Writer: Brett Porter
Rag on me all you want, I don’t care. Wrestling isn’t fake. Are the outcomes predetermined? Does every performer know who’s gonna win ahead of time? Yes, but even those blatantly against this piece of sports entertainment have to acknowledge how physically demanding it is. Don’t believe me? Look at Lex Luger, the former poster child of raw American strength, now bound to a wheelchair, or Mick Foley, and his lack of teeth.
Each promotion has had its share of great stars, storylines, and genre-defining matches, so today I wanted to highlight my favorite match from every promotion.
Professional wrestling is a worldwide phenomenon, with many countries putting their own spin on the rules and overall culture of the sport. I will admit off the rip that there are promotions I never got around to watching, so when I say every promotion, I should specify every promotion I’m familiar with. I wish I got around to Lucha Underground and New Japan Pro Wrestling but I never did, and better to only speak on what I’m familiar with than to riff unintelligibly, so for this article, I’m focusing on WWF, WWE, ECW, WCW, TNA, and AEW.
Ready? Me too. Let’s go.
WCW-Booker T vs Disco Inferno for the WCW World Television Championship; Nitro, 1997
The Monday Night Wars were one of the high points in professional wrestling, with WCW’s Nitro going up against WWF’s Raw week in and week out. Although the WWF would go on to win the ratings war in the long run, this match stands out to me for a handful of reasons. This title change taking place on Nitro instead of a pay-per-view was unexpected, even now most title changes don’t occur in normal weekly programming. More importantly, this would be Booker T’s first of TWENTY-ONE title reigns in World Championship Wrestling, proving to be the spark that would ignite his career, leaving him as the promotion’s winningest wrestler.
ECW-John Cena vs Rob Van Dam for the WWE Championship; One Night Stand, 2006
WWE bought out Extreme Championship Wrestling back in 2003. From the start, Vince McMahon and company had heavy shoes to fill, trying to maintain the gritty, aggressive and nonconformist brand ECW was known for. Off the bat, Paul Heyman gets planted to work his magic. At this time, ECW had beef with the WWE main roster, proving to be an excellent premise for a pay-per-view event, thus One Night Stand was born. Prior to this match, Rob Van Dam has won a shot at John Cena’s WWE Championship in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match. The disconnect between ECW fans and the WWE roster was palpable. Cena can be seen throwing his shirt into the audience multiple times only for it to be thrown back. Keep in mind, this is arguably peak Cena. He was the baby-est baby face in the industry. I digress… Rob Van Dam hitting his Five Star Frog Splash to secure the strap was not only a good story writing move for the credibility of ECW, but it also may have been the only reason the fans didn’t burn the building down. Seriously, did anybody think that fans who rooted for Sabu, Sandman, and Balls Mahoney were ever going to warm up to John Cena?
TNA- Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles; Hard Justice, 2008
Kurt Angle had a lot to prove when he got signed by Total Nonstop Action. He was coming off of being one of the most iconic characters in the WWE’s Ruthless Aggression Era. Now seen by many as an outsider to the otherwise homegrown talent TNA produced over the years, the olympic gold medalist had to do nothing shy of everything to earn his keep. AJ Styles is one of the core members of the early 2000s era of TNA, and like others on the roster, made it no secret that he thought Angle was jumping ship for the easy paycheck. The Angle/Styles rivalry would turn into one of the most consistent and exciting rivalries in the promotion, with many great matches spread across multiple pay-per-views, but Hard Justice 2008 was nothing shy of magical. Just watch it. Don’t take my word for it.
AEW- Ironman Match, MJF vs Bryan Danielson, Revolution, 2023
The American Dragon vs the Salt of the Earth. One of the most universally loved in-ring performers versus the best heel in sports entertainment. Now you pin them together in a 60 minute Ironman Match? How is this not must-see TV? Iron Man Matches are simple. Aside from quirks each promotion may have, the base remains the same: Whoever pins or submits their opponent the most times in an hour wins the match. Maxwell Jacob Friedman, MJF, already established himself as an easily unlikable heel. He plays into the pretentious bad guy archetype better than anyone I’ve seen before. The match would go to overtime following the 3-3 draw, which MJF narrowly avoided by biting HIS OWN HAND to avoid tapping out to Danielson’s last second submission. After MJF hits Danielson with an oxygen tank, he locks in that same submission maneuver to the American Dragon, and he taps. Once again, watch it. Worth all 65 minutes.
WWF- Undertaker vs Mankind in Hell in a Cell, 1998
“As God as my witness he is broken in half!” This match was a decade defining match in and of itself, but also the backbone of the Attitude Era, the birthplace of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock’s emergence as People’s Champion, D-Generation X taking on corporate, and so many more influential character developments and stories. Before you say anything, yes, I did make it a point to include WWF and WWE. Technically speaking, it is the same company, but come on, two different animals, just don’t mention either to the World Wildlife Fund who spoke up enough to trigger the name change in the first place. Anyway, Mick Foley, donning the leather mask and Mr. Socko, demonstrated both his resiliency and dedication to the company, not only refusing medical treatment, but then going on to get chokeslammed through the top of the cage, making a hole in the ring below. This was a performance for the ages, and if you see Foley smiling with a few less teeth than most, mind ya business.
WWE- Cena vs Michaels vs Carlito vs Kane vs Kurt Angle vs Chris Masters, Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship; New Year’s Revolution, 2006
One of the last big and noteworthy events to take place at the Pepsi Arena in Albany before it underwent one of its several name changes was New Year’s Revolution, a pay-per-view event that I somehow managed to see at the age of nine. Being nine, I was all in on John Cena, as every nine year old was at the time. To see him have to defend the strap against five more than capable challengers was stress-inducing. After a grueling series of events, Cena rolls up Carlito to get the win. Face covered in blood and barely strong enough to stand up, I and thousands of attendees all hear Vince McMahon’s theme music as he marches down the landing to tell us Edge was cashing in his Money in the Bank title opportunity. Originally, Mr Kennedy won the inaugural briefcase, but after boasting his title shot to the WWE roster, Edge challenged and beat Kennedy, ipso facto, Edge cashed in on a broken down John Cena. Seeing Cena’s lifeless eyes as the referee rings the bell and immediately seeing him take a spear, I had to look away, then lo and behold, “1…2…” and Cena kicked out! There was a chance! Cenation is real and we can will him thr- and he just took another spear. That spear cemented Edge’s transition to the Rated R Superstar and more importantly, added one of the greatest plot thickeners in the company, the completely random chance someone could cash in their title shot at any point and shake things up at a moment’s notice.
There are so many incredible matches in all of these promotions. I just happened to choose my personal favorites. Agree with my list? Disagree? Let us know!
