20 Greatest WWE SmackDown Matches Ever

by Michael Hamflett

1. TLC3 (May 24, 2001)

For some, it's understandably too tough to separate the heinous actions of Chris Benoit from his body of work, but for those that can manage the split - this contest is the cream of the blue brand crop.

An exhilarating and logical stunt-show, the short-notice third TLC featuring Benoit and partner Jericho alongside all the usual suspects had all the hide-behind-the-sofa bumps with lashings of psychology to boot. An injured Benoit was one of the focused players, with his dangerous dive through a table forming an early write-out before his gutsy return to the match late on.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett