Hello Blog O'Doomers,
Still can't find a clean 2009 full rumble match which means I'll have to paste five or six parts. Won't do that today, maybe tomorrow.
Today we'll jump back to 1998. Don't have a full version of that match either but instead you do get the whole f'n show. Outside of the HBK-Undertaker match I don't remember much of the card. 1998 WWF pre-Wrestlemania wasn't much to write home about anyway.
As for the Rumble...I've seen this show, there were a LOT of Nation guys and I think the other gangs too, definitely a lot of Nation guys. And Marc Mero really cracked me up at times, there was genius behind that gimmick I say!...And Mike Tyson was there...And other stuff happened but there was absolutely ZERO doubt who was going to win this sucker. So Enjoy!
Still can't find a clean 2009 full rumble match which means I'll have to paste five or six parts. Won't do that today, maybe tomorrow.
Today we'll jump back to 1998. Don't have a full version of that match either but instead you do get the whole f'n show. Outside of the HBK-Undertaker match I don't remember much of the card. 1998 WWF pre-Wrestlemania wasn't much to write home about anyway.
As for the Rumble...I've seen this show, there were a LOT of Nation guys and I think the other gangs too, definitely a lot of Nation guys. And Marc Mero really cracked me up at times, there was genius behind that gimmick I say!...And Mike Tyson was there...And other stuff happened but there was absolutely ZERO doubt who was going to win this sucker. So Enjoy!
isn't this where tyson calls Austin "Cold Stone"? Maybe he wanted some ice cream?
ReplyDeleteI love how Rocky sells that stunner at the end.
ReplyDelete"1998 WWF pre-Wrestlemania wasn't much to write home about anyway."
ReplyDeleteMike Tyson.
Yeah, I gotta disagree with Princess on that one, too. From reading Logan's RAW reviews from the pre-WMXIV time period, the WWF was super-hot, interesting, and in the midst of building HUGE new stars.
ReplyDeleteThe roster was still pretty weak but this was a well booked Rumble. There was no doubt who the winner was going to be but they made Rock look as strong as possible to set up the finish.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an underrated show.
ReplyDeleteTyson was great and him joining DX was awesome. But I'm speaking more from an in-ring product. A lot of the new arrivals (Edge, Val Venis, the returning X-Pac) didn't come until the night after.
ReplyDeleteHBK didn't work from the Rumble to Wrestlemania due to his back. Savio Vega was part of the Main Event at the February PPV.
But yeah the Tyson appearances were great.
I forgot how dull that Rumble Match was. Other than Mick Foley's appearances as all three of his personas, the Rock's iron-man performance, and Austin's arrival, there's not a whole lot here. Bradshaw and a Harris Twin getting lengthy runs in the match for no reason, Honkytonk Man making a very random one-time return to the ring (it was better in 2001 when it was strictly a comedy spot), the Nation all being in the ring and never really doing anything together with the occasional "I hit you to show it's every man for himself" stuff. Tom Brandi...
ReplyDeleteThat's fair. I DO think this is an instance where the booking of everyone from RR to WM was so good, the quality of the in-ring product was irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteIf only Shawn wasn't being a prima donna, this could/should have been Owen vs HBK for the title and he wouldn't have lost 8 years.
ReplyDeleteRock's performance in this Rumble was the first time I was like "whoa, this dude is going to be a main eventer"
ReplyDeleteSee I don't think the booking outside of the Tyson-DX-Austin stuff was anything to write home about. Given HBK's unavailability I thought they could have used Rock a little better. Possibly as a roadblock to Austin's title chase...definitely should have put him in that Main Event at the February PPV.
ReplyDeleteI was watching pretty actively at the time, and I remember nothing from this period other than the Tyson/DX/Austin stuff. So I agree that the rest booking wasn't very memorable. But if you're only going to book one thing correctly it should be the main event!
ReplyDeleteHe could have lost a lot more. The back injury was almost a wake up call. Almost.
ReplyDeleteIf only Macho Man had been on the original Wrestlemania card. :(
ReplyDeleteRock vs HBK would have been so good it might have been worth Shawn dying.
ReplyDeleteLove this show!
ReplyDeleteSure, some of, the undercard is pretty ponderous and the Rumble itself highly predictable, but there's enough going on and enough great characters to keep it entertaining imo.
Casket match is obviously eventful for a number of reasons and man, I used to love that piledriver on the steps spot.
Also, one of the best PPV intros ever. Should use it for every Rumble.
Bryan-Lesnar makes so much sense on a number of levels, especially if you consider Randy Orton's paranoia about whether the Authority still has his back. Regardless of the end result of the Rumble match, they book the title in an Elimination Chamber match, which Brock wins, they then send Lesnar out to kill Bryan.
ReplyDeleteI like it. Someone should book it!
4 years?
ReplyDeleteScrew it, have Cena win the title at the rumble and have Brock demollish Show at the Rumble and Cena at the next ppv for the title. Dbr
ReplyDeleteStill one of my favorite sentimental Rumbles. IMO, this was more Rock's coming out party than anything. The Three Faces of Foley bit was awesome as well, especially Cactus' brief hardcore match with Funk, but Rock pulling an iron man and looking comfortable in going toe-to-toe with Austin was just awesome. His awesomely heelish victory over Shamrock earlier in the card only added to it IMO.
ReplyDeleteWhere was the undertaker? or brock lesnar? or batista? or Randy Orton? Where was CM punk? I guess in your twisted logic, there are no big plans for the above mentioned names because they weren't there on wednesday?
ReplyDeleteOr 4.
ReplyDeleteIt still baffles me that people genuinely thought this turn was going to be permanent or at least run till after February at the very least.
ReplyDeleteWho is Jay Bradley?
ReplyDeleteI had Shamrock picked to win it. Rocky got one over on him, TWICE that night.
ReplyDeleteSeconds after the 2hr mark...
ReplyDeleteFirst People's Elbow?
He did at 1997 Survivor Series before this. It was so funny at the time, it left an impression on me to this day. I'm not sure if he did it at all before then.
ReplyDeleteI think he sorta-kinda debuted it late 1997, more like a beta version of it. This was a People's Elbow upgrade, call it People's Elbow '98
ReplyDeleteBatista isn't officially back yet, and they aren't going to pay lesnar 6 figures to pop in at a corporate PR event. Punks whole gimmick is that he's anti corporate and maybe they left orton off because they wanted people to watch the show. The point is, Bryan not being there next Wednesday is inconsistent with the argument that this was planned all along.
ReplyDeleteShould have probably let Shamrock have this one or the Mania match and give Rocky the KOTR.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine heel KING ROCK??!?
So by your gorilla math retard logic, WWE didn't have certain people there because of their gimmicks. Why would WWE have him there then if he was a Wyatt member?
ReplyDeleteI think he recaps old Nitros for the blog.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm....I said one guy wasn't there because he had an anti corporate gimmick. So I take it you don't agree with that and think it would make sense to have cm punk come out and read a corporate bullet point or two. OK. I said lesnar wasn't there because why would they burn an appearance off his contract on that? And I said Batista wasn't there because technically he's not back yet. I didn't say because of gimmicks guys didn't come.
ReplyDeleteThey had del Rio there. He's a heel. I'm just saying Bryan not being there is another point for the camp saying this was a hot shot switch and not long term planning.
Foley coming in three times was so great.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how else to say it at this point but you are a fucking idiot. You are a fucking idiot if you think that by not appearing on a internet stream, WWE doesn't have big plans for him.
ReplyDeleteHe opens and closes every show and has his own main event angle. The network thing has nothing to do with anything.
cold stone is pricey but good
ReplyDeleteTotally agree.
ReplyDeleteagree about Marc Mero. I think he still gets a lot more criticism than he deserves. I love how he made the best out of a bad situation: being booked into the feud with his wife in which he was made to look like an idiot. but he went all the way with, for example by pulling his tights almost up to his chest etc.
ReplyDeleteI just saw an interview with him and he was really positive about the angle.
ReplyDeleteMero's character during this time was tremendous. It's just too bad his workrate suffered so bad because of his injuries. IIRC, I don't think he had a single decent match after turning heel.
ReplyDeleteEven though he turned psuedo face for the moment, I thought his Wrestlemania XIV match with Sable against Goldust/Luna was decent. He put up a heck of an effort and did a couple of his old moves like the Merosault.
ReplyDeleteBut I loved the "Marvelous" character. They really could have done more with it to get him over.
I think his best match was probably that mixed tag with Sable at WrestleMania XIV.
ReplyDeleteHe was really awesome for a long time. Loved him in wcw too
ReplyDeleteAgree, loved Mero's heel act too and it's a shame he never got a bigger push. And despite toning down his highspots, the guy could still work, he had a bunch of decent matches, though not a MOTYC type of match, but that was mostly because he wasn't in a position to have a great match as he was lucky to get even 5 minutes in the ring.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that match was solid, but I'll be fair to Mero by stating that Dustin wasn't exactly in his workrate prime at that time either. Either way, the match was more of a spectacle for Sable. Seeing her pull off moves like a powerbomb and TKO was very "OMG" at the time.
ReplyDeletePrincess, loving these rumbles. I've rewatched almost all of them. I saw someone say it befor amd I agreed, any chance we can get the corporate/DX mini rrumble one of these?
ReplyDeleteI swear, YouTube is a fucking gangland state where any and everything seems to fucking go. Is the WWE aware of the fact that you can watch and find almost every PPV on the site? Does YouTube not police their servers?
ReplyDeleteWhere are days 4 and 5 of the 20 days of raw series by the masked reviewer?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVf55aOPZuY if she wants to do a new thread.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are complaining because....?
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, I have wondered the same question, but YouTube only takes things down if a copyright violation has been filed.
It was a very anti-climatic Rumble because everyone knew Austin was going to win. I find it really dull because no one was near Austin's level to make it interesting. The Rock started to come into his own around this time, though, so this show is important for him.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few things that stand out for me: Tyson, the Outlaws pushing Cactus/Chainsaw off the ramp in a dumpster, and the Mero-Sable stuff. Other than that, yeah, it is a VERY forgettable period for the company.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Rumble was terribly booked. They never had a guy come out and clear all the deadwood so you had way too many guys in the ring for most of the match. Look at how long most guys lasted, it's absurd
ReplyDeleteNo way. You needed to finish up the Rock-NOD breakup and continue the Rock-Shamrock stuff. Rock in the main event would've just seemed lost.
ReplyDeleteI'm not defending Savio Vega though.
In the process of watching the Rumble matches chronologically. Up to 96 tonight. It's amusing when you watch them that way how the rules of elimination change.
ReplyDeleteIE- in '89, Hogan is eliminated but then is allowed to eliminate Big Bossman afterwards. In '96, Vader is eliminated but then chucks HBK over the ropes. He's fine to come back in.
When i watched this live i remember thinking Farooq would win the match since he was in the final four but instead they went with Rocky and Austin as the final 2. I think this was a HUGE mistake and Farooq should have won. He could have and should have been a HUGE star and definitelly a bigger star than Rock or Austin. Farooq maineventing WM would have been awesome and he deserved it more than Austin.. Farooq was getting a lot of great heel heat at the time but was also cheered and respected by smart fans, he was probably the first real tweener but he never got the singles push he deserved outside that 1 run as WCW champ...DAMN!
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about 'Chainsaw Charlie' entirely until I read your recaps.
ReplyDeleteGoogle generally only removes videos when someone complains. It would be impossible for them to review every video.
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to go tell WWE Legal, please wait a week so I can finish these. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteI always loved the "Marvelous" theme.
ReplyDeleteI've got a lot of respect for Mero as a person, and think he was the victim of insanely bad Russo booking - and having spent so much time working as a specific character (Johnny B. Badd) within the confines of a specific style, which is the problem facing WWE at the moment. If you teach people to only work according to a very narrow model, you're fucked if and when you need them to deliver more than that.
ReplyDeleteAdd to this, his injury was fucking DIRTY. Watch the clip. I'm shocked he wasn't put out of commission for life off the back of it.
Not sure if serious...or just an excuse to use the DAMN schtick.
ReplyDelete