EOTR Feud Of The Week: Triple H vs Shawn Michaels

By @Phranchize19 and @TrueGodImmortal

The Triple H and Shawn Michaels rivalry was one of the best feuds in wrestling history. The story virtually told itself. Triple H and Shawn Michaels were the best friends. Shawn is forced to temporarily retire while during that time, Triple H began his ascension to the top of the wrestling world. Shawn comes back and wants to reunite only for Triple H to turn on him. They would have MANY hellacious battles. I feel Triple H got the better end of the rivalry and rightfully so. It was Triple H’s time. I do however feel this rivalry benefited Shawn Michaels because it helped him get back into the swing of things as a competitor.

Favorite Matches

Triple H vs Shawn Michaels
Hell in a Cell (Phranchize's Pick)

-I think this was simply phenomenal. It put an end to the rivalry (temporarily) and it was a fitting end. These two would do battle inside HIAC longer than any competitors in history. Both men would bleed and Triple H would bleed twice. The back and forth battle was almost 50 minutes and there was no lapse in the action IMO.

Triple H vs Shawn Michaels
Summerslam 2002
(True's Pick)

-Of all the matches they had, this is still my favorite. The first in their storied rivalry of the 2000s is still their best. For 30 minutes, both men went out and gave it all they had. What made this match even more surprising and enjoyable is that HBK hadn't wrestled in over 4 years, but he looked like he hadn't missed a beat. Shawn wins, but Triple H ends up walking out healthy and able to continue on following his post match attack. This match is perfect.

Least Favorite Matches

Triple H vs Shawn Michaels 

European Championship
Monday Night RAW 1997 (Phranchize's Pick)

-It wasn’t really a match and honestly was a stupid yet necessary plan to get the belt from HBK to Triple H. I chose this one because it didn't actually happen during their bigger rivalry, but it's probably the worst match between the two.

Triple H vs Shawn Michaels
Bad Blood 2004
Hell In A Cell (True's Pick)

-Phranchize selected this as his choice for the best, but looking at their rivalry from 2002 to 2004, this is their worst match for sure. It's far too long, drags on, and just feels a bit overbooked. It's not a bad match, it just feels as if it's trying too hard to top their other matches. The only other choice I had for this was their Armageddon match that was a 3 Stages of Hell contest, but I enjoyed that more than this match. Not a bad match at all, but just not on the level of their others.

Underrated Matches 

This rivalry actually has some slept on matches. While many look towards their triple threat matches with Chris Benoit (which count, but don't count) and the Elimination Chamber matches they were a part of, two matches come to mind. The first? Their very underrated clash on a December 2003 episode of RAW where it seemed HBK won the title in his hometown, but that decision didn't stand. That would lead to the main choice for the most underrated.

Triple H vs Shawn Michaels
Royal Rumble 2004

-Last Man Standing. This was supposed to be the final match of the feud, but as we know, it wasn't. It was a great contest that showed both men going to great lengths to win. While it's not the best of their series and rivalry, it's a match that deserves much credit for the back and forth action. Triple H retains the belt since both men can't make the 10 count, but for nearly 30 minutes, these two beat the hell out of each other and give it their all, making for a great contest and their most slept on match.

Winner Of The Feud
In many ways, there is no loser. Triple H wins the feud, considering he has more victories over Shawn in this rivalry, but HBK is a winner for putting on classic performances through the entire feud. Still, if we have to pick one winner, Triple H would defeat Shawn at Armageddon 2002, retain at Royal Rumble 2004, and get the final victory over him at Badd Blood 2004 (also a one off match at Taboo Tuesday 2004), with the sole true victories for HBK coming at Summerslam 2002 and Survivor Series 2002 in the Elimination Chamber. Still, the fact remains, HBK vs HHH was a great rivalry and one that will be appreciated for years to come.

-EOTR 

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Eyes on the Ring 2:36 AM  No comment

EOTR Retro: The 5 Best WWF PPVs Of 1999

By @TrueGodImmortal

Let me be clear: 1999 was the worst year of the Attitude Era. It didn't feature a lot of great matches or shows, but it was a year of moments, for better or worse. The PPV market was booming for WWF however, and they would end up seeing big profits during this year and huge popularity. While it would be easy to pinpoint and look at the worst shows, I wanted to look at the best of the best. Let's get into it.

5. Fully Loaded 1999

-While this show wasn't the greatest, it had some upsides to it and a lot of fun moments overall. Jeff Jarrett vs Edge was a solid match, along with The Acolytes tag team match with The Hardy Boyz. I could have done without a few matches in the middle of the card, but I did enjoy seeing Triple H vs The Rock in the Fully Loaded Strap match and the First Blood main event between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Undertaker for the WWF Title. Overall, this event was solid enough, not a classic but solid enough.

4. Armageddon 1999

-I'm not extremely fond of this show as far as some of the matches, but then there are matches that I love. It's a double edged sword like with most shows from the year. I enjoyed the Tag Team Battle Royal, the triple threat for the European Title, and I thought the Chris Jericho vs Chyna match was pretty good, but there are matches here like the Kurt Angle vs Steve Blackman, the Women's match, and the 3 minute WWF Title Match between Big Show and the Big Boss Man that served no purpose. I liked Triple H vs Vince McMahon in the main event, but it went far too long and had a lot of filler in the match. My favorite match of the night however and the highlight of the show was the electric tag team title match between The Rock and Mankind vs The New Age Outlaws. A solid event, not the best, but good enough to watch again.

3. Backlash 1999

-This is the only event on here from the first half of the year, and it wasn't a bad event. With a huge main event there to carry the show, the WWF didn't see the need to put in too much effort when creating this card. Still, the opening six man tag was decent, the Hardcore title match was interesting, and the No. 1 Contenders match for the tag team titles would be good as well. While the Boiler Room Brawl between Mankind and the Big Show disappointed along with the oddly paced Undertaker and Ken Shamrock match, I have to say good things about the two best matches of the night. Triple H vs X-Pac was a really good battle and the main event of The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin definitely didn't disappoint and was the match of the night. Backlash was a fun show to watch and on paper, it could have been a classic. Still, it turned out much better than a majority of the WWF PPVs on the year.

2. Summerslam 1999

-Truthfully, Summerslam is usually hit or miss, and while there were some low moments on this show, overall it was a good event. I liked the fact that the main event was a triple threat, as it allowed for three different styles to clash in one mega match. Triple H, Mankind, and Stone Cold Steve Austin went at it for 20 minutes in a really fun main event that saw Mankind walk away with the title and the win. The rest of the event is hit or miss, but I enjoyed the ridiculousness of The Rock vs Billy Gunn (minus the sight of the portly white woman's cheeks), and I thought the Tag Team Turmoil was great as well. Outside of that, the match of the night might actually be Test vs Shane McMahon, which was a surprisingly good contest. Overall, Summerslam 1999 isn't a classic (no 1999 PPV was), but it was a solid event for the worst year in the WWF Attitude Era.

1. No Mercy 1999

-While this event was far from perfect also, it was easily the most entertaining event of the year without question. Aside from having The Fabolous Moolah wrestle in her senior years, and The Godfather fighting Mideon, this show was solid all around. The show boasts one classic match, with the excellent Ladder Match between The Hardy Boyz vs Edge and Christian for the managerial services of Terri and 100,000 dollars. That match was Ladder Match perfection and it was the match of the night. However, I still enjoyed the Four Corners match, and some of the action between Val Venis and Mankind was great, while surprisingly the Chyna and Jeff Jarrett match was watchable. The main event, Triple H vs Stone Cold Steve Austin was a really good contest, and the ending set the tone for what could have been the greatest triple threat ever. All in all, this is a solid event, and the best event of 1999 without question IMO.

-True

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Eyes on the Ring 2:31 AM  No comment

EOTR Retro: The 5 Best WWE Armageddon PPVs

By @TrueGodImmortal 

A long time ago, many WWE PPVs were regularly in existence. Long before you had Fastlane, Roadblock, or whatever you want to call it, there were PPVs like Vengeance, King Of The Ring, and Armageddon. Armageddon was the PPV that ended the year off for the company, and it was always an interesting card usually. Aside from a few clunkers during 2003-2005, the PPV has a pretty solid history. Today, I wanted to bring another EOTR Retro PPV ranking and discuss the 5 best Armageddon events. Let's get into it.

5. Armageddon 2000

-This makes the list for one obvious reason. The main event. The rest of the card was decent, but the main event was out of this world honestly. Kurt Angle. Stone Cold. The Rock. Triple H. Rikishi. The Undertaker. All inside the Hell In A Cell. For the WWF Title. Yeah, it gets no bigger than this. Kane vs Jericho was solid, as was the Tag Team Title match, but the primary focus of this show and the reason it makes the list? The legendary main event. Enough said.

4. Armageddon 2006

-This Smackdown only PPV was actually pretty interesting from top to bottom, with the exception of the stupid inferno match between MVP and Kane. Also, The Boogeyman vs The Mix? Yeah, no. However, the Benoit vs Chavo match was solid, along with the Cruiserweight Title bout, and one of my favorite matches of the night, the Last Ride match between Underaker and Mr. Kennedy. The main event was a standard tag team match just to see Cena and Batista team up, but the highlight of the show was the Ladder Match for the Tag Team Titles. That match alone was good enough to get this show into the top 5.

3. Armageddon 2002

-I debated on where to put this event because I still love the main event of this card so much. In retrospect, maybe the match isn't perfect, but to me it's a classic. There's more to this card as well, including a great opening tag team title match that saw Booker T and Goldust finally win the titles (a few months too late). Besides that opening contest, Benoit and Eddie Guerrero had a really solid contest, and I actually found the Kurt Angle vs Big Show match exciting due to the finish and the crowd. However, the best match is the near 40 minute Three Stages of Hell contest between Shawn Michaels vs Triple H, a grueling battle that sees Triple H reclaim the World Heavyweight Championship. Outside of the matches, another infamous moment takes place when Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie have a moment in a hotel together that was fun for the time, but relatively tame compared to what could have been seen. All in all, Armageddon 2002 isn't a classic event, but it's still a fun one to watch.

2. Armageddon 2008

-This is a really great event that has some flaws, but it's mostly a really solid card that surprised me in a few ways. I didn't expect the Mark Henry vs Finlay match to be enjoyable, but it wasn't bad. I enjoyed the really solid CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio match, and it's a contender for match of the night. I thought Batista vs Orton was also solid, Jericho vs Cena wasn't too bad, but the apex of the event is the main event. Watching Triple H, Edge, and Jeff Hardy push each other to the limit and seeing Jeff finally win the big one was a great moment and a great match. That alone could get this event near the top of the list.

1. Armageddon 2007

-This is the best Armageddon and the only show close enough to it came a year later. I enjoyed this show a lot, and even though it wasn't perfect, it had a lot going for it. The US Title match between Rey Mysterio and MVP was pretty good, and despite the weak tag match with Kane and CM Punk vs Big Daddy V and Mark Henry, they picked up the pace with two match of the night candidates back to back in Shawn Michaels vs Mr. Kennedy and Triple H vs Jeff Hardy. Chris Jericho and Randy Orton had a solid match, and the triple threat main event seemed to set the tone for the future Mania contest between Edge and Undertaker. This is definitely the best Armageddon event, and it has great action from beginning to end.

-True

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Eyes on the Ring 2:05 AM  2 comments