WWF Rebellion 2000 marked the latest journey across the pond for the company. This was effectively a C-level PPV due to the lack of storyline developments and the absence of some familiar faces. Nevertheless, there was still entertainment as we headed towards the latter days of the Attitude Era‘s boom period.
| Company | WWF/WWE |
| Event | Rebellion 2000 |
| Series | Rebellion |
| Edition | 2 |
| Format | Pay-Per-View |
| Date | Saturday December 2 2000 |
| Venue | Sheffield Arena |
| Location | Sheffield, England |
| Attendance | 11,077 |
WWF Rebellion 2000
Mick Foley, Debra & Kurt Angle Promo
Kicking off Rebellion 2000, we had a promo rather than a match. Commissioner Mick Foley showed up in a black cab alongside his recently-appointed “Lieutenant”, Debra. After getting some signature cheap pops, Foley noted how Triple H refused to travel due to him not being allowed to compete in the main event (in reality, HHH was still recovering from some minor injuries, though it was more than a coincidence that he just happened to require a lay-off around the time of the UK trip). WWF Champion Kurt Angle came out to voice his frustration at Debra making the Fatal Four Way main event a No Disqualification and No Countout affair (isn’t that the case for all four-ways?). Needless to say, Foley and Debra’s ruling remained final, and Kurt had to figure out how he would be able to leave the UK while remaining the WWF Champion.
Triple Threat Tag Team Tables Elimination Match
The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christian vs. T&A
The first match of the show was a chance for the Brits to see The Dudleyz put someone through a table. Seriously, back in 2000, something that US fans would take for granted seemed like a real treat for the UK fans (hell, some felt like we’d seen something special just by having a promo to start the event). This was a fun opener, though it didn’t leave much of a lasting impression given the lack of stakes involved. Albert was the first to go after Edge & Christian drilled him with a double Powerbomb through one table, before Christian himself tasted a 3D to give the English fans the visual that they had waited for.
WWF Women’s Championship Match
Ivory (C) vs. Lita
The main difference between this match and their previous battle at Survivor Series was that Lita was not cut open during the course of the bout. Otherwise, this was very similar to the battle they had 13 nights earlier, right down to Steven Richards interfering, as the Right To Censor leader held Ivory’s arms to provide extra leverage for her to pin the challenger and retain the Women’s Title. I should mention at this point that Tazz, not Jerry Lawler, was the colour commentator alongside Jim Ross; the JR/Lawler vs. Tazz feud was over, though the latter remained a heel. Nevertheless, while it only made the show feel less significant (as a random fact, The King didn’t commentate on any of the four Rebellion events), this was in hindsight an audition for Tazz to become a permanent announcer in the near future.
Rebellion 2000 Continues
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Steve Blackman (C) vs. Perry Saturn
Our third bout saw Steve Blackman put his Hardcore Title on the line in a PPV singles match for the first time since SummerSlam. That particular show saw Blackman and Shane McMahon deliver some jaw-dropping spots. To say we didn’t get the same in this bout would be an understatement, but it was still a decent clash. Both men utilised weapons in a way that demonstrated logic and creativity rather than merely twatting each other with the objects for no good reason, making this an enjoyable bout. Blackman volleyed a chair into Perry Saturn‘s chrome dome to score the pin and retain his belt.
WWF European Championship Match
William Regal (C) vs. Crash Holly
Now, I noted earlier how these U.K.-only shows would be prevented from staging any noteworthy storyline happenings. This proved to be the exception, but with a few twists. William Regal was making a homecoming here, but he chose to instead run down the Sheffield audience as opposed to sucking up to them. Well, he was a heel, after all. The big head-scratcher was that he actually lost his European Title in his home country (The British Bulldog knew how that felt).
Indeed, after a teased outcome (where Regal thought he had won only for Crash Holly‘s foot to be on the bottom rope), he took a top rope dropkick from Molly Holly, and Crash pinned him to win the title. Regal attacked both Hollys afterwards and took the belt with him anyway, but it felt like a strange way to book the one Brit on the card. Adding to the confusion, William won the gold back from Crash two nights later on Raw anyway!
Backstage, Kurt Angle asked Radicalz leader Chris Benoit for some “support” in the main event, though we weren’t privy to Chris’ answer. I must mention here that on SmackDown, it had already been announced that Angle would defend his coveted prize in a six-man Hell In A Cell match at Armageddon, but since all three of his Rebellion opponents were named as participants for that bout, it was still feasible that Kurt could lose the WWE Title here.
Chyna & Billy Gunn vs. Dean Malenko & Eddie Guerrero
We then had the latest chapter of the Chyna/Billy/Eddie Guerrero saga, though looking back, this pretty much wrapped things up, at least on a big stage. Chyna and Eddie’s romance had fallen apart, and Billy Gunn was back to defend her honour, having recently defeated Latino Heat to become the Intercontinental Title. The upshot was this tag bout, which also featured Dean Malenko, who himself was being a lecherous so-and-so towards Lita around this time. This was okay, but nothing that would be worth going back to the WWE Network to rewatch. Billy hit Dean with The One And Only to score the pin, and due to Eddie being injured and Chyna entering into a new storyline with RTC shortly afterwards, that pretty much ended the aforementioned situation. Maybe this show did impact the bigger picture in the WWF after all.
Quick side note: this event coincided with the release of WWF SmackDown! 2 Know Your Role. This was a smash-hit of a PS1 game that the usual videogame mags devoted plenty of column inches to. But one publication, whose name escapes me, got so caught up in the WWF that they devoted their next issue to Rebellion. And they included a photo from this tag team bout on the cover. In other words, they covered something that had a slight relation to gaming on the front of a gaming publication. That’s how hot the WWF was in late 2000.
Rebellion 2000 Major Matches
Chris Jericho vs. Kane
Next up, we had the continuation of the Chris Jericho–Kane feud. At another time (say, around 2003), this becomes a big deal. But after everything else that was happening in the WWF during this period, this was just another mid-card rivalry. Kane had pinned Jericho back at Survivor Series, and he achieved the same result here. Kane nailed Y2J with a Chokeslam for the clean pinfall win. So, the heel Big Red Machine had won fair and square. But Jericho still attacked him with a steel chair afterwards and locked him in the Walls Of Jericho. This would keep their issue going until Armageddon eight nights later. That’s when Y2J finally defeated his larger adversary under Last Man Standing rules.
WWF World Tag Team Championship Match
Right To Censor (C) vs. The Hardy Boyz
It was time for the third of four title bouts on the show. Us Brits received plenty of title matches here. The Goodfather and Bull Buchanan put their belts on the line against the super-over Matt and Jeff Hardy. This made for a slightly awkward yet still intriguing styles clash, and something different for The Hardyz after their many previous (and ahead of their many future) clashes with Edge & Christian and The Dudley Boyz. This might have made for a logical title change than Regal vs. Crash, given that RTC would drop the titles at Armageddon anyway (albeit to E&C), but a switch was not on the cards here, and after a frenetic finishing sequence, Val Venis hit Jeff with the Money Shot as he pinned Goodfather following a Swanton Bomb, thus allowing RTC to keep hold of the Tag Team straps for a little while longer.
The Undertaker vs. Chris Benoit
So, the next match at Rebellion 2000 marked the only PPV singles match between The Undertaker and Chris Benoit. It almost didn’t happen, though, as The Radicalz assaulted The American Bad Ass backstage beforehand. Benoit thought he would win via forfeit. But then Kid Rock’s American Bad Ass theme hit (for the final time on a PPV, incidentally). This thwarted The Crippler’s plan to avoid facing The Dead Man. This was a decent scrap, though Taker wasn’t in the best physical condition at this stage. So, this was about as good as one could expect for a straight singles clash from him. That’s especially true, given the added focus on mat work. That would ultimately lead to Taker scoring the win in a slightly unorthodox manner by his standards. Indeed, Taker reversed a planned Figure-Four Leglock into a pinning combination to come away victorious.
Rebellion 2000 Main Event
WWF Championship Fatal Four Way Match
Kurt Angle (C) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. Rikishi
The main event of Rebellion 2000 capped off the night in style. It was a typically wild brawl involving the reigning WWF Champion, the biggest stars of the Attitude Era … and Rikishi. This was good stuff, and the Sheffield crowd were well into it from bell to bell. During this time, the product was so over that the audience was willing to cheer and boo anybody of value. Sure, the fans loved getting to see the likes of Chris Jericho, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz. But they were ecstatic getting to see Steve Austin and The Rock do their thing.
Sheffield fans saw a brief Rock-Austin showdown as a hint of their future WrestleMania X-Seven clash. At that point, The Radicalz, Edge and Christian made their presence felt. Cue all sorts of craziness as the two top babyfaces attempted to fight off the interference. During that time, Austin drilled Rikishi with a Stone Cold Stunner. In the midst of it all, Kurt scored an Olympic Slam on Kiesh to claim the pin and retain his WWF Championship. Yes, Kurt managed to retain after all! What a shock, eh? Post-match, Austin and Rock did a number on The Radicalz by hitting numerous finishers. But rather than battling one another again, they instead shared a beer toast. This ended the night on a feel-good note.
Summary Of WWF Rebellion 2000
WWF Rebellion 2000 served its purpose, but did little else. The main event is worth seeing, and the rest of the show had a couple of interesting moments. But this was still a clear step-down from a typical American PPV. And even from an average episode of Raw where one often saw a truly memorable angle. Nevertheless, Rebellion 2000 was fine for what it was. And the Sheffield fans left having felt that they got their money’s worth. So, in that respect, the Sky Box Office-exclusive card was a success.
