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Legendary Feuds

Posted: Jun 18th 2008 By: mikeiles

Let's face the music: without "sports entertainment," wrestling would just be a couple guys in fancy underwear rolling around hugging each other, and nobody wants to see that. But thanks to the hard work of the men behind the scenes, pro wrestlers get paired up against each other in what we like to call "feuds." Most of those feuds go nowhere, good for nothing but filling a few minutes of TV time, but every once in a while some combination of real-life animosity, incredible talent and good old fashioned brutality will launch a feud into the Hall of Fame. In this feature, we take a look back through grappling history to spotlight eleven of the hottest feuds in history. Whether it be blood, broads or belts these men were fighting over, one thing stayed the same: incredible action. So without further ado, let's get to UGO's Legendary Feuds.

Hogan vs Piper
The legendary Hulk Hogan has had a number of fearsome foes in his time in the squared circle, from Bob Backlund and Andre the Giant to The Rock and Vince McMahon. But the one person who would be long-regarded as his most tenacious rival is "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. The two battled each other in brutal bouts around the horn, including the legendary tag team match at the very first WrestleMania where Hogan teamed with Mr. T to defeat Piper and Paul Orndorff. The feud only intensified after the Rowdy One kicked pop singer Cyndi Lauper in the head, driving the all-american Hogan mad with revenge. Ten years later, Piper and Hogan resumed their feud in WCW, and in 2003 when both men had returned to the WWE, they again faced each other. As long as there is wrestling, there will be these two legends using every dirty trick in the book to finally put the other one away.

Andy Kaufman vs Jerry Lawler
You couldn't pay us enough to ever step into a wrestling ring. Sure, we know it's all fake and kayfabe and all of that, but when outsiders enter the world of wrestling, bad things tend to happen. Take legendary comedian Andy Kaufman. A fan of wrestling growing up, Andy took his off-kilter public persona to Memphis, home of the legendary Jerry Lawler and some of the country's most blood-thirsty fans. Kaufman declared himself "Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion Of The World" and would only battle women, offering $1000 to any who could beat him. Of course, hometown boy Lawler took umbrage to this crazy New Yorker and got him in the ring, piledriving him and breaking his neck. Kaufman's gonzo appearances with Lawler on The David Letterman Show are the stuff of legend, and the interplay between the two was fantastic, with the Mempho faithful screaming for Andy's death every time he stepped through the curtain.

Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes
What better contrast could we ask for: Flair, bedecked in dazzling robes, entering to the soundss of Wagner, winning and dining, dancing and romancing, erudite and polished as a pro wrestler could be. And Dusty, the son of a plumber, the American Dream with his big belly-welly fighting for Joe Average out there. When the two titans clashed, a whole lot of blood ended up spilled. It all started with Flair winning the NWA title from Rhodes in 1981. Rhodes got himself suspended and came back under a hood as the Midnight Rider, wining the title back. The two would go at each other for the next seven years, with Flair stealing Dusty's valet, the luscious Baby Doll, and in one of the most memorable assaults in wrestling history, breaking Dusty's arm in the parking lot outside a NWA show in 1986. Space Mountain and the American Dream: a true clash of the champions.

WCW vs nWo
For decades, World Championship Wrestling was seen as Ted Turner's folly, kept afloat by his deep pockets even as the WWE grew to completely dominate the wrestling landscape. However, proving that even a broken clock is right twice a day, WCW managed to catch lightning in a bottle with the hottest feud of the 1990s. When recent WWE defectors Scott Hall and Kevin Nash showed up on WCW TV talking about a forthcoming invasion, people started to pay attention. When the immortal Hulk Hogan turned his back on the fans and became a bad guy for the first time in his career, people started to talk. And by the time the informal coalition started to call itself the New World Order, more people were watching WCW than ever before. The nWo would feud with WCW proper for half a decade, to diminishing returns, but their first year or so was some unforgettable sports entertainment.

Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid
It may seem hard to believe, but as recently as thirty years ago, most wrestling matches were slow, plodding affairs where neither competitor would leave his feet until the final moments - matches where a simple suplex was the most devastating move you'd see, and God forbid anybody climb to the top rope. It took an Englishman and a Japanese man to show the world that wrestling could be something more. When Tom Billington, aka the Dynamite Kid, and Satoru Sayama, who wrestled under a hood as Tiger Mask, stepped into the ring together, a new style was born. The agile, hard-hitting lightweight fighters put their bodies on the line in a series of matches for New Japan Pro Wrestling, with both men busting out new and dangerous moves like the Space Flying Tiger Drop and the diving headbutt. A generation of future grapplers watched, learned, and pushed the art forward from there.

Raven vs Tommy Dreamer
Paul Heyman had the Midas touch; he could make anybody a star. Take schlubby, suspendered Tommy Dreamer. Resoundingly booed by the ECW fans, Heyman put Dreamer forward as the "heart and soul" of the promotion, subjecting him to a stream of abuse from many of the company's stars. Most notably, his years-long feud with the cultish mastermind Raven, which began in 1995, not only defined Dreamer but the company as a whole. Dreamer and Raven were kayfabe childhood friends, but young Tommy was always winding up second best to the charismatic Raven. Add in the bodacious Beulah McGillicuty to set up a love triangle between the three and you have the makings for a feud that lasted until Raven left for WCW in 1997. One of the most interesting aspects of the feud is that Dreamer never won a match against Raven until their very last one.

The Hardy Boyz vs the Dudley Boyz vs Edge and Christian
Yes, occasionally a feud gets so out of control that more than two men are involved - in this case, six! These three tag teams not only shed blood, sweat and tears in a series of incredible matches, they revolutionized the way things were done in the WWE, popularizing a never-ending series of high impact bumps aided by tables, ladders, and chairs. In 2000, the Hardyz, Dudleyz and E and C began feuding over the WWE Tag Team Titles, with each team bringing something to the table - the Dudleyz with ECW-style power moves, the Hardyz with aerial acrobatics, and Edge and Christian with dastardly double-crosses and hilarious promos. Their landmark Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at WrestleMania 2000 brought the house down, widely regarded as the best match on the show. All three teams feuded until 2002, but the real-world feud between Matt Hardy and Edge over a real-life relationship with Lita emerged in 2005.

Chris Jericho vs Dean Malenko
If all you know of Chris Jericho is his WWE performances, than you don't even have half the story. Before Y2J took McMahon's crew by storm, he was a multi-time Cruiserweight champion in late 90s WCW. Starting out as a bland babyface, upon turning heel he developed into one of the company's most charismatic performers, dazzling audiences both in the ring and on the mic. So who better to feud him with than Dean Malenko, one of the best technical wrestlers in the company? Malenko couldn't talk his way out of a paper bag, so Jericho carried the weight in interview segments, including one of the most legendary moments in WCW history where he produced a list of the "1,004" holds he knew to prove he was a better wrestler. Dean, however, held his own in the ring, and the battles between the two were some of the most electrifying cruiserweight matches in WCW history.

The Undertaker vs Kane
Ah, family - the ties that bind. And gag. And occasionally burn each other alive. The Undertaker and Kane are two of the most dominant big men in the WWE, and their destinies are inextricably intertwined. After Taker had been established as one of the most powerful forces to ever step in a ring, after his match at WrestleMania 13 Paul Bearer threatened to reveal his darkest secret - he had a younger brother, who he thought had perished in a fire. That brother was Kane, and the two behemoths would drag out their blood feud on and off for the next decade. Occasionally, they would set aside their differences and unite against a common enemy, but that uneasy alliance would always end with the Brothers of Destruction at each other's throats once more. With Taker seemingly out of the federation and Kane ECW champ, their rivalry has cooled, but all it takes is a little spark to ignite the blaze of hatred once more.

Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels
It's a rare feud that keeps going outside the ring, but the real-life rivalry between Canada's favorite son and the Heartbreak Kid not only led to locker-room punchouts but also to one of the most famous screwjobs in wrestling history. The two men had enmity both inside and outside the ring, with Michaels's cocky assertions that he would "never lose" to Hart aggravating the Hitman's old-school ethics. HBK's assertions that Bret was cheating on his wife with WWE diva Sunny just added fuel to the fire. It all came to a head at Survivor Series 1997, where the main event match between the two was supposed to go to a DQ. However, in what's now known as the Montreal Screwjob, Vince McMahon stole the belt out from under Hart, who stood shocked in the ring as the show ended ahead of schedule. Bret and Shawn never stood in the same ring again, but even more than ten years later the hatred still burns between them.

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Vince McMahon
Was there ever any doubt? The feud that made the WWE what it is today started in 1997, as the events of the Montreal Screwjob repositioned Vince McMahon from an announcer to the world's worst boss, willing to use his power as the owner of the WWE to screw anybody he didn't like. Who better to stand up to the powertripping Vince than ultimate rebel Stone Cold Steve Austin? Austin has been the thorn in Vince's side for over ten years, always ready to deliver a Stunner to his boss and fight for the right of the common man to drink beer, flip the bird, and curse like a sailor. The two men went at each other for nearly a decade, leaving unforgettable matches and angles in their wake. Their most recent confrontation came at WrestleMania 23, where Austin's role as guest referee would result in Vince getting his head shaved bald.

Tags: Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, WCW, WWE, Jerry Lawler, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, NWA, Baby Doll, ECW, Paul Bearer