WWE can be a platform for many highs and lows for a wrestler, as many find solid ground in the company and survive in the competitive environment for years while some succumb to the pressure and bow out quickly from the company. Then there are those who have only limited opportunities for rare shining moments before disappearing into the darkness of becoming a jobber or irrelevant altogether. WWE is becoming more competitive with each passing day, and with no real competition in their sight they are expanding themselves into becoming a global brand, and many superstars find it difficult to take in all the pressure the WWE brings in the long run.
We have seen so many superstars come and go in the WWE, and even though they unearth some very faithful and passionate wrestlers for themselves every year, most of the superstars find it difficult to stay on top at all times. Many aren’t really given the “pushes” they think they deserve and thus become frustrated with their position in the product, while others seem to sink after attaining some popularity or success in the company. These superstars get pushes at the beginning of their careers, making for a shining moment, but then seem to drift away from the game after attaining a certain amount of fame.
There has been an array of superstars who have come and gone from the WWE, only getting one truly memorable moment in their time in the company. These moments mostly involve getting a surprise victory over a WWE veteran, or maybe some shocking or disgusting moment that gets etched into the memory of the WWE universe.
29 15. Hornswoggle Revealed As Mr. McMahon’s Illegitimate Son
Hornswoggle was a real pain for Finlay’s opponents after he debuted as a leprechaun who hid underneath the ring and often popped up to help Finlay win his matches. Despite never being a fit wrestler, Hornswoggle gained quite a valuable push in his earlier career, even winning the Cruiserweight Championship before it was retired in 2007. That wasn’t the end of his push, as he would later be part of a hilarious, but relevant storyline. In 2007, it would be revealed that Mr. McMahon had an illegitimate son with another woman, and that son would be none other than Hornswoggle. That moment when Mr. McMahon discovers who his son really is was absolutely hilarious, and a memorable one for Hornswoggle. His “illegitimate son” storyline would soon be sidelined, as after another amusing angle with DX, he soon became irrelevant and is rarely seen nowadays after being released by the WWE for violating their Wellness Policy.
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27 14. Heidenreich “Violating” Michael Cole
Certainly not the most pleasing moment, but Heidenreich’s WWE time will mostly be remembered for when he “touched” Michael Cole. So after debuting as this monster heel who loved to beat people up, Heidenreich took his psychopath gimmick to a whole new level when he dragged Smackdown commentator Michael Cole to the restroom and assaulted him. In this disturbing scene, Cole is held up against the wall on his back as Heidenreich says some sadistic things to the commentator. Heidenreich later stated in an interview that this was Mr. McMahon’s idea, and probably turned out to be the one that gained him the most notoriety at the time. Even though it's an unfortunate legacy, Heidenreich will probably be remembered by WWE faithful because of this disgusting moment, which is so horrible that it remains etched into our minds long after watching it.
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25 13. The Hurricane Defeats The Rock
The Hurricane was quite the comical character, presenting himself as a “Superhero” and pulling some hilarious moves at the same time. Before becoming a mainstay in the booming Cruiserweight Division on Smackdown, The Hurricane was an entertaining figure at Raw and would pull off some brilliant antics to give justice to his “superhero” gimmick. In 2003, The Hurricane began to feud with The Rock as both of them provided some amazing entertainment through their backstage segments in which they called themselves names and mocked one another. It culminated in a match on Raw in which The Rock dominated most of the bout. But when The Rock’s rival in Stone Cold Steve Austin arrived and distracted him, Hurricane rolled him up and got a victory over The Great One, which was quite memorable. Despite gaining newer heights in the future, this victory is probably the most memorable moment of The Hurricane’s career, which put an end to a hilarious feud.
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23 12. The Great Khali Decimates The Undertaker
The Great Khali’s fall from grace might have been his fault altogether, as the slow giant of a man showed little growth over the years in his wrestling ability and no growth in his mic-skills. But Khali had debuted as this monster who had the ability to destroy anyone on the roster, coming off as this huge man and a perfect monster for Vince McMahon to dig into. The Great Khali’s most powerful message was sent in his debut, when he came out as this humongous man who targeted the Undertaker. Khali debuted in the Undertaker-Mark Henry match on Smackdown in 2006 when he absolutely decimated the Phenom. With hard chops and a skull crushing Vice Grip, he sent a dominant message to the WWE Universe by introducing himself in an intimidating fashion. Sadly, his career went downhill pretty fast and he was reduced to a joke after his World Heavyweight Title run. But his debut is still pretty bone-chilling, as this giant of a man made one of the most dominating debuts in the history of WWE.
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21 11. Boogeyman “Kisses” Sharmell
The Boogeyman is probably one of the most disgusting gimmicks in the history of WWE, as this bizarre character went around eating worms all the time and was absolutely pathetic to look at. But his “horrific” gimmick was pretty popular with creative, who pushed him quite a bit after his initial debut. But his feud with Booker T got him into the main scene, which culminated in a WrestleMania 22 match between him, Booker T, and Booker's wife, Sharmell. The match itself was exceptionally short, mostly because The Boogeyman had torn his left biceps at a house show shortly before WrestleMania. But more than the match, it was the aftermath which was most memorable. Boogeyman went on to kiss Sharmell with a mouthful of worms and this was probably the most disgusting thing to happen in the WWE for a long time. This absolutely sickening moment was the highlight of Boogeyman’s career, which spiraled down afterwards as this moment will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
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19 10. Godfather’s “Ho” Winning The Hardcore Championship
Cynthia Lynch is rarely remembered for her time in the WWE, where she struggled to make it as a singles wrestler and had to fit into being one of The Godfather's Hos on his “Ho Train.” The Godfather’s gimmick was to bring a bunch of girls at his side to the ring whom he called his “Hos” and this got quite popular in the raunchy Attitude Era. But what people didn’t expect was that one of his Hos would win the Hardcore Championship. Under the 24x7 defending rule, the Hardcore Championship would literally change hands in every episode of Raw and in May 2000, Lynch shocked everyone when she won the title from Crash Holly. Holly quickly pinned her to win the title back, but Lynch’s win was one for the trivia books and is definitely the only moment for which she is remembered for in the WWE, as the lack of a wrestling career as a singles Diva certainly didn't involve any memorable moments.
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17 9. Maven Eliminating The Undertaker
Maven is probably not remembered by the WWE universe, but the Tough Enough co-winner would be in the thick of things after his push to the main roster. Maven would have quite the memorable night in the 2002 Royal Rumble, when he would be the first ever Tough Enough entry in the Rumble and would make an instant impact when he eliminated The Undertaker after drop-kicking him from behind. This enraged the Phenom, who pulled him from the ring to the outside where he proceeded to beat the living hell out of the poor guy. He began hitting him with a steel chair and continued beating him to the concession stand area, where he beat him some more. Although Maven would go on to boast later on that “he was never eliminated,” the incidents of The Royal Rumble 2002 are why he’s remembered by some of the faithful, and it’s for all the wrong reasons, as the former Hardcore Champion was taken to the cleaners by The Undertaker that night.
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15 8. Zach Gowen Winning A WWE Contract
The fact that Zach Gowen can wrestle is a miracle in itself, but how he managed to impress in the WWE goes to show how dedication can pay off for anyone. Gowen is the first disabled wrestler for the WWE, as he had to have his left leg amputated at a young age, long before he debuted for the company as Mr. America’s accomplice. After accompanying Mr. America for a bit, Gowen caught the wrath of Mr. McMahon, who wanted him to join McMahon’s “Kiss My Ass Club” to get a WWE contract. But Gowen hit out on the Chairman, who placed him in a handicap match with Stephanie McMahon against The Big Show. McMahon labelled this as the “real handicap match,” so when Gowen went on to win the match (with some help from Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar), it was quite a feel-good moment for this unbelievable athlete. This was probably the most memorable moment of his WWE stint, which later resorted to him jobbing to others and getting destroyed by Brock Lesnar. But his win gave hope to disabled people and encouraged them to try their hand in sports.
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13 7. Jillian Hall’s Mole Being Eaten Off
Jillian Hall is probably remembered less as a wrestler and more for her time as JBL’s valet, specifically her part in his feud with The Boogeyman. Jillian was the “image consultant” for JBL at the time, as she would help him win his feuds as well as maintain his cocky heel persona. But things started to really get disgusting when she was pitted between JBL and Boogeyman in a a segment of “Piper’s Pit” in an episode of Smackdown, as JBL pushed her towards Boogeyman to make for his own escape. Jillian was remembered for having a big mole in the left side of her face at this time, and Boogeyman noticed it and decided to bite it right off of her face. This disgusting moment is probably the worst for Jillian, but it’s also the moment for which she is most remembered by the viewers as her infamous mole was probably what kept her relevant at the time.
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11 6. Miss Kitty “Flashes” The Crowd
Stacy Carter is best remembered for her antics more than her moves in the ring in her WWE career, where she debuted as Debra’s assistant. She slowly transitioned into the Diva’s Division at the time, and at Armageddon 1999 went on to win her first and only WWE Women’s Championship in a Four Corners Evening Gown Pool Match. Even though this match had enough sexuality to it where Kitty had to strip her opponents in order to win the match, she decided to up the ante and “entertain” the crowd some more by stripping out of her dress and flashing her breasts to the audience after the match. This was the first case of intentional nudity in the WWE. Carter will be remembered in the long run for this event because she took an unlikely plunge into the history books of WWE by becoming the first woman to intentionally show her “assets” to the crowd.