Ok... a twist on the match of the decade

[shafe_41]

Ok, there is a current match of the decade thread right now going on that is great discussion. But I want my twist on the idea to really make people think a little bit more. This is still match of the decade... however the twist is that this is STRAIGHT UP 1-on-1 match of the decade. No MITB matches, No DQ matches don't fly here, Last Man Standing is banned from this ringside, etc...
This is a straight up match discussion. So some will have to dig a little deeper. Basically, no gimmick matches whatsoever.

If anybody has read any previous posts on my favorite match of the decade (also probably my favorite match ever) is pretty obvious... Kurt Angle/HBK at WM21. Since 2000, I don't think you could ever have a match like that ever again. I know there were 2 more HBK/Angle matches and some say they may have tried too hard to capture that magic again but they were still a cut above most of the other matches anyone else put on. But that night at WM21, Angle and HBK set the bar so high with the clinic they put on that I doubt we will see anything that special for a long long time.

 

[Hacksaw Highway]

Jericho vs HBK at Mania 19 for me. Both men are supremely talented, and the match was given like 22 minutes or something like that. My manager at work and I debated which of these matches was better like 2 hours ago, coincidentally. My argument was that at WM 19, 2 of the alltime best performers put on an absolute clinic. They reveresed each other, hit their own (and each other's) finishers, brawled outside the ring, etc., Both men pulled out all the stops, and after so many false endings, HBK won with a roll-up, and Y2J kicked out just a fraction of a second too late. The multiple near falls and the close finish really got both guys over, it made them look evenly matched as the 2 tops performers. Not often does the face barely win with a roll-up and come out looking strong, but HBK did here. Both guys just nailed it, career performances from both.

 

[aintnostoppin]

I have to second the WM 21 match between HBK and Angle. There just hasn't been a 1 on 1 match that has been as exciting and back and forth. I really didn't know who was going to get the win. The only other match that is even remotely close in my mind is Angle vs Chris Benoit at the 2003 Royal Rumble.

 

[avi01]

well that one goes to Austin vs. Rock at WM x7. Unforgettable encounter. Had it all, the intensity, tension, brawl, brutality, blood, near falls, great commentary, submissions, a fired up Texan crowd and a big time twist.

Brock vs. Angle at Wm X8 was epic too.

 

[JETER123]

It hasn't changed for me.

Royal Rumble 2003 - WWE Championship Match - Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit

 

[footman645]

The best two matches were, respectively, Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle at No Way Out 2006, and Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21. Does anyone else miss Kurt Angle?

 

[Australian Punk]

My match of the decade would probably be HBK vs Kurt Angle at WM 21 but in a close 2nd would be Austin vs Jericho at Vengeance 2001 for Undisputed Championship

 

[Phoenix]

Two matches from Wrestlemania X-Seven spring to mind:

Rock vs. Austin - epic title matches and one of the best Main Events of Wrestlemania post-2000

Taker vs. Triple H - brilliant one on one encounter, brawling in the ring, the audience, sledgehammers and last rides. Top match!

 

[quink987]

great question but i have to say my top 5

5. rob van dam vs jerry lynn....ecw living dangerously 1999
4.stone cold vs the rock...wwe WM17
3.chris benoit vs kurt angle...wwe royal rumble 2003
2.chris jericho vs hbk....WM19
1.kurt angle vs hbk...WM21

 

[Gabbo]

What are you all talking about? Rock/Austin at X7 was NO DQ.

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

Ok, there is a current match of the decade thread right now going on that is great discussion. But I want my twist on the idea to really make people think a little bit more. This is still match of the decade... however the twist is that this is STRAIGHT UP 1-on-1 match of the decade. No MITB matches, No DQ matches don't fly here, Last Man Standing is banned from this ringside, etc...
This is a straight up match discussion. So some will have to dig a little deeper. Basically, no gimmick matches whatsoever.

If anybody has read any previous posts on my favorite match of the decade (also probably my favorite match ever) is pretty obvious... Kurt Angle/HBK at WM21. Since 2000, I don't think you could ever have a match like that ever again. I know there were 2 more HBK/Angle matches and some say they may have tried too hard to capture that magic again but they were still a cut above most of the other matches anyone else put on. But that night at WM21, Angle and HBK set the bar so high with the clinic they put on that I doubt we will see anything that special for a long long time.

If I had to pick a MOTD and it had to be a WWF/E bout, I would choose maybe The Rock vs Steve Austin from WM17 for the World Title. But if I could pick any match i'd go with Nigel/Aries from Rising Above 07 in ROH.

 

[Angleslammer]

going with the theme here and going with Angle vs HBk, enough said! (there other matches were both good, not to devalue them but that first meeting could not have been any better).

correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't austin vs rock at WM 17 turned into a no dq match (thus not a straight up one on one encounter)

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

going with the theme here and going with Angle vs HBk, enough said! (there other matches were both good, not to devalue them but that first meeting could not have been any better).

correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't austin vs rock at WM 17 turned into a no dq match (thus not a straight up one on one encounter)

Your right, it was. But to me as long as there is only the 2 competitors in the match then it's a one on one encounter reguardless stipulations involved. I know it's not what the original poster asked for, but it's my answer none the less.

 

[dadadavie]

It hasn't changed for me.

Royal Rumble 2003 - WWE Championship Match - Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit

aggreed to the max!!! great back and forth action i truely believed benoit would win and it just goes to show he truely did deserve to be in the main even spotlight

 

[Sean Valjean]

I'll go with the majority and say HBK/Angle at WM 21. That's probably my favorite match, I've watched it so many times and it never gets old. Even now when I watch the end, I'll be like "DON'T TAP, SHAWN!!"

Runner ups are HBK/Jericho at WM 19, Angle/Benoit at RR 03, and, even though it WAS a no DQ, Rock/Austin WM X7

 

[Queers and Steers]

i am gonna state one that most probably don't remember. the rock vs Benoit Fully Reloaded 2000. clearly not as good as hbk vs Kurt but that's an obvious choice. kurt vs rock NWO01 was also good. cena vs michaels wm23 and 4/23/07 raw were great! but yeah i would have to agree that Kurt vs michaels wm21 is the gold standard

 

[JaMaaXL]

Wow i don't know if anyone remebers this match but HBK vs Benjamin on RAW in a world championship tournament. i thought that was a damn good match. Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero at WM 21 was a good match too. but in the end i can't think of anything better than Angle and Michaels at 'Mania. That was just epic.

 

[Ghostboy259]

Randy Orton beating Benoit for the title at I think Summerslam. Both men worked hard in that match

 

[XxHardyFan4LyfxX]

Wow im surprised no1 has said Eddie Guerrero vs Chris Benoit - U.S Title Tournament Finals From Vengenence 2003
That match just blew the roof off the arena that night and it stole the show it showed the very best in-ring skill i have seen in a very long time at that time

 

[thewrestlinghero]

Im going to say John cena vs Shawn Micheals 1 hour Raw after Wrestlemania. Well people might say that Kurt Angle vs Shawn Micheals at Wrestlemania 21 was alot better. I though this was john cena best of his career tieing secound to his match with batista that match had so much excitment unlike other cenas match back in 2007. people though shawn micheals was going to win but then shawn tap ou to the stfu oh my bad the Additude Adjuster