WWE Classics on Demand Top 10 90's Matches

[Ez Money]

WWE Classics on Demand recently posted the top 10 most influential matches of the 90's for historical context, work rate, fan reaction and the future impact it had on the business. Below I have listed the matches, have a look and let's discuss.

 

10. Hogan vs Warrior (WM VI)

09. The Hardyz vs Edge & Christian (Ladder Match, No Mercy 99)

08. Bret Hart vs The British Bulldog (Summer Slam 92)

07. The Rock vs Mankind (RAW Jan 4th 99)

06. Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr (Mask vs Title, Halloween Havoc 97)

05. Raven vs Terry Funk ( ECW Barely Legal 97)

04. Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels (Survivor Series 97)

03. The Undertaker vs Mankind (Hell in A Cell, KOTR 98)

02. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & Hogan vs Randy Savage, Sting & Lex Luger (Bash At The Beach 96)

01. Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin (WM XIV)

[gadge]

No Bret vs Austin from Mania 13?

[The Reverend]

No Hart vs Hart / Michaels vs Ramon from WM X?

[Reznor]

No Hart vs Hart / Michaels vs Ramon from WM X?

Seeing the criteria, it's surprising the ladder match isn't there, but I can see why the Bret/Owen match wasn't because it never made all that much of a difference. Owens main event push was an abject failure and he was a midcarder again before 6 months were out. That's pretty poor going for someone who they had enough faith in to get a clean pin over the Hitman on the biggest show of the year.

 

Raven/Funk is a complete mystery. It was shit and meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. And i can't even remember anything about the Mankind/Rock match other than Tony Schiavone giving it away on Nitro. What was so significant about that? The confirmation that killing yourself over the years can get you a world title if you don't fit the conventional mould?

 

I would agree about the Hitman/Austin shout, but i guess they've decided to just choose one match to represent Austins rise so they went with his first world title win.

[PunkStep]

My thoughts:

 

I would definitely put in HBK VS Razor, highly influential. There were ladder matches before, but I think this really put the match type on the map for most fans.

 

HBK VS Austin...hmmm...I can see why they put it in there, as their top star of that era captured his first world title, but I would be inclined to put in Austin VS Bret in it's place, as the match that turned Austin and helped lay the foundation for the 'Attitude' era. Attitude was in full swing by the time Mania 14 rolled around.

 

Not so sure why Bret VS Bulldog made that list. I really enjoyed their match, but not sure why it is considered more influential than other matches in the 90s.

 

Edit: I forgot about Rock/Foley. I certainly wouldn't have that in my list.

[Checkmate]

dont see why Raven vs Terry Funk made the list all it was is raven hitting terry funk a few times then fuck putting him in a inside cradle for the pin

[Tommy Atkins]

Bret vs Davey at Summerslam '92 should probably be #1 as that was the first Bret Hart main event that set the template for the new WWF style that replaced Hogan's old main event style.

 

Either Austin vs Owen Hart from Survivor Series '97 or Austin vs Rock from IYH: DX should be in there as the template match for the Attitude main event style of crowd brawling and weapon shots.

[the_mole]

Bret Vs The Bulldog was only the main event in the UK, over in the US it was Macho Vs Warrior.

 

I think Raven Vs Funk is on the list because it was ECW's first ever pay per view and the first time the the whole of the US could watch an ECW show live.

 

When Foley Vs Rock's ratings came through it basically confirmed that the WWF was the undisputed number one company and they were never beaten in the ratings by WCW ever again.

[Reznor]

When Foley Vs Rock's ratings came through it basically confirmed that the WWF was the undisputed number one company and they were never beaten in the ratings by WCW ever again.

Ah that's right, rings a bell now. WWF had Mankind/Rock with a huge audience, partly because of Schiavone advertising it, WCW went in the other direction with that fingerpoking nonsense. WWF skyrocketed, WCW plummetted.

 

I should've guessed it was to do with the ratings wars, I was wondering if it was maybe some kind of gem that had passed me by.

 

I guess considering those circumstances, there's a fair enough argument for it being there

[truthofsin]

No Hart vs Hart / Michaels vs Ramon from WM X?

Raven/Funk is a complete mystery. It was shit and meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. And i can't even remember anything about the Mankind/Rock match other than Tony Schiavone giving it away on Nitro. What was so significant about that? The confirmation that killing yourself over the years can get you a world title if you don't fit the conventional mould?

 

I would agree about the Hitman/Austin shout, but i guess they've decided to just choose one match to represent Austins rise so they went with his first world title win.

 

 

I'd say it deserves it's place as it was the main event of the Raw episode that finally beat Nitro in the ratings for the first time in an age.. In that context it was historically significant.

 

As far as the ECW pick goes i can't really see any reason for it other than it's the main event of the first PPV.. I feel the Taz/Tanaka/Awesome Anarachy Rulz '99 3-way was more significant in that it was a changing of the guard moment and was presented as such. I still wouldn't include that on this list though.

[darepool]

It should have been Bret vs Austin at Wrestlemania 13 - Not HBK. I felt 13 was officially the proper start of the Austin Era. Bret showed a side of himself that we had not previously seen before. The sight of Austin bleeding leading to 'unconciousness' is still one of the best finishes to a match i've ever seen.

[ShortOrderCook]

Blimey. No Bret-Austin, 'Mania 13 is bonkers. It's the most influential and historically significant match of the 90's without a shadow of doubt. It's also the greatest fucking match ever.

[the_mole]

No Hart vs Hart / Michaels vs Ramon from WM X?

Raven/Funk is a complete mystery. It was shit and meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. And i can't even remember anything about the Mankind/Rock match other than Tony Schiavone giving it away on Nitro. What was so significant about that? The confirmation that killing yourself over the years can get you a world title if you don't fit the conventional mould?

 

I would agree about the Hitman/Austin shout, but i guess they've decided to just choose one match to represent Austins rise so they went with his first world title win.

 

 

I'd say it deserves it's place as it was the main event of the Raw episode that finally beat Nitro in the ratings for the first time in an age.. In that context it was historically significant.

 

As far as the ECW pick goes i can't really see any reason for it other than it's the main event of the first PPV.. I feel the Taz/Tanaka/Awesome Anarachy Rulz '99 3-way was more significant in that it was a changing of the guard moment and was presented as such. I still wouldn't include that on this list though.

 

I'd have the Flair/Sting or Steiner/Booker match from the last Nitro on the list purely to represent that historic moment. But i guess neither made the cut due to current TNA ties.

The WWF had beaten WCW plenty of times in the ratings in 1998, I think they finally beat them in the Raw following Wrestlemania 14 (or the week after) and it was neck and neck for much of 98.

 

Those WCW matches happened in 2001 not the 90's.

[cokeorpepsi]

You can see while Razor and HBK was overlooked, as although it was the first ladder match that really captivated the audience, it'd had be done before, I believe in WWF Bret Hart had one or did he not? Anyway regardless the Hardyz match was most influential because it gave birth to the crazy TLC matches, triangle ladder match at WM 2000, and the money in the bank contest and PPV, that I'm assuming is their point.

 

No Hart vs Hart / Michaels vs Ramon from WM X?

Raven/Funk is a complete mystery. It was shit and meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. And i can't even remember anything about the Mankind/Rock match other than Tony Schiavone giving it away on Nitro. What was so significant about that? The confirmation that killing yourself over the years can get you a world title if you don't fit the conventional mould?

 

I would agree about the Hitman/Austin shout, but i guess they've decided to just choose one match to represent Austins rise so they went with his first world title win.

 

 

I'd say it deserves it's place as it was the main event of the Raw episode that finally beat Nitro in the ratings for the first time in an age.. In that context it was historically significant.

 

As far as the ECW pick goes i can't really see any reason for it other than it's the main event of the first PPV.. I feel the Taz/Tanaka/Awesome Anarachy Rulz '99 3-way was more significant in that it was a changing of the guard moment and was presented as such. I still wouldn't include that on this list though.

 

I'd have the Flair/Sting or Steiner/Booker match from the last Nitro on the list purely to represent that historic moment. But i guess neither made the cut due to current TNA ties.

The WWF had beaten WCW plenty of times in the ratings in 1998, I think they finally beat them in the Raw following Wrestlemania 14 (or the week after) and it was neck and neck for much of 98.

 

Those WCW matches happened in 2001 not the 90's.

 

As well as that they had no impact on the rest of the decade.

[truthofsin]

You can see while Razor and HBK was overlooked, as although it was the first ladder match that really captivated the audience, it'd had be done before, I believe in WWF Bret Hart had one or did he not? Anyway regardless the Hardyz match was most influential because it gave birth to the crazy TLC matches, triangle ladder match at WM 2000, and the money in the bank contest and PPV, that I'm assuming is their point.

 

No Hart vs Hart / Michaels vs Ramon from WM X?

Raven/Funk is a complete mystery. It was shit and meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. And i can't even remember anything about the Mankind/Rock match other than Tony Schiavone giving it away on Nitro. What was so significant about that? The confirmation that killing yourself over the years can get you a world title if you don't fit the conventional mould?

 

I would agree about the Hitman/Austin shout, but i guess they've decided to just choose one match to represent Austins rise so they went with his first world title win.

 

 

I'd say it deserves it's place as it was the main event of the Raw episode that finally beat Nitro in the ratings for the first time in an age.. In that context it was historically significant.

 

As far as the ECW pick goes i can't really see any reason for it other than it's the main event of the first PPV.. I feel the Taz/Tanaka/Awesome Anarachy Rulz '99 3-way was more significant in that it was a changing of the guard moment and was presented as such. I still wouldn't include that on this list though.

 

I'd have the Flair/Sting or Steiner/Booker match from the last Nitro on the list purely to represent that historic moment. But i guess neither made the cut due to current TNA ties.

The WWF had beaten WCW plenty of times in the ratings in 1998, I think they finally beat them in the Raw following Wrestlemania 14 (or the week after) and it was neck and neck for much of 98.

 

Those WCW matches happened in 2001 not the 90's.

 

As well as that they had no impact on the rest of the decade.

 

Lol, i'd realised my error and corrected it before the responses, i was half asleep still when i posted that. As for the Foley/Rock thing, i stand corrected on the ratings thing. You're 100% right, WWF was beating WCW in the ratings a hell of a lot of in 98 also.