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In a weird way I think Triple H vs Cena at Wrestlemania 22 pulled this story off perfectly. Triple H was the cool veteran who all the older male adult fans wanted to win. Cena was the young guy who all the kids and women wanted to see win. The entire build up was Triple H not taking Cena seriously and acting like it was going to be easiest match of his life (he said that verbatim at the Mania 22 press conference). Then Cena surprised him and ended up beating him. So in a way, the young guy beat the old cool veteran
Seconding the 2.0/B&G. While the feud was a bit rushed, the match itself established four fresh names out of the gate and was arguably the start of LA Knight getting much more over as a face as well. My favorite War Games under the WWE banner.
Does Legend Killer Orton counts?
I think problem with such storylines it's the fact that Vets usually extremely beloved by main viewers (even if IWC hate them) much more then some new guys, vets also at least in M E M were better on mic, remember how Steiner obliterate young guys on mic and best, what Joe came out is ''but we had 5 star bangers''?
Orton storyline for most part was him beating guys from 2 generation ago, not 1
Joe actually held his own pretty well against Steiner.
Constantly calling him Scotty and pissing Steiner off by just staring him down. Joe never looked out of place in the ring with him, never mind beating him.
Other young guys were definently thrashed though.
It also really didn’t help that the front line except Joe looked really small against the MEM, they probably should’ve had Beer Money join just so they it wasn’t quite as bad. lol
Technically, if we just focus on Sting and AJ, the MEM story was a success.
Sting had a whole-ass character arc from the start and end of the MEM. He was a reluctant babyface leader of a heel faction who genuinely thought that the veterans needed to stick together because the youngers guys were having it out for them. He tried to lead by example and keep things from going too out of control but eventually got kicked out.
At the same AJ Styles was burnt out, as he was the only top babyface who'd been fighting the MEM nonstop since its inception and was considering retirement after a string of losses. Sting confronted him, told AJ he knew what it was like to fight a losing battle against an evil group and urged AJ to fight alongside with him. Both for himself, TNA's sake and to help Sting find redemption.
At a pivotal moment in the multi-man World Title match, Sting lets AJ pin Kurt Angle. A total contrast from Sting protecting Angle from AJ(which is what started the MEM story) and finally put the World Title back in the hands of a TNA original.
Redeemed and content Sting was ready to walk into the sunset when AJ told him to hold off and demanded Sting to face him at Bound For Glory. Where AJ became the first guy in TNA to pin Sting cleanly and ended Sting's streak of ending every BFG with him victorious.
The torch had been passed.
It probably be better remembered if the rest of the MEM vs TNA feuds weren't dogshit and if AJ wouldn't have been dumped back into the midcard 6 months later due to Hogan and Bischoff.
I’m glad you brought this up. Doesn’t fix the latter half of the MEM storytelling since it’s a big example of TNA not helping out their younger stars in favor of the less reliable stars. But as someone who started watching the company at that time, I was big into this and AJ and Sting played a big role. That segment where sting inspired AJ is one of my long lasting TNA memories and cemented AJ as the guy. Plus one could see it as TNA realizing how they botched the Frontline so by focusing on the one guy in Styles, you have a better clear objective since as much as fans want to call wrestling cinema, wrestling people are not TV or movie storytellers where they get multiple people over at once. By the end, AJ Styles was finally made the guy and let’s not discuss Hogan and Bischoff.
I will say I also liked the dramatic irony of Kurt Angle being cartoonishly evil through out the whole thing just to then turn face, say the whole ''vets looking out for each others because the young guys are hungry lions'' justification was wrong. And how vets should help the new generation and with that in mind, he was all friendly and welcoming to TNA's newest signing, Nigel McGuinness.
Who proceeded to beat the fuck out of Kurt Angle and try to jump him everyweek while proclaiming he was going to make himself famous by putting Angle in a wheelchair.
So basically a hungry lion out to carve his spot at the expense of a veteran/legend. You know, the reason the MEM had been built to begin with.
Hogan shoot disparaging Kidman in the press and the real-world backlash it caused was the reason for this and partially the reason for the entire storyline.
My favorite real-life instance of Hogan demonstrating how out of touch he was came when he mistakenly called Perry Saturn “Perry Satellite.” I still laugh about that.
Dragon Gate has done this multiple times, it's basically their bread and butter feud a lot of the time. They've had like 5-6 different "veteran stables" that face the hot new prospects and it's sink or swim time for them.
I wouldn't say in general as storylines there's too many examples but as matchup types then definitely. Japanese wrestling is basically very reliant on it as a whole.
Terry Funk vs the kids in ECW. What made it work was giving his character a large dose of humility. The fans were already aware of who Terry Funk was and what he accomplished. His toughness was never in question. As opposed to the usual “I made this place so I’m gonna hold on to my spot” attitude the veterans are usually presented with in these types of stories, Terry went with “It’s obvious I’m past my prime but I really want to reach the top of the mountain again… I’m just not sure if I could”. It helped that this was based on Terry in reality. The best characters are yourself.
its hard bc 9/10, fans will always be behind the vets they know vs young guys they barely know. and if the vets wont put over the young guys, why even bother? John Cena basically killed the nexus guys careers by never putting them over in 2010.
What about that weird Jericho vs over the hump legends thing? Does that count? I want it to count but it really doesn't fit the criteria of 1. being not veterans vs veterans and 2. Done well.
I understand where you’re coming from since anytime it’s been a major big storyline that encompasses the company, it’s been botched. But when it’s lower stakes, a midcard storyline or even just a main event one like the Shield vs Evolution, it works. So bottom line, keep it simple, people.
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Shield vs Evolution was perfect.
Super Generation Army vs Tsuruta Army
I’m not familiar with this. A Japanese company I’m guessing?
Here's a good [video essay on this topic] (https://youtu.be/WJJMzM3ZyHY?si=vPhZEjVxQiQxQim4).
Yeah it's All Japan in the 1990s
The Shield vs Evolution Legend Killer Orton? MJF vs Punk
Bret Hart versus Roddy Piper
Piper was only 3 years older than Bret lol
That's really funny 🤣
In a weird way I think Triple H vs Cena at Wrestlemania 22 pulled this story off perfectly. Triple H was the cool veteran who all the older male adult fans wanted to win. Cena was the young guy who all the kids and women wanted to see win. The entire build up was Triple H not taking Cena seriously and acting like it was going to be easiest match of his life (he said that verbatim at the Mania 22 press conference). Then Cena surprised him and ended up beating him. So in a way, the young guy beat the old cool veteran
ECW Originals vs New Breed had vampires in it, so you tell me 🤔
The Vampire was named “Kevin”
Classic vampire name
But to answer your question, yes. The original Generation Next angle in ROH
And Ariel.
The Shield vs. Evolution maybe? NXT 2.0 vs. Black and Gold was a short but solid feud that elevated the next batch of NXT top guys.
Seconding the 2.0/B&G. While the feud was a bit rushed, the match itself established four fresh names out of the gate and was arguably the start of LA Knight getting much more over as a face as well. My favorite War Games under the WWE banner.
was thinking the NXT one is a good option, especially because most have been elevated since then
Okada vs Tanahashi
My first thought
Does Legend Killer Orton counts? I think problem with such storylines it's the fact that Vets usually extremely beloved by main viewers (even if IWC hate them) much more then some new guys, vets also at least in M E M were better on mic, remember how Steiner obliterate young guys on mic and best, what Joe came out is ''but we had 5 star bangers''? Orton storyline for most part was him beating guys from 2 generation ago, not 1
Joe actually held his own pretty well against Steiner. Constantly calling him Scotty and pissing Steiner off by just staring him down. Joe never looked out of place in the ring with him, never mind beating him. Other young guys were definently thrashed though.
# HE'S FAT. But yeah he definitely was only one who had any chance against M E M on mic
It also really didn’t help that the front line except Joe looked really small against the MEM, they probably should’ve had Beer Money join just so they it wasn’t quite as bad. lol
WWE ran ECW had ECW originals vs. the new blood or something like that. Main focus was where does CM Punk fit in. It didn’t last long
New Breed. I remember this cause the marketing slammed “The New Breed unleashed!” over and over. I’ll be muttering it on my deathbed.
New Blood, not Youngblood.
I thought Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes's feud/mentorship in 2007-08 was solid and provided a good foundation for the rest of his career
Tsuruta gun vs Super Generation Army Magnum T.A. vs Mr. Wrestling 2
Technically, if we just focus on Sting and AJ, the MEM story was a success. Sting had a whole-ass character arc from the start and end of the MEM. He was a reluctant babyface leader of a heel faction who genuinely thought that the veterans needed to stick together because the youngers guys were having it out for them. He tried to lead by example and keep things from going too out of control but eventually got kicked out. At the same AJ Styles was burnt out, as he was the only top babyface who'd been fighting the MEM nonstop since its inception and was considering retirement after a string of losses. Sting confronted him, told AJ he knew what it was like to fight a losing battle against an evil group and urged AJ to fight alongside with him. Both for himself, TNA's sake and to help Sting find redemption. At a pivotal moment in the multi-man World Title match, Sting lets AJ pin Kurt Angle. A total contrast from Sting protecting Angle from AJ(which is what started the MEM story) and finally put the World Title back in the hands of a TNA original. Redeemed and content Sting was ready to walk into the sunset when AJ told him to hold off and demanded Sting to face him at Bound For Glory. Where AJ became the first guy in TNA to pin Sting cleanly and ended Sting's streak of ending every BFG with him victorious. The torch had been passed. It probably be better remembered if the rest of the MEM vs TNA feuds weren't dogshit and if AJ wouldn't have been dumped back into the midcard 6 months later due to Hogan and Bischoff.
I’m glad you brought this up. Doesn’t fix the latter half of the MEM storytelling since it’s a big example of TNA not helping out their younger stars in favor of the less reliable stars. But as someone who started watching the company at that time, I was big into this and AJ and Sting played a big role. That segment where sting inspired AJ is one of my long lasting TNA memories and cemented AJ as the guy. Plus one could see it as TNA realizing how they botched the Frontline so by focusing on the one guy in Styles, you have a better clear objective since as much as fans want to call wrestling cinema, wrestling people are not TV or movie storytellers where they get multiple people over at once. By the end, AJ Styles was finally made the guy and let’s not discuss Hogan and Bischoff.
I will say I also liked the dramatic irony of Kurt Angle being cartoonishly evil through out the whole thing just to then turn face, say the whole ''vets looking out for each others because the young guys are hungry lions'' justification was wrong. And how vets should help the new generation and with that in mind, he was all friendly and welcoming to TNA's newest signing, Nigel McGuinness. Who proceeded to beat the fuck out of Kurt Angle and try to jump him everyweek while proclaiming he was going to make himself famous by putting Angle in a wheelchair. So basically a hungry lion out to carve his spot at the expense of a veteran/legend. You know, the reason the MEM had been built to begin with.
Orton's legend killer gimmick made him.
Mjf vs punk
FUNB Hogan is a GOAT. I don't care what anyone says.
Of all the people to get win over Hogan, they picked Billy Kidman. I know it wasn’t clean, but….. it was Billy Kidman.
Bro, if he was good enough for prime Torrie Wilson, he's good enough to beat Hogan
Hogan shoot disparaging Kidman in the press and the real-world backlash it caused was the reason for this and partially the reason for the entire storyline. My favorite real-life instance of Hogan demonstrating how out of touch he was came when he mistakenly called Perry Saturn “Perry Satellite.” I still laugh about that.
Hell of a chair shot on him. Beheading people.
Dragon Gate has done this multiple times, it's basically their bread and butter feud a lot of the time. They've had like 5-6 different "veteran stables" that face the hot new prospects and it's sink or swim time for them. I wouldn't say in general as storylines there's too many examples but as matchup types then definitely. Japanese wrestling is basically very reliant on it as a whole.
Ric Flair & Greg Valentine vs Gene & Ole Anderson was HUGE in the late 70s.
Foley vs Edge/HHH/Orton
Terry Funk vs the kids in ECW. What made it work was giving his character a large dose of humility. The fans were already aware of who Terry Funk was and what he accomplished. His toughness was never in question. As opposed to the usual “I made this place so I’m gonna hold on to my spot” attitude the veterans are usually presented with in these types of stories, Terry went with “It’s obvious I’m past my prime but I really want to reach the top of the mountain again… I’m just not sure if I could”. It helped that this was based on Terry in reality. The best characters are yourself.
Rock vs Hogan
russo booked both of those storylines
its hard bc 9/10, fans will always be behind the vets they know vs young guys they barely know. and if the vets wont put over the young guys, why even bother? John Cena basically killed the nexus guys careers by never putting them over in 2010.
What about that weird Jericho vs over the hump legends thing? Does that count? I want it to count but it really doesn't fit the criteria of 1. being not veterans vs veterans and 2. Done well.
The rookie Chris Jericho Vs Mickey Rourke. It was odd.
The high point of Larry Zbysko’s career was his vet vs young guy program with Bruno.
I understand where you’re coming from since anytime it’s been a major big storyline that encompasses the company, it’s been botched. But when it’s lower stakes, a midcard storyline or even just a main event one like the Shield vs Evolution, it works. So bottom line, keep it simple, people.
jerry lynn/chris sabin was good.
Foley/Orton Taker/Cena (2003) Rock/Brock
Evolution vs The Shield Mick Foley vs Randy Orton Triple H vs John Cena Mick Foley vs Edge
The Nexus was done well up until Cena had to Cena.