00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the once-in-a-lifetime
00:13pro wrestling moments that will live on forever.
00:1710.
00:28Shane McMahon Buys WCW, WWE Raw, WCW, Monday Nitro
00:34It was one of those moments that lent credence to those old Coliseum video wrestling cassettes
00:39from the 1980s.
00:46The whole wrestling world really was watching as Shane McMahon's character pulled the rights
00:52to World Championship Wrestling away from his father, Vince.
00:56This storyline meeting of the McMahons was broadcast not only on Monday Night Raw, but
01:01on WCW Monday Nitro as well, shocking the fan community to its very core.
01:12Oh, and this little bit of corporate rating also made for great television as well, particularly
01:21with how Vince Sells receiving this bad news on live simulcast television.
01:27It's perhaps WWE announcer Michael Cole's best call on the microphone, a short and not-so-sweet
01:36emphasis about the end of an era.
01:40The Undertaker's long-standing WrestleMania streak being broken by Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30.
01:59The 2014 matchup was a grueling one, showcasing, perhaps for the first time, chinks in the
02:06dead man's armor.
02:07A sign of father time creeping up and coming around for the man.
02:21Michael Cole could have easily developed into hyperbole or histrionics at this point in the
02:28evening, but the somber, almost sad tinge in his voice simply underlines the emotions many
02:34fans were experiencing in real time.
02:40Number 8 Austin and Hart's Double Turn WWE WrestleMania 13
02:56Successfully executing a double character turn in a match isn't easy, but Bret the Hitman
03:02Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin almost made it look that way back in WrestleMania 13.
03:08This no-disqualification streak fight essentially meant that all bets were off when it came to
03:24violent offensive maneuvers, but Hart's decision seemed to be pushing his character ever further
03:30away from his good-guy-slash-babyface status.
03:42Meanwhile, Austin's refusal to submit to Hart's trademark sharpshooter helped the crowd get
03:49behind him, despite Stone Cold coming into the match as a heel or a bad guy.
03:54By the time this match was over, both characters were forever changed, with the audience coming
04:00out on top as the victors.
04:01Number 7 Hogan and The Rock Make History WWE WrestleMania X8
04:13This was an epic clash of the titans that made the most out of a red-hot Canadian crowd.
04:25Many of the fans over at Toronto's Skydome simply refused to boo Hollywood Hulk Hogan in
04:30his match-up against The Rock.
04:33This was despite Hogan's status as a member of the NWO.
04:36What can we say?
04:37WrestleMania XVIII was fueled by nostalgia, and both men knew it well.
04:54The Rock and Hogan, as a result, called an audible and played into the crowd reaction, selling
05:00their signature moves and taunts for all they were worth.
05:04By the end, it didn't really matter that Rock vs. Hogan wasn't a technical wrestling clinic.
05:10It was a moment of pure WrestleMania magic.
05:13Number 6 The NWO debuts
05:28WCW bash at the beach
05:31It's true that Hulk Hogan had portrayed heel characters in the past, but that was primarily
05:37during the early stages of the man's career.
05:40Thus, it was almost unthinkable that this icon of 1980s pro wrestling would turn himself over
05:50to the dark side.
05:53Yet, that's exactly what happened at WCW's bash at the beach in 1996.
05:57The crowd's revulsion is audible when it's revealed that Hogan is the mystery partner of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.
06:13The third man who would finalize the trinity of the New World Order.
06:18Fans toss their collective garbage into the ring, while one particularly incensed audience member actually gets into the ring, although he immediately regrets his decision.
06:32Number 5 The Montreal Screwjob
06:38You'd be hard-pressed to find any self-professed wrestling fan that's not up-to-date on all of the assorted lore connected to the Montreal Screwjob.
06:51It's one of the most discussed incidents in pro wrestling history, an endlessly debated affair that's still notable for being perhaps the first time where the character of Vince McMahon and the company chairman, Vince McMahon, began to blend.
07:06It was here when Bret the Hitman Hart was forced to drop the company's world championship in his hometown without his prior knowledge.
07:19The match was conspiratorially called against Bret despite the fact that the Hitman hadn't submitted nor was pinned.
07:28The fallout from the Montreal Screwjob was immediate and Hart would soon depart for WCW.
07:35Number 4 Take a Tosses Mankind WWE King of the Ring 1998
07:44They were the bumps that had everybody talking, from die-hard grappling fanatics to those laypersons with only the most marginal of professional wrestling knowledge.
07:54This Hell in a Cell match was forever etched into the history books after Mankind, aka Mick Foley, took not one but two horrendous falls.
08:04The first bump from the top of the cage is easily the most infamous and replayed.
08:17But Foley himself has gone on record stating how the second fall was actually worse.
08:23Want proof?
08:24Just check out that image of a grinning Mick Foley captured in a camera angle that perfectly displays the tooth launched firmly within his nose.
08:38Number 3 Austin 316 Promo WWE King of the Ring 1996
09:01Hindsight being what it is, fans often like to point out Stone Cold Steve Austin's victory speech at the 1996 King of the Ring as a turning point for the Texas Rattlesnake.
09:12And in many ways, it was, since Austin's 316 Promo would go on to define the character for the rest of his career.
09:19This change didn't happen overnight, however, and it would take a few months to shake off Austin's ringmaster gimmick and for the Stone Cold persona to fully take over the company's landscape.
09:40Number 2 I'm sorry, I love you WWE WrestleMania 24
09:51Pro wrestling has been known to bring its fans to tears, particularly when the moments feel as probably real as this one from WrestleMania 24.
10:08Ric Flair's career was on the line during this match with the heartbreak kid Shawn Michaels, and somehow we all knew the writing was on the wall.
10:17Industry tradition almost always mandates going out on your back, and Flair did indeed stare up at those lights after getting hit with Michael's sweet chin music.
10:35The most profound aspects of this closing sequence are twofold.
10:39One of them is that image of Flair, fists up, with tears in his eyes, fighting against the inevitable.
10:46The other is Michael's mouthed words in full view of the camera.
10:50I'm sorry, I love you.
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11:141.
11:15Hogan Slams The Giant WWE WrestleMania 3
11:23Does it matter that this wasn't the first time Andre the Giant had been body slammed by an opponent?
11:29Not really.
11:30It was more about how this finale from WrestleMania 3 helped define a new era for this wrestling company.
11:37The rock and wrestling era was still riding high, with larger-than-life characters like Hulk Hogan carrying the torch for professional wrestling during the 1980s.
11:47Furthermore, this main event also solidified the WrestleMania brand as something that was here to stay.
12:00This body slam was heard from coast to coast and signified how professional wrestling was never going to relinquish its grip on pop culture.
12:16What's your favorite childhood memory of pro wrestling?
12:19Let us know in those comments below!
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