#8 - Rey Winning Title after Eddie’s Death
When Eddie Guerrero died, many people took the loss hard. Many of his family members were apart of WWE and they were feeling the loss, along with one of Eddie’s closest friends, Rey Mysterio. Five months after Eddie’s death at Wrestlemania 22, Mysterio beat then Champion Kurt Angle and Randy Orton, the latter using disparaging remarks about Guerrero a mere months after his death leading up to the match. Mysterio pinned Orton to win the championship and celebrated along with Chavo and Vickie Guerrero, Eddie’s nephew and wife respectively.
Honorable Mention - Retirements/Farewell Speeches
Some of the more emotional moments from wrestling are when we see legends leave and say farewell. Some of the more memorable wrestling farewells have been:
A more recent moment, Edge’s retirement shocked the WWE Universe and WWE Superstars a like. The suddenness of the retirement took everybody by surprise. It seemed that Edge was on top of his game when he left and many feel that he was one of the best at the time and to see him leave seemed like a big loss for the WWE. Many were sad to see such a great superstar leave and a such a high point in his career.
#6 - Shawn Michaels Retires Ric Flair at WM 24
The relationship between Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair was a special one. They had worked together for a long time and they fought together on many occasions, but at WrestleMania 24, Michaels and Flair met up for what was most likely their final battle. In a career threatening match, Shawn Michaels beat Ric Flair to send Flair off. As Michaels prepared for his finisher, he whispered a goodbye to Flair and hit Sweet Chin Music. Flair would then walk up the ramp for the last time as a wrestler with WWE, sent out by a good friend on the grandest stage of them all.
Honorable Mention - Hard Workers Winning World Titles for the First Time
When we watch wrestlers grow and become bigger in the wrestling industry, we rejoice seeing them win the big one. Some of the more memorable and emotional moments like this are:
- Jeff Hardy beating Triple H and Edge to win his first WWE Championship at Armageddon.
- Eddie Guerrero beats Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship for the first time.
#5 - Christian Winning the WHC with Edge
When Edge retired, he left a vacant World Heavyweight Championship in
the WWE. The title came down to Christian and Alberto Del Rio. Christian
would go on to beat Del Rio at Extreme Rules to win His first WWE
World Championship. Along with his first world title in WWE, he got to
celebrate it with his long time friend Edge. This is the case of one
emotional moment leading to another emotional moment.
#4 - 9/11 Live Smackdown!
The 9/11 attacks were a shot in the heart of America.
The WWE was not immune to the tragedy that happen
in NYC that day and everyone was
questioning what to do about Smackdown! that week. Many sporting events
had been cancelled throughout America and many wondered if Smackdown!
would also be cancelled. WWE decide to help America move on with life
after the tragedy, Smackdown went Live on September 14 and featured
wrestlers talking about the impact it had, not just on them but, on the
world. This Smackdown! helped people to heal and move forward.
#3 - Benoit & Eddie Celebrate after WM 20
On a night when the stars aligned for the WWE, two men reached the penuchle of excellence in the WWE. On a night when Eddie Guerrero retained the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit fought in the Main Event of the night in a triple threat match against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The shear mountain that was Michaels and Haitch was conquered when Benoit submitted Triple H with the Crippler Crossface.After Benoit’s victory,
Eddie joined him in the ring with the
confetti falling. The two hugged
it out in the middle of the ring and
the two friends shared the spotlight after years of hard work.
They were together and they were both at the
top of the WWE. It was a fantastic moment in time, only magnified by the Wrestlmania stage.
Honorable Mention - Tributes/Tribute Shows for Deceased Wrestlers
Many emotional moments follow the loss of wrestlers. There have been many lost of the years and the Tributes and Shows that have been put on in their memory have been very emotional. So of the more memorable ones are:
#2 - Raw after Owen Harts Death: Raw Is Owen
There have been many tribute shows put on by WWE, but none seemed to be as emotional as Raw is Owen. During a failed entrance setup at Over The Edge in 1999, Owen Hart fell 70 feet to the arena floor below and died in the hospital that same night while the show continued. The next night on Raw, the WWE paid tribute to Owen Hart. The show featured several wrestlers visually breaking character to honor their fallen friend. On a night where all wrestlers were allowed to not wrestle, ten matches were put together from guys and girls willing to wrestle for Owen. The climax of the night being Stone Cold Steve Austin coming out and toasting Hart and everything that he did. Stone Cold cracked a beer and said, “This one is for you Owen.”
#1 - Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth Reunite at WM 7
This is the final moment and, hear me out, while on paper it may not seem that emotional, let’s look at the backstory. Miss Elizabeth was the manager for Randy Savage for four years until their relationship ended in 1989 when he replaced her with Sensational Sherri. During those four years, Miss Elizabeth managed Savage through every match he was in. The break up lasted two years until WrestleMania 7, in a career ending match against Ultimate Warrior, which he lost. With Miss Elizabeth in the crowd watching, Sherri attacked Savage as he laid in the ring. It was to much for Miss Elizabeth to witness, who rushed to Savage’s aid. She fought off Sherri and reunited with her former love among a massive crowd of fans in attendance. There were tears from both Savage and Miss Elizabeth, as well as most of the fans in attendance that night. This moment would soon lead to there engagement and marriage at SummersSlam 1991.
When Eddie Guerrero died, many people took the loss hard. Many of his family members were apart of WWE and they were feeling the loss, along with one of Eddie’s closest friends, Rey Mysterio. Five months after Eddie’s death at Wrestlemania 22, Mysterio beat then Champion Kurt Angle and Randy Orton, the latter using disparaging remarks about Guerrero a mere months after his death leading up to the match. Mysterio pinned Orton to win the championship and celebrated along with Chavo and Vickie Guerrero, Eddie’s nephew and wife respectively.
Honorable Mention - Retirements/Farewell Speeches
Some of the more emotional moments from wrestling are when we see legends leave and say farewell. Some of the more memorable wrestling farewells have been:
- Shawn Michaels on the Raw after his battle with the Undertaker at WM
- Jeff Hardy leaving the WWE
- Ric Flair’s Farewell Speech the night after he loses to Shawn Michaels. (Spoiler Alert: We will cover this match a little later)
A more recent moment, Edge’s retirement shocked the WWE Universe and WWE Superstars a like. The suddenness of the retirement took everybody by surprise. It seemed that Edge was on top of his game when he left and many feel that he was one of the best at the time and to see him leave seemed like a big loss for the WWE. Many were sad to see such a great superstar leave and a such a high point in his career.
#6 - Shawn Michaels Retires Ric Flair at WM 24
The relationship between Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair was a special one. They had worked together for a long time and they fought together on many occasions, but at WrestleMania 24, Michaels and Flair met up for what was most likely their final battle. In a career threatening match, Shawn Michaels beat Ric Flair to send Flair off. As Michaels prepared for his finisher, he whispered a goodbye to Flair and hit Sweet Chin Music. Flair would then walk up the ramp for the last time as a wrestler with WWE, sent out by a good friend on the grandest stage of them all.
Honorable Mention - Hard Workers Winning World Titles for the First Time
When we watch wrestlers grow and become bigger in the wrestling industry, we rejoice seeing them win the big one. Some of the more memorable and emotional moments like this are:
- Jeff Hardy beating Triple H and Edge to win his first WWE Championship at Armageddon.
- Eddie Guerrero beats Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship for the first time.
#5 - Christian Winning the WHC with Edge
#4 - 9/11 Live Smackdown!
The 9/11 attacks were a shot in the heart of America.
The WWE was not immune to the tragedy that happen
#3 - Benoit & Eddie Celebrate after WM 20
On a night when the stars aligned for the WWE, two men reached the penuchle of excellence in the WWE. On a night when Eddie Guerrero retained the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit fought in the Main Event of the night in a triple threat match against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The shear mountain that was Michaels and Haitch was conquered when Benoit submitted Triple H with the Crippler Crossface.After Benoit’s victory,
Eddie joined him in the ring with theconfetti falling. The two hugged
it out in the middle of the ring and
the two friends shared the spotlight after years of hard work.
They were together and they were both at the
top of the WWE. It was a fantastic moment in time, only magnified by the Wrestlmania stage.
Honorable Mention - Tributes/Tribute Shows for Deceased Wrestlers
Many emotional moments follow the loss of wrestlers. There have been many lost of the years and the Tributes and Shows that have been put on in their memory have been very emotional. So of the more memorable ones are:
- Tribute show put on for Eddie Guerrero after his sudden death.
- Tribute show put on for Chris Benoit after the event that lead to his death.
- Video package put together to celebrate the career of Randy Savage after his passing.
#2 - Raw after Owen Harts Death: Raw Is Owen
There have been many tribute shows put on by WWE, but none seemed to be as emotional as Raw is Owen. During a failed entrance setup at Over The Edge in 1999, Owen Hart fell 70 feet to the arena floor below and died in the hospital that same night while the show continued. The next night on Raw, the WWE paid tribute to Owen Hart. The show featured several wrestlers visually breaking character to honor their fallen friend. On a night where all wrestlers were allowed to not wrestle, ten matches were put together from guys and girls willing to wrestle for Owen. The climax of the night being Stone Cold Steve Austin coming out and toasting Hart and everything that he did. Stone Cold cracked a beer and said, “This one is for you Owen.”
#1 - Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth Reunite at WM 7
This is the final moment and, hear me out, while on paper it may not seem that emotional, let’s look at the backstory. Miss Elizabeth was the manager for Randy Savage for four years until their relationship ended in 1989 when he replaced her with Sensational Sherri. During those four years, Miss Elizabeth managed Savage through every match he was in. The break up lasted two years until WrestleMania 7, in a career ending match against Ultimate Warrior, which he lost. With Miss Elizabeth in the crowd watching, Sherri attacked Savage as he laid in the ring. It was to much for Miss Elizabeth to witness, who rushed to Savage’s aid. She fought off Sherri and reunited with her former love among a massive crowd of fans in attendance. There were tears from both Savage and Miss Elizabeth, as well as most of the fans in attendance that night. This moment would soon lead to there engagement and marriage at SummersSlam 1991.