WRESTLING RAMBLES: COLUMN #500

Hello everybody and welcome to WrestlingRambles.com 500 column phenomenon! Well not really a phenomenon.But this is a marvelous achievement and it’s no surprise that this goal has been accomplished as WR has an amazing bunch of writers and contributors with awesome affiliates and radio partners. WR plans on being around for a very long time and we’re on a momentous role thus far. I decided the best way to celebrate 500 awesome columns is to have our staff, contributors and our affiliates to send in their favorite wrestling moment so it can be posted in one awesome column. We also have a wrestler and a wrestling Booker who sent in their favorite moments too so let’s get right to it!

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Like many, I am not sure if I can pick just one favorite wrestling moment. I have lots of moments I love, moments like Eddie and Benoit becoming world champs on the same night, Mick Foley winning the WWF title for the first time, CM Punk’s incredible first ”pipe bomb”, The Rock’s return in 2o11 etc.. But as of right now, my all time ‘favorite’ wrestling moment is Batista turning on Triple H leading up to WrestleMania 21. At that time, I was losing interest in watching WWE and getting tired of seeing Triple H as world champion. So when Batista turned on him at the contract signing with his thumb down signal, the crowd roaring in anticipation for Batista to beat the hell out of Triple H, it was just magical. To me, it really ‘saved’ me as a fan and I wanted to see what was going to happen next. Batista’s character got more and more interesting from that point on, and a star was born. Since that moment, I don’t think I’ve missed more than two Raw of Smackdowns in a row.

So many memorable moments to choose from, but undoubtedly my favorite has to be Shawn Michaels’ final match, at WrestleMania 26, against The Undertaker. It was my first WrestleMania, first televised show, first ppv, and the first time I got to see my all-time favorite wrestler, “The Heartbreak Kid”, compete inside the squared circle, live. From the time I arrived at the stadium parking lot, to the time the bell rang for the mainevent, you could feel the anticipation in the air; everyone was looking forward to the rematch of all rematches. Sides were clearly drawn, as my section were (luckily for me) all pro-HBK, while another section nearby, were rooting for the “Deadman.” Everyone was kept at the edge of their seats during the first 3/4s of the battle, with the crowd standing for the finish. Nearfall after nearfall, kept my heart dropping, only to race in excitement when the pin wasn’t counted; when the end didn’t come. When it finally did, though, the emotion from the crowd, myself included, is unparalleled to anything I’ve ever experienced. Almost everyone around me, including the Undertaker fans in other sections, were in tears as Michaels took what was perceived to be his final bow. It’s hard to see one of your heroes crying- defeated. Walking out of the building, the droves of people were remarkably quiet. The water works didn’t start flowing for me, however, until the next night. I couldn’t bare to watch, at least not until the addicted fan in me came out, and I couldn’t bare to not watch the final 25min or so. Perfect timing to see the Showstopper give his emotional farewell speech. I cried for days. And that, the emotion, is why this moment stands alone at the top for me.

I think my favorite wrestling moment was CM Punk winning the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank 2011. It is a recent moment, but it’s very memorable to me because I am from CM Punk’s hometown of Chicago and I was in the arena when Punk defeated John Cena for the title. CM Punk received an amazing hometown reaction and his victory was treated like one of our local sports teams just won the world championship. One year later, I’m still shocked that my hometown hero defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship and I was there to witness it. There are several things I want to see at a live WWE event and one of them was CM Punk winning the WWE Championship. I never thought it would actually happen because how often does someone win the WWE Championship in their hometown? I could go to 50 more WWE live events and I don’t think I will see a better moment than that night when CM Punk won the WWE Championship. There has been wrestling moments that were most historic and more memorable, but I will always remember where I was on the night of July 17, 2011.

My favorite moment would have to be Hogan turning heel and forming the NWO with Hall and Nash at BATB 1996. That kicked the Monday Night War into high gear and it let everyone, including Vince McMahon himself, know that WCW was a serious threat in Wrestling.

My favourite Raw moment is from April 2007, where John Cena took on Shawn Michaels in one of the best wrestling matches in Raw History. That Raw was taped from London, England and it was the first time I realized that John Cena could put on a good wrestling match. It was a rematch from their Wrestlemania encounter where Cena came out on top. For nearly an hour, Cena and Michaels went at it in a match that divided the loyalty of the fans in the arena and at home. I guess it was where Cena actually proved that he could work a match of that length with someone who is unquestionably one of the best of all time. In the coming months and years, Cena went on to have other five star matches with Edge and CM Punk, among others, and he proved that, when given the chance, he can actually work a decent match. The problem is that WWE doesn’t let him do it often enough and that’s why he cops as much crap as he does.

Has to be Bret Hart and Stone Cold at Wrestlemania 13. Stone Cold trying to brake free of the sharp shooter, covered in blood but not giving up. Hart was victorious, but Stone Cold gave it his all. Best match of all time hands down!

I’m choosing this promo…True there are definitely better moments in wrestling history, but this makes me laugh every time I see it and it’s not too obvious a choice I hope.

I couldn’t pick just one. Pro wrestling, to me, is full of all these memories that have made me smile(or frown). All at different times and for different reasons. Whether it be Andre turning on Hogan(my first moment), the debut of Earthquake(first wrestling moment with friends), The Rockers’ split-up(first big time heel turn), Hogan’s heel turn(the biggest one ever), the first Austin 3:16 promo(Did he just say that?), seeing ECW for the first time(Fuck, that hurt!), wrestling pulling together during hard times(deaths, 9/11, etc.), Flair’s last WWE match(“I’m sorry. I love you.”), Cena’s Rumble return(Still can’t believe they pulled it off in this day and age!), Vince getting “fired”(Odd to see him so emotional. You could really tell how much he does care about the company.), plus many many more. Sorry, but I just can’t pick one. For as much as I love these moments, I love the concept of pro-wrestling even more.

Let me take you back to year 2004, it was March 14th and it was the biggest night of the year, the grandest stage of them all; WrestleMania 20. My favourite wrestling moment is held in this event, two actually. First of all, Eddie Guerrero had a great match with Kurt Angle, and after having a sore ankle Kurt took advantage and locked the AnkleLock on. What Kurt didn’t know is that Eddie loosened his boot and was able to wriggle out of it and go on to win the match. Later that night Chris Benoit, who after winning the Royal Rumble was challenging not one but two men for the WHC, he won after locking the crossface on Triple H. And to cap the night off Chris and Eddie, best friends, celebrated in the ring with both of their belts. Magic.

There isn’t just one favorite moment for me. Every time I go to a live wrestling event—WWE, TNA or any Indy promotion under the sun—it is a great time and something I cherish. Wrestling has been something I have loved since I was a kid, and seeing it live in some of the wildest buildings on the east coast made it that much better. From Hammerstein Ballroom to ECW arena, my favorite moments are being with my friends and having fun watching wrestling.

Isn’t that what it’s really all about?

One of my favorite moments ever was when Johnny Gargano won the Open The Freedom Gate Title from YAMATO at Dragon Gate USA Freedom Fight 2011 last November. It was a great moment for a number of reasons. First, it was a fitting last match of an incredible title reign by YAMATO. He put on one awesome match after another throughout the entire year. Secondly, it was in the heart of Times Square in New York City and the fans put the match over the top by being captured by the drama and reacting strongly. Third, it was the end of a tremendous road by Johnny Gargano. He started out in the bonus match of the first DGUSA show and over 2 1/2 years became champion through hard work and constant improvement. I’ll always remember this moment.

This Is @WHSKITS From WrestlingHeads.com. My Favorite Wrestling Moment Was Wreslemania 21 In My Hometown Los Angels At The Staples Center Where I Witness The Undertaker Vs Young Randy Orton , Seeing Edge Win The First Money In The Bank , And HBK Vs Kurt That Has To Be My Favorite Moment.

I think one of my favourite moments was the Raw when HHH returned after his first quad injury, there had been loads of hype as to if and when and how he would come back and when his music hit that night I don’t think I have ever heard a crowd pop so loud.He went straight back in to the top of the company, made his return totally work for him and cemented himself as one of the biggest superstars in the company.

My favorite moment has got to be when Steve Austin made his way to the ring at WrestleMania 17. When 67,000 people rose to their feet all at the same time, I got goosebumps. I still do when I talk about it. That moment really made me want to be a wrestler, and will always be such a highlight for me.

Well that concludes column number 500 here on http://wrestlingrambles.com and on behalf of everyone here we thoroughly hope you enjoyed our first 500 columns. But this is just the beginning. We have many big projects in mind and over the course of the next year, you’ll begin to see WR evolve more and more. We want you to be apart of the WR community, whether you want to be a writer or just sit back, relax and comment, do graphic work or even affiliate us, we’re open to anything that makes us grow bigger. People often have trouble commenting, so here’s an RTR tutorial on how to comment – http://wrestlingrambles.com/how-to-comment/.

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Thank you for reading and we hope to see you rambling by leaving YOUR favorite wrestling moment below. (P.S – Not all staff have sent their favorite moment into me so I posted what I got, nothing more I can do, I wanted to include everyone but just didn’t happen)

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