There was a sudden respect because he had just gone through years of learning in one night. It's fair to say that Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker dominate it. The bout started with all four men brawling around ringside. How do you possibly top one of the greatest matches of all time, The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels match at WrestleMania 25? And after battling in enough five-star classics, they knew each others moves like the backs of their hands. "Up to that point, there had been only one other Ladder Match, and it had been on Coliseum Home Video. It stands the test of time." So Hogan vs. Andre at WrestleMania III and Undertaker vs. Mankind at King of the Ring 1998 are out. If youre looking for a match that possesses rare, borderline scary intensity, look no further. 'Taker and I, when we see each other, we feel like two old war buddies that shared a bunker together and lived through it. Whats Austin gonna do, hit a Stunner and then walk out the cage door? But they do a full-on Steel Cage Match. "The thing about both me and Savage was that neither one of us liked to do a lot of talking when it came to settling our differences. I didnt know who I wanted to win, but the moment when Razor climbed up and grabbed both titles became such an iconic moment, especially for me as a kid, because I was there. I think it helped people see Randy in a different way. It was wild and it was extreme. Newly arrived to WWE, the ever-serious Malenko was a natural foil for the goofy, bucket-hat-wearing, Worm-performing Scotty 2 Hotty. "I love the match. Not only did it feature the greatest debut of all time, but the first Hell In A Cell match remains the greatest Hell In A Cell match. While his "Yes!" When you watch this one on WWE Network, it won't take long for you to realize why. Seeing them butt heads was very identifiable, and when they actually went at it, it was very emotional and real. WWE Women's Matches That Have Received 4.00 stars out of 5 Charlotte vs Natalya Event: NXT Takeover (2014) | Rating: 4.00 stars Charlotte Flair and Natalya faced off at the first-ever NXT Takeover event back in 2014. You can't overpower The Beast Incarnate, you can only hope to outwrestle him. The victory put to rest the idea that Bryan was a "weak link" and proved The Shield could be beaten. I was really intrigued by his style and was looking forward to getting in the ring with him. You can teach pro wrestling moves. Long story short? In the end, though, it was Mr. Pay-Per-View who dealt the final blow with a soaring Five-Star Frog Splash. The fact he missed it keeps this match out of the top 20, but there's no denying few WrestleMania main events aimed higher and absolutely nailed the landing. On top of that, they were two of the best in-ring performers. You could make the case that this was the best of their three WrestleMania matches because they knew each other so well at this point. Sign up for Peacock to watch. Every single minute of this bout was intense and every competitor added his own wild moments to the highlight reel in a mad scramble for the coveted Money in the Bank briefcase. There is no greater test of a wrestler's stamina than an Iron Man Match. WWE SmackDown Results - 2/24/23 (Firefly . Watch every Premium Live Event and enjoy some of your favorite WWE content on Disney + HotStar. TOM HERRERA, Before he was the most successful @**-whooper in history, Steve Austin was an amazing mat wrestler who could hold his own with anybody in the world, including Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. See them all and youre pretty well-covered. The competitors wore dog collars that connected them by a long metal chain. Mysterio challenged Dragon for possession of the J-Crown, a collection of unified titles that the reigning champion wore to ringside with relish. Commentating bouts between The Japanese Buzzsaw and The Insane Luchador was always fun. For Triple H's Royal Rumble opponent, WWE turned Cactus Jack into a mythic figure less a flesh-and-blood man than violence personified. 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. "I wouldn't have necessarily predicted beforehand that Orton and Christian would have been so great together. Triple H picked up the "W," but both men emerged changed forever. Throwing caution to the wind, both teams pushed their bodies to the limit in a Ladder Match display the likes of which the WWE Universe had never seen before. The 11 minutes of mayhem saw the two future WWE Superstars use everything in their offensive arsenals as well as lots of steel chairs. He suffered greatly, as did I. In the weeks leading up to the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, The Wyatt Family cost the members of The Shield an opportunity to compete inside the sinister structure for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. BOBBY MELOK. Every wrestler knew his future depended on this match and each brought it in a big way. This was the biggest match in my career and probably the last time that my heart was completely in being in the ring. This wasn't just a stunt, it made sense because Hardy had the belts, was 10 feet in the air, and spearing him was the only way for Edge to save the match. Posted below are the 35 best WWE matches of all time, according to fans. GOLDUST, AS TOLD TO ZACH LINDER AND NICKY SAMPOGNA. MITCH PASSERO, "I always wanted to be a Paul Heyman Guy. Christian's been around a long time and Randy Orton's a third-generation Superstar who is so natural. MIKE McAVENNIE, Though their 2-out-of-3 Falls "farewell match" later that summer would become the stuff of legend, Malenko and Guerreros time-limit draw in May 1995 was no less mesmerizing. ZACK RYDER, AS TOLD TO ZACH LINDER. RYAN MURPHY, The Shield debuted at Survivor Series 2012 and carved a path of destruction that appeared to have no end in sight. ", Savage abused everyone caught in his crosshairs, piledriving referee Mark Curtis and slapping announcer Dave Penzer, while DDP the hardest-working man in WCW earnestly fought the good fight. This was before the internet, so it's likely that many regional fans weren't familiar with Flair. The WWE 2K23 ratings reveal is in full swing, and there are all sorts of juicy numbers floating around. Put him against The Excellence of Execution and you get one of the top 30 matches in WWE history. 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. BOBBY MELOK. He's tough as hell. Hes so obnoxious and youre able to root against him. Such skill, matched with The Showoffs amazing move set, electrified the crowd inside Minneapolis Target Center. Scarier than a ladder, more dangerous than a cage, and more vicious than a street fight, the Hell In A Cell was a match where wrestlers who hated each other could finally settle their score, at risk to their lives. I got a little overwhelmed seeing the magnitude of the occasion, being in the Garden, having The Rock as my tag team partner and a legend like Ric Flair as my opponent. PETER ROSENBERG, AS TOLD TO ZACH LINDER. No gimmicks. "The Dragon" knew how Flairs stylin and profilin was a source of confidence and pride. The crowd was red hot for this feud. By 2005, Angle had abandoned his dweeby heel persona for a bloodthirsty, one-man wrecking crew willing to do anything to win. DEAN AMBROSE, AS TOLD TO ZACH LINDER, As the old adage goes: "Its not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.". The five greatest matches in NXT history September 14, 2021 Ryan Satin FOX Sports WWE Analyst By Ryan Satin FOX Sports WWE Analyst Before a new version of NXT is unveiled Tuesday night, let's. Despite fits of offensive brilliance by The Straight Edge Superstar in the No Disqualification Match, The Beast Incarnate emerged victorious with an F-5 onto a steel chair and more than a little help from the nefarious Heyman. WWE is the most successful pro wrestling (or, as they say, sports entertainment) promotion of all time. Two major betrayals, the constant bickering on commentary between Jim Ross and Paul Heyman, and an epic final showdown between Rock and Austin brought a fitting end to the war for sports-entertainment domination. MICHAEL BURDICK. Flair even went so far as to provide altered photos to WWE Magazine long before the advent of Photoshop or TMZ. Wrestlemania X ended with Bret Hart as new WWE Champion celebrating on his friends' shoulders while the New York crowd roared in approval. "It all stemmed from an interview I did with Jim Ross in the WWE studios in Connecticut. With chants of This is awesome! raining down, the two carried out several outstanding sequences until Bryan, the United States Champion, finally snapped the LeBell Lock onto his opponent, forced the irate Intercontinental Champion to tap out, and cemented both of their well-earned reputations. There was so much history, and it never manifested better than it does in this match. Unlike the countless spot-fest ladder matches that followed in its wake, this match stole the show because it wasn't trying to steal the show; it was trying to tell the story of a high-flying prima-donna and a wily brawler being thrown into unfamiliar territory and being forced to improvise in order to win. "Everything aligned and came together. Steve Austin and Bret Hart. TOM HERRERA. Yawn. Jim Cornette and The Midnight Express left with the last word, as they brutally whipped The Fantastics, ensuring the rivalry would continue. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. SAM ROBERTS, AS TOLD TO ZACH LINDER, They say records were made to be broken, but even as John Cena inched closer and closer to Ric Flairs 16 World Championships, it seemed unlikely that The Cenation Leader would tie the mark heading into the 2017 Royal Rumble. But compared to what you see on TV today, The Southern Boys versus The Midnight Express is advanced trigonometry." This one hurts, but tough choices must be made. You think, OK, these guys have had a lot taken out of them, so this will probably be a quick one. But no, halfway through the Street Fight, you forget about what happened in the first fall, because youre now wrapped up in this brawl. 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. They were so different and so popular, but popular for exactly opposite reasons. The Kid, whose numerical nickname came about after he netted a huge upset victory against Razor Ramon, earned one of the earliest title opportunities in the history of Raw by doing it the hard way. ANTHONY BENIGNO. Alas, while this match does hold up, it is also hampered by its stipulation. "What they do in the ring is so good, it doesn't even matter how their rivalry got started. Look no further than the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship Match that stole the show at SuperBrawl II. There comes a point in your career, and I don't know when it happens, where you go from being the guy wanting to be in the ring with people to being the guy that people want to be in the ring with. What if we had a real [rivalry] heading into a pay-per-view? For me to be involved in that thing was a great honor, especially with the way Sting was loved by the people, it was crazy. 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. RYAN MURPHY, "That was my favorite of the three matches in our trilogy, because we put in 55 minutes. These same fans felt ignored by the WWE for decades and poured their frustrations into CM Punk, who carried their dreams on his shoulders like he was delivering a GTS. He had retired and it was very unceremonious and under the radar. I dont think theres ever been a case where a guy reverted back to a character hed been in his pre-WWE career. Top Rated Wrestling Matches Top Rated of All Time Current Champions (WWE Raw) (WWE SD) Bron Breakker (NXT) (ROH) Josh Alexander (Impact) Daniel Garcia Tyrus (NWA) Yuji Nagata (AJPW) Kazuchika Okada (NJPW) Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH) El Hijo Del Vikingo (AAA) Gran Guerrero (CMLL) Levaniel (wXw) PWI Magazine Top Rated Matches of All Time Simple as that. ANTHONY BENIGNO, We defy you to think of the Hell in a Cell Match without picturing The Undertaker throwing Mick Foley off the side of the demonic structure and onto a table below. With both Brock and Angle coming from standout amateur wrestling backgrounds, it's no surprise these two elite athletes took their battle to the mat at first, before The Anomaly poured on the pure strength to wear down his opponent. Luger was a bronzed god who couldnt wrestle his way out of a paper bag, while Flair was the type of preternatural genius who could have a good match against a paper bag. Thats damn near impossible, unless youve somehow been to every single mat contest since George Hackenschmidt won the World Title in 1905. AEW News; Featured Top Story; . Kurt Angle was actually able to stop The Showstopper, forcing Shawn to tap out to the Ankle Lock. Few competitors enamored her the way Sasha Banks did, which is why nobody knew if Bayley could finally put aside childish things to defeat her for the NXT Womens Title at the very first TakeOver: Brooklyn. Maybe "The Nature Boy" thought that getting inside "Macho Man's" head would make Savage lose focus, get disqualified and in doing so, fail to win the WWE Championship. Among the best bouts of WCWs pre-Nitro era, Stings victory in the finals of the King of Cable Tournament was a dramatic encounter that highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of both competitors and became the most talked-about match of the event. When people talk about Randy Orton, it's usually not as a hero, but he was perfect for the kind of opportunistic scoundrel villain that Christian was. Pillman basically gets folded over his head and somehow survives enough to take a second powerbomb. 1 min. It wasnt until a few years later, when that term came into the wrestling lexicon, that people started pointing out that I hadnt actually had one of those. The best example of an established star elevating a new star. BOBBY MELOK. As many expected, the 450-pound Mastodon imposed his will on the two-time WWE Hall of Famer, pummeling Flair around ringside. For me to even question my unabashed hero and almost side with whom I viewed as the ultimate enemy, how could one match do that? The Nature Boy fought back in spurts, even sending Vader face-first into the ringpost. His bout with Jericho was "just" a match. This match was not only innovative, but it had great action that lands it on the list of the best ladder matches in WWE history. SETH ROLLINS, AS TOLD TO ZACH LINDER. They had toppled The Brothers of Destruction, Undertaker and Kane, to win the tag team championship and appeared unstoppable. Visit Sony LIV to sign in or sign up and enjoy WWE's premium content. 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. A lot of people loved Christian and had been waiting for him to have that moment in the main event, and he turned out to physically be the perfect match for Randy Orton. They had a great chemistry together, and then you add in the element of them brawling all over the building Sting wasnt known for that. 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