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WWE's storied history is chock-full of incredible moments featuring some of the biggest Superstars in the business. These moments will live on in the memories of fans who either watched the action unfold live, or on their TV sets. Every WWE Superstar has to start somewhere though, before they can think of wowing millions of fans on a weekly basis.
It's always interesting to look back at how our favorite WWE Superstars looked when they weren't famous. It gets even more intriguing when we realize that some of these Superstars had been watching WWE since they were kids, and were lifelong fans of the business.
In the following slideshow, we will take a look at five incredibly rare clips of WWE Superstars as fans, way before they made waves on WWE TV with their in-ring and mic skills.
#5 Johnny Gargano is terrified of Kane's heinous acts
At the Royal Rumble 1998 PPV, Kane helped Shawn Michaels in defeating The Undertaker in a Casket match. Following the bout, Kane poured gasoline on the casket and set it on fire, killing The Deadman in storyline. A short while later, on an episode of WWE RAW, Kane and Paul Bearer held a 10-bell salute for The Undertaker, as a way to mock him.
Gargano is terrified of Kane:
As can be seen in the above clip at the 00:29 mark, Kane attacked a fan and future NXT megastar Johnny Gargano looked at him with pure terror in his eyes. Gargano would go on to become one of the greatest Superstars in the history of NXT.
After honing his craft in various independent promotions for years on end, Gargano made his way to the place he once used to attend as a fan, and signed a contract with WWE in 2015. He has won the NXT title, the NXT North American title, and the NXT Tag Team titles during his stint on the brand.
#4 Peyton Royce gets interviewed during WWE's tour of Australia in 2007
After a three-year stint in WWE NXT, The IIconics made their way to the main roster and are still doing well for themselves. The duo has been involved in a string of hilarious backstage segments and it goes without saying that both Peyton Royce and Billie Kay have no shortage of charisma. Back in 2007, Peyton Royce attended a WWE show while the promotion was on a tour to Australia.
A big fan of WWE veteran John Cena, Royce talked about the WWE Superstar when given the opportunity to speak with WWE as a fan. You can watch the short clip at the 1:06 mark HERE.
The IIconics' biggest moment of their WWE run came at WrestleMania 35 last year when the duo won the Women's Tag Team titles in a Fatal Four-Way match, that also featured Natalya & Beth Phoenix, The Boss 'N' Hug Connection, and Nia Jax & Tamina Snuka. They hold the honor of being the first all-Australians to win the Tag Team titles in WWE.
#3 AJ Lee can't hold her tears back when she meets her idol, WWE Hall of Famer Lita
AJ Lee made her way to WWE in 2009, and remained with the company for the next six years or so. Lee was a part of several major angles on the main roster during her WWE stint, most notably her love triangle storyline with WWE greats CM Punk and Daniel Bryan in 2012.
In the above clip, Lee can be seen meeting her favorite Superstar Lita during a fan meet-and-greet in July 2001. Lee immediately broke into tears as she couldn't believe that she was right in front of her idol. Lita embraced Lee in an incredibly wholesome moment.
Lee retired from WWE soon after WrestleMania 31. Interestingly, she is married to CM Punk, who once dated Lita. A three-time WWE Divas Champion, Lee is credited by many as the flagbearer of the WWE Women's Revolution. The Women's Revolution led to fans witnessing a bunch of firsts, with the most notable one being the first-ever Women's main event in WrestleMania history.
#2 Rob Van Dam's memorable in-ring moment with Ted DiBiase
Back when Rob Van Dam wasn't Mr. Monday Night, he was a 16-year-old teen who used to attend WWE shows. On one occasion, RVD was called to the ring by none other than Ted DiBiase. The Million Dollar Man offered RVD a $100 bill to kiss his foot. RVD recalls what exactly happened on that night.
He was looking for a volunteer and as soon as he pointed in my direction, I just jumped over the gate and just ran in. I was so excited. I was so excited I forgot to negotiate. That was the whole gimmick. He offered me $100 to kiss his foot and I’d seen the TV show.
I gave him a boot shine. I started taking Virgil’s boot off. He said, ‘Get out of here, kid.’ It was my first WWF money. It was $100. I probably blew it on comic books.
RVD enters the ring as a fan:
Rob Van Dam went on to become one of the biggest Superstars in ECW and carried his momentum over to WWE. RVD won the WWE title at ECW One Night Stand 2006 by defeating John Cena. He currently works for Impact Wrestling.
#1 The Rock proudly watches his father wrestle
It won't be a stretch to call The Rock possibly the greatest talker in the history of this business. He made his WWE debut way back in the mid-90s, as a generic babyface named Rocky Maivia. Following a gimmick change, The Rock quickly turned into a hated heel who could deliver amazing promos and wasn't half bad in the ring.
The Rock as a spectator:
In the above clip, we can see The Rock watching a match as a fan, which featured his father, Rocky Johnson. The clip is from an edition of Championship Wrestling from March 1984.
Little did anyone know that he would grow up to become the most electrifying man in all of sports entertainment. The Rock has won numerous championships during his WWE run and has wrestled classics against fellow WWE legends John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, and Mankind. Additionally, The Rock is one of the biggest and highest-paid actors in Hollywood and boasts an Instagram following of almost 190 million.
