By Shawn Valentino, PWTorch Specialist

One of the things that is severely lacking in wrestling today is dream matches. Various factors combine to create the current stale wrestling environment where nothing feels special and there are few contests that fans fantasize about. The lack of competition, short-sighted booking, and the inability of the top two promotions to create new stars are some of the main reasons.

Since today's wrestling world does not provide too many potential dream matches, I am going to go back to my early days of being a wrestling fan when I was a huge WWF fan and imagined matches with other superstars that I only read about in wrestling magazines. Let us take a trip on a time capsule back to 1988, when two major companies ruled the wrestling business, and imagine the potential dream card between the WWF and the NWA.

Demolition vs. The Road Warriors

Vince McMahon created the Demolition tag team in response to the popularity of The Road Warriors. The experiment worked, and Demolition gained a huge fan following all their own. The sight of Ax and Smash brawling with Animal and Hawk would be a true battle of the titans. The two teams had a deadly aura that inspired fear in opponents, and the four wrestlers in their prime attempting to destroy each other would have been a huge draw to fans of tag teams everywhere.

Rock N Roll Express vs. "Ravishing" Rick Rude & "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig

This might be one of the most fun matches on the card. Two of the greatest heels of the era facing off against a team that perfected the art of wrestling babyface tag matches. Seeing Ricky Morton as the face in peril against the arrogant Rude and Hennig would have made a terrific drama in the ring. The quality of the match would even make up for the atrocity of the hairstyles of the competitors in the ring.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Barry Windham

These two may have been the best workers in their respective companies at the time. Windham had tremendous potential that he never really reached, and Steamboat was about to enter a period where he would have some of the greatest matches in wrestling history. This match would be a wrestling clinic and would satisfy the workrate fans.

The Ultimate Warrior vs. Sting

Two of the most popular up and coming superstars of the late eighties would clash in a battle of former tag team partners. Although the quality of this battle would likely leave something to be desired, the history between the two and the aura of the two characters would create an exciting environment that would make the match. Sting was a terrific athlete at the time and the Warrior was the type of over the top cartoon superhero that thrived at the time. Putting the two former Blade Runners in the ring together would be a match to remember.

The Hart Foundation vs. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard

Two of the best tag teams of the era and some of the best workers in wrestling would have been able to put on a terrific tag match. Of course, the Brain Busters would soon come to the WWF but their greatest success came in their Four Horseman days of the NWA. Hart had not been a solo star yet, but was emerging as something special. Just the thought of these two legendary teams in action makes one nostalgic for days when tag team wrestling was taken seriously.

"Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase vs. "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes

This is a match that took place in the ensuing years but Rhodes was never treated seriously in the WWF. The obnoxious, pompous rich heel against the blue-collar face would make a compelling story in the ring. Dibiase was a tremendous wrestler and Dusty was a top-notch entertainer who could have great matches. This would be a match that would make Cody and Ted Jr. proud.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Lex Luger

The Macho Man was the best all around talent in the WWF in the eighties and Luger was touted as the next big thing in the industry. Savage's athleticism and Luger's pure strength would be an intriguing battle, and both were in their primes as characters and workers. Savage's intensity and in-ring ability could carry Luger to a great match. Of course, looking back, the sad subtext of what happened to Miss Elizabeth would make the match a more interesting one.

Hulk Hogan vs. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair

This was the ultimate dream match of the eighties between the top two stars of the biggest companies of the time period. When I was a young child, I grew up watching Hulkamania take wrestling into the mainstream consciousness. At the same time, I had heard stories of a legendary performer who supposedly had Hogan's charisma, but could actually back it up in the ring. Hogan was Hollywood while Flair was wrestling, and the sight of these two larger than life competitors in the ring would have been what every fan of the time was dreaming of.

Please send questions, comments and feedback to valentino.torch@gmail.com

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