WWF started off 1994 with the Royal Rumble PPV as usual. Apart from the 30-man Royal Rumble match, Yokozuna defended his WWF Title against The Undertaker in a Casket match. In addition, The Hart Brothers challenged The Quebecers for the tag team titles, and Razor Ramon defended his Intercontinental Title against IRS. Find out the best and the worst matches from the show in this post.
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5. Yokozuna vs. The Undertaker (WWF Championship: Casket Match)
IMG credit: WWE & cleveland.com
I initially went into this match expecting another sh*tty 90s Undertaker match. After the initial brawl between Yokozuna and Undertaker though, I started liking the match. However, after that they overbooked the match to death. We saw many heels interfere in the match and attack The Undertaker. Undertaker kept fighting, but more heels kept arriving and attacking him. It was a pain to go through the whole sequence as Undertaker was finally locked in the casket. But it wasn’t enough as we saw an Undertaker promo from the casket. I found all of this to be quite corny. I can see myself going crazy for it if I were watching it as a kid or as a casual, but as someone who actually reviews wrestling, it wasn’t fun for me. I feel they should have just had ‘Taker and Yokozuna brawl, as their brawling sequence was enjoyable. (DUD)
4. Razor Ramon vs. IRS (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
IMG credit: WWE & classicwrestlingreview.com
This wasn’t a great bout, but it was solid enough to be watchable. We saw Shawn Michaels involved in the match to continue his rivalry with Razor Ramon. Shawn hit Razor with his Intercontinental belt, and the referee counted to three and awarded the victory to IRS. But the match was restarted, and Razor hit the Razor’s Edge on IRS for the win. (**3/4)
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3. Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
IMG credit: WWE & whatculture.com
This match was originally going to be Tatanka taking on Ludvig Borga, but due to an injury to Borga, Bam Bam Bigelow replaced him. Usually, I get disappointed when the original match doesn’t happen, but in this case, I was glad we got this match instead. The match was a very good opener. Bam Bam stopping Tatanka’s comeback was a very unexpected moment, and I was shocked when I saw that. Bam Bam attempting the moonsault was also great, even though he didn’t connect. Tatanka hit a crossbody on him to win the match. I was quite satisfied with what we got but wouldn’t have minded the match to go for some more time as I was really enjoying the contest. (***1/4)
2. 30-man Royal Rumble Match For A WWF Championship Match At WrestleMania X
IMG credit: WWE & sportskeeda.com
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This Royal Rumble was certainly better than the 1993 rumble, and actually one of the better Royal Rumbles of the 90s. Diesel had a great performance to set the tone initially as he kept eliminating wrestlers, until many wrestlers worked together and eliminated him. The match was enjoyable for most part, but it did get boring in the middle. The finish is quite well-known, and while it isn’t the best, I can understand what they were going for and I don’t mind the finish as it was kind of unique. Other than the winners Bret Hart and Lex Luger, Crush, Shawn Michaels and Bam Bam Bigelow also had good performances in the match. (***1/2)
1. The Quebecers vs. The Hart Brothers (WWF Tag Team Championships)
IMG credit: WWE & pinterest.com
On to the best match of the night. All four men in the match played their parts perfectly, and we got a great tag team contest with solid action throughout. In the final minutes, I could really feel the frustration Owen Hart was going through. After such a great tag team contest, the kind of finish we saw here wouldn’t be ideal, but storyline wise it made perfect sense. Bret Hart’s selling of the leg was absolutely incredible, and Owen’s frustration was also great. Absolutely loved the way they are building up this rivalry. (****)
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next post of this series where we will rank the matches of WrestleMania X. Have a nice day!
WWF had a huge roster in 1992, but when they moved on to 1993, they lost many wrestlers. However, WWF kept signing new wrestlers and managed to have a pretty decent roster in 1993 despite many wrestlers going out. Let’s take a look at the top 5 wrestlers from the year who stood out from the rest.
5. Razor Ramon
IMG credit: WWE & aiptcomics.com
Razor Ramon made his debut in 1992, and he became one of the most popular wrestlers of the roster by 1993 itself. Razor Ramon started 1993 as a heel with a feud against WWF Champion Bret Hart. He lost the title match at Royal Rumble, but he showed his potential as a singles wrestler. After winning his WrestleMania debut against Bob Backlund, Ramon started a mini feud with The 1-2-3 Kid. Later he would become friends with The Kid as he turned face and feuded with Ted Dibiase and IRS. After Shawn Michaels had to vacate the Intercontinental Title, Razor Ramon won the vacant belt in a Battle Royal on the October 4 episode of RAW. He started a feud with Shawn Michaels and ended the year as the Intercontinental Champion, going into 1994 with huge momentum. Overall, a great year for The Bad Guy as he had shown potential of a future main-eventer in his first full year.
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4. Shawn Michaels
IMG credit: WWE & pinterest.com
Shawn Michaels started off the year as the Intercontinental Champion. For the majority of the year, he feuded with his former tag team partner, Marty Jannetty. The two had some really good matches, which were some of the best matches of the year. Apart from Jannetty, Shawn consistently had good matches on RAW against other opponents as well. He somehow managed to have decent matches with the likes of Kamala and Jim Duggan, which seems impossible for any other wrestler. In the year, he also hired a bodyguard in Diesel. His title reign was going well, and I would have ranked him higher, but he missed out a chunk of the year after SummerSlam due to a suspension for testing positive for steroids. He also had to vacate his Intercontinental Title, which hurt his momentum. Despite vacating the title, Shawn would carry the IC Title around and claimed he was the real champion, as he feuded with Razor Ramon.
3. The Steiner Brothers
IMG credit: WWE & uproxx.com
Usually, it is hard for tag teams in WWF to have a good ranking as the WWF doesn’t focus much on their tag team divison. However, the tag team of Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner, known as “The Steiner Brothers” had a fire year in 1993. They were great from their debut as they had many great matches in the year against the likes of The Beverly Brothers, The Headshrinkers, Money Inc., The Quebecers. Basically, they had good matches against every tag team they faced. Even their squash matches were very entertaining. Their explosive style of wrestling was awesome. They also managed to win the tag team titles during the year. Although the reign could have lasted longer, they had a very strong reign for the time it lasted. Their run wouldn’t last very long in the WWF, as they would be gone from WWF in 1994, but what a year they had in 1993!
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2. Bret Hart
IMG credit: WWE & tapemachinesarerolling.tumblr.com
After WWF lost a few top stars, Bret Hart stepped up as the top star and received a big push. Bret Hart started the year as the WWF Champion and successfully retained the title against Razor Ramon at Royal Rumble. He lost the WWF Title to Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. He was supposed to beat Hulk Hogan, but of course Hogan’s ego wouldn’t allow it. Bret won the King of the Ring tournament and began a feud with Jerry “The King” Lawler from there on to determine the real king of WWF. The feud was very personal as Lawler repeatedly insulted Bret’s family. The two had a match at SummerSlam where Bret unleashed his anger on Lawler. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see a proper conclusion to the feud as Lawler had to be taken off TV. Towards the end of the year, tensions rose between Bret and his brother, Owen Hart as WWF slowly built up the story between them. Overall, Bret didn’t have as many good matches as he had in 1992, but he had a pretty solid year as he cemented himself as the Face of the company in 1993.
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1. Yokozuna
IMG credit: WWE & lans18-wrestlingworld.blogspot.com
1993 was the year of Yokozuna. It was hard deciding between Yokozuna and Bret Hart for the top spot, but in my opinion, Yokozuna had a more impressive year. He received a monster push as he won the Royal Rumble and later won the WWF title from Bret Hart at WrestleMania IX. He lost the title immediately to Hogan which hurt Yokozuna, but he regained the title not long after at King of the Ring. Following that, he feuded with Lex Luger, as they had a typical “American Hero vs. Foreign Villain” storyline. They feuded for a long period of time as they faced off at Survivor Series as well, with Yokozuna leading The Foreign Fanatics against Luger’s All-Americans. At Survivor Series, Yokozuna started a rivalry with The Undertaker which would continue to 1994. Overall, Yokozuna had a very good year and was truly the top wrestler of the year. He did have his flaws like his mic work, but they were taken care of by Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette. It is unfortunate that Yokozuna didn’t remain at the top of WWF for a long time as he had a lot of potential.
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next post where we will review all the WWF title reigns from 1993. Have a nice day!
The 2000s was a beautiful decade for the Intercontinental Championship. Starting with the year 2000 – the single-greatest year for then-called World Wrestling Federation – the Attitude Era was still going strong, with new faces rising to take their rightful place in history, and the overall product being virtual perfection. The mid-card was SO strong, and a new generation of gladiators claimed Intercontinental Gold to continue its legacy as one of the most prestigious championships a wrestler could hold.
When the Attitude Era ended, and the Ruthless Aggression Era began, the Intercontinental Championship scene remained strong and glorious (we WON’T talk about the title being temporarily retired from October 2002 to June 2003, alright?), with so many newcomers building & building upon the championship’s prestige and make more epic history, former tag-team specialists now looking for their big break as a singles star, and even legends who had moved away from the world title picture gave themselves and thus the IC title a new lease of life. Overall, the 2000s really gave us some absolute legends as Intercontinental Champion.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Christian
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
When Christian became absolutely jealous of Edge’s success as the 2001 King of the Ring, and then the Intercontinental Champion…Christian turned heel with a one-man Con-Chair-To to his former-best chum. Then won his first Intercontinental Championship at Unforgiven 2001, subsequently joining the Alliance during the whole Invasion storyline. Fast-forward to 2003, Christian got a new haircut, upgraded his heel persona and enjoyed another two dastardly reigns as IC Champ before finally losing the title to Rob Van Dam in one of the greatest Ladder Matches ever on Monday Night Raw. Captain Charisma used his time as IC Champ wisely to get to where he is today. For his Peeps, of course.
Johnny Nitro/John Morrison
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
When MNM sensationally split-up in 2006, Johnny Nitro went from SmackDown to Raw, and picked up his first Intercontinental Championship at Vengeance 2006 in a spectacular triple-threat against Carlito and Shelton Benjamin. After that came a great feud with Jeff Hardy, which saw the belt change back-and-forth in various ladder and cage matches. Then when the real-life John Hennigan upgraded himself to John Morrison, he defeated the legendary Rey Mysterio to win his third & final IC Title in 2009 for an impressive run. John, you did alright with this one, mate.
Kurt Angle
IMG credit: WWE & Shitloads of Wrestling – Tumblr
On paper, Kurt Angle’s sole IC Title reign seems inconsequential compared to his glorious world title reigns; especially given that his run only lasted 35 days. But it was EVERYTHING that Kurt did with the championship in that time that was so unforgettably brilliant! Beating Chris Jericho at No Way Out 2000 for the title whilst already European Champion, Angle became the third, final and most successful ‘Euro-Continental’ champion of all time. And when he lost both titles at WrestleMania 16, Angle wasn’t even involved in either loss! Kurt Angle would never have ascended to main-event status if not for his brilliance as the Euro-Continental Champion! It’s true! It’s true!
Kane
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Already a former world champion, tag champion and established main-eventer, Kane picked up his first Intercontinental Championship at Judgement Day 2001 by beating Triple H in a brutal chain-match (the best bout ever in Kane’s career, in my opinion) and although his first reign only lasted 39 days, Kane was a fighting champion, successfully defending it on weekly TV against the likes of Kurt Angle, Edge, Christian and Rhyno before dropping it to Albert (of all people!) after some incredibly good matches between the two. Kane won his second IC Title in 2002 by beating Chris Jericho, and although his second reign lasted 20 days, Kane remained a fighting IC Champ, as well as a Tag Team Champion simultaneously, winning one of the greatest TLC matches all by himself! The Big Red Machine can be proud of his work as Intercontinental Champ!
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Ric Flair
IMG credit: That Shit Was Hot – Tumblr
In the twilight of his career, Ric Flair won his only Intercontinental Championship from Carlito at Unforgiven 2005. He became the oldest champion in history at 58-years-old, his reign lasted 155 days before dropping the title to Shelton Benjamin, and he feuded with the likes of Edge and his former Evolution bestie Triple H. The greatest moment of that run was unquestionably a classic cage match at Taboo Tuesday 2005, which saw the Nature Boy retain the title against Triple H. It was one of the greatest IC Championship bouts in the title’s history and another classic courtesy of Ric Flair. WOOOOOOOO!!!
Santino Marella
IMG credit: WWE
Santino was absolutely ace. Ergo, he was an absolutely ace Intercontinental Champion. Picked at RANDOM by Vince McMahon (yeah, right!) from the Milan, Italy audience during 2007 to challenge then-champ Umaga on Raw, Santino scored a shocking upset (with Bobby Lashley’s help!) to win his first title in WWE! Marella reigned for 77 days before dropping the title back to Umaga. In 2008, Santino was now partnered with Beth Phoenix and ‘Glamarella’ became a successful power-couple, holding both the Intercontinental and Women’s Titles respectively, after Beth scored the win at SummerSlam 2008. And of course, there was the genius ‘Honk-A-Meter’; Santino’s week-by-week attempt to break the Honky Tonk Man’s unbeaten 64-week reign. He failed miserably…but it was STILL genius!
TOP 10
10. Eddie Guerrero
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Shortly after Eddie Guerrero’s fantastic run as the European Champion came to an end in 2000, Latino Heat soon moved onto the Intercontinental belt, albeit ‘accidentally’. Shortly after his beloved “Mamacita” Chyna picked up another historic Intercontinental Championship, Eddie asked Commissioner Mick Foley to insert him into her title defence against Kurt Angle. Chyna had been knocked out by Kurt, Eddie took care of him and then ‘accidentally’ pinned Chyna whilst trying to revive her. Only a legend like Eddie could’ve pulled that off…!
Of course, it was a precursor to Eddie’s inevitable lying, cheating, & stealing. Eddie turned heel, and reigned with the Intercontinental Championship for 80 days before dropping it to Billy Gunn. At Backlash 2002, Eddie Guerrero won his second Intercontinental Championship from Rob Van Dam and held it for 36 days, feuding with RVD throughout the entire reign, retaining the title at Insurextion and Judgement Day before finally dropping it to Van Dam in one of the best Ladder Matches ever on Raw. Eddie had one of the greatest careers of all time, and the Intercontinental Title remains an important part of his legacy.
9. Triple H
IMG credit: WWE & Twitter
Triple H had already picked up two Intercontinental Championships in the 90s. His first reign lasted 115 days as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and his second reign came after defeating the Rock at SummerSlam 1998 but was cut short when Hunter had to vacate the title due to a knee injury. Helmsley used his IC Title victories to get to the main-event level. But even after HHH had cemented his legacy as a THAT-DAMN-GOOD WWF Champion…Triple H went back to the Intercontinental Title in 2001 and continued to be an amazing champ
Uniting with former arch-nemesis Steve Austin to form the Two-Man Power Trip, ‘The Game’ defeated Chris Jericho to win his third IC Title. This reign only lasted 7 days before he was shockingly upset for the title by Jeff Hardy! Hunter got the belt back three days later, and with Austin, renewed his hostilities with the Undertaker & Kane. The Two-Man Power Trip beat the Brothers of Destruction for the Tag Titles at Backlash 2001, with Hunter becoming the second-ever Grand Slam Champ, and he and Austin (who was WWF Champion) now had all the gold and power in their possession.
Triple H was finally dethroned by Kane for the IC Title at Judgement Day after 34 days, and then in 2002, Hunter unified the IC Title with the World Heavyweight Championship. Although Triple H’s time with the championship was brief in the 2000s, the Intercontinental Belt transcended to the main-event whilst in his hands.
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8. Chris Benoit
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Obviously, it’s very hard to discuss Chris Benoit without thinking about the horrific and inexcusable Benoit Tragedy. But in the context of this list, Benoit the WRESTLER remained a fighting Intercontinental Champion. Determined to make an impact in the WWF after jump-shipping from WCW in February 2000, Benoit immediately set his sights on championship gold, and found himself in the two-fall triple-threat match at WrestleMania 16 for the European and Intercontinental Titles with Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho.
Benoit won the Intercontinental Championship that night, and then took on all-comers on Raw, SmackDown and Sunday Night Heat, with his heated-rivalry with Chris Jericho standing above all other challengers throughout 2000 and into 2001. The title switched back-and-forth between the fierce rivals in an excellent series of matches, with the greatest being an epic Ladder Match at Royal Rumble 2001. Benoit picked up his fourth & final Intercontinental Championship in 2002 before losing it to Rob Van Dam at SummerSlam. Benoit’s reigns may have been brief, but he always made them count, and then he ultimately claimed the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 20.
7. Edge
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Edge had already won his first Intercontinental Championship in July 1999 from Jeff Jarrett. Alas, his reign only lasted 24 hours, but the groundwork had been laid for Edge’s success as a singles-wrestler in the 21st Century. After becoming 2001 King of the Ring, Edge again set his sights on Intercontinental gold and regained the title from Lance Storm in a damn-fine match at SummerSlam. He lost the belt a month later to a jealous Christian at Unforgiven, but got his revenge in a Ladder match at No Mercy. Sadly, it was another brief reign when he lost the belt to Test 15 days later, but Edge scored another thrilling triumph at Survivor Series when he unified the IC title with the United States Championship.
Edge’s fourth reign lasted 63 days before he was defeated by William Regal at Royal Rumble 2002, and then Edge picked up his fifth & final championship by ending the Legend Killer Randy Orton’s almighty reign at Vengeance 2004. After 57 days, Edge surrendered the title due to injury. Although his reigns were brief, Edge was a happy & proud Intercontinental Champion, using his time with the belt to grow as a performer, wrestler and superstar, before going-on to be the world champion. Another classic success!
6. Jeff Hardy
IMG credit: WWE & WhatCulture
The Hardy Boys rank among the greatest tag teams of all time, and both Matt and Jeff had already proved that in their feud with Edge & Christian and the Dudleys from No Mercy 1999 to WrestleMania 17. But it was during April 2001 when Jeff received his first big break as a singles-wrestler. During Team Extreme’s feud with the Two-Man Power Trip, Jeff Hardy scored a shocking upset over Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown! He also made history as the youngest Intercontinental Champ ever, winning the title at 23-years-old! Jeff sadly lost the belt back to Hunter three days later, but the victory cemented Jeff’s single-status as a superstar.
Hardy would win his second Intercontinental Championship over five years later on 02.10.2006, then embarked on wicked feuds with Johnny Nitro and Umaga in some absolutely fantastic matches (the best being a cage match at New Year’s Revolution 2007 with the former, and a rollercoaster match with the latter at the Great American Bash later that year). Defending the title regularly on weekly TV and on pay-per-view, Jeff even challenged for the WWE Championship whilst Intercontinental Champion! From 2006 to 2008, the Charismatic Enigma had captured the belt four times at this point, spent a combined total of 323 days as IC Champ, and became yet another wrestler who successfully went on to be WWE World Champion. So amazing was Jeff as the Intercontinental Champ, he won the belt for a fifth & final time in 2020.
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5. Shelton Benjamin
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
From late 2002 to early 2004, Shelton Benjamin was one-half of the World’s Greatest Tag Team (with Charlie Haas); and they had plenty of credentials to back up that claim. When the World’s Greatest Tag Team was split-up in the 2004 Draft Lottery, Shelton ended up on Raw and immediately became a huge singles-star by beating Triple H for three weeks running! Fast-forward to Taboo Tuesday 2004, the fans voted for Benjamin to challenge Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship…and Shelton won!
Shelton’s first run with the title was a spectacular 244-Day reign (the LONGEST of the 2000s), resplendent with first-class title defences against Christian at Survivor Series 2004 and Chris Jericho at Backlash 2005. Shelton entered the first-ever Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 21 as IC Champ, and raised the value of the title even higher with his performance in that bout, becoming the MVP of MITB matches going forward.
Shelton picked up another two great Intercontinental titles in 2006, feuding with the likes of Ric Flair and Rob Van Dam (the highlight being an excellent Winner-Takes-All match for the IC Title and MITB briefcase at Backlash 2006), before dropping the championship in a fantastic triple-threat at Vengeance 2006 involving Carlito and Johnny Nitro. Although Shelton Benjamin may never have reached world-title heights in WWE, as an Intercontinental Champion, there ain’t no stoppin’ him! NAAAAHHHH!!!
4. Rey Mysterio
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
On paper, Rey’s two Intercontinental Championship reigns from 2009 may not seem impressive (his first lasted 63 days, his second lasted 68 days), but Mysterio MAXIMISED his time as champion to not only provide one of the best Intercontinental Title runs in years, he also reminded us why Rey Mysterio is one of the most spectacular & awe-inspiring wrestlers of all time.
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Beating JBL in a shocking 21 seconds at WrestleMania 25 to become Intercontinental Champion, Rey became the 21st Triple Crown Winner in WWE, then embarked on a legendary feud with Chris Jericho. A series of classic matches on PPV (Judgement Day and Extreme Rules) – with each one better than the last – saw the title change hands between the rivals. And it culminated in an epic Title-vs.-Mask affair at The Bash 2009, with Rey ending the feud, and moving-on to a rivalry with Dolph Ziggler, with the title-defence at SummerSlam really putting Ziggler’s name on the map. After losing the title to John Morrison, Rey Mysterio became involved in high-profile feuds with Batista & CM Punk, regained the World Championship in 2010, and then won the WWE Title in 2011. The Intercontinental Title brought Rey back to the Promised Land, and vice versa.
3. Rob Van Dam
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
One of the most popular newcomers to have come to the WWE during the whole Invasion storyline, Rob Van Dam immediately achieved success as the greatest Hardcore Champion of all time. Then in 2002, he won his first Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 18 from William Regal. One of the most spectacular, innovative and amazing athletes of all time, RVD also cemented himself as one of the greatest to have ever held this championship.
Although Van Dam didn’t enjoy an undefeated, record-breaking run like his unforgettable 23-month reign as the ECW World TV Champion, Mr. Monday Night nevertheless made history many times as IC Champ. From 2002 to 2006, Rob was a six-time champion, involved in thrilling feuds with the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, Christian, Randy Orton and Shelton Benjamin, partook in several classic matches on TV and PPV, unified the Intercontinental Title with the European and Hardcore Championships, briefly held the IC Title and MITB briefcase simultaneously…and of course, went on to become WWE Champion at ECW One Night Stand 2006. Just like every other time, RVD was the Whole F’N Show as Intercontinental Champion.
2. Randy Orton
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Randy Orton’s sole Intercontinental Championship reign from Armageddon 2003 to Vengeance 2004 stands above most in the title’s lineage. Lasting 210 days, it was the longest reign of any IC Title-holder since The Rock’s 264 day run from December 1997 to August 1998. Having joined the ranks of Evolution and established himself as the Legend Killer, Randy simply shined brighter than ever with the gold. Improving more-and-more as a heel, on the mic and in the ring, the Legend Killer reigned supreme with Evolution; who now had every male championship on the Raw roster.
Defending it routinely on TV, Orton’s IC Title reign also revolved around his legendary feud with Mick Foley. Having dared to spit in the Hardcore Legend’s face, Orton scored the winning pinfall on Foley at WrestleMania 20 when Evolution beat the Rock ’n’ Sock Connection, and then at Backlash 2004, the Legend Killer retained his title against Cactus Jack in one of the bloodiest, most brutal classics EVER waged for the Intercontinental title; a No-Holds-Barred Match that remains the greatest bout in both Randy and Mick’s careers. And when Orton was finally dethroned by Edge at Vengeance 2004, the WWE Universe rejoiced!
A month after that, Orton became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion of all time and the rest was history.
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1. Chris Jericho
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Really, who ELSE could it have been for single-greatest Intercontinental Champion of the 2000s? After beating Chyna for his first Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon 1999, Chris Jericho brought the championship into the new millennium, and from 2000 to 2009, the man dominated the decade overall as IC Title holder; being involved in so many legendary storylines/feuds and classic matches involving the championship.
Feuding with a who’s-who of wrestling, Jericho battled Chyna, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, William Regal, Triple H, Kane, Rob Van Dam, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Hardy, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio over the Intercontinental Title; continuing to make the title one of the most prestigious in all of wrestling, as well as put over so many new stars/titleholders for the belt. Jericho even has the distinction of co-holding the IC Championship with Chyna in a storyline that worked brilliantly!
Although Jericho’s accumulated total of 311 days as Intercontinental Champion is surpassed by others, Y2J nonetheless still holds the record for most title victories with a staggering NINE IC Championship wins! Not just one of the greatest technical wrestlers/performers who ever lived, Chris Jericho easily ranks in my Top 10 Intercontinental Champions of ALL TIME.
So…what do YOU think of this list? Agree with the picks? Who were YOUR favourite Intercontinental Champions of the 2000s?
WWF hosted a total of 5 PPVs in the year 1993. In addition to the usual Big Four PPVs, WWF also held the first-ever King of the Ring PPV in 1993. How good were all those PPVs? Find out in this post as we rank all the PPVs from worst to best.
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5. WrestleMania IX
IMG credit: WWE & prowrestlingstories.com
Date: April 4, 1993
Attendance: 16,891
Buyrate: 430,000
Main Event: Yokozuna(c) vs. Hulk Hogan (WWF Championship)
Match of the Night: The Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers (***1/2)
Let’s start off with the worst PPV of the year, WrestleMania IX, which is also considered to be one of the worst ‘Manias ever. I am not quite sure if this is the worst WrestleMania but it is definitely one of the worst. It started off very well with two solid matches in Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka and The Headshrinkers vs. The Steiner Brothers, but then we had a number of mediocre matches with retarded finishes up until the main event between Yokozuna and Bret Hart. It was a good match but unfortunately, it gets overshadowed by the post-match Hogan bullsh*t. Hogan had no right to win the belt here. It was horrendous booking and one of the worst PPV endings ever.
Overall Rating: 3.5/10
4. Survivor Series
IMG credit: WWE & themoviedb.org
Date: November 24, 1993
Attendance: 15,509
Buyrate: 180,000
Main Event: The All-Americans vs. The Foreign Fanatics (4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match)
Match of the Night: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express vs. The Heavenly Bodies (***1/2)
It seemed like the theme of this show was every match being changed. We got none of the originally promoted survivor series matches, and there were changes in all of the matches. Coming to the match quality, the show had mostly decent matches along with one completely bad match, which was the Four Doinks Survivor Series match. The opening Survivor Series match was the best Survivor Series match among the four. We got a good tag team match between The Heavenly Bodies and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express which ended up as the best match of the night. The other two survivor series matches weren’t very good but overall decent. The show saw the beginning of two feuds in Bret/Owen and Undertaker/Yokozuna. Overall, a watchable show but not recommended.
Overall Rating: 5/10
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3. Royal Rumble
IMG credit: WWE & blogofdoom.com
Date: January 24, 1993
Attendance: 16,000
Buyrate: 300,000
Main Event: 30-man Royal Rumble match for a WWF Championship match at WrestleMania IX
Match of the Night: Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty (****)
If we go by the undercard of this show, it had some really good matches. The Steiners had a great WWF PPV debut against The Beverly Brothers. The WWF Title match between Bret Hart and Razor Ramon, and the IC Title match between Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty both were also good. The only bad part of the undercard was Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Boss Man. Despite the great undercard, the PPV’s main part which made up for most of the show- the royal rumble match didn’t deliver at all. Yokozuna was a good winner, but the rumble match was very boring. The undercard makes this PPV watchable but overall, it was disappointing.
Overall Rating: 6.5/10
2. SummerSlam
IMG credit: WWE & themoviedb.org
Date: August 30, 1993
Attendance: 23,954
Buyrate: 250,000
Main Event: Yokozuna(c) vs. Lex Luger (WWF Championship)
Match of the Night: Bret Hart vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler (***3/4)
I didn’t have high expectations from the show, but I enjoyed it and it was easy going through the event. There were only two bad matches on the show, and the rest of the matches ranged from being okayish to good. The whole Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler stuff was my favorite part of the show. The two tag team matches were also great. Post-match aside, the main event between Yokozuna and Lex Luger was also a solid WWF title match. The only problem with this show is probably the fact that it didn’t have a GREAT match which would be talked about for years. Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect had the potential of being that match, but unfortunately it didn’t live up to the hype. All things considered, this was a solid PPV and deserves more love among the people as it seems to be underrated.
Overall Rating: 7/10
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1. King Of The Ring
IMG credit: WWE & cagesideseats.com
Date: June 13, 1993
Attendance: 6,500
Buyrate: 245,000
Main Event: Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (King of the Ring Final match)
Match of the Night: Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (****3/4)
This was really the Bret Hart show. He had three really good matches, each of them being with opponents who worked completely different styles and the matches also ended up being very different from each other with unique finishes. His match with Mr. Perfect was the match of the night, and in fact, also the match of the year. Other than Bret’s matches, the rest of the card was fine, but nothing was very good and memorable. The only bad part of the event was Hogan/Yokozuna but that also had a positive which was Hogan losing the belt and leaving the company for good.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next post where we will talk about the top 5 wrestlers of 1993. Have a nice day!
WWF held the Survivor Series 1993 on Thanksgiving Eve. The highly promoted matches saw the team of All-Americans take on The Foreign Fanatics, and The Hart Family took on Shawn Michaels and his Knights. Let’s rank all the matches from the show and find out what were the best parts of the show.
5. The Bushwhackers & Men on a Mission vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, The Headshrinkers & Bastion Booger (4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match)
IMG credit: WWE & whatculture.com
The match was promoted as Four Doinks taking on the team of Bam Bam, Headshrinkers and Bastion Booger. But we didn’t get the original Doink and instead, the four doinks ended up being The Bushwhackers and Men on a Mission. Seriously who thought this was a good idea to have this kind of match? As soon as I heard The Bushwhackers’ theme, I was sure this was going to be a disaster and it was. The match just sucked, and the worst part is that the heel team which actually had some serious talent had to lose to 4 clowns. (DUD)
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4. Shawn Michaels & His Knights vs. The Hart Family (4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match)
IMG credit: WWE & sportskeeda.com
This match was doomed from the beginning. Firstly, this match was supposed to be The Hart Family taking on Jerry Lawler’s team, but Lawler was replaced by Michaels as he faced r*pe accusations. Due to the replacement, the match had already lost a lot of heat and it wasn’t interesting. The match was very boring and at times painful to watch. Bret Hart also didn’t get involved a lot in the match which didn’t make any sense. The best thing coming out of the match was Owen Hart getting frustrated at Bret Hart as they slowly built up the feud. (**1/2)
3. The All-Americans vs. The Foreign Fanatics (4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match)
IMG credit: WWE & wrestlingandmoreblog.weebly.com
The team of All-Americans contained of Lex Luger, The Undertaker and The Steiner Brothers. The Foreign Fanatics were represented by Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, Crush and Quebecer Jacques. The match wasn’t bad at all, but disappointing given the talent involved. It was used to set up the Yokozuna/Undertaker feud as both got disqualified by a double count-out. In the end, Ludvig Borga tried a lot to pin Luger but Luger prevailed and won the match for his team. It was a good victory for Luger but I didn’t care about him. (**3/4)
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2. The 1-2-3 Kid, Marty Jannetty, Razor Ramon & Randy Savage vs. IRS, Diesel, Rick Martel & Adam Bomb (4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match)
IMG credit: WWE & catchmania.com
A good bunch of talent was involved in this match, and it was quite enjoyable. Savage replacing Mr. Perfect got a great reaction which was good to see. The match got boring in the middle, but it picked up towards the end. The babyface team won as Marty Jannetty and The 1-2-3 Kid were the survivors. (***1/4)
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1. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express vs. The Heavenly Bodies (SMW Tag Team Championships)
IMG credit: WWE & wrestlingandmoreblog.weebly.com
It’s weird seeing a non-WWF title match on a WWF PPV. In fact, this was the only title match of the night. Anyway, this match was very good with some really good moves, but sadly the crowd didn’t care at all. I can’t blame them because this type of wrestling wasn’t common back then, but it is funny that the match the crowd was into the least actually ended up being as the best match of the night. (***1/2)
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next post where we will rank all the PPVs of 1993. Have a nice day!
The Intercontinental Championship: wrestling historians regard it as many things. The workhorse title, one of the most prestigious championships to hold in all of wrestling, a launching pad to potentially become the next world champion. All of which have certainly been proven true throughout the championship’s 43 years. Sadly, what has also been proven true, are people’s remarks that the prestigious Intercontinental Championship (as Michael Cole has been told to call it every week) is nowhere near as prestigious as it once was. What with too many forgettable titleholders in recent years, no more high-profile rivalries over the championship…and virtually little-to-no major title defences on PPV or even weekly telly.
(Although that’s rapidly changing now with Triple H as Head of Creative and Gunther now IC Champ…)
But on the other hand, people are too willing to forget that the the 2010s did produce a first-rate lineage of Intercontinental Champs, who not only gave some much-needed prestige back to the title, but also used the belt as a stepping stone to even bigger things. These guys really left their mark on the Intercontinental Championship, and made it truly prestigious again.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Big E Langston
IMG Credit: WWE & Pinterest
Before becoming part of The New Day we all know and love, Big E captured his first Intercontinental Championship in 2013 by defeating Curtis Axel. Enjoying a lengthy 167 day reign as champ, fending off the likes of Curtis Axel, Fandango, Damien Sandow and Jack Swagger (in an excellent title-showing at Elimination Chamber 2014)…Big E also used the title to move up the card then shortly joined the New Day after losing the belt in 2014, and the rest was history. The man definitely did alright for himself as IC Champ.
Luke Harper
IMG Credit: WWE & Twitter
The late Jonathan Huber (and future Brodie Lee in AEW) was one seriously underrated athlete and tremendous talent. Part of the creepy & brilliant Wyatt Family, Luke Harper also achieved great success as a singles-wrestler, winning the Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler in 2014 and joining Team Authority for that year’s Survivor Series. Although his reign only lasted 27 days, it was memorable and culminated in a terrific ladder match at TLC 2014, where Harper lost the belt back to Dolph Ziggler. Jonathan Huber was a star who is still loved and missed to this day.
TOP 10
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10. Daniel Bryan
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Alas, what COULD have been. After being forced to relinquish the WWE Championship and being shelved in 2014 because of injury, Daniel Bryan would return in 2015 and find himself in the opening contest at WrestleMania 31; an utterly thrilling ladder-match against Luke Harper, Dean Ambrose, R-Truth, Stardust, Dolph Ziggler and Bad News Barrett, which saw Bryan claim his only Intercontinental Championship. And thus become the 26th Triple Crown Winner and a member of the Grand Slam Club.
With the ‘Yes’ Movement back in full-swing, Daniel seemed poised for a dominant Intercontinental title reign. Especially after a wicked title defence against Ziggler the next night on Raw. Unfortunately, injuries and concussions struck again, forcing poor Daniel to vacate the title after 44 days and retire from the ring for more than two-years. Nonetheless, Daniel Bryan’s epic Intercontinental Title victory is remembered much more than most from the last decade.
9. Wade / Bad News Barrett
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
The one-time Nexus Leader deserved so much more than what he received throughout his WWE career. However, something Mr. Barrett can be very proud of is his success as the Intercontinental Champion. Between 2011 and 2015, Wade racked up an impressive FIVE Intercontinental Title Reigns, feuding with the likes of Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Rob Van Dam and Dolph Ziggler, with his shortest reign lasting 58 days and his longest lasting 97 days!
It was before Wade’s fourth title win that he became “Bad News”, got SUPER over with audiences and really became a memorable IC Champ. Sadly, a shoulder-injury, daft booking and the Powers-That-Be telling Wade to STOP BEING POPULAR (idiots!) impeded him…but overall, Bad News Barrett was a damn fine IC Champ.
8. Dean Ambrose
IMG credit: WWE & Sportskeeda
When The Shield disbanded in 2014, poor Dean Ambrose (now AEW megastar Jon Moxley) REALLY had to wait for his big break as a singles-wrestler as opposed to Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Thankfully, Dean FINALLY got his chance when he defeated Kevin Owens at TLC 2015 to win his first Intercontinental Championship. Successful title defences against Dolph Ziggler and a wicked feud with Kevin Owens followed, with the Lunatic Fringe retaining his title in a Last Man Standing Match at the Royal Rumble 2016; one of the greatest Intercontinental Title Bouts of the last decade!
Ambrose would lose the IC Title back to Owens after 64 days, THEN went on to become WWE Champion in 2016. A second Intercontinental Title win followed in 2017 (lasting 152 days) and his third & final reign in 2018 only lasted 28 days. Sadly, neither were as impressive or as eventful as Dean’s first run with the championship. Nevertheless, Ambrose did successfully use the title to springboard to even greater heights.
7. Kevin Owens
IMG credit: WWE & The Mirror
Fresh off his dominant NXT Championship run and Feud of 2015 with John Cena, Mr. Owens ended Ryback’s Intercontinental Championship reign, and went on to be a dominant, fighting champ for 84 days. Retaining the belt against the likes of Chris Jericho and Ryback, as well as picking up impressive non-title wins over Neville, Dolph Ziggler and Mark Henry, making it to the semi-finals of the WWE Title Tournament in 2015, and his previously-mentioned feud with Dean Ambrose…ALL raised the value of the Intercontinental Championship once again.
Owens’ second title win lasted 48 days, featuring him retaining the belt at Fastlane 2016 in a fantastic match with Dolph Ziggler and then Kevin ultimately lost the IC Strap in that brilliant ladder match at WrestleMania 32 (the one Zack Ryder won and we all rejoiced!). Although Owens would never regain Intercontinental gold, he would go-on to be the Universal Champion later in 2016…and naturally was awesome at it. KO + Intercontinental Championship = Greatness.
6. Drew McIntyre
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Hindsight really is a funny thing; especially when it comes to Drew McIntyre in 2010. This was a far-cry from the wrestler/performer we all know & love today. Pushed to the moon, hand-picked as Vince McMahon’s ‘Chosen One’…frankly, I didn’t think Drew merited the push given how raw and green he was at the time.
Having said all that, Drew’s sole Intercontinental Championship reign WAS a huge-success looking back and then looking where Drew is today. After defeating John Morrison to end the previous decade at TLC 2009, McIntyre retained the title over Morrison, qualified for Money in the Bank at WrestleMania 26, battled the likes of Undertaker & Kane, viciously assaulted the likes of poor Matt Hardy, relied on his relationship with Vince to avoid being ‘officially’ defeated/stripped of the title, as well as bullying SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, and entering a feud with Kofi Kingston. By the time Drew FINALLY lost the IC Championship to Kofi at Over The Limit 2010…he had reigned for 161 Days!
Eventful & packed with heat, Drew McIntyre’s one & only mighty reign with the Intercontinental Title stands above most in the belt’s history. Ten years after all that, Drew would finally fulfil his destiny as Vince’s Chosen One. Long-term success at its best.
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5. Kofi Kingston
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Before being part of The New Day, Kofi Kingston was already a popular mid-carder. Kingston had even captured his first Intercontinental Championship in 2008 from Chris Jericho himself! In the 2010s, Kofi picked up a further three Intercontinental Titles, further connecting with audiences and restoring the prestige of the belt.
Over with the crowd, a reliable performer and fantastic wrestler, Kofi spent plenty of time in the IC Title picture, feuding with the likes of Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, Curtis Axel and The Miz. With several stellar title victories and defences on his resume, Kofi Kingston ended up a proud four-time Intercontinental Champion. After that…a hugely successful stint in the New Day, plenty of amazing Tag Team Championships, ultimate glory as the WWE Champion…and surely an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame one day.
4. Seth Rollins
IMG credit: WWE
After achieving glory with The Shield, shockingly betraying the Shield, ultimate glory as WWE Champion and being the Wrestler of 2015…only to be injured, betrayed by the Authority and trying to work his way back up the ladder, Seth Rollins was at something at a crossroads before he won his first Intercontinental Championship in 2018.
Winning the belt in an excellent triple-threat match over the Miz and Finn Balor at WrestleMania 34, Seth truly personified the WORKHORSE aspect of the title in the modern-era. Retaining the title in epic-fashion against the Miz at Backlash, Seth then embarked on various open challenges on Monday Night Raw, as well as feuding with Elias and Dolph Ziggler over the belt. Rollins won his second Intercontinental Title from Ziggler at SummerSlam 2018, and continued to be an exemplary IC Champ throughout the rest of the year. Although his ultimate loss to Dean Ambrose at TLC 2018 was lacklustre, Seth Rollins ruled the IC Title scene for 190 days total, then went onto be Universal Champ in 2019. Another feather in the Architect’s cap!
3. Dolph Ziggler
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
When people say Dolph Ziggler should’ve been a successful World Champion and main-event-player… they always turn to Ziggler’s legacy as the Intercontinental Champion to put their case forward. Simply-put, Dolph is an amazing worker, and everything he’s done with the IC Title has just been phenomenal.
After feuding with Rey Mysterio over the belt in 2009 put his name on the map, Dolph Ziggler won his first of SIX Intercontinental Championships in 2010. For the next eight years, Ziggler was always a strong, ever-present contender for the Intercontinental Title. In a variety of different matches against so many different opponents, Ziggler was another modern-day star who embodied the workhorse-ethic that the belt symbolised, delivering several classic matches and feuds, with none-more-so than his 2016 rivalry with the Miz, which saw Ziggler triumph in the epic Title vs. Career affair at No Mercy 2016. Dolph is truly one of the best to have ever held the title.
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2. Cody Rhodes
IMG credit: WWE & TheSportster
Really, we have so much to thank Cody Rhodes for when he became Intercontinental Champion. After mercifully ending Ezekiel Jackson’s reign in 2011, Cody went-on to hold the strap for an almighty 234 DAYS! That’s impressive in itself, but Rhodes also used the title to not only prove himself as a singles-wrestler, he went on to become the best Intercontinental Champ in years.
Exceptional on the mic and in the ring, the versatile Cody would further impress against the likes of John Morrison, Ted DiBiase Jr. and even Booker T! As well as amazing showings in the 2012 Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber whilst IC Champ. Cody’s reign will also be remembered for retiring the Attitude Era design for the Intercontinental Title and restoring the Classic Design. Although his reign hit a bump in the road with a daft Big Show feud, Cody finished a two-time IC Champ after dropping the belt to Christian. One of the reasons why Cody Rhodes is where he’s at today is because of what he did with this championship.
1. The Miz
IMG credit: WWE & aminoapps.com
After falling back down-to-Earth following his WWE Championship loss in 2011, the Miz won his first Intercontinental Championship in 2012 from Christian and had a solid-run. Then he had a second reign which lasted 24 hours, and a third reign which lasted 24 days, and a fourth reign which (AGAIN!) lasted 24 hours…it wasn’t looking good.
THEN the Miz won the title for a FIFTH TIME in 2016 and he cemented himself as one of the ALL-TIME GREATS to EVER hold the Intercontinental Championship! The Awesome One had long reincarnated as a Hollywood A-Lister, reunited with wife Maryse to form a white-hot heelish duo and proceeded to raise the trophy like it was the single-most-important prize in wrestling! Ending Zack Ryder’s 24-hour reign to much despair, The Miz went-on to defend the belt against the likes of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Cesaro at Extreme Rules in one of the best matches EVER for the title! He had memorable feuds with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns over the strap, and a legendary rivalry with Dolph Ziggler which included the epic Title vs. Career showdown…he constantly defended it on pay-per-view and weekly TV…
OH, YES…and there was that AWESOME promo Miz delivered on Talking Smack against all his haters and Daniel Bryan.
When Miz had finished with the Intercontinental Championship in 2018, he was an EIGHT-TIME CHAMPION; the second-most reigns behind Chris Jericho (who had 9 reigns). Miz’s COMBINED NUMBER OF DAYS as champion was 592! Second only to Pedro Morales’ combined total of 617 days!
No question, The Miz isn’t just the greatest Intercontinental Champion of the 2010s…he’s one of the greatest IC Champs of ALL-TIME. Easily in my Top 10 ever.
So…what do YOU think of this list? Agree with the picks? Who were YOUR favourite Intercontinental Champions of the 2010s?
The Biggest Party of the Summer in 1993 saw the American Hero Lex Luger challenge Yokozuna for the WWF Championship in the main event with the support of the whole USA. WWF had also promised the best Intercontinental Title match ever in the form of Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect. Was it the greatest match? Find out in this post as we rank all the matches from the show.
10. The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez (Rest In Peace Match)
IMG credit: WWE & whatculture.com
So after so much promotion of the ” Rest in Peace” stipulation, it turned out to be just a No DQ, No count-out match… I doubt anyone was excited for this match, but WWF could have at least tried. This match was slightly better than their ‘Mania encounter but that doesn’t say match and it was still very bad. If I had to watch either of their matches again, I would probably prefer to stop watching wrestling. (DUD)
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9. Ludvig Borga vs. Marty Jannetty
IMG credit: WWE & culturecrossfire.com
I don’t mind squash matches if done right and if done with the right wrestlers, but this was the occasion where the chosen wrestler was wrong. The Ludvig Borga character is totally bland and uninteresting and this squash match was very boring. (*)
8. IRS vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
IMG credit: WWE & culturecrossfire.com
I am not sure if this should have been on the card but it was a fine match and didn’t get boring. It had some good stuff but I genuinely want to know what was the point of IRS winning when The 1-2-3 Kid had been on such a roll. The Kid should have definitely won here with a roll-up or something. (**)
7. Bret Hart vs. Doink
IMG credit: wwe.com
This was supposed to be Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler but Lawler faked an injury and instead we got Doink face Bret Hart first. The match isn’t anything special and is way below the standards that Bret Hart had set for his PPV matches. But the match was never supposed to be good technically anyway, and I would say it served its purpose and was a nice bridge to go into the actual match. (**1/2)
6. Ted Dibiase vs. Razor Ramon
IMG credit: wwe.com
This match was obviously done to put over Razor Ramon. Razor was a very popular wrestler and was loved by the fans, and Dibiase was the perfect veteran to do the job here. The match was solid and even though the ending was quite generic, with these two wrestlers it made sense and I didn’t mind it much. Razor came out of the match looking quite strong. This match also marked the end of Ted Dibiase’s in ring career in WWF. (**1/2)
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5. Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
IMG credit: wwe.com
This match was one of the most promoted matches of the show and the WWF had promoted it as The Greatest Intercontinental Title Match you would ever see. It made sense as both Shawn and Mr. Perfect were great wrestlers, and it was expected from the two to deliver great matches on more occasions than not. However, the match didn’t live up to the hype at all. It was a fine and perfectly watchable match, but it lacked chemistry and was a huge failure. The count-out ending also made no sense and left everyone even more disappointed. (**3/4)
4. Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger (WWF Championship)
IMG credit: WWE & wrestlingrecaps.com
The story behind this match was great and the way they had build up Luger as the American Hero so far was pretty good and he had tremendous support. The match was also quite well done for most part and it was a solid main event. However, everything they had done promoting and building up Luger as this huge babyface was destroyed with the finish. I am not saying the count-out finish was necessarily bad, as they could have built up a rematch from here. But, why the hell did Luger have to celebrate a count-out win? We are not even talking about a little celebration here, it was huge and it seemed like he had won the title, when he hadn’t. The celebration was very retarded and made Luger look like a big idiot. This was their only chance of putting the belt on Luger and Luger’s character and popularity only went down after this. (***)
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3. Bam Bam Bigelow & The Headshrinkers vs. Tatanka & The Smoking Gunns
IMG credit: WWE & culturecrossfire.com
I went into this match with not much expectations and thought it would be just a time killer before the main event, but it actually turned out to be one of the best matches on the show. After the Borga/Jannetty and ‘Taker/Gonzalez matches, this one did the perfect job of uplifting the mood. All talents involved played their roles perfectly and made for a very nice match. (***1/2)
2. The Steiner Brothers vs. The Heavenly Bodies (WWF Tag Team Championships)
IMG credit: WWE & cultaholic.com
Another great match in the tag team division, thanks to The Steiners. This was a really fun match with lot of great action. It was a fast paced match which was not very common at the time and thus this match had more of an impact. The Heavenly Bodies also had a great showing and garnered interest of the fans in their act. I was quite satisfied with the match but I would have loved for this to go on for a few more minutes. (***1/2)
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1. Bret Hart vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler
IMG credit: WWE & thesportster.com
If we only focus on the actual wrestling in this match and ignore the story, the match is probably not that good. But, with all the story and pre-match and post-match angles combined, this was absolutely fantastic. It was so satisfying to see Bret Hart get his revenge on Lawler after he had talked so much trash about the Hart Family. Bret refusing to break the hold on Lawler’s leg was perfect and showed how much frustrated he was. Bret losing the match hardly mattered as he was the one who was standing. The two were originally supposed to meet in the ring once again at Survivor Series, but Lawler had to be taken out due to r*pe accusations on him. It’s a shame as this feud was very interesting and I would have loved to see more of the two in the ring. (***3/4)
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next part of this series where we will take a look at Survivor Series. Have a nice day!
In 1993, WWF decided to add another PPV which was “King of the Ring”. We had seen King of the Ring tournaments before, but they were never televised. For the first time, we saw the King of the Ring tournament televised. Also, this PPV is known for being Hulk Hogan’s last appearance in WWF, before his eventual return later. Find out how good all the matches were in this post.
9. Bam Bam Bigelow vs. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan (King Of The Ring Quarter-Final Match)
IMG credit: WWE
This was just a regular quarter final match in the tournament. Jim Duggan never had good matches, and this was no exception but it was kept short and it only went for 5 minutes. It never went long enough to be boring, which is a positive. Bam Bam Bigelow obviously won the match and advanced in the tournament. (*)
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8. Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna (WWF Championship)
IMG credit: WWE & whatculture.com
If you have kept up with our reviews and rankings, you might have seen that all the WWF title matches had been good since 1992. This match broke the streak and is the first BAD WWF title match on PPV since the beginning of 1992. It was very slow and boring with the fireball finish being extremely stupid. The only positive that comes out of this is the fact that Hogan lost the belt and was out of the company. (*3/4)
7. Mr. Perfect vs. Mr. Hughes (King Of The Ring Quarter-Final Match)
IMG credit: WWE & wwereplay.com
The match was obviously carried by Mr. Perfect who did excellent bumping all around, but Mr. Hughes also did a better job than expected. It was still not a good match but it was watchable. The DQ ending was quite stupid though. (**)
6. The Steiner Brothers & The Smoking Gunns vs. Money Inc. & The Headshrinkers
IMG credit: WWE & classicwrestlingreview.com
The match was quite pointless and didn’t really belong on the card. The match ended up being OK but nothing exciting. They weren’t really given much time anyway so I can’t complain much. Wish the Steiners were involved more though as it would have made the match more entertaining. (**)
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5. Lex Luger vs. Tatanka (King Of The Ring Quarter-Final Match)
IMG credit: WWE & culturecrossfire.com
It wasn’t a good idea at all for these two men to go for 15 minutes. The match is fine but really boring and lacks intensity apart from the final moments. I guess doing the time limit draw was better than doing a lame double countout. (**1/2)
4. Shawn Michaels vs. Crush (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
IMG credit: WWE
They had a better match before this at UK Rampage. This match had a lot of Diesel interference and was basically Shawn using his heel tactics to beat the big Crush. Another OK match here with not much to talk about. The finish with Doink doing his “tricks” was never exciting to me and made Crush look stupid once again. Crush also no sold the finish completely post match running behind Doink full speed. (**1/2)
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3. Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon (King Of The Ring Quarter-Final Match)
IMG credit: WWE & classicwrestlingreview.com
Here we go with the Bret Hart show. Bret Hart and Razor Ramon had a better match at Royal Rumble earlier in the year, but this was a good match as well. The match had good nearfalls and the finish was also very good. Great start to the show. (***1/4)
2. Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (King Of The Ring Final Match)
IMG credit: WWE & audioboom.com
The story here was simple: Bret Hart had already wrestled two matches on the show and was hurt whereas the bigger Bam Bam Bigelow was fresh and had only wrestled one short match. The match itself ended up being a really good David vs. Goliath contest which I enjoyed throughout. Bret’s selling was awesome and Bam Bam’s offense was also very good. The finish with the Victory roll was also very well worked, and Bret was a good choice to be the King of the Ring winner. (****)
1. Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (King Of The Ring Semi-Final Match)
IMG credit: WWE & sportskeeda.com
Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect were two best WWF wrestlers at the time, and thus a great match was expected from them. The match ended up being just as expected. It was an excellent evenly matched contest with great counters. The match operated on a great pace and it could have really gone either ways. In my opinion, they managed to even top their SummerSlam 1991 encounter. (****3/4)
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next part of this series where we will take a look at SummerSlam. Have a nice day!
WrestleMania IX is universally considered to be not just one of the worst WrestleManias ever, but also to be one of the worst PPVs produced by WWF. While it was actually bad, there are a few matches worth watching from the show. Let’s take a look at all the matches from the show.
9. Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna (WWF Championship)
IMG credit: WWE & wrestlingheadlines.com
Well, what can I say about this? Truly one of the worst PPV endings ever in wrestling history. Hulk Hogan had absolutely no business winning the belt here. I usually don’t rate matches so short, but this deserves a DUD for the horrendous booking. (DUD)
8. The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez
IMG credit: WWE & pinterest.com
From one DUD to another. Easily Undertaker’s worst WrestleMania match and in fact, this match is a strong contender to be the worst WrestleMania match of all time. The finish made matters worse and god knows why they continued the feud even after this shit show. (DUD)
7. Money Inc. vs. The Mega Maniacs (WWF Tag Team Championships)
IMG credit: WWE Network
I would have been happier if the match actually ended in a count-out. This went for way too long and was extremely boring and I had absolutely no interest in this match at any point. The finish also made little sense and those 18 minutes of boredom weren’t enough for Hogan and crew because they just had to celebrate post match even though they didn’t win the belts which ended up making them look quite stupid. Total waste of time. (1/2*)
6. Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund
IMG credit: WWE & whatculture.com
Not much to say here. It was Razor Ramon’s WrestleMania debut and he won the match quickly in 3 minutes and 45 seconds. It was fine for the time it lasted and didn’t feel boring. (3/4*)
5. Doink vs. Crush
IMG credit: WWE & pinterest.com
This feud was quite stupid and I didn’t care about this match at all and wanted it to end as fast as possible. The match itself ended up being bad and I so much want to give this a DUD because of the retarded finishing angle. (*)
4. Lex Luger vs. Mr. Perfect
IMG credit: WWE & mrxpunchout.wordpress.com
On paper the match sounds solid but it didn’t end up delivering here. The match had no flow or structure and Luger said in an interview that Mr. Perfect told him he forgot the match, if that was really the case then it’s understandable why it ended up being like this. Overall the action wasn’t particularly bad but it was very dull and boring. (*3/4)
3. Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna (WWF Championship)
IMG credit: WWE
Ignoring all the post match BS, I enjoyed this contest. It’s obviously not a classic or anything but it didn’t have to be. I loved the pace in which it operated and Bret’s tactics against the big man Yokozuna were really fun to watch. The match could have gone longer but I was not disappointed at all with what we got here. Yokozuna winning also made sense, but obviously the moment was ruined after the match. (***)
2. Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
IMG credit: WWE & whatculture.com
A very solid opener which I really enjoyed. Both men worked very hard here and it’s probably Tatanka’s best match at least to this point. The finish was bad and hurts the match a little though. I think they could have given the title to Tatanka as he was really over with the crowd and they were clearly high on him. Another concern I had was that while the first half of the match was centered around Shawn’s injured shoulder, it was pretty much ignored in the second half and played no role in the finish whatsoever. All in all it was a great opener which gets the crowd going. (***1/2)
1. The Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers
IMG credit: WWE & whatculture.com
I loved both the tag teams and had high hopes for this match and they delivered. Very fun tag match and I was especially in awe at Rick Steiner’s reversal of the doomsday device into the powerslam. I would say both tag teams’ styles meshed well and at the end I was begging for more. (***1/2)
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next part of this series where we will take a look at King of the Ring. Have a nice day!
WWF kicked off 1993 with its annual Royal Rumble PPV. The dominant newcomer Yokozuna won the Royal Rumble match and secured his spot in the main event of WrestleMania IX. Royal Rumble in the 90s wasn’t known for its undercard, but the 1993 edition was different. Find out in this post as we rank all the matches of the show from worst to best.
5. Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Boss Man
IMG credit: WWE & classicwrestlingreview.com
I didn’t like the match at all and it was the only match from the show which is absolutely dreadful. They were building up Bam Bam Bigelow and he obviously went over but I hate how they basically fed Big Boss Man when he himself got good reactions from the crowd. Boss Man quickly was gone from the company after this event which was a shame. Bad match and went for too long. (*)
4. 30-man Royal Rumble Match For A WWF Championship Match At WrestleMania IX
IMG credit: WWE & thesportster.com
You know it’s disappointing when the Royal Rumble match itself is one of the worst matches of the show. This match is a clear example of what difference a year makes. The previous rumble was the best ever and had such a star studded roster and this was completely opposite. The fact that names like Ric Flair, Undertaker didn’t last very long makes matters worse. Oh, and also Giant Gonzalez made his debut which would lead to the godawful feud with Undertaker. Randy Savage also looked quite stupid when he went for the pinfall toward the end. Bob Backlund’s performance was good but he didn’t do a lot in the match and was just kinda there. Yokozuna was a good winner and looked dominant but I still believe Savage should have won the match. Very disappointing especially since the show had a solid undercard. (**1/2)
3. The Steiner Brothers vs. The Beverly Brothers
IMG credit: WWE & classicwrestlingreview.com
This was the WWF PPV debut of The Steiner Brothers and they were great here. They brought in the energy in their comeback and the Beverlys also did a good job here and it was their best match in quite some time. A fun opener which always sets the tone and makes you excited for the rest of the show. (***)
2. Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon (WWF Championship
IMG credit: WWE & sportskeeda.com
This was Razor Ramon’s first singles PPV match. It was a pretty solid match with some nice psychology as Bret constantly attacked Razor’s legs to take the bigger man down. Razor also had a good showing for his first singles match on PPV. Given the talent, the match could have been better but I enjoyed it. (***1/2)
1. Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
IMG credit: WWE & classicwrestlingreview.com
Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty had been tag team partners for a long time, but in 1992, Michaels betrayed Jannetty and that was the end of their tag team. Thus, their Royal Rumble encounter was one year in the making and they delivered. Obviously they would have a better match down the line but I think this was a great match too. The first half isn’t that special but the second half of this match makes it special and overall made for a classic encounter. (****)
And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next part of this series where we will take a look at WrestleMania IX. Have a nice day!
