10 Wrestlers Who Guided Other Wrestlers To Great Performances
It usually takes two to tango, but sometimes it takes one doing 100% of the work to create magic.
When Al Hoffman and Dick Manning wrote 'Takes Two to Tango' in 1952 they probably didn't have professional wrestling in mind, but the cap fits and the idiom rings true in the squared circle. Pro wrestling is a dance, visual art masquerading as physical combat. There are many variables and aspects of pro wrestling that are to be taken into consideration, but the ebb and flow between the ropes is arguably the most important. Well, it should be, anyway.
It is somewhat ironic that plenty of men and women carve out successful pro wrestling careers despite being awful in the ring. Aesthetics has a lot to answer for here, but wrestling history is littered with iconic names who couldn't actually wrestle.
'Couldn't wrestle' was accurate 99% of the time. As the saying goes, 'even a broken clock is right twice a day', and even a wrestler as immobile as Nia Jax can bust out a great match with the right opponent, provided that opponent does all of the work. Carry jobs aren't rare in WWE, but some stick out like the sorest of thumbs.
If you can drag a five-star match out of The Ultimate Warrior or a crack-addled British Bulldog, you deserve all the good things that come your way.
10. Chris Jericho Vs. Chyna (WWE Armageddon 1999)
Chyna had plenty of memorable matches during her career, although the common denominator was usually plenty of plunder and a healthy dose of smoke and mirrors, stipulations that maximised her strengths and hid her weaknesses. Her best singles match was probably the Good Housekeeping bout against Jeff Jarrett earlier in '99 but that was more to do with flour, brooms and an actual fish than Jarrett's carrying or Chyna's wrestling.
The best pure wrestling match of her career was this 10-minute banger at Armageddon '99, a match that proved to WWE management just how good Chris Jericho was. The two had put on a match of the night contender at the previous month's Survivor Series, although that was a card that included Big Show vs. Big Boss Man, Viscera, Albert and Mideon, so make of that what you will. The Armageddon match was better, is what I'm saying.
Jericho and Chyna were portrayed as equals, Chyna's physical charisma being maximised by Y2J's innate understanding of what makes a quality professional wrestling match. He turned a corner in this match, winning his first WWE Intercontinental Championship in the process. Just rewards for carrying Chyna to a legitimately good wrestling match.