The selling point of a brother vs brother feud will see fans buying into the idea of real tension. Movies and television shows often create conflict between family members in their stories, and wrestling is no different from the storyline aspects. There have been quite a few major brother matches in WWE and beyond.
Quite a few hit the mark to deliver classic matches to show that real siblings could have superb chemistry. However, there is also the flip side of some matches disappointing in the spotlight. Multiple variables will be explored to see what caused such different tales. The following matches were the best and worst between brothers in pro wrestling.
10 Best: Bret Hart Vs Owen Hart (SummerSlam 1994)
WWE had an all-time great cage match between Bret and Owen Hart looking to settle their score. However, this match was about a lot more than two brothers failing to get along. Owen challenged Bret for the WWE Championship in what turned out to be the biggest match of his career.
Bret and Owen showed their magical chemistry and had the audience buying into every false finish. The match eventually evolved into two brothers trying to stop the other from escaping in between the intense action.
9 Worst: Jeff Hardy Vs Matt Hardy (Vengeance 2001)
There were a few different rivalries between Jeff and Matt Hardy for better or worse. WWE had the first one come during the Attitude Era when teasing conflict between Matt and Jeff. A match was booked for Vengeance 2001 with Lita as the guest referee since she was their closest ally as Team Xtreme together.
The match was a disappointment that felt like a waste of time for their characters. Jeff won with the bigger story of Matt being jealous that his girlfriend made the court for his brother to defeat. WWE thankfully realized this idea wasn’t working and had them reunite as a happy team by the end of it.
8 Best: Pentagon Vs Fenix (Dynamite)
AEW has tried to keep the luchador brother tag team of Pentagon and Fenix on the same side for most of their time in the company. However, there was a big match between them on Dynamite in October of 2020 in a world title eliminator tournament to crown a new #1 contender to the AEW World Championship.
The Lucha Brothers left it all in the ring by viciously going after each other due to the importance of the prize on the line. Fenix won a tremendous match over his brother to advance in the tournament and felt like the leader of the Lucha Brothers for that night.
7 Worst: Matt Jackson Vs Nick Jackson (TNA Impact)
Another TV match between brothers that usually are always on the same page saw TNA having no idea how to use the Young Bucks. Matt and Nick Jackson wrestled as Generation Me together, but TNA wanted to split them up for a small feud of tension.
A singles match between the two could have been great, but it was extremely short and had a lazy story. Matt winning the match led to him having a short singles push as an X-Division Championship challenger. The brothers would likely have a better match in the AEW environment.
6 Best: Matt Hardy Vs Jeff Hardy (The Final Deletion)
The Hardy Boys struggled to have a good feud as rivals in WWE with a few missed opportunities along the way. However, TNA was the place that saw the feud work since they were older with more established identities and had a fascinating story.
Matt Hardy was losing his mind with the Broken persona causing further tension with his brother Jeff. TNA allowed them to film a cinematic match titled the Final Deletion at the Hardy compound. The match was a wild masterpiece that gave Impact some attention and even received praise in the WWE locker room.
5 Worst: Scott Steiner Vs Rick Steiner (Fall Brawl 1998)
WCW invested a lot of time into the end of the Steiner Brothers. Scott Steiner betraying his brother Rick to end the greatest WCW tag team and join the New World Order was a huge deal. WCW waited many months before finally having a big singles match to pay it off.
Fall Brawl 1998 featured a big match that just upset the audience. Rick was getting the better of Scott until the latter’s friend Buff Bagwell appeared to suffer an injury getting involved. WCW stopped the match for the weak finish as Bagwell and Scott attacked Rick later that night to reveal it was a lie
4 Best: Cody Rhodes Vs Dustin Rhodes (Double Or Nothing 2019)
AEW booked a great attraction match between Cody and Dustin Rhodes at their first ever event. Double or Nothing 2019 was a universally loved PPV that made fans feel good about AEW starting soon. The card was stacked, but one match stood out as match of the night.
Cody and Dustin both bled a storm in the ring as a match that showed why blood can be an effective storytelling device. The instant classic felt like a massive win in Cody’s career, and many fans would call it his best AEW performance before he left for WWE.
3 Worst: Goldust Vs Stardust (Fastlane 2015)
Part of the reason that Cody Rhodes badly wanted to face his brother at the first AEW PPV was to correct a mistake from his WWE run. Stardust was a failed experiment, but it started off with Cody developing a persona like his brother that led to a breakup.
Fastlane 2015 was the stage for a brother vs brother match that Goldust won. The match was considered a huge disappointment, and many fans wanted a rematch. WWE dropped the feud that was viewed as an all-time failed brother feud until they had the AEW rematch.
2 Best: Owen Hart Vs Bret Hart (WrestleMania 10)
Bret and Owen had such a great series of matches that two had to be on the best side of the list. WrestleMania 10 was even more important than SummerSlam 1994 since this match set the template that all brother vs brother matches hoped to follow.
WWE saving this match for the big stage of WrestleMania showed the interest that fans could have in seeing two brothers on opposite sides. Owen scored a shocking upset to beat his older brother in a classic. Many fans still name this as the greatest WM opening match.
1 Worst: Booker T Vs Stevie Ray (Souled Out 2000)
WCW hoped that the breakup of Harlem Heat would lead to a great feud between Booker T and Stevie Ray. Fans loved Booker during his singles babyface push, but Stevie was losing a lot of momentum struggling to find a role after flopping in the New World Order.
Souled Out 2000 featured the real-life brothers having a major match. The plodding match felt like a below average Nitro bout rather than a big PPV attraction. WCW even overbooked the ending with Ahmed Johnson debuting as Big T to attack Booker and end the match with a DQ finish.
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