Hulkamania running wild as we enter the '90s!
WWF World Championship Scene: (currently held by: Hulk Hogan) Hogan continued his feud with Mr. Perfect and the Genius. At SNME #25, which was taped on 1/3/90, Hogan teamed with WWF Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior. Perfect and Genius nearly won the bout but ended up losing due to Genius missing a moonsault and was soon pinned by Hogan. After the match, Hogan and Warrior had a miscommunication. Warrior accidentally clotheslined Hogan during the brawl.
At the Royal Rumble, Hogan participated in the Royal Rumble match. Hogan was #25 to enter the ring and managed to fight off Rick Rude and Mr. Perfect to win the Rumble for the second year in a row. Hogan last eliminated Perfect.
It was also announced at SNME that Hogan would defend the WWF World Championship against Randy Savage on February 23rd. The match would have Mike Tyson as the special referee.
On the house show market, Hogan continued to wrestle against Mr. Perfect. Hogan would retain the championship either by pin fall or by losing to Perfect by disqualification.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Scene: (currently held by: the Ultimate Warrior)
Throughout the month, Warrior continued to fight off Dino Bravo and the Canadian Earthquake. There weren’t any new developments for their feud. As you can read above, Warrior was also busy with WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan.
WWF World Tag Team Championships Scene: (currently held by: Andre the Giant & Haku)
Andre and Haku continued to feud with former WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition. There weren’t any new developments to the feud as they mainly wrestled on the house show market which saw Andre and Haku retain the titles by count-out.
It was also announced that Andre and Haku would defend the WWF World Tag Team Championships against Demolition at WrestleMania VI.
Other Happenings:
- Jake Roberts continued his feud with Ted DiBiase during the January 2nd taping of WWF Superstars. Roberts attacked DiBiase and Virgil after DiBiase competed in a squash match. As a result of the attack, Roberts was able to steal the Million Dollar Championship and put it in his snake bag with Damien. During the same taping, DiBiase and Roberts had a match which Roberts won by disqualification because the Big Bossman attacked him. However, it was revealed that DiBiase had paid Slick for Bossman’s services. That didn’t sit well with Bossman, who went back and helped Roberts recover saying he couldn’t be bought.
- Tugboat made his televised debut during the January 2nd taping of Superstars.
- Roddy Piper began a feud with Bad News Brown during the January 23rd taping of Wrestling Challenge. Brown was on the podium being interviewed which eventually led to a brawl between himself and Piper.
- The Rockers feuded with the Powers of Pain due to Warlord and Barbarian causing Marty Jannetty to be stretchered out of the arena following a match between the teams. This lead to the Rockers recruiting Jim Duggan to join them in their fight against the Powers of Pain.
- Randy Savage and Jim Duggan continued to feud over the king’s crown. They would wrestle at SNME which saw Savage prevail after Sherri Martel tripped Duggan on a suplex attempt. Duggan got some level of revenge by hitting Savage with his 2x4. Savage began to feud with Dusty Rhodes at the Royal Rumble. During a Brother Love segment, Savage and Sherri insulted Sapphire until Rhodes came out. Savage ended up attacking Rhodes before being forced to leave the ringside area by officials. Later in the night, Rhodes eliminated Savage from the Rumble match.
SNME #25 Results:
- WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan & WWF Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior defeated Mr. Perfect & The Genius
- Randy Savage defeated Jim Duggan
- Jake Roberts defeated Greg Valentine by disqualification
- Dusty Rhodes fought Rick Rude to a double count-out
- Dino Bravo defeated Ron Garvin
Royal Rumble 1990 Results:
- The Bushwhackers defeated The Rougeau Brothers
- Brutus Beefcake fought The Genius to a double disqualification
- Ron Garvin defeated Greg Valentine
- Jim Duggan defeated Big Bossman by disqualification
- WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble last eliminating Mr. Perfect
Ratings:
SNME #25: 11.1
Royal Rumble 1990: 2.0
Bob's Opinion:
So, we kick off the 90's that would see the WWF have a low point and also the highest period in the companies existence. I'll start off with my opinions on the Rumble, which is really based only on the Rumble match itself.
Hogan didn't need to win the match, nor should he really be in it. Since the winner of the Rumble didn't get the automatic title shot, yet, having Perfect win the Rumble would elevate him right up the card. Heck, even having Rick Rude possibly win it would have been fine with me. Hogan demolishing any heel close to being a threat to his title is tiring.
I enjoyed the Bossman heel run and greatly enjoyed his series of matches with Hogan in '89. Bossman is a grossly underrated wrestler, in my opinion. His face turn here was fine and it wouldn't take him long to get really over with the crowd. He was so good at his role that it stuck with him no matter where he went.
What was worse, the Tugboat character or the Shockmaster in '93? Regardless, you gotta feel bad for Fred Ottman getting these gimmicks.
What are your memories of the WWF at this time? Share them below!
WWF World Championship Scene: (currently held by: Hulk Hogan) Hogan continued his feud with Mr. Perfect and the Genius. At SNME #25, which was taped on 1/3/90, Hogan teamed with WWF Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior. Perfect and Genius nearly won the bout but ended up losing due to Genius missing a moonsault and was soon pinned by Hogan. After the match, Hogan and Warrior had a miscommunication. Warrior accidentally clotheslined Hogan during the brawl.
At the Royal Rumble, Hogan participated in the Royal Rumble match. Hogan was #25 to enter the ring and managed to fight off Rick Rude and Mr. Perfect to win the Rumble for the second year in a row. Hogan last eliminated Perfect.
It was also announced at SNME that Hogan would defend the WWF World Championship against Randy Savage on February 23rd. The match would have Mike Tyson as the special referee.
On the house show market, Hogan continued to wrestle against Mr. Perfect. Hogan would retain the championship either by pin fall or by losing to Perfect by disqualification.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Scene: (currently held by: the Ultimate Warrior)
Throughout the month, Warrior continued to fight off Dino Bravo and the Canadian Earthquake. There weren’t any new developments for their feud. As you can read above, Warrior was also busy with WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan.
WWF World Tag Team Championships Scene: (currently held by: Andre the Giant & Haku)
Andre and Haku continued to feud with former WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition. There weren’t any new developments to the feud as they mainly wrestled on the house show market which saw Andre and Haku retain the titles by count-out.
It was also announced that Andre and Haku would defend the WWF World Tag Team Championships against Demolition at WrestleMania VI.
Other Happenings:
- Jake Roberts continued his feud with Ted DiBiase during the January 2nd taping of WWF Superstars. Roberts attacked DiBiase and Virgil after DiBiase competed in a squash match. As a result of the attack, Roberts was able to steal the Million Dollar Championship and put it in his snake bag with Damien. During the same taping, DiBiase and Roberts had a match which Roberts won by disqualification because the Big Bossman attacked him. However, it was revealed that DiBiase had paid Slick for Bossman’s services. That didn’t sit well with Bossman, who went back and helped Roberts recover saying he couldn’t be bought.
- Tugboat made his televised debut during the January 2nd taping of Superstars.
- Roddy Piper began a feud with Bad News Brown during the January 23rd taping of Wrestling Challenge. Brown was on the podium being interviewed which eventually led to a brawl between himself and Piper.
- The Rockers feuded with the Powers of Pain due to Warlord and Barbarian causing Marty Jannetty to be stretchered out of the arena following a match between the teams. This lead to the Rockers recruiting Jim Duggan to join them in their fight against the Powers of Pain.
- Randy Savage and Jim Duggan continued to feud over the king’s crown. They would wrestle at SNME which saw Savage prevail after Sherri Martel tripped Duggan on a suplex attempt. Duggan got some level of revenge by hitting Savage with his 2x4. Savage began to feud with Dusty Rhodes at the Royal Rumble. During a Brother Love segment, Savage and Sherri insulted Sapphire until Rhodes came out. Savage ended up attacking Rhodes before being forced to leave the ringside area by officials. Later in the night, Rhodes eliminated Savage from the Rumble match.
SNME #25 Results:
- WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan & WWF Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior defeated Mr. Perfect & The Genius
- Randy Savage defeated Jim Duggan
- Jake Roberts defeated Greg Valentine by disqualification
- Dusty Rhodes fought Rick Rude to a double count-out
- Dino Bravo defeated Ron Garvin
Royal Rumble 1990 Results:
- The Bushwhackers defeated The Rougeau Brothers
- Brutus Beefcake fought The Genius to a double disqualification
- Ron Garvin defeated Greg Valentine
- Jim Duggan defeated Big Bossman by disqualification
- WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble last eliminating Mr. Perfect
Ratings:
SNME #25: 11.1
Royal Rumble 1990: 2.0
Bob's Opinion:
So, we kick off the 90's that would see the WWF have a low point and also the highest period in the companies existence. I'll start off with my opinions on the Rumble, which is really based only on the Rumble match itself.
Hogan didn't need to win the match, nor should he really be in it. Since the winner of the Rumble didn't get the automatic title shot, yet, having Perfect win the Rumble would elevate him right up the card. Heck, even having Rick Rude possibly win it would have been fine with me. Hogan demolishing any heel close to being a threat to his title is tiring.
I enjoyed the Bossman heel run and greatly enjoyed his series of matches with Hogan in '89. Bossman is a grossly underrated wrestler, in my opinion. His face turn here was fine and it wouldn't take him long to get really over with the crowd. He was so good at his role that it stuck with him no matter where he went.
What was worse, the Tugboat character or the Shockmaster in '93? Regardless, you gotta feel bad for Fred Ottman getting these gimmicks.
What are your memories of the WWF at this time? Share them below!
Also, check out my blog Wrestling Recaps and if you enjoy the series support the blog by liking it on Facebook!
Thanks for reading and for your support!
Well Benoit was on Smackdown and jumped to RAW so if we're looking at the entire WWE at that time. Guys that would had a better skill set to be champion. (charisma, mic skills, look, as well as in ring work) I'd say off the top of my head.
ReplyDeleteShawn Michaels I know he didn't want the belt or didn't need it but there is no denying he would have made for a better champion than Benoit hell even his in ring work was at a peak in 2004 putting on classic matches.
Rob Van Dam was the perfect choice he was still crazy over and had been at the IC title level for the last three years. If you're going to pull the trigger on that guy do it here. Perfect opportunity to really put Van Dam over huge here and he was a much better prospect all together than Benoit. Hell dude was more over than nearly anyone on the roster from the minute he debuted in 2001.
Jericho was another good choice. He was a former champion, he didn't get anywhere near the title again for a while hell until his return he didn't win the title again. He was always the bridesmaid in these things. He's involved in all the Elimination Chambers "for the title" but is never a serious contender. Again he was better suited for the title than Benoit.
This is just guys that were right then and there ready to be "the guy" as much as Benoit was if not more. I mean hell if they really wanted to push Orton they could have had him win the Rumble and have Triple H think it was an easy night off and then do the Orton beats Triple H for the title and then Triple H turns on him. Whatever.
All I'm saying is that Benoit wasn't and shouldn't have been the top choice for the championship. He didn't have the ability to be what is needed of a WWE Champion. That guy never cut a single promo that made the casual fan say "I'm buying this motherfucker". I'm sure everyone on here disagrees and will proclaim "if they would have just given him a chance!" or whatever. I was the biggest Benoit fan in the world back when I gave a shit how many fakes moves a guy could do.
If only Mike Tyson found his mouthpiece when he was in Tokyo....
ReplyDeleteI agree it was never funny. I'm still pissed at the guy since I watched him from Wild Pegasus on and loved watching him wrestle. It was mainly a "I'm bored, it's early, and screw that guy for killing his family, so there" comment, but I'm pleased to see we can all agree that any joke on here should be moderated and judged accordingly. That's why I down-voted it myself, because I want to go along with the crowd. I wanna be cool too! Please, can I?
ReplyDeleteYou really can't complain about them erasing Benoit from history anymore.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree about boss mN. That guy could move for such a big dude.
ReplyDeleteI'd almost rather they wipe him out given that he pretty much eliminated my ability to enjoy watching his matches, but then they'd have to take out Snuka matches and the commentary track to every Tamina match from the sound of things.
ReplyDeleteI think you need to go get your shinebox.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Pesci snap and kill the guy that kept saying that to him? Very appropriate given this topic. I up-vote your comment.
ReplyDeleteWell, since the last comment got deleted somehow, let's try this again... "Very appropriate movie quote given the topic. I up-vote you for this."
ReplyDeleteHad the angle had the legs since Summerslam I would have been behind it but they blew any interest I would have in seeing HHH back in the ring with the months of meandering half baked pushes and angles they've served up.
ReplyDeleteBenoit was insanely over back then. Moreso than guys like RVD and Jericho.
ReplyDeleteI fell asleep, woke up long enough to see you mention something about promos and RVD'S, chuckled at your contrarianism, then went back to sleep.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair WWE.com will still make lists of "greatest technical wrestler" or "greatest match at *insert PPV, show, wrestling organization* and leave out Benoit or his matches. This sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't know how you can make one of those list without including Benoit, without being dishonest. Even though they are including previous Benoit matches on WWE network (If they didn't they'd have to butcher about 7 years of WWE PPVs and 4 years of WCW PPVs so thats probably why.), I'm still expecting WWE to keep acting like Benoit never existed in any original programming on WWE, even ones where he should exist. My guess is if they pretend he never existed, then they didn't play in role in creating the environment that lead to him having the brain of an 80 year Alzheimer's patient before his death.
ReplyDeleteHogan really could have extended his run if he had allowed opposing heels to be presented as more of a threat. What made the Andre and Savage rivalries so great was that you could buy them legitimately beating Hulk. Even the DiBiase feud was unique.
ReplyDeleteBut if nobody bought into the idea that Hogan might lose, it made things get stale and allowed people to quickly tire of Hulkamania.
disagree. South Park is still awesome (and this is even more amazing if you take a look how bad most of the "usual competition" like The Simpsons or Family Guy have become).
ReplyDeleteBBT is horrible.
ReplyDeleteI would have to look that one up.
ReplyDeleteWhat belts are you speaking of? There are no BELTS in the WWE!
ReplyDeleteThat's my gimmick, asshole!
ReplyDeleteI never would have guessed. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is probably nitpicking on a subjective "top" list, but no way in hell an Attitude Era Battle Royal and the 3-way with Bryan are bigger dream matches than UT-Taker. C'mon now.
ReplyDeleteI would DIG Bryan/Orton/HHH majorly just to see the crowd go ape as they teased an HHH win in a reverse Dusty finish, only to have Hogan come out and restart the match...
ReplyDeleteI actually scratched my head at the Ambrose-Roberts comparison. Ambrose can't possibly be at *that* level yet. Perhaps its because I haven't watched much of the product for some time and probably missed a lot of Shield material...
ReplyDeleteShield have been main eventing tons of tv stuff the past 6-7 months. Ambrose by himself isn't at that level yet, but most of the appeal is that people think Roberts is Ambroses doppelganger. Swarmy heel with great psychological mic work. Think that was the thought behind it.
ReplyDeleteI think they were booking the card in an actual match order, so the battle royale would've been the palette-cleanser in between the two big main events. That said, the WWE title three-way should absolutely not be going last if UT/Cena is on the show.
ReplyDeleteI'm not big on an Attitude era battle royal, but what about a 30-man "Wrestlemania history" battle royale? You have one person who wrestled at each Mania in the match, and this format gives some of the current guys a spot on the card too as representatives of the recent Manias. Comes down to one of the old guys against one of the new guys and the new guy wins to get a rub.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense then. UT-Taker would be the main event for me, but that's purely personal.
ReplyDeleteWhile I basically agree with everything you're saying in an "on paper" kind of way, sometimes multiple variables come together in such a way that someone becomes more popular/credible than they otherwise would be. "The whole is more than the sum of its parts", I guess.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'll agree that he looked out-of-place against the likes of Austin and Rock, I think the fact that so many other "guys like him" (smaller technicians) had gotten over during the previous few years allowed him to kind of ride their coattails to the main-event. Fans loved Angle, Eddie, and Jericho, and since Benoit was so closely linked with them, it only made sense that he be elevated, too. That took care of the in-ring portion of him being a main-eventer.
At the same time, something started happening with Benoit on the mic at that time: he sounded confident. He was NEVER good on the mic, but at least he no longer sounded nervous when having to cut a promo. To me, it was very much like Bret in 1993 - by no means the most charismatic talker, but Bret always sounded confident in his abilities, he wasn't nervous speaking on camera, he sounded like he legitimately believed that he could beat anybody, no matter how big or strong. Same here. Confidence goes a long way, and no matter how good Benoit was in the ring, being nervous and flustered in front of the camera made him seem like he didn't belong.
I'm with you in Benoit basically being a "gatekeeper" for most of his career, it was the perfect role for him, but at that moment, I really think that the stars basically aligned just right for him to be moved into the main-event tier. Any other time, like in 2000 and 2001, I didn't buy it, but in 2004? Definitely.
Never understood the point of putting the tag straps on Andre and Haku, just to transition them back to Demolition. Seems very random to me.
ReplyDeleteI asked Scott about that when he started doing them and he told me to keep mine up as he didn't know if he'd do it every week.
ReplyDeleteYeah they're going with annoying heel CJ Parker!
ReplyDeleteRichie and Ralph leaving was the dealbreaker for me. Just like how I stuck with the Laverne and Shirley Calif. episodes until Cindy Williams left (though it was getting a little silly by the end of season 7 anyway).
ReplyDeleteFunny cause Fred Savage used to be the poster boy for the "puberty" shark jump when JTS had a site.
ReplyDeleteNah, the first day of Russo booking, when you knew that WCW would have no more alternatives to the WWF, that it would from now on truly be WWF-lite with him injecting the same kind of storylines and comedy.
ReplyDeleteThe important thing was Aiden English singing a Dr. Horrible related song.
ReplyDeletei did it just to bug you.
ReplyDeleteI believe you spend most of your days wondering how to bother me I'm kind of a big deal.
ReplyDeleteYeah there are SO many diverse opinions on it. Everyone else on the blog cheering Punk and proclaiming him "the greatest worker of this generation" and then there is the right opinion (mine) talking about how sloppy and awful looking his offense is and how its so the same offense as the rest of the indy guys using shitty kicks and MMA moves. But yeah diversity and all thats what this blog is known for. That and just repeating whatever Scott says.
ReplyDeleteMeltzer commented that the headbutt spots made him uncomfortable and he's not sure they should be doing stuff like that anymore. I thought the spots looked like they were decently protected and done plenty safe.
ReplyDeleteWhere is his neck? WHERE?!?!
ReplyDelete