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The 411 Wrestling Top 5 7.11.12: Week 179 – Top Five Desired Rivalry DVDs

July 11, 2012 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions.

So, on to this week’s topic…

TOP 5 RIVALRY DVDS

Yeah we got this one, but what others do we want???

Jake St-Pierre
HM: Jericho/Benoit – Hell of a series that culminated in one of the best ladder matches ever. Plus they teamed together for a bit.
HM: Psicosis/Mysterio – These two wrestled a LOT. I probably wouldn’t buy it, but you could probably conjure up some footage

5. Cena/Edge – I’m a Cena fan. Yeah. I am. Fuck you that’s why. But anyway, these two didn’t exactly set the world on fire with what they did, but they had some awesome matches and it led to Lita’s nipple being exposed on TV kinda. I mean, I know it probably looks like a really small wrinkled burlap sack now, but hey us wrestling fans will take what we can get. These two had a sick TLC match, a killer last man standing match, and a very sub par SNME brawl. But nonetheless, you could have a damn good DVD set with the stuff these two put out.

4. HHH/Foley – This one has some personal animosity, mostly because Hunter is being a little jealous bitch about the fact that Mick (awesome) Foley legitimized him, but even without that these two’s rivalry through the years was fantastic. They had some awesome brawls in 1997, like their Canadian Stampede match and the famous return of Cactus Jack on Raw. And the cream of the crop was their spectacular two matches in 2000. You basically saw Triple H become a man at MSG with some of the shit Mick Foley did to him and basically give Foley the shaft in an admittedly much inferior HIAC match a month later. These two are two of the greatest of all time and weirdly their best moments were at the opposite ends of each other’s careers.

3. Angle/Benoit – Look, I’m doing this based from a wrestling standpoint so get over it. You obviously could not a documentary here, but it doesn’t matter because the wrestling speaks for itself. They had some absolutely stellar matches through about 2001-2003 and had the best tag match in WWE history against Rey Mysterio and Edge. These two tore the house down every time they teamed or stepped in the ring against one another. Hell, you could do one disc on their Smackdown Six days if you wanted. In 2006, these DVD would have sold like gangbusters, but it won’t ever happen now…but it’s my list!

2. HHH/Rock – These two had some stellar matches with one another, especially the Iron Man Match at Judgment Day 2000. The two also carried WWF through the awesome year of 2000, facing off against each other in 5 PPVs in some way that year. They never had a bad match and with Rock being total fucking awesomeness on the mic and Hunter being an excellent heel, they had some great character clashes too. Again, no personal animosity here, just a great feud.

1. Austin/Hart – These two had a revolutionary feud in a tough time for the toiling WWF. Basically, Austin was being a cocky dick but he ended up being the toughest guy in wrestling. They had the best match ever at Wrestlemania and had the hottest angle of the 90’s to boot. Even their Survivor Series 1996 match goes down as one of the best. They had one of the most forgotten gems of wrestling at Revenge of the Taker too. They could do no wrong whatsoever. Plus, you could finally release that damn 10 Man Tag from Canadian Stampede. So much awesomeness to put here it isn’t even logical. Although there was zero personal animosity between them, they produced the best moments in WWE history. DVD this bitch up.

Gavin Napier
HM: Dusty Rhodes vs. The Horsemen Like you wouldn’t watch a DVD that featured sit downs with Dusty, Flair, Arn, Tully, Barry, and JJ.
HM: Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudleys The TLC rivals set the sport on fire together and accounted for the last golden age of tag teams in WWE.
HM: John Cena vs. Randy Orton Like it or not, this has been WWE’s biggest rivalry in nearly a decade.

5. Jerry Lawler vs. Andy Kauffman – I know that Andy is gone, and I know he wasn’t a wrestler. There are plenty of folks that knew him and experienced him to contribute, though. This gave Lawler national attention, and put wrestling in the national spotlight. Kauffman treated the sport with respect and “got it”. The celebrity involvement could be exceptional, from David Letterman to comedians, to friends of Andy’s, to Jim Carrey. This angle has always fascinated me and I’d love to see it get a DVD treatment that didn’t reduce it to a five minute blip.

4. Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer – This is the modern day Buzz Sawyer vs. Tommy Rich. These two men feuded seemingly forever in ECW, with more plot twists and turns than anyone could hope for. Dreamer kept on trucking while Raven was away, but things picked right back up once Raven returned. ECW handled feuds and matches differently than everyone else in wrestling. That alone would make sitting down with these two men and getting some input from Heyman to see how ECW operated would be worth it. Raven and Dreamer are both intelligent, well spoken wrestlers, so they could definitely hold up their end of things recounting the violence, the promos, the injuries, and the experience of creating a masterpiece of modem wrestling booking.

3. HHH vs. The Rock vs. Steve Austin – Much as Hogan and Piper launched the boom in the 80’s, these three men launched the Attitude Era. There were other key players, but these three men evolved together and pushed each other to be better. From DX vs. The Nation, to Rock and Austin’s Wrestlemania epics, to the Two Man Power Trip, there’s a lot of history to cover among these three men. Getting perspectives from all three would certainly be enlightening. As with other selections I made here, their personalities are diverse. The difference is that (a far as I know) all three are friends and on good terms with each other. I would imagine this DVD would feature a lot of joking and stories of ribs pulled on each other along with a peek inside one of wrestling’s greatest eras.

2. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat – For two men that were so similarly talented in the ring, they were polar opposites outside of it. Flair lived his gimmick, indulging and spending wildly, courting women at every turn, stylin’ and profilin’ through life in the 80’s and 90’s. Steamboat is one of wrestling’s ultimate babyfaces, and by all accounts was one of the more boring, grounded guys outside of the ring. There have been several statements that he was even “whipped” by his wife, Bonnie. The contrasts continue to exist today. Flair has torched bridges in WWE, TNA, and amazingly, Ring of Honor. Steamboat is on good terms with WWE, securing a job as an agent and appearing at Wrestlemania not long ago. Seeing these two diverse personalities sit down together would be fascinating.

1. Roddy Piper vs. Hulk Hogan – This rivalry launched wrestling into the modern era. Despite being separated by only 15 months, the end of Bob Backlund’s reign and the beginning of “Rock N Wrestling” feel like they should be years apart. Piper was the perfect foil for Hogan. He was quick witted, could incite a crowd, and played off of Hogan’s power moves very well. The fact that both men have tremendous (and well deserved) egos only adds to the fun here. The old saying “There’s two sides to every story and the truth lies in the middle,” would never be more appropriate than here. We saw the seeds of something like this with Piper and Hogan’s promos in WCW when Piper quipped, “Do you think they would have loved you so much if they didn’t hate me so much?” For historic value and the personalities involved, I can’t think of a better pairing.

Jeremy Thomas
HM: Vince McMahon/Ultimate Warrior – Just imagine these two sitting in the chairs with Jim Ross moderating as they discuss their many, varied issues throughout the years. It would be amazing to watch.
HM: Kurt Angle/Jeff Jarrett – Here are two guys who started off with some in-ring work, after which things became very personal. It would make for compelling stuff.
HM: Undertaker/Kane – Just to see them talk out of character would be so surreal, it would be worth it.

5. Triple H/Mick Foley – I tried for two things with this list. First, I didn’t just want to make this a list dominated by one person so I only wanted to include a particular guy once. Second, I wanted to list feuds as ones I specifically would love to see the WWE Greatest Rivalry-style sit-down documentary with. Lots of rumors have popped up about Hunter having heat against Foley for whatever the reason is. I think it’s crap, but there’s no doubt that they’ve probably had some differences, especially with Foley going to TNA and being vocal about his issues with Vince while ‘H moved his way into the executive department. This would be, if nothing else, a great way for them to shoot down the rumors and to tell the truth about how they feel about different aspects of their career, and their on-screen feud more than justifies such a discussion as well.

4. Sting/Ric Flair – There are few rivalries as storied and epic as that between Sting and Flair. Flair is of course a larger-than-life individual and Sting is a great storyteller from what I’ve seen of him. Getting them together to just shoot on their careers, WCW, WWE, TNA and all the rest of it should happen at some point. And just think about how awesome the DVD/Blu-Ray of matches would be. This would be a day one purchase for me.

3. Roddy Piper/Hulk Hogan – When I think of 1980s WWF rivalries, there are two that come to mind first: Hogan vs. Piper and Hogan vs. Savage. Unfortunately we can’t get a Hogan/Savage sit-down (as amazing as it would have been), but a Hogan/Piper one is still possible at some point. Piper has always been a very outspoken individual and Hogan of course is a lightning rod of controversy. Get these two in a room and ask them why the belt never got put on Piper, and just let the questions flow naturally from there. It would be brilliant.

2. Edge/Matt Hardy – Few people mirror the Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart thing closer than these two. Edge and Matt Hardy were two guys who broke into the WWE at more or less the same time and were close friends who were magic in the ring. There was great friendship and respect between them, and then it all turned into a nightmare after Matt found out that Edge was having an affair with Lita and took it public to much drama. They managed to reconcile enough to let the whole thing play out on TV, but obviously there are still issues. I think it would be amazing to watch them discuss their respective careers and then when it all fell apart, and more to the point it would be cathartic for both of them. Maybe it might even give Matt what he needs to turn his life around. Either way, I would love to see it happen.

1. The Rock/Steve Austin – Rock and Austin have one of the greatest rivalries in the history of professional wrestling, with an awesome trilogy (the only trilogy to date) at WrestleMania and years of great matches and moments besides that. Not that there is a huge amount of drama between these two, but just watching them sit down and discuss all of their time as enemies would make for great watching. These are two guys who, having seen them talk about each other and their careers, clearly have a lot of great stories to tell that have not yet been told. I think they deserve to be able to tell them together.

Chad Nevett
(Note: I have two rules for my list. 1) The participants of the rivalry have to be alive to discuss it. 2) Only one rivalry per person.)

5. The Rock and Triple H – A lot of people want to see The Rock/Steve Austin, but I was a bigger fan of the rivalry between Triple H and the Rock. There was a better symmetry there, at least early on, as both men began their rivalry in one gimmick only for it to continue with another as part of factions, and, then, for it to continue after they both went out on their own. They had some great matches (I’d love to get that Iron Man one on DVD) and, if both were open and honest, could no doubt shed a lot of light on that period in the WWE’s history.

4. John Cena and Randy Orton – Like the Triple H/Rock rivalry, this one involves two guys on the rise at the same time and I find that sort of thing interesting. This one is helped by the fact that John Cena has admitted that he hated Randy Orton for a lot of Orton’s early career. Seeing them go from two guys who didn’t like each other to in-ring rivals to the numbers one and two guys in the company would be cool.

3. Edge & Christian, the Hardy Boyz, and the Dudley Boyz – These six guys had a giant three-way rivalry that went beyond just tag wrestling and I’m curious if having the focus surround six guys could work for this sort of project. There are a lot of things to look at between the matches between two of the teams at a time, the matches involving all three, and what happened after two of those teams split up so the four men could pursue singles careers. A bonus is that this would allow for discussion of the Edge/Matt Hardy stuff as well, sneaking that rivalry in.

2. Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan – Both men have a lot of options to pick from. You could easily do a subset of DVDs under “The Ric Flair Rivalry Collection” and “The Hulk Hogan Rivalry Collection” and have many must-see volumes. But, the one that most interests me is the decades- and companies-spanning rivalries these two men shared. They each defined a different wrestling philosophy in the ’80s, almost came head-to-head in the early ’90s at the tail end of people considering this a dream match, finally faced one another later when no one seemed to care, and then have crossed paths again and again since, right up through their recent stint in TNA. There’s so much there that could be discussed that I’m not sure there would be room for the matches.

1. The Undertaker and Kane – It would be kind of weird/surreal to see, but two or so hours of these two guys discussing their careers together is something I would love to see. They’ve fought one another, they’ve teamed together, their careers are linked in such a weird way, and they’re both incredibly respected within the industry. And, they’re both somewhat mysterious within the industry. For every other rivalry I’ve mentioned, you could guess what would be said — for this one, that’s more difficult to claim. This is the rivalry we know the least about beyond what we saw in the ring and, to me, that makes it an easy top pick.

TJ Hawke
HM: HHH vs. Mick Foley – This one may have been a top 5, but I just can’t predict how forthcoming HHH would be in this situation.
HM: CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe – They had a legendary trilogy of matches in 2004 for ROH.
HM: CM Punk vs. Raven – While this is a highly regarded feud, I’m really just intrigued by the idea of these two men talking for hours.

5. Kevin Steen vs. El Generico – With El Generico’s English skills gradually improving, not only would this be an excellent selection of matches from a great many promotions, but it could also be very interesting to see their takes on all of their matches. Kevin Steen is known for his frankness, which would make this even more enjoyable.

4. Daniel Bryan vs. Nigel McGuinness – These two had one of the greatest in-ring rivalries of the 21st century. Their matches cemented each of their legendary in-ring status, and I would love to see them discuss all of their major matches.

3. Mick Foley vs. The Rock – These two are known friends, and they were obviously a part of a very popular tag team (that didn’t have nearly as many memorable matches as one would think), but their incredibly violent feud was absolutely crucial in Rocky’s rise, and I would love to hear these two talk about the feud in retrospect. The 1999 I Quit match would certainly lead to an interesting discussion.

2. Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart – Having missed this feud at the time, I would love to see the feud put together in a single collection. Having two men, who are not afraid to share their feelings on anything, discuss the rivalry would make it even better.

1. The Rock vs. Steve Austin – WWE/WWF/WWWF’s history is often spoken about in terms of the superstars that defined an era. Well, Steve Austin may have been the #1 guy of the “Attitude Era,” but Rock was 1a, and he would have been the #1 guy of any other era. Fittingly, their in-ring rivalry was one of the best (financially and quality) parts of the WWE/WWF/WWWF’s history. While some of the rivalries I listed are more personally important to me, this rivalry DVD needs to happen more than any of the others.

Francisco Ramirez
HM: Ric Flair Vs. Shane Douglas – Just to see these two talk shit to each other.
HM: Hogan Vs. Warrior Vs. Vince – Chaos in DVD form.

5. Tommy Dreamer Vs. Raven – RF Video already has a Faceoff DVD, I know this, and Feinstein, where is my pay for the plug? Possibly the most storied rivalry in ECW. It panned out for a few years and various other wrestlers took part in it. This rivalry warrants the DVD treatment based on matches alone.

4. Hulk Hogan Vs. Randy Savage – One of the things that made the Bret and Shawn DVD interesting was the personal aspect. Hearing about the personal issues between the two made it far more interesting than a career retrospective. Hogan and Savage would be an interesting DVD seeing as how the two were close friends at one point. Their friendship soured and the reasons have never truly been revealed as to why. Sure rumors have been spread on the subject. Add to that their time together as the Mega-Powers, their Wrestle-Mania V match and time in WCW. You have yourself an interesting DVD, that unfortunately will never happen!

3. Dynamite Kid Vs. Tiger Mask – You can’t have one without the other. In my opinion Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid elevated each other to a point where they are considered legends in the Puro world. This rivalry was all matches and who can top the other. As far as I know, no ill will existed between the two, but a look back at these tremendous matches would be a perfect time killer.

2. Triple H Vs. Mick Foley – If you are of the same opinion as me, Foley cemented HHH on the top. HHH was floundering at the top, Foley came in and proved Hunter could hang. We have the Royal Rumble and No Way Out matches, some of their earlier feuds and you could even touch on Wrestlemania 2000. Now, if this is ever released, the selling point will obviously be the personal issues between the two. Foley hasn’t been very vocal, but Hunter seems to be hell-bent on pushing Foley aside. Drama in all its glory!

1. El Santo Vs. Blue Demon – I’m pulling on my own heartstrings and wishing upon a star here. The only feud that jumps to mind that has lasted over 50 years and spanned two generations. El Santo was the superstar, Blue Demon was the wrestler. The two were partners, wrestled each other, made films together, and freaking hated each other! Mil Mascaras himself has stated the interesting thing about making films with these two was watching them fight between filming. Add to that the second generation, el Hijo del Santo and Blue Demon Jr., good partners, and better rivals. Although their rivalry hasn’t been as personal as the originals. 50 plus years of rivalry alone warrant the DVD treatment.

Shawn S. Lealos
I have one stipulation for my choices. There has to be someone alive to take part in the DVD because it is the back and forth interview that made Shawn and Bret’s DVD so great. Therefore, no Randy Savage or anyone else who is no longer with us.

5. Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven – I wanted to have a match up on here that was not part of the original Big feuds and I think the ECW feud between Raven and Tommy Dreamer fits the bill. Raven is a really smart guy and Dreamer has a good nose for the business as well and I would love to listen to them talk about not only what made their feud so legendary but also reminisce about the glory days of ECW.

4. Eric Bischoff vs. Paul Heyman – Man, I can’t even wrap my head around the idea of Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman sitting side by side and talking about the days of WCW stealing all of ECW’s talent, which led to ECW teaming up with the WWE. Start with their early days and move on to the end where Bischoff helped run TNA and Heyman took every opportunity to talk shit about him. This would be a mercurial interview that could be the best ever.

3. Von Erichs vs. Freebirds – Let Michael Hayes and Kevin Von Erich take the lead and have the two men relive arguably the greatest rivalry in professional wrestling history. The Von Erichs were heroes in Texas, and much of the world, and they could do no wrong. The Freebirds were easily the bad guys that fans loved to hate, and in some places (such as Georgia) loved period. This was the ultimate war between two factions that were polar opposites of each other and I would love to hear Kevin and Michael talk about what made it great.

2. Roddy Piper vs. Hulk Hogan – There would have been no Hulkamania without Rowdy Roddy Piper, in my opinion. These two men carried the WWF in the company’s original glory days. Piper was the ultimate heal, the best bad guy in the world, and Hogan was the ultimate face. The two feuded strongly in the WWF and then picked up again in WCW, where Piper finally got his long coming win over Hogan. Plus, with these men’s egos, I’d love to see them talk over each other about who was really responsible for the resurgence of wrestling in the Rock and Wrestling era.

1. Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair – This is a huge one and one that I would like to see go way beyond their one-on-one matches. In the ‘80s, Ric Flair was the face of the NWA while Hulk Hogan was the face of the WWF. Most people had a clear side they took and I would love to hear them talk about the days before Flair jumped to the WWF and they finally had a chance to face off. The WWE could produce the DVD and it could stretch all the way through their WCW days and into the final years in the WWE before leaving for TNA. But, what I want to hear them talk about was their days leading competing promotions, the NWA and WWF.

David McGregor
HM: Ric Flair v Ricky Steamboat – The matches between these two are some of the greatest of all time, and it would be brilliant to watch that collection. But not enough juicy material for the interview.
HM: Mick Foley v Triple H – Both men have been massive parts of each others career, and have been in some brilliant matches together. But they have also been highly critical of one and other, so the interview portion could be quite dramatic.
HM: John Cena v Randy Orton – Give this one 5 years, if reports are to be believed, and we could have one very interesting documentary.

5. Steve Austin v Vince McMahon – This one was either going to be Vince v Austin, Hogan or Bret and pretty much for the same reason. We don’t get to see Vince McMahon the person very often, and we almost never get his person insight into backstage happenings. We do get backstage stories about McMahon but they tend to come from close coworkers or family members, what I want to see is Vince sat down talking about his decisions in pivotal moments in the history of the WWE. And there is no bigger moment than when Austin and Vince went toe-to-toe back at the dawning of the Attitude Era. Could you imagine Vince and Austin discussing the most profitable time the WWE has ever had? This one would just be 7 kinds of awesome.

4. Undertaker v Kane – Surreal would be the best word to describe seeing Undertaker and Kane discuss their feud with each other. What does each of them think about the way the feud was booked? I would be hooked on this, just to see Undertaker talk out of character about something that has taken up so much of his career would be astounding for any fan. Also what do each of them think about the storylines they were given, does Kane regret the idiotic booking of his character at times? Does Kane wish he were booked more dominantly in the earlier matches, seen as he was basically beaten time and time again by Undertaker. There are tones of stuff that would be fantastic to watch.

3. Hulk Hogan v Roddy Piper – The biggest superstar professional wrestling has ever seen and the biggest villain that peaked during Hogan’s run. It would be great to see Piper confront Hogan about his backstage politics, like why didn’t Piper ever get a WWE Championship run? Piper is one of the few men who would openly confront someone like Hogan as that has always been his style, and there is enough there for Piper to ask Hogan about. I think there is a lot of animosity between these two that would definitely show up on screen, probably ending with Hogan walking away and refusing to do the job… I mean DVD.

2. The Rock v Steve Austin – Undoubtedly one of the greatest rivalries of all time. Two of the biggest stars of all time, that met each other in their physical and career peak and at a time when the business was booming bigger than it ever had before. It was as if the stars had aligned just perfectly, and three Wrestlemania main events later and we had witnessed something seriously special. It would be great for these two to sit down and talk through their great rivalry. They may not have any big backstage issues to go through but there is enough there, like the effects of the Attitude Era and Austin’s walk out in 2002, for this to be a must buy for any wrestling fan.

1. Vince McMahon v Eric Bischoff v Paul Heyman – I would love to see the Monday Night Wars be debated in great detail by the three men that know the most about it. We have heard everyone of these guys put some kind of spin on the events so it would be amazing to watch each of them having to defend their actions. To my recollection the only time these three have been in the same ring talking about the decisions of the Monday Night Wars was on a Raw before ECW One Night Stand 2005, and that segment was gold. So imagine if we take away the scripted nature of that and let all three go at it over what happened. This will likely never happen but it is nice to think about how great it could be.

Greg DeMarco
HM: Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James – This was the best sting of both women’s careers. Mickie was the psycho stalker and Trish as the budding legend played out perfectly, including the infamous WrestleMania 22 “V-lick.”
HM: Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe – When you think of Kurt Angle feuds, you don’t immediately think of this one. But you should. It’s some of his best work.
HM: Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat – Dude, it’s Savage-Steamboat! The image of Savage trying to collapse Steamboat’s throat with the ring bell will live on forever.

5. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels – These three men have met in different incarnations over the past few years, and have provided some of the best matches TNA has ever seen. I’d also suggest getting their 2006 ROH triple threat match to throw in, too.

4. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – One of the feuds that too many people forget, these two men put on a virtual feuding clinic in 2008. The great thing about this feud is the ability to include some of their prior battles during earlier runs in the WWE by both men. And since they’re rumored to have had a ton of input into the feud, I would love to hear them discuss it.

3. The Freebirds vs. The Von Erich Family – This is often mentioned on The Greg DeMarco Show whenever the topic of old school feuds comes up. The heat this thing had behind it was insane. They don’t make feuds like this one anymore.

2. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat – This feud in the NWA was nothing short of amazing. From Steamboat making the mystery partner return to his Chi Town Rumble title win (which is my favorite of the series) to the legendary 2 out of 3 falls battle on free TV to the conclusion at Music City Showdown, this feud had it all. It would also be a must own for anyone looking to break in properly.

1. Steve Austin vs. The Rock – This would be THE rivalry DVD to own. There are some great matches in the series, going back to before either man was world champion. Plus, to hear each man’s perspective on the feud would be amazing. Hell, if Austin and Rock are both going to be involved in WrestleMania 29, it would be the perfect time to do it. And then maybe let them go at it one more time.

MICHAEL WEYER
HM: Hogan vs. Flair – Their WWF run was short and WCW may have turned this one-time dream match into something dull but still a showcase of the two biggest stars of their time going at it.
HM: NWO vs. WCW – Sure, they’ve talked the war a lot but still notable to show the gimmick that first boosted WCW to the heights of glory before bringing it down.

5. John Cena vs. Edge – Even Cena critics have to acknowledge that going against Edge brought out Cena’s A-game. From Edge’s first cashing in of MITB to get the belt to their ladder bouts and brawls, these two just go at it great in the ring and this would be a wonderful showcase for it. It was the war with Cena that made Edge a believable main eventer at last and both guys would obviously love talking about the conflict on and off screen. Throw in their best classic bouts and this is a no-brainer for the DVD department that fans would love.

4. The Rock vs. HHH – This would be great to show how both guys broke out at the same time with their feud in 1998, their war for the IC title making them both true stars. They were perfect bouncing off each other in promos and in the ring in 1999 and 2000 and helped become backbones of the Attitude era to boot. Both guys should be great with comments on their feud and good to show how one feud can change so much not just for the workers but their company as well.

3. Rock n Roll Express vs. Midnight Express – For tag team wrestling fans, this was the dream match up. Two teams who gelled so perfectly in the ring, watching them go at it was like watching a perfect machine flowing. The teams traded the NWA tag titles between them several times with Jim Cornette throwing in his trusty tennis racket and Stan Lane’s intro to the Midnights giving the feud more fire. It wouldn’t be just NWA but also their feud in Smokey Mountain that would provide excitement. Plus, throw in a dozen great Cornette promos and you’re in for a wonderful treat.

2. Ric Flair vs. Sting – Flair was one of the first to see the immense star power in Sting and brought that out wonderfully in thier battles. From the first Clash of the Champions to the ’90’s and beyond, their war shaped WCW so much that Flair insisted the final “Nitro” have he and Sting go at it one last time. It’ll be tricky as both guys are with TNA now but still a great feud that deserves a showcase, especially as Sting has gotten short shrift in the past from WWE DVDs and this would be a good way to fix that discrepancy.

1. Von Erichs vs. Freebirds – In the 1980’s, this was THE feud for pro wrestling. The clean-cut Von Erichs representing the pride of Texas against the shady, cheating Freebirds from Georgia, resulting in shows that tore down the house across Texas and made WCCW a powerhouse. A DVD of their best battles would be terrific, showing the power of World Class in its prime from Hayes slamming the cage door on Kerry to the various six-man bouts that had crowds going wild. Throw in commentary with Kevin Von Erich and Hayes and you’ve got a set that’ll show folks how wild a feud can be and why it worked so well.

James Wright
HM: Batista vs. Orton – This would be more of a ‘rivalries that never really happened’ but interesting nevertheless. Several times the WWE hinted at the two really going at it but it never really happened to any satisfying degree. One guy was always injured or on another show and the two former Evolution partners never got to resolve their rocky history. I’d like to hear the two guy’s thoughts on it.
HM: Angle vs. Benoit – This rivalry will never be covered for the obvious reasons but back in the day these were the two guys that got me into wrestling and their matches were awesome.
HM: Lesnar vs. Undertaker – There is likely to be another chapter to add to this rivalry by the end of the year but at this point it has enough brutal matches where Lesnar really proved himself to make it a compelling DVD.

5. Cena vs. Edge – While I will always think Cena is a tool, for instance a few years ago he called he feud with Edge ‘the greatest of all time’, and while I don’t feel like it approaches that lofty title I think that there is enough history between the two to fill a good DVD. First of all we have the making of Edge as a singles competitor, first off with his move from face mid-card and near irrelevant heel status to being dubbed the ‘Ultimate Opportunist’ after he used the first MitB briefcase to take the title away from Cena after his mammoth run since beating JBL at the previous Wrestlemania. Then he became even more awesome when he cost Cena the title at One Night Stand before the two would trade the title back and forth again. These two brought the best out in each other and have probably had one of the most memorable rivalries of the past decade.

4. Punk vs. Jeff Hardy – I’d love to hear Punk’s candid commentary on this one, especially given the two’s real life polarizing lifestyles. This was the last rivalry Hardy had before his second WWE departure and it was Punk himself who sent Hardy packing so you could say it was a personal feud. It would also be interesting to get some insight into Hardy’s mindset at the time, leaving the WWE when his popularity was arguably at it’s height, abandoning all of his younger fans who just seemed to love the ‘Extreme Enigma’.

3. Beer Money vs. MCMG – Arguably the best two teams of the past decade and certainly one of the very best rivalries of recent memory. All you have to look at is their best of five series for the tag team titles to see just how good TNA used to be at putting on tag team wrestling. The teams’ contrasting styles and commitment to putting on the best match possible every time they went out meant that their matches were ‘must-see-TV’ and I think in a few years this will be considered this decade’s Hardys-Dudleys-E&C in terms of classic tag team matches.

2. Austin vs. Rock – You could fill a DVD with the Wrestlemania matches of these two alone. They were the two biggest stars of their era and both got out before things took a turn for the worse. A lot has been said about and by these two before but I’d still like to hear more and that is enough reason to give them the attention they and their matches deserve.

1. Angle vs. Lesnar – For me this was THE rivalry to watch when I was at the peak of my WWE fandom and made Smackdown compulsive viewing. Both men could do great things in the ring and there was enough personal bad blood to keep things interesting. The two traded the WWE title back and forth for the better part of the year and went through alignment changes and a major injury without really skipping a beat. First you had Lesnar helping Angle to win the title, only to reveal that it was all a set up and Lesnar spent several months chasing Angle, winning the Royal Rumble and headlining Wrestlemania in one of the best title matches in the history of the event. Then there was that Smackdown Iron Man match which was a sight to behold and something never before done on televised wrestling, it’s just a shame that the two will probably never get to face off again.