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Post by driver1980 on May 5, 2024 8:31:09 GMT -5
On King of the Ring ‘94, dbutler69 , I agree with most of your review. It is one of my favourite WWF PPVs of that era (Art Donovan aside, who was as bad as Rob Bartlett on Monday Night Raw). I must admit, though, I wish some of the tournaments hadn’t been so dead set on babyface vs heel finals. I’d have been intrigued by seeing, say, Bam Bam Bigelow VS IRS here, or Owen Hart vs. Jeff Jarrett. But what we did get was good, although the running times were too short. This isn’t the best Bret/Diesel match, but it was pretty good. At the time, I did wonder what Neidhart was up to. It was good to see him back, but when he came out during the Razor/Owen match, and perhaps I was naive, I expected he was out to help Razor and confront Owen. The Owen victory was a good one, but imagine if Razor had won. Imagine him taking his toothpick out as he drank the royal goblet. Oh, and I was also expecting Jerry Lawler to show up. After all, he did consider himself the true king. I was thinking about how Lex Luger’s stock had plummeted after WM X. To not even make the card here was frustrating. And where was Doink?  As a kid, I expected Tatanka to win, it felt like he needed a big victory after 2 years of service to the WWF. The tag bout was intriguing, and at least fresh. It was also a rare occasion to see The Head Shrinkers as underdogs, which they rarely were. Now, to the main event (which was okay, I guess): at the time, it felt like the most random main event the WWF could have come up with. Why? Why indeed. I mean, Piper hadn’t wrestled since WM VIII, and as far as I know, he had no prior history with Lawler. It honestly felt like someone at the WWF had come up with two random names and that is what we got. It made Boss Man/Bigelow at RR ‘93 look like a meticulously planned arc. Random doesn’t even begin to describe it! I did read years ago that with Hogan/Flair planned for Bash at the Beach ‘94, which took place a month after this PPV, the WWF wanted to get a “legends match” in first. Is there any truth to that? It’s the most logical explanation anyone has ever come up with. Given the “New Generation” hype/advertising at the time, it just felt odd that neither the KOTR final, nor the Bret/Diesel bout, went on last. So while there was a wild and fun aspect to Piper/Lawler, it’s perhaps the one WWF bout where I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to learn just why it was booked. If there is truth to the “legends idea” of beating Hogan/Flair, well it would still be silly. While some fans did enjoy the WWF and WCW (I was one of them!), not everything is a competition. Did the WWF doing a “legends bout” a month before WCW mean anything? Did it win them any accolades? Were there any bragging rights? I doubt it. I mean, Piper vs. Lawler was one thing, Hogan vs. Flair was another, I doubt Piper/Lawler had any WWF fans saying, “You know, I got my legends match, so I won’t buy the Hogan/Flair bout.” It may just be a theory, but it’s the only one I’ve heard that makes some sort of sense. Overall, I enjoyed this, even better than KOTR ‘93, if I’m honest. I’d say it’s one of the most solid and enjoyable PPVs of the New Generation Era. If anyone has any insight into why Piper/Lawler was booked, please let us know! I agree with everything you've said here. And I don't know if there's any truth to the "Legends" idea, but it's a possibility, though I agree with you that it's silly. The main problem I have with being fixated in face vs. heel matchups is that it makes things too predictable. Once one match is over, I already know who's going to win the next matchup, since they almost always tried to preserve that heel vs. face thing. Once Razor defeated Bam Bam, I knew that IRS would defeat Mabel since they wouldn't want two babyfaces wrestling against each other. This also applies to the qualifying matches, where once one match was done, I already knew who would win next week's qualifying matches. Plus, as you imply, by always having face/heel matchups, it reduces the number of possible matches we get to see. We'll never get to see Owen vs. Jeff Jarrett, for example. And yes, Roddy hadn't wrestled in over two years, and this feud seemed totally forced. You’re right in how predictable it makes things. I did like how the 1993 KOTR had two faces go against each other, Bret vs. Mr Perfect. But off the top of my head, the PPV KOTR never had a heel vs heel bout (untelevised KOTR events did, such as IRS vs. Berzerker in 1991). In 1994, something like Bam Bam Bigelow vs. IRS might have been fun. Or a face vs face encounter such as Tatanka vs. Razor Ramon. Just to shake it up a bit. We like face vs face and heel vs heel encounters in the Royal Rumble, so why not at KOTR? It was often the same in other WWF tournaments, such as the 1990 Intercontinental Championship tournament, or 1995’s WWF Tag Team Championship tournament. Not always, of course, but often. I like heel vs heel bouts because of the novelty. But it’s also fun to be torn over who to root for. I mean, I was rooting for Power and Glory when they battled the Orient Express in 1991, because while they were bad guys, Mr Fuji was a real heel, and I wanted to see Hercules and Roma win. Having a heel vs heel dynamic in any kind of tournament could also allow some fun booking regarding torn loyalties. Imagine if back in the day, two of Jimmy Hart’s wrestlers had found themselves facing off in a tournament. Or something like that. |
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Post by driver1980 on May 5, 2024 13:24:58 GMT -5
I don’t want to click on one of Russo’s videos and give him any traffic, so I’ll ask, does anyone know if this is true:
I always thought it was Russo’s idea, all part of his lifelong quest to attract the ‘casual fan’ who watches one PPV every 5 years.
It made me laugh when that clown spoke about how Arquette’s world title win was covered in USA Today. Great. But did that win attract ratings or PPV buys? Because, last time I checked, companies can’t pay the bills with USA Today front pages.
(The guy is so ignorant, why did Linda McMahon answer his letter?)
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Post by codystarbuck on May 5, 2024 19:07:13 GMT -5
I don’t want to click on one of Russo’s videos and give him any traffic, so I’ll ask, does anyone know if this is true: I always thought it was Russo’s idea, all part of his lifelong quest to attract the ‘casual fan’ who watches one PPV every 5 years. It made me laugh when that clown spoke about how Arquette’s world title win was covered in USA Today. Great. But did that win attract ratings or PPV buys? Because, last time I checked, companies can’t pay the bills with USA Today front pages. (The guy is so ignorant, why did Linda McMahon answer his letter?) Never heard Tony say anything like that and he has copped to mistakes. I've never heard that he was involved in the creative team, beyond production meetings to discuss the announcing for the show/event. Jim Ross when he was there, yes. I cry BS on that one. Russo has a long history of claiming his bad ideas were other people and the successful stuff was all his, when everyone else involved said it was a combination of ideas. Tony was around successful wrestling for quite a while before Turner's people made a mess of things (though Crockett started the ball rolling, at the end) and I can't see him suggesting making David Arquette the world champion, except sarcastically. The fact that he is the only source for such an idea already makes it highly suspect. |
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Post by driver1980 on May 6, 2024 5:28:11 GMT -5
Forty years ago today, the 1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions took place at the Texas Stadium in front of 32,000+ fans. The likes of The Fabulous Freebirds, Jimmy Garvin and Chris Adams appeared.
And, of course, the main event saw Kerry Von Erich challenge Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship - which he won!
I’ve only seen the Von Erich/Flair match, this was one card that I never got my hands on.
Here’s the card:
Chris Adams & Sunshine vs. Jimmy Garvin & Precious
Butch Reed vs. Chick Donovan
Kamala vs. The Great Kabuki
Junkyard Dog vs. The Missing Link
Rock & Soul vs. The Super Destroyers
Fritz Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich & Mike Von Erich vs The Fabulous Freebirds for the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship
Kerry Von Erich vs. Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Were there any other bouts, I don’t always trust Wikipedia to be accurate?
Wasn’t the Rock & Soul/Super Destroyers bout for a tag team championship? Which one? I like to be sure.
Maybe one day I’ll see the entire card.
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Post by driver1980 on May 6, 2024 7:39:02 GMT -5
Happy 60th Birthday to Brian Knobbs. Hope he has a nasty birthday!  I did like the Nasty Boys. I first saw them on WWF soil, circa late 1990, but I was pleased to later learn of their AWA/WCW days. They did have some memorable bouts, such as against the Steiners at Halloween Havoc ‘90, and the LOD at SummerSlam ‘91. I did once read that Hogan’s original plan for the nWo was him, Brian Knobbs and whatever Ed Leslie’s gimmick was that month. Knowing Hogan, I can believe that. (Does anyone know if there was any truth to the rumour that WCW wanted King Mabel as the “third man”?) |
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Post by driver1980 on May 6, 2024 9:28:26 GMT -5
Wrestling truly is global:
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Post by codystarbuck on May 6, 2024 10:24:34 GMT -5
Forty years ago today, the 1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions took place at the Texas Stadium in front of 32,000+ fans. The likes of The Fabulous Freebirds, Jimmy Garvin and Chris Adams appeared. And, of course, the main event saw Kerry Von Erich challenge Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship - which he won! I’ve only seen the Von Erich/Flair match, this was one card that I never got my hands on. Here’s the card: Chris Adams & Sunshine vs. Jimmy Garvin & Precious Butch Reed vs. Chick Donovan Kamala vs. The Great Kabuki Junkyard Dog vs. The Missing Link Rock & Soul vs. The Super Destroyers Fritz Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich & Mike Von Erich vs The Fabulous Freebirds for the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Kerry Von Erich vs. Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship Were there any other bouts, I don’t always trust Wikipedia to be accurate? Wasn’t the Rock & Soul/Super Destroyers bout for a tag team championship? Which one? I like to be sure. Maybe one day I’ll see the entire card. It was for the American Tag-Team Championship. The Super Destroyers (Scott & Bill Irwin, later the Longriders), won them at the end of January, from Brian Adias and King Parsons. The titles were later rebranded the WCWA World Tag-Team Championship. |
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Post by driver1980 on May 6, 2024 10:28:50 GMT -5
Thanks. It was one detail I wasn’t sure about.
By the way, when I said I’d seen the Von Erich/Fiair bout, I can’t swear it was complete. It’s not a long match, but it may have been joined in progress on one of those compilation tapes.
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Post by driver1980 on May 6, 2024 11:37:59 GMT -5
What a nasty, mean-spirited, negative idiot Russo is:
Of course, if they’d been cheering for a pole match, this idiot would be happy. I just saw the French crowd as being happy, and their enthusiasm during SmackDown and Backlash France was nice; in a world of negative idiots with short attention spans, who think pole matches are the be-all and end-all, I appreciated their enthusiasm.
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Post by Batflunkie on May 6, 2024 11:41:19 GMT -5
What a nasty, mean-spirited, negative idiot Russo is: The noteworthy thing about that post is that "only people who follow Russo or are mentioned by him can reply to that statement" So nice to live in a world were people are so thin skinned that they can't mentally handle a statement made that doesn't already validate or reinforce their own~ If Russo wants to live in an insular bubble boy suit of his own stupidity, let him! |
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Post by driver1980 on May 6, 2024 11:43:17 GMT -5
Indeed. He fell out with me years ago on Twitter when I offered a different opinion.
I do not wish him (or anyone) ill, but I now understand how it is possible to detest someone you’ve never met.
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Post by driver1980 on May 6, 2024 11:48:21 GMT -5
I can imagine his podcast soon:
“Bro, why would I care about a 3-hour PPV? Thing is, did the casual fans watch Cody versus Styles? The match was nearly thirty minutes long! I tuned out after 5 minutes. I think every match should be about the characters - and be 4 minutes long. Fans don’t want to watch long matches. Hey…a tweet just came in. Have I watched a 3-hour movie? Ever? Of course not, you don’t think my attention span could handle that. And why would I watch a fake movie with fake dinosaurs and a fake artefact? Signing out.“
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Post by Batflunkie on May 6, 2024 11:52:58 GMT -5
Indeed. He fell out with me years ago on Twitter when I offered a different opinion. I do not wish him (or anyone) ill, but I now understand how it is possible to detest someone you’ve never met. I try not to actively hate anybody. I'm fairly open to different viewpoints on the basis that we're all unique and have different experiences and learning from that benefits our own. Closing yourself off from that, regardless of not wanting to bait the internet trolls, just seems nonsensical IDK, Russo's just huffing his own fart fumes at this point. I've tried to be open to the idea that maybe he was just a needle in the haystack that caused the downfall of WCW (I remember hearing Bischoff saying that the board was just lumping the debt together of other Turner offices and made it seem more dire than it actually was), but the man is just as dumb as a sack of wet rocks and it's unbelievable how much credit he gets for things like the Attitude Era that he probably only had 15% influence on |
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Post by driver1980 on May 6, 2024 11:58:19 GMT -5
15%? More like 10%? Or 5%? Can I get into negative numbers? As for different views, I welcome them here. I know, for instance, that while we all have an appreciation for different styles of wrestling, we may well have a different view on the direction of, say, the WWF in the early 90s. One of us here might prefer a particular gimmick over another. It’s all fine. But that moron has posted things like, “Raw was bad - and that’s a FACT.” Which it isn’t because the Raw he is referring to might have been enjoyed by many. He patronises people, and if you dare to disagree with him on something, such as the length of a match, he’ll get personal and rather horrible. He does not seem to know reasonable discourse. And some of it is stupid. Claiming that belts are just ‘fake belts/props’ is an affront to the many people who have worked hard - yes, in a scripted sport - to reach the top. |
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Post by dbutler69 on May 6, 2024 12:04:20 GMT -5
I agree with everything you've said here. And I don't know if there's any truth to the "Legends" idea, but it's a possibility, though I agree with you that it's silly. The main problem I have with being fixated in face vs. heel matchups is that it makes things too predictable. Once one match is over, I already know who's going to win the next matchup, since they almost always tried to preserve that heel vs. face thing. Once Razor defeated Bam Bam, I knew that IRS would defeat Mabel since they wouldn't want two babyfaces wrestling against each other. This also applies to the qualifying matches, where once one match was done, I already knew who would win next week's qualifying matches. Plus, as you imply, by always having face/heel matchups, it reduces the number of possible matches we get to see. We'll never get to see Owen vs. Jeff Jarrett, for example. And yes, Roddy hadn't wrestled in over two years, and this feud seemed totally forced. You’re right in how predictable it makes things. I did like how the 1993 KOTR had two faces go against each other, Bret vs. Mr Perfect. But off the top of my head, the PPV KOTR never had a heel vs heel bout (untelevised KOTR events did, such as IRS vs. Berzerker in 1991). In 1994, something like Bam Bam Bigelow vs. IRS might have been fun. Or a face vs face encounter such as Tatanka vs. Razor Ramon. Just to shake it up a bit. We like face vs face and heel vs heel encounters in the Royal Rumble, so why not at KOTR? It was often the same in other WWF tournaments, such as the 1990 Intercontinental Championship tournament, or 1995’s WWF Tag Team Championship tournament. Not always, of course, but often. I like heel vs heel bouts because of the novelty. But it’s also fun to be torn over who to root for. I mean, I was rooting for Power and Glory when they battled the Orient Express in 1991, because while they were bad guys, Mr Fuji was a real heel, and I wanted to see Hercules and Roma win. Having a heel vs heel dynamic in any kind of tournament could also allow some fun booking regarding torn loyalties. Imagine if back in the day, two of Jimmy Hart’s wrestlers had found themselves facing off in a tournament. Or something like that. As far as heel vs. heel bouts, I really enjoyed the Shawn Michaels vs Ric Martel at Summerslam 1992. It was fun seeing both guys cheating - yet also trying to abide by the "no hitting the face" rule they had agreed to. |
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