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WCW Saturday Night: February 1, 1997

One Year Ago: On the 02/03 Saturday Night, Ric Flair cheats to beat Dean Malenko before vowing to have Elizabeth ride Space Mountain one more time. On the 02/05 Nitro, Chris Benoit and Randy Savage tear it up, Marcus Bagwell has what is likely his best singles match ever, and the Road Warriors get a tag-team title shot. Feel free to look back fondly at all your favorite Todd Morton moments by clicking those links. I’ll still be here when you get back.

TONY SCHIAVONE and DUSTY RHODES welcome us to the Cyborg Factory aboard the Mothership for my favorite 2-hours of the week. Yes, even more-so than Nitro, because the nWo stays away from this show and they’re really starting to get on my nerves. Thank god Hogan doesn’t work Saturdays.


GLACIER vs. ACE DARLING

Tony hypes a man that has made a big impact in our sport; but I fail to see this person. Glacier sports his 3000 year old hat and Krang belt. This guy has the best deal in the company; work once a month, get a colorful blizzard every time you show up, and not only don’t you have to sell, your opponent isn’t allowed to hit you with an offensive move. When Hogan’s out-working you, you’re sitting pretty. Glacier does martial arts, causing Darling to cower in the corner, and Glacier won’t attack because of his Honor. Darling steps forward to fight, and like any good Mortal Kombat player does against an amateur, he sweeps out the legs. Darling knocks down Glacier and heads up, but he misses a guillotine legdrop and takes a tigerbomb. The Cryonic Kick puts this away, and Glacier remains undefeated at 2:00. DUD

The Bischoff / Randy Anderson segment is replayed from Nitro.

LEE MARSHALL checks in with the mental state of the STEINER BROTHERS. The latest addition to the world of leather fetish, Scott Steiner, has decided they are in fact the world tag-team champions no matter what Bischoff says. And, if the nWo want to reclaim the title, they’ll have to fight them. Glass half full!

THE AMAZING FRENCH CANADIANS (with Colonel Robert Parker) vs. HIGH VOLTAGE

I have to applaud the bookers, who, armed with a roster of 8000, have successfully put together a match I have absolutely no desire to see. Rougeau tries his hand at the National Anthem, and Dusty’s even ruder than Tony usually is, because he doesn’t even stop talking to give them a CHANCE, completely ignoring them. High Voltage gives them a Thumbs Down, and them’s fighting thumbs. Rage hits a springboard splash on Ouellette for an early 2, but the big man flattens him with a clothesline. The Colonel gets in a couple of free shots on the outside. Back in, Rougeau slams PCO onto Rage, and that sets up the Quebec Crash at 2:21. 1/2*

Teaser: Bischoff should be nervous, Piper returns Monday.

DISCO INFERNO vs. TREVOR ALLEN

You know, if Disco’s planning on being the Honky Tonk Man’s protégé like all the NewzSites are saying, he’s gonna have to hurry up and actually leave WCW. Movie buffs are likely familiar with Allen; he played the banjo in Deliverance.


Disco spends the first 20 seconds of the match carefully removing his neck chain and vest. I hope to god the instructions to his leg lock weren’t in there! Disco knocks down his beady eyed opponent, and then gives him a high five. That’s fantastic. Of course, he’s a dick, and immediately takes to stomping on his new friend, with a little bit of a mean streak in his actions. A side slam sets up the leg hold, but his opponent shoves him off immediately. Disco, unsure what to do now, hooks the ropes to dodge a dropkick and makes a second go of it. Disco actually figures it out this time, named the Last Dance, and he wins at 3:10! Disco screams “IT WORKS?!?” in disbelief! So proud, he goes to do it again, but the referee tells him to piss off. Disco is a superstar amongst jobbers. *

BUDDY LEE PARKER vs. ALEX WRIGHT

Is it a slow week at the Powerplant or something? I don’t feel like we’ve seen Parker in 1997 yet, but I have the memory of an ostrich. Tony starts beating his chest about being the big ratings winners in the war of professional wrestling, thanks in part to all the biggest stars like Lex Luger, The Giant, and Dean Malenko. Dean Malenko? Seriously? I mean, I like bland old Dean just fine, solid worker, and I appreciate Tony throwing the Cruiserweights a bone; but Rey Mysterio Jr. is the obvious kingpin of that division from a marketing standpoint. Parker nearly succumbs to a sunset flip off the top, but he’s a military man and he’s determined to “send this man back to Germany!” Wasn’t he a cop? And where the hell IS Lieutenant Wright? I’m going to assume he’s still assigned to the grizzly murder of Fit Finlay, but there comes a point when you need to consider the case cold and get back to your regular duties like issuing traffic tickets and wrestling the Steiner Brothers on weekends. Wright hits a plancha, but that’s old hat in contrast to our new friends from south of the border. German suplex gets the win at 4:30, but Alex needs to pick it up. The days of a white meat babyface being enough are done, and no amount of hype changes the fact that he’s getting outworked by even the lowest of the imports like Galaxy and Ciclope. 1/2*

JEFF JARRETT and LEE MARSHALL get together to clear the air. Jarrett starts calling out the Horsemen for not being man enough to take on the leadership of WCW. He reminds the world he’s beaten all of them, and if Mongo wants to step up and start taking cheapshots, he’ll happily put him in his place and take over the leadership of the entire Horsemen group himself.

KONAN (with Jimmy Hart) vs. SGT. CRAIG PITTMAN

Konan has adopted new music which I have to presume is his own, but I can’t hear it very well on my choppy old copy of the show. He takes on … awwwww hell, Pittman’s STILL employed?!? Why god? Konan remains an N short, and has seen his push stalled since he lost it. Pittman works some sort of awful hammerlock, which Konan sells by grunting pleasurably. He changes to a wristlock, and follows with a crossface (IE: sitting on his ass and wrapping an arm around his opponent). Look, I have a rule, and I call it the Backyard Rule. If any untrained 13 year old wrestler can perform your moves without hurting themselves, you probably shouldn’t be in the ring. Hell, *I* can do this:





What the hell IS that last move? And no, I didn’t catch him mid-stream in an attempt to make my point, that is honest to god what he was applying. Tony tells us that Pittman is wrestling “his kind of match”, which is fine, but maybe he can keep it to his living room and not nationally broadcast television? Konan wins with a cradle DDT 6:37. -**

SUPER CALO vs. THE ULTIMATE DRAGON (with Sonny Onoo)

Tony pimps out an upcoming WCW event at the Florida state fair; but Dusty has little interest in working, promising fans will find him walking around the midway eating cotton candy. I have absolutely no reason to doubt this, actually. Calo tosses Dragon across the ring, and hits a spinebuster for 2. Frustrated, Calo stops to check that his hat is still on his head. Thankfully it is, and he’s so excited he actually manages to hit a somersault legdrop off the top. Seeing as how this is the first top rope move he’s ever hit, he goes for another one, forgetting to play the odds and just knock it off. Dragon blocks a splash with the knees, and it’s go time now. Brainbuster gets 2. The handpring back elbow misses, and Calo hits a butterfly suplex for 2. A fast senton yields the same, and Dragon spin kicks Calo in the face. Calo sandbags a powerbomb, and despite Dragon fighting like hell to pick him up, he finally drops him … right on the back of his neck. He’s thankfully ok, and Dragon gets 2. A dropkick sends Calo to the floor, but he sidesteps the baseball slide and hits a rope swing dropkick of his own! A slingshot somersault plancha drops the former champion, and Calo poses for the fans; hat and sunglasses not an inch out of place. He goes for a corner senton, but Dragon sidesteps and Calo hits the corner, landing right on the back of his neck again. Not a good day for Calo’s future. Dragonsteiner sets up the Dragon suplex, and that’s that at 4:47. Despite Calo’s sloppiness, this was a ton of fun. ***

The most critical storyline in WCW history is aired in full: The debut of Jacqueline. It eats 13 minutes off the back of the show though, so I ain’t complaining.

LA PARKA vs. LEX LUGER

Ok, this pairing is sort of ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with feeding Luger a steady stream of fat jobbers; hell, Buddy “Valentino” Valentine must be looking for a payday. However, I don’t have any interest in watching the Chairman act as a tennis ball for Slim. Sadly, it’s what the bookers want. A jumping spin wheel kick sends Luger to the floor, and Parka’s all over him with a tope suicida! Back in, the missile dropkick has Parka in charge, and he gives Luger the old thumbs down. La Parkinator goes to finish … but Luger kicks out at 2. Fiddlesticks. Parka is unable to follow up and takes a clothesline, and it’s all Luger from here. Powerslam, Rack, goodnight dear skeleton at 2:57. *1/2

THE PUBLIC ENEMY vs. HARLEM HEAT (with Sista Sherri)

Nooooooooooooo! Calo and Dragon have completely saved this show from being one of the worst cards that I can remember in the last year+. Sherri helps too, calling the fan in the front row a “Green Bay Packer loser fan idiot!” She forgot scum, but that’s ok. Making matters worse, we’re gifted the “Nasty Boys” camera, where we do a “split” screen that only takes up a quarter of the screen so nobody can see anything. Try to remember this was shown on 27” tube TVs in standard def, making matters a zillion times worse. Grunge gets his hands on Sherri, but she scratches her nails into his eyes to escape, and everyone goes back to walking around the ring throwing punches. Somehow, Tony decides this is a fine time for commercial.

At some point while we were gone, between the walking and punching, everyone got back in the ring and a tag-team match broke out. Booker takes Grunge to the floor, and Sherri punches him in the pooter. Back in, Grunge fails to kick out at 3 off a snapmare, so the referee pretends he didn’t count to 3, and gives him a 4th chance to kick out. Stevie drops a leg for 2, and then distracts the referee long enough for Booker to get in a couple of cheap shots. Grunge hits a desperate neckbreaker, but Stevie manages to keep the ring cut off. He tries a jawbreaker next, but Booker punches Rock in the face to knock him off the apron, and then cracks Grunge with the Axe kick. Booker puts him up top, but Grunge hits a shoulderblock and finally gets the hot tag to Rocco. Both guys take clotheslines, and Sherri leaps on the apron. She’s held hostage on the apron, which just so happens to be right in front of TPE’s table. Booker pulls her to safety as Grunge flies in with the Drive By, and he takes his partner with him through the table. Both guys play dead for awhile, and the Heat Bomb finishes Rock at 8:35. Dusty: “This one was a mess.” Tony: “Yes, it was a mess, from the word go.” I couldn’t agree more. 1/2*

Tony replays the entire angle that led us to Roddy Piper’s title shot that was awarded Monday. Then we turn to “Language Experts” named MR. and MRS. SANDY MURRAY to tell us Piper was rambling about when he was hauled out on the stretcher back on the December 30th Nitro. Mr. Murray says that Piper was speaking ancient Gaelic and not in tongues. And, it just so happens that Mr. Murray is the director of the Atlanta Celtic Festival, and he just swelled with pride when Roddy started speaking his language while concussed. He calls Piper an excellent role model. Blow for everyone! Anyway, Piper reportedly said “the battle isn’t over until you get home” repeatedly, and while he can’t confirm that this was in reference to “Mr. Hogan”, he can assure us that He’s Serious and There Will Be Hell To Pay.

And just for your personal files, let’s meet Mr. and Mrs. Murray:


Dr. Unlikely is going to have a field day with these two, so I’ll pre-emptively thank WCW for their epic casting here.

Dusty believes that Piper’s rant means he still wants a match with Hogan. Thank god he’s here. Tony signs us off, by putting Piper’s “Gaelic” on a loop, which is probably about the 30 seconds of funniest TV I’ve seen since Viscera slipped on the beer.


Oh WCW, I love you sooooo much, but PLEASE, for the love of God, be better. With all the talent in the world at their disposal there's no reason for the last 6 weeks to have been so darn awful. Right the train, give me some quality mid-card wrestling, help Larry Zbyszko figure out what Sting's motives are, and we'll be ok.

Right?

Comments

  1. Adam "Colorado" CurryMarch 3, 2015 at 7:43 PM

    Didn't Darling end up being someone notable, or was he one of the indy guys that never made it?

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  2. This episode seems to have suffered from a total lack of The Gambler

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  3. He trained Mike Quackenbush, and that's about it really. Maybe you're thinking Ace Steel?

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  4. Darling and Devon Storm were popular indy guys in the Northeast during the mid-late 90's. He never made it anywhere.

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  5. If the idea of a trans woman having lower T seems odd, by the way, think of it this way: it's overcompensation to create/maintain change. Now, if someone hasn't been on hormones for a long enough time, of course, then yes, they would be at a massive advantage, but there is extensive testing done to determine that sort of thing. Usually a couple years are necessary.

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  6. Tito was such a bitch.

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  7. Ucker was hysterical during that midgets match. Man I have totally forgotten about that awesome Piper vs Adrian feud and the blow off here. I actually want to watch this show again soon.

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  8. Savage-Honky Tonk Man did not start until the fall.

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  9. In 1987 outside of Wrestlemania, the WWF was still based on the house show model. After Wrestlemania III you had a bunch of teams who could vie for the tag team titles and you had some viable challengers to the new intercontinental champion. But once Hogan beaten Andre who else could credibly challenge him for the WWF title. There were literally no credible challengers on the horizon. Once he has beaten Andre the Giant, the biggest monster of them all, every other monster of the month doesn't seem so threatening.

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  10. The Savage/Steamboat match doesn't age as well as others have -- personally, I think his effort with Warrior is better than with Steamboat -- but it's the match that really put Ricky on the map. If that match doesn't happen, the trilogy with Ric Flair doesn't happen, I believe.

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  11. He looked a lot better in that last match. Somebody she says they knew somebody claims Adonis was going back to the WWF in the fall of 1988.

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  12. Disagree. It's such a beautiful story and it's pro wrestling at its finest. Savage getting his comeuppance after a year and a half of being a dick.

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  13. Remember when Craig Pittman kept coming out to ask guys to be his manager and they'd all turn him down one after the other until he had to settle for fat Teddy Long. That always cracked me up.

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  14. Meltzer was very anti-WWF after expansion since he didn't like the direction they were taking wrestling and killing off the territories.

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  15. I think he was legit injured, so they did the injury angle with Demolition to cover it.

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  16. For me the heat along gets ** out of Hulk-Andre. It was a fun match with some really good heat portions like Hulk fighting the bearhug and Hulk being so angry that he got stupid and tried to piledrive Andre on the floor. Made no sense in terms of a maneuver that would actually work but it did make sense he would try it because he wasn't thinking straight.

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  17. He said he was going to destroy it when he slammed Andre into the ocean.

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  18. This seemed like a really fun time to be a fan.

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  19. You're right. I was thinking. I saw them main event a show in August but it was November

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  20. Molly is a thousand times hotter! A billion times!

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  21. Steamboat was "on the map" in the NWA before he ever stepped foot in a WWF ring and had already established himself as one of Flair's favorite opponents. And given how quickly Steamer was depushed after this, I don't think the Savage match had a thing to do with that eventual trilogy.

    Disagree on the Warrior match being better than this one, too. No match before or since had ever sucked me in like this one.

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  22. He was brutal towards the WWF from 84-89

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  23. And then he went out and put on a genuinely good ANALYSIS performance in the other 6-man tag. He prompted Gorilla to fill everyone in on the histoyr of the two teams, he put over how Santana's "waited a whole year for this!" when he finally got his hands on him, moaned "We'll never hear the end of it!" after Davis stole the win, and then pointed out than Davey Boy could have won it but passed up a chance to cover him. I think I mentioned this in another thread, but either Uecker "got it" or someone did a great job of prepping him.

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  24. I actually heard Crockett was his more likely landing spot. For awhile I chalked it up to an urban myth but when I finally saw those '88 NJPW matches I changed my mind and the story became plausible.

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  25. I might call it the best-BOOKED WM of all-time, though some of the action falls short. But every single match--even Reed vs. Koko, once you bring in the post-match with Tito and Slick--served a purpose, either as part of a feud or setting a future storyline in motion.

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  26. THat's probably why they went back to the Andre well for the main event and WMIV. Really the Savage bout at WM5 was a foregone conclusion where WM6 was the only one with some uncertainty (and even then, as the biggest Warrior mark that ever marked, I was absolutely *SHOCKED* when he won the title).

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  27. AverageJoeEverymanMarch 3, 2015 at 10:04 PM

    Or eye-patches.

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  28. I guess they just fit right into that whole "glam metal" thing that was big in the eighties. They looked like they could've been in Poison or Motley Crue or something. Now you look at those bands now and you think, "wow, they looked really ridiculous" - but girls used to go crazy for them and they got hella groupies.

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  29. Wow, what a difference in that NJPW clip. I'd never seen that before, thanks for sharing. His death would've been sad regardless, but even more so given how hard he clearly was working to get himself back in shape for another run.

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  30. AverageJoeEverymanMarch 3, 2015 at 10:05 PM

    Outhouse sex was their finishing move.

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  31. I didn't know about DeVito being a bullshitter until now, but...well, he's involved in wrestling, so I guess that's a given. But for whatever it's worth, DeVito goes in-depth into the lighting issues in the History of WM coffee table book. There was apparently a long brainstorming session with proposals involving moving the start time, moving the event, and even somehow covering the roof. Eventually it was decided that none of those were feasible and that they'd have to hope for a rainy, overcast day.


    So maybe we need to take that story with a spoonful or two of salt, though Weather Underground tells us that it WAS overcast and cloudy in Pontiac that day.

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  32. I can't find the issue but I think Dave reconsidered that rating later, even though he's never been one for evaluating matches after the fact, and gave it something like a 1/4* or 1/2*.


    I do think it's one of those matches that sort of defies a star rating as we know the system. It probably IS a negative-star match from a pure action standpoint, but Hogan and Andre are such compelling figures that it overcomes that. I'm not of Dave's belief that context is utterly essential and that matches can ONLY be evaluated "in the moment"--true greatness stands on its own. But I don't think context should be wholly dismissed, either.

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  33. In fairness, many newsletter-reader types were anti-WWF *before* expansion. It was seen as a slow, stodgy territory filled with big fat guys who couldn't wrestle. As in, I've seen non-kayfabe-breaking newsletters from the mid-1960's complaining about the slow main events.


    I'm not sure any promoter would have made friends by killing the territories, but there was very much a prevailing thought of, "Of all the territories to go national, why'd it have to be THAT one?"

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  34. I'm in the minority here but when I first saw Trump Plaza watching WM4 live, I thought it looked awesome. The multi-colored ceiling, the stairway ring entrance...it looked unique, and I liked unique venues. That said, it was clearly problematic for a lot of reasons I realized as I got older.

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  35. They drove a dumptruck full of money up to Vince's house. He's not made of stone.

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  36. That's fine. I've read some Meltzer in the 80s and man....

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  37. Honestly I think Bundy putting the kibosh on Little Beaver was far more memorable than anything they could have done with Orndorff (unless Orndorff gave him a piledriver).

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  38. I think the match suffers from what I feel is like the Citizen Kane effect: it just gets lauded with a disproportionate amount of praise that when you sit and watch it, you constantly are comparing it to its supposed pedestal that it becomes hard to appreciate its greatness on its own merit, if that makes sense

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  39. I agree on best booked too.

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  40. Well, yes, no doubt. That Hogan feller was popular, but he's no Antonio Inoki.

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  41. Yeah and that match also gave us Uecker's commentary, which was brilliant.

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  42. In Australia at the age of 11, the only wrestling on TV was
    the one hour Superstars show. My
    brothers and I were absolutely stoked for this show, and it was taped on VCR
    after screening on a Friday night. In
    order, I was eager to see Steamboat-Savage, Bulldogs-Tito-Harts/Davis,
    Hogan/Andre and Piper/Adonis.

    First, the commentary of Gorilla and Jesse absolutely MADE
    the show. Jessie’s subtle heel schtick
    was fantastic. He almost always ‘had a
    point’, but made it clear where his loyalties stood.



    My heart was in my mouth for absolutely every 2 count of the
    Steamboat-Savage match (Ricky is still, at the age of 39, my favourite wrestler
    of all-time). I loved the absolute
    destruction of Davis by the Bulldogs, although I was savvy enough to see what
    was coming when Davey refused to cover after the tombstone piledriver. Piper / Adonis was just a great multi-week
    story.



    I still consider it the best-booked PPV, top-to-bottom, of
    all time.

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  43. AverageJoeEverymanMarch 3, 2015 at 10:27 PM

    Hey pal get your leg off my shoulder

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  44. I love how the story of Randy Savage's WWF career is basically played out over Wrestlemania

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  45. Different what if...maybe not the thread for it but I figured it was somewhat related.


    So if Steamboat doesn't tell Vince two weeks or so out from WMIII that he's going to take time off to be with his family...what happens? What was Vince's plan for the IC belt? Was Ricky going to hold it for a while? How does everything leading to WMIV play out?

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  46. The rnr were awful?

    Uh no, just no.

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  47. AverageJoeEverymanMarch 3, 2015 at 10:38 PM

    Crazy, that is the smoothest, quickest paced, most perfect match ever.

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  48. Steamboat was on the map in the NWA but he wasnt viewed as main event level talent till he got the exposure from being in the WWF...

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  49. I hear what you're saying, but Steamboat had some high-profile matches in the pre-PPV era where he fought Flair for the title. He never wrestled a main event in the WWF and had been shunted way down the card before he finally left in '88. I agree that his profile was raised in the WWF, but he was most certainly viewed as main event level talent in Mid-Atlantic before showing up in the WWF. He just lacked national exposure, much like everyone else in that era.

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  50. Exactly how it should be worked.

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  51. I liked them but never understood the deal of being rock n' roll. They played old music to the ring, wore boring trunks with Rock n roll on the legs, and never mentioned anything about rock n roll. They were to rock n roll what Johnny Ace was to skateboarding only far more talented.

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  52. My understanding is that they were going to run Steamboat - Savage rematches for a while.

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  53. Right, but what goes after that? Does Savage win the belt back? Does Steamboat carry it into WMIV? Or does everything play out basically the same?

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  54. Thank you, I appreciate that.

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  55. Haha I forgot about that! Typical WCW to get the push backwards. It's like the face turning down a title shot from the heel champ.

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  56. Why not to eat the spaghetti?

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  57. The "Evil Ref" is still an amazing gimmick- the fans were NUCLEAR for anyone that hurt Danny Davis. Refs are so naturally hateable that one you can actually beat on is fantastic.

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  58. Testify. There are so many people (myself included) that were turned into wrestling fans solely because of this show and it's easy to figure out why.

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  59. Completely forgot that. Great stuff

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  60. Hogan has always been pretty underrated as a seller if you ask me.

    Now my thoughts on this mania is it's the best mania EVER, and he's why.

    1. The main event was the truest definition of main event ever.

    2. There were so many visuals that we still remember today. Hogan slamming Andre, the crowd, Bundy squashing Beaver (no I mean the wrestler....heyooooooooooooooo!!), Herc making Haynes bleed. Piper and Adonis and Beefcake



    3. It has one of the most memorable and greatest finishes to a match ever in Steamboat vs Macho and goes back to the whole visuals thing.

    4. Vince's intro of Mrs AREEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTHHHHHHAAA FRANKLIN!!

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  61. You have no idea man just how HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGE of a deal this show was at the time.

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  62. Never trust a baldy

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  63. Yep that's number 1. Number two to me would have be mankind getting tossed off the cage, followed by Austin bleeding in the sharp shooter at number 3.

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  64. And Hogan to his credit did an amazing job of selling that suspense and selling that he could be beat. Just look at the way he's trembling during that staredown.

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  65. I'll never get though that as big as you knew Hogan vs Savage was going to be why they didn't run it somewhere bigger. Maybe, just maybe, that match could have filled the coliseum.

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  66. WCW was okay but we need more WWE stories on here because the WWE is Cool

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  67. I checked this review just to make sure Steamboat-Savage got 5.

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  68. I think Steamboat would have lost the belt at the end of the year to Honky Tonk Man. Honky really was becoming the hot midcard heel throughout 1987 and was destined for an IC title run.

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  69. Steamboat was shunted down the card quickly because he asked for time off shortly after winning the IC title. The Savage match did raise Steamboat's nation profile, making him a viable main eventer for Jim Crockett Promotions. And if he didn't ask for the time off his WWF stint would have been much longer, so the Flair trilogy would not have happened if both these things didn't take place.

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  70. That makes Bob Uecker a better announcer than Michael Cole.

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  71. To be fair many pre-expansion WWF cards had 2-3 hot matches and an inconsequential undercard. Now that I think about it, this sounds like today's WWE.

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  72. Whatever you he says he has + 5 he does not know about.

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  73. Not only is this show awesome, but the pre-event press conference with Hulk and Andre is equally awesome. Heenan is hilarious ("of course he looked up to (Andre) - he's seven foot five") and when Hulk suddenly breaks out into anger, Andre is all "whatevs" while Heenan scrambles past chairs to hide behind the Giant. I could watch that all day. Brilliant.

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  74. You could have enough people to populate an entire town with all Ricky Morton's kids, grandkids, and babymommas.

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  75. Al Snow would rate the main event *****, higher than every other match, because it was the best match. Remember, best match is the match that draws people to the house. The work inside the ring is completely irrelevant.

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  76. Just think, Biran. They were running 3 crews EVERY NIGHT. In one venue you had Hogan headlining Cleveland. Another venue (the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse) had Savage-Steamboat. Another venue (Hershey, PA) had JYD, the Bulldogs, Hart Foundation. And all three made $$$$.

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  77. Don't forget that Vince McMahon bet the farm on this show too. He needed it to be solid. It went well beyond that.

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  78. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump wasn't driving the truck himself.

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  79. Yup, I'm fully aware of what caused Steamboat's dramatic depush. I'm not speaking about the hypothetical case in which he doesn't ask for time off and thus doesn't end up in JCP in '89. I'm also not saying that WM III didn't raise Steamboat's profile. It raised the profile of every guy on the card. I'm just saying that Steamboat's reputation in NWA country would've allowed that series with Flair to happen with or without the Savage match. Hell, a year after the Steamboat series, Flair had a run with Junkyard Dog. It didn't take WM III to make these guys viable to Crockett.

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  80. I had seen that somebody else mentioned that Adonis and Murdoch were headed back to JCP.

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  81. I wish you had mentioned how Andre was pelted with garbage the entire way to and from the ring. It was a great combination of massive heel heat and the crowd probably totally shitfaced by the end of the night.

    Another classic moment is Bobby Heenan totally inconsolable with his head in his hands on the cart ride back to the locker room.

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  82. Eh, it depends where you go. I've lived in the south all my life (Alabama, of all places) and nobody down here really cares about them that much. I mean, we respect them, sure. But the guys who are gods here are dudes like Flair, Sting, Dusty, the Armstrongs, the Road Warriors and maybe JYD.


    That Jericho story is hilarious. He wrote about it in one of his books, and it's somehow even funnier there. "Electric Slide. Electric Slide. Electric Slide. You're our fav'rit wrassler, Chris Jericho."

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  83. There's a joke to be made here about his punches and kicks, but I won't do it.

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