Possible New Feud for Roman Reigns
Reigns is currently booked for house show matches against Kane, meaning there could be a possible feud between the two coming up.
Credit Dave Meltzer, Wresting Observer Newsletter
Former WWE Writer Blogs About How the Company Views the Divas
Writer Kevin Eck stated how he was told when employed by the company that there were no faces or heels in the Divas Division but rather they were a "bunch of catty chicks" that most of whom were mentally unstable. Click on the link below to view more of the article
http://kevineckwrestling.sportsblog.com/posts/2218634/to-truly-give-divas-a-chance--wwe-needs-to-give-them-better-creative.html
Wolfpac Interview
Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman were interviewed by Sports Illustrated were they revealed that the Undertaker nearly jumped ship to WCW in 2000 among other things. You can click on the link below to read the article.
http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/04/23/wwe-wcw-wolfpac-kevin-nash-scott-hall
And, make sure to head on over to Place to be Nation and vote in the "Greatest Wrestling Theme Song" tournament. You can vote by clicking on the link below.
http://placetobenation.com/ptbns-greatest-wrestling-theme-song-tournament-victoria-tx-region-round-3/
Reigns is currently booked for house show matches against Kane, meaning there could be a possible feud between the two coming up.
Credit Dave Meltzer, Wresting Observer Newsletter
Former WWE Writer Blogs About How the Company Views the Divas
Writer Kevin Eck stated how he was told when employed by the company that there were no faces or heels in the Divas Division but rather they were a "bunch of catty chicks" that most of whom were mentally unstable. Click on the link below to view more of the article
http://kevineckwrestling.sportsblog.com/posts/2218634/to-truly-give-divas-a-chance--wwe-needs-to-give-them-better-creative.html
Wolfpac Interview
Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman were interviewed by Sports Illustrated were they revealed that the Undertaker nearly jumped ship to WCW in 2000 among other things. You can click on the link below to read the article.
http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/04/23/wwe-wcw-wolfpac-kevin-nash-scott-hall
And, make sure to head on over to Place to be Nation and vote in the "Greatest Wrestling Theme Song" tournament. You can vote by clicking on the link below.
http://placetobenation.com/ptbns-greatest-wrestling-theme-song-tournament-victoria-tx-region-round-3/
Yes! Reigns vs. Kane -- the feud we've all been waiting for.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't buy taker jumping ship when WCW was on the eve of collapse.
ReplyDeleteTaker was going there to bury WCW and make them Rest In Peace.
ReplyDeleteWhy would taker go from being in a very successful company and being the locker room leader to a very unsuccessful company?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can think is that they're putting him in there with guys they know won't get cheered over him. So, lame as it may be, I guess I get it.
ReplyDeleteSo the story says that Taker became the American Badass to get that
ReplyDeletegimmick over so that he could jump to
WCW as a biker guy called Mark Calloway, leaving the Dead Man stuff behind. I
guess it’s *possible*. Taker debuted that gimmick in May 2000 when it’s
MAYBE plausible that some thought Russo and Bischoff might turn WCW around
still. But it didn’t take long for everyone to work out they couldn’t.
why not put him in a hot feud instead of one with 2 guys with x-pac heat?
ReplyDeleteThey were trying to get the jump on Aces & 8's
ReplyDeleteThat was such a weird jump going from dead-man to a biker.
ReplyDeleteRemember how *awesome* Reigns is now and how he’s having all
ReplyDeletethese amazing matches, carrying jabronies like Bryan and Brock to four star
matches? Let’s see him work his magic with Show and Kane over the next few
months.
It really wipes my ass when people doing the highlights for games can't pronounce a players name properly.
ReplyDeleteBecause a "hot feud" would likely mean being with someone the crowd likes- face or heel- and thus more boos for Reigns.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying I agree with it, I'm just playing devil's advocate.
I remember Backlund working for a small indy promotion and he kept asking Hogan for a title match.
ReplyDelete"....a 'bunch of catty chicks' that most of whom were mentally unstable"
ReplyDeleteSo he booked them like regular women? Who says art doesn't imitate life?
Hopefully it's Scuba Kane.
ReplyDelete... I don't think anyone was saying that Reigns carried Brock or Bryan.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a chance to read the entire interview yet but did see a snippet last night. I took the whole Taker deal to mean he was going to jump prior to 2000 (maybe 1998?) as himself with a biker element but instead stayed and eventually went that route sans his real name. Could be wrong though.
ReplyDelete"Hey Kev, Pac, we got this interview with Sports Illustrated comin' up, we should give them something juicy, you know? Get our names back out there in the sheets."
ReplyDelete"I can talk some more about Chyna..."
"After that video, nobody needs to know anything else about that!"
"I know, let's talk about how Taker almost came to WCW in 2000!"
"Is that true?"
"Nah, but who cares? We say, SI runs with it, and we'll get the sheets talking for a while."
Remember like 4-5 years ago when they got obsessed with changing finishes to "swerve the smarks" regardless of storyline and logic? Watch them do the same thing here and put Kane over clean for no reason.
ReplyDeleteWith all the money Bischoff was throwing around you could safely say everyone was close to jumping from the WWE to WCW at that time.
ReplyDeleteBased on this description, the latest jericho sounds like a good listen: its the great Monday Night Wars Debate featuring Eric Bischoff for WCW, Bruce Prichard for WWE, & Y2J moderating the discussion! They're covering defections, the NWO, DX invading WCW in a tank, Medusa trashing the belt, Rick Rude doing both shows on the same night, the Montreal Screw Job, the ultimate downfall of WCW, and wait till you hear some of the ideas that never made it to camera!
ReplyDeleteSometime in 2000:
ReplyDeleteHall: "Hey yo. You guys think we can get the big guy to come to WCW?"
Nash: "I'm already here!
Hall: "No, I mean the Deadman."
Nash: "No. He's pretty much locked up with Vince FO LYFEEE."
Waltman: "Too SWEET!"
April 2015:
Hall: "Hey yo, yeah he almost jumped ship man."
You can tell its an exciting time in wrestling when these are the top three things I could find for the Daily Update.
ReplyDeleteBack kind worked for the AWA as of the Pro Wrestling USA banner for a few years, as the "real" WWF champ with the angle that he never lost the belt. Then he wrestled off and on in Japan. He strikes me as a guy who saved his money and didn't really need to be constantly working.
ReplyDeletehi where is dan bryan news
ReplyDeleteBruno was also a loyal guy. On top of that, as huge as he was in the northeast he didn't have much name value outside of that area
ReplyDeletehi dan bryan hurt WWE no say why
ReplyDeleteHave to imagine Bruno wouldn't have gotten over in the Carolinas like he did in New York because mostly on ethnicity.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Backlund was WWF champion from 78 to 94
ReplyDeletehi won't listen cause not tank
ReplyDeletehi is bryan hurt
ReplyDeleteSo.... how do I watch the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight next Saturday?
ReplyDeleteHad Backlund turned heel in 1984 like Vince wanted, I wonder how it would have turned out
ReplyDeletejust pay on the door should be fine
ReplyDeletedan bryn come to reng and say, hey YES! i am hurt.
ReplyDeleteradney orton cum out to sey, we no u r hurt... CUZ YOU BEEN BUZY FUKCING YOUR DADZ!!!!!!!!!11111
Would Taker have joined when WCW "reset" all the titles, circa April 2000? That's the last time I can remember WCW bringing in any new "main event" talent like Mike Awesome. I also think he hadn't returned to WWF yet, was it May 2000?
ReplyDeleteBecause late 2000 WCW was trying to save money, not spend it. Shit was actively hitting the fan by that point.
I could swear I heard of Undertaker jumping and doing some sort of dark biker character but it was before 2000.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing this Taker jump is one of those conversations that can only be confirmed by "never speaks publicly about anything" Undertaker or "will confirm anything, no matter how ridiculous or untrue, if he's paid" Kevin Nash.
ReplyDeleteCan’t think of many times Taker would have
ReplyDeletebeen *unhappy* around that time though. Mid 97 he was champion, mid 98
he was headlining with Austin and WWF was going through the roof… Mid-99 with
all the Ministry stuff? Even then I wouldn’t have thought that many people
would’ve wanted to go to WCW…
Yes More Kane!!!
ReplyDeleteI hear that Roman Reigns next feud is with the Brooklyn Brawler.
ReplyDeleteapparently Kane is so bulletproof he can do a years wort of jobs and yet still Vince thinks people think's he is a force.
ReplyDeleteMaybe why that's why there were rumors of WWE bringing back Khali. He could be Reigns' feud after Brawler.
ReplyDeleteThat was Demon Kane that did all those jobs. This is Corporate Kane, pal!
ReplyDeleteMight have overegged that bit, but he was getting far too much credit for matches involving better workers than he
ReplyDeleteProbably so when the Reigns documentary comes out Brawler can do a talking head about what a great worker Reigns is.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I enjoyed his work was when he was haunting Zack Ryder like a cheesy 80's horror film. Remember the 50 minute tire change!! Funniest shit of that year by far.
ReplyDeleteTaker to WCW in 2000: lol
ReplyDeleteI wish people would understand that one of Kevin Nash's favorite hobbies is to tell the Internet lies and watch them get all worked up about them. It's hilarious.
Reigns: So Reigns didn't get over by feuding with Show and Kane, so naturally the way to get him over now is to have him feud with Show and Kane. Brilliant.
Hell Backlund (if it was anything similar to his later heel run) vs newly face Macho Man would have been sooooooo fucking epic.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gofundme.com/helpcorporatekane
ReplyDeleteI'd actually heard the Taker rumour before, around 97 he started sniffing around for a job but supposedly Bischoff in his supreme arrogance and thinking the WWF were done for good turned him down saying that he wasn't worth anything without the Undertaker gimmick, which he wouldn't have been able to use.
ReplyDeleteKnew this would be here before I needed to post it.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, he probably wasn't worth much without the undertaker gimmick.
ReplyDeleteThe story falls apart when you consider how likely it was that Taker, loyal company man in the middle of arguably the biggest push and highest profile run he'd ever had, would jump to WCW at a time when the wheels were quite clearly coming off the rims.
ReplyDeletehi iz takur rely ded?
ReplyDeletethe furst taker had red hare and died long time ago in car crash with first uldimate warror
ReplyDeleteThat was the problem with any of the WCW purchases. Hall and Nash were fortunate enough to get past the gimmick the WWE made for them. Others couldn't.
ReplyDeleteIt's not hard to believe Taker might have talked with them at that time, remember right before the BikerTaker thing he was off TV in a contract negotiation. I'm sure he fielded offers from WCW as leverage.
ReplyDeleteWAY too long.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing what they tried to do with the Se7en gimmick for Goldust, I can only imagine what they would have tried to spin the Undertaker into.
ReplyDeletehi wur they tag teaming katty vik
ReplyDeleteYeah her and bobcat
ReplyDeleteHow about what a good friend the role model John Cena was. Let his "friend" get beaten up repeatedly without helping, made out with his girlfriend while he was being taken to the hospital, and then just kinda stopped talking to him.
ReplyDeleteSo your ass is pristine?
ReplyDeleteI saw a Raven interview where he talked about how he would book that character based on the seven deadly sins. That would be a GREAT way to book Bray Wyatt.
ReplyDeleteProbably, but he'd taken every single guy who had any sort of run in WWF, so I'm surprised he didn't do it just to fuck with Vince and have him out there jobbing to Hogan as "Mean" Mark Calloway.
ReplyDeleteSo that would be a good thing? Or does your ass not need wiping?
ReplyDeleteI'm so confused.
Can't wait until they get to gluttony and have Bray team with Concession Stand Kane.
ReplyDeleteDidn't he try booking a 7 deadly sins angle on Sunday Night Heat back when no one in management watched it and then it got killed off when he asked someone if it was OK if he did something?
ReplyDeleteThey did just hire Samoa Joe...
ReplyDeleteYep -- Nash had that infamous claim of Rock being gay on one of his shoot interviews. He does leave just enough "maybe?" on his claims though. I seriously doubt Taker almost went to WCW, but there is that "maybe?" aspect. Ditto Rock -- not that I really care, but when Nash said that I went, "no...well, possibly..."
ReplyDeleteI doubt anyone cared that much. He was a big bruiser who was well known as the biggest star of his day. People aren't gonna start cheering for Flair just because they don't cotton to no Eyetalians round them parts.
ReplyDeleteI believe so.
ReplyDeleteSo they just need to hint that instead of the island, he's named after the girl scout cookie?
ReplyDeleteRocky did talk about pie a lot, almost in a "the lady doth protest too much" sort of way.
ReplyDeletehi he dedman so me say yes
ReplyDeleteYeah -- he would do well on Crockett shows in Philly, Baltimore, DC, Meadowlands, etc., but in the Carolinas and Georgia? Not so much especially being an older guy that wasn't great on the mic to really set himself apart.
ReplyDeleteThat entrance was really cool though. He only came out once right?
ReplyDeleteHere I am wiping my own ass like a loser...
ReplyDeleteWCW in 2000 was a sinking ship. No way was 'Taker going there.
ReplyDeleteI remember that angle too -- it was kind of funny, but also like, "you do realize you're as far from MSG as you can get, right?" It's like someone fired from a TV show doing an interview from a porn set trying to get back on the mainstream TV. Interesting, but the chances of it happening are nil.
ReplyDeleteJust imagine, you could have someone from SportsCenter come over and do it for you, while mispronouncing some Russian hockey player's last name!
ReplyDeleteExactly!
ReplyDeleteHe may have done the entrance, then immediately did the breaking character "shoot" where he bitched about the angle. There may have been more to it than that, but not much more.
ReplyDeleteYeah I don't know, the 80s was a different time. You might be right since JYD and other blacks were over huge down south, I just don't think Bruno would've been as over as he was in NY, with its large Italian population.
ReplyDeleteIt was one of two options:
ReplyDelete1.) Show up and join the nWo
2.) Show up, fight and job to the nWo
I think Taker made the better business decision in the long run.
That's how I remember it. Did the entrance where he "floated" down to the ring and then rubbished the gimmick saying he left WWF to get away from Goldust type shit and wanted to be Dustin Rhodes.
ReplyDeleteI think part of it was that Standards and Practices told them they had to kill the character because in on of the vignettes he's looking through a window into a little boys room while saying his cryptic mumbo-jumbo and people complained thinking he was a pedophille.
If you think about it. The seven deadly sins angle would have been good to use against the McMahon family.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the white knight brigade will be aghast at how sexist and misogynistic a view that is... but anyone that has ever worked with a large group of women will know that isn't a totally unfair portrayal.
ReplyDeleteEspecially considering that Austin and Rock were gone by 2002 and Taker ruled Smackdown for a long time.
ReplyDeleteTTFGGI
ReplyDelete*Top 5 handshake*
I don't watch Total Divas, but from what I've heard and the clips I've seen, this is an accurate portrayal of how they seem to be on the show.
ReplyDeletehi I top 6 can I join club
ReplyDeleteI dunno, man. I've never worked with a large group of men who shit in each other's bags and food, either.
ReplyDeleteGo get me a Diet Creamsicle Shasta and I'll consider it.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading that in the Dr. Nick voice.
ReplyDeleteMeh, even if Rock is gay, he's still more awesome than Nash ever was.
ReplyDeleteThis tag team match has way too many high spots for a Smackdown main event.
ReplyDeleteYou've never lived in a college dorm?
ReplyDeleteI have, for all four years of my undergrad. And that never happened.
ReplyDeleteDude, your college experience SUCKED.
ReplyDeleteI guess to be fair to them they do call it the "Divas" division not the womans division. Google's definition of "diva": "a woman regarded as temperamental or haughty."
ReplyDeletehi those bitches are haughty
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I didn't get to play with feces like you did.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Cox sheds some light on the Daredevil season 2 shooting schedule and who'd he like to see show up:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.superherohype.com/news/338339-charlie-cox-shares-wishes-for-season-2-of-marvels-daredevil#/slide/1
A Bruno/Joe Gomez feud would have killed it across the country. He had a heck of a clothesliner.
ReplyDeleteStop hatin'
ReplyDeleteYeah, because that's who we need to get Roman Reigns strong, more Kane.
ReplyDeleteMOAR KANE!!1
ReplyDeleteSo I guess that also means he's not turning face as this Rollins/Orton feud is trying to lead us into believing then.
ReplyDelete3.) Show up, fight and job to the nWo. Join nWo.
ReplyDeleteIf there's one thing Nash is good at (besides putting his hand in his pocket), it's working us marks
ReplyDeleteSo why have Reigns pin Rollins clean in a tag match and not go feud for the title? Oh wait... that was on Smackdown, so it doesn't count.
ReplyDeleteStill intrigued by that Rosie Mack chick:
ReplyDeletehttps://instagram.com/p/10Xn5jGM-n/?taken-by=rosiemacc
The stuff my wife tells me when she gets home from work is mind-boggling. Her department is mostly women and honestly it's like she works at a high school.
ReplyDelete4.) Show up, join nWo. Leave, fight and job to the nWo.
ReplyDeleteAll in the same night.
ReplyDeleteYep. That's the Russo way.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping the Wyatt stuff would lead to a feud with Reigns. It would be good for the both of them.
ReplyDeleteGood job, we just booked a single five minute segment on Russo's Nitro.
ReplyDeleteWell done everybody.
Given that he's still working 15 years later, I'd agree. If I knew I was near the end of my career, though I'd strongly consider a massive pay raise for significantly less work, even if I had to go full-blown Job Squad.
ReplyDeleteInstead of pairing Reigns with Rollins to improve his ring work, we get Kane and Big Show.
ReplyDeleteSo are Big Show and Kane the default feuds for everybody post Mania?
ReplyDeleteStop shitting in people's food!
ReplyDeleteThat Pam from HR is such a bitch
ReplyDeleteBut if I don't, who will?
ReplyDeleteSome one must be the one to bear that responsibility.
Aren't they always?
ReplyDeleteAnother reason the DH rule sucks: It allows dirtbag shit like this. He needs a fastball to the spine.
ReplyDeletehttp://screengrabber.deadspin.com/yordano-ventura-sparks-royals-white-sox-brawl-1699873170/+bubbaprog
Backlund took is money and opened a business. I think it's a heating fuel business.
ReplyDeleteBecause if he can pin the WWE Champion he might have a chance against Kane!
ReplyDeleteKane and Big Show. It's the running gag FROM HELL.
ReplyDeletehi can we have moar kane
ReplyDeleteI know it's different eras and all that, but even at his most decrepit no one ever chanted "PLEASE RETIRE" at Andre.
ReplyDeleteI could see them bring in Elektra
ReplyDeleteCrowds are ruder and more self-important now.
ReplyDeleteAndre also wasn't plastered all over TV constantly.
ReplyDeleteNo. He was plastered in the bar after the match
ReplyDeleteI'm not interested in the new Fantastic Four movie as I already saw one that's awesome...it's called The Incredibles
ReplyDeleteLike any great French athlete.
ReplyDeleteNah, that stuff will get sorted out in the locker room once enough of his teammates get plunked by proxy. It's not like his team won't get any comeuppance.
ReplyDeleteVince: See? The internet is just begging for more Big Show and Kane!
ReplyDeleteWWF business was down for years there so maybe he looked into the money in WCW. Bishoff was asked this on a podcast I listens to recently and he said Undertaker was never close to jumping...but if it's 2000 Bishoff is out of power for awhile. I could see him entertaining jumping when WCW was hit but WCW was collapsing in 2000.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe The Undertaker saw WCW in 2000 and thought "I gotta get me in on that!"
ReplyDeleteMaybe he felt that he stuck out like a sore thumb in WWF at the time thanks to the influx of new talent.
ReplyDeleteHe's the smartest guy in the wrestling business, he's making a million dollars to work once a year and (well, except last year) always win. There is no way he thought WCW paying him big bucks to be "Mean Mark" was going to last at all when Nitro is cutting an hour off the show and the production is taking away pieces of the set every week to cut costs.
ReplyDeleteMillions of dollars?
ReplyDeleteFinally Reigns gets a chance to get the Main Event rub.
ReplyDeleteFrom a company obviously circling the drain? He strikes me as a guy who protects his character and long term interests.
ReplyDeleteAs far as what they would have done with him - look at what they did when they got the (white hot at the time) Mike Awesome.
Taker would have been thrilling fat chicks while drooling tobacco spittle on them.
Very intriguing indeed.
ReplyDeleteWhile making millions of dollars.
ReplyDeleteIf he was going to jump, it would have been way before 2000. WWE was winning handily and WCW was heading down the tubes rapidly.
ReplyDeleteGuaranteed money. Taker still gets paid regardless.
ReplyDeleteIt's like '95 Diesel without the title. For some reason Vince thinks Reigns will get over by being the underdog against a bunch of slugs.
ReplyDelete1999 when he got really heavy and depressed and went off the rails with the ministry character I could have believed it. It almost seemed like some of the characters WCW was rolling out when Russo came in were bits and pieces of creepy Ministry Taker.
ReplyDelete2000 is completely not believable in any way. And the Kliq are notorious liars.
If I could get a quick couple mil out of a company before they went under, I most certainly would consider it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure if it's true at all he looks back at it like he dodged a bullet. He's now making that per match.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, they should give him the IC belt and the Goldberg push through the midcard.
ReplyDeleteSo who would he have been in WCW? Mark Calloway? Mark Callous? The Gravedigger? The Mad Mortician?
ReplyDeleteI LOL'd at this.
ReplyDeleteWhen Hogan came aboard in 1994? That probably would have been the best time since the WWF was in trouble and all of Hogan's buddies were getting good paydays. Between 1995-1998? Sure, because everyone was jumping back and forth trying to get the best deal possible. 1999? Maybe, but only because there was still money to be made and WCW still had legs. But I can't see him jumping anytime after that.
ReplyDeleteI also don't see Mr. Locker Room Boss Kangaroo court leader kowtowing to the WCW locker room where he wouldn't have had as much sway. Undertaker just loses everything if he jumps from the WWF.
ReplyDeleteVery true.
ReplyDeleteGravedigger is actually an awesome name. So WCW would naturally call him The Mad Mortician.
ReplyDeleteMILLIONS OF GUARANTEED MONEY. Why the fuck would Taker or anyone else give a shit about ratings?
ReplyDeleteI can almost see the logic here. There's no way Kane gets cheered over Reigns like Lesnar, Rollins, Bryan etc.
ReplyDeleteClearly they're going the ninja turtles arcade game route with Reigns. First he went up against Big Show, now Kane, then after that Big Show AND Kane
ReplyDeleteKinda looks like Jennifer Lawrence
ReplyDeleteTwice the money, half the work.
ReplyDeleteHe's a bit of an egomaniac. He rides around town with "DEADMAN" on his plates and totally thinks he is his character. I'm sure he cares if people are watching him.
ReplyDeleteIn 2000? I don't know how much money Taker would have gotten at that point considering that they were in belt-tightening mode.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that is why he didn't jump.
ReplyDeleteWould there have been pockets of the NWA fan base who still didn't know Bruno, even in late-1986?
ReplyDeleteI doubt the Undertaker ever made chump money in the WWF. It wasn't like an IC title level guy like Razor Ramon jumping over to make main eventer bucks.
ReplyDeletePlus take away the name Undertaker and the attending WWF trademarked stuff and he is not worth millions of dollars.
Problem is,Reigns likely won't either.More like dead silence.
ReplyDeleteThen HHH should bring Nash back so Reigns and work with Super Shredder.
ReplyDeleteSee, I can buy Taker jumping ship in 96/97, but 2000? Yeah, sorry Nash, but i call bullshit.
ReplyDeleteReally not hard for me to believe Taker saw Angle, Benoit and others suplexing the shit out of each other every night while he was on the shelf and thought, "I'm going to go down to WCW and throw fake punches back and forth with Kevin Nash for 3 million guaranteed instead".
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not saying that Undertaker would never have jumped (despite what the WWF Hype Machine claims) because money is money and you'd be a fool to pass up a guaranteed contract. But the time to jump would have been 1994-1999 when Bischoff had an open checkbook and corporate backing, not 2000 when he was ousted from power and the (real) Powers That Be were looking more closely at the balance books.
ReplyDeleteRusso: "Welcome, Mark. Here is your new gimmick....SEVEN"
ReplyDeleteTaker: "I thought Dustin was doing the Seven gimmick?"
Russo: "No your gimmick is a retarded wrestler with the mental capacity of a seven year old!"
Taker: "...."
From what I understand Bruno was only around post-84 because of a legal settlement from a lawsuit he made against the WWF and to help his son's career. Once his son's career flopped and he fulfilled the terms of his contract he bounced. He barely said anything on commentary. All he really did was say a bunch of lines whenever he was prompted. Other than that it was practically obvious even as a young fan that he did not want to be there.
ReplyDeleteThey had just brought in Russo/Ferrera and Awesome on million dollar deals. Not a stretch to think they could have afforded Taker.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty much literally the perfect co-dependent situation between the WWF and The Undertaker. He's worthless without his gimmick and his gimmick is worthless without him in the role. They're stuck with each other and required to take good care of each other. If only everybody was so lucky.
ReplyDeleteThe writing was definitely on the wall for WCW by 2000. Undertaker wasn't some 25 year old who had never cashed a big PPV check before; I'm sure he had the long term in the back of his head.
ReplyDeleteThen he called WCW and realized that he wasn't getting 3 million guaranteed without the gimmick, so he said "fuck it, I'm suck it up and deal it with".
ReplyDeleteAnyone got a recommendation on the best Rhyno match ever? How bout specifically in WWE or ECW?
ReplyDeleteReigns really has an uphill climb, first a feud against the Big Show and then Kane. What's next a 3 month Sheamus vs. Reigns feud and then who Orton again?
ReplyDeleteWithout hindsight, for someone at Taker's point in their career back in 2000, not taking the WCW money was the stupid move.
ReplyDeleteWe're pretending that WCW was responsible with their talent budget now?
ReplyDeleteRhyno vs Raven at Backlash 2001.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anybody at the time thought that WCW would be dead and buried by Spring 2001; but they were in the position TNA was in about a year ago. It did not look good and it was about to get worse.
ReplyDeleteVince: "Please don't leave taker!!"
ReplyDeleteTaker: "Twice the money for half the work, Vince."
Vince: "I'll do what ever you want! I'll pay you TWICE as much as WCW for 20 days a year!"
Taker: "15."
Vince: "10!"
Taker: "8."
Vince: "5!"
Taker: "3."
Vince: "1!"
Taker: "Deal. You drive a hard bargain, Vince."
Vince: "I TOLD you I'd get him to stay!"
*Dunn and HHH facepalm at the same time.*
" It was strongly implied that the Divas are all just a bunch of catty chicks, most of whom are mentally unstable." This is definitely the one thing they've been able to get over in the Divas division.
ReplyDeleteI don't see "Mean Mark" Callous rating a multi-million dollar deal. Undertaker? Sure. But not Mean Mark with a litany of injuries.
ReplyDelete2 different eras.....the REAL money is in a Bruno-Shane Douglas feud. I smell $$$$$$
ReplyDeleteIt'll be like Nash-Mabel, in that were silent but we know who the face is.
ReplyDeleteStill a step up from every match getting hijacked.
I can buy the Taker story only because Jarrett jumped ship in late 1999 and Lawler tried to jump ship in early 2001 after the Kat was fired.
ReplyDeleteAnd considering Taker was a dying property with all the new guys around? Yeah, stranger things have happened.
Once Bischoff was out, yeah. The bean counters were paying much closer attention in 2000.
ReplyDeleteTaker: He bought it!
ReplyDeleteNash: Whatamaneuver!
Rather see Fantastic Four than Batman v Superman.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible he was gone when this all went down (we know Nash has been a bit, shall we say...liberal with dates and times to fit his story), but I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't consider grabbing Undertaker a big coup, gimmick trademarks or not.
ReplyDelete