Most underrated match of the decade???

[The Idiot]

It may not have been as great as the 90's...but this past decade has provided some of the greatest matches in the history of pro wrestling (yes, I still call it that).
People will talk about their favorite matches and you see them posted all day long, and for good reason. But I believe there have been many that were over looked and not given their just due.

Let's hear what you guys think are the most underrated matches of the decade. Anything from a curtain jerker to a world title main event.

I personally think that the iron man match between Brock Lesnar v. Kurt Angle on Smackdown (2003 I believe) for the title is THE single most underrated match of the decade. Go back and watch it if you can...it's phenomenal. When you hear Lesnar vs. Angle, everyone always points to their Wrestlemania showing and forgets about the classic that happened on Smackdown. An Iron man match on television and not PPV? Oh yeah..and they torn the house down. This gets my vote....let's hear yours!

 

[garylynch18]

I think it has to be when Eddie Guerrero beat brock lesner to become wwe champion at no way out. He was truly the underdog who finally came out on top.

 

[dwith]

I think any of the matches that AJ vs Kurt Angle on TNA in 2009 when they were battling for the title. They were high energy, amazing wrestling action.

 

[youngbullzeye]

i got to agree with you bro lesnar vs angle was one of the sickest matches i have ever seen and that you really dont here that much i think that this match is way better than hbk vs hart at mania that ironman match was boring ass fuck to me not like lenar vs angle

 

[NWX217]

I personally think that the match between Shawn Michaels and John Cena in London on the Raw before Backlash in 2007, it went an hour and i remember that there was suppose to be another match that night, which was pushed to the next week, those two out-did their Wrestlemania match and Chris Jericho is actually quoted in saying that this match made him want to wrestle again. And one last thing, it won Best Match not on TV in the WWE magazine for the 2007 awards.

 

[The Brain]

One match that doesn't seem to get much regcognition is the ladder match between Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit at the 2001 Royal Rumble. Whenever someone mentions ladder matches people always talk about Edge & Christian, the Hardys, or the Dudleys. This one seems to be forgotten. It really was a great match. The highlight was when Jericho used the ladder to perform a modified boston crab from the top of the ladder. That was the first time I saw that move.

Another one involving Jericho would be his match against the Rock at No Mercy 2001. I thought that was a great match. It was kind of a throwback to a 90's style match. After four years of attitude era matches this refreshing change that reminded me of matches from a better time.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

I personally believe that the match between Shawn Michaels and Triple H in Hell in a Cell is personally a very underrated match. For the match, they cut a very good pace and, as I mentioned in another forum, made the audience feel every impact that was going on so that at the end of the 47 minutes and 26 seconds, the crowd was just as worn out as they were.

Another match that I think is underrated to a degree is a match from No Way Out 2002 featuring Rob Van Dam vs. Goldust. For me, it saved what was otherwise a very lackluster, boring PPV. The two meshed very well in the ring together and had a damn good contest.

 

[buddyriffic]

Hey, how about the Fatal 4 Way ladder match on Smackdown between Edge & Christian, the Hardys, the Dudleys, and Benoit & Jericho? I believe it was the same week Jericho & Benoit won the belts off HHH & Austin. That was a very memorable match for my liking, and one that is hardly remembered or talked about. But props to The Brain for mentioning the Royal Rumble ladder match with Benoit & Jericho. That was an excellent encounter....those two really excelled in the ladder matches of that era obviously!

And yes, the Iron Man with Brock & Kurt was HUGE, very memorable for me because it was on the same day that I returned home from a 6 week vacation in Europe and my friend had been wondering if I was going to make it home on time. He was selling the match huge to me, telling me about the war path that Brock had been on, destroying Zach Gowen and such. Good times......but when I returned home exhausted as hell, we put on the show, and it just felt so good to be home and enjoying this excellent gem of a match.

 

[D-Will316]

For me it's Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels on Raw in 2004? or 05 not sure. I'm sure everyone remembers. It's when HBK kicked Sheltons head off. Very good & Very Underrated. Gold Rush Tournament.

 

[mister_b1LL]

One that I know never gets talked about all that often was Eddie's match with Rey Mysterio in a steel cage match on SmackDown 2005. I remember it was the first broadcast of SD on Friday night and we missed an hour of the show because of some other event. But here was Eddie, a guy who couldn't buy a win off Mysterio in the last few months and he had nothing to lose going into the match. He came out finally with a win and I remember booing him cause he was a heel in the match, but at the same time inside of me, I was smiling because he was Eddie, my favorite wrestler of all time and he won.

 

[Simmo]

For me it would have to be Mike Awesome vs Masa Tanaka at ECW 1 Night Stand..

Sure they were out of shape but they tore the roof off that place and Awesome's dive through the ropes onto Tanak destroying the announce table was freaking awesome!

 

[DRoHoF]

For me it'd have to be Kurt Angle-Rey Mysterio SummerSlam 2002. Under-hyped by The returning Shawn Michaels in a Street Fight with Triple H, Brock Lesnar and The Rock for the WWE Championship, and of course Test VS Undertaker. pff. Counter after counter, just a high-paced pure technical and lucha style wrestling at its very best. Maybe the best opening match to a Summerslam ever. Ever. Except for Kane VS Finlay at Summerslam 2007. Now theres a barn-burner...

For me it's Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels on Raw in 2004? or 05 not sure. I'm sure everyone remembers. It's when HBK kicked Sheltons head off. Very good & Very Underrated. Gold Rush Tournament.

Dude. EVERYONE knows about this match. Its not underrated in any fashion. It was an extremely well-known match and highly praised by all.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Nice pick w Lesnar vs. Angle in Ironman Match. I picked that as the best televised title swap on Smackdown.

In recent memory, one match sticks out in my mind more than any other. It had the best emotional build I had seen on television and I was in my early teens when I witnessed it.

Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar (Hell In A Cell) at No Mercy in Little Rock, AR.

Now please, hear me out on this because some of you most likely never thought about this, but think about it: Undertaker (American Bad-Ass Version) was having problem with the Undisputed WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. Lesnar was exploiting a love interest of Taker's that left The Deadman having to apologize publicly to his wife Sara. This brought the ire in Taker who wound up having to wear a cast because Lesnar Kayfabe broke his hand with a Propane tank with an underhanded attack.

Because of the heinous attack that followed, Taker was allowed to choose the type of match they would have at No Mercy against the champion. He chose his playground, Hell In A Cell. But before the match could insue, Taker would beat the crap out of The Next Big Thing by using his cast. So that brought in a new storyline- Can Taker go into Satan's Structure with that form of weapon?

In the end Stephanie McMahon said he could. Now let's review all that is transpiring in this one little ppv match alone:

1. This is for the WWE Undisputed Championship (around the time HHH became World Champion for the first time or so.)

2. Brock Lesnar was on a roll here, almost as dominable as Goldberg.

3. Lesnar tries to ruin Taker's relationship with his real wife Sara by introducing a "third woman".

4. Lesnar destroys Taker's hand with a propane tank, making him have to wear a cast which becomes the weapon of choice in their match.

5. It's Hell In A Cell. Nowhere for Lesnar to run. It was on.

Of course Brock beat him, but that's not the point. Much went into this match alone with a creative spin on "The Emotional Freighttrain" of an angle. This is something you just don't see anymore. The creative team put a lot in this Main Event and it all happened in my hometown, so it gets a bonus from me.

 

[The Man They Call WMD]

6 man hell in a cell, where the whole match was chaos and destruction. Angle finds a way to keep the title

 

[SuperSteve16]

I don't think this is the underrated match of the decade, but it still is forgotten. That match is CM Punk Vs Rey Mysterio from Armegeddon 2008. The event is known for Jeff Hardy winning the WWE championship but I thought this was the best match of the night. The winner got to fight for the interconential championship and I believe was the reason for there recent fued.

 

[bigbadwolf8169]

my vote for number one would be Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle at Judgment Day 2001. It was a best 2 out of 3 Falls match for Kurt's Gold medals. Awesome match, lots of technical wrestling and got even more intense on the 3rd fall when it turned into a ladder match.

honorable mention by me......

-ECW One Night Stand 2005: The Dudleys vs Tommy Dreamer and Sandman

-The Bash 2009: Chris Jericho vs Rey Misterio

 

[daddyJ_t]

first, id say the ironman between brock and angle sucked caused with the talent that those two had, weapons shouldnt have been needed. but as for my pic, id have to say, rey mysterio vs sabu as the first wwe one night stand. i believe rey was the world champion at that time

 

[hardmick33]

I'd say it's no question HBK vs Shelton Benjamin on Raw during the Gold rush tournament. This is one of those matches that was just technically perfect and really SHOULD have elevated both men. Shelton has had those matches from time to time and his push has never reached the level that is should, and now I guess it never will.

The only match I would say competes is Benoit/Angle from Royal Rumble in 2003. Everyone forgets it because the Rumble is basically always the highlight, but everyone knew Benoit wasn't going to win and the drama was still built throughout. A great storytelling match from two of the best ever despite the events in Benoit's future.

 

[Swarles Barkley]

Brock Lesnar was on a roll here, almost as dominable as Goldberg. No one has beaten him so far, and for the first time, he faces The Deadman.

This wasn't their first match. They fought the month before at Unforgiven. I believe it ended in a DQ or CO, which precipitated the HIAC match in October.

As for the question, I'd have to say it's the Benoit-Jericho ladder match from the 2001 Rumble. Great from start to finish. Off topic a bit, but that whole PPV was awesome. Maybe the best non-WM PPV.

The 2 out of 3 falls between Benoit and Angle was fantastic as well. Kudos to the poster who brought that up.

 

[The Ace of Knaves]

The most underrated match of the decade has to go to Undertaker vs Edge at Wrestlemania 24.

This review comes from imdb.com:

The best Wrestle Mania 'WRESTLING' match since Angle vs Michaels. Edge reminded everybody that he's one of the best in the business & not just a transitional champion. He was actually more dominant over The Undertaker than anybody else has ever been at a Wrestle Mania. Edge reversed almost every Undertaker move and what made the match even more interesting was the less predictable finish which saw The Dead Man win via submission instead of The Tombstone that EVERYBODY was expecting him to win by.

It surpassed my expectations and was extremely intense. The first half of the match featured many counters and reversals, including Edge reversing Old School, the chokeslam, and the Last Ride. The match picked up the pace big time later on. Undertaker hits the chokeslam and Last Ride, but fails to get the pin on both. Undertaker later attempted a big boot but hit the referee instead. this gave Edge the opportunity to nail Undertaker with a video camera. Undertaker gave Edge a Tombstone Piledriver afterwards, but the ref was still out so as Undertaker pinned Edge, a new ref had to sprint down the entrance ramp to make the count. Unfortunately, this gave Edge enough time to kick out. Edge later hits a spear, but Undertaker suddenly locks Edge in his new submission hold immediately after. After hanging in for a while, Edge submits and The Undertaker wins the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania for the second straight year. A Wrestlemania classic, amazing match.

All that got overlooked because Ric Flair retired in an overrated match...where he actually went back against his words and wrestled in TNA. Undertaker vs Edge also hardly made it to any top 10 matches of 2008 and didn't even make it to WWE classic in Demand where even the horrible Undertaker vs Mark Henry at Wrestlemania 22 made it.

Until now I've seen a lot of people gave giant credit for Taker vs Lesnar in HIAC, but I've seen so little giving it to Taker vs Edge at WM 24.

Second place is Taker vs Angle at No Way Out 2006.

 

[DCubedxDDD]

I'll have to go with Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon Street Fight from King of the Ring 2001. It had a great story behind it plus the fact that Kurt was trying to repeat as KOTR in the same night and to do so would have to beat Christian and then face the winner of Edge and Rhyno. It had some unbelieveable spots including Kurt german suplexing Shane through the glass on the stage.....very memorable moment. Stole the show in my opinion.

Close Second: The Rock vs. Chris Jericho WCW Title Match @ No Mercy 2001.
I know some have said this earlier on the thread but I agree with you guys. It was very dramatic. You actually felt like Y2J and The Rock genuinely hated eachother. Great finish with Y2J getting the win after hitting him with the chair. Awesome....one of the few bright spots of the Invasion Angle.

 

[jeffjet]

my pick would go to jeff hardy vs undertaker back on raw in 2002 ladder match for the undisputed championship that was the best match in the past decade any of hardy vs taker was good

 

[Infamous_Enigma]

Only 6 man Hell in the cell. Rikishi CHOKESLAMMED off the hell in the cell into a conveniently a truck full of hay(WTF BTW). A match that was absolutely without a doubt simply psychotic. Its hard enough to even Catch spots in a normal hell in a cell(with the lack of space) But you have 6 men in a very dangerous structure and The spots were absolutely amazing, (well what we caught of all them) a few shots i saw of people just lying motionless in the ring and no replay to show what happen, hell even the announcers were confused. With all the craziness in the match, how angle survived with his title was astounding. But that match was Great, Definitely underrated, so much, that if i were to ask a "devoted fan" of 5 YEARS chances are he/she would say, when did that happen? My friends are fans and didnt know about this match, Great match. Great Resilience By Angle. Underrated. But still know by TRUE fans .

 

[dman1373]

mine would have to be edge hardy street fight 2005. I think it gets overshadowed by all of vinces wm street fights. And whenever people think of hardcore matches and edge, they think of foley edge wm 22. This feud was gold and is why I hate when people say he can't wrestle or cut promos.

 

[bloodzombie]

-one was hardy vs rvd ladder match for the IC title in an episode of raw (i cant remember the exact date)
-the other also awesome ladder match between eddie guerrero & rey misterio (the one for dominicks custody) at sumerslam 05 great match.