Hello, and welcome to The Contentious Ten! My name is Nick Bazar, and I thank you for clicking.

Hype is huge in wrestling. The build-up, the story and how it all comes together determines whether you as a fan will tune in or even pay to watch a show. A well-made hype video, whether it’s for a singular match or an entire PPV, can really help you make the choice between “buy” or “no buy.” Additionally, it can help casual viewers get caught up to speed with current storylines and hardcore fans connect things that they hadn’t seen before. Over the years, the wrestling industry has provided us with a number of great hype packages. Hype packages that put even companies like the UFC, the NFL and the NBA to shame. That said, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the best hype videos wrestling has produced. And so, the Top Ten Best Hype Videos…

X color=red>size=8>

No Surrender 2005- Cryptic size=6>



TNA has produced some fantastic video packages over the years, and it’s something not enough people give them credit for. Their hype videos typically make everything seem epic, even if the material being covered played out stupidly on television. However, of all the great TNA hype videos out there, my favorite is probably the opening promo for their No Surrender pay-per-view in 2005. It aired during that limbo period in TNA when they were off television, in-between their deals with Fox Sports Net and Spike TV. We get the usual philosophical quotes that always make their way into TNA hype videos interspersed with shots of various wrestlers in action- pretty ordinary. Then something happens that makes this one special. The video and audio start playing backwards, revealing cryptically what was in store for TNA in the near future. When played normally, some of the speech was believed to have said “Rhino is here,” “More are coming,” “TNA is coming to Spike TV,” and “Oh, here’s to my sweet Satan.” Okay, the last one wasn’t there, but TNA was definitely channeling Led Zeppelin.

IX color=red>size=8>

Judgment Day 2000- One Hour size=6>



I remember ordering this show on pay-per-view and being absolutely pumped to watch the main event of Triple H vs. The Rock in an Ironman match after watching the opening hype video. I’ve heard people question the point of playing hype videos during a pay-per-view since the company already has your money. To that I say there’s nothing wrong with getting your customers excited for what’s to come. The video starts off with various statistics of how many times certain things happen in the span of one hour. Did you know we think about sex 21 times in 60 minutes? Me neither! Well, not before watching this video anyway. The package then segues into voiceovers of Triple H and The Rock threatening each other with that they’ll do to one another over the course of an hour. Pretty simple stuff, yet very different from what we normally get from the average hype video. It also served to warn people that this particular Ironman match would be very different from the Wrestlemania classic.

VIII color=red>size=8>

Armageddon 2000- The End is Here size=6>



I chose the Armageddon 2000 hype video here, but really, any Armageddon hype video with “The End is Here” as the background music works. I mean, it’s such a perfect song for the pay-per-view, and hearing it with all the action shots playing over it at the same time just makes it better. The video shown above focuses on the 6-Man Hell in a Cell match that took place at that years’s event- an epic hype package for an epic match. For whatever reason, the now-defunct Armageddon pay-per-view usually wasn’t a good show, but those hype videos almost made it worth it. Think about it, playing that song behind the video for the Triple Threat match between Triple H, Goldberg and Kane almost made you think it was going to be a five-star classic…actually, that may be overstating the awesomeness of the song a little bit, but you get the point. “No more pretending! No more! No moooore!!!” I love it. You can have TLC, I want Armageddon back!

VII color=red>size=8>

Royal Rumble 2004- Last Man Standing size=6>



Leading into Royal Rumble 2004, Shawn Michaels and Triple H had restarted their rivalry that began back in 2002 when Michaels returned to the WWE. In that time, they had battled in Non-Sanctioned fights, Elimination Chambers and even Three Stages of Hell. This time, they were meeting in a Last Man Standing match with Triple H’s World Heavyweight Championship on the line. There was a lot of history between these two men, and that brings us to the hype video. I find it fantastic because it brilliantly tells the story of the Michaels/HHH feud in three minutes. From their relationship in D-Generation X and Michaels never seeing Triple H as anything more than a sidekick to Triple H finally breaking out after Michaels went down with injury, it covers it all through the use of voiceovers from both men in addition to the video playing on top of it. You can understand both guy’s point of view and why they aren’t seeing eye-to-eye after being “closer than a lot of brothers,” as Jim Ross puts it. It’s just a very well-made hype video that summed up almost 10 years of history and made you want to watch them go at it once again.

VI color=red>size=8>

This is Sting size=6>



How awesome is this? If you ever wondered why the Crow Sting character was arguably the most over wrestler for a while in the late 1990s, watch this. There was just something about his presence that fans caught onto, and this video captures it perfectly. When you have characters like this going up against one of the hottest heel groups in the history of wrestling, it’s no wonder WCW was crushing WWF during this time period. The ominous music, the steady beat of the drum, the mysterious girl’s voice reading the poem, the shots of him propelling down the arena, his slight grin after taking out the nWo- that was Sting. At the end of the video you see Sting holding up a Hollywood Hogan t-shirt, proclaiming without words that he had only one mission; he wanted only one man. The match, as we all know, took place at Starrcade 1997 and was responsible for giving WCW its highest pay-per-view buyrate. Again, this is simply an awesome video hyping up one of the biggest matches of the 1990s.

V color=red>size=8>

Final Battle 2010- I Have a Disease size=6>



As I understand it, ROH didn’t produce this particular hype video, but they did endorse it on their website, so it isn’t your average fly by night homemade tribute video. On the contrary actually- this is an extraordinarily well-made video package hyping up the Final Battle 2010 main event of Kevin Steen vs. El Generico. Partners turned bitter, bitter enemies; a classic wrestling storyline, done with a maniacal twist. As I’ve said previously about other hype videos, this captures the hatred between Steen and Generico, and could make even the biggest anti-ROH wrestling fan curious as to how the match plays out. To that point, I don’t follow ROH as closely as some of my colleagues on this website, but after watching this video, I had to watch the match. I think that’s a great sign as to how great this hype video is. It makes fans want to watch the match- mission accomplished.

IV color=red>size=8>

Survivor Series 1997- The Main Event size=6>



Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart. It’s one of the biggest and most important rivalries in the history of professional wrestling, so much so that it’s getting its own DVD release. It was a feud with real-life backstage animosity, tension and egos to go on top of the tremendous talent shared between both men. Fortunately, the hype video for what would turn out to be their final match against each other at Survivor Series 1997 is more than worthy of being associated with such history. It gives you everything you want out of a hype video responsible for covering Michaels vs. Hart. The shots of Michaels winning the WWF Championship from Hart, trash talking from Bret on how much he hates the type of person Michaels is, the nonchalant responses from a cocky Michaels, the shots of Michaels nailing the Sweet Chin Music and Hart applying the Sharpshooter; how can you not want to watch this match after all that? The match was a big deal, and this hype video made it seem like a big deal.

III color=red>size=8>

Money in the Bank 2011- Pipe Bomb size=6>



The most recent hype video on my countdown, and one that shows fans what a fantastic summer this was for wrestling. I’ve said this before, but when fans look back on the summer of 2011 in wrestling 10 years from now, they’ll say, “Damn, remember when wrestling was good?” The build-up to John Cena vs. CM Punk at Money in the Bank 2011 was some of the most inspired work the WWE has done in years. They, for the first time in a long time, had me genuinely excited to see what would happen next. For those few months, it really felt like anything could happen whenever Punk or Cena were in the ring. They broke from the usual mold and it resulted in one of the most talked about angles in recent memory. This hype video is a perfect summation of that; a great reminder of why Punk vs. Cena was one of the most anticipated matches in years. It presents Punk as the cocky loudmouth and Cena as the hero on the verge of losing it. Awesomely done.

II color=red>size=8>

Wrestlemania 26- Running Up That Hill size=6>



I was considering making this number one, but I just couldn’t. Still, number two ain’t shabby, and neither is this video. At Wrestlemania 25, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker gave us one of the greatest matches in the history of wrestling. Taker, like always, walked out of Mania the victor, and Michaels accepted defeat; on that night, at least. He knew he could beat him, and he wanted desperately to prove it. So desperate that he was willing to put his career on the line for one more shot at The Deadman on the grandest stage of them all. And he did. Anyway, this hype video tells that story better than I ever could, and instantly made Placebo’s version of “Running Up That Hill” a favorite among many wrestling fans. I remember looking up the song on YouTube a day after the hype video first aired on Raw and all of the recent comments were from wrestling fans, talking about listening to it for the first time the night before. This is one that was stuck in my head for weeks, in a good way. It also never fails to give me chills whenever I watch it.

I color=red>size=8>

Wrestlemania 17- My Way size=6>

by

Not exactly “contentious,” but I have a hard time putting anything above this, so I won’t. This is the perfect wrestling hype video. The two stars, the music, the narrative, the excitement it brings you- it’s perfect. People hate on Limp Bizkit all the time, but it’s hard to hate this particular song when it gives you chills every time you watch this video. At least that’s how it is for me. I still get chills every time the music escalates and Rock and Austin start going at it. It’s freaking phenomenal, I really don’t know how else to put it. Interestingly enough, it is the exact opposite of my number two choice on this list. Whereas the hype video for Michaels/Taker at Mania 26 is slow and deep, this one is in your face and loud. And really, when you consider that Rock and Austin are being highlighted, there is no other way to go. The WWE has produced some excellent video packages and tributes over the years, and it’s incredible that this one video still remains the Holy Grail. It is still remembered by many fans as the best video package the WWE has ever produced, and I can’t argue.

NULL