Man, is it an awesome time to be a wrestling  fan or what? Triple H is the new boss, there’s a WWE Championship crisis, and the man who started all this, CM Punk, is back on Raw! In the spirit of turning microphones into ‘pipebombs’, lets go down memory lane and take a look at some of the most infamous WWE promos and worked-shoots (minus CM Punk’s recent outbursts, of course) that left a lot us thinking, “Is this a work?”

 

8 years after the infamous Montreal Screwjob, surely Shawn Michaels wouldn’t toy with the emotions of a very hostile crowd in Quebec, would he? They don’t call him The Heart Break Kid for nothing folks! Shawn Michaels, as a face, is a good promo man. As a heel, he is phenomenal. Back in 2005, amidst a feud with the legendary Hulk Hogan, HBK was in true heel fashion when Raw was live in Montreal. He led the crowd to believe that Bret Hart himself had finally returned to confront Michaels. The crowd erupts when The Hitman’s music hits. He played the crowd like a fiddle in his best heel promo ever given. Not much of this promo is a shoot, but you have to know Michaels loved sticking it to Montreal twice in less than a decade.

 

It was well known during their tenure with the WWE that Matt Hardy was dating Amy Dumas (Lita) on screen and off screen. After a couple years of dating, Lita decided she needed to go from PG-13 to Rated R! She had an affair with a very close friend to Hardy, Adam Copeland (Edge). Shortly after Hardy found this out, he was released by the WWE. Vince McMahon thought it would be a great idea if the backlash for Lita’s affair on Hardy, could play out into a storyline on WWE television. After weeks of attacking Edge during matches, Hardy made his return and vowed revenge in this promo.

Side note: Vince thought bringing back Matt  after the affair would propel his career and eventually make him a household name? How’d that turn out for you Vinnie?

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38ZpKxqBZJY&feature=BFa&list=PL98553385B657C3DE&index=21

“Ha Ha..J-A-HA-DOUBLE R-HA-E-DOUBLE T!..Ha Ha”. Jeff Jarrett went to town on WCW and WWE back in 1997. Feeling very unappreciated, Jarrett gave us his candid thoughts on his first stint in WCW and in the WWE as Double J. He even went as far as calling out WWE’s then top talent such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. This promo was very heavy on the controversial side as Jarrett mentioned Vince McMahon making him work with “a clown” and “a black man who can’t even speak the English language”. Obviously, frustrations with the lack of a push got the better of Jarrett during this worked shoot.

Side note: Hey, Mr. Co-Founder of TNA, you’ve got an issue with clowns? Then what the hell are you doing to Sting?!

 

Near the end of the Invasion storyline, Paul Heyman delivered a worked promo that you have to believe was partly (or completely) from the heart. Heyman mentions his beliefs that Vince McMahon had screwed over top superstars of the past and his own children. It was easy to see how hard it was for Heyman to stay within the storyline here with subjects so close to his heart. Funny how Heyman had issues with Vince McMahon’s association with the word wrestling and wrestler. I guess CM Punk really is a Paul Heyman Guy.

 

 

CM Punk can sure make you feel small on the mic. Just ask Jeff Hardy. A few years back, right before Hardy left the company, he found himself in a feud with The Straightedge Superstar. Usually in feuds, lines between in ring struggles and real life struggles are rarely crossed. This feud sure did cross those lines! Jeff Hardy’s struggles with drug abuse are well documented. During a promo before Night of Champions in 2009, CM Punk took offense to Hardy accusing him of faking an eye injury. Back in ‘09, I wouldn’t have thought of this promo being anywhere close to a shoot. But Hardy’s opinion of Punk nowadays isn’t high at all. Knowing how serious Punk takes his straightedge lifestyle, maybe he did have a little animosity towards Jeff.

 

 

Ah, yes. Another Original from the Land of Extreme going off on WWE television. After an altercation with The King, Styles deliverers a worked promo for the ages. Much like Paul Heyman’s issue with McMahon’s problem with the word wrestler, Styles had a similar beef. He also had issues with being bumped from commentary at Wrestlemania and Backlash that year. Too bad Styles isn’t on TV anymore, because he sure was an entertaining commentator and this promo proves it!

 

 

Back in the ‘90s, all J.R. wanted to do was commentate. Was that so wrong? McMahon tried to make Jim Ross to look as bad as he could and he still was cheered for. In this instance, J.R. was sticking up for himself and his enforcer “Dr. Death” Steve Williams. I’m surprised J.R. went along with all the heel storylines Vince threw at him. After watching this promo, two things come to mind. 1. J.R. is funny in shoot mode and 2. Michael Cole is a tool now and was back then as well.

 

 

Right before Wrestlemania 13, Bret Hart was clearly frustrated and you could see it here. This was the beginning of the downward spiral for Hart in the WWE. He wasn’t going to be the top guy anymore and he was having a hard time accepting that. Nowadays guys thrive on pushing new talent. Back in the late ‘90s guys didn’t want to give up their spot they’ve worked so hard for. For Hart, it all cumulated in what we know today as infamous The Montreal Screwjob.

At One Night Stand in 2005, a visibly emotional Paul Heyman, was speaking from his heart. And rightfully so, seeing as that was the last piece of real ECW we would ever see again .Heyman had some things to get off of his chest and he spared no prisoners. He went off on Eric Bischoff, JBL, and Edge. In doing so, he hinted of the affair that was going on between Edge and Matt Hardy‘s girlfriend, Lita. This was maybe the best worked shoot we’ve seen up until two weeks friends.

The infamous interview between Vince McMahon and Jim Ross regarding The Montreal Screwjob. Vince was speaking from his heart for just about all of this interview. And that proves that Vince McMahon believes his own nonsense. He tries to justify himself in doing what he did to Bret Hart and damn near makes the viewer empathize with him. I also think Vince knew he had to do something knowing that he may never be able to sign another wrestler again! Why would you want to work for a guy who believes if he has the right to screw you he will do so and not think twice of it? Flash forward to 2011, Vince and Bret have seemed to make amends, but there’s no doubt that at Survivor Series ‘97, wrestling fans witnessed the realest thing on WWE and may never see something like it ever again.

 

 

DX’s Uncensored Press Conference doesn’t shoot on anything or anyone but the TV-14 rating WWE Raw had that night and Bill Clinton. For anyone who was watching Raw that night you had to think WWE was going to get fined ‘til Vinnie Mac’s pockets were emptied. A highly entertaining promo that makes you wonder if it was Creative or DX’s idea. I’m going with DX on this one.

Well there you have it friends. Love him or hate him, CM Punk has made wrestling more interesting than it has been in a long time.  I hope you have enjoyed my column, Rating WWE’s Top Controversial Promos. Didn’t agree with my ratings? I want to hear from you! Please feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to reply.