Greatest "Holy S#$%" Moments in Wrestling History

[The Scarred One]

This is the first post I have started on this site. So if something like this has already been done, I apologize.

I don't know what brought this about but recently, I've been thinking about some of the most shocking moments to take place in wrestling history.

In this day and age, with wrestling fans growing older and smarter to the nature of professional wrestling and the influence of the internet, shocking moments seem hard to come by. It seems now that fans know what is going to happen on their favorite programs before it even takes place. And now with a number of wrestling sites out there that break the news long before it happens and 90-day no compete clauses that prevent wrestlers from wrestling for one company and jumping ship to another the next day, there's no surprises anymore.

But I got to thinking about what were some of the most shocking and surprising moments in wrestling history. I mean, moments that were so shocking that it would make you want to shit egg rolls... Okay, maybe not with that image in mind. But what I mean is the moments that take you as a fan by surprise in which you just want to go, "Holy shit! What the hell just happened there?" The Monday Night Wars comes to mind as it was a fun time to be a wrestling fan. It seemed that every week, superstars were going back and forth between WWE and WCW and moments took place that people never saw coming. The internet was in its infancy and fans felt that what they saw on TV was legit.

I'm not going to use an example in which Hulk Hogan turned heel back in 1996 and eventually formed the New World Order. I'm using this one because, to me, this one is too obvious of a shocking moment. In fact, it's probably the epitome of a great shocking moment in wrestling history as far as wrestling fans are concerned.

Hulk Hogan: the most recognizable name in all of wrestling and probably the biggest influence on the sport as we know. For kids growing up in the 80s, Hogan was the great hero in wrestling. He stood for what was right and just, always did the honorable thing and made you believe that good can triumph over evil. So after years of being a hero, his becoming a bad guy in 96 caught everyone by surprise because no one could ever imagine Hogan as anything other than a good guy. In the end, it worked because it added a new dimension to Hogan and kept him relevant throughout the 90s.

But what is a great shocking moment to you? It could be from any of the wrestling companies, past or present. It could be anything. It could be a face or heel turn you never expected, a wrestler returning or retiring out of the blue, an event regarding the wrestling companies or a storyline or match for which the outcome you never saw coming. Something that once you see it makes you go, "No way, I don't believe it!" And with all the wrestling sites and the strong power of the internet playing a big part in our everyday lives, can such a moment like the one I mentioned ever happen again?

 

[pessimism101]

Some moments that stick out in my mind are as follows (top 5):

1) Hogan's heel turn and the start of the nWo: I'll admit, I was a huge Hogan mark and to hear him say "all this crap in the ring represents each of you (fans in attendance) definately had me saying "WTF?"

2) Hell in a Cell from KOTR 1998: Not much really needs to be said anymore about this, but Mankind falling off of and then through the cell is still etched into my mind.

3) Vince buys WCW: I never thought I'd see the day that WCW would cease to exist or that Vince McMahon would own it.

4) Eric Bischoff debuts on Raw: I never thought it possible for Eric Bischoff to ever work for Vince.

5) The Montreal Screwjob: Enough said

Honorable Mention: Ahmed Johnson joins the Nation. I was a huge Nation of Domination mark and followed their story with Ahmed Johnson from start to finish. To see Ahmed finally join the Nation after being beaten up by them on a weekly basis for months definitely shocked me.

 

[Storm316]

this is old school, but seeing Hogan win his first championship and finally end the reign of terror by the Iron Sheik was classic. During that time period, to have Sheik champ was genius and he was the most hated wrestler on the planet, i'm sure. To have Hogan beat him not only propelled Hogan to one of the greatest all time runs in wrestling popularity history (no, I did not like Hogan growing up), but was also like a victory for the USA.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Watching Foley in first the Hell in a Cell match then the I quit match and then the that Street Fight with Triple H, then in his match with Orton and the match with Edge. Christ! As a 5 year old watching a man be thrown from the cell to the ground, it was vicious follow that with the chokeslam through the cell and the chokeslam on the tacs, DAMN! I was scared shitless by The Undertaker from that point on. The I quit match was simply brutal and it made me hate The Rock even more than I already did (for about a year after he turned at Survivor Series 98, I really hated the Rock). The Pedigree into the tacs always stands out to me as well as for Orton & Edge, well The match with Orton was one brutal slug-fest that made me respect Orton (after he took the tac bump I immediatly began liking Orton and my opinion on who should have won changed!) and the fight with Edge was just pure viciousness. That Spear through the flaming table spot was scary as fuck!

 

[jrwhitfield1974]

My holy shit moment is from a long time ago, but I rememeber watching this. When Bob Backlund lost the belt to the Iron Sheik because of the towel throw by Arnold Skaalan.
My second is when Andre ripped off Hogans shirt breaking the crucifix hogan wore.

 

[Rasha]

My first "Holy Shit!" memory as a wrestling fan (I'm 27 yrs old, mind you) was seeing Shawn Michaels put Janetty through the Barber Shop window. That sort of scene is commonplace in modern wrestling, but it was pretty edgy for its time.

 

[Cookie14]

the biggest 'Holy shit' moment without a doubt was Vince buying WCW. The rivalry between the companies was bigger than that of any superstars.
No single event has changed the business as much as this, and none ever will.
People will always retire, or return. They will constantly change between face and heel. But these things are all scripted, the buyout of WCW was completley real, so there can no other moments to even come close

 

[Wainy]

I know it's not particularly mainstream, but New-Jack throwing Vic Grimes off the scaffold (XPW I think) still stuns me even to this day. The most shocking bump in wrestling history IMO.

 

[Chicago1989]

I gotta be honest with you, the most genuinely shocking moment to me was when I found out that Eddie Guerrero died. I swear to you, I was never more shocked with anything in wrestling than this. Eddie's death blew me away completely.

I'll never forget that day. I was having a good day off of school (around fall I believe), enjoying myself, and then I went on the computer. I went straight to WWE.com and I didn't know about this but when I first saw that graphic about Eddie's death pop up, I was in sheer shock. I'm telling you, I was completely transfixed, I stood quiet, and it just felt unreal. It was scary...I can tell you that.

 

[gydion]

1.vic grimes being thrown off the scaffold and bouncing off the ropes. the dude looked like he was dead. may have been scripted(have heard it was and wasn't) but it was a hell of a thing to see.

2. Ric Flair leaving WCW for WWF. This was a shock to everyone. Internet was brand new and word didn't spread like today. Don't think anyone saw it comming.

3. This one shows my age(34) but the last real episode of Wrestling at the Chase. If u lived in the St. Louis, MO. area this was a mainstay. one week it was on t.v the next it wasn't. No internet in the early eighties so if u weren't "in the know" you had no idea what was going on.

4."Black Saturday" again in the 80's but to see Vince on TBS shock up everything. And failed outright.

5.Joint WCW/NJPW show in North Korea. Seeing 150,000 people watch a wrestling show was amazing.

6. Stay with me on this one but the debut of the shockmaster. Why? because it was the first time kayfabe was openly broken on live t.v. the dude messed up so bad even the announce team couldn't keep from laughing.

 

[The Idiot]

Owen Hart's death came as a total shock to me, and I think pretty much everyone. I remember coming home from work and was about to get online and find the results of the PPV which I believe was called "Over the Edge." Before I even walked in the room my dad said, "Did you hear about the wrestler that died tonight?" I had no idea what he was talking about. He mentioned Hart but didn't specify who. When I found out it was Owen and how it happened I was speechless and dismal to say the least. I didn't think anything like this would happen in a wrestling ring. The next night on Raw will never be forgotten.

 

[PsychoBlack]

for me it has to be the ultimate warriors debut on nitro i was a little kid and didnt even know who the guy was but he looked so cool and hogan looked like he was about to shit himself

the next one is when stone cold came out with a beer truck and soaked mcmahon and the rock it was just great cuz i hated those two it was the greatest thing id ever seen

 

[PsychoDriver]

Probably when Mick foley was thrown off the cell at KOTR '98, i remember seeing that as a kid and being in such shock that someone could do that.

Another would probably be when Vince bought WCW and shane appearing on Nitro while Vince was on RAW, when i saw that it was a huge WTF??

 

[D-Man]

this is old school, but seeing Hogan win his first championship and finally end the reign of terror by the Iron Sheik was classic. During that time period, to have Sheik champ was genius and he was the most hated wrestler on the planet, i'm sure. To have Hogan beat him not only propelled Hogan to one of the greatest all time runs in wrestling popularity history (no, I did not like Hogan growing up), but was also like a victory for the USA.

This really can't be counted as a "Holy Shit" moment. The Iron Sheik only won the belt from Bob Backlund and held it for less than a month. His role as champion was to only be transitional for the entrance of Hulk Hogan back into the WWF to re-debut with his new All-American gimmick that would lead the pro-wrestling charge of the 1980's from the Golden Age into the Rock 'N' Wrestling era.

 

[TheBestThereEverWillBe]

My greatest holy $H!T moment was at bad blood 1997 when Kane debuted. I'm surprised this isn't on more of your guys' lists. Hell in the cell was pushed to be this amazing strong structure and then The Undertaker's brother Kane comes and just rips the door off the cage and comes in and man handles Taker with a tombstone. The look on Taker's face says it all. i'd never been so excited to watch Raw the next night...thats my moment.

 

[mikeyboy]

it has to be the death of owen hart,to see somthing like this live on ppv is truely shocking and sad,a memory that will stay with me forever.
just imagine how the people at the event must have felt to witness such a tragedy in person. its still hard to believe something like this happened in the ring.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

In wrestling, I would have to say seeing Mankind fall from the top of the cell, there was other holy S#$% moments in that, mankind being chokeslammed through the cell aswell, I don't know how he was able to get up from that.

Outside of wrestling would have to be Vince purchasing WCW, who would have thought that was the way the wars would end.

Other moments I would pick would be the montreal screwjob and bischoff at Raw, that must have been weird for him too, being on Nitro all that time and now to come and work for VKM WOW.. just like booker T said, "tell me I did not just see him"..

 

[Attitude_Raven]

1- WCW 96: Hogan's heel turn, hands down, no one saw that comming.
2- WWF 98: and the awesome Taker vs. Mankind match, when i was Mankind falling from the cage and crashing into the tables i was fucking amazed
3- WWF 99: Undertaker forming the Ministry of Darkness, i remember being quite shocked as a child
4- ECW 96: Sandman's crucifixion, that was the definition of cutting-edge back then
5- WWF 97: The Montreal Screwjob, a lot of people saw it as a Bullshit moment, but i see it as the real ignition of the Attitude era
6- WWF 99: Wrestlemania 15 saw Austin stunning The Rock, and the way Rocky sold it
7- WWF 98: Undertaker crucifying Austin, quite shocking
8- WWF 99: at Armageddon The Kat took off her top, back then nobody thought that would happen in a Wrestling ring
9- WCW 2000: at the Great American Bash Vampiro setting Sting on fire and then Sting falling from the Turnertron and breaking the entrance ramp
10- WCW 98: Goldberg beating Hogan for the World title

 

[Richard]

I'm going to skip the usual responses of Mankind/HIAC etc.

1. Brock Lesnar and The Big Show breaking the SmackDown ring after an Superplex from Brock Lesnar I believe. Snapping the ring foundation and it falling down was shocking. Definately a "Holy Shit" moment there. Still shocks me when I watch it back on DVD.

2. WrestleMania 23. Jeff Hardy leg dropping Edge through a set up ladder. My friend who I ordered WrestleMania 23 with and I were really shocked at what happened. Very shocking right there. It could have ended badly for Edge but he was ok I believe.

3. Mr. McMahon and Stone Cold join forces. Going for a storyline instead of a spot here now. Arch-rivals, Stone Cold and Vince McMahon joining up at WM17 against The Rock. Shocking moment there in WWE history. Stone Cold signing a deal with the proverbial Devil. Something I'm sure people did not fully expect from Stone Cold given his previous history with Vince.

I'm sure there are many other ones though.

 

[Jsaturn14]

Well, I got three:

3: Big Show and Lesnar breaking the ring: What a great "Holy $@#!" moment this was. Watching it back on the Best of Smackdown DVD is awesome, and the look on the ref's face is priceless.

2: Cena Returning at the Rumble and winning it: Absolutely one of the most shocking, and biggest "Holy $#@!" moments in wrestling history. In an age where nothing is ever kept secret anymore, this was a legit shocker. I remember watching it live, and jumping out of my seat in shock and excitement, and that comes from a Cena Hater.

1: Bischoff becomes the New GM of Raw: When Booker T starts making his shocked face, and then Bischoff walks into the shot, that was absolutely the biggest "Holy $#@!" moment for me, and I kept saying it over and over again as the show went on. This guy tried to destroy WWE with some of the biggest, most "Assholish" things anyone had ever seen. To see him become the GM of Raw, and actually hugging Vince like they were old friends was definitely the biggest "Holy $#@!" moment for me.

 

[Cookie14]

I'm suprised that this one hasn't been mentioned yet........
Hogan vs the Rock at Wrestlemania.
The match is possibly the biggest of all time, and the promos and build up to it were classic. The moment that Rock challenged Hogan to that match was unforgettable

 

[MrHashasheen]

5.Joint WCW/NJPW show in North Korea. Seeing 150,000 people watch a wrestling show was amazing.

Wait, what?

For me, I'd say it was 3 things that happened in my time watching wrestling:

1. Eddy Guerrero dying in his sleep. He was supposedly given the shot to win the belt from Batista, and he would have been a top face or heel for the WWE for years. I was a huge fan for him since his arrival as a Radical.

2. Chris Benoit dying and killing his family. Same as above, I was a fan since he entered the WWE, and I have no doubt in my mind that he would have revitialised the ECW.

3. Batista and Undertaker at Wrestlemania. That match had me cheering and freaking out every few minutes. Really what made me like Batista during his run on Smackdown.

 

[harrythem]

Me personally, it was the confirmation it was going to be Hogan Vs Warrior at Wrestlemania 6 then actually seeing the match. I was about 6 at the time and can't believe that my two favouriteiest wrestlers (words I actually used at the time) were going to have a title match at Wrestlemania. Even now I still find that the most enjoyable crap match I've ever seen!

 

[Flair is Overrated]

While Hogan's heel turn is definitely high on the list, I have to go with another Hogan moment. Hogan losing to Andre on The Main Event. Not Saturday Night's Main Event, but The Main Event. On NBC on primetime tv, with a huge national audience. No one expected the biggest star to lose on the biggest free televised wrestling show in history.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

Some of my top moments...

10. Chris Benoit's death/scandal-my husband and I had just seen him at a SD/ECW show a few weeks prior and met him. He was the nicest, and then when everything came to light, it was so hard to comprehend. Still is hard to fathom to this day.

9. Hogan turning heel, I was a kid when this happened. My dad was so pissed off. I remember him cursing at the tv. I didn't quite understand. So I did whatever my dad did.

8. Ric Flair losing his career threatening match at WM24. I was in tears during this whole match! I adore both HBK and Flair. This was a hard one to watch. Then the kicker was HBK mouthing 'I love you' just before the sweet chin music and the 3 count.

7. Hearing that Hogan/Bischoff took part ownership in TNA and it was going live. I remembe thinking "What in the 9 pound 7 ounce little baby jeez?!" I knew it was going to be on like donkey kong with WWE.

6. RAW the night after NYR 2006?, when edge and lita had a live sex celebration after he cashed his briefcase on Cena after elim.chamber. I was watching like, "Oh my lord, is this really happening?" I couldn't believe this was for real. Sure enough, it was, and the ratings proved it.

5. Royal Rumble 2009(?) when J.Hardy was facing Edge- he was fighting him and then out comes Matt Hardy with the chair, and you think Matt is helping him. Then "SMACK" he hits Jeff. Costing him the belt. Then you realize all those accidents (storyline) were matt's doing. It was like .

4. Brett Hart returns to Raw. I was in SO much shock seeing this. First to see him return to WWE, Raw, and be civil with HBK. Then to enter into what had to be a very personally challenging storyline for him up to WM26 all to gain closure. This was sheer genius.

3. Jeff Jarrett returns to TNA after hiatus following wife's passing. I was so glad to see these weird clues. Lights going out, then you heard his familiar guitar strums, then during matches the guitar showed up. I know it doesn't seem like much now, but I'm a HUGE Jarrett fan, and was so glad to see him come back after all he had been through. TNA was and is his thing.

2. Jeff Hardy/CM Punk storyline that led to his leaving WWE. We all loved when Jeff beat Edge at Extreme Rules 09!! It was so amazing!! Then not more than 5 seconds later, here comes CM Punk cashing in!! It takes 2 tries, and he trashes Jeff's dream. It turns out to be the start of a rough few months for Jeff. He does get it back once. Then loses it at Summerslam. Then the SD after summerslam, he says he'll try once more and loser leaves. Well, we all know how that went. Sad to say our loss is TNA's gain.

1. HBK vs Undertaker- Career vs. Streak. The two pioneers with WWE since the earliest aside from Vince. These two revolutionzed Wrestlemania. Both legends in their own right. Both amassed feats that will live in infamy. From a historic match at WM25, people wanted more. HBK wanted more as well. It was his goal to make it and break the streak. Never in my life, at Sidepockets, where I watch the WWE PPV's, have I seen SO many people on the edge of their seats for ONE match. This time the whole bar was completely filled with emotion. In this match, there really was no winner. But still, memories made, and time goes on. We all will cherish HBK.