The G9Z Wrestling Honor Roll: Class Of 2000

Welcome to another edition of the HONOR ROLL. Every year during my "Year End Awards" I give out roughly 15 awards. Of those awards, "the big four" are the Wrestler, Woman, Tag Team & Match of the year. The winners of these awards were generally the most awesome performers of the year and with hundreds of prominent wrestlers worldwide, it's a true honor to be able to snag one of the four. This section of the blog will be dedicated to the winners for every year dating all the way back to 1990 (roughly the time I first began watching wrestling)! Every week I will add another year's winners until the database is up to date. This is just a fun series that will give you an idea of what the best of the best was in any year you may have missed. Any current and/or future winners will also be added to the honor roll and join the most prestigious group in all of blogging!

This week, we're announcing the class of 2000!

Wrestler Of The Year: Triple H

Believe it or not, Triple H was the absolute best worker in the world in the year 2000.  Having recently dubbed himself "The Game", he sought out to dominate the WWE through his alliance with wife Stephanie McMahon.  He broke through to the next level with his brutal feud with Mick Foley that helped the WWE fans see Hunter as a more serious and badass performer.  After this feud was over, he then traded the WWE title back and forth in an equally amazing series of matches with The Rock.  He would have other noteworthy mini-feuds with both Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho that were also very well received.  Hell, Triple H could have wrestled a mop and still would have tore the house down.  He was that good.  His two WWE title reigns that year would also combine for over 150 days and were arguably, the most impressive runs of the critically acclaimed "Attitude Era".  Love him or hate him, Triple H's 2000 is one of the all time most outstanding years any wrestler has ever had.

 

Runner Up: The Rock

Woman Of The Year: Lita

 

 

In February 2000 one of the most innovative and popular divas in WWE history would finally make her debut as the valet to Mexican sensation Essa Rios.  She quickly outshined Rios though after she often mimicked his lucha inspired moveset much to the delight of the live audience.  Eventually, Rios would turn on the red headed vixen and she would then align herself with the wildly popular Hardy Boyz to form the stable Team Xtreme.  Soon after, Lita developed a more "alternative" image, wearing baggy pants with a thong, which was hiked up high above her pants, clearly exposed.  Needless to say, the three would become one of the top two or three most popular acts in the company.  The highlight of her year however would come in the main event of the August 21 episode of Raw where she would defeat Stephanie McMahon to win her first WWE Women's Championship.  She would go on to hold the title for 73 days.

Runner Up: Ivory

Tag Team Of The Year: Edge & Christian

Though mainly looked at as a comedic heel team in the beginning of the year, Edge and Christian were easily the most dominant team of their era.  While none of their tag title reigns were significantly long, no other team could topple them in big time matchups.  Their most prominent victories came in a series of awe inspiring matches with the Hardy Boyz & the Dudley Boyz.  One being a triangle ladder match at Wrestlemania XXVI and another being in the first ever Tables, Ladders & Chairs match against the same teams at Summerslam.  They would be successful in both matches and finish the year strong with four separate Tag Team Championship runs in the same year.

Runner Up: The Hardy Boyz

Match Of The Year:: WWE Royal Rumble: Triple H vs. Cactus Jack

In what was arguably, the greatest and most brilliantly executed Street Fight of all time, Triple H would cement his status as a main event talent after defeating Mick Foley in his most deadly persona.  After months of torment, Foley had had enough of Triple H's taunts that he was over-the-hill and set out to prove he was every bit as dangerous as he was in the decade before.  The result?  One of the most violent and memorable WWE Championship matches ever.  Both men would put everything on the line in one of the most exhausting matches I have ever witnessed.  It's easily, the most essential match in Triple H's legacy and a true representation of the passion and desire that Foley would possess anytime he had something to fight for.

Runner Up:: WWE Summerslam: The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christian