WWF InsurreXtion 2000 was the latest of the UK-only PPV events that the company would present twice a year on Sky Box Office. To us British fans, it was a big deal to see the WWF stars in action on a PPV event of our own, especially since this was during a time when the WWF was not staging house show events on the dates surrounding the supershows, presumably due to the high demand for live events back in the United States (meaning that these cards were the only opportunity to watch the WWF live). In the bigger picture, however, they were largely insignificant; besides the occasional title change (which, besides Shawn Michaels‘ European Title reign in 1997, would usually not last very long at all before the original champion regained their belt), it was very rare that anything happened which would impact the on-screen WWF storylines whatsoever.
Entertaining
However, that doesn’t mean that these cards wouldn’t be entertaining, nor that there couldn’t be some enjoyable matches on the PPV cards. What’s more, because of their twice-annual nature, these events could act as a nice snapshot of where things were at within the WWF at the time. Take InsurreXtion 2000, for example: at this point, the WWF was as hot as it had ever been and would ever be, and even with some top names on the shelf (i.e. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker, though vignettes had begun for the latter to make his return), the WWF roster was packed with young blood, colourful characters and major stars. So, let’s take a look at what happened at the first of what would be four InsurreXtion shows.
| Company | WWF/WWE |
| Event | InsurreXtion 2000 |
| Series | InsurreXtion |
| Edition | 1 |
| Format | Pay-Per-View |
| Date | Saturday May 6 2000 |
| Venue | Earl’s Court |
| Location | London, England |
| Attendance | 17,000 |
WWF InsurreXtion 2000
Too Cool vs. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn
Kicking off InsurreXtion 2000, we had Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty Too Hotty taking on two of the four Radicalz. Times changed after the previous UK PPV event Rebellion 1999 seven months earlier. The former Brian Christopher and Scott Taylor had totally transformed their images. The once-annoying pests became beloved stars. Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn, meanwhile, came from WCW with a mostly straight-laced approach. This provided a nice contrast to the over-the-top dancers. Here, the fans loved seeing Too Cool do their thing. And they popped when the babyfaces scored the victory after Grandmaster caught Saturn with the Hip Hop Drop. Post-match, we had some dissension within the Radicalz ranks as Malenko and Saturn began exchanging punches.
Before the next match, Vince McMahon came out to discuss how he assumed the Brits would be happy for him to be disappointed about The Rock becoming WWF Champion at Backlash. Blaming his wife Linda, recently-fired referee Earl Hebner and Stone Cold Steve Austin for that “indignity”, he vowed that he had a plan, which would culminate in a new WWF Champion being crowned in the main event.
Kane vs. Bull Buchanan
Even though Bull Buchanan was rising up the ranks at this point, this still seemed like a mismatch. Kane hadn’t appeared much on Raw after he was attacked by Buchanan and Big Boss Man the night after WM 2000, and he wouldn’t properly return to television for a few more weeks. But he did pop up here, and he made short work of Bull by dropping him with a Chokeslam.
Bradshaw vs. Road Dogg
In our third match, one half of The APA battled one member of DX. Although it was solely Bradshaw in action, Faarooq was present as well, and after they chased Road Dogg and Tori (a forgotten member of DX during this period), Faarooq was relieved of his planned commentary duties after mere moments. The rest of this match was typical TV stuff, meaning that it wasn’t anything bad, but it also wasn’t anything memorable. Dogg pinned the future JBL with a Pump Handle Slam.
Arm Wrestling Match
The Kat vs. Terri Runnels
It’s not an exaggeration to say that this was the most well-received contest so far. Emcee Jerry Lawler asked the London crowd “Are you ready for some puppies and kittens?” Since this was the Attitude Era, you should be able to figure out what The King was referring to. With Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah present in the corners of the same women that they managed at WrestleMania, Kat and Terri (both of whom wore bikinis for this occasion for no reason). Kat got the win, but then Terri pulled down the strap of her bikini top, which led Kat to cover up.
However, Miss Kitty was an exhibitionist, and so she didn’t mind briefly exposing her boobs to the live audience, which got the expected big pop. It may not be very PC to say in 2020, but back in 2000, this was a legitimate reason why many male fans watched the WWF, and because the UK was a little more liberal than the US, this was not the only time that a female performer showed off her breasts to a live crowd on one of these events.
InsurreXtion 2000 Continues
Rikishi & Big Show vs. The Dudley Boyz
During this time, Big Show was going through an impressionist phase, and on this night, he was Showkishi, portraying his tag team partner. This seems like a minor dream team due to their size, yet this was the only time that the two gargantuan performers joined forces on a fairly big stage. Their opponents, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von, had only turned babyface, though they slightly slithered back into their heel roles for this forgettable contest. After some interference from Edge & Christian (who themselves were in the midst of completing a heel turn), Show Chokeslammed Buh Buh Ray for the win.
Afterwards, the two giants celebrated with Too Cool. Then, Grandmaster and Scotty convinced The Dudleyz to join in for a six-man dance-off. A similar act would provoke ironic cheers nowadays (look at Breezango for instance). But Too Cool and Rikishi‘s penchant for dancing got major reactions back then. This is clear from the post-match scenes here.
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit
This marked the first time that Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit clashed in singles action on PPV. And it certainly wasn’t the last time. Both were heels, so it was up to the crowd to determine who their favourite was. And while Angle insulted the audience as only he could, he still received more cheers than The Crippler. Benoit had lost the IC Title to Chris Jericho on SmackDown, only to regain it on Raw. Meanwhile, reigning Hardcore Champion Crash Holly commentated for some reason. Angle and Benoit delivered a watchable yet heatless battle, which ended after Angle struck an Olympic Slam. Of course, they had far better matches in 2001, 2002 and 2003. But this was still one of the better bouts of the night.
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Crash Holly (C) vs. The British Bulldog
So, Crash hadn’t yet left ringside. Therefore, the British Bulldog made a surprise appearance, looking to take advantage of the 24/7 rule. Crash moaned that no Englishman was available to face him for his battered belt. But Davey Boy Smith turned up for the first time in months to, erm, satisfy Crash. This didn’t last too long, which was probably for the best because Bulldog barely had anything left to give at this point due to injuries. Bulldog scored the pinfall win with the Running Powerslam in what was his last hurrah. Bulldog lost the title within a few weeks. And Davey Boy sadly passed away in May 2000. At least his final major UK appearance was a happy one for the most famous English wrestler ever.
InsurreXtion 2000 Major Matches
WWF World Tag Team Championship Match
Edge & Christian (C) vs. The Hardy Boyz
Next up, we had the latest chapter in the ongoing saga involving Edge, Christian, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy. Beforehand, we saw footage of E&C greeting the fans outside the arena earlier in the day. They charged kids for autographs and stood in front of an adult during a (paid) photograph, which was hilarious. The match itself was pretty good. Though it’s only a sample of their output on an American PPV event.
Edge caused a DQ by striking both Jeff and Matt with the ring bell. This saved Christian, who suffered a Twist Of Fate/Swanton Bomb combo. But then The Dudleyz to run back into the ring to get revenge from earlier on. Cue a 3D for Christian and a table-assisted Buh Buh Bomb for Edge. This was a slightly different table to the usual WWF versions, presumably for overseas reasons.
WWF European Championship Match
Eddie Guerrero (C) vs. Chris Jericho
The last match before the main event saw Latino Heat and Y2J have an overdue European Title rematch. This followed their post-WM 2000 battle where Chyna betrayed Jericho to help Guerrero capture the belt. A pre-match coin toss decided that it would be Eddie’s title, not Jericho’s, on the line here. This was the best wrestling match of the show. And it was strangely the only time that these two went one-on-one on a WWF PPV.
It would have been fun to see what these two could have done on a WWE PPV in 2003 when Guerrero was a rising star babyface and Jericho was a total heel, or even in the spring of 2005 after Eddie became a psychotic heel and Chris was channelling his rock-star personality traits more than ever before. For those seeking a major Guerrero vs. Jericho clash in a WWF/WWE ring, though, this will have to suffice. In the end, Eddie retained. But only after he cheated by walloping Y2J with his title belt.
InsurreXtion 2000 Main Event
WWF Championship Triple Threat Match
The Rock (C) vs. Triple H vs. Shane McMahon
Prior to the match, The Rock cut a typically charismatic promo. He acknowledged the odds he was facing (even if it had been teased that HHH and Shane, normally allies, might not get along due to each man’s desire to become the new WWF Champion), but vowed to retain the gold nonetheless. This was an enjoyable main event, though a step down from when Rock defeated Triple H at Backlash. There was no way that this three-way clash could compare to that titanic showdown, even with Shane McMahon as a third participant. In fact, there was even a better high-spot involving the three InsurreXtion headliners at Backlash (when Rock struck both men with a double Rock Bottom through an announcer’s table) than anything we got to see here.
Nevertheless, this was still a fun way to cap off the night. As was the trend during this period, there was a lot of outside interference. The guilty parties were Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Gerald Brisco. They each tried to take over officiating duties from the downed referee. Between the craziness and some close near-falls, Rock drilled Vince with a Rock Bottom. The WWF Champion then levelled Shane with a “spine to the pine” (a.k.a. a spinebuster). That led to the most electrifying move in sports entertainment, the People’s Elbow.
Earl Hebner, who had suddenly become a major focus of storylines (and nothing relating to Montreal either), ran in to make the three-count. Rock successfully retained, thus ensuring that the London fans could leave Earl’s Court with smiles on their faces. Jim Ross shouted as Rock celebrated, “Do you believe in miracles?” Come on JR, it would have been more of a miracle if Rock hadn’t won here.
Summary Of WWF InsurreXtion 2000
Although there is very little worth seeing, WWF InsurreXtion 2000 is still an entertaining show. Consider it a hybrid between an episode of Raw and a typical PPV, albeit with fewer major developments. We have a rowdy atmosphere, a super-over roster, and a handful of exciting matches. So, InsurreXtion 2000 is a worthwhile viewing experience nonetheless.
