WWE History Vol. 18: Best Christmas Moments

Ho Ho Ho! With Christmas just around the corner, take a look back at the best holiday-themed moments from WWE History. Toys for tots? More like Stunners for Santa!

Ah, the holiday season. Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, the Yuletide, Kwanzaa, or nothing at all, you can still appreciate the trappings of the season.

From delicious baked goods to ugly sweaters, from the scent of evergreen to freshly fallen snow, there's a lot to love about the holidays. But while some of us are gathering together with friends and family, the WWE Superstars are still doing what they do best; causing mayhem and beating the snot out of each other.

A promotion like the WWE, which has been around for decades, of course has enjoyed a number of holiday themed moments over the years. Ever since the Monday Night Wars, when RAW began airing live every week, it's become more convenient for WWE to have holiday themed antics. Most of the time, these moments are played for laughs.

Without further ado, here are the ten best Christmas and holiday moments from WWE history. A certain Texas Rattlesnake pops up a few times on our list, so keep your eyes peeled lest you eat a Stone Cold Stunner!

#10 A Very Special DX Christmas

Admit it; You want Santa to drop this off in your stocking this year.

Degeneration X has a storied history in WWE. They began as a heel team, with the villainous Shawn Michaels and Triple H trying their best to get fired so they could join their 'friends down south' (a thinly veiled reference to Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, who had joined WCW a year prior).

Eventually, the faction would transition to babyface, and the addition of the New Age Outlaws brought the stable up to full strength. Years later, DX would pop up again, but this time only featuring Triple H and HBK as they tormented Vince McMahon with their sophomoric antics.

One hilarious moment happened when DX filmed their own Christmas themed merch hawking bit on RAW. Michaels complained about being cold while watching a WWE DVD, and Triple H offered him a blanket. HBK then complained that either his arms were cold or that he couldn't reach his snacks. So the quick-thinking Triple H provided his best friend with a DX Snuggie -- blanket with arm holes.

Of course, then he showed HBK a match on the DVD where Triple H pummeled his 'best friend'...

This was at a time when DX had a separate segment each week on RAW to showcase their hilarious yet edgy skits. Add Hornswoogle to the mix and you will surely have some goofy subplots as well.

#9 Hornswoggle's Christmas Miracle

Hornswoggle is either one of your favorite comedic characters from WWE history or someone who annoys you to tears. There's really no middle ground on this man.

The performer, who is has a genetic condition resulting in diminutive height, first came to prominence when he would accompany Fit Finlay to the ring. Well, accompany isn't quite accurate. The truth is that Hornswoggle hid under the ring and emerged to distract and attack Finlay's opponents when they weren't looking.

Eventually Hornswoggle would be revealed to be the 'son' of Vince McMahon and even join DX, but through it all he never spoke. Until one fine day in the Christmas season of 2011. Horsnwoggle won a battle royal which entitled him to a wish from Santa Claus (Mick Foley in the suit).

Hornswoggle's wish? To be able to speak. Foley granted his request, and then Hornswoggle wouldn't shut up.

This might look like a page straight out of WCW's book. But the WWE too are known for their bizarre storylines.

#8 Steve Austin's Christmas Sing-a-Long

Stone Cold Steve Austin having a merry old time.

In the history of WWE, the Invasion angle is considered by many to be one of the biggest disappointments of all time.

Post Monday Night Wars, WCW fans had hoped to see their favorite superstars arrive on WWE television. However, when WWE purchased their flagging rival, they didn't offer nearly enough money for some of WCW's biggest stars to jump to WWE.

This led to many of the more famous and popular WCW stars, such as Sting and Lex Luger, not to appear on either RAW or SmackDown during this very crucial storyline.

Despite the rather lackluster response fans had to the angle, there were some funny moments. One of them was when Vince McMahon (leader of Team WWF) and Stone Cold (leader of Team WCW/ECW) had competing Christmas parties for their respective teams.

Stone Cold led his team in a Christmas Carol sing along. Some pro wrestlers, like The Rock and Chris Jericho, are actually accomplished singers. Stone Cold Steve Austin, on the other hand, is not. The results were predictably hilarious, and proof that Stone Cold wasn't a one trick pony.

#7 A Jeri-Show Christmas

Big Show begs "Santa Claus" to grant his one Christmas Wish: to be reunited with his best friend.

WWE has endured a lot of criticism for throwing together two singles stars with little in common into a tag team.

This doesn't work out very often, but sometimes you find yourself with a gem of a team. The Miz and John Morrison struggled to be recognized as singles wrestlers, but when WWE put them together as a team, it was magic. It may be one of the reasons WWE keeps using this tactic.

One of the times the thrown-together team worked exceptionally well was when Big Show and Chris Jericho became a pair. The fans quickly dubbed them Jeri-Show on social media, and the duo actually adopted that as their official team name. They won the WWE Tag Titles and seemed inseparable.

When Chris Jericho was drafted to RAW, however, their team was forced to disband. That is, until Big Show asked Santa Claus to grant his Christmas wish; to be reunited with his best friend Jericho.

Santa quickly agreed, but then Hornswoggle emerged from under the ring to reveal it was none other than Jericho under the white beard. Sadly, the reunion quickly soured for the best friends.

The moment also officially recognizes Hornswoggle as the mascot for DX and his induction into the notorious faction.

#6 You'd better watch out: Santa Cold is coming to town

Vince McMahon earned a spot on the naughty list at WWE's Christmas Tribute to the Troops in 2003.

There's no doubt that Vincent Kennedy McMahon, Jr., is one of the most accomplished heels in all of wrestling.

There are few other men who can bring a chorus of resounding boos just by walking out to the ring like he can. During the Attitude Era, Mr. McMahon was the WWE equivalent of Darth Vader.

To that end, when WWE presented its first annual Tribute to the Troops in Iraq, Vince McMahon appeared in the ring and started talking his usual trash. That's when Santa Claus arrived to try to spread some Christmas cheer.

McMahon attacked poor Santa, but he would regret that decision later when Stone Cold revealed himself to be the man behind the beard. McMahon would soon eat a Stunner, much to the delight of the gathered troops.

Stone Cold has never failed to utilize an opportunity to put his boss in his rightful place.

#5 John Cena saves Christmas for children

A man who brings joy to millions, and a guy in a Santa suit.

When John Cena first debuted, he was a 'white meat' babyface who stood up to a bullying Kurt Angle. The only problem was fans didn't care for him.

So Cena developed the Doctor of Thuganomics character, an ostensible heel who wound up being so popular he was turned babyface. Eventually Cena would leave the raps and profanity behind and turn his ball cap forwards, becoming the 'heroic' John Cena.

The parallels between Cena and a super hero are myriad and layered. He fights for truth and justice, and always sticks up for what is right.

This was on full display on an episode of RAW in 2008 when Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix came out to the ring and promised to tell the children the 'truth about Santa Claus.'

But John Cena came out to save the day, challenging Santino and Beth to a mixed tag match. Cena would partner with Trish Stratus and they would prevent Santino from spilling the beans about Santa Claus' true identity.

#4 Jillian Hall sings (sort of) "I'll Be Home For Christmas"

Jillian Hall is one of the more underrated in-ring performers in WWE history. She had been trained by Fit Finlay and Lance Storm, and was one of the more athletic and powerful women performers during the Divas era.

Unfortunately, she was a female Superstar in WWE just a few years too early. The Women's Evolution was a long way off, and Hall struggled to find a place on the roster in spite of her obvious talents. For a time, her biggest moment was when The Boogeyman bit a 'tumor' off of her face and ate it.

Then Jillian Hall found a gimmick that really worked for her; a wannabe pop singer with a terrible, awful voice. In an ironic twist, her album of cover songs was actually a hit, gaining millions of downloads.

During the period when she used the bad singing gimmick, she performed a Christmas carol on RAW, to the joy of absolutely no one. It was a cringe-worthy episode to say the least.

#3 Stone Cold Stuns Santa Claus

Stone Cold gives a Stunner to Santa Claus to the wild cheers of the audience.

For our number three moment on the best WWE Christmas moments countdown, we travel all the way back to 1997.

It was the height of the Attitude Era, and Stone Cold Steve Austin's popularity had begun to transcend pro wrestling. The Texas Rattlesnake appeared on the cover of TV Guide Magazine (a staple of most households at the time) and had guest-starring roles on such shows as Nash Bridges.

On the RAW before Christmas that year, Santa Claus came out to the ring, ostensibly to spread Christmas cheer. However, this Santa was a real villain, mocking one young fan at ringside relentlessly.

This didn't sit well with Stone Cold Steve Austin. After verbally berating the fake Santa, he then delivered a brutal seated Stunner that cemented him as a true hero in the hearts of fans young and old.

Austin was as unpredictable as they came and even Santa had to learn this the hard way.

#2 The Rock's Twelve Days of Christmas

Can you smell what the Rock is cooking? Seems like Christmas carols and half baked puns.

The Twelve Days of Christmas is one of the oldest and most often recited Christmas Carols in the western world.

The song dates back to long ago, but that didn't stop the 'Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment", The Rock, from adding his own spin to the holiday classic.

While the original song details such things as 'seven lords a leaping' and 'a partridge in a pear tree', Rock's updated lyrics were definitely WWE centric. He was going to be taking on former WWE star Test that night:

On the night Test faced the Great One, this is what he'll see:

12 Sharpshooters stinging,

11 Eyebrows raising,

10 Spines-a-busting,

9 Noggins knocking,

8 Kicks-a-kicking,

7 Punches punching,

6 Suplex smashing,

5 Seconds of the people chanting The Rocks name.

4 Rock Bottoms,

3 People Elbows on your

2 Buck teeth

and an a**-kicking all over New Orleans.

It was a great way to trash talk his opponent while still spreading holiday cheer.

#1 Santa Claus's evil twin becomes a WWE Superstar

You might recognize Xanta Claus--Santa's evil brother from the South Pole--as one of the ECW Originals, the Chair Swinging Freak Balls Mahoney.

Way back at WWE In Your House 5: Season's Beatings, we got our first look at the short lived WWE superstar Xanta Claus.

If you'll notice from his color scheme, he's the opposite of Santa Claus in every way. Whereas Santa wears red and white, Xanta wears red and black. His beard is likewise black instead of white, and of course, this being pro wrestling, he hailed from the South Pole rather than the North Pole.

The evil twin brother of Santa also had the habit of taking presents rather than giving them. He became a short lived heel and ally of Ted DiBiase during WWE's New Generation era. The gimmick didn't last long, and Xanta Claus was soon confined to the scrap heap of history.

It wasn't all bad for Xanta Claus, however. He would go on to great success as Balls Mahoney in ECW and later, WWE.