Wrestling, when all is said and done, is all one big soap opera. Long-running storylines played out over months at a time, over-the-top characters viewers are supposed to love or hate, love triangles, betrayals, surprise arrivals and many more similarities between the two mediums are plain to see and one of the most obvious is the number of big reveals present in both. Secrets are as big a part of wrestling as headlocks and racially insensitive gimmicks, and so, by default, are reveals. By reveals, I mean a conclusion to a pre-existing mystery and these such moments have been responsible for some of the most earth-shattering moments in wrestling history. From mystery partners to huge returns and debuts to unmaskings and more, the following fifteen moments were, for one reason or another, shocking revelations and conclusions to some of wrestling’s biggest angles. So, without further ado, it’s time to expose more than Kelly Kelly did on ECW, as we look at pro wrestling’s fifteen biggest reveals.
15 15. Trump Buys Raw
The President of the United States of America used to be the kayfabe owner of Raw. How could I not talk about this?
The current Prez of the US has had a long association with the WWE. His venue, Trump Plaza, hosted WrestleManias IV and V in 1989 and 1990 respectively (the only venue thus far to have host two back-to-back WrestleManias) and the Donald himself was involved in a high-profile angle with Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 23, which included the President clotheslining Vince and taking perhaps the worst Stone Cold Stunner of all time. Oh, wait, I forgot about Linda’s. My bad
In 2009, Trump was part of a pretty big reveal on an episode of Monday Night Raw. Vince McMahon opened the show by announcing he had sold Raw, which would now be operated “independently” from the rest of WWE. Whilst this makes absolutely zero business sense and probably isn’t even possible, fans were more preoccupied with who the mystery buyer was. Vince dropped a few teases throughout the night, but eventually made the big reveal in the middle of the ring by announcing that Raw’s new owner was, in fact, Donald J. Trump.
Announcing that anyone had bought Raw was a big shock, but revealing the new owner to be one of the most controversial and divisive figures in TV history only made this moment all the more shocking. Trump’s time in charge of Raw didn’t last all that long, thought; thanks to a fake press release by the USA Network to build the angle, people actually thought Trump had bought Raw and WWE’s stock dropped by 7% as a result. WWE’s stockholders didn’t trust him to run Raw, but the American public trusted him to run the nation. Hmm.
14 14. Jason... Angle?
Lord knows where this is going, but I, for one, cannot wait to find out.
Those who haven’t been following NXT for that long might just know Jason Jordan as one half of formerly-super over tag team, American Alpha, but his history with WWE actually goes back way further than teaming with Chad Gable. Debuting in NXT in 2012, Jordan had actually been with the WWE since the year before, meaning he’s been a member of WWE for over half a decade. Jordan’s big break came when he was paired with Gable and the duo solidified themselves as ones to watch when they won the NXT Tag Team Championships at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in what was a truly brilliant match. They won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships too, but there isn’t really much to say about that reign except “it happened”.
Jordan will likely now be remembered for something else entirely, thanks to the most recent shocking WWE reveal. Kurt Angle, Raw General Manager at this point, had been receiving threats from a mysterious person. This person claimed to have some dirt on Angle that could ruin his entire career, something that sent Angle into a panic every time it was mentioned. Angle finally decided to confront these rumours full on by revealing his own secret live on Raw. During a promo, it was revealed that Angle had had an illegitimate son with a woman he dated in college and that son was none other than, you guessed it, Jason Jordan.
Whilst some felt the reveal was a little lacklustre based on the months and months of teasing, but it’ll certainly be interesting to see where WWE take the Angles in this storyline. Either way, this reveal was certainly shocking. Hey, at least it wasn’t Dixie Carter.
13 13. Hornswoggle... McMahon?
At least we know Jason Jordan will have to go pretty far out of his way to be the worst illegitimate son in WWE history.
Hornswoggle is definitely one of the strangest WWE superstars of all time. Debuting in 2006 as the “Little B*stard”, Hornswoggle was originally a leprechaun character who would assist Finlay (because you gotta give the Irish wrestler a leprechaun, of course) to win matches, including one for the United States Championship on an episode of SmackDown. Hornswoggle would then go on to win the Cruiserweight Championship at The Great American Bash in 2007, becoming the final person to hold the title until it was revived in 2016. And thank God it was revived, otherwise the final Cruiserweight champion ever might have been a leprechaun. Can you imagine?
As if almost ruining the Cruiserweight title wasn’t enough, Hornswoggle then got his grubby little fingers on another storyline in 2008. On an episode of Raw, it was revealed that Vince McMahon had an illegitimate son. This was huge news – not only would this son (who was presumably a wrestler on WWE’s roster) get a huge rub by being associated with Vince, but it would also give way to plenty of interesting feuds between the McMahons and their affiliates. The reveal took place on another episode of Raw; the entire roster was stood in the ring listening to a series of clues about the illegitimate son being read out and leaving the ring as soon as a clue came up that didn’t fit them.
Essentially, think of one big game of Guess Who, but the characters are somehow more cartoonish. Three men were eventually left in the ring, – JBL (who’s basically Vince-lite), The Sandman (that would have been awesome) and Triple H (eeewwww) – but the answer wasn’t actually standing in the ring, more like under it. Yes, it was revealed that Hornswoggle was the newest member of the McMahon clan and the audience and critics reacted in much the same way as they would have done to ordering steak at a restaurant and receiving a bowl of salad instead – shocked, confused and entirely disappointed. Eventually, this whole angle was retconned when Finlay revealed that he was actually Hornswoggle’s dad, but the damage had already been done. Whilst this reveal was definitely shocking, it was for all the wrong reasons and it’s probably best left forgotten.
12 12. DDP Is The Stalker
This, everybody, is the perfect example of a great reveal ruined by a stupid follow-up.
2001 was a very mixed year for WWE. The first half of the calendar saw amazing Pay-Per-Views such as the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania X-Seven, whilst the second half saw, *sigh*, the Invasion. Yes, WWE’s botched attempt to make it feel like WCW and ECW had joined forces to take them down might have flopped harder than a Yokozuna top rope splash, but at least that meant that the WWE was now full of all the great stars from WCW and ECW. Well, except the ones that had big contracts, which was most of them, but shush.
The first of these big stars to make an appearance on WWE TV was former WCW World Heavyweight Champion and yoga enthusiast, Diamond Dallas Page (or DDP for short) and his debut was pretty much perfect. For weeks, The Undertaker’s then-wife, Sara, was being stalked and filmed by a mystery man. Every week, a secretly-filmed clip of Sara would appear on Raw, with a creepy muffled voice in the background, telling everybody how much he desired Sara. After weeks of these incredibly creepy vignettes, it was announced that the stalker would reveal himself in the middle of the ring on Raw. On Monday night, the stalker made his way down to the ring, his face concealed by a black balaclava, and stood in front of an anticipating crowd.
After a pause, the stalker finally showed his face, pulling off the balaclava to reveal none other than The Master of the Diamond Cutter himself, DDP. Being the first high-profile WCW star to appear on WWE TV, Page received a huge cheer from the Raw crowd, solidifying this as one of the best debuts and most unexpected reveals in WWE history. Sadly for Page, this was the peak of his WWE career, and he would repeatedly have his ass handed to him by Taker over the next few months and his WWE career would slowly fizzle out. If anyone ever tells you Vince wasn’t bitter towards ex-WCW guys, then they are a big old liar.
11 11. Shawn Michaels Joins the nWo
Hey, I guess the WWE’s version of the nWo was good for something after all.
The New World Order (nWo) was a revolutionary stable in WCW throughout the 1990s that essentially reinvented what a wrestling stable could and set the standard for the “cool bad guys” that dominate wrestling to this day. When WCW folded in 2001 and was acquired by the WWE, everyone began to fantasy book their own dream scenarios with the New World Order in WWE. Sadly, these dreams would remain dreams, as the nWo in WWE was about as exciting as Lance Storm reading the phonebook.
One good thing that came out of the nWo run in WWE occurred on a June episode of Raw in 2002. Kevin Nash, who was serving as the group’s leader at the time, announced that a new member of the nWo would be revealed that night. Nash came down to the ring and cut a promo, before introducing the newest member of his stable to the world. That member was none other than the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels. Michaels hadn’t been seen on WWE TV for 18 months at this point and hadn’t been an active wrestler since 1998, so seeing him back in the WWE and as a member of one of wrestling’s greatest factions was simply mind-blowing at the time.
Michaels’ tenure in the nWo wouldn’t last long, however, as he would soon enter a programme with Triple H, leading to his return match at SummerSlam 2002. However, it’s important to remember that, without this moment, Shawn Michaels might not have returned to WWE TV in such a high-profile way, so we should all be grateful that HBK traded in his zebra pants and beret for the nWo black and white. Those zebra pants, man, they were something else.
10 10. DiBiase’s Mystery Partner (2008)
The Legacy were cool at the time, okay?
Ted DiBiase Jr., son of WWE Hall of Famer, Ted DiBiase (obviously), made his WWE debut in May 2008, cutting a heel promo about wanting to be just as successful as his father. He challenged the then-World Tag Team Champions, Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly, to a match at Night of Champions for the titles, claiming to have a “mystery partner” in his corner. As time drew closer and closer to the show, DiBiase’s partner didn’t reveal themselves, leading to growing interest around who the mystery man could be. Maybe it was another debuting superstar? Maybe it was one of Ted’s brothers, who were also wrestlers? Maybe it was one of his dad’s old buddies from the Million Dollar Corporation? Sadly, we didn’t get a Sycho Sid return, but what we got instead was still pretty decent.
The time for the match came around and DiBiase’s partner still hadn’t shown up. Before the match was due to start, Ted got on the mic and said that his partner was “running late”, so he would be taking on Rhodes and Holly in a handicap match. The bell rang with Holly squaring off against DiBiase when, suddenly, Rhodes attacked his own partner, dropping him with a DDT. After a few seconds of stunned silence, DiBiase once again addressed the crowd, revealing Rhodes as his mystery partner. DiBiase would then pin Holly, crowning himself and Cody as the new World Tag Team Champions in a brilliant double-cross, the likes of which we really hadn’t seen before or again when it came to a championship match. Ted DiBiase Jr. pulled off a pretty impressive mystery partner reveal here, so you’ve got to give him a lot of credit. However, this was nothing on the reveal his old man pulled off 18 years before.
9 9. DiBiase’s Mystery Partner (1990)
Sorry junior, but your dad fully outclassed you on this one.
The OG Ted DiBiase is, in my opinion, one of the greatest wrestling characters of all time. “The Million Dollar Man” was a snooty rich heel, who would pay wrestlers and fans (who I really hope were plants) to do degrading activities, such as kiss his feet. DiBiase was a classic heel, entirely despicable, rotten to the core and never afraid to stoop to the lowest level to get heat; he once offered a kid some money to dribble a basketball 15 times in a row and then, when the kid got to 14, he kicked it out of his hands. That is pure evil and pure genius.
DiBiase wasn’t just a truly wonderful character and wrestler, he was also responsible for introducing the WWE Universe to one of the greatest superstars of all time. The year was 1990 and the event was Survivor Series. DiBiase was captaining a team against Dusty Rhodesin a 4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match, but had only managed to find two other partners. Ever the crafty one, however, DiBiase promised Rhodes he had a mystery partner, who would be revealed on the night of Survivor Series itself. As the wrestlers filled the ring for this match, Rhodes’ team of four facing down DiBiase’s team of three, The Million Dollar Man got on the microphone and announced that his partner was in the building and his name was... The Undertaker. Yes, The Deadman, The Phenom, That Guy Who Tried to Marry Stephanie McMahon Against Her Will made his WWE debut this night and, looking back at this reveal knowing what we now know about Taker and his legendary career, this was one of the greatest reveals in WWE history. Bet that kid with the basketball likes you now, Ted.
8 8. The Anonymous GM Exposed
I never said these were the “best” reveals.
Raw has had its fair share of General Managers over the years: John Laurinaitis, Bret Hart, Mick Foley, AJ Lee and many others. However, for one brief, insanity inducing period, Raw was run not by a person, but by a laptop. In June 2010, Vince McMahon fired Bret Hart from the GM role (as if he needed to ruin Bret’s life even more) and installed a new authority figure on Monday nights, the Anonymous Raw General Manager. For the next year or so, Raw was ruled by a mystery figure who would communicate purely through emails sent to a laptop that would be displayed on a special stand on every episode. Michael Cole, who was going through his heel phase at the time (oh, the bad memories), would act as spokesman for the GM, reading out its emails and passing on the will of the person at the other end. It was certainly an intriguing concept to begin with, but the idea just sort of fizzled out over time and was eventually dropped with no revelation regarding the identity of the mystery GM. Until 2012, that is.
In the build-up to Raw’s milestone 1000th episode, previous General Managers returned to give their two cents about the show and remind people that they were still available for work/alive. On July 9th 2012, one of these returning GMs was the Anonymous Raw General Manager, who had not been seen on WWE TV for nearly a year. Well, he’d never been seen on WWE, but you know what I mean. Things changed that night when the GM was finally revealed to the world. What was the identity of this mysterious figure, who had been controlling Raw from afar for nearly a year? Was it a returning legend? An old adversary of Mr. McMahon? Donald Trump, again?
Sadly, it was none of these things, as the GM was revealed to be... Hornswoggle. Yep. Hornswoggle. The leprechaun. Is there nothing you won’t ruin for me, Hornswoggle? The worst part is, according to a former WWE writer, this reveal was done as a joke, in reference to Swoggle’s earlier reveal as Mr. McMahon’s illegitimate son. The writers had no original plans for who the Anonymous GM was going to be, none whatsoever. Great. This wasn’t a good reveal, but it certainly was shocking and will go down in WWE history. Sadly, not for the reasons anyone would have liked.
7 7. The Undertaker’s Brother
This took place twenty years ago and its still one of the most badass things I have ever seen.
By the time 1997 rolled around, The Undertaker had been a part of WWE for seven years and his character had gone from evil, campy gravedigger to demonic force to be reckoned with and he was fully established as one of WWE’s biggest names. At Badd Blood that year, Taker was scheduled to face off against Shawn Michaels in the first ever Hell in a Cell match to determine a number one contender for Bret Hart and his WWE Championship. In the months before this historic match, Undertaker began receiving ominous messages from his former manager, Paul Bearer. Bearer threatened to show the world The Undertaker’s “greatest secret”; his younger brother, Kane, who had been presumed dead in a house fire that claimed the lives of The Undertaker’s parents. Anyone who says wrestling isn’t a massive soap opera needs to go and re-watch this.
The culmination to this storyline came at the Badd Blood Pay-Per-View during the Taker vs Michaels main event. Just as it looked like The Undertaker was about to defeat Michaels and go onto face Bret Hart, the lights in the arena dropped and an eerie music filled the air. When the lights came back up, they were blood red and the audience bore witness, for the very first time, to Kane. Led to the ring by Bearer, the giant masked demon made his way down to the ring, ripped the door of the Cell and laid waste to his brother, costing him the match and the chance to become WWE Champion. What resulted was an excellent feud between The Deadman and his brother, as well as the introduction of one of the most endearing characters in wrestling history. Can’t really complain about this one. Well, unless you’re Bret Hart; the match he and Michaels would have as a result of this reveal took place at Survivor Series 1997... in Montreal. You know the rest.
6 6. Ric Flair Is The Consortium
If I had shares in anything, let alone a multi-million-dollar company, the last thing I would do is sell them to Ric Flair.
The Invasion angle of 2001 is widely regarded as one of the biggest missteps ever made by a wrestling organisation. When WCW and ECW and all their talent were absorbed by the WWE, fans went crazy at the ideas of seeing some of their favourite outside stars making a big impact in the WWE. Sadly, due to numerous reasons involving contract disputes and other legal mumbo-jumbo, only a handful of big names were actually available to appear on WWE TV straight away. Throw in some bad booking and McMahon pettiness (I know, how uncharacteristic) and the Invasion angle sank like a lead balloon in quicksand. However, even the darkest of clouds has a silver lining and this silver lining just happened to love Rolexes.
The night after Survivor Series 2001 saw Vince McMahon ready to crown Kurt Angle the new WWE Champion. At the previous night’s Pay-Per-View, Team WWE had defeated Team Alliance to give Vince McMahon full control over the WWE again and bring this limping, wounded storyline to an end. Angle had been the one to secure the match for Team WWE and was being rewarded for his actions. However, before McMahon could reward his loyal follower, he was interrupted – interrupted by a loud “WOOO!!”. Yes, it was none other than The Nature Boy himself, Ric Flair, who was making his return to the WWE after eight years away. Not only was Flair returning to the company, but it was revealed that Shane and Stephanie McMahon (who had been storyline owners of WCW and ECW during the Invasion angle) had sold their shares in WWE to a consortium (whatever that is) before the Invasion. That consortium (again, whatever that is) was none other than Flair himself, which made him co-owner of the WWE alongside McMahon. This shocking revelation, combined with Flair’s return, McMahon’s reaction and the proceeding storyline, is one of WWE’s best and saved the Invasion angle from being a total flop. It was still pretty bad though.
5 5. “I Did It For The Rock”
Oh, Rikishi, what could have been.
One of the biggest “what ifs” in WWE history is just how much more money “Stone Cold” Steve Austin could have drawn had he not broken his neck at SummerSlam 1997. The now-infamous moment in which Owen Hart botched a piledriver on the Rattlesnake caused a serious injury that would niggle Austin for the rest of his WWE career, causing him to prematurely retire in 2003. The injury also caused Austin to take an extensive period of time out in late-1999/early-2000, and WWE saw this as a chance to create a storyline. Austin was scheduled to take place in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship, alongside The Rock and Triple H, at Survivor Series 1999. However, on the night of the Pay-Per-View, Austin was taken out of action, after he was run over by a mystery assailant. This took Austin off TV for a number of months and left everyone asking who the mystery attacker could be. Well, as it turns out, they probably shouldn’t have bothered getting so worked up about it, as this reveal was a bit of a wet fart.
Austin returned to WWE in 2000 and was in a blind rage over the whole “being run over thing”, which is understandable, I suppose. After months of searching, the reveal was finally made on an October episode of Raw by WWE Commissioner, Mick Foley, who had been leading an investigation into the attack. The culprit was revealed not to be The Rock, or Triple H, or a mysterious figure from Austin’s past, but none other than... Rikishi? The jolly dancing fat man? Surely this can’t be right, can it? Can it? Sadly, it was, as Rikishi revealed he had run over Austin “for The Rock”, to give his fellow Samoan a chance to rule at the top of the card. Whilst this did spark a Rikishi heel turn, which I suppose was kinda interesting, this was not the pay-off that WWE fans had expected from an almost year-long mystery and the resulting feud between Austin and Rikishi didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Furthermore, it was revealed that, whilst Rikishi was the man behind the wheel, it was actually Triple H behind the whole thing. So why not just make Triple H the driver of the car? Does this not make sense to anyone else? I really hope this isn’t just me.
4 4. Bischoff Is The New Raw GM
Before we get into this, Eric Bischoff has one of the most underappreciated WWE entrance themes of all time. Check it out, it’s kickass.
Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon were the wrestling equivalent of cats and dogs during the Monday Night Wars. No, I don’t mean they leave hair everywhere and poop in the house (although it wouldn’t surprise me), I mean that they were fundamental opposites, despised one another and people who liked one found it unacceptable that someone should like the other. Bischoff’s WCW and McMahon’s WWE went above and beyond to put the other out of business, employing every dirty trick in the book (and several that were far too despicable to write down) to secure supremacy in the greatest wrestling business battle of all time. Ultimately, it was McMahon who won, sending WCW bankrupt, buying the company for a fraction of its worth and putting Eric Bischoff out of a job once and for all. Or so it seemed.
On July 15th 2002, Vince McMahon announced he would reveal the first ever Raw General Manager, as a part of the newly-devised brand split. There was much speculation over who this new GM would be, but I can guarantee you nobody saw this one coming. Standing at the top of the ramp, addressing the Raw audience and wrestlers, McMahon announced that the man who would be running Raw was none other than his most bitter enemy – Eric Bischoff. The crowd and wrestlers responded with a mix of shock and awe as Bischoff strolled out to his new badass music, smiled his characteristically smug smile and even hugged Vince McMahon. They hugged! That’s like God and Satan agreeing to go out for coffee and a walk in the park! This moment was huge, as many people expected Vince to completely destroy Eric once the Monday Night Wars were over. Instead, here he was giving him a top position within his company and putting him on TV every single week. Just as shocking in real life as it was within storyline, this is truly one of WWE’s best debuts and is another reason to love both Vinnie Mac and Easy E.
3 3. Your WrestleMania XXVII Host Is...
I still get chills when I hear that pop.
WrestleMania XXVII was not a good show. An eight-man tag featuring The Corre, Snooki from Jersey Shore in a match, Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler, this wasn’t a card you just watched, but you could smell it from a mile away too. In an attempt to create some intrigue around the match, WWE announced that there would be a “mystery host” for the show. Predictions ranged from everyone from Shawn Michaels to Bob Barker, Brock Lesnar to Justin Bieber with the entire WWE Universe wondering who would be the big name taking up hosting duties. On February 14th 2011, the mystery host was finally revealed and his wa- IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT HIS NAME IS!
Yes, on that fateful night, it was revealed that, after a seven-year absence from WWE TV, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was back in WWE and would be at WrestleMania. This was huge news, as not only was The Rock one of the biggest wrestling stars of all time, but he had also gone on to find massive success as a Hollywood actor. Not only did this give WrestleMania the added bonus of a returning megastar wrestler, but it also offered something for non-wrestling fans, adding mainstream appeal to the show. This moment also marked the beginning of The Rock’s part-time appearances with the WWE, which have seen The Great One return to WWE numerous times since 2011, both as an on-screen personality and an in-ring competitor. All-in-all, this moment was huge and will likely be something generations of wrestling fans will enjoy for years to come. Still didn’t save WrestleMania from being crap that year, though.
2 2. Vince Is The Higher Power
It was Vince, Austin, it was Vince all along!
The Higher Power storyline is often viewed as one of wrestling’s biggest missed opportunities. Towards the end of 1998, The Undertaker’s character shifted to that of a satanic cult leader, threatening to sacrifice babyfaces in blood rituals, trying to bury people alive and once attempting to embalm Stone Cold Steve Austin. You know, just your normal heel stuff. This character change led to the formation of The Ministry of Darkness, a heel faction of other spooky wrestlers (Viscera, Mideon, The Acolytes etc.) led by Taker in a quest to unleash a “plague of evil” on the WWE. This “plague” include attacks on WWE boss, Vince McMahon, including an infamous segment on Raw, where The Undertaker attempted to marry a kidnapped Stephanie McMahon in a dark wedding ceremony, only for Austin to make the save. Jeez, between this and the time Triple H drugged Stephanie up to marry her against her will, the boss’ daughter really doesn’t have the best luck with weddings in the WWE.
Throughout the Ministry’s existence, The Undertaker often spoke of a “Higher Power” that was guiding his actions as leader of the faction. The identity of the Higher Power was speculated for months until, on 7th June 1999, the real leader of the faction was revealed to the world. On that night’s episode of Raw, The Undertaker and other Ministry members made their way down to the ring, accompanying a mysterious hooded figure – The Higher Power. The group was then addressed by Vince McMahon on the titantron, calling The Higher Power an “S.O.B”, before demanding he show his face to the world. Vince got his wish, as the Power pulled down his hood, finally revealing his identity to the world, unmasking himself as none other than... Vince McMahon? What? Yep, as it turns out, Vince himself had orchestrated all the demonic acts of the Ministry, – including the abduction of his own daughter – all as an elaborate ruse to get one over on Stone Cold. The reveal was pretty shocking at the time, but wasn’t quite the payoff fans were hoping for and the group disbanded shortly after this, unable to continue after this weak reveal. At least we got to hear JR swear on commentary after the reveal, that was funny.
1 1. Hulk Hogan Is The Third Man
This happened before I was born. How old do you feel now?
Arguably the greatest reveal in pro wrestling history took place not in the WWE, but in WCW and it happened at Bash at the Beach 1996. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall had recently turned up on WCW programming after their defection from WWE, proclaiming themselves as “The Outsiders” and vowing to lead a revolution in WCW. In an attempt to combat this revolution, beginning at Bash at the Beach, where they would take on three of WCW’s biggest stars in a six-man tag. WCW President Eric Bischoff selected Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger as his three champions, but The Outsiders refused to reveal who their third man was, leaving everyone guessing right up until the event.
Even when the match started, the mystery partner was still not revealed, with Nash and Hall taking on Savage, Sting and Luger in a handicap match. Part way through the match, Luger was taken out by an errant axe handle from Savage, putting him out of the match. The battle continued as a straight-up tag team match, until super-mega-babyface, Hulk Hogan, ran down to ringside, apparently to help out his buddies Sting and Savage. Apparently.
In a move so shocking it is still discussed today, Hogan did the unthinkable and performed two of his signature leg drops on Savage, revealing himself as The Outsiders’ third man, turning heel for the first time in his mainstream wrestling career. Not only was this moment huge because of the Hogan heel turn (equivalent of a John Cena heel turn these days), but also because it was this moment that lead to the formation of the New World Order, one of wrestling’s greatest stables and one of the major reasons WCW led WWE in the Monday Night Wars for as long as they did. A perfect example of a mystery concluded in the right way, Hogan joining the Outsiders will forever be not only one of wrestling’s greatest reveals, but one of its greatest moments. And that’s the truth, brother.