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Throughout the decades and years, we, the fans of professional wrestling have witnessed some of the biggest fantasy dream matches turn to reality, courtesy of WWE. In the ever-evolving world of pro wrestling, some of us often come across the term 'anything is possible' and that indeed has been the case. I mean who would've thought that we would witness 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt face WWE Hall of Famer, Goldberg and that too in 2020?
WWE, in particular, has given us several dream matches over the years between some of the biggest icons of the business. Goldberg vs Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart vs The Rock, and Brock Lesnar vs Batista are a few proper examples of fantasy matches that have occurred on just the one solitary occasion in the past.
However, over the years, the fans have also been hoping to see some of the biggest names in the business clash in a WWE ring. One of the finest examples of that being the arrival of Sting in WWE back at Survivor Series, 2014, as many fans hoped the WCW icon would finally square off against The Undertaker in a WWE ring.
But, of course, that never happened and Sting officially called it a career after failing to capture the WWE Title from Seth Rollins in 2016. The interesting part, however, is the fact that Sting and The Undertaker did face each other in 1990 when the former successfully defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against "Mean" Mark Callous.
The present-day WWE roster is filled with some of the biggest names in the business, people who are bound to succeed as the next generation of Superstars in WWE. Even among those, the WWE Universe is hoping to witness some of the marquee dream matches between these well-established WWE Superstars.
With that being said, in this list, we will take a look back at some of the biggest dream matches featuring present WWE Superstars who have collided against each other in the past, prior to their arrival to the company.
However, one interesting aspect regarding this list is the fact that I've decided to exclude well-known dream matches that have already transpired in the past. For example, Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero vs CM Punk or The Undertaker vs Sting are matches that we're quite familiar with by this point and therefore, here are 5 dream matches that we hope to see featuring present-day WWE Superstars.
#5 Keith Lee vs Matt Riddle - PWG and EVOLVE Wrestling
Prior to signing with WWE, Keith Lee was arguably one of the hardest working stars on the Independent Circuit and so was Matt Riddle. Over the recent months, Lee has been absolutely tremendous in WWE and has won over the WWE Universe's trust with his insane performance at last year's Survivor Series and on NXT.
On the other hand, Riddle has also showcased his talent in both inside the ring and on the microphone and is known for being incredibly witty on social media, as well. Both Lee and Riddle are in possession of respective titles in NXT and despite both men being babyfaces, a clash between the two in a singles match remains as a dream bout for several fans out there.
However, prior to their arrival in WWE, Riddle and Lee faced each other under PWG and EVOLVE Wrestling, with Lee's last match for the latter promotion being against his biggest rival from the Indie Circuit.
#4 John Morrison vs Ricochet - Lucha Underground
John Morrison made his highly-awaited return to WWE in 2019. While we've been enjoying every bit of his tag-team reunion with The Miz, I'm sure the majority of the WWE Universe is still hoping to witness yet another scintillating singles run for the former IC Champion.
Prior to his return to WWE, Morrison competed for top promotions such as Lucha Libre Triple A and Impact Wrestling, however, it was his run with Lucha Underground which gave us the very best of The Guru Of Greatness. The world of pro wrestling finally had the opportunity to witness what Morrison had up his sleeves in the cinematic nature of Lucha Underground.
In 2015, Morrison once again faced his arch-rival Ricochet FKA Prince Puma and this time it was under Iron Man Match rules, as the former was unsuccessful in his attempt to win the Lucha Underground Championship after a hard-fought battle.
The two men have had quite the rivalry back in LU, however, in a recent Twitter exchange, the two former champions claimed that they indeed are eager to face one another one more time, this time in a WWE ring. So much so, Morrison also said that a rematch against Ricochet is one of the primary reasons that inspired his move back to WWE in 2019.
Given the number of classics these two put up in Lucha Underground, we can only hope for a clash between them once again in a WWE ring.
#3 Io Shirai vs Kairi Sane - World Wonder Ring Stardom
World Wonder Ring Stardom, or commonly known as Stardom, is one of the biggest female wrestling promotions in the world right now. The Japanese joshi puroresu promotion once featured the likes of Toni Storm, Shayna Baszler, Chelsea Green, Io Shirai, and Kairi Sane on their roster, all of whom are currently a part of today's WWE.
Especially since her arrival in WWE, Io Shirai has placed herself as a big fan-favorite and still remains to be hugely popular within the WWE Universe, despite turning heel over on NXT. The Japanese sensation currently has the opportunity of winning the NXT Women's Championship this Wednesday in what could mark the beginning of an iconic rivalry against reigning champion Charlotte Flair.
Speaking of iconic rivalries, Io Shirai herself has been part of a few during her time with Stardom. Of course, one of them being her feud against former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion, Kairi Sane FKA Kairi Hojo.
Shirai vs Sane is a match that the WWE Universe has been wanting to see for quite some time now, especially considering how great the latter is as a babyface. However, the pair did face each other back in Japan and one of their finest matches belongs from the Stardom The Highest, 2017 show.
If you're looking for some classic Stardom matches, then all of Shirai and Sane's bouts from their days together in Japan are highly recommended.
#2 Adam Cole vs Kevin Owens - PWG and ROH
Adam Cole is currently enjoying his first title reign as NXT Champion and will once again be defending his championship this Wednesday against The Velveteen Dream.
Throughout the years, Cole has been an influential figure in the world of pro wrestling and continues to do so in NXT. The Panama City Playboy' has also competed in some of the finest promotions around the world against some of the biggest names in the business, even against some from today's WWE roster.
Prior to signing with WWE, Cole competed for ROH, NJPW, and for top Indie promotions such as PWG. However, when the former three-time ROH World Champion finally signed with the WWE in 2017, many fans realized that this would finally lead to Cole being in action against some WWE's very best, including the likes of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Kevin Owens, as well.
For some of you who do not know, Cole has quite the history with former WWE Universal Champion, Kevin Owens. The two men were seen celebrating their respective world title wins together and were previously part of a faction called The Mount Rushmore of Wrestling, which also included The Young Bucks.
During their time together in PWG, Owens and Cole worked in some of the best matches of their careers and their bout against each other from PWG Mystery Vortex 2012 remains as one of the all-time classics from the promotion. And, it is highly recommended, as well, for those who haven't watched it already.
#1 CM Punk vs AJ Styles - ROH
Now, I know at the beginning of this list I did say that this would be solely based on Superstars who are a part of the current roster. While CM Punk is not active as an in-ring competitor, the former WWE Champion technically is still associated with the company.
On November 12, 2019, CM Punk made a surprise appearance on WWE Backstage but eventually went on to confirm that he would be under contract with FOX instead of WWE directly. Now, this certainly doesn't guarantee an in-ring return for the former WWE Champion, however, this could possibly bridge the gap between Punk and a grand return that fans around the globe have been patiently waiting for.
Regardless, I'm pretty sure fans around the world are still hoping to see CM Punk in a WWE ring (or any wrestling ring at this point, to be honest), however, could you imagine the number of dream matches that are in store for The Second City Saint in WWE?
The Chicago native could go toe-to-toe with some of WWE's newest Superstars in the form of Drew McIntyre, Aleister Black, and Adam Cole but if there's one man whom everyone would like to see step into the ring with Punk, its non-other than The Phenomenal One, AJ Styles.
A match between Punk and Styles is surely one of the biggest fantasy match-ups in pro wrestling today, but, what some fans don't realize is that the two men had already faced each other in Ring of Honor and it was a pretty damn good match, as well!
Punk and Styles faced each other in 2004 and by this point, we can only hope that their paths cross once again in WWE.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
