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Topic Started: Oct 25 2011, 05:12 PM (68,338 Views)
Scrooge McSuck
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From the October 19th, 1992 WON. Nothing about the list of options, but it does paint a picture at what a desperate time this was...

Quote:
 
Bret Hart captured the WWF title in a last minute decision from Ric Flair in approximately 25:00 on 10/12 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at the television tapings amidst much WCW-like booking-on-the-fly chaos. Hart won the title by submission using the sharpshooter after a superplex in what was said to have been an excellent match. The title change will be announced on the syndicated shows this weekend although I'm not certain of a television air date, but it could be as soon as the 10/19 Prime Time show. The title change was a decision made within the last week because the WWF needed to get a babyface, and Hart in particular, over big time in a hurry because of uncertainty as to the long-term future of Ultimate Warrior (see below) and short term because Undertaker isn't expected back after undergoing shoulder surgery this past week until mid-December. Hart and a few others apparently knew about it by mid-week although I'm not sure Flair was one of the few others. As it turned out, Hart both sprainked his ankle and broke one finger during the match and spent most of the night in the hospital, but was expected to wrestle 10/13 in Regina for the second night of television anyway.

...

The status of three of the biggest babyface names in this country remains the subject of much speculation, with the current status of all three somewhat up in the air as of press time Tuesday morning.

The World "Now We're going back to" Wrestling Federation canceled its normal run of Events Center inserts that were to be taped the past week because a situation had developed with one of the main event performers (either Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Ultimate Warrior or Razor Ramon). The title change with Hart beating Flair and the tag title change would certainly explain that away. However, later in the week came word from several sources that the party in question was Warrior, although exactly what the situation is has been unable to be confirmed. Warrior made all of his regularly-scheduled weekend dates and was in Saskatoon Monday night for the first of two nights of television tapings. Ironically, there were an awful lot of people who didn't expect him there since word was out that the Flair-Warrior house show program was going to be canceled in favor of a Flair-Hart program, which is definitely the case. In addition, there was talk that Hart would replace Warrior in the main event at Survivor Series in the tag team match, which may not be the case and "officially" as of Tuesday morning is not the case. As of Tuesday, Warrior had not been officially pulled from any house show cards although the previous afternoon there had been talk of several Flair-Warrior dates in November becoming Flair-Hart. At the same time, WWF officials scheduled a meeting with Hulk Hogan to attempt to arrange his return. The meeting was scheduled for later in the week after company president Vince McMahon gets back from Canada from the tapings. Whether Hogan being asked to return as soon as possible, which just two weeks ago appeared to have no chance of happening until the spring, is due to a possible problem with Warrior or simply because of the business being in the condition it's in can only be speculated on. While there may have been demands made by Warrior, whether they be for more money or to work fewer dates, the only thing we have been able to confirm is that Warrior was upset about the finish given to him at one of the weekend house shows for a match with Flair.



October 26th...

Quote:
 

The information reported here last week that the Warrior-Flair main event program will be immediately changed to Hart-Flair isn't altogether correct. While there are some Flair-Hart matches scheduled in upcoming weeks, they are generally being reserved for some smaller cities where Flair was originally scheduled against the now-injured Undertaker. Any city that was originally scheduled for Warrior-Flair, even in many markets where the match was on the original booking schedule but hadn't even been announced in the market (such as 11/15 in Oakland), will still have Warrior-Flair. Hart's bookings for most of November were originally against either Shango or Mountie, and those matches will be elevated to being billed as the main events on every show he appears and as title matches. A Flair-Hart program in the major arenas is scheduled, probably for a December start and will probably be fueled by actions at Survivor Series

Flair is currently out of action, having suffered a serious ear injury known technically as cupilathias (broken nerve endings in the ear) from a potato shot by Warrior which I believe took place on 10/9 in Phoenix. Flair worked his regularly scheduled match matches through the 10/12 match with Hart, although was suffering from severe dizzy spells so he was unable to take his customary big bumps in the Hart title change match which was worked mainly on the mat. He flew home and missed the second night of television, and his scheduled matches with Warrior the remainder of the week with the exception of wrestling Friday night against doctor's orders at the Nassau Coliseum. However, the match was said to have been poor since Flair couldn't do his usual spots and Warrior couldn't do much of anything. Flair was also in Philadelphia for his Saturday night booking but didn't wrestle, instead appearing as Ted DiBiase's second for the Warrior match. Flair was scheduled to be admitted Thursday to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for further examinations. As of press time the status of his scheduled matches in Denver, Chicago and Peoria for this coming weekend is uncertain.

Because of injuries to main eventers and other talent problems, coupled with small advances, the WWF canceled its Sunday shows in Rochester and Binghamton, NY (both Flair and Warrior both wouldn't have been wrestling in their main event match) and a Monday night card in Portland, OR, (Animal vs. Razor Ramon was the headliner, but there was no advance, and Animal was injured a few days before and wouldn't have been able to work the show, and Animal was a sub for the originally announced Undertaker). However the Monday night card in Hartford was scheduled to go on and were all shows scheduled for this coming weekend.

Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon were scheduled to meet regarding Hogan returning as an active wrestler toward the end of this past week. I believe the meeting did take place on Friday, but as of Monday we've received no word that any deal was consummated.


On all syndicated shows this past weekend, they opened with a Hart interview after winning the title done Monday night. In addition, all interviews during the body of the show that pertained to Hart or Flair were done acknowledging the title change, which is pretty impressive since it didn't happen until Monday, the entire crew didn't get back until late Wednesday and the show goes up on satellite Wednesday night. The Hart interview was tremendous. At the end of the show, they aired a clip of Hart holding the title belt up after winning the match. In the background they had a Coliseum video banner, which makes me think that the Flair-Hart title change match won't air on television (particularly since there was no mention of the title match airing ever made on any shows) but will be released on video. The logic behind it is obvious, to try and push video sales, but in this case, it's a bad move. Even though Hart is one of the best workers in the country and has been in semifinals and third from the top consistently over the past year, most fans still see him as a midcard tag team wrestler. In addition, most fans still believe that size is it, since that's what has been pushed for so many years. Hart is going to need an awful lot of help to make it in the spot they've got him in. If it was Warrior or Savage winning the title, there would be an argument to releasing it to video, but they need to get the casual audience, which will never buy a video, to see Hart score that big win for the visual impact of Hart being pushed as the main guy. As for the reason Hart has the title, the situation with Warrior, nothing is for certain. Warrior has been booked for house shows through the current bookings as a main eventer.
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Infinite Devil Machine
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Scrooge McSuck,Oct 6 2014
06:53 PM
I might sound a bit crazy, but I could've bought Crush as a foil to Yokozuna in 1993 when Hogan decided he wanted out of WWE. He had a good look (tall and muscular), and when motivated, wasn't a poor worker. I'd dare call him a good worker during his babyface run. For reasons unknown, he was constantly buried as a babyface. He never really got one up on Doink (a program that lasted 6 MONTHS), he lost every big singles match he had through screwy circumstances, and then they had Yoko crush him (pun intended) to write him off TV for three months.


Based on the time period, I would suspect the 5 names (if this is, indeed, an accurate thing) being Bret, Shawn, Razor (he was fresh and introduced into a high profile role), Undertaker, and... I don't know, this is where it seems like a stretch to mention anyone else. Savage was being sent down the card already, and Warrior injured Flair and was already flaking out. The next tier of guys iicludes Bulldog (who was IC Champ only because the PPV was in England) and Tatanka (who with the right push could've been a decent option). I still don't see Tito Santana cracking the list.

Dude, I completely agree. Crush could have been a great foil for a Yokozuna feud. Hell, I could see Face Crush/Heel Luger getting some traction in 1993. They had a match on RAW with that alignment and it was really pretty solid. Crush was a way better babyface than he was a heel. As a heel, his heat sequences and wear-down stuff was just kind of boring. As a face, his explosive offense, with his litany of power moves, big clotheslines, and "martial arts" kicks, just seemed to work better.

Let's fantasy book Face Crush in 1993.

Crush/Yokozuna - For the WWF Title
Crush/Lex Luger
Crush/Curtis Hughes - Hughes comes in, squashes job guys and a handful of lower card guys and calls out Crush, looking for a "real challenge".
Crush/Ludvig Borga - Crush plays the Marty Jannetty role and gets taken out by Borga, helping to establish Borga as a big time player.

Heck, go with Crush/Doink - That feud had its moments, but just don't drag it out for 75 months. Also, I could see Crush/Bam-Bam Bigelow as a feud with some traction.

Speaking of guys the WWF dropped the ball on; Anybody else think Adam Bomb should have stayed babyface in 1993 and worked against Yokozuna for a bit. Adam Bomb had some talent and he had a great look for a big, badass face. And those goggles would have sold like gangbusters if he hadn't been a heel.
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Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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Adam Bomb without the whack-you-over-the-head-incase-you-didn't-get-it gimmick definitely had potential, but pairing him with Harvey Wippleman was a death sentence. Even Sid seemed less cool when he turned heel in '92 and aligned himself with Wippleman. SID. LESS COOL.


1993 is one of those years where it seemed like it could've been so much more with just a little bit more creative effort. The talent was there, it just needed the puzzle pieces to be moved a little bit here, a little bit there.
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Scrooge McSuck,Oct 6 2014
10:10 PM
Adam Bomb without the whack-you-over-the-head-incase-you-didn't-get-it gimmick definitely had potential, but pairing him with Harvey Wippleman was a death sentence. Even Sid seemed less cool when he turned heel in '92 and aligned himself with Wippleman. SID. LESS COOL.

Having Harvey Wippleman as your manager in the WWF was the equivalent of hiring your brother-in-law to be your business partner in your new start-up business because he took half a year of business economics in Community College. He never really helped anyone, never made anybody any money, but he was a nice guy who did his job, didn't rub anybody the wrong way, and was a loyal, quiet company guy.

That's Harvey for you. He wasn't "cool", but he was a certain kind of dependable for his position in the company.
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Scrooge McSuck
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I'm sure he's a decent guy, but that doesn't translate into a viable heat generating manager. In his defense, it's not like he was given the cream of the crop like managers did in the Hulkamania/Rock n' Rasslin Boom. Heenan at one time managed Rick Rude, Andre The Giant, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard. Harvey Wippleman had Well Dunn and Kwang. A HUGE swing in talent level and card position.
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lucaskieren
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It baffles me how during the late 80's why they didnt't put the WWF Championship on Ted Dibiasie?
They could have had him win the tournament at Wrestlemania IV lose the title at Summerslam 1998 and have Andre face Hogan at Summerslam as well.
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Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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WWF was more oif a happy ending company. As much as the Dibiase rumor was circulated, it didn't make sense for WWF's formula. Until Ric Flair won the WWF Title at the '92 Rumble, the last image was always the babyface triumphant. Even at Survivor Series '87, Andre's win was spoiled by Hogan's return to the ring to chase him off and celebrating. IT also didn't feature a title on the line.
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lucaskieren
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Ok thanks that makes complete sense to me now. That's why in between The Iron Sheik and Sarge's title reign in 1991 there was only face champions. Was the WWF targetting at the kids at the time? Sorry just i'm only 17 and just trying to understand the historical features of the business. Also, at the time was the NWA/WCW when Jim Crocket sold to Ted Turner was they aimed at kids so what i am trying to get at is, was the whole pro wrestling business aimed at kids or just the WWF?
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Erick Von Erich
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I know the common, modern, rebuttal is "DiBiase HIMSELF said that he was to win the WWF title at WMIV in his shoot interview". Yet I have a hard time believing that. There's no way to prove he's incorrect, either, so the rumor will continue.

I'm probably repeating myself, but the tournament was always going to have a babyface winning. The "happy ending" concept that Scrooge mentioned. At the time of the tournament announcement (Feb 88), it seemed Bam Bam Bigelow was the odds-on kayfabe favorite. The tournament bracket was modified a few weeks later (same guys, just two matches flip-flopped) and that's probably when the decision to give it to Savage was official.

Besides, it'd be bad booking to have DiBiase be given the title by insidious means (The Main Event), get it stripped away, then they have a tournament and the Ultimate Evil Bad Guy who finally took the title from Hulk Hogan wins AGAIN?! I doubt that.

Another key component that would've prevented DiBiase as champ was the WWF's unofficial late 80's rule of "no clean sweep of babyfaces or heels as champs". If you pick a period from 1985 to 1989, the titles were always split up 1-to-2 or 2-to-1. Having nothing but heels holding the titles was usually a JCP/NWA thing.

Example:
March 1986 (post WM 2)
Tags: British Bulldogs
IC: Savage
WWF: Hogan

March 1987 (post WM 3)
Tags: Hart Foundation
IC: Steamboat
WWF: Hogan

March 1988 (post WM4)
Tags: Demolition
IC: Honky Tonk Man
WWF: Savage

The only time I can think of when good guys held ALL the titles was around the time of Survivor Series '89, when Hogan, Warrior and Demolition all held the belts. Didn't last long, as the Demos were quickly dethroned by Andre/Haku.

After Survivor Series 1988, the Demos were sort of tweeners, so I don't think you can count that as a three-title sweep for the babyfaces. The Demos didn't REALLY become babyfaces until WM5. That's when they started playing to the crowd and facing other heels (NOT named Powers of Pain).

Clean sweep for the faces, again, right after SummerSlam '90, with Hogan, Harts and Kerry Von Erich. But then you get into "90's WWF booking", which is not our exact topic.
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Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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WWF started targeting children with the Hulk Hogan cartoon show, but mostly stuck with traditional wrestling and characters. As the 80's progress, it became more and more a thing. By the turn of ther 90's, even more, and from 94-96, it was nothing but cartoony crap targeted to children.

WCW/JCP mostly stuck with the "we're a real wrestling company" label, but snuck in bizarre gimmicks here and there, like the Ding Dongs or Arachnaman. It wasn't until Hogan's arrival where campy took over, and even that only lasted for a couple of years (at most).
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Mad Dog
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lucaskieren,Oct 7 2014
06:00 PM
It baffles me how during the late 80's why they didnt't put the WWF Championship on Ted Dibiasie?
They could have had him win the tournament at Wrestlemania IV lose the title at Summerslam 1998 and have Andre face Hogan at Summerslam as well.

He was originally supposed to win the WWF Title at Wrestlemania IV. The plans were changed because the Honky Tonk Man refused to lose the IC Title to Randy Savage. So they changed gears and put the title on Savage instead.
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Mad Dog
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Checking my WONs from around that time, it looks like they panicked after his dry run with the belt did poorly on the house show circuit and eventually went with Savage instead.
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Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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Going back to my random 1992 observations: Up to the Prime Time Wrestling that forced a major adjustment to the Survivor Series Main Event: Mr. Perfect's face turn and return from retirement. It's a well done turn, with Perfect laughing off Savage picking him as his partner, but constantly being talked down by Heenan and company kind of irked him enough to say what the fuck ever and team with Savage after all. Once the angle with Flair finished up, there was no need to keep Hennig face. This program alone was organic fuel for a face run, but sticking with it was in poor choice. Probably my favorite match of his from his year run as a face is the one where he acted very tweener, against Hart at King of the Ring.
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Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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Did I mention they kept the Nailz and Big Boss Man program going for about 6 months? And the only match they had was the last night of their program? There's slow burning good feuds and then there's needlessly dragging stuff out. It wasn't a bad angle, but Nailz was such a one-dimensional heel, that keeping him around to do anything else would make little sense... so they originally had Nailz v. WARRIOR on the books (and promos were taped), before changing it to Nailz v. Undertaker. Then Nailz went and choked out Vince over a PPV payoff.
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Scrooge McSuck
I'll get you next time, toilet!
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The 1992 Survivor Series is such an oddly booked show.

First, Bret vs. Shawn is the co-headliner, but I don't remember there being a reason for this taking place. It was just kind of announced. Giving Shawn the IC Title two weeks before and making it only for the WWF Title all but guarantees Bret retaining.

Giving us a weak ending to Perfect/Savage vs. Flair/Razor was just that: weak. Flair could've eaten a pinfall to Perfect, even if it was a surprise roll up, since Razor needed protection for staying at the top of the card for the next couple of months.

Speaking of surprise roll-ups, that 8-Man Tag was awful. Why put Money Inc. at the disadvantage, have them pin Typhoon, and then 10-seconds later eat a surprise roll up? The most heatless match on the card that actually had an angle behind it.

Big Boss Man pins Nailz clean, despite Boss Man being sent down the card and Nailz being paired up with the Undertaker for co-headlining matches. I'm OK with Boss Man getting a cheap DQ win, except they booked themselves into a corner making the nightstick legal.

Undertaker vs. Kamala had the first of many "freak out the opponent by custom making the casket" build up, and I guess it was OK, but the match was still negative star crap.
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