Wham! Episode/Professional Wrestling: Difference between revisions

* The 05/27/96 episode of ''[[WCW]] Monday Nitro'' featured the shocking return of [[Scott Hall]] and the beginning of a [[New World Order|landmark storyline]] in the industry, one that would effectively swing the balance of power towards [[WCW]] (legitimizing the company in the eyes of the mainstream public) and keep it there until the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] came back with a vengeance a couple of years later.

** The 07/29/96 episode of WCW Monday Nitro opens with the great announcement, tonight we have two title matches: [[The Big Show|The Giant]] and Arn Anderson for the World Heavyweight Championship and [[Rey Mysterio, Jr.]] and [[Eddie Guerrero]] for the Cruiserweight Title. That alone is awesome, but after the opening match [[Ric Flair]]'s theme starts and it's [[Ric Flair]] and two of the Four Horseman against [[Wrestler/Sting (wrestling)|Sting]], [[Randy Savage|Macho Man]] and Lex Luger. Man, this show is going to be awesome. I mean, seriously SERIOUSLY awesome. In the middle of the match Stinger is getting the crap beaten out of him, and it's looking like it could be comeback time. But then Jimmy Hart runs into the arena screaming "Get back stage!" and we find [[Scott Hall]] and [[Kevin Nash]] tearing shit up and beating Arn Anderson and Marcus "Buff" Bagwell up with baseball bats. Then Rey Mysterio comes in only to get picked up and thrown into the side of a trailer HEAD FIRST and lies on the concrete motionless. EVERYBODY runs backstage and there is chaos, wrestlers in agony and people screaming for help. Then it hits you: there is going to be no title matches tonight. The nWo have hospitalized the competitors. Everything is ruined and the entire show is thrown into chaos. [[Bobby Heenan]] doesn't feel safe and walks out on the commentary team. Before this the nWo were nothing but [[Hulk Hogan]] and his buddies talking shit and pulling silly stunts. This episode, shit got real.

* The 04/13/98 episode of ''[[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] Raw'' had the company teasing a match between [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] and [[Vince McMahon]], leading to the creation of their own Wham storyline which not only broke WCW's 84-week-long winning streak in the ratings war and swung the momentum right back in the WWE's favor, but kept it there permanently after [[WCW]] went bust.

* The 03/26/01 episodes of ''[[WCW]] Monday Nitro'' and ''[[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] Raw'', which both ended in a live simulcast of each other. Raw opened with [[Vince McMahon]] gloating about his purchase of WCW. WCW was known to be in financial turmoil at the time and there were (mostly unsubstantiated) rumors that McMahon was working to purchase it, but few people knew about the deal or McMahon's plans until that moment on Raw. The simulcast to close both shows also culminated in a huge [[Shocking Swerve|swerve]] involving [[Shane McMahon]], as if [[Vince McMahon]] buying out his bitter rival wasn't huge enough for one night. To say [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore|nothing was the same]] in pro wrestling after this night would be a dreadful understatement.

* In a more [[Real Life]] sense, [[Edge]]'s retirement in 2011 caused a pretty massive upset in the balance of WWE's main event roster, as he was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time. Due to there not really being a free main event [[Face]] at the time ([[Rey Mysterio, Jr.]] was in the middle of a feud with [[Cody Rhodes]]), it caused the draft to come about six weeks earlier than expected and caused some massive shifts in the roster, most notably sending [[Randy Orton]] to Smackdown while Smackdown mainstay Rey Mysterio and up and comer [[Alberto Del Rio]] were brought to RAW, in addition to mixing up the mid-card scene. Quite possibly the most drastic thing to happen as a result of this is the [[Internet Backdraft|Orton/Christian Title debacle]].

{{quote| '''[[Michael Cole]]:''' OH NO!!! [[The Big Show|Big Show]] [[Face Heel Turn|just knocked out]] [[John Cena|Cena]]!!!}}