10 Best Daniel Bryan Matches Of All Time

Daniel Bryan will be remembered as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Even before he joined WWE he was regarded as one of the very best in the world, which explains the massive hype surrounding his signing in 2009.

Bryan is one of those rare talents - like AJ Styles and Kazuchika Okada - who can have a good match with just about anyone. From hard-hitting classics on the independent scene to slower-paced, story-driven epics in WWE, he has had just about every type of good match with every type of opponent.

Of course, this illustrious history makes his impending WWE return all the more exciting - particularly with a roster full of amazing talents for him to potentially face: Shinsuke Nakamura, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, and the man who has been a thorn in his side throughout his WWE career, The Miz.

To celebrate Bryan's incredible return to action, we're going to take a look back at ten of the best matches of his career - from small English venues to the main event of WrestleMania. Of course, a wrestler with his level of talent and experience has a very large pool to choose from - so be sure to tweet us (

) with your own opinions.

10. Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match - WrestleMania 31

Bryan has been a part of several excellent multi-man matches, but I wanted to limit this list to contests which featured him more prominently. However, the Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31 must be regarded as one of the best opening matches in 'Mania history - as well as one of the most significant victories of his career.

Until very recently, a lot of us thought this would be the last WWE title win of Bryan's career. Although he was forced to vacate the belt due to his well-publicised health issues, the match itself was a chaotic classic.

The most memorable moment (alongside Dean Ambrose's terrifying bump to the outside) came at the end of the match. Bryan and Dolph Ziggler traded desperate headbutts atop a ladder, each desperately trying to snag the belt hanging above their heads. Ultimately, Daniel prevailed and snagged the Intercontinental Championship for the first time in his career.

9. American Dragon Vs. Low Ki Vs. Christopher Daniels - ROH The Era Of Honor Begins

Bryan is one of the most beloved wrestlers in Ring of Honor history and appeared in a classic Three Way Dance on their first ever card in 2002.

In possibly the first great match of his career, Bryan (then known as American Dragon) faced off against Christopher Daniels and Low Ki. Both Bryan and Low Ki played the intense babyfaces to Daniels' devious heel act, at one stage trading stiff kicks to the Fallen Angel's back to demonstrate their lethal ability.

Ultimately, Bryan wasn't able to pick up the win - but almost secured victory by locking in the Cattle Mutilation on Daniels. Ki broke it up from the top rope, before nailing Daniels with his finisher and winning the first main event in ROH history.

Although perhaps more of a spot-fest than the other matches on this list, this bout really helped put Ring of Honor on the map instantly - displaying the relentless energy and technical greatness that would go on to define the promotion.

8. Daniel Bryan Vs. Triple H - WrestleMania XXX

WrestleMania XXX was the scene of Bryan's greatest triumph, but his path to the main event was secured ahead of time (as in the cases of Randy Orton and Batista). Instead, he was forced to go through Triple H in an excellent opening match - another bout considered one of the best curtain-jerkers in 'Mania history.

The story here was twofold: would Bryan be able to defeat his much larger, stronger opponent, and if so, would he be in any state to compete in the main event?

Bryan did ultimately defeat The Game, pinning him after a signature running knee to the face. Triple H, however, would have the last laugh, attacking Bryan with a chair after the match and further injuring his bandaged arm.

7. Daniel Bryan Vs. CM Punk - Over The Limit 2012

A few years prior, Punk vs. Bryan would have been an internet-exploding indy dream match. Both men played key roles in ROH, including memorable championship reigns, before leaving for the bright lights of WWE.

The pair clashed once in ROH singles competition, but it came slightly before Bryan's heyday. Fortunately for them (and us), they went on to meet several times in WWE - a previously unthinkable turn of events, given their unconventional appeal relative to Vince McMahon's preferences.

Their best match came at Over The Limit 2012, which saw rabidly popular WWE Champion Punk defend his title against (slightly less rabidly popular, but still beloved) heel challenger Bryan. It was a match 100% deserving of main event status, but actually played second fiddle to John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis. Figure that one out...

Punk and Bryan delivered an excellent match clocking in at just under 25 minutes, featuring all the psychological mastery one would expect from the pair. The finish was very unique, and saw Punk roll Bryan into a pinning predicament while trapped in the Yes Lock - submitting 

just 

after the referee had counted three.

6. Daniel Bryan Vs. Randy Orton Vs. Batista - WrestleMania XXX

In the view of many, this wasn't even the best match on the WrestleMania XXX card (that accolade going instead to Bryan vs. Triple H at the start of the show). However, nobody can question its importance in terms of storytelling.

This was an emotional outpouring, as Bryan - so often treated as a 'B+ player' by WWE due to his stature - overcame two older, bigger, more conventional WWE Superstars.

The two heels combined to try and take Bryan out of the match, hitting a combined version of their respective finishers onto the fan favourite, and smashing him through the announce table in the process.

Bryan struggled his way back into the match and delivered his running knee to the face of Orton - only for Batista to cart him out of the ring and cover Randy himself. It was a masterful nearfall, one which put Bryan's victory in just enough doubt. He eventually clamped the Yes Lock on Batista and forced him to tap out, sparking some of the wildest celebrations in WrestleMania history.

5. Daniel Bryan Vs. John Cena - SummerSlam 2013

When discussing Bryan's best WWE match ever, few could argue with his war against John Cena in the main event of SummerSlam 2013. The challenger's popularity had reached fever pitch by this stage of his run, and Cena (a pure babyface at the worst of times) did the noble thing. He voluntarily granted Bryan a match for the WWE Championship, and the pair did not disappoint.

This bout is largely remembered for its aftermath, as special guest referee Triple H turned heel, Pedigreeing Bryan and allowing Randy Orton to cash in his Money in the Bank Contract.

However, the quality of the match itself should not be forgotten. Nowadays, it's reminiscent of Cena's classics against AJ Styles - as well as the landmark showdown with CM Punk at Money in the Bank 2011.

Cena is at his best when he's the larger Superstar taking on a smaller, more technical wrestler - and Bryan's struggle against the odds was so well sold, it almost seemed as though the fans had willed him on to that climactic running knee.

4. Bryan Danielson Vs. Takeshi Morishima - ROH Manhattan Mayhem II

When Bryan signed with WWE in 2009, the hype was immense. His exploits on the independent scene had made him one of the most sought-after stars outside of WWE, due mostly to his unbelievable matches.

I don't want to suggest that Bryan didn't have any good WWE bouts - as this list should have proven by now - but the remaining entries are all from his earlier days. Again, this isn't to take away from his time in WWE; his indie career was just 

that damn good

.

In the mid-2000s, Bryan was pretty much untouchable. One of his best matches came in 2007 against reigning ROH World Champion, Takeshi Morishima. The hulking NOAH star combined with Bryan so well, their bout was voted the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's match of the year - a fitting reward given its blend of technical prowess and sheer brutality.

Bryan's eye was genuinely injured in this match, which admittedly added to its sense of MMA-style legitimacy. He would ultimately lose, but not before pushing himself to breaking point and delivering one of the finest matches of his career.

3. Bryan Danielson Vs. Chris Hero - PWG Guerre Sans Frontières

This match came shortly before Bryan's departure for WWE, so a Chris Hero victory seemed a sure thing. Still, fans expected a war between two of the best wrestlers in PWG history.

Bryan certainly signed off from the promotion with a bang, putting on a 40-minute epic with the reigning champion. The story of the match saw Hero throw absolutely everything at Bryan - including some wicked elbows from one of the best strikers in the business - only for the challenger to hang in there through sheer determination.

The finish came when Hero attempted to reverse a Triangle Choke, lifting Bryan into a powerbomb - only for the American Dragon to cling on and force his opponent to unthinkably tap out!

The shock factor of this result obviously served the match well, but even had Hero picked up a predictable victory, it would still be rightfully regarded as one of the greatest in either man's career.

2. Bryan Danielson Vs. Nigel McGuinness - ROH Unified

With blows to the head far more heavily regulated in wrestling these days, some matches are much harder to watch in hindsight. Bryan's title unification match with Nigel McGuinness is certainly one of those bouts, but it's still worth taking a look at due to the amazing quality of the surrounding action.

With a partisan UK crowd firmly behind McGuinness, this match was contested under specific rules. Both men were allocated three rope breaks throughout the bout, after which their opponent would be allowed to use the ropes to their own advantage during submission holds.

Playing his role as a cocky (but undeniably dangerous) ROH World Champion, Bryan quickly forced McGuinness to use two of his rope breaks - setting up the twists and turns of the remainder of the match very nicely indeed.

The infamous moment came on the outside, where Bryan pulled McGuinness headfirst into the ring post, busting him open in horrendous fashion. It's a shame, because the bout is undeniably one of the finest of either man's career, and would have been even without this spot. Still, it's fitting that one of Bryan's best ever matches came against the man with whom he perhaps shared the most natural chemistry.

1. Bryan Danielson Vs. KENTA - ROH Glory By Honor V

Of all Bryan's best matches, this is perhaps the closest to perfection. In the midst of a historically great ROH World Championship reign, he took on KENTA (now known as WWE's Hideo Itami) in the main event of Glory By Honor V.

The stakes were high. Not only was Bryan's title on the line, but KENTA was undefeated in Ring of Honor. The match didn't just live up to the hype - it surpassed it by 

far

.

It sounds like hyperbole, but this match really did have a little bit of everything; technical wizardry, high spots, and lots of lovely, beefy strikes.

I won't spoil the finish because I really do recommend checking the match out, but from start to end, this bout is pure wrestling brilliance from two absolute naturals.

12. The Great American Bash

When a match involving David Flair is the best thing on a show, you know you’re in serious, serious trouble. And serious trouble is exactly what WCW were in come the summer of 2000, as the company continued to circle the drain on the way to their inevitable demise.

It didn’t have to be this way, but so it was and the promotion didn’t even have the decency to give fans some half-decent wrestling on one of their signature events while it chucked money down the drain and battled with ever-present backstage turmoil.

Kicking this disaster off were the usually dependable cruiserweights. Well, one of them – Chavo Guerrero, wrestling here in his Misfits in Action ‘Lieutenant Loco’ guise – was dependable. The other one was Disco Inferno.

The bout lasted a shade under five minutes and was basically a backdrop for the war between MIA and the Filthy Animals.

It’s worth noting that, at one point, an old man in army clothes came to ringside and ‘had a heart attack’. He was then revived after the match by Major Gunns, who kindly took her kit off before giving him mouth-to-mouth.

Kronik’s victory over the Mamalukes started out okayish enough but quickly disintegrated into a sloppy mess. Mike Awesome and Diamond Dallas Page’s Ambulance Match was a decent enough brawl which really should have been better. Might have been, too, had it not been bogged down with distractions from Kimberly Page, Eric Bischoff and Kanyon.

The Boot Camp match between Booker ‘GI Bro’ T and Shawn Stasiak was a snoozer.

A standard table match between Shane Douglas and The Wall was turned into a ‘Best of Five’ tables match before the bell and if you’re thinking more table bumps meant the match would be better, well you are wrong. Also, even though both men only went through TWO tables, The Franchise somehow ended up as the winner.

The best thing I can say about the United States Title ‘Asylum’ Handicap Match, with Scott Steiner retaining against brother Rick and Tank Abbott, is at least it was short.

Hulk Hogan beat Billy Kidman in a match that was relatively straightforward in comparison to some of the nonsense on this show.

Then there was the ‘Retirement’ match between Ric and David Flair, which was automatically fighting an uphill battle due to the presence of Vince Russo.

The intelligence-insulting ‘Human Torch’ match between Sting and Vampiro was one of the worst matches in WCW history. And if you’re relying on Kevin Nash and Jeff Jarrett to save this steaming pile of sports entertainment excrement then I’ve got some unfortunate news to bring you.

The match was rotten and nobody cared because they were all waiting for Goldberg’s run-in. What they weren’t waiting for was for Goldberg to turn heel in one of the most pointless and ill-advised swerves ever.

11. Halloween Havoc

One of the best things to say about Halloween Havoc 2000 is that it wasn't The Great American Bash.

Starting the festivities was a three-team match for the WCW World Tag Team Championships, with Natural Born Thrillers Sean O’Haire and Mark Jindrak successfully defending against Rey Mysterio &  Billy Kidman and The Boogie Knights.

It was all downhill from there, though.

Reno’s Hardcore Title defense against Sgt. Awol was fun nonsense. Corporal Cajun and Lieutenant Loco’s win over Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak was marginally more exciting than watching paint dry, while the mixed tag between the teams of Shane Douglas and Torrie Wilson and Konnan and Tygress was also a snooze fest.

The DNA Rules match between Buff Bagwell and David Flair should have been an NDA match, with the gimmick being that nobody would be allowed to discuss it afterwards. Although, discussing it would have somehow been better than watching the Kickboxing match between Mike Sanders and Ernest ‘The Cat’ Miller, which was poorly booked and horrendously executed.

The proceeding clunker with Vampiro and Mike Awesome came across like a masterpiece in comparison.  And it was still terrible. As was Hacksaw Duggan and Lance Storm’s Canadian Title handicap match with General Rection and whatever the hell Jeff Jarrett versus Sting was.

Booker T’s DQ win against Scott Steiner was way below what you expect from those two (and had a customarily frustrating finish), while Goldberg’s squash match demolition of Kronik had no business headlining an event people had to pay money to see.

10. New Blood Rising

Vince Russo was back in the big seat as WCW’s creative force and sought to push fresh stars for New Blood Rising. Good intentions and a hungry roster will only get you so far if the gimmicks, angles, storylines and match finishes are horrendous, however.

The pay-per-view at least began on a positive note, with 3 Count and the Jung Dragons risking life and limb in a wild ladder match.

Great Muta and Ernest Miller couldn’t hope to follow them. Nor could Buff Bagwell and Kanyon in their Judy Bagwell on a Forklift Match.

The four corners tag team title match had two too many teams and three special guest referees – with Chavo Guerrero putting on a zebra shirt and joining the fun midway through, because why not?

Shane Douglas and Billy Kidman’s strap match should have been better. It also shouldn’t have been a strap match, but here we are.

That unnecessary stipulation was followed up with a good old-fashioned 'Mud Rip off the Clothes Match' between Major Gunns and Miss Hancock. The winner? Anyone who enjoys a terrible pun.

Sting then buried The Demon before Lance Storm retained his US Title match against Mike Awesome in a Canadian Rules match (which was basically a Texas Death Match with the ref counting a five instead of a three).

A second Kronik match wasn’t something that anyone ordered, let alone against Vampiro and a totally uninterested Great Muta.

Kevin Nash then beat Scott Steiner and Goldberg in the semi-main. Only after Da' Man had entered halfway through and then walked out again in an insufferable worked-shoot centred around him ‘refusing’ to take Big Sexy’s Jacknife Powerbomb finish.

Finally, Booker T retained his WCW World Title in a mediocre and overbooked match with Jeff Jarrett.

9. Souled Out

WCW entered the year 2000 in bad shape, with live attendances, television ratings, pay-per-view buyrates and just about every other metric having tanked in the months leading up to the turn of the Millennium.

You’d think they would put their best foot forward in an effort to turn the tide back, but Souled Out basically showed what kind of year it was going to be for the promotion.

In fact, the very first match did, as Dean Malenko unintentionally got himself disqualified when he bailed out of the ring in a match where the stipulation was that anyone who left the ring would be disqualified.

The Iceman looked mightily miffed in what turned out to be his final WCW appearance.

Vampiro, Crowbar and David Flair didn’t change the tone in their triple threat match. Neither did Big Vito, Johnny the Bull and the Harris Twins.

As for the evening’s fourth match, Oklahoma defeated Madusa to become WCW Cruiserweight Champion. Now let us never speak of it again.

The five-man Hardcore Title match that followed was so bad it gave credence to the theory that WCW were purposely putting on a terrible show.

Leave it to Kidman and Perry Saturn to finally get us there. It was under par for what they could do on any other day, but at least it wasn’t completely awful!

Booker T and Stevie Ray’s battle of the brothers brought us back down to Dudsville, however, and Tank Abbott and Jerry Flynn kept us there before DDP and Buff Bagwell brought us back up to mediocre with their Last Man Standing match.

Triple-duty Kidman finally tasted defeat at the hands of The Wall in a Cage Match, before Kevin Nash powerbombed Terry Funk through three chairs in an entertaining hardcore scrap.

And in the main event, Chris Benoit beat Sid to capture the vacant WCW World Title. A supposed show of goodwill from booker Kevin Sullivan to The Crippler, it was rendered pointless when Benoit – along with Saturn, Malenko and Eddie Guerrero – walked out of the company the very next night. Their loss was very much WWE’s gain and the departure of the so-called Radicalz was four more nails in the WCW coffin.

8. Uncensored

Uncensored was a WCW pay-per-view that typically sucked and don’t you even dare wish that 2000’s iteration was going to break with tradition!

It began with an uninteresting Cruiserweight Title match between The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea – it was a joke about pop music icon Prince – taking on Psicosis.

Once the jewel in WCW’s crown, the cruiserweight division had deteriorated rapidly by this point and this outing certainly didn’t recapture former glories.

It was still better than XS (a repackaged Lenny and Lodi) taking on The Screamin’ Demons – the Kiss Demon and Norman Smiley in facepaint – of course.

The post-match for Bam Bam Bigelow and The Wall's brawl was more entertaining than the match itself, which should have been a hardcore match or something.

We wouldn’t have to wait long for one of those, with Brian Knobbs winning the Hardcore Title in a gauntlet match with 3 Count next.

Booker (you can no longer call him ‘T’ because he lost the rights to that) got some revenge on Harlem Heat 2000 by teaming with Kidman to beat them. It didn’t completely fall apart, which is a miracle considering Stevie Ray and a washed-up Ahmed Johnson were out there.

Sadly, Finlay couldn’t drag anything halfway watchable out of Vampiro in their Falls Count Anywhere contest and the Tag Title match between The Mamalukes and Harris Brothers was exactly as good as the participants would suggest.

A Bullrope Match between Terry Funk and Dustin Rhodes sounds good on paper, but matches aren’t wrestled on paper and this was a major disappointment, save for the typically zany antics of The Funker.

A Lumberjack match between real-life besties Sting and Lex Luger was poor, as was the WCW Title match between Sid and Jeff Jarrett.

That match didn’t close the show – oh no, that was reserved for the latest meeting between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, this time in a Yappapi Indian Strap Match. As redundant as you’d imagine, it was made even worse by the nonsensical finish, as WCW seemingly forgot the rules and had The Hulkster prevail by pinfall.

7. Mayhem

Ready for more lacklustre, if not totally rotten, matches and terrible creative?!?

We check in with a damning indictment of the cruiserweight division’s decline, as ‘Above Average’ Mike Sanders battled Kwee Wee for the gold at Uncensored 2000.

Things picked up with some proper cruisers, as 3 Count, the Jung Dragons and the duo of Jamie Noble and Evan Karagias put on an entertaining three-team spotfest.

There’s only one way to follow a high-flying, all-action match like that: Jimmy Hart versus Mancow. Mancow wasn’t even some excellent Mantaur-type creation. It was just a man. A DJ or something. There was nothing cow about him.

The three-way Hardcore Title match was nothing we hadn’t seen a thousand times by this point and was boring as a result, while Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio’s handicap match victory over Kronik and Alex Wright was nobody’s finest hour.

The Cat and Shane Douglas stunk up the joint, with Bam Bam Bigelow and Sgt. Awol following suit. General Rection and Lance Storm then made it three for three in their United States Title match. The streak was then complete with a fourth stinker, this time between Buff Bagwell and Jeff Jarrett.

The streak was mercifully broken with The Insiders and The Perfect Event scrapping for the tag titles. They kept it simple, the fans responded and it was fine (making it one of the best things on the show at this point).

Lex Luger was as up for being squashed by Goldberg as you would predict, before we checked out with pay-per-view poster boy Scott Steiner beating Booker T in a Straightjacket Caged Heat Match to bag the WCW Title. They’d have better matches together, but this was about as good as you could expect from a WCW main event in this era.

6. SuperBrawl 2000

As per usual, WCW sent out the cruiserweights to warm the crowd up at Superbrawl 2000, with Lash LeRoux and The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea competing in the tournament final for the vacant Cruiserweight Title. It was just sort of…there.

So too was Brian Knobbs and Bam Bam Bigelow’s Hardcore Title match. Like much of what WCW were attempting in this era, it was a pale imitation of stuff WWE were doing far better on the other channel.

Another short and uninspired match came next in the form of Norman Smiley’s handicap match loss to 3 Count.

The theme continued with The Demon versus The Wall and Tank Abbott taking on Big Al in a Leather Jacket on a Pole match.

Shockingly this show was booked by Kevin Sullivan and not Vince Russo but you wouldn’t know it from the matches.

The show finally perked up seven whole matches in with Billy Kidman and Vampiro managing to wake the crowd up with an action-packed (albeit slightly sloppy) bout.

Unfortunately, the Sicilian Stretcher match for the tag titles between The Mamalukes and David Flair & Crowbar couldn’t keep the momentum going. Despite having some fun moments, it was a bit of a mess overall.

James Brown then showed up for a segment with Ernest Miller for some reason.

Ric Flair and Terry Funk’s Texas Deathmatch would have doubtless been better had it been 1989, but it was still fun to see the old boys out there doing their thing.

Speaking of old boys doing their thing, Hulk Hogan’s win over Lex Luger was basically a red-and-yellow greatest hits tape in what was Hogan’s second match back following his post-Halloween Havoc vacation.

And while we’re on the subject of phoning it in, the three-way WCW World Title main event of Sid vs. Scott Hall vs. Jeff Jarrett really should have been better considering the players involved. Scott Hall’s last WCW match was not exactly one to savour.

5. Bash At The Beach 2000

How apropos that Hulk Hogan made his in-ring WCW debut at the very first Bash at the Beach pay-per-view (in 1994) and had his swansong at the very last. Not that the Hulkster envisioned that being the case or anything.

Bash at the Beach 2000 – which, as far as WCW’s efforts in 2000 are concerned, wasn’t completely without merit – was overshadowed by the farcical situation involving Hogan, Vince Russo and Jeff Jarrett.

There are multiple accounts of what actually went down – was it a work? Was it a shoot? The end result, though, was Terry Bollea leaving the promotion and subsequently suing Russo and then AOL Time Warner.

The show began well enough, with Juventud Guerrera and Lieutenant Loco having a perfectly respectable Cruiserweight Title match.

The highlight of the Hardcore Title affair was Ralphus – remember him? – being about a mile away from the action and yet somehow managing to fall over and cut his head open.

The Wedding Gown quote-unquote ‘match’ between Daffney and Miss Hancock, meanwhile, was…something.

Kronik’s tag title victory against the Perfect Event was surprisingly good, despite some predictable sloppiness.

Booker T’s match with ‘Positively’ Kanyon was also good. As was Mike Awesome’s DQ win against US Champion Scott Steiner. They were having a heck of a wild brawl before the weak finish.

And you know what Vampiro’s Graveyard Match with The Demon was? A pleasant surprise? Shockingly entertaining? Better than it had any right to be? No. It was dumb. It was dumb and stupid.

Shane Douglas then beat Buff Bagwell in a match that happened, before the Hogan/Jarrett/Russo farce threatened to bring the show to a screeching halt.

Goldberg defeated Kevin Nash in the semi-main, terminating Scott Hall’s contract as per the pre-match stips. Nice to get that sorted out months after The Bad Guy had actually left the company.

And in the impromptu main event, Booker T beat Jeff Jarrett to win the first of his five WCW Titles. It was actually a really good match, all things considered, but the feel-good moment didn’t fully wash the sour taste out of the mouth after the political nonsense from earlier.

4. Spring Stampede

Fun fact – only one match at Spring Stampede 2000 broke the 10-minute barrier. There were 14 matches on the card, however.

Six days before the pay-per-view, Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff returned to WCW to spearhead a company-wide reboot, which included stripping all reigning champions of their titles.

As a result, most of the matches at Spring Stampede were either tournament matches or matches to determine champions.

Though Russo vowed to lead the New Blood against the Millionaire’s Club of ageing headliners, it was Flair and Luger going over the Mamalukes and Harris twins in the show’s handicap match opener.

And then Mancow beat Jimmy Hart. Yes, WCW booked this match twice on pay-per-view within a six-month period.

Scott Steiner beat The Wall in a short but suitably violent match, before Mike Awesome went over Ernest Miller in a shockingly good bout in two of the night’s quarter-finals in the US Title tournament.

Shane Douglas and Buff Bagwell’s tag title tournament semi-final victory over Harlem Heat 2000 was nothing to write home about, since it wasn’t given enough time to fully suck.

The US Title tournament continued with Sting beating Booker “You Still Can’t Call Him “T” in a solid outing, with Vampiro beating Kidman in another good match from those two.

Terry Funk then won the Hardcore Title by beating Norman Smiley in a really fun, off-the-wall contest.

Steiner booked his place in the US Title tournament final by beating Awesome in a match that was just getting going before it finished.

He would meet Sting, who blew past Vampiro in the other semi-final.

A six-man Cruiserweight Title match featuring Chris Candido, The Artist, Juventud Guerrera, Shannon Moore, Lash LeRoux, and Crowbar was a fun scramble, but didn’t have enough time to hit that next level before Chris Candido walked away with the belt.

Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas then beat Flair and Luger, thanks to interference from a debuting Kronik.

Scott Steiner upended Sting to walk away with the US Title. Match was kinda ‘meh’ and featured yet more outside interference and blood.

And in the main event, ‘The Chosen One’ Jeff Jarrett won his first WCW Heavyweight Title by besting DDP in a tournament final.

3. Slamboree

For a long time, these four words were enough to crush the spirit of any self-respecting professional wrestling fan.

WCW Champion David Arquette. 

And while the Hollywood actor was inexplicably defending the title in the headliner of Slamboree 2000, the show itself really wasn’t all bad.

I mean, it wasn’t good or anything, but this is WCW in 2000, so we’re kind of grading on a sliding scale here.

It started with Chris Candido retaining his Cruiserweight Title against The Artist in a solid enough match.

Terry Funk’s Hardcore Title defence over Norman Smiley – who was accompanied by the clueless Ralphus – was demented fun.

Shawn Stasiak and Curt Hennig had a lame storyline to work with going into their match, but the bout itself was perfectly acceptable wrestling.

Prior to the US Title match with Scott Steiner, Hugh Morrus announced that he would no longer be known by that silly pun of a moniker but, going forward, would be referred to as Hugh G. Rection.

The surprisingly good match was appropriately stiff, with Freakzilla retaining.

A lame ending wasn’t enough to sully the good work put forth by Mike Awesome and Kanyon, two talents who consistently tried to swim against the tide of awfulness in latter-day WCW and could be counted on to put in a shift.

The same can’t be said for Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell, mind you. Their match here was mostly posing and rest holds.

Shane Douglas and Eric Flair’s noted real-life animosity played into their match and gave it a nice level of intensity. A terrible finish, as you might expect, but they had their working boots on before it.

Sting’s win over Vampiro was short, but fun while it lasted.

Once you get over how surreal it is to see Billy Kidman take on Hulk Hogan on a freakin’ pay-per-view, the match itself is shockingly entertaining.

So to was the spectacle that was the main event, a triple cage match like the one seen in the WCW-backed movie Ready to Rumble.

With Arquette mainly staying out of the way, Jeff Jarrett and DDP did the vast majority of the work before – SWERVE! – Arquette turned on Dallas to hand Double J the title.

2. Fall Brawl

Like Slamboree, Fall Brawl featured nothing that was necessarily ‘must-see’, but it wasn’t completely awful and, thus, was one of WCW’s best pay-per-views of the year.

No prizes for guessing the Cruiserweights kicked things off and, while it wasn’t exactly Ultimo Dragon versus Dean Malenko or anything, the title bout between Elix Skipper and Kwee Wee was characteristically energetic.

The Misfits in Action then beat 3 Count in a real hidden gem of a match.

The Harris Brothers got one over on Kronik in what was originally billed as a chain match but soon became a first blood chain match, because if Vince Russo has taught us anything it’s that there’s no such thing as too many gimmicks.

Lance Storm’s Canadian Title defense against General Rection was as good as its place on the card would suggest.

And who doesn’t love a good Jim Duggan heel turn?

Up next, The Filthy Animals and The Natural Born Thrillers went to a No Contest in an enthralling seven-versus-seven affair.

It’s just a shame the match had to be stopped after honorary Animal Paul ‘Mr Filthy’ Orndorff got injured.

The mixed tag scaffold match of Shane Douglas and Torrie Wilson vs. Billy Kidman and Madusa was as awful as it sounds, as was the triple threat with Vampiro, Great Muta and Sting.

The show got back on track thanks to the Bunkhouse Brawl between Jeff Jarrett and Mike Awesome, before Scott Steiner and Goldberg had a hard-hitting big man match.

A bit too much interference and other shenanigans, but the effort was there and the Big Bad Booty Daddy got a big W via technical submission.

And in the alleged main event, Booker T regained the WCW World Title by beating Kevin Nash in a cage match.

1. Starrcade

Saving the best for last, WCW put on a very entertaining Starrcade, in what turned out to be the final version of an event that had been the company’s answer to WrestleMania.

It wasn’t close to WrestleMania calibre, of course, but it was the best we’d seen from WCW in a very long time.

The pace was set in the three-team ladder match opener. Again, it’s not like the Yung Dragons, 3 Count, Evan Karaigas and Jamie Noble were on the same level as the Hardys, Dudleys and Edge and Christian, but they busted butts out there and should be proud of their efforts.

Lance Storm also deserves a lot of credit as he is likely the reason his match with Ernest Miller was as smooth as it was. Terry Funk regained the Hardcore Title in a nutty and very enjoyable match with Crowbar (another performer from the dying days of WCW who always seemed to give it a proper go).

The quality dipped a little with Kronik’s No Contest with Big Vito and Reno, followed up by an uninspired Ambulance Match between Mike Awesome and Bam Bam Bigelow.

The crowd didn’t really care about General Rection’s lethargic US Title defence against Shane Douglas – and can you really blame them?

The Bunkhouse Street Fight between The Filthy Animals, Jeff Jarrett and the Harris brothers didn’t make any sense – then again, this was WCW in 2000 and nothing made any sense – but the action sure was worth watching for spots like Mysterio getting powerbombed from the ring into a dumpster on the outside.

The Insiders won the tag straps from the Perfect Event in a match that was super over with the live crowd. Despite the match itself being basic formula fare, the reactions greatly enhanced it and made it much better than it ought to have been.

Goldberg and Lex Luger also tried in their No Holds Barred match (with Da Man’s career on the line) but this match was hardly a classic.

Two men who could overcome the rubbish were Scott Steiner and Sid Vicious, who closed out the show and WCW’s year on pay-per-view with a shockingly gripping world title match.

There were no classics and still plenty of stuff that made the eyes roll, but Starrcade 2000 was good value (if not too little too late as far as the promotion was concerned).