WWF Heat 4/16/2000

Written by: Bob Colling

World Wrestling Federation presents Heat
Date: 4/16/2000
From: Tampa, FL

Matches:
1.) Taka Michinoku defeated Essa Rios
2.) Val Venis fought The Godfather to a no contest
3.) WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit defeated Hardcore Holly to retain the title

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Apparently, this weeks episode was joined in progress from the Canada feed. So, if I manage to find the full version then I’ll update this accordingly.

2.) Earlier in the night, Essa Rios and Lita were backstage and apparently insulted the team of Taka and Funaki leading to a singles match tonight.

3.) Taka controls Rios with a headlock and knocks Rios down with a shoulder block. Taka sends Rios into the ropes but is dropkicked to the floor. Rios follows up with a head scissors to the floor. Rios misses a slingshot cross body attempt crashing to the floor. Funaki gets a few cheap shots in while the referee was distracted. Funaki sends Rios into the ring steps. Taka works over Rios in the corner with strikes. Taka elbows Rios but Rios arm drags Taka out of the corner to the apron. Lita yanks Taka off the apron dropping Taka face first on the apron. Funaki stalks Lita on the floor causing Lita to back into Taka. Funaki accidentally punches Taka and Rios takes them out with a somersault dive over the ring post to the floor. Taka boots Rios in the corner and Rios puts Taka on the top turnbuckle. Taka shoves Rios off but Rios comes back with a hurricanrana off the top rope. Taka rolls to the floor to regroup. Lita goes to leap off the ring steps but Funaki shoves Lita off the steps. Rios knocks Funaki out of the ring but Taka plants Rios with the Michinoku Driver to get the three count. (**1/2. Considering Taka just recently had a match with HHH on RAW, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’d go over here. It was a fine match.)

4.) Stephanie McMahon’s personal trainer comes out and says she is out here to pump up the crowd. Muffy is telling the fans they are fat and nobody has a chance with her. She is really driving home the fact that everyone is fat. This is honestly something I do not remember. She considers herself to be the “fat slayer” and proceeds to walk off.

5.) Venis sends Godfather into the ropes and is met with a shoulder block. Godfather clotheslines Venis to counter a hip toss attempt but misses an elbow drop. Venis hammers away on Godfather with in the corner. Godfather clotheslines Venis and connects with a scoop slam. Godfather delivers a leg drop and plays to the crowd. Kurt Angle comes out and has a microphone. He is not happy because the moral stench these two men have is oozing to the backstage area. Angle thinks that the entire arena needs to be cleaned. Venis and Godfather collide as they attempted clotheslines at the same time. Angle calls them both losers for being laid out in the ring. Angle suggests they should use their own hand for relations. Angle insults the hoes until Godfather and Venis come over and attack Venis on the floor. Godfather and Venis brawl with Angle until Angle escapes. Godfather and Venis decide to cancel the match and deal with the hoes. (NR. Venis and Godfather should be a tag team since they have similar characters.)

6.) Earlier in the night, Hardcore Holly confronted Chris Benoit saying that they will find out tonight if Holly is man enough to hold the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

7.) Holly backs Benoit into the corner and backs away for a clean break. Holly hammers away on Benoit with several right hands. Holly comes off the ropes with a shoulder block and taunts Benoit. Benoit battles back with a series of chops. Benoit is sent chest first hard into the corner and Holly delivers a clothesline. Holly continues with a vertical suplex for a near fall. Holly works over Benoit with several chops. Benoit chops Holly as well and they trade several chops. Benoit clotheslines Holly for a two count. Benoit drives Holly down to the mat with a back suplex for a two count. Benoit knee lifts Holly coming off the ropes and stomps on him. Benoit knee lifts Holly again coming off the ropes. Holly drops Benoit across the ropes gut first. Holly baseball slides Benoit to the floor to keep control of the match. Holly sends Benoit shoulder first into the ring steps. Holly boots Benoit in the corner and connects with a clothesline. Holly heads to the top rope but Benoit cuts him off. Benoit hooks Holly and hits a superplex. Benoit goes to the top but misses a diving headbutt. Holly goes for the cover but Benoit kicks out at two. Holly is sent chest first into the corner but Holly avoids a northern lights suplex. Benoit gets out of a suplex attempt and takes Holly over with a German suplex for the win. (**1/2. A decent main event, but it should show you were Holly is ranked losing to a German suplex of all moves. They worked stiff and it went over well.)

Final Thoughts:
From what was provided, it was a solid show with two good matches.

Thanks for reading.