Cena required surgery which was scheduled to leave him out for at least seven months. Vince stripped him of the title, ending the longest WWE title reign in 19 years. Only a few short months later, he showed up at Madison Square Garden as the last entrance of the Royal Rumble.
Lesnar had been away from wrestling for over five years and achieved a lot in the UFC, so for many fans the return of “The Beast” was a highly anticipated one.
As a cheap, yet comedic parody of Austin’s beer truck moment, Kurt Angle showed up with a milk truck and embarrassed Steve Austin and the WCW/ECW alliance. (1:44)
Following a Hall of Fame ceremony which saw fans give Hogan a very welcoming ovation, and a cameo appearance at Wrestlemania, Hogan returned to Raw for the first time in a few years to save Shawn Michaels from Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. (1:00)
Chris Jericho sells this moment for me, as does the crowd. It wasn’t just about Cena going over to Raw, it was the WWE title jumping to Raw as well.
Yes I included some Japanese matches! Here’s what many consider one of the greatest professional wrestling matches of all time.
Honky Tonk Man got cocky and offered an IC title match in an open challenge. Sadly for Honky, The Ultimate Warrior had a huge following and they wanted to see him win the title. (0:40)
Shane “Stuntman” McMahon will forever be known as one of the craziest S.O.Bs in the history of WWE. Who jumps off a titantron to kill their opponent? Only Shane O’Mac.
(1:46)
The legend of Misawa once again proves you can have a deafening crowd in Japanese wrestling.
Hi Hogan! Nice to see you. Thanks for botching by the way. OH MY GOD IT’S AUSTIN! It’s Hogan AND Stone Cold in the same ring … how could this get any better … “If you smeeeelllll”.
The Rock returned to WWE in 2004 to put Coachman in his place.
Vince McMahon was told there would be a special referee for the match between Lashley and Umaga with Donald Trump putting his hair on the line. His face tells the story.
(1:26)
(1:15)
After many disagreements over pay and merchandise, The Ultimate Warrior finally returned to the WWF at Wrestlemania VIII. -Video broken.
And just when Vince thinks he’s getting his own way … -Video Broken
Stone Cold finally shows up to even the odds against the WCW/ECW invasion. Stunners … everywhere.
A fast count from Hebner shocked fans as it appeared Jericho won the WWF title for the first time. Sadly, because of the crooked referee .. the decision was reversed. (8:40)
Too former rivals teamed up to take the tag titles, and the ECW fans couldn’t get enough.
In a rather ridiculous side story, Vince had ‘drugged’ his wife Linda and gave Trish Stratus the job of wheeling her around in a comatose state. At Wrestlemania, Trish Stratus revealed she’d had enough and turned on him.
Mr. McMahon wanted to beat up Shane in front of his wife, so he carried her in to the ring and sat her in the corner. But seen as Trish had stopped giving her medication .. (12:40)
In one of the most controversial matches of all time, Rob Van was cheered like a god by the ECW faithful, while Cena was booed so hard you’d think he was the devil incarnate. -Video Broken
After battling cancer, Kobashi recovered after being out of wrestling over a year and fulfilled his promise to the fans.
Angle’s popularity was becoming more apparent each week, and it was topped off nicely by this unexpected ovation on Smackdown.
That finish though! (18:21) -Video Broken
Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff fought each other many times in their careers. So what a surprise for the crowd when the “Russian” came to help the American during the Cold War. (2:26)
Impromptu match!
While Triple H wanted to talk about the importance of unifying the WWE and World titles in to one title, the crowd didn’t care and instead chanted “Daniel Bryan!” nonstop. The look on Bryan’s face and the reactions of others were priceless.
The night the fans realized Bryan was getting his deserved push. The way he did the slow .. “Yes!” chant, will stand the test of time.
In one of the most fitting tributes, the fans reacted well to the message delivered to his friend.
The New World Order were getting away with everything, and the fans desperately needed Sting to return and take them down.
The Rock was supposed to be the face, and Hogan the heel, but the fans at Wrestlemania didn’t want that. The fans in Toronto loved the legend of Hulk Hogan so much they were going to support him all the way. It wasn’t a classic wrestling match, but the crowds reaction will forever cement it in history. -Video Broken
After almost eight months out of action, The Undertaker returned with new entrance music, new look, and a new attitude.
Triple H tore his left quad in a match with Chris Jericho and finished the match despite not being able to stand on it. He missed over eight months of action, completely missing the WWF vs. WCW/ECW invasion storyline. Upon his return he got a very warm reception.
Us Brits loved our Davey Boy .. so what better way to show our support than during his classic encounter with Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship? -Video Broken
Jericho was doing everything he could to stop Malenko challenging him for the Cruiserweight title. But this was at the height of Dean’s popularity, so he was going to find a way around Jericho’s shenanigans. (8:00)
I could also include his ECW One Night Stand 2005 entrance, but I think less of you will have seen this epic return. (8:00)
-Video BrokenHometown crowd. If Punk wins he’s quitting WWE with the belt. High stakes brings big reactions.
3 …. 2 …. 1
Bret hadn’t been in WWE for years .. so one faithful night in Canada someone had fun at their expense.
This also happened on Raw; but he didn’t cry. The crowd showered the old man with love and he didn’t know what to say.
In one of the key moments of The Attitude Era, WCW had spoiled the event by saying their former talent Cactus Jack was winning the title, and that would certainly “put butts in seats”.
The Rock and The Corporation had been dominant and the fans really wanted to see Mankind pull out of the upset, so when Stone Cold showed up .. every single fan in attendance stood up out of their seats in joy. I can’t think of a bigger pop than that! Thanks for reading, watching, listening, and appreciating the efforts. See you again!