10 Count - Influential Matches Of The 90's - WWE Classics Review - June 3, 2011

The edition of 10 Count that has been recently airing on WWE Classics On Demand did a list of the most influential matches of the 90's. Just thought I'd review it and provide their top ten list. It definitely brought back some memories for sure. I enjoy their 10 Count shows that they produce.

10. Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI. I can definitely see the argument of this match deserving to be in this list. This was something that just wasn't done much at the time. Not at all actually especially in that company. The top two babyfaces in the company headlining the Super Bowl event. Fans were split on who they liked and it set the standard for the future where it would be ok to have top faces battle for the championship. It proved that it would draw a ton of interest.

9. Edge and Christian vs. The Hardys in the ladder match at No Mercy 1999. This sent the ladder match to another level. Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon had the biggest ladder match spotlight at WrestleMania X and also SummerSlam 1995. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels also had the first big ladder match which was featured on a Coliseum Video release. Ladder matches had been held since but this one took it to another level. The Hardys and Edge and Christian took risks that no one had seen. The fans were just in awe of it. These were guys that took the chance they were given and putting themselves in the minds of fans. It took their careers to another level and set the standard for what was yet to come in the future with them and also the ladder match.

8. Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog for the Intercontinental title at SummerSlam 1992. This match closed SummerSlam. That was the importance of this match that this closed the show. The Bulldog going for the title in his home country inside of a packed Wembley Stadium. This was a sign of things to come with the focus of the company going to some of the smaller guys and more in ring style including guys like Bret. I realize that I'm making that comment but that the Bulldog who was bigger won the match and the title. Just saying that this was a straight up wrestling match including it being two babyfaces. Plus, you had the rivalry of the UK fans being behind the Bulldog. Bret was booed by a lot of the fans because he was against the home team. This would go to another level years later with The Hart Foundation in 1997.

7. The Rock vs. Mankind from Raw on January 4, 1999. Absolutely agree on this one. This might be considered the night that the final finish was put on the Monday Night Wars. You've all heard the stories on this one. Mick Foley's dream comes true winning the championship. WCW had their big show on this night at the Georgia Dome. It finished with the fingerpoke of Hogan pinning Kevin Nash and the nWo was reformed. That turned a lot of fans off but the big moment on WCW's end was Tony Schiavone on commentary spoiling the results of Raw as it was taped that night. He mocked how Foley was going to win the championship and how that would really put people in the seats. The result was the ratings going full tilt and people tuning over to Raw to catch the moment. The moment was a lot of fun and that crowd was just incredible. Austin's music hits and it was one of the loudest pops that I've ever heard. He comes to the ring and nails The Rock with a chair. Keep in mind that Vince and the corporation were at ringside with The Rock while DX was the counter in the corner of Mankind. Austin puts Mankind on The Rock after the chair shot and the three count goes on and it results in one of the biggest pops and long crowd roars I've ever heard as well. The crowd went nuts and the people did at home too. We had a group of us together at the time watching it. We were let down with the WCW finish but optimistic about the nWo reunion. However, the room went nuts when the title changed hands. I remember that clearly. One of the most important nights in the Monday Night Wars.

6. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio at Halloween Havoc 1997. When you think about either of these guys, this is the match that gets talked about a lot. Just a tremendous match that stole the show at that PPV. The cruiserweight was a big part of the 90's with several of them getting center stage in ECW and then on to WCW. A lot of the early WCW Monday Nitro era was built around the division and you knew you were going to get some fun matches. Eddie vs. Rey was one of the best matches of this era of WCW.

5. Raven vs. Terry Funk at ECW Barely Legal 1997. ECW Barely Legal was the first PPV for the company and a huge step. I was so excited to see the company get to PPV. I actually didn't get to see this show live because my PPV company at the time didn't carry it. I wouldn't see an ECW PPV live until the 1997 November To Remember. Raven vs. Terry Funk was the headline of this show with Funk winning the opportunity to face the champion. This was also the year of the Terry Funk retirement. One of many. LOL. It was great to see Funk win the title and it was a great tribute to him by the talent and the fans. A fitting end to a great first PPV show by ECW. One that was very scary on how close it was to not finishing with the ECW Arena handling more electrical juice than it was able to. The story is that the power went out in the building just after the show went off the air. Back to how that company always was and it was fighting to the end. Can't argue with this being on the list at all.

4. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 1997. I can't imagine this being an influential match in the 90's. Yeah, I'm just kidding obviously. This match did so much in wrestling history with the happenings around it. Bret Hart is on his way out of the company and is told the finish of the match. However, the plan was to get the belt off of him. Vince comes to ringside. Shawn turns Bret over for a sharpshooter. Hebner calls for the bell. Shawn wins the title and gets out of there. Bret spits in Vince's face. The crowd is furious. Bret destroys the whole ringside area with his family by his side watching it go down. Backstage, Bret punches Vince. All this going on as the Wrestling With Shadows crew are shooting their Bret Hart documentary. It would be talked about for years to come and it really launched the Mr. McMahon character which would take the company in a new direction with the Austin/McMahon feud. Bret would go on to WCW where they unfortunately had no idea on how to use him. The finish of this match has been done over and over and over and over again. So much that I just about have my mind explode when I see the finish. This match absolutely influenced so many things whether it is talent, characters, booking styles, matches, or whatever.

3. Undertaker vs. Mankind in the cell from King Of The Ring 1998. What can be said here? This match is one of the most talked about matches of all time. People have dissected it by watching it, talking about it, reading about it , you name it. Mick Foley gets asked about this match all the time and goes into great detail about it in his first book. I think this took the company to another level of wild matches and shocking moments. I still remember watching this match as it happened on TV. I was just laying on the bed and settling in for it. Suddenly, Foley goes right off of the cell to the floor. I jumped up off the bed thinking what in the world just happened??!! Eyes wide as could be. I had never seen anything like that before and just hoped that he was ok. About ten minutes later, I'd be wondering the same thing when he crashed through the middle of the cage. A group of us got together the next day and that match dominated the conversation of the day including us watching the match again. This match took the cell matches took the cell matches to another level and influenced in the minds of the fans just how crazy these matches could be. There were a lot of wild moments in the 90's and this is one of the first mentions, if not the first mention.

2. Sting, Lex Luger, and Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and a surprise partner at Bash At The Beach 1996. The Hulk Hogan heel turn. I've talked about this already recently in my favorite heel turns list so there really isn't much to go over. Big surprises can go over huge and there was a payoff with this one. It launched WCW into another stratosphere with popularity that it had never seen before. The nWo was the hottest thing going for a long time and this match is definitely one that people will talk about when it comes to the 90's.

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV. The Austin era has begun. There are several stories in this match. First was the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin. The World Wrestling Federation was starting to climb back in the ratings with the Monday Night Wars and Austin was a huge reason. People loved Austin. That attitude of defiance. People were tuning in to see Austin and wrestling merchandise was starting to be seen back in the mainstream. The Attitude Era was underway and Austin led the way. One thing that I often feel bad about especially at the time was that Shawn Michaels was a big reason for the starting of the Attitude Era. The company was taking back off and he was going to be on the sidelines watching it. Shawn was beaten up at this point. He was having major physical problems especially after a back injury at the 1998 Royal Rumble. Shawn was kept out of the ring cause his back was so bad. It was common knowledge on the internet at the time that Shawn was hurt. Being a huge Shawn fan, my concern was just seeing him getting through the match and it was tough to watch. This was still might have to be the gutsiest performances that I have ever seen. He just would not slow down. Broken and battered but refusing to not go all out in this match. Every flip into the buckle or every other big spot had me cringing knowing how bad he had to be hurting. Shawn gutted through and dropped the title to Austin. Shawn will be the first to admit that he was an attitude problem behind the scenes at the time so he was tough to deal with in this particular period. I can't imagine how hard that must have been with what all he was dealing with. Don't forget also about the Mike Tyson involvement in this match. This was a big name star in the main event at WrestleMania. It got the media attention and it got WrestleMania XIV seen on all sorts of media outlets. Tyson was a big deal in getting to appear for the company. With Tyson and the attitude era underway, the company was on their way with going back to the top.