#5 Summerslam 2000 – WWF Hardcore Title: Shane McMahon © Vs Steve Blackman
On the go-home Raw is War before Summerslam, Shane (with help from Test, Albert, Edge and Christian) won his second championship, beating Steve Blackman for the Hardcore title. Then-commissioner Mick Foley announced the suspension of the 24/7 rule for the Hardcore Championship during Shane’s reign to prevent him from losing the title before the rematch at Summerslam 2000.
Blackman is in control early on. At one point, he places a trash can over Shane’s head and upper body, and lays in shots with a pair of Escrima sticks. Test and Albert run in to stop Blackman using a leather strap to choke Shane while applying a single-leg Boston Crab. Shane tries crushing Blackman under a speaker, but Blackman avoids it and fights back, taking out T&A with a kendo stick.
Seeing Blackman with a kendo stick prompts Shane to run. But where do you go when “The Lethal Weapon” has his favourite ‘toy’ and is chasing you? Well, UP seems to be the answer, and Shane starts to climb the 50-foot tall scaffolding at the side of the stage next to the Summerslam logo. Bad move – Blackman, complete with the kendo stick, follows. Shane reaches the top and soon has nowhere else to go. Blackman, realising he has him cornered, uses the kendo stick to attack. The first hits Shane’s knee. The second hits the shoulder. The third, the back. The fourth – well, that’s the history maker.
Blackman connects with one more shot to Shane’s back. Shane goes stiff, and falls, backwards, 50-feet off of the scaffolding through the ‘stage’. Not content, Blackman climbs halfway down the scaffolding and lands an elbow drop on Shane, winning back the Hardcore Championship.
While Shane doesn’t get in much offence in this match, that was never the point. This was designed for two things – one, to show Shane can take a beating and still keep moving; and two, one of the most spectacular finishes in wrestling history. The shots of the fall from the scaffolding, especially from the long-angle at the opposite side of the arena, are iconic and have appeared in countless lists and highlights packages. Shane proved, with one bump, that he was willing to put his body on the line and do whatever it takes to tell a story and look good while doing it.