Top 10 Heroes VS Villains

The internet is full of Top 10 lists, and I know my idea to run a new list once a month here is hardly the most original I've ever had. The only thing I can hope is to bring some fresh concepts to the subjects of these lists and give my take as spontaneously and bluntly as possible. For my first list we have a subject that has seen a lot written about both sides individually, but not so much written about the two halves as a whole. For a hero to be truly great he or she needs a great villain, and the same applies vice versa. The thing about the very concept of good VS evil that speaks to the human condition in such a base manner is the need for the battle to always rage on. For good to truly be good doesn't it need evil to define it?

The only requirement to qualify for this list is that the feud had to be taken from some sort of work of fiction. Past that I didn't try to focus on any one area more than another. I worked on a rough draft in my head for about a month, took a field of about 25 possibilities and narrowed it down to the list you'll find below. I'm sure with many of these lists I'll be tempted to give some honorable mentions that just missed the cut, but I think that would cheapen the list itself. This project is the Top 10s of 2011, not the Top 10s of 2011 (and a Few Picks that Just Missed). So enjoy the Top 10, and only 10, Heroes & Villains of all-time.

1980s Texas Set Ballot Discs 7-8

I wasn't necessarily planning on recapping the last 4 discs of the set 2 at a time, but when I finished the 30+ matches on discs 7-8 I knew that I needed to sit down and sort them out. There's a lot of good wrestling on these discs, but not much great wrestling, and after the death of Gino Hernandez you can feel it's the beginning of the end for WCCW. Which is odd in that it feels like Gino's death, and not one of the Von Erich's, was the final straw. It may just be how I'm interpreting things through watching this set, but within months they brought in Lance Von Erich and rehashed the Von Erichs/Freebirds feud, two moves that reeked of desperation.

It seems that every section of discs I review here has one stand out manager, and this time around it's Percy Pringle III. While I wouldn't put Percy's work on the level of Sunshine's or Gary Hart's, he does a tremendous job here handling Rude as he comes into the territory and quickly becomes the World Champ. The change from recognizing the NWA title to WCCW's American Championship becoming a "World" belt could have been an abrupt one, but Pringle and Rude play it so smooth that you really never question it (I can't say the same for say, Al Perez later on). Pringle's character, like Sunshine and Hart's, is different than your typical heel manager. There's a great promo here where he talks about learning about discrimination (with a capital D) as a child. He's flamboyant, a bit homoerotic, self righteous and most of all sinister, but you can also tell he loves what he's doing and is truly behind his man Rude.

As for the wrestlers themselves, this is a tough time to rank for WCCW. The Von Erichs/Dynamic Duo feud comes to a conclusion with a series of great matches, but as I start to work through disc 9 and peek ahead to 10 it looks like it may have been the last great feud of the company. Kerry has some matches after where he looks particularly out of it even by his standards. Adams goes through a transitional period to return babyface after Gino's death and has to work with an eye patch, which he does an impressive job of. Before that he also has a nice feud with the surprisingly babyface Great Kabuki which provides a number of really solid matches. One Man Gang has some strong showings as well as Iceman King Parsons, and the two of them put together one of my most memorable matches of the set with the Taped Fist bout.

The matches on these 2 discs in general are very good. It was an easy watch and I could only say I actually disliked the last 2 matches on my rankings below. Hell even match I've got #28 here, Chris Adams, Kevin & Lance Von Erich vs. One Man Gang, The Great Kabuki & Rick Rude (5/26/86) was a lot of fun. But the thing is very few of these matches have a shot at cracking say my top 15. There are a lot of "top third" matches, but not many "top tier" matches. Still the set continues to please and I'm looking forward to checking in with my thoughts on the last 2 discs soon.

1. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Texas Tornado Cage Match) (11/28/85)
2. Iceman King Parsons vs. One Man Gang (Taped Fist Match) (10/6/85)
3. Rick Rude vs. Iceman King Parsons (2/3 Falls) (11/4/85)
4. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Hair vs. Hair Match) (10/6/85)
5. Chris Adams vs. Kevin Von Erich (7/13/85)
6. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry Von Erich & Kabuki (6/14/85)
7. Chris Adams vs. Kevin Von Erich (No DQ) (9/2/85)
8. Chris Adams vs. The Great Kabuki (7/4/85)
9. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (7/4/85)
10. Chris Adams vs. The Great Kabuki (7/8/85)
11. Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts vs. Lance Von Erich & Brickhouse Brown (3/21/86)
12. Kerry Von Erich vs. One Man Gang (11/15/85)
13. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (12/25/85)
14. Kevin Von Erich vs. Ric Flair (5/5/85)
15. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Texas Tornado Match) (7/26/85)
16. John Tatum vs. Scott Casey (9/16/85)
17. Iceman King Parsons vs. John Tatum (2/17/86)
18. Chris Adams vs. Gino Hernandez (Hair vs. Hair) (1/27/86)
19. Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy & Kabuki vs. Bruiser Brody, Kevin & Lance Von Erich (4/7/86)
20. Chris Adams vs. The Great Kabuki (6/28/85)
21. Chris Adams, Kevin & Lance Von Erich vs. Blackjack Mulligan, The Great Kabuki & Rick Rude (6/13/86)
22. Kerry Von Erich & Bruiser Brody vs. Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy (4/4/86)
23. John Tatum vs. Scott Casey (9/2/85)
24. Rick Rude vs. Kerry Von Erich (12/13/85)
25. Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (2/21/86)
26. Little Mr. T vs. Little Tokyo (3/21/86)
27. Chris Adams vs. John Tatum (5/16/86)
28. Chris Adams, Kevin & Lance Von Erich vs. One Man Gang, The Great Kabuki & Rick Rude (5/26/86)
29. Rip Oliver vs. The Great Kabuki (2/3 Falls) (6/24/85)
30. Steve Regal & Jack Victory vs. The Fantastics (2/3 Falls) (3/3/86)
31. Rick Rude vs. Kerry Von Erich (3/7/86)

The Top 10s of 2011

Partially inspired by my good friends over at WingQuest 2011, I have decided to act on an idea I've had for a year or so. I am a compulsive list maker and for a long while I've wanted to make a list of the top 10 heroes and villains of all-time. My original idea was to post a new top 10 list on the 10th of every month this year, but my genetics got the best of me and I missed the deadline. The new plan is to post a new list on the last day of every month. So we'll start with my flagship list on January 31st and move on to whatever whim I have next on February 28th. I am going to state for the record that these lists are meant to be highly subjective. I am who I am and I can not pretend to give a neutral opinion on these topics. If you agree with my lists then more power to you. If you don't then leave me a comment! I'd love to hear your version of the list. Here's to a list filled 2011.