10 Times Wrestling Was Electrifying
Sometimes, shock and awe involves literal shocks... and very little awe.
There's nothing quite like professional wrestling.
The frisson of energy that rolls through a crowd like a wave when the fans are into a match. The jolt of an upset victory or an unexpected kickout. The current that slowly builds during a hard-fought match. And, yes, the resistance to forced pushes by management.
Heavy-handed wordplay aside, wrestling can be positively electric when at its best. But sometimes, promoters will take shortcuts to evoke those same reactions from a crowd. It could be nostalgic acts returning, or a table spot, or some other bit of hot-shotting to spark the crowd's attention.
Sometimes, they even resort to using actual electricity. (Or a reasonably convincing facsimile thereof.) Electrical spots are relatively rare in wrestling, particularly when you compare them to the ubiquity of chair shots, table spots, and ladder matches.
Likely because it's hard to execute an electrical spot well. Most of the time, it slingshots right past the wow factor into cornball territory, like Dark Helmet's ship in Spaceballs hitting ludicrous speed and overshooting the mark. Most of these spots are funny rather than awe-inspiring, but they're still noteworthy for their relative rarity.
Whether it's done in TNA, WCW, WWE, or elsewhere, the electrical spot is like a Scott Steiner promo: a peculiar mix of hilarity and jaw-dropping goofiness.
10. Electric Performers
The Rock always touted himself as the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. Although some remember him as the Brahma Bull, the Great One, or the People's Champ, his megawatt mantra is by far his most famous. His catchphrase is so well-known that there's even an article by an energy company trying to calculate how much electricity the Rock could produce.
But The Great One wasn't the first performer to talk about his AC/DC attitude. No, the manic - and that's putting it mildly - promoter of the UWF, Herb Abrams, dubbed himself "Mr. Electricity" in the 1990s and pioneered the heel promoter gimmick years before Eric Bischoff or Vince McMahon. (Although his fuel was likely chemical, not electrical.)
This is the only time in history Herb Abrams and Dwayne Johnson have ever been referenced together.