Hey Scott,
Long time fan since at least 1998. Anyway I've been watching old 1996 PPVs on the WWE Network and have some questions for you:
1) What was up with Shawn Michaels having Jose Lothario as his manager? HBK was already super over and was fine on the mike. Was this something Shawn wanted or was this a Vince idea? Lothario was pretty useless outside of the angle at the Survivor Series and felt like he was absolutely out of place with HBK.
2) What were the long term plans with the Warrior? Were there any? Assuming Warrior stayed would he have just done exactly what Sid ended up doing?
3) I know Vader was originally suppose to win the title at Summer Slam but Shawn fought against it but was Mankind really suppose to win the title at Mind Games? If so why didn't Shawn veto that? I think I remember reading in your old rant that Vince changed the finish on the fly during the match can you explain in details how that happened? Did he simply get word to Shawn, Mankind and the ref the changed finish as well as everyone in the back to do the run in?
4) Was Vader going to win the title at Survivor Series? The December PPV was named "It's Time" obviously after him. So why did they put the title on Sid instead?
1. It was Shawn's idea, and yeah, it was stupid. Thankfully they dropped it after the San Antonio Rumble.
2. As far as I can remember, yes, that's correct. Warrior was going to end up in the World title picture after Summerslam.
3. No, the Mankind thing was a bullshit rumor that I passed on mistakenly. He was never scheduled to win and nothing was changed.
4. Vader didn't have the right friends, as Meltzer said on a recent show. Poor guy got his title win veto'd TWICE in the same year.
I always felt like Ahmed Johnson was going to win the title the night after Summerslam if he hadn't gotten injured. Ahmed was lined up to face the champ, and Ahmed/Vader had delivered some good matches.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to read about how HBK bullied Vader, considering Vader would eat him alive in a real one on one. Didn't Jim Cornette say once that Vader was crying once after HBK told him off during a match?
ReplyDelete1. Everyone said Shawn treated the guy like shit. I want to ask why Shawn wanted him there in the first place but I think my question answers itself.
ReplyDelete2. Warrior was only gone 4 years but man was he out of place. If he would have stayed the crowd would have just turned on him anyway.
3. That Mind Games match is notable for Vince completely losing his shit b/c of the table spot. He yells at both of them then goes back into goofball announcer mode.
4. Vader's a tough case. On one hand everyone seems to give him shit. On the other hand he couldn't stop hurting people. Ahmed gets a bad rap but I don't remember him ever ending anyone's career.
Another Keith rumor that I always felt was bullshit was that Austin was supposed to win the title in the Feb 1997 Final Four match. That makes no sense at all.
ReplyDeleteHe did say that. Shawn was an ass during the Summerslam match and Vader was scared cause Shawn could get him fired.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he was working stiff and HBK threatened to have him fired if he kept it up.
ReplyDeleteHe did just get fired from WCW so it was probably smart to just shut up and go with it for a while.
Wasn't Vader pretty successful outside of wrestling as a developer though? I remember in Wrestling with Shadows he was talking about a mall he was working on. Odd he'd be worried about getting fired when he had something else lucrative going on the side.
ReplyDeleteProbably just loved being a wrestler.
ReplyDeleteI know he had some stuff going on but not sure how successful it was. He was doing guest spots on "Boy Meets World" around this time too. He could always go back to Japan so I'm not sure why this stressed him as much as it did.
ReplyDeleteIf Vader really did work that stiff, then I'm glad Shawn told him off. Taking liberties with your opponent is pretty much the #1 No-no in wrestling. Some wrestlers seem to forget that it's supposed to be fake.
ReplyDeleteYep, thank the mankind/shawn thing, and the "Luger blabbed the night before WM 10" thing.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the 1 rumor that i'm still shocked about being true is that Honky refusing to drop the IC title to Savage changed the entire world title plans for a year. I thought it was BS, but both Dibiase and Honky confirmed it being true.
If I remember correctly this was on a house show loop to, Vader was just being his usual stiff self. Maybe I'd take it if it looked good on television but I wouldn't be thrilled about getting roughed up at a house show.
ReplyDeleteBret Hart actually helped Vader design that mall, and many people consider it one of the greatest malls of all time.
ReplyDeleteWas there ever any stories on what was supposed to happen? Dibiase carries the title for a year until Hogan beats him at WM5? Strange to think they'd make Savage a main eventer just to make up for him not getting the midcard title.
ReplyDeleteJust watched the WrestleMania press conference... what a train wreck. They all ended up looking like crazy people. Imagine walking into work and doing the "Yes!" chant and the looks you'd get... that's pretty much how it went down... for an hour.
ReplyDeleteBatista was funny though, and of course, Cena is the champ when it comes to this stuff too.
Tonight... we break Disqus!
ReplyDeleteDisqus is usually a trainwreck on my phone. Not even going to attempt it tonight
ReplyDeleteall I want to know is did Vader have tears in his eye at the ribbon cutting ceremony?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I see, we still only have 27 announced spots for the Battle Royale...
ReplyDeleteIm telling you, something big is going to happen in that match
A friend took this photo this morning:
ReplyDeletehttp://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y403/rosco1983uk/A68D72E3-88C5-49F3-A5A0-7D04668E24A5_zpszulnhrwe.jpg
The Undertaker leaving the hotel with the aid of 2 walking sticks...
I'm surprised we didn't break Disqus last night. Tonight, we probably break the entire blog.
ReplyDeleteThe theory I most buy is Swagger/ Cesaro breaking up in the pre show, Zeb telling them to work it out in the battle royale with Cesaro winning to start something new, and that RVD would be the last mystery guy.
ReplyDeleteWith the surprise entrants to the Battle Royal, I expect 1 to be announced in the pre-show (recent legend, such as RVD), 1 to be announced in a storyline backstage segment (Cesaro or Rusev) and the last to be the final entrant and be a big name (Rock/Austin/Punk/Hogan/Piper someone on that level.)
ReplyDeleteWith our luck, the "big name" will be Tamina Snuka's father.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they're touching that guy with a 50 foot pole.
ReplyDeleteI'll be watching 24 to complete watching all 30 Manias (skipping 2).
ReplyDeleteI walk into work and do the yes chant. It's no big deal.
ReplyDeleteI really wish I didn't leave my laptop in work. I've been using my phone/iPad and it sucks. Fuck it, maybe I'll go get a Bluetooth keyboard so I can at least type tonite.
ReplyDeleteSo it's not all 30 manias... :)
ReplyDeleteI think the deal was DiBiase would drop the belt to Hogan at the first Summerslam.
ReplyDeleteI still think Savage would have been the man DiBiase beat for the belt in the tournament, he would have just been the IC champ too.
ReplyDeletePiper is going to be in.
ReplyDeleteWhen you walk into work, is your name on your shirt?
ReplyDeleteI think that was based on a news report though. Like there was a real report of Luger blabbing the finish, but the report was just made-up bullshit.
ReplyDelete2 has a few decent matches and is certainly a more unique viewing experience than a lot of the other Wrestlemanias
ReplyDeleteCould be Rock if he feels like working an easy match. Just me speculating, but I could see him doing the one last match next year against Brock who doesn't seen to have a logical opponent next year except maybe Bryan. It would also help promote Fast 7 which comes out a few weeks after Mania 31.
ReplyDeleteBulldogs vs. Dream Team is pretty good.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the chances Hall or Jake, or DR for that matter aren't in the battle royal
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna setup my MacBook on my coffee table to help follow along the blog and my wrestling twitter feed.
ReplyDeletethe Funks Vs Santana & JYD is really good as well.
ReplyDeletethrow in a decent and entertaining main event.
most of the rest of the card is fast paced with matches lasting 3-4 minutes, the only 2 stinkers are the Piper/Mr T Boxing match and the Steamboat/Hercules snorefest.
Also YMMV on the Funks/Santana-JYD match.
ReplyDeleteIt's nowhere near the clusterfuck 9 was.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Hall or Jake can physically compete at the moment.
ReplyDeleteDDP isn't really a known name by most casual fans either unfortunately.
They'd never pass the physical.
ReplyDeleteThe thing with the "legend" entrants, is if they are able to take a bump over the top rope or not. And pass the WWE's physical
ReplyDeleteWe will get a legend of some sort in there, but they are either gonna win it or being able to take the bump. So whoever can fit the bill
Imagine if Vader had won the title at Summer Slam and then Michaels won it back at Survivor Series. The fans maybe wouldn't had turned against Michaels and 97 would have been much different.
ReplyDeleteAnything that doesnt end in Cesaro giving Zeb the Giant Swing would be blasphemy. THAT would be a WM moment
ReplyDeleteThreadjack:
ReplyDeleteDue to some real-life issues, I doubt I can get up BoD Mania before the actual WrestleMania airs.
Okay.
ReplyDeleteIX is a total mess except the fairly cool set. The only memorable moment is the end which was retrospectively a disaster.
ReplyDeleteThe set was awesome,the matches....NO.
ReplyDeleteWe have Russo on retainer for just this situation.
ReplyDeleteHope everything is ok and you get to catch the show tonight!
I don't like the word "issues" as it connotes something bad. I hope everything's okay on your end. Anyway, I would assume a lot of us have family engagements or wrestlemania parties to attend, so most of us wouldn't get around to reading it until night time or tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteGood luck man.
ReplyDeleteNothing life-threatening. More on the annoying side
ReplyDeleteReal life issues being good or bad?
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteAnnoying is the word. Nothing life threatening
ReplyDeleteI'm going to threadjack your threadjack with this...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nfl.com/photoessays/0ap1000000158002/wwe-and-the-nfl
Does this mean Jesse Baker finally gets a shot with the BoD book?
ReplyDelete2 sucks. Sorry, it was before my time as a fan and I don't really care for any of the matches.
ReplyDeleteAt least with IX I get to see Scott Steiner nearly killing himself with the rana.
Although I just realized I didn't watch 11 either. I'm a failure.
I don't see walking sticks.
ReplyDeleteChecking out the Bulldogs/Dream Team and JYD/Santana v. Funks wouldn't hurt. Everything else on 2 is definitely crap, though.
ReplyDeleteIt's ***3/4. Nothing Id go out of my way to see again now that I've got a ton of harts/bulldogs stuff on other DVDs.
ReplyDeleteOr, invite some friends over to watch and forget about the internet.
ReplyDeleteThose are his legs.
ReplyDeleteTroy = Undertaker is pretty good. I feel bad for Fitzgerald getting compared to Heath Slater however.
ReplyDeleteWatching the HOF Ceremony right now with Trish introducing Lita, got me thinking
ReplyDeleteChances Hardy Boys are entered some day? I think they would be deserving
Blaine Gabbert = Zack Ryder
ReplyDeleteJobbers. That's all.
Fitting.
Hey, is Warrior's HoF speech over yet?
ReplyDeleteYou are right that something big is going to happen.
ReplyDeleteThe Iron Sheik is going to be at the Saloon Bar in NYC tonight for Wrestlemania
https://twitter.com/the_ironsheik/status/452823080201510912
Mr. T just informed us how difficult it was for him to be weaned off his mother's boobs when he was 7.
ReplyDeleteHey does anyone know what time the pre show match is? I want to check out all the matches but I don't know if I can sit through a two hour kayfabe pre show, but I do want to see the tag match. If I just throw it around 6 instead of 5 I should be cool yeah?
ReplyDeleteGuess I'm gonna watch WWF iyh:its time for some pre game wrestling, I've never seem this including the Bret vs sid main event
ReplyDeleteYeah, I believe the Network exclusive pre-show (the final hour) has been promoted as having the tag match. It's a shame that Cesaro and the Usos can't be on the main show after the year they've had, but oh well.
ReplyDeleteChecked out survivor series 1996 last night. One of my favorite shows ever. I never noticed sid gives super fan Vladimir a full on hug after he wins.
ReplyDeleteHey, we've all been there.
ReplyDeleteCurrently watching WM20. Hopefully ill finish this in time to catch up on the couple of this week in I need to finish before wrestlemania.
ReplyDeleteCena curtain jerking is so weird now.
ReplyDeleteJust watched the finals of the WM IV tourney. Ventura rightfully getting pissed at Hogan cheating is still glorious...
ReplyDeleteGod I was REALLY hating Shawn Michaels around that time.
ReplyDeleteRewatched the triple threat earlier. Fuck it, I can still feel fine at the ending, he wasn't batshit yet.
ReplyDeleteI usually found myself agreeing with Ventura a lot of the time when it comes to Hogan, especially compared to Gorilla's cartoonish pandoring when it came to him
ReplyDeleteBeing 12 at the time, I thought the initial run was great. Didn't know until later that a lot of adults hated it.
ReplyDeleteGet your shot glasses out tonight. Take a drink every time someone says "urinary tract".
ReplyDeleteVentura was so great in the logical heel commentator role. JBL wasn't bad at it, until he turned into "pull the string and get 5 preprogrammed JBL phrases, Mikkol!" JBL.
ReplyDelete...and God gave her credit!
ReplyDeleteI can still watch Benoit regardless. I'm a heartless monster
ReplyDeleteI was the same age... and I hated him because he beat Bret Hart at WM12, and I wasn't sure if Bret was ever coming back.
ReplyDeleteTen years have passed since this and Cena looks exactly the same now as he did here.
ReplyDeleteSame with me, and that's close to literal.
ReplyDeleteWord Life!
ReplyDeleteThere's always next year for Cesaro.
ReplyDeleteDidn't he win the trial?
ReplyDeleteVader seems a really nice guy and the best example for a "gentle giant" (as Bret Hart put it in "wrestling with shadows", although I guess not meant as an insult: "Vader is a big baby").
ReplyDeleteafter Vader accidently injured Joe Thurman in a squash match on Worldwide (and thinking he had paralyzed his opponent), he was seen crying back in the dressing room (Foley mentioned this story).
Depends on how rehab goes.
ReplyDeleteI expect the British Bulldogs to get in as soon as Dynamite Kid dies and not a second before.
I'm watching the 1993 Sur Ser and am being treated to an unexpected gem. The commentating team of Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon were shown and we were informed that they were on WWF Radio - something of which I have utterly no recollection.
ReplyDeleteThe PPV broadcast time? VKM & Bobby Heenan.
< sigh >
But, the two teams traded and we got Ross/Monsoon for the SMW tag title match between the Heavenly Bodies and The RR Express. The match was as good as you'd expect, and that announcing painfully illustrated how horrid the teams we have today are.
I miss Monsoon so much, and Ross' absence is unforgivable.
Let's not! There's a reason for five Wrestlemania threads :)
ReplyDeleteHow about let's be at our snarkiest and make Disqus laugh :)
I hate handicap matches unless they're used for storyline purposes and never on a ppv.
ReplyDeleteWhen's NJPW's PPV?
ReplyDelete....Dynamite if fucking alive???? Wow. I had to do a search; I would have bet large piles of money that he was gone.
ReplyDeleteThese shorts on bubba ray looks really awkward.
ReplyDeleteVader talked about his rep for being stiff. When he first started he was basically wrestling guys like Hansen and Brody all the time in the AWA and then he went to Japan where they give zero fucks about getting hit so he just thought that's how you were supposed to work.
ReplyDeleteI miss the full-blown wild Samoan gimmick.
ReplyDeleteAin't had one since Umaga.
ReplyDeleteYup. I want either a repeat of that gimmick, or one where a Samoan acknowledges it and goes completely opposite, maybe with an IRS type character.
ReplyDeleteSigh. I never found those mae young/moolah segments funny.
ReplyDeleteOMG. Trish Stratus. <3
ReplyDeleteA friend back in my hometown watches the network on his phone because his wife won't allow him to watch on the main TV. I informed him he should be A MAN.
ReplyDelete@parallax1978
I am oddly intrigued and fascinated by Bubba putting/protecting Mae Young through a table.
ReplyDeleteI thought HBK hated having Lothario there?
ReplyDeletePink fucking jeebus. I've never seen Bastion Booger before. A fat guy wrapped in a gauze looking diaper outfit should not be a gimmick.
ReplyDeleteHow about the segments involving them making out with Okerlund and Heenan?
ReplyDeleteWorse gimmick than Mantaur?
ReplyDeleteWorse on the eyes, anyway.
ReplyDeleteNot so much.
ReplyDeleteIt would certainly make more sense.
ReplyDeleteI just figured Bret would come back eventually. The next year, obviously, I turned 13 and Attitude was right up my alley, lol.
ReplyDeleteYeah he's paralyzed and seems to have a stroke annually but he's hanging on.
ReplyDelete"Flash funk? Maybe we should call him flying flash funk!"- The guy who's responsible for everything you hear on wwe commentary now.
ReplyDeleteSometimes its weird what kinds of gimmicks Vince saddles on someone and expects people to make it work.
ReplyDeleteWeird.
ReplyDelete... And the Universe gave her credit!!!
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't matter if you had Bobby Heenan out there today. Those guys are just parroting back shit from Vince. Once you get a new guy producing raw the commentary will improve tenfold
ReplyDeleteSo is Rick Bognar technically a Hall of famer now.
ReplyDeleteScorpio vs snow had some crazy spots/ moves but a ton of botches too. They swung for the fences and basically got thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double.
ReplyDeleteThey haven't done a retrial yet but the reopened of the case has made a lot more people aware of the kind of shady shit Snuka pulled.
ReplyDeleteAnd I mean, come on. He definitely killed her.
HBK/Tatanka and Steiners/Headshrinkers were fine. Crush/Doink and Backlund/Razor weren't terrible, but felt more like RAW matches. Luger/Perfect could've been really good, but fell flat.
ReplyDeleteBret/Yolo was decent, and better than their match the following year. The ending is pretty ehh, and Hogan winning over "the Jap" as Hogan called Yoko was ridiculous.
The tag title match and Taker/Gonzalez were terrible.
Is it the worst Mania? Maybe. But there is some good to the card.
I will echo what others have said. Macho should have won the Rumble, faced Bret in Vegas and put him over HUGE, as you know Randy would've been able to do.
Have Yoko beat Bret at Summerslam later that year, if you want the belt on him.
The fake razor and diesel might have been the least over angle the wwe ever did.
ReplyDeleteEvil Trish is sooooooo hot.
ReplyDeleteI was there when JR did the heel turn and I loved it. But yeah it totally fizzled out after.
ReplyDeleteOf course there wasn't much over at that point. Four weeks of TV at a time vs always live Nitro really killed the WWF.
That should be a series on WWE Network, surveillance footage of guys being told what awful gimmicks they've been given when it happened. Seeing Mike Shaw's face as he was being told he's gonna be Bastion Booger and shown his outfit? That's DEFINITELY worth the money.
ReplyDeleteDeez Nuts!
ReplyDeleteMaybe. I still dug Rick Brognar's Razor impressions and the angle started out in a cool way. But no one "got" the potential or the angle itself, including the vast majority of the WWF employees.
ReplyDeleteI remember listening to a Bryan and Vinny Show about a month ago and Bryan discusses how much HBK hated having Lothario with him.
ReplyDeleteReality TV I'd actually watch.
ReplyDeleteFunks/Santana and JYD, Dream Team/Bulldogs, and Hercules/Steamboat are all good to great. (Imagine if we had got Bret/Steamboat).
ReplyDeleteThe battle royale is fun, Orndorff making slanty eyes at Fuji is hilarious for all the wrong reasons, and Hogan/Bundy is decent, but feels more like an SNME match.
I said in an older thread, that Adonis vs Elmer was the worst match. I take that back, that "honor" should go to Kirchner/Volkoff.
Conversely, Mick Foley's face when he gathered up all his courage and told Vince he wouldn't be called Mason the Mutilator.
ReplyDeleteI'd pop for Barry Horowitz. HOROWITZ WINS! HOROWITZ WINS!
ReplyDeleteGeez, the worlds exploding heat of Hogan/Warrior from VI. I've seen this match eleventy million times and it always has me taken aback.
ReplyDeleteI think only Rock/Austin heat rivals that shit.
ReplyDeleteOops. Rock/Hogan too.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I remember being so worried as a 5-year-old that Hogan couldn't
ReplyDeletewin this one, and being so upset when he lost. But consoling myself
that at least Warrior didn't cheat and was a good guy too, lol.
Maryland vs. Notre Dame and Stanford vs. Connecticut-If ND and UConn advance, we have a Highlander NCAA final #ThereCanBeONLYONE
ReplyDeleteWatching Starcade 84, Dusty's making his entrance and the music playing strikes me as a bizarre choice, I'm wondering if they dubbed in something so I look to see what the original entrance music was... Purple Rain? That's.. an interesting choice for Dusty.
ReplyDeleteThe Nature Boy Elbow
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Eddie hadn't died had things turned out the way they did with Benoit.
ReplyDeleteConsidering Benoit was very likely suffering from CTE, I don't think he would have had a great life right now even if things had played out differently.
ReplyDelete1996 questions? I only counted four... ;)
ReplyDeleteTerry Gordy vs Undertaker would have been such a dream match. It's a shame this executioner match didn't click.
ReplyDelete"What?"
ReplyDeleteTerry Gordy and mick Foley is a pretty decent stsbley
ReplyDeleteAll Trish is hot.
ReplyDeleteLol he wants nded his own because he was njury prone and loved pizza and milk
ReplyDeleteYeah I understand Shawn hating it as I'm pretty sure :Lothario killed most of his heat, but you have to figure if Shawn really did hate it that Shawn would have enough power to veto it.
ReplyDeleteSame here.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know when Vlad stopped showing up at WWF/WWE events? Definitely a "where are they now?".
ReplyDeleteAhmed didn't end anyone's career, but he did injure a lot of guys. Whereas someone like Goldberg, he'd hurt you but I don't think he injured anyone seriously enough with the exception of Bret.
ReplyDeleteYeah the booking around that time was pretty strange and I wonder what WWF's original plans were if Ahmed stayed healthy. I mean Ahmed looked to be the next big thing and smart money says they should have saved his first title win for Wrestlemania.
ReplyDeleteNot that I think about it the Steiners were probably the worst. The only injury I know of is Buff but they hurt a lot of guys too, and most of it seemed to be on purpose. I just never understood the distinction. If guys are getting hurt, injured, or disabled then you are doing it wrong.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that's what the Usos' original concept was.
ReplyDeleteThat sid vs Bret match is a real forgotten gem. I'd cal it ***1/2 and I loved the screwy finish, it got everyone involved more heat.
ReplyDeleteVery likely, as sort of a hook to kickoff the first of events. I'm wondering two things:
ReplyDelete1) If Dibiase wins the main event at a Wrestlemania, does precedent dictate that far fewer Wrestlemanias end with faces going over to end the show ?
2) Do they just let Hogan beat Andre in a rubber match in the main event to send the fans home happy at Wrestlemania IV
Gonna watch wcw wrestlerwar 1990 to kill time until mania starts.
ReplyDeleteI think the concept was that it played into the whole "boyhood dream" angle they were going for, and was supposed to make Shawn, basically a male stripper, more family friendly.
ReplyDeleteJust came off kinda weird, though. That tag match against Cornette and Vader was kinda entertaining, though.
He did. Not sure what Scott's thinking of, but it was Bruce Prichard's idea to make Shawn more personable, relatable and "man of the people"-like. It was also supposed to evoke the Mick and Rocky thing from the Rocky movies and it sucked.
ReplyDeleteMake sure to watch the intro, it is among the all time worst.
ReplyDeleteI heard Shawn's mall was better.
ReplyDeleteWatching the end of VIII. Good grief did that crowd explode when Warrior made the save. If they do end on a Punk/Bryan remake of that moment, think New Orleans measures up? I'd think so.
ReplyDeleteShawn's smarky commentary made it **** for me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was almost as weird as that phase in Memphis where nearly every wrestler used a song from the Footloose soundtrack, you can tell the Jarrett household loved that album.
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, Heenan was pure gold during the Harts/Knights borefest.
ReplyDeleteRandom tech question: I have somewhere to be for 5-6:45 tonight, so I won't be home until probably 7...so, is it in my best interest to start my stream before I leave just to have it running when I get home? Or does it really matter if I just turn it on right at 7? Sorry, just wasn't sure if thousands of people all entering the live stream at the same time might cause me issues?
ReplyDeleteWow does this opener stink. Dynamic dudes vs buzz and Sullivan and they are killing me over here. This show was critically acclaimed right?
ReplyDeleteYeah, mainly because most of the people who praised it only saw the edited Turner home video version that cut out the first two terrible matches. The show gets better once you get past Cactus Jack vs. Norman The Lunatic though.
ReplyDeleteAnd I totally wish Terry Funk stayed on commentary longer than he did because he and Jim Ross were great on this show.
Call it *1/2
ReplyDeleteReally wish Vader would've won the belt at Summer Slam. Vader was one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteWow Norman the lunatic was a pretty non PC gimmick. Is this match against Foley any good.
ReplyDeleteHmmm....I never heard the Luger rumor. So was it "rumored" that he was supposed to win the title or was he supposed to go over Yoko but then lose to Bret? And how can anybody "in the know" not think Bret was walking out of MSG with the belt that night?
ReplyDeleteOK yeah, these first two matches suck but its always cool to see young Foley and I have no clue who wins. This is a nice little pre lim until manis
ReplyDeleteIn Shawn's book he said having Jose as his manager was his decision because he wanted to thank him for training him, etc. He said he later realized it made his character less cool and he was wrong. But there's a lot of people who seem to think other wise and I remember a shoot, possibly Jim Cornette, where they said Shawn was a dick to Jose.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was going to post, too--I believe it was Cornette's "Timeline" shoot for RF Video where he mentioned that Shawn was a total asshole to Lothario and hated having him around.
ReplyDelete#1 is why I never believed this rumor--I can't see a heel leaving Mania with the title in 1988. Ten years later, sure, but not at that time.
ReplyDeleteI never heard that one either--in fact I'm pretty sure Luger himself has said since then that there were never any plans for him to win the belt that night.
ReplyDeleteI have it on already but I'm doubting there will be issues.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd heard the "it was supposed to be like Rocky and Shawn hated it" stuff before.
ReplyDeletePlease don't let the Network crap out tonight.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to think about, if only to wonder what would have become of Sid.
ReplyDeleteShawn telling people off about being stiff is ironic, especially when you consider hoes many times he stiffed Bret during the Iron Man match.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the one where he tried to go check on him and they kept holding him back and ended up making him look like an absolute monster?
ReplyDeleteI think Scott has reneged on that assertion since. Austin does legitimately get removed from the match due to injury though, as far as I'm aware.
ReplyDeleteThe Luger blabbing story was put about by Meltzer, and this being the early days of wrestling groups on the internet, it became one of the first major myths to perpetuate via newsgroup.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he would have gotten the title at Royal Rumble and then the match against Taker at WM. ;)
ReplyDelete