IrishCanadian25
Going on 10 years with WrestleZone
Few things define a decade in professional wrestling quite like its champions. As The Shockmaster's recent list of World Championship reigns reminds us, from the 80's to the 90's to now, the "Title Reign" gets shorter and shorter as the health of the wrestlers get worse and worse and patience of the fan (see: Cena) get smaller and smaller.
In the golden decade of pro wrestling, each championship had its own story, and many of the championship reigns did too. This list does not ask you to look at one consecutive reign (though you may opt to do so), but rather the body of work that wrestler completed with that championship for that time. Many great "Title Reigns" were interrupted for a few days or weeks, only to be picked up and continued once again.
I'd like to know what title reign you felt was "The Best of the 90's" in terms of your own criteria. Longevity, Quality of Title Defences, Importance of the Belt, etc.
Intercontinental Championship - Mr. Perfect - Apr '90 - Aug '91
Curt Henning's Intercontinental Championship reign, many believed, helped legitimize the title in its own way. Won in a tournament from Tito Santana in April of 1990, Mr. Perfect's title reign was briefly interrupted by Kerry von Erich's shocking title win at 1990's SummerSlam, only to be regained 3 months later. Perfect went on to feud with Bret "Hitman" Hart, when a debilitating back injury forced him to drop the title to Hart (his first major championship) at Summerslam of 1991.
Intercontinental Championship - Shawn Michaels Oct '92 - Sep '93
When Shawn finally broke through and won the IC Title from The British Bulldog in October of 1992, it signified the arrival of Michaels as a legitimate mid-card superstar just a year and change after Bret Hart had broken out of the tag team shadows for the same title. Though interrupted by the victory of a returning Rocker Marty Jannetty for less than a month, Michael's title reign always appeared on borrowed time with several amazing title defenses again the likes of Crush, Mr. Perfect, Jannetty, etc. It also began the Hart vs Michaels feud with a title vs title main event at Survivor Series 1992. HBK NEVER lost this title! Injuries removed the belt from him twice - one picked up by Razor Ramon and one by Dean Douglas. Shawn's claim to the title set up the Wrestlemania 10 ladder match, among the greatest of all time.
WWF Championship - Bret Hart - Oct '92 - Nov '94
Bret's first two title reigns, started by a shocking win over a departing Ric Flair at a minor show in Saskatoon, Canada. Bret ushered in an era of respect for technical wrestling and reignited the term "fighting champion" with defense in the first reign against Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, and many others. The 1st Hart Era was derailed by Yokozuna's Wrestlemania 9 win, which was just a way of passing the belt to Hulk Hogan. Eventually, the title found its way back to Hart at Wrestlemania 10 as Bret became the 1st man to pin the Sumo Champion for his 2nd title. This reign would feature a polarizing feud with brother Owen Hart, before a shocking loss to Bob Backlund, which Hart himself called "an honor."
WWF Championship - Stone Cold Steve Austin - Mar '98 - Nov '98
The official start to "The Attitude Era" kicked off with Steve Austin's climactic win over Shawn Michaels for his first WWF Championship. Marked by trip to jail, beer truck fire hoses, and a feud with "Mr. McMahon," Steve captured audiences everywhere. A reign interrupted for 24 hours by Kane in a bogus first blood match, Austin was fired by McMahon later in 1998 and the title vacated, only to be won by The Rock, and culminating in Austin's 2nd reign in 1999 and kicking off too many side feuds to list.
WWF Tag Team Championship - Money Inc. Feb 92 Jun 93
With so much focus on The Hart Foundations and LOD's of the world, people forget that one of the most iconic tag teams of the 90's was Ted DiBiase and IRS. Made up of two of the better ring psychologists of all time (Dibiase and Rotundo), Money Inc were classic, gimmicky 80s heels who won the tag belts in the 90s after beating The Legion of Doom. Many dont know, LOD lost that match when Hawk passed out in the Million Dollar Dream hold. The Money Inc. title reign was interrupted twice once for 3 months by The Natural Disasters, and once for 2 days by The Steiners.
WCW Championship - Ric Flair - Jan '91 - Jul '94?
When the NWA pulled its World Championship out of WCW at the end of 1990, WCW had to quickly recognize a champion. After a victory against Sting, that man was Ric Flair. Already an icon and a legend, Flair would capture the belt and never actually lose it for three and a half years. I say "belt" and not "title" because he jumped ship to WWF with the actual gold belt (which he owned) and appeared on WWF TV as "The Real World's Champion." After 2 runs with the WWF Championship, Ric returned to WCW to defeat Vader for the WCW Championship that he'd never lost, until finally dropping it to Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach 1994.
ECW World Championship - The Sandman - Apr '95 - Dec '96
After Shane Douglas's controversial shoot on the NWA Championship in 1994, The Sandman finally broke through against Douglas in April of 1995, winning the ECW World Championship for the first time. Despite a sickning month-and-a-half hiccup to Mikey Whipwreck of all people, Sandman defeated Steve Austin in 1995 to regain the title he never should have lost. During a long, arduous feud with Raven for much of 1995 and 1996, Sandman lost the belt for 9 months (and nearly lost his son for his entire life) only to regain the title in October of 1996. He dropped the belt back to Raven in December of 1996, never to win it again until January 2001.
ECW Television Championship - Rob Van Dam - April '98 - Mar '00
One of the most impressive and prolific title reigns of the last 20 years, Van Dam held on to ECW's TV Title for 23 months, without a single BS three day loss of any kind. With wins over the likes of Jerry Lynn, Sabu, and many others, Van Dam often stole the show right out from under the World Title crowd, all the while many wondered why Van Dam never just went for the ECW World Title. Van Dam never lost this belt. A broken leg took him out of acton, the title won by Super Crazy in March of 2000 over Rhyno.
WCW Television Championship - Lord Steven Regal - Sep '93 - Sep '94
For a while in the early 90's, Regal was to the TV Title what Mr. Perfect had been to the Intercontinenal. Its owner. Defeating foes such as The British Bulldog, Johnny B. Badd, and many others, Regal always barely snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. With only a short title drop to Larry Zybysko (in a very good match, actually) Regal held the belt for a full year until Johnny B. Badd (Marc Mero) beat Regal for it in September of 1994. The TV Title would go on to be held by such hacks as The Renegade, though Regal got two more reigns with the belt from August of 1996 to May of 1997 before losing to - Prince Freaking Iaukea.
NWA World Championship - Dan Severn - Feb '95 - Mar '99
Who knew that a former MMA fighter known as "The Beast" is credited with the third longest reign with the longest standing professional wrestling title in history!? At 1,479 days long, Severn's reign was fewer only to Lou Thesz and Dory Funk Jr. I don't know much about Severn's title reign, so anybody who wishes to educate me may. But, unless I am grossly off base, this was the longest single, uninterrupted title reign of the decade.
I gave you all 10 choices! If you'd like "other" you'll have to post it yourself, unless one of the mods or admins is nice enough to add option 11 for me!
In the golden decade of pro wrestling, each championship had its own story, and many of the championship reigns did too. This list does not ask you to look at one consecutive reign (though you may opt to do so), but rather the body of work that wrestler completed with that championship for that time. Many great "Title Reigns" were interrupted for a few days or weeks, only to be picked up and continued once again.
I'd like to know what title reign you felt was "The Best of the 90's" in terms of your own criteria. Longevity, Quality of Title Defences, Importance of the Belt, etc.
Intercontinental Championship - Mr. Perfect - Apr '90 - Aug '91
Curt Henning's Intercontinental Championship reign, many believed, helped legitimize the title in its own way. Won in a tournament from Tito Santana in April of 1990, Mr. Perfect's title reign was briefly interrupted by Kerry von Erich's shocking title win at 1990's SummerSlam, only to be regained 3 months later. Perfect went on to feud with Bret "Hitman" Hart, when a debilitating back injury forced him to drop the title to Hart (his first major championship) at Summerslam of 1991.
Intercontinental Championship - Shawn Michaels Oct '92 - Sep '93
When Shawn finally broke through and won the IC Title from The British Bulldog in October of 1992, it signified the arrival of Michaels as a legitimate mid-card superstar just a year and change after Bret Hart had broken out of the tag team shadows for the same title. Though interrupted by the victory of a returning Rocker Marty Jannetty for less than a month, Michael's title reign always appeared on borrowed time with several amazing title defenses again the likes of Crush, Mr. Perfect, Jannetty, etc. It also began the Hart vs Michaels feud with a title vs title main event at Survivor Series 1992. HBK NEVER lost this title! Injuries removed the belt from him twice - one picked up by Razor Ramon and one by Dean Douglas. Shawn's claim to the title set up the Wrestlemania 10 ladder match, among the greatest of all time.
WWF Championship - Bret Hart - Oct '92 - Nov '94
Bret's first two title reigns, started by a shocking win over a departing Ric Flair at a minor show in Saskatoon, Canada. Bret ushered in an era of respect for technical wrestling and reignited the term "fighting champion" with defense in the first reign against Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, and many others. The 1st Hart Era was derailed by Yokozuna's Wrestlemania 9 win, which was just a way of passing the belt to Hulk Hogan. Eventually, the title found its way back to Hart at Wrestlemania 10 as Bret became the 1st man to pin the Sumo Champion for his 2nd title. This reign would feature a polarizing feud with brother Owen Hart, before a shocking loss to Bob Backlund, which Hart himself called "an honor."
WWF Championship - Stone Cold Steve Austin - Mar '98 - Nov '98
The official start to "The Attitude Era" kicked off with Steve Austin's climactic win over Shawn Michaels for his first WWF Championship. Marked by trip to jail, beer truck fire hoses, and a feud with "Mr. McMahon," Steve captured audiences everywhere. A reign interrupted for 24 hours by Kane in a bogus first blood match, Austin was fired by McMahon later in 1998 and the title vacated, only to be won by The Rock, and culminating in Austin's 2nd reign in 1999 and kicking off too many side feuds to list.
WWF Tag Team Championship - Money Inc. Feb 92 Jun 93
With so much focus on The Hart Foundations and LOD's of the world, people forget that one of the most iconic tag teams of the 90's was Ted DiBiase and IRS. Made up of two of the better ring psychologists of all time (Dibiase and Rotundo), Money Inc were classic, gimmicky 80s heels who won the tag belts in the 90s after beating The Legion of Doom. Many dont know, LOD lost that match when Hawk passed out in the Million Dollar Dream hold. The Money Inc. title reign was interrupted twice once for 3 months by The Natural Disasters, and once for 2 days by The Steiners.
WCW Championship - Ric Flair - Jan '91 - Jul '94?
When the NWA pulled its World Championship out of WCW at the end of 1990, WCW had to quickly recognize a champion. After a victory against Sting, that man was Ric Flair. Already an icon and a legend, Flair would capture the belt and never actually lose it for three and a half years. I say "belt" and not "title" because he jumped ship to WWF with the actual gold belt (which he owned) and appeared on WWF TV as "The Real World's Champion." After 2 runs with the WWF Championship, Ric returned to WCW to defeat Vader for the WCW Championship that he'd never lost, until finally dropping it to Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach 1994.
ECW World Championship - The Sandman - Apr '95 - Dec '96
After Shane Douglas's controversial shoot on the NWA Championship in 1994, The Sandman finally broke through against Douglas in April of 1995, winning the ECW World Championship for the first time. Despite a sickning month-and-a-half hiccup to Mikey Whipwreck of all people, Sandman defeated Steve Austin in 1995 to regain the title he never should have lost. During a long, arduous feud with Raven for much of 1995 and 1996, Sandman lost the belt for 9 months (and nearly lost his son for his entire life) only to regain the title in October of 1996. He dropped the belt back to Raven in December of 1996, never to win it again until January 2001.
ECW Television Championship - Rob Van Dam - April '98 - Mar '00
One of the most impressive and prolific title reigns of the last 20 years, Van Dam held on to ECW's TV Title for 23 months, without a single BS three day loss of any kind. With wins over the likes of Jerry Lynn, Sabu, and many others, Van Dam often stole the show right out from under the World Title crowd, all the while many wondered why Van Dam never just went for the ECW World Title. Van Dam never lost this belt. A broken leg took him out of acton, the title won by Super Crazy in March of 2000 over Rhyno.
WCW Television Championship - Lord Steven Regal - Sep '93 - Sep '94
For a while in the early 90's, Regal was to the TV Title what Mr. Perfect had been to the Intercontinenal. Its owner. Defeating foes such as The British Bulldog, Johnny B. Badd, and many others, Regal always barely snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. With only a short title drop to Larry Zybysko (in a very good match, actually) Regal held the belt for a full year until Johnny B. Badd (Marc Mero) beat Regal for it in September of 1994. The TV Title would go on to be held by such hacks as The Renegade, though Regal got two more reigns with the belt from August of 1996 to May of 1997 before losing to - Prince Freaking Iaukea.
NWA World Championship - Dan Severn - Feb '95 - Mar '99
Who knew that a former MMA fighter known as "The Beast" is credited with the third longest reign with the longest standing professional wrestling title in history!? At 1,479 days long, Severn's reign was fewer only to Lou Thesz and Dory Funk Jr. I don't know much about Severn's title reign, so anybody who wishes to educate me may. But, unless I am grossly off base, this was the longest single, uninterrupted title reign of the decade.
I gave you all 10 choices! If you'd like "other" you'll have to post it yourself, unless one of the mods or admins is nice enough to add option 11 for me!