It should be obvious what happened here. We took four Top Ten matches of the 90s lists and saw what overlapped, what made sense, what didn't, who was where, and what we missed. The following jumble of letters and numbers is what we came up with.
Ben Zeidler
10. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (Survivor Series 1997)
9. Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (IYH: Mind Games)
8. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WrestleMania X)
7. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (IYH: Badd Blood)
6. The Undertaker vs. Mankind (KOTR 1998)
5. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania XII)
4. The Rock vs. HHH (SummerSlam 1998)
3. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania X)
2. The Rock vs. Mankind (Royal Rumble 1999)
1. Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)
Jesse Hill
10. Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (SummerSlam 1992)
9. Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania 13)
8. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (IYH: Badd Blood)
7. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WrestleMania X)
6. Shawn Michaels vs. Stone Cold (WrestleMania XIV)
5. Edge and Christian vs. Hardy Boyz (No Mercy 1999)
4. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania X)
3. Stone Cold vs. The Rock (WrestleMania XV)
2. The Undertaker vs. Mankind (KOTR 1998)
1. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania XII)
ProWrestlingTorch.com (Octavio Fierros)
10. Edge and Christian vs. Hardy Boyz (No Mercy 1999)
9. Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WrestleMania X)
8. Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (Summerslam 1992)
7. Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble 1992)
6. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WrestleMania X)
5. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania XII)
4. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (IYH: Badd Blood)
3. The Undertaker vs. Mankind (King Of The Ring 1998)
2. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania X)
1. Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)
DeathValleyDriver.com
10. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania XII)
9. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (Summerslam 1994)
8. Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart (Survivor Series 1996)
7. Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (Summerslam 1992)
6. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (IYH: Badd Blood)
5. Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (IYH: Mind Games)
4. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (Summerslam 1995)
3. Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)
2. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania X)
1. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WrestleMania X)
Matches On All Four Lists
Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WrestleMania X)
Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania X)*
Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania XII)
Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)*
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (IYH: Badd Blood)*
*Denotes a Five-Star match
Reappearing Wrestlers
Out of the 40 total contests listed here, Bret Hart appeared in the most matches (18), followed closely by Shawn Michaels (17), The Undertaker (7), and Stone Cold Steve Austin (7).
Had the list been allowed to include matches through today, the following contests would have been highly considered for the list:
Cactus Jack vs. HHH (Royal Rumble 2000)
Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 2000)
Hardys vs. Dudleys vs. Edge and Christian (SummerSlam 2000)
Hardys vs. Dudleys vs. Edge and Christian (WrestleMania X-7)
Chris Benoit vs. HHH vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XX)
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 21)
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Top Ten WWE Matches Of The 90s
Saturday, June 23, 2007
WWE Booking Team Shines Recently
I for one am impressed with how they have built up the current feuds in the WWE. Hardys/Cade & Murdoch, Flair/MVP, Batista/Edge are all massive feuds that have put on some decent match ups in my eyes.
It has taken away the focus away from the boring Cena "Superman" act . And even look at the up and coming feuds. Marella/Regal is going to be big as Regal is a talented guy but just never had his chance at the top. Sandman/Carlito looks to be a good feud when it gets going too. Benoit/Punk IS going to be the feud of the year which is finally going to bring ECW back to its roots.
I know some of the older ECW fans are going to say "Well, it doesn't have any originals in it!" Well not really, however, WCW died because it didn't push the new talent, the WWE lost a crap load of fans when Austin and Triple H wouldn't move over and let RVD push through in 2003, which is ironic because Austin left WCW when people like Hogan were taking up all the upper card spots. Granted, he made a load of money for the WWE, but like Cena, his act became stale and no one cared, which is a shame because he could have changed and modified it.
And finally, if any of the WWE writing team reads this, please push the Intercontinental title more (see our previous article on this topic). Look at the greats who have held it, such as Austin, Triple H, The Rock who have gone on to be huge in the wrestling world. Build it up to be a massive title on Raw, with more high spots and stellar matches that old school WCW fans will remember in its glory days. I'm talking about Jericho, Rey Mysterio, Guerrero and Malenko who ruled the mid card and made WCW turn from a company that was losing money into a genuine rival for the WWE.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Mistaaaaa Kennedy!!!...
Mic Skills: The Rock’s mic skills are without a doubt amazing. When he recently came back to RAW to hype the “hair vs. hair” match, he totally ad-libbed his promo. Also, he had/has the greatest catchphrases not only in wrestling, but on television overall. However, Mr. Kennedy is catching up with his mic skills. His ring entrance is extremely creative and allows him to use his skills to taunt the fans. And when Mr. Kennedy was feuding with the Undertaker, he did some of the best promos that I have ever seen. The promo with the bloody mic was absolutely wonderful, so much that I almost cried. If you don't believe me, then let him tell you himself.
Although the Rock truly is “the jabroni beating, pie eating, trail blazing, eye brow raising, the best in the present, future and past, and if ya'll don't like him you can kiss the people's ass”….Mr. Kennedy is definitely following in his footsteps. In fact, Smackdown is no longer “the Rock’s show”…it is Kennedy’s. All that WWE has to do is make him a storyline and put him up for the title, and the Kennedy era will officially begin.
...Kennedy
(You have 5 seconds, and the Rock means 5 SECONDS, to comment on this post)
Monday, April 16, 2007
Fantastic....
Let's go through a few names of wrestlers who have held the Intercontinental Championship...Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Edge, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Kane, RVD, Randy Orton, etc... (all of these names have also held the WWF/WWE/World Heavyweight Championship)
Now, with all of those great wrestlers that I just named...put a name like Santino Marella in there and it just doesn't fit. This shows that WWE is making the Intercontinental Championship a belt for mid-carders who show a little potential (Carlito, Shelton Benjamin, freakin' Santino).
I've heard many people say that the Intercontinental Championship has always been a belt for up-and-comers; but Triple H, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, and Kane all held the WWF/WWE/World Heavyweight Championship before they held the Intercontinental Championship.
I understand that WWE wants to put over a new superstar in his home country, but giving him a belt on his first appearance is just dumb, pointless, and unfair to the wrestlers who work their way up to a title.
Backlash promo suggests a Cena loss
Other than the fact that the picture of Edge peering through broken boards like Jack Nicholson in The Shining is probably the coolest idea for a promo I've seen in years, it may just tell us something about the outcome of the main event as well.
See, the WWE forgets that I spend hours checking out the wealth of information on wikipedia. They also forget that before I post, I do my homework. This post's homework led me to look at the most recent promos and the eventual outcome of the event, seeing if there was any correlation. Most featured all the wrestlers in the main event for that night, but a few did not. Let's take a look:
New Year's Revolution 07: DX is in the poster but loses the match to Team Rated RKO due to a legit quadricep injury. I call this one a wash as I feel that DX was supposed to win this match. After seeing the awful finish to the Summerslam 1997 match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Owen Hart (after a botched Hart Driver broke Stone Cold Steve Austin's neck), I'd much rather just stop the match than have them finish as they did at SS 1997.
Armageddon: Kane and The Undertaker are featured in the front of the poster with MVP and Kennedy behind them. The winners? Both 7 footers.
Cyber Sunday: The promo featured all three champs (Cena, Booker, Big Show) holding their respective belts. By the time the night was over, all three were...still holding their respective belts.
No Mercy: King Booker is placed in the very front of the poster with the technically-impressive trio of Finlay, Lashley, and Batista behind him. Booker retains the title.
Unforgiven: The promo features a sole picture of John Cena, who of course, would go on later that night to defeat Edge for the WWE title.
This analysis would seem to suggest that Edge is in line for another title run. Fortunately, my research is consistent with everything I've been hearing about current backstage politics. Apparently, Cena has been getting heat from other wrestlers in response to his streak of beating veteran opponents much more talented than he. Combined with the fact that Edge has been well documented as unhappy with the length of his previous title run, the storms seem to be aligning for a Rated R championship in the WWE. I'm sure Drew will have some interesting ideas regarding how this will all transpire in less than two weeks. Stay tuned for his predictions!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Top Five Wrestlers of the 1990s
With apologies to Mankind, Kane, Diesel, Yokozuna, Sycho Sid, HHH, and others:
The top five wrestlers of arguably the greatest period in wrestling history were determined by a number of factors including title reigns, number of wins, quality of wins, and others. However, the most important component is how these wrestlers perform against other elite wrestlers; more clearly, how any one of the top five wrestled against the any of the other four. When wins and losses are mentioned, only quality and relatively fairly finished matches will be mentioned. For example, the Undertaker's DQ win over Bret Hart at Royal Rumble 1996 does not count as a victory over Bret Hart in the same sense that Shawn Michael's WrestleMania 12 win does.
5. The Undertaker. Let's put it this way: with the exception of the Big Show, Kane, and maybe Kurt Angle, no one is going to beat The Undertaker clean. Unfortunately for him, this means an unusual number of interference prompted losses on the record. Taker has lost to The Rock twice, lost to Shawn Michaels twice (interference by Kane at Badd Blood 1997, half the locker room at Royal Rumble 1998), and lost to Bret Hart once (referee HBK mistakenly hits Taker with chair at Summerslam 1997). Against Austin, Taker has accumulated 3 wins and 4 losses in a relatively even feud. 4 WWE Championships and 6 Tag Team Championships later, the Deadman falls into place at #5.
4. The Rock. Other than my #1 pick, The Rock is the only wrestler on the list to boast wins over both The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin. He is also responsible for one of the most memorable feuds and partnerships of the 90s (with Mankind). Unfortunately, The Rock didn't "arrive" on the scene until WrestleMania 13 in 1997. He never faced HBK or Bret Hart, to my knowledge. He also lost to Austin more times than he won (1-3). For these reasons, The Rock, who won the WWE Championship 7 times, the Intercontinental Championship 2 times, and the Tag Team Championship 5 times sits firmly at #4 overall.
3. Shawn Michaels. Michaels boasts two inference wins over The Undertaker as well as two wins over Bret Hart (one clean, one screwjob). However, he never beat Stone Cold Steve Austin, something both The Rock, The Undertaker, and Bret Hart were all able to do. To his credit, Michaels was the first "grand slam" champion of the WWE and held the WWE championship on 3 separate occasions. Not to be overlooked are his 3 Intercontinental reigns, his 3 Tag Team Championships, and his back-to-back Royal Rumble victories. HBK has been involved in two of the four "five star" matches that have ever taken place in the WWE.
2. Bret Hart. Other than the Rock, whom he never wrestled, Bret holds victories over The Undertaker, HBK, and Austin. Other than the Summerslam 1997 victory over Taker, his other notable wins have been clean. Hart is probably the best technical wrestler in the history of the WWE, met only by the likes of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. Like all the others, Hart holds a Royal Rumble victory along with two King of the Ring victories, 5 WWE Championships, 2 Intercontinental Championships, and 2 Tag Team Championships. Like Michaels, Hart has also been involved in two of the four "five star" matches that have ever taken place in the WWE.
1. Stone Cold Steve Austin. At first, I was hesitant to put a mere brawler with little wrestling ability at my number 1 spot. After looking at his credentials for the position, there was no other choice. Austin holds victories over ALL of the other 4 members of the top five, holding winning records against Taker (4-3), The Rock (3-1), and HBK (who never avenged his loss). His only losing record to an opponent in the top 5 is Bret Hart (1-2). Austin lost to Hart early in his career at Survivor Series 1996 and then again at WrestleMania 13 where Austin never submitted but passed out from a Sharpshooter. Austin would eventually get his revenge on Hart when he injured Hart's leg in a no disqualification match on RAW, which featured Austin refusing to let go of his own Sharpshooter and beating Hart while on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. See my list of apologies at the top? The three that Austin wrestled (HHH, Mankind, Kane), he beat. Like the other top 5, Austin boasts a Royal Rumble victory. He also boasts a second and a third Royal Rumble victory, a feat never again accomplished in the WWE. Like Bret Hart, he won the King of the Ring tournament (1996). He held the WWE title 6 times, the Intercontinental twice, and the Tag belts 4 times. It's hard to find belts Austin hasn't held and people he hasn't beat, making him a tough but fair choice for the #1 spot on this list.
