One of the most important aspects of a great wrestling event is having a strong opening contest. They don't always have to steal the show or be the best match of the night but they should get the crowd going and be entertaining from start to finish.
Thankfully, WWE had plenty of quality openers during the 2000s. These range from title matches to multi-person tags to bouts with stipulations attached to them. They all got their PPVs off to a great start and set the tone for what the rest of the night would be, even if other matches couldn't live up to them.
10 Edge, Christian & Kurt Angle vs. Rikishi & Too Cool (Judgment Day 2000)
Sometimes, a good opener doesn't have to be filled with technical wrestling or high flying action. It can just be entertaining. That was the case with Judgment Day 2000 as the show began with this six-man tag that could only be described as delightful.
Before the bell, Edge, Christian, and Kurt Angle pulled out an iconic five-second pose that set the tone. The entire match was a blast with lots of moving parts and some huge personalities shining through. It might come as a surprise to learn that Grand Master Sexay pinned Edge to win.
9 Los Guerreros vs. Team Angle (Backlash 2003)
The Tag Team Titles established in late 2002 on Smackdown produced some incredible matches. Teams like Edge and Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit were stealing the show every week. Los Guerreros were right up there with those duos.
Team Angle (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin) joining the fray only added to the division's talent level. They faced Los Guerreroes to start Backlash 2003 and put on a heck of an outing. The only thing holding this back was that the finish was a tired trope in wrestling.
8 Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (WrestleMania 21)
This was a memorable match for a handful of reasons. The biggest was that Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio entered the show as the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions. However, their friendly rivalry took center stage to start this incredibly important night of wrestling.
As usual, Guerrero and Mysterio put on a clinic in the ring. The match was fast-paced, full of crisp exchanges, and another in their long line of classics together. Mysterio came out as the winner, setting the stage for Guerrero's eventual heel turn.
7 Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin (Backlash 2005)
You could consider this one of the most underrated great matches of the decade. It seems like nobody really discusses it but it deserves more love. Their more famous meeting came at Taboo Tuesday 2004 when Shelton Benjamin won a fan vote and took the Intercontinental Title from Chris Jericho.
A few months later, they met again to start Backlash 2005. Jericho acted more heelish than expected, showing a vicious side when they fought out of the ring. He had Benjamin's number at almost every turn until the champion countered the Walls of Jericho into a jackknife pin to keep the gold.
6 The Hardy Boyz & Lita vs. T&A & Trish Stratus (Fully Loaded 2000)
It's hard to fully pinpoint where the legendary feud between Lita and Trish Stratus began but this is a good place to look. Known at the time as the managers of The Hardy Boyz and T&A, they joined in on the action to kick off Fully Loaded 2000.
The Hardys and Lita were way over as a hot babyface trio, while T&A did their job of being brutes and Trish showed that she had potential in the ring. She and Lita put together an impressive superplex spot as well, which felt ahead of its time. It's a fun match that gives an early look at the Trish/Lita saga.
5 Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero (Vengeance 2003)
When the Invasion angle ended, WCW's United States Championship was dissolved. Just under two years later, WWE revived it and the tournament to crown a champion came down to two of the company's finest wrestlers with a history in WCW.
Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero, about a year away from both being top champions at WrestleMania XX, showcased their talents in this opener. It had plenty of exciting back and forth action but was bogged down a bit by some overbooking.
4 Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio (SummerSlam 2009)
Dolph Ziggler seemed to enter the 2010s as a rising star who peaked in 2013 when he won the World Heavyweight Title. He probably wouldn't have sniffed that moment if not for his tremendous series of matches with Rey Mysterio in the summer of 2009. At Night of Champions, he came close to dethroning Rey of the Intercontinental Title.
He got another shot and it came in the opener of SummerSlam 2009. Ziggler threw everything he had at Mysterio, who proved to be the resilient champion. He withstood it all and kept the title with a top rope rana. This cemented the idea that Ziggler had a bright future.
3 Edge vs. Shawn Michaels (Royal Rumble 2005)
A lot of 2004 saw Edge rising towards the top of the company. As the year was wrapping up, he engaged in a feud with Shawn Michaels that was designed to take him to that next level. They opened Royal Rumble 2005 in a heated battle.
While their Street Fight a few weeks later was superior, this was still a quality match by two of the best to ever step foot in a ring. Edge tried everything to win but couldn't pull it out until he resorted to cheating, marking a huge victory and step towards him becoming a top heel.
2 The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz (Royal Rumble 2000)
The first opening PPV match of the decade was also one of the greatest. To start Royal Rumble 2000, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz made history. They took part in the first ever Tables Match and it's arguably still the best outing in that gimmick's history.
The teams battled all over Madison Square Garden in a wild brawl. It helped that the rule was that both team members had to be put through a table with an offensive move to end the match, so there were table spots without prematurely ending the action.
1 Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (SummerSlam 2002)
The arrival of Rey Mysterio to WWE meant big things. He was an all-time great who could have fantastic matches with a slew of fresh opponents. Almost immediately, Kurt Angle stepped up as one.
They went on to have one of the best opening matches in history. Mysterio attacked unexpectedly at the start, signaling the beginning of a phenomenal bout that lasted just under 10 minutes. A ton of action was packed into a short time and the fans were hooked at the start of a great PPV.