Moments That Remind Me Why I Love Wrestling
- Thomas Hall
- 3 hours ago
- 9 min read
There are all different kinds of wrestling fans, but at the end of the day, the word that matters the most is “fan”. With so many people watching this sport, there are going to be a variety of things that interest all of us and some of them are going to be out of nowhere. I’m going with something simple this week and looking at a bunch of wrestling moments that I love from over the years. Simple, to the point, with a line of commentary from each segment included and just for some fun.
As usual, these are in no particular order, outside of the #1 entry at the end.
Jey Uso Is Out Too
This might have something to do with me being in the building but dang did it work. This was part of the Bloodline Saga, with Jey Uso having to decide which way he was going to go. On one side you had his brother Jimmy and on the other side you had Roman Reigns and the rest of the Bloodline. Jey gave a heck of a speech to Jimmy, talking about how he was tired of being the younger brother. At the end, Jey said that Jimmy was out. Reigns laughed and it wasn’t looking great.
And I’m out too.
With that, Jey superkicked Reigns and it sounded like a bomb went off in the arena. The Usos cleaned house and stood tall to end the show, with Reigns and Solo Sikoa both being taken out. This might not be the most remembered moment, but it was absolutely amazing live and one of the loudest reactions I have ever seen to anything, wrestling or otherwise.
Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock Meet At WrestleMania XXX
If you’ve never been to a WrestleMania, I can highly encourage the experience. Yes, it’s often a major trip and yes it’s expensive, but there is nothing like walking into that stadium and realizing that this is it. This is the “Show of Shows” and the most important event of the year. I was lucky enough to be there when Hulk Hogan was hosting WrestleMania XXX and kicked off the show (I still think he said Silverdome on purpose). It was awesome enough seeing my childhood hero on the grandest stage of them all, but he wasn’t going to be alone.
And you never know when one of those special moments is going to happen.
Then the glass shattered and I lost it. I was never the biggest Austin fan, but you knew you were seeing something special. Yes, they had been in the ring before (including being legal against each other in a tag match in 2002 for about 8 seconds) but this was the two of them in Legend Mode and getting to be the big stars on this level. Sure, The Rock came out later, but this was Austin and Hogan, even if it was just a fun moment.
Rick Steiner's Greatest Moment
Now, a lot of fans talk about WrestleMania and that’s understandable, as it’s the biggest show of the wrestling year. It wasn’t the first annual major show though, as Starrcade beat it by about a year and a half. Starrcade had its own history of amazing moments and one of those took place in 1988, with Rick Steiner getting to face Mike Rotunda, his former Varsity Club stablemate, for the TV Title. The Clubs was doing their usual cheating, but it didn’t quite work this time.
AND HE SAYS WRESTLE!
That was the order from the referee, who didn’t fall for the Club’s fake “we’re out of time” ringing of the bell. Steiner shoved Rotunda into the interfering Kevin Sullivan and fell on top for the pin and the title in one of the biggest upsets ever. His ensuing sprint around the ring while holding up the title and pointing out Rotunda while shouting “I BEAT YOU! I BEAT YOU!” made it all the better. It’s one of the best moments from that era and while Steiner would lose the title back to Rotunda, someone else was coming for the belt anyway. Some guy named Sting or something like that.
The Rock Vs. Hulk Hogan - WrestleMania X8
There are certain matches where you just look at the people involved and know it’s going to be something special. There are even fewer matches where you see what’s going to happen and have to see it. Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock was every bit of that and more, and it happened in what was arguably Hogan’s biggest town of Toronto. You could feel the fans wanting to cheer Hogan throughout and it was a matter of something giving them permission. If you’ve seen one Hogan match, you know where this is going.
IS HE GONNA HULK UP, JR???
The Rock Bottom dropped Hogan but he kicked out and started shaking his arms. Rock hit him again and got the big point in his face, the three punches and the big boot. Hogan dropped the leg and Jim Ross gave the perfect call of “HE BEAT ANDRE THE GIANT WITH THAT MOVE!”. It was that legdrop at that WrestleMania... and The Rock kicked out. You could feel the air go out of the stadium and it was a matter of time before Hogan fell, but my goodness what a moment that was, as for just a few seconds, it was 1987 all over again.
The Heartbreakers Take Over OVW
Have you ever seen something in wrestling where you know it’s silly and ridiculous but for one reason or another it just works? That’s what you had in OVW back in 2005, when Antonio “The Promise” Thomas and Romeo Roselli became the hottest thing in the company. They were something close to male strippers and danced around a lot (like a lot a lot), often with balloons or candy or various props and the place went coconuts.
Folks I can’t explain it but they are standing on Shepherdsville Road for the Heartbreakers!
Yes it’s silly, yes it’s over the top and no it didn’t last long, but sweet goodness these guys were fun. They were just so ridiculous that you almost had to laugh and if you could get in on the fun of the whole thing, it was a blast. I can understand why they had no long term impact, but for a few weeks there, this was incredible. Ok maybe you just kind of had to be there.
The Sandman's Iconic ECW One Night Stand 2005 Entrance
I’m not an ECW guy. I wasn’t old enough for them in their heyday and the nostalgia shows, while good, eventually lost a lot of their impact when they were taking place ten plus years after the company went out of business. That being said, that first One Night Stand show is about as perfect of an ECW reunion event as you could have had. There were all kinds of great spots on there, but nothing was topping the big entrance.
They believe because he believes.
That’s how Mick Foley summed up the Sandman’s entrance at One Night Stand 2005 and of course they did. One of ECW’s greatest strengths was their audience, and seeing them rise up for the one person who embodied ECW like no one else was incredible. This still brings out all of the great feelings to this day and gives you at least the smallest inkling of why ECW is remembered so fondly.
Hulk Hogan Vs. Andre The Giant - WrestleMania III
There have been so many wrestling matches over the years that it is realistically impossible to find a complete number. It has to be in the millions when you count all of the smaller shows that probably were never recorded, but very few of them are so well remembered years later. There are a few that still give you chills to this day and one of them took place in front of 93,173 people (yes I know) and had quite the hype.
This is the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling.
Something similar to that statement has been made more times than I can count in wrestling, but when Hulk Hogan faced Andre The Giant for the WWF Title at WrestleMania III, it was pretty much true. There have been better matches and there have been matches that more people have seen, but you’ll be hardpressed to find something that was bigger. It’s the most remembered match of the 80s and both the opening and the ending have been played countless times on WWE programming. This was the biggest match ever and it always will be.
Stone Cold Steve Austin Saves Stephanie McMahon From The Undertaker
To say that Steve Austin wasn’t your typical hero would be a huge understatement. Austin would go against the grain and rebel against anyone no matter what they did and it would make for some of the most incredible moments when that glass shattered. You didn’t know who he was going after or what he might be doing that week, but one time he just did it because it was right, even if it meant breaking up a wedding on the April 26, 1999 Monday Night Raw.
HERE HE COMES!
The Undertaker and his Ministry Of Darkness had kidnapped Stephanie McMahon and forced her to wed Undertaker if Vince McMahon didn’t give him control of the WWF (1999 was weird). Ken Shamrock got taken out, Shane McMahon and his small army wouldn’t help and Big Show got hit in the face with a baseball bat. Then (after Viscera gave the hilarious line of “NOBODY IS MESSING UP THIS WEDDING”), Austin came sprinting down the ramp and cleaned house with some of the nastiest chair shots you’ll ever see. He might as well have been John Wayne on a white horse out there and it’s just awesome. It might be ridiculous (and it was) but Austin was the people’s hero and the WWE knew it.
Big E Langston Saves NXT From The Shield
I’ve been an NXT fan since it debuted (yes I include the competition show) and once they got their own show at Full Sail University, things got even better. This included the first show of 2013, when NXT Champion Seth Rollins and his new friends Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns wrecked most of the locker room. It was clear that someone was going to have to stop them, but who could that be? As I was watching, I remember thinking that in a good promotion, the unstoppable monster would come out and we would have a showdown. Well, I’ll give you one guess what happened.
How do you keep these three men from commandeer…. uh oh!
Jim Ross was cut off by the arrival of the human tank known as Big E. Langston, whom Ross said would not be intimidated by one man, two men, three men or ten men. Langston slapped his powdered hands together and was ready for a fight, but The Shield ran off. The result was Rollins vs. Langston for the NXT Title the following week, with Langston winning to send The Shield to the main roster and NXT was off to the races. I was completely sold on NXT and that hasn’t stopped yet. Not bad for the last two minutes of the show.
And the #1 (which is probably at the top of a lot of lists)...
Mick Foley Wins The WWE Championship
Professional wrestling is often about fans getting to live their dreams through the people in the ring. A fan might identify themselves with a wrestler and want to see them succeed. When everything comes together in a perfect way, there is nothing like it, and that was the case on one of the most infamous nights in wrestling history. The main event of the January 4, 1999 Monday Night Raw was as memorable, and loud, as it gets, and with good reason.
MANKIND HAS ACHIEVED HIS DREAM AND THE DREAM OF EVERYONE ELSE WHO’S BEEN TOLD YOU CAN’T DO IT!
Since it’s 1999, the main event (which was No DQ) broke down into a wild brawl as Mankind got his rematch against the Rock for the WWF Title. With The Corporation and D-Generation X brawling on the floor, the glass shattered and Steve Austin showed up to the loudest crowd reaction you’ll ever hear, chaired The Rock in the head and threw Mankind on top to win the WWF Title. It was the ultimate Rocky Balboa moment as Mankind became the most unlikely WWF Champion of all time in an amazing Cinderella story. This is still a feel good moment for the ages and the crowd reaction tells you everything you need to know. Absolutely magical.
These are just a few of the examples of things I’ll throw on that make me smile. I threw this list together to start and then changed a few of the entries about half a dozen times. Wrestling is built around moments and it’s fascinating to see how they can still work for years into the future. That can make for some great flashbacks and hopefully you give some of these a shot, as I’ve seen each countless times over the years for a good reason.
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