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Off-script WWE moments stand out in memory

By Dan Isenberg 7 min read

It's not often that professional wrestling falls off script, least of all WWE in recent years.

Sometimes these moments lead to unintended near-misses with catastrophe in the ring. Other times, you just get a really funny moment at the expense of an angry billionaire.

So while I reminisce about my recent beach getaway, enjoy this grab bag column of the times professional wrestling went off script.

Through the not-fake looking glass

Fans may remember the Kurt Angle-Shane McMahon street fight from 2001's "King of the Ring" event. Angle was meant to put McMahon through a pane of sugar glass that was the set at the top of the ramp.

Unfortunately for McMahon, his body weight was not enough to break through, and he landed upside down, head-first into the ground below.

"Do it again," he told the Olympic hero. So he did. They attempted to send McMahon back through another part of the glass later in the match, but that also failed, causing a repeat of the same head-trauma-inducing spot that had just happened minutes earlier.

How is Mick Foley still alive?

By now, most wrestling history buffs know that Mick Foley, then playing his character Mankind, had planned to have The Undertaker throw him from the top of the cell at "King of the Ring" 1998.

It is a legendary moment in the company's history that won't be forgotten.

Another equally unforgettable moment from that match that was not nearly as planned was when they were both on top of the cage when Taker attempted a choke slam. Foley crashed through the floor of the cell, collapsing under his large frame, and fell another 10-15 feet or so into the ring below. It sent a tooth through his lip and he (obviously) suffered an immediate concussion as a result.

And he still finished the match. How is he alive?

A re-do and two blown quads

Every wrestling fan has their favorite Royal Rumble match, WWE's annual over-the-top-rope battle royale to determine half of the upcoming "Wrestlemania" main event match.

For some, it's Flair winning the '92 match for the title. For others, seeing John Cena return from a torn pectoral in just a few months to enter at No. 30 and win the whole thing.

But for me, nothing will ever top the ending of the 2005 Royal Rumble. Both Cena and Dave Batista pre-Drax The Destroyer were set to headline "Wrestlemania 21" that spring, and were the final two in the Rumble match.

The two tangled along the ropes and Cena was meant to go over, but the two not only both fell out of the ring, but landed on the floor at the same time, creating a tie scenario that forced officials at ringside to call the situation on the fly, with referees for both "Raw" and "Smackdown" arguing their man won.

Down stomps Vince McMahon from the back, who proceeds to slide into the ring following a power walk down the ramp, blowing out both his quads. So you have two large men pretending to be fighting over a fake match while an angry billionaire that just destroyed his quad muscles is yelling instructions at you from his butt in the corner.

What's not to love about this? Batista ended up winning after a restart, both he and Cena went on the win world titles later that year and the rest, they say, is history.

Shock through the wall

Sticking with funny, but heading down a different off-shoot of memory lane to WCW, where legend has it, if you listen close enough, you can still hear people laughing after The Shockmaster fell face-first through a set wall.

Played by Fred Ottman, who played the Tugboat and Typhoon characters in WWE, was being brought to Atlanta with the intention of making him a top baby face good guy to set up a War Games match, where he'd team up with Dustin Rhodes, Sting and The British Bulldog.

Ottman was set to be revealed during a TV special segment previewing the match, exploding through the wall as pyro went off. A shame things didn't go to plan.

Ottman tripped over a piece of lumber laying near where he was supposed to be, causing him to go head-first through the wall and onto the ground and his helmet to fall off. WCW was forced to adjust the character, turning him into a bit of a bumbling idiot.

Pipe Bomb cometh makes best promo

It really is still up for debate how much, if any, of CM Punk's legendary 2011 pipe bomb promo was rehearsed or even approved by the folks in the back, but one thing is clear.

There are no better talkers on the mic than one Charles Montgomery Punk.

Punk's promo took the company of the day to task, airing grievances over backstage politics, mentioning other companies and breaking the fourth wall.

It's largely regarded as one of the best promos in WWE history.

Curtain Call for a Rattlesnake

Known by wrestling historians as one of the most pivotal moments in history, many will point to this moment in Madison Square Garden as the night kayfabe died, as it created so much controversy and is one of greatest stories in company history that never actually aired on television.

The May 19, 1996 house show was supposed to be the last night in the company for Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, who were preparing to leave for WCW in Atlanta.

Following a match between Nash and then-WWE champion Shawn Michaels, Hall, Nash, Michaels and a young, up and coming Triple H joined hands together in the ring and embraced as the friends they were, not the on-screen rivals they portrayed, before taking a bow to the audience.

Before this, good guys and bad guys in wrestling barely interacted outside the ring, much less embraced each other as friends inside it. The backlash was fierce among industry old-timers who saw it as a blatant, disrespectful act. With Nash and Hall out the door and Michaels as reigning champ, Triple H was left to hold the bag, and as a result, his planned push to the top of the card by winning the King of the Ring tournament was canned and given to some other guy.

I think his name was Steve Austin?

That night in Montreal...

You didn't think we'd get to the end and not talk about the most unscripted moment in wrestling, did you?

Yes, we wrap our trip down memory lane with the infamous Montreal Screwjob at "Survivor Series 1997."

Shawn Michaels and WWE champion Bret Hart were set to face off in the main event for the title. Hart, it was already announced the week prior, was leaving WWE for WCW after Vince was unable to honor the multi-year contract he had just signed Hart to the year prior in an effort to keep him from jumping ship.

The only snag here was that Michaels and Hart HATED each other, which led to legit beef between the pair that resulted in several incidents over the years. The Hitman refused to drop the belt to Michaels, much less in front of a crowd of fellow countrymen.

So Vince McMahon hatched a scheme. He told Hart he was going over, only to have referee Earl Hebner call for the bell when Michaels put Hart into his own signature sharpshooter submission hold.

This moment was the reality of how professional wrestling operates, its story-telling and politics backstage making their way out into the open. It was truly the peak of Hart's career, who never quite reached the same heights again. And it also led to the creation of the Mr. McMahon character on-screen, so at least we got something nice from the whole ordeal.

Dan Isenberg is a copy editor who writes regularly on gaming, tech, fantasy, science fiction, pro wrestling and other nerd culture topics for the Mirror. He can be reached at disenberg@altoonamirror.com or on Twitter @TheseDanTweets.

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