10 Most Emotional Title Wins In WWE History
From the culmination of childhood dreams to years of hard work finally paying off.
Professional wrestling might just be the most original storytelling medium on the planet. No other artform has ever weaved scripted drama and athletic competition together with such cohesion, and while wrestling's soap opera doesn't always deliver, it remains defined by its big, dramatic moments.
At it's worst, wrestling is a Jerry Springer-esque nightmare the produces some of the most hamfisted television you'll ever see. At it's best, however, wrestling is as thrilling as it gets, and its grandest moments hit all the right notes.
Even with the gradual simplification of storytelling throughout the PG Era, WWE continue to deliver in terms of emotion. You may have to slog through an increasing amount of dross to get there, but WWE's huge, blockbuster moments are usually more than worth the effort, and titles are often at the heart of them.
A championship win is supposed to represent the culmination of a wrestler's journey, and cement their status as the best in the business. This is what they've been working their whole career to achieve, and after following them on their journey, a big title win is often as euphoric for the fans as it is the wrestler him or herself. These are the moments that make wrestling worth watching in the first place, and have come to define the careers of those involved.
Here are the 10 most emotional title wins in WWE history.
10. Ric Flair Wins The WWE Title (Royal Rumble 1992)
Ric Flair’s first WWE run didn’t last, but his first Royal Rumble was something special.
Wrestling fans had spent much of the 1980s and early ‘90s pining for a seemingly impossible dream match between the Nature Boy and Hulk Hogan. It’d be WCW’s franchise player taking on WWE’s, and when Flair signed in 1991, it looked like fans would finally get their wish. WCW pushed Flair out the door and he jumped ship with the company’s World Championship in-hand, setting him up as an immediate major player.
The WWE Championship was vacated in the run-up to the 1992 Royal Rumble, after after entering at #3, Flair put on a legendary performance. Fighting just about every other wrestler in the match, Flair took several huge hits, bumps, and flops, gradually winning over the crowd as the match progressed.
The conclusion saw Flair toss Sid Justice out of the ring following a blow-up with Hogan, and after just a few months with WWE, Flair was crowned Champion. The real emotion came through his post-match promo, however: fiery, passionate, and straight from the heart, his “with a tear in my eye” speech has become one of the most iconic of his career, and it was a perfect epilogue for his tremendous performance.