Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather will probably be one of the biggest, if not the biggest fight in the history of the world. The amount of hype that’s been created about this clash of titans from two different sports is nothing short of titanic.
McGregor knows that there is no other fight, in MMA or otherwise, which will get him the kind of paycheck that a fight against Mayweather would. As The Notorious One and Money still posture and negotiate with each other as well as Dana White and the UFC, Vince McMahon and the WWE will be looking on enviously.
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But, what if that didn’t have to be the case? What if there were some pro-wrestling matches which could help Vince shift the spotlight away from the UFC and boxing, and back on his company? Today, we look at matches from the past or matches for the future which could rival the hype build around McGregor vs Mayweather:
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#5 Sting vs. Undertaker
The match that so nearly happened. This had been a match in the making for over 25 years before circumstances took it away from all the wrestling fans around the world.
Sting and Undertaker had been carving legendary paths through the years in wrestling – Sting with the WCW and then TNA, Taker with the WWE – but they were always parallel paths, destined never to be crossed. Or so we thought until the WWE managed to convince the Stinger to sign with them.
With a Wrestlemania angle in the works, this would’ve been the most anticipated match in all of wrestling until an injury prematurely ended Sting’s career and the Undertaker ended up facing Shane McMahon at Wrestlemania instead.
It really is a shame we never got to see this match. It would have been truly epic to see these two mammoths of the industry come together in the twilight of their illustrious careers and it was definitely something that could have rivalled McGregor vs. Mayweather.
#4 The Rock vs. Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
We’ve seen the Rock vs. Triple H. We’ve seen Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. And, we’ve seen Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock. All three of these rivalries helped elevate the WWE into a global product during the attitude era. But, we never got to see the three men go head to head...to head.
A triple threat match between the three was in the works in 1999 before Austin’s neck problems forced him to undergo further surgeries and he had to be replaced by The Big Show, of all people. What a damned shame. The three biggest wrestlers in the world putting on a clinic is the stuff wrestling wet dreams are made of.
If you ask any attitude era fan who their favourite wrestler was, it would almost certainly be one of these three men. It would’ve been one of the all-time great pro-wrestling matches and looking back at it, there is absolutely no doubt that it would’ve been bigger than McGregor vs. Mayweather.
#3 CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar
Yes yes, I know it’s already happened, don’t get your knickers in a twist. But, this happened way back before’s CM Punk’s acrimonious split with the WWE and his ill-advised foray into MMA. Brock Lesnar, on the other hand, has been on an incredible tear both in the WWE, until the “Goldberg Incident”, and MMA until the doping incident.
What this offers now, though, is a chance for pro-wrestling fans around the world to see the return of CM Punk to the squared circle as he faces off against the man who could do what he failed at – be a force to be reckoned with in mixed martial arts.
The script pretty much writes itself and who can forget the great match these two put on at Summerslam in 2013? All in all, it would a real treat for not only pro-wrestling fans around the world, but it could also pique the interest of a number of MMA fans as well.
#2 AJ Styles vs. Kenny Omega
Former and current Bullet Club leaders, AJ Styles and Kenny Omega are the biggest names in pro-wrestling today. One month after Omega put on a 6-star classic with Kazuchika Okada in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Styles put on a Match of the Year contender of his own against John Cena at WWE’s Royal Rumble.
Despite Omega not making the jump over to the WWE and instead deciding to extend his contract with NJPW, there is little doubt that their paths will soon cross. Hot off the heels of these amazing performances, a match between Styles and Omega would be something the entire world wants to see.
With something in it for everybody, right from the casual fans to the hardcore ones, Styles vs. Omega has the potential to be one of the greatest pro-wrestling matches of all time and could well rival the hype built around McGregor vs. Mayweather.
#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan
For our last entry, we return to Stone Cold Steve Austin and yet another dream match that never happened – Austin vs Hulk Hogan. Despite his troubles today, Hogan remained the biggest star in pro-wrestling for over three decades due to his exploits with the WWE and the WCW.
While The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan was an incredible event, if reports are to be believed, the WWE was actually using this as a prelude to an even bigger encounter between the Rattlesnake and the Hulkster, as they viewed Austin as an even bigger star than the Rock.
While that last claim sounds a little ludicrous now with the Rock’s amazing Hollywood career, there is little doubt that Austin was the bigger name in wrestling back then. Putting him up against Hogan would’ve – forget rivalled – eclipsed Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather.
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