The Top 30 Shocking Moments in Professional Wrestling History.

By all accounts, Professional Wrestling is one massive real life soap opera. Everything, from its choreographed theatrics to its the off the wall acting, seems to create a fiction larger than fact. Yet, in the midst of all this entertainment, there have been moments in Professional Wrestling that went beyond the normal limits of entertainment. Some of which even affected the real world as much as it did professional wrestling itself.

Here is a listing of the sixteen most shocking moments of Professional Wrestling. All of which happened, both in and outside, the ring.

30. Jerry "The King" Lawler Vs. Andy Kaufman!

Prior to the 1980s, Wrestling was seen largely as an underground sport. However, that all changed when Andy Kaufman decided to make a name for himself in the ring. Fed up at Kaufman's antics in regard to women, Lawler took it upon himself to set Kaufman straight. As a result, wrestling was from then on seen as more than just a sport, but sports entertainment.

29. Taz Calls Out Heckler.

What made ECW so great was the small venues it had. Which meant Wrestlers could talk to the audience! Here we see Taz calling out a heckler during a ECW's show.

28. Dusty Rhodes Breaks Character on Television.

If anything, WCW was always noted for its lack of originality. Bad enough Seven was a copy cat of Undertaker. Yet to make him look like Uncle Fester was so aggravating that Dusty Rhodes broke character just to express his disgust!

27. The Rock Ends Vince McMahon's Kiss-My-Ass Club.

One of the most hilarious angels in 2001 was the Vince McMahon Kiss-My-Ass Club. After asking many wrestlers and employees to kiss his ass, Vince McMahon was given the comeuppance he deserved! All of which was courtesy of The Rock himself!

Come to think of it, Professional wrestlers have the best job ever. They can beat up their boss and return to work the very next day!

26. Mr. America Lie Detector Test

Say what you will about the Mr. America gimmick. The entire angle was truly a return to 1980s style Professional Wrestling. Perhaps the greatest moment of the Mr. America angle was this very segment right here!

25. Triple H Saves Stone Cold From An Invading Fan.

Despite wrestling being entertainment, thee are still wackos whom take it seriously. One night in Germany, in the 1990s, a fan took it upon himself to attack Stone Cold. Yet, Triple H bailed out of character to restrained the an before things got worse.

24. Stone Cold and Booker T's Supermarket Brawl.

Wrestling fans were given a treat for Christmas 2001 when these two brawled in a supermarket. Believe it or not the entire thing was entirely improvised. In all, this entire segment cost over $10,000.

23. Stone Cold Brawls with Mike Tyson.

If there was one thing that made the Attitude Era great, it was Stone Cold. With his brutal antics and no-holds-bar mentality, one could say Stone Cold was the face of the Attitude Era and with good reason. When Boxing legend, Mike Tyson came on RAW to announce he was to be a special referee for an upcoming match, Stone Cold did not hold back his opinion on the matter.

22. Big Show Choke Slams Undertaker Though The Ring.

Imagine the biggest wrestlers of all time going at it. Though Undertaker was feared, this match goes to show that Big Show was even more of a threat! When Undertaker went through the ring, it was proof Big Show was no laughing matter.

21. D-Generation X Invades WCW.

Years before the Invasion Angle, WWE had its own minor invasion of WCW. The famous stable, D-Generation X lead by Triple H, spearheaded the assault against WWE's esteemed competitor. It was events like this that made the Monday Night Wars a fun time to truly behold!

20. Undertaker Throws Mankind of the Hell in a Cell.

If one were to name the top ten wrestling matches of all time, Mankind and Undertaker's Hell in a Cell would make the list. The event was held at 1998's King of the Ring the match feature both contestants atop the cell moments before Undertake threw Mankind onto an announcer table. While it seemed that Mankind was out for good, he nonetheless went back into the ring and finished the match. Though he lost to Undertaker, Mankind won himself a place in wrestling history that has never topped since.

19. Mae Young Gives A "Hand".

This has got to be the nastiest moment of Wrestling history. I refuse to comment on it any further.

18. Sergeant Slaughter Turns Traitor.

In the early 1990s, at the height of the Gulf War, Sergeant Slaughter turned not only into a heel, but a traitor as well. According to Hulk Hogan, it seemed that Slaughter turning traitor would help expand his career (Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Page 268). Yet, the press was not too happy about wrestling making jabs at a real life conflict. Even more unsettling were the fans whom stalked Slaughter and his family.

17. Mr. Wonderful Meets Gary Spivey.

After some major setbacks in the ring, Mr. Wonderful was having some confidence issues. Who better than Gary Spivey to help Mr. Wonderful regain his composure?

16. Stone Cold and Triple H form the Power Trip.

There is much debate in the Attitude Era as to whom was the best tag team of all time. I will have to say the Power Trip remains one of the best because it featured the biggest rivals working together. While it looked good in the ring, fans and critics alike panned Stone Colds deterioration from a popular face to a cowardly heel.

15. David "Doctor D" Schultz Slaps John Stossel.

One thing anybody must never do is tell a wrestler its fake. John Stossel learned the hard way when David Schultz literally knocked some sense into him.

14. Richard Belzer In a Chin Lock

There always seems to be some famous television host or journalist getting knocked around in the 1980s. In 1985, on the media build up to the first Wrestlemania, Hulk Hogan and Mr. T appeared on Hot Properties. However, things did not go according to plan when Belzer insisted Hulk Hogan hold him in a chin lock. No sooner than Hogan held him, Belzer went limp and hit the floor. Later onward, Belzer sued Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, and Vince McMahon for the incident. All parties settled out of court.

13. Stone Cold Stunning Donald Trump.

When the Battle of the Billionaires concluded, Stone Cold showed his appreciation to Donald Trump by giving the future president a stunner. (Believe me, a LOT of Leftists would have loved to have done this to The Donald. Yet, its highly doubtful any of them could.)

12. Crash Holly Meets Shaft.

In the early 200os, WWE promoted films with either actors or characters of said film. In this instance, to promote the 2001 film, Shaft, WWE had Crash Holly interact with the famed Character. Say what you will about it, but this was highly anticipated. However, as we will learn, the best film interactions with Wrestling occur when least expected. Read on to discover why.

11. Robocop Saves Sting.

Say what you will about this, but Robocop saving Sting at Capital Combat 1990 was the greatest film tie-in ever. Unlike the above entry which featured Shaft saving Crash, this instance of Robocop appearing to aid Sting was not only unexpected, but the fact the ACTUAL actor came in character was truly extraordinary!

10. ECW Chair Toss.

Oh boy, this one was really the one time the audience took part of the match. At first, the main event match was held between Cactus Jack going up against Terry Funk. However, when Public Enemy decided to join in the match, both Cactus Jack and Terry Funk joined forces to take down their common foe.

When Terry Funk asked someone in the audience for a single chair, never did he, nor anyone that night, expect the entire ring to be filled with chairs. As a result, ECW's 1994 Hardcore Heaven went down in Wrestling History that very night.

9. Jerry Lawler's Heart Attack.

Regardless of how one may feel about Jerry Lawler's colorful commentary, this is a one real tearjerker. This tragic event was one of those non-scripted moments that shocked both fans and wrestlers alike.

9. Shockmaster's Botched Entrance.

Perhaps no Wrestling Entrance was as disastrous as the Shockmaster. Just watch the video itself. It's just awful! Whomever decided to cover a Star Wars stormtrooper helmet with loads of glitter must not be thinking straight. Either that or the props department was hard pressed for time.

8. Hulk Hogan Turns Heel.

Throughout the 1980s, Hulk Hogan was the face of Wrestling. His larger than life in-ring personal was very popular not just for his patriotism, but for his heroic athletics as well! However, in the 1990s, that all changed when Hulk Hogan joined New World Order, a group of Heels out to wreck havoc on the wrestling world.

7. The Montreal Screwjob.

Bret Hart would learn the hard way about business manipulation regarding the WWE title. Sources say that Bret Hart was on his way to join WWE's biggest rival at the time, WCW. Considering that the last wrestler to depart WWE to WCW dumped the Heavyweight title in the trash, Vince needed to get the belt from Bret Hart, even if it meant screwing him over.

In closing, Bret Hart symbolically punched out for the last time by knocking Vince McMahon out. It would not be until 2010 that Bret would ever return to WWE. As for Vince McMahon, the Montreal Screwjob would give rise to the Mr. McMahon character. Shawn Michaels would linger around WWE, eventually becoming a born again Christian. Michaels would not make peace with Bret until many years later.

6. WWE buys out WCW and ECW.

Wrestling fans in the early 2000s will tell you the Invasion Angle was a big shocker in itself. It is what really put both an end to not just both WCW and ECW, but the entire Attitude Era as well. Simply put, both WCW and ECW; WWE's biggest rivals at the time, were facing financial hardships. Rather than let his rivals go under, Vince McMahon bought out both WCW and ECW. Yet, had he lost the 1994 Steroid Trial (see below), McMahon would have not been able to have done so.

5. Vince Russo Badmouths Hulk Hogan.

WCW Bash at the Beach meant a lot of things to some, but to Hulk Hogan, it meant a serious case of slander from Vince Russo. In recent years, however, Vince Russo has explained his side of the story. Depending on how one interprets these events, I will leave this one up to the readers of the article.

4. 1994 Federal Steroid Trial.

In the 1990s, Vince McMahon, and Wrestling in its entirety, was facing a dark time. Turns out the Federal government was investigating and decided to slap Mr. McMahon with a charge of illegally distributing anabolic steroids to wrestlers. while the case went to trial, needless to say Vince McMahon was acquitted of all charges and continues, to this day, to be the biggest name of all time in Wrestling.

3. The Death of Owen Hart.

May 23rd 1999 will forever remain a night of infamy in regard to the death of Owen Hart. The aftermath not only resulted in Wrestling doing away with descents into the ring, but also with Over The Edge. Even mentioning his name in the ring is bound to entice a chant from the crowds! Yet, his widow; Martha, on the other hand, would rather not have anything to do with the Wrestling Industry altogether. It's understandable why.

2. The Murder-Suicide of Chris Benoit.

No listing of the most shocking moments of Wrestling would be complete without mentioning this. Perhaps no event, not even the death of Owen Hart compares to the absolute shock of Chris Benoit's murder-suicide. In fact, the murder suicide of Chris Benoit and his family was so horrific that for years World Wrestling Entertainment refused to acknowledge Benoit or his accomplishments!

1. SmackDown! 9/11 Tribute Show.

When the terrorist attacks on 9/11 occurred, one could say it was a world changing historical event. In Houston, Texas, the WWE made clear that despite everything, they would still preform despite the ordeal affecting not just America, but the world.