wrestling / Columns

Top 7 Flammable Moments in Wrestling History

December 5, 2021 | Posted by Steve Cook
AEW Dynamite Cody Rhodes

I was just sitting back and watching the pro wrestling this week, expecting everything to be normal. Then Cody Rhodes decided he needed to have an Atlanta Street Fight, and he needed to use a flaming table.

So that gave me some inspiration. Fire has been an important part of wrestling for many years. Whether it should be or not…I’m not really sold one way or another on that. Most times, it seems pretty silly. Sometimes, it’s pretty serious. So we’re going to rank the most magnificent uses of fire in wrestling history.

7. The Flame

We’re talking about Jody Hamilton, who worked the majority of his career under a mask as an Assassin. Later on, he became The Flame. No matter what he called himself, he was a dangerous individial who could cut a promo on par with anybody in the business. Maybe he had a little fat on his bones, but he could strike fear into hearts as much as any other heel in the business.

6. Ricky Steamboat breathing fire

It’s amazing how viewpoints can change as one gets older. When I grew up, Ricky Steamboat was one of my absolute favorite wrestlers. The man sold his ass off in the ring and was a complete babyface, to the point where one could never see him being a heel. There’s just one hang-up I have.

If you remember Ricky’s career pattern, you know he had a tendency to jump promotions. He had some career years with the WWF, then he “retired” and junped to WCW. Then he jumped back to the WWF, and the WWF wanted to make him The Dragon. They wanted him to breathe fire whilst wearing silly Dragon garb. It was silly, but what made it sillier was Ricky insisting on doing it when he went back to WCW. Still had to do the fire gimmick. If I was older when I saw that I would have been so pissed. Maybe it’s just me holding Ricky to a higher standard because he was the best babyface I saw as a youngster. But when I look back on it…good Gawd that’s some BS.

5. Terry Funk’s Flaming Branding Iron

I’m not sure there was a crazier person in the wrestling business than Terry Funk. “Middle-aged & crazy” was not a work, Terry was a crazy SOB as long as anybody could remember, I listened to a podcast with him & Jerry Lawler 30 years after their feud was a thing, and he was still working it.

Part of me admires him for it, and another part of me hopes he’s ok. All I know for sure is that branding iron was a serious piece of business when it was on fire.

4. Gangrel’s Ring of Fire

There have been some spooky WWE entrances after this one that have been better as far as production values go. I’m not a big fan of production values. WWE’s shows here in 2021 have way too many production values, making them unwatchable. The simpler the better, so the crazier things stand out. Gangrel entering through a ring of fire to one of the best themes in wrestling history was good business.

Edge & Christian always smiled when they walked out with Gangrel. Why? They knew the entrance was awesome. They couldn’t help themselves.

3. Kane’s Entrance Flames

Kane’s whole character is built on fire. His brother, The Undertaker, set their house on fire, killing their parents and apparently Kane too, but we found out later that KANE IS ALIVE! Paul Bearer kept the kid alive and hidden from Undertaker for a long time just in case he needed him. Eventually, he did. WWE has suffered the consequences ever since.

2. Flaming Tables

The whole flaming table thing started like you think it would. ECW & the rest of the world had people getting put through tables at record-setting rates during the late 1990s. At some point, somebody was going to take that to the next level. It ended up being the Dudley Boyz, who came up with the idea of setting a table on fire before putting somebody through it. Yes, it’s completely dumb, but I’m not gonna tell you I didn’t mark out the first time I saw Balls Mahoney going through a flaming table on ECW television.

Obviously, the most recent flaming table was on AEW Dynamite with Cody Rhodes suplexing Andrade El Idolo. The most famous circumstance was at WrestleMania XXII, where Edge speared Mick Foley through one, giving Foley his long-awaited WrestleMania Moment. I mean…it’s held up!

1. The Sheik’s Fireball

People throwing fire has always seemed impossible. The Sheik mastered it, then Jerry Lawler learned it from the Shiek. Then Eddie Gilbert learned it since he patterned himself off of Jerry Lawler. Hulk Hogan tried to throw fire one time and it was the worst thing in the history of the business. Mankind tried to do it one time, he failed and then the Undertaker had to do it on his behalf, although his contribution was to throw fire six inches. That’s the thing about fireballs. You can’t just decide to do it one time on a lark. You have to devote yourself to the craft. The Sheik did. Lawler did. Gilbert did.

It’s a shame Lawler wasn’t able to pass it on to another person in the next generation. Gilbert was a worthy heir, but things happen. It never would have made sense for Grandmaster Sexay to throw the fire.

Thanks for reading! Let me know on the Twitter who I forgot to mention, and what you’d like to see ranked later on!

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