Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (10/20/97 – Nitro)
Benoit and Guerrero produced many solid matches against each other in WCW, though this may be the best. Their October 16, 1995 Nitro match is a strong match, but lacked crowd heat since both were relatively new to WCW. I don’t like the November 18, 1995 WCW Saturday Night match that others really like. It’s solid and while Benoit is good in it, Eddy was still growing especially as a babyface. Here, they work an abbreviated version of “Benoit tries for the knife edge chop but Eddy keeps ducking out of it.” It’s a really nice formula, especially for two guys who were so talented that they could pull it off. They would work a more extended version of this formula on the March 5, 2001 episode of RAW, though that overall match is not as good as this one. Since Eddy was the Cruiserweight champion and was defending his belt against Rey Jr.’s mask six days later, he had to go over. In a finish that I suspect was put together by Benoit and Guerrero, Benoit hits the second turnbuckle with his head and is “knocked out.” Randy Anderson checks on him and while he does that, Eddy hits a frog splash and Anderson gives a really great displeased look and a little slower count, but Benoit is pinned. Strong match with a great finish.
Time: 7:14
Rating: ***1/2
