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Post by dbutler69 on Dec 22, 2023 19:17:41 GMT -5
By the way, I have to laugh at how the WWF Magazine report from the time referred to Savage’s “original partner” rather than the name we all knew: Ultimate Warrior. The WWF was really in a bubble at times, eh? ![](https://i.imgur.com/Z0uYLdn.jpg) ![](https://i.imgur.com/prEf7mh.jpg) Hey, once you leave the WWF, you cease to exist.
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 23, 2023 12:14:11 GMT -5
Thinking about our PPV recaps, I am gonna presume that in 1992, the WWF had one of two thoughts about Survivor Series ‘92: either they believed that the elimination bouts had become old hat, or they felt that the feuds of the time were better served by singles and tag matches.
The recent Survivor Series was pretty underwhelming. Some wrestlers haven’t been on PPV for months (where’s Omos?). At least elimination bouts allowed for almost an entire roster to be given PPV time.
If I had my way, Money in the Bank would be scrapped (the briefcase thing is old hat now, and quite predictable nowadays). And I’d bring back King of the Ring.
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 23, 2023 12:14:43 GMT -5
German Hasbro ad: ![](https://i.imgur.com/oTcnOA4.jpg)
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Post by dbutler69 on Dec 24, 2023 19:16:25 GMT -5
Thinking about our PPV recaps, I am gonna presume that in 1992, the WWF had one of two thoughts about Survivor Series ‘92: either they believed that the elimination bouts had become old hat, or they felt that the feuds of the time were better served by singles and tag matches. The recent Survivor Series was pretty underwhelming. Some wrestlers haven’t been on PPV for months (where’s Omos?). At least elimination bouts allowed for almost an entire roster to be given PPV time. If I had my way, Money in the Bank would be scrapped (the briefcase thing is old hat now, and quite predictable nowadays). And I’d bring back King of the Ring. I don't know what the buy rates were like, but could it be that Survivor Series buy rates had been declining so they decided to change the format? Or could it just be that the talent in the WWF wasn't deep enough at this point to have a bunch of 10 man tag matches? Yeah, I'd definitely prefer King of the Ring over Money in the Bank.
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 24, 2023 19:26:06 GMT -5
Probably declining buy rates, I imagine.
I feel that Money in the Bank has become predictable and anti-climatic. I also feel that the best stepping stone to a world title shot SHOULD be the Intercontinental Championship. While the likes of Savage, Warrior, Bret and Shawn would have become world champions anyway, I do feel the Intercontinental Championship was a stepping stone of sorts, but can it have the same prestige while people walk around with a briefcase?
Also, when it comes to Money in the Bank, I feel less is more - no tables or chairs. If tables and chairs are required, then make it a tables, ladders and chairs match. Otherwise, make Money in the Bank only about ladders.
Sometimes I feel less is more.
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Post by dbutler69 on Dec 26, 2023 9:17:17 GMT -5
I just finished watching Royal Rumble 1993
The opening match is the Steiner Brothers vs. the Beverly Brothers in the Steiners’ WWF PPV debut. This was a solid opening match, which the Steiners won with an wicked looking Frankensteiner by Scott. I thought this match very good, and an impressive debut by the Steiners. They took control early, then the Beverlys did some good heel work to beat on Scott for a while until the hot tag to Rick, then the Steiners took care of business.
Next is Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty for the Intercontinental belt, held by Michaels. This is Jannetty’s chance for revenge against Michaels for throwing him through that plate glass window. Jannetty is still coming out to the Rockers’ theme. He really needs his own music. It makes it seem like he’s living in the past. Michaels and Jannetty are similarly dressed in white. The other part of the intrigue here was whose corner Sensational Sherri would be in. When Jannetty had tried to hit Michaels with his own mirror previously, Michaels pulled Sherri in front of himself (great heel move) and he got clobbered in the head with the mirror in a pretty impressive scene. (I read that for real, though it was a trick mirror, a piece of the broken glass got into her eye and she needed surgery.) She came out, and really didn’t go in anybody’s corner. However, when she got the chance, she slapped Shawn Michaels. It was a very good match overall, with some good storytelling, but the end was a bit weird. Sherri tries to hit Michaels with her shoe, but accidentally hits Jannetty instead. Jannetty collapses, and Michaels starts berating Sherri. Jannetty eventually gets up, then Michaels gives him the superkick (which looked to me like it hit him in the chest – and this wasn’t his finisher yet) and covers for the 1-2-3.
By the way, I read that Shawn got Marty fired by claiming that he was passed out drunk in the locker room after the match, when in fact Marty was just sleeping. Marty got hired back a few months later when Vince found out the truth. A real nice guy, that Shawn Michaels.
Next up is Bam Bam Bigelow vs. the Big Bossman. This is a randomly thrown together match with no buildup. Bam Bam Bigelow has recently returned to the WWF after a few years away and these two guys have had absolutely no interaction. Having said that, back a few years ago, as Bossman joined the WWF when Bam Bam was leaving, I had wanted to see these two clash (though back then the roles were reversed with Bam Bam as the Face and Bossman as we heel) and I finally got my wish, a few years late. However, this wasn’t really a very good match. Too slow. I think both guys were capable of better, but maybe they didn’t have good chemistry or something. Bam Bam wins it with his headbutt off the top rope. Also, Bossman isn’t long for the WWF, as this is his last WWF PPV for a while.
Next we get ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘Cleopatra’ come out to the ring and make a royal (or imperial?) pronouncement about Wrestlemania IX being in Caesar’s Palace. This segment was a waste of time.
Finally, we get Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon for Hart’s WWF Championship belt. Ramon added heat a few weeks previously by attacking Bret’s brother Owen during an interview and beating him down. Unfortunately, it kinda made Owen look like a dummy since Razor came from the front (from more or less behind the camera) so wen must have seen him coming. Anyway, I’ve read that Razor legit blew out his knee shortly before this match, so give him credit for putting on a pretty good performance with a significant injury. This was a very good match, with good storytelling, and I liked the ending, with Bret reversing the Razor’s Edge into a backslide, then counters another Razor move into a nearfall, then, with both guys in the mat, on their backs, he manages to intertwine their legs and turn Razor over for the Sharpshooter. Match over!
Now we get to the Royal Rumble!
First, Crush is not in the Royal Rumble because, a couple of weeks earlier, Doink had attacked him from behind with a prosthetic arm loaded with lead, leading to a severe concussion. I think his replacement was Max Moon. I have to admit, I liked Max Moon. Stupid gimmick and terrible promos, but he was fun to watch in the ring.
Anyway, #1 and #2 are Ric Flair and Bob Backlund, two former champions. They both had impressive performances, especially Backlund, who lasted over an hour. Maybe they’re trying to help his babyface push, which hasn’t gathered much steam, probably due to his lack of charisma and his incredibly boring promos. I like some of his in ring moves, even though many people will say his style is dated.
Speaking of Backlund, ever since his comeback, they’ve been constantly mentioning how he’s 43 years old, asking if someone that age can compete in the WWF, and making him seem like Methuselah. I just want to point out that Ric Flair is also 43, plus Randy Savage is 40, and nobody mentions that, plus both of them have been WWF champs within about the past 9 months. Also, a couple of international entrants, Carlos Colon was nearly 45 years old and Tenryu also 43.
About halfway through the Rumble, we get the debut of…Giant Gonzales! His bodysuit is ridiculous, but his size is awe inspiring. He towers over the Undertaker, then proceeds to pummel Taker. We’ve never seen the Undertaker beaten and outgunned like this before. This is Harvey Whippleman’s revenge for Undertaker “ruining” Kamala at the Survivor Series. Giant wasn’t an official entrant, though. He just beat on Undertaker then left.
They ignored the action at the ring to show the Gonzales beatdown of Undertaker, which mostly happened outside the ring.
By the way, Damian Demento seemingly refused to enter the ring with Giant Gonzales showed up. By rights, he took so long to get in there (I think the next guy might have been called by then) that he probably should have been disqualified. Oh well. What are rules, anyway? Bob Backlund also seemed to disappear from the ring for a long time around this point. They aren’t very strict about making guys go back in promptly when they leave the ring in a non-eliminated fashion. Sometimes it’s tough to care when they ignore all the rules. Things got a bit confusing and weird (to me) around this time.
When the Earthquake when in, I was shocked that the first person he went after was his tag team partner Typhoon! Especially since, at that time, Typhoon was battling IRS, and the Natural Disasters at that time had a rivalry with Money Inc., so it would have been natural for him to help Typhoon. I wonder if this means a Natural Disasters breakup is imminent.
We get a final four of Yokozuna, Randy Savage, Bob Backlund, and Rick Martel. The last two are Savage and Yokozuna. Savage gets Yoko down…and tries to pin him?!?! I know they wanted the visual of Yoko tossing Savage out over the top rope for the final elimination (and it was very impressive) but it made Savage look pretty stupid. A veteran like that should know better.
The talent at this Rumble is pretty low, and a lot worse than just a year before. You’ve got guys like Damian Demento and Max Moon (I love Max Moon but I have to admit he’s not an A-lister) plus international guys like Colon and Tentryu that most WWF fans had never heard of.
Overall, you had a couple of really good singles title defenses, a fun tag team match, a bad singles match, and the Rumble itself was average at best, though the win by Yokozuna to set up his Wrestlemania title shot and the debut of Giant Gonzales are historically important.
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 26, 2023 9:53:09 GMT -5
This is one of my least favourite PPVs of that era - and the Rumble is really weak compared with 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. There’s nothing really memorable. 1989 gave us moments such as Ax and Smash going at it, and Hogan arguing with Savage; 1990 gave us DiBiase’s stellar effort, Hogan vs. Warrior, and multiple men eliminating Earthquake; 1991 gave us moments such as Shane Douglas’ 20+ minutes (why is this never mentioned?) and LOD eliminating Undertaker; and 1992 needs no introduction. If you were assembling a Royal Rumble clips show, what moments from 1993 really stood out?
(As a kid, I was angry about Crush as I wanted him to win and face Bret; I also wondered, had Ramon won the WWF Championship, we could have seen heel vs heel at WM IX, Ramon vs. Yokozuna)
I did feel the tag bout was spirited. Ditto the Intercontinental Title bout, although I feel Jannetty and Michaels had far better bouts.
Big Boss Man vs. Bam Bam Bigelow certainly did feel completely random. No real rhyme or reason to it. Not every match needs a story, sometimes competition between wrestlers is enough (if we treat it as akin to a sport), but this felt like the most random bout the WWF gave us at the time. And they had no chemistry. I think Boss Man disappeared from the WWF about 2 months after this, returning for a bout or two, and then gone. Not the end I wanted for him.
Bret vs. Razor was solid. I did enjoy that one.
As for the Rumble, I guess the only memorable moment - other than the ending - was Giant Gonzalez debuting. I try to remember that wrestling was for all ages at one point, so maybe some younger fans enjoyed the spectacle of a character who looked like he’d stepped out of a horror movie or comic. I do wish - and I thought it back then - that there could have been a rule that only an entrant in the Rumble could eliminate another entrant.
The Earthquake/Typhoon thing was peculiar. Who came up with that? I mean, Ax and Smash going at in 1989 made sense as they drew numbers 1 and 2, but once Andre entered at number 3, they stopped fighting immediately and went after him. It would have made more sense for Earthquake and Typhoon to be a unit and go at only towards the end. A really curious move by the WWF. (Incidentally, I remember WWF Magazine reporting that there were plans for Adam Bomb and Typhoon to be a new Natural Disasters in 1994; I think they had some matches, but as Adam Bomb is a play on the words atom bomb, I am not sure how that qualifies as a ‘natural disaster)
I was sad to see Earthquake leave, I think he left shortly after this PPV, heading to WAR in Japan.
Oh, and I hate how some PPV debuts are wasted on segments. The Narcissist Lex Luger should have been in the Rumble match, if you ask me.
Incidentally, WWF Magazine previewed a match that didn’t occur. I don’t have a pic, but Twitter does:
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 26, 2023 10:08:27 GMT -5
Forty years ago today, The Iron Sheik won his first and only WWF World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Bob Backlund. You know the story of Arnold Skaaland throwing in the towel. I’m glad WWF continuity wasn’t totally ignored when this resurfaced in 1994 during Backlund’s maniacal phase. Thirty five years ago today, Starrcade ‘88: True Gritt aired on PPV: ![](https://i.imgur.com/4JiI12f.jpg) This is one of my favourite PPVs of the JCP/WCW era. It’s utterly absorbing, and very different from what the WWF were presenting (I liked the cartoony nature of the WWF, but I am glad we had choices). I mean, I was, like many, utterly engrossed in bouts such as The Midnight Express vs. The Original Midnight Express, Sting & Dusty Rhodes vs. The Road Warriors for the NWA World Tag Team Championship, and an absolutely mesmerising bout for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship between Lex Luger and Ric Flair (I felt these two had great chemistry). I feel this is one of the best WCW PPVs ever.
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 26, 2023 10:47:44 GMT -5
P.S. That Luger/Flair match was 30 minutes or so. Had Russo been booking WCW at the time, it’d have been a 10-minute pole match. As ever, that guy thinks fans don’t want longer matches. Give me a 30-minute Luger/Flair bout over anything that talentless ‘writer’ came up with.
But, you know, if Russo were to review that match, he’d be, “Bro, the casual fans don’t want a 30-minute match. They want entertainment.”
I really detest the man.
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 26, 2023 14:48:44 GMT -5
Forty five years ago today:
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Post by dbutler69 on Dec 26, 2023 15:38:04 GMT -5
I had read something online about a Max Moon - Terry Taylor match at Royal Rumble that never happened. Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing that.
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 26, 2023 15:48:18 GMT -5
I had read something online about a Max Moon - Terry Taylor match at Royal Rumble that never happened. Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing that. Me too. I’d have done that, and had Boss Man and Bigelow in the Rumble. If I had a wrestling forum, one could do entire threads about PPV matches that were planned but didn’t happen. Some examples include Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Kamala (WM IX), Moon vs Taylor, Bulldog vs. Berzerker (WM VIII), Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sgt. Slaughter vs. Money Inc. (WM VIII), etc, etc.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 26, 2023 22:25:54 GMT -5
I had read something online about a Max Moon - Terry Taylor match at Royal Rumble that never happened. Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing that. Taylor and Paul Diamond would be decent; Taylor and Konnan could be awesome, in that time frame.
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 27, 2023 4:03:25 GMT -5
Thirty years ago today, Starrcade ‘93 took place: ![](https://i.imgur.com/FxX75yd.jpg) Sid Vicious was supposed to face WCW World Heavyweight champion Big Van Vader, but you know the story with him (the two did face off on WWF soil, circa 1996). So, Ric Flair and Vader squared off instead, in what I felt was a huge dream match at the time. The two did not disappoint. The undercard was pretty decent, but there was something really lame about a near-30 minute bout between Sting/Hawk and WCW World Tag Team Champions The Nasty Boys ending in a DQ. Why bother going nearly 30 minutes if you’re gonna have a finish like that?
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Post by driver1980 on Dec 27, 2023 9:09:07 GMT -5
Twenty five years ago today, Starrcade 1998 aired on PPV: ![](https://i.imgur.com/JK8wM9F.jpg) As you know, Bill Goldberg suffered his first loss as Kevin Nash beat him for the World Championship. If you ask me, this was the beginning of the end for WCW. Goldberg losing to Nash was fine (no undefeated streak should last forever), but WCW obviously didn’t have a plan for what came after. And Vince Russo’s bright idea for Goldberg many, many months later was to…turn him heel. (If Russo had any talent - and I don’t believe he has - a better idea wold have been Goldberg vowing to regain the title he unfairly lost - and then doing so). As I stated, I believe this was the beginning of the end. And I am not sure any fan on Earth can defend the Fingerpoke of Doom, which came shortly after. WCW was flatlining by then.
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