Off Menu Wrestling

[tiger_rick]

No, big WWE fan Ed Gamble hasn't started a promotion. I've just nicked their format and turned it into a wrestling one instead.

You've got to pick a favourite ever PPV, TV Show, Match, Promo and Angle (not in that order). You can treat this as a last "meal" type scenario where it's just all your favourites, or structure it into your ideal pro-wrestling watchlist in case you end up on a desert island or Covid comes back.

Starter (Promo)

Main Course (PPV)

Side Dish (TV Show)

Dessert (Match)

Drink (Skit / Angle)

(Desert and Dessert in the same post. I hope they're the right way around!)

 

Here's my picks:

Starter (Promo)

The night after WrestleMania 13. It's tough competition in 1997 but the more I watch this, the more I'm convinced it's the best promo in the history of pro-wrestling. Bret wraps up over a year of real-life feeling and six months of on-screen storytelling into a frustrated, seething promo where his disdain for the American fans, his boss, Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels pours out. 

Main Course (PPV)

SummerSlam 1990. A real tough one because this could have been any show from Royal Rumble 1990 to Royal Rumble 1992 but I just love this show. The Hart Foundation vs. Demolition could have easily been my "Dessert" because I love it so much but I also love the entire summer vibe to the show, the Hogan/Quake feud, the Warrior as WWF Champ, the Sweet Sapphire angle, Dusty Rhodes aping Bob Dylan, Jim Duggan delivering his career best performance with one line and Power & Glory being absolute superstars for one night.

Side Dish (TV Show)

Monday Night Raw - May 17th 1993. Razor vs. The Kid in the best angle of the year and Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty in the best TV match of the year on the same show. Raw still in it's beautiful one-hour format makes this a show I'll re-watch over and over again. 

Dessert (Match)

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin - WrestleMania 13. It's the best match they've ever done. The most perfect piece of pro-wrestling I've ever witnessed and will ever witness. Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior from Mania 7 is my favourite match and deserves an honourable munchion but after I've watched the Bret promo, I'll be in the mood to go watch the Mania 13 match again. I nearly picked the amazing April 20th 1997 Raw for the same reason.

Drink (Skit / Angle)

The nWo "lawndart" angle. Loads of honourables came to mind, like the Barbershop window, Jake Roberts heel turn, the snake bite on Savage, the Batista turn, the Ted Dibiase or Mr Perfect vignettes but this is one of the most brilliant angles ever done. It's so unlike Bischoff to be so thoughtful and patient and it's a risk at a time when he was obsessed by numbers but it's such a massive part of selling the nWo as the most dangerous faction ever in wrestling and the work from everyone is just so good. I love coming to this one on any nWo compilation.

[BomberPat]

Starter (Promo)

This is an admittedly bonkers choice, given that it could be "Hard Times" or "Cane Dewey" or "Austin 3:16" or the Pipebomb, or any number of big iconic promos from big stars, but I'm going with this Alfred Hayes promo from Houston - Al comes in after the Sheik and Gary Hart, with the promo starting at around 1:07, then where the first video ends, there's a little more at the start of the second (compilation) video:

https://fb.watch/JerHdpeMnX/ 

I can't even fully explain why I love it so much, but I do, it's fantastic. I love Hayes' delivery, I love the old format of it being an interviewer actually asking questions and challenging his points, rather than a "town hall" promo or the interview just being a glorified mic stand. It's just proper heel work from a proper heel that there's not nearly enough footage of.

 

Main Course (PPV):

ECW Barely Legal 1997. With the exception of the Shane Douglas/Pitbull #2 match that I think might still be happening, it's a near-perfect PPV. Every match is different, every match does its job, every match holds up even if you don't know the story going into it. You get the Michinoku Pro six-man tag that I think is one of the best introductions to pro-wrestling you could give a first-time viewer, Taz vs. Sabu, the Terry Funk title win, Storm vs. RVD, and a feelgood move spamming typically ECW tag between the Dudleys and the Eliminators. Plenty to keep you occupied.

 

Side Dish (TV Show):

This is the one I found hardest. I don't know how many episodes of TV I would want to go back and revisit, and I was torn between some '90s nostalgia, a bit of Memphis just because I love the format so much, maybe the AEW show where Punk returned or something like that. But I'm going with the second Aztec Warfare from Lucha Underground - just a brilliant show-long match, the debut of Matanza, and a lot of incredible bits of business.

Dessert (Match): 

I'm going with my gut, and saying Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper from Wrestlemania 8. Could have easily been Austin vs. Bret, could have given it some thought and found something else a bit out of the box, but there are three matches that always come to mind instantly when I'm asked my favourite match - this, the Terry Funk/Jerry Lawler empty arena match, and Sid Cooper vs. Sammy Lee; the latter, as brilliant as it is, I appreciate more with my "in the business" had on, and Funk vs. Lawler is a bit of a special attraction, for a straight wrestling match that I love as a fan but still get plenty out of if I feel like analysing and dissecting it, has to be Hart and Piper. Go with my first instinct.

Drink (Skit/Angle):

Kamala dancing on William Regal's desk.

[davertfnewman]

Starter: Well, the main course is going to be SummerSlam '91, but I wanted to include Ted Dibiase's "crying towel" promo from before his match with Virgil because it was probably the first one that really stuck with me to where I could quote lines from it. So that I'm not double-dipping, I'm going to go with Jake Roberts' interview with Mean Gene from Survivor Series because there are so many things from it that were brilliant.

- "Cross my heart and hope to die, that's what I was told."

- "You are a sick man, Jake Roberts!" - "Thank you very much(!)."

- "I spoke to God this morning and he said he doesn't like YOU!"

- "You have a ticket, a one-way ticket, so don't be shy, sweetheart, let's use it."

- "This is not the end. It's not even the beginning of the end! Yet, the end of the beginning..."

 

Main Course: SummerSlam '91.

 

Side Dish: Monday Night Raw, April 21st, 1997. Bret versus Austin in a street fight. Austin sends Bret to the hospital but not before commandeering the ambulance and sneak attacking Bret ("I told you we're going straight to Hell!"). Owen and Davey hunting Austin down for revenge before getting run off by Shawn Michaels, then Brian Pillman returning from injury at Austin's hands for his revenge, including a chair shot so hard that JR exclaims "It sounded like a gun going off!" and King scared "He'll kill him!".

 

Dessert: Very difficult, because you could argue for Flair/Funk in the I Quit match (the Flair/Funk matches were better than the Flair/Steamboat matches in my opinion), Sting/Vader, Bret/Bulldog, so many others, but I have to go back to Bret/Austin in their I Quit match because it changed wrestling forever.

 

Drink: A lot you could go for here too but I'm probably going to go for the Sid/El Diablo angle from Superstars in '91 because it was so detailed and yet effortlessly put together. They completely made something out of nothing when you consider it was a minorly-promoted star versus masked man match that is completely flipped on its head.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I'm going to do this purely on nostalgia and how fondly I remember the feeling these moments gave me. As i'm getting older, there's not much difference between 'the things I like to watch' and 'things I remember fondly from when I was a proper invested fan', so feels like a decent starting place, rather than trying to over intellectualise it. Wrestling is just a feeling, bro.

Starter (Promo)

Start with a real basic bitch of a pick. Chris Jericho's debut in WWE. I was 12 years of age, it was the peak of my fandom and this felt like the biggest thing in the history of the world. Because i'm a sentimental sod, I get teary watching it back now because it was just such a purer time, whole world in front of us. The presentation is the exact imprint of wrestling that runs in my DNA. I'd been into Hogan et al when I was younger, but gun to my head this is peak wrestling for me:

Main Course (PPV)

Couple of options here. Wrestlemania 15 is a big contender. It's right in the above era, peak fandom and I watched it a gang of times on VHS. The first All In at Wembley is a big contender too, as even though I was old by then, I was so invested in the AEW product at the time I chucked all my money down on ringside seats, and it's the greatest wrestling show i've ever been to live. MJF/Adam Cole headlined Wembley, and it still somehow felt right. Loved it. 

But, Wrestlemania 8 was my gateway drug. It was the first show I ever watched. It's the show i've watched the most. And, again, gun to my head, my two favourite matches ever are on this show; Piper/Bret and Flair/Savage. Top marks.

Side Dish (TV Show)

Smackdown - Jan 4, 2000. Headlined by Rikishi vs Triple H for the WWE Title. I remember I went to my mates house, as I didn't have Sky, on Saturday morning's to watch whatever shit package show they had on. This day, it was the first Smackdown aired in the UK (or at least, the first aired in that Saturday morning slot) and we literally danced round his room with joy that we were going to watch a full Smackdown. Fully danced with joy. Again, teary thinking about it. We bought every nearfall in the Rikishi/Triple H match. Bounced around chanting Rikishi's name, the whole nine yards. No one's ever been a bigger mark than us for that match. Pure, unadulterated joy.

Dessert (Match)

I've named the three main contenders; Bret/Piper, Savage/Flair, and yes Rikishi/Triple H. Other contenders would be HBK/Razor Ramon ladder match at Wrestlemania X, and a bunch of odd matches like Orton/Taker at Mania, Triple H/Big Show at Backlash (I think) where Triple H worked the fingers and Big Show v Kurt Angle when Big Show was dressed as Hulk Hogan. I can't control where the FEELING takes me. But, no, it's Bret/Piper. Loved it as a child, as a teenager and love it as a 39 year old man.

Drink (Skit / Angle)

After years of my fandom stagnating, Daniel Bryan was the guy who brought me back in. Even got me to purchase a wrestling t-shirt. Him turning on Bray Wyatt is one of the best skit's/angle's they've ever done. Love it. Honourable mention to Batista smashing Edge to bits, allowing Punk to win the world title. Punk is another one of the guys who turned me around and got me invested into wrestling again, and back then it felt like he really represented me in a way other wrestlers didn't. But no, Bryan turning on Wyatt for this one, please.

 

[tiger_rick]

46 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

Starter (Promo)

Start with a real basic bitch of a pick. Chris Jericho's debut in WWE. I was 12 years of age, it was the peak of my fandom and this felt like the biggest thing in the history of the world. Because i'm a sentimental sod, I get teary watching it back now because it was just such a purer time, whole world in front of us. The presentation is the exact imprint of wrestling that runs in my DNA. I'd been into Hogan et al when I was younger, but gun to my head this is peak wrestling for me:

Such a good shout. One of those videos I downloaded on p2p, found it was about 3 pixels and still watched 100 times. Sure there's been a fall from grace type thread on here many times but I often forget how much I loved Chris Jericho once upon a time.

46 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

Wrestlemania 15 is a big contender.

Such a terrible shout. I think this show has aged like buffet sandwiches. 

1 hour ago, BomberPat said:

Kamala dancing on William Regal's desk.

Amazing stuff. Genuinely hilarious. Link below but it's to Twitter.

Spoiler

https://x.com/allan_cheapshot/status/1292709665705463808 

 

[RedTwoster]

Another cracking idea for a thread @tiger_rick. 

Starter (Promo)

This is a difficult one. Although he returned to the ring, Daniel Bryan's retirement promo in 2016 is one of the best things I've ever seen in wrestling. Then there's Willow Nightingale's title celebration. But if it's your starter, goodness me where do you go from there. You'd be so emotionally drained that the rest of your meal would be ruined. So I think you need something to pump you up a bit, and that would be this: 

For me, this is one of the most effective promo segments ever - I watch it back now and it makes me want to watch the match once again. Magical stuff. God bless Eddie Kingston.

Main Course (PPV)

AEW Revolution 2020. It was always going to be AEW for me, although if I was to go with a WWE pick it would either be Wrestlemania 40, Wrestlemania 30, No Way Out 2004 or Summerslam 2002. But all of these have been trumped by the brilliance that has been AEW over the last few years. It wasn't an easy choice either - I considered every All In, All Out 2021, DON 2026 and Forbidden Door London to name just a few. I genuinely don't know what my favourite AEW PPV ever is, but Revolution contains two of my favourite ever matches - PAC vs. Orange Cassidy and Omega/Page vs. The Young Bucks - both of which I can watch over and over and feel just as much joy now as I did at the time. 

Side Dish (TV Show)

AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam 2021 - another difficult one. There are so many great editions of Dynamite - including the Brodie Lee tribute show which, while crushingly sad, illustrates how beautiful and touching wrestling can be. But Grand Slam 2021 has Omega/Bryan - a match I hope we get to see again one day - and an electricity that you rarely see on an individual episode of wrestling television. 

Dessert (Match)

Another really, really difficult one. Swerve/Danielson, Swerve/Hangman, Moxley/Hangman, Okada/Takeshita/Dorada and Storm/Mercedes are all contenders and heck, I know I'm forgetting many, many other potential options. In the end though, I'm going for the Hollywood Ending. You watch it back, and it's still absolutely perfect. Violent, exciting, creative and emotional - it's absolutely magical. 

Drink (Skit / Angle)

Is it cheating to say a compilation of Timeless Toni Storm's greatest hits? Either way, that's what I'm going with. She's hilarious and it's near impossible to pick the best ever promo she's cut. Whether it's from an AEW press conference or pretty much any TV promo she's cut, she's so good that it's just not possible to look at her mic work and definitively say 'well, that was the best one'. 

If this is deemed to be cheating, I'd go with this: 

The problem with this is that it makes you want to see the match, which wouldn't be a satisfying way to end your 'meal'. Then again, maybe you want people to come back for more. 

[sivy]

Starter (promo) was really tempted with the Lawler one on goldust on raw in 97.  
 

but I’m going Rock/Hogan night after no way out just 2 greats who we thought we’d never see face to face.

main course ppv

ill go Summerslam 91 probably my first ppv when I was a kid and it’s such a good fun show throughout with so many lasting memories 

side dish tv show

the Raw in February 2000 starts off Radicalz turning on Cactus and ends with the 10 man tag which is just pure sexy Pro wrestling 

dessert match 

Rumble 92 nothing else needs to be send I’ve watched it that much I can name the order they come out.

Drinks angle 

I’ll go Texas on Tuesday 91 Jake and Macho man. From the slap to the promo afterwards is just so ace. You think Jake is the most slimy person on the planet 

 

[RedTwoster]

4 minutes ago, sivy said:

Starter (promo) was really tempted with the Lawler one on goldust on raw in 97.  

Not to question anyone's choices, but that promo is pretty horrific - packed with homophobic language, and he ends it by making a sexual joke about a child? If that were served to me as a starter, I'd send it right back. 

[SoloJones]

Starter (Promo)

A few come to mind but considering it's from WWE in recent years, the Bianca Bel Air / Naomi promo from Smackdown on 7th March 2025 was like a breath of fresh air. Very well acted and felt like a really big moment for both of their careers, particularly Naomi's.

Main Course (PPV)

The one that jumps out immediately to me is WCW Beach Blast 1992. I started watching wrestling in 2000 and didn't watch WCW properly until a couple of years after it had closed - and even then to begin with it was PPVs from 1999 and 2000 that were being sold in VHS box sets at my local market. Beach Blast 92 was my first proper taste of an alternative US company (even if it was 12 years old at that point and no longer existed), and I loved it all. The Steamboat/Rude ironman was obviously great, then there's the Steiners against Doc and Gordy, and the first time I'd seen Raven before Raven, putting on a great showing as Scotty Flamingo against Brian Pillman. Also Medusa has never looked hotter than here in the contest with Missy Hyatt, which definitely didn't hurt watching this as a teenager.

Side Dish (TV Show)

Difficult one for me as I don't remember a ton of TV episodes that were consistently great throughout, so I'll just go with Memphis Wrestling, 14th August 1982. I can't remember everything as I haven't watched it in a long time but it was all based around Jerry Lawler goading Ric Flair into a match on television. Memphis was maybe the best territory for having an episode of TV really build and flow, and this is probably the best example of it that I remember.

Dessert (Match)

This could change 100 times over, but right now I'll pick Johnny Kincaid and Dave Bond vs Kung Fu and Pete Roberts. A glimpse at what could have been one of the best acts in British wrestling, cut short very soon after this due to inciting too much racism from crowds. A great tag match with incredible heat that will leave you wanting more.

Drink (Skit / Angle)

I'm hacking this course to a degree and am going with the Terry Funk vs Jerry Lawler Empty Arena Match. Because it's really not the bell to bell stuff that is important, although its a fun few minutes and features all the great punches you would expect from the pair. It's the whole spectacle, Lance Russell as the host who puts in a performance so spectacular it would have overshadowed two lesser men than Funk and Lawler. Funk begging and whining. Lawler showing up in full pomp in front of nobody, because that's how he operates. A phenomenal piece of business.

Edited August 26 by SoloJones