As I look at the Main Event of WrestleMania 2000, I see what could have and should have been. You had the two biggest stars in WWF/E at that time who were not named Stone Cold Steve Austin. Those stars were The Rock and Triple H. Leading up to this, Rock and Hunter already had a well built rivalry.
Background:
By the Summer of 1999, Stone Cold was on the shelf after an injury. As a result, The Rock took his spot as the most popular star in the WWF/E. Things were coming together even more for Rocky. He became an even bigger ratings magnet in the eyes of the media. The Rock and Sock Connection connected very well with the fans, as the "This is Your Life" segment broke ratings records. On the other hand, Triple H made his emergence as the top villain in the company. That summer, The Game would win his first WWF Championship. The Great One and The Cerebral Assassin would go blow for blow over the title.
At the start of 2000, Hunter's feud with Cactus Jack reached its peak as he defeated him at consecutive PPV's (Royal Rumble & No Way Out). The Rock would win the Rumble that year, by last eliminating the Big Show. It seemed as though the road would be crystal clear for The Rock and Triple H to clash at the first WrestleMania of the New Millenium "WM 2000". This is otherwise known as WrestleMania 16. Naturally, they already had a well-built rivalry from their time as Rocky Maivia/Hunter Hearst Helmsley, to the DX vs. NOD battles to their emergence in the main events. Their careers followed each other closely. It seemed like destiny would take place. Unfortunately, that never happened. Instead, we got this.
WM 2000 Main Event:
Vince McMahon & co., had so much success dominating WCW in the Monday Night Wars, that they got complacent for this show. They clearly had a really bad hangover following the success of Royal Rumble 2000 and No Way Out. Instead of making the biggest show of the year surpass those events, they just threw up the biggest pile of vomit known as WrestleMania 2000. The show was filled with mixed tag matches, triple threats and fatal four ways. It was a giant cluster from start to finish. The only redeeming part of the show was the Triangle Ladder Match between E&C, The Dudleyz and the Hardy Boyz. The Main Event was no different than everything else. Typically, the main event is supposed to set the course for the rest of the WM Card. This one was a major disappointment. The Main Event was a Fatal Four Way between Triple H, The Rock, Big Show and Mick Foley with a McMahon in every corner. (Stephanie: Triple H, Vince: The Rock, Shane: Big Show, Linda: Foley). The company's ego got too big and they felt that they could experiment with the first WM of the 2000's Decade, and it blew up in their face.
What Ruined It:
WWE decided to give Mick Foley another chance, even though No Way Out was his "retirement". That was the first problem. He had his opportunities and failed both times. This was the feel good story gone wrong. I guess this was their way of giving Mick his "WrestleMania Main Event" as a lifetime achievement award. So, they decided to continue the feud between Foley and Triple H, when Mick was a stepping stone on the way to Hunter's showdown with The Rock. Imagine if WM XV was a Triple Threat between Austin, Rock and Mankind. That would be a disaster. As a child, I did not say anything. Now that I am wiser, I see the blunder that this match was. Next, they decided to involve Big Show in the match to create a rivalry with him and The Rock. This should not have escalated beyond the Rumble, because The Rock clearly won and was the Undisputed Number One Contender. I am not a big proponent of Triple Threat and Fatal Four Way Main Events for WrestleMania, because they damage the chemistry and flow of the match. Traditional Main Events need to stay 1-on-1. Instead, you had too many Chefs in the Kitchen.
Rewrite:
This is very, very simple and easy. Get Foley, Big Show, and the McMahons out of the match. They were all dead weight. Just leave it as The Rock vs. Triple H. Instead of Triple H winning, have The Rock win the title seeing as he never won the WWE Title at WrestleMania. He would always lose the title match. Their match at Backlash is exactly what should have happened at WrestleMania 2000. The Rock & Triple H have a rivalry that DESERVED to be in the Main Event of WrestleMania. At this point, both were at the Top of their Game (pun intended) and it is what fans deserved to see. That is the one element that their feud was missing. For the most part, every legendary rivalry had a 1-on-1 WrestleMania Match. (Rock vs. Austin had a Trilogy. Hogan vs. Andre, Hogan vs. Savage, Bret vs. Shawn) With that said, Triple H vs. Rock should have been in that category.
In Conclusion, if this main event were just a straight 1-on-1 for the WWF Title, the quality of the show would have been better.
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