Top 5: Greatest Rivalries in WWE/WWF History

Rivalries are the backbone of any sport. Fans will automatically get invested if there is a rivalry between two entities whether that is between a team or between individuals. In WWE, rivalry plays a very important role. The foundation of any great storyline in WWE, or any other form of professional wrestling, is the rivalry between the two wrestlers. No wrestling fan would love to see two people fighting without any reason.Over the years we have seen some very good rivalries but only some leave their legacy for years to come. We have seen a friend betraying a friend, a brother fighting his brother, two competitors giving everything to win the championship. WWE has given us all.Let us rewind our memories and take a look at the 5 greatest rivalries in the WWE over the years:

#1 Undertaker v. Kane

A brother versus a brother, what can get better than that. In 1997, Paul Bearer the manager cum father figure to both Kane and Undertaker, introduced the big Red monster to everyone. From then on their rivalry began and spanned for more than a decade.

Their first match was at WrestleMania XIV where Undertaker would defeat Kane. The WrestleMania match was a big success that their feud continued and they wrestled each other countless times throughout 1998 and ’99. Later on they joined together and formed a deadly team named “Brothers of Destruction”. They headlined another WrestleMania in 2003 (WM 20) where Undertaker returned as the Deadman and defeated the psychotic monster Kane. They had one last feud in 2010, even though this feud couldn’t match the earlier ones but it was still decent and the feud was for old school fans who witnessed one last magic between the two Brothers. Both of them always looked so quick and powerful against each other, and their in-ring psychology is on show, given their long back story and past together, they know each other like they really are brothers

Though, the in-ring action may not have backed up the storytelling but the wacky, fun, outrageous nature of those stories made their program must-see television. But there was something about the story, perhaps the supernatural element and the ever-important “cool factor” kept people interested. This feud will always be ranked as one of the best feuds in wrestling history and special credit should be given to the late William Moody aka Paul Bearer who added the aura to this feud.

#2 Shawn Michaels V. Bret Hart

If the two men really hate each other, on-screen or off-screen, then it turns the match and the story into something fans remember for months and years even after the feud ends. Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had one such rivalry, these guys hated each other even in real life. The two had numerous battles throughout the 90s and delivered many good matches. The main event of WrestleMania XII in which HBK defeated Bret in overtime of a 60-minute Iron Man match, which had gone to a 0-0 draw, to capture his first WWF Championship is still considered one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time.

But, the most memorable match in their rivalry was the Survivor Series in 1997 in Hart's home country. The match is famously called as the Montreal Screwjob match. Things had gotten so bad that Michaels refused to lose to Hart in the past, to which the Bret the Hitman put his foot down and refused to drop the WWE title to HBK at Survivor Series in 1997. Add to that a contract dispute and a new deal with rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Hart was on his way out the door. Still refusing to do business, the decision was made to screw him over in front of his fellow countrymen in Montreal.

It was the Montreal Screwjob that was the start of the attitude era. Because of the Montreal Screw job incident, Canadians started hating Shawn Michaels. Nevertheless, both Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart put end to their hatred when they finally made up in 2010 inside the WWE ring. This happened when Hart returned to the WWE and Michaels was nearing his retirement.

#3 Shawn Michaels v. Triple H

Many would be wondering how come the two real life best friends who were part of the greatest factions in WWE/F history the D-Generation X (DX) be part of this list. The truth was their real life friendship made this rivalry look even more beautiful inside the four squared ring. It was a friend turning on a friend. People could relate to this feud and hated Triple H big time for turning on his best friend Shawn Michaels.

Shawn Michaels took a retirement from wrestling in 1998 because of back issues and it seemed the Heart Break Kid (HBK) would never wrestle again. But then in 2002, HBK returned and formed a reunion with Nash and HHH. Nash got injured and it seemed the fans were going to see another great DX run but Triple H in the summer of 2002 turned on his best friend by hitting a pedigree and that started the rivalry. Though their rivalry lasted only for 2-3 years as they again patched up but in those 2-3 years we saw some gruesome and personnel matches. The rivalry was so personnel that they fought each other in every Big PPV. They started their feud by wrestling at Summerslam in 2002, They fought at Survivor series where HBK won the belt from HHH , They fought at Royal Rumble for the championship again, then they main evented WrestleMania XX and then ultimately they finished their feud by fighting each other inside the Hell in a Cell.

Every time these two stepped inside the ring, they wanted to hurt each other and that is why majority of their matches had some kind of stipulation involved. The storytelling for each matches were just outstanding. Fans cared about their matches and fans wanted to see HBK beat HHH. Many call this feud one of the most underrated feuds. Well this feud surely deserves its recognition.

#4 John Cena v. CM Punk

The opposite attract each other theory applies perfectly with these two superstars.These two were polar opposite personalities, where Cena was the companies’ man, CM Punk loved to bend and break the rules. These two may not have headlined any wreslemania or may not had a longevity like other feuds, but this feud has its own charm. The words where Punk says during his famous and controversial pipe bomb “I don’t hate you Cena but I hate the fact that you are termed as the best WRESTLER”, epitomizes the hatred both had for each other as wrestlers. The best part of their rivalry was that all their one on one matches were entertaining to watch. These two delivered a five-star classic at Money in the Bank in 2011 in Punk's hometown of Chicago.

The two feuded for much of 2011 after that and then kept it up through 2012 as well. They had memorable matches at SummerSlam in 2011 and Night of Champions in 2012, along with a magnificent No. 1 Contender's match on Raw on Feb. 25, 2013 in which Punk used the banned piledriver and Cena busted out a hurricanrana. It will not be wrong to say that Cena gave his best matches when he faced CM Punk. The reason this feud stands out compared to other feuds in recent years is because you could see the tension whenever these two were inside the ring.

Perhaps the greatest disappointment in Punk’s untimely departure is knowing they definitely had a few more classic matches in them. If Punk had stayed this could have been very well the modern day equivalent to Rock-Austin or Bret-Shawn. Nevertheless, in the current "Reality Era" of wrestling, this marked a turning point.

#5 Stone Cold v. Rock

The two biggest WWE superstars of the attitude era, these two men carried the WWE to victory over the WCW. Their feud began over the Intercontinental Championship in 1997, but this was just the beginning. The feud became intensified in 1998 where Rock was a cocky heel who was working for the McMahons and Austin was the rebel who fought against the authority. They had numerous matches and their feud culminated in 2003 after Rock defeated Austin at WrestleMania XIX.

These two headlined three WrestleManias in which Austin was victorious twice and Rock won once, but their rivalry wasn’t about wins and losses, it was more than that. These two were determined to prove that they were the top star in the industry by giving it their all, creating magical moments, segments, promos and matches for fans across the globe. It did not matter whether they were a good guys or bad guys, fans used to love and respect both of them. Rocks fans used to respect Austin and Austin fans used to appreciate the Rocky.

No other rivalry had the consistency and the longevity that Austin vs. Rock did and none could have gotten away with headlining three ‘Mania events. Their WrestleMania 17 main event match was the best of the three and is said to be as a 5 star classic. Both men admitted on Stone Cold's documentary that they were not the same, but they paralleled each other in so many ways. And when they met in the ring, they brought out the absolute best in each other. If people still have any doubt about the chemistry between the two, just watch the segment below from 2001.Wish WWE had more feuds like this in the present times.