The John Report Wrestling Blog

I took out the writeups. I went Austin/Hart because to me it’s the best match ever. I love Undertaker/Michaels and would throw it in my top ten, but I’m not picking it over Austin/Hart.

I got to vote for the match that i saw…! I fully apreciate how unbelievably good Bret vs Stone Cold is but was it good enough to show it again a year later…! HBK vs Taker 2 has a lot to live up to? Can it deliver? I can wait to find out

Holy shit!
My vote’s taken it to 50/50 – Come on HBK!!

Taker/HBK…really close though. I gave it to them because they were able to have a great match without the weapons, an the blood and it almost looked like a real fight. Taker was all red and bruised up by the end. Yeah Austin was bleeding like a crazy, but it was a cut job, while Taker was just from being in a brutal match.

Why was my match with the Undertaker never in contention? :(

If I have to vote I guess it’s gonna be Austin vs Hart :p

It’s gotta be HBK v Taker for me. My two most prominant memories of having fun while watching wrestling was their Hell in the Cell classic and last year’s Mania. The kickout of the Tombstone had me shouting at the TV and it was 4am here in the UK at the time!
Austin v Hart was amazing too and I loved their Survivor Series fight at MSG as well, but this sounds stupid to say, you KNEW they’d have good matches. At Mania last year, I had no idea Taker could still tear the roof off and perform like they did. That surprise as much as anything swayed it for me

As much as I loved Taker/HBK (and am looking forward to the show in about two hours), I HAVE to go with Hart/Austin. This was two guys in their prime. That is what elevates it over what Taker and HBK did last year (albeit deserves to be in this final round unquestionably).

Thanks for doing this John, even throughout the gmail BS. I linked my name to the Wrestler Panel article that we did at Project Wonderboy in case you’re interested in checking what the indie guys did…

I have to go with Hart/Austin here as they were both in the prime and delivered one of the most significant matches of Austin’s career. I am looking forward to what Taker/HBK will do tonight (in about 2 hours).

BTW, I linked my name to the Indie Wrestler panel article over at Project Wonderboy in case you’d like to see what the wrestlers came up with. Thanks again for doing this (and trying to help us at our site while dealing the gmail debacle).

I am going with Taker/HBK. They kept their actions inside the ring, and no one thought Michaels was kicking out of the tombstone!

I watched UT HBK for the first time last night since watching it live last year (I have no idea why it took me this long to watch the match). I forgot about the spot where HBK goes for the somersault and UT just pushes him to the side. HILARIOUS spot!

This poll was hard. I watched Austin Hart live and over time it became a better match in my eyes but seeing live, the ending stood out more (at the time).

UT HBK was the exact opposite. Watching it live I thought that it was the best and exceeded my expectations. Seeing it last night, it was still great and deserves to be a 1 seed but I don’t think it’s the best ever.

My vote goes to Austin Hart because it LITERALLY started the Attitude Era, the best thing since ECW & NWO. Nothing has topped 97-03.
(BTW, has anyone noticed that WM13 AND WM25 completely sucked EXCEPT those matches in the finals…just saying)

Oh yea. Me personally- Greatest WM match ever was Angle HBK OR Hogan Rock (crowd made that match F*cking amazing)

And Greatest match ever? Hmm probably 3 Stages of Hell HHH Austin at NWO 2001 or Angle Benoit Royal Rumble 2003.

Well, it’s not my personal favorite (Austin vs Rock @ WM17), so I have to go with Austin vs Bret!

I reckon Taker/HBK has more of a chance of winning because it’s more recent and more people will have seen it.

Either way though you’ve got a deserving winner.

Argh there’s two Michael’s!

Austin/Hart were supposed to have a rematch at WM 14 from what i have read on net before Montreal happened… My vote goes to Austin/Hart… I will never forget this match… This match meant something to WWF at that time… It has a historical significance… HBK-Taker although a classic is just a match…

After this final match up there needs to be a +1 game with taker/hbk wm26.

I’m going to have to go with Undertaker vs. HBK WM26 Better than WM25

I watched both matches, and I can say with confidence that Taker vs HBK was faaaar better than Stone Cold vs Bret Hart. I dunno, I couldn’t get myself too enjoy it as much as I should have.

Austin Hart was a great match not only in the ring but also bc it laid the foundation for the attitude era and I don’t believe we would have so many great matches to choose from without this match to set the standard. Look at the number of great matches before Austin/hart and the number after. This match set the stage so for that it gets my vote. Btw “here comes the sthnicker man”

Undertaker vs. HBK and FTW!

I went HBK vs. Taker at WM25…but after what I saw live tonight, I think that the tourney might have to be done over again, in the interest of fairness….

austin/hart for me great storyline+a great match.plus austin had not been in this big a match prior to this but still he delivered.

i think most people here forget the storyline when voting for the match.great storylines help make better matches guys

taker/hbk was great too i just feel that it was done more to showcase them as great wrestlers than as a story

@Edswoggle
You might have a higher opinion of HBK/Taker II because you were there, which is completely understandable, but watching both matches live at home the one from WM 25 was better. I have HBK/Taker II at ****3/4, while The one from WM 25 is a ***** classic all the way. To be honest I feel I may be overrating HBK/Taker II just a tad because of what the match was about, the end of HBK’s career, a man that is my all time favorite wrestler.

@Skinney
HHH/Austin 3 Stages of Hell was Awesome. I named that my 2nd best match of the decade. The problem is that it’s a forgotten classic by many because it was on a throw away PPV a month before WM and that PPV was never released on DVD. We’ll never see another match like that in WWE the way the company is structured now.

Im not sure what the average age of TJR bloggers is, but I wonder if since the Hart/Austin match is “old”, and there are less fans that have seen it (especially compared to the equally great HBK/Taker match that is just over a year old) that this may sway the votes towards the HBK match. Either way, a classic wins.
For what its worth, I voted Hart/Austin.

I chose Michaels/Taker b/c it beat out my favorite match Rock vs Austin WM 17….I say if you’re gonna lose…lose to the best. With that being said I liked Michaels vs Undertaker II…but IMO it by no way lives up to WM 25 Michaels vs Undertaker I… I liked the story better but the match wasn’t as good. Maybe because I was expecting too much from II considering the classic they put on a year ago. Wasn’t a fan of how it ended…seemed rushed.

I voted Taker/HBK. That match will probably get more votes since it is much more recent and probably everyone here has seen that match. Who knows how many people here have seen Hart/Austin (which was a good match especially during that time period in WWE.)

And I think Taker/HBK at WM25 was better than last night at 26. Last night was good tho.

I VOTE FOR HART VS AUSTIN….THE TIMING OF THIS TOURNAMENT WITH HBK RETIRING AND ALL WILL HAVE ALOT OF BIAS VOTES GOING FOR SHAWN MICHAELS IMO…

I’m gonna vote for hart vs austin. That match is one of the best in my opinion. That was the first match that I can remember as a young wrestling fan completely blowing me away. That was when I got totally hooked and knew I’d be a fan for life. Then wwf got beter and better, but this for me, set the pace for everything else to come.

@Doctor Money
What was your best match of the decade? You obviously have good taste so I am now interested.

I voted for Bret Hart vs Austin b/c both are excellant wrestlers. No offense but undertaker only has great matches with good athletes. But if you think about it, Bret vs Austin @ 13 was a match many people talked about in the 90′s. I guess people like the Undertaker vs Michaels match @ 25 because their bith legends of toady. All in all, Bret vs Austin is the greatest match of all time.

HITMAN#2 :I voted for Bret Hart vs Austin b/c both are excellant wrestlers. No offense but undertaker only has great matches with good athletes. But if you think about it, Bret vs Austin @ 13 was a match many people talked about in the 90’s. I guess people like the Undertaker vs Michaels match @ 25 because their both legends of toady. All in all, Bret vs Austin is the greatest match of all time.

@Skinney
Here’s the link to the “WWE’s Best of a Decade 2000-2009″ blog I wrote. There’s no formal countdown like I did for the WrestleMania matches, but Iwhat I did what name of “best” in a certain category, talked about it, then named 2 runners up. Please take a look http://wp.me/pIgel-1K

When is the winner going to be announced?

WM26 was more important though- it might very well be the most important match of this decade, and last that way until 2020

@Doctor Money
i agree to you on both counts ill say hbk/taker 2 was ****1/2 but it will be overrated coz of hbk’s retirement.there were just too many finishers according to me.its like playing no mercy on n64 with the longer matches cheat on.

i love austin vs hhh.just proves that a brawl can be a gr8 match too.

also i guess taker/hbk is gonna win coz of hbk’s retirement.but perhaps its fitting that the best match tag shud go to mr wrestlemania

i voted for hart/austin