Scott,
Big Heenan fan here, but I thought he was pretty weak in WCW, especially during the NWO run. Do you think it would've been better overall if he stayed a heel commentator / pro-NWO back then instead of being afraid of them?
Bobby's thing wasn't showing backbone, though. He was the definitive cowardly heel manager and everyone knew it. Maybe had the NWO forced a shirt onto him or something, he could have joined them to save his own hide because that would be in character, but I don't see him just up and defying them otherwise.
Now, someone like Jesse Ventura in the same position would tell them to go fuck themselves and probably get over as a huge babyface in the process.
I think Heenan's performances may have been better during that era if he wasn't shithoused for every Nitro.
ReplyDeleteUm, anoter PPV ending by DQ??? No thanks.
ReplyDeleteI still think Rusev is going to beat up Cena to eliminate him. They need to keep Cena strong, but they also need to have Rusev seem likely to beat Cena at Wrestlemania.
After Cena smashing HHH through a table this Monday, i think he will lose on Sunday, esp as his team losing has no long term consequences.
Actually, on the infamous "nWo Nitro" episode in late 1997, Heenan begged and pleaded to join the nWo (believing, of course, that the group had officially taken over).
ReplyDeleteHeenan was mocked and ultimately sent away.
Everything returned to normal the next week with Heenan pulling a George Costanza and acting as though nothing happened.
That first week they probably still planned to actually do nWo Nitro or Thunder at some point, I think. It was only when the diastrous ratings came in, actually losing an hour to Raw, that I think they dropped the idea. So Bobby could well have been an nWo announcer then.
ReplyDeleteI think really he was too much of a comedy figure to be a good announcer for the nWo, who usually went much further in their actions than the heels he normally managed.
ReplyDelete"...while they tease out a new GM to pop the ratings from 2.5 to 2.6."
ReplyDeleteSadly, this seems legit.
I loved Heenan's WWF work, and hated his WCW work. I think it's symptomatic of the larger problem, though. WCW had no clear idea what the holy fuck they were doing week to week. The announcers have to make it up as they go to cover for inconsistent characters, dropped/nonsensical storylines, and other mishaps of napkin booking.
ReplyDeleteI thought it added a good dimension to the nWo angle that even a cowardly heel like Heenan would 'drop' his actions and side with the WCW guys; it made the whole thing more real. But once it became clear that the company was spinning in its wheels, all of the announcers were fucked.
I loved how whenever anyone from the nWo would approach the broadcast table on Nitro, Bobby would quickly say goodbye and get out of there scared shitless.
ReplyDeleteI think Heenan's problem was he believed his own hype. He was told he was funny and in WCW he tried to be funny at the expense of getting talent over. Sure he was drinking, sure he hated Tony, sure WCW was a mess, but ultimately he believed his own hype. an announcers job is to get talent over and, although he had the occasional good one liner, Heenan failed at this in WCW.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking Sheamus may return to cost Cena the match. Just seems odd he was removed, and let's not forget that much like Hogan, even though he would be justified for Cena not helping him, Cena will be booked as the face.
ReplyDeleteHeenan was just a drunk at that point. He hated coming in to work, and it showed.
ReplyDeleteI thought he did a pretty good job of selling Goldberg as a big deal. Other than that WCW was a disappointment for him.
ReplyDeleteWas just discussing this in the Raw recap, but I don't think Cena wins on Sunday. I see Ryback screwing Cena over and joining the Authority to give Rollins and Rusev the win, keeping the Authority in power.
ReplyDeleteIt's been so long as this point, but I just remember WCW Heenan being basically a face announcer because he hated Hogan so much.
ReplyDeleteAlso, that would have required him aligning with Hogan. For a while it was amusing to hear Heenan's usual reflexive Hogan-bashing and have it be relevant for a change.
ReplyDeleteIf Jesse Ventura would've still been in wrestling in 1996, he would've been magic during the nWo angle.
ReplyDeleteObviously he had bigger fish to fry at the time though.
Backstage segment showing John Cena telling Big Show to you know punch people since it's so effective.
ReplyDeleteBig Show takes his advice and steamrolls the entire 5 man Authority team in 2 minutes ala Survivor Series 1999. Brock Vs Big Show at the Rumble.
Book It!
Also if you keep it in the context of his character ... he always hated Hogan and always said he was dirty and all that. Remember when Hogan turned? Heenan said "I told you so."
ReplyDeleteI do remember seeing some of those early Nitros on the Network with the nWo and Schiovane and McMichael seem to catch Heenan in pro-nWo statements so maybe they were teasing it and Heenan was like, "fuck this, I don't need it" lol.
The Ventura idea is really interesting, actually. I'd love to see him tell the NWO to go fuck themselves.
ReplyDeleteI mean, you can see him do that now on 'Conspiracy Theory', but he's decades past his physical peak at this point.
His work on Spring Stampede 99 is actually quite sad to listen to. He's just all over the place - clearly drunk out of his mind and blathering all over the place. Makes Art Donovan seem enlightening.
ReplyDeleteThe Steiner Brothers beat the Outsiders at Souled Out with WCW ref Randy Anderson running in and making the 3 count.
ReplyDeleteBobby - What the Fuck are you doing?!?
I think when Bobby said that, he was referring it to Schiavone who was trying to take his drink away from him.
ReplyDeleteI think it was more Bischoff essentially telling him his help wasn't required so he said "fuck it".
ReplyDeleteDid he use the tinfoil from his hat?
ReplyDeleteYeah, but this is their free PPV where they're selling it as the one where ANYONE WHO HAS NEVER WATCHED A SHOW BEFORE should watch because it will rock their shit forever. They're not gonna keep the status quo AND have a heel go over. They can't possibly be that stupid.
ReplyDeleteI think Heenan's pre NWO work was strong. As others said, his shtick didn't really work with the NWO because he had to play a defacto babyface announcer. He definitely had a lack of energy/inspiration by 1998/1999 though.
ReplyDeleteThat's why i think an Orton RKO on Rollins will end the show, on a surprise and 'feel good' moment.
ReplyDeleteI think CENAWINSLOL will annoy more of their customers at the moment!
^ can't blame him. There is zero chance I could as an announcer hype a fucking Kwee Wee vs. Prince Iaukea match
ReplyDeleteHeenan calling Mikey Whipwreck "sheepdick" is an all time favorite moment re: Bobby. I think it was Uncensored 99
ReplyDeleteHere's the main problem - they're trying to get people to watch a free PPV to get them hooked, and the most feasible scenarios they can pull off basically involve having Cena overcome so tough odds and maybe having Randy Orton run in to save the day. All of this in a match that features the big show, kane and mark henry. In late 2014. All of this has been done before in various formats and just isn't exciting at all. Setting aside for a moment whether or not any of that is interesting (it isn't), it's not "must see TV". I have the network and I don't think you I'd sacrifice 3 hours to watch this card if someone gave me $20.
ReplyDeleteDusty Rhodes joining was idiotic. Heenan joining would've been even worse. The NWO was anti-tradition, and Hogan joining them only just works because of the betrayal aspect/WWF connections.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that scenario would do Orton, Cena, or Rollins any favors. If they want to do some kind of DQ ending like that then the only way to go would be with Brock Lesnar. Have Lesnar come out, attack Rollins (for attempting to cash in on him at NoC) and then attack Cena too. Then they could go ahead and run Cena vs. Lesnar at TLC, teasing Rollins' involvement in the match too. Do the title change there so we can start fresh at the Royal Rumble.
ReplyDeleteCall me crazy, but I'm 100% certain that the heels go over - WWE isn't doing away with their "Evil Authority Figures" trope.
ReplyDelete"They can't possibly be that stupid."
ReplyDeleteI keep saying that, too, and they keep proving me wrong.
I know it won't happen, but (in a perfect world) this is the perfect scenario for CM Punk to return against The Authority.
ReplyDeleteThe ppv will end with CENAWINSLOL and we will like it.
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly waiting on the point where John grabs an actual #CENAWINSLOL sign from the crowd and holds it in front of the hard camera with that fucking smile he does to make the blog explode.
ReplyDeleteI still think Orton shows up and RKOs somebody, giving that team the win. If Cena's team gets the win, he then RKOs Cena for good measure. It would fit very well into the Stone Cold-esque persona they seemingly are trying to push for him right now
ReplyDeleteOrton RKOs Rollins behind the ref's back then we get the two fresh matches of Brock vs Cena and Orton vs HHH at the Rumble.
ReplyDeleteSo Orton actually isn't going to be in the show? That's hilarious. WWE has teased an Orton face turn, climaxing at the big Survivor Series PPV, which (of all places) is in Orton's hometown of St. Louis, the one place on earth that would give Orton the face pop of all pops...
ReplyDelete...and he isn't booked since he's shooting a shitty direct-to-video WWE Films movie.
Wait, people still give a shit about Neilson ratings? In 2014?
ReplyDeleteYes, it's how advertisers value programming and how TV companies make money.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking Lame-Us hits Cena with Brogue Kick. Rollins Curb Stomps Cena for victory. Authority celebrates. Orton music hits, they wait... he enters and RKOs Triple H and escapes to give "send crowd home happy" moment after shitty main event.
ReplyDeleteHere's a good synopsis of the Neilson system today:
ReplyDelete"Just a reminder
nielsen's ratings don't mean anything to anyone except TV people
they are not an indicator of pop culture penetration or awareness or even real market value
they mean advertising dollars
and absolutely nothing more
they are a relic of a bygone age of television, clinging tenaciously to their entrenched power structure to stay alive
with time, as digitally delivered television and streaming consumes and eclipses all other forms of television delivery, they will eventually become so irrelevant as an indicator of advertisement penetration that they will lose their sole remaining value to TV networks
at which point, "ratings" will be replaced with something more in tune with what is actually happening and what is actually being watched by actual people"
In short, it's an archaic system and many great TV shows are in trouble of getting cancelled because of it.
You make a good point, there. Am I insane to think Cena wins and somehow, someway (yawn), the "Authority's Contracts" hang above the ring at TLC. "This is where storylines and rivalries are settled!" I'd assume Rollins MITB case is up there,though.
ReplyDeleteIncorrect. Social media scores are what are irrelevant. Advertisers still rate shows based on... ratings. Comparing today's ratings to past ratings? THAT is foolish. Comparing them to other programming TODAY? That's how it's done.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying social media scores should be the only indicator. But the Neilson system is only relevant today because of the stranglehold it has on the industry as a whole.
ReplyDeleteBrock vs. Big Show for the THIRD time at a Royal Rumble PPV?
ReplyDeleteInteresting, who are you quoting?
ReplyDelete