I have probably seen 10,000 matches if not more in my life from the WCW, WWE and TNA that I have watched. So I thought it would be cool to take a look at my all time favorite matches. This will be my all time top five matches list, with perhaps a 6 through 10 list coming in the near future as well.
In at the number five goes all the way back to March 29th, 1987. Some people say it may be the greatest match of all time. Clearly I think an argument can be made for that. But I will put it in at number five. It is Randy "Macho Man" Savage vs Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the Intercontinental Title. Two great men in the prime of their careers fighting for the second most prestigious title. It was back and forth. This match was a chess match between two great rivals who just couldn't defeat each other. And after near fall after near fall, Ricky Steamboat got his revenge and won the intercontinental Title with a roll up.
Number four on my list is brother versus brother at Wrestlemania X at Madison Square Garden. Owen Hart vs Bret Hart. It doesn't get much more personal then a fight between two brothers. Owen had felt he was living in Bret's shadow for too long (and for many fans like me, it was true). Bret was known more as a technical wrestler but Owen definitely proved not only could he hang with his older brother, he can defeat him. Of course Bret would get the last laugh winning the WWF Title later that night.
I'm proud to say that I was there for match number three on my list. WOOOOOOOO! Ric Flair's last match in the WWE was on March 30th, 2008. He hand selected his opponent for the night, though Shawn Michaels was very reluctant to do it. Who could blame him? Would you want to be responsible for retiring a man that you looked up to? Neither did HBK. But Flair goaded him into taking the match. The stipulation for Flair would be if he lost, he would be forced to retire. Flair threw everything he had at Shawn Michaels. And Michaels lived up to his name as Mr. Wrestlemania. Even though we all knew what the outcome would be, there wasn't many dry eyes in the arena when Michaels whispered "I'm sorry, I love you" followed by a sweet chin music for the 1, 2, 3!
Next on the list is the most recent on the list. July 17th, 2011 was when CM Punk and John Cena went one on one for Cena's WWE Title. CM Punk announced win or loss it would be his last night in the WWE (HA!). Anyone who knows me knows I don't like John Cena. But he gained a little bit of my respect that night. Again, it was back and forth. It seemed like a forgone conclusion that John Cena would retain his championship and we would never see CM Punk again. They hit finishers and signatures and their opponent just kept kicking out. It took a distraction from Mr. McMahon and John Laurinaitis for CM Punk to win the title and disappear into his hometown crowd of Chicago, Illinois. What does that say about this match to be the only match on my list not to take place at Wrestlemania, by the way?
And my all time favorite match has to be from Wrestlemania XXVI when Shawn Michaels tried his best to beat the streak. He failed the year prior to defeat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. He fought almost an entire year to get the rematch. The first match was really good. The rematch was amazing. For most of Undertaker's Mania streak, there was little doubt that he would lose. But in this match, you felt that Shawn Michaels had what it took to beat the streak. But in the end, The Undertaker was able to defeat Shawn Michaels again. And the great Shawn Michaels had wrestled his last match. Unlike Ric Flair who then went and wrestled for TNA, Michaels was firm in that he was retired. And so far he has kept his word. So far....
There you have it. My top five matches of all time. Tell me what you think!
No comments:
Post a Comment