Matt’s Retro Review: WWF Championship 1994

Matt brings you another Retro Championship Review, focused on the WWF Championship in 1994!

Welcome to the eighth edition of the Retro Review on The Chairshot! This will be a biweekly article here on The Chairshot because we have a lot to discuss! In starting, my question for you is; have you ever had a discussion with a friend or in a group online about who is the greatest champion of all time? What is your defense of your claim? Wins? Quality of matches? Length of reign? In this weekly article, I will be looking back one year at a time and evaluating one specific championship in each article, with a yearly grade ranking and overall grade ranking and as we progress through the years, I will reveal who I believe is the best champion of all time.

To start us off, I am going to discuss the most recognizable championship in the history of wrestling, the WWE Heavyweight Championship. These articles will not discuss the “Big Gold” World Championship, Universal Championship, or any other recognized heavyweight championship in WWE, those will be discussed in other articles. During these reviews, I will count matches aired on weekly television, PPV, and matches also released on VHS and later on home media.

Bret Hart (March 20th, 1994 – November 23rd, 1994)

• Record: 10-1
• Clean Losses: 1
• Successful Defenses: 5

Recommended Matches to Watch

• Bret Hart d. Owen Hart, March 20th, 1994, WrestleMania X**
• Bret Hart d. Yokozuna, March 20th, 1994, WrestleMania X
• Bret Hart d. 1-2-3 Kid, July 11th, 1994, Monday Night RAW
• Bret Hart d. Bob Backlund, July 30th, 1994, Superstars
• Bret Hart d. Owen Hart, August 29th, 1994, SummerSlam
• Bret Hart d. Owen Hart, October 23rd, 1994, Action Zone
• Bret Hart & British Bulldog d. Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart, November 7th, 1994, Monday Night RAW
• Bob Backlund d. Bret Hart, November 23rd, 1994, Survivor Series

Thoughts: Wow! Check this reign out! I am not a Bret Hart fan, I’m more of a Macho Man/Shawn Michaels guy, but this reign is absolutely amazing. He wrestled in eleven televised matches as champion, 5 successful defenses, but what’s better than that is the 63% rate of matches to Recommended Matches! Every single one of those matches is different in some way, and are amazing stories, with great work rate, psychology, stories, and fan reaction. There’s a ***** match in there, the opening match of WrestleMania X against Owen Hart (okay, so he wasn’t champion and didn’t count in the 63% ratio, but it happened the night he won the title. Watch it if you haven’t.), another **** star match against Owen Hart at SummerSlam, which many regard as one of the greatest Steel Cage matches of all time, and a **** technical masterpiece against Backlund at Survivor Series. I notched that as a clean loss, even though Bret didn’t officially submit himself. He wrestled on RAW, Superstars, Action Zone, and PPV, the first time since Hulk Hogan from 1984-1988 that a WWF Champion wrestled on so much weekly television, and these matches are by far better than Hogan.

Grade (A+ through F ): A

Bob Backlund (November 23rd, 1994 – November 26th, 1994)

• Record: 1-1
• Clean Losses: 1
• Successful Defenses: 0

Recommended Matches to Watch

• Bob Backlund d. Bret Hart, November 23rd, 1994, Survivor Series

Thoughts: Excellent match at 45 years old by the former WWWF Champion, drawing a ****+ match against Bret Hart as mentioned above. It truly was a remarkable moment for traditionalists who enjoy technical wrestling, selling, and psychology. Backlund’s reaction to winning was amazing. But he was about to be run over by a steam engine… sorry Bob!

Grade (A+ through F ): D-

Overall WWE Champion Ranking

1. Hulk Hogan (January 23rd, 1984 – February 5th, 1988) – A
2. Bret Hart (March 20th, 1994 – November 26th, 1994) – A
3. Yokozuna (June 13th, 1993 – March 20th, 1994) — B+
4. “Macho Man” Randy Savage (April 5th, 1992 – September 14th, 1992) – B
5. Bret Hart (October 12th, 1992 – April 4th, 1993) — B-
6. “Macho Man” Randy Savage (March 27th, 1988 – April 2nd, 1989) – C+
7. Sgt. Slaughter (January 19th, 1991 – March 24th, 1991) – C
8. Hulk Hogan (April 2nd, 1989 – April 1st, 1990) – C
9. Hulk Hogan (March 24th — November 27th, 1991) – D+
10. Ric Flair (January 19th, 1992 — April 5th, 1992) — D
11. The Ultimate Warrior (April 1st, 1990- January 19th, 1991) – D
12. Ric Flair (September 14th, 1992 – October 12th, 1992) — D
13. Bob Backlund (November 23rd, 1994 – November 26th, 1994) — D-
14. Hulk Hogan (April 4th, 1993 – June 13th, 1993) — F
15. Yokozuna (April 4th, 1992 – April 4th, 1992) — F
16. Undertaker (November 27th, 1991- December 3rd, 1991) – F
17. Hulk Hogan (December 3rd, 1991 – December 4th, 1991) – F

**Speaking of championships, I am currently designing custom made championships and shirts for your wrestling figure collections! Over the weekend my page passed 500 Likes, and I am hosting a free giveaway trivia game! One lucky winner will receive of these one of a kind custom championship belts of their choosing! Check out the page at Grand Slam Creations – Custom Wrestling Belts & Accessories on Facebook, give us a like and a follow and share with your friends! (If you find the page due to this article, please let me know and you will be given a extra entry into the giveaway!)**