PWI Feud of the Year - 1994

[IrishCanadian25]

Ok, kiddies, I am taking a sabbatical from the Match of the Year threads to bring you this variation on another PWI poll - the Feud of the Year. Let's face it, since Pro Wrestling is not an actual "sports competition" the way boxing and MMA are, without cutting storylines and bitter rivalries, it'd be easy for us to lose interest. The highest ratings of all time have come when feuds were at their peak - interesting twists, facinating characters, passionate conflicts.

In this first installment in the series, we look at 1994's match of the year candidates.

Winner - Bret Hart vs Owen Hart. The sibling rivalry. Never before have two brothers created the angst and anger that Bret and Owen were able to create in 1994, and nobody has done it since - not the Steiners, not the Hardy's, NOBODY. The famed Royal Rumble leg kick, the Wrestlemania 10 upset, the Summer Slam cage match, the towel throw. This match was PWI's choice in 1994 for Match of the Year.

1st Runner Up - Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair. Many expected this to have been a feud in '92 / '93 in the WWF, but despite months - hell, years of teasing, the feud never came to fruition. Then, in 1994, Hulk Hogan made the jump to WCW and challenged Flair to a title match. Here, you had arguably the two biggest names in pro wrestling up to that point - maybe still of all time - beginning to draw attention from WWF to WCW.

2nd Runner Up - Randy Savage vs Crush. Culminating in a unique Wrestlemania 10 Falls Count Anywhere match, the newly heel turned Crush returned from injury to attack Randy Savage, who'd returned to the announce position. With many weeks of sneak attacks and speculation, including Savage's lacerated tounge at the hands of a "snake eyes" on the guard rail outside, Savage was finally able to extract revenge at WM 10.

Honorable Mention - Sabu vs Terry Funk, Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon.

Which feud in 1994 do YOU think was the feud of the year, and what do you recall from these classics?

 

[xmoshx]

i have to go with hart vs hart. everything that had to due with this fued was played to perfection and the owen upset no one saw coming and then he comes out at the end of wrestlemania 10 lookin so mad because he thinks he should have been the champ . and the cage was so very good

 

[Mr. TM]

Hart vs Hart. It is still believable to this day. Those two looked like they hated each other. Maybe Hogan and Flair would have stood a chance if it did not take forever to get to. Plus, the WCW back then did not offer the stage that WWF was offering. Nothing offers a rivalry like brothers going at it, but brothers from the famed Hart family. These two put on masterful matches, especially the Wrestlemania X match, to open the night. Not only is it the best rivalry of 1994, its the best sibling rivalry of all time.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Hart vs Hart for me - this fued actually stretched back to 1993 when Owen cost Brett the title against Bob Backlund at Survivor Series. It also lasted most of the year.

Flair/Hogan was way too short - July to Oct with Flair "suspended" for most of Aug and Sept due to his role in attacking Hogan prior to the Aug Clash Of Champions. The first two matches were very good but Hogan's appearance out of nowhere and Flair's disappearance just when things really started to click took away from this feud. For the first 6 mths of the year Hogan was nowhere while Flair fueded with Vader, Steamboat, and briefly William Regal.

Michaels vs Ramoan had a great ladder match but didn't match the intensity of Hart/Hart or it's length, nor were these two (at that time) nearly as big (or there match as anticipated) as Flair/Hogan.

 

[Skillz]

Hart vs. Hart was a classic feud. It created so many memorable moments, and provided two of the best matches of all time. The match they had at WrestleMania is most remembered, but the cage match they had at SummerSlam was way better in my opinion. I would put that match as one of the top 5 best matches ever.

Very rarely in professional wrestling do matches look real, but for large parts of this match, it really did seem real. The drama and intensity was on a next level. The whole match was one of the best pieces of storytelling I've ever seen in wrestling. The way the match was played out, it was like these two brothers were so evenly matched, and knew eachother so well, no matter what they tried to do, they just couldn't escape the cage. It was like they were stuck to eachother like glue for whole match, and after a 40 minute war, Owen is hanging from the side of the cage, while Bret finally drops his feet to the floor. You just simply can't get a better story to a match than that.

The chemistry these two had for the whole feud was incredible. The best feuds are always the ones that are the most believable, and the ones when you sense that the two rivals truly hate eachother with a passion. Which is why this feud will go down as one of the best ever.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Hart vs. Hart easily. Everything about it was great. And it made Owen into a main eventer, for all of a couple of months. Something that didn't happen for him again. He had his occasional chance. But without Bret he never really looked like he would be suited for a main event push. Good matches, and a nice little surprise at mania. It also saved the career of Jim Neidhart. Who? you say, who indeed.

I wouldn't even consider Razor vs. HBK. Other than the match at Mania I really can't reacall much about the fued. In fact Razor was second fiddle to Shawn, IC Title #1 & IC Title #2. Same with Savage vs. Crush. But Randy should get credit for getting a good match out of Brian Adams' boring ass.

 

[DJ]

Hart vs Hart.These are the words you see alongside the word awesome in the dictionary.

If you think about it No other Brother vs Brother has lived up to this one.Steiners?Yeah right.Hardys?Pfft!

Owen Harts finest moments were in this feud in my view.He came into his role as the jealous little brother seeking revenge.But of course Vince couldn't follow up..........Owen didn't do much after this.If he did well,I can only remember the Blue Blazer......

 

[Emmet]

Hart vs Hart for me - this fued actually stretched back to 1993 when Owen cost Brett the title against Bob Backlund at Survivor Series. It also lasted most of the year.

Flair/Hogan was way too short - July to Oct with Flair "suspended" for most of Aug and Sept due to his role in attacking Hogan prior to the Aug Clash Of Champions. The first two matches were very good but Hogan's appearance out of nowhere and Flair's disappearance just when things really started to click took away from this feud. For the first 6 mths of the year Hogan was nowhere while Flair fueded with Vader, Steamboat, and briefly William Regal.

Michaels vs Ramoan had a great ladder match but didn't match the intensity of Hart/Hart or it's length, nor were these two (at that time) nearly as big (or there match as anticipated) as Flair/Hogan.

That was SS 1994 mate. SSeries 1993 was where it started with Owen being the only Hart eliminated from their matches against HBK and The Knights.

Has to be Bret/Owen though. A absolute classic fued which IMO was one of he best fueds of the 1990s. Has any one fued delivered so many classic matches? I'm struggling to think to be honest.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

It's definitley Hart vs. Hart. Everything about this fued was great. The promos, the buildup, the matches. These guys obviously worked so well together because they were brothers. But they took it to a whole new level. It was fucking brutal. I honestly think that this fued made both men's careers.

To be honest. I don't remember any of the other fueds outside of the matches except for Flair/Hogan. Which in itself wasn't a bad fued. But it should have been way more than it was. It's too bad it never happened in the WWF the way it shouldve.