5 WWE matches that made Superstars cry

Roman Reigns defeated Jey Uso at WWE Hell in a Cell 2020 to retain his WWE Universal Championship.

In the closing stages of the Hell in a Cell match, which also had an “I Quit” stipulation, Reigns cried in the middle of the ring as he began to question the amount of punishment that he had delivered to his own cousin.

It looked as though Jey Uso’s twin brother, Jimmy Uso, had talked some sense into the WWE Universal Champion, who gripped hands with his cousin and apologized for taking things too far.

“I don’t even know who I am. I’m sorry.”

Moments later, Reigns trapped Jimmy in a guillotine choke, prompting Jey to finally quit the match.

The former Shield member then made his way up to the top of the stage area, where he was greeted by Afa (his uncle) and Sika (his father). The legendary Wild Samoans acknowledged Reigns as the family’s Tribal Chief, while The Usos watched on from inside the ring.

Now, inspired by Reigns’ emotional moment at WWE Hell in a Cell, let’s take a look at five WWE matches that made Superstars cry.

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#5 Seth Rollins cried at WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

Unlike Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins’ emotional moment did not take place during one of his own WWE matches.

Back in August 2015, Bayley defeated Sasha Banks at WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn to win the WWE NXT Women’s Championship. The match is widely considered to be one of the greatest matches in WWE history.

Rollins, who held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the time, watched the action unfold from the front row.

You know a women's match is that bloody good when you see Seth shedding a tear...#WWE24NXT pic.twitter.com/YXE4Xg9xfb

— Jonderic (@Jonderic) October 6, 2015

As you can see above, the former Shield member could be seen wiping a tear away from his eye while he was giving the two women a standing ovation after the match.

Reigns’ tears at WWE Hell in a Cell perfectly summed up his character’s mindset when he had to dish out a severe beating to someone in his own family.

In Rollins’ case, there was nothing in-character about his tears at WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. The man behind the persona, Colby Lopez, was clearly very proud of what Bayley and Banks had accomplished.

#4 Kofi Kingston had tears in his eyes while facing Erick Rowan in WWE

Kofi Kingston admitted on an episode of The New Day’s Feel The Power podcast that his eyes welled up with tears during a match against Erick Rowan on WWE SmackDown.

The incident took place when Kingston had to face six opponents (Sheamus, Cesaro, Rowan, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, and Daniel Bryan) in a gauntlet match on the March 19, 2019 episode of WWE SmackDown.

The New Day member recalled that Rowan’s steel chair shot (01:00 mark in the video above) gave him the worst pain he had ever felt in a match.

“Rowan hit me so hard, and immediately like my eyes are welling up with tears. I’m just like, oh, and I’m like, I’m almost about to cry. And I’m like, you know what, it’s probably okay if I shed tears because that really, really, really hurt. They’ll [WWE fans] understand that hurt so badly.” [H/T SEScoops]

After Rowan was disqualified from the match, Kingston went on to defeat Samoa Joe and Randy Orton before ultimately losing the gauntlet match to his WWE Championship rival, Daniel Bryan.

#3 Xavier Woods cried after Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship win

One month after Kofi Kingston’s steel chair incident with Erick Rowan, the New Day member defeated Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 to win the WWE Championship.

Kingston’s children and his New Day colleagues, Xavier Woods and Big E, joined him in the ring after the match to celebrate his first WWE Championship triumph.

Woods, who was in tears almost immediately after Kingston pinned Bryan to become WWE Champion, was also very emotional in the post-match interview with Cathy Kelley backstage.

“E and myself, even before day one of New Day, we knew Kofi deserved this. He deserved it then, so the amount that he deserves it now is insurmountable. The fact that we are not only standing here as a trio, almost five years deep, but that E and I get to stand here with Kofi – someone we look up to, someone that we admire, someone that we strive to be like – and he gets to stand here holding the WWE Championship. It’s… unreal…”

Woods stopped talking at that moment because he knew he was going to start crying if he carried on speaking.

Fortunately, Big E was there to lighten the mood (06:25 in the video above). The former WWE Intercontinental Champion hugged Woods and said it was okay to cry in wrestling.

#2 Kurt Angle cried after winning the WWE Championship

While many of the emotional moments in this article were unscripted and very real, Kurt Angle’s tears at WWE No Mercy 2000 were almost certainly scripted for his character.

The Olympic Gold medallist defeated The Rock at the event to win the WWE Championship for the first time in his career.

He then quickly got out of the ring and made his way up the entrance ramp, where he began to cry as he held the WWE Championship above his head.

WWE commentator Jim Ross summed up the WWE Universe’s reaction to Angle defeating the company’s top good guy at the time, The Rock.

“Thanks to Rikishi, Kurt Angle is the WWF [WWE] Champion. And he’s crying, for God’s sakes… this is making me sick.”

Angle went on to lose the WWE Championship against The Rock four months later at No Way Out 2001.

He was still able to defend the title during that time against high-profile Superstars including The Undertaker, Rikishi, Steve Austin, and Triple H.

#1 Ric Flair cried during his WWE retirement match

One of the most emotional matches in WWE history took place at WrestleMania 24 between Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels.

In storyline, 58-year-old Flair agreed to put his career on the line against Michaels at WWE’s biggest show of the year. In reality, the legendary Superstar received his WWE Hall of Fame induction one night earlier and it was obvious that he was going to retire at that year’s ‘Mania.

Still, despite the predictable outcome, that did not make the match any less dramatic and emotional.

In the closing stages, a tearful Flair put up his fists and stared across the ring from Michaels, who was reluctant to end the career of his long-time friend.

The Heartbreak Kid said, “I’m sorry, I love you” before landing a Sweet Chin Music on Flair, bringing an end to his illustrious career.

The celebration for The Nature Boy continued on the following night’s episode of WWE RAW, which featured in-ring tributes from WWE stars including The Undertaker and Vince McMahon.