Welcome to another eWrestlingNews Question of the Day!
Unfortunately, as previously reported yesterday, WWE legend Sid Eudy passed away.
One of my go-to thoughts whenever a wrestler is no longer with us is to treat this world like it’s a sandbox we have control over and tap into some “fantasy booking” scenarios. What if they didn’t pass away, but instead, were able to do the opposite and to have one more match to round out their careers?
Obviously, that isn’t going to happen, but one of the oft-spoken eulogies for a wrestler who has passed is to say something along the lines of “He’s wrestling (insert legend) up in heaven, now.” This is my twist on that concept, with a focus instead on the current crop of talent on the WWE roster (or, in other cases, AEW, etc)
My question for you today is “If Sid could magically come back for one more match, who would you book him against and how?”
Remember to answer with your response in the comments below.
As far as my answer…
If you’ve followed my content over the past 15+ years, you know that I’m a product of the New Generation and Attitude Era time frame, with plenty trips to Blockbuster to watch VHS tapes of the golden era of the 80s and 90s before New Gen kicked in. You’d also know that I was significantly more fond of WWF than WCW, and didn’t bother with the indies at all. ECW and some local independent shows were the extent of my fandom, and I never really got into NWA.
So with that in mind, when I think of Sid, I tend to think of Sycho Sid more than any other incarnation. The Skyscrapers doesn’t come to mind, nor do I have fond memories of Sid in World Championship Wrestling, despite all that he accomplished there. My brain immediately pictures him standing with the SID letters in pyro behind him, his Psycho-inspired entrance music, and the threat of him going after my top 3 all-time favorites (Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and Bret Hart)
I do think Sid Justice got a raw deal in 1992, and I’ve always fantasy booked alternatives with even Randy Savage versus Sid Justice and Hulk Hogan versus Ric Flair, or Sid being the proper babyface and Hogan turning heel. But if I’m going to book a fantasy “one last match” concept for him, I’m not turning back the clock that much and trying to go with a Sid Justice match—least of all against Hulk Hogan in 2024. Yikes.
Although he had his moments as a babyface, I do rank Sid higher as a heel, character-wise. That’s where I’d start off, and I’d have to look for someone on the roster who would pose enough of a challenge, but would still be the underdog so he can come across as the monster. The big man had his matches with other giants, and you’d think I’d be tempted to go with someone like Braun Strowman or Oba Femi to replicate that, but I like Sid as the aggressor and the tough task, instead of the equal.
To toss out a few honorable mentions that popped into my mind:
- Rey Mysterio would be a fun David versus Goliath setup. I’d book Sid to win that match, ultimately.
- Karrion Kross did sound interesting as a battle of lunatics type thing, but I can’t in good conscience pick Kross to be someone’s final match in almost any scenario.
- In a similar way, Randy Orton came to mind, but I don’t think their styles would work well together, unfortunately. That would have been an interesting feud, though, for Orton to go up against someone with that vicious (no pun intended) streak to him.
- Tell me R-Truth wouldn’t make this great.
- Kevin Owens, Damian Priest, Ilja Dragunov, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre are all great options, but not my top picks.
- CM Punk 10 years ago, sure, but not now.
- AJ Styles would be a top choice to get the best overall match out of him. I almost went with him here, but I couldn’t settle on what a storyline would be.
I mostly narrowed it down to a top 3:
Bronze Medal (#3 Pick) = Sami Zayn
Zayn has many of the same attributes Styles would bring to the table, but with an even bigger underdog persona to amp up that factor. I could see the promos between them being better than Sid/Styles, too. Zayn would be great at garnering sympathy from the crowd as Sid would powerbomb him into oblivion in the lead-up, making Zayn look like there’s absolutely no way he could overcome someone so imposing.
HBK was able to get some wins over Sid through his ingenuity. That’s where Zayn would have to step it up. But I think in this case, even knowing it’s a final match situation, I’d go with Sid getting the win and the implication no one can beat him, even if they have a lot of heart like Sami.
Silver Medal (#2 Pick) = Bron Breakker
A better option, to me, is to put over Bron Breakker. Much like what I’d imagine a Goldberg match would be, this would boil down to Breakker building up enough steam where he’s ready to be cut down a peg. Sid would prove to be too much of a challenge for Breakker to just run through like most people on the roster leading up to this.
There’s history between Sid and the Steiners that could be played off of, though I wouldn’t be clamoring to replicate anything from 2000 by any means. I’d just keep it generalized in an “I messed up your father and uncle back in the day, and I’m going to mess you up now, kid” type of storyline.
Ultimately, Breakker would get the victory, as Sid wasn’t completely unstoppable; just a very difficult challenge.
Gold Medal (Top Pick) = Cody Rhodes
But if you’re going to go with a second-generation star playing the underdog role, in 2024, why not go straight to the most obvious answer in Cody Rhodes?
Rhodes versus Sid requires no face turns like Breakker, it would be for the Undisputed WWE Championship instead of for nothing like with Zayn, and it would hot shot this to the main event of any pay-per-view.
I’d imagine it would be fairly simple. Sid shows up, wrecks some people while claiming he’s coming after Cody and the title, and the champion has to agree to put the belt on the line knowing he’s up against an unhinged, powerful, much more imposing threat. We’d hear Rhodes talk about Sid’s reputation as a killer in the ring, sell his powerbombs like they’re the most devastating maneuver out there, and question whether he can get the job done. Sid would have a field day with the moniker The American Nightmare, while talking smack about Dusty Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes, having crossed paths with them before.
Again, ultimately, it would be Rhodes retaining by overcoming the odds, but I’d book this as some sort of No Disqualification match where he’d only win by doing a Cross Rhodes on top of a steel chair or something to illustrate that it took more than a normal maneuver to get the job done.
Is it simplistic and old school? Sure. But Sid in a modern day setting wouldn’t suit the style of today’s competition. They’d have to dial it back a bit and do something from a few decades ago, when Sid was in his prime, tossing people around and looking like a bad ass.
Who would you choose in this fantasy booking imagination scenario? Drop your thoughts below!
