10 Wrestling Swerves That Actually Worked

8. The Twin Referee Conspiracy (WWF The Main Event I)

ted dibiase wwe champion earl hebner
WWE.com

Back in the WWF's golden era of the mid-to-late-80s, there were few heels as hated as 'Million Dollar Man' Ted DiBiase. His ability to link himself with the towering André The Giant and oppose Hulk Hogan only made him more detestable. Teddy was gonna' use his monstrous compadre to take the richest prize in the game away from Hulk.

Cue The Main Event special on NBC in February 1988.

One month out from WrestleMania IV, DiBiase concocted the most devious of plans to whip Hogan and steal his title. Preposterously, he paid for plastic surgery so a referee could replicate official Dave Hebner and fool everyone into thinking André had won the belt. It was genius, and Ted laughed his ass off when Virgil strapped it round his waist.

The beautiful part to all this was that 'Ref #2' was played by Dave's twin brother Earl. In one move, the WWF had the means to take the strap off Hogan without beating him cleanly, strip DiBiase of a title he never won and crown Randy Savage the new man at 'Mania.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.