List of WrestleMania 2000 Storylines and Feuds

The McMahon-Helmsley Era — Corporate Domination as the WM2000 Engine

Triple H and Stephanie's Authority Over WWF Programming Set Every Major Storyline

The dominant narrative force of early 2000 WWF programming was the McMahon-Helmsley Era — Triple H and his wife Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley exercising near-absolute authority over WWF as its de facto power couple. Triple H had won the WWF Championship from Mankind on the August 23, 1999 Raw (the 'night Mick Foley retired the first time') and had since used his relationship with Stephanie — and Vince McMahon's complex family dynamics — to protect his championship. The WM2000 main event's 'McMahon in Every Corner' structure was the physical manifestation of the McMahon family's political involvement in every aspect of the championship picture. The narrative required each championship contender to have a McMahon family member as both a strategic asset and a liability — creating unpredictable interference patterns throughout the match.

The Rock's Road to WM2000 — Royal Rumble Win, Shane's Interference, Vince's Surprise

Rock's Championship Pursuit — The Most Complex Title Chase in WM History

The Rock's road to WM2000 was the most obstacle-laden championship pursuit in the event's history. He won the Royal Rumble on January 23 in New Orleans to earn his title shot. He then had the shot seemingly taken away when Big Show — with Shane McMahon's chair shot assistance — defeated him at No Way Out. He won it back on the March 13 Raw with Vince McMahon's unexpected assistance — Vince's surprise return and alignment with Rock being one of the year's most debated booking decisions. Rock also had to put his career on the line in a match against Big Show to get back into the WM2000 main event, adding stakes to every step of his journey.

Mick Foley's WM Retirement — From Hell in a Cell to WrestleMania Last Stand

Foley 'Retired' Multiple Times — Linda McMahon Reinstated Him for WM2000

Mick Foley's WM2000 involvement was built around one of the most emotionally manipulative retirement storylines in WWF history. Foley had been 'retired' by Triple H in a brutal Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out 2000 — the stipulation being that if Cactus Jack lost, Foley had to retire permanently. Foley lost. Then WWF CEO Linda McMahon — exercising her authority against the McMahon-Helmsley regime — reinstated him for WM2000. The emotional weight of Foley's WM2000 involvement was the audience's genuine investment in him as a lovable, self-sacrificing crowd favourite competing against all odds on WrestleMania's stage for what appeared to be a final time.

Triangle Ladder Match — Three Teams, One Blueprint

Edge and Christian, Hardy Boyz, and Dudley Boyz — Progressive Three-Way Escalation

The three-way rivalry between Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boyz, and The Dudley Boyz had been building across multiple PPV encounters before WM2000. Edge and Christian had won a previous Ladder Match against the Hardys at No Mercy 1999. The Dudleys brought their unique 3D finisher and Bubba Ray's sadistic 'we want tables' psychology to the three-way rivalry. The WM2000 Triangle Ladder Match was the confluence of three distinct tag team styles — E&C's coordinated tactical heeling, the Hardys' breathtaking athleticism, and the Dudleys' brutally physical intensity — creating a match whose sum was greater than its individual parts.

Chris Benoit, Jericho, and Angle — New Arrivals Collide at WM2000

Three of WWF's Most Talented New Acquisitions in a Championship Showcase

Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit — three of the most technically accomplished performers in the world — were all relatively recent WWF additions heading into WM2000. Angle had debuted in November 1999. Benoit arrived with The Radicalz in January 2000. Jericho had debuted in August 1999. Their WM2000 match was the first WrestleMania encounter between three men who would collectively produce some of the greatest in-ring WrestleMania moments of the subsequent decade. The two-fall triple threat stipulation was a creative acknowledgement that two championships needed to be contested simultaneously while giving all three performers a genuine championship moment.