The last great world title match

[Australian Pride 0]

Okay, so it looks like Benoit and HHH will face off in a one-on-one match with no gimmicks included. Some outside interference is probably a certainty, but i dont regard that as a gimmick. It's likely to be a great wrestling match, at about 40 minutes in length.

 

So when was the last great one-on-one WWF/E title match to include no gimmicks? And what is the best non-gimmick WWF/E title match of the PPV era?

 

Eddie/Brock was probably the best World title match in recent memory, but overall i'd have to go with either the Hogan/Savage WM5 classic or Bret Hart/Davey Boy Smith from IYH December 95.

 

(For the record i consider special refs and three way matches to be gimmicks, but you all may disagree)

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

Eddie/Brock is one, let's not forget HHH/HBK on the last RAW of 2003, and even Lesnar/Benoit.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

If we're talking the big gold belt probably a Benoit/Kane match and then maybe Rock/Jericho during the Invasion. None of HHH's seemed to break the barrier without a gimmick tagged on.

[JustJoe2k5 0]

Mankind vs. Shawn Michaels from Mind Games '96, I recently rewatched this match and I found myself glued to the screen.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Angle/Lesnar, WM19

[Toshiaki Koala 0]

Austin v. Benoit, from SD! in Edmonton (2001, I think).

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Actually I changed my mind...

 

Angle/Benoit RR03, that was f*cking awesome. ***** classic IMO.

[Promoter 0]

Benoit/Angle I would suppose, but it is a big list.

[Epic Reine 0]

Austin-Rock from WM17 was a classic, though it was NO DQ. Brock-Angle from WM19 wasn't too solidly bad. And Brock-Angle from SSlam 03 wasn't too horid as well. And Angle-Austin from SSlam 01 was very good, and if I recall it had no gimmick, just a gimmicked ending. Angle-Benoit from RR03 could be considered as well.

[spiny norman 0]

Geez, some people are reaching quite some time ago for their picks. With Triple Threats not counted I'd go even Benoit/Michaels from the May 3rd Raw, Mysterio/Guerrero from the March 18th Smackdown, Angle/Guerrero from Wrestlemania or Guerrero/Lesnar from No Way Out. And that's just this year. I don't know why some people are going as far back as three years ago when I think the first four months of 2004 were amongst the best ever in terms of the title scene.

[Guest Ray]

Benoit/Michaels from Raw didn't have any gimmicks.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Benoit/Michaels is my match of the year so far so I'd pick that one. Loved it.

[Guest drdrainoscott]

I would have to go with HHH/Flair from last year, though I havn't seen many of the more recent matches.

[SamoaRowe 0]

I guess technically Kurt Angle vs Eddie Guerrero from WM XX just a few months ago.

 

Then again, if the match is good, I could care less what type of gimmicks are involved.

[Guest Ray]

Benoit/Michaels is my match of the year so far so I'd pick that one. Loved it.

Off topic curiosity here- why do you rate it over the Mania 3-way?

 

Just wondering.

[Guest Staravenger]

Angle/Austin from SSlam 2001 is probably one of the greatest in recent history. Angle vs. Brock from WM XIX, Benoit vs. Austin from May 2001, Guerrero vs. Brock from NWO, Guerrero vs. Angle from WM XX, Angle vs. Benoit from Rumble 2003, Benoit vs. Kane from BBlood was ***+, which is great for a Kane match...

 

Saying the last great WWF Title Match was in 1989 deserves a paddling.

 

Technically, Three Ways aren't gimmick matches. Gimmick matches are Cages, Ladders, Caskets, HIAC, Tables, etc. etc.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

If we're talking the big gold belt probably a Benoit/Kane match and then maybe Rock/Jericho during the Invasion. None of HHH's seemed to break the barrier without a gimmick tagged on.

HHH/HBK 12/29/03 was better than Benoit/Kane, so what's your point.

[iliketurtles 0]

Angle/Benoit RR03, that was f*cking awesome. ***** classic IMO.

Yup. Nothing gets better than that.

[Australian Pride 0]

Saying the last great WWF Title Match was in 1989 deserves a paddling.

 

Technically, Three Ways aren't gimmick matches. Gimmick matches are Cages, Ladders, Caskets, HIAC, Tables, etc. etc.

I never said that the last great Title match was in 1989, i said it might be the best since the start of the PPV era, and my other pick for best ever (Bret/Davey Boy) was from 1995. The question was two-toned - best recently, and then best since the start of PPV.

 

And as for the 3-ways, i did say that it was just my opinion that they are 'gimmicks' matches, but i can see where your coming from.

And really, if you think about it they are technically no-DQ matches because you cant get DQ'ed or counted out in them.

[Guest Markingout]

Angle/Benoit RR03, that was f*cking awesome. ***** classic IMO.

Yup. Nothing gets better than that.

It was good, but hardly a ***** match. Probably about **** 1/4. The last great one was on the May 3rd edition of Raw, Shawn Micheals vs Chris Benoit. For me great = ****. And Micheals vs Benoit just touched ****

[Promoter 0]

I think 3 ways are gimmicked as well. There is a reason why they put a third wheel into the match to add something to it. I don't understand the love for Angle/Eddie from WM XX though. That was an underwhelming match imo with the Savage/Hart rip-off ending from snme. If we are talking in extremes of greatness of a wwe/f title match I think Angle/Benoit eats the other matches of the recent era. The ending of Michaels/Benoit with Trips' big nose takes away some of the oomph. Hogan/Savage at WM V and Bret/Davey from the other era are good choices. One hidden gem though is Bret Hart against Undertaker at One Night Only.

 

On a side note I think we are overlooking JBL against Spike Dudley from last week (not like I even watched last week's show, but how could those two not put on a classic)

[Guest Ray]

Um....3-ways aren't "one-on-one matches", so it doesn't really matter if they're gimmicked or not.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Angle/Benoit RR03, that was f*cking awesome. ***** classic IMO.

Yup. Nothing gets better than that.

It was good, but hardly a ***** match. Probably about **** 1/4. The last great one was on the May 3rd edition of Raw, Shawn Micheals vs Chris Benoit. For me great = ****. And Micheals vs Benoit just touched ****

Angle/Benoit smoked Benoit/Michaels six ways from Sunday.

 

I don't normally dole out the old ***** ratings but Angle/Benoit is the closest I'll get in terms of WWE matches post-2000. Not much comes close to that one.

[Guest CronoT]

If we're going with most memorable match for the WWF/WWE Title, then I think there's one choice that really stands out: The Survivor Series Screw-Job from '97.

 

That match happened almost 7 years ago, and yet the fallout is still continuing to this day. That title match led to bret Hart jumping to WCW with, pardon the pun, a vengence. Then, while in WCW, bret hart was forced to retire when Goldberg mule kicked him in the head. I'm not hating, just telling history.

 

Now, Vince is trying to kiss Bret's ass as hard as he can. He already failed to get Bret to appear at WMXX, which was supposed to be about the entire history of the business, the state of business now, and what the business will be in the future. Without one of the greatest wrestlers in history, it becomes cheapened a bit.

 

Vince is also trying to get Bret to agree to a "Best of Bret Hart" DVD. Now that's what makes a memorable World Title match.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Benoit/Michaels is my match of the year so far so I'd pick that one. Loved it.

Off topic curiosity here- why do you rate it over the Mania 3-way?

 

Just wondering.

Well, it's just about 1/4* ahead for me so it's not that much of a difference. I'm byist towards singles matches when compared to triple threats but still I took to Benoit vs Michaels a touch more even with the cursed non ending. In Benoit vs Michaels I dug Benoit trying to come back the whole match. He kept on trying but would get cut off by Michaels repeatably until the end where he finally got the advantage. I thought they did a real good job here driving this point home around when Benoit got suplexed on the outside and when Michaels nailed Benoit with a clothesline after being rolled up a few times by Benoit.

 

Other things I liked here were

 

Benoit's intensity as always

 

Michaels putting Benoit in a sleeper after Benoit got nailed on the outside of the ring and was experiencing blood loss.

 

HBK's sledgehammer like punch at the "beginning" of the match to avoid Benoit's crossface after being caught in it. (Right before the commercial break)

 

HBK bodyslamming Benoit twice before going up to the top/Benoit suplexing Michaels again before going to the top rope to hit the headbutt

 

HBK's high angled Boston Crab

 

Benoit's fighting for the sharpshooter at the end of the bout like a madman.

 

I could talk about this more yet. Basically the match just clcked a little better for me than Mania.

[1234-5678 0]

Mankind vs. Shawn Michaels from Mind Games '96, I recently rewatched this match and I found myself glued to the screen.

Shhhhhh, Flair would think you were an idiot. Not even Michaels could carry that stuntman.

[Scroby 0]

I'm gonna head the Flair vs HHH route with this one. Mainly because their wasn't one run-in or anything that. Whenever someone run's in to me it hurts the match. Otherwise I would say Lesnar vs Eddie as being the top but it had the run in so it brings it down a notch.

[Guest krazykat72]

I don't think Angle/Benoit smokes Michaels/Benoit at all. Granted it did have a much better finish, but let's not get ridiculous. Michaels was *really* good in the Benoit match breaking out his old finisher to try and get the job done (Teardrop suplex) and even throwing in a submission (one that Benoit used to use no less) to try something different in putting him away. Michaels desperately avoiding the Sharpshooter that put him away in the Backlash 3 way was good too.

The Rumble match was a great PPV match, but to use the term smoked in reference to the match above, that's a bit much.

 

 

-Paul Jacobi-

[Guest Bad Brad Jacobs]

the last 2 really good gimmick free matches for me would probably be Angle/Eddy WM XX or Michaels/Jericho WM 19....that counts, doesn't it?

[benoit4hor 0]

Was Eddie vs HHH on RAW, lottery night good? I can't remember.