Top 4 Controversial Matches

The Top 4 Most Controversial Matches in Wrestling History



#1 WWE World Title Match; Bret “The Hitman Hart vs. Shawn Michaels; Survivor Series; Montreal, Quebec Canada; November 09, 1997


In the nine years following this match, it seems as if we have hardly had a major WWE title match without mention of the “Montreal Screw Job”. In many ways it, more than any other event in wrestling history, has changed the landscape of the game. The history leading up to the match is almost as controversial as the finish itself.


Reigning WWE champion Bret Hart was informed by WWE chairman Vince McMahon in the fall of 1997 that he could no longer afford to pay Hart’s incredible twenty year contract. He allowed Hart to negotiate with WCW for a better deal. Once that deal was reached, the problem became how to get the title off of Hart before he arrived in the rival company. McMahon still had a bitter taste in his mouth from a 1995 incident in which WWE women’s champion Alundra Blayze (Madusa Miceli) arrived on WCW Nitro and threw her title in the trash on live television. McMahon definitely did not want to see a repeat with the most prized title in his company.


Hart’s contract guaranteed him complete creative control for his final thirty days with the company. So when Vince told him that he wanted him to drop the title to Michaels at Survivor Series, Hart refused. He had been having a war of words that at times resorted to violence with Michaels for most of the year. The last thing he wanted to do was lose the title in his final WWE match to the man he hated most in the company in front of thousands of his fellow Canadians.


It was decided between Hart and McMahon that the finish for the match would be a disqualification with members of the Hart Foundation and D-Generation X interfering. From there Hart would either immediately drop the title to someone back in the states or he would simply relinquish it. Unbeknownst to Hart however was a scheme being cooked up between McMahon, WWE official Gerald Brisco, Michaels, and head referee Earl Hebner. McMahon told Michaels that he wanted him to lock Hart in the sharpshooter. As soon as he did this McMahon would tell Hebner to ring the bell and Michaels would be champion. Shawn would later say that he felt like a mafia hit man, but that he knew he was doing the right thing.


The match went off just as the four architects of it had planned. Afterwards a befuddled Hart lashed out at McMahon, spitting in his face and later punching him. The aftermath saw Davey Boy Smith, Jim Neidhart, Rick Rude, and Brian “Crush” Adams leave for WCW out of respect for Hart. Meanwhile McMahon played off of the hatred many fans now had for him to create one of the most hated and lucrative characters in the history of the business. No matter how many years pass or champions are crowned this match is never far from fan’s memories in big match environments.

#2 NWA World Title Match; “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers vs. Lou Thesz; Toronto, Ontario Canada; January 24, 1963


Another controversial match in Canada actually launched the creation of the WWWF (now WWE). Buddy Rogers was the crowned NWA world champion and one of the most charismatic performers of his time. His opponent on this night was the strait laced, no nonsense former champion and NWA kingpin; Lou Thesz. Thesz defeated Rogers in what many expected to be the first fall of the contest. However, the bell soon rang and Thesz was crowned the champion leaving Rogers and his promoters, Vince McMahon Sr. and Toots Mondt, fuming. This setup was created to get the title off of Rogers and onto what was deemed the more respectable Thesz. Soon after the contest many promoters in the Northeast broke away from the NWA and formed the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Wouldn’t you know it, their first champion was “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers.

 

#3 World Title Match; George Hackenschmidt vs. Frank Gotch; Chicago, Il; September 04, 1911


We have to go way back in time for this one. This was a time before script writers, pyrotechnics, and scantily clad valets. This match was the original “granddaddy of them all” as it pitted World champion Frank Gotch against the man he defeated, European powerhouse George Hackenschmidt. Nations were stunned when Gotch one the initial meeting as Hackenschmidt was the heavy favorite. Fans were turned away from Chicago’s Kaminski Park for the second clash of these two turn of the century titans.


This was, of course, a three falls contests. A typical championship match in those days makes today’s Iron Man match look like a walk in the park. The participants were given a short break in between falls.


Three days before the match Hackenschmidt injured his knee in a training session with a shooter by the name of Benjamin Roller. Many have claimed that it was Ad Santel, but later research has disproved that notion. Hackenschmidt was indeed injured heading into the contest, but doctors ruled that it wouldn’t prevent him from competing. Rumors began to swirl that Gotch had paid to have the shooter injure Hackenschmidt. These rumors were never substantiated but did leave a stigma for the match.


Gotch won the first fall with a crotch hold (yes, that is correct) in sixteen minutes. The second fall did not last much longer as a pained Hackenschmidt simply surrendered the match. Gotch had defeated the mighty European for a second time and spectators were again stunned with the outcome. Not only had Gotch scored two consecutive falls, but he had done it with relative ease and in near record time.


After the match Hackenschmidt was open about his injury and claimed that Gotch had oiled his body up to make it difficult to be caught in holds. Gotch and his camp denied the rumors. However, the fact that nearly a hundred years later this match is still being debated shows that it ranks as one of the most controversial of all time.

#4 WCW World Title Match; Sid Vicious vs. Chris Benoit; Cincinnati, Oh; January 16, 2000


In the year 2000 WCW was sinking ship with a rotating crew of men at the helm. At the beginning of the year Vince Russo was in his third month as the creative head of the company and had yet to make headway against the mounting opposition WWE was posing. Fearing that changes had to be made to get the company out of the red, Russo was ousted mere days before the Souled Out pay-per-view. A booking committee featuring former writer and wrestler Kevin Sullivan was put in place to run the show. To say that this did not sit well with many of WCW’s younger stars would be a vast understatement. During his previous tenure in control, Sullivan had problems, both personally and professionally, with Chris Benoit. Benoit was slated for the main event of Souled Out in a match against Sid Vicious for the recently vacated World title. Upon news that the booking committee would include Sullivan, Benoit, along with wrestlers such as Eddy Guerrero, Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko, and Shane Douglas asked for releases from their contractual obligations. To try and placate the group, the decision was made for Benoit to win the title at Souled Out.
The match nearly went off without a hitch. It wasn’t a classic, but was better than most of the under card. The only problem was that while Vicious was locked in the crippler cross face, his foot was under the rope, out of the view of special referee Arn Anderson. Benoit was crowned the champion. Once backstage he handed the title to WCW official Nick Patrick and asked for his release, which was reluctantly granted to him. The next night it was proclaimed, conveniently enough that because Vicious’ foot was under the rope the decision was null and void, and the title was once again vacant. It certainly was coincidental that his foot was in the right place at the right time, wasn’t it?