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Top Thirty Moments In Wrestling
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Newsgroups: alt.pro-wrestling.wwf
Before Chris Jericho, Triple H, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, The Rock
and Brock Lesnar, there was Lou Thesz. Thesz was credited as the first true
unified World Champion, when he simultaneously held the NWA title, AWA (Boston)
title, the W.W.A. (Los Angeles) title, and the AWA World (Ohio) title during
the midway mark of the 20th century. As the Undisputed World Heavyweight
champion, he made a record of 936 consecutive wins between 1948 and 1955 when
pro-wrestling was respected as a professional sport in the United States. Very
few champions in the history of the business were as dominant as Thesz and this
dominance was personified by the unified championship.
In 1982, Vincent McMahon Sr. decided to retire from wrestling promotion and
sold his business, the World Wide Wrestling Federation to his son, Vince Jr. At
the time, the WWWF was a regionally based promotion in the northeast. Junior
would change all that in an instant. Like a swirling tornado, Vince McMahon Jr.
quickly scooped up every competition in his path, en route to becoming the
dominant national promotion. He also changed the name to the WWF.
Vince then made up his mind to do something that nobody else had done. He
risked the entire company with wrestling’s biggest event ever, WrestleMania.
Since Pay-Per-View wasn’t around in 1985 so this super event was shown on
closed circuit television. Vince had spent his entire fortune renting out over
100 arenas. The idea was crazy, to have people pay to enter an arena and watch
wrestling on a giant screen. But it worked and WrestleMania made Vince McMahon
a millionaire.
The initial 4 Horseman concept was hatched on NWA TV in the spring of 1985. The
founding members included Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, Arn Anderson and Tully
Blanchard (with J.J. Dillon as their manager). They were described as an elite
group of performers who set on a quest to dominate the realm of professional
wrestling. In Arn Anderson’s autobiography, "Arn Anderson 4 Ever", the
Enforcer mentioned that the name originated during an interview he did on NWA
TV.
Arn apparently ad-libbed a line by saying, "The only time this much havoc has
been wreaked by this few people - you need to go all the way back to the Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” Over the years, the group included such stars as
Lex Luger, Barry Windham, Sting, Sid Viscous, Paul Roma, Brian Pillman, Jeff
Jarrett, Curt Hennig, Steve McMichaels, Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit. The
group was significant for wrestling because it helped to usher in the concept
of “stables.” Without the birth of the 4 Horsemen, other groups such as DX
and the New World Order might never have existed.
On September 4th, 1995 history was made in the Mall of America in Minnesota as
WCW Nitro hit the airwaves for the first time. The memorable night included a
surprise appearance from Lex Luger who returned to WCW after a 3-½ year stint
with the WWF. The event, led by the upstart Eric Bischoff, was groundbreaking
because it was live. WWF RAW had started in 1993, but elected to pre-tape their
programming and avoid the pressure and costs associated with a live wrestling
program.
Bischoff thought differently and it revolutionized the way contemporary fans
watch wrestling. Bischoff used the live time slot to reveal RAW results on
Nitro and even coerced WWF Women's Champion Alundra Blaze to dump her title
into a trash during another live broadcast. It was stunts such as the
previously mentioned that sparked the fabled Monday Night Wars. WCW's Monday
Nitro topped RAW in the ratings for 84-straight weeks.
The talented Steve Williams had wallowed in mediocrity for most of his
wrestling career, but during the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, everything
changed. Austin won his semifinals match with Marc Mero, but looked like a
train wreck after requiring twelve stitches to close a cut on his lip. Austin
then went on to defeat Jake “The Snake” Roberts in the finals and became
the 1996 King of the Ring. Mocking Roberts, who had recently become a
born-again Christian, Austin stated “you talk about Psalms, you talk about
John 3:16…well Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”
With those simple words, a Superstar was officially born. Austin went on to
sell more tickets, t-shirts and Pay-Per-View cards than any other wrestler in
history. He became pure currency for the WWE, more so than Hogan or The Rock.
Amazingly, everything started for Austin with his speech at King of the Ring.
Hulk Hogan had been a champion in professional wrestling for more than a
decade, but by 1996, the fans had become tired of his predictable act. WCW knew
they had to do something, and decided to plan the greatest heel turn in the
history of wrestling at the 1996 Bash at the Beach Pay-Per-View. The main event
was a tag-match pitting the recently crossed-over Scott Hall and Kevin Nash,
with a mystery partner, versus Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage.
Nash and Hall continued to hype whom their mystery man would be and the tension
mounted. Hogan appeared and headed towards the ring, but many fans believed he
was there to help Sting and Savage since Luger had been injured earlier and
carried out on a stretcher. Shockingly, Hogan leg dropped Savage and devastated
him. The New World Order was officially formed and the wrestling world would
never be the same.
The events of May 23rd, 1999 at Over The Edge PPV sent permanent shockwaves
throughout the entertainment world. The pain wrestling fans continue to feel
when remembering the tragic death of Owen Hart isn’t because of where his
death occurred – in a wrestling arena - but the fact that it was completely
unnecessary. Hart, wrestling under the moniker of The Blue Blazer, was supposed
to make a “Superhero” type entrance to the ring on a wire when he fell 50
feet to the floor. The intent was to lower Hart slowly to the ring, but
something went terribly and inexplicably wrong.
It was well known that Owen had become slightly disillusioned with the
contemporary pro-wrestling scene, which had become more about
“entertainment” and less about “sport.” The Hart family believed that
Owen was sacrificed for Vince McMahon and his insatiable appetite to outdo his
competition. Many close to Owen, including his brother Bret, where aware that
Owen didn’t want to perform the stunt, but was somehow talked into it before
the event. Owen Hart was a true wrestling legend whom was ripped away from his
fans and family prematurely. We all continue to feel his loss.
It was billed as the biggest main event in the history of sports entertainment,
as the irresistible force met the immovable object at WrestleMania III. It was
Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant for the WWF heavyweight strap in front of over
93,000 frothing fans in the Pontiac Siliverdome in Detroit, Michigan. Andre had
been undefeated (debatable) for more than 20 years coming into this match with
the emerging American Superhero, Hogan. Something had to give. The match ended
as Hogan bodyslammed the 500 lb. Giant to the canvas and earned the pinfall.
Andre, the appropriately nicknamed "Eighth Wonder of the World" had passed the
proverbial torch to the Hulkster. For all the glory professional wrestling
might have achieved prior to this clash and subsequent to, the WrestleMania III
main-event might have been the pinnacle for sports entertainment in North
America. It helped to define the "Golden Age" of professional wrestling during
the mid-80's and propelled Hogan into immortality.
If Bobby Thompson’s home run to win the pennant for the New York Giants in
1951 was known as the “shot heard ‘round the world,” then Survivor Series
'97 was the "Screwjob heard 'round the world". As Canadians we focus on the
fact that "Vince screwed Bret", however what's more important about this moment
was the significance it had on the industry. The days leading up to, and
immediately following Survivor Series '97 saw the curtain finally get lifted,
and suddenly wrestling got "real". It started with a candid one-on-one with
Michael Landsberg on Off The Record, but soon Vince was on WWE programming
saying "Bret screwed Bret.".
One can't imagine a movie like "Wrestling with Shadows" coming out before
Survivor Series '97 happened. This new focus on the reality of wrestling, has
led to the success of WWE Confidential, and a series of incredibly well
produced DVD's detailing the history of the WWE's performers. Not only did
wrestling become real, but the Survivor Series '97 screwjob made Vince McMahon
into an overnight villain, which led to one of the most successful angles in
WWE history - the multi-year long Austin vs. McMahon angle.
It wasn't pretty or controversial, but when the dust settled and the votes were
tabulated, Hell in the Cell II stood above the rest. On the surface, it's
almost comical to think that after 40-plus years of professional wrestling,
this is the most memorable moment of all time. But under closer examination,
it's difficult to argue with its lifelong impact, both figuratively and
literally. The sight of Mick Foley falling recklessly from atop the metal
menace and crashing through the announcer's table will be etched in our
collective conciseness for as long as we live.
This match almost acts as a metaphor for both Mick Foley's influential career
and professional wrestling as a whole. The match proved how much these
superstars are willing to put on the line in order to entertain the huddled
masses. It personified an industry, hell-bent on putting on a good show,
regardless of circumstance, and is deserving of being recognized at the top
wrestling moment of all-time.
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Newsgroups: alt.pro-wrestling.wwf
The Kliq were truly notorious and influential. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn
Michaels, Kevin Nash (Diesel), Scott Hall (Razor Ramon), Triple H, and the
1-2-3 Kid. (X-Pac) made up The Kliq during the mid-90’s. This group was/is
famous for causing havoc behind the scenes in the WWF. The now infamous “Kliq
Hug” took place in May 1996, as Nash and Hall made their last appearance with
the WWF during a house show in Madison Square Garden. At the end of the night,
Michaels, HHH, and the two departing members participated in the infamous hug
in the centre of the ring.
The hug was momentous because it was a complete break of character (or Kayfabe)
and thoroughly embarrassed WWF officials, including Vince McMahon. Somebody had
to take the fall, but Nash and Hall were leaving for WCW and could not be
punished. HBK was the champion and money ticket, so he was untouchable. This
left Triple H as the fall guy. He had been scheduled to win King of the Ring
that year, but instead it went to a midcarder named Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The rest is history.
Hulk Hogan signed with WCW on June 11 1994. In his first match, Hogan defeated
the Nature Boy Ric Flair to capture the WCW title. The Hulkster was the first
of many WWF talents that looked for the greener (as in money) pastures of WCW.
Hogan's initial impression was so impressive that later on in the same year,
another star from the WWF signed on, Randy Savage.
The arrival of Hogan gave the WCW some mainstream publicity and brought in
crowds, which eventually helped make WCW the number one promotion for a few
years. The arrival of Hogan also opened the door for the eventual Monday Night
Wars.
Not since WrestleMania I, when Mohammed Ali acted as a special enforcer had a
boxer played such a prominent role in a wrestling event. The news conference at
the Fleet Center in Boston had both Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin address the
media.
Just like in the world of boxing, the press conference almost turned physical,
but Tyson stood between each man keeping them away from each other. That image
was seen all over the world on many newscasts and entertainment shows alike.
The mainstream attention helped the WWF get out of the major lull that the
business was in before 1998.
On August 20, 1995, Mick Foley (Cactus Jack) won the IWA King of the Deatmatch
Tournament. The event sent a new level of brutality in the ring, with
combatants getting thrown through barbed wire ring ropes, back dropped on
tacks, and tossed through tables rigged with explosives.
Foley advanced past Terry Gordy and then Soji Nakamaki before he battled his
friend Terry Funk in an extremely bloody match that saw both men get hung up on
barbed wire, and ended with Foley slamming Funk through an explosive table. As
Foley's popularity grew in the WWF, footage of a bloody Mick holding up the
trophy was used to promote him as a true "Hardcore Legend".
Before the 90's, the wrestling business was territorial in nature with
different promoters controlling various areas of the United States. By the
mid-90's, however, there was only one company that could compete with the WWF
empire. WCW had taken many of the WWF's older stars and inserted them into
their programming, and during the heyday of the nWo, WCW Nitro defeat RAW in TV
ratings for 83 consecutive weeks.
By the year 2000, WCW had fallen on hard times, and after many management
changes, and different angles the promotion was up for sale by Time Warner/AOL.
In March of 2001, the WWF bought their one-time rival, ending the era of two
major promotions in wrestling.
This bout took place on June 26, 1976. At the time, Japanese wrestling legend
Antonio Inoki was trying to position himself as the greatest wrester of all
time. He had already fought an Olympic gold medallist in Judo, four months
before his bout with Ali.
The fight was supposed to be a work, with Ali losing the match, but at the last
second, Ali decided that he did not want to lose. That led to what can best be
described as fifteen rounds of boredom. Rules were in place that Inoki was not
allowed to suplex or use submission moves on Ali, and therefore the Japanese
legend spent most of the match low kicking Ali on his leg. On a pop culture
note, this match was used as a basis for the Rocky Balboa vs. Thunderlips (Hulk
Hogan) match in Rocky 3.
In August of 1994, Shane Douglas battled 2 Cold Scorpio in the NWA World
Champion tournament final. After Douglas won the match, he cut a promo about
how all the great NWA champions (Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair etc) could kiss his
ass.
He then threw down the NWA title and announced that the promotion was dead. He
then grabbed the Eastern Championship Wrestling title and said that it was the
legitimate world title. This shoot caused the old ECW to reform as Extreme
Championship Wrestling. ECW went on to revolutionize the industry with it's
crass and vulgar form of television.
The first Hell in a Cell took place in October in 1997 at the Badd Blood PPV.
The match was set up to resolve the feud that had started between Shawn
Michaels and the Undertaker. It was the first time that the cell had ever been
seen, and the match itself set a new level of brutality that had never been
seen by the fans of the WWF.
During the bloody match, in a spot that is now seen on every PPV, Shawn
Michaels fell from the middle of the outside of the cage through the announce
table. That spot was the beginning of many big bumps that are the trademark of
the Hell in a Cell match.
Different year, different thinking. Remember 1990, when Hulk Hogan was
considered the showstopper in the WWF and SkyDome was considered North
America's premier sports facility? The "Immortal One" Hulk Hogan was the World
Champion and his opponent was the Ultimate Warrior who along with being the
Intercontenental Champion at the time, was the hottest property in wrestling.
The match took place in front of 65,000 people and was the first ever title for
title match in the WWF. It was a major turning point in both men's careers. The
Warrior solidified his reputation as a main event talent with the win, and with
the loss, Hogan's first tenure with the WWF was slowly starting to decline. It
marked the beginning of the end of the "golden age" of the WWF.
Following WrestleMania 14, WWE was in need of some new blood. Bret Hart was
long gone, and Shawn Michaels had just fought his final match because of his
bad back. Enter the Rattlesnake. Vince McMahon decided to use the real-life
heat caused by the "Montreal screw job" to create Mr. McMahon the evil owner,
and the extremely popular Stone Cold Steve Austin was pushed as the blue collar
employee who lived the working man's dream by flipping his boss the bird and
occasionally beating him up.
This angle lasted through the entire year and is easily the most profitable
feud in wrestling history. It was in this time that the WWF caught up and then
passed the WCW in the ratings war and Steve Austin became the most profitable
Superstar in the history of wrestling
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Quote:
Newsgroups: alt.pro-wrestling.wwf
What was first considered as an in-ring gimmick became a harsh reality when
Steve Williams, also known as Stone Cold Steve Austin, walked out on a live
broadcast of RAW in June.
The man helped usher in a new age of Attitude and left the industry way before
his time. The truth behind his actions have yet to be revealed.
Sports Entertainment - and almost every other trivial aspect of life - were
rightfully put aside on Sept. 11th, 2001, the day that four commercial
passenger jets crashed, three of them into significant landmarks in a
coordinated terrorist attack against the United States. The damage to the
Pentagon and the destruction of New York's World Trade Center changed the way
we looked at our world forever. The world collectively mourned what had been
our darkest hour to date, and everyone wondered if life would ever return to
normal again.
Originally scheduled for a taping on Sept. 11, WWF Smackdown! went live to air
on Sept 13, with every WWF talent breaking character for the night and letting
their emotions pour out for America. Vince McMahon began with a powerful speech
encouraging the country to move forward with courage and never let their
freedom be compromised. Every WWF star then walked down the ramp and placed
their hands to their hearts as a tearful Lilian Garcia sang the Star Spangled
Banner. Each star took turns making public tributes to the victims, families
and rescuers affected by the tragic event. The plots and storylines for the
night were light-hearted and funny, giving a melancholy crowd in Dallas and
across the continent something to feel good about for two hours.
Foreget Leno, Rodman and Malone. In an era when no one knew the difference
between shoot and kayfabe, the "heat" between comedian Andy Kaufman and Jerry
Lawler put on a terrific performance on Late Night with David Letterman in
1982.
Sporting a neck brace, Kaufman taunted Lawler until "The King" knocked him off
his chair. Kaufman then stormed back onstage and then threw a cup of coffee at
him before leaving the set. We weren't quite sure how much was real and how
much was booked, but the sheer performance and the match that followed will
forever be enshrined as a great moment in pop culture. REM even wrote a song
about it.
Alundra Blaze drops WWF Women's title into trash can on WCW TV - In 1995,
wrestling fans of yesteryear gasped as the tradition and pageantry of the WWF
women's title was liquidated by Debbie Miceli, a.k.a. Alundra Blaze. To the
shock of Vince McMahon, Miceli showed up live on WCW Monday Nitro with the WWF
Women's Championship and threw it in a trash basket.
She then announced that she was reverting back to her original stage name of
Madusa and tossed aside a valued belt that graced the waists of legends like
Wendi Richter and the Fabulous Moolah. McMahon never wanted something like that
to happen again. Just ask Bret Hart.
In many ways, professional wrestling is considered as art imitating life.
Nowhere in its history was this more evident than in WrestleMania VII, when
Real American Hulk Hogan challenged Sgt. Slaughter for the WWF title. With the
U.S. at the height of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Slaughter was booked from
the early going as an Iraqi sympathizer. The plot generated more fan heat than
any other gimmick in the history of the business.
In the weeks leading up to the event, Slaughter (whose real name is Robert
Remus) and his family were the victims of death threats and hate mail. The
story line was so poorly received that Vince McMahon had to move the
pay-per-view event from outdoor Los Angeles Coliseum to the nearby Los Angeles
Sports Arena for security reasons. The long-time veteran feared for his life
even as he marched to the ring on the day of the match. The end result saw
Hulkamania prevail again, and to Remus' relief, the Iraqi gimmick was quickly
dropped.
Swinging down from the rafters of the Arrowhead Pond, the Heartbreak Kid Shawn
Michaels "realized his boyhood dream" when he beat ret "The Hitman" Hart in
overtime of a grueling 60-minute Iron Man Match.
Considered among the best of WrestleMania matches, the two competitors squashed
any criticism on whether they could carry a main-event match for a full hour.
The bout gave the crowd its shares of great maneuvers, solid sells and high
drama.
In 1993, the WWF was thrown into the national spotlight not for its popular
stars and entertaining television, but for its troubles in court. Federal
prosecutors convinced a grand jury to indict owner Vince McMahon and accuse him
of conspiring to dispense steroids to wrestlers between 1985 and 1991. They
subpoenaed a parade of wrestlers, including Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) to answer
the inquiries before a federal grand jury.
McMahon's focus on the indictment left the WWF without solid storylines and a
high-quality on-air product. Everything culminated in 1994, when the jury found
McMahon and Titan Sports not guilty of the charges. Despite testimony from Dr.
George Zahorian (McMahon's accuser) and Hogan, there were too many flaws in the
evidence and too much reluctance from wrestlers to put together a solid case.
WrestleMania X (Bret vs Owen & Shawn vs. Razor) - New York's Madison Square
Garden was the site for the tenth edition of wrestling's greatest show, with
two fantastic main events. The first was a memorable ladder match between Shawn
Michaels and Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental title. The bout raised the
standard for what a good match should be. It opened the door for high-flying
spots and brawling and also established Michaels as a superstar.
In a great twist of events, Yokozuna, Lex Luger and Bret Hart had to wrestle
twice that evening to go home with the WWF title. The Federation was at a
turning point in its history, having said goodbye to veterans like Hulk Hogan
and Randy Savage. The title would be handed to Hart, and so began the "New WWF
Generation." To instill the notion of a changing of the guard to everyone, the
locker room emptied out to celebrate Hart's victory.
With WWF's purchase of WCW came an inevitable gimmick that saw Nitro air its
final show at Panama Beach on TNT. With RAW airing live from Cleveland on TNN,
Vince publicly gloated about how he was going to "gut" Ted Turner's old
organization.
McMahon''s moment of triumph was interrupted by Shane, but the younger McMahon
was not in the building - he was simulcast live from Nitro in Florida. Shane
then announced that he had "bought" WCW himself, and promised that the
promotion will rise to kick Vince's ass just as it has in the past. It was the
first of many surreal nights that resulted from WCW's demise.
The arrival of the New World Order to WWF television finally brought Hulk Hogan
back to Team McMahon. Hulkamania, however, was now a mere myth, and WCW's
biggest heel of the nineties was booked to face The Rock in a "dream match" at
WrestleMania X-8 in Toronto. The lead-up was simple enough to follow. Hogan -
with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall had orchestrated a vicious attack on The Great
One, running him down in an ambulance behind the wheel of a semi truck. It
generated enough crowd heat to carry the Hulkster as a formidable foe. Or so we
thought.
From the moment the doors to SkyDome opened, nostalgia and history swept the
crowd as over 68,000 strong cheered for Hogan. The response was unexpected and
unprecented. They popped for his eye rakes. They popped for his back rakes. The
veteran star even "Hulked up," but fell victim to a Rock Bottom for the loss.
No matter, the fans brought Hulkamania back to the WWF.
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05-12-2004, 04:53 PM
