Greatest Match Round 1: Savage/Steamboat WM3 vs. Angle/Benoit RR2003

[Everlong]

SquaredCircle's Greatest Match of All Time!

(4) "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, WrestleMania III




VS

(5) Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, Royal Rumble 2003



VOTE NOW for which you liked better. Voting will last six days. In the event of a tie, the winner will be decided by which match had more people commenting in its favor.

[prophet]

Ah come on, now.

You guys aren't going to get pissed if I just tell you I voted for Savage/Steamboat and leave it at that? I promise I'll go in-depth in the later rounds

[KaiserGlider]

Just watched both matches back-to-back. Angle/Benoit wins this one. Savage/Steamboat has a great atmosphere, but I liked the style of Angle/Benoit more and they paced their match better. I legit thought it was over after that second Angle Slam, and the submission counters were awesome. If Benoit had won the world title here instead of at Wrestlemania 20, I reckon this match would be a lot more memorable than it is.

Also, Michael Cole was really on top of his game during this time period. Haha I loved it Maggle!

[CubsIn5]

Steamboat/Savage is the match I show people to get them into wrestling. It has an unbeleivable success rate. That match encompasses so many things I love about wrestling (a good portion of which being Randy Savage).

[The Legend]

Steamboat/Savage is the match I show people to get them into wrestling. It has an unbeleivable success rate. That match encompasses so many things I love about wrestling (a good portion of which being Randy Savage).

Agree completely. Savage/Steamboat is the quintessential wrestling match. It losing here is incredibly disappointing.

[Circled Square]

How the hell is Angle/Benoit winning this poll? Savage/Steamboat is way better.

[KaiserGlider]

Tied at 6-6 so far. Which way is this gonna swing?

[Everlong]

I'm gonna watch both matches tomorrow and cast my vote

[Hanley!]

We might get to this one tomorrow. We've been kinda busy, so this tournament has been a little difficult to keep up with over the last few days.

[Kirbi]

Just got in! Angle/Benoit gets my vote, but not by a particularly large margin. Both matches were really great; pace-y, enjoyable, exciting, immersive - all that good stuff.

I did prefer the back-and-forth action in the Angle/Benoit match, to the slight underdog tale in Steamboat/Savage. I felt like it was a more equal, and more hotly contested match. I also wasn't a huge fan of the interference in Steamboat/Savage; even though it was pretty mild, I just didn't respond to it.

Still, these are fairly minor gripes. It was a great match, with a really hot crowd - Angle/Benoit just edged it for me.

[Circled Square]

This is a travesty. I blame immigrants. Savage/Steamboat >>>>>>>>

[Hanley!]

Yeah, I surprised myself by going with Benoit/Angle. I really enjoyed Steamboat/Savage, don't get me wrong. I have no major problems with that match. But Benoit/Angle was a notch above.

I think what makes these contests difficult to judge is that some of these matches are from very different eras and people had very different expectations going in. Compare Steamboat/Savage to the standard at the time and it's leagues ahead. We were a bit more used to that quality and pace 16 years later when Angle/Benoit had their match. So in terms of their place in wrestling history, Savage/Steamboat is more memorable and was probably the greatest match of all time if you 'adjust for inflation' so to speak. If I hadn't watched both of these matches back one after another, I would have voted for Steamboat/Savage.

But I did watch them both back earlier today, and I'm just a sucker for the back and forth competition and the counters on display in Angle/Benoit. I love seeing talented wrestlers trading submissions and fighting in and out of submissions. I love seeing wrestlers counter big moves creatively, and cheeky roll-ups out of nowhere. All of this was on display in Angle and Benoit's match. It was pacey, it was exciting and just a notch above almost everything I've seen in the tournament so far.

[Viazon]

Had to go with Benoit and Angle here. I remember it being an awesome match when I first watched it and forget how brilliant it was. The back and forth action was awesome. The constant reversals were a joy to watch. These two knew each other so well and they had fought each other so many times, they just knew they could steal the show whenever they face each other.

Steamboat vs Savage was a brilliant match in its own right. Thoroughly enjoyed watching and I get what Hanley says about "adjusting for inflation" but Benoit/Angle was just slightly more enjoyable for me.