David Hunter
Welcome back to our recapping of the Triple H/Mankind feud from late 1999 into early 2000. If you missed Part 1, here it is: Unbiased Take Part 1 recapping November and December of 1999.
Mankind has lost a Pink Slip on a Pole match and Triple H has been readily battling The Rock so let’s kick off the Year 2000 in fine fashion.
The first Monday Night Raw of the Millennium is covered heavily in this feud. Triple H and The Rock opened up Raw with Triple H setting up a match pitting Rock vs. the New Age Outlaws and X-Pac with the stipulation that Rock would be fired if he lost. Triple H also set up a match against Big Show for the WWF Title.
For those who don’t know, Triple H beats Big Show earlier in the night for the WWF Title (now that Mankind isn’t around to ruin The Game’s chances) and the party is on with champagne right at the get go of this Handicap Match. The highlight for Triple H’s character is lounging in a chair with Stephanie on his lap. Triple H continues to wield his power, suddenly changing it to a No DQ match as well and the crowd’s not happy. Crowd goes hot when Foley springs out of the crowd, especially when he hammers Triple H in the face with a chairshot. Triple H is irate at the end when Rock ends up getting the victory too.
Match itself is *3/4, solid for a TV main event with some surprising bumps for a 3-1 No DQ handicap match (including Road Dogg bumping off the apron onto the announce table and Rock delivering a suplex on the mats outside).
WWF Raw – 01-10-2000 Part 2 by WWF1996-1999
Start Video at 29:00 Mark for the match
The next week is an 8 man tag team match featuring DX going head to head with Rock, Mankind, and The Acolytes (whom the Outlaws would face at the Royal Rumble). Triple H was forced to re-sign Mankind to the WWF and the crowd goes red hot when Mankind and Rock come out to no surprise. Crowd is hot throughout the match, thoroughly hating on Triple H and DX.
Faarooq makes a tag to Mankind just as Triple H gets tagged in and the crowd gets loud immediately at the two squaring off, knowing they’ll be fighting at the Royal Rumble later in the month. Crowd is nuclear for the forearm shots in the corner! The Rock and the Acolytes pursue the Outlaws and X-Pac to the back after they abandoned Triple H, letting Mankind and Triple H have a fun little mini-match. Great timing as Triple H pisses the fans off by cutting off Mankind giving Socko to Stephanie on the apron. Triple H hammers Mankind with a bell to the face and delivers a bonkers spot Pedigreeing Mankind through the announce table. Another Pedigree in the ring on Mankind gets “DX” the victory. As Mankind starts getting up, Triple H takes out the referee for good measure. Mankind’s busted open but OFF COMES THE MASK and he starts manhandling Triple H. A totally NASTY throw of the steps right into Triple H’s face connects and this crowd is hot. Despite 2 Pedigrees, Mankind is kicking Triple H’s ass including a hip toss through the announce table cover. Raw ends with Triple H wobbling up the ramp, Stephanie and Title in hand as Mankind stares from the ring having just soundly kicked his ass.
Match was * if that but the aftermath is so great and worth watching.
The 2000-01-17 Raw kicks off recapping from Smackdown Foley’s announcement that he isn’t coming to the Royal Rumble as Mankind, no. He’s coming with Cactus Jack (Triple H wears a great expression to this news as well). Cactus comes out to a molten hot crowd. Crowd is absolutely hot throughout the entire segment. Foley sells this transition perfectly and the crowd is eating out of his hand. Crowd is all over Triple H with “the” heel chant of the time aka Asshole. Triple H cuts an equally good promo and calls out DX to ambush Cactus. Rock comes out for the save but Big Show takes Rock out and then goes after DX himself leading to The Acolytes to join the chaos. The segment ends with Cactus and Rock standing tall as DX has fleed. Fun stuff.
Later in the night, Triple H and X-Pac square off against The Acolytes. Outlaws run in and help DX beat down The Acolytes with Triple H again being superior, thanks to a gang mentality, over foes weaker but willing to stand up to the group.
On the January 20th, Smackdown before the Royal Rumble, Triple H cuts a good promo that leads to Cactus Jack coming out and cutting a good promo himself with both parties referencing the 1999 Rumble I Quit match between Mankind and Rock. Segment ends with Cactus and Triple brawling all around the ring. In a crazy moment, Triple H gets low blowed on the announce table and Cactus piledrives him right on the announce table (which does not break). Another NASTY spot in a few week span. Segment ends with Cactus in the ring holding up the WWF Title to the audience. Fun segment again.
Royal Rumble 2000: Streetfight for the WWF Title
Most fans have seen this match so I won’t recap much of it. Cactus and Triple H have gone back and forth throughout. We’ll kick this bit off with Cactus re-enacting the moment from Smackdown, piledriving Triple H’s skull into the announce table that again doesn’t break. Ouch. Cactus breaks out the thumbtacks! Triple H is sent reeling after Stephanie comes out to observe but back body drops Cactus onto the tacks in a sick spot. Cactus somehow kicks out of a Pedigree to a huge pop in a storytelling moment that easily could’ve been the finish. Triple H delivers a second Pedigree directly onto the thumbtacks in a total cringeworthy spot that gets the victory and Triple H retains the title. Very easy ****1/4 match that ties back into everything leading up (Cactus getting up from a Pedigree, Cactus and Triple H threatening to dig deeper than ever to be evil for the match). After the match, stretchers come out for Triple H but Cactus derails that and drags Triple H back to the ring to nail him with a barbed wire wrapped 2×4. We end with Triple H getting attention in the ring as Cactus walks off.
Thoughts: Jeez, this feud basically carried the WWF through the first few months (especially without Austin) and it’s easy to see why business was booming. Mankind/Cactus is a perfect foil to Triple H’s evil boss of power character and Triple H plays that role magnificently. Foley deserves a big hand for his role in the feud but Triple H, through his promos, character, and in-ring storytelling stepped up huge to meet the shoes he needed to fill opposite Foley. There’s a reason Triple H in the ring in 2000 was a money making machine and that all extended from the brilliant execution of his character. This was the peak of The Game and he took the ball and ran with it. I’d even argue that without Triple H’s character and role, Foley may not have reached the heights he did in his initial swan song from the WWF (nor would the WWF have been so huge from 2000-2002).
In the final part next Friday, Part 3, we’ll take ourselves through No Way Out (and ignore WrestleMania 2000, which was an afterthought that didn’t even include Foley originally).
Credit to STLDWrestling for feature image
