10 of the most pivotal moments in Pro Wrestling history.

#9. Mankind turns the tide in the Monday Night War--with an assist from Tony Schiavone.

After three years of ratings dominance, Nitro began to falter. The fans grew tired of the nWo angle, which had stretched on for several years, and the constant parade of celebrities who got involved in the matches.

Raw began to put together ratings victories over WCW, but was still on the verge of financial collapse. That all changed thanks to Mankind--and WCW lead announcer Tony Schiavone.

Look who just shut down all of Tony Khan's critics! More HERE.

Eric Bischoff took great pride in the fact that while Nitro was always live, Raw was frequently pre-recorded. He would give away the results of Raw on the air, and even once had Rick Rude appear live on Nitro at the exact same time he was seen on the pre-taped Raw. However, this tactic backfired big time when Mankind won the WWE title for the first time.

Tony Schiavone told fans they didn't have to switch the channel. "Cactus Jack (the name Mankind went by in WCW) is going to win their world title tonight. Yeah, THAT'LL put asses in seats!"

Fans tuned out of Nitro and into Raw in droves to see the popular Mick Foley win the title. Thanks to this flub, Raw cemented its ratings dominance and began the march toward being a billion dollar company, while Nitro continued to falter.

About the author

Christopher Scott Wagoner is a writer from Austin, Texas in the United States. He is also a proud descendent of the Choctaw and Lakota people.
Chris has an English and Creative Writing degree, and is a published author with Simon and Schuster. He's ghost-written over eight million words in more than 500 books.
A long time wrestling fan, Chris is also a professional journalist who covers sports-entertainment. He's been writing for Sportskeeda since 2018.

Know More

Edited by Shiven Sachdeva