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| WWF Prime Time Wrestling; Memories of my favorite Wrestling Show | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 28 2016, 02:14 PM (3,788 Views) | |
| HeenanandMonsoon | Jul 28 2016, 02:14 PM Post #1 |
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dWb Superstar
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''I'm Gorilla Monsoon...... and I'm your host Bobby ''The Brain'' Heenan'' |
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| Erick Von Erich | Jul 28 2016, 03:05 PM Post #2 |
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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"Will you stop?!" I first saw Prime Time in the summer of 1985, when I was traveling with my dad in Wyoming. It seemed to be on, every night, as I remember learning the names Brutus Beefcake, Moondog Spot and Junkyard Dog. My dad still remembers the fans chanting "JYD". The vignettes about George Steele's face turn... and for years my dad would say: "Lou says: talk slow" whenever I'd start to stutter. I also remember a re-broadcast of one of King Kong Bundy's first WWF matches and he scared the hell out of me. Watched it somewhat regularly when I first got into the WWF in the Spring of 1986. But I burned out on it, sometime in May or June. I was sick of seeing Iron Mike Sharpe, King Tonga, Lanny Poffo and all these other scrubs. Where were Hulk Hogan, JYD, Ricky Steamboat, etc.? Got back into the WWF, hard, in 1988 and always pined for Prime Time. It was on Monday nights and that was Boy Scout night. So it always drove me crazy that I missed it. Every once in a blue moon, I'd say I was "sick" and miss Boy Scouts, so I could watch Prime Time. In the summer, I found out that it would re-air on Wednesday nights at 11:30pm. I remember staying up in the summer of 1988 and sleeping in the living room in my Cheetoh's sleeping bag, after watching it. I think they moved from Mondays, later in 1988, and I was able to watch it regularly. I always liked it because it was usually good for three "non-jobber matches" that you wouldn't see anywhere else. They really began to just regurgitate "Superstars" and "Challenge" in the fall, while running every match from "SummerSlam '88", weekly, as their "feature". Then adding in stuff like... King Haku vs. Hillbilly Jim! *You're welcome, Scrooge* |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jul 28 2016, 04:05 PM Post #3 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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As much as I like watching old episodes of Prime Time, there's not a whole lot of distinct moments, but still enough to make a list... 1. Monsoon and Gorilla's banter. 2. The changing of the set and style. Twice. 1st in February of '91, and again in I believe November that same year. 3. Roddy Piper being added to the show and setting off about half-a-years worth of bickering with Bobby Heenan. 4. Holiday themed episodes, with the set decorated for Christmas or Halloween, etc. etc. Who didn't love Monsoon dressed as "Brother Hate" or Heenan as the Boss Man whacking away at a Hogan poster with a nightstick? 5. Going on location, like Busch Gardens or touring Trump Plaza. 6. The late, late, late need to make up for firing Warrior, so doing an episode with the intention of bringing Curt Hennig out of retirement and turning him face. |
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| HeenanandMonsoon | Jul 28 2016, 11:26 PM Post #4 |
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dWb Superstar
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The banter between Monsoon and Heenan will forever be my favorite part of the show. Those two had chemistry that in the words of Gorilla we are ''Highly Unlikely'' to ever see again. When I subscribed to WWE 24/7 many years ago, I was thrilled to see they were showing old episodes. Even though The show could be very boring with the matches and even the ''Feature'', It was still my favorite WWF show of all time and no other show could ever top it in my eyes. Out of all the wrestlers who have passed over the years I miss Gorilla Monsoon the most. His death hit me the hardest and to this day I still sometimes shed a tear for him. He was the soundtrack to my childhood and was a big part of why I became a fan of Pro Wrestling. For my money there will never be an announcer like him again and I truly believe that. |
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| Erick Von Erich | Jul 29 2016, 08:38 AM Post #5 |
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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Yeah. Gorilla's death was one of the two wrestler deaths that hit me, hard (Elizabeth being the other). Like I said, somewhere on here, I always felt like he was my friend. Was he a great announcer? No. But was he my favorite? Absolutely. In the early 90's, I watched PTW almost exclusively, due to my own time restraints. Had work, school, football, etc... and Saturday and Sunday mornings for the syndicated shows became harder to do. The 11:00pm Wednesday slot worked well for me, until they canned that sometime in 1992. Watching it "live", I never paid much attention to the Gorilla and Brain segments. I was always waiting for those three exclusive matches so I could fire up my VCR. Going back and re-visiting PTW over the past 10 years, I see that I missed out on the real meat n' potatoes of the show. Some special episodes that I liked: -The November 1988 "Superstars in Paris" 3-hour show. Yes, the matches were garbage, but it still felt like a special event with the ring dressing, unusual location, different crowd noises and that weird camera lens with the honeycombs. Heenan's classic bit with their little dinner wager over who would win the Sherri vs. Rockin' Robin match ("C'mon Sherri, I got a double Whopper riding on this!"). It also turned out to be Don Muraco's last WWF TV appearance, for what that's worth. -The February 1989 "Face to Face" special hyping WrestleMania V. Even stuff like a podium debate between Ronnie Garvin and Dino Bravo got me fired up for the event. Then they threw in a "feature match" of Demolition vs. Powers of Pain, which had the debut of Tony Schiavone on commentary. -The December 1988 Busch Gardens episode, because it was the official kayfabe introduction of... the Bushwhackers. -Building up the Red Rooster/Bobby Heenan issue, sometime in January 1989. Then the Brooklyn Brawler stormed the set and even... gasp...hit Gorilla with a bar stool! -Summer of 1989 and the previously mentioned Piper/Heenan feud. It was the whole reason why Piper/Rude ever became an issue. -Right before WrestleMania 6, when they did a special "on location" episode in Toronto. I think this episode had Colossal Connection vs Rockers and Dusty Rhodes vs. Randy Savage. Remember Brain complaining about being up so high in their host booth. -The original Royal Rumble was on a Monday night and basically took PTW's slot, that week. -One trivial and interesting thing I noticed in re-watching: PTW was the only national show where they featured "The Headbanger/Jos LeDuc/Butcher LeDuc". Aside from a mysterious and unacknowledged appearance at King Haku's coronation, you would've never known the guy was in the WWF for about 6 weeks that summer. |
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| HeenanandMonsoon | Jul 29 2016, 08:57 AM Post #6 |
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dWb Superstar
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I remember all the episodes you mentioned. That ''Face To Face'' episode was excellent in building up WM 5. And you got to love the green screen they used for that episode. WWF was notorious for using them on all their programming during those days. The Piper/Heenan feud is timeless. Especially the episode before Summerslam 89 where both Piper and Rude had a pull apart brawl. Good stuff |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jul 29 2016, 10:54 AM Post #7 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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I forgot all about this episode that I'm recapping... the Bachelor Party for Randy Savage. Holy crap is this hilarious. Its on YouTube listed as Prime Time Wrestling 08 12 91. |
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| HeenanandMonsoon | Jul 29 2016, 11:03 AM Post #8 |
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dWb Superstar
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It's funny your recapping that particular episode Scrooge as I just watched it a few weeks ago. You could tell they were all having a good time. I've been noticing a lot of Prime Time episodes circa 91/92 being uploaded to YouTube. Even though the format changed, I still enjoyed those final years of the show. |
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| Erick Von Erich | Jul 29 2016, 11:54 AM Post #9 |
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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From what I recall, Slick's babyface transition into "Reverend Slick" took place entirely on Prime Time's "round table discussion" days. Can't remember if it was in late '91 or in '92. Think Slick's last appearance as a ringside heel manager was SummerSlam '91. EDIT: they had segment in the summer of 1989 that featured the "Dusty Rhodes vs. Honky Tonk Man Sing-a-song Challenge". Can't remember if it was a special episode or just something they randomly threw in. Pretty silly-- Honky sang his theme song and then Dusty sang: "Dusty B. Goode". |
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| Erick Von Erich | Jul 29 2016, 12:02 PM Post #10 |
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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"It's bid-ness time!" [doHTML]<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wO-etz4G_lk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/doHTML] |
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| HeenanandMonsoon | Jul 29 2016, 05:26 PM Post #11 |
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dWb Superstar
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I Believe British Bulldog fought Warlord on a episode in October 91 and after the match he gave Slick the Running Powerslam that ended his career as a manger. A month later he ''saw the light'' and came back as Reverend Slick. That episode with the ''sing off' was a 3 hour episode that aired 2 weeks prior to Summerslam 89. I remember 24/7 cutting that segment out for some reason. Most likely for fear of copyright. |
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| Scrooge McSuck | Jul 30 2016, 12:46 AM Post #12 |
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I'll get you next time, toilet!
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Babyface Slick was just... no. I never cared for Kamala to begin with, but Slick trying to get him sympathy, even as a kid, SCREAMED "Kamala is a worthless lump and a big loser" as soon as they hinted his face turn. Kamala for whatever reason always felt out of place, even in the cartoon world of WWF, and by 1992-93, with the new blood being phased in for major roles, Kamala, a stereotypical borderline racially offensive gimmick, was still being featured regularly. |
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| HeenanandMonsoon | Jul 30 2016, 07:33 AM Post #13 |
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dWb Superstar
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Babyface Slick was terrible. It didn't fit him at all especially after doing the ''doctor of style'' gimmick for so long. I didn't mind Kamala during his run in WCCW or his first run in WWF circa 86/87. But by 93 the gimmick ran it's course. The face turn was unnecessary as well. |
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| Erick Von Erich | Jul 30 2016, 05:04 PM Post #14 |
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I'm Big E and I tell it like it is
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Kamala was actually in the WWF in 1984, feuding with Andre for a bit. When he came back in the fall of 1986, they acknowledged that he was "returning" and not some newcomer. Only difference was that in 1984 he had Friday as his handler; Kim Chee in 1986. I always liked the Kamala character and gimmick, but when he came back for stint #3 in the WWF in 1992, he did seem out of place. By then, you knew he wasn't going anywhere on the card and was just there to fill a roster spot. I think they were trying to re-create the Lou Albano/George Steele turn with Slick and Kamala. On one hand (and this is totally kayfabed) , it did seem nice that after all these years of being mistreated as an animal, that somebody would finally be nice to Kamala and treat him as a human. I was watching less than 1/5 of the their regular TV in 1992/1993, so I kinda' liked the idea of Kamala's face turn. But instead of a savage, he became a loon. |
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| HeenanandMonsoon | Jul 31 2016, 12:50 AM Post #15 |
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dWb Superstar
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Your correct Erick I forgot about his stint in 84. I remember he was advertised for the Rumble in 94 for some reason even though he was off tv by the Summer of 93. Overall though I liked the heel savage Kamala of the 80s but his face run was harmless and didn't last long so i'll give it a pass. |
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