After a long absence, WWE is finally bringing back professional wrestling's most prestigious award ceremony, the Slammy Awards. The 2020 winners will be revealed on December 23rd, exclusively to Raw and SmackDown superstars. The event was first introduced in 1986 and since that time there have been many hilarious and silly moments.
The Slammy Award itself is a campy version of the Grammys with a mixture of serious awards such as 'Superstar of the Year' and ludicrous ones such as 'Best Hair Day.' Several celebrities even got nominated for an award, such as Cosmo Kramer, Howard Stern and even Bill and Hillary Clinton, although they never showed up in any of the events. As silly as all these sounds, it gets even sillier.
10 Poor Santino
Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella made an appearance on the 2008 Slammy Awards show upset that they didn't win the Couple of the Year award, so they challenged any of the other nominees to a match. Finlay and Hornswoggle accepted, and they won after Hornswoggle hit Santino with a splash on his groin. After that, Beth Phoenix was announced as the winner of the Diva of the Year.
She dropped her partner Santino, who she was holding, to go accept the award. Beth began brawling with Melina on the stage, who was unhappy that the former won the award. Melina pushed Beth and she collided with Santino's injured groin. Santino lay there withering in pain. It was a fun little segment, as Santino is well known for his comedic acts.
9 Clash Of The Announcers
The 2011 Slammy Awards kicked off with the “Tell Me I Did Not Just See That” Moment of the Year award with Booker T and Hornswoggle presenting the golden statuette. Jim Ross was revealed as the winner for his dance-off against Michael Cole. Good ol' JR showed up to accept the award, but Cole challenged Ross to a rap battle with the Slammy on the line. Michael Cole performed one of the worst freestyles in human history.
It was absolutely painful to watch and even worse to listen to. The crowd booed the hell out of him. It was JR's turn, but he wasn't any better. He didn't know he had to rhyme and he ran out of words. The whole thing was pretty awful but funny. JR won, of course, and kept his Slammy. Booker T, however, said it wasn't over yet and convinced JR to do the spinaroonie. The latter fell backward and did a little spin, which was completely terrible but still funny.
8 Tony Atlas' Crack-Up
Abraham Washington, Tony Atlas, and Big Dick Johnson came out to present the 'Oh My Moment of the Year' award at the 2009 Slammys and Tony Atlas was completely cracking up at Big Dick Johnson, who was dancing in his underwear with his oiled-up body.
Abraham tried to speak, but Tony Atlas couldn't stop laughing. The former was disgusted while the latter thought it was amusing. The award went to Michael Cole, who had an over-the-top celebration for his win.
7 The 37th Annual Slammy Awards?
The first Slammy Awards took place in 1986, but instead of awarding wrestlers and other individuals for their contributions in the ring, it instead awarded them for their musical participation in the WWF album. The following year, WWF decided instead to focus on the wrestling aspect of the company.
The second edition of the Slammys was promoted as the 37th annual Slammy Awards, which in itself is pretty laughable. The fun came when half the wrestlers arrived in ambulances (for some apparent reason), The Ultimate Warrior turned up in trunks in a black-tie event and George "the Animal" Steele arrived in a pushbike, which was humorous. This event is also famous for Vince McMahon's "Stand Back" performance.
6 Vince McMahon's Reverend Speech
Mr. McMahon came on stage to open the 1987 Slammy Awards and to welcome everyone to the venue. He delivered a very vibrant yet hilarious speech. He started by welcoming the attendees to the "traditional home of the Slammy Awards," even though this was only the second Slammys and the first one took place in another city.
Vince continued by calling the event a "joyous celebration of the human potential" and "a love fest of mutual admiration and support." He carried on with the speech and came off sounding like a preacher delivering a sermon. The crowd was all in, and they almost sounded like church attendees amening. The entire thing was naturally funny and a good way to start the show.
5 Todd Pettengill's Shtick
Todd Pettengill was a WWF backstage interviewer during the '90s and the host of the 1996 Slammy Awards. After viewers were welcomed to the show, Todd hit the stage and performed a musical number on the superstars in attendance including praising Shawn Michaels' looks and he even mentioned the latter's earrings, hair, and thong underwear in front of HBK's mother.
Pettengill continued taking shots at the wrestlers in a rendition of a number of popular songs. He poked fun at Yokozuna, The Undertaker, and Paul Bearer. Todd Pettengill was very funny and entertaining, and he was one of the highlights of the show.
4 Wet Pants
Back to the 1997 Slammys, WWF "superfans" George and Adam presented the 'Tattoo You' award. The nominees were Drew Barrymore, Crush, Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker, and Tommy Lee. The winner was The Phenom, who made his trademark eerie entrance with lights and music.
George was so scared that he literally peed himself. Vince McMahon, who was commentating, burst out in laughter. Now it's obvious whose idea it was. Which one was sillier? An undead supernatural mortician showing up in an awards ceremony to collect an award or a guy wetting his pants in fear of said individual?
3 Best Buns
The first award presented in the 1996 Slammy Awards was for "Best Buns." WWE definitely wasn't referring to a loaf of bread. They even showed a funny little video package of Ahmed Johnson, Mr. Perfect, Savio Vega, and The Undertaker, yes, The Undertaker, in his full deadman persona, talking about their bottoms. Most of the nominees were male wrestlers, with Sunny being the only female nominated.
Shawn Michaels, Goldust, and Razor Ramon were among the nominees. The award went to Sunny because of course, it did. Although the category itself is pretty silly and funny, it would've been even funnier if a male wrestler such as The Undertaker won the award.
2 King Harley Race and Jim Duggan's Brawl
Hacksaw Jim Duggan made his way on stage to present 1987's Best Ring Apparel award. After opening the envelope, Duggan refused to read the name of the winner, and gave it to a woman to read it instead. The winner was revealed to be King Harley Race, who was dressed in his royal attire. He was accompanied by his manager Bobby Heenan, who tried to get Jim Duggan to drop down on one knee and present the Slammy to Race.
Hacksaw refused, causing a brawl between him and the King. They fought backstage in an entertaining brawl with Gorrila Monsoon providing commentary. Monsoon was bewildered at the sight of a llama, donkey, and chickens, which made the whole thing even funnier. It was wacky and over-the-top but it was very enjoyable.
1 Burger King
Towards the end of the 1996 Slammy Award ceremony, The Bushwackers came out to present the award for 'The Most Embarrassing Moment', which was won by Jerry "The King" Lawler for kissing his own foot. Lawler was absolutely furious that he won the humiliating award. He angrily walked to the stage but embarrassed himself once again by tripping on the steps, and the crowd started chanting "Burger King."
Lawler then threatened to embarrass everyone in the arena, starting with Vince McMahon, but his mic got cut off. Todd Pettengill then slapped a Burger King sign on King's back. This was definitely one of the funniest segments in WWE Slammy Awards history.