Undertaker and Triple H felt less like a wrestling bout, and more like Anakin Skywalker vs. Obi Wan Kenobi at the end of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." "It was very important for me in terms of redeeming myself for what I thought was a very disappointing appearance at WrestleMania XX. PES DRAFT PES 2019 ! DAVID SHOEMAKER, What many of Rey Mysterios most flagrant imitators and theres a generation of them too often overlook is that the lucha icon didnt perform dazzling maneuvers just because they looked cool. Few competitors enamored her the way Sasha Banks did, which is why nobody knew if Bayley could finally put aside childish things to defeat her for the NXT Womens Title at the very first TakeOver: Brooklyn. "Imagine competing at a WrestleMania against your brother. ALEX GIANNINI. But as Bray emphatically told the Hounds of Justice, "I welcome this war!" I was so stoked to see it. Triple H was a multi-time champion by the end of the millennium, but still wasn't connecting with fans at a main event level. Forget it, dont set aside the ending he didnt go out on top, but this is every bit a worthy Retirement Match. Yes!," Bryan was long considered a sound ring technician and submission specialist. How he ever got up let alone competed again well never know. Its very innovative and not dated at all. It was an all-time moment in his career, but given Bret Hart's love of pro wrestling, we bet he preferred what happened earlier in the show: his match versus his brother Owen Hart. I cant pinpoint why I liked Bret so much. A lot of tag team wrestling can be very paint-by-numbers. AEW News; Featured Top Story; . I think this is one of those great cases where the same match benefitted both guys enormously. While Flair was the highlight, all 29 other guys delivered the goods. And when that identity is put on the line in a match, it makes that bout incredibly personal. And yeah, it was pretty cool when he blew The Chairman a kiss goodbye, too. It took years for me to get over his rivalry with Bret Hart. Its hard to tell where one teams madness began and the others ended in this frankly ludicrous, 10-car pileup of a match that saw Edge & Christian retain their World Tag Team Championship against The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz on The Grandest Stage of Them All. But that interview with J.R. did such a great job of building Cactus Jack into something bigger than he actually was. I remembered what Ricky Steamboat taught me about showmanship, what Bobby Eaton taught me about punching, Arn with his general a**kicking and I tried to mimic everything I did after Barry Windham. ANTHONY BENIGNO. The conquering of The Streak. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle found two of the best, at their best, in a battle to see who was best. Wed never seen that before. Even the Cena Sucks crowd had to give it up for him at that point, and if that isnt the ultimate sign of respect, well, we dont know what is. While Edge would prevail, all 29 men and one woman (Beth Phoenix) got over. Styles also held on to the WWE. Savage and Steamboat wrestled in a fast-paced, athletic classic that never slowed down for even a second during its entire 15-minute runtime. By the end, both men were busted open (There is literally nothing better than the overhead camera looking down on that red-stained, baby-blue ring mat) and their exhaustion was tangible and harrowing. The brawl fit in broken pool cues, crashed merchandise tables and a shovel, and was way more dangerous than anything else happening at the time. He had retired and it was very unceremonious and under the radar. In John Cena, you had the larger-than-life, musclebound, clean-cut babyface favored by Vince McMahon and mainstream "sports entertainment" fans; and in CM Punk you had the tattooed, flip off the system, indie wrestler beloved by a large segment of the fans. It was a bold, risky move this match earned and was absolutely brilliant from a creative standpoint. The victory put to rest the idea that Bryan was a "weak link" and proved The Shield could be beaten. Welp, fans certainly swallowed their words a month later when the three put on one of the greatest WrestleMania main events ever and the best triple threat match of all time. Despite never having held the WWETitle, the crowd favorite exuded confidence as he stood toe-to-toe with 15-time World Champion John Cena. Hes so obnoxious and youre able to root against him. From an all-time classic to a modern masterpiece, Andrade 'Cien' Almas and Johnny Gargano take second place on the list with a rating of 9.65 from 673 votes. Top three matches of 2021: SmackDown vs. Roman Reigns; Dynamite "Grand Slam" vs. Kenny Omega; Dynamite "Winter is Coming" vs. "Hangman" Adam Page Bryan Danielson put together one of the most. Throughout the 2010s, the HIAC went from being a battleground where only blood feuds ended to "just another match" where any feud began. Did we mention the vacated WWE Championship was at stake for the first and only time ever in the Rumble? It was funny to watch the guys looking at Rey like, 'You gotta be kidding me. He won the title in June of that year, then traded it back and forth with Jeff Hardy in the fall. . With "Dragon Slayer" sewn on his black trunks in plain white block letters, Austin delivered a performance that was anything but plain. CRAIG TELLO, Set aside the ignominious ending for Savage this match was an absolute beauty. Some stole the show, while others were part of classic cards that were great from top to bottom. "Sid Vicious powerbombing Brian Pillman is one of those moments that could have gone horribly wrong for a person, but something you absolutely have to watch. KEVIN POWERS, Daniel Bryan was riding high on a wave of "Yes!" 25. They had a great chemistry together, and then you add in the element of them brawling all over the building Sting wasnt known for that. In many ways, Shawn Michaels was the perfect wrestler. Austin tried everything he could to retain the U.S. Not fairly. By 2005, Angle had abandoned his dweeby heel persona for a bloodthirsty, one-man wrecking crew willing to do anything to win. The Royal Rumble is the easiest match to book, but the hardest match to book well. Wash-rinse-repeat. It was wild for all the right reasons. It was back and forth the whole way, and one of the best matches I've had in my career. While his "Yes!" Long story short? Mysterio challenged Dragon for possession of the J-Crown, a collection of unified titles that the reigning champion wore to ringside with relish. Royal rumble 2000 6. It made me feel like we had seen the last of Shawn Michaels, and it was very sad. In 2002, Id discussed with my wife that I wasn't gonna do this forever. It was perfect. Plus, get every WWE Premium Live Event, your favorite shows, new movies, live sports, and more. Your opinions of The Undertaker vs. Thats the tell-tale sign of two guys who know what theyre doing. And then Barry Windham, Ricky Steamboat, Sting and I were on the same team. Austin lost, but became a hero. "From the beginning, the way Pillman dominated Barry Windham for the first full five-minute section of the match was sort of unexpected, because Windham was a lot bigger than Pillman, and at that point at least, a lot more established than Pillman was. Finally, there are no NXT matches (we can hear you throwing your laptops now). During the discussion, Lee commented on possibly becoming the AEW world champion . Anyway, if anything, this Rumble does have one of the better final fours with Austin, Dude Love, Rock, and Farooq. Truthfully, on paper Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart should have been a top five "best ever." Rampage Results - 2/24/23 (Young Bucks vs. Aussie Open and more!) That brought a lot more to the match on a technical level. Triple H was in the midst of his 2000-2001 run as the WWE's resident big bad, when he seemed physically incapable of having a bad match. But what better way to go out than one of the greatest tag team matches in WWE history, and the greatest "Monday Night Raw" match, period? The Dead Man was the former champion who wanted vengeance against Michaels for costing him the title at SummerSlam. That was the blessing and the curse of the whole thing. I look at that as the event that turned Mr. McMahon into a Mick Foley fan. But it always could go the other way. If they still don't get it, pro wrestling isn't for them. For another, he was facing AJ Styles, who was 3-0 against Cena as a singles competitor going back to their first battle seven months earlier. That means the only way to appreciate their historic trio of clashes is to experience the pace and exhilaration of this opening Allegro in its entirety. Bryan, the world-class technical pro wrestler who also had star power vs. Cena, the natural-born sports entertainer who'd blossomed into one of the best big match workers in the business. Case in point, Daniel Bryan's 18-second World Championship loss as a heel to Sheamus at WrestleMania XXVIII resulted in one of the greatest face runs of all time for Bryan, that is. Shawn Michaels after his 2002 return is arguably the greatest in-ring performer ever. Im the oldest in my family and have a little brother. KEVIN POWERS, The managerial services of Terri Runnels and $100,000 were on the line when The Hardy Boyz went to war with archrivals Edge and Christian in the deciding match of the Terri Invitational Tournament. SCOTT TAYLOR, Once upon a time, a small organization based in northeast Japan so perfected its intricate and high-flying take on the three-on-three match format that it birthed a genre unto itself called the Michinoku Pro Six-Man Tag. Smackdown - 4 Matches Most frequent ratings: 4.5 Stars - 88 Matches 4.75 Stars - 23 Matches 5 Stars - 8 Matches Highest Rated Years: 1987: 1 Match 1992: 2 Matches 1993: 1 Match 1994: 5 Matches 1995: 3 Matches 1996: 3 Matches 1997: 3 Matches 1998: 2 Matches 1999: 1 Match 2000: 5 Matches 2001: 9 Matches 2002: 6 Matches 2003: 1 Match 2004: 3 Matches Which do you think is best? We had our big series of matches in '97, but by 2000 I was really feeling the effects of that hardcore in-ring style. Ungraded & graded values for all '22 Panini Chronicles Draft Picks Rise Above Basketball Cards. ), here's our criteria. Both men were in full command of their craft and characters, telling a story of a hero trying to win the right way and a vicious psycho who'd do anything to win. The highest-rated women's match in WWE history belongs to Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch as they went all out in their Last Woman Standing Match for the SmackDown Women's Championship at the first all-women pay-per-view Evolution. But within a few minutes of the bell ringing, Smith was blown up, so Bret basically had to wrestle himself. If you know someone who doesn't "get" pro wrestling, show them this match. Since the latest livestream, we know 62 ratings of the full 200 wrestlers on the roster. When you watch the match, you have a feeling that the only people who truly know its the end are Austin and The Rock. chants when he arrived in L.A. for SummerSlam 2013. and he said, 'He's halfway to 18. 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