Guest Steffie Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 What matches in WWE history have played a big role in elevating the company into what we see today? I ask this cause every now and then there seems to be a special match, and you just know it was special after it ended. I think these matches deserves some nods... -HBK/Bret at Survivor Series. I'm not talking about their iron man match, although that is a classic. I'm talking about montreal. This sheaded the light that anything can happen at any given time, its not all by the script... -Hulk Hogan/Andre at Wrestlemania 3. Obviously most of us can admit we sometimes still see the highlight of Hogan dropping the big man onto his back in the middle of the ring... Undertaker/Mankind King Of The Ring '98. We all know what happened with this. Like it or not that one fall off the top of the cell brought alot of attetion into WWE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Randy Savage v Ricky Steamboat from Wrestlemania III is another match that most wrestlers refer back to as a major influence. Of those matches you listed, Hogan/Andre played a definite big role, because it's probably the most clear memory most of the current top guys have of watching wrestling as a child. It's also the most memorable moment for most fans of the era, and it's a dream match no one ever thought would happen at the time. Bret/Shawn played a major role in reshaping the company, because it gave birth to the Mr. McMahon character, which played itself out on TV for the next six years, and because it transitioned the company out of the Bret Hart era for good. From there on, it was all Austin. Austin was an emerging superstar before that, don't get me wrong, but there was no longer anyone else even close. Undertaker/Foley was a memorable match that probably inspired a lot of indy spotmonkeys and made them think WWE would hire them if they jumped off of the Empire State Building into a glass of water. There are two poisons in wrestling -- dangerous stunts and steroids -- and it's up to the performers to pick which ones they want to go toward. I think this match raised the bar too high and I can't say anything really good about a match where one guy broke his foot and the other guy got chokeslammed through a cage in an unplanned spot. It did leave the audience unable to appreciate a good WRESTLING MATCH for a long time, because they were just waiting on the big bumps and highspots. That go-go-go mentality ended up being dangerous in the long run, and this wrestling mindset coupled with Vince Russo's booking made the Attitude era one of total excess, to a point where we're still wading through the bodies today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Some Guy Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Austin/Bret: WM 13. This is the match that changed the direction of the WWF. The blood, the intense brawling, the true emergence of the anti-hero and the sympathetic babyface getting booed. I think that this is the match (and the angle leading up to it) where "Attitude" was born. Austin/HBK: WM 14. Basically put WWF back on top in the wretling war. Taker/HBK: HiaC. This set the bar so high for this match that Foley tried to kill himself to top it which set the bar way too high for everybody and caused an awlful lot of injuries. The TLC matches and such had this type of bumpfest to try to top. Bret/Diesel: Survivor Series 95. The mercy killing of Nash's title reign saved the company in some ways. The way they booked Bret in that reign really started him getting pissed at Vince, setting the stage for his whining babyface routine that led to the heel turn ay WM 13. Which led to Montreal which led to WM 14 which led to Vince beign the only game in town. All (or at least in part) because of Bret not being happy with how he was booked in late 95/early 96. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HarleyQuinn Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Steel Cage Match: Bret vs. Sid - Sparked the heel turn for Bret and sparked the very successful Canada vs. Austin/HBK feud that flowed into 1997 and largely resulted in the Attitude era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Snuka/Muraco in the cage. The cage dive was an insane move at the time. Mick Foley cites it as an inspiration, and a few other wrestlers have as well. Austin/Foley from Over the Edge '98. Set the format for main event matches for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KingPK Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 It's not WWE/F, but you could argue that the six man tag involving Savage/Luger/Sting vs. Hall and Nash, with Hogan making his heel turn and creating the NWO gave WCW the kick in the ass it needed to give Vince a run for his money and facilitated the creation of the Attitude era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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