Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: christmas, dwayne johnson, John Cena, Mick Foley, Santa Claus, steve austin, Stone Cold, the rock, Triple H, Vince McMahon, wwe

WWE's Most Fun & Most Memorable Christmas Moments Ever

Ah Christmas and WWE, two things where an old man controls fictional happenings inside our real world and both become harder and harder to get excited for the older we get.  But let's pretend to be happy today and remember the good times when WWE celebrated Christmastime as only they can.  Let's take a look back at my five all-time favorite WWE Christmas moments.

5. Mankind vs Santa In A Boiler Room Brawl – December 20, 1999

If there's one person Mick Foley would never inflict any damage on, it's his beloved hero Santa Claus.  But that's just what he was ordered to do on the 1999 Christmas episode of Raw Is War, when Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Triple H booked him (in his Mankind personality) against Santa in a Boiler Room Brawl.

To be fair, Mankind told Santa he didn't want to hurt him and would turn his back and let him exit to win, but that's when he was attacked by numerous different goons in Santa suits, including "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn and Road Dogg.  And just when the hardcore legend appeared victorious, one more Santa suddenly appeared and wiped out Mankind with a gimmicked sack of "presents" before exiting the boiler room to win the match.  Who was the final Santa?  Triple H of course!

This one was pure Attitude Era chaos and violence and it's just fun to watch.  Foley of course nails everything here and adds that special unique mix of empathy and comedy that made Mankind so special.  Plus if you know how much the real Mick Foley loves Christmas and Santa Claus, then this comes off as seeing him face his worst nightmare.

4. Alberto Del Rio Runs Over Santa With His Car – December 24, 2012

This one's a saga, so hang with me.

On Christmas Eve in 2012, WWE Raw was of course a holiday-themed episode, complete with an appearance at the start of the show by Santa Claus himself (Mick Foley in his epic costume).  Unfortunately, Alberto Del Rio was scheduled to have a match right then and there and while making his patented entrance of driving himself to the ring in an expensive car, Del Rio hit the gas and ran over Santa!  Yes, Del Rio might have done the single most evil thing a heel has ever done and murdered Santa on Christmas Eve.

Things get grimmer from there, as then Raw General Manager Booker T addresses the very concerned roster outside of the trainer's room where Santa is being worked on and tells them it's not looking good.  Del Rio shows up to defend himself and is met by a wonderfully over-the-top John Cena, who throws out some amazing lines like "St. Nicholas is a Saint!"  Booker T reveals that Santa's last words were to set up a "Miracle On 34th Street Fight" Match between Del Rio and Cena, to which Cena gives a loud and triumphant "For Santa!" battle cry.

The match is your standard toothless PG-era WWE hardcore fare, but when Del Rio and the incredible on this episode Ricardo Rodriguez double-team Cena, Santa makes his heroic return from near-death to save Cena and punish his assailants.  Santa pulls a Christmas stocking Mr. Socko from his belt and hits Del Rio with the Mandible Claw and Cena adds an AA for good measure to get the win.

This is WWE silliness at its best, where everyone is in on the joke and doing their best slapstick that actually works.  To me, this is the WWE equivalent to a movie like Jingle All The Way, where you know it's stupid and beyond goofy, but man do you enjoy it.

3. Vince McMahon Grinches The Wrong Santa – December 25, 2003

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is obviously the evilest character in WWE history, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he made Santa Claus's "naughty list" as a child.  It was at the inaugural WWE Tribute To The Troops in Iraq in 2003 in front of hundreds of members of the United States military when McMahon decided to invite Santa to the ring and look for some retribution for his childhood punishment.

He verbally assaulted St. Nick before getting physical and decking him to the mat.  There was only one problem… it wasn't really Santa.

While McMahon may have had an ax to grind with Santa, there was one more person who had punished him much worse and much more often throughout his life than Father Christmas… and that, of course, was jolly old "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.  To the delight of the troops in attendance, the previously unannounced Austin rose up and revealed himself before stuffing McMahon's stocking with a holiday Stone Cold Stunner.

It was a genuinely fun and kinda feel-good moment and come on, who doesn't want to see Austin and/or Santa kick some ass?

2. The Rock's 12 Days of Christmas – December 20, 2001

The holidays are all about entertainment and no one has ever been more entertaining in WWE history than The Rock.  He could literally go out with a microphone and say almost anything and turn it into gold with his unapproachable charisma.  So on SmackDown in December of 2001 on a night he was set to face Test, "the Great One" took it as an opportunity to put his own spin on a Christmas classic and sang his personalized version of The 12 Days of Christmas.

There's not too much to say here, it's just The Rock doing what only he could and putting his own stamp on Christmas.

1. "Stone Cold" Stuns Santa – December 22, 1997

This was one of "those" moments.

As the then WWF had found new life in a great 1997 and was roaring towards 1998, the company was now being pulled by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who was easily the hottest name in wrestling at this point.  But just over a month before his iconic confrontation with Mike Tyson that instantly made him a mainstream pop culture star, Austin had another iconic moment that involved Santa Claus.

On the last Raw Is War before Christmas in 1997, a very inappropriate and ill-tempered Santa Claus (Bruce Prichard) sat himself down in the ring and demanded Sable come out and sit on his lap.  When that didn't come to fruition, a child (either Jimmy or Jey Uso, no one can seem to remember) was brought in to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas.

After being badgered by Santa, the boy tells him that he's not the real Santa, which pisses off the not-so-jolly old St. Nick, who then kicks the boy out of the ring.  This brings out The Ghost of Christmas Ass-Whoopins, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who proceeds to cut a promo on the nasty Santa and follow it up with one of the most iconic Stone Cold Stunners in history.

Austin is pretty much the only guy who could beat the ever-loving hell out of Santa on Christmas and be cheered until the building was shaking for it.  WWE still milks this segment every Christmas to this day and you see a number of your friends share the clip on social media every Christmas Day.  I own a shirt depicting it and wear it every year for Christmas. WWE has never and will never top this Christmas moment.

I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane here and I hope you all have a great and safe holiday with your families and loved ones!  If not, go give a Santa a stunner and that should help you feel better.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!