Posted on September 3rd, 2008Top Ten Wrestling Matches
So I’m sitting back a couple weeks ago watching Summerslam and I’m hearing the commentators hyping up this Batista vs. John Cena match as one of the greatest of all time (it wasn’t anywhere close) and I find myself wondering about the good old days of wrestling. It was then that I decided to go through my mental wrestling library, as well as my good friend YouTube, and compile a few of my own “All-time” lists. I’m going to go with the best matches of all time as an appetizer.
Before I go through the list I just want to say a few things. I clearly haven’t seen every single match in the history of wrestling, but I have about almost 20 years of wrestling knowledge and memories. Most of my wrestling background is in the WWF/E followed by WCW. I admit I didn’t really watch ECW as faithfully and I refuse to watch TNA, so it’s possible some of you might have some matches you feel belong on the list and want to add but whatever, it’s my list.
In order for a match to make my list it had to be a match that most people would be able to remember, it had to obviously be exciting, most likely involve a classic or creative ending, as well as have moments that either surprised or shocked you. These are matches that when you were watching them you were sitting up in your seat and had no idea what was going to happen next. If I gave ratings out of 10 these matches would be between 9.5 and 10.
Here it goes.
Honorable Mention
The following matches didn’t quite make the top 10 but they are good enough that I had to mention them anyway. I consider these matches tied for 11th place. This list includes Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon @ Wrestlemania X, Stone Cold vs. The Rock @ Wrestlemania XVII (would’ve made the top 10 if it weren’t for the ending), Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect @ Summerslam ’91, Sting vs. Ric Flair @ The Great American Bash ’90, Triple H vs., Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit @ Wrestlemania XX, Eddie Guerrerro vs. Rey Mysterio Jr., @ Halloween Havoc ’97, and “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat @ Wrestlemania III.
10) Edge vs. Mick Foley @ Wrestlemania XXII – This is a match that I feel is underrated when people discuss these kinds of top 10 lists. But I feel this is the best one-on-one hardcore matches that the WWE ever had. Not only that, but they put it on at the grand stage that is Wrestlemania. Foley having been retired already for a few years still puts on a hell of a show as he takes all kinds of crazy hits and wild moves. He proves that he still has it and Edge isn’t too shabby himself. The match was exciting from start to finish and had an amazing hardcore ending.
9) Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle @Wrestlemania XXI – This match was an instant classic. They stole the show at Wrestlemania and there wasn’t even a title on the line here. These guys went at it back and forth in a match that involved a slam on a table that doesn’t break, multiple finishing holds, countless reversals, and we even get to see Angle remove the straps on his tights twice! Michaels shows why they call him “The Showstopper” and Angle proves he doesn’t suck after all with his relentess ankle-lock. The crowd even gives these two guys a standing ovation after the match is over.
8) Bret Hart vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper @ Wrestlemania VIII – This Intercontinental title match was back and forth and had points where it was punch for punch as well as great displays of wrestling skill. Hart gets bloodied in the match by the champ and looks like he wouldn’t pull it out until he pulls out a clever reversal for the win (Hart uses the same maneuver to beat Stone Cold at Survivor Series ’96). (Side note: While doing my research and watching these matches I realized how much I miss guys like Bobby Heenan, Earl Hebner and The Fink. These guys were the best at what they did especially Heenan who has classic comments in a few of these matches. I also realized how bad of a commentator Vince McMahon really was and I find it so funny that you read stories about him getting mad at commentating mistakes that the broadcasters have been making recently.)
7) Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker @ Bad Blood ’97 – This match is the first time the Hell in the Cell is introduced. It puts two icons against each other and they delivered a hell of a performance (no pun intended). Each guy took turns pounding the hell out of the other. Some highlights involve a piledriver on the stairs (back before the piledriver was an ok move in wrestling), a cameraman getting beat up which leads to the eventual escape from the cell by the wrestlers, the Undertaker sitting up after a Superkick and the first time Kane appears. These guys set the bar real high for all future Hell in a Cell matchups. Watch it.
6) Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin @ Wrestlemania XIII – This is the match that marks the official beginning of Stone Cold as that badass who didn’t give a f*** and did what he wanted and still had the fans cheering for him every second. It also marked the official heel turn for Bret Hart. When watching this match you just get the sense that these two hated each other. It was a submission match but still had segments where they just brawled and went punch for punch including a part where they went into the crowd. Stone Cold gives it his all and never submits and in classic Stone Cold fashion after the match is over and he is recovering he still manages to deliver a Stunner to the ref who was trying to help him.
5) TLC Match @ Summerslam ’00 – One word describes this match: psychotic. These 3 teams (The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian and the Dudley Boyz) put their bodies on the line in this first-time matchup. It was complete chaos in this tag title bout. Some highlights include Jeff Hardy flying off of every object available including a 20ft. ladder, Bubba Ray falling through 4 stacked tables, numerous chair shots that were as close to being real as possible, and Lita actually getting speared and hitting her head for real on a random ladder. Edge and Christian win but I feel like after all that carnage they all felt like they lost. The fans were the winners in this match.
4) Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart @ Wrestlemania X – This was one of the all-time classic storylines. It pitted brother vs. brother and this match was didn’t disappoint at all. The fans at MSG were treated to a special match early on in the Wrestlemania broadcast. This match featured unbelievable technical wrestling and counters and a shocking ending where Owen pulls out the win with a clever counter to one of Bret’s classic moves. However, Bret goes on to win the WWF title later in the night much to Owen’s chagrin.
3) Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels @ Wrestlemania XII – This Ironman match was a classic battle of two of the greatest for the Heavyweight Title, except that it took even more than an hour to decide a winner. This is the unbelievable match where they battle to a draw and if it weren’t for Gorilla Monsoon deciding to have them go into sudden death they may still be wrestling. Instead, it became the night where Michaels goes on to realize his Boyhood Dream.
2) Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog @ Summerslam ’92 – Bret Hart puts on another amazing show here in front of 80,000 fans in Wembley Stadium (starting to see a trend here?). He goes against the Bulldog who is his brother-n-law and these two family members went at it and Hart did all he could to try and win but the Bulldog uses the homecourt advantage to win the Intercontinental Title with another classic and clever ending. The crowd during this match was electric and it’s a match that I will never forget. Only one match will rank higher in my opinion.
1) Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior @ Wrestlemania VI – This match ranks as the biggest and greatest match of all time. This was a storyline that pitted the two biggest superstars of the WWF (they only faced twice and the second time was many years later in WCW where the match didn’t live up to the original). They were both fan-favorites as well as Heavyweight (Hogan) and Intercontinental (Warrior) champions. This match was a title for title match and one that will never be forgotten. I was a child when I saw this match and I remember everything that happens in this match like it was yesterday. This was the true battle of the titans in which the crowd was split right down the middle. Warrior was crazy (he even painted his chest!) and Hogan was at his best. Even though this match wasn’t the classic exhibition of technical wrestling it will forever be the most memorable match in wrestling history. This match was back and forth as each wrestler matched the other whether in different tests of strength, power moves and finishing holds. Warrior goes on to win in an amazing ending as he claimed his spot at the top of the WWF for the moment.
Stay tuned for my top 10 memorable moments in wrestling as well as the top 10 wrestlers of all-time.
