Best WWE Matches and Rivalries?

[RogersDarrell]

Well, now that a week or so has passed since the WWE Net Pak has launched, has anyone found some really good old matches yet?

If so, what is it and what’s your personal favorite?

Myself, anything Macho Man.  The early days of his iconic entrance music, his flaring robes and the beautiful Miss Elizabeth.  To me that was wrestling, the golden years.

Better yet, what was your favorite rivalry?  There have been so many.  The short, the long, the never ending.  Honestly, I’ve always been an HBK Shawn Michaels fan, and the whole Psycho Sid, Big Daddy Cool Diesel body guard story was epic!

[Gdkitty]

I really stopped watching wrestling when i was a kid.

But i do remember much of those days... Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, Roddy piper, etc 🙂  Heck even when Andre the Giant was in it 🙂

[jimboden]

First time I've looked at the Lounge forum.

One of my favourite rivalries was between Rick Flair and Ricky Steamboat when they were young guys in the 1970's. I used to go to weekly Sunday night matches at Maple Leaf Gardens for a few years. Those were the days of guys like Stan The Man Stasiak, with his so-called heart punch, The Sheik along with his crazy manager, Harley Race. Terry Funk, the Brisco brothers, Bob Backlund, Ox Baker, and Andre the Giant. I remember walking down a hallway at the Gardens past Andre the Giant and was stunned to see how big he was in "real" life. Very much different from seeing him in the ring.

As for the WWE Network, one of my favourite programs is WWE Beyond the Ring. It's a documentary-style series on wrestlers, usually going back to their childhood. It's about the real people, not their ring personas so much and is fascinating. Also, there's been a few so-called Podcasts by Steve Austin and Chris Jericho which are one-on-one interviews. So far, Austin has interviewed Vince McMahon and Jericho has interviewed John Cena. In both cases. the interviews were a no-holds-barred style. I was surprised at how much they revealed about the wrestling business.

I think one of the smartest things Vince McMahon did was to rename the WWF to WWE when they were forced to  drop WWF because of a law suit by the World Wildlife Fund. By changing the name to World Wrestling Entertainment, it shifted the focus away from "professional" wrestling. As we all know, it's all about story lines, character development, and "staged" matches, which all amounts to entertainment for those who like it. Others, who think it's all fake and phony will disagree, of course.

I caught the wrestling bug when I was a little kid because my parents used to watch it in its early days, with performers like the famous Gorgeous George.

One last point (I promise ), I think creating the WWE Network was a brilliant move by the McMahons. I don't know if it's making money yet, but they're on an aggressive expansion program all around the world. Now, subscribers can watch all the PPV matches for the modest monthly fee, instead of paying up to $70 or so for events like Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania 31, in my opinion, was the best one yet. They have a constant stream of talent coming up from NXT, which should ensure a bright future for WWE.

[EhmTeeEhf]

My Favorite match of all time, It was at Wrestlemainia at SkyDome (Rogers Center Now) when Andre The Giant and Hulk Hogan fought. Epic. If you watch that Wrestlemania, the big Poster of Hogan near the Front, I was just to the left of it and got on the Video 🙂

My favorite wrestling Rivalry was Macho Man vs Ricky the Dragon Steamboat.

Also Untimate Warrior and Macho Man

[jimboden]

I agree that the SkyDome Wrestlemania was one of the better ones. I also really liked the Ultimate Warrior. I was shocked to see his death notice one day after entering the WWE Hall of Fame, at the relatively young age of 54.

[ShakTiburon]

I am just randomly commenting here...
So not a big wrestling fan now a days but use to sit and watch it with my brother when i was younger, he's into it...

I like the Rock and Bhatista.

Oh oh and the Kane and Understaker (Before the mask came off) - that was good ol' days. (ol' days for me anway lol)

[jimboden]

Batista came back to the WWE very briefly, then left again. The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) is busy making blockbuster movies these days. Every once in a while, he puts in an appearance at big events, like Wrestlemania. He was at Wrestlemania 31 in March, along with Ronda Rousey, the women's UFC champion. She was very interesting. Dwayne has a new HBO series starting sometime this month, I believe. You can see a trailer here: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/its-all-yours-if-you-want-it-new-trailer-for-dwayne-johnsons-ballers...

[ShakTiburon]

Ballers, football? not my thing but as the article says - if Dwayne Johnson is in it, I probably will watch it... atleast the first episoe or two.

is Batista doing anything himself now a days or just off the screens?

I liked when Stone Cold was in movies. He was bad lol

[Meowmix]

Hello @ShakTiburon

Rumours have it that Stone Cold VS Brock Lesner might fight at Wrestlemania 32 next year. Now that might be a rumour, Stone cold did say that it everything is right, he might be done for it.


Batista was a great wrestler but always complained and never shup up LOL. He always wanted the title and if he never got it, he would leave. Mind u it was all a story line, some of it from what i know was real.

I don't really like Kevin Owens. He is the NXT Champion but rubs me the wrong way. He brings his kid in the play in order to make John Cena lower himself. That's low even for a story line. I noticed that Kane is in the Money in the Bank ladder match as well so hopefully we see something there but then again who knows.


All i want is for Dean Ambrose to keep the title and Seth Rolens never to get it back again LOL

[ShakTiburon]

I have never watched wrestling on my own. Only when my brother watches it and if I am around while he is doing so.

But now he got his own TV in his room, so we don't even get that oppurtunity (he's the older brother... so i am not allowed in his room. boop)

[jimboden]

Yes, there is chatter about a possible match between Austin and Lesnar next year. Not sure if that makes any sense, though. Austin retired long ago because of injuries and he's way past his best before date. Lesnar, on the other hand, is still in his prime. Austin is doing "podcasts" on the WWE Network, which are really interesting. They are no holds barred interviews. He had one with Paul Heyman last week, which was really interesting. I love Paul Heyman's character. In real life, he's a nice guy, of course. Chris Jericho has also done a couple of podcasts.

Batista (real name Dave Bautista), is doing the occasional movie, much like Austin and Johnson. There's a rumour he may return to the WWE, but only for non-televised events. I've never understood why older guys like him keep coming and going from the wrestling business. He's 46, well past his prime. They must get paid pretty well, otherwise they wouldn't do it.

I have mixed feelings about Kevin Owens but, at least, he's Canadian content. He's a bit of a throw back to the days when villains were really nasty. It will be interesting to see how his character develops and if he remains in the WWE. John Cena is the proverbial good guy, but I got bored with him long ago. As for Kane, the same thing applies for me. All the BS about being the director of operations and the whole authority gimmick has gone on for way too long. Whatever happened to the days when wrestlers had matches without outside interference and other gimmicks? The gimmick of Seth Rollins and J&J security is really tiresome. The 2 so-called security guys are WWE employees, of course. I think the bald guy is responsible for the WWE's talent development.

[lockdown2341]

I've been a fan of the WWE since the early '90s. So many matches and so many rivalries. Not sure where to begin....

Well, you can't talk about rivalries and not talk about Austin vs. McMahon. It was the primary thing that made RAW worth watching for a good year and a half. The best match to come out of that was Austin vs. McMahon in the steel cage at In Your House: Saint Valentines Day Masscare back in 1999. Give the man grief all you want, but you watch some of the stuff McMahon does in the ring and some of the bumps that he takes, and it's crazy.

That was also the match where the Big Show made his debut, just as an aside.

On the topic of McMahon, his match with Hulk Hogan back at Wrestlemania 19 is one of my all time favorites. From seeing Vince do a leg drop off a damned ladder through an announce table, to a run in by the late great Roddy Piper [#RIPRoddyPiper] it was a lot of fun to watch.

Undertaker has a lot of good matches as well. His matches with Austin, HBK, Triple H, Angle, Foley, etcetera. Most of what the man has done is a classic match worth watching. I can't think of much else right now.