“Pipebomb” is a word that is now referenced to any verbal jab that is thrown by a performer, while making it look legitimate. Decades ago, although people were unaware about the kayfabe aspect of professional wrestling, everything was fairly simple. You had the good guys, and then you had the bad guys. Verbally attacking someone was a part and parcel of the business, but it was when the kayfabe part of the industry was exposed that the people started reading between the lines, and since then, any reference to real life beef or ‘heat’ was looked upon as an opportunity to look beyond the smokes and mirrors, and to get a glimpse of the reality behind the ‘circus act’.Ever since the infamous worked shoot by CM Punk in 2011, the fans have started referring to every controversial promo as a “pipebomb”. CM Punk’s promo wasn’t the first to get the wrestling fans riled up, and certainly won’t be the last. Many performers in the past decided to air the dirty laundry on national television, and in this article, we take a look at five pipebombs, which were either worked shoots or shoots outside of the WWE.
#1 The birth of The Franchise Shane Douglas
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This incident is also considered to be the birth of Extreme Championship Wrestling, as “The Franchise” Shane Douglas won the prestigious NWA World Heavyweight title, and just as people thought that he would bask in the glory and take his place among some of the greatest names to have won the title, he proceeded to throw the title on the mat, and in an act of defiance, proclaimed the title to be of little to no importance.
He then unveiled himself as the new ECW World champion, as Paul Heyman wanted to prove to the world that the old – school wrestling was now passé, and he was starting a new revolution. Shane Douglas proceeded to cut one of the most infamous promos in the history of professional wrestling, and vilified the likes of Ric Flair and Terry Funk.
#2 Roddy Pipers worked shoot on Vince Russo
It wouldn’t shock anyone to know that Vince Russo has his fair share of critics, and I’m putting it mildly. Vince Russo is arguably the most hated man in professional wrestling history, and everyone he has ever worked with at one point or another has had the urge to get their hands on him. Vince Russo is also one of the most controversial personalities, and Roddy Piper had the chance to vent his anger and frustration during a PPV of NWA - TNA more than a decade ago.
Piper made his way out and called Vince Russo out, but not before verbally burying Russo. Piper blamed Russo for the unfortunate death of Owen Hart during Over the Edge PPV in ’99, and called Russo the anti – Christ of professional wrestling. Although Russo did come out, Piper’s worked shoot not only raised the eyebrows of the fans present in the arena, but also highlighted the fact that Russo’s involvement in the business can only be bad for the industry.
#3 Vince Russo buries and fires Hogan on live TV
One of the most infamous incidents in WCW’s history happened during the Bash At The Beach PPV in 2000. Although various people have different perspectives about what actually happened, it is widely believed that Hulk Hogan was supposed to lose his title match with Jeff Jarrett, and Jarrett would later drop the title to the fan favorite, and the one person who was unanimously chosen to be the next face of WCW, Booker T.
During the course of the day however, Hulk Hogan allegedly refused to lose the match, and used his creative control to book himself to win the title. Russo then laid out a plan, which would see Jarrett lay down for Hulk, and Hulk and Eric would later leave the building while Russo would prepare another match, resulting in Booker winning the Heavyweight title. This would then lead to a Hogan – Booker match down the line, but that never happened. After Hogan left the building, Russo came out and cut a scathing promo, which according to Hogan and Bischoff was a shoot, and subsequently fired Hogan. This resulted in Hulk suing Russo and never coming back to WCW until its demise.
#4 Steve Austin shoots on Eric Bischoff and WCW
What happens when you give a ticked off Steve Austin live microphone and air time? As the WWE fans would later find out, those are the ingredients for pure magic and that was exactly what happened when Paul Heyman brought Steve Austin to ECW when he was a free agent. WCW had just released Austin after Eric Bischoff told him that they had nothing for him, and Paul Heyman, realizing Austin’s potential and talent gave him air time to vent his frustrations.
Austin was then involved in segments mocking the likes of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, while ripping WCW on live TV. Austin cut arguably one of the greatest promos/worked shoots in wrestling history, when he aired the dirty laundry, while taking shots at Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes and the WCW management.
#5 Samoa Joe shoots on Scott Hall
Samoa Joe is widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world today, and his affiliation with TNA was an amazing one. Although Joe has recently made it public that he is done with the organization, the TNA faithful will always remember the amazing matches Joe put on with the likes of Kurt Angle, Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles. But back in ’07, he was scheduled to team up with Kevin Nash and a mystery opponent to take on the team of Kurt Angle, AJ Styles and Tyson Tomko at Turning Point.
It was revealed that the mystery opponent was originally scheduled to be Scott Hall, but when Hall no – showed the event, the TNA management asked Joe to go out and give the fans the bad news. Joe came out fuming and took the likes of Hall and Nash to task, and took shots at the older “superstars” cashing their undeserved checks while the younger talents busted their behinds to make a name for themselves in the business. In the end, it is this passion that has made Joe a fan favorite.
