My complete draft:
1. Austin passes out in a pool of blood at Wrestlemania 13
As others have said, Hogan/Andre at WM3 and Hogan's heel turn at Bash at the Beach are the top two greatest moments in wrestling history. I went with this "moment" though over them because I felt that the "Hogan Moments" were much, much deeper, and I went into the draft with a conscious effort to not "double-dip" on workers. I think this was actually the seminal moment of the "Attitude Era" because it turned Austin face. I'm not going to break it down further than that; I think most people disagree with that assertion.
2. Chris Jericho debuts on Raw
This was the top "debut" on my board, and I was happy to get it late in the second round. Although the Undertaker's debut is arguably more historically significant; I think it lacked the feeling of "a moment" at the time, whereas the Y2J countdown and confrontation with The Rock certainly felt like "a moment." I, of course, am also biased because I was a big, big Jericho fan going back to as far as his days in Tenryu's WAR in the mid-90's and then ECW. Even for fans of his in his time with WCW would have recognized how awesome it was for Jericho getting his debut face-to-face with The Rock and what that would ultimately mean for his future. Of course, he was one of many former WCW wrestlers that reached stardom after getting away from WCW and their poor talent management, and this debut was also representative of that.
3. Shane Douglas discards the NWA World Title; ECW is born
I probably could have got this a lot later, but I knew there were some ECW fans so I got it in the 3rd round. On a personal level, it's one of my more memorable moments as a wrestling fan (I saw it 2-3 days later, I believe), but I would probably rank it, objectively, in the top 10-15 greatest wrestling moments as well. ECW and Paul Heyman just did everything so differently and so refreshingly in a time when wrestling really needed it, and those of us in the Northeast that were pretty close to it will probably always look back on it as a great time to be a wrestling fan. Of course, as their talent got depleted they developed into something of a "hardcore promotion," but the early years had some of the best technical wrestlers in the world doing things a lot of people had never seen or thought of before.
4. Savage slaps Hogan at The Main Event
This was the "Hogan Moment" that I had eyed up at the beginning of the draft. The Main Event occurred on my 7th birthday and my parents had a wrestling-themed birthday party of sorts for me as we watched it. The Mega Powers angle will probably always be my favorite wrestling storyline.
5. Terry Gordy slams the cage door on Kerry Von Erich
In retrospect, I could have probably taken this a lot later than I did, but it's definitely in my top 20 greatest moments (along with Kerry eventually winning the title at the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions), so I don't think it was that great of a reach. This was, of course, the beginning of one of wrestling's greatest feuds (and some would argue, its greatest) as The Von Erichs vs. The Fabulous Freebirds was must-see wrestling for most of the 1980's, even though it did stale after Gary Hart's departure as booker. WCCW's 3-5 year peak ranks right up with anyone's in the history of wrestling (I have it third behind early 2000s NOAH and mid-90's ECW), and this was definitely one of its greatest moments.
6. Tully Blanchard screams "I Quit!"
Another NWA moment that I probably could have let go for a while. As mentioned before, I think this is my favorite American wrestling match, and hopefully, everyone has watched it. The ending sequence is amazing. These were two very, very talented performers in the ring; it's too bad we didn't get to see more of the best that they had to offer.
7. Tommy Dreamer finally beats Raven
I'll just copy and paste what I wrote when I made the pick:
Tommy Dreamer versus Raven is as much a part of ECW's history as anything. For years it seemed that they were fighting weekly, with Raven always coming out on top in the battles. The matches got more emotional and violent as the feud heated up. It was 1997 and everyone knew that Raven was heading to WCW and leaving ECW behind, and Wrestlepalooza was being billed as the last match between the two, and what a match it was. Around the arena, in the ring, around the apron, and back again in one of the best in a long list of great ECW matches. Everyone knew that Tommy Dreamer had to win, was supposed to win, but this was ECW and Paul Heyman so there was still just enough doubt in the back of your mind. Tommy Dreamer did win, eventually, but what a ride they gave us on the way there.
8. 10 bell salute to honor Owen Hart
I think in retrospect, I wouldn't have picked this. I still think it's a "great moment," I just don't think it necessarily fit most of the other moments I picked in that it was a singular event. It really didn't lead anywhere and other than the on-screen moment that it was, it wasn't revolutionary or indicative of anything going on in and around the industry.
9. Batista "thumbs down"
I have seen about a total of 2 Batista matches, as his career was completely in the time that I wasn't watching any wrestling. The build-up and story that was behind this moment though seemed to make it worthy of inclusion, and so I used a mid-late round draft pick on it, mostly blindly. It seemed "moment-worthy" just watching it, and I enjoyed learning about it, at the very least.
10. Lawler slaps Kaufman on Letterman
I think this was the steal of the draft, as I didn't even have it anywhere on my radar when the draft started (and evidently no one else did either), and it truly is one of the greatest moments in wrestling history.
11. CM Punk signs his WWE contract on the ROH World Title
A really, really great angle that Punk and ROH ran around Punk's departure. One of the things that I really like about Punk is the way that he behaves in a post-kayfabe world still seems to draw the desired reaction. Punk winning the ROH Title on his way out might have been the most memorable part of the angle, but Punk standing in the middle of the ring and signing a WWE contract in front of all of the ROH faithful, in my eyes, is the greatest moment of it.
12. Curt Hennig wins the AWA World Title from Nick Bockwinkel
For those unfamiliar with the AWA, if you get the chance check it out. Up until the mid-1980's the AWA was on the same level as any promotion in the world, and even during its decline it had some amazing talent on the roster, including Hennig, Scott Hall, Shawn Michaels, The Road Warriors, and I could go on and on. Wrestlerock 86 is still my favorite PPV/Supercard of all-time. On to this particular moment, Nick Bockwinkel is right up there with Harley Race as being kind of a forgotten legend, and his feud with Hennig was at the very, very tail end of his career, but he was still amazing. Hennig was the young, second-generation superstar, and a fan favorite of the AWA. Hennig tried and tried to get over the hump and knock-off Bockwinkel for the Title, but failed time and time again. Finally, Hennig would resort to relying on former Bockwinkel partner Larry Zbyszko for his help in sealing the deal. Hennig would go on to a reign of about a year, where he really grew into the superstar that he would be when he debuted as Mr. Perfect in the WWE. Unfortunately, his departure (along with a lot of others) was the final nail in the coffin of the AWA.
13. Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit) wins the 1994 Super J-Cup Tournament
There have been a couple iterations of the Super J-Cup Tournament that have happened more recently, but the 1994 and 1995 originals are just the penultimate display of talent in the junior-heavyweight/cruiserweight division of wrestling. There are countless dream match-ups that occurred during the initial 2 year run of the tournament. Benoit against the Great Sasuke in the finals of the 1994 Tournament were one of those such dream match-ups, and it lived up to the hype and then some. The gutwrench superplex to end the match was a great spot and moment.
14. Barry Windham turns heel and joins the Four Horsemen
When I think of the Four Horsemen, the line-up after Windham's turn is the one I think of. The group, during that run, had all the belts at one time. Windham would kind of being a wrestling enigma for a long time, he just kind of floated in and out of the sport it seemed for a long time after his NWA World Title run. Immensely talented, it seems he could have accomplished a lot more than he did.
15. Ted DiBiase kicks the basketball away
It's hard not to think of this moment when thinking of Ted DiBiase despite a superb career in the ring. From his days in Mid-South all the way up until retirement he had few peers with his combination of in-ring and on-the-mic work. This moment was about the perfect display of "The Million Dollar Man" gimmick, far and away his and one of wrestling's greatest characters.
