The career of Sid Vicious is often underrated today when looking back at his overall success. Sid was one of the few men to hold both the WWE Championship and the WCW Championship during the Monday Night Wars. The larger size, intimidating presence and interesting persona helped Sid rise to the top of every promotion he worked for.
We will look back at the best and worst performances to come from Sid. The time in WWE saw him work under the names of Sid Justice and Sycho Sid. WCW preferred Sid Vicious as their name of choice. Sid even worked for ECW but without a last name. The in-ring skills lacked but could be led to great matches with the right opponents. Find out which performances stand out most with the five best and five worst matches of Sid’s career.
10 Sid and Spike Dudley vs The Dudley Boyz (Living Dangerously 1999)
The ECW run of Sid deserves some love given how over he was. Paul Heyman knew how to book attraction wrestlers and made Sid one of them in his ECW run. Sid would come to the ring to destroy his opponents in dominating fashion as the fans cheered him on.
The most memorable instance of this came when answered a challenge from Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley. Sid unintentionally teamed with Spike Dudley as he beat the hell out of Bubba and D-Von to the delight of the audience. Following the win, Sid attacked Spike and received even more love for it.
9 Worst: Sid Vicious vs Kevin Nash (Starrcade 1999)
WCW started to completely fall apart in late 1999 with horrible content and ratings growing lower each week. Sid Vicious and Kevin Nash entered a feud based on them both having the same finisher of the powerbomb.
The two giants faced off at Starrcade 1999 in a Powerbomb match with the winner having to use the finisher to end the match. Sid hit the powerbomb first, but the referee was knocked out. Jeff Jarrett hit Sid with a guitar and Nash won the match with his powerbomb. This match perfectly showed the creative problems of WCW at the time.
8 Best: Sycho Sid vs Shawn Michaels (Royal Rumble 1997)
The rivalry between Sycho Sid and Shawn Michaels helped Sid become a legitimate top star in WWE for a short time. Sid was the one defending the WWE Championship against Michaels at the Royal Rumble 1997 event in Shawn’s home state of Texas.
Fans were behind Michaels here with both men telling the perfect big man vs little man story. Michaels overcame the odds to defeat Sid and win back the title. The match here was considered one of the best performances of Sid’s career keeping up with an all-time great like Michaels.
7 Worst: Sycho Sid vs Davey Boy Smith (Summerslam 1996)
WWE started to heat up Sycho Sid for a bigger push in 1996. The Summerslam event saw him facing off against upper card heel Davey Boy Smith. Sid tried to overcome the combination of Smith and his manager Jim Cornette at the second biggest show of the year.
The match unfortunately was a big disappointment. Neither man looked good in the bout, but Sid did pull off the victory in about six minutes of action. The match didn’t add to Sid’s momentum as expected. However, fans eventually would start warming up to him in WWE.
6 Best: Sid Vicious vs Chris Benoit (Souled Out 2000)
Sid Vicious’ best match in WCW came at the Souled Out 2000 PPV. The main event of Sid vs Chris Benoit for the WCW Championship showcased just how much WCW was trying to get away from the same five or six names in the main event picture from the prior years.
Benoit had a reputation for being one of the best technical wrestlers in the world at this point. They had a tremendous match that saw Benoit win the WCW Championship. However, Sid’s foot being under the rope during the submission made WCW reverse the decision. The real reason for the reverse was Benoit leaving for WWE the next night.
5 Worst: Sid Vicious and Randy Savage vs Kevin Nash and Sting (Bash at the Beach 1999)
The return of Sid Vicious to WCW saw him teaming with Randy Savage in the Team Madness faction. Both men were looking to take over WCW’s new landscape as the company was rebuilding. Every main eventer had a chance to seize the top spot with the New World Order ending.
Kevin Nash and Sting were the two main faces to oppose Team Madness. A disappointing match at Bash at the Beach 1999 would see them deliver a terrible main event. The WCW Championship was on the line with Savage taking home the title after scoring the winning pin.
4 Best: Sycho Sid vs Bret Hart (In Your House 12: It's Time)
Sycho Sid was at his best when working against smaller wrestlers with great technical wrestling skills. The In Your House: It’s Time PPV would see Sid have his first major defense of the WWE Championship against Hart.
Both men had great performances with Sid coming off like a huge star. Hart was still viewed as the face of the company upon returning from a hiatus. Sid defeating Bret in a great match to retain the title helped him become even more respected by the fan base.
3 Worst: Sid Justice vs Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania 8)
The first run of Sid in WWE saw him using the name Sid Justice. Fans were shocked when Hulk Hogan vs Sid main evented WrestleMania 9 over the WWE Championship match of Randy Savage vs Ric Flair. Sid was the new big man WWE wanted to push hard.
Hogan and Sid unfortunately had a disappointing match that left the audience bored. WWE even gave it a terrible finish with a DQ leading to a huge brawl. Sid was out of WWE shortly after as the main event created a negative reputation for his in-ring skills and star power.
2 Best: Sycho Sid vs Shawn Michaels (Survivor Series 1996)
Sycho Sid scored the biggest win of his career in what was also the best match. The hardcore fans at Madison Square Garden in New York City turned against Shawn Michaels and his WWE Championship reign. Sid received huge cheers as the challenger going into their Survivor Series 1996 match.
The twists and turns would see Sid keeping up with Michaels in a performance he’d never match again. Sid won the WWE Championship in front of a cheering crowd. Michaels led him through it, but Sid also stepped up for a classic match of the era.
1 Worst: Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Scott Steiner vs Road Warrior Animal (Sin 2001)
The main event of WCW’s Sin PPV was both Sid Vicious’ worst match and arguably the worst match in WCW history. Scott Steiner defended the WCW Championship against Sid, Jeff Jarrett and a mystery man that was going to be revealed during the match.
Sid suffered a gruesome injury in the ring that resulted in a broken leg to make the terrible match remembered for another bad reason. Steiner retained and the big reveal of the fourth man was just Road Warrior Animal aligning with Steiner’s heel faction. Sid likely regrets being in this match for many reasons.