Greatest Wrestling Rivalries Ever

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we give our picks for greatest wrestling rivalries.

David Gibb

Midnight Express vs. Rock n’ Roll Express
Good tag team action showcases the core psychology of wrestling more clearly than any other kind of match. With that in mind, the Midnight vs. Rock n’ Roll rivalry may have produced more classic matches on television and in arenas than nearly any other longstanding pro wrestling feud. Each team represented a sort of zenith of what had been cultivated in the territory era. For the Midnight, it was the emphasis on gaming the rules and pulling the ball away every night in a way that kept people coming back for more. For the Rock n’ Roll, it was the perceived super-intimate connection between fans and their heroes that allowed energy and passion to be freely transferred back and forth. Just the best.

Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage
If not for the Macho Man, Hulkamania might have petered out after WrestleMania IV. If not for Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage might have only been a great worker who historians and nerds remembered fondly. The Mega Powers’ breakup and feud leading into WrestleMania V galvanized both characters and ensured both Hogan and Savage would maintain relevancy as wrestling catapulted toward the ’90s. There is no greater visual of the WWF than Hogan standing across from Savage.

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart
Bret Hart was a classic wrestler and classic champion, but much of his time on top was spent wrestling a rotating cast of talented people who were never going to be classic Bret Hart opponents. Late in his WWF run, though, Bret met Steve and finally had the intense, violent, personal-feeling matches he’d always been capable of. Hart also did what Hulk Hogan (and to a lesser extent Ric Flair) hadn’t done for him, ensuring Steve Austin looked strong enough against him to carry the mantle in a way fans would accept with no problem once Hart was gone.

Steve Austin vs. The Corporation
I didn’t take putting Steve Austin on this list twice lightly, and I also didn’t take weaseling out of picking between Rock and McMahon lightly – but I did both of those things. Austin was undoubtedly at his best in terms of Shakespeare when he was facing off with McMahon, but the best version of their rivalry was the one where Austin could wrestle Rock as a corporate proxy for McMahon. Austin’s ongoing issues with McMahon and Rock saved the WWF from the brink of defeat and also ensured the next main event star was ready when Stone Cold had to step away to get his neck fixed.

Ric Flair vs. WCW
Okay, “Greatest Wrestler of All Time vs. the Company Who Primarily Employed Him” is a hard sell, but hear me out on this: After the Turner buyout of Crockett in 1988, World Championship Wrestling did Ric Flair nothing but dirty. They cut his hair, did everything they could to injure his confidence, tried to drive him crazy by making him the booker when he really had no interest in it, encouraged other wrestlers to joke about his age and physical appearance on TV, stooged up locker room conflicts between Flair’s inner circle and younger wrestlers, tricked him into doing a propaganda tour for North Korea, and took him to court for going to see his son wrestle rather than attending a B-show television taping. That’s not even a vaguely exhaustive list. That Flair and his incredibly close relationship with the fans survived that bad-faith onslaught is nothing more than testament to the transcendent greatness of the Nature Boy and the ability of wrestling fans to see through more BS than a lot of people give them credit for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO1WVPxaCYI&t=155s

Steven Jackson

Rey Mysterio vs. Psicosis vs. Juventud Guerrera
Where it all began for me as a pro wrestling fan – the feud which made me fall in love with this great sport. Lucha Libre and cruiserweight pioneers, I could watch these three wrestle one another until the end of time. A feud build on pride, heritage, but most of all, innovation, these three made cruiserweight wrestling what it is today.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Bret “Hitman” Hart
Seeing a cultural movement begin before your eyes is an amazing thing to witness. You become part of a group of people who say “Where were you when…” The start of the Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart feud was one of those instances, and in the months that followed Survivor Series 1996, we were treated to the most heated and personal feud in WWE history.

AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe
Three men who defined a promotion. The feud AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe shared comprised of many layers, twists, turns and memorable matches that helped make TNA the most exciting company on the planet.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson
Being dubbed the ROH expert, it is a given that I will have a Ring of Honor feud on this list. Those who read my first article for The Wrestling Estate will know my love for Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness, along with their subsequent rivalry. Witnessing this rivalry first hand was sensational and each of the ten matches these men had against each other were fantastic. It’s truly the feud that defined ROH.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
Up until 2012, NJPW was an overlooked promotion with its best days very much behind it. Then Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada came along, and in the process, created arguably the most influential and greatest rivalry of the 21st century. The two men slowly but surely brought buzz back to NJPW, and have to be credited with putting New Japan where it is today. A rivalry which defined not only a company, but a generation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIv0pS63WWY

Chad Gelfand

Steve Austin vs. The Rock
The defining feud of the Attitude Era and one of the most profitable feuds of all time, headlining three WrestleManias.

Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan
If Austin/Rock is the defining feud of the Attitude Era, this is the defining feud of the early ‘90s. From the Mega Powers to Hogan having lust for Elizabeth, this is one of the most memorable feuds ever.

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart
You can sense there’s a theme with some of my selections. These two held the fort down at WWE during one it’s most tumultuous times and was one those feuds where what was happening backstage was just as compelling as what was playing out on TV.

Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat
This has been a very WWE-centric list, but I would be remiss to not include Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat. Those two went to war over the NWA World Championship and racked up some of the greatest matches of all time.

The Hardy Boyz/Dudley Boyz/Edge & Christian
This is a favorite rivalry of mine. This feud stretched over several years and put all three teams on the map, evolving tag team wrestling to a point where it had never been before.

John Corrigan

Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer
Steven mentioned several feuds that defined companies, so here’s what defined ECW. A couple of friends from summer camp grew into mortal enemies. Dreamer was popular and got all the girls – Raven was a loner. When they both ended up in ECW, Raven pledged to make Dreamer’s life a living hell. He was successful for two years, bringing in henchmen, a mentor and an old love interest into the fray. Finally, Dreamer pinned Raven on the latter’s last night in the company, a fitting end to a hellacious story.

Von Erichs vs. Freebirds
I’m surprised Gladen didn’t mention this one. Another feud that defined a company, somehow even Texas wasn’t big enough for these trios. While the Von Erichs were clean cut, All-American heroes, the notorious trio from Badstreet USA preferred whiskey over milk. Their battles waged on for the better part of two years, propelling World Class Championship Wrestling to one of, if not the hottest territories in the country.

Hulk Hogan vs. Bobby Heenan
Some people claim Bobby Heenan spoiled Hulk Hogan joining the New World Order by asking “Whose side is he on?” Well, it’s only natural that “The Brain” would question Hogan’s character. After all, they had been enemies for 30 years! In the AWA, Heenan and Nick Bockwinkel kept the world title away from Hogan. In WWE, the roles were reversed as Heenan sent several monsters after the Hulkster, unsuccessfully wrestling the championship away. Even in the short-lived XWF, Heenan accompanied Mr. Perfect in his battle against the Immortal One.

Stone Cold vs. Mr. McMahon
The war inside the Monday Night War: Pro wrestling reached its peak when millions of people tuned into Raw each week to see what crazy shit the Texas Rattlesnake would do to his boss. As Bruce Prichard recently described on Something To Wrestle With, it didn’t matter much as to who Austin faced in the ring throughout 1998 and 1999 as long as whoever it was, was endorsed by Mr. McMahon.

Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes
While Hulkamania ran wild up north, the Four Horsemen’s rivalry with the American Dream lit up the south. Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes clashed time and time again over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, talking thousands upon thousands of fans into arenas all over the country. Perhaps the two biggest egos in the history of the industry, their never-ending battle proved huge box office and captivated a generation to the point that their battles are still talked about today.

Juan Bautista

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
It was the rivalry that cemented Okada as the new ace of New Japan. They did battle on the biggest stage at Wrestle Kingdom – from Okada crying himself out of the Tokyo Dome to finally conquering Tanahashi. It’s arguably New Japan’s finest work.

Batista vs. Undertaker
Throughout the spring of 2007, these two went to war for the world title. From WrestleMania to a steel cage on Friday Night SmackDown, their epic series was probably SmackDown’s feud of the year. It’s also Undertaker’s last great run as a full-time competitor and the last great war over the Big Gold Belt before the collapse of the first brand split led to the deterioration of the title.

Indie Wrestling vs. WWE
Not exactly what comes to mind when you think of rivalries, but hear me out. Since the departure of ECW, the void of pure independents has slowly but surely been filled. In recent years, WWE has tried blocking events from happening in the region of WrestleMania, which has only added fuel to the fire.

Sam Gladen

Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes
The faces that ran the place. Rhodes and Flair not only battled over who was the best wrestler in the locker room, but who got to call the shots backstage. With some of the best promo work ever seen between the two of them, the feud came to a head at what may be the best professional wrestling show ever produced: Starrcade ’85.

The Rock vs. Steve Austin
Though short lived compared to the others on this list, Rock and Austin’s frenetic energy not only jump started the Attitude Era, but gave us some of the greatest matches of the ‘90s.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
From WCW to WWE, these two legendary luchadors put together some of the best programs I have ever seen. I highly recommend WCW Halloween Havoc 1997 for my favorite entry in their storied rivalry.

Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage
The penultimate example of long-term story telling in wrestling: the faces of 1980s WWE seemed to be an unbeatable force until Randy’s own paranoia and lust for power and fame put them at odds with one another. Ending with arguably the best WrestleMania main event ever at WrestleMania V.

Shawn Michaels vs. Brett Hart
Art imitating life. Hart had legitimate issues with Michaels’ character and attitude both in the ring and behind the curtain. The former face of the company didn’t want to feel brushed aside by the new guard, and also felt that HBK hadn’t earned it yet. Their rivalry came to a head in one of my favorite matches of all time at SummerSlam ’97.

Neal Wagner

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
Classic rivalry in and out of the ring and looking back on the promos and matches from 20 years ago, knowing what us fans know now, make things so much more personal and gets everyone even more invested in it.

The Rock vs. Steve Austin
Three WrestleMania main events and other main event pay-per-view matches. These two had a massive amount of respect for each other, but you always knew that there was that “I want to be better than you” attitude between them.

Jay Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal
Two straight years main eventing Best In The World and the builds to the initial match and the rematch were amazing. The matches didn’t disappoint and they created a new world champion in Lethal and cemented a single’s legacy for Briscoe.

Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H
Two best friends turned rivals who wrestled in every match conceivable: cages, ladders, tables, world titles and everything in between. They always tried to one-up each other with each passing match.

Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada
Just the best overall wrestling matches that you’ll ever see. There didn’t have to be long promos or much hype for these matches. After their first bout, all you had to do was announce Omega and Okada and you knew that it was going to be something special.

Jack Goodwillie

The Rock vs. Steve Austin
I could be wrong about this, but I believe The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin were the only pair of rivals to have a whole damn trilogy play out over three different WrestleManias, not to mention each match offered a little something different than the next with raised stakes and what not. The story goes that while The Rock was handpicked to be the Corporate Champion and the mechanism for the McMahons to fight Steve Austin with, it turned out that he had megastar qualities of his own, and the dueling popularity between the two boiled over at WrestleMania X-7 with Austin being the one to turn heel in the end. This was a great rivalry, and perhaps one of the best, but it might be the only one on this list where dueling popularity became the theme.

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant
A best rivalries list simply cannot be complete without Hogan and Andre. And true, all of my given rivalries take place in WWE, but remember, this is a company that for decades told wrestling stories better than anyone else. Take Hogan and Andre, for example. Andre the Giant was the McMahons’ cash cow for as long as many could remember by the time these two linked up at WrestleMania III. Rather than be put out to pasture, Andre joined the Heenan Family in order to cling to the spotlight he was so desperate to keep (even if this was in no way in line with his real-life self). Of course, Hulk Hogan finally beat his friend on the grandest stage of them all in a true passing of the torch, but lest we forget this was not the only time these two mammoth superstars linked up (see Showdown at Shea, 1980).

John Cena vs. CM Punk
Speaking of Hulk Hogan, while WWE tries to sway the narrative that John Cena is the “Babe Ruth of Sports Entertainment,” he was really a throwback to the days of Hogan being on top when he got his run in the limelight throughout the post-Ruthless Aggression and PG Eras. Cena, for as good as he looks and as charming as he was (and is) is NOT a good athlete; and he’ll tell you himself that he’s always had two left feet in the ring. If you REALLY wanted to get the most out of John Cena, though, he needed the perfect opponent. Kurt Angle showed flashes of that, as did guys like Chris Jericho and most certainly Edge. However, CM Punk was the perfect foil for Cena in every way. These two brought out the best in each other on the mic and definitely in the ring. While Punk was out to prove he was the best in the world by giving Cena his best match, Cena was out to prove he exceeded the label of “non-wrestler” that many smart marks had saddled him with in the past. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer gave their match at Money in the Bank 2011 five stars, and for as much hype as that match had, it delivered on every level.

Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar
You can read more about why Brock Lesnar is Kurt Angle’s greatest rival in a piece I did a couple weeks ago detailing Angle’s 20 greatest rivals in wrestling. The Ruthless Aggression Era was about three things: youth, athleticism and long-term storytelling. Angle vs. Lesnar always checked off all three boxes. Wrestling had evolved to the point to where the top guys in the company almost needed to have the legitimate athletic credentials both of these guys had. In many ways, they both were trailblazers, but here’s a hypothetical for all of you reading this on your respective devices. When you think of amateur wrestlers in WWE, who do you think of? Angle (the Olympic gold medalist, extremely decorated pro wrestler and someone with an argument to be known as the greatest to ever do it) or Lesnar (a top-3 box office in draw in both pro wrestling and MMA and an individual who looks like he was created in a lab)? The answer may not be that easy, and it sort of personifies the types of matches they’d put on: Physical. Unrelenting. Limitless.

Batista vs. Triple H
I mentioned previously that one of the big components of the Ruthless Aggression Era was long-term storytelling. Look no further than Batista vs. Triple H. Many of you are probably wondering why I didn’t include Bret Hart vs. HBK in here. Well, the answer is two-fold. 1.) I have an article coming out on Batista detailing his 20 greatest rivalries, and 2.) I just really, really liked the work these guys did together. There was always a great attention to detail with Batista’s storyline work, and a lot of that comes from the time he spent around Triple H and Ric Flair.

It’s key to remember that Batista was not “hand-picked” to be a top guy quite the same way Randy Orton was. He was the “long-term project” and while his upside was always evident, for a while it was anybody’s guess as to whether or not he would reach his high ceiling as a performer. Well, in late 2004, things began to click for Batista. With Randy Orton out of the picture in Evolution, Batista began to take center stage and the fans began to see him as more than just a hulking henchman. With every opponent he decimated, it made you think as a fan, “now what if there came a day where he would inflict that kind of punishment on that g’damn Triple H?” Well, that day came following a breakthrough performance at New Year’s Revolution inside the Elimination Chamber, and Batista was soon fast-tracked to WrestleMania, winning the Rumble, and finally turning on Triple H in one of the best examples of WWE storytelling that you will EVER find.