Most Underrated Rivalries

Withs tons of rivalries over the decades, there’s only been some that people still talk about today. Some of these rivalries were so personal that they brought in more realism into the storylines.

Often of times, some of the feuds lasted for only a month or two, while others lasted half the year or even a full year.

The sad part is that there’s been many of these rivalries that no one reallyt speaks about. They fell through the cracks and were just forgotten. It’s the sad part o the business. One minute you’re hot and the next you’re not.

I’ve always thought about the storylines I’m going to present you with. Some of them were cut too short, and I’ve always wondered what could’ve been if they would’ve kept it going for just a bit longer.

Other rivalries tested time and went on for half the year.

Eddie Guerrero Vs JBL

Probably one of the most forgotten about treasures in sports entertainment. This feud started in 2004 when JBL wasn’t too fond of Eddie Guerrero being the WWE Champion.

JBL said that a true champion doesn’t live by the motto “I lie, I cheat, I steal”. Which was Eddie Guerrero’s catchphrase.

JBL ended up making the feud more personal when at a live show he actually put his hands on Eddie’s real-life mother. Eddie’s mother feel to the mat and looked to be having a heart attack. Of course this was all kayfabe and she was in on the story.

What made that moment more surreal was that it was in Eddie’s hometown and his entire family was ringside. You could see Eddie’s wife and daughters pleading for help.

Their rivalries culminated in one of the bloodiest matches in WWE history at Judgement Day 2004.

The rivalry finally came to an end at The Great American Bash 2004. They battled in a Bull-Rope Match. Again, it was one bloody hell of a match.

To win the match, one wrestler must touch all four corners of the ring.

Eddie Guerrero ultimately ending up touching all four corners of the ring.

The shocking part of the night was when Kurt Angle (then Smackdown General Manager) came out to address something that happened during the match. Kurt showed a replay of the final corner that Eddie touched and we could see that JBL’s elbow touched the corner first.

Eddie’s face turned white, even with all the blood on his face. JBL won the match and became WWE Champion.

It’s always going to be a surprise to me how not many people mention this rivalry when they discuss top fueds.

There was even a segment where JBL went to the Mexican border and acted like a border patrol, hunting down illegal immigrants. They really delve into the storyline.

McMahon Family

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The good father versus son story that we all know and either love or hate.

This destruction of the McMahon family has been well documented throughout the history of WWE. They’ve used it multiple times and quite frantically I’ve always been a fan of it. There’s always something new to see.

The whole thing began when Shane bough WCW from his fathers back.

Shane and Vince had an amazing street fight at Wrestlemania 17. It was an all out brawl and included Shane’s sister who was jealous of Vince’s new “wife”.

Sure, this cookie cutter storyline was too on the nose in the beginning. We knew that Shane was going to come out on top, but the ride was so entertaining.

Not to mention the crazy stuff Shane decided to do to his father. He jumped from across the ring while Vince had a trash can in front of him, and he crashed onto him. Even more The Ministry Of Darkness was a faction that involved Undertaker and Vince as the “higher power”. Shane was in the ministry but soon Vince turned the faction against Shane.

The most vial thing that Vince told his own son was “I’ll never forgive your mother for giving birth to you”. We all felt that one.

Their storylines always seem to fade away slowly with no real resolution. They’ve been off and on for decades.

The final storyline that wow’ed me was the No Holds Barred match Vince had with his daughter Stephanie McMahon. He choked her with a lead pipe before her mother threw in the towel.

The McMahon family feud is really one of most uncut gems of the Attitude Era.

CM Punk Vs Jeff Hardy

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CM Punk is always going to be remembered for his pipe-bomb promo. It was the night that he really sealed his fate in the company. He proved that he will never follow your rules and that he will never read something that’s on paper.

CM Punk quietly loathed Jeff Hardy for getting chance after chance after every mistake he did. CM was completely jealous of Jeff’s all-of-a-sudden rise to fame again.

CM Punk hated the fact that Jeff ended up with WWE Champion instead of him.

This was the perfect time for CM Punk to turn heel. It kinda brought back his Ring Of Honor persona where he didn’t care about anything or anyone other than himself.

CM Punk and Jeff Hardy waged war at Summerslam in a TLC Match. It was a flawless match. All the spots were perfectly executed. The tension was there. You really felt like these two men are going to kill each other.

The promos between these men were original, intense, and full of conviction.

Chyna Vs Ivory

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To start off, Ivory is probably the most underrated woman heel in history. She’s never gotten the credit she so rightfully deserves. Sure, she made it into the Hall Of Fame, but still she deserves more praise.

Ivory was a phenomenal villain who really loved to push peoples buttons and get a reaction out of us. Also, she used to deliver amazing promos.

The rivalry began once Val Venis and Ivory drove Chyna head-first onto the mat with a vicious spike piledriver. Which resulted in Chyna hurting her neck.

Ivory took it upon herself to mock the interview that Chyna did when she was injured.

Ivory was convinced that Chyna’s career was over. But, Chyna came back and let Ivory know that she’s facing her at Wrestlemania 17 for the women’s title.

The storyline was the epitome of what wrestling should be. You have a definitive heel in Ivory, a person who clearly wanted to hurt someone intentionally. Then you have the clear babyface who came back from an injury and is ready to fight. This is a story of retribution.

The feud ended at Wrestlemania 17 when Chyna was able to defeat Ivory and take back her Women’s championship.

It had a clear ending. Nothing complicated. They didn’t do anything together after. Which is how stories should be. Unlike some storylines in todays wrestling that has gone for far too long.

Mick Foley Vs Vader

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Mick Foley has been very vocal when he speaks about Vader. Mick has said that Vader was vital to his career.

When Mick Foley was wrestling Vader in WCW, it really did establish Mick as a hardcore wrestler. Before that, hardcore wrestling was an underground thing.

This was a turning time for WCW. A time where the company was just looking at the old school wrestlers and thinking they could still sell tickets. NWO still didn’t exist at the time. WCW was just too old-fashioned.

Vader ended up punching Mick Foley’s nose so hard that he actually broke it. The funny thing is that Mick wanted that to happen. He told Vader backstage that he wants him to his nose for real. Vader was taken aback by the request. He contemplated the spot even as he walked down to the ring he said.

It was a short-lived storyline, but it had some memorable moments. I’d even say that it also established Vader as a top contender.

Shane McMahon Vs X-Pac

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In 1998 X-Pac spent most of his time adding some credibility to his name. He was fresh from WCW. In the same year he was the European Champion and worked real strong matches against D’Lo Brown.

X-Pac ended up dropping the European Championship to Shane McMahon in controversial fashion. This was when their rivalry began. To me, it was one of the hottest feuds leading up to Wrestlemania 15.

During this time, Shane introduced us to the Mean Street Posse, a short-lived faction that only lasted 2 years in the company.

Mean Street Posse posed as Shane McMahon’s friends from Connecticut and also served as his personal bodyguards.

X-Pax kept losing a bunch of matches thanks to Mean Street Posse interfering in every single match.

In 1998, Shane was able to deliver some of the most entertaining promos ever. The man had a gift. He would make his opponent sound like a complete piece of shit. Sometimes he even convinced me that I should be taking his side. He always had such substance with every line he said.

At Wrestlemanis 25, the showcase of the immortals. X-Pac beat the living hell out of Shane and finally was able to get his hands on the Mean Street Posse.

The most shocking part of the whole feud was when X-Pac’s own teammates turned on him and ended up joining Shane McMahon and the coporartion.

Virgil Vs Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase

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For years Virgil was Million Dollar Mans servant. He did everything his employer told him to do, all for the sake of a dollar.

1991 arrived and the once-proud man had grown tired of waiting for DiBiase to give him some sort of promotion. Roddy Piper ended up clearing Virgil;s mind and planted the seed to make him stand up to his employer.

At Royal Rumble 1993, Virgil had enough. He blasted Ted DiBiase with the Million Dollar Belt. The crowd erupted with a standing ovation for Virgil.

Virgil spent the next months standing up for himself. He tried his best to make Ted’s life a living hell. Virgil fount under the guidance of Roddy Piper.

At Wrestlemania 7, Virgil endedup beating his old boss via countout in one of the biggest upsets in forever. No one expected Virgil to win because at that time he was mostly just a jobber.

The feud didn’t take long to build or anything. It was as simple as it could get. It was just an employee who hated his boss and was tired of being belittled. It worked perfectly well.

I felt for Virgil because we have all felt the way he did. We have bosses who put such big obstacles in front of us and expect us to easily get through them and when we don’t they just become demonic.

Let’s face it. There’s always gonna be that moment where you want to punch your employer.

New Age Outlaws Vs Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie

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The New age Outlaws were among the hottest acts in wrestling in 1998. Making a name for themselves by beating the Legion Of Doom and nearly putting an end to Mick Foley’s alter ego “Dude Love”.

It was that assault that lead Mick Foley to find someone who would help him in his peril. That help came from Terry “Chainsaw Charlie” Funk. The irony was that Terry and Mick had their own personal issues that dated back years ago.

New Age Outlaws took advantage of Mick and Terry’s hardcore match they had the same year. Mick and Terry were trapped inside a dumpster. Road Dogg and Billy Gunn locked them in and sent the dumpster flying off the entrance of the stage.

Fans were left shocked. I was in shocked. My jaw dropped. I seriously thought they died. The dumpster landed with an enormous THUD on the floor.

This then lead to their infamous dumpster match at Wrestlemania 14. Mick Foley was now Cactus Jack and Terry Funk was Chainsaw Charlie.

The match in Boston was brutal, violent, and chaotic, ending when Cactus Jack and Terry Funk seemingly won the tag team titles, until they didn’t.

This is really one of the most forgotten storylines ever. It’s sad. All the men involved really put their careers on the line. There were lots of scary moments in their feud.

I feel like this rivalry is what made New Age Outlaws top contenders in the industry.

Trist Stratus Vs Mickie James

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Mickie James and Trish Stratus had one of the greatest storylines during the Ruthless Aggression Era. Their feud leading up to Wrestlemania 22 was on a hot streak. To me, they won the entire year of 2008.

Mickie James exploded into WWE portraying an obsessed fan of Trish. While she wanted to be her pal, the way Mickie came onto Trish was too strong.

Mickie James went as far as kissing Trish during the holidays, sparking rumors of a on-screen lesbian angle.

Trish revealed that she had an on-screen boyfriend. Trish also befriended another wrestler by the name of Ashley Massaro. Which angered Mickie.

Trish asked Mickie for some space. That was when Mickie snapped on her. Mickie betrayed Trish on an episode of Saturday Night Main Event. Mickie then proceeded on kidnapping Trish’s friend Ashley.

The most shocking part of the entire rivalry was when Mickie James locked herself in a room that was covered in images of her suppose idol. Mickie then muttered the words “My new obsession…your destruction”.

Mickie James would go on to win her match against Trish at Wrestlemania 22. She won her first women’s title.

Also, during their match at Wrestleamania there was a spot in the match that wasn’t planned. It was such a surprise that if you try to see it today, it’s impossible unless you saw it live. WWE has edited the spot out.

The spot was when Mickie James grabbed Trish Stratus crotch and licked her fingers after. It caught me by surprise, being that I was about 9 years old at the time.

I give Mickie James so much praise for her character. She played the psycho character so well. She made me believe that she actually was a psycho and needed help.