And then, to top it off, Jericho emerged an even bigger heel, hugging Michaels as a ruse to kick him in the junk. The competitors wore dog collars that connected them by a long metal chain. That means the only way to appreciate their historic trio of clashes is to experience the pace and exhilaration of this opening Allegro in its entirety. Both are the legend of WWE and popular among the fans of WWE family. His back was in terrible condition. Welp, fans certainly swallowed their words a month later when the three put on one of the greatest WrestleMania main events ever and the best triple threat match of all time. Dont worry, you can watch the entire event, uninterrupted on WWE Network. They were so different and so popular, but popular for exactly opposite reasons. Put all of them together and you get John Cena vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship at Money In The Bank 2011. 1 contender was no slouch, having previously claimed the WCW Cruiserweight Championship on two separate occasions. "For whatever reason, he was really good at adapting to different guys' styles. Wrestlemania 19 3. It has been said a great wrestler can make a broomstick look good. used it to his advantage, forcing Blanchard to quit and reclaiming the U.S. We must acknowledge that Benoit's heinous actions in 2007 puts a huge black cloud on this match, but taken in isolation this is truly one of the greatest WWE matches in history. Of course, the No. The match has it all from CM Punk's early match domination, to one of Kofi Kingston's most creative survival attempts, to Triple H's shocking elimination by his best friend, Shawn Michaels, to massive amounts of star power (Cena, Batista, Jericho), to a shocking return and subsequent victory that nobody predicted (Edge). I think this is one of those great cases where the same match benefitted both guys enormously. " RICKY STEAMBOAT, AS TOLD TO ZACH LINDER. As many expected, the 450-pound Mastodon imposed his will on the two-time WWE Hall of Famer, pummeling Flair around ringside. Ten years after main eventing the inaugural Starrcade, Ric Flairs legacy nearly came to an end at the 1993 edition of WCWs marquee event. It was a lot to put on Brock's massive shoulders, but he was up to the task. You want everybody to forget about who won or lost. In capturing his seventh World Championship his last for the next decade The Rock left no room for dispute that he was, indeed, The Great One. Razor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels in WWE's first-ever televised Ladder Match, becoming the undisputed Intercontinental Champion. But this match was more than a jumping off point. Since we are based in Europe, we are forced to bother you with this information. It was a shocking sight that reminded the WWE Universe that The Phenom was most certainly mortal. The 1987 WWE fanbase had been conditioned to watching 6'5 giants with outlandish gimmicks take turns punching each other, with the biggest move being a bodyslam. Nashville should have booed. We disagree, and believe this match delivered exactly what it promised - The End of an Era. Forget it, dont set aside the ending he didnt go out on top, but this is every bit a worthy Retirement Match. Go in there, do your thing and feel it.' The fans in Madison Square Garden, and mainstream wrestling fans in general, had never seen anything like this. I left it out there that night. In the end though, it was Flair who emerged the winner and consequently the champion. Sherri Martel was immaculate, Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan were hitting on all cylinders, and the recurring shots of Miss Elizabeth in the audience were perfectly done. Their first meeting resulted in Sting being sidelined with injuries. It was intense, because Steve Austin wins the regular match with a Stunner, and then its time to start again, this time as a Street Fight. Yet what made this match special wasn't the spectacle, but the storytelling. Not to mention, the huge crowd in Seattle looked so amazing the whole show and were loud the entire night. Swanton Bombs and Spears off ladders are what everybody remembers; what they forget is that Rhyno, Spike Dudley and Lita all got involved, too, essentially making the match a 9-way affair. "Chris and I were not big on going into a Ladder Match. But while the reign was short, the match stands the test of time. An Angle Slam by the gold medalist himself ensured Undertaker would not leave Detroits Joe Louis Arena with the WWE Undisputed Title, though neither would Angle. But he, and we, will always have New Orleans. Years before ECW mastered the in-your-face, crash-TV style of wrestling, these two teams introduced it to the world, as the rivalry between The Midnight Express and The Fantastics exploded in a vicious brawl. The highest-rated NXT match on this list saw Almas and Gargano give absolutely everything they had as they did battle for the NXT Championship. ANTHONY BENIGNO. But compared to what you see on TV today, The Southern Boys versus The Midnight Express is advanced trigonometry." The WWE 2K23 ratings reveal is in full swing, and there are all sorts of juicy numbers floating around. Such skill, matched with The Showoffs amazing move set, electrified the crowd inside Minneapolis Target Center. Finally, there are no NXT matches (we can hear you throwing your laptops now). While the "Canadian Chrises" were universally acknowledged as among the world's best workers, they were still viewed as mid-carders at the time. Perfectly paced and executed, and it was Warriors best match by a mile. The bout soon reached its end with Tanaka's tornado DDT onto two steel chairs, leaving the ECW faithful both staggered and elated by the wanton destruction they witnessed in a short period of time. "The greatest thing about that rivalry is that each week it changed, because there was no destination in sight, and one of the things that got added to it as the rivalry was progressing was Chris getting white-hot and winning the World Championship. One had the flash and showmanship, the other was pure grit and desire. In the first-ever meeting of the men who would become WCWs signature rivals, Sting and Flair battled back and forth, displaying uncanny technical prowess and in-ring ability. 6. The entire crowd stood on their feet with jaws agape wider than the hole in the ring as Bam Bam then pinned Tazz to become the new ECW World Television Champion. It was over-the-top and cartoony in the best way, and resulted in a bout that ended with a bloody Flair getting rolled up by Savage for the 1-2-3. I look at that as the event that turned Mr. McMahon into a Mick Foley fan. No matter how many stars other matches have gotten before and since, Bret Hart vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin remains Hart's best, Austin's best, the greatest WrestleMania bout ever, and the best WWE match of all time. "I wouldn't have necessarily predicted beforehand that Orton and Christian would have been so great together. The challenger ruled the day, but the methods making that result possible set the bar for all of the Cruiserweight competitors who would follow in the footsteps of these larger-than-life fighters. What made TLC II so excellent is it is a painstakingly and let's be honest, painful assembly of jaw-dropping moments that coalesce into a single story. But the shadow of the epic showdown at King of the Ring has lingered ever since. The match was grueling, with Race targeting Flairs injured neck and Flair battling back valiantly. Flair even went so far as to provide altered photos to WWE Magazine long before the advent of Photoshop or TMZ. Royal rumble 2000 6. And, if the meme-ified gentleman in the front row is any indication, a moment few people thought was happening even as they watched the fateful three-count that snapped The Undertakers unblemished WrestleMania mark and instantly elevated Brock Lesnar to god-level bada** status. The Rock is one of the greatest feuds in WWE history because it featured one-half of the proverbial "Mount Rushmore of Pro Wrestling." @JOEYSTYLES, Every Superstar in the locker room is a fan at heart, but Bayley was always a little more outward about it than others. If you are fortunate enough, work hard enough, hit all your marks, dont make any mistakes, you hold up your end, your guy holds up his end, and the situation, aura, awe, mystique and everything else falls into place, you get that match. Add a Hart Family conflicted in support of two universally beloved Superstars and this unparalleled mat classic became an emotional showdown that made WWEs "No. Shawn Michaels, before his 1998 injury, was one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. We were not about to go out there and have a crash-and-burn Ladder Match under any circumstances, so it benefited us that the [rivalry] didnt call for that. Triple H at WrestleMania XXX had more than just an element of truth to it Bryan's quest to reclaim the title stolen from him against the Authority's wishes was pretty much how it went down. But on that night, only one man could. Fans revolted and rather than have his WrestleMania main event hijacked, McMahon relented and set up Bryan for the big bout but first he had to go through Triple H, the face of The Authority. The "Hit Man" shook the No. One of the most storied rivalries in wrestling history reached one of its high points at Starrcade 1985, as Dusty Rhodes battled back from a broken ankle suffered at the hands of Ric Flair and The Four Horsemen to challenge for "The Nature Boys" NWA World Title. This main event saw the changing of the guard from the Race Era to the Flair Era in the NWA, both in real life and in on-screen terms and more than that, it was the moment when the NWA entered fully into the modern era. Wrestlemania 19 - 2003 Something about the late '90s and early 2000's just made for some excellent sports entertainment, and Wrestlemania 19 didn't disappoint. You dont have to talk every day, but when you do, its special, and its always there." 2K has been revealing ratings a few at a time on Twitter over the past week, and a load of . Some dudes just "click" and that certainly applies to Mark Calaway and Michael Hickenbottom, better known by their respective ring names of The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. MICK FOLEY, AS TOLD TO ZACH LINDER. Nothing to fall back on but both men's raw talent. Any "best of" list is bound to stir up opinions; this one is no different. It was a game-changer for the industry. Ungraded & graded values for all '22 Panini Chronicles Draft Picks Rise Above Basketball Cards. But then the most unlikely of challenges appeared in the form of Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. "I'm on record as saying that its probably impossible to wrestle a perfect match, but I think it's as close as I ever got. There's more, but the fact remains that these three teams managed to turn what in lesser hands would be a "garbage match" into a work of art that would impress even old-school purists. He hits a Stunner on Austin while wearing the vest, and when The Rock lands three Rock Bottoms to finish the match, it is a slow, sad three-count. Summerslam 2002 4. He and his brothers-in-arms were seen as kings in competition against their five American foes. Although Hell in a Cell brought out the very best, and the very worst, in The Cerebral Assassin, The Undertaker ultimately sealed the victory with a Tombstone Piledriver as a weary HBK made the three-count that ended an era. His bout with Jericho was "just" a match. Few title wins have felt like a validation of the people as much as they did the champion, but this one, with Bryan celebrating as confetti and YES! chants rained down around him, certainly did. Ricky Steamboat and "Ravishing" Rick Rude showed that at Beach Blast 1992. It was his big debut in a big American company. Except fanswere ready for it, like hard rock lovers listening to Nirvana for the first time after a decade of hair metal. Things don't always go according to plan in pro wrestling. He seemed to be becoming this main event-caliber guy, which is weird to think about in the perspective of 1991. "Up to that point, there had been only one other Ladder Match, and it had been on Coliseum Home Video. And thats the most important thing. KOFI KINGSTON, AS TOLD TO ZACH LINDER. But as Bray emphatically told the Hounds of Justice, "I welcome this war!" That was the same move that actually dislocated John Laurinaitis elbow in Japan in '91, and now [I had] to trust that this is going to work out fine from greater heights. Billed as a battle between the two best pure athletes in WWE history, the match felt appropriately Olympics-esque (by way of Vince McMahon's pro wrestling circus, of course), with both guys mixing mat wrestling with devastating suplexes. In the end, the man who would one day become "Stone Cold" used the ropes to steal a win and extinguish "The Dragon," temporarily. Royal rumble 1992 14. Wrestlemania 10 12. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and TLC II at WrestleMania X-Seven. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. (And all of this before the post-match beatdown, which featured Lex Luger destroying a trophy with a steel chair and Sting making a run-in in slacks, which is about all you can ask for.) Undertaker would not be denied, as he continued his assault on Michaels on top of the cage, even knocking The Heartbreak Kid off the structure, in what was at that point the biggest bump in WWE history. The Beast." Watching at a young age, I was creeped out and weirded out by him. I remembered what Ricky Steamboat taught me about showmanship, what Bobby Eaton taught me about punching, Arn with his general a**kicking and I tried to mimic everything I did after Barry Windham. Of course, when a challenger like Rey Mysterio gets afforded that kind of rare opportunity, he seems obligated to make the most of it, right? It was Mr. McMahon's idea to let me become these characters, because they all had unique stories and they kind of worked in conjunction with Mankind. Brock Lesnar was the most successful rookie of all time, a 6'3, 290 lbs. Skip the "Age in a Cage" and you've got one of the best WCW pay-per-views of all time. It was, quite literally, the WrestleMania main event that shook the world. Look no further than the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship Match that stole the show at SuperBrawl II. See them all and youre pretty well-covered. Announcers Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross had trouble keeping up with the action as the teams launched tables and chairs at each other. From a crash-and-burn standpoint, no, it was not going to be like that. Namely, Guerrero's nuanced character work, which elevated everyone around him, and Lesnar's selling, which managed to make him look vulnerable, even when wrestling a man half his size. I didnt want to do that and be like George Costanza. The two competitors had been at each others throats over the WWE Championship for the entirety of 2003 at this point, and everything came to a head here. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall made a big deal out of it, and they had just started with the company. In John Cena, you had the larger-than-life, musclebound, clean-cut babyface favored by Vince McMahon and mainstream "sports entertainment" fans; and in CM Punk you had the tattooed, flip off the system, indie wrestler beloved by a large segment of the fans. While the match is a clinic, it's most remembered for Triple H's gut check-performance, finishing the bout as planned despite tearing his quad. Any of the above can make a match one of the best ever. But it wasnt just the personal drama that made this one of the best Intercontinental Title Matches of all time. In the midst of complete disorder with bodies flying everywhere, Kane hurled Seth Rollins off the top rope and into the waiting RKO of The Viper. Was The Rock victorious that momentous March night in 2002? In ranking these moments, its tough to top "Stone Cold" Steve Austin siding with the Devil himself and becoming Mr. McMahons corporate champion at the close of WrestleMania X-Seven. Pillman basically gets folded over his head and somehow survives enough to take a second powerbomb. "I knew going into Chicago it would be an unpredictable and hostile crowd, and it really was. But dont let Scottys appearances fool you: The vertical-haired half of Too Cool was a well-versed veteran by the time he and Malenko tangled over the Light Heavyweight Title. But on this night, the Hart brothers stood tall: Bret for winning the title, Owen for beating his brother, and both for putting on the greatest opening match in WrestleMania and WWE history. It's a matter of my physical prowess against his technical and high-flying ability. And WWE's younger fanbase, who grew up with WWE's larger-than-life giants, was underwhelmed by the 43-year old claiming to be "the real champ." "But even I, Bret Harts staunchest supporter, found it hard to not get behind Austin in that match. I think everybody sort of feels 25 is a smidge better than 26, but not enough to bother anybody. " MIKE MURPHY. Mysterio challenged Dragon for possession of the J-Crown, a collection of unified titles that the reigning champion wore to ringside with relish. 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