20 Best WWE Matches Since 2000
11. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho Vs. Steve Austin & Triple H (Raw, 21 May 2001)
Hidden away on a May 2001 episode of Money Night Raw is one of the best tag team matches that WWE have ever produced.
The idea of these four men coexisting as tag teams seemed preposterous at the start of the year. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho started 2001 with a gruelling feud over the Intercontinental Championship, while Triple H and Steve Austin engaged in a classic Three Stages of Hell bout at No Way Out. The Two-Man Powertrip formed in the wake of Austin's WrestleMania X-7 turn, however, and on a Monday night in San Jose, Jericho and Benoit took them to the limit.
This match had everything. Austin and Triple H were two of the most hated men in the business at the time, while Benoit and Jericho were adored. They demonstrated incredible chemistry together, and the heels' megalomania ultimately led to their downfall. Triple H accidentally smashed Austin with his sledgehammer, Benoit took him down, and Jericho covered Austin to take home the gold.
A stunning match, made even more remarkable by Triple H's injury. The Game tore his quad while saving Austin from the Walls of Jericho, and would spend the rest of 2001 on the shelf, excluding him from the ill-fated Invasion, and a proper blow-off match with his Power Trip partner. Despite all this, Hunter powered through the injury, finished the match, and limped to the back with the officials' assistance.