It has been a hectic year in the world of professional wrestling, full of triumphs and tribulations. Since it is the start of a new year, I would like to look back at the past year.
We have seen many things this past year, including great tragedies. In May at Over the Edge, wrestling lost a great entertainer and athlete when Owen Hart fell to his death while attempting to come into the ring via the catwalks above. His death was and still is mourned by all. We will all truly miss this incredible superstar.
Wrestling also lost a great of the past when Gorilla Monsoon died of a heart attack this summer. Gorilla was best known as a former announcer and President of the WWF. He, too, had once been a great competitor.
Injuries also were prevalent. Stone Cold Steve Austin is still out of action due to a back injury that requires surgery. Scott Hall is having surgery to repair floating bone chips in his knee. The Undertaker has been out of action due to a pulled groin muscle. But none of these have been as serious as the injury Darren “Droz” Drozdov received at a taping of Smackdown when D-Lo Brown delivered a back body drop that caused Droz to land directly on his neck causing instant paralyzation. He is currently in recovery from a broken neck and was at one time paralyzed from the waist down with a the outlook for recovery dim. He is still in all of our prayers.
This year has also been exciting with the returns of many fan favorites. Eddy Guerrero returned this spring after a near fatal car accident around last New Years. Also we saw the return of Goldberg from his knee injury as well as Shawn Michaels for a brief stint as Commissioner of the WWF.
Perhaps two of the most noted comebacks are the return of Bret Hart after the personal tragedy of his younger brother’s death and the reunion of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash as the Outsiders. Hall’s return has been cut short due to the knee injury and surgery.
We also saw the reformation of two major wrestling factions. D-Generation X has reformed under the guidance of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in the WWF ushering in a new era and minus the Ninth Wonder of the World Chyna . As well as the more recent reformation of the nWo with Bret “Hitman” Hart, Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and recent addition, Big Poppa Pump, Scott Steiner.
Chyna has succeeded in making WWF history more than once. She was the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble, the first woman to be a participant in the King of the Ring and made it into the second round of the tournament. Most inportantly, however, she was the first woman to ever hold the Intercontinental Championship belt.
This year also saw the departure and lawsuit of Sable (Rena Mero) as well as the ill-fated wedding of Test(Andrew Martin) and Stephanie McMahon. Triple finally had two WWF World Championship title reigns and Bret Hart had a reign as United States Champion and contiues to reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
The year has been a roller coaster ride full of ups and downs. Let’s just hope that it gets better from here. I bet it will.