What was the most epic rivalry in wrestling?

[dman1373]

I'd like to add Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer from the original ECW. Loved this feud and it went on for what seemed like years. Definitely one of my favorite feuds of the last 20 years.

this was probably my favorite ecw fued but it just didn't seem that epic. Now sabu vs. taz was epic. When you saw them standing across from eachother at barley legal, you knew it was big time. Its like when you saw shawn and bret across the ring to start their iron man match, or hogan standing across from andre. I think to be considered epic it needs one of those big time moments. I don't think dreamer and raven ever had that.

 

[CM Steel]

this was probably my favorite ecw fued but it just didn't seem that epic. Now sabu vs. taz was epic. When you saw them standing across from eachother at barley legal, you knew it was big time. Its like when you saw shawn and bret across the ring to start their iron man match, or hogan standing across from andre. I think to be considered epic it needs one of those big time moments. I don't think dreamer and raven ever had that.

Thanx for pointing that out on the post bruh! You have common wrestling sence.

Taz(z) & Sabu had that epic feel to it in the original ECW, mainly after Taz(z) broke his neck and Sabu returning to ECW after getting publicly fired from the promotion. Taz(z) and Sabu: Two epic tough sons of bitches!

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

Some great posts about Dreamer vs Raven and Taz vs Sabu. Excellent fueds.

Taz vs The Triple Threat(Shane Douglas, Chris Candido, and Bam Bam Bigelow) was another great one from ECW.

Taz chased after Shane's belt for a good year. Got put through the ring by Bam Bam(to end his year and a half long undefeated streak, and keep him away from Shane's world strap). Some great matches with the late Chris Candido, and the epic world title rematch at House Party a week or so after Guilty As Charged to end it all in a respectfull manner. Great stuff in my opinion.

Dreamer vs Raven was indeed what the ECW revolved around during their absolute best years though. My favorite moment of the rivalry was when Raven congratulated Tommy on winning the ECW World title off of Tazz. Another great end to an all time great fued.

I don't think Sabu vs Taz was so much of a great fued, but rather just a great storyline. The way they were kept apart for a solid year, and the slow build up to their first match was epic. Their first face to face staredown at the 96 November to Remember was one of the all time greatest ECW "Mark Out" moments.

 

[FlairFan2003]

In the 80s Flair- Dusty. They had some intense, bloody battles, true polar opposites, the blue jean wearing beer drinking truck driving hard working family man vs the Armani Suit clad, Volvo riding, hard partying womanizer. The promos were classic. Also, this feud produced multiple off shoot feuds, all related to the intense struggle between Rhodes & Flair. Honorable Mention to Freebirds vs Von Erichs, Hogan vs Savage, Midnight Express vs Rock & Roll Express

In the 90s it was NWO vs WCW. It was edgy, seemingly brand new, featured arguably the biggest heel turn of the decade (Hogan). At least through early 99 this feud was front and center of the one of the greatest booms in industry historw. Honorable mention Brett-HBK (lasted nearly 6yrs, great matches, and an industry changing ending in their final match), Flair-Hogan (2 biggest 80s stars finally meet), Flair-Savage (great matches, multiple World Title switches, only match to headline both WM & Starrcade), Austin-McMahon (so much of what Austin did was tied into the feud vs Vince, even Austin-Rock, similair to Flair-Dusty only Vince wasnt a wrestler)

In 2000s I think the epic feud really has been Cena-Edge, their bouts were intense, they were rivals on and off for nearly two years, multiple title switches. Edge's swerve to use the MIB to capture his 1st title was at the time brilliant, though much copied afterwards. Cena actually beating the King of Ladder Matches in a World Title TLC Match may have been his best moment. Triple H had a lot of great feuds in last decade but they mostly ended in normal time and rarely produced career defining moments though his bouts vs Jericho, Orton, HBK, Flair, Batista, and of course Undertaker have all been very good.

 

[FlairFan2003]

A lot of people mention Tully Blanchard-Magnum TA. Personally I thought TAs best feud was with Nikita Kolloff, trying to keep "The Russian Nightmare" from winning the coveted US Title and changing it to the USSR Title, even included a Best Of 7 Series of bouts to determine the champion.

Blanchard, who Im a huge fan of, had a great individual feud vs TA highlighted by one of the greatest, most intense, and truly brutal Cage Matches ever, The I Quit Match from Starrcade 85. Still, I think Blanchard's best feud was vs Dusty Rhodes. Both feuds were offshoots of Flair-Dusty but Dusty vs Blanchard lasted 4yrs, never completely over, and produced several big matches including The Steel Cage Match at Great Am Bash 85 (Dusty's TV Title vs Blanchard's girlfriend/valet Baby Doll), the First Blood Match/TV Title Match (Starrcade 86), the $100,000 vs TV Title Match in 1987, and the subsequent $100,000 No Holds Barred, Barbed Wire Ladder Match (Great Am Bash 87). I dont think Id place it Top 5 for the decade, not if including other promotions, but it was Blanchard's best feud and more "epic" than Blanchard-TA.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Hogan- Andre deserves some love here too. Andre's heel turn was epic, as big in the 80s as Hollywood Hogan was in 90s. Andre was wrestling's most beloved figure, joining with Hogan's arch nemesis Bobby Heenan to oppose Hulka-mania was one of the great swerves ever. Add to that Hogan's dominance as champion (he hadnt been pinned in over 3yrs) vs Andre's 20yr undefeated Streak, this was the single biggest match of the decade. The only things in the 90s that came close to this in importance and anticipation were Austin-Rock, Flair-Hogan, & Hogan-Sting.

Though WM3 was a stacked card featuring the extremely well promoted IC Title grudge match between Steamboat-Savage and Harley Race's WM debut, the Hogan-Andre main event was the biggest reason this show drew over 93,000 fans to Silverdome, an indoor attendance record in North America.

 

[HBsam31]

I gotta say Hogan Savage. Just the feud leading to many 5 alone was great stuff. Savage's jealously overtook him. One thing that always surprised is how no one ever seems to mention how conniving Hogan's character seemed to be in regards to Liz. I mean it did seem like Hogan wanted to steal Savage's woman and Savage got no sympathy when he turned on Hogan. Just a great all around rivalry, and one that was great to watch especially as a kid.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

You can't name just one. There have been several deserving of the top spot.

Austin vs. McMahon - This took the WWF to new heights. Austin/Foley, Austin/Taker, Austin/HBK, Austin/Kane - doesn't matter. All of them, in one way or another, went back to Austin vs. Vince. McMahon was the biggest heel in wrestling for years. Some look back and cry about him being more important than the wrestlers. Fuck off. Seriously. He was the most popular because he was the best. Period.

Austin vs. Bret Hart - This isn't remembered the way it should be. Their match at WM13 is talked about constantly, but their feud was insane. No feud before this felt as personal or real. Their matches were never anything short of outstanding.

Bret Hart vs. HBK - Looking back, this is the most personal feud, obviously. At the time, it wasn't as intense, because we didn't know what was going on behind the scenes. Lasted for two decades, most of that time with both men nowhere near one another. That's pretty epic.

WCW vs. the nWo - There were some awesome singles feuds involved (Hogan vs. Sting comes to mind), but company vs. "company" was the main idea. It took WCW from TNA status to WWE status. I don't care if they stole the idea or not, it worked. I don't care how badly it stunk after six or eight months, it worked.

Hogan vs. Andre - I don't necessarily prefer this feud over the others listed, but you can't deny its impact. They headlined in front of the biggest crowd American wrestling has drawn, and Hogan was the biggest wrestling star on the planet. Andre... well, he was Andre - a total freak of nature who scared the piss out of fans who feared for Hogan's life. Huge, huge deal.

Honorable mentions:
-HHH vs. Randy Orton
-Cena vs. The Rock
-Hogan vs. Savage
-Flair vs. Sting
-Hogan vs. Warrior
-Savage vs. Warrior
-Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund

 

[Waylon Mercy]

You can't name just one. There have been several deserving of the top spot.

Austin vs. McMahon - This took the WWF to new heights. Austin/Foley, Austin/Taker, Austin/HBK, Austin/Kane - doesn't matter. All of them, in one way or another, went back to Austin vs. Vince. McMahon was the biggest heel in wrestling for years. Some look back and cry about him being more important than the wrestlers. Fuck off. Seriously. He was the most popular because he was the best. Period.

Austin vs. Bret Hart - This isn't remembered the way it should be. Their match at WM13 is talked about constantly, but their feud was insane. No feud before this felt as personal or real. Their matches were never anything short of outstanding.

Bret Hart vs. HBK - Looking back, this is the most personal feud, obviously. At the time, it wasn't as intense, because we didn't know what was going on behind the scenes. Lasted for two decades, most of that time with both men nowhere near one another. That's pretty epic.

WCW vs. the nWo - There were some awesome singles feuds involved (Hogan vs. Sting comes to mind), but company vs. "company" was the main idea. It took WCW from TNA status to WWE status. I don't care if they stole the idea or not, it worked. I don't care how badly it stunk after six or eight months, it worked.

Hogan vs. Andre - I don't necessarily prefer this feud over the others listed, but you can't deny its impact. They headlined in front of the biggest crowd American wrestling has drawn, and Hogan was the biggest wrestling star on the planet. Andre... well, he was Andre - a total freak of nature who scared the piss out of fans who feared for Hogan's life. Huge, huge deal.

Honorable mentions:
-HHH vs. Randy Orton
-Cena vs. The Rock
-Hogan vs. Savage
-Flair vs. Sting
-Hogan vs. Warrior
-Savage vs. Warrior
-Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund

Bret was the reason I tuned into the WWF (at the time) more so than WCW. I agree wholeheartedly that his feuds with HBK and Austin were some of the most intense feuds any era has ever produced. Both of them were grounded in reality. Austin (the character) was a loose cannon who had no respect. When the crowds starting cheering Austin over Bret, the tide had turned. It was some of Bret's best work, and he was greatly responsible for pushing SCSA to a whole new stratosphere.
Bret's feud with HBK had grown more intense, based on their mutual dislike and eventual hatred for one another at that point. This was based so much on what happened behind the curtains and neither of them could contain themselves towards the end of Bret's WWF tenure. Their promos towards one another were scathing. They attacked one another from all angles, including making snipes regarding sexual orientation, marital infidelity, and verbal attacks on their families. It was at its core so childish, however it made for really compelling television.
I can't really agree, though, that his feud with Backlund was all that special. It seemed more like a one-off thing designed for Owen to cost Bret his title. I would say that Bret's feud with Owen was much more enthralling, purely based on Owen's (kayfabe) intense jealousy of his older brother. The matches they had were classics. Listening to Bret talk about his matches with Owen, and seeing how choked up he gets remembering those moments gets me every time. Especially the moment he recounts during their cage match, where he remembers going for the backdrop off the top of the cage. How he felt so protective of his little brother at that moment, making sure he didn't hurt him.