I realize hindsight is 20/20 regarding Diesel's babyface flop; however, wouldn't it have been much better to keep Diesel heel and have him destroy Bret for the title, then run him on top as a heel, with Bret trying to retool and figure out a way to beat the big man? Seems like Diesel as an unstoppable monster heel (which got him over in the first place) would have been a better draw. Of course, this would have required either Bret getting the strap back from Backlund, or old Bob never winning it in the first place.
Yeah, the thing is that they had just run with a monster heel champion for the past year with Yokozuna, and Vince was really wanting to get back to the Hulk Hogan formula again for whatever reason. Diesel was specifically intended to fill that role, which is why he was even more of a flop -- Vince expected that business would explode with Diesel on top. Had he wanted another placeholder guy to keep things steady, he would have just kept Bret as champion.
The Backlund thing was such a gigantic miscalculation, though. It was an effective character to a certain degree, but not as a main event threat and not as World champion. Especially once he start going into lengthy promos about the state of education. I think actually the Diesel turn might have worked with better buildup and timing, but the people didn't have any chance to figure out that they WANTED him as champion. Had Shawn been healthy at the time, the play would have much more obvious -- Bret drops the belt to Shawn at Survivor Series, Shawn dumps Diesel because he doesn't need him anymore, Diesel wins the Rumble and then beats Shawn at WM11 to get his revenge and begin the Diesel Power era. That at least would have given us a semblance of a chase instead of Diesel randomly crushing Backlund in 8 seconds on a house show. Plus it's far less likely that Shawn turns himself babyface so early because he doesn't get the Rumble win or the sympathy heat from fighting underneath the 7 foot monster. Because really, what was up with THAT?
Basically any other scenario of a realistic thought process would be better than how they handled Diesel. Let's see WWE's version...
ReplyDelete1. Wins title randomly at a house show and suddenly drops the cool factor and becomes a standard smiling babyface.
2. booked FACE vs. FACE to a far more popular wrestler. Bret haters shut up right now: It's obvious the crowd is cheering bret at the Rumble, to the point he has to tie Diesel's shoes together and beat on his legs like a vicious prick and that's only MILD heel heat, at most.
3. Shawn upstages him at Mania XI.
Three strikes, you're out, and they kept it on him for 7 more months. MONTHS. Just sad.
HOW DARE YOU INSULT SPORTS EDUCATION, YOUNG MAN!
ReplyDeleteKeep that up and Mr. Backlund might not give you an autograph even if you can name all the presidents in backwards chronological order.
I think they assumed Shawn would be seen as the arrogant chickenshit and you'd want to see the 7-foot guy beat the piss out of him. But, in an effort to build Shawn into a credible challenger, they had him win the Royal Rumble after entering first, beating big guys on television, and he worked his ass off against Diesel - you just wanted him to win.
ReplyDeleteI think either Shawn has to be Diesel's first challenge at the Royal Rumble or you do what Scott laid out with Shawn winning the title from Bret and losing it to Diesel while Bret complains about this entire scenario for 10 years.
"Vince was really wanting to get back to the Hulk Hogan formula again for whatever reason."
ReplyDeleteBecause Hogan made millions of dollars on top. I don't blame Vince for trying to re-create that magic. Unfortunately, Vince didn't yet realize that he couldn't re-create Hulkamania with just anyone.
The 8 second squashing still would work if it kicked off Diesel being a dominating ass-kicker instead of a smiling babyface. I mean, why else have him with in 8 seconds at a house unless you're going to keep him as a monster?
Why did they put the title on him at a house Show? Why not wait until the next PPV and actually draw a buyrate from it?
ReplyDeleteShock value to drum up house show interest. It didn't work out well for them.
ReplyDeleteVince thought it would be great if it was done at MSG. They weren't quite there yet with having the major titles changed on National TV or PPV.
ReplyDeleteCan't remember the last time a title changed hands on a house show. Maybe when the Colons beat Kofi and Evan Bourne?
You'd think the Luger thing would have been his first clue.
ReplyDeleteYou would've thought so. But we're talking about a guy who has consistently pushed hillbilly characters for decades despite them never getting over.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably some kind of sick personal amusement in the Hillbilly case.
ReplyDeleteMSG was still a big deal, in Vince's mind at least.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time since I've seen the match, but I seem to remember Michaels doing a lot of high-flying/babyface-ish stuff in his match against Diesel at Mania, which did Diesel no favors as a face who towered over HBK. I may be remembering that wrong, but I remember feeling at the time, "man, Shawn is wrestling this match in a way that's unintentionally sabotaging Diesel."
ReplyDeleteI think they were trying to recreate Hogan beating Iron Sheik.
ReplyDeleteDiesel was in the Rock n Jock softball game a month after winning the belt. Doesn't that mean anything to you, Scott?
ReplyDeleteAlso was featured at the NBA All Star Game.
ReplyDeleteIf Nash was actually cool enough with Magic Johnson from their high school days in Michigan, they should have brought him in for something. Magic had just got done with an awful coaching stint and hadn't made he final return yet for the Lakers. Would have fit in well!.
Oh, that wasn't unintentional, my friend.
ReplyDeleteUhhh, unintentionally? Shawn sabatoged that match.
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected!
ReplyDeleteNot sure how well Magics condition would have been accepted by the locker room or Vince. Not exactly a progressive group, pro wrestlers.
ReplyDeleteI will say it's a testament to Shawn's wrestling skill that he could so completely sandbag his own best friend and get himself over, and yet still keep Nash as a friend and not piss of Vince. It was really a work of genius on his part.
ReplyDeleteShould have been Macho Man plain and simple. Vince missed the boat in 1993 so instead of Bob Backlund snapping and going after Bret for the title it should have been Savage.
ReplyDeleteHave those 2 blow off their feud at Mania XI while Diesel & HBK do the same. Then you can spin a combo of those 4 plus Sid for the rest of the year on top.
I need to know where the 2 Dudes with Attitudes v Yoko and Owen fit in.
ReplyDeleteIt's takes a true sociopath, Scott. Just ask my wife.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the night they were Two Chaps with Four Straps... but that didn't last a day.
ReplyDeletePeople always talk about how much babyface Diesel sucked as a character but what really sucked was his match-ups. As a babyface, he defended the title against the likes of heel Shawn, Sid, King Mabel, and I'll stop right there because it makes my head hurt. As a heel, he could have had Bret, babyface Shawn, Undertaker, Razor, and 1-2-3 Kid as potential challengers. That could have been a much-needed string of marketable main-events with the In Your House PPVs just beginning.
ReplyDeleteShawn cut Diesel's legs off at WM11. Flying around the ring, trying to blow him up, bumping around like crazy. Bret wrestled Diesel much better.
ReplyDeleteSavage turned 42 in November 1994. That's only 7 years older than Nash, 6 years older than Luger, and 5 years older than Hart. No reason Vince couldn't get at least a few more years out of him, either as a face or heel (although I don't know if heel Savage would've worked at that time).
ReplyDeleteThat whole situation was consistent with how WWF changed champions up until then. Transitioning from one face to the next by having a lame duck heel champion in the middle was how WWF did things for so long. For the first 30+ years of the company, the only heels to get a reign longer than 80 days was Superstar Billy Graham and Yokozuna, unless you count Savage, who turned heel with the title to have Hogan get it back from him.
ReplyDeleteBruno-Koloff-Morales
Morales-Stasiak-Bruno
Backlund-Sheik-Hogan
Hogan-Andre-Savage
Warrior-Slaughter-Hogan
Savage-Flair-Bret Hart
Bret-Yoko-Hogan
I think Shawn's "sabotage" performance is overblown. The real sabotage was that spot where Shawn had the pin with the superkick while Hebner was tied up in the ropes. A spot like that is Vince's call, not Shawn's or Nash's. Like Ricky Steamboat at WM3 and HHH at Summerslam '98, the babyface champion looked like a huge loser because he was fairly beaten by the heel but lucked out a victory.
ReplyDeleteWatch Shawn Michaels, one of the greatest bumpers in wrestling history, take that Jacknife Powerbomb, and tell me he didn't botch the sell on purpose.
ReplyDeleteThey would have lined up for autographs. Magic Johnson is bigger than anyone in pro wrestling history save for The Rock.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's worth noting that the one time Vince did try a face-face title change (Hogan-Warrior), it bombed. Vince wanted Nash to be a strong babyface champion, but he didn't want to sacrifice Bret Hart in a Mania 6 style match to do it.
ReplyDeleteYou know why Magic Johnson was so good at basketball? He had aides.
ReplyDeleteI agree. And Nash himself joked in a shoot that Shawn could powerbomb himself and make it look better than that. But from my perspective watching it at the time, Shawn's performance didn't hurt Nash. It just seemed like any other Shawn Michaels-type match from that era. I just remember Shawn, fairly, having the pin and that's what hurt Diesel to me.
ReplyDeleteBut if it was a sabotage, I know it's unprofessional...but could you blame Shawn? He's worked his way up the ladder, puts on great matches nightly, advocated for Nash to even be in the WWF, and now Nash is the champion? I think Shawn might have been thinking "I made you, and I can destroy you."
Funny, Scott, I seem to remember in "Tonight In This Very Ring," you talked about Backlund being "monster over" as a heel.
ReplyDeleteNot really a slam, I know full well how opinons on the business can change over time and experience, happened to me a lot too, sometimes you need time to really judge in a fresh perspective.
If it was a sabotage, absolutely you could blame the guy for purposely doing that in the world title match at WrestleMania.
ReplyDeleteThey could have come up with better heel challengers for Diesel as well...
ReplyDelete-build up Bam Bam Bigelow as a monster
-turn Razor Ramon heel
-turn Lex Luger heel
-rotating challenges from Owen Hart and Yokozuna (granted Yokozuna vs Diesel would be AWFUL, but Yoko had more cred and better ability to draw heat than Mabel).
"Bret drops the belt to Shawn at Survivor Series,"
ReplyDelete3 years too early.
Shaq would have been a better choice in 1995.
ReplyDeleteI will always argue that in the ring, Diesel still dominated. Basically, someone can be a smiling babyface AND a dominating ass kicker in the ring.
ReplyDeleteThis post needs more Captain Hindsight.
ReplyDeleteWell, Luger was an NWA guy. THAT's why he didn't work out.
ReplyDelete/VKM
Hey Bam Bam/LT was the main-event. The Clique Buddies EXPLODE match didn't get the top-billing. Nor did it deserve it.
ReplyDeleteShowtime/Cenemax beware!
ReplyDeleteWait, that's Captain Midnight...
I know, but that's why I was careful to say "world title match" instead of "main event" ;)
ReplyDeleteThe fans also started chanting SID during the match. Lets not forget that.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, as a kid, I was more excited about the prospect of a Diesel/Sid match than Diesel/HBK. just because I felt Shawn had no chance due to the size difference.
ReplyDeleteI thought Sid had no chance due to the talent difference.
ReplyDeleteSo were Nash and Undertaker, though obviously not in the same realm of NWA-ness.
ReplyDeleteDid you see it through the eyes of a mark, or a smark? I was a 100% mark, so they were evenly sized... therefore, could have gone either way.
ReplyDeleteRaw wasn't the thing it is today and there weren't monthly PPVs yet. They were still in the mindset of house shows being the most important part of the promotion. And MSG was their home base. Where better to do a surprise title change? Saskatoon?
ReplyDeleteTJ: My neighbor is getting his driveway redone, and these guys are fucking LOUD. For once I'm glad I'm leaving for work in a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder how Luger would have worked out, had he, ya know, actually WON. I mean, had hogan beat the Iron Shiek by count out during that fateful night at MSG, then lost the rematch and never been champ, I doubt he would have been very over too. Luger was simply booked to fail.
ReplyDeleteI thought Diesel had no chance b/c as an 11 year old mark I already knew Michaels was the better wrestler and Sid was a proven danger...didn't see how Diesel had a chance
ReplyDeleteBack then, kind of in between. I was never a classic mark, got into the game pretty late and the guy that got into wrestling could be called a "smark", had that term existed at the time. But I always thought Sid sucked.
ReplyDeleteWell DIESEL POWER WON, so You sure had egg on your face, didn't ya now!!
ReplyDeleteNow that would just be stup... nevermind.
ReplyDeletebig time...and I was super bummed Shawn didn't win. However, I was pumped when he turned face the next night and was really eager for Shawn vs Sid...they waited waaaaaay too long for that one (a Raw in Sept)
ReplyDeletewell it was SUPPOSED to be SummerSlam... but that big shot troublemaker Gorilla Monsoon robbed us of it!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I liked Diesel just fine, but between his Rumble win and being funny on commentary Shawn Michaels had really won my heart.
ReplyDeleteit's not like Sid or Shawn did anything worthwhile at KOTR
ReplyDeleteFair point about Backlund winning the belt being the wrong decision, but he's definitely the highlight of WWF 1994 for me. (well, on par with Bret/Owen)
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, he was one of the very first heel that I was actually admitting to enjoying. I felt all dirty inside, feeling like a traitor to the babyfaces.
ReplyDeleteDUDE ME TOO! We should've hung out lol
ReplyDeleteAh....yes you did. My bad.
ReplyDeleteSo this is how it is... When doves cry.... Cause ya know, I thought I was the only Millhouse...
ReplyDeleteHere's something I always wondered about that time period: what the hell happened with Owen Hart? He went from winning KOTR/fighting for the title at SummerSlam to not really doing much all fall/winter until landing in a tag team with Yokozuna. What gives?
ReplyDeleteSid was too busy proving he was a chicken who was afraid of Diesel. (you know, to set up the huge world title rematch the next month. ) Way to build your #1 contender!!
ReplyDeleteI always cheered for the heels. Just my nature, I guess.
ReplyDeleteOwen should have won at Summerslam 94.
ReplyDeleteHe lost roughly 180 title shots to Bret, so he finally accepted that his WM win was a fluke, and moved on to the tag ranks. Actually did make sense.
ReplyDelete...and HE could have transitioned to Diesel. BOOM! Nailed it!
ReplyDeleteaww he lost his self esteem.
ReplyDeleteHe was the youngest of 12, doubt he had much to begin with.
ReplyDeleteBeing more employable than all but one of his siblings had to give him a boost though
ReplyDeleteNot being a fuckhead like all of his siblings didn't hurt either.
ReplyDeleteI wished they would have made Diesel vs Sid instead of Diesel vs Mabel...
ReplyDeleteThey did, for like 4 months
ReplyDeleteHe had no problem doing it later at WM12.
ReplyDeleteDid this topic come up on the blog recently?
ReplyDeleteBecause somehow I ended up spending a few hours at work the other day watching that tape and especially that uber scary WGN Max Headroom tape and reading the histories behind them and all that.
Shit rules.
Man that character was great, the Slammy awards, then self-cheering, his obnoxious voice, such great work.
ReplyDeleteOr instead of Backlund at Survivor Series. Then you could have Diesel vs Owen at the Rumble.
ReplyDeleteI might have mentioned it. People don't realize how easy it is to hack TV signals.
ReplyDeleteYes, but that was March 1996, this was November 1994. He wasn't ready yet.
ReplyDeleteI really miss that era in the technology. I'm a wrestling fan strictly because my grandfather used to pull the PPV's out of the sky on his giant old earth station dish. I remember they'd leave the cameras on and you could watch them putting make up on Dan Rather or whatever during the commercial breaks.
ReplyDeleteRed boxes and black boxes and satellite hijackers, there's a period there in the late 70'searly 80's that just looks like it would have been AWESOME to be about 17 years old during.
I miss red boxing. Now we don't even have pay phones.
ReplyDeleteI know right? I only got to play around with it during the tail end of the era that it worked, like 89-95 or something, but that was a fascinating technology to me for some reason. Listening in on neighbor's cordless phones with a Radio Shack walkie talkie was another party.
ReplyDeleteOh and those border blaster AM stations, that's another super fascinating technology of the era to me. I love the idea of blasting 250,000 watts of sounds across 80% of the hemisphere.
I remember Scott saying Backlund was "one of the most interesting heel champions they trotted out in years."
ReplyDeleteWhat's funny is that according to cagematch.net, from March 25, 1994 (Owen's first title shot) through September 28, 1994 (Owen's last shot), Owen lost 57 consecutive title matches against Bret Hart.
ReplyDelete1-57 is like Jericho's lifetime record against Triple H.
LOL, I can see Chris Jericho reading your post and getting enraged. No joke.
ReplyDeleteToo bad Heyman wasn't around to manage Owen. "HE IS THE ONE... IN ONE AND FIFTY SEVEN!!"
ReplyDeleteInteresting isn't necessarily the best for business, though.
ReplyDeleteCrowd popped huge for 1995 standards when he and Yoko won the belts so good for him too.
ReplyDeleteHa! I don't think Jericho cares at this point. He's been in "pin me, pay me" mode for the last four years or so.
ReplyDeleteGood point. That would have put it at four years since Magic's announcement. I'm not sure we were at the point that "Magic has so much money that there's no way he's dying from this" yet.
ReplyDeleteI would have love to have seen how is career would have gone if he stayed in WCW.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a movie Pat Patterson would enjoy.
ReplyDeleteHAHA that is fantastic. Owen still won their most memorable match though!
ReplyDeleteWhat if Bret dropped the belt to Lawler instead, since they had a long feud fresh in people's minds that they kicked back on a few months later anyways? There were still enough fans around to know what he once was .... certainly more than Backlund.
ReplyDeleteThey were not as associated with the NWA as Luger was. There were times he was pushed as the potential face of the NWA.
ReplyDeleteBut the single matches were only on IYH events.
ReplyDeleteIt helped because it made people take Owen seriously.
ReplyDeleteLawler was presented as a joke competitor in WWF.
ReplyDeleteThey did learn their lesson though, and never did anything like it again.
ReplyDeleteI said this before: I'm shocked that Lawler never got a title run of any kind in the WWE.
ReplyDeleteI just listened to a shoot Lanny Poffo did and he said he had approached Vince about doing one last long run with someone. He said Savage was obssessed with topping his Steamboat match and felt he never did. Poffo said that Savage saw his perfect new Steamboat in Shawn Michaels, he said he had written the entire story out for Vince. Vince said, "your too old" and he wanted him to be an announcer. Savage then bounces to WCW without notice.
ReplyDeleteObviously Poffo is biased and I'm not sure what Vince thought when Randy Savage approached him about a two year feud with Shawn Michales LOL but they DEF dropped the ball in 1994 by not getting Savage in the ring. He showed he still had it with his feud with Crush.
Not in the beginning when he feuded with Bret. I just don't think his style meshed well with the "WWE style"
ReplyDeleteActually, he was a joke in the ring.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember him ever getting any sort of wins of significance and when he was scheduled to fight Bret he chickened out and used Doink instead.
ReplyDeleteNash does admit that Shawn did it on purpose, possibly in the 1995 timeline dvd? He just laughs about it, saying Shawn will be Shawn.
ReplyDeleteOh I know, that's why I said they weren't in the same realm of NWA-ness.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, Vince loved taking castoffs from AWA and NWA/WCW and turning them into stars to show them he was smarter than they were. But he seemed to get the heebie-jeebies about pushing NWA big-timers Dusty and Luger (though he was fair to Flair, obviously).
The lead up to his initial match was goo...then they sent in the clowns.
ReplyDeleteWatching him wrestle anywhere other than the WWE is weird because he was taken seriously.
ReplyDeleteDidn't they do something on Superstars where Lawler attacked Owen Hart and gave him like three piledrivers? Also - his attack at KotR was epic.
ReplyDeleteIf you could turn goofy-ass Bob Backlund into a heel in three months, the certainly could have done it with Lawler.
Yes. He kicked Owen's ass leading up to his match with Bret.
ReplyDeleteHow broken down was he by the time he got to the WWF?
ReplyDeleteWhat about World Champion Razor Ramon instead of World Champion Big Daddy Cool?
ReplyDeleteScott Hall never screamed "World championship material", IMO. He was perfect as the secondary champ.
ReplyDeleteBut he never had the look of a wrestling star. He was even more out of place than Bob Backlund around that time. In 91/92 we had Hogan, Warrior, Savage, Flair, Sid and now we have Bob Backlund and Jerry Lawler...that was kind of a letdown.
ReplyDeleteNot much ... Lawler mastered that Memphis style where if you watch closely he NEVER took crazy bumps. His heat was in stalling, cheap shots, shit like that. Sure he bladed but Lawler was one of the guys who worked an incredibly safe style most of his career. He did like three moves and turned that into running for mayor LOL.
ReplyDeleteRemind me, but I'm not sure if he worked a full schedule like everyone else - thought he was more into stirring the pot at ringside.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but I thought he could have at LEAST gotten a token Hardcore title win out of it.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been cool to see him take the belt down to Memphis and defend it in some bloody matches.
It's interesting that they treated Savage in 94 like an oldtimer but he worked full time again from 95 to 99 or so in WCW. Same with Hogan.
ReplyDeleteIf you include his work in the USWA, Jerry Lawler was definitely working a full time schedule 93-95.
ReplyDelete...and the indies.
ReplyDeleteBut smiling babyface didn't work with Diesel. Now that we've had 20+ years to get to know Nash's personality through WCW, shoot videos, TNA and the like, it's clear his real-life personality just doesn't mesh with a smiling babyface.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how much of an ass-kicker he was, the smiling babyface routine sunk him.
By the time the Hardcore title was introduced, the Memphis territory was dead.
ReplyDeleteI think because he had an interview segment and was a commentator he was more of a heel and would have taken less work to build than Backlund did.
ReplyDeleteAnd what are we really talking about here? Two month reign at best as a transition? I'm not even saying give Lawler the strap to WM ... maybe just until December to build Diesel up a little..
Thanks Buzz Killington.
ReplyDeleteWas Jerry working indies then? If so where...and why?
ReplyDeleteUSWA was basically his promotion.
Yeah, I'm just struggling as to why they didn't give him a run with the strap - even beating Diesel and having Bret win it at SS instead.
ReplyDeleteShould have happened but clearly even back then Scott Hall's demons were peaking through and that prevented them from pulling the trigger on a world title run.
ReplyDeleteAnother outside pick that I'm curious on people's thoughts on: why not Roddy Piper? He was only 40 in 1994, and even thought the angle with Lawler that led to King of the Ring 1994 was pretty crappy, he could've easily played a bastard evil heel and had name value.
ReplyDeleteI would have done the Diesel turn at Summerslam personally, that was a more epic moment that wrapped up the while Razor/Shawn/Diesel saga. The Survivor Series turn was more like, "okay FINALLY."
ReplyDeleteI know he wrestled in MCW out of Maryland.
ReplyDeleteHas Piper played a legit heel since 86?
ReplyDeletehe STILL wrestles indies. Does tag matches where he gets the hot tag, throws a drop kick, pulls down the strap, and drops a fist.
ReplyDeleteGood work if you can get it.
That's an outfit that didn't even exist until 1998 well after the USWA died.
ReplyDeleteNo, but he could have. If not, he's yet another face option to throw into the mix that at least had some mainstream popularity.
ReplyDeleteThat KOTR match was the drizzling shits but yes he still had name value, i wouldn't put the strap on him but could he have been used to better put over some of the new top talent?
ReplyDeleteOf course, but like that entire 92-95 era Vince dropped the ball.
...OK, fine. He did stuff in ECW as well.
ReplyDeleteI think he was a heel during his 2003 (or thereabouts) run.
ReplyDeleteIn 93-95?
ReplyDeleteDammit get your shit together!
Heel Diesel getting the belt from Hart was the way to go. If he flopped you put it back on Bret, If it worked you have the option of having face HBK vs. Heel Diesel or turn Diesel face further into the run and go the other way with it.
ReplyDelete97
ReplyDeleteSo champion options we have (with ages as of Survivor Series 1994):
ReplyDeleteBob Backlund (45) - Heel
Randy Savage (42) - Face
Roddy Piper (40) - Face
Bret Hart (37) - Face
Kevin Nash (35) - Face
Owen Hart (29) - Heel
Shawn Michaels (29) - Face
Savage and Piper are the biggest names, but a bit older than Vince wanted since neither of them were full-time wrestlers at the time.
In 94-95 you have Hart, Michaels, Nash, Razor, Kid, Jarrett, Bulldog, Luger, and Undertaker all in or near their primes ... while vets like Savage, Lawler, and Backlund can add a lot.
ReplyDeleteAnd THIS is what we get?
I bet Savage's steroid use had as much to do with Vince pushing him aside, given what he had just survived.
ReplyDeleteForget all that, his run after losing the title from SS 95 to IYH with Shawn was some of the best stuff he did in his entire career. That was as a smart-ass heel.
ReplyDeleteTill the day I die I'll never understand why they didn't give Luger the belt after EVERYTHING they put behind him. At least give it to him, he can always lose it at a house show in MSG, right?
ReplyDeleteAnd I know he gets his love for being a great super heavyweight, but Yokozuna was BORING as shit as champion. Just boring.
You're going to get Tatanka and you're going to fucking like it!
ReplyDeleteshit even that! They managed to stumble onto interesting ideas like sell-out heel Tatanka, crazy oldman Backlund, bitter little brother Owen ...and they still fucked that up. Tatanka turning on Luger was pretty awesome when it happened.
ReplyDeleteNope ... you get Kama the Supreme Fighitng machine, you get a Dentist, you get Haukush, you get a trashman, you get King goddman Mabel. LOL.
I watch and read Scott's reviews and its just so frustrating.because every now and tehn you get Bret-Waltman and blows you away but is forgotten about in a week so we can get King Kong Bundy a squash match.
Bob was the least over and the oldest!
ReplyDeleteSure crazy Bob got over but before that angle began can you remember a thing about Bob since his return in late '92?
His marathon Rumble and then losing to Razor in the most random Mania match ever.
They just didn't get it. They didn't get it even more than they don't get it now.
ReplyDeleteAgain, a bit of a change in attitude but does happen. Yeah, Backlund could still go in the ring but not always enough; even Stan Muchnick would often say of a guy "he's a terrific worker but he doesn't draw money."
ReplyDeleteI'm sure we discussed this before, but if Owen doesn't die, it's basically a given he's thrown into the Radicalz shuffle correct? I've heard goofy rumors that "The Game" was going to be his gimmick but the first seems a lot more logical.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Great charisma and better height than Diesel IMO.
ReplyDeleteAnd the only reason it wasn't as terrible as it could have been is because 1995 WCW was, shockingly, even WORSE.
ReplyDeleteI don't deny his charisma. But I remember when he first started the Apter mags were saying this was going to be a future AWA world champ, and then it didn't happen.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but there was something about Hall where I never took him seriously as world champ, and it didn't have much to do with his demons.
Magic Johnson in a wheelchair - Rolaids
ReplyDeleteMagic Johnson with sunglasses - Kool-Aids
Vince is a genius at the business of wrestling and when focused and put together great angles. But he strikes out A LOT.
ReplyDeleteDude was teabagging folks before it became mainstream.
ReplyDeleteAnd charge everyone to see it there for $11.99
ReplyDeleteOwen and Jericho could've been an amazing chickenshit heel team
ReplyDeleteI've heard that rumor about how Owen was supposed to have been "the Game," but I've never understood it because I never really saw "the Game" as a gimmick, just a new nickname for Trips to call himself. Ditto for "Cerebral Assassin."
ReplyDeleteEspecially even a random tag title run like what we got with Flair and Piper a couple years back.
ReplyDelete