No matter the era in which you started watching WWE, or even further back when it was still known as the WWF, you were bound to experience some whacky, off-the-wall, and even absurd moments on television, or on one of the company's many pay-per-views that you, or your parents, shelled out hard-earned money for. The infamous Attitude Era, lasting from around 1997 through 2002,when the company entered its Ruthless Aggression Era, harbored many over-the-top moments across all its programming.
While the wackiness can be broken down by era, the odd decisions usually boil down to the mind of one man, former WWE chairman Vince McMahon, who had a knack for confusing booking and questionable storylines throughout the time he was in creative power. The most memorable, and most ridiculous, WWE moments were penned by McMahon, and even though he is no longer with the company, the absurd moments remain cemented in professional wrestling history.
There are of course, the borderline offensive moments, from Gene Snitsky kicking a baby to mock Lita's storyline miscarriage on an episode of "WWE Raw" in November 2004, to Big Boss Man feeding Al Snow his dog in a hotel room in 1999, to the 2002 infamous classic of the Katie Vick storyline.And then, there are the more weird, wacky, and odd moments, such as the Shockmaster's disastrous debut in August 1993.In a gross moment that lives in fans' nightmares, the Boogeyman ate a growth of Jillian Hall's face in 2006, and who could forget the attempted castration of Val Venis on a 1998 episode of "Raw."
All of those could be considered honorable mentions in our ranked list of ridiculous moments, but there are six moments in WWE history that stand out as the most absurd.
One of the most absurd moments in recent memory, though still booked when McMahon was in charge, was the lumberjack match, sponsored by Dave Bautista's movie "Army of the Dead"between Damian Priest and The Miz, who was accompanied to the ring by tag team partner John Morrison. While a lumberjack match itself isn't all that ridiculous, the Backlash 2021 match featured wrestlers and extras dressed as zombies, who served as the lumberjacks for the match, to help promote the movie. To make matters worse the bout was competed during WWE's pandemic Thunderdome era, and no fans were in attendance.
With both competitors out to the ring, the zombies, which admittedly looked pretty good in their costume makeup, jumped the barricade and came down the ramp to kick off the action. The match itself lasted under 10 minutes and was full of absurd action. Commentary made note that they were now "broadcasting from a safer place," as they watched The Miz be thrown from the ring to confront the undead. Neither man was safe from the zombies, with Priest confronting them, as well. At one point, the match broke down and Miz and Priest fought the zombies on the outside rather than each other.
Morrison was attacked on the barricade by two zombies when he attempted to help his partner, and the distraction allowed Priest to get the win. After the bell, the zombies crawled into the ring and started to "devour" The Miz, in one of the most absurd scenes that would not have gone over well had fans been in the crowd. Modern day WWE has seen its gimmick matches here and there, but the ridiculousness of the zombies being included in this match earns it a spot on this list.
The segment that infamously became known to fans as "Pillman's Got a Gun," thanks to a call on commentary by a wildly confused Jim Ross, was one of WWE's most absurd moments in a more terrifying way.At the time, Pillman was feuding with his former Hollywood Blonds, as they were known in WCW, tag team partner "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and that feud escalated to heights that no fan had seen until the November 4, 1996 episode of "Raw."
That night in November, Pillman was meant to take part in a live interview segment shot at his real home, with his children present, which his son, "WWE NXT" star Lexis King, has spoken about. "The Loose Canon" knew that Austin planned to invade his home during the interview with Kevin Kelly, so he brandished a gun, live on air, and said he was ready for him. "Stone Cold" did show up that night and broke a window to get in the house. As he stormed over to his former tag partner to confront him, Pillman pointed the gun at him. As he dropped an "F" bomb, the video feed to those watching at home went black, just as gunshots rang out, and fans of the then-WWF had no idea if Austin had been shot.
"Stone Cold" had obviously not been shot by his former friend despite how WWF made things appear, but viewers were left in a scary cliffhanger. Many contacted the network, voicing their concerns, and the company almost lost its place on the USA Network. According to Ross, who thought the addition of the gun was unrealistic, it was something that entertained McMahon. While the segment may be one of the most memorable in "Raw" history, it's also one of the most absurd.
In one of McMahon's more bizarre decisions leading to a wild moment, the chairman of the WWE decided he was going to feud with not only Shawn Michaels in 2006, but with God, as well. McMahon and the "Heartbreak Kid" were locked in a brutal rivalry that seemingly culminated with a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22. The bout went over so well that the chairman decided to keep the feud going with Michaels, and that led to the inclusion of God.
Michaels was known as the time for becoming a born-again Christian after struggling with drugs and alcohol in the 90s and throughout the beginnings of the Attitude Era. In 1999, Michaels started his journey to sobriety through his faith, alongside his wife, and returned to establish himself with a much cleaner image backstage and in the ring in 2002. This was what McMahon latched on to when he wanted to continue their story.
McMahon started to take cheap shots at and compare himself to God, going as far as to travel to a church during a pre-produced segment. He declared the start of his own religion, McMahonism, and plenty of other absurd things as the feud continued. It all culminated in one of the most ridiculous moments at Backlash that year, when McMahon and his son, Shane, were set to face Michaels and God in a tag team match.
In the ridiculous moment, God was introduced to the ring and "walked" down the ramp via spotlight. Michaels had to fight both McMahons by himself in yet another No Holds Barred Match, and ultimately lost the bout thanks to help from the Spirit Squad.
In a truly unhinged moment on an episode of "Raw" in February 2000, Mae Young, who was in her 70s at the time, gave birth on live television. However, she didn't give birth to a baby, but rather, a hand, like one found on amannequin.Young was in a storyline relationship with the much younger Mark Henry, who was portraying his "Sexual Chocolate" character, at that point of the Attitude Era. Over the course of their relationship, Young became pregnant.
Young went into labor after taking a power bomb at the hands of the Dudley Boyz, followed by a splash by Viscera, who was feuding with Henry at the time. Henry, Fabulous Moolah, Gerald Briscoe, and Pat Patterson were all present backstage for the birth, which involved a lot of gas sound effects and retching. Young eventually "gave birth" to the plastic hand, and little explanation was offered by the end of the segment.
Dave Meltzer speculated in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter at the time [H/T The Sportster] that someone explained to him that hands were popular sex toys for women in the 70s and 80s.Henry has explained in multiple interviews, including one with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on "The Broken Skull Sessions," that it was McMahon's idea, and the chairman found it incredibly funny, but Henry still had no clue why it was a hand.
There are some iconic characters who cannot be replaced or recast, and McMahon found that out the hard way when he tried to replicated the characters of Razor Ramon and Diesel after Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left WWF for WCW in 1996. Their departure infuriated McMahon so much, that he attempted to replace their exact characters with two other performers, withGlenn Jacobs, the future Kane and former Dr. Isaac Yankem, playing Diesel and Rick Bognar playing Ramon.
The pair debuted in late 1996, and WWF chose not to acknowledge the fact neither man was the real Diesel or Ramon, which was an absurd slight to the viewers' intelligence. The company did, however, hype up the pair's "return" to the company, and trotted out Jacobs and Bognar in the roles, as though the founding nWo members had just strode back in to the company. Though WWE did own the trademarks for the characters, the men were no Nash and Hall and barely looked convincing.
TheFake Diesel and Fake Razordid have a storyline with "Good Ol' JR," who had turned heel, though he seemed visibly uncomfortable in the role. Fake Diesel got a small push and entered the 1997 Royal Rumble, though that Jacob's final appearance as the character before being reintroduced as Kane later that year. Bognar left WWE shortly after the failed run as fake Ramon.
By far, the most ridiculous moment in WWE history was the debut, via hatching on the commentary desk, of theGobbledy Gooker.Fans were first introduced to the giant egg on television in 1990, but would have to wait to see what it contained until Survivor Series that year.There was no telling who, or what, it might be, but The Undertaker famously has spoken about how he was terrified it would be the debut of his character after he had just left WCW for the company.While future WWE Hall of Famer Mark Calaway would debut at Survivor Series that year, he wasn't the character in the egg. What hatched was far more absurd.
At the pay-per-view, the egg was set up on the desk at ringside. As it began to crack, "Mean" Gene Okerlund pondered just what could be inside. Rather than a major debut from the competition, a wrestler in a turkey costume hatched from the egg and fans were stunned into silence as Okerlund attempted to interview the "animal."
Okerlund dubbed the character the "Gobbledy Gooker," as it only spoke in gobbles. The turkey and the commentator then danced in the ring to a chorus of boos, while Roddy Piper and Gorilla Monsoon, who remained on commentary, attempted to salvage the segment by saying the Gooker had captured the hearts of the crowd. The man in the turkey costume was Hector Guerrero, who has even taken responsibility for the failed gimmick due to his performance, despite the absurd gimmick being dead on arrival.
