I'm not one to get too carried away with fantasy booking, but two key situations/rumors from 1987 had me thinking…
- Ricky Steamboat was being punished for asking for time off, and had his reign cut short. Or maybe because him and Savage upstaged Hogan at Mania, but the first seems to be fueled the most.
- Honkytonk Man won the title in a last-minute changing of the mind, instead of Butch Reed.
If #1 is true, then what were the long-term plans for the belt? Feuding with Savage through the summer? Does Savage still get the rocket push into the #1(B) babyface role with Hogan about to start taking time off every year? If #2 happened the other way with Reed winning, where does that leave Honkytonk Man? Does he become a flavor-of-the-month villain for Hogan before being knocked back down the card, or does he just ride the midcard train facing other non-title threats like Roberts and Ken Patera? Then what of Butch Reed? Was he that hot of an act to put the title on? In storylines he helped end the career of Superstar Billy Graham later in the year, but other than that, he seemed to have an uneventful run.
I think that pretty clearly Steamboat was only intended as a transitional champ for SOMEONE, be it Reed or whoever. Even without his time off he wasn't the kind of guy that Vince was gonna push any harder. Reed at least had the look and enough cred at that point where he could conceivably win it. Plus Vince apparently thought that the bleached blond hair on the black guy was hilarious.
Its too expensive for most businesses to do ANYTHING inside NYC these days.
ReplyDeleteThey haven't made money on an MSG show in 20 years and only ran in MSG back then because it was a status symbol. That's why they run the Barclays Center instead of MSG. You can thank James Dolan for that. I personally want to thank Dolan for fucking up the Knicks for the last 20 years too.
ReplyDeleteIt's also because they have other possible options for arenas Brooklyn's Barclay's Center (which they have 5 shows running in the list) and Long Island.
ReplyDeleteLol TNA
ReplyDeleteGreat organization, huh.
ReplyDeleteDid you read Meltzer's response?
ReplyDeleteWhat did he say.
ReplyDelete“Story is not inaccurate but I got calls from a few people on Friday and one yesterday who said they got their pay. But they were checks scheduled to be mailed on the 1st that arrived several days late. So in those cases it was a few days late, not several pay periods. However, I do know of at least one wrestler who was very late for March pay.”
ReplyDeleteThe reason for tn is weird I would have thought the rasslin company would be more likely to miss payments than their huge corporate owners
ReplyDeleteWon't Summerslam be the third ppv they've done at Barclays?
ReplyDeleteIt's not TNA's fault that the food stamps used to pay the wrestlers didn't come in on the first. That's a federal government problem.
ReplyDeleteWhat would be considered WWE's "home" city/arena these days? Chicago?
ReplyDeleteGuess it depends on what deal you have?
ReplyDeleteI dunno but I've heard a lot of shoots from guys that recently left TNA that had a lot of pay issues. Christoper Daniels talked about not being able to get presents for his kids on Christmas because after being behind for weeks on pay, he actually got money two days before Christmas.
And a company that is behind on paying people is a company in trouble, I dont care what anyone says. Its a bad sign.
Thanks Obama
ReplyDeleteDana White has said if MMA is ever sanctioned in New York he will run the most stacked card ever at MSG.
ReplyDeleteDaniels was making really good money in TNA. How can he afford not to buy Christmas presents?
ReplyDeletePanda Energy was moving offices and that is why the recent pay was late There really is nothing more to it. It just seems like another story that was taken and ran with.
Every time I think of Vince and Lucha anything I think back to Royal Rumble 97 where he had to have JR feed him the names of these random Mexican wrestlers they brought in to fill up the match.
ReplyDeleteMortgage, kids are expensive, and anything else. It can add up. Bottom line, if you work and are not getting paid on payday, it effects you. Its not like people budget with the expectation they will not get their paycheck.
ReplyDeleteIf it happens as often as the reports say, talents wouldn't be signing and even re-signing with the company. This seems like an isolated incident. Why would anyone re-sign with a company if they know they aren't getting paid on time?
ReplyDeleteLong Island won't be an option much longer. I mean, they're renovating and all, but years of waiting for that project to get off the ground means I won't believe anything is going to happen until there's actual work being done at the site. Having just lost the Islanders, I can see the Nassau Coliseum going to waste without an anchor tenant.
ReplyDeleteAt least WWE still has Newark...
Good for the Dragons. They're ready, they're fun, they look like they can work with anyone. I'm sure they'll sell a bunch of Merch if they're allowed to win for a while. Rey made a good chunk of his fortune on those masks alone. I'm all for them getting a bunch of money and a big contract, even if it means I don't get to watch them on my NXT.
ReplyDeleteTonight Luchas will slightly blow a spot and Vince will send them back to NXT
ReplyDeleteThis incident happened recently. The other one was in December 2013. And where else is there to work? Plus, TNA guys can work indies now, which supplements their income, something they did not do while on Spike
ReplyDeleteDolan is the worst!!
ReplyDeleteI assume it has to do with Panda forgetting TNA exists. It''s like if your wife gets a Kohls card and you are the bill payer and every month it's like....crap...I forgot about that card..and race to the computer to pay it.
ReplyDeleteWhich just seems silly. Why pay MSG? Brooklyn is RIGHT THERE and half the price. You can still say you're in NYC. I guess he want's the "achievement"?
ReplyDeleteJohnson also said how TNA went over budget for the "One Night Only" tapings. Shame they are in financial troubles as their product has been strong since moving to Destination America
ReplyDeleteI think so. They want to be part of the history.
ReplyDeleteI just can't get into the Lucha Dragons.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and they really have been hitting a barrage of great episodes for the past month.
ReplyDeleteLucha? Lucha? Lucha?
ReplyDeleteTNA should go out of business. The BoD can group together and start our own number 3 promotion.
ReplyDeleteIf this was 10 years ago, you know that the Lucha Dragons would have a gimmick based off of Nacho Libre. Make it 13, and they would be based off of Lucha Lucha, and Sin Cara would get a churro eating gimmick while wearing the attire of The Flea.
ReplyDeleteOr have someone from the BoD buy TNA, slowly hire everyone from here to work there, then we can slowly turn the company around.
ReplyDeleteAs is tradition.
ReplyDeleteProud of the LUCHA DRAGONS~! Kalisto has been one of my favorites for a LONG time and I'm glad Hunico/Sin Cara is getting his due. He made the best out of a busted opportunity, he comes off as a guy who truly loves wrestling and worked hard to succeed. It's funny that in the long-term he actually one his feud with Mistico. Mistico got to keep the name and gimmick in Mexico but BUSTED on the big stage and is now back where he started while Hunico gets Sin Cara gimmick and is close to actually making something legit out of it. Very proud of Hunico!
ReplyDeleteWould it be hard to have a Top 5 wrestling promotion?
ReplyDeleteBased on all of the actives going on there, you could argue that Orlando has become the home city.
ReplyDeleteThey do this in a lot of cities. In Chicago they run the Rosemont Horizon rather than the United Center.
ReplyDeleteMissed the relevancy boat by a few good years, but I suppose it's Dana's company.
ReplyDeleteisn't BoD Raw already a top 5 wrestling promotion?
ReplyDeleteI know it has better writing than a top 5 wrestling promotion.
ReplyDeleteDolan is arrogant AND incompetent. Always a winning combination.
ReplyDeleteI miss MUCHA LUCHA~!
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered why they never use the United Center when they come to Chicago, but this makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI kinda can't stop watching Drake gag after getting sexually assaulted by Madonna
ReplyDeletehalf of which will get injured during training...
ReplyDeleteSurely the theme music that sounds like it come straight out of a bad Mexican restaurant can't be putting you off?
ReplyDeleteOr the childish taunt?
Or the infant-like chant?
Surely not..