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Brian M.
March 27th, 2013, 10:19 PM
So I've had this idea floating in my head for a while. I think it would be interesting to find out what people believe are the best matches from "our" era of wrestling. Wrestlemania 14 to Wrestlemania 29. Most everyone that posts here regularly has followed the WWE for a majority of the time in question, and those who haven't have still seen the matches which are raved about and talked up regularly. My idea is to have everyone submit a top 25 list via PM, and hopefully by the end we will have enough voters to rank a solid top 50 for these 15 years. Every few days I will present a new time period for us to discuss. For the most part each discussion will cover a three year span. At the end of these discussions I will post a master list of every match people believe was qualified for nomination. Once we get that all settled, I will start accepting lists. I don't want to start the voting process until after Wrestlemania, as I'm sure there will be at least one or two matches on that show in which people will want to throw on their lists.

The first era we will discuss is of course THE ATTITUDE ERA. For the purposes of this thread, this will cover the years 1998 (Starting at WM 14) to 2000. To get us started here are some matches I enjoyed from this particular time period:

Undertaker VS Steve Austin Summerslam 1998: Perhaps the only truly great match these two ever had together, which is surprising.

The Rock VS Mankind "I Quit Match" Royal Rumble 1999: An absolute gorefest, more of a spectacle than a match, but it told a fantastic story and is now legendary for the amount of unprotected chair shots involved.

The Rock VS Steve Austin Wrestlemania 15: Probably my least favorite of all the matches these guys had at Mania, but still worthy of discussion.

The Rock VS Steve Austin Backlash 1999: A forgotten gem that most people don't talk about because it wasn't at a major PPV, this match delivered just as much as their match the previous month.

Triple H VS Cactus Jack "Street Fight" Royal Rumble 2000: A signature match in Triple H's rise to dominance, and one of Foley's final performances as a regular member of the roster. Memorable in many ways.

Triangle Ladder Match Wrestlemania 2000: Obviously the start of the amazing ladder/TLC match series between the Dudleys, Hardys and Edge/Christian. This to me is the best one of the entire series because it was so innovative and we hadn't seen many of the spots done before.

Triple H VS The Rock Backlash 2000: Another great Backlash main event. This one featured fat Steve Austin returning to hit people with chairs, which only made the match all that much better.

Triple H VS Chris Jericho "Last Man Standing" Fully Loaded 2000: Goodness Triple H had a good year in 2000. Most people remember this match for the finish which was universally hated. However, what happened previous to that was a healthy dose of wrestling greatness.

The Rock VS Chris Benoit Fully Loaded 2000: An underrated match due to the Jericho/Triple H match garnering most of the credit coming out of this show, this was Benoit's coming out as a mainstay in the WWF and one of The Rock's best matches in my opinion.


These are just a few off the top of my head to get us started. Feel free to post your own thoughts about the best matches from this era, as well as if you think there are ways I could improve the voting process (More or fewer than 25 matches per list? Different ways to discuss the matches?). If you can find a YouTube video of your match to provide evidence of it's greatness, even better. Go crazy folks!

THE MASTER LIST:

1998

Triple H VS Owen Hart: Wrestlemania 14
Steve Austin VS Shawn Michaels: Wrestlemania 14
Dude Love VS Steve Austin: Over The Edge 1998
The Rock VS Triple H "King Of The Ring Quarterfinal": Raw June 1998
Mankind VS Undertaker "Hell In A Cell": King Of The Ring 1998
Kane VS Steve Austin: King Of The Ring 1998
Steve Austin VS Undertaker: Summerslam 1998
Triple H VS The Rock "Ladder Match": Summerslam 1998
The Rock VS Ken Shamrock VS Mankind: Breakdown 1998
Mankind VS Steve Austin: Survivor Series 1998

1999
The Rock VS Mankind "I Quit": Royal Rumble 1999
The Rock VS Mankind "Empty Arena": Halftime Heat 1999
The Rock VS Mankind "Ladder Match": Raw February 1999
Steve Austin VS Big Show: Raw before Wrestlemania 15
The Rock VS Steve Austin: Wrestlemania 15
The Rock VS Steve Austin: Backlash 1999
Six Pack Challenge: Unforgiven 1999
Steve Austin VS Triple H: No Mercy 1999
Hardys VS Edge/Christian "Ladder Match": No Mercy 1999

2000

Triple H VS Cactus Jack "Street Fight": Royal Rumble 2000
Hardys VS Dudleys "Tables Match": Royal Rumble 2000
Triple H/X-Pac/Benoit/Malenko/Saturn VS Cactus Jack/The Rock/Rikishi/Too Cool: Raw Feb. 2000
Kurt Angle VS Chris Jericho: No Way Out 2000
Edge/Christian VS Hardys: No Way Out 2000
Triple H VS Cactus Jack "Hell In A Cell: No Way Out 2000
Triangle Tag Team Ladder Match: Wrestlemania 2000
Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit VS Chris Jericho: Wrestlemania 2000
Dean Malenko VS Scotty 2 Hotty: Backlash 2000
Triple H VS The Rock: Backlash 2000
Chris Jericho VS Chris Benoit: Backlash 2000
Chris Jericho VS Christ Benoit: Judgment Day 2000
Triple H VS The Rock "Ironman Match": Judgment Day 2000
Kurt Angle VS Chris Jericho: King Of The Ring 2000
Triple H VS Chris Jericho "Last Man Standing": Fully Loaded 2000
The Rock VS Chris Benoit: Fully Loaded 2000
Chris Jericho VS Chris Benoit: Summerslam 2000
The Rock VS Kurt Angle VS Triple H: Summerslam 2000
TLC 1 (Edge/Christian VS Hardys VS Dudleys): Summerslam 2000
Hardys VS Edge/Christian: Unforgiven 2000
Triple H VS Chris Benoit: No Mercy 2000
The Rock VS Kurt Angle: No Mercy 2000
Six Man Hell In A Cell: Armageddon 2000

2001

Steve Austin VS Kurt Angle: Raw January 2001
Royal Rumble Match: Royal Rumble 2001
Dudleys VS Edge and Christian: Royal Rumble 2001
Chris Benoit VS Chris Jericho "Ladder Match": Royal Rumble 2001
Chris Jericho VS Chris Benoit VS X-Pac VS Eddie Guerrero: No Way Out 2001
Triple H VS Steve Austin "Three Stages Of Hell": No Way Out 2001
Triple H VS Undertaker: Wrestlemania 17
Steve Austin VS The Rock: Wrestlemania 17
TLC 2: Wrestlemania 17
Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit: Wrestlemania 17
Taker/Kane/Hardys VS Triple H/Austin/Edge Christian: Raw April 2001
Steve Austin/Triple H VS Undertaker/Kane: Backlash 2001
Raven VS Rhyno: Backlash 2001
Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit "Cage Match": Raw 2001
Triple H/Steve Austin VS Chris Jericho/Chris Benoit: Raw May 2001
Steve Austin VS Chris Benoit: Raw May 2001
Kurt Angle VS Shane McMahon: King Of The Ring 2001
Rob Van Dam VS Jeff Hardy: Invasion 2001
The Inaugural Brawl: Invasion 2001
Steve Austin VS Chris Benoit: Smackdown May 2001
Steve Austin VS Kurt Angle: Summerslam 2001
Jeff Hardy VS Rob Van Dam: Summerslam 2001
X-Pac VS Tajiri: Summerslam 2001
Chris Jericho VS Rob Van Dam: Unforgiven 2001
Steve Austin VS Kurt Angle: Unforgiven 2001
The Rock VS Chris Jericho: No Mercy 2001
Edge VS Christian "Ladder Match": No Mercy 2001
Steve Austin VS Rob Van Dam VS Kurt Angle: No Mercy 2001
Edge VS Christian "Cage Match": Rebellion 2001
Chris Jericho VS Kurt Angle: Rebellion 2001
Steve Austin VS The Rock: Rebellion 2001
Hardys VS Dudleys: Survivor Series 2001
Team WWF VS Team Alliance: Survivor Series 2001
Chris Jericho VS The Rock: Vengeance 2001
Rob Van Dam VS Undertaker: Vengeance 2001

2002

Chris Jericho VS The Rock: Royal Rumble 2002
The Undertaker VS Ric Flair: Wrestlemania 18
The Rock VS Hulk Hogan: Wrestlemania 18
Edge VS Kurt Angle: Backlash 2002
Hulk Hogan VS Triple H: Backlash 2002
Eddie Guerrero VS Rob Van Dam: Insurrection 2002
Undertaker VS Triple H: Insurrection 2002
Triple H VS Chris Jericho "Hell In A Cell": Judgment Day 2002
Edge VS Kurt Angle: Judgment Day 2002
Undertaker VS Jeff Hardy "Ladder Match": Raw May 2002
The Undertaker VS Kurt Angle: Smackdown July 2002
The Rock VS Undertaker VS Kurt Angle: Vengeance 2002
The Rock VS Brock Lesnar VS Triple H: Global Warning 2002
Edge VS Chris Jericho: Global Warning 2002
Kurt Angle VS Rey Mysterio: Summerslam 2002
The Rock VS Brock Lesnar: Summerslam 2002
Shawn Michaels VS Triple H "Unsanctioned": Summerslam 2002
Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit: Unforgiven 2002
Undertaker VS Brock Lesnar: Unforgiven 2002
Brock Lesnar/Paul Heyman VS Edge: Rebellion 2002
Undertaker VS Brock Lesnar "Hell In A Cell": No Mercy 2002
Angle/Benoit VS Mysterio/Edge "2 Out Of 3 Falls": Smackdown Nov. 2002
Brock Lesnar VS Big Show: Survivor Series 2002
Elimination Chamber: Survivor Series 2002
Shawn Michaels VS Rob Van Dam: Raw December 2002

2003

Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit: Royal Rumble 2003
Hulk Hogan VS The Rock: No Way Out 2003
Undertaker VS Big Show: No Way Out 2003
The Rock VS The Hurricane: Raw 2003
Hulk Hogan VS Vince McMahon: Wrestlemania 19
Chris Jericho VS Shawn Michaels: Wrestlemania 19
Kurt Angle VS Brock Lesnar: Wrestlemania 19
Steve Austin VS The Rock: Wrestlemania 19
Booker T/Nash/Michaels VS Triple H/Flair/Jericho: Backlash 2003
The Rock VS Goldberg: Backlash 2003
Chris Jericho VS Shawn Michaels: Raw May 2003
Triple H VS Ric Flair: Raw May 2003
Shawn Michaels VS Ric Flair: Badd Blood 2003
Kevin Nash VS Triple H: Badd Blood 2003
Brock Lesnar VS Big Show "Stretcher Match": Judgment Day 2003
Chris Benoit VS Eddie Guerrero: Vengeance 2003
Brock Lesnar VS Kurt Angle VS Big Show: Vengenace 2003
John Cena VS Undertaker: Vengeance 2003
World's Greatest Tag Team VS Billy Kidman/Rey Mysterio: Vengeance 2003
John Cena VS Undertaker: Smackdown July 2003
Elimination Chamber: Summerslam 2003
Kurt Angle VS Brock Lesnar: Summerslam 2003
Shane McMahon VS Kane "Last Man Standing": Unforgiven 2003
Goldberg VS Triple H: Unforgiven 2003
Shawn Michaels VS Randy Orton: Unforgiven 2003
The Undertaker VS Kurt Angle: Smackdown Late 2003
Mary Henry VS Shawn Michaels: Raw Late 2003
Team Austin VS Team Bischoff: Survivor Series 2003
Team Brock VS Team Angle: Survivor Series 2003
Triple H VS Shawn Michaels: Raw December 2003
Brock Lesnar VS Chris Benoit: Smackdown December 2003

2004

Triple H VS Shawn Michaels "Last Man Standing": Royal Rumble 2004
Eddie Guerrero VS Brock Lesnar: No Way Out 2004
Chris Benoit VS Triple H VS Shawn Michaels: Wrestlemania 20
Eddie Guerrero VS Kurt Angle: Wrestlemania 20
Christian VS Chris Jericho: Wrestlemania 20
Mick Foley VS Randy Orton "Hardcore Match": Backlash 2004
Shawn Michaels VS Chris Benoit: Raw May 2004
Ric Flair/Triple H/Randy Orton VS Edge/Chris Benoit/Chris Jericho: Raw May 2004
Eddie Guerrero VS JBL: Judgment Day 2004
Triple H VS Shawn Michaels "Hell In A Cell": Badd Blood 2004
Chavo Guerrero VS Rey Mysterio: Great American Bash 2004
Eddie Guerrero VS Kurt Angle: Summerslam 2004
Triple H VS Eugene: Summerslam 2004
Eddie Guerrero VS Kurt Angle: "2 out of 3 falls": Smackdown September 2004
Ric Flair VS Randy Orton "Steel Cage": Taboo Tuesday 2004
Christian VS Shelton Benjamin: Survivor Series 2004

2005

Elimination Chamber: New Year's Revolution 2005
JBL VS Kurt Angle "Last Man Standing": Smackdown January 2005
Edge VS Shawn Michaels: Royal Rumble 2005
Edge VS Shawn Michaels "Street Fight": Raw February 2005
Big Show VS JBL "Barbed Wire Cage": No Way Out 2005
Eddie Guerrero VS Rey Mysterio: Wrestlemania 21
Batista VS Triple H: Wrestlemania 21
Money In The Bank: Wrestlemania 21
Undertaker VS Randy Orton: Wrestlemania 21
Kurt Angle VS Shawn Michaels: Wrestlemania 21
Eddie Guerrero VS Kurt Angle: Smackdown April 2005
Shawn Michaels VS Shelton Benjamin: Raw May 2005
Eddie Guerrero VS Rey Mysterio: Judgment Day 2005
John Cena VS JBL "I Quit": Judgment Day 2005
Eddie Guerrero VS Rey Mysterio: Smackdown June 2005
Mike Awesome VS Masato Tanaka: One Night Stand 2005
Kurt Angle VS Shawn Michaels: Vengeance 2005
Batista VS Triple H "Hell In A Cell": Vengeance 2005
John Cena VS Chris Jericho: Summerslam 2005
Edge VS Matt Hardy: Summerslam 2005
Undertaker VS Randy Orton: Summerslam 2005
Hulk Hogan VS Shawn Michaels: Summerslam 2005
John Cena VS Chris Jericho: Raw August 2005
Edge VS Matt Hardy "Steel Cage": Unforgiven 2005
Kurt Angle VS John Cena: Unforgiven 2005
Undertaker VS Randy Orton: Smackdown September 2005
Eddie Guerrero VS Batista: No Mercy 2005
Triple H VS Ric Flair "Steel Cage Match": Taboo Tuesday 2005
John Cena VS Shawn Michaels VS Kurt Angle: Taboo Tuesday 2005
Team Raw VS Team Smackdown: Survivor Series 2005
Triple H VS Ric Flair: Survivor Series 2005

2006

Elimination Chamber: New Years Revolution 2006
Edge VS Ric Flair "TLC": Raw January 2006
Kurt Angle VS Undertaker: No Way Out 2006
Shawn Michaels VS Shane McMahon: Saturday Night's Main Event March 2006
Triple H/John Cena VS Rey Mysterio/Kurt Angle/Randy Orton: SNME March 2006
Edge VS Mick Foley "Extreme Rules": Wrestlemania 22
Shawn Michaels VS Vince McMahon "Street Fight": Wrestlemania 22
Kurt Angle VS Rey Mysterio VS Randy Orton: Wrestlemania 22
John Cena VS Triple H: Wrestlemania 22
Rob Van Dam VS Shelton Benjamin: Backlash 2006
Triple H VS Edge VS John Cena: Backlash 2006
Lashley VS Booker T: Judgment Day 2006
Chris Benoit VS Finlay: Judgment Day 2006
Sabu VS Rey Mysterio: One Night Stand 2006
Foley/Edge VS Funk/Dreamer: One Night Stand 2006
Kurt Angle VS Randy Orton: One Night Stand 2006
John Cena VS Rob Van Dam: One Night Stand 2006
Kurt Angle VS Randy Orton: Vengeance 2006
Edge VS Rob Van Dam: Vengeance 2006
Big Show VS Ric Flair: ECW TV 2006
Ric Flair VS Mick Foley "I Quit": Summerslam 2006
Edge VS John Cena: Summerslam 2006
Edge VS John Cena "TLC": Unforgiven 2006
4 Way Tag Team Ladder Match: Armaggedon 2006

2007:

HHH/HBK vs. Orton/Edge: New Year's Revolution 2007
Shawn Michaels vs. Edge "Street Fight": Raw
John Cena vs. Umaga "Last Man Standing": Royal Rumble 2007
The 2007 Royal Rumble Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge "WM # 1 Contender's Match": Raw
Undertaker/Batista vs. Cena/HBK: No Way Out 2007
Undertaker/Batista vs. Cena/HBK: Raw Before WM 23
Undertaker vs. Batista: WM23
Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena: WM23
Sabu/Sandman/RVD/Dreamer vs. Burke/Cor Von/Thorn/Striker "Elimination Match": ECW
Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena: Raw in England after WM23
Randy Orton vs. Edge: Raw after that
Undertaker vs. Batista "Last Man Standing": Backlash 2007
Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge vs. John Cena: Backlash 2007
Undertaker vs. Batista "Steel Cage Match": Smackdown
Rob Van Dam vs. Randy Orton: Raw before One Night Stand
Mick Foley vs. John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Booker T vs. Randy Orton: Vengeance 2007
John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley: Great American Bash 2007
John Cena vs. Randy Orton: SummerSlam 2007
CM Punk vs. John Morrison: ECW (Punk wins Title)
Randy Orton vs. Triple H "Last Man Standing": No Mercy 2007
Undertaker vs. Batista: Cyber Sunday 2007
Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton: Cyber Sunday 2007
Shawn Michaels VS Randy Orton: Survivor Series 2007
Undertaker vs. Batista "Hell In A Cell": Survivor Series 2007
Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton: Armageddon 2007

2008

The 2008 Royal Rumble Match
Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match: No Way Out 2008
Raw Elimination Chamber Match: No Way Out 2008
JBL vs. Finlay: WM24
Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair: WM24
Triple H vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena: WM24
Edge vs. Undertaker: WM24
Edge vs. Undertaker: Backlash 2008
Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H vs. JBL: Backlash 2008
Edge vs. Undertaker: Judgment Day 2008
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho: Judgment Day 2008
Triple H vs. Randy Orton "Steel Cage Match": Judgment Day 2008
Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga "Falls Count Anywhere": One Night Stand 2008
Undertaker vs. Edge "TLC Match": One Night Stand 2008
JBL vs. John Cena "Parking Lot Brawl": Great American Bash 2008
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho: Great American Bash 2008
Triple H vs. John Cena: Night Of Champions 2008
John Cena vs. Batista: SummerSlam 2008
Undertaker vs. Edge "Hell In A Cell": SummerSlam 2008
Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry - ECW (Matt wins Title)
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels "Street Fight": Unforgiven 2008
Undertaker vs. Big Show: No Mercy 2008
Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy: No Mercy 2008
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels "Ladder Match": No Mercy 2008
Undertaker vs. Big Show: Cyber Sunday 2008
Chris Jericho vs. Batista: Cyber Sunday 2008
Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy: Cyber Sunday 2008
Chris Jericho vs. Batista "Steel Cage Match": Raw
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena: Survivor Series 2008
CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio: Armageddon 2008
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena: Armageddon 2008
Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Edge: Armageddon 2008

2009

Edge vs. Jeff Hardy: Royal Rumble 2009
Randy Orton vs. Shane McMahon: No Way Out 2009
WWE Title Elimination Chamber Match: No Way Out 2009
World Title Elimination Chamber Match: No Way Out 2009
Chris Jericho vs. Steamboat, Snuka, Piper: WrestleMania 25
Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy "Extreme Rules Match": WrestleMania 25
Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels: WrestleMania 25
All Star 10 man Tag: Raw after WM.
Ricky Steamboat vs. Chris Jericho: Backlash 2009
Triple H/Batista/Shane vs. Orton/DiBiase/Rhodes: Backlash 2009
Edge vs. John Cena "Last Man Standing": Backlash 2009
Edge vs. Jeff Hardy: Judgment Day 2009
CM Punk vs. Umaga: Judgment Day 2009
Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho: Judgment Day 2009
Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho "No DQ": Extreme Rules 2009
Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian vs. Jack Swagger: Extreme Rules 2009
Edge vs. Jeff Hardy "Ladder Match": Extreme Rules 2009
CM Punk vs. Edge vs. Jeff Hardy: Raw 3 For All
Randy Orton vs. Big Show vs. Triple H vs. John Cena: Raw 3 For All
Triple H vs. Randy Orton "Last Man Standing": Raw the week after that.
Triple H vs. Randy Orton "2/3 Falls": The Bash
CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy: Night Of Champions 2009
Triple H vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena: Night Of Champions 2009
Jeff Hardy vs. John Morrison: Smackdown
DX vs. Legacy: SummerSlam 2009
CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy "TLC Match": SummerSlam 2009
CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy "Steel Cage Match": Smackdown
Christian vs. William Regal: Breaking Point 2009
DX vs. Legacy "Submission Count Anywhere": Breaking Point 2009
John Cena vs. Randy Orton "I Quit Match": Breaking Point 2009
CM Punk vs. Undertaker: Hell In A Cell 2009
JeriShow vs. Batista/Rey Mysterio: Hell In A Cell 2009
DX vs. Legacy: Hell In A Cell 2009
Undertaker vs. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Batista: Bragging Rights 2009
Chris Jericho vs. Undertaker: Smackdown
Chris Jericho vs. Undertaker vs. Big Show: Survivor Series 2009
John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels: Survivor Series 2009
Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin "Ladder Match": TLC 2009
JeriShow vs. DX "TLC Match": TLC 2009

The Law
March 27th, 2013, 10:39 PM
I really enjoy these threads, so thanks for taking initiative on this. Happily, this covers the exact period of time that I've been a fan. I started watching wrestling in late-1997, but really only watched WCW until January 1998 when I saw Austin stunning everyone on Raw.

In my opinion, these are the Five Star matches of the past 15 years of WWE:

-Undertaker vs. Mankind (Hell in a Cell, King of the Ring 1998)
-Austin vs. Rock (Wrestlemania 17)
-Angle vs. Benoit (Royal Rumble 2003)
-The 2004 Royal Rumble Match
-Michaels vs. Undertaker (Wrestlemania 25)
-Michaels vs. Undertaker (Wrestlemania 26)
-Cena vs. Punk (Money in the Bank 2011)

I think Shawn Michaels will be the wrestler most represented on my list. But Benoit could give him a run. Triple H will probably be in there quite a bit too.

Psycho666Soldier
March 28th, 2013, 12:06 AM
Undertaker and Mankind's Hell in a Cell match is nowhere near a five star match. It's actually kind of a bad match, but amazing for all the circumstances surrounding it.

Kdestiny
March 28th, 2013, 12:10 AM
The HBK/Taker Cell match is much better. I'd almost give that five stars

Psycho666Soldier
March 28th, 2013, 12:11 AM
Off the top of my head, I would probably give it 4 stars. I haven't seen it in a couple years, though.

Kdestiny
March 28th, 2013, 12:13 AM
Mankind/Michaels from IYH was also very good. Watched it again recently and it held up very well

Mills
March 28th, 2013, 12:40 AM
Hopefully the 2mpt/Chris squared tag match from RAW makes the list. That eeks past the HHH/HBK title match and the 1 hour match from RAW as my favorite RAW match of all time

Cewsh
March 28th, 2013, 1:08 AM
I have seen very little of 1998-2000 that I like, and you pretty much named all of them.

I did actually really like Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho from King of the Ring 2000.

Atty
March 28th, 2013, 1:36 AM
The HBK/Taker Cell match is much better. I'd almost give that five stars


Off the top of my head, I would probably give it 4 stars. I haven't seen it in a couple years, though.

Shawn/Taker HIAC is the best WWF/E match ever. Everything in it is perfect and it MADE a new superstar/character over night.


I have seen very little of 1998-2000 that I like, and you pretty much named all of them.

I did actually really like Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho from King of the Ring 2000.

From this period, my favorite match of theirs was No Way Out 2000. Tremendous match. Kurt and Jericho had a better one at a UK show (Rebellion?) when Jericho was WCW Champion, but that was 2001.


Brian hit on a lot of big ones, but I'd have to include Dude Love vs. Steve Austin from Over the Edge 1998 near the top. Fantastic match that kept Austin rolling on before he got to Taker. Both Taker/Mankind and Kane/Austin from KOTR 1998 will rank on my list. The TLC stuff, Jericho/Benoit and, OF COURSE, the HHH/Jericho RAW match that NEVER HAPPENED.

I'd sooner include Benoit/HHH from No Mercy than Benoit/Rock. Never was a big fan of Benoit/Rock. The bait and switch ending just put me off.


HHH/Rock's ironman match also needs mention. It's the best match the two ever had together. Their second best match (the ladder match at SummerSlam 1998) also needs to be mentioned.

chatty
March 28th, 2013, 8:56 AM
Austin v Big Show - Raw WM15 go home show - a very good match which was booked brilliantly considering they wanted both to go into Mania strongly, involvement from Mankind/Rock also added to the match and feud - defo worth a watch

JP
March 28th, 2013, 9:12 AM
HHH/X-Pac/Benoit/Malenko/Saturn vs Cactus Jack/The Rock/Rikishi/Too Cool - RAW approx 2000
Angle vs Benoit - Steel Cage Match - RAW approx 2001

These, especially the 10 man tag, deserve to be on the list.

Atty
March 28th, 2013, 9:20 AM
OOOOOOHHHHH!

In addition to Benoit/HHH from No Mercy, I'd likely rank their match when the Radicals first showed up very highly. I can't remember if it was RAW or SD, but it was fantastically gripping and got Benoit over with the crowd instantly.

JP
March 28th, 2013, 9:32 AM
OOOOOOHHHHH!

In addition to Benoit/HHH from No Mercy, I'd likely rank their match when the Radicals first showed up very highly. I can't remember if it was RAW or SD, but it was fantastically gripping and got Benoit over with the crowd instantly.

SD if I remember correctly, Malenko lost to X-Pac and the NAO beat Saturn and Eddie in the match Eddie broke his arm on the same night, if my memory serves.

Andy
March 28th, 2013, 10:15 AM
I watched that 10 man tag from raw recently, it's absolutely superb.

chatty
March 28th, 2013, 10:20 AM
Shawn Michaels v Chris Jericho:

Mania 19
No Mercy 08 - ladder
Unforgiven 08 - unsanctioned
The Great American Bash 08
Raw 08 - Last Man Standing
Raw 03

Any of these could make the list fairly easily

Chris
March 28th, 2013, 10:22 AM
The TLC match at Summerslam 2000 is rightly suggested, but the tag team tables match between the Dudleys and Hardys at Royal Rumble 2000 is great as well. The No Mercy 1999 tag team ladder match is worth a shout. They tend to get overlooked when we think of the epic tag team action at the end of the attitude era.

The four team elimination match at King of the Ring 2000 (Hardys vs E&C vs Too Cool vs T&A) and the opening six-person tag between Hardys/Lita and T&A/Trish are also a lot of fun, though I can see them failing to fall within my top 25.

Anyone thinking of including the six-man Hell in a Cell at Armageddon 2000?

Jericho and Benoit's IC Title match at Backlash 2000 is a blinder (full match is in the spoiler tags).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWvh14jdHGI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR_DWUxmf58

chatty
March 28th, 2013, 10:26 AM
Angle v Undertaker - both Now Way Out and the one on Smackdown? with the dodgy finish.

Angle v Michaels - both of Mania and Raw rematch

Angle/Benoit v Edge/Mysterio v Los Guerreros

HHH V Austin - 3 stages of Hell

JP
March 28th, 2013, 10:50 AM
Angle/Benoit v Edge/Mysterio v Los Guerreros

:yes:

Stunning match, easily forgotten.


V Austin - 3 stages of Hell

:no:

Quite possibly the most overrated match of all time. It is plodding, illogical and the first time we saw HHH at his EPIC worst. And I adore HHH.

chatty
March 28th, 2013, 10:51 AM
I think I said in the other thread I just remember loving it at the time but havent rewatched in years - I should get round to it at somepoint.

chatty
March 28th, 2013, 10:52 AM
Oh HHH/Austin v Jericho/Benoit should make it as well

Cewsh
March 28th, 2013, 10:57 AM
Anyone thinking of including the six-man Hell in a Cell at Armageddon 2000?

I went back and watched it recently, and it's actually a pretty awful match. There was way too much going on, and the finish is completely out of nowhere. It felt like a TNA main event.

I also really didn't like Benoit and Jericho's ladder match from the Royal Rumble when I reviewed it, either. The big spots are great, but there's nothing holding them together.

Chris
March 28th, 2013, 11:07 AM
I went back and watched it recently, and it's actually a pretty awful match. There was way too much going on, and the finish is completely out of nowhere. It felt like a TNA main event.
Aye. It's a kind of bizarre spectacle with so many big names duking it out. I did like the frantic style at times, where we suddenly cut to Rock and Angle (or some other combination) in the ring. But it kind of breaks down once they get out of the Cell and the finish did no-one any favours.

Atty
March 28th, 2013, 11:25 AM
Shawn Michaels v Chris Jericho:

Mania 19
No Mercy 08 - ladder
Unforgiven 08 - unsanctioned
The Great American Bash 08
Raw 08 - Last Man Standing
Raw 03

Any of these could make the list fairly easily


Angle v Undertaker - both Now Way Out and the one on Smackdown? with the dodgy finish.

Angle v Michaels - both of Mania and Raw rematch

Angle/Benoit v Edge/Mysterio v Los Guerreros

HHH V Austin - 3 stages of Hell


Oh HHH/Austin v Jericho/Benoit should make it as well

This set is for 1998-2000.

chatty
March 28th, 2013, 11:32 AM
This set is for 1998-2000.

Shit I read it wrong, thought it was 1998 - onwards

Ill revise it

Atty
March 28th, 2013, 11:34 AM
It's cool. All those matches are very worthy once we get to that period. I'll probably have four Shawn/Jericho matches on my list, with their GAB showing being surprisingly high.

Cewsh
March 28th, 2013, 11:41 AM
Has anybody mentioned the No Mercy ladder match between Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz? Because that's a huge one.

Kdestiny
March 28th, 2013, 11:52 AM
Do believe it was, and it was very good.

Atty
March 28th, 2013, 11:56 AM
I may well rank that highest of any of the tag ladder matches.

The Law
March 28th, 2013, 11:56 AM
So here's the closest I can come up with for a 1998-2000 Master List:

1998: Michaels vs. Undertaker (Royal Rumble), Triple H vs. Owen Hart (Wrestlemania), Austin vs. Michaels (Wrestlemania), Austin vs. Dude Love (Over the Edge), Rock vs. Triple H (Raw June, King of the Ring Quarterfinal), Mankind vs. Undertaker (King of the Ring), Rock vs. Triple H (Summerslam), Austin vs. Undertaker (Summerslam), Rock vs. Shamrock vs. Mankind (Breakdown), Mankind vs. Austin (Survivor Series)

1999: Rock vs. Mankind (Royal Rumble), Rock vs. Austin (Backlash), Six-Pack Challenge (Unforgiven), Hardys vs. Edge & Christian (No Mercy), Austin vs. Triple H (No Mercy)

In case you were wondering, 1999 really sucked.

2000: Hardys vs. Dudleys (Royral Rumble), Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (Royal Rumble), Ten Man Tag (Raw February), Angle vs. Jericho (No Way Out), Edge & Christian vs. Hardys (No Way Out), Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (No Way Out), Angle vs. Benoit vs. Jericho (Wrestlemania), Triangle Ladder Match (Wrestlemania) Malenko vs. Scotty 2 Hotty (Backlash), Benoit vs. Jericho (Backlash), Benoit vs. Jericho (Judgment Day), Rock vs. Triple H (Judgment Day), Jericho vs. HHH (Fully Loaded), Rock vs. Benoit (Fully Loaded), Benoit vs. Jericho (Summerslam), TLC I (Summerslam), Rock vs. Angle vs. HHH (Summerslam), Hardys vs. Edge & Christian (Unforgiven), Benoit vs. Triple H (No Mercy), Rock vs. Angle (No Mercy)

I'm sure I missed some good stuff, but I've got plenty of wrestling to watch. Anyone have some TV match recommendations? There wasn't a ton of good TV wrestling in this period, especially in 1998 and 1999. The Radicalz, Jericho, and Angle showing up really boosted the workrate in the company.

Atty
March 28th, 2013, 11:58 AM
Taka/HHH

Mills
March 28th, 2013, 12:37 PM
6 man HIAC was a fun match as well

JP
March 28th, 2013, 12:54 PM
Watching Edge vs Eddie on Vintage right now, No Disqualification from SD. I had forgotten how fucking brilliant this is, definitely up for consideration.

chatty
March 28th, 2013, 2:09 PM
Foley v Rock empty arena match

The Law
March 28th, 2013, 2:13 PM
Thoughts on a few matches I watched today:

Triple H vs. Owen Hart (Wrestlemania 14)

Very good match. Overlooked, I would say. Owen has a bad ankle and Triple H works on it the whole time. A lot of really good technical wrestling and transitions. Both guys have hybrid styles: Owen is a high-flying technical wrestler and Triple H is a technical power wrestler. Chyna was hadcuffed to Sgt. Slaughter to keep her from interfering, but of course that doesn't work. She ends up nailing Owen with a lowblow, followed by the Pedigree for the win. It would have been nice for Owen to go over here since Triple H was going to turn face anyway, but this is a very good match nonetheless.

Rating: ***3/4

Steve Austin vs. Dude Love (Unforgiven 1998)

Really good match, as you would expect from these two. Not quite as good as their match the next month at Over the Edge, which really cranked up the storyline silliness (in a good way) up to 11. They fight all around ringside, including up on the stage, where Foley takes a very nasty bump onto a concrete floor. That kind of thing bugs me: why is he taking such a brutal bump that doesn't look good? It would look much better if he landed on a table to break his fall, and it would make for a more impressive sound and visual. Instead, he's taking a really bad bump that didn't get much of a response and probably actually hurt like hell. They do a good job teasing McMahon screwing Austin over, including split-screen shots of the time-keeper. This is long before McMahon screwing people became a tired trope, it was the first time they had teased it since it actually happened in Montreal. In some ways, this is a typical Attitude Era main event with the crowd fighting and outside shenanigans, but this is one of the first matches to feature this style, so I have to give it credit for innovating some of those tropes.

Rating: ***3/4

Steve Austin vs. Big Show (Raw April 1999)

I can't believe they did on this Raw. With no build. This was the Attitude Era equivalent of Hogan vs. Andre. The beloved hero versus the unstoppable giant. This is a Wrestlemania main event level match, and they did it on the Raw before Wrestlemania 15. Jesus, they had no fucking idea what they were doing at this point. With all that complaining out of the way, this is a great TV match. I can't really remember these guys ever working together after this, but that's too bad because they have very good chemistry. Big Show is an unstoppable monster and Austin is the tough SOB who won't quit. Because it's the Attitude Era, they have to do unnecessarily dangerous stuff like: Austin getting press slammed onto a concrete floor and Big Show taking three or four unprotected chair shots to the head in a row. Ultimately, it takes a series of chair shots and a Stunner to keep Show down, and he still kicks out at four. They made him look like a beast. Unfortunately, it was after he had just done a job in his first big match. Andre the Giant was unpinned for 15 years in the WWF before Hogan beat him at Wrestlemania III. Big Show was unpinned in the WWF for about 15 days before they fed him to Austin here. Somehow, I feel like Andre would have drawn less money if they he had been pinned by Pedro Morales on TV two weeks after he debuted.

Rating: ***1/2

Undertaker vs. Kane (Wrestlemania 14)

Pretty awe-inspiring to see these two staring down the first time. I was nine when this was happening and new to wrestling and this was the biggest thing that there was: an epic battle between the dark avenger and his twisted, evil rival. Kane takes control early and embarks on a rather dull ten minute heat segment. Lots of punches, kicks, and chinlocks. A nice shot with the stairs and that's about it. Finally, Taker gets going, knocks Kane to the floor and goes for his no-hands plancha...except Kane catches him and slams him through the announce table. Holy shit, that's crazy spot. This match really doesn't have the heat I would expect. The crowd doesn't really even pop when Undertaker kicks out of the Tombstone. The response to Kane kicking out of the Tombstone is awesome though: just a stunned "Ohhhhhhhhh." Don't think anyone had done that since Hogan. Three Tombstones and a flying clothesline finally put Kane down. Decent match, probably the best they ever had. Great story that drew a ton of money.

Rating: **1/2

Andy
March 28th, 2013, 4:37 PM
Kurt Angle vs The Rock at No Mercy 2000 was really good, not sure if I prefer that or their No Way Out match.

Andy
March 28th, 2013, 4:41 PM
Also I remember a really good TV match between Rock/Jericho and Trips/Benoit. I can't remember when it was though, some time between Judgement Day and King of the Ring maybe?

Andy
March 28th, 2013, 4:52 PM
The Rock/Mankind ladder match on the Raw after Royal Rumble 1999 was brilliant too.

Brian M.
March 28th, 2013, 5:39 PM
Thank you for all of the suggestions, great stuff so far! I'm going to keep this discussion open until tomorrow or Saturday, whenever it seems to be dying down, then we will move on to the next set of years. Once I do that I will also update the list with all matches mentioned, although it looks like The Law has done a good job with that already which makes my life easier! Thanks man. I'm glad so many people seem into this idea, this should be fun!

Cewsh
March 28th, 2013, 5:42 PM
Do it up, Brian. :yes:

Bluegunn
March 28th, 2013, 5:44 PM
Maybe we need to divide the list into two groups of gimmick and non-gimmick matches as the gimmick matches are going to be very over-represented

Good non gimmick matches are ones like

Rey VS Y2J: Bash 2009
Rey Mysterio Jr. & Edge Vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit: No Mercy, 2002
Shawn Michaels Vs. John Cena: RAW in London, 2007
Kurt Angle Vs. Brock Lesnar: WrestleMania XIX, 2003
Ric Flair Vs. Shawn Michaels: WrestleMania XXIV, 2008
Kurt Angle Vs. Chris Benoit, WrestleMania X-Seven, 2001
Rock VS Hurricane, Raw 2003

Good gimmick matches not mentioned yet are:
Yoshi vs Tyson Kidd Necklance on a pole match on NXT
Edge & Mick Foley Vs. Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk: ECW One Night Stand, 2006
Shawn Michaels Vs. Chris Jericho ladder match: No Mercy, 2008
JBL VS. Eddie Texas Bullrope match: Great American Bash, 2004

Cewsh
March 28th, 2013, 5:49 PM
Sure they will, but that's because the best matches tend to be gimmick matches. I don't know why that should count against them.

Bluegunn
March 28th, 2013, 6:09 PM
Just saying we should categorize them into two groups lots of good quality non gimmick matches.

Cewsh
March 28th, 2013, 6:12 PM
This is only 1998-2000 right now.

JP
March 28th, 2013, 6:13 PM
And a little bit out that box cause some of us skimmed the original post (sorrysorrysorry). :happysad:

Tainted Eclipse
March 28th, 2013, 6:29 PM
i dont really know how the bottom half or so of my list will look, but i wouldnt be surprised if i had no matches from 98-2000 at all on my list.

Cewsh
March 28th, 2013, 6:31 PM
Yeah, I don't think I would include any of these either.

chatty
March 28th, 2013, 6:42 PM
Has Rock/HHH iron man been mentioned yet or is that just outside the timeframe.

chatty
March 28th, 2013, 6:50 PM
Another decent match that should make this list but probably not the final 50 would be Angle v Shane at KOTR.

Cewsh
March 28th, 2013, 6:53 PM
2001, but that's definitely going on the next list.

The Law
March 28th, 2013, 7:28 PM
There was some decent wrestling in 2000. The Triple H/Cactus Jack Street Fight will definitely make my 25. I think the Rock/Triple H Ladder Match will as well. The TLC series could crack the list.

1998 was not a great year for in-ring action. The roster just wasn't really that deep: the main event was Austin, Taker, Kane, and Foley. Austin and Taker were dealing with injuries, Kane was green, and Foley was already starting to feel the effects of his brutal style, even though he was barely 30 here. The midcard had Rock and Triple H and not a ton else. No tag division, no cruiserweight division (it existed, but with no time devoted to it), basically just DX and The Nation.

1999 was a terrible year for both wrestling and storylines. The main event was ridiculously stale and Austin, Taker, and Foley were all decomposing with injuries. The midcard was garbage: Boss Man, Godfather, Venis, Gunn and Road Dogg getting singles pushes. Terrible storylines, nonsensical swerves, crash booking was running out of steam. This might actually be my least favorite WWF year ever. I think the only match that will make it is the Hardys/Edge and Christian Ladder Match from No Mercy. Most of the rest of the year was just garbage.

Brian M.
March 29th, 2013, 12:23 AM
It really is absolutely shocking how 1999 was possibly the most popular year in WWF/E history, and looking back on it, it really was quite shit as far as wrestling goes. It just shows how important being with the times is. That product just fit with what was popular at the time. Plus it had Steve Austin running buckwild and causing chaos, which was always fun, and the real reason people tuned in every week. Though to be fair, I really like Val Venis and Road Dogg as wrestlers, and I feel like they would have been better off if they let them get upper mid-card to main event runs. I feel like the biggest problem in 1999 was that the same 3 or 4 people were ALWAYS main eventing. The lack of depth was shocking considering how popular they were at the time. Look at most of the matches listed from this era. You see Rock, Austin, Triple H and Foley a ton, and not many other names. The guys they had on top were REALLY great, and everyone else just played a role.

Brian M.
March 29th, 2013, 12:27 AM
As a side note, I am working pretty much all day tomorrow and then going out to dinner, so I'm going to leave this discussion open until Saturday afternoon, at which point we will start discussing the next set of years and I will post the beginning of the "master list." I'll try to check in on my phone throughout tomorrow as well because I definitely want to keep tabs on this thread as it goes.

McBain
March 29th, 2013, 12:44 AM
So here's the closest I can come up with for a 1998-2000 Master List:

1998: Michaels vs. Undertaker (Royal Rumble), Triple H vs. Owen Hart (Wrestlemania), Austin vs. Michaels (Wrestlemania), Austin vs. Dude Love (Over the Edge), Rock vs. Triple H (Raw June, King of the Ring Quarterfinal), Mankind vs. Undertaker (King of the Ring), Rock vs. Triple H (Summerslam), Austin vs. Undertaker (Summerslam), Rock vs. Shamrock vs. Mankind (Breakdown), Mankind vs. Austin (Survivor Series)

1999: Rock vs. Mankind (Royal Rumble), Rock vs. Austin (Backlash), Six-Pack Challenge (Unforgiven), Hardys vs. Edge & Christian (No Mercy), Austin vs. Triple H (No Mercy)

In case you were wondering, 1999 really sucked.

2000: Hardys vs. Dudleys (Royral Rumble), Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (Royal Rumble), Ten Man Tag (Raw February), Angle vs. Jericho (No Way Out), Edge & Christian vs. Hardys (No Way Out), Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (No Way Out), Angle vs. Benoit vs. Jericho (Wrestlemania), Triangle Ladder Match (Wrestlemania) Malenko vs. Scotty 2 Hotty (Backlash), Benoit vs. Jericho (Backlash), Benoit vs. Jericho (Judgment Day), Rock vs. Triple H (Judgment Day), Jericho vs. HHH (Fully Loaded), Rock vs. Benoit (Fully Loaded), Benoit vs. Jericho (Summerslam), TLC I (Summerslam), Rock vs. Angle vs. HHH (Summerslam), Hardys vs. Edge & Christian (Unforgiven), Benoit vs. Triple H (No Mercy), Rock vs. Angle (No Mercy)

I'm sure I missed some good stuff, but I've got plenty of wrestling to watch. Anyone have some TV match recommendations? There wasn't a ton of good TV wrestling in this period, especially in 1998 and 1999. The Radicalz, Jericho, and Angle showing up really boosted the workrate in the company.

Was the Jericho/Benoit Ladder match at Royal Rumble? Always loved that match.

mr sabu
March 29th, 2013, 12:51 AM
never mind the match I was thinking off came in at 2001

Beer-Belly
March 29th, 2013, 12:56 AM
Undertaker VS Steve Austin Summerslam 1998: Perhaps the only truly great match these two ever had together, which is surprising.
Actually, their match at "A Cold Day in Hell" was better. It was in 1997 so it just misses the timeline, but I think it's better than their SummerSlam match from a technical standpoint. The SummerSlam had the better build and crowd, though.

On another note, I always thought it was odd that Backlash '99 and 2000 felt more like WrestleMania in those years than the actual WrestleMania shows. '99 had the blow off to Austin/Rock and a decent Boiler Room Brawl, and 2000 had a much better card and the awesome Rock/Triple H match with the WrestleMania worthy return of Stone Cold.

The Law
March 29th, 2013, 11:11 AM
Backlash 2000 is truly one of WWE's greatest PPVs. The only subpar match is Bossman and Bull Buchanan vs. The APA. Other than that, everything is good: Benoit/Jericho, a really fun Big Show/Angle comedy match, X-Pac and Road Dogg vs. Edge and Christian, Eddie vs. Essa Rios, Test and Albert vs. The Dudleys, and a Hardcore Battle Royal that was much better than the Wrestlemania one. Then the main event is an all-around outstanding match that featured two of the biggest pops ever: the one for Austin's return and the one for Rock winning the title. Dean Malenko and Scotty 2 Hotty also had a great match that was straight out of the WCW Cruiserweight Division, probably the best WWE Cruiserweight match ever.

Just a great show from top to bottom. Probably not quite as good as Summerslam 2002 or Wrestlemania 17, but definitely one of WWE's ten best shows ever.

Andy
March 29th, 2013, 2:18 PM
Just rewatched Backlash 2000. Man that's a great PPV. Loads of great matches and the ones that weren't great were good fun. Hell of a bump Trish took!

Atty
March 29th, 2013, 6:36 PM
I always thought Jericho/Benoit was underrated from that show. Seems to get knocked for the DQ finish, but it's exactly what the match needed. Jericho had just done the phantom title win on RAW from HHH a couple weeks earlier, it didn't make sense for him to win the IC Title back, nor did it make sense to have him lose. It really was the perfect ending to keep the feud going and made everyone look great. Same the following month with the submission match where Jericho never tapped. Worked wonderfully for getting them both really over in their roles.


Angle/Big Show is a delight on that show too. Sure, it's cheesy as can be, but it's always a blast to watch and was fantastic at the time if only for Hogan's music hitting and Show absolutely ripping him while he was off in WCW.

Andy
March 29th, 2013, 6:46 PM
Yeah Jericho/Benoit was a really good match, as was S2H/Malenko, plus the main event was great.

Atty
March 29th, 2013, 6:50 PM
:yes:

I really wish that show had been Mania. Big Show trashing Hogan would have been such a great Mania Moment. Stick the Triangle Ladder Match on Backlash and you have one astounding PPV.

The Law
March 30th, 2013, 11:11 AM
Steve Austin vs. Undertaker (Summerslam 1998)

Typical Attitude-era brawl to start. They fight to the floor, and then into the crowd. We can't really see anything that happens in the crowd on TV, and neither can 99% of the audience in the arena. Austin gets backdropped on the floor, which we can't really see happen. Why is your champion who has a bad neck getting slammed on the floor when we can't even see if happening? Not surprising his neck gave out the year after this. Undertaker sends Kane back to the locker room, which probably should have been saved until later in the match for more drama. I did love the spot where Undertaker Chokeslams Austin into the ring from the apron. And then Undertaker Leg Drops Austin from the top rope on the announce table. Jesus, that's a great looking spot, probably made even more brutal by the fact that the table didn't break. I feel like the crowd doesn't really know how to treat Taker here. He had aligned himself with Kane, but hadn't really done anything heelish and was fighting the top babyface in the company. They probably would have been better off with him as either a pure babyface or pure heel here, because the crowd was pretty quiet for most of this match. Great pop for Austin's win. Not a very good match. I never thought these guys had very good chemistry, which is unfortunate because they literally had 10+ PPV matches over the years.

Rating: **1/4

Triple H vs. Rock (Summerslam 1998)

Triple H looks like Edge with his long blonde hair and long purple and white tights. Nothing too notable in the early going. Rock smartly works on Triple H's knee, which was hurt in real-life at the time (he ended up forfeiting the title due to knee surgery). Rock folds his knee in the ladder and then wails on it with a chair. Awesome looking and sounding spot there. The crowd goes crazy for every ladder spot here because they've never seen most of them. The People's Elbow got a big pop even though Rock was still a heel. Rock started to win the fans over during the course of the match. This match holds up well. Super hot crowd and spots that put a premium on violence instead of showiness. For a generation of new wrestling fans who had never seen Shawn/Razor, this match was revolutionary. A very worthy successor to the original ladder matches.

Rating: ****1/2

Hardy Boys vs. Edge & Christian (No Mercy 1999)

This is the finals of the "Terri Invitational Tournament." Get it? That's exactly the kind of thing I hated about the Attitude Era. The night after this Gangrel implied he was shagging Terri and all four guys kicked his ass. Which was awesome. The ladder they use for the early portion of the match really isn't any taller than the turnbuckle. The crowd goes absolutely crazy for Jeff's leapfrog Leg Drop over the ladder. Oh man, if they only knew what was coming. Despite being the faces in this match, Edge and Christian really come off as vicious. The ladder catapult spot is still super impressive. Thankfully, this one didn't smash anyone's face like at Armageddon 2007. I love the crowd here. Standing ovations throughout the match after every big spot. Great, great match. A lot of these spots have become cliches now, but this is the match that invented all of them and launched the careers of all four guys involved. Match of the year of 1999.

Rating: ****1/2

Mankind vs. Rock (Empty Arena Match)

So wrestling was super hot in the late-1990s. So popular that they thought it would be a good idea to have a match during halftime of the Super Bowl. Heavily promoted, they thought it would draw lots of new fans to their product. If people tuned in to watch this match, what did they see? A match taking place in an empty arena, with no atmosphere at all. Vince McMahon calling the match solo, for some reason. And this match is basically a comedy match. Rock has a few funny lines, but mostly it just seems out of place for such a big match. Mankind beats on Rock with a bag of popcorn. Rock "burns" Mankind in an oven complete with cheesy sound effects."How about some bread, you fat fuck?" That was actually pretty funny. Meanwhile, McMahon is trying to put over the product on commentary as a combination of "Action adventure, soap opera, and Broadway."

And then the finish. Good God, what a terrible finish: Mankind pins Rock with a forklift. Maybe not the worst idea ever, until you see the execution: a first-person camera on the forklift as it slowly lowers itself onto Rock. And then really disjointed cuts between the taped match and shots of a (I think) live crowd watching the taped match and celebrating Mankind's win.

So if this was someone's first exposure to wrestling, it was a terrible one. This match was nothing like a typical wrestling match and lacked all of the qualities that made wrestling entertaining at this time: no hot crowd, no live, "anything can happen" feeling, no interference or other hijinks from Austin or McMahon. No funny banter between King and JR on commentary. This is the absolute worst Russo/McMahon idea ever: it's not wrestling, it's a poorly made action comedy hybrid. You know what would have been a good idea? A well-worked wrestling match in front of a hot crowd featuring some of their great performers. How about Austin and Mankind vs. Rock and McMahon? Or just Rock/Mankind in front of an actual crowd?

To recap: 1) This match was really boring and terrible. 2) It was an atrocious idea and the worst possible execution of a good idea (a match during halftime of the Super Bowl). I really hated the WWF's product in 1999, and this match pretty much sums up why.

Rating: *

JP
March 30th, 2013, 11:22 AM
Just to point out, The Rock/Mankind Empty Arena Match was a huge success in terms of ratings and exposure.

Brian M.
March 30th, 2013, 3:43 PM
Ok so here is the master list for 1998-2000 which I will also throw up on the first post

1998

Triple H VS Owen Hart: Wrestlemania 14
Steve Austin VS Shawn Michaels: Wrestlemania 14
Dude Love VS Steve Austin: Over The Edge 1998
The Rock VS Triple H "King Of The Ring Quarterfinal": Raw June 1998
Mankind VS Undertaker "Hell In A Cell": King Of The Ring 1998
Kane VS Steve Austin: King Of The Ring 1998
Steve Austin VS Undertaker: Summerslam 1998
Triple H VS The Rock "Ladder Match": Summerslam 1998
The Rock VS Ken Shamrock VS Mankind: Breakdown 1998
Mankind VS Steve Austin: Survivor Series 1998

1999
The Rock VS Mankind "I Quit": Royal Rumble 1999
The Rock VS Mankind "Empty Arena": Halftime Heat 1999
The Rock VS Mankind "Ladder Match": Raw February 1999
Steve Austin VS Big Show: Raw before Wrestlemania 15
The Rock VS Steve Austin: Wrestlemania 15
The Rock VS Steve Austin: Backlash 1999
Six Pack Challenge: Unforgiven 1999
Steve Austin VS Triple H: No Mercy 1999
Hardys VS Edge/Christian "Ladder Match": No Mercy 1999

2000

Triple H VS Cactus Jack "Street Fight": Royal Rumble 2000
Hardys VS Dudleys "Tables Match": Royal Rumble 2000
Triple H/X-Pac/Benoit/Malenko/Saturn VS Cactus Jack/The Rock/Rikishi/Too Cool: Raw Feb. 2000
Kurt Angle VS Chris Jericho: No Way Out 2000
Edge/Christian VS Hardys: No Way Out 2000
Triple H VS Cactus Jack "Hell In A Cell: No Way Out 2000
Triangle Tag Team Ladder Match: Wrestlemania 2000
Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit VS Chris Jericho: Wrestlemania 2000
Dean Malenko VS Scotty 2 Hotty: Backlash 2000
Triple H VS The Rock: Backlash 2000
Chris Jericho VS Chris Benoit: Backlash 2000
Chris Jericho VS Christ Benoit: Judgment Day 2000
Triple H VS The Rock "Ironman Match": Judgment Day 2000
Kurt Angle VS Chris Jericho: King Of The Ring 2000
Triple H VS Chris Jericho "Last Man Standing": Fully Loaded 2000
The Rock VS Chris Benoit: Fully Loaded 2000
Chris Jericho VS Chris Benoit: Summerslam 2000
The Rock VS Kurt Angle VS Triple H: Summerslam 2000
TLC 1 (Edge/Christian VS Hardys VS Dudleys): Summerslam 2000
Hardys VS Edge/Christian: Unforgiven 2000
Triple H VS Chris Benoit: No Mercy 2000
The Rock VS Kurt Angle: No Mercy 2000
Six Man Hell In A Cell: Armageddon 2000

On a side note, someone suggested Michaels VS Undertaker from Royal Rumble 1998, which is unfortunately ineligible for this list as that match happened before WM 14, and I wanted to keep the list from Wrestlemania to Wrestlemania.


So now we will move on to the next set of years which I am going to dub AN ERA OF CHANGE (2001-2003)

These are the years a lot of stars like Austin and Rock were winding down their careers, and we had guys like Cena, Orton and Lesnar debuting, along with guys coming over from WCW like Steiner, Nash and Goldberg. This led to quite the variety of styles in the company and perhaps one of the best runs of wrestling quality as far as the year 2001 goes anyway. I expect to see a lot of matches listed for that year in particular. I will try to put up some of my favorite matches later but for now feel free to discuss away! I'm going to keep this one open until probably Tuesday or Wednesday because I know the board is a little slower on the weekends. If we get a lot of response sooner than that I may push it up, trying to keep this fluid so nobody loses interest.

Andy
March 30th, 2013, 4:02 PM
This period includes my favourite match ever.

Austin vs The Rock at Mania 17. The match that defined the best WM of all time and the WM that defined the best era in wrestling history.

Andy
March 30th, 2013, 4:04 PM
From Wrestlemania X7 alone, Austin/Rock, TLC2 and Benoit/Angle will likely make my list.

The Law
March 30th, 2013, 5:06 PM
There's a lot of great wrestling in this time period.

A lot of great stuff in 2001, especially the first half of the year. Austin came back from surgery, took a few months to shake off his ring rust, and then absolutely caught fire. Classics against Triple H and Rock at No Way Out and Wrestlemania. Awesome tag with Triple H against Benoit and Jericho. A couple really phenomenal TV matches with Benoit. Austin/Angle from Summerslam is another fantastic match that put Angle over huge. The post-Wrestlemania period also gave us TLC IV, which I haven't seen since it originally aired and am looking forward to seeing again. Things cooled off in the second half of the year, although Rock and Jericho had a great match at No Mercy when Jericho won his first world title. I also remember really liking Booker vs. Angle from Raw (or was it Smackdown?) when Angle won the WCW Title. RVD and Jeff Hardy had a really nice match at InVasion. And I remember really liking Undertaker vs. RVD from Vengeance. RVD was really hot in this period.

2002 is more of a mixed bag. The first half of the year features a lot of garbage: Austin/Undertaker, Hogan/HHH, Hogan/Undertaker, Undertaker/HHH. The main event was just incredibly stale at this point. Then came Summerslam 2002, one of the greatest shows ever: Angle/Mysterio, Rock/Brock, and Shawn/HHH are all in the **** range. Add in Jericho/Flair, RVD/Benoit, Edge/Eddie, and BookDust vs. Christian and Storm. Even Taker and Test had a decent match. Then in the fall Smackdown got rolling with the Smackdown Six and Undertaker and Brock had their awesome Hell in a Cell match. The first Elimination Chamber from Survivor Series was also great.

2003 opens with the Angle/Benoit classic from the Royal Rumble, one of my favorite wrestling matches ever. Wrestlemania 19 was quite good, with Jericho/Michaels, Angle/Brock, and Rock/Austin. Jericho and Michaels had a really good re-match on Raw a month or two later. I need to check out the Angle/Brock rematch from Summerslam too. Eddie and Benoit had a really excellent match at Vengeance, and I would also recommend the World's Greatest Tag Team vs. Mysterio and Kidman match from that show. Team Bischoff vs. Team Austin from Survivor Series was really good, so was Team Brock vs. Team Angle from that show. 2003 really wasn't a very good year for WWE overall when I look back on it. Raw was pretty brutal. Triple H was monopolizing the title and really not working very good matches in this period.

Andy
March 30th, 2013, 5:37 PM
As good as 2001 was, late 2001 was when I really started losing interest for the first time. The Invasion angle was just so poorly executed, despite it producing some good matches. I tuned in again from the Rumble onwards then started to lose interest again after Summerslam. I tuned into SD fairly regularly still, but Raw was utter shit. Anyway, it means there's a lot I'm going to have to go back and watch.

I think the Royal Rumble match in 2001 will probably end up in my top 25. Not a technical masterpiece, but brilliant fun.

The Law
March 30th, 2013, 7:30 PM
There was some great stuff in 2002, but it's really a disappointing year on the whole. Disappointing in the sense that it should have been their greatest year ever. They had the best roster ever in wrestling, even better than WCW in 1998 and WWF in 1992. They had everything you could want: big stars, technical wrestlers, cruiserweights, hardcore wrestlers,

Big Stars: Austin, Rock, Hogan, Michaels, Undertaker, Flair, Triple H, Kane, Big Show, Nash, Steiner, Booker T, DDP, Hall

Technical: Benoit, Angle, Eddie, Jericho, Regal, Mr. Perfect, Lance Storm

Other Midcard: Edge, Christian, RVD, Rikishi, Godfather, Val Venis, Test

Tag Teams: Dudleys, Hardys, Billy and Chuck, APA, 3 Minute Warning

Cruiserweights: Mysterio, Chavo, Helms, X-Pac, Scotty 2 Hotty, Tajiri

Hardcore: Raven, Tazz, Dreamer, Stevie Richards, Justin Credible, Al Snow, Spike Dudley

Rookies: Cena, Orton, Batista, Lesnar

Women: Trish, Lita, Molly Holly, Victoria, Stacy Keibler

Basically, the only guys out there you would want that they didn't have were Sting and Goldberg. And yet, they somehow managed to screw this up.

Tainted Eclipse
March 30th, 2013, 7:46 PM
I watched the Angle/Benoit Rumble 03 match the other day and didn't like it. I mean, I can see why those sorts of matches were praised so much back then -- after several years of pretty bad WWE we were getting matches with extended finishing runs with near falls and reversals. Even the uptick in in quality in 2000/2001 came largely through gimmick matches rather than 'workrate' super-athletic matches. But really that Rumble match, awfully boring for the first 10-15 minutes, with a finishing stretch consisting largely of just kicking out of signature moves. A couple cool reversals I'll grant that. especially the cross-face into the ankle lock at the end. That's the story of a lot of vaulted 02/03 matches -- they were a breath of fresh air into WWE wrestling, and I can totally get why people went crazy about them, but boy do they not hold up. No Mercy tag included.

That said there are some pretty good TV matches from Smackdown 02/03. In December 03 Lesnar and Rey have an outstanding Smackdown match. Won't make my list but it's a blast to watch. There are a couple matches I want to rewatch but I think my list will be very light on this era too.

Atty
March 30th, 2013, 7:49 PM
I've not tried to rewatch Angle/Benoit since the night he died, but I've found myself liking his work a lot less in the aftermath of what happened. Some can separate it, but it's always there in the back of my mind, tarnishing what he did before that night.

Tainted Eclipse
March 30th, 2013, 8:28 PM
There were a couple years where I just had no desire to watch any Benoit match, and would feel a bit awkward when I did. I guess at a certain point it just went away and now I can just watch it like a regular match, although there's definitely some ambivalence when he's doing crazy head but stuff in matches vs. Regal etc.

Just watched Angle/Austin from Summerslam, man is it good. Should do pretty well on my list. Lots of awesome spots, dramatic, and a very unique structure. And Angle, he was so good in that match. Angle is definitely one of the most purely talented guys in wrestling history, too bad he just dedicated himself to repetitive go-go-go workrate above everything style matches, because he could sell pretty great too and was very charismatic.

The Law
March 30th, 2013, 8:47 PM
I've never really had a problem re-watching Benoit matches, but I can definitely understand how someone could. I guess the one thing that matches me cringe is when he takes a hard shot to the head-chair shots, stiff punches/clotheslines, the Diving Headbutt. That always reminds me that shots like that accumulated over the years and destroyed his sanity. In particular, there was a TV match with Triple H from 2005 (Gold Rush Tournament) that I watched where he was selling a (kayfabe) concussion from the night before. His eyes were bugging out, he was shaking, it was really kind of disturbing in retrospect. I didn't have to stop watching the match or anything, it just really made me think.

Mills
March 30th, 2013, 8:49 PM
Their Unforgiven match was a fun encounter as well, but not as good as their Summerslam match.

Atty
March 30th, 2013, 10:09 PM
The Austin/Angle SummerSlam match was absolutely brilliant. It made Angle as a face. Their Unforgiven match was also brilliant, more so at the time (right after 9/11 in Angle's hometown.) Also at that Unforgiven, Jericho/RVD was fantastic.

Unforgiven 2001 is actually one of my favorite PPVs ever.

Mills
March 30th, 2013, 11:49 PM
Coincidentally, i found unforgiven 2001 at a half price book store for 4 bucks today. I got my show to watch tonight

The Law
March 31st, 2013, 3:02 PM
A few things to not forget about:

-Angle/Benoit cage match from Raw in 2001
-Angle/Benoit from Unforgiven 2002 (overshadowed by their Royal Rumble match, but still excellent)
-Jericho vs. Benoit vs. Eddie vs. X-Pac from No Way Out 2001
-Austin vs. Benoit from Smackdown in May 2001 (In Calgary, Benoit hit 10 consecutive German Suplexes)
-Michaels/Jericho from Raw in 2003 after Wrestlemania
-Triple H/Flair on Raw in May 2003 (Crowd was crazy into Flair here. I remember genuinely being convinced he would win the title)
-Undertaker/Jeff Hardy Ladder Match from Raw in May 2002
-Eddie/Benoit from Vengeance 2003 (Never really mentioned in the canon for either guy, but a great match)

Brian M.
March 31st, 2013, 3:44 PM
It is crazy how much better the wrestling on free TV got once we got to 2001. The roster was really good in 2000, but most of the great matches were still saved for PPV. I think in these years the story writing wasn't as strong, so they let guys have more time and seemingly more freedom in the ring, and god damn did it lead to some great stuff. Those Benoit/Austin TV matches from May 2001 were basically as good as anything they put on PPV all that year. People still talk about the Taker/Jeff Hardy ladder match to this day as a match that made Hardy a star and one of those matches where your disbelief was completely suspended.

I think pretty easily my favorite match from this particular period of time however is Austin VS Angle from Summerslam 2001. It's very odd to have a match that ended in such a non-clean manner be held in such high regard, but the finish fit the story perfectly at that point and both guys just went to WORK in this match. It's an absolute clinic. I feel like 2001 may be my most well represented year when my list is all said and done, although I did enjoy a shit ton of matches from about 2006-07 as well. It'll be fun to narrow it all down and re-watch some of these classics!

takerson
March 31st, 2013, 4:13 PM
I've found myself liking his work a lot less in the aftermath of what happened. Some can separate it, but it's always there in the back of my mind, tarnishing what he did before that night.

Me too. It's very weird to watch a Benoit match, I find it almost impossible to enjoy.


There were a couple years where I just had no desire to watch any Benoit match, and would feel a bit awkward when I did. I guess at a certain point it just went away and now I can just watch it like a regular match, although there's definitely some ambivalence when he's doing crazy head but stuff in matches vs. Regal etc.

Just watched Angle/Austin from Summerslam, man is it good. Should do pretty well on my list. Lots of awesome spots, dramatic, and a very unique structure. And Angle, he was so good in that match. Angle is definitely one of the most purely talented guys in wrestling history, too bad he just dedicated himself to repetitive go-go-go workrate above everything style matches, because he could sell pretty great too and was very charismatic.

Yes to all of this.


The Austin/Angle SummerSlam match was absolutely brilliant. It made Angle as a face. Their Unforgiven match was also brilliant, more so at the time (right after 9/11 in Angle's hometown.) Also at that Unforgiven, Jericho/RVD was fantastic.

Unforgiven 2001 is actually one of my favorite PPVs ever.

Agreed here too. But their Unforgiven match pales in comparison to their SummerSlam match.


Coincidentally, i found unforgiven 2001 at a half price book store for 4 bucks today. I got my show to watch tonight

Damn, good for you, that's luck right there. Unblurred WWF DVD's are astronomically priced on ebay because of their rarity.


A few things to not forget about:

-Angle/Benoit cage match from Raw in 2001
-Angle/Benoit from Unforgiven 2002 (overshadowed by their Royal Rumble match, but still excellent)
-Jericho vs. Benoit vs. Eddie vs. X-Pac from No Way Out 2001
-Austin vs. Benoit from Smackdown in May 2001 (In Calgary, Benoit hit 10 consecutive German Suplexes)
-Michaels/Jericho from Raw in 2003 after Wrestlemania
-Triple H/Flair on Raw in May 2003 (Crowd was crazy into Flair here. I remember genuinely being convinced he would win the title)
-Undertaker/Jeff Hardy Ladder Match from Raw in May 2002
-Eddie/Benoit from Vengeance 2003 (Never really mentioned in the canon for either guy, but a great match)

Yes to most of these, again, hard to enjoy the Benoit ones though.


Here's my 2001-2003 match list. It's pretty big. It's every match that I feel deserves to be remembered for one reason or another. Whether it be great, historic, cool, whatever.

- The 2001 Royal Rumble Match
(one of the best Rumble's ever)

- Steve Austin vs. Triple H: No Way Out 2001
(Love it or hate it, it will never be forgotten.)

- TLC II: WrestleMania 17
- Undertaker vs. Triple H: WrestleMania 17
- Steve Austin vs. The Rock: WrestleMania 17

- Steve Austin/Triple H vs. The Undertaker/Kane: Backlash 2001
(Historic value, not great, but not bad. BIG TIME tag match.)
- Raven vs. Rhyno: Backlash 2001
(This is the Hardcore Title as it should've always been)

- Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon: King Of The Ring 2001

- Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam: Invasion 2001
- The Inaugural Brawl: Invasion 2001

- Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin: SummerSlam 2001

- Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam: Unforgiven 2001
- Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle: Unforgiven 2001

- Edge vs. Christian: Ladder Match: No Mercy 2001
- Chris Jericho vs. The Rock: No Mercy 2001
- Steve Austin vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Kurt Angle: No Mercy 2001
(This is a largely forgotten, fun Triple Threat)

- Edge vs. Christian: Cage Match: Rebellion 2001
- Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle: Rebellion 2001
- Steve Austin vs. The Rock: Rebellion 2001
(Rebellion 2001 on the whole is a largely forgotten/unknown show that rocked)

- Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz: Cage Match: Survivor Series 2001
- Team WCW/ECW vs. Team WWF: Survivor Series 2001

- Undertaker vs. Rob Van Dam: Vengeance 2001
- Chris Jericho vs. The Rock: Vengeance 2001

- Chris Jericho vs. The Rock: Royal Rumble 2002

- Steve Austin/The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan/Scott Hall/Kevin Nash from Raw soon before WM 18
(Only for the fucking star power. Also the only official match with Hogan & Austin on opposite sides)

- The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan: WrestleMania 18
- The Undertaker vs. Ric Flair: WrestleMania 18

- Edge vs. Kurt Angle: Backlash 2002
- Hulk Hogan vs. Triple H: Backlash 2002
(I'm a sucker for matches that FEEL BIG. Like it or not, Hogan's matches usually do, this was no different)

- Eddie Guerrero vs. Rob Van Dam: Insurrextion 2002
(They had a trio of, on the whole, forgettable matches on PPV at this time, They're all fun in their own way, and this one was the best IMO)
- Undertaker vs. Triple H: Insurrextion 2002
(The ring breaks early, they work around it expertly, and have a really fun match)

- Triple H vs. Chris Jericho: Hell In A Cell: Judgment Day 2002
(I still love the match ending with a pin on top of the Cell. Always wanted that to happen again.)

- The Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy: Ladder Match: Raw 2002

- The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle: Smackdown 2002
(They have at least 2 more classics, one on SD a year later, so this one is usually forgotten but GREAT in it's own right. This is the one where Taker taps as Angle gets pinned for the draw)

- The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker: Vengeance 2002

- The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H: Global Warning 2002
(3 of the biggest names ever, in a match most people don't know happened, at what was effectively a taped House Show in Australia, in front of a WM sized 50,000+ crowd. Incredible.)
- Edge vs. Chris Jericho: Global Warning 2002

- The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar: SummerSlam 2002
- Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels: SummerSlam 2002
- Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle: SummerSlam 2002

- Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker: Unforgiven 2002
(The mostly forgotten precursor to their more famous Hell In A Cell. This match delivers with emotion and hard-hitting action)

- Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker: Hell In A Cell: No Mercy 2002
(This is still the best Hell In A Cell IMO, SO Much emotion. BRUTAL. And didn't have to rely on the top-of-cell gimmick to do it)

- Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman vs. Edge: Rebellion 2002
(This "Handicap Match" is pretty much a one on one match, the only time Lesnar/Edge have fought... it's pretty good and virtually unknown.)

- Brock Lesnar vs. The Big Show: Survivor Series 2002
(Short, and intense, I remember how legit surprised I was when Lesnar F5'ed Show this first time, and how legit shocked I was when Heyman turned and Show won. Great stuff.)
- The Elimination Chamber Match: Survivor Series 2002

- Shawn Michaels vs. Rob Van Dam: Raw 2002 a couple weeks after Survivor Series
(THIS MATCH HAPPENED.)

- Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock: No Way Out 2003
(BIG TIME *I'm on my way, I'm makin' it*)
- The Undertaker vs. The Big Show: No Way Out 2003
(The first of at least 3 times in history that Taker & Show have had an unexpectedly amazing match)

- The Rock vs. The Hurricane: Raw 2003
(They had so many memorable confrontations... and Hurricane WINS)

- Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels: WrestleMania 19
- Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon: WrestleMania 19
(FEELS BIG. The video package drives it home)
- Booker T vs. Triple H: WrestleMania 19
- Steve Austin vs. The Rock: WrestleMania 19
(I actually like this more than their WM 17 match)
- Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar: WrestleMania 19

WrestleMania 19 is my favorite WM, BTW. ha.

- Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels: Raw a few weeks after WM 19

- Booker T/Kevin Nash/Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H/Ric Flair/Chris Jericho: Backlash 2003
(Look at the star power here, and it's surprisingly good too.)

- Kevin Nash vs. Triple H: Street Fight: Insurrextion 2003
(Another surprisingly good match, especially considering who's in it, HBK & Flair fighting all over the place outside during it adds a lot to it as well)

- Triple H vs. Ric Flair: Raw 2003
(this is a great match, with lots of believable near finishes.)

- Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair: Bad Blood 2003
(WM 24 wasn't the only PPV match they had, while this pales in comparison, it's worth remembering.)
- Kevin Nash vs. Triple H: Hell In A Cell: Bad Blood 2003
(This is an entertaining bloodfest, Foley as Ref adds a lot as well.)

- Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Big Show: Vengeance 2003
(This is a very entertaining Triple Threat.)
- The Undertaker vs. John Cena: Vengeance 2003
(When Cena was still a rookie heel, this is surprisingly good... but slightly less good than...)

- The Undertaker vs. John Cena: Smackdown 2003
(For anything the Vengeance match may have been lacking, they made up for it in their rematch on SD, which was much better)

- The Elimination Chamber Match: SummerSlam 2003
(Shortest Chamber match ever, I believe, this is still great as it did it's job of putting over Goldberg as the ultimate threat. Had me salivating over the Goldberg/HHH one on one match yet to come)
- Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar: SummerSlam 2003
(this is much better than their WM19 match, IMO. Great stuff here)

- Shane McMahon vs. Kane: Last Man Standing: Unforgiven 2003
(Great spotfest, with one of Shane's EPIC FALLS to cap it off)
- Goldberg vs. Triple H: Unforgiven 2003
(For what it lacks in match quality, it makes up for with BIG FIGHT FEEL.)
- Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton: Unforgiven 2003
(Their first one on one match, I think, better than you'd think)

- The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar vs. The Big Show: Smackdown 2003
(This is a #1 Contender's Match, with the winner getting Kurt on SD the next week. It's really good. Look it up.)

- The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle: Smackdown 2003
(Their first truly epic match. I always thought it was a shame this wasn't on PPV, because it dooms it to being overlooked forever. It's amazing)

- Mark Henry vs. Shawn Michaels: Raw 2003
(This match has one of my favorite HBK match finishes ever)

- Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff: Survivor Series 2003

- Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels: Raw: Late December 2003
(I believe it was the last Raw of the year. This is probably their best 1 on 1 match against eachother)



Well it's gonna take a while to whittle that list down now isn't it? haha.

JP
March 31st, 2013, 4:19 PM
I've never had a problem with enjoying Benoit's matches, even in the weeks after the tragedy.

Strange, when you consider I struggle to enjoy Michael Jackson's music because of his actions towards children.

Tainted Eclipse
March 31st, 2013, 4:24 PM
Rock/Goldberg from 2003 may survive into the lower reaches of my list. Very well worked match with every little thing milked as well as it could be, and some really nasty spears at the end.

Brian M.
March 31st, 2013, 4:33 PM
Shit I completely forgot about Lesnar/Taker in the Cell. That match is going to be very, very high on my list. Top 5 potentially. I agree with Takerson that it may be the best Hell In A Cell of all time. Only one that comes close in my mind is the first one.

I also have no recollection of Rock ever facing Hogan again after their Mania match. I tend to forget about a lot of stuff from 2002-2003 as I lost a lot of interest in the product around that time and only ever watched the PPVs back on DVD a few years after the fact. I don't think I saw Wrestlemania 19 until about two years after it took place. I've got a lot of re-watching to do for this era in particular.

Atty
March 31st, 2013, 4:41 PM
takerson mentioned Austin/HHH from No Way Out 2001. Great match, but I've always found it sort of overrated. I love it, but the first fall is very generic and sort of boring. The next two were fantastic and the ending was genius.


Shawn/HHH from RAW and SummerSlam will rank near or at the top of this section of my list.

takerson
March 31st, 2013, 4:49 PM
Atty, that's what I meant about love it or hate it. People seem to have mixed emotions about it. But everyone remembers it.

Atty
March 31st, 2013, 6:35 PM
I know. :yes:

I love it and hate it.

chatty
April 1st, 2013, 3:20 AM
Not much to add that hasn't already been said:

Kurt Angle v Shane O Mac - Street Fight King of the Ring 2001
Jeff Hardy v RVD Ladder Match Summerslam 2001
Rhyno v Raven Hardcore match Backlash 2001
HHH/Austin v Jericho/Benoit Raw 2001
Rock/Jericho/Big Show/Kane/Undertaker v Austin/Angle/Booker/RVD/Shane Survivor Series 2001

Eddie Guerrero v RVD Ladder Match Raw 2002


TLC 3 Hardys v E&C v Dudleys v Jericho/Benoit - Smackdown 2001?
TLC 4 Kane v Christian/Jericho v Bubba/Spike v Jeff hardy/RVD

Chris
April 2nd, 2013, 9:31 AM
The January 8th 2001 WWF Title match between Austin and Angle was fantastic. It often gets overlooked in favour of the Summerslam match.

Another forgotten TV match is the eight man Taker/Kane/Hardys vs Austin/HHH/Edge/Christian match from the April 23rd Raw. Great crowd, great commentary, great action. Some of JR's best TV work, I think. He gets you completely invested in the match, and is absolutely biased against the Two Man Power Trip. "Drive him through the mat! Break his damn back! Break him in half!"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4sIaFn7htY

Some other matches that I haven't seen mentioned:

- Dudleys vs Edge and Christian at the Royal Rumble 2001: One of the best non-gimmick tag matches of that year.
- Benoit vs Jericho Ladder match at the Royal Rumble 2001: There seems to be a few vocal people on this board who don't rate this very highly, but I think it's far more than just a meaningless spot-fest. Easily one of their greatest matches together.
- X-Pac vs Tajiri from Summerslam 2001.
- Edge and Angle's matches together at Backlash and Judgement Day 2002. I was always more partial to the Backlash match, but I've seen a lot of high ratings for the Judgement Day match on this board over the years.
- Booker T and Goldust vs Lance Storm and Christian at Summerslam 2002.
- The 2 out of 3 falls tag title match between Angle/Benoit and Edge/Mysterio on the November 7th 2002 Smackdown.
- WGTT vs Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman from Vengeance 2003.
- The stretcher match between Brock Lesnar and Big Show at Judgement Day 2003.
- The WWE Title match between Brock Lesnar and Chris Benoit on Smackdown (December 4th 2003).

Good luck to Brian compiling this monster list when it's all said and done! This era is packed with great matches.

Fanny Batter
April 2nd, 2013, 9:55 AM
I don't know if it's been mentioned but there was a fatal 4-way elimination match on Smackdown in November/December 2002 that I really liked, think it was Edge, Eddie, Angle and Benoit. I think it was the lastmulti-man match of that "Smackdown 6" era as Edge got injured and Angle became champion. Finishing stretch was the usual Kurt Angle ridiculousness so it may not hold up, but at that time it was awesome.

takerson
April 2nd, 2013, 8:15 PM
I don't know if it's been mentioned but there was a fatal 4-way elimination match on Smackdown in November/December 2002 that I really liked, think it was Edge, Eddie, Angle and Benoit. I think it was the lastmulti-man match of that "Smackdown 6" era as Edge got injured and Angle became champion. Finishing stretch was the usual Kurt Angle ridiculousness so it may not hold up, but at that time it was awesome.


YES!

Brian M.
April 2nd, 2013, 10:42 PM
Okay guys, it looks like discussion is winding down a bit on this set of years, so tomorrow night I will update the master list and we can begin the next discussion. Until then feel free to bring up any matches that may have been missed and continue conversation on matches already mentioned. A special thanks to The Law and Takerson who are going all out with this and mentioning quite a few matches I forgot even took place.

Brian M.
April 3rd, 2013, 8:05 PM
I've updated the list on the first page. People liked umm, quite a few more matches from this set of years. This is going to be really hard to whittle down when all is said and done but I've got confidence that everyone will come up with a great list!

So moving on, THE BRAND SPLIT ERA (2004-2006). Technically the brand split started in 2002, but these are the years where they really kept the brands apart and started rivalries between the red and blue shows. This also included splitting up the roster for PPVs, which led to some interesting match ups getting a lot of time that otherwise wouldn't have. I imagine there will be a few more undercard matches listed here than there were previously. To get us started, a few of my favorite matchups:

Eddie Guerrero VS Brock Lesnar No Way Out 2004: The moment Eddie became ingrained as a star in the minds of every WWE fan. This is also one of Brock's best performances inside a WWE ring. Just a vicious, vicious heel which is exactly what was needed here. And the pop for the title change is among the biggest I've ever heard.

MITB 1 Wrestlemania 21: In my mind easily the best Money In The Bank match of all time. Absolutely amazing work by Benoit selling his arm and telling a story throughout which is rare for a ladder match. And then of course you had Shelton Benjamin doing all of his flippy flop things. Great stuff.

John Cena VS Chris Jericho Summerslam 2005 and Raw the night after: Perhaps Cena's first great matches as a main eventer, Jericho really elevated his game and did his best to take Cena to the next level both nights in his final matches before leaving WWE for the first time.

Edge VS Mick Foley Wrestlemania 22: Just re-watched this and was surprised at how much I loved it. Very notable for going way further than WWE has ever tended to go as far as hardcore matches, but also a good story told with Foley reaching back to his wild old days but in the end not being able to match the viciousness and athleticism of the new star Edge.

Chris Benoit VS Finlay Judgment Day 2006: I'm not sure anyone expected these guys to get 20 minutes to just do their thing on PPV, but I'm not complaining. Both of these guys were on fire and having good matches on an almost weekly basis at this point but this one stands out for me.

OK YOUR TURN!

Tainted Eclipse
April 3rd, 2013, 8:43 PM
Watched Eddie/JBL from Judgment Day. Didn't like it as much as I used to but it will still do rather well on my list. Benoit/Regal from Velocity in 2005 will be on there. Ric Flair vs. Big Show for the ECW Title will do very well on my list but I like that match more than anyone else in the world.

Eddie vs. Rey, Smackdown 2005. Watched it last night. Man is it brilliant. There's plenty of matches out there with more exciting home stretches, more near-falls, etc etc, but that match is just an expertly crafted masterpiece by two of the best and smartest wrestlers of all time. On my ongoing list it's only behind Cena/Umaga and Cena/Punk from 2011 so far.

Brian M.
April 3rd, 2013, 10:37 PM
That's two opportunities you've had to mention that Mysterio/Guerrero match today Tainted. This is your day buddy. Rejoice.

Mills
April 3rd, 2013, 10:56 PM
I loved Eddie/JBL from Judgement Day also. That chair shot still gets me every time in how brutal it was.

Also, WM XX had the big triple threat match and the Eddie/Kurt match which was also great.

2005 RR had a really good HBK/Edge match that I remember fondly

I loved 2005-2006 but i also know it wasnt the most popular either. Ill get more real posts about this onxe im not on my phone

Atty
April 4th, 2013, 12:01 AM
From Mania 22, I'd also have Shawn/Vince on there.

The Law
April 4th, 2013, 12:07 AM
I just watched Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka from One Night Stand 2005. Absolutely awesome match. One of the best hardcore matches I've ever seen. Definitely recommend everyone check that out. Currently the 18th rated match on my list.

G-Fresh
April 4th, 2013, 12:29 AM
Yeah that match is great.

Chris
April 4th, 2013, 5:56 AM
- Kurt Angle vs Undertaker from No Way Out 2006 - Awesome. Great action and great crowd. The two men clicked just as well as they did in their 2003 matches, and this was when Taker was really starting to up his game with regard to how he wrestled under the Deadman gimmick.

- John Cena vs Rob Van Dam from One Night Stand 2006: Incredible atmosphere in the arena, and the match was better than expected.

- Rob Van Dam vs Edge from Vengeance 2006: This might be one of RVD's best non-gimmick WWE matches. I know Defrost has championed this match for quite some time.

- Mick Foley vs Randy Orton from Backlash 2004. Hardcore match for the Intercontinental Title. These two make up for the lacklustre handicap match at Wrestlemania. This really helped to put Orton on the map.

- Undertaker vs Randy Orton from Wrestlemania 21. You might argue that the Summerslam match was better, but they were starting to ramp up the streak angle by this point and this was the first real test of it.

- Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels from Wrestlemania 21. Their series has split opinion over the years, but I think this is easily their best match together with the Wrestlemania atmosphere and both men trying to out-do each other from the outset.

- Triple H vs Ric Flair from Survivor Series 2005. This was their last man standing match, which I preferred to the cage match. But both were surprisingly good.

- JBL vs Kurt Angle from the January 27th 2005 episode of Smackdown. This was a last man standing match before they met in a triple threat with Big Show at the Rumble.

- Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle. There was a 2 out of 3 falls match on Smackdown on September 2nd 2004 and a number one contender's match on April 14th 2005. Both are TV matches worthy of being included, and I preferred these to their PPV encounters. I think the Smackdown Royal Rumble match (January 29th 2004) is also worth including - simply for the incredibly exciting finish as Guerrero and Angle duked it out.

- Shawn Michaels vs Shelton Benjamin from Raw on May 2nd 2005. The Gold Rush match. Great back-and-forth match with a finish that was made for highlight reels.

- Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit from Raw on May 3rd 2004. Shame that the finish was tainted by Triple H, but this was another really good TV main event.

- Shawn Michaels vs Edge from Raw on February 28th 2005. This was a street fight, and much much better than their Royal Rumble match which illustrated the lazy and repetitive style that Michaels was guilty of during this period.

- Edge vs Ric Flair from Raw on January 16th 2006. This was a TLC match in North Carolina, during Edge's brief reign as WWE champion, and one of Flair's best efforts of the period.

- Kendrick and London vs The Hardy Boyz vs MNM vs Regal and Taylor from Armageddon 2006. Oh boy, this was easily in the top 3 matches of the year for me. 4 way ladder match awesomeness. Poor Joey Mercury's face.

Brian M.
April 9th, 2013, 12:16 PM
Don't want this to get pushed too far down the page, so I'll ask again if anybody has any more matches they enjoy from this section of years? I'll try to think of some more good ones myself and post them later. In the meantime feel free to share. Otherwise we will move on to the next set shortly.

Mills
April 9th, 2013, 1:55 PM
Edge/Cena TLC match at Unforgiven. Personally, my favorite match in their big rivalry. Edge had come in cocky after beating Cena at Summerslam in Boston, Cena's home market. On top of that, it was a TLC match. Edge hadn't lost a TLC match yet, making it his "signature" match. Great action, moves and a hot crowd made this one a winner.

takerson
April 9th, 2013, 11:17 PM
Again, like my 02-03 list. These are all the matches that I feel deserve to be remembered for whatever reason. Be they great, memorable, or historic.


HHH vs. HBK: Last Man Standing - Royal Rumble 2004
(Amazing match, forgotten a lot because of the Draw finish.)

Eddie vs. Brock - No Way Out 2004
(Eddie wins the belt, of course.)

Christian vs. Jericho - WMXX
(Great match, gets lost in the shuffle on such a huge show though.)

Eddie vs. Kurt Angle - WMXX

Randy Orton vs. Cactus Jack - Backlash 2004
(Best Hardcore Match in WWE history, Foley considers it his best ever. May be right)

Ric Flair/HHH/Randy Orton vs. Edge/Benoit/Jericho - Raw 2004
(This match was over a half hour long, and was an elimination match. It was great. Raw ended at about 11:45 on this night.)

Eddie vs. JBL - Judgment Day 2004
(Not the BEST match, but will ALWAYS be remembered for the sickening amount of blood)

HHH vs. HBK: Hell In A Cell - Bad Blood 2004
(Admittedly tedious at times, a lot of laying around, but guys... HHH & HBK had a nearly hour long HIAC match, that will always be remembered for better or worse.)

Randy Orton vs. Edge- Raw 2004
(NOT their Vengeance 2004 match, their rematch a week or two later on Raw. MUCH better match.)

Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio - Great American Bash 2004
(Their best match with eachother, IMO)

Eddie vs. Kurt Angle - SummerSlam 2004
(Better than their WM match, I thought.)

HHH vs. Eugene - SummerSlam 2004
(No, I'm not joking, watch it. Surprisingly good with good storytelling.)

Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton: Steel Cage Match - Taboo Tuesday 2004

Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin - Survivor Series 2004
(Great IC Title Match)

Elimination Chamber Match - New Year's Revolution 2005
(STILL Holds up as my fav EC Match. Edge v. Y2J v. Benoit v. HHH v. Batista v. Orton)

Edge vs. HBK - Royal Rumble 2005

Edge vs. HBK: Street Fight - Raw 2005
(not a mistake, they did this again 2 years later, which was more remembered. This is still great.)

Big Show vs. JBL: Barbwire Cage Match - No Way Out 2005
(Not technically great... great finish though. Haha. Loved the finish)

Eddie vs. Rey - WM21
(Hot opener. Love this match.)

Money In The Bank Match - WM21

HBK vs. Kurt Angle - WM21
(Epic Match)

Undertaker vs. Randy Orton - WM21
(This is a good match. Bob's cast shot had me fooled at the time)

Batista vs. HHH - WM21
(Epic moment. Not bad match.)

Eddie vs. Rey - Judgment Day 2005

John Cena vs. JBL: I Quit Match - Judgment Day 2005

Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka - One Night Stand 2005
(Ridiculousness)

HBK vs. Kurt Angle - Vengeance 2005
(Great rematch)

Batista vs. HHH: Hell In A Cell - Vengeance 2005

Edge vs. Matt Hardy - SummerSlam 2005
(Remember how brutal this was? They really played this as REAL.)

Undertaker vs. Randy Orton - SummerSlam 2005

Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels - SummerSlam 2005
(This had the BIG FIGHT FEEL. Will always be remembered, for better or worse.)

Edge vs. Matt Hardy: Steel Cage Match - Unforgiven 2005

Kurt Angle vs. John Cena - Unforgiven 2005
(Really good match, marred by DQ finish)

Undertaker vs. Randy Orton - Smackdown 2005
(Better than their SummerSlam Match, ALMOST as good as their WM match.)

Eddie vs. Batista - No Mercy 2005
(Great match, fitting final PPV match for Eddie being a memorable World Title Match)

Ric Flair vs. HHH: Steel Cage Match - Taboo Tuesday 2005
(GREAT Cage Match.)

Cena vs. HBK vs. Angle - Taboo Tuesday 2005
(THIS MATCH HAPPENED)

Team Raw vs. Team SD! - Survivor Series 2005

Elimination Chamber Match - New Year's Revolution 2006

Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle - No Way Out 2006
(Their best, most epic match, they've ever had. I absolutely love this match.)

Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle - Smackdown 2006
(They had a rematch, obviously not AS good but it is still great. Marks the only Tombstone Kurt ever took, too.)

HBK vs. Shane O Mac - Sat. Night Main Event

HHH/Cena vs. Angle/Rey/Orton: WM Main Event vs. Main Event Match - Sat. Night Main Event
(This is so much fun.)

Mick Foley vs. Edge: Hardcore Match - WM22
(Great Hardcore Match)

Angle vs. Rey vs. Orton - WM22
(this is a fun 3 way)

Cena vs. HHH - WM22

RVD vs. Shelton Benjamin - Backlash 2006

HHH vs. Edge vs. Cena - Backlash 2006

Lashley vs. Booker T - Judment Day 2006
(KOTR final match. Not bad. Birth of KING BOOKAHH)

Sabu vs. Rey Mysterio - One Night Stand 2006
(Finish ruined a really cool dream match.)

Foley/Edge vs. Funk/Dreamer - One Night Stand 2006
(Vicious match. Sick finish. Great, emotional at times, stuff)

Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton - One Night Stand 2006

Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton - Vengeance 2006

Edge vs. Rob Van Dam - Vengeance 2006

The Big Show vs. Ric Flair: Extreme Rules - ECW 2006
(Great bloody Title Match.)

Sabu vs. Kurt Angle - ECW 2006
(THIS MATCH HAPPENED)

Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley: I Quit Match - SummerSlam 2006
(Sick, bloody, great stuff with this feud based on real life dislike)

Edge vs. John Cena - SummerSlam 2006

Edge vs. John Cena: TLC Match - Unforgiven 2006

4 Way Ladder Match - Armageddon 2006

Atty
April 9th, 2013, 11:20 PM
Shawn/Triple H on RAW in San Antonio in 2003 would take it for these years for me. Would also rate Benoit/Orton frighteningly high. Loved that match, so I haven't tried to watch it in years.

Tainted Eclipse
April 10th, 2013, 5:46 PM
To go back a time period, I watched Edge/Eddie no DQ from 2002 last night and wow is it good. It will almost definitely place on my list. Probably the best Edge match ever and probably the best thing to come out of the "Smackdown Six" stuff.

Mills
April 10th, 2013, 10:00 PM
I LOVED that 6 person from ONS. Edge looked like a star when that was done

Bluegunn
April 14th, 2013, 2:53 PM
I really liked some of the matches without big names. London vs Akio series in 2007 was amazing and mostly overlooked due to them being on Velocity

Tainted Eclipse
April 14th, 2013, 4:08 PM
And now to move up a time period, if Ohno/Regal from NXT is going to be eligible, it will be on my list. And do well.

Brian M.
April 14th, 2013, 7:20 PM
Sorry I've fallen a bit behind on this guys, I've had a busy week. Will update later tonight and move on to the next set of years.

Tainted, was that match taped before Wrestlemania this year? If so it is eligible.

Mills
April 14th, 2013, 11:20 PM
Yes

Atty
April 15th, 2013, 2:52 AM
One other match I just thought of that I havent seen talked about is Shawn/Flair I, from Bad Blood (I believe) in 2003. Great match that has been forgotten due to being on a non-big four show and by having to live in the shadow of their Mania match.

takerson
April 15th, 2013, 6:54 PM
Ohno/Regal was taped before WM, yes.

Brian M.
April 18th, 2013, 11:01 PM
Sorry I've been slacking on this guys. I was on vacation last week and obviously this week has been a bit hectic. Master list has been updated on the first post and hopefully I can get these last two sets of years done at a quicker pace so we can get to the voting stages!

The next set of years will be THE JOHN CENA ERA (2007-2009). And yes fuckers, I know every years since basically 2006 has been the John Cena era, but this was the period of time where the whole brand was REALLY centralized around him. He was never really away from a world Title unless he was injured. Plus 2007 was easily the best year of his career in ring wise so it seemed fitting. A ton of other cool shit went down in these years as well, so feel free to throw out your favorites!

Personally, John Cena VS Umaga Last Man Standing from Royal Rumble 2007 and John Cena VS Edge Last Man Standing from Backlash 2009 are going to place ridiculously high on my list. Then we've got the obvious ones like Shawn Michaels VS Ric Flair and Undertaker in consecutive Wrestlemanias. DISCUSS NOW!

Tainted Eclipse
April 18th, 2013, 11:16 PM
Cena/Umaga is #2 on my list and pretty much that definitely won't change at this point. The best real gimmick match WWE's ever run, as in a stip more than just a no DQ brawl.

John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels from RAW holds up and will do well on my list. Christian/Swagger on ECW tv from 09 will also do very well.

Andy
April 18th, 2013, 11:59 PM
Taker/HBK. Both of their Mania matches will likely make my top 10 if not top 5.

takerson
April 19th, 2013, 12:13 AM
My long 2007=2009 list. Every match I feel deserves to be remembered whether it be historic, great, or whatever.

HHH/HBK vs. Orton/Edge - New Year's Revolution 2007

HBK vs. Edge: Street Fight - Raw

John Cena vs. Umaga: Last Man Standing - Royal Rumble 2007

The 2007 Royal Rumble Match
(Star studded, exciting, and the final 2 is legendarily amazing.)

HBK vs. Orton vs. Edge: WM # 1 Contender's Match - Raw

Undertaker/Batista vs. Cena/HBK - No Way Out 2007

Undertaker/Batista vs. Cena/HBK - Raw Before WM 23

Undertaker vs. Batista - WM23

HBK vs. Cena - WM23

Sabu/Sandman/RVD/Dreamer vs.
Burke/Cor Von/Thorn/Striker: Elimination Match - ECW

HBK vs. Cena - Raw in England after WM23

Orton vs. Edge - Raw after that

Undertaker vs. Batista: Last Man Standing - Backlash 2007

HBK vs. Orton vs. Edge vs. Cena - Backlash 2007

Undertaker vs. Batista: Steel Cage Match - Smackdown

RVD vs. Randy Orton - Raw before One Night Stand

Foley vs. Cena vs. Lashley vs. Booker vs. Orton - Vengeance 2007

Cena vs. Lashley - Great American Bash 2007

Cena vs. Orton - SummerSlam 2007

Punk vs. Morrison - ECW (Punk wins Title)

Orton vs. HHH: Last Man Standing - No Mercy 2007

Undertaker vs. Batista - Cyber Sunday 2007

HBK vs. Orton - Cyber Sunday 2007

HBK vs. Orton - Survivor Series 2007

Undertaker vs. Batista: Hell In A Cell - Survivor Series 2007

Jericho vs. Orton - Armageddon 2007

The 2008 Royal Rumble Match
(Again, great. MSG crowd added lots to it)

Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match - No Way Out 2008
(Starts with Taker/Batista... ends with Taker/Batista. Epic)

Raw Elimination Chamber Match - No Way Out 2008
(Bloody, good, old fashioned EC Match. HHH/Hardy final 2 are awesome)

JBL vs. Finlay - WM24

HBK vs. Flair - WM24

HHH vs. Orton vs. Cena - WM24

Edge vs. Undertaker - WM24

Edge vs. Undertaker - Backlash 2008

Orton vs. Cena vs. HHH vs. JBL - Backlash 2008

Edge vs. Undertaker - Judgment Day 2008

HBK vs. Jericho - Judgment Day 2008

HHH vs. Orton: Steel Cage Match - Judgment Day 2008

Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga: Falls Count Anywhere - One Night Stand 2008

Undertaker vs. Edge: TLC Match - One Night Stand 2008

JBL vs. Cena: Parking Lot Brawl - Great American Bash 2008

HBK vs. Jericho - Great American Bash 2008

HHH vs. Cena - Night Of Champions 2008
(Good match, big feel, better than their WM22 match.)

Cena vs. Batista - SummerSlam 2008

Undertaker vs. Edge: Hell In A Cell - SummerSlam 2008

Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry - ECW (Matt wins Title)

Jericho vs. HBK: Street Fight - Unforgiven 2008

Undertaker vs. Big Show - No Mercy 2008
(Another one of their surprisingly great matches with eachother)

HHH vs. Jeff Hardy - No Mercy 2008
(Really great match. Often forgotten)

Jericho vs. HBK: Ladder Match - No Mercy 2008

Undertaker vs. Big Show - Cyber Sunday 2008
(Yet another great match. Who'da thunk it.)

Jericho vs. Batista - Cyber Sunday 2008

HHH vs. Jeff Hardy - Cyber Sunday 2008
(Another good match with HHH/Hardy. Not as good as No Mercy, but still memorable)

Jericho vs. Batista: Steel Cage Match - Raw
(Jericho wins back the World Title.)

Jericho vs. Cena - Survivor Series 2008

Punk vs. Mysterio - Armageddon 2008

Jericho vs. Cena - Armageddon 2008

HHH vs. Hardy vs. Edge - Armageddon 2008

Edge vs. Hardy - Royal Rumble 2009
(Great heel turn by Matt here)

Orton vs. Shane McMahon - No Way Out 2009

WWE Title Elimination Chamber Match - No Way Out 2009
(Great match. Taker/HHH final 2. Amazing)

World Title Elimination Chamber Match - No Way Out 2009
(Edge loses WWE Title in first match.... wins World Title in Last match. Awesome)

Jericho vs. Steamboat, Snuka, Piper - WrestleMania 25
(Steamboat seemingly steals the show. Nobody expected him to be in such great ring shape.)

Jeff vs. Matt: Extreme Rules Match - WrestleMania 25

Undertaker vs. HBK - WrestleMania 25
(Ever hear about this one?)

All Star 10 man Tag - Raw after WM.
(Hardy, Cena, Punk, Steamboat, Mysterio, Edge, Big Show, and more, all in the same match. Greatness)

Steamboat vs. Jericho - Backlash 2009

HHH/Batista/Shane vs. Orton/DiBiase/Rhodes - Backlash 2009
(Slow start, EPIC finish/closing moments)

Edge vs. Cena: Last Man Standing - Backlash 2009

Edge vs. Hardy - Judgment Day 2009

Punk vs. Umaga - Judgment Day 2009

Mysterio vs. Jericho - Judgment Day 2009

Mysterio vs. Jericho: No DQ - Extreme Rules 2009

Dreamer vs. Christian vs. Swagger - Extreme Rules 2009
(Dreamer finally wins a Title. Great moment.)

Edge vs. Hardy: Ladder Match - Extreme Rules 2009

Punk vs. Edge vs. Hardy - Raw 3 For All

Orton vs. Big Show vs. HHH vs. Cena - Raw 3 For All

HHH vs. Orton: Last Man Standing - Raw the week after that.

HHH vs. Orton: 2/3 Falls - The Bash

Punk vs. Hardy - Night Of Champions 2009

HHH vs. Orton vs. Cena - Night Of Champions 2009
(Great WM24 rematch, plays off original greatly)

Hardy vs. Morrison - Smackdown
(PPV quality World Title Match)

HHH/HBK vs. DiBiase/Rhodes - SummerSlam 2009
(GREAT match. Really put over Legacy, too bad they let it fizzle out. But they looked like equals here.)

Punk vs. Hardy: TLC Match - SummerSlam 2009

Punk vs. Hardy: Steel Cage Match - Smackdown

Christian vs. William Regal - Breaking Point 2009
(Watch this if you don't remember it.)

HHH/HBK vs. Legacy: Submission Count Anywhere - Breaking Point 2009
(Just as good as the first match. Legacy WIN this one.)

Cena vs. Orton: I Quit Match - Breaking Point 2009
(IMO, their best match against eachother.)

Punk vs. Undertaker - Hell In A Cell 2009
(Too short to be great, but until this year's WM, this had to cover my "dream match" fix. Liked it for years before I saw what they could REALLY do)

JeriShow vs. Batista/Rey - Hell In A Cell 2009
(Star studded Tag Title Match)

HHH/HBK vs. Legacy - Hell In A Cell 2009
(This really was a great series)

Undertaker vs. Punk vs. Mysterio vs. Batista - Bragging Rights 2009
(Really fun match, then the "Rey, I'm gonna rip your head off" turn at the end. :lol: )

Jericho vs. Undertaker - Smackdown
(Great match.)

Jericho vs. Undertaker vs. Big Show - Survivor Series 2009

Cena vs. HHH vs. HBK - Survivor Series 2009
(LOVE the opening. "DX will work togeth..."*SCM to HHH* :lol: )

Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin: Ladder Match - TLC 2009

JeriShow vs. HHH/HBK: TLC Match - TLC 2009

Tainted Eclipse
April 19th, 2013, 7:08 PM
i remember LOVING regal/christian from breaking point when i watched it in 2009. it was my moty in fact. but i rewatched it for this and, though thinking it was a very good match, didnt consider it worthy of list consideration surprisingly. maybe i need to rewatch it.

Brian M.
April 29th, 2013, 6:32 PM
OK so this shit got knocked right off the front page, and admittedly this is my fault. I haven't kept up with it enough to keep people's interest. That being said, I have updated the master list on the front page. And in the hopes of keeping this going, I am going to open up nominations for 2010-2013 (through Wrestlemania 29 ONLY). AND I am going to allow lists to be submitted to me via PM starting now. I am thinking of keeping the voting open until May 20th. This seems like enough time for people to re-watch some matches yet also not long enough to make things uninteresting.

In the mean time to keep discussion going, nominate matches from 2010-13, and also go to bat for some matches people may be sweeping under the rug. Even if it's on the master list, there may be a match that people have not watched since it aired, and thus do not rate it. If this is one of your favorite matches, tell us why! Post a YouTube link!

I hope to get about 20-30 lists overall but we shall see. I am going to allow you to vote for up to 30 matches. Maximum is 30, minimum is 20. Regardless of how many you put, the point system will stay the same. #1 vote gets 30 points, #2 gets 29 etc. If anyone thinks there is a better way to do this I am open to suggestions.

Cewsh
April 29th, 2013, 6:34 PM
LET'S DO THIS.

I haven't been suggesting a ton of matches, but I am going to be thoroughly assembling this fucking list, that's for sure.

Brian M.
April 29th, 2013, 6:47 PM
To be fair, nobody has really had to suggest many matches. Takerson has done a phenomenal job piecing together basically every noteworthy match of the era, and for that, I thank him.

Ringo
April 29th, 2013, 7:09 PM
Here's a list of matches from those years that I rated highly:

2010
The Undertaker vs. HBK, Wrestlemania XXVI
The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio, Rumble
Batista vs. John Cena @ Wrestlemania & Extreme Rules
CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio @ Extreme Rules & Over The Limit and on Smackdown in February
CM Punk vs. Luke Gallows on Smackdown
Team WWE vs. The Nexus @ Summerslam
Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio on Smackdown shortly after ADR's debut
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz @ Night Of Champions
Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler @ Bragging Rights + Rematch on Raw
John Cena vs. Wade Barrett @ HIAC
Jerry Lawler vs. The Miz, TLC on Raw
Drew McIntyre vs. Chris Masters on Superstars
Drew McIntyre vs. Matt Hardy on Smackdown in June
John Morrison vs. Sheamus, Ladder Match @ TLC
Edge vs. Kane vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio, 4-Way TLC @ TLC

2011
Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio (2/3 Falls) on Smackdown
Edge/Ziggler at the Rumble
Smackdown Elimination Chamber featuring Drew McIntyre
The Miz vs. Lawler @ Elimination Chamber
Chris Masters vs. Tyler Reks on Superstars in March
Trips/Taker
Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio, Ladder Match @ Extreme Rules
Christian vs. Orton @ Over The Limit, on Smackdown in May, MITB & Summerslam
CM Punk vs. John Cena @ MITB & Rematch at Summerslam
Both MITB matches
Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton @ NOC
Mark Henry vs. Big Show @ Vengeance
Drew McIntyre vs. Chris Masters on Superstars in May
Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry (Cage) on Smackdown
Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena, LMS @ Vengeance (broken ring!)
Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk @ Survivor Series
CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. ADR, TLC @ TLC
Ziggler/Ryder @ TLC

2012
Well we voted a top 20 recently. Aside from the obvious, I'm a particularly big fan of the Bryan/Show matches, the Sheamus/Show matches and Punk/Henry from Raw.


Also... for reference, matches Meltzer rated over ****

2010
3/28/10 Chris Jericho vs. Edge ****
3/28/10 Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (No Countout, No DQ) ****3/4
4/25/10 John Cena vs. Batista (Last Man Standing) ****1/4
6/20/10 Evan Bourne vs. Chris Jericho ****
7/18/10 Kane vs. Big Show vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Matt Hardy vs. Christian vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Cody Rhodes (Ladder) ****
7/18/10 Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger ****
12/19/10 John Morrison vs. Sheamus (Ladder) ****
12/19/10 Alberto Del Rio vs. Edge vs. Kane vs. Rey Mysterio (TLC) ****1/4


2011
2/20/11 Edge vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big Show vs. Kane vs. Wade Barrett (Elimination Chamber) ****1/4
2/20/11 John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison vs. R-Truth vs. Sheamus (Elimination Chamber) ****
4/3/11 Triple H vs. Undertaker (No Holds Barred) ****1/2
5/1/11 Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio (Ladder) ****1/4
5/1/11 The Miz vs. John Cena vs. John Morrison ****
5/22/11 Randy Orton vs. Christian ****1/4
7/17/11 Sheamus vs. Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett vs. Kane vs. Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater vs. Cody Rhodes (Ladder) ****
7/17/11 John Cena vs. CM Punk *****
8/14/11 Randy Orton vs. Christian ****
10/23/11 Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena ****
12/18/11 CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio (TLC) ****1/4

2012
4/1/12 Undertaker vs. Triple H (Hell in a Cell) ****3/4
4/29/12 Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan (2 out of 3 Falls) ****
4/29/12 John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (Extreme Rules) ****1/2
5/20/12 CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan ****1/2
7/15/12 Dolph Ziggler vs. Tensai vs. Damien Sandow vs. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Sin Cara vs. Santino Marella vs. Tyson Kidd (Ladder) ****
7/15/12 CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan (No DQ) ****1/4
9/16/12 CM Punk vs. John Cena ****1/4
12/16/12 Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan/Kane/Ryback (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) ****1/2
12/16/12 John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler (Ladder) ****

Ringo
May 16th, 2013, 3:20 PM
Are you still planning on going through with this Brian? I wanted to check because I thought I'd do another poll in the vein of the Greatest Wrestlemania Matches project and they could clash. Although, if you're too busy to do this - I'm happy to just take this over :yes: