History Heartwarming / ProfessionalWrestling

* Randy Savage's reunion with his estranged [[strike:wife]] girlfriend (wife in RL, only girlfriend in {{kayfabe}}) Elizabeth at ''[=WrestleMania=] 7'' - after having lost a match [[LoserLeavesTown that would force him into "retirement"]] - was the greatest example of LoveRedeems seen in a medium that mainly features men beating the crap out of each other.

* There's Kenta Kobashi's return match, 546 days after he left the business to battle a kidney tumor. When he made his entrance prior to his first match back, the commentators were openly crying on the mic, as were many of the fans.

* The Eddie Guerrero tribute shows, and the announcement of Eddie entering the WWE Hall of Fame.
* During RicFlair's retirement episode we got to see not only ChrisJericho, TripleH, JohnCena, Batista and ShawnMicheals in the ring saying goodbye to Ric we got to see the entire WWE roster coming out clapping and chanting Thank You Ric we saw TheBigShow in tears come up hugging Ric not only that we saw THEUNDERTAKER come out and hug Ric.

* The ending to {{WWE}} ''{{WrestleMania}} 20'', regardless of what the years since have done to tarnish it. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero at the pinnacle of their respective careers, hugging and openly weeping, their world championship belts draped over one another's shoulders. * Sniff* ... 'scuse me... [[TearJerker something in my eye]]...

* For this troper, longtime DX fan, it was Hunter's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRlogUhEqhQ "I Believe" promo]] telling Shawn he would beat the Undertaker at ''{{WrestleMania}} 26''.

* Shawn Michaels's farewell on the Raw after ''{{WrestleMania}} 26''. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK_7Ls7ssDY Classy and honest, down to the last.]]
** For bonus heartwarming/tearjerking, Triple H coming out at the last moment. I just- I have something in my heart.
*** I admired how the Undertaker came out during the farewell, entrance music and effects playing, and when he appeared he tipped his hat at Shawn and left so HBK could finish his farewell address. That was pure respect on his part.
* HoYay jokes aside, that time when Big Show gave ChrisJericho a ticket so he could come to RAW after being banned as a competitor was surprisingly moving.
* Rob Van Dam winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on April 19, 2010 on ''Impact''. From being presented the belt by HulkHogan, to a bunch of the faces on the roster coming out to celebrate with him.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVWq9BXLnSw Hugh Morrus' promo after winning the United States title]] has to count. An underrated performer who was generally lost in the lower card, after five years this was his first title in WCW and he dedicated his win to "all the C-List and below" guys. Then the roster comes out to congratulate him, including world champ Booker T and Goldberg (WCW's most popular wrestler[[hottip:* :Morrus was the first man Goldberg beat, beginning his legendary "streak." In his autobiography, Goldberg specifically went out of his way to thank Morrus for being willing to job to a guy who had never been in a professional match before. No surprise he was there to congratulate the guy on his title win.]]) while Hugh is very clearly emotional. Lance Storm comes on screen to challenge him, Hugh accepts, and Goldberg tells him to kick Storm's ass as everyone walks down to ringside. Hugh has said before he didn't know about the boys coming out to congratulate him until it happened and his emotion during the promo is completely genuine.

** On that note, on the night after Wrestlemania XXVI, Bret Hart was cutting a promo on his victory against Mr. [=McMahon=] and mentioned that his parents, Bulldog, and Owen were watching from upstairs. An large Owen chant erupts from the Phoenix crowd. Bret's reaction is to unzip his jacket to show a T-shirt with a picture of Bret and Owen printed on it. Cue millions of [[IncrediblyLamePun harts]] turning to mush.
* Suprising, but David Arquette's horrible WCW angle where he "won" the World Championship doubles as a CMOH.. Because he donated every dime WCW paid him to the families of Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, and Droz.

* Unforgiven 2008, Matt Hardy wins the ECW championship. Armageddon 2008, Jeff Hardy wins the WWE Championship. Two brothers who had scratched and clawed their way up from losing their mother at a young age, being raised by an admittedly gruff single father, literally teaching themselves their craft, through personal and professional problems of all magnitudes where at times they had nothing going for them but their family, were at the top of the WWE together; the first time and possibly the only time in the history of the WWE that such a thing could happen.

* Two words: Trish Stratus. Her entire career could count as one big long CMOH but its ending was a storybook one: In her hometown of Toronto she faced long time rival Lita for the Women's title and made her tap out to the Sharpshooter. Trish was rewarded with a standing ovation from the crowd and JR, King and a teary Lilian Garcia. Not to mention all the "thank you, Trish" chants.
* One word for this troper: Lita. She lived most of her early years in poverty, working indy shows while moonlighting at hole in the wall strip clubs. After discovering wrestling, she finds the Hardy Boys, gets a job at ECW, and a year later, she's in the WWE. Within that first year, she beats the much reviled Stephanie [=McMahon-Helmsley=] for the WWE Women's Championship. In 2002, while working on the ultimately series finale of "Dark Angel," she fractures her spine and sits out for a year and a half, only to come back more popular than ever. After being caught in a horrendous angle involving herself, Kane, and Matt Hardy, she wins her second title in front of her home fans in Charlotte in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome match against Trish Stratus where she nearly fractured her spine again. Sure, the rest of her WWE career was questionable, with infidelity, lack of ring work, and a bad send off, but she did win two more titles in that span. And in her first post-retirement appearance on WWE TV, she and archrival Trish Stratus knocked the snot of Jillian Hall at Raw's 15th Anniversary and embraced each other in a warm, smiling, laughing hug. Lita overcame so much, and that's why I've always, good times and bad, been a fan of hers.

* Wendi Richter's speech at the 2010 Hall of Fame induction ceremony made this troper well up with Manly Tears.

* Here's an unlikely example. July 18, 2010, WWE Money in the Bank, AscendedFanboy The Miz captures the Money in the Bank briefcase. Yes, The Miz's character is symbolic with the trope JerkAss, but on that night, on top of the ladder, you can visibly see him break down and cry before he pulls it together to deliver a great heel promo. Think of how far The Miz has come in the WWE. This is a man who was on ''TheRealWorld,'' proclaiming he would one day be WWE Champion (WWE viewers of the show laughed). The Miz spent two and a half years in the minor leagues after finishing second on the last edition of Tough Enough, even though the winner was released a few months after the competition ended. His first Royal Rumble appearance lasted seven seconds. The Miz was constantly hazed by WWE bully JBL and barred from the locker room for six months for getting chicken wing crumbs in a referee's gym bag. He gets sent to ECW, where his work improves greatly. He stays in or near the ECW Championship picture, though he never won it. He teams with John Morrison to create one of the most memorable tag teams in WWE history, winning two tag titles together. When the team splits, he goes to Raw and is involved in a SoBadItsHorrible feud with JohnCena. When that debacle mercifully ends, he goes on to win two WWE United States Championships and another Tag Team Championship (with Big Show) in less than a year. Oh, and in that time, The Miz literally proves to Morrison he is not TheJannetty of the team. In the days leading to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, reports surfaced that Vince [=McMahon=] was not content with The Miz at first, but over time became impressed with his work ethic and his willingness to promote the company. Keep in mind that the aforementioned sentence also implies to Cena. At the PPV, when it looked Randy Orton would win it, The Miz comes in, stops him, and grabs the briefcase. Yes, the last person to touch the briefcase before The Miz was RANDY FREAKING ORTON! Now, The Miz is holding the Money in the Bank briefcase. All seven times the person holding the briefcase cashed it in, they became WWE or World Heavyweight Championship. So keep an eye on The Miz between now and July 18, 2011. He deserved to cry on top of that ladder. He has been affected negatively and positively by the backstage politics of the WWE, and now The Miz is all but guarenteed to be a WWE Champion at any time.
** And tonight on RAW, November 22nd, 2010, The Miz cashed it in and beat Orton for the WWE Championship and looked like he was about to cry tears of joy, he deserves it.
*** And tonight, March 24, 2011, Miz has held the belt for 122 days straight and counting. This may not seem like much, but the last time there was a reign longer than that, you'd need to go back to November 23, 2008, which ended the reign of Triple H. This is a belt that's been held in the last three years by men such as John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, Edge and Jeff Hardy, and The Miz's first reign has exceeded them all.

* When [[spoiler: John Cena was fired from]] the WWE as a result of a match at Survivor Series in 2010, [[spoiler:he appeared one final time on RAW to thank the fans for "Letting idiots like me come out here and live this dream." After he walked off, the other wrestlers gathered around to see him off, until finally long-time rival and antagonist Randy Orton came out and offered him a handshake, which turned into a hug.]]

* This past Monday on RAW, Shawn Michaels was announced as the lead inductee into the Hall of Fame 2011. For all the problems this guy overcame in his life and career to become one of the best, this was definitely a CMOH.
* The massive ovation Jerry Lawler got at Elimination Chamber 2011. Especially when you take into consideration the fact that his mother died [[{{Tearjerker}} the weekend before]].
* SteveAustin's four-wheeler ride and final beer bash (and subsequent beer with J.R.) through the WrestleMania 25 arena the night after he was inducted into the Hall of Fame and J.R., saying, "You'll never forget the night when Austin era begun, and we'll never forget the night that it ended."
** SteveAustin's Hall of Fame induction in general made me shed {{ManlyTears}} when he told the fans "I thank you again. I love you from the bottom of heart [[CatchPhrase and that's the bottom line cause Stone Cold said so]]."
* The lockup between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat at Steamboat's Hall of Hame induction got me choked as these two had some of the best matches in wrestling that began with this move.

* Edge's retirement speech on Smackdown in 2011 and the accompanying tribute video. The highlight came when Edge turned the attention of the crowd to his mom, who was clearly nervous and emotionally distraught at her son's condition. Then the entire crowd broke into a chant of "Thank you mom!" which caused her to crack a smile.

* ''Extreme Rules 2011'': Christian finally wins the World Heavyweight Championship and can barely hold it up through his tears. Watching him hold the belt up and embrace with Edge made sure there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

** On that note, on the night after Wrestlemania XXVI, Bret Hart was cutting a promo on his victory against Mr. McMahon and mentioned that his parents, Bulldog, and Owen were watching from upstairs. An large Owen chant erupts from the Phoenix crowd. Bret's reaction is to unzip his jacket to show a T-shirt with a picture of Bret and Owen printed on it. Cue millions of [[IncrediblyLamePun harts]] turning to mush.

* One word for this troper: Lita. She lived most of her early years in poverty, working indy shows while moonlighting at hole in the wall strip clubs. After discovering wrestling, she finds the Hardy Boys, gets a job at ECW, and a year later, she's in the WWE. Within that first year, she beats the much reviled Stephanie Mc Mahon-Helmsley for the WWE Women's Championship. In 2002, while working on the ultimately series finale of "Dark Angel," she fractures her spine and sits out for a year and a half, only to come back more popular than ever. After being caught in a horrendous angle involving herself, Kane, and Matt Hardy, she wins her second title in front of her home fans in Charlotte in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome match against Trish Stratus where she nearly fractured her spine again. Sure, the rest of her WWE career was questionable, with infidelity, lack of ring work, and a bad send off, but she did win two more titles in that span. And in her first post-retirement appearance on WWE TV, she and archrival Trish Stratus knocked the snot of Jillian Hall at Raw's 15th Anniversary and embraced each other in a warm, smiling, laughing hug. Lita overcame so much, and that's why I've always, good times and bad, been a fan of hers.

* Here's an unlikely example. July 18, 2010, WWE Money in the Bank, AscendedFanboy The Miz captures the Money in the Bank briefcase. Yes, The Miz's character is symbolic with the trope JerkAss, but on that night, on top of the ladder, you can visibly see him break down and cry before he pulls it together to deliver a great heel promo. Think of how far The Miz has come in the WWE. This is a man who was on ''TheRealWorld,'' proclaiming he would one day be WWE Champion (WWE viewers of the show laughed). The Miz spent two and a half years in the minor leagues after finishing second on the last edition of Tough Enough, even though the winner was released a few months after the competition ended. His first Royal Rumble appearance lasted seven seconds. The Miz was constantly hazed by WWE bully JBL and barred from the locker room for six months [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer for getting chicken wing crumbs in a referee's gym bag]]. He gets sent to ECW, where his work improves greatly. He stays in or near the ECW Championship picture, though he never won it. He teams with John Morrison to create one of the most memorable tag teams in WWE history, winning two tag titles together. When the team splits, he goes to Raw and is involved in a SoBadItsHorrible feud with JohnCena. When that debacle mercifully ends, he goes on to win two WWE United States Championships and another Tag Team Championship (with Big Show) in less than a year. Oh, and in that time, The Miz literally proves to Morrison he is not TheJannetty of the team. In the days leading to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, reports surfaced that Vince [=McMahon=] was not content with The Miz at first, but over time became impressed with his work ethic and his willingness to promote the company. Keep in mind that the aforementioned sentence also implies to Cena. At the PPV, when it looked Randy Orton would win it, The Miz comes in, stops him, and grabs the briefcase. Yes, the last person to touch the briefcase before The Miz was RANDY FREAKING ORTON! Now, The Miz is holding the Money in the Bank briefcase. All seven times the person holding the briefcase cashed it in, they became WWE or World Heavyweight Championship. So keep an eye on The Miz between now and July 18, 2011. He deserved to cry on top of that ladder. He has been affected negatively and positively by the backstage politics of the WWE, and now The Miz is all but guarenteed to be a WWE Champion at any time.

* Sean Waltman in [[{{Chikara}} Chikara's]] 2011 King of Trios tournament... yes, he of the [[XPacHeat X-Pac Heat]]. There was nostalgia involved as he came in using his 1-2-3 Kid gimmick and put in all the effort he had, looking fantastic all weekend, putting on a potential Match of the Year candidate with El Generico and getting nothing but positive reactions from the fans. When the whole thing was over, in a final act of class that might be surprising, he gave both a speech to the crowd and left a letter in the lockerroom putting over Chikara and it's roster as the future professional wrestling and saying that it was the greatest weekend of his life.

* Edge's retirement speech on Smackdown in 2011 and the accompanying tribute video. The highlight came when Edge turned the attention of the crowd to his mom, who was clearly nervous and emotionally distraught at her son's condition. Then the entire crowd broke into a chant of "Thank you mom!" which caused her to crack a smile.

* In Ring of Honor in 2005 and 2006, one of the biggest, bloodiest feuds at the time was Colt Cabana VS. Homicide. It was such a violent feud (with Cabana feeling the brunt of all punishment) that the one-time fun-loving Cabana went all {{Serious Business}}, growing a five-o-clock shadow, not telling a joke for months, making him lose all semblance of peace and happiness. The arduous eight-month feud culminated at ''Better Than Our Best'' in a Chicago Street Fight. In yet another bloody encounter, Cabana prevailed--but that's not the CMoH. See, after the match, Homicide cohorts (Julius Smokes and Ricky Reyes) attempted to ambush Cabana again. Homicide stopped them, seemingly trying to get the final shot in himself. But as he swung the chair over his head...he abruptly dropped it to the ground, fell to his knees, held out his hand and began apologizing. Cabana shook his hand, Homicide and company left, and Cabana smiled and celebrated for the first time in months.

*** I also think it counts as something that Dreamer allowed Zack Ryder to retire him. Ryder is an up and comer with a lot of potential, but he's definitely not a big name either, not to mention that he's a comedy character too. So for him to be given the honor of retiring Dreamer (not to mention winning the match clean), that's something to be proud of.

* The lockup between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat at Steamboat's Hall of Hame induction got me choked as these two had some of the best matches in wrestling that began with this move.

* Randy Savage's reunion with his estranged wife Elizabeth at ''[=WrestleMania=] 7'' - after having lost a match [[LoserLeavesTown that would force him into "retirement"]] - was the greatest example of LoveRedeems seen in a medium that mainly features men beating the crap out of each other.

** SteveAustin's Hall of Fame induction in general made me shed [[ManlyTears]] when he told the fans "I thank you again. I love you from the bottom of heart [[CatchPhrase and that's the bottom line cause Stone Cold said so]]."

** SteveAustin's Hall of Fame induction in general made me shed manlytears when he told the fans "I thank you again. I love you from the bottom of heart [[CatchPhrase and that's the bottom line cause Stone Cold saids o]]."

** SteveAustin's Hall of Fame induction in general made me shed manlytears when he told the fans "I thank you again. I love you from the bottom of heart [[catchphrase and that's the bottom line cause Stone Cold saids o]]."

** SteveAustin's Hall of Fame induction in general made me shed manlytears when he told the fans "I thank you again. I love you from the bottom of heart [[andthatsthebottomlinecauseStoneColdsaidso]]."

** SteveAustin's Hall of Fame induction in general made me shed manlytears when he told the fans "I thank you again. I love you from the bottom of heart andthatsthebottom linecauseStoneColdsaidso."

* The massive ovation Jerry Lawler got at Elimination Chamber 2011. Especially when you take into consideration the fact that his mother died [[{{Tearjerker}} the weekend before]].

* This past Monday on RAW, Shawn Michaels was announced as the lead inductee into the Hall of Fame 2011. For all the problems this guy overcame in his life and career to become one of the best, this was definitely a CMOH.

* Kaval winning season 2 of NXT. With the winner of season 1 being a heel and the winner of season 3 being undeserving this was the only truly perfect finale moment for the show. Just seeing Michelle [=McCool=] and Layla crying tears of joy and running to the ring for Kaval to lift them up on his shoulders before getting smothered in kisses felt so right. Even though shots of Michael McGillicutty making an unconvincing annoyed face couldn't dampen the moment.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErnmSGIMRrk This reaction from Montreal for Hulk Hogan.]] As the video notes, they were cheering like that throughout the commercial break.

Wrestling runs the full spectrum of human emotion. It can make you [[Funny/ProfessionalWrestling laugh]], it can make you [[TearJerker cry]], it can make you [[CrowningMoment/ProfessionalWrestling stand up and cheer]]. It can also make you go "awwwwww".

* Survivor Series 2010: After coming up short on the two previous PPV events, Natalya defeats Layla and Michelle McCool to win the Divas Championship, and can hardly accept the belt through her tears. This troper certainly felt that this was a powerful reminder of how much that championship means to these women, despite the fact that they're often pushed to the back and presented as nothing more than arm candy, with their wrestling skills merely an afterthought. I might've had something in my eye at the time...

* After a botched powerbomb in a match between D'Lo Brown and Droz, Droz fractured two disks in his neck and was paralyzed by the neck down. MickFoley described in his book ''Foley is Good'' how Brown was so upset that he had seriously considered leaving the entire industry. Droz had told Brown from his stretcher how it was an accident and it wasn't Brown's fault. Since the incident, D'Lo Brown stayed in the ring for ten more years before becoming a TNA road agent and Droz not only still works for the WWE writing for their magazines and website, but has also regained the use of his upper body.

** And tonight on RAW, November 11th, 2010, The Miz cashed it in and beat Orton for the WWE Championship and looked like he was about to cry tears of joy, he deserves it.

* One word for this troper: Lita. She lived most of her early years in poverty, working indy shows while moonlighting at hole in the wall strip clubs. After discovering wrestling, she finds the Hardy Boys, gets a job at ECW, and a year later, she's in the WWE. Within that first year, she beats the much reviled Stephanie Mc Mahon-Helmsley for the WWE Women's Championship. In 2002, while working on the ultimately series finale of "Dark Angel," she fractures her spine and sits out for a year and a half, only to come back more popular than ever. After being caught in a horrendous angle involving herself, Kane, and Matt Hardy, she wins her second title in front of her home fans in Charlotte in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome match against Trish Stratus where she nearly fractured her spine again. Sure, the rest of her WWE career was questionable, with infidelity, lack of ring work, and a bad send off, but she did win two more titles in that span. And the last time we saw her on WWE TV, she and archrival Trish Stratus knocked the snot of Jillian Hall at Raw's 15th Anniversary and embraced each other in a warm, smiling, laughing hug. Lita overcame so much, and that's why I've always, good times and bad, been a fan of hers.

* Here's an unlikely example. July 18, 2010, WWE Money in the Bank, AscendedFanboy The Miz captures the Money in the Bank briefcase. Yes, The Miz's character is symbolic with the trope JerkAss, but on that night, on top of the ladder, you can visibly see him break down and cry before he pulls it together to deliver a great heel promo. Think of how far The Miz has come in the WWE. This is a man who was on ''TheRealWorld,'' proclaiming he would one day be WWE Champion (WWE viewers of the show laughed). The Miz spent two and a half years in the minor leagues after finishing second on the last edition of Tough Enough, even though the winner was released a few months after the competition ended. His first Royal Rumble appearance lasted seven seconds. The Miz was constantly hazed by WWE bully JBL and barred from the locker room for six months [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer for getting chicken wing crumbs in a referee's gym bag]]. He gets sent to ECW, where his work improves greatly. He stays in or near the ECW Championship picture, though he never won it. He teams with John Morrison to create one of the most memorable tag teams in WWE history, winning two tag titles together. When the team splits, he goes to Raw and is involved in a SoBadItsHorrible feud with JohnCena. When that debacle mercifully ends, he goes on to win two WWE United States Championships and another Tag Team Championship (with Big Show) in less than a year. Oh, and in that time, The Miz literally proves to Morrison he is not TheJannetty of the team. In the days leading to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, reports surfaced that Vince [=McMahon=] was not content with The Miz at first, but over time became impressed with his work ethic and his willingness to promote the company. Keep in mind that the aforementioned sentence also implies to Cena. At the PPV, when it looked Randy Orton would win it, The Miz comes in, stops him, and grabs the briefcase. Yes, the last person to touch the briefcase before The Miz was RANDY FREAKING ORTON! Now, The Miz is holding the Money in the Bank briefcase. All seven times the person holding the briefcase cashed it in, they became WWE or World Heavyweight Championship. So keep an eye on The Miz between now and July 18, 2011. He deserved to cry on top of that ladder. He has been affected negatively and positively by the backstage politics of the WWE, and now The Miz is all but guarenteed to be a WWE Champion at any time.