History Awesome / WWE

* '''WWE Elimination Chamber 2011''': JohnMorrison continues to steal the show at every PPV with his innovative [[LeParkour Parkour]] offense. This time, he scaled the actual dome of the Elimination Chamber structure and hit Sheamus with a cross body block. In the closing moments, he would do a [[CrazyAwesome TRIPLE JUMP FLASH KICK]] on CM Punk. Although JohnCena would predictably win the match, it was first and foremost a showcase of Morrison's athletic ability.

--> "They say everyone has their fifteen minutes of fame. And I'd like to use a couple of my own to talk about what is right and what is wrong with the world of professional wrestling." He then proceeds to run down Vince over the MontrealScrewjob. Yeah, he was playing the heel, but like the example above to have RealLifeWritesThePlot is awesome.

--> "They say everyone has their fifteen minutes of fame. And I'd like to use a couple of my own to talk about what is right and what is wrong with the world of professional wrestling."
He then proceeds to run down Vince over the MontrealScrewjob. Yeah, he was playing the heel, but like the example above to have RealLifeWritesThePlot is awesome.

* And of course, there's the {{Edge}} vs Dolph Ziggler championship match they used as an opener, a 20-minute battle with several beautiful counters and convincing fake-outs that kept the crowd on fire all the way to the end. Besides being arguably the match of the night, Ziggler also proved to his critics that he could potentially play around at the main event level.

* And of course, there's the Wrestler/{{Edge}} vs Dolph Ziggler championship match they used as an opener, a 20-minute battle with several beautiful counters and convincing fake-outs that kept the crowd on fire all the way to the end. Besides being arguably the match of the night, Ziggler also proved to his critics that he could potentially play around at the main event level.

** Let's not forget the opening of the match, where the first two superstars out led to pretty much the IWC's dream match up for months, CMPunk vs [[BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]].

* The Royal Rumble had its moments:

** Santino Marella, he of the record setting one second Royal Rumble appearance in 2009, would last only slightly longer this year, except that he fell under the bottom rope and thus was never officially eliminated. This would turn out to be a major BrickJoke, as Santino would sit out the rest of the rumble until Alberto Del Rio threw out Randy Orton to supposedly win the Rumble. Santino would choose this moment to enter the ring and strike Del Rio with [[FinishingMove The Cobra]]! Sadly for Satino, he would start prematurely celebrating as he gave Del Rio enough time to recover. Thus, when Santino went to throw out the elitist Mexican, Alberto Del Rio would grab Santino's singlet and use the momentum to eliminate Marella and win the Rumble, again!

** Santino Marella, he of the record setting one second Royal Rumble appearance in 2009, would last only slightly longer this year, except that he fell under the bottom rope and thus was never officially eliminated. This would turn out to be a major BrickJoke, as Santino would sit out the rest of the rumble until Alberto Del Rio threw out Randy Orton to supposedly win the Rumble. Santino would choose this moment to enter the ring and strike Del Rio with [[FinishingMove The Cobra]]! Sadly for Satino, he would start prematurely celebrating as he gave Del Rio enough time to recover. Thus, when Santino went to throw out the elitist Mexican, Alberto Del Rio would win the Rumble, again!

** Santino Marella, he of the record setting one second Royal Rumble appearance in 2009, would last only slightly longer this year, except that he fell under the bottom rope and thus was never officially eliminated. This would turn out to be a major BrickJoke, as Santino would sit out the rest of the rumble until Alberto Del Rio threw out Randy Orton to supposedly win the Rumble. Santino would choose this moment to enter the ring and strike Del Rio with [[FinishingMove The Cobra!]] Sadly for Satino, he would start prematurely celebrating as he gave Del Rio enough time to recover. Thus, when Santino went to throw out the elitist Mexican, Alberto Del Rio would win the Rumble, again!

** Jerry Lawler may have tried to avoid elimination from the Royal Rumble by walking around the outside of the ring on one foot, but JohnMorrison blew his trick clear out of the water. To clarify: the ExactWords are "You are eliminated when you are thrown over the top rope and '''''both feet touch the floor'''''. So Morrison catches the security barrier and plants his feet on the wall, climbs up it, tightrope-walks back to the steps, and re-enters the ring.
** Chavo Guerrero got his moment, after over a year and a half of being the ButtMonkey of the WWE. In a tribute to [[EddieGuerrero his departed uncle]], when he gets in the ring, he uses the "Three Amigos" suplex combo on everyone in the ring...including ''BryanDanielson''!

** Jerry Lawler may have tried to avoid elimination from the Royal Rumble by walking around the outside of the ring on one foot, but JohnMorrison blew his trick clear out of the water. To clarify: the ExactWords are "You are eliminated when you are thrown over the top rope and '''''both feet''''' touch the floor. So Morrison catches the security barrier and plants his feet on the wall, climbs up it, tightrope-walks back to the steps, and re-enters the ring.

** The Royal Rumble had its moments:

* 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.

** Also notable on the card was [[VinceMcMahon Vince McMahon]] vs. Zach Gowen. For those who do not know who Zach Gowen is, he is WWE first and only [[HandicappedBadass one-legged wrestler.]] Although Gowen would go down in defeat, he would split open [=McMahon=] by dropkicking a steel chair into Vince's head and only lost because he missed a ''Corkscrew Moonsault''.

* ''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.

* 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.

* Eddie Guerrero winning the WWE title @ No Way Out. Even heel commentator Tazz cheered.

* ''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.

* 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.)

* 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.

** 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 shit!" and "You still suck!" They even chanted "Fuck 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'''

** 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.

* 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).

* 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).

* ''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.)

* 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.

* 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.

** Rey Mysterio made The Undertaker BLEED.

* 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.

** How good was this match? Not only did the bookers have the two of them face each other again on that week's ''WWERaw'' and ''WWESmackdown'', but WWE.com listed them as tying the [[Awesome/WrestleMania Wrestlemania 26 showdown]] between ShawnMichaels and TheUndertaker for [[http://www.wwe.com/inside/top25/topmatches2010/ the match of 2010]], giving the tie-breaker vote to the fans. Even if they lose the final vote, that's quite a hearty endorsement for the two talented mid-carders from the company itself.
* At ''Survivor Series 2010'', Natalya Neidhart managed to ''finally'' take the [[strike:Women's]] Divas Championship off of [[TheWesley Lay-Cool]] in a 2 on 1 handicap match. The real period of the moment came the next night on ''Raw'' when Lay-Cool (who are signed to ''Smackdown!'' but as champions were able to appear on ''Raw'' as well) were denied access into the building. AndThereWasMuchRejoicing doesn't even begin to describe it.
* TLC 2010 had some good moments:

** The Divas Tables match that saw [=LayCool=] going up against Beth Phoenix and Natalya; not only ''wasn't'' the match complete garbage, but it saw one of the few times a botch actually worked well. As Layla and Michelle [=McCool=] tried to superplex Natalya, the reigning Divas Champion pushed her archrivals off the top rope - unfortunately, [=LayCool=] didn't go through the table set up behind them. So Natalya improvised and gave them a cross-body splash to put them through, making for a much more satisfying finish.

* TLC 2010 had some good moments, but one that stands out is the end of John Cena VS Wade Barrett. Wade asked for a Chair Match, and he got it! In the end, Cena won, but he wasn't done. He took Barrett to the stage, where chairs were hanging from the celing, and proceeded to rain 23 chairs down on Barrett's noggin. A fitting end to their rivalry.
** And let's look at those other good moments at Tlc, shall we?
*** A solid match for the IC title
*** A Diva's Tables match that WASN'T garbage, and one of the few times a botch actually worked well: LayCool didn't go through the table when dropped on there, so Natalya improvised and SPLASHED them through, and was a much more satisfying finish
*** An entertaining Fatal 4 Way TLC match for the WHC between Kane, Edge, Alberto Del Rio, and Rey Mysterio, with Edge becoming a five time WHC
*** And an EXCELLENT ladders match between Sheamus and John Morrison for the No 1 Contender's spot for the WWE Championship, which ended with Morrison winning to a MASSIVE pop, easily being the best match of the night.

* In 2008, ChrisJericho had a banner year: not only did he become Intercontinental Champion for the eighth time (a record), he also won the World Heavyweight Championship twice, won the Superstar of the Year Award during the revived Slammy Awards, and practically carried Raw over the summer and early fall months thanks to an amazing feud with Shawn Michaels.

** How good was this match? Not only did the bookers have the two of them face each other again on that week's ''WWERaw'' and ''WWESmackdown'', but WWE.com listed them as tying the [[Awesome/WrestleMania Wrestlemania 26 showdown]] between ShawnMichaels vs TheUndertaker for [[http://www.wwe.com/inside/top25/topmatches2010/ the match of 2010]], giving the tie-breaker vote to the fans. Even if they lose the final vote, that's quite a hearty endorsement for the two talented mid-carders from the company itself.

1. A solid match for the IC title
2. A Diva's Tables match that WASN'T garbage, and one of the few times a botch actually worked well: LayCool didn't go through the table when dropped on there, so Natalya improvised and SPLASHED them through, and was a much more satisfying finish
3. An entertaining Fatal 4 Way TLC match for the WHC between Kane, Edge, Alberto Del Rio, and Rey Mysterio, with Edge becoming a five time WHC
4. And an EXCELLENT ladders match between Sheamus and John Morrison for the No 1 Contender's spot for the WWE Championship, which ended with Morrison winning to a MASSIVE pop, easily being the best match of the night.

** How good was this match? Not only did the bookers have the two of them face each other again on that week's ''WWERaw'' and ''WWESmackdown'', but WWE.com listed them as tying the [[Awesome/WrestleMania Wrestlemania 26 showdown]] between ShawnMichaels vs TheUndertaker for [[http://www.wwe.com/inside/top25/topmatches2010/ the match of 2010]], giving the tie-breaker vote to the fans. Even if they lose the final vote, that's quite a hearty endorsement from the WWE.