History for Awesome/ProfessionalWrestling - TV Tropes (2024)

[[folder:WWE - [=Non-WrestleMania=] Pay-Per-Views]]
'''''1992'''''
* Long before Flair's retirement, his biggest WWE [=CMoA=] came at ''Royal Rumble 1992'', when he entered the Rumble match at number three and outlasted everyone to win the vacant WWF Championship. Keep in mind, this was a Rumble match that boasted one of the WWF's most star-studded Rumble rosters (including Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Shawn Michaels, Ted [=DiBiase=], and Roddy Piper).
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSp0I_Ev0Yw His post-match interview was an appropriate exclamation point.]]
* This Troper personally sees the [=CMOA=] for Davey Boy Smith (more commonly known as The British Bulldog) as ''Summerslam 1992''. Headlining in a match for the Intercontinental Championship, Smith and Bret Hart (Smith's brother-in-law) had one of the best technical matches of the night, a showcase of the pure talent of two great wrestlers during their prime. The fact that it took place during the height of the WWF's popularity in the [=UK=] during the '90s and that it ended with a Bulldog win (in ''Wembley Stadium'', no less), makes this a true [=CMoA=].

'''''1994'''''
* One of the most dominating performances in ''Royal Rumble'' history took place at 1994's edition. Diesel came in at number 7, and completely cleaned house, dumping out all four of the current competitors, which included Scott Steiner, Kwang, a freshly [[FaceHeelTurn turned]] OwenHart, and Bart Gunn. From there, he would wait for participants to come out, and would elimiante the next three in very short order, which were Bob Backlund, Billy Gunn, and Virgil. It finally took a superstar the calibur of "The Macho Man" RandySavage just to stop Diesel from eliminating each guy one at a time. Diesel came into this match as a {{heel}} sidekick to ShawnMichaels, and by the time he was finally eliminated (by four guys no less), the crowd was giving him a standing ovation and chanting his name. This was one of the first runs of this type in Rumble history, and most "dominating performances" in Royal Rumbles use this as a template (see Kane in 2001 or CM Punk in 2010).

'''''1995'''''
* Shawn Michaels wins the Royal Rumble from the #1 spot.

'''''1996'''''
* Steve Austin had just defeated Jake Roberts at ''King of the Ring 1996'' to win the King of the Ring tournament, and as Roberts (then doing a born-again Christian schtick) walked to the back, Austin uttered words that have since become immortal, and considered to have launched both his career and the Attitude Era: "You talk about your psalms, you talk about your John 3:16... well, Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!"

'''''1997'''''
* If you could only assign one [=CMoA=] for the entire Hart Family, it would have to be In Your House: Canadian Stampede, which took place in Calgary, home of the Hart clan. The main event of this PPV was a 5 on 5 tag team match featuring the Hart Foundation consisting of Brian Pillman, Jim "The Anvil Neidhart, The British Bulldog, OwenHart, and of course, BretHart against the American team of Goldust, Ken Shamrock, Legion of Doom, and StoneColdSteveAustin. The American team was comprised of some of the hottest [[{{Face}} babyfaces]] on the WWF roster at the time, but their entrances, especially Austin's, was met with visceral hatred. Meanwhile, the Harts got amazing ovations as they each entered seperately, the reactions getting louder and louder with each member introduced until finally they got to Bret, at which point you tell the arena is shaking. The crowd wouldn't die at all during the match, as they cheered loudly any time the Harts had the advantage. After Owen pinned Austin, they gathered the entire extended family, including Stu and Helen, in the ring for a huge celebration and a show of Canadian national pride. It is really special as it was quite possibly the last great moment for the Hart family before the family tragedies started piling up, starting with Pillman's death and the MontrealScrewjob later that year.

'''''1998'''''
* Mick Foley's career is filled with these, but one especially stands out: the Hell in the Cell match versus The Undertaker at ''King Of The Ring 1998'' (which, for better or worse, set the bar incredibly high for [[GarbageWrestler Garbage Wrestlers]] to come). As per the planning of the match, Foley (then wrestling as Mankind) started the match climbing up onto the roof of the Cell, while a rather hesitant Undertaker followed; after a minute of fighting, Undertaker threw Mankind off the side of the Cell, with Mick falling sixteen feet onto the Doomed SpanishAnnouncersTable. For five minutes, replays of the stunt played as [=EMTs=] and trainers went to attend to Mick; Undertaker struggled to remain in character, and even Vince came out to see what happened. As Mick was being stretchered out, he stood up and ''literally'' ran to climb up the Cell again. Undertaker was legitimately shocked, but climbed back up as well (on a ''broken foot'') to continue the brawl. Then the unexpected happened: Undertaker chokeslammed Foley ''through the roof of the Cell and onto the ring below''; the chair that Foley was slammed onto followed suit, and did even more damage as it smashed into his face. According to all known sources (including Foley himself), '''that''' was unplanned (though some still believe that it was actually a worked spot, save for the chair). Mick chose to continue the match, which culminated with a dazed and confused Foley being slammed on thumbtacks. ''Twice.'' And Foley '''still''' managed to walk out rather than be carried on a stretcher.
** Foley would have been stretchered out after the match, but actually insisted on walking out instead of being stretchered out again.
** According to [=WrestlingGoneWrong.com=] (a website about all sorts of unplanned events happening during matches and shows), Foley was concussed and didn't remember anything after that fateful chokeslam. He regained consciousness after the match, and asked Undertaker if they actually used the thumbtacks. Undertaker told him to look at his arm, which was still covered with tacks.
*** This match also cemented Jim Ross as the greatest announcer in wrestling. BAH GAWD! "Good Gawd almighty, that killed him!", "He's broken in half!" and "Will somebody stop the damn match?!" are some of the immortalized saying J.R. said during the match.
**** Lawler was pretty good as well. When Foley went through the Cell, he responded with a matter-of-fact "That's it. He's dead."

'''''1999'''''
* The ladder match between the Hardys and Edge and Christian at No Mercy redefined fast-paced, high impact matches for the next decade.

'''''2000'''''
* Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack) kicking out of Triple H's pinfall attempt following the Pedigree at ''Royal Rumble 2000'' was another high point. Just LISTEN to the pop it gets.
** This was after all in brawls outside the ring and in the crowd, being struck with a 2x4 wrapped in barbed wire, smashed through a table, fighting back by smashing Hunter into the steel steps while handcuffed, asking if that's all he's got after numerous attacks with a chair and a slam onto thumbtacks backfiring. [[DoNotCallMePaul Paul's]] response? A downright '''''scary''''' Pedigree onto the tacks, a move that can kill someone (and in Marty Garner's case very nearly did) normally.
** Bradshaw's Clothesline From Hell To Mr. Ass.
** KurtAngle was in full-on SmugSnake mode and was yet to have been defeated in singles competition. He comes out at the opening of the PPV and delivers some backhanded comments about Patrick Ewing and the Knicks (it was Madison Square Garden and Angle's gimmick at the time was to obliviously insult the fans via their hometown sports stars). Then, his mystery opponent for the night appears: '''Taz'''. Debuting at the Rumble, Taz proceeds to squash Angle with a number of suplexes and the Tazmission, ending Angle's undefeated streak and delighting the New York crowd to no end.
* At No Way Out, Foley has his retirement match against Triple H in Hell in a Cell. A pretty awesome match, it finishes with Triple H backdropping Foley through the cage and smashing him through a section of the ring. Then Foley ''got up.'' Finally, Triple H hits the Pedigree and retires Foley, giving the Hardcore Legend one hell of a send-off. J.R.'s post-match comments in regards to Foley's awesomeness were pretty awesome themselves.
* The main event of ''Backlash 2000''. There's so many [=CMOAs=] here this troper, needs to break it down:
** The defending champion of the WWE Title: Triple H, with his girl Stephanie [=McMahon=] and his new father figure Vince [=McMahon=] at ringside; as well as having the benefit of Shane [=McMahon=] as Special Guest Referee to provide Quick Counts in his favour and to refuse to count the pinning attempt of the Challenger when he scored a DDT on the Game. And who was this seemingly unfortunate challenger? None other than the Rock, who was ''supposed'' to have had Stone Cold in his corner to even things out, but for some unknown reason Stone Cold was seemingly "not present" thereby leaving The Rock with seemingly impossible odds. Despite all this, The Rock managed to ''dislocate HHH's arm'' and he took Referee Shane out of action by giving both him and Trips a ''Double Rock Bottom through the SpanishAnnouncersTable.''
** And after the odds still proved too much and he was overwhelmed by a Pedigree and an assault by all male members of the [=McMahon=]-Helmsley regime; the match got even more awesome when the all too familiar sound of BREAKING GLASS sounded and an irate Stone Cold came out and laid out ALL OF THE ROCK'S OPPONENTS WITH A STEEL CHAIR.
** Even more awesomeness happened when Linda [=McMahon=] came out with the recently fired Earl Hebner and shoved her protesting daughter to the ground with almost ''total indifference''.
** And then to cap it all off, after The Rock had scored a spinebuster and a People's Elbow to score the pinfall victory after Hebner made the count, Stone Cold came out again and after a brief stare-down, The Rock and Stone Cold ''celebrated with a beer-bash''. Truly the highlight of The Rock vs Triple H feud and a brilliant [=CMoA=].
*** The pop when Rocky hit the spinebuster was SUPERSONIC. I thought the arena was going to implode.
* Summerslam 2000 was a Crowning Moment of Awesome for many superstars that night.
** Shane [=McMahon=] vs. Steve Blackman for the Hardcore title surpassed all expectations, and ended with Shane's first dive off the Titantron. It was especially risky because Blackman knocked him off, thus he had to do the dive ''backwards''. Blackman would finish Shane off with an elbow drop off the Tron much to the shock and delight of the crowd.
** The inagural Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match saw Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz. For the past year, various combinations of these teams had been tearing up the Tag Team Division in Ladder matches and Table matches. It all came together here for the first TLC match in which these six men (and Lita, who took a wicked Spear on the outside) stole the show yet again. The Raleigh crowd was especially hot for this match considering that the Hardy Boyz were from nearby Cameron, North Carolina. Though the Hardys did not win the titles that night, everyone involved walked away with the respect of the fans worldwide.
** The main event of Summerslam was a triple threat between The Rock, Kurt Angle, and Triple H. Kurt Angle would suffer a concussion in the opening moments of the match due to the announce table breaking too early during a Pedigree attempt. While Rock and Triple H continued the match on the inside, Kurt would be stretchered out of the arena (which was likely going to happen if the spot had been done correctly anyway). However, Angle would return to complete the match anyway, despite barely having his wits about him. This was the first time (but certainly not the last) we would see the real-life {{Determinator}} side of Kurt Angle.
* The main event of ''Armageddon 2000'' was the six-man Hell in a Cell. Five of the six were The Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H, The Undertaker and Kurt Angle: all guys who would easily fit into the Top 10 of the Greatest Wrestlers in WWE History, and who an excellent case could be made for at least 3 (if not 4, or indeed, all 5) appearing in the Top 5. While previous [=HIACs=] had been pretty damn good, this match was full of so many jaw-droppingly awesome moments that, to This Troper, it is still de-facto the greatest Hell in a Cell Match in history. It also featured Rikishi, who played his role as the [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] (by being tossed off the top of the Cell onto a removal truck) excellently. This is proof that 2000 was the WWE's greatest year and a definitive [=CMOA=] in WWE history.

'''''2001'''''
* This year's Royal Rumble saw Kane set a new standard for dominance in the titular match. Kane would eliminate 11 participants total, a record that has not even come close to being broken since, and in the process would...
** Scare celebrity entrant [[TheDrewCareyShow Drew Carey]] into eliminating himself, which is not included in his body count.
** Survive a weapons brawl with most of the Hardcore division.
** In a CrowningMomentOfFunny, the Honky Tonk Man would make a surprise entrance after Kane cleared the ring of the Hardcore guys. He would sing his entrance music, and Kane showed how much he enjoyed the performance by tuning his guitar over Honky's head and eliminating him. Kane would then shake his head, driving the point home.
** Eliminated Tazz in 10 seconds.
** Found himself on the brink of elimination by about seven guys, only for TheUndertaker to enter next and re-unite the Brothers of Destruction. This of course, cleared the ring yet again of everyone except Kane and Undertaker.
*** [[OhCrap Scotty 2 Hotty would be the next entrant.]] [[CaptainObvious He did not last very long.]]
** Finally, Kane would make it to the Runner Up position, surviving the likes of TheRock, Undertaker, and The Big Show. It took StoneColdSteveAustin with magic number 27 and a steel chair to finally get the Big Red Monster out.
* Shane [=McMahon's=] Last Man Standing Match against The Big Show at ''Backlash 2001'' wasn't as great, but the ending - where Shane won the match by hitting a super-leap-of-faith ''off the top of the Titantron'' onto Big Show - was certainly a CMOA for Shane. You can see [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x41eb1_shane-mcmahon-vs-big-show-backlash_sport the entire match here.]]
** Shane has a tendency to pull off CMOAs when he's in the ring. For this troper, the capper was his Street Fight with Kurt Angle at ''King of the Ring 2001'', in which he takes not one, but ''two'' suplexes onto a plate-glass window. The result of the first one? ''The glass doesn't break'', and Shane lands horrifically on his neck and shoulders (just inches away from having some '''real''' damage done). Both men, during later interviews, admit to being extremely worried Shane was hurt and were about to stop the match, but Shane gets himself upright and tells Kurt "throw me again". The glass breaks this time. Shane loses the match, but seriously - balls of steel, that one. (Later on, Angle would reveal that Shane suffered no real injuries from the match, while Kurt ended up breaking his tailbone.)
* Let us not forget Chris Jericho's biggest in-ring accomplishment - at ''Vengeance 2001'', after the end of the [=InVasion=] angle, Jericho defeated The Rock to win the World Heavyweight Championship (aka the WCW World Heavyweight Championship), then defeated Steve Austin directly afterwards to win the WWF Championship and unify the two titles into the WWF Undisputed Championship. To put that into perspective: Chris Jericho went from being a WCW midcarder to defeating the two biggest stars of the Attitude Era ''in the same night '''in consecutive matches''''' to unify two of the most prestigious world titles in professional wrestling history, all in the space of ''three years''.

'''''2002'''''
* The triple threat match at Vengeance between the Rock, Kurt Angle, and the Undertaker was a sight behold. This match was famous for all the combatants using each others' signature moves on each other. This was also the last time The Rock would win the WWE title (which was the Undisputed Championship at the time).
* 2002 marked the return of ShawnMichaels from injury as he beat TripleH in a Street Fight at Summerslam. Later, at the year's Survivor Series, HBK pinned Triple H in the first ever Elimination Chamber to capture the World Heavyweight title.
** A smaller CMOA occurred during the Summerslam match thanks to referee Earl Hebner. Despite having no DQ rules, Hebner was warning Triple H about the unnecessary roughness he was putting on Shawn (specifically attacking his wounded back, using a sledgehammer, etc.) Finally, Triple H put Shawn in an abdominal stretch and was using the ropes for leverage (which is usually illegal). Hebner got Triple H to break the hold by pushing on him. Triple H shoved him only for Hebner to bounce off the ropes and shove him back. Hebner then ''backed Triple H into a corner and screamed at him'' to knock it off. Triple H looked sufficiently put in his place. Kudos to Hebner for getting in the face of the top heel in the WWE.

'''''2003'''''
* The original WWE brand split made [=PPVs=] brand-exclusive, and at the time, ''Raw'' had the bigger names on its roster. The first ''Raw''-exclusive PPV, ''Bad Blood 2003'', lived up to its name (by being bad); they had a [[GimmickMatches Hell in a Cell]], a match which rarely disappoints, which was (at best) just okay. The next month, ''[=SmackDown=]'' held ''Vengeance 2003''; the closest thing to a gimmick match on the card was a Triple Threat Match featuring [[TheGiant Big Show]], [[AllAmericanFace Kurt Angle]], and [[LightningBruiser Brock Lesnar]]. There were four great matches on this show: the aformentioned Triple Threat, [[BadassBiker The Undertaker]] vs. [[{{Delinquent}} John Cena]], ChrisBenoit vs. EddieGuerrero, and The World's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) stealing the show against Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio. This event was when people started figuring out that ''[=SmackDown=]'' was the '''wrestling''' show.
* Shane [=McMahon=]'s entire feud with Kane in 2003 was filled with awesome moments, but their Ambulance Match at ''Survivor Series'' that year had ''at least'' two CMOAs for Shane: first, when he hits the leap-of-faith on Kane through the announcer's table, and then when he hits the Coast-to-Coast ''off the ambulance'' onto Kane. Note that the audience started chanting "Holy sh*t!" after both moves. You can see [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3vrzx_shane-mcmahon-vs-kane-ambulance-mec_sport the entire match here.]]

'''''2004'''''
* ''Backlash 2004'' featured a [=WrestleMania=] rematch between Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship... in Canada. During the match, the referee is knocked out, and Michaels puts Benoit in the Sharpshooter. Immediately, the fans react... then who should run down to the ring? You guessed it: Earl Hebner, the man who helped screw over Canadian wrestling legend Bret Hart as part of the Montreal Screwjob. (Why there wasn't a riot over this, no one knows.) They played out the Screwjob for all they were worth for about five minutes before Triple H broke the hold... and then, Benoit locks Michaels in the Sharpshooter to make him tap out, ending a match just as good as their [=WrestleMania=] outing (if not better) and giving the Canadian crowd a symbolic apology for the Montreal Screwjob.
--> "Ring the bell Earl! Ring it! You've done it before!"
** Benoit's promo the following night on ''Raw'', given he's not thought to be considerably talented in this regard, deserves mention too.
* On the undercard was an Intercontinental Championship match between MickFoley and RandyOrton. The match is considered by Foley to be his best. The match was filled with several highlights but none as intense as when Foley dropped Orton on a pile of thumbtacks.
* During her on-screen relationship with Kane, Lita became pregnant and was endlessly mocked for her weight by Trish. The loss of Lita's baby after a Kane-related accident prompted even more ridicule from Trish. So in the Women's Title match at ''Survivor Series 2004'', Lita finally retaliated against Trish by beating the everloving crap out of her, whacking her with a steel chair and breaking her nose by pushing her head-first into the steel steps. '''Ouch.'''
* Eddie Guerrero winning the WWE title @ No Way Out. Even heel commentator Tazz cheered.
* The 2004 Diva Search will be remembered for being many things...boring, a waste of time, [[WrestleCrap the winner of the 2004 Gooker Award for Worst in Pro Wrestling]] (to put it in perspective, [[DwayneJohnson The Rock]] was brought in to do a guest host segment on it, and not even '''''he''''' could make it interesting). But when the winner was about to be decided, the audience was treated to several minutes of forgiveness in the form of TrishStratus. Trish came out and in one promo, eviscerated the Divas Search competition, mocked one contestant for her "grueling" wins in things like pie-eating contests, and suggested to the other that she use the prize money to [[TakeThat buy a personality]]. For a single shining moment, the Divas Search was entertaining.

'''''2005'''''
* ''ECW One Night Stand'', credited by many as being the brainchild of Rob Van Dam, was a huge reunion of ECW alumni; memorable moments include Mike Awesome's last wrestling match before his untimely death, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QccIiHbcyA the crowd singing along to Sandman's very-well-known entrance theme]] (itself, the best pro wrestling entrance ever caught on tape), and Steve Austin showing up '''in an XFL jersey''' to help the ECW alumni rip apart the WWE "crusaders" who tried to crash the show.
** This troper has a special appreciation for the Heyman shoot promo: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_xzLijve40 "Hey John - just cause you wanna shoot, cowboy? The only reason you were WWE Champion for a year... is because Triple H didn't wanna work Tuesdays!"]]
* After his World Heavyweight Championship match with Eddie Guerrero at ''No Mercy 2005'', Batista led the crowd in singing Eddie a happy birthday. This took place after the event went off the air, but is still a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming. And a bit of a TearJerker when you consider that the event was Eddie's last PPV appearance.
* ''Survivor Series 2005'' had Trish Stratus give ''all three'' members of MNM (Mercury, Nitro, and Melina) a suicide dive, bowling them over.

'''''2006'''''
* At ''New Year's Revolution 2006'', when, following a grueling Elimination Chamber match, Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated an already-weakened John Cena (who'd just won the Chamber match) to capture the WWE Championship. (He'd do this again in 2007 -- after beating Mr. Kennedy for the Money in the Bank contract, Edge cashed it in and defeated Undertaker after ''he'' had just defeated Batista in a Cage Match; Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship in the process.)
** [[JadedJewel I]] was at that New Year's Revolution PPV. My brother, my dad and I were starting to leave when Cena won and I was pissed off at that victory, but when Edge came out, I shouted at my brother and Dad to wait, pointing out Edge. So we stayed and watched Edge beat Cena. And the audience there? They CHEERED when Edge came out and won. Albany fans did NOT like Cena, so Edge (or anyone) beating Cena was a [=CMoA=] for all of us fans.
* The match between Undertaker and Kurt Angle at ''No Way Out 2006'' was a CMOA for both men. If you have to ask why, consider this: Undertaker was around a month away from his 41st birthday, and Kurt Angle was (and, depending on who you ask, still is) working well past his physical prime, suffering from a multitude of injuries. Nobody believed the two could put on even a ''decent'' match, yet they overwhelmed everyone with a certifiable Match of the Year candidate.
* Getting revenge from after the Shawn Michaels/Vince [=McMahon=] ''[=WrestleMania=] 22'' match, the five-man team of the Spirit Squad attacks Shawn Michaels at ''Backlash 2006'', lifting him up into the air and dropping him through a table.
* ''ECW One Night Stand 2006'' kicked off the "rebirth" of ECW and featured one of the biggest mark-out moments for ECW fans ''ever'': thanks to Extreme Rules, a well-timed spear by Edge, and Paul Heyman acting as a referee, Rob Van Dam won the WWE Championship by defeating John Cena (a decision that would not only be held up, but would result in RVD holding both the WWE Championship and the newly-reinstated ECW Championship at the same time).
** And speaking of that match: Cena/RVD [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-65Zke10LU quickly turned into Cena/RVD & ECW Fans]]. The first few minutes of the match involved John Cena playing catch with the audience (he kept throwing his jersey into the crowd; the crowd, usually with "THROW IT BACK!" chants... well, threw it back). The crowd was universally against Cena, with chants such as "You can't wrestle!", "Same old sh*t!" and "You still suck!" They even chanted "f*ck John Cena!" ''in rounds''. There was no "mixed reaction" that night; anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is a liar and you should call them a liar to their face. (Or, as Joey Styles put it: "It's mixed between those flipping him the middle finger and those using the F-word.") And of course, there was the large sign in the rafters of the Hammerstein that evolved into a meme all its own: '''IF CENA WINS, WE RIOT'''
*** It's also worth mentioning that during said t-shirt-throwing, one fan upped the ante by throwing the shirt ''from nowhere near the front row'' to land it right across the top rope (not even the one facing him) like laundry out to dry.
** This match was a big CMOA for Cena too: just watch the match and look at how he sold the crowd's reaction to him. He played off them perfectly, going right back to his heel roots in excellent fashion without really changing a thing in regards to actual presentation. While the Cena hate still continues to some degree, his performance here is probably a big part of why Cena's won a lot of fans over since then.
* When Montel Vontavious Porter was first introduced into the WWE, the general consensus among the {{Smart Mark}}s was that he was a terrible wrestler, and his push (fittingly, as an overpaid, overrated, showboating {{Heel}}) would be better used on somebody with actual talent -- the line of thinking apparently being, if (rapidly-decaying-at-this-point) smark darling Chris Benoit couldn't drag a decent match out of him, there was no hope for him at all. Then came ''Armageddon 2006'', and its [[GimmickMatches Inferno match]] between MVP and Kane. Which ended with ''MVP's entire back consumed in flames''. Almost overnight, MVP became one of the most popular wrestlers among smarks, and while this eventually died down (as it always seems to), he remains an internet favorite to this day. If there's one thing wrestling fans, smark and mark alike, love to see, it's balls. [[DoubleEntendre Stop giggling]].
* Trish Stratus, a former fitness model who spent her WWE career building herself up from a simple valet into arguably one of the most respected and popular female wrestlers in the history of the promotion, got a sendoff worthy of being called a Crowning Moment -- in her farewell match with the company, she beat longtime rival Lita in her hometown of Toronto, Canada (in a day and age where EVERYONE who wrestles in their hometown seems to job) ''with the Sharpshooter'' '''''for a record seventh Women's Championship'''''. Trish took her final bows before a standing ovation from thousands of fans and every WWE employee at ringside. I think [[http://i32.tinypic.com/2ptdt3o.jpg this]] says it all (the photo is from her post-match farewell bows).
* Similar to the "Sweetest Chin Music" example below, ''Unforgiven 2006'' had Carlito attempt a diving move... only for RandyOrton to give him the RKO in midair.

'''''2007'''''
* At ''Royal Rumble 2007'', John Cena faced Umaga in a Last Man Standing Match. It ended when Cena choked Umaga out with a ''broken ring rope''.
** The Undertaker winning the Royal Rumble. And it was about damn time, too!
* CMPunk vs Elijah Burke at ''Judgement Day 2007''. Incredible match. Sadly, the audience was dead.

'''''2008'''''
* In October of 2007, John Cena tore a pectoral muscle. He was assumed to be out of action for at least seven months (and upwards of a year at the most). In January of 2008, Cena made an unannounced return to action -- by entering the Royal Rumble at #30 and ''winning'' (this would have been more awesome had The Undertaker not already accomplished this the previous year, making Cena the second man to win at #30). For all the crap people want to lay on both [=WWE=] (for being predictable) and Cena (for whatever reason people have to hate him), the fact that [=WWE=] kept his return so secret that '''''nobody''''' knew he was coming back was absolutely incredible. As was Cena managing to complete his rehab in half the expected time (three and a half months).
** Cena repeated this feat in August of 2008, recovering from surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck in three months. While his return at ''Survivor Series'' was heavily figured into the PPV hype (and thus spoiled), it's said that the surgery went so well that Cena was visiting astonished members of the ''[=SmackDown=]'' roster mere hours afterward.
* At ''Armageddon 2007'', Jeff Hardy defeated Triple H '''clean''' to win a shot at the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble in 2008 (managing to get Triple H to do a clean job could be a [=CMoA=] in and of itself, depending on who you ask). The following year would be one of controversy and heartbreak for both Jeff and his fans -- he lost his match at the Royal Rumble; he blew his chance to be in the Money in the Bank match at ''[=WrestleMania=] 24'' thanks to a Wellness Policy violation (and during his suspension, his house burned down, destroying all of his personal possessions and killing his pet dog); he lost three more shots at the WWE Championship after his return (and was written out of a fourth one). It looked like hope was lost for the "Charismatic Enigma"...until ''Armageddon 2008'', where Jeff Hardy competed against Triple H and WWE Champion Edge in a Triple Threat match for the title. After Triple H delivered a Pedigree to Edge, Jeff nailed a picture-perfect Swanton Bomb and covered Edge -- and after one of the most tumultuous years of his life, Jeffrey Nero Hardy finally became the WWE Champion (and at the same time, he not only became a WWE Grand Slam Champion, but the only wrestler to win every single home-grown WWF/WWE title there ever was).
* Batista picks one up at the end of his Stretcher Match with Shawn Michaels at ''One Night Stand 2008'': "Just so you know... I don't love you, and I am NOT sorry!"
* Maryse's performance at ''Survivor Series 2008'': Making ''3'' eliminations, and kicking Beth Phoenix in the back of the head, ''while standing in front of her''.

'''''2009'''''
* ''Backlash 2009'' ended up being something of a [=CMoA=] for WWE's top heels: Edge captured the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating John Cena (with a little help from Big Show and a chokeslam into a spotlight), and Randy Orton pinned Triple H clean in a six-man tag to win the WWE Championship.
* ''Extreme Rules 2009:'' Tommy Dreamer becomes the only man to hold both the original and revived versions of the ECW Championship (and the only man who will ever hold that claim) when he defeats current champion Christian and challenger Jack Swagger in a three-way match to win the belt.
** An explanation is in order: Dreamer is the last {{ECW}} Original still working for WWE, and was working an angle where if he didn't win the ECW Championship, [[LoserLeavesTown he would retire following his contract's expiration]] (the contract angle was actually legit, as Dreamer's contract really did expire in June of 2009). The build-up very strongly hinted that this would, in fact, be his last match and [[{{Kayfabe}} he even put up a note on his WWE blog saying that he had arranged to be allowed to keep blogging for a month if he lost, to round out his thoughts on this career]]. He even said that he got a one day extension on his contract just to compete in the match. So in the match, just after Jack Swagger was going for his Gutwrench Powerbomb finisher on Christian, Tommy (in true ECW fashion) blasted Swagger with a crutch and hit his signature DDT to pick up the victory and the title. (The next day, the dirtsheets reported that Dreamer had signed a new multi-year contract.)
*** Less than a month later, at ''The Bash 2009'', Tommy would retain the belt against ''four challengers'' (Finlay, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, and Christian) in a Championship Scramble Match.
* ''Night of Champions 2009:'' CM Punk delivers an absolutely golden promo wherein he preaches his hardcore/straightedge lifestyle to a very vitriolic Philly crowd, which not only cements his status as a full-bore heel in WWE, but pretty much tells everyone on the creative team that yes, the hardcore straightedge angle ''can'' work on a main eventer ''and'' it can be awesome.
* ''Bragging Rights 2009'': the 60 Minute Iron Man Match between John Cena and Randy Orton. Mostly for its Holysh*tQuotient. Like Orton RKO'ing Cena in the middle of an FU, Cena FU'ing Orton from the top rope, Orton throwing Cena ''through a wall'', Orton actually ''[[{{KillItWithFire}} trying to use the pryo to toast Cena's back]]'', Orton DDT'ing Cena from the ring apron, Cena throwing Orton through the ring barricade, and Cena FU'ing Orton through a table.
** After being split up months earlier in the WWE Draft, The Miz and John Morrison found themselves as opponents heading into ''Bragging Rights 2009'', both holding championship gold (United States and Intercontinental, respectively). Despite their success, their feud leading up to the event was centered around which superstar was the [[{{Garfunkel}} Jannetty]] of the team. Considering that The Miz has been seen as the hanger-on by basically the entire WWE audience ever since Miz and Morrison began tagging, it could easily be considered a [=CMoA=] when Miz defeated Morrison cleanly at the PPV, finally stepping out of his former partner's shadow and proving his worth as a competitor - especially considering the fact that, in winning his match, Miz became the only one of the 11 ''Raw'' competitors in a "''[=SmackDown=]'' vs. ''Raw''" match to leave the arena victorious (a traitorous Big Show ensured that not even the mighty Degeneration-X was able to pick up a win that night).
* An up-and-comer by the name of Sheamus (he's Irish, y'see) was a relatively unproven commodity, having only been in WWE for six months (and in WWE's developmental territory for a while before that). That didn't stop WWE from deciding to make him a new star: at the ''TLC: Tables Ladders and Chairs'' pay-per-view in December 2009, Sheamus defeated '''John freaking Cena''' in a Tables Match to win his first WWE Championship, arguably giving him bragging rights over the single biggest upset of the decade.
* At ''Surivor Series 2009'', Kofi Kingston found himself in a 2-on-1 situation during his Survivor Series Match, facing down CM Punk and Randy Orton. Kofi managed to pin CM Punk, then nailed Randy Orton with his Trouble in Paradise kick when Orton tried to sneak up on him and hit an RKO (as he'd already done twice that match to Kofi's teammates Mark Henry and Christian) and pinned him to gain the win, making him the "sole survivor" of the match in the process. For perspective: Orton and Punk are former world champions ''and'' two of the WWE's top heels...''and Kofi pinned them both in the span of 10 seconds.'' The crowd's explosion following the pin only made it all the sweeter.
* I am disappointed that nobody mentioned Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho Mask vs. Title match at the Bash. This match could have contested with Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels if only it was on the same stage. Rey Mysterio was pulling maneuvers out that he hasn't done in years. You read that right. Rey Mysterio, the guy whose knees are so bad that his doctors told him if he landed wrong, he would probably never walk again, did a double spring board moonsault. Chris Jericho was simply flawless. These two arguably put on a better match than anybody did that year. Hell, even Jim Ross thought so.

'''''2010'''''
* ''Royal Rumble 2010'', in the Rumble Match itself:
** With only CM Punk and The Great Khali in the ring during the Rumble, entry #6 went to... Beth Phoenix, only the second woman to compete in the Rumble. So what does Beth do? After being lifted over the top rope by Khali, who motions for her to go to the back, she grabs Khali and plants a kiss on him - a kiss so deep, she ends up dragging him over the top rope and eliminating him. Yes, ''Beth Phoenix eliminated '''The Great Khali.''''' Not to mention after this she clotheslined PUNK and lifted him '''OVER HER SHOULDERS'''.
** "The Straight Edge Savior", CM Punk, earned himself a CMOA during this event. He entered at #3 and made short work of both Dolph Ziggler and Evan Bourne (it helped that each had hit their finisher on the other moments before Punk's entrance), then began to cut a promo for the Straight Edge Society as the countdown for #4 begins. It turns out to be JTG, who Punk quickly tosses out; after doing so, he goes right back to his promo. #5 turns out be The Great Khali, who rejects Punk's offer to be "saved" by Straight Edge by giving Punk a good old-fashioned Brain Chop. #6 is Beth Phoenix, who eliminates Khali (as mentioned above), but eats a GTS from Punk and gets tossed; Punk then ''goes right back into the promo''. #7 is Zack Ryder, and as Punk tells him that he has the potential to be saved, he blasts Ryder in the head with the microphone and tosses him; again, after he does this, Punk goes right back into the promo. Sadly, all good things come to an end, as TripleH drew #8 and Punk was eliminated soon thereafter. However, CM Punk has the distinction of eliminating five out of the first seven entrants of the Rumble ''and cutting a promo at the same time.''
*** At ''Elimination Chamber 2010'', Punk and R-Truth were the first two to start the Smackdown Chamber match. Punk would pin Truth in the first five minutes of the match and would proceed to pick up right where he left off at the Rumble and did another sermon.
** "The World's Largest Athlete", The Big Show, enters at #22. "The World's Strongest Man", Mark Henry, enters at #23. Then, in possibly the biggest shocker of the night (even considering what's mentioned below), [=SmackDown=] midcarder R-Truth enters at #25 and manages to eliminate ''both of them '''at the same time'''''.
** Also during the Rumble, Edge made his triumphant return as the #29 entrant, eliminating John Cena to cement his place in history as the 2010 Royal Rumble winner.
** Rey Mysterio made The Undertaker BLEED.
* ''Royal Rumble 2010'', not the Rumble Match: generic heels Layla and Michelle [=McCool=] actually got interesting when they started taunting Mickie James about her weight, calling her "Piggie James" and engaging in all sorts of nasty bullying (one segment had them smash a pig-shaped cake in Mickie's face and drown her in punch); Mickie got her back at ''Royal Rumble 2010'', however, when she squashed [=McCool=] for the Women's Championship in less than 20 seconds. And what happened next? The other Divas came down with a big cake, which got smashed all over [=McCool=] and Layla. Also a Crowning Moment of Funny as well.
* The Undertaker got an unsung moment at ''Elimination Chamber 2010''. When Taker went to do his entrance, he got burned by his pyro and was seen immediately taking his ring jacket off as it was covered in flames. Despite this, he basically has the ref pour bottles of water over him off-camera and is passed more water while he's in the chamber. Aside from foregoing his ominous walk to the ring (because, you know, he's actually on fire), he does not even break {{kayfabe}} and still wrestles his match. That is what you call a BadAss. (Cole, despite not knowing what happened, covered for Undertaker's break in character rather well.)
* ''Money In The Bank 2010''. Both ladder matches, but especially the part where Maryse climbed up and tried to get the briefcase for Ted Dibiase Jr. Kane finally winning the World Heavyweight Championship, using the Tombstone Piledriver to do it. Miz's huge victory and subsequent emotional promo about proving the cynics and skeptics wrong, and with the real life criticism and doubt he's dealt with his entire WWE career, it made the moment all the sweeter.
* While ''Summerslam 2010'' is considered by some to be lackluster, one moment has widely been regarded as a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. The WWE swerved just about '''''everyone''''' by having JohnCena announce that the seventh and final member of Team WWE, the team that he masterminded, in the WWE vs. Nexus match and the man that would replace the Great Khali was...'''''[[BryanDanielson DANIEL BRYAN.]]''''' Everyone from the IWC on up marked out noticeably as the American Dragon returned to assist Cena and the rest of Team WWE in a victory over the Nexus.
** Bryan managed to pretty much dominate every second he was in the ring, making both Darren Young and Heath Slater tap in record time with the omoplata crossface. It took an interfering Miz blindsiding him with a briefcase to bring him down. Striker also gets a small CMOA for screaming for the Cattle Mutilation and yelling for Bryan to kick Slater's head in.
** That the return managed to go unspoiled is a CMOA for WWE in itself. In an age where various wrestling dirtsheets manage to figure returns and spoilers within days of them occurring before spoiling them to the world, that Bryans return managed to surprise perhaps every wrestling fan watching Summerslam is a Crowning Moment of Awesome for WWE themselves.

[[folder:WWE - [=Non-WrestleMania=] Pay-Per-Views]]
'''''1992'''''
* Long before Flair's retirement, his biggest WWE [=CMoA=] came at ''Royal Rumble 1992'', when he entered the Rumble match at number three and outlasted everyone to win the vacant WWF Championship. Keep in mind, this was a Rumble match that boasted one of the WWF's most star-studded Rumble rosters (including Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Shawn Michaels, Ted [=DiBiase=], and Roddy Piper).
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSp0I_Ev0Yw His post-match interview was an appropriate exclamation point.]]
* This Troper personally sees the [=CMOA=] for Davey Boy Smith (more commonly known as The British Bulldog) as ''Summerslam 1992''. Headlining in a match for the Intercontinental Championship, Smith and Bret Hart (Smith's brother-in-law) had one of the best technical matches of the night, a showcase of the pure talent of two great wrestlers during their prime. The fact that it took place during the height of the WWF's popularity in the

took place at 1994's edition. Diesel came in at number 7, and completely cleaned house, dumping out all four of the current competitors, which included Scott Steiner, Kwang, a freshly [[FaceHeelTurn turned]] OwenHart, and Bart Gunn. From there, he would wait for participants to come out, and would elimiante the next three in very short order, which were Bob Backlund, Billy Gunn, and Virgil. It finally took a superstar the calibur of "The Macho Man" RandySavage just to stop Diesel from eliminating each guy one at a time. Diesel came into this match as a {{heel}} sidekick to ShawnMichaels, and by the time he was finally eliminated (by four guys no less), the crowd was giving him a standing ovation and chanting his name. This was one of the first runs of this type in Rumble history, and most "dominating performances" in Royal Rumbles use this as a template (see Kane in 2001 or CM Punk

to the back, Austin uttered words that have since become immortal, and considered to have launched both his career and the

only assign one [=CMoA=] for the entire Hart Family, it would have to be In Your House: Canadian Stampede, which took place in Calgary, home of the Hart clan. The main event of this PPV was a 5 on 5 tag team match featuring the Hart Foundation consisting of Brian Pillman, Jim "The Anvil Neidhart, The British Bulldog, OwenHart, and of course, BretHart against the American team of Goldust, Ken Shamrock, Legion of Doom, and StoneColdSteveAustin. The American team was comprised of some of the hottest [[{{Face}} babyfaces]] on the WWF roster at the time, but their entrances, especially Austin's, was met with visceral hatred. Meanwhile, the Harts got amazing ovations as they each entered seperately, the reactions getting louder and louder with each member introduced until finally they got to Bret, at which point you tell the arena is shaking. The crowd wouldn't die at all during the match,

but one especially stands out: the Hell in the Cell match versus The Undertaker at ''King Of The Ring 1998'' (which, for better or worse, set the bar incredibly high for [[GarbageWrestler Garbage Wrestlers]] to come). As per the planning of the match, Foley (then wrestling as Mankind) started the match climbing up onto the roof of the Cell, while a rather hesitant Undertaker followed; after a minute of fighting, Undertaker threw Mankind off the side of the Cell, with Mick falling sixteen feet onto the Doomed SpanishAnnouncersTable. For five minutes, replays of the stunt played as [=EMTs=] and trainers went to attend to Mick; Undertaker struggled to remain in character, and even Vince came out to see what happened. As Mick was being stretchered out, he stood up and ''literally'' ran to climb up the Cell again. Undertaker was legitimately shocked, but climbed back up as well (on a ''broken foot'') to continue the brawl. Then the unexpected happened: Undertaker chokeslammed Foley ''through the roof of the Cell and onto the ring below''; the chair that Foley was slammed onto followed suit, and did even more damage as it smashed into his face. According to all known sources (including Foley himself), '''that''' was unplanned (though some still believe that it was actually a worked spot, save for the chair). Mick chose to continue the match, which culminated with a dazed and confused Foley being slammed on thumbtacks. ''Twice.'' And Foley '''still''' managed to walk out rather than be carried on a stretcher.
** Foley would have been stretchered out after the match, but actually insisted on walking out instead of being stretchered out again.
** According to [=WrestlingGoneWrong.com=] (a website about all sorts of unplanned events happening during matches and shows), Foley was concussed and didn't remember anything after that fateful chokeslam. He regained consciousness after the match, and asked Undertaker if they actually used the thumbtacks. Undertaker told him to look at his arm, which was still covered with tacks.
*** This match also cemented Jim Ross as the greatest announcer in wrestling. BAH GAWD! "Good Gawd almighty, that killed him!", "He's broken in half!" and "Will somebody stop the damn match?!" are some of the

it gets.
** This was after all in brawls outside the ring and in the crowd, being struck with a 2x4 wrapped in barbed wire, smashed through a table, fighting back by smashing Hunter into the steel steps while handcuffed, asking if that's all he's got after numerous attacks with a chair and a slam onto thumbtacks backfiring. [[DoNotCallMePaul Paul's]] response? A downright '''''scary''''' Pedigree onto the tacks, a move that can kill someone (and in Marty Garner's case very nearly did) normally.
** Bradshaw's Clothesline From Hell To Mr. Ass.
** KurtAngle was in full-on SmugSnake mode and was yet to have been defeated in singles competition. He comes out at the opening of the PPV and delivers some backhanded comments about Patrick Ewing and the Knicks (it was Madison Square Garden and Angle's gimmick at the time was to obliviously insult the fans via their hometown sports stars). Then, his mystery opponent for the night appears: '''Taz'''. Debuting at the Rumble, Taz proceeds to squash Angle with a number of suplexes and the Tazmission, ending Angle's undefeated streak and delighting the New York crowd to no end.
* At No Way Out, Foley has his retirement match against Triple H in Hell in a Cell. A pretty awesome match, it finishes with Triple H backdropping Foley through the cage and smashing him through a section of the ring. Then Foley ''got up.'' Finally, Triple H hits the Pedigree and retires Foley, giving the Hardcore Legend one hell of a send-off. J.R.'s post-match comments in regards to Foley's awesomeness were pretty awesome themselves.
* The main event of ''Backlash 2000''. There's so many [=CMOAs=] here this troper, needs to break it down:
** The defending champion of the WWE Title: Triple H, with his girl Stephanie [=McMahon=] and his new father figure Vince [=McMahon=] at ringside; as well as having the benefit of Shane [=McMahon=] as Special Guest Referee to provide Quick Counts in his favour and to refuse to count the pinning attempt of the Challenger when he scored a DDT on the Game. And who was this seemingly unfortunate challenger? None other than the Rock, who was ''supposed'' to have had Stone Cold in his corner to even things out, but for some unknown reason Stone Cold was seemingly "not present" thereby leaving The Rock with seemingly impossible odds. Despite all this, The Rock managed to ''dislocate HHH's arm'' and he took Referee Shane out of action by giving both him and Trips a ''Double Rock Bottom through the SpanishAnnouncersTable.''
** And after the odds still proved too much and he was overwhelmed by a Pedigree and an assault by all male members of the [=McMahon=]-Helmsley regime; the match got even more awesome when the all too familiar sound of BREAKING GLASS sounded and an irate Stone Cold came out and laid out ALL OF THE ROCK'S OPPONENTS WITH A STEEL CHAIR.
** Even more awesomeness happened when Linda [=McMahon=] came out with the recently fired Earl Hebner and shoved her protesting daughter to the ground with almost ''total indifference''.
** And then to cap it all off, after The Rock had scored a spinebuster and a People's Elbow to score the pinfall victory after Hebner made the count, Stone Cold came out again and after a brief stare-down, The Rock and Stone Cold ''celebrated with a beer-bash''. Truly the highlight of The Rock vs Triple H feud and a brilliant [=CMoA=].
*** The pop when Rocky hit the spinebuster was SUPERSONIC. I thought the arena was going to implode.
* Summerslam 2000 was a Crowning Moment of Awesome for many superstars that night.
** Shane [=McMahon=] vs. Steve Blackman for the Hardcore title surpassed all expectations, and ended with Shane's first dive off the Titantron. It was especially risky because Blackman knocked him off, thus he had to do the dive ''backwards''. Blackman would finish Shane off with an elbow drop off the Tron much to the shock and delight of the crowd.
** The inagural Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match saw Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz. For the past year, various combinations of these teams had been tearing up the Tag Team Division in Ladder matches and Table matches. It all came together here for the first TLC match in which these six men (and Lita, who took a wicked Spear on the outside) stole the show

would be the next entrant.]] [[CaptainObvious He did not last very long.]]
** Finally, Kane would make it to the Runner Up position, surviving the likes of TheRock, Undertaker, and The Big Show. It took StoneColdSteveAustin with magic number 27 and a steel chair to finally get the Big Red Monster out.
* Shane [=McMahon's=] Last Man Standing Match against The Big Show at ''Backlash 2001'' wasn't as great, but the ending - where Shane won the match by hitting a super-leap-of-faith ''off the top of the Titantron'' onto Big Show - was certainly a CMOA for Shane. You can see [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x41eb1_shane-mcmahon-vs-big-show-backlash_sport the entire match here.]]
** Shane has a tendency to pull off CMOAs when he's in the ring. For this troper, the capper was his Street Fight with Kurt Angle at ''King of the Ring 2001'', in which he takes not one, but ''two'' suplexes onto a plate-glass window. The result of the first one? ''The glass doesn't break'', and Shane lands horrifically on his neck and shoulders (just inches away from having some '''real''' damage done). Both men, during later interviews, admit to being extremely worried Shane was hurt and were about to stop the match, but Shane gets himself upright and tells Kurt "throw me again". The glass breaks this time. Shane loses the match, but seriously - balls of steel, that one. (Later on, Angle would reveal that Shane suffered no real injuries from the match, while Kurt ended up breaking his tailbone.)
* Let us not forget Chris Jericho's biggest in-ring accomplishment - at ''Vengeance 2001'', after the end of the [=InVasion=] angle, Jericho defeated The Rock to win the World Heavyweight Championship (aka the WCW World Heavyweight Championship), then defeated Steve Austin directly afterwards to win the WWF Championship and unify the two titles into the WWF Undisputed Championship. To put that into perspective: Chris Jericho went from being a WCW midcarder to defeating the two biggest stars of the Attitude Era ''in the same night '''in consecutive matches''''' to unify two of the most prestigious world titles in professional wrestling history, all in

and the Undertaker was a sight behold. This match was famous for all the combatants using each others' signature moves on each other. This was also the last time The Rock would win the WWE title (which was the Undisputed Championship at the time).
* 2002 marked the return of ShawnMichaels from injury as he beat TripleH in a Street Fight at Summerslam. Later, at the year's Survivor Series, HBK pinned Triple H in the first ever Elimination Chamber to capture the World Heavyweight title.
** A smaller CMOA occurred during the Summerslam match thanks to referee Earl Hebner. Despite having no DQ rules, Hebner was warning Triple H about the unnecessary roughness he was putting on Shawn (specifically attacking his wounded back, using a sledgehammer, etc.) Finally, Triple H put Shawn in an abdominal stretch and was using the ropes for leverage (which is usually illegal). Hebner got Triple H to break the hold by pushing on him. Triple H shoved him only for Hebner to bounce off the ropes and shove him back. Hebner then ''backed Triple H into a corner and screamed at him'' to knock it off. Triple H looked sufficiently put in his place. Kudos to Hebner for getting in the face of the top heel in the WWE.

'''''2003'''''
* The original WWE brand split made [=PPVs=] brand-exclusive, and at the time, ''Raw'' had the bigger names on its roster. The first ''Raw''-exclusive PPV, ''Bad Blood 2003'', lived up to its name (by being bad); they had a [[GimmickMatches Hell in a Cell]], a match which rarely disappoints, which was (at best) just okay. The next

to the ring? You guessed it: Earl Hebner, the man who helped screw over Canadian wrestling legend Bret Hart as part of the Montreal Screwjob. (Why there wasn't a riot over this, no one knows.) They played out the Screwjob for all they were worth for about five minutes before Triple H broke the hold... and then, Benoit locks Michaels in the Sharpshooter to make him tap out, ending a match just as good as their [=WrestleMania=] outing (if not better) and giving the Canadian crowd a symbolic apology for the Montreal Screwjob.
--> "Ring the bell Earl! Ring it! You've done it before!"
** Benoit's promo the following night on ''Raw'', given he's not thought to be considerably talented in this regard, deserves mention too.
* On the undercard was an Intercontinental Championship match between MickFoley and RandyOrton. The match is considered by Foley to be his best. The match was filled with several highlights but none as intense as when Foley dropped Orton on a pile of thumbtacks.
* During her on-screen relationship with Kane, Lita became pregnant and was endlessly mocked for her weight by Trish. The loss of Lita's baby after a Kane-related accident prompted even more ridicule from Trish. So in the Women's Title match at ''Survivor Series 2004'', Lita finally retaliated against Trish by beating the everloving crap out of her, whacking her with a steel chair and breaking her nose by pushing her head-first into the steel steps. '''Ouch.'''
* Eddie Guerrero winning the WWE title @ No Way Out. Even heel commentator Tazz cheered.
* The 2004 Diva Search will be remembered for being many things...boring, a waste of time, [[WrestleCrap the winner of the 2004 Gooker Award for Worst in Pro Wrestling]] (to put it in perspective, [[DwayneJohnson The Rock]] was brought in to do a guest host segment on it, and not even '''''he''''' could make it interesting). But when the winner was about to be decided, the audience was treated to several minutes of forgiveness in the form of TrishStratus. Trish came out and in one promo, eviscerated the Divas Search competition, mocked one contestant for her "grueling" wins in things like pie-eating contests, and suggested to the

had just defeated Batista in a Cage Match; Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship in the process.)
** [[JadedJewel I]] was at that New Year's Revolution PPV. My brother, my dad and I were starting to leave when Cena won and I was pissed off at that victory, but when Edge came out, I shouted at my brother and Dad to wait, pointing out Edge. So we stayed and watched Edge beat Cena. And the audience there? They CHEERED when Edge came out and won. Albany fans did NOT like Cena, so Edge (or anyone) beating Cena was a [=CMoA=] for all of us fans.
* The match between Undertaker and Kurt Angle at ''No Way Out 2006'' was a CMOA for both men. If you have to ask why, consider this: Undertaker was around a month away from his 41st birthday, and Kurt Angle was (and, depending on who you ask, still is) working well past his physical prime, suffering from a multitude of injuries. Nobody believed the two could put on even a ''decent'' match, yet they overwhelmed everyone with a certifiable Match of the Year candidate.
* Getting revenge from after the Shawn Michaels/Vince [=McMahon=] ''[=WrestleMania=] 22'' match, the five-man team of the Spirit Squad attacks Shawn Michaels at ''Backlash 2006'', lifting him up into the air and dropping him through a table.
* ''ECW One Night Stand 2006'' kicked off the "rebirth" of ECW and featured one of the biggest mark-out moments for ECW fans ''ever'': thanks to Extreme Rules, a well-timed spear by Edge, and Paul Heyman acting as a referee, Rob Van Dam won the WWE Championship by defeating John Cena (a decision that would not only be held up, but would result in RVD holding both the WWE Championship and the newly-reinstated ECW Championship at the same time).
** And speaking of that match: Cena/RVD [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-65Zke10LU quickly turned into Cena/RVD & ECW Fans]]. The first few minutes of the match involved John Cena playing catch with the audience (he kept throwing his jersey into the crowd; the crowd, usually with "THROW IT BACK!" chants... well, threw it back). The crowd was universally against Cena, with chants such as "You can't wrestle!", "Same old sh*t!" and "You still suck!" They even chanted "f*ck John Cena!" ''in rounds''. There was no "mixed reaction" that night; anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is a liar and you should call them a liar to their face. (Or, as Joey Styles put it: "It's mixed between those flipping him the middle finger and those using the F-word.") And of course, there was the large sign in the rafters of the Hammerstein that evolved into a meme all its own: '''IF CENA WINS, WE RIOT'''
*** It's also worth mentioning that during said t-shirt-throwing, one fan upped the ante by throwing the shirt ''from nowhere near the front row'' to land it right across the top rope (not even the one facing him) like laundry out to dry.
** This match was a big CMOA for Cena too: just watch the match and look at how he sold the crowd's reaction to him. He played off them perfectly, going right back to his heel roots in excellent fashion without really changing a thing in regards to actual presentation. While the Cena hate still continues to some degree, his performance here is probably a big part of why Cena's won a lot of fans over since then.
* When Montel Vontavious Porter was first introduced into the WWE, the general consensus among the {{Smart Mark}}s was that he was a terrible wrestler, and his push (fittingly, as an overpaid, overrated, showboating {{Heel}}) would be better used on somebody with actual talent -- the line of thinking apparently being, if (rapidly-decaying-at-this-point) smark darling Chris Benoit couldn't drag a decent match out of him, there was no hope for him at all. Then came ''Armageddon 2006'', and its [[GimmickMatches Inferno match]] between MVP and Kane. Which ended with ''MVP's entire back consumed in flames''. Almost overnight, MVP became one of the most popular wrestlers among smarks, and while this eventually died down (as it always seems to), he remains an internet favorite to this day. If there's one thing wrestling fans, smark and mark alike, love to see, it's balls. [[DoubleEntendre Stop giggling]].
* Trish Stratus, a former fitness model who spent her WWE career building herself up from a simple valet into arguably one of the most respected and popular female wrestlers in the history of the promotion, got a sendoff worthy of being called a Crowning Moment -- in her farewell match with the company, she beat longtime rival Lita in her hometown of Toronto, Canada (in a day and age where EVERYONE who wrestles in their hometown seems to job) ''with the Sharpshooter'' '''''for a record seventh Women's Championship'''''. Trish took her final bows before a standing ovation from thousands of fans and every WWE employee at ringside. I think [[http://i32.tinypic.com/2ptdt3o.jpg this]] says it all (the photo is from her post-match farewell bows).
* Similar to the "Sweetest Chin Music" example below, ''Unforgiven 2006'' had Carlito attempt a

about

of the ''[=SmackDown=]'' roster mere hours afterward.
* At ''Armageddon 2007'', Jeff Hardy defeated Triple H '''clean''' to win a shot at the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble in 2008 (managing to get Triple H to do a clean job could be a [=CMoA=] in and of itself, depending on who you ask). The following year would be one of controversy and heartbreak for both Jeff and his fans -- he lost his match at the Royal Rumble; he blew his chance to be in the Money in the Bank match at ''[=WrestleMania=] 24'' thanks to a Wellness Policy violation (and during his suspension, his house burned down, destroying all of his personal possessions and killing his pet dog); he lost three more shots at the WWE Championship after his return (and was written out of a fourth one). It looked like hope was lost for the "Charismatic Enigma"...until ''Armageddon 2008'', where Jeff Hardy competed against Triple H and

would retire following his contract's expiration]] (the contract angle was actually legit, as Dreamer's contract really did expire in June of 2009). The build-up very strongly hinted that this would, in fact, be his last match and [[{{Kayfabe}} he even put up a note on his WWE blog saying that he had arranged to be allowed to keep blogging for a month if he lost, to round out his thoughts on this career]]. He even said that he got a one day extension on his contract just to compete in the match. So in the match, just after Jack Swagger was going for his Gutwrench Powerbomb finisher on Christian, Tommy (in true ECW fashion) blasted Swagger with a crutch and hit his signature DDT to pick up the victory and the title. (The next day, the dirtsheets reported that Dreamer had signed a new multi-year contract.)
*** Less than a month later, at ''The Bash 2009'', Tommy would retain the belt against ''four challengers'' (Finlay, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, and Christian) in a Championship Scramble Match.
* ''Night of Champions 2009:'' CM Punk delivers an absolutely golden promo wherein he preaches his hardcore/straightedge lifestyle to a very vitriolic Philly crowd, which not only cements his status as a full-bore heel in WWE, but pretty much tells everyone on the creative team that yes, the hardcore straightedge angle ''can'' work on a main eventer ''and'' it can be awesome.
* ''Bragging Rights 2009'': the 60 Minute Iron Man Match between John Cena and Randy Orton. Mostly for its Holysh*tQuotient. Like Orton RKO'ing Cena in the middle of an FU, Cena FU'ing Orton from the top rope, Orton throwing Cena ''through a wall'', Orton actually ''[[{{KillItWithFire}} trying to use the pryo to toast Cena's back]]'', Orton DDT'ing Cena from the ring apron, Cena throwing Orton through the ring barricade, and Cena FU'ing Orton through a table.
** After being split up months earlier in the WWE Draft, The Miz and John Morrison found themselves as opponents heading into ''Bragging Rights 2009'', both holding championship gold (United States and Intercontinental, respectively). Despite their success, their feud leading up to the event was centered around which superstar was the [[{{Garfunkel}} Jannetty]] of the team. Considering that The Miz has been seen as the hanger-on by basically the entire WWE audience ever since Miz and Morrison began tagging, it could easily be considered a [=CMoA=] when Miz defeated Morrison cleanly at the PPV, finally stepping out of his former partner's shadow and proving his worth as a competitor - especially considering the fact that, in winning his match, Miz became the only one of the 11 ''Raw'' competitors in a "''[=SmackDown=]'' vs. ''Raw''" match to leave the arena victorious (a traitorous Big Show ensured that not even the mighty Degeneration-X was able to pick up a win that night).
* An up-and-comer by the name of Sheamus (he's Irish, y'see) was a relatively unproven commodity, having only been in WWE for six months (and in WWE's developmental territory for a while before that). That didn't stop WWE from deciding to make him a new star: at the ''TLC: Tables Ladders and Chairs'' pay-per-view in December 2009, Sheamus defeated '''John freaking Cena''' in a Tables Match to win his first WWE Championship, arguably giving him bragging rights over the single biggest upset of the decade.
* At ''Surivor Series 2009'', Kofi Kingston found himself in a 2-on-1 situation during his Survivor Series Match, facing down CM Punk and Randy Orton. Kofi managed to pin CM Punk, then nailed Randy Orton with his Trouble in Paradise kick when Orton tried to sneak up on him and hit an RKO (as he'd already done twice that match to Kofi's teammates Mark Henry and Christian) and pinned him to gain the win, making him

over the top rope by Khali, who motions for her to go to the back, she grabs Khali and plants a kiss on him - a kiss so deep, she ends up dragging him over the top rope and eliminating him. Yes, ''Beth Phoenix eliminated '''The Great Khali.''''' Not to mention after this she clotheslined PUNK and lifted him '''OVER HER SHOULDERS'''.
** "The Straight Edge Savior", CM Punk, earned himself a CMOA during this event. He entered at #3 and made short work of both Dolph Ziggler and Evan Bourne (it helped that each had hit their finisher on the other moments before Punk's entrance), then began to cut a promo for the Straight Edge Society as the countdown for #4 begins. It turns out to be JTG, who Punk quickly tosses out; after doing so, he goes right back to his promo. #5 turns out be The Great Khali, who rejects Punk's offer to be "saved" by Straight Edge by giving Punk a good old-fashioned Brain Chop. #6 is Beth Phoenix, who eliminates Khali (as mentioned above), but eats a GTS from Punk and gets tossed; Punk then ''goes right back into the promo''. #7 is Zack Ryder, and as Punk tells him that he has the potential to be saved, he blasts Ryder in the head with the microphone and tosses him; again, after he does this, Punk goes right back into the promo. Sadly, all good things come to an end, as TripleH drew #8 and Punk was eliminated soon thereafter. However, CM Punk has the distinction of eliminating five out of the first seven entrants of the Rumble ''and cutting a promo at the same time.''
*** At ''Elimination Chamber 2010'', Punk and R-Truth were the first two to start the Smackdown Chamber match. Punk would pin Truth in the first five minutes of the match and would proceed to pick up right where he left off at the Rumble and did another sermon.
** "The World's Largest Athlete", The Big Show, enters at #22. "The World's Strongest Man", Mark Henry, enters at #23. Then, in possibly the biggest shocker of the night (even considering what's mentioned below), [=SmackDown=] midcarder R-Truth enters at #25 and manages to eliminate ''both of them '''at the same time'''''.
** Also during the Rumble, Edge made his triumphant return as the #29 entrant, eliminating John Cena to cement his place in history as the 2010 Royal Rumble winner.
** Rey Mysterio made The Undertaker BLEED.
* ''Royal Rumble 2010'', not the Rumble Match: generic heels Layla and Michelle [=McCool=] actually got interesting when they started taunting Mickie James about her weight, calling her "Piggie James" and engaging in all sorts of nasty bullying (one segment had them smash a pig-shaped cake in Mickie's face and drown her in punch); Mickie got her back at ''Royal Rumble 2010'', however, when she squashed [=McCool=] for the Women's Championship in less than 20 seconds. And what happened next? The other Divas came down with a big cake, which got smashed all over [=McCool=] and Layla. Also a Crowning Moment of Funny as well.
* The Undertaker got an unsung moment at ''Elimination Chamber 2010''. When Taker went to do his entrance, he got burned by his pyro and was seen immediately taking his ring jacket off as it was covered in flames. Despite this, he basically has the ref pour bottles of water over him off-camera and is passed more water while he's in the chamber. Aside from foregoing his ominous walk to the ring (because, you know, he's actually on fire), he does not even break {{kayfabe}} and still wrestles his match. That is what you call a BadAss. (Cole, despite not knowing what happened, covered for Undertaker's break in character rather well.)
* ''Money In The Bank 2010''. Both ladder matches, but especially the part where Maryse climbed up and tried to get the briefcase for Ted Dibiase Jr. Kane finally winning the World Heavyweight Championship, using the Tombstone Piledriver to do it. Miz's huge victory and subsequent emotional promo about proving the cynics and skeptics wrong, and with the real life criticism and doubt he's dealt with his entire WWE career, it made the moment all the sweeter.
* While ''Summerslam 2010'' is considered by some to be lackluster, one moment has widely been regarded as a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. The WWE swerved just about '''''everyone''''' by having JohnCena announce that the seventh and final member of Team WWE, the team that he masterminded, in the WWE vs. Nexus match and the man that would replace the Great Khali was...'''''[[BryanDanielson DANIEL BRYAN.]]''''' Everyone from the IWC on up marked out noticeably as the American Dragon returned to assist Cena and the rest of Team WWE in a victory over the Nexus.
** Bryan managed to pretty much dominate every second he was in the ring, making both Darren Young and Heath Slater tap in record time with the omoplata crossface. It took an interfering Miz blindsiding him with a briefcase to bring him down. Striker also gets a small CMOA for screaming for the Cattle Mutilation and yelling for Bryan to kick Slater's head in.
** That the return managed to go unspoiled is a CMOA for WWE in itself. In an age where various wrestling dirtsheets manage to figure returns and spoilers within days of them occurring before spoiling them to the world, that Bryans return managed to surprise perhaps every wrestling fan watching Summerslam is a Crowning Moment of Awesome for WWE themselves.

[[folder:{{WWE}} - Raw]]

'''''1993'''''
* '''May 17 1993:''' This RAW is notable for two of the biggest upsets in the early years of Monday Night RAW.
** Razor Ramon took on Sean Waltman, known at that time as simply "The Kid" and this match was assumed to be your regular squash match by the viewers. It would be played out as such, until The Kid went up the top rope and hit a Standing Moonsault on Razor and actually pinned him! Waltman would take the name 123 Kid and would use the momentum to become an upper-midcard babyface and later a NewWorldOrder and D-Generation X member. This would also set in motion a HeelFaceTurn for Razor, which would lead to arguably the most successful years of his career.
** Marty Jannetty made a sudden return to defeat his former Rockers partner ShawnMichaels for the Intercontinental title. Considering that The Rockers are a MostTriumphantExample of the BreakupBreakout trope, it is nice to see that for one day, Michaels took a backseat to his former partner.

'''''1997'''''

* '''March 17, 1997:''' With the WWF really beginning to change its direction from the New Generation approach to the Attitude era, BretHart was finding himself at a crossroads in his career. This feeling of being on the outside looking in of the WWF's new direction would manifest itself in a promo after Bret lost a steel cage match for the WWF title to Sycho Sid. Vince [=McMahon=] would try to interview Bret after the loss and this what we would get...
-->'''Vince:''' You have to be terribly frustrated, extremely frustrated as to what has happened here.
-->''Bret shoves Vince down to the ground!''
-->'''Bret:''' FRUSTRATED ISN'T THE GOD DAMN WORD FOR IT! THIS IS [[PrecisionFStrike BULLsh*t!]] You screwed me, everybody screwed me, and nobody does a god damn thing about it! Nobody in the bulding cares, nobody in the dressing room cares! So much god damn injustice around here, I have had it up to here! Everybody knows it, I know it, everybody knows that I should be the World Wrestling Federation champion! Everybody just keeps turning a blind eye! You [Vince] keep turning a blind eye to it! I've got that Gorilla Monsoon, he turns a blind eye to it! Everybody in that dressing room knows that I am the best there is, the best there was, and the best that there ever will be! If you don't like it, tough [[PrecisionFStrike sh*t!]]
* This was the ''Raw'' before [=WrestleMania=] 13, in which he teased a heel turn.

'''''1998'''''
* '''March 30 1998:''' [=X-Pac=]. Yes, '''[[XPacHeat that]]''' [=X-Pac=]. The day after ''[=WrestleMania=] XIV'', Triple H brought in Sean Waltman (recently released from WCW) to join Degeneration-X, and Waltman cut a ''blistering'' promo:
--> "First thing's first...I gotta a little sumtin' sumtin' I gotta get off my chest right now. I heard Hulk Hogan come out on television sayin' I couldn't cut the mustard... well, Hulk Hogan, you SUCK, pal! So I don't think you have any room to talk about anybody cuttin' any kinda muster. And Hulk, I got some more advice for ya - you better not stop short or Eric Bischoff'll go so far up your ass, he'll know what you had for breakfast! And I got something else to say - Kevin Nash and Scott Hall would be standing right here with us if they weren't bein' held hostage by World Championship Wrestling AND THAT'S A FACT, ERIC BISCHOFF! So put that in your pipe and smoke it!"
** This night was a Crowning Moment for the entire promotion. Many historic moments took place on this show, the implications of which were felt throughout the entire Attitude era.
*** Triple H took over D-Generation X from Shawn Michaels and would bring in Sean Waltman, and later in the main event, DX would recruit the New Age Outlaws and help them win the WWF Tag Titles against Cactus Jack and Terry Funk. The loss would also set up Mick Foley as a challenger for Stone Cold's WWF Title as the fans would chant for Austin while Cactus and Funk were laying in the ring.
*** Speaking of Austin, he would end up getting arrested at the hands of Vince [=McMahon=], furthering the brewing rivalary between Austin and [=McMahon=].
*** [[DwayneJohnson The Rock]] would seize control of the Nation of Domination from Faarooq, furthering Rock's path to the main event.
* '''December 29 1998:''' Mick Foley wins the WWE Championship for the first time. This particular episode of ''RAW'' had been pre-taped; when the outcome was spoiled on the competing ''WCW Monday Nitro'', '''half a million fans''' switched channels to see it. This, combined with the Fingerpoke of Doom on ''Nitro'', spelled certain doom for WCW - and for months after the fact, fans showed up with "Mick Foley put my butt in this seat" signs to mock WCW announcer Tony Schiavone's remarks about Foley.

'''''1999'''''
* '''April 26 1999''' Most people hate the Ministry of Darkness angle but the high point of the story was probably one of best moments ever. The night after Backlash '99 where The Undertaker had kidnapped a still young and innocent Stephanie Mc Mahon, the end of Raw, he came out with the Ministry and was preparing to force marry her. Ken Shamrock and the Big Show both run out at points to save her but the Ministry easily beats them back. Just as it looks hopeless, suddenly the sound of glass breaking (which got one of the biggest pops ''ever'') signals Stone Cold running in and whipping everybody's ass and saving the day. Though the rest of the angle was pretty stupid, this one moment can't be seen without punching the air.
* '''August 9 1999:''' "Lionheart" Chris Jericho had languished in the midcard of WCW for a number of years, despite pushing to try and get to the main event. When he figured out that he'd never get there, he jumped ship to the WWF in 1999. During a promo by ''The Rock'', of all people, the ''Countdown to the Millennium'' clock that had been counting down for a few weeks prior hit zero...and out came Jericho, who redubbed himself [="Y2J"=] and launched his WWF career. The crowd reaction was enormous, and while his WWE career has had its ups and downs, Jericho's WWE debut was one of the most memorable moments of both his career and the Attitude Era.
* '''September 27 1999:''' Mick "Mankind" Foley puts on "The Rock: This Is Your Life!", an extra-long RAW segment that was a celebration of The Rock's life and career (much to The Rock's chagrin). It is STILL the highest rated segment in the show's history.

'''''2000'''''
* '''May 22 2000:''' At ''Judgment Day 2000'', The Rock lost his title to Triple H due to disqualification. The following night on ''Raw'', with the help of The Undertaker, The Rock took out the entire [=McMahon=] Family and D-Generation X!

'''''2001'''''
* '''July 9 2001:''' During the opening stages of the [=InVasion=] storyline, Chris Jericho and Kane were wrestling Lance Storm and Mike Awesome (representing WCW). As Jericho locked Storm in his Walls of Jericho submission hold, Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer came down and attacked Jericho and Kane, with Storm and Awesome joining in. A contingent of WWF wrestlers consisting of the Dudley Boyz, Tazz, Justin Credible, Rhyno, and Raven came down to lend their help, but after a brief standoff with Storm, Awesome, [=RVD=], and Dreamer, the cavalry turned its back on the WWF and started beating down Kane and Jericho. Paul Heyman, the former head of ECW and the broadcast partner of JimRoss at the time, left his position and entered the ring to announce that the [=InVasion=] had just gotten taken "to the extreme!", implying that ECW was joining in on the [=InVasion=] as a third party.
--> '''Paul Heyman:''' FEEL THIS MOMENT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!
** Sadly, this moment was ruined later in the show when it was announced that ECW was now owned (kayfabe) by Stephanie [=McMahon=] and it was joining up with WCW to form "The Alliance". However, the initial turn of the "ECW Originals" contingent of WWF wrestlers is still a shining moment in a storyline full of utter suck. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ8BVqxHkzc You can watch the moment here]].

'''''2002'''''
* '''January 7 2002:''' After spending ten months on the shelf with a torn quad muscle in his leg, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N8tr_QDhDk Triple H returned to Raw at Madison Square Garden.]] (Warning: the pop he gets for his return is deafening, so make sure your volume is adjusted appropriately.) This kicked off his "Road to [=WrestleMania=]" (18 to be precise), wherein he would face - and defeat - Chris Jericho for the WWE Undisputed Championship.
* '''July 1 2002:''' The Undertaker (then in his American Badass persona) defended the WWE Undisputed Championship against unlikely challenger Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match. The match itself isn't exactly the best ladder match in history, so why is this a Crowning Moment? Because everyone involved, from the wrestlers to the commentary team, made viewers believe that Jeff could make a miracle happen and defeat The Deadman in ''his'' match to become a world champion. As Jim Ross famously called:
--> ''CLIMB THE LADDER, KID! '''MAKE YOURSELF FAMOUS!'''''
** Ultimately, Jeff would lose the match, but he'd get another Crowning Moment after the match. Before Undertaker started making his way back up the entrance ramp, he went back into the ring and demolished Jeff Hardy with the Last Ride powerbomb; after this, Undertaker made his way up the ramp, only to hear Jeff Hardy start taunting him with "I'm still standing, Undertaker!" and "You haven't broken me!" as he used the ring ropes to keep himself on his feet. Undertaker charged back down to the ring, readied himself to beat Jeff up some more...then patted his head and raised his hand in a sign of respect. While Jeff's career would be full of ups and downs after this (and he wouldn't become a world champion for the first time until 2008), this match was a tremendous boost to Jeff's credibility as a main eventer.
* '''July 15 2002:''' Former WCW president Eric Bischoff appears on stage and is announced the new General Manager of ''Raw'', to the shock of everyone. ''He even hugged Vince [=McMahon=]!''
** The best part of that whole deal was that practically ''nobody'' knew why he was there, if they knew he was there at all. This resulted in Booker T being interviewed backstage, Bischoff walks past and says hi, and Booker says in response "Tell me... I didn't just see that."

'''''2003'''''
* '''June 30 2003:''' Gail Kim was the first Diva to be given vignettes hyping up her debut on TV (which came with some [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome awesome entrance music]]). What happened in her debut match, a seven-woman battle royal for the WWE Women's Championship? She dumped Victoria out at the end to win the title ''in her very first WWE match.''

'''''2004'''''
* '''December 6 2004:''' Lita and Trish's main event match, which is arguably Lita's grandest CMOA and a pretty tall one for Trish. Their feud was built up with Lita being constantly attacked, bullied, and humiliated by snotty bitch Trish, and finally, Lita got some massive payback by breaking Trish's nose a month earlier. This match started out simple enough... until Trish was thrown to the outside, and Lita ran to make a dive on her. Whether Lita misaimed or things just went wonky, she wound up landing with her full weight on her face and so hard that she basically bent herself in half backwards, especially alarming considering her surgically-rebuilt neck. Not only did Lita rally back and continue the match after the sort of hit that should have sidelined not only her but probably most anyone else on the roster, she won the WWE Women's Championship for the first time in over four years after one of the best matches she'd ever had, which included a sweet Superplex and the use of her long-forgotten moonsault. The best part? Lita walked away from it completely uninjured while the arena (and her mother at ringside) exploded into cheers for her.

'''''2005'''''
* '''February 21 2005:''' Batista's [=thumbs-up-to-thumbs-down=], signifying his HeelFaceTurn to Triple H, could not have been more perfect. It certainly helped when he led Trips into the trap by dropping the Raw contract, after saying he knew what he was going to do for a while.
* '''May 2 2005:''' Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin, part of the Gold Rush Tournament to determine the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, ended up with a shot that would be in the ''Raw'' intro for years: Shelton, having dazed Michaels, stands on the ring apron and leapfrogs off the top rope, intending to attack Michaels. Shawn, seeing this coming, '''nearly decapitates Shelton with Sweet Chin Music''' and picks up the win. Some fans have taken to calling it "Sweetest Chin Music", and there's even a few who think it's the best Superkick that Shawn ever pulled off.
* '''July 11 2005:''' Matt Hardy making a shocking out-of-nowhere return several weeks after the real life affair with Lita and Edge (after said incident he was released... or so we thought). A few weeks later, Matt explained everything in a shoot promo.
** He actually ''was'' released... and then swiftly rehired when it became obvious that there was no way they could keep a lid on the fan reaction and they might as well make some money off it.
** You mean WorkedShoot, sir.
*** [[PikaHikariKT Female]], [[ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet actually]].
** For indy wrestling fans, this was ''especially'' awesome because Matt Hardy actually namedropped RingOfHonor, which he was scheduled to make a series of appearances for at the time, at the tail end of his promo that night. Needless to say, fans of the promotion were more than a little thrilled at the brief moment of national exposure.
* '''August 15 2005:''' One of Shawn Michaels' Crowning Moments came thanks to the {{Heel}} promo he delivered on Hulk Hogan in Montreal, where he played the very real hatred the crowd had for him like a fiddle; right in the middle of his promo, after Michaels namedropped Bret Hart, Hart's entrance music played (and received a huge pop from the Montreal crowd)...but when Hart failed to appear, Michaels mocked the crowd before admitting that yes, he ''did'' screw Bret, and he was proud of it. He then goes on to fake Hogan's entrance music, and plays the crowd again.
** Honestly, [[VoodooChild this troper]] can't get past "Who's your daddy, Montreal?" without punching the air. Everything after that is just decorative.

'''''2006'''''
* '''May 1 2006:''' Joey Styles takes the RAW announce team, Vince [=McMahon=], the WWE, and damn near ''the entire American professional wrestling industry'' to task in his big "I Quit!" [[spoiler:worked shoot]] speech before moving to the ECW announce position a few weeks later:
--> "Six months ago, {{WWE}} called ''me''! I didn't call this company because I wasn't looking for a job; I didn't need a job. WWE called ''me'', becuase they had humiliated and fired -- '''again!''' -- JimRoss. So I get JR's spot. And from WEEK ONE, week after week, I got an ongoing lecture about the differences between ''ProfessionalWrestling'' and ''SportsEntertainment''. [[InsistentTerminology I'm not allowed to say "Pro Wrestling", I'm not allowed to say "wrestler"...I have to say "sports entertainment" and refer to the wrestlers as "Superstars"]]. I'm told to [[EpicFail deliberately ignore the moves and the holds during the matches so I can tell stories]]. Well, ignoring the moves and the holds is ''damn insulting'' to the athletes -- [[InsistentTerminology the WRESTLERS, not the "ENTERTAINERS"]] -- who leave their families three hundred days a year to ply their craft [[TonightInThisVeryRing in that ring]]! [[SarcasmMode And there's the best part]]; because I'm not a SportsEntertainment storyteller, I get pulled from [=WrestleMania=], and the reason I'm given is [[CompletelyMissingThePoint because I don't sound like Jim Ross]]...who's the guy they fired in the first place; [[SarcasmMode that makes sense, right]]?! So I swallow the bitter pill; I'm a company guy. I get bumped from [=WrestleMania=]...but then I get bumped from Backlash? I'm not good enough to call ''Backlash?!'' In {{ECW}}, I called live pay-per-views on my own, solo, no color commentators dragging me down -- wasn't been done before me, hasn't been done since! [[InsaneTrollLogic But I get bumped from Backlash... because I'm not a Sports Entertainment storyteller]]. Well, you know what? I am '''sick''' of Sports Entertainment! I am sick of male cheerleaders... I am sick of boogers and bathroom humor and sem*n! And I am sick of our chairman, who likes to talk about his own sem*n, he mocks God -- '''HE MOCKS GOD!''' -- and makes out with the Divas all to feed his own insatiable ego! I am sick of "sports entertainment"...and most of all, I'm sick of you fans who actually buy into this crap, this sports entertainment circus! I never needed this job, and I don't want this job anymore. ''(takes WWE logo off his microphone)'' '''I QUIT!'''
** I was there in person -- it was even more awesome live.
*** See the video, and Lawler's reaction, [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/kngVODaLUKrw5TP2I6 here]]. Joey Styles summed up in 4 minutes everything that's dragging down WWE, and looked good doing it.

'''''2007'''''
* '''November 17 2007:''' "The Second Coming", the name given to Chris Jericho's awesome return in 2007, kickstarting a feud with Randy Orton over the WWE Championship.

'''''2008'''''
* '''March 31 2008:''' '''''EVERYONE''''' not under contract to TNA comes out to say goodbye to a retiring Ric Flair. This Troper's markout moment came when the Four Horsem*n's music played and, for the first time ever, the Four Horsem*n appeared in WWE.
** As if Randy Orton in tears wasn't surreal enough, This Troper was bowled over by footage of the Undertaker coming out like a normal entrance after Raw went off the air, the gathered wrestlers parting like the Red Sea so he could walk down the ramp and into the ring, where he ''dropped to one knee'' in front of Flair. 'Taker certainly took advantage of being the only wrestler who can get away with ''not'' breaking character during a positive shoot to give some icing on the cake of Flair's send-off. Defending Elizabeth, siding with Kane, the real life Undertaker and Sara... I think this beats them all for his CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming.
*** The off-air continuation of the celebration was included in the most recent [=DVD=] dedicated to Flair; it also included Vince [=McMahon=] coming down to the ring to celebrate ''and'' Flair's family making their way into the ring.
**** The fact that Flair wound up unretiring again, first to wrestle Hulk Hogan on his tour of Australia in late 2009 and then to wrestle for TNA, doesn't even tarnish this.
**** [[YourMileageMayVary Yes it does.]]
* Coming off a victory over Batista at ''Night of Champions 2008'', Edge taunted the Raw crowd by claiming he'd take the World Heavyweight Championship back to ''[=SmackDown=]'' with him, leaving Raw without a world title (WWE Champion Triple H had been drafted to ''[=SmackDown=]'' prior to ''Night of Champions''). Batista took exception to Edge's claim, and demolished him...after which, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard CM Punk cashed in the Money in the Bank contract]] (which he won at ''[=WrestleMania=] 24'') and gave Edge a Go To Sleep for the ages, allowing him to win the World Heavyweight Championship - which, itself, led to many mark-outs around the world, proving anyone who thought that CM Punk would never hold a big title in the WWE wrong.

'''''2009'''''
* '''September 21 2009:''' Long-time announcer, Lillian Garcia, who had been with the company, had her last night with WWE and was given the rare privilege to give a goodbye speech, for which the fans gave her a standing ovation.
* '''October 26 2009:''' Kofi Kingston defeats Chris Jericho, only to get attacked by Randy Orton after the match. How does he get even? He interrupts Randy Orton's mic tirade before [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVds4vwGaKw wrecking Orton's custom-painted stock car.]]
** Then on the November 16 2009 edition of ''Raw'', Kofi Kingston made his Madison Square Garden debut in fine fashion: having been feuding with Randy Orton leading into ''Survivor Series'', Kingston was on the cusp of being elevated to the next level of his career; Kofi ended up elevating himself by brawling into the crowd and staging area with Orton (who had been trying to beat up the night's guest host, Roddy Piper), and after setting Orton up on a table, Kofi performed his "Boom Boom Drop" double legdrop maneuver on Orton, earning him a huge ovation from the MSG crowd.

'''''2010'''''
* '''January 4 2010:''' Bret "The Hitman" Hart returned to WWE television, stepping into a WWE ring for the first time in over 12 years - and had his first face-to-face meeting with Shawn Michaels since the infamous MontrealScrewjob. "CrowningMomentOfAwesome" would actually be an underwhelming term to label the moment that these two legends finally came face-to-face with each other after all the hype and mystique surrounding their roles in the incident. The two men agreed to bury the hachet and not only shook hands in mutual forgiveness and respect, but embraced each other in what will most definitely be seen as a long overdue CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming. Bret pretty much summed up the overall feeling of the night's events with his first words of the evening: "Well, I guess Hell froze over."
** Even better? Bret's return came with [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome a kick-ass remix of his classic WWE theme]].
* '''April 26 2010:''' [=ShoMiz=] (The Big Show and The Miz) defend the WWE Unified Tag Team Championships against the team of David Hart Smith (the son of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith) and Tyson Kidd (the last graduate of the Hart Dungeon), better known as the Hart Dynasty. This ended up as a great moment for the Hart family, as the new generation of Harts captured their first tag team gold ''with Bret Hart at ringside.'' Also a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming watching Smith, Kidd, Natalya (the daughter of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart), and Bret celebrate in the ring together. Since mere words can't do this moment justice, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeRk-Z1iS60 watch it here and listen to the roof become unglued from Richmond Coliseum at the end of the match.]]
** An extra CMOA goes to Bret Hart just before the match. When The Miz defeated David Hart Smith one-on-one two weeks prior, the match stipulations stated that the next week, Bret would say [=ShoMiz=] was the greatest tag team in history. The announcement was actually made two weeks later (since Bret and most of the ''Raw'' crew were stuck in the United Kingdom because of the Icelandic volcano that spewed a giant ashcloud all over Europe); Bret did it, with no bitter sarcasm or anger in his voice... but then he followed it up by saying that he could say anything he wanted, and if [=ShoMiz=] was the best tag team ever, [[TakeThat The Mountie was the greatest WWE Intercontinental Champion ever and David Arquette was the greatest world champion ever]]. Two points for the Harts: one for Bret's burn and one for the gold.
* '''May 31 2010:''' Evan Bourne got his Crowning Moment when, after taking a viscious beating from Edge at the start of the show, he was chosen by none other than John Cena to be his tag team partner in the main event. In the closing moments of the match, Edge missed a spear and collided with the ring post, taking him out of the match. Cena hit Sheamus with an Attitude Adjustment... and then dragged him over to the corner, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9aG2kRZzE0 allowing Bourne to hit his patented Shooting Star Press and win the match.]] The [[{{OpinionMyopia}} usually awful]] Cole and Lawler did a great job of putting Bourne over, as well. That this came after months of jobbing (to Sheamus, no less) is what really makes it a CMOA, though.
* '''June 7 2010:''' At the end of a three-hour "Viewer's Choice" ''Raw'', WWE Champion John Cena is facing off against the opponent that fans chose for him, CM Punk. A few minutes into the match, NXT Season One winner Wade Barrett (who earned himself a free title shot against any title holder on an upcoming PPV) comes out onto the entrance stage and starts making his way to the ring. Not altogether odd. But then the camera cuts to NXT rookie Michael Tarver, who's in the crowd and jumping over the ringside barricade. And then the other NXT Season One rookies, including Daniel Bryan, jump the barricade...and ''all hell breaks loose.'' The Nexus (as the group was officially named a few weeks later) start by taking out the Straight Edge Society, then they all get in the ring and deliver a Horsem*n-style ass kicking of epic proportions to ''John freaking Cena''. And after making sure he couldn't fight back, the Rookies leave the ring and start causing chaos at ringside, wasting announcers and other personnel before destroying the announce table ''and the ring itself.'' Then the Rookies return to the ring and make damn sure than Cena isn't getting up on his own, continuing the beatdown for a few more minutes before finally leaving the ring and heading to the back, leaving Cena lying in the ring for medical personnel to stretcher off. The "NXT Riot" was the one of the most chaotic and unpredictable segments in years, and even in the very post-"worked shoot" age of wrestling, it still felt very, very uneasy to watch...even to a Cena hater.
** The entire segment was so amazing, that each of the rookies got their own moment (some even more than one) amidst the chaos.
*** For instance, who would've thought that the crazy-haired "South Beach Party Boy", '''Darren Young''', could be capable of plowing through the ringside barricade, grabbing the timekeeper by the scruff of his shirt and yelling at him menacingly, then punching him right in the face without a hint of remorse?
*** '''Heath Slater''' took one of the darker turns of the night when he picked up the detached middle ring rope and proceeded to choke Cena with it, a moment made all the more sinister when it was punctuated by a few high-pitched shrieks from the audience. Slater's response? After standing up, he walked over to the ropes and gave the crowd a "Try doing something about it" look.
*** "A-List" '''David Otunga's''' moment is a little harder to place due to the camera angles that were used. Some might say that it was when he cold-co*cked the referee, or when he flattened Cena with his spinebuster finisher. There was, however, one more thing that some missed. Whenever the other rookies were taking care of other business, like tearing up ringside, beating up WWE staff, or subduing CM Punk anew, Otunga was left in charge of keeping Cena down and out in the ring, which of course meant that there were about two whole minutes where "A-List" was free to toy with the champ, no doubt releasing pent-up frustration from having lost quickly to Cena a few months prior on RAW.
*** '''Michael Tarver''', the rookie who got arguably the biggest hosing on NXT, redeemed himself by having two. First was the moment the camera cut to him, wearing a kickass bandanna over the lower half of his face, jumping the barricade, and looking like an attack dog, just waiting for the go-ahead, the moment most point to as being when they realized that some serious sh*t was about to go down. The second came after he pulled up the mat surrounding the ring. He climbed back in, measured his target, and after months of bragging about how he could end a match in 1.9 seconds (a reference to his finishing move, a knockout punch to the face) and never getting the chance to follow through, Michael Tarver floored John Cena. Let me put that in perspective. The first person in WWE that Tarver knocked out with his finisher WAS THE WWE CHAMPION. THE FACE OF THE ENTIRE PRO WRESTLING INDUSTRY.
*** '''Skip Sheffield''' established himself as the bulldozer of the group by single-handedly taking out Luke Gallows. Cena, Punk, and even Jerry Lawler were multi-person efforts, but big bad Skip was able to take out the Detoxified Disciple by himself. Many also took note of how frightening Sheffield was when barking out orders to the other rookies, like when he made Slater take the chairs out from behind the ringside announce table, so that he could flip it over and break it with his bare fists. Skip was also the first person to assault a non-wrestler, when he booted Matt Striker out of nowhere. It was at that moment that the segment went from a gang attack to an all out riot.
*** '''Justin Gabriel''', the flashy high-flying face of NXT, the only face who never seemed to show a hint of a dark side, even after elimination, was probably the most unexpected turn, making his crowning moment all the better. Despite not being the leader, the bruiser, or anything like that, he was the one who got the last shot in on Cena, by hitting a viciously beautiful 450 Splash. But the the emotionless look on his face before hitting the move, while perched on the turnbuckle, and afterward, on his knees staring at the fallen WWE Champion, was so striking and memorable, so unexpected from such a cheerful guy, that it earned him the nickname of "Dark Angel" on several forums.
*** '''Wade Barret''', the leader of this army, had more subtle moments, but this troper feels they were among the most powerful. First was when the rookies surrounded the ring. They just stood there, ''until'' Barrett nodded at the others, at which point the all climbed onto the apron, and again waited for his signal to enter the ring. This troper only realized how powerful a moment this was when the rookies trashed ringside and destroyed Cena and the WWE staff at ringside. The rookies had become a furious group of savages, and ''Barret had control over them''. It's a fierce group, and they answer to Wade freakin' Barrett. This was cemented when, during the final series of vicious attacks on Cena, one rookie might irish whip Cena at another for a clothesline or lariat. For Barret, however, he went to pick Cena up from the mat, but stopped at Slater's insistence. At this point, Slater, Sheffield, Otunga, and Bryan, (that's half the damn group) volunteered to lift Cena onto Barrett's shoulders so that he could hit his finisher. Now ''that's'' power.
*** And finally, we come to '''Daniel Bryan'''. The first moment for him came when, during the ringside pillaging, Bryan took down Justin Roberts, sat on the hapless ring announcer's back, spun Roberts' necktie around, and proceeded to choke the air out of him with his own tie. The sight of Roberts clawing at his neck and Bryan pulling back with a violent look on his face has quickly become the most memorable image of the whole assault. But Bryan wasn't done. Back in the ring, after Sheffield leveled Cena with a lariat and Slater choked him with the ring rope, Bryan proceeded to belt out three consecutive Crowning Moments, back-to-back, in one glorious sequence, a greater Crowning Moment. First, he repeatedly yelled at the top of his lungs to the grounded Cena "YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN ME!", a declaration that no doubt pleased smarks watching around the world. He then waited for Cena to slowly work himself onto his knees, and disrespected the champ by spitting right in his face. Then he topped the whole thing by measuring Cena, and delivering a buzzsaw kick right to the head. Unfortunately for Bryan, everything that made his involvement in this storyline so awesome backfired due to ExecutiveMeddling, as his choking of Justin Roberts with the tie and the subsequent spitting on Cena was deemed too violent for PG WWE, and was let go that same week as it was reported that a WWE sponsor felt it was too violent. However, one might think that means that Bryan is too awesome for even the Nexus, which is arguably the best storyline the WWE has done in years.
** At one point Punk- who, as a heel, almost always runs from a fight against the odds- hits the ring in an attempt to ''save'' Cena. When the top heel in the company is trying to save the top babyface in the ''industry'', you know the situation is dire. During Punk's ensuing beatdown, Daniel Bryan choked him out for a while but not one of the former Rookies actively tried to remove Punk's mask- that Punk's mask hiding his recently-shaven-bald head had been such a major storyline since he donned it shows the NXT guys didn't care about anything but wrecking the place.
*** This also counts as an additional CMOA for the NXT rookies. Why? Punk was the ''only'' person to try & help Cena. Either the ENTIRE Raw & SmackDown rosters had left the arena, so it was FridgeBrilliance to stage the attack when there were only three active superstars left in the building; or were stood watching backstage, frozen to the spot because of how shocking it was, or gleefully watching John Cena getting the living hell kicked out of him, as Chris Jericho claimed he was doing at the time on his twitter.
** It's also almost certainly the case that this storyline has been planned since before NXT even aired. Suddenly, boring, generic promos from guys who were voted off claiming the WWE Universe "hadn't seen the last of them" made an awful lot of sense. And one wonders if Punk and Luke Gallows would have escaped the beating they received if the Straight-Edge Society had only befriended Darren Young, ''Punk's own Rookie'', instead of scorning him.
*** There was quite a lot of motivation for the Rookies to stage this assault as well. Perhaps if William Regal had not referred to Skip Sheffield as a moron on the Season One Finale of NXT, he might not have been there. Or if the audience had not booed Darren Young out of the building when he gave his classy elimination speech, he may not have taken part in the riot. What about Michael Cole and his borderline slander of Daniel Bryan? Or the decision to disqualify Bryan and Michael Tarver via a last minute rule change? David Otunga probably got sick of the accusations that he was only there because of his fiance at about week 3. Heath Slater had as a good of a winning record as anyone in NXT, and it was insinuated that he was eliminated because Pros such as Chris Jericho held grudges against him because he scored upset victories against them. Even Justin Gabriel, the nicest one of the bunch, was ragged on for being a one-trick pony. Not to mention the downright demeaning challenges they were forced into, Matt Striker interrupting rookies mid-promo, and being treated terribly throughout. With each of the rookies unhappy with their treatment on NXT, it stands to reason that the winner, Wade Barrett could get them on the same page to bring the fury to the WWE machine.
** Plus, in one segment, Heath Slater, Michael Tarver, and Darren Young, widely accepted as the dullest of the Rookies, instantly became total badasses.
*** Michael Tarver especially. With his mask and his legit crazy eyes, I guarantee he became NightmareFuelUnleaded for some of the younger fans. (Especially in the FCW version of the beatdown. Look for footage on Youtube of it, and you'll see Tarver glare at the fan taping the beatdown so psychotically... [[{{Saiyavenger}} This troper]] got chills, son.)
** How about this for chills &/or FridgeHorror: Who was the only one who figured out what was coming and hauled ass out of there? Serena. This editor is not a fan of WWE's TV-PG direction, but picture this: Imagine if the rating was TV-14, and the Nexus didn't... discriminate as far as their targets go. The end result would probably resemble this: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TPtM5nvNtc]]
** This troper would like to throw a little love out for an almost unnoticed thing on John Cena's part... when the entirety of the Nexus had jumped into the ring and were surrounding him menacingly for a few seconds before they attacked, he looked around at the assembled rookies, looking rather nervous (and thus putting them over as a genuine threat)... [[BadAss then turned to the hard camera with a "f*ck it!" look on his face, shrugged, whirled around, and pounced on Barrett, looking to get whatever shots he could in before getting killed.]] Even if you're a Cena hater, the man does such a good job with that sort of little character moment that it's hard not to enjoy his performance.
* '''July 5 2010:''' JohnCena delivering the mother of all {{No Holds Barred Beatdown}}s on Darren Young.
* '''July 12 2010:''' Three Words: Air Bourne RKO.
* '''July 19 2010:''' The Miz beating the snot out of Sheamus. BretHart returning and joining the others in driving off Nexus. Wade Barrett hitting his finisher on Mark Henry (it was partially botched and Wade hurt his back, but still an amazing visual).
* '''August 2 2010:''' After a Divas Battle Royal, current Divas Champion Alicia Fox (the newest-and some argue worst-Diva on the roster) got on the mic, saying that no Diva can beat her. Cue the back-from-injury Melina's music (who Bret Hart said was the most talented person-not woman, note the wording-in the business right now). She walks out, and proceeds to take Alicia Fox out. When she won the Divas Championship at Summerslam, people everywhere rejoiced that the Divas belt was finally in deserving hands.
* '''September 13th 2010''' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPGzNJWUeaQ&feature=channel Randy Orton shows us, how to defeat John Cena]].

* '''May 17 1993:''' This RAW is notable for two of the biggest upsets in the early years of Monday Night RAW.
** Razor Ramon took on Sean Waltman, known at that time as simply "The Kid" and this match was assumed to be your regular squash match by the viewers. It would be played out as such, until The Kid went up the top rope and hit a Standing Moonsault on Razor and actually pinned him! Waltman would take the name 123 Kid and would use the momentum to become an upper-midcard babyface and later a NewWorldOrder and D-Generation X member. This would also set in motion a HeelFaceTurn for Razor, which would lead to arguably the most successful years of his career.
** Marty Jannetty made a sudden return to defeat his former Rockers partner ShawnMichaels for the Intercontinental title. Considering that The Rockers are a MostTriumphantExample of

in the bulding cares, nobody in the dressing room cares! So much god damn injustice around here, I have had it up to here! Everybody knows it, I know it, everybody knows that I should be the World Wrestling Federation champion! Everybody just keeps turning a blind eye! You [Vince] keep turning a blind eye to it! I've got that Gorilla Monsoon, he turns a blind eye to it! Everybody in that dressing room knows that I am the

Championship Wrestling AND THAT'S A FACT, ERIC BISCHOFF! So put that in your pipe and smoke it!"
** This night was a Crowning Moment for the entire promotion. Many historic moments took place on this show, the implications of which were felt throughout the entire Attitude era.
*** Triple H took over D-Generation X from Shawn Michaels and would bring in Sean Waltman, and later in the main event, DX would recruit the New Age Outlaws and help them win the WWF Tag Titles against Cactus Jack and Terry Funk. The loss would also set up Mick Foley as a challenger for Stone Cold's WWF Title as the fans would chant for Austin while Cactus and Funk were laying in the ring.
*** Speaking of Austin, he would end up getting arrested at the hands of Vince [=McMahon=], furthering the brewing rivalary between Austin and [=McMahon=].
*** [[DwayneJohnson The Rock]] would seize control of the Nation of Domination from Faarooq, furthering Rock's path to the main event.
* '''December 29 1998:''' Mick Foley wins the WWE Championship for the first time. This particular episode of ''RAW'' had been pre-taped; when the outcome was spoiled on the competing ''WCW Monday Nitro'', '''half a million fans''' switched channels to see it. This, combined with the Fingerpoke of Doom on ''Nitro'', spelled certain doom for WCW - and for months after the fact, fans showed up with "Mick Foley put my butt in this

both run out at points to save her but the Ministry easily beats them back. Just as it looks hopeless, suddenly the sound of glass breaking (which got one of the biggest pops ''ever'') signals Stone Cold running in and whipping everybody's ass and saving the day. Though the rest of the angle was pretty stupid, this one moment can't be seen without punching the air.
* '''August 9 1999:''' "Lionheart" Chris Jericho had languished in the midcard of WCW for a number of years, despite pushing to try and get to the main event. When he figured out that he'd never get there, he jumped ship to the WWF in 1999. During a promo by ''The Rock'', of all people, the ''Countdown to the Millennium'' clock that had been counting down for a few weeks prior hit zero...and out came Jericho, who redubbed himself [="Y2J"=] and launched his WWF career. The crowd reaction was enormous, and while his WWE career has had its ups and downs, Jericho's WWE debut was one of the most memorable moments of both his career and the

full of utter suck. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ8BVqxHkzc You can watch the

* '''January 7 2002:''' After spending ten months on the shelf with a torn quad muscle in his leg, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N8tr_QDhDk Triple H returned to Raw at Madison Square Garden.]] (Warning: the pop he gets for his return is deafening, so make sure your volume is adjusted appropriately.) This kicked off his "Road to [=WrestleMania=]" (18 to be precise), wherein he would face - and defeat - Chris Jericho for the WWE Undisputed Championship.
* '''July 1 2002:''' The Undertaker (then in his American Badass persona) defended the WWE Undisputed Championship against unlikely challenger Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match. The match itself isn't exactly the best ladder match in history, so why is this a Crowning Moment? Because everyone involved, from the wrestlers to the commentary team, made viewers believe that Jeff could make a miracle happen and defeat The Deadman in ''his'' match to become a world champion. As Jim Ross famously called:
--> ''CLIMB THE LADDER, KID! '''MAKE YOURSELF FAMOUS!'''''
** Ultimately, Jeff would lose the match, but he'd get another Crowning Moment after the match. Before Undertaker started making his way back up the entrance ramp, he went back into the ring and demolished Jeff Hardy with the Last Ride powerbomb; after this, Undertaker made his way up

one of the best matches she'd ever had, which included a sweet Superplex and the use of her long-forgotten moonsault. The best part? Lita walked away from it completely uninjured while the

to Triple H, could not have been more perfect. It certainly helped when he led Trips into the trap by dropping the Raw contract, after saying he knew what he was going to do for a while.
* '''May 2 2005:''' Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin, part of the Gold Rush Tournament to determine the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, ended up with a shot that would be in the ''Raw'' intro for years: Shelton, having dazed Michaels, stands on the ring apron and leapfrogs off the top rope, intending to attack Michaels. Shawn, seeing this coming, '''nearly decapitates Shelton with Sweet Chin Music''' and picks up the win. Some fans have taken to calling it "Sweetest Chin Music", and there's even a few who think it's the best Superkick that Shawn ever pulled off.
* '''July 11 2005:''' Matt Hardy making a shocking out-of-nowhere return several weeks after the real life affair with Lita and Edge (after said incident he was released... or so we thought). A few weeks later, Matt explained everything in a shoot promo.
** He actually ''was'' released... and then swiftly rehired when it became obvious that there was no way they could keep a lid on the fan reaction and they might as well make some money off it.
** You mean WorkedShoot, sir.
*** [[PikaHikariKT Female]], [[ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet actually]].
** For indy wrestling fans, this was ''especially'' awesome because Matt Hardy actually namedropped RingOfHonor, which he was scheduled to make a series of appearances for at the time, at the tail end of his promo that night. Needless to say, fans of the promotion were more than a little thrilled at the brief moment of national exposure.
* '''August 15 2005:''' One of Shawn Michaels' Crowning Moments came thanks to the {{Heel}} promo he delivered on Hulk Hogan in Montreal, where he played the very real hatred the crowd had for him like a fiddle; right in the middle of his promo, after Michaels namedropped Bret Hart, Hart's entrance

for a job; I didn't need a job. WWE called ''me'', becuase they had humiliated and fired -- '''again!''' -- JimRoss. So I get JR's spot. And from WEEK ONE, week after week, I got an ongoing lecture about the differences between ''ProfessionalWrestling'' and ''SportsEntertainment''. [[InsistentTerminology I'm not allowed to say "Pro Wrestling", I'm not allowed to say "wrestler"...I have to say "sports entertainment" and refer to the wrestlers as "Superstars"]]. I'm told to [[EpicFail deliberately ignore the moves and the holds during the matches so I can tell stories]]. Well, ignoring the moves and the holds is ''damn insulting'' to the athletes -- [[InsistentTerminology the WRESTLERS, not the "ENTERTAINERS"]] -- who leave their families three hundred days a year to ply their craft [[TonightInThisVeryRing in that ring]]! [[SarcasmMode And there's the best part]]; because I'm not a SportsEntertainment storyteller, I get pulled from [=WrestleMania=], and the reason I'm given is [[CompletelyMissingThePoint because I don't sound like Jim Ross]]...who's the guy they fired in the first place; [[SarcasmMode that makes sense, right]]?! So I swallow the bitter pill; I'm a company guy. I get bumped from [=WrestleMania=]...but then I get bumped from Backlash? I'm not good enough to call ''Backlash?!'' In {{ECW}}, I called live pay-per-views on my own, solo, no color commentators dragging me down -- wasn't been done before me, hasn't been done since! [[InsaneTrollLogic But I get bumped from Backlash... because I'm not a Sports Entertainment storyteller]]. Well, you know what? I am '''sick''' of Sports Entertainment! I am sick of male cheerleaders... I am sick of boogers and bathroom humor and sem*n! And I am sick of our chairman, who likes to talk about his own sem*n, he mocks God -- '''HE MOCKS GOD!''' -- and makes out with the Divas all to feed his own insatiable ego! I am sick of "sports entertainment"...and most of all, I'm sick of you fans who actually buy into this crap, this sports entertainment circus! I never needed this job, and I don't want this job anymore. ''(takes WWE logo off his microphone)'' '''I QUIT!'''
** I was there in person -- it was even more awesome live.
*** See the video, and Lawler's reaction, [[http://www.

youtube.com/watch?v=eVds4vwGaKw wrecking Orton's custom-painted stock car.]]

The two men agreed to bury the hachet and not only shook hands in mutual forgiveness and respect, but embraced each other in what will most definitely be seen as a long overdue CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming. Bret pretty much summed up the overall feeling of the night's events with his first words of the evening: "Well, I guess Hell froze over."
** Even better? Bret's return came with [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome a kick-ass remix of his classic WWE theme]].
* '''April 26 2010:''' [=ShoMiz=] (The Big Show and The Miz) defend the WWE Unified Tag Team Championships against the team of David Hart Smith (the son of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith) and Tyson Kidd (the last graduate of the Hart Dungeon), better known as the Hart Dynasty. This ended up as a great moment for the Hart family, as the new generation of Harts captured their first tag team gold ''with Bret Hart at ringside.'' Also a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming watching Smith, Kidd, Natalya (the daughter of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart), and Bret celebrate in the ring together. Since mere words can't do this moment justice, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeRk-Z1iS60 watch it here and listen to the roof become unglued from Richmond Coliseum at the end of the match.]]
** An extra CMOA goes to Bret Hart just before the match. When The Miz defeated David Hart Smith one-on-one two weeks prior, the match stipulations stated that the next week, Bret would say [=ShoMiz=] was the greatest tag team in history. The announcement was actually made two weeks later (since Bret and most of the ''Raw'' crew were stuck in the United Kingdom because of the Icelandic volcano that spewed a giant ashcloud all over Europe); Bret did it, with no bitter sarcasm or anger in his voice... but then he followed it up by saying that he could say anything he wanted, and if [=ShoMiz=] was the best tag team ever, [[TakeThat The Mountie was the greatest WWE Intercontinental Champion ever and David Arquette was the greatest world champion ever]]. Two points for the Harts: one for Bret's burn and one for the gold.
* '''May 31 2010:''' Evan Bourne got his Crowning Moment when, after taking a viscious beating from Edge at the start of the show, he was chosen by none other than John Cena to be his tag team partner in the main event. In the closing moments of the match, Edge missed a spear and collided with the ring post, taking him out of the match. Cena hit Sheamus with an Attitude Adjustment... and then dragged him over to the corner, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9aG2kRZzE0 allowing Bourne to hit his patented Shooting Star Press and win the match.]] The [[{{OpinionMyopia}} usually awful]] Cole and Lawler did a great job of putting Bourne over, as well. That this came after months of jobbing (to Sheamus, no less) is what really makes it a CMOA, though.
* '''June 7 2010:''' At the end of a three-hour "Viewer's Choice" ''Raw'', WWE Champion John Cena is facing off against the opponent that fans chose for him, CM Punk. A few minutes into the match, NXT Season One winner Wade Barrett (who earned himself a free title shot against any title holder on an upcoming PPV) comes out onto the entrance stage and starts making his way to the ring. Not altogether odd. But then the camera cuts to NXT rookie Michael Tarver, who's in the crowd and jumping over the ringside barricade. And then the other NXT Season One rookies, including Daniel Bryan, jump the barricade...and ''all hell breaks loose.'' The Nexus (as the group was officially named a few weeks later) start by taking out the Straight Edge Society, then they all get in the ring and deliver a Horsem*n-style ass kicking of epic proportions to ''John freaking Cena''. And after making sure he couldn't fight back, the Rookies leave the ring and start causing chaos at ringside, wasting announcers and other personnel before destroying the announce table ''and the ring itself.'' Then the Rookies return to the ring and make damn sure than Cena isn't getting up on his own, continuing the beatdown for a few more minutes before finally leaving the ring and heading to the back, leaving Cena lying in the ring for medical personnel to stretcher off. The "NXT Riot" was the one of the most chaotic and unpredictable segments in years, and even in the very post-"worked shoot" age of wrestling, it still felt very, very uneasy to watch...even to a Cena hater.
** The entire segment was so amazing, that each of the rookies got their own moment (some even more than one) amidst the chaos.
*** For instance, who would've thought that the crazy-haired "South Beach Party Boy", '''Darren Young''', could be capable of plowing through the ringside barricade, grabbing the timekeeper by the scruff of his shirt and yelling at him menacingly, then punching him right in the face without a hint of remorse?
*** '''Heath Slater''' took one of the darker turns of the night when he picked up the detached middle ring rope and proceeded to choke Cena with it, a moment made all the more sinister when it was punctuated by a few high-pitched shrieks from the audience. Slater's response? After standing up, he walked over to the ropes and gave the crowd a "Try doing something about it" look.
*** "A-List" '''David Otunga's''' moment is a little harder to place due to the camera angles that were used. Some might say that it was when he cold-co*cked the referee, or when he flattened Cena with his spinebuster finisher. There was, however, one more thing that some missed. Whenever the other rookies were taking care of other business, like tearing up ringside, beating up WWE staff, or subduing CM Punk anew, Otunga was left in charge of keeping Cena down and out in the ring, which of course meant that there were about two whole minutes where "A-List" was free to toy with the champ, no doubt releasing pent-up frustration from having lost quickly to Cena a few months prior on RAW.
*** '''Michael Tarver''', the rookie who got arguably the biggest hosing on NXT, redeemed himself by having two. First was the moment the camera cut to him, wearing a kickass bandanna over the lower half of his face, jumping the barricade, and looking like an attack dog, just waiting for the go-ahead, the moment most point to as being when they realized that some serious sh*t was about to go down. The second came after he pulled up the mat surrounding the ring. He climbed back in, measured his target, and after months of bragging about how he could end a match in 1.9 seconds (a reference to his finishing move, a knockout punch to the face) and never getting the chance to follow through, Michael Tarver floored John Cena. Let me put that in perspective. The first person in WWE that Tarver knocked out with his finisher WAS THE WWE CHAMPION. THE FACE OF THE ENTIRE PRO WRESTLING INDUSTRY.
*** '''Skip Sheffield''' established himself as the bulldozer of the group by single-handedly taking out Luke Gallows. Cena, Punk, and even Jerry Lawler were multi-person efforts, but big bad Skip was able to take out the Detoxified Disciple by himself. Many also took note of how frightening Sheffield was when barking out orders to the other rookies, like when he made Slater take the chairs out from behind the ringside announce table, so that he could flip it over and break it with his bare fists. Skip was also the first person to assault a non-wrestler, when he booted Matt Striker out of nowhere. It was at that moment that the segment went from a gang attack to an all out riot.
*** '''Justin Gabriel''', the flashy high-flying face of NXT, the only face who never seemed to show a hint of a dark side, even after elimination, was probably the most unexpected turn, making his crowning moment all the better. Despite not being the leader, the bruiser, or anything like that, he was the one who got the last shot in on Cena, by hitting a viciously beautiful 450 Splash. But the the emotionless look on his face before hitting the move, while perched on the turnbuckle, and afterward, on his knees staring at the fallen WWE Champion, was so striking and memorable, so unexpected from such a cheerful guy, that it earned him the nickname of "Dark Angel" on several forums.
*** '''Wade Barret''', the leader of this army, had more subtle moments, but this troper feels they were among the most powerful. First was when the rookies surrounded the ring. They just stood there, ''until'' Barrett nodded at the others, at which point the all climbed onto the apron, and again waited for his signal to enter the ring. This troper only realized how powerful a moment this was when the rookies trashed ringside and destroyed Cena and the WWE staff at ringside. The rookies had become a furious group of savages, and ''Barret had control over them''. It's a fierce group, and they answer to Wade freakin' Barrett. This was cemented when, during the final series of vicious attacks on Cena, one rookie might irish whip Cena at another for a clothesline or lariat. For Barret, however, he went to pick Cena up from the mat, but stopped at Slater's insistence. At this point, Slater, Sheffield, Otunga, and Bryan, (that's half the damn group) volunteered to lift Cena onto Barrett's shoulders so that he could hit his finisher. Now ''that's'' power.
*** And finally, we come to '''Daniel Bryan'''. The first moment for him came when, during the ringside pillaging, Bryan took down Justin Roberts, sat on the hapless ring announcer's back, spun Roberts' necktie around, and proceeded to choke the air out of him with his own tie. The sight of Roberts clawing at his neck and Bryan pulling back with a violent look on his face has quickly become the most memorable image of the whole assault. But Bryan wasn't done. Back in the ring, after Sheffield leveled Cena with a lariat and Slater choked him with the ring rope, Bryan proceeded to belt out three consecutive Crowning Moments, back-to-back, in one glorious sequence, a greater Crowning Moment. First, he repeatedly yelled at the top of his lungs to the grounded Cena "YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN ME!", a declaration that no doubt pleased smarks watching around the world. He then waited for Cena to slowly work himself onto his knees, and disrespected the champ by spitting right in his face. Then he topped the whole thing by measuring Cena, and delivering a buzzsaw kick right to the head. Unfortunately for Bryan, everything that made his involvement in this storyline so awesome backfired due to ExecutiveMeddling, as his choking of Justin Roberts with the tie and the subsequent spitting on Cena was deemed too violent for PG WWE, and was let go that same week as it was reported that a WWE sponsor felt it was too violent. However, one might think that means that Bryan is too awesome for even the Nexus, which is arguably the best storyline the WWE has done in years.
** At one point Punk- who, as a heel, almost always runs from a fight against the odds- hits the ring in an attempt to ''save'' Cena. When the top heel in the company is trying to save the top babyface in the ''industry'', you know the situation is dire. During Punk's ensuing beatdown, Daniel Bryan choked him out for a while but not one of the former Rookies actively tried to remove Punk's mask- that Punk's mask hiding his recently-shaven-bald head had been such a major storyline since he donned it shows the NXT guys didn't care about anything but wrecking the place.
*** This also counts as an additional CMOA for the NXT rookies. Why? Punk was the ''only'' person to try & help Cena. Either the ENTIRE Raw & SmackDown rosters had left the arena, so it was FridgeBrilliance to stage the attack when there were only three active superstars left in the building; or were stood watching backstage, frozen to the spot because of how shocking it was, or gleefully watching John Cena getting the living hell kicked out of him, as Chris Jericho claimed he was doing at the time on his twitter.
** It's also almost certainly the case that this storyline has been planned since before NXT even aired. Suddenly, boring, generic promos from guys who were voted off claiming the WWE Universe "hadn't seen the last of them" made an awful lot of sense. And one wonders if Punk and Luke Gallows would have escaped the beating they received if the Straight-Edge Society had only befriended Darren Young, ''Punk's own Rookie'', instead of scorning him.
*** There was quite a lot of motivation for the Rookies to stage this assault as well. Perhaps if William Regal had not referred to Skip Sheffield as a moron on the Season One Finale of NXT, he might not have been there. Or if the audience had not booed Darren Young out of the building when he gave his classy elimination speech, he may not have taken part in the riot. What about Michael Cole and his borderline slander of Daniel Bryan? Or the decision to disqualify Bryan and Michael Tarver via a last minute rule change? David Otunga probably got sick of the accusations that he was only there because of his fiance at about week 3. Heath Slater had as a good of a winning record as anyone in NXT, and it was insinuated that he was eliminated because Pros such as Chris Jericho held grudges against him because he scored upset victories against them. Even Justin Gabriel, the nicest one of the bunch, was ragged on for being a one-trick pony. Not to mention the downright demeaning challenges they were forced into, Matt Striker interrupting rookies mid-promo, and being treated terribly throughout. With each of the rookies unhappy with their treatment on NXT, it stands to reason that the winner, Wade Barrett could get them on the same page to bring the fury to the WWE machine.
** Plus, in one segment, Heath Slater, Michael Tarver, and Darren Young, widely accepted as the dullest of the Rookies, instantly became total badasses.
*** Michael Tarver especially. With his mask and his legit crazy eyes, I guarantee he became NightmareFuelUnleaded for some of the younger fans. (Especially in the FCW version of the beatdown. Look for footage on Youtube of it, and you'll see Tarver glare at the fan taping the beatdown so psychotically... [[{{Saiyavenger}} This troper]] got chills, son.)
** How about this for chills &/or FridgeHorror: Who was the only one who figured out what was coming and hauled ass out of there? Serena. This editor is not a fan of WWE's TV-PG direction, but picture this: Imagine if the rating was TV-14, and the Nexus didn't... discriminate as far as their targets go. The end result would probably resemble this: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TPtM5nvNtc]]
** This troper would like to throw a little love out for an almost unnoticed thing on John Cena's part... when the entirety of the Nexus had jumped into the ring and were surrounding him menacingly for a few seconds before they attacked, he looked around at the assembled rookies, looking rather nervous (and thus putting them over as a genuine threat)... [[BadAss then turned to the hard camera with a "f*ck it!" look on his face, shrugged, whirled around, and pounced on Barrett, looking to get whatever shots he could in before getting killed.]] Even if you're a Cena hater, the man does such a good job with that sort of little character moment that it's hard not to enjoy his performance.
* '''July 5 2010:''' JohnCena delivering the mother of all {{No Holds Barred Beatdown}}s on Darren Young.
* '''July 12 2010:''' Three Words: Air Bourne RKO.
* '''July 19 2010:''' The Miz beating the snot out of Sheamus. BretHart returning and joining the others in driving off Nexus. Wade Barrett hitting his finisher on Mark Henry (it was partially botched and Wade hurt his back, but still an amazing visual).
* '''August 2 2010:''' After a Divas Battle Royal, current Divas Champion Alicia Fox (the newest-and some argue worst-Diva on the roster) got on the mic, saying that no Diva can beat her. Cue the back-from-injury Melina's music (who Bret Hart said was the most talented person-not woman, note the wording-in the business right now). She walks out, and proceeds to take Alicia Fox out. When she won the Divas Championship at Summerslam, people everywhere rejoiced that the Divas belt was finally in deserving hands.
* '''September 13th 2010''' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPGzNJWUeaQ&feature=channel Randy Orton shows us, how to defeat John Cena]].

[[folder:{{WWE}} - {{SmackDown}}]]
'''''2000'''''
* '''January 2000:''' Triple H had mocked Mick Foley (then Mankind), beaten him down to a bloody pulp, and challenged him to a Street Fight at ''Royal Rumble 2000'' on ''Raw''. Mankind came out on that week's ''[=SmackDown=]'' and told Trips that he couldn't face him in a Street Fight...but he knew someone who could: Mick pulled off his Mankind attire to reveal the attire of ''Cactus Jack'', which had always been pushed as the most dangerous of the "Three Faces of Foley". Triple H selling the reveal like he'd seen a ghost made the whole thing perfect.
** The video of this played during ''Royal Rumble 2000''' was a hundred times better. With all apologies to the King of the Deathmatch, ''this'' was Cactus Jack's Crowning Moment of Awesome.

'''''2001'''''
* '''September 13 2001:''' In the wake of the September 11th attacks, the WWF held a special live ''[=SmackDown=]'' in which angles were (for the most part) tossed aside and the wrestlers performed for the sake of entertaining the fans ''and'' a nation. The event was the largest gathering of its kind in the US in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
** Counterbalanced with a [[DethroningMomentOfSuck DMoS]]: Throughout the show, there were testimonials from the superstars about their thoughts about the attacks. When Stephanie McMahon's turn came, this editor was reminded why to this day, whenever she's on camera, he mutes the sound and stares at the [[MostCommonSuperpower rack]]. Because she gave the most, IMO, heavy handed, self-absorbed speech he'd ever heard, comparing the attacks to, of all things, her father's 1994 steroid trial.
* '''November 2001:''' Paul Heyman's promo on Vince on the ''[=SmackDown=]'' prior to Survivor Series 2001. "Because when Doink the Clown had green hair and a rubber nose, Steve Austin was drinking his first beer in ECW, ''damn you''! You got nothin', man. What you got is my ideas and you stole my life, ''my'' money, ''MY LEGACY''. '''''SCREW YOU!'''''" [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CovES5RTweU Part 1]]; [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cltp-gKoM-0&feature=related Part 2]]; [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqn_JxZ8xNw&feature=related Part 3]].
** Frankly, any Heyman worked shoot tends to fit this category. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KfOIr1HGtc Like this one.]] Heyman should've known better than to [[TemptingFate tempt fate.]]

'''''2002'''''
* '''January 17 2002:''' Chris Jericho's "I am not a joke!" promo before facing The Rock for the WWE Undisputed Championship at ''Royal Rumble 2002''. The story of the night was that after Rock won the right to face Jericho for the title, everyone figured Rock was going to run through Jericho and go to ''[=WrestleMania=]'' as the Undisputed Champion. Jericho (then portraying a cowardly heel who would do anything and everything to hold on to his title) took exception to this, telling everyone who ever treated him as a joke (including the fans) to go to hell. Near the end of the promo, Rocky started to blow Jericho off with his usual catchprhases... then this happened:
-->'''The Rock:''' ''"If ya smell..."''
-->'''Chris Jericho:''' ''"NO!!! NO NO NO NO NO!! THIS IS NOT A JOKE! I AM NOT A JOKE! I AM SERIOUS! AND YOU WILL NOT LOOK PAST ME,'' '''YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!'''
** A powerful promo only slightly undermined by the fact that he lapsed into all-out Cartoon Supervillainy at times.
--->''[[{{Feed Me}} "IT'S MINE! ALLLLLL MINE!!! ALLLLLLL MINE!!!"]]''

'''''2003'''''
* '''June 12 2003:''' Brock Lesnar faced off against The Big Show in a WWE Championship match. In one of ''[=SmackDown=]'''s most famous moments, Lesnar manages to get Show up onto the turnbuckle...then superplexes him back down to the canvas, wherein the ring ''implodes''. It can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqsVhYGQWCc here]].
** While the collapse was actually a work, the reactions by the commentary team (including Tazz's censored "Holy sh*t!") and the visual itself still make this a CMOA.

'''''2004'''''
* '''October 7 2004:'''' This night would feature a homecoming for then US Champion John Cena, who was quickly maturing into a main event superstar and was well on his way to the main event. As he was talking to the Boston crowd, he was interrupted by a debuting Carlito Carribean Cool, who challenged him for the US title that night. Not only would Carlito win the US title on his debut, but [[HoistByHisOwnPetard he used Cena's own chain to knockout the US champ]], and would leave with both the belt and the chain as a symbol of his victory. Considering that Cena would catch BoringInvincibleHero syndrome within months after this match, it may now be surprising to see that Carlito of all people got such a victory over Cena in Cena's own hometown.
** However, most agree that the follow up angle should be ignored. See, Cena needed a reason to disappear from television for a couple of months to film ''TheMarine'', so they ran an angle where Carlito had his bodyguard stab Cena (as in, with an actual knife) in an after hours club the night of the title change. Apparently, Cena's Superman complex was advanced enough by this point that his skin no sold it, [[WallBanger as there was no scar or any evidence of a knife wound when he returned.]]

'''''2008'''''
* '''August 1 2008:''' After being begged by Edge to help him deal with Hell in a Cell with the Undertaker, Mick Foley says no [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPLlRO8noRs&fmt=18 in that most beautiful way]] that only Foley can do. Edge's reply? "[[WorldOfCardboardSpeech I understand.]]"
** Foley did it knowing that it would be the last time he'd appear on WWE television. That's a hell of a way to go out.
** This was just part of a month-long feud Edge had with The Undertaker heading into ''[=SummerSlam=]''...a feud which Edge '''carried by himself''' (Undertaker didn't appear at all on TV leading up to the event). Then he actually faced Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match, which garnered lots of acclaim.

'''''2009'''''
* '''April 10 2009:''' The Cutting Edge segment had Edge hosting John Cena for an interview; after having done weeks of damn near embarrassing promos, both men cut an electrifyingly serious promo on each other, selling their Last Man Standing match -- and ''Backlash 2009'' -- to everyone. Not only do they reference their past feuds, but aside from a single quip, both men remained serious and emotional (which was quite a change in form concerning Cena). Edge's exhausted and hate-filled voice just emphasised this part:
-->'''Edge:''' ''[[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry I hate you. Hate...hate is a strong word, but it sums up everything I feel for you, Cena!]] [[FoeYay I hate your hat, I hate your T-shirts, I hate your wristbands, I hate your shoes, I hate your music, I hate the Cenation... I HATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU STAND FOR!]]''
* The Rock's long-awaited return to [=SmackDown=] for its 10th Anniversary show was a sight to behold. Even after five years of being out of the business, and having the handicap of his segment being pre-taped (and slipping in and out of character a bit, too), he is still clearly able to work the crowd with no problems at all. Whilst the crowd seems fairly subdued in the TV version of his segment, footage taken at the actual event shows the crowd going absolutely ''nuts'' for most of his promo and regularly breaking into chants of "Rocky! Rocky!". To top it all off, The Great One then heavily implied he'd eventually be a RAW guest host in the future.
* '''October 16 2009:''' Miz and Morrison's "Dirt Sheet" promo, setting up their match at ''Bragging Righs 2009''; not only was it hilarious, and not only did it do a stellar job of selling their match, but near the end, things get serious and Morrison tears into Miz with one of the best promos of his career.
--> '''Morrison:''' The whole time I had to hear you running your mouth. "I'm the chick magnet! Chicks dig me! I'm the Miz And I'm Awesome!" '''SHUT UP!''' I'm sick and tired of hearing you ''talk!''

'''''2010'''''
* '''January 22 2010:''' This was what turned the "Piggie James" angle from a SoBadItsHorrible skit to a powerful feud and certainly one of the best we've seen in a while. LayCool had set up a "Going away party" for Mickie James and talked about how they were forcing her out of WWE. Then '''Maria Kanellis''' of all people comes down and cuts the best promo of her career. But the real CMOA of the segment was Mickie's speech.
--->'''Mickie:''' Look at me. I said look at me! Look at her (pointing at Maria), look at all these women out here. These are real women. We're short, we're tall, we're fat, we're thin, we're curvy, we're gorgeous. No, we're sexy! When are you gonna get it through your thick skulls? I am Mickie James, I am me. I am the way God intended me to be and I am proud of it. And don't think for one minute that your teasing and your torturing is gonna affect me or that I'll let it affect me one bit. Or that this (pointing to the set up) is gonna chase me off the show one second. The only people that are ever gonna tell me if I need to go anywhere is the WWE Universe."
** All four women were solid on the mic and I can't remember the last time a divas' segment took up that much time on TV. Plus the usually generic LayCool were getting great heel heat and Mickie and Maria both got great reactions from the crowd.
* '''June 4 2010''' and '''July 23 2010''' will go down as the days Kane delivered arguably the best promos of his career. The first date marks the day TheUndertaker was announced as [[{{Kayfabe}} having been found in a vegetative state by his half-brother Kane]], directly after which Kane promised that "There will be '''''VENGEANCE!'''''" The second date marks his first appearance on ''[=SmackDown=]'' as the World Heavyweight Champion, still vowing to take revenge for his half-brother while gloating over his world title victory. Both were accompanied by haunting organ music, the ring was appropriately bathed in red lighting, and Kane's delivery was so perfect that people declared these two promos his best ever - and Kane's not even really known for his promos to begin with!
** Kane's promo for '''August 20 2010''' was his best one, where he [[MagnificentBastard finally reveals]] that ''he'' was the one who attacked Undertaker, waiting ''over 13 years'' for Undertaker to suffer BadassDecay and be vulnerable.
** This year in general has been one big CMoA for the Big Red Machine, having won the World Heavyweight Championship after well over a decade. To explain why this is such a big deal, one has to examine Kane's career and the sheer amount of [[BadassDecay Badass Decay]] he's gone through over the years. For the longest time, Kane has always been a fan favorite who, since the Attitude Era, has been one of the most memorable characters in the business. In the beginning, he started his career as a masked monster, decimating anyone who stood in his way. In the late 90s, he only managed to win the world title once and it was an extremely short reign. From the millennium onwards, Kane has gone through nothing short of horrible storylines(Katie Vick, Lita pregnancy, etc.) and badass decay(unmasking, jobbing to various wrestlers of lesser talent, charisma, and ability than himself). All of that finally changed this year when Kane started becoming a dominating force again, winning the world title and showing The Undertaker why he is not a force to be reckoned with. Ladies and gentlemen, [[HesBack the Big Red Machine is back]].
* '''August 20 2010:''' Alberto Del Rio, better known to ''lucha libre'' fans as masked ''luchador'' Dos Caras Jr., makes his debut on ''[=SmackDown=]'' by main eventing the show in a match with Rey Mysterio - and making Mysterio, one of the most popular Superstars on the WWE roster and a two-time World Champion, ''tap out to a rolling cross armbar''. Oh, and he got a perfect heel entrance, complete with personal ring announcer and a Rolls Royce. Now '''that''' is how you make a guy a star.
* '''August 27 2010:''' Undertaker returns to ''SmackDown'' to deliver one of the best lines of his career; after a promo the previous week in which Kane called himself "the Devil's favorite demon", in his big return promo, Undertaker told Kane...
--> You may be the Devil's favorite demon, but the Devil still calls me '''sir!'''

[[folder:{{WWE}} - {{SmackDown}}]]
'''''2000'''''
* '''January 2000:''' Triple H had mocked Mick Foley (then Mankind), beaten him down to a bloody pulp, and challenged him to a Street Fight at ''Royal Rumble 2000'' on ''Raw''. Mankind came out on that week's ''[=SmackDown=]'' and told Trips that he couldn't face him in a Street Fight...but he knew someone who could: Mick pulled off his Mankind attire to reveal the attire of ''Cactus Jack'', which had always been pushed as the most dangerous of the

with a

one of ''[=SmackDown=]'''s most famous moments, Lesnar manages to get Show up onto the turnbuckle...then superplexes him back down to the canvas, wherein the ring ''implodes''. It can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqsVhYGQWCc here]].
** While the collapse was actually a work, the reactions by the commentary team (including Tazz's censored "Holy sh*t!") and the visual itself still make this

to the main event. As he was talking to the Boston crowd, he was interrupted by a debuting Carlito Carribean Cool, who challenged him for the US title that night. Not only would Carlito win the US title on his debut, but [[HoistByHisOwnPetard he used Cena's own chain to knockout the US champ]], and would leave with both the belt and the chain as a symbol of his victory. Considering

its 10th Anniversary show was a sight to behold. Even after five years of

two promos his best ever - and Kane's not even really known for his promos to begin with!
** Kane's promo for '''August 20 2010''' was his best one, where he [[MagnificentBastard finally reveals]] that ''he'' was the one who attacked Undertaker, waiting ''over 13 years'' for Undertaker to suffer BadassDecay and be vulnerable.
** This year in general has been one big CMoA for the Big Red Machine, having won the World Heavyweight Championship after well over a decade. To explain why this is such a big deal, one has to examine Kane's career and the sheer amount of [[BadassDecay Badass Decay]] he's gone through over the years. For the longest time, Kane has always been a fan favorite who, since the Attitude Era, has been one of the most memorable characters in the business. In the beginning, he started his career as a masked monster, decimating anyone who stood in his way. In the late 90s, he only managed to win the world title once and it was an extremely short reign. From the millennium onwards, Kane has gone through nothing short of horrible storylines(Katie Vick, Lita pregnancy, etc.) and badass decay(unmasking, jobbing to various wrestlers of lesser talent, charisma, and ability than himself). All of that finally changed this year when Kane started becoming a dominating force again, winning the world title and showing The Undertaker why he is not a force to be reckoned with. Ladies and gentlemen, [[HesBack the Big Red Machine is back]].
* '''August 20 2010:''' Alberto Del Rio, better known to ''lucha libre'' fans as masked ''luchador'' Dos Caras Jr., makes his debut on ''[=SmackDown=]'' by main eventing the show in a match with Rey Mysterio - and making Mysterio, one of the most popular Superstars on the WWE roster and a two-time World Champion, ''tap out to a rolling cross armbar''. Oh, and he got a perfect heel entrance, complete with personal ring announcer and a Rolls Royce. Now '''that''' is how you make a guy a star.
* '''August 27 2010:''' Undertaker returns to ''SmackDown'' to deliver one of the best lines of his career; after a promo the previous week in which Kane called himself "the Devil's favorite demon", in his big return promo, Undertaker told Kane...
--> You may be the Devil's favorite demon, but the Devil still calls me '''sir!'''

[[folder:{{WCW}}]]
* Some argue in favor of another CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Hogan that arguably trumps slamming Andre the Giant -- [[[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOB4UnRQfdc his infamous Face Heel Turn and joining of the newly-formed New World Order]] at ''Bash at the Beach 1996'', kicking off one of the biggest angles in the history of the industry and reinventing himself in the process.
--> ''"As far as I'm concerned, all this crap in the ring represents these fans out here. For two years, brother, for two years, I held my head high, I did everything for the charities, I did everything for the kids, and the reception I got when I came out here, you fans can stick it, brother. Because, if it wasn't for Hulk Hogan, you people wouldn't be here. If it wasn't for Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff would still be selling meat from a truck in Minneapolis, and if it wasn't for Hulk Hogan, all these Johnny-Come-Latelys that you see out here wrestling wouldn't be here. I was selling out the world, brother, while they were bumming gas to put in their car to get to high school. So the way it is now, brother, with Hulk Hogan and the New World Organisation of Wrestling, brother, me and the new blood by my side, whatcha gonna do when the new world order of professional wrestling runs wild on you? Whatcha gonna do?!"''
--> The video of that event on Youtube has a great quote: "I was a little kid when I watched this. I started crying."
** Also at ''Bash at the Beach 1996'': the show was kicked off with a singles match between Rey Mysterio Jr. and his arch-rival Psicosis (Psychosis in WCW). The match itself was a classic, ranging on average between 4 and 4-and-a-half stars (depending on who you ask). The finish, when Psicosis tried to do a top rope move and Mysterio countered with a Rana ''in mid air'', brought the entire stadium to their feet. So, so many of the cruiserweights these days are following in the footsteps of Mysterio and Psicosis, and it's a Crowning Moment of '''Un'''Awesome that Psicosis never became a star like Mysterio did.
* Goldberg's electrifying defeat of Hollywood Hogan on Nitro in 1998 to lift the {{WCW}} World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Though the match really should have been saved for a pay-per-view in order to create a massive PPV payday, the deafening crowd reaction (thanks to WCW scheduling the victory in Goldberg's hometown of Atlanta, Georgia) and the mere fact that Hogan took a ''clean'' pinfall loss in [=WCW=] make it probably the last truly great CrowningMomentOfAwesome that [=WCW=] can attest to (since it was the last time ''Nitro'' defeated ''Raw'' in the ratings).
** At Road Wild '98, Goldberg defended his newly won title in a battle royal consisting of all nWo guys excluding himself. Not only did he avoid defeat against both the Hollywood and Wolfpac factions of the nWo, he capped off his victory by [[CrazyAwesome Jackhammering The Giant]]. He would later repeat this spot on Monday Nitro, and hold him up in the Jackhammer for several seconds!
* How about ChrisBenoit's shoot on the likes of Hogan and Nash?
--> "There's a group of us who are sick of the politics back there. Who are sick of the wrestlers who monopolise this company."
* Ric Flair's promo on the final Nitro manages to sneak one in just before the end - read the transcript [[http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/69054/ here]].
** And you have to give a small [=CMoA=] to the [=WCW=] booking team for deciding to close out the last Nitro ever with a match that capped off one of the company's longest-running feuds: Sting vs. Ric Flair.
* This Troper can't believe he is the first person to mention the first time Sting came down from the rafters by zipline. The blowoff may have been a misstep, but after months of watching Sting in the rafters, but this was really a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.
** Or how about Spring Breakout '98, where he repelled out of a FREAKIN' HELICOPTER.
* Vince Russo's CrowningMomentOfAwesome (better known as "the only good thing Russo's ever done") came at ''Bash at the Beach 2000'', when he became so fed up with the backstage politics that had crippled WCW for years that he turned it into a WorkedShoot angle that turned more shoot than work. Jeff Jarrett, who was scheduled to defend the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Hulk Hogan that night, ended up lying down for Hogan and giving him the title. After Hogan had left ringside, Vince Russo came out and cut a emotional promo promising that Hulk Hogan would never be seen in WCW again (he wasn't), the politicking he had to deal with from Hogan and the other old-guard wrestlers was almost too much for him to handle, and that he was giving a title shot to someone who "still [gave] a sh*t" about WCW -- Booker T. Watch the full promo [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmoRQZcQyDg here]].
** Actually if you read Eric Bischoff's book, you get a whole other take on this story. It was all a work, and the second half was Russo f*cking up a major angle.
*** Of course Bischoff would say that; he's one of Hogan's buddies. If you ask Russo, it all went exactly as planned. Well, except the lawsuit.
** Booker T won that match - and his first World Title - that night, becoming the second African-American (after Ron "Faarooq" Simmons) to hold the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
** Russo's comments about Hogan being "bald" were the basis of a defamation lawsuit Hogan filed after he left the company, which was eventually dropped in 2002.
* The "party" thrown by the New Four Horsem*n and Arn Anderson in 1998, with Ric Flair returning to WCW after a long hiatus. This editor would be remiss in failing to mention the amazing amounts of WIN that was Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Steve [=McMichael=], Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit standing in the ring, reforming the Horsem*n, as well as Ric Flair's absolute fury at Eric Bischoff for crashing the party.
--> ''"Fire me! I'm already fired! Fire me! I'm already fired!"''
** Best part is, that was a shoot.
* Chris Jericho: Cruiserweight Champion. Working at a time when WCW's Crusierweight division could not have been hotter, Chris Jericho reached his creative peak as a slimy, whiny SmugSnake who would do anything- short of actually wrestle- to keep hold of the title belt. His feud with Dean Malenko resulted in so many Crowning Moments of Awesome, including (but not limited to) proving that he is The Man Of 1004 Holds, his introduction of the Crusierweights at Slamboree, his trip to the Library of Congress and subsequent gloating to Malenko (complete with a good old finger-poke-to-the-chest), and his five-star match with "Rey Mysterio Jr.".
** It should be noted that Malenko was taking time off for most of the feud. Jericho built this feud up ''by himself'', making fun of Malenko at every turn and even carrying around a blown-up version of one of Malenko's promotional photos. This culminated at the aforementioned Slamboree Cruiserweight battle royal, which was won by Ciclope when Juventud Guerrera jumped over the top rope to eliminate himself. Jericho ran in to gloat (and to attack his challenger) immediately afterward, and Ciclope unmasked, revealing Malenko. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENT6asElNiM The crowd came completely unglued in response.]] In his book, Jericho notes that this was one of the top three most electric crowd responses he'd ever heard.
*** [[CrossesTheLineTwice "Hey Dean, how's your dead father doing?"]]
* Who could ever forget the classic Ric Flair vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat trilogy in 1989? Dave Meltzer (who attended the ''Chi-Town Rumble'' event, where the first part of the trilogy took place) gave all three matches five stars, and the ''Chi-Town Rumble'' match is considered to be one of the best wrestling matches ever.
** Ricky Steamboat, a few years later, had another CMOA at ''Clash of the Champions XVII''. Dustin Rhodes was to challenge the then-tag champs The Enforcers (Arn Anderson and Larry Zybysko) alongside his usual tag partner, Barry Windham. The problem was that Windham was dealing with a hand injury, so he wasn't going to be competing, but this was covered up in storyline by having the heels injure him intentionally so that the thread of the Rhodes / Windham tag team would be removed. Dustin shows up anyway with a "mystery man" clad in a cloak and a dragon mask... only for the mystery man to take off his costume and reveal himself to be none other than Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, making his return after departing from the WWF just weeks earlier. The reaction of the heels is pure pants-sh*tting shock and awe. Arn Anderson sells Steamboat's return in particularly fantastic fashion, mentally trying to psych himself up to deal with Steamboat by nervously repeating "He's just a man! '''He's just a man!'''"
* Dusty Rhodes' amazing [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4MmynUrze8 "Hard Times" promo.]] He compares the problems of mass unemployment to his injury '''and makes you believe in what he is saying.'''
* With all due respect to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, 1997 belonged to the man called Sting, and his CrowningMomentOfAwesome was at the end of that year's ''Uncensored'' PPV. For months leading up to the event, nobody knew whose side Sting was on in the [=WCW/nWo=] war. When the PPV's final match was over and the [=nWo=] was celebrating another victory, Sting descended from the rafters and proceeded to completely destroy ''the entire group'' with his now-trademark black baseball bat, culminating in a beatdown on "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan using just his fists.
* If you're talking about Rey Mysterio, you can't talk about his career without going to the match that practically catapulted him to stardom in the US: at ''Halloween Havoc '97'', he faced nemesis Eddie Guerrero in a Mask vs. Title Match for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship; while Rey would win the match, both men came out looking like gold thanks to putting on an amazing display of aerial assaults and technical skill, and Rey arguably became [=WCW's=] top cruiserweight from that point on until the promotion's demise in 2001.
* Diamond Dallas Page and Randy Savage had been feuding for a good portion of 1997, thanks to Savage being in the [=nWo=] and Page outright refusing to join the group. Page would resort to trickery at times, but Savage and the [=nWo=] were always prepared...except for one night. Savage was wrestling the masked ''luchador'' La Parka, and it seemed like it would be an easy win for him, so the [=nWo=] members he came to the ring with went to the announcers' table to start harassing Larry Zybysko. When they were distracted, "La Parka" hit a Diamondcutter on Savage and ripped off his mask to reveal that he was, in fact, Page in disguise - this earned him a '''huge''' pop from the crowd. Page picked up the three count and escaped through the audience before the other [=nWo=] members could get to him, gloating with the fans.
** Speaking of DDP, while newer fans may know RandyOrton as the guy who can hit an RKO out of nowhere, he is preceded by Diamond Dallas Page and his Diamond Cutter. The variations and counters that DDP had for his move were even more numerous than Randy's RKO, and there was always a new one every Monday night for about two years. Perhaps his most infamous ones were when he countered out of Goldberg's Jackhammer at Halloween Havoc 1998 with the Cutter, which had the audience convinced that he ended the streak (Golberg secured a mini CMOA just for kicking out); and a few months later at Starrcade when he maneuvered out of a top-rope Chokeslam from the Giant into a Top-Rope Diamond Cutter.
* "Ravishing" Rick Rude appeared live on ''Nitro'' the same night he was on a pretaped ''Raw''. That isn't the Crowning Moment, however; ''that'' was when Rude used the screentime on ''Nitro'' to call out Vince and Shawn over the Montreal Screwjob. (It should also be noted, for history, that he also appeared on pretaped ECW programming the previous weekend, making him the only man to appear on all three companies' programming in what amounts to a weekend.)
** It should also be noted that Rick Rude appeared on Nitro with only a moustache. He had been appearing on WWF TV with a full beard, including on that taped edition of RAW. So from a chronological standpoint, he appeared on Nitro clean shaven, and was on RAW an hour later with a beard. It was not just a poweful commentary on the Screwjob, but also a shot to the WWF's pre-taped format as well.
* WCW Thunder has a reputation for being bad. But one moment sticks out as being awesome. On the first episode of Thunder, Giant (a.k.a. Big Show) comes down to the ring, which has many members of the nWo in it. Giant then grabs one of the turnbuckle posts, ''with one hand'', and rips it out, collapsing the entire ring.
* When WCW was in its disastrous downward spiral in 1999, EricBischoff at one point snapped and blew up on "the boys in the back" one night. Among other things, he told Scott "Raven" Levy that if he wasn't satisfied with the way things were going and how he was being booked, he could just leave. Upon hearing that, Raven quite literally [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere got up and walked out, heading straight to]] {{ECW}}.

[[folder:AllJapanProWrestling]]
* The entire rivalry between Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada is awesome enough, but truly reached its peak in the June 9 AJPW Tag Team Championship match when Kawada and Akira Taue challenged champions Misawa and Kenta Kobashi. Not only is this match considered the best in the long history of AJPW, but this was the moment when Kawada [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable finally pinned the near-invincible Misawa]]. It took over forty minutes of preying on Misawa's broken orbital bone - and the complete annihilation of Kobashi's leg - to take him out, but when the dust cleared, Kawada had the victory he had always wanted and a title to show for it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:AllJapanWomensProWrestling]]
* At ''Wrestle Marinepiad '89'', a quartet of rookies in the opening match stole the show from the veterans. The match? Manami Toyota and Mima Shimoda vs Toshiyo Yamada and Etsuko Mita, who would go on to become four of the biggest names in ''joshi'' in the next decade (and ironically, wrestlers who were opponents in this match would go on to form top tag teams - Toyota/Yamada and, as you'll see below, Shimoda/Mita). This was also the match that kicked off...
* ...the epic three-year feud between Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada, which came to its finale in a ''Hair vs. Hair'' match. The match itself was brilliant, but the [=CMoA=] came after Toyota finally pulled off the win: Toyota declared that Yamada had earned her respect, and pleaded with officials not to subject Yamada to the humiliation of having her head shaved, even offering to have her own head shaved instead (and going so far as to start ''cutting her own hair'' to prove the point). Toyota had to be physically restrained while the shaving of Yamada's hair took place.
* AJW in the early-to-mid 90s is widely considered the Crowning Era of Awesome for women's wrestling (with their mid-80s era as runner-up), featuring stars like Manami Toyota, Akira Hokuto, Kyoko Inoue, Bull Nakano, and Aja Kong (among others) at the top of their game, and several contenders for "greatest women's match of all time", including the aforementioned Toyota/Yamada match, Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori at ''Dreamslam 1'', and Manami Toyota and Kyoko Inoue's 60-minute draw.
** Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori has two [=CMoA=] contenders:
*** At the opening bell, Hokuto '''decks''' Kandori, grabs the mic, and asks Kandori if that's all she's got. Kandori responds by getting up, grabbing Hokuto's arm and wrenching it nearly out of its socket.
*** Later in the match, Kandori piledrives Hokuto on a table. And we're not talking one of those wimpy, thin tables that you normally see in wrestling; this was a really thick, ''solid'' table. After the piledriver spot, the camera zoomed in on the dent left in it. Hokuto's frickin' sick bladejob after the spot just capped off the awesome.
* The cage match between Las Cachorras Orientales (Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda) and the U* TOPS (Tomoko Watanabe and Kaoru Ito). The entire match is basically a textbook lesson in professional wrestling storytelling, as the ladies do a great job of putting over the scrappiness of Watanabe and Ito as well as the bitchiness of Mita and Shimoda. Watanabe wrestles the match with a shoulder so messed up that she has to wear ''football pads'' and eventually escapes the cage, leaving Ito to try and fend off both Mita and Shimoda. After shenanigans involving a fire extinguisher, LCO run to opposite corners with Ito able to stop Shimoda using an armbar from the top rope. Mita, however, escapes - but upon an attempt by Ito to exit, she climbs back up the cage to stop her, only to get dragged into the ring, landing straight on her head. Ito, instead of escaping, does the [[http://i31.tinypic.com/15ous0z.jpg Superfly pose]] and proceeds to '''double stomp Mita from the of the cage''' before finally making it out, dropping in a heap on the ground. The U* TOPS, though hurting, manage to leave the queen bitches of ''joshi'' crying in the ring (with Shimoda extremely bloody on top of it).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:World Class Championship Wrestling]]
* Kevin and Mike Von Erich's "mystery partner" at Texas Stadium is revealed:
--> '''Michael Hayes:''' Me and my brothers have done some thinkin', and we've eliminated it down to three people who it could be: Bruiser Brody, who Kamala ran outta here, and everybody knows we beat Kamala up -- Brian Adias, family flunkie -- or that nephew of yours, Lance Von Erich. Now, right now, face to face, you tell me which one of them it's gonna be.\\
'''Fritz von Erich:''' Mr. Hayes, you're wrong on all three counts.\\
'''Hayes:''' Wha...it's not one of them?\\
'''Fritz:''' It is not one of them.\\
'''Hayes:''' Well, who is it? I wanna know who it is! I demand to know right now!\\
'''Fritz:''' Oh, you demand to know right now?\\
'''Hayes:''' Yeah, right now! Right now, I wanna know!\\
'''Fritz:''' It's gonna be...the next man to bust you between the eyes! [He does so.] Now, just in case there's any further doubt in your mind, I'll see you May the sixth...on Badstreet!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{SHIMMER}}]]
* SHIMMER's mission statement was to prove that women's wrestling was worth being taken seriously, and it didn't have to just be blatant T&A. On the very first volume, the Mercedes Martinez vs. Sara Del Rey match managed to do exactly that.
* In Volume 5, Amazing Kong made her SHIMMER debut against Nikki Roxx in what most presumed would be a CurbStompBattle that would be over in a couple of minutes. But Roxx managed to hang in for almost fifteen minutes, at times giving Kong a significant amount of trouble, before she was finally pinned. Roxx gained a big fan following and higher profile from her performance in that match, which eventually led to her being signed by TNA (where she would be known as Roxxi Laveaux, and then as just Roxxi).
* The weekend of tapings for Volumes 27 and 28 were a Crowning Moment for [=MsChif=]. Widely believed that she would drop the SHIMMER Championship during the weekend, she successfully defended the title twice; first, she felled Nikki Roxx in singles action, then she won a Triple Threat Match the next night against [=LuFisto=] and Awesome Kong by becoming the first woman in the history of SHIMMER to pin Awesome Kong.
* The entire match between Ayako Hamada and Sara Del Ray in Volume 28 could be considered a CMOA, with it's absolute high point being the unforgettable moonsault Hamada executes off the top rope, steel chair in hand.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other Promotions]]
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBW-Nwxwqps The infamous Barbed Wire Deathmatch between Megumi Kudo and Combat Toyota]] from Japanese "hardcore" promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). Infamous not only for the level of brutality for a ''joshi'' match, but because it was the first ever ''joshi'' Deathmatch; it was also Toyota's last match.
* During a Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) show, Kota Ibushi decided to put up his KO-D Openweight Championship (the promotion's top belt) against YOSHIHIKO's Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship. The Heavymetalweight Championship is a pastiche of the WWE's Hardcore Title, defended under 24/7 rules; it's been held by - amongst other people and things - child wrestler President Ramu, a dog, ''a ladder'', and '''''a promotional poster'''''. And for the record, YOSHIHIKO is ''a blow-up doll''. Ibushi proceeded to wrestle YOSHIHIKO for '''thirty minutes''' in a fun, smooth, highly entertaining match which apparently attempted to see if Ibushi could prove the old "(wrestler) could carry (inanimate object) to a 5-star match" true. A CrowningMomentOfAwesome and a CrowningMomentOfFunny rolled into one, as it's impossible to not mark out for a blow-up doll busting out a backdrop driver or '''''eight Canadian Destroyers in a row'''''.
* Dragon Gate USA's very first PPV, 2009's "Enter The Dragon", is basically a Crowning Moment in and of itself; considering the card was mainly filled with workers from Japan's Dragon Gate promotion that even a fair amount of smart marks wouldn't be familiar with, the PPV was widely hailed as one of the best wrestling shows of the year by many wrestling writers. When the smark-friendly Wrestling Observer Newsletter says that the entire show is not only worth the purchase price, but an entire repeat viewing, you know you've got gold on your hands.
* Pretty sure [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_C4S1XOnTY&feature=related this]] is from CHIKARA, but as I'm not 100% sure of it, I'm putting here for now.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKlz261mL00 This promo]] by Jon Moxley from August 2010, wherein he challenges BryanDanielson to a match at a Dragon Gate USA show the following month.
--> What I want is '''''BRYAN DANIELSON'S HEAD! ON A STICK!'''''
* in 1995, MickFoley in his Cactus Jack persona went to Japan with Terry Funk to compete in [[GarbageWrestler IWA's]] "King of the Death Match" tournament. Foley's first match was a barbed wire bat and box of thumbtacks match, the second round a barbed wire board and box of nails and the final match had barbed wire ropes (with extra spools of wire left lying around) and C-4 rigged boards that the wrestlers could be dropped on. Foley would take two C-4 blasts and would still end up defeating the legendary Terry Funk, who is even more famous in Japan, and won the tournament.
[[/folder]]