Bleacher Report - Articles by rob

Taking a Beating: The Top Ten Sellers in WWE History

rob — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:21:20 -0400

Greetings fellow wrestling fanatics, Today I am taking a look at an aspect of professional wrestling that some, if not many people do not realize the importance of. Selling a beating! I don't necessarily mean the hardcore or sophisticted wrestling fans like most of you here on Bleacher Report, but the more casual or younger fans of the world. They fail to see how relevant and important it is to make your opponent look as destructful as possible. To me, there are really two ways of "selling" in a match. One way is to take massive, stunt like bumps, either from high altitudes like the tops of ladders or steel cages, or to take big hits from deadly weapons like ladders, chairs, chains and sledgehammers. The second way, and to me the more difficult way, is to just look like you are realistically taking a beating. You make your opponent look like he is absolutely destroying you, and everything he is doing is having an enormous effect on your body. I decided to compile a list of my top ten sellers in WWE history. Obviously this is my opinion, and I base it solely on what I know, and that is the WWF/WWE, from the years of 1986 through the present. So if Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers and Gorgeous George were absolute brilliant sellers, I apologize for leaving them off my list as I have zero evidence to base it on. I truly feel selling is a very important ingredient to make a good match great, and to make a great wrestler even greater. Please feel free to comment and let me know who you think does the best job of selling a match. Here we go...

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Review: Extreme Rules, Extreme Shock

rob — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:52:51 -0400

Let me start right away by saying if you haven't watched Extreme Rules yet and plan on watching it later or tomorrow, stop reading now and close this page.

For everyone else, I will try to keep this brief because I am wiped out and need to get to bed. I just couldn't close my eyes without unloading some of the words dying to get out of my brain, through my mouth, and onto this article.

Is anyone as shocked as I am? First of all, I think this was one of the best WWE Pay Per View events in a while. For the first time since probably No Way Out back in February, I feel my money was well spent. There were plenty of good matches on the card, as well as some surprises.

The Fatal Four Way match for the US Championship that opened up the event was, in my opinion, a very sufficient opening match.

Nothing incredible, but good enough to whet our appetites and to further the ever-growing phenomenon of Kofi Kingston. If this guy is used the right way, the sky is the limit.

The second match, which I knew was going to be a good one, was Mysterio vs. Jericho.

These guys didn't disappoint, and the ending of this match, which saw Jericho win his record ninth Intercontinental Championship and also remove Rey Mysterio's mask, was somewhat of a shock to me. I thought, "Maybe Jericho wins," but I never thought he would get the mask. Shocked...

The Samoan Strap Match between Umaga and CM Punk was probably the least anticipated match of the night for me, and this actually turned out to be OK. CM Punk got the victory.

The Triple Threat Match for the ECW Title was next. While my heart hoped Tommy Dreamer would pull out the win, my brain suggested Christian would retain or maybe Swagger would get the belt back.

Well, Tommy did win his elusive championship. It was a nice moment, and I, again, found myself somewhat shocked.

Santina vs. Vickie and Chavo in a Hog Pen Match. Sigh...

Moving on. For whatever reason the WWE Title match was the third to last match on the card. It pitted Batista against Randy Orton in a cage.

"Wow!" is all I can say.

Wow for the fact that, again, Orton looked like what I can only call a jobber, scared from the opening bell, trying to escape the cage and elude Batista.

The Animal basically pummelled Orton for eight minutes, with Batista finally bombing him and winning his first WWE Championship.

I have no idea why they chose to, once again, make their champion look like a scared punk. The fact that they put the title on Batista, I never saw that coming.

I am a big Batista fan, but even I know they shouldn't have the company's top title on him. I know a lot of writers and contributors in this community really dislike Batista, and I will say he definitely seems a step slower and worse since he has returned from injury. And we all know his mic skills are a bit lacking, so seeing him win that title tonight, especially so easily, really really shocked me.

Cena vs. Big Show was decent. I really wasn't looking forward to this match.

I don't enjoy watching the Big Slow. Plus, we have seen these two go at it so many times already, including the last Pay Per View event, Judgement Day.

But the Submission Match turned out to be okay and I didn't hate it. I thought Show would win this one, so I was surprised here, not shocked.

Now for the main event. Two of my favorite wrestlers in my favorite stipulation, a Ladder Match. Edge and Jeff Hardy put on nothing short of an incredible, spot-filled match.

It was pretty much what you would expect from these two pioneers. All I wanted out of Extreme Rules was for Jeff Hardy to become a World Champion.

My heart was beating every time he got close to the top of the ladder. He wedged Edge into the ladder so he couldn't move and grabbed the belt to win the World Championship!

I almost had a tear in my eye. I was so happy.

Ahh, a nice night of sound sleep ahead for me. As I grabbed my remote to get ready to shut off my TV, I see Jim Ross standing in the ring so I said to myself, "Oh cool. Hardy's gonna get interviewed right now. I can't wait to hear what he has to say."

Before I could complete my thought, I heard a familiar song start blaring over the arena's cheers.

Then it clicks. OOOH NO, CM Punk! The briefcase! He's coming for Jeff! Shoot!

Of course, Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, and immediately hit a tired and beaten Jeff with the Go to Sleep.

I thought it was over, and then boom! Jeff kicked out!

I thought to myself, "Wow! Thank goodness he's not gonna lose it."

Well, 30 seconds later Punk hits another Go to Sleep and the count to three seemed like it took 30 minutes. I screamed in my head, "NOOOOOO!!! KICK OUT!!" but it happened.

CM Punk, who I used to like, is your new World Heavyweight Champion. Jeff was the champ for about two minutes.

Needless to say, I sit here in my bed, shocked.

Nice job, WWE. You pulled at my heart strings and defied by brain's better judgment all night. For once in a long while, you guys did what you were supposed to do.

No matter how disturbed I am with the outcomes of the matches, I was completely enthralled with the events that took place at Extreme Rules. Now I have a night of sleepless misery ahead of me.

As Ron Simmons would say, "Damn!"

Thoughts, anyone? Please share with me, your frustration, anger, delight? Whatever it may be...

Bleacher Report Battle Royal III: WWE Champions

rob — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:30:30 -0400

Hello all. Back by popular demand, (actually, one person asked) is the Bleacher Report Battle Royal. We have done this twice before and everyone seems to enjoy it and participate, so why not give it another go.

The first two winners of our cyber Battle Royals have been Rob Van Dam and John Morrison, respectively. This edition will be a battle of former (and one current) WWE champions.

There will be 30 participants, and as usual each B/R member will have two eliminations. If there are only two guys left, please eliminate the last superstar to leave us with one remaining winner.

You may make both of your eliminations at once, or eliminate one and come back later for the other, whichever you choose is fine. I will try to keep the list as current as possible. Thanks for participating and here we go...

1. Hulk Hogan---Eliminated

2. The Rock---Eliminated

3. Ric Flair---Eliminated

4. "Macho Man" Randy Savage---Eliminated

5. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin---Eliminated

6. Yokozuna---Eliminated

7. The Undertaker---Eliminated

8. Kane---Eliminated

9. Shawn Michaels---Eliminated

10. Triple H---Eliminated

11. Sid---Eliminated

12. Diesel---Eliminated

13. Iron Sheik---Eliminated

14. Ultimate Warrior---Eliminated

15. Bob Backlund---Eliminated

16. Mankind---Eliminated

17. Andre the Giant---Eliminated

18. Ted DiBiase---Eliminated

19. Chris Jericho---Eliminated

20. Rob Van Dam---Eliminated

21. Jeff Hardy---Eliminated

22. JBL---Eliminated

23. The Big Show---Eliminated

24. Bret "Hitman" Hart---Eliminated

25. Kurt Angle---Eliminated

26. Brock Lesnar---Eliminated

27. Eddie Guerrero---WINNER!!

28. Edge---Eliminated

29. John Cena---Eliminated

30. Randy Orton---Eliminated

Review: My Top 10 WWE DVD Releases of All-Time

rob — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:55:07 -0400

Hello my fellow wrestling fanatics.. I'm an avid collector of WWE dvd's, and I guess with my anticipation and excitement for the upcoming Randy "Macho Man" Savage dvd coming out next week, I felt compelled to rank my top ten WWE dvd's of all time, and then share it with anyone who might be interested. I know I'm always looking for a good recommendation on what may be a great WWE compilation or old pay per view I may have missed. So if anyone here enjoys collecting, or even for just a one time viewing, these are the WWE dvd releases that I highly recommend. Thanks for reading.

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WrestleMania: Create Your Own Pay-Per-View

rob — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:18:57 -0400

Say you can be a WWE General Manager for a day, and say you can create your own pay-per-view card, not only from today's talent, but from all time.

You can have anyone face anyone.

Who would you like to see? What matches would you like to put together? What would you name your pay-per-view? Who would grace the poster/DVD cover? What would your Main Event be?

You can even chose where it would be held.

If you'd like to participate, put together your dream wrestling card, consisting of eight matches in total. You choose the stipulations and participants of each match. Hell in A Cell, Elimination Chamber, Gauntlet Match, Steel Cage, Six Man Tag, Women's Match, I Quit Match, Iron Man Match—the options go on and on—and it's all up to you. Just keep it to eight matches. I'm interested in what the responses will be.

I apologize if this has been done already, but I haven't seen anything in my four months on B/R. If someone already did something like this, I am sorry. Otherwise, enjoy!

The Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Performers Ever

rob — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:08:02 -0400

The annual WWE Royal Rumble is amongst my favorite events of each year, and is definitely my favorite wrestling match that the WWE has to offer. Where else can you see thirty wrestlers compete in one match? Where else do you have the anticipation of a new, unidentified superstar entering the ring every ninety seconds? And where else is the winner of a match guaranteed a main event title bout at Wrestlemania? In a word, the Royal Rumble is awesome. After recently watching some old Rumbles on dvd, and to quench my seemingly unquenchable thirst to rank everything involving wrestling, I decided to create a list of who I feel are the greatest, most dominant performers in the twenty two year history of this match. I based the rankings upon how many rumbles they won, how much total time they spent in the ring as well as average time per rumble, how many total eliminations they were responsible for as well as an average number of eliminations they made per rumble. I will also state some facts and trivia regarding the Rumbles history that you may or may not know. If you're a fan of the Royal Rumble, you should enjoy this slideshow. At least I hope you do. I'd like to throw a quick shoutout to the real List Man aka Swell, hope you like this. As always everyone, thanks for reading...

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Between the Ropes...

rob — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:58:23 -0400

Some rambling from me. I apologize in advance...

Hey guys. Hope everyone is well. I'm very happy it's Friday. I look forward to christening my new nephew and godson Vincent this Sunday.

I also look forward to getting out of my hellish job in about three hours, going home to relax and catch some SmackDown. Hoping for some good matches tonight, and maybe a new rivalry or storyline to start up...

I miss HBK. This company needs him more than ever...

I recently watched the documentary "Beyond the Mat". I can't believe in the past ten years since it has been released, it took me this long to catch it. For those who haven't seen it, I strongly recommend it. It's a documentary focusing mainly on the WWE and the sport of wrestling itself.

Told through the eyes of a fan, it was gripping and heartbreaking. Heartbreaking for the young guys hoping to make it (and mostly don't), and heartbreaking for the older guys whom the business has passed by.

There was some incredible footage giving us a behind the scenes look at Mick Foley and Terry Funk, including Mick's famous "I Quit" match vs. The Rock at the 1999 Royal Rumble, and Terry Funk's supposed final match vs. Bret Hart.

We are also given extraordinary access into their personal lives, whether it be doctors visits, thoughts on wrestling, and at home with their families.

There was also a scene of a potential wrestler being interviewed by Vince McMahon, Darren Drozdov. He would later become "Puke" for a little while for his ability to regurgitate on command.

Sadly, just weeks into his tenure with the WWE, he suffered a career ending injury in a match against DLo Brown. He is quadriplegic to this day. Anyway, I recommend it to any wrestling or non wrestling fan, some fascinating stuff.

Does anyone else notice the direction the world of professional wrestling is taking, in reference to how it's superstars look? Gone are the days of the huge, hulking beast of a wrestler.

There were always your smaller guys back in the day, but as I look to the future, it seems every competitor will be that of an average-size man.

Guys like Undertaker, Kane, Triple H and Batista are part of a dying breed, and the future will be the Cody Rhodes, Evan Bournes, Tyson Kidds, Jeff Hardys, and Rey Mysterio's of the world. Does anyone else recognize this?

Every match is beginning to look like a cruiserweight bout. Not that I am complaining about this, it's more of an observation. Can this be due to the seemingly more rigid drug/steroid policies in recent times? Is the WWE's wellness policy really working? I hope so...

I think Edge and Batista have had some real good matches together...

I'm wondering, who would you guys like to maybe see Shawn Michaels start up a program with when he makes his return?

I am thinking something involving John Morrison. Something along the lines of, they say Morrison is the next Shawn Michaels, but he wants to prove he is better than Shawn. That would be cool.

I know it's not the most original premise, but the matches those two would have in my opinion would be incredible.

Things are looking up for ECW. Between Swagger, Christian, Bourne, and Kidd, they have some of the companies top talent.

Does anyone think the Undertaker will ever lose at Wrestlemania? Or will he retire undefeated? If so, who do you think is the man to beat him?

He has already had matches at WM with HBK, Triple H, Batista, Edge, and Randy Orton. Who could be the man to end the streak? You don't think John Cena, do you? Maybe another match with HHH?

One last thing, these are my top ten Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania matches:

10. Michaels vs. Diesel: WM11 (Average)

9. Michaels vs. Cena: WM23 (A War)

8. Michaels vs. Austin: WM14 (Beginning of an era, end of another)

7. Michaels vs. Flair: WM24 (Emotional and classic)

6. Michaels vs. Jericho: WM19 (Magical)

5. Michaels vs. Ramon: WM10 (Groundbreaking)

4. Michaels vs. HHH vs. Benoit: WM20 (Epic)

3. Michaels vs. Undertaker: WM25 (Legendary)

2. Michaels vs. Angle: WM21 (Incendiary)

1. Michaels vs. Hart: WM12 (Greatest match ever)

Thanks for listening...

Bleacher Report Battle Royal Part Deux

rob — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:05:46 -0400

A lot of you guys n' gals seemed to enjoy the first B/R Battle Royal, and I even got a few requests for some more, like a current WWE superstars Battle Royal and an all WCW Battle Royal. We'll do the current wrestlers one first. Same rules apply as the first one, as you will see below...

This is going to be a 30 man, WWE Superstars Battle Royal here on B/R.

The way it will work is, I will list 30 current WWE wrestling superstars. Each B/R writer may eliminate 2 wrestlers of their choice. (Post it through the comments who you would like to eliminate.)

No disputes, no arguments, you may eliminate two people, who have not already been eliminated, no questions asked. You may eliminate two at once, or eliminate one and come back later to eliminate your second choice, but just keep your total eliminations to two.

After 29 men have been eliminated the one last remaining wrestler will be the winner. Even if your favorite or most hated wrestler has already been eliminated, you may still pick two men to be thrown over the top rope.

If it's at the end and there are only two wrestlers left, eliminate the last one. I'm interested in seeing who we wind up with as the winner.

I will try my best to keep the list current as to who has already been eliminated, but just take a look at the comments to see who has previously been thrown out. Let's go...

1. "The Rated R Superstar" Edge---Eliminated

2. The Big Show---Eliminated

3. Kane---Eliminated

4. "The Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin--Eliminated

5. MVP---Eliminated

6. John Morrison---WINNER!!

7. The Miz---Eliminated

8. Kofi Kingston---Eliminated

9. Matt Hardy---Eliminated

10. "The Extreme Enigma" Jeff Hardy--Eliminated

11. Rey Mysterio---Eliminated

12. CM Punk---Eliminated

13. Finlay---Eliminated

14. Vladimir Kozlov---Eliminated

15. Cody Rhodes---Eliminated

16. Ted DiBiase---Eliminated

17. "The All American American" Jack Swagger--Eliminated

18. Chavo Guerrero---Eliminated

19. Mark Henry---Eliminated

20. "Captain Charisma" Christian--Eliminated

21. Evan "Air" Bourne---Eliminated

22. Mistaaaa Kennedy.......Kennedy---Eliminated

23. "The Animal" Batista---Eliminated

24. Thee Brian Kendrick---Eliminated

25. The Great Khali---Eliminated

26. Carlito---Eliminated

27. Tommy Dreamer---Eliminated

28. Umaga---Eliminated

29. Dolph Ziggler---Eliminated

30. "The Legend Killer" Randy Orton---Eliminated

Bleacher Report Battle Royal

rob — Sun, 03 May 2009 17:22:40 -0400

I want to try something here. It may work, it may not, but hey why not at least try.

This is going to be a 30 man, WWE legends Battle Royal here on B/R.

The way it will work is, I will list 30 wrestling legends. Each B/R writer may eliminate 2 wrestlers of their choice. (Post it through the comments who you would like to eliminate.) No disputes, no arguments, you may eliminate two people, who have not already been eliminated, no questions asked. You may eliminate two at once, or eliminate one and come back later to eliminate your second choice, but just keep your total eliminations to two. After 29 men have been eliminated the one last remaining wrestler will be the winner. Even if your favorite or most hated wrestler has already been eliminated, you may still pick two men to be thrown over the top rope. If it's at the end and there are only two wrestlers left, eliminate the last one. I'm interested in seeing who we wind up with as the winner. I will try my best to keep the list current as to who has already been eliminated, but just take a look at the comments to see who has previously been thrown out. Thanks lets give this a try...

1. Hulk Hogan---Eliminated

2. Ric Flair---Eliminated

3. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin---Eliminated

4. "Macho Man" Randy Savage---Eliminated

5. Triple H---Eliminated

6. Shawn Michaels---Eliminated

7. Bret Hart---Sadly Eliminated

8. Undertaker---Eliminated

9. The Rock---Eliminated

10. Brock Lesnar---Eliminated

11. Mick Foley---Eliminated

12. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper---Eliminated

13. Ricky Steamboat---Eliminated

14. Kurt Angle---Eliminated

15. Terry Funk---Eliminated

16. Ultimate Warrior---Eliminated

17. British Bulldog---Eliminated

18. "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig---Eliminated

19. Jake "the Snake" Roberts---Eliminated

20. "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase---Eliminated

21. Edge---Eliminated

22. John Cena---Eliminated

23. Razor Ramon---Eliminated

24. Diesel---Eliminated

25. Rob Van Dam---WINNER!!!!!!

26. Chris Jericho---Eliminated

27. Rick Rude---Eliminated

28. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka---Eliminated

29. Sgt. Slaughter---Eliminated

30. Kane---Eliminated

Top 20 Singles Matches Of My Lifetime.

rob — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:12:10 -0400

Hey guys...I have recently gone over my list of my all time favorite matches, I guess HBK/Undertaker from Wrestlemania 25 has inspired me to look back over and edit it. So so many great matches to choose from, and many I must leave off which hurts. I chose to only include 1 on 1 singles matches to make it a little easier for myself...

Now after some of the posts I read the past few days from some of the facilitators of this forum, I'm a little worried about posting anything at all. There was a lot of harsh things said about the current/new writers. But I figured there are still some fans out there that are interested in other peoples lists and ideas, and are genuinely interested in a pure wrestling fans point of view. This is just something I do and I'd like to share it. I recently did a "top 25 wrestlers of my lifetime" list, and some seemed to enjoy it, so here I go again. If you enjoy this at all then awesome, I'd love to see your list or hear any feedback you may have. If some of the more experienced or gifted writers of this website find this dull or pointless, well then maybe this isn't the place for me. There has been a lot of negativity going on here lately, I'm gonna try for something positive.. I would also like to thank Jev and Zander for making me feel at home from the get go...Lets go.

#20. Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit, Owen Hart tribute match, WCW Nitro 1999.

---Obviously a very emotional match, these 2 technicians were on top of their game this night, all in the name of another great technician, Owen.

#19. John Cena vs. Edge, TLC match, Unforgiven 2006.

---I gained new respect for Cena after this match. With Edge being champion, in his specialty match (TLC) and in his hometown of Toronto, where he received such an ovation that his eyes welled as they announced his name, I thought there was NO WAY Cena wins the title on this night. But after an FU from 20 feet in the air, through a wooden table, John Cena was the new champ, and I was left speechless..

#18. Jeff Hardy vs. Undertaker, ladder match, Raw 2002.

---Jim Ross did a great job of capturing the passion and emotions of this match, and of Jeff Hardys performance in particular. Jeff was such an underdog, looking like a skinny little kid in a white tank top next to the diesel Deadman, that as the match was beginning I feared it would be too unbelievable if Jeff gets anywhere near a win. Well, he didn't get the win, but he did get close, and it was amazing. The beating that Jeff took in this match, as well as the moves he performed, won over JR, the audience, myself, and Undertaker himself, who shook his hand and congratulated him after the match was over.

#17. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, Royal Rumble, 2003.

---Just a greatly executed, fastly paced, beautifully performed match. I have heard more than once that this match is considered one of the all time greats, and I agree. Two extremely gifted ring technicians who I miss greatly, as does the WWE.

#16. Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect, SummerSlam, 1991.

---Amazingly, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig was in severe pain due to a back injury for this match, but he wanted to be there and perform for Bret Hart and for the fans. Mr. Perfect was one of my all time favorites, and he showed true class on this night, not only performing, but giving us an all time classic match that I will never forget, and Bret Hart his first Intercontinental championship.

#15. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho, ladder match, No Mercy 2008.

---In my opinion, 2 of the greatest ladder match performers of all time. This was a great feud that culminated at No Mercy for the World Heavyweight title. The match went back and forth, with the 2 legends pushing the envelope further as the match went on, climaxing at the top of the ladder giving us an ending to a feud and a match that I will never forget.

#14. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho, ladder match, Royal Rumble 2001.

---This was an intense ladder match for the Intercontinental title. Again, if I were to list the top 5 ladder match performers of all time, it would probably be Edge, Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. These two put on a highlight reel for 25 minutes, practically recreating Michaels/Ramon from Wrestlemania XX. In my opinion one of the top ladder matches of all time.

#13. Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin, Wrestlemania 14.

---If his "I Quit" match vs. Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 13 a year earlier turned Austin into a star, then this is the match that made him a superstar and a household name. Austin was facing the worlds greatest wrestler in Michaels, as well as the entire DX faction, plus DX's newest cohort Mike Tyson as the guest referee. Even with a severely injured back and in what was supposed to be his final match, Michaels put on a show for us, but by the end of the match, Austin was champion, Michaels was knocked out cold, and Tyson was waving an Austin 3:16 T-shirt. Unforgettable...

#12. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels, Wrestlemania 19.

---This is the second match between these two on my list, they just always gelled together in the ring to create beautiful matches. Shawn was Jericho's idol growing up, and the similarities showed in the match as most of Y2J's moves emulated those of HBK. After the almost 30 minute match was over, Michaels was the winner. Jericho approached Shawn in tears, looking for a handshake or hug, and when Shawn obliged, Jericho nailed him right between the legs. It was as if he punched me right in my throat, as I was expecting a warm and fuzzy moment. Never pretend to know what Chris Jericho is thinking.

#11. Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock, Icon vs. Icon, Wrestlemania 18.

---This was one of the most hyped matches of all time, between the companies two biggest stars of all time. I felt it could only disappoint, especially for the fact that Hogan was approaching 50 years of age. Well the match did not disappoint, Hogan was in tremendous shape, Rock was as usual on top of his game, and the crowd was in a complete frenzy. This match was everything it should have been, with the audience actually turning on Rock during the match and jumping on the Hogan bandwagon. What we ended up with was a match for the ages the likes we will never see again.

#10. Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H, WWE title match, No Mercy 2008.

---Not a match that would make many fans best of lists, but something about this match just gets me. It's become obvious to me that Jim Ross has a special place in his heart for Jeff Hardy, as he always seems to be at his best while doing Jeffs matches. I love watching both of these guys, and Jeff had some really big spots in this match. Towards the end, Jeff unloaded a bevy of offensive moves in an attempt to put the Game away, and with each Swanton or Twist of Fate, you thought it was actually going to happen. The ever durable Game was able to survive all of these hits, and after Hardy hit the Swanton, Triple H reversed the pin attempt and successfully defended his title. A very exciting match..

#9. Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog, SummerSlam 1992.

---This match sold out Wembley stadium all by itself. It was for the Intercontinental championship, and it was brother-in-law's doing battle. The Bulldog was at the peak of his career, both in popularity and ability. He matched the Hitman spot for spot, and held his own against in my opinion the greatest technical wrestler of all time. The crowd was very into it, and the emotion of the match was just the icing on some brilliant work by these two. The vision of Bulldog countering Harts sunset flip into a pin is something I will never forget.

#8. Triple H vs. Batista, Hell in a Cell, Vengeance 2005.

---The momentum that this match had going into it was incredible. After being "the muscle" in another Triple H formed faction known as "Evolution", Batista finally got tired of being bossed around and used by Triple H for his own advantages. The two had great battles at Wrestlemania (where Batista became World Heavyweight champion) and Backlash in 2005, with Batista besting the Game on both occasions. This third installment was going to be Triple H's last chance at redemption. In was a "Hell in a Cell" match, and boy was it brutal. These two men destroyed each other in this match, both were bloody messes when it was done, and once again, Batista came out the winner. Not a person expected Triple H to lose 3 PPV matches in a row to Batista, so the end of this match was kind of a shock. Triple H was about to get Batista Bombed, and grabbed his trusty sledgehammer to thwart the move. He wasn't able to connect, and Batista mightily slammed him to the canvas, and remained champion.

#7. Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, Wrestlemania 25.

---Talk about a heavily hyped matchup. This was Mr. Wrestlemania pitted against the phenom, Undertaker who was 16-0 on the grandest stage of them all. I am sure most fans expected 'Taker to win and keep the streak alive, but HBK slowly started changing our minds as the match went on. I'm not sure I've ever been so heavily involved in a match emotionally as I was here. And strangely, it was different from anything I have ever felt before, because whatever the outcome, I was going to be thrilled. Shawn Michaels is my favorite wrestler of all time, and for him to break the streak would have been amazing to me. Although I'm not a huge fan of The Undertaker, I still enjoy his work and would love to see the streak continue. With each finishing move, each kickout, each one of the Undertakers fists, each one of Shawn's knife edges, I held my breath. So many scenarios of how the match would end were running through my mind that I actually had to get a hold of myself to calm down and enjoy what was unfolding in front of my eyes. This was pure magic, by the company's 2 greatest performers on the company's greatest stage. One of those rare occurrences for me where a match can actually live up to and exceed it's already monumental expectations. Just awesome!

#6. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle, Wrestlemania 21.

---I'm pretty positive neither of these guys have ever had a bad match. They're the type of performers who make jobbers and average wrestlers look like gifted men. The pure wrestling ability that took place in this match was unreal. Both men could endure tremendous punishment, and there were some huge bumps in this match. I'm not sure I ever saw anyone hit the canvas face first as hard as Angle did when he missed his moonsault. These guys were like assassins in the ring that night, trading blows and high flying moves, submission holds, pin attempts, they threw everything they had at each other and it was exhilarating. Two artists at the top of their game gave us one of Wrestlemanias greatest matches.

#5. Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage, Wrestlemania 3.

---Ooohhh did I hate Macho Man! I hated him for what he did to my favorite wrestler Ricky Steamboat, and I hated him for how he treated Elizabeth. How could he be so mean? How could he yell at such a pretty lady? Well I was 11 years old when this match took place, and those were the feelings I had in my 11 year old mind. But even then, at such a young age, I knew I was watching something special during the match. I knew these two guys were taking it to another level. This match totally changed wrestling for me. I realized how a story could be told in a wrestling match. I realized it was about more than two big guys beating on each other. I started to look for technically proficient wrestlers, I started paying attention to how certain guys executed their moves, and who had the better matches. I was so happy when Steamboat won that IC belt, I truly feel to this day my love and passion for wrestling all stems from that one match.

4. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels, 2 of 3 falls, Armaggedon 2002.

---The one word that comes to mind when I think of this match, is EPIC. The first stage of the match was a street fight, the second stage was a cage match, and the 3rd stage was a ladder match. They went into the ladder match tied at 1 each, and at the climax, Triple H threw Michaels from the top of the ladder, sending him crashing through a stack of wooden tables outside the ring. The two of them absolutely destroyed each other for what had to be close to an hour. I love them together as DX, and I loved their feud as well. This is my favorite of all their matches together during that time when Shawn came back after a four year absence, and he hadn't skipped a beat, he was still the best in the world, but the Game was still champion.

3. Rock vs. Triple H, Backlash 2000.

---This is another match that I know doesn't show up on anyone elses greatest match lists. But it's one of those that works personally for me. It was the main event of Backlash and it was for the WWE championship. This match took place at the height of the McMahon-Helmsley era. In addition to Shane McMahon being the guest referee, Vince and Stephanie were both ringside as well. This was an exciting fast paced match, highlighted by Rock "double rockbottoming" Shane and HHH on the announcers table, which was a sight to see. Rock had so many obstacles to overcome during this match, with Shane not counting when Rock attempted to pin Triple H, Vince attacking him everytime he was outside the ring, Shane fast counting when Triple H would go for a pin, even to the point where Vince brought out Pat Patterson and Gerald Briscoe as referees after Shane was knocked out.

When it looked like there was no chance left for the Rock, all of a sudden you heard that glass breaking, and Stone Cold came charging out, steel chair in hand, and absolutely obliterated everyone in his way, leaving a carnage of bodies in and outside the ring. Linda McMahon came out soon after that with suspended referee Earl Hebner. Linda threw the Woman's Champion Stephanie to the ground, Rock proceeded to drop the People's Elbow on Triple H, Hebner counted to three, and Rock walked away with the title. All in all a great match that had a little of everything, including complete chaos.

2. Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Wrestlemania 17.

---This match could easily be number 1 on my list. I had a hard time deciding which order 2 and 1 would go. But for today, this is my second favorite match of all time. This was in my opinion the greatest and most perfect main event in history. This was bigger than Hogan vs. Andre to me. I have never seen a crowd in such a frenzy, and I have never seen 2 wrestlers so over with the crowd before. There is no possible way to watch this match and figure out who the crowd is behind. It seemed to change with every momentum swing. Just the feeling I get as the two of them make their way to the ring, it feels like the climax moment to a great movie. This is what we have been sitting around for 2 1/2 hours for, and boy was it worth the wait.

Austin and the Rock slugged it out for over 20 minutes, hitting each other with everything they had. They were using each others moves, Austin was rock bottoming The Rock, Rock was stunning Austin, they both had each other in the sharpshooter, and both were bloodied battered messes. This was one of the all time great feuds of the WWE, and even though they would go on to have 1 more match and Wrestlemania 19, this was the peak of their story.

This match was one of those rare occurrences where even if you weren't a fan of wrestling or the WWE, you could sense that something special and important was happening. And how shocked were we, the moment Mr. McMahon, the devil himself, handed Austin that chair to smash the Rock? No one on this planet saw that coming. It was gut wrenching. It was confusing. It was shocking. The vision of Mr. McMahon and Steve Austin sharing a beer in the ring after they had beaten Rock to a bloody pulp is something that gives me chills to this day. And I hope that never goes away.

1. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, Iron Man match, Wrestlemania 12.

---Anyone who has seen this match, who knows the story, who understands what these 2 men did, do not need to hear words from me about it. But for those of you who don't, I'll try. These two were absolutely the two greatest wrestlers of the era, and probably of all time. Bret was the WWE champion. They mirrored each other perfectly, had chemistry in the ring like maybe no 2 other wrestlers before or after them, and in what only makes the story better, they hated each other in real life.

This was a great WWE feud, but it was a real life feud as well. They had disagreements about how the business should be run, how matches should be played out, just about anything you could think of, they could not see eye to eye. I think Bret was maybe just a little jealous of Shawn, being Shawn was just a little better. Bret was the man until Shawn started coming into his own. They were complete opposite personalities all together, and how they performed so beautifully together in the ring is a testament to how gifted they both truly were.

This match was the main event to an otherwise lackluster Wrestlemania. It shows because at the beginning moments of this match the crowd was very quiet. It was a 60 minute Iron man match, and neither scored a pinfall for the entire 60 minutes, which to me was brilliant. If these were the 2 best wrestlers in the world, they should both be able to wrestle for an hour without being pinned multiple times. They both executed the last minute and a half of the match perfectly, with Bret getting Shawn into his famous sharpshooter as the clock was winding down. Shawn managed to hold out and not submit, and when the clock ticked down to zero, Bret grabbed his belt and left, thinking in a draw, he would retain his title.

WWE president Gorilla Monsoon declared the match go into sudden death to determine a true winner. Bret reluctantly went back, and within 4 minutes of sudden death, Shawn hit Bret with 2 super kicks, and a boyhood dream came true for HBK. The match and title win for sure put Shawn over, and instilled a bitterness in Bret that still stands to this very day. But company politics aside, this was truly an epic match. A clinic in technical wrestling, with some big spots as well, what these 2 marvelous athletes did for 64 minutes was completely amazing. They both gave it their all, and how they managed to keep the pace they did, not letting up on each other for over and hour I will never know. Just beautiful wrestling and storytelling in my book, and a match I will continue to watch over and over for the rest of my life. Never again...

For those of you who actually read this whole list and all the comments, I truly appreciate it and hope you enjoyed it at least a little. It turned out to be longer than I thought. I know some of these aren't considered your classic "all time great matches" and there were definitely some tough ones I had to leave off, but these are the matches I myself consider great and for one reason or another hold a special place in my heart. I welcome any feedback or constructive criticism you may have, and as always, would love to hear your favorites as well. Thanks...

Wrestlemania 25: My Disappointment

rob — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:51:31 -0400

I know, I know. You guys have probably read hundreds of the mostly negative reviews about the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania by now. I was without a computer all day on the Monday after, my ranting and raving comes a little late.

So please, bare with me, and I apologize in advance for any redundancy this article may contain, as I suspect everything I am going to say has been said one way or another already. It doesn't mean that the words and feelings that are bursting out of me aren't going to find their way on to these pages.

Let's get to it...

MiTB Ladder Match

If not for Shelton Benjamin, and a couple of nice spots by Kofi Kingston, this match would have been a total dud. Shelton does some spectacular things, and I was for sure expecting him to win.

My second choice would have been Christian, who I felt was hardly even in the match. Please, get Mark Henry and Kane away from any ladder matches, it is not their strong suit, definitely not for the biggest night in the company's history.

Why they made CM Punk win for a second year in a row is beyond me. Maybe just for the shock factor?

Because WWE knew none of us thought they'd make someone win that match two years in a row? Bad call, especially because his first run with the briefcase was nothing special.

This was the worst of the MiTB ladder matches of all the Wrestlemania's so far in my opinion, and what a time to do it. At the most hyped PPV of all time.

The match was also too short, as I ran to the bathroom thinking I had probably 10 minutes of match left, I came back, and it was over. How incredible would a MiTB match have been with say, Christian, Punk, Benjamin, Brian Kendrick, Mr. Kennedy, Jack Swagger, Kingston, and Chavo Guerrero?

Overall Grade: C

Rey Mysterio vs. JBL

Do I even need to get into this one? Rey Mysterio is one of thee most exciting performers in the company, and yes, while it's cool that he got the IC title (from a guy who was retiring anyway) you need to let that man do what he does best, and that's perform for more than 21 seconds! As bad as JBL (Jelly Belly Loser, that sign was classic) has become, Rey would have made the match good.

IC title matches are usually classics, anyone remember Steamboat/Savage, Warrior/Rude, Michaels/Ramon?! The shock/humor value of Rey beating the much bigger JBL, who was predicting the most decisive decision in Wrestlemania history, in 21 seconds wasn't big enough to outshine the pathetic match.

Overall Grade: D

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy

This was one match that I was truly looking forward too. I thought WWE did a great job of building the storyline up, and not letting these two guys touch at all (except for a quick scuffle on Smackdown a few weeks ago).

I was expecting Matt to win and I had no problem with it, realizing they are going to push this feud through Backlash up to Summerslam. I was disappointed.

I think a big mistake was making this an extreme rules match. These guys are incredible wrestlers, and they don't need weapons to wow us.

Too much time was wasted on Jeff searching for weapons under the ring, and I have no interest in seeing trash cans, pipes, crutches, bats, or whatever else they had in there. I wanna see these guys in a fast paced match, going back and forth, flying through the air, performing all kinds of moves on each other, with Jeff Hardy giving us a moment we would never forget.

But that never came. If this was almost anyone else in this match I would have been fine, but the Hardys I feel were capable of so much more. I can only hope the rematch lives up to my expectations.

Overall Grade: B

Divas Battle Royal

This was an absolute waste of time. Santino stood out so much I noticed him (running back and forth aimlessly without touching anyone) within the first minute of the match. What would have been funny was if Beth Phoenix or someone else figured out who he was, pulled off the wig and dress, beat him senseless and threw him out of the ring. There was no reason for him to win the match. This could have been a big spot/push for a diva but instead they tried to make it comedy.

Overall Grade: D

Jericho vs. The Legends

I wasn't too excited for this match to begin with, just for all the nonsense that went back and forth with Mickey Rourke, he's in it, he's not, on and off, until I got sick of hearing about it. They morphed it nicely into the legends storyline, but I really didn't expect too much, knowing that the old legends and a declining Chris Jericho wouldn't exactly be the match of the night.

I was pleasantly surprised by Ricky Steamboat, who, besides some slight flab and a few greys, hasn't seemed to skip a beat. He was phenomenal.

He made the match good. With his deep arm drags and high flying body presses, The Dragon took me right back to 1987.

The Rourke bit at the end was ok, but could have been better in my opinion. It would have been nice to see Flair get some shots in on Y2J.

Is it me, or has Flair seemingly become nothing but a punching bag for Jericho and other youngsters over the past year or so?

Overall Grade: C+

Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker

So what did you expect from Mr. Wrestlemania and the Phenom? This match was the saving grace of an otherwise lackluster 25th anniversary.

These two men know what it's about. That's why they've been around so long.

I really dont need to say much else because everyone who witnessed it knows that these two 40+ year old immortals gave us something we will never forget. My thanks to both of them for sacrificing their bodies and their lives for my entertainment. I love them both.

Overall Grade: A++

John Cena vs. Big Show vs. Edge

This match was pretty much what I thought it would be. I knew Cena would win.

I knew Big Show would slow the pace down to a crawl. I expected a little more from Edge, but hey, he's given us so much at Wrestlemanias over the years, I'll give him a pass.

I will say that Cena getting both of them on his shoulders was quite an impressive sight, but other than that, this could have been any Monday Night Raw main event.

Overall Grade: C+

Triple H vs. Randy Orton

This match was a big disappointment for me. Why did we see an RKO and a Pedigree within the first three minutes of the match?

Why did both men look like they really didn't want to be there? The look on Triple H's face the night Orton RKO'd Stephanie, and then the night he DDT'd and kissed her, I was expecting this man to come out like never before and absolutely destroy his opponent.

Again, this was the equivalent of any Raw or Smackdown main event. I expected a wrestling clinic from two of the company's top workers.

I expected passion and rage and absolute carnage to ensue, but it never did. Where was the blood?

Where was the outside interference? No Legacy?

No McMahons? No Batista?

Are you kidding? Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules at Wrestlemania III evoked more passion and drama.

I could not believe it when the bell rang. That's it?

Maybe I have come to expect too much from HHH who has never disappointed me up to this point. I will say I was very excited and psyched to hear Batista's music hit last night on Raw, but why did that not happen at 'Mania?

Why save it for Monday night Raw? I just don't get it.

Overall Grade: C

What happened to Wrestlemania being a spectacle? Where were the celebrities?

The guest referees and timekeepers, the surprises, the shocks, the grandeur? We had Kid Rock play for about eight minutes, (seven-and-a-half minutes too long if you ask me) and the 90-second Mickey Rourke bit who looked like he wasn't sure where he was the entire time.

No Trish Stratus for the Diva battle royal? No Rock, No Hogan?

Couldn't Austin have gotten involved with the legends match, especially since he was inducted into the Hall of Fame along side Steamboat the night before? No, he road around on a quad and drank some beer in the ring.

Ooooh, I'm getting chills just thinking about it. This was in my opinion the worst Wrestlemania in many years, and believe me guys and gals, I'm not that hard to impress.

There was nothing worth remembering out of this show, the most hyped PPV of all time. It was as if WWE tried to give us a boring show, and only two people wouldn't cooperate: HBK and the Deadman.

Thank God for them.

The 25 Greatest WWE Wrestlers of My Lifetime, 1985-Present

rob — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:20:55 -0400

Over the last two plus decades, there have been many wrestlers who have inspired me. Many many unique personalities, funny characters and breathtaking performers. This is a comprehensive list of 25 of the greatest wrestlers of my lifetime, spanning 1985 through the present. This is only my opinion, and comments or suggestions are welcome.

Begin Slideshow

WWE: Who Will Save The Future?

rob — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:16:49 -0400

It's just my humble opinion, and maybe I'm overreacting, but I cannot help but feel a sense of doom for the future of World Wrestling Entertainment. In my 20 years of being a fan, I always felt there was plenty of talent to go around. Plenty of main event superstars, plenty of mid carders, plenty of veterans, and plenty of young up and comers.

But unfortunately at this point in time, that sense of comfort is gone. It's hard for me to doubt Vince McMahon and his team, being that they have for the better part of two decades consistently been able to surprise, shock, frustrate, excite, and completely satisfy me.

But when I look around, and think to myself, who will ultimately carry this company into the future, I get a little worried. Just look at the talent the company has lost over the past decade, due to either retirement, switching companies, Hollywood, or unfortunately death. Superstars we no longer have with us, who for the most part left the WWE prematurely—Owen Hart, Bret Hart, Curt Hennig, Brian Pillman, Eddie Guerrero, British Bulldog, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, The Rock, Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, RVD, and Mick Foley, to name a few.

These aren't mid-card guys or jobbers. We are talking about a dozen of the greatest wrestlers ever to grace a ring. The company has sustained these losses as well as possible. But now as I look to the future, it's scary to see who the WWE will undoubtedly be losing within the next three to five years.

Let's face it, as much as you and I may want to believe that Shawn Michaels (who in my opinion is thee greatest wrestler of all time) and the Undertaker will be around forever, these guys are both in their 40's and have been taking poundings for 20+ years, so I give them both at the most three more years.

We recently also lost Ric Flair, and even though he may hang around and take part in certain programs, we don't have him the way we really want him. So as it goes we will lose HBK, Nature Boy, and Taker who are arguably three of the top five guys the WWE has ever seen. Who else will we be losing?

Well, Chris Jericho is also no spring chicken, as it is he has gotten smaller and slower over the past five years, and I feel he will also be gone. There is the distinct possibility that John Cena will pull a Rock and bolt the world of professional wrestling for Hollywood and films.

Triple H, The Cerebral Assassin, The King of Kings, The Game is currently 39 years old, so I give him another five years tops. I think he has quite the future, maybe running the company. And as great as he is for the company and at developing and training talent, he will be sorely missed as an in ring competitor. So not to go on too much longer, what I am getting at is who will be the foundation of this company in the year 2014?

The obvious choice is Randy Orton, he will be the top man for many years to come. Who else? Jeff and Matt Hardy, sure. Batista and Edge? Yeah they're great, but also not youngsters, and the beating Edge's body has taken over the past 10 years, and the injuries Batista constantly battles, I don't know how much more they possibly have left.

Other big names who have been around for a long time and should be visiting the retired life in the upcoming years are JBL, Big Show, and Kane. Some current youngsters that stand out to me are CM Punk, Shelton Benjamin, Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, and Jack Swagger. As much as I enjoy these guys, are any of them the next Shawn Michaels or the next Triple H? I don't think so.

Brian Kendrick and Tyson Kidd are nice prospects, as well as a few others I am undoubtedly forgetting. But can someone please ease my fears and give me something to look forward to? Tell me I'm overreacting, or that Vince and the gang have a bunch of phenomenal prospects stashed away who will all blow our minds in the upcoming years. Cause I just don't see it.

Tell me we will get back to the time of the 80's when we had guys like Hogan, Savage, Steamboat, Andre, Warrior, Piper, Rude, Bret Hart, and Mr. Perfect all at the same time, or the late 90's when HBK, HHH, Rock, Angle, Benoit, Jericho, Austin, Foley, the Hardys, the Dudleys, and Edge & Christian all filled out a Pay Per View card. Someone please, set me straight.