11. Kane Vs. Raven (c) Vs. Big Show - WrestleMania X7
The greatest WrestleMania of all time featured arguably the best Hardcore Championship match in memory. Somehow, Raven had given the division something approaching legitimacy thanks to some memorable brawls as champion, and his performance in this match against the two behemoths was first rate. He brought weapons and didn't wait for things to kick off - a sensible option when going up against such challengers. The match started hot, held together by Raven's desperation to hold onto the title. Heyman made note of leaving Show and Kane to kill each other, which seemed to be Raven's strategy. The action memorably spilled backstage, with men being thrown through walls, windows and Lord knows what else. A golf cart became involved, obviously, and eventually everything returned to the ringside area. Show threatened to chuck Raven off the stage but Kane was there with a big boot, sending both of his foes plummeting down below. He joined them with a leg drop onto Show, picked up the 1-2-3 and walked away as champion. This was as good as it was going to get for the Hardcore Championship.
John Bills
Contributor
Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.
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