What 5 matches would you advise a new fan of WWE watches?

[TheLittleOne]

1992 Coliseum Home Video from Live Event Bret and Owen Hart vs The Steiner Brothers BEST TAG TEAM MATCH EVER! with great commentary from Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon..

1989 MSG House Show Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect

1990 Saturday Nights Main Event Mr. Perfect vs Hulk Hogan

1992 Live Event from the UK - Macho Man Randy Savage & Bret Hart vs Ric Flair & Shawn Michaels

Hart Foundation vs The Rockers 2 out of 3 falls match from Saturday Nights Main Event in 1990 which never aired on TV when top rope broke.

The Rockers vs The Rougeus from 1989 Live Event in France ( event with glass entrance tunnel and the models with neon wigs holding superstar's name on cards!!

all great, excellent matches with great commentary.. superb storytelling with WRESTLING.. didnt need a 5 min video to tell a story or a 20 min promo four times a month...

i know all these are on the TUBE.. the perfect/ hogan from SNME is on the Network..
and Jim Ross agreed that the Hart Brothers vs Steiner Brothers was the best tag match he ever saw... give all these a try.... certainly will show younger fans how good a match could be with a WRESTLING based story like " workin an arm!!!"

plus the fans reaction in these matches for the highspots is equivalent to wen edge speared Jeff Hardy from over 20 feet in the air and they only hit an arm drag as a freakin high spot or a dropkick!!!! its HOW its done and WHEN and WHY

trust me!

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

This is a really tough question, as there are hundreds of fantastic matches throughout the years in WWE. I could name so many matches that would appeal to new wrestling fans.

However, the 5 I narrowed it down to (before reading the other comments here) were identical to Jack Hammer's picks- except for 1. His explanations as to why the matches were picked are spot on too, so I'm not going to repeat what he said, I'll just list the 4 matches we agree on.

Mankind v Undertaker (King of the Ring 1998)- Hell In A Cell
The Hardy Boyz v Dudley Boyz v Edge & Christian (WM 2000)- Triangle Ladder Match
Randy Orton v Daniel Bryan v Batista (WM 30)- Triple Threat
Undertaker v Shawn Michaels (WM 25 or WM 26)

The 5th pick is where the problem lies- I don't think I can select just 1 more match! There are so many candidates!

Bret Hart v Stone Cold (WM13)
The Rock v Stone Cold (WM X7)
Hardy Boyz v Edge & Christian (No Mercy '99)- Ladder Match
Kurt Angle v Shane McMahon (King of the Ring)
Triple H v Cactus Jack (Royal Rumble 2000)- Street Fight
The Rock v Mankind (Royal Rumble 1999)- I Quit Match

If I really had to pick one, I think it would be The Rock v Stone Cold @ WM 17 - the 2 biggest icons of the Attitude Era clashing, with a shocking heel turn from The Rattlesnake at the end, or Bret Hart v Stone Cold, where Austin refuses to give up, and passed out from the pain while in the Sharpshooter- perfect storytelling from WWE!

 

[Stan Hansen]

I watched a few of the old Sting matches, including some with Flair back in the day. I was too young to watch wrestling (or in some cases not born) when those took place and I enjoyed them.

I'm not good with dates or keeping track so I can't remember exactly what one or what PPV they were on. I watched the HHH/HBK Last Man Standing match from the Royal Rumble. I loved that match.

You can't go wrong with Taker vs HBK.

The TLC/Ladder/Table matches with the Hardys, Dudleys and Edge and Christian or any combo of those three were incredible to watch. The beatings those guys put their body through for some of those spots is something to watch.

 

[S'All Goodman]

These are some of my favourite matches, and although there are better, these are the ones that i consider to be the most exciting. This would also give the newbie a wide range to choose from.

1. Angle & Benoit vs Edge & Mysterio - No Mercy 2002.
I feel like i should leave this out as it involved Benoit, however, I loved Smackdown during this period and this match pretty much summed up what Heyman was looking to achieve in his early days of booking Smackdown and, in my opinion, the real beginning for these four mens' careers as you saw what they would go on to accomplish in the next few years.

2. HHH vs Cactus Jack - RR 2000.
I could have put any of Foleys top matches in this list and it would'nt have mattered. He is one of my favourite of all time and the most exciting wrestler i have ever seen and this match tops the list for me, and goes down as the greatest match at the Royal Rumble in history.

3. Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio - Halloween Havoc 1997/ Guerrero & Barr vs De Santo & Octagon - AAA 1994.
I wanted to include Eddie on this list as he is my favourite of all time. I fell in love with wrestling by watching him and he really makes you appreciate what it is all about. either of these two matches are more than good enough and i couldn't choose only two.

4. HBK vs Undertaker - Badd Blood 1997.
The first ever HIAC. The debut of Kane. Undertaker's entrance. The storyline. The Wrestling. This is the bench mark. Everybody should be trying to top this. It's Perfect.

5. Flair vs Steamboat - Wrestlewar 1989.
I felt i had to chose between this and Flair vs Funk - Clash of Champions IX. both matches personify what Ric Flair was. The greatest of all time.

 

[HurriKane]

Well this is actually difficult.

For 5 good matches I would go with

Undertaker Vs Shawn Michaels Bad Blood 97. First Hell in a Cell match.
Bret Hart Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - Wrestlemania 13
Ricky Steamboat Vs Savage -Wrestlemania 3 - Nice clean simple match.
Kurt Angle Vs Shane McMahon King of the ring 01 - One of my favorite hardcore matches ever, I think if you want someone to really be shocked and awe this is the match to show them. Amazing, and I consider it a five star match.
First Money in the Bank Ladder Match - Wrestlemania 21 - For the fans that love excitement, this match has some pretty awesome spots, and sometimes that's all it takes to get a fan involved.

Honorable mentions

Undertaker Vs Mankind - King of the Ring 97 - Just awesome, not really a match, but I think if fans just want to see something special, this is the match for you.
Hulk Hogan Vs The Rock - Wrestlemania 18 - Two huge mega stars going at it at WM, great for someone who doesn't know much about wrestling in general, considering The Rock and Hulk Hogan is a household name to people who don't watch wrestling
Shawn Michaels Vs Bret Hart - Wrestlemania 12 - Reason why this is not the offical list is I feel some fans may find this to be a bit slow, this is a good match for fans after they start getting warmed up to the product, but not right off the bat.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I stopped watching wrestling/WWF after 1991 and started watching again in 1997. If I was to wager the following matches were the bouts that captivated me and made me a fan again.

Wrestlemania 13: Submission Match - Bret Hart vs. Austin - I was already watching occasionally for a year or so but this match was the one that really made me a fan again. I was a Bret Hart fan and seeing him turn heel didn't break my heart it just made me hate the American fans more since I was on the hitman's side. But this match also made Austin a superstar and was amazed in how much he bled and passed out. It was also a violent match full of action. So year! This match made a devout fan again.

Royal Rumble 1997 - When I was younger the Rumble's were always the matches I liked to see so when turning to a fan again it's the Rumble is a good bait. The mayhem, the anything can happen angle, etc. and a lot did happen here.

Wrestlemania 12 Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels - Probably the first match I saw after I stopped watching WWF for 5 years. So yeah we got this on free TV from I was from so I was shocked to see these two as Champions since before this I associated them as tag team wrestlers. This match took forever to finish but man what a long exhausting but worthwhile match this was.

Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker at Badd Blood 1997 - Hell in a Cell brutal, violent, everything would want if you are someone looking for blood.

 

[MrTDG]

I'm going to try and add some matches that haven't been posted.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho WM 19- This is the match that truly said the old, show-stopping HBK was back. The young lion vs. the old lion. I only wish Jericho had won the match. Even if he cheats to win to continue their feud, I think Jericho should've gone over.


Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart- Was the unquestioned best opening match in WrestleMania history, but Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H gives it serious competition in terms of wrestling and overall story. It gave Owen Hart instant legitimacy.

Bret Hart vs. Diesel Survivor Series 1995- One of the best big man vs. small man matches in history IMO and may be Nash's best match. This one really doesn't get enough credit, but is a testament to the greatness of Bret.

Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior Wrestlemania 6- Crowd reaction? Check. Historical significance? Check. Great match? Check. A surprisingly good match that was elevated just by how into the action the crowd was. Great back and forth and probably the best done match of power wrestlers until Undertaker and Kane came along and broke the mold.

CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan- I can't remember the name of the PPV, but it was in 2012. They had an excellent series and represented what the modern WWE should be about. Hopefully Bryan can find another equal in the near future.

 

[360_no_scope]

What I dont understand here is the OP asks for 5 matches for a new fan to watch and everybody is suggesting matches that are 10 years+ old with people who don't even wrestle anymore... why?

My 5 matches would be:
Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and Batista Triple threat at Mania
Shield vs Evolution 2
Team Cena vs Team authority - to showcase just how awesome Dolph is
Cena vs Punk at money in the bank (even though Punk is now gone, still recent enough)
Ceasro vs Sami Zayn - these guys are amazing, best way to show people what to expect in the future