Emotional moments in wrestling history

[bigshot316]

I was just sat pondering the last 20 years of Wrestling, and got to thinking of the time The British Bulldog won the Battle Royal at the Albert hall.
I cannot remember how old I was then, but I do remember I still believed that wrestling was completely real.
I shall also admit without a hint of embarrasment that at the time I was on the verge of tears!!
The sheer emotion within the match, the way Davey Boy pulled off the upset at the end, the celebration, well it was magic!
I then moved forwards to Randy Savage losing to the Warrior in the retirement match, after delivering like 8 Atomic Elbows.
After the match Elizabeth ran in, and though now looking back it seems cheesy well at the time, I was enthralled in the whole thing, the way this woman tamed Macho!!
There are many many more memories I could touch on; Warrior returning at WM8, Eddie Guerrero and Benoit winning the titles, The Barbershop incident, Nash and Hall becoming friends again, but I was interested to know if anybody else has fond memories from wrestling that have actually invoked an emotional reaction, sad or happy?

 

[THe WHoLe FuCKiN SHoW]

i think the biggest emotional reaction for me came during the alliance vs wwf fued when the wwf was outnumbered and stone cold came down and stunned about 8 guys and team wwf was left standing in the ring. i remember going crazy in my livingroom, screaming, flipping things, buggin out. ive watched it over and over again on youtube and i get chills everytime.

also when stone cold came down and saved stephanie mcmahon from having to marry the undertaker during the ministry angle. that was pretty gripping.

in both cases i have to say, they wouldnt have been as dramatic if j.r. wasnt calling the entire thing. he has this way of making things memorable and calling the action like no one else.

im sure there are many others. thats all for now.

 

[RVDgurl]

Shit- I've had lots of emotional moments in wrestling. Real life doesn't ever make me cry, but movies and wrestling really get me. It weird. Anyway, a few moments that stick out in my mind right now:

RVD wins the WWE championship - I think the atmosphere was riddled with emotional from beginning to end anyway. But any RVD fan achieved that milestone with him that night. I cried during the entire post match celebration.

Taz's last match in ECW - The entire locker room came out on the ramp to hug him. It was really something special. Paul Heyman gave Taz his blessing to move on and Taz cried. And then I cried.

Dudley's last match in ECW - At the end of the match they gave a very long heart felt good bye speech. They had massive heat for leavin ECW and by the middle of the speech the crowd was emotional and ended up giving them a very nice farewell. I cried.

All the WWE Tribute Specials - For as much as I dislike the WWE, they do a fantastic job of honoring their guys when they pass away. The 2 that stick out the most to me are the Owen Hart and Chris Benoit tributes. They were heartbreaking. And of course, I cried through the entire shows.

Not necessarily a wrestling moment per say, but I need to include this:
Rise & Fall of ECW DVD - Again I have to give credit to the WWE for putting together a very nice DVD for ECW. A little biased, but nonetheless, it was very touching. I have watched this DVD at least a dozen times and I still cry at the end where Paul Heyman is standing in an empty ring and the E-C-W chant is echoing in the background.

 

[Andy G]

The biggest emotinal moment for me was when I knew Bret Hart was going to WCW. I honestly dont think I have cried like a bigger baby than that ever. For some reason it just broke my heart. Mind you I was age 10. I idolized him like no other and I literally hated WCW.

The second one was when I found out about Stone Cold leaving the WWF. Wasnt quite the tear jerker but I knew instantly that things were going to go straight to hell.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Wow, I have a bunch. Good thread to get this out...

1. Vince McMahon opens the first RAW after 9/11. Living in Northern New Jersey my University was 13 miles from NYC, and my dorm faced the towers. I saw the second one drop. When Vince delivered his emotional speech as practically the first large-scale sporting event after the attacks, I remember how cathartic it all was. I needed it.

2. The Owen Hart Tribute Special. I was a mess. The whole tragedy, and watching Jeff Jarrett and Debra lose it. It was hard to watch. God rest his soul.

3. Dusty and Dustin Rhodes reconcile in WCW. The famous "I Wanna be your partner speech." Dusty's mic skills were at their peak, and Dustin looked legitimately stirred by what his father was saying. Watching promos between Dusty and Arn Anderson are some of my fondest WCW memories.

4. Davey Boy Smith wins the Intercontinental Title. This was my vote in the old "loudest ovation ever" thread. And you could feel the frustration between Davey and Bret during the match. The intermixed shots of Diana in the crowd, torn. Priceless.

5. Sting and Flair end Monday Nitro. You got the feeling this really was the end of an era. And so appropriate that the two men who started WCW's World Heavyweight Championship also ended the show.

6. The Ultimate Warrior's Return. Wrestlemania 8's final moment. Despite the botched timing on the ending, when The Warrior rescued Hogan from Sid Justice and Papa Shango, as a kid, I remember the goosebumps.

7. Andre the Giant becomes 1st HOF inductee. I know SlyFox and I have started bantering about whether Andre was over / underrated, but let's face it. After his death, we all felt as if we lost somebody special, and his induction to th HOF was so appropriate.

I will post more as they come to me...

 

[NickFlair]

Hard to say, but easily the most emotional ever was the Raw is Owen. It felt as if everyone who worked for wrestling (WWF/WCW/ECW), along with the wrestling fans, simply didn't care about wrestling that night and all came together for common cause.

Beyond that, I must mark out for a stone cold moment.

Bret vs Austin, face/heel double turn, which the blood dripping down his head and off his mouth. Dramatic as all hell.

RVDgirl - I agree with you about the end of the ECW DVD. When paul was in the ring in a empty arena with the e-c-dub chants....I almost wished that was when ecw ended after the one night stand ppv, paul e in his trademark leathercoat w/suit underneath, joey styles doing commentary and the whole locker room coming out at the end.

 

[WhatCripplesTheLegend?]

When I found out that Hayabusa was paralyzed that really shocked and saddened me. Here was one of the most talented arielists and techincal wrestlers of our time laid out to never be able to walk on his own again. At least when a guy gets injured you have the gut reassuring feeling he'll fight again, but at that I just felt that he, and we at that, were greatly cheated.

Also Raw is Owen of course: "Sometimes I....DON'T UNDER-STAND THIS WORRRRLDDDD" - Brian Rodd Road James Armstrong

 

[kenfuu]

Eddie Guerrero's tribute and Owen's. I missed Benoit's cause i was out that night and found out about the hole thing from my friend who's mom told her before we left her house. Also the night of Montreal Screwjob, i remember Bret being so pissed off at everyone and the backstage footage of his mom ripping Triple H who like everyone else except Hebner, Vince and Shawn had no idea what was going on.

 

[Mr. TM]

The 3 tribute shows were tear jerkers, Benoit and Eddie in the Ring together to end WM, Bret vs Benoit tribute match, the post 9/11 match. The Shane/Vince/ Panama City city end of Nitro was a very emotional moment. Elizabeth and Macho Man after Randy won the title, are all some of my favorite. Its sure great thinknig back

 

[FlairFan2003]

Emotional Moments...Randy Savage proposes to Liz followig his "Retirement" match with Ultimate Warrior....Dusty Rhodes overcomes tremendous odds and ends Ric Flair's unprecendented win streak to capture the title at the Great American Bash...Austin beats Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania and finally becomes WWE Champion...Flair & Sting end "Monday Nitro"....Flair's return to WCW after the Eric Bischoff lawsuit in 1998...Magnum TA makes his first ringside appearance after his car accident in 1987, backing up Dusty Rhodes against Tully Blanchard in a $100,000 vs TV Title Match...Ricky Steamboat's victory over Savage for the IC Title at WM III...Flair defeats Vader at Starrcade 93...Ultimate Warrior's win over Hogan for the WWE Title (Hogan losing cleanly and "passing the torch" to warrior was a once in a life time moment)...

 

[Y 2 Jake]

For me other than tribute shows. It would have to be the end of W.M. XX with Eddie & Benoit both in the ring with there respective titles. It was even more touching once Guerrero died. And now when you watch it it's hard to know how to feel. Especially when Benoit's family enters the ring.

 

[THe WHoLe FuCKiN SHoW]

i have a few more...

RVD beating Cena at one night stand as Heyman came out to make the final 3count after the frog splash. i was there and that entire night was downright insane capped off by that amazing finish. God i miss those ecw crowds. the atmoshpere they could create was unmatched.

the montreal screwjob - i remember being so pissed at what happened to bret hart. i didnt understand how they could do that to him after all he did for them. hbk was and still is my favorite wrestler of all time, but what they did to bret pissed me off and seeing him in wcw pissed me off even more. he never shoulda been there.

i remember absolutly flippin out at jericho's debut: i jus remember the music and the darkness and then the titantron saying "JERICHO" - sweeeet.

what about when goldberg speared hogan on nitro and won the title??? that was one of my most memorable wcw moments cuz i didnt think there was any shot of it actually happening.

also, i remember being scared to death for mick foleys life during his famous hell in the cell match with the undertaker at KOTR. there was a point in that match where i was absolutley speechless just wondering how foley could even be alive.

and speaking of taker: just to throw this in. one of the funniest things ive ever heard in wrestling just because it pretty much came outa nowhere. i remember i just couldnt stop laffing for about 5 minutes. it went something like this:
crowd: WHAT?
undertaker: if you sleep with your sister say what.
crowd: WHAT?
LOL.

 

[bigshot316]

You're all reminding me of so many things I had forgotten!!
I remember Over the Edge which I was unfortunately watching live. I was havin a beer and a takeout like I always do when watching a PPV, and then the Owen thing happened.
Owen had been a favourite of mine ever since his Slammy days, and I was so upset and felt sick, I didn't watch any more I turned it off.

The Hell in a cell Foley moment; how did I forget that??!!!
I remember I was knelt up, hands on my head, mouth open, screaming profanities because I thought he was dead!!
And when he climbed up and got thrown through the roof and J.R screamed "Will somebody stop the damn match", I was terrified, worried, excited and giddy all at the same time!!
I always drag that match out when somebody is telling me how "fake" wrestling is!!!

Remember when Bret reformed the Hart foundation, breaking apart the arguing Owen Hart and Davey Boy, reminding Owen how he looked after him as a kid, and went and gave a teacher a piece of his mind when he was giving owen a hard time.
Then he said "I love ya Owen... I love ya'!"

I was a huge Owen Hart fan, and that moment was amazing, even though they were heels at the time.

I remember watching Sid Justice and Hulk Hogan Vs Ric Flair and the Undertaker on (I think) an old Saturday nights main event.
It was after the Rumble, when Hulk eliminated Sid illegally, and that famous "Now what you did Jack Tunney was BOGUS!! The most BOGUS act you ever puled off....!" Sid did after Hogan was announced number 1 contender.
Anyway, Sid had apologised and all seemed well... Until that heinous sonofabitch Sid left Hogan to be demolished!!
Thank God for Brutus the Barber Beefcake running out and saving Hogan lol!

Why is it that we always look back at old wrestling and feel it used to be so much better? Is it just rose tinted shades, nostalgia or the truth???!

 

[Rainbow-Haired-Warrior]

The Shawn Michaels "tell me a lie" tribute video made me cry so bad. I've always been a HUGE HBK mark, so when he had to give up the IC title, and the look on his face when he walked away. I was probably about 10 at the time, but that song still makes me get a little misty.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I think this is a pretty obvious one and one that people have definitely already stated but the climax of WrestleMania 20 when Eddie and Benoit celebrated together in the ring, both having reached the pinnacle of their careers simulataneously. Well, almost simultaneously. To be honest, I can't really think of many other powerful emotional moments, and that one was marred because it had a future child-murderer in it. The first ECW One Night Stand is full of them of course. Joey Styles and Paul Heyman's speeches are of course the stand out moments, especially when you could see that they really were on the edge of tears. Heyman's "shoot" (I'm not sure how real that really was, as awesome as it was) on the WWE guys was priceless: "The only reason you were WWE Champion for a year is because Triple H didn't want to work Tuesdays". Also, Joey Styles apologizing for the use of the word "balls" was hilarious, if not really an emotional moment.

 

[underdog217]

i think the ending to wrestlemania XX was a big one for me, not to mention the last nitro ever was sooo emotional.

one that hasnt been mentioned was when hardy almost won the WWE title from taker in the ladder match, i still watch that and believe that he can do it.

also just last week on impact when the crowd was bowing to sting and chanting "you still got it". i had goosebumps

 

[Eternal Dragon]

My emotional moments-

1). Lita's Departure from the WWE- Anyone who knows me knows that I looked up to (and still do) Lita more than anyone else. She introduced me to female wrestling, she was the first female wrestler I ever watched in the ring- in short she was my inspiration. When she left the WWE it was really hard for me to watch, especially her last match. I cried throughout the whole match and even afterwards. Of course, I like any other Lita fan, was completely completely disgusted by the Cryme Segment. I still can't watch Lita's last promo on Raw without getting teary.

2). Melina winning the Women's Championship- Being a huge Melina fan it was great to see her winning her first Women's Championship after so much hard work. I know many don't really consider this a great moment, or a great match, but seeing Melina come so far was great. I couldn't stop smiling.

3). Any tribute show from the WWE- namely Eddie and Owen's tributes, even if I didn't get to see either live.

I have probably a dozen others, but I don't want to ramble on forever.

Flames Out
Dragon

 

[Father:_Polley]

eddie's tribute - seein grown men like regal and benoit break down in tears over someone was v emotional.
and also stephanie bein rescued from the undertaker.

 

[iget4:20higher]

The Funk vs. Raven match at Barely Legal '97-Still gets to me every single time. The fact that he wanted to put alot of new up-and-comers over before himself unlike many veterans in the business. When he won the championship everyone cried because they finally got their very own ppv and to have someone as special as Terry Funk win the championship was very emotional. It was a match that had all the right elements. When I heard it from Paul Heyman's point of view I also teared up. I teared up the most ,though watching Funk crying with the fans holding up the championship.

Paul E. talks about ECW's demise- Oh man did this ever get me upset. I actually had a friendship that resembled some aspects as far as ECW went. No bullshit. Seeing Paul E. saying inspiring words like "If you are afraid to fail you'll never succeed" really made me wonder alot. Then seeing him in ECW One Night Stand '05 really gave me alot of flashbacks. What a great man Paul E. is!

Tommy Dreamer speaking anything ECW related- This man is so noble and loyal words cannot even describe it. He went 6 MONTHS without being paid in the dying days of ECW. He wanted to put guys over instead of being greedy and playing politics backstage. Hence why he never wanted an ECW championship reign. Not to mention to this day he still is very loyal to the letters 'ECW' despite the fact it is piss-poor.

 

[daravenzzz]

I'd have to say the most emotional moments in WWE history was probably when Eddie Guerro and Chris Benoit, son, and wife were announced dead...
Seriously, I mean I remember the exact moment on raw, I was walking over to the kitchen to go and get cookies and milk and my brother said "umm, come over here..." I didn't know what was going on but when I checked the screen it said CHRIS BENOIT 1967-2007 and I just stood there staring at the screen not knowing just what happened thinking "why? why would he die???" but I found out on tuesday that he was a terrible man, right when I found out that he killed himself, wife, and 7 year old son... I realized he was a terrible man...
But with Eddie Guerro, I never realized what was going on as the same thing with chris benoit happened exept a day later I didn't find out that he was a terrible man....

Thats it...

 

[Evan Snow-Wolf]

The Shawn Michaels "tell me a lie" tribute video made me cry so bad. I've always been a HUGE HBK mark, so when he had to give up the IC title, and the look on his face when he walked away. I was probably about 10 at the time, but that song still makes me get a little misty.

I can totally sympathize with that feeling. I had a similar one. But it wasn't the song.

It was the moments leading up to the first Taboo Tuesday. It might have been the very first time I regretting every reading internet news sites like WZ. I read about the terrible knee injury that Shawn Michaels had. How he shouldn't be walking, let alone having a match.

I wasn't able to watch it live. I had to work a shift and I ordered the PPV as I always did for my roomates with the instruction to tape it so I could watch it when I get home. When I came home and woke up the next day, I asked about the PPV and my roomate Isaac said "You don't want to watch this, man. You really don't." To me, this mean that HBK didn't win the title, which was fine. I had gotten used to Shawn's not wanting to hold a title by now and didn't think anything of it. I put the tape in my VCR and watched.

I cried. On several occasions I'd watch Triple H do an elbow drop to the inside of Shawn's knees and I'd scream "Jesus Christ!" or "Shawn, this is not worth it. Just shorten the match, tell the ref something, anything." It was the single hardest moment I ever had to watch in professional wrestling. When I was done wiping my face and Edge finished it with his interference, all I could think was "Thank God", as if Edge had shot the lame horse as a mercy killing and I would read later on WZ that Shawn had permanently crippled himself or something equally terrible.

Thankfully, that never happened.. but at the time.. it was a huge emotional moment for me.

 

[vega13mv]

My fondest WWE moment ever was eddie guerrero beating brock lesnar for the title. that hit kind of close to home, cuz my dad was a wrestling fan when he was a kid, but he wasnt too fond of american wrestling. However, whenever Eddie or Ray came on, I'd let him know and he'd stop whatever he was doing and come sit and watch the match with me. My family isnt all that close, so these are one of the few true 'father son' moments we actually have. we put our money together and ordered the PPV cuz Eddie was in the main event for the title, something that has never been done in the WWE before. Now i had been a wrestling fan for a while, so i was convinced Eddie was gonna lose the match. Lesnar was way too big of a star to lose Eddie i thought, but i didnt wanna say anything to my dad cuz i wanted him to enjoy the match. Little did i know that Eddie was gonna pull off one of the biggest upsets in WWE history. My dad and i literally jumped out of our seats in celebration. Its something I'll never forget.

 

[mlola]

one of the most emotional moments in wrestling for me is WM 18 when hulk hogan and the rock shook hands and hugged. it was sort of like the young lion challenging the old lion. priceless. another one would have to be the first eddie guerrero tribute video with johnny cash's hurt as the song. i still shed tears to this day when i see it.

 

[JOeMije642]

i still get goosebumps at the end of WM XX, and whenever i think of the eddie and benoit tribute shows. another one you guys havn't really talked about was the hall of fame 2006 when eddie was inducted. i wasn't at the hall of fame that year, but i was at mania 22, when the hall of famers were introduced. when vickie and chavo came out, a huge "thank you eddie" chant was ringing loud. despite all the bullshit soap opera storylines wwe puts out, that night, was a reminder of why i love wrestling, and made me proud to be a wwe fan

 

[Agrex]

The Eddie Guerrero tribute show was probably my most emotional moment. Every time I hear "Here Without You", I automatically think Eddie. Arguably the greatest latino wrestler in history. He was one of my favourite wrestlers and this came by shock to me. The one thing that really pissed me off is how they used his death in a storyline. I find it disgusting to use someone's death to make money.