10 Wrestling Shows That Survived Real-Life Disasters

8. CZW Use Cars To Light Main Event

If you’ve never heard of Combat Zone Wrestling, it’s basically, a bunch of people smashing each other to death with a hardware store catalogue. In 2000 their wrestling show Cage of Death 2 took place outdoors in a sports field. This was fine during the day, but then the night came, which was dark and full of terrors. 

There are two different versions of what happened next. Version One is that the lights they had brought to light the ring didn’t work. Version Two is that they forgot to buy lights. See, deathmatch wrestling and darkness doesn’t mix, as one of the managers found out after tripping and falling into some light tubes.

As you’d expect from gentlemen well acquainted with physical misery, they weren’t about to let such a thing as poor vision interrupt their incredibly dangerous wrestling and they enlisted several members of the crowd in driving their cars up to the ring and illuminating the bloodshed with their headlights.


7. Snow Storm Sends Raw Home

The night after the Royal Rumble 2015, Raw was scheduled to emanate from Hartford Connecticut. However, because that Rumble featured Daniel Bryan being eliminated early and Roman Reigns winning it at the height of his unpopularity, it broke heaven itself and God, still salty about losing to vince at Backlash 2006, sent a snow storm to screw with the show. 

The storm was so severe that raw was cancelled, right? You should know Vince by now. 

Instead, the show aired live from WWE headquarters itself over in Stamford, featuring what has become the norm in this climate, PPV matches re-runned in their entirety, but also some really good interview segments. 

Amidst the height of the #CancelWWENetwork hysteria, WWE produced an almost arthouse version of Raw, moody offbeat and emotional, with some tender moments from Daniel Bryan and some quietly sinister moments, especially a great segment featuring Paul Heyman interviewing Brock and Roman, which was equally parts menacing and erotic. Also, they made JBL stand outside in the cold and that was funny.


6. AWA Bribes Sheik To Shoot on Hogan

Hulkamania officially started running wild on January 23rd 1984 when Hogan beat the Iron Sheik for the WWF championship in Madison Square Garden. That MSG show was one of the most significant shows in WWE history, as the company rocketed on Hulk’s back to a golden era of wrestling. 

However, it very almost ended in disaster, as the owner of the American Wrestling Association Verne Gagne, in a genuinely Game of Thrones-level of intrigue, conspired to ruin the show. Hogan had become a major star in the AWA but his many attempts to win their top belt were spoiled with Dusty Finish booking. When Vince offered him the WWF championship instead he jumped ship and Gagne, learning that Hogan was to wrestle the Iron Sheik offered Sheiky baby $100,000 to break Hogan’s leg. In today’s money that’s a quarter of a million dollars. Allegedly, Gagne pooled this money with Bill Watts and Jim Crockett to revenge themselves on Vince McMahon for stealing all the regional territories’ talent. 

Despite one hell of an offer, because Sheik is the legend, he turned them down and informed Vince about the plan, which saw him set for life in the WWF.

4 years ago by Andy Datson

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