**Young and Dumb -- Best Time to be a Fan**

[TheEvilDoink1987]

Nothing compares to being young and being a pro wrestling fan. No Internet and certainly no spoilers. Things were much more shocking while others were flat-out scary or unwatchable.

This isn't a topic asking how surprised you felt when Austin joined Vince at WM X-7 or how you cheered like a sissy girl when Triple H returned at MSG. I want to know of a certain match, segment, feud, etc. that you remember watching as an innocent and impressionable kid that appeared 100% real to you. The kind of thing that had you thinking about it all week at school anticipating answers the following show.

Here's what I got...

My first favorite wrestler EVER was Tatanka. I loved that guy. We never got to order PPV's back in those days and it was even a battle trying to sneak in a few minutes of Raw before my candy-ass was marched to bed. I remember being at a soccer game that my brother was playing in. I was playing with this kid who also watched wrestling and he told me that Tatanka... was a bad guy now. He beat up Lex Luger real bad and aligned with the Million $ Corporation. I parted ways with that kid, walked over to a nearby bench and cried for the next 15 minutes. Devastated can't even sum up the emotions running through my head. I'll never forget that.

Next...

Mankind had just recently debuted and I already thought he was the scariest guy ever. I forget what show it was, but he beat some guy with the Mandible Claw and as he had the move applied, the guy started foaming at the mouth. It really freaked me out and had quite a traumatizing effect on me as an 8-year old.

Next...

"Tell Me a Lie" -- Shawn Michaels. Enough said. More endless bawling on my part.

Next...

The epic Savage/Crush summit. I was watching the segment on Coliseum Video and the heel turn was bad enough, but Crush really kicked his Macho ass. At one point, he pressed slammed Savage face-first onto the metal guard rail. They zoomed in on Savage and his mouth was bleeding like crazy. I'm pretty sure this was one of the first wrestling segments I watched that involved blood so it had a lasting impression on me. Yokozuna coming out for a post-beatdown Banzai Drop was just uncalled for in my opinion.

Honorable mentions...

Bulldog turning on Diesel
Sid attacking HBK on Raw
The entire Bret/Owen saga from the '94 Royal Rumble

Thanks for reading.

[tnafan17: The Total Package]

Speaking of the WM X-7 night after Raw I was 11 and I think it finally brought me to that point where I enjoyed heels. For some reason, when Austin and HHH were aligned I enjoyed it and didn't want him to lose lol.

But for me:

Superbrawl VII- Scott Steiner turns on Rick Steiner. I'm watching the Outsiders go out of the ring when all of a sudden.....BAM! Scott nails Rick behind the head and I was in shock, I thought there was no way Scotty would ever turn on his brother....but what did I know lol.

Survivor Series 2001- I was torn on who to cheer for. At times I really enjoyed WCW in the beginning (as I was a huge WCW fan growing up in the mid 90's) but had to cheer for the WWE because it just felt right. I remember thinking that it could really be the last time we would see WWE in business and I was scared sh*tless. When Angle would turn I was actually going crazy in joy, but thought that Stone Cold had actually lost his job lol.

[calhil8]

1 that comes to mind to me was survicvor series 1999 when Stone Cold was run over. For weeks in school with my friends trying to guess who it was! We realised they had blonde hair but never figured out it was Rikishi. Being 7 or 8 at the time it was exciting

[carly1988]

If you really think back, big name guys really didnt jump around back then. You didnt see Magnum, Sting, Luger (and what I thought to be Rhodes, since I didnt watch WWF in 90 i didnt know he was there) jump over to "the north". Well when I turned on challenge and saw not only Flair's name but the belt on WWF tv, my mind was just blown. Still to me one of the most epic surprises Ive ever seen on tv.

[Grumpyoldman]

I remember when wrestling was on every Saturday. You would have to wait a whole 6 days (which seemed like an eternity at the time) for results from a supercard. Wrestlemania (or pro wrestling in general) wasn't covered in the sports section in our newspaper. People at school had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned it. This went on for quite a number of years before the kid up the street form me got a huge satellite dish. A few of us paid $12 each & his dad ordered us Wrestlemania 6.

[Raine]

First really shocking angles for me were:

Earthquake squashing Damien, I just could help feel sorry for the snake, trapped inside the bag not knowing what was coming.

King Cobra bites Randy Savage, just 5 months after the Earthquake attack on Damien, Jake had a King Cobra as a replacement, I remember watching this, being about 10 years old, on a friday night about 10.30pm. Once Superstars had finished, I remember going to bed but being unable to sleep for hours because of what I had just watched. Still one of the best executed angles in WWF/WWE history IMO.

[Terrys Wrestling Figures]

yeah, for me was Big Show debut, i was 13 didn't have the net & was watching both WCW & WWF, it shocked me when he popped up from the ring.

[Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai]

For me, the biggest were:

-- Randy Savage "crushing" Rick Steamboat's throat in 1986 (magnified by the fact that Steamboat was my favorite wrestler at the time, it happened at the first TV taping I ever attended live, and the match was unannounced beforehand. It wasn't on the card. Which means I went from surprised elation at Steamboat getting a title shot in my hometown, to shock and horror that he may never speak again. lol)

-- Paul Orndorff turning heel on Hulk Hogan during a tag team match against Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy (I actually tore my "Mr. Wonderful" poster off my wall that day)

-- King Kong Bundy and Don Muraco attacking Hulk Hogan on Saturday Night's Main Event to set up WrestleMania II (Hogan sold the avalanches by going into convulsions, which was a little too realistic to a kid my age)

[Deleted]

the moments that really got me when I was "young and dumb" ;D

Macho turning on Hogan and screaming at Elizabeth-I was effin horrified.acted out more times with my Hasbros then any other scenario I would guess.

I was terrified of Zeus

Demolition turning heel-I just couldnt understand it.

Tugboat being Hogans pal instead of Brutus Beefcake during summer 1990.was so confused and angry at this.

Jake Roberts tuning heel-my GOD I was crushed.

Luger not beating Yoko for the belt at SS93......so Dissapointed.

and thats just some of them.

[wwfepenguin]

When Rock joined the corporation.

[Jimmy]

I had the internet when I first started watching wrestling when I was 10, but I enjoyed the brief period where I didn't realize there was a 'pecking order' per se in wrestling. Basically, it takes a few months of watching before you realize that Hardcore Holly won't ever be WWF Champion and beat The Rock. But when I first started watching, I remember thinking Road Dogg had a great chance of beating Eddie Guerrero for the Intercontinental Title during their match on RAW.

[HugoOne]

Owen Hart delivering an enziguri to Shawn Michaels and having HBK "collapse" in the ring got me good.

[immortal]

I imagine most youths tend to idolize someone in their youth, whether it be a wrestler, actor, etc. But man, when I was 10 or 11 and so, and the Invasion angle was all that the WWE was about, I think RVD might have been that person I idolized. Always calm, cool, and collected, he was pretty much everything I wanted to be.

Then the Alliance lost and I was all

[fallbrawl]

Mankind's fall off the top of hell in a cell at king of the ring 1998.

Undertaker being buried alive at in your house buried alive (i was at that event)
The rock joining the coperation.
Seeing kane for the first time at bad blood 1997.

[Deleted]

i have a few.

when Sting and Vampiro had the inferno match and Sting was lit on fire. Sting has always been my fav. since i was little and that scared the HELL outta me!

when The Rock joined The Corp. i was so pissed that i started hitting the tv screen! lol.

anytime Austin gave anyone a stunner I totally marked out, i think most people did. even when i watch old 90's Austin matches i still mark out to the stunner hahahahaha.

last but not least the fued between Raven, Sandman, Sandman's son and his wife from ECW. that was UNBELIEVABLE!!! i remember watching ECW every week seeing what was gonna happen next! great angle, one of the best of all time IMO. that and then the Sandman/Tommy Dreamer fued when Sandman went "blind" great stuff there too.

[Eat Defeat.]

I couldn't believe whe Austin turned heel in 2001, I started watching WWF in late 1998 and never saw his first heel run, he was always a kickass good guy to me.

[nibs92]

i started watching wwf wrestling at the beggining of 1992 and had heard all the stories about it being "fake" etc.

still i was in utter shock for weeks when shawn michaels threw marty jannetty through the barber shop window!

for weeks i was worried about it and couldn't understand how you could "fake" such a thing!

[K5]

the entire bret hart heel turn of 97. as a canadian i related to it, and felt bret was truly sticking it to america.

[NAЯDO]

Those were great wrestling memories, I too love Mankind when he debuted, he was scary as hell, he also freaked me out. I'd have to say being a wrestling fan back in the hay days of wrestling is the most enjoyable, nothing beats classic promos

[dimshady]

Kane Debut scared me crapless! real good job on the costume and everything!