The 8-Ball 12:22:11: The Top 8 Triple Threat Matches

Welcome everyone to the first edition of The 8-Ball. I am Ross Rutherford, and I am very pleased to present to you my very first contribution to 411mania.I will be posting a new edition of The 8-Ball on a weekly basis so be sure to come by every Thursday. Before we begin, I would like to make it clear that this is a personal list based on my opinions. Everyone has different opinions. That is what makes pro wrestling fans so interesting. Almost no two fans like the same exact things. So enjoy my point of view as we look at my personal favorite tripe threat matches.

With The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and CM Punk having just faced off in the first ever triple threat TLC match for the WWE Championship, I decided this would be an excellent time to take a look at some of the greatest three way matches ever contested within the confides of the squared circle. The triple threat match is by far one of the most interesting, suspenseful, yet subtle gimmick matches in pro wrestling. When done right, the result is a fantastic display of in-ring chemistry and ring psychology. However, triple threat matches are not always easy matches to pull off. It is challenging enough for just two wresters to work together to create an entertaining match, but by throwing another athlete into the fray you risk having guys thrown off their game by having another person to contend with. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of hate for not including a couple of the legendary three-way dances from ECW. In all honesty, after re-watching those matches some of them have no aged well at all. No disrespect intended toward the hardcore promotion. With that being said, let us take a look at some of the greatest Three-Way Dances of all time.

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The 8 Greatest Triple Threat Matches

Honorable Mention: Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (WWE Wrestlemania 2000)

This match is not a typical three-way dance. This triple threat match was not for one title and featured two pin falls, not one. Kurt Angle was forced to defend both his Intercontinental and European Championship against “Y2J’ Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. The first fall was for the Intercontinental Championship and the second fall was for the European Championship.

Interestingly enough, this was the first Wrestlemania for all three of these guys who would later go on to be considered three of the greatest pro wrestlers to wrestle in the WWE during the 2000s. Jericho, Benoit, and Angle jammed as much action as they could into the few minutes they were given to perform. Sometime I really miss watching two submission-based wrestlers go at it. We are seeing less and less of that as the years go by. Wrestlers are turning into highflying acrobats. This match is a nice reminder of what wrestling is by three of the best examples we have.

Give this match a watch. I consider it to be the best match of Wresltemania 2000. I hate to leave it out of the 8-Ball, but I’m still really happy I could give it an honorable mention.

#8: Daniel Bryan vs. John Morrison vs. The Miz (WWE Hell in a Cell 2010)

I just had to include this match. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of flak for including a match that is so recent, but I really feel like this match flew under everyone’s radar. You also have to take in account that this is the only match of its kind. How often have you seen a triple threat submissions count anywhere match? It was just so drastically different than anything we’ve seen in WWE in awhile.

The Miz, John Morrison, and Daniel Bryan have the shortest match on this list, but what they manage to do with only 13 short minutes is really impressive. The fact that this match could only be won by submission really helped to motivate these guys to work submissions into the match. We see Bryan, The Miz, and Morrison utilized some very interesting innovative offense to try and win the United States Championship. This also was not your typical submission match. Morrison still took to the air and the match still spilled outside. Daniel Bryan won after making his former mentor, The Miz, tap out.

Had they been given more time I think this match could have easily been featured high on this list. Even still, this was a great mid-card match featuring three really talented guys.

#7: John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Edge (WWE Backlash 2006)

I remember at the close of 2006 many fans said that the year was one of the most horrible years for wrestling in the last decade. While, it was a transitional period I still find 2006 to be a very interesting year in the history of North America’s largest wrestling promotion. 2006 was very much all about the rise of Edge. This was also the year John Cena experienced more fan backlash than ever before. He got booed at ECW One Night Stand, he got booed at Unforgiven in Toronto, and he got booed at Backlash. This match is interesting in the sense that Triple H is basically trying to get two guys over at the same time.

The match tells a serviceable story. Triple H has a lot to prove. John Cena handed him an embarrassing defeat a month earlier at Wrestlemania. So Triple H was trying to show up Cena and in the background you have Edge waiting for his opportunity to strike. I remember watching this love thinking Triple H had it won, but just as he was about to hit Cena with the pedigree John flipped him over and snuck out a three count for the win.

This was very brutal match for the WWE compared to their style now days. Anyways, give this match a watch. The build up to this match was very well done and all three guys did a great job telling their own story.

#6: Rob Van Dam vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle ( WWENo Mercy 2001)

The main event for 2001’s No Mercy took place during the incredibly disappointing Invasion Story Arc. While I have never been a fan of it from a storyline perspective I do admit that some of my favorite matches of all time have taken place during this ill-fated story arc.

From Austin and Angle’s encounter at SummerSlam in 2001 to that November’s Survivor Series match, I really love some of the encounters that took place during this period of time. The story goes that Austin and Van Dam, both representing The Alliance, would be competing against each other for Austin’s WWE Championship. Austin, playing a paranoid heel and the leader of The Alliance, grew frustrated with the fact that one of his own was trying to take the title from him. So at No Mercy you had Angle trying to bring the title back to the WWE, Austin who would have done anything to remain WWE Champion, and Van Dam who, despite playing a heel also, was one of the most over guys in the WWE at this time.

The match played excellently, if not a bit clunky in the opening moments. You have one of the best brawlers ever, a high skilled suplexing machine, and an excellent highflying acrobat. They, together, put on a very exciting main event. The only thing that hindered this match was the fact that it began a little sloppy and was so heavily overbooked with run-ins from both Vince and Shane McMahon near its end. Regardless of that, this is still a great main event.

#5: Triple H vs. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle (WWE SummerSlam 2000)

This match, in my opinion, features one of the most personal and heated rivalries of all the matches on this list. Triple H and Kurt Angle had been feuding due to Angle having an improper relationship with Triple H’s wife, Stephanie McMahon.

The match began with only The Rock and Triple H. This was result of Angle and Triple H brawling before the opening bell. Triple H was getting ready to pedigree Angle through the Spanish announcer’s table when it gave way. Angle had not properly prepared to take the bump and was taken to the back. So that left us with only The Rock and Triple H to carry a majority of this contest. Triple H and Rocky had a great exchange and managed to keep going despite missing Angle. Mid-way through the main event Angle returned and nearly stole the victory from Triple H. The Rock, however, eased out the victory after Angle and Triple H became distracted by Stephanie McMahon.

This match was very story line driven, and it was very dramatic and over the top. However, it made for a very dramatic main event contest. All three guys where in the prime of the careers and delivered a great match, despite Angle missing out on a majority of it.

#4: AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin (TNA Final Resolution 2005)

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a match that represents what TNA initially became notable for.

The X-Division put TNA on the map back in 2005, and many thought that the small wrestling company stationed in Florida had a product that could provide an alternative to that of the WWEs. Listen to the crowd during this match and it looks and sounds like a completely different company put on this match compared to TNA today. Its painfully obvious that TNA’s priorities have changed in the 7 years since this contest. I’m not here to complain about TNA like every other wrestling writer; I would rather just look back fondly on all the things I loved about it.

I swear everything AJ Styles touched in 2005 was pure gold. I mean the man could do no wrong. If you want to watch inventive, innovative wrestling in one of the more interesting gimmick matches invented in the last decade you need to watch this Ultimate X match. The chemistry that Sabin, Styles, and Williams have in this match is spot on. There are a few awkward moments, like when Petey was left dangling right next to the title waiting for Style or Sabin to knock him down, but this is just a minor quill. This match is still a beautiful example as to what I loved about watching TNA during 2005.

After nearly 20 minutes of thrilling non-stop action, yes TNA’s name use to be actuate, AJ Styles won his fourth X-Division Championship after knocking the title our of the hands of Chris Sabin and Petey Williams who were having a tug-of-war with the belt as they hung from the high wire of the Ultimate X. What makes me love this match even more was how excited the TNA crowd was from the opening bell until the very end. You can tell they were the true TNA fans. If you never understood why TNA got a TV deal, if you never understood why they became so popular go back and watch matches like this.

#3: The Undertaker vs. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle (WWE Vengeance 2002)

I’ll have to admit that this is one of my personal favorites. This match is often considered by others that I’ve spoken to as one of the most underrated contests in the WWE over the past decade. I can’t disagree. What is there to dislike? The thing that makes this match stand out somewhat is that instead of the usual pattern of two wrestlers wrestling in the ring with one of the three being thrown to the outside, we get the treat of seeing all three for a majority of the match. Undertaker, Rock, and Angle did a great job of interacting in this match and the crowd at Vengeance reacted to everything these three workhorses did.

The thing that I found interesting was that they all had very different ways of pacing a match. Somehow all three of them managed to stay on the same page and put on a fantastic main event contest. We also see these guys steal one another’s finishing moves. It is a strange site seeing Undertaker hit an Angle Slam on Kurt Angle. The end of the match was fairy fast and furious. It appeared that Angle was going to get the win, but The Rock had other plans. The match ended with The Rock pinning Kurt Angle after the Rock Bottom. The Undertaker tried to break up the count but he was just a moment too late. This would be The Rock’s last WWE Championship and a he would later go on to “pass the torch” to Brock Lesnar a few months later at SummerSlam.

#2: Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (TNA Unbreakable 2005)

While I was still writing The Pro Wrestling Countdown, I named this match the greatest match in TNA history. After a decade of putting on shows, this is still the best match TNA has ever played host to. I’m sure there will be plenty of people who think this match is vastly overrated and blah, blah, blah. What fans need to understand is that to appreciate wrestling you have to embrace matches even when they do become notorious and famous amongst a wide wrestling audience. It is called cynicism and it is a terrible personality trait, my friends. This match is very notorious, and because of that it gets covered with hate from many online fans. What many fail to realize is that the match got a lot of attention from online fans in the first place. AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Samoa Joe’s match became so notable that it was given the nickname “The Unbreakable Three-Way” after the very event it took place at.

Despite all of these comments this match is riddled with moments that would make even the most snarky-wrestling fan stop and stare in awe. One moment that I’ll never forget is when Christopher Daniels monkey flipped Styles out of the corner. Styles then proceeded to front flip onto the shoulders of an oncoming Joe. Styles then performed a hurricanrana on the Samoan Submission Machine to the delight of the devote fans. I’ve never heard so many “this is awesome” chats from a crowd. The match was fast paced, and rarely took time to slow down. I mean, from start to finish Joe, Styles, and Daniels showed fans what TNA’s X-Division was all about.

“The Phenomenal “AJ Styles, “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, and “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe are all now considered to be the greatest talents to every come out of the small Florida promotion. I like to think the chemistry and ring awareness that they displayed during this match played a large part in all of that.

#1: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit vs. Triple H (WWE Wrestlemania XX)

This match is often considered the end all, be all off triple threat matches. Being the main event of the biggest wrestling show is difficult. There is an extreme amount of pressure to not only have the best match of the night, but one of the best matches of the year. For this reason, I believe that fans high expectations are often never met. We’ve seen Wrestlemania main event matches like Orton vs. Triple H and The Miz vs. John Cena fall completely flat for whatever reason. With that said the three-way dance from Wrestlemania XX might just be the greatest main event in Wrestlemania history.

You had two fantastic stories. One, a long running and personal feud between two bitter degenerates and another being a story of a man overcoming insurmountable odds to get his shot at dancing in the main event of Wrestlemania.
The final result was the benchmark for all other three-way dances. The drama, the suspense, and the desire on the faces of these men told a story. You could see the passion radiate off them as they crawled back to their feet time and time again during this match. I don’t think I need to talk about the quality of the match. By this point we all know Benoit, Michaels, and Triple H have had some of the best matches in WWE history, and this one is no different.

It all ended with Chris Benoit winning the World Heavyweight Championship. As Benoit became overcome with emotion staring at his great accomplishment, Eddie Guerrero entered the ring. The two friends raised their hands together. Eddie held the WWE Championship, and Chris held the World Heavyweight Championship. It now serves as a moment frozen in time. Eddie Guerrero died a year later, ironically on my birthday, after his years of substance abuse caught up to him. I remember actually crying that day over Eddie’s death. Chris Benoit would commit suicide and kill his wife and young son three years after achieving his dream that night at Madison Square Garden. It is somewhat tragic to go back and watch this incredible triple threat match and see Benoit and Guerrero fulfill their wildest dreams knowing that in the near future they would both be gone. I suppose this is all a bit too deep for a list, but it was hard for me to watch that again. It reminded me that I should value every day I have, because none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.

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Well that will do it for the first edition of The 8-Ball. Be sure to come back next Thursday for edition #2. Also take a look around the rest of 411mania for other great articles. Have a great holiday guys. Bye!