10 Biggest Surprises In WWE's 100 Greatest Matches Book
9. Matches From The Pre-Vince McMahon Era
There's no question that WWE featured some positively barn-storming contests prior to Vince McMahon's 'Hulkamania' driven national expansion, and it's entirely proper that they appear in any book proclaiming to detail the company's 100 greatest matches.
And rightly, so it is the case in DK's considerable bout bible. Bruno Sammartino's 1977 Baltimore battle with 'Superstar' Billy Graham makes the cut, as do the cage match pitting Bob Backlund against Stan Hansen from 1981, and the crimson-soaked Texas Death Match between Graham and Dusty Rhodes.
All worthy entries, though it is surprising to see content from so far back in WWE's history make a book ostensibly tailored towards current fans and those who grew up during the Attitude Era.
The decision makes sense in the context of the WWE Network; readers interested by the matches may feel compelled to seek them out on the company's extensive on-demand library. Bizarrely however, only one (Backlund Vs. Hansen) of the three encounters appears on the service.
The brutally bloody contest between Rhodes and Hansen also appears a strange choice in a publication with a distinctly PG tone. As the American Dream's only viable contests occurred in his pre-polka dotted days, it seems a decision motivated by DK's desire to include a Dusty match in the wake of his passing.