16. Steve Austin vs. Triple H - NO DQ Match (Survivor Series 2000)
Triple H is such a polarizing figure on the internet, but no one can deny how big a star he was throughout the year 2000. He and Rock actually improved ratings while Stone Cold was out nursing his surgically repaired neck. While Rock became the face of the company, Triple H was the focus of the show. He was the top heel in the business when Austin came back, setting up the perfect segue into renewing their rivalry that had abruptly ended in 1999. Trips hired the driver of the car that ran down Austin at the previous years Survivor Series. They went ahead and pulled the trigger on a potential WrestleMania-caliber clash for Survivor Series 2000. When Austin faced Trips, it was typically an all-out brawl. Trips brought some ring generalship to the bouts, but it was mostly an Attitude Era-specific, knockdown, drag out fight. The Game badly wanted Austins spot as the top guy in the company and actually got it roughly a year and change later. When he came back from his own devastating injury, he completely overshadowed Austin from then on, just as Austin coming back in late 2000 forced Trips to take a backseat.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
