The Top Ten 4.24.07: Backlash Matches

Posted by Julian Williams on 04.24.2007

When WrestleMania doesn't settle anything, Thank God we have Backlash to set things straight. I don't know what I would do without Backlash. Probably cry. In a manly sort of way.

Greetings people and welcome back to another badass edition of The Top Ten. I'm your ass kicking host, Julian, and this week we're going to look back at The Top Ten Backlash Matches. Backlash has been around for nine years and has come to be known as the PPV where all the loose ends from Wrestlemania are tied up. You'll usually have a rematch of the main event at WM as well as a continuation of some feuds and the beginning of some new ones. Backlash usually has been hit-or-miss as some shows are superb while others are lackluster. Regardless, we're going to look at some of the best matches in its history as Backlash has created some truly memorable matches. Ok, enough stalling, let's get into this shit.

Reader Feedback

First up is Nick who starts to see things my way when it comes to The Undertaker due to my VAST Knowledge and SUPERIOR Writing Skills. The check's in the mail, Nick:

Julian –

Yikes! I guess I hit a nerve calling Undertaker overrated. It is interesting none of the matches listed are before 1996 as McMahon learned that putting him against good wrestlers instead of Bundy, Gonzalez, et al… could lead to better matches. Whouda thunk? I admit his match with Batista at this year's Mania was way better than I or anyone imagined and I actually liked it better than HBK/Cena. I would not have bet any money on that. And come to think of it his Wrestlemania matches with Orton and Diesel (of all people) were pretty good as well. I did not see the Angle match from last year, but everyone and their mother says it was awesome and I'm not one to doubt Bruce Mitchell. So here's a little love for Taker even though he will never be one of my favorites. Now, can make me change my mind about Sid?

I've always noticed that a lot of times when people talk about how much The Undertaker sucks, they neglect to mention all the great matches he's had or say it was because of the person he wrestled why the match was good. But when you look at his bad matches, they are against people like King Kong Bundy, The Great Khali, Giant Gonzalez, and Heidenreich and honestly, who the hell could have good matches with those slugs? When you put ‘Taker in the ring with somebody who is even an adequate performer (like Batista or Diesel), he is going to have a good match. So even if you don't like The Undertaker, can you at least be like Nick and show the man a little love. Don't tempt me about changing your mind about Sid, I'll bust out a Top Ten Sid Matches list. Be scared. Very scared.



Next up is Dan, who has a bone to pick one of the picks on my ‘Taker list:

Hey man,
I don't get it. Why does everyone love Taker/HHH from WMX7. I really think the rest fo the show was SO GOOD that this match draws some greatness residue. The reasons you mentioned I disagree with on every account. First and foremost: the ref bump. Taker drops an elbow on the ref and the ref stays down for OVER 10 MINUTES!!! An elbow drop! Why not just Tombstone the man? HHH and Taker brawled throughout the arena and when they return the ref IS STILL OUT!!! It made me laugh watching it back in 2001 and its worse today. Second: The Triple H bump: OK, when Taker chokeslammed him from the scaffold it did look cool UNTIL the showed the reverse angle and we see Triple H BOUNCE from the soft cushion he landed on. That again killed the entire impact. Third and finally: the ending. In 2001 no one cared about Taker's undefeated Wrestlemania streak. Triple H was coming off the biggest match of his career where he beat Stone Cold 2-1 in 3 stages of hell at No Way Out and with Austin beating Rock later and turning heel, a Triple H win here and face turn to face heel Austin would have rocked throughout the Summer. They had the perfect ending, with Triple H using the sledge to counter the Last Ride but then they had to soothe Taker's ego and have him win minutes later.
This was a good/decent power match, but this was not the end all be all classic you and other are building it as. Hell, in my star ratings, I had Test/Eddie Guerrero for the European Title at *** and Taker/Triple H at **1/2.

Dan is one of the very few people I've ever encountered that don't like this match. Everyone has a right to their opinion so if he didn't like it, I can't say he's wrong, even though I can't imagine how somebody couldn't like this match. I actually liked the fact that the ref was knocked out for 10 minutes because these refs are like 150 pounds soaking wet so when I see them get knocked down by a 300+ pound wrestler and get up like 2 minutes later, it bugs the shit out of me. And when ‘Taker dropped the elbow on the ref, he was already on the mat and it seemed like his head bounced off the mat which would make it look like the ref got knocked unconscious. It isn't out of the realm of possibility. The scaffold bump did lose some of its luster once you realized that Trips landed on a cushioned pad, but the visual of ‘Taker dumping him over the side of it was still very cool. I can understand Dan's gripes, but I still love this match. And no Test match should be rated higher than any Undertaker or HHH match. Ever.

Next up is Matt who sends in his WM24 card and has a few thoughts on mine:

Wassup Julian. I really enjoy your top 10 list
however I must say I disagree with your Mania 24 card.
Neither Rey Mysterio or CM Punk deserve to be in
title matches. Mysterio only got his first title win
at Mania 22 because Eddie died. His win was an insult
to Eddie Guerrero's legacy and in my opinion our
intelligence. As for ECW's resident Puker CM Punk who
I call CM Puke the man flat out can't wrestle. His
moveset is more limited than the IWC's favorite target
John Cena and the main sucks all of the charisma out
of the arena when he talks. I would definetly have
both men alot lower on the card which is below. I
know this looks like alot of matches but to me this is
the amount we should get when paying $50 for a 4 hour
show. My thinking is the ECW TV Title could be
relatively new still at Mania with Holly winning a
tournament at No Way Out or sometime before No Way
Out. You could then move the belt to CM Punk and see
if he can flourish with it.

* indicates reigning champion

Fatal 4 Way for Cruiserweight Title
Rey Mysterio* vs Jamie Noble vs Jimmy Wang Yang vs
Chavo Guerrero

Extreme Rules for ECW TV Title
Hardcore Holly* vs Kevin Thorne vs CM Punk

World Tag Team Titles
World's Greatest Tag Team* vs London/Kendrick

WWE Tag Team Titles
Duece & Domino* vs Blue Bloodz (Regal & Taylor)

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Carlito vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit vs Johnny
Nitro vs Jeff Hardy vs Kenny Doane vs Elijah Burke vs
Rob Van Damm

US Title
Matt Hardy* vs MVP

Womens Title
Victoria* vs Mickie James

Hardcore Match
Triple H vs Edge

IC Title
Chris Masters* vs Finlay

Undertaker vs Umaga

ECW Title
Monty Brown* vs Bobby Lashley

Triple Threat Match for World Title
Randy Orton* vs Booker T vs Batista

WWF Title
Mr Kennedy* vs John Cena

Note: John Cena won the Royal Rumble

Even though I like Matt's WM24 card, especially Cena/Kennedy and Taker/Umaga, I can't believe he called both Rey Mysterio and CM Punk unworthy. Granted, Rey's title win last year was mainly centered around him being Eddie's friend and it seemed like a pity title win, but that shouldn't take away from the fact that Rey is one of the most exciting and popular performers on the Smackdown roster. He constantly puts on great matches and is super over with the fans, especially children and Latinos. He brings in revenue and has good matches practically every night. Sounds like a worthy champion to me. As for CM Punk, how can anybody possibly think the man can't wrestle or talk? If someone has only seen his WWE work, I could understand that assessment since he's usually only involved in 5 minute matches and given 30 seconds to speak. But once he starts climbing up the ladder of the WWE and is involved in longer matches and given significant promo time, I think everybody will see how great he truly is.

Joakim is next in line and he gives me some props for my WM24 card:

Hey.

I just wanted to comment on your proposed WM24 card. I thought it was
really good. I especially like Cena-Rock, Sting-Flair,
Kennedy-Michaels and Taker-Edge. I agree with pretty much all the
other matchups as well, but those four seemed especially well thought
out. They all have that "big match" feeling, and I can definitely see
them drawing tons of money if they spend enough time building it up.

Cena-Rock seems tailor-made for dueling promos. We all know Cena's
good on the mic, but unless you've seen him on talkshows or "Five
Questions" you haven't really seen how funny he can be. The match
itself would be good too. Maybe not from a workrate point of view, but
lots of theatrics, and insane crowd response.

Sting-Flair, especially if promoted as a retirement match could
definitely draw huge. Even if not, it's still definitely Legend vs
Legend. They both have what it takes to still pull out a great match,
and they have great chemistry with each other, and they know each
other very well from the WCW days. They are both great on the mic as
well. This will bring in die-hard WCW fans, and hell, anyone who wants
to see to legends face off.

Kennedy-Michaels looks fantastic to me. Kennedy is one of my absolute
favourite wrestlers, and Michaels' WrestleMania performance is in
unquestionable. Ideally I'd like Kennedy to save his MITB shot all the
way until the next WrestleMania where he challenges Michaels. It's not
as heelish as Edge's "opportune moment" thing, but it'll give him much
more "respect" in the eyes of the audience for his inevitable face
turn. Hell, maybe Kennedy already turned face before this match.
Michaels make a great heel. Regardless, Michaels can make Kennedy a
huge star with a good long build and a fantastic match.

Taker-Edge could be huge just for the streak-streak thing, depending
on if they want to go with Edge's injury in WM23 made it "not count".
Otherwise it could be a basic build really, cocky Edge disrespecting
Taker, you know the basics. I'd like it if Edge didn't show so much
fear to Taker's undead antics. The best parts of the Kennedy-Taker
feud was when Kennedy had the upper hand and didn't back down. The
part where he smashed Taker's head open with the microphone was
awesome, as was the promo he cut afterwards, holding the bloody mic. I
could see something similar with Edge, blasting Taker with
Con-chair-tos and such. As for who would win? I think Taker deserves
to retire having never been beat at WM, but Edge eventually should win
the feud at Backlash or something.

The other matches all sound good, and I'd especially like to see
London & Kendrick vs. TWGTT properly built up and given enough time.
They're all so good and constantly overlooked on PPVs.

Anyway, that's all for me.

I was actually surprised by all the positive feedback I got for my WM24 card since when it comes to making lineups for PPV's, people very rarely share the same view. I think everyone can agree that Rock/Cena would be money and lets all pray to the wrestling gods that Vince finds some way to make it happen. I still love the idea of Sting/Flair because I think that match could be a show stealer if both men are motivated. I agree with Joakim that ‘Taker shouldn't lose to Edge if that match does happen because at this point, ‘Taker deserves to retire with that streak. Have ‘Taker win at ‘Mania and then have Edge beat him at a future PPV, maybe in a retirement match. And then ‘Taker can retire and only come back on very rare occasions. It's fun coming up with WM lineups, even though probably none of the matches I listed will come to fruition, but it's fun to dream. Right now I'm dreaming about Nadine Velazquez.



MmMmMmMm.

And finally we have Matt, who enjoyed the trip down WCW memory lane:

Julian,

Great stuff! I remember many of those matches. Wow, that column brought
back some memories, thanks a million.

Can't wait for the pre-WCW NWA Top 10. Flair/Steamboat/Piper/Greg
Valentine in any combo, singles or tag, had legendary matches all over
the Mid-Atlantic for several years, which explains why Flair and
Steamboat had such a great WCW series: the two knew each other very
well
and still had that great in-ring chemistry.

Of course, pre WCW NWA gives you a TON of things to choose from, so I
don't envy you. I would pass out trying to come up with a list. The
early/mid-80's era NWA was great stuff - can't wait!

Thanks for the work! Great column!

I'm glad I could help Matt relieve some good WCW memories. WCW became such a joke during its dying days that people sometimes forget how could it was at times. They had a ton of great matches and fantastic personalities and it's ironic how their greatest creation (the nWo) would wind up being their downfall. There is even greater stuff in the pre-WCW days so Matt is right for saying that's going to be a hard list to come up with. I do not envy the poor fuck that has to do that. Ohh wait a second, that's me. Son of a bitch.

That's all for this week people. Be sure to send in all your feedback and let me know just how much you love or despise the column. I love the haters as much as the supporters because then I can be like those fat chicks on MySpace who swear they have all these so-called "haters". Yea, somebody is really hating on that quadruple chin. I could see that.

Random Thoughts Of A Disturbed Wrestling Fan

-Ya know, sometimes the ‘E finds ways to just royally piss me off. I usually give them a lot of leniency as I realize they can't be perfect all the time, but sometimes they make decisions that just baffle me. London & Kendrick were tag champs for almost a year and provided quality match after quality match at every Smackdown PPV. So they get repaid for that by not having a match at Wrestlemania 23 and being shunted to lumberjacks in the pre-match show despite the fact that they are the tag champs. Ok fine. Then the Hardys win the Raw tag titles which seemed to be setting up a future clash between the Hardyz and the Hooliganz which would have propelled London & Kendrick to newfound heights of popularity. But instead, London & Kendrick lose their titles, the ones they've held for ELEVEN MONTHS, to Deuce & Domino on free TV. What?!? How they hell do you end an eleven month title reign on free TV? And how do you make these guys lose to Deuce & Domino of all people?! I like Deuce & Domino's gimmick, but they are nowhere near ready to be tag champs. They still have a lot of refining to do before they should be put in that position. I pray to God that this is just a mini-feud and L&K can win the tag titles back very shortly and go on to feud with the Hardyz. Those matches would be awesome and they would raise the popularity of L&K, which would help groom them into becoming the next legendary tag team.

-I really need to stop reading spoilers because they really do ruin the surprise factor of the shows sometimes. Like on Monday, I read the spoilers for Raw even though I only had to wait like 3 more hours until Raw started and as a result one of the greatest upset victories in recent WWE history was completely spoiled for me. If I had just watched the show without reading the spoilers, I would have thought there was no way in hell this crowd plant was going to beat Umaga and that Umaga was going to decimate him until Lashley came out to save the kid from serious injury. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that they would actually make the crowd plant win the match and become the new IC Champion. Who would have ever thought that?!? But sometimes I need the spoilers because if I had seen London & Kendrick lose their tag titles on free TV without reading about it beforehand, I wouldn't have even watched the rest of Smackdown that night.

-I'm really starting to dig The Tudors on Showtime. It's all about treachery, deceit and violence and has numerous hot British lasses getting banged out MEDIEVAL STYLE. How can you not love that?

-30 Rock is now officially in the competition for best comedy on TV. Every episode, Tracy Jordan says something out of his mouth that's ridiculously outlandish and funny as hell. My favorite Tracy Jordan quote of the week: "I'm gonna be so rich that my kids are gonna play lacrosse. LACROSSE!!"

-Speaking of great comedies on TV, how can I not mention Reno 911? Every episode has a moment or two that have me on the verge of tears from laughing so hard. The episode a few weeks ago with the naked man from the future with an uzi is one of the funniest things I've seen all year. My favorite quote from naked crazy guy from the future: "I'm gonna sue you like your momma didn't know. LIKE YOUR MOMMA DIDN'T KNOW!!"

-Todd Grisham is the worst ring announcer in the history of ring announcing. Seriously, did Vince lose a bet or something where he has to have Grisham go out their and sound like an idiot while trying to announce the wrestlers. I know Lillian's out for a while, but where's Chimel? Hell, I'll take the ECW guy over Grisham.

-Randy Orton is an idiot. He's numerously been placed in top tier feuds and he numerously has fucked it up by doing some dumb shit. If the rumor of him trashing his hotel room has any merit, I wouldn't blame WWE if they fired his ass because maybe that's the only way he'll learn to stop acting like a damn 5 year old. Orton should be a multiple time WWE Champion by now, but his constant immaturity is fucking him up. Randy Orton might turn into a "Where is he now" in a couple years if he keeps this shit up.

-That Cena/Michaels match on Raw was one of the best free TV matches I've seen in YEARS. Probably the best free TV match since HHH/Michaels in December 2003. Just awesome, classic stuff. That's a match that will be remembered for years, probably as much as their ‘Mania match.

-I love Maria. That is all.



The Top Ten Backlash Matches

Honorable Mention: Dean Malenko vs. Scotty 2 Hotty (2000)
Scotty 2 Hotty? In a good match?!?! Yes folks, believe it. This was a match for the Light Heavyweight Championship held by Dean Malenko and believe it or not, at the time, Scotty was a credible (and popular) contender. This match featured Dean targeting Scotty's leg and working it over to perfection. To Scotty's credit, he fought back valiantly and it seemed that he might actually dethrone The Ladies Man, Dean Malenko (remember that gimmick? WTF?). Scotty was able to hit the Worm, but Dean-O was able to shake that off and hit a Tigerbomb which Scotty was surprisingly able to kick out of. Scotty then stopped Dean when he tried to go upstairs and attempted a superplex, but Dean reversed that in mid-air and PLANTED Scotty with a DDT. And when I say planted, I mean PLANTED, it looked like Scotty was fucking dead. Great match with a great finish and a testimony to the awesomeness that is James Bon….I mean, Dean Malenko.

Honorable Mention: Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Jericho (2005)
This was technically a battle over the Intercontinental title, but this was really a matter of respect as Y2J wanted to prove to Shelton that he was the better man and even went so far as to make a song suggesting that Shelton Benjamin was a little bitch. I wonder why that song never cracked the Billboard 100? Anyhow, this match was pure excellence as both men showcased their technical brilliance and this was the first match where Shelton busted out the leaping-to-the-top-rope-superplex. I remember jumping out of my seat and screaming like a man bitch when I saw that. Unbelievable stuff. They continued trading some nice counter moves and getting numerous near falls until the final sequence where Shelton countered a Walls of Jericho attempt into a rollup, and Jericho countered that, and then Benjamin countered that into a jackknife rollup for the 3 count. This was a fantastic opening match and shows just how truly talented Benjamin is, which makes it all the more frustrating to see where his spot on the roster currently is.

10) Triple H vs. The Rock (2000)
This match featured Shane McMahon as the special guest referee and he seemed to be out to screw The Rock out of his chance of regaining the WWE Title. On top of Shane as ref, Rock also had to deal with both Stephanie and Vince McMahon being in HHH's corner. The match featured Rock fighting his best against the odds which included Shane fast counting and Vince & Stephanie creating distraction from the outside. This match also features one of the coolest spots ever as The Rock gave the Rock Bottom to both Shane and HHH simultaneously when Shane tried to stop Rocky from giving HHH a Rock Bottom through the announce table. The odds seemed to be too much for Rock after Vince clocked him in the head with a steel chair, but then the glass broke and Stone Cold Steve Austin came out and proceeded to beat the shit out of everybody in his way with a steel chair. Rock was able to use that to his advantage and give a spinebuster and then a People's Elbow to HHH to pick up the three count and his fourth WWE Championship. Great match with an insanely hot ending.

9) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock (1999)
This was a rematch to the main event of WM15, but this time Shane McMahon was assigned as a ref to try to screw Austin from retaining his title. This was a No-DQ match, so these two men brawled all around ringside. The Rock was able to gain the advantage after delivering a Rock Bottom through the announce table and it seemed like it was only a matter of time until the belt was back around the waist of The Great One. In a cool little moment from this match, Rock assumed the role of cameraman while Austin was out and he flipped off Austin and talked a bunch of smack while he filmed the crowd. Then suddenly when he turned back, Austin was back up and gave him the double bird before giving him a stunner. It was cool because you saw Rock getting the stunner from his point of view so it was like the viewer at home was receiving the stunner. Cool stuff. The finish started when Shane accidentally hit The Rock with a belt, but refused to count for Austin when he covered Rocky. This brought out Vince (who was in the midst of one of his yearly one month face turns) who clocked Shane with the title belt and sent in Earl Hebner to ref the rest of the match. Soon Austin was able to hit a Stunner and hit Rocky with a belt shot to retain his title. A fun match with some entertaining brawling makes this a must-see match.

8) Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho (2000)
This was a battle for the Intercontinental Championship as both men were trying to make a name for themselves early in their WWE careers. The match started off with an intense lockup and the intensity didn't cease as the rest of the match saw the two young Canadians wail on each other with some stiff shots. Some memorable spots in the match included Benoit dropkicking steel steps in Jericho's knee, Benoit suplexing Jericho over the rope and to the floor, and Benoit crashing on the floor after missing a suicide dive. The two men beat the hell out of each other until Benoit had enough and got the IC Title belt and cracked Jericho over the head with it. Jericho kicked out of that so Benoit suplexed Jericho on it and went up top to deliver a headbutt, but Y2J moved out the way which made Benoit smack his head on the IC Title. The ref happened to see that and called a DQ on Jericho, believing he was the one who had brought the title belt into the ring. Jericho snapped at that point and put the ref into the Walls Of Jericho to get some retribution for a horrible decision. Even though it had a screwy ending, this match was fantastic but when it comes to Jericho/Benoit, a great match is practically mandatory.

7) Eddie Guerrero vs. Rob Van Dam (2002)
This was Eddie's return to Pay-Per-View after his much documented battle with various addictions and he showed the world that he hadn't lost a step in this fantastic match. This feud started when Eddie made his surprising return by attacking RVD the night after RVD had won the IC Title at WM18 and soon challenged him for his newly won title. RVD started off the match strongly with a lot of vicious kicks which took Eddie off of his game. Eddie was able to gain control after delivering a Dragon Screw and looked to dissect RVD from that point on. RVD would make some valiant comebacks and get a few near falls, but the match was mainly dominated by Eddie who busted out the moveset including a SWEET rolling powerbomb off the top rope. The match ended when Eddie delivered a neckbreaker to RVD on top of the IC belt when the ref was down and then delivered a frog splash for the pin. CHEAT 2 WIN!!! A great re-debut for Eddie and it would only be a couple of years before he reached the pinnacle of the wrestling world as WWE Champion.

6) Edge vs. Chris Benoit (2005)
This was a Last Man Standing match as these two men had butted heads so many times over the previous months that this was the only way to resolve it. This match featured some insane spots like Benoit getting THWACKED in the head with a garbage can lid with attempting a suicide dive, Benoit getting superplexed onto a trashcan, and Benoit giving Edge a German Suplex from a ladder to the mat below. Edge tried numerous times to make Benoit stay down after delivering a Spear, but Benoit kept getting up. Edge eventually lost his cool and clobbered Benoit with a brick that he had hidden inside his Money In The Bank briefcase. That was enough to keep Benoit down for the ten count and it showed just how tough he was that Edge needed a BRICK to keep him down for 10. This was just a compelling and fun match that is definitely one of the best Last Man Standing matches I've ever seen.

5) Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (2001)
This was a rematch of their classic WM17 match, but this match wasn't fought under regular rules. It was a 30-minute ultimate submission match to determine which man truly was the better technical wrestler. They started off the match with some nice amateur stuff and Benoit seemed to have the early advantage after applying a Crippler Crossface on the floor and hurting Kurt's shoulder. Angle was able to quickly counter Benoit into a legbar once back inside the ring and that made Benoit tap around the 7 minute mark. Benoit was able to tie things up just a little over a minute later when he worked over Kurt's shoulder by applying an armbar which was enough to make Angle tap out. Benoit was relentless in attacking Kurt's shoulder at that point, but Kurt used his 3 I's to grab a steel chair and whack Benoit with it and then slap on an Anklelock for a submission to go up one on Benoit. Benoit was still out from the chairshot, so Kurt put Benoit in a Crossface for another submission to go up two points on Benoit. Angle didn't settle for that lead and tried furiously to get Benoit to tap again, but Benoit was able to counter Angle and set up a Sharpshooter, but Angle made it to the rope. So Benoit decided to up the violence by applying a Half Crab and putting his knee on Kurt's head to ensure Angle had no choice but to tap out. Benoit was only down 1 now with about 10 minutes left, so Kurt tried to buy as much time as possible to avoid getting the match tied up. That worked for about 10 minutes, until Benoit countered the Anklelock into one of his own and got Angle to tap out with 2 minutes left on the clock. Those two minutes featured both men trying their damndest to make the other tap out and Kurt finally hooked in the Anklelock as time was expiring, but Benoit didn't tap until after time had already expired. So it was decided that the match would go into sudden death and it was only 2 minutes into the overtime where Benoit locked in the Crossface to make Angle tap out and win the match. This is a great showcase of submission wrestling and anybody who likes seeing tapouts should definitely check out this one.

4) John Cena vs. Edge vs. Triple H (2006)
I've watched this match a couple more times since initially seeing it and it's one of those matches that get better with repeated viewing. Going into this match, many people expected a solid outing from these three, but they far surpassed that and gave us a fantastic match. The odds seemed to be against Cena again and many people thought there was no way that he was leaving champ, but once again he was able to pull it off with a counter rollup to the Pedigree. All three men took tons of punishment, especially The Game who bled gallons of blood. A fun match to watch that was wall to wall action from bell to bell.

3) Edge vs. Kurt Angle (2002)
This match came about after Edge beat Angle on an episode of Smackdown and began mocking him, which pissed off Angle and made him hot for revenge. Edge started off the match hot on offense and beat Kurt to the punch on everything. That all changed when Kurt hit a sweet German suplex and followed up with a suplex buffet to Edge. From there on, it was a back and forth match which both men constantly countering the others attempt at a finishing move. The final portions of the match were fast-paced and exciting as Angle countered an Edge-o-matic into an Angle Slam for a two count and then hooked in the Anklelock which Edge rolled into for a two count, and then Angle went for a steel chair but missed hitting Edge with it and instead bounced it off the ropes and into his own head which enabled Edge to hit an Edge-o-matic for a two count. The ending came when Edge went for a spear, but Angle kneed him in the face and then hit the Angle Slam for the three count. I love that finishing sequence, it's one of my favorites. These two always had great chemistry together and that statement was proven in this exemplary match.

2) Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley (2004)
This is a personal favorite of mine as I loved this feud and I felt that this was the perfect culmination for it. This match made Randy Orton a star and proved that Mick Foley is willing to put people over for the good of the business. After months of taunting and abusing Mick and even squeaking by with a win in a tag match at WM20, Randy now had to face off against Mick one-on-one. But this wasn't just any kind of match and Randy wasn't facing the lovable, friendly Foley. It was a hardcore match and Randy was now facing Cactus Jack! The match was a brutal affair that Randy was surprisingly able to hold his own in. Cactus started off the match by trying to maim Orton with a baseball bat covered in barbed wire, which Orton frantically used a garbage can to block. After a cameraman got knocked over, Orton used the distraction to drop toe hold Cactus and take temporary control of the match. Cactus was able to regain control match soon enough and busted Orton wide open with a shot to the head with the barbwire covered baseball bat. Cactus went so far as to try to try to light his barbwire bat on fire until Eric Bischoff came out and threatened to shut down the whole PPV if Cactus did that. Cactus then decided to up the violence by bringing out a board covered in barbwire, but Orton threw the Evil Baby Powder Of Cheatery to gain the advantage and slam Cactus onto the barbwire board. Ouchies! Orton then set the barbwire board up in the corner and whipped Cactus face first into it. Double Ouchies! Orton then tried to prove his hardcoreness by pulling out some thumbtacks and went to RKO Cactus onto the tacks, but Cactus countered by throwing Orton back first onto the tacks! That was the first time I ever saw somebody go into a pile of tacks with no shirt on and the sight of seeing hundreds of tacks stuck all around the body of Randy Orton was completely unbelievable. Say what you will about Orton, but that was a MAN-SIZED bump. With some extra nuts on the side. The men then brawled up the ramp and Cactus proceeded to hurl Orton off of the stage and threw some table below and followed up with a Cactus elbow from the top of the ramp. That sequence is even more impressive considering that Orton still had a ton of tacks stuck inside of him so you know it must of hurt like a bitch to land on them when he got thrown off the stage. Orton showed a whole ton of guts by kicking out of that elbow and after a couple more minutes of brawling, the match ended when Randy hit an RKO on Cactus on the barbwire bat. This was a bloody, intriguing epic that is just as fun to watch today as it was during its original showing.

1) Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (2004)
This match was a rematch to (in my opinion) the greatest Wrestlemania main event of all time, but this time Chris Benoit walked in as the Champion and the match was being held in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. These three men had some big shoes to fill as their WM match was an all-time classic and even though they weren't able to surpass that effort in this match, this match was still one of the greatest triple threat matches I've ever seen. There was a lot of heat on Shawn Michaels from the very beginning because those Canucks were booing the hell out of him since he was opposing one of their sons and we all know what happened in Montreal. To try and recap this match would take forever since it was nearly 30 minutes of pure action, but some of the high points of it included Shawn Michaels hooking in the Sharpshooter on Benoit when Earl "You Screwed Bret" Hebner ran down to ask Benoit if he wanted to give up since the original ref was knocked out. It was a moment that drew unbelievable heat from the fans in attendance because they feared that Vince would screw with them again and have Hebner ring the bell in favor for Michaels. Earl teased calling for the bell a couple times, but Benoit was able to fight out of the Sharpshooter and the match continued. The rest of the match was classic as Benoit fought off the best offense of both challengers and was able to slap on the Sharpshooter on HBK and Michaels tapped out, much to the delight of the Canadian fans. It was a measure of retribution for what happened in Montreal as the Canadian fans got to see one of their greatest homegrown talents take out Michaels. Classic stuff that should be viewed by anybody who's a fan of the WM20 Triple Threat Match (and really, who isn't?).

Drive-By Pimpin'

Check out all these great columns by my 411 brethren:

-Andy Clark's "Shimmy"
-Ari's "Column Of Honor"
-Sean, Alex and David's "Triple Threat"
-Bayani's "Truth B Told"
-Weyer's "Shining The Spotlight"
-Byers' "Cheap Wrestling for Cheap People"
-Larry and Geoff's "3R's"
-Fact Or Fiction
-O'Dog's " Goodness"
-Sat and Uncle Trunx's "High Road/Low Road"
-Phill Feltham's "Quick Talkdown"
-Sarnecky's "Piledriver Report"
-Slimmer's News Report
-Hidden Highlights
-Carapola's "That Was Then" and "Friendly Competition"
-The Fink's Payload
-Gamble's "Just 'Spose"
-Cook's "Ask 411"
-Meehan's "Meethinks"
-Sforcina's "Evolution Schematic"
-Prag's "In Defense Of?."
-Wrestlers of the Week
-Sullivan's "Crystal Ball"
-Randle's "Wrestling News Experience"
-Joe Boo's "Ringside Or Cheap Seats"
-Linkous' "WWE vs. TNA"
-Double M's Rasslin Report
-News To Start Your Weekend
-Dunn's Rawtopsy, Smackdown Breakdown, & ECW eXperience
-Cook's "News From Cook's Corner"
-Mike LaFave's "Getting Over"
-Your News, Larry's Views
-Mike Hamflett's "Storylines"
-Rodriquez's "Puerto Rico Report"
-Zac Calhoun's "The Ripple Effect"

The Sign-Off

Nothing more to see here, keep the line moving folks. Be sure to send in your feedback and come back next week when we celebrate Santino Marella by looking back at The Top Ten Upset Victories. Which is pretty much anytime Val Venis wins a match nowadays.