10 Of The Biggest WWE Pops Ever

That moment when something exciting or unexpected happens and the thousands of people in attendance all cheer at once, that’s what wrestling is all about. When it comes to big moments that got even bigger reactions, there’s perhaps nowhere better than WWE.

WWE has consistently provided fans with awe-inspiring moments to lose their minds to. Big returns, big debuts, big title wins, WWE has done it all over the years, with those who witness these moments responding in deafening fashion.

These are 10 Of The Biggest WWE Pops Ever!

10. British Bulldog's Big Win - SummerSlam 1992

When it comes to monster pops, it helps to have a monster-sized crowd. Enter the 80,000+ people at Wembley Stadium for SummerSlam 1992. These British fans have gone down in history as one of the biggest and best crowds in the history of wrestling. Their crowning moment came at the climax of the show when hometown hero Davey Boy Smith won the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart.

After Hart allegedly had to walk Davey through every single spot - apparently, he’d spent most of the weeks leading up to the event indisposed with Jim Neidhart - Bulldog reversed a sunset flip and pinned the champion to a giant roar from the partisan audience.

The elation felt by the crowd is infectious and the pop is still as joyous to hear now as it was over 30 years ago.

9. Raw Is Jericho - Raw is War 1999

With WWE and WCW desperate to out-draw the other during the Monday Night Wars, every single episode of Raw and Nitro was a must-see just in case somebody from one company turned up in the other. The biggest defection from Atlanta to Stamford took place on August 9, 1999.

After weeks of mysterious messages counting down to the supposed new millennium, the clocks finally ran out midway through a promo by The Rock. An unfamiliar theme and video started playing, until the Titantron displayed a single word - Jericho.

Out walked Chris Jericho, the talented WCW star who had been kept firmly in the midcard due to backstage politics. Despite being held back, he was still extremely popular, and the fans raised the roof when he walked out. Not only did Jericho get weeks of build-up to his arrival, but he was immediately positioned as a major player in WWE and the fans reacted to this positively with a giant pop.

8. John Cena & Edge Return - Royal Rumble 2008 and Royal Rumble 2020

Choosing just one Royal Rumble pop is tough, so we’ve picked two instead.

Rumours that retired Hall of Famer Edge was making his return at the 2020 Royal Rumble proved to be true when the opening sting of “You think you know me” echoed around Minute Maid Park. Edge was back after nine years out with injury, and he looked better than ever. The crowd’s huge pop when he entered through a cloud of steam was proof that his presence on WWE TV had been sorely missed.

As for John Cena, he hadn’t been gone nearly as long as his old rival, but his comeback in 2008 was still pretty impressive. In a match against Mr Kennedy on Raw, Cena tore his pectoral muscle and was sidelined for several months. Several turned into “just a few” pretty quickly, because John Cena is simply not human. He came back way ahead of schedule as the 30th man in the Rumble, eventually eliminating Triple H to win the whole thing. It’s one of the biggest cheers Cena has ever gotten.

7. Brock Lesnar Returns - Raw after WrestleMania XVIII

Brock Lesnar’s first exit from WWE in 2004 was a complete mess. Tired of life on the road, Brock announced he was quitting ahead of his match with Goldberg at WrestleMania 20. Since Goldberg was leaving too, the crowd absolutely dumped on both, turning it into one of the most awkward encounters in the show’s history.

With his legacy tarnished, Lesnar tried and failed to start a career in professional American football. He was much more successful in the UFC, but McMahon money is a powerful force, and he made his triumphant comeback to WWE the night after WrestleMania 28.

Despite leaving the promotion to a chorus of boos, the fans came unglued as the toughest man in all combat sports strode out onto the stage to stare John Cena square in the eye. Not only was Brock Lesnar back, but he had inserted himself right at the top of the card against the company’s biggest star. This only made the crowd go even louder.

6. The Rock is the guest host of WrestleMania 27 - Raw 2011

Ahead of WrestleMania 27, everyone was trying to guess who the advertised “guest host” of the show would be. When time came for the reveal, the lights dropped around the arena. Then the immortal words “If you smellllllll” cut through the darkness like a knife. The Rock was back.

Dwayne Johnson made his first live Raw appearance in seven years to an atomic reaction from those in attendance. The movie star slowly made his way out of the curtain, drinking in the huge volume of noise being made solely for him. Rock’s return was a huge shot in the arm for WWE and created a much-needed buzz around the upcoming WrestleMania.

This wasn’t just a one-time deal either, as the Brahma Bull would compete in a handful of matches after this comeback and even won the WWE Championship in 2013.

5. The Hardy Boyz Return - WrestleMania 33

When The New Day announced that a fourth duo was entering the Raw Tag Team Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania 33, everyone expected the team to reveal themselves as the added participants, which would have been fine, if not predictable.

Then The Hardy Boyz’s music hit. Matt and Jeff Hardy made their way down to the ring as the Orlando crowd lost their minds. Not only had this legendary team not been seen in WWE for over eight years, but they’d also just come off the back of exceptional runs in TNA and Ring of Honor – they even had a Ladder Match with The Young Bucks just 24 hours earlier!

Broken Matt Hardy had injected new life into the older sibling, paving the way for Jeff to become Brother Nero and all the brilliant wackiness that followed. Their return at Mania appealed to everyone; old fans who remembered them from The Attitude Era and new ones who knew them from their Broken days. Combine this with an audience of 75,000 people, and that’s a recipe for a major reaction.

4. Time To Play The Game - Raw 2002

Depending on how you look at it, Triple H tearing his quads in 2001 was either a terrible thing or a stroke of luck. Paul Levesque missed out on seven months of his career and the injury interrupted his run as a top heel alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin. On the other hand, this took him out for the entirety of the Invasion angle, so he didn’t have to get involved with any of that mess.

After healing up - and probably waiting an extra bit to make sure the Invasion was done - Triple H made his long-awaited return in January of 2002. The response to his comeback was as ludicrous as his giant denim jacket. Fans went berserk the moment they heard that iconic Motorhead opening chord and almost did permanent damage to Madison Square Garden by blowing its roof clean off.

He might have been a dastardly heel when he left, but this reaction to his return confirmed that The Game was now a full-on good guy… for a little while at least.

3. CM Punk in Chicago - Money in the Bank 2011

CM Punk got everyone’s attention with his industry-rattling pipebomb promo on Raw in 2011, where he verbally ran down everyone from John Cena to John Laurinaitis to Vince McMahon himself.

This came whilst he was building to a WWE Championship match with Cena, set to go down at Money in the Bank. When Punk arrived in his hometown of Chicago, he was treated like a hero. To this crowd, Punk represented anti-establishment, he represented change, he represented hope that the stale, sterilised Cena-led era of WWE was heading for the bin.

These people didn’t just want him to win, they needed it. Throughout the whole match the crowd were on fire, but nothing that night could top his entrance.

2. Steve Austin's Backlash - Backlash 2000

After the disappointing end of WrestleMania 2000, fans were hoping to see The Rock finally unseat Triple H as WWE Champion one month later at Backlash. The champ had the backing of the McMahons and everything was set up to ensure that The Great One failed.

However, The Rock had an ace up his sleeve - a beer-drinking, bald-headed ace. Just when it looked like the match was over, the glass shattered and so did the sound barrier. Stone Cold Steve Austin, chair in hand, made his way down to the ring to help his former rival take out Triple H and his goons.

Austin was still recovering from major neck surgery and hadn’t been on TV regularly for five months. Fans were ecstatic to see him back, especially when he helped The Brahma Bull beat The Cerebral Assassin for the gold. From the moment Austin’s music hits to the end of The Rock’s celebrations, the fans don’t let up for a single second. This is the sort of crowd reaction that made the Attitude Era so much fun to watch.

1. Mankind Wins The Big One - Raw Is War 1999

The first episode of Raw in 1999 was headlined by The Rock vs. Mankind for the WWE Championship. Mick Foley was out to achieve his dream of becoming world champion and to avenge his betrayal at the hands of The Corporation at Survivor Series. With DX at ringside to combat the evil faction, Rock and Mankind got into a huge brawl that soon saw everyone on the outside fighting as well.

Whilst all this chaos was happening, the glass shattered again, and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin joined the melee.

The audience was already at fever pitch before Austin’s arrival, but his presence turned things up to 11. He then somehow turned things up even higher when he planted Rock with a chair shot and allowed Mankind to make the cover and win the title. The culmination of a great match, an exciting interference, and a beloved wrestler finally winning the big one created the perfect conditions for the perfect crowd reaction.