The Most Legendary Feud Of Every Major Wrestling Promotion

Great rivalries are the foundation of wrestling. When you look at the greatest wrestling promotions in history there's also a major feud that defines an era or a generation of fans. It seems, having competitors in the right place at the right time, with the perfect story, is the equation for a feud that transcends time.

Some major rivalries become instant classics and are legendary moment the second they come to an end. Other times, rivalries take decades to fully implant themselves into the world of wrestling. With so many wrestling promotions in so many eras, it's impossible to choose one wrestling rivalry that is the "greatest wrestling feud of all time." Narrowing the discussion down to major promotions like WWE, AEW, WCW and more does allow for a fair debate on the topic and this list will examine every major wrestling promotion's most legendary feud.

8 WCW: Sting Vs. nWo

WCW was once the most-watched television wrestling program on the planet. Although many amazing feuds stand the test of time, like Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat, no WCW feud is as legendary as Sting vs the nWo. It's difficult to argue against the nWo being the greatest faction in the history of WCW. Without them, the company would have never reached the insane heights it did during the Monday Night Wars.

Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hollywood Hogan were such great heels that it makes sense that they would encounter a hero to stand in their path of dominance. Sting was the perfect WCW veteran to oppose the faction. He had legendary matches against all three founding members of the nWo and, in all honesty, when he finally joined nWo Wolfpac, WCW began to fall apart. It could even be argued that their feud is so legendary that it raised the bar for WCW and kept it alive for a long time.

7 TNA/Impact Wresting: AJ Styles Vs. Christopher Daniels

Although many will argue that this was a feud that "mostly occurred in the X Division" and is, therefore, less impactful, AJ styles and Christopher Daniels created a masterpiece of a rivalry at a company with very limited resources. Styles had plenty of great feuds at Impact Wrestling against the likes of Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe, but his rivalry with Daniel's lasted almost a decade.

The two also put on some of the greatest matches in the history of the company. Their triple-threat match that featured Samoa Joe is one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time. It didn't matter what kind of issues or outside drama plagued Impact, Styles and Daniels always delivered. There were plenty of weird storylines added at the end, but overall it's tough to argue against two men who went from tag team partners to enemies at a speed that reflected the growth of Impact as a company.

6 NJPW: Kenny Omega Vs. Kazuchika Okada

Hiroshi Tanahashi versus Kazuchika Okada is sometimes considered the greatest rivalry in the history of New Japan Pro Wrestling. It would have remained the greatest rivalry in the history of the company if Okada would have never feuded with Kenny Omega. Their battle was much less of a passing of the torch affair like Tanahashi and Okada. It was a masterpiece in storytelling that was an instant classic seconds after their two-out-of-three falls match came to an end.

Plain and simple, Omega versus Okada was Kobe Bryant versus Lebron James. Two of the most talented stars in the whole world competing for the top spot and putting on classic after classic. Since most of the storylines for NJPW revolve around the ring, it's fair to say this is the greatest rivalry since their storytelling was done in the ring. Every single match of their rivalry received a rating above five stars on Dave Meltzer's five-star scale. This rivalry became so massive that casual wrestling fans know about it. It's a rivalry that will be talked about as long as wrestling is in existence.

5 ROH: Samoa Joe Vs. CM Punk

Kevin Steen and El Generico deserve to be in the conversation for the greatest ROH feud of all time. Although their story is amazing, it didn't transcend the world of wrestling the way Samoa Joe versus CM Punk did. The two stars had always been talented and had also always had a high wrestling acumen. Neither was given a shot beyond the bare minimum of any wrestler trying to make his way until the two arrived to ROH and change their fates entirely.

Joe and Punk put on a ton of classic matches. Their rivalry got so big that ROH grew as a company since people had to buy their matches on tape to see, for themselves, the feud the whole wrestling world was talking about. It's a feud so legendary it launched CM Punk and Samoa Joe into the future world champions that they became.

4 ECW: Tommy Dreamer Vs. Raven

Although Sabu, RVD, and Taz had their fair share of great rivalries at ECW, none of them came close to Raven versus Tommy Dreamer. They were a perfect blend of light versus dark, which was a microcosm for ECW as a company.

Not only did they have some of the greatest promo exchanges in the history of the company, but they also had 60 bouts in the ring. The two never seemed to hold anything back against each other and that's why this rivalry is so often recounted when revisiting the history of what made ECW great.

3 WWE: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Vs. Mr. McMahon

The list of legendary WWE feuds is miles long. Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, and Roddy Piper all had rivalries that are still talked about to this day, but none of those rivalries changed pop culture the way Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon did. Anyone who argues that Steve Austin versus The Rock is the greatest rivalry in the history of the WWE has to include Vince McMahon since he always played a huge part of their narrative as foes.

Austin and McMahon told the story that we've all experienced at one time or another, the story of an egotistical boss that needed to be humbled. There was enough realism associated with the McMahon/Austin feud that television audiences couldn't look away. It's the most entertaining feud in the history of wrestling and is also often considered the most legendary.

2 AAA: Rey Misterio Jr. Vs. Juventud Guerrera

In the early 90s, Lucha Libre AAA was trying to leave an imprint in the wrestling world in any way it could. Although they had some of the greatest in-ring performers ever, they were never showcased at a level that was appreciated until Rey Misterio and Juventud Guerrera begin to feud. Most of AAA wrestling told its stories in the ring and these two men took that storytelling to another level.

Misterio and Guerrera was a great feud with multiple top-tier matches that occurred both in teams and against each other. Every bout in their AAA rivalry is entertaining. This is the rivalry that helped establish Lucha Libre AAA as the well-known company it is to this day. It's also the rivalry that kick-started the career of the wrestling icon we all know as Rey Mysterio.

1 AEW: MJF Vs. CM Punk

Although AEW is still a young company, there are plenty of rivalries that have become instant classics. The recent backstage drama involving CM Punk hasn't been the best look for the company but as time progresses it will likely be looked back on as AEW's "Montreal Screwjob."

MJF and CM Punk put on the best feud of either wrestler's time at AEW long before All Out 2022. The ending was set up to continue their instant classic rivalry against each other. Every AEW fan was ready to see where this event would go because the two had a ton of chemistry as foes. Time will tell if this rivalry is finished but if AEW closed its doors tomorrow, Punk Vs. MJF would be the feud that is talked about for generations.