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/wrestling /awards /Best Match |
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/wrestling /awards /Best Match |
| 2000 R.S.P-W Awards | Best Match |
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Awards |
Best Match
Award Description:
To be given to the best wrestling match you've seen this year, either live,
on TV, PPV, or in an arena, or on tape. If it took place in the past year,
it is eligible. In 1994, this award was split into three: North American,
Non-North American, and overall. In 1997, due to lack of participation on
both the NA and non-NA sides, it was recombined.
Previous Winners:
1990: 04/22/90: Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Marty Janetty & Shawn
Michaels (SNME)
1991: 03/21/91: Steiners vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Hase (Tokyo, aired
on taped PPV)
1992: 01/18/92: Royal Rumble (Royal Rumble)
1993: 10/24/93: Cactus Jack vs. Big Van Vader (Halloween Havoc)
1994: (overall/NA) 03/20/94: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania)
1994: (non-NA) 04/16/94: Chris Benoit vs. Great Sasuke (Super J Cup)
1995: (overall/NA) 08/27/95: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (SummerSlam)
1995: (non-NA) 11/20/94: Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota (AJW V*TOP Tourney)
1996: (overall/NA) 03/31/96: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania)
1996: (non-NA) 03/17/96: Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani
1997: 10/05/97: Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker (Hell in the Cell cage)
1998: 06/28/98: Undertaker v. Mankind (Hell in the Cell cage)
1999: 10/17/99: Brood (Matt & Jeff Hardy) v. Edge & Christian (ladder)
**2000**: 08/27/00: Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz v. Dudley Boyz (tag TLC)
(SummerSlam)
543 first place votes
506 second place votes
499 third place votes
132 77 47 985 08/27/00 Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz v. Dudley Boyz (Tag TLC)
79 41 40 598 01/23/00 Triple H v. Cactus Jack (WWF Street Fight)
54 54 37 506 02/27/00 Triple H v. Cactus Jack (WWF Hell in the Cell)
45 51 47 472 05/21/00 Rock v. Triple H (WWF Iron Man)
40 52 31 418 04/02/00 Dudley Boyz v. Hardy Boyz v. Edge & Christian
(tag ladder)
25 24 30 257 07/23/00 Triple H v. Chris Jericho (Last Man Standing)
20 24 27 226 02/07/00 Triple H & X-Pac & Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn
v. Rock & Cactus Jack & Rikishi Phatu & Too Cool (RAW)
18 21 24 201 10/22/00 Triple H v. Chris Benoit
11 11 23 134 09/25/00 Hardy Boyz v. Edge & Christian (tag ladder Raw)
15 7 5 106 05/25/00 Steve Regal v. Chris Benoit (Pillman)
7 12 13 97 08/27/00 Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho (2/3)
13 2 8 87 01/23/00 Hardy Boyz v. Dudley Boyz (table)
8 7 11 83 04/17/00 Triple H v. Chris Jericho (WWF RAW)
4 11 11 75 04/10/00 Triple H v. Taka Michinoku (WWF RAW)
5 5 13 66 04/30/00 Dean Malenko v. Scotty 2 Hotty (Lt. Hvy.)
5 8 7 63 12/31/99 Masato Tanaka v. Mike Awesome (ECW ECW on TNN)
7 4 4 55 03/17/00 Atlantis v. Villano III (mascara contra mascara)
1 12 7 55 12/24/99 Mike Awesome v. Masato Tanaka (ECW ECW on TNN)
5 4 6 49 08/26/00 Psicosis v. Yoshihiro Tajiri (ECW Hardcore TV)
2 5 12 49 05/21/00 Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho (IC submission)
4 4 5 42 01/02/00 Ryuji Yamakawa v. Tomoaki Honma (Spike Nail &
Barbed Wire Board Death Match)
2 6 5 38 07/23/00 Rock v. Chris Benoit (WWF)
2 7 1 33 02/27/00 Mitsuharu Misawa v. Jun Akiyama
3 2 4 29 04/02/00 Triple H v. Rock v. Big Show v. Mick Foley (WWF)
2 2 6 28 04/02/00 Kurt Angle v. Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho (IC Euro 2 falls)
1 4 5 27 09/08/00 Yoshihiro Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck v. Full Blooded Italians (tag)
2 5 0 25 05/14/00 Jerry Lynn v. Rob Van Dam
2 1 6 25 12/19/99 Chris Benoit v. Jeff Jarrett (US ladder)
3 3 0 24 12/11/99 Ayako Hamada & Akino v. Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita
(Twinstar of ARSION Title Carnival ARSION '99)
1 3 5 24 06/12/00 Triple H v. Chris Jericho (WWF RAW)
2 0 2 14 07/09/00 Booker T. v. Jeff Jarrett (WCW)
0 2 4 14 04/30/00 Triple H v. Rock (WWF)
1 0 3 11 11/07/99 Mike Awesome v. Masato Tanaka (ECW)
0 1 4 11 10/22/00 Rock v. Kurt Angle (WWF no DQ)
2 0 0 10 07/09/00 Jeff Jarrett v. Hulk Hogan (WCW)
0 2 2 10 05/14/00 Yoshihiro Tajiri v. Steve Corino
0 2 2 10 05/14/00 Mayumi Ozaki v. Kaoru
1 0 2 9 02/27/00 EWF Battle Royal
1 0 2 9 02/13/00 Aja Kong v. Kaoru (AAAW)
0 1 3 9 01/21/00 Yoshihiro Tajiri v. Super Crazy (ECW on TNN Mexican Death)
1 1 0 8 04/30/00 Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho (IC)
1 1 0 8 03/27/00 Mitsuharu Misawa v. Toshiaki Kawada
0 2 1 8 09/24/00 Kurt Angle v. Triple H
0 2 1 8 04/15/00 Kenta Kobashi v. Takao Omori (Carnival Final)
0 1 2 7 09/24/00 Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz (tag cage)
0 2 0 6 08/07/00 Booker T. v. Lance Storm (WCW Nitro)
0 2 0 6 06/25/00 Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhiko Takaiwa v. Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto (IWGP Jr. Hvywt. Tag)
0 2 0 6 01/04/00 Super Delfin v. Dick Togo
1 0 0 5 ??/??/?? Trent Acid v. Ric Blade & Nick Mondo (CZW Rules Were Made To Be Broken)
1 0 0 5 ??/??/?? EZ Money v. Kid Kash (ECW Hardcore TV... their first meeting)
1 0 0 5 12/08/99 Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa v. Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita (tag 2/3)
1 0 0 5 11/21/99 Bret Hart v. Chris Benoit (WCW final)
1 0 0 5 09/17/00 Scott Steiner v. Goldberg
1 0 0 5 09/15/00 Justin Credible v. Steve Corino (ECW)
1 0 0 5 09/15/00 Aja Kong & Dynamite Kansai v. Crush Gals
1 0 0 5 06/08/00 Matt Hardy v. Eddie Guerrero (KOR Qualifier SmackDown!)
1 0 0 5 04/11/00 Mitsuharu Misawa v. Kenta Kobashi (Carny)
1 0 0 5 04/03/00 Jushin Liger v. Tiger Mask
1 0 0 5 04/--/00 Blue Panther v. Hijo del Santo
1 0 0 5 03/27/00 H v. Kyoko Inoue
0 1 1 5 ??/??/00 Triple H v. Hardcore Holly (Heat)
0 1 1 5 03/27/00 Artist v. Mike Modest (nontitle Nitro)
0 0 2 4 05/14/00 Aja Kong v. Meiko Satomura
0 0 2 4 04/19/00 Kenta Kobashi v. Mitsuharu Misawa
0 1 0 3 ??/??/?? Xplosive Wrestling's Kingpin v. Hades
0 1 0 3 ??/??/?? Jushin Liger v. Great Sasuke
0 1 0 3 08/27/00 Shane McMahon v. Steve Blackman (HC)
0 1 0 3 07/16/00 Rob Van Dam v. Scotty Anton
0 1 0 3 05/05/00 Hayabusa v. Masato Tanaka
0 1 0 3 04/??/00 Mike Awesome v. Tazz (ECW)
0 1 0 3 03/25/00 Kazunari Murakami & Alexander Otsuka v. Naoki Sano & Yuki Ishikawa
0 1 0 3 01/09/00 Cima v. Minoru Fujita
0 1 0 3 01/03/00 Kevin Nash & Scott Steiner v. David Flair & Crowbar (Nitro tag final)
0 0 1 2 Akiyama wins NOAH crown (?)
0 0 1 2 ??/??/?? Lo Down v. Essa Rios & Funaki (Jakked?)
0 0 1 2 10/23/00 Crowbar v. Vampiro (Nitro)
0 0 1 2 10/01/00 Lincoln McIlravy v. Daniel Igali (Australia)
0 0 1 2 09/26/00 Hayabusa v. Kodo Fuyuki
0 0 1 2 08/13/00 Booker T. v. Jeff Jarrett (WCW)
0 0 1 2 08/05/00 Akira Taue & Mitsuharu Misawa v. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama
0 0 1 2 07/23/00 Val Venis v. Rikishi (IC cage)
0 0 1 2 06/25/00 Val Venis v. Eddie Guerrero (KOR Quarter)
0 0 1 2 06/12/00 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley v. Lita (Women's RAW)
0 0 1 2 05/07/00 David Arquette v. Diamond Dallas Page v. Jeff Jarrett (WCW Ready to Rumble Cage^3)
0 0 1 2 04/30/00 Eddie Guerrero v. Essa Rios (Euro)
0 0 1 2 04/02/00 Terri v. Kat
0 0 1 2 04/02/00 Kane v. Pete Rose (iffy)
0 0 1 2 04/02/00 Edge and Christian v. Dudley Boyz v. Hardy Boyz (tag ladder)
0 0 1 2 03/12/00 Ikuto Hidaka v. Katsumi Usuda
0 0 1 2 01/30/00 Minoru Tanaka v. Naoki Sano
0 0 1 2 01/04/00 Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka v. Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami
REJECTED - not in time period
1 2 0 "Any match with..." votes
1 0 2 11/20/00 Steve Austin v. Chris Benoit (RAW)
0 1 2 "Tie" votes
1 0 0 11/19/00 Triple H v. Steve Austin (no DQ)
1 0 0 11/09/97 Bret Hart v. Shawn Michaels (WWF)
0 1 1 11/26/00 Booker T. v. Scott Steiner (WCW caged heat)
0 0 1 Triple H & King Kurt Angle (Raw is War) (not a match, or incomplete vote?)
0 0 1 Triple H v. Chris Benoit v. Rock (not a match?)
0 0 1 01/19/92 Thirty man Royal Rumble
HIRO: Another category that is hard to pick! Basically, this year we've
been deluged by a lot of quality matches in the WWF alone! Benoit and
Jericho's most recent match was the best among their numerous matchups
this year. Cactus Jack's farewell match was awesome and also showed some
quality blading by Triple H. The TLC match will hopefully be the end of
these tag team spotfests, as I'm personally getting tired of these type of
matches. Also, honorable mentions to the other Benoit vs. Jericho matches
(as well as their Wrestlemania triple threat with Kurt Angle), the other
Cactus Jack vs Triple H match, the Judgment Day Iron Man match, the WM
Main Event, Jericho vs Triple H, Benoit vs Triple H, Rock vs Benoit and
not forgetting the Pillman show match between Benoit and Regal.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Steve Regal v. Chris Benoit was like Dick Murdock vs
Harley Race in 1978 but with bigger moves. Same psychology and same
selling and same level of true respect for the art of Professional
Wrestling. Ryuji Yamakawa v. Tomoaki Honma was the best deathmatch ever in
the history of garbage wrestling. Just a fucking harrowing wrestling
match. Beats anything I ever saw. Aja Kong v. Meiko Satomura was Aja
showing that she is the best wrestler in the world. She is now the Jumbo
Tsuruta of Joshi and Meiko is enough of a distaff young Misawa to make
this match work. Big time match and Aja pulls the trigger and delivers the
goods like the great ones do.
CHRIS BIRD: It wasn't as prominent as some of the other great matches this
year, but Chris Benoit vs. Triple H at No Mercy was just straightforward
WRESTLING and it kicked ass on many many levels, so I will give it my
number one vote because I liked it best. Second place goes to the brutal
Hell in the Cell match that ended Cactus Jack's career (in the good way)
at No Way Out and hopefully eclipses the crap KOTR Hell in the Cell of
1998. Third place goes to my sentimental favorite: the ten-man tag from
RAW, which was near-perfect, good and long, and best of all was on FREE
TELEVISION, a trend that should be encouraged.
J3R CR0WE: The Iron Man match was just something special. Never have I
been so captivated by a match that went over 25 minutes. It was really
great booking and even greater wrestling. The TLC match totally topped the
WM2K tag ladder match, but it wasn't as good as the ladder match from No
Mercy 1999.
ROBERT STRUPP: This was the hardest category to pick, and I'm interested
to see how the vote comes out. I picked the Rock-HHH Iron Man match,
because not many people expected it to be good, it was a gimmick match
that hadn't been done in almost 4 years, and was done to almost
perfection. Both the Rock and Hunter expanded their movesets, which nobody
thought they could or would do. Both guys also used the hour to build a
psychologically deep match. The Radicalz/HHH-Rock/Foley/2 Cool match was
amazing, and had the SUPER hot crowd behind it. Seeing the Radicalz work a
WWF Main Event as a team was fantastic also, and, workrate wise, the 10
man tag set up kept the rest holds and the lull points to a minimum. The
Tag Ladder match at Wrestlemania gets the nod for third, but only by the
narrowest of margins. HHH-Foley No Holds Barred, HHH-Foley Hell in the
Cell, Dudleyz/Hardyz/E&C TLC match, and the Jericho-Benoit submission
match also got consideration from me.
BEN WEINER: That part where Jeff does the swanton on Bubba and misses
still sticks out in my head.
DEVON: Ironically, my choice for match of the year never happened,
according to the storyline. There were a few matches that had better
wrestling than Jericho vs. Triple H, but none had the buildup of heat that
went into it, and none could match its excitement. The crowd hung on
every move and went nuts througout the match. They nearly blew the roof
off the place when Jericho "won" the WWF title. The ten-man tag and TLC
match were also standouts.
ALEX GIPSON: I absolutely loved HHH-Cactus from WWF Royal Rumble this
year. With a great storyline, extremely hot crowd, and the WWF Title on
the line, these two could have simply gone out under normal stipulations
and delivered a solid title match. With the Street Fight stipulation
added, however, this match proved a number of things. It re-established
Mick Foley as a great storyteller and re-ignited the Cactus Jack
character. It was, for me, the match where Triple H finally proved to the
world that he deserves the position he is in, utilitizing a terrific
storyline, a selfless opponent, and a tenacity for brawling that rivaled
that of his legendary opponent. To my recollection, it was the first time
in a very long time where a heel was able to win a high-profile title
match in a clean manner, while still being able to maintain the integrity
of him opponent. One of the loudest pops I've ever heard was after Cactus
kicked out of the first Pedigree, and I've yet to hear anything else this
year, not even the return of Steve Austin, that has been able to match it.
Finally, I think that the match restored integrity to the WWF World
Heavyweight Title itself, as the majority of the year 1999 saw several
hotshot title switches, and as the year came to a close, the title was put
on the backburner as the Big Show lingered against midcarders during the
early quarter hours of Smackdown every week. Within the span of a month,
the WWF Title went from perhaps its lowest point in modern years (Big Show
vs. Big Boss Man) to one of its most memorable reigns in modern memory.
(Triple H's third reign from January to April). This match solidified
Triple H as the real deal, and once again made the championship seem
important again, all while proving once again how selfless Mick Foley is.
No other match this year has been so important, and, to be honest, it has
to rank as one of the absolute best matches I have ever seen. My secondary
picks included Triple H vs. The Rock from Judgment Day, as this match
proved just how good both can be, and hopefully put a silencer on several
nay-sayers out there. Deserving an honorable mention is Benoit vs.
Jericho vs. Angle from Wrestlemania, as it not only ranks as an
outstanding match, but also should serve as a preview of what I hope will
be a rematch in the very near future, this time with the WWF Title at
stake.
CHRIS OSTER: It's a testament to the unbelievable match quality at the top
of the card in the WWF that this category was so difficult to call. I had
trouble narrowing this down to a dozen, much less three. HHH/Foley III in
Hell in the Cell wasn't quite as visually arresting as some of the tag
matches, but it told a story better than any match this year. (I didn't
see the Rumble match, so I can't comment on it.) The TLC match was one of
the most mind-blowing things I've ever seen. And the Ironman match
exceeded everyone's expectations - Triple H and the Rock did an amazing
job at selling an unsellable match in this day and age.
EDC: Best Match was the Royal Rumble Brawl at MSG, even with the rigged
barbwire. Just as violent as Jack got, Thumb tacks, Blood everwhere, HHH
getting stabbed in the leg with a broken piece of wood, 2 Peidgrees, one
resulting in Jack getting a Thumbtack in his eye, etc. Two greats really
going overboard in a PPV in which they werent even headlining. Awesome.
KATE MARTIN: Best matches comment: Yes, I am a lame mark. So sue me.
DUDICALY2K: BEST MATCH: The Rocky/HHH Iron Man match was an incredibly fun
match that resembled the classic Duke/Kentucky basketball game from 1991
than any other match I can think of. Two rivals going at it in an even
battle, complete with an air-horn. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to
59:30, or whenever the UT made his return.
GREGG MIXDORF: This was very difficult to chose. What was the best match
of the year? I'm not even really sure since it is all so close. There
are about 7 or 8 matches in the WWF alone this year that could be called
match of the year. So this year I just picked my favorites out of that
bunch. Unlike last year where there was a dearth of great matches in the
United States to chose from. Really only 3. The in ring product this
year has vastly improved from last year and as a fan I'm most
appreciative. Hopefully they can keep this great wrestling up.
DANIEL HERMAN: There is no question in my mind that the Benoit v. Regal
match was the best match of the year. It was also probably the best
US-style match in a long time. The art of wrestling is not dead as long as
these two are still allowed to work and reeducate the audience as they go.
This was a beautiful wrestling match, no SE needed. The Villano v.
Atlantis match was virtually non-stop Lucha mat-goodness with more drama
than anything but the HHH v. Foley feud and even that's questionable. The
EWF Battle Royal gets my #3, just because.
SCOTT W.: The best matches were the TLC Match, the Triangle Ladder match,
and the Hell in the Cell this year. Gee, all 3 were in the WWF. How does
that happen?
CHANCE50JR: The WWF really returned to wrestling, well, comparatively
speaking. My top 3 were HHH/Jericho-Last Man Standing, The 10-man tag
from RAW (2/7/00) and Malenko/Hotty from Backlash. I also thought
Rock/HHH from Backlash was great (hell, HHH v. the Brooklyn Brawler from
Smackdown was awesome). Even Steve Blackman v. Both Hardyz (individually)
for a TV match was great. I just think there were too many damn awesome
matches this year to pick only three. Oh- and I'm leaving out all the
damn ladder matches!
DONNIE VOMIT: The TLC match was just so damn amazing. Every minute, a
Dudley or Hardy Boy died. Every three, Edge and/or Christian spiked their
gonads on a foreign object. It was truly a thing of beauty, even though
the eventual Hardy Boyz title win wouldn't have been so anticlimactic had
they just won this match. Mick and HHH has the hottest fued emotion wise
in years, and this match was the apex of it all. Extreme violence, fat men
falling through cages... it was awesome, dood! And the RAW match between
the Radz, HHH, X-Pac, The Rock, Too Cool, Rikishi and Mick was the loudest
damn crowd I've heard outside of Canadian Stampede. I'd have to say that
was a fun match to watch, simply because of the heat (it was a good match
to boot).
MARCUS SPARKS: No contest here. The TLC match was simply the best match
to watch. Put Cactus Jack in his element against a person willing to work
that style and you're going to always have something amazing to see.
TAKA Michinoku got the best work of the year out of Triple H and put on a
hell of a match to boot.
JOHN C.: Choosing a winner for this category was very difficult because
there were several matches that stood out in my mind. In the end, my top
match was Triple H vs. Cactus Jack from the Royal Rumble in a magnificent
brawl that featured great heat, psychology and the kind of brutality that
makes you appreciate everything that wrestlers do for the fans. It was a
terrific start to what would be a memorable year of WWF PPV matches. The
TLC match at Summerslam was also memorable as six guys did everything they
could to put on a show for the fans and they delivered. At Judgment Day,
Triple H & The Rock proved to the world that they are the best overall
wrestlers in the business by busting their ass for sixty minutes in a
match that few people thought they could pull off. It was excellent even
though I am not a big fan of the Undertaker run-in finish deciding the
title. Other memorable matches included HHH/Jericho from Fully Loaded, the
ten man tag from Raw in February, Rock/Benoit from Fully Loaded and the
HIAC match from No Way Out that ended Mick Foley's career.
MATTHEW HUBARTT: #2 - Despite the non-finish - this was easily the best
match on free TV this year.
REISMARK: I'm going against convention - Iron Man over TLC! Seriously, you
gotta consider the scale of importance here. Yes, the TLC match had some
INSANE spots, but it only lasted twenty minutes. The Iron Man match was 1
HOUR of classic old-school wrestling and featured not only the Undertaker
returning but the Rock proving he could actually WRESTLE. Triple H is God.
TONY LING: The IronMan was great both because everything was perfect (even
the ending-c'mon, only the most hardened smark didn't at least mark out a
little when UT destroyed everyone) and because it defied so many
expectations from said smarks who thought it wouldn't be good. There were
a lot of better matches than Scotty vs Dean, but that one is one of my
personal favorites so I voted for it. Commenting is long and boring, so
I'll stop here.
AL RITCHIE: I haven't watched enough PPVs to render an honest judgement.
I know you're disappointed.
ANDY P. GOSS: The first two matches on my ballot -- Benoit/Jarrett from
Starrcade and Malenko/Taylor from Backlash -- were matches I was there
for. Both were incredible, and people were on their feet most of the time
during those matches. The ladder match wins out because of Taylor's worm
gaffe (hopping on the wrong, ie injured, leg). Meanwhile, the TNN Tag
match was spectacular on the part of all four men and features two of the
top five tag teams going.
DARREN MANTLE: HHH/Taka - I haven't marked out on a match that badly in
years
JON WALTON: While maybe not the technically best match, the
Radicalz/Triple H vs Cactus/Rikishi/Rock/2 Cool match was easily the best
combination of sharp ring work and extreme crowd heat in North America
this year. If wrestling was that good every week I don't think I'd ever
feel like I needed to miss it.
EZE4DA3747: Please watch this if you have it cause this is a great match
with one of the most deadliest moves I have ever seen, I swear to god
Scotty Too Hotty must've died and been reborn cause the top rope DDT he
recieves from Malenko just looked too real.
JONAH ROSCH: Toughest time I've had with this category in years. (mostly
cause I was only renting available PPVs). There were about ten matches
that easily would have been top matches in past years for me. 3rd place I
had to give it to Benoit vs Jarret - Ladder Match. Two wrestlers who I
never thought would work well together were superb, and for once Benoit
was allowed to really shine in a match. And I loved the Iron Man match
between Triple-H and The Rock, enough to give it 2nd place, but not enough
wow factor. I gave 1st place to the Masato Tanaka vs Mike Awesome match,
where Awesome regained the ECW World Title. A tremendous match with tons
of false finishes, teases, where every minute each wrestler would increase
the level of their moves even more. May be the last great ECW World Title
match we ever see.
DREW HUNT: In my mind, the best match has to take fully into account the
crowd (and my) reaction, which explains the HHH-Jericho match. But I
think HHH-Taka really was one of the best matches ever.
LOSIFER: The WWF main events from January to April were the some of the
best matches I've seen not just this year, but in my life. The HHH v.
Foley series were not only "technically" good, but also part of an
extremely emotionally involving storyline.
EDDIE BURKETT: Triple H is THE GAME!!! 'nuff said. Seriously, though.
There were a TON of good matches in the WWF this year. This was the
hardest category to pick. The Rock had some Rockin' matches too, and its
a shame I couldn't vote for them.
JAMES HOWARD: The Best Match of the Year. I didn't know what I was going
to pick, so I closed my eyes and let my brain come up with the answer. And
my brain instantly shot back to that night in April when, in the span of
thirty seconds, fourty thousand people in attendance and the entire world
watching on TV went from completely silent while watching the match in
front of them to jumping onto their feet and rallying behind TAKA
Michinoku's chance at the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Forget
everything else; *that* is what I think of when I think of the past year.
:)
JUST JEFF: How come the Lita vs Stephanie McMahon title match on RAW
wasn't included in the ballot? It may not have been all that spectacular
a match if you talk about wrestling, but from a storyline perspective +
crowd response they booked the match perfectly. The ratings certainly
justify it.
JUST JEFF: The tag ladder match on RAW makes my list, not just because of
the great workrate and chemistry the Hardys and the Maple Leaf Blondes
have in the ring, but also as a salute to them putting out another great
match on the night after that cage match they had on PPV. Edge's spear to
Jeff Hardy also gets HOLY SHIT honors from me for best spot on RAW.
GEORGE JOHNSON: The 10 man tag on the 2/7/00 RAW was one of the most
exciting TV matches I've ever seen.
JOE GAGNE: Gotta go with Atlantis/Villano III from the 3/17/00 CMLL show.
Nothing matched it for workrate, drama, and heat. The Triple H/Cactus
Jack match at No Way Out made the Hell in the Cell match special again,
and featured an absolutely heart-wrenching finale. The insanity and
effort that permeated the Summerslam TLC match easily made it the spotfest
of the year, and that?s saying something.
DAN HOWARD: Solely on the fact that it got rid of Hogan.
BOB MORRIS: I gave the nod to Triple H vs. Cactus Jack at the Royal Rumble
because it was what established HHH firmly as a top player in the WWF.
Just a fantastic brawl and well-paced match that kept you on the edge of
your seat. I probably would have given the nod to Benoit/Regal from the
Brian Pillman Memorial Show had I seen it, but becuase I didn't, the
HHH/Jack Rumble match gets my vote.
C READ: Could have included so many in my choices- the TLC match from
Summerslam, the HIAC from NWO, Rock/Benoit from Fully Loaded,
Benoit/Jericho from either Backlash/Summerslam but went with HHH/Foley
from the Rumble, Jericho/HHH from Fully Loaded and the 3 way ladder match
at WM 2000.
CHRISTOPHER SHEA: Tough decision here. The Judgment Day iron man match was
brilliantly booked, but the actual wrestling was nothing special. The
Cactus Jack/Triple H brawls were emotionally intense, but suffered badly
from Foley's deterioration; compare it to Triple H and Jericho's LMS match
to see what I mean. And the 10-man tag deserves credit because it was
kick-ass both in terms of excitement and workrate -- and because it was ON
FREE TV for a change.
JPM38: The 3-way insane Bump-fest at Summerslam gets my nod for match of
the year. The participants actually bettered their match at Wrestlemania,
which I didn't think was possible at the time. The HHH show continued in
the other slots, with the street fight going over the Iron Man match due
to the fact that it cemented Triple H as "The Game," and also because of
the wicked Pedigree that Cactus took on the tacks. The Iron Man would have
been higher if it had a non-screwy ending.
JEREMY SORIA: Gotta go with the flow here and get those six-man tag
matches on the list. The Benoit/Jericho match this summer was also a crowd
pleaser. Something that they could never do in WCW, and they did a nice
job with it.
RICK SCAIA: One week in May provided the wrestling year's two biggest
in-ring highlights, in my own damned opinion. The Rock vs. Triple H Iron
Man match on the WWF Judgment Day PPV was an incredible contest:
athletic, drama-laden, and with a great finish. It easily bests WM12's
Hart/Michaels match for "Best 60 Minute Match of the WWF's Modern Era."
Days later at the Brian Pillman Memorial show, Chris Benoit and Steven
(William) Regal put on an incredible match that signaled to the world that
Regal was back and ready for prime time; I was there in person, and have
got to say that this match has supplanted Benoit vs. Al Snow (ECW Arena,
Feb. '95) as the best technical match I've seen live. Third place in
Match of the Year voting goes to the mind-blowing spot-fest that was the
Hardy vs. Dudleys vs. Edge/Christian Tables/Ladders/Chairs match from
SummerSlam.
TROY OLSON: Honorable mention to the Mankind vs. Santa Clause match if for
no other reason than Teddy Long declaring the winner in a completely
monotone and unenthusiastic voice. "And your winner is=85Santa Clause."
Cmon Teddy, it's freaking Saint Nick, act like you care.
NATHAN LONEY: Triple H and Cactus Jack had a brutal, brutal match, with a
sick finish. When it was all said and done, the guy you wouldn't expect
to blade did, and the guy you thought had to win the match didn't.
Awesome match. Tajiri squashed Steve Corino... and I mean SQUASHED. It
was a brutal match, with Corino offering little resistance. He got some
token offense in, but the match ended up being a total blowoff. Malenko
and Scotty had a great match as well. Very good technical match, with
points deducted for Scotty doing the fricking worm ON HIS INJURED LEG!
BILL LEHECKA: I've never sat through a match with fear in my eyes like I
did with the TLC match at Summerslam. A spotfest, yes, but this was THE
ultimate spotfest. Edge & Christian and the Hardy Boyz had a great cage
match a month later, but it looked like dog shit compared to the TLC
match. I was fearing for many lives during this one.
MATT SPAULDING: Picking just three was impossible, but Dean and Scotty
get the nod for putting on a barnburner (and in the Light Heavyweight
division, of all places) with great wrestling and a finishing sequence
that rocked the house. Despite the ending, the Iron Man match was hotter
than hell and featured psychology not seen in America in years. Props to
the following: 07/23/00 Rock v. Chris Benoit (WWF) 05/21/00 Chris Benoit
v. Chris Jericho (IC submission) 08/27/00 Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz
v. Dudley Boyz (Tag TLC) 01/23/00 Triple H v. Cactus Jack (WWF Street
Fight) 02/07/00 Triple H & X-Pac & Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko & Perry
Saturn v. Rock & Cactus Jack & Rikishi Phatu & Too Cool (RAW). TV match of
the year, and reason enough to create a "Best TV Match" category. 05/25/00
Steve Regal v. Chris Benoit (Pillman). People I trust who were there said
this ruled Jupiter and nine of its moons. 08/27/00 Chris Benoit v. Chris
Jericho (two out of three falls)
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Well, the top matches of the year were clearly Triple H
vs. Cactus Jack (both of them), Triple H vs. Chris Jericho, and Triple H
vs. Chris Benoit. To be fair to all the others fine wrestlers in North
America though, I've decided to only vote for two of them. The matches
against Cactus are both slightly overrated, whereas the matches against
the two Chrises are slightly underrated, so Triple H/Jericho (last man
standing) and Triple H/Benoit get one and two. Sorry, Mick. And since I
want to reward E&C, the Hardyz and the Dudleys for some amazing work in
the WWF's tag division, number three goes to the TLC match at SummerSlam.
(I guess the fact that I was there live helps. :) Among the honourable
mentions are the other matches involving those three teams, the Triple
H/Rock matches, the Jericho/Benoit series, the Mike Awesome/Masato Tanaka
matches, and the FBI/Mikey and Tajiri. Lots of good stuff this year!
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Sure the TLC match was great and will probably win,
but these 3 matches worked the best for me. 3rd place: Those 4 guys worked
their asses off the night after they put themselves through hell and
deserve all kinds of credit. 2nd place: I was SURE Jeff was dead when he
did the Swantonbomb onto Buh-Buh off a ladder! 1st place: By far the most
shocking/amazing moment of the year. I was shouting at the top of my lungs
and pacing around because I couldn't believe that the WWF would do that.
Sure enough, they ruined it all 15 minutes later and then Y2J got shoved
back down the rankings.
RAVI MISRA: HHH/Cactus Jack (Hell in a cell) may be the greates match I
have ever seen. Not once did I think that HHH would win, let alone win
clean. The sendoff that Mick got and the stunned appreciation of those
watching the show represented the pinnacle of sports-entertainment. As
for my second place choice, the Tag TLC match, I am at a loss for
superlatives to describe the athleticism it takes to do what these guys
did.
ALEX CARNEVALE: Far and away the best match of the year was the Royal
Rumble streetfight. No match combines storyline, psychology, and
unbelievable brutality as did that match. Triple H cements his spot as
the WWF's top heel and Mick Foley turns out without a doubt his greatest
performance in the match of his career. *****, only because that's as
high as the scale goes. I chose what I thought was the best of the
Benoit-Jericho series, the 2/3 Falls at Summerslam, although I preferred
the match at Backlash until the disqualification finish. I did think this
feud produced better matches than the 1995 J-Cup match. Third place is a
crapshoot, because the three tag teams put up some good performances, and
I also loved the Benoit-HHH match at No Mercy. I gave the nod to the
spotfest just because no one will ever say Michaels-Ramon WM10 is the
greatest match in history after those exhibitions.
MIKE PLYLEY: I gave the ladder match at Wrestlemania the duke over the TLC
match at SummerSlam, just because the first one was the innovator, and one
of the most breathtaking matches I ever saw. I don't think anything those
teams do will ever top it. 2nd and 3rd I give to the two Triple H/Foley
matches that absolutely MADE one man's career, and ended another's in
style. Those two matches will definately be remembered for a long, long
time.
COLIN MacKINNON: Atlantis vs. Villano III from the 3/17 EMLL PPV was the
best match I've seen all year. You knew that this was going to be a huge
match, and both men didn't disappoint. This may be the last great match
of Villano III's career, but he (along with Atlantis) bust their asses off
right here. There's so much drama and emotion, from the opening bell to
the unmasking ceremony. And the match itself was so well worked. It
seemed that either man could win at any point in the match, which made
this so much fun to watch. A true classic.
TOM CRUZ: The Iron Man match ruled in all sorts of different ways. Triple
H was at the top of his game here, and the Rock finally proved to me that
he's capable of a good match when carried by the right guy. The stupid
ending wasn't enough to overshadow the 59 minutes of goodness that
preceeded it. Triple H vs Jericho in the Last Man Standing match was also
several different kinds of awesome. The finish for that match was just
incredible, and that's really the reason I voted for it. Triple H vs
Cactus Jack at the Royal Rumble was, in my mind, the match that announced
Triple H was here as a main eventer, and here to stay. Foley and Triple H
conspired to put together an epic match that is actually my most memorable
match of the year.
NICK RANGEL: Wow. They don't make matches like HHH V. Benoit anymore, and
maybe they should. Steve Corino claims to be the King of Old-School, but
he has nothing on Benoit. Benoit and HHH put on the sort of clinic not
seen in the WWF since Hart v. Hart.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: HHH sweeps here, thanks to his TREMENDOUS intense
brawl with Cactus, his ironman match with Rock that worked suprsingly
well, and a great match at No Mercy with Benoit. These matches brought
back psychology to WWF main events.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: HHH and Jack at the Rumble was one of the most brutal,
dramatic, and best matches I have ever seen. A main eventer like Foley
going down cleanly (but with a hell of a fight) made it legendary.
Jericho and HHH at Fully Loaded was the most dramatic match of the year,
but just a couple notches down on the content of the match. Rock and HHH
going an hour is a feat in itself. The fact that it contained plenty of
psychology and old school wrestling makes it third.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Best Match - So many to choose from this year. Had to
give the nod to the trio of stellar PPV matches from the Hardyz, Duds, and
E&C (Table match, Ladder match, TLC match). Of course there was that
awesome Cage match too. And sprinkle in a couple of barbaric HHH v. Foley
matches, an Iron Man match, Last Man Standing match and several matches
between Jericho and Benoit. Can't wait to see those last two feuding over
the WWF Title in an Iron Man Match.
C McMURTRY: The Rumble street fight was so good because it was many fans
first real glimpse into the greatness that is HHH, and was also a tell
tale sign that Mick Foley still had a little bit of gas left in the tank.
Ohtani & Takaiwa vs. Kanemoto & Tanaka was, by far, the best match from a
technical stand point all year, and left me in awe by the end. Sure, the
New Japan junior division may not have the old Liger, Benoit, Guerrero or
Malenko anymore, but these four showed that the division is still the best
place to find great action in the world. Villano III-Atlantis had the best
drama of any match I have seen in a long, long, long time.
JBELL55146: Both of Foley's/HHH's wars in January and February were just
plain brutal. I'll go with the Royal Rumbles match first tho just for
sheer emotion and seeing Jack getting pedigreed into those thumbtacks were
just sick. And for 3rd place, I'm going with HHH/Xpac/Radicals vs
Foley/Rocky/Too Cool/Rikishi. For a free show, I almost have never seen a
hotter crowd then the crowd that night. >From the beginning swerve of the
Rads turning on Foley to the match, which is the best match Raw has put on
since the days of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, that was all around one of
the best matches of 2000
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