{"id":152777,"date":"2026-02-08T07:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=152777"},"modified":"2026-02-07T23:40:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T04:40:20","slug":"wwes-best-and-worst-main-events-new-generation-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/02\/08\/wwes-best-and-worst-main-events-new-generation-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE’s Best and Worst Main Events: New Generation Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

WWE\u2019s New Generation represented a tumultuous time for the New York company. They were moving out of a very prosperous era into one that didn\u2019t have the golden goose that they had relied on for years. A new crop of stars was moving into the limelight, and they carried the weight of the company on their shoulders.<\/p>\n

As many of us are already aware, the New Generation was a 50\/50 era. A lot was thrown at the wall to see if it would stick, and sometimes it didn\u2019t. The sheer volume of shows increased exponentially, and this meant that we were given some great main events as well as ones that fell flat.<\/p>\n

WWE had the talent to keep every show entertaining, but not to keep every PLE main event at the top. It was a very back-and-forth time for World Wrestling Entertainment, and that was reflected in their main events. Below, we will look at the best and worst of these main events from WWE\u2019s New Generation.<\/p>\n

Best: Steve Austin vs Bret Hart vs Vader vs The Undertaker (In Your House: Final Four)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thanks to Shawn Michaels losing his smile, the WWE Championship scene was a hot mess in the early days of 1997. WWE was forced to pivot on their original plans and did an excellent job of it, giving us this absolute car crash of a contest.<\/p>\n

The hardcore nature of this match was an excellent precursor to the Attitude Era. These four men tore each other apart in front of a sold-out crowd. It was unlike anything that we had seen before, and each man could have walked away with the championship. The unpredictability added another layer of intensity to the proceedings. It also helped that Vader got a huge gash over his eye and bled all over the ring. A lasting memory was created that night.<\/p>\n

Worst: The Undertaker vs \u201c Sycho\u201d Sid (WrestleMania 13) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

On the flip side of HBK\u2019s unwillingness to do business, we were presented with what should have been a serviceable WrestleMania main event but ended up being a dud. Sid and The Undertaker did what they could with no build, but in the end, they were overshadowed by a 5-star classic.<\/p>\n

Following Steve Austin and Bret Hart’s submission match was a tall order, and one that proved insurmountable. For 20 minutes, we saw two men lumber around the ring, without creating anything exciting. The crowd was not interested in the match, and hearing HBK\u2019s rambling on commentary made things even worse. What should have been a massive moment in The Undertaker’s career ended up being a black mark.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Best: Shawn Michaels vs Mankind (In Your House: Mind Games) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

HBK\u2019s first WWE Championship reign wasn\u2019t the greatest from a story standpoint, but thankfully, it did produce some fantastic matches. The best of which came from an unlikely source when Michaels defended against Mankind in Philly. Mankind was the antithesis of Shawn Michaels, and that allowed them to work a perfect blend of both their styles.<\/p>\n

Being in Philly, this match resembled more an ECW style of contest than WWE\u2019s New Generation. It was gritty and sloppy, containing several spots that made the audience cringe. There was a fast-paced style that had both men going at a full clip for the match’s duration. It was a shame that they were given a return match to this classic.<\/p>\n

Worst: Diesel vs Mabel (SummerSlam 1995) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

1995 was not a kind year for WWE. The crowd was down, the money dried up, and the match quality suffered. The great PLE main events were few and far between, and we can look no further than SummerSlam to see this.<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: By Mandy Coombes<\/a> – https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/mandycoombes\/6916214475, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=18499982<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Diesel was able to have great matches, but not when paired with a man like Mabel. There were too many limitations in this match, making it impossible for any entertaining wrestling to occur. It was a punch\/kick type of match that had no drama associated with it. It ended with a whimper, and the crowd left Pittsburgh dejected.<\/p>\n

Best: Bret Hart vs Bam Bam Bigelow (King Of the Ring 1993) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Winning the King of the Ring was a consolation prize for The Hitman. He should have been walking out of Dayton as the WWE Champion, but it was not to be. It put a chip on his shoulder, and for us, that was awesome as he put on a show with two fantastic matches culminating in a perfect main event with The Beast From The East.<\/p>\n

Bam Bam Bigelow\u2019s agility played well with Bret Hart here. They were able to craft a mobile match that highlighted their talents. It was refreshing to see Bigelow open up his repertoire more than he usually could. This was a great wrestling match that never felt slow during its 18 minutes.<\/p>\n

Worst: The Undertaker vs The Undertaker (SummerSlam 1994) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Undertaker has had many interesting opponents throughout his career, but the one that takes the cake was the time that he fought himself. For most of 1994, he took time off due to an injury, and upon his return, he discovered that an imposter had assumed his gimmick. It was an interesting idea, but one that led to a boring match that main-evented SummerSlam.<\/p>\n

Seeing two Undertakers go through the same move set provided no entertaining moments. It was a back-and-forth match of no-sells and bad clotheslines. The crowd was already exhausted from the classic Steel Cage Match that took place before, and this contest did nothing to bring them back. It was too much gimmick, not enough substance.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Best: Bret Hart vs Diesel (Survivor Series 1995) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

As mentioned before, Diesel\u2019s title run did not contain great matches. He was usually paired with less-than-great workers, and the match quality suffered. Only when defending the strap against Bret Hart did we get to see some entertaining wrestling.<\/p>\n

Bret Hart and Diesel were the classic David versus Goliath story. It was a technically sound match that saw Hart trying to cut the legs out from underneath Diesel, while Big Daddy Cool used his power to prevent The Hitman from gaining an advantage. Both men showed an edge to their characters that hadn\u2019t been there before, and it helped to add another layer of intensity. It was easily the best match of Diesel’s WWE Championship run.<\/p>\n

Worst: Jerry Lawler vs Roddy Piper (King of the Ring 1994) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

King of the Ring 1994 saw the coronation of Owen Hart. The youngest of the Hart siblings took his steps out from Bret Hart’s shadow and became his own man. It should have been the main event moment that finished a great tournament, but instead, we got to see two past their prime wrestlers roll around the ring for 12 minutes.<\/p>\n

Roddy Piper and Jerry Lawler had a quick build, but alas, not a quick match. The 12 minutes they were given felt like 12 hours, as nothing happened. It was a yawn watching these men walk around the ring and try to placate the crowd. No one was interested in seeing this match finish the night and taking away a well-deserved moment from The King of Harts.<\/p>\n

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/strong><\/amp-ad><\/amp-ad><\/p>\n

Header photo \u2013 WikiMedia Creative Commons<\/a> \u2013 Stay tuned to the <\/span>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/span><\/a><\/u> for more on the WWE New Generation and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/span><\/em><\/amp-ad><\/amp-fx-flying-carpet><\/amp-ad><\/p>\n

You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/span>Netflix<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>(Raw, WWE archives, WWE Unreal, and other specials),\u00a0<\/span>USA Network<\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0The CW<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>(NXT),\u00a0<\/span>ESPN\u00a0<\/span><\/a>(WWE PLEs),\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Tubi<\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0A&E<\/a>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments) and\u00a0Peacock<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>(Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/span>YouTube.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WWE\u2019s New Generation represented a tumultuous time for the New York company. They were moving out of a very prosperous era into one that didn\u2019t have the golden goose that they had relied on for years. A new crop of stars was moving into the limelight, and they carried the weight of the company on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4518,"featured_media":152784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7205,4,3],"tags":[362,1102],"class_list":["post-152777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-bret-hart","tag-roddy-piper"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152777"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152786,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152777\/revisions\/152786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}