10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Raw From 2000
Is 2000 as good in retrospect when one takes off the 'WWF Attitude' tinted specs?
That Raw Is War intro from 2000 may never be topped.
The WWF's flagship exploded into living rooms worldwide by delivering an intoxicating mix of aggressive heavy metal riffs, pyro and enough 'Attitude' to get everyone amped for another two hours of must-see soap opera. Jim Ross bellowed out his welcomes, Jerry Lawler sneered at the babyfaces (in between talking about "puppies", of course) and fans went crazy with excitement.
Reliving such testosterone-fulled magic 52 times was a sheer joy, it really was. Then...the year progressed and one realised that not everything was as rosy as he remembered with the product back in those days. Logic often went flying out the window, and the company made several dumb decisions that might've bit them in the ass had WCW not been a weekly train wreck.
Things become even more fascinating upon realising that arguably the biggest star in WWE history wasn't missed at all, and that one of the best performers ever was totally trumped by somebody else in a coveted role.
Here's everything you can learn from binging a full 104 hours of Raw product. Strap in...
10. The War Took A Noticeable Turn
It'd be remiss not to talk about the absolute state WCW was in first, because that definitely had an impact on the WWF side. Being honest, it becomes very clear when binging that Vince McMahon knew his competition was knackered - by June/July, he was just doing his own thing.
Vinnie Mac knew 'Dubya-C-Dubya' would never turn the screw again.
Nitro was a mess, and that meant Raw was free to experiment a little more than in 1998 or 1999. New stars were thrust into power positions, at least temporarily, and some episodes turned into daytime romantic soap opera more than pro wrestling; this was never more true than with the Stephanie/Triple H/Kurt Angle love triangle.
It's amazing to look back on this and see the seismic shifts during the second half of 2000. The WWF crew blatantly didn't feel any pressure whatsoever, and that led to some borderline-lazy shows that didn't quite hit the highs of January-May.