10 Moments That Literally Stopped WWE Wrestling Matches

Those WWE contests that took a time out - either by accident or by design.

by Andrew Pollard
John Cena ECW One Night Stand 2006
WWE.com

In the world of pro wrestling, there's very much the classic 'the show must go on' mentality amongst so much of the industry - particularly where it pertains to Vince McMahon's WWE.

We've seen over the decades how few things, if any, can bring a WWE show to a halt. And while seeing a TV broadcast or a PPV outright stopping just doesn't happen, there have been at least a few times in WWE history where a match has taken a momentary breather due to something having gone on in or around the ring.

That something can range from a shocking real-life moment, to a raucous audience, to an unfortunate injury, or simply be down to the fact that Cesaro really, really doesn't like beachballs.

It's fair warning to say that this list won't feature those bouts that were halted due to career-ending injuries or other genuine tragedies, with the devastating paralysis of Darren Drozdov one such obvious incident that speaks for itself.

With that in mind, then, here are ten times when WWE matches ended up taking a time out - either by accident or by design...

10. Cesaro Has No Time For Your Beachball Bullsh*t

John Cena ECW One Night Stand 2006
WWE

Given how we've only just started to see fans fully back in attendance for wrestling shows, it feels like a lifetime ago that there was a fleeting fad of having audiences pass a beachball around during WWE events.

By all accounts, this is something that seemed to start the night after WrestleMania 32. While some fans saw this merely as a way to have fun and 'be a part of the show', others found it an annoying distraction that took away from whatever action was taking place in the squared circle.

One person who just simply was not playing this sh*t, was Cesaro.

When a beachball started to bounce around at SummerSlam 2017, the Swiss Superman stopped his and Sheamus' Raw Tag Team Championship defence against Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to address this issue. And by address this issue, that meant running into the crowd, grabbing the problematic beachball and ripping it into pieces.

Shortly after this PPV, WWE actually put a ban on beachballs being allowed at any and all WWE events - and Cesaro even campaigned to have a "No Beachballs" t-shirt made.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.