Hot take I can't let go of: Survivor Series 2000 had the most obvious traditional elimination match in the history of the gimmick sitting right in front of it, and ran a singles match that ended in a no contest instead. Quick refresher. On the November 6 Raw, Triple H made the save for Austin against Rikishi and Angle, then turned around and cracked him with the sledgehammer — revealing himself as the man behind the hit-and-run at Survivor Series '99. That's your reveal, thirteen days out. Foley books Austin vs. Triple H for the PPV. They go about thirty minutes No DQ, it spills to the parking lot, Hunter gets in a car, Austin gets in a forklift and drops the car from the roof of the arena. Unforgettable visual. As a Survivor Series main event, it's still a no contest. Meanwhile the actual elimination matches on that show were the Radicalz beating a cobbled-together DX (Road Dogg, K-Kwik, Billy Gunn, Chyna) in 12 minutes, and Dudleys/Hardys vs. E&C/Right to Censor in 10. Two short matches nobody has thought about since. And here's what gets me — nearly every man you'd want for the big one was already on that card, mostly doing nothing. Team Austin: Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Hardcore Holly Team Triple H: Triple H, X-Pac, Rikishi, William Regal, Chris Benoit Why it books itself: Rikishi is the man who ran Austin over. He's on the other side by default. Benoit had just reunited the Radicalz and fallen in with Hunter after the reveal. He was literally in Triple H's corner during the backstage chase at the real show. Regal was European champion and beat Hardcore Holly on that card in a match the crowd sat on their hands for. Put them on opposite teams and the exact same pairing suddenly means something. Billy Gunn gets to be the DX guy who chose Austin over Hunter — a far better story than losing a 4-on-4 alongside K-Kwik. Jericho was stranded in a nothing feud with Kane. Give him X-Pac and a reason to be there. Taker is the heavy. Austin needs one. Finish: Austin and Hunter brawl out of the arena and get counted out together, leaving Rikishi alone against Undertaker. Taker survives, Austin still hasn't gotten his hands on Hunter, and you run it to No Way Out — which is where they finally had the great match anyway. You even keep the forklift. Just do it after the bell. So what's your Survivor Series match that never happened? Give me the teams.   submitted by   /u/RespondOk2732 [link]   [comments]