Last year, the “I Quit” match between Bret “Hitman” Hart vs “Stone Cold” Steve Austin from Wrestlemania 13 was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as an “Immortal Moment.” The match is legendary for being the finalization of Bret Hart’s turn into a “heel” (wrestling jargon for “bad guy”) as well as Steve Austin’s turn into a “face” (“good guy”). It’s arguably what kicked off the WWF’s “Attitude Era,” their most profitable era until the modern day.
What are some matches that *I* would include in the Hall of Fame? Well, I’ve picked 16 iconic WWE matches that could end up in there some day — Not the 16 BEST matches, 16 of the most ICONIC.
Why 16? Because that’s how many I came up with.
I’ve given myself six rules to follow for this list:
- The match has to be at least 10 years old. Recency bias is a real thing, and I want to make sure that these are matches that stand the test of time that people are still talking about today.
- If the wrestlers involved faced off more than once, I only included one encounter. The Rock and Steve Austin had several 1-on-1 matches against each other, but only one of them made this list.
- All of the matches are from WWE (or any of the company’s previous names, such as WWF). I’m not saying there aren’t matches from other promotions that deserve to be included — I fully expect there to be some classic NWA or WCW matches in the HOF eventually. But for now, this is the WWE Hall of Fame, so my focus is on WWE.
- I’m going to list the matches chronologically, not in the order that I think they “deserve” to be inducted.
- If a championship is on the line, the champion going into the march is marked with a “(c)”.
- All the matches available on YouTube will be linked via the match title so you can watch them for yourself!
Got all that? Here we go:
WWF Championship Match: Hulk Hogan (c) vs Andre the Giant, WrestleMania III, 1987
This is THE moment that defined the WWF. The stare down between the the two biggest names in wrestling, followed by a slog of a match and culiminating in “The Hulkster” slamming The Giant in the main event of WrestleMania III was Andre passing the torch to Hogan as wrestling’s biggest star. It is arguably what transformed WWF from a wrestling company into a “Sports Entertainment” company, and the beginning of changing the focus of pro wrestling from “matches” to “moments.” The bodyslam was played in the opening video of every WWF/WWE broadcast for years, and was arguably the biggest moment in Hogan’s career.
If any match “deserves” to be inducted, it’s this one.
…But the actual best match that night was in the undercard.
(Okay, I’m breaking one of my rules right off the bat since this match happened earlier in the night and Hogan vs Andre was the main event. But it was the same night, so it’s CLOSE ENOUGH!)
Ricky Steamboat never got the chance to shine in the WWF like he did in the NWA, but there were moments where his greatness broke through. And Randy Savage will always be remembered as one of the all-time greats. This match feels real weird and sloppy to me by 2025 standards, but it’s probably the best match on any WrestleMania for the first several years of the event.
“With a tear in my eye…”
The fifth Royal Rumble event was the first time that the event had something on the line; The prior four Royal Rumble events were just big events to get everybody on the show, but 1992 saw the first time the winner actually WIN something. And in this case, it was the richest prize in the company: The vacated WWF Championship (beginning the following year, the winner would earn a championship match at WrestleMania).
In 1991, World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair left WCW under some auspicious circumstances, resulting in him taking the NWA’s “Big Gold Belt” with him as he joined the World Wrestling Federation for the first time, and declared himself the “Real World’s Champion.” Lawsuits between WCW and WWF resulted in Flair returning the belt to his former employer, but he proved his legacy to WWF audiences by entering the 30-Man Royal Rumble match at #3 and going the distance to become the champion.
Bret Hart is the greatest technical wrestler of all time, and this match is one of many that proves how good he is.
Bret’s sister Diana married Davey Boy Smith, the British Bulldog, meaning her loyalties were divided during this match between real-life brothers-in-law. Add to the fact that they were wrestling in front of over 80,000 fans in London, England’s Wembley Stadium, the British Bulldog’s home country, and Davey Boy was feeling a bit of pressure the night before. As the story goes, he got a bit too intoxicated. A couple of minutes into the match, he whispered in Bret’s ear something along the lines of, “I’m lost, I don’t remember what we’re doing.” Watch that 37-minute match, and try to find where Bulldog doesn’t know what he’s doing. You can’t, because Bret is THAT good.
Also, even without that story, it’s a great match, and absolutely deserved to be the main event that night.
Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. “The Rocket” Owen Hart, WrestleMania X, 1994
30+ years later, this is still recognized as the greatest opening match in WrestleMania history. It’s the match that proved Owen Hart could be a major player in the WWF, and set up a year-long feud between the Hart Brothers. Full of twists and turns, technical holds and reversals, it’s a master class in pro wrestling.
The first televised Ladder Match in WWF History was over the disputed Intercontinental Championship — Shawn Michaels had been stripped of the title and was suspended, and Razor Ramon won the vacated belt several months earlier. Now, Michaels was back, claiming to still be the IC Champ, carrying around his belt, while Razor has won the championship by being one of the finalists in a battle royal, and then defeating the other finalist, Rick Martel, in a one-on-one match the following week. Both belts were suspended above the ring, and the only way to win was to climb a ladder and pull down both straps.
Nobody had seen a match quite like this in the WWF, and it was so good that the pair had another ladder match at the following year’s Summerslam event that is just as good… but not as iconic.
WWF Championship: Bret “Hitman” Hart (c) vs. The 1-2-3 Kid, Monday Night Raw, 11 July 1994
It’s been over three decades, and I STILL remember watching this match at my cousin’s rental cottage on Cape Cod after spending all day playing on the beach, like it happened yesterday.
Sean Waltman, then performing as the 1-2-3 Kid, had been in the company for a little over a year. Bret had won the WWF Championship a few months earlier. Bret was established as the top guy, but Kid needed a really great showcase match. And, honestly, there were several points during this contest where it looked like he might win.
Waltman still says that this was the best match of his career, and other than commentator Jim Ross mistakenly referring to flipping senton splahses as “Moonsaults” (it was 1994, we didn’t know the specific names for all the aerial flippy moves yet), this match could be aired TODAY and you wouldn’t know it was 30 years old.
Younger fans call this match boring, because it’s not all high spots and full of finishers. But I liken this match to the way my dad used to explain baseball to me: Instead of watching the hitters, watch the pitcher. Baseball is more interesting if you’re watching to see the pitcher succeed, rather than waiting for the home runs. Sure, the home runs are more exciting and easier to spot. But a pitcher who doesn’t allow any home runs is the better player that day.
The 1996 Iron Man WWF Championship match is a match between two pitchers, both at the top of their game. Neither is going for a home run; They’re both trying to strike each other out.
And then the game has to go to extra innings.
WWF Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Mankind, In Your House: Mind Games, 1996
On paper, Shawn Michaels’ run as WWF Champion in 1996 is one of the best runs ever. He defeats Bret Hart for the title, and goes on to successfully defend the belt against Diesel, British Bulldog, Vader, Mankind, and Goldust, before dropping the belt to Sycho Sid at Survivor Series, only to win it back at the Royal Rumble in January ’97. Unfortunately, only two of those title defenses really hold upas classics: The “Good Friends, Better Enemies” no-holds-barred match against Diesel — The first “hardcore” match the WWF really ever had; and the match against Mick Foley’s alter ego, the deranged Mankind.
Foley is so damn good, even though he’d only been in the WWF for about five months at this point, he was already a force to be reckoned with, and deserved the spotlight of a WWF Championship match.
This match is great.
Hell in a Cell Match: The Undertaker vs. Mankind, King of the Ring 1998
‘Nuff said.
Tag Team Ladder Match: Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian, No Mercy 1999
I wrote about this match in “TLC Origins” last year. You can read that by clicking this link.
I also wrote about this match in “TLC Origins” last year. You can read that by clicking this link.
The Rock vs. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, Wrestlemania X-8, 2002
This match is, by all rights, not actually a very good MATCH. If you watch it with the sound off, not a lot really happens. But, it’s a match of VIBES. Hogan had made his return to WWF just a month earlier, after being in WCW for the previous 8 years. During Hogan’s absence, The Rock had become one of the top stars in the industry. Two of the most charismatic showmen ever in wrestling faced off in a one-on-one match at the biggest show of the year.
And the crowd was absolutely ELECTRIC.
Unsanctioned Match: Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels, Summerslam 2002
Shawn Michaels had been out with a career-ending back injury for over four years. During that time, Triple H had gone from being Shawn’s mid-card buddy to a multi-time world champion, and a star in his own right. We didn’t know if Michaels was going to have anything left at the time, so getting him one last match against one of his real-life best friends was always going to be special.
The fact that it kicked off an eight-year second career for “The Heartbreak Kid” really makes this one stand out.
First-Ever Money in the Bank Match: Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Edge, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, and Kane, Wrestlemania 21, 2005 (Match unavailable on YouTube because, well, Chris Benoit)
The concept was simple, but unproven: Six men compete in a ladder match where, hanging from the ceiling is a briefcase that holds a guaranteed World title shot that expires in one year. The six men competing were amongst the most elite talent in the WWE at the time.
It was a car crash of an event. These men built on everything that made Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon a classic. Edge and Christian had both competed in innumerable ladder matches before this. Add in the incredibly athletic Shelton Benjamin, the creative Chris Jericho, the tenacious Chris Benoit, and the monstrous Kane, and they all put on a spectacular match full of danger and high-flying action.
Nine months later, the winner of the Money In The Bank contract, Edge, “cashed in” his contract and defeated WWE Champion John Cena to cement himself as a bona fide main eventer, but also proving that the concept of Money in the Bank works. And, 20 years later, not only has MITB become its own annual event (as showcased in the next entry), the very concept is a staple of WWE with knock-off MITB concepts being used all over the wrestling industry.
WWE Championship Match: John Cena (c) vs. CM Punk, Money in the Bank 2011
The match itself is great, but it’s the story behind this one. CM Punk had just had his infamous “pipe bomb” promo, where he first declared himself the “Best in the World,” and positioned WWE Champion John Cena as someone who didn’t deserve the position that he was holding. This was a sentiment that many fans held at the time, and wanted to see Punk overcome the overexposed Cena, and capture his first WWE Championship, in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, IL. But here was the catch: CM Punk’s WWE contract expired at midnight that night. So if he WERE to win the championship, he could go home as champion. Which is exactly what happened.
In the meantime, there was a tournament to determine a new WWE Champion, which was won by Rey Mysterio, who was later defeated by John Cena. And, of course, Punk came back two months later and the two champs had a unification match at that year’s Summerslam. I don’t remember who won that match, but the visual of CM Punk blowing a kiss as he escaped through the crowd with the championship is as iconic to the 2010s WWE audience as Hogan slamming Andre was to the 80s and 90s audience.
And there’s 16 matches I’d put in the WWE Hall of Fame. What would you add? Let me know in the comments below!
