Pro Wrestling Lov vol. 59: Best of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW, Cactus Jack, Rey Mysterio, Sandman)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 59:

The Best of Extreme Championship Wrestling

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at http://gweproject.freeforums.net/) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This fifty-ninth volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the beginning of the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in Extreme Championship Wrestling throughout the promotion's history from 1993-2001. The WWE reboot and the One Night Stands are not included. This is true, blue, rude, crude and lewd E-C-Fuckin-W. Watching ECW for great matches is probably the stupidest thing you can do. ECW is great for the colorful characters, outrageous angles and promos delivered with conviction and cadence. I have really enjoyed binging on ECW Hardcore TV is a breezy, addictive 45 minute program that makes you watch more. Trying to write about 1995-1997 ECW would take forever so I am going to stick with the format that I know and you love counting down the greatest matches, but I implore to take the time and watch all the promos & angles that lead up to these matches. You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.

Honorable Mentions

Rob Van Dam & Bill Alfonso vs Tommy Dreamer & Beulah McGullicutty - ECW As Good As It Gets 9/20/97
The famous Beulah vs Fonzie Bloodbath match. Probably the best pro wrestling match with two non-wrestlers.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Spike Dudley - ECW As Good As It Gets
Sid vs Justin Credible - ECW Hardcore Heaven 1999
ECW World Champion Mike Awesome vs Spike Dudley - Guilty As Charged 2000
Squash has never tasted so good.

Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka - ECW HeatWave 98
ECW World Champion Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka - November 2 Remember 1999
ECW World Heavyweight Champion Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka - ECW 12/17/99
ECW World Heavyweight Champion Masato Tanaka vs Mike Awesome - ECW 12/31/99
The Awesome vs Tanaka series is like the AC/DC of pro wrestling, it is lean & mean and you know what you are going to get. Great mixture of highspots and brawling.


Rey Mysterio Jr vs Psicosis - ECW November 2 Remember 95 Mexican Death Match
Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera - ECW Big Apple Blizzard 2/3/96
Rey Mysterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera - ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash '96
Between the Psicosis and Juvy series, Rey Rey had an excellent run in ECW that primed for his run in WCW that would launch him and lucha libre in the American public consciousness. Remember folks Nacho Libre doesnt happen without Paul E bringing in Rey Rey and Psicosis.

Sabu vs Lightning Kid - NWA 4/17/93
Terry Funk vs Sabu - ACW 11/6/93
Terry Funk vs Sabu - WWN 2/28/94
Not ECW per se, but theres not enough US Indy matches in the 90s to warrant its own separate column so I will throw them here. Early Sabu has a mystique like few other wrestlers have ever had.

Yoshihiro Tajiri vs Jerry Lynn - ECW 10/30/99
Yoshihiro Tajiri vs Super Crazy - ECW Hardcore TV 1/21/00 Mexican Death Match
Yoshihiro Tajiri vs Psicosis - ECW Hardcore TV 8/26/00
Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck vs FBI (Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke) - ECW 9/2/00
There are some people that worship the Tajiri ECW run from 1999-2000 like it is fucking Flair in 1989. I know I am going to heat for not having the Super Crazy match in my Top 12. I liked Tajiri's run I didnt love. I mean having a great match with Jerry Lynn in ECW is pretty fucking amazing in my book.

Cactus Jack vs Mikey Whipwreck- ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash 1996
Just watched this an hour ago. Great sendoff for Cactus a mixture of his famous bumps and some violent offense. It is worked like an extended heat segment on Mikey's neck and so when Mikey pops off this hope spots it feels special.

ECW World Champion Raven vs Terry Gordy - Hardcore Heaven 1996
The second best ever Raven Dog & Pony show it has all the fixins to pop you over and over again. For one night, we got the old Terry Gordy back and he looked like a killer. This is the match that finished with the infamous Tyler Fullington disowning and his dad and joining Raven. "Daddy youre a drunk. I worship Raven now."

ECW World TV Champion 2 Cold Scorpio vs Sabu - ECW Cyberslam 96
Rob Van Dam vs Doug Furnas - ECW Natural Born Killaz 8/24/96
My last two cuts. It kills me that I dont have a Scorpio match in the Top 12. He is the unsung hero of ECW. He was the midcard workhorse that stayed. Benoit, Eddie, Malenko, Jericho, and Rey Rey all left but Scorpio kept on. When he did leave, it left a workrate vacuum that was not fill again for two years with Tajiri. The RVD vs Furnas is fucking sick, demented display of violent unprotected chairshots but you cant look away. Great violence.

Top 12 Matches of ECW

#12. Raven vs Tommy Dreamer - ECW Wrestlepalooza 1997

Sabu vs Taz - Wrestlepalooza 1997

ECW World TV Champion Shane Douglas vs Taz - ECW Wrestlepalooza 1997

A bit of a cop out, but it is three matches that feed right into each other. An entire episode of ECW Hardcore TV is devoted to this and it is fuckin' bitchin'. Check it out. 

Raven vs Tommy Dreamer - ECW Wrestlepalooza 1997

If you’ve never seen this before, do yourself a favor and watch this. Don’t watch the edited WWE version like I did on a WWE DVD. Watch June 10, 1997 episode of Hardcore TV on the Network devoted to this entire piece of fluid awesome TV. Heyman has a brief return to the peak of his powers after they had been slowly diminishing since 1995.

I have seen this before on a WWE DVD so I was familiar with Lupus and Chasity. They came out at the Buffalo Tag about a month prior with Richards vs Dreamer & Funk. Joey didn’t know their names. So it sounds like they didn’t have backstories. Their sole reason to exist was to replicate spots from the first Raven vs Dreamer match from over two years ago. Chasity did the hairspray gimmick and had a take catfight with Beulah nothing like the shit Francine and Beulah were doing in 1995. I remember Chasity in WCW as Raven’s sister and managing Hak aka Sandman. I can’t believe fucking Sandman and Whipwreck made it to WCW. I don’t know what happened to Lupus?

Pretty good Raven vs Dreamer brawl. The Mutants Chanting “We Can’t See Shit” during the Arena brawling is reason #69 Arena brawling sucks. As far as Arena brawling goes this was above average some good table spots and a couple crazy times the table didn’t break.

i thought this picked up in the ring. Raven does the drop toehold onto chair which is how he blinded Riggs and made him join the Flock, one of the first wrestling angles I vividly remember. The Rocket Launcher that crumpled the chair was insane. After that there was so much tomfoolery and DDTs that I can’t remember the order but Louie Spicolli got involved. I’ll leave who won as a surprise because the heat on the nearfalls was insane because the pinfall mattered so much. ****

lights out in the Impact Zone, it’s Sting up in the rafters...lol...sorry had too...RVD smoking Dreamer with the Van Daminator. Perfect booking. Dreamer, spirit of ECW, against the traitors RVD& Sabu and the invader Jerry Lawler. Amazing angle I had never see. It before wicked entertaining.

After all had failed it’s Taz that clears the ring by his presence. He wants Sabu. Fonzie bitches and Taz is about to duplex him and the match is on.

Sabu vs Taz - Wrestlepalooza 1997

Put me in the camp that liked this best than Barely Legal. Sabu had so much more energy, spring in his step, clean on his spots and good punches. He worked more on top and made Taz earn it. Sabu purposefully missing the Triple Jump Moonsault and crotching himself is peak heel Sabu. This was the Sabu I know and love. Taz missing a Somersault LegDrop from the top was a great missed spot. Sabu hit a wicked Twisted Bliss through the table for two. I didn’t love Taz pop up no sell Tazmission. Sabu does a version of Survivor Series 96 finish pinning Taz while in the move. I think this is my favorite Taz match ever. ****

ECW World TV Champion Shane Douglas vs Taz - ECW Wrestlepalooza 1997

Taz while pinned was not beat and so he unleashed his Path of Rage choking out hapless refs because this is his first loss since November 2 Remember, Goldberg before Goldberg. So Shane Douglas of all people tells Taz to scram. They make a wager. If Taz can choke out Douglas in 3 minutes or less then he wins the TV title. If he can’t Taz has to leave ECW for 45 Days. Douglas works the neck well hits these cool innovative snaps someone should steal. Tazmission of course and Taz wins! The Path of Rage continues and the Monster Babyface Push is fucking on! Great booking here as Douglas did all he could with the TV belt with Raven, Richards gone and Funk just being plain old. It was down to Douglas, Sandman or Sabu to get the belt back and Douglas made the most sense so he needed to drop the TV belt. Doing a Warrior like quick win over Honky Tonk Man here was great put Taz over strong and also gives Douglas a reason once he becomes World Champ to be scared of Taz and duck him. It also gave Taz his heat right back after the loss to Sabu and I like booking that loss as it gives something for Sabu to hang his hat on. Maybe the best one hour TV wrestling show ever! That covers a lot of ground but Paul e at his best! 

#11. Bam Bam Bigelow vs Spike Dudley - Hardcore Heaven 1997

This is the greatest Squash ever, right? I mean it has to be. Spike beat Bam Bam to set this up on TV. Spike come out all piss n vinegar during his entrance like a tiny Stan Hansen and wants to prove this is no fluke. He comes charging right at Bigelow. It ends up being legalized murder. The biel Spike took was insane. Bam Bam threw him across the ring and Spike landed hard. Spike did get a modicum of offense including the Acid Drop, but nothing doing. He gets caught and Bam Bam THROWS SPIKE DOWN WITH AUTHORITY WITH A POWERBOMB! How wicked was this powerbomb? It got a fucking Holy Shit Chant. He Akira Taue'd Spike rolling Snake Eyes but lawn darting him onto the exposed turnbuckle and Spike taps a gusher. The whole match Bam Bam had been taunting that he was going to throw Spike into the crowd and they were chanting "Over Here". He made good on his promise. He HURLED Spike from the ring, with quite gap on the ringside area. He must have thrown into at least the third row. SPIKE WENT FLYING! It was insane. Bam Bam does a cartwheel which makes me think in everyday life when Bam Bam was pleased with himself he would bust out a cartwheel. Bam Bam's weird moonsault for a sidesault diving headbutt wins it. Greatest Squash Ever! Defies rat

#10. ECW Tag Champions Dudley Boys vs Spike Dudley & Balls Mahoney - ECW 6/17/99

ECW Match of the Year, 1999

Balls says he owes the Dudz a receipt for putting him through a flaming table with thumbtacks strewn on it. Im just glad he upgraded his partner to Spike Dudley. Really tight, action-packed garbage brawl. The Dudleys have been a great heat-seeking act, but really have not been having the matches to match how good they are as asshole heels. I feel like this is the best possible Dudleys match. Great spots...loved Balls hurling Spike onto the Dudz outside the ring with force. The cheese grater stuff was violent as hell. Spike's balcony dive was a holy shit spot. The stereo nearfalls (loved the Acid Drop/legdrop combo) were cute in a very fun way that I liked. Sign Guy distracts the faces long enough to cause enough commotion that Spike eats a wicked 3D. DAMN! I forgot how badass that move could look. 3D is the one thing in ECW that is sold as death and even though match goes on for another two minutes, Spike never moves. I love that. Balls tries to fend off the Dudleys going so far as to set up the table, scatter the thumbtacks and douse it with lighter fluid, but eventually the numbers game catches up to him. Putting Balls through a flaming table never gets old!!! Marked out all over again! Double pinfall win. Great finish. Like I said super compact, never a dull moment, the finish is a great climax. ****

#9. Jerry Lawler vs Tommy Dreamer (ECW Hardcore Heaven 08/17/97)

STRAP DOWN! FLAIR FLOP! Was the spot of the match! I went bonkers for it.

This was the peak of ECW patriotism, but as others have pointed it out the only flaw was that it didnt happen in the ECW Arena, but instead of Florida so the heat just was not the same. I thought this was a really fun, popcorn brawl that was meant to pop and entertain rather than be very hate-filled and vicious. I really liked Lawler punching the pan early and then Dreamer hits him with the pan Lawler takes a King-sized bump over the top rope. Really great shine. Lawler showed a lot of ass during the crowd brawling. Great visual of Dreamer kicking ass while there is a "Lawler Must Die" sign behind him. I am a sucker for belts as a weapon in match. They are so versatile. Dreamer chokes Lawler as Lawler struggles to grab hold of fans to save himself. I love it. Dreamer goes up top with a chair and Lawler is able to shake the ropes. Lawler kicks some serious ass. I thought Lawler really carried this and he looked like he could still go. Characteristically great punches. Chair shots. Piledriver -> kick out! I would say weird, but it is ECW. It did not feel well-built to. That should have been a major false finish. I think in '97 ECW no one believes a finish unless there were run-ins. They should have saved the Lawler Piledriver for later. Lawler tearing the ECW short off and wiping his armpits and ass with it was amazing. LOVED Dreamer's no-sell comeback. In a Patriotism match that is exactly what you want! For the first time, I fell connected to Dreamer and I was rooting for him. Lawler punches him in the balls and lots of testicular violence follows. Then lights go out a bunch. Basically everytime Dreamer is about to polish off Lawler the lights go out. The first one makes sense as it is Rick Rude who was aligned with the WWF invasion. What I didnt get is why didnt he stay out there? There was the very surprising Jake The Snake, which I didnt see coming at all. But it was totally nonsensical. He DDTs Dreamer and Short Arm Clotheslines Lawler, but lets Lawler fall on Dreamer. Then Dreamer kicks out and he claps. So ok? Then FUCKING SUNNY SHOWS UP! OH HELL YEAH! Now that was awesome! She sprays Dreamer with the hairspray but here is Beluah. CATFIGHT! That was an awesome run-in and was actually useful because it got Beluah involved. Now Lawler tries to use Beluah as a human shield, but she ballshots him, TESTICULAR CLAW and Dreamer DDTs him to HELL! E-C-DUB! E-C-DUB! E-C-DUB!

#8. Rey Mysterio Jr vs Psicosis - ECW 9/16/95

Rey vs Psicosis never gets old no matter how many times you watch this and I have watched this a lot. You wanna see how to get over on your debut match watch this. This is the Touring match that they would perfect at Bash 96. They are about one week away from their greatest match ever in AAA, a match I need to see.

i think my takeaway from this viewing is that Psicosis feels like the star here. Amazing bumping. I can never get tired of watching him go ass first into things. Great high impact offense. Great rudo charisma. I thought he outshone Rey Rey until Rey started popping off ranas like nobody's business and that catapult on the apron still pops me. Rey gets to shine on the dives: stopping Psicosis' with a chair shot and then the massive dive from top rope into the crown which sealed the deal that these two were over like rover. They hit this out of the park. There were some things to tighten up. They got themselves over. There is a key difference between getting your moves over and you over. These two got their characters over that's what makes this great. It is the Tom & Jerry of Pro Wrestling.

#7. Cactus Jack vs Sandman w/Woman - ECW TV Falls Count Anywhere 1/31/95

Was not even going to bother with this match because I had seen a couple Cactus/Sandman matches and they always sucked. I thought I was just making the right choice because Woman in that tight green, leather dress was double hot. What a total fox! Then lo and behold, these two maniacs went out and kicked some serious ass. Cactus meets Sandman up the aisle with a trash can and just brutalizes Sandman. Sandman was really good at selling a beating throughout the match. Woman starts caning Cactus and finally Sandman takes over (Awesome transition #1). He does a really good job building heat. He hits a nice top rope leg drop. There is no overkill, he is still working through his own beating. Cactus is able to mount a comeback while Sandman is on the top rope (Awesome Transition #2). Cactus is rolling until he punches a trash can that Sandman holds up at the last second. (Have Mercy! Awesome Transition #3) Cactus blades his hand. Nastiest paper cut ever, folks! Sandman stomps the hand and works a great heat segment around it smashing the hand with the garbage can. Sandman is stumbling around and is so good at working through his beating. DELAYED PILEDRIVER ON THE GARBAGE CAN! My slight complaint is that Jack was fine at selling the hand, but would be a bit too quick to pop back up in general. Sandman goes for the kill, but goes flying over the top rope onto the floor. (Awwww shit, you all just love me, Awesome Transition #4) Cactus is able to get the Cactus Elbow for the three. Woman starts caning Cactus. Jack does intimidating the woman routine, but this allows Sandman to attack. Sandman canes the shit out of Cactus. Sandman lights a cigarette and then tries to BLIND CACTUS!!! Mikey Whipwreck with the save to a huge Mikey chant. Sandman/Woman cut a decent promo. Sandman has a Woman t-shirt that I need to own. Cactus cuts a money promo (which made the yearbook) that makes me want to see the Texas Death Match even though I have seen it before and didn't like it. Great, great ECW brawl with really smart transitions and great selling by Sandman.

I co-sign everything I wrote above. I would add a couple things. It is very cool how Sandman does not bump at the beginning for all the garbage can shots. He is playing it like he is out on his feet. He does a great job selling he has had his bell rung on multiple occasions while on offense. Woman required multiple canings and some distraction to really earn that transition. She was also great on the outside and yes she was looking foxy. Awesome transition #2 is actually really well-time low blow. The hand psychology was excellent as was the post-match angle with the lit cigarette and Mikey's save.

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 13: Best of WWF Attitude Era 1998-2001 (Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 13:

The Greatest Matches of WWF 1998-2001

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at gwe.freeforums.project.net) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This thirteenth volume of Pro Wrestling Love begins the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in the World Wrestling Federation from 1998-2001. To me, this is the Attitude Era, I think some people would tack a year on at the beginning and end, but I would argue 1997 and 1998 are two very distinct landscapes. The year 1997 had Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels as the focal point and both were gone in 1998. In 1998, Stone Cold Steve Austin won the title and never looked back. The year 2001 saw WWF buy their competition, WCW and it also Austin’s last full time year. The year 2002 feels like more of a transition year and the first year where they really tried to capitalize on nostalgia with first the New World Order and then Hulk Hogan.   You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

FIVE STARS!

Honorable Mentions

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Vince McMahon – St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Steel Cage Match

WWF World Champion Triple H vs Vince McMahon – Smackdown 9/16/99

Going back and watching Attitude Era TV and you will understand how awesome the Mr. McMahon character is. We all know about the classic McMahon heel character and there is no better match to showcase that than  hos blowoff steel cage match against Austin in February 1999. However, what is an underrated is how damn good walking tall babyface defending his family honor, Vince McMahon is. I think the HHH vs Mr. McMahon match from Smackdown is legitimately great and is a hidden gem.

WWF World Champion The Rock vs Mankind – RAW 1/4/99

Mrs. Foley’s Baby Boy wins the big one! It is the feel good moment of the Attitude Era. I don’t need to say more.

WWF World Tag Champions Dudleyz vs Hardyz vs Edge & Christian – Wrestlemania X-7

WWF World Tag Team Champions Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho vs Dudleyz vs Hardyz vs Edge & Christian – Smackdown 5/24/01 TLC

The last matches out. As with all TLC matches these are super fun car crash stunt show daredevil matches.

The Twelfth to Seventh Best Matches of WWF from 1998-2001

#12. Owen Hart vs Ken Shamrock – Fully Loaded 1998 Dungeon Match

Owen Hart wrestled this match in Zubaz short. FIVE STARS!

This is an incredibly compelling and gripping five minute sprint. Shamrock needed more of these. This takes place in the vaunted Hart Family Dungeon. It is a shoot-style (ok as shoot style as WWF would get). It feels like a bar room brawl. Part of this match’s charm is how well it is shot. It close up and tight. It feels gritty and real. The work is so snug. They worked the throws, strikes and slams into the wall so organically. The best part was the straight front kick from Shamrock that sent Owen flying into the wall. Owen cheats like a muthafucka with a low blow, lead pipe and then the dumbbell finish. Owen was at his self-congratulating best here. All the cheating protected Shamrock for the Lion’s Den rematch at Summerslam. So stiff, so explosive, a great five minute sprint with unique camera work and atmosphere.

#11. Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon – King Of The Ring 2001

I can already hear my good buddy, Charles (the head & founder of ProWrestlingOnly.com) groaning at this selection. So here’s my defense. Kurt Angle was touted as an Olympic Gold Medalist. But he never wrestled as one from his debut through 2001. He was presented as a cowardly heel who bumped and was outsmarted by babyfaces. Even, when he played babyface he sold like any other wrestler would. He is not Brock Lesnar. He is not Ronda Rousey. He did not wrestle like an Olympic Wrestler. If you take people’s criticism of this match to its logical conclusion only Brock Lesnar should have been able to Kurt Angle. Still, how do you cover for the fact that Shane McMahon the pudgy, untrained Greenwich-born boss’ son can hang with a conventional pro wrestler, Kurt Angle.

We need to bear in mind Kurt Angle already had two matches going into this match as he was taking part in the King of the Ring tournament (lost to Edge in the finals). Kurt takes ShaneOMac down with ease, but you have to remember Angle is the heel. So there’s an established narrative of the overconfident heel being shown up by the babyface during the shine that’s what happens here. Angle leaves himself in a prone position and Shame wisely punts him in the ribs and reigns down haymakers. That requires no skill, but it will injure Angle. That gives Shane an opening. When Angle begins his comeback, gets on his bike and turns into a track meet, again no wrestling skill. Then he goes aerial with the barricade. This is an established strategy against shooters most famously used by CM Punk at Summerslam 2013 against Brock Lesnar. Then he goes for a Kendo Stick and brains him! This match is totally credible. He is taking advantage of Angle’s overconfidence and using weapons, a totally valid offensive strategy. My main criticism of the match is that Shane sucks at selling. He is so bad at selling that he is in over his head and eliciting sympathy. This would have skyrocketed up the charts. Shane’s weapons-based dominance comes to an end when he eats trash can on a Shooting Star Press. He went for a home run and got burnt. This is when the match famously goes up the entrance ramp. I had seen the famous moment when Angle throws Shane through the glass on Don’t Try This Home ad. I did NOT know that the first time he tried IT DID NOT BREAK AND HE LANDED RIGHT ON HIS HEAD! HOLY SHIT! Then when they went through they both got cut up really bad. Did they use real glass? Those are two crazy muthafuckas! Wow! That’s Foley-level batshit insanity. The rest of the match is still brutal. I liked Shane getting one last hope spot courtesy of a lowblow, again a credible way to put Shane on offense. Angle beating the tar out of him with a piece of table and the Super Angle slam is a great finish. It is too bad Shane is not every a little but sympathetic. One of the best individual Kurt Angle performances, sadistic on top and vulnerable when he needed to be. They did a great job coming up with smart, credible ways to get Shane on offense and that breaking glass window spots were insane. Awesome brawl.  

HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!

#10. WWF World Tag Team Champions Edge & Christian vs Hardyz vs Dudleyz
Summerslam 2000 TLC

The Hardyz vs Edge & Christian Ladder Match at No Mercy 1999 innovated the car crash, stunt show, daredevil matches that are now a staple of WWF programming. It is here at Summerslam that they cemented this genre’s place in the WWF forever. Now TLC has a PPV named after is and almost all major PPVs have a match like this to fill out the card and get a lot of people on the show. So why did this one make the list as opposed to the other two that were merely honorable mentions. The difference is the finish. The Mania finish is a crazy series of three massive highspots, but the actual finish is anti-climatic. Here I think each elimination of a person is smart and spectacular. These are fun Summer action, blockbusters. Don’t overthink them. Just enjoy.

#9. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Mankind vs The Rock – Royal Rumble 1999 I Quit Match

WWF Match of The Year, 1999

The only match of this countdown that I watched live. I was an odd child for many reasons, but one of the myriad was that I hated asking my parents to buy me stuff. I told you I was weird. The one exception would be wrestling Pay Per Views, but I was judicious. I still only wanted them to buy the special ones. Like Spring Stampede 1998, a meaningless PPV for many people, but Macho Man Randy Savage was challenging for the World Championship for the first time since I became a fan. He won too! The less said about the next night on Nitro the better (I still have the Nitro match on VHS from when I recorded Nitros). The next PPV I was interested was a Royal Rumble. What is not to love? 30 WRESTLERS! That’s a kid’s dream. Plus it was the height of Austin vs McMahon and my favorite character, Mr. McMahon was going to be in the Royal Rumble! I was sold! I told you I was a weird kid. As a by-product, I did get to watch this match. Man, it has stuck with me since and always thought this was one helluva brawl. It is famous for Rock giving Mankind like 15 unprotected steel chair shots to the head while Foley is handcuffed in front of his family. It is brutal to watch, but also compelling.

I am going to do this review backwards. The screwjob finish is about the only way out unless you want to completely shatter a heel's credibility. Theres no way you can have a babyface say I Quit. So why not just play the tape of Foley saying I Quit at the beginning of the match. Well, there was a lot of enmity between the two. The Rock really did hate Foley at the time so you think he would want to dish out some pain after being humiliated earlier in the month losing to Foley. I'll give them a pass on the finish. I think was serviceable and what needed to be done. 

Now the chairshots. They were brutal and plentiful. I lost count. It is definitely one of the more brutal things you will ever see in wrestling. To have his kids front row for Mick Foley's Masochistic Theatre of Pain is weird. I have never read his book. I think I listened to him once on Austin's podcast, but I kinda forget the deal. I think he had a shoot grudge with The Rock afterwards. I have a hard time believing The Rock went into business for himself. It just seems very much in Foley's nature to invite this level of sick pain. It is definitely one of the nastier ways to end a match. 

Now the electrocution bump. Horrible setup. The Rock just climbing up there for no reason. Foley takes the bump, sparks fly. Cool bump and the lights go out. Shane-O Mac sells it by coming out to stop the match. The Rock gets all indignant that he is going to make his fat ass say I Quit. I liked the People's Elbow on the chair. The ballshots were great hope spots in the handcuffs.  

Everything before Foley Masochistic Theatre of Pain (electrocution bump and chairshots) was awesome! Like they were well on their way to a classic. Great babyface shine. Foley was rocking. Rocky was bumping. I loved stuff like Rock whipping Foley into the steps for his first bit of offense after the Mankind onslaught, he gets cocky and starts jaw-jacking on commentary. Foley attacks him. Rocky had only hit one move. He had NOT cemented advantage and he paid for it. Great stuff! Loved the Double Arm DDT and Mr. Socko early. Great climatic way to end the shine. It is definitely in Foley's nature to want more pain. He lives for pain and it is not enough. The Rock's heat segment was entertaining as hell. Ringing the bell in the ear, singing a little bit, Evian Spew on Foley. Then Foley's hot comeback which leads to the electrocution bump. 

Great, hate-filled beginning, terrible setup for the big bump, good stuff directly after the big bump, sick, self-indulgent Foley's Theatre of pain is way too much and the screwjob finish is serviceable. Overall I think this is WWF MOTY for 1999 (terrible year) and still a really interesting match to watch. ****1/4

#8. Dudleyz vs Hardyz – Royal Rumble 2000  Tables Match

In my mind, this is the smartest Tables match in history and the best of all the “car crash” matches. What helps this match so much is that every single spot was motivated by trying to put someone through the table to win the match. It was not crazy spots for the sake of crazy spots.  They were trying to win the match the whole time and as a by-product they were entertaining the fans.  This match is also helped by the rules. You have to put your opponent through a table and the partners have to go through consecutively, which means that there is a lot of misses so a lot more table carnage. People are just flying through tables at a break-neck pace. There are so many awesome, badass spots in this. The finish is spectacular with Bubba falling from the balcony through the table and then Jeff Hardy swandives onto Devon through table. The Hardyz were a good looking tag team and were always gonna be over with the women. To get them over with men they needed to prove their mettle against gnarly monsters in violent bouts and this did that in spades. Definitely check this one out!

#7. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs Triple H – No Way Out 2001 Three Stages of Hell

I’ll try not to write a review as long as this match. :P Actually, one of the reasons I picked this countdown to do was because I am sick and don’t feel like writing much. There is not much in-depth analysis necessary for Attitude Era matches. However, this is a looooooong match. Actually the reason, why it is number 7 and not higher and also not in contention for being a candidate to make the top 100 matches of all time is because it is a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong match. Did I mention this match is really, really fucking loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong?

All kidding aside, the first two falls are humdingers and feature some really good wrestling. The first fall is a straight wrestling match. Stone Cold’s return in late 2000 brought traditional wrestling to forefront and this will be seen in the next volume where four of the six matches feature Stone Cold in 2001. What this does so well is mix traditional wrestling with hate and urgency. Austin is a totally house of fire from jump and HHH is overwhelmed. It really sets the tone for the match. Love that the first chance he gets HHH goes for the Pedigree and it really puts over his desperation. There is really great arm psychology set up by Austin hitting single-arm DDT out of the Pedigree attempt. Tenacious is how I would describe Austin. He always gives maximal effort. We get double limb psychology! When did I wake up in Crockett? HHH chop blocks the leg. There is a great moment where HHH looks to wrap Austin’s leg around the post only for Austin to use his leg to pull HHH shoulder-first into the post. Amazing! The double limb psychology really makes this first fall a total treat. KICK WHAM STUNNER! You honestly didn’t need another two falls. This was an incredible match unto itself.

The next fall is a street fight. The story of this fall is how the hell does HHH figure out a way to hit his kill shot, the Pedigree when Austin is wrestling like a lunatic. HHH was on his bicycle trying to run from the crazed Austin. He was wrestling like a man possessed. I really liked Austin doing the Garvin stomp but with a steel chair! We really are in Crockett! HHH finds his opening via barbed wire covered 2x4. He goes for the Pedigree on the announce (while selling the arm!), only to be back dropped on the Spanish Announce Table, which explodes. The ring bell sets up another Pedigree attempt, but again HHH takes a gnarly back body drop this time from the ring to the floor. Finally, third time is a charm, it is ‘ol Sweet Lady Sledge that is enough to put Austin down to hit a Pedigree. Loved the escalation and how Austin was constantly fighting back and HHH was fighting through it but with weapons to earn the Pedigree. Another tremendous fall.

Unfortunately, there is a third fall in the steel cage. It just drags. The street fight was a spirited, fast-paced brawl. This is one of those methodical, drawn out HHH snoozefests. Things get especially shaky with them each kicking out of the other’s finisher. Remember how hard HHH tried to use the Pedigree and he finally got the second fall. Remember how one Stunner in the first fall spelled Game Over. Yeah, I didn’t like that. They both go for weapon shots and nail each other simultaneously and Trips falls on Austin. I will say the finish at least fits in with the overarching narrative. Austin’s loss here before Wrestlemania X-7 feeds his self-doubt which leads to his heel turn at Mania. The first two falls are tremendous some of the best wrestling either man has done in his career. Sadly they ran out of gas in the third fall.