-- We begin with the arrival of WWF World champion Triple H and his wife Stephanie. Stephanie takes the microphone, says "Hello...." which cues the music of Shane McMahon and The Big Show, who join Triple H and Steph in the ring. Shane begins bragging about how the four of them worked together to destroy The Rock on Smackdown, complete with video flashbacks. The crowd begins to chant "Rocky." Triple H takes the stick and begins talking trash to The Rock, wondering out loud why Rocky didn't just go away quietly. He then states that The Rock will be humiliated every night until WrestleMania. Stephanie takes the mike and says they need to give the people what they want; The Rock will compete at WrestleMania in yet another handicap match. His competition - The Twin Towers, which are two midget ("vertically challenged") wrestlers who come out to some goofy music. The Big Show is cracking up. Shane likes the idea, and decides that on top of a handicap match, it will be a tuxedo match. All of them are cracking "short" jokes; Triple H thinks it would be better as an evening gown match, or even a "midget on a pole" match.
-- The Rock's music cues and the people go nuts. The People's Champ states that the joke is now over; the handicap matches are fine by him, but the humiliation is not acceptable. He then says that he's giving them a chance to drive The Rock out of the WWF the way Triple H did to Mick Foley. The Rock says he'll wrestle The Big Show; if he wins, he goes to WrestleMania in the main event, but if Show wins, The Rock will leave the WWF forever. Shane takes the challenge if the Rock can pin or make Show submit. But the Rock isn't done - he says there will be no interference, and no candy-asses at ringside, or else he wins and goes to WrestleMania. Triple H says The Rock is even dumber than he thought to take such a match, but they have a deal. The Rock says he's doing this because he doesn't have Shane McMahon, he doesn't have Stephanie McMahon, he has (it's not what you think) ... the people.
-- Al Snow greets Steve Blackman and says they've become so popular, they need their own TV series. Blackman says Snow needs a straitjacket.
-- Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. Al Snow & Steve Blackman
The Hardys start quick, manhandling Blackman with a series of weardown holds. Snow comes in and works over Jeff. The action spills outside and Blackman goes to town on Jeff until Matt makes the save. Jeff hits a hurricanrana and makes a tag. The match slows down; Matt can't get the Twist of Fate but does level Snow with a clothesline. Blackman powerbombs Jeff, then tags him with a top-rope thrust kick. Matt misses a backflip off the rope, but surprisingly rolls up Blackman for the win.
WINNERS: The Hardy Boyz by pinfall.
-- Kurt Angle is talking to another disinterested arena worker about how great he is.
-- Back from commercial, Mark Henry tells Mae (in a wheelchair) that the Dudleys may kick his ass tonight, but one of them is going with him. Fabulous Moolah assures Mark that Mae will be okay.
-- The Dudley Boyz vs. Mark Henry in a handicap match
Henry hits the ring quick but the Dudleys take early control. Henry turns the tide and drops both Dudleys with big backdrops before Buh Buh Ray hits a nasty clothesline. Buh Buh leaves the ring and goes backstage as D-Von continues to beat Henry down. Backstage, Buh Buh bursts into the dressing room and starts wheeling Mae off while Moolah is out of the room. Buh Buh tells Mae to enjoy the ride because it's the last one she'll ever take. Back in the ring, D-Von is destroying Henry as Buh Buh comes out on the ramp wheeling Mae to ringside. Buh Buh taunts Mae while D-Von continues to maintain control of the match. Buh Buh gets back in the ring to help lay a 3-D on Henry. Without getting the pin, Buh Buh and D-Von give Mae the tag team belts and ask her to forget about Mark. They wheel her up the ramp; D-Von looks like he's going to wheel Mae right off the ramp, but Buh Buh stops her. Buh Buh then picks Mae up and jump-powerbomb's her off the ramp through a table, going in to his trance. JR and Lawler are shocked. This powerbomb is even more realistic looking than the last one Mae took.
WINNER: No contest.
-- Mark is in the ambulance, pleading with Moolah to come along to the hospital, but she waives him off.
-- Kurt Angle comes out and justifies Bob Backlund's recent interference as matches he would have won anyway. He refuses to judge Backlund because he is a real American hero. Angle says that New Jersey needs a hero, and Bon Jovi doesn't count. He proclaims himself the new hometown hero of New Jersey. Chris Jericho comes out to a big pop and welcomes everyone to Raw Is Jericho. Y2J says that Angle a Backlund have a connection - a love connection. He says that Backlund is an idiot, imbecile, and ignoramus, just like Angle. This cues Tazz to a lukewarm reaction. Tazz claims no DQ is the name of the game.
-- Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho vs. Tazz in a three-way for the WWF European title
Angle is thrown out early while Jericho and Tazz beat each other senseless. Kurt takes one of his title belts and climbs the rope, but Tazz cuts him off. Y2J throws Tazz off the rope for a two-count, broken up by Angle. Tazz hits Angle with a great belly-to-belly suplex and gets a two-count. Jericho hits Angle with his lionsault and gets a two-count. Taz locks the Tazzmission on Angle as Backlund hits the ring; Tazz gets Backlund in the hold. Chyna hits the ring and crotches Backlund, however, Angle hits Jericho with a title belt and gets the win. This was a good match with yet another infuriating ending.
WINNER: Kurt Angle by pinfall.
-- As we go to commercial, we see all of DX (without Billy Gunn) getting giddy over the fact that The Rock is finished after tonight.
-- Kevin Kelly asks Ivory what her opinion on the Rock/DX situation is; she says she hopes the Rock wins because he is a true champion, and should he lose, the fans will be the ultimate losers.
-- Triple H, Road Dogg & X-Pac (with Tori and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) vs. Too Cool & Rikishi Phatu
Rikishi and Too Cool get a huge pop at they hit the ring. JR compares Rikishi's butt to the Grand Canyon. Grand Master Sexay (wrestling without a shirt) starts against X-Pac and hits him with several power moves. Road Dogg and Scotty Too Hotty come in and continue the fast pace. Too Cool beats up Dogg with some nice double-teaming before tagging in Rikishi, who almost sits on Road Dogg's face in the corner. Rikishi dominates Dogg and X-Pac and even does the DX chop before Triple H comes in a takes control. The champ savagely beats Rikishi down in the corner before tagging Road Dogg back in. Too Cool is trying to pump up the crowd. Rikishi hits Dogg with the butt splash in the corner, tagging in Scotty who almost gets the worm before X-Pac breaks it up. Grand Master puts on the goggles and nails Dogg with the Hip Hop Drop, but X-Pac gets in a X-Factor. Rikishi hits Triple H with a suplex and a butt splash. Stephanie distracts the ref allowing X-Pac to hit Rikishi with the ring bell, giving Triple H the opportunity to win.
WINNERS: Triple H, X-Pac and Road Dogg by pinfall.
-- Before commercial, we see Kane walking to the ring; he bumps into The Rock. After a brief staredown, Kane growls out, "good luck."
-- Kane (without Paul Bearer) vs. Big Bossman
Bossman smacks Kane and Kane goes ballistic, beating Bossman down quickly. The action spills outside and Kane continues the assault. Back in the ring, Bossman punches Kane in the corner and slugs him to the ground, getting a two-count. Bossman, attempting a corner splash, runs into a chokehold but socks Kane in the throat. Kane climbs the rope and nails a vicious clothesline and signals for the end. Bossman counters with a belly-to-back suplex and takes his nightstick. Kane counters and chokeslams Bossman for the win.
WINNER: Kane by pinfall.
-- Kevin Kelly asks The Godfather about The Rock's situation; he and the hoes agree that the Rock will pull it off.
-- Michael Cole asks what Moolah thinks of Mae's problem; Moolah says the "bitch" got what she deserved, calling Mae a disgrace. Moolah is upset that Mae has stolen her spotlight, and doesn't care if the "bitch" ever comes back.
-- Esse Rios (with Lita) vs. Dean Malenko (with Eddy Guerrero) for the WWF World light heavyweight title
JR cannot believe that Guerrero still has a cast on his elbow. The match starts out fast with both men jockeying for position. Moves, counters, and pinning combinations come rapidly. Malenko goes to work on Rios' arm and gets a two-count. Malenko continues to work over the arm, putting Rios down for a number of pin attempts. The match slows way down and people seem to be losing interest. Malenko appears to be going for a Texas cloverleaf but cannot lock it in. Rios begins to turn the tide and tries to go for a moonsault, but Malenko shakes the ropes down. Rios gets a two-count; Malenko tries a suplex. Guerrero gets hit off the apron; Lita tries the hurricanrana, but Guerrero counters it into a vicious powerbomb. In the ring. Malenko counters a suplex and rolls up Rios for the title.
WINNER: and new World light heavyweight champion, Dean Malenko by pinfall.
-- The Acolytes are seen talking to Terri, asking her if she "really wants to do this," which she does. As she turns to leave, she is startled by Mideon bringing Bradshaw and Farooq a tray of beer, which the Acolytes complain is warm.
-- We see Jayson Williams and a number of the New Jersey Nets at ringside.
-- Edge & Christian vs. The Acolytes (with Mideon)
Terri the She-Devil comes out to ringside as usual. The Acolytes go right to work, but the faster Edge & Christian gain control quickly. Bradshaw uses Mideon as a human shield to block an Edge splash. In the ring, Bradshaw is overpowering Christian and tags out to Farooq, who hits one of the most devestating clotheslines I've ever seen. Christian tries to tag out but is stopped by Farooq, who tags in Bradshaw. Chrisitian hits a tornado DDT, giving him the opportunity to tag out. Edge begins to clean house. Bedlam breaks out; Terri distracts Christian, which allows Bradshaw to hit Edge with another clothesline for the win. After the bell, Mideon gets his butt beaten by Edge and Christian. Christian is clearly losing patience with the Terri situation.
WINNERS: The Acolytes by pinfall.
-- We see some fun scenes of Chyna's appearance on 3rd Rock From The Sun, tomorrow night on NBC.
-- We see the Mean Street Posse assaulting Crash Holly in the airport as part of Crash's 24-7 title defense; Pete Gas actually gets a pin and wins the Hardcore title, but Crash hits him with the scale and pins him to take the title right back. Wild moment, as Pete's Hardcore title reign lasts less than 10 seconds. This I believe is the first ever pinfall victory for any member of the Posse (at least on television).
-- Shane says he cannot believe The Rock is doing what he is, and that they will not be responsible for ending his career, as it was Rock's idea.
-- Michael Cole asks the Headbangers who will win; they bet on the Big Show and offer the Rock a job carrying their cones.
-- Val Venis & Test vs. Chris Benoit & Perry Saturn
The Radicals attack before the bell and take control of the returning Venis. Val counters on Saturn with a spinebuster for a two-count. Saturn whips Venis very hard into the corner. Benoit tags in and dominates Venis as Eddy Guerrero starts walking to ringside. Saturn almost beheads Venis with a top-rope knee drop. Saturn dives off the top but is caught with a powerslam. Benoit tags in and hits Venis with several "oooh" inducing chops. Venis monkey-flips Benoit into the corner, enabling him to finally tag in Test. Test goes crazy on both Radicals; Guerrero tries to interfere. His second attempt is successful, knocking Test into a suplex from Benoit for the win. Guerrero's interefering act is starting to wear very thin on JR.
WINNERS: Saturn & Benoit by pinfall.
-- Shane McMahon comes to the ring and tells referree Earl Hebner to take off so he can officiate the match.
-- The Rock vs. The Big Show (with special ref Shane McMahon)
The Rock hits the ring fast and knocks the Show out. They fight up the ramp; Show tries to slam Rock on the ramp but Rock counters with a Russian leg sweep. The men fight out amongst the crowd until Rock leads Show back to the ring. Show tries to hit a home run with a chair upside the Rock's head, but Rock ducks and continues the offensive, throwing Show into the steps and clocking him with the bell. Rock takes a drink of water and spits it in Show's face. Show recovers and press slams the Rock on the announce table. The match finally returns to the ring with Show dominating. Rock falls back out of the ring and Show slams him on the table again. Show throws Rock back into the ring and gets a very fast two-count from Shane. Show levels Rock with a boot to the face and then drops a knee for another very fast two-count. Rock fights back until Show catches him with a sidewalk slam. Show signals for the chokeslam; the Rock kicks Show square in the crotch. Whipped into the ropes, Show inadvertently hits Shane out of the ring. Rock hits the People's Elbow and covers the Show, but Shane cannot make the count. Hebner tries to make the count, but Shane pulls him out and beats him silly. Shane then takes a chair and lays the Rock out. Suddenly, up on the TitanTron, we see a limo pull up, out of which comes Vince McMahon. Vince begins walking to ringside; Triple H tries to cut him off and is greeted with a knockout punch to the jaw. Vince enters the ring as the crowd is going insane. Shane is dumbfounded, and then he's on the floor from a Vince punch. The elder McMahon then takes the chair and knocks his boy Shane out cold. Vince tears Shane's referree shirt off and puts it on; the recovering Rock nails the Rock Bottom on the Show and Vince counts the pin. The Rock is going to WrestleMania to face Triple H for the WWF World title, and the crowd is one of the loudest I've ever heard.
WINNER: The Rock by pinfall.