Reading the 95 Raw rants, Why did Vince stick with the Bret/Backlund 4 months after the Survivor Series 3-day Bob reign. Why not blow off the year long Owen angle and give Bret a definitive win over his brother to avenge WM X or do a Bret/Bulldog vs. Owen/Bob match which at plays off the SS match? Wasting Bret is partly why WM 11 is so forgettable.
Vince was just really in love with the Backlund character and seemed to think that character still had legs, even though the 8-second loss clearly destroyed any sense of threat that Bob had built up. I think in his mind it was the best use of Bret and somehow a guy on Bret's level was "needed" to blow off the Bob character for good. I mean, the storyline is fine, in the sense that Backlund makes people submit to the chickenwing for months and here's Bret to force him to say "I quit" and teach him a lesson and stuff, but the Backlund deal was such a dead issue after November and obviously running him as the main event for months afterwards to empty arenas showed that Vince wasn't willing to acknowledge it. In that last rant I did, fans were back to mocking him with "Opie" chants instead of being scared of him like they used to be. That should have been when they called an audible and did something different with Bret, like the Owen match or the tag match.
I think the Current WWE belt is awful, it's just a big W and that's and looks more like a side plate., I do think the Side plate gimmick is cool(Bryan had yes plates, Orton the RKO logo). BTW Scott, the Current ROH world title is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't watching at the time so maybe they did something like this, but it seems like having Backlund adopt Owen as a protege (with Owen talking up how Backlund was the best WWF champ in history and was going to teach him how to outshine his brother) would have been a great storyline.
ReplyDeleteShould've done the Lawler match from King of the Ring at WrestleMania.
ReplyDeleteI also cant believe with the lack of top talent, that they wasted Luger and Bulldog in a shitty tag match. They shouldve turned Bulldog after the loss to HBK.
Yeah that's pretty much the storyline for Survivor Series 1994.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't as bad as pitting him against Lawler's dentist at Summerslam.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the match at Mania between Hart and Backlund: having Piper as the guest referee was also something that wasn't really built up, and Backlund didn't really say "I Quit", it was more like "Ahhhrrgghhhaaaahhhh".
ReplyDeleteYou can add "they didn't have good matches together" as another reason they should have ended it.
ReplyDeleteWas he mentoring him there? I thought Owen was just conspiring with someone he thought could get the belt off Bret.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Owen and Bob weren't trying to screw Bret as a team, they both had their own separate motivation.
ReplyDeleteThe Network logo gives me a bit of a headache (maybe because it's on a black background, whereas the side panels are more filled in). While the main plate is rather dull (but is clearly WWE with the big logo), I like the side panels, especially the red in Lesnar's.
ReplyDeleteHere's a funny exchange between Vince and Lawler during the Bret/Bob match. Courtesy of Wrestlecrap: http://www.wrestlecrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/british-bulldog.mp3
ReplyDeleteDoes the new belt replace both belts, or does the champ still two belts? I've never understood why if the championships were unified they needed two belts. Kind of defeats the purpose of unifying to some day put only one title on the line.
ReplyDeleteAll the WWE belts look like ass.
ReplyDeleteThe IC would be perfect if they drop the white strap.
ReplyDeleteBret should have moved on to Owen and Backlund could have done an Age Vs Youth feud where he slapped the CFCW on young guys. Then you have someone like 1-2-3 Kid actually beat him.
ReplyDeleteI thought the white strap gave it more of an old prestige look.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like the design when they debuted it, but it's grown on me. I really like it now. The new WWE logo makes the front look a bit empty though. Too much black on the front.
ReplyDeleteI think there is only one belt now.
ReplyDeleteBlack is way cooler.
ReplyDeleteThat's the reason I DON'T like it. It is just a big branding too that puts the company over the performer.
ReplyDeleteThe Main Event of Mania 11 was Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a giant side plate, they to put more in the center. It just feels lazy.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the last IC title design, with the bright blue in the gold.
ReplyDeleteAttitude era belt is the best.
ReplyDeleteWell, as Vince said, no one is bigger than the WWE.
ReplyDeleteIt was beautiful, the IC title has some cool designs.
ReplyDeleteOwen was in Backlund's corner at SS because Bob knew Owen would never throw in the towel. Owen's hatred for Bret was much stronger.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the design, but after all the titles they had in the past, the past 2 WWE titles felt a little bare and flat to me.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of belts, since the WWE loves replicas, Why they never give prestige to the IC/US titles. Kids will see that their champions are strong and say they wanna be like them.
ReplyDeleteThe design feels lazy, just one big W and that's it,done.
ReplyDeleteI remember when someone compared it too a big class ring.
ReplyDeleteBecause they seem to be lazy when it comes to booking secondary champs.
ReplyDeleteI really like it, it looks like it's got a nice heft to it as a world title belt should and the personalized plates are cool, as a fan of the Smokin Skull belt and even Cena's spinner before it stupidly became the default belt
ReplyDeleteBoo, white strap is awesome, god bless Cody Rhodes
ReplyDeleteIn the end, nothing can be worse than the Laycool Women's Title.
ReplyDeleteSpinner belt was cool when it actually spinned.
ReplyDeleteI think we are gonna get into a fight because we're disagreeing in a lot of stuff, peace. Again, peace.
ReplyDeleteI was a mark for the non spinning version, then I started to like the WHC title better, because it had class.
ReplyDeleteThe big gold belt has it's charm.
ReplyDeleteAgree. That makes no sense and has never been explained
ReplyDeleteTag titles need to be updated too. I'm not much of a belt fan either way but those things look really bush league.
ReplyDeleteOne day, I want to get myself a replica belt of that one, without the WWE logo on it.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the US title, bring back the WCW design.
ReplyDeleteThey should just bring back the WWE tag titles.
ReplyDeleteAs a longtime Backlund fan, i personally think the issue with the character was changing him from a bitter psycho to a goofy comedic character.
ReplyDeleteSalt N Pepa
ReplyDeleteNo way that happens.
ReplyDeleteThey're more a reflection in current design trends, which tend towards minimalism, as opposed to wanting to like a legitimate "sports" championship. They also probably wanted to move away from the lineage their belts held with boxing so they're pushing it as far into entertainment as possible. The problem is, this new belt will look dated within five years.
ReplyDeleteLet me dream.
ReplyDeleteI feel the main event after the show was Pam Anderson vs. her agent for booking her that gig
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the giant pennies. They remind me of the big silver WWECW belt - not great, but at least it's something different.
ReplyDeleteThat wasn't a WWE title, it was a WWF title.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be lazy when it comes to booking in general.
ReplyDeleteThe original Undisputed Title or GTFO.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he really had a justifiable if twisted motive for his craziness too, with the Skaaland thing.
ReplyDeleteThat would've been a great story and later Owen could have adopted the CFCW as his own finisher.
ReplyDeleteBret/Lawler would have just been as heatless as Bret/Backlund match and while Bulldog was a little stale as a face, he still played a pretty good babyface so he didn't really need to turn that badly, whereas Luger was an awful babyface and needed the heel turn far more.
ReplyDeleteThe Piper thing seemed like a last minute thing, but yeah, I think the thing that affected the Bret/Backlund match most of all was the poor buildup. Backlund still had some credibility left and they should have built up to a retirement match at WM and you're right, the finish should have been more decisive rather than Backlund gurgling into the mic.
ReplyDeleteLook, say what you will about Wrestlemania XI, but for a 10 year old renting this video and getting a COOL Shawn vs Diesel match and the REALLY COOL Allied Powers theme, it was totally worth the three bucks.
ReplyDelete