So, I
am looking for specific matches that took place at WrestleMania that looked
terrible on paper but they ended up being good or even great. By the
way, unlike last time, it doesn't matter if you saw it live or not. You can
pick any match that you want, as long as it initially looked terrible on paper but ended up being good.
Here are some of my selections off the top of my head:
Here are some of my selections off the top of my head:
Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan 6: Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior had a couple of good matches in the past, but they came with superior opponents that had the abilities to cloud Warrior and Hogan's deficiencies and limitations. They also had roughly 10 moves between them, which made me think to myself before watching this, "What the hell are they going to do?" In addition to that, their characters seemed too similar: Both played invincible baby faces that made miraculous comebacks.
After all, most intriguing matchups are predominantly between characters that are complete opposites.They are rarely between ones that are essentially identical.
Long story short, this just looked like it was going to be an in-ring train wreck. Magically, it was not a train wreck. It was actually an awesome match. It has been said that a road agent (I think it was Patterson) constructed this literally almost move-for-move. I hope whomever put it together was given a raise for doing such a masterful job. They created an exquisite narrative about a battle of immortals. It was parallel to watching Superman fight Batman to establish who's the better superhero.
Even though the match was highly choreographed ahead of time, the performers should get credit for executing everything at a high-level. They demonstrated their unparalleled charisma and it brought out all sorts of emotions from the fans. They truly had the type of charisma that could not be taught. It was the kind that just comes naturally and instinctively.
Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock 18: So, I guess this makes Hogan an overachiever at WrestleMania. In 2002, it seemed almost impossible for anyone to get a good match out of Hogan. He had been stinking up joints left and right. Rock, albeit being very good, wasn't really notorious for being a miracle worker.
WWE also didn't think building this up as a dream match was good enough. They had to add a heavy dose of
They overcame everything and ended up having a historical match. Some have said this is a bad match without any volume, although that would be like calling a horror scene unsuspenseful without any volume because the music is what makes most horrors scary.
I mean, crowd psychology is one of the most crucial factors of how good a match is, and these two succeeded at just that by keeping the crowd utterly captivated and bringing them on an extraordinary journey. The two most surprising things about this, however, were its flow and transitions. It had nearly zero downtime and kept building towards the crescendo. I cannot name another Hogan match from this era that accomplished those two things.
This was just an unexpected gem.
Batista vs. Undertaker 23: Fans were outraged that this was going to co-main event Wrestlemania. Even though Undertaker ameliorated his in-ring style to a more pseudo MMA style, Batista's resume of good matches was smaller than the amount of fans he has in 2014. Batista was distraught over so many people questioning why he was given such a big spot at Mania. With a chip on his shoulder, he exhibited something that most people did not think he had - vehemence.
They surprised us all by pulling of a great heavyweight power/slugfest match, with back and forth action, suspense and drama. This isn’t even their best match together, either. They developed chemistry together and topped this one. I think facing Undertaker was the best thing that happened to Batista, because he learned a lot about wrestling psychology after their series of matches.
Well, there are the first three that popped in my head. Balls in your court now.
'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan vs Dino Bravo, Wrestlemania VI. With the right chemistry, almost *anything* is possible...!
ReplyDeleteNot exactly terrible but Piper hadn't had a good match in years going into 8. Shocked at how good it was.
ReplyDeleteSavage/Warrior you'd think would be an entertaining trainwreck at best and it ended up being the GOAT.
Most recent example for me is probably Hall/Austin. That is a fun match.
First thing that came to mind was how surprisingly good the start of X7 was, with the hardcore three-way, Eddie/Test, APA/RTC etc, but they were all just good matches that were better than expected, not great matches in their own right. You could put LT/Bam Bam here too.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, bearing in mind it was comprised of three part-timers and two green guys, I was stunned by Rock/Foley/Evolution at XX. Best old-school tag match in years.
3/5 of that match are HOF's. The only surprise is that they were all "game on" on the one night, and were willing to have fun.
ReplyDeleteFantastic match. Would have been ruined if anything'd been 'at stake'.
In before it's mentioned by someone else:
ReplyDeleteUndertaker vs. Shawn.
The last big match they had together - and yeah, it was fantastic - was in 1997. Apparently they hadn't lost the chemistry because they delivered an absolute classic nearly twelve years later; a match that is certainly the yardstick for rating matches.
I mention it because going into it I thought, "well, it'll be at least ****, that will improve the card." Now any critic cannot deny either Taker or Shawn as GOATs, and that match cemented it.
I suppose it wasn't surprisingly good, rather surprisingly awe-inspiring.
Hogan Vs. Slaughter from VII is a underrated Hogan match.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people forget that everyone thought that because Shawn had been mediocre for most of his first two years outside the first Hunter match and the Jericho mania match and Angle had been phoning it in a bit along with a bad build that everyone, including Scott, thought Shawn/Angle was going to be OK but not spectacular but ended up being the awesomest thing that ever happened in the universe.
ReplyDelete...in the WWF!
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoyed the build. Angle destroying a bloody Michaels after the Edge - HBK Street Fight was good stuff.
ReplyDeleteHBK - Austin had low expectations due to injuries and Michaels delivered in spades.
ReplyDeleteAside from the finish, maybe Bret Hart vs Yokozuna from Wrestlemania IX.
ReplyDeleteThat's the one I was gonna mention, Slaughter bumped like a 300 lbs Curt Hennig at the start of that match.
ReplyDeleteYep, Shawn really did go the extra mile in that one. I was wondering why the hell he took all those sick bumps at the start of the match.
ReplyDeleteWas that the beatdown where Angle was wearing the grey jeans/pants and got them covered in HBK's blood? If so, yeah, I remember that being a particularly vicious beatdown.
ReplyDeleteuhhh you're forgetting that he was great for a lot of 2004. WMXX, vs. Benoit on RAW come to mind, so I had high expectations: I love the angle match but I guess expecting **** and getting ****3/4 ain't a bad surprise either.
ReplyDeleteSkin the cat-Tombstone-kickout-Taker WTF face has to be in my top 5 sequences ever
ReplyDeleteIt was crazy to see hogan actually carry that match, probably the only one he had where he had to. Guess that doesn't speak well for warrior.
ReplyDeleteDiesel taker at 12? Taker wasn't exactly a ring general back than, and kudos to Nash for putting on 2 good matches on his way out.
ReplyDeleteFlair/Undertaker at Wrestlemania X8. It had been a long time since Flair had anything resembling a decent match, but he and Taker made this work.
ReplyDeleteIt is the best false finish of all time. By a mile.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. And Taker's botched plancha added a ton to the match, as I bought the living hell out of every false finish afterwards, thinking that Taker might need serious medical help. I couldn't believe it went another 15 minutes!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe how long that match was. Going in, I was only expecting them to go like 15 minutes, 20 tops.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought that match was BITCHING at the time, and it still holds up quite well. Just a great Power (vs) Power match.
ReplyDeleteWe also got that awesome 20 minute Angle-Jannetty match on Smackdown
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely in the top 10, maybe even top 5 if I think about it. But it is nowhere near the HBK/Taker spot. Everyone saw the Superkick/Pedigree spot coming a mile away.
ReplyDeleteYes it was, Angle was covered in his blood. A forgotten classic.
ReplyDeleteHe had a really decent run of matches until they hastily turned him face after Austin left. Then he tore shit up in Evolution like a man half his age.
ReplyDeleteTwo personal favorites of mine from the mid-90s.
ReplyDeletePiper/Goldust, WM12: Edited all to hell, but holy cow Piper was laying it in stiff. They were probably going for a bit of the "They Live" feel to it, and it worked. The part in the arena was white hot, too. Good may be subjective here, but the crowd was into the whole thing, and that's a good sign.
Nation/Legion, WM13: To this day, I believe it's impossible to have a six-man street fight not be good, and this match is why. Just utter chaos for 15 minutes, and the crowd -- which had every right to be exhausted because Bret/Austin had just happened -- was into it from the word go. Interference well-timed, use of weaponry that got the crowd in it, recovering from bad spots nicely, everything about it was just FUN. Easily ***1/2 in my book.
Yoko's best match ever.
ReplyDeleteAnd I believe Bret said in his book that it should have gone a good 5 minutes longer, but they went for the finish way too quick. So it had the potential to be even better, Bret apparently had a ton of moves and near falls still left to do.
ReplyDeleteI'll add two old school thoughts:
ReplyDeleteI thought Demos/Strike Force at WM IV was going to suck, but it was actually pretty good given the Demos started clicking.
And Bundy vs. Hillbilly Jim with the smaller wrestlers was surprisingly watchable, IMO, especially Jesse's commentary.
WM12 was around the time kayfab was killed for me but I remember thinking Piper/Goldust was a total shoot.
ReplyDeleteYeah I read that. One of the reasons why I love Bret's book is he goes in depth about his first run. The 80's and the Monday Night Wars have been done to death but his book is one of the only things to shed light on the in between era.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that but every time I come across it, it gets worse for me. Still a decent match though. 7 is such an underrated Mania.
ReplyDeleteRaven-Big Show-Kane triple threat from X-7. Entertaining garbage highlighted by Kane almost killing Raven while driving a golf cart.
ReplyDeleteAfter the Bodyslam, the Savage/Steamboat match, the Piper match, Bundy's splattering of Little Beaver was the best part of that show.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Even past Savage/Warrior, the opener was hot, and nothing outside the blindfold match truly sucked.
ReplyDeleteAnd it only gets better when watching it now, if you know the extra backstory on that golf cart scene.
ReplyDeleteApparently, Raven wanted to weave his golf cart through the arena, bouncing off the walls as Show kept messing up his driving. But the fence they hit first wasn't tight, and they took that little fall, ending the chase prematurely. If you ever watch that match again, pay attention to where they go off the "road", and see the wire that gets disturbed by the golf cart's drop. That wire, according to Raven, was the MAIN POWER for the whole show.
Six more inches, and WM17 would have had another memorable moment... and might have cost Raven his job.
TBT, anyone teaming with Rock n Sock at that point would've been a 3rd wheel. Kinda like Hogan and Savage and Renegade in 90s WCW.
ReplyDeleteI'll defend the blindfold match til my death. They played their roles perfectly. That match was great, and the perfect example of less being more.
ReplyDeleteSame here. It's ridiculous when people complain that there was barely any contact or workrate. Who in their right minds would judge/rate this match on the same scale as a regular match???
ReplyDeleteEvad Sullivan teaming up with Hogan and Sting would also agree.
ReplyDeleteSo Raven was probably backstage at last year's New Orleans Super Bowl.
ReplyDeleteHis knees say otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThis match never gets any love but I remember being really impressed with MVP vs Benoit at Mania 23. Scott didn't give it enough love. Rating it something like **1/2 when it was far better then it had any right to be. It made MVP look like he was able to hang with the veteran.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking about that, oddly enough. Benoit went out of his way to make MVP look like he belonged in the big leagues, and I think MVP himself gave huge compliments to Benoit for that.
ReplyDeleteRude-Warrior from WM5. First time I thought Rude could actually GO.
ReplyDeleteIt was the first time I ever saw MVP perform too. I wasn't really watching SD! at the time but I kept with storylines and found the gimmick to be a bit lame. Then he goes out there and hangs with Benoit and totally impressed me. I've been a MVP fan since
ReplyDeleteTo me, Money in the Bank ala WM 24 is one of the best MITB matches of all time. Rewatch it again if you have the time. They were really innovative with their spots during a time when the gimmick was starting to get played out. The Morrison moonsault off the top turnbuckle into the outside WHILE holding onto the ladder is INSANE.
ReplyDeletePiper's potato punches had a lot to do with that. Hard to believe the original plan was for Razor to do this match... I think it would have sucked.
ReplyDeleteWell I'll complain that it was a dumb idea in the first place, but they actually pulled the match off fine.
ReplyDeleteVince v. Shane at WrestleMania X-7 is one of my favorite WrestleMania matches ever. Entertaining crap, and tons of angles firing off (Trish v. Steph, Foley v. Vince, Linda comes out of her coma) and I just LOVED every second of it. When Linda comes out of that chair and you can see the WHOLE CROWD COME TO ITS FEET, I still get chills.
ReplyDeleteGuess I'll go with the Hart Foudation vs. The Nasty Boys at WM7. Ya never expect too much out of the Nasties, but by my count this was the best tag match in Wrestlemania history up until the rise of the Hardys, Dudleys, and E & C.
ReplyDeleteTalk about being surprised by a match. That Angle/Jannetty match was the shit. That was the same week HBK and Jannetty had that fun tag match against La Resistance. There were rumors they were going to do a Rockers Reunion house show loop, but Jannetty did some drugs and fucked the whole thing up.
ReplyDeleteYes. The blindfold match is a hundred times better than it has any right to be. The crowd pops huge the entire time and Jake and Martel play their parts perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI'll defend it with you. I'm always amazed when I see how much hate that match gets. The crowd gets way into it and it's a great payoff to the whole "blinded by Martel's perfume" angle.
ReplyDeleteThe pop that the Hart Foundation got was insane. I knew they were over, but not *THAT* over.
ReplyDeleteMitB at WrestleMania 21. New concept. Ladder match was pretty much dead by the that point. And they pulled out a five-star trainwreck that (in my opinion) hasn't been touched by any of the many MitB matches since.
ReplyDeleteFrom that same card, Orton/Undertaker was way better than it had any right to be.
I'm a mark for that whole show (a criminally underrated WrestleMania) but those 2 matches surprised me.
Which means it's almost new enough for Vince to mock it. Takes a long time for shit to get to Titan Towers!
ReplyDeleteThose Ashes videos have done a bloody good job of making Icarus into something you want to see more of.
ReplyDeleteLook up the Chikara Ashes videos on Youtube, they are some pretty good vingettes.
ReplyDeleteIn the same singlet, no less? I approve of this idea and would like to see it on my television soon (if I actually watched the current product, that is)
ReplyDeleteAfter the recent NFL and NBA guys coming out, I think they will do just that...in about 2023, when Vince hears about it being a thing
ReplyDeleteJBL as his manager/shower coach or GTFO
ReplyDeleteYeah, he needs to hang it up. Next SoCal Raw, give him a proper send-off. Really fun career, but the guy has nothing left to prove.
ReplyDeleteSo much vomit. Everywhere
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was a total mess. People remember the actual debuts of guys like Big Show and Jericho fondly, but seem to forget the actual handling of their first few feuds/angles. Show could have been the perfect post-Rock representative of Vince/Shane's Corporation. He could have smashed Foley into some well-deserved time off (after the Rock series), plowed through Kane, DX, Taker, whoever en route to a showdown with Austin.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't work. RAW's already stated Brie is a man- and as such, the marriage would be just the same as normal, albeit Brie is the man and Bryan is the woman.
ReplyDelete