The Monday Night Wars inspired both WWE and WCW to make the most of their television programs. Raw and Nitro both hoped to get the bigger ratings number each week. Fans tuned in and switched the channels back and forth to watch the more compelling program with each segment. WWE and WCW each tried their best to deliver captivating feuds that would keep the attention of the audience.
We will look back at the best overall feuds to come from each company. WWE’s best content featured upper-level stars mixing it up between the New Generation Era and the Attitude Era. WCW had more versatility with the feuds coming from cruiserweights, mid-carders, and main eventers. Find out just which ones you should watch back on the WWE Network today. These are the five best WWE feuds and five best WCW feuds from the Monday Night Wars.
10 WWE: Bret Hart vs Steve Austin
WWE fell behind WCW in 1996-1997 during the rise of the New World Order, but that doesn’t mean the program was bad. Steve Austin started to become a top star during a tremendous feud against main eventer Bret Hart. The two future legends had classic matches together on a few occasions.
This feud is what made fans start to take a stronger interest in Austin. The characters of both men naturally changed with the huge double turn of Austin becoming a face and Hart going heel. Their WrestleMania 13 match is still considered arguably the best in WWE history.
9 WCW: Diamond Dallas Page vs Raven
The rivalry between Diamond Dallas Page vs Raven is highly underrated. Raven developed a disdain for Page that put them at odds. The two wrestlers faced off in the mid-card picture of a few PPVs along with the Nitro segments setting up the matches.
DDP and Raven stole the show every time they had a match on PPV. They even had cool segments outside of WCW television like when Raven attacked Page on MTV for the extra coverage. Few fans talk about this feud today, but they deserve love for how well the matches hold up all these years later.
8 WWE: The Rock vs Triple H
The Rock and Triple H had similar career paths during the Monday Night Wars. Both wrestlers struggled early despite WWE having big plans for them. Rock and Triple H eventually broke out in the mid-card leading their factions of the Nation of Domination and D-Generation X against each other.
The eventual rise to the main event picture would see their feud reach new levels. 2000 was dominated by Rock vs Triple H for WWE when the company lost Steve Austin due to injury. Rock and Triple H faced off with huge ratings and buy rates coming for their work together.
7 WCW: Ric Flair vs Randy Savage
One of the earlier feuds in the Monday Night Wars for WCW would see Ric Flair as the top heel against Randy Savage. Fans remembered the two had a strong rivalry going back to their time together in WWE. Things would somehow get even more personal in WCW.
Miss Elizabeth shockingly turned on Savage to align with Flair for the first heel run of her career. Savage and Flair traded the WCW Championship on a few occasions creating compelling television. Both men helped WCW, serving as the company’s saving grace in the time before the New World Order put them over the top.
6 WWE: Steve Austin vs Vince McMahon
Steve Austin’s rise to the elite level of WWE would see him finding a new enemy at the top of the mountain. Vince McMahon started using his real ownership of WWE as part of his character as the evil authority figure upset with Austin’s rebellious attitude.
Austin would make life miserable for McMahon and vice versa following his first WWE Championship. McMahon became the most hated villain on WWE television, and it added to Austin’s overall story. Austin and McMahon created magic together as one of the best and most important WWE feuds ever.
5 WCW: Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero
WCW’s cruiserweight division often stole the show in terms of the matches on Nitro and PPVs. Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero had the first feud in the division that was able to get the platform to have a deeper storyline beyond the great matches.
They still had arguably the best match in WCW history, but the story behind it added so much. Guerrero played an outstanding heel trying to unmask Mysterio as the ultimate shame since both wrestlers knew the Lucha libre tradition. Rey won the big match at Halloween Havoc 1997 to keep his mask and become the Cruiserweight Champion.
4 WWE: Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart
The rivalry between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart always created outstanding entertainment for WWE. Their first major feud was a simple one with the art of competition playing out. Michaels defeated Hart in a face vs face match in the main event of WrestleMania 12 to win the WWE Championship.
The two would see their issues grow more personal in 1997. Michaels and Hart cut some vicious promos ripping apart each other due to their real-life backstage issues. It all culminated with the Montreal Screwjob showing WWE wasn’t big enough for the both of them.
3 WCW: Diamond Dallas Page vs Randy Savage
The rise of Diamond Dallas Page in WCW came when he was the first wrestler to turn down the New World Order’s request to join their group. Page was already organically growing a fan base and the rest of the fans loved him for swerving the nWo.
Randy Savage became the first upper card feud for DDP following the face turn. The two had a series of outstanding matches that put Page on the map. Savage had some of the best matches of his entire career finding chemistry with the world’s oldest rising star.
2 WWE: The Rock vs Steve Austin
WWE would see two new stars step up to become the faces of the company. Steve Austin and The Rock both progressed into iconic characters around the same time. WCW stood no chance against WWE once Austin and Rock both became such high-caliber superstars.
Rock and Austin had quite a few feuds throughout the Monday Night Wars. 1999 saw Austin have to overcome Rock and The Corporation faction to win back the WWE Championship. They rekindled their rivalry towards the end of the Monday Night Wars as WWE was must-see television when WCW was going out of business.
1 WCW: Sting vs The New World Order
The rise of the New World Order made it the hottest act in wrestling. WCW’s storyline of a powerful faction trying to create a hostile takeover of the company saw them pass WWE in the ratings and take a huge lead from 1996 to early 1998.
Sting was the first wrestler to present himself as a legitimate threat to the nWo. The new Crow version of his character saw him watching from afar before making his attack. Hulk Hogan was the main target of Sting and the long build to their match was the best feud in WCW history.