Triple H PPV Match Ratings : 2004-2006 Pre DX
Before I get into these ratings, let me go ahead and say this : You can call me biased because he's my all time favourite, but from the time that Hunter woke the fuck up against Shawn in their DEC 2003 encounter, Hunter was the best in the world all the way until the DX reunion in 2006 when he just decided not to give a single fuck anymore. From Royal Rumble 2004 to Backlash 2006, Hunter wrestled in 20 matches (21 technically but one was a rumble
). I truly do believe in my heart (and most people probably don't realize that with the exception of a few matches that you disagree with me on, you do as well) , that this was the most CONSISTENT 2 and a half years of Hunter's career character wise. Sure, he had his BEST matches in the year 2000, but out of the 20 matches in this time period, I believe that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM is
***+, one of the most unprecedented PPV match streaks in history. What's really scary about this is that nobody talks about it to this day.
2004
RR 04 vs Shawn Michaels :
*** 3/4
WM XX vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit :
*****
BL 04 vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit :
**** 1/2
BB 04 vs Shawn Michaels :
****
Ven 04 vs Chris Benot :
*** 3/4
SS 04 vs Eugene :
*** 3/4
Unf 04 vs Randy Orton :
***
TT 04 vs Shawn Michaels :
*** 3/4
SS 04 Elimination Tag :
****
Watched the Royal Rumble match for the first time in my life yesterday and I thought it rocked. It had the right mix of intensity and actual technical wrestling to satisfy my thirst. Not even close to being Hunter's best LMS match, but definitely one of the better matches he has ever had with Shawn. The last 5 minutes of this match fucking rocked. The finishers, the blood. This match was EXCITING, but the feeling out process lasted too long for me to give it the full 4.
The Triple Threat series with Shawn and Benoit is simply amazing, and produced 2 all-time classics. The Wrestlemania encounter is IMO the greatest triple threat ever, while the Backlash match is the second greatest triple threat of all time IMO. Everything in the Mania match clicked, the atmosphere was off the charts, the story being told was fantastic, all the big spots were there and best of all it stayed consistent the entire time. One of those matches where everything clicks.. Period. The Backlash match follows a more traditional triple threat formula as it features more of a revolving door of one on one matches that kick ass as well, but it just dosen't have that FLASH of the original IMO, it just feels like something is missing and I'm not sure what.
Everybody knows how I feel about the HIAC with Shawn, as I've reviewed it about 85348534 times now. It's long yes, but I loved the brutality and the storytelling, as well as the rollercoaster pace from fast to slow to fast. It's a thrill ride, and I can understand why some people wouldn't like the whole "finisher, lie around, finisher" routine, but it just built atmosphere for me. Love that fucking match to pieces.
Vengeance match with Benoit was pretty fucking awesome as well. Wouldn't go the whole four because they decided to go with Eugene interfering at the end of the match, which completely threw off the fantastic story these two were telling in the ring up until the climax of the match. Not up to the standards of their No Mercy match of course, but all of the fantastic moves and holds coupled with a simple story makes this match awesome to me.
The match with Eugene is actually one of Hunter's best heel performances. It isn't his best match in terms of snowflakes, but his devious performance is actually astounding, and if you get over the sheer stupidity of the storyline (HHH fighting a retarded guy) , you'll enjoy the match a whole lot more. It's Hunter at his best, as he knows his opponent is inferior to him in intelligence, so he just punks Eugene out for the entire duration of the match. It's heel 101, and anybody aspiring to be a heel in professional wrestling should watch this match. One of Hunter's all time great performances.
A match that probably alot of people will disagree with me on is the UNF 04 match against Randy Orton. I personally thought this was a well, slow paced match with some good holds and some good heel offense by HHH. What holds this match back for me would be Orton's vanilla as fuck face offense consisting of chinlocks and other rest holds. This match still fucking rocks because of Hunter's performance as the man who taught Orton everything he knows, but little does he know that Orton has more than what HHH bargained for. Hunter was such a smug motherfucker in this era.
The Taboo Tuesday match with Shawn is ANOTHER controversial match, and I've already explained why I love it in detail: Triple H's offense is methodical as fuck and I love it, while Shawn's facial expressions in the midst of selling his knee injury is boss. I know it seems like Shawn gets stronger with every manuever that HHH pulls on his knee, but that's what I love about this match ; The whole Adrenaline rush that leads Shawn to have that one big gasp of offense, only for him to be screwed out of the title picture once again. It's DEVIOUS storytelling in this one, and a fine chapter to add to the HBK-HHH rivalry.
The Survivor Series match is one of my favourite SS tags of all time (second, behind next years main event
) as we get one of Orton's best face performances, as well as a few different dynamics thrown into the mix. Edge, Benoit, Jericho, and Hunter are great as always, but there are more dynamics added to the match as we get a crazed lunatic like Snitsky into the mix with an underdog like Maven. The action in this match as fantastic, and I personally love the stipulation of the match as this is one of my favourite all time eras in wrestling. Holds alot of personal weight for me, and is one of my favourites.
THIS...Is potentially Hunter's best year PPV wise. For me, it comes down to 2000, 2004, and 2005 (which we'll get to tomorrow, because I'm tired as fuck
). 2004 never had the FIVE ****1/4+ matches that 2000 had, but 2000 also had a few matches from Hunter that were under ***. I'll make up my mind eventually, but for now let's say that 2000 is better simply because it has more all time classics, though 2004 is definitely more consistent.
I'm honestly too lazy...To be continued