The most emotional Pro. Wrestling matches...

[Guest Downhome]

With the current state of Pro. Wrestling, one has to sit back and wonder just how did it get to the point that we are actually at. Where is the quality, the intrigue, the superstars, and more importantly, the emotion? Sure, we have some great going ons over on Smackdown, and every so offten something on RAW will come off as passable, like Jericho, Christian, RVD, HBK, and other few raritys.

 

Still though, the emotion just is not there right now, and in the past year only select few moments have broght forth any emotion worth feeling. The exceptions are the matches like Hogan/Rocky (if you didn't feel the emotion in that, then you have no soul), HBK/HHH, and other such moments like that. For the most part though, THAT is what Pro. Wrestling is lacking if you ask me. I see no superstars determined to reach for the top, and take the top prize. No one seems to have any true desire for the World Championships, but instead they are just angry because they are being made fun of, or other such emotionless angles. Anyhow...

 

...let's list the most emotional Pro. Wrestling matches of all time, as they come to us.

 

1) Andre the Giant Vs. Hulk Hogan

 

2) Hulk Hogan Vs. The Ultimate Warrior

 

3) Bret Hart Vs. Chris Benoit

 

4) Bret Hart Vs. Owen Hart

 

5) Hulk Hogan Vs. The Rock

 

6) Hulk Hogan Vs. Ric Flair

 

7) Bret Hart Vs. HBK

 

8) Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat

 

9) Ric Flair Vs. Vader

 

10) Ric Flair Vs. Sting

 

11) HBK Vs. HHH

 

12) HHH Vs. Mick Foley

 

13) Bret Hart Vs. Roddy Piper

 

14) Hulk Hogan Vs. The Iron Sheik

 

15) Hulk Hogan Vs. Goldberg

 

16) Randy Savage Vs. The Ultimate Warrior

 

17) Hulk Hogan Vs. Sgt. Slaughter

 

18) Bret Hart Vs. Steve Austin

 

19) Ric Flair Vs. Terry Funk

 

20) War Games (The one where that damn bastard Henning turned on Flair, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!)

 

21) Flair's return on Nitro in Greenville, SC (Sure, this isn't a match, and I was there live, but it is one of the most emotional moments, ever.)

 

...each one of those moments had something that few angles, moments, and matches in the WWE at the current time has had, and that is meaning and emotion. Sure, Hogan may suck as an in ring talent, but damnit, his many of his matches really meant something, to a lot of people. Flair and Bret also have had some of the most emotional moments ever, and I really, really miss it. This is what we need today, moments that really tug at the Pro. Wrestling fans emotions, because without that...

 

...everything, no matter what it is, can truly seem in vain.

 

Sincerely,

...Downhome...

[Guest bob_barron]

Can you be more specific with some of the matches?

[Guest Downhome]

Can you be more specific with some of the matches?

*sigh*, if you had any sense you would know what most of them are. :D

 

Give me a few, and I'll post up which ones I'm specificly talking about. Or to make it interesting, you can guess!

[Guest papacita]

In terms of anticipation, I would say Austin/Hart and the Hart/Michaels Survivor Series matches since I literally had butterflies in my stomach before each of them. You really got the feeling in the weeks leading up to the PPV that everyone legitimately hated each other.

[Guest Kotzenjunge]

For anticipation, Rock/Austin at Wrestlemania XVII had me almost wetting myself.

 

For emotional, Savage/Warrior at Wrestlemania VII and Cactus/HHH at No Way Out 2000 get my votes. Both made me tear up, one out of happiness, the other because Foley looked so despondent after he lost.

 

Fo sheez,

Kotzenjunge

[Guest BAR]

Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit (if you're talking about the Nitro one). No storyline could be more emotional than that.

[Guest Midnight Express83]

Savage vs Warrior from wrestlemania VII is one of my top 10 matches for a reason. Good match, good storyflow, good ending.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Bret/Benoit in the Owen tribute is definitely up there, as is Bret/Austin feud.

 

Misawa/Kawada 6/3/94 had so much history going into it, though.

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

Ohtani vs. Ultimo Dragon 96(exact date escapes at the moment)-Ohtani's father was present, and Ohtani was even more emotional and desperate to win than usual. The match damn near brings me to tears.

 

Kawada vs. Misawa 6/3/94-While the match itself was suppose to be about Misawa establishing himself as the man, Kawada's heart breaking performance at the end made the match more about his tragic defeat rather than Misawa's truimphant victory. Kawada showed the will to win until the last three seconds, even though his body was broken and useless.

 

Kawada/Taue vs. Misawa/Kobashi 6/95-After almost three years of chase, Kawada finally gets his first pinfall over Misawa. Far more rewarding and emotional than Kawada's singles win over him, several years later. Kawada also gets vengance on Kobashi for the 12/93 match, by destroying his injured leg. It's easy to see why some people consider this the end of the fued.

[Guest bravesfan]

My vote goes to Flair/Sting from the last Nitro. I believed it was both Flair and Sting's LAST match (considering their age and the possibility that WWF would not pick up their contracts.) Growing up with these two guys feuding OVER and OVER for a period of 12 years, that last match had me bawling like a baby.

 

HONORABLE MENTION:

Hart/Piper from WM 8 and Hogan/Savage from WM 5 (which you NO POBO'ed!) had emotion up the wazoo, as well.

[Guest DARRYLXWF]

My vote goes to Flair/Sting from the last Nitro. I believed it was both Flair and Sting's LAST match (considering their age and the possibility that WWF would not pick up their contracts.) Growing up with these two guys feuding OVER and OVER for a period of 12 years, that last match had me bawling like a baby.

Agreed, the match ended up leaving me depressed, but the Announcers closing words being CUT OFF for the Vince promo left me ENRAGED.

[Guest Jonathan Barber]

My review fo that Flair/Sting match can be found here:

 

http://www.geocities.com/joycebarber2001/32601fs.htm

[Guest dreamer420]

here are mine:

 

randy savage vs. ultimate warrior (wrestlemania 7)

bret hart vs. chris benoit (owen tribute)

bret hart vs. davey boy smith (summerslam 92)

hulk hogan vs. ultimate warrior (wrestlemania 6)

bret hart vs. roddy piper (wrestlemania 8)

randy savage vs. hulk hogan (wrestlemania 5)

randy savage vs. ted dibiase (wrestlemania 4)

[Guest I Fear Hogans Air Guitair]

Bret Vs Beniot Nitro nuff said

[Guest MillenniumMan831]

Savage vs. Roberts Tuesday in Texas 'didn't have to take a backseat to any match' (Monsoon) as far as storylines go.

[Guest SP-1]

Foley/HHH Hell in the Cell at No Way Out 2000 was really emotional to me. Foley is one of my earthly heroes for many reasons, and I hadn't been reading much backstage stuff at the time, so I had no clue where the storyline was going. I was pissed off and sad when he lost. The crowd's reaction was an awesome thing to see, too.

[Guest dreamer420]

Savage vs. Roberts Tuesday in Texas 'didn't have to take a backseat to any match' (Monsoon) as far as storylines go.

I forgot about that one. The cobra bite was a great angle.

[Paul Stanley]

Big Van Vader vs. Ric Flair -- Starrcade 93'

 

Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair -- Great American Bash 89'

 

Lex Luger vs. Ron Simmons -- Halloween Havoc 91'

 

Sting vs. Ric Flair -- Great American Bash 90'

 

This is fairly new but..

 

Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz -- UFC Vendetta (I'm a huge MMA fan and this was emotional like hell, the buildup and the HATE was amazing)

[Guest bob_barron]

Austin v. Rock at X-7- when they got to the main event I was shaking- I was so ready for the match.

 

Vince v. Shane from the same show also had me marking out the whole way with Trish turning face, Linda rising from the chair, the Van Shaneinator and Mick Foley!!! as ref- god that was some great stuff.

 

Savage v. Warrior with the aftermath is also right up there

[Guest Your Olympic Hero]

You can't forget my personal fav, Savage vs. Flair at Wrestlemania VIII. Flair said he had nude photos of Elizabeth. Heenan's commentary during the match is PRICELESS. He ignored the rest of the matches afterwards and just bitched about Savage cheating to beat Flair.

[Guest MillenniumMan831]

You can't forget my personal fav, Savage vs. Flair at Wrestlemania VIII. Flair said he had nude photos of Elizabeth. Heenan's commentary during the match is PRICELESS. He ignored the rest of the matches afterwards and just bitched about Savage cheating to beat Flair.

Even Gorilla referred to Rick Martel as The Model Ric Flair. But what a great match that Savage / Flair war was. That match was definitely a roller coaster ride and a half.

[Guest CanadianChris]

Mankind vs. The Rock, WWF Title match, 12/29/98.

[Guest The Hamburglar]

For a more recent great emotional moment, I'd like to point out Brock Lesnar vs the Undertaker. Although the crappiness of Taker and the relative inexperience of Lesnar hamper the workrate, this match still tells a fantastic story. Its the ending thats great, Brock takes everything Taker throws at him - the chokeslam, the Last Ride - before finally reversing the Tombstone. And right there its like Brock's saying "I could finish you with your own move right now, but fuck it, I'm the phenom now, I'm the monster and I'm gonna win it with my finisher." So bang, he just hurls him inot the F-5 from the Tombstone position and wins it. The subsequent image of Brock triumphant on top of the Cell, with the man who defined the match a beaten, bloody mass below is really great. I do like the WWF/E "epic" main-event style when they get it right, its similar to the really well-executed Hollywood blockbusters - not complex, but powerful.

[Guest Lord of The Curry]

Savage vs Warrior- I still can't watch that match without tearing up near the end. Just seeing the entire arena get so emotional affects me too.

 

Benoit vs Bret- Nothing really needs to be said here, though on a side note it warms my heart to hear that Bret wanted Benoit to win.

 

Jericho/Benoit vs Austin/HHH- Maybe it's the Canadian in me, but I was going abso-fuckin-loutely insane when Jericho pinned Austin.

[Guest Fook_Hing_Ho]

HBK vs. Taker HIAC

[Guest ConspiracyVictim]

Austin Idol vs. Jerry Lawler - Hair vs. Hair Cage Match - Certainly one of the most emotional matches for me. I had this on tape when I was a little wrestling fan because my aunt got it for me. This match had great buildup as Lawler had just finally got a little bit of revenge on Idol by chaining him to the ring and getting to beat him down. But now there were two new men thrown into the equation with Tommy Rich and Paul E Dangerously siding with Idol. Now Idol challenged Lawler to a hair v. hair cage match. There would be no escape and Idol felt that now he would finally humiliate Memphis' hero and his former freind and prove he was better. So the match was set. During the match blood was spilled and it was an old school brawl with a great story being told of Lawler dominating and seeking revenge on Idol...then out of nowhere Rich popped up from under the ring and began to attack Lawler and it was two on one. Of course Lawler ended up losing and his hair was shaven in front of the rabid and very close to rioting crowd. There were people shown crying in the audience as Paul E, Idol, and Rich shaved the head of their Memphis hero.

 

I have more but I will post them later...

[EL DANDY~!]

Michaels/Hart-Ironman Match from WM XII

Hart/Austin-SS 96 AND WM X3

Misawa/Kawada-6/3/94

Steamboat/Flair-every single match they've ever had

Benoit/Hart-10/4/99 (nitro Owen tribute)

Owen/Bret-WM X, SS 94

HHH/Jack-RR 2000, NWO 2000

Rocky/Austin-WM X7

Sting/Flair-Clash I, Unification match at Clash 26 (?)

Benoit/Sullivan-GAB 96 (HA! That is very underappreciated nowadays, but because of what happened afterwards, with Woman leaving Kevin and becoming Benoit's wife, this gets special recognition.)

Mankind vs. Rocky-12/29/98-AUSTIN! AUSTIN! STUNNER! STUNNER! MANKIND! MANKIND! MANKIND!!!

Flair/Savage-WM 8-FULL MOON OVER CHARLOTTE!!!

[Guest Sturgis]

Sting vs. Flair last nitro I was crying during that match.

[Guest dvkorn]

Bret/Benoit - Owen tribute.

Foley/HHH at the Rumble and No Way Out. I so badly wanted Foley to win.

Sting/Flair from the last Nitro. I was a Sting fan for ages and the possibilty that this was his last match ever.

[Guest bob_barron]

I'll also give mad props to Sting v. Flair.

 

The last match of the real WCW and the two biggest stars in the company's history just going at it ONE MORE TIME to close out the company.

 

The commentary with them mentioning Clash 1, Little Naitch as ref, Flair working heel, Sting no-selling the chops- God I love that match.

 

The ending where Flair submits and Sting helps him up and they take one look around and embrace- it may not be the greatest match but watching that match still gets me as it's just two guys going out there one more time- for WCW