Okay, here's the deal- I'm writing a book called "101 Most Shocking Pro Wrestling Moments," a take-off of E!'s "101 Most Shocking Celeb Moments" or whatever. I've contacted ECW Press (the publisher of "Wrestlecrap" and "Death of WCW" books) and they are interested.
So I've contacted a few wrestlers, hoping to get their comments on some moments (not necessarily the ones involved), to add something different to the book that people on the internet wouldn't already know about. If anyone has any "inside" contacts or knows anyone in the business that would help me out, shoot me a PM.
As for the 101 moments themselves- I've got them pared down and ranked. What I'm looking for from the W's here is suggestions on moments I may have overlooked and aren't in the countdown, or ones you think I terribly overrated/underrated. I'm not looking for someone to say "oh, number 41 should move up a spot or two" or things like that. Just ones that I may have missed or didn't do enough/did too much justice too. Without further ado, here is my (tentative) list:
1.) Owen Hart dies on live PPV 2.) WWF buys WCW 3.) Vince Screws Bret 4.) Hogan Turns Heel, Creates NWO 5.) Jesse Ventura, Minnesota Governor 6.) WCW Positions Nitro Opposite RAW 7.) Vince Steroid Trial 8.) Scott Hall Debuts In WCW As "Outsider" 9.) WCW Announcers Give Away RAW Results on Nitro 10.) Pillman Pulls Gun on Austin on RAW 11.) Eric Bischoff, RAW GM 12.) RAW/Nitro Simulcast 13.) Lawler Appears on ECW Card 14.) Rick Rude Appears on RAW and Nitro on Same Night 15.) ECW Invades WWF 16.) Mick Foley Falls Off, Thru Cell 17.) Madusa Tosses WWF Women's Title in Trash Can on Nitro 18.) Brian Pillman Dies Hours Before WWF PPV 19.) "The Radicals" Debut on RAW 20.) DX Invades Nitro 21.) McMahon Creates XFL 22.) Schultz Punches Stossel on 20/20 23.) New Jack Slices 17-Year Old on ECW Card- Lawsuit Ensues 24.) Kaufman Goes on Tirade Against Lawler on Letterman 25.) Brock Lesnar Quits WWE 26.) Lawrence Taylor Fights Bigelow at WrestleMania 27.) Luger Shows Up on First Nitro 28.) Hogan Challenges Yoko, Minutes After Beating Hart; Hogan Wins Title 29.) Droz Paralyzed in Match With D-Lo 30.) New Diesel and Ramon Debut 31.) Pillman- "I Quit, Bookerman" 32.) Shawn Michaels "Collapses" on RAW 33.) Bagwell Injures Neck on Live TV vs. Rick Steiner 34.) Hogan on Arsenio: "I Do Not Use Steroids" 35.) Kaufman "Breaks Neck" at Hands of Lawler 36.) Liger Announces he has Brain Tumor 37.) Michaels Attacked by Marines in Syracuse 38.) Rob Feinstein- Pedophile 39.) Douglas Breaks Pit Bull I's Neck on ECW Card 40.) Miss Kitty Bares Breasts on PPV 41.) Michaels Loses Smile, Forfeits Title 42.) Sid/Arn Stabbing Incident 43.) Wrestlemania III Draws 93,000 Announced at Silverdome 44.) Crush Arrested on Drug Charges 45.) Triple H-Kane Necrophilia Angle 46.) Funk Tosses Flaming Towel into ECW Arena Crowd; Panic Ensues 47.) Patterson, Garvin Resign Amid Sexual Misconduct Charges 48.) Bret, Shawn Locker-Room Scuffle 49.) Crash Holly Dies 50.) Foley Autobiography Hits #1 on Best-Seller List 51.) Flair Suffers Broken Neck in '75 Plane Crash 52.) The Clique Say Goodbye at MSG 53.) Beefcake Parasailing Accident 54.) Sid Squeege Incident 55.) Flair Has "Heart Attack" On Nitro 56.) 1-2-3 Kid Upsets Ramon 57.) 43 Year-Old Backlund Wins World Title 58.) Brody Stabbed to Death in Locker Room 59.) Horowitz Upsets Skip 60.) Tank to Big Al: "I Could Fuckin' Kill You" On PPV 61.) Jake Shows Up Drunk to Heroes Of Wrestling PPV 62.) ECW Added to WCW Invasion Angle 63.) Tyson Scuffles With Austin on RAW 64.) 190,000 Show Up for New Japan in North Korea 65.) Goldberg Win Streak 66.) Funk Tells Fans to Throw Chairs into Ring in ECW 67.) Skaaland Throws in Towel, Costs Backlund Title 68.) Shockmaster Trips, Falls in Debut 69.) Bigelow, Taz Fall Thru Ring During Match 70.) Vince is Greater Power 71.) Death of Curt Hennig 72.) Nash Fingerpoke of Doom 73.) Vader, Orndorff Locker Room Brawl 74.) Sable Sues WWF 75.) "Billionaire Ted" Skits 76.) Duggan, Sheik Arrested For Drugs 77.) Crowd Turns on Brock/Goldberg Match at WrestleManiaXX 78.) Bart Knocks Out Dr. Death in Brawl-For-All 79.) Beaver Cleavage Denounces Gimmick On-Air 80.) Luger Slams Yoko on U.S.S. Intrepid 81.) Deaths of Adonis, Kelly, McKigney in Car Accident 82.) Piper Breaks Coconut Over Snuka's Head 83.) Funk, Foley Pushed off Stage in Dumpster by N.A.O. 84.) Vader Pins Inoki, Causes Riot in Japan 85.) Mark Henry- Meet Chyna's Friend 86.) Pete Rose Inducted into WWE H.O.F. 87.) Death of British Bulldog 88.) Chuck Austin Sues WWF For Injuries in Match with Rockers 89.) Austin Walks out on WWE 90.) Sid Breaks Leg on PPV 91.) Diesel Beats Backlund in Seven Seconds For Title 92.) Piper Returns to WWE in 2003 93.) WWE Wrestler (Taz) Beats WCW Wrestler (Awesome) in ECW ring 94.) Austin Beats Debra....Literally 95.) ECW/XPW Brawl Outside Bingo Hall 96.) Jericho Debuts on RAW 97.) Mankind Wins Title on Halftime Heat 98.) Death of Elizabeth at Luger's House 99.) Arrest of Patera/Saito 100.) Nash Uses Rey As Lawn Dart 101.) Austin To Roberts at K.O.R.: "Austin 3:16 Says I just Whooped Your Ass"
Others that just missed the cut: -Sandman's Son Turns, Aligns with Raven -Jake Roberts Appears on RAW in '05 -Russo Shoots on Hogan at Bash -Watts Bans Top Rope Moves in WCW -Matt/Edge/Lita Saga.
Looks cool. I may be missing it on the list, but I think that Vince Mcmahon (and/or Vince Russo and/or David Arquette) as World Heavyweight Champion might be a good addition. Also, you don't have anything on the Invasion though I guess you might be putting that under #2. And not to pick nits, but wasn't the Pillman quote "I respect you, Bookerman"? Hope this works out for you.
* Hogan leaves the WWF (1993) and/or Hogan signs with WCW (1994) * Warrior walks out on the WWF following SummerSlam '91 * Ric Flair leaves WCW in 1991 (NWA belt appears on WWF TV)
I know there's more somewhere, but it's always easy to miss a few.
I'd definitely rank these above "Vince is the Greater Power". Especially since Bischoff exposed that earlier on Nitro. :)
Magnum T.A. car crash causing Nikita Koloff face turn and a complete reshuffling of Crockett's booking. Southwest Championship Wrestling fucking up the USA time slot, allowing Vince to grab the spot and go national. Briscos sell out to Vince, Vince gets TBS time slot. Ted Turner buys Jim Crockett Promotions, causing Vince to face a challenge from someone with deeper pockets than his. David Von Erich dies leading to Kerry Von Erich winning NWA Title. Death of Gino Hernandez days after the Chris Adams Blinding Angle. Kerry Von Erich motorcycle crash. Jake Roberts showing up drunk anyplace can't qualify as shocking. Jake Roberts showing up sober would be shocking. The top is heavy on Brian Pillman moments. Ricky Steamboat arrives as Eddie Gilbert's partner, leading to Flair/Steamboat classic series. And, Vince's "Shades of Gray" speech, which was the signal that things were changing.
I dont think I saw Bischoff joins WWE or Bret and Vince reconcile to work on DVD. Those seem pretty significant to me. Also the fans turning on Rock at Wm18 and siding with Hogan was pretty shocking (even the announcers werent sure how to react). Ric Flair showing up on WWF tv with the World title was pretty shocking. Jerry Lawler quitting WWE was shocking too after all those years, just to show Kitty his support. Even though Owen was pretty tragic, IMO, Id say Hogan going heel was the most shcoking thing ever in wrestling, measured by its long term impact.
Some of the things on the list I wouldn't really describe as "shocking" at all, and some are just really bizarre choices either in their placing or just being there altogether.
38.) Rob Feinstein- Pedophile
That shouldn't be anywhere near the list. In the grand scheme of things and when you consider the numerous scandals in wrestling over the years, the promoter of a small time Indy promotion getting caught chatting up a fake kid on the 'net is in no way the 38th most shocking moment in history.
47.) Patterson, Garvin Resign Amid Sexual Misconduct Charges
I've no idea why you'd list Feinstein above this since this was national news at the time. I'd definitely have this in the top 20.
I'd say all of these need to be either much lower or off the list altogether: 28.) Hogan Challenges Yoko, Minutes After Beating Hart; Hogan Wins Title 30.) New Diesel and Ramon Debut 38.) Rob Feinstein- Pedophile 44.) Crush Arrested on Drug Charges 49.) Crash Holly Dies 54.) Sid Squeege Incident 60.) Tank to Big Al: "I Could Fuckin' Kill You" On PPV
And all of these need to be higher: 52.) The Clique Say Goodbye at MSG 63.) Tyson Scuffles With Austin on RAW 82.) Piper Breaks Coconut Over Snuka's Head 89.) Austin Walks out on WWE 90.) Sid Breaks Leg on PPV 91.) Diesel Beats Backlund in Seven Seconds For Title 93.) WWE Wrestler (Taz) Beats WCW Wrestler (Awesome) in ECW ring 98.) Death of Elizabeth at Luger's House 101.) Austin To Roberts at K.O.R.: "Austin 3:16 Says I just Whooped Your Ass"
Turner buying out Crocket, Flair leaving WCW and Hogan joining WCW all definitely need to be on that list before a lot of those choices. If you're going for angles I'd have The Rock's heel turn at Survivor Series 98 and Austin's at WM 17 too.
The Ox Baker/Ernie Ladd riot in Cleveland The Horsemen breaking Dusty's arm in the parking lot Eddie Gilbert hitting Lawler with a car Dirty White Boy hangs Tom Pritchard in angle in Continental Terry Funk attacks Ric Flair after Steamboat title match Scott McGhee pins World Champion Ric Flair on TV Mulkeys win a match Funk vs. Lawler in empty arena match Snuka misses top-of-cage splash in Backlund match Freebirds piledrive Ted DiBiase into hospital
and how can you not have BRUISER BRODY STABBED TO DEATH BY WRESTLER IN LOCKER ROOM IN THE TOP FIVE?
Shouldn't be on list at all, numbers: 9, 17, 21, 26, 34, 44, 56, 60, 61, 63, 64, 74, 77, 79, 83, 85, 86, 96 and 99.
As of 2/28/05: 101 pounds since December 7, 2004 OFFICIAL THREE-MONTH COUNT: 112 pounds on March 9, 2005 OFFICIAL SIX-MONTH COUNT: 142 pounds on June 8, 2005 As of 8/15/05: 153 pounds "I've lost a junior middleweight"
#2 & 12 appear to be the same story to me as well (How do you tell 12 without telling 2?)
I think "Russo calls Hogan for using his creative control during a PPV" should definitely make the cut, and I would have it at least in the upper half, probably around #20.
"Brock quits" is too high, I imagine especially in light of his apparent return
#49 "Crash Holly"? I don't think he was with the E when he died - how is he different from any number of OD's - and above both #71 Curt Hennig and #87 British Bulldog (who were bigger stars)? And if you want a shocking wrestling death, how about Dino Bravo being a victim of a gangland hit? (Cigarette trafficking, I think?)
Instead of "Vince is Greater Power" (that was more let-down than shocking), how about "Vince breaks father's gentleman's agreement, goes national, destroys territory system"?
And no Andre? How about "Andre turns on Hogan, demands title shot"? Also from that era: "Hogan loses title because of evil twin referee"?
I would also suggest Flair's "Abuse of Power" Nitro promo from Greensboro, NC - and the Bret/Austin "Double Turn" match
Also seconds for "David Arquette, WCW Champion", "Ric Flair, REAL World's Champion", and "Magnum TA career-ending accident", also for "Billy and Chuck wedding", although I would play up the Bischoff disguise angle no one saw coming.
Mae Young gives birth to a hand. Brock Lesnar Shooting star press at WMXIX. Matt Hardy returns to Raw. Ring collapses during Brock/Big Show match on Smackdown. NWO comes to WWE. Plane ride from hell. Eric Bishoff reveals himself at Billy/Chuck wedding. Batista/Cena throw themselves out of the Rumble accidentally. John Cena gets drafted to Raw as WWE Champion. Muhammad Hassan terrosist angle. Shawn Michaels says ''Theres the most expensive piece of luggage right there'' to Sid on live PPV. Austin costs Bret the title one night after winning it. HBK turns on Hulk Hogan. Chris Jericho becomes Undisputed Champion. Lights go out at In Your House.
- Sting/Hogan/Bret/Nick Patrick Starrcade debacle - Kurt Angle's twin brother interferes in Undertaker/Angle-match - Kurt Angle unsuccessfully sends Shane-o-Mac through glass with two suplexes - there's got to be a fireball in there somewhere, a la Skandar Akbar/Iceman Parsons - Tommy Rich/Buzz Sawyer at the Omni - Rock hits Mick Foley with 11 straight chairshots - Kevin Sullivan/Prince of Darkness era - Tommy Dreamer's fingers broken by Raven - Sandman's son is possessed by Raven - Raven crucified on TV, or Stone Cold "symbolified" - Nash powerbombs Bischoff off stage - Michaels KO'd by Owen Hart enziguri - Owen paralyzes Stone Cold, Stone Cold finishes match
(and a couple of my childhood memories) - MegaPowers unite for first time on SNME - Mr. Fuji tosses salt in Rick Martel's eyes - Greg Valentine suplexes Pedro Morales on concrete
(edited by JayJayDean on 16.8.05 2111) “To get ass, you’ve got to bring ass." -- Roy Jones Jr.
"Your input has been noted. I hope you don't take it personally if I disregard it." -- Guru Zim
Originally posted by Eddie Famous and how can you not have BRUISER BRODY STABBED TO DEATH BY WRESTLER IN LOCKER ROOM IN THE TOP FIVE?
Of all the things people replying to this thread have mentioned, that's the one item that I'm absolutely one hundred percent in agreement on. That incident is the stuff of legend, especially since officially the case remains unsolved and nobody was ever punished for it, and considering that Brody was a fairly big star at one point.
Don't forget either that just because a moment is supposed to be shocking in terms of storyline doesn't make it an actual "shocking" moment. For example, Cena jumping to RAW wasn't all that shocking since it was widely reported that they were going to switch Cena and Batista. Also, there are some moments that are so incredibly stupid (such as Mae Young giving birth to a hand on live TV) that you can't even really include them. Sure, we were all dumbfounded, but mostly because it was so idiotic. That's something RD Reynolds covered in his Wrestlecrap book, which is where it belongs. In the case of this book you're writing, it should be about incidents that truly rocked the industry (and its fanbase).
I'm surprised nobody's brought up Akira Maeda shooting on Andre. I'm not quite sure if it belongs on the list, but it was kind of a big deal at the time.
(edited by Deputy Marshall on 17.8.05 0022)
Cuz if you got friends, and if they don't dance, well they're no friends of mine!
Ron Simmons becomes first black WCW World Champion. Vince mortgages the future of the WWF with Wrestlemania. Vince testifies that Pro Wrestling is entertainment and not sport. The Zahorian/McMahon steroid trial. Muhammed Ali vs Antonio Inoki in Boxer vs Wrestler match. WWE goes to war torn Iraq to entertain the troops. Antonio Inoki gets elected to Japanese Senate. Rock has highest ratings of SNL in years. WWE at the national conventions in connection with Smackdown Your Vote. Vince sells stock in company.
D'Lo's new finished is AWESOME! It's a definate step up from the Sky High. As for phases...for a while, everybody did DDTs. Then it was piledrivers. Now, it's sidewalk slams [Spinebusters are spinning sidewalk slams...JR is stupid].