Growing up as a wrestling fan, my friends and I always talked about the ultimate dream matches. Unfortunately in today’s climate of WWE dominance, the era of the dream match is over. Today I look back at the top five of the ten greatest wrestling matches that never happened.

Keep in mind that these matches would have taken place in the prime of each wrestler’s career. For example, think Ric Flair 1983-1989 when he is mentioned in a dream match. For Shawn Michaels, think 1995-1997, Kurt Angle 2001-2004, etc.

None of these matches ever happened at the right time. Politics, territories, and time deprived wrestling fans of some guaranteed great ones. Unfortunately the closest you will get to seeing any of these matches is recreating them in a WWE wrestling video game.

1 – Steve Austin vs. Bill Goldberg. This was the ultimate dream match for several years in the 1990s. Goldberg burst on to the scene in WCW and dominated the company as Austin was exploding in the WWE. Similar styles and looks made this one a natural for wrestling fans.

Out of all of these matches, this one probably had the closest chance of happening. Once Vince McMahon bought WCW he could have made this one a reality. Instead, Vince chose not to pick up Goldberg’s contract. By the time Goldberg came to the WWE, Austin was winding down his career. Timing was never right for the ultimate clash of 21st century WWE Gods.

2 – Undertaker vs. Sting. While this one hasn’t necessarily appealed to me, fans have been clamoring for this one for years. On my radio show, I received numerous calls over the years of fans labeling this the ultimate dream match.

Like Austin-Goldberg, this one could have happened. Once again Vince McMahon could have picked up Sting’s WCW contract. To this day I will never understand why Vince let Sting and Goldberg slip away. I would imagine the mystique of both wrestlers is what has appealed most to the fans. There is always a slim possibility that this could happen, but it would never live up to expectations in 2010.

3 – Shawn Michaels vs. Ricky Steamboat. Think Steamboat era 1987-1990 and Michaels era 1995-1997. To me, this would have been the ultimate dream match. In their prime, both of these wrestlers were arguably the two most exciting stars in the business. Unfortunately only a couple of months prevented this one from becoming a reality.

This match had a shot of happening during Steamboat’s second WWE run in 1991. During this time, Michaels was a tag team wrestler. Steamboat walked out of the company late in the year. Steamboat left the company in October and Michaels turned heel and became a singles star one month later.

4 – Bret Hart vs. Kurt Angle. Once again, keep in mind that I am talking about these two guys wrestling in their primes. Think Bret Hart 1996-1998 and Kurt Angle 2001-2004. These two guys had the potential to have the greatest series of wrestling matches in WWE history.

Like many of the others, this one could have happened. Bret Hart left for WCW in 1998, just a few months before Angle joined the WWE. Granted, it would take Angle a couple of years to develop into a superstar. Yet, there is no reason to think that Bret wouldn’t have been in great condition by this time. Once again Vince McMahon’s poor business decision cost the fans a series of classics.

5 – Roddy Piper vs. Steve Austin. This one had the potential to be remembered forever as a classic feud. The promos alone would have carried this one to classic status. Austin in his prime and Piper in his prime could have headlined two WrestleMania shows and sold out arenas around the country.

More Honorable Mentions:

Shawn Michaels vs. The Rock
Hulk Hogan vs. Steve Austin
Brock Lesnar vs. Batista
The Road Warriors vs. Terry Gordy and Steve Williams
Ultimate Warrior vs. Sting
Andre the Giant vs. Big Show
Bob Backlund vs. Kurt Angle

Check out Dream Matches 6-10 and more honorable mentions by clicking here.

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My buddies over at Hugging Harold Reynolds have a great article looking at the Rock and Wrestling Connection. Click here to read it.

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1. Pro Wrestling Dream Matches That Never Happened – Part 1
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3. Top 10 Shawn Michaels WrestleMania Matches
4. Top 10 SummerSlam Matches
5. The “Nature Boy” and Hulkamania: A Dream Team, Brother…Woo!