The best wrestling feuds stand the test of time and hold great relevance to have different chapters. Quite a few rivalries lasted in multiple promotions when continuing in the long-term. The stories typically saw the feud having a great start and holding value when both wrestlers moved to a new company. Success ranged from delivering new classic moments to completely falling apart.
Every story has its own variables that made the story memorable. WWE and WCW were the most common places where rivalries continued with other companies like TNA, ECW, AEW, and NJPW providing ideal homes for the talents as well. Find out what allowed rivalries to continue in different places. Each pair of wrestlers took their stories across multiple promotions with varied results.
10 Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper
The legendary rivalry of Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper started in WWE during the mid-80s. WWE booked the first WrestleMania main event around their feud even though it turned out to be a tag match involving Mr. T and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndoff.
WCW hired Piper when Hollywood Hogan was the top heel to finally have big singles matches. Piper refused to get pinned by Hogan in WWE leading to the rivalry never having a winner. The two scored huge PPV buy-rates for their matches with Hogan eventually getting back his wins. However, Piper did score a huge victory via submission against Hogan in a Steel Cage match at Halloween Havoc 1997. WWE even had them face off again in their older ages during a 2003 angle.
9 Chris Jericho vs Goldberg
Chris Jericho was among the best heel characters for WCW in 1998 when trying to move up to a bigger spot on the card. Goldberg’s undefeated streak was still going strong as the WCW Champion when Jericho called him out in promos.
The backstage tension saw Goldberg refusing to wrestle a match with him in WCW and destroying him in a segment to end the feud. Jericho was a bigger star when Goldberg came to WWE and they were quickly placed in a feud together. Despite the WCW tension and a real backstage WWE fight, Jericho put over Goldberg without complaints.
8 Cody Rhodes vs Dustin Rhodes
The real-life relationship as brothers saw Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes eventually becoming linked together in WWE. Both wrestlers teamed up when Dusty represented them in a feud against the McMahon family and The Authority.
The end of the team saw Cody becoming Stardust leading to an all-time terrible feud. AEW launching and hiring Dustin allowed them to give their rivalry another chance. The Rhodes brothers had the first classic match in AEW’s history against one another, with Dave Meltzer ranking the battle 5-stars.
7 Sting vs Mick Foley
WCW utilized Sting and Mick Foley in an entertaining feud back in the early ‘90s. Foley wasn’t a major star yet, but he held his own as the Cactus Jack character. Sting’s face character was the perfect foe to battle with the hardcore Foley.
The feud continued many years later when both wrestlers were in TNA. Foley came out of retirement when TNA wanted the attraction of him facing Sting in a cage match. Both wrestlers were over the hill and struggled to have a good match, but Foley scored his final world title win.
6 Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn started off their careers together on the independent circuit as Kevin Steen and El Generico. The emotional storytelling saw Steen turning on Generico in Ring of Honor to end their tag team and start a bitter rivalry.
Owens once again stabbed Zayn in the back on his first night at NXT to restart the rivalry. The main roster start of Zayn’s career saw him targeting Owens to bring the feud to the biggest stage with a few stellar matches.
5 Ric Flair vs Randy Savage
Ric Flair and Randy Savage were regarded as two of the all-around performers of their era. WWE was the first place to spotlight them in a big feud with the WWE Championship on the line at WrestleMania VIII.
The WWE Title switched hands a couple of times with their big matches delivering. WCW signing Flair back and adding Savage to a bigger deal allowed them to rekindle their feud. A huge moment saw Miss Elizabeth turning on Savage to align with Flair in another world title program.
4 Tommy Dreamer vs Raven
The legendary rivalry of Tommy Dreamer vs Raven helped define ECW in its early stages. Dreamer’s face character got to the next level by having Raven always winning their matches. The fans were desperate for Dreamer to finally get a win in Raven’s last ECW match.
TNA was the place where this feud continued when both wrestlers were in the company. The idea to have an ECW reunion show saw the Dreamer vs Raven rivalry once again reaching a bigger stage for one final noteworthy match.
3 Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior
WWE found huge success when Ultimate Warrior became the hottest new face during Hulk Hogan’s run as face of the company. The dream match saw Warrior winning the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania VI.
WCW would bring Warrior to the wrestling business in 1998 with Hogan once again as the top star in the new company. However, the magic was lost with their one WCW singles match having an all-time awful performance.
2 AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe
The incredible in-ring work of AJ Styles and Samoa Joe played a huge role in the rise of TNA. Styles was the face of the X-Division when Joe started to get over as an undefeated heel targeting the wrestlers of that area.
Their long rivalry in TNA created many outstanding matches. WWE signed both wrestlers and eventually placed them in a feud. Styles and Joe competed on a larger scale with the WWE Championship on the line in a few more compelling matches, including their title match at SummerSlam 2018 which was won by Joe via disqualification. Joe would even go as far as to involve Styles' wife, Wendy, in their WWE feud. Styles would then defeat Joe in two back-to-back pay-per-view matches in WWE, first at Hell in a Cell and then at Super ShowDown.
1 Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio
The most memorable instance of two wrestlers having a superb rivalry across multiple promotions was Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. Both wrestlers worked in AAA and developed a close friendship, but the major rivalry started in WCW.
The feud carried the cruiserweight division with Guerrero thriving as a heel to make Mysterio’s underdog story even more appealing. Their match at Halloween Havoc 1997, which was won by Mysterio, was one of the most iconic WCW matches of all time.
Rey and Eddie took their rivalry to another level in 2005 when Guerrero’s most vicious heel side came to light when he brought eight-year-old Dominik into the storyline. During this storyline, Eddie claimed to be Dominik's father and the custody of the little boy was on the line in a ladder match won by Rey at SummerSlam of that year. Their matches were always stellar with the storytelling taking it to another level. Despite being the smaller competitor, Mysterio often came out on top during his exchanges with Guerrero.