Commissioner's TOP 5: Cleveland Wrestling Moments

The Commish
Apr 15, 2017
11 min read

There's no doubt that all wrestling companies want to bring their best to any audience they are in front of. However, there are sometimes said companies will also hold onto a bit of a "super show" for a specific upcoming venue or arena. Having travelled cross-country for years, these wrestling "hotbeds" are well known and recognized by most touring promotions. With legendary venues, fantastic wrestling traditions, and rabid fans, these places are always worthy of bringing something special to everyone in attendance, no matter what type of event it is.

Now, I've been lucky enough to spend most of my life in the midwest and on the east coast. From growing up some 40 miles east of my "big city", to spending summers traveling up around New England and the real "big city" (NYC), I've been through a many of these hot wrestling areas. Though I've never seen a WWE event at Madison Square Garden, I have been lucky enough to see ECW rock the Hammerstein. I dreamed of following them down to Philadelphia to the (then) ECW arena. Maybe on the drive home I would be reminded of memories from the (then) Igloo in downtown Pittsburgh. Hearing the sound of Mankind's body smacking the announcer's table and floor after being tossed off of the Hell in a Cell would surely keep me awake during my drive down Route 90. (And that was just the Attitude Era!)

In the wake of WWF purchasing WCW (and with ECW's demise), the indie-land was ready for another mat based wrestling promotion (in the embryonic Ring of Honor), to start incorporating all the top young talent that wasn't taken by the the "big-leagues" and push them to the top. Already known as being some of the top locations for the WWE at the time, great indie shows were starting to pop up anywhere from Erie, PA, to Columbus, OH. Even into greater Indiana. Regardless of the promotion, if I ever saw a show emanating from any of the aforementioned cities, you had better believe I would be trying my best to look up those results as soon as I possibly could. You always knew that whoever was booking that show was going to put on something that was as fun, smart, and entertaining as the crowd that they were in front of. And we haven't even touched Chicago yet.

But this article isn't about Chicago. The "second city" will get it's own piece in the near future, I'm sure. From being the home of many famous WWE moments, and hosting literally three WrestleManias, to being the loud and proud home of one of the most influential talents of the past two decades in CM Punk, Chicago (and it's fans) definitely deserve to be viewed as the "Wrestling Destination of the Midwest". I hope that the WWE and ROH continue to stack shows, cards, and PPVs every time they go there. Because I will be stoked to watch them.

However, I'm not a Chicago guy. New York City? Not me. Pittsburgh? Columbus? Indianapolis? Detroit? You got the wrong dude. I'm a Paul Heyman guy, but I ain't a Philly guy.

Nope. I'm a bonafide Cleveland guy.

"From the mistake on the lake to The Gund, not The Q. I love the Browns, Cavs and Tribe, and if you don't, then f*ck you."

We as the Cleveland-area wrestling community are one of the smartest (and smarkiest) crowds in the entire nation, and the WWE has noticed. You will never hear them talk about the "legendary Cleveland crowd", and Cleveland will never host a WrestleMania. But Vince & Co. have steadily given Cleveland solid and landscape changing cards throughout the years. From World Title changing Raws and Smackdowns, to nearly hosting a PPV annually, the people of the Northeast Ohio area have been pretty enough to witness some pretty fantastic shows.

So after sitting down (and cracking a few beers), I began watching footage of live events that I was lucky enough to attend. Then I started going over all the other A-List Cleveland shows that I was fortunate enough to watch shoulder to shoulder with my wrestling buddies in front of an old 22" TV. And after re-living some of that magic, I turned and grabbed my pad of paper and started writing. Because a voice had seemingly just yelled in my head, "Guess what Cleveland? You just made the list!"

And without any further ado, I bring you The Commissioner's top 5 Cleveland wrestling moments:

#5 - Shawn Michaels vs. Vader & Mankind vs. The Undertaker (SummerSlam 1996)

Not one of the greatest cards of all time, but this one sticks out for a handful of reasons. First off, it was the first PPV I remember getting together with friends (whom weren't attending live), meeting down in a basement and throwing down $10 each on pizza. Something that my friends I are shamelessly still doing nearly 20 years later. Secondly, I was the biggest HBK mark ever. Period. I had specifically bought my first Shawn Michaels shirt just to wear for the main event and I'm pretty sure I had face painted some hearts on my cheeks as well.

Thank God cameras weren't as readily available as they are today.

The card was nothing extraordinary, but I specifically remember everyone groaning at the bumps that Mankind and The Undertaker were taking in their "Boiler Room Brawl", which ended up being a really fun match. I also remember all of going completely nuts during all of the shenanigans of the Michaels/Vader match. So if you end up re-watching this PPV, try not to watch it as a wrestling fan in 2017. Try your best to view it through the eyes of a 13 year old who is squeezed on a couch between childhood friends, watching his hero(s) perform in the ring. You just may see something special about the PPV.

#4 - The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge & Christian (Ladder Match - No Mercy 1999)

As a huge fan of ECW I thought I had seen just about any spot that could done using objects not normally intended for a professional wrestling match. With the HBK vs. Razor Ramon ladder match at WrestleMania 10 setting the bar for all future ladder matches (and being a personal favorite), I thought I knew all the tricks in a booking that involves a ladder. No one in attendance or watching at home that night could have anticipated the "match of the year" that we were about to witness that night.

After an absolutely incredible match, Mick Foley famously found all four wrestlers backstage and congratulated them for elevating themselves from "WWF wrestlers" to "WWF superstars". And with all of them having successful careers in both tag-team and singles competition, there is no doubt that Foley was right. If you're currently reading this on the website there is a good chance that you have already seen this match, but even so may I recommend that everyone do themselves a favor and rewatch these future Hall of Famers make their names in this classic match.

#3 - Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (Unsanctioned Match - Unforgiven 2008)

If you haven't already figured it out, Shawn Michaels is my favorite wrestler of all time. With that being said, the unquestionable #2 in my book, is Chris Jericho. So when this feud was laid down during a supposed HBK retirement speech at SummerSlam with Jericho coming out and accidentally punching Shawn's wife, I knew I had to see the culmination. And after an excellently crafted back and forth leading up to the match, it totally lived up to the hype. A "just out of his prime" Jericho and a "twilight of his career" Michaels tore up Cleveland for over 25 minutes, and even thought HBK ended up finishing the match by continually beating the living shit out of Y2J, there were absolutely no losers that night. My hero got his hand raised, the fans got to witness a classic, and Jericho would end up shocking the wrestling world be sneaking into a Scramble Title Match later that evening, leaving with the World Heavyweight Championship. Yet another "forgettable" Cleveland classic.

#2 - The WWF Purchases WCW (Monday Night Raw 3/26/2001 & the ensuing Invasion PPV 7/22/2001)

Wow. Where to begin with this one? My most distinct memory comes from not the wrestling event itself, but the personal wind-up of insanity leading up to Monday Night Raw. Having known that I would be attending the Raw leading up to WrestleMania XVII (possibly the greatest WrestleMania of all time), I was only hoping to see some of my favorite wrestlers up close, if not in the wrestling ring. But after heading over to a buddy's house to make some signs for the show, we decided to give a random check to WWF.com to see if a card had been released yet.

What we saw literally blew our minds. The WCW logo was on the WWF homepage, with a few lines discussing the purchase.

A quick check of the WCW's website (which led us to a link that directed us back to WWF's website) confirmed our initial thoughts on what was happening. The story seemed legit. When we arrived to Raw, we entered the Gund Arena to find that a live feed of the last WCW Monday Nitro was being simulcast on the titantron!?!? The buzz from the crowd was palpable before the opening pyros even went off. Vince came on the screen to a thunderous roar and explained the siutation, insinuating that Ted Turner himself would be at WrestleMania XVII to sign over the company. But before the disbelief at what we were witnessing could set it, Shane McMahon appeared on the titontron, live from Nitro, to announce that he had purchased WCW from underneath his father's nose. The remainder of Raw flew by, with appearances from every superstar you would have hoped to see. But the real action that night was in the Cleveland crowd. In between matches and segments, everyone was buzzing with what had just happened (and was happening) behind the scenes. The invasion angle had begun.

Though "the invasion" is widely considered to be a, errrr, "misused opportunity" by fans and fantasy bookers alike, there is no doubt that it led to one of the most exciting and unpredictable times in professional wrestling. Not knowing which wrestler from which company was going to show up at which show at anytime, made for some must-see television. WCW and ECW wrestlers were showing up and interfering at Raw, Smackdown and Pay-Per-Views. After the lines had been drawn and The Alliance had been formed, it was time to witness a handful of fantasy match-ups. Bouts like Rob Van Dam facing off against Jeff Hardy. Edge & Christian fighting to unify tag belts against a red hot Lance Storm and Mike Awesome. Matches like these were guaranteed to keep any wrestling fan glued. But the main event at the Invasion PPV was set to decide the future of the WWE (and the wrestling industry in general). Five of the WWE's best superstars went against The Alliance's five best superstars to decide who would reign supreme, and after a Stone Cold heel turn (WHAT?!) the wrestling world was again thrown upside down. Myself and the entire crowd present at the Invasion PPV were completely stunned, but I'll be damned if I wasn't still basking in the glory of a combined WWE/WCW/ECW pay-per-view. And it happened at the Gund Arena in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

#1 - NXT Live Event (6/12/15 - The Agora Theatre)

I know, I know. After all of the larger than life moments I discussed above, you are wondering why I put an NXT house show as my #1 on this list. Allow me to respond with two things: First, a reminder that the title of this top five is "The Commissioner's Personal Top 5 Cleveland Wrestling Moments". Secondly, take a look at this card:

*Event begins with a "ten bell salute" to the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes

Match 1 - Enzo & Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillains

Match 2 - Jason Jordan vs. Bull Dempsey

Match 3 - Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno

Match 4 - Bailey & Carmella vs. Emma & Dana Brooke

Match 5 - Blake & Murphy (NXT Tag Champs) vs. Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder

Match 6 - Sasha Banks (NXT Women's Champ) vs. Charlotte

Match 7 (Main Event) - Kevin Owens (NXT Champ) vs. Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Samoa Joe

Totally fucking stacked. Having not known the matches going into the event, we were literally just blown away by the show that was put on that night in front of us. From seeing all of the current NXT Championships being defended, to getting to witness a recently acquired "Joey Samoey", the evening was simply a series of peaks with little to no valleys. And in one of the only down moments of the night being a "ten bell salute) to the recently deceased Dusty Rhodes to open the event, it immediately rolled over into a standing ovation for "The Dream". Before the audience could even get their butts back into their seats, Enzo & Big Cass came out and had us all jumping up and chanting their entire intro along with them on their way to the ring. After an entertaining match and a win against the Vaudevillains (which ended with a "hug it out" moment between the tag teams, which was influenced by a crowd chant started by none other than Young Lion's own Buchanan), there was only the slightest dip in the crowd as the event moved to a singles match between Bull Dempsey and a pre-American Alpha Jason Jordan.

But this is where the ball started rolling and never stopped. A seemingly "so-so" match pitting Baron Corbin against Rhyno, really got the crowd interaction going which resulted in chants aimed at an apparent "homeless" and "smelly" Corbin. This match (or the beer) had really got the already loosened up crowd going even more at this point. Cleveland's own Dana Brooke followed up in a losing effort teaming up with Emma against Carmella and at that time a surprisingly "over" Bailey in a typical high caliber NXT women's match.

The NXT Tag Title bout saw Blake & Murphy retain their belts versus "The Hype Bros." in a match that had so many near-falls towards the end, it literally kept us all on our feet thinking that a title change just may happen. And in one of the highlights of the evening, we got to witness a LIGHTS OUT match between the then NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks and Charlotte. (To be fair, this match is worthy of its own write-up, from how much women's wrestling had grown, to how we were literally seeing a precursor of everything to come between the two of them on the main roster.) Charlotte was able to take the NXT Women's champ to the limit, however it ultimately ended in a losing effort.

Then there was the "mainest" of main events. ("mainest" isnt' a word? Don't care.) An NXT Championship match seeing title holder Kevin Owens in a fatal four-way match against the soon to be title holder Finn Balor (which on its own would have been an amazing match), NXT main event staple at the time Tyler Breeze, and the aforementioned brand new Samoa Joe. After a 4.5 star "how am I seeing this live for $20.00?" match that seemingly went well over the standard 15-18 minute that a non-televised main event normally gets, Kevin Owens held onto the title and walked out of the building still a champion.

WHEW.

Throughout the show, many a beer were had and a many of high fives were given. The future of our WWE, both literally and figuratively, was displayed in front of us in its full glory. Am an incredibly appreciative Cleveland crowd loved every minute of what they saw. Having been to a handful of ECW shows in its heyday, I knew a crowd that was witnessing fun, entertaining and great wrestling. This show was just that, at it's absolutely highest.

So know that I understand that it seems questionable to give you a WWE "minor league" house show as my personal #1 wrestling moment in Cleveland history. But also know that this show doesn't get the top spot due to it being in a small, sweaty box in Cleveland that is better meant for punk shows. Nor does it achieve its ranking due to its fantastic presentation or wrestling. To me, it will always deserve its rank simply due to the visual of entering the Agora Theater, searching out my friends and finding them huddled around a table with their heads together talking about how genuinely stoked they were for the future of the WWE (or wrestling in general). Geared up in their best wrestling shirts, whether purchased that night or handled with care throughout the years, I knew that my friend and I were in for a great night. From being with good friends, to witnessing incredible wrestling, to the ecstatic crowd, there is a very good chance that night will always be at the top of this list. The night we conceivably got to see the future 5+ years of WWE talent, and quite possibly, the night that Young Lion Wrestling was born.