10 WWE Moments That Shocked The Wrestling World
And Fred Ottman's nowhere to be found.
Wrestling, as anyone who has watched it for more than ten seconds will be acutely aware, is built on hyperbole. The truth may move people, but a well placed lie works even better at getting them to part with their money.
The bedrock of the industry is based on myth. WWE's first World Champion, Buddy Rogers, earned his prize in the Brazilian fantasies of Toots Mondt and Vince Sr. Decades later, sports-entertainment reached its zenith as Hulk Hogan slammed the 600lb Andre the Giant for the first time in his career in front of 200,000 fans. The foundations of the Skydome literally trembled.
But the firmaments of the wrestling industry only rocked within Vince's exaggerated narrative. The real most shocking moments in the company's history didn't need any additional amelioration to get the seismographs stirring. You simply couldn't have made them up. In most cases, you wouldn't want to.
10. Bischoff Comes To WWE
After the dust had finally settled on the Monday Night War in 2001, Vince McMahon stood alone as the undisputed king of the wrestling business. With WCW defeated and his planned purchase no longer an option, Eric Bischoff slipped into relative obscurity.
That was until hell froze over on 15 July 2002, as Vince McMahon announced the first ever General Manager of Raw as none other than his former real-life adversary. The sight of Bischoff and McMahon embracing on WWE TV was simply unbelievable, and sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling world, proving once again that anything can happen in WWE.
Bischoff became a key part of WWE programming from there on out. The villainous executive was a brilliant addition to Raw and his natural flair, charismatic delivery and brilliant timing made him an instant hit as the heel authority on Monday nights - a position he knew all too well.
With notable feuds against Steve Austin, Paul Heyman and John Cena throughout his three year tenure, Bischoff made a huge impact as GM of Raw. In fact, Bischoff set the bar so high, it's been pretty much impossible to top.