My favourite Benoit WWF matches as inspired by Benoit vs Finlay

[Guest wildpegasus]

Inspired by the awesomeness of the Benoit vs Finlay Judgement Day I decided I wanted to make a post of my favourite Benoit matches ever. If I don't get too lazy I will do this by category such as Favourite WWF, WCW, ECW, other, UWA, NJPW and of course Stampede. Than I will attempt to do an overall favourite category. Of course there are several matches where I really couldn't put one match in front of another but just did so because I had to. Yeah, life is tough.

 

 

WP's Favourite Benoit WWF matches

 

 

1)Benoit vs Austin from Smackdown in Edmonton, Alberta Canada

 

This match which actually has 5 mnutes taken out from it makes it to first spot primarily for the reason that it has one of the greatest face comebacks of all time. Austin tries to embarass Benoit repeatably in his hometown with several different spots but Benoit has nothing of that and comes back with a charactor fitting comeback that only he charactor wise could pull off -- The 10 german suplexes.

 

2)Benoit vs Brock Lesnar Smackdown WWF world title match

 

I have gone on record as saying this is one of the best matches of all time from anywhere and I truly believe it. The flow is as perfect as it gets, the intensity is off the charts, the wrestling is smart and the ending was absolutely terrific storywise, memoarable wise and charactor wise. Jumping jimminy crickets, what an ending.

 

3)Benoit vs Kurt Angle Royal Rumble

 

I don't think people realise how brilliant this match truly is. Very smart work complete with one of Benoit's best diving headbutts of all time.

 

4)Benoit vs Fit Finaly Judgement Day 06

 

Brutal, oh man this was brutal. Kneedrops to the face!! This is like 2 hardcore hockey fighters going at it. Struggle, cool moves and a bunch of little things make this terrific. Notice how in the beginning mat portions how every time they go from point A to point B to point C and so on it makes so much sense. Extremely cool sequences around the flying headbutt and enzurguri sections of the match. To appreciate this match at its fullest I believe one has to change their mindset some watch closely at what's being done.

Very good distinct charactors in this bout.

 

5)Benoit/Angle vs Rey Mysterio Jr./Edge No Mercy

 

This is still the best tag match I've seen on US soil. Maybe not Canadian though because I think the Viet Cong Express vs Owen Hart/Basserb matches may be ahead of it. I love this match especially the flow of it which I thought was strung together very well. A lot of great nearfalls such as one of all time favourites where Edge small packaged Angle. That was a thing of beauty. This kind of reminds me of the great Japanese action filled tags.

 

6)Benoit vs Randy Orton Raw WWF world title match 04

 

It says a lot for this match when I can watch it opposite 93 All Japan and actually like this better. This match is practically perfect. Intensity filled, well played charactors, tons of payoff from Summerslam and smart work. Still the best Benoit vs Orton match.

 

7)Benoit vs Kane Raw World title defence by Benoit

 

The best of the Chris Benoit title defences. Once again the free Tv match is better than the PPV bout. This had a tremendous flow and was a great blowoff for the Bad Blood bout. Intense, very smart work and they even managed to work in a couple of stipulations.

 

8)Benoit/Angle vs Edge/Rey 2/3 falls 11/7/02 Smackdown

 

Didn't quite hit the level of No Mercy but it was still exceptional in its all right. Action filled the whole way with a ton of cool looking offence and counters.

 

9)Benoit vs Chris Jericho Royal Rumble Ladder Match

 

The best ladder match I've ever seen simply because it has the best flow to it and feels like a fight complete with some innovative looking spots

 

10)Benoit vs Jericho Backlash

 

I go back and forth with this and the 2 out of 3 falls match at Summerslam. The highlight of this is the fight feel it had going for it. That's what they went for and they more than succeeded.

 

11)Benoit vs Jericho Summerslam 2/3 falls

 

The funniest thing about this match is that I was watching Stampede at the time and I was thinking that the ending of one of the Smith vs Benoit bouts would be perfect for this encounter. And than they go ahead and use it!!!! The match is a little anticlimatic but in retrospect it never was the blowoff.

 

12) Benoit vs Shawn Michaels Showdown in the Desert

 

A really great buildup in this one so it was too bad it cutoff short. I would say this hit the 4 star mark with 3 stars alone given to Benoit for knocking Michaels off the top rope and of course for his unbelievable superkick sell

 

13)Benoit vs Rey Mysterio Jr. Smackdown

 

Their only televised match ever and yeah; it was a ring a ding dong dandy. Benoit comes up with an awesome new counter to Rey's 619 and hits a super flying headbutt emphasing the point that this match was truly something special. Really awesome stuff.

 

14)Benoit/Jericho vs Austin/HHH Monday Night Raw 5/01

 

Probably the most emotional tag the WWF has put on in rescent years. I thought the match played out really well in that aspect.

 

15)Benoit vs Booker T Match #2 of the Best of 5000

 

This was my fav of the series. I loved absolutely everything in it from the selling to the flow to the offence to the way Benoit transistioned through chops!

 

16)Benoit vs Kurt Angle Unforgiven

 

Heel vs heel and a completely different match than the Rumble storywise and charactor wise which is pretty impressive. Wrestled just the way it should've been at the time.

 

17)Benoit vs A-Train Tournament match

 

Benoit has one of the best short matches I've ever seen against the most underappreciated grappler of all time. This is the match has the spot where Benoit is kicking A-Train and than proceeds to run the ropes. A-Train showing how he is such a monstor has none of that crap and bycicle kicks Benoit in the face. That's the moment that reinforced my belief that Kawada vs Benoit could be the best thing ever.

 

18)Benoit vs Rock 8/15/02 Smackdown

 

At this point Benoit and Rock's chemistry was very high. Really good flow in this combined with tons of excitement and a superly riduclously cool revenge sequence spot in the beginning of the match.

 

19)Benoit/Cena vs Lesnar/Rhyno/Morgan/Show 1/22/04 Smackdown

 

I think this is Rhyno's strongest match ever with his best preformance inside the ring that I have seen. Lost in the shuffle and besides Downhome's appreciation for the bout I think this is really overlooked. Action packed.

 

20)Benoit vs Batista 1/05 Raw

 

Here because this is an example of how unselfish Benoit is as a wrestler. A really good match and this although not as well known did the same thing to Batista as Bret vs Austin did to Austin in that it helped Batista's career advance. This put over Batista LEGIT as a monstor

 

21)Benoit/Jericho vs Dudleys vs Hardys vs Edge/Christian TLC III 5/24/01 Smackdown

 

Here for the drama which was done well. They fit a story into here to make it into the best TLC bout ever. Of course you have all your career ending spots too. The conchairto spot alone gets this match on my list.

 

22)Benoit/Angle vs Eddie/Chaveo 10/17/02 Smackdown

 

This and the following match kind of blend together on me

 

23)Benoit/Angle vs Eddie/Chavo 11/28/02 Smackdown

 

This and the preceding match kind of blend together on me

 

24)Benoit/Eddie vs Rock/Edge 8/1/02 Smackdown

 

THis was right after Benoit and Eddie jumped from Raw to Smackdown. The match itself is wrestled perfectly and its only flaw is that gets cut off shortly. Classic heels cut off the faces stuff -- just done really well with nice timing and cool spots.

 

25)Benoit vs Austin 11/20/00 Raw

 

Smart work and the match where afterwards Austin just tore it up wrestling wise. Man, Benoit and Austin had chemistry. It didn't even matter who was face or who was heel.

 

26)Benoit vs Angle 30 minute submission match 4/29/01 Backlash

 

Just so different and an interesting match to think about.

 

27)Benoit/Angle vs Cena/Kidman Smackdown 02

 

Lost in the big shuffle of the Smackdown six is this doozy of a match. Action packed as all the matches were at the time. The thing I liked about it is that I never lost track of the fact that Cena and Kidman were the underdogs but yet the bout was still competitive.

 

28)Benoit vs Orton No Holds Barred

 

Man, why can't we get Benoit and Regal fighting this long in a match? This bout was fought in the Benoit vs Regal style. We gotta get some kind of name for that.

 

29)Benoit vs Regal 5/8?/06 Velocity

 

Loved this. Regal gets some nice nearfalls in and the offence itself is off the charts awesome. Regal counters the dragon suplex attempt and I think I'm in some kind of All Japan/lucha hybrid fantasy.

 

30)First ever Money in the Bank Wrestlemania XXI

 

Benoit reopens his wound by doing a diving headbutt off the top rope. He than counters a Kane chokeslam by dong the rapid headbutts. He than sells an injured arm by BITING the mat. Yeah, you better believe this match is going to get on this list.

 

31)Benoit vs Nathon Jones Smackdown 11/20/03

 

An example of how a smaller guy guy can win a match but in doing so not make the bigger guy look weak. Really good little bout complete with a spectacular top rope dropkick by Benoit that catches Jones as he's getting up from the mat! Looked totally realistic

 

32)Benoit vs Jericho 5/4/00 Smackdown IC title match

 

Because I'm a fan of that sequence which finishes off with Benoit tossing Jericho over the top rope.

[The Buzz 0]

Good list, I was let down when WWE didn't include the Lesnar match on Benoit's dvd.

[TheInsane 0]

A list with Benoit matches cant be anything but great. However I would put Benoir vs Angle (Rumble) in the #1 spot. I also think Finlay vs Benoit from SD was better than the PPV match. With that beings aid I have only seen the matches once each.

 

I would probably rank Benoit vs Regal from velocity higher (the one from a few months ago, never saw the recent one).

[Just John 0]

Benoit's in so many good matches, it's unbelievable. He's not even affected in the slightest by the limitations of the WWE style. He just adapts and continues to put on great matches. My favorites:

 

1) vs. Angle (Royal Rumble 03)

2) vs. Jericho (Royal Rumble 01)

3) vs. Jericho (Backlash 2000)

 

I'm also very impressed that you listed Match #2 with Booker during their most recent rivalry. The ending of that match was fantastic with Benoit nearly killing himself as he threw himself back first off the apron to sell a failed attempt at a German. Then he instinctively gets back in the ring and delivers another desperation suplex before Booker finishes him off with the scissors kick to the back of the head.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Benoit's in so many good matches, it's unbelievable. He's not even affected in the slightest by the limitations of the WWE style. He just adapts and continues to put on great matches. My favorites:

 

1) vs. Angle (Royal Rumble 03)

2) vs. Jericho (Royal Rumble 01)

3) vs. Jericho (Backlash 2000)

 

I'm also very impressed that you listed Match #2 with Booker during their most recent rivalry. The ending of that match was fantastic with Benoit nearly killing himself as he threw himself back first off the apron to sell a failed attempt at a German. Then he instinctively gets back in the ring and delivers another desperation suplex before Booker finishes him off with the scissors kick to the back of the head.

 

Glad you like match #2 as well. Is anyone else going to post their favourite Benoit WWF/WWE matches? Where are all the wrestling fans at?

[JustJoe2k5 0]

I would include Benoit's cage match against Kurt Angle from RAW in '01 on that list as well, it is one of the more underrated matches of Benoit and Angle's respective careers in my opinion.

[CanadianChris 0]

Um, small question...

 

Where the fuck is the WMXX three-way??????

[Guest wildpegasus]

Um, small question...

 

Where the fuck is the WMXX three-way??????

 

While I liked that match it wasn't one of my favourites. In fact, I could name a bunch more WWF/WWE matches that I liked better.

 

I'd be interested to see your list and see where the WMXX match fits among your favourites.

[CanadianChris 0]

OK, let me get this straight...you have a list of 32 top Benoit matches -- one of which is Benoit versus NATHAN JONES -- and Benoit/HHH/HBK isn't on it?

 

Whatever, man.

 

My list:

 

1) Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (Royal Rumble 2003)

2) Benoit vs. HHH vs. Shawn Michaels (WMXX)

3) Benoit & Chris Jericho vs. HHH & Steve Austin (Raw, 21/05/2001)

4) Royal Rumble 2004

5) Benoit vs. Steve Austin (SmackDown, 31/05/2001)

6) Benoit & Chris Jericho vs. Edge & Christian vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz, TLC III (SmackDown, 24/05/2001)

7) Benoit vs. Chris Jericho, ladder match (Royal Rumble 2001)

8) Benoit & Kurt Angle vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio (No Mercy 2002)

9) Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (Unforgiven 2002)

10) Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, cage match (Raw, 11/06/2001)

 

And as a bonus, #11 is Benoit vs. The Rock from Fully Loaded 2000.

[pochorenella 0]

OK, let me get this straight...you have a list of 32 top Benoit matches -- one of which is Benoit versus NATHAN JONES -- and Benoit/HHH/HBK isn't on it?

 

Whatever, man.

 

My list:

 

1) Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (Royal Rumble 2003)

2) Benoit vs. HHH vs. Shawn Michaels (WMXX)

3) Benoit & Chris Jericho vs. HHH & Steve Austin (Raw, 21/05/2001)

4) Royal Rumble 2004

5) Benoit vs. Steve Austin (SmackDown, 31/05/2001)

6) Benoit & Chris Jericho vs. Edge & Christian vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz, TLC III (SmackDown, 24/05/2001)

7) Benoit vs. Chris Jericho, ladder match (Royal Rumble 2001)

8) Benoit & Kurt Angle vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio (No Mercy 2002)

9) Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (Unforgiven 2002)

10) Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, cage match (Raw, 11/06/2001)

 

And as a bonus, #11 is Benoit vs. The Rock from Fully Loaded 2000.

 

Now THAT is a list I'd agree on. Not that wilpegasus's list is terrible or anything, it has great matches and some forgotten gems, but no WMXX match? That's a big minus in my book.

[Just John 0]

I think the WM 20 match gets overrated because of non-match related factors. Benoit finally winning the title and the scene with Eddie at the end of the show was amazing (def. one of the top moments in wrestling), but the match itself is a different story.

 

Now, I think the match is decent, and if you're going to list 32 top WWE matches for Chris Benoit, you should probably include it somewhere. However, that somewhere wouldn't be near the top for me. All in all, it was a pretty generic 3-way with only a couple innovative spots. The fact that Shawn Michaels was thrown in and that he and HHH got several minutes to themselves to continue their "epic" feud hurts the match quite a bit, in my opinion. The final tapout sequence was really good, but I don't think the rest is that special.

[cabbageboy 0]

Well, there's the flat out marking out that people did during the final tap out sequence.

 

I don't have much to add to the overall list, but wildpegasus just has this bizarre, unwarranted hard on for that Benoit/Lesnar match. I even got into in another thread, saying Benoit beating Brock at WM XX wouldn't have meant anything compared to beating HHH. Maybe I need to rewatch that match, since I don't recall it being much beyond a *** TV match.

[Guest wildpegasus]

You can check out my thoughts on Benoit vs Lesnar in the "What are you watching"? thread here at smartmarks.

 

You probably should give it another chance. If it's enough to impress someone who's seen a million and a half wresttling matches from all over the world over the course of 17 years than there's got to be something to it!

[Aero 0]

I don't like it nearly as much as WP, but I'd put Benoit-Lesnar as one of my top three matches for 2003. Off the top of my head, the only match I can think of that I liked better is Benoit-Angle.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Benoit / Lesnar is one of the greatest Benoit matches of all time. Shame on WWE for not making this the Wrestlemania main event and fo rnot putting the match on DVD!

 

6)Benoit vs Randy Orton Raw WWF world title match 04

 

It says a lot for this match when I can watch it opposite 93 All Japan and actually like this better. This match is practically perfect. Intensity filled, well played charactors, tons of payoff from Summerslam and smart work. Still the best Benoit vs Orton match.

 

7)Benoit vs Kane Raw World title defence by Benoit

 

The best of the Chris Benoit title defences. Once again the free Tv match is better than the PPV bout. This had a tremendous flow and was a great blowoff for the Bad Blood bout. Intense, very smart work and they even managed to work in a couple of stipulations.

 

I'm sorry, WP, I have to disagree with you here. The PPV matches were far better.

 

1.) Bad Blood - Had a fantastic build-up as Benoit was the reason why the shitty Kane - Lita angle happened (he wanted to have a family to fit into society), it was a bad angle, but the reasoning was great and made sense and the build-up video was tremendous. So Kane costs Benoit and Edge the tag titles earlier in the PPV, attacking an already exhauseted Benoit to soften him up so things aren't looking good for the Canadian hero. Having to work double duty, a tired Benoit is in for the fight of his life trying to fight off the still-fresh power hungry monster from getting the gold and hits him with everything he's got, but NOOOOOOOO! Kane won't have any of it. He is HELL BENT on becoming the world champion once again, 6 years after he last won it, and defies all of Benoit's offense. Sharpshooter? No, Kane gets out. Crossface? No, Kane refuses and still gets out. Benoit keeps going for either of his finishers, but to no avail. So Benoit in a fit of desperation / working smart to hit his opponent with something unexpected, either way you want to look at it, he nails IIRC an Oklahoma Roll to get the win. Truly one of Kane's best matches EVER. Much better than the RAW rematch where the cards were stacked against Benoit and wounded up making Kane look like a fucking idiot.

 

2.) SummerSlam - This was a truly great match, the only thing I could bitch about it was the HUGE lack of build-up for it. I mean for the main event of fucking SummerSlam, a world title match that only had 2 weeks of anything, it was a piss poor job (also another reason due was more attention being brought to fucking Eugene - HHH crap), but tha's okay because Benoit and Orton stole the show. This is a truly underrated match as it was smooth from start to finish. They hit each other with everything they had and it took Orton to defeat the veteran by countering his counter!!! It put Randy over huge by showing people that yes, he can defeat legends single handledly. Another reason why I prefer this match is because I'm big on clean finishers plus the show of sportsmanship was a nice touch. The following night was usual heel crap with the result being Benoit tossed away like yesterday's garbage and I hate that.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Benoit / Lesnar is one of the greatest Benoit matches of all time. Shame on WWE for not making this the Wrestlemania main event and fo rnot putting the match on DVD!

 

6)Benoit vs Randy Orton Raw WWF world title match 04

 

It says a lot for this match when I can watch it opposite 93 All Japan and actually like this better. This match is practically perfect. Intensity filled, well played charactors, tons of payoff from Summerslam and smart work. Still the best Benoit vs Orton match.

 

7)Benoit vs Kane Raw World title defence by Benoit

 

The best of the Chris Benoit title defences. Once again the free Tv match is better than the PPV bout. This had a tremendous flow and was a great blowoff for the Bad Blood bout. Intense, very smart work and they even managed to work in a couple of stipulations.

 

I'm sorry, WP, I have to disagree with you here. The PPV matches were far better.

 

1.) Bad Blood - Had a fantastic build-up as Benoit was the reason why the shitty Kane - Lita angle happened (he wanted to have a family to fit into society), it was a bad angle, but the reasoning was great and made sense and the build-up video was tremendous. So Kane costs Benoit and Edge the tag titles earlier in the PPV, attacking an already exhauseted Benoit to soften him up so things aren't looking good for the Canadian hero. Having to work double duty, a tired Benoit is in for the fight of his life trying to fight off the still-fresh power hungry monster from getting the gold and hits him with everything he's got, but NOOOOOOOO! Kane won't have any of it. He is HELL BENT on becoming the world champion once again, 6 years after he last won it, and defies all of Benoit's offense. Sharpshooter? No, Kane gets out. Crossface? No, Kane refuses and still gets out. Benoit keeps going for either of his finishers, but to no avail. So Benoit in a fit of desperation / working smart to hit his opponent with something unexpected, either way you want to look at it, he nails IIRC an Oklahoma Roll to get the win. Truly one of Kane's best matches EVER. Much better than the RAW rematch where the cards were stacked against Benoit and wounded up making Kane look like a fucking idiot.

 

2.) SummerSlam - This was a truly great match, the only thing I could bitch about it was the HUGE lack of build-up for it. I mean for the main event of fucking SummerSlam, a world title match that only had 2 weeks of anything, it was a piss poor job (also another reason due was more attention being brought to fucking Eugene - HHH crap), but tha's okay because Benoit and Orton stole the show. This is a truly underrated match as it was smooth from start to finish. They hit each other with everything they had and it took Orton to defeat the veteran by countering his counter!!! It put Randy over huge by showing people that yes, he can defeat legends single handledly. Another reason why I prefer this match is because I'm big on clean finishers plus the show of sportsmanship was a nice touch. The following night was usual heel crap with the result being Benoit tossed away like yesterday's garbage and I hate that.

 

Good, good. You can join up as part of the Benoit vs Lesnar fan club with me, Rudo and Curry.

 

Yeah, Bad Blood is one of Kane's better matches. That, the Jericho Raw match from 02 where Jericho decided he had heard enough of the Smackdown Six and some of those Angle bouts. This was fun but I just prefered the flow and intensity of the Raw bout. I think the Raw bout was even better than the Michales Showdown in the Desert match in that regard.

 

 

Summerslam vs Raw as far as Benoit vs Orton goes has been debated in the past. Summerslam was pretty good but Raw blew my socks off. Anyone who knows my wrestling tastes know that I like intensity in the ring. When you add that to a great flow, a story and well played charactores .... Well, that's gonna make it tough to beat for me. Even the transistion that Orton and the new offence Benoit used in the bout fell in line with what they were doing. Normally, I like clean finishes as well but here I don't mind as the unclean out they used for Benoit made perfect sense for what they were doing. It wasn't just one of those gratutious interference endings so someone can save some heat.

[ISportsFan 0]

Wasn't the submission match with Kane on Raw a 12 minute match with two commercial breaks in it, so we only got to see 6-7 minutes? I haven't watched it in a long time, but I remember being pissed about that.

[Ravenbomb 0]

few off the top of my head:

Benoit vs. Raven, Souled Out '98

Benoit vs. Angle, Wrestlemania 17

Benoit vs. HBK vs. HHH, WMXX

Benoit vs. Bret Hart, Nitro (Owen tribute)

Benoit vs. Great Sasuke, J-Cup tournament

[Lil' Bitch 0]

My favorites:

 

Benoit Vs. Raven - Souled Out 98

 

Benoit Vs. Page - Superbrawl 7

 

Benoit Vs. Page Vs. Raven - Uncensored 98

 

Benoit Vs. Jericho - any

 

Benoit Vs. Guerrero - any

 

Benoit Vs. Booker T - Match 4 in the original Best of 7

 

Benoit & Malenko Vs. Raven & Saturn - Spring Stampede 1999

 

Benoit Vs. Hart - Owen Tribute Match / Mayhem 1999

 

Benoit Vs. Sid - Souled Out 2000

 

Benoit Vs. The Rock - Fully Loaded 2000

 

Benoit Vs. Lesnar - SD

 

The Royal Rumble 2004

 

Wrestlemania XX

 

Benoit Vs. HBK - RAW, Showdown In The Desert

 

Benoit Vs. Kane - Bad Blood

 

Benoit Vs. HHH - Iron Man

 

Benoit Vs. Orton - SummerSlam 2004