Wrestling in the spring of 2000 was absolute chaos. If you weren't there, it’s hard to describe the sheer volume of the crowd or the way the air felt electric during the Attitude Era. WWE SmackDown Episode 34 wasn't just another Thursday night show; it was a pivotal moment in the lead-up to WrestleMania 2000. It aired on April 20, 2000, and honestly, the landscape of the company was shifting under everyone's feet.
You had The Rock at the absolute peak of his powers. Triple H was the most hated man in the building. And the McMahon family? They were everywhere.
The episode kicked off with a level of intensity that modern shows sometimes struggle to replicate. You didn't get a twenty-minute monologue about "brand synergy." Instead, you got Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley lording their power over the locker room. The "McMahon-Helmsley Regime" was in full swing here. It’s easy to forget now that Triple H is the guy running the whole company, but back during SmackDown Episode 34, he was the ultimate villain. He was the WWE Champion, and he had the backing of the corporate machine.
The Chaos of the Main Event Scene
The central tension of this specific episode revolved around the fallout from the previous weeks and the inevitable collision course between The Rock and the faction holding the gold. The Rock was basically the "People’s Champion" in more than just name. When his music hit, the roof nearly came off the building.
One thing people often get wrong about this era is thinking every match was a five-star technical masterpiece. It wasn't. It was about stories. In Episode 34, the main event featured The Rock and The Dudley Boyz taking on the formidable trio of Triple H, X-Pac, and Road Dogg. Think about that lineup for a second. You have the most popular star in history teamed up with perhaps the greatest tag team of all time against the core of D-Generation X.
The match was a total car crash in the best way possible.
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The Dudleys were still relatively fresh in the WWE at this point, having jumped over from ECW, and seeing them align with The Rock was a stroke of genius. It gave the fans exactly what they wanted: a reason to see the "bad guys" get put through tables. And spoiler alert for a twenty-six-year-old show: tables were definitely involved.
Middle-Card Madness and the Hardcore Title
While the main event took the headlines, the undercard of WWE SmackDown Episode 34 showed why the roster was so deep. We saw Chris Jericho—still wearing those ridiculous shiny pants—taking on Eddie Guerrero for the European Championship.
This is the stuff that gets wrestling nerds excited.
Jericho and Guerrero had such incredible chemistry from their days in WCW, and they brought that same high-speed, technical flair to the WWE ring. Chyna was involved too, adding that layer of "Mamacity" drama that defined Eddie's run at the time. It’s a bittersweet watch now, knowing what happened to Eddie later, but in April 2000, he was just starting to prove he was one of the best to ever lace up a pair of boots.
Then you had the Hardcore Championship.
Crash Holly was the champion, defending the title under the "24/7 rule." This meant he could be pinned anywhere, at any time, as long as a referee was present. In this episode, the chaos reached a fever pitch. The 24/7 rule was probably the most entertaining thing on TV because it felt like anything could happen. You’d see a guy get pinned in an airport, a laundromat, or, in the case of this era, backstage during a random interview.
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It added a sense of "can't miss" energy to the broadcast. You couldn't look away because you might miss a title change while a guy was trying to buy a soda.
Why This Specific Episode Matters for History
Looking back, SmackDown Episode 34 was a bridge. We were moving away from the purely shock-value "Crash TV" of 1999 into a period where the wrestling actually started to matter again. The influx of talent like The Radicalz (Benoit, Guerrero, Saturn, and Malenko) forced everyone else to level up.
The production value was also peaking.
The iconic oval entrance way and the giant "SmackDown" fist (which actually came a bit later, but the set design was evolving) gave the show a distinct identity from Monday Night Raw. For a long time, SmackDown was treated as the "B-show," but around the time of Episode 34, it often outperformed Raw in terms of match quality and coherent storytelling.
It was also a time of massive transition for the commentary team. You had Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler. Cole was still the young, slightly over-eager announcer, a far cry from the legendary "voice of WWE" he’s considered today in 2026. Listening to him navigate the chaos of the Attitude Era is like watching a rookie quarterback find his rhythm.
The Nuance of the McMahon-Helmsley Era
If you analyze the script of this episode, the dialogue isn't Shakespeare. It's better. It's visceral. The way Triple H could manipulate the crowd with a single sneer was a masterclass in psychology. He wasn't just a wrestler; he was a heat magnet.
Some critics argue that the McMahon family took up too much screen time during this period. They aren't wrong. If you re-watch Episode 34, you'll see Shane, Stephanie, and Vince all involved in various segments. However, their presence gave the faces—The Rock, Rikishi, and Too Cool—a mountain to climb. Without a truly oppressive villain, the hero's victory feels hollow.
Rikishi and Too Cool were another highlight of this episode. If you didn't see the arena turn into a literal disco while a 400-pound man did the worm, you haven't lived. It was ridiculous. It was campy. It was perfect.
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Fact-Checking the Record Books
A lot of people confuse this episode with the one where Stone Cold Steve Austin returned to blow up the DX bus. That actually happened on the Raw preceding Backlash 2000. Episode 34 of SmackDown was the final "go-home" push. It was about solidifying the stakes.
The Rock was chasing the title, and the fans were desperate to see him win it at the upcoming Pay-Per-View. This episode did the heavy lifting of making that desperation feel real.
Here is what actually happened on the card:
- Edge and Christian (the tag champs) were in their "photography" phase, which was hilarious.
- The Big Show was doing his "impersonator" gimmick, coming out as the "Showster" (a parody of Hulk Hogan). This was a weird time for Big Show, but it showed his range beyond just being a giant.
- The Hardy Boyz were flying high, pushing the boundaries of what people expected from tag team wrestling.
The athleticism of Jeff Hardy in 2000 was something we hadn't seen before in a mainstream ring. He wasn't just doing moves; he was falling with style. In Episode 34, you could see the seeds of the TLC (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) matches that would define the next two years.
The Legacy of Thursday Night SmackDown
It’s funny to think about now, but SmackDown used to be on Thursday nights on UPN. It was the flagship show for a network that basically doesn't exist anymore in the same form. Episode 34 was a ratings monster. Millions of people tuned in to see what The Rock would say next.
The "smackdown" brand itself was so powerful it eventually entered the Merriam-Webster dictionary. That started here. It started with episodes like this one, where the energy was so high that it transcended the niche of wrestling fans and became a cultural phenomenon.
If you’re a newer fan trying to understand why your older friends talk about the Attitude Era with such nostalgia, this is the episode to watch. It’s not because it had the "best" wrestling. It’s because it felt like a riot that was barely being contained by the cameras.
Actionable Insights for Wrestling Historians
If you are looking to revisit this era or research the development of the WWE's second flagship show, here is how you should approach it:
- Watch the segments, not just the matches. The "backstage segments" in Episode 34 are where the character work happens. Pay attention to how Stephanie McMahon interacts with the roster; she was arguably the best heel in the company at the time.
- Listen to the crowd. Today's crowds are often "smart" and cheer for the heels. In 2000, the fans hated the villains with a passion that felt genuine. It changes the way you perceive the action in the ring.
- Track the Dudley Boyz' transition. This episode is a great example of how WWE took an "extreme" act from ECW and polished it for a national audience without losing the edge that made them famous.
- Compare the pacing. Notice how fast the show moves. There is very little "dead air." If a segment isn't moving the story forward, it's usually over in three minutes.
To find this footage, the WWE Network (or Peacock in the US) is your best bet. Look for the SmackDown archives from April 2000. Specifically, look for the date April 20, 2000. It's a time capsule of a world where anything could happen, and usually, something crazy did.
The industry has changed a lot since then. The moves are more athletic now. The production is "cleaner." But the soul of what makes wrestling work—the simple story of a hero fighting against an unfair system—was never told better than it was during the run of shows that included SmackDown Episode 34. It remains a masterclass in building tension before a major event. It wasn't perfect, but it was loud, it was proud, and it was exactly what the world wanted at the turn of the millennium.