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When it comes to professional wrestling, it definitely takes two to tango. Much like in other forms of entertainment, any given protagonist is only as good as their antagonist. Sherlock Holmes had Professor Moriarty, Batman has the Joker, and James Bond has Spectre.
It's no different in the world of sports entertainment, where legendary rivalries not only make for spectacular matches, they out and out define the sport itself, and shake the foundations of the industry.
One of the main tenants of pro wrestling is that the audience should ideally be emotionally involved with the events in the ring. While this can be accomplished in just one match, the longer a rivalry goes on and the more heated it grows, the bigger the emotional resonance with the audience and fans.
Over the years, we have witnessed some spectacular rivalries that have stood the test of time. In an era where gimmicks and storylines are a dime a dozen and are changed consistently, maintaining rivalries and adding sub plots and episodes to an existing feud is a rarity.
Here, we analyze ten such pro wrestling rivalries that were so good, they became legendary.
#10 Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Greg The Hammer Valentine
Professional wrestling doesn't have an offseason, and your average sports entertainer is on the road far more often than he or she is not. Their bodies endure enormous punishment, despite the fact that wrestling is choreographed and scripted.
But even in the world of pro wrestling, some tough people just stand out for being extra, EXTRA tough. The two men involved in this legendary rivalry are two such personages.
Greg The Hammer Valentine was trained for the ring by Stu Hart in his legendary Dungeon. Known as a stiff worker with good technical acumen, he is a true legend in the sport and has wrestled all over the world.
Rowdy Roddy Piper worked his way up to the ring by cleaning arenas and setting up the ring to pay for his training. He was also a student of the legendary Judo Gene Labell and performed many of his own stunts during his movie career.
The rivalry started when Greg Valentine targeted Piper's ear during a match, partially deafening Hot Rod. Since the two men wouldn't stop pummeling each other, the NWA made their match a Dog Collar Match at Starrcade 1983. No title was on the line; they really just wanted to destroy each other. The match itself was brutal and featured virtually no scientific wrestling. It proved to be so popular, the pair would re-enact the match many times throughout the NWA territories.
Here is a video of Valentine and Piper discussing their infamous match. You can watch the actual bout on the WWE Network.
#9 Ravishing Rick Rude vs. Jake the Snake Roberts
In WWE's classic era, there were two major stars that stood out among the star-studded roster; Jake the Snake Roberts and Ravishing Rick Rude. Rude cut his teeth in the NWA territories, usually teaming up with Raging Bull Manny Fernandez. He was legendary for his toughness both inside and outside of the ring--he once slugged Ultimate Warrior after a backstage disagreement.
Jake the Snake Roberts was a decent ring technician, but his main strength was his cerebral cunning and psychological mind games he played with his opponent. He is also credited with inventing the DDT move--which stands for Damn Dirty Trick.
Because Jake was a master of mind games, this feud really stands out because for once Roberts was the one being toyed with. Ravishing Rick Rude had a habit of choosing a woman out of the crowd to give the second version of the Rude Awakening--a passionate kiss--which often left the poor woman swooning on the mat. However, one lovely woman at ringside refused to participate, because she was at the show to support her husband--who happened to be Jake Roberts!
Of course, Rick Rude didn't deal well with being told no, and Jake Roberts would come out to defend his wife's honor. As they built up steam for their eventual match, Rude would play mind games with Roberts by wearing tights featuring his wife Cheryl's face on them.
The feud was extra personal because it involved Roberts's family, and is well remembered as one of the most exciting rivalries of all time.
Here's a video of how it all got started.
#8 The Rock N Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express
Tag team wrestling was super, super hot during the 1980s. Shows headlined by the team of Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, better known as the Rock N Roll Express, tended to draw just as big of a crowd as those headlined by world champion Dusty Rhodes.
The Rock N Roll Express was a hot tag team, but so was the Midnight Express. The tandem of Beautiful Bobby Eaton and Sweet Stan Lane stood out because of their supreme technical wrestling skill, Lane's Karate skills and Eaton's ability to fly off the top rope.
When the two teams met, it was magic in the ring. Both teams were smaller, quicker athletes than the norm for wrestling of that era, and put their athleticism to good use. Often times the Midnight Express would pummel the living daylights out of Ricky Morton until he finally made the hot tag to partner Gibson, who would proceed to clean house.
Their rivalry was so intense, it culminated in one of the most dangerous gimmick matches in wrestling a Scaffold Match. You can watch the scaffold match on the WWE Network, but here is a fine contest where the two teams contested for the coveted NWA world tag team championships.
#7 John Cena and Randy Orton
Oftentimes, you will find that wrestling superstars have parallel roads to greatness. It happened during the 1980s when Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair both rose to prominence in the NWA territories, and it happened again in the WWE's Attitude Era when Triple H and The Rock became rivals for the coveted top spot.
John Cena and Randy Orton have also enjoyed parallel roads to greatness. Both men started with the WWE around the same time and rose from being mid-card champions to the main event at relatively the same rate. While Cena would become a beloved hero to the fans, Randy Orton became the villainous viper who drew their ire.
The two would meet repeatedly over their nearly two decades in the WWE. Orton was the better technical wrestler, but John Cena had a decided strength advantage. While Cena played the matches straight and went by the rules, Orton had no compunctions about cheating to win if he thought he could get away with it.
Both Cena and Orton can boast of longevity unlike most of the talents that we currently see on television. What made their feud legendary was the fact that they went to any extent to take each other down.
Here's a great championship match between the two rivals at WWE's SummerSlam event in 2007.
#6 Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero
When it comes to Latino culture, there is a certain respect among members of La Rasa--the family to which all Mexican Americans belong.
At one point, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero were good friends, training together and cutting their teeth in smaller venues until they made it to the big leagues. However, their friendship would eventually collapse and turn into pure hatred that made for some of the best wrestling matches in history.
Eddie Guerrero was more experienced, as well as stronger, but Rey Misterio's uncanny agility and speed made it an even contest most of the time. One of their most heated moments during the rivalry came when Eddie Guerrero unmasked Rey Misterio during a match. This led to a mask vs. title contest at Halloween Havoc, which is still held up as possibly the greatest cruiserweight contest of all time.
Here is that legendary match in its entirety. Don't blink or you'll miss the action! And don't judge Eddie for his mullet hair cut--it was cool back then!
#5 Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn
Rob Van Dam was one of the most difficult opponents for wrestlers to prepare for, because of his uncanny agility, martial arts prowess, and supreme technical wrestling ability.
It was these attributes that earned him the nickname "Whole F'n Show." However, there would come a challenger who could match Rob Van Dam move for move, strike for strike, and his name was Jerry Lynn--whom the fans dubbed "the NEW F'n Show."
If you are into five-star technical wrestling matches mixed with brutal strikes and chairshots galore, you need to look no further than virtually any match involving these two legendary rivals. At times they seemed like mirror images of each other, though Van Dam probably won more of their contests.
This was just one of the feuds that made the ECW what it was. Wrestlers were determined to put their bodies on the line in the name of entertainment and it was an unreal sight back in the day when things were more conservative.
Here's a match from ECW's Living Dangerously PPV in 1999.
#4 Mankind (Mick Foley) vs. Undertaker
When The Undertaker first debuted in the WWE, he was treated as an unstoppable force of supernature. His propensity for rising from the mat despite enduring tremendous punishment, as well as his obvious size and strength, often overwhelmed not just individual opponents, but entire stables of wrestlers.
Of course, no one retires undefeated, and there came a time when 'Taker would be humbled--repeatedly. The man who did the humbling was none other than hardcore legend Mick Foley as his Mankind character.
The two would engage in a series of brutal contests, which included many firsts for pro wrestling. They had the infamous Boiler Room Brawl match, in which the contest mostly took place backstage, and of course, they fought in the Hell in Cell match which featured the first through the roof bump in cage match history.
Mankind humanized the Undertaker and allowed him to evolve into a more complete character, while Undertaker's star power definitely helped make Foley's career.
Here is their brutal Hell in Cell Match, which is not for the squeamish!
#3 Sting vs. Nature Boy Ric Flair
Nature Boy Ric Flair was in the prime of his career in 1988, having held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship several times. He was in the midst of another great reign when a new challenger would appear; Sting.
The two were polar opposites in terms of character. Ric Flair was the cocky heel, an aristocrat who never missed an opportunity to show off his expensive Rolex watches and fur coats to the 'peasants' in the audience. Sting was the wild surfer dude who was hugely popular, especially with children and had both strength and agility aplenty.
Their rivalry started at the first ever Clash of the Champions, which was meant to be an alternative to WrestleMania IV which took place the same night--only the Clash was aired for free on TBS. Sting and Ric Flair wrestled to a time limit draw, which the judges gave to Flair in a split decision.
They would clash many times over the years, with Sting eventually capturing the gold from Flair. Their rivalry is credited with creating legions of new NWA wrestling fans.
Here is the entire Clash of the Champions event, main evented by Flair vs. Sting.
#2 Kenny Omega vs. Rainmaker Kazuchiko Okada
In pro wrestling, something that rarely happens is when a stable faces off against another stable. This is because most wrestling stables are heel wrestlers--all the better to help each other by interfering in their matches--and it makes good drama for a face to have to overcome the numbers game in order to win.
However, in the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, there was a stable vs. stable rivalry that lasted many years; Chaos, a stable of mostly Japanese wrestlers who represented the status quo, and Bullet Club, a group of primarily western athletes who were in an NWO-type role.
The leaders of each faction wound up being Rainmaker Kazuchiko Okada, the IWGP World Champion, and Kenny Omega, the upstart with a penchant for naming his moves after anime and video games. Their matches became instant sensations and earned both a five-star rating and the first ever Seven-star rating from the well respected Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer.
Without a shadow of a doubt, their rivalry not only catapulted Omega to super stardom but made many non-Japanese fans aware of the NJPW promotion.
#1 Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage
Sometimes, the fiercest opponents were once stalwart allies, even friends.
Such was the case in the rivalry of Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. Initially, Hogan and Savage were friends, as Hogan would help Randy Savage capture the WWE World title at WrestleMania IV by preventing interference by Andre the Giant and Bobby Heenan.
For a time they teamed together as the Mega Powers and faced off against Andre the Giant and Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase at the first ever SummerSlam. However, Randy Savage's jealousy and paranoia that Hogan was secretly planning to oust him as world champion led to their total meltdown. Savage would destroy his own World Title belt in a fit of rage, and attack Hogan backstage.
It all set the stage for their brutal bout at Wrestlemania V, where Miss Elizabeth ostensibly took a neutral stance but repeatedly interfered to keep Hogan from destroying Savage.
There you have it; Ten of the most legendary pro wrestling rivalries of all time. Comments or questions? Please leave them after the article and as always, thanks for reading!
