Throwback Thursday: Looking back at WWE SummerSlam 2000

Each and every Thursday I will look back at a different pay-per-view event from the past via the WWE Network. Want to see a certain event covered? Send your suggestions to @VaughnMJohnson on Twitter.

Last time, I covered the ECW Living Dangerously 1998

WWE SummerSlam 2000

Date: Aug. 27, 2000

Venue: Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena (now PNC Arena), Raleigh, N.C.

Some random notes

This was the 13th annual SummerSlam and according to Jim Ross, the event generated a $1.1 million gate.

As usual Jerry "The King" Lawler joined Ross on commentary.

Before we heard from Ross and Lawler we got an opening video package that featured WWE Hall of Famer "Classy" Freddie Blassie sitting in a chair while clips of the main event story played to classical opera music.

I guess it was supposed to symbolize all of the soap opera-like drama that surrounded the WWE championship at that point, but it still felt kind of weird to me.

With that said, let's get to the matches:

Right to Censor def. Too Cool

Until I watched this show I had forgotten how much I hated Right to Censor as a kid. They did a good job of getting heat overall, but they did a good job of garnering nuclear heat with me.

I felt the complete opposite about Too Cool. Sure, I was only 11 years old by the time this show took place, but judging by the reactions they received every night, I wasn't alone.

I think one of the forgotten acts in the tag team division of this era was Too Cool. When people talk about the tag team division, they instantly mention The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian and rightfully so.

But Too Cool was just as over as those teams during its heyday.

Rikishi went to the ring with a couple of The Goodfather's former ladies of the night. One of those ladies was future WWE Women's champion Victoria.

There wasn't much to write home about when it comes to the match itself. The funniest thing to me was that Ross called Rikishi the "Sultan of Swat" at one point in homage to Babe Ruth, but it only made me think about Rikishi's former character, The Sultan.

After Rikishi made the hot tag and cleaned house, Scotty 2 Hotty was setting up for the worm, but was met by a super kick from Richards. Richards covered Scotty to win the match for his team.

X-Pac def. Road Dogg

X-Pac and Road Dogg weren't quite enemies, as they were both still proud members of D-Generation X.

However, they were engaged in a friendly rivalry of sorts. They were just trying to see who the better man was.

The fans had made up their mind on that long before the match was over, as they were not fond of X-Pac at all. When the match was over Road Dogg was no longer a fan of X-Pac's, as X-Pac used a low blow to defeat him.

Road Dogg took exception to the low blow after the match when X-Pac attempted to let bygones by bygones and shake hands.

Instead of shaking X-Pac's hand, Road Dogg kicked him in the gut and hit him with a pump handle slam.

WWE Intercontinental championship – Chyna & Eddie Guerrero def. Val Venis & Trish Stratus

Since Stratus was not yet a full-time performer in the ring and physically no match for Chyna anyway, this was essentially a triple threat with a fourth person involved.

That is because if Venis were to be pinned, he would lose the championship to whoever pinned him. The match was mostly Guerrero and Chyna beating up Venis.

Stratus got involved at one point, but it was to merely distract Chyna, which allowed Venis to gain the upper hand.

Later in the match, Stratus was tagged in and immediately ran over to cover Guerrero, but he kicked out.

Guerrero eventually tagged in Chyna, which meant trouble for Stratus. Chyna tossed Stratus around until Venis intervened.

Guerrero eventually took care of Venis, which left Chyna alone in the ring with Stratus. Chyna made quick work of her female opponent and pinned her to win the Intercontinental championship for the second time.

Jerry Lawler def. Tazz

This story came about due to Tazz bullying Ross, which prompted Lawler to jump in and protect his broadcast colleague.

Leading up to the match, Tazz shattered a car window right Ross' face, which caused glass to get in his eye. Tazz made fun of Ross during his entrance by pretending to be blind while wearing a black cowboy hat.

The funny thing was that in the midst of this, Lawler blindsided Tazz to start the match.

The match was nothing special. The referee, who was new WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long, was eventually knocked down.

Tazz then decided to attempt to choke Lawler out, but Ross interfered by smashing a candy jar over Tazz's head, which caused Ross' hand to bleed.

Lawler took advantage of the situation by pinning Tazz to pick up the win. I guess the finish sort of protected Tazz, but the decision to have Lawler win is still sort of baffling to me.

Tazz was beating everyone in sight in ECW, including Bam Bam Bigelow. He was promoted as the toughest guy in the world. He didn't have to be the toughest guy in WWE's world, but he should have been able to defeat Lawler.

WWE Hardcore championship – Steve Blackman def. Shane McMahon

Commissioner Mick Foley suspended the Hardcore championship's "24/7 rule" before for this match, forcing Shane McMahon to defend the championship against Blackman and no one else.

Since Blackman is a bail bondsman these days, it was only fitting for him to be hunting Shane McMahon throughout the night.

That caused Shane McMahon to simply run to the ring instead of doing his usual shuffle. Shane McMahon continued to run when Blackman got into the ring to start the match.

He even tried to escape through the crowd. Blackman eventually caught up to Shane McMahon and the fight commenced.

Blackman beat Shane McMahon all the way back to the ring and began pulverizing him with weapons. That was until Shane McMahon's heavies, Test and Albert, ran down to lend him a helping hand. Shane McMahon then used a leather strap to drag Blackman to the side of the stage.

Blackman managed to fend off Test and Albert with the help of a kendo stick. This prompted Shane McMahon to go on the run again. Shane McMahon decided to climb up the entrance structure in an effort to get away from Blackman, but Blackman climbed up with him with a kendo stick in hand.

Shane McMahon got to the very top of the structure and could not climb any higher. Blackman hung on to the structure with one hand and used the kendo stick in his other hand to punish Shane McMahon.

Blackman eventually climbed right next to Shane McMahon and hit him in the back with the kendo stick three times. The third shot knocked Shane McMahon out and caused him to fall helplessly onto some staging equipment/protective padding.

Even with protective padding cushioning his fall, Shane McMahon took a massive risk by falling from more than 40 feet through the air. Despite the risk, it is part of the reason why people love him so much today.

Blackman joined Shane McMahon by jumping off the structure and driving his elbow right through his chest.

Blackman could barely move as a result of the fall, but mustered up enough energy to drape his arm over Shane McMahon's to pin him and regain the Hardcore title.

Blackman walked away from the wreckage under his own power while Shane McMahon was ushered away with the help of a stretcher.

Two-out-of-three falls – Chris Benoit def. Chris Jericho

From Jan. 31, 2000 (the night Benoit made his WWE debut) until the Royal Rumble on Jan. 21, 2001, Jericho and Benoit faced each other on pay-per-view five times.

The first time was in a triple threat match against Kurt Angle at WrestleMania. They then faced each other at Backlash and in a submission match at Judgment Day.

They eventually faced each other in a ladder match at the Royal Rumble, but on this night it was a two-out-of-three falls match.

As soon as Benoit got into the ring, he and Jericho began throwing blows.

Benoit worked Jericho's left shoulder in the early portion of the match and it eventually paid dividends, as he wrangled Jericho into the cross face and forced him to submit to win the first fall.

Benoit didn't let up, as he locked in the cross face right after he won the first fall. Jericho suffered a great deal of pain, but managed to crawl over to the ropes to break the hold.

Jericho mustered a comeback and locked in the walls of Jericho on Benoit. Benoit crawled to the ropes to break the hold, but Jericho dragged him back to the middle of the ring.

Benoit could not withstand any more pain and tapped out, evening the score at one fall apiece.

Jericho dictated the pace for the rest of the match and seemed poised to score the decisive third fall, but Benoit got a surprise inside cradle in on Jericho and used the ropes for leverage to win the match.

WWE Tag Team championship (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) – Edge & Christian def. The Hardy Boyz & The Dudley Boyz

This match came about due to each team having a signature weapon. Edge and Christian were known to use steel chairs, The Hardy Boyz were the masters of ladders and The Dudley Boyz were proficient in using tables.

It was called Tables, Ladders and Chairs, but it was it had ladder match rules, but with all of the team's signature weapons at play as well.

The Hardy Boyz are from North Carolina and were the hometown favorites. They didn't waste any time getting to the ring, however, as they ran down and started the match hot.

Things never really simmered down until it was over. Since so much happened, I'll just list some of the crazier moments in the match:

1. Bubba Ray Dudley did a Bubba bomb to Christian off a ladder.

2. Edge pushed Jeff Hardy off a ladder, causing a domino effect that had Jeff Hardy fall into another ladder that catapulted into Matt Hardy's face.

3. The Dudley Boyz sent Christian through a table courtesy of the 3-D. They then constructed four tables stacked on top of each other outside of the ring.

4. The Hardy Boyz took control by doing a pair of leg drops to Edge from the top of a ladder. Jeff Hardy put some extra stank on his by leapfrogging over the ladder.

5. Jeff Hardy landed relatively safely on that maneuver, but he did not on his next death-defying leap, as he attempted a swanton bomb from the top of another ladder.

However, Jeff Hardy went crashing through a pair of tables when Bubba Ray Dudley moved out of the way.

6. Bubba Ray Dudley escaped that time, but was unable to escape when Edge and Christian tipped over a ladder he was climbing, which sent him flying through the four tables he helped construct earlier in the match.

7. Edge and Christian attempted to climb up the ladder and grab the titles, but Lita ran to the ring and tipped the ladder over.

8. Matt Hardy looked to capitalize on Lita's assist by climbing up the ladder, but D-Von Dudley tipped his ladder over, which sent him flying out of the ring and through two other tables at ringside.

9. While Lita was checking on her fallen boyfriend, Edge speared her. It looked like the back of her head may have clipped a ladder in the process.

10. D-Von Dudley and Jeff Hardy climbed up the ladder and fought over the titles, but the ladder was removed from beneath them by Edge.

11. D-Von fell to the mat after being kicked by Jeff Hardy.

12. Jeff Hardy hung on, but Edge and Christian knocked him down with the help of a ladder. Edge and Christian then climbed up and grabbed the titles to remain champions.

This set the bar very high for ladder matches to follow. Edge has even admitted that the three times might have set the bar too high.

Regardless, the matches saw sequel at WrestleMania the next year and is now an annual event on WWE's pay-per-view calendar.

Stinkface match – The Kat def. Terri

This was nothing. At least Al Snow and Perry Saturn got a payday out of this.

The Undertaker vs. Kane ended in a no contest

This was yet another chapter in the on again, off again sibling rivalry between The Undertaker and Kane.

This was one of the forgotten chapters.

One thing I noticed right away was that this might have been the first time Kane went completely sleeveless. Instead of his traditional attire, Kane made a pretty drastic change and wore a tank top of sorts with flames on it.

The Undertaker's entire strategy was to rip Kane's mask off. He tore it in half at one point, which made it possible to see that Kane was bleeding after The Undertaker hit him in the head with steel stairs.

The Undertaker may not have succeeded at retrieving that mask the first time, but tried again and eventually got it off.

With his mask in his brother's hands, Kane immediately retreated out of the arena. Since the match never technically started, it was ruled a no contest.

WWE championship – The Rock def. Kurt Angle & Triple H

This was a three-way match for the most prestigious championship in wrestling, but the story was really about the love triangle of sorts between Triple H, his wife Stephanie McMahon and Angle.

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were WWE's power couple, but Angle apparently wanted to wreck that happy home and push up on Stephanie McMahon.

That obviously didn't sit well with Triple H and the feud soap opera commenced from there.

For Angle, this was only his second WWE championship match. His first came on the July 25, 2000 edition of Smackdown against The Rock, according to Cagematch.net. Angle won the match, but did so by disqualification.

Surprisingly, The Rock, who walked into this event as the WWE champion, was pretty much an afterthought in all of this. He was just kind of there.

The fight even started before The Rock got to the ring. Angle cut a scathing promo before the match about how he was a better man for Stephanie McMahon than Triple H was.

Triple H heard that and immediately marched to the ring to rebut Angle with his fists. Angle and Triple H fought their way outside of the ring and made their way over to the announce tables.

Triple H tore a part the Spanish announce table and climbed up with Angle. Triple H attempted to drive Angle through the table with the pedigree, but the table collapsed under their weight.

Angle's face went straight into the ground with the weight Triple H's upper body on top of it. You could see Triple H checking on Angle to see if he was OK. Once Angle tried to get back to his feet, it was clear that the lights were on, but no one was home.

It wasn't known at the moment, but Angle had suffered a serious concussion. Despite that, he still finished the match.

Triple H walked over to the ring and grabbed a sledgehammer from underneath it. Before he could use it on Angle, The Rock's music finally hit and the champion marched to the ring.

With The Rock finally in the ring, the match could finally officially begin. The Rock and Triple H went at it while Angle was attempting to gather his bearings outside of the ring. Medical personnel tended to him at ringside by sitting him in a chair and talking to him.

If this had happened today, Angle would have been immediately removed from the match. Angle was eventually placed on a stretcher, but that was probably part of the story already.

They attempted to wheel him out of the arena, but Triple H stopped them and wheeled Angle back down to the ring. You could tell there was some hesitation on Triple H's part.

The Rock re-joined the fray and fought Triple H while Angle remained on the stretcher.

Stephanie McMahon eventually came out to check on Angle, as the medical personnel finally got Angle out of the arena.

Stephanie McMahon didn't leave with Angle. She stayed at ringside to help Triple H. She tried to help her husband by hitting The Rock in the head with the WWE championship, but she mistakenly hit Triple H when The Rock ducked out of the way.

Triple H managed to recover and order his wife to go backstage. He then picked up a sledgehammer, hit The Rock in the ribs with it and began working on the champion's midsection.

The Rock eventually fought back and hit Triple H with a super-plex. Meanwhile, Angle had apparently regained consciousness and was able to answer Stephanie McMahon's pleas to help Triple H.

Stephanie McMahon literally pulled Angle down to the ring to help her husband.

Although Angle was conscious enough to walk, it didn't mean he had any idea of what he was doing. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H apparently had to walk him through the rest of the match, including telling him to grab The Rock's foot, which helped Triple H hit the champion with the pedigree.

When Triple H went for the cover, Angle dragged him out of the ring and tossed him into the steel steps. He then hopped into the ring and covered The Rock, but the champion kicked out.

The Rock eventually hit Angle with the Rock bottom, but Triple H pulled him out of the ring before he could win the match.

Triple H then asked Stephanie McMahon to get him the hammer. She slid it into the ring, but Angle got his hands on it. Stephanie McMahon tried to rectify the situation by jumping into the ring, but that only ended up getting her inadvertently punched in the face by her husband, Triple H.

Angle still had the sledgehammer, however, and hit Triple H right in the head with it. Angle attempted to pin Triple H, but The Rock broke it up and tossed Angle out of the ring.

The Rock then hit the people's elbow on Triple H and pinned him to retain the WWE championship.

After the match, Angle dragged Stephanie McMahon's motionless body out of the ring and carried her to the back in a scene reminiscent to Hulk Hogan carrying Miss Elizabeth backstage in the 1980s.