The WWE became an even larger pop culture fixture in the ’90s. Huge stars such as Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin were all on the WWE roster at one point in this decade and it helped launch the company to the top of the wrestling world. It was practically impossible to walk around most of the world in the 1990s and not see some trace of the WWE’s impact somewhere.
There were so many memorable moments that happened in the WWE in the ’90s, from the rise of Steve Austin as WWE Champion to HBK and Razor Ramon competing in a game-changing ladder match. The list of memorable things that occurred in the ’90s is endless. There are also a lot of moments that many WWE fans forgot happened in this decade.
10/10 DX Paints “WCW” On Jim Neidhart
In the aftermath of the Montreal Screwjob, Bret Hart was not the only person that left the WWE to join WCW. Both the British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart eventually ended up on WCW programming, but one of them suffered a humiliating departure from the WWE that some fans have forgotten about.
As part of The Hart Foundation, Jim Neidhart and Bret Hart were already future WWE Hall of Famers in 1997, but the WWE did not take kindly to Neidhart departing the company, resulting in Triple H and Shawn Michaels humiliating him before he left. During the last time fans saw “The Anvil” on WWE television in the ’90s, he was not only betrayed by DX but also had “WCW” spray painted on his back.
9/10 The Rock Vs. Bret Hart
The Rock versus Brett Hart is a match that many fans forget actually happened in the WWE. In all honesty, The Rock hadn’t become “the great one” on track to be a future movie star career, but he did battle Brett Hart before Hart left the WWE in the ’90s.
The pair competed for the Intercontinental Championship on an episode of Raw in 1997. The Rock ended up retaining the IC title after Bret Hart put “Rocky Maivia” in a figure four leg lock on the pole and lost the match via disqualification.
8/10 Hulk Hogan Appears On Raw
Hulk Hogan was actually still signed to the WWE when Raw first debuted on television. Although he would eventually go on to be the face of WCW’s Monday Nitro, Hogan made a few appearances on Monday Night Raw in its inaugural year of programming.
His short time with the company didn’t lead to any matches on the television program, but Hogan was in a few taped promos and was at ringside when Raw launched in 1993. After 1993, he wouldn’t show his face on Raw until he returned to the WWE in 2002.
7/10 Owen Hart Appears On SmackDown
Although SmackDown found its identity in the 2000s, it premiered on television in the 1990s. Even fans who remember watching SmackDown when it was just an extension of Monday Night Raw in the early years might not remember that Owen Hart actually made an appearance on the program.
Owen wrestled in the pilot episode of the show that was shot months before SmackDown‘s official premiere in August of 1999. In the pilot episode, which aired on April 29th, 1999, Owen Hart (as the Blue Blazer) defeated Val Venis in the opening bout of the first official episode of SmackDown.
6/10 The O.J. Simpson Poll
It’s impossible to talk about popular culture in the 1990s without bringing up the infamous OJ Simpson trial. As many fans know, the WWE was not a PG product in the ’90s and loved incorporating the topics everyone was talking about into its programming.
Along with alluding to the OJ Simpson white Bronco chase during the WrestleMania 12 segment between Goldust and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, the WWE once ran a poll asking audiences to dial in and say if they thought OJ Simpson was guilty or not. The 1995 segment actually ended with 51% of the WWE audience voting “no.”
5/10 The Clowns Clean Sweep At Survivor Series
Survivor Series teams in the early ’90s were usually replete with future WWE Hall of Famers. There was also one instance where the program featured an all-clown team that dominated the show. In 1993, Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger, and The Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu) were defeated by The Bushwhackers (Luke and Butch) and Men on a Mission (Mabel and Mo) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match. Luke, Butch, Mabel, and Mo not only won the match but won with a rare, clean sweep, meaning no member of the team was even eliminated.
4/10 A Cameraman Helps Yokozuna Beats Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan had a reputation in the ’90s (and over his entire career) for not wanting to put other wrestlers over. The same was true when he was forced to give up the WWE Championship in 1993 before he departed from the company.
A huge stipulation for Hogan losing the title to Yokozuna at King of the Ring in 1993 was that he couldn’t take a clean loss. It ended up being one of the dirtiest losses of Hogan’s career since not only did Mr. Fuji interfere, but Harvey Wippleman also dressed as a cameraman and singed Hogan’s face to help Yokozuna win his second WWE Championship.
3/10 Thursday Night Raw
Raw has aired on Monday nights for almost the entirety of its existence. While many fans may remember the segment in the ’90s where Shawn Michaels lost his smile, they may forget that the WWE actually aired that episode of Raw on a Thursday instead of a Monday.
The Westminster Dog Show 1997 was the program that forced Raw to move its time slot. Just one year later, the WWE would have one of the top programs on cable television.
2/10 The Steiner Brothers Vs. The Hart Brothers
People often consider Rick and Scott Steiner to be one of the greatest brother tag team units in the history of the WWE. Not far behind them are Owen and Bret Hart who likely would have had a bigger run as a tag team if Bret didn’t become such a huge star.
Some fans forget that in 1994, the two illustrious brother tag teams actually competed against each other at a WWF Wrestling Challenge TV taping. The match ended in a double count-out and it was the one and only time the four ever clashed in the ring.
1/10 Edge Won The Intercontinental Championship
Edge is one of the few superstars from the ’90s still competing on the WWE roster. Although he rose to fame during the mid-2000s, he actually had one huge accomplishment in the ’90s. At a house show in 1999, Edge defeated Jeff Jarrett to win his first major title in the WWE, the Intercontinental Championship. He would only hold the title for one day, but that championship would be the first of many in Edge’s WWE career.
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