All-Time Favorite Feud

[ComeOnVince]

OK, so we are all aware of and probably largely in agreement on what the GREATEST feuds of all-time are, even if we disagree about in what order those great feuds should be listed.

But that aside, sometimes we are huge fans of feuds that are NOT at all the greatest of all-time or anywhere close. And sometimes our favorites are the ones that are great.

We could argue about the greatest feuds, but our favorites are solely ours.

Great or not great, what are your FAVORITE wrestling feuds or storylines of all time?

_________

Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

[Dagger Dias]

My favorite feud ever was between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho in 2008. They had already had a match together at Wrestlemania 19 that I also liked, so I knew this had the potential to be good. This feud blew that feud out of the water for me. They both brought out the best in each other. Excellent promos, great matches, kept you wanting more in both capacities the whole time, and it ended on a great note when they had that Ladder match for the World Championship. Last but not least, they kept this thing going for months. It started with Batista and Jericho's reactions to Michaels during Wrestlemania of that year. The Ladder match was at No Mercy, 6 months later. They kept my attention for almost half a year, during a time when most feuds got boring after the second PPV cycle. That's saying something. It's a feud every wrestler on the roster today should take notes from.

 

[@smarkmouth]

Hmm, I suspect my own pick for all time favorite will be discussed at length in this thread. So I'm gonna be "that guy", and go a little contrarian by bringing up my honorable mention.

Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville
I know this feud might not have endured the test of time just yet, being as recent as concluding in 2014. However, this feud deserves celebration in terms of being straight forward booking 101 with flares of nuance. Having seeds planted many months in advance, when the two were jocking for number one contendership for Bo Dallas' NXT Title. A heated match ends with Sami rejecting Neville's handshake, kicking Neville's hand aside and hugging him, before raising his hand.

Fast forward, Neville wins the NXT title, and endures as the consummate babyface champ, while Sami struggles for contention. Eventually, their paths cross in a fatal four way, and when it looks like Sami is going to pick up the win, Neville exploits a heel tactic, pulling the ref out of the ring, leading to Neville retaining.

Neville continues to flirt with his dark side, while calling Sami's own killer instinct into question. As everything snowballs to a conclusion, Sami puts his own career on the line for one more shot at the NXT title.

R Evolution comes around. Adrian plays a perfect heel to Zayn's sympathetic story. Late in the match, Zayn has the opportunity to take the easy way out as the ref is unconscious. All the while, Corey Graves, who announced his forced retirement , is pleading with Sami from the commentary, save your career! But Sami doesn't, and wins perfectly clean. The roster celebrates with Sami. Sami extends his hand, which Neville kicks aside to pull Zayn in for a hug. The ppv concludes with a seamless transition into Sami 's next feud when he is betrayed by his best friend, ìwho finally arrived to the WWE that very night, Kevin Owens.

All in all, it did everything a great feud should. The stakes were real, the characters were challenged and we're forced to evolve, and it wasn't bogged down by overcomplicated bookimg.

Gonna go watch my best of NXT dvd, now.

 

[Makaveli31]

Ultimate Warrior v. Randy Savage

Two words: Career ending. This feud was so heated that it could only end one way. With one man losing his wrestling career in the prime of his career. By 1990, Randy Savage had become a thorn in the Warrior's side. He had resorted to sneak attacking the Warrior at every turn in order to bait the Warrior into giving a WWF title shot. The most egregious coming at Royal Rumble 1991 when Savage cost the Warrior the WWF title by hitting him in the head with a scepter. It lead to the infamous promo Warrior did on Superstars of Wrestling where, with a piece of glass still embedded in his skull, he finally accepted Savage's challenge. This of course led to the all-time great retirement match at WrestleMania 7 where Liz returned to attack Sherry. This feud had it all. Two of the WWF's most colorful and eccentric characters going to head to head in classic matches, interviews, and segments.

Who could forget Savage's promo at Survivor Series '90 issuing the challenge to Warrior or Warrior repeatedly turning down the advances of one Sensational Queen Sherry including the final one at Royal Rumble 91 where Sherry, infamously, fell to her knees to beg Warrior for a title shot for Savage.

The story would not end in 1991 as Savage and Warrior's paths would cross once again in 1992 in a feud for the WWF title at SummerSlam 1992 and the formation of the Ultimate Maniacs tag team but no feud, to me, was as personal or emotional as their 1990/91 feud.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart
This is the feud of the century. 2 of the greatest all around performers in the history of the industry. They had similar paths to the top. Both starting out in tag teams. They had briefly feuded over the ic title (mostly at house shows). The iron man match is considered one of the greatest matches of all time. The USA vs CAN feud started the attitude era. Shawn and Bret were shooting on each other in interviews on a weekly basis at one point. The most controversial match in wrestling history at survivor series 1997.

Honorable mention:
Savage vs Jake Roberts 91/92

 

[FromGlasgow]

Probably one I'm forgetting but my top 3 would be

Von Erichs vs The Freebirds
Had great memories growing up following this feud which seemed to last for years.

Steve Austin vs Mr Mcmahon
They didn't have so many matches but the feud had a good storyline.

Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels
It was a great rivalry with at the time the 2 greatest wrestlers then later progressed into the Hart Foundation and DX feud

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I started watching wrestling in 2009, so I'll go with the feuds I actually saw happening live.

My favourite feud has to be Daniel Bryan vs The Authority. Everything just felt so real, everybody was so invested in this and the pay off was worth the 8 month build-up.

I feel like that's something that's missing from today's WWE. Fans aren't that invested and it's been a long time since we had a long and enjoyable feud, that got really personal. Rollins vs Ambrose almost got there, but never really exceeded expectations. WWE needs more personal feuds and more "organic chemistry" between their wrestlers.

 

[Dragon Chief]

Brock Lesnar V. Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar V Bill Goldberg. Arguably the two most intense and legitimate feuds of all time. Probably a feud between the greatest athletes in recent WWE history as well. I feel like these three wrestlers could beat anyone in pro wrestling history in a legitimate fight.

 

[Mudlup50]

I have a few that come to mind

Shawn Michaels v Triple H
When I started watching this feud had been going on for like a year and it was still incredible! They had so many classic matches in their feud, one of the best triple threat matches at Wrestlemania 20, the unsanctioned match from Summerslam and just about any match they had. There was a great story to be told during this feud and it was the first feud I watched that seemed real to me.

Matt Hardy v. MVP
I'm sure this feud people forget about but at this time Smackdown was my preferred show and this feud helped me become fans of both guys for a while. I've never been a fan of Matt Hardy but during this feud he seemed legit and the United States championship hasn't looked as valuable since!

Undertaker v. Edge
This was around the time where I started liking the heels and this feud was a big part of why I did. Edge worked so well as a heel and legitimately made me hate him at times! Undertaker being my favorite surely helped but this feud lasted a long time and never felt stale at all.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Bret vs HBK

HBK vs Taker

Taker vs Edge

Both feuds between HBK and Y2J

put in any order you want...cant pick one over the others.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Sting vs The Nature Boy Ric Flair

This is probably the longest on/off feud I can think of. These two wrestled dozens of times and had some great matches here and there. Stings first World Title comes to mind and the final match ever in WCW. Steamboat and Flair had better matches but this feud in total with Sting was much bigger.

Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant

It was unthinkable at the time, the forever good giant had turned on Hulk Hogan by listening to Bobby the Brain Heenan. How can Hulk Hogan get past this giant of a man?

By body slamming him iconically at Wrestlemania 3. Then he lost to Andre with twin refs at Saturday Nights Main Event. Then a draw at Mania 4. It wasn't a long feud, but one of the most memorable.

Motorcity Machine Guns vs Beer Money


I love when tag teams steal a show and when these two teams fought each other, they always stole it. Everytime they wrestled it was an excellent tag team match and tag titles or just pride, they put everything into their matches.

 

[shadyfozzie]

Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer.... this feud was epic.. I think it might still be going on lol...

 

[relentless1]

nWo vs WCW. Best storyline ever

 

[OYDK]

Some of mine have already been mentioned so I'll go with one of my honorable mentions; Kane vs The Undertaker, the original.

I've always been a guy who values a strong story over good wrestling if I'm being completely honest, and although Kane/Taker was straight out of a damn soap opera, my 7 year old self was hooked from the moment Paul Bearer mentioned Kane's name. The story was ludicrous no doubt, but in a strange sort of way, there was a lot of logic involved and few holes could be poked into it. Most importantly for me though, it took on the impossible task of explaining Taker's background and gimmick in a plausible way, and actually pulled it off spectacularly. This was the first time we saw the human side of The Undertaker and the first time we got any sort of insight into the relationship between himself and Paul Bearer. It added a completely new aspect to The Undertaker character. When Kane made his incredible debut (one of the best ever in my opinion), everybody immediately bought into it and Kane basically cemented himself as a main event player on his first night. They built it extremely well from there, with Taker refusing to lay hands on the brother he thought was dead until Kane eventually forced his hand by trying to basically roast him alive. Then of course we had the Mania match followed by the first ever Inferno match and Kane/Taker would end up linked for the rest of their careers. This was everything that I loved about the Attitude Era.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Some of mine have already been mentioned so I'll go with one of my honorable mentions; Kane vs The Undertaker, the original.

I've always been a guy who values a strong story over good wrestling if I'm being completely honest, and although Kane/Taker was straight out of a damn soap opera, my 7 year old self was hooked from the moment Paul Bearer mentioned Kane's name. The story was ludicrous no doubt, but in a strange sort of way, there was a lot of logic involved and few holes could be poked into it. Most importantly for me though, it took on the impossible task of explaining Taker's background and gimmick in a plausible way, and actually pulled it off spectacularly. This was the first time we saw the human side of The Undertaker and the first time we got any sort of insight into the relationship between himself and Paul Bearer. It added a completely new aspect to The Undertaker character. When Kane made his incredible debut (one of the best ever in my opinion), everybody immediately bought into it and Kane basically cemented himself as a main event player on his first night. They built it extremely well from there, with Taker refusing to lay hands on the brother he thought was dead until Kane eventually forced his hand by trying to basically roast him alive. Then of course we had the Mania match followed by the first ever Inferno match and Kane/Taker would end up linked for the rest of their careers. This was everything that I loved about the Attitude Era.

The build to that feud was outstanding....something we wont see never again in this "EVERYTHING HAS TO BE QUICK AND MOVE ON" world.

Months went by before we finally saw Kane...and months then after finally taker decided to kick his little brother ass.

And with 3 amazing talents as Taker, Kane, and Paul..it was so well executed that kane lasted almost 20 years.......and they feuded several times after the original.

 

[#hamler]

John Cena vs. Edge and it's not even close.

Great wrestling feuds elevate both competitors to heights greater than either were at before; win or lose. Cena vs Edge not only did that, but their feud created the best rilvary in fictional history since Batman/Joker. Cena was already at a level where he can be relied on to carry a feud and Edge was getting there but the crowd reaction Edge would generate during this time proves how well Cena did (and still does) his job.

This feud blurred lines between fantasy and reality when Edge slapped Cena's father in what I believe was inspiration for what Randy Orton would do to Cena's father a couple years later. Edge's heel work here made him one of my all time favorites because he was so good at it; the crowd absolutely despised him for it. Here was a time when the crowd still loved Cena and the money in the bank match was still original. Edge to this day still has the best cash in and that in part, is thanks to Cena.

These two meshed so well that I don't believe there will ever be a feud as heated Cena and Edge. It was believable and what more can you ask for in a wrestling feud. It was great.

Other than that, I'd include Angle vs Lesnar, Joe vs Punk and more recently, the Shield vs the Wyatt Family no matter how short it was.

 

[Greg4WWE]

I am old school. Feuds today just happen and rarely see anything personal behind them. They don't build over time. Some of my favorites that I can remember.

1. Magnum TA vs Nikita Koloff: This feud was classic. It built and lasted over a year. There were other things intertwined with it, but it lasted a long time. Still wasn't completely over when Magnum had his car accident. People still talk about this feud.

2. Dusty Rhodes vs Ric Flair: Nuff said. This feud was awesome. Dusty pretty much feuded with the 4-Horsemen his entire NWA career.

3. Shawn vs Bret: Talk about a feud that turned personal quick. Heel face heel face heel face. It went back and forth like that pretty much.

4. James Storm vs Bobby Roode: One of the few things TNA did right. This feud went on over a year and became very personal. They didn't rush it and it just simmered for a while. I really enjoyed this feud.

5. Undertaker vs Kane: Great story behind it. They didn't rush it. And got a lot out of it. The later feuds fell more flat than the original, but these guys are great partners and better enemies.

6. Freebirds vs Von Erichs: Man those were the good ol days. Feud lasted years.

7. Rock n Roll Express vs Midnight Express: Same as the one above. On and off feud for years. Both teams had clean wins over the other. Wrestling just isn't like this anymore.

8. To make one more recent, Stone Cold vs The Rock: Again, both guys have been heels and faces in the feud. You could put HHH in with these 3 as well, but SCSA and The Rock are, IMO, on a higher level than HHH.

9. John Cena vs Edge: I loved this feud. It was the last time, IMO.. that John Cena was a bad mofo. Hopefully he gets that back.

10. Last but not least, the most recent.. Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins: Again a feud that at least made sense and not just thrown together because someone came down to the ring demanding a title match. Loved t his feud.

I do have to add Daniel Bryan vs Authority. That was some great times. It is a shame what happened to Bryan. His build up to WM against HHH then the Orton and Batista triple threat was just good stuff.

 

[Makaveli31]

Million Dollar Man v. Jake The Snake Roberts

Classic old school WWF feud. During the "Superstars of Wrestling" era. Supposedly this feud was supposed to be for the Intercontinental Title in 1988 but Jake went to rehab. When he returned to resume the feud in 1990 DiBiase had the Million Dollar Belt with him. This feud was a classic "Superstars" feud. It was set up with matches played out on "Superstars of Wrestling" interview segments on the "Brother Love" show and included Virgil, Slick, and Big Boss Man.

 

[LBGetBack]

My favorite feud ever was between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho in 2008. They had already had a match together at Wrestlemania 19 that I also liked, so I knew this had the potential to be good. This feud blew that feud out of the water for me. They both brought out the best in each other. Excellent promos, great matches, kept you wanting more in both capacities the whole time, and it ended on a great note when they had that Ladder match for the World Championship. Last but not least, they kept this thing going for months. It started with Batista and Jericho's reactions to Michaels during Wrestlemania of that year. The Ladder match was at No Mercy, 6 months later. They kept my attention for almost half a year, during a time when most feuds got boring after the second PPV cycle. That's saying something. It's a feud every wrestler on the roster today should take notes from.

Yeah, same here. Incredible. I've been saying since it was winding down that I hope they put out a DVD set just on that feud with every single segment and match on it, plus current interviews from them about it. It's completely deserving of that treatment. The story it told and the matches and performances they had were that good.

 

[LBGetBack]

Ultimate Warrior v. Randy Savage

Two words: Career ending. This feud was so heated that it could only end one way. With one man losing his wrestling career in the prime of his career. By 1990, Randy Savage had become a thorn in the Warrior's side. He had resorted to sneak attacking the Warrior at every turn in order to bait the Warrior into giving a WWF title shot. The most egregious coming at Royal Rumble 1991 when Savage cost the Warrior the WWF title by hitting him in the head with a scepter. It lead to the infamous promo Warrior did on Superstars of Wrestling where, with a piece of glass still embedded in his skull, he finally accepted Savage's challenge. This of course led to the all-time great retirement match at WrestleMania 7 where Liz returned to attack Sherry. This feud had it all. Two of the WWF's most colorful and eccentric characters going to head to head in classic matches, interviews, and segments.

Who could forget Savage's promo at Survivor Series '90 issuing the challenge to Warrior or Warrior repeatedly turning down the advances of one Sensational Queen Sherry including the final one at Royal Rumble 91 where Sherry, infamously, fell to her knees to beg Warrior for a title shot for Savage.

The story would not end in 1991 as Savage and Warrior's paths would cross once again in 1992 in a feud for the WWF title at SummerSlam 1992 and the formation of the Ultimate Maniacs tag team but no feud, to me, was as personal or emotional as their 1990/91 feud.

One thing I loved....even after Savage's "moment" after Mania 7 where he reunited with Elizabeth and got cheered heavily for the first time in years.....he still hated Warrior and Hogan. He would do commentary and bad mouth them. He rooted for Undertaker in his feud against the Ultimate Warrior. It took him months to become a fully blown face, which really didn't happen until the Jake the Snake feud started and he returned to the ring. By then Warrior was out of the company for awhile.

But I like how Savage didn't immediately become a face and how the two didn't just magically become friends when they were both face.

 

[Makaveli31]

One thing I loved....even after Savage's "moment" after Mania 7 where he reunited with Elizabeth and got cheered heavily for the first time in years.....he still hated Warrior and Hogan. He would do commentary and bad mouth them. He rooted for Undertaker in his feud against the Ultimate Warrior. It took him months to become a fully blown face, which really didn't happen until the Jake the Snake feud started and he returned to the ring. By then Warrior was out of the company for awhile.

But I like how Savage didn't immediately become a face and how the two didn't just magically become friends when they were both face.
__________________

I loved the fact that Savage still sold the animosity between him and Warrior even AFTER the aforementioned face turn for Savage. Like you said he openly rooted against the Warrior during his feud with Jake Roberts and the Undertaker. These two were so intense in their promos it was incredible to watch and showed the level of emotion involved. The chemistry between the Warrior, Savage and Sherry was incredible to watch.

The matches were also something to behold. Savage knew how to get the most out of Warrior. Showcasing his power moves and selling them to no end. Savage planned the matches perfectly. The one foot pin at WrestleMania 7 was the perfect ending. Unfortunately the divorce with Liz took a toll on Randy Savage and by 1992 he was a man of less intensity. His matches didn't have the same crispness as just a year earlier. By 1992 Warrior had also lost momentum. I still enjoyed their short feud in '92 but it didn't have the same intensity as in 1990/91

 

[Greg4WWE]

I loved the fact that Savage still sold the animosity between him and Warrior even AFTER the aforementioned face turn for Savage. Like you said he openly rooted against the Warrior during his feud with Jake Roberts and the Undertaker. These two were so intense in their promos it was incredible to watch and showed the level of emotion involved. The chemistry between the Warrior, Savage and Sherry was incredible to watch.

The matches were also something to behold. Savage knew how to get the most out of Warrior. Showcasing his power moves and selling them to no end. Savage planned the matches perfectly. The one foot pin at WrestleMania 7 was the perfect ending. Unfortunately the divorce with Liz took a toll on Randy Savage and by 1992 he was a man of less intensity. His matches didn't have the same crispness as just a year earlier. By 1992 Warrior had also lost momentum. I still enjoyed their short feud in '92 but it didn't have the same intensity as in 1990/91

The only "face" thing he said when it came to Warrior and UT feud was when Warrior was put in the casket. Even Savage said it went to far and they needed to get him out.

 

[ShinChan]

Daniel Bryan Vs. Authority

For me, no other feud comes even close to this. At that time, Kayfabe = Reality for me. That made it a lot better. I have seen here threads posted at that time about Bryan winning for sure. But, it wasn't predictable for me.

I wanted Bryan to win. I was emotionally attached to him. I did think that Bryan will win but then a fear was born that he could be screwed again at Wrestlemania.

The two matches held ag Wrestlemania were a great spectacle for me. Whole arena doing Yes! chants is just awesome.

In one word, emotions.. That lack nowadays.

 

[SSJPhenom]

Sting vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan:

This feud was wrestling story telling at it's very best and it is a large part of the reason WCW was so successful from mid 96 through early 98. That's how long this feud lasted. Sting went over a year without saying a word, yet during that year he was the most over face in all of wrestling. Also, during that year, Hollywood Hulk Hogan (the original Triple H) was the hottest heel in the business. WCW may have eventually ended up faultering, but this is one thing they did totally right. They built up the ultimate bad guys and then created the ultimate hero to take them down. It was brilliant. Unfortunately, though, the pay off match was a peice of shit, because "it didn't work for Hogan brother". Other than that, though, it was wonderful.