10 Greatest Wrestling Works Ever

Most wrestling fans are privy to the world of professional wrestling - knowing the backstage language, reading articles on this website, and acknowledging the fact that the wrestlers you see on-screen have different lives and personas outside of the ring.

However, there are still times when we get suckered into storylines, the predetermined results, and everything in between. Sometimes, wrestling really feels real. Whether we were clued up or not, we all vividly remember those times when we got "worked" and took the bait - hook, line, and sinker.

These are the 10 Greatest Wrestling Works Ever!

10. Randy Savage Attacks Ricky Steamboat

One reason why Randy Savage was one of the best of his generation was due to the sheer intensity ‘The Macho Man’ exuded any time he was at work. On the mic, in the back, in the ring, he was unpredictable and ready to snap at seemingly a moment’s notice.

In November 1986, Savage was in the midst of his legendary Intercontinental Title run, and sensing that Ricky Steamboat was good enough to threaten his reign, he viciously assaulted ‘The Dragon’ after a match between the two, elbow dropping Steamboat’s larynx onto the top of the guardrail, and further crushing his throat with a ring bell shot from the top.

The crowd were at a fever pitch during Savage’s assault, pelting ‘Macho Man’ with garbage as Steamboat was loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the back for this heinous attack. This incident caused issues between the two to explode, with Steamboat returning months later to stop Savage attacking George Steele in a similar manner.

Savage and Steamboat’s feud would increase in violence until Steamboat finally vanquished Savage for the belt at WrestleMania 3 in an iconic match.

9. Brock Lesnar busts Randy Orton open

Brock Lesnar’s path of destruction after his WWE return saw him break arms, break streaks, and end title reigns, but nothing was more visceral (and controversial) than the ending to Lesnar’s SummerSlam 2016 main event clash with Randy Orton.

The second-ever televised singles match between the two - and the first since 2002 - was presented against the backdrop of Lesnar’s UFC 200 return. Leading into the match the two played off of real-world events, with shots from Orton seeming almost real in intent.

After many German Suplexes and an F5, Orton kicked out, leading Lesnar to repeatedly elbow ‘The Viper’ in the head until he lay in a puddle of blood, getting the win by TKO as the crowd struggled to process what they had just witnessed. When Lesnar got to the back, a furious Chris Jericho squared up to him demanding to know if he went into business for himself, not sure if what he saw was real or not. This was a clear example of just how effective a wrestling “work” can be.

8. CM Punk leaves with the WWE Title

In the lead-up to Money in the Bank 2011, for all anyone knew, CM Punk’s WWE contract was expiring and he was heading out of the company. His feud with John Cena took off due to the expert blending of reality and kayfabe, with Punk’s fourth wall breaking on the mic, the idea of who management wants versus who the people want, and the revelation that Punk’s WWE deal was legitimately expiring.

Shockingly, CM Punk managed to score the victory over Cena and win the WWE Title, and when he blew a kiss to McMahon and hightailed it onto the streets of Chicago, the question hanging over everyone’s head was “Has he really gone, taking the belt with him?”

After a couple of weeks of Punk showing up at Comic Cons and random backgardens with the title, Punk returned to WWE. The company did not have the patience to fully commit to the ruse that Punk was no longer under contract, bringing him back in time for SummerSlam.

7. Tommy Dreamer blinds The Sandman

At a time when WWE and WCW were breaking kayfabe and revealing that wrestling was in fact scripted, ECW still managed to retain a gritty and "real" aura about it. Paul Heyman often leaned into controversy, welcoming people to think that at times ECW went off the rails and was real. At no point was ECW "more real" than during the storied Tommy Dreamer/Sandman rivalry of 1994.

Dreamer became ‘hardcore’ after receiving multiple lashes from Sandman’s cane, and the two collided again in an ‘I Quit’ Match, where Dreamer ‘accidentally’ pushed a lit cigarette into Sandman’s eye, with Sandman taking a cane shot to his other eye, blinding him. ECW pulled the curtain back right away, showing heels and faces mingling, as Dreamer was insulted and forced to apologise.

To upkeep kayfabe, Sandman stayed home and was not seen in public, and fans bought it when ECW announced he was legitimately blinded and would retire. However, it was all a ruse, and Sandman came back months later, duped The Innovator of Violence, and went on to take it to Dreamer without mercy.

6. Linda McMahon rises at WWE WrestleMania X-Seven

At WrestleMania 17, Vince McMahon wanted to beat up his own son because Shane was annoyed that Vince was having affairs, and that Vince’s request for a divorce sent Linda McMahon into a catatonic state where she sat there expressionless in a wheelchair for weeks on end.

Father and son eventually met in a Street Fight and it was far better than it had any right to be. Towards the end of the carnage, Vince plopped Linda on a chair in the corner so she could watch her soon-to-be ex-husband bludgeon their firstborn with a bin.

Then Linda stood up. All 67,000 fans in Houston’s Astrodome lost their marbles, as Linda kicked Vince low to what has become known as the “Linda pop”. It says a lot that at the most famous, well-regarded show in WWE history - that happened during its hottest period - one of the loudest pops of the night was for Linda McMahon standing up.

5. Vader defeats Antonio Inoki

When an unexpected result comes out of nowhere it can be extremely effective in wrestling, like the stunned silence when Brock Lesnar ended The Undertaker's streak at WrestleMania XXX. It can stir up a big reaction from the crowd, though not always a good one.

In 1987, the unbeatable Antonio Inoki had been undefeated for two years, and after quickly downing a bloodied Riki Choshu, a new opponent debuted and challenged Inoki on the spot... the mastodon known as Vader.

The fans knew Inoki wouldn’t lose. It was Antonio Inoki after all. But a few minutes later, Vader had defeated the biggest star in Japan, handing Inoki only his second loss in a decade. To really put over this new hulking behemoth, Vader proceeded to batter Inoki, and the usually respectful and reserved Japanese audience couldn’t stand it, igniting a riot which saw seating set on fire and hurled throughout Sumo Hall.

New Japan were banned from the venue for two years.

4. Mark Henry "retires" from WWE

Convincing works are somewhat of a rarity in modern wrestling, due to hardcore fans being able to find out anything with the internet at their fingertips.

But in June 2013 we were all caught completely off-guard when a salmon-jacketed Mark Henry showed up on Raw, ready to ride off into the sunset and retire after missing much of the previous 12 months through injury. With tears in his eyes, and a raucous WWE audience cheering him on, we all thought the veteran was actually hanging up his boots, with WWE Champion John Cena on hand to give due praise and respect to ‘The World’s Strongest Man’.

After Henry told his daughter that he was coming home, Cena went to embrace him, only to eat a World’s Strongest Slam out of nowhere, as Henry barked that he still had ‘a lot left in the tank’. So convincing and effective was this segment, that all you have to say to a wrestling fan is ‘salmon jacket’ and they’ll know exactly what you mean.

3. "I respect you, Bookerman"

The ‘Loose Cannon’ Brian Pillman constantly blurred the lines between kayfabe and reality. Leading into SuperBrawl 1996, Pillman’s antics had drawn the ire of ‘Taskmaster’ Kevin Sullivan, with the two scheduled to have an ‘I Respect You’ Strap Match.

15 seconds in, Pillman grabbed the mic, barked “I respect you, bookerman” to Sullivan - WCW’s head booker at the time - and disappeared into the audience before a confused Arn Anderson took his place. Pillman and Bischoff then had a massive row backstage, and Flyin’ Brian was ‘fired’. So far, this was all part of the plan, with Bischoff wanting Pillman to ‘leave WCW’ before returning and becoming a big star. In order to work the boys and the dirt sheets, Pillman convinced Bischoff to legitimately fire him.

Bischoff agreed, but Pillman wasn’t coming back, going first to ECW and then WWE for a truckload of cash. So in a way, this actually was real… although it came due to a work.

2. Ivan Koloff ends Bruno Sammartino's WWE Title Reign

WWWF in the 1960s was all about one man - Bruno Sammartino. The second-ever WWE Champion holds the record for the longest-ever run with the title, a record that will likely never ever be broken, with his reign lasting over seven years at 2,803 days.

No one ever thought Bruno would lose, but then on day 2,804, ‘The Living Legend’ faced off with Ivan Koloff in Madison Square Garden, and Bruno lost.

There were no boos, no cheers, just stunned silence, as ‘The Russian Bear’ did the impossible. And then things got rowdy. WWE officials were anticipating this to happen, and so quickly ushered Koloff to the back, as crying fans couldn’t believe their hero had been vanquished.

Fearing things could get ugly at any moment, Koloff dropped the belt to Pedro Morales after a three-week reign.

1. The Outsiders - Agents Of WWE?

The early days of the NWO angle were amazing, when Scott Hall and Kevin Nash ran roughshod throughout WCW, smashing wrestlers with baseball bats, powerbombing Eric Bischoff off a stage, hijacking broadcasts - it was anarchic and unpredictable, and fans could not get enough.

The driving force behind the angle was a blurring of kayfabe and reality, as Hall and Nash - and WCW themselves - implied that the pair had been sent by Vince McMahon to destroy the competition. Fans bought it and started tuning into Nitro in droves.

Vince McMahon got so incensed that he sued WCW for defamation and copyright infringement, as Scott Hall was still basically Razor Ramon in everything but name at this point. Whilst WCW and WWE were battling on TV, the two sides were battling over the NWO backstage. The lawsuit was eventually settled in 2000, with Vince McMahon having first refusal if WCW ever went up for sale. Of course, they did go up for sale just a year later and McMahon bought his competition.