Couple from my list that I would like to highlight.

KENTA and Katsuyori Shibata defeat Go Shiozaki and Akira Taue

I just included this because KENTA and Shibata teaming up is one of the coolest things ever to me. I found out many years after the fact, and when it did, it blew my mind. Two of my favourite, no-nonsense ass kicking wrestlers forming an alliance. It was short-lived, they only teamed three times, but all great matches that are special to me. I just picked one of their two victories at random.

Shinsuke Nakamura's Wrestle Kingdom 9 entrance

The moment I became a NJPW fan. Captivating entrance. Perhaps that fact should have placed this moment a lot higher on my list, but my opinion of Nakamura declined over the years, so the moment has lost its power.

I considered a Chris Jericho NJPW moment for my list, but I was leaning towards his first video appearance in NJPW where he challenged Kenny Omega. But I couldn't find the date/event so I gave up. Him showing up and working for NJPW was extremely significant in several ways, but personally it didn't have that much impact since I am not a big Jericho fan, especially middle-aged Jericho. Still, he made a massive impact on the industry and I don't think he's far off the mark when he claims sole responsibilty for NJPW receiving a lot more attention from the Western world.

First of all, thank you RT for giving me something to think about, this has truly reminded me of the joy I get from professional wrestling and made me think of moments and feelings I haven't revisited in quite some time.  So with the sappy shit out of the way, let's get on with it.

1. 
2. 
3. 
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5. 
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9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. CM Punk wins second MITB at Wrestlemania 25, April 5th, 2009
16. Edge returns at the Royal Rumble, January 26th, 2020
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. Balor the Ripper entrance, NXT TakeOver London, December 15th, 2015
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. Eddie Guerrero gets Mr Kennedy disqualified, Smackdown, 11th November, 2005
25. Drew McIntyre appears in the audience at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, April 1st, 2017

So far this is me, so from the bottom going up. 

Drew returning to WWE and appearing the audience at NXT.  This is such a personal one and one I knew nobody else would pick.  To the surprise of absolutely nobody here, I bloody love Drew and when he was released I KNEW one day he'd be back.  I never stopped believing and while I didn't watch his turn in TNA (nothing could make me do that), I followed him from afar and always had faith in him.  It sounds sad, I know how it sounds but I always believed and the reason I picked this moment isn't just because I marked so fucking hard to see him there (I did), but because I got so many messages from my wrestling friends and family about him being there, it holds a special place in my heart and I knew nobody else would pick it. 

Eddie getting Mr Kennedy disqualified.  While Eddie had been doing the 'Lie, Cheat and Steal' gimmick for a good while, I picked this as the standout because it was the last time we'd ever see it.  A few very short days later Eddie would leave us and a giant wrestling light would be extinguished.  RIP Eddie.  Viva La Raza.

Balor the Ripper entrance at NXT London.  The only wrestling entrance that made my list.  Balor is the fucking man and this was the bomb.  See.




Edge returns at the Rumble 2020.  While I predicted it (seriously, ask my wrestling 'family', I won our sweepstake with that), I still marked hard to hear that entrance music and see one of my favourite wrestlers again.  He looked good and did well.

CM Punk's second MITB win.  OK.  Here's the deal.  I bloody loved CM Punk BUT I think Phil Brooks is a giant jackass who's so far up his own arse he can see daylight.  He's solely responsible for a lot of moments on my list and I admit my including this one is coloured by the fact I was there.  Nobody else has won 2 back to back MITB matches (please, correct me if I'm wrong), and it was amazing.  CM Punk YAY. Phil Brooks, BOOOOOO.  

1 POINT EACH
SPOILER: Click to hide

"Brock Lesnar loses to Goldberg in 86 seconds - Survivor Series 2016"
Such an unexpected and controversial moment! Hadn't seen the IWC have such a WTF reaction since... I don't know when prior.

"Seth Rollins cashes in - Wrestlemania 31"
Honorable mention to this shout. Would've made my list had Seth cashed in like he did but Lesnar retained.

/////

2 POINTS EACH
SPOILER: Click to hide

So someone else voted for my 24th top moment ever of "Brock rolls through Randy Orton's crossbody press off the top rope and seamlessly transitions to hit an F5, SmackDown! September 2002"!?!? Or did RT rig this countdown to rob us of Brock moments... -_-

/////

3 POINTS EACH
SPOILER: Click to hide

"The Kat is nude on PPV"
Who's the man (or woman) after my own heart? @ness?

"Brock Lesnar F5s the Big Show - Survivor Series 2002"
No doubt he could do it, more of a moment of just feeling that "I told ya so" vindication. The Heyman betrayal felt unnecessary.

/////

4 POINTS EACH
SPOILER: Click to hide

"Brock Lesnar can drive a forklift and for some reason that's worthy of a moment."
Fuck you, RT. Have you even seen Judgment Day 2003, bro!? Hot finish with Brock commandeering a forklift, raising the forks, and then jumping off of them into the ring to take Big Show down with a flying clothesline sweeter than his Shooting Star Press. Better check yourself before you wreck yourself.

/////

TO BE CONTINUED...

Sept 19, 2020 19:59:26 GMT Emperor said:

Personally, I think some of the best wrestling ever is happening right now in Japan, but yeah most of the folk here don't agree and share Strobe 's view that wrestling sucks after 2001.

It isn't that it sucks, it is just that it feels less and less significant to me. Even big things like The Streak ending. Does any of it matter in a world where the WWE can so many wrong decisions and just soldier on, with Mania having a giant stadium crowd every year? Different art-forms and entertainment have their time. It feels like pro wrestling may be looked back on historically as of the 20th century, when it was locally and nationally relevant at different points in numerous countries, and starting just after the turn of the century is when the descent away from that (in the States and Japan, obviously earlier in the UK) can be seen to begin. That probably doesn't make sense to anyone else.

Sept 19, 2020 21:54:28 GMT RT said:

Terry Funk attacks Ric Flair - Wrestle War May 7th, 1989 I had this at #8, described as the table piledriver, so this should be higher.

This is Your Life (I don't know what this is referring to. Whoever voted for it please clarify) Did not vote for it, but this will be the Rock/Mankind segment that set the non-overrun record rating.

Jim Duggan punches Ted DiBiase with a coal miner's glove - March 22nd, 1985 My #21. The culmination of a long feud with a gimmick-stuffed but totally fitting match, ending in a candidate for the coolest match finish of all time. The violence. The theatricality.

Time-stamped video.


Terry Funk retires for the first time - AJPW August 31st, 1983 My #20. A phenomenal match leading into the emotional post-match for the incredibly over Funk's retirement and the meme-worthy FOREVER! FOREVER!

Jake The Snake's cobra bites Macho Man My #25. Iconic.

Mitsuharu Misawa pins Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW June 9th, 1990 It is June 8th. My #18. The creation of a star and the birth of arguably the greatest era of in-ring wrestling.

British Bulldog pins Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship at Wembley My #17. Surprised this is not higher. The national hero winning a classic to a massive pop to win the championship in front of a huge, rabid crowd.

Magnum TA stabs Tully Blanchard in the head and makes him quit - Starcade 1985 My #16. Perhaps the most violent and memorable match finish of all time. Magnum going back for more but looking down on the snivelling Blanchard with disgust and throwing down the chair leg enhances it further.

Time-stamped video


Hashimoto brainbusters and submits Takada - NJPW April 29th, 1996 My #15. The climax of the biggest money feud in Japanese history. The third massively-successful Dome show in under 7 months, for the NJPW vs. shoot-style UWFi feud, the first two being headlined by Mutoh/Takada. Company ace Hash wins the IWGP Title back from Takada in front of an electric crowd. Love seeing people in the crowd jump to their feet and fist-pump.

Time-stamped video

*Please post in this discussion thread rather than RT's list thread. Moved 🤯's post in the other thread and stickied both topics.

I tried to make a list but my brain just doesn’t work in moments so I got frustrated and gave up. Some great moments from this first batch that may have made my list if I’d thought of them.

Cactus Jack returns - this is the feud that got me into wrestling. I have always been terrified of Cactus Jack because of Triple H’s incredible reaction here.

This is your Life - I’m guessing this is the Rock/Foley highest rating ever segment RT,? Surprised it isn’t higher is that’s what it is. Huge for historical significance but doesn’t hold up for me.

Paul Heyman confronts Vince McMahon - one of my favourite promos ever. Incredible.

The Rock returns as host of Mania 27 - this was amazing. We’ve now gotten used to the Rock being back, but he had been gone for so long, and they’d managed to keep this quiet, so it was such a surreal mark-out moment to see him back. Don’t forget they’d been planting lots of rumours to dirtsheets that the host was going to be Justin Biedermeier, so people’s expectations were very low - huge moment.

Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania 12 - GOAT call in ‘The Boyhood Dream has come true’

Boom box Brock - should have been higher. Legendary.

Snake bites MAcho - If I had lived through this as a kid I may have cried. Great moment.

Bayley wins Women’s Title off Sasha - would have made my top ten if I’d gotten a list in maybe. Unforgettable moment.

Flair brings Big Gold to WWF - how cool is Ric Flair. Just the best to ever do it.

Edge Returns at 2020 Royal Rumble - not gonna lie, when he got chocked up during his entrance I did too. I love moments like this where the emotions are just so real. Great shout.

Nakamura’s WK 9 entrance - He was just the coolest. Damn, now maybe I think Shinsuke’s cooler than Flair.

LEsnar feasts on the blood of Hogan - GOAT visual. This got Brock over huuuuge in my eyes.

Cena/JBL I Quit - I’m sure Cena needed a blood transfusion after this. Incredible moment, especially looking back now when blood is so rare.

Christian and AJ Styles run away from Abyss - I have no idea what his is but it made me laugh reading it.

Punk signs his contract on the ROH title - this was so great. A heel in a crowd that think they know everything like this is glorious.

Kofimania - yeah this was damn cool.

End or an Era - as was this.

Hardy a return - I watched this in an airport in DC on my cell phone waiting for a flight. Still marked out big time.

I love all of these but yet would probably only remembered Sasha/Bayley - that’s why | didn’t do a list.

Sept 19, 2020 22:15:00 GMT Emperor said:

Samoa Joe enters with his five titles

I'm intrigued. What's this about?

Sept 19, 2020 22:18:15 GMT RT said:

No worries. I just want to avoid two separate discussions happening at once. Better to keep it all in one place.

That was indeed Strobe.

The Joe with five titles thing was X-zero . Hopefully he'll shed some light because I googled it and nothing came up.

I don't know why such a low quality video is on their official youtube. I have a better of copy of this in my on achieve. But it was the time Joe "borrowed" both of Kurt's world title (TNA and IWGP(IGF version)). Plus Joe already had both tag title and the x-division title.

Strobe thanks for catching the mistake with Funk/Flair. I'll adjust it. I didn't realize they were from the same moment.

I assume there will be more mistakes to come. I'm using a not-totally-official version of excel to populate the list and it's a little buggy. Also the search function stopped working today for some reason. Don't be afraid to call out mistakes if you find them and we can adjust on the fly.

14. Rosemary Debut
15. Christian and AJ running from Abyss
16. Rosemary looking for Matt's baby
17. Lashley winning all the male single titles in TNA
18. Jeff turns heel and joins Immortal
19. Aleister Black saying Dreams name.
20. Fiend reveal
21. Breezango Emporium entrance
22. AJ Lee's Pipe Bomb
23. The Kat/Miss Kitty nude on PPV. it was me 🤯 , it was me all along.
24. Joe coming down the ring holding 5 titles

Sept 20, 2020 0:08:53 GMT PB said:

I tried to make a list but my brain just doesn’t work in moments so I got frustrated and gave up. Some great moments from this first batch that may have made my list if I’d thought of them.

Cactus Jack returns - this is the feud that got me into wrestling. I have always been terrified of Cactus Jack because of Triple H’s incredible reaction here.

This is your Life - I’m guessing this is the Rock/Foley highest rating ever segment RT ,? Surprised it isn’t higher is that’s what it is. Huge for historical significance but doesn’t hold up for me.

Paul Heyman confronts Vince McMahon - one of my favourite promos ever. Incredible.

The Rock returns as host of Mania 27 - this was amazing. We’ve now gotten used to the Rock being back, but he had been gone for so long, and they’d managed to keep this quiet, so it was such a surreal mark-out moment to see him back. Don’t forget they’d been planting lots of rumours to dirtsheets that the host was going to be Justin Biedermeier, so people’s expectations were very low - huge moment.

Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania 12 - GOAT call in ‘The Boyhood Dream has come true’

Boom box Brock - should have been higher. Legendary.

Snake bites MAcho - If I had lived through this as a kid I may have cried. Great moment.

Bayley wins Women’s Title off Sasha - would have made my top ten if I’d gotten a list in maybe. Unforgettable moment.

Flair brings Big Gold to WWF - how cool is Ric Flair. Just the best to ever do it.

Edge Returns at 2020 Royal Rumble - not gonna lie, when he got chocked up during his entrance I did too. I love moments like this where the emotions are just so real. Great shout.

Nakamura’s WK 9 entrance - He was just the coolest. Damn, now maybe I think Shinsuke’s cooler than Flair.

LEsnar feasts on the blood of Hogan - GOAT visual. This got Brock over huuuuge in my eyes.

Cena/JBL I Quit - I’m sure Cena needed a blood transfusion after this. Incredible moment, especially looking back now when blood is so rare.

Christian and AJ Styles run away from Abyss - I have no idea what his is but it made me laugh reading it.

Punk signs his contract on the ROH title - this was so great. A heel in a crowd that think they know everything like this is glorious.

Kofimania - yeah this was damn cool.

End or an Era - as was this.

Hardy a return - I watched this in an airport in DC on my cell phone waiting for a flight. Still marked out big time.

I love all of these but yet would probably only remembered Sasha/Bayley - that’s why | didn’t do a list.

And I want to reiterate TNA's video archive suck.

:lol: that's amazing.

"WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME? THERE'S NO SCOOP HERE!" then he turns around and yells for AJ and he's right there.

Christian rules.

Sept 20, 2020 1:04:18 GMT RT said:

that's amazing.

"WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME? THERE'S NO SCOOP HERE!" then he turns around and yells for AJ and he's right there.

Christian rules.

Yeah he does I am glad TNA saw that and gave him a chance to show it.

Thanks to RT for running this. Like Rogue I have been revisiting many of the moments that made me such a wrestling fanatic back in the day.
Given my oddball tastes and penchant for picking moments that were important to me personally it should come as no surprise that lots of my choices dropped in this big batch. Let's get to them....

13. Mr. Backlund beats Bret for the WWF Championship- Mr. Backlund and I dreamed the impossible dream- that he would one day regain the title which was unfairly taken from him a decade earlier. Only I was a false friend....deep down, a non-believer. As fun as Mr. Backlund was, good things rarely happened for my wrestling heroes. So never in a million years did I think he would actually complete his quest. And then he did! I was giddy as a schoolgirl when I heard the news on Superstars. It was even better when I finally watched Survivor Series '94 on tape about a year later and discovered Owen Hart was the real hero of our story what with his masterful acting job conning Helen Hart into throwing in the towel. Plus it gave us this glorious promo in which Mr. Backlund FEELS LIKE GOD~! 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

14. Ric Flair beats Vader for the WCW Championship- This one I watched about two years after the fact and found myself enthralled as if I had been watching it live. Starrcade '93 was built around "Ric Flair's last chance." It culminates in the GOAT ending Vader's year-long stranglehold on the WCW Championship in my favorite WCW match of the 90s, and briefly my favorite match of all time. This felt Big. We're talking a real "Wrestlemania moment" even if it was a Starrcade. It was one of the earliest times I distinctly remember thinking "Whoa! What a great match!"

15. Honkytonk Man beats Ricky Steamboat for the IC Championship- RT got the date wrong in his description but that takes nothing away from the awesomeness of this moment. Coming into this, HTM was basically a troll heel who was more annoying than dangerous, while Steamboat was less than 3 months removed from his IC Title win over Savage in their legendary WM 3 match. I doubt anybody predicted a HTM win. But Honky does indeed win on this glorious b.s. finish that even managed to infuriate my "wrestling is fake" father ("You gotta be shitting me!") and skyrocketed the Elvis impersonator from "just another guy" into my new favorite wrestler. That b.s. finish also served as epic foreshadowing for the coming 15 month reign of the Greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time.

16. Goldust beats Razor for the IC Title at the 1996 Royal Rumble- Goldust was my favorite wrestler while Razor was among my least favorite. My friends whom I watched this show with came at it from the opposite perspective- they loved Razor and loathed Goldust. This one guy Bryan in particular had to have been the world's biggest Razor Ramon fanboy. So this match was Serious Business. We were hanging on every move....every momentum shift a matter of life and death....and I was on top of the world when Goldie won the belt with an assist from The Kid. Massive bragging rights. Gloating for weeks. I was no doubt even more insufferable than usual.
Fun Fact: I'm actually going to see Bryan tomorrow for the first time in 10 months. I'll have to bring this up. I have no doubt he will remember.

17. Dean Malenko beats Shinjiro Otani for the WCW Cruiserweight Title on Worldwide- Malenko immediately got over with me (and my friends) due to his "Man of a Thousand Holds" gimmick and actually being able to back it up with all his cool moves. I/we thought he was great. But he was also an undersized "no name" who was clearly going nowhere (I had no idea smarks existed or Dean's cult following extended far beyond 8 or 9 wrestling obsessed weirdos in Baltimore County). Plus this match took place on humble little Worldwide where nothing important ever happened. You have to understand that. So Our Guy Malenko winning a title, even one as humble as the newly created Cruiserweight Championship, was such an unexpected gift from the wrestling gods. My friend Chuck and I were so giddy that we bolted to the baseball field after high fiving (and possibly even hugging) so we could spread the news of this shocking event to our fellow Malenko-loving friends. I doubt they believed us until Nitro. I know I wouldn't have believed them if the roles had been reversed.

19. Ric Flair returns to Nitro- shoots on Bischoff (Listed as The Four Horsemen reunite)- What other poster with impeccable taste voted for this? Flair had been off television for about 6 months due to a bitter backstage dispute with Sleazy E. This backstage spat only served to make Flair even more popular than he already was among the AOL wrestling community (even many WCW diehards thought Bischoff was a jerk). This was Flair's triumphant return from his Bischoff induced hiatus. He spit fire on the mic. Acted like a crazy person. And REUNITED THE FOUR HORSEMEN~! This was the one moment I HAD to see during my 4.5 year divorce from WCW. So I had my tape guy put it on the back of a comp tape for me. I was not disappointed. What a moment!

*Be back later to cover the rest from my list

Sept 20, 2020 0:04:36 GMT Baker said:

*Please post in this discussion thread rather than RT's list thread. Moved 🤯's post in the other thread and stickied both topics.

Whoops, my bad! I blame dad brain. And RT.

Sept 18, 2020 18:52:23 GMT RT said:

Sept 18, 2020 5:42:15 GMT Strobe said:

What's the deadline for this? I can get a list in tomorrow.

Deadline is Sunday so you're good.

That would put us at 15 lists. Not bad!

Sept 19, 2020 21:15:05 GMT RT said:

That settles it. Starting in a few minutes when I'm done my leftover lasagna.

HEY JERK YOU SAID SUNDAY

that's fine, I didn't have that many moments and would probably have spent like a week trying to figure out where to rank them

so in no particular order

 - Double tapout, DIY vs Revial NXT Takeover: Toronto

 - Mid-Reign of Terror HHH pins Booker T after the most racist build I've ever seen, WM19 (hey, you didn't say they had to be good moments, just memorable)

 - "Stop Kicking Yourself," Melina vs Beth Phoenix, Royal Rumble 2009

 - Sasha Banks makes Izzy cry, NXT Takeover: Respect

 - Kurt Angle tries to get creative with a "boy in a man's world" promo and fails epically, 2002 Smackdown

 - the Coward Marty Jannetty dives through a window to escape Shawn Michaels, Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop 1992

 - Chris Jericho is the Man of 1004 Holds, March 30 1998 Nitro

 - LOLTNA: Petey Williams wins the Ultimate X match by catching the falling X, despite that happening less than two minutes earlier and the ref telling him that's not allowed, Bound for Glory 2005

 - the Muta Scale is born: Great Muta vs Hiroshi Hase, I dunno when

 - Angelico jumps off Dario's roof, Lucha Underground season 1

20. Vader assaults corrupt commissioner Gorilla Monsoon- Monsoon's dictatorial regime began when he usurped the role of WWF Commissioner from longtime head honcho Jack Tunney about 5 months before this incident. The power hungry tyrant made life a living hell for most of my favorites, including esteemed manager of champions Mr. James E. Cornette. Vader was the newest member of Camp Cornette. This was only the Mastodon's second night in the company and already my man had had enough of the insufferable Gorilla. Monsoon stepped to Vader and Vader cleaned his clock. Gorilla Monsoon learned a valuable lesson that day. You don't bring a knife to a gunfight. I was actually anti-Vader more often than not in WCW. He was a jerk who messed with Cactus and Flair. But he instantly became a Baker Guy on Day Two of his WWF run when he did what I had longed to do myself. Don't think I ever realized until just now, but Vader vs. Gorilla was like my own personal Austin vs. McMahon.

21. Horowitz Wins!- The obnoxious Skip was still a relative newcomer who had only been with the company a few months and had yet to be embroiled in any major feuds. Horowitz was a longtime jobber who had already earned a spot in the Jobber of Hall of Fame. There was nothing to suggest this match would end any differently than the hundred or so other televised matches which concluded with Barry looking up at the lights. Then it happened. Barry caught a taunting Skip in a three-quarter nelson and history was made. Horowitz Wins! Horowitz Wins! Horowitz Wins! Greatest jobber win of all time in my book. It was a genuinely shocking moment. One that managed to get even bigger as the weeks went on. WWF really pushed this hard. They would air clips of Barry's many defeats (500 in WWF lore) on Superstars going to and from commercial breaks. Horowitz was beloved by my peers and I. As crazy as it sounds, Horowitz beating Skip is the moment that kickstarted both my neighborhood wrestling boom, and my all time favorite era in wrestling. This is when I transformed from the oxymoronic sounding diehard casual into a hardcore wrestling obsessed super duper fan. To this day I think WWF dropped the ball by not going all the way with Barry's push. This 'worst to first' storyline should have culminated in Horowitz winning a title, dammit! Here is a neat video I discovered earlier this week which chronicles the entire Horowitz/Skip saga...

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

22. Dude Loves debuts, wins tag titles with Steve Austin- The Dude Love character was introduced about two months prior to this in Mick Foley's legendary series of sitdown interviews with JR as the 'cool' character Mick dreamed of portraying when he was growing up. Unfortunately, fate would have other plans for Mrs. Foley's baby boy. Far from the suave hippy he envisioned, Mick grew up to become a pudgy, scarred up freak with (kayfabe) mental disorders who was short one ear. Fast forward a few months. Austin needs a partner against the dynamic duo of Owen & Bulldog. Enter Dude Love. My friend Brandon and I marked out so hard for this. Like you have no idea. I loved Owen & Bulldog. Hated Austin. Yet I couldn't even be mad when Austin won because it meant my man The Dude had also won. Dude Love winning the tag titles with Steve Austin is the only wrestling boyhood dream that matters, jack. The Dude abides. So too did Brandon and I. 

23. Jerry Lawler invades the ECW Arena- This is just one of multiple glorious moments from my choice for the single greatest hour in professional wrestling history. This one hour alone produced 3 or 4 (depending on how you want to count it) moments on my Big Extended List. Anyway, Lawler had been talking smack about ECW on Raw for months. Dreamer just beat Raven for the first time in a Loser Leaves Town Match to end their epic 2.5 year feud. But because Tommy Dreamer can never, ever be happy, Jerry f'n Lawler chose that very moment to invade the ECW Arena. Oh. My. God. There's heat. Then there's "Jerry Lawler in the ECW Arena" levels of heat. In a nice touch, Lawler showed up in very un-ECW-like full King regalia. Lawler beat down Dreamer. Provided some epic trash talk. Beat down a bunch of other guys trying to make the save. Until finally the biggest badass of them all, TAZ, ran him off. ***** segment.

24. Jerry Lawler finally wins a World Championship (AWA from Curt Hennig)- This moment was 14 years in the making (several of which I wasn't even alive for) and I didn't see it until about 15 years after it took place. Yet still it resonated with me as if I were watching it live after following Lawler's 14 year Quest for the Crown. Iirc the final episode of Memphis tv before the match took place was a special tribute show chronicling The King's career up to that point. They really went all out with the hoopla to create that "Wrestlemania moment" kind of feel. Among other things, the Mayor of Memphis decreed May 9th would forever be known as "Jerry Lawler Day." Then he finally did it in front of 8,000 cheering fans, many of whom had no doubt dreamed of this moment for years. Lawler had a few better matches and drew many bigger crowds in Memphis. Yet this is my choice for The King's greatest Memphis moment and this whole shebang has long been my go to choice for introducing people to Memphis babyface Jerry Lawler. Memphis Wrestling as it was would limp along for another 9 years, only once drawing a bigger crowd (8,377 for a total nostalgia show). While they did have some good stuff during those 9 years, this really was the last gasp of "classic" Memphis Wrestling. Fwiw I have little doubt this would be my #1 if were 5-10 years older and had grown up in Memphis rather than Baltimore.

25. Shawn Michaels collapses after an Owen Hart concussion kick- This was an early example of WWF blurring the lines between work and shoot. My friends and I were enthralled. Until this show (which also featured an angry Diesel "shoot" rant) we had never seen anything like it. "Was that real?" we wondered. We studied footage of this incident the way slightly more normal people study the Zapruder Film. In hindsight it’s obviously a work, but what a work it was! Even from a strictly kayfabe standpoint this was a massive hit. It got Owen over huge as a heel and his enzi...enzui...Back Brain Kick over as a lethal, potentially even fatal, maneuver. Plus bloodthirsty, HBK hating, 95-96 me was never going to be against Michaels taking a beating, whether it be real or fake. 

Told ya I was working on a big list of Honorable Mentions. Stopping now at #139 since RT has started the reveal. Here are my Honorable Mentions from this batch...

41. Bret reunites with Owen & Bulldog, reforming the Hart Foundation. Not a dry eye in the house.
58. New Age Outlaws give the Hardcore Legends a dumpster ride in a despicable disgusting display.
88. HBK vs. Undertaker finishing stretch at Royal Rumble 2007
89. Jake's snake bites Macho Man
131. Hardys return at Wrestlemania 33

*Forgot about Bret shoots on the fans- turns heel even bigger face, Cactus Jack returns- beats up HHH, and Triple H's Wrestlemania 22 entrance. We'll just say they rank somewhere in the 140s. Flair brings WCW title to WWF and Bedpan McMahon would likely crack a Top 200 if I went that far. 

Sept 20, 2020 2:49:34 GMT Michinokudriver said:

Sept 18, 2020 18:52:23 GMT RT said:

Deadline is Sunday so you're good.

That would put us at 15 lists. Not bad!

Sept 19, 2020 21:15:05 GMT RT said:

That settles it. Starting in a few minutes when I'm done my leftover lasagna.

HEY JERK YOU SAID SUNDAY

that's fine, I didn't have that many moments and would probably have spent like a week trying to figure out where to rank them

so in no particular order

 - Double tapout, DIY vs Revial NXT Takeover: Toronto

 - Mid-Reign of Terror HHH pins Booker T after the most racist build I've ever seen, WM19 (hey, you didn't say they had to be good moments, just memorable)

 - "Stop Kicking Yourself," Melina vs Beth Phoenix, Royal Rumble 2009

 - Sasha Banks makes Izzy cry, NXT Takeover: Respect

 - Kurt Angle tries to get creative with a "boy in a man's world" promo and fails epically, 2002 Smackdown

 - the Coward Marty Jannetty dives through a window to escape Shawn Michaels, Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop 1992

 - Chris Jericho is the Man of 1004 Holds, March 30 1998 Nitro

 - LOLTNA: Petey Williams wins the Ultimate X match by catching the falling X, despite that happening less than two minutes earlier and the ref telling him that's not allowed, Bound for Glory 2005

 - the Muta Scale is born: Great Muta vs Hiroshi Hase, I dunno when

 - Angelico jumps off Dario's roof, Lucha Underground season 1

I don't feel so bad considering only one of those moments got votes. Should be obvious which one.

Sept 20, 2020 1:57:44 GMT Baker said:

19. Ric Flair returns to Nitro- shoots on Bischoff (Listed as The Four Horsemen reunite)- What other poster with impeccable taste voted for this? Flair had been off television for about 6 months due to a bitter backstage dispute with Sleazy E. This backstage spat only served to make Flair even more popular than he already was among the AOL wrestling community (even many WCW diehards thought Bischoff was a jerk). This was Flair's triumphant return from his Bischoff induced hiatus. He spit fire on the mic. Acted like a crazy person. And REUNITED THE FOUR HORSEMEN~! This was the one moment I HAD to see during my 4.5 year divorce from WCW. So I had my tape guy put it on the back of a comp tape for me. I was not disappointed. What a moment!

I think this one might need to be higher as well, since I placed it #14, which would give it 12 points from me alone. The problem is likely that it is listed as "Four Horsemen reunite" on the list, based on what yourself and someone else will have called it, and I called it "Flair returns to WCW" on the same date.

There have been many great returns in wrestling but this is the best. There have been great pops and great ovations, but this is different to all but a few. This isn't just cheering, this is emotion. Flair had only been gone half a year, but you'd swear it was a decade. The WWE tries to manufacture emotional epic moments, as is the way of worked pro wrestling, but the truly great moments are real, because the people involved - the workers and the fans - feel it, create it. Sure, this is designed to elicit a response like any good wrestling segment, with the intro, the tease, the entrance, the pyro, the hugs, the pause before speaking. But Flair says it himself, this is real.

Time-stamped video if you want to just see Flair's introduction.


But you should really watch the 10 mins. Arn's greatness on the mic, the Flair intro and all the emotion, then Flair with his incredible and intense mic work.

Of course WCW would have Bischoff go over Flair at Starrcade 3 months later as a juicy side-order to them messing up Goldberg.

lol I just caught that and was coming here to post. Thank you Strobe

I didn't know Flair returning to Nitro and the Four Horsemen reunion was the same moment. I didn't really watch WCW at this time.

If people didn't put dates I was left guessing. I'll comb through the list again and see if there are any other moments that look like they are the same.

25. nWo attacks the WCW Roster- Monday Nitro 7/29/96-  WCW continued to blur the lines with the nWo which was key to giving it the momentum it needed. Residents near MGM studios in Orlando actually called the cops as we saw several WCW wrestlers laid out by the baseball bat wielding Hall and Nash. It culminated with Nash spiking Rey Mysterio into the production truck, just an incredible scene of chaos. This angle raised the stakes significantly in the WCW vs nWo war.

I should have had Dean Malenko as Ciclope on my list, just a classic swerve and Jericho's reaction was priceless. There were just too many singular moments to think of over the last 35 plus years I've been watching. More glaring omissions to follow.

24. Sting repels from the roof of the United Center and leaves with Randy Savage- Monday Nitro 1/20/97- This was the first time Sting did this trademark entrance (at one of the larger arena's to boot) and it added a further air of surprise to his new character. Add in the fact the nWo's Randy Savage was holding Nitro hostage then leaves with Sting added another interesting turn into where the Sting/nWo storyline was going.

23. Terry Funk attacks Ric Flair- Wrestle War 5/7/89- Again I cite this segment as encapsulating Terry Funk's brilliance as a worker. He's at first the humble judge just wanting to congratulate Ric Flair on his historic sixth title win and maybe, perhaps, get a shot at the title. When Flair refuses insinuating Funk is washed up, Terry snaps and one of the most hardcore sequences up to that time ensues. Seeing Flair get piledrived on a table raised the bar and did a tremendous job of making you think Flair's career was over. I instantly became a Flair fan after this and never looked back as he truly became a sympathetic figure.

22. Randy Savage uses the ring bell on Ricky Steamboat- WWF Superstars 11/22/86- Before the Funk attack this dastardly deed was the most disturbing thing I had seen. Vince McMahon yelling "HE CAN"T BREATHE!!!" over and over is etched in my memory, one of his finest moments on commentary. Steamboat sold it to the nines as well, just two guys at their peak pulling off an incredibly realistic angle to kid me.

Cactus Jack's 1997 return should have been in consideration seeing that 2000 SMackdown moment mentioned.

21. Hulk Hogan's ovation- Raw 3/18/02- Raw in Montreal is always an interesting experience and the fans came out in full force to show appreciation for Hulk Hogan after his loss to the Rock at 'Mania. This completed my turnaround on Hulk Hogan after a decade of calling him a "crap wrestler." No matter how simple or poorly executed the movez are he can still hold a crowd in the palm of his hand, and that's what it's all about.

Bret Hart knocking out Goldberg was pretty cool, but WCW Bret still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

20. Steve Austin nails Mr. McMahon with a bed pan- Raw 10/5/98- Still the standout segment to me when the WWF was blending comedy with Steve Austin's edgier persona. It was set up so well and had just the right amount of absurdity as to not make my eyes roll, hilarious segment.

Lucifer biting Randy Savage has so far been my most glaring omission of all. Perhaps the most memorable segment in WWF Superstars history. Some of my friends where banned from watching wrestling after this episode of Superstars.

The Raw simulcast should have been on my list but it's just a reminder of the start of the downfall of the business. I had a tough time putting moments I disliked on my list.

18. Sting wins his first NWA title- Great American Bash 7/7/90- Seeing Sting's journey up to this point made this one of the most satisfyingly moments in my fandom up until this time. Just the anxiety and anticipation built up over 2 years from Sting pushing Flair hard at Clash 1, the knee injury that nearly ended his career, and then the comeback and title win made me ecstatic. Also perhaps JR's all time best call of a match that added even more to the sense of accomplishment.

DX impersonating the Nation was a late cut, Shane and Vince getting roasted was pretty good too. Seeing the great AJPW moments on tape was great at the time, but I also had previous knowledge of them by reading the PWI Almanac so it took the luster off.

Ric Flair (or more accurately Bobby Heenan) bringing Big Gold to the WWF was also a brainfart miss for me. Just surreal seeing that belt in the Prime Time studio.

17. Bret, Owen and Davey reunite- Monday Night Raw 3/31/97- This moment vindicated Owen as Bret did come back to ask Owen and Davey for help in his war against the fickle American fans. This got the ball rolling on some of the most entertaining stuff the WWF ever churned out. Plus it warmed my heart that some of the old Stampede gang got back together to wreak havoc on the WWF, it was nearly 15 years in the making.

Magnum stabbing Tully was just brutal, but I saw it several years after the fact so again the impact was lost a little bit on me. It was still a gruesome encounter, I couldn't imagine what my reaction would be if I saw this in 1985.

I also considered the milk truck but figured it would get many more votes so I went with the bed pan.

15. Bret Hart cuts on the fans- Monday Night Raw 3/17/97- I yelled out a big "Fuck yeah" at the conclusion of this speech, Bret's finest moment on the mic. Bret made you really feel he meant every word and it was easy for this Canadian to get behind him.

14. Four Horsemen Reunion- Monday Nitro 9/14/98- I was the other mystery voter for this moment and again the realism was off the charts. Flair biting his tongue literally as he chewed out Bischoff was one of the most emotional segments on either Raw or Nitro. Also add in the fact it was in the Carolina's and especially reconnecting with Arn Anderson was just icing on the cake.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. Finn Balor attacks Johnny Gargano
13. The Hardy Boyz return at Wrestlemania 33
14. CM Punk signs his WWE contract on the ROH World title
15. The Milk Truck
16.
17.
18. Shane McMahon is the owner of WCW
21.
22.
21. Paul Heyman confronts Mr. McMahon before Survivor Series 2001
22. Chris Jericho enters the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 12
23. Hiromu Takahashi returns from injury; confronts Will Ospreay
24. The Dudley Boyz return after Summerslam 2015
25. Seth Rollins cashes in at Wrestlemania 31

My 12th overall moment is the first to make the Top 40. This one was a pretty big deal for me as a Finn Balor fan, and NXT fan for that matter.

The image of Balor glaring down at Gargano while Unidsputed Era beat the fuck out of Tommaso Ciampa will be engrained in my head forever. That was one of the biggest "holy shit" moments I can remember in recent history. Balor returns to his old stomping grounds, then immediately pulls off a huge heel turn, and we finally...FINALLY get Prince Devitt Bullet Club era Balor on WWE programming.

It took far too long to happen, but it was worth the wait, and they pulled it off beautifully.

How did anyone even begin to think of how to even remotely compile this list? What could you possibly do to refresh any random moment? I don't understand not having a bad memory.

I guess I should have been a little clearer in my wording. I was going for the Ultimate Warrior deliver's his own eulogy on Raw. Just a fine moment on it's own but the aftermath obviously gives it much more weight. My number 12.

I did not realize that there was a page 5 and that this has already started. I looked at the honorable mentions and none of my picks are there. It is impossible that all of them got more than ten votes. Were my votes not counted because I only submitted nine or did I somehow miraculously choose things that a lot of people voted for!?!?

Sept 21, 2020 2:29:34 GMT Lionheart said:

I did not realize that there was a page 5 and that this has already started. I looked at the honorable mentions and none of my picks are there. It is impossible that all of them got more than ten votes. Were my votes not counted because I only submitted nine or did I somehow miraculously choose things that a lot of people voted for!?!?

Your picks all got high points because you only submitted a handful.

#1 vote got 25 pts
#2 got 24 pts
And so on.

That Eddie win was a good one I forgot in the past you could beat Brock without spamming finishers.

Sept 21, 2020 2:26:29 GMT Shootist said:

I guess I should have been a little clearer in my wording. I was going for the Ultimate Warrior deliver's his own eulogy on Raw. Just a fine moment on it's own but the aftermath obviously gives it much more weight. My number 12.

When I read that I had a feeling that what the person who picked that entry was aiming for.

I also figured you meant his speech but I didn't want to assume. I'll change the link.

Sept 21, 2020 3:40:41 GMT RT said:

Sept 21, 2020 2:29:34 GMT Lionheart said:

I did not realize that there was a page 5 and that this has already started. I looked at the honorable mentions and none of my picks are there. It is impossible that all of them got more than ten votes. Were my votes not counted because I only submitted nine or did I somehow miraculously choose things that a lot of people voted for!?!?

Your picks all got high points because you only submitted a handful.

#1 vote got 25 pts
#2 got 24 pts
And so on.

Oh. Duh. I don’t think sometimes.

Nothing from my list of 25 made this latest batch. Surprised to see Kane's debut so low though. That was actually on my initial list to RT before I remembered a few other memorable moments and sent in a 2nd, Kane-free, revised list.

27. Kane Debuts- This is my choice for greatest debut in WWF history. Iirc it also won a PW "Best Debuts" Countdown once upon a time. The way Kane debuted gave him instant credibility. WWF immediately had a top new monster heel and money feud in Kane vs. Undertaker. It's kind of amazing looking back that WWF managed to stretch this feud out for 6 months(!) before giving us the first ever Taker/Kane at Wrestlemania 14. It's no wonder I was so hyped for it after all that build. 

Eddie & Edge winning Championships from Brock & Cena might crack my Top 200. They're both hurt by not watching those moments live and not really being a fan of either guy when they won their respective titles. BUT they're helped by beating the hated Brock & Cena. Sorry 🤯 and jTjohncenaGOAT.