I've said it before, but this seems like the appropriate venue to repeat myself. Shawn Michaels is the man who turned me into a television zombie on Monday nights. In all honesty I haven't been a WWE fan very long, about 7 years this year. It was all due to HBK's 2002 return. I was channel surfing and I caught a promo of his and thought "Oh yea, pro wrestling, no thanks." But he seemed older, more mature, not like the young children running around the ring these days. Okay an older man fighting against his former best friend in a street fight, this might be interesting. Needless to say I thought it would be fun to get the PPV, and after having seen HBK and HHH put on a great show, I was hooked. I didn't get into Pro Wrestling as early as most viewers, and I still get ridiculed for it to this day, but Shawn Michaels is the sole reason why I began watching Pro Wrestling.
Which Wrestler(s) Turned You Into A WWE Fan?
- Thread starter Viola Moonlight
- Start date
Louie Lips
Occasional Pre-Show
For me there are 2 men that were tag team partners at the time. Sometimes during either late January or early February 2003 I was really bored and there was nothing on TV so I turned on wrestling and saw RVD and Kane cut a promo and then saw their match and from then on I was hooked. The moves RVD did I thought were phenomonal, especially since I was only 11.
This is an easy one for me, HBK made me the fan I am today, I remember watching the rockers totally revelutionize tag team wrestling. Than the whole barborshop incident happened and I thought shawn michales was the best thing going in professional wrestling. From that moment on he was and will always be my favorite wrestler. The fact that he was gone for 4 and a half years didn't change that fact and I'm glad I got to sit down with him at a restaurant at the airport in 2001 and just talk wrestling. I told him that I'm sorry he had to retire but I understood. He said he did miss it and " you'll never know, maybe I got one more in me.". As you all know he came back in 2002 and has had a great run over the last 7 years. There will never be another Shawn Michaels. Sorry I kinda rambled.
Amazing Blue
Registered Abuser
I started Watchin just after Wrestlemania 19-20, so i would have to say the following
Triple H:
This guy was so cocky and arrogant and i hated him (consider the fact i was about 7 or 8) and i would tune in to TNN just to see if he would get what he had coming to him. But deep down i secretly loved every minute of evolution domonating the RAW scene. And when they they won every belt on raw, man i went nuts!
Rob Van Dam:
The first match i can recall was Rob Van Dam vs. Someoen i cant remember.
He was so full of energy and made it look like so much fun. I broke my moms coffe table when i was ten doing the 5 star frog splash on a teddybear from the couch trough the table. good times, good times!
Biker Undertaker:
This Man was so Badass and cool. I had his whole "you're gonna pay" theme song memorized [I think i still do]. When he and Brock Lesner were on tv i was glued to the floor. I never new about the darkside undertaker, but i do like it. But to me, nothing can top the Biker Undertaker. He is the reason im a fan today
Triple H:
This guy was so cocky and arrogant and i hated him (consider the fact i was about 7 or 8) and i would tune in to TNN just to see if he would get what he had coming to him. But deep down i secretly loved every minute of evolution domonating the RAW scene. And when they they won every belt on raw, man i went nuts!
Rob Van Dam:
The first match i can recall was Rob Van Dam vs. Someoen i cant remember.
He was so full of energy and made it look like so much fun. I broke my moms coffe table when i was ten doing the 5 star frog splash on a teddybear from the couch trough the table. good times, good times!
Biker Undertaker:
This Man was so Badass and cool. I had his whole "you're gonna pay" theme song memorized [I think i still do]. When he and Brock Lesner were on tv i was glued to the floor. I never new about the darkside undertaker, but i do like it. But to me, nothing can top the Biker Undertaker. He is the reason im a fan today
One man comes to mind for me and that man is...
Stone Cold Steve Austin.
I watched a little bit of wrestling back in the early 90's when I really young, but I don't remember much from it and just forgot about it one day. Then back in late 1997 my neighbor told me to watch WCW Monday Night Nitro that night, so I did and thought it was pretty cool but I wasn't completely hooked.
One Monday night I decided to tune in to Raw and see what the other wrestling show was like, what I saw was this bald guy not taking any crap from his boss and all of a sudden he kicks him in the gut and gives him the Stunner and from then on I was hooked.
Each week I tuned in to see what Austin would do to Vince next, I just loved the attitude Austin had and just loved watching him raise hell each week.
In my opinion I think he's one of the greatest wrestlers ever.
Stone Cold Steve Austin.
I watched a little bit of wrestling back in the early 90's when I really young, but I don't remember much from it and just forgot about it one day. Then back in late 1997 my neighbor told me to watch WCW Monday Night Nitro that night, so I did and thought it was pretty cool but I wasn't completely hooked.
One Monday night I decided to tune in to Raw and see what the other wrestling show was like, what I saw was this bald guy not taking any crap from his boss and all of a sudden he kicks him in the gut and gives him the Stunner and from then on I was hooked.
Each week I tuned in to see what Austin would do to Vince next, I just loved the attitude Austin had and just loved watching him raise hell each week.
In my opinion I think he's one of the greatest wrestlers ever.
jericho983
Dark Match Jobber
carlito john cena and paul london. the first match i ever saw was when john cena beat carlito for the U.S title. and i remmeber on the same show paul london was the most excititng guy i ever saw!
Doctor Awesome
Pre-Show Stalwart
solid thread. i would have to say that through 25 years of watching wrestling i have always been a favorite of ring workers as opposed to characters. through 3 decades my tastes and hobbies changed as i got older, so there were periods where the product was weak and i became more interested in other things. as the business goes, wrestlers would come along that elevated my interest and breath new life back into the sport for me. my picks are broken down by the last 3 decades.
80's
1. Ric Flair
2. Randy Savage
3. Ricky Steamboat
4. The British Bulldogs
5. Tully n' Arn
90's
1. Taz
2. Shane Douglas
3. The Great Muta
4. Dean Malenko
5. Chris Benoit
00's
1. Kurt Angle
2. Edge and Christian
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Undertaker (2002-present)
5. ROH (2002-present)
80's
1. Ric Flair
2. Randy Savage
3. Ricky Steamboat
4. The British Bulldogs
5. Tully n' Arn
90's
1. Taz
2. Shane Douglas
3. The Great Muta
4. Dean Malenko
5. Chris Benoit
00's
1. Kurt Angle
2. Edge and Christian
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Undertaker (2002-present)
5. ROH (2002-present)
Hacksaw Highway
Getting Noticed By Management
No one man for me, as I started watching literally before I can remember with my dad. Hulk Hogan would be a big one, as like all little kids I thought he was just the greatest. After he left, Bret Hart was the big one, being the top face as well as a Canadian hero. After those 2 guys, i was hooked for sure.
unique.enigma.666
Occasional Pre-Show
I've been watching since I was 13, now 19, and one of the earliest memories I have is the Kurt Angle/Brock Lesnar Iron Man Match, so Lesnar and Angle are mine, that match was great and its amazing how hooked I got after watching just one thing, mean before that I dabbled with wrestling, was never something I hated or thought of as fake and useless, still to this day don't think that lol though, but was something I only saw here there, also the Angle/Lesnar steel cage match where Vince turned on Angle. Back then I had Sky1 which showed full episodes of SD in the morning so it was pretty good but only the Bottom Line was shown for Raw but still didnt mind a bit. Also remember seeing parts of Survivor Series that year, the opening 5-5 Team Lesnar v Team Angle match and the buried alive match, so theres quite a lot of wrestlers that turned me into a fan, was pretty aware of The Undertaker at that point so I was stoked whenever I saw him aswell
Me I would have to say it would be
The Undertaker-I started watching wrestling during the height of his feud with Kane and then when he became The "American Badass" I thought wow omfg how could someone be this damn good.
The Hardy Boyz and Edge&Christian-The just Blew me away with the way they did all these moves which could have been classed as stunts all the Hardcore things they did just made the WWE even more intense.
The Undertaker-I started watching wrestling during the height of his feud with Kane and then when he became The "American Badass" I thought wow omfg how could someone be this damn good.
The Hardy Boyz and Edge&Christian-The just Blew me away with the way they did all these moves which could have been classed as stunts all the Hardcore things they did just made the WWE even more intense.
cyborg2040
Dark Match Jobber
When I was a kid I used to love Sting and Hulk Hogan. I remember that every time my parents had wrestling on I would come running into the room as soon as I heard that Hogan or Sting was on the TV. I was a fan of theirs for sure, but far from hooked on wrestling much less the WW(F)E. I continued to watch here and there over the years, but I didn't get hooked until Wrestle-Mania XII when I saw Bret Hart take on Shawn Michaels in the 60 min Iron Man Match.
I became a fan of both men, and really enjoyed their matches from that point on (even the ones with Sid). To this day one of the biggest reasons I tune into RAW is to watch Shawn Michaels deliver the goods in the ring.
I became a fan of both men, and really enjoyed their matches from that point on (even the ones with Sid). To this day one of the biggest reasons I tune into RAW is to watch Shawn Michaels deliver the goods in the ring.
I was intitially a WCW fan and I would have taken it over WWE any day and Sting was my favourite. However, my friend began to watch WWE as well at the time and so naturally I tuned in to see what it was all about. At that time, Kane had only really made his debut and from the moment I saw Kane I became a big WWE fan. I just loved the character, his dominating ways, the cool look, the pyro and the way he brutalized people in the ring.
I started watching WWE in 2002 but got into it more by 2004 and it was John Cena, HHH, Undertaker and Edge that got me watching, because at the time i'd gotten more into it
My first glimpse was Stone Cold back in the mid 90s and a small amount of WCW but i can't remember that far back.
Simply put Cena and HHH were the ones that had me hooked but theres many others that i could name but i won't.
My first glimpse was Stone Cold back in the mid 90s and a small amount of WCW but i can't remember that far back.
Simply put Cena and HHH were the ones that had me hooked but theres many others that i could name but i won't.
I first got into wrestling around '97. Around the time when Stone Cold was raising hell and The Rock was in the Nation Of Domination. D-X and the nWo got me into wrestling too.
But Stone Cold was definetely the person that got me into wrestling. Back in my 4th Grade days, me and my friends always had a debate as to who was better between Austin and The Rock. Those moments will always stand out to me as to how I got into wrestling.
But Stone Cold was definetely the person that got me into wrestling. Back in my 4th Grade days, me and my friends always had a debate as to who was better between Austin and The Rock. Those moments will always stand out to me as to how I got into wrestling.
This is going to sound odd, but Vince McMahon.
I was hooked during the Attitude Era and remember that more often than not Austin would come out on top. I didn't want to see that, I wanted to see Vince win out. Austin attacking a wheelchair bound McMahon made me want to see Undertaker beat him even more. Undertaker and Kane double pinning Austin with McMahon taking the title contented me.
Of course, over time I grew to see McMahon as a heel, and so reacted appropriately. Thenn I watched to see McMahon get beaten. McMahon being revealed as the Higher Power just to be foiled by his wife and daughter had me excited when I watched Raw that friday (in the UK), and I watched King of the Ring to see McMahon get his ass kicked in a ladder match.
Similarly, the face who I marked out for most was X-Pac. He was really exciting to a mark in 1999, with his 'educated feet' and the broncho buster. X-Pac was awesome back in the day.
I was hooked during the Attitude Era and remember that more often than not Austin would come out on top. I didn't want to see that, I wanted to see Vince win out. Austin attacking a wheelchair bound McMahon made me want to see Undertaker beat him even more. Undertaker and Kane double pinning Austin with McMahon taking the title contented me.
Of course, over time I grew to see McMahon as a heel, and so reacted appropriately. Thenn I watched to see McMahon get beaten. McMahon being revealed as the Higher Power just to be foiled by his wife and daughter had me excited when I watched Raw that friday (in the UK), and I watched King of the Ring to see McMahon get his ass kicked in a ladder match.
Similarly, the face who I marked out for most was X-Pac. He was really exciting to a mark in 1999, with his 'educated feet' and the broncho buster. X-Pac was awesome back in the day.
Bret Hart made me into a wrestling fan the first time I started. Everything from his music to his connection with the crowd to his wrestling style hooked me immediately. There were other stars who I could've been a big fan of instead, Hogan, Savage, Ric Flair. But none of them appealed to me, they didn't seem to just love wrestling as much as Bret Hart, and his love of wrestling made me respect the hell out of him too.
After Bret Hart left and the WWE was going into the attitude era, Kane became the reason I kept watching. He was insane, brutal and merciless. Sure there had been seemingly unstoppable big men, but Kane put them all to shame. He ripped the door off the Hell in a Cell and he not only was he not intimidated by Undertaker, but some of us started to believe he actually intimidated the Undertaker. And he put on some really great matches in his day.
After my hiatus from wrestling, I started watching again at Wrestlemania 24. And the two wrestlers that got me back into it were CM Punk and Randy Orton. Both guys were just new and exciting and made me really want to watch again. That's why I'm so happy to have them both the top heels on their respective shows.
After Bret Hart left and the WWE was going into the attitude era, Kane became the reason I kept watching. He was insane, brutal and merciless. Sure there had been seemingly unstoppable big men, but Kane put them all to shame. He ripped the door off the Hell in a Cell and he not only was he not intimidated by Undertaker, but some of us started to believe he actually intimidated the Undertaker. And he put on some really great matches in his day.
After my hiatus from wrestling, I started watching again at Wrestlemania 24. And the two wrestlers that got me back into it were CM Punk and Randy Orton. Both guys were just new and exciting and made me really want to watch again. That's why I'm so happy to have them both the top heels on their respective shows.
piper did it for me, when he hit snuka with the coconut i wanted him to get his ass kicked so bad, just for the fact of how are going to hit someone with a coconut, i was maybe 6 when that happen, so i remember the war to settle the score, pre wrestlemania then that is when i became a hogan fan, because he was with mr t huge fan of his from the a team days, but once savage came on the scene i became a big fan of his, because it was a big man's sport and savage came in and took the sport by the horns, then of course the steamboat vs savage match is my fave match of all time. then around the same time there was a name by the name of mean mark that came out managed by paul e dangerously, and he had a move called the heat seeking missle, where he would put you by the ropes, go to the opposite side of the mat climb the corner, run the ropes and drop the elbow, think of it as savage on the top ropes, but the opponent is on the other side of the ring, and then running the ropes and dropping an elbow, and of course the heart punch that was awesome, was a bully
angry_panda
The best at what he does
When I was really young I used to play wrestling in my mates back garden I was always the Ultimate Warrior, he was always Hulk Hogan, but I didn’t have sky so I can’t say I was a massive wwe fan.
When I finally started to tune in regularly, it was DX in its army set up that made me a long time fan. HHH china X-pac and the outlaws, I loved umm. I like DX in general, and am glad they have re-formed, it might make raw a bit more fun to watch. But they will never be as good as when they where feuding with the Nation and the Corporation.
When I finally started to tune in regularly, it was DX in its army set up that made me a long time fan. HHH china X-pac and the outlaws, I loved umm. I like DX in general, and am glad they have re-formed, it might make raw a bit more fun to watch. But they will never be as good as when they where feuding with the Nation and the Corporation.
King Patrick Star
K. O. T. R. 2007 - Team Undisputed
Hulk Hogan first got me to watch wrestling back in the early 80s, but the man that got me to hooked on McMahonism was The Macho Man, Randy Savage. At first, of course, I wanted to watch him get beat, night in and night out, but after a while, I started to enjoy his matches and his promos. This and maybe the fact that I was getting sick of seeing Hogan win, night in and night out.
I think the second place prize here goes to the Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude. Their feud, to me, at the time, was great. We have a guy with the word Ultimate in his name, yet he was beatable with the help of the Brain.
You have to keep in mind, I started watching wrestling before a lot of your parents even met, 1989, and Hogan / Savage and Warrior / Rude was the World and Intercontinental Title feuds respectively at that very moment. I don’t think I would have mind a Savage / Rude WM VI Main Event or at least for the Intercontinental Title, but this is 89 – 90 and Hogan / Warrior did just fine.
I think the second place prize here goes to the Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude. Their feud, to me, at the time, was great. We have a guy with the word Ultimate in his name, yet he was beatable with the help of the Brain.
You have to keep in mind, I started watching wrestling before a lot of your parents even met, 1989, and Hogan / Savage and Warrior / Rude was the World and Intercontinental Title feuds respectively at that very moment. I don’t think I would have mind a Savage / Rude WM VI Main Event or at least for the Intercontinental Title, but this is 89 – 90 and Hogan / Warrior did just fine.
The Notorious Big.Pad.Dee
Destroy. Erase. Improve.
Kane got me into Wrestling. My first expierience with the WWE was when I was given Smackdown 2 for the ps1 at christmas one year, and Kane was the first guy I used. The supernatural part of the gimmick blew my 7-year old mind back then. I remember taking a year long hiatus from WWE in 2003, and when I started watching again, and Kane didn't have the mask, it took a lot away from the character. Never the same...
Super Crazy
CABS ARE HEEEERREEE!!
Stone Cold and the Rock . When started watching, it was around Wrestlemania 15, when their feud was just beginning. And then over the years, just watching it grow and evolve and get better. My favorite moment over the years had to be when the Rock and Stone Cold sang to each other before Survivor Series 01 during the invasion/alliance angle. I loved watching these two go at it, it's probably one of the greatest rivalries to ever happen in the WWE.
John Cena.
Growing up I knew who Hogan was etc but I wasn't a hardcore fan of wrestling. I liked Bret hart too. Was a WWF fan during the attitude era cuz of stone cold and the rock, but even then I was a casual fan. Then after WWF won the monday night wars I quit watching and did not care for WWE from 2002 until around 2005 when Cena became a big name. My roommate during my first semester of college convinced me to watch raw and smackdown for batista and cena respectively. I then caught raw more during that summer when Cena was there after the draft. I started watching just for Cena because he became my new hero since stone cold and the rock were gone. Right around fall of 2006 when Cena was feuding with Edge, was when I became a hardcore fan that never missed a raw or a smackdown. Cena got me to come back when I hated the product, so it was definately John Cena for me.
_
Growing up I knew who Hogan was etc but I wasn't a hardcore fan of wrestling. I liked Bret hart too. Was a WWF fan during the attitude era cuz of stone cold and the rock, but even then I was a casual fan. Then after WWF won the monday night wars I quit watching and did not care for WWE from 2002 until around 2005 when Cena became a big name. My roommate during my first semester of college convinced me to watch raw and smackdown for batista and cena respectively. I then caught raw more during that summer when Cena was there after the draft. I started watching just for Cena because he became my new hero since stone cold and the rock were gone. Right around fall of 2006 when Cena was feuding with Edge, was when I became a hardcore fan that never missed a raw or a smackdown. Cena got me to come back when I hated the product, so it was definately John Cena for me.
_
I've been watching WWE wrestling since 1984, so there have been a handful of wrestlers that made me want to tune in. Of course, the migration of any former ECW or ROH wrestler to the WWE will guarantee that I watch. In the beginning, Brutus Beefcake was the man. He was my very first "favorite" wrestler. I wanted to watch all of his matches and I remember feeling disappointed if he was featured in a match in any given show.
Recently, Jack Swagger has become the WWE talent that I tune in to see. Many, many months ago when the core group of ECW originals (RVD, Sandman, Sabu, etc) left, I swore I would never watch WWECW ever again. Swagger changed that. He made me watch for the sole purpose of seeing him wrestle.
Recently, Jack Swagger has become the WWE talent that I tune in to see. Many, many months ago when the core group of ECW originals (RVD, Sandman, Sabu, etc) left, I swore I would never watch WWECW ever again. Swagger changed that. He made me watch for the sole purpose of seeing him wrestle.
When I was just a lad, I can remember the first PPV I ever watched. It was a little thing called Survivor Series and we had Bret Hart's team vs Ted Dibiase's team, but we didn't know who the final member of Ted's team was. Then, he walked out. This mountain of a man wearing black and great with a trench coat and a top hat on. I said, "Wow he's big and scary."
Of course, little did I know at the time, he would go on to beat Hulk Hogan a year later and become WWF Champion. Then he continued his path of destruction through out the WWF/E. If I can remember correctly, there wasn't a top named star in the company that he hadn't beat. So they started calling him The Phenom, because he was just that, phenominal.
I don't think I need to tell you all what his name is, do I?
Of course, little did I know at the time, he would go on to beat Hulk Hogan a year later and become WWF Champion. Then he continued his path of destruction through out the WWF/E. If I can remember correctly, there wasn't a top named star in the company that he hadn't beat. So they started calling him The Phenom, because he was just that, phenominal.
I don't think I need to tell you all what his name is, do I?
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