15. Hall, Nash & Hogan vs. Luger, Sting & Savage (Bash At The Beach '96)
While you may know Dusty Rhodes the wrestling commentator as the inventor of words like "plundah," listen to his call of "the NWO formation match" from Bash at the Beach 1996. He's amazing on the call, and the match itself really isn't a slouch either as you're getting Scott Hall and Sting in the prime of their careers. Note how the crowd's complete disinterest in Hulk Hogan sauntering to ringside becomes absolute disgust when he turns. It's a weird blend of "screw that guy" to "no, we actually liked you better when you were irrelevant" to "no, now you're going to still be a top guy but you're bad now...DAMMIT." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxQpc5OBQm8 Of course, by the time Hogan cuts the promo, the people are all back in again like, "okay, this is going to be awesome." Sometimes Hulk Hogan is the best.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
