The funny thing is that Chael was looking like the good soldier after all the stupidity with Wanderlei went down, and now he looks like an even bigger clown.
But let's face facts, there's no way Vitor Belfort was getting cleared for that fight without having Ronda Rousey pee in a bottle for him. So the whole thing was pretty much doomed from the get go.
If this was wrestling, it'd be a hell of an angle, though.
Speaking of, it is probably time for him to finally make the switch.
ReplyDeleteTherapeutic use ban was bound to hit someone
ReplyDeleteI wish Dr Hous-Farva, I MEANT FARVA was around to tell us if anyone besides athletes consistently use this testosterone therapy deal. I think this Dr Google is a quack, and I don't trust him.
ReplyDeleteHasn't Sonnen been busted before?
ReplyDeleteWasn't Chael like 30 lbs. overweight anyways for the fight?
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteRole model!
ReplyDeleteHe can always compete in a rigged Smackoff on the Jim Rome Show again.
ReplyDeleteFor being a giant douche? Yes, many times, and on camera.
ReplyDeleteChael has been my favorite for years, but it's getting harder and harder to support him.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most entertaining heels of the UFC.I wanted to see him take a beatdown from Silva in the rematch,after those racial comments,that motherfucker drawed tons of heat in Brazil.
ReplyDeleteHugh Laurie would actually know more.
ReplyDeleteChael's always been known as more of a character than a fighter and he's been outclassed in his biggest fights. Go to WWE already and get summa dat Brock Lesnar money, dawg.
ReplyDeleteSee, I saw him as the babyface. "Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck!" is my favorite post fight interview ever. I think it was after Chael beat Bisping. Fucker knew how to sell a fight. The rematch broke the million mark... but I remember Chael being grossly underpaid.
ReplyDeleteSonnen choose the wrong profession,he should've stayed in his wrestling career.
ReplyDeleteHow can a babyface can do racial shit?
ReplyDeleteBecause everyone agreed with what he said.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe I just liked him so much I was delusional.
ReplyDeleteHe should have fucked off to a profession that makes sure he never appears on camera, unless it's a mug shot.
ReplyDeleteFuck Chael Sonnen, and fuck his parents for giving him a stupid name, among other things.
Really well said. It always puzzles me when people make these comparisons between the WWF and WCW in the late 1990s on this point.
ReplyDeleteThe WWF had hard workers on top (terrible midcard) in 1995 and 1996, but made no money because nobody liked the booking. With good booking it'd been 2000.
The WWF wrestling product in 1998 and1999 was horrible, with guys having an open invitation to dog it via the Russo garbage style and their limited skill sets, but it's the most successful era ever because the booking was so good. The lack of guaranteed contracts didn't save us from a year of hundreds of bad matches.
It's all booking -- the WWF was better for longer at getting the most out of their roster and putting guys in the position to succeed.
This is all wwe rhetoric. If you can honestly tell me that you don't think 99.9% of people that have been on tv in the last x years have not been on some sort of gas, you're fooling yourself.
ReplyDeleteThese measures are not done for wrestlers "safety"
They're done so Linda McMahon can blow tens of millions on a political campaign without dead wrestler questions.
but was that lack of motivation due to the environment of WCW or guaranteed contracts? I might be less motivated if know my performance doesn't matter because the top spots are spoken for no matter what (although that didn't seem to affect the Radicals, the cruiserweights, etc.). The environment of WCW was toxic even in 98 when they were still making money hand over fist due to the stuff going on with Hogan, Nash, Hall, later Goldberg pulling power plays, etc. That environment wasn't a result of guaranteed contracts but a result of a head guy who wouldn't stand up to talent and wasn't a leader. It was a result of a disorganized backstage system where different bookers didn't know what each was doing. A system where road agents weren't around and most guys simply got a finish with no suggestions on how to work the match (see Jericho's first book for a description). Paying people a set amount of money for a set amount of dates (and remember you got paid for working extra so there WAS incentive to work more or better to get booked more) is a good thing. Arbitrarily deciding who "drew" for each show based on the whims of Vince is not a good thing. It wasn't then and it isn't now. JJ Dillon's book provides a great rundown of how payoffs went as well as quick snippets in Bret's book and Jericho's book when they got ridiculously small checks for their alleged role in a ppv. With no set formula, Vince can pay guys what he wants for shows.
ReplyDeleteIt went downhill rapidly once they put Zodiac behind the counter.
ReplyDelete"Are your crullers freshly baked?"
"YES! NO! YES! NO! YES! NO!"
Another sign of a not-well-planned heel turn?
ReplyDeleteFlair's full-time role is as pyro.
ReplyDeleteNot a "pyro controller" -- actual pyro. He'll lay on the ground, wait for the wrestler to enter, and then -- lighter to mouth and breathe out.
It's rhetoric backed up by data.
ReplyDeleteWrestlers WERE dropping like flies 10 years ago.
They aren't now.
If you think otherwise, prove it.
Eh, they got a lot of it together when Nitro started.
ReplyDeleteOdd: most of the upvotes seem to be from Canadians. Hmm...
ReplyDeleteDude, they're all dead or look like Bret Hart. I don't have Kurrgans EKG results or Joe Legend's proctology exam to prove their health. But like...you think Cena looks that way naturally? How clueless are you?
ReplyDeleteAnd if you agree he's not, why hasn't he got busted for this "wellness policy?"
I know that Foley got his SAG card for a year after appearing on some USA show. I just don't get how the SAG isn't in these guys' corners when the WWE chairman himself has deemed that theirs is not competitive sports, but entertainment...
ReplyDeleteWas Hogan supposed to lose to Flair at Wrestlemania?
ReplyDeleteBut Flair did lose, to Savage. If he was supposed to go over Hogan, why job him to Savage?
ReplyDeleteBut would have smart fans accepted a Hulk Hogan in WCW that would have done count out jobs in the 1990's as a way of building up opponents or would they have turned on it since they would have expected Hogan to get with the times and job by pinfall? Hogan did a bunch of jobs in 1996-97, but most would say they counted for nothing due to the way Hogan was booked shortly after.
ReplyDeleteEven more egregious because the WWE now calls them "actors."
ReplyDeleteScott,
ReplyDeleteDo you really think Hogan jobbing to a guy who had been booked as such a monster for years in WCW would have hurt him one bit? I say screw that DQ nonsense. Give Vader that first win clean and do the big money rematch down the line with Hogan going over.
Imagine if Austin found the character earlier and his neck didn't get fucked up.
ReplyDeleteYou're completely confused by storyline and reality. The storyline was always that Sid's jealousy over not getting the title shot would lead him to turn on Hogan, and Hogan would demand Sid in return.
ReplyDeleteOnly 2-3 guys in the world would know for sure. But Ric was the champ and Hulk was eager for some time off so it seems probable.
ReplyDeleteHogan was probably angling for a DQ win just like what ended up happening with Sid.
Because Macho was sticking around hence they could run re-matches and more importantly have the champ actually compete on the roster. Plus Vince having another one of his last minute mind changes on how Slick Ric was drawing/would draw as champ.
ReplyDeleteNope. The match was never gonna happen. Flair/Hogan was barely drawing decent house show numbers by the end of 1991, let alone be big enough for a Mania main event.
ReplyDeleteWhile speculated by Meltzer at the time, that 'factiod' was applied retroactively. Judging from all of the crazy booking that year, I really wouldn't be surprised if Vince didn't really know himself until after the Rumble what he was going with. He set himself up with a number of options going into the Rumble.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the case may be -- The "this could be Hogan's last match" angle came out of nowhere. I'm pretty sure when the sex scandal hit and the steroid talk picked back up that all potential plans led to getting Hogan off of TV and out of the hotseat for awhile.
I think there’s more than enough circumstantial evidence to
ReplyDeletepoint towards Hogan/Flair never being the main event. The match already being
used on a daily basis at house shows all through the latter part of 1991, Hogan
taking time off to do movies after Wrestlemania and thus not being in a
position to win the title, Sid’s alleged guarantee of the main event in
Wrestlemania as incentive to jump ship from WCW, Sid eliminating Hogan from the
Rumble rather than Flair… The Sid heel turn had begun before the Hogan/Flair “announcement”,
why would they do that? Such a big angle involving Hogan could only detract
from a Flair/Hogan buildup.
Well 3 hours of boring matches where nothing happens is worse than 2 hours of boring matches where nothing happens is worse than 1 hour of boring matches where nothing happens. The more tv time you have, the more variety the shows should have and the faster the pace has to be.
ReplyDeleteHad a feeling that would shut you up..
ReplyDeleteI refer you to Lesnar, Brock. When you bring somebody in and make a big deal about them, you DON'T job them in their first match. Even if it's to a mega monster or the top star.
ReplyDeleteI'll give you biggest draw but not most famous. EVERYONE knows who Hulk Hogan is. There are a lot of people who would see a photo of Austin and not know who he is.
ReplyDeleteThat period was like the complete anti-thesis of the Hogan stereotype. He was putting everybody over, he was losing clean, he was working in the midcard, he was helping younger guys become stars. Hell, he even made fun of the fact that he was bald. It was really strange.
ReplyDeleteUhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....................Pretty sure Flair was his first opponent unless in your alternate universe 1994 comes after 1995
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure. Rock is a house hold name past the level of hogan. As for Austin he had the single biggest run of any wrestler ever. Hogan is not at the same level of popularity or drawing power of Austin or Rock.
ReplyDelete