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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 3, 2019 6:44:53 GMT -5
Oh, man; the Shockmaster! I don't know what was more ludicrous, the silver-painted stormtrooper helmet, the outfit, or the idea of bursting through a wall. One trip immediately destroyed any chance Fred Ottman had of getting over.
Ottmman wa also Tugboat/Typhoon, in the WWF and the real life brother-in-law of Dusty Rhodes.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 3, 2019 6:49:31 GMT -5
Even as a Hogan fan, that Fingerpoke of Doom was offensive to me. Offensive? That may be too strong a word, but what was the point. Everything must have a point. Doink the Clown injuring Crush had a point, leading to a WM IX encounter. Love or hate the feud/match, it had a point. What was the point of Hogan and Nash doing that? Thanks, Cody, for all that history - and the links. Oh, World of Sport. That was the stuff I watched as a kid. I'm talking before being a teenager. It was the late 80s/early 90s when I first started watching US wrestling, but I grew up with the British guys. Of course, when the WWF arrived on satellite TV over here, its glitz and glamour put the British wrestling to shame (British wrestling aired on ITV, but was taken off the air in 1988). I mean, how could the non-glitz and non-glamour of WOS compete with the WWF? It couldn't, at least not for me. I did like that British wrestling had 2-out-of-3-falls, though. That was a USP for me. I also like how the Hacksaw Jim Duggan/Hart Foundation VS Dino Bravo/Rougeau Brothers match ( Royal Rumble 1989) utilised British rules. I can understand the glitz and level of production, but the UK style was so much more like a real sport. That's what I liked. Loved watching British workers that came through American promotions, like Billy Robinson, Les Thornton, Adrian Street (when he'd actually wrestle and not just do his "exotic" schtick), Dynamite Kid, Chris Adams, and Steven Regal. Regal talked about the psychology of the matches, which was built around the round system, so each round could tell a different story. Much different than the US, where you just jad the one, except in the old NWA title bouts, which were 2 out of 3 falls. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2019 6:53:34 GMT -5
I appreciate it more as an adult.
As a kid, seeing the WWF's bright lighting and loud music, along with larger-than-life gimmicks, was something I could gravitate towards more than the music-less (mostly) seaside halls used for WOS matches. As an adult, though, I can appreciate the workmanship.
Speaking of workmanship, while the classics like Steamboat/Savage rightly get included on "Best Of..." lists, so many great bouts don't. A classic for me is Razor Ramon VS Vader at In Your House 7, April 1996. What a solid, engaging, riveting bout that was, Ramon's last high-profile bout prior to leaving for WCW (was this Ramon's last televised bout?). Those two gave me a match I'll always appreciate.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2019 11:47:00 GMT -5
Oh, man; the Shockmaster! I don't know what was more ludicrous, the silver-painted stormtrooper helmet, the outfit, or the idea of bursting through a wall. One trip immediately destroyed any chance Fred Ottman had of getting over. Ottmman wa also Tugboat/Typhoon, in the WWF and the real life brother-in-law of Dusty Rhodes. I did not know that ... Typhoon was related to Dusty Rhodes! ... Interesting. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2019 11:53:51 GMT -5
I did like that British wrestling had 2-out-of-3-falls, though. That was a USP for me. I also like how the Hacksaw Jim Duggan/Hart Foundation VS Dino Bravo/Rougeau Brothers match ( Royal Rumble 1989) utilised British rules. In the early days of Wrestling, I do like the 2 out of 3 falls, and that match above is a favorite of mine. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2019 12:02:50 GMT -5
Speaking of Ottman.
Wrestling makes me smile. When I think how forgiving people are. Earthquake kills Jake Roberts' snake in the summer of 1991 - and yet in the winter of '91, Jake, IRS and the Natural Disasters cut a promo against their Survivor Series opponents. I guess Jake forgave Earthquake for killing his snake.
Also, Tugboat betrayed the Bushwhackers (in a match against Earthquake and Nasty Boys). A year later, the Bushwhackers and Natural Disasters cut a promo for Survivor Series 1992 (against Money Inc. & Beverly Brothers). I guess the Bushwhackers had forgiven Typhoon for the betrayal. (The Bushwhackers were replaced by the Nasty Boys).
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2019 12:27:57 GMT -5
Harley Race TributeWonderful Tribute 
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 3, 2019 16:34:26 GMT -5
Oh, man; the Shockmaster! I don't know what was more ludicrous, the silver-painted stormtrooper helmet, the outfit, or the idea of bursting through a wall. One trip immediately destroyed any chance Fred Ottman had of getting over. Ottmman wa also Tugboat/Typhoon, in the WWF and the real life brother-in-law of Dusty Rhodes. I did not know that ... Typhoon was related to Dusty Rhodes! ... Interesting. Yep. In 1988, after splitting with Crockett, Dusty went back to Florida. After Eddie Graham's suicide, in 1985, Mike Graham tried to run it, with the other partners (Hiro Matsuda and Duke Keomuka). Dusty came back and they added a governing body, the Professional Wrestling Federation, which oversaw the new World title they created (for Dusty to be World champion). Ottman wrestled there as US Steel and Big Steel Man. Somewhere around then Dusty remarried (to Cody's mother), who was related to Ottman ( not sure if she was his sister or if both are married to sisters, or what). PWF ran for about a year, before it started really bleeding money and Dusty left for the WWF, for the pola dot run. Ottman came up there not long after as Tugboat Taylor (there was already a Tug Tyler in Florida and Georgia, which probably influenced the switch to the next name), Tugboat Thomas, then just Tugboat, before being rechristened Typhoon. He then ended up in WCW for that fiasco. Shockmaster was supposed to be a monster heel, ala Vader; but that trip ended any chance of that. Worse part was the helmet falling off, so everyone could recognize Ottman, before he retrieved it and tried to put it back on (and Davey Boy Smith laughing and dropping an F-bomb). After that, they tried to use him as a comedic klutz, before just dropping the whole thing. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2019 13:23:52 GMT -5
In my opinion, as fantastic as the WM X Ladder Match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels is, I would go even further and state that their SummerSlam '95 Ladder Match is even better! That they could top the WM X encounter, in my humble opinion, is a remarkable achievement.
Could they have topped that with a third Ladder Match if Ramon had remained with the WWF? Perhaps, perhaps not. But I'd have liked to see them try.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2019 14:25:13 GMT -5
In my opinion, as fantastic as the WM X Ladder Match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels is, I would go even further and state that their SummerSlam '95 Ladder Match is even better! That they could top the WM X encounter, in my humble opinion, is a remarkable achievement. Could they have topped that with a third Ladder Match if Ramon had remained with the WWF? Perhaps, perhaps not. But I'd have liked to see them try. Both Razor and Shawn were unreal ... I wished they had another one; many fans wanted it so badly including this one. Highlights of the 95 Summerslam ... |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2019 18:04:30 GMT -5
Unreal Ric Flair Promos
Man, when he delivers, HE DELIVERS ... WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 4, 2019 18:08:55 GMT -5
In my opinion, as fantastic as the WM X Ladder Match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels is, I would go even further and state that their SummerSlam '95 Ladder Match is even better! That they could top the WM X encounter, in my humble opinion, is a remarkable achievement. Could they have topped that with a third Ladder Match if Ramon had remained with the WWF? Perhaps, perhaps not. But I'd have liked to see them try. Michaels was getting in pretty bad shape, by the time Hall & Nash left. The match with Undertaker was where the real damage was done, when Shawn landed on the edge of the coffin. Based on that, I doubt they could have done another ladder match. Meanwhile, Hall's alcohol and drug use was also getting pretty bad (and Michaels had serious problems there, too); but, not as bad as they would get. Clean and sober, they could have more great matches; but, both were not even close to that for years (Hall has cleaned up a lot, due to DDP, but has had relapses, so I don't know if you can consider him clean yet). Personally, I'm not a fan of gimmick matches like that. They are too dangerous, from a performer standpoint and too limiting to the action. Also, the psychology involved is rather unrealistic. I prefer it when they keep it as realistic as possible, like a cage match (classic style, not WWF Escape the Cage nonsense).or Texas Death Match. Hated both Night of the Skywalkers scaffold matches (Road Warriors vs Midnight Express and Midnights vs RNR Express); they couldn't really do anything up there but punch and kick and hold onto each other. Loved the War Games matches that Crockett and WCW used to have, where a new team member would be added, with the advantage switching back and forth between teams. Those worked quite well, with the 4 Horsemen and various babyface teams (usually Dusty, the Roadies and someone else). |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2019 9:20:15 GMT -5
In my opinion, as fantastic as the WM X Ladder Match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels is, I would go even further and state that their SummerSlam '95 Ladder Match is even better! That they could top the WM X encounter, in my humble opinion, is a remarkable achievement. Could they have topped that with a third Ladder Match if Ramon had remained with the WWF? Perhaps, perhaps not. But I'd have liked to see them try. Loved the War Games matches that Crockett and WCW used to have, where a new team member would be added, with the advantage switching back and forth between teams. Those worked quite well, with the 4 Horsemen and various babyface teams (usually Dusty, the Roadies and someone else). Those matches the War Games are my favorite WCW Matches ... much better than the WWF/WWE Survivor Series. I was reading this thread offline last night and I just watched this video last night and brought back memories of these intense matches in WCW history. I wished WWE bring these back ... This is a 50 minutes clip and well worth your time to watch it. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2019 10:28:56 GMT -5
I remember being so excited when Hasbro announced WWF figures via this ad:  The first two figures my mother bought for me were Hulk Hogan and Ax. From an independent toystore in Lichfield. Looking back, action figures gave me hours of fun, but being solid plastic, with limited manoeuvrability, was a tad frustrating. Had the Mattel figures been around them, I could have had even more hours of fun. Wrestling aside, a lot of toys were like that. I had some "Muscle Men" which were small, solid plastic - and had no manoeuvrability. Remember the Hasbro ads on the WWF's syndicated shows? |
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 7, 2019 10:58:52 GMT -5
I remember being so excited when Hasbro announced WWF figures via this ad: The first two figures my mother bought for me were Hulk Hogan and Ax. From an independent toystore in Lichfield. Looking back, action figures gave me hours of fun, but being solid plastic, with limited manoeuvrability, was a tad frustrating. Had the Mattel figures been around them, I could have had even more hours of fun. Wrestling aside, a lot of toys were like that. I had some "Muscle Men" which were small, solid plastic - and had no manoeuvrability. Remember the Hasbro ads on the WWF's syndicated shows? I was an adult, when the LJN figures came out; so, I never had any. I do recall thinking they looked pretty bad. Of Course, I thought the same of GI JOE and Star Wars. I grew up with the original GI Joe, Steve Austin (as in Lee Majors, not the other wrestling Steve Williams) and Mego; so, little lumps of inarticulate plastic looked pretty cheap, compared to those babies. Imagine a line of Mego pro wrestlers? I don't think I ever saw them in stores; but, then again, I hadn't been in a toy department since the early 80s, probably. I do recall seeing the AWA figures, from Remco, at a Kay-Bee Hobby entrance, in a mall. They were pretty much sculpted from the same body, with different heads; but, they included belts and things. I recall a Road Warrior twin-pack, with the AWA tag belts, and a Ric Flair, with the NWA belt (this was during the period where Crockett, Memphis and the AWA worked together, as Pro Wrestling USA). The Japanese, later, did some really cool ones. Check out this Tiger Mask II figure...  and this Tiger Mask and Black Tiger.....  |
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