10 Craziest Wrestling Stories of 2019

If you thought 2020 has been crazy, don’t forget what went down last year.

10. Enzo, Big Cass and a random guy crash Saturday night in New York

Madison Square Garden was the center of attention for the first time in what seemed forever by hosting the NJPW and ROH Supercard. Meanwhile, 20 minutes away in the lovely Barclays Center, some individuals were taking their rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame. The atmosphere was electric by having the bright lights shine on the stars of the past and present, but utter chaos and confusion soon filled the air. As Bret Hart was speaking on behalf of the Hart Foundation, a fan stormed the ring and dragged Hart to the ground. An impromptu fight occurred as wrestlers started attacking the fan. Some people thought maybe WWE planted this to distract from the MSG show, but that was soon dismissed. The fan that attacked was revealed to be 26-year-old Zachary Madsen, who already had a history of stalking charges and violating protective orders. The situation was handled in a timely matter and the ceremony proceeded.

At the Garden, ROH nearly staged its own demise. As the bout for the ROH and NJPW Heavyweight Tag Team Titles concluded, off in the distance of the commentary camera shot, fans watching at home saw a familiar short guy with a blonde streak of hair starting an ambush. You couldn’t really confirm who it was, but as a seven-footer appeared, you realized it was Enzo and Cass. New Japan wanted no part of this as a clear camera shot or replay wasn’t produced. The final image fans saw were Big Cass giving the finger to the MSG crowd. Not once did NJPW indulge in this and whatever plans ROH had in place were quickly scrapped.

9. Chaos after WrestleMania 35

By the time Becky Lynch claimed both Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships, the run time of WrestleMania 35 had elapsed over seven hours. Fans were told New Jersey Transit would be running every 10 minutes, and while trying to get over 80,000 people home would obviously cause traffic, folks thought they’d get home in a reasonable time. Instead, what ensued could probably be the biggest traveling catastrophe in WrestleMania history. Well past 1 a.m., the majority of the 80,000 people were still stranded in the rain. Uber and Lyft were running prices up $100 heading towards Brooklyn and Manhattan. Additionally, some lovely people decided to take advantage of the situation and offer rides for $200. Fans were also being rejected due to drivers not willing to travel far and it was made clear that WWE officials did not make prior efforts to ensure fans would be taken care of.

The next few days consisted of public relations on both sides. New Jersey Transit said it was informed the day of the show that the event would run that long and couldn’t make proper arrangements. On the other hand, WWE claimed New Jersey Transit didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Phil Murphy, the proud Governor of New Jersey, had little to say about the issues: “It’s unacceptable and we’re going to have to learn from this. I’ll be damned if it happens again.” In reality, both sides were at fault.

8. NWA leapfrogs ROH and Impact

For younger wrestling fans, the last time NWA had experienced relevancy was during the NWA:TNA days. After that relationship ended, TNA was on the rise while the NWA fell into obscurity. In 2019, under the leadership of Billy Corgan, the National Wrestling Alliance was as relevant as ever. In a time when Impact is gradually getting its legs under it, alongside Ring of Honor experiencing one of its worst years in terms of attendance and pay-per-view buys, the NWA has surpassed both. The revitalized brand has compiled a well-balanced roster consisting of seasoned veterans, up-and-comers and legends, all while giving the retro experience of studio wrestling.

7. Lars Sullivan

“I will ask what are Kofi and R Truth supposed to be? A PG black panther stable? I always wondered why they had to team up two black guys. Both those guys look like they could be in a prison black gang. Some blacks want to take advantage of their great grandparents misfortunes, and they want a piece of the pity pie.”

These are just some of the comments that Lars Sullivan made in the past according to a Reddit user who unearthed them last year. Supposedly, WWE issued a $100,000 fine before trying to continue business as usual. An injury proceeded to delay Sullivan’s year further, but the final nail in the coffin of any return was placed when a porn film emerged. While people have the choice to pursue any career they want, that type of content is damaging to the WWE’s family-friendly image. It’s unclear what the future holds for Lars Sullivan.

6. Jim Cornette sounds off

Jim Cornette’s sound bites going viral isn’t out of the ordinary, but he seemed to have found a few lines that even he shouldn’t cross. After taking a break from listening to any of his podcasts, I was looking forward to hearing his thoughts once again, but then he sounded off in ways no one at least in this day and age could’ve imagined.

The first of these sound bites came when reviewing AEW’s battle royal. He had very choice words for Sonny Kiss, one of two transgenders on the roster. “Then here comes Sonny Kiss who apparently got off his day job at the drag-show at the f**king Tropicana. They’re not explaining any of this… The transvestite or exotico as they would say at AAA.” These comments caused a fire storm, but not enough to get him kicked off a show or be forced to resign. Not to worry, though, cause the next sound bite took care of that for him.

The comments were made during an episode of NWA Power while Trevor Murdoch was in the ring with Nick Aldis.”Trevor Murdoch is the only person who can strap a bucket of fried chicken to his back and ride a motor scooter across Ethiopia. Trevor Murdoch can take care of himself!” The derogatory and stereotypical comments within hours of the show airing on YouTube caused an uproar. Cornette soon resigned from the commentary team and changes were immediately implemented to avoid such an incident in the future. This nearly caused a black eye for the revitalized NWA brand. It’s one thing to say such things on your own program, but you do not have free say on someone else’s.

5. WWE 2K20 more like Y2K

In what quite possibly might be the worst video game launch of all time, WWE2K20 was just god awful. There were issues with literally every element of the game. Those individuals who paid well over 100 bucks for pre-order bonuses like signed pictures and special SmackDown 20th Anniversary items did not receive those. Music was incorrectly labeled in addition to DLC ownership not being recognized. In the game, referees were glitching so badly that at times it looked like they were humping Charlotte. The game, which is supposed to be the gold standard in the industry, was better off being shipped off like the T-shirts of the losing teams in championship games. Sony was the first to start offering refunds while Microsoft did later. It was an appropriate way for this saga to conclude.

4. Championships gone missing

Chicago was not very nice to wrestlers with championships and didn’t play any favorites as both WWE and AEW experienced mishaps. After successfully becoming AEW’s first World Heavyweight Champion at All Out in Chicago, Chris Jericho proceeded to go to a Longhorn Steakhouse and the frantic search began. After getting bags mixed up, the limo driver returned to Million Air (a private charter flight company) terminal in Tallahassee to exchange bags. The main problem was Jericho unknowingly grabbed the wrong bag. Over the course of the trip, the belt went missing. After filing a police report, the belt was recovered less than 24 hours later.

At least he got his belt back because WWE UK Champion Walter wasn’t so lucky. In what was described as a smash and grab, the championship and personal belongings were stolen from Walter’s vehicle. While in Chicago for Evolve 142 weekend, they were at Logan Square, which has become a notorious area for theft. The next night he had to work barefoot and even had issues getting back home. In a later interview, Walter said, “I got nothing back. The window got smashed of the car when we were eating lunch, and then they just took all the luggage.” He also revealed that he had to get an emergency passport to get home.

3. Chaos in Saudi Arabia

After a Halloween version of Crown Jewel, wrestlers were expecting to load up a plane and take a 14-hour flight to get to Buffalo, NY. While the flight is longer than usual, the wrestlers are used to one-day travel. No one signed up for what happened. After a few hours of waiting on the plane, it soon became apparent something wasn’t right. Multiple sources started reporting that the plane hadn’t left yet. SmackDown was sent spiraling because the flight wasn’t going to make it. While Brock Lesnar left on his own flight, Vince McMahon left, too, deserting his talent in a foreign land. Over the next few hours, wrestlers became very vocal with some saying “never again” and others posting videos of them passing out as soon as they got in their hotel rooms. WWE was very quick to label the delay as simply mechanical issues. No one bought that, though. On the FAA database, there were no reports of a flight on the tarmac for more than six hours due to mechanical issues. Rumors include pay disputes and the possibility of displeasure with the women’s match. The reason has never been fully revealed and knowing the Saudi Arabia government, it probably won’t be.

2. Seth Rollins’ 2019

Perhaps the most wasted year of a champion ever. He won the Royal Rumble and while the Road to WrestleMania dragged, things seem to be going fine. Rollins and Lesnar opened up the show, and three curb stomps later, Rollins slayed the Beast. It seemed like WWE made its Man, but the man was actually Becky Lynch. In a turn of events that would dominate the year, Rollins would participate in his own babyface demise. In just a series of tweets, the only thing that was being burned down was his fan base and credibility as champion. Seth couldn’t even avoid Jim Ross in this mess, getting Ross to say “maybe one day he’ll be as over as his girlfriend.” Rollins got into a Twitter war with Will Ospreay, comparing bank accounts, claiming that WWE had the best ring product during some of its worst shows and whining about AEW trying to take food off the table. At the first stop in Saudi Arabia, he dropped the belt back to Brock. WWE once again tried to push Rollins as the top babyface at SummerSlam. Then the worst Hell in a Cell match ever took place and The Fiend took the belt off Rollins shortly thereafter.

1. Dean Ambrose dies…Jon Moxley resurrects

No one since Lex Luger and Rick Rude duped WWE quite like Jon Moxley did. While WWE tried to get him to sign one of those minted five-year contracts, he declined. On the network, WWE aired a special that documented his recovery to his return. He used the platform to reintroduce himself as Jon Moxley. Even during promos on Raw, he was starting to shoot from the hip. WWE rolled out the red carpet, promoting the last Shield match. He made himself as relevant as ever. Everybody wondering what his plan was after leaving WWE.

He tweeted a video about escaping prison and then appeared at AEW Double Or Nothing, spiking Jericho and Omega to the roar of the crowd. Over the summer, he went to Japan and won the U.S Championship. He went on to have incredible matches and by years end, he was in contention for the AEW World Championship.