Crash Holly had made the Hardcore Title meaningful in 2000 by reframing cartoon weapons ascomedic (and literal, in the case of the cookie sheets) foil. Though he sadly wasn't part of the genre's apex here, the triple threat brawl between Raven, The Big Show and Kane was arguably the best ever use of both monsters and the unfancied ECW escapee.
Intricately staged and shot, the trio took the audience on an ultimate thrill ride long before Pitbull gave the rest of us the Green Light a decade and a half.
Raven was hurled through a window, the crew nearly cut the power out riding a golf cart over wires, and Kane even won the title with a high spot as if the match, the belt and/or the man himself actually mattered on the night.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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
