surgery done on his damaged neck. Story-lines had Austin being the victim of a hit-and-run attack, but it was when the "Texas Rattlesnake" returned about nine months later that fan interest really picked up. In a wild and violent search for who ran down "Stone Cold," Steve Austin blasted innocent suspects with chairs, dropped them with "Stone Cold Stunners," and then gladly had a few adult beverages to quench his thirst. Add up all that, and the return of "Austin 3:16" was nothing to shake a stick at in 2000.
    The final selection in my "Best of 2000" column did not gain as much publicity as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's return, and it also lacked the shock-factor of the Tables, Ladders, and Chair match. Jerry Lawler and Tazz were putting on an O.K. match at the midway point of the SummerSlam 2000 Pay-Per-View, and as Lawler went for his finisher, the crowd erupted. Unfortunately for Lawler, the crowd reaction had nothing to do with him…it marked the coming of Raven. Raven's debut in the WWF was clearly not the biggest event of 2000, but his intellectual interviews (which are about 800 times more creative than most of the catch phrases The Rock comes up with), unique look, and hard-core wrestling style will no doubt be something to be remembered when 2001 is done and over with. Raven himself coined this year to be his, but all will remember that it was 2000 when he debuted, and his path to greatness began.
    Tables, Stunners, and a guy named after a bird topped my 2000; hopefully if you don't agree with my choices, you at least enjoyed the year-that-was in sports entertainment, and will continue to do so in 2001!