Greetings internet! Zach Mann here. Are you ready for action?? Are you ready for comedy?!! Of course you are. On Thursday, July 25th, AIPW (Amazingly Insane Pro Wrestling) presents WRESTLEPALOOZA (directed by your's truly) at the Coalition Theater at 8pm. This show has been over a year in the works from initial planning, to structuring it out, to finally putting it all together. I have always loved pro wrestling and it’s not hard to see why; the characters, the costumes, the storylines - it’s all theater. And one of the best aspects of wrestling is the humor. As a concept, pro wrestling is inherently funny. It gave up its dignity as a “real sport” long ago and I for one think that is for the better. Pro wrestling can truly be whatever you want it to be. And so in honor of WrestlePalooza, here are some of my favorite wrestling-related comedy moments and why they are so hilarious. Enjoy.
THE BROKEN HARDYS
The Hardy Boys were one of the most beloved acts in the 90’s Attitude Era of WWF. In 2016, both brothers found themselves not only working in rival company, TNA Wrestling, but also in a heated feud with each other. After “suffering” a “serious head injury,” Matt Hardy started talking in a weird accent, speaking in the third person, and quickly descended into total madness. He would rope his wife Reby, their toddler son King Maxwell, his gardener Sr. Benjamin (Reby’s real life father), and their sentient drone Vanguard 1, into his world of madness. Eventually, a “converted” Jeff Hardy would join the group as Brother Nero, and together they spend the rest of the year wrestling animals (yes really), riding in a living boat on a magic lake (yes really), and fighting painted and costumed super villains (yes really)! Their time as these characters would lead to three hilarious specials; The Final Deletion, Delete or Decay, and the two hour long episode of Impact Total Non-Stop Deletion. The Hardy Boys returned to WWE the next year and while they did eventually bring in the act, it wasn’t the same without the complete creative control TNA let them have. If you love absurd humor, quirky and colorful characters, and fun yet nonsensical storytelling, the Broken Hardy Saga is a must for comedy wrestling fans viewing experience!
KURT ANGLE WEARS TINY COWBOY HAT
In 2001, Kurt Angle and a recently heel-turned Steve Austin were both competing for Vince McMahon’s affection and praise. This would lead to a series of skits in which Austin would always outshine or be little Kurt in front of Vince. The ultimate would turn out to be when Austin wore a traditional large black cowboy hat and began to play the guitar and sing (more on singing Austin later.) While Kurt wanted in on the group activities Austin presented him with the tinniest, most adorable little red and white cowboy hat to wear. You know, the kind you see them put on top of the most miserable looking pony at the state fair. Well, in order to fit in, Kurt wore the hat, showing all the same levels of dignity as the a for mentioned pony, as he smiled his big goofy eyed smile right through the song and routine. Kurt was always known for his intensity and toughness in the ring and in the majority of his promos, but this and several other hidden gems over the course of his wrestling time prove he could do comedy with the best of them.
STONE COLD SINGS
In late 2001, Steve Austin’s career was quickly coming to an end. His neck, both knees, and spine were beyond thrashed and wrestling in long matches was well over for him at this time. Yet Austin found a way to stay a top star and larger than life personality at all times. After turning face following the horrible WCW/ECW “Invasion” angle, Austin was back to being the people’s favorite again. It is during this time he coined the now infamous WHAT?! chant, a chant still lobbied at heels and boring acts to this day. Austin was always funny in an intense sort of way, but being an ass kicker was always priority number one. Now with his physical prime way behind him, be dived fully into the outlandish character and promo style. A highlight of which includes him “singing” the theme song to the famous Hollywood TV series The Beverley Hillbillies as the crowd chanted WHAT at him. Good stuff here, good stuff.
BIG POPPA PUMP'S PROMOS
In order to be a memorable figure in this industry you must be able to not only wrestle, but equally, if not more importantly, you must be able to talk and hype up the crowd. This is called cutting a promo. There are far too many great promos, both classic and current, to count here, but one man’s promo “skills” are the stuff legends are made of. Some guys like the Rock were able to cut consistently funny and original unscripted promos pretty much their entire career, but one man’s promo style was so different, and that man was Scott Steiner. His promos will live on in wrestling lore for the sheer volume of just delightful WTF moments. When he would cut a promo he would talk and talk, never stopping (despite fumbling over himself often), and never looking back as he would ramble on and on about all the countries he wrestled, his many “freaks” out in the audience, hailing from a highly educated university, and he was never shy on sharing his opinion on those “no-good fat asses” (his words not mine) in the crowd. The highlight being his (in)famous math promo in TNA. If you haven’t seen it just, watch, it is well worth the time.
ROCK, THIS IS YOUR LIFE!
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is one of the most beloved pro wrestlers in history. He’s been conquering Hollywood for almost two decades now and a huge amount of his creative public acting and speech work can be attributed to his unscripted improv style of promos. This entire list could be nothing but Rock promos, but where is the fun in that? I decided to include the most famous skit from his entire run, and one of wrestling’s most remembered moments - the “This is Your Life” segment. Based off the TV show of the same name, Mick Foley was trying to show how much the Rock and his friendship meant to him so he decided to organize a surprise reunion of many ‘special’ people from the Rock’s past. This included old teachers, former coaches, and ex-girlfriends. The Rock made sure to tell each and everyone one of them how special they were by letting know just what and where to shove up their candy asses. When people think of the Attitude Era they often think of Steve Austin and his beer truck, Mick Foley falling from Hell in a Cell, and Austin’s attack on McMahon in the hospital, but just as remembered as they are, this fun segment of comedy gold is right up there with the most remembered things about wrestling’s biggest boom period.
ONE "SHOCKING" DEBUT
One of the most notorious debuts in wrestling history, the Shock Master was meant to be the surprise mystery partner for Sting, Dustin Rhodes, and Davey Boy Smith at the 1993 WCW Fall Brawl War Games against Sid Vicious, Vader, and Harlem Heat. It was planned he would make an explosive debut crashing through the wall and intimidating the heels before their upcoming match. Well….. due to a missed placed two-by-four he tripped and feel as he crashed through the wall falling right on his face, causing the mask he was wearing, a silver painted Storm Troopers mask from Star Wars, to come flying off and leaving him scrabbling to put it back on. Almost all the wrestlers on stage burst out in laughter during this “serious” moment. In fact, Davey Boy Smith can clearly be heard on live national TV saying, “He fell on his ass, right on his fucking ass!” The Shock Master tried to put the helmet back on and cut a serious promo, but the character was dead on impact with no hope of revival. Oh well, at least he will live in wrestling legend forever.
FUN TIME USA
WWE recently revealed the new 24/7 title, a belt that could be won by anyone at any time as long a ref is present to make the 3-count. This is, of course, the same exact gimmick as the infamous Hardcore Championship from the Attitude Era of wrestling in the late 90’s. While numerous superstars wore that belt before it was retired, Crash Holly is the one associated with it the most, and for good reasons. Crash began to brag about being a fighting champion and challenged anyone to try and take the title from him at any time, and try they did. This lead to backstage and out-of-arena segments in which wrestlers, clowns, janitors, and various others would all come after him in a variety of places like the his hotel room, the airport, etc…with the highlight being Crash vs The Head Bangers inside a kids’ Play Palace - complete with slides, a ball pit, and jungle gym. Crash always seemed to get away with the title somehow and his antics remain some of the funniest moments during wrestling’s biggest boom periods.
ROCCO ROCK FORGETS HE'S ON CAMERA
Let’s be clear, most “intentionally” funny things in wrestling are anything but. So much humor comes from what wasn’t supposed to happen. Enter the case of Rocco Rock and the missed camera timing. This is not one of the famous or popular wrestling humor moments beloved by millions. In fact, i couldn't even find a video clip of it. However, this moment made me laugh so hard and continues to make me laugh every time I think about it. Let me set the stage. On a 1999 edition of Monday Night Raw, Rocco Rock, one half of Public Enemy, was meant to be sacrificed in a demonic way by the Undertaker’s minions. We had seen him kidnapped and presumably haulled away to meet an unfortunate fate. But…in the next backstage segment, while another wrestler was being interviewed, we all can clearly see Rocco Rock casually walking from one place to another to shoot the next video for his angle. Half-way across the screen he realizes he’s on camera, gives his best “Oh, I done fucked up!” look and dives behind some boxes like a cartoon duck. Just thinking about this screw up makes me smile from ear to ear every time. P.S. this was the beginning of the end of Rocco’s career, I wonder why?
Well there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this list as much as I enjoyed making it. If you're a fan of the comedic antics of pro wrestling, I expect to see your candy ass at the Coalition Theater on July 25th at 8pm for AIPW's inaugural WRESTLEPALOOZA event.
Do you have any favorite hilarious moments in pro wrestling history that didn't make this list? Let us know!
