Top Three WWE Multi-Generational Matches

The Birth of the ‘Dirty One’

The ‘nepo-baby’ approach in wrestling can have adverse effects, and aspects of the push that are considered advantageous can ultimately put a brighter spotlight on talent too green to capitalize on it. For every example of Randy or Cody, there are talents their famous fathers hampered. In the end, they were never able to progress as quickly as they became recognizable commodities.

In the case of Rey Mysterio Jr., the most famous luchador of all time and a pound-for-pound worker in the ring, his son Dominik could not get the WWE Universe© to accept him as the heir apparent to Rey’s throne. Despite his self-imposed moniker as the ‘king of the luchadores,’ there was a time before when he attempted a baby face run that ultimately flopped for fans, though Rey’s daughter and wife made for provocative TV in those days.

Still, it was not until he aligned with Rhea Ripley and The Judgment that his star power started to surge as he grew more comfortable in the ‘Eddie Guerrero schtick.’ From his Tio Eddie’s hairstyle to his ‘cheat to win’ mentality, WrestleMania 39 became the perfect stage to amplify his potential.

Rey won the match as multiple interferences from TJD were nullified by Bad Bunny’s assistance, and the feel-good nature of the match concluded the program, though the storyline lives on in the kayfabe. This match helped launch the ‘Dirty Dom’ brand, and he continued to capitalize on that momentum to establish himself as the multi-promotional star he is today.

BRET HART VS MR. PERFECT

Every time these two were paired to work together, it was special as they produced wrestling clinics that often stole the show. For example, their SummerSlam classic in 1991 set the standard for IC matches while giving the first glimpse of a wrestling program not dominated by steroid-infused giants with a glacial pace and a style as rigid as Hacksaw’s two-by-four.

In fact, it was at that very SummerSlam, best remembered for the Miss Elizabeth/Macho Man wedding ceremony segment, where Hogan and Warrior defeated the ‘Iraq-sympathizers’ in Sgt. Slaughter and company, with the late Sid Justice wearing the officiating stripes that night. It was a clunky ending on an event that tried desperately to push the patriotic theme, and the aftermath concerning Ultimate Warrior’s financial demands led directly to Vince firing him.

The company’s direction did not change immediately after the events of this night, but the son of Larry “The Axe” Hennig and the leader of the Hart wrestling dynasty set in motion a series of future matches that night. These matches involving Roddy Piper, Shawn Michaels, and Razor Ramon, to name a few, were the precursors to stars like Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero in the company’s future ‘Ruthless Aggression’ era.

The ‘Big Guy’ booking has never truly ended, but the evolution of the sport into higher-quality work at the top of the card has a bigger impact on today’s TV product than ever before.

ROMAN REIGNS VS CODY RHODES

This match is only a few years old, but the storyline featured at WrestleMania 39 has had reverberating effects on the product ever since. It could be argued that Cody’s “finish the story” narrative that began in 2023 when he lost to Roman and culminated the following year when he defeated Roman in the rematch off the back of coinciding Royal Rumble wins.

Cody’s star power was fully realized in the lead-up to WM40 when The Rock returned to book himself into the main event against his cousin, Roman Reigns. The pivot back to Cody-Reigns happened only after a massive online fan campaign dubbed ‘We Want Cody’. It was the right move.

The new direction organically called into question, with the McMahons out of the game (no pun intended), who was wrestling’s premier family? The Rock and Roman, accompanied by The Bloodline, leaned heavily into their roots, going so far as to present a family tree on TV that detailed the Anoai/Maivia lineages and their connections.

Cody won that night, and Roman has spiraled since as his influence has waned in a company he once dominated. That is the power of this program; it is very much alive with the defining rubber match likely to headline a future Mania, and the power dynamics remain as an active tug-a-war between the company’s top stars.

There is a power vacuum emanating from the McMahon-sized hole left in the wake of TKO’s ‘endeavors’ (pun intended), and this feud exists as the pinnacle of wrestling storytelling. The reason this feud is the most important multi-generational program is that it is still alive, and the future Roman-Cody 3 will be fought with all the stakes wrestling has to offer.