I love my subscription to WWEClassics.com. It keeps me busy wasting time when I could be doing something constructive. I am still trying to explain how there is a beautiful girl who actually wants to marry me.
I recently logged on to WWEClassics.com to find that they (whoever they are) have changed their domain name to WWEGreatestMatches.com and launched this new, incredible thing with a list of matches. "They" are calling this list the "100 Greatest Matches of All-Time". Naturally, because I am a total mark, I perused this list with disproportionately inappropriate interest, and found it not only controversial and intriguing, but inspiring.
Not inspiring enough to make me wanna send mosquito nets to Africa, or to make me want to pass out muffins and blankets to homeless people, but inspiring enough to make me want to make my own list, without so much as moving a butt muscle. So here it is, a better and less WWF-centric list (although I admit that WWF DOES have the highest number of great matches) . Some of these matches appear on WWE.com's list, some don't. There certainly are not 100 of them. Can you actually believe there is a beautiful girl who wants to marry me? Me either...
3/29/1987 - WrestleMania III - Intercontinental Championship Match:
“Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat:
No outside interference. Nothing, zero. Except for, of course, George "The Animal" Steele pushing Savage off the turnbuckle rope when he went in for the Flying Elbow From the Sky... Widely agreed, by pro wrestlers not named Hulk Hogan, to be the greatest wrestling match of all-time. WWF style at his finest.
12/5/2004 - Turning Point 2004 - Losing Team Must Disband:
Triple X (“Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels & “Primetime” Elix Skipper) vs.
America’s Most Wanted (“Cowboy” James Storm & “Wildcat” Chris Harris):
A hurricanrana off the top of a STEEL CAGE by Elix Skipper. Somehow, AMW still wins. This is what tag team wrestling should be, and coming from me, that's huge. I don't care about tag-team wrestling, and I really don't care about tag-team cage matches. This was still epic.
12/13/1988 - SuperClash III - AWA/WCCW Title Unification Match:
“The Modern-Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler:
Kerry Von Erich enters the ring with a huge gash on his bicep. Lawler proceeds to batter this injury until it becomes a gaping wound. Von Erich manages to get the Von Erich Steel Claw on Lawler's head, but is bleeding so profusely that the ref stops the match and awards it to Lawler. Bad officiating. If you were gonna stop the match, you should have stopped it much, much sooner. Von Erich bled for 10 minutes before the match was called.
3/31/1996 - WrestleMania XII - 60-Minute Iron Man Match for WWF World Championship:
“Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels vs. Bret “Hitman” Hart:
Two of the finest technical wrestlers in the world go at it for 60 minutes and fight to a draw. I'm no fan of Bret Hart, but he got HOSED in this one.
1/19/2003 - Royal Rumble 2003 - WWF World Championship Match:
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit:
Say what you will, Chris Benoit was one of the most gifted fighters ever to set foot in the squared circle. He meets his match in this one. The word "clinic" is thrown around a lot, but this truly is one. No funny business here, just absolute wrestling in it's purest form. Watch this match and tell me it's not a sport.
11/15/1986 - AWA World Championship Match:
Nick Bockwinkel vs. “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig:
I can't really say it any better than the announcer for this match says it -"Both men have not only given all they have to give, but all there IS to give." Both men bloody, the 60-minute time limit approaching the final minute. Bockwinkel has Hennig in a Figure-4 leglock...
8/28/2002 - Triple Threat Ladder Match for TNA X-Division Championship:
“Phenomenal” A.J. Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Low-Ki:
The first ever X-Division championship match. A.J. Styles looks like a little boy, and there is one particular moment in this match that is emblazoned on to my psyche. It involves Low-Ki and Jerry Lynn, but A.J. truly is the star of this match.
3/14/2004 - WrestleMania XX - Triple Threat Match for World Heavyweight Championship:
“Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit vs. Triple H:
How can a match with 2 of the top 10 finest wrestlers ever to set foot in a ring Vince McMahon's politicizing son-in-law, who also happens to be a CLUTCH performer, be anything but bad? Eddie Guerrero gets involved, but not in the way you think...
3/27/1988 - Clash of the Champions I - NWA World Championship Match:
Sting vs. “Nature Boy” Ric Flair:
Another example of not being able to say it any better than the announcer, in this case, Jim Ross, said it:
"10 seconds left... He won't give up!!... He won't give up!!" This match went head to head with WrestleMania V's main event (Savage v. Hogan), and quite frankly was the better of the 2 absolute classics...
4/7/1986 - WrestleMania II - WWF Tag Team Championship Match:
The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid) vs. Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake & Greg “The Hammer” Valentine:
Just a great tag team wrestling match featuring 3 of the greatest wrestlers ever and one complete tool...
3/29/1987 - WrestleMania III - WWF Championship Match:
Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan:
Morella a competent referee?
11/19/2006 - TNA Genesis:
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe I:
Kurt Angle was freshly fired from WWF, and had a lot to prove. Samoa Joe was fresh out of ROH, and had a lot to prove. They prove it.
12/10/2006 - TNA Turning Point:
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe II:
The best match of the trilogy. After 1 epic fight, they both learned about the other and took it to a whole other level. The 3rd match was completely anti-climactic. The 2 best active wrestlers.
6/27/2004- Great American Bash 2004 - Texas Bull Rope Match for WWF Championship:
Eddie Guerrero vs. John Bradshaw Layfield:
Eddie Guerrero has never really had a bad match, but wasn't always fighting for something so meaningful. JBL was one of the greatest heels ever, and Eddie seemed to be at a complete disadvantage in this match. The stipulation requires that one man drag his opponent, whom he is connected to at the wrist by a piece of 15-foot rope. JBL was about 100 pounds heavier and a foot taller. How could EG possibly accomplish this goal?
9/18/2003 - 60-Minute Iron Man Match for WWF Championship:
Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle:
They had the more popular match, where Lesnar BOTCHED a moonsault, but this one on a regular version of SmackDown was definitely better. Lesnar's strategy FINALLY brings to life the exact strategy that I had been yelling at my TV every time there was an Iron Man match. I still love Lesnar for this. I won't tell you what it is...
11/23/1994 - Survivor Series 1994 - Submission Match for WWF Championship
(Match can only end when one man’s corner throws in the towel):
Bret “Hitman” Hart w/ Davey Boy Smith vs. Bob Backlund w/ Owen Hart:
Two guys you wouldn't think have a chance at being even slightly entertaining do that impossible "clinic" thing, and Owen Hart ends up proving why he was BY FAR the most interesting Hart child.
2/13/2005 - Against All Odds 2005 - 30-Minute Iron Man Match for X Division Championship:
“Phenomenal” A.J. Styles vs. “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels:
Has it become clear to you that I LOVE Iron Man matches? These matches set wrestling apart. We need more of them.
4/1/1990 - WrestleMania VI - WWF World Heavyweight Championship vs. WWF Intercontinental Championship:
Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior: I was not a fan of either of these guys, but Warrior ultimately (pardon the pun) became Randy Savage's tag team partner, so Warrior wins. No, he actually did win. Hulk Hogan attempted to get the match thrown out by faking a knee injury, but the referee called his bluff. Good officiating from a Hebner is a sight to behold, as it only comes once in a millennium. Hogan, to this day, claims he kicked out, but I saw it and I know the truth.
1992 Royal Rumble Match:
Ric Flair enters at No. 3 and wins. Not without a "minor" assist from your favorite and mine, Sid.
1/1/1984 - "No Punches Allowed" Match - Mid-South Wrestling- AWA World Heavyweight Championship:
Nick Bockwinkel vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler...
Let me please note that punches are NEVER actually allowed. This match was a result of shoddy refereeing, blatant cheating, and politicizing Memphis wrestlers. Lawler owned Memphis, lock, stock, and barrel. Lawler was required to spend 500 dollars per punch he threw. He admitted he would throw 20 punches, because the 10 thousand dollars were worth the belt. Even though the stipulation was Bockwinkel's idea, it becomes clear that Lawler has no qualms about stretching this rule, and one can only help but wonder how much Lawler spent on greasing officials and promoters.
