Lewis Howse's 10 Favourite WWE Matches Of All-Time

10. Cactus Jack Vs. Triple H - Royal Rumble 2000

The first WWE pay-per-view I remember watching in its entirety was the 2000 Royal Rumble. I caught the wrestling bug in late '99 and was thrilled that the terrestrial television channel Channel Four would be carrying some major shows the following year. The Royal Rumble was the first of those to be broadcast.

I had seen some VHS tapes of shows from from 1996 to 1999 before that, but this was the first show I taped and watched as soon as I got home from school that day. While the debut of Tazz, the first ever Tag Team Table Match between the Hardys and the Dudleys and the Miss Rumble Swimsuit Competition certainly left an impression on young me, it was the brutal WWF Title Street Fight between Cactus Jack and Triple H which lasted longest in the memory.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing as these two psychopaths battered each other with trash cans and stairs and chairs and slammed each other on the floor and through the announcer's table. It was mayhem. Beautiful, controlled mayhem, full of drama. The decisive Pedigree on the thumbtacks just about exploded my brain.

Watching it again in later years as my understanding of the mechanics of wrestling evolved, I began to appreciate it for different reasons. Yes, it was wonderfully violent and the bumps and stunts were impressive, but what struck me was the story of the match and how well they built it so that the violence just escalated to a crescendo.

It's a five-star match and one of the only hardcore style matches (not really my cup of tea) that I can go back and watch regularly and not get bored of or turned off by. This was also the beginning of an impeccable in-ring year for The Game, and you can really see how he was blossoming into a confident ring general and bona fide main event player.

As for Foley, he's had some great matches over the years, but this may just be his finest hour.