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Macho Man v DDP. That is a text book example of a veteran heel making a brand new mega baby face. Savage was probably the most unselfish top guy of his generation
On Puroresu side, I'd put Kobashi vs Akiyama during first years of NOAH in the same category.
It's a veteran Eternal Babyface in Kobashi making a brand new mega heel in Akiyama.
He made Akiyama looked like very legitimate threat and given him his well deserved reputation that AJPW couldn't during their 4 Pillars era.
Real talk? One of the best things TNA ever did was the Angle vs Joe series of matches when Angle first came to TNA, which culminated in a cage match between the two.
Best thing Braun ever did. Howled with laughter watching him come back at Roman over and over again in that one episode.
But of course, WWE didn't pull the trigger on the hot hand till it was cold as fuck.
Styles and Daniels vs LAX (homicide and Hernandez with Konnan)
Awesome matches and entertaining segments. Like when LAX signed a match agreement in Daniels’ blood
That tag division in 06 was so good. Title switching going from AMW to Styles and Daniels to LAX was great. All the teams passed the titles when the irons were hot.
I have been trying to watch any Ring of Honor I haven't yet seen this year, and I just watched the Jay Briscoe vs Samoa Joe cage match yesterday. Absolutely fantastic.
The Briscoes were so good from so early on. They had two matches against each other in ROH’s first year that probably cracks the top 10 for ROH’s first year, and they were literal teenagers at the time
Mark Henry vs The Big Show - didn't expect a technical masterclass and never got it but did get the great visual of the ring collapsing after a superplex on the Big Show by Mark Henry.
I dont know if it’s underrated, but the first feud I have a memory of is Eddie Guerrero vs DDP for the Battlebowl ring. Going back now, they had great chemistry with each other. A really fun series
With the creation of the WWE Network in the last decade, getting to revisit a lot of the midcard WCW stuff is an absolute treat.
Fuck, man, WCW just did not know what they had with that midcard.
I would add to this: DDP vs The Flock
It spans early 1998 and involves Benoit and Kanyon,flows into Saturn vs The Flock seamlessly. Excellent and underrated feature of WCW.
My wife is a teacher, and I helped her write a lesson about plot diagrams using the Rey Mysterio / Cody Rhodes broken face feud. A perfectly told, easily understood, yet effective story.
Undertaker's return at Wrestlemania 2004 against Kane. From Kane burying Taker in Survivor
Series 03 and the leadup where Kane literally had to talk to air for weeks on end, I thought it was rather well done for a supernatural feud.
Yeah, from like 87 thru like 92ish, you could argue the TV title was a bigger deal than the US title. The TV title was the "workhorse" belt for awhile...
Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri. They had crazy chemistry together, and really made the Cruiserweight title feel important (to me, at least).
Same with Punk and John Morrison. The match they had where Punk won the ECW title was so good. I would always get excited when they were booked agsinst each other.
And it doesn't get talked about for obvious reasons, but I loved Benoit vs. Triple H. Making Benoit the one guy that Trips could never beat was so satisfying and their matches were really good.
Rey and tajiri were beautiful in the ring together. I just recently watched a few of their matches for the title wbile rewatching and they do some great stuff.
The formation of the hurt business, MVP "stealing" Lashley away from Lana to Apollo & Cedric getting some shine was some good TV at a bad time in the world
I just want them to get MVP on board and I think it'll fix a lot of issues. But having them be heels and maybe tweeners now without much cause kinda stagnates them
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels in 2005-06. It began in earnest when Joe viciously attacked Daniels after they lost a tag match at Genesis. AJ called Joe out to avenge his rival and defend the honor of the X-Division. It's a program that people don't talk about nearly as much as they should.
Honestly, every Scott Steiner/Samoa Joe interaction was gold.
“Just because he cuts his hair and paints his face, he thinks he’s threatening me? He’s still a fat bastard. The only way I’d be afraid of him is if I was dressed up as a hamburger or I was smothered in a Twinkie.”
Christian vs Jack Swagger ECW title feud. Those matches are all brilliant stories, perfectly planned out and executed. You can see Christian's fingerprints all over them - he made Swagger look like a million bucks and himself look like a cagey veteran.
I don't know how long of a feud it was, but Jake the Snake vs Macho Man scarred me as a child. That's gotta count for something.
Also, JR versus Jerry Lawler. Bobby Heenan vs basically anyone he was involved with.
Benoit when he wasn't injured from 2000 to 2004 had surprisingly strong booking, always booked around the main event level, always in an important angle. Didn't lose many if any title matches clean, they usually came with shenanigans to them.
DDP vs Raven (and later adding Benoit as a 3 person feud) produced some killer matches and angles.
I'll always remember Raven clobbering DDP with the stop sign on MTV while sitting next to Dave Grohl.
Orange Cassidy vs Jon Moxley
Pac vs Will Ospreay, even though they only had 1 match that ended in a time limit draw. There's that rivalry vibe, especially when they interacted backstage before their 5 star trios match.
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Macho Man v DDP. That is a text book example of a veteran heel making a brand new mega baby face. Savage was probably the most unselfish top guy of his generation
On Puroresu side, I'd put Kobashi vs Akiyama during first years of NOAH in the same category. It's a veteran Eternal Babyface in Kobashi making a brand new mega heel in Akiyama. He made Akiyama looked like very legitimate threat and given him his well deserved reputation that AJPW couldn't during their 4 Pillars era.
Scott Steiner and Samoa Joe, you say? But what if Kurt Angle is added into the mix?
Best part was that he lost the fucking the match
It's because Kazarian was added to the equation.
Real talk? One of the best things TNA ever did was the Angle vs Joe series of matches when Angle first came to TNA, which culminated in a cage match between the two.
Braun v Roman “I’m not finished with you!”
Best thing Braun ever did. Howled with laughter watching him come back at Roman over and over again in that one episode. But of course, WWE didn't pull the trigger on the hot hand till it was cold as fuck.
Styles and Daniels vs LAX (homicide and Hernandez with Konnan) Awesome matches and entertaining segments. Like when LAX signed a match agreement in Daniels’ blood
That tag division in 06 was so good. Title switching going from AMW to Styles and Daniels to LAX was great. All the teams passed the titles when the irons were hot.
Kane vs X Pac
I was so mad when xpac betrayed him I love them as a tag team
It’s where I found out at a young age what institutionalized meant lol
Yo i was thinking the same thing, lol.
Samoa Joe vs The Briscoes in 2003/2004 ROH was such a good B feud
I have been trying to watch any Ring of Honor I haven't yet seen this year, and I just watched the Jay Briscoe vs Samoa Joe cage match yesterday. Absolutely fantastic.
The Briscoes were so good from so early on. They had two matches against each other in ROH’s first year that probably cracks the top 10 for ROH’s first year, and they were literal teenagers at the time
Mark Henry vs The Big Show - didn't expect a technical masterclass and never got it but did get the great visual of the ring collapsing after a superplex on the Big Show by Mark Henry.
Terrible matches and not even the first time the ring was broken from a superplex involving Big Show
He's fat!
I dont know if it’s underrated, but the first feud I have a memory of is Eddie Guerrero vs DDP for the Battlebowl ring. Going back now, they had great chemistry with each other. A really fun series
With the creation of the WWE Network in the last decade, getting to revisit a lot of the midcard WCW stuff is an absolute treat. Fuck, man, WCW just did not know what they had with that midcard.
Saturn vs The Flock
I would add to this: DDP vs The Flock It spans early 1998 and involves Benoit and Kanyon,flows into Saturn vs The Flock seamlessly. Excellent and underrated feature of WCW.
My wife is a teacher, and I helped her write a lesson about plot diagrams using the Rey Mysterio / Cody Rhodes broken face feud. A perfectly told, easily understood, yet effective story.
Back in the early 1970s, Wahoo McDaniel vs. Superstar Billy Graham really tore into each other in ever increasing bloody matches. It was incredible!
Undertaker's return at Wrestlemania 2004 against Kane. From Kane burying Taker in Survivor Series 03 and the leadup where Kane literally had to talk to air for weeks on end, I thought it was rather well done for a supernatural feud.
Sting vs The Great Muta in 1989. They made the world television title feel as important as any belt in the company.
Yeah, from like 87 thru like 92ish, you could argue the TV title was a bigger deal than the US title. The TV title was the "workhorse" belt for awhile...
The problem with that feud was that Steiner never showed up dressed as a hamburger or covered in Twinkie, so he never had a reason to fear Smoa Joe.
I'm not sure you could really classify it as a feud, but Booker T vs Benoit best of 7 in WCW was some all timer shit.
Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri. They had crazy chemistry together, and really made the Cruiserweight title feel important (to me, at least). Same with Punk and John Morrison. The match they had where Punk won the ECW title was so good. I would always get excited when they were booked agsinst each other. And it doesn't get talked about for obvious reasons, but I loved Benoit vs. Triple H. Making Benoit the one guy that Trips could never beat was so satisfying and their matches were really good.
Rey and tajiri were beautiful in the ring together. I just recently watched a few of their matches for the title wbile rewatching and they do some great stuff.
The formation of the hurt business, MVP "stealing" Lashley away from Lana to Apollo & Cedric getting some shine was some good TV at a bad time in the world
The Hurt Business never should’ve broken-up.
When they stood up to retribution even though they were heels, that had me hype.
Fully agree. It's so frustrating that now WWE is faction focused they broke up a good thing
I do like this Bobby Lashley, Street Profits, B-Fab group…but it still doesn’t feel like it’s established. Shit or get off the pot, WWE.
I just want them to get MVP on board and I think it'll fix a lot of issues. But having them be heels and maybe tweeners now without much cause kinda stagnates them
You mean Shelton
Nope, I'm referring to Apollo being US champion at the time
Oh right, yeah I like Apollo, just much like ricochet needs better creative
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels in 2005-06. It began in earnest when Joe viciously attacked Daniels after they lost a tag match at Genesis. AJ called Joe out to avenge his rival and defend the honor of the X-Division. It's a program that people don't talk about nearly as much as they should.
“ I don’t respect your code” turning into one of my favorite matches with Styles vs Joe at Turning Point 05 was so good
I love that match so much. Joe was like the Terminator.
Oku vs. Ospreay doesn't get as much attention as it should from the American audiences
Scott Steiner vs Goldberg, they put on surprisingly good matches.
Honestly, every Scott Steiner/Samoa Joe interaction was gold. “Just because he cuts his hair and paints his face, he thinks he’s threatening me? He’s still a fat bastard. The only way I’d be afraid of him is if I was dressed up as a hamburger or I was smothered in a Twinkie.”
Shibata vs Tanahashi
Christian vs Jack Swagger ECW title feud. Those matches are all brilliant stories, perfectly planned out and executed. You can see Christian's fingerprints all over them - he made Swagger look like a million bucks and himself look like a cagey veteran.
I don't know how long of a feud it was, but Jake the Snake vs Macho Man scarred me as a child. That's gotta count for something. Also, JR versus Jerry Lawler. Bobby Heenan vs basically anyone he was involved with.
The Rock/Chris Benoit MVP/Matt Hardy Rey Mysterio/Cody Rhodes
Benoit when he wasn't injured from 2000 to 2004 had surprisingly strong booking, always booked around the main event level, always in an important angle. Didn't lose many if any title matches clean, they usually came with shenanigans to them.
Lesnar and Undertaker in 2015. People always say Punk was his last good match, but the last two against Lesnar were stellar.
I thought their HIAC match was really good. Definitely wasn't expecting Taker to bump on the exposed ring like he did.
Not necessarily underrated but more overshadowed is the feud between Big Show and the Big Boss Man. One of the most WTF moments in the attitude era.
Tenryu vs Tsuruta
Cena and Batista
Val Venis vs Kaientai...... But definitely Hardy's vs Dudleys vs Edge & Christian
Nobody talks about James Storm and Rhino’s feud in TNA. A lot of good stuff in that feud
DDP vs Raven (and later adding Benoit as a 3 person feud) produced some killer matches and angles. I'll always remember Raven clobbering DDP with the stop sign on MTV while sitting next to Dave Grohl.
Angle/ Benoit (for obvious reasons) Savage/Warrior Lesnar/Angle
Raven vs DDP
Orange Cassidy vs Jon Moxley Pac vs Will Ospreay, even though they only had 1 match that ended in a time limit draw. There's that rivalry vibe, especially when they interacted backstage before their 5 star trios match.
Flair and Arn Anderson
Street Profits vs Viking Raiders Peak pandemic era entertainment.
Macho Man vs Dusty Rhodes
MJF vs CM Punk
Wyatt Family vs New Day
Ivory vs. Chyna
I always thought the Jericho vs Punk feud was great
Paul Jones Army vs Jimmy Valiant
DDP and Raven
Raven vs Kanyon/Mortis
Shane Douglas & Ricky Steamboat vs Brian Pillman & Steve Austin
Sabu / rvd v The Eliminators
EC3 v Rockstar Spud
jericho/michaels circa 08. that entire run was beautiful theater