Best: Triple H vs The Rock (WWE Championship Match; Backlash 2000)
A month after WWE’s misstep, they righted the ship when they gave the world the main event that we all wanted, a one-on-one match between The Rock and Triple H. The Rock had been chasing Triple H for a few months, and despite the efforts of the newly minted McMahon-Helmsley regime, he finally got his singles opportunity.
The deck was clearly stacked against The Rock, and he valiantly fought off every crooked attempt by Triple H and his cohorts. The initial wrestling was great, but the fun really started when the action spilled out of the ring. The double-Rock Bottom spot was amazing, the run-in by Linda McMahon and Earl Hebner was perfect.
And of course, Steve Austin’s return was the pop that blew the roof off the arena. This was the match that should have taken place at WrestleMania, but at least we got it.
Worst: Triple H vs Chris Jericho (WWE Championship Match; WrestleMania X-8)
Everything about Triple H and Chris Jericho’s WrestleMania X-8 program was an abject failure. Jericho was never treated seriously as the Undisputed Champion, and he played second fiddle to the domestic issues between Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. It was embarrassing to see the reigning World Champion treated like a secondary in the build-up to a match where his championship was on the line.
These issues carried over into their WrestleMania main event, where we saw Stephanie McMahon take the focus away from the action in the ring. The wrestling was also not very compelling, showing little thought was put into the in-ring work.
This was the main event of WrestleMania, and it was merely a transition for McMahon/Helmsley to keep the attention on themselves. It also didn’t help that the crowd was exhausted from a match that should have gone on last.
