The First PPV of the McMahon-Helmsley Era is actually the best for quite some time. It features a classic title match, a decent Royal Rumble, and a weird throwback match.The night starts off with the still undefeated Kurt Angle taking on a mystery opponent. Hmmm, seen this set up before But it's not the Honky Tonk Man who comes out, it's actually Tazz, who'd just come over from ECW. He and Angle go back and forth a lot more than I expected before Tazz chokes Angle out. It was early in Angle's run, but he was a quick learner and was doing a serviceable job of getting himself some good heat, but few could have predicted exactly how far he would end up going by the end of the year. After Angle comes to he points out that if he was choked out, it wasn't a legitimate win and he's still undefeated. Tazz then brags about how he's going to run through the whole WWE roster. Not quite Tazz. While, he wouldn't go far as a competitor, but hung around for a long time as an announcer.On my DVD listing it says the second match on the card is Undertaker vs IRS, but I'd say that's a misprint because there is no Undertaker or IRS on this show. Sorry for all the Mike Rotunda fans out there.Brings us to a pretty sweet match, the first ever Tables Match between the Hardyz and the Dudleyz. The object here is to put both your opponents through a table. Dudleyz were weird trailer trash table fetishists and this was one of those matches that was supposed to favour them. However the Hardyz win after some nice action. There's a nice moment when both Hardyz end up going through tables after the Dudleyz are able to get out of the way. It's then announced that the Dudleyz have to physically put their opponents through the table, rather than their opponents doing it to themselves. I like that kind of detail. The match culminates in Jeff Hardy's iconic senton bomb off the balcony and through a table that had the MSG crowd in raptures.I'm skipping the bikini contest as I don't particularly care what happens or who wins. Might have caught it had Sable still been around.Next we have Chyna and Chris Jericho, currently sharing the Intercontinental Championship due to shenanigans, and just for fun Hardcore Holly's thrown in. This is the only time in Holly's career I connected with him at all, but I still didn't want to see him in anything other than hardcore matches. Jericho really ups his game here, and they were right to have him go over and take sole possession of the belt.Next we see The New Age Outlaws successfully defend their tag team belts against the APA after interference from X-Pac. The APA had won their title shot at the previous month's Armageddon PPV. The Outlaws had more important things to attend to in the next match, in which their DX stable leader Triple H (and virtual CEO of the company after Vince walked out 4 weeks earlier) put his WWE Championship on the line against Cactus Jack. Foley had reverted back to the Cactus gimmick after Mankind was fired by Triple H for standing up to him and then losing a "pink slip on a pole" match to the Rock on RAW. The Rock and the whole roster threatened strike action if Foley wasn't reinstated. Trips let him back in and Foley challenged him to a street fight for the WWE Championship, before revealing he was back to being cactus Jack. This is one of the great title matches, despite featuring interference from both The Rock and DX. Triple H eventually wins a brutal match after dropping Cactus on thumbtacks. On the DVD release there is footage of Trips requiring a segment of wood to be pulled out of his lower leg after the match.Brings us to the main event. I can tell stats fans that D Lo Brown was #1, X-Pac was #30, Test (#10) spent the longest amount of time in the ring (27 minutes-hardly impressive), Rikishi (#5) had the most eliminations (7) and the final four were The Rock, Big Show and feuding former tag partners X-Pac and Kane. The Rock throws out X-Pac, but the refs are distracted so he comes back in and throws out Kane. Kane does a really poor looking bronco buster on Show, who throws him out of the ring. Show gets Rock down and lifts him on his shoulders, but Rock is able to grab the top rope as Show attempts to throw him out and uses the momentum to lift Show out of the ring. The Rock is able hold the top rope and so wins the Rumble. Even at the time I was looking at the ending and it occurred to me that either the Rock had stuffed up, or the ending was supposed to be screwy, because it looked a whole lot to me like the Rock's feet hit the ground before Show landed. There's probably an interview somewhere where someone talks about whether this was a screw up or just how its was intended to go down, but I couldn't be bothered looking to find out.Anyway, this was a nice PPV. Most of the big matches delivered and there was nothing really bad. Moving forward, we get the inevitable Rock vs Triple H match for WrestleMania. Wonder what they'll do with that filler February PPV> Surely there's no loose ends here with WrestleMania implications...

(minor spoilers but no match results listed in this review) Tagged Classics: Royal Rumble 1999 and 2000 Double DVD Part 2: WWF Royal Rumble 2000 "So tonight... even if it's just for one night... I have decided to be your champion!" – Kurt Angle From the opening match between Kurt Angle and his supposed "mystery opponent" (how did the crowd all know it'd be Tazz?!... Whoops!) you KNOW you're in for a great show! The crowd are hot and ready to scream their lungs out. It could be argued that the Jericho/Chyna/Holly match drags a little and The Outlaws' match with The Acolytes could have been a little less sloppy but the rest of the card more than makes up for it with the original tag-team tables match between The Dudley Boys (Team 3D) and The Hardys. Good times."It looks like we have a late entrant..." – Jerry Lawler This is more of a warning than a review. The Miss Rumble Swimsuit contest is EXACTLY the same as broadcast... I'll say that again... EXACTLY THE SAME. Just in case you were wondering it has something to do with a very famous woman wrestler getting topless in the ring. And you can probably guess who. The whole this is undeniably hilarious though."I think you know the guy... His name is Cactus Jack!" – Mick FoleyThis is my most favourite match of all time. It's Mick Foley at his best and it's Triple H at his best in a Street Fight for the WWF title. The match build-up is excellent showing Foley's transformation from Mankind into Cactus Jack with Hunter doing an amazing job making you believe that the same man in a different shirt is like something from his worst nightmares. Footage of Jack's brutal history is also shown including some Japanese death match bumps and really putting over the sadistic streak that resides in the man's heart. The match itself is a total classic which really solidified Triple H as one of the top names in the industry. It's a pretty sick affair too as the blood flows and the action is devastatingly brutal in places without going overboard. The whole match is dramatic and a great example of wrestling getting it right in every aspect of its planning and implementation."Remember again, you gotta go out over the top and both of your feet have to touch the floor..." – Jim Ross The Rumble match in 2000 is much better than 1999. It's surprising and fun while throwing in a few nice touches here and there (watch out for Taka Michinoku's botched landing on being thrown over the top... ouch!) It's capped with a satisfying conclusion but after the Street Fight you feel a little less interested in it from an emotional point of view. It nicely rounds off a great evening of entertainment."What...? No way! Adverts?!!" – JoeMDesign Yes, I said that when I originally saw this show in January 2000 on Channel 4 in the UK. The terrestrial TV station had bought the rights from Sky to show the Rumble live which they did... although they must have assumed that they could take commercial breaks in between the matches and no-one would notice. They were wrong. I remember on the original Channel 4 version that the Rock's legendary promo skills were cut off mid-sentence! Blasphemy! The best part of owning this pay-per-view is that it is the complete event. It's not an official "extra" but one of my reasons for buying this was to see the whole thing.Officially the extras are very poor. I think WWF at the time weren't sure what to do with servicing DVD extras and the results are evident here. The best extra on the disc is surely the footage from after the Rumble showing Triple H getting his leg mended in the trainer's room. The warning about graphic footage is well-deserved here.Overall I can't really recommend this collection much higher than to say "Thank you, Silvervision!" A classic has been fully restored to its original glory and the world can enjoy two really great shows. The only thing holding this back from 5-star status are the lack of extras but since they're presented in a double-pack and at a reasonable price you can't grumble about the Rumble! Bang bang!

This was not the best Royal Rumble that I watched, although it was some what entertaining, it was not the best that I have seen.FIRST MATCH- TAZZ VS. KURT ANGLE Not bad to start the show off, but a very short match, nothing good or special in this match. Tazz wins after Kurt Angle passed out to the Tazzmission. 2/10SECOND MATCH- DUDLEY BOYS VS. HARDY BOYS IN A TAG TEAM TABLES MATCH Okay tables match, but it got dragged a bit onwards in my opinion. Hardy Boys win after Jeff hardy does a dangerous leap from the top off the stage & a Swanton Bomb on Bubba through a table for the win. 5/10THIRD MATCH- THE ACOLYTES {BRADSHAW & FAROOQ} VS. ROAD DOGG & BILLY GUNN FOR THE WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP What a short match, even though the Acolytes dominating a whole majority of the match, it is such a short match. Some team called Mean Street Posse interfere, making Billy Gunn Road Dogg & Billy Gunn win to retain their WWF Tag Team Championship. 2/10FOURTH MATCH- HARDCORE HOLLY VS. CHRIS JERICHO VS. CHYNA FOR THE WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP Not a bad triple-threat match, but could of been somewhat way better in my opinion. Jericho nails a Lionsault on Chyna for the win, & to be the right holder of the WWF Intercontinental Championship.FIFTH MATCH- TRIPLE H W/ STEPHANIE MCMAHON VS. MICK FOLEY IN A STREET FIGHT MATCH FOR THE WWF CHAMPIONSHIP Entertaining & also brutal match, HHH bleeds throughout the match while Mick Foley delivers the punishment throughout the match. Even Rock interferes during the match. But HHH overcomes the brutal match & Pedigrees Mick Foley on thumbtacks for the win & to retain his WWF Championship. 5/10SIXTH MATCH- 30 MAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH Not really a bad Royal Rumble match, but also nothing special either. It was entertaining as usual. The best is to be seen yet. Rock head scissors Big Show over the top rope for the win & will be going to main event Wrestlemania 2000. After the match, Big Show tosses Rock over, but it doesn't matter, Rock still won the Rumble & will be going to Wrestlemania for a title shot. 5/10Okay Royal Rumble, I have to say that I was entertained. But also a bit disappointed as the lack of some matches. But still it was a decent Rumble, with Rock being the right winner for the Royal Rumble.Overall I'll give it 5/10 & a D

This is a fantastic PPV and the sole reason why I bought it on video was because of the classic matches and memories the event has...well excluding Mae Young, I'm still trying to purge that from memory. First thing the PPV has is the debut of Tazz, which to this day sends a chill down my spine, only if all debuts were like this. The matches themselves ranged from average to classic. The street fight between HHH & Cactus Jack without a shadow of a doubt is great stuff, both men worked damn hard in that match and it shows (the Pedigree onto the thumbtacks still makes me wince). The table match between the Hardy Boyz & the Dudley Boyz is also wonderful to watch, being one of the first table matches I would say this send the benchmark. As for the other matches they are quite good, nothing classic, but still not bad (of course, with a 60+ minute Royal Rumble things have to be chopped up a bit to make time, so the matches are a little short).As for the Royal Rumble itself, there were better. This was a fairly predictable Rumble with Kane, Big Show or Rock being the serious contenders (hell, this was a storyline where these three were in a feud over who was going to win, this made for a weak Rumble).A real waste of time in the show was the Swimsuit Contest, I never liked these because I figured why do something like this when you can have another match in it's place which holds some meaning to the storylines? Of course, the reason I'm so resentful about watching it we got to see Mae Young do a stripping act.ugh, thank God the censors put a giant electronic Censored sign on the screen.8/10Great PPV and worthy of a purchase, the Street Fight and the Table Match gives this PPV a high score. Just be warned that once the Swimsuit Contest starts, hit fast-forward.