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| Scrooge Revisits some Royal Rumbles | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 14 2015, 11:55 PM (1,769 Views) | |
| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 14 2015, 11:55 PM Post #1 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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1988: - Just an observation, before getting into quality of the matches… with so many top names NOT featured in action (Hogan, Dibiase and Andre are in attendance, but didn’t work, no Savage, no Honkytonk Man, no Beefcake, no Demolition, etc. etc.), this feels like a glorified B-Show on the House Show Tour. That doesn’t take away from the quality of the show, but it shows a bit of arrogance that a TV Special would be held opposite of a NWA PPV, with the promise of a new style Battle Royale, and nothing else other than a Contract signing for a Network television special two weeks away. Heck, even Bobby Heenan isn’t in attendance. - Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude sounds like a good match on paper, but paper doesn’t factor into the actual results. There’s a good reason Steamboat had the nickname Arm-Dragon, as his offense consisted almost entirely of arm-drags into armbars. This was booked to go way too long (nearly 20-minutes), and featured a crappy Disqualification. Honestly, the most memorable part of the match is an obnoxious mark sitting front row, hard camera side, with a megaphone in hand and one of those doofy “clapping hand” hats. *1/2 - Segment #1 to stretch out time: Dino Bravo attempts to break the World’s Bench Press Record. This runs too long, but does its job in establishing Bravo’s “Canada’s Strongest Man” and subsequent push. Jesse Ventura spots him, deliberately cheats to “break” the record, and claims innocence. - The Jumping Bomb Angels defeat Judy Martin and Leilani Kai, a.k.a. The Glamor Girls, for the seldom defended Women’s Tag Team Titles. The Bomb Angels were outstanding workers considering the era and overall lackluster workrate WWF was offering at the time, and although I found them a bit boring, both Martin and Kai were good wrestlers, based on wrestling skill and working the crowd. Unfortunately, this matches importance is pointed out when Vince McMahon doesn’t even bother to use the Bomb Angels names for the first fall, simply referring to the color of their tights. And people think Michael Cole and JBL are bad about that stuff with Los Matadores and the Usos? Again, the best tidbit I can offer is that the Bomb Angels dropped the belts back a few months later in “Cairo, Egypt”, one of several phantom Title changes in their history (and yes, most of them featured the Women’s Tag Titles). ***1/4 - Segment #2 to stretch out time, but the most important: Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant sign the contract for the Main Event Special to be held on February 5th. Lots of recapping their feud, which not only shows how great the whole angle was, but is a great way to catch up fans who might be new and WWF are trying to hook into watching NBC two weeks later. Naturally, shenanigans happen, as Andre assaults Hogan to put his “seal of approval” on things. - 20-Man Royal Rumble Match. I’m not sure, but I don’t think an official list of participants was ever released, but I may be wrong, as this was just before I started watching wrestling, and I don’t have episodes of Superstars or Challenge handy to verify. No ring entrances for the first two participants, Bret “Hitman” Hart (#1) and Tito Santana (#2). You can tell they wanted to get the match off hot by putting two of the best workers in the match out there first to get the crowd going. And you thought putting the best workers in early was just a modern concept? Pshaw. If you look at the list of participants, it’s really hard to pick a winner, with almost all the top midcarders involved. - Heel vs. Face was still heavily enforced. The first four entrants included both members of the Hart Foundation and Butch Reed, and Vince McMahon voicing concern that one of Tito’s friends needs to enter next to help out. - Also worth noting: Tito Santana is a participant, but not his partner and co-holder of the Tag Team Titles, Rick Martel. Way to have a brother’s back, dude. If it were Tony Garea, I bet you would’ve signed up. - “The Natural” Butch Reed makes history by being the first man officially eliminated from a Royal Rumble Match, courtesy Jake “The Snake” Roberts. - Has there ever been another instance where Jake Roberts and Sam Houston, real-life siblings, competed in the same (WWF) match? - Bret Hart/Tito Santana, Jake Roberts/Jim Neidhart, and Sam Houston/Danny Davis are common pair-ups in the first half of the match. Things are a bit more random after that, with no real significant match-ups, at least nothing longer than a brief instance, like Roberts and Don Muraco double-teaming Bret Hart. - Bret Hart sets the first “Ironman” record for a Royal Rumble, lasting through the 18th entrant, or just shy of half-an-hour. - Remember what I said about putting the top workers in early? The last five to enter are noteworthy workrate machines Hillbilly Jim, Dino Bravo, the Ultimate Warrior, One Man Gang, and Junkyard Dog. That’s my way of saying “the worst workers are usually kept in for a brief time or put in last, because they might pop the crowd, but won’t be expected to carry any portion of the match. Heck, the clock seems extra accelerated for the last few entrants, too, although that’s probably more of a format sheet thing. *** - Young Stallions vs. The Islanders, another 2 out of 3 Falls Match, closes the show, with the Islanders winning two falls to zero. Feels like Saturday Night’s Main Event in terms of card placement. It’s times like these where I look at those who argue “the last match is the Main Event” and laugh in their face. The Islanders heated rivals, the British Bulldogs, were also nowhere to be seen for this event. ** Final Thoughts: Being the first ever, it holds intrigue for that reason alone. If you look at everything without that cloud hanging over it, the Rumble Match was OK, but unremarkable, and there’s little star power featured in the ring. Steamboat/Rude is incredibly disappointing, and the show closes with a filler undercard Tag Team Match. Match of the Night honors goes to the Women’s Tag Team Championship Match. Once you get past the opener and the overly long Bench Press segment, this turns into a very watchable show. |
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| Erick Von Erich | Jan 15 2015, 08:20 AM Post #2 |
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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-Nice little observation about Jake Roberts and Sam Houston. I never thought of that. As far as I know, yes, this is the only time they were in the same match. -I think Bam Bam Bigelow was announced as a Rumble participant, at one point. I think it was just when somebody like Mean Gene would do a quick interview intro and run down some of the participants. I don't think Bigelow ever actually did a promo about the Rumble, though. -Pretty sure I've babbled before how this free show hooked me. I had a Boy Scout meeting that night, but my mom taped the last part of the show for me--- from Duggan's entry to the final. I was sick the next day and watched that last part of the Rumble about 4 times. Maybe even consecutively. -I remember a Dino Bravo promo, where he was talking about his bench press attempt. One of those Mean Gene Prime Time studio segments, probably. Frenchie Martin wasn't there, and Bravo was rather mellow and humble. He complimented Hulk Hogan and was very serious about his upcoming World Record attempt. I thought he was a face. So I was a little confused when he came out and started acting all heelish. -Was Roma's injury in the 2/3 match legit? Doesn't seem like it would fit into any kayfabe booking to have him stumble around like that. Plus the fact that they stopped the match, between falls, to trot out a time-killing interview. I'm doing something similar to this, but only watching the actual Rumbles. And with no order, of course. Watched the first part of 1992, last night. Like how it starts out as a prolonged Bulldog vs. Flair match. Bobby Heenan freaking out over Sherri's rack is pretty funny, too. "Wow! Look at those!" |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 15 2015, 11:08 AM Post #3 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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The stuff with Roma seemed legit, but at the same time, if he's that injured, why trot him out there and risk further injury? The argument to the latter is he spent almost the entire 2nd fall on the apron, and only tagged in to quickly do the job. Watching 1989 right now. After that, I'll probably jump around. |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 15 2015, 03:42 PM Post #4 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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1989: - The first Royal Rumble to be featured on Pay-Per-View. The undercard is still garbage, but the Rumble Match has expanded to 30 Participants, a staple number for all Royal Rumbles with the exception of one since the PPV debuted. Oh, and now that money could be made through charging folks $24.95 for the show instead of broadcasting it on the USA Network, the star power is out, with almost every Main Event level name, with the exception of Warrior and Rick Rude, involved in the Royal Rumble Match. - Who didn’t love when Vince McMahon would open the Rumble PPV’s by announcing the card and/or all the participants of the Royal Rumble Match? I think the trend ran until 1992. Speaking of trends, how about the videos of Superstars picking their numbers? I think 1989 is the one of the few years where they really went with it. 2005 comes to mind, too, but other than that, I’m not sure. 1995 had an episode of Action Zone doing it, including Shawn gloating about his number and throwing everyone off. - Didn’t really care much for the 6-Man Tag; 2 out of 3 Falls Match between the Hart Foundation & Jim Duggan and the Fabulous Rougeaus and Dino Bravo. I’m assuming the Rougeaus didn’t have their kickass music yet, as the trio of Canadians come out to Bravo’s tune. Here’s two feuds that were never settled on TV (it was the era of House Show blowoffs, just incase anyone’s questioning this): Dino vs. Duggan, over the usual, and Rougeaus vs. Foundation, over Jimmy Hart being “fired” and then giving his contract to the Hart Foundation to the Rougeaus… or something. (**) - Traditional Time Waster: The Super Posedown between the Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude. Had this been a 5-minute segment, I wouldn’t make a deal of things, but this ran 15-Minutes. On PPV. Only about a minute of it featured a physical altercation. In defense of Rick Rude, his posing did seem a bit better. I loved when Ventura called Warrior out for almost tripping over himself during a pose (no, I don’t know the names of poses. I’m not a gym freak). This set the stage for their feud running through SummerSlam, including Warrior’s first (televised) pinfall loss (at WrestleMania V). - Rockin’ Robin, or Sam Houston in drag, defends the Women’s Championship against Judy Martin, making her second appearance on a Royal Rumble card. Sensational Sherri throws down a challenge before the match, but the title was abandoned shortly after WrestleMania V, and Sherri was paired up with Randy Savage to be his “more physically involved” Manager, in contrast to Elizabeth’s passiveness. This is OK, but WAY too long. Coliseum Video actually clips it down to almost nothing. (*1/2) - Speaking of Coliseum Video, they clipped out an entire match! King Haku vs. Harley Race over who the true King of the WWF is. I loved Bobby Heenan playing both sides throughout the match, even though Harley Race was kind of working face at the time. Yeah, that didn’t go over very well. I’m pretty sure this was Race’s last in-ring appearance on WWF programming. It’s a good match, but the crowd didn’t care. (**1/4) ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH! - Ax and Smash kick off the match, probably to convince all of us watching that it really is every man for himself, and faces will fight faces, and heels will fight heels. Remember, in 1988, there was maybe one brief moment where a heel attacked a heel. As a Demolition mark, and someone who did it all the time with his Hasbro Action Figures, I really dug their few minutes of one-on-one. - Andre The Giant enters at #3, and basically works handicap style against a wide range of opponents, including but not limited to Demolition, Curt Hennig, Ronnie Garvin, and Greg Valentine. It’s always cool to see random pairings working together. His most notable offense is the complete destruction of Jake Roberts, then takes a lame self-elimination running away from Damian. When Roberts returned with the Snake, the crowd popped huge… while Bushwhacker Butch was making his entrance. Always made me laugh and think that’s why Vince was convinced the Bushwhackers were over. - Here’s an oddball match-up you’ll never see again: Mr. Perfect vs. The Honkytonk Man. - Bad News Brown gets #13. That’s just awesome. - Another cool one: Randy Savage and Arn Anderson double-teaming to eliminate Shawn Michaels. SMARK WET DREAM! - Hulk Hogan goes on a house cleaning mission, dumping out Koko B. Ware, Bushwhacker Luke, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, The Warlord (lasting less than 2-seconds, a long standing record that held until Santino broke it 20 years later), Bad News Brown… and fellow Mega-Power, RANDY SAVAGE. They have a heated exchange, broken up eventually by Elizabeth, and the timely entrance of the Big Boss Man, who happens to be feuding with the duo, along with Akeem… who happens to enter right after that! In the biggest shocker of the night, Hogan is tossed out by the Twin Towers. He gets his revenge by helping Brutus Beefcake and pulling the ropes down on the Boss Man. - The remaining field, following the eliminations of Savage, Hogan, and the Boss Man: Akeem, Brutus Beefcake, The Red Rooster, Hercules, The Barbarian, Rick Martel, Big John Studd, and Ted Dibiase, who apparently bought the 30th entry. - Big John Studd worked almost exclusively with Akeem, doing nothing worth noting. These two worked a lot at house shows and TV tapings, and every match was awful. One word to describe it: Lazy. - You have to love how thinks were booked, so that by the end of the match, none of the top babyfaces are in the ring to over-shadow Big John Studd’s lukewarm reactions. Honestly, they could’ve done the same booking with Hogan winning by “accidentally” tossing Savage and another heel, but at the same time, it seems like they wanted to do the “Ted Dibiase buys #30 because of course he can”, and having him eliminated in any other way except the last man just wouldn’t feel the same. Final Thoughts: The undercard is pretty weak, not just because of the lack of star power outside of the Royal Rumble, but heatless matches that just didn’t click. The opening tag was good, but unremarkable, the Women’s Match was the standard affair for the era, and the crowd was on it’s hands for Haku vs. Race. The Rumble is pretty good, but it clearly dies off for the last 15-minutes. It’s got some fun spots, but for an overall experience, it’s a bit below par. |
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| Erick Von Erich | Jan 16 2015, 08:49 AM Post #5 |
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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Worthless Stuff All About ME: The more I think about it, I believe the night of the first Rumble in 1988 was the night I accidentally dove into a church pew, got a concussion, cut my head open and needed stitches. That would explain why I was sick and stayed home the next day. -For 1989, I was probably the only mark at the time who thought Big John Studd's win was cool. The roster was fairly thin at the end of 1988, so they needed another top-level heavyweight babyface. |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 16 2015, 10:20 AM Post #6 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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As a kid, the '89 Rumble was one of the few PPV's I'd never seen, even though we were frequent renters of Coliseum Videos at the local mom and pop video stores, so I never knew Big John Studd won a Rumble, and when I did, I really didn't know what to make of it, since he didn't appear on the '88 PPV's, was a referee for Mania 5, and wasn't on any other PPV's after that. I was a young mark and wasn't sure how he didn't get a title shot out of it... to be fair, Hogan, champ, won in '90, won in '91 and challenged at Mania 7, the Rumble was for the title in '92, so Studd was the only PPV Rumble winner not to have a coincidental excuse. Heck, even Duggan got a spot in the Mania 4 Tournament. |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 16 2015, 10:35 AM Post #7 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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1991: - The Rockers vs. Orient Express opener has been talked about enough, so we’ll just say it was a really good opening match, and move on. Random tidbit: This was the first PPV victory for the Rockers, having lost at Survivor Series ’88 (2xDQ), WrestleMania V (vs. Twin Towers), SummerSlam ’89 (vs. Rougeaus & Martel), Suvivor Series ’89 (Jannetty pinned by HEENAN, Michaels pinned by Anderson), WrestleMania VI (CO loss vs. Orient Express), SummerSlam ’90 (vs. Power & Glory), and Survivor Series ’90 (Jannetty pinned by Warlord, Michaels by Roma). - Traditional Royal Rumble PPV Filler: A special interview featuring the Ultimate Warrior and The “Sensational” Queen Sherri that served as a reason for Randy Savage flipping his shit and running in during the WWF Championship Match later in the show. Shorter than the usual filler on these Rumble PPV’s, and it actually added to something. - Big Boss Man and the Barbarian have a better match than you would expect. Boss Man was consistently having good matches around this time, and was probably in the best shape of his life. Maybe it had something to do with one of the best pushes he had as a babyface. I could only imagine where things would go had Rick Rude not left in the Fall of ’90. - Warrior vs. Slaughter has been talked about enough, but it’s funny to think how times have changed: These days, if a Champions reign is deemed a failure or not worth pushing forward, it’s usually ended. Warrior’s reign, from certain sources, was labeled a failure in JUNE 1990, and kept the Championship for another 7 months. Next time people argue his reign and I throw the “well, he was shoe-horned into Demolition vs. LOD’s program at House Shows”, there’s probably a reason it was done. One has to wonder how far in advance they knew that they were passing the belt to Slaughter. - Poor Koko B. Ware and Jacques Rougeau are trotted out, unadvertised, as the crowd sits in deathly silence after witnessing SGT. SLAUGHTER winning the WWF Championship from the Warrior. Coliseum Video clipped the match out, as the whole PPV ran WAY too long, somewhere around 3 hours and 10 minutes. I’m assuming they bought the proper airtime “just in case”, unlike when WCW did this later in the decade and lost feed to Halloween Havoc ’98 right as the World Title Match started. - We all know the deal with Ted Dibiase and Virgil following their match with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes (yes, Dustin Rhodes has now competed at Royal Rumble events 24 YEARS apart), but one thing that was mentioned in a WCW recap from the same week: WCW was heavily pushing the return of Dusty Rhodes at Clash of the Champions, while he was finishing up with the competition on a PPV. That takes balls. ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH - Some fun substitutions and false advertisements: Andre The Giant was announced as a participant in the early weeks of Rumble hype, and was also included in the preview in WWF Magazine. Also announced was the Honkytonk Man, who left the company shortly into the new year. Also, according to the WWF Magazine article (which correctly listed both Andre and Honky), PLAYBOY BUDDY ROSE was to be a participant, too. The last one might seem hard to swallow, but WWF Magazine was usually dead on accurate for things that included changed plans. - For the second time, Bret Hart draws #1. Again, strong worker put in early to carry the match. Dino Bravo is an OK #2, simply because the two of them worked a shit ton of shows together and had surprisingly decent chemistry (taking into consideration Bravo’s deteriorated mobility from heavy steroid abuse). Greg Valentine at #3 and Rick Martel at #6 are more solid workers in early to carry the length of the match. - Greg Valentine solidifies his babyface turn from a few weeks back and targets his former stable-mate Bravo. Valentine’s turn originally took place in the closing days of 1990, but on a MSG Network broadcast. It wasn’t until a week or so before this PPV where it was mentioned on nationally televised WWF programming. I guess Monsoon didn’t get the memo, acting surprised at Valentine attacking Bravo. - Saba Simba enters at #7. I love people who cite the incident with Roddy Piper “killing the gimmick”, when he was only “pushed” as Tony Atlas going back to his roots in all the matches I’ve ever seen. WWF Magazine even did a detailed write up about the whole stupid gimmick. No, I’m not defending how awful the gimmick was, just the selective memory of some people. - The next hot sequence is Jake Roberts naturally going after Rick Martel. The crowd practically loses their collective shit for it. Tito Santana and Martel have a similar exchange a few entries later, because who the fuck didn’t enjoy every time Santana and Martel would clash? - The Undertaker, still managed by Brother Love, makes his Rumble debut, easily eliminating Bret Hart, and later Bushwhacker Butch and The Texas Tornado before being eliminated by a double team effort from the Legion of Doom to one of the best pops of the match. - I always found it odd Brian Knobbs was a participant, but not Jerry Saggs. In 1992, it was the other way around, but because of reasons outside of WWF’s control (Knobbs was stabbed in a parking lot brawl with drunk fans a week or so before the PPV). - Rick Martel breaks the longevity record (about 54-minutes), set by Ted Dibiase in 1990 (48-minutes). - Hulk Hogan wins… LOL. Final Thoughts: The 1991 Rumble featured the best undercard to date, which also meant sacrificing names for the Rumble Match. Warrior, Slaughter, Dibiase, Rhodes, and Boss Man are all featured underneath, and you can include Savage in the list as he wasn’t in the Rumble to further a storyline with Warrior, making a very thin pool of believable winners. The Rumble itself was a bit lacking, as the ring seemed too crowded, too often, and never really opened up for some good exchanges for the camera to keep up with. |
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| Erick Von Erich | Jan 19 2015, 05:35 PM Post #8 |
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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With ya' on this one. I still think the WWF saved the idea and did it with "Chris Chavis going back to his roots...as TATANKA" about a year later. Y'know, I never realized until now that Knobbs was not in the 1992 Rumble! Who was Knobbs' replacement in 1992-- Haku? |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 19 2015, 05:39 PM Post #9 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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Either Haku or Volkoff. One subbed in for Jannetty, who happened to get fired (SHOCKER) while selling the injury from the Barber Shop incident. They still aired taped matches of his on Prime Time for a few weeks, because... (shrugs) |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 20 2015, 12:51 AM Post #10 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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1993 - Yep, 1993. Again. Quick correction to something I mentioned in another recap” Jannetty wasn’t fired for what he may or may not have done at the Rumble PPV, but the following day at TV tapings where he was found passed out in the locker room and instantly replaced by Tatanka in his program with Michaels. - This was something I came across in WWF Magazine and the Royal Rumble program and was a bit surprised: an advertised match between Max Moon and “Terrific” Terry Taylor. This match was never mentioned on television, and both ended up in the Rumble Match, possibly subbing for Crush and Jim Duggan. - I can’t say this with 100% fact, but I seem to recall this PPV starting at 4 or 5 in the afternoon, and we ordered the replay immediately afterwards. I want to say my only concrete evidence is that we watched the first few minutes on scramble-vision and knew the Steiners match was opening the show. - In one of those bone-headed moves you pull as a child, I accidentally taped over the first 10-minutes of our copy recordered off PPV with one of the countless re-runs of Nickelodeon’s “Wild and Crazy Kids”. It was the episode guest starring Jonathon Taylor Thomas. Other memorable fuck ups from me (and not just limited to childhood boners) included the WrestleMania X tape with a few moments of an episode of “Doug”, and then the coup de grace’, WrestleMania X-Seven with about 10 minutes of an awful Skinemax movie (and this was obviously as a teenager with a boner). Damn tabs not being broken… - Even as a 7 year old, I knew Sherri was going to side with Marty Jannetty. If only Vince Russo were booking to fool us pre-pubescent marks just for the sake of swerving us. - I was a bit surprised at how much Bam Bam Bigelow “dominated” (a.k.a squashed) the Big Boss Man. I was less surprised at Boss Man’s removal from television afterwards. One sided losses after extended periods of pushes were always a sign someone was leaving, even to a youngster. - Lex Luger's debut was kind of... gay. 30-Man Royal Rumble Match: - A few items I mentioned in my Complete January ’93 recap: I was a bit surprised that not one mention was made surrounding Crush and the injury he suffered at the arm of Doink (the Clown) that kept him out of the match. I guess it should be filed under the “don’t call attention to things” folder. It might seem laughable now, but babyface Crush in 1993 was surprisingly over and could’ve gotten over big with the rocket-strapped-to-his-ass push that Luger got later in the year. Also missing from the match but advertised for weeks was Jim Duggan, and he too wasn’t mentioned. I guess they removed him to sell the ass-kicking Yokozuna gave him that was taped for Superstars. I honestly expected him to be #30 instead of Randy Savage, since his removal from the match went unannounced. - For those with a subscription to the WON, check the archives for Meltzer’s coverage. It’s just amazing how much he bashes Bob Backlund for being a poor worker, being unover, and every other reason you can pick on someone that you can imagine. - The first third of entrants included an impressive, if not particularly relevant, group of workers: Ric Flair (multi-time World Champion), Bob Backlund (former face of the (W)WWF with a 6-year reign), Ted Dibiase (multi-time Champion in the Mid-South territories and a “smark” darling from his era), Jerry “The King” Lawler (Memphis legend), Genichiro Tenryu (Japanese legend and promoter), and Curt Hennig (another smark darling from his era). - I absolutely LOVE Bobby Heenan’s commentary early in the match, directed at Bob Backlund and his age. I still randomly scream out “can you get arrested for beating up the elderly.” (I live near a retirement community, so I come across senior citizens every other block) - As much as I defend the quality of the shows and the roster in 1993, the Rumble Match was seriously lacking in roster depth, especially with a loaded undercard. Take a look at entrants #11 through #26, excluding The Undertaker and Undefeated (and barely used) Tatanka: Skinner (JTTS), Koko B. Ware (JTTS), Samu (midcard tag team) Berzerker (demoted to JTTS), Terry Taylor (JTTS), Damien Demento (JTTS), I.R.S. (tag title holder but non-threat), Jerry Sags (Money Inc. rival), Typhoon (midcard tag team, soon demoted to JTTS), Fatu (midcard tag team), Earthquake (midcard tag team and on his way out), Carlos Colon (See below), El Matador (JTTS), and Rick Martel (irrelevant midcarder). - Again, even children know when booking is cheap… example: The Undertaker being eliminated by non-participant Giant Gonzales. Yes, the rules change depending on what the booking team needs to accomplish. In 1992, Randy Savage was allowed back in despite hopping the top rope, but in 1989, Andre The Giant hopped (eh…) the top rope and was counted as eliminated. I also had limited access to WCW television and barely remembered El Gigante, so I honestly didn’t know it was him until a few years later when I re-discovered old(er) WCW PPV’s. - Speaking of Carlos Colon (Puerto Rican territory legend and promoter)… I’ll never get over Gorilla Monsoon calling him a youngster. You just have to believe it was a rib. I think Meltzer said it best, Colon was too young to collect social security, so that qualifies. - Tito Santana and Rick Martel go at it briefly for old times sake when Martel makes his entrance. - Randy Savage seems to target the Repo Man extensively, which could be a nod to the angle they shot on the January 18th episode of Raw. Only problem: Monsoon and Heenan don’t pick up on it, so it just comes across as a random exchange. - Randy Savage and Yokozuna’s final 5-minutes is probably one of the best “one-on-one” finishes in Rumble history. Nothings going to touch what Michaels and Undertaker did a while back (2008?), but this was great, and you almost thought Randy Savage had a chance, just because of how he always seemed to over-come whatever beating. Unfortunately, pinfalls don’t count in the Royal Rumble (unless you make it an option in a random WWF/E video game). Final Thoughts: The undercard is probably the best it’s been (with 1991 a close second), with two pretty good/great Championship matches, and a solid opening Tag Team Match. The Rumble Match is a tale of two stories, though. It starts off pretty good, with some quality workers and exchanges, and finishes on a high note, but wow, from the time Undertaker is tossed until Yokozuna’s arrival, is 20 of the most boring and heatless Rumble minutes you will ever find. |
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| Erick Von Erich | Jan 21 2015, 09:02 AM Post #11 |
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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When I officially began taping WWF stuff, I always made sure to give it its own tape. My other "TV mixtapes" at the time were embarrassing. I had a tape I used from about age 12-13 and it had, in no particular order: -The Disney "Robin Hood" (the one with the fox, bear and stuff) -Whitesnake, Dokken, Van Halen and other videos -An episode of "SuperFriends: Galactic Guardians" -Two episodes of "Pee Wee's Playhouse" -Some Belinda Carlisle, Madonna and Samantha Fox videos at the tail-end of the tape (that's probably when I got a new hobby). I think I had a final "spank-bank" mixtape, circa 1999. Had clips of the short-lived Gina Gershon show "Snoops". I think I was into her for about a year. Also had some Miss Hancock footage, cuz' damn. Finally threw 'em all away when I moved, about two years ago. |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 21 2015, 11:33 AM Post #12 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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1996 Royal Rumble Match… - For the first time in the PPV era, the Rumble Match doesn’t go on last (and a streak that continued for the next two years). I guess Shawn Michaels victory wasn’t worthy of finishing the show, but a no-contest bullshit ending between a fairly heatless Bret vs. Undertaker Championship Match did. - As depleted of a roster 1995 was, with the inclusion of a lot of undercard fodder, at least the roster was deep enough not to have to look outside the company to fill things out. Among those appearing for the sake of appearing: Dory Funk Jr (looking like someone’s grandfather), Doug Gilbert (on loan from USWA to make Vader look good), Jake Roberts (who was eventually signed for full-time based on his reaction), The Headhunters (called the Swat/Squat Team, without anyone having any idea of how to put them over), and Takao Omori (using the old Orient Express music… of course). Things would somehow get WORSE in 1997. - 1996 is the first year where everyone came out to entrance music, which created more pops, but in between entrances, the crowd was mostly on their hands. - As a young mark, this was the first year I had little doubt who the winner would be. If it wasn’t Shawn Michaels, then damn if I know who’s booking the crap. - It always seemed weird to me that the first elimination doesn’t occur until nearly twenty minutes in. - I vividly remember being a total mark for heel Vader, one of the earliest examples I can think of where I was completely on board with a heel. The next night on Raw when Vader destroyed Gorilla Monsoon was, at the time, the coolest, most shocking, segments I’ve ever seen. - Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect were both pretty bad at calling eliminations. Playing the confused or stupid card doesn't cut it when you're calling a match that requires keeping the fans informed incase we miss something. - Again, as a kid, I really found it hard to swallow that SHAWN MICHAELS single-handledly tossed Vader and Yokozuna. You’re telling me 7 men with leverage couldn’t toss him in 1993, but Shawn can lift one leg of each man (combining for 1,000 pounds) and toss them like feathers? BULLSHIT. - I always loved when Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels had their token exchange, even though both were babyfaces at this point. - A little disappointed how quickly the match ended. From Duke Droese’s entrance as #30 until the final bell, it’s only about 2-3 minutes. I guess they wanted to do the quick elimination of Diesel so not to have half the crowd turn on Michaels or something. - I think it's safe to say this was the worst Rumble match to date. Very little drama, not enough interesting spots, the ring too cluttered too often, too much outside talent that weren't even worth the plane ticket to Fresno... and it's still probably better than the next 3 Rumbles. |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 21 2015, 04:57 PM Post #13 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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1997 Royal Rumble Match… - Again, I’m just skipping all the undercard stuff because it’s just a waste of time. Despite a crowd nearing 50,000 (heavily papered), this might be the most quiet I’ve ever seen a WWF crowd (for a PPV). Goldust and Hunter Hearst Helmsley had a decent program going, but little reason for the crowd to care. Ahmed Johnson was missing so much time it was hard to keep fans interested in his angle with Faarooq. Undertaker vs. Vader seemed thrown together, and went way too long. Even the advertised Main Event of Shawn Michaels vs. Sid was underwhelming, but at least the crowd woke up for it. Two matches I skipped over, one on the actual PPV and one on the Free For All… - WWF’s head-scratching relationship with AAA (that would be the Lucha Libre promotion, not the auto-repairs thing). The Free For All gave us a match featuring mini’s, two of which were dressed up as Mankind and Vader. I didn’t get it, because the WWF doesn’t cater to a Lucha Libre audience, and it just felt weird. Then we got a 6-Man Tag on the PPV featuring Fuerza Guerrera, Heavy Metal, and Jerry Estrada against Perro Aguayo, El Canek, and Hector Garza. Blown spots, dead crowd, and the out of shape workers put over stronger than the younger, more athletic talent. - Remember when I mentioned how depleted the roster was in 1996? Well, it’s even worse here. On top of borrowing talent from AAA (totaling four patrticipants, the most notable being Mil Mascaras), Terry Funk is brought in for a one-shot appearance, AND everyone who worked underneath (with the exception of the 6-Man Tag) is pulling double duty. - Ahmed Johnson vs. Crush might be the worst start to the Rumble Match in terms of possible workrate. At least they are familiar foes, which helps a little. Things just start off on a shit note, as “Razor Ramon” enters without a countdown and without entrance music. I guess we’re having technical difficulties that last for the first few entrants. Speaking of Ahmed, he’s cheap elimination #1: hopping the ropes to chase after Faarooq. - Steve Austin’s music cue gets ZERO reaction. - Jake “The Snake” Roberts makes his last meaningful appearance for the WWF until 2005 (he had one more on Shotgun a week or so later, but who the hell saw it?), and then not again until 2014. Naturally, he’s eliminated going for a DDT. I guess people never learn. Jim Ross notes this is Roberts’ 6th Rumble Match (lies… 7th) and the most ever at this point (lies, again. Martel also had 7 Rumble appearances: 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, and 95). - The British Bulldog is going to win the Royal Rumble. Why? Because he’s bizarre. He said it, not me. 18 years later, and still nobody knows what the fuck he meant. - Cheap elimination #2: Mil Mascaras with a tope’ onto the previously eliminated Pierroth and Cibernetico, with the reasoning behind it that he wasn’t aware how a Battle Royal works. - Cheap elimination #3: Previously eliminated Ahmed Johnson knocks Faarooq out with an over-sized 2x4. - Jerry Lawler with the best elimination of the match. Unadvertised for the match, Lawler leaves the broadcast table, says “It takes a King”, hops in the ring, gets instantly knocked out by Bret Hart, goes back to his seat, and says “to know a King.” - You could tell that the WWF had plans for Glenn Jacobs down the line. “Razor” comes in and gets tossed quickly, and was already starting to do clean jobs. “Diesel” gets to work the last 20-minutes, and is the next-to-last eliminated, on top of being protected on weekly television. - Terry Funk and Mankind get to have a few exchanges. They would have even more fun together in the following year’s Rumble Match. - Steve Austin’s complete list of eliminations: Phineas Godwinn, Bart Gunn, Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, Owen Hart, Savio Vega, “Double J” Jesse Jammes, The Undertaker (illegally), Vader (illegally), and Bret Hart (illegally). The record would hold until 2001. - Going into the show, I would say Bret Hart was the 100% obvious winner, but when Steve Austin came in at #5 and stuck around until the end, you kind of knew that he was going to win somehow, and in this case, by sneaking back in the ring because the referees missed his elimination. |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 21 2015, 11:32 PM Post #14 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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WWE Royal Rumble 2008 (The 1st in HD! Hurray for nothing!) - From MSG. WOO! - As someone who was completely done with the product at the time, what was the deal with Ric Flair's "career ending" storyline? Obviously it ended at WrestleMania XXIV, but how long did this go on and what brought it on? MVP is the reigning United States Champion, but I don't think this is for the title, which would give away the ending, had we not known where the road goes from here. Good match for what it was (a non-title match between an average worker and an aged legend).** - Mr. McMahon is hanging out with... Hornswoggle. OH MY GOD was I glad to miss out on this debacle. I can imagine it was as bad as most people say. - New to the WWE... Mike Adamle. OH MY GOD was I glad to miss out on this debacle. I can imagine it was as bad as most people say. Yes, I did that twice in a row. - Chris Jericho returned after over a two year absence in a cool moment (one of the few I caught in a 5-year span) and instantly went from a program with Randy Orton to a semi-retired JBL. I'm surprised as hell, so soon after the Benoit situation, that they allowed stranglation on their broadcasts. I guess the PG Era didn't kick in for a little longer. Random side note: I still think Jericho looks odd in short trunks, but I guess McMahon loves his legs. Jericho with an ugly blade job before a DQ finish. Solid brawl and the ending fits the story of the match. Jericho didn't need to pin JBL, he just wanted to make him suffer. Again, more hanging simulated. **1/2 - Ashley. Ew. What the hell am I looking at?! - Here's a tag team I forgot ever existed: Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder as Edge's lackies. Weren't they working under a different name preceeding this... the Major Brothers or some other awful mid 90's level of lack-of-thought-put-into-it gimmick name? Edge vs. Rey sounds good on paper, but the stuff with Vicki Guerrero always turns me off. I just see everything with her as exploiting the Guerrero name. All that aside, a really good Championship Match. Vicki taking the bullet for Edge and tthe Spear countering the West Coast Pop was a pretty cool finish. ***3/4 - WWE Kiss Cam. Thank goodness this was put to sleep. - Did the WWE Network version really have an edited version where Mike Adamle's "Mike Harvey" line is removed?! BOO! I want my $9.99 back for this month! (Edit: I meant Jeff Harvey... I guess I pulled an Adamle there) - Those unfortunate enough to know me for years knows I'm not exactly a fan of Jeff Hardy, so chalk up one under the "was happy to miss his elevation to the top of the card" file. - Remember my complaining about excessive choking and simulated hangings? Well, Randy Orton's punt kick to the head. Because simulating strangulation and causing trauma to the brain = great ideas in the aftermath of the most sickening tragedy wrestling has known in years. Royal Rumble Match: #1: The Undertaker, #2: Shawn Michaels, #3: Santino Marella, #4: The Great Khali, 5: Hardcore Holly, #6: John Morrison, #7: Tommy Dreamer, #8: Batista, #9: Hornswoggle, #10: Chuck Palumbo, #11: Jamie Noble, #12 CM Punk, #13: Cody Rhodes, #14: Umaga, #15: Snitsky, #16: The Miz, #17: Shelton Benjamin, #18: "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, #19: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, #20: KAAAANE~!, #21: Carlito, #22: Mick Foley, #23: Mr. Kennedy, #24: Big Daddy V, #25: Mark Henry, #26: Chavo Guerrero, #27: Finlay, #28: Elijah Burke, #29: Triple H, #30: John Cena - I think my mind just blew a bit seeing MICHAEL BUFFER doing ring introductions on a WWE broadcast. - The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, the last two men in the ring in 2007, start. Have I mentioned that their sequence to end the 2007 Rumble was probably the best ever? Poor Santino gets "lucky" #3, eats Sweet Chin Music, and tossed by 'Taker soon after. Khali (#4) dominates briefly, and suffers a short fate as well. - YOUR Tag Team Champions as of January 27, 2008: Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes, and John Morrison and The Miz. Speaking of Cody... it's weird to believe he's been on the WWE roster for eight years now and gone through so many different character changes. - Hornswoggle arrives and hides under the ring, a la Jerry Lawler in 1996 (Lawler: It works). - What the hell were these guys still doing on the roster: Chuck Palumbo and Jamie Noble. 2003 called, Smackdown wants its JTTS crew back. (that's not a knock on them as workers, but more for the fact these two left at a certain point where I still watched, only to come back when I stopped) - Did we ever get CM Punk vs. Shawn Michaels? (goes on YouTube after watching this) - WrestleMania Main Event Tracker: The Miz: 1, CM Punk: 0. - Jimmy Snuka takes shots at everyone, including a brief exchange with the Undertaker. Did You Know: Jimmy Snuka was the 1st WrestleMania victim for the Dead Man's Streak? - Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka go at it for REALLY OLD times sake. Thankfully Kane dumps them out as soon as he enters. - Shawn Michaels eliminates The Undertaker as Big Daddy V enters (#24), and then Kennedy tosses Michaels just seconds later. That would be an unofficial 34-minutes. - Hornswoggle pops out, reminding us of our existance, and pulls out the Miz. Ouch. At least he still has a Mania Main Event to his credit. Later on, he tries the same on Mark Henry, unsuccessfully. Finlay makes the save, but is "DQ'ed" for jumping the gun, and Hornswoggle unofficially is eliminated, too. - In probably the biggest surprise in Royal Rumble History, John Cena, who was supposed to be out for months with an injury, makes his surprise return, and gets the loudest pop I think he's ever recieved, and then the "smart" crowd tries to boo him after collectively wetting themselves. Somtimes it's just cool to enjoy the show. - Cena Wins, LOL. Final Thoughts: Good show from start to finish, but you can tell I have some animosity towards this particular era for reasons that go from pety (like hating Jeff Hardy for being a drug addict) to legit (the gross use of hanging and "concussion" kicks), to whatever the fuck seems to bother me (Ashley. Ew). |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jan 22 2015, 04:27 PM Post #15 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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1995 Royal Rumble Match... - If memory serves correctly, I think Pamela Anderson’s appearance was pushed more than anything else on the PPV. The commercial aired more than any others in recent memory, and it was just WWF Superstars hitting on her via answering machine messages. The best (and by best I mean worst) was Diesel’s “why don’t we paint the town black and chrome” line. - 60-second intervals was such a stupid idea, but at the same time, look at the list of participants. It was basically damage control. I remember in 2004 they teased the same thing, then thankfully changed their minds and did 2-minute intervals. - The Blu Brothers made their first TV appearance, and in the Rumble Reports, pictures weren’t provided for them, despite being announced for the match, so when Jacob Blu came out at #13, right after Eli was eliminated, I just thought it was the same person. - You want to know how thin the roster was? Check out this list of participants: Well Dunn, The Blu Brothers, The Heavenly Bodies, The Bushwhackers The NEW Headshrinkers, Men on a Mission, The Smoking Gunns, Aldo Montoya, H.O.G., Mantaur, Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, old-timer Dick Murdochm Rick “The Model” Martel (filling in as a one-shot for the recently released Jim Neidhart), Kwang, Doink (the Clown), and to lesser extents, pushed midcarders like Adam Bomb, King Kong Bundy, and the recently returned from hiatus Crush (who was then released for a run in with the law). - Taking that last bit into account, here’s the list of believable winners: Shawn Michaels, Davey Boy Smith, Owen Hart, Bob Backlund, and Lex Luger. With a babyface champion more than likely going to WrestleMania, that limits it to Shawn, Owen and Backlund. ON TOP OF THAT, Bret Hart, as retribution for the result in the WWF Championship Match, attacked both on their way to the ring, and both were eliminated in a matter of seconds. Jeez, wonder if Shawn Michaels is going to win… - Vince McMahon with a casual line saying the Royal Rumble premiered in Houston, TX. Yes, that would be the PPV, but the 1988 Rumble, which was generally recognized in WWF publications as part of the history of the show, was in Hamilton, Ontario’s Copps Coliseum. - Probably coincidence, but the next entrant after Owen Hart (attacked by Bret) is Timothy Well, and the next entrant after Bob Backlund (also attacked by Bret) is Steven Dunn. Oddly, Mo and Mabel come out one after the other, as do Billy and Bart Gunn. - The main story (Hell, only story) of the match is Shawn and Bulldog starting, and lasting until the end. As impressive as it sounds on paper, it only took 28-minutes to get the entire pool into the match. - Mo with the shortest stint in the match at about 3-seconds. Owen Hart’s stay was just as short, but hard to time, since it’s only seen (live) on the giant wall at the entrance, and then in slow-motion replay. - Mabel and King Kong Bundy have their obligatory fat man showdown, and it’s one of those instances where on paper it sounds like a cool idea, but when they actually do it, you wish they would never make physical contact in a wrestling match ever again (and naturally that’s what WWF did, having them do a Battle Royal Rules Match on Raw two weeks later). - Lex Luger and the British Bulldog work extensively together late in the match, planting the seeds for their official formation as the Allied Powers. What a waste of two potential main eventers. If I were Lex Luger, I’d be chomping at the bit to screw McMahon over, too. - There’s really nothing much to say about this one. Little when it comes to interesting exchanges. - I remember being PISSED that they did the whole “both feet have to touch the floor.” In years past, this was never an issue, since the spot was never used, but them playing Bulldog’s theme music like he won, only to reveal that Michaels was still legal, was a great swerve to end the night. Coming up next... I guess I'll revisit the 2014 Royal Rumble. See what one year of perspective does for my opinion, having recapped the show live, and being full of venom. |
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12:06 PM Jul 11