Brooklyn Brawlin’ 03.11.09: Sometimes There’s More to Fight for Than Championships

Greetings once again to all. Well, it is nice to see that after writing my article last week on how amazing the Orton/Triple H has been, the WWE turns them into characters again and fails at recreating the epic Austin/Pillman house invasion. Kudos. One good thing, is that this will inevitably get a No DQ stipulation that will allow them to go completely bonkers at Wrestlemania. I have to admit I did not see Raw last night, but JBL won the IC Title and claims to have a big Mania moment in store for us. Like most, I am thinking… holy hell! Does this mean an IC Title match at Wrestlemania for the first time since 2002!?!? Remember when RVD defeated William Regal in Wrestlemania X-8’s opener? Me neither, but that was the last IC Title defense at the big show.

My idea for this column was to piggyback off a column I did two weeks ago. In that article I listed the best title matches of all time as if to place them in a time capsule for future generations of wrestling fans. I started to think that title matches were getting all the glory. After all, some matches are just as good or better but not about wearing the gold. Some are about revenge, hatred, blood, or the old fashioned idea of just seeing who the better man truly is. And what I love about some of these non-title matches is that without the titles to get in the way, the booking is more open. How many times have you watched a match for a major title and said, “He’s winning because it sets up the next show.” Everyone knew Rock was beating Angle at No Way Out 2001 to set up Austin/Rock II. Everyone figured that there would be shenanigans when Austin and Angle met at Summerslam 01 because of the booking leading in. But there is some leeway when booking a non title match. So this week I will be listing and discussing the very best non-title matches in my wrestling memory.

THE BEST NON-TITLE MATCHES – (In no particular order)
– Before we get started, let us define a non-title match… ANY MATCH THAT IS NOT FOR A TITLE! Seems obvious, but that does include: a) # 1 Contender’s matches, b) big tag matches, c) hardcore or other gimmick matches

– LOTS AND LOTS OF WRESTLERS –

o Royal Rumble 2004 & MITB 1 (Wrestlemania XXI)

I figured I would start here seeing as a criticism of my title match list was leaving out Benoit. Well this was arguably the best Rumble ever (only argument is 1992 and it’s a matter of taste). Benoit started here as # 1 with Randy Orton as # 2. They were the only ones left when Kurt Angle came out midway through, and from there it only got better. Unlike most Rumble matches, there were many possible winners with Benoit, Angle, Orton, Cena, Show, RVD, Jericho, and Goldberg in there. The true storyline became clear when Kurt tried leading an army of wrestlers to eliminate the Big Show to no avail. Big Show responded by tossing Cena, RVD, and others while Brock Lesnar interference led to Goldberg’s elimination. Finally it came down to Benoit, Angle and Show and when Angle put the Ankle Lock on Show he pulled a rolling counter that sent Angle out. That left Benoit in there with the man the 5 men could not eliminated, but a standing choke to counter the chokeslam led to him pulling the 500 pounder over and out and sent career mid carder Chris Benoit to the main event of Wrestlemania XX.

In the inaugural MITB ladder match at Wrestlemania XXI, 6 men (Benoit, Jericho, Edge, Kane, Christian, and Shelton Benjamin) pulled off an epic spotfest. The best part of the match from a storyline perspective was that all these men were legitimate threats to the main event at the time and anyone could’ve won. In the match itself, Shelton starred as the craziest hitting a jaw dropping run-up-the-ladder clothesline to Jericho as well as other spots. In the end we saw the rise of Edge to main event status as he won and would become Mr. Money in the Bank.

– HELLS in CELLS –
o Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker & Undertaker vs. Mankind –

I am grouping these together because they were so different and so similar and as the first two HIAC matches they share a spot. The Taker/Shawn match was a vicious and brutal beating as Taker took what Shawn had and then destroyed Michaels, whose antics had not only cost Taker the title that summer, but had driven him crazy for months. Watching Shawn pinball around for Taker was breathtaking including a classic and gory blade job. And then Kane gave the match an aura all itself with his fiery debut, and Tombstone ending to Taker.

The Mankind match is a classic for its 2 signature spots and the history they made. Jim Ross made the match with some of his overzealous calls which for once made total and honest sense. Perhaps the most legendary thing about this match was that however wounded Foley was, he came away one of the biggest stars in the industry, a forever iconic figure, and the true hardcore legend. 6 months later, he was WWF Champion.

– THE OPENERS
o Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (Wrestlemania X) and Rey Mysterio vs. Psicosis (Bash at the Beach 96)

The Hart brothers had probably wrestled this match in their basement a million times, but it was a first for most of us and it was maybe the best pure technical wrestling match in history. For nearly 20 minutes they opened WM X at Madison Square Garden with an unbelievable classic trading submissions, top rope moves, and suplexes galore. Owen cemented his status as “not just Bret’s brother” by pulling the huge upset totally clean over Bret setting him up as # 1 Contender once Bret won the title later that night.

Rey and Psicosis were not brothers, but between Mexico and ECW, this was another match done to death by the time they got to the Bash. The event that ended with the most shocking heel turn ever, started with one of the best high flying displays ever as Rey and Psicosis flew around the ring trying to one up each other. Rey was able to bust out some of the most spectacular hurricanranas including from the apron to the floor and of course the Splash Mountain counter he used to win.

– TEAMS OF 5 STRIVE TO SURVIVE –
o War-Games (Great American Bash 1987) & War-Games 1992

The first and best War Games occurred in the summer of 1987 is by far the best conceived gimmick match ever. You take two feuding factions whose hatred is built on months of feuding and throw them into a double ringed monster cage match to fight until someone quits. The inaugural brawl was the 4 Horsemen (Flair, Arn, Tully, Luger) and their manager JJ Dillon against the Super Powers (Dusty, Nikita, the Road Warriors and their manager Paul Ellering). The violence was extreme and there was blood flowing and in the end JJ was screaming to stop after being destroyed by the Warriors and the good guys won.

The other great War Games featured Sting’s Squadron against the Dangerous Alliance. Another classic was upped in ratings by the inclusion of ring veterans Ricky Steamboat, Larry Zybyzsko (sp?), and Rick Rude. It again ended with the good guys winning when Larry Z hit Bobby Eaton in the shoulder by accident leading to Sting forcing the submission.

– LEAVE EM’ CRYING –
o Macho Man vs. Ultimate Warrior (WM VII) & Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair (WM XXIV)

Was there a more emotional moment in wrestling history than watching the reunion of Macho Man and Elizabeth after Randy lost his “Career Match” to the Warrior. Despite the logistics of it being after the match, that moment elevated an already near-perfect match to the stratosphere of great matches. Warrior and Macho beat the living daylights out of each other, kicked out each other’s finishers and nearly gave up trying to find ways to win. But Warrior was able to knock Macho silly and pin him to “end his career.” After a brutal classic, the after match reunion had even the most manly fans shedding a tear.

Shawn Michaels immortalized last year’s classic contest with 5 little words: “I’m sorry, I love you.” The final moments of Ric Flair’s final match were just the icing on the cake. Flair and Shawn put on a clinic considering that one man was in his mid 50’s. Shawn made this match however, first with his cringe-inducing moonsault to the announce table, and then with his selling of the leg, counters, and ability to pull the superkick out of nowhere. After 3 superkicks, and 5 little words, Flair’s career ended with a flourish.

– SECOND VERSE BETTER THAN THE FIRST –
o Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (KOTR 93) & Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena (Raw, 4/07)

Bret Hart and Curt Hennig had a 4 star encounter for the IC Title at Summerslam 1991. But they had a 4 + star encounter in the semi-finals of 1993’s King of the Ring tournament. In their 91 match, Hennig’s back was a wreck and it slowed the match. In 93, a healed Perfect was… perfect. Both wrestling as faces, they bounced around the typical face/heel dynamic and delivered a technical tour-de-force. It only made sense to end the match in with counter wrestling as Bret countered a Perfect small package to his own to score the winning pin.

Shawn Michaels fell in his quest to become WWE Champion at Wrestlemania XXIII, tapping out to the STFU. In a non-title rematch on Raw, I, like many assumed there would be some type of shenanigans as the much hyped match, was starting at 10:05 EST. I remember thinking there’s no way this is the main event, maybe a no contest that leads to a tag match or something. But 55 minutes later I, like many were left awed as Shawn countered the FU by landing on his feet and delivered one last Sweet Chin Music and fell on top of Cena to score the pin. This totally blew away their Wrestlemania match which was very good, but this quickly entered the pantheon of great free TV matches ever.

– THE NAME ON THE MARQUIS SAYS WRESTLING –
o Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (WM XXI) & Macho Man vs. Bret Hart (SNME, 87)

It took 11 years for two wrestlers to match Bret/Owen for technical greatness at Wrestlemania, but in spring of 2005, Shawn and Kurt did it, maybe even one upping them. The “Dream Match” lived up the hype and the hatred which was fueled from the Royal Rumble that year made the already technical classic, that much better. The memory of this match for me was Kurt dragging a lifeless Shawn up and laying the bad mouth before Shawn just paused and hit Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere. In the end, Kurt tapped Shawn to the ankle lock, but this right up there with all time Wrestlemania greats, and maybe the all time non-Mania greats.

Thanks to the new Saturday Night’s Main Event 3 disc set, I got to relive some of my favorite childhood moments. One of which was this match which stemmed from Bret diving in to break up Macho’s pin on IC Champ Honky Tonk Man. What made this match so great was Macho’s impeccable sell job on his ankle, even removing his boot and wrestling half the match on one leg. This was almost Bret’s attempt to show Vince he could work the leg and be a top singles draw. Everything put together it was a phenomenal match.

– OVER THE EDGE –
o Edge vs. Mick Foley (WM XXII) & Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (SD, 9/22)

On WWE 24/7, Mick Foley acknowledged that he had never had his true Wrestlemania moment until he was SPEARED THROUGH A FLAMING TABLE! Edge cemented his modern day superstar status with the win; Foley, his hardcore legend moniker and he finally had his real Wrestlemania moment. In another forgotten gory moment, Foley and the barb wire ripping at his face.

After a good Summerslam match and a better Unforgiven one, Edge and Eddie were set to complete their trilogy on FREE TV(!) in a No DQ match. Eddie and Edge mangled each other with various weapons including the Edge specialty, the ladder. Eddie hit some incredible spots including his hilo onto the ladder as well as a sunset bomb over the ladder. Edge; though hit the biggets and best spot, his Edgecution DDT from the ladder to seal the win and the feud.

– BRING THE VIOLENCE… IT’S SIGNIFICANT –
o Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H (No Way Out 01) & Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart (WM XIII)

My choices for the top 2 non-title match ever feature Stone Cold Steve Austin. First, his epic 2/3 fall Three Stages of Hell match with Triple from No Way Out 01. This was over a year in the making as we learned Triple H was behind Austin’s “hit and run” incident in November of 1999. A year later, Austin dropped Triple H 20+ feet in a car. From there they each screwed each other out of the World Title leading to this match. First fall was straight wrestling. After 12 minutes, Austin nailed the Stunner and took the 1 – 0 lead. The second fall was a streetfight and the blood started flowing. Weapons and counters, barb wire and sledgehammers, and after a sledge shot and Pedigree we were set for a caged final fall. Both men, bloody and beaten kicked out of each other’s finishers and it was each man grabbing a choice weapon and swinging away that led to the finisher. As they connected with the sledgehammer and barb wire 2X4 respectively, both warriors collapsed in a heap. Triple H however, fell on top and thus scored the final fall. This was 42 minutes of bloody, violent, hate-filled wrestling and was an instant classic.

Gordon Solie’s immortal saying: “5 letters, 2 words, I QUIT!” Bret Hart and Stone Cold had what I consider the most important rivalry in modern wrestling history as it coincided with Austin’s ascendancy to the top, bringing the WWE with him. Austin had spent months calling out Bret before Bret returned and defeated Austin in a phenomenal match at Survivor Series. Austin remained a thorn in Bret’s side, first screwing him out of the Rumble, and then ending his 4th title reign after one night as he chaired Bret during his match with Sid on Raw. That set up this I Quit showdown with UFC’s Ken Shamrock as the special ref. This is THE match that brought me back to pro wrestling and my personal favorite match ever. The heel/face dynamic was off the hook; Bret trying to Pillmanize Austin’s ankle made him a monster heel, while Austin’s vicious chairshots to babyface Bret made him the most over man in Chicago. Austin’s infamous bladejob, refusal to tap, and passing out in a pool of his own blood helped make this, the iconic match of that year, and maybe WWE history. Few matches in wrestling history can claim to have the historical significance and watchability as this classic.

Let me have it readers. All the matches I missed and forgot; comment, email, and just contribute them. Hope you enjoyed this list and next week we’ll return to the Road to Wrestlemania. Till then, have fun storming the castle!