July 12, 1986
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon.
Tonight, Hulk Hogan & Paul Orndorff will team up to face the Moondogs. Also in action will be Ricky Steamboat, Tito Santana & Pedro Morales, and Harley Race.
Les Thornton vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Steamboat holds a cage containing a lizard on his way to the ring. He starts off the match by showcasing his agility but gets caught with a backbreaker. Thornton beats on Steamboat as we get an insert promo from Jake Roberts about Steamboat. Thornton falls on top of Steamboat on a slam attempt and that gets two. Steamboat comes back with an atomic drop and then a dropkick that sends Thornton to the floor. He suplexes Thornton back inside from the apron then puts him away with the flying body press (3:00).
Thoughts: Steamboat looked ridiculous when holding the giant cage containing the lizard down to the ring. Its like he was the WWF’s version of Joan Embery walking down to the ring. But more importantly, his feud with Jake Roberts was getting him over big with the audience.
WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week, Okerlund is on location at the Boston Garden and talks about the Hart Foundation and how they could be the ones to win the belt from the British Bulldogs. This would be the start of the Hart Foundation push.
Dream Team w/ Johnny Valiant vs. Serge Jodoin & Rick Hunter
Hunter starts by shoving Valentine then grabs a side headlock. Hunter lands on his feet after a backdrop, although he nearly fell, then hits a pair of armdrags. Valentine is shocked but ends up backing Hunter into the corner then laying into him with forearm smashes. Beefcake tags and backs Hunter into the corner. Jodoin tags and Brutus suplexes him before catching him with a knee. He then hits a running powerslam and works a neck vise. Valentine tags and finishes off Jodoin with a figure-four leg lock (3:04).
Thoughts: The Dream Team would soon be finished with their feud against the Bulldogs and would soon be replaced by the Hart Foundation as the number #1 contender’s for the Tag Team Titles. The Dream Team would then kick around until breaking up at WrestleMania III.
Ken Resnick is with the British Bulldogs and Capt. Lou Albano, who will be defending their tag team titles against the Dream Team at the King of the Ring show. Not much new from these three.
Roger Kirby & Terry Gibbs vs. Pedro Morales & Tito Santana
Morales tries for a backslide but Kirby breaks up the pin. Kirby enters on a blind tag but Pedro catches him with a small package that Gibbs breaks up. Tag to Tito and cleans house. The faces use quick tags until Kirby beats on Tito in the corner but Tito makes the tag and Pedro hammers away then finishes him off with a backbreaker (3:15).
Thoughts: The Santana & Morales pairing was unmemorable and really only used on TV. Thank god for Tito that they broke him away from Morales shortly after this.
Resnick is with Paul Orndorff, who will face the Junkyard Dog in the first round of the “King of the Ring” tournament. He says that he will win by any means necessary while wearing a hat that reads “Mr. Wonderful #1” then closes the interview by flexing his muscles. Orndorff was cockier and more arrogant than usual here.
Harley Race w/Bobby Heenan vs. Steve Johnson
Johnson is a big dude. He starts by slamming Race, who rolls outside. They repeat the same spot again. Race then dropkicks Johnson and follows that with an elbow drop as we are shown an insert promo of Lanny Poffo reciting a poem about Race. Race tosses Johnson outside then follows him out and roughs him up then back inside, Race puts away Johnson with a cradle suplex (3:33).
Thoughts: The fans barely reacted to the match except for some mild booing at the end. Race could still go in the ring at this point and looked solid but at the same time, just did not fit in with what the WWF was going for at this time.
The Flower Shop with guests Capt. Lou Albano and the British Bulldogs. Adonis taunts Albano by calling him “rubber band man” then calls the Bulldogs “puppies” as Albano closes the segment by hinting that the Bulldogs will mistake Adonis for a fire hydrant. Terrible segment.
Vince is with Bobby Heenan, King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd before he introduces us to another segment involving Gene Okerlund and the Machines. The Giant Machine tells Gene that he is not Andre the Giant and that he will be coming to the United States and will be managed by Capt. Lou Albano. This segment really dragged and Bill Eadie pretending to be Japanese is so bad. I get that it made sense for Andre but for the Masked Superstar? No one cared about him when he left in 1984.
The Moondogs vs. “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff & Hulk Hogan
Orndorff seems to be avoiding Hogan as they make their entrance. Hogan slams the Moondogs then tags Orndorff. He floats over on a slam then nails Rex with a forearm smash. Orndorff hits a few armdrags on Spot, who tags out. Orndorff stomps on Rex and has no interest in tagging out of the match. Orndorff fights off the Moondogs as the crowd starts a “we want Hulk” chant. Rex suplexes Onrdorff as the Moondogs are now using quick tags. Spot holds up Orndorff for Rex but he ends up hitting his partner instead then Orndorff gets the win with a piledriver (3:48). After the match, Orndorff poses as does Hogan, but Orndorff continues to avoid Hogan.
Thoughts: The rift between Orndorff and Hogan grew bigger in this match as Orndorff refused to tag out, winning the match by himself and basking in the glory after the finish. Hogan played it cool and praised Orndorff, who didn’t seem to care.
Resnick is with Harley Race, who will be facing George Steele in the first round of the “King of the Ring” tournament. Race cuts a pretty bad promo but declares that he is the “king.” And Race did end up winning the tournament and went by the “King” nickname after that in the WWF. After that, the Dream Team come out behind the steel fence and cut a brief promo on the Bulldogs.
Heenan interrupts Bruno and Vince, who hypes next week’s main event of Hogan & Orndorff vs. Studd & Bundy. He claims that both men are afraid of his team.
Final Thoughts: The Orndorff/Hogan stuff was great and they continued the Machines angle but besides that, nothing else was really going on during this show. Then again, next week’s show was being built up strong and for good reason as it featured a huge main event. Speaking of next week’s show, it was one of the most memorable in WWE history.
Orndorff was such a tool...He was even a tool at WrestleMania 30.
ReplyDeleteHe can wrestle the token blacks!
ReplyDeleteYeah and it'll be like, fucking 20 bucks a month or something. Plus our ISPs have pretty much the worst bandwidth caps in the world. And... *starts crying*
ReplyDeleteSo KENTA is just there to be the token Japanese guy......that's just great.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't care if they would commit to a regular schedule and then post it. You want to do a few Raws, SNMEs, and other TV shows (ECW, uwf, whatever) and a DVD a week? Fucking fine, just let me know about it. So I don't keep tuning in every goddamn day looking for new stuff that you haven't bothered with yet.
ReplyDeletelike baby jesus is my favorite jesus, though I do like my jesus to party . . .
ReplyDeleteBret vs Lawler in 1993. When we talk about Bret's feuds, we talk about Owen, Shawn, and Austin. When we talk about Bret's Summerslam matches, we talk about Perfect, Davey, and Owen. Lest we forget that Bret/Lawler kicked ass. Just a classic "I love the good guy and hate the bad guy" feud.
ReplyDeleteLol
ReplyDeleteThat can't be real.
Yeah, at 9. Not 11:30.
ReplyDeleteStill amazing how WCW didn't blow it here, put Vader over as they should have with a huge clean win for the title and launch a monster champ heel.
ReplyDeleteFair enough, but the network shouldn't be promising stuff and not delivering either, re: all the SNMEs will be up in July.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense to keep us all on the hook for 30 years. But I get what you mean.
ReplyDeleteHe looks so weird.
ReplyDelete+ a million likes for a fuckig schedule.
ReplyDeleteThe Headbangers chasing Crash Holly through a Chuck E Cheese (ball pit and all) during his Hardcore Title reign.
ReplyDeleteYou post too much.
ReplyDeleteThat was the first match I ever watched. Or, rather, that was the first match I watched after becoming a fan - first match EVER was probably one of the awful Undertaker/Yokozuna encounters.
ReplyDeleteThat smile looks as though it might break his face!
ReplyDeleteYou post at all.
ReplyDeletePlus, he actually called a Koji Clutch properly, which is nice to hear.
ReplyDeleteHmmm I never saw HBK/Angle II. That's definitely something I'll have to check out.
ReplyDeleteTiger still has time, but winning 5 more majors looks more and more daunting as the years pass and he doesn't win one. The 2009 loss to Y.E. Yang at the PGA sort of shattered Tiger's invincibility, as he had never lost a major going into the final round with a lead before that and Yang took it to him and beat him soundly. I'd also contend that Tiger just hasn't been the same since his father died, since his father helped direct a large portion of his career.
ReplyDeleteTiger will continue to be a threat to win the Masters, though, and I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that he can win 5. However, he's at the stage of his career where injuries start to pile up. Not sticking with Butch Harmon was another problem for his career too.
I watch it quite a bit. Except when it's current product or original programming.
ReplyDeleteI heard people say they sign up if there was more attitude era and Nitro stuff up. If they were doing a raw and a nitro from that era a week, we'd be getting to Scott Hall showing up Nitro right about the time the initial six month commitment was ending -- holy shit, now that I just figured that out, how stupid is it that that wasn't their original plan???
ReplyDeleteI think 1992 Vader is my favorite Vader. Only better if he was wearing the ramshead mask every match.
ReplyDeleteThat time Shane Douglas threw the kitchen sink at that guy then finished with a belly to belly suplex.
ReplyDeleteNote to Americans - if you don't like all the false advertising surrounding WWE Network... complain to the Federal Trade Commission! It's really your only recourse.
ReplyDeleteAnd then the victory lap around the ring while chanting his own name...priceless.
ReplyDeleteI just remember that awesome psychotic stare he had, almost shaking, sitting on the throne.
ReplyDeleteVader calling himself a fat piece of shit. Do people remember that?
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy winning in a rout would fit nicely with his other major wins at the U.S. Open and PGA, which he won by comfortable margins. If he wins this week, I'd have to think he'll eventually win the career Grand Slam because I think he can definitely win the Master's down the road (and arguably should have several years back).
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy is a helluva streaky player, as many golfers are, but when he is on there are few people in the world that can stop him.
I know! A hepatitis-spreading cretin, yes...but an asshole? Never!!!
ReplyDeleteA special JR thread?
ReplyDeleteBarry's heel turn then was awesome, and a great callback to Starrcade 87.
ReplyDeleteHe's gonna win like one more major, tops.
ReplyDeleteSomeone just posted it in a comment section the other day, I'd never seen it before.
ReplyDeleteAlso, obviously when DX invaded WCW and started WWF's dominance at that exact moment.
ReplyDeleteWell......yeah, otherwise I wouldn't be in the top 5.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Ted DiBiase turns heel angle over not being the #1 contender in the Top 10. And Eddie Gilbert covering Bill Watts with the Russian flag was incredible too.
ReplyDeleteHe's not 40 yet, though. I'm not a big Tiger fan, but the guy is the best player of his generation and I'm counting him out yet.
ReplyDeleteThat 90% satisfaction rating they crowded about on Raw is bullshit, because if I know one thing it's that 90% of Internet wrestling fans aren't satisfied with ANYTHING.
ReplyDeleteThe Taka match is my favorite of that HHH run.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't even have the jheri curl...
ReplyDeleteI guess time will tell.
ReplyDeleteYeah, unless you're the Shield or Wyatt's, things do not look good out of NXT.
ReplyDeleteI gotta look it up on YouTube, but I'll try to explain it. It was Rock-Jericho during Smackdown.
ReplyDeleteJericho comes out for a promo, Steph comes out and berates him, Rock comes out and Steph thinks Rock will take her side, but they end up verbally ganging up on her and send her packing. Then Rock and Jericho go at it with Jericho interrupting Rock by giving him the hand and mimicking the "Just Bring It", followed by a Rock Bottom on Jericho.
It was a magnificently done segment, and the crowd was into it, right down to the "oohs" when Jericho gave him the hand.
ECW tired with Yoshi Tatsu, but I don't think he was a main event guy either.
ReplyDeleteThe jug band was great, too, as was the hockey and Oscar ones.
ReplyDeleteThe angle with Rick Steiner and Alex Luger that lead to their world title match at the Clash. Luger was cutting a promo about he was the best, and Steiner came out and said he pinned Luger once when they were sparring (or maybe Steiner was being interviewed and Luger came out to deny it). Anyway one thing leads to the other and suddenly Luger and Steiner are having an impromptu match (Luger is in street clothes) and STEINER PINS THE CHAMP! I think I remember Steiner even having to pull referee Pee Wee Anderson down to make the three count! Huge pop and a great little angle that lead to an okayish match, but the angle was out of nowhere, and very fun!
ReplyDeleteOr Steamboat vs. Macho or the WMX Ladder Match.
ReplyDeleteWell, then the network happened.
ReplyDeleteSting, man ... he really did put guys over when they needed to be put over. I don't think its possible to make Vader look any more dominating.
ReplyDelete"That's what it feels like anyway."
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's been more like two decades.
Were these mostly done post-2007? Guess why then...
ReplyDeleteWWE! You should have released the Network everywhere!
ReplyDeleteWhaaaaaaaaaaaa? Did this really happen?
ReplyDeleteThere was an article in the Apter mags that hinted at possible dissention between Nikita and Dusty, since Nikita won the title Dusty coveted, and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteWho can stay up that late anyway?
ReplyDelete"The Soul of Wrestling" episode of Legends of Wrestling has been added to the Vault section.
ReplyDeleteI was in Florida over my friend's house at the time, and we loved that moment!
ReplyDeleteC'mon man. Reigns didn't get over as a smiling, happy go lucky-type guy. That stuff is more for the Santinos and such of the world. Would you have wanted Stone Cold in 1998 to be smiling on promo posters?
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of cool, yet spooky.
ReplyDeleteJim:" Uh, yeah Vince. I wrote the music."
ReplyDeleteI forgotten all of Shane Douglas's moments because they were all terrible.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of Sting's best matches in WCW. He made Vader look like a million bucks and still ended up looking strong in losing the belt.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Vader then lost the title at a house show to Ron Simmons, but the big guy managed to keep his momentum and get the belt back. Given who Simmons fought as champ, it felt like a wasted title switch. Should've just kept the belt on Vader.
Actually, it was Hector.
ReplyDeleteHis book was published at the end of 2005.
ReplyDeleteI haven't even forgotten them, because I wasn't paying attention to him in the first place!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the rule of thumb was "Babyface Flair hits the move off the top, Heel Flair gets slammed"
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was the Goldberg win a year before the actual Goldberg win.
ReplyDeleteWait until Lesnar destroys Cena :)
ReplyDeleteThere really are no good moves and Putin doesn't really care about what the West thinks. In my opinion, he's presenting himself to the world as a counterweight to Western secularism and is standing as a conservative culture warrior, which is part of my theory that the culture wars we saw in the U.S. in the 1990s and presently have gone global. It's basically the U.S. & Western Europe vs. Russia, China, India, the Middle East, and Africa.
ReplyDeleteThe Russian people love Putin because they believe he restored a semblance of national pride after the awful Yeltsin years and the 1998 economic collapse. He's not going anywhere until he dies or until the Russian economy implodes and sparks mass uprisings.
Lots of boos, people leaving mid match.
ReplyDeleteEven had it been legit, the tits still would have fake, dawg.
ReplyDeleteI favor a hard cap. I try to educate myself on the NBA's salary cap rules and I feel like I need a CPA to guide me through it. So many damn exceptions to the rules, etc.
ReplyDeleteTriple H/TAKA in 2000 gave me the same feeling. Kaientai revealing they'd hired the Acolytes to keep DX at bay is one of my all-time favorite moments.
ReplyDeleteCan I find that on the network?
ReplyDeleteThe Brock Lesnar push 10 years early!
ReplyDeleteVader obviously wasn't a rookie and he had been in WCW on and off (Mostly Off) for 2 years by this point but they sure didn't hesitate in putting the strap on him.
I wonder if Rick Rude ever felt passed over as he seemed to be the natural choice to beat Sting and be World Champ. Of course he was already US champ so maybe that title actually held him back in this case.
All I have to say is Hayward better fuckin' produce because I feel Utah is going to be eating that contract for years to come. At least Rodney Hood looked good in the Summer League.
ReplyDeleteThat was right when I started watching and one of the things that turned me into a fan.
ReplyDeleteI've got Shaw Cable out west and have never had any problems even with me and my roommate being heavy users.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteBecause I forgot.
I trade Wiggins for Love. Why? I know how Love produces at the NBA level and don't know how Wiggins will do. I'll take what I know over what I don't know every day of the week.
ReplyDelete"Favorite Mick Foley personality and why" would make a great QOTD?
ReplyDeleteYeah, he doesn't really look like a natural smiler.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Kane's ironman run in 2001.
ReplyDeleteI thought, if I recall, it was a 100% political thing to deflect from racist comments made by Watts.
ReplyDeleteAny Kofi Kingston Jack Swagger match.
ReplyDeleteYeah I had Shaw when I lived out west, they are good. I'm talking more what we have out east for ISPs, namely Bell, Rogers, Cogeco.
ReplyDeleteTaking off the smoking mask hurt the character severely.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that Batista, for the most part, avoided the smiley syndrome when he turned face in 2005.
ReplyDeleteYeah that shoulderbreaker was an awful finisher. Didn't he also incorporate a flying body press into his offense as a second finisher?
ReplyDeleteWho's in your top five?
ReplyDeleteDidn't that come later? I might not be clear on the timeline of all that.
ReplyDeleteNah, Vince will just want them to pull the old Orient Express music out, like they did for every Japanese guy in the 1990s.
ReplyDeleteIs it hard being a Braves fan? Every year, they're so good...but then they hit the playoffs and crap out.
ReplyDeleteI'd find that super-frustrating.
I can see the WWE wanting rights to his name, as Night81 said below, compensation being an issue, and possibly Sting wanting rights to the use of footage on WWE Network.
ReplyDeleteThey could've just kept Yoshi Tatsu to be The Token Japanese WWE Guy. Maybe even could've formed an Axis of Evil with Rusev and Cesaro.
ReplyDeleteIt is what it is. They gave me a World Series so I can't be too bitter.
ReplyDeleteHe played the role well.
ReplyDeleteIs this company insane!?!? Cutbacks suck, but making the ring crew work itself to death and then taking away the travel bus for technicians is a recipe for disaster in the long-term. It'll kill morale and make things even worse.
ReplyDeleteHe hit a bunch of off the top stuff when he was a face in 1994.
ReplyDeleteHe pinned Barry Windham with a crossbody at slamboree 94!
He looked like Rollie Fingers at WM 30
ReplyDeleteI thought it was because of the Sonny Onoo and Teddy Long discrimination lawsuit, myself. I might be wrong though.
ReplyDeleteI'm always saddened by Marella's death. You can tell that Gorilla Monsoon was never quite the same after that on TV. I remember Bret saying that the TV taping they were at prior to his death was exhausting and he barely made it to the next show without falling asleep at the wheel as well.
ReplyDeletePpppuppy power!
ReplyDeleteShane Douglas is terrible.
ReplyDeleteGood luck making that change.
ReplyDeleteCool. Now if only they would add the "Legacy Of Southern Wrestling" episode, that might be the only episode they haven't up yet but there's a great clip on that episode of Bob Roop torturing a couple of wannabes in wrestling school that I've been wanting to see again.
ReplyDeleteI remember that and that was AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mind the flying body press (not as a finisher) because it looked kind of cool for such a big dude to fly like that.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, what's the difference between a flying body press and a cross body block?
I think it stopped working? Or something?
ReplyDeleteIs he? By all accounts, Sting is considered a pretty good guy. I've never heard any real bad shit about him.
ReplyDeleteStill can't believe he was ONE shot away from winning that major a few years back (Watson). Would have been the most amazing story ever.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you see? We hate Shane Douglas around here. The only nice things you're allowed to say about him are the amazing customer arrive he provided you at Wal-Mart that one time.
ReplyDeleteAlso heard Vader had an injury but some debunk that, mostly Watts trying to recreate JYD level popularity in Simmons.
ReplyDeleteKenzo is a weird case. Why did they sign him of all Japanese wrestlers? Everyone knew he sucked before he even debuted.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Shotgun, that time Undertaker tombstones HHH at the top of an escalator.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know. But it seems like it could be a possibility that he is being difficult and over valuing himself.
ReplyDeleteThat storyline was great. The segment you just recapped was the first and about the only good thing about the feud, though, because the WWF really didn't press the issue very hard and just wrote it off as Diana making stuff up by KOTR '96.
ReplyDeleteDon't tell me it wasn't legit. I saw a JPEG of them and everything.
ReplyDeleteIn so many, many ways.
ReplyDeleteI think they put Andre in a tag team because given his worsening condition at the time, he couldn't carry a match on his own.
ReplyDeleteHey, that midget was a former McMahon.
ReplyDeleteVader missed two months after the Simmons title win so he was hurt.
ReplyDeleteI may need to see that one.
ReplyDeleteI see. Still, I maintain that he didn't want to talk about that short Canadian.
ReplyDelete...
...
...
...
...Chris Jericho, of course.
God yes! Another thing I need to see again on the network or a DVD.
ReplyDeleteJEROME Lawler.
ReplyDeleteSo I heard.
ReplyDeleteYeah, He was hurting badly
ReplyDeleteKing Kofi Kingston may not have a good ring to it.
ReplyDeleteDude that's an insult to Rollie Ringers
ReplyDeleteI have heard the story that when the anesthesiologist had to put Andre under for back surgery, as a basis for comparison, they said that Andre got a "buzz" from a liter of Vodka. Since then I have always had this image of Andre sitting at a bar casually drinking from a bottle of Absolute. Truly a legend.
ReplyDeleteRollie should he honored that in the 21st century, someone wanted to look like him
ReplyDeleteCrash Holly's 24/7 hardcore reign. It gave us a reason to care about a throwaway character, let the writers go crazy thinking up weird situations for Crash to extricate himself from, helped half the midcard guys have something to do, and briefly made the most secondary of titles interesting.
ReplyDeleteEssa Rios vs. Low-Ki on Shotgun Saturday Night. It was awesome to see the local boy on TV, even if it was the shitty late night show. Plus I always dug Essa Rios.
ReplyDeleteThe Musical Chairs competition that Jericho referenced this past Monday. That was the funniest segment I've ever seen and I still watch it occasionally.
ReplyDeleteI always loved the pronunciation of "Tie-jiri."
ReplyDeleteWhere do you live? I'm in Vancouver and Novus gives me 0 limitations on anything.
ReplyDeleteSimmons was definitely getting over and got a big pop for the win but he didn't have top level heel opponents with Vader so clearly #1 and being out injured and it was too much too soon. It'd be like giving Roman Reigns the title now.
ReplyDeleteYike.
ReplyDeleteThat was really, really well-booked. Some writer obviously put quite a bit of thought into that.
ReplyDeleteThe moment itself isn't *that* obscure, but the climax of Capital Combat has a JR call that for me is up there with his all-time classics: "GET SECURITY! GET THE POLICE OVER THERE AND GET OLE ANDERSON AWAY FROM THE SWITCH!"
ReplyDeleteTwo things sunk the angle: a few weeks later they ran a sitdown interview from an "anonymous" former WWF star's wife talking about how Shawn ruined her marriage. There was supposed to be an implication that it was Elizabeth, but whether they went overboard to protect themselves from slander or Liz was just out of sight and out of mind or what, *nobody* picked up on the subtext, and the segment sank.
ReplyDeleteNumber two, the payoff was supposed to be a revelation that Diana came onto Shawn and Shawn rejected her. Both Smiths refused to be a part of it, and I can't say as I blame them.
That's an odd definition of a "forgotten moment." It's one of the defining angles of the company.
ReplyDeleteFoley telling off the Rock when he thought he threw his book away was absolutely glorious. It was one of the first times Rock was completely shut down verbally, and Foley was so passionate and angry that despite cutting a promo on the company's #1 babyface he drew a pop for it.
ReplyDeleteThat Regal/Zbyszko feud is absolutely glorious. Larry Z was so awesome as the cheating babyface giving the pompous heel a taste of his own medicine. Plus the wrestling on display was just awesome.
ReplyDeleteLarry Z also cut one of the greatest jingoistic promos of all-time. It was your AMERICA RAH RAH stuff, but with a Larry Z-style intellectual bent, making references to General Cornwallis and all sorts of stuff. It was great, I assure you.
SO far ahead of its time, with evil authority figures and crooked referees and such. And the sheer chutzpah of Jerry Jarrett transitioning from World Class to USWA by literally turning the promotion heel. Also the great announcing of Marc Lowrance, who was a master at getting despicable heel actions over.
ReplyDeleteKofi Kingston delivering the Boom Boom to Randy Orton in MSG. That should have LAUNCHED him to the stratosphere...and nope.
ReplyDeleteNo. The comments weren't out until early '93. Building around a black athlete was Watts' go-to format going back to the height of the JYD.
ReplyDeleteThe Giant/Big Show's smoking phase in WCW.
ReplyDeleteThe hell are you talking about? Sonny Onoo was 4 years away from being employed.
ReplyDeleteRandom one that just popped into my head: Foley confronting Randy Orton and telling him to spit in his face, or he was going to basically beat him to death in front of everyone. The pure...RAGE that Foley can bring out is just tremendous.
ReplyDeleteOh, and their match was okay too.
I'd never seen that match (Backlash, I assume you're talking about?) until I got the Network. Holy fucking lord. What a war. Hasn't Foley said that's his favorite match of his career? I might be inclined to agree.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think it edged out his match with HBK from Mind Games as his career favorite. Rightfully so, even if the spot of the match goes to Orton taking those tacks like a MAN.
ReplyDeleteBecause he worked in retail, and apparently there's no honor in that.
ReplyDeleteMan Roop was a hardass. I keep mixing him up with Bob Sweetan, who is a true piece of garbage and feel bad because Roop seems like a good guy.
ReplyDeleteIt was between that and his match at Mind Games with Shawn.
ReplyDeleteI liked when Danielson used the rockin' version of the Imperial March in RoH.
ReplyDeleteI always thought this one was extremely overrated. I mean, Leon just beats the shit out of him for 15 minutes, Sting gets a VERY brief hope spot, then it's over.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't have anywhere near the back-and-forth necessary to be considered a *great* match, IMO.
I always loved catching Low-Ki when they would stick him on their c shows. I remember seeing him do his Tidal Crush (Back-handspring Kick into the corner, at least I think that's the name of it) and being in awe. He was like a video game character come to life.
ReplyDeleteTriple H made himself, nobody ever laid down for him.
ReplyDeleteArn Anderson turning on Dustin Rhodes @ Bash 94. While it was telegraphed, I marked out for AA joining the Stud Stable. I was also a WCW mark and easy to please...
ReplyDeleteC-C-C-COWBOY.
ReplyDeleteIf he ever comes back, I hope that's how they use him.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could upvote this more times.
ReplyDeleteWhat's funny is Larry in his heyday was honestly a really, really dull performer but for some reason he was just spectacular in this feud wrestling and promo wise. When you are storytelling so well you can make Larry Zybysko a great babyface why do you really need skinny Hulk Hogan?
ReplyDeleteI remember that promo, I think it was on Saturday Night. Really great stuff and it wasn't nearly as stupid as the 'Merica type promos that scale all the way down to Scott Steiner's hilarious neanderthal rebuttal to Chris Nowinski.
Everybody I know think Edge's match with Foley was better and I never got that. I thought Orton's was just a little better.
ReplyDeleteGet it fixed?
ReplyDeleteWWE should've bent over and shown their asshole to Hiroshi Tanahashi to try and get him from NJPW instead of bringing in KENTA if they really wanted people to sub to the Network.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I saw. I hazard to guess that 98% of these nerds didn't watch ECW in 1996.
ReplyDeleteTJ: Just got done watching the Triple H Beyond the Ring...Pretty cool. I really enjoyed some of the comments by JR and others. I was never a huge fan, but I respect him and I really think when he takes over it will probably be for the betterment of the company.
ReplyDeleteThe spot where Bischoff bans them from using fire...ugh. They should have used the fire.
ReplyDeleteSo a Japanese fan is gonna be like, "KENTA?!?! Fuck those cheap assholes for not buying Tanahashi! I'm not buying the network now!"? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteAt the time I never thought much about them not going over the reason behind the feud, but I knew the reason why they hated each like the back of my hand.
ReplyDeleteDisagree with Snow winning. WWF could've pushed back his debut for all we know, couldn't have the title look weak for a month reign. The real issue is how bad that match was. Coupled with the company coming out at the end and acting like it was Flair/Steamboat, it really left a bad taste in everyone's mouth about Shane, even though the blame should be on Snow IMO.
I think that's a really well known thing. People who followed wrestling through the 90s were really dispirited by Vader doing jobs to guys like Bradshaw and Mark Henry (who were complete jokes in 1998) and that was the nadir of Vader if you pardon the rhyme.
ReplyDeleteYep, Sting did get his win back several times over, but just like Owen > Bret, and Mankind > Taker, they were still over for life, regardless of how many rematches they lost. People only remembered the big win.
ReplyDeleteNo they love KENTA, but Tanahashi would've gotten huge amount of subs. It's the US equivalent of getting Orton instead of Cena.
ReplyDeleteTriple H's friends agree with you.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that he's smiling period. It's that they are already showing him as a smiling babyface in advertisement material. Reigns is an ass kicker. That should be his character. It's how he got over. Was Austin smirking in his promo photos? No. Cause he's not supposed to.
ReplyDeleteEdge's match with him was good, but (even by Foley's own admission) Mick wasn't in "game shape" and it did hamper it just slightly. I'm also torn over whether or not I liked the flaming table spot. It seemed so...I don't know, is manufactured the right word? It just felt a little hollow to me. S
ReplyDeletetill a great match, don't get me wrong, but I enjoy the Orton one a lot more.
Back and forth isn't necessary for it to be a great match.
ReplyDeleteThe promo with the bat inside the flower box for Backlash 2004 was awesome.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what makes it great. Vader went from a guy challenging for the belt to OMG the baddest guy in the company in 15 minutes.
ReplyDeleteJack won at 46 though.
ReplyDeleteI've got a feeling things will change massively (for the better) when he's fully in charge too
ReplyDeleteEdge and Christian being obnoxious assholes when playing the kazoo.
ReplyDeleteYeah but look at something like Mankind vs. Rock. Mankind's title reign meant nothing and was over in less than three weeks. No one remembers that part though, and you could have had someone else take it a few weeks later. You give the fans a moment rather than saying "You want to get behind someone? WELL SCREW YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE GETTING SHANE DOUGLAS!"
ReplyDeleteI never knew Harley Race as NWA Champion but I always liked him as the King because despite the goofy gimmick he came off as someone who is tough.
ReplyDeleteC'mon, they had mini movies to produce in 93!
ReplyDeleteAll of Triple H's friends are already in good shape with the company at this point. Doesn't matter if he's the top dog or not.
ReplyDeleteHe'd become another Funaki.
ReplyDelete- Mankind's interview at Summerslam 98 with the Hearse
ReplyDelete- Kurt Angle's battle rap with Cena
- Savage's promo after Wrestlemania 8
- Austin/Rock sit down interview before Wrestlemania 17
- Austin's commentary during Foley/Funk on Raw in 98
- Michaels and Jannetty magnetically attacking each other in 94 Royal Rumble
- Bradshaw's clothesline on Shane McMahon Summerslam 01
I understand your point, I was there live for mankinds first title win, and it certainly left a lasting impression on me, but Snow was leaving, whether it be in a day or a month, you can't put the title on someone leaving.
ReplyDeleteAt the time, if you remember, it was a shock that Snow lost, but no one knew he had a WWF contract waiting for him.
If they didn't know he had a contract coming, it would make more sense to put the title on him. You could fall back on him not getting the belt because he's leaving, but if that's not known and he has a month left, why not throw it on him and then have Taz take if from him? It's better than waiting nine months for Shane vs. Taz, which wasn't all that great either.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is often stranger than fiction, indeed.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I'd love to say "No, give me all those DVDs INCLUDING THE BONUS FEATURES and you give them to me now!" and get my way, I understand them wanting to keep the DVD market as strong as possible. Getting everything I want out of the network would be wonderful, but I'd rather get most of what I want in the name of letting the people running it make enough money to keep it going.
ReplyDeleteNo, they knew Snow was leaving shortly, but they might not have known the exact date. And hindsight would say to just give Taz the belt but the fact was, and Paul has admitted this, he fucked up the N2R main event, making it a 6 man tag when he could have had 3 top single matches which would have included Shane/Taz, the perfect time to have the match since Shane would have been healed and with the big build to the biggest show of the year. If Paul was to take the title off of Shane due to injury, to me, it would have made sense to vacate the title and then put it on Bigelow so Taz would have had someone to chase for the rest of the summer.
ReplyDeleteThat would have worked too. Waiting for November for Taz to win would have been a stretch but it would have worked. Going all the way to January made no sense.
ReplyDelete