July - Vengeance 2003: Not a lot of strong choices here. However, this one had a really excellent tag match between The World's Greatest Tag Team and Mysterio/Kidman, the emergence of John Cena as a main event player as he took on The Undertaker (a match we may finally see again this Wrestlemania), an entertaining bar room brawl that featured Doink, Brother Love, and the Easter Bunny, and a solid triple threat main event that involved Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, and the Big Show.
August - Summerslam 2002: There were some good choices here. I could have picked 2006 for the fun DX/McMahons and Edge/Cena matches. I also liked 2000 for the first TLC match. However, I opted for 2002 since it had the most complete package. You had a hot opener between Angle and Mysterio, the momentous return of Shawn Michaels as he took on HHH in a street fight and ending with the beginning of the Brock Lesnar era as he defeated the Rock in an entertaining main event.
September - Unforgiven 2006: Of the second half of the year, this was the easiest month to pick. This show stood out from all of the other Unforgivens in a big way, thanks to three big matches. You had a really excellent TLC main event between Cena and Edge (despite the fact that Edge lost). A bloody brawl between DX and the McMahons/Big Show. Finally, you had one of the best retirements ever as Trish Stratus defeated her longtime rival, Lita, to win the Women's Championship for an unprecedented seventh time. A thoroughly entertaining and satisfying show, which was a rarity for the second half of this decade.
October - No Mercy 2002: Slim pickings here, but I went with the 2002 show since it had some notable moments. First, you had The Undertaker bleeding like a stuck pig in order to get Brock Lesnar over in their Hell in a Cell match. You also had the brief retirement of the Intercontinental Championship occur as Triple H had beaten Kane to merge the title with the World Heavyweight Championship. Finally, this show had one of the best matches of the decade as Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle took on Edge and Rey Mysterio for the new Smackdown tag team titles. Not only was the match a classic, it also signified the beginning of the 'Smackdown Six' era.
November - Survivor Series 2009: Perhaps an unconventional choice, but I've actually been disappointed with the treatment this show has gotten in recent years. Nothing can match the classic Survivor Series matches of the 80s and 90s. Anyways, this year's show was extremely enjoyable. You had two entertaining triple threat matches as your main events. Then the Survivor Series style matches actually had some significance as it featured the future of the company (Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Shaemus, and Drew McIntyre) picking up big wins in their respective matches. This show may prove to be a pivotal turning point in the company within a few years' time.
December - Armageddon 2007: Wow, not a lot to choose from here at all. What was I supposed to pick? The December to Dismember show? The 2005 Armageddon show, in which Tim White supposedly killed himself? A lot of dreck to end the year. I went with 2007, primarily for the great match between HHH and Jeff Hardy that finally allowed Hardy to burst through the glass ceiling. It also had solid matches involving Edge/Batista/Taker and HBK/Kennedy. Not a perfect show by any means, but the best from a lousy bunch.
So there you have it. The seemingly best of the best, although I'm sure many of you may disagree. I think we can all agree that the first half of the decade was a lot stronger than the second half. And we can all hope that things continue to improve for the company as they head into another new decade.
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