10 Most Under-Rated Steve Austin Matches Nobody Talks About

4. Vs. Chris Benoit (WWF Smackdown, May 31st, 2001)

Recently on his podcast, Steve Austin named Chris Benoit as one of his favourite ever opponents. Interestingly, the man also stated that he sometimes found it difficult to keep pace with Benoit, who worked at break neck speed each and every time he entered the ring. Shortly before this particular match, Benoit and Austin had torn the house down on Raw. Shockingly, they'd up the ante the next night whilst taping Smackdown. The WWF Title was on the line, and Vince McMahon - aligned with Austin at this time - installed himself as the 'Special Guest Enforcer'. That didn't detract from the match itself however, which was truly gripping. There really should have been a one-on-one singles series between both these guys on Pay-Per-View, this match makes that clear. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x40xs9_chris-benoit-vs-steve-austin-ii-wwe_sport It's been said that Stu Hart was in attendance, and told his son, Bret that he loved the hard-hitting affair between Austin and Benoit. It's not hard to see why, because this was pure, unadulterated wrestling joy. It's more common that wrestling fans rejoice over the Raw match, but this one was arguably even better. Whatever the case, it's definitely more under-rated.