Merry Christmas everybody! Whatever you happen to be doing on this festive day, whether you’re visiting family or staying in, I hope you’re all enjoying it.
The Christmas season is synonymous with dreaming and making wishes, whether it’s a child writing a letter to Santa Claus asking for a Pony, a Dolphin or a Katana, someone “dreaming of a White Christmas”, or a young man writing an article about wrestling matches he wants to see, but most likely never will. Guess which one I am?
I understand that most people steer clear of the internet on Christmas Day, so if you do happen to be reading this, I won’t keep you long. On this festive day, I present to you my Christmas Special, where I write my own personal wrestling wish list.
Today, I’m counting down my top 5 Dream Matches. Keep in mind that these are my opinions, so if you strongly disagree with something, understand that these are not “facts”. Just my own personal thoughts and wishes, based on my own personal experiences as a wrestling fan.
Some of these dream matches might happen yet, I don’t know, but the majority of them won’t, so enjoy and let me know what you think. Let’s begin!
![image[1]](http://sltdwrestling.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/image14.jpeg)
5. Andre the Giant vs The Big Show
When talking about the greatest giants in wrestling history, 2 names that come up in every case are The Big Show and Andre the Giant.
2 huge men who’ve each found tremendous success in the industry despite their size, which can often cause problems in the ring. They prove that, in the wrestling industry, you don’t need to look like you’re chiselled from stone to find success, with a six-pack and muscles upon muscles upon muscles.
The same can be said for other gargantuan Superstars both past and present, such as King Kong Bundy, Brodus Clay, Viscera, and Giant Haystacks. They inspire us and show the versatility that goes with this business, and how people of every shape and size can be welcome. Andre and Big Show are the epitome of all that.
Andre the Giant is one of the most well-known wrestling phenomenons of all-time, famous for running amok in the WWWF/WWF during the 70s and 80s, with his 15-year long undefeated streak. When Hulk Hogan overthrew him at WrestleMania III in 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome, it was regarded as one of the biggest moments in the history of professional wrestling, and still is today.
He rightfully stands alone as the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, in the year he met his untimely death in 1993.
The Big Show is a bona fide legend in his own right, with numerous achievements of his own, like becoming the 24th WWE Triple Crown Champion and the 12th Grand Slam Champion.
Even with the title of ‘The World’s Largest Athlete’, Big Show is surprisingly agile, and isn’t held back by his size. He’s even gone to the top rope to drop an elbow on rare occasions! He has proven himself as one of the greatest giants to ever lace up a pair of boots.
So what would happen if Andre and Big Show ever squared off with one another in some kind of alternate universe? It wouldn’t be a technical masterpiece by any means, but it would’ve been one of the biggest, most anticipated matches ever. The Unstoppable Force meeting the Immovable Object. It would be a match for the ages to determine the greatest giant in wrestling.
![image[2]](http://sltdwrestling.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/image21.jpeg)
4. The Undertaker vs John Cena at WrestleMania
It may surprise you to see John Cena on this list, but I can honestly say that I don’t hate him as much as everyone else on the internet seems to.
I disagree with the fact that he’s booked like a God all the time, and I’m not overjoyed when he comes out to talk or wrestle, but I don’t hate the guy. He just needs to be booked against the right people.
There’s a reason why his matches against Ryback and Alberto Del Rio sucked this year, and his matches against CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Damien Sandow were great. Just give him the right opponent.
The Undertaker is the right opponent. He might be winding down after a legendary career, but he can still out-wrestle almost every single person on the current WWE roster. These days, he wrestles once a year, and that one match at WrestleMania is always a Match of the Year candidate. And that’s just talking about his in-ring ability.
The Undertaker gimmick is the greatest in wrestling history. Nobody could have ever captured it as well as Mark Callaway does, and the entire character is complimented by The Streak. It’s the greatest record in sports-entertainment history, and it makes for so much excitement every single year at WrestleMania.
John Cena has been the WWE’s go-to guy for almost a decade now, so it would be extraordinary to see him finally take on The Streak. Their styles are so different, and I don’t think they’ve faced off against each other more than 3 or 4 times, the last happening in 2007 (if I’m not mistaken).
This dream match between The Undertaker and John Cena would be one of the most anticipated WrestleMania matches in history, and given the fact that it would be a face vs face bout, the build-up would be intriguing as hell. I don’t think The Streak should ever end, but it would be in more jeopardy than ever before if John Cena was the one facing him.
Of course, the entire internet would explode with rage if John Cena did defeat The Undertaker, and so would I.
Regardless of who walked out the winner, the match would be so exciting and the crowd would undoubtedly be overcome with oohs and aahs from start to finish. There’s a possibility that the match could still happen, but I don’t think it ever will so for now, it will remain a Dream Match on my wish list.
![image[3]](http://sltdwrestling.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/image31.jpeg)
3. Chris Benoit vs Daniel Bryan
This shouldn’t surprise anybody. Chris Benoit and Daniel Bryan are among the greatest technical wrestlers of all-time. Their styles are so similar, yet while Benoit used to focus on a much more aggressive, brawling technique, Daniel Bryan utilises his feet more than any other part of his body.
Their rise to glory is somewhat similar as well.
Chris Benoit fought through years of hard work and determination, wrestling fantastic matches on a nightly basis. He got his start in Stampede Wrestling, and as the years went on, he found himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling and on the independent circuit before landing in WCW and ECW in the 90s. He was signed to a contract with WWF in 2000, and stayed with the company until his tragic passing 7 years later.
His rise to glory was amazing, coming into the Royal Rumble Match at #1 in 2004 and lasting the whole way through to win the match and earn himself a championship opportunity at WrestleMania XX.
As unpopular as it may be today, his victory over Shawn Michaels and Triple H to win the World Heavyweight Championship still remains my favourite WrestleMania moment of all-time. His celebration with Eddie Guerrero at the end of the show tells a story of how hard work and dedication do pay off, and how dreams do come true.
It’s one of those moments that made me love pro-wrestling as a child, and it’s still moments like that which keep me invested in the sport.
Much like Daniel Bryan’s short-lived victory against John Cena at SummerSlam this year. It doesn’t matter how long it took until the celebration was cut short, but it was nice to know how all of Daniel Bryan’s hard work had finally paid off.
Daniel Bryan (or rather, Bryan Danielson) crawled his way to the WWE through over a decade of working in independent promotions, most notably in Ring of Honor, where Bryan got his independent stardom.
When he finally got to the WWE, his career was seemingly cut short after he got fired for “excessive violence” during the debut of The Nexus.
However, after returning to the company at SummerSlam in 2010, he went on to win the United States Championship, the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Tag-Team Championship before finally getting his much-deserved break, wrestling in main-events with the WWE Championship on the line. And it’s likely that will continue in 2014.
He’s undoubtedly the fan favourite in the WWE right now, and for good reason. If you’ve read any of my articles in the past (I never pass up the chance to brag!), I pride myself on having been there at WrestleMania and Raw the night after, when the “Yes!” chant began.
While Daniel Bryan has the potential to be more successful than Chris Benoit ever was, these 2 guys are pretty even in terms of their extraordinary talents. No matter what stipulation this bout would have had, there’s no doubt that it would’ve been a 5-star match. Their chemistry would have been immense, and it’s a very sad thing that the match will never happen.
![image[4]](http://sltdwrestling.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/image41.jpeg)
2. Shawn Michaels vs Eddie Guerrero
I really wish this match could have happened.
During their careers, Eddie Guerrero and Shawn Michaels were practically incapable of having less-than-stellar matches, so the talent on show would have been so explosive, and could easily have made for a Match of the Century candidate.
Both Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero are in my top 5 wrestlers of all-time list, and for good reason. Their in-ring styles were so similar, in that they could believably wrestle as either cruiserweights or heavyweights, and have no problem transitioning between the two.
Eddie really mesmerised me that way. He had one of the greatest cruiserweight matches in history against Rey Mysterio at WCW’s Halloween Havoc in 1997, and easily transitioned into challenging for/defending the WWE Championship in 2004. I still find it fascinating how he couldn’t be tied down to one weight class.
When Rey Mysterio won the World Heavyweight Championship, he was still being booked as the “biggest little man” and the “ultimate underdog”, because he was drastically out-sized by every single one of his opponents. Eddie didn’t seem to have that problem.
I could go on for days about how much I love and miss Eddie Guerrero, but it’s Christmas day, so let’s not do that. You can just go back and read our fantastic tribute to the legend from November.
Shawn Michaels would have potentially made for Eddie’s greatest opponent ever. The Heartbreak Kid is quite possibly the best wrestler of all-time.
When Shawn was still wrestling, similar to Eddie, he had multiple mediums – in that he could wrestle as a cruiserweight (as part of The Rockers), or he could easily main-event and represent the WWF as its champion. His abilities in the ring astound me to this day, and his story is unparalleled. I’d definitely consider ‘Heartbreak & Triumph’ my favourite wrestling autobiography. If you haven’t read it, I seriously recommend that you do, because it’s a phenomenal tale.
One of the most inspiring moments in the history of professional wrestling was at WrestleMania XII, when Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart for the WWF Championship. It’s a moment that led to Vince McMahon saying those iconic words “the boyhood dream has come true”.
It was such significant moment in wrestling and the career of Shawn Michaels, and will forever live on as one of the best moments WrestleMania has ever seen.
Eddie Guerrero and Shawn Michaels are two men that cannot be summed up in words. They’re 2 of the best wrestlers to have ever laced up a pair of boots, and it’s so unfortunate that these two Hall of Famers squaring off will forever remain a dream match.
![image[5]](http://sltdwrestling.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/image51.jpeg)
1. Steve Austin vs CM Punk
It should come as no surprise that this is at the top of my list. I’ve been going on for months and months about how and why this match would be the biggest of all-time, and the fact that it could actually happen makes me so happy.
I’ll touch on this during my last article of the year next week, but Steve Austin returning would be incredible for the WWE. He’s one of the most outspoken personalities to ever hold a WWE microphone, and one of the toughest sons of bitches to ever set foot in a wrestling ring.
Perhaps the greatest line in wrestling history was delivered when Austin defeated Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts to become the King of the Ring in 1996, before saying:
“Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16… Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”
Stone Cold’s legacy is unmatched by any other wrestler ever, but there’s one last match that would fulfil Austin’s legendary career.
Facing CM Punk would be bigger than any other match I could think of for Austin‘s future. Punk’s the only guy in the current era who could match Austin’s attitudinal personality. You just know that the rivalry would be so personal, and filled with spectacular promos.
It would be epic to see their contrasting in-ring styles face off against each other in this match. While I feel like most of this bout would be an all-out brawl, Punk’s Muay Thai style would make for an interesting counteraction to Austin’s brawling, “stomp a mud hole in your ass and walk it dry” in-ring mentality.
These two anti-heroes both pride themselves on fighting against the corporate machine, so their egos would definitely collide (and combust) in this rivalry. It’s a dream match, and I really hope it does happen someday (preferably at WrestleMania XXX).
They are 2 of my favourite wrestlers of all-time, so to see these 2 stars in their own respective eras clash would be historical. And I think it goes without saying, but in my opinion, Austin/Punk would be bigger than Rock/Cena. By far.
And that does it! I know you’re probably busy enjoying Christmas, so if you did take the time to read this article, thank you very much. I appreciate it.
There’s not much else to say, except for this announcement – even though I’ve kept you waiting for it for so long, next week will definitely be the 25th edition of Under the Spotlight. Trust me, it’s a special one and probably the lengthiest one yet!
So do check that out next Monday, as it will also be my last article in what has been a fantastic 2013 for me and SLTD Wrestling as a whole. If you enjoyed this festive post, please like it on Facebook, tweet or retweet the link to it, and feel free to leave any comments below. If you’d like to speak to me about wrestling, my writing or anything at all, follow me on Twitter @AdamOB_SLTD.
Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas to all of my readers and fellow writers here at SLTD Wrestling!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
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