Fate is a very funny thing, especially in wrestling. Moments occur that not even the best promoters like WWE's Vince McMahon can avoid. It can be anything from a guy bolting a company to a sudden injury with some backstage issues abounding as well. It's impossible to plan for everything and too often, some promising moments have been ruined by a twist of fate. Yet at the same time, something truly amazing can come out of what was blind chance.
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For every career or storyline ruined by a freak twist, one is created and a star can be elevated. Some wrestlers have suffered, but others have been aided by some odd accident and they have shaken up the industry majorly. These are ten times the wrestling world changed purely on accident and a reminder of how some of the biggest moments in the industry occurred by random chance more than plans.
10 Black Saturday
Vince McMahon's expansion of wrestling might have happened a lot earlier, if not for an unexpected turn. In 1984, Vince managed to get a slot on TBS' Saturday afternoon slate occupied by Georgia Championship Wrestling.
However, fans hated the WWE product, forcing Vince to sell it back. Jim Crockett swooped in, nabbing the slot, using it for his own show and soon building it into what became WCW. In other words, an accident of fate caused Vince to create his own key competition.
9 Magnum T.A.'s Crash
Here's a case of "accident" taken literally. Magnum T.A. was a star in the making, bursting with talent and charisma off the charts for the time. The obvious plan was for him to become NWA World champion, with the possibility of it happening at Starrcade 1986.
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Just a month before the show, Magnum was in a horrible car crash. Despite the hopes of fans, he never made any return, costing Jim Crockett one of the most promising stars imaginable as having Magnum as NWA World champion would have pushed Crockett up more.
8 David Von Erich's Passing
In the early 1980s, World Class was one of the hottest territories around. With the Von Erichs leading the way, the company had an international presence and could have gotten a national TV deal.
That was aided by how David Von Erich was being marked to win the NWA World title. But in early 1983, David unexpectedly died during a tour of Japan. His loss rocked WCCW and would ultimately lead to their own demise as well as shifting much of wrestling.
7 Verne Screws Hogan
Back in the 1980s, "Dusty finishes'' of messing with fans were common, but few were as damaging as this. In 1983, Hulk Hogan challenged Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World title in front of a hot crowd. Hogan appeared to win the belt, only for it to be announced Bockwinkel was retaining by disqualification.
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The crowd was outraged and Hogan himself wasn't happy about being gypped like this. So when Vince McMahon made an offer to jump ship, Hogan accepted to join WWE and the rest is history. Just imagine how much different it would be for wrestling in the '80s if Verne had just given Hogan the belt.
6 Sting's Torn Knee
It may be wild, but in many ways, the course of WCW was changed by one accident. The plan as 1990 began was for Sting to beat Ric Flair for the NWA World title and Flair booking Sting into a great reign. But in a big brawl at Clash of the Champions 10, Sting tore out his knee, putting him on the shelf for months.
By the time he came back, some heat of the feud had died out and Ole Anderson became the new booker. Thus, after Sting won the belt, he was put into the terrible Black Scorpion angle and a lackluster reign followed, with Flair winning the belt back eventually. Had Sting not suffered that injury, WCW's path in the 1990s could have been a lot different.
5 Heyman Takes Over ECW
Eastern Championship Wrestling was just another of the indies in the early 1990s, with Eddie Gilbert booking for it. But Gilbert and owner Todd Gordon had a falling out, which led to Paul Heyman being hired to take his place.
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Heyman was soon pushing a new attitude which culminated in Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA title and renaming the company Extreme Championship Wrestling. Before long, ECW had transformed the entire business and inspired both WWE and WCW to up their own games, which no one could have imagined when Heyman got a new job.
4 The Curtain Call
It's amazing to think of how one simply farewell shifted so much. On May 19, 1996, Shawn Michaels defeated Diesel in a steel cage match at Madison Square Garden. Afterward, the pair embraced and were soon joined by Razor Ramon and Hunter Hearst-Helmsley. It was a goodbye to Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, but also a huge breaking of kayfabe.
Someone had to be punished and that landed on the future Triple H, as his planned King of the Ring victory was taken from him. What no one realized was how this move would help set up the entire Attitude Era.
3 Austin 3:16
Tying to the Curtain Call was a key moment for the entire Attitude Era. With Triple H out, Steve Austin was pushed to win King of the Ring. Getting a nasty blow in the semifinals, Austin heard Jake Roberts making a Bible quote in his promo.
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After beating Roberts to win the tournament, Austin cut the now iconic Austin 3:16 promo. It instantly elevated him as a star while also setting a new tone that would take off with the entire industry and pave the way for the new era that would push WWE to the top and shake up the entire industry.
2 Austin's Shattered Neck
Another Austin moment, this one even more critical in many ways. By the summer of 1997, Austin was hot with fans and a showdown with Bret Hart was obvious. The clear plan was Austin winning the IC title at SummerSlam and facing Bret later.
But during the match, Austin took a nasty piledriver from Owen Hart that broke his neck. He won the match but was on the shelf and went around Stunning folks like Vince McMahon, while Shawn Michaels went to face Bret at Montreal. That broken neck affected all of WWE and changed things up more than folks could imagine.
1 Botching Starrcade 1997
How much of this was really accidental and how much some sort of plan is debatable but the consensus is that the Hogan-Sting Starrcade 1997 match was not what it was supposed to be. While logic said having Sting crush Hogan for the WCW title was the only result, there was an even match.
The ending was to be Sting covered for a fast count, but some miscommunication caused it to look like Sting was pinned cleanly. While he won the match, Sting looked weaker, ruining 14 months of build and what should have been WCW's crowning moment was the beginning of the end.
