10 Times Unlikely Wrestlers Stole The Show

6. Mike Awesome - WWECW One Night Stand 2005

ronda rousey stephanie mcmahon
WWE.com

Mike Awesome entered WWECW One Night Stand 2005 - his final stand as an in-ring performer - as persona non grata. As giddily explained by a still-scorned Joey Styles on commentary, Awesome downed tools and left for WCW at a critical period in the history of the original promotion, forcing figurehead Paul Heyman to drastically alter long-term plans at short notice.

The match itself was an unlikely proposition. Its smash success even more so, given two further factors: the on-paper potent undercard pairing of Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero, and the fact that Awesome and career rival Masato Tanaka wrestled (nominally) virtually the same match they always did: a brain-scrambling procession of weapon shots and big moves enhanced by their incredible chemistry.

A button-masher of a brawl in a gruesome video game, Awesome and Tanaka hammered one another in the Hammerstein. Awesome almost cracked his own head open in a jaw-dropping over-the-top-rope suicide dive before folding Tanaka into an ugly, near physically impossible position following a running Awesome Bomb through a table. Masato Tanaka, in the sort of spot only realistic when someone like Masato Tanaka performs it, fired up after taking three absurdly disgusting chair shots to the top of the head.

The winner was the guy with the thin red bar of energy left. That's who always won. In this awesome match, it was Awesome.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!