My favorite year in WWE history is the year 2000. It was full of so many great matches and moments thanks to the deepest roster that WWE had. The main event of Backlash 2000 saw The Rock challenge Triple H for the WWE Title after he was screwed from winning it at WrestleMania when Vince McMahon joined up with Triple H.
That led us to this match with one of the loudest crowds you will ever hear at a show that’s not a WrestleMania. It was wild. Remember that spot where The Rock gave Triple H and Shane McMahon a Rock Bottom through the table? The fans in Washington erupted.
The match saw a lot of interference as Vince, Shane & Stephanie did all they could to cost Rock the match. Shane was the ref, but he got taken out. Vince’s buddies Patterson & Brisco had ref gear on and they couldn’t make the Rock lose.
The best moment came after over 20 minutes of action. They had advertised Steve Austin to be there. It was a huge deal because Austin had been out since November 1999 with a serious neck injury that required surgery that would cost him a year of his career.
When it looked like Rock was finally going to lose, the glass broke and Austin showed up with a steel chair. Austin actually had a bit of a gut because he couldn’t work out fully by that point in his recovery.
Austin made his way into the ring with the chair in his hand. He delivered stiff chair shots to Triple H, Patterson, Brisco, Shane, Vince and then Hunter again. JR was going nuts: “Austin! Austin! Austin!” The fans were really going wild for it too. It’s one of the biggest ovations you will ever hear.
The conclusion of the match saw Linda McMahon shove Stephanie down, then Rock was able to recover enough to hit a People’s Elbow and win the WWE Title.
This was the finish that probably should have happened at WrestleMania, but instead they used WrestleMania to set up this match. The ovation they received was a WrestleMania-like pop. Austin helping Rock win the WWE Title was something we all wanted to see. Seeing two of the biggest stars ever on the same side was a huge deal.
To end the night, Austin & Rock (rivals a year earlier), drank some beers together and gave us another one of those memorable moments we’ll never forget. Listen to the crowd. They told you how big it was with their reaction. A special night.
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at debuting DDP as a heel. Starts at 1:40
