Alright, buckos, here's the question of the day.
What's the worst sequel to a classic match? I'd have to say Rock vs Hogan II from No Way Out 2003. The original may not be a technical masterpiece, but the crowd & atmosphere is amongst the greatest of all time. It's one of my all time favorite matches. However the sequel was absolute garbage. It was slow, immensely boring, The Rock not only phoned it in, be called collect. An absolute dud.
I'm sure some may say Hogan vs Warrior 2, but that match is bad in a fantastic way. I mean, the Log-Roll of Attempted Discomfort is worth the price of admission alone.
What's the worst sequel to a classic match? I'd have to say Rock vs Hogan II from No Way Out 2003. The original may not be a technical masterpiece, but the crowd & atmosphere is amongst the greatest of all time. It's one of my all time favorite matches. However the sequel was absolute garbage. It was slow, immensely boring, The Rock not only phoned it in, be called collect. An absolute dud.
I'm sure some may say Hogan vs Warrior 2, but that match is bad in a fantastic way. I mean, the Log-Roll of Attempted Discomfort is worth the price of admission alone.
Rude-Chono II.
ReplyDeleteNo, I would still probably go with Hogan-Warrior, fantastically bad or not.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the botched flame that Hogan tried to throw at Warrior.
ReplyDeleteWWE should do a DVD set of this.
ReplyDeleteHennig - Hart did have a fantastic second match at King of the Ring 93. The Uncensored match did blow.
ReplyDeleteOh man I forgot that Rock/Hogan rematch.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd go with Hogan/Warrior 2 as well. Perversely entertaining or not it was fucking terrible, and Mike Tenay had the balls to call it a "fine wrestling match" which destroyed any credibility he once had.
I thought rock vs cena 2 went down 1.5 stars from their first match. Still hogan vs warrior 2 is the worst rematch ever
ReplyDeleteSo bad it landed on his hands almost two decades later.
ReplyDeleteHHH-Orton from WM 25
ReplyDeleteZzzzzzzzzzzz city
JERICHO VS HHH AT WM 18 AS I THOUGHT THEIR FULLY LOADED MATCH WAS A CLASSIC
ReplyDeletePersonally, I thought Ziggler-Kingston 73 was a bit below expectations and had a dumb screwjob finish... what?... you don't remember that one?
ReplyDeleteIronically enought the later 2009 matches between the two were pretty good but nothing spectacular.
ReplyDeleteHahaha good one!
ReplyDeleteLOLOLOL....In fairness, I dont think it was from a radiator....its wear and tear from picking up the 8-foot tall 1,200 pound Andre the Giant for a bodyslam all those years ago....the day before he died
ReplyDeleteI remember Ric Flair and Terry Funk had an absolutely horrible Texas Death Match on WCW PPV in about 1999 or 2000 or so where they actually showed footage of the original in the week leading up to it.
ReplyDeleteI would buy this...it would go right next to my "The Best of Braden Walker" collection
ReplyDeleteCENA/ORTON SUMMERSLAM 2009 SUCKED COMPARED TO THEIR AMAZING BATTLE AT SUMMERSLAM 2007
ReplyDeleteEddie and Rey had a really disappointing WM match not long before Eddie died.
ReplyDeleteYeah, in WCW and WWE they never came close to the Halloween Havoc 97 magic again.
ReplyDeleteSavage vs Hogan at Wrestlemania V....compared to every one of their WCW matches.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that with the Brett Dibiase run-in that everyone forgot about
ReplyDeletePlus that match was so terribly past its shelf life anyway. Then they played it up like it was current and at the forefront of everyone's "dream match" list.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't that bad, just not the classic they're 1989 feud had been. I kind of liked the part when Funk told Flair he was "going to break his neck again."
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. Fully Loaded was awesome and the WM match was nothing special.
ReplyDeleteWhen the company tells you it's a "dream match", there's a significant chance it isn't.
ReplyDeleteActually I still think Savage and Hogan had better matches in 1985-86 that blow Wrestlemania V out of the water. There second MSG match (Jan 1986) was off the charts. The Maple Leaf Gardens one (October 1985) was not great, but it had a great spot where Hogan barely kicks out of the elbow - Savage goes up for a second one - Hogan lifts up the boot and pins Savage . . . and Savage KICKS OUT - but is pinned anyways. Long before Bret Hart, it was Macho Man. The Wrestlemania V match is a great worked match, it had the good stuff and an extra bump as well. I wonder if Scott Keith could have lived with the Toronto 1985 ending as the ending to Wrestlemania V?
ReplyDeleteI thought the whole series of 2009 Cena/Orton matches were terrible. But I didn't think much about 2007 either. Cena and Orton should have been kept apart until they could have been built as a 'Mania main-event. Orton wasn't a major player until the Legacy ended and at that point they might have had something by putting him against Cena. They could have played him as a face for a while, then done a hard swerve back to heel (like they did with Rock) and built up ultimate good guy (Cena) vs. ultimate bad guy (Orton) at Wrestlemania XXVII. There's no way that wouldn't have been better than Cena/Miz.
ReplyDeleteDue to how much they blew their Cena/Orton wad in 2007 and 2009 no-one cared by that point unfortunately. The silence during their Royal Rumble encounter showed how badly they'd diminished their potential returns.
LOL Yeah that was good....I think I may have misspoke - the match wasn't as bad as the Hogan-Rock rematch or Hogan-Warrior rematch by any stretch. I think I was looking at the fact that the original matches - while GREAT matches, were in the 4-4.5 star range. Universally, the Flair-Funk I quit match is regarded as 4 and 3/4 or better by almost everyone.
ReplyDeleteEddie/Rey was one of the first pairings I thought of also. It almost seems like Halloween Havoc was a fluke, but then again, they never really tried to put on that kind of match again. Take away all the sensational spots and put Rey in WWE mode and it just wasn't as intriguing a combination.
ReplyDeleteTrue....followed up by an equally un-special (is that a word? ah...who cares) Hell in the Cell match
ReplyDeleteThe best Hogan vs. Orndorff match was the one from Feb 1984. The other ones, including from the 1986 run were good - but they never were as good as that MSG one.
ReplyDeleteHogan and Savage had some decent matches in WCW, but the worst match was October 1996. I could never 100% believe Hogan's heel turn converted him into the freaking Honky Tonk Man. Then again, they did want all of us - even the smark nWo fans that cheered Hall and Nash to totally despise Hogan and I guess it worked - because that Havoc match is so bad that not even the 100 minute diatribe with Roddy Piper afterwards helped it.
Oh and Hogan/Piper at Wrestling Classic 1985 was leaps and bounds better than Starrcade 1996, and lets try to forget that horrible Mr. America vs. Piper match they did in May 2003. I think that was the only time Piper jobbed to Hogan cleanly, and it was painful to watch the eight minutes of "wrestling" they did to get to Hogan pinning Piper. I don't mind Piper jobbing to Hogan, but I do mind seeing Piper's tiny arms being able to put a sleeper on Hogan's thick neck. Their Starrcade 1996 match was eons better than that.
Eddie and Rey could never recapture their Havoc 97 match.
Hogan vs, Andre was probably at its best in Philadelphia 1980/1981. The Wrestlemania III match was still the best match in terms of the era. I always liked their blow-off match at Wrestlefest 1988 - but it wasn't much of a match. Their best match might have been The Main Event from Feb 5, 1988.
I find it kind of ironic, and I really wish the writers (I mean bookers, because writers didn't exist until Stephanie McMahon) of 1989 would have used this in the Savage/Hogan feud of where Savage had been "jobbed" (I don't say the s word) in Canada out of the title when he kicked out of the pin. Hogan loses the title on the same type of -----job, and Savage wins the title. If I had been booking Hogan and Savage I would have used it.
Austin / Hart from Survivor Series and Wrestlemania were so good that it was near impossible for anything to even come close. I can't even tell if the match from Revenge of the Taker is good on its own, because all I'm thinking during the match is: "wow this is nothing compared to their other battles."
ReplyDeleteHogan/Andre 3; The first one was a classic in terms of wrestlemania history (quality of the match excluded); the second one was the most watched match in history, brought us the first major screwjob on a national scale, made Andre & Dibiase the champ and Hogan's first pin in 4 years. The third one is barely even remembered, gave us a double DQ and scott gave -**
ReplyDeleteSting vs. Muta at Starrcade '89 wasn't as good as there Bash '89. Wouldn't put it at the worst, but I can't think of anything worse than Hogan vs. Warrior 2.
ReplyDeleteAnd both guys were bloated on something (wink)that took the crisp speed they had in 97 out of the match.
ReplyDeleteIt was the sick purple costume I think that gave Havoc that spark
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but Piper/Hogan from I think 2003 was beyond horrible.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree that Cena vs Orton should have been built for WM27. Orton going over, even due to Rock's screwing Cena, would have been big for him. Then Orton could be the guy dropping the belt to Punk and the Punk-Cena match is even bigger
ReplyDeleteYes it was. And to think that match was considered ancient SEVEN years earlier in WCW. And WWE mocked them for it, only to run Hogan-Piper in 03. Smh
ReplyDeleteI DQ stuff like Rey-Eddie and Hart-Austin because, while none of their subsequent matches lived up to their classics, those pairings never yielded a match that was actively BAD. Hogan vs Warrior is easily the furthest swing in terms of quality, from one match to the next.
ReplyDeleteEasily the best example I think, especially given that when I first read your post I was thinking, "When did Hogan/Andre 3 happen?" It was that forgettable.
ReplyDeleteEddie looked more than a bit, ahem, "bloated" at HH 97 just to be fair.
ReplyDeleteUT-HHH at WM 28.
ReplyDeleteWM 17 was a pretty damned good brawl, WM 27 was an okayish successor to UT-HBK... WM 28 was overrated SHIT with a side of HBK-HHH love juice.
Lol the first match was really good, sorry if you fantasy booked wm28 in a different way
ReplyDeleteYeah Hogan/Andre at WM 4 is about the cheapest match ever I'd say. WM 3 and the ME match at least had a story and some big planned spots The body slam at WM4 is an afterthought, tacked onto the end to make the crowd felt like they watched something memorable and worth waiting for.
ReplyDeleteI've rewatched that recently and while it's a little boring, Hennig/Hart at Uncensored isn't that bad. A little slow, but a good start and a nice finishing sequence too. I think at the time it was just crushed under expectations, as I remember absolutely hating it back in 1998.
ReplyDeleteCena-Rock II. Everyone knew where it was heading and there was nothing left to make it seem important.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic... Imma put my thinking cap on for this one.
ReplyDeleteI have never been a fan of TLC II at WM 17.
Cena/Orton at WM should have been earlier than that.
ReplyDeleteWM 24 was proper blowoff.
Cena gets hurt and gives up belt after 380+ title reign. Age of Orton title run happens, Cena comes back from injury and gets HIS belt back.
HHH shoehorned his way into that.
Eddie wasnt "Bloated" in 97, he was shredded to shit.
ReplyDeleteIn 05, he was bloated.
Kevin Sullivan vs. Chris Benoit in the Loser Leaves Town match didn't hold a candle to their original wild brawl.
ReplyDeleteI think it could have been better if they went with the right finish, which was when Cena faked out Rock by doing the same thing he did last year with the people's elbow. Nah, instead they had Rock kick out and then both of them did nothing except try for their finish.... which had just happened anyway.
ReplyDeleteAlso did the Iron Sheik and Nikili Volkoff ever wrestle the Bushwhackers before their match at Heroes of Wrestling?
ReplyDeleteHoly hell, this.
ReplyDeleteI can kind of understand that.
ReplyDeleteImplying that the original Hogan vs Rock match wasn't a near dud itself without the admittedly amazing crowd.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't hold a candle to 64, but I think it was a hell of a lot better than 86.
ReplyDeleteThat Last Man Standing they had at No Mercy was pretty good. It was the only match of their interminable rivalry I can remember liking, but I'll go to bat for that one.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pretty ok match
ReplyDeleteI always liked TLC I better, but certainly couldn't say II was the WORST rematch of all time
ReplyDeleteThe crowd puts it into another dimension as far as matches go, but still a good wrestling match regardless
ReplyDeleteI think the stipulation of the Ironman tournament kinda screwed the Sting/Muta match from the start
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that the only thing I remember of that match was Rey fucking around with his mask the ENTIRE match
ReplyDeleteThe WWE Championship?
ReplyDeleteAgree. Steph's outfit was the only thing interesting about their WM18 match
ReplyDeleteYea good call on that. Isnt that the match were Watt's gave them instructions before-hand to go out there and bomb the match?
ReplyDeleteHogan/Andre at Wrestlemania III overcame their limitations and generally lived up to the hype.
ReplyDeleteHogan/Andre at The Main Event did not, but at least it had the shocking title change and a truly unique post match angle.
Hogan/Andre at Wrestlemania IV was a borefest.
Hogan/Andre cage match at Wrestlefest was a drizzling shitfest.
Lynn/RVD Living Dangerously '99 was amazing.
ReplyDeleteLynn/RVD Hardcore Heaven '00 was barely a match.
Also: Sid/HBK (due to HBK's flu. And Sid.)
Back Door Sluts 10 was a huge let down after Back Door Sluts 9.
ReplyDeleteTrue but he still looked cosmetically enhanced to me. I could be wrong of course.
ReplyDeleteOoh, a belt that means JACK and SHIT when not around the waist of one Cena, John. At least according to WWE's logic.
ReplyDeleteThank god they righted the ship with 11.
ReplyDeleteHas Randy Orton honestly had 1 signature match is his entire career?
ReplyDeleteThis will get some hate but HBK-UT never topped Hell in the Cell.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm more of a Junk in the Trunk guy.
ReplyDeleteWait, we are talking hilariously awesome porno titles, right?
Calling any match those four could have had a "classic" is HEAVILY stretching the definition. Kinda like putting a "small" condom on a full-sized stallion. Just ain't gonna fit.
ReplyDeleteYou are entitled to your opinion, even if it is wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe belt meant something with Punk, but a mere prop to ensure Rock could face Cena again. And lose. Predictable build up, nothing match.
ReplyDeleteBacklund v Hart at WM was terrible.
ReplyDeleteThat match is still the standard for all Cell matches, so in effect any sequel falls short. Even Foley's wrecking ball match.
ReplyDeleteWas Undertaker vs Big Show the standard for all Punjabi Prison matches?
ReplyDeleteHow about the Jeff Hardy vs Sting rematch at Victory Road?
ReplyDelete- Best Hell in the Cell
ReplyDelete- HBK at his athletic peak
- correct heel-face dynamic
- awesome time in the company and to be a fan
- HBK possibly as the best heel ever
- tons of blood and ridiculous bumps
- tons of drama
I loved Wrestlemania 25 but I loved this match more.
Eh, to be fair it's been forever since I watched the match. I just remembered hearing all the hype and thinking "That was it ?"
ReplyDeleteEh, to be fair it's been forever since I seen the match. I just never understood all the people slobbering all over it and throwing out 4+ star ratings.
ReplyDeleteScrewjob ending.
ReplyDelete*drops mic, walks away*
Maybe Foley at Backlash 2004. He's had some good ones but nothing where I'd pop it in the blu-ray and say, "Yo, you have to watch this."
ReplyDeleteKane has been a regular guy since. Best debut ever.
ReplyDelete*kicks your mic*
That match was terrible, but the SS was no classic. Not a bad match, in fact I quite like it, but it's not what I would call a classic battle.
ReplyDeleteYou got yours?
ReplyDeleteMine never arrived, I think the mailman stole it...
One thing that is classic about that match is Backlund's promo afterwards. One of my favourite promos, actually.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised no one's brought this up yet but Goldberg vs. DDP at Fall Brawl 1999 definitely belongs on the list.
ReplyDeleteYeah because BDS 10 had that Dusty finish at the end.
ReplyDeleteANGLE PUTS THE STRAPS BACK ON, THEN TAKES THEM OFF AGAIN. NOW YOU'RE FUCKED
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was him practicing too hard to be the bassist for Metallica, before he turned it down.
ReplyDeleteI wonder....Was that before he invented the izart of putting the iz in words like Snoop does now? You kn-iz-ow he invented that also, right
ReplyDeleteLol whos this guy Dave Chappelle???
ReplyDeleteVs. A Duffle Bag.
ReplyDeleteBut I have a shit fetish.
Mankind vs. The Undertaker, KOTR '98.
ReplyDeleteIt's The Dark Knight of their series of matches: Almost atrocious, but the most memorable.
But... but it featured so much drama, the way they lied around and sold for hours while screaming!
ReplyDeleteNot topping the original does not make any of their "sequels" one of the worst ever.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed HBK's overacting, but eh match other than that.
ReplyDeleteEddie was pretty close to looking like this:
ReplyDeletehow can anyone think that hack was a good artist?
ReplyDeleteWell technically, the Hell in the Cell match WAS the Sequel....remember they fought at the In Your House the month before, which was a good match.
ReplyDelete*picks up mic..."testing 1-2...testing 1-2"....throws it on the ground smashing it into smithereens*
no it wasn't
ReplyDeleteHe did some perfectly acceptable art. And then he just seemed to stop caring.
ReplyDeleteHe's basically that artistic version of Lex Luger.
This was either the first time (or one of the first) where Mysterio had the more open back to his mask as apposed to the full head mask and it obviously did not fit very well. I remember watching live and after the first mask adjustment I was already worried about its effect on the match.
ReplyDeleteor a writer
ReplyDeleteWas that Dusty Finish Dustin or Cody?
ReplyDeleteBadumbump
The mail man probably went "Knock Knock" on your door and then the punchline was to run away with the DVD
ReplyDeleteAnd here I thought it was an accident caused by improper usage of the Yappapi Indian Strap.
ReplyDeleteonce he became "hot" he focused on splash pages and his anatomy was just awful;. He made artists that paid attention to things like proportion absolutely cringe.
ReplyDeleteHave you guys seen my microphone? I swore I le-
ReplyDeleteOh.
Cap has pecs like Big E.
ReplyDeleteDon't look at me, it was working when I last had it.
ReplyDeleteAnd you can thank Jim Cornette for that. That piece of booking, and convincing Vince not to follow Russo's idea to have the Undertaker chokeslam Kane the next night on RAW, saved Glenn Jacobs wrestling career.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I watched it the other day. The entire pay-per-view is awful until you get to that match. It takes them a while to wake up a dead crowd, but they have everyone going nuts by the end. I might be in the minority, but I think Kane's interference HELPED the match and provided a fitting ending. I also loved Shawn destroying the cameraman so that he could escape the Cell. Easy ***** classic for me.
ReplyDeleteThe picture above looks like he started working on it, went to grab a smoke, came back and finished it with Cap in a different pose than he started with.
ReplyDeleteAnd then said "All right. Job done."
SuperBrawl 2000. What a turd that card was - the Flair/Funk match was one of the BETTER matches there!
ReplyDelete