Top Ten Wrestling Moments

Here are my ten most memorable professional wrestling moments. Bare in mind, this is from the perspective of someone who entered kindergarten in 1976.

10. King of the Ring 1996. Steve Austin defeated Jake “The Snake” Roberts to become the 1996 King of the Ring. It was during a post match interview with Dox Hendrik (Michael P.S. Hayes) that Austin first uttered the phrase Austin 3:16, and supplied its profound meaning.

9. Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka on “Piper’s Pit.” On this particular edition of “Piper’s Pit,” Roddy Piper smashed a coconut over Snuka’s head. It is one of the greatest wrestling angles of all time, and established “Piper’s Pit” as a must see.

8. Over The Edge 1999 in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to the second match, Owen Hart, in his Blue Blazer costume fell to his tragic death.

7. January 23, 1984. At Madison Square Garden, Hulk Hogan pinned the Iranian heel The Iron Sheik for the WWF title. It was the birth of Hulk-a-mania, and the rest is history.

6. Wrestlemania X on March 20, 1994 in New York City. In my mind, the best overall Wrestlemania in the series. On the card, Owen Hart defeated his brother Bret in a thrilling match. Later on the program, Bret defeated Yokozuna for the WWF title. Also on the show, Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) defeated Shawn Michaels in perhaps the greatest ladder match of all time.

5. July 6, 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia. Undefeated Bill Goldberg, United States champion, defeated “Hollywood” Hogan for the WCW title on “Nitro” before nearly 40,000 fans in the Georgia Dome. WCW used the match to defeat “Raw” in the ratings, yet, probably forfeited a $7 or 8 million PPV pay off.

4. “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat at Wrestlemania III before 93,000 fans jammed into the Pontiac Silverdome. This may have been the greatest Wrestlemania match. Steamboat pinned Savage for the Intercontinental title to the delight of the Motor City crowd.

3. Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal, Canada. This was a shoot, plain and simple. Bret Hart agreed to a disqualification finish to his WWF title defense against Shawn Michaels. Vince McMahon, standing at ringside, rang the bell as HBK applied the sharpshooter on Hart.

2. King of the Ring 1998 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Undertaker and Mankind squared off in a Hell In the Cell match. Both men made their way to the top of the steel structure, and without warning, The Undertaker tossed Foley off crashing him through the Spanish Announcer’s table. It was perhaps the most breath taking moment in professional wrestling history.

1. Formation of the New World Order. In May of 1996, Eric Bischoff brought Scott Hall (Razor Ramon) and Kevin Nash (Diesel) to “Nitro” in successive weeks. The group was formed with “Hollywood” Hogan, turning heel at the Bash at the Beach.

Tidbits: In an interview with WWFDivas.com, Debra stated that she would be returning to WWF television before Steve Austin’s inevitable return… The 8/23 Thunder earned a 1.9 rating, the second lowest rating in the history of the show … “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes is featured on the new ECW video game “Anarchy Rulz” … The December 10th WWF PPV Armageddon will originate from Memphis, Tennessee … The Artist (Prince Iaukea) has been released by WCW.

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