Greatest Match Of 2000 - The Countdown

[GARBAGE]

Both of those matches were honestly way better than I remembered them being; I didn't expect to have them that high. Both absolutely fantastic atmospheres that had everyone glued to the ring. Even if I'm not a fan of a lot of the 'fighting spirit' type of Japanese wrestling normally, I thought Kawada vs. Sasaki very fittingly made for a major interpromotional match with each guy trying to out-Tough Guy the other. The tag just felt like it never let up and they never ran out of ideas. Obviously it had some All Japan-'style' in it but it was also just such a fresh match for Kawada to be in after the 90s too.

 

[Crocker]

7. Mask vs Mask
Atlantis vs Villano III
CMLL Homenaje A Dos Leyendas
March 17
62 Points
GARBAGE(1), Crocker(9), Hoss(14), Jacob Fox(18)

​

 

[Crocker]

6 WWF Championship
Hell in a Cell
Kurt Angle(c) vs Rikishi vs The Rock vs Steve Austin vs Triple H vs The Undertaker
Armageddon
December 10
63 Points
Jacob Fox(2), Hoss(12), Crocker(13), RDT(14)

​

 

[Jacob Fox]

Always interesting to see the matches that go off the board early.

It's a shame no one else was feeling NO FEAR vs. Holy Demon Army as much as me. One conclusion I came to while watching matches for this project is that I love Yoshihiro Takayama and Takao Omori is also pretty slept on. I think NO FEAR are an impeccable hoss team so I was naturally compelled to rate that one quite highly.

I don't believe I watched it. I am looking through my list and how I ranked them, including matches I didn't put in the top 25 and don't see it. It is probably one of the the matches I wasn't able to find a copy of

 

[Hoss]

I don't believe I watched it. I am looking through my list and how I ranked them, including matches I didn't put in the top 25 and don't see it. It is probably one of the the matches I wasn't able to find a copy of

Too late to vote for it, but not too late to enjoy the banger that it is

 

[Crocker]

5. Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro. Takayama
AJPW Super Power Series
May 26
66 Points
Hoss(1), Crocker(5), GARBAGE(6)

​

 

[Jacob Fox]

Too late to vote for it, but not too late to enjoy the banger that it is

Yeah that was pretty good. I wish I would have found a copy before I put my list together because it would be on my list

 

[GARBAGE]

Already talked a bit about Kobashi/Takayama. Despite only two singles matches against each other they felt like natural fits that had a big series of matches throughout many years. Really important match for Takayama to feel like a beast.

Atlantis/Villano is just magic. Wrestling has been wrestled in many bigger arenas than that match and in front of much bigger crowds, but wrestling has barely ever felt "bigger" than that match to me. To me, making it one fall instead of 2/3 was one of the best decisions ever for a match, just for letting it flow beginning to end. Villano's face/tecnico turn the following weeks was excellent as well, I actually had a trio with both guys on the same side in my top ten. Obviously I cherry picked but CMLL were on another level from every other company through the 2000 I watched for this. And Atlantis/Villano was maybe the match of the decade just a few months into the decade.

 

[Crocker]

4. WWF Tag Team Championship
TLC Match
Christian & Edge(c) vs The Dudley Boys vs The Hardy Boys
WWF Summerslam
71 Points
Hoss(4), Jacob Fox(4), RDT(5), Crocker(22)

​

 

[Hoss]

5. Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro. Takayama
AJPW Super Power Series
May 26
66 Points
Hoss(), Crocker(5), GARBAGE(6)

​

I ranked this match #1 because it simply compelled me more than any other match I watched. This is an exquisitely paced match. Takayama is in peak form... Kobashi, it goes without saying, is in God mode. Plays the face champion overcoming a big obstacle perfectly. Takayama is one of the few Japanese guys that can believable physically overwhelm Kobashi, and his MMA-style offense comes across super well in this match. The ending is excellent. Damn near a 5 star match right here.

 

[Jacob Fox]

4. WWF Tag Team Championship
TLC Match
Christian & Edge(c) vs The Dudley Boys vs The Hardy Boys
WWF Summerslam
71 Points
Hoss(4), Jacob Fox(4), RDT(5), Crocker(22)

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Looks like that is the match that ended up the closest to what the consensus was for it. Not saying anything against your ranking, Crocker, so please don't think that. But 2 votes of 4 and 1 vote of 5 and it ends up number 4. That is pretty precise.

 

[GARBAGE]

Of all the TLC matches that's the one I liked the most going when through them again a couple years ago. Felt more like a mad dash for the belts with big moments that come as a result, as opposed to forcing big moments the way a lot of multi-man ladder matches do to me. There was too much I wanted to make room for for me to even consider putting it on my list but either way it's a very rewatchable time.

 

[Crocker]

3. Last Man Standing
Chris Jericho vs Triple H
WWF Fully Loaded
July 23
76 Points
Crocker(4), Jacob Fox(5), RDT(8), Hoss(11)

​

 

[Crocker]

2. WWF Championship
Hell in a Cell Match
Triple H vs Cactus Jack
WWF No Way Out
February 27th
82 Points
Crocker(2), RDT(2), Hoss(8), Jacob Fox(10)

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[Hoss]

Suffice to say that 2000 was the best year of Triple H's career by a huge margin. I'm not one of the anti-Trips people by any means, but I think it's fair to say that he was a bit overpushed and overhyped by WWE for many years of his career... if more of his career was on the level of his 2000 year, then there would have been far less dirt thrown on his name over the years by fans.