The Keg Stand: Top 15 WWE Moments in Chicago

WWE Monday Night RAW is in Chicago this Monday. Chicago is a great WWE city and many great moments have happened in Chicago. I decided to make a list of the top 15 WWE Chicago moments.

Before I reveal my top 15, there are many moments that didn't make the list. Those moments include John Cena's WWE debut, Daniel Bryan winning Money in the Bank, Kane defeating the Undertaker at Night of Champions 2010, the Wrestling Classic, the last WWF RAW IS WAR on the USA Network, the 700th episode of RAW, Jim Ross's WWE Hall of Fame induction announcement, John Cena vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 22, and WrestleMania 2. All of those were good moments in the WWE which shows how great the moments in my top 15 are.

I'm doing a top 15 because 10 was not enough. These 15 will be in order of significance. I may have underrated or overrated some of the moments but I think all of these moments are worthy of being in my top 15.

15. Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania 22

Shawn Michaels does not have a lot of memorable moments in Chicago. Shawn Michaels might have had a great moment in Chicago at No Mercy 2007 but he was away from the WWE and returned the next night on RAW. Shawn was rumored to face Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 in Chicago, but he allegedly didn't want drop his WWF Championship to Bret Hart. So Shawn "lost his smile" and forfeited the title. Fortunately, Shawn did have one great Chicago moment before he retired and it was at WrestleMania 22. Shawn wrestled Mr. McMahon in a No Holds Barred Match that was very entertaining. The match was not one of Shawn's best WrestleMania matches but his elbow drop off a ladder onto McMahon who was on a table with a garbage can over half his body was a spot that was replayed several times during Shawn's WWE career.

14. The Rock's "Thomas Jefferson Sucka" promo on RAW

The Rock had many famous promos during his WWE career. One of his best promos was the "Thomas Jefferson Sucka" promo on August 13, 2001 in Chicago on RAW. The Rock was feuding with Booker T and he did a good job dissing Booker. The promo was so good that it was added to The Rock's most recent WWE DVD. One of the most famous lines from that promo was, "Booker T and Shane...the punk-ass sucka and the silver spoon motherfucka!" Stephanie was supposed to cut him off before Rock dropped the F-Bomb but she was too late. This was a great promo and Chris Jericho's participation helped make it a classic.



13. Mick Foley gets added to the WrestleMania 2000 main event on RAW

On February 27, 2000, Mick Foley retired from the WWF after losing to Triple H at No Mercy in a Hell in a Cell match. That was the last time Foley was a full-time wrestler in the WWF but it was not his final match. On March 20, 2000, Linda McMahon announced on RAW in Chicago that Mick Foley would be the fourth man in a Four-Way WWF Championship match at WrestleMania 2000. It was a great moment when the WWF crowd in Chicago found out that Mick Foley would be having one final match in the WWF. Foley retired for a second time after the WrestleMania 2000 match and he did not have another match until WrestleMania 20 in 2004.



12. Rocky Sucks chants during The Rock's match at WrestleMania 13

The Rock was not always the People's Champ. He was once hated and that hate started at WrestleMania 13 in Chicago.

The Rock wrote in his book,

"A significant number of our fans...felt that Rocky Maivia was being forced down their throats. At the same time that this was happening, the World Wrestling Federation was experiencing a dramatic attitudinal shift. Steve [Austin] was just starting to become the popular antihero then...generally exhibiting behavior that in the past would have made him a complete heel. But the fans loved it! Meanwhile, over here, we had Rocky Maivia, who was supposed to be an all-around good guy...It was the typical, nauseating, babyface bullshit...The fans would look at Rocky, in his nice, pretty blue outfit, and then they'd look at Stone Cold Steve Austin, cursing and giving the finger...and they'd say...'Rocky Maivia? Forget it!'

If there was any doubt that the business had undergone a sea change, it was laid to rest on March 23, 1997, in Chicago, site of WrestleMania XIII...I was defending my Intercontinental title against the Sultan...I made my entrance in typical Rocky Maivia babyface fashion. And within five minutes the majority of the crowd at the Rosemont Horizon had inexplicably turned against me. Cries of 'ROCKY SUCKS! ROCKY SUCKS!' echoed off the walls...I beat the Sultan...and got a decent pop from the audience. But even as I was leaving, the chanting continued. The fans didn't boo me out of the building or anything, but they let me know that I was no champion in their eyes...They saying caught on after that, and I'd hear it every night, in every building. 'ROCKY SUCKS!' Some places it was only 20 or 25 percent of the people chanting, other times it was 40 or 50 percent. But it was always there."

11. Rey Mysterio wins the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22

I'm not a big fan of Rey Mysterio but I do think he is an amazing professional wrestler and one of the few small wrestlers who make a believable World Heavyweight Champion. Rey competed for the World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton and Kurt Angle in a triple threat match in Chicago at WrestleMania 22 on April 2, 2006. Rey Mysterio won the match and became the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career.



10. John Cena and The Rock both in a WWE ring at the same time for the first time on RAW

On March 28, 2011 on Monday Night RAW in Chicago, The Rock and John Cena met face-to-face in a WWE ring for the first time. I was at that RAW and I thought it was an amazing moment. It's hard to put into words how great it was. The Rock is my favorite WWE Superstar of all-time so I am glad I can say I saw The Rock once in my life. I have to admit that John Cena cut one of his best promos ever and most likely his best promo of 2011. And although I didn't like it, I will never forget seeing John Cena hitting The Rock with an Attitude Adjustment. That might have been the best main event on RAW this year.



9. Shane McMahon jumps off the titantron at Backlash 2001

On April 29, 2001, Backlash was in Chicago. One of the matches was Shane McMahon vs. Big Show in a Last Man Standing match. Shane did many high spots during his time with the WWE and one of his most famous spots was when he jumped off the titantron onto Big Show. It is a spot that I have seen many times and I would be surprised if there was a long-time WWE fan who hasn't seen that spot at least once.



8. The Rock challenges Hulk Hogan to a match at WrestleMania 18 on RAW

One of The Rock's most famous matches was his match in Toronto against Hollywood Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18. On February 18, 2002 in Chicago on RAW, The Rock challenged Hogan to that match. That segment on RAW between The Rock and Hogan was not only one of the greatest Chicago moments of all time but it was also one of the greatest RAW moments of all time and it was included in the Best of RAW 15th Anniversary DVD.



7. Cactus Jack returns before the 2000 Royal Rumble on Smackdown

Mankind was scheduled to face Triple H at the 2000 Royal Rumble in New York City but Mankind realized that he was not ready to face Triple H in a street fight. So on January 11, 2000 in Chicago on Smackdown, Mankind left the WWE forever and Cactus Jack returned.



6. Randy Orton punts Mr. McMahon on RAW

This was a RAW I wish I had gone to. I attended my first WWE event on May 17, 2009 and this RAW was on January 19, 2009 in Chicago. It featured CM Punk winning the Intercontinental Championship, a great in-ring segment featuring Shawn Michaels, JBL, and John Cena, Chris Jericho getting rehired by Stephanie McMahon with the fans chanting "On your knees" when Stephanie told Jericho to apologize to the WWE fans, and Randy Orton punting Mr. McMahon in the head. That punt was a legit "Holy Shit" moment for me. Vince McMahon sold the punt perfectly and Stephanie did a great job when she got into the ring to check on her father. Orton's reaction was AMAZING. Orton's reaction made it look like he accidentally kicked Vince too hard and it made the moment feel more real. I loved watching that moment live on TV and the WWE production team did a great job making it look like a memorable moment but I would have loved to experience that moment in the arena. I'll never really know how it felt to be one of the 11,600 fans in the Allstate Arena that night but I really enjoyed that moment as a WWE fan watching from home.



5. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart in a steel cage match at SummerSlam 1994

On August 23, 1994 in Chicago at SummerSlam in front of 23,000 fans, Owen Hart faced his brother Bret Hart in a steel cage match for the WWF Championship. This is not one of my favorite matches but many people consider this 32-minute long match to be the greatest cage match in WWE history. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has given a five-star rating to only five WWF/E matches and this was one of them. This is the only moment that actually took place inside Chicago. SummerSlam was in the United Center where the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks play. All of the other moments on my list occurred in the Allstate Arena which is technically in Rosemont. 



4. Edge spears Mick Foley through a flaming table at WrestleMania 22

On April 2, 2006 in Chicago at WrestleMania 22, Edge and Mick Foley had an amazing hardcore match. The match was a classic, but what many people remember most about the match is when Edge speared Foley onto a table that was on fire!!  The WWE released a DVD this year called OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History and this moment was on the cover of the DVD. This was Mick Foley's most famous WrestleMania moment.



3. Chris Jericho's WWF debut on RAW

Chris Jericho's WWF debut on RAW on August 9, 1999 is considered by many people to be the most memorable debut in WWE history and it happened in Chicago. The Rock was cutting a classic promo and he was interrupted by a "Countdown to the Millennium" clock. When the clock hit zero, Chris Jericho made his WWF debut. Many fans in the arena were expecting Jericho to make his debut and there were several Jericho signs in the crowd.

Jericho wrote in his most recent book,

"It seemed that half of the arena had been sent personal invitation from Vince McMahon himself alerting them to the fact that Jericho was appearing tonight. I hadn't really known what to expect from the crowd, but the moment I heard their reaction I knew that I had made the right decision in leaving WCW. Due to the buildup of my debut, I was already a bigger star in WWE after thirty seconds than I had been in WCW after three years."

2. John Cena vs. CM Punk at Money in the Bank 2011

This amazing match happened on July 17, 2011 in Chicago at Money in the Bank. It was a classic match for the WWE Championship and it ended with Punk winning the WWE Championship for the first time. Punk is from Chicago so it must have been one of the best moments of his life. I was in the arena during that match and that match was definitely the greatest WWE match I have seen at a live event. 



1. Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold at WrestleMania 13

The greatest Chicago moment may be the greatest WWE moment of all time. Many people say that Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold at WrestleMania 13 on March 23, 1997 in Chicago was the greatest match in WWE history. Believe it or not, I don't agree that this was the greatest match of all-time despite being very biased towards WWE moments that happened in Chicago. I have watched this match a few times and I think it's an entertaining match but not the greatest match of all-time. However, if people love this match because of Stone Cold refusing to submit to Bret Hart's sharpshooter while wearing a Crimson Mask then I agree with that. That was a historic moment in WWE history. Stone Cold became a huge star after this match and became the greatest star of wrestling's greatest era. I didn't really love the actual match but Stone Cold refusing to give up and all of the stuff that Stone Cold accomplished after this match makes it the greatest WWE moment in Chicago of all-time. 




Six out of the 15 moments happened on RAW. Great WWE moments can happen at any time. I expect something amazing to happen this Monday. CM Punk is making his return to Chicago, his hometown. The last time the WWE was in Chicago, CM Punk won the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank. For the first time in his WWE career, CM Punk will enter the Allstate Arena as the WWE Champion. I can't wait to find out what happens on RAW. I know something amazing will happen. I may be biased towards Chicago because it's my city but I wouldn't be hyping RAW this much if I didn't think it had the potential to be the best RAW of the year. Chicago WWE events have a great track record. I have very high hopes for this Monday's RAW and I think the reaction CM Punk will get in Chicago will be one of the greatest reactions of all-time. I expect the reaction to be better than the reaction he got at Money in the Bank. Punk got a huge reaction in Chicago last July and he was a heel. Now he's a babyface and the current WWE Champion. Chicago fans are depressed right now because our beloved Chicago Bears have lost four games in a row after starting the season with a 7-3 record and they could be eliminated from playoff contention on Christmas tomorrow. The Chicago fans want something to cheer about...I guarantee that the crowd reaction for Punk will be amazing when the Chicago fans see him with the WWE Championship. Our guy, CM Punk, is the Champion of the WWE. The same guy that lost to Umaga at Judgment Day and Big Show at Night of Champions in Chicago. It should be a special moment. If CM Punk can create a great moment in Philadelphia last week on RAW with Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder, then he can create a moment twice as great in Chicago.

I plan to tweet updates from RAW this Monday. I am @TonyKegger on Twitter.