With the sports world shut down for the time being, you may have noticed all the classic games and moments in sports history being aired all over the place. While I have been tuned in for many of these sporting events, I found myself locked into the WWE Network watching classic matches. It got me thinking that I should put together a list of my five favorite matches of all time.
Going through to try and narrow down this list to five matches was extremely difficult and many of you will likely disagree with my picks, but these five matches for me are my favorite and the most re-watchable. So without further ado, let’s get onto the list.
5) Royal Rumble 2001
The Royal Rumble pay-per-view in 2001 overall was a pretty great show with four title matches on the card before the actual 30-man Royal Rumble event which was by far one, if not the greatest Royal Rumbles ever. In 2001 edition, we saw multiple special guests make their way to the ring including the returns of The Honkey Tonk Man, and Haku, but the best guest appearance was when Drew Carey entered the rumble at number 5 joining Matt and Jeff Hardy in the ring who were too distracted trying to eliminate each other to notice him standing and watching. They would eventually eliminate each other leaving Carey standing in the ring alone celebrating…until the next entrant. At number 6, Kane entered the Rumble, walked to the ring and watched as Drew Carey eliminated himself to avoid any confrontation.
Later on in the match Stone Cold Steve Austin would be entrant number 27, but before he could get to the ring, Triple H would attack and leave Stone Cold battered and bloodied on the stage. While Kane dominated the match lasting nearly an hour and eliminating 11 people, Austin would eventually made it to the ring and would eliminate Kane to win his 3rd Royal Rumble match, and setting up a Wrestlemania match with The Rock.
4) TLC 2 – Wrestlemania X-Seven
In the sequel to one of the craziest matches I have ever seen, Edge & Christian, The Hardy Boyz, and The Dudley Boyz put on another insane performance with heart stopping moments and mayhem the entire duration of the match. The main highlights from this match include Jeff Hardy hitting Rhyno and Spike Dudley with a Swanton Bomb off the biggest ladder in the building, Edge spearing Jeff Hardy while he dangled from the titles hanging high above the ring, and Bubba Ray Dudley and Matt Hardy being thrown from the ladder they were battling on, falling through two sets of tables stacked up. Edge & Christian would go on to win the match and the WWF Tag Team Titles, giving them the win in both TLC matches.
3) Undertaker vs Mankind – King of the Ring 1998
This might be the most famous match in WWE history just for the shear craziness that happened within this match. Growing up, I was always interested in the Undertaker. Every story line that he was in, was must watch TV for me and especially his storyline with Mankind. From the boiler room match to this Hell in a Cell, you truly never knew what you would see next. This Hell in a Cell was no exception as we saw something WWE Universe had never seen before. Undertaker throwing Mankind off the top of the cell through the announce table might be the biggest bump in WWE history and no one expected it. Rumor has it, Jim Ross and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler were not informed of what would happen and we got their authentic reaction to what looked like the death of Mick Foley. From there came the second bump for Mick as he would be choke slammed through the top of the cell into the ring, followed by the thumbtacks. It’s amazing Mick Foley made it out of that match alive and it will live on forever as probably the craziest match in WWE history.
2) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock – No Disqualification Match, Wrestlemania X-Seven
The rivalry between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock is by far the greatest rivalry in WWE history. I mean during the Monday Night Wars, the arrival and rise of both superstars saved WWE and sparked the ratings turn around that led to WCW being bought by WWE. When these two industy giants met at Wrestlemania X-Seven for the WWF Title, there needed to be no disqualifications to decide a winner. The crowd was extremely loud for the duration of this match and with blood pouring from both men by the finish. The twist in this match was the end, when Vince McMahon made his way to the ring and appeared there to help The Rock, but when he would get involved, he would give a chair to Stone Cold who would use it and get the 3-count becoming the new champion. In the surprise move, Steve Austin would flip to a heel and align himself with Vince who was once his enemy.
1) TLC 1 – Summerslam 2000
While TLC 2 was number four on my list, the first ever TLC match is my favorite WWE match of all time. After the triangle ladder match at Wrestlemania earlier in the year, The Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boyz, and Edge & Christian put on the first ever tables, ladders, and chairs match. This match introduced a lot of what happened in the second TLC, but seeing all the huge bumps like Bubba Ray Dudley falling from the top of a ladder through two sets of tables stacked up, and Jeff Hardy missing a Swanton Bomb off the top of a ladder falling through a table. Edge & Christian would go on to win the match and the WWF Tag Team Titles in a match I have re-watched more than any other.
If you have time (which you probably do) I highly recommend checking out some classic WWE matches and re-living your childhood like I have been while sports are shut down, you will not be disappointed.
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