We have seen some amazing encounters between two well matched wrestlers in WWE. We’ve seen monstrous men battle it out, but who hasn’t loved watching two, should I say, normal sized men face each other. We’ve also loved watching the occasional David vs Goliath encounters in which Goliath sometimes absolutely squashes David. WWE has showcased some thrilling encounters between giants and smaller men.
However, it’s not always happened that the big guy was the bad guy and the small guy was the heroic champion. We’ve seen big guys dispatch small guys with ease and small guys sometime outdo giants in the ring.Here are the 5 best little guy-big guy feuds.
Kane and X-Pac
Kane and X-Pac had formed a formidable and memorable tag team back in 1999. It was amazing combination of the absolute brute strength of Kane and the agility of X-Pac. In fact, X-Pac was the first friend Kane made in the WWE and the latter often made sacrifices for X-Pac. He even deliberately lost an Inferno Match again Triple H when he saw X-Pac beaten up and busted open at the hands of The Undertaker on the stage.
It all changed when X-Pac turned on Kane on an episode of SmackDown! in a match against the Dudelys. Kane was understandably enraged. DX came to X-Pac’s rescue and delivered a beatdown on Kane. The two faced each other on the next epsiode of Raw, which Kane won via DQ. X-Pac even runied Kane’s relationship with Torie. The two went on face each other at Survivor Series which Kane won again after DX interfered and then at Armagaedon in a Steel Cage match, Kane won.
At Royal Rumble 2000, X-Pac elimiated Kane in the Rumble match. The two met again at No Way Out in a No Holds Barred match, which saw X-Pac emerge victorious after he drop-kicked the steel steps that Kane was holding and proceeded to pin him with it. Then at Wrestlemania 2000, Kane teamed up with Rikishi and beat Road Dogg and X-Pac.
Eddie Guerrero and John Bradshaw Layfield
In March of 2004, the rivalry between Latino Heat and fellow Texan brute, JBL began after the latter interfered in match between Eddie and Booker T. The feud got serious and personal after the former Acolyte caused Eddie’s mother to suffer a heart attack (kayfabe, of course), which led to a main event clash between the two at Judgement Day, 2004, where Eddie managed to retain his title following a disqualification after hitting JBL with the belt.
A few days after Judgement Day, Guerrero, Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam faced JBL and The Dudley Boyz in a tag-team match in which Eddie collapsed, allowing JBL to take advantage of the situation and pin Eddie . At The Great American Bash, the faced each other in Texas Bullrope Match. This time, Eddie lost his title after Kurt Angle, who was the General Manager of SmackDown! at the time, reversed the referee’s decision.
A few days a later SmackDown!, Eddie faced JBL in a steel cage match for the WWE title where El Gran Luchadore appeared again and cost Guerrero the match, it turned out that it was actually Kurt Angle, which led to a feud between Kurt and Eddie.
Bret Hart and Yokuzuna
Towards the end of 1992, Bret Hart had worked his way up in the erstwhile WWF, after there was a huge void left by the Hulkster who’d decided to move to WCW. The Hitman defeated Ric Flair to win his first ever WWE Championship. Yokuzuna, on the other hand was on rampage, dispatching everyone he faced with ease. He went to win the Royal Rumble, setting up a clash with Bret Hart at Wrestlemania IX.Bret Hart lost the match after an interference by Mr. Fuji. In 1994, Bret Hart earned another shot at the title after he and Lex Luger, being the last two wrestlers in the Royal Rumble Match touched the ground at the same time, earning both of them a chance to win the title. Bret Hart was scheduled to face Owen Hart in the opening match and the winner of the match between Luger and Yokuzuna was to face Bret Hart. Hart lost the his match, but that didn’t matter. Lex Luger lost to beat Yokuzuna, after being disqualified by special guest referee Mr. Perfect, setting up a clash between Yokuzuna and Bret Hart, in which The Hitman emerged victorious. A final battle between Bret Hart and Yokuzuna remained. This time Bret Hart beat Yokuzuna.
Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
The ongoing feud between Finn Balor and Samoa Joe is perhaps the best the NXT Universe has seen. After debuting at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable, Samoa Joe formed a formidable tag-team with Finn Balor and went on to he Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. After his request for title match was turned down, Joe turned on his friend, sparking a feud between the two. After two unsuccessful attempts at London and Dallas, The Samoan Submission Machine finally beat Finn at Lowell, MA during an NXT live event. This feud is not just about the title, it’s about who’s the better wrestler, it’s about revenge. Samoa Joe believed he deseved a title shot and felt cheated when his request was turned down. Finn Balor, on the other other hand was betrayed by his friend.
This rivalry is as personal as a rivalry can get. At NXT TakeOver: Revenge, Finn Balor will look to take back what he believes is his and Samoa Joe looks to be in no mood to let go of it so easily.
Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper
This has to be one of the greatest rivalries in wrestling history. The 1980s was truly the golden era of WWE, and this feud turned out to be a big factor. In 1984, Roddy Piper joined WWE and started talking down on the company’s faces on his talk show, Piper’s Pit, and there were very few who could match his ability with the microphone. He was also managing wrestlers who challenged Hulk Hogan for his WWE Title.Singer Cyndi Lauper had just joined the WWE and made a few appearances on the Piper’s Pit, where the two had several altercations. Then, on one night Piper proceeded to smash the award that was present to Cyndi by Hulk Hogan over the head of Captain Lou Albano, kicked Cyndi Lauper, and then power slammed her manager David Wolf. Rowdy Roddy Piper faced Hulk Hogan in match telecasted on MTV.
Paul Orndorff and Bob Orton Jr. interfered after the referee was knocked out and the two proceeded to beat up the Hulkster. They then turned their attention to Cyndi Lauper, but Mr. T came to her rescue. This led to an epic encounter between the team of Hogan and Mr. T versus Roddy Pipper, Paul Orndorff with Bob Orton Jr., at the first ever Wrestlemania. The Hulkster and Mr. T won the match after Bob Orton accidentally hit Paul with his cast.
The two faced each other again at The Wrestling Classic,1985, where Hulk Hogan won by disqualification due to the interference of Bob Orton. Roddy Pipper would leave to pursue his Hollywood career. The two wouldn’t face each other until 1996. Piper arrived at WCW and claimed that he’s one man the Hulkster has failed to beat. The showdown between the two took place at Starrcade ‘96, in a steel cage match, where the Hulkster was rendered unconscious by the sleeper hold and hence lost.
But the Piper wasn’t done. At Wrestlemania XIX, he interfered in the match between Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan, and inspite of that, Hogan won that match. The final showdown between the two took place at Judgement Day, 2003 where Hogan, having been suspended wrestled as Mr. America, finally pinned Roddy Piper. The feud ended here as The Piper later got fired for making contrversial comments on a show.
