The dream matches that fans have dreamed of over the years have often come true at one point or another. However, during the Golden Age, many of these dream matches had yet to happen and some never did. During the WWE The boom period would have been the best time to get the matches in the ring.
With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to see why some of these matches didn’t see the big WWE treatment. But in the heat of the moment, these matches would have been heralded as some of the greatest of all time.
9 Ric Flair vs. hulk hogan
For years there were apparently only two world champions: The Nature Boy Ric Flair and The Immortal Hulk Hogan. The NWA/WCW and the WWE. Once Ric Flair surprisingly appeared in WWE with The Big Gold Belt, no less, it was only a matter of time before the epic clash to see who was the true world champion. It should have been the wrestling equivalent of Tale Of Two Cities. But, according to WWE bosses, the match never got over the way they needed it on the home show circuit, any plans to headline WrestleMania with the epic dream match fell by the wayside.
8 Hulk Hogan vs. jake the snake roberts
During the early days of Jake Roberts’ WWE career, The Snake was one of the biggest heels in the company, and also one of the most popular. He was being groomed to have a big war with Hulk Hogan and take his rightful place as the best heel in all of wrestling.
However, at house shows, Roberts received much more applause than Hogan, something that was not allowed during this time. The angle fell faster than an Immortal Leg Drop.
7 demolition vs. The road warriors
When The Road Warriors finally decided to jump into WWE in the fall of 1990, they were already mega-established legends throughout the wrestling world. However, WWE had already established Demolition as their own tag team of demonic looking thugs. The stage was set for war. While they did have a few matches, none were marketed or booked on any major card to be the bloody brawl the match could have been.
6 Rude Rick vs. randy savage
Rick Rude and The Macho Man are considered two of the greatest workers and talkers of all time. Talking is what would make a great shortage of fans spend their money just to watch what would eventually turn into a veritable personal vendetta.
Imagine Rude asking all of us sweaty to carry him as he undulated right in front of Miss Elizabeth and Randy leaping into the ring at Ultimate Warrior speed. The match would have been established from that two-minute scene alone.
5 The Midnight Express in WWE
Just having Sweet Stan Lane, Loverboy Denis Condrey, Beautiful Bobby Eaton, or any combination of The Midnight Express and Jim Cornette in WWE would have been a phenomenal addition to the Golden Age roster. The Midnights were putting down punch after punch long before Sheamus started in the ring against each and every tag team. Seeing them up against the likes of The British Bulldogs, The Harts and The Rockers would have further cemented them as the best tag team on the planet. Corny has stated over the years that the offer that was made (even including possible toy, game and clothing waste) was nowhere near what they were paid to sell arenas in the Mid-South.
4 The Hart Foundation v. the savage samoans
While on the surface, Bret Hart could look like the outsider during a matchup between The Hart Foundation and The Wild Samoans, that would be part of the fun of watching the game. Afa, Sika and Neidhart would enjoy jostling each other’s meaty barrel-chested bodies. Meanwhile, Hitman would have to take down the Samoans with the expert precision for which he had become known.
3 Rick Martel vs. Tito Santana (A good explosion)
For almost a year, Strike Force – Tito Santana and Rick Martel were the best tag team in all of WWE. So Martel was put on the shelf. When the team came together, the future model couldn’t wait to turn his back on old Chico. While this may not seem like a “great” match to some, it could have easily been constructed as a great grudge match. They did a house show cycle and over the course of the rest of their careers, if they were in the ring together, they would fight each other. But they never got to have a big bang at one of the four big events.
2 The Bushwhackers vs. The Wild Samoans / The Headshrinkers
The Wild Samoans for their time were considered to be WWE’s wildest tag team, as were The Headshrinkers, the second iteration of The Bloodline. But another team known for brutal barbarism were The Sheepherders: WWE fans know them better as the fun-loving, face-licking Bushwhackers.
It would have been fun to see Luke and Butch have a reason to get tough and have a fun fight, either with the Headshrinkers or with the elders of the tribe, Afa and Sika.
1 Bret Hart vs. andre the giant
If you google this you will find it. So the “match” happened at a house show in Milan in April 1989. But it was a ten minute squash match more than anything else. We didn’t get a real chance to see how The Hitman would technically take Andre down. Bret has always spoken highly of Andre, so it stands to reason that The Eighth Wonder of the World would have been sold for Bret if he wanted it to.