The Match That Made You The Fan You Are...

[midusone]

Growing up my Dad and I would always go to our local video store and rent a WWF tape or two. I remember being so engrossed in what I was watching some times even if I had seen the match a few times before.

For me the match to beat is Piper-Hart from WrestleMania. Never have Two wrestlers put on a match that had me hooked like this one did, and still does.

So what I was wondering is What's that match for you? Flair-Steamboat? Savage-Roberts? LOL maybe even Cena-Kahli.... What's your favorite match ever?

 

[JerryvonKramer]

I can't remember the exact match I *think* it was Brutus Beefcake vs. Honky Tonk Man, but it was when Brutus cut Jimmy Hart's hair. It was on one of the old compilation WWF tapes someone had one when I was over their house -- might have been this one:

Anyway, for some reason watching Jimmy Hart interfere during that match and then captured by Beefcake and given a haircut excited me immensely. I was hooked after that, not so much by the wrestling but by the stories and characters. I loved the idea of a manager interfering or distracting the ref and I also LOVED it when wrestlers would get to hit managers. Oh for the days of kayfabe.

 

[xdinhox]

growing up in Puerto Rico the match that got me hooked with wrestling in general when i was growing up was Carlos Colon Vs. "Sadistic" Steve Strong Barbed Wire Match lol.


if i had to say a wwe or wwf match i would probably say the finals of WM4 or hogan vs. savage WM5.

 

[suleman09]

i don't believe any specific match made me into a fan of the WWE, i just started watching WWF one day and liked what i saw in the action and kept watching it i guess, about 12 years ago i started watching...

 

[Agent-67]

I had always been a fan of wrestling since pre Wrestlemania 3. Hogan vs Andre was great, but that was not what did it for me. It was not a match at all, it was a whole angle. The Mega-Powers angle was it! From the time Hogan saved Savage from the Honky Tonk Man, Hogan evening up the odds at WM 4, through Summerslam & Survivor series through those lusting eyes, & up to the explosion at WM 5! What a great angle. I could not stop watching up to WM 8. However, I have to give a bit more credit to another angle. I lost interest in the mid 90’s, don’t get me wrong I’m sure Mantar & TL Hopper had great matches, I just did not care much. I caught it if I could, but did not care if I missed it. The nWo brought back my interest big time. That angle was the best EVER in wrestling. I know it had a terrible ending, but from May 96 to early 98 that was some of the best writing I have seen. Granted they had nothing else but the nWo but who cared. You tuned in anyway. Who would join next? Would WCW ever win? When would they show up & where? What would they do? I have to get this in too. DX is a complete rip off of the nWo! They just took WCW ideas and made them better. Mega Powers started me and the nWo brought me back.

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

Harley Race -vs- Ric Flair for the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship at Starrcade was the match that did it for me. I was 4 when I saw it and I remember back on it as being something huge back when it first happened, I remember the crowd being jacked, the house being packed and Ric winning the title and it just felt like a huge thing back then. Good times for wrestling.

 

[ZEUS]

The match that took me from the "watching at my cousins house" phase into a full time wrestling fan was Dibiase-Savage from WM 4. But, what caused me to go from fan to semi-obsessed freak is the Bret Hart "Triple Threat" of classic matches:

Bret Hart- Mr. Perfect
Bret hart- Roddy Piper
Bret hart- Davey Boy Smith

 

[Jordan adams]

I don't ever remember not being a wrestling fan so I'm go with one my earliest memories of wrestling and that was Hulk Hogan vs Randy savage wrestlemania 5. But im also glad that midusone said the piper vs heart match from wrestlemania 8 because that in my top ten matchs of all time.

 

[Freakinflax]

I stopped watching wrestling after I moved in with a family that never liked it, even though I had Hogan & Savage action figures.

I saw on a PPV preview where Taz & Bam Bam went through the ring. I immediately ordered Heatwave '98.

The match that got me hooked was HHH vs. The Rock. IC Title Ladder Match from Summerslam '98.

 

[D-Man]

I just remember sneaking into parents living room at 11pm when I was 7 years old because I didn't want to sleep and I wanted to watch TV. I was flipping through channels and happened to see a unique show on MTV where a man was interviewing another large man during somewhat of a celebration. Meanwhile, another HUGE man was pouring champagne over the heads of the other guys. This was none other than the infamous post-match interview with Hulk Hogan the night Hulkamania was born. I was caught by my mother about 10 minutes into the interview and sent to bed, but it made me so curious about what I had watched that I spent the next three weeks trying to find that show on television again. Finally, I found All-American Wrestling on the USA Network on a Sunday at 12pm, and the rest was history.

So, it's funny how it wasn't even a match that got me hooked on the sport... it was a replay of an INTERVIEW that took place on one of the most important nights in wrestling history.

 

[quietstorm5548]

it would have to be steamboat-savage at wm3...if that match doesnt make u a fan ...then u're not a real fan

 

[TomSmithUK]

There were two for me.

I never really got into wrestling from the show, I got into it from playing the games, but I was aware of all the major names. But never had Sky so I couldn't watch it. I eventually bought a video, which was the 'Best of Raw' 1997, and was essentially from Owen Hart vs British Bulldog for the European Title (it's debut as a belt) to Bret Hart knocking Austin off the stage after Wrestlemania (Taker vs Bulldog, Owen interferes, and Austin chases them off then goes after Bret in the wheelchair). And none of the matches were especially brilliant although I remember being really upset (I was 7), when Austin was breaking Bret Hart's leg.

So after buying this I bough No Way Out 1998 on tape, which I loved. I was a huge Kane mark (from Warzone), and him vs Vader I loved, but the main event, unsanctioned anything goes, HHH, New Age Outlaws and Savio Vega vs Austin, Owen Hart, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie, was my first real taste of the attitude era, and the promo's with the Foley and Funk going off the stage in the dumpster is still the most prominent segments ever for me, just J.R's screams, "There's People in there! There's people in there! What the hell is so great about that!" makes the whole thing.

That whole build up and match made me a big fan, but the one that really made me a huge wrestling fan was The Rock vs Austin at Wrestlemania 15. From HBK's promo against Vince, the referee's taking beatings (Rock Bottom, Chair shot), the two Stunners, fighting up the ramp. It was the first match that I loved for technique and storytelling rather than hardcore spots or just being a mark for one character.

 

[Shockwave]

I was born into watching wrestling so-to-speak, my mum and dad were huge wrestling fans as was great grandfather. My mums waters broke on the night of the 1990 Royal Rumble and i was born that same day and just grew up watching wrestling from the day i was born so there was no epic match or particular wrestler that got me into it, it just came naturally. If you were to ask who my biggest influence(s) are, then i could tell you 2 names - Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero. It was their matches that made me want to become a wrestler myself and since stepping through the ropes, I've never looked back!!!

 

[BigBadBob]

it a combination of two events for me..
my 1st taste of wrestling was WM6, hogan warrior, on vhs. i dont no why it was in my house..as no1 were wrestling fans in my house..but it got me loving wrestling watching it repeatedly
but wm17 really got me into a fanatic..im 18 now so that would have made me...11. absolutely loved that card, and rock/austin was just awesome

 

[ballin0812]

nice topic

for me it would be the war games from wcw frawl ball 98'
prior to that i had seen wrestling before, but that was the first tape i chose to borrow out from the vid store way back then.

god i miss wcw =[

 

[dxparza]

For me this is an easy one. Shawn Michaels-bret hart at WM12. i remember all the hype leading up to the match on raw. I begged for my parents to order the pay per view but they didnt. i didnt see the match but I heard the audio beause my got the audio. so imma 10 year old boy watching a blank screen listening to this awsome match with my favorite wrestler. an hour later Michaels wins his first world title. I was already a big fan but that match made me the fan that I am today. Cant wait for wrestlemania 25, its my first live Wrestlemania so I'm stoked

 

[ThePeoplesChampion]

Mine isnt a match.....i remember i was 8 or 9 and my friend told to watch this show Monday Night Raw.....well i turn it on and see the rock talking to cops and he made me laugh so damn much i was hooked....i remember going to school the next day and saying all his one liners....thank u rock....or dwayne johnson lol

 

[MikeKillam]

Let's see, I'm 19, and I started watching wrestling when I was 13. I had never seen it before and a friend invited me over to watch Wrestlemania 19 with him and some friends. I went and was extremely impressed by what I saw. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels will stand out from that card for me as the first match that really blew me away.
I started watching WWE a few times a month, and got into a few of the storylines on Smackdown! I ordered Wrestlemania 20 by myself, and THAT was the first time I really became the super fan that I am today.
See, I had never seen Raw, because I had only watched Smackdown at friends houses. Wrestlemania XX opened me up to the entire world of professional wrestling, and I was hooked. Seeing Goldberg vs. Lesnar was incredible, as I had no real idea of who Goldberg was until after the PPV. Seeing John Cena for the first time and thinking...this guy could really be something one day. And of course the main event for the title, seeing Benoit walk away the champion...that was fantastic. But what did it for me, was the return of the Undertaker.
John Cena vs. JBL the next year is what got me back into it after I got bored for a few months.
I think Wrestlemania every year gets me pumped and ready to go for the next year of WWE.

 

[dadadavie]

i was around 11 or 12 when i was at the video store looking for something to rent when i came across fully loaded 98 and it wasnt really a match on that card that got me hooked it was a little bikini contest oh man when sable took of her robe to those painted on hand prints i went through puberty

 

[onelonesapper70]

for me it was Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn at the 1999 living dangerously ppv for the ECW TV Championship

 

[mister_b1LL]

I grew up on wrestling by watching some old tapes my dad rented from the video store cause back then we didn't have cable to watch RAW or any of the PPVs (still don't). I was very young at the time and so back then I could only remember snippets of the events. Many of them involved Ultimate Warrior, who grew to be my favorite wrester during my childhood, as well as Randy Savage. I also remember being scared out of my wits whenever Undertaker came out.

Interestingly enough, there is a major gap between getting introduced to wrestling and the first match that got me hooked on wrestling. I remember little snippets (mostly interviews from The Rock and Stone Cold) throughout the Attitude Era as well as a few great moments on Nitro featuring my favorites Rey Mysterio (Jr.) and Eddie Guerrero. I was, and still am a major fan of high flyers. But it wasn't until WrestleMania 2000, nearly 10 years after my introduction, that I saw the first ever match that I fully remembered. It was the Triangle Ladder Match between the Dudleys, Hardys, and E&C. Something about that match, and the participants involved, made that match special. And from then on I made sure to fix the antenna and tune in to watch SmackDown! whenever my mom wasn't home.

 

[psychedelicgranny]

I believe the first thing I ever saw was Royal Rumble 1998 and unless I fell asleep, was away, or missed it accidentally, I haven't missed a single RAW since.

 

[Joker ' Ferreira]

First time I watched Wrestling was in a cable network here in Portugal, so in the beggining I tought it was funny and with that I'd laugh when Rikishi for example would use his turnbuckle attack.

But then I started to watch more and more, and I realized that there was RAW and SmackDown!, at first I didn't realize it, because I just tought it was like the same brand, with that said, I started to watch more and more, and I have to say that Wrestlemania 21 was my first PPV, I watched it, marked out for Cena and Batista against Triple H and JBL as almost anyone, but in the same night I watched Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero and I tought to myself that "that guy Guerrero is one great athlete" and started to search on the internet for matches and I found Lesnar vs. Guerrero, it was indeed for me one of the best matches I watched besides Undertaker vs. Angle and Angle vs. HBK (at Wrestlemania 21, that I skipped because I didn't knew neither of them at that time).

It was a good year to start watching wrestling I must say, Batista, Triple H, Cena, JBL (on his top form), Rey Mysterio, Guerrero, Edge winning the money in the bank and the showdown between Angle vs. HBK that I watched after Vengeance (when they fought against each other again).

 

[Shaunzeee]

For me it was Summerslam 91, Bret Hart vs Mr Perfect that match was epic n made me an instant fan despite the fact Bret is hardly one of my fav wrestlers alot of his matches are timeless

 

[Ryanhitman316]

For me this is an easy one. Shawn Michaels-bret hart at WM12. i remember all the hype leading up to the match on raw. I begged for my parents to order the pay per view but they didnt. i didnt see the match but I heard the audio beause my got the audio. so imma 10 year old boy watching a blank screen listening to this awsome match with my favorite wrestler. an hour later Michaels wins his first world title. I was already a big fan but that match made me the fan that I am today. Cant wait for wrestlemania 25, its my first live Wrestlemania so I'm stoked

lol I hope u enjoy yourself at Wrestlemania 25....I remember ordering that PPV I was rooting for Bret and my brother was rooting for HBK. I still believe Bret should had won that match but oh well.

The match that made me a fan was when Bret and Luger were the last 2 man in the Royal Rumble...I remember as a little kid I was hoping that Bret will win but when they announce that he had to face Owen I thought that was it...but now I understand it lol