9. Big Show And Brock Lesnar Break The Ring (Smackdown, June 2003)
After you watch two behemoths go at it a few times, it is easy to write off the next match in the series as being skippable, particularly when it is featured on television instead of pay-per-view. Such was the case for many fans back in 2003 when Brock Lesnar battled Big Show seemingly for the 500th time in six months. Of course, Smackdown was taped and with the growing number of sites dedicated to wrestling news in those days, the results were available two days in advance (as they are today). For the most part, spoilers were a hindrance to ratings...let us reiterate for the most part. Smackdown earned just a 3.1 rating on June 5th that year. Odds are that the numbers would not have changed much had it not been for a result that blew the minds of the people in attendance and got much of the rest of wrestlings audience so intrigued that they scored WWE a 3.7 rating the following week. In an attempted superplex off the top rope, Brock brought Show crashing to the mat with such force that the steel posts buckled and the ring collapsed. It was one of the most greatest Holy-you-know-what moments in history. You literally had to see it to believe it. Many questions arose as to its legitimacy when the spoilers were posted, so people tuned in for the purpose of finding it how and if the ring implosion actually happened. And the next week, the ratings went back to normal
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
