WWE Attitude Era: All December PPV Main Events, Ranked

• Cagematch Rating: 4.33
• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 0.75 Stars

Stone Cold and The Undertaker are two of the biggest names in the entire history of WWE. With that said, the pair didn’t exactly have a lot of chemistry inside the squared circle. While they engaged in some entertaining battles over the years – SummerSlam 1998 or Fully Loaded 1999 come to mind – many of their other battles left a lot to be desired.

They just didn’t have the chemistry, as you mentioned, that you wanna see. I don’t know why that was. – Jim Ross on Steve Austin’s chemistry with The Undertaker (h/t Sportskeeda)

The worst match The Deadman and The Texas Rattlesnake had took place at Rock Bottom ’98. The fans in Vancouver were ready to love their Buried Alive Match, but the stipulation limited what both legends could do. The whole thing quickly turned into an overbooked mess. Kane ran in near the end and helped Austin bury The Undertaker alive, extending their never-ending rivalry and earning Austin a spot in the ’99 Royal Rumble Match.

4. Triple H vs. Vince McMahon (Armageddon 1999)

• Cagematch Rating: 5.18
• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 1.5 Stars

Speaking of overbooking, that’s the perfect word to describe the wild No Holds Barred Match between Triple H and Vince McMahon from Armageddon 1999. On paper, this should definitely be last on our list, but for some insane reason, it was actually better than the aforementioned Austin/Undertaker Buried Alive Match.

Triple H and Vince McMahon fought all over the arena as the smoke and mirrors elevated the quality of their bout. Stephanie McMahon was the difference maker in the end, shockingly turning on her father to help The Game win their bout and forming the McMahon-Helmsley Regime that would rule the World Wrestling Federation in 2000.

3. Shawn Michaels Vs. Ken Shamrock (D-Generation X: In Your House 1997)

• Cagematch Rating: 5.44
• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 3 Stars

D-Generation X were on top of the world in late 1997 with Shawn Michaels holding the WWF Championship. The group had a pay-per-view named after them in December ’97, just one month after the infamous Montreal Screwjob incident. Shawn Michaels, who had more heat than ever at the time, put his WWF Title up for grabs against The World’s Most Dangerous Man, Ken Shamrock.

There was nothing wrong with their match from a technical standpoint. It was a fine main event with an incredibly lame DQ ending, which never helps. The ending felt even more deflating, given that fans always expected more than “just” a fine main event when Shawn Michaels was involved. Still, their match was good enough to earn a spot in the top three.

2. Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Chris Jericho (Vengeance 2001)

• Cagematch Rating: 6.45
• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 3.25 Stars

By December 2001, the WCW/ECW invasion angle had come and gone, with Team WWF beating The Alliance in the main event of Survivor Series. The next step was to get rid of all WCW titles, including the once-prestigious WCW World Heavyweight Championship. At Vengeance in December, The Rock would defend the WCW Title against Chris Jericho while WWF Champion Steve Austin would meet Kurt Angle. Then, the winners would meet in a title-for-title contest to crown the first WWF Undisputed Champion.

Austin retained the WWF Championship against Angle in the first match of the mini-tournament, while The Great One dropped the Big Gold Belt to Y2J. The winners met just a few minutes later, with Jericho coming out on top thanks to Booker T’s interference. Jericho and Austin put on a good match before the former five-time (five-time!) WCW Champion came out, and history was made at the end of the night.

1. Six-Man Armageddon Hell In A Cell Match (Armageddon 2000)

• Cagematch Rating: 8.65
• Dave Meltzer’s Rating: 4.5 Stars

The unforgettable six-man Hell in a Cell Match from Armageddon 2000 is one of the wildest main events in the company’s history. Therefore, it’s no surprise to see it top this list. Kurt Angle, just 13 months into his main roster run, was already the WWF Champion. That night, the Olympic Gold Medalist stepped inside Hell in a Cell to defend his belt against The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, The Undertaker, and Rikishi. The result was an absolutely chaotic main event that is still talked about to this day.

The highlight of the match was The Undertaker’s chokeslam to Rikishi off the top of the cell, but there was a lot more to the bout than just that all-time great spot. It was unpredictable from start to finish. Everyone brawled all over ringside. Almost everyone bled buckets. The Rock and Austin teased their upcoming WrestleMania 17 showdown. In the middle of all this chaos, the “rookie” Angle found a way to leave the cell with his Championship intact.