Wrestling Six Packs: Holy Poop! Moments in the Last 2 Years

This topic was provided by reader Niall Harkiss.

A lot of times, the "Holy shit!" moments in wrestling come from something unplanned or unscripted, like Owen Hart's untimely death or the Montreal Screwjob. Still, you do have to hand it to wrestling folks, as sometimes, they can provide a nice swerve, surprise, high spot or electrifying promo that will leave the audience stunned in their seats. There have been a bunch in the last two years. They may not have been ZOMG BASH AT THE BEACH 1996!!, but they've been really good, be it a good swerve or a nice high spot. Last night, the WWE sent a minor shockwave throughout the wrestling world by having Heath Slater pin Sheamus clean as a whistle. Here are six better ones:

1. The Nexus debuts, pouncing on John Cena and the Straight Edge Society

I legitimately felt a chill when I saw this happening. There was a group of us there watching this, and there was stunned silence with a bit of "this is awesome" sprinkled in. Forgive me, but I didn't see Bash at the Beach 1996 live, so I imagine that's what I would have felt had I did. Just utter shock with satisfaction tinged in at the best legit shocking moment in the last two years. The thing to remember was that CM Punk, through some accident of fan voting, was picked to face off against Cena that night instead of the obvious choice of Rey Mysterio. It turns out Punk was the better, more impactful choice that night, getting the angle over in a much huger way than if it was just the two big faces getting beaten down by "yet another heel stable".

2. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels bury the hatchet

While the Nexus' birth gave me chills, six months earlier, seeing the two friends-turned-enemies-turned-friends in the ring gave me butterflies in my stomach. The atmosphere was pregnant with tension as both men said their peace, and when they finally embraced, I as well as the rest of the fans who watched that night had to have felt satisfaction. TNA may have set out (and failed) to make that night memorable, but it was the Hitman and HBK who gave the visual that will live on in wrestling perpetuity.

3. CM Punk cashes in his first Money in the Bank briefcase on Edge

It started out as a non-descript beginning to RAW. Edge came out to gloat that he was bringing the World Championship to Smackdown, and that there was nothing anyone could do about it. Batista came down and beat the shit out of him. Okay, angle set up, Edge will drop the title to Batista later that night before leaving for Smackdown, right? Not exactly. CM Punk came running out of the back with his briefcase won at WrestleMania 24. GOOOO TOOOO SLEEEEP~! and a pinfall later, and CM Punk, that skinny indie star with all the tattoos and piercings, the guy who five years prior was on the undercard in high school gyms with his bleach blond hair and baggy basketball shorts, was one of the two most prestigious Champions in all of wrestling. Pretty cool moment for any smark-ass indie wrestling fan who never thought he'd see the day when a guy who was part of his fandom would cross over to the mainstream of wrestling.

4. Frightmare's ceiling-rana

You didn't think the best "HOLY SHIT!" moments in the last 24 months were confined solely to the WWE, right? Sadly, TNA is run more poorly than a company selling solar-powered flashlights, so we're dipping into the Chikara pool for one of the most jaw-dropping, "holy poop"-inducing (because Chikara's kid friendly, you see) spots ever. This will be the third time I have posted this gif on this blog, but it's so awesome:



5. Sheamus runs roughshod through John Cena under the eye of Jesse Ventura

Kofi Kingston was the one getting pushed pretty hard at the time of the Jessse "The Body" Ventura RAW last year. The Miz and Jack Swagger weren't the darlings they are now, but both had high prospects. Yet, it was Sheamus, the heretofore newbie to RAW, who won the futures battle royale and earned the shot at John Cena at Tables, Ladders and Chairs. If it was shocking that Sheamus won the battle royale, it was absolutely a heart attack that he was able to lay Cena out like nothing. It caused mixed reactions at the time, but it would soon prove to be the right move, as Sheamus has arguably been the WWE's MVP in 2010.

6. "I'm gonna kill you"

So, Batista again, yeah, he was sort of in a holding pattern at the end of 2009. He was at the stage in his career where he was winding down, and where he was getting face pops for just showing up. He got traded to Smackdown to continue his friendship with Rey Mysterio, but after a friendly misunderstanding, there was some tension. You expected them to hug it out and be cool about it, turning their attentions to the dastardly heels like CM Punk and JeriShow, right? Well, no. Batista uttered those four words with a smile on his face and a laugh under his breath before laying into the WWE's favorite main event punching bag, kicking off his WWE swan song and perhaps his finest effort under the Titan banner. It was surreal, but it still elicited the "Holy shit", even if it was more hushed than normal.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

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