#221: Chris Benoit vs. Triple H, WWE No Mercy (10/22/2000).
This is a request brought to me by one of my friends.
This match took place during a very brief time in 2000 where Triple H could be considered a babyface. He was coming off of the feud with Kurt Angle, where they fought over Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H came out of it looking more sympathetic. This story started when Benoit decided to headbutt Stephanie one night on Raw. Triple H didn’t take too kindly to that, nor did he take too kindly to Benoit costing him a #1 contenders match with Angle, which led to Angle challenging The Rock on this very same show.
The two have been brawling for weeks, and this is the culmination of all of that.
The bell sounds, and we get an increasingly strong chant for Triple H, which I think takes him by surprise in the ring. They lock up, and it’s a stiff one. HHH forces Benoit into the turnbuckle, and Benoit quickly forces him around. They lobby for control, and Benoit kicks Triple H downstairs. The Game fires back with hard strikes and kicks of his own. Triple H blocks an enziguri, and sends his knee right down to the mat.
He drags Benoit to the apron, and swings his knee down onto it, and then into the ring post. Back in the ring, Triple H connects with a nasty chop block. He drops an elbow onto the injured knee next. He hooks the leg on the middle rope, and drops all his weight across it, which is a great move. Benoit blocks more leg offense, but runs right into a drop toe hold. Triple H grapevines the knee, and falls backwards, causing it great pain.
Triple H then busts out a Muta Lock of all things, and hilariously, JR and King on commentary don’t know what the hell to call it. Benoit counters some strikes to back suplex Triple H and himself over the top rope and to the floor. Triple H is back up first, but gets tripped and catapulted face first into the ring post. He grabs the Game and sends him shoulder first into the steel steps next. Back in the ring, Benoit pops off some chops in the corner.
Arm bar takedown by Benoit, which further injures the shoulder. He grabs Triple H and sends him shoulder first into the middle turnbuckle, and he follows with a nice hammerlock back suplex. He covers, and Triple H kicks out. Northern Lights Suplex by Benoit, and The Game kicks out once again. He hits him with a rugged clothesline that causes him to roll to the floor. Triple H gets the upper hand and sends Benoit hard into the steel steps.
Benoit fires back by flapjacking Triple H onto the announcer’s table. He brings him back into the ring, and hits a beautiful snap suplex for a nearfall. Benoit hyperextends the arm of Triple H, looking to further isolate the injured limb from the rest of his body. Triple H manages to get back to his feet, but he’s quickly flipped onto his back. Benoit with the cross armbreaker out of nowhere. He follows that up with a hammerlock back suplex.
Benoit scales the top rope, and hits a nice looking flying headbutt, and he lands right on Triple H’s injured arm! He drags Triple H away from the ropes, and gets caught in a small package for a quick nearfall. Triple H fires back with an inverted suplex. Both men are back to their feet, and exchanging hard strikes. High Harley Race knee to the face of Benoit, followed by a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Irish whip by Benoit to the corner, and Triple H kicks him in the face.
He places Benoit on the top rope, and hits a beautiful super plex! Triple H only gets a 2 count. Benoit takes the waist lock and connects with three German Suplexes, the latter being bridged into a pin. Triple H is able to get his foot on the ropes. Tiger Suplex by Benoit, Tanahashi style, and Triple H kicks out again. Facebuster off the ropes by Triple H, and he walks right into the Crippler Crossface submission. Benoit briefly breaks the hold to hammer away at Triple H’s neck, and reapplies it.
Triple H counters the hold into a Samoan Drop, despite not being Samoan. Here comes Stephanie McMahon to ringside, and she slaps Benoit right in the face. He nearly gets trapped in the Pedigree, but he slips out and goes back to hammering on the shoulder. Triple H with some strikes to Benoit, and he tries for the Pedigree again. Benoit slips free and tries for the Crossface again. Stephanie distracts the referee, and Triple H hits a low blow. Pedigree connects, and Triple H takes the win.
What a fantastic outing from both men! I’d call this their best singles match ever, and it’s not even close. It’s certainly better than the singles matches they had in 2004, when Benoit was World Champion and Triple H was, well, not that great in the ring. This was, as JR put it, very rugged. Both men were not shy with how aggressive they were against the other, and that added to the appeal of the match. It was a nasty, stiff wrestling match that stayed relatively pure until the closing moments with Stephanie’s involvement.
I thought the story being told here was nice, with Benoit playing more of a sneaky heel and Triple H sticking to technical wrestling – basically copying the offense of their opponents. It was also nice to see these two have a big PPV while still in their primes. Benoit still had better years to come, but Triple H in 2000 was absolutely in the prime of his career. He was never better than he was this year. Benoit still had a lot to prove, coming off of a disastrous final year in WCW, so these two just meshed well together on this night.