This week on Tales from the Attitude Era, Rob and former WWF writer Tommy head to the heart of ECW country, Philadelphia, for the 4/20/2000 episode of SmackDown! The show features a fantasy champion vs. champion match, as WWF Champion Triple H takes on the reigning ECW Champion, Tazz!

With Backlash just around the corner, the main event sees The Rock and Chris Jericho go one-on-one in a Lumberjack Match, with the deck completely stacked against them by the McMahon-Helmsley faction. We break down the chaotic finish and the politics behind Jericho getting a pinfall victory over The Rock.

We also dive into:

- ECW's massive influence on the Attitude Era and why its success ultimately led to its downfall.

- The hilarious behind-the-scenes story of how the Crash Holly circus segment was created on the fly.

- The continued build for major Backlash feuds, including Kurt Angle vs. Big Show and Edge & Christian vs. DX.

- A loaded recap of Sunday Night Heat, which featured the official breakup of Head Cheese and a major angle between Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit.

- The blossoming (and awkward) flirtation between Stephanie McMahon and Kurt Angle.

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

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Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Tales from the Attitude Era, Rob and former WWF writer Tommy dive into one of the most iconic and chaotic episodes in history: WWF RAW is WAR from April 17, 2000!

This is the night Chris Jericho shocked the world and pinned Triple H to become the WWF Champion... for a few minutes. Tommy shares the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the match came together, including the fact that Jericho was on the verge of quitting the company just moments before being told he was winning the title.

The McMahon family drama also explodes as Linda McMahon makes a blockbuster announcement for Backlash: Stone Cold Steve Austin is returning to be in The Rock's corner! This leads to a wild segment where Linda slaps Stephanie, and Shane McMahon has to save his own mother from a Pedigree at the hands of Triple H.

We also dive into:

- Taz making a shocking appearance on Raw as the reigning ECW Champion.

- The convoluted and perfectly executed finish to the Jericho/Triple H match.

- Did Triple H bury Jericho's momentum by winning clean in the main event?

- Kurt Angle's hilarious abstinence crusade at the local mall.

- The ongoing saga between The Hardy Boyz, Lita, Eddie Guerrero, and Chyna.

Join us for a deep dive into an episode that injected a massive shot of adrenaline into the Attitude Era and created a moment fans still talk about over two decades later.

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

http://youtube.com/@TFTAttitudeEra 

http://twitter.com/TFTAttitudeEra

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Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Tales from the Attitude Era, Rob Pasbani and former WWF writer Tommy Blacha head to the Ice Palace in Tampa for the April 13, 2000 episode of SmackDown! The road to Backlash is getting shorter, and we discuss the creative pressures of building a pay-per-view card with only a few weeks of TV.

With the roster in their home state of Florida, the show has a fun, house-show vibe. The Rock has secured his title shot, but the McMahon-Helmsley Faction isn't done with him yet, setting up a huge six-man tag team main event between The Rock & The Acolytes and Triple H, Big Boss Man, & Bull Buchanan.

We also dive into:

- A hot opening match for the European Championship between Eddie Guerrero and Rikishi.

- The Hardy Boyz taking on Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko in the work-rate match of the night.

- The debut of The Big Show's "Fat Bastard" impersonation from Austin Powers.

- Chris Jericho getting on Stephanie McMahon's bad side, leading to a handicap match against DX.

- The brief and bizarre introduction of Stephanie's personal trainer, Muffy.

Join us as we break down the matches, the backstage stories, and whether the Attitude Era was starting to feel a little repetitive at this point in its run.

0:00 - Intro

2:15 - Laying the Groundwork for Backlash

6:56 - Is The Attitude Era Getting Repetitive?

11:37 - Eddie Guerrero vs. Rikishi (European Championship)

17:11 - Are DQ and Count-Out Finishes Better?

23:02 - The McMahon-Helmsley Faction Kicks Off The Show

25:12 - Head Cheese at the Old Folks' Home

26:59 - The Hardy Boyz vs. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko

28:49 - Kurt Angle gets Big Show as a Tag Team Partner

31:55 - Crash Holly vs. Perry Saturn (Hardcore Championship)

33:22 - The Big Show does his "Fat Bastard" gimmick

39:30 - Chris Jericho's Case of Mistaken Identity

42:03 - Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Albert

43:43 - Jericho is Booked in a Handicap Match

45:48 - Introducing... Muffy?

55:56 - Main Event: The Rock & The Acolytes vs. Triple H, Boss Man, & Buchanan

57:49 - The Observer Notes: Chyna/HHH Breakup & Undertaker's Return

1:00:05 - Behind the scenes interest in Brock Lesnar & Alexander Karelin

1:01:05 - Sunday Night Heat Results

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

http://youtube.com/@TFTAttitudeEra 

http://twitter.com/TFTAttitudeEra

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Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Tales from the Attitude Era, Rob and former WWF writer Tommy Blacha break down the April 10, 2000 episode of Raw is War! We discuss the fallout from WrestleMania 2000 and why this Raw felt like a "casserole of leftovers."

The Rock is on a quest for revenge against the McMahon-Helmsley faction and demands his shot at the WWF Championship. Vince McMahon finally explains his shocking turn, leading to a bizarre promo about feces and rectal cavities. Plus, The Rock is booked in a handicap Steel Cage match for the main event!

We also dive into:

• The infamous WWF vs. WWE name change and the weird edits that came with it.
• The highly competitive Monday Night War, with WCW launching its big reset episode featuring both Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo.
• Edge & Christian defending their newly won WWF Tag Team Championship against D-Generation X.
• The dawn of The Big Show's entertaining impersonation gimmicks.
• The rise of "Latino Heat" as Eddie Guerrero and Chyna's storyline continues to evolve.
• Triple H taking on an unlikely opponent in Taka Michinoku.

Watch this episode on Youtube.

CHAPTERS:

0:00 - Intro

0:48 - Rant: WWF vs. WWE & The Panda Problem

3:20 - Raw is a Casserole of Leftovers

5:37 - The Rock Kicks Off Raw in his Hometown

7:09 - Vince McMahon Confronts The Rock

9:26 - Competition from the WCW Relaunch

14:04 - Vince Finally Explains Why He Turned on The Rock

16:37 - Vince McMahon's Fixation on the Rectal Cavity

21:55 - Edge & Christian vs. DX (WWF Tag Team Championship Match)

23:39 - Terri Runs into The Kat Backstage

24:56 - Kurt Angle vs. The Godfather

28:07 - Latino Heat Arrives in a Low Rider

29:44 - The Radicals vs. Too Cool & Taz

35:08 - Terri Spikes The Kat's Drink

36:24 - Triple H vs. Taka Michinoku

40:36 - T&A vs. The Hardy Boyz

42:20 - The Dawn of The Big Show-ski

53:36 - Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho

59:51 - The Aftermath for The Kat

1:00:30 - Main Event: The Rock vs. The Big Boss Man & Bull Buchanan (Steel Cage Match)

1:03:13 - Post-Match Mayhem & Raw Fallout

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

http://youtube.com/@TFTAttitudeEra 

http://twitter.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://instagram.com/TFTAttitudeEra

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Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the Smackdown after WrestleMania 2000, and the Rock has had enough of DX's antics and gets a bit of revenge for being screwed at WrestleMania. Plus, the Latino Heat angle kicks off with Chyna, the Radicalz are finding their new place on the card, the tag team division is heating up with the Dudleys, T&A, Hardys, and Head Cheese all vying for a spot, and we get some great wrestling this episode.

Watch this episode on Youtube.

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

http://youtube.com/@TFTAttitudeEra 

http://twitter.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://instagram.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://tiktok.com/@TFTAttitudeEra

Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the night after WrestleMania 2000, and while the world waited on an explanation from Vince McMahon, we didn't quite get one. Instead, he teamed with DX to try to stop the Rock. This is the episode where Chyna finally gives into Eddie Guerrero's advances and we start the memorable storyline between the two of them. Plus, Big Show goes Hollywood with an attempt at an evolution of his character. Plus, the Hardcore Title chronicles continue.

Watch this episode on Youtube.

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

http://youtube.com/@TFTAttitudeEra 

http://twitter.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://instagram.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://tiktok.com/@TFTAttitudeEra

Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's traditionally the biggest show of the year, but in 2000, WrestleMania felt more like a thrown-together episode of Raw. Former writer Tommy Blacha talks about what worked and what missed the mark, why the crowd was so quiet all night, heightened expectations, his vision for the Hardcore Title segment that got a little muddied, and we dive deep into why the fatal four way main event and the Vince McMahon swerve at the end didn't work for the crowd.

Watch this episode on Youtube.

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

http://youtube.com/@TFTAttitudeEra 

http://twitter.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://instagram.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://tiktok.com/@TFTAttitudeEra

Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WrestleMania 2000 is only a few days away in our timeline, and for this review of #WWESmackdown, comedian and show business star Dave Hill joins us to share his views on pro wrestling as we get through the last episode before Mania, and there's a lot here from Stephanie's win of the WWF Women's Title, the hardcore title schenanigans and the tag team division really heating up.

Watch this episode on Youtube.

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

http://youtube.com/@TFTAttitudeEra 

http://twitter.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://instagram.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://tiktok.com/@TFTAttitudeEra

Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the final WWF Monday Night Raw before the biggest show of the year, and things get out of whack when the first segment runs much longer than it should have, forcing cuts to the timing of the rest of the show. Watch as former head writer Tommy Blacha describes the mayhem backstage and also some angles he hoped to get across before the big PPV this weekend - namely never getting a Hardcore vs. Crash Holly feud fully off the ground. All the matches on the show this week seem to set up PPV matches for the weekend, and we go through the build for Mania and discuss the chaotic main event starring all the featured players.

Watch this episode on Youtube.

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

http://youtube.com/@TFTAttitudeEra 

http://twitter.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://instagram.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://tiktok.com/@TFTAttitudeEra

Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephanie McMahon isn't so innocent anymore. This is the infamous episode where she slaps her mom, future Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon. Plus, Mick Foley does his best to explain how he came back so soon after his retirement, and we start to see the full WrestleMania 2000 card developing with Hardys, Edge & Christian, the Dudleys, the Hollys, Rikishi, Too Cool, the Radicalz and more all getting roles.

Watch this episode on Youtube.

Follow Tales from The Attitude Era on all social media

http://youtube.com/@TFTAttitudeEra 

http://twitter.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://instagram.com/TFTAttitudeEra

http://tiktok.com/@TFTAttitudeEra

Tommy Blacha made his name in Hollywood as a writer on Conan O'Brien, co-creator of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, and a writer on shows like The Eric Andre Show and Da Ali G Show. But, a little-known fact about Tommy's career is that he was the head writer of WWE (WWF at the time)) during their most successful period, starting in 1999, taking over for Vince Russo, who left for the competition. This podcast, Tales from the Attitude Era will be a retrospective of Tommy's time in the head writer position and the roller coaster ride that is pro wrestling, co-hosted by Rob Pasbani.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.