In the mid to late 1990s, there were two superstars that were considered to be two of the top technical wrestlers of their era.
The Ice Man
Dubbed “The Ice Man” and “The man of 1000 holds” for his cold, calculating demeanor and in ring skill set, Dean Malenko had more of a workman type of career as he worked though any card he was in. He was the consummate professional. He worked with greats like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and Perry Saturn during his career that spanned ECW, WCW, WWE, and TNA.
His matches lacked the high flying acrobatics that makes or breaks current superstars. Instead, he relied on his mat skills to wear down his opponent before going for the pin of his famed finisher, the Texas Cloverleaf.
Never flashy or personable on camera, he never received the push he deserved, but that didn’t stop him from have an illustrious career.
The Hitman
Bret Hart’s career and style was similar to Malenko’s, except he received the push he deserved following breaking away from Jim Neidhart and the Hart Foundation to pursue his singles career.
It was an interesting change as he and “The Anvil” had become one of the best tag teams in the world, but he attacked it like the consummate professional he is, and quickly became the top singles wrestler in the world,too. He also relied on a grounded approach to his matches, choosing to grind down his opponents with a variety of holds few others could execute with the same precision as he worked toward the pin or submission with his Sharpshooter.
The winner
That’s be us as wrestling fans.
The similarities between the two can’t be ignored, and while their match wouldn’t be “entertaining” due to the lack of high risk maneuvers, it would be a classic clinical match we so rarely get to enjoy these days.
The match would become so much more than Malenko vs Hart, as it would quickly break down to the Texas Cloverleaf vs the Sharpshooter. Imagine the counter holds and submissions. This would be a fun match that could go one for an hour with numerous near falls. When was the last time we had a match like that without a special stipulation?
