The sixteenth WrestleMania is one that seems to have a lot of hype attached to it. The combination of it being a nice round number (2000), a big four-way finale, and the fearlessness (for better or for worse) of the WWE at the time likely all contribute to this perception. While WM 2000 isn't a bad event, by any means, I would also argue it isn't one of the great Manias either.
A few of my thoughts...
-The lack of even one singles matches hurts this card. I realize that the WWE is experimenting with many different formats at this time, but sometimes the traditional 1X1 match is better than anything off-the-wall or crazy. A good example of this is the Jericho/Benoit/Angle Three-Way match. I feel like any combination of those two would have been better than the three of them mucking around.
-The best match on the card, hands down, is the Three-Way Ladder match between the Dudleys, Hardys, and Christian/Edge. This is high-flying, absolutely insane professional wrestling at its very best. Not only were all these guys fearless, but it wasn't a "sloppy fearless" either (like Mick Foley would often lapse into). No, these teams were all incredibly talented and not afraid to take risks (that they almost always pulled off successfully).
-The tag match featuring Kane/Rikishi vs. Road Dogg/X-Pac is pretty entertaining/solid, if the traditional "random talents thrown together" type of structure. This is the type of match in which the talented guys who couldn't get a storyline developed before WrestleMania are just thrown together in hopes of the talent winning out over the "heat". In this case, it works well enough.
-The Fatal Four-Way finale, featuring a McMahon in every corner, is indeed an entertaining prospect. The Rock (Vince), Big Show (Shane), Foley (Linda), and Triple-H (Stephanie) put on a decent show, but the overall effect proves to be slightly lackluster in total. Not only is it difficult to follow the action a lot of the times, but the ending is disappointing in the way it features the McMahons over the actual star talent. In other words, the weeks of build-up to this match were far superior to the end result.
Considering that Steve Austin, the company's biggest star at the time, was recuperating from various injuries during this period, it is amazing that WWE was able to pull this show off as well as it did. I'll always argue it is more "hype" than "substance", but there is certainly talent present...no one is doubting that. That sets enough of a baseline bar for entertainment even if the overall product isn't in my top WM events.
