50 Best WWE Matches Of The 90s

Going into 1990, the then-World Wrestling Federation was running on the fumes of the last vestiges of the Rock 'n Wrestling Era, the days of Hulkamania slowly coming to an end. Faced with a number of damaging scandals, the WWF limped into the ill-conceived 'New Generation', in which Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Diesel led a motley crew of technicolor cartoon characters through watered-down programming. With the breakout of Stone Cold Steve Austin's defiant act, the Attitude Era lay just beyond the muck, and would bring Vince McMahon's empire back to global prominence. It's sometimes hard to fathom that these three eras could have possibly run concurrently, where Hulk Hogan's fifth WWF Championship reign took place a mere four years before Austin bled out all over the Rosemont Horizon in an astonishing showcase. The 1990s saw the World Wrestling Federation take many forms, and taking inventory of the best matches of the decade yields some surprising juxtapositions. This list will provide a subjective look at the fifty best WWF matches of a decade that was equal parts tumult and triumph, and would demonstrate a radical shift from live-action Saturday morning cartoon, into the gritty and chaotic showcase that swung the balance of the Monday Night Wars once and for all.

50. Cactus Jack Vs. Triple H (Raw Is War, 9/22/97)

It takes a lot to capture the audience's attention minutes after Steve Austin stuns Vince McMahon for the first time, but the Madison Square Garden crowd was gifted quite the treat. For the first time ever, Mick Foley donned the Cactus Jack garb inside a WWF ring, 'filling in' for Dude Love in a falls count anywhere match with the still blue-blooded Hunter Hearst Helmsley. It was fitting for the first Raw to emanate from the Garden. The 'debuting' Cactus made it count with a wild brawl all throughout ringside that culminated with a sickening Texas-style piledriver through a table that was situated at the top of the ramp. 'Cactus' wouldn't appear again until the final Raw of 1997, but in the debut, everything was perfect.

49. The 1990 Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble 1990)

The event itself already forged itself into lore by drawing a crowd that went absolutely bonkers for pretty much everything. Watch the show sometime, it's like everyone in Orlando were greeting the Beatles at the airport for three hours straight. The Rumble match itself is one of the better ones in the event's history, featuring memorable tussles between Randy Savage and Dusty Rhodes, Jake Roberts and Ted Dibiase, and the elimination of Andre the Giant by Demolition. What puts the match into legendary consideration is the showdown between Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior late in the contest, after the two singles champions cleared the ring. Seismographs in the area may have picked up the buzz of the 16,000 on hand as Hogan and Warrior memorably began their battle of wills.