3. Great American Bash 1996 - Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan
Younger fans might not know who Kevin Sullivan is but he was a great character for years in wrestling and his matches with Chris Benoit in the mid-1990s were hugely influential on today's product. Benoit and Sullivan's feud started as a storyline angle where Kevin Sullivan's wife Woman left him for Chris Benoit. This being wrestling where life imitates art, Woman actually did leave Kevin Sullivan for Chris Benoit and the real-life animosity between the two would eventually force Benoit to leave WCW. However, before that all happened, Sullivan and Benoit engaged in a Falls Count Anywhere match at the Great American Bash in 1996. They immediately brawled into the crowd and fought into the hallways of the arena. In a truly groundbreaking moment, Sullivan and Benoit's brawl spilled into the men's bathroom. Commentators Tony Schiavone and Dusty Rhodes lost their minds as the two workers brawled in the lavatory and slammed their heads into toilets. Fans ran for cover as Sullivan and Benoit beat each other senseless with anything that wasn't nailed down and generally caused havoc. They battled back to the ring, including a table in all of the mayhem until Benoit finally got the pin after a superplex off the top rope. While today the match sounds like your typical Attitude Era hardcore match, this was cutting edge stuff back in 1996 and the internet went wild for it. The fact that such an influential match has been overlooked is sad but justified considering the participants.
