My Top 10 Most Iconic Wrestling Moments
Although Wrestling is pre-determined, obviously, the entertainment side, both in and out the ring, of Wrestling can often provide moments that will make them cry, laugh and/or be overcome with shock. In this post, I will be giving the 10 most iconic Wrestling moments, in my opinion, that fans and those in the industry will remember forever.
A few honourable mentions that didn't make the list:
- Eddie Guerrero dies (13th November 2005).
- Vince McMahon signs Hulk Hogan (27th December 1983).
- First-ever episode of Monday Night RAW (11th July 1993).
- WWE Buys WCW (23rd March 2001).
- WWE is deemed PG (22nd July 2008).
10, The first-ever Money In The Bank Ladder Match (Wrestlemania 21 - 3rd April 2005)
The first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match took place at Wrestlemania 21 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and featured Chris Jericho (who actually created the concept to get onto the main card of the show), Chris Benoit, Edge, Kane, Christian and Shelton Benjamin. Now a massive part of WWE's identity, the concept even has it's own PPV which started in 2010. What makes this match iconic is that it launched a series of remarkable ladder matches that pushed a mid-carder to the main event scene on their respective brand. Edge did this as he won this match and produced the first-ever cash-in ten months later at New Year's Revolution 2006 against John Cena and subsequently won his first WWE Championship.
9, Owen Hart dies (Over-The-Edge - 23rd May 1999)
Owen Hart sadly died when he fell from the rafters of the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Before his Intercontinental Championship match against The Godfather, Hart fell approximately 78 feet. After many attempts, he later died of internal bleeding and blunt force trauma. This was the first time that a WWE Wrestler had died within the ring and a special episode of RAW was put together in Owen's memory, in which the final shot was of Steve Austin leaving a beer in the ring in tribute to the late great Wrestler.
8, Scott Hall appears on WCW (WCW Monday Nitro - 27th May 1996)
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left WWE for WCW in 1996 as they wanted more money and more creative control. Hall appeared on WCW's episode of Nitro in which he says he's an 'outsider' and that WWE wants a war (in terms of ratings). This would be another step to the infamous Monday Night Wars between WWF and WCW and this is also iconic due it being the first example of kayfabe being broken in order to boost the ratings.
7, Hulk Hogan emerges as the third man in the nWo (WCW Bash at The Beach - 7th July 1996)
Following on from the previous point, the infamous nWo was created by 'outsiders' Scott Hall and Kevin Nash in May 1996. They talked about a third man being apart of the nWo and at WCW Bash at The Beach 1996, Hulk Hogan emerged to join the nWo and turn heel on the fans that had once embraced him in the 80's Wrestling boom.
6, CM Punk drops the 'Pipebomb' Promo (RAW - 27th June 2011)
I've talked about this event before but for those who don't know, CM Punk cut one of the most amazing promos in recent WWE History when took to the mic in Las Vegas on the 27th June 2011 edition of RAW to run down his anger at everyone from the fans to Vince McMahon. I really recommend that you watch it to fully understand it but this is iconic due to it's ability to blur the lines between fiction and reality and work or shoot. Even some of my favourite lines portray how ground breaking this was ("And I'd like to think that maybe this company will be better after Vince McMahon's is dead") ("But the fact that Dwayne is in the main event of Wrestlemania next year and I'm not makes me sick") ("I'm leaving with the WWE Championship and hell who knows maybe I'll go defend it in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Maybe I'll go back to Ring of Honor").
5, Chris Benoit's double-murder and suicide (22nd- 24th June 2007)
Chris Benoit was one of the most hardworking and most impressive technical Wrestlers of all-time. Sadly, his legacy was seriously damaged when he killed his Wife and Son in a fit of rage that ended in him hanging himself. Benoit was scheduled to win the vacant ECW Championship at Vengeance 2007, beating CM Punk, but this never aspired, obviously. It's extremely sad that not only Benoit committed such awful acts against his family but that he also that his legacy was tainted and he will unfortunately be remembered for this, rather than his fantastic matches and his desire and love for the Wrestling business.
4, The Montreal Screwjob (Survivor Series 1997 - 9th November 1997)
The most infamous Survivor Series moment ever. Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon, Triple H and others screwed Bret Hart out of the WWF Championship, due to Hart refusing to drop the belt in Canada before he left to go to WCW. Now, there are a ridiculous amount of articles explaining the specific details of the Montreal Screwjob (only one Google search away!) but what makes this so iconic is that it was one of the first-ever incidents that showed that Vince felt pressure from one of his top stars jumping ship to WCW.
3, Hulk Hogan bodyslams Andre the Giant (Wrestlemania 3 - 29th March 1987)
It's the original WWE moment. A big blonde man slamming a much bigger man down to the mat before winning the WWF Championship at one of WWE's favourite-ever Wrestlemanias. Looking back now as a Wrestling fan, it can seem quite tame compared to the moves that are performed on a weekly basis around the World but back in 1987 this was an amazing moment as no-one had body-slammed Andre the Giant on WWF Television before and seeing Hogan do this only solidified Hulkamania.
2, Launch of the WWE Network (24th February 2014)
The WWE launched it's own subscription service that allows for subscribers to view pretty much everything to WWE (except RAW and SMACKDOWN Live latest episodes). As of April 2016, WWE announced that they had around 1.82 million subscribers, with approximately 434,000 from outside the United States. Whilst this is something that happened outside of the ring, obviously, it makes the number 2 slot because it's clear longtime business strategy from WWE with the huge increase in online streaming. An example of the huge potential success from this is that the WWE have around 12 million subscribers on Youtube and they reported significant revenue from this, as reported by well-respected Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer.
1, Brock Lesnar ends the Undertaker's Streak (Wrestlemania 30 - 6th April 2014)
The most shocking pinfall victory in Professional Wrestling History. The Undertaker's Wrestlemania undefeated streak was absolutely adored by fans and the majority thought that it would never end and would forever stay immortal long after the Undertaker retired from the squared circle. Well, WWE had other ideas and had former UFC Heavyweight Champion and general freak of nature Brock Lesnar conquer the Undertaker's streak. The moment after the bell rang, everyone live at Wrestlemania 30 and watching around the World went very silent in shock. That shock would lead to anger or sheer disbelief. If WWE should have ended the streak is a whole different discussion, which I'll leave out for the sake of staying sane, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is the most iconic moment in Wrestling History.
Paul Heyman congratulates Brock Lesnar on ending the Undertaker's Wrestlemania undefeated streak at 21-1.
