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October has come and gone, and this time around was responsible for some of the most notable moments of the year. The past thirty-one days featured a lot of thrills and chills, despite also being home to some of the rather shocking moments as well. Some of these moments include huge feuds, injuries, heel turns, reunions returns to the ring, dismissals, online arguments, and walkouts.
Who exactly were these men and women that turned heads over the course of the last month? What happened to them over the past month that made a mark and caused fans to stand up and take notice? Was it comments, actions, images or videos that provoked discussion via social media? As October ends, a number of moments truly stood out. Here are the seven biggest and best moments in wrestling for October 2017.
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#7. Illness affecting TLC, and replacements
The build-up to Tables, Ladders, and Chairs presented the event as an incredible one for the Raw brand. What wasn't planned, however, was that only a few days before the event, an illness ran through the Raw roster pretty severely, and more than one match was affected.
Bo Dallas, ring announcer Jojo, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns were all said to have a viral infection, believed to be either meningitis or the Mumps, and that certainly hurt the build for the event as two matches had to be changed.
Considering the infection was contagious, it was a surprise that others weren't also affected by it as well. The scheduled ‘Demon' versus Sister Abigail' match saw Wyatt replaced with AJ Styles, and Roman Reigns was replaced for the Shield versus The Miz, The Bar, Kane and Braun Strowman match against Raw General Manager Kurt Angle. As the month concluded, it was rather difficult to further develop feuds when prominent characters are still ill, making it a challenge to bring stories closure.
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#6. Why Sami, why?
During the Kevin Owens/Shane McMahon Hell in a Cell match, fans bore witness to a spectacular leap, an incredible landing, and an unanticipated alliance. After Shane McMahon leaped from the top of the Hell in a Cell, it was unknown how Kevin Owens, who appeared all but unresponsive, was able to get off of the table before Shane came crashing down.
It wasn't until the replay was shown that it was revealed that Sami Zayn was the one that pulled Owens away from potential disaster.
He then put Owens on top of McMahon and told the referees to make the count, making the match result official. A couple of days later, Zayn revealed he was tired of not being given opportunities and being passed over. He also shared that what he was doing was looking out for his ‘brother' Kevin Owens. To see the change in the character of someone that has been so pure a face for so long has certainly caught WWE fans by surprise.
#5. The Shield reunion
Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose teased it, they hinted at it, but when it finally came about they showed that they could once again be a united front. After The Miz made comment after comment, about how The Miztourage was better than The Shield ever were, followed by subsequent attacks on them individually and then collectively, it was time to put the ‘rumors' to rest and show the world why the Hounds of Justice were so dominant.
Rollins, Ambrose, and Reigns came together to take out The Bar, The Miz, and Braun Strowman, in front of a completely unhinged live crowd. It was later booked that the now reunited Shield would face-off against The Miz, The Bar and Braun Strowman, with Kane a late addition, showing the world that they were ready to come together once again to fight a common foe. While the match as originally intended didn't happen at TLC, that doesn't take away from the importance of the reunion.
#4. Neville and Jax walk out
It was an interesting month for two stars on the Raw roster, each one respectively part of very specific divisions. The women's division and the cruiserweight division were both affected when these two very prominent talents reportedly walked out, apparently unhappy with their current status in the company.
After losing the Cruiserweight title, Neville was set to take part in a program with current champion Enzo Amore, or so we would believe.The problem was, he walked out as he is rumored to not be happy with the direction that he was about to go in. As of this writing of this, he still hasn't returned to WWE programming.
In the women's division, Nia Jax walked out, and it was speculated she wasn't happy with her role in the women's division. It is even speculated that The Rock had advised her to walk out. While the Jax situation appears to have been resolved, there is still no word on Neville's status.
#3. Summer Rae, Darren Young, and Emma Released
Fans have heard past days of reckoning, where major changes happen, as a ‘Black' day, for example, Black Sunday. This was the case on Sunday, October 28th, as the ax fell on three WWE superstars. Darren Young and Summer Rae had both recently recovered from injuries, and their departures were likely due to the company not having anything for either of them to do.
However, the third release was a surprise, as it was former NXT women's star and Raw women's division member Emma.
Her departure was met with disappointment, but also can be seen as a great opportunity for her to achieve greater success outside of the WWE. Through social media, fans shared their sadness about her departure, which mirrored Emma's disappointment at departing the company. The future is bright for each of these stars, but for now, their departure from the company has been met with a great deal of surprise.
#2. Kurt Angle returns to the ring
It wasn't in the plans, and it wasn't something anyone would have predicted at the beginning of the week, but the former multi-time world champion and current Raw general manager competed for the first time in a WWE ring in 11 years.
On Friday, October 20th the announcement was made that, after being officially cleared to wrestle, Kurt Angle would be the replacement for the ill Roman Reigns, as part of the five-on-three main event match at TLC.
The match itself certainly provided Angle the opportunity to showcase what he still has in the tank, as he was able to suplex The Miz, Cesaro, and Sheamus with ease. At one point in the match, Angle was helped to the back as he was believed to be too injured to continue, only to return later on after Strowman had been eliminated.
It was a fitting ending as Angle, with the help of Rollins and Ambrose, triple powerbombed The Miz and picked up the win.
#1. Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho Twitter-war or Twitter work?
One has been referred to as the greatest of all time while the other is arguably the best in the world today. With such high acclaim for both men, it should also be noted that they both call Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada home.
Chris Jericho has captured seemingly every title WWE has had to offer. In comparison, the IWGP United States Champion, Kenny Omega, has had some of the most meaningful matches of the year against Kazichuika Okada.
What has happened is that these two have engaged in a bit of a Twitter war of words, where Jericho has completely dismissed Omega, while Omega highlighted how his recent matches are considered amongst the best ever, averaging 4.75 stars. Some question the legitimacy of the feud, but regardless of that, the sheer entertainment value has made it worth sitting back with a bag of popcorn and watching it transpire.
When will it draw to a close? Only time will tell.
