During a recent discussion on The Jim Cornette Experience, Jim Cornette and co-host Brian Last explored a question posed by a listener regarding the “greatest opening match in wrestling history.” While praising the listener for the originality of the query, Cornette explained that the shift in how wrestling shows are constructed in the modern era has rendered the concept of a true “preliminary match” almost extinct, making the question significantly more complex.
Cornette noted that the concept of a true preliminary match—a bout featuring unfeatured talent designed solely to build energy—is largely confined to history. He pointed out that major pay-per-views now often begin with a highly anticipated feature match or even a World Title defense, a practice that was rare in decades past. Cornette clarified the distinction using historical examples like Brad Armstrong vs. Mike Rotunda at Clash of the Champions III, which was technically an opening match, but still preliminary because those athletes were not the main advertised feature.
Cornette and Last also referenced Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart at WrestleMania 10 as an example of a feature event that simply went on first, but was not a true prelim. “You know, it is interesting, as you say, all this, we are kind of in a time where hadn’t stopped and thought about it. There are no more preliminary matches on any of these shows,” Last observed. “It’s just right to a hot match. It was never like that.”
Cornette explained that the territory system and the early days of televised supercards were structured much like a traditional house show, methodically building from the bottom of the card to the top. He contrasted this methodical approach with the current production style, where instant excitement dictates the match order.
“We used to, back in those days, build the Clash of Champions like a house show card, preliminaries, special feature match, main event title match, whatever,” Cornette recalled. He added that many great preliminary matches from wrestling history are now “lost to history because nobody cared, because they went on first.”
Cornette concluded that the contemporary wrestling business most closely mirrors the structure of the UFC, where early undercard fights are often among lesser-known competitors. This structure—placing unfeatured talent at the bottom of a large card—is a dynamic traditional wrestling largely abandoned in the late 1990s in favor of placing the “hottest matches out there to start the show.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Jim Cornette Experience with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
