10 Wrestling Myths Debunked
It's still real to me, dammit!
I bloody love a good wrestling myth. They have been around arguably for nearly as long as wrestling itself. Whether it be the conspiracy theory that there were two Ultimate Warriors, WWE owning AEW in secret, or that Brock Lesnar breaking the streak wasn't planned, we all have our favourites.
Reddit user Belly Crawler recently sparked a discussion over on r/SquaredCircle about wrestling myths that need to be debunked after becoming frustrated with those arguing that John Cena was only pushed by WWE after Brock Lesnar left the company. In reality, Cena had been in numerous high-profile feuds and matches from the moment he debuted on SmackDown and became the catalyst for the Ruthless Aggression Era.
That theory is by no means the only wrestling misconception; some claim that WWE killed the likes of WCW & ECW, others that it was 'The Fingerpoke of Doom' that did for Ted Turner's company, and many insist that "This Is Your Life" is the highest rated WWE segment ever. All of these assertions are in fact, false. As you'll see as we debunk ten infamous wrestling myths...
10. "This Is Your Life" Is The Highest Rated WWE Segment Ever
A commonly held misconception by many wrestling fans is that the classic "This Is Your Life" segment hosted by Mick Foley for The Rock is the biggest drawing in the history of Monday Night Raw. In reality, it doesn't even make the top three.
Granted, this famous epic drew a huge 8.39 quarter hour rating, which is mind-blowing when compared to today's numbers, but three other events from 1999 actually beat it according to the Wrestling Observer's archives.
Unbelievably, The Stooges versus The Mean Street Posse did an 8.61 in May 1999. On the same show, in the main event we witnessed "the single most watched pro wrestling match in the history of cable television" at the time as Shane McMahon partnered with Triple H and The Undertaker to take on Vince, The Rock, and Stone Cold with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. That did a whopping 9.17 rating but still isn't #1.
That honour goes to Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker from the 28 June 1999 edition of Raw. The WWF Championship was on the line following McMahon family shenanigans at the previous night's King Of The Ring pay-per-view; The Texas Rattlesnake regained the title and the segment clocked a gigantic 9.5 rating.