That was his night.

[Bone For Tuna]

That night in Miami after WrestleMania when the crowd wouldn't stop chanting his name, that was Daniel Bryan's night. You could say he was made that night, people were going to look at him differently from here on out. He probably still has a long road ahead of him so this could change, but as of right now I would say that was his night. Some might say CM Punk's night was when he dropped the "pipe bomb" but I would go with MITB in Chicago, it is going to be hard to top that. He too probably still has quite a few good years left in him so that too could change. In both those cases the crowd is what did it. There was no way the higher ups could avoid crowds as rowdy and pumped as that. Another example would be when RVD beat Cena at ONS '06. The first ONS was about ECW, the second one was all about RVD.

What's the one night you will best remember about so and so's career? I would say WrestleMania is bigger than any one wrestler in particular so maybe try to avoid that unless you can plead a good case for it. Only one night per wrestler too.

 

[wrestler36]

Austin at Wrestlemania XIII was a made man when he didn't tap out to the sharpshooter. When they showed him screaming with blood all over his face, and his refusal to tap, he was a made man that night. He was growing in popularity up to that point and that Mania match I think put him over the top

 

[Bone For Tuna]

Austin at Wrestlemania XIII was a made man when he didn't tap out to the sharpshooter. When they showed him screaming with blood all over his face, and his refusal to tap, he was a made man that night. He was growing in popularity up to that point and that Mania match I think put him over the top

That was definitely a moment that helped make Stone Cold, but if you put it next to say his win at Mania the following year, or the Austin 3:16 promo, or the beer truck, or the zamboni or the night he first hit McMahon with the Stunner was Wrestlemania 13 really Austin's night?

Another one I forgot to mention was Mick Foley and KOTR. Even though Foley has been apart of some of the best moments in WWE history, he will forever be remembered for KOTR and the bumps he took that night.

 

[King of the Words]

I remember the night Triple H. returned on Raw, back in 2002. He had been gone for months with his torn quad muscle and his career was put in jeopardy. But that night when he made his return on Raw in M.S.G. was historic. When his music hit the fans went crazy. I remember being so pumped up about his return. Besides Taker, The Game was my favorite guy in the WWE at the time, and seeing him return after a bad injury, in such a fashion was amazing. That night belonged to Triple H. He was the the #1 thing on most every bodies mind who watched WWE at the time. It was just before the Rumble and you knew he was back, tougher than ever and the Rumble match was going to be awesome with him in it. So to me, when I think of Triple H. he has had a ton of great moments, and great nights but that night on Raw in M.S.G., to me, was the greatest night of his career.

 

[edgehead113]

Great thread. A few come to mind for me.

Edge- NYR 2006- many will argue for his spear on Jeff Hardy off the ladder, but this cash in absolutely shocked everyone and really made Edge who he was. It made MITB truly mean "anytime, anywhere", it made Edge a main eventer, it made Edge "the ultimate opportunist", and the live sex celebration the next night on Raw made him "the rated R superstar."

Jericho- Vengence 2001. The first undisputed champion. Nuff said.

HHH- 2002 @ MSG - Grown men screaming like little girls as The Game returned.

Cena- RR 2008- or better or worse, a huge surprise and a great pop from the crowd...cemented the Super Cena character

 

[FlairFan2003]

Hulk Hogan: WM 3 vs Andre. Hogan had some legendary moments, the dramatic 1st title win, WM 5 vs Savage, Bash 94 vs Flair, the NwO heel turn, WM 1, but for my money the moment that truly elevated him in status to another level, was the WM 3 Main Event. His legend was cemented that night, and WrestleMania became THE big show in Pro Wrestling, instead of just being the WWE rip off version of Starrcade.

For Shawn Michaels his "made" moment was Survivor Series 92. For most of 1992 HBK was a mildly entertainer mid carder, a former (now getting older) teeny bopper tag team, a Rock & Roll Express rip off, now on his own, with a cheesy gimmick, not quite ready for prime time. He was getting a nice push with an IC Title win over another mid card ex tag team guy (Bulldog) but Michaels was still an enigma heading into SS. Did WWE really believe in him as a top guy moving forward, or was he simply being fed to new World Champ Brett Hart in a secondary match on a pay per view built around the new heavily promoted villain (former AWA star Scott Hall) and a re hash of the year's big WrestleMania feud ( Flair vs Savage) with the added attraction of Flair's return to the ring after an injury hiatus. That night Hart-Michaels stole the show, in large part because Michaels was allowed to shine in the match as a serious contender, a legit force vs Hart, and the audience, skeptical at first, starting buying him as the bout went on, much like they did for a young, up and coming Sting vs Flair at Clash Of Champions. HBK started that night as a question mark, he left looking very much like a worthy performer to join the top tier, more than a cheesy comedic bad guy, better than an out of place aging ex tag team guy. SS 92 was when HBK first convinced a mass audience he was a star.

 

[TM Punk]

I would say Austins nigh was WM14. In what was an otherwise underwhelming Mania. Everyone who bought it on ppv, everyone who bought tickets, did so for one thing. To watch Stone Cold Steve Austin finally win the WWF Championship. After 2 years and a broken neck, it was his time. And it was his night in what may very well be the last time a single person, and not the brand, drew people in. Wrestlemania 14, Austin's night.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

First off, I do agree with wrestler36 on the Bret match being his defining moment because he went from hated heel to beloved face without having to change anything about his persona. Everything that happened after that was a direct result of this - he wouldn't have reached the same iconic status as a heel and I cannot think of any other guy on the roster other than Bret that could have mastered a double switch. In fact, I would even go as far as saying that this match was a double whammy and Bret's transition from bland face to over heel was the positive defining moment of his career.

For my pick: Scott Hall was a promising midcarder as Razor Ramon for the WWF but was never higher profile than when he walked out on WCW Monday Nitro and left the impression that he was leading a WWF takeover. It is one of wrestling's tragedies that he never spearheaded a promotion because he had it all!

 

[Wolf Pac]

The Rock at Summerslam 1998. Just remember how months before that PPV, the fans hated Rocky's guts so much and bombarded him with the most harsh chants ever in DIE ROCKY DIE! and ROCKY SUCKS! People got so sick and tired of him, nobody thought he would ever recover from that. But then as he turned on Farooq and he became the new leader of the NOD, his Peoples Champion gimmick would begin to develop, as he would start coming up with his catchphrases, begin talking a good game on the mic, and he would introduce the world to the Peoples Elbow, and as Summerslam approached and he & HHH tore MSG down, the millions would begin to side with The Rock on that night and from then on would continue to stick by his side to this very day, mimmicking his catchphrases and giving him the loudest pops you'd ever hear. That was the night The Rock made it and you could say it was a great comeback story too, cause like I said above nobody ever thought he would recover from the fans hating him so much and those horrible chants.

 

[HBsam31]

The Ultimate Warrior beating The Honky Tonk Man in very quick fasion for the IC title at Summerslam 88. The fans took notice of the Warrior that night and he rode that momentum all the way to beating Hogan for the WWE title at Mania 6. IMO it all started that night at Summerslam 1988 for The Ultimate Warrior.

 

[Azane]

The night Cena tripped off the top rope and fell through a table, and the rookie that hardly anyone knew became champion, that was Sheamus' night.

Not a legend or wrestling great as of yet by any standards, but that was one of the first thoughts that came into my mind from recent years, I haven't seen a guy get legitimately main evented and strapped so quick in a long time, and maintain that level for so long.

 

[thebrownmenace]

Randy Orton's night was Backlash 2004, when he withstood a tremendous beating at the hands of Mick Foley to retain his Intercontinental Championship.

Bret Hart's night was Summerslam 1992, when he tore the roof off of Wembley Stadium with the British Bulldog as the main event of one of the four major shows in an Intercontinental Championship match. That was something unheard of at the time.

 

[justtxyank]

DDP: "That's not La Parka! That's not La Parka!"

Dean Malenko: Winning the Cruiserweight battle royale as Ciclope and then demasking and going on to beat Chris Jericho.

Kidman: Hitting the shooting star press on Raven to turn face. He went from Raven's underachieving lackey to cruiserweight star in an instant.

 

[cult_of_icecream_bar]

I think Edge really got propelled to megastardom at Wrestlemania 22.Yeah,that was his night.I still can remember the spear through the burning table.It was one of the most brutal match in years to come.Edge truly looked like a star there.For Austin,it was definately Wrestlemania XIII.That show of courage,not taping out to the Sharpshooter despite being dipped in blood made him the megaface that he is.

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

SummerSlam a couple of years ago when Kane, my all time favorite superstar won MITB and later won the WHC and went on to have a real title reign!

I'm not a fan of his, but when Jeff Hardy won the WWE title at Armaggeddon was a pretty sweet moment.

 

[harrythem]

I'm gonna pick Brock Lesnar destroying Hulk Hogan, to a level that we've never seen before or since. Yeah Brock was on his way but, to me, that was the moment when I sat up and went "holy shit, this is THE man"

 

[Mustang Sally]

Randy Savage's night came at Wrestlemania IV in that 14-man tournament for the world title. I figured Hogan would win the whole thing because.....well, because he was Hogan, but when he and Andre eliminated each other early in the tournament, we knew something big was up. Still, I reasoned Ted DiBiase would take the honors, proceeding on the logic that WWE liked to alternate good guys and bad guys as champion. Seldom did you see good guys face other good guys, much less win the title from them.

This time, the company worked their way around that and sure enough, when the final came down to Savage vs. DiBiase, I was positive Ted Sr. would win. So, when Hogan helped Macho Man take the duke.....and celebrated the victory with him.....it surely had to be Randy Savage's best night.

Yes, he went on to have a great career in WWE, but his transformation into a heel that was so bad into a world champion face was one of the most exciting things I ever saw in pro wrestling.

Dig it?

 

[Shadow of Darkness]

Hell Yeah...

First off... Great Thread man...

You all already said plenty of my favorite moments...

but

For me, These Three instances also should be included...

1. Rock Returning as the Host of Wrestlemania 27. it was soooo good to see the People's Champ coming back.

2. Have to be Hogan's Turn at Bash at The Beach... the Crowd became insane... The heel hollywood hogan became superhit from the very first day. it was his night. it was hogan getting a new life in his wrestling carrier.

3. Well plenty of them are still there, but i this one is one of my favorite...

GOLDBERG coming to RAW after the WRESTLEMANIA Night... Challenging Rock! nothing more to say... u all saw it...

Hell Yeah...

 

[thebarber]

Hulk Hogan's return to Montreal on Smackdown in April 2002. The crowd reaction was ape shit ridiculous, his ovation went for over 15 minutes. Hogan clearly was emotinally smashed by this, crying in the ring, Thsi was the biggest show of respect for a legend of the business