WWE vs. TNA: Five Dream Matches That Would Rock the Wrestling World

Everyone loves a clash between two separate yet similar entities. Alien vs. Predator, King Kong vs. Godzilla, and Freddy vs. Jason are three prime examples of such confrontations. That concept also applies to other forms of entertainment, most notably professional wrestling, as fans are always concocting “dream matches” between their favorite wrestlers. Some examples of this that have become a reality include The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan and The Rock vs. John Cena. These are once in a lifetime battles that pit iconic individuals against one another in a matchup so incredible that no one can predict the outcome. In the realm of pro wrestling, there are countless Superstars and therefore countless possibilities of dream matches among them. One that is being tossed around right now is Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. CM Punk, a match that would put the two most outspoken and uncensored wrestlers of two different eras against each other for the first time ever. That type of match would be great entertainment and a showdown that fans would talk about until the end of time. Really, it’s what businesses like this are all about. That being said, there are two well-known wrestling companies on television today: World Wrestling Entertainment, the most dominant, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, or TNA. Both companies are teeming with legitimate talent, some new and some very well established. Now, here’s something interesting to think about. What if, even for one night only, the WWE and TNA held an event pitting each company’s top performers against each other in a series of “dream matches”? This I know is something that will doubtfully ever happen, but anything’s possible in the world of showbiz. If this were to occur, however, or even if talents jumped ship to the opposite company, there are five matches that I believe would be the essential dream match candidates. Here are those matches.

Once again we go to two literal giants in professional wrestling, “The Largest Athlete in the World” and “The Samoan Submission Machine”. These guys are not just big, they’re more powerful than they themselves may even realize at times. Both guys are former World champions for their respective companies and they both are big time heavy hitters.

The Big Show is another veteran of pro wrestling, having been an integral part of WCW during its tenure as well as a steady performer for the WWE since his debut there. He has been in a slew of rivalries, many of them with other big men like himself such as Kane and The Great Khali. He has held numerous championships, including the WWE Championship as well as holding the Tag Team titles with four different partners. He also held the ECW Championship, which shows that he’s no stranger to hardcore fights. His chokeslam and knockout punch are two dreaded and devastating moves that have secured him a win in a many a match. He is a man whose sheer size is enough to make any opponent tremble in fear. Show is still wrestling consistently in WWE, most recently feuding with Cody Rhodes over the Intercontinental Championship.

Samoa Joe has been another longtime TNA star that has had a big part in it gaining its popularity. Joe is a pretty big guy, weighing 280 pounds and standing at 6 foot two. His wrestling skills, however, go far beyond the normal “big guy” power moves. Though he does exhibit such moves, he is also a submission specialist, earning him the nickname “The Samoan Submission Machine”. After signing with TNA, Joe embarked upon an undefeated streak before eventually winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Kurt Angle. Then, in early 2009, Samoa Joe began his “nation of violence” personality that demonstrated an even more aggressive style of fighting. Joe is still an active part of TNA, currently holding the TNA World Tag Team titles with Magnus.

Samoa Joe and The Big Show are two legitimate big guys that have established themselves as legends in the wrestling business, and a fight between these two behemoths would undoubtedly be a train wreck of a confrontation.

John Cena and AJ Styles, two clean-cut studs with enormous wrestling ability and dedication, would make for another outstanding battle. Both men have held a spot among the elite of their company’s superstars, and both of them are well-built fighters with a massive fan following. John Cena is often synonymous with the WWE just as AJ Styles is with TNA.

John Cena is perhaps the greatest superstar the WWE has ever seen, having more heart and more dedication than almost any other before him. His dogged wrestling style, sense of humor, and love for the US military all make up the entity that is John Cena. A former multi-time WWE and World Heavyweight champion, Cena has been the face of the WWE for seven years and counting, and has established a fan base of an unprecedented nature. When people think of the WWE, John Cena is often what comes to mind.

Cena has had as many classic rivalries as anyone in the business. JBL, Batista, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Kane, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and Edge are just a few of the big names he’s had memorable bouts with. And, unlike many of his former foes, John Cena has remained a steady and loyal part of the WWE on a constant basis since his rise to fame.

AJ is a standout performer that is undoubtedly the future of TNA and perhaps wrestling as a whole. A former TNA World Champion and X-Division Champion, Styles’ good looks and charisma, combined with his awesome combination of high-flying and technical wrestling skills, makes him an A-Class competitor. AJ Styles is just that: style. He has spent a lot of time with none other than “The Nature Boy”, and the “stylin and profilin” demeanor of Flair has undoubtedly rubbed off onto the young AJ. When you go to a TNA live event, you’re sure to find AJ Styles t-shirts and merchandise at the vendor stands. Why’s that? Because he’s a fan favorite and perhaps the face of TNA.

John Cena and AJ Styles are, again, the arguable faces of their respective brands. What better TNA vs. WWE dream match than seeing these two extremely successful and popular athletes square off.

WWE’s Kane and TNA’s Abyss = two masked monsters that would present a hellacious match. Both men are big, mean, and conceal their faces with bizarre masks. They have a state of mind that is deranged and hell-bent on destruction, and a match between the two would be something very interesting to watch.

Kane is the veteran in this situation, having been a major player longer in the business than Abyss. Kane is a former World Heavyweight and WWE Champion, and has been the big red wrecking machine of the WWE since his debut in 1997. His blazing hot and startling flames have intimidated more opponents than you could imagine, and his devastating chokeslam is one of the most recognized moves in the WWE. Kane of course wrestled his first few years in the WWE with his face beneath a grotesque red and black mask before finally having to take it off after losing a match to Triple H in 2003. Kane wrestled for the next eight years with no mask and became a somewhat different entity because of his maskless face. That still didn’t make him any less destructive. In late 2011, Kane returned from several months of inaction once again donning a macabre mask. It seems that as of late, Kane has been on more of a destructive path than ever, and that further legitimizes him as a monster.

Abyss has been a staple of TNA for many years now. Another monster, at a height of six foot eight inches, Abyss has demonstrated very well his abilities to manhandle opponents and intimidate them with his strange masks. Abyss also once had a manager, James Mitchell, much like Kane and his father Paul Bearer. A former champion in his own right, Abyss has competed in some of the most deranged matches in TNA, including a Thumbtacks match and a No DQ bout with none other than Mick Foley. His feud with Dr. Stevie, his former therapist who tried to help him overcome an addiction to violence, was a bizarre rivalry that involved a taser and $50,000 bounty on Abyss’ head!

Abyss has always been one of those guys that belongs in a straightjacket. He is a violently destructive force in professional wrestling. Simply put, he is giant bulldozer of a man with a scary mask and an unstable disposition.

With this matchup we would see a clash straight out of a horror movie. Two big, destructive guys with psycho masks battling it out would be something any fan would like to see.

This, in my opinion, is perhaps the biggest dream match of them all. It is a match that really shouldn’t be contested anywhere other than in the main event at Wrestlemania, though it would still be epic any day of the week. Here we have two of the most iconic figures in the history of all wrestling, Sting and The Undertaker. Not only are these guys veterans, but they are two of the most skillful wrestlers to ever enter the squared circle. They are also very similar in style.

The Undertaker has been around since the early nineties and has established himself as a powerhouse fighter capable of breaking down not only his opponent’s body but their mind as well. He is a vicious striker and even high-flyer that has been one of the top faces of the WWE since his debut. He has a resiliency like no other on the planet, evident most notably in his Wrestlemania matches, where he has never lost. Aside from his fighting skills, The Undertaker is a frightening character just to look at. His long, dark coat (or robe) and brimmed hat (or hood) serves as an attire to spark fear in an opponent. Then there are the evil eyes which he often rolls into the top of his head as if he were a corpse.

Sting has been around even longer, since the 1980’s to be exact. He, like The Deadman, was one of the top faces of his promotion, WWE’s rival WCW, during its entire tenure. Once WCW was bought out by WWE in 2001, Sting made his way over to TNA, where he still dominates the main event scene today. Much like The Undertaker, Sting has always been known to dress in mostly black and have a demeanor as unpredictable and intimidating as anyone. He also wears face paint, usually black and white but he has varied from time to time, such as his recent face paint resembling The Joker from the The Dark Knight film. He’s no little man, either, standing at six-foot two. In the days of WCW, Sting could often be seen standing in the darkness of the rafters holding a black baseball bat and wearing a black trench coat. He always had a look in his eyes of stoic obsession, as if he were in another world but very well aware of what he was doing. Again, Sting resembles The Undertaker here as well.

The dark man of the WWE and the dark man of TNA could produce a fight that no one would ever forget. Many fans want to see this match, and I believe it is the ultimate WWE vs. TNA dream matchup.

CM Punk and Bobby Roode have a lot of similarities despite the fact that they are totally opposite. They have a similar look, often somewhat scruffy at times and basically looking like average guys. Their wrestling styles also resemble one another as both men are pretty close in physical size. TNA's Roode, however, is a beer drinking party hard guy while WWE's Punk is "Straight Edge", constantly preaching against the use of drugs and alcohol. A matchup between these two would easily be another WWE vs. TNA dream match.

CM Punk is a former World Heavyweight and current WWE Champion. He is the self-proclaimed "Best in the World" and arguably so, especially after defeating Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 28 and Extreme Rules. Aside from his outstanding wrestling ability and his massive fan base, Punk is best known for being "drug free", always talking down about the use of mind-altering substances. Once upon a time, he was the leader of The Straight Edge Society, including a posse of characters that had come to Punk to seek salvation from their addictions. Punk also had a controversial rivalry with former WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy. Because Hardy was known for his repeated violations of the WWE's drug policies, Punk targeted him and ultimately caused Hardy's forced departure from the company. These days Punk is a face, though he still proudly asserts his "straight edge" beliefs, most recently against a sadistic Y2J who tried to break Punk down by blasting Punk's family's alcohol and drug problems. "The Second City Saint" has amassed a sizable fan following in the last year, and his resilient wrestling skills and dominance on the mic make him an All-Star player in all of wrestling.

Now we jump to the other end of the spectrum. TNA's Bobby Roode is best known for his tag team Beer Money, Inc. with James Storm. This tandem won the TNA World Tag Team Championships even though their prime concern most of the time was drinking beer. These guys would even come out to the ring drinking beer! Much like WWE's APA, Beer Money, Inc. were all about having a good time and chugging alcohol down as much as they could. Roode is now the TNA World Heavyweight Champion and has been for many months, firmly establishing him as a major player. Though his on-camera beer guzzling may have somewhat dissipated, we all know Bobby Roode as a beer-drinking fool and a remarkable athlete with many credentials.

This match would be classic simply because it would feature a man who lives every moment of his life avoiding drugs and alcohol and tries to persuade others to do so as well versus a guy who made a name by drinking beer all the time and who likes to cause a ruccus as much as anyone. Both guys are over with the fans and, if this match were to happen right now, we would be seeing the WWE Champion vs. the TNA Champion. That would be the ultimate battle of brand dominance.

There are countless possibilities for great matches should the WWE and TNA ever have such a clash. These previous five, in my opinion, would be the most entertaining and classical. The heavy hitters, the masked psychopaths, the best in the business today, and the icons would all produce a series of matches that would truly define the past, present, and future of pro wrestling. Now again, I doubt this company confrontation will ever take place, but it's still fun to imagine, and in today's world of entertainment, anything is possible.