A Lasting Memory

[The Crock]

Whenever watching wrestling, or anything really, you form memories. Certain things stick with you throughout your life. What is that one moment, that you as a wrestling fan, will never forget?

For me, it has got to be The Rock/Hogan stare-down at 'Mania X-8. It was something that fans never thought they would see. It was an amazing moment. The atmosphere was electric. That stare-down is forever engraved in my memory. Sure, the match wasn't the greatest thing I've ever seen, but that moment told the whole story by itself. After the Monday Night Wars, after all those years of hoping and waiting, it finally happened. The Rock vs Hulk Hogan. It was a moment that really changed wrestling history. It solidified the WWE's dominance, because that proved that nobody could have ever put on that match but Vince McMahon, it proved that the WWE deserved to win.

Another moment would have to be when Edge speared Jeff Hardy off the ladder. That was insane. Hardy hanging by the belts and then seeing Edge out of nowhere, pretty much, just nail Hardy was amazing. I don't think I have EVER reacted to anything like that. I stared at the television absolutely stunned. It made me think that someday those two had what it takes to be the WWE Champion. That really tells you what one little memory can make you think, it can shape how you think about the product as a whole.

Thoughts?

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

This may seem a bit strange but for me it'll always be Brock Lesnar's failed Shooting Star Press. WrestleMania XIX was the first PPV I'd ever stayed up to watch and I was watching at a friends house. We were incredibly excited from start to finish, and we were really up for the main event. He was a huge Lesnar fan and I was a big Angle fan. We were sat, watching intently to see which of the two would walk out WWE Champion. To me it's a good match, to other it might not, but I felt like we were watching a true main event. Then Lesnar connected with a second F5 of the match. We were pretty much resigned to a victory for Lesnar right there, but he started climbing to the top. WE watched, eyes glued to the TV as this happened:

[YOUTUBE]rES4sSsFlDg[/YOUTUBE]​

We pretty much leapt out of our skin. At first we were stunned that Lesnar, a guy billed at somewhere around 320 Pounds, could do this. Then we were freaked out. We could tell that Brock had failed in his attempt, however we weren't sure whether it was deliberate or not. We watched as the match concluded and Brock became WWE Champion, but we noted the bloody nose. We went to bed that night exhausted by the 4 hour extravaganza we had just witnessed but also a little worried for Brock.

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

Eddie Guerrero vs JBL at Judgment Day 2004 where Eddie was smacked in the head with the chair and he bladed too deep or whatever and bled all over the place.

I remember this because I'd show it to my old friends to show them the blood is real and wrestling can indeed get you messed up.

 

[nbrew2119]

I totally agree with the Eddie Guerrero blade job at Judgment Day but...for me....it will always be the Chris Benoit/Eddie Guerrero celebration at the end of Wrestlemania 20.

As a life long fan of these two, it was a very enjoyable experience for me...just proof that, you dont have to be 6-8 300 to be a World champion...i loved it

 

[bingaring]

For me, I will never forget the Eddie Guerrero memorial night after he died. That was a truly sad night. I remember everyone crying, and you got a true sense of how close knit a family they were.

 

[Disturbed]

I can't beleive Undertaker throwing Foley off the Cell has not been mentioned. It was so inovative at that point and time. DId anyone ever think someone would be thrown from that high through an announce table? Then Foley came back and climb to the top. Taker choke slammed him through the cell. The cell wasn't supposed to break and he was just supposed to land on the cell. It broke and the chair went with him, coming down on his face. To bring an even more hardcore picture in, he brought thumbtacks into the ring and Taker threw him on them. What an amazing short match and that Hell in a cell match is what I think of when I think of wrestling.

Good thread Big Black *********** (inside joke) Just kidding Crock. Good thread though.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

A few moments REALLY stand out for me quite a bit.

Guerrero/Benoit celebration, WM 20...the streamers, confetti, the family all together in one ring celebrating. If you would have told me that within 4 years, both of them would be dead under drug related circumstances and tragic consequences, I would have been even more appalled. But I just want to enjoy that one moment in time for the time being. Let's at least let that one heartfelt moment live on, the true emotions that were flowing in the whole arena.

Rey Mysterio winning Royal Rumble 2006 after EG's passing, and coming into the RR at #1, and outlasting everyone. Even me not being a Mysterio fan, I still am truly touched by the love and outpouring of emotion the crowd had for him as he thanked his true buddy, EG up in the skies above. It truly was a golden moment that I still get chills watching to this day.

HBK taking his final bow at WM 26, and the Monday night Raw the following night. Oooohh...the stories I will tell my kids and grandkids. The moves this man did, I thought he couldn't outdo WM25, but this man did the unthinkable. When you know your career is on the line, you not only pull out all the stops, you even create a few more to pull out of the way to make people go " was that he just did!" A man who has truly been to the edge and back with emotional ups and downs in his career, and still has the fans' support. I am proud to say that I am a HBK girl, and was born and raised on Sweet Chin Music, and will be able to see him take his rightful place in the HOF. I can also add that to the Lasting Memory as well as a sub-category for this one as well.

Bret Hart returning to WWE. This was a great return, after the long drawn out drama with him and his bad blood with Vince, and the 'Montreal Job' between him and HBK, and the situation he felt about WWE after the death of Owen. It was so amazing to see a pioneer return, considering you had the Hart Dynasty gaining ground as newcomers as well. I was glad to see him return and mend fences with HBK, another one of my heroes.

 

[Long Island Iced D]

wow this is honestly a great thread and i have many that come to mind. The one that really sticks out for me is stone cold steve austin walking down the ramp at wrestlemania 18. That whole match is engraved in my head. Another would be the wrestlemania 20 celebration and the when the rock won the rumble

 

[Pointzero]

When Chris Benoit made Triple H tap out at Wrestlemania 20. That was an epic moment for Chris Benoit. First, he got thrown into the announcers' table. That made me think that he was done and it was gonna go HBK or HHH. Then, he came out of nowhere and just lit up the show. He may have not had as good of mic skills as some other wrestlers, but everyone saw that night that he had great wrestling skills. This match was what turned me on to wrestling.

 

[OutsiderDX]

One of my moments is from the Prime Time Main Event on NBC. In the backstage medical room, Macho Man accusing Hogan of being jealous and also accusing him of trying to steal Liz... Then Macho attacking Hogan.

Hogan begging Liz to talk sense into Hogan, then Liz pleading for Savage to stop his assault.

20 years later i can remember Hogan slightly bracing himself, a second before he is attacked by Macho Man who was off camera.

 

[mattmanRKO]

The moment for me that stands out the most is seeing Vince standing in an empty arena announcing the death of Chris Benoit, it was such a shock and obviously the details had not emerged yet so I was kind of taken a back by the whole thing! Especially since Cince was meant to of blown up in a limo like 2 weeks before!

 

[penguin74]

For me, 2 immediately come to mind. 1 is Mick Foley winning the title for the 1st time on Raw. The fact that WCW tried to screw him by announcing it earlier in the night just caused more people to tune in, and I don't think I ever heard pop like when the glass broke and Austin came out to help him win.

The other is Jericho's debut. The build up to that was huge, and it easily could have been a letdown, but 2 amazing pros pulled it off and it's probably my favorite promo of all time.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I think it was the pop in Wembley when Davey Boy pinned Bret... I was 4th row and I have NEVER heard anything like it for even the England football team... It really was a moment in time... WWE has never had one like it since...

 

[MonkeyRko]

when stonecold lost to the rock at wrestlemania 19 and everyone was standing up at the end and no one knew it was austins last match. those two had the best fued and always told a great story. i miss those days.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

My lasting memory is a video package. More specifically its the video package for the Rock vs Austin main event at Wrestlemania 17. Limp Bizkit is in no way my favorite band but they really rocked the "My Way" song here. The lyrics just perfectly symbolized what the feud was all about. Two babyfaces who did not respect each other and thought that they were better than the other. For me that was the peak of the greatest feud of the attitude era and is an everlasting memory. That song was stuck in my head for days when it originally aired. The sitdown interview between Rock and Austin was great too. It felt almost like a shoot interview and really, if I wanted to explain to someone what the Austin-Rock feud was all about I'd show them just this entire video package.

Another lasting memory of mine is the ending of the Austin/Hart submission match at Wrestlemania 13. I was just 7 then and had been watching wrestling since I was 6 and I hadn't seen anyone ever break the sharpshooter. When Austin almost broke through, I was like "Woah did that just happen?" Also the end with Austin walking out on his own made me worship Austin even more.

 

[ThUnDeRpHoEnIx]

Eddie Guerrero winning his first WWE Championship at No Way Out 2004.I am a huge Eddie mark and was thinking he'd come in and get dominated before winning by DQ or something.Yea I was pretty fucking amazed when he pulled of that victory.

And when Eddie Bladed to deep against JBL at Judgement day.I cant get that image out of my mind of him standing there with his belt and the blood streaming down his face.

 

[spinningtorturerack]

Mine is quite pathetic in comparison to all of these so far but here goes:

I remember watching Smackdown on a saturday morning, and watching Jericho being gored through the ovaltron on the smackdown set. I really jumped out my seat and was so excited because I loved Rhyno at the time. It will always stay with me, even if there have been more hardcore or extreme moments in wrestling.