15 most emotional photos in WWE history

Every WWE fan has at least witnessed a few emotional moments that made them fall in love with this industry more than ever before.

The company's history consists of several moments that shook viewers to the core, and in some way, even if WWE is a fantasy program, these instances of realism have left us in contemplation forever.

Many iconic WWE moments have been cemented in history through popular photographs, and most people can instantly correlate these famous stills to several famous WWE moments.

With that in mind, here are the 15 most emotional photos in WWE history.

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#15: The Undertaker's depressing performance at WrestleMania 33

The Big Dog was responsible for being the only the second WWE Superstar to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania.

Moreover, Undertaker vs. Reigns went down in the main event, and as we all know today, The Deadman was somewhat embarrassed after putting on a performance at a time, when in his opinion, he shouldn't have been in the ring at all.

But what makes this really emotional is that The Deadman partially broke his character and made a decision to step away from the ring for an unspecified amount of time. After the match, Undertaker left his gloves, coat, and hat in the center of the ring before making his exit to end the show.

WWE fans thought that was it for the biggest icon in the history of this industry, but we know that The Undertaker eventually returned for what is now possibly regarded as the last phase of his career.

At the time when Reigns had defeated The Deadman, fans were emotionally charged and fuelled with rage against The Big Dog. The depressing aspect of this whole act was that in 2017, you could feel that Mark Calaway tried his best to put on a convincing performance, and despite that, his physical condition, as well as other circumstances, prevented it from being a definite and satisfying farewell for The Undertaker.

#14: The Reunion of "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth

A pivotal moment in WrestleMania history

The time was WrestleMania VII when "Macho Man" Randy Savage fought The Ultimate Warrior in a retirement match. Not only was this the longest match of the night, but it was really good as well, which is a compliment considering how a lot of Golden Era bouts have not aged well throughout WWE history.

Savage had replaced Elizabeth with Queen Sherri as his manager at that time, and they only stayed together until WrestleMania VII, where Sherri turned on her client following a loss to The Ultimate Warrior.

Miss Elizabeth was spotted sitting in the crowd during the aforementioned bout, and she quickly jumped to defend Macho Man's honor when Sherri attacked him. After a momentary tease, Savage and Elizabeth reunited in an emotional moment that has been replayed in several WWE video packages throughout WrestleMania history.

This has always been one of the most defining moments of Randy Savage's career as well.

#13: Roman Reigns embraces his Shield brothers after announcing a returning battle against leukemia

On October 22, 2018, Roman Reigns announced that he had been diagnosed with leukemia.

That particular moment changed The Big Dog's career in a huge way both inside and outside the squared circle. WWE fans began looking at him as a real person rather than a character that everybody loves to hate.

That night when Reigns relinquished his Universal Title in order to battle leukemia also saw an emotional moment where all members of The Shield embraced each other.

At the end of the day, Reigns made a successful comeback in WWE, and his popularity has only skyrocketed ever since.

#12: Mark Henry's infamous "fake retirement" speech

On the June 17th, 2013 edition of WWE RAW, John Cena reminisced about how he defeated The Rock at WrestleMania 29, thanks to the support of his fans.

Shortly thereafter, Mark Henry came out, clad in what is known as the most famous "pink jacket" in WWE history. Henry cut a passionate speech about retirement and the emotional promo felt completely genuine at the moment.

Usually, fans can call out promos that come across as being "too manufactured", but everyone in that arena believed Mark Henry's retirement speech, which turned out to be a ruse against the WWE Champion, John Cena.

It went down as one of the biggest wrestling plot twists of all time, and even though Henry couldn't secure the WWE title, his "fake retirement" speech is a perfect example of how Superstars can effectively manipulate our emotions.

#11: The End of an Era

Back when The Streak was alive, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H put on a four-year-long arc that is now considered as an impeccable WWE storyline on its own.

It all culminated at WrestleMania 28, where Triple H faced The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee.

Not only was this one of the greatest WWE matches of all time, but after a long and grueling bout which saw the Streak remain intact, all three men embraced each other in a perfect and emotional moment that encapsulated, you guessed it, the "End of an Era".

#10: Daniel Bryan is forced to retire

On February 8, 2016, Daniel Bryan bid farewell to the WWE Universe due to medical issues arising from multiple concussions and a brain lesion.

Bryan had earned a spot as one of WWE's most popular babyfaces of his time, and even if you weren't a Daniel Bryan fan, his retirement speech brought tears to everyone's eyes that night.

It is always heartbreaking when a person who loves his art is forced to step away from it for any particular reason. He eventually made a comeback after proving the doctors wrong, but Bryan's retirement speech was slightly more emotionally resonant than his WWE return in 2018.

#9: Edge makes an epic return at Royal Rumble 2020

There was a lot of speculation that Edge was going to make a WWE return heading into the 2020 Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View.

However, these speculations are a part of the business that don't always come true, so it was a surreal moment when Edge's iconic theme music blasted throughout the arena during the 30-Man Royal Rumble match.

Unlike Daniel Bryan's return, Edge came back after almost a nine-year-long absence, and the Rated-R Superstar's impressive performance in 2020 proved that he has a lot left in the tank.

#8: Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit's genuine moment at the end of WrestleMania 20

Good times with Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero

Every WWE fan knows that Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit were best friends in the world of Pro-Wrestling. Their friendship was perfectly displayed at the end of WrestleMania 20, whereafter Benoit won the main event, and he was joined by Guerrero as both of them celebrated together as the company's new world champions.

It was a heartfelt moment to see two superb in-ring competitors earning their rightful place as the top champions at that point in time.

We all know the tragedy of what happened in their respective futures, but the image of both men lifting each other's arms at the end of WrestleMania 20 evokes good memories that blurred the lines between fiction and reality in WWE.

#7: Mick Foley's career-threatening Hell in a Cell Match

On June 28, 1998, Mankind and The Undertaker faced off in what is probably the most famous Hell in a Cell Match in WWE history.

Many fans remember the two infamous, career-threatening bumps that Mick Foley took to set the future standard for HIAC matches.

Foley suffered numerous injuries in that WWE match, and the fans went completely insane when they witnessed the lengths Mick Foley was willing to go to that night.

Over the years, Foley has developed an emotional attachment with the Cell structure. After all, it literally and figuratively changed his life forever.

#6: Connor "The Crusher" Michalek

Connor shares a moment with Daniel Bryan

WWE is a company that often takes part in social and community outreach, and Connor Michalek is one of the most popular examples of it.

Diagnosed with cancer, Connor got to meet several WWE Superstars throughout his life, and moments such as him pinning Triple H have gone viral on the internet.

On June 2014, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon founded Connor's Cure in Michalek's memory, and he also became a posthumous WWE Hall of Famer in 2015.

Connor didn't just leave an emotional impact on the Superstars who got to interact with him, but any modern-day WWE fan can easily recall the times when he was mentioned in WWE's TV programs.

#5: RAW is Owen

A special episode of RAW aired on May 24, 1999, the night after Owen Hart's death. WWE performers were featured in shoot interviews and it was certainly an emotional night for fans and Superstars at the same time.

The show started with a ten-bell salute and later in the night, Mark Henry wept as he wrote a poem in tribute to Hart. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin also gave a toast to Owen and left a beer in the ring in Hart's memory.

Owen Hart's death is a tragedy that people think about even to this day, and that just goes on to show how it emotionally impacted a lot of WWE fans who grew up watching The Attitude Era.

#4: A Tribute to Eddie Guerrero

Speaking of Eddie Guerrero and the "RAW is Owen" special episode, Guerrero got his own WWE RAW tribute shortly after his death in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

A lot of stars from that particular roster were emotional during the opening moments of "RAW is Eddie" in 2005. Chris Benoit looked devastated, and it made sense for him to be that way when you put Benoit and Guerrero's friendship in the equation.

Several other wrestling promotions also paid tribute to the man, which showed how big of an impact Eddie had on the entire industry.

Just like Owen Hart's death, Eddie Guerrero's unfortunate passing is also brought up a lot even to this day.

#3: The Streak is Over!

One of the most shocking WWE moments occurred at WrestleMania 30, where Brock Lesnar broke The Undertaker's undefeated streak on live television.

Everything stopped for WWE fans at that moment. Nobody saw it coming. Some felt it was bound to happen, and others hated this decision, but that moment undeniably brought out a wide variety of strong emotions from the WWE Universe.

In 2020, The Undertaker's unexpected defeat at WrestleMania 30 gained new context, where we learned that it kickstarted the last long-term arc of The Deadman's career, which was appropriately titled "The Last Ride".

So many years later, Lesnar breaking The Undertaker's streak remains an important and emotional event in WWE history.

#2: Shawn Michaels retires Ric Flair

Ric Flair's 35-year-long wrestling career came to an initial end at WWE WrestleMania 24, where The Nature Boy faced Shawn Michaels in a "Career Threatening" Match.

It was the second-longest match of the night, but the last few moments of that highly-emotional bout have defined WrestleMania 24 over the years.

Shawn Michaels said the words, "I'm sorry, I love you", as he put down Flair with one final Sweet Chin Music, and this bittersweet moment made everyone realize how powerful storytelling can be in this industry.

#1: Daniel Bryan overcomes all odds at WrestleMania 30

Daniel Bryan's long-term WWE arc that culminated at WrestleMania 30 can be considered as one of the best underdog storylines of all time.

Many would even consider it as the best underdog storyline of them all because Daniel Bryan's struggle brought about a movement that changed WWE forever.

Never had fans been so vocal and resilient against the "authority" that controlled everything related to what we see on TV, and the leader at the forefront of that movement was Daniel Bryan.

The entire crowd was swept by joy when Bryan became the WWE World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Randy Orton and Batista in the main event of WrestleMania 30. It was a once-in-a-generation kind of storyline that you don't come across every day.

About the author

Kartik Arry is an avid professional wrestling fan who started writing for Sportskeeda in 2018.

In January 2021, Arry also became an editor for the website. He then went on to earn an Assistant Content Manager position for Sportskeeda's WWE section in December 2021.

Arry loves the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, and in his pastime, he enjoys watching movies and television shows.

E-Mail: kartik.arry@gmail.com

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Edited by Zaid Khan