5. Shawn Michaels vs Triple H - Raw, December 29th, 2003
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdFl05ZLPsM For a long time I didn't understand why this feud left me cold. For the most part I enjoyed their matches. They had great chemistry, the story suited and I'm a bigger HHH fan than most. But whenever I heard those names put together, I never felt the least bit excited. Around 40 minutes into their seemingly endless HIAC match at Bad Blood '04, I realised what it was. They were trying too hard. In an attempt to force this feud into the realm of classics, every one-on-one battle they had was overloaded with gimmicks and its importance pushed to exhausting levels by commentary. Their Armageddon bout in particular is overkill personified. This is perhaps why their Raw 2003 championship match stands so tall amongst their back catalogue. Stripped of excessive hype, gimmicks and the pressure of a headline PPV spot, the former DX members tear the house down with nearly 30 minutes of old-school rasslin'. Well, not quite. The match is still overbooked, complete with Flair interference and a Dusty finish. But everything that happens between the ropes until then is solid gold. Even HHH's usual "wear-down" sequence feels exciting in front of a red-hot San Antonio crowd, who go apeshit for every perfectly timed HBK comeback. The pop for Shawn's win is ear-splitting, only for Bischoff to take the belt away following a double-pin. I think they were trying to achieve something on par with Jericho's beautifully orchestrated 'phantom' title win in 2000, but it just came off as tedious. Crappy ending aside, this is one of the best Raw matches in history.