June 12 episode ofRaw is War,X-Pac qualified for the tournament by defeatingDean Malenko andJeff Hardy qualified by defeatingChristian.[7][16] The qualification matches for the tournament ended on the June 15 episode ofSmackDown!, asEdge defeatedone half of theWWF Tag Team ChampionsGrand Master Sexay and the other half of the WWF Tag Team ChampionsScotty 2 Hotty defeatedD-Lo Brown.[7][17] On the June 18 episode ofSunday Night Heat, the tournament started as Bull Buchanan defeated Perry Saturn and Val Venis defeated Jeff Hardy.[7][18] On the June 19 episode ofRaw is War, the tournament matches continued as Kurt Angle defeated Bubba Ray Dudley, Chris Benoit defeated X-Pac, Eddie Guerrero defeated Chyna, Chris Jericho defeated Edge, Rikishi defeated Scotty 2 Hotty and Crash Holly defeated Hardcore Holly.[7][19]
The mainrivalry heading into the event was between the McMahon-Helmsley Faction (Triple H,Vince McMahon andShane McMahon) and the team ofThe Rock andThe Brothers of Destruction (Kane andThe Undertaker). AtJudgment Day, The Undertaker returned to the WWF with a new bikergimmick after an eight-month groin injury and attacked Triple H during anIron Man match between The Rock and Triple H for theWWF Championship. As a result, The Rock was disqualified and Triple H won the match 6–5, thus becoming the WWF Champion.[20] On the June 1 episode ofSmackDown!, The Rock, Kane and The Undertaker all won qualifying matches to qualify for a WWF Championship title shot at King of the Ring.[11] On the June 12 episode ofRaw is War, WWFCEOLinda McMahon announced that at King of the Ring, The Rock, Kane and The Undertaker would team up to wrestle Triple H, Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon in asix-man tag team match.[16] On the June 15 episode ofSmackDown!, a stipulation was added into the match that if Triple H's team won, Triple H would defend the title against the winner of the King of the Ring tournament atFully Loaded, but if any person from The Rock's team got the pinfall, that person would receive a title shot instead.[17] On the June 19 episode ofRaw is War, the stipulation was tweaked so that if any member of The Rock's team got the pinfall at King of the Ring, that person would become the new WWF Champion.[19]
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Another major rivalry heading into the event was betweenToo Cool (Grand Master Sexay andScotty 2 Hotty),Edge and Christian,The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy) andT & A (Test andAlbert) over theWWF Tag Team Championship. On the May 29 episode ofRaw is War, Too Cool defeated Edge and Christian to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.[10] Edge and Christian invoked their rematch clause for the titles. T & A and the Hardy Boyz were also feuding at the time,[10][17] and were added into the tag title match, making the match aFour corners elimination match at King of the Ring.
On the June 19 episode ofRaw is War,Pat Patterson andGerald Brisco interfered in a King of the Ring tournament match betweenWWF Hardcore Champion Crash Holly and Hardcore Holly. Hardcore was disqualified after Brisco hit Crash twice with a2x4 and, thanks to the24/7 rule, Brisco pinned Crash to win the Hardcore Championship. After returning backstage, Patterson hit Brisco in the head with a champagne bottle, and pinned him to win the Hardcore Championship.[19] On the June 22 episode ofSmackDown!, WWF Chairman Vince McMahon announced that Patterson would defend the title against Brisco in aHardcoreEvening Gown match at King of the Ring.[21]
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At Judgment Day,D-Generation X (Road Dogg andX-Pac) defeatedthe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) in aDouble Tables match.[22] On the June 19 episode ofRaw is War, the Dudleyz cost X-Pac a King of the Ring tournament match against WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit. As a result, DX andTori demanded a match against the Dudleyz. WWF Chairman Vince McMahon announced that at King of the Ring, DX and Tori would wrestle the Dudley Boyz in aHandicap TablesDumpster match at King of the Ring.[19]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Englishcommentators | Jim Ross |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Hugo Savinovich | |
| Interviewers | Michael Cole |
| Jonathan Coachman | |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| Earl Hebner | |
| Jim Korderas | |
| Tim White | |
| Theodore Long | |
| Chad Patton | |
| Jack Doan |
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The first match that aired live on pay-per-view was a King of the Ring tournament quarter-final match between Rikishi andChris Benoit. Rikishi dominated most of the match until Benoit started using submission maneuvers. He locked in theCrippler Crossface on Rikishi, who caught hold of the ropes. Benoit released the hold but hit Rikishi with a chair and was disqualified, allowing Rikishi to advance to the semi-finals. However, Benoit continued to attack Rikishi with the chair and applied another Crippler Crossface on Rikishi, injuring his shoulder.
The next match in the quarter-final round was betweenEddie Guerrero andVal Venis. Guerrero and Venis traded momentum back and forth during the match. In the closing moments of the match, Venis tried to hit a "Money Shot" (diving splash) on Guerrero but Guerrero blocked the move. Venis' valetTrish Stratus then jumped on the apron, prompting Guerrero's valetChyna to prevent Stratus from interfering. Venis took advantage and scored the pinfall following afisherman's suplex.[7][23]
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The quarter-final round continued pittingBull Buchanan againstCrash Holly. Buchanan dominated most of the match and due to his bigger size, Buchananeasily performed his moves on Holly. Buchanan tried to finish Holly with ascissors kick, but Holly ducked the move and pinned Buchanan with aroll-up to win the match.
The final match in the quarter-final round was betweenKurt Angle andChris Jericho. Jericho dominated the early part of the match until Angle got the momentum. Angle continued to perform his moves on Jericho until Jericho regained momentum. In the closing moments of the match, Angle attempted to hit theAngle Slam on Jericho, but Jericho avoided the move and locked Angle in the Walls of Jericho. TheWWF Women's ChampionStephanie McMahon then interfered in the match and distracted the referee. Angle tapped out to theWalls of Jericho but the referee was distracted. Jericho released the hold and knocked out the referee. Stephanie tried to hit Jericho with the Women's Championship belt but Jericho ducked and Angle was hit instead. Jericho then kissed Stephanie but Angle got the advantage and hit an Angle Slam on Jericho for the victory.[7][23]
Next was afour corners elimination match for theWWF Tag Team Championship as the championsToo Cool (Grand Master Sexay andScotty 2 Hotty) defended the titles againstEdge and Christian, theHardy Boyz (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy) andT & A (Test andAlbert). T & A was the first team to get eliminated when Matt Hardy pinned Test following Jeff's execution of theSwanton Bomb. The match went back and forth until Christian eliminated the Hardy Boyz by pinning Matt after hitting him with anImpaler. The match was left between Too Cool and the team of Edge and Christian. Too Cool dominated the challengers and seemed to have the match won when Sexay hit Edge with a "Hip-Hop Drop" (diving leg drop) and tried to pin Edge but there was no referee present. Christian took advantage and hit Sexay with a tag team championship title belt, allowing Edge to pin Sexay to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.[23]
After the tag team title match ended, the semi-final round of the King of the Ring tournament took place with Rikishi taking on Val Venis. Venis dominated the match by working on Rikishi's shoulder that was injured during Rikishi's match against Chris Benoit earlier in the night. Venis further injured Rikishi's arm and continued to damage the arm until Rikishi performed abelly-to-belly suplex on Venis, pinning him for the victory. After the match, Venis' valet Trish Stratus tried to attack Rikishi, but Rikishi countered her attacks. Venis low blowed Rikishi and attacked his injured arm and shoulder with a chair before leaving.
The next match in the semi-final was between Kurt Angle and Crash Holly. Angle dominated the match and pinned Holly after an Angle Slam to advance to the final round.[7][23]
The seventh match of the event was ahardcoreevening gown match for theWWF Hardcore Championship between championPat Patterson and challengerGerald Brisco. Brisco brought a2x4 to the ring while Patterson brought ateddy bear to the ring. Patterson suggested that he would lay down for Brisco so that Brisco could easily pin him for the title. Brisco agreed, but Patterson started attacking Brisco. Brisco performed aBronco Buster on Patterson in the corner. Crash Holly then interfered in the match and attacked Brisco with atrash can. Holly used the24/7 rule and pinned Patterson to win the Hardcore Championship. As a result, the match resulted in a no contest.[23][24]
The eighth match was a three-on-twohandicaptablesdumpster match pitting theDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) againstD-Generation X (Road Dogg,X-Pac, andTori). The match started in the ring, but the action would quickly move outside the ring. The Dudleyz dominated most of the match by knocking out Road Dogg through a table, eliminating him from the match. X-Pac battled Bubba Ray with some quick moves, but D-Vonsuplexed X-Pac over the top rope onto the table. Tori hid in the dumpster. The Dudley Boyz began chasing Tori until DX took advantage by attacking the Dudley Boyz with steel chairs. The Dudley Boyz were then shoved into the dumpster and Tori closed the lids of the dumpster. As a result, DX and Tori won the match. After the match, the Dudley Boyz came out of the dumpster and pulled Tori out of the dumpster. DX tried to save Tori, but the Dudley Boyz hit the "3-D" on X-Pac. Road Dogg was also hit with a 3-D. D-Von brought a table and set it in the ring. Bubba Ray caught Tori andpowerbombed her through the table.[23]
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Next was the final match of the 2000 King of the Ring tournament pitting Kurt Angle against Rikishi. Rikishi dominated most of the match by using his power moves against Angle. Angle took advantage of Rikishi's injuries and focused on his injured arm and shoulder. Angle slammed Rikishi into the steel steps outside the ring and threw Rikishi into the ring. As Angle returned to the ring, Rikishi hit Angle with aSamoan drop, aneckbreaker and aStink Face but was unable to defeat Angle. Angle performed an Angle Slam on Rikishi but got anear-fall. Rikishi hit Angle with asavate kick and climbed to the top rope. Angle attacked Rikishi and hit him with asuper belly-to-belly suplex to win the 2000 King of the Ring tournament.[7][23]
Themain event was asix-man tag team match between the McMahon-Helmsley Faction (Triple H,Vince McMahon andShane McMahon) and the team ofThe Rock,Kane, andThe Undertaker for Triple H'sWWF Championship. The stipulation was that if a member of The Rock's team got the pinfall at the end of the match, regardless of who it was, that man would be the WWF Champion. If Triple H's team won, then the winner of the King of The Ring tournament (Kurt Angle) would receive a title shot atFully Loaded in July. The match went back and forth with Rock's team working on Shane in the beginning. Triple H would later tag in and would battle all the three opponents. The match continued with both teams battling on each other. In the closing moments of the match, Rock tried to hit Triple H with aPeople's Elbow, but Kane attacked Rock. Kane then hit Triple H with aTombstone Piledriver and tried to pin him, but Undertaker attacked Kane with a chair. Undertaker thenchokeslammed Shanefrom the top rope through the announce table. In the ring, Vince tried to take advantage of a prone Rock with his own version of the People's Elbow, but The Rock countered with aRock Bottom and got the pinfall to become WWF Champion for the fifth time.[23]
The night after King of the Ring, onRaw Is War, WWF Spokesman, and former commissioner, Shawn Michaels, introducedMick Foley as the new commissioner of the World Wrestling Federation, while Vince McMahon took a leave to become a "genetic jackhammer", disbanding the McMahon-Helmsley Faction. Triple H demanded to Foley for another shot at the WWF Championship, arguing that he was never, technically, pinned during the match at King of the Ring. Kurt Angle came out and requested that he would be the new contender since he'd won the King of the Ring tournament. As a result, Foley issued a triple threat match with Triple H, Kurt Angle, and The Rock to determine the #1 contender to Rock's WWF Title that night. The Rock won, therefore neither Triple H or Angle would get a title shot. Instead, Shane McMahon, who had also left the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, helped Chris Benoit become the #1 contender. Benoit would receive a WWF Championship match with The Rock at Fully Loaded, but would not win.
By winning the King of the Ring tournament,Kurt Angle's main eventpush started. After getting his firstWWF Championship title shot in aTriple Threat match againstThe Rock andTriple H atSummerSlam, Angle began allying himself with Triple H, though it quickly became a feud between the two, as Kurt became infatuated with Stephanie. The feud culminated in a match atUnforgiven, which Triple H won. Kurt Angle then defeated Rock for hisfirst of four WWF Championships atNo Mercy.[25][26]
At King of the Ring,Val Venis injured theWWF Intercontinental Champion Rikishi, starting arivalry between the two. On the July 6 episode ofSmackDown!, Rikishi lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship to Venis afterT & A (Test andAlbert) interfered and thenTazz attacked Rikishi with a television camera.[27] AtFully Loaded, Venis defeated Rikishi in asteel cage match to retain the title.[28]
After King of the Ring,Team Xtreme (The Hardy Boyz andLita) continued to feud with T & A andTrish Stratus. At Fully Loaded, Team Xtreme defeated T & A and Stratus in amixed tag team match when Lita pinned Stratus after amoonsault.[28]
In 2018, Kevin Pantoja of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 2.5 [Very Bad], stating, "A rough show. 2000 had so many great Pay-Per-Views, but this one just missed the mark in so many ways. The booking was strange, with the wrong guys going over on several occasions. Why put DX over the Dudleys? Why have Benoit and Eddie go out so quickly in the tournament? The show features one of the worst matches ever in Patterson/Brisco and only two of the eleven matches crack three stars. Hell, only four of the eleven reached two stars. It might seem harsh, but I just didn’t enjoy this. It would’ve fit in as aWCW 2000 PPV."[29]
| Fatal four-way match eliminations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elimination no. | Wrestler | Team | Eliminated by | Elimination move | Time |
| 1 | Test | T & A | Matt Hardy | Pinned after a Swanton Bomb byJeff Hardy | 3:40 |
| 2 | Matt Hardy | The Hardy Boyz | Christian | Pinned after Killswitch | 7:55 |
| 3 | Grand Master Sexay | Too Cool | Edge | Pinned after Christian hit Sexay with one of the title belts | 14:11 |
The tournament took place between May 29 and June 25, 2000.
| Round of 32 (TV) | Round of 16 (TV) | Quarterfinals (PPV) | Semifinals (PPV) | Final (PPV) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bradshaw | 2:46 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bubba Ray Dudley | 4:42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bubba Ray Dudley | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Big Boss Man | 3:26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Jericho | 9:50 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Jericho | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test | 4:15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Jericho | Sub | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Edge | 5:29 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Edge | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Master Sexay | 5:09 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crash Holly | 3:58 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crash Holly | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albert | 1:24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crash Holly | DQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hardcore Holly | 4:17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hardcore Holly | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Faarooq | 3:04 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crash Holly | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bull Buchanan | 4:07 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bull Buchanan | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Steve Blackman | 3:22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bull Buchanan | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Perry Saturn | 2:02 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Perry Saturn | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| D-Von Dudley | 4:43 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rikishi | 5:56 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rikishi | DQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shane McMahon | 2:35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rikishi | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scotty 2 Hotty | 2:53 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scotty 2 Hotty | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| D'Lo Brown | 3:39 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rikishi | DQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Benoit | 3:25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Benoit | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Road Dogg | 1:43 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Benoit | Sub | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| X-Pac | 4:53 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| X-Pac | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dean Malenko | 2:00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rikishi | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Val Venis | 3:15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Val Venis | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Al Snow | 4:30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Val Venis | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy | 3:56 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Christian | 1:58 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Val Venis | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eddie Guerrero | 8:04 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eddie Guerrero | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Matt Hardy | 4:10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eddie Guerrero | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chyna | 2:25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chyna | Pin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Godfather | 1:45 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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