Lesser known heel vs heel and face vs face matches

[OGBoardPoster2005]

Watching the WWF comp from 1992 and at the end of the year is a Heel vs Heel match between Papa Shango and Repo Man that ends in a double DQ. The crowd was dead the whole time, and I think its less to do with heel vs heel and more to do with not caring about either at this point.

Any other examples of random heel vs heel and face vs face matches?

[BorneAgain]

There's a hidden gem in 1986 of heel Jake Roberts vs heel Randy Savage, not only because of Ventura's joy of watching them try and out cheat each other, but also just seeing the crowd gradually get into Jake as the match goes on.

[OGBoardPoster2005]

Dec 2, 2023 10:55:58 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

There's a hidden gem in 1986 of heel Jake Roberts vs heel Randy Savage, not only because of Ventura's joy of watching them try and out cheat each other, but also just seeing the crowd gradually get into Jake as the match goes on.

That sounds like a blast.

Just found another on a 1993 comp of Shawn Michaels against Skinner. Seems like Vince was experimenting with lower end guys playing a more grey role in matches and being heels when needed.

[Ozman]

The Doom vs The Horsemen feud that started at WCW Halloween Havoc 1990.

[Rumble McSkirmish]

I recall one of the Colosseum Video Super-Tapes featuring a Koko B Ware Vs Tito Santana match.

[Aceorton]

In '86, they had Sheik and Volkoff going against both the Harts and Valentine/Beefcake in heel vs. heel matches. Since Sheik and Volkoff were so hated, the other team got cheers.

For face vs. face, there was a Tito Santana vs. Koko B. Ware match from MSG that aired on Prime Time in early 1991 and was on one of the compilation tapes. Koko was acting heelish and tempers were flaring. I thought they were actually turning him, but he was back to being regular Koko afterward. EDIT: Post above beat me to it.

[FHgrad99]

In the summer of 1991 the WWE had a mini-feud between Mr. Fuji and Bobby Heenan for the WWE shows in the New York City Area. I think the storyline was that Mr. Fuji filled in for Heenan as manager for Haku and the Barbarian and they lost and Heenan blamed Fuji for it. I saw a match on YouTube from MSG where it was the Orient Express vs. Haku and the Barbarian and Fuji kept bothering Heenan, who was on commentary. At one point he threw salt in Heenan's eyes and also kicked him when Heenan got up to confront Fuji. By the end of the match, Heenan was getting cheered for trying to get back at Fuji.

[gentrificationdlo]

I'm still upset a freak accident robbed the world of Rude vs Vader

[MiLB Fan]

Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham vs. Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas at Clash of the Champions XXI.

The original plan for SuperBrawl 3 was for Dustin Rhodes to defend the United States title against Ron Simmons. At the top of the show, Eric Bischoff announced that Simmons could not compete because of a shoulder injury, thus changing the match to a more traditional face vs. heel with Maxx Payne replacing Simmons.

[Jindrak Mark]

In 2008 John Cena v Jeff Hardy could have been a Wrestlemania or Summerslam level main event but instead it happened on a random Raw in a no. 1 contender match and is never referenced.

[fg]

Dec 2, 2023 12:05:19 GMT -5 FHgrad99 said:

In the summer of 1991 the WWE had a mini-feud between Mr. Fuji and Bobby Heenan for the WWE shows in the New York City Area. I think the storyline was that Mr. Fuji filled in for Heenan as manager for Haku and the Barbarian and they lost and Heenan blamed Fuji for it. I saw a match on YouTube from MSG where it was the Orient Express vs. Haku and the Barbarian and Fuji kept bothering Heenan, who was on commentary. At one point he threw salt in Heenan's eyes and also kicked him when Heenan got up to confront Fuji. By the end of the match, Heenan was getting cheered for trying to get back at Fuji.

Yes it was so strange seeing Bobby having courage and for Gorilla and Lord Alfred Hayes act a little nice towards Heenan.

Just think, the rest of the country and the world did not see this until 2004 when WWE launched its old on demand service. Does anyone have that Bobby Heenan promo that aired only in the NY market where he said he wanted to beat Fuji at the Nassau Coliseum?

[koreycaskets]

Was a tournament but still as a young kid seeing ..

Ricky Steamboat vs Davey Boy Smith (faces)

and Terry Funk vs Moondog Spot (heels)

was wild. Wrestling Classic

[chronocross]

I remember an episode of Smackdown in early 2022, they had Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn when he was still a heel for the Universal Title.

It didn't last long as Brock beat down Sami before the match.

[fg]

Baron Corbin cashing in on fellow heel Jinder Mahal and losing.

I think that was the first time the crowd cheered for Jinder at least a little.

[Doo Doo is Worse Than WCW 2000]

It's not an obscure match, but HHH vs. Angle at the 2001 Rumble is a pretty good heel vs. heel match and gets forgotten about.

[Rumble McSkirmish]

I remember when Owen Hart and Brian Pillman faced each other in the tournament for the vacant I.C title back in 1997.

I liked that at first both Owen and Brian were half assing it, but Sgt. Slaughter came down and forced them to have a competitive match or else both men would be bounced from the tournament and suspended as well.

[Ben Wyatt]

Dec 2, 2023 13:19:18 GMT -5 gentrificationdlo said:

I'm still upset a freak accident robbed the world of Rude vs Vader

To be fair, I think Rude was either going full face or at least leaning that way.

[dangerousdanpotato]

Bret Hart vs Virgil during his first week of being WWF Champion, when he was "taking on all of Ric Flair's booked title defences".

[chronocross]

I just remembered another one, Rick Martel vs. Shawn Michaels at Summerslam 92. They both promised not to hit each other in the face as requested by Sherri but that didn't last long.

I'm surprised it was just a one-off match.

[fg]

Dec 2, 2023 21:33:27 GMT -5 dangerousdanpotato said:

Bret Hart vs Virgil during his first week of being WWF Champion, when he was "taking on all of Ric Flair's booked title defences".

Actually that match aired a month after Bret won the belt.