Power Ranking the Best, Worst and Most Memorable WWE Christmas Moments

Over the course of WWE's five-plus decades, it has said "Merry Christmas" to its fans in more ways than one.

Some have been festive examples of simplistic storytelling and enjoyable angles aimed at playing up the themes and characters from Christmas lore. They have featured stars the magnitude of John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Mick Foley and Kurt Angle, not to mention the biggest name of all, Jolly Ol' Saint Nick.

From holiday street fights to Stone Cold Stunners, WWE television has been rife with Christmas-themed moments.

Some have been better than others, though, something revealed in the countdown you are about to partake in.

For every Miracle on 34th Street Fight, there is Xanta Klaus lurking around the corner.

On this, another Christmas morning, take a journey down memory lane with this look back at the best, worst and most memorable instances in WWE's tradition of holiday broadcasting.

10. Xanta Klaus

On a show with a wrestling trash collector, plumber and hockey goon, is it that surprising that Vince McMahon would introduce an evil Santa Claus in the mix, just in time for the holiday season?

Whether the character fit into the landscape of the promotion late in 1995 or not is irrelevant. Xanta Klaus was a mean-spirited attempt at creating a new villain that scarred children and failed miserably to produce anything even remotely effective.

Debuting at the In Your House V pay-per-view as the latest proof that anyone can be bought by "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Xanta Klaus wrestled exactly one televised match against Scott Taylor before disappearing from television and entering the annals of the worst gimmicks ever.

Years later, the man behind the abysmal character would find success in a little promotion called Extreme Championship Wrestling, where he would trade in his festive attire for t-shirts, jean shorts and the nickname, Balls. 

Despite the success the performer would have elsewhere, Xanta Klaus still ranks as the worst product of any holiday season in WWE history.

9. Neville and Titus O'Neil vs. the Ascension

The most disappointing element of WWE's holiday broadcasts are the ones that either make no sense or are thrown together for the sake of producing a show at the most wonderful time of the year.

The 2015 pre-Christmas edition of SmackDown featured an uninspired contest pitting Neville and Titus O'Neil, never previously associated with each other, against The Ascension.

It was supposed to be a match in which the babyfaces were fighting to save Christmas from The Cosmic Wasteland trio. But commentators Michael Cole, Booker T and Jerry Lawler did such a poor job of telling the story of the match, as did WWE Creative, that it was essentially a sprint and exercise in the mediocre.

The good guys won, Santino Marella celebrated in an ugly sweater and everyone lived happily ever after.

Even if the Christmas segment of the show was relegated to being mindless filler rather than a fun, significant part of an otherwise quality broadcast.

8. Kurt Angle vs. Santa Claus

The Armageddon pay-per-view ranks among the worst productions in WWE history, thanks to a SmackDown brand in shambles. It was also home to an awful segment that did more to hurt Christmas spirit than inspire it.

Kurt Angle, one of WWE's most hated villains, beat up Santa Claus and forced him to tap out to his dreaded ankle lock submission.

Yes, someone in management thought it was a good idea to book an angle in which Jolly Ol' Saint Nick got his ass handed to him without any sort of comeback or happy ending. The mythical character most associated with happiness was left lying in a heap as moms and dads tried to explain to their kids that it was all in fun.

Sure, Angle got his comeuppance later in the night, when he and associates Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak were wiped out by Big Show. But young fans never got confirmation that Santa was OK, a major misstep in the booking of a cultural icon.

7. Santa Henry vs. Santa Sandow

When done correctly, booking a show around a Christmas-themed match or segment can make for an incredibly fun broadcast. 

Take 2013, for example.

Good Santa battled Bad Santa as Mark Henry squared off with Damien Sandow.

What was otherwise a skippable midcard bout was made special thanks to a series of pretaped vignettes that aired one week earlier. There was a reason for the match to happen, a setup that was both simplistic and appealed to the kid in everyone.

Henry demolished Sandow and provided families the happy ending they so desired.

It was proof that, in a day and age when everything and everyone has to be edgy or cool to be accepted, there are still times when pro wrestling can dip into its bag of nostalgia and entertain even the most cynical of fans.

6. Roddy Piper Believes in Santa

The Christmas 1989 episode of WWE's Prime Time Wrestling program saw the great Bobby "The Brain" Heenan attempting to ruin Christmas for everyone by telling the young audience that Santa Claus did not exist.

Co-host "Rowdy" Roddy Piper took exception, cutting an impassioned promo that saw him angrier and more fiery than rivals like Rick Rude and Adrian Adonis ever made him.

Piper was so determined to ensure that Heenan did not damage the belief of so many children that he confronted The Brain on the Prime Time set. Rather than walking away like he should have, Heenan reiterated his stance, and Piper responded by beating him down, punching and kicking at the future Hall of Fame manager until he was a quivering heap.

From there, Piper cut a promo about the importance of the holidays and Santa Claus to millions of children. A brilliant meshing of holiday cheer and the serious, somewhat frightening intensity of Hot Rod, it is clearly WWE's version of Die Hard, a slightly more unhinged version of the typical Christmas fare.

5. Reviving Santa Claus

The 2012 Christmas episode of Raw kicked off in horrific fashion, with Alberto Del Rio accidentally running over Santa Claus with his BMW. Fans and families watched in horror as St. Nick was stretchered out of the arena and to the backstage area, where Superstars waited to hear the latest on the condition of the holiday hero.

What could have been remembered as a black mark on the long holiday history of WWE programming was, instead, a triumphant comeback for Santa Claus, who hulked up, his heartbeat sounding awfully similar to "Jingle Bells," and made his presence felt in the night's main event.

Limping to the ring not unlike Mick Foley may have, he produced a festive version of Mr. Socko, applied it to Del Rio and helped John Cena win that evening's marquee bout.

4. A Very D-X Christmas

WARNING: Video is NSFW

The 1997 episode of Raw is both one of the finest holiday productions WWE has ever been responsible for and another example of the company's acceptance of all things Attitude as it looked to make a triumphant comeback in the Monday Night Wars.

D-Generation X's Shawn Michaels and Triple H kicked of the show in bathrobes, cutting promos on everyone from Undertaker to Owen Hart. From there, they proceeded to disrobe and show their backsides to the WWE Universe, complete with Christmas wishes written right across them.

It was a segment that both played up the festive atmosphere of the show while shoving the degenerative nature of the faction in the faces of the fans. It was a moment of defiance, of rebellion that gave fans a hint of what DX would come to be in the weeks and months that followed.

3. Miracle on 34th Street Fights

There is much that WWE has failed at creatively in recent years, but one thing it has gotten correct is the presentation of a new gimmick match on its holiday-themed shows.

The Miracle of 34th Street Fight is a bout that can be played either straight-laced, as was the case when Dean Ambrose battled Bray Wyatt in 2014, or for joyful fun, like that time Randy Orton pummeled David Otunga relentlessly and without mercy in 2012.

And what about that time Cena repaid Alberto Del Rio for running over Santa Claus in the inaugural version of the bout?

Everyone loves a match full of chaos and weaponry, and that is what they were treated to.

From candy cane-wrapped kendo sticks to the use of artificial trees as plunder, fans erupted as their favorite Superstars pummeled each other into oblivion, doing to each other what certain members of the audience almost assuredly wanted to do to aunts, uncles and other family members crowding their homes during the holidays.

2. Raw Christmas Eve 2001

The 2001 Christmas Eve episode of Raw ranks right up there with the 1997 show as the best, most complete holiday broadcast WWE has ever produced. 

Featuring two backstage Christmas parties hosted by co-owners of WWE Ric Flair and Vince McMahon, the show was an exercise in holly, jolly entertainment.

From a match pitting Tajiri Claus against Bubba Ray Claus to Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler's Eggnog match, not to mention all of the hijinks that occurred at the aforementioned parties, the company put together a creative and enjoyable show from top to bottom.

Capping things off was a fantastic match between new Undisputed champion Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Miami's own The Rock, the perfect gift for fans.

1. Stone Cold Stuns Santa

The same 1997 show that brought fans D-Generation X making asses out of themselves, quite literally, also brought fans a feel-good moment courtesy of the typically ornery Texas Rattlesnake, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

A fake Santa Claus had set up shop in the center of the ring and berated a child who claimed that he was not the real Kris Kringle. The glass shattered, the fans erupted and Austin made his way to confront the faux Father Christmas.

After inferring that Austin asked for Barbies as a kid, the deceitful man behind the beard and stocking cap wound up on the receiving end of a Stone Cold Stunner.

It was a moment that once again put the company's new attitude on front street while also proving that, deep down inside of Stone Cold, there was a warmness that prevented him from sitting back and watching a child have his holidays ruined.

At a time when WWE Creative was at its strongest, the moment stands heads and shoulders above all others as the premiere holiday segment in company history.