Top 10 Unforgiven Matches

Top 10 Unforgiven Matches

1.      John Cena def. Edge to win the WWE Championship (TLC Match) 2006

It seems like all the upsets take place in Canada. Obviously not as upsetting as the infamous Montreal Screw Job, still Edge’s lose to Cena in Canada is something to be spoken for. As Mr. America took on Captain Canada this match was a dooms day for the Canuk from day one. The facts are simple, it was Edges home town and he was wrestling his match (TLC) so with the cards stacked in the favor for the Champion it would naturally make sense for the upset to occur and Cena to become “The Champ” again. However, this match did deliver in terms of quality, both Edge and Cena took a ladder bump through a table. In addition one cant help but laugh when Jr calls Lita a Bitch. Overall this match was a very good main event to the 2003 Unforgiven.

HIGHLIGHTS: Cena FU’s Lita, Jr calls lita a bitch, FU off the ladder

2.      Chris Benoit Vs Kurt Angle Unforgiven 2002

Wrestling at it’s best, nothing more really needs to be said. With a pay per view being the show everyone wants to get on for that month usually a gimmick goes with the match such as: ladder match, steel cage or even a title on the line. However with Benoit and Angle it was simply to put on an amazing show. Both wrestlers are on the top of their game during this match and it can been seen with the many german suplexs both men deliver to one another. Along with an excellently executed finish that Bret Heart would be proud of.

HIGHLIGHTS: Perfect German Suplexs, fluent submissions

3.      Randy Orton def. Shawn Michaels 2003

With the Legend vs Legend Killer gimmick in full swing it was only a matter of time before one of the best wrestlers of all time would face the new generation. Michaels and Orton took a good hunk of the pay-per-view (23 minutes) and delivered what one would expect witnessing these two at their best. With Ric Flair at ring side for Randy Orton one can notice the usefulness of having a “manager” in your corner.

 HIGHLIGHTS: Ortons RKO, Michales elbow drop, Flair being Flair, Controversial ending

 

 

4.      Kurt Angle def. Steve Austin to win the WWE championship 2001

Obviously with names such as Kurt Angle, Steve Austin and WWE Championship one can imagine a great match. However, what this title match brought was more then just technical wrestling. Kurt Angle won his first ever Heavyweight title and he did it in his home town.
HIGHLIGHTS: bumps outside the ring, Angles family lifting him on their shoulders

5.      Shane McMahon vs Kane (Last Man Standing) 2003

Shane O Mac seems to be one of the few in the company who has a passion for the sport and business at an equal pace. He has only wrestled a handful of times but everyone is memorable. Besides being a straight up hardcore match this bout is filled with a ridiculous number of spots in and around the ring. The creativity of this match intense as Shane and Kane attacked each other with everything from: chairs, cords, crane cameras, and announcer both. Ultimately Shane proved his worth with another insane high risk spot jumping from the top of the stage into nothing more then a crash matt. Now after reviewing the video some spots are obviously a little bit more on the fake side but no matter what gravity is gravity and a 40 foot jump is still pretty intense for the sake of a show, props to Shane O Mac

HIGHLIGHTS: Van Daminator, 40 foot bump

6.      Triple H def. Owen Hart to retain European Championship 1998

At the first Unforgiven one of the best matches took place between two “mid carders” at the time. Owen Heart brought his A-game to the ring and once again reminds us how much of a lose professional wrestling took upon his death. Seeing a younger less bulky Triple H is an additional treat as he was much more athletic ten years ago. Both wrestlers brought a lot to the table and interestingly enough it was simply for a title which no longer exists.

HIGHLIGHTS: Owen Harts piledriver, Reverse power bomb into DDT, German Suplex Pin

7.      John Cena Vs. Randy Orton WWE Championship 2007

With an intense build up to this Championship match one wouldn’t expect the WWE to book this match the way they did. Ultimately you expect the main event of a wrestling match to go anywhere form 15-25 minutes. In this match up the fans received a massive 7:20. How did this outcome emerge? With Randy Orton in the corner a raged John Cena began laying blow after blow (mostly body shots) which we have seen in several matches through the years. For some reason the ref decided to break them up but Cena wouldn’t let that happen. Finally the ref called the match due to, punching? The only reason I see this happening is the WWE was looking for a more realistic finish with UFC being big at the time. However in the end we all know wrestling is entertainment and the fans were not entertained.

HIGHLIGHTS: WWE ruining a potentially amazing match

8.      World Heavyweight Championship 2003
Goldberg def. Triple H to win the championship

By 2003 the WWE was in a low spot. Many wrestlers such as The Rock and Stone Cold were no where to be seen. However, the newly signed Goldberg was ready to take the championship from the prodigal son of the WWE. Many had suggested Triple H would never drop the title to Goldberg. But in the end we see how the WWE has a master plane. With the win of Goldberg the feud between Lesnar and Goldberg was created which led to the meet at Wrestlemania.

9.      Undertaker vs. Kane (Inferno Match) 1998

The Brothers of Destruction have had many great matches both against and along side one another. With Undertaker feuding for the first time with his brother Kane we also witness one of the last times Paul Bearer was involved with the story line. As 1998 holds a special place as apart of the WWE attitude era we witness a masked Kane vs the true deadman.

HIGHLIGHTS: Paul Bearer gets drummed, Kane set a blaze

 

10.  The Hardy Boyz def. Edge & Christian in a Steel Cage Match to win the World Tag Team championship 2000

With the several times these two teams have battled it only seems right that one of their many encounters makes the top ten at Unforgiven. Unfortunately this match was not given its credit as during 2000 the WWE was at an all time high. With names such as The Rock, Chris Benoit, Triple H and Kurt Angle main eventing this match was seen as filler. Sadly in today’s standards had this been on this years card we would be seeing a match of the year being made.

HIGHLIGHTS: Big cage bumps

 Written by: Lord Gonzo of Shop WWE