THE WWE and professional wrestling as a whole were in a pretty unique situation around 2000 as WWE was more popular than ever and still dominated the ratings and fan attention, promotions like WCW and ECW were still around but were hanging by a thread due to the amount of talent making the jump to other promotions.
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On top of that, smaller promotions that would become homes for younger, less experienced talent, like Ring of Honor and TNA Wrestling, had not yet been established at this point, so many of the names that would fill those ranks were found themselves at work. on minor events for larger promotions. With that being said, let’s take a look at WWE in 2000 and see which names might surprise you when you see a match or more.
Sgt. Slaughter
Retired but played a few more matches
- Ended his main career in WWE in 1992.
- Made occasional appearances in the ring and worked on screen.
- Had two matches in 2000, against Kurt Angle and Funaki.
Sgt. Slaughter stands out on this list because everyone else was an up-and-coming kid trying to make a name for themselves, while Sgt. Slaughter was an established former WWE Champion who was long retired. His main run in WWE had ended around 1992, without an appearance on a house show, Royal Rumble, in 1994.
Slaughter was an on-screen character for a time during the Attitude Era and had a famous match against Triple H at In Your House: D-Generation X in 1997. He would have two matches in 2000, having the chance to work with Kurt. Angle on an episode of SmackDown and against Funaki on an episode of Heat.
Seven
Known for his time as Kevin Thorn and Mordecai
- He started his wrestling career in 2000.
- Played a handful of matches against Jakked and Heat.
- Would officially join OVW in 2002.
Kevin Fertig began his professional wrestling career with Memphis Championship Wrestling, a developmental brand for WWE, but did not necessarily sign a developmental deal with WWE until 2002. His first of many characters would be Seven, related to the Seven Deadly Sins, and would see him win multiple titles in MCW before the promotion folded in 2001.
The few matches he had with WWE in 2000 saw him compete against Heat and Jakked, wrestling names like Too Cool, Lance Cade and Essa Rios.
Spanking
Known as Brian Kendrick
- He competed in his first wrestling match in 1999.
- I have to compete in two matches against a long-time rival and future WWE Champion.
- He would later sign with WWE in 2002.
It took Brian Kendrick one match before he got the chance to work on a WWE show, with his second match taking place on an episode of Heat. Later in the year, he would have another match against Heat and a match against Jakked, all involving another young talent who would eventually become one of WWE’s most beloved stars.
Kendrick would work around the world for promotions such as Ring of Honor, ZERO-ONE and HWA before officially signing a contract with WWE in 2002.
Charlie and Russ Haas
Both men appeared to be the future of the tag team division
- Both brothers only had a few years under their belt as wrestlers.
- Held tag team gold in JAPW and CZW.
- Signed developmental contracts with WWE in 2000.
Most WWE fans are familiar with Charlie Haas, based on age, of course, but many may not have much experience with his brother Russ. Both men were considered absolute workhorses and took no time at all to become hot prospects for WWE. They had matches in JAPW and CZW before getting into a few matches on Jakked in 2000.
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The duo were also signing developmental contracts around this time and becoming very busy, eventually getting into matches on Raw in 2001. Sadly, Russ tragically passed away when he was just 27 years old, in December 2001.
Shelton Benjamin
Began his wrestling career in OVW
- I hadn’t wrestled before coming to Ohio Valley Wrestling.
- Had his first tag team match with Brock Lesnar in 2000.
- Had a dark game on Heat in 2000.
Before he began teaming with his World’s Greatest Tag Team partner Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin was just beginning his wrestling career in 2000. He would get his first matches in OVW as a singles star before creating a tag team with a young Brock Lesnar, known as the Minnesota Stretch Team.
Benjamin spent the majority of 2000 in OVW but only had one match on an episode of Heat, wrestling Rob Conway.
Rob Conway
Former member of the Resistance
- Has been on the OVW roster since 1998.
- Made his first appearance on the main roster on Raw in 1999.
- Made a few appearances in Jakked and Heat in 2000.
Speaking of Conway, he reportedly had many matches in OVW as he began his career in early 1998 and was very active on that roster by the time 2000 rolled around. Conway’s first WWE match outside of OVW took place on Raw in 1999, and he would continue to make appearances in the years to come.
As mentioned before, he had a match against Shelton Benjamin, but he also had a few matches against Jakked months earlier.
Shawn Hernandez
Famous for his time with LAX in TNA
- Had his first wrestling match in 1998.
- He didn’t really start wrestling until 2000.
- Had a match in WWE after working only eight matches previously.
While most of these stars have continued their careers in WWE thus far with varying degrees of success, Hernandez is easily more widely known to the public due to his time in TNA. After just a few matches before, Hernandez would appear on an episode of Jakked, losing to Crash in just a few minutes.
This would be his only appearance in WWE that year, but he got a second chance in 2001 when he wrestled Jakked again, but this time against Haku. These would be the only WWE matches Hernandez had during his career.
Loki
Better known as Low Ki of Ring Of Honor
- Started wrestling in 1998.
- Had a run of matches in WWE from 2000 to 2002.
- Brought back to WWE as part of Season 2 of NXT in 2010.
Low Ki was already traveling through several independent promotions by 2000, but would get his first big break that year when he wrestled Jakked, just like many other young wrestlers at the time. He only competed in a few matches for WWE in 2000 and would continue to work with the company the following year.
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Low Ki had his last match in WWE for many years in 2002 and would become the first Ring of Honor World Champion just a month after this match. He made a return to NXT in 2010, under the name Kaval.
Christopher Daniels
Daniels had almost a decade of experience in 2000
- I signed a development agreement in 1998.
- Mainly used as a jobber on Heat, Jakked and Shotgun Saturday Night.
- I did a tryout with WCW in 2000.
Christopher Daniels is closely linked to his time in Ring of Honor and TNA, but he was far from a newcomer by the time he started wrestling in WWE. Daniels reportedly has nearly a decade of experience with matches dating back to 1994 and his first WWE match in 1998.
The story of Christopher becoming the “Higher Power” character on Raw during the Attitude Era it was said many times, and he would continue to work with WWE for a few years after it didn’t come to fruition.
American Dragon
Most commonly known as Bryan Danielson or Daniel Bryan
- He began his wrestling career in 1999.
- He only worked six matches before wrestling for WWE on Heat.
- Signature of a development agreement in 2000.
Last but not least, he is by far the most successful person listed here, as the American Dragon would later be a multiple time WWE World Champion and considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time . Bryan Danielson only played a few matches in late 1999 and those gave him the chance to work on the Heat in 2000.
Danielson had two more matches that year for WWE, then returned occasionally with matches from 2000 to 2010 before becoming part of the first season of NXT.
