Top 10 Wrestling Rivalries

Top 10 Wrestling Rivalries

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The WWE has seen its fair share of bitter disputes, epic matches, and legendary blood feuds. But sometimes, two wrestlers just keep butting heads, usually over a championship belt, and a true rivalry forms. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 WWE rivalries. For this list, we’ve included the most intense on-screen and off-screen rivalries in the history of the WWE. In some cases, these rivalries spilled into other wrestling promotions as well, but they need to have occurred on WWE programming at some point. Do you smell what WatchMojo is cooking?

“Devon, get the tables!” The Hardyz, Dudleyz and Edge & Christian were at the top of the tag team division for years, competing in perhaps the most exhilarating sequence of battles ever: their legendary TLC – or tables, ladders & chairs – matches. With all three teams known for their abrasive, action-packed styles, viewers were treated to hardcore masterpieces at SummerSlam 2000 and WrestleMania 2000 – matches that changed the expectations for tag teams in the WWE forever. The federation even holds a yearly pay-per-view CALLED TLC because these guys helped make the format so popular!

#9: John Cena vs. Randy Orton

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With top stars like Steve Austin and The Rock retiring or moving onto Hollywood, the WWE fast-tracked two young men to become the next big superstars: John Cena and Randy Orton. Since the two men experienced a parallel rise to stardom, their paths were bound to cross, and by mid-2007 Orton had been dubbed a candidate for the top title. Though the feud was already in full swing, things got personal when Randy Orton used his devastating “Punt” kick on John Cena’s dad! With countless matches contested between these two superstars, it’s easy to see why their rivalry is so heated.

Sometimes best friends and sometimes bitter enemies, Hulk Hogan versus Randy Savage was a conflict that spanned decades and wrestling promotions. Like many storied wrestling rivalries, this blood feud was fuelled by jealousy over a woman – Savage’s wife Miss Elizabeth. Things culminated with one of the greatest WrestleMania main events of all time as Hulk Hogan kicked out of Savage’s top-rope elbow drop and hit his signature leg drop to capture his second WWE championship. Over the span of this entire feud, it’s hard to even remember a time when Savage cleanly pinned Hogan. That’s the Hulkster for ya.

#7: The Undertaker vs. Kane

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The first ever Hell in a Cell match – fought between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels – was interrupted by a mysterious masked man, who revealed him as Kane. Storyline brothers, Kane and the Undertaker’s feud initially centered around the death of the their parents, with Kane claiming that Undertaker had burnt them alive and scarred Kane for life. This sibling rivalry continued for years, and while sometimes the brothers would team up out of necessity as The Brothers of Destruction, they were still engaging in bitter battles well into the 2000s.

#6: The Rock vs. Triple H

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As the leaders of “The Nation of Domination,” and “D-Generation X” respectively, The Rock and HHH were the charismatic heads of powerful factions in the WWE. It wasn’t until a double-turn, when HHH turned his back on DX and joined Vince McMahon’s Corporation and The Rock became “The Great One,” that sparks really started to fly. This feud culminated at WrestleMania 2000 as, during the four-way match for theWWE Title, Vince McMahon turned his back on The Rock to help HHH and his wife, Stephanie McMahon, claim the championship.

The feud that gave birth to one of wrestling’s most recognizable moments – with Mankind falling off the top of the Hell in a Cell cage – the rivalry between Mankind and the Undertaker was one of the most brutal in the history of the WWE. Early in The Undertaker’s illustrious career, he was accompanied by the mysterious manager Paul Bearer; keeper of an urn that contained the secret to the Undertaker’s power. But Paul Bearer used that very urn to turn on the Undertaker in support of the deranged masked man who had been living in boiler rooms and attacking ‘Taker for months.

“The Slam Heard ‘Round The World” – perhaps the most iconic image in wrestling history, witnessed by an apparently record-breaking 90,000 rabid wrestling fans at the height of Hulk Hogan’s fame in the late-‘80s. At that point, André the Giant’s health was questionable at best – he could hardly move around the ring, but it didn’t matter: the pageantry and drama of that particular moment is the definition of sports entertainment. The rivalry began Hulk Hogan’s 4-year reign of dominance as WWE champion, and kick-started a new era for the WWE.

#3: ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin vs. The Rock

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Steve Austin and The Rock are two of the biggest wrestling stars ever – some would even say they’re the biggest. But egos that big are bound to clash, and their rivalry began when Vince McMahon backed The Rock as the face of the WWE at the height of the Attitude Era. The Rock’s new allegiance quickly transformed him into the most hated wrestler in the whole company. Both men had their turns as the WWEchampion, but everything culminated at their third WrestleMania meet up at XIX – the tiebreaker where The Rock came out on top. Stone Cold retired within days – it wasn’t just the end of a war, it was the end of the greatest era in wrestling history.

A man as flashy and outspoken as Shawn Michaels is bound to have several epic rivalries throughout his illustrious career – and he did, including feuds with his best friend Triple H and the dominant Undertaker. But none was more personal than his on- and off-screen antagonism with Bret Hart. Hart refused to drop the championship to a man he truly hated in his home country of Canada – especially in his last WWE match before leaving for the rival WCW. What followed became known as “The Montreal Screwjob,” as Vince and Shawn blindsided Bret and stripped him of the title, allegedly changing the planned finish on the fly. It took years for Bret and Shawn to come to peace. Before we reveal our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions: - CM Punk vs. John Cena - Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero - Lita vs. Trish Stratus

#1: ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon

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It’s the conflict that defined the greatest boom period in the history of wrestling: the arrogant businessman versus the beer-swigging anti-hero. How many times has Austin ‘stunnered’ Vince? How about the time Austin drove the beer truck down to the ring and doused McMahon with a beer hose? McMahon shockingly winning the Royal Rumble? Nobody expected Vince vs. Austin to balloon into the most memorable on-screen war of all time – but it’s the most important, and that’s the bottom line, because ‘Stone Cold’ said so. Do you agree with our list? Did we forget any memorable wrestling conflicts? For more bone-crunching top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.