10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 2000 Facts

The year 2000 was arguably the greatest in WWE history. The list of memorable moments and stories runs unfathomably deep. The debut of The Radicalz. Cactus Jack's bloodbaths with Triple H. The birth of TLC matches. Stone Cold's return from spinal surgery. The Rock hosting Saturday Night Live. Kurt Angle's ascendance to the top of the card. Raw and SmackDown becoming a haven for four-plus-star matches on a seeming weekly basis.

The pay-per-views were top notch as well. The Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Backlash, and Judgment Day all likely rank among the 25 or so greatest PPVs in WWE history, with No Way Out, Fully Loaded, and No Mercy not too far off.

You might notice the lack of WrestleMania on that list. WrestleMania 2000 wasn't an awful show, but it certainly wasn't a great one either. It can be best termed as an underwhelming misfire in an era where greatness was expected at every turn. Between being overbooked with too many multi-person matches, and over-emphasizing the McMahons in the main event, the word "over" cannot be stressed enough when it comes to WrestleMania 2000. "Overcooked" may be the most apt description, next to "overthought".

WrestleMania 2000 emanated from Anaheim, CA, and WWE sought the use of a pretty recognizable song for the occasion. Given the locale, the clear choice was Tupac Shakur's "California Love", the rapper's comeback single after being released from prison in late-1995.

However, Tupac's estate refused to license the song to WWE for reasons not entirely clear. Wonder if years later, anyone from the WWE side asked Urijah Faber how he managed to do it?

In response, WWE's music guru Jim Johnston produced an in-house soundalike of "California Love", simply titled "California". It's an upbeat knockoff with a similar uplifting rhythm, but clearly pales to its inspiration. It did, however, find later use when it was reworked into the theme song of one Theodore Long, and his protege Rodney Mack, in 2003.