Wild and Unexpected Moments in Pro Wrestling History

Pro wrestling has been filled with numerous wild and unexpected moments over the years. It's no secret that pro wrestling is fake, however that doesn't discount any of these moments. The following are just some of them, all of which have had an impact on wrestling and it's fans in some way.

Bret Hart's submission loss at Survivor Series 1997

On November 9, 1997 Bret Hart was defending his World Wrestling Federation heavyweight title against Shawn Michaels in a match that would be Hart's last. He had signed a contract with rival World championship Wrestling, so he was just finishing his WWF contract before he left. The two men had an exciting match, and in an unexpected move Michaels put Hart in the sharpshooter. The referee called the for the bell, even though Hart had never submitted. Michaels was awarded the title and then was rushed to the backstage area. Meanwhile in the ring, Bret Hart had words with Vince McMahon (the real life owner of the company) about the situation. Hart had no knowledge that was how the match was supposed to end. It was later revealed McMahon had done the finish because he was worried Bret Hart would take the title with him to WCW. This situation lead to Vince McMahon becoming a bad guy on television to the fans. Bret Hart and Vince McMahon rarely talked, but eventually patched things up years later. However this outcome had been used several times in wrestling since then.

The Fingerpoke of Doom

On January 4 1999 on an edition of Monday Nitro, Kevin Nash was scheduled to defend his World Champship Wrestling heavyweight title against Bill Goldberg. However that didn't happen, due to Goldberg being arrested. So Kevin Nash instead fought Hulk Hogan in a match for the tittle. The bell rang and a short time later it was all over. Hulk Hogan simply touched one finger to Kevin Nash's chest and down he went. Hogan then pinned him and won the title. This was a mockery to the business and ultimately lead to the downfall of World Championship Wrestling. Fans were quite angry that it happened and showed their disapproval. Monday Night Raw (Nitro's competition) grew in the ratings due to this.

The Goobledy Gooker makes his debut

It was Thanksgiving day in 1990 when the Gobbledy Gooker made his debut. The event where he debuted was World Wrestling Federation's annual Survivor Series event. During the whole event, a giant egg was on the stage. The commentators for the show kept guessing what was in it to help build hype in the show. Eventually the egg hatched and the Goobledy Gooker popped out. It was a man dressed in an ugly turkey costume that the fans hated. The booed the whole segement in which he danced with interview man Gene Okerlund. He never appeared again until 2001. At Wrestlemania 17, he was part of the gimmick battle royal. This battle royal featured some of the worst gimmicks of the past. This gimmick was a great example of what not to do for events. Fans don't want to see birds hatch out of eggs, they want to see wrestling.

Hulk Hogan becomes a bad guy

Hulk Hogan was always the ultimate good wrestler. He was beloved by people across the world because he was a great role model. His beliefs of train, say your prayers and vitamins was always something that people loved about him. However on July 7, 1996 things would change. It was the annual Bash at the Beach event for World Championship wrestling and there was a six man tag match going on. On one side was the good guy team of Sting, Randy Savage and Lex Luger. On the other side was the bad guy team of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Prior to the event, they had claimed they would have a third member. However no one had showed up yet, and the match was already in progress. Then all of a sudden, Hulk Hogan came out! People thought he was out to help the good guys, but they were wrong. He attacked Randy Savage followed by the referee. The match was then stopped, and Hulk Hogan was interviewed. In perhaps Hulk Hogan's best interview of all time, he want on a rant about how he hated the fans and wanted a change. The crowd went nuts and threw garbage in the ring to show their disapproval. This incident was also the formation of the New World Order. A bad guy stable that helped World Championship Wrestling be successful for several years.

Shockmaster makes his debut in World Championship Wrestling

On August 18, 1993 at Clash of the Champions (which aired on live television) a new wrestler by the name of Shockmaster debuted during an interview segment. This debut went horribly wrong. The Shockmaster looked horrible, as he was wearing a cheap Star Wars storm trooper helmet. The helmet was spraypainted and had glitter on it. He was supposed to crash through a wall to make a grand entrance. However that didn't happen as planned. He tripped over a piece of wood, and stumbled through the prop wall. He finished the segment was planned, but this gimmick never worked well in the company. After a short while, he was out of the company. To this date, it's one of the funniest debuts in World Championship Wrestling. In 2009 on an edition of Monday Night Raw, the segment was parodied.