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Be it a rivalry born out of mutual hatred, desire to win a title, or mere competitive spirit, many of wrestling’s best feuds have ended with a rubber match. A final, definitive contest to decide who is the better competitor once and for all. As the saying goes, third time’s a charm.
The trope has been around for decades in wrestling, and given that two of 2015’s most high profile matches were, at their core, rubbers, proves that they remain popular to this day. There were plenty others – some memorable, some less so – but last year’s booking alone tells us that the concept has stood the test of time.
A few ground rules for this one. Strictly speaking, a rubber match would be the third match in a trilogy of matches, acting as a tiebreaker to prove who the best competitor is. For the sake of making this an interesting list, the term ‘rubber match’ extends to something that settled an even feud, even if the number of victories each wrestler/team had were not exactly even.
The ‘third match in a trilogy’ rule is there, where possible, but there are one or two exceptions it would have been remiss to exclude on a technicality.
14. Rey Mysterio Jr Vs. Ultimo Dragon – WCW Spring Stampede 1997
WCW had a great cruiserweight division, with its smaller wrestlers proving a significant attraction during the company’s peak. Two of the stars who helped propel that division were Ultimo Dragon and, in particular, Rey Mysterio Jr.
This feud was relatively straightforward. Their first encounter was a match at Hog Wild 1996 for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, which Mysterio successfully defended. The second was a match at World War 3 1996 for the J-Crown Championship, a unification of eight different championships from five different organisations in Japan and Mexico, which Ultimo Dragon won.
This match was billed as a rubber match and an opportunity for either man to edge into contention for a shot at the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.
On first impression it could be seen as filler on the Spring Stampede card, but this was a surprising contest. Ultimo and Mysterio spent the opening exchanges involved in a great display of technical mat wrestling, driven by psychology as Dragon tried to keep the match on the mat. As the bout went on the tempo increased and the two pulled off some spectacular moves. Ultimo Dragon was on top for large parts of the match, hitting a running sit-out powerbomb and even a tombstone piledriver.
Despite Dragon’s dominance, Mysterio mounted a comeback in typical high-flying fashion. The match finished with a great succession of counter-attacking spots before Mysterio hit a springboard head scissors to pin Dragon with a roll-up. A largely forgotten match, but one that showcased the reasons that people loved the cruiserweight division.
13. Bret Hart Vs. Diesel – WWF In Your House 6
Diesel was WWE Champion for the majority of 1995, one of the darkest years for the company. The high points of his reign were his bouts with Bret Hart, with the Excellence of Execution using his technical skills to bring out the best in the big man.
The first match in their rivalry over the WWF Championship was at King of the Ring 1994, which Diesel won by disqualification after shenanigans involving Jim Neidhart. Such shenanigans affected their second meeting, with Shawn Michaels, The Roadie and Jeff Jarrett attacking Diesel and Owen Hart and Bob Backlund attacking Bret. Amidst the chaos, the referee ended the match as a draw after losing complete control.
Hart won the belt from Diesel at Survivor Series 1995, which is hardly Bret’s most famous match at the event but still a great one. Diesel had been in control when Hart surprised him with a small package, prying the title away from Big Daddy Cool after he had held it for 358 days. After the loss, Diesel hit Hart with two Jackknife Powerbombs and assaulted several referees before storming out of the arena.
Diesel challenged Hart for the championship in a steel cage match at In Your House 6. Diesel was the logical contender, having lost the belt at Survivor Series and finishing as runner-up in the 1995 Royal Rumble. Diesel took control in the early phases, though Hart looked to use the cage to fight his way back into the contest.
Like most of their encounters, the match does a great job of using the big man versus little man dynamic to tell an engaging story. Diesel is in control for vast parts of the match, but Hart’s technique and speed keeps him in contention throughout the fight.
As Diesel looked set to leave the cage door and win the title, the Undertaker appeared from under the ring, allowing Hart to escape as Diesel and the Undertaker vanished through the ring apron.
12. John Cena Vs. Randy Orton – WWE Bragging Rights 2009
With endless draft trades between Raw and Smackdown, the idea of a pay-per-view built around winning bragging rights was always flawed – yet it seemed fitting for the end of a vicious rivalry between John Cena and Randy Orton.
As two of WWE’s biggest stars, Cena and Orton had a huge amount of history dating back over two years before this match. Their anything goes iron man match at Bragging Rights served as a definitive exclamation point on their battle for the WWE Championship. During the summer of 2009, Big Match John and The Viper fought for the belt at four consecutive pay-per-views. Their feud started at Summerslam, where Cena challenged Orton for the WWE Championship. Cena lost after a ‘fan’ – revealed to be the brother of Orton’s Legacy stable-mate Ted Dibiase – interfered and the distraction allowed Orton to hit Cena with an RKO. With the match ending in a farce, a rematch was called and Cena beat Orton for the title in an I Quit match at Breaking Point, but Orton won the belt back at Hell In A Cell.
The two decided on an iron man match to settle the feud once and for all. If Cena won, he became champion, but if Orton won, Cena would have to move to Smackdown. Cena had the first fall in just minutes, making Orton tap out immediately to an STF. A few minutes later, Orton caught Cena with an RKO to tie up the scores.
The match took a hardcore turn, with Orton smashing Cena with an announcer’s monitor, steel steps, and a microphone, busting him open. Orton took the lead after throwing Cena through the set’s lighting and later tried to light Cena on fire with the set pyrotechnics. The match really pushed the boundaries, getting as brutal as things can in the PG era.
In a manner fitting to his character, Cena continually fought his way back into the match despite Orton being in total control for large parts of the contest. With a minute to go, Cena locked Orton into an STF. Orton tapped out with six seconds left to go, ending the match and making Cena the new WWE Champion.
It’s hardly a technical masterpiece, but as gutsy brawls with numerous high spots go, it’s pretty great.
11. John Cena Vs. Kevin Owens – WWE Battleground 2015
NXT Champion Kevin Owens made his main roster debut on Raw on May 18 2015, interrupting John Cena’s United States Championship open challenge. An embittered Owens resented Cena for being fast-tracked to the top of WWE, while he had worked the independent circuit for 15 years and had only just made it to the big time. He attacked Cena with the pop-up powerbomb and put a disrespectful boot on Cena’s championship belt, setting up a match for Elimination Chamber. In one of WWE’s biggest ever upsets, Owens beat Cena with a clean pinfall in his main roster debut.
Cena won the rematch at Money in the Bank and an increasingly aggressive feud led to a US Championship bout at Battleground. The champion went into the bout under the greater pressure, aiming to preserve the integrity of his beloved championship.
Cena is not renowned for a large move-set but the three matches against Owens brought the best out of WWE’s poster boy. He used a wider range of holds and manoeuvres against KO than in many of his bouts. Owens used these three matches and the spotlight it brought to show off his technical prowess and prove what an amazing heel he is. He was brash and defiant, the perfect rival to Cena’s clean-cut babyface.
In the end, Cena made Owens tap out to the STF. Many would argue Cena’s victory – and the manner of it – killed Owens’ momentum and damned him to a disappointing midcard run for the rest of 2015. That’s probably true, but the match still made Owens look relatively strong, particularly after he kicked out of an Attitude Adjustment from the second rope.
Their match at Elimination Chamber was probably the best fight they had, but their Battleground bout ran it fairly close.
10. Chris Jericho Vs. Rey Mysterio – Title Vs. Mask Match – WWE The Bash 2009
Going into his feud with Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho was in the middle of a red-hot run as a heel that had started with his classic rivalry against Shawn Michaels.
Jericho challenged Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship at Judgement Day, though the high-flying Mysterio managed to beat Jericho. The loss enraged the snarky heel so much he impersonated a Mysterio fan in the crowd on an episode of Smackdown, jumping over the barricade to assault the Intercontinental champion. At Extreme Rules a month later, Jericho challenged Mysterio for his title again. Y2J ripped off Mysterio’s mask to secure a pinfall victory.
The third bout would be a mask vs title match; if Mysterio won, he took the championship home, but if Jericho won, Mysterio would be unmasked for the rest of his WWE career. Jericho brought his usual bravado and cocky swagger, which added to the narrative behind a fast-paced, technical contest. Notable spots include Jericho swinging Mysterio into the barricade head first, a springboard moonsault from Mysterio and an aerial Codebreaker.
The moves are so crisp and clean in this match, with both Y2J and Mysterio on the top of their game. Mysterio hung in the match after that Codebreaker, and in a quick exchange of pinfalls, Jericho managed to rip off Mysterio’s mask, only to find that he had been wearing a second mask underneath all along. The distraction allowed Mysterio to hit a 619 and springboard splash to pin Jericho, win back the Intercontinental Title and save his mask.
9. Diamond Dallas Page Vs. Macho Man Randy Savage – WCW Halloween Havoc 1997
The rivalry between Diamond Dallas Page and Macho Man Randy Savage was one of the most memorable in WCW in the late ’90s – not just for its intensity but for its brutal matches. DDP beat Savage in a no disqualification contest at Spring Stampede, while Macho Man levelled things up with a win in a falls count anywhere match at The Great American Bash. Both were physical, intense affairs, and their contest at Halloween Havoc ’97 lived up to the first two bouts.
The match was billed as a Las Vegas sudden death match, though it followed the rules of a standard last man standing contest. Within seconds of the bell sounding, the two were brawling outside the ring. Macho Man targeted DDP’s injured ribs while Page remained as unpredictable as ever. The match is hardly a pretty one; there’s little mat wrestling on show. Instead, the match spills out into the crowd, with Savage diving off the top turnbuckle and safety rail to target DDP’s ribs.
Halloween Havoc always had a gimmicky set, and this match set to trashing it as much as possible. DDP and Savage wrecked the polystyrene tombstones littering the entranceway. The physicality played into the intensity of the rivalry. Even Savage’s valet Miss Elizabeth got involved, smashing the referee over the head with a tray and choking DDP with a camera cable before being dragged off by Kimberley.
Page and Savage continued to brawl until a low blow from Savage forced DDP to roll out of the ring. Hulk Hogan emerged from the locker room dressed as Sting and smashed Page in the ribs with a baseball bat to give Savage the victory. Despite the hokey ending, the match proved a ferocious and fitting ending to a series of vicious matches.
8. Kurt Angle Vs. Shawn Michaels – 30 Minute Iron Man Match, WWE Raw (October 3 2005)
Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle are two of the best technical wrestlers to ever grace a WWE ring. With that said, it should come as no surprise that a dream rivalry between the two men produced three classic matches for the ages.
Their feud started at the Royal Rumble, after HBK eliminated Kurt Angle with a superkick. Angle took quick revenge by getting back into the ring to dump Michaels over the top rope, then locked him in an ankle lock over a set of steel steps. Over the coming weeks, Angle revealed the scorn he felt for Michaels as he hogged the wrestling spotlight in 1996 while Angle was winning Olympic gold in Atlanta. The feud had everything – great promo work, a logical beginning point that uncovered a deep lying resentment, post-match attacks and two wrestlers that seem the polar opposite of one another.
It led to a match at Wrestlemania 21, now touted as one of Mania’s best ever contests. Angle got Michaels to submit to an ankle lock in a technically brilliant match that lasted nearly half an hour. Some consider the follow up even better, with HBK picking up the win at Vengeance after hitting Sweet Chin Music on Angle as he dived from the top rope.
WWE never scheduled a rubber match for pay-per-view. Instead they set up a match between the two on a special ‘Homecoming’ edition of Raw as the show moved back onto the USA Network. The pair were pitted against each other in a 30 minute iron man match, and once again the duo put on an excellent technical bout. Angle picked up the first fall with an Angle Slam from the top rope, and Michaels levelled the scores by countering an ankle lock with a roll-up pin. HBK tapped to the ankle lock to put Angle back in the lead, but the Heartbreak Kid again tied the scores with Sweet Chin Music.
As the last few seconds ticked away, Michaels hit Angle with Sweet Chin Music again. It proved too little too late as time ran out and the match ended level at 2-2. HBK demanded sudden death, but Angle slithered away to the locker room, happy to escape with a draw.
Angle left WWE in 2006 and with Michaels now retired, there will never be a definitive answer as to who the better man was in this feud. Considering their three classic encounters, that feels entirely appropriate in this case.
7. Brock Lesnar Vs. The Undertaker – WWE Hell In A Cell 2015
The Undertaker’s 21-0 winning streak at Wrestlemania was the Holy Grail of wrestling. When Brock Lesnar broke it at Wrestlemania 30, it seems only logical that it would kick off one of the greatest feuds in the Deadman’s career.
Lesnar’s streak-breaking victory over the Undertaker is undoubtedly one of the most shocking in the history of WWE. No-one really expected a part-time superstar being the one chosen to beat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. It would be over a year later before the two crossed paths again, with Undertaker’s surprise return at Battleground 2015 to cost Lesnar a match for the WWE Championship against Seth Rollins.
Their rematch at Summerslam ended in controversy. The timekeeper wrongly rang the bell as Lesnar had Undertaker in a kimura lock, so the match was restarted and after a low blow, ‘Taker put Lesnar in the Hell’s Gate submission hold until he passed out.
The rubber match was set in WWE’s most intimidating environment, Hell in a Cell. Both men had previous in the cell, and both are known for going to any length necessary to win.
The match lived up to the billing – it was savage. The two duked it out in the opening stages, and it wasn’t long before the cage became a dangerous weapon. The pair brought out a steel chair and the ring steps to liven up the bout though things got really tasty when Lesnar exposed the wooden ring boards by tearing up the ring mat. A chokeslam and tombstone later, Lesnar looked like toast. The Beast doesn’t give up that easily, fighting back with a low blow of his own to set up an F5 on those exposed boards.
Both Lesnar and Undertaker are known for their physicality, but even they went above and beyond all expectations with this meeting.
6. Edge And Christian Vs. The New Brood – Ladder Match, WWF No Mercy 1999
When people debate who the greatest tag team in WWE history is, Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boys are names that usually crop up in the discussion. Matches like this helped to seal their legacy as two teams willing to do anything to get noticed and produce the most memorable match on the card.
Edge and Christian had teamed with Gangrel to form the Brood, a stable with a gothic look and one of the coolest entrances of the Attitude era. All was well with the Brood but as Edge and Christian waged war with the Hardys, Gangrel turned on his apprentices to form the New Brood with Jeff and Matt Hardy instead.
The two teams entered into a ‘best of five’ series called the Terri Runnels Invitational. The team that scored three wins collecting $100,000 and Terri Runnel’s managerial skills. The two sides exchanged victories to take the tournament to a final encounter, the first ever tag team ladder match at No Mercy 1999.
The hunger of the two young teams was evident from the off, with creative spots and great pacing keeping the match ticking along nicely. The two teams had clearly put plenty of thought into the match to create a bout to remember. No-one had seen anything like a leapfrog leg drop over the top of a ladder before, nor a crossbody from Christian into a ladder to wipe out the Hardys or E&C sandwiching Jeff Hardy inside a ladder to slam it shut on him.
The match ended with Edge and Matt Hardy climbing towards the prize on one ladder, while Christian and Jeff duked it out on the other. Edge pushed Matt off the ladder, and he bounced off the ring ropes to wipe out the ladder with Christian and his brother on. Jeff leapt from a toppling ladder onto the one holding Edge, struck Edge so he fell to the mat and grabbed the $100,000 in the chaos.
5. Eddie Guerrero Vs. Dean Malenko – ECW (August 26 1995)
This match breaks the most rules on this list, particularly as it was not part of a trilogy – the bout is such a classic and served as a symbolic end to both a feud and both wrestlers’ time with ECW, it had to be included.
In an effort to differentiate itself from WWE and WCW, ECW and its creator Paul Heyman looked abroad for inspiration on how to make their product stand out. They signed a number of acclaimed wrestlers who were working in Japan and Mexico. Among the two biggest stars they signed were Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko.
Both men were hugely proficient mat wrestlers. The combination of Malenko’s ruthless style and ‘Shooter’ gimmick with Guerrero’s agility and charisma led to a series of brilliant matches as they feuded over the ECW Television Title. On July 21 1995, Malenko beat Guerrero for the title only to lose it back to him a week later. As their feud progressed, they both got noticed by WCW and were signed to lucrative contracts.
They fought their final ECW contest against one another on August 26, 1995 in a two-out-of-three falls match. Malenko and Guerrero showed just how they had earned their WCW contracts with an amazing display of chain wrestling through a tense, close battle.
As both men’s shoulders were down for the last fall, the match was declared a draw. After the contest was over, both Guerrero and Malenko gave impassioned promos about their time in ECW to chants of ‘Please don’t go’ from the Philadelphia crowd. Members of the locker room filled the ring to carry Guerrero and Malenko on their shoulders, leaving ECW with a triumphant moment and one final classic match to remember.
4. Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. The Rock – WWE Wrestlemania 19
As the two biggest stars of wrestling’s greatest boom period in the States, Austin and Rock were always bound to be closely linked. The duo were natural rivals, acting as polarising counterpoints to one another. Austin was the red neck, beer-swilling, working class hero and The Rock was an egotistical, handsome, natural athlete with a prestigious lineage and a physique carved from marble.
The initial rivalry dates back as far as 1998, when The Rock became WWE Champion at a Deadly Games tournament at Survivor Series. Mr McMahon manipulated the competition to ensure The Rock walked away as champion. Mankind kept The Corporate Champion busy until Wrestlemania 15, by which time Austin had jumped all of McMahon’s hurdles to enter the championship match and win the title. In 2001, Austin won the Royal Rumble for a third time to set up another headline bout against The Rock at Wrestlemania 17. This time it was Austin who would turn heel, siding with his greatest enemy, Vince McMahon, to clinch the title.
The set-up for their third and final Wrestlemania match was straightforward enough. The Rock announced he had achieved everything he had wanted to in wrestling besides one thing, beating Steve Austin at WrestleMania. Austin accepted The Rock’s challenge and the two tormented each other for weeks. Austin even helped The Hurricane pick up a victory over The Rock on Monday Night Raw.
The match begins with a brawl, quickly spilling out of the ring. The intensity keeps up, and the People’s Champion starts to target Austin’s bad knee. Before long, the two steal each other’s finishers but can’t put the other man down for the three count. After a few near misses for each man, Rocky manages to hit three consecutive Rock Bottoms on Stone Cold to finally put the Texas Rattlesnake down for the win.
The match marked the end of an era, as Austin retired from in-ring competition and The Rock appeared in WWE less and less as his film career took off. It feels like the official ending of WWE’s Attitude Era, with its two greatest icons facing off for one last hurrah and Steve Austin going out on his back to uphold one of the long-held traditions of the sport.
3. Ric Flair Vs. Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat – WCW Wrestlewar 1989
Both Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat have been quoted as saying their match at Wrestlewar 1989 was possibly the weakest of the three notable matches they had that year; that only goes to show the incredibly high standards the two men had set each other during this incredible series of matches.
Steamboat returned to wrestling and the NWA in January 1989 after a hiatus following his departure from WWE. In his return match, a tag bout teaming with Eddie Gilbert against NWA World Champion Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, Steamboat pinned Flair to earn himself a shot at the title at Chi-Town Rumble. Steamboat won the title and put it on the line against Flair at Clash of the Champions VI. In a classic two-out-of-three falls match, Steamboat won in controversial fashion, pinning Flair while his foot was under the bottom rope.
The title was put on the line again at Wrestlewar 1989: Music City Showdown. To ensure a winner once and for all, Terry Funk, Pat O’Connor and Lou Thesz were chosen as judges should the match reach the time limit. The momentum of the match ebbed to and fro for over half an hour before Flair gradually took control, targeting Steamboat’s leg after he fell from the top turnbuckle.
The match ended after Steamboat tried to pick up Flair for a scoop slam. Steamboat’s leg gave way and Flair pinned the champion with an inside cradle. Flair and Steamboat shook hands before one of the match’s judges, Terry Funk, attacked Flair to try and win a title shot. Steamboat never got his rematch, robbing the world of another potential classic.
2. Kurt Angle Vs. Brock Lesnar – Iron Man Match – WWE Smackdown (September 18, 2003)
Lesnar broke into WWE in 2002 and was immediately built up to be a behemoth. He tore through the WWE roster on his way to the Undisputed WWE Championship in 2002. In late 2002, Kurt Angle got embroiled in a feud between Lesnar and Big Show. After Angle — then WWE Champion — took Paul Heyman as his manager and denied Brock a title shot, Lesnar attacked Angle and broke his leg (in storyline).
Brock beat Big Show at the 2003 Royal Rumble and later that night won the battle royale, lining up a Wrestlemania 19 main event that pitted two of WWE’s purest athletes against each other. Angle was the Olympic gold medallist, and Lesnar the former NCAA heavyweight champion and four time All-American.
Their matches and the feud was incredibly intense. Lesnar won at Wrestlemania, Angle won the title back at Summerslam and their rivalry came to a head — rather unusually — with a WWE Championship Iron Man match on an episode of Smackdown. The match was ferocious, with some great psychology as Lesnar got himself intentionally disqualified for a fall to beat Angle with a chair and pick up some easy pinfalls.
Angle fought back from a 4-1 and 5-2 deficit to get the score to 5-4. As the final seconds of the match ticked away, Angle had Lesnar in an ankle lock, but despite the Olympic champion’s best efforts, Lesnar hung on until time ran out to retain his championship. Both men came out of the match looking strong, having wrestled their way to arguably the best wrestling match ever aired on free television.
The thought of Kurt Angle coming back to WWE fills many wrestling fans with glee – surely re-igniting his feud with Lesnar is the most exciting aspect of his possible return.
1. Edge And Christian Vs. Dudley Boyz Vs. Hardy Boyz – TLC II, WWF WrestleMania 17
WWE’s tag team division was not always the mess it is today. In the late 1990s and at the beginning of the 2000s, the division was the strongest it has ever been, with The New Age Outlaws, The APA, Too Cool and the Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection among the duos to hold the tag team titles.
Three teams in particular were the cornerstone of the division’s success; Edge and Christian, the Dudley Boyz and the Hardy Boyz. Despite the idiotic decision to spell boys with a Z, all three teams were talented, exciting, and desperate to raise the bar each time they wrestled each other. Their rivalry was built on little more than a desire to be the best team and to hold the tag titles – that was all the motivation their matches ever needed.
Three matches in particular stand out during their ongoing rivalry: a triangle ladder match at Wrestlemania 16 (I refuse to call it Wrestlemania 2000, that was a stupid name for it), the first ever tables, ladders and chairs match at Summerslam 2000, and TLC II at Wrestlemania 17.
The final encounter was a classic, a ladder match littered with creative — and dangerous — spots. A Jeff Hardy swanton bomb off a ladder through Rhyno, Spike Dudley and several tables, or Bubba Ray Dudley and Matt Hardy crashing through four tables after being thrown off a ladder would be the high point of most other encounters, but the match’s iconic moment came minutes later, when after hopping across a makeshift bridge of ladders, Jeff Hardy was speared by Edge as he dangled 20 feet in the air as he clutched on to the tag team belts.
As with the previous two encounters, Edge and Christian won the bout, claiming their seventh and final tag team championship. The match marked the zenith of tag wrestling in WWE, and heralded the end of the golden age of matches featuring the three teams as Edge and Christian split in September 2001. What a way to go out though.
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