Best Matches of the Decade

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

During my downtime at work, I've tried to kill time by coming up with various lists, like the greatest matches in WWE history, etc. I've had a real difficult time with this decade though, since I haven't viewed quite everything like I did in the '90s, and I have gaps in my memory as a result. We're a year away from the end of the decade, so I figured it might be fun to do ballots of the best matches from 2000-present.

 

Simple format here. Give your list from 1-10, voting graded on a 14-9-8-7-etc. scale. Only WWE matches from January 1, 2000 to present. Let's see how this turns out.

 

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9.

10.

[foleyfanforever88 0]

I didn't put a ton of time into this, but:

 

10. Undertaker vs Kurt Angle - NWO 2006

9. 2004 Royal Rumble

8. Triple H vs Chris Benoit vs HBK - Wrestlemania 20

7. John Cena vs Umaga - Royal Rumble 2007

6. TLC 2- Wrestlemania 17

5. Mick Foley vs Edge - Wrestlemania 22

4. HBK vs Ric Flair - Wrestlemania 24

3. Shelton Benjamin vs HBK - Raw 2005

2. Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit - Royal Rumble 2003

1. HBK vs Kurt Angle - Wrestlemania 21

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Going with my gut here:

 

1. Chris Benoit vs. Steve Austin, May 2001

2. Shawn Michaels vs. HHH, World Heavyweight Championship, December 2003

3. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle, WrestleMania 21

4. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, Cage Match, RAW, June 2001

5. The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz, TLC II, WrestleMania X-Seven

6. Steve Austin vs. The Rock, WrestleMania XIX

7. RVD vs. Hardcore Holly, ECW, September 2006

8. Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels, Gold Rush Match, RAW 2005

9. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, WWE Championship, Royal Rumble, January 2003

10. Kendrick & London vs. Regal & Taylor vs. MNM vs. The Hardy Boyz, Ladder Match, Armageddon 2006

 

[Aero 0]

 

1. The Rock vs. Steve Austin – WM 17

2. HHH vs. Cactus Jack – Royal Rumble 2000

3. Brock Lesnar vs. Eddie Guerrero – No Way Out 2004

4. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit – Royal Rumble 2003

5. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels – WM 23

6. HHH vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels – WM 20

7. The Rock vs. HHH, Iron Man Match – Judgment Day 2000

8. Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker – No Way Out 2006

9. Dudleys vs. Hardys vs. Edge & Christian, TLC II – WM 17

10. Haas & Benjamin vs. Mysterio & Kidman – Vengeance 2003

 

I might catch some flack for throwing that last tag match in the list, but I love that match to death. Just about every move in it was executed near perfectly, it had a hot crowd and great finish. I actually prefer it to any of the tag matches from the SD Six series.

 

Austin-Rock from WM 17 gets my #1 vote since it was basically the pinnacle of the attitude era and featured everything that I love in a big match: hot crowd, drama, intensity, great action from bell to bell. Some people fault the finish for going on too long, but it's the complete opposite for me. It's pretty rare that you ever see any wrestlers just completely destroy someone else with a chair like that, and it just adds to Austin's desperate state. Same goes for the McMahon alliance. It's just a shame the latter didn't work out very well in the long run.

 

FWIW, a few matches that I considered but didn't put in the top 10:

 

Cena vs. Umaga, LMS from Royal Rumble 2007

HBK vs. Benjamin from Raw, May 2005

Lesnar vs. Undertaker, HIAC from No Mercy 2002

Edge & Mysterio vs. Angle & Benoit from No Mercy 2002

 

I remember the Austin vs. Benoit matches from TV in 2001 being amazing, but I haven't seen either since the initial airings, so I couldn't really consider them.

 

 

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I doubt that I've seen enough from the past three or four years to come with an accurate list for the entire decade, but HHH and Cactus at the Rumble and Austin/Rock at Mania X-7 are two of the best matches I've ever seen. I'd have a hard time voting anything over those two.

[The Tino Standard 0]

I can't come up with a full 10 off the top of my head, but here were the top five that came to mind right away:

 

1. Austin-Rock, WM17

2. Austin-HHH, No Way Out 2001

3. HHH-Cactus Jack, Royal Rumble 2000

4. Hogan-Rock, WM 18

5. Michaels-Angle, WM21

[tobin 0]

Pretty much the stock standard stuff from 1 - 5, but there's a few of my personal favourites from 6 - 10.

 

1. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – WrestleMania 17

2. The Rock vs. Chris Jericho - No Mercy 2001

3. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack - Royal Rumble 2000

4. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 20

5. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker – No Way Out 2006

6. Shawn Michaels & Rob Van Dam & Booker T & Dudley Boyz vs. Chris Jericho & Randy Orton & Batista & Scott Steiner & Mark Henry - Survivor Series 2003

7. Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz - Summerslam 2000

8. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels – RAW (December 2003)

9. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho - Unforgiven 2008

10. Batista vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania 23

 

 

[haws bah gawd 0]

10. Jeff Hardy vs Chris Jericho - Raw February (I think) 2003 - Hardy was at the height of his drug abuse, but Jericho carried him like a backpack to a very good free TV match

9. Kane vs Big Show - Extreme Rules for the ECW title - ECW on Sci-Fi 2006 - Just a fun, surprisingly violent and well-worked Hardcore match.

8. Chris Benoit vs Randy Orton - RAW 2004 - The night after Summerslam - Benoit cemented Orton as a legitimate main eventer as this match. One of Benoit's finest carry-jobs.

7. Edge vs Mick Foley - Hardcore Match - Wrestlemania 22 - Foley at his best, and Edge going above and beyond. A very fun hardcore match!

6. Chris Benoit vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Edmonton Smackdown 2004 - Just for the 10 German's, and a brilliantly-worked match between the two.

5. The Rock vs Hulk Hogan - Wrestlemania X-8 - Not a great WRESTLING match, but for the spectacle of it all, this is a wonderful experience. NUCLEAR crowd heat!

4. Triple H vs Chris Benoit vs Shawn Micheals - World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestlemania XX - What can you say about this that hasn't been said?

3. Triple H vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - 3 Stages of Hell - No Way Out 2001 - HHH's best work, IMO. Just amazing!

2. Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit - Royal Rumble 2003 - If it weren't for that long-ass rear chinlock sequence, this would be as close to perfect as you can get

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock - Wrestlemania X-SEVEN - Probably each man's best work, as far as match quality is concerned

 

Honorable Mention - Batista vs Undertaker - Wrestlemania 23 - These two just clicked. According to Big Dave's bio, he had been bugging Micheal Hayes about letting them go on last. Hayes asked him, "Shawn's going to make Cena a star tonight, do you REALLY want to follow him?". Big Dave followed with "Hell Yea we want to follow them". Hayes just laughed him off, and said Cena vs HBK was still going on last. So, after the match was over, Big Dave ran backstage, found Hayes, and yelled "FUCKING FOLLOW THAT!".

[Psycho Penguin 0]

1. Rock vs Austin - Wrestlemania 17

2. Angle vs Austin - Summerslam 2001

3. Angle vs Shane - KOTR 2001

4. Edge vs Undertaker - Wrestlemania 24

5. Rock vs Jericho - No Mercy 2001

6. Batista vs Undertaker - Wrestlemania 23

7. Money in the Bank - Wrestlemania 21

8. Undertaker vs Orton - Wrestlemania 21

9. Edge vs Foley - Wrestlemania 22

10. Haas/Benjamin vs Hardys - One Night Stand 2008 (I think? Maybe 2007)

 

Close but no cigar: Cena/RVD, ONS 2006

[lo0p 0]

1. Rock vs Austin - Wrestlemania 17

2. Rock vs Hogan - Wrestlemania 18

3. Dudleys/Edge and Christian/Hardys TLC - Wrestlemania 17

4. Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit - Royal Rumble 2003

5. Benoit vs Michaels vs HHH - Wrestlemania 20

6. HHH vs Cactus Jack - Royal Rumble 2000

7. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, Cage Match, RAW, June 2001

8. Kurt Angle vs Undertaker - No Way Out 2006

9. Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania 21

10. Cena vs RVD -One Night Stand 2006

 

 

[CBright7831 0]

Honorable Mention - Batista vs Undertaker - Wrestlemania 23 - These two just clicked. According to Big Dave's bio, he had been bugging Micheal Hayes about letting them go on last. Hayes asked him, "Shawn's going to make Cena a star tonight, do you REALLY want to follow him?". Big Dave followed with "Hell Yea we want to follow them". Hayes just laughed him off, and said Cena vs HBK was still going on last. So, after the match was over, Big Dave ran backstage, found Hayes, and yelled "FUCKING FOLLOW THAT!".

 

Wait...Cena wasn't already a star by then?

[MillenniumMan831 0]

Yeah Dave, PS Hayes would be to the guy to ask for that favor.

[CanadianChris 0]

1. HHH vs. Cactus Jack, Royal Rumble 2000

2. The Rock vs. Steve Austin, WrestleMania X-7

3. The Rock vs. Chris Jericho, No Mercy 2001

4. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, Royal Rumble 2003

5. HHH vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit, WrestleMania XX

6. Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz, WrestleMania X-7

7. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 21

8. Eddy Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle, WrestleMania XX

9. Steve Austin vs. Chris Benoit, SmackDown, 2003

10. Steve Austin & Triple H vs. Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit, RAW, 2003

[The Truthiness 0]

1: Cena vs Umaga Last Man Standing- Royal Rumble 2007

 

2: Eddie Guerrero vs JBL Judgement Day- 2004

 

3: The Rock vs Austin- Wrestlemania 17

 

4:Flair vs HHH Cage Match-Taboo Tuesday

 

5: Eddie Guerrero vs Brock -No Way Out

 

6:Brock Lesnar Vs Taker HIAC -No Mercy 2002

 

7:The Rock vs Brock Lesnar- Summer Slam 2002

 

8:HBK vs Flair Wrestlemania 24

 

9: Royal Rumble 2008

 

10:Cena vs Michaels Wrestlemania 23.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

1. The Rock Vs. Hulk Hogan, Wrestleman X8

2. Kurt Angle Vs. Steve Austin, Summerslam 2001

3. The Rock Vs. HHH, Ironman Match, Judgement Day 2000

4. The Rock Vs. Steve Austin, Wrestlemania 17

5. Kurt Angle Vs. Chris Benoit, Royal Rumble 2003

6. Brock Lesnar Vs. Eddie Guerrero, No Way Out 2004

7. Shelton Benjamin Vs. HBK, RAW 2005

8. Dudley Boyz Vs. Edge & Christian Vs. Hardy Boyz, Ladder Match, Wrestlemania 2000

9. JBL Vs. John Cena, I Quit, Judgement Day 2005

10. Shelton Benjamin Vs. Chris Jericho Vs. Christian Vs. Kane Vs. Edge Vs. Chris Benoit, Money in the Bank, Wrestlemania 21

[BHK 0]

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock - Wrestlemania X-SEVEN - Probably each man's best work, as far as match quality is concerned

 

Survivor Series 96 and Judgment Day 2000 say hello.

 

Just sayin.

 

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock - Wrestlemania X-SEVEN - Probably each man's best work, as far as match quality is concerned

 

Survivor Series 96 and Judgment Day 2000 say hello.

 

Just sayin.

 

Hello what? Guy's right. X7 was the pinnacle of each man's career.

[JHawk 0]

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock - Wrestlemania X-SEVEN - Probably each man's best work, as far as match quality is concerned

 

Survivor Series 96 and Judgment Day 2000 say hello.

 

Just sayin.

 

Hello what? Guy's right. X7 was the pinnacle of each man's career.

His opinion is that they had better matches. I'd agree with Austin having better matches, but I don't think Rock's Ironman Match tops WrestleMania X-Seven.

[Psycho Penguin 0]

It's my favorite match of all time, and some people feel the same way. No need to get into a pissing contest over it. Judgment Day 2000 was a great match too.

[pappajacks 0]

I wonder if WWE's website ran the same survey, if they would censor Benoit's name.

 

If they do the best 10 matches of the decade DVD in 2010, would they be able to ignore benoit?

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

It stands to reason that they would omit any matches that involves Benoit, just like they have been doing (with Anthology sets being the only notable exceptions).

[haws bah gawd 0]

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock - Wrestlemania X-SEVEN - Probably each man's best work, as far as match quality is concerned

Survivor Series 96 and Judgment Day 2000 say hello.

Just sayin.

Hello what? Guy's right. X7 was the pinnacle of each man's career.

His opinion is that they had better matches. I'd agree with Austin having better matches, but I don't think Rock's Ironman Match tops WrestleMania X-Seven.

 

When I'm talking with friends or something, and we start to discuss our favorite matches, this is the first that pops to mind. I have yet to have another pro wrestling match top how I felt during, and after Rock vs Austin from Wrestlemania X-SEVEN. Austin's desperation to win back the gold, and prove to himself that he "still has it" after his year-long recovery from neck surgery, even if it involves selling his soul to his most hated enemy to get the job done. I love the story told in this match. There are those that will argue that the ending was overbooked, and to an extent it was. The ending just played into Austin's desperation. Others may feel differently, or see the story differently, but that's my take on it.

[BHK 0]

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock - Wrestlemania X-SEVEN - Probably each man's best work, as far as match quality is concerned

Survivor Series 96 and Judgment Day 2000 say hello.

Just sayin.

Hello what? Guy's right. X7 was the pinnacle of each man's career.

His opinion is that they had better matches. I'd agree with Austin having better matches, but I don't think Rock's Ironman Match tops WrestleMania X-Seven.

 

When I'm talking with friends or something, and we start to discuss our favorite matches, this is the first that pops to mind. I have yet to have another pro wrestling match top how I felt during, and after Rock vs Austin from Wrestlemania X-SEVEN. Austin's desperation to win back the gold, and prove to himself that he "still has it" after his year-long recovery from neck surgery, even if it involves selling his soul to his most hated enemy to get the job done. I love the story told in this match. There are those that will argue that the ending was overbooked, and to an extent it was. The ending just played into Austin's desperation. Others may feel differently, or see the story differently, but that's my take on it.

 

 

After being prompted by this thread to watch them all again (WM XVII, Judgment Day 2000, and Survivor Series 96 it had been a while since I had seen all three) I'll concede that WM XVII is the better Rock match(although I still love the Iron Man match), but I still think Survior Series 96 is Austin's best work.

 

Although I'm derailing the thread, sorry about that.

 

On the bright side, this thread has given me lots of excellent matches to re-watch

[CBright7831 0]

In no particular order:

 

Rock vs. Austin - WM 17

Triple H vs. Cactus Jack - RR 00

Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker - NM 02

Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL - JD 04

HHH vs. HBK vs. Chris Benoit - WM 20

Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit - RR 03

Kurt Angle vs. HBK - WM 21

HHH vs. Austin - NWO 01

Austin vs. Kurt Angle - Summerslam 01

Batista vs HHH - Vengance 05

 

Just missed the cut:

Brock Lesnar vs. Eddie Guerrero - NWO 04

HHH vs. Flair - Taboo Tuesday

HBK vs. Flair - WM 24

Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker - NWO 06

Randy Orton vs. Cactus Jack - Backlash 04

Edge vs. Mick Foley - WM 22

[Epic Reine 0]

1. Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle - WM21

2. HHH vs Cactus Jack - RR2000

3. Brock Lesnar vs Eddie Guerrero - NWO2004

4. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho - WM19

5. Evolution vs Mick Foley/The Rock - WMXX

6. Steve Austin vs The Rock - WMX7

7. Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit - RR2003

8. Rob Van Dam vs Eddie Guerrero - Raw 2002 Ladder match

9. Edge vs Mick Foley - WM22

10. Randy Orton vs HHH - NM2007

 

[Adventureman 0]

1. The Rock vs. Steve Austin - Wrestlemania x-7

 

2. HHH vs. Cactus Jack (HiaC) - No Way Out 2000

 

3. RVD vs. John Cena - One Night Stand 2006

 

4. Edge and Christian vs. Hardy Boys vs. Dudley Boys (TLC) - Summerslam 2000

 

5. Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels - Wrestlemania 24

 

6. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle - Royal Rumble 2003

 

7. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. HHH - Wrestlemania 20

 

8. Edge vs. Christian vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Benoit (MitB) - Wrestlemania 21

 

9. Edge vs. Undertaker (HiaC) - Summerslam 2008

 

10. London and Kendrick vs. Regal and Taylor vs. MnM vs. Hardies (Ladder match) - Armagedden 2006

 

 

[Papacita 0]

I hate trying to rank matches, but I'll give this a try:

 

1. Benoit/Angle from Rumble 03

2. WMXX World Title 3-way

3. Brock vs. Eddie from NWO 04

4. HBK/HHH from SS02

5. TLC One from SS 00.

6. Flair/HBK from WM 24

7. HBK/Jericho from WMX9

8. Cena/HBK/Orton/Edge from Backlash 07 (Criminally underrated match)

9. Austin/HHH from NWO 01

10. HBK/Shelton from 05

 

Other matches considered: I really wanted to try and find a way to fit Rock/Jericho from No Mercy in there. Also, the No Mercy Tag Final, Shawn/Jericho Ladder match from this year, Angle/Benoit Unforgiven 02, Cena/Shawn Raw match, and Foley/Edge.

 

 

[Enigma 0]

Absolute blasphemy that no one has mentioned Austin/HHH vs. Jericho/Benoit from Raw in May 2001.

[Aero 0]

That's another match that I've only been able to see once, and that was when it initially aired on TV. But, I did just find it on Dailymotion, so I'll probably watch it later.

[Silence 0]

Absolute blasphemy that no one has mentioned Austin/HHH vs. Jericho/Benoit from Raw in May 2001.

 

10. Steve Austin & Triple H vs. Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit, RAW, 2003

 

He had the year wrong.