What do you consider to be the biggest wrestling match of your lifetime?

[Wald]

Was reading a good article on Sting today and how his Starrcade 97 match with Hollywood Hogan drew the same buyrate as Macho Man v Hulk Hogan from Wrestlemania V, which was then the highest grossing PPV of all time. Got me thinking as to what was the biggest match in my lifetime and what even qualifies it to be considered that way. I don't think it can go on just PPV buy rates because in that case the Invasion PPV in 2001 is a bigger PPV than Wrestlemania XV, among others.

So I've basically had a look at which PPVs did big business and featured a match that has gone down in history as transcending all of wrestling.

Notable contenders for me include:

Hulk Hogan v Andre The Giant from Wrestlemania III
Hulk Hogan v Macho Man from Wrestlemania V
Hollywood Hogan v Sting from Starrcade 97
Hollywood Hogan v The Rock from Wrestlemania XVIII

but for me the all-time biggest match of my lifetime has to be

Steve Austin v The Rock from Wrestlemania XVII

[YOUTUBE]srhd2fZyDB4[/YOUTUBE]

This match had it all. It was the two biggest stars of the era facing off as the two biggest babyfaces in the industry in a match that was billed as being the decider as to who was the greatest wrestler of that generation. Huge numbers at the gate and on PPV, a record at that time, and it is a match that friends of mine who were never really that in to wrestling still say brings back vivid memories of 2001 for them.

It capped the Attitude Era and was it's high water mark, it spoke to an audience outside of wrestling and it is a large part of why people generally rank that Wrestlemania as the greatest of all time.

 

[Stone Cold Tea]

Whilst that's a very good choice and I can see why you would pick it, I have to disagree with you. That match only appealed to people who were already wrestling fans.

Without a doubt the biggest match of all time has to be John Cena Vs The Rock at WM28 . That match is even bigger than Hogan Vs Rock. You had the 2 faces of there respective eras come face to face in The Rocks hometown. This match is the reason i got back into wrestling and i'm sure that's the case for many others. The amount of mainstream media attention this captured is unbelievable. Heck they even created a documentary about it for NBC if i remember right. The fact they could announce this match a year in hand means they new they had something special on their hands and I personally think it will be a very long time before we get close to having anything as The Rock Vs John Cena again.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Bret vs. Shawn at Survivor Series 1997. 20 months in the making, with a palpable tension during the buildup.

I choose this match because it's the one I perceived as the biggest and most personal. If we're merely talking about which match pulled the biggest buy, then one can look up the numbers and say which was most successful, in which case there's no use for a thread.

 

[STILLNWO4LIFE]

My top matches:
Golberg vs Hogan (Monday Nitro) Biggest crowd pop in GA Dome History
Austin Vs Michaels Wrestlemania 15
Sabu vs Terry Funk (Born To Be Wired)
Hogan Vs Sting (Starrcade)

 

[Stone Cold Tea]

Bret vs. Shawn at Survivor Series 1997. 20 months in the making, with a palpable tension during the buildup.

I choose this match because it's the one I perceived as the biggest and most personal. If we're merely talking about which match pulled the biggest buy, then one can look up the numbers and say which was most successful, in which case there's no use for a thread.

Your not getting what i'm saying. I aren't saying that much because of PPV numbers. I just don't understand how anyone can say anything other than Cena Vs Rock when you look at all the factors. Maybe the name of the thread should be different.

 

[ajdb]

I can give you 2 answers, the literal one and the one since I've been a wrestling fan:

Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold at WrestleMania 13
The first step towards pro wrestling's zenith.

CM Punk vs. John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011
This was probably "the most real" wrestling had felt since the Attitude Era. Yes, a lot of people knew Punk really wasn't going to walk out with the belt, but for people who didn't, they sold it perfectly.

 

[Kidpolean]

Good thread!!

Um...I have a couple.

Austin vs Rock wrestlemania 17 was huge and had my school split in half. There were arguments in the middle of class over who was better/who was going to win.

End of an Era/Rock vs Cena...My first wrestlemania I ever went to and both matches were awesome and the crowd was loving it.

That's really all I can think of. Shawn Michaels return felt big as well so his match with HHH at summerslam should be included as well.

 

[ilapierre]

Ill give you a top 10 of personal ones for me. There were fantastic matches that happened before my time or that I never saw live in the moment like Hogan vs Andre or Savage vs Steamboat. So Im going to stick to matches that happened while I was paying attention.

10 Royal Rumble 92: Ric Flair winning the title as the 3rd entrant. Huge. Heenans commentary. Amazing. Flair was the first WWF heel title winner in forever who had won remotely fair. That rumble had the largest percentage of best all time wrestlers as well.

9 Bret Hart vs Yokozuna at Wrestlemania 10. It had over a year long buildup. It was a big moment as the 10th anniversary of Wrestlemania had been really hyped. Hitman winning the title, with Hogan completely out of the picture, was a big deal for the direction of the company.

8 Hulk Hogan vs Macho Man at Wrestlemania 5. The Mega Powers exploded. Savage was Hogans toughest Wrestlemania opponent to date and gave him one of his best ever actual matches.

7 Macho Man beating 4 men in one night to win the world title at Wrestlemania 4. Huge moment as Hogan was (temporarily) passing the torch to the better overall wrestler.

6 Stone Cold vs Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania 14. Not exactly a great match but the build up and result was just amazing. It felt like a new beginning and revenge for Bret after the previous Survivor Series screwjob.

5 Hulk Hogan vs Sting Starrcade 97. This should have been a bigger moment after such a build up. But the match was only ok and the ending sucked. Should have beena clear definitive moment for Sting.

4 Ric Flair vs Vader Starrcade93. This one is entirely personal. At the time, I found this match to be a huge deal as Flair was built up like an old man against the unbeatable (at the time) Vader. Vader was Lesnar-like in 93 before he went to WWE and was portrayed like a beatable buffoon.

3 Ric Flair vs Hulk Hogan Halloween Havoc94 Retirement Match. I really believed this was an authentic retirement match. There had hardly been in any in my time watched and Hogan and Flair were perceived old (Hogan was 41 and Flair 45). It wasn't as big a deal in hindsight but at the time I remember this being absolutely huge.

2 Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior Wrestlemania 7 Retirement Match These two were two of the elite 3 in this era of wrestling. One of them would be finished forever and it was hard for me as a kid to comprehend as both were in their prime. I was a huge Savage mark and the whole match start to finish was just one big huge moment. This match stole the show. Savage and Steamboat gets the credit for being the best technical match. But this match had the wrestling plus everything else. Never before had superstar wrestlers repeatedly kick out of the others finishing moves over and over like the way it happens all the time today.

1 Hollywood Hogan vs Rock Wrestlemania18 This is the most epic moment for me. NWO Hogan returned to battle the figurehead of attitude Era WWE in a classic match. Hogan got more of the cheers and the whole match reminded me of the aforementioned Savage vs Warrior one from 11 years earlier. Rock won, Hall and Nash turned on Hogan, Rock saved him and Hogan finally returned to his Hulkamania roots after 9 years away from big stage. It was a great way to bring Hogans career full circle and bring some closure to the awesome NWO storyline.

 

[Prince Vee]

I've a few in the list of my own. But it would only include most of the Ruthless Aggression And PG Era matches. Anyhow, here's the list!!

1) The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 26
2) Edge vs The Undertaker Hell in a Cell match at Summerslam 2009
3) CM Punk vs The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29
4) Seth Rollins vs John Cena vs Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble 2015

And don't consider the order as ranking. This is just a list that I had given considering the OP

Cheers!!

 

[AustinHartLesnarHBKTaz80]

Stone Cold vs Bret Hart - Submission Match - Wrestlemania 13 - 1997

Undoubtedly, the greatest wrestling match of all time IMO. ***** match. Still holds up to the test of time even after 18 years. Stone Cold's legacy officially began and kicks off the Attitude Era, the most successful boom period in professional wrestling history.

 

[That N Word]

My personal dream match came to life at WrestleMania 28 when The Rock faced John Cena. It was a match that during the build up made certified Cena as a legend IMO. Without a doubt it is THE biggest match of all-time. It is bigger than Hogan vs. Rock, Austin vs. Bret, Andre vs. Hogan and the potential Cena vs. Reigns match at WrestleMania 32 (spoiler alert.) In My opinion there will never be a bigger match in history than this one. It was the clashing of two icons, two faces of their generations, and by the end of the feud two legends. In my opinion it was the single biggest match in history. Mainly the build to it, it felt really important. It even got it's on DVD, it was one of the best hyped for a single WrestleMania match in history if the best.

 

[EnoughIsEnough]

Hogan vs The Rock WM18 was a classic passing the torch match and one of Hogan's best matches in my mind. That would have to be #1 for me. Other notables I'd say:

1.The Rock vs Cena WM 28
2.Hogan vs Andre WMIII
3.HHH vs Taker WM28
4.Shawn vs Bret WM12 Iron Man match
5.DB vs Batista vs Orton WM30 (DB overcoming the odds to win the Title)

 

[DustinTheGray]

Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24

Probably one of the best matches I've watched with a super emotional ending.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Technically, in my lifetime it would be Hogan v Andre, but since I only started watching American wrestling in 1990, anything before that for me would likely feature the Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy...

So taking it from the 25 years I've been a proper wrestling fan, all of the matches that came to mind for me have been mentioned:

Austin v Rock '2' - the main event of Wrestlemania X-Seven, which effectively signed off the Attitude Era in the best possible way at the best card ever produced.

Hogan v Rock 1 - way better than I imagined it would be, a true passing of the torch in every sense. Had that been Hogan's last match he would have made the perfect exit.

Cena v Rock 1 - proud to say the biggest match I've been present for, and again way better than I expected. A shame the Rock injured himself mid-match a year later which takes away from this feud somewhat; one of WWE's strongest builds ever (I was also in the Philips Arena when the match was announced A YEAR earlier), and just goes to show how succesful a long-term booking strategy can be - hint hint WWE!!

It's so hard to choose between them but I'm going to go with Hogan v Rock from Wrestlemania X8.

An honourable mention to the most emotional match I've ever attended, Ric Flair's "retirement" v Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXIV - a masterpiece in emotion by the wrestlers and WWE's whole package, really brought home how important an occasion this was. A shame Flair ruined it by wrestling again in Australia and TNA, but never mind.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Are we talking for us as fans personally or for the industry as a whole ?

In terms of historical significance and their impact on the industry I would go with Hogan-Andre WM III and Hogan-Flair Bash 94. WM III took WWE to a whole new level and for the first time the legit looked like a nationwide promotion, opening a gap between themselves and Jim Crockett Promotions, ironically at a time in 1987 when JCP was doing extremely well. It made WrestleMania "The Event" in the industry akin to the World Series, and did more to establish Hogan's character than any single match or feud he had. Likewise, Hogan-Flair Bash 94 was the Dream Match 10 years in the making, finally happening on PPV (although like Hogan-Andre it had happened before, just not on this scale). It also set about the beginning of WCW's ascent into the #1 spot nationwide as the top US Wrestling Promotion by early 1996 (before the NWO took that to a whole new level), it signaled the beginning of huge industry shift the likes of which we will probably never see again.

The NWO Invasion at Bash 96 is close behind those two in terms of historical significance to the industry as a whole.

Personal favorites are a different matter....Randy Savage-Ultimate Warrior WM 6 (I never liked Warrior but this was without a doubt his best match, considering how bad he was in the ring maybe Savage's best as well).... Tully Blanchard wins the $100,000 Challenge Match vs Dusty Rhodes (absolute classic Horsemen ending to snatch victory from certain defeat for Blanchard against his arch nemesis he almost always lost to)... Ric Flair-Barry Whyndam 1987 Crockett Cup (every bit as good if not better than the tike limit draw match from NWA World WIde that has been re issued on DVD, only with a clear pinfall victor)...Austin-Rock II (a wilder, slightly more intense match than the first one, I just never liked the screw job ending, but the intensity was off the charts)...Taker-HHH II & III (among Taker's best W-Mania matches in his career)....Flair-Sting Clash I 1988 (Sting proved he belonged in the top tier with a performance no one thought he was capable of in a televised match that drew such high ratings it was estimated it cost WWE over $5milllion in lost PPV revenue going head to head against W-Mania IV)....Cena-Edge TLC Match (this was probably the best feud either of them ever had, and really cemented Edge's climb from tag team guy to mid carder to legit top tier star, and lead heel too boot, plus it was completely out of Cena's realm to do a TLC Match yet somehow he performed well above expectation, a lot of credit has to go to Edge who also pulled a classic TLC match out of a 56 year old Flair a few months earlier on RAW that ranks as a Monday Night Classic).....Flair-Vader Starrcade 93 (great storyline, great David vs Goliath match, the promos in the limo with Mean Gene were extraordinary)....HBK-Brett Hart S-Series 92 (this was HBK's moment comparable to Sting vs Flair in 1988, he didn't win, but he was so impressive in his performance that you couldn't help but see big things ahead for him)

 

[FlairFan2003]

Your not getting what i'm saying. I aren't saying that much because of PPV numbers. I just don't understand how anyone can say anything other than Cena Vs Rock when you look at all the factors. Maybe the name of the thread should be different.

I guess it depends on what time frame encompasses "your lifetime"....in terms of historical importance and how it impacted the industry going forward Cena-Rock I or II wasn't nearly as big Hogan-Andre W-Mania 3 for instance (which may not be inside "your lifetime") and Cena, while he has been a legit star during a down time for business when attendance and ratings are in steady decline, has never been the "star" that Austin was when he & Rock (back when he wrestling full time) were battling for control of the company in the late 90s/early 00s, that was bigger than Cena-Rock and may have been the best and biggest "superstar" feud in its time, akin Ric Flair-Dusty Rhodes or Hogan-Randy Savage back in the 80s.

 

[diehard67]

The Career vs. The Streak. Period.

 

[Burritocover]

This is a no brainer to me. Hogan vs Andre at WM 3. No question. 93k people speaks for itself. Even if that number is inflated that place was packed. It was still biggest crowd ever for a wrestling match. I think if you are under like 35 you probably really can't comprehend how huge Hogan was in the 80s. Like I feel like I know how big the Beatles were but I probably don't really. He was literally one of the most famous people in the world. I had a friend who was from Egypt and said in the 80s everyone there loved Hogan. He was John Cena times 20. The only one who's even close is The Rock and I really don't think even he's still as famous as Hogan at his peak. I know the ppvs numbers for that show aren't huge but at the time most people didn't have access to ppv. But the closed circuit sold out arenas. So besides the huge number in the Silverdome there were thousands of people in arenas who paid to watch it on a giant screen. Ted Dibiase said he read about it the next day on USA today and if I remember right it was on the front page. I doubt any other match has ever done that. So just talking hugeness of an event I don't think there's any debate. Second place I'd say was probably Rock Cena at 28. If you want to talk about historical significance I might have to go with the main event of WM 1 just because that was the event that really blew wwe and wrestling in general up; and I think I'd call Hogan vs Iron Sheik a close second cause it was what really set the stage for the next 30 years.

 

[Dave]

In terms of my wrestling lifetime, I have one match that stands head and shoulders above the rest - Stone Cold versus The Rock for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania X-Seven; the main event of, perhaps, the best PPV there has ever been in the history of the WWE. To me, that match was absolutely perfect from start to finish. People were waiting for years for that match and the WWE built it to absolute perfection. The big fight feel around the match was something I had never experienced before and something for I don't think will ever be surpassed again. Even the match between The Rock and Hogan couldn't come close to the gold that was conjured at WrestleMania X-Seven.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock @ WM X7

For me, undoubtably the biggest match in my lifetime as a fan. THE icons of the Attitude Era, meeting in the main event of the biggest show of all time. Everything about the build up to the match was awesome, both performers were at their best and this is why it's gone down as an absolute classic, and a major reason why 'Mania 17 is thought of as the greatest show of all time.

The promo packages/video package using Limp Bizkit's "My Way" is iconic, and I highly doubt we'll see a 'Mania main event so big, with 2 talents in their primes like Austin and Rocky in in the near future. Looking back now you realise how lucky WWE (and us as fans) were to have these 2 around at the same time.

 

[relentless1]

I think this thread is meant to mean the biggest match for the industry as a whole and in that case id say Hogan vs Andre WM 3 without a doubt

 

[Aquaman6686]

That I've SEEN live (as in on TV or PPV), I'd go with Brock Lesnar breaking The Streak. There were 12 people in that group I watched WrestleMania 30 with, 11 Undertaker fans and one Brock Lesnar fan. That guy left with $5,000 in cash in his pocket, because the rest of us NEVER believed WWE would be dumb enough to have Brock Lesnar be the guy to break The Streak.

That I've been physically in attendance for, Dolph Ziggler cashing in Money in the Bank and winning the World Heavyweight Championship on the RAW after WrestleMania 29. I've never in my life heard a crowd reaction that came even remotely close to approaching that one, and I never will again. That was an amazing moment to be witness in person.

 

[OldSchoolWrestlingFan]

The key phrase is BIGGEST not the BEST - the Biggest match hands down was either when Rock faced Cena or Hogan just because of the magnitude of the names & star power in the ring. BUT if you want to discuss the BEST match ever it has to be Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage at Wrestlemania 3!! That match was one of the best matches to ever take place inside of the "squared circle" - if you have never had the privilege of watching those two go at it you need to give it a view because it was magical.

 

[HORRORHOLIC]

Hulk Hogan v Andre The Giant from Wrestlemania III

 

[Vader]

I have to say Sting vs. Hogan at Starrcade in 1997 and I'll defend it for several reasons.

WCW had never truly seen a Sting vs. Hogan match for one despite the two guys being in the same company for several years. The two wrestled on Nitro at one point when Hogan was experimenting with a heel turn but that match ended in a swerve. So you have Sting who was the face of WCW for several years and then became the second or third face; depending on how you look at it, when Hogan and Savage came in.

Hogan's heel turn was the biggest swerve in history. You had the biggest face wrestling turning to lead the biggest heel faction. When you look at Hogan's title reign he was extremely elusive. Hollywood rarely defended the belt even on PPVs. Hogan had the largest group of heels watching his back, rarely defended the belt, and was the most arrogant heel we had seen. Hogan had only lost the title to Luger for a couple of days on Nitro and held the belt

The buildup for this match about a year and a half in the making after Sting ditched his surfer gimmick and became his dark brooding crow figure. While at first everyone in WCW thought Sting had betrayed WCW, and then questioned his allegiance, we all quickly found out that Sting was WCW. Sting received huge pops from the fans when he came from the rafters and dispatched of the entire NWO routinely with his bat.

Sting hadn't been in a match since Fall Brawl of 96, and Hogan had basically held the title since Road Wild of the same year.

Bret Hart who they incorporated into the match had just left the WWF and during the whole Montreal screw job ordeal.

Starrcade was WCW's equivalent to Wrestlemania and WCW had been descively beating the WWF each and every week.

What should have happened, was Bret becoming the special referee, Sting getting a clean after Bret and Sting fended off the NWO onslaught trying to interfere, turned into a sloppy finish were Sting was legitimately pinned by Hogan but WCW came up with some angle that the count was too fast. Bret came down to the ring and counted Sting's pin afterwards and Sting won the title.

This PPV had immense potential. It should have ended cleanly, and ended the NWO or at least brought about the Wolfpack split. With a clean ending WCW was poised to have captured wrestling audience once and for all.

The biggest reason why it was the biggest match of all time, was because it gave the WWF a lifeline during the ratings wars. WWF was able to get the injured Austin the title in early 98 at Wrestlemania and despite 98 being the most competitive year for the two companies, ultimately WCW had played it's best hand and lost at Starrcade.

I can't think of a match that held more significance at the time, in and out of kayfabe storylines, but also in the overall shaping of the wrestling industry to this day.