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Post by driver1980 on Oct 21, 2024 15:36:36 GMT -5
There are a lot of social media sites sharing news and historical stuff, some of which is bullshit, I’m sure. Naturally, I can’t know every bit of historical news that has existed, but like everyone in this thread, I’m well-versed in wrestling history.
One site claims King Kong Bundy was promised a world title run after putting Hulk Hogan over at WM 2. First I’ve heard of that. That would certainly have changed the landscape, and the WWF was more about the babyface champion vanquishing heels rather than the long-reining heel being chased. If Bundy had been given a world title run, who would have been his challenger?
It’s hard for me to believe unless someone else knows for sure.
There’s so much crap out there at times. Years ago, I read that Bundy was offered the role of Kingpin in the Affleck Daredevil film. I find that hard to believe, too, especially as the one who reported it mentioned how WB were interested in him - yet WB did not produce that film.
So, did anyone hear of any Bundy as world champion rumours back in the day?
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Post by commond on Oct 21, 2024 16:25:18 GMT -5
Tommy Dreamer told a story about when he was working for Talent Relations in the WWE and tried to get Bundy to come in and take part in an angle during the Orton/Undertaker feud, but Bundy refused because he claimed Vince still owed him money and a world title reign. Naturally, sites are going to create clickbait over that type of soundbite. It's entirely possible that Vince could have promised Bundy a world title reign. It could also be Bundy talking shit like most wrestlers. I doubt Vince was serious about taking the belt off Hogan at the time, but that doesn't mean he didn't lead Bundy on.
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 21, 2024 16:29:43 GMT -5
Tommy Dreamer told a story about when he was working for Talent Relations in the WWE and tried to get Bundy to come in and take part in an angle during the Orton/Undertaker feud, but Bundy refused because he claimed Vince still owed him money and a world title reign. Naturally, sites are going to create clickbait over that type of soundbite. It's entirely possible that Vince could have promised Bundy a world title reign. It could also be Bundy talking shit like most wrestlers. I doubt Vince was serious about taking the belt off Hogan at the time, but that doesn't mean he didn't lead Bundy on. I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but there were quite a few anecdotes by Bundy that didn’t really ring true. I guess that is wrestling at the end of the day.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 21, 2024 20:42:47 GMT -5
There are a lot of social media sites sharing news and historical stuff, some of which is bullshit, I’m sure. Naturally, I can’t know every bit of historical news that has existed, but like everyone in this thread, I’m well-versed in wrestling history. One site claims King Kong Bundy was promised a world title run after putting Hulk Hogan over at WM 2. First I’ve heard of that. That would certainly have changed the landscape, and the WWF was more about the babyface champion vanquishing heels rather than the long-reining heel being chased. If Bundy had been given a world title run, who would have been his challenger? It’s hard for me to believe unless someone else knows for sure. There’s so much crap out there at times. Years ago, I read that Bundy was offered the role of Kingpin in the Affleck Daredevil film. I find that hard to believe, too, especially as the one who reported it mentioned how WB were interested in him - yet WB did not produce that film. So, did anyone hear of any Bundy as world champion rumours back in the day? A few things you will learn about wrestlers and pro wrestling: The card was always sold out, with the crowd hanging from the rafters. The wrestler was always over, but the promoter/booker/Commission/Star had it in for them. Cakes brought to ringside will not be eaten. Trophies never survive being displayed. "Card subject to change" forgives a world of sins. and, Everyone was promised a world title reign or offered the belt and turned it down.
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 24, 2024 5:38:58 GMT -5
Twenty five years ago today, Halloween Havoc ‘99 aired on PPV, taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada: This was another atrocious offering from WCW, with Russo’s “crash TV” and short attention span mindset all over it. In a ‘match’ that would have made Lou Thesz envious, Hulk Hogan, wearing street clothes, voluntarily lay down for Sting, so the match lasted 3 seconds. There wasn’t really a follow-up to this once Hogan returned months later, but expecting continuity of any kind from Russo is a pipe dream. Still, at least the night ended with a ‘bout’ which would have made George Hackenschmidt proud as Goldberg defeated Sting in about 3 minutes. There was no rhyme or reason to much that happened on this card, but I guess Russo found it entertaining. And that’s all that mattered in his short attention span head. Had I been an American who ordered this on PPV, I’d have demanded my money back. Match listings here: www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=1711
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 24, 2024 7:37:09 GMT -5
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 24, 2024 11:37:44 GMT -5
Rip Rogers started taping his own stuff, after the influence of working with Buddy Rose, in Portland. As a result, he has a lot of ICW footage that no one else seemed to have, plus his matches from the Maritimes, Kansas City and Southeastern. Southeastern and KC are the only territories here you could find significant footage, on Youtube, out of that list. Those are also among the few territories that the WWE doesn't control, though I believe the WWE acquired what existed of ICW, though Lanny said they had sold the masters a long time ago. Must have located who had it. The last I checked, they did not own any footage from any of Ron Fuller's promotions (either version of Southeastern, the Continental version, USA-Knoxville), the Dave Woods Continental Wrestling Federation incarnation of Pensacola (with Eddie Gilbert, Sid Vicious, Shane Douglas and Paul Heyman), Memphis, Gulas (what there is of it, since it was all but dead by the time VCRs were common), Detroit )what there is, which was the Ron Martinez footage, which he sold), Southwestern (sold to the same people), KC, Portland, LA (another that is mostly gone, except stuff from the 50s and 60s, with a smattering of Piper and the Guerreros), Polynesian Pacific (mostly the Aloha Stadium shows and a little bit more), Puerto Rico (probably too bloody for the WWE to make much commercial use), and some Canadian footage (they own Stampede footage and some Toronto, but not Montreal, Vancouver or The Maritimes).
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 25, 2024 14:49:03 GMT -5
Bit too niche for me, and I do like Andre:
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2024 11:28:58 GMT -5
Jey's back in the Blood Line (this was recorded after Smackdown went off air. It's really annoying that things like this, and dark matches, are cut out of the actual broadcast....esp when they are superior content.
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 27, 2024 5:47:46 GMT -5
Forty years ago today, WCCW’s 1st Cotton Bowl Extravaganza took place in the Cotton Bowl, Dallas. I haven’t seen this event, don’t recall seeing it advertised during my tap trading days.
This was the card:
Butch Reed vs. Iceman King Parsons Killer Khan vs. Jules Strongbow Norvell Austin vs. Skip Young Koko Ware vs. Buck Zumhofe George Weingroff vs. The Missing Link Kerry Von Erich vs. Butch Reed (Arm wrestling match) WCWA World Tag Team Champions The Fantastics vs. El Diablo & Kelly Kiniski Mike Von Erich & Stella Mae French vs. Gino Hernandez & Andrea the Lady Giant Kevin Von Erich vs. Chris Adams WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Kerry Von Erich, Mike Von Erich & Bobby Fulton vs. Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez & Jake Roberts
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 27, 2024 9:14:01 GMT -5
The Hulk Hogan List of Lies may need updating:
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Post by Batflunkie on Oct 27, 2024 9:38:04 GMT -5
The Hulk Hogan List of Lies may need updating:
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 28, 2024 9:15:59 GMT -5
Forty years ago today, WCCW’s 1st Cotton Bowl Extravaganza took place in the Cotton Bowl, Dallas. I haven’t seen this event, don’t recall seeing it advertised during my tap trading days. This was the card: Butch Reed vs. Iceman King Parsons Killer Khan vs. Jules Strongbow Norvell Austin vs. Skip Young Koko Ware vs. Buck Zumhofe George Weingroff vs. The Missing Link Kerry Von Erich vs. Butch Reed (Arm wrestling match) WCWA World Tag Team Champions The Fantastics vs. El Diablo & Kelly Kiniski Mike Von Erich & Stella Mae French vs. Gino Hernandez & Andrea the Lady Giant Kevin Von Erich vs. Chris Adams WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Kerry Von Erich, Mike Von Erich & Bobby Fulton vs. Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez & Jake Roberts Jake Roberts shared this image on Twitter:
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 28, 2024 14:08:27 GMT -5
On this day 35 years ago, the first Halloween Havoc aired, taking place at the Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Here’s the card: Tom Zenk vs. Mike Rotunda The Samoan SWAT Team vs. The Midnight Express & Steve Williams Tommy Rich vs. The Cuban Assassin NWA World Tag Team Champions The Freebirds vs. The Dynamic Dudes Doom vs. The Steiner Brothers U.S. Champion Lex Luger vs. Brian Pillman The Road Warriors vs. The Skyscrapers Ric Flair & Sting vs. Terry Funk & The Great Muta (Thunderdome cage match with special referee Bruno Sammartino) This was a pretty solid card, and had a flavour very different from the sports-entertainment focused WWF. It was great when we had different promotions doing different things; while the NWA/WCW could do silly gimmicks as well as anyone, it did feel more akin to sports than the cartoony WWF. (I do not mean cartoony in a negative way, I’m simply showing the differences) I found the Samoan SWAT Team vs. Midnight Express to be an intriguing bout. The main event was pretty good, although Thunderdome seemed to be a case of a word that sounded better than the reality. The cage just seemed like a pretty standard cage to me.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 28, 2024 23:16:08 GMT -5
Forty years ago today, WCCW’s 1st Cotton Bowl Extravaganza took place in the Cotton Bowl, Dallas. I haven’t seen this event, don’t recall seeing it advertised during my tap trading days. This was the card: Butch Reed vs. Iceman King Parsons Killer Khan vs. Jules Strongbow Norvell Austin vs. Skip Young Koko Ware vs. Buck Zumhofe George Weingroff vs. The Missing Link Kerry Von Erich vs. Butch Reed (Arm wrestling match) WCWA World Tag Team Champions The Fantastics vs. El Diablo & Kelly Kiniski Mike Von Erich & Stella Mae French vs. Gino Hernandez & Andrea the Lady Giant Kevin Von Erich vs. Chris Adams WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Kerry Von Erich, Mike Von Erich & Bobby Fulton vs. Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez & Jake Roberts Jake Roberts shared this image on Twitter: The WCWA didn't exist in 1984. World Class was an NWA member and didn't split until 1986. The belts were the American Tag-Team Championships, until 1986, Also, it was just the World 6-Man Tag-Team Championships, sometimes called the NWA World 6-Man Tag-Team Championship, until Crockett started their own. The Apter mags usually called them the NWA American Tag titles and the NWA World Tag Titles. until the Crockette belts and then called them the World Class 6-Man tag titles, after. Andrea the Lady Giant was Nickla Roberts, aka Baby Doll, who started out as a valet/bodyguard for Gino Hernandez. Her father, Nick Roberts, was the promoter in Lubbock, TX, working for the Dallas office. He had been a wrestler and her mother was also a wrestler, Lorraine Johnson. With tag partner Penny Banner, who was the AWA Women's Champion, at one point. Stella Mae French was supposed to be the aunt of Sunshine, the ex-valet of Jimmy Garvin (who was her legit cousin and she was replaced by precious, who was Garvin's legit wife and who had been his valet, in Florida), but was actually a former lady wrestler, Tanya West (Tanya Lee Pope), who had gotten out of the business some years before, to raise a daughter. Butch Reed was a hell of a worker and a pretty good promo. However, he also had a stubborn streak and butted heads with some bookers and promoters. He also had a sideline in rodeo and wasn't completely beholden to wrestling to earn a living. Watts used him well and so did Georgia. He was wasted in the WWF, but was a fine addition to ron Simmons, as Doom. I preferred them with the masks, even though everyone knew it was Reed and Simmons. You couldn't disguise the voices and they didn't really try. Skip Young also wrestled as Sweet Brown Sugar, under a mask, though not to be confused with Koko Ware, who used that name in Memphis, before the Koko name. He also worked in Georgia quite a bit. Interesting to have both Sweet Brown Sugars on the same card. Norvell Austin, one of the original Midnight Express (with Randy Rose and Dennis Condrey), was Koko's partner, as the PYT Express (Pretty Young Thing, from the Michael Jackson song), wearing Michael Jackson jackets and gloves. Buck Zumhofe was a POS. George Weingeroff is another who doesn't get his due. He was second generation, son of gentleman Saul Weingeroff, a heel wrestler and manager. George was an amateur standout at the Univ of Tennessee Chattanooga, along with Pistol Pez Whatley, though a few years apart. George was smooth as silk on the mat, but was legally blind, which was distracting on promos, and not a great talker, with a heavy Tennessee accent (more Southern than Good Old Boy). George was Lanny Poffo's partner in ICW and had a piece of the promotion, and worked undercard and midcard for Watts and Dallas, as well as for All-Japan, doing a variation on The Sheik. I had read, some years back, that he had surgery that corrected some of his vision problems. He also worked a bit, I believe, for UWFI, doing jobs, even though he was a better wrestler than 90% of the star Japanese fighters. Pez, too. Backlund also did some matches for them. Gino Hernandez and Chris Adams, as The Dynamic Duo, were a hell of a heel team. If Gino hadn't ODed and they had taken their gimmick to the bigger stage, they could have been with the elites, like the Four Horsemen. They had that much heat, in Texas and in Mid-South, when they did shots for Watts. problem was, Gino liked his nose candy and Adams was a violent drunk.
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