MOTY for 2003

[CanadianChris 0]

These were the 8 that came to my mind most readily. I used to think Benoit/Angle was a slam dunk, until seeing NWA TNA on September 3rd. Now, I'd still vote for it, but it's a lot closer.

 

Could an "indy" match actually be Match of the Year? That's NEVER happened!

[Tawren 0]

Hart/Guerrera and Y2J/HBK should be nowhere near that list.

 

I vote Benoit/Angle. Incredible match, start to finish. Light years ahead of anything else this year.

[CanadianChris 0]

Hart/Guerrera and Y2J/HBK should be nowhere near that list.

I almost left the WM match off the list, truth be told...it would come last off all the matches on the list.

 

I did really enjoy the Hart/Guerrera match, though.

[bob_barron 0]

WWE:

 

Angle v. Benoit

 

TNA:

 

XXX v. AMW

 

ROH:

 

London v. Dragon

 

Canadian Chris- I would've added London v. Styles and Homicide v. Corino to your list.

 

I voted for London v. Dragon

[Guest Choken One]

EMotionaly...HBK/Jericho overall?

 

Have to say Angle/Benoit...it had more personal impact then ANY of the others since I only see those after the fact well knowing it's going to be a goodie...and the lack of personal connection adds to that...

[eiker_ir 0]

HBK/Jericho for me

 

Kurt/Benoit second place

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

HBK/Jericho wasn't even the best match at Wrestlemania.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

I'll take both Hogan/Vince(for mark value) AND Brock/Angle(for smark value) over HBK/Jericho, but that's me.

 

I picked Benoit/Angle although I LOVED the TNA matches from this week and the cage match. London/AD was great as well and is probably the runner-up.

[eiker_ir 0]

maybe HBK/Jericho wasn't the best work-rate wise but it's MY favorite match this year, this was a dream match for me.

[Sandman9000 0]

Gotta add CM Punk/Chris Hero 2/3 Falls, 92 Minutes and some change in there.

[iliketurtles 0]

Benoit/Angle by miles.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I haven't watched the stuff outside WWE so I won't vote in the poll, but Angle/Benoit is the WWE match of the year by miles.

[Guest The Real Nosferatu]

Angle/Benoit without a DOUBT.

[Zetterberg is God 0]

Only one match elicited a well deserved standing ovation and that's because it is the match of the year thus far. Nothing has beat it yet and it's going to take an absolute classic to top it.

[bob_barron 0]

Only one match elicited a well deserved standing ovation and that's because it is the match of the year thus far. Nothing has beat it yet and it's going to take an absolute classic to top it.

London v. Danielson from Epic Encounter also was given a standing ovation by the crowd- and a chant of 'Thank You Both'.

 

And it was better then Angle v. Benoit.

[iliketurtles 0]

No offense to ROH or anything..and I like their product, but what was that in front of? Under 5,000 fans I'm guessing.

 

Benoit/Angle was at a sold out Fleet Center in Boston and 500,000 buyrates on PPV.

 

When, even the average mark, looks back on 2003 for the best match...most people will say Benoit/Angle.

 

Edit: Once again no offense to ROH, but it seems like if a headlock is good they'll give those guys a standing ovation. That's exaggerating, but standing ovations mean as much as they did in ROH when they used to happen in ECW all the time.

 

Now...WWE is a totally different story. You have to EARN it from the fans and it's very, VERY special when you get it...that's why they are so rare.

[bob_barron 0]

No offense to ROH or anything..and I like their product, but what was that in front of? Under 5,000 fans I'm guessing.

 

The Murphy Rec Centre holds 500 people.

 

When, even the average mark, looks back on 2003 for the best match...most people will say Benoit/Angle.

 

Well duh. That doesn't make it a better match.

 

Edit: Once again no offense to ROH, but it seems like if a headlock is good they'll give those guys a standing ovation. That's exaggerating, but standing ovations mean as much as they did in ROH when they used to happen in ECW all the time.

 

Not true- and that was a major exaggeration. Standing ovations mean a LOT in ROH. Very few matches get them and when they do- you know it was something special. ROH fans are notoriously fickle and they don't give standing ovations to just anything.

 

London v. Danielson kept the crowd into it for 42 minutes. The dueling 'Let's Go Dragon' 'Let's Go London' chants make the match that much more special. As London and Danielson shake hands and the crowd joins in unision with 'Thank You Both'- Well that's when you know you saw something special.

[Guest BionicRedneck]

The difference is that RoH crowds are "smart" (or at least they think they are) and chant shit like "Match of the year" too.

 

Benoit (who wasn't really pushed strongly) got the WWE fans (marks, who aren't that interested in this sort of match) to give him a standing ovation by drawing them in and making them care with his performance.

 

Anyway, if you want to talk about standing ovations, go watch Misawa/Kobashi from March. Some of the crowd were literally crying.

[Guest ToddRoyal]

London vs Dragon was VERY good, but Benoit/Angle was my pick.

 

Bionic Redneck touched on part of what made my decision. The crowd for ROH was hot for that match and as soon as the match started they knew they were going to see something special. Lodon and Danielson delivered, and against most other matches would have been MOTY.

 

However, the crowd at Rumble had just come off HHH/Stiener and were nearly dead. Benoit and Angle got tossed into a sea of apathetic and bored fans and MADE them care. The early wrestling sequences got NO reaction, but by the end of the match everyone in the arena was on the edge of their seats. They managed to turn a dead arena into an exhausted standing ovation in 30 minutes and they EARNED Moty.

[bob_barron 0]

London vs Dragon was VERY good, but Benoit/Angle was my pick.

 

Angle v. Benoit was too slow at points. It's an excellent match but it has some problems. London v. Dragon told an epic 42 minute story.

 

Bionic Redneck touched on part of what made my decision. The crowd for ROH was hot for that match and as soon as the match started they knew they were going to see something special. Lodon and Danielson delivered, and against most other matches would have been MOTY.

 

They were hot for the whole match- It's very hard to keep the crowd's attention for 42+ minutes and those guys delivered.

 

However, the crowd at Rumble had just come off HHH/Stiener and were nearly dead. Benoit and Angle got tossed into a sea of apathetic and bored fans and MADE them care. The early wrestling sequences got NO reaction, but by the end of the match everyone in the arena was on the edge of their seats. They managed to turn a dead arena into an exhausted standing ovation in 30 minutes and they EARNED Moty.

 

London and Danielson ended up keeping the crowd's attention for 42 minutes- that's no small feat.

 

Both matches are excellent but the bottom line is- London v. Danielson was the better match and told a better story.

 

Angle v. Benoit (with Filthy Animals v. WGTT second) is my WWE MOTY.

[Guest The Real Nosferatu]

500 people is a lot smaller than say 15,000.

 

An arugment can be Gowen at Vengeance. he got a standing ovation..kinda (he got a few boos too) but the match was shit. But still, he put on the best match he could and most fans respected him for his efforts.

 

Ditto Mick Foley at KOTR 98...actually that was because he managed to stay alive.

[bob_barron 0]

I know that-

 

But I'm just pointing out my disagreements with Angle is God and his 'one match got a standing O' thing

[Guest The Real Nosferatu]

The only fault with Benoit/Angle was the slow period in the middle of the match. But comparing it to other WWE matches its MOTY.

 

(Can't judge ROH since I haven't seen much of it from 2003)

 

 

 

 

George Carlin Line of the Day:

"Aren't we about due to be bombing some small country that only has a marginally effective air force?"

[Guest OSIcon]

I don't see how standing ovations should factor in at all when considering what the match of the year was.

 

Benoit and Angle could have had the same exact match and depending on the crowd, not have gotten a standing ovation. They could have had a better match and Benoit could have not got a standing ovation from the live crowd. There have been beter performances then what Benoit had in that match that didn't recieve standing ovations. So while the ovation was nice and all, it really doesn't factor into how good a match is.

 

My personal pick is Styles/London from the 6/14 ROH show. Dragon/London trails a little behind. Those two could easily flip flop the next time I watch them though. Benoit/Angle is probably three for me, though I haven't seen it in a while.

 

To me, a MOTY has to have a few things: Great work, great story, and (usually the tie breaker) something "special" or unique about it that you don't see often. London/Styles has the work and the story. The whole build with the handshakes and London playing more of a heelish character was the little something extra that really made it fun and stand out. The atmosphere and selling in London/Dragon was the extra in that match. It also had the work and story. The first eight minutes of Benoit/Angle stood out for me as the X factor because it saw benoit building a match in a way most WWE matches don't build. The teasing of the sharpshooter was so non-forumlamatic and done so well. After that part, it still had a good story and decent work, but the overkill of the submissions at the end (which we had seen in every Benoit/Angle match prior to that) took it down a bit in my book because it always seems so contrived since they do it everytime almost the same way.

[Austin3164life 0]

Guerrero vs. Benoit was my favorite, and IMO, the best match this year. I think Angle/Benoit from Unforgiven last year was better than their Rumble match.

[bob_barron 0]

Angle v. Benoit from Unforgiven but it's pretty much just 'can you top this'

 

Angle v. Benoit from RR actually tells a story with Benoit doing everything he can to live his dream.

 

That's why I like the RR match just a bit more

[Zetterberg is God 0]

Only one match elicited a well deserved standing ovation and that's because it is the match of the year thus far. Nothing has beat it yet and it's going to take an absolute classic to top it.

London v. Danielson from Epic Encounter also was given a standing ovation by the crowd- and a chant of 'Thank You Both'.

 

And it was better then Angle v. Benoit.

I should clarify. RoH fans are all smarks and they'll show appreciation for a great match. How often do we see non-gimmick matches get a standing ovation in WWE? Not often. Benoit and Angle made people appreciate the talent that's present in WWE, especially after the dreck they had just sat through.

[Guest Dmann2000]

I haven't seen ROH (I'm interested in it thought), and I'll see AMW vs XXX tomorrow, the 3 final matches from last weeks NWA- TNA were fun, but nothing I'd call MOTYC.

 

I was alone, bored at my house watching RR 2003 and Benoit/Angle made me jumnp out of my seat...

 

How could I vote for anything else?

[Guest The Real Nosferatu]

If you look at the undercard for RR 03, you'll wonder how the crowd was still alive.

 

Brock/Show: Too short to mean anything except Brock is a monster.

 

Torrie/Dawn Marie...again? YIKEs.

 

Scott steiner/HHH? ...well, the crowd hated it.

[Guest Dmann2000]

Don't forget the thrilling Dudleyz vs Storm/Regal