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The three matches I am taking aren't necessarily the best, but they are my favorites and the ones that I can just rewatch at my leisure without needing to "get into the mood", etc.
1) Paul London vs. Billy Kidman from No Mercy 2004
This might seem like an obscure match, but I really love it. Paul London & Billy Kidman won the WWE Tag Team Titles from The Dudleys out of nowhere and then Kidman started fucking up his already dangerous looking Shooting Star Press and squished Chavo's head with it. Kidman then acted like this really haunted him and he portrayed a true heel for the first time in the WWE when he turned his back on London.
I was a huge London mark at the time, so to see him show such fire impressed me. He ran out right at the start and went straight to brawling -- a touch that felt organic -- and the whole match really has nigh perfect psychology. The spot where London shows up Kidman's Shooting Star with his own London Calling is briliant. It's a shame they dropped this feud.
2) Royal Rumble 2001
My favorite Rumble and the match that solidified my wrestling fandom. I know Kane might only be the second favorite wrestler of Karl, but as a mark I really enjoyed him back then, and to see him go on such a tear was not only unexpected but rewarding. This had a bunch of colorful characters show up, a nice little hardcore deviation and felt like one of the better Rumbles the WWF ever put together.
3) Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn in the 2/3 Falls Match
Tough to choose a definitive third. But without ever seeing their ROH work, these two won me over with their program in NXT. Whether it was Zayn punking out Cesaro in French and getting the fluke roll-up, or them getting to open the NXT Arrival show together, with Zayn losing but earning Cesaro's respect -- these two delivered such an organic face/heel program. I actually thought they would have made a fantastic tag team after this little rivalry. That being said, I think their 2/3 Falls Match was the best. This was the first time that Cesaro made me go "HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT A FUCKING BEAST!" I have been a fan ever since.
Honorable Mentions:
Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable
Everybody talks about the Banks vs. Bayley stuff, but I always preferred Becky's program with Sasha. I was worried about how she would fare going up against Banks without much of a gimmick and very slyly being turned face, almost by default. Becky wowed the heck out of me, showed some great fire, and she and Banks worked a match with fantastic psychology. Becky looked like a beast (in the most wonderful way a woman can), and when it was all said and done she had lost, but the crowd chanting her theme tune (badly) was a legitimately touching moment.
TLC 2 at WrestleMania X-7
I can't really say much about this match that hasn't already been said. Just a fucking classic car-wreck.
Brock Lesnar vs. Eddie Guerrero from No Way Out 2004
Although I respect the hell out of him as a performer, I actually wasn't the biggest Eddie Guerrero mark. That being said, I remember taking a sick day off school because I had this odd feeling Eddie would be winning the WWE Title, and I didn't want to miss it if he did. Sure enough, Eddie managed to win the belt in this one, but watching the match through years later, I find the match to be brilliantly worked, in a way that I only notice later as a fan intensely scrutinizing the match. It holds up, in my opinion.
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