Hola, Scott, somewhat of a long time reader, first time writer, etc.
Are there any matches that would be considered 'dream matches' that were almost guaranteed to be ****+ and they just barely didn't happen due to a backstage issue or a quick booking change or anything of the like? One I can think of is Chris Benoit vs CM Punk that was set for Vengeance '07, but you know what happened there... Are there any others that you know of/can think of?
The one that always drives me nuts is that we never got Sting & Luger v. The Megapowers as a PPV headlining match in 1995. They were even building towards it on the early Nitros! Of course the most glaring one in history is the total lack of Demolition (Ax & Smash) v. Legion of Doom. We only ever got it once, at a house show when Crush was out, but every other match in the feud was either a six-man with Warrior or Smash & Crush as the team.
Now, it wouldn't have been a dream match in terms of quality, don't get me wrong, but on a historical nWo vs DX name-value basis I was always a bit disappointed they never did Nash and Hall vs HHH and Shawn when they were all on the roster (I think) around 2002ish...
ReplyDeleteWe have definitely missed out on several variations of epicness in the form of Benoit/Eddie/Kurt Angle Vs CM Punk/Daniel Bryan
ReplyDeleteOne that I think would have been immensely entertaining would have been Ricky Steamboat vs. Shawn Michaels, had Steamboat stuck around for an extra year in the WWF in the early 1990s. If memory serves right, Steamboat left around early November 1991, and Michaels turned heel in December 1991. If Steamboat had hung around for another couple of months, we could have gotten something incredible out of that, I think.
ReplyDeleteI remember a lot of comments post-WM25 in favor of Steamboat vs. Michaels, but unfortunately HBK went on hiatus and Steamboat's mini-comeback only lasted about a month.
ReplyDeleteNot really talked about much but Shawn and Rock.
ReplyDeleteA couple off the top of my head:
ReplyDeleteAustin/Goldberg would have been fun, but by the time Bill hit WWE both of them had become old news and Austin was retired anyway.
Austin/Hogan was thisclose to happening but Vince went with Rocky instead, and I understand why.
Hogan/Bret would have been something too (WWF or WCW, but preferably the former), but we all know what happened there.
RVD vs. Mike Awesome was set to stun in ECW 2000...but then RVD broke his leg and Awesome jumped ship. Even more annoying is that they had RVD vs. Sabu Part 420 and Awesome vs. Spike Dudley on the first PPV of the year and could have easily have shifted it around.
ReplyDeleteAlso: Umaga vs. Undertaker that was rumoured to be in the works. Wouldn't have been a 'dream' match per se but still would likely have been very good.
I like all 3 of these picks.
ReplyDeleteI would like to have seen Shawn Michaels vs. Eddie Guerrero.
ReplyDeleteI also like Scott's pick of Demolition (Ax & Smash that is) vs. the Legion of Doom.
ReplyDeleteRock vs. Shawn.
ReplyDeleteSimultaneous kip-up, anyone?
This is another one I would've liked to have seen too.
ReplyDeleteGreat match up ... although in terms of the simultaneous kip up, we already saw that with Rock-Lesnar in 2002
ReplyDeleteA couple that were RIGHT THERE
ReplyDeleteThe Outsiders Vs The Brother Of Destruction (WWF 2002)
Mr Perfect Vs Chris Jericho (WWF 2002)
Goldberg Vs Undertaker (WWF 2003)
Hardcore Match: Tommy Dreamer Vs Crash Holly , yes really. (WWF 2001-2004)
Good choices here, especially Perfect vs. Chris Jericho (which also could've happened in WCW) and Goldberg vs. Taker.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this is no longer a dream match, I feel HHH vs. Brock Lesnar would've been more effective between 2002-2004 than it was this year. Anyone else agree?
ReplyDeleteThey fought in a triple threat at that huge Austrailian house show with Rock. It was put on DVD and despite it getting terrible reviews at the time (the event itself, not the match) there were a couple good matches.
ReplyDeleteI seen that triple threat match once.
ReplyDeleteHow about Bret vs. Kurt Angle?
ReplyDeleteThis would've been great.
ReplyDeleteI know we got these guys plenty of other times, but I really dislike the fact Flair-Steamboat didn't take place in the fall of '91 in the WWF. It would've been fantastic to see Flair-Steamboat at the Royal Albert Hall instead of Flair-Santana.
ReplyDeleteThey would've tore the house down too.
ReplyDeleteRic Flair vs. The Attitude Era
ReplyDeleteThere were huge rumors about Flair to WWF post Wrestlemania 14 during the whole "letter of intent" contract dispute with WCW. I think he was even really close to being on cam at Unforgiven 98'.
If I'm not mistaken, that's what they were building to at Wrestlemania 22 before Eddie died.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they were, considering Eddie "was on Smackdown" at that point.
ReplyDeleteYes x 1,000
ReplyDeleteAttitude Flair would've been awesome. He would've been the perfect Corporate Champ to go in against Austin. We know he'd cut raunchy coked up promos and we all know he'd have been up for whatever goofy skit they'd have put him in.
ReplyDeleteHogan vs Bret in 1993.
ReplyDeleteBret vs Savage around the same time.
HBK vs Ultimate Warrior.
I remember those rumors. Got my hopes up for Flair as Vince's corporate champ vs Stone Cold
ReplyDeleteI would have been interested to see Brock vs Batista in 05
ReplyDeleteThe Rock vs Randy Orton in 2004 felt like it should happen. In an alternate universe that's what Orton would have done at Summer Slam that year.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be shocked if this ends up happening.
ReplyDeleteInter-promotional matches were still a thing at that point. Remember that Shawn wrestled Kurt Angle the year prior who was also "on Smackdown".
ReplyDeleteBret Hart vs Rick rude was missed by about a year-18 months, Rude leaving in late 1990, bret not getting a singles push until the next summer. But 1992 would have been more realistic for that match.
ReplyDeleteTrue, I think it is the most likely of any of these.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd love to have seen Bret vs Savage at WrestleMania 9 and Bret vs Hogan at Summer Slam 1993.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought it was really weird that they never did this match either, especially since they did a lot of nods to previous Flair feuds in his run there. Hell, we even got Flair vs Von Erich when Steamboat was still in the WWF.
ReplyDeleteHBK vs Warrior is very interesting
ReplyDeleteI very seriously think if Eddie had lived he'd have been dropping the World title to Randy Orton at WM22
ReplyDeleteOh yeah I remember. I was never a fan of the brand extension, and I always shook my head at the term "inter-promotional", as if Raw and Smackdown were two separate companies.
ReplyDeleteGood pick.
ReplyDeleteMatch quality would probably have been "eh..." but the heat for Batista/Hassan at SummerSlam '05, in Dave's hometown would have been off the scale.
ReplyDeleteAt various times, Vince could have booked Hulk Hogan against Bruno, Morales, Superstar Graham, Backlund (as a heel), Austin or Cena.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others but Sting/Warrior vs. Hogan/Savage was RIGHT THERE, especially during that nWo run when Sting finally got involved.
ReplyDeleteIt was supposed to happen, with Hassan getting the belt there. Mind-boggling to think about it now.
ReplyDeleteThat match is upcoming on the Brock DVD. I thought I had done the original DVD it came from, too.
ReplyDeleteJericho vs. Hennig did happen in December of 1997 on Nitro, I only remember since it popped up on a tape I was transferring to DVD. Its a decent little TV match building towards Jericho's heel turn
ReplyDeleteIt would have been a lot better in 1992 than previous too.
ReplyDeleteActually, I believe Bret negotiated with WCW and had plans to leave the WWF in 1992 but was unable to get out of his contract/changed his mind, so we might have got Rude vs Bret in 1992.
Wasn't Ludvig Borga supposed to get the WWF title in 1994 before his injury?
ReplyDeleteAt least now WWE has foreign heels who aren't, ya know, completely shit wrestlers. Except maybe Mahal but at least he's doing well on NXT.
I remember when Savage and Yoko were the last two in the 93 Rumble thinking how awsome Bret vs Savage would be. WHY THE FUCK DID YOU COVER HIM RANDY???
ReplyDeleteHogan vs Austin at WM 18. Not that I'm complaining because Hogan vs Rock was beyond epic but Austin was still the bigger star at that point. I wonder if Steve could have pulled it off as well as The Rock though because Rock was able to match Hogan with showmanship.
ReplyDeleteEddie Guerrero cheating his ass off trying to beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.
ReplyDeleteDid the Steiners ever face LOD? Also, Scott Steiner vs HBK in 93 would have rocked.
ReplyDeleteWhen could he have done Bruno/Hogan?
ReplyDeleteWhen Hogan was heel, duh. Sorry, was trying to think of when Bruno was heel.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I remember them facing was at Starcade 89, during that Iron Man tournament.
ReplyDeleteDid they also go at it in the Nitro era?
So much win right here.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, after that four way where Eddie hit Taker with a bunch of frog splashes in a row and then Taker just sits up like nothing happened made me not want to see a one on one affair between them.
They had a few house show bouts and were part of a triangle match on Nitro with Public Enemy, but that is it -- no proper televised tag matches.
ReplyDeleteI know, I'm still mad about that!
ReplyDeleteNo, that was just in his own mind, apparently.
ReplyDeleteYes, or they could have done a rare (but not-unheard of) face vs. face match any time between 1983 and 1987. Bruno wrestled sporadically even then.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing, a scripted sport, both guys are dead and we're still mad.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a shame the Megapowers-Luger/Sting match never happened. Would've been a great PPV main event and they should've done it at Starrcade that year.
ReplyDeleteIt would've been mind blowing to have Bret join WCW in 1992. That would've changed the course of a lot of WWF booking to present day.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is hard to imagine looking back that his defection at that point wouldn't have changed wrestling a lot.
ReplyDeleteLOL. It's so true. Who booked that finish? I'm guessing Pat Patterson was on a sabbatical at that point in time haha
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard/read that Hassan was supposed to win the title that night. That's a scary thought - he was very generic in the ring and could only draw the cheapest of cheap heat.
ReplyDeleteWell, what was the original game plan with the Eddie/Batista storyline before Batista's injuries started piling up? Was Eddie eventually going to get the title?
ReplyDeleteNo offense, but no way - Flair has looked like a feeble old man since the 80's, Rock was the big buff action-star that looked great on the poster. In context, it doesn't make sense that Vince would want Flair representing his company as champion.
ReplyDeleteNow, Flair as a manager/part-timer (such as during "Evolution"), extolling the virtues of all the Corporation guys while occasionally getting into the ring to show that he still has it, THAT would have been amazing.
Talk about a potentially 6-star match.
ReplyDeleteOnly to be outdone by the 7-star promos leading up to it.
Brock/Batista seemed like a lock for a bit there - about a year or two after Brock left, WWE.com actually wrote about Brock visiting Titan Towers to potentially work-out a new contract.
ReplyDeleteWHY WOULD WWE.COM TEASE ME LIKE THAT???
That was one of the things I liked most about the first few WMs after the roster-split - the "interpromotional" matches seemed like such a big deal. Brock/Goldberg, Shawn/Angle, Lashley/Umaga, etc.
ReplyDeleteI miss that.
Definitely - "DX vs. nWo" would have been incredible, at least in terms of storyline (less so in terms of in-ring action).
ReplyDeleteHere's one that I never really see mentioned in these discussions: Taker & Kane vs. Shawn & Trips.
ReplyDeleteI mean, come on, "BOD" vs. "DX"? It made SO MUCH SENSE, and was RIGHT THERE, but they just never went through with it.
I believe so. I remember hearing that he was suppose to win the title around the time he passed away, most likely before Survivor Series
ReplyDeleteFlair was in good shape and could still move around the ring just fine in the late-90's. That brawling style would've helped him out as well.
ReplyDeleteDude was Flair was one of the best workers in WWE in his fucking 50's. He would have tore shit up in up in 98-99, go eat a dick.
ReplyDeleteI agree about HBK vs The Rock. I would have like to have seen Bret Hart vs Kurt Angle.
ReplyDeleteFlair's hair is what made him look young, even until 2003. It wasn't until Evolution that he started looking a lot older.
ReplyDeleteI wish it would happen, but sadly, I think HBK is serious about retirement.
ReplyDeleteI hope he buzzes his head. I think it could revamp his character & he would look badass.
The only reason Flair looked "feeble" (to you, anyway), is because he was fucking miserable in WCW in the late '90s. I bet if he could have been in the WWF in 98-00, he would have been, working with the likes of HBK (pre-broken back), Austin, Angle, Foley, HHH, Rock, etc. Hello, the Rock/Flair interaction at WMXX (in 2004!), brief as it was, was virtually the most entertaining few moments of the entire show. Gimme a break.
ReplyDeletedidn't help that it finally started falling out.
ReplyDeleteBret talks about in his book how Vince had a private meeting with him at a park a week or so after Owen died and BEGGED Bret to come back, telling him they could put the strap on him tomorrow night and that WCW was killing him. I think that goodwill was killed when Bret found out Vince was wired or some shit. Bret also visited the backstage of a WWF show once though, around the same time, where Rock begged him to come back as well, telling him that Rock, Austin, Taker, and Foley ran the backstage now and there would be no more bullshit from HBK or anybody. Bret just told him it can't happen. Imagine that shit, Bret/Rock, Bret/Angle, Bret/Jericho, so many possibilities had he somehow been able to come back.
ReplyDeleteI think Lesnar mentioned this meeting in his book. He wanted to meet with only Vince, and instead, he met with Vince and Johnny Ace, which he saw as disrespectful. Then they gave him a contract offer that REALLY lowballed him, I can't remember the number but it was something even I was saying "WHAT THE FUCK?" at.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense considering how batshit crazy he turned out to be in real life.
ReplyDeletethere's a pretty fun Steiners vs LOD match from Nitro
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9cXt4Kfo18
Actually if Eddie had lived the main event to that week's SD was supposed to be Eddie vs Batista vs Orton (not a dark match, if memory serves it was advertised on the show), so I kinda sorta think Eddie was booked to win.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this would have been the perfect Wrestlemania XIX Main Event, if they didn't had that stupid brand extension idea, which destroyed the WWE and wrestling in general.
ReplyDeleteAnd trust me, I can go on and on about why I never liked the idea of the brand extension.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Mr Perfect?! Or the Undertaker.
ReplyDeleteBrock Lesnar vs CM Punk or vs Daniel Bryan.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Bryan vs Shawn Michaels.
This year's Wrestlemania. Book it.
ReplyDeleteOh, just remembered another one while I was reading the WrestleWar 90 rant: Steiners v. Brainbusters, which was scheduled for that show but called off because Tully failed his drug test, and changed to Steiners v. Andersons instead.
ReplyDeleteNot one specific match, but if Owen Hart lived to see the year 2000, we would have some AMAZING stuff. 1999 was not a good year for wrestlers like Owen with the 1 minute TV matches and emphasis on anything but wrestling ability. Things totally turned around in 2000 with Angle, Radicalz, etc. They put much more of an emphasis on wrestling and Owen would have fit right in. Just imagine Owen fueding with his Canadian brothers Jericho and Benoit. Owen vs. Kurt Angle (which was actually a dark match in 1999). Owen vs. Eddie. Or even better could you imagine Owen and Eddie teaming as two slimy chickenshit heels trying to one-up each other? 2000 Owen would have been unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteI was seven years old and there live in Sacramento and was literally screaming at Savage when he covered Yoko. God, I was pissed.
ReplyDeleteSavage also jumped over the top rope and out of the ring to attack someone (Jake Roberts?) at a previous Royal Rumble. He obviously didn't know what the hell he was doing in the Rumble.
I've heard the same story about the meeting with the Rock backstage. It really bums me out that Bret was unable to mend fences with Vince as WCW was the worst place for him. Bret's my favorite of all time and imagining him jumping back to WWF and never getting the concussion makes me very sad that it never happened.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think about that, you're right! I just don't think he ever recovered after Hogan booted him out in 1989, his strategy just went all to hell lol
ReplyDeleteYeah, Batista was injured, so they booked the triple threat title match to minimize his involvement. Eddie was booked to win, but after he died, Batista worked hurt for a few more months. Stephanie references it on either the Raw or Smackdown tribute show where she says something to the effect of, "Eddie looked at me the day before he died and said, I'm going to win the title again."
ReplyDeleteGoldberg/Austin is the big one for me. Austin retired the night before Goldberg debuted for WWE, so the timing was never there. It's a shame, though. I know by 2003 both guys were well past their peak in terms of popularity and skill, but I think people would have gone apeshit for this one.
ReplyDeleteSomeone also mentioned Goldberg/Taker, which I think could have been great. I would have loved to see Taker beat Goldberg at Mania 20 as he was on his way out.
Did Brainbusters/Bulldogs ever happen?
Isn't the story behind Rock/HBK basically that Rock doesn't want to work with HBK because he was a dick to The Rock backstage during the Attitude Era? I thought I'd heard something to that effect back in 2003.