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

[bulldog76]

Two matches. When I was 2, the first match I remember seeing was Kerry Von Erich beating Ric Flair (Texas Stadium). Being from north Texas, Kerry would be forever the good guy and Flair forever the bad guy; or at least for the next 15 years. That match made me a fan.

But after finding out it wasn't real (around 92 or 93) and WCW (the only programming I got at that time) only televised mid-card vs. jobbers, I lost interest. I started watching again with the nWo but the match that got me back on full board was a match I could not have cared less about going into; Raven vs. DDP Spring Stampede US title Raven Rules match in 98. Sting (one of my faves) vs Macho Man didnt matter. I drifted over to WWF with Rock/Austin around 99 and stuck with WWF/WWE when the Corporate Ministry broke up as Triple H and Undertaker couldn't co-exist (Taker was champ and Triple H was chasing his first world title reign).

But thanks to Kerry, Ric, DDP (did I just really put him in this discussion?) and Raven, I fell in love with wrestling; twice.

 

[LCShazardous]

the match that made me the wrestle-holic i am today would easily have to have been about 2 years ago it was undertaker vs. (please forgive me) Batista in a steel cage on smackdowm it was a good match and undertaker retain do to both of there feet touching the floor at the same time however edge cashed in money in the bank (with a little help from the worlds lamest gimmick mark Henry)

 

[healyz84]

It wasn't so much a match for me but an entire show. It was 1985 and the wwe came to my small town for a house show. I remember watching such guys as Hogan, Andre the Giant, Piper, Snuka. It was just the most incredible thing ever. 24 years later and im still as big a fan then as I am now.

 

[DgenX031]

I was a semi wrestling fan until i got the armageddon 2006 dvd from the video store.
Inferno Match..........
Last Ride Match...........

but the one match that got me was the Fatal 4 way tag team ladder match.......... they tore it up and thats what got me hooked!!!!

 

[Arrynboot]

The match that got me totally hooked was the amazing 60 minute iron man match between HBK and Bret Hart....
But the match that took me from a fan of the characters to a fan of the men behind the characters was Undertaker vs Mankind - Hell in a cell. Mick Foley easily earned my complete respect and admiration for the things he did in that match

 

[GameOver]

I was hooked from the moment Hogan captured his first title. had been watching for maybe a month b4 that. then for yrs they stopped televising wrestling in australia and we were 6 months behind but i still watched every PPV on VHS and phoned the wrestling info line lol very costly I was a kid so i didn't care

Haven't stopped watching WWE since. so that's over 25yrs of loyal fanship

 

[Fearfactory311]

For me, it was Flair VS Savage at Wrestlemania VIII. I was 9 years old and my buddy who lived down the street was a HUGE wrestling fan. I told him wrestling was fake, and it was for wimps, but he persisted at boasting about how good it was. Finally, I gave in to listening him talk about it. He showed me his WWF magazine where this woman (Miss Elizabeth) was laying on a throw pillow with an embroidered, letter "R" on it. My buddy explained to me that this letter "R" on the pillow could either stand for "Ric" or for Randy". He then explained to me the back story behind the Flair-Savage feud, and I became hooked! I had to see who won! So I watched Wrestlemania VIII with my friend, and cheered Macho to victory. After that night, I watched Superstars every saturday, bought a Bret Hart poster, collected the figures, got a magazine subscription and never looked back.

Subsequently, I remember the very first WCW match I ever saw. It was on Nitro, and it was Ice Train VS Lord Steven Regal. This fact has nothing to do with anything other than what a lame match to introduce me to WCW

 

[Richard]

WCW Fall Brawl 1998 was when I got hooked, I liked wrestling previously, but this got me hooked. The things that stood out to me and really caught my attention was the main event, War Games 1998. Diamond Dallas Page winning the match and I remember this one wrestler who seemed really cocky, arrogant and such a douche bag, but I remember thinking, he's pretty cool, he's confident and not leaving even though the people are booing him, this man was... Chris Jericho!!!! At Fall Brawl, he challenged Goldberg for his World Championship, yet Chris Jericho hired a fake Goldberg to come and tap out when Jericho hit the Liontamer and then Chris Jericho ended up gloating about how he defeated Goldberg and made a shirt saying Jericho 1 - Goldberg 0 or something like that when it wasn't the real Goldberg he beat.

So it was those two matches. War Games 98 and Jericho vs Fake Goldberg. Both of them attracted me because the War Games was over two rings which was surrounded by a cage and Diamond Dallas Page winning it and Hogan and Warrior confrontation during the match with Warrior playing a trick with smoke on Hogan and the NWO. At 7 years old, you think that's pretty bad ass and Chris Jericho interupting Mean Gene and being an idiot was what got me hooked on wrestling for good and made me the fan I was today.

 

[mikeRC]

It's also kinda wierd that there's not more mentions of ECW

Fair point but i think thats probably due to WWE and WCW being more kid friendly than ECW even during the NWO and Attitude era and most people become wrestling fans when they are children. Also for many people ECW was hard to find especially if you didn't live in the US.

 

[Mr. TM]

You know, I remember a lot of old matches from my childhood, and one that I remember was when Yukozuna faced off against Lex Luger at Wrestlemania X. I remember that match more than the Bret Hart matches that night for one thing. Seeing Luger taking it to Yokzuna was such an impressive feat, and even before the match seeing Luger Slam Yoko, and seeing that look on his face was such a great feeling. This match may have made me the fan I am today.

 

[Lee]

Like TM, I remember a lot of matches from being a kid...the three main matches I remember are; Hulk beating Yokozuna for the WWF belt, SummerSlam 1992 and Ultimate Warriors 1996 return. I still remember the commentator saying he had heard a rumour that Warrior had shaved all his hair off! Various other matches stand out; HBK beating Bulldog for the European belt, the Iron man match between HBK & Bret and HBK/Razor Ramone ladder match.

But what was it that made me into the wrestling fan I am today? Royal Rumble 2007, I hadn't watched wrestling since the end of the Invasion, and thought hmm I fancy watching the royal rumble, I joined this site and became the marky smark I am today!

 

[The Todd]

Well in my first experience of wrestling I was just interested in spots, especially growing up in the attitude era. The things that stand out are Foley through the cell, the triangle ladder match, the two tlc matches and Shane Mcmahon jumping on the Big Show at Backlash 2001. The match that got me into wrestling then was The Rock vs Mick Foley I quit match at the Rumble, due to the violence if nothing else. Also the Rock's cockyness was great and I got hooked on it.

After my fall out with the industry, I got back into it in 2007 watching WM 23. I watched the Undertaker Batista match in a bar, and maybe it was the alcohol, but I thought it was great, started checking wwe.com and youtube and saw that non hardcore matches were as good, if not better, than hardcore ones. So I would have to say Taker vs Batista, even though neither are my favourite wrestlers now by any means.

I can't remember too much about the match itself, only I was waiting for the ref to get knocked out (as happened every match in attitude era) yet he didn't, but it got me back into it all.

 

[ohb200303]

wow, hard to say. I can think of a lot of great matches. The one that got me started must have been Hart Vs Henning(Mr. P). But my all time favorite match would have to be Owen Vs Bulldog finals of the European title. It was such a great match. I don't know what really has be going on with wrestling since then. A shit load of talking and some pathetic "entertainment" matches. But not really much.

 

[ilivewrestling]

Man. You know that u are a real wrestling fanatic if u are reading all these stories & getting goosebumps just remembering each & every match & angle that you guys are talking about. i've had this account for a while but never posted. I SHALL BE POSTING ON THIS TOPIC!!!!! what got me hooked on wrestling? One man: Stone Cold Steve Austin. Its funny cuz i caught glimpses of wrestling but i wasnt a fan by any means. I use to knock my bros for watching, saying they need to stop watching that "fake stuff" & watch sumthin real like boxing lol I was so bad i even thaught at one point the wwf was two seperate companies because of the Logo change ( u know, the logo from the pre-attitude) i even pronounced Hulk Hogan's name as "Ho Kogan" lol

it was 1998 & my 11th bday had passed on march 2, as i was flipping thru channels, i kept seeing commercials about something called a "pay per view" & sumthn else called "wrestlemania". Me not being a fan i started to get frustrated that these commercials kept popping up on every channel. I then saw one commercial where they actually showed a build up. This bald-headed white an was chuggin bear, shootin the bird, cursing, he was intense. I then watched WrestleMania 14......THE AUSTIN ERA BEGAN & SO DID I AS A WRESTLING FAN!!!.

I knew i was a fan then but it got worst, i flipped over to tnt & discovered there actually WAS 2 companies & i saw all the guys that USE to be on the OLD wwf. The attitude era/monday night wars era was what made me become an obsessed wrestling freak. My mother complained it was "taking over my life" lol. She was right. Everyone here who remember that era knows the dream match of that day was Austin vs. Goldberg. I was catching it every chance i got. I would flip from tnt to usa network back & forth every monday nite, THEN watch the replay of nitro 2 hrs later to make sure i didnt miss anything. ATTITUDE ERA PPL STAND UP, U REMEMBER. NWO WHITE VS NWO RED VS WCW, GOLDBERG, THE ORIGINAL PPLS CHAMP DDP, AUSTIN-MCMAHON, DX, SABLE, UNDERTAKER, KANE.I didnt realize i was an obsessed until 2002, when it started to die down a bit, so i found myself goin on youtube, watching old videos, doing my "wrestling homework" so to speak. I started paying attention to what actually was a "good match", "good workers" & so forth. I am now 22 yrs old, i aspire to be not only a wrestler but WWE Champion one day also. Im in love with wrestling, its in my blood, i live it (hence the name) & im glad i found a forum with fellow obsessed freaks such as urselves who share the same passion.......

 

[dxparza]

Man. You know that u are a real wrestling fanatic if u are reading all these stories & getting goosebumps just remembering each & every match & angle that you guys are talking about. i've had this account for a while but never posted. I SHALL BE POSTING ON THIS TOPIC!!!!! what got me hooked on wrestling? One man: Stone Cold Steve Austin. Its funny cuz i caught glimpses of wrestling but i wasnt a fan by any means. I use to knock my bros for watching, saying they need to stop watching that "fake stuff" & watch sumthin real like boxing lol I was so bad i even thaught at one point the wwf was two seperate companies because of the Logo change ( u know, the logo from the pre-attitude) i even pronounced Hulk Hogan's name as "Ho Kogan" lol

it was 1998 & my 11th bday had passed on march 2, as i was flipping thru channels, i kept seeing commercials about something called a "pay per view" & sumthn else called "wrestlemania". Me not being a fan i started to get frustrated that these commercials kept popping up on every channel. I then saw one commercial where they actually showed a build up. This bald-headed white an was chuggin bear, shootin the bird, cursing, he was intense. I then watched WrestleMania 14......THE AUSTIN ERA BEGAN & SO DID I AS A WRESTLING FAN!!!.

I knew i was a fan then but it got worst, i flipped over to tnt & discovered there actually WAS 2 companies & i saw all the guys that USE to be on the OLD wwf. The attitude era/monday night wars era was what made me become an obsessed wrestling freak. My mother complained it was "taking over my life" lol. She was right. Everyone here who remember that era knows the dream match of that day was Austin vs. Goldberg. I was catching it every chance i got. I would flip from tnt to usa network back & forth every monday nite, THEN watch the replay of nitro 2 hrs later to make sure i didnt miss anything. ATTITUDE ERA PPL STAND UP, U REMEMBER. NWO WHITE VS NWO RED VS WCW, GOLDBERG, THE ORIGINAL PPLS CHAMP DDP, AUSTIN-MCMAHON, DX, SABLE, UNDERTAKER, KANE.I didnt realize i was an obsessed until 2002, when it started to die down a bit, so i found myself goin on youtube, watching old videos, doing my "wrestling homework" so to speak. I started paying attention to what actually was a "good match", "good workers" & so forth. I am now 22 yrs old, i aspire to be not only a wrestler but WWE Champion one day also. Im in love with wrestling, its in my blood, i live it (hence the name) & im glad i found a forum with fellow obsessed freaks such as urselves who share the same passion.......

Man I gotta agree about the whole reading everybodys stories and getting goosbumps thinking about the good ol days of the pre atttude era and even more the actual attitude era. I sometimes tell my friends that the attitude era is like an ex-girlfriend that you let get away, you dont know what you had untill you've lost it. wrestling is good now, but i'd give my left arm to go to 1997 and relive the attitude era/monday night wars all over again. thank god for youtube and wwe 24/7. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your journey to become a wwe wrestler and eventually champion.

 

[Slowdude]

Benoit vs HHH vs HBK - WM20

Before WM20 I had watched Smackdown and Raw a few times and only ordered the PPV because of the Taker/Kane and Lesnar/Goldberg matches. After Lesnar/Goldberg was a epic fail and Taker/Kane was over I watched the main event. Only then my obsession with the wwe began

 

[SquareSix]

For me, it was the NWO & Sting that made me a fan. Again, like many of you it wasn't an actual match, but the stories and characters that got me hooked. I was at a friend's house and he was watching WCW. I was just awe struck seeing this group in the ring talking trash only to have this man come down from the rafters dressed in all black & white with his face painted and a ball bat in hand take out the entire group. After that I would tune into WCW each week to see what Sting would do next. Slowly, I was hooked by other parts of wrestling - especially the cruiserweights.

Soon it wasn't just the NWO & Sting, but the entire show that I loved watching. Chris Jericho became a big favorite. Even though he was booed by most fans, I couldn't help but cheer for him. Little did I know this was the start of my infatuation with heels. Thinking back on it now, I can't figure out why I didn't cheer for the NWO since they are considered the ultimate heels by most people. I guess it was because Sting was just so cool to me.

After a few weeks of watching WCW, I realized that there was another wrestling show on the same night. Of course, that was what was then called WWF. Seeing Stone Cold "stomp a mudhole in someone's ass" became my new fixation. DX was awesome in their antics. Undertaker and Kane scared the hell out of me. And with all that taken into consideration, I was hooked on watching both shows. It's been a while since WCW was on, but I believe that it came on an hour before WWE so it ended an hour earlier. I would watch WCW from start to finish, then after it went off I would tune into WWE. Later, I began to like WWE more and more so I would just switch back and forth between the two until Nitro would go off.

At the time, I didn't know the terms like heel, face, kayfabe, or any of the other technical aspects of wrestling. I didn't need to. At my young age, I thought it was all real and that was all I needed. I was just entertained by the entire spectacle of pro-wrestling.

Sting and the NWO caught my all to short attention span and what began as tuning in to see Sting take on the NWO, over time grew to the obsession with all things wrestling that I have today. Now, I do know the wrestling slang that most of us have become so accustomed to using. I still cheer for the heels most of the time, so that hasn't changed. What has changed is that I watch wrestling now to see great technical mat work. I see the importance of having a great promo, storyline and build up. I have an understanding of everything that it takes to reach out to a new viewer and grab at that short attention span.

 

[Davey McBoy]

The match that really made me a fan was the IC title match between Davey Boy Smith and Bret Hart. I had been watching sporadically at friends' houses and such but never really took much of an interest until I saw that match. It just captivated me. The reaction when Davey won was unexplainable.

That match showcased every possible trick and tool performers have at their disposal to work a crowd to the most orgasmic of pops and I have rarely seen anything like it since. I would recommend youtubing it for anyone who has never seen it and if you aspire to be a wrestler then take notes too. Youtube some Harley Race promos while you're at it to see some verbal pwnage.

 

[TwistofRKO]

Kane vs Undertaker around Kane's arrival in the WWF, the series of matches and rivalry got me into wrestling.. If I had to pinpoint one match it would be the inferno match (as corny as it sounds) it was pretty cool at 7-8 years old...

 

[eXtremely-Priceless2K9]

I am different from all of you. because i wasnt hooked by a match... or a promo... I got a Xbox 360 with SVR2007 and some other game... i was 11 it DEC 07 and i thought what is this game all about? so i tuned in and...it was a promo between my two (now) favorite wrestlers, but it wasn't any old promo it was the return of Y2J! the passing of the torch thing with Orton

 

[RealDealOdin]

The Royal Rumble 94 ,
u know when bret and luger fight to a draw at the end,
Diesel got numerous elimination in that one too,
i think a royal rumble can make an instant-fan in someone who is 7 and never really watched wrestling before. Anyway that worked with me

 

[Shadowmancer]

The match that made me the fan i am today, is one from 2005, I'd only just started to watch wrestling and the match that made me the fan that kept me in Wrestling, was Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin from the Gold Rush Tournament. This Match had it all and then there was the Sweet Chin Music spot that made the RAW opening for a couple of years until this newest start. Combine this with a good match overall means I became a fan of Wrestling because of it.

 

[supersayian]

this is not really a match but i will go Austin VS Vince. that storyline pulled me in forever. i watched wrestling starting in 1993 but if i picked one it would be Rock Vs Austin 1998 WM.

 

[Legendary_Undertaker]

for me it would have to be when my parents brought me the old WWF most unusual matches ever VHS. the Ladder match with HBK and Razor Ramon was by far the greatest thing I'd ever seen at that moment until later on in the tape when I caught my 1st glimpse of the UNDERTAKER's Casket match. Everything about that spelled fear and for some reason I just couildn't stop watching after that I was hooked. I watched WWF every chance I got just to see if anything I saw on that VHS was be topped or duplicated and to some extent I havent been disappointed. Reguardless of what anybody says that one little 45min tape has done more for me in terms of being a fan than anything else in the world.

 

[Wavy Crockett]

I Think I First Really Got Into Wrestling While Watching Sting & The NWO Battle It Out. I Thought It Was Awesome. And When Goldberg Came And Basically Destroyed Everyone I Was Hooked!