WCW ongoing thread

[Petey]

Good thing Hall and Nash came over and solved that problem. Company men above all else.

[PhilTLL]

WCWSN, 4/2/1994:

 

Spring Stampede warmup matches are on the agenda. Ricky Steamboat prepares for his world title shot by facing the esteemed veteran Paul Diamond. Steve Austin hopes to get an edge on the Great Muta by taking on Colonel Parker's handpicked athletes from Japan, and this week he is challenged by a true puro legend..."Tanaka-san."

 

I think those two must have shared a goddamn overnight bag back then.

[BrianB]

Before those final few matches, I believe Savage had a falling out with Hogan around Road Wild 1999. I've heard they were planning on jobbing him to Rodman, which was changed. Regardless, after the show had a blow-up claiming Hogan was trying to sabotage him and no-showed some events. I believe Dave said Savage's contract was set to expire at the end of 1999.

[...TG]

Occasional early-90s WCW ring announcer and Atlanta radio legend Rhubarb Jones passed away this weekend.

[iamthedoctor]

I've been listening to Stone Cold's podcast with Eric Bischoff and I always thought after WCW ended there was a PPV coming called Big Bang or something as a revival of WCW.

 

 

However according to this Bischoff claims had he & his buddies bought WCW with a TV deal he said it would have gone away for a few months before coming back. Would we likely have seen all the WCW guys who were around March 2001 or would it have just been guys who signed long term deals?

[Mad Dog]

I'm going based on memory. They were going to go dark for 4-6 weeks. They were going to come back with Joey Styles and Cyrus as the announce team.

 

As far as I remember they were keeping the roster together. Steiner was taking out all the faces so they could be reintroduced after the restart. From what I remember they were going to get Rob Van Dam and a lot of the ECW guys. D'Lo Brown was also rumored to be jumping ship to WCW before the buyout. Those are the bits and pieces that I remember from the time.

[Strummer]

Pretty sure the idea was to build to a Hogan v Steiner match

[Strummer]

WCW getting Kevin Greene to appear at the January 96 Clash less than a week from him playing in the Super Bowl (!) and barely promoting it is just classic WCW.

 

There is no way an .NFL team allows one of their players to do that today. No way

[iamthedoctor]

I'm going based on memory. They were going to go dark for 4-6 weeks. They were going to come back with Joey Styles and Cyrus as the announce team.

 

A ECW announce team on a WCW show?

 

WOW!

 

Im guessing Schavoine wouldn't have been resigned as he had been with WCW for years.

[slabinski611]

I have been checking out some WCW from the yearbooks lately and I have seen quite a bit of wrestling I haven't seen since it aired. What occured to me is how much more the pre Hogan wcw holds up compared to the nitro era. I would take stuff from the DA days over most of these lucha matches to the point where my top 100 MOTD would be totally different if I were to redo it now.

 

My question to everyone is: Do you rather the DA/Sting/Vader/early 90s wcw or the Benoit/Malenko/Rey Jr etc nitro era matches ?

 

BTW, early 90s wcw saturday night is where it's at.

[Mrzfn]

Early WCW is so all over the place. I will agree that the first half of '92 with Vader and DA running wild is probably my favorite WCW period though.

[iamthedoctor]

I have been checking out some WCW from the yearbooks lately and I have seen quite a bit of wrestling I haven't seen since it aired. What occured to me is how much more the pre Hogan wcw holds up compared to the nitro era. I would take stuff from the DA days over most of these lucha matches to the point where my top 100 MOTD would be totally different if I were to redo it now.

 

My question to everyone is: Do you rather the DA/Sting/Vader/early 90s wcw or the Benoit/Malenko/Rey Jr etc nitro era matches ?

 

BTW, early 90s wcw saturday night is where it's at.

 

Yeah I did enjoy WCW during the early 90s alough I didnt see WCW till ITV was airing it in 1991, alough I was limited to 1 episode of Pro each week I did enjoy what I saw and really got into the Dangerous Alliance/ Sting & his buddies feud. Time we got to 93 ITV was editing more and more stuff to fit into a 40 min time slot so luckily DSF came around to showing alot more and I did like 1993 with the people that were there and I was excited about Hogan coming in and getting to battle Flair in a dream match we should have got at Wrestlemania 8 as the UK didnt get any of the house show matches.

 

Looking back I do wonder how WCW would have managed without Hogan & if they would have gotten the same success as there are only so many times you can keep doing Steamboat/Flair & Flair/Sting. Im guessing Sting would have had more Title runs and probably would have main evented Starrcade against Flair.

 

If Hogan never comes in im guessing neither does Savage.

[Mrzfn]

Well, that really depends. Assuming Bischoff is still in charge he would probably still be a major hound for anyone WWF made famous, and Savage still wouldn't want to be stuck in the booth so there's a good chance that would have still happened. And now I'm wondering what the wrestling world looks like if Savage stepped into the same role Hogan did in '94...

[iamthedoctor]

Well, that really depends. Assuming Bischoff is still in charge he would probably still be a major hound for anyone WWF made famous, and Savage still wouldn't want to be stuck in the booth so there's a good chance that would have still happened. And now I'm wondering what the wrestling world looks like if Savage stepped into the same role Hogan did in '94...

 

If Savage does still come in to WCW in 94 would it still have been Starrcade 94 or maybe try to sign up for a Bash at the Beach match with Flair?

 

Im guessing they could have a series of 3 matches in he beats Flair at the Beach and then Flair regains the belt back at either Clash or Havoc where they have a final 3rd match to settle it at Starrcade 1994.

[Mrzfn]

The major upside being, most likely nobody would have hired Brutus Beefcake.

[iamthedoctor]

The major upside being, most likely nobody would have hired Brutus Beefcake.

 

To be honest after hearing the report on Beefcake on WWE around Summerslam time when he required metal plates in his face I thought he was done as a wrestler.

 

I was very suprised when he came back in 93 for a few matches. I was a massive fan of Beefcake and loved his cutting peoples hair but when he went to WCW I was very disapointed in his run. Even the heel turn seems like it probably would have been better had Vince done it.

[C.S.]

Yep, people forget how over and entertaining the Beefcake character was in the WWF.

 

His horrid WCW run and million different bad gimmicks have overshadowed that for some reason.

[Kronos]

I like Bruteye in the later 80's with Valentine. I think he's got a good look, they put on decent matches, and his gimmick is silly but fun.

 

I have not seem him in WCW, though.

[Mrzfn]

I've just watched his stuff from '84 to '88... I mean yes, he's much better than he'd be in WCW, but I still just don't care for him, and I don't think he'd have been pushed so prominently without his connections. His best time was definitely teaming with Valentine.

[thebrainfollower]

Has anyone ever made or know where one could find a compilation of all those Dungeon of Doom segments in the Wizard's lair? I want to show those to a couple of newer fans for a gag.

[Victator]

I've just watched his stuff from '84 to '88... I mean yes, he's much better than he'd be in WCW, but I still just don't care for him, and I don't think he'd have been pushed so prominently without his connections. His best time was definitely teaming with Valentine.

I was watching 87 WWF earlier this year and was watching Brutus as he was given the Barber gimmick. It is an interesting evolution as you can tell he is uncomfortable with the gimmick. He is trying to work it as if he were an actual barber, smock and all. He would really try to style the jobbers hair. Using styling cream and using a mirror.

 

Over the next few months he starts to loosen up. Once he gets away from Johnny V and feuds with Valentine and Honky he turns the corner. Now he is Woody Woodpecker trying to ruin Wally Walrus's barbeque.

 

I can't say he was a good wrestler, but he was good at being Brutus Beefcake. If the accident never happens, I think his career is much different and he is remembered better by fans.

 

If he was not close to Hogan, I doubt he would have gotten the time he did in the WWF. But with his look, he would have gotten hired in different territories.

 

After hearing the details of his accident, I respect him as a man that he did not lose his mind.

[iamthedoctor]

I've just watched his stuff from '84 to '88... I mean yes, he's much better than he'd be in WCW, but I still just don't care for him, and I don't think he'd have been pushed so prominently without his connections. His best time was definitely teaming with Valentine.

 

Beefcake in the late 80s seemed like he was the 3rd most popular guy in the company behind Hogan & Warrior. I think he was rumoured to take the belt off Perfect had he not been injured.

 

Since he turned face I don't think I saw him lose that many matches, well we never got house show matches over here so seemed he had a good win record. Sole Survivor in 89, beat Perfect at Mania, probably would have beaten Honky at Summerslam too.

[Hawkeye12]

Always found it strange that Beefcake was on the losing end to Rick Martel more often then not at house shows from September 1989 through March 1990, including a December MSG TV match, when his push should've been at it's all time high coming off Summerslam and into the No Hold Barred match, and then onto "ending" Mr Perfect's televised winning streak to most of the audience (Warrior had beat him right before that on MSG TV) and likely an IC title reign. But maybe it had more to do with the plans for Martel, he left for a few months that summer which probably wasn't planned. He was advertised to face Tito at Summerslam which probably wouldn't have happened if they planned on him being gone. Then he came back and was put into the big angle with Jake.

[SirEdger]

Rick Martel was injured during the summer of 1990, that's why the match with Tito Santana never happened at Summerslam. He returned in October to start the angle with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, IIRC.

[iamthedoctor]

Always found it strange that Beefcake was on the losing end to Rick Martel more often then not at house shows from September 1989 through March 1990, including a December MSG TV match, when his push should've been at it's all time high coming off Summerslam and into the No Hold Barred match, and then onto "ending" Mr Perfect's televised winning streak to most of the audience (Warrior had beat him right before that on MSG TV) and likely an IC title reign. But maybe it had more to do with the plans for Martel, he left for a few months that summer which probably wasn't planned. He was advertised to face Tito at Summerslam which probably wouldn't have happened if they planned on him being gone. Then he came back and was put into the big angle with Jake.

 

The way they changed Martel's character after Strike Force and made him to the upper card as a top guy I was suprised they never put the IC title on him. Sure in 92 he was regulary losing by pinfalls but he seemed the more dominant victor in his feud with Santana but after that they didnt really do much with him.