The Piledriver Report 5.02.07: Where Have All of the
Posted by Ronny Sarnecky on 05.02.2007
Back in the eighties, there was a wrestling publication called “Wrestling Superstars.” Each issue would contain a “dream match.” Some of the matches included a WWF World Title showdown between Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino. A battle royal featuring stars throughout the wrestling world. Then there were your usual WWF vs. NWA fare, which featured contests, such as Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair, Randy Savage vs. Sting, and Demolition vs. the Road Warriors. This week, TPR takes a look at dream matches, and why they have now become extinct.
"I have a dream!" When I think of what is missing from wrestling today, it's the "dream match." Back in the eighties, there was a wrestling publication called "Wrestling Superstars." Each issue would contain a "dream match." Some of the matches included a WWF World title showdown between Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino. A battle royal featuring stars throughout the wrestling world. Then there were your usual WWF vs. NWA fare, which featured contests, such as Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair, Randy Savage vs. Sting, and Demolition vs. the Road Warriors.
This magazine, along with the rivalry between the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation helped fuel the fans' interest in just who would win matches if the WWF's best was able to take on the best that the NWA had to offer. While the two promotions would never hold a supercard that the fans would only dream about, the promotions did try to bring these "dream matches" to the fans in a slightly different way. They would sign away each others talent.
Thanks to this act, the fans were able to witness numerous "dream matches." In the early days of the WWF's national expansion, it seemed like they constantly signed wrestlers who would provide the fans with dream matches. Many of these matches would be put on display at WrestleMania. These matches helped turn WrestleMania into the mega event that is seen today. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre, Hogan vs. the Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair, Hogan vs. SID, and Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart were all bouts that the fans only thought they would ever witness in their imagination.
The WWF's presentation of "dream matches" didn't start and stop at WrestleMania. Throughout the year, the fans would witness matches featuring Hulk Hogan against Ted DiBiase, Paul Orndorff against Rick Rude, Jake Roberts battling Ricky Steamboat, Curt Henning against Bret Hart, Bret Hart against Lex Luger, the Hart Foundation against the Road Warriors, the Steiner Brothers against the Hart Foundation, the Hart Foundation against Tully Blanchard/Arn Anderson, Tully/Arn against Shawn Michaels/Marty Jannety, and Tully/Arn against Demolition. Plus, they delivered the ultimate dream matches in Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair, and Demolition vs. the Road Warriors.
The NWA/WCW tried to follow the WWF's lead. They also presented dream matches. However, they were nowhere near the level of the dream matches that the WWF was presenting. Ricky Steamboat fought Lex Luger for the US title, as did Stan Hansen against the "Total Package." They also presented Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat, Rude vs. Sting, and Jake Roberts vs. Sting, just to name a few.
However, once the Monday Night Wars were about to kick off, "dream matches" were all of the rage in WCW. In 1994, they signed Hulk Hogan and immediately booked him in a dream match against Ric Flair. While the WWF already had the two wrestlers fight each other, they only battled on house shows. World Championship Wrestling had the two biggest stars of the eighties fight each other in their very first pay per view singles contest. From there, Hogan feuded with Vader in another dream match. As Monday Nitro was born, Lex Luger was brought back to WCW as a surprise. It was only a few short weeks before Luger fought Hogan in a "dream match."
While the WWF dominated the mid-eighties until the early nineties, they presented the most "dream matches." In the mid to late nineties, WCW started to sign up a lot of the WWF's top performers. By doing this, WCW was able to deliver more dream matches then ever before. While most people will tell you that the birth of the New World Order caused World Championship Wrestling to over take the WWF as the #1 wrestling promotion in North America, which was just part of the equation. WCW's ability to provide the fans with "dream matches" have been an over looked part of WCW's success during that era.
During the Monday Night Wars era, World Championship Wrestling gave the fans several "dream" match-ups. Randy Savage fought Sting, Lex Luger, and reignited his feud with Ric Flair, this time on WCW soil. Hogan fought Kevin Nash, The Giant, Bret Hart, Bill Goldberg, and Sting. Bret Hart fought Ric Flair, Randy Savage, Bill Goldberg, Chris Benoit, and Sting. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash also ran through the WCW locker room with a plethora of "dream matches."
The WWF, on the other hand, had very few true "dream matches." Instead biggest dream matches during the early Monday Night War time period were considered internal "dream matches." "Internal dream matches" were matches that the fans were dying to see, not because it pitted WWF stars against mega stars that came over from another organization, but because the company built up their own stars to make people want to see compete against each other. Some of these wars included Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart against Steve Austin, Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels, and perhaps the biggest rivalry in the Monday Night Wars era, Steve Austin against The Rock.
Around 1999, the WWF started to over take WCW in the ratings. The McMahons went back to their old formula of creating stars and signing the best of the best wrestlers of their rivals. The first big name to jump ship after the tide turned was The Giant. Now renamed The Big Show, he feuded with the WWF's top stars like Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Mick Foley, and Mr. McMahon.
The next big name to leave WCW was Chris Jericho. Unlike in WCW, Jericho wasn't being buried in the WWF. On his first night in the company, he had a promo battle against The Rock. While matches between the two would come later, the WWF cemented Jericho as an important acquisition. Each feud that Y2J would have was fresh, new and exciting. He languished in the mid-cards for a bit during his early WWF run. However, even his early mid-card run would feature a "dream-type" match-up against a former Olympic gold medalist named Kurt Angle.
In early 2000, Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero left WCW and joined the WWF. At the time, the four men were languishing in the mid-cards. Upon entering the WWF, their first week in saw a "dream match" between Chris Benoit and WWF World Champion Triple H. The stand outs of the group were Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. Those two men would go on to have "dream matches" with many WWF superstars. Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, and Shawn Michaels were all on Chris Benoit's list. Where Eddie never feuded with Austin (he was scheduled to before Austin left the company) or Shawn, you can add Rob Van Dam and The Rock to his list of "dream matches" while in the WWF.
Once Vince bought WCW, many fans expected a series of "dream matches" that would keep the fans buzzing for at least the next 3 years. After all, you had Ric Flair, Sting, Lex Luger, Scott Steiner, Booker T, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Bill Goldberg, and countless others to feud against Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, the Undertaker, the Big Show, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Kurt Angle. This was pure gold to wrestling fans. They could have any and every dream match they ever imagined, and now there was nothing that would stand in there way. Or was there?
Unfortunately for the fans, Vince only purchased a handful of WCW contracts, mostly mid-card performers. Every few months, the WWE would sign a former WCW personality, which would have the "dream match" feel to it. The WWE signed Hogan, Hall, and Nash as the nWo. Not only did the New World Order quickly lose steam, but the WWE only produced one true "dream match" out of the trio. That match was The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X-8. That was probably the last of the "dream matches" that the WWE has promoted.
Sure, they gave the fans Kevin Nash vs. Triple H, and Scott Steiner vs. Triple H, but those matches failed to live up to the legacy of what the performers (Steiner and Nash) once brought to the table. While Goldberg and The Rock had a "dream match" feel, Goldberg against Triple H did not. It was obvious that Goldberg was not happy in the WWE, and it showed in their matches. Plus, in these above matches, you always knew Triple H would come out on top by the end of the feud.
Goldberg's bout at WrestleMania XX should have been the biggest "dream match since Hogan vs. The Rock. However, the crowd combined with the fact that both men were leaving the company hurt their match. Since then, there haven't been too many dream matches in professional wrestling.
In the WWE, Shawn Michaels fought Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 in a classic WrestleMania match. Even though both men were WWF/E superstars for most of their careers, this had all of the elements of a "dream match." Both men could outwork anybody in the business. Both men were considered mega-superstars. Plus, the match included the most important element in what constitutes a "dream match." There was the real argument of who would win the match. Leading up to that WrestleMania, you wouldn't have been surprise which man had his arm raised in victory after their classic match-up.
Since WrestleMania 21, there have been many classic matches in the WWE, but have there really been any "dream matches?" Even Ring of Honor hasn't presented a true "dream match" for their fans since 2005. That year, Samoa Joe fought Kenta Kobashi in the "Wrestling Observer's" 2005 Match of the Year.
The one company that has been handed "dream matches" on a silver platter lately is TNA. Last September, the WWE released Kurt Angle from his contract. Angle quickly signed with TNA wrestling. Almost immediately, the fans started thinking about the possibilities. Think of all of the "dream matches" that TNA will be able to present with Kurt Angle as the centerpiece. Kurt vs. Samoa Joe. Angle vs. Sting. Kurt against AJ Styles in a match-up against two of the best workers in the business. Angle against Scott Steiner. Angle against Christopher Daniels. The Olympic gold medalist against the man who almost always has TNA gold, Jeff Jarrett. Kurt against former WWE co-worker Christian.
Well, TNA certainly knows how to screw up the fans dreams. Sure, they gave us Angle vs. Joe. The build-up was incredible. However, the match was not as great as we expected. It was way too short to be considered a classic, which is what all "dream matches" are in our heads. Then, instead of pulling back, and not letting the two lock horns for awhile, TNA gives us Angle-Joe II and III at back to back pay per view. That dream suffered a quick death for the fans.
Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles or Sting could have helped carry TNA for a few months. What do the fans get? Do we see a 25 minute Hogan/Warrior type clash that made WrestleMania VI one of the most memorable nights in wrestling history? Of course not. Instead, the fans get Kurt vs. AJ and Kurt vs. Sting in two meaningless TV matches. TNA did give the fans Kurt vs. Scott Steiner on pay per view, but by that point, a Kurt Angle match in TNA was no longer viewed as a "dream match." Kurt Angle matches in TNA are now just upper mid-card matches.
It seems like today, the biggest matches that take place are between guys that haven't fought each other in a long time, or have been kept away from each other as foes. That's why matches like Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena, Undertaker vs. Batista, and Edge vs. Randy Orton have been met with a tremendous amount of anticipation. On Monday Night RAW, Ken Kennedy announced that he will cash in his "Money in the Bank" World title match opportunity at next year's WrestleMania. This is smart for many reasons. First, the ultimate goal for a wrestler is to headline WrestleMania. Kennedy looks brilliant as he found a way to wrestle for a World Championship on the biggest stage in the wrestling industry. This also shows a long term booking plan, something that the WWE hasn't shown a lot of recently. Kennedy is ready to advance to the next level, and now the WWE has the opportunity to build him up to the fans as being worthy of the World title spot at WrestleMania. This long term build will make Kennedy's match have the feel of a big time, but not "dream match."
The era of the dream match appears to be over. There is only one dream match left. That match is Hulk Hogan vs. Steve Austin. The biggest star of the 80s vs. the biggest star of the 90s. It's a match most want to see, except for one man: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. He has said that the match would be horrible, as there is a style clash between the two performers. In our heads, it's the perfect match. Hulkamania vs. the millions of "Stone Cold" worshippers. The leg drop vs. the stunner. "Whachya gonna do?" against "Cause ‘Stone Cold' said so!" I see a thirty minute brawl between both men fighting like the Hogan of 1987 and the Austin of 1998. Who would win? Who would lose? It depends on whose imagination is playing the match at the time. Just the way a "dream match" was supposed to be fought, in your dreams.
