10 Most Unforgettable Exhibition Matches In Wrestling History

Exhibition matches in wrestling are a little different to those conducted in legitimate sports. Exhibition bouts in boxing are public spectacles, usually not for profit or for charity, in which damage to each man is limited as far as can be possible.

Likewise, exhibition games in soccer, basketball, baseball etc are matches that don’t impact either team’s standing in any kind of tournament of league. Often called friendlies, the idea is that neither team profits from the game. Again, it’s a public spectacle, skill versus skill, and usually all in the spirit of good-humoured rivalry, or for bragging rights.

Well, wrestling’s already a staged public spectacle, and many of the matches we take for granted in the sport are already along those kind of lines. That being the case, exhibition matches in wrestling tend to be one-off spectacles that you wouldn’t ordinarily get to see - interpromotional matches, for example, or champion versus champion main event showcase events.

In many cases, wrestlers would take on real fighters, often with a very sketchy idea on both sides about how the whole thing was supposed to go. Misunderstandings and lost tempers were rife. These, then, are the most unforgettable exhibition matches in wrestling history - but ‘unforgettable’ doesn’t necessarily make them good matches, of course...

And yes, wrestling bears used to be a real thing. The old days were a strange time.

Forty years ago in Shea Stadium, the World Wide Wrestling Federation put together the second of their three big showcases at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York, each nicknamed the Showdown At Shea.

The first had been four years earlier, featuring WWWF Champion Pedro Morales and Bruno Sammartino in an hour-long battle to a draw in front of 22,000 people, while this sequel, on June 25th 1976, would see a bizarre headlining act broadcast over closed circuit television from Japan, with Muhammed Ali and Antonio Inoki battling it out in a boxer versus wrestler bout (of which, more later).

On the same card, few remember the other boxer versus wrestler exhibition match, which featured Andre The Giant and Chuck Wepner. Nicknamed ‘the Bayonne Bleeder’ (but not ‘the Lethal Weapon’, which seems like a missed trick), Wepner was the real deal: a heavyweight contender who was nineteen seconds away from going the distance with Ali for the world heavyweight title only the year before.

Many consider that the similar showcase fight in Rocky III between Rocky and wrestler ‘Thunderlips’ was based around the match - Wepner’s certainly convinced that Stallone based the Rocky Balboa character on him after seeing the Ali fight in 1975.

It was certainly worked: Wepner confirmed that he’d been smartened up beforehand, and that the finish was planned. What led up to that finish - Andre throwing him out of the ring, and the boxer being counted out - apparently veered a little off-script.

From all appearances, in round three Wepner decided to start throwing some serious punches, landing hammering blows to Andre’s back and shoulders. Andre, with a reputation for shooting on people he felt were getting too stiff with him, lifted the six foot five Wepner off his feet and delivered a worked headbutt, sending Wepner against the ropes.

At that point, the Giant went for the prearranged finish, no doubt deciding that Wepner was getting too hot under the collar to carry on sparring. Wepner’s foot became caught between the ropes, leading Andre to quickly untangle his opponent: and then Andre’s cornerman ‘Gorilla’ Monsoon came charging around the ring to get on top of the boxer and cause a ruckus outside, ensuring that Wepner wouldn’t try to get back in before the countout victory.

That didn’t stop an in-ring brawl breaking out after the fight was over - proving that whatever else it was, this was still professional wrestling.