Wrestling Moments That Abandoned The Script
Say the word "fake" in professional wrestling circles, and you might just get smacked. Now say "scripted" and you're likely to be in a much safer position. Yes, the outcomes and in-ring action are predetermined, as Vince McMahon himself once so famously admitted as a predecessor moment for the "Attitude Era." But that moment didn't do anything to take away from the collective love and appreciation for the craft whatsoever from most of the wrestling community.
The athleticism and skill in professional wrestling these days is more fine-tuned than ever, but even with a script, things can go awry from time to time. Being able to think on the fly, then, is a key skill for the men and women who step inside the squared circle. But sometimes, it's not about an audible. Sometimes, it's a wrestler going rogue, be it verbally or physically.
Sometimes, even, it's a reaction to an opponent going off the cuff. Sometimes, it's reading the crowd, trusting your gut, and making a moment that wasn't foreseen ahead of time. And sometimes, there are mistakes made that affect the previously agreed upon outcome. There are outliers too, of course but, in short, despite a planned outcome, you really can't ever know exactly what to expect from the spectacle that is pro wrestling. With that, here are a handful of moments in wrestling history that steered away from whatever was originally planned, for better or for worse.
Sunny days
Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels are forever intertwined in wrestling lore thanks to the events surrounding Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal. But the end result of that well-chronicled saga wasn't the only time in their storied history that things didn't go as expected. In May of that year, Hart was flanked in the ring by allies Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, Brian Pillman, and Davey Boy Smith as he challenged Michaels to a match at King of the Ring. Michaels interrupted via satellite to accept, while setting some stipulations before the promo took a turn. Michaels, who was heavily rumored to be having an off-screen tryst with Sunny at the time, said to Hart, "Even though lately you've been having some 'sunny days,' my friend, you still can't get the job done."
The comment, which, according to Bruce Pritchard, actually didn't even register with Hart at the time, was apparently meant to insinuate that it was Hart carrying on with Sunny in addition to (or in place of) MIchaels, which didn't sit well with Hart's then-wife, as he had to answer some questions when he came home. Both Hart and Sunny denied the rumor, but the fact that it made its way into the wrestling gossip mill surely caused undue strife at the Hart house, especially since Hart didn't know that barb would be coming from Michaels in that particular promo.
The tension between Hart and Michaels stemming from their longstanding feud would continue for years, until they finally buried the hatchet in January 2010 on an episode of "WWE Raw." It took some admissions from Michaels, as part of his well-documented transformation from immature party boy to the man he is today, and one might imagine this episode was part of his penance.
Cena and Lesnar get after it on Raw
On the "Raw" after WrestleMania in April 2012, Brock Lesnar returned to WWE after a three-year stint in UFC. While there, he became UFC Heavyweight Champion, defeating the legendary Randy Couture, amid an up-and-down run that was, at least in part, cut short due to bouts with diverticulitis. Getting knocked out by Cain Velasquez and liver-kicked by Alistair Overeem probably didn't help either. Lesnar's immediate target upon returning was John Cena, who he laid out with an F-5. As the two prepared for a showdown at Extreme Rules, on an ensuing episode of "Raw," they engaged in a confrontation that is remembered to this day for getting a bit out of control and perhaps going off the rails in terms of what was supposed to happen.
Naturally, the brawl was part of the plan, with backstage officials and WWE stars coming out to the ring to try and keep the two combatants apart intended as buildup for the upcoming main-event match on pay-per-view. But the very first punch thrown by the behemoth Lesnar busted Cena's mouth open, making for some great visuals but perhaps not part of the original intent. Now was it intentional?
We'll likely never know but either way, it called for some ad-libbing, at least on Cena's part, because at this point, you might as well wear it in the name of showmanship. All's well that ends well and in this case, though he was beaten to a pulp by Lesnar at Extreme Rules, it ended well for Cena, who scored an improbable victory, bloodying an otherwise dominant Lesnar by hitting him with a metal chain, and getting the pinfall after an Attitude Adjustment.
Jake's snake latches onto Savage
On an episode of "WWF Superstars" in 1991, Jake "The Snake" Roberts beat Bob Werner in a little less than 90 seconds, which would have been a total afterthought if not for the post-match angle. At the height of his feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Roberts would lure Savage to the ring with some good, old-fashioned questioning of his manhood, and from there, the trap was set, a beatdown ensued, and Savage was tied up in the ropes. But let's rewind a bit to tow he plans for the segment came about.
To take their feud to the next level, the pair had discussed Roberts' cobra biting Savage, right there on broadcast television, but Savage had concerns. Namely, he wanted to know if the snake had been devenomized before agreeing to the stunt. Though Roberts assured him it had been, Savage was still not convinced, telling Roberts, "Then you don't mind if it bites you first!" Roberts obliged, letting the cobra bite him in the leg, which surely didn't feel great, but once Savage saw that he was otherwise okay, the plan was in motion.
Devenomized or not, this was never going to be a comfortable encounter, and though it was planned and agreed upon by both human parties, the snake didn't get the memo that it was supposed to let go when Roberts wanted it to. Roberts recounts that he was trying to pull it off of Savage's arm, but the snake was "gnawing on it" for over a minute. In the end, it made for a classic wrestling clip, even though it was censored on TV, and all was well — except for the fact that their feud was cut short, when Miss Elizabeth's family objected to her being involved in physicality.
Regal takes Goldberg to school
In February 1998, Goldberg was in the midst of his iconic run of dominance as he prepared for a match on "WCW Nitro" against William (then Steven) Regal. While there were no plans in sight to cool off a red-hot Goldberg, the result of the match had WCW boss Eric Bischoff livid.
Regal, whose technical prowess was light years beyond that of Goldberg and many others, worked a stiff match with the up-and-comer, landing several European uppercuts, high knees, takedowns and submission holds, visibly confusing and frustrating Goldberg, who apparently expected to plow through yet another opponent in short order. For years, it was thought this was Regal teaching Goldberg a lesson, perhaps on behalf of the locker room, to humble the heavily-hyped new company icon. But on his "Gentleman Villain" podcast in late 2022, Regal asserted that he was simply following orders.
"I did as I was told by the person in charge of the match," Regal said. "I was thrown under the bus by the producer in charge of it." Citing an overall breakdown in communication that was characteristic of WCW in that era, Regal expounded, saying, "I was so frustrated that night. There was a lack of communication in WCW. [Bischoff] came out screaming. I took it on the chin." Bischoff's stance, then and now, was that this was not the time to thwart Goldberg's momentum, which explains his post-match frustration. Despite Regal's desire to settle the longstanding beef that ensued, he and Goldberg have never done so to this point, even during their overlapping stints in WWE, during which Regal asserts Goldberg never so much as said a word to him.
Oops! KO wins the US title
Accidents happen, even in wrestling, and you just have to make the best of the situation when they do. That's what WWE ultimately did in 2017 when Kevin Owens defeated AJ Styles for the United States Championship at Battleground — albeit by accident.
With Owens on the receiving end of a crossface submission from Styles, attempting to escape the hold, Owens rolled over into a bridge position and Styles rolled with him, onto his back, and largely out of view of the referee (who could claim brain fog, having just taken a ref bump). With his right shoulder clearly off the mat, the referee began counting and did so all the way to three, with Owens immediately selling the win by raising his fist in the air, while Styles turned away looking frustrated.
Commentary didn't have much to say, and the broadcast got noticeably awkward, but WWE acknowledged "controversy" with regard to the finish and two nights later on "WWE SmackDown," would right the apparent wrong. In a triple threat for the title, Styles pinned Chris Jericho to regain the belt, and the storyline could continue almost as though the events of Battleground never happened.
A colorful ending to WrestleMania 13
Heading into WrestleMania 13, Bret Hart was WWE's biggest babyface, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin still a dastardly heel. By the end of the night, the two would trade places, thanks to their incredible work in the ring and a finish for the ages. While Austin has credited Vince McMahon with coming up with the finish, it was one little detail that turned a great match into an iconic moment, and that credit goes to Hart, who insisted the two carefully "ignore" the company's "no blood" policy at the time.
"[Hart] goes, 'Steve, if you're going to pass out in the Sharpshooter, we need to have some color,'" Austin told Chris Jericho on a 2021 "Talk Is Jericho" episode. "At the time, there's a no color policy. I'm the newer guy. I ain't got no tenure, and Bret offers up. 'Hey man, if you want, I'll get it for you.' He just put me under his umbrella."
The match helped launch Austin into a new stratosphere, and Hart's heel run was well-timed as well. The two have often looked back on each other as favorite opponents, and Hart has some pretty special words for the WrestleMania main event. "The match with Steve," he told Sports Illustrated in 2022, "that's the greatest song I ever sang."
A five word-promo from Roman Reigns
The "Raw" after WrestleMania was known for quite some time to be an unpredictable night where anything can happen, anyone can show up, and anything can be said. For Roman Reigns, a night after beating The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, all that needed to be said were five simple words. "This is my yard now."
That line may have been scripted for some portion of his promo time, but it ended up being all he got to utter. While heat from the crowd was to be expected after joining Brock Lesnar as the only two men to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania, on that night, it truly reached scorched earth levels. Reigns sat there and took it for more than 13 minutes, listening to everything from standard boos and being called an "a**hole," to "you suck," "Roman sucks," "F*** you, Roman!" and even Matt Hardy's "delete" chant.
Reigns attempted to speak a few times, but ultimately would put the microphone down, smirk at his detractors, and wait it out some more. In the end, the five words were all he needed, and he dropped the mic and headed to the back, officially kicking off a new era as far as his crowd reactions — and maybe even taking some baby steps right then and there toward becoming "The Tribal Chief" and "The Head of the Table" that we know today.
The Rock and Hulk Hogan flip the script at WrestleMania 18
When Hulk Hogan returned to WWE in 2002 with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to reform the nWo, the idea was for them to come in as megaheels, with Vince McMahon's storyline aim to poison his company from the inside out using the infamous WCW faction. But after being gone for nine years, it was only a matter of time before the fans would force a turn to reinvigorate Hulkamania back where it all started. With Hogan set to square off against The Rock at WrestleMania 18, fans weren't sure quite what to expect of the match but got an all-time classic at Toronto's SkyDome, with the two legends feeling out the crowd early on and calling things on the fly as Hogan brought back all of the iconic moves, gestures, and mannerisms of the "Hulk Rules" era just like that.
The result, expected or not, was one of the most memorable moments in wrestling history. In fact, the crowd never really recovered from the Hogan/Rock rollercoaster, and matches that followed likely suffered for it. Referee Mike Chioda said earlier this year on his "Monday Mailbag" podcast that, to him, that moment is still the high watermark for its era of wrestling.
"Did I know it was gonna be so legendary back then? Hell no, I didn't know," Chioda said. "We thought something was gonna [top that] and I don't think at some point since 2002, since Rock and Hogan, [anything] has really topped that."
The original pipe bomb
In June 2011, a disgruntled CM Punk was told that night on "Raw" he was going to be able to air his grievances with a live microphone. Of course, that didn't come without restrictions, and he had to run a draft by Vince McMahon first. Since that time, we've learned that Punk gave McMahon a fake draft, which enabled him to freely bring up names like Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar, who had fallen out of favor at the time, namedrop NJPW and ROH (the latter, according to Punk, McMahon wouldn't even have recognized), break the fourth wall and say hi to then-best friend Colt Cabana, and scorch several others like Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and John Laurinaitis.
Teddy Long said the reaction backstage was that of shock for him and several others at the time. "Everybody was kind of looking at each other like, 'Did he just say that?'" Long said. "Because this was all brand new. We never had anybody to go out on live TV and to just go off on a rant like that and just speak their mind. So it was all brand new. It was all something that we'd never experienced and we'd never heard. So we're like, 'Man, this is too much.'"
The promo launched Punk into a successful run that featured multiple title reigns over the course of the next three years before his controversial exit from the company in 2014. Of course, all of that is water under a very long bridge now, with "The Best in the World" recently returning to WWE at Survivor Series this year, and seemingly positioning himself right into the main event picture with the Royal Rumble and WWE Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin'" Rollins in his sights.