The SmarK Rant for Clash of the Champions XXXI (August 1995)
You’re killing me, 1995 WCW. There was a reason I was actively avoiding the product at this point.
Live from Daytona Beach, FL
Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Bobby Heenan
Meng & Kurosawa v. Hawk & Sting
And what an opener! Kurosawa is a young Manabu Nakanishi with a stupid name. Kurosawa slugs it out with the babyfaces and Sting gets a suplex for two. Over to Hawk, and at this point the fucks given by him are ZERO and he’s not selling shit. Meng, beginning his repackage into deadly martial arts fighter at this point, comes in and throws chops at Hawk. Here’s another weird thing: The guys are positioned on the wrong corners for TV, as the heels take a corner closest to the hard camera on the left and it’s surprisingly disorienting as a viewer. Just looks wrong, ya know? So Hawk kind of gets the heat on him but even the announcers are like “Man, it’s hard to keep Hawk down” because he won’t sell anything, and he gets a sloppy powerbomb on Kurosawa for two. It’s BONZO GONZO and Hawk looks like he should be another cable channel or something because he clearly has no clue what’s going on with this match. Poor Sting tries to salvage something on his own while Hawk randomly stumbles around the ring, and sets up for a Doomsday Device with Hawk, who can barely get to the top before falling off with a half-assed clothesline onto Kurosawa for the pin at 7:30. What a fucking disaster this was. -* Kurosawa puts Hawk into the Fujiwara armbar to injure him, but I’m pretty sure Hawk was medicated enough to take care of any pain resulting.
Meanwhile, on WCW Saturday Night, the Dungeon of Doom attacks Hogan. I should note it’s only been six months since the last Clash, and they’ve already repackaged both Butcher and Avalanche into Zodiac Man and Shark, respectively.
Meanwhile, Robert Parker and the Stud Stable of Buck and Slater (who were apparently tag champions at this point, which I vaguely recall as one of those wacky “non-title match on a TV taping repurposed into a title change” deals. Basically there was no actual title change booked.) are ready for their six-man against Harlem Heat later.
Diamond Dallas Page v. Alex Wright
DDP going from manager to wrestler in his 30s was one of the most unlikely success stories in wrestling. Of course he was still beyond terrible at this point, but he was trying and getting much better with the weight loss and new finisher. Wright gets a pair of rollups and dumps Page, then follows with a dive. Back in, Page with the dreaded full armdrag and twist, but Wright reverses and works the arm for a bit until Page puts him down to take over. Backbreaker and neckbreaker gets two. Wright with a backslide as everyone in the crowd fights off the instinct to doze into their popcorn. High knee gets two and Wright goes up with the missile dropkick for two. Page drops him on the top turnbuckle and gets two, but Wright gets the german suplex for two. Wright tries another dive and misses by a mile, and Page pins him at 8:17. Weak finish, OK, match. **
Meanwhile, Flair and Anderson have words for Vader, although Flair has more words than Arn does.
World TV title: The Renegade v. Paul Orndorff
Renegade sends Orndorff out, but Paul lays him out and pounds away as the muscle atrophy on the right arm is getting SCARY at this point. Orndorff with a clothesline to put Renegade on the floor and he takes some ridiculously bad bumps before randomly making the Warrior-inspired comeback with a slingshot bodyblock for the pin at 4:00 to retain. The crack WCW crew managed to somehow miss the finish and had to show it on replay. I would rather not relive any parts of Renegade matches unless absolutely necessary. DUD
Meanwhile, Vader has no fear of any man. Except Paul Orndorff in shower shoes.
Robert Parker, Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater v. Harlem Heat & Sister Sherri
This was the start of the stupid “Robert Parker getting wooed by brain-damaged Sherri” angle that paid off with a wedding gone horribly wrong and Madusa involved somehow. Buck gets worked over by the Heat, and Slater comes in and tries a headbutt on Booker. So that’s a bad idea, because he’s black and all. Slater’s selling is such a Dean Ambrose ripoff. We take a break and learn how to win a motorcycle. Apparently the winner will be announced on some new show they’re debuting in September. Monday something. So with that established, we return with Booker T getting the heat, which finally draws Robert Parker in. And then he quickly gets destroyed by Sherri until she misses a flying splash and appears to be out cold. Parker, as a southern gentleman, is unable to capitalize, so Sherri tackles him with a kiss and pins him at 8:45. Absolutely nothing to the match. 1/2*
Meanwhile, Hulk Hogan isn’t worried about the Dungeon of Doom. The McMahons of the world are worried about Hulkamania running wild! That would actually prove prophetic.
And now, Hulk Hogan enters the Dungeon! So yeah, Kevin Sullivan and King Curtis are hanging out and shooting the shit in the Dungeon, and Hogan just barges and cuts a promo on them like he’s a badly-dubbed anime character, until ANDRE THE GIANT’S SON attacks him and rips off the necklace. SYMBOLISM! FLASHBACKS! The Dungeon does a beatdown and Vader makes the save, because he was apparently hanging out near the Dungeon of Doom for unrelated reasons. Like he was grabbing breakfast at the Dungeon of Donuts next door and happened to see some shit going down or something.
Vader v. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson
Oh man were people mad about this one back in the day. This whole feud was weird because Arn was off doing his Stud Stable thing for most of the year and then suddenly he was just hanging out with un-retired Flair again and they’re bickering. Thankfully, unlike 90% of WCW’s bullshit, this WAS going somewhere. Arn gets to try with Vader to start as Flair cheerleads for him, and that doesn’t go well for AA. Finally he gets a spinebuster and Flair decides to tag himself in, at which point Vader destroys Flair with a press slam in a funny bit. So Arn keeps carrying things, taking out Vader’s knee so Flair can gain control, and Arn adds a DDT. Flair comes in for the figure-four, but Vader easily escapes and splashes Flair for two, as Arn has to keep bailing Flair out. Vader puts them both down with clotheslines and powerbombs AA for the pin at 8:05. More angle than match. ** Flair blames Arn for this development and we get the feud that no one wanted to see but still ended up pretty awesome. Arn was tremendous here.
And then Hulk Hogan comes out to point out that RIPPING OFF HIS CRUCIFIX WAS A THING THAT ALSO HAPPENED TO HIM BEFORE, BROTHER. Thanks for the reminder, Hulk.
The Pulse
Consider that THIS was the product they were putting out and Nitro still turned out awesome and changed the business forever. STRONG recommendation to avoid.
The Dungeon of Donuts line was killer, just killer. Haven't LOL'd at one of your lines like that in a while.
ReplyDeleteWas just getting ready to type the same sentiment. Scott, any interest in franchising the Dungeon of Donuts? We could use one here in Maine...
ReplyDeleteI also want to thank you, on behalf of everyone here, for actually sitting an watching this shit. I have no idea how you got through it. I remember thinking how bad a show this was as an ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD and this helps my case. God bless you.
ReplyDeletei really have no clue who let Hawk go on live TV like that. Talk about setting a bad trend for the night.
ReplyDeleteOther than 2000 WCW, someone find me a year from the big 2 that has zero redeeming qualities like WCW 95. After 1985 to keep it fair
ReplyDeleteFor two guys with a good knowledge of the business and how matches work, Sting and Hawk were such an awful team
ReplyDeleteIT'S NOT HOT!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWell, Hawk was so pilled up at this point I doubt anyone could have worked well with him, including Animal.
ReplyDeleteI think he disappeared shortly after this, but returned with Animal early in '96, though I could be wrong. On that note, you probably get a million requests for rants, but I'd love to see you do a fresh review of Uncensored '96, just to read a fresh take on that horrid main event and the Sting-Booker T vs Road Warriors match that was the longest tag match in recorded history. Unless you've done a re-do already and I just didn't catch it.
ReplyDeleteIn Hawk's defense, considering how horrible 95 WCW was, you needed to be high off your ass to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteFace Vader? I don't remember that at all. (Then again, I've wiped a LOT of 95 WCW from my mind, so yeah.)
Are the donuts not hot?
ReplyDeleteLOD did reunite in January of 1996 in WCW.
ReplyDeleteHe was only a face for a few months before getting fired.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/32707/The-SmarK-Retro-Rant-For-WCW-Uncensored-96.htm
ReplyDeleteThere ya go.
Yes, and there are no Hulkamaniacs either.
ReplyDelete1995 WWF wasn't much better.
ReplyDeleteCool. I don't think I've read this one, just the first version from way back. But I'd be all for Scott reviewing it a third time, because I'm a sadist.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and they were gone pretty fast, too. I don't even think they made it to the time Hall & Nash started showing up.
ReplyDelete"Dungeon of Donuts." Awesome. Hell, the whole scenario, like the DoD lair is some kind of hang-out in a regular neighborhood, is some great comedy.
ReplyDeleteMcBain: It's not a comedy
"Oh."
Pretty sure the White Castle of Fear was right next door to the Dungeon of Doom. Vader was just trying to tell his rowdy neighbors to keep it down.
ReplyDeletethe extended introduction Michael Buffer did for Sting was awesome:
ReplyDelete"...and his partner... wearing lime green... weighing 253 and one half pounds... a man known the world over in professional wrestling... famous for the scorpion deathlock and the stinger splash... ladies and gentlemen, from Venice Beach, California... the five time WCW heavyweight champion of the world..... Sting!"
Shawn and Bret were allowed to carry anything that breaths to 3-star matches, automatically making it better than WCW, but 1995 just sucked, period. If you didn't watch ECW and you lived in North America, you had shit for options.
ReplyDeleteWhen Sting finally debuts in WWE, his ring introduction will be half an hour long and delay the debut for another week.
ReplyDeleteThey wanted more money than Bischoff thought they were worth, and they left. I think they wanted "Hall and Nash" money. Bischoff can have a smart moment, sometimes.
ReplyDelete"Yeah buddy, let me get a dozen powdered, half a doz......what the fuck?!? Keep my shit hot! I'll be right back"
ReplyDeleteI'm already cringing at the likelihood that Justin Roberts will still find a way to make a monosyllabic name like "Sting" sound completely stupid.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. While we look at WWF 95 poorly, which it was, it was still loaded with great matches and a couple of solid ppvs like RR95 and Survivor 95
ReplyDeleteHe'll over-do it and call him "STANG".
ReplyDeleteThe Dungeon of Doom was an underground sublet to Vader's White Castle of Fear. Vader used to keep Harley Race's oxygen tanks down there, along with some explosive devices, last seen at Beach Blast. When Sullivan and King Curtis were looking for a meeting place, Vader, who was a heel at the time, offered them his underground cavern at $785 a month. Sullivan talked him down to $730.
ReplyDeleteWhere did they find Big Show anyway? Was he working indies or did they just put an ad in the paper for a 7 footer?
ReplyDeleteI think Meltzer mentioned him having one match for Kowalski in the Fall of 1994, and that's it.
ReplyDeleteSo they gave this dude a main event run in his first matches ever? If that's not a "because WCW" line I don't know what is
ReplyDeleteYep. Before Havoc '95, one professional match, probably witnessed by a few hundred people. I will say, WCW did a good job of promoting him, but then they booked themselves into a corner because of it.
ReplyDelete"Because Hogan" would also apply here.
ReplyDeleteHogan discovered him. He was actually trying to get in the WWE but Patterson(or someone else I forget) accidentally sent Vince a Kurgan tape instead.
ReplyDeleteAfter listening to Austin's podcast, I learned that Vader does have a background in real estate so your story checks out.
ReplyDeleteVader was actually a member of the Dungeon of the Doom and inducted into the group heading into Bash at the Beach '95. He refused to listen to Sullivan's specific instructions to defeat Hogan and do it "his way" and was mocked by Sullivan in promos. This was Vader's middle-finger to the group, saving Hogan.
ReplyDeleteVader and Hogan as a team at Fall Brawl '95 would've been odd, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteGuess it was for the best in the end. If he would have started in WWF with that same push the ribs from the kliq would have been never ending. I take it there was too much apathy in WCW for such things.
ReplyDeleteYea I remember the promo that set that up. He would have turned on him I'm sure
ReplyDeleteNot as odds as the promos of Hulk, Vader, Savage, and Sting at "bootcamp" training for war and running from explosions while wearing camo fatigues and making generic war references. Those exist.
ReplyDeleteThe dude would have been much better off signing with WWE. Are you high? Vince would have protected the shit out of him.
ReplyDeleteWWE jobbed the fuck out of him when he debuted in 1999... I don't know why I mentioned that, but they handled his debut so poorly.
ReplyDeleteVader was going to booked as "jolly Hogan friend" had he remained in WCW. He'd be the new Hillbilly Jim six months in.
ReplyDeleteHogan wouldn't allow himself to look like Sting (a.k.a the biggest moron in the world). Vader's face turn probably would've stuck until he just kind of went his own way again.
ReplyDeleteNot in 95 and not from the Kliq. He would have been pushed to the moon but I bet he would have wanted to quit everyday.
ReplyDeleteUgh God
ReplyDeleteHe was a student of Larry Sharpe in NJ (Sharpe was a prelim WWF guy in the 70's and early 80's), as was Bam Bam Bigelow. Sharpe's school had a good rep and Wight was highly touted and brought in for training at the Power Plant.
ReplyDeleteThey even sent him to OVW. JR had so many sneak disses to him in his Ross Report that I thought he was a rapper. I just kept wondering who the guy pissed off
ReplyDeleteBecause he came in with a somewhat-shitty attitude and he had no real idea how the business worked, considering his only experience was working for that mess of a company. Vince & Co. broke him down to the ground and built him back up to the way they wanted him. It took 4 years or so.
ReplyDeleteProbably used to WCW's "we don't give a shit" attitude and WWF has a "we DO give a shit" way of thinking.
ReplyDeleteBased off of what?
ReplyDeleteWe were robbed of Vader vs One Man Gang by like a month.
ReplyDeleteRobbed? The Gang was beyond awful at that point. Pretty sure he did a match with Hogan on another Clash (or maybe a special edition of Main Event) that was like we were in 1986 all over again, except drastically aged.
ReplyDeleteThe way the locker room conducted things back then. Candido, Mark Henry, Bam Bam, Shane Douglass and probably some I'm forgetting.
ReplyDeleteWho knows though, he could have hit it off well with the guys but in that kind of climate, I doubt it.
Not only did he get a main event run, he won the WCW title in his very first WCW match by beating Hogan via DQ because the match stipulated that the title could change hands on a DQ.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it was stripped a week later because he won the title via DQ. Because WCW.
That's right! It was the monster truck match, wasn't it? hahahaha. Good ole WCW
ReplyDeleteThe stip was never mentioned, either. It was a hidden clause to explain Jimmy Hart's heel turn.
ReplyDeleteEven better.
ReplyDeleteI honestly have no idea what you're trying to say. They fucked with a few guys. What does that have to do with Big Show?
ReplyDeleteIt would be like Goldberg being renamed to Spielberg when he debuted.
ReplyDeleteHeenan called it "A flying lip lock". Even Tony had to laugh at that one, which was pretty rare for him.
ReplyDeleteI remember fall brawl 95 being pretty good. Well, the Pullman/badd and flair/arn matches at least
ReplyDeleteI thought The Giant was pretty awesome in those days. Why not take a physically impressive young dude and push him as hard as you can? Giant was very watchable in his first two or so WCW years.
ReplyDeleteJJJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHNNNNNN CEEENNAAA!!!
ReplyDeleteI thought The Giant was pretty awesome in those days. Why not take a physically impressive young dude and push him as hard as you can? WCW had lots of big names to feed him. They were pushing someone NEW, very unlike them and their veteran line-up at the time. Giant was very watchable in his first two or so WCW years.
ReplyDeleteHe'll harken back to the old WCW way of announcing him, but over-pronounce.
ReplyDelete"THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
*waves Sarcasm sign*
ReplyDeleteI even liked the Wargames match in a cartoony way. Tenta's jump where he landed on the top ropes of both rings was both impressive and stupid at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI over-looked that somehow... Because WCW?
ReplyDeleteSpieeeeeeeeeelberrg Spieeeeeeeeeeeelberg...sounds like someone taunting him after the last Indiana Jones movie
ReplyDeleteHe went AWOL
ReplyDeleteI remember Kurasawa appearing on one of the first episodes of Nitro. He had an awful match with... Alex Wright I think.
ReplyDeleteRemember when Gary Michael Kapetta had to announce Tom Zenk as WCW's sexiest man of the year or something like that? Lucky guy!
ReplyDeleteFor an "awesome" gang match, look for Gang vs Konnan in 1996 on some PPV. One of the most awkward matches ever, even the announcers couldn't defend it.
ReplyDeleteI for some reason like Hogan doing the powder in the eyes to everyone. Although I always mark for that spot
ReplyDeleteI gotta check him out. Is he was awful as Kensuke Sasaki?
ReplyDeleteSuperbrawl VI, I think. Also the night of Loch Ness debut and Hogan's shitty chair shots that WWF mocked on a Billionaire Ted sketch.
ReplyDeleteAlso true. It was of course one of the bottom tier War Games, but Super Hero good guy Hogan immediately doing that really sold the "no holds barred" aspect of it. Plus, Hogan/Savage/Sting/Luger, talk about a super team.
ReplyDeleteTBF, Giant did have some very watchable matches afterwards against Savage, Sting, etc. He may not have "paid his dues", but he was different, and he was booked as a monster.
ReplyDeleteDidn't pay his dues?? The guy fell off an arena roof, and still worked the match! What more do you want, maaannnn??
ReplyDeleteBill Pullman was an excellent President.
ReplyDeleteTHERE'S NO HULKAMANIACS HERE!!!!
ReplyDeleteJudging by the anemic pops, he could actually say that during most WCW shows too... *rimshot*
ReplyDeleteThree things to like about WCW 1995:
ReplyDeleteHorsemen reunion
Savage winning the title at WW3
Midcard wasn't terribawful
When I think "zero redeeming qualities", I think 2014 TNA.
Honestly 2006/2007 WWE is mostly a disaster with a few bright spots (ie whatever Edge was doing). I mean at this point their most consistently watchable program was ECW on ScyFy
ReplyDeleteThat whole angle is must-see viewing, just for how over-the-top stupid it was. AND HOGAN STILL DIDN'T JOB CLEAN.
ReplyDeleteLOOSE CANNON BRIAN PILLMAN~!!!
ReplyDeleteDon't Go Messin' With A Rocky Mountain Boy!
ReplyDeleteThreadjack: So I got a cheap bootleg compilation of Kevin Sullivan's CWF work. Question: Did the silver dollar angle ever get resolved, or did Kevin go up to JCP before it could? My vid cuts off the angle when it goes back to earlier footage. Comment: Man it's weird seeing Jake Roberts play a lackey.
ReplyDeleteIt conjures art-films
ReplyDeleteKonnan was horribly awkward and Gang was immobile so it was a perfect little feature attraction.
ReplyDeleteCall it the Hogan corollary of Poe's Law: "Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humour, it is impossible to create a parody of bad WCW booking decisions that someone won't mistake for the real thing."
ReplyDeleteHe smoked and was fat, too thinks Vince hates more than anything.
ReplyDeleteThe Iced Late is NOT HOT!!
ReplyDeleteYeah that was a pretty awful time in general. Today's product I'd far from great but it's better than that era. Well, late 2007 started to improve a bit but that's not saying much.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping scott would say at the end that hogan came out and got spinebustered powerbombed and put in the figure 4 and broke out of it and cleared the ring of all 3
ReplyDeleteQuite appropriate since it was Wargames he dissapeared before. They tried to rip him a new one on the commentary of the show.
ReplyDeleteor hes on the Springfield Power Plant softball team and Bart is heckling him.
ReplyDeleteI liked Konehead when he came in with the Mexican Championship. Wrestling needs more invading champions from other permotions.
ReplyDeleteNo they took Andre the Giant's son and gave him a main event run in his first matches ever. The heredity alone makes it ok.
ReplyDeleteI think Tony used to be a lot more relaxed on the air. It was once he got so burnt out that he became so lifeless.
ReplyDeleteThat was hilarious BROTHER
ReplyDeleteI always hated that so much. I get putting people in their place, and I know WWF was at a point then where they felt they could basically do what they wanted, but having Austin beat Show clean on Raw so early in his run was garbage.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying, but I think if he comes in in October of 1995, Vince may have been willing to go all the way with him and ignore the Kliq completely. It's not like they were setting the world on fire in 1995, or anything.
ReplyDeleteIn WWE's defense, when Big Show first showed up, he had gotten fat and out of shape, and his matches weren't very good. They were probably very unhappy with their investment.
ReplyDeleteSteeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaannnnnnnggggg
ReplyDeleteThe most one-sided "Wargames" ever. You have as you said the Super Team, against Kamala, Haku, Earthquake, and Brutus Beefcake. Capt. Lou Albano would be proud of the over-matching aspect of this very real fight.
ReplyDeleteProbably so, and that is a fair point. I'm sure wrestlers get released, pushed, de-pushed and so on, for reasons that fans (even fans who care enough to write about wrestling somewhere such as this) never even see.
ReplyDeleteAnd a prick, like yelling at Heenan for being stupid over a Karl Gotch reference when Tony was the one who was mistaken.
ReplyDeleteTBF, if the coffee guy gets the high profile job over you, you wouldn't always be smiles and sunshine (though you should).
ReplyDeleteHavoc '95 was such a clusterfuck of grand proportions:
ReplyDeleteSumo Monster Trucks, ending with the Giant FALLING OFF THE ROOF OF COBO HALL. And no-selling it.
Run-ins galore
Jimmy Hart turns heel
Lex Luger runs in and turns heel despite already kind of being a heeel
THE YETAY!
The Hulk Sandwich Double Hump Express
A title change by DQ that wasn't announced
A title change by DQ that was over-turned because it wasn't announced and was obviously a set up by Jimmy Hart.
Oh come now. It wasn't THAT terrible (frankly, anything that leaves Hogan laying cannot by itself be considered terrible). It was probably their answer to Pitbulls-Raven/Stevie.
ReplyDeleteIt was terribly over-booked. Hogan's 17 month reign as Champion ended on this turd, which set up a 60 Man Battle Royal that Hogan lost because he was outside the ring and the referee assumed he was eliminated.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I keep hearing "Because WCW", most of you would line up stupid quick if WCW somehow came back from the dead.
ReplyDeleteOf course I would. If someone who knew what they were doing put together a promotion to try to compete with Vince, I would be all in. That's why TNA is so frustrating to most people here: We want the company to do well.
ReplyDeleteWell so long as they aren't run by Turner.
ReplyDeleteYea that's an A+ team no doubt. I think had Luger replaced Pillman at the 91 Wargames that Sting/Luger/Steiner Bros team would be up there
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered what the reactions were from Tony and JR when they found out Bischoff got the job.
ReplyDelete"Eric Bischoff. Eric Bischoff? Oh, yeah, I know him. Crap. I knew I should have been nicer to that prick."
If I remember correctly, being in WCW for his whole career is the reason WWE officials thought Goldberg would really enjoy working with them. Win some, lose some, I guess.
ReplyDeleteGod, I wanted to strangle that fool every time he introduced Cena.
ReplyDeleteThanks Daniel for handling that for me, brah.
I miss Capetta. Now that was a damn good ring announcer.
ReplyDeleteTurner wasn't the problem. His money and influence kept WCW alive. It was Bischoff handing out guaranteed contracts (meaning zero incentive to perform at higher levels than dogging it) and ridiculous creative control to everyone that fucking tanked the company.
ReplyDeleteRusso (on a leash) wrote compelling must-see, never-know-what'll-happen-next programming. Unfortunately he also loved stipulation matches where they weren't necessary. Stipulation matches blow off feuds. If you highlight them on weekly TV for the PPV and advance the story to the stipulation match you get King of the Ring 1998 as well as Summerslam 1998.
ReplyDeleteIf I can harness this for a moment, guaranteed contracts were the norm in WCW. It was the creative control that was Bischoff's clause of choice to deliver on a silver platter to go with all that loot that was the cherry on the sundae.
ReplyDeleteFuck yeah. I miss WCW every day. For all of their foolishness and absurdity, I grew up in North Carolina, and that's NWA/WCW territory. They were always my favorite promotion, through the good and bad. But more than that, WWE needs some stiff competition in the worst way right now.
ReplyDeleteI hate a soft spot for the Dungeon of Doom.
ReplyDeleteOne of the funniest things I've ever seen is when The Giant runs over Hogan's motorcycle and laughs hysterically.
Like Kurasawa I make mad films.
ReplyDeleteK, I don't make films,
But if I did they'd have a samurai.
BTW, who is Kurasawa? Did he mean anything in Japan?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think the meme exists? If not for "Because WCW", then there might be an actual second national promotion, and not Dixie's joke of a "#2 promotion".
ReplyDelete15-20 minute matches that do nothing for the workers in them? Yeah, that sucks.
ReplyDelete15-20 minute matches that only serve as a setup for a stupid angle? Also sucks.
15-20 minute matches that advance a GOOD storyline and have purpose? There aren't many of those around, IMO.
It would be crazy if Vince ever fell of hard times and someone offered to buy WCW and all the intellectual property that came with it.
ReplyDeleteWe're deluding ourselves if we think WWE will ever have that level of competition again.
ReplyDelete.........during the filming of the dungeon thing...didn't anyone guy....so..where are we..."yea...yeah and why did I show up here bruther?" The gentle streaming water feels like they put some lights and fake rocks up at an up scale china buffett.
ReplyDeleteComment of the day.
ReplyDeleteMan this company was so lame before the nWo.
ReplyDelete"IT'S THE YETI!
ReplyDelete"YEAH, BUT WHOSE SIDE IS HE ON?!"
Because wrestling fans.
ReplyDeleteWould you miss WCW if you went back and watched all of 1999-2000 WCW?
ReplyDeleteIf Hogan's heart ever stops, the doctors should do their finishers on him to pull him out of it instead of a shot of adrenaline.
ReplyDeleteCrank IV: Starring Hulk Hogan.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Hulk have his 'stache shaved at the time too? That should be on your list.
ReplyDeletebooking was a far, far bigger issue than guaranteed contracts. Guaranteed contracts were actually good for wrestlers. The Vince way of paying guys whatever the hell he wanted above the downside guarantee was a horrible system for the wrestlers and was rife with both favoritism and keeping the wrestlers pitted against each other (hard to band together to file a suit on the indpendent contractor thing when you worried about someone taking your spot and costing you main event money). WCW would have lost money in 2000 if every single wrestler worked for free. Ultimately it was a booking issue (of which creative control was an issue) and a revenue issue and not an issue of motivation.because of guaranteed contracts.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have to guess that part of it was "because WCW", as in, the eternal prejudice WWF/E has against "outsiders."
ReplyDeleteAnd the homogenization of the ring style setting in didn't help, as everyone was even Steven and it didn't matter how big you were, everyone would sell for each other the same way and etc. Let me put it to you this way, if Hogan and Andre feuded in this WWF, Hogan would slam and pin him every other week.
They're making a Crank III? Sweet.
ReplyDeleteEverything that happened in WCW while they had the logo in that circle on the ring mat was bad. You see that in the ring and you know nothing good is up.
ReplyDeleteI always wanted to see Akeem vs NOD-era Faarooq.
ReplyDelete