This was released on July 31st, 2014
The interview was conducted by Sean Oliver
It runs at two hours and fifteen minutes long
JANUARY
The first question asked to Bret is about the "Inside Edition" piece that aired on January 3rd on steroids and wrestling that primarily focused on Hulk Hogan's apparent lying about his steroid use on the Arsenio Hall Show. Bret said that he recalled that a lot of guys in the locker room felt that if he just answered the question honestly, the whole issue would have gone away but when he lied, Bret said that it brought on a whole tidal wave of criticism and business went down significantly by the end of the year.
On January 5th, the first match between Hogan and Ric Flair at the Omni in Atlanta only drew 4,500 fans. Bret is asked why didnt the feud between Hogan and Flair work. Bret said it was due to ego problems as each guy were set in their own ways and had doing their same matches for years. When asked if someone tried to step in and tell these guys to go out their and deliver, Bret said he believes that Vince would have done that then talks about his own problems with Flair. He said that they were having really good matches at the beginning of the year but once Bret won the belt, the matches started to get sloppy. Bret said that Flair told him that he was having problems at home thus was distracted. He said that very well could have been the case but Bret also said that he went up to Vince and told him that he believed Flair was intentionally sabotaging their matches as the finishes would constantly get screwed up. He said that they had meetings with Vince and Pat Patterson to work things out as well. When Flair left, Vince came up to Bret a few weeks later and told him that he believes that Flair can only work his style of match and was not doing anything to purposely screw things up. Bret talks about how Flair called it in the ring and tried to be like Dory Funk and Harley Race were in the 1970's and he came from a different era and they had a bit of a styles clash.
When asked about Shawn Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty and sending him through the "Barber Shop" window, Bret said that he believes they were split up as he believes that Shawn was tired of babysitting Marty, in the same way that he was tired of doing the same to Jim Neidhart. Bret also said that he did not travel on the road with the Rockers so he cannot say for sure. Bret then talks about Neidhart and how his night did not begin until 2am and that he had to stay with him to make sure he would make the flight the next day and how that got old after a while. When asked out of the Rockers which one he would have picked for a singles push, Bret puts over both guys for being exceptional workers but says that it was clear that Shawn was the better athlete of the two and picks him. Bret then says that Shawn and Curt Hennig were the two best athletes he has ever wrestled against. Bret then talks a bit more about Shawn and how he thought he was a better character and worker when they feuded against each other in 1997.
On Jaunary 17th, Bret dropped the Intercontinental Title to Jacques Rougeau. When asked if he was okay with that, Bret said that he was fine with dropping the belt to Jacques but upset in the fact that he was unsure which direction the company was going with him and thought he was doing a good job as the IC champion. He felt that he was going to get discarded but then Vince told him what was going to happen and he was not sure that it was going to happen as he had been promised many things in the past that did not happen. Bret also added that he was sure that the WWF knew what they were doing too. Sean then asked how far in advanced was Bret told that he was winning the World Heavyweight Title and he said that he was told that around Christmas time in 1991. Sean then asked Bret if it was true that he was talking to WCW and Bret confirmed, even saying that he had a few deals in place with the company. He then said that at the time, Brian Pillman called him and said that he was making more money in WCW than Bret was in the WWF. Bret said he called WCW and spoke with Jim Barnett, who told Bret that they could not pay him what he had been told by Pillman and was better off staying in the WWF. Bret said he wondered if they just did not see a lot in him or if they were doing him a huge favor. Bret said that it bothered him that all of the news about his negotiations were all over the "shit sheets" and the Observer and that pissed him off.
Now, Bret is asked about the 1992 Royal Rumble Match that Ric Flair won and became the WWF Champion. Sean asks Bret if Flair made a good champion for the WWF and their identity at the time. Bret then talks about how he is baffled when people tell him that Flair was the greatest wrestler of all-time, even saying that he is a fan of his and puts over his work ethic. When asked why do people consider Flair the greatest of all-time, Bret said he was flamboyant and had one of the greatest characters but as far as a worker, Bret said that he had an older mindset when it came to in-ring work and could not break out of the 1970's style and do stuff in the ring that his generation was doing. Bret then talks about the three things that make you a great wrestler, your look/presence, workrate, and promo ability and how you would rate them in each category out of ten. He said that Hogan was 9/10 in presence and promo but 1/10 as a worker. He then said that the Dynamite Kid was a 0/10 promo, 9/10 wrestler and a 7/10 presence. Bret said that his biggest weakness were his promos and could do something good if he had an issue, like he did in 1997. Bret said he was either a 7 or 8 in presence, on his best day 7 or 8 in promos and close to a 10/10 as a worker. Bret said that he was impressed by good bodies but as a fan, he was impressed with who could work and wanted them to look and sell themselves as athletes. He then goes into how business tapered off in 1992 due to the steroid scandal.
Bret then skips ahead and talks about a match at a "Saturday Night Main Event" taping between Flair and Randy Savage. After they came through the curtain, Vince yelled at them to go back out and do it all over again, this time the way he wanted them too and they went back and did the same match and when they came back through the second time, Vince just yelled and told them to get the fuck out the way. Bret also said that those two were having meetings behind closed doors about their matches and when they failed, Bret believes that was the nail in the coffin for Flair as he could not wrestle the way they wanted him too.
FEBRUARY
Bret is asked about Kerry Von Erich, who was arrested for prescription fraud, and if his drug problem was known throughout the locker room. He said that it was known before he arrived to the WWF that Kerry had a severe drug addiction but does not recall seeing him that out of it while in the WWF. Bret then talks about how Kerry was a hard guy not to like and that everyone had some sympathy for him due to everything that happened in his life. Bret said he was one of the sweetest, kind-hearted wrestlers he has ever seen.
Jim Neidhart was fired on February 16th for "unprofessional conduct." When asked how he got fired, Bret recalls that he stalled the company for drug testing him and that he somehow snuck out of the building and never got tested the night before. The next night, Neidhart got pissed and shot-putted a TV monitor that ended up hitting a WWF TV executive and breaking his ankle and that was what got him fired. Sean was asked if there were any discussions for him to team with Owen at that time and he said there was not and that was not the time to do it as he was getting a singles push.
When asked if it was the right time to turn the Undertaker face, Bret said he thinks so and puts over the Undertaker for constantly evolving and talking about how the gimmick was not easy to pull off. Bret then said that the Undertaker came up to him and said that he was happy to work together as he wanted to show what he could do in the ring. Bret puts over the Undertaker for being the only person to pull off that gimmick and said that he was smooth in the ring.
MARCH
Bret is asked about Terry Garvin and Pat Patterson resigning on March 2nd due to allegations of sexual harassment and how the locker room reacted. He said that at the time, with this coming right after Hogan lying about his steroid use, a lot of them were worried about the state of the business. Bret said that about the allegations of harassment, he said he never witnessed anything personally but does not doubt that some shenanigans took place.
APRIL
On April 2nd, former WWF referee Rita Chatterton went on Geraldo Rivera's talk show and claimed that Vince McMahon forced sexual intercourse upon her. Bret said he had no idea if this took place but said that he had trouble buying that Vince would jeopardize everything he had to do that to her. Bret also hints that it is ridiculous to believe due to Rita's looks then talks about how the lady Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated with was a 2/10 and Tiger Woods' girls that he was with were "3/10 skanks." When asked if Vince was showing any strain during this time and Bret said that he never saw any of it but also heard from the office that he was preparing for the worse and heard a rumor that Vince would be doing the booking from jail if he was convicted.
The "WBF Body Stars" made its debut on April 4th. Bret said that the wrestling business was changing and talks about how less people were watching and advertisers would no longer air commercials for their toys and calls it a real dark time in the company. He then talks about how bodybuilding is a waste of life and how he does not see any ability or skill in bodybuilding, even comparing them to fashion models. He then talks about how the WBF guys were making more than the top wrestlers and got paid their full contracts when they folded. Bret then said that the WBF guys got to fly in first class ahead of the wrestlers on the same plane, which he did not feel was right. Sean questions why they decided to launch this after the steroid scandal came about and Bret said it was doomed from day one then talks about Lex Luger and how he was totally clean at that time (from steroids), as were most wrestlers he said in the 1990's due to steroid testing, but that even less people would care when the bodybuilders were not doing steroids. Finally, Sean asks Bret about IcoPro as Bret said it tasted horrible and had no benefits then said that they sent crates of it to his house which he gave to his neighbors (With Bret joking that they would return it by leaving it on his step the next day) and stacked in his garage. Bret said that the rest of the wrestlers would buy their own supplements despite the fact they could have gotten IcoPro for free.
At WrestleMania VIII, Bret defeated Roddy Piper for the Intercontinental Title. Roddy helped Bret to his feet then put the belt around his waist. Sean asks Bret if it meant anything for Piper to put him over and Bret said that it did and in his own way, Roddy passed the torch to him. Bret said Roddy would have only done that for a few people. Bret said that he was worried about not being able to get the belt but said that as the Intercontinental Champion, he got a bit of a push and had good people to work against, unlike when he was a Tag Team Champion. When asked about bleeding heavily and the WWF having a no blading policy at the time, Bret said that it was a gut call on his part and recalls a time in Moncton, New Brunswick with Piper before WrestleMania. They had not seen each other much and talked about the match. Bret first talks about how hard it can be to discuss a match you will have with someone you look up to as you have too much respect and sometimes are not true to yourself as a result. They went to a restaurant and Piper laid out the match and Bret said that what Piper laid out was exactly what he wanted to do himself. Roddy then told Bret that if he got some color that it would enhance the match. Bret said it wasnt a question of whether he could do it but if he could get away with that. Bret said that Flair and Savage planned on getting color in their match and did that and got fined but Bret did not when he did. Bret then talks about how Flair did it openly and mocks a little kid saying "daddy why he is cutting himself: but Bret said that no one even knew that he bladed and they passed it off as hardway. Bret also said how he and Piper did a pull-apart in the locker room that Strongbow broke up and the rest of the office was unsure whether or not Bret cut so he did not get cut.
When asked about Jake Roberts quitting before WrestleMania VIII and only going out for the match if Vince gave him his release, Bret said that it was his understanding that he would be working with Jake Roberts at SummerSlam after Patterson told him that he was going to put him over Jake at the show.
Bret is asked about Savage defeating Flair for the belt at WrestleMania. He talks about how they were looking for someway to replace Hogan at the time then talks about how they tried that with the Ultimate Warrior and he tried about as well as anyone could have in that position. Bret said all of the boys in the locker room respected Savage for his work and how he was a steady and reliable guy for the belt.
Sean asks Bret about Hogan and if they really thought he was retiring after his match against Sid. Bret said that he made a giant cartoon drawing of all the wrestlers, who signed it as well, to give to Hogan as he thought he was done and leaving for Hollywood. Sean then asks why wasn't Hogan vs. Flair at WrestleMania as Bret speculates that they might not have had an ending.
Sid Justice quit on April 26th, after losing to the Ultimate Warrior in the Boston Garden. Sid allegedly falsified a drug test prior to WrestleMania. Sean tells Bret that he heard a humor that Sid had Harvey Whippleman's urine in a Visine bottle so he could pass the test. Bret said he was not privy to any of that. Sean then asks Bret if Sid took wrestling seriously. Bret said that Sid was naive and how you could easily rile him up then talks about how Owen would have had a field day with a guy like him. Bret said that Sid could destruct if you encouraged him then tells a story about how in Canada, they had a match in which CFL players were lumberjacks and how he was flipping out about football players touching him but Bret explained how they were just going to roll him back into the ring and says that he sensed if could have gone badly if he riled him up. Bret then talks about how he seemed easy to manipulate.
MAY
High Energy (Owen Hart & Koko B Ware) made their debut on May 2nd. Bret is asked how Owen felt about his ring outfit and being paired with Koko. Bret laughs and said how Owen hated his ring attire then talks about Owen teaming with Neidhart and how Owen actually embraced the babysitter role he had with Neidhart as Bret said the day Neidhart actually got fired was when Owen was not there to look after him. Bret said that Owen felt the whole thing was a rib. Bret also said that they did what they could do make it work.
Now, Bret is asked about Papa Shango putting a curse on the Ultimate Warrior. Bret said it was the second worst idea they had, with the Gobbledy Gooker being the absolute worst. Bret said that "only a Bret Hart" could clean up that mess then said that even Vince knew it was horrible after it happened. Bret then puts over the Papa Shango character and said that adding a mouthpiece to the character could have helped him out. He believes that Pat Patterson hated Papa Shango, both the gimmick and as a wrestler, and killed the gimmick.
Bret said that he thought Nailz was a good gimmick and that he did look like a bad-ass prisoner. He then said that a better worker could have made it worked. Bret said that he had a legit reputation as a tough guy and how he was typically quiet and a good guy but no one messed with him.
JUNE
On June 13th, the second and Final WBF PPV aired. Bret said that a lot of the locker room was resentful over the fact that the bodybuilders got all of that money instead of it going down to them. Bret then said that 1992 was the hardest year for him in wrestling regarding the travel.
When asked about Rocco: The Wrestling Dummy, Bret said that it totally messed up Hawk and how he cracked at SummerSlam that year because he hated the gimmick. Bret said that Vince wanted to make the Legion of Doom appear more "fun." Sean then mentions how Bruce Prichard defended the Red Rooster gimmick with a passion during his "Guest Booker" shoot and Bret said that is why Bruce is where he is today. Bret said that Paul Ellering was a cool guy and thinks that he might have been brought in to help Hawk, who was battling drug addiction.
JULY
Bob Backlund made his return on July 1st and defeated Skinner. Sean asks Bret if Bob is relevant in 1992. Bret said that in the Northeast he was and if you remember him from his era too. Bret then talks about how cool it was when both Backlund and Flair locked up in a battle royal.
On July 21st, Bret Hart defeated Shawn Michaels in the first ever ladder match that took place in the WWF. Bret talks about how he kept explaining the concept of the match to Vince and it happened for eight years until it finally happened. Bret talks about the first ladder match that they had at a house show. He then talks about how Curt Hennig and Jim Duggan came up to him and said that SummerSlam was either going to take place in England or in Washington D.C. at the Cap Centre. Bret thought about it and said that he was probably gonig to lose the belt and said if it was in England, then he would drop it to Davey and how it would make sense. If it was in Washington D.C, he was hearing that it would be against Shawn and if that was the case, he wanted to try to get Vince to let them do a ladder match. Bret then talks about telling Vince these two ideas and at that time, Vince told Bret to show him the idea for the ladder match and to pick someone for it and suggested Shawn. Bret told Shawn the idea and how he was confused about the concept. They then went out and had the match as it was just a demonstration then Bret said he was pissed about Shawn and "them" stealing his idea ldown the road. Bret said that Vince initially promised that he would not do the ladder match without him being involved but that was not the case.
AUGUST
Bret is asked about Scott Hall, who made his debut as Razor Ramon. Bret said that Razor did well when he first came in and was always a good guy who was focused and fun to be around back then. Bret talks about how Hall did a great job with the gimmick then talks about how he was going to "Cowboy" Bret Hart in 1985 and at the last minute, realized that he could not do the character and make it work.
Bret talks about Jerry Lawler and said how he was one of the best heels he worked against. He said that he had a basic moveset and could still get more heat than anyone in the company with a move like a thumb to the throat.
They now discuss Bret's SummerSlam match against Davey Boy Smith. Bret said that Davey went home in July due to a staph infection. Bret said that Davey's drug problems were out of control then too. He also said that he had a match against Davey just prior to SummerSlam and it was terrible and backstage, Vince told Bret that he hoped it would be better at SummerSlam and that he planned on having them go on last. Bret also talks about how that match took place at a TV taping and how those are usually long days and it is not the best way to judge someone. Bret thought if Davey followed him they could have one of the best matches ever and put themselves on the map. Bret said he kept on thinking about the match and would think about it the whole month of August. He tried to call Davey but he was never available as his drug problem was out of control. He even recalls when he got to London for SummerSlam, he saw Davey and took him aside to ask why he had not returned his calls. Davey told him that he was on a two-day long cocaine binge and had not slept in 48 hours. Bret talks about how Davey was out of shape and not going to the gym during this time and was a total wreck. Davey told him that he was going to stink out in the ring and Bret laid out the match for him and they went over it for two days but after the first move in the actual match, Davey told Bret that he was fucked as he forgot the match then says how it is the only match you can hear him talk (Bret spoke in the third person here) and that he had to call it, which he hates and sees as an automatic fail. Bret said that he was furious at Davey for being in the condition that he was as he wanted to see him rise to the occasion. Bret then puts over Davey for sucking it up and performing in the ring as Bret calls it his greatest match for carrying Davey. Sean asks Bret if him dropping the IC title to Davey was to free him up for the Heavyweight Title, Bret said no then talks about how it was like being a Beatle when he went overseas, getting mobbed and grabbed by female fans and said that after a match in which he wrestled the opener, he was mobbed by females and came through the curtain to prove to Strongbow that he was over here, he went on last during matches overseas afterwards.
SEPTEMBER
Bret is asked how he felt the WWF was marketing him at that point. He said the company was slowly pushing him at first and talks about how when you get the push through merchandise, you have power in the company because when you talk about leaving, they try to get you to stay because you are selling merchandise and that is how you can make yourself more money.
OCTOBER
Bret is asked about Sgt. Slaughter appearing on television in a suit, stating that he was acting as the enforcer of the WWF and going to instill law and order, and if he was an agent at this point. Bret said he thinks he was just an on-air talent and not an agent at that point. Sean then asks Bret about the transition from wrestler to agent and Bret said not just anyone could fill that role and that you need the right guys to do the job. He said that Rene Goulet was great at it as he understood the travel and business. Bret said that he thought Tony Garea was good as he did not have an ax to grind but calls George Steele one of the worst. Bret said he remembered Steele partying and blowing coke one week then the next he was an agent and Bret likened it to an inmate turning into a prison guard and said he was basically an asshole after that. He then tells a story about Steele getting his Haliburton stolen. One day he arrived to the building two minutes late, with Owen and The Berzerker, and was fined $500 by Steele. Bret said that no other agent would do that. Bret then said Owen and Savage took Steele's Haliburton, containing all of Steele's stuff, and they snuck it out of the building and Owen ended up tossing it out of the car and into the Manhattan River. Bret then said that Steele was not a good guy and called him a snitch.
On October 12th, Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair at the Superstars taping to become the WWF World Heavyweight Champion. Sean then asks Bret to talk about who laid out the plans for him to win and when he was told. Bret first talks about how a memo went out that if you changed your plane ticket, you would be fined $2,000. Bret had just changed his ticket to go to Italy with a girl he barely knew then went up to Vince to say that he already changed it but told him it was to go see a friend. Vince told him that he would not have to worry about that. A few days after Bret got back from Italy he was on the road and was told that he had to fly to Saskatoon Monday morning and could not change his ticket and that he had to see Vince. Bret thought that he was going to be in trouble and said that he probably should have realized that he was going to get the belt as a few days prior, Strongbow told him that there was a list of five guys to be a champ and Bret was on the list and Strongbow told Bret that he and a few others put a good word in for him and not to fuck anything up along the way. Bret got there and saw Flair leave Vince's office and shake his hand then saw Vince wave him over and made it sound like he was going to fire him and Bret thought that he might actually would fire him, even despite the fact that they were flying him his dad to be in his corner, but after everything, Vince told him that he was going to be the champ and Bret said he felt like jumping for joy but did not give a reaction. Sean then asks Bret why the match was only made to be available on Coliseum Home Video and Bret said that he never understood why that was the case. Bret then speaks about when he became the champion, Vince wanted to be called every day and when asked why by Bret, Vince said that he always wants to talk with his champion. Bret said he would call him and wondered if Vince wanted him to "stooge off" guys to him but never did that and he was cool with what they were doing. He then says that the reason he went back to work for Vince is because he took a chance on him and gave him his first break. He also believes that Vince loved his work and would tell Bret not to tell him the finish of his matches and wanted Bret to just go out and show him in the ring.
Yokozuna made his debut on October 26th. Sean asks Bret if anyone had pegged him as a champion. Bret puts over Yoko for being a great athlete and a pro in the ring. He then talks about how Vader was stiff and terrible to work with, unlike Yoko and Bam Bam who would take care of you in the ring. Bret also talks about Kamala and said that he would never have a problem giving offense to a smaller guy and said working with him was like a night off and always fun to work with.
Doink the Clown made his debut on October 31st. Bret puts over Matt Borne for being the best at the Doink gimmick, which he loved. Bret recalls how Davey had a problem working with Doink though. Bret then talks about how Balls Mahoney and said his Xanta Klaus gimmick was great too.
NOVEMBER
Bret is asked about the cancellation of "Saturday Night's Main Event." He said that between all of the scandals and the guys on steroids going away, the casual fans disappeared and the wrestling fans wanted wrestling matches instead of the cartoon stuff. He also said that the direction the company went with his face-to-face interviews with Yokozuna and making it seem like a shoot was the way he thought the business should be like, along with having more athletic matches. Bret then talks about how he heard the guys down in NXT were recently watching his 1993 Royal Rumble match against Razor Ramon.
The Ultimate Warrior got fired on November 21st and Sean throws out rumors of him holding out for more money and having to work with Nailz as the reasons but Bret shakes his head and said he knows what happened. Bret said that he got a call from Vince, who told him that he was going to have to fire Davey. He then told Bret that he had to fire the Warrior as well. Bret says that he was originally supposed to work against Warrior at the Rumble in 1993 and beat him with the Sharpshooter. Vince told Bret that Davey and Warrior were buying either steroids or HGH from a guy in Europe and having them shipped over to the States. Well, that guy got busted and Warrior panicked when that happened and called Vince, without telling Davey, that the guy they were getting the stuff from got busted and their names were on the list and this was when the trial was going on so Vince told him that they were toxic and that is how they got fired.
Bret talks about his match with Shawn at the Survivor Series. He said they had wrestled together all throughout the year on house shows and didnt feel like it was fresh when they went out. He did they had great matches and thought this match holds up today but they could have done more. When asked if the competitiveness between each other was going on at this time, Bret said no and that even Shawn felt they could have done a better job if there was more build on TV.
DECEMBER
Jerry Lawler made his debut as a commentator on the December 12th edition of Superstars. Bret talks about how Jerry pissed off the locker room as he would constantly play tapes of the current WWF guys who jobbed to him in Memphis. Bret said that Curt Hennig was especially pissed off at Lawler, which also had to due with poor payoffs while he wrestled for Lawler in Memphis. Sean asks Bret about Lawler's crown and if he knew who shit in it as Bret laughs and said that it happened at a TV taping in Sacramento. Bret saw the crown in the shower and saw that multiple people had shit inside of it but did not know exactly who they were. He then said that Lawler was in a panic looking all over for the crown but Bret, when asked, said that he had no idea where it was.
He is asked about Nailz getting fired for attacking Vince McMahon. Bret said that he did not see it happen but that he was right outside of the door when it went down and could hear it all happen. He recalls Nailz shrieking in anger that he had been lied to and had enough of Vince's bullshit. He then heard a bang and a gurgling sound and didn't know what to do and recalled how Vince had a lot of heat with guys over a period of time. He remembers that Blackajck Lanza was the first guy there and waved Bret to come over as a few other agents broke it up. He then remembers the police arriving and Nailz saying that Vince tried to molest him.
Final Thoughts: A great installment in the Timeline series. Sure, Bret is in love with himself but Sean Oliver did a fantastic job with the interview and kept him on the topic at hand more often than not. He deserves credit for that. Despite all of that, Bret gave a lot of great insight and did hold not back at all, making this a must-see interview.
As far as where this ranks among the other WWE Timelines, I would say that the Nash and Cornette are the only ones that are better than this and you could make a case for Sammartino's as well. They ran through a lot of subjects and hit on all of the important topics of the year.
I highly recommend this interview and encourage all of you to watch this for yourselves.
You can purchase the interview On Demand for $15.99 (It stays in your queue forever) and the DVD for $20. If you get it On Demand, you can watch it from just about everywhere, including Roku. Click on the link below to see how to get the DVD
http://kayfabecommentaries.com/DVD_TL_1992.html
No poll for next week as our contest winner selected another Bret Hart shoot, his RF Video Voulme #1 edition.
Here is my schedule for the next week:
Friday: WWF Championship Wrestling 8/30/86 (Final Episode)
Saturday: RoH Unscripted 9/21/02
Sunday: WWF Superstars 9/6/86 (Debut Episode)
Tuesday: WWF Challenge 9/7/86 (Debut Episode)
Thursday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Bret Hart, Volume 1
The interview was conducted by Sean Oliver
It runs at two hours and fifteen minutes long
JANUARY
The first question asked to Bret is about the "Inside Edition" piece that aired on January 3rd on steroids and wrestling that primarily focused on Hulk Hogan's apparent lying about his steroid use on the Arsenio Hall Show. Bret said that he recalled that a lot of guys in the locker room felt that if he just answered the question honestly, the whole issue would have gone away but when he lied, Bret said that it brought on a whole tidal wave of criticism and business went down significantly by the end of the year.
On January 5th, the first match between Hogan and Ric Flair at the Omni in Atlanta only drew 4,500 fans. Bret is asked why didnt the feud between Hogan and Flair work. Bret said it was due to ego problems as each guy were set in their own ways and had doing their same matches for years. When asked if someone tried to step in and tell these guys to go out their and deliver, Bret said he believes that Vince would have done that then talks about his own problems with Flair. He said that they were having really good matches at the beginning of the year but once Bret won the belt, the matches started to get sloppy. Bret said that Flair told him that he was having problems at home thus was distracted. He said that very well could have been the case but Bret also said that he went up to Vince and told him that he believed Flair was intentionally sabotaging their matches as the finishes would constantly get screwed up. He said that they had meetings with Vince and Pat Patterson to work things out as well. When Flair left, Vince came up to Bret a few weeks later and told him that he believes that Flair can only work his style of match and was not doing anything to purposely screw things up. Bret talks about how Flair called it in the ring and tried to be like Dory Funk and Harley Race were in the 1970's and he came from a different era and they had a bit of a styles clash.
When asked about Shawn Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty and sending him through the "Barber Shop" window, Bret said that he believes they were split up as he believes that Shawn was tired of babysitting Marty, in the same way that he was tired of doing the same to Jim Neidhart. Bret also said that he did not travel on the road with the Rockers so he cannot say for sure. Bret then talks about Neidhart and how his night did not begin until 2am and that he had to stay with him to make sure he would make the flight the next day and how that got old after a while. When asked out of the Rockers which one he would have picked for a singles push, Bret puts over both guys for being exceptional workers but says that it was clear that Shawn was the better athlete of the two and picks him. Bret then says that Shawn and Curt Hennig were the two best athletes he has ever wrestled against. Bret then talks a bit more about Shawn and how he thought he was a better character and worker when they feuded against each other in 1997.
On Jaunary 17th, Bret dropped the Intercontinental Title to Jacques Rougeau. When asked if he was okay with that, Bret said that he was fine with dropping the belt to Jacques but upset in the fact that he was unsure which direction the company was going with him and thought he was doing a good job as the IC champion. He felt that he was going to get discarded but then Vince told him what was going to happen and he was not sure that it was going to happen as he had been promised many things in the past that did not happen. Bret also added that he was sure that the WWF knew what they were doing too. Sean then asked how far in advanced was Bret told that he was winning the World Heavyweight Title and he said that he was told that around Christmas time in 1991. Sean then asked Bret if it was true that he was talking to WCW and Bret confirmed, even saying that he had a few deals in place with the company. He then said that at the time, Brian Pillman called him and said that he was making more money in WCW than Bret was in the WWF. Bret said he called WCW and spoke with Jim Barnett, who told Bret that they could not pay him what he had been told by Pillman and was better off staying in the WWF. Bret said he wondered if they just did not see a lot in him or if they were doing him a huge favor. Bret said that it bothered him that all of the news about his negotiations were all over the "shit sheets" and the Observer and that pissed him off.
Now, Bret is asked about the 1992 Royal Rumble Match that Ric Flair won and became the WWF Champion. Sean asks Bret if Flair made a good champion for the WWF and their identity at the time. Bret then talks about how he is baffled when people tell him that Flair was the greatest wrestler of all-time, even saying that he is a fan of his and puts over his work ethic. When asked why do people consider Flair the greatest of all-time, Bret said he was flamboyant and had one of the greatest characters but as far as a worker, Bret said that he had an older mindset when it came to in-ring work and could not break out of the 1970's style and do stuff in the ring that his generation was doing. Bret then talks about the three things that make you a great wrestler, your look/presence, workrate, and promo ability and how you would rate them in each category out of ten. He said that Hogan was 9/10 in presence and promo but 1/10 as a worker. He then said that the Dynamite Kid was a 0/10 promo, 9/10 wrestler and a 7/10 presence. Bret said that his biggest weakness were his promos and could do something good if he had an issue, like he did in 1997. Bret said he was either a 7 or 8 in presence, on his best day 7 or 8 in promos and close to a 10/10 as a worker. Bret said that he was impressed by good bodies but as a fan, he was impressed with who could work and wanted them to look and sell themselves as athletes. He then goes into how business tapered off in 1992 due to the steroid scandal.
Bret then skips ahead and talks about a match at a "Saturday Night Main Event" taping between Flair and Randy Savage. After they came through the curtain, Vince yelled at them to go back out and do it all over again, this time the way he wanted them too and they went back and did the same match and when they came back through the second time, Vince just yelled and told them to get the fuck out the way. Bret also said that those two were having meetings behind closed doors about their matches and when they failed, Bret believes that was the nail in the coffin for Flair as he could not wrestle the way they wanted him too.
FEBRUARY
Bret is asked about Kerry Von Erich, who was arrested for prescription fraud, and if his drug problem was known throughout the locker room. He said that it was known before he arrived to the WWF that Kerry had a severe drug addiction but does not recall seeing him that out of it while in the WWF. Bret then talks about how Kerry was a hard guy not to like and that everyone had some sympathy for him due to everything that happened in his life. Bret said he was one of the sweetest, kind-hearted wrestlers he has ever seen.
Jim Neidhart was fired on February 16th for "unprofessional conduct." When asked how he got fired, Bret recalls that he stalled the company for drug testing him and that he somehow snuck out of the building and never got tested the night before. The next night, Neidhart got pissed and shot-putted a TV monitor that ended up hitting a WWF TV executive and breaking his ankle and that was what got him fired. Sean was asked if there were any discussions for him to team with Owen at that time and he said there was not and that was not the time to do it as he was getting a singles push.
When asked if it was the right time to turn the Undertaker face, Bret said he thinks so and puts over the Undertaker for constantly evolving and talking about how the gimmick was not easy to pull off. Bret then said that the Undertaker came up to him and said that he was happy to work together as he wanted to show what he could do in the ring. Bret puts over the Undertaker for being the only person to pull off that gimmick and said that he was smooth in the ring.
MARCH
Bret is asked about Terry Garvin and Pat Patterson resigning on March 2nd due to allegations of sexual harassment and how the locker room reacted. He said that at the time, with this coming right after Hogan lying about his steroid use, a lot of them were worried about the state of the business. Bret said that about the allegations of harassment, he said he never witnessed anything personally but does not doubt that some shenanigans took place.
APRIL
On April 2nd, former WWF referee Rita Chatterton went on Geraldo Rivera's talk show and claimed that Vince McMahon forced sexual intercourse upon her. Bret said he had no idea if this took place but said that he had trouble buying that Vince would jeopardize everything he had to do that to her. Bret also hints that it is ridiculous to believe due to Rita's looks then talks about how the lady Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated with was a 2/10 and Tiger Woods' girls that he was with were "3/10 skanks." When asked if Vince was showing any strain during this time and Bret said that he never saw any of it but also heard from the office that he was preparing for the worse and heard a rumor that Vince would be doing the booking from jail if he was convicted.
The "WBF Body Stars" made its debut on April 4th. Bret said that the wrestling business was changing and talks about how less people were watching and advertisers would no longer air commercials for their toys and calls it a real dark time in the company. He then talks about how bodybuilding is a waste of life and how he does not see any ability or skill in bodybuilding, even comparing them to fashion models. He then talks about how the WBF guys were making more than the top wrestlers and got paid their full contracts when they folded. Bret then said that the WBF guys got to fly in first class ahead of the wrestlers on the same plane, which he did not feel was right. Sean questions why they decided to launch this after the steroid scandal came about and Bret said it was doomed from day one then talks about Lex Luger and how he was totally clean at that time (from steroids), as were most wrestlers he said in the 1990's due to steroid testing, but that even less people would care when the bodybuilders were not doing steroids. Finally, Sean asks Bret about IcoPro as Bret said it tasted horrible and had no benefits then said that they sent crates of it to his house which he gave to his neighbors (With Bret joking that they would return it by leaving it on his step the next day) and stacked in his garage. Bret said that the rest of the wrestlers would buy their own supplements despite the fact they could have gotten IcoPro for free.
At WrestleMania VIII, Bret defeated Roddy Piper for the Intercontinental Title. Roddy helped Bret to his feet then put the belt around his waist. Sean asks Bret if it meant anything for Piper to put him over and Bret said that it did and in his own way, Roddy passed the torch to him. Bret said Roddy would have only done that for a few people. Bret said that he was worried about not being able to get the belt but said that as the Intercontinental Champion, he got a bit of a push and had good people to work against, unlike when he was a Tag Team Champion. When asked about bleeding heavily and the WWF having a no blading policy at the time, Bret said that it was a gut call on his part and recalls a time in Moncton, New Brunswick with Piper before WrestleMania. They had not seen each other much and talked about the match. Bret first talks about how hard it can be to discuss a match you will have with someone you look up to as you have too much respect and sometimes are not true to yourself as a result. They went to a restaurant and Piper laid out the match and Bret said that what Piper laid out was exactly what he wanted to do himself. Roddy then told Bret that if he got some color that it would enhance the match. Bret said it wasnt a question of whether he could do it but if he could get away with that. Bret said that Flair and Savage planned on getting color in their match and did that and got fined but Bret did not when he did. Bret then talks about how Flair did it openly and mocks a little kid saying "daddy why he is cutting himself: but Bret said that no one even knew that he bladed and they passed it off as hardway. Bret also said how he and Piper did a pull-apart in the locker room that Strongbow broke up and the rest of the office was unsure whether or not Bret cut so he did not get cut.
When asked about Jake Roberts quitting before WrestleMania VIII and only going out for the match if Vince gave him his release, Bret said that it was his understanding that he would be working with Jake Roberts at SummerSlam after Patterson told him that he was going to put him over Jake at the show.
Bret is asked about Savage defeating Flair for the belt at WrestleMania. He talks about how they were looking for someway to replace Hogan at the time then talks about how they tried that with the Ultimate Warrior and he tried about as well as anyone could have in that position. Bret said all of the boys in the locker room respected Savage for his work and how he was a steady and reliable guy for the belt.
Sean asks Bret about Hogan and if they really thought he was retiring after his match against Sid. Bret said that he made a giant cartoon drawing of all the wrestlers, who signed it as well, to give to Hogan as he thought he was done and leaving for Hollywood. Sean then asks why wasn't Hogan vs. Flair at WrestleMania as Bret speculates that they might not have had an ending.
Sid Justice quit on April 26th, after losing to the Ultimate Warrior in the Boston Garden. Sid allegedly falsified a drug test prior to WrestleMania. Sean tells Bret that he heard a humor that Sid had Harvey Whippleman's urine in a Visine bottle so he could pass the test. Bret said he was not privy to any of that. Sean then asks Bret if Sid took wrestling seriously. Bret said that Sid was naive and how you could easily rile him up then talks about how Owen would have had a field day with a guy like him. Bret said that Sid could destruct if you encouraged him then tells a story about how in Canada, they had a match in which CFL players were lumberjacks and how he was flipping out about football players touching him but Bret explained how they were just going to roll him back into the ring and says that he sensed if could have gone badly if he riled him up. Bret then talks about how he seemed easy to manipulate.
MAY
High Energy (Owen Hart & Koko B Ware) made their debut on May 2nd. Bret is asked how Owen felt about his ring outfit and being paired with Koko. Bret laughs and said how Owen hated his ring attire then talks about Owen teaming with Neidhart and how Owen actually embraced the babysitter role he had with Neidhart as Bret said the day Neidhart actually got fired was when Owen was not there to look after him. Bret said that Owen felt the whole thing was a rib. Bret also said that they did what they could do make it work.
Now, Bret is asked about Papa Shango putting a curse on the Ultimate Warrior. Bret said it was the second worst idea they had, with the Gobbledy Gooker being the absolute worst. Bret said that "only a Bret Hart" could clean up that mess then said that even Vince knew it was horrible after it happened. Bret then puts over the Papa Shango character and said that adding a mouthpiece to the character could have helped him out. He believes that Pat Patterson hated Papa Shango, both the gimmick and as a wrestler, and killed the gimmick.
Bret said that he thought Nailz was a good gimmick and that he did look like a bad-ass prisoner. He then said that a better worker could have made it worked. Bret said that he had a legit reputation as a tough guy and how he was typically quiet and a good guy but no one messed with him.
JUNE
On June 13th, the second and Final WBF PPV aired. Bret said that a lot of the locker room was resentful over the fact that the bodybuilders got all of that money instead of it going down to them. Bret then said that 1992 was the hardest year for him in wrestling regarding the travel.
When asked about Rocco: The Wrestling Dummy, Bret said that it totally messed up Hawk and how he cracked at SummerSlam that year because he hated the gimmick. Bret said that Vince wanted to make the Legion of Doom appear more "fun." Sean then mentions how Bruce Prichard defended the Red Rooster gimmick with a passion during his "Guest Booker" shoot and Bret said that is why Bruce is where he is today. Bret said that Paul Ellering was a cool guy and thinks that he might have been brought in to help Hawk, who was battling drug addiction.
JULY
Bob Backlund made his return on July 1st and defeated Skinner. Sean asks Bret if Bob is relevant in 1992. Bret said that in the Northeast he was and if you remember him from his era too. Bret then talks about how cool it was when both Backlund and Flair locked up in a battle royal.
On July 21st, Bret Hart defeated Shawn Michaels in the first ever ladder match that took place in the WWF. Bret talks about how he kept explaining the concept of the match to Vince and it happened for eight years until it finally happened. Bret talks about the first ladder match that they had at a house show. He then talks about how Curt Hennig and Jim Duggan came up to him and said that SummerSlam was either going to take place in England or in Washington D.C. at the Cap Centre. Bret thought about it and said that he was probably gonig to lose the belt and said if it was in England, then he would drop it to Davey and how it would make sense. If it was in Washington D.C, he was hearing that it would be against Shawn and if that was the case, he wanted to try to get Vince to let them do a ladder match. Bret then talks about telling Vince these two ideas and at that time, Vince told Bret to show him the idea for the ladder match and to pick someone for it and suggested Shawn. Bret told Shawn the idea and how he was confused about the concept. They then went out and had the match as it was just a demonstration then Bret said he was pissed about Shawn and "them" stealing his idea ldown the road. Bret said that Vince initially promised that he would not do the ladder match without him being involved but that was not the case.
AUGUST
Bret is asked about Scott Hall, who made his debut as Razor Ramon. Bret said that Razor did well when he first came in and was always a good guy who was focused and fun to be around back then. Bret talks about how Hall did a great job with the gimmick then talks about how he was going to "Cowboy" Bret Hart in 1985 and at the last minute, realized that he could not do the character and make it work.
Bret talks about Jerry Lawler and said how he was one of the best heels he worked against. He said that he had a basic moveset and could still get more heat than anyone in the company with a move like a thumb to the throat.
They now discuss Bret's SummerSlam match against Davey Boy Smith. Bret said that Davey went home in July due to a staph infection. Bret said that Davey's drug problems were out of control then too. He also said that he had a match against Davey just prior to SummerSlam and it was terrible and backstage, Vince told Bret that he hoped it would be better at SummerSlam and that he planned on having them go on last. Bret also talks about how that match took place at a TV taping and how those are usually long days and it is not the best way to judge someone. Bret thought if Davey followed him they could have one of the best matches ever and put themselves on the map. Bret said he kept on thinking about the match and would think about it the whole month of August. He tried to call Davey but he was never available as his drug problem was out of control. He even recalls when he got to London for SummerSlam, he saw Davey and took him aside to ask why he had not returned his calls. Davey told him that he was on a two-day long cocaine binge and had not slept in 48 hours. Bret talks about how Davey was out of shape and not going to the gym during this time and was a total wreck. Davey told him that he was going to stink out in the ring and Bret laid out the match for him and they went over it for two days but after the first move in the actual match, Davey told Bret that he was fucked as he forgot the match then says how it is the only match you can hear him talk (Bret spoke in the third person here) and that he had to call it, which he hates and sees as an automatic fail. Bret said that he was furious at Davey for being in the condition that he was as he wanted to see him rise to the occasion. Bret then puts over Davey for sucking it up and performing in the ring as Bret calls it his greatest match for carrying Davey. Sean asks Bret if him dropping the IC title to Davey was to free him up for the Heavyweight Title, Bret said no then talks about how it was like being a Beatle when he went overseas, getting mobbed and grabbed by female fans and said that after a match in which he wrestled the opener, he was mobbed by females and came through the curtain to prove to Strongbow that he was over here, he went on last during matches overseas afterwards.
SEPTEMBER
Bret is asked how he felt the WWF was marketing him at that point. He said the company was slowly pushing him at first and talks about how when you get the push through merchandise, you have power in the company because when you talk about leaving, they try to get you to stay because you are selling merchandise and that is how you can make yourself more money.
OCTOBER
Bret is asked about Sgt. Slaughter appearing on television in a suit, stating that he was acting as the enforcer of the WWF and going to instill law and order, and if he was an agent at this point. Bret said he thinks he was just an on-air talent and not an agent at that point. Sean then asks Bret about the transition from wrestler to agent and Bret said not just anyone could fill that role and that you need the right guys to do the job. He said that Rene Goulet was great at it as he understood the travel and business. Bret said that he thought Tony Garea was good as he did not have an ax to grind but calls George Steele one of the worst. Bret said he remembered Steele partying and blowing coke one week then the next he was an agent and Bret likened it to an inmate turning into a prison guard and said he was basically an asshole after that. He then tells a story about Steele getting his Haliburton stolen. One day he arrived to the building two minutes late, with Owen and The Berzerker, and was fined $500 by Steele. Bret said that no other agent would do that. Bret then said Owen and Savage took Steele's Haliburton, containing all of Steele's stuff, and they snuck it out of the building and Owen ended up tossing it out of the car and into the Manhattan River. Bret then said that Steele was not a good guy and called him a snitch.
On October 12th, Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair at the Superstars taping to become the WWF World Heavyweight Champion. Sean then asks Bret to talk about who laid out the plans for him to win and when he was told. Bret first talks about how a memo went out that if you changed your plane ticket, you would be fined $2,000. Bret had just changed his ticket to go to Italy with a girl he barely knew then went up to Vince to say that he already changed it but told him it was to go see a friend. Vince told him that he would not have to worry about that. A few days after Bret got back from Italy he was on the road and was told that he had to fly to Saskatoon Monday morning and could not change his ticket and that he had to see Vince. Bret thought that he was going to be in trouble and said that he probably should have realized that he was going to get the belt as a few days prior, Strongbow told him that there was a list of five guys to be a champ and Bret was on the list and Strongbow told Bret that he and a few others put a good word in for him and not to fuck anything up along the way. Bret got there and saw Flair leave Vince's office and shake his hand then saw Vince wave him over and made it sound like he was going to fire him and Bret thought that he might actually would fire him, even despite the fact that they were flying him his dad to be in his corner, but after everything, Vince told him that he was going to be the champ and Bret said he felt like jumping for joy but did not give a reaction. Sean then asks Bret why the match was only made to be available on Coliseum Home Video and Bret said that he never understood why that was the case. Bret then speaks about when he became the champion, Vince wanted to be called every day and when asked why by Bret, Vince said that he always wants to talk with his champion. Bret said he would call him and wondered if Vince wanted him to "stooge off" guys to him but never did that and he was cool with what they were doing. He then says that the reason he went back to work for Vince is because he took a chance on him and gave him his first break. He also believes that Vince loved his work and would tell Bret not to tell him the finish of his matches and wanted Bret to just go out and show him in the ring.
Yokozuna made his debut on October 26th. Sean asks Bret if anyone had pegged him as a champion. Bret puts over Yoko for being a great athlete and a pro in the ring. He then talks about how Vader was stiff and terrible to work with, unlike Yoko and Bam Bam who would take care of you in the ring. Bret also talks about Kamala and said that he would never have a problem giving offense to a smaller guy and said working with him was like a night off and always fun to work with.
Doink the Clown made his debut on October 31st. Bret puts over Matt Borne for being the best at the Doink gimmick, which he loved. Bret recalls how Davey had a problem working with Doink though. Bret then talks about how Balls Mahoney and said his Xanta Klaus gimmick was great too.
NOVEMBER
Bret is asked about the cancellation of "Saturday Night's Main Event." He said that between all of the scandals and the guys on steroids going away, the casual fans disappeared and the wrestling fans wanted wrestling matches instead of the cartoon stuff. He also said that the direction the company went with his face-to-face interviews with Yokozuna and making it seem like a shoot was the way he thought the business should be like, along with having more athletic matches. Bret then talks about how he heard the guys down in NXT were recently watching his 1993 Royal Rumble match against Razor Ramon.
The Ultimate Warrior got fired on November 21st and Sean throws out rumors of him holding out for more money and having to work with Nailz as the reasons but Bret shakes his head and said he knows what happened. Bret said that he got a call from Vince, who told him that he was going to have to fire Davey. He then told Bret that he had to fire the Warrior as well. Bret says that he was originally supposed to work against Warrior at the Rumble in 1993 and beat him with the Sharpshooter. Vince told Bret that Davey and Warrior were buying either steroids or HGH from a guy in Europe and having them shipped over to the States. Well, that guy got busted and Warrior panicked when that happened and called Vince, without telling Davey, that the guy they were getting the stuff from got busted and their names were on the list and this was when the trial was going on so Vince told him that they were toxic and that is how they got fired.
Bret talks about his match with Shawn at the Survivor Series. He said they had wrestled together all throughout the year on house shows and didnt feel like it was fresh when they went out. He did they had great matches and thought this match holds up today but they could have done more. When asked if the competitiveness between each other was going on at this time, Bret said no and that even Shawn felt they could have done a better job if there was more build on TV.
DECEMBER
Jerry Lawler made his debut as a commentator on the December 12th edition of Superstars. Bret talks about how Jerry pissed off the locker room as he would constantly play tapes of the current WWF guys who jobbed to him in Memphis. Bret said that Curt Hennig was especially pissed off at Lawler, which also had to due with poor payoffs while he wrestled for Lawler in Memphis. Sean asks Bret about Lawler's crown and if he knew who shit in it as Bret laughs and said that it happened at a TV taping in Sacramento. Bret saw the crown in the shower and saw that multiple people had shit inside of it but did not know exactly who they were. He then said that Lawler was in a panic looking all over for the crown but Bret, when asked, said that he had no idea where it was.
He is asked about Nailz getting fired for attacking Vince McMahon. Bret said that he did not see it happen but that he was right outside of the door when it went down and could hear it all happen. He recalls Nailz shrieking in anger that he had been lied to and had enough of Vince's bullshit. He then heard a bang and a gurgling sound and didn't know what to do and recalled how Vince had a lot of heat with guys over a period of time. He remembers that Blackajck Lanza was the first guy there and waved Bret to come over as a few other agents broke it up. He then remembers the police arriving and Nailz saying that Vince tried to molest him.
Final Thoughts: A great installment in the Timeline series. Sure, Bret is in love with himself but Sean Oliver did a fantastic job with the interview and kept him on the topic at hand more often than not. He deserves credit for that. Despite all of that, Bret gave a lot of great insight and did hold not back at all, making this a must-see interview.
As far as where this ranks among the other WWE Timelines, I would say that the Nash and Cornette are the only ones that are better than this and you could make a case for Sammartino's as well. They ran through a lot of subjects and hit on all of the important topics of the year.
I highly recommend this interview and encourage all of you to watch this for yourselves.
You can purchase the interview On Demand for $15.99 (It stays in your queue forever) and the DVD for $20. If you get it On Demand, you can watch it from just about everywhere, including Roku. Click on the link below to see how to get the DVD
http://kayfabecommentaries.com/DVD_TL_1992.html
No poll for next week as our contest winner selected another Bret Hart shoot, his RF Video Voulme #1 edition.
Here is my schedule for the next week:
Friday: WWF Championship Wrestling 8/30/86 (Final Episode)
Saturday: RoH Unscripted 9/21/02
Sunday: WWF Superstars 9/6/86 (Debut Episode)
Tuesday: WWF Challenge 9/7/86 (Debut Episode)
Thursday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Bret Hart, Volume 1
"On January 5th, the first match between Hogan and Ric Flair at the Omni in Atlanta only drew 4,500 fans."
ReplyDeleteDid they really phrase it that way on the DVD? Flair and Hogan were wrestling all over the country in November/December 1991. Ugh.
OK, now that I've vented, I'll go back to reading the rest of it.
Yeah, and that is horrible figure as Flair was a huge headliner in Atlanta for many years. Plus, that was the first time those two faced each other in that building I believe.
ReplyDeletetears in eyes, best whatever, list of 1000 somethings that such and such isn't on, so on and so forth
ReplyDeleteThe question, I suppose, is how many fans were going to NWA/WCW shows in Atlanta at the time?
ReplyDeleteSid said they were doing 20K paid at the time and if you look at the Clashes at the time. 1,500 tops
ReplyDeleteDid you watch this in one sitting, cuz i fell alseep during May-June and watched the rest the next day.
ReplyDeleteIts good, but not what I hoped it to be.
Bret sure does look like Stu though...
According to Thehistoryofwwe.com, they drew 2,000 on New Years day with a promotion for $3 tickets in the upper level if they were purchased on the day of the show.
ReplyDeleteThe main event was Sting & Ron Simmons vs. Cactus Jack & Rick Rude
Three sittings.
ReplyDeleteUsually do that for all shoots.
So, what does Bret do that Flair can't do? I was confused about that part of the interview. I get there is a difference in styles, but he said Flair can't do the things that his generation does.
ReplyDeleteWhile I still think Flair is the greatest of all time, I agree with Bret's sentiment that he never evolved out of the 70s. It just happens that I LIKE what he was doing in the 70s.
ReplyDeleteAthletic moves, faster paced matches.
ReplyDeleteSaid Flair's in-ring style was stuck in the slower paced 1970's era and he could not keep up with the athletic guys
I'm sure this won't turn into a flame war at all.
ReplyDeleteI love how Bret rates everything out of ten.
ReplyDeleteHe really does it for just about anything. From skanks to wrestlers.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame we never got Warrior/Bret, bet Bret could have gotten 3 stars out of him at least.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Flair's later run in the 2000s? I guess it's more of a brawling-style?
ReplyDeleteOk...
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy cuz I can listen to Raven or New Jack talk for hours, but Bret put me sleep so quickly
There's no way Warrior is tapping out to the sharpshooter, though. Top wrestlers NEVER submitted back then in WWF.
ReplyDeleteIt's that soothing Canadian voice.
ReplyDeleteI actually watched the 3.5 of the Scotty Riggs shoot in one sitting. That one was pretty great.
ReplyDeleteAlso saw that Sean is doing a 2008 Blue (Smackdown & ECW) Timeline with Curt Hawkins
The Evan Bourne iPPV YouShoot is tonight as well
Flair post 93 was terrible. He should have done the job to Vader and retired.
ReplyDeleteI need to scoop that Riggs one, i was on the fence.
ReplyDeleteThe sydal isnt worth the money watching in real time IMO, Ill wait til i can acquire it afterwards
I could see happening just for the fact that at that point, Warrior was on the down swing and Bret was Vince's new guy.
ReplyDeleteIf Bret really believes he was beating Warrior with the Sharpshooter I can see why he still believes he was supposed to beat Hogan at Summerslam all these years later.
ReplyDeleteBLASPHEMY!
ReplyDeleteHe had flashes of the old Flair.
He wasn't so bad. I think he became more of a sports-entertainer, though. Instead of the technical matches of the 70s and 80s, he'd have these bump-fests with his shortcut spots like getting thrown off the top rope or begging off. Still entertaining, though.
ReplyDeleteHe had his moments post 93, but they were few and far between.
ReplyDeleteMan, Bret beating a superhero who never lost cleanly like the Warrior via sharpshooter would have been MASSIVE for his career. I can't think of any win in Bret's storied career that would have compared.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, did Warrior EVER do a clean job since he entered WWF in 1987 to the end of his career? He lost to Rude, Slaughter and Hogan in WCW but they were all from outside interference.
Riggs is like the only guy who was not bitter about being in WCW in the late 90's. Dude was content about wrestling, banging chicks, and partying.
ReplyDeleteI could see Vince working Warrior a bit into saying he'd get the belt at WrestleMania in a rematch... then firing him as he came through the curtain after submitting to the Sharpshooter at the Rumble.
ReplyDeleteI think Bret's point was that Flair went from being able to work with anyone to having to have the other wrestler work his style. Bret judges wrestlers by being able to work with any wrestler, and having unique matches over time.
ReplyDeleteIMO, Bret was in the 90s what Flair was in the 70s and 80s, although Flair had more glitz and glam to go with it. That's why Flair is a legend; for a long time, he had the best package.
I really enjoyed this timeline. Easily the best Bret interview I've seen, mostly because the timeline format kept Bret from marking for himself too much.
ReplyDelete"Sean then asked how far in advanced was Bret told that he was winning the World Heavyweight Title and he said that he was told that around Christmas time in 1991"
ReplyDeleteHuh? Unless they're talking about Flair's Royal Rumble victory, this makes no sense as Bret has always said his title win over Flair happened on very short notice, not with 10 months advance notice.
But that could mean something as little as Vince coming up to him after a good match and saying, "Pal, you'll be my champ some day."
ReplyDeleteSean Oliver is a 10/10 interviewer in these type of things. Most others hover around 3/10 or worse.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of that proposed Hogan/Bret match, it's weird there have been so many leaked SummerSlam main events. If you told me Vince leaked Bret/Hogan, Brock/Rock, and Brock/Cena on purpose, I wouldn't be surprised.
ReplyDeleteStill odd, as, like I said, Bret has always said he wasn't given very much advance warning about getting the title and that it probably wouldn't have happened had certain people had enough time to get into Vince's ear and talk him out of it.
ReplyDeleteI believe it was Vince's plan to do both. I also believe it was NEVER Warrioir or Hogan's plan. Vince likes to be the one to tear down his own creations, and he has no problem jobbing yesterday's stars to today's new guy. It's his MO.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think it was more that Bret first realized he could realistically get it because he was IC champ back when it meant something.
ReplyDeleteOk, fair enough. Just seems odd coming from Bret who, I thought, wrestled a similar, slower, mat based style. Five moves of doom, etc.
ReplyDeleteI still love Bret, but I get the feeling when he's 80 he'll answer any question you ask him about himself somehow. "What did you have for dinner last night?" "I remember the grocery boy saying my match with Razor Ramon at the Rumble was the greatest match he and his entire family ever saw. Oh, and baked ziti."
ReplyDeleteAnd one tear.
ReplyDeleteDid Bret/Hogan ever leak?
ReplyDeleteThe Bulldog was supposed to face The Mountie at Survivor Series 1992. I didn't know that.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear his rating of his match with Vince on a scale of 1/10? Would he say -7?
ReplyDeleteWasn't there an picture of them having a tug of war with the title that leaked?
ReplyDeleteYeah, there were match graphics for it on TV and in WWF Magazine.
ReplyDeleteBret described the photo-shoot and I think there's stories that it was seen by someone, magazine leak or something...but it's never really been seen or proven.
ReplyDeletehttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rUkv9cAKLTM/UgU0TATphPI/AAAAAAAACcQ/UVz3jHtpQZ0/s320/Bulldog+v.+Mountie.png
ReplyDeletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5xkBC2-HPX0
ReplyDeleteHas anyone ever seen this match? I really want to see it.
Bret was more athletic than Flair. Flair worked a crowd better. I'd put both on the level of "really fucking great"...
ReplyDeleteReally like the little jabs at each other at the end... wondering if it was going to get there.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those things where it has been described so vividly, I swore I saw it before, but, honestly, if it hasn't turned up by now... I probably imagined it along with everyone else.
ReplyDeletehttp://i.ytimg.com/vi/AmcEDh9bCwk/hqdefault.jpg
ReplyDeleteI found this, no idea if it is legit though.
I've said this before regarding Bret vs. Hogan at SummerSlam 1993, so I'm cutting and pasting:
ReplyDeleteI don't blame Hogan for not wanting to put Bret over. Neither No Holds Bared or Suburban Commando made a ton of dough at the box office. If the best offers he was getting was crap like Mr. Nanny, even as delusional as he is he had to be nervous that his movie career wouldn't pan out. He was turning 40 in 1993, so he still had plenty of wrestling years left to make money.
He already did what Vince asked and put Warrior over in 1990, and that was a bust. And Bret wasn't as big or flashy as Warrior was. Hogan likely saw WCW as an option -- he was already filming Thunder in Paradise in mid 1993 anyway and that was a Turner project -- so he didn't want to "pass the torch" to Bret over and make himself look bad before arriving in WCW. A screwjob loss to a big fat monster like Yokozuna made him look better on the way out.
Yeah, it would've been "Best for Business" to have Bret beat Hogan to make a
clean transition. But it really wasn't in Hogan's best interest and Vince surely wasn't going to pay Hogan a lot of cash to lay down for Bret because he didn't have it at the time. Plus, Vince might've been holding out hope that Hogan would come back and didn't want to insult him or make Hogan look bad either. After all, the Warrior "passing of the torch" didn't work, and the only thing that seemed to draw was Hogan -- hence why he tried to make Luger into Hogan 2.0
Donnie baseball is mine too. I have the autograph Mattingly ball in my house. My wife HATES the Yankees, but that piece isn't going anywhere.
ReplyDeleteSteve Yzerman is my #2
TJ: if they are putting Video Vault greatest matches up..why not get the missing war game matches up
ReplyDeleteApparently there's a Perfect/Bret match from Alaska that Bret considers the best match between the two but it was never taped.
ReplyDeleteThis was an awesome interview. I love how Bret just doesn't give a shit and rips on everybody without being nervous about it.
ReplyDeleteDude, it was a fucking question.
ReplyDeleteSid said WCW was doing 20k paid? In WCW's entire existence it only topped 20k attendance a few times. What's he smoking?
ReplyDeleteHoly crap, they were going to do Chyna vs. Austin at Summerslam 99?!
ReplyDeleteHe has said multiple times that Vince told him repeatedly he would be groomed for the top title, but Bret pretty much didn't believe it.
ReplyDeleteThat's giving it too much credit. It looks like an ugly MS Paint mockup.
ReplyDeleteI think that was just part of a storyline where HHH briefly lost his title-shot to Chyna or something. Was never really gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteAnd VJ is a fucking troll sometimes. Nothing new, just move on.
ReplyDeleteI said the same thing yesterday.
ReplyDeletePart of me wonders if the Rock could've drawn 1M+ against ANYBODY on the roster (outside the Heath Slater types). I kind think something as seemingly innocuous as Rock-Ziggler could've drawn an amazing number for Mania simply because, like you said, it's The Rock.
ReplyDeleteEh, while I can totally see your perspective the NFL is the same organization that punishes people for saying vaguely racist things at country rock concerts.
ReplyDeleteThey act like racism is their biggest problem in a business full of convicts, rapists, abusers and addicts, the double standard is striking.
Sharpshooter weakens Warrior, his legs give out during the gorilla press, small package new champion.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree on Ambrose. I feel he's actually losing the fans in his matches because they're dull. His promos are good, and his mannerisms are great, but he needs to find himself in the ring. I feel he's already lost a little steam in terms of consistent crowd reactions.
The stipulation does them no favors, but Rollins is fantastic and they have a great rapport, so hopefully the match can overcome the dumb gimmick.
Survivor Series 1999 -- wtf is up with HHH's arms??
ReplyDeleteMLB: Chipper Jones. One of a dying breed, who spent his entire career with one major franchise. It's why Rivera and Jeter don't get the hatred they used to from me.
ReplyDeleteNFL: Bobby Hebert. Cajun Cannon, QB of the first set of Saints successful teams, just missing that playoff win.
NBA: Dominique Wilkins. TBS got me into the Braves and Hawks when I was young. 'Nique and Spud were always fun to watch.
NHL: Patrick Marleau. Playing as the Sharks on NHL 20__, and having him on the team every year (as a top player at that) never gets old.
I think that'll happen with the tag tournament. The winners should beat the Ascension.
ReplyDeleteI guess everyone got their Yankees hate on me...
ReplyDeleteIt's a tough call...and maybe more of a personal fascination...Mike Tyson. The kind of power and drive he had was just unreal, he was a force of pure malevolence.
ReplyDeleteGenerally I lean more toward "all time greatest" types like Jordan or Anderson Silva but Tyson, and especially his story and what became of him, are fascinating to me.
Did Cooper ever get punished? I thought he apologized to the team that that was it.
ReplyDeleteNow Ray Rice getting 2 games for beating the shit out his wife on video while Justin Blackmon's career is pretty much dead because of weed is complete horseshit.
I don't even remember if he did or not, but just that it was a big deal and they had to think about it shows you where they're at as a league.
ReplyDeleteIt just irks me, the NFL can't apologize fast enough to black groups or gay groups that get offended but the Native Americans, well they feel just completely comfortable paying them no attention at all.
Personally I'm in a quandry because I despise hyperliberal PC bullshit that's ruining conversation in this county, but on the other hand I really, really, really hate the NFL.
They should have James Mitchell as their manager also. Hey if Dutch can come back why not sinister minister
ReplyDeleteYou are wayyyyyy too obsessed with defending the WWE. Do you wake up in the morning and start tap dancing about how excited you are for WWE?
ReplyDeleteI did. It's going to be a pain in the ass but I feel it's been a rewarding experience.
ReplyDeleteYeah. *Slightly* big forehead, but she was really good looking.
ReplyDeleteRic Flair bragging about his past conquests isn't even "dude's dad was the man back in the day" level anymore. It's more of Grandpa from Rugrats talking about his porn collection losing.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, tough one. With honorable mention to Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Martin Brodeur, Patrik Elias, Wayne Gretzky and Tom Brady...
ReplyDelete...I'd have to say Drew Bledsoe. He was my clear favorite in my hardcore growing up sports crazy time frame. Which made for a bizarre dynamic for me when Brady took his place and started winning.
I felt Bret's matches were far less formulaic, and he could mix things up to keep pace with more advanced high spots.
ReplyDeleteI hate to offend anyone, but is there any one person here that has ever heard the term 'Redskin' used in a racist manner towards a Native American? In a book, in a movie, in real life? Not me, ever. Words change over time and mean different things, and that term means the football team from Washington.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I loved about the Riggs DVD. He had no delusions of what he was at all. He had a good time in wrestling and got a lot of chicks.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they should change their name either. Not to piss people off, but because I think there are bigger problems out there, and they should only really change it if a majority of people want it changed; not a small group of bored people.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, no. I'm not even sure what the hot racial slur for Native Americans is these days. Alcoholics?
ReplyDeleteWrestling skanks vs. golf skanks. I'm sorry, but golf skanks win 9/10 times.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair though, how many real obvious Native Americans are out there where you would see them having epithets shouted at them?
ReplyDeleteI mean, I don't know what the slur is for people from Bangladesh but I'd bet money there's one out there.
greatest player of all time, any sport.
ReplyDeleteNice finish!
ReplyDeleteIf the Celtics were the Boston Micks I wouldn't get all up in arms about it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's racist as hell, but I'm kinda low on f*cks to give at this point.....not sure if I can give much to the cause lol
ReplyDeleteI don't watch Smackdown, but I haven't really seen an Ambrose match I'd call dull. I guess his Del Rio match, but he had a really strong match with Orton three weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of all of them is Indian Giver, because you know, they gave us land for nothing and then we took way more of it and killed their culture, so they're Indian Givers.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Urban Dictionary, Banger.
ReplyDeleteI'd hit it
ReplyDeleteAnd without him there is no Mike Tyson's Punch Out!
ReplyDeleteI'd just be embarised to have a sports team named "redskins."
ReplyDeleteditto for the Indians and their logo.
a sports team name ranks real low in the grand scheme of injustices...but it's just embarising.
No....then you just have Sparky Thurman Plugg
ReplyDeleteSee? And if they were the Washington Banger's we'd have no idea what the problem was.
ReplyDeleteMy only point is that it being a very small minority being offended by it doesn't make them wrong. Especially for Native American's since we sort of made them a small minority on purpose.
"Bret then talks about how he heard the guys down in NXT were recently watching his 1993 Royal Rumble match against Razor Ramon."
ReplyDeleteToo. Fucking. Easy.
Bobby Orr
ReplyDeleteBoston Potato Eaters?
ReplyDeleteThere's a difference between PC police, and asking fpr decency.
ReplyDeleteif they were the washington blackskins we wouldn't even be having this discussion.
it's a stupid name and my confusion is why anyone has a problem with changing it.
we look less like backwards hicks now, what have we done!?
What if they win lots of championships?
ReplyDeleteI fail to see the relevance here.
ReplyDeletethey don't unwin the titles of the name changes
Bret Hart is awesome. I don't care what anyone says. This is a guy who is completely unashamed in talking about how great he is and I love it. It's great when guys are modest, but seeing Bret tout his own greatness without any regard for how it could make him look self-righteous is a breath of fresh air.
ReplyDeleteI just meant that if the team was really good and won a lot of championships, would you still be embarrassed by the name?
ReplyDeleteI don't buy that the production truck was updated by accident anymore than I buy TNA and Spike are still "in negotiation." The guy who paints the trucks -- even the guy who orders the guy who paints the trucks -- heard the show might move and went with updating the trucks?? Come the fuck on.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the "missing" War Games? Not everything was taped back in the day.
ReplyDeleteYou know what fucked them? They didn't change it before RG3 was a thing for 2 minutes. Had they made the call then all of this would have gone away and everyone would've been too busy caring what was on the back of the jersey to worry about what was on the front.
ReplyDeleteOr, for instance, look what happened to the fucking Nets of all teams? Some new colors, new jerseys, suddenly people give a shit about one of Earth's Worst Teams.
The dumby is only losing money not rebranding.
"He said that Hogan was 9/10 in presence and promo but 1/10 as a worker."
ReplyDeleteThat's a bit of hyperbole in bashing Hogan's ability as a worker. He had the ability to work much better matches, but knew that he didn't have to. He may not have been the technical master of Bret "Mr. 10/10" Hart, but having watched Hogan matches all my life, there's no way 1/10 is anywhere close to accurate.
The above statement was, I believe, necessary as I doubt anyone else would step up to the plate to defend Hogan in this way.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but one of the tournament winners is supposed to be called up right away!
ReplyDeleteI like it, but what if Bret gets out of the Gorilla Press because somebody's entrance theme started playing and he wins with the Distracted Roll-up Finish(C)
ReplyDeleteBrie absolutely sounded like she'd been working with her HS drama coach all night.
ReplyDeleteWhen you consider that Bret would rank himself 7 or 8, take it with a grain of salt and consider the source.
ReplyDeleteListening to the Yankees game on a radio in my office, I have to keep a box score/gamecast window open so I can have even the slightest idea of what's going on. Sometimes, I feel like defending John and Suzyn. Today is not one of those days.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know, and I do. There's a lot of things Bret said in here that I would call bullshit on, that was the one that stuck out in the moment.
ReplyDeleteTWO HITS IN A ROW FROM ICHIROOOOOOOOOOOO
ReplyDeleteThe first ever free ageny in the NBA signed Tom Chambers.
ReplyDeleteScott Steiner tutors math, only on the WWE Network!
ReplyDeleteThe o and a break where they bash them over the Roger Clemens thing is one of my all time favorites
ReplyDeleteStart saving your pennies, you will get your chance in a few months.
ReplyDeleteMy personal favorite quote from him ever ever was something like:
ReplyDelete"Swing and a hit....MMMMIIIIT IS HIGH....MMMMMIIIITT IS FAR....MMMMMITTTT IS.....GAAAAAAWN! CURTIS GRANDSERON WITH A SCORCHER TO RIGHT FIELD! THE GRANDY MAN CAN! OOOOOOOOOOH THE GRANDY MAN CAN! GRANDSERSON.....IS THE MANDERSON!!!"
Holy shit that man is a national fucking treasure.
Sean is 10/10... as long as it's mid 90s and earlier WWF/WCW. After that, it's obvious he stopped following and has no connection. He's still better than Feinstein or anyone else, which is hardly an accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that easy really. First, it's all subjective. Second, what are we basing a person's wrestling ability on? If it's the ability to work a dramatic match and pull off a convincing finish while mixing up moves and spots to make it more complex and keep the viewers entertained, then Hogan would rank low. If it's the ability to sell a beating and make a hot comeback with a triumphant finish, then Hogan would rank high.
ReplyDeleteSince Hogan only worked one type of match as a good and bad guy, maybe instead of saying that Hogan was a bad worker, we just agree that he was limited, purposely or not. Everyone gets something different out of these matches anyway.
I'm not sure if people would step up to shout it out, but it's pretty well accepted that Hogan knew some stuff. The way he was trained, the oddball Japanese matches you can track down, and a slew of 3 star matches he had in his prime would suggest he knew how to work.
ReplyDeleteI assume people are going through a lots of SNME matches the last few weeks, and I think it's possible that others, like myself, have a new respect for his ability. Using Bret Hart's epic scale of awesomeness, I'd be willing to rank Hogan a 5/10 as a worker.
My favorite football player of all time is the great Steve Young, and the closest I ever came in my life to a bar fight was against some dude who called him a one hit wonder and a Mormon faggot. I was ready to fucking step outside right then and there but cooler heads prevailed. I was born in 1982 and have watched football as long as I can remember, and I love the 49ers but I have never seen a more bad ass football player than young. He was fucking crazy tough, super clutch, played with a total flair and was 15 years ahead of his time. The 1994 Superbowl was awesome but my greatest Steve Young memory was him firing a picture perfect pass to TO to finally beat the fucking packers (who I hate more than any other football team including the cowboys)
ReplyDeleteI shall be the guy to step up and shout it out!
ReplyDeleteOf course it's all subjective, but I would argue that while Hogan had a very basic formula, he changed things up occasionally for the "Big Match Moments" when he needed to. And if you watch videos of Hogan matches in the 1980s, those fans in the crowd were EASILY entertained. Like Petuka said below, 5/10 sounds more reasonable/accurate to me.
ReplyDeleteThis recap is 10/10 when it comes to shoot recaps.
ReplyDelete10/10 is right. Seriously, how many other wrestlers can look Bret in the eye and really say they were better. Not many. And I agree that his best promos were pretty good. I love that he believes in how good he was, that's how he got so far. That's how CM Punk rose above the bullshit. He is modest enough on most other subjects, but from bell to bell, he has every right to boast.
ReplyDeleteKen Griffey Jr. he was so good that he kept up with the steroid monsters in the 1990's in home runs and to my knowledge never once got accused of taking any. If he wasn't such a show off in the outfield causing him to get hurt so much he would have broken Hank Aaron's record. If he had a more engaging personality and wasn't so reserved he would have been the Michael Jordan of baseball.
ReplyDeleteHeck, he had thousands of Japanese people going nuts for his Axe Bomber clothesline. In fact, Hogan has said he wished he used that move as his finisher in the U.S. -- he would've saved himself back, knee, and hip problems later in life from doing the legdrop all the time.
ReplyDeleteUpvote for Chipper. Even if he was a bit of a douche the one time I met him.
ReplyDeleteI want them to lose it just to piss off the gun toting racist Republican jerk offs (and football fans in general).
ReplyDeleteAlthough Mark Mosely Jr. is a good friend of mine so it would suck for him.
the first 4 or 5 are on the DVD and not on the clashes or PPVs....About once a month I look at the DVD online and go....ehhhh if I do they will put them up .
ReplyDeleteBoston Need Not Applys
ReplyDeleteRyne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Walter Payton, Georges St. Pierre, in no particular order.
ReplyDeleteOf course I'm an NBA guy and a huge warriors fan. My Curry has 100% replaced Mullin as my favorite warrior ever, but neither is my favorite basketball player. Being a fan of a terrible team forces you to find other guys to latch on to and enjoy, and when I was a freshmen in highschool a shooting guard from high school made the NBA and became my favorite player right after he was drafted. Followed his whole career and in 2000 ended up moving to where he played. Kobe Bryant is not from planet earth. He's some kind of alien or something. Only way I can explain it. Who tears their fucking Achilles and makes the winning free throws before he leaves? Dropped 81 and over 60 tons of times. Made Tim Duncan and the spurs his bitches in the playoffs. How is Duncan the best player of his era if Kobe destroyed the spurs 5 out of 6 times in the playoffs? He was the leading scorer in every series. Fuck the spurs and that ragtag city. People are dumb and only remmeber what happened yesterday but close followers of the NBA with no Axe to grind know Kobe is the man in his era. BTW he didn't need a super team to win titles, just one big man and you had a dynasty. People hate the Lakers and he was accused of raping a white women which obviously gets people's blood boiling but Kobe did as much for the Lakers as anyone ever and the government dropped that fake ass case.
ReplyDeletePeople love to parrot back stuff they read on ESPN and will accuse him of being non efficient or a ball hog but he won 5 titles and got to 7 finals. Theres more than one acceptable way to play basketball. Kobe plays hero ball and does it better than anyone.
If Bo Jackson hadn't had the freak accident, he would have redefined sports. I thought of him because of what you said about KG Jr. - he kept up with the roided players without needing them. Not only did Bo not need steroids, bya ll accounts he never needed to work out. He just showed up and played, and playing both sports (and being an outdoorsman) kept him in shape.
ReplyDeleteJesus do you work in a Soviet labor camp or something?
ReplyDeleteI hope they keep it forever.
ReplyDeleteSome good points.
ReplyDeleteAlso, that "belt tug-of-war" photo has NEVER surfaced. And we live in a time when almost everything has either come out, been released, made amends, or come to be known. But I have never ever seen that photo.
1. Its obviously not intended to be racist
ReplyDelete2. Its been the name forever, why should they have to change it now
3. If the native Americans have such a problem maybe they should have won the war
Vincent Damphouse is my favorite NHL player (Patrick Roy was the first athlete to hurt me)
ReplyDeleteI will grant you that people tend to selectively forget certain facts about the NBA playoffs. For me, I've always found it convenient that during the ongoing Lebron debates, people forget the group of players he took to the finals in 2007.
ReplyDeleteRight, which is why I noted that it depends on what you place the most value on as a fan. Hogan should be knocked for either his inability or unwillingness to try something different as the New Generation kicked in.
ReplyDeleteAnd that pistons team he beat was great. I remember he scored like the last 26 points in game 5 of that series. Amazing stuff
ReplyDeleteI agree!
ReplyDeleteexcept for the ones actually golfing.
ReplyDeletePeople get complacent in any profession. Hogan was no different.
ReplyDeleteIf you had to pick pure evil I guess you picked the least of it.
ReplyDeleteHogan had some good house show matches from 84-86 on a fairly regular basis to be honest.
ReplyDeleteHe had excellent chemistry with Bundy, good matches with Funk and Orndorff too.
Agreed. You look at the guys at the top of any profession and they all have a good sized ego.
ReplyDeleteYet in July 1996 he tried something different and it was the biggest angle in wrestling history.
ReplyDeleteThat wouldn't have had the same effect unless Hogan had been a superhero good guy for 12 years.
I don't think Tim is anywhere near "The Man of the 2000's" and I'm not sure why that's become a thing in recent months.
ReplyDeleteNow if we're talking "Duo of the 2000's" I don't know who the hell that would be BUT Tim and Tony.
Don't heads balloon up on the juice?
ReplyDeleteHe looked completely disinterested in the Shane Helms YouShoot.
ReplyDeleteWe also live in an era where WWE.com digs out some of the most obscure shit from the Titan Tower archives, including a lot of "what could have been" information... and we still haven't seen it.
ReplyDeleteUsually, at least in Bonds case, the rest of the body swells so much that it appears the head has shrunk. Or maybe I'm totally wrong and I'm thinking of Temple of Doom.
ReplyDeleteWell, he said on his best day he's a 7 or 8, which is actually quite humble when it comes to Bret.
ReplyDeleteBig Mac is my favorite mlb guy ever but he's one of a very few rotten eggs who cheated (all of whom got caught) so I'm not allowed to say nice stuff about him.
ReplyDeleteI'd have a hard time believing Hunter would jeopardize everything for a 2/10 guy like Chyna. Even though he's a 4/10 on his best day.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about Bret's promos, is that they never needed to be 10s. He was never very elaborate in these, but pretty much straight to the point. It fit his character.
ReplyDeleteYou're no slouch, but I'm the Excellence of Execution... was always good enough.
Let me guess you are from St. Louis?
ReplyDeleteI think when Bret actually HAD to do promos instead of telling it in the ring, like in 1997, he was actually quite awesome.
ReplyDeleteThat and the steroids turning his body into ectoplasm.
ReplyDeleteIn '97, once he started touching on something real inside him, he had a lot of passion. Those were his 7s and 8s... but I'd argue that for his character prior to that, even his less elaborate, straight to the point promos were 7s or 8s for that character.
ReplyDeleteAXUUUUUUUUUU BOMAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNo one's mentioned UFC yet, my fave of all time is easily BJ. He sucks now (like they all do at the end when they have to be literally knocked out of the UFC) but for a few years there that guy was unstoppable.
ReplyDeleteI loved how guys could get both arms and a leg locked up and still not get his ass to the ground, his grappling defense was so crazy strong.
For basketball I'd like to say Jordan but the truth is I spent most of Jordan's era hating him and their stranglehold on everything so I'd have to go with Gary Payton (strange pattern happening here) he was lightning fast, a great shot and so goddamn entertaining on the floor. In a sport built on shit talk he earned a lifetime achievement award.
You could argue the same for Hogan's ring work.
ReplyDeleteHer body was pretty hot the 2nd half of her career. But, she's always had a dog face.
ReplyDeleteThat's another way to look at it, don't disagree.
ReplyDeleteLol.
ReplyDeleteStefan Edberg. I emulated his serve and volley style, he was magical at net with a beautiful overall game. Classy, handsome gentleman. Basically the last remnant of tennis before it turned into all big bashers.
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeletethe two things are unrelated.
Absolutely. I don't think anyone would ever give him a 10/10... but there's plenty of guys who say the best worker is the guy who draws the most money.
ReplyDeleteHulk worked the best match he could, in his own money drawing style.
I don't deny it's offensive. But it's not Native Americans pushing for the change (mostly), it's rich white douchebag talking heads.
ReplyDeleteBJ could have been even better if he had put in more work. Extremely talented people like him tend not to train as hard as they should and it ends up costing them. I think he could have been the GOAT if he spent more time training. He is an asshole though so I would have a hard time liking him regardless.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem with this theory is that every poll done of actual Native Americans shows that they don't give a shit about the name. It's white liberals who are up in arms about it. Easier to go after a word than to address the actual issues facing the Native American community (underemployment, poor living conditions, etc.).
ReplyDeleteIt is a pretty damning indictment of creative that they have no ideas for RIC FLAIR. I mean, I can buy them not knowing what to do with Sandow or some NXT rookie whose gimmick doesn't really translate to the big time, but Ric Flair? Really?!?
ReplyDeleteto be fair, how many native pop culture outlets do you know of for them to push a name change with?
ReplyDeleteI don't care enough about a dumb sports team name to organize a parade to change it.
I'm just at a loss for why it seems like someone has to. this is as inconsequential a thing as there is. It's just sports, entertainment, if you will.
Total asshole, based on everything I've ever read. But the guy gets punched in the face for a living so I kind of give him and all the UFC guys a pass (though almost all of them have great reputations for being awesome with fans)
ReplyDeleteYou're right though, there was always kind of that...I don't know...potential I guess, that he just never realized. He really could have been an unbeatable living legend in his division if he had just stayed motivated.
the fallacy here is that somehpw wanting the name changed means NOT giving a shit about the real problems.
ReplyDeletewhy not do both
Yeah, I agree. If, as Gorilla Monsoon said, the only reason you are there is to make money, the Hogan was a great worker.
ReplyDeleteThe Eagles fined Cooper an undisclosed amount. The NFL itself didn't get involved.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the fact that Rice got 2 games while Blackmon and Gordon have their careers hanging in the balance for weed is beyond absurd. Goodell essentially using the "way we've always done it" defense for the penalties is equally stupid.
The more I hear Bret speak, the less I give a shit about him getting screwed in Montreal.
ReplyDeleteOh I agree, it certainly seems to be more of a bored college liberal issue than it is with the actual Native American people...at least, that's what I assume.
ReplyDeleteMy only point is that I don't personally know one way or the other how those people feel and assuming they're wrong because they're a minority is nutty talk, that's all. Or the idea that, because we don't hear Redskin tossed around a lot, means it's not necessarily a terrible word.
I don't really have an opinion either way honestly but think it's a fascinating issue in terms of where we're at as a country trying to do everything we can to avoid looking a teensy bit racist to anyone.
Sure...except who the hell is talking about helping out with the real issues? Meanwhile, the naming issue is all over the news and the friggin' Copyright Office feels the need to get involved. No one is saying they're mutually exclusive, but I find it funny that the name "Redskins" is suddenly an issue, so guilty white people can feel self-righteous about it.
ReplyDeleteEmitt Smith and Peyton Manning.
ReplyDeleteIf his knees didn't fail him, he wouldve passed Aaron
ReplyDeleteOh come on truck painters get over zealous all the time...they love to paint trucks
ReplyDelete"Imagine how bad it would've gotten if it was a man vs. woman match."
ReplyDeletebut what does that have to do with austin vs chyna?
My favorite athlete is probably LeBron. He's the reason why I started watching basketball. Sucks that he's left Miami though.
ReplyDeleteIf my first name was Larry and my nickname was Chipper, I'd be an asshole too.
ReplyDelete