Award Description:

To be given to the best wrestling match you've seen this year, either
live, on TV, PPV, or in an arena, or on tape. If it took place in the past
year, it is eligible. In 1994, this award was split into three: North
American, Non-North American, and overall.  In 1997, due to lack of
participation on both the NA and non-NA sides, it was recombined.

Previous Winners:

  1990: 04/22/90: Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Marty Janetty & Shawn
                  Michaels (SNME)
  1991: 03/21/91: Steiners vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Hase (Tokyo, aired
                  on taped PPV)
  1992: 01/18/92: Royal Rumble (Royal Rumble)
  1993: 10/24/93: Cactus Jack vs. Big Van Vader (Halloween Havoc)
  1994: (overall/NA) 03/20/94: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania)
  1994: (non-NA)     04/16/94: Chris Benoit vs. Great Sasuke (Super J Cup)
  1995: (overall/NA) 08/27/95: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (SummerSlam)
  1995: (non-NA)     11/20/94: Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota (AJW V*TOP Tourney)
  1996: (overall/NA) 03/31/96: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania)
  1996: (non-NA)     03/17/96: Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani
  1997: 10/05/97: Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker (Hell in the Cell cage)
  1998: 06/28/98: Undertaker vs. Mankind (Hell in the Cell cage)
  1999: 10/17/99: Brood (Matt & Jeff Hardy) vs. Edge & Christian (ladder)
  2000: 08/27/00: Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz (tag TLC)

**2001**: 05/21/01: Steve Austin & Triple H (tag) v. Chris Benoit & Chris 
                    Jericho (RAW)

288 first place votes
285 second place votes
278 third place votes

 48 34 28  398   05/21/01 Steve Austin & Triple H (tag) v. Chris Benoit & Chris
                          Jericho (RAW)
 53 29 14  380   02/25/01 Triple H v. Steve Austin (2/3 falls)
 32 22 16  258   04/01/01 Rock (WWF) v. Steve Austin
 12 24 12  156   01/21/01 Chris Benoit (IC) v. Chris Jericho (ladder)
 14 17 11  143   05/31/01 Steve Austin (WWF) v. Chris Benoit (SmackDown!)
 10 19 18  143   10/21/01 Rock (WCW) v. Chris Jericho
  8 18 16  126   06/24/01 Kurt Angle v. Shane McMahon (street fight)
 13  8  8  105   04/01/01 Dudley Boyz (tag) v. Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz 
                          (TLC)
  8 10 12   94   06/11/01 Chris Benoit v. Kurt Angle (RAW cage)
  7 11 12   92   05/24/01 Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho (tag) v. Hardy Boyz v.
                          v. Dudley Boyz v. Edge & Christian (SmackDown! TLC)
  7  7 10   76   08/19/01 Steve Austin (WWF) v. Kurt Angle
  7  2  9   59   03/26/01 Sting v. Ric Flair (Nitro)
  4  5 12   59   05/28/01 Steve Austin (WWF) v. Chris Benoit (RAW)
  3  5  8   46   04/01/01 Chris Benoit v. Kurt Angle
  4  5  4   43   01/08/01 Kurt Angle (WWF) v. Steve Austin (RAW)
  3  5  4   38   04/29/01 Chris Benoit v. Kurt Angle (ultimate submission)
  4  4  2   36   06/08/01 Genichiro Tenryu v. Keiji Muto
  4  3  2   33   05/20/01 Chris Benoit v. Kurt Angle (2/3 falls)
  1  6  4   31   08/19/01 Jeff Hardy (HC) v. Rob van Dam (ladder)
  4  2  2   30   04/29/01 Akira Hokuto v. Meiko Satomura
  2  2  5   26   07/21/01 Low Ki v. American Dragon
  1  4  4   25   07/22/01 Jeff Hardy (HC) v. Rob van Dam
  2  4  1   24   12/14/00 Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata v. Toshiaki Kawada & 
                          Masa Fuchi
  2  2  2   20   09/23/01 Rob van Dam (HC) v. Chris Jericho
  1  3  3   20   04/28/01 Minoru Tanaka v. Takehiro Murahama (NJPW TV)
  3  0  2   19   04/01/01 Twenty Man Gimmick Battle Royal
  3  0  0   15   11/29/00 Kumiko Maekawa & Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita v. Kaoru
                          Kaoru Ito & Nanae Takahashi & Momoe Nakanishi (cage)
  2  0  2   14   08/12/01 Yuji Nagata v. Keiji Muto (G1 Climax Final)
  2  0  2   14   04/14/01 Toshiaki Kawada v. Keiji Muto
  2  1  0   13   02/28/01 Manami Toyota & Kumiko Maekawa & Mima Shimoda & 
                          Etsuko Mita v. Kaoru Ito & Tomoko Watanabe & Nanae
                          Takahashi & Momoe Nakanishi (elimination)
  2  1  0   13   01/21/01 Kurt Angle (WWF) v. Triple H
  2  0  1   12   07/14/01 Rising Son v. Super Dragon (2/3 falls)
  1  1  2   12   12/10/00 Kurt Angle (WWF) v. Rock v. Triple H v. Rikishi v. 
                          Undertaker v. Steve Austin (Hell in the Cell)
  0  1  4   11   06/24/01 Steve Austin (WWF) v. Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho
  0  1  4   11   04/29/01 Rhyno (HC) v. Raven
  2  0  0   10   05/22/01 Tetsuhiro Kuroda v. Hayabusa
  2  0  0   10   04/21/01 Riptide v. Lexie Fyfe v. Brandi Alexander (PGWA)
  1  1  1   10   10/21/01 Christian (IC) v. Edge (ladder)
  0  2  2   10   12/03/00 Mikey Whipwreck & Yoshihiro Tajiri v. Super Crazy & 
                          Kid Kash
  0  2  2   10   09/04/01 Steve Austin v. Rob van Dam (SmackDown!)
  1  0  2    9   01/07/01 Full Blooded Italians v. Kid Kash & Super Crazy v. 
                          Mikey Whipwreck & Yoshihiro Tajiri
  0  1  3    9   05/04/01 Kaoru Ito v. Yumiko Hotta (street fight)
  1  1  0    8   10/08/01 Kurt Angle (WWF) v. Steve Austin (RAW)
  1  1  0    8   04/01/01 Undertaker v. Triple H
  1  1  0    8   01/07/01 Rob van Dam v. Jerry Lynn
  0  2  1    8   04/01/01 Vince McMahon v. Shane McMahon (street fight)
  1  0  1    7   01/14/01 Scott Steiner (WCW) v. Sid Vicious v. Jeff Jarrett 
                          v. Road Warrior Animal
  0  1  2    7   02/18/01 Shane Helms v. Kaz Hayashi v. Shannon Moore v. 
                          Jaime Knoble v. Yang v. Evan Karagias (elimination)
  0  1  2    7   01/21/01 Thirty-man Royal Rumble
  0  2  0    6   03/01/01 Naohiro Hoshikawa v. Naomichi Marufuji
  1  0  0    5   ??/??/?? Low Ki v. Xavier (ladder)
  1  0  0    5   12/??/00 Kenta Kobashi v. Jun Akiyama
  1  0  0    5   12/15/00 Thug v. Selina Majors (FCA)
  1  0  0    5   10/15/01 Rock (WCW) v. Rob van Dam
  1  0  0    5   05/20/01 Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho v. Christian & Edge v.
                          X-Factor v. Hardy Boyz v. APA v. Dudley Boyz 
                          (elimination)
  1  0  0    5   03/??/01 Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera & Singo v. Safari & 
                          Niebla & Olimpico
  1  0  0    5   03/26/01 Primetime & Kid Romeo (Cruiser tag) v. Kidman & 
                          Rey Mysterio Jr.
  0  1  1    5   03/30/01 Satanico & Shocker & Black Warrior v. Ultimo 
                          Guerrero & Rey Bucanero & Tarzan Boy (Juicio Final)
  0  1  1    5   03/21/01 Jason Jett v. Cash (Thunder)
  0  1  1    5   02/25/01 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley v. Trish Stratus
  0  0  2    4   11/01/01 Kurt Angle (US) v. Kane (SmackDown!)
  0  0  2    4   04/20/01 Takehiro Murahama v. Minoru Tanaka
  0  0  2    4   01/24/01 Cruiserweight Contender Countdown (Thunder)
  0  0  2    4   01/14/01 Jung Dragons v. Jaime Knoble & Evan Karagias
  0  1  0    3   ??/??/?? Blue Panther v. Felino
  0  1  0    3   11/27/00 Kurt Angle (WWF) v. Steve Austin (RAW)
  0  1  0    3   10/21/01 Steve Austin (WWF) v. Rob van Dam v. Kurt Angle
  0  1  0    3   09/16/01 Kaoru Ito (WWWA) v. Momoe Nakanishi
  0  1  0    3   08/11/01 Hayabusa v. Kintaro Kanemura
  0  1  0    3   07/27/01 Michael Modest v. Yoshinari Ogawa
  0  1  0    3   07/18/01 Red v. Joey Matthews v. Scoot Andrews v. Qenaan 
                          Creed v. Mike Quackenbush v. Mikey Whipwreck 
                          (Cup Final)
  0  1  0    3   03/21/01 Filthy Animals & Shane Helms v. Elix Skipper & 
                          Kid Romeo & Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Thunder)
  0  1  0    3   02/25/01 Kurt Angle (WWF) v. Rock
  0  1  0    3   02/04/01 Riot v. Wendi Wheels (hardcore)
  0  1  0    3   01/23/01 Christopher Daniels v. Michael Modest (Nitro)
  0  0  1    2   ??/??/?? Matt Briscoe v. Jay Briscoe
  0  0  1    2   10/21/01 Torrie Wilson v. Stacy Keibler (lingerie)
  0  0  1    2   10/04/01 Rob van Dam v. Kurt Angle (SmackDown!)
  0  0  1    2   09/23/01 Steve Austin (WWF) v. Kurt Angle
  0  0  1    2   09/13/01 Rock v. Shawn Stasiak (SmackDown!)
  0  0  1    2   08/07/01 Blue Panther & Shocker & Black Warrior v. Niebla & 
                          Hijo del Santo & Casas
  0  0  1    2   07/22/01 Trish Stratus & Lita v. Stacy Keibler & Torrie 
                          Wilson (bra and panties tag)
  0  0  1    2   04/15/01 Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Mr. Gannosuke & Mammoth Sasaki 
                          v. Great Sasuke & GOEMON & Onryo
  0  0  1    2   03/26/01 Scott Steiner (WCW) v. Booker T (US) (Nitro)
  0  0  1    2   03/15/01 Steve Austin v. Kurt Angle (no DQ SmackDown!)
  0  0  1    2   03/01/01 Steve Austin v. Kurt Angle (SmackDown!)
  0  0  1    2   02/04/01 Boom Boom & Caliente v. Asian Invasion

REJECTED

  0  0  2        "Tie" votes
  0  0  1        11/18/01 Steve Austin & Kurt Angle & Booker T & Rob van Dam
                 & Shane McMahon v. Rock & Chris Jericho & Kane & Undertaker 
                 & Big Show (elimination) (out of timeframe)

RYAN HALL: Rock-Austin X-7, HHH-Austin 2/3, Rumble match.  Wasn't the
rumble match well booked?

EDDIE BURKETT: I think mostly due to an excess of screwy finishes, (and
also a lackluster product which did not inspire me to get most PPV's this
year), I had a hard time arriving at the matches to vote for, with the
exception of Rock/Austin.  That match was SO amazing, both because it was
the two biggest babyfaces of the time meeting, with no idea of the
outcome, and there were so many little spots in the match that references
old feuds.  For example, Rock breaks out the sharpshooter he started doing
around Judgment Day 2000 for his iron man match, and Austin is able to
reverse, because he was doing the sharpshooter back during his feud with
Bret Hart.  Its finale was the only weak spot, and I still remember fondly
back on that match.  After that, none of the matches seem to compare with
the best matches from 2000.  I picked Shane vs. Kurt, due to the brutality
of the match (although I feel bad voting for a McMahon), and I picked Rock
vs. Jericho, because that was another intense good match, ruined only by
the involvement of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley.

PAUL ZOROVICH: Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin on Raw ruled it, baby!  
Old-school psychology, actual wrestling moves, and a screwjob ending that
(surprise) really worked!

NATE GURNETT: I had to vote for it.  It wasn't the best match, by far, but
Flair/Sting is what got me hooked on wrestling in the first place.  Hey,
I'm man enough to admit I cried.  The power trip-chrises match was
fantastic, easily could have main evented a ppv.  Having the Canadians go
over (more or less) clean was great.  And HHH deserves a ton of accolades
for finishing.  TLC was full of holyshit moments.  Great match.  I can't
believe Jeff's not dead.

VIKRAM BIRRING: The WrestleMania main event is the first match that had me
on my feet since TAKA almost took the title from Triple H on RAW long ago.
Heart stopping near falls, long term psychology; it had everything a great
match needs.

SCOTT CRAWFORD: I'm legitimately surprised that the "Russo's Revenge" big
however many man match with Steiner, Booker, Sting, Kronik, Russo,
Goldberg, etc. in the Triple Cage didn't make the cut. I found it to be an
entertaining mess, even with the predictably crap ending. I really hope
Vince got that cage in the WCW buyout. Cool stuff.

STEPHEN TISZENKEL: Really, my only choice is the only match all year that
had me on the edge of my seat and marking out big time, the fateful
Jericho/Benoit vs. Austin/HHH tag championship match that put HHH out for
the rest of the year. That one got me excited about wrestling again after
months of unbearable main events and an energy level approaching zero. Too
bad the WWF dropped the ball, HBK style.

KHENYIAN CHEUNG: All I gotta say is 10 German Suplexes.

DEAN RASMUSSEN: 04/29/01 Akira Hokuto v. Meiko Satomura was SOO full of
hate and beating and greatness that it wins in a walk in my book. Akira
Hokuto goes out on a great note and Meiko Satomura has another notch in
her belt as she hangs with one of the all time greats once again. 12/14/00
Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata v. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi was really
superb. The story was deep as Lake Superior- with Fuchi having to suddenly
transform himself from All Japan comedy wrestler to All Japan Defender Of
the Faith and doing so with a zeal that was beautiful to behold. Iizuka
and Nagata are such a great tagteam and they brought all their hellish
fury to Kawada who got fired up at the challenge and brought it all back
to them. Just a great match. 7/21/01 Low-Ki v. American Dragon was a
better match than their Super 8 finale and it built upon the ideas of the
first masterfully.

CHIP BOOTS: Angle/Austin from Raw is one of the best TV matches I've ever
seen.

SCOTT WORDEN: Best match was The Rock and Jericho at No Mercy..  We will
ignore that pointless run in by Stephanie and pretend it went fully
clean.. Totally awesome match..  2nd match is Austin vs Rock at WM18..
Those two have good chemistry and can put on a show.. only bad thing was
the screw ending..  What can ya do?  3rd would be the Benoit/Jericho vs
Triple H/Austin tag from Raw.. Great match. and great to get one for
free..

JASON MEAD: Once again, the best matches were at the beginning of the
year, like last year. Really good ones in January and February, and then
the Benoit and Jericho May TV matches were good, too. Also, Benoit/Angle
matches ruled.

CHRIS BIRD: Despite that it put HHH on the shelf for eight months, the tag
match between HHH and Steve Austin versus Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit
was simply perfect in every other regard. A clean finish, a hot crowd,
unbelievably good pacing, tons of nearfalls and finishers. Just sublime,
and a great moment rarely reached by wrestling.

SEAN FLYNN: Benoit and Austin, in Canada, with a crowd ready to explode,
was the match of the year, and showed the way things could have gone had
Benoit stayed healthy, Vince not killed the Jericho/Benoit push, and the
Invasion not been on tap.  Intense, realistic, hard hitting wresting with
a simple and easy to get behind storyline.  The Stephanie v. Trish match
gets in here not because it was truly one of the top three, but because it
exceeded expectations more than any other match this year.  I enjoyed it
more than any other match on that card (even more than the Austin/HHH
match which was overrated and frustrating to watch)  They put on a very
emotionally exciting match, which almost did the impossible and made Steph
a face.  Benoit/Angle is the same thing as the Benoit/Austin for
justification, just an amazing match.

CANZ: A stubborn crowd was all that kept the Ola Azul vs Blue
Panther/Signo/Fuerza from status of a classic. I think this was a weak
year for great matches though

SHOCKER 2K: This match was one of the best matches I have ever seen. Just
the simple fact that all four men worked their asses off to win a match
that decided nothing but the tag team titles was simply amazing. Their
performances were all amazing. Worst thing about the match was Triple H's
injury. No other complaints.

KEVIN WONG: Honorable Mention to Steph and Trish Stratus for having a good
match where one did not seem possible, and Riot vs. Wendi Wheels since
Riot debuted one of the few original moves (well, in North America,
anyway) this year (The Riot Twister).  Have I mentioned that I'm a Riot
mark?  OK, just checking...

DONNY L: Tough one, I went with RVD-Jericho match, I thought it was the
best match of the year. Interesting the next two game in free TV, the tag
match for the title Jericho/Benoit vs. H/Austin and the Austin vs. Benoit
in Smackdown from Edmonton.

SIMON GRIER: Rock and Austin told a great story and was easily my match of
the year.  TLC3 was an exciting spotfes that helped get the Y2J-Benoit
team over, and Austin v HHH was an excellent brawl.

ESTRAGAND: Stacy vs. Torrie as a "best match"? Sure, it kept my attention
the entire match. Something the Rock/ Austin/ McMahon/ Angle matches never
seem to do.

PAUL PROSE: Everyone has one match that stands out in their mind, I will
never forget the final match between Flair and Sting.  To see the two men
who stuck with WCW through it all fight in a memorable match on the final
Nitro made me forget all the crap WCW did in the three years prior to that
match.  A perfect end to an excellent federation.

MICHAEL STAKELY: Flair and Sting... sentimental reasons more than anything
else.

JOHN C.: Choosing the best match of the year wasn't so hard for me. I knew
that the Triple H vs. Steve Austin match at No Way Out was the match of
the year right after Triple H got the three count. It was the best
wrestler of this year against the best of the year before and they put on
a classic filled with technical wrestling, brawling and a hell of a lot of
blood. In second I went with Austin vs. Benoit from Smackdown in Edmonton
where Benoit gave Austin ten German suplexes before Austin won with a
rollup thanks to the tights. Great work, amazing heat and an even better
finish. In third I went with the Austin/HHH vs. Benoit/Jericho tag match
from Raw back in May because it had four awesome workers, great heat and
the finish we all wanted to see. It's tough to leave out Jericho/Rock from
No Mercy, Angle/Benoit from 'Mania, Austin/Rock from 'Mania, or the TLC
matches but I only had three votes.

JOE GENTILE: We may have to change this award to the TLC memorial award. I
gave the Benoit/Jericho Tag title win second for the markout moment, and
the Shane/Angle brawl took third for its sheer brutality.

BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: As always, we're spolit for choice here. The
contenders, in more or less chronological order: Austin/Angle (all of
them), Austin/Benoit (ditto), Jericho/Benoit (Royal Rumble), HHH/Austin
(No Way Out), TLC2&3, Angle/Benoit (all of them), Austin/Rock (WMX7),
Angle/Shane (KotR), RVD/Jeff (SS), RVD/Jericho (Unforgiven), Jericho/Rock
(No Mercy). I've probably missed some, too... Any of these would be
deserving winners, but my votes go as follows: 1) HHH v. Austin from No
Way Out, one of the best matches of not only this year, but of all time.
2) Benoit v. Jericho, IC ladder, from the Royal Rumble, the best singles
ladder matches since SummerSlam 95. 3) Rock vs. Jericho, WCW title, from
No Mercy, cause my favourite wrestler beat one of my least favourite for a
World's title. Yeah, I'm biased. Get used to it.

CHRIS LENING: Steve Austin vs. Chris Benoit will always be special to me,
as it was the first time I ever realized there was depth within the
matches, that every move meant something within the context of the match.
It was to wrestling what The Iceman Cometh was to Literature for me: the
first great match where it all made sense on an entirely new and different
level. I watched it six times within two weeks just to make sure what I
was seeing was there. The other two matches on this list I would neither
have seen nor understood without Benoit vs. Austin.

MATTY TONKIN: TLC 2 was great. My favorite match of the year, with the Tag
Title Match (Austin & Triple H vs Jericho & Benoit) a close second. That
tag match had me cheering for the new champs & really had me on the edge
of my seat. Easily the best free television match I saw for the year
(considering I missed the TLC x4 tag-team match, damn it !!)

YNAE316: 10/21/01 Rock (WCW) v. Chris Jericho:  Would've been better if
Rock had tapped... 05/31/01 Steve Austin (WWF) v. Chris Benoit
(SmackDown!):  Two great matches between Benoit and Austin 02/18/01 Shane
Helms v. Kaz Hayashi v. Shannon Moore v. Jaime Knoble v. Yang v. Evan
Karagias (elimination): LOVE that cruiser action

JEREMY SORIA: I attended the Raw from Richmond where Angle and Benoit had
their cage match... I think that was the best match I've ever seen live in
a long time - and the best match televised over basic analog cable in
years.

SHANE SPEAR: The only thing that could've made the Austin/Benoit match
better would have been if I hadn't have read the spoilers beforehand.  
That only ruined the ending of the match though, because everything else
was golden.  10 GERMAN SUPLEXES !  Damn!  Finally seeing the underdogs win
made the tag title match on RAW one of the best of the year.  HHH deserves
everything in the world for continuing this match for all the kids.  
Closing out the catagory, this year's TLC match really didn't live up to
the standards of the previous two, but was still good enought to be a
match of the year.

RAGEROCKRR: Despite a absolutely horrible ending, this was probably Steve
Austin's best work all year.  Benoit's no slouch, but Austin worked his
butt off to make Benoit look like a million bucks.

RYAN FAULCONER: I gave all three votes to joshi matches. I wanted to put
the Ito/Hotta street fight higher thand thirdbut as a stand alone match it
was clearly beat by the awesome AJW 4 on 4 elimination match and Hokuto vs
Satomura. The street fight definitely had the effort of the year though if
that is any consolation. Honorable mention goes to trios title match from
the March EMLL PPV.

WILL SCHLICKENMAIER: See, now this was tough.  AmDrag v. Low-Ki at ECWA in
July won because it was just an incredible match, whereas Austin/Rock was
too, and in front of a bigger crowd, but they were also in the WWF... if I
could, it'd be a first-place tie between those matches.  Honorable
mentions to AmDrag v.  Low-Ki at the ECWA Super 8, Austin v. Benoit on Raw
20 November 2000, Shane McMahon v. Kurt Angle at King of the Ring 2001,
and Austin v. Benoit from the Smackdown on 31 May 2001.

JUSTIN SHAPIRO: This is by far the hardest category, with about eight
candidates.  San Jose tag might be a perfect match.  McMahon interference
in Rock/Austin and Rock/Jericho, how gross.  Austin/Angle at SummerSlam is
a winner if it had a finish -- instead of a groan finish they'd tried to
put heat on Austin, but it didn't work.

MATT SPAULDING: Benoit and Jericho's win over Austin and HHH was not only
a great markout moment, but an amazing match that may have been as good a
match as we'll ever see on free TV, yet it was almost topped by Benoit and
Austin a week and a half later.  Benoit/Jericho at the Rumble edges
Rock/Jericho at No Mercy because of the ending.

SHAWN MULLIN: How do you pick a match of the year in a year filled with
amazing matches!?  Well, Austin/HHH was 40+ minutes of incredibly intense
action without any interference.  I think, looking at everything we've
seen this year, that it is the most impressive match of the year, and the
most flawless.  The only thing lacking in the match is a definate
determination of the better man, but in some ways it's interesting to end
a match in a way that would show them as so close talent-wise that one
would need luck to beat the other.  Benoit/Jericho vs. HHH/Austin was
absolutely the biggest markout match of the year, and it was materfully
built, but it wasn't quite as impressive an athletic display as the NWO
match.  Rock vs. Austin was just a masterpiece of awesomeness, and pretty
much the culimation of the wrestling boom in match form.  The throw backs
to the matches that built the current WWF empire were beautifully inserted
into the match psychology, and the false finishes were the closes and most
exausting of the year.  However, Vince McMahon blatantly interfered, and I
can't give it my vote for match of the year when Vince McMahon was
actually standing in the ring and taking part in the finish as if it was a
handicap match.  I know it made sense in a storyline context, but it takes
away from the match.