As the final weeks of this decade come to an end, Tim and I wanted to take a look at the very best matches from the WWE over the last ten years. We put together a comprehensive list of matches that we felt were the very best, or most important, that each year had to offer. After about a month of finalising the list and sitting down to watch the matches together, we finally rated each match, picking our Match of the Year. But most importantly, our Match of the Decade. It's been a wonderful stroll through memory lane, and reinvigorated my love of wrestling. It's been really rewarding to relive, write about, and rate the matches and moments that have comprised so much of the last ten years of my life.
The year 2000 was an incredible year for the WWF, and for a wrestling fan. For me, it marks one of my favourite periods in wrestling, and one that I look back on and remember very fondly. Triple H solidified himself as a worthy champion, who deserved the number one spot. Mick Foley proved he could still tear down the house, and retired in an extremely emotional farewell. Three young tag teams stole the show at WrestleMania and proceeded to set the bar for any match involving ladders; a standard that still stands to this day. And Jericho was just awesome.
Triple H vs. Cactus Jack - Royal Rumble | Street Fight
Cameron: ***** | Tim: *****
This match represents to me, the pinnacle of pro wrestling. An incredibly heated fued, emotionally involving story (one of my personal favourites of all time), two great workers (at the time), an amazing finish, and a match that not only told a fantastic story, but delivered everything it was supposed to. A violent, bloody, brutal brawl that felt epic and completely engaged you as a fan. What's not to love about two guys who have a hatred for one another, tearing each other apart at Madison Square Garden? Foley staring at Triple H before running into an absolutely sickening chair shot almost never fails to give me goosebumps when I watch it. The finish is perfect, something that doesn't happen all that often, and tugs at the heart strings of even the smarkiest of fans. Not only one of the best street fights of all time, but simply one of the best matches. Getting the list off to a great start, this one is going to be hard to beat.Triple H vs. Cactus Jack - No Way Out | Hell in a Cell
Cameron: ****1/4 Tim: ****1/4
Going into it, this match had everything the first did in terms of fantastic build. They hadn't lost any heat over the month before this contest; if anything excitement was even greater. That's because this match would be fought inside Hell in a Cell, back when that made a fan wide-eyed in awe and excitement. Expectations were unfathomably high, especially when teased with the possibility that Mick's storied career could come to an end. (HAHAHAHA). Not only that, but you had a guy who in his previous Cell match, created the most iconic image of the nineties, being thrown 16ft from the top of the cage. It was what you showed your sceptical friends who thought it was fake, and it holds up as one of the most memorable moments in WWE history. My rambling aside, it's easy to see that expectations might not be reached, and they weren't. The match was really good, but it wasn't great. And no one died, so fans were disappointed. However, what follows is the truly great moment the match failed to deliver. Foley walking back up the ramp with tears in his eyes as he bids farewell to the wrestling world. Iconic. Or it would be, if he hadn't returned several times through out his career, and didn't currently wrestle for TNA. It's understandable the reasons why, but unfortunately it does tarnish the match, and moment afterwards, and subtracts from its poignancy.
Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz - WrestleMania | Ladder Match
Cameron: ****1/2 | Tim: ****1/2
The match that started it all. 2000 was the year that tag team wrestling returned to prominence in the WWE, with these three teams tearing the house down in a number of matches, most notably their Ladder and TLC encounters. I think this match still holds up well, even in contrast to their later matches. I loved it when I first saw it, and it instils the same excitement seeing it nine years later. The bumps are fantastic, and innovative, the pacing is surprisingly good, and the crowd eats up everything they see. They set out to steal the show at WreslteMania, and they did just that. A great match, and the image of E&C on the ladder table reeks of awesomeness.
Triple H vs. Chris Jericho - Fully Loaded | Last Man Standing
Cameron: ****1/4 | Tim: ****1/4
I never got to see this match live, or at the time of their feuding. However, when I did finally get to see it years after the fact, I really enjoyed it. I was an absolutely huge Jericho mark at the time, and absolutely ate up everything he did, particularly his encounters with the filthy, dirty, disgusting, skanky, brutal, bottom feeding, trashbag hoe. I wanted Jericho to win, but Triple H wouldn't allow it (a sad fact that is still seen today). Fantastically heated, and well worked, this is a great match. Until the final 5 minutes. I really liked Triple H just barely making the 10, only to fall straight back down. But a back suplex through an announce table, which I realise worked Jericho injured mid-section, just fell flat for me. Like a lot of LMS matches, the ending just wasn't entirely satisfying, and hurt my overall enjoyment. A part of me thinks I wouldn't be pleased unless Jericho actually won, but still. This is a good match, it just could have been a lot more.
Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz - SummerSlam | TLC
Cameron: ***** | Tim: ****3/4
For my money, the best 'spot-fest' the WWE has ever put on. Excellent build to bigger spots and overall pacing, prevented it collapsing into a cluster-fuck. There are so many great moments, like when Jeff runs the rail, and Bubba just caves his fucking face in with a chair shot, and Matt taking an underrated backwards bump off the ladder through a table on the outside. There's also Bubba and Matt taking the double-bump from the Super Ladder, through four stacked tables (the original spot, before it became trite and expected). However, for me as a HUGE Jeff mark as a kid, the highlight is his Swanton from the Super Ladder on top of Bubba on the outside. I loved it, and still do. Basically this is the ultimate, sit back and watch the carnage unfold. It's not extreme in terms of death matches; it's brutal in a watchable way. My only gripe is the kid in me is still upset the Hardyz didn't win, especially in their home town. I find it hard to rate this match fairly, and perhaps giving it the full boat is undeserved when compared to the classics. But in terms of pure enjoyment and giddy excitement, there's almost nothing better.
Match of the Year - 2000
Cameron: Triple H vs. Cactus Jack - Royal Rumble | Street Fight
Honestly, this is a pretty easy pick for me, and is probably a little obvious from my comments. Love it, and always will. The SummerSlam TLC was incredible for what it was. But the Street Fight simply is the art of pro wrestling at it's finest.
Tim: Triple H vs. Cactus Jack - Royal Rumble | Street Fight
No comments:
Post a Comment