Top 50 WWF Singles Wrestlers of the 90s

[HarleyQuinn]

One thing I always liked about Davey Boy was his power. He looked like he could go up against nearly anybody in the WWF in during his '99 run and the dreadlock/beaded look helped make him standout a lot.

For a guy who never really was great on the mic, he had a lot of fantastic matches as a singles wrestlers which still hold up today against Bret, Owen, and Shawn Michaels. He was kind of the anti-Billy Gunn in that he was good as a tag team wrestler but arguably better when placed in a singles role.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Agreed with ya, @HarleyQuinn. I always thought Davey Boy was a very good borderline great worker and assertion that he had to be carried to great matches was a bit unfair (outside of SummerSlam '92 where Bret practically LITERALLY carried DBS cause Bulldog spent all summer smoking crack with The Anvil). British Bulldog had decent to good matches with The Warlord and Haku, guys who even Bret would have a hard time carrying to a watchable match. Bulldog was always capable of being great, it's just he didn't need to go full throttle once he went solo.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

man the disrespect for haku smfh

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Look I love Haku like every sensible, god fearing wrestling fan but even he would agree, his purpose wasn't to have great matches. It was just to be scary and mean.

 

[Valeyard]

Haku was good, man. I'm no smark sheelpe.

Bulldog I'm really torn on. There's no way he should be higher than Foley, though. The last run really undid a lot of the good he had.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

It's 2020, guys, we can acknowledge that a wrestler is good but doesn't have good matches!

 

[Valeyard]

I know. I've watched AEW.

 

[SFH]

I remember reading in one of the PWI type magazines (possibly PWI) that he'd beaten Flair at an untelevised event somewhere in between Flair's two title reigns. I adamantly wanted DBS to face Flair during his 2nd reign.

 

[AA484]

I remember reading in one of the PWI type magazines (possibly PWI) that he'd beaten Flair at an untelevised event somewhere in between Flair's two title reigns. I adamantly wanted DBS to face Flair during his 2nd reign.

I think it was a British house show, IIRC

 

[AA484]

12. Diesel

Two Dudes with Attitudes (1993–1995)[edit]
Main article: Two Dudes with Attitudes
In 1993, Nash left WCW, signing a contract with the WWF at the request of Shawn Michaels.[23] He was given the stage name of Diesel, with the character given the nickname "Big Daddy Cool." For the role, Nash grew long hair, taking on the appearance of a typical cocky biker thug from Detroit and sporting black sunglasses and leather garments. The name of Diesel, suggested by Shane McMahon, was a play on the fact that Nash was from Detroit, known famously as "The Motor City." To play off of his character's name and the Raw theme I Like It Raw, Nash's initial entrance music was a simple series of truck engine noises along with loud horns beeping.

Diesel started out as the bodyguard/best friend of Shawn Michaels, with the two being known as Two Dudes with Attitudes. He made his WWF debut at a house show on June 6, 1993 by assisting Michaels in defeating Marty Jannetty for the WWF Intercontinental Championship.[5] In January 1994, Diesel appeared at the Royal Rumble, eliminating seven men in under 18 minutes of in-ring time. Diesel won the Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon, following interference from Michaels on the April 30, 1994 episode (taped April 13, 1994) of Superstars.[5][24] The duo of Diesel and Michaels defeated The Headshrinkers to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on August 28, making Nash a double champion.[5][25] However, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Ramon the following night at SummerSlam.[5] The alliance between Diesel and Michaels dissolved after Survivor Series, when Michaels accidentally performed a superkick on Diesel. Diesel then chased Michaels, and despite failing to catch him the reaction from the crowd turned him babyface. However, Nash was no longer a tag team champion, as Michaels' actions resulted in the team being forced to vacate the titles.

On November 26, three days after Survivor Series, Diesel faced Bob Backlund for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship that Backlund had won at Survivor Series from Bret Hart. In the match at Madison Square Garden, Diesel defeated Backlund in an eight-second squash match in the same fashion Hulk Hogan won the title from The Iron Sheik in 1984.[26][5][27] Diesel then promised Hart a match for his title, which they had the next month at the Royal Rumble. The match ended in a draw due to interference from several wrestlers, including Shawn Michaels. Michaels was irate about his former bodyguard having beaten him to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and was sufficiently motivated to win the Royal Rumble match later that evening, earning himself a title shot at WrestleMania XI.

At WrestleMania XI on April 2, Nash, accompanied to ringside by actress Pamela Anderson (who was supposed to valet for Michaels), defeated Michaels to retain the title. After the match, he left the ring with both Anderson and Michaels' replacement for her, Jenny McCarthy. The next night on Monday Night Raw, Michaels was betrayed by his new bodyguard, Sycho Sid, prompting Diesel to come to his rescue and thus reunited the tag team. Diesel successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Sycho Sid at the inaugural In Your House pay-per-view on May 14, and at the In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks on July 23. At SummerSlam, Diesel retained the WWF World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Mabel, who had won the King of the Ring tournament.

On September 24 at In Your House 3 in Saginaw, Michigan, Diesel and Michaels challenged the reigning WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna. The match had a winner-take-all stipulation, as in addition to the tag belts Diesel's WWF World Heavyweight Championship and Michaels' recently won Intercontinental Championship were also on the line. When Hart did not show up at the event, he was replaced by Davey Boy Smith. In the course of the match, Hart arrived at ringside, entered the ring and was pinned by Diesel for the win and the title, making him and Michaels holders of all three major WWF championships.[25] The reign did not last long, however, as Hart and Yokozuna had the titles returned to them the next night on Raw due to Hart not being an official part of the match when he was pinned.

Post WWF World Heavyweight Champion (1995–1996)[edit]
Main article: The Kliq
Diesel's WWF World Heavyweight Championship reign continued until November 19, when he was defeated by Bret Hart at Survivor Series.[5] Following the loss, Diesel attacked Hart. He later began a tweener turn and started a rivalry against fan favorite The Undertaker by costing him a potential victory in his match against Hart at the Royal Rumble. Diesel was the last wrestler eliminated in the Royal Rumble match by Shawn Michaels, which eventually led to a rift between the two men. At In Your House 6 on February 18, Diesel lost a steel cage match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Bret Hart when he was attacked by The Undertaker.[5]

Shortly before WrestleMania XII, Nash's contract status was in a state of flux. At the time, WCW was offering large amounts of money to the WWF's talent by Eric Bischoff, WCW Executive Vice President, to jump ship. In fact, Bischoff had succeeded in convincing several high-profile WWF stars to sign with WCW over the previous two years, including five-time former WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and his on-again, off-again friend and two-time former WWF Champion Randy Savage, and was in the process at the time of talking to Nash's friend Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall about a contract as Hall's too was set to expire.

Nash explained on the WWE Classics on Demand exclusive series Legends of Wrestling that Hall had been the first to sign with the company and was offered a contract that paid him "above Sting money" (at the time, Sting was one of the highest paid wrestlers in the company and although Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage had been making more, Sting's contract was used as a measuring stick). Hall also informed Nash that he had been given "favored nations" status, which meant that if someone new was hired for more money, Hall's contract would increase to match that contract. Hall told Nash that because he had been the WWF Champion and the focal point of the company for most of the previous eighteen months, he could realistically come in and expect a fair amount of money. Bischoff ended up offering Nash a three-year guaranteed contract with a $1.2 million annual salary. Nash said to Vince McMahon that he did not want to leave the WWF (he said that McMahon had been the first to believe in him as a wrestler, and that WCW had tried to ruin his career with his previous characters of Vinnie Vegas, Oz, and Master Blaster Steel), and that if McMahon was willing to match the offer, he would stay. McMahon said no because, according to Nash, he would have had to offer matching contracts to other wrestlers and with the promotion in a bad financial situation, he simply could not afford it. Nash signed his contract shortly thereafter.

Diesel lost to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XII on March 31, after which he finally turned heel and went on to feud with Shawn Michaels once again after he turned on him at a Madison Square Garden live event. In his last televised WWF appearance until 2002, Diesel challenged Michaels for the WWF Championship (which he had won from Hart at WrestleMania XII) at In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies on April 28. He wrestled Michaels for the title once again in a steel cage match at a house show on May 19, but was again defeated.[28] After the match, Diesel, Michaels, Razor Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a group of off-screen friends known collectively as "The Kliq", hugged one another in the ring and wished each other farewell.[28] This incident, later referred to as the "Curtain Call" or "MSG Incident", was a serious breach of character, as it showed heels and babyfaces consorting with one another.[29] Shortly thereafter, with his obligations to the WWF now completely fulfilled, Nash left for WCW.[28]

 

[AA484]

11. Triple H

Intercontinental Champion (1995–1997)
In a modified version of his gimmick in WCW, Levesque started his WWF career as a "Connecticut Blueblood".[23] According to Levesque, JJ Dillion originally gave him the name of Reginald DuPont Helmsley, but Levesque asked for a name to play with the first letters and management ultimately agreed to his suggestion of Hunter Hearst Helmsley.[25] He appeared in taped vignettes, in which he talked about how to use proper etiquette, up until his wrestling debut on the April 30, 1995 episode of Wrestling Challenge defeating Buck Zumhofe.[26] Helmsley made his WWF pay-per-view debut at SummerSlam, where he defeated Bob Holly.[27] In the fall of 1995, Helmsley began a feud with the hog farmer Henry O. Godwinn, culminating in an infamous Hog Pen match at In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings, where Helmsley was victorious.[28]

Although Helmsley was highly promoted in the first few months after his debut, his career stalled during 1996, starting off with a feud with Duke "The Dumpster" Droese following a loss during the Free for All at 1996 Royal Rumble.[29][30] Up until that event, his angle included appearing on television each week with a different female valet (which included Playboy Playmates Shae Marks and Tylyn John).[7] Sable was his valet at WrestleMania XII and after his loss to The Ultimate Warrior,[31] as part of the storyline, he took his aggressions out on her. The debuting Marc Mero – her real-life husband – came to her rescue, starting a feud between the two wrestlers.[32]

On June 1, 1996, Helmsley appeared on an episode of Superstars in a match against Marty Garner.[33] When he attempted to perform the Pedigree, Garner mistook the maneuver for a double underhook suplex and tried to jump up with the move, causing him to land squarely on top of his head and suffer neck damage.[33] Garner sued the WWF, eventually settling out of court and later discussed the incident in an appearance on The Montel Williams Show.[citation needed]

Levesque was known backstage as one of the members of The Kliq, a stable of wrestlers including; Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall, who were known for influencing Vince McMahon and the WWF creative team.[29] It has been claimed that he was scheduled to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, but the victory was instead awarded to Stone Cold Steve Austin after the Madison Square Garden Incident, in which the Kliq broke character after a match to say goodbye to the departing Nash and Hall.[34] Despite the punishment, Helmsley did have success following the MSG Incident. Mr. Perfect became his manager and he won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time on October 21, 1996, defeating Marc Mero.[32][34] When Mr. Perfect left the WWF, his departure was explained to be a result of Helmsley turning his back on his manager as soon as he won the Intercontinental Championship. Helmsley held the title for nearly four months before dropping it to Rocky Maivia on the February 13, 1997 special episode of Monday Night Raw, called Thursday Raw Thursday.[35] For a very brief time, Helmsley was accompanied by Mr. Hughes, who was his storyline bodyguard reminiscent of Ted DiBiase and Virgil.[36] After losing the Intercontinental title, he feuded with Goldust, defeating him at WrestleMania 13.[37] During their feud, Chyna debuted as his new bodyguard.[38]

D-Generation X (1997–1999)
Main article: D-Generation X
Helmsley was being highlighted again in 1997, winning the 1997 King of the Ring tournament by defeating Mankind in the finals.[34][39] Later that year, Shawn Michaels, Helmsley, Chyna and Rick Rude formed D-Generation X (DX). This stable became known for pushing the envelope, as Michaels and Helmsley made risqué promos—using the catchphrase "Suck It" and a "crotch chop" hand motion[40]—and sarcastically derided Bret Hart and Canada. By that point, Helmsley had all but dropped the "blueblood snob" gimmick, appearing in T-shirts and leather jackets. During this period, his ring name was shortened to simply Triple H, even though he would still be referred for a while as Helmsley from time to time and Hunter for the rest of his career.[34] Even after the DX versus Hart Foundation storyline ended, he continued to feud with the sole remaining Hart family member Owen over the European Championship. This ended in a match between the two at WrestleMania XIV, with the stipulation that Chyna had to be handcuffed to then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. Triple H won after Chyna threw powder into Slaughter's eyes, momentarily "blinding" him and allowing her to interfere in the match.[citation needed]

After WrestleMania, Michaels was forced into temporary retirement due to a legitimate back injury sustained at the Royal Rumble,[41] with Triple H taking over the leadership position in DX,[34] claiming that his now-former associate had "dropped the ball". He introduced the returning X-Pac the night after WrestleMania and joined forces with The New Age Outlaws.[34][42] As 1998 went along, DX became more popular, turning the group from villains to fan favorites. During this time, he adopted an entrance gimmick of asking the crowd "Are you ready? I said, are you ready?", followed by a parody of rival promotion WCW's ring announcer Michael Buffer's famous catch-phrase, "Let's get ready to rumble", substituting the word "rumble" with the DX slogan, "suck it". Also during this time, Triple H began a feud with the leader of the Nation of Domination and rising WWF villain, The Rock.[18] This storyline rivalry eventually led to a feud over the Intercontinental Championship, which Triple H won in a ladder match at SummerSlam.[18] He did not hold the title long, however, as he was sidelined with a legitimate knee injury.[18] When The Rock won the WWF Championship at Survivor Series,[43] the rivalry between the two continued, as DX fought The Corporation stable of which The Rock was the main star and Triple H received a shot at the WWF Championship on the January 25, 1999 Raw Is War in an "I Quit" match, but the match ended when Triple H was forced to quit or see his aide Chyna chokeslammed by Kane.[18] This began a new angle for Triple H, as Chyna betrayed him by attacking him after the match and joining The Corporation.[18]

At WrestleMania XV, Triple H lost to Kane after Chyna interfered on his behalf and she was thought to have rejoined DX.[18] Later on in the night, he betrayed his long-time friend and fellow DX member X-Pac by helping Shane McMahon retain the European Championship and joined The Corporation.[18] turning heel in the process. In April, he started to move away from his DX look, taping his fists for matches, sporting new and shorter wrestling trunks and adopting a shorter hairstyle.[18] His gimmick changed as he fought to earn a WWF Championship opportunity.[18] After failed attempts at winning the championship, Triple H and Mankind challenged then WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin to a triple threat match at SummerSlam, which featured Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee. Mankind won the match by pinning Austin.[44] The following night on Raw Is War, Triple H defeated Mankind to win his first WWF Championship.[18] He dropped the WWF Championship to Mr. McMahon on the September 16, 1999 episode of SmackDown! before regaining it at Unforgiven in a Six-Pack Challenge that included Davey Boy Smith, Big Show, Kane, The Rock and Mankind. He defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at No Mercy before dropping the title to Big Show at Survivor Series. Triple H then continued his feud with Mr. McMahon by marrying his daughter Stephanie McMahon and defeating McMahon at Armageddon. As a result of the feud, an angle with Triple H and Stephanie began which carried the WWF throughout the next seventeen months; together they were known as The McMahon-Helmsley Faction.[45]

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Triple H is going to find out who your favorite wrestler is, and bury them out of spite, for this.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Not much to say on the last two that I haven't said in other threads thus my silence but Triple H's impact in the WWF in the 90s kind of gets short changed b/c of who he is at least compared to guys like HBK, Bret, Austin, and Rock.

Managed to jump from a shitty upper class snob gimmick to introduce Chyna as his bodyguard, joined up with HBK in DX, took over DX and made them a legit faction with himself as a focal point feuding with The Rock, then turned heel to join up with The Corporation where he'd marry Stephanie, and win the WWF Title. In retrospect it's kind of impressive that he did it in the span of basically 2 & 1/2 years from 1997-1999.

A lot of those guys really were impressive in how quickly they altered the WWF in roughly a 3 year span despite most of them debuting in 1995/1996.

 

[SFH]

Yeah I was initially surprised at seeing Triple H at "only" 11 but then I rationalized, this is the 1990s, not the 00s. Harley pointing out the short time frame confirms.

Honestly, the Summerslam Triple Threat with Austin and Mankind, I still wasn't taking Triple H seriously as a main eventer. Even at points in the Two Man Power Trip I still wasn't convinced. Then with the internet basically becoming a community of HHHate, I got caught up in that too (justifiably) that it was hard for me to accept latter day H even when he put over Daniel Bryan. Even now when the occasional, "I can't wait until HHH takes over" comment pops up I wonder what that person's attitude was at Wrestlemania XIX.

But for 1990s, I'll say 11 is fair enough.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I think 11 is a little bit high for Triple H in the ‘90s but not too far off base. And I also have to remember that even if his main event run was only six months in the ‘90s, he was strong mid carder for a while before then. He probably was consistently ranked in the lower half of PWI Top 10 since mid ‘97 and in the middle since mid ‘98.

 

[Lazgistics Supervisor]

Triple H from the night after WM14 through the heel turn at WM15 was, arguably, the #3 face in the company. Austin at 1, Taker/Foley/Rock taking turns at 2, and H firmly at 3.

 

[alfdogg]

To be fair, being associated with the Clique meant he was going to get endless chances to overcome his shitty gimmick that other dudes in the same boat as him weren’t afforded. Most of those other guys would have gotten future endeavored while he was winning the IC title despite still not really being that over.

Not saying that dudes like Aldo Montoya and Man Mountain Rock should have been pushed that hard obviously but it’s not like 1995-96 HHH was doing a whole lot to stand out from them.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

If Triple H never befriends the Clique, where does his career top out? Even in ‘95-‘96, he did have some promise and I think was a clear step ahead of the Aldo Montoya’s and Alex Porteau’s of the world. It is made fun of now but being cast in the role of cannon fodder for Warrior’s return was a pretty big sign of confidence.

I think it was clear that he was going to be successful in in the industry at whatever cost. That being said, I don’t think his career tops being a less abrasive Shane Douglas if he never gains backstage political influence.

 

[AA484]

10. Mr. Perfect

End of Undefeated Streak (1990)[edit]
Perfect began the decade in a feud with Hulk Hogan, whom he had wrestled and lost to on non-televised live events. They did not compete on television until January 15, 1990 when Hennig received his first opportunity for the WWF Championship against Hogan on the live televised broadcast on the MSG Network and this was his first televised match against Hogan, which he won by disqualification.[26]

At Royal Rumble, Perfect attacked Genius's opponent Brutus Beefcake after their match, which began a feud between the two.[26] Later in the same night, Perfect participated in the Royal Rumble match as the No. 30 entrant. He eliminated Rick Rude before making it to the final two, where he was eliminated by Hogan.[27] Perfect's undefeated streak ended when he suffered his first pinfall loss on television against the Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior on the MSG Network special on March 19.[26] His first loss in singles competition on national television was against Brutus Beefcake at WrestleMania VI.[28] Perfect settled the score with Hogan with a match between the pair on the April 28 Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI, in which Hogan pinned Perfect for the first time on television.[29] Following his loss to Hogan, Perfect quietly ended his association with The Genius.[26]

Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion (1990–1991)[edit]
In May 1990, Perfect participated in a tournament for the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship after previous champion Ultimate Warrior vacated the title upon winning the WWF Championship at WrestleMania VI.[30] Hennig was booked to win the tournament for the vacant title by defeating Jimmy Snuka in the quarter-finals on the May 5 episode of Superstars and two-time Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion Tito Santana in the finals on the May 19 episode of Superstars.[30][31][32] After his title win, Perfect enlisted Bobby Heenan as his "perfect" manager[26] and made a successful title defense against Santana on the July 28 Saturday Night's Main Event XXVII.[33] Hennig was scheduled to defend the title against Brutus Beefcake at SummerSlam, stemming from his loss to Beefcake at WrestleMania but Beefcake suffered an injury and The Texas Tornado substituted for Beefcake and challenged Hennig to a title match for SummerSlam on the August 11 episode of Superstars, which Perfect accepted on the following week's Superstars.[26] Perfect dropped the championship to Texas Tornado at SummerSlam.[15][34][30] Hennig was chosen to lead Demolition as "The Perfect Team" against The Warriors (Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado and Legion of Doom) in a four-on-four elimination tag team match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, where Hennig's team lost.[35] He unsuccessfully challenged Texas Tornado in a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship on the November 24 MSG Network special, before regaining the title by defeating Texas Tornado on the December 15 episode of Superstars, with help from Ted DiBiase.[15][26] Perfect defended the title against Texas Tornado in a rematch on the February 2, 1991 episode of Superstars, where he retained the title by losing via countout.[36]

Perfect made his next title defense against Big Boss Man at WrestleMania VII, where he retained the title by losing via disqualification after the challenger was attacked by Haku and The Barbarian.[36][37] The following month, Perfect won a battle royal on the April 27 Saturday Night's Main Event by last eliminating Greg Valentine,[38][39] which led to a match between the two for Perfect's title on the May 14 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, where Perfect retained the title via disqualification.[36] On the June 15 episode of Superstars, Bobby Heenan retired as a manager and introduced The Coach as Hennig's new manager. Hennig began a rivalry with British Bulldog but he suffered a back injury in late June, which led to the rivalry being wrapped up. Bret Hart was announced as his next challenger on the July 13 episode of Superstars, and in the meantime Hennig was held out of all house shows, usually replaced by Typhoon. On television, he wrestled a few preliminary opponents but to avoid stressing his back with the Perfectplex adopted the gimmick of throwing his opposition out of the ring in disgust and defeating them by countout.[40] Perfect lost the title to Hart at SummerSlam[10][15] and a broken tailbone and bulged discs forced him to retire from the ring.[36]

Various storylines, manager and commentary (1991–1996)[edit]
Hennig spent the following year recovering from his injury. He returned to television on the November 23 episode of Superstars where he became Ric Flair's "executive consultant". The following week on Superstars, Perfect became a color commentator of the show for the next full year, acting as a suitable villainous foil to Vince McMahon's play-by-play.[36] During this period, Perfect assisted Flair in winning matches and managed him to two World Heavyweight Championship reigns in 1992.[41] By the fall of 1992, Perfect and Flair were in the midst of a rivalry with Randy Savage, building to a tag team match at Survivor Series where Flair and Razor Ramon would face Savage and Ultimate Warrior. However, Warrior was released from the WWF weeks prior to the event.[42] On the November 16 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, Savage asked Perfect to be his partner. After initially laughing off Savage's offer, Perfect was swayed by Savage's cajoling and by Bobby Heenan's degrading comments and commanding Perfect to follow orders, which would lead to Perfect turning into a fan favorite for the first time in WWF by dumping water on Heenan and accepting Savage's offer to return to the ring and become his partner at Survivor Series, much to the delight of the Prime Time Wrestling cast of Hillbilly Jim, Jim Duggan, and Vince McMahon.[43] Hennig made his return to the ring at Survivor Series, where Hennig and Savage won their match.[44]

Perfect began a high-profile rivalry with Flair. He made his return to singles competition on the January 2, 1993 episode of Superstars, where he defeated The Berzerker.[41] Hennig participated in the 1993 Royal Rumble match to determine the No. 1 contender for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania. He eliminated Flair, Skinner and Jerry Lawler until he was eliminated by Ted DiBiase, Koko B. Ware and Lawler.[45] Hennig defeated Flair the next night on Monday Night Raw in a match where the loser would be forced to leave WWF.[15] As a result, Flair left WWF.[46] He then went on to feud with the debuting Lex Luger, who berated Perfect during his promos. Luger won their match at WrestleMania IX[47] though both of Perfect's feet were clearly between the ropes. Afterwards, Perfect chased Luger backstage where he was jumped from behind by Luger's ally Shawn Michaels. As a result, Perfect began a rivalry with Michaels.[46]

During this time, Hennig qualified for the first-ever televised King of the Ring tournament by defeating Doink the Clown.[46] At King of the Ring, Perfect defeated Mr. Hughes in the quarter-finals but lost to eventual winner Bret Hart in the semi-finals.[48] Perfect competed against Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam, where Perfect lost by countout due to interference from Michaels' new bodyguard Diesel.[46][49] Hennig's last televised match in WWF was on the November 7 episode of Wrestling Challenge, where he defeated Iron Mike Sharpe. He was set to participate as a member of Razor Ramon's team at Survivor Series, but was replaced in the match by Randy Savage. Ramon took the microphone before the match saying Perfect tagged out due to the fact he "was too Perfect of a partner."[46]

Perfect made his surprise return to WWF at WrestleMania X on March 20, 1994, where he was the special guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Lex Luger and Yokozuna.[50] Perfect disqualified Luger after Luger manhandled Perfect, who was tending to Yokozuna's stricken managers Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji instead of counting the pinfall and turned heel again. Perfect was set to start another rivalry with Luger, during which he explained that he screwed Luger because of Luger's illegal win over Perfect the previous year at WrestleMania IX. However, plans were scrapped off after Hennig's back problems flared up again. He left the WWF in the spring of 1994.[51]

Hennig took a year off to recover from a back injury until he returned to the company as a color commentator at the Survivor Series pay-per-view in 1995.[52] The following weekend, Jerry Lawler announced Perfect as his replacement on Superstars,[15] his second stint as a color commentator on the show with Vince McMahon, this time with Jim Ross added as the analyst. Later in 1996, McMahon left and Ross switched to the play-by-play role. Perfect also did color commentary at Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and In Your House 10: Mind Games pay-per-views.[53] Perfect also served as the special guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog at June's King of the Ring pay-per-view.[54]

In mid-1996, Hennig was placed in an angle with Hunter Hearst Helmsley, where he would come out to the ringside during Helmsley's matches and steal his female escorts, which would often cause a distraction for Helmsley and affect his performance in matches. During the rivalry, Perfect helped Marc Mero in winning the Intercontinental Championship from Faarooq and assisted him in retaining the title against Goldust at In Your House 11: Buried Alive.[53] The following night on Raw, Perfect was initially going to make his wrestling comeback on against Helmsley but was attacked by Helmsley backstage just moments before their match. It appeared Helmsley's attack left Perfect injured and unable to compete. This all turned out to be a ruse for the purpose of suckering Mero into defending his title against Helmsley. With help from Perfect, Helmsley won the title from Mero.[15] Perfect began to serve as a mentor to Helmsley and accompanied Helmsley to the ring. Perfect left the WWF once again shortly before Survivor Series, making his last televised appearance on the November 5 episode of Raw.[53]

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I think Triple H would have ended up in that Owen Hart area. Good enough for IC Title or Euro Title reigns, maybe a Tag Title run or two with the right partner, and probably deserve a WWF Title reign somewhere but likely never gets one.

 

[Dandy]

I’ll go the other way and say that he has the respect of a lot of guys in the locker room for taking the business so seriously by not drinking and such. The opinion of him is not brought down due to the association with Shawn. He turns to a more edgy character much like everyone in the Attitude era and ends up with feuds against The Rock, Austin, and Undertaker, and eventually Angle. He has a good main event career and gravitates toward McMahon anyway.

 

[AA484]

I actually meant to do this before I started the Top 10, but forgot!

Bonus Ranking! Top 10 WWF Tag Teams of the 90s

10. The Godwinns (Henry & Phineas)

9. The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)

8. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart)

7. The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott)

6. The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Sags)

5. The Headshrinkers (Fatu, Samu, & Sionne)

4. Money, Inc. (Ted DiBiase & IRS)

3. The Smoking Gunns (Billy & Bart)

2. New Age Outlaws (The Road Dogg & Billy Gunn)

1. The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal)

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

Billy Gunn, vindicated!

 

[Hawk 34]

Seeing Jimmy Hart with three of those tag teams makes me want a top ten managers list as well.

 

[Hawk 34]

As for the tag team list, I’m slightly surprised Owen and Davey didn’t make the cut.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Always surprised to see LOD ranked so highly on any greatest WWF Tag Team of All Time list. None of their title runs lasted super long and it seemed like they were just resting on past laurels.

I feel like there were two maybe three good (not great) moments in all of their WWF runs surrounded by mediocrity.

 

[AA484]

Always surprised to see LOD ranked so highly on any greatest WWF Tag Team of All Time list. None of their title runs lasted super long and it seemed like they were just resting on past laurels.

I feel like there were two maybe three good (not great) moments in all of their WWF runs surrounded by mediocrity.

I feel like you could say the same for most of those teams on that list, excepting the Hart Foundation and Steiners, which had limited runs in the decade. Also, the NAO but they never really had a signature match, either (dumpster match at WM, maybe?) WWF tag scene was putrid in the 90s, especially when compared to what they had in the decades before and after.

LOD got it for basically holding the tag titles in two different eras.

 

[AA484]

As for the tag team list, I’m slightly surprised Owen and Davey didn’t make the cut.

Owen and Davey were close but I think they needed a little more time together and both received pushes as singles guys while teaming, too. I also looked at Owen and Yoko, for the record.

 

[alfdogg]

Surprised Perfect is so high tbh. He was inactive for a good deal of his 90s tenure (including most of the period between the Boss Man and Bret matches with his back iirc). It kinda makes sense though because he still would be #1 contender in the Apter mags due to the fact that he had the I-C title. But the last 6 entries I think I would have all them all higher; same for another guy from that era who I’m surprised hasn’t showed up yet.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Catching up on this thread. Can’t believe Diesel missed the Top 10. I know 1995 WWF SUCKS but kayfabe wise, Diesel had one of the best years ever for a WWF competitor. And really maybe one of best 18 month stretches of all time from when he won the WWF IC Title in Spring of ‘94 to Survivor Series ‘95.