OH YEEEEEEEEEAH! This is what I've been waiting for. The Flair title change from 92! The throat-crushing match in 86! Tons of house show rarities! ME WANTEE!
Am I the only one that thinks Sting never had a great match? Plenty of good formula ones, sure. But to me his nitro match against ddp was the best of his career.
The throat crush match is probably the best match in the history of Superstars. Which isn't saying much, but it's an awesome *match* before the big angle. They even work in some involvement from Danny Davis to further that angle.
Neidhart all the way for me...would rather drink Drano from a funnel that read another one from an ex ECW wrestler, and David Schultz and Brickhouse Brown have been out of the business for a long time.
Just different tastes I guess. That GAB match is **** and probably the weakest of them. What about his US and Japan matches against Muta?
Sting had an interesting career -- grew by leaps and bounds as a worker from a pretty limited one but he hit his athletic peak just in time to tear up his knee. His offense changed a lot after that -- although he got notably better between 91 and 94. Solid still in 95/96, but stuck working with a lot old older, bad workers. Looked awful in 97/98 and better in 99 (is that when he got off the pills?)
He really didn't get a lot of high profile feuds with guys who could go with him outside that 91-94 span, which is a shame.
Too bad they didn't get to squeeze in a third match in WCW. I think only Randy Savage could have out crazied WCW Warrior.
Warrior would appear in that reflection that Bischoff couldn't see and Savage would appear in another dimension just to one up him. Parts Unknown usurped by the danger zone!
Which makes me wonder -- how often did Savage get his way when it came to laying matches out? I mean we know for sure he did with Steamboat and DDP -- but I've never heard much about his matches with Hogan or Flair.
That show (and WCW in the Watts era) was mostly shit, so I could see someone being burned out by the time of the title match. I thought it was pretty good.
Shawn, Flair, Bret. Shawn is the GOAT. Flair made his opponents into greatness. But the interest in his opponents are what "made" Bret matches to me (despite him carrying most of them, because his personality bored me despite being such a great athlete).
I believe another one from the same tour is on the other Savage DVD, but I think this is the first time this one is making an appearance (it was on the World Tour 92 VHS originally I think)
The Sting/Cactus submit or surrender match from '91 is the best of their series. In fact I thought it was the best WCW match of that year, including WarGames.
"So, you used to play minor league baseball? OK, from now on you're Babe Koufax from Cooperstown, NY, and you constantly try to call time out so you can adjust your athletic supporter."
In this instance, I think they'd let him be Randy Koufax at least. And he would be told to never, ever, ever baseball slide out of the ring...because the smarks.
True but some talking points are necessary to keep a coherent narrative. Not saying they're currently doing a great job with that but guys like Ambrose and Bryan are doing well in the system. Maybe it's a personal thing.
One of my favorite Marvel Comics series from back in the day was "What If?" that showcased stories about alternate realities rather than what took place in the actual Marvel Universe. So let's apply that to wrestling. What if Randy "Macho Man" Savage had joined Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985 instead of the WWF?
Put aside the fact that the Poffos were at war with the established NWA territories and Savage was basically black-balled. Let's say Jimmy Crockett saw the dollar signs flashing in his eyes and put all that aside.
The mind reels at the potential feuds...would he have come in as a face to immediately challenge Flair (if Dusty could put his ego aside)? Can you imagine the potential of a Savage/Magnum TA blood feud? Or even Savage vs. pre-polka dot Dusty?
Like Foley said in his first book, Vince has to become a fan of you to truly get behind you. Which is how it's been in all of wrestling since it's inception.
Bookers liking wrestlers before they push them I mean.
Disagree. HHH spent most of his "Reign of Terror" showing ass for every guy he faced (Shawn, Steiner, Booker, Nash, Goldberg, Booker, Batista -- seven guys right there for only a portion of his career), but then would usually end up beating most them in dirty fashion on PPV, which, if anything, made those wins more frustrating. I mean, if you're holding the belt 90% of the time, you may as well book yourself as a strong champion rather than having the same tired Evolution run-in/distraction and/or sledgehammer shot victory.
Yep. Though I find that point a little amusing considering how high up the card Mick both came in and stayed at up until that JR interview where Vince supposedly truly became a fan of his.
He didn't show much ass for Goldberg or Booker (who you listed twice). I've blocked out the Steiner feud, so I can't comment there. Nash and HBK, of course, were his buddies, ditto Batista. But he didn't sell Goldberg as anywhere near the threat he sold Cactus as, which is kinda my point.
Disclaimer: The reviving elbow only works on Hulk Hogan because if Hulk Hogan can no sell your finisher when you are feuding with him then he should be able to murder it as tag partner.
Randy Savage as Ole's replacement in the Four Horsemen. Run him as a heel against Magnum, Barry Windham, Dusty, with Arn or Tully against the Rock 'n' Roll Express, the Fantastics and the Road Warriors. Turn him face after and run him through the Horsemen, maybe team him with Luger or young Sting against the Midnight Express and MUTA in '89 before you turn him heel for fresh matches with Sting, Ricky Steamboat and Brian Pillman.
I've seriously been waiting since 1988 to see Savage/Strike Force vs. Harts/Honky in a cage, so I'm psyched. I just wish one of the Savage-Steamboat cage matches was on it, too. PWI made those sound great.
And even then he has a great match with Razor and that's it. Still hadn't gotten the Superkick over. The HBK that he all know and love wasn't really fully defined til right before Wrestlemania 11.
Yeah, I never did really believe it until Lanny Poffo basically confirmed it when asked the question point blank. Of course -- he's still a wrestler and maybe full of shit like many wrestlers, but it's the closest thing to a confirmation I've heard. I still don't know that I believe it, but I guess we'll never know really.
Till the day I die I will say that even if Austin never found his stone cold character, he still would have been one of the biggest stars ever as a heel.
Plus to be fair, at least a chunk of his monstrous success is due to timing. Look at the culture at the time here in the US -- hell, Jerry Springer was beating Oprah in the ratings in 1997 and 1998. Wrestling fit right in and a character like Stone Cold was the perfect leader for it.
Same with Hogan in the early 1980s -- just as the conservative movement started to gain traction and nationalism was on the rise, MTV and good guy superheros were all the rage in pop culture.
Ok, lets say hypothetically it was true, which I 110% don't believe and feel the evidence backs me up.
Wouldn't Steph had been 18 at the time anyhow, and thus an adult? So, if it is real, what wrong thing would have Randy done? Yeah it's an age difference, but shit one of the happiest couples I know has 27 years between them.
It's all over bar the shouting now. A 10pt win to the No vote in the offering. Kinda shocking to me, and I'm a little broken hearted. We are now the only country ever to vote against Independence
Plus Shawn had never really won anything of note at that point and was seen and a bit of a choker. Shawn winning the '95 Rumble was the first big thing he won.
Doink murdering Crush with his fake arm was pretty great. I remember it happened near the middle, and the rest of the show they kept cutting to kids looking like, well, they'd seen a clown rip a fake arm off and murder a guy with it.
Weird seeing HHH take over-the-turnbuckle bumps like a cruiserweight. He still did the Flair turnbuckle bump later on too, but here he just flies over it.
I really feel like a big part of the reason that Rock/Austin/Foley/HHH put on good matches during this era was because they all knew how to sell extremely well.
Wish Cena would put in half as much effort when he's getting his ass kicked. I think Brock got it out of him in their last match by legitimately kicking his ass, because his usual selling job is to take weak bumps and sit around with his dopey dazed expression until it's time for the Superman comeback.
When they announced the set I said I wanted the Bad News-Savage street fight, and it's on there. Wow. I didn't even know the cage matches existed, I imagine the Harts doing everything they can to keep a crazed Savage from getting to a terrified Honky Tonk Man.
Right you are about me accidentally listing Booker twice.
HHH treated Goldberg as a huge threat during their feud. He'd run him down on the mic (as heels tend to do) but frequently ran away from him and acted scared of him.
As for Booker, while HHH treated him (and "his people") as a joke, Booker got the best of him on every episode of RAW in the buildup to WrestleMania 19.
Totally. That's what I've been saying they should do for years. It's a far better strategy than releasing the Wrestlemania X Shawn/Razor ladder match or the Mankind/Undertaker Hell In A Cell match over and over and over again.
Now they need to release a Prime Time Wrestling set with all the best Gorilla and Bobby moments. Now's a great time to release it too since we're a few months away from the 30th anniversary of Prime Time Wrestling.
Schultz's shoot was pretty great but I liked the Neidhart shoot as well. The New Jack 2012 shoot was unlistenable thanks to Terri Runnels' lawyers threatening to sue which resulted in her name being censored every time New Jack said it (it sure didn't help that he said it every 20 seconds).
In the eyes of the law, sure, but you can’t fuck the bosses teenage daughter, it’s really frowned upon. I find it hard to believe too, but Vince’s attitude towards Savage just doesn’t make any sense. That sincere goodbye and good luck on Raw in 1994, then all of a sudden blacklisted for nearly twenty years. *Something* happened. Vince forgave all his other enemies like Luger and Hogan.
Italy are 9th and Spain is 13th, correct - not sure what that has to do with anything, though. GDP figures and position don't actually say very much about how well your economy's doing; Japan has consistently been pretty much a complete economic mess since the very early 90s, and yet they're the third biggest economy in the world - whereas Sweden and Norway have consistent full employment, steady growth rates and very little inflation, but score in the low-mid 20s. Anyway, as I say, the performance of Spain and Italy doesn't tell you anything about how an independent Scotland would perform.
How are Ireland and Scotland relatively similar? They're both small specks of land situated near England? Ireland is struggling because it became a corporate haven in the 90s, slashing regulations and taxes. It's a country that doesn't really do exports, has little in the way of resources and produces barely anything. Their boom was based on a banking bubble and untenably low rates of corporate and income taxation. Scotland still has a decent manufacturing base (which would increase if they had full control over their economy) and a sizeable chunk of North Sea oil too. It'd be ludicrous to claim an autonomous Scotland would be an economic utopia, but there's every reason to believe it would be faring as well as - if not better than - it does currently. Anyway, 'No' seems to have won by a small margin, so this conversation is pretty moot at this point.
Hearing Nas on WWE TV was pretty surreal. Great video that made you think maybe this guy can be a huge star. Then the video ended the match started and reality set in.
I don't think it dawned on everyone here that if you look at the championships he has won post-world title unification, he's pretty much a Grand Slam champion.
He was already a great worker, though. He just didn't have all the mic/character stuff down yet. I've seen three of the Savage/Shawn Europe matches, and they're all a blast.
Can you imagine the WWE doing something as creative and original as that now? Do you think anyone on the roster is capable of creating and delivering a promo like that now? Sometimes I just forget how incredibly talented Foley was, I wish they could utilize him still in a useful manner... and it's amazing what WWE are capable of when they think outside the box.
She turned 18 in September of '94. If they had had something going that straddled that line, 17 into 18, then it gets pretty dicey. Especially with it being Vince's daughter.
Don't get too excited. I'm pretty sure I've seen it, and it's nothing special. Savage was selling the knee injury angle from his WM match with Flair (or had a real one), and Shawn wasn't too good at doing the "focus on a body part" type of match yet. Their match on Savage's first DVD was much better. Of course, if it's a different match from what I'm thinking, then the possibilities are good :)
It was pretty decent, around ***1/4 or so, I'd say. I'll have to go back and rewatch it though, mostly because I can't remember if they played up the history between Savage and Sherri, who was managing Shawn at the time.
Miz did an interview at our radio station a few weeks ago. Stayed in character the entire time, replying to "emails from Hollywood" on his smartphone, and talking about what a thrill it must be to meet him. An amazing man.
That match is so underrated, great stuff there. Hell, even Vince gets a good bit on commentary when Heenan says Savage keeps the title if he's counted out and Vince immediately points out that keeping the belt's not the point, Savage has to prove he can beat the Warrior, brilliant touch there.
Yeah, can just imagine his comments and shots and such. I was happy Warrior lived long enough to talk on his own DVD collection, including noting how "other people have tried to write my story" an obvious shot on that 2005 DVD. Still good to see Savage's legacy out there.
Yeah, they were. But Vince may not have known about the Steph thing (assuming there's something to it) at that point. Could have been something he learned later.
I feel he got very lazy after his big demotion (from headlining WrestleMania back to being some midcard joke) - and I can at least somehow understand him.
He was alleging that she was an alcoholic pill popper and he also claimed that she was into sex so kinky that even he thought she was going too far. Funny how none of that was censored yet his constant mentions of her name were.
God I didn't even think about the Midnights. Throw Savage with any of the top faces at the time against the Midnights and it would been solid gold. Even Ronnie Garvin with Savage would have worked well due to their connection from ICW.
I dig it.
ReplyDeleteOh shit the Sting set cones out next week as well.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one that thinks Sting never had a great match? Plenty of good formula ones, sure. But to me his nitro match against ddp was the best of his career.
ReplyDeleteThe Vader matches are great (as in GREAT).
ReplyDeleteThe throat crush match is probably the best match in the history of Superstars. Which isn't saying much, but it's an awesome *match* before the big angle. They even work in some involvement from Danny Davis to further that angle.
ReplyDeleteYes. Come on, the Vader matches alone.
ReplyDeleteNeidhart all the way for me...would rather drink Drano from a funnel that read another one from an ex ECW wrestler, and David Schultz and Brickhouse Brown have been out of the business for a long time.
ReplyDeleteHe might be the dude from awhile back that tried claiming the Sting/Vader title change match was bad due to it being a squash.
ReplyDeleteOh I've seen them. Maybe I'm just jaded. The first one where V goes full Lesnar on him was great.
ReplyDeleteMAYBE the foley beach blast match.
I do think his intro vs hogan at SC 97 was phenomenal.
I'm just hoping the doc is great.
ReplyDeleteNah. I appreciate a good squash.
ReplyDeleteBrickhouse Brown, it's a good shoot. Funny guy too
ReplyDeleteStill sad there's none of his '90s House Show matches against Bret Hart that are supposed to be amazing.
ReplyDeleteJust different tastes I guess. That GAB match is **** and probably the weakest of them. What about his US and Japan matches against Muta?
ReplyDeleteSting had an interesting career -- grew by leaps and bounds as a worker from a pretty limited one but he hit his athletic peak just in time to tear up his knee. His offense changed a lot after that -- although he got notably better between 91 and 94. Solid still in 95/96, but stuck working with a lot old older, bad workers. Looked awful in 97/98 and better in 99 (is that when he got off the pills?)
He really didn't get a lot of high profile feuds with guys who could go with him outside that 91-94 span, which is a shame.
Won't pretend to have seen the JP matches. The Muta US match I thought was good but not legendary. Poor phrasing maybe.
ReplyDeleteJust curious -- in terms of enjoyment, how would you rank Flair, Bret and Shawn?
ReplyDeleteThat's actually smart of WWE to focus on more obscure matches for DVDs, due to the Network and all.
ReplyDeleteI tend to go more by matches than body of work. Shawn, Bret,
ReplyDeleteFlair
And before you ask I'm 34. WWF household
ReplyDeleteFinally! Savage-Warrior II on dvd! Eveything else is gravy.
ReplyDeleteI remember that match with the Blue Bloods. AWESOME. I wish they were able to get some of his Memphis stuff on there as well.
ReplyDeleteI am almost at the throat-crushing match in my WWF TV reviews.
ReplyDeleteNot to nitpick, but Lesnar, went full VADER on Cena, not the other way around. . .
ReplyDeleteToo bad they didn't get to squeeze in a third match in WCW. I think only Randy Savage could have out crazied WCW Warrior.
ReplyDeleteWarrior would appear in that reflection that Bischoff couldn't see and Savage would appear in another dimension just to one up him. Parts Unknown usurped by the danger zone!
Conceded.
ReplyDelete*Mick Foley'esque cheap plug*
ReplyDeleteI bet Savage still could have dragged him to **.
ReplyDeleteThere should have been a prolonged Sting/Austin feud in 94.
ReplyDeleteI loved PG-13.
ReplyDeleteEh, I'd argue Brock could have taken out Leon in his prime. Either way it'd have been a hell of a shoot fight.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I'm getting the Sting set.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't doubt it.
ReplyDeleteWhich makes me wonder -- how often did Savage get his way when it came to laying matches out? I mean we know for sure he did with Steamboat and DDP -- but I've never heard much about his matches with Hogan or Flair.
I'm surprised they didn't put the WM 7 match in there because of the post-match reunion with Liz.
ReplyDeleteNo reviving elbow?
ReplyDeleteThat show (and WCW in the Watts era) was mostly shit, so I could see someone being burned out by the time of the title match. I thought it was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThe interview after that match that was only on the Coliseum Home Video NEEDS a DVD release too.
ReplyDeleteShawn, Flair, Bret. Shawn is the GOAT. Flair made his opponents into greatness. But the interest in his opponents are what "made" Bret matches to me (despite him carrying most of them, because his personality bored me despite being such a great athlete).
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for this.
ReplyDeleteDid he have a creative control clause?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, they should have tried a program with Warrior, at the least it would have been entertaining crap.
"WWE Championship Match
ReplyDelete“Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Shawn Michaels
Munich, Germany • April 14, 1992"
I'm pretty sure I knew about this match, but I still got half a chub when I read that just now.
I believe another one from the same tour is on the other Savage DVD, but I think this is the first time this one is making an appearance (it was on the World Tour 92 VHS originally I think)
ReplyDeleteSavage's post-throat crushing promo should be required reading for any up-and-coming heels.
ReplyDeleteA master class in over-the-top dickishness.
The Sting/Cactus submit or surrender match from '91 is the best of their series. In fact I thought it was the best WCW match of that year, including WarGames.
ReplyDeleteAWWWWWW YISSSSSSSS.
ReplyDeleteI'd argue they're letting more guys be himself nowadays.
ReplyDeleteI agree in part, but that all goes to shit when you're told to memorize fucking talking points every time you go out there.
ReplyDelete"So, you used to play minor league baseball? OK, from now on you're Babe Koufax from Cooperstown, NY, and you constantly try to call time out so you can adjust your athletic supporter."
ReplyDeleteProbably not.
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean "Huss huss"?
ReplyDeleteIn this instance, I think they'd let him be Randy Koufax at least. And he would be told to never, ever, ever baseball slide out of the ring...because the smarks.
ReplyDeleteTrue but some talking points are necessary to keep a coherent narrative. Not saying they're currently doing a great job with that but guys like Ambrose and Bryan are doing well in the system. Maybe it's a personal thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm just tryin' ta catch my flight, kid.
ReplyDeleteWell yeah, there are those who can adapt well...and there are those that are pushed because they give Vince a chubby.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite Marvel Comics series from back in the day was "What If?" that showcased stories about alternate realities rather than what took place in the actual Marvel Universe. So let's apply that to wrestling. What if Randy "Macho Man" Savage had joined Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985 instead of the WWF?
ReplyDeletePut aside the fact that the Poffos were at war with the established NWA territories and Savage was basically black-balled. Let's say Jimmy Crockett saw the dollar signs flashing in his eyes and put all that aside.
The mind reels at the potential feuds...would he have come in as a face to immediately challenge Flair (if Dusty could put his ego aside)? Can you imagine the potential of a Savage/Magnum TA blood feud? Or even Savage vs. pre-polka dot Dusty?
heavybreathing.jpg
ReplyDeleteSavage told Bret afterwards that they were the greatest matches he ever had. He is also rumored to have had tears in his eyes at the time.
ReplyDeleteLike Foley said in his first book, Vince has to become a fan of you to truly get behind you. Which is how it's been in all of wrestling since it's inception.
ReplyDeleteBookers liking wrestlers before they push them I mean.
Disagree. HHH spent most of his "Reign of Terror" showing ass for every guy he faced (Shawn, Steiner, Booker, Nash, Goldberg, Booker, Batista -- seven guys right there for only a portion of his career), but then would usually end up beating most them in dirty fashion on PPV, which, if anything, made those wins more frustrating. I mean, if you're holding the belt 90% of the time, you may as well book yourself as a strong champion rather than having the same tired Evolution run-in/distraction and/or sledgehammer shot victory.
ReplyDeleteYep. Though I find that point a little amusing considering how high up the card Mick both came in and stayed at up until that JR interview where Vince supposedly truly became a fan of his.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Vince appreciated him as a talent but the early 97 interviews showed that he could be a potential top guy for the Everyman aspect alone.
ReplyDeleteThen I guess Brock vs. hulk Cena was horrible at SummerSlam then?
ReplyDeleteRonnie Garfin as in then icw at one point, and he made it back into the big leagues and even got to wear Flair's belt.
ReplyDeleteNope. It was the November match - saw it on YouTube. It also gave us Bruno vs. macho.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't show much ass for Goldberg or Booker (who you listed twice). I've blocked out the Steiner feud, so I can't comment there. Nash and HBK, of course, were his buddies, ditto Batista. But he didn't sell Goldberg as anywhere near the threat he sold Cactus as, which is kinda my point.
ReplyDeleteDisclaimer: The reviving elbow only works on Hulk Hogan because if Hulk Hogan can no sell your finisher when you are feuding with him then he should be able to murder it as tag partner.
ReplyDeleteNope. Crushed the throat in 86, and Steamboat didn't return until 87.
ReplyDeleteRandy Savage as Ole's replacement in the Four Horsemen. Run him as a heel against Magnum, Barry Windham, Dusty, with Arn or Tully against the Rock 'n' Roll Express, the Fantastics and the Road Warriors. Turn him face after and run him through the Horsemen, maybe team him with Luger or young Sting against the Midnight Express and MUTA in '89 before you turn him heel for fresh matches with Sting, Ricky Steamboat and Brian Pillman.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I want to mark for the Shawn Michaels match - Shawn was a lowly heel mod carder here that had no Cred until 1994.
ReplyDeleteGive me a fucking break of course he would've.
ReplyDeleteOr they'd somehow make it his finisher.
ReplyDeleteThat would have been sweet. Why they never had an extended solo feud without the Dangerous Alliance involved I'll never know.
ReplyDeleteI've seriously been waiting since 1988 to see Savage/Strike Force vs. Harts/Honky in a cage, so I'm psyched. I just wish one of the Savage-Steamboat cage matches was on it, too. PWI made those sound great.
ReplyDeleteI'm told that Stephanie had something in her eyes too.
ReplyDeleteIt has it's work cut out for it with Savage not being around to be a part of it.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, this! Austin was a great heel and Sting worked so well as an uber babyface -- that would have made quite the pairing.
ReplyDeleteAnd even then he has a great match with Razor and that's it. Still hadn't gotten the Superkick over. The HBK that he all know and love wasn't really fully defined til right before Wrestlemania 11.
ReplyDeleteThat's what Vader used to think.
ReplyDeleteI'm all over this shit the day it comes out.
ReplyDeleteThe Summerslam title match which doesn't get enough love compared to Wrestlemania VII.
ReplyDeleteI'll be getting this the day it comes out.
Damn. Beat me to it.
ReplyDelete"Cactus Jack is back!" Such a memorable, classic line that still gives goosebumps
ReplyDeleteI know you're joking, but does anyone else think that anyone who ever believed that was just dumb as hell?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I never did really believe it until Lanny Poffo basically confirmed it when asked the question point blank. Of course -- he's still a wrestler and maybe full of shit like many wrestlers, but it's the closest thing to a confirmation I've heard. I still don't know that I believe it, but I guess we'll never know really.
ReplyDeleteTill the day I die I will say that even if Austin never found his stone cold character, he still would have been one of the biggest stars ever as a heel.
ReplyDeleteI respect the kid for living his dream. You can really tell that he followed it long before he ever stepped into the ring.
ReplyDeleteNo question, he was destined to be a big star.
ReplyDeletePlus to be fair, at least a chunk of his monstrous success is due to timing. Look at the culture at the time here in the US -- hell, Jerry Springer was beating Oprah in the ratings in 1997 and 1998. Wrestling fit right in and a character like Stone Cold was the perfect leader for it.
Same with Hogan in the early 1980s -- just as the conservative movement started to gain traction and nationalism was on the rise, MTV and good guy superheros were all the rage in pop culture.
This a 1000000000 X over.
ReplyDeleteOk, lets say hypothetically it was true, which I 110% don't believe and feel the evidence backs me up.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't Steph had been 18 at the time anyhow, and thus an adult? So, if it is real, what wrong thing would have Randy done? Yeah it's an age difference, but shit one of the happiest couples I know has 27 years between them.
It's all over bar the shouting now. A 10pt win to the No vote in the offering. Kinda shocking to me, and I'm a little broken hearted. We are now the only country ever to vote against Independence
ReplyDeleteThe angle where The Islanders steal Matilda was the best angle in the history of Superstars.
ReplyDeletePlus Shawn had never really won anything of note at that point and was seen and a bit of a choker. Shawn winning the '95 Rumble was the first big thing he won.
ReplyDeleteIf Orndorff was wearing flip flops, Brock may stand a chance, but if Orndorff was wearing regular shoes, Brock doesn't stand a chance in hell.
ReplyDeleteDoink murdering Crush with his fake arm was pretty great. I remember it happened near the middle, and the rest of the show they kept cutting to kids looking like, well, they'd seen a clown rip a fake arm off and murder a guy with it.
ReplyDeleteWeird seeing HHH take over-the-turnbuckle bumps like a cruiserweight. He still did the Flair turnbuckle bump later on too, but here he just flies over it.
ReplyDeleteI really feel like a big part of the reason that Rock/Austin/Foley/HHH put on good matches during this era was because they all knew how to sell extremely well.
Wish Cena would put in half as much effort when he's getting his ass kicked. I think Brock got it out of him in their last match by legitimately kicking his ass, because his usual selling job is to take weak bumps and sit around with his dopey dazed expression until it's time for the Superman comeback.
Then you add the Rude matches, like the King of Cable Semi Finals.
ReplyDeleteWhen they announced the set I said I wanted the Bad News-Savage street fight, and it's on there. Wow. I didn't even know the cage matches existed, I imagine the Harts doing everything they can to keep a crazed Savage from getting to a terrified Honky Tonk Man.
ReplyDeleteRight you are about me accidentally listing Booker twice.
ReplyDeleteHHH treated Goldberg as a huge threat during their feud. He'd run him down on the mic (as heels tend to do) but frequently ran away from him and acted scared of him.
As for Booker, while HHH treated him (and "his people") as a joke, Booker got the best of him on every episode of RAW in the buildup to WrestleMania 19.
Love it! Though I'm a bit surprised they didn't put VS Steve Austin from WCWSN on there, just because.
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! Certainly beats the 768th re-release of the Wrestlemania X ladder match.
ReplyDeleteTotally. That's what I've been saying they should do for years. It's a far better strategy than releasing the Wrestlemania X Shawn/Razor ladder match or the Mankind/Undertaker Hell In A Cell match over and over and over again.
ReplyDeleteNow they need to release a Prime Time Wrestling set with all the best Gorilla and Bobby moments. Now's a great time to release it too since we're a few months away from the 30th anniversary of Prime Time Wrestling.
Doesn't matter. Danny Hodge even in his current condition would kick all of their asses.
ReplyDeleteSchultz's shoot was pretty great but I liked the Neidhart shoot as well.
ReplyDeleteThe New Jack 2012 shoot was unlistenable thanks to Terri Runnels' lawyers threatening to sue which resulted in her name being censored every time New Jack said it (it sure didn't help that he said it every 20 seconds).
In the eyes of the law, sure, but you can’t fuck the bosses
ReplyDeleteteenage daughter, it’s really frowned upon. I find it hard to believe too, but
Vince’s attitude towards Savage just doesn’t make any sense. That sincere
goodbye and good luck on Raw in 1994, then all of a sudden blacklisted for
nearly twenty years. *Something* happened. Vince forgave all his other
enemies like Luger and Hogan.
I think I've seen a different match from that tour between them, I had the UK Rampage 92 video with it on.
ReplyDeleteIf he already had the Randy Savage name would they have
ReplyDeleteswitched it up to Sandall Ravage or something?
Italy are 9th and Spain is 13th, correct - not sure what that has to do with anything, though. GDP figures and position don't actually say very much about how well your economy's doing; Japan has consistently been pretty much a complete economic mess since the very early 90s, and yet they're the third biggest economy in the world - whereas Sweden and Norway have consistent full employment, steady growth rates and very little inflation, but score in the low-mid 20s. Anyway, as I say, the performance of Spain and Italy doesn't tell you anything about how an independent Scotland would perform.
ReplyDeleteHow are Ireland and Scotland relatively similar? They're both small specks of land situated near England? Ireland is struggling because it became a corporate haven in the 90s, slashing regulations and taxes. It's a country that doesn't really do exports, has little in the way of resources and produces barely anything. Their boom was based on a banking bubble and untenably low rates of corporate and income taxation. Scotland still has a decent manufacturing base (which would increase if they had full control over their economy) and a sizeable chunk of North Sea oil too. It'd be ludicrous to claim an autonomous Scotland would be an economic utopia, but there's every reason to believe it would be faring as well as - if not better than - it does currently. Anyway, 'No' seems to have won by a small margin, so this conversation is pretty moot at this point.
There is a pretty good match between them from WCW Saturday Night from sometime in 94. I think it's on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteSo much bias in the blog post...glad sanity won out as the United Kingdom stays united and Great Britain stays great.
ReplyDeleteHearing Nas on WWE TV was pretty surreal. Great video that made you think maybe this guy can be a huge star. Then the video ended the match started and reality set in.
ReplyDeleteAnyone but New Jack
ReplyDeleteI voted for this.
ReplyDeleteWhat was he saying about her?
ReplyDeleteIs that the best DDP-Savage match? For some reason I there were ones that were better.
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it dawned on everyone here that if you look at the championships he has won post-world title unification, he's pretty much a Grand Slam champion.
ReplyDeleteLooks like my blu-ray will be entering the danger zone.
ReplyDeleteHe was already a great worker, though. He just didn't have all the mic/character stuff down yet. I've seen three of the Savage/Shawn Europe matches, and they're all a blast.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine the WWE doing something as creative and original as that now? Do you think anyone on the roster is capable of creating and delivering a promo like that now? Sometimes I just forget how incredibly talented Foley was, I wish they could utilize him still in a useful manner... and it's amazing what WWE are capable of when they think outside the box.
ReplyDeleteMy great grandfather is rolling over in his grave. I always root against the English.
ReplyDeleteShe turned 18 in September of '94. If they had had something going that straddled that line, 17 into 18, then it gets pretty dicey. Especially with it being Vince's daughter.
ReplyDeleteMan, would have been great had he been alive still to be the focal talking point in the documentary. Still going to be awesome im sure
ReplyDeleteDon't get too excited. I'm pretty sure I've seen it, and it's nothing special. Savage was selling the knee injury angle from his WM match with Flair (or had a real one), and Shawn wasn't too good at doing the "focus on a body part" type of match yet. Their match on Savage's first DVD was much better.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if it's a different match from what I'm thinking, then the possibilities are good :)
It was pretty decent, around ***1/4 or so, I'd say. I'll have to go back and rewatch it though, mostly because I can't remember if they played up the history between Savage and Sherri, who was managing Shawn at the time.
ReplyDeleteMiz did an interview at our radio station a few weeks ago. Stayed in character the entire time, replying to "emails from Hollywood" on his smartphone, and talking about what a thrill it must be to meet him. An amazing man.
ReplyDeleteThe voters feel the same way
ReplyDeleteThe reason that feud worked was because both guys were obsessive planning matches out to the tiniest degree so no wonder they got along great.
ReplyDeleteThat match is so underrated, great stuff there. Hell, even Vince gets a good bit on commentary when Heenan says Savage keeps the title if he's counted out and Vince immediately points out that keeping the belt's not the point, Savage has to prove he can beat the Warrior, brilliant touch there.
ReplyDeleteWait, wait wait. We'll probably need Scott's confirmation, but weren't Savage and Vince negotiating a return in late '96/early '97?
ReplyDeleteIMO it's easily the best.
ReplyDeleteYeah, can just imagine his comments and shots and such. I was happy Warrior lived long enough to talk on his own DVD collection, including noting how "other people have tried to write my story" an obvious shot on that 2005 DVD. Still good to see Savage's legacy out there.
ReplyDeleteSavage in his prime against Magnum, Flair, Sting, Luger or the Midnights. Pure dynamite.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they were. But Vince may not have known about the Steph thing (assuming there's something to it) at that point. Could have been something he learned later.
ReplyDeleteI feel he got very lazy after his big demotion (from headlining WrestleMania back to being some midcard joke) - and I can at least somehow understand him.
ReplyDeleteI think being given a few "talking points" is fine. just don't write out complete scripts, it makes the delivery of a lot promos sound so unnatural.
ReplyDeleteI think that Maple Leaf match really makes up for that because it is great.
ReplyDeleteit's already on the other set (which is more his "essentials", including almost all of his WrestleMania matches).
ReplyDeleteThis match listing has me at half-chub.
ReplyDeleteHe was alleging that she was an alcoholic pill popper and he also claimed that she was into sex so kinky that even he thought she was going too far. Funny how none of that was censored yet his constant mentions of her name were.
ReplyDeleteDiscover The Top Gadget in The US Famous Company: Apple iPhone 6 Plus 128gb Gold - Unlocked .....,.
Iphone6plus.com/....
Discover The Top Gadget in The US Famous Company: Apple iPhone 6 Plus 128gb Gold - Unlocked .......,.
>Iphone6plus.com/
God I didn't even think about the Midnights. Throw Savage with any of the top faces at the time against the Midnights and it would been solid gold. Even Ronnie Garvin with Savage would have worked well due to their connection from ICW.
ReplyDelete