There are days in modern day wrestling history that have made all of us ask ourselves “What the….?”. In the first installment of this 5 part series, I’ll look at some of the moments that have made an impact on wrestling. Some have changed the very future of the sport that we all love so well, and some have just gone on to be all but forgotten.
APRIL 6TH 1997-“Booker T says the “N” word” – At WCW’s “Spring Stampede ’97” in a highly awkward match, Harlem Heat fought Lex Luger and The Giant in a tag match that would see the winner of the first pin fall go on to face Hollywood Hulk Hogan in a World Title match at a later date. Needless to say that the pay-per-view itself was probably the worst of 1997 for WCW (excluding the NwO Souled Out pay-per-view). One thing on that whole card stood out for me though…During a promo that Harlem Heat (w/Sherri) were cutting with Mean Gene Okerlund, Booker T went on a verbal tirade and ended his promo with the words….”Hulk Hogan, we comin’ for you ….(well you know the word)”. For the rest of the promo, no one but Stevie Ray was able to hold a straight face (including myself). This was truly one of the first times that live television proved to have it’s up’s and downs for pro wrestling. Nothing ever became of the incident and it was rarely noticed even by those who watched the pay-per-view. Nonetheless, it was the first time the word was used on a live wrestling program and had the potential to be disastorous. Luckily for Booker T, it did not.
OCTOBER 5TH 1997-“Hell In A Cell debuts”-On a night that truly started out on a sad note, the end of the night ended up being nothing short of spectacular. When the WWF’s “Bad Blood” pay-per-view started, it was announced that Brian Pillman had died earlier that day. Pillman was scheduled to fight Goldust that night. Most of the pay-per-view was met by somber feelings and strained emotions. Knowing that Pillman was dead truly made the pay-per-view itself seem irrelevant. Needless to say that the last match of the night turned out to be one of the greatest turning points of the “Attitude” era. Once again Vince McMahon had truly revolutionized pro wrestling and Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker solidified their places as the 2 top stars of that era. The match never had a boring moment and saw Michaels (by some miracle) manage to hang on to the WWF World Title when he defeated The Undertaker with much needed help from the debuting Kane. It is truly a rare occasion that the outcome of a match seems irrelevant because of it’s greatness, but this was truly one of those times.
1996-“Raven Crucifies The Sandman”-In a moment that has become more infamous now with the release of the “Rise & Fall Of ECW” DVD, a wrestler truly went too far in the eyes of many. Without any of his fellow co-workers knowing (maybe with the exception of Paul Heyman which is a subject of argument to this day), Raven decided “on the spot” to crucify the Sandman and
place a crown of “barbed wire thorns” on his head. The usually blood thirsty crowd and often violent wrestlers in the ECW arena that day were left with their jaws hitting the floor and expressions of utter disbelief. Due to the potential offending of Christians alike, Scott Levy was urged to break out of character and publicly apologize for his actions. At the time, Raven seemed hesitant to even make the apology and has recently regarded his 1996 apology as “stupid”. The significance of this incident was that not only did someone besides Vince McMahon take the wrestling world “one step
further”, but it cost ECW a working agreement with a very displeased Kurt Angle who would later go on to become one of WWE’s top draws.Being raised a Christian myself, I was not terribly offended by the incident, but I do regard it as a poor move and in just plain bad taste. I have always believed that religion and wrestling story lines should be segregated much like church and state.
Now for some quick notes and shameless plugs….
If you are looking for some great reads, be sure to check out Dougie Nunny’s “Chronicles Of A Wrestling Fan Part 2”, The Trademark Rants “Wrestling With God” and The Pepsi Plunge “Setting The Table”.
If you have any ideas for subject you would like me to write about or just want to send in some feedback, be sure to e-mail me at BillyC4w@yahoo.com
Also be sure to check out my official site at http://billy_c2.tripod.com
