Top 10: Greatest Moments in Professional Wrestling History

The Big Picture

Ranking the greatest moments in wrestling history is a thankless, miserable job. Every fan has that one specific memory burned into their retinas from childhood. Some moments changed the financial trajectory of the business entirely. Others broke the internet before social media even existed. With AEW Dynasty kicking off tonight in Kansas City, we are looking back at the foundation of the modern industry. We are judging these based on pure shock value, historical weight, and how well the footage holds up today without nostalgia goggles. You will probably disagree with half of this list. That is the entire point. Let the arguments begin.

10. Seth Rollins' Heist of the Century (WrestleMania 31, 2015)

Roman Reigns was drowning in boos inside Levi's Stadium. The front office had backed themselves into a massive creative corner by forcing a babyface run the audience vehemently rejected. Sending Seth Rollins sprinting down that endlessly long ramp to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase was the ultimate ripcord. It turned a looming public relations disaster into a brilliantly executed swerve. Rollins hitting the curb stomp on Reigns, securing the pin on his own former stablemate, remains the best audible WWE ever called on their biggest stage. It salvaged an otherwise painfully predictable main event and cemented Rollins as a permanent fixture.

9. The Pipebomb (Raw, 2011)

WWE television felt completely sterile and corporate by the summer of 2011. Then CM Punk sat cross-legged on the stage in Las Vegas on June 27. He casually namedropped Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Colt Cabana on live USA Network television. The microphone feed cutting off precisely as he mentioned an anti-bullying campaign was a masterstroke of timing from the production truck. It blurred the lines of reality in a way the company had explicitly forbidden for over a decade. Sadly, the front office completely botched the long-term follow-up by having him lose his momentum to Triple H just two months later at Night of Champions.

8. Chris Jericho legitimizes AEW (2019)

You do not get a viable alternative to the market leader without a massive initial shock to the system. Tony Khan had significant financial backing, but he desperately needed a recognizable, global face to secure a television distribution deal. Chris Jericho arriving at the inaugural press conference gave the upstart promotion instant credibility with network executives. As Wrestling Inc recently noted, Jericho compared his defection to Bobby Hull jumping to the WHA.

"My impact on pro wrestling was comparable to that of Bobby Hull in ice hockey."

7. Okada and Omega break the scale (Wrestle Kingdom 11, 2017)

Debates about match ratings and workrate usually put me straight to sleep. But Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega going 46 grueling minutes inside the Tokyo Dome legitimately altered fan expectations for main event wrestling. They battled for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with a pace that seemed physically impossible for heavyweight performers. The closing sequence of countered Rainmakers and desperate One-Winged Angels was a masterclass in cardiovascular endurance. It forced the North American promotions to significantly accelerate their in-ring style just to keep up with the overwhelming buzz generated overseas. The match was so flawless it essentially ruined the grading curve for everything that followed.

6. Cody Rhodes ends the Bloodline reign (WrestleMania XL, 2024)

The booking committee dragged the Bloodline saga out a full calendar year longer than necessary. The detour through WrestleMania 39 was a glaring, frustrating error that cooled off the hottest babyface run in recent memory. But they undeniably stuck the landing in Philadelphia. John Cena and The Undertaker materializing to neutralize Solo Sikoa and The Rock felt exactly like the final battle sequence in a Marvel film. The massive crowd eruption for the third and final Cross Rhodes was genuinely deafening. Pinning Roman Reigns officially closed the book on a 1,316-day title reign and permanently shut the door on the Vince McMahon era of creative control.

5. 21 and 1 (WrestleMania XXX, 2014)

Exactly 75,167 fans went completely silent inside the Superdome. That is not hyperbole or broadcaster exaggeration. The stadium literally lost all oxygen when referee Chad Patton counted the three. Brock Lesnar hitting a third F-5 on an obviously concussed Undertaker was not a pretty match to watch back. It was a sloppy, uncomfortably slow 25 minutes of ring time. But the sheer, visceral shock of the massive graphic flashing 21-1 on the stadium screens created a vacuum of disbelief. No modern promoter will ever successfully replicate the feeling of a multi-decade streak dying unceremoniously on a random Sunday in April.

4. Mankind flies off the Cell (King of the Ring, 1998)

Mick Foley should probably be in a wheelchair today. The visual of him plummeting 16 feet off the chain-link roof and crashing through the Spanish announcer table is the single most replayed clip in the history of the sport. Jim Ross screaming about him being broken in half is permanently etched into the pop culture lexicon. But the truly insane part was Foley actively choosing to climb back up the structure with a dislocated shoulder. He was chokeslammed through the roof panels mere minutes later, knocking a tooth straight through his lip. It set a terrifying precedent for dangerous stunt bumps that the industry spent the next two decades struggling to walk back from.

3. The Montreal Screwjob (Survivor Series, 1997)

Shawn Michaels locking in the Sharpshooter in the middle of the Molson Centre ring. Referee Earl Hebner frantically calling for the bell aggressively early on the direct orders of his boss. Bret Hart realizing the betrayal and spitting directly into Vince McMahon's face at ringside. The actual execution of the screwjob was messy and chaotic, but the real-world fallout was completely unparalleled. It inadvertently birthed the Mr. McMahon heel persona, which became the single greatest antagonist of the late 90s boom period. It definitively proved that the actual backstage politics of the business were infinitely more fascinating than any scripted television feud.

2. Stone Cold refuses to tap (WrestleMania 13, 1997)

No match in history executed a character alignment flip more perfectly than this submission bout. Bret Hart walked into the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago as the whiny, complaining hero. Steve Austin was the foul-mouthed, relentless villain. By the time Austin passed out in a massive pool of his own blood while agonizingly locked in the Sharpshooter, the crowd loyalty had completely swapped sides. Ken Shamrock's aggressive officiating added a layer of gritty, shoot-style realism to the brawl. It was the exact, undeniable moment the Attitude Era finally found its defining anti-hero, rendering the cartoonish 1980s gimmicks officially obsolete overnight.

1. Hulk Hogan joins the dark side (Bash at the Beach, 1996)

Hulk Hogan aggressively telling the fans to stick it in Daytona Beach permanently shifted the financial axis of the entire wrestling business. It was a completely unthinkable heel turn. The man who ordered children to take their vitamins for an entire decade suddenly dropping his signature leg drop on a defenseless Randy Savage was the ultimate television betrayal. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall jumping ship made the faction cool, but Hogan's sheer star power made it a mainstream global phenomenon. WCW aggressively rode that single creative angle to 83 consecutive weeks of television ratings dominance over Monday Night Raw. Nothing else comes remotely close to this massive level of industry disruption.

Honorable Mentions

• Kofi Kingston winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35 after a grueling gauntlet.
• Tyson Fury unexpectedly knocking out Austin Theory at Clash at the Castle in 2022.
• The violent debut of the Elimination Chamber structure at Survivor Series 2002.