Hi Scott
Humour me for 2 minutes and run through these 10 words/phrases and say which WRESTLER comes to mind first. Don't think about it - just whoever immediately pops into your head. I think it will not only tell us a lot about your fandom, but also something about wrestlers with genuine legacies. So...
1. WCW
Ric Flair.
2. Intercontinental Title
Honky Tonk Man.
3. Canada
Bret Hart.
4. ECW
Paul Heyman.
5. Attitude Era
Steve Austin.
6. Wrestlemania
Shawn Michaels.
7. Tag Team
Hart Foundation.
8. NWA Champion
Harley Race.
9. Raw
Vince McMahon.
10. Starrcade
Dusty Rhodes.
Sent from my iPhone
Kofi Kingston.
1. Bischoff
ReplyDelete2. Honky
3. Bret
4. Sandman
5. Vince
6. Hogan
7. Harts
8. Flair
9. Austin
10. Flair
Raw was the only one that didn't immediately lead me to a name.
This. Remember the story from Jericho's first book where Bischoff literally said they were gonna have the nWo help him win the TV title for no reason and they'd figure out an explanation later (which they never did)?
ReplyDeleteThe nWo completely dominated WCW's creative focus because Bischoff was over the moon that he'd come up with/stolen an idea that trumped Vince. He never bothered coming up with anything else for anyone else, at that time or since.
I agree the DX Tank is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking NWA Champion
ReplyDeleteSee Mike, smoking is bad.
ReplyDeleteI'll play.
ReplyDelete1. WCW
Cruiserweights. I started watching in 1998, and this is what differentiated them from WWF to me.
2. Intercontinental Title
The Rock, but that's probably because I'm watching the Attitude Era Raws on the Network right now.
3. Canada
Benoit/Jericho.
4. ECW
Paul Heyman.
5. Attitude Era
Stone Cold.
6. Wrestlemania
Undertaker, for better or worse.
7. Tag Team
For the benefit of those with flash photography...
8. NWA Champion
Flair.
9. Raw
Triple H, for better or worse. I thankfully skipped his reign of terror but it's one of the many reasons I think he's the most associative wrestler to this particular show, longevity being the main one.
10. Starrcade
Goldberg, since the matches with Nash and Hart are two of the only three Starrcade main events I can remember watching. Fuck a Starrcade.
1. WCW
ReplyDeleteSting.
2. Intercontinental Title
Ultimate Warrior, for some reason.
3. Canada
Bret.
4. ECW
RVD.
5. Attitude Era
Austin.
6. Wrestlemania
HBK.
7. Tag Team
Owen/Bulldog.
8. NWA Champion
Flair.
9. Raw
Austin.
10. Starrcade
Kevin Nash. And cattle prods.
You know, for WCW's Wrestlemania, Starrcade had a ton of triple-coilers.
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't?
ReplyDeleteGotta admit, DX was my first thought as well.
ReplyDeletePlus, Sting and Hogan were never close in WCW. They had common enemies, were allied at times, but they never felt like they anything more than an uneasy coexistence where neither guy fully trusted the other.
ReplyDeleteHogan turning on Sting would have felt like playing out the expected.
Hogan turning on Savage, no matter how often they did it to each other, always felt, as you said, like a shocking betrayal.
That escalated quickly
ReplyDeleteThe small rings made WCW forever number two for me, even when they were in front with the ratings. It just looked second rate.
ReplyDelete1. now
ReplyDelete2. Randy Savage
3. Bret Hart
4. Paul Hey man
5. Steve Austin
6. Hulk Hogan
7. Demolition
8. Ric Flair
9. Steve Austin
10. Ric Flair
Keep the title on Flair, have Hogan beat the man that was WCW for the title
ReplyDeleteHuh, never heard of him. Is he related to Maggle?
ReplyDeleteLuger beating Giant and losing to Hogan would've been an ok reason for Giant to join the NWO.
ReplyDelete"You guys put me in there with Luger because you thought I wasn't good enough, so now I'm NWO to make you all pay."
Simple enough.
The title picture was irrelevant. The nWo was the star and it didn't matter who Hogan beat. They could have paid off the DDP thing and let him win the title. Then Hogan could just beat him at Road Wild or whatever
ReplyDeleteOh this post is about the Giant. Hmmmm.....I wonder if Hall and Nash got paid more than him for Road Wild
ReplyDeleteThis was my question, so thanks for tackling it Scott. I just find this to be one of the most intriguing "what if?" periods in wrestling. You've got a really young and dominant world champ, who is improving week by week and incredibly agile for a big man...you've got a reformed Horsemen straddling the line between heel and face, depending on who they go after, Steven Regal doing a brilliant heel act, the arrival of Rey Misterio Jr...but it all gets subsumed by the nWo angle. Especially the Giant, who loses the title, then joins the nWo, and kicks off his endless round of turning face and heel and who never seems as motivated again.
ReplyDeleteI liked the fact that everyone in WCW was a defacto face even if they were heels. For me it added to the reality of the angle.
ReplyDeleteThey shoulda screwed the PPV audience and postponed the main event. There was NO WAY they were going to top anything that came in the prior two segments, so why not go outside the box? The Outsiders lay out Bischoff, some lower card guys come out to check on him, then they get destroyed, too, before Sting, Luger, Steiners, and a few other relatively big names stand up to them and see Hall and Nash retreat thru the crowd. We get a few minutes of just chaos and the cameras pick up Luger saying he's not going to fight tonight. No sign off, no anything, show just fades to black with no commentary. Really put over how these guys are messing up everything.
ReplyDeletePostpone the title match til Nitro, and bill it as the winner also gets to pick his partners to take on The Outsiders at BATB. If you're gonna turn Giant later, give Lex the title, and then it's a bigger deal when the World Champion gets knocked out of the BATB six man. Then Lex can challenge Hogan afterward for Hog Wild. Maybe run Sting/Savage vs Outsiders (what we pretty much had at BATB) in a street fight or something.
1. WCW: Sting
ReplyDelete2. Intercontinental Title: Mr. Perfect
3. Canada: Bret Hart
4. ECW: Heyman
5. Attitude Era: Austin
6. Wrestlemania: Vince
7. Tag Team: Demolition
8. NWA Champion: Flair
9. Raw: Austin
10. Starrcade: Sting
1. WCW: Ric Flair
ReplyDelete2. Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho
3. Canada: Bret Hart
4. ECW: Sandman
5. Attitude era: Austin
6. WrestleMania: Hulk Hogan
7. Tag Team: Edge & Christian
8. NWA Champion: Ric Flair
9. Raw: Austin
10. Starrcade: Sting
You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!
ReplyDeleteBig Bubba v. John Tenta Sock Full of Quarters on a poll match at BATB was ( . Y . ) , thats why the feud must continue damn it!
ReplyDeleteOr charisma
ReplyDeleteIf this were a WWE feature, HHH would be the correct answer for ALL of them
ReplyDeleteHeenan's beef with Schiavone was that he would hide the finishes from them and make himself look smartest. His anger with Schiavone came from the objections to Heenan saying a goodbye to Monsoon on air.
ReplyDeleteTo Schiavone's credit he said he deserved the shade and still wanted to personally apologize to Heenan for the way he acted. And he seemed pretty sincere about it.
It's the size of a frying pan.
ReplyDeleteHHH is the answer for 2,5,6 and 9.
ReplyDeleteWwe network also still crashes my roku. Bryan Alvarez reported that it's happening alot and that it relates to WWE being cheap with some of the compression stream software
ReplyDelete1. WCW
ReplyDeleteSting
2. Intercontinental Title
Shawn and Razor (tie)
3. Canada
Bret Hart.
4. ECW
Joey Styles unique distinct commentary
5. Attitude Era
DX
6. Wrestlemania
Hogan
7. Tag Team
Outsiders
8. NWA Champion
Flair 9. Raw
Austin
10. Starrcade
Hogan v Sting (most psyched I have ever been for a match)
Sent from my iPhone
Zack Ryder
samesies
ReplyDeleteReally? Is there footage of it, or was it in writing or in person?
ReplyDeleteNo idea why I have found this so fascinating through the years. I just want those two to get along.
Look up the old Ross Report with Schiavone on it. They go into pretty good detail. And look up any Heenan shoot for his comments on that and the Monsoon stuff. I'm kind of fascinated by it too.
ReplyDeleteHarlem Heat the biggest heels of the night to the redneck biker crowd.
ReplyDeleteReally part of the end game, or one of them at least, should have been The Giant becoming an ubber face.
ReplyDeleteQuite frankly they should have danced to win the crowd over.
ReplyDeleteThey were skeptical whether Hogan would actually turn up until the day of the show so I'm guessing they didn't put any long-term plans in motion for his heel turn.
ReplyDeleteWrong.
ReplyDeleteThe answer to all of these is Triple H.
)(*^*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*
ReplyDeleteSmoking also makes your body get rid of some drugs faster than usual. When you quit smoking, it may change the levels of these drugs. Though it’s not truly withdrawal, this change can cause problems and add to the discomfort of quitting.
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/5
"NO SMOKING"
WCW: HHH singly handily put out of business
ReplyDeleteIC belt HHH 5 time champion
Canada: HHH wasn't born there who gives a shit
4. ECW HHH was too big to wrestle there
5. Attitude Era: HHH Saved the WWE
6. Wrestlemania HHH
7. Tag Team: HHH and ..that guy...uhm....wore chaps I think...Micheal something
8. NWA Champion: should have been Terra Ryzing
9. Raw: HHH
10 Starrcade: doesn't matter until they do StarCade and it stars HHH
1. WCW
ReplyDeleteSting
2. Intercontinental Title
Savage
3. Canada
Bret Hart.
4. ECW
Raven
5. Attitude Era
Steve Austin.
6. Wrestlemania
Shawn Michaels.
7. Tag Team
Midnight Express
8. NWA Champion
Flair
9. Raw
Cena
10. Starrcade
Flair
The Giant going NWO was a last-minute decision, as WCW thought they had Davey Boy Smith signed, sealed, and delivered, but he changed his mind and re-upped at the last moment with the WWF. Giant vs. Nash was supposed to be a big program, and in retrospect the whole deal with Giant going NWO was a mistake--Sullivan never liked doing it because he didn't fit as an ex-WWF guy.
ReplyDelete1.WCW Goldberg
ReplyDelete2.Intercontinental Championship Razor Ramon
3.Canada Bret Hart
4.ECW Paul heyman
5.Attiude Era Steve Austin
6.Wrestlemania Undertaker
7. Tag Team Edge and Christian
8.NWA Championship Eazy E (Sorry too young for the wrestling NWA)
9.Raw Triple H
10.Starrcade Sting
Sent from my Iphone Tyler Breeze
WCW: Brad Armstrong
ReplyDeleteIC: Road Dogg
3. Canada: Bruce Hart
4. ECW: Ian Rotten
5. Attitude Era: Beaver Cleavage
6. Wrestlemania: Rocky Miavia
7: Tag Team: Young Mother Fucking Stallions
8: NWA Champion: Ronnie Garvin
9: Raw: Bastin Booger
10: Starrcade: Nick Patrick
wait....what are we doing?
Listening now. Can't believe I missed this episode. Thank you! A shame it's so short though. The stories Tony could tell...
ReplyDeleteLiked it better when I said it first. . .
ReplyDeleteSurprising how many different answers have been given to the WCW wrestler.
ReplyDeleteLuger giant was good too
ReplyDeleteSerious answers:
ReplyDeleteWCW: Sting
IC: Honky
Canada: Bret
ECW: Dreamer
Attitude: Austin
Mania: HBK
Tag Team: Demolition
NWA Champion: Flair
Raw: HHH
Starrcade: Flair
Bret as the 3rd man to take over the dirty stinky rotten WCW.
ReplyDeleteSo this is where they finally confirm the Horsemen are a unit to set up what felt like 8 years of Jeff Jarrett kind of being a member but nobody really liking him so he kind of wasn't.
ReplyDeleteHogan would have been back in the WWF in 1997 as a Midcard act with the IC title if that would have happened. May have gotten back in the main event by late 1998.
ReplyDeleteThey gave him Loch Ness' music and I was hoping Loch Ness was returning to squash Malenko.
ReplyDeleteWCW: Sting
ReplyDeleteIC: Perfect
Canada: Bret
ECW: Raven
Attitude: Austin
Mania: Hogan
Tag Team: LOD
NWA: Flair
Raw: Austin
Starcade: Flair
Sent from my iPhone: Seth Rollins
Where is Just Joe - aka Joe E. Legend on that list?
ReplyDeleteSomeone finally got it right.
ReplyDeleteHey, someone should make a super-hilarious Triple H joke! Why has no one done that yet?
ReplyDeleteHey - he worked three matches while on the Panthers. After that they had no competes clauses for injury purposes. He was better than Bill Fradeuck.
ReplyDeleteBig Show is a legend. If there was a second major promotion - he'd be your world champ.
ReplyDeletehi hhh?
ReplyDeleteI fall asleep every time I try to watch Hogan vs. Piper from Starrcade - but kind of like the disasterous Hogan vs. Warrior II match from Halloween Havoc. What is wrong with me?
ReplyDeleteI know Kevin Greene had to stop wrestling because the NFL started disallowing their players from wrestling, but that was in 1998 and Greene retired after the 1999 season. Was there ever talk of him coming back to WCW in 2000? Had the people who liked him all left or did he want to avoid the clusterfrick that WCW had become by that point or did he just get bored with wrestling and move on to other things?
ReplyDeleteSavage had slapped Hogan in the face and brained him in the head with the championship belt in 1989. That was a good enough reason to leg drop Savage for the turn.
ReplyDeleteI had totally forgotten about Loch Ness so rewatching him on the Network made me think "Huh, they gave him Mysterios old music." I believe that was the Zodiacs too?
ReplyDeletehow about Terra Ryzin being the answer to WCW??
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that in 1996 that it had been Zodiacs - but to me the music fit a shark (not John Tenta).
ReplyDeleteI'm still sad that Hogan vs. Mongo never happened. Even Steve Austin got to better Bongo.
ReplyDeleteYeah. They had disagreements in the past but they settled it like men in the ring. This was just a cheap shot for no reason.
ReplyDeleteBut you don't matter. I do.
ReplyDeleteNot copying any of Scott's answers:
ReplyDelete1: Four Horsemen
2: Randy Savage
3: Lance Storm
4: Raven
5: Mr. McMahon
6: Undertaker
7: Midnight Express
8: Ric Flair
9: Steve Austin
10: Ric Flair
iPhone: Dixie Carter.
Scott took my first choices on 3, 5, 8, and 9. Most of his others would have been in my first three.
Sent from my iPhone: JTG.
ReplyDeleteSting/Regal is one of my favorite forgotten matches ever; Especially because of the twists on the usual Sting spots, like blocking the Stinger splash.
ReplyDeletetouche. . . .LOL
ReplyDeleteHe just never really fit into the nWo. He wasn't ready to do anything more than be a really big guy who went "ARGH!" a lot.
ReplyDeleteWCW: Sting
ReplyDeleteIntercontinental Title: Ultimate Warrior
Canada: Bret Hart
ECW: Tommy Dreamer
Attitude Era: Stone Cold
WrestleMania: Hulk Hogan
Tag Team: Road Warriors
NWA Champion: Ric Flair
RAW: The Rock
Starrcade: Ric Flair
Sent from my iPhone: Kevin Nash
Is there a way to have threads auto-posted?
ReplyDeleteB/c we really need that for weekend daily threads. We have 4 or 5 people who have posting privileges and yet there's no daily thread up
you undersold ec3 speech, that was hilarious can't wait for him to become world champion
ReplyDeleteI'll post one.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the Davey contract saga in the Observers is interesting, because at first Dave is absolutely certain that Bulldog giving notice is just a bargaining tactic, and then I guess as it went along WCW started throwing more and more money at him. For a guy who tanked multiple PPV main events! He would have been a really weird fit in the group, too.
ReplyDeleteCool dude
ReplyDeleteOr cruiserweights. They HATED Malenko and Benoit and their ****1\2 match.
ReplyDeleteI really wish they'd put the Japan Supershows on the Network. I wonder if WCW actually owned the rights or if they presented it and had WCW announcers do the voice overs, ala the Global Force/Wrestle Kingdom deal.
ReplyDeleteHe really didn't have that cool/gang personality the initial nWo had.
ReplyDeleteAnd Giant was only in the nWo a couple of months, so there was really no point to it.
ReplyDeleteGood point. 2001 is a pretty good year for PPVs. Yeah, the Invasion wasn't what it could be and the Attitude Era "ended" at Mania, but overall it's a solid year of PPVs.
ReplyDelete1. WCW: Sting
ReplyDelete2. IC: Honky Tonk Man
3. Canada: Bret Hart
4. ECW: Raven
5. Attitude Era: Stone Cold
6. Wrestlemania: Hulk Hogan
7: Tag Team: Road Warriors
8: NWA Champion: Dusty Rhodes
9: Raw: Shawn Michaels
10: Starrcade: Ric Flair
Sent from my iPhone: Paul Heyman
I think Bischoff was so tied up in the NWO stuff that he just kind of let everything else go because it was working. He hated the Horsemen and was never going to give them a fair shake.
ReplyDeletePlus, it made more sense to have all of WCW have to band together in order to try and take down the NWO. This PPV through Fall Brawl is just fantastic stuff with real motives.
In a matter of a month, it seemed completely reasonable that two guys with baseball bats could take out an entire wrestling company.
ReplyDeleteIf the stories are true, Rey got a standing ovation from the boys in the back upon walking through the curtain after the match. It's one of the greatest star making performances in the history of wrestling.
ReplyDeleteI think it's just an oversight. Probably just because of the category they fell in -- much like the No Holds Barred Movie/Match PPV and the WWF Hot Ticket series (Wrestlemania: History and Heroes and Hulk Hogan: A Real American Story) the JSS shows were 'special events' that were non-live, cut-rate shows. They still have the WCW production credits.
ReplyDeleteIn Diana's book she mentions him negotiating with WCW and Hogan calling to talk him into it but he didn't like how his first run went there so he really wasn't serious about jumping.
ReplyDeleteI still remember Malenko's shining moment when he had that monster face pop when he was disguised as some luchador only to unmask and beat the ever-loving shit out of Jericho. I think that was Slamboree '98.
ReplyDeleteI disagree and preferred WCW's rings at that time because the mat seemed more solid or boxing-like than WWE's, which were always bouncier to me, in comparison. I always pictured WWE guys being on a trampoline compared to WCW wrestlers at the time.
ReplyDeleteNash almost broke Wight's neck the last time he powerbombed him.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they do. Maybe they'll do a big international themed dump of PPVs. I know the England shows are on there (One Night Only, Rebellion, etc...) but it would be great to see When Worlds Collide, Collision in Korea, and the Global Warning PPV WWE did in Australia.
ReplyDeleteJericho was such an awesome heel he got a guy over that wasn't even on tv. Classic bully gets what's coming to him story.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Jericho did give Malenko a boost there but so did Dean, especially behind the scenes in terms of his in-ring ability. Of course, Malenko never rose to Jericho's heights but he was a very underrated worker and one of my personal favorites at the time.
ReplyDeleteAs a former Pro-Bowl NFL player and key contributor to a Super Bowl Champion, yeah, he was a badass...who happened to be shit in-ring. But he sold his role well in WCW.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't help that the company was being booked on cocktail napkins between lapdances at The Gold Club...
ReplyDeleteI accepted in 1996 because I figured you could reason that Hogan literally "knocked some sense into him" and because Hogan and Sullivan both tried to kayfaybe him as Andre's son in 1995 - I kind of accepted it. But then it only lasted three months once they went a different direction with the nWo. I thought Show was good as a face - but not really a good heel once you got rid of the cartoon stuff.
ReplyDeleteAt least the end of his first one allowed WCW to debut The Boss (and man, is he big). You think Eric would have know the lawyers would call when Hall and Nash showed up on Nitro after having Boss Man show up as the Boss Man. Vince apparently had no hard feelings for Traylor, because his second run lasted from 1998-2002 and who knows if he hadn't died in 2004/06 that maybe he'd get a legends run or a TNA paycheck as a bodyguard gimmick.
ReplyDeleteSadly that was true. I think the infamous drunk Hennig show where Bischoff drops a F-word on a live mic thinking it was dead was when I knew how messed up that promotion was.
ReplyDeleteDo it when you get at work in the morning or during your break. Don't worry about it right now. Work on it when you can - don't rush it.
ReplyDeleteIn June 1996 - I didn't totally buy Luger as a face due to the heel stuff. I was convinced he was the third guy and jobbing to Giant was just a smokescreen.
ReplyDeleteJust seems like WCW didn't know what to do with The Giant in general. He farted around, did nothing with the nWo, then did nothing once turning in them.
ReplyDelete1-10: DA MOUNTIE~!
ReplyDeleteSent from my iPhone: Matt Striker...or Seth Rollins
ReplyDeleteHell, even Vader destroying Monsoon was pretty amazing for that time.
ReplyDeleteI know, that's why it isn't a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about Big Lazy damn near crippling Show.
ReplyDeleteTrack this down? The Network is free for the month. You can literally watch it right this second for nothing.
ReplyDeleteI literally starting laughing out loud when he started shouting that. It was perfect.
ReplyDeleteOne thing Scott didn't mention that I thought was a nice touch was that Tony told a story about asking Mongo why he would have left the Bears for their rivals the Green Bay Packers and Mongo's answer was, "Money." Plan and simple. Tony told it as just an antidote but when Debra came out with the briefcase of money it looked like foreshadowing. Was very nicely done.
ReplyDeleteI also liked how Tony and Dusty kept pointing out how the football guys were showing their greenness by hitting big moves and not going for covers. Then it was really paid off right before Arn clipped Greene; he hit a big move and got up and started dancing and celebrating, like a goof, facing his partner and not Arn, then he got clipped. Really told a good in match story.
On a totally different side note: that Frankensteiner on Norton was terrible. I always hated Norton.
Underrated worker? He was/is hailed as one of the best workers of all time.
ReplyDeleteI feel like they should have saved the Piper thing for 97 and had Luger chase Hogan to Starrcade 96. Nwo dominates for months,Lex finally gives WCW hope by winnin WW3,challenges Hogan for Starrcade. Turn Savage at that show, paying off the contentious relationship with Luger and making Macho nwo. Rip the fans hearts out and make it look bleak for WCW. The good guys challenge the nWo for the first Souled Out, three on three, only this time WCW promises a surprise third man. Luger, Flair and a mystery man vs Savage, Hall, Nash with people expecting Sting. Roddy piper shows up as third man, Hogan shits, and WCW gets the win at nWo's own ppv. Do Hogan vs Piper, Luger vs Macho before bringing Sting back WCW 4 life
ReplyDelete"Also, a butt, if you will, to the face." -- Dusty during Tenta/Bubber
ReplyDeleteseriously. some the people here just beat jokes to death and still think they are being so witty and clever. bret/tears jokes are a perfect example
ReplyDeleteBacklash 00/Judgment Day 00
ReplyDeleteDollhouse is pretty awesome so far. I hope we can see some good matches from them in the future. Dollhouse vs Havok/Kong/Kim anyone?
ReplyDelete