5. Triple Cage Match For The WCW Championship: Diamond Dallas Page vs. David Arquette vs. Jeff Jarrett - Slamboree 2000
Allow this writer to preface this by saying that the match in question was actually a damn fine one, with Diamond Dallas Page and Jeff Jarrett working a hell of a brawl in a match that was little more than an excuse for the company to spotlight the Triple Cage that was featured in the major motion picture "Ready to Rumble." With that said, the contest is notorious for its inclusion of David Arquette, Hollywood actor and unfathomably, WCW World Heavyweight champion. His title victory effectively killed the credibility of the company's most coveted prize. DDP would admit in an interview years later that Arquette wanted nothing to do with the title but WCW was determined to get some free publicity and, at the same time, promote its first foray into Hollywood. The contest was yet another failed attempt by WCW to catapult itself back into relevancy at a time when their television ratings were a third of what their competition's were. Arquette turned heel and Jeff Jarrett regained the heavyweight title. Then, in a moment that showed just how clueless a company WCW was at that point, they booked an angle in which Chris Kanyon was thrown from the top of the cage and through the entrance ramp. In the Kemper Arena in St. Kansas City, Missouri. The same arena in which Owen Hart fell to his death almost exactly a year earlier. It was insensitive and, while that may not have been part of what helped aid in the demise of WCW, it was just another ridiculous idea by the brain trust that ran the company at that point.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
