JerryvonKramer Posted September 12, 2012 Report Share Posted September 12, 2012 As the standard bearer for "entertainment" round these parts, I thought I'd share with you my journey through the sheer cheese that is WWF TNT and the only marginally less cheesy (but awesome) Prime Time. I did not acquire this material for the wrestling, I acquired it for ... everything else. Vince's ridiculous chat show. The "expert panel" on Prime Time. The skits. This is my sole reason for owning all of this. That said if a good match DOES turn up somewhere, it surely can't hurt. As ever, I will not so much review or recap these shows, as I will simply provide a kind of stream-of-consciousness running commentary of what I'm seeing. January 4th, 1985, TNT - Vince has a new band to showcase on TNT, a cheesy brass band that is. He looks very pleased with it. Lord Alfred is, of course, on hand looking like he just fell out of a 60s Butlins. - Hulk Hogan is "training" Hillybilly Jim. Making him drink his vitamins -- which seems to be some sort of magic carrot juice -- which will help him work out harder in the gym ... hmmm, is Hulk being the best role model here I wonder. In the gym itself we're treated to some nice squats and bench presses by the Hulk and some significantly shitter ones from Hillbilly. The funniest thing about this sequence is that Hulk keeps telling him to "think of the farm" as motivation. Ha ha ha. - Nikolai Volkoff is here to sing a number with the band. We're shown a quick jobber match against "Athens Apollo" of his before 3-4 gruelling minutes of interview time. His central idea is that Americans lack the class to stay quiet for his Russian anthem -- he's not wrong y'know! He contends that Russians would stay quiet for the American anthem. I haven't seen enough Russian wrestling to comment. The fans in Zangief's stage in Street Fighter 2 seemed pretty respectful to me. There is hype for Volkoff's burgeoning tag-team with the Iron Sheik and a possible future match with the US Express. Volkoff also name checked Adonis and Murdoch, who I would have thought were gone by 85 (Murdoch at least). - Noticed that Vince is a fan of the extreme cheese link. This slick, slightly schmoozy chat-show host persona is one of my favourite versions of Vince. - Lou or as Vince says "Lewis" Albano is out now and he appears to have a rubber band attached to his face. This is not a good look. He's been raising money for charaddee with Cyndi Lauper. The big beef is with Piper, who has been saying that he "made" the career of Lauper who he continually calls a "broad". Some clips of the two of them arguing. Albano gives a shouty promo about it, big fat sloppy pig that he is. Vince asks him to calm down at one stage. - Piper is the next guest and his entrance is amazing cock heel smugness. He makes some hilarious comments about Vince's new band being at the cutting edge of rock and roll. There's some previous between he and Lord Alfred (Piper attacked him before), and we're told that Piper is only appearing because Alfred is ok with it. Within 30 seconds its clear at Piper has more charisma than all of the other people who have appeared so far combined. Clip of him and the Tonga Kid, who batters Poper with a chair quite viciously. Sheik, Volkoff and Greg Valentine make the save. This is a bit of a weird mix of people. - Piper attacks Tonga Kid's earrings and hair. He accuses him of "degenerating all of society". He goes on to say "if a women hits me, I'll hit her back". Nice Hotrod. He then accuses Lou Albano of pocketing some of the $4million he helped raise for multiple sclerosis, that pisses him off enough to come back. This showdown is gold. Piper nails Albano. Shades of Mr. McMahon from Vince: "C'monnn ggrrrr out of herrree" Ha ha ha - Lou Albano spazzes out for at least 5 minutes, seems like he's going to either have a nervous breakdown or a heart seizure. The band takes us out as Alfred and Vince try to calm Albano down. - The music from the band is amazingly schmaltzy, I imagine this might be the sort of band they'd have on one of those old US chat shows from the 1950s. Maybe presented by Dick Van Dyke. The idea that Vince not only thought this was a great idea but also got it on the air, is legit amazing to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted September 12, 2012 Report Share Posted September 12, 2012 Cool Parv, this stuff will be good cross reference material for the 80's yearbooks when Loss/Will get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigelow34 Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Love this Jerry! I have a lot of similar types of stream style reviews for old Superstars episodes...maybe if this takes off I will share as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted September 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 January 1st, 1985 - First episode of Prime Time ever. - Funky 80s music with stark, no very stark, blue screen and titles, featuring some "no frills" looking wrestling from the likes of the Iron Sheik and Hogan. - Your hosts are not Gorilla Monsooon and Bobby Heenan, but Jack Reynolds and, my favourite, Jesse Ventura. Jesse is wearing a leather jacket, shades and a beret. Reynolds looks like he was dug up from the same place Vince got that old time band on TNT. "Pleasure to be here, the pleasure's yours and for all the people out there on the USA Network". Jesse tells us that TNT will now be on Fridays. Doesn't it stand for "Tuesday Night Titans"? Bizarre. Hating the mild-mannered and charisma-less Jack Reynolds, bringing nothing to the table so far. They talk about Ventura's blood clots in 84. Jesse says he's coming back, I don't believe him. Dr. D David Schultz is going to be taking on Salvatore Bellomo. Can't wait. Reynolds and Ventura are an awkward pairing. - Monsoon is commentating on the Schultz match with Gene Okerlund. Schultz gives Bellomo a knee to the gut and Mean Gene says, "That'll jar your mother's preserves". What sort of saying is that?! Elbow from the top from Schultz and Bellomo KICKS OUT! What the hell?! Hasn't Bellomo read the jobber's manual. Schultz gives him a suplex for that, "well executed", says Gorilla. It's probably one of the worst suplexes I've ever seen. That's it for the 3. Gene and Monsoon rail on the ref for a slow count. Howard Finkel looks thin and weedy. - Ventura is definitely not his usual smooth self here. Dare I say he's even a little green in this role, stumbling on his words a bit, and a bit stiff in front of the camera. They are talking about Murdoch and Adonis. Reynolds is like a piece of actual cardboard. Murdoch is going to be taking on Somoan #1, Afa. Ventura says that he doesn't think the Somoans should be allowed in wrestling because "neither one of them can read or write ... all they've got is a hard skull". All Reynolds has to come back with is "Jesse, the Somoans have done very well in professional wrestling". So what? They can't read or write? - Murdoch taking on Afa now at MSG and we get some turnbuckle spots. Both men have significant poundage around their waists. Murdoch stupidly tries to headbutt Afa. Gene buries him: "what a feeble attempt by Murdoch". Action goes to the outside and Murdoch uses a cable to choke Afa. Nice viscousness from Murdoch. He stays on top for a few mins before inexplicably going for the head again. Okerlund is having kittens. He and Monsoon might be the most openly critical commentary team in history. Afa has a series of pin attemps which are broken by a foot on the rope. Gene: "c'mon, give me a break, I've got to question the thought process of the Samoan".Murdoch's selling is a bit cartoonish. He nails Afa with a jug of whiskey! Gene and Gorilla are back on the ref's case. Afa smacks Murdoch in the kisser and he checks to see if his tooth has come out. Can't tell if that's legit, but if not that's a cool spot. Time limit draw. Disappointing finish to a pretty good match. Murdoch was excellent here. Murdoch requests another 5 mins. Afa cleans his clock. - Some really shitty arguing between Jesse and Reynolds now. This Reynolds has to go, he's crap. Mad Dog Vachon vs Rick McGraw comin up. - Interview with Maddog now. His beard doesn't look real. He says "people come here to make a name for themselves, but my name is already a legend in wrestling" Nice line. Match vs McGraw now. Vachon is billed from Algeria. Straight into a headlock here. Mean Gene tells a joke that I simply do not get: "Matter of fact, I lost my dog the other day", "the one that was sick?" "Came in the house for a drink and the lid fell on his head." Gorilla cracks up. There's something I'm not seeing there. I know Monsoon is deeply unpopular round these parts and Gene is bringing out the worst in him, but I kinda like their schtick here. They come across as two mates who are watching sports together and what they say just happens to be recorded. It's quite natural and has an "easy feel" to it. The fact that they are burying and criticising guys all the time, scarcely matters really. You just have to shift your mind from the ideal of a Solie or Jim Ross who is a professional guy who calls the action, to this weird sort of "armchair fan's running commentary" thing that Monsoon and Okerlund are doing here. If you see it that way, harping on the ref or being critical "adds realism". You could say their job is to get the action over, or the wrestlers over, or you could say is their job is to "be the voice of the fan at home" and keep things entertaining. On this evidence I'm veering towards the latter. Monsoon mentions that McGraw had a terrible neck injury and that "he's just not the same, there's something missing there". Having looked this up, I understand the subtext of that comment. Piledriver from Vachon and it's over. Okerlund calls for the piledriver to be banned. - Reynolds: "I'll tell ya, you can't beat the crafty veterans". No one would ever say that. Hate Jack Reynolds. Ventura is still quite stiff. They are now talking about a "fast rising star", David Sammartino. Oh boy. Ventura buries him: "No way Jack! Let me tell ya something, this little ... beer-bellied punk is doing nothing but ride on the coattails of his daddy do Bruno" "I don't agree with you at all" "Well I don't care if you agree with me, I know". Glimours of the Jesse we all know and love here, but Reynolds is so fucking unnatural and fake. - David Sammartino now. Bit harsh of Jesse to call him beer-bellied, ha ha. Limited charisma, but no less than any other generic white meat babyface of this era. - Ventura accuses Bruno of retiring out of cowardice just before he joined the WWF in 1981. lol got to love that. - David Sammartino is taking on the WWF's answer to the Boogie Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant, Moondog Spot. GENE HACKMAN is in the crowd. Wow. Mean Gene and Gorilla talk about how Monsoon used to be over 400lbs and Gene asks him how his diet is going. I pretty much hate everything David Sammatino is doing here. Moondog hits him, he says "come on!", and again, and again, and again. What the fuck is this? Both Okerlund and Moonson think it's "obvious" that Sammartino is going to go a long way in this sport. Moondog Spot looks like an actual tramp they found begging outside MSG and paid to be in the ring. He's actually pretty good and controls this match well. Nice backbreaker. David Sammartino's no-selling and saying "come on!" routine is getting old very fast. I'm actively cheering for Moondog Spot here. Sammartino is a total cock. He knocks Moondog down and then shouts "GET UP!". Really seems like he's working heel to me. Nice standing vertical suplex from David Sammartino, I'm mildly impressed. He reverses a pinfall attempt into a small package for the three. Can't see any future for this young man at all. Post-match Moondog beats on him, good. Crowd really gets behind David when he grabs Spot's bone. - The ongoing argument between Ventura and Reynolds is painful, mainly because of Reynolds. Tito Santana vs. Greg Valentine coming up. Ventura immediately starts with the "Chico" stuff. "Believe it or not he used to be the Intercontinental champion, and that's a big big jump from when he used to be selling tacos out in Tijuana". Reynolds no sells this. - Tito is with Monsoon. He looks pissed off. He's been injured but wants a piece of Valentine. Too bland this promo for me, expected more fire. - The big fat sloppy pig Lou Alabano is out, he's Greg Valentine's manager. Does this mean his face turn was just 3 days later or was this a show from a while back? Anyway, crowd is hot for Santana. And he's fired up. Attacks Valentine immediately and nails Valentine with some nice shots. Rams Valentine's head into the mat. 7 punches to the face. Some great forearms from Tito. Albano is bugging the commentary team, Gene: "come on stay off of my case will ya". Santana is like a man possessed here, trying to tear Valentine's face off. Nice atomic drop from Valentine. He target's Tito's injured leg. Throws him outside for the cheapshot from Albano. Action continues outside for a brawl. Valentine misses a chairshot. Santana nails Valentine with the chair. DQ?! Santana continues to nail Valentine in the face. Valentine has colour! Santana throws ref down. DQ???!!! Yes. Santana keeps nailing Valentine in the fact. He's so fucking pissed off here. This is awesome! Nails Albano. The heels run off. Tito is so fired up, roof of MSG sounds like it's going to come off. - Less said about Jack Reynolds the better, he sucks, fire him already Vince. Ventura calls Santana "a disgrace to his family" for flagrant rulebreaking. - Sika against Adrian Adonis now. Monsoon calls the 298lb that Sika is billed at "highly unlikely". I'm inclined to agree looks about 315. Adonis is wearing an NY jacket. Weird how he'd be the heel here. Adonis has a body like a barrell at this point. I'm thinking that this match can only end in a draw after the Afa / Murdoch match earlier. I like Adonis, he's light on his feet, he moves welll, he sells well. Ref takes a bump and calls for a DQ immediately. Oh, win for Sika. Shows what I know. - Ventura says Adonis hasn't lost a thing since his days teaming with him in the East-West Coast Connection. Another break now. Tony Garea vs. Brutus Beefcake coming up. Ventura likes Beefcake but says he needs to "get his strut down a little more". - Beefcake hails from the infamous "parts unknown" here and is managed by Lucious Johnny Valiant. Tony Garea is hailing from the mid 1970s if his jacket and haircut are anything to go by. Okerlund: "Parts Unkown alright, I've got a pretty good idea where this guy is from". Ha ha ha. Beefcake is in his Zodiac zebra stripes here. He does a lot of strutting. Some good heeling from Beefer. Lucious Johnny has stepped right out of a Ron Jeremy film, awesome tache. Gerea does a lot of running back and forth before Beefcake gets the three after a three. Not a bad match considering Beefcake was involved. - Ventura says that if he hadn't have gotten sick, he'd have been the champ "not chump Hogan". After the break he's facing Big John Studd to defend the world title! Plot point is that Studd has been calling himself "a giant". Hogan is in the white trunks here. Okerlund: "now why is it that these fans insist on calling Mr. Heenan a weasal?" Ha ha. Crowd is wild for Hogan. Studd is really quite a big guy isn't he. So what does he do? A chinlock. One of those really loose, fake looking ones too. Heenan is giving signals to Studd. Shows him nine fingers. The commentators speculate as to what that could mean. Studd drops Hogan across the ropes on this throat. Action goes outside and a fan is jawing Studd and pointing angrily. I count a total of 16 moustaches in this section of the crowd. 1985 man. Hogan taking a pasting from Studd here. Starts his comeback now, Hulking up. Feels a bit early. Unloads the right hands. Ropes. Elbow! Not the big boot? Lariat! And that's enough for the three. No leg drop? Well done Rip. - Ventura is speechless before the break and after it freaks out and storms out. Reynolds wraps up alone. - Unexpected good wrestling on this show, which was more like an MSG supercard. Murdoch looked great and one of the best performances from Tito I've ever seen. Wow. And Hogan vs. Studd was a nice big-time feeling MSG match for the main event too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Tony Garea is hailing from the mid 1970s if his jacket and haircut are anything to go by. Fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Mean Gene tells a joke that I simply do not get: "Matter of fact, I lost my dog the other day", "the one that was sick?" "Came in the house for a drink and the lid fell on his head." Gorilla cracks up. There's something I'm not seeing there. Dogs drink out of the toilet. The proper telling of the joke is: "I lost my dog the other day." "Was he sick?" "No, the lid fell on his head." similar to: "My dog has no nose." "No nose? How does he smell?" "Awful." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted November 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 So coming back to this ... and I'm rewinding back to May 29th 1984 for an episode of TNT! Lord Alfred gives us an intro to our host Vince McMahon! Guests are going to include Lou Albano and the IC champ Tito Santana. In a totally bizarre intro, Vince calls Lord Alfred "Britain's answer to Idi Amin", then goes on to imply that Afa and Sika are two of Amin's proteges. Lord Alfred then wonders "whatever happened to Idi Amin"? WTF this is just surreal. We're going to see Paul Orndorff vs. B. Brian Blair now. Alfred gives a bit of analysis: Blair coming from the same town as Orndorff has done his homework and knows all his tricks. Vince says with a smirk: "Blair is someone who, how can I put this, just hasn't had the same sort of breaks as Mr. Wonderful". Lord Alfred seems flummoxed by that. This studio banter is fucking woeful. Match is joined in progress in the midst of some matwork. Orndorff does the cheap heel moving of throwing Blair out of the ring. He's in great shape here. Couldn't help but notice an extremely fat cameraman on the outside. Orndorff gullotines Blair on the railings outside who sells it by coughing and spluttering -- sees to spit out a ton of gob there. Vicious knee by Orndorff. Hope spot from Blair. Orndorff throws him out again and goes for some megaposing. Big comeback from Blair now. Elbow to the breadbasket. Not sure who the colour commentator with Vince is here. Sunset flip reversal and a handful of tights gets the three for Orndorff. Shots of the crowd reveal that in 1984 a lot of men were sporting big nerdy glasses and a moustache. Vince says that is "One of the matches best typifying the action here in the World Wrestling Federaion". The dialogue between Vince and Alfred here is amazingly stilted. They've spent almost 4 minutes in total talking about this match now. A "house call" with Doctor D. David Schultz now. Alfred says that he "speaks funny" and that he's also a bully. Mean Gene is here with Schultz now. Terrible blonde perm! Wow Alfred was right -- he's got that Southern drawl that Hank's friend from King of the Hill has. Schultz says that he was the kid at school who used to take the others lunch money. He says that if his "momma" was there, he'd slap here. WHAT?! Lord Alfred "he said something about going to school, where was that? ... Didn't I tell you he was a bully? He bullied his own mother!" I must pause here, to be continued ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted November 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 David Schultz vs. Billy Travis now. Good suplex. Terrible drop kick. Mean Gene and Vince on commentary - odd duo. His finisher is an elbow from the second rope? Ha ha ha We're off to Nashville now to see Schultz with his family at their farm residence. Oh boy ... He appears to live in a log cabin. He quickly shouts at both his kids and wife. This shit is properly terrible. Schultz just doesn't have the acting chops or charisma to pull this act off. The only positive thing I can draw from this abysmal piece of tv is that, in 1984, it was mildly socially progressive for the WWF to be depicting this guy as a heel. Lord Alfred's analysis of that: "I think he uses his family to pysche himself up ... so he can become the best wrestler in the world". . Mentally what he does is hurt is wife and his family to make himself a better wrestler ... and I think that's an awful, awful thing. That's all you've say your lordship? Tito Santana is in the studio now. He's not happy with what he's just seen from Schultz. But he's not here for that. Vince tells us that we're going to be shown a video package featuring Santana and Chris Beevers. Who is Chris Beevers? Well, he's the WINNER of the "on-going" contest to have lunch with your favourite WWF star! Out of all the superstars, Beevers chose Tito. Santana says that being picked out by Beevers was "a feeling like that I've never felt in my life". Tito says a limo picked them up. The "video tape" is actually just a series of stills. Beevers looks like he's about 6 years old. Awwww. Tito looks massive hanging out with everyday people. Santana vs. Adrian Adonis now for the IC title, JIP. Vince-Mean Gene combo on commentary again. Adonis on top and getting a lot of heat. Do my ears deceive me? Is that a "you fucked up" chant in 1984?!!! I had to rewind it .... actually it's a "New York sucks" chant. You can tell Vince is uneasy about it, but he acknowledges it several times. It's a very loud chant. Bulldog on Santana by Adonis. Goes for another one but Tito blocks. Comeback now. 7-8 turnbuckle spot. Adonis goes to the eyes. Goes to the top, Tito catches him and he lands with the top rope between his legs. Ref calls for the bell. WHY? Tito is pissed. Oh, a 30-minute time-limit draw. Odd and unexpected. Tito is really pissed off. Adonis milks some boos. Tito posts his head on the announce table. Back to the studio. Vince with the cheesiest grin in the world mentions that little Chris Beevers must have loved that. Someone throws a sack onto the set. It's a post bag. Lord Alfred: "If someone threw a postbag like that in England, I'd sack him immediately". Vince is fucking loving this. Ha ha ha From San Francisco: "Dear Vince, were you ever a wrestler? You seem to know so much about it. Please send me a photo of the Tonga Kid. Sharon O'Donno, San Francisco" Vince: "Well I appreciate Sharon's comments. Never a professional wrestler: not big enough, not bad enough ..." Lord Alfred: "Hmmm, I don't know about that last one ..." Vince: "Collegiate wrestler, a little bit yet" Vince is in full-on talk-show schmaltz mode tonight, it's really incredible. "Dear Alfred, last week I heard that the Queen of Eng ... well I really don't I ought go into that on television ummmmm ..." I can't actually believe this was a tv show. From Chicago: "Dear Tuesday Night Titans, I occassionaly watch wrestling on a another tv channel. After all, a person must read all political papers in order to decide if they are a Republican or a democrat. Here is my point: this other tv channel has wrestlers that wear coloured-grease makeup, something like rock stars including the original wearers of this paint, Kiss. Is there a rule against this? Personally, I find it intriguing. Will you clear up this point? Yours, Sue Russell" On the one hand, I'm having a hard time believing these are keyfabed. On the other, I'm simply not buying the idea that two random bits of fanmail both came from women. Let's see what Vince says: "Interesting question, interesting comments ... in the World Wrestling Federation, I'm sure we'll be seeing individuals of that nature, there's no telling what you may see in the World Wrestling Federation." Smoothly done and I believe him too. Back to the archives now for ... Arnold Skaaland vs. Joe Turco!! What the flying fuck? Vince says that Skaaland didn't find himself on his back too many times in his career. Lord Alfred confesses that he's not that familar with Skaaland's work but if he's like most wrestlers he spent most of his career on his back! Turco has him in a headlock and Alfred says that Skaaland is an embarrassment. What the hell is this?! There's a puff of smoke down near the bottom of the ring and Vince notes that it's from a smoker in the crowd, not from Turko's posterior. Ha ha ha!! Lord Alfred says that he doesn't know much about Turco but that he was a nasty Italian wrestler. He's still thinking about Vince's smoke comment. Turco is laying some pretty stiff blows here. Vince postulates that this match was a real turning point in Skaaland's career. Alfred says that he doesn't think that either of these guys were world champ material and that wrestling has come a long way since the likes of Turco were around -- he seems intent on absoutely burying these two. Vince asks him to compare and contrast these two with modern wrestlers. Alfred says "well look at the condition that these two men are in. We saw Tito Santana earlier who was in tip-top condition compared to these two ... I think in this day and age it was very macho to be a beer swiller and a wench chaser and possibly both of these were of that mould". Vince is completely bemused. "Nonetheless they were tough", he says. "Yes, they had big hearts", Alfred says derisively. Skaaland gets a backslide on Turco for the three. Back to the studio and Vince is in full flow talking about Skaaland's career as a manager when he's stopped by a strange smell. Vince: "I think perhaps some of the smoke from the film that we saw from the posterior of Joe Turco has come into the studio". Vince's look of disgust at the smell is absolutely AMAZING. My prediction is that the big fat sloppy pig Lou Albano is in town. Oh no, it's 3-time former tag champs Afa and Sika! They are cooking a massive fish. Afa gives it some karate chops. Alfred is hiding out back at the sofa with his fingers on his nose. Vince reprimands him and beckons him over. Afa and Sika start eating bits of raw fish guts. They put the fish tail in a pan of boiling water with an onion. Lord Alfred: "Are you sure these chaps know what they are doing?" Vince goads Alfred into tasting the dish. He says he's already eaten. They give him a bit of raw fish. Vince is losing his shit. Alfred has a mouthful and makes a face. They take a break and when we come back we're back at the sofa. They give them a bowl of fish. Alfred has the head, Vince the tail. Alfred: "Do you know what, this would give a cat rabies". We get taken back now to a tag title match: The Wild Somoans vs. Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas. JIP as always. Sika has a nerve pinch on Johnson. Announcers are Vince and, I'm pretty sure, Pat Patterson. Albano is in the corner of the Somoans. Face in peril section is kind of going on and going nowhere here, couple of hope spots. Eventually Atlas gets the hot tag. Ref bump. Very messy slam from Atlas. Albano comes in for the chairshow but nails Afa by mistake. We've got NEW tag team champs here. "UNBELIEVABLE" screams Vince. Ring announcer is some ancient looking dude who has an interesting (and awesome) accent. Johnson and Atlas look pretty good together in an early 80s-black-stereotype kinda way. Back to the studio. Vince notes that the current tag champs aren't Johnson and Atlas but in fact Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis. Weird for them to show that title victory given that fact. Ah now it makes sense ... Lou Albano is coming out and the Somoans are still pissed off at him for losing them the match. Albano stumbles with his words, he's got no explanation. After a break, Afa and Sika have left the set temporarily. Albano is no longer stumbling and is now more confident -- wonderful character detail. He calls them cry babies and said they should have been tough enough. "I took them from nothing ... they were savages in the trees, and just like with Jimmy Snuka, I made them who they are. 3-time world champions." Vince asks Alfred his opinion, he says that the mistake Albano made is inexcusable. Vince suggests that he's now got his eye on managing Adonis and Murdoch now anyway. Albano claims he had secret meetings with them before they won the belts and gave them a bit of coaching on the side. Anyway, now we are going to go to a video package show-casing Albano as the manager of 14-tag team title reigns. 1. Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito 2. The Moondogs 3. The Wild Samoans 4. The Executioners Albano then reels off all the teams he managed who won gold: The Mongols, Tarzan Tyler and Luke Graham, Scicluna and King Curtis, The Executioners, The Valiant Brothers (twice), Mulligan and Lanza, The Lumberjacks, The Moondogs, and the Somoans (three times). This is quite the history lesson. Albano also talks about Cyndi Lauper. Strange that he's still a heel here. "I took the woman from the slums of New York, from the worst part of Queens, and made her what she is today, a superstar". This is a very odd segment. It's doing FIVE different things: - Positioning Albano for a feud with the Somoans - Getting over Albano as a bullshit artist - Getting over Albano's legacy as a manager of tag champs - Positioning Albano as the future manager for Murdoch and Adonis - Continuing the Lauper angle Vince asks what his percentage fee is. And goes to a break. We're taken to footage of a panel discussion in front of a live audience now. "Shelly" (female chair of panel) spots that the man who is about to ask a question has an apple. Albano rants at him, the man shows him his middle fingers!! Freddie Blassie calls him an idiot (the other member panels are Piper and Slaughter). Question from the crowd: Woman: "Mr. Blassie, you go on about Russia and Iran, but you make all your money here, why?" Blassie: "I can make my money any place I go. I can but and sell a dozen like you or that other idiot who was speaking just before you" Albano: "And another thing, why can't you get your hair done? Have some class! Look at his hair it's all nice, yours has got black roots showing!" Woman: "Can I hit him?" That fan with the apple seemed drunk and disorderly to me. He was irrate. More of this episode coming soon ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted November 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Footage of Andre now. Seems like it's a 3 vs 1 handicap match or the final four of a battle royale. One of them is Johnny Rodz, not sure of the other two. One is a 300lber with a beard, the other looks Italian and is possibly Salvatore Bellomo but he looks a little too out of shape to be him in 1984. Anyway, it's only a brief clip, back to the studio. Just a little reminder to the folks at home that Andre is out there. Clip of Hogan vs. The Masked Superstar now. He pulls a foreign object out of his mask and nails Hogan, some clubbing blows now. Hulk up already. Back to the studio! Vince is impressed. Just a little reminder Hulk is out there. Clip of Jimmy Snuka now against Greg Valentine. Hits the splash from the top, Valentine does the body convulsing selling. Valentine rolls out and nails Snuka on the fence. Lord Alfred says that "diametrically opposed to Snuka, we have the Iron Shiek". Another clip now, and it seems like a 2 vs 1 scenario: Sheik vs. two jobbers. Gutwrench suplex and then he dumps one jobber onto the other via a kind of stomach breaker type move. Camel clutch on the said jobber ON TOP of the other jobber. Sheik's face is intense. Impressive. That rounds up this little "review" from Vince and Alfred, who think that this is the most exciting time in wrestling. Afa and Sika are back in the studio. Vince says they'll be back on June 12th ... let me see if I have that disc. Totally bizarre hour and a half that was. Reckon TNT is genuinely one of the oddest shows ever to go out on US national TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 This random episode of TNT from 1984 sounds a million times more interesting than any WWE TV in 2012. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted November 7, 2012 Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 We're off to Nashville now to see Schultz with his family at their farm residence. Oh boy ... He appears to live in a log cabin. He quickly shouts at both his kids and wife. This shit is properly terrible. Schultz just doesn't have the acting chops or charisma to pull this act off. The only positive thing I can draw from this abysmal piece of tv is that, in 1984, it was mildly socially progressive for the WWF to be depicting this guy as a heel. What are you smoking? "At Home w/ Dr. D" is the best thing WWF has ever done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 It's June 12th, 1984! And we're here once again for TNT! Alfred mentions Vince's Idi Amin reference from the last episode. Still think that's so bizarre. They are talking about Big John Studd. There'll be a segment on Paul Orndorff and a match of his against SD Jones ... Orndorff vs Jones. Massive Paula chant. Gene and Alfred in the booth. Orndorff refuses to take his robe off untilt the fans stop with the Paul chants. A woman in the crowd cackles like a witch. Crossbody from Jones. Orndorff stalls and then gets on top. This is a very typical WWF-style match, Orndorff's elbows look precise and vicious. Big comeback from Jones now, Piledriver from Orndorff and that's all she wrote. Alfred says that it's a shame that Jones lost because he's been trying to position himself as a world title contender. I reckon Alfred just says the first thing that comes into his head. Video of Orndorff training. "No matter how hard you train, you'll never look like me, so get that out of your minds". Ha ha. He's in a gym and has some members of the public with him. He points to a slightly overweight woman and says "obviously, you need to quit eating". This gym looks like the gayest possible place imaginable, the 80s hair and moustaches on the men aren't helping matters. Orndorff shows some punks how to do some curls while admiring his own biceps. He gets one of the punks to do some reps and keeps taunting him "you'll never be like me". Great heeling. A rather large woman is at one of the machines. "Don't you have any pride in yourself? No you don't otherwise you wouldn't look like this. It's disgusting. I can't believe you've walked in here looking like that". The woman just takes this abuse and smiles inanely. "This woman is so far gone, so far overweight, that I don't think there's anything that can be done about it, to tell you the truth", says Orndorff, "I can see that she's still got all her teeth, most fat women I know don't have all their teeth -- so I will say that". Ha ha ha ha. This goes on a few more minutes. She tries to get his attention by touching his arm. Orndorff goes nuts: "GET OFF OF ME YOU FAT PIG! Don't ever put your hands on me! Don't ever let me see you in a gym again, you hog!" Amazing. Alfred is impressed with Orndorff's dedication to training. That's all you've got to say Alfred? Vince is excited to introduce -- and he gives it the big Italian -- Salvatore Bellomo! I can confirm that this was not the chap in the last episode in the Andre match, if Ricky Jackson is right, I'm pretty sure that that was Frank Williams. Vince says that "Salvatroe Bellomo" is a name with a certain sort of flair. Bellomo speaks FIVE different languages. Judging by his English, I'm not sure how great an achievement that is. Vince says that the transition from the European style to the American catch-as-catch-can style must have been difficult. Video package now: It's Salvatore Bellomo vs. Ron Shaw. Shaw gets some offense in to start. But he misses an elbow to let Bellomo in. Standing dropkick, two arm drags. Vince is on commentary here and seems to speak with at least TWO different voices here -- one a sort of fast-talking play-by-play guy, the other in his cheesy TNT voice. Weird. Is this the 70s style Vince jdw always talks about? Gene Okerlund is also here. The ref is very fat. Back suplex from Bellomo. Shaw comes back with some more basic offense. Bellomo puts a leg stretch on Shaw -- I call it that, Shaw is sitting cross-legged and Bellomo kneedrops ontop of the legs, looks painful. Shaw comes back again -- I assumed he was a jobber, but he's getting more than his fair share of this match. Bellomo, of course, gets the 3 count. He looked alright to be honest. Vince mentions that Bellomo has a few unusual hobbies outside of wrestling, including ship building. He means the little wood and paper ships inside of bottles. Alfred is in the process of trying to make one himself. This month's WWF magazine has one you can cut out and that's the one they are making. Bellomo is very mild-mannered and has zero charisma. This is a very boring segment as Bellomo shows us different ships he's made. Alfred says "I guess you could say his ships come home". You can see why Bellomo quickly became a jobber in this setting. The timing for his move was all wrong: he was a retrograde, backwards-looking hire for Vince, trying to emulate a Pedro Morales or Bruno Sammartino effect, but by 1983-4 the time was too late for that. By 85, Bellomo and the entire genre of the "ethnic hero" wrestler were basically ancient history so his slide down the card was inevitable. We're taken to MSG now and Gorilla Monsoon is our commentator with Mean Gene. Speaking of dated ethnic heroes, it's the Polish power Ivan Putski taking on Roddy Piper. Putski is actually looking in great shape and seems like he's spent 3-weeks straight under a sunbed. Putski is not impressed by the bagpipes and fanfare with which Piper enters. Piper tells the fans to kiss his ass and then shouts abuse at Putski. A lot of clubbering from Putski to start. This is a real scrap from the get go. Piper goes to the eyes before a face flop. The bagpipes start playing again outside the ring. Slow hulk up from Putski and more wild clubbering, in the fray the ref catches a punch and it seems Putski has been DQed. Terrible match. Putski's flurry of punches look like shit as well. Oh yes! The mail has arrived! Here we go. Love the mailbag. From Wetplanes, NY: "Dear TNT, I have two questions I would like to have the answers for. 1. Is Lou Albano going to manage the Somoans again? Afterall, they were world champions with him telling them what to do, and 2. Will the Hulk ever give a title match to Don Muraco now he has the Captain behind him? Signed, Lester Bailey" I reckon ol' Lester was a heel fan. Vince thinks that Albano has problems with the Somoans. As far as the Hulk goes, Vince has this to say: "Mr. Muraco has a long, hard climb back up to the top rung of the ladder. If you'll recall Mr. Muraco did not retire in any way but he decided to, well, go back to his native Sunset Beach in Hawaii and take it easy for a while." That, my friends, is what they call in the business "a burial". From Santiago, CA: "Dear Vince, sometime ago when I was living in California, I used to go to Los Angeles to the Olympic Stadium to watch wrestling. Did Hulk Hogan wrestle there about five years ago? And is it true that he once played lead guitar with his own group? I think he's the greatest ever. Could you show some of his matches on TNT? Lisa Perez" Vince: "Hulk plays bass guitar as a matter of fact". Hey! he didn't answer the question about LA! Our next guest is Classie Freddie Blassie. Vince talks Blassie up as being a great wrestler in his day. Blassie says that most of his success was a result of his own hard work. We're taking a trip down memory lane as we go ... back to the archives. Freddie Blassie vs. Baron Leone from the Hollywood legion stadium. Jesus Christ it's black and white. Well this is a treat. The original commentary too, god knows who. Blassie gets Leone in a head scissors and cranks nastily on his neck. Leone stands up, still in the head scissors. He drops Blassie down almost in the powerbomb position. Blassie keeps the head scissors on. Another mini-power bomb, but Blassie keeps the hold on. He goes to the eyes to stop Leone struggle. Sneaky jab to the face. You can hear individual fans shouting things. Leone goes to a head stand and tries to work his way out of it. He arches over so his feet are on Blassie's head but STILL he keeps the head scissors on. Finally, Leone breaks the hold and applies a toehold to Blassie. They lock up again. Blassie gets a headlock on. Three snapmares from Blassie and then a neckbreaker! That gets him a three. But that's only the first fall! WOW, really good match from what we saw of it. Blassie mentions that that match was from 1952. I'm in legimitate shock by how good that was. Blassie has an old belt with him -- the Pacific Coast Heavyweight title. Vince mentions that the one title that always eluded him was the WWF title. Blassie said he wanted it more than life itself, but he did get it through the Iron Sheik. We get a video of the Iron Sheik vs. Hulk Hogan now. JIP during a terrific gutwrench suplex from Sheik. 2 count. Camel clutch. Hulk up. Big foot. Leg drop. Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion, Hulk Hogan! Blassie is angry. Says they were "jobbed" out of the title. That they'd trained for and were expecting Backlund, that they'd signed for a match with Backlund, not Hogan. Blassie said the Sheik will destroy Hogan. Vince starts saying "well the Sheik achieved what you failed to do from a personal standpoint", but Blassie is hot now: "KEEP SAYING IT! I failed! I failed! I failed!" This is terrific. Blassie says that the Aytollah himself told the Sheik that Blassie should now be known as the "Ayotollah of America". "Go ahead", growls Blassie, "sneer about that!" Vince is being amazingly smarmy in this segment, slowly winding up Blassie. This is probably the best interview segment I've seen so far on TNT. There's a big gong. "What's that?!" Blassie shouts. "Perhaps you've been gonged, Mr. Blassie", says Vince wryly and we go into a break. The gong was for Mr. Fuji who is here. Vince says that he's perhaps the greatest Japanese wrestler in WWF history. Fuji is wondering what the hell Salvatore is still doing making those little paper ships. "What's the matter with you?", he says, "Perhaps you have no girlfriend?" ha ha ha ha "For your type of people, the Japanese, we call them sissy" Unbelievable. Vince asks him how he compares himself to other wrestlers in the WWF. Fuji says he's number 1. Video package now. Mr. Fuji vs. Nick DeCarlo. WHOOOO? Vince is commentating in his early 80s style. Mentions that DeCarlo is a veteran in his own right. Fuji goes through his salt ritual. I think Pat Patterson is with Vince here. Slam by Fuji, Banzai from the second rope, and that's 3. Guessing DeCarlo was just a jobber at this stage in his career -- must admit I've never heard of him. Back to the studio and Fuji is doing his whole routine. Vince screws up his face. Alfred: "It's always difficult to understand the inscrutible East but Mr. Fuji is not inscrutible, he smiles and laughs, he enjoys other people's suffering". "Very true", says Fuji, "when Americans suffer, I just giggle". He has a big surprise he claims. A tradtionally dressed Japanese woman dances with a fan on a mat in front of a screen with a rising sun on it and a gong. There is some Japanese singing. This shit can't be Fuji's surprise surely? Surely not. This sucks. We go to a break. As we come back, Lord Alfred is in a robe sitting on the mat. Fuji wants them to enjoy Japanese hospitality. The woman takes Vince's shoes off, Fuji says the geisha girl will do anything he says. She takes Vince's jacket off. He's wearing a nice waist-coat I notice. She puts a silk robe on him. Vince thanks her, Fuji tells him that it's not customery to thank the geisha girl. She puts some white socks on him and Alfred starts cracking up. You can tell Fuji is absolutely loving this. They sit at the table and the geisha girl serves some sake. Vince notes how large Fuji's drink is. Ha ha. "Bottoms up". Fuji gets the geisha girl to massage him and scolds her in Japanese. "It appears they have more customs than anyone else in the world", says Alfred. Vince asks Fuji if he likes American customs. Fuji goes on a mysogenistic rant about how American wives aren't obedient. The geisha girl spills some sake and Fuji loses his shit and starts shouting at her. He's angry and says he's going to punish her. Fucking hell, 1984, look at this stuff. Fuji karate chops the table. Back at the sofas and Fuji is still pissed off. Vince says they weren't offended and wants to talk about Fuji's new career as a manager. Video now of Fuji with Don Muraco, former IC champ vs. Billy Travis. Stomach breaker on Travis. Snapmare. Front headlock. Gene and Alfred talk about Muraco's "sabbatical". Travis takes a nasty bump to the outside. Fuji is in his bowler hat and tails. Powerslam from Muraco but he doesn't pin him. Wants to punish him. Misses a dropkick. Back to the studio. Vince says, "Mr. Fuji, you're right in the pinaccle of your wrestling career, why a manager?" Fuji laughs and says some incoherent things before shouting BANZAI. Vince introduces his next guest, Big John Studd. Wow, big guy. Studd: "how does it feel to shake a man's hand eh? First real man you've met all day eh?" Big John Studd vs. Salvatore Bellomo. Think I know who's going over here. Bellomo seems fatter here and somehow ... womanly. He looks like a woman. Studd towers over him. Throws him down to the mat several times. Throws him to a turnbuckle. Very brief comeback from Bellomo but Studd gets an elbow drop for the 3 in what is a basic squash. Back to the studio for analysis and Vince weirdly asks Studd what would have happened if he'd been more scientific in that match. What sort of question is that?! Salvatore Bellomo is still in the corner making paper ships, what a total loser. Vince says that Studd is second only to Andre. Studd says he's going to destroy the myth of Andre. He bets Vince $10,000 that he can benchpress more than Andre. Vince says it's not about benchpressing ... Andre is still undefeated. Vince brings up Hogan. Studd says that Hogan just isn't as big as he is. He reckons people tell him that he's one person who could probably beat Hogan. Vince says that you need luck too. Studd says luck has nothing to do with it. Salvatore Bellomo shouts that he got lucky in their match (yeah right!). Studd goes over to Bellomo, "you have no business putting on wrestling boots, you belong here just making these boats". Studd knocks one of the boats with his finger. Bellomo really mildly says "don't ever touch my boats" Ohhhhhh. Studd says he has no fat on his body, unluck Alfred in his entire career! He shouts at Vince "you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you got lucky!" Studd says he wants to have a title shot against Hogan, but Hogan is scared. Aw dammit, I was hoping he was going to destroy Bellomo's gay paper ships. Video review roundup now: Jesse Ventura vs. Ron Shaw. Jesse has a long beard here. Some basic offense from Ventura, punches to the small of the back. Shaw takes a tumble to outside. Slammed into the apron by Ventura. Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas vs. Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch. Shine segment as Johnson gives the heels some armdrags. Slam on Adonis, another armdrag and an armbar. Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch vs. Tony Garea and SD Jones. Murdoch has Garea in a headlock. Shoulder block. Abdominal strethc. Double teaming on Garea now as the ref stops Jones coming in. Snapmare. Elbow drop. 2 count. Adonis in. Flying mare. Knee drop. Nasty shinbreaker. Vince references the fact that Tony Garea is a many-time co-holder of the tag titles and might want to think about his choice of partner next time. Poor SD Jones! Vince wants to see what progress Bollomo has made on his ships. He's finished his masterpiece. Mild Bellomo dedicates the ship to Vince and all the crew. They both shake his hand and Vince wishes him "all the best of luck". What the fuck? Surreal. And that's it for another episode. Seriously, track down that Blassie vs. Leone match if you can, the one fall shown here is really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 Apropos of nothing, it's time to continue the Cheesy Journey, it's only been 10 months. My 84 collection is kinda spotty so we're skipping ahead to ... July 3rd, 1984 Vince: "Approximately one year ago, there was a man who broke into her majesty's palace ... Well now, I'm with the man who allegedly hatched those plans and broke into Buckingham Palace ... Lord Alfred Hayes" Ha ha ha. At least they've dropped the Idi Amin stuff. Alfred is delightfully vague here. Vince: "And we've got some fantastic action coming up ..." Alfred: "Yes ... fantastic action" Vince: "And what are you looking forward to?" Alfred: "I'm looking forward to the segment that is coming up next" He he. They are about to show a video of Hogan. And they talk about him as Thunderlips in Rocky 3. Alfred: "He has so many facets. No wonder his parents are so proud of such a young man. And, referencing the name of our programme, he's such a TITAN in the world of entertainment and of sport." Alfred is cracking me up tonight, he has NOTHING to say at all. Amazing to see him travelling without moving like this. He keeps talking but says so little of substance. Alfred thinks Iron Sheik was confused by the strength and speed of Hogan. Really awful opening segment. We get the tape footage of Hogan's title win now. Gutwrench suplex by Iron Sheik. Camel clutch applied. But no, Hogan is able to power out of it. He's Daniel Bryan over here! Big boot, legdrop, 1, 2, 3. And NEEWWWWW World Wrestling Federation Champion ... We go back to the locker room at MSG to get an interview with Mean Gene. "Well d'ya know somethin' Mean Gene. D'ya know something MEAN GENE. The mountain top! It turns me on" Andre comes in pouring the bubbly. Ivan Putski comes in with the bubbly. Note: this is not the eagle belt but the old gold one. Hogan's PARENTS come in now. "Pete" Hogan is proud. Aww. Hogan butts in: "well y'know somethin' Mean Gene Pete and Ruth are the people who trained me since the day I could toddle man! They fed me and helped me grow these 24-inch pythons, brother!" Vince is smarmily talking about how Hogan recently had a match where he returned to Minneapolis where *pause for self-satisified smirk* he has so many fans. They are going to be showing us this match soon. Hogan's with Minnesota with Mean Gene who is pumped to be back in the twin cities. Okerlund: Do you know who else has made it from the twin cities, he's finally made it to the big leagues? Jesse Ventura. If Verne Gagne ever watched this stuff it must have killed him, the digs are flying in from left, right and centre. Hogan talks about how he had an "instant love affair" with the twin cities and how the REAL WORLD'S TITLE is coming home. Hulk Hogan vs. Dr. D David Schultz from Minnesotta There is a massive blue box covering Hogan's face "EDITED & CENSORED FOR TELEVISION". He's obviously bloody under there. Monsoon and Okerlund on commentary. Schultz is doing the AWAish "King of the Mountain" spot. He bites on the cut. Did you know 1984 was a marquee year for AIDS. Schultz goes for a two count, but Hogan POWERS out. Still don't think Hogan had perfected this routine by 84, it's all a bit sudden and he seems ridiculously strong. Hogan hits an elbow but then pulls Schultz up at 2. Bodyslam, legdrop. That's the 3. NO. He pulls him up again to bite on Schulz again. Throws him outside the ring. You total heel Hogan! Total heel. Rams Schultz into the steel post like a javelin. Hogan jaws the ref like the massive heel he is. Dr D. is busted open. Hogan goes to get a chair. Hogan bites him again. Big elbow. He's really playing up his obvious superiority here. Posing and mugging for the crowd as Schultz is on the floor. I'd love to know what Schultz did in the early portion of this match to deserve all this. He misses an elbow from the top, and Hogan clotheslines him for the 3. Think Hogan made Schultz look like a total chump here. Virtual burial. Back to the studio now. Alfred: "Well you have to understand some of the context of this. In his time, Dr. Schultz, or Dr. David should I say has waged a brutal campaign against Hulk Hogan. You might think that he was perhaps too violent in that match, but he wasn't really. He was only giving kind for kind" It's as if Alfred is talking directly to me. I don't agree Alfred, I thought Hogan was an asshole in that match! Alfred: "But, always bear in mind, that Hogan is a fantastically scientific wrestler also" Hmmm. Vince talks about the "rather butal, roughhouse tactics" of that match being very unscientific. And he explains why they had to censor it. A guest now ... "The Butcher" Paul Vachon. He's wearing a nice suit. Vince seems pleased to have him on and introduces him from "one of the most famous families in professional wrestling" Vachon: They said to me, errr, "Butcher you're going to go on TNT". I said, "Go on TNT? What am I going to do on TNT?" They said, "Well, you're going to meet Vince McMahon and you're going to meet The Lord" and I said, "hold on a minute, I don't think I'm ready!" It is so awesome that this was a national TV show. Vince gleefully brings up the fact that Vachon can sing. Oh ... my god. Vince: "Well Butcher, if you don't mind, could you please strike up the band ..." We're going to get a number from The Butcher now? lol He gets on the mic and starts singing in French. Nice voice. But ... surely this is not necessary. I take everything back about the Summerslam atmosphere being surreal, THIS is surreal. Fairplay, Vachon is not a bad singer at all. It's "Shiree, too dangerous for me". Vince is so pleased. He can't hide is pleasure from his face. We get a match from The Butcher now. It's the old dude ring announcer with the distinctive slow voice (still looking for a name for him for the Titans show). Butcher Vachon vs. Jimmy Snuka Vachon is fat, Snuka is stacked. Vachon rakes the back is agressive. I'm confused here. Vachon is obviously the heel in this match, so why did we have that nicey nicey 10 minutes of him crooning and Vince fawning over it? Bizarre stuff. Okerlund and McMahon are on commentary. Terrible headbutt from the top by Snuka gets the 3 count. So not only was Vachon a heel after being presented as a nice guy in that segment, he got pinned too! Oh. My. God ... Vachon: Well, Mr. McMahon, I ... errr .. I never heard of an Irish Man that didn't like to sing ... *Massive MASSIVE smile on Vince's face, he can't get enough of this* Vachon: In fact, when your father was around, he and I had a couple of nice parties, especially around St. Patrick's day, and there's a very nice Irish song that we used to sing together. Vince is like a kid in a sweet shop here. Vachon goes into the "simply little ditty in the good old Irish way". Vince comes in now. Oh fucking hell. I might have to take some screen shots of it. Vince's face. Ha ha ha ha ha That was absolutely hilarious. He pulled all the classic McMahon faces there. Back to the sofa and someone throws a sack at Alfred. Yes! It's the mailbag!! Alan Bostick writes "Isn't it about time that Superfly Jimmy Snuka got a world title shot?" Vince: Hmmm, I would say he's about due a shot yes. And what a match that would be. Superfly Snuka, one of the greats. From Minneapolis: "I have made many enquiries as to the whereabouts of Red Bastien, my mother said he was very handsome. Could you show some old matches of him on TNT, Betty Powers [aka khawk]" Vince: Well, in the future we are going to be showing some footage of Red Bastien. He's currently residing in California and looks fabulous might I add. He had some good experience in the WWF as a special guest referee, and might I add, a great one. Alfred: He is still as good looking as Betty's mother thinks? Vince: I'll let her mother be the judge when we play the tape. This stuff is all quite interesting for me. From Los Angeles: "My friend and I have a $10 Dollar bet ..." Vince cracks up. Vince: ... A. Ten. Dollar. Bet? Letter: Who is the oldest, John Studd or Sgt. Slaughter? Also, is it true that John Studd was born in Los Angeles? Lisa Barton [aka DocSarpolis] Vince has no idea. "Regardless of their age, they are two of the great competitors here in the WWF". So they didn't settle the bet. Life before the internet eh. Vince introduces our next guest now. GOOOOOO-rilla Monsoon. Gorilla: It's great to be part of the greatest wrestling programme since the Greeks started it. Vince smiles. Gorilla: It's great to be associated with a company that can put out this sort of quality programming and that's an asset to you personally. Slurp. Slurp. Vince turns things to Monsoon's career in the ring. They talk about how athletic Monsoon was at 341lbs. Alfred: I saw a wrestler once called Chris Taylor at about 400lbs, but he was nothing in comparison to our present guest. Chris Taylor anyone? Vince: You mention Chris Taylor there, I want to take you back Gorilla, since you were one of the first people to tour the country of Russia as an amatuer wrestler. Tell us about that. Wow. Moonsoon went there in 1959 as part of the promotion for the 1960 Olympic team. He says they never drew less than 100,000 people for any of their matches, but were paid about $4 a day. Interesting. They talk now about how Monsoon was a teacher who had little interest in pro wrestling until he received a phonecall from Frank Tunney one day. He said he transitioned quite well into the pro ranks. Vince says that one individual who took particular exception to Moonsoon was Muhammad Ali. He takes us to some special footage now of Monsoon and an uninivted guest. Baron Scicluna is in the ring. Muhammad Ali gets introduced by the old ring announer who looks like he's dressed for golf. He's in a nice suite. Gorilla Monsoon vs. Baron Scicluna Muhammad Ali Dates are not given, but this looks mid-late 70s to me and Vince is on commentary solo. Baron jumps Gorilla from behind. Gorila comes back and chops him over the top rope. Ali is upset at something and starts pointing at Monsoon. Baron has had enough and walks off. Ali takes off his shirt and his shoes and gets into the ring. He wants to take on Monsoon. "Big mistake" says Vince. Ali does some fancy footwork and puts his dukes up. Monsoon takes some jabs. Ali points and him and OH SHIT, Moonsoon gets him up for an airplane spin! Round and round and round. Ali is dazed and shaken. "Muhammad Ali has learned a lesson here the hard way" So cool to see this. Vince in a blood red jacket talks to Gorilla now. Gorilla [still on the footage]: Vince, this guy may be a great boxer, but he don't belong in that squared circle with a wrestler. That was proven and that's for sure! This guy is nothing, this guy doesn't know a wristlock from a wristwatch, how can he get in there with a wrestler! All he knows is how to throw a few lazy jabs, that's not going to stop a wrestler. A boxer can't fight when you tie him up. No question about it, he was at my mercy." Great promo. Great angle. Vince: The year by the way was 1977, and Muhammad Ali was World Boxing Champion. They talk about wrestling as "the greatest martial art". Monsoon talks about "the fundamentals of wrestling". The basic premise here is that if a wrestler can get in a lock you up, it's over. Great way to get wrestling over as legit. Really enjoyed this Monsoon stuff. Next guest is (yet again) Capt. Lou Albano. He's wearing an open Hawaiin shirt showing his fat stomach, has the rubber bands round his beard and is carrying a can of beer into which he spits. What a big fat sloppy pig. He is booed. He doesn't live by cheers or boos but by "the green brother". He's the maker of 14 tag team champions don't you know and the maker of rock and roll stars. He doesn't want handshakes but wants the green and to project his name. He burps and throws the can on the floor. Vince asks him why he's spending so much time in the world of music lately. Alfred: How disgusting. Albano: Well move down to the end of the chair then. What are you? A tea-totaler? Albano slaps his stomach. Vince accuses him of knowing nothing about music. Albano claims that he wrote the lyrics of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper and plays 9 different instruments like a pro. Albano: My mother was a concert pianist, as you know played for Padlowski [??] back in 1927. I'm one of the best. Ha ha ha Vince doubts him, but Albano walks over to the piano to show him a thing or two. He tells the old pianist to get out of the way. Vince: Are you serious? He can't even sit down. Look at him. That's 300lbs. A bench like that will not support that weight. Albano sits down and checks the piano for tuning. This is pretty awesome stalling from him. "Boy is this thing out of tune" He takes forever to start. But sure enough he starts to play. And in tune. He's pretty good. Vince: I can't believe it. Ha ha ha. Albano: How'd you like that JUNIOR. I always call him "junior". How'd you like that junior?! That was awesome. Albano: Well let me tell you Vinnie Junior. When I met Lauper she was nothing but a bar room ... I don't like to say broad but that's what she was. Bar-room lady. I took her out. Projected her career. I taught her politeness, ettiquette and grooming. And she stayed out on tv land. Y'know when you go out to dinner most of ya contracts are done over the table. So you need ettiquette. In other words, when you're eating you need to know where the butter dish is located or you'll be grabbing the wrong guy's butter. I showed her how to do this. This is the best Albano stuff I've seen to date. Clip to Albano on Piper's Pit now. He says he'd have loved to have been Piper's manager. They big each other up now, in a big heel love in. Piper says that Albano is probably the greatest rock and roll manager ever. They have a bunch of newspapers and Life magazine here featuring Lauper. Albano takes the credit for all of it. Lauper is "the greatest entertainer pound-for-pound in entertainment today" Piper wants Lauper to come on Piper's Pit. Piper is excited. Weeks later, after weeks of no-showing, Lauper finally appears on Piper's Pit. She comes out wearing several curtains and maybe some duvet covers too. Johnny Sorrow still dresses like this. She's been in Europe. And in London. And in England. "London and England are the same thing", she giggles. Piper talks about Albano's part in her sucess. Lauper: Hold on a minute, I love Lou, but he's not my manager, a lot of people think that. Ha ha ha. Fans cheer. Albano comes out now. He wants her to tell all these people what he did for her. Albano: Tell em Cyndi! Tell em how you came off my reputation! Captain Lou Albano! How ALL WOMEN are nothing Cyndi! They are nothing but slime! It takes a man to make a woman!" Lauper: That one second in the video? Are you crazy? Albano: It was a big segment Cyndi! Piper is angry now. He wants Lauper to explain whether Albano is a liar. Handbags now, Lauper attacks Albano. A dude in a pair of shades and a tash runs in. Crowd is nuts for this. Awesome. Back to the studio. Albano is pissed. Albano: nothing but a broad and a barroom maid! She had a tin cup around her neck with a little sign saying 'help make me a star'. You're a disgrace, to your family, to yourself, to your mother, to everyone you stand for! I wrote the music, I wrote the lyrics, I took you from a broad to a lady. Got it Lauper. Got it Lauper. GOT IT LAUPER. GOT IT LAUPER Albano is having a full-on fit here. Clip now back to Vince and Alfred now. Vince notes that you'll see no credits for Albano on her records. Vince brings out now Lauper's real manager "David Wolf". It's the dude with the shades from earlier. David Wolf explains how it would be funny for Alabano to play her father in some of the early videos. Vince: Did he produce? Wolf: Absolutely not Vince. He had nothing to do with the video in any shape or form ... everything else he's said has been a publicity stunt to ride on our shoulders. David Wolf is a groovy cool cat indeed. He should have come out to the tunes of Squeeze. Ha ha ha. Albano is still somewhere in the back grumbling and ranting. "Took her from a nothing. Bar-room broad." etc. etc. Wolf: He has totally violated every principle that Cyndi stands for. So rather than get involved in a complex procedure in the courts, we want to challenge him in his own arena. She has found herself a wrestler to go up against, Moolah -- or whatever her name is that Mr. Albano has gotten -- and we're going to have a little show down. We're going to show him that a woman's place is not just getting pregnant in the kitchen or whatever other nonsense that slob said. Vince is impressed by this fighting talk. Albano storms back on. "You're gonna what? You are that little wimp? That lousy liar? That snake Cyndi Lauper" He attacks David Wolf. A security guard restrains him as he wails and screams. Wolf: That man is going ... in Madison Square Garden, that ridiculous wrestler that he's bringing with him ... we're going to make a mockery out of everything he's said! That's it man. This is just totally outrageous. One of the all-time great angles this. Yet another guest now. Terry Daniels, the first inductee into Sgt. Slaughter's Cobra corps. Quite the charisma void. Alfred: ... I'm fascinated by the strange way he speaks. Quite. We have a clip now of Slaughter coming out with Daniels as his flagbearer. Bit of a pointless one. Vince mentions that Daniels is also a cadette. He's struggling with Daniels who is visibly nervous to be on TV. The stiffness of the military gimmick is doing a decent job of masking it. They talk boringly about teamwork. Vince talks about the prospect of taking on Adonis and Murdoch for the tag belts. Recently, Slaughter visited the statue of liberty. Vince thinks Daniels was with him, but he wasn't. Guessing this Daniels chap didn't last long ... Video of Slaughter visiting the Statue of Liberty now. He walks around shaking hands with people and posing with the flag. He signs autographs for kids. The statue has a load of scaffholding around it -- probably putting in the mechanical work needed for Ghostbusters 2, eh. A group of school kids do a USA chant. We can see the twin towers in the background. The kids do the pledge of allegiance. All a bit pointless. Back to the studio and Vince says that the mentioned Butcher Vachon's brother earlier, a legend in Minneapolis, Mad Dog Vachon. Footage now of his return. He gets a big ovation from the crowd. Waiting in the ring is ... Buddy Colt who "pearl harbours him" coming in. Yes Gorilla on commentary with Okerlund. Colt has a playboy bunny on his trunks. Seemingly, we only got that clip to see the cheers Maddog got. Vince says that next week they are going to the Capitol Centre, so TNT is back in two weeks when they'll have Greg Valentine on as a guest. Vince: Well to join Mr. Valentine ... his wife, and a very attractive lady so I'm told ... Alfred [smirking, dying to laugh]: A very beautiful woman, she really is but eh ... let's face it Greg is a very good looking fellow. They deserve each other. The both of them can barely contain laughter here. Other guests will include: Tony Garea and Roddy Piper. Join us next time for TNT. This is without doubt one of the greatest hour-and-20-minute shows in wrestling history. And I'm not even kidding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 I saw a bit from TNT on Youtube with Vince doing an "Advice to the lovelorn" bit and just getting into an uncontrollable fit of giggles, really weird to see that side of McMahon. There was also an interview with Lou Thesz, which was something I'd never heard of and was just bizarre juxtaposed with the otherwise wackiness of the TNT show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 Chris Taylor was a big guy who Verne broke in. He was an amateur wrestler I believe or weight lifter. He didn't pan out and I believe died young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 I don't dress like Cyndi Lauper, I dress like Albano crossed with Superstar Billy Graham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 Chris Taylor was a big guy who Verne broke in. He was an amateur wrestler I believe or weight lifter. He didn't pan out and I believe died young. Amateur wrestler. He was a big enough deal when Verne signed him up that they put a match of his with Mad Dog Vachon in Chicago on ABC's Wide World of Sports. That was a pretty big deal back in the day. Taylor died around 1979. Billy Robinson was a close friend and came on TV after it happened to talk about him, and when the producer tried to cut him off due to time running out he almost lost his shit on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted August 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 This particular ep of TNT deserves some screen grabs, been my favourite one so far by some distance: Alfred with basically nothing at all of note to say. Vince barely able to conceal his delight about going back to Minnesota with Hogan. Hogan's parents Hogan vs. Schultz Vince's faces when singing Irish songs with The Butcher Monsoon's confrontation with Ali Albano checking that the piano is in tune Cyndi Lauper meets Roddy Piper Groovy cool cat David Wolf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 Hogan really resembles his mother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 Those Vince singing pics are like a Garfield Minus Garfield cartoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted September 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 It's time once again to get in the Cheesemobile for TNT. If you recall from last time, the show was taking a week off, so we're two weeks later now. Except whoever sent me this disc has it mis-labled and I find out later that this is a show from a week later again (grrr, this guy was not Will or James!): July 24th, 1984 brought to you "in part by Levi's jeans" Vince introduces Lord Alfred as "the great uncle of Inspector Clouseau" which causes Alfred to crack up for about a minute. This is certainly one of the more fun wrestling shows that ever aired. The big news this week is that SD Jones has brought some of his bretheren from Antigua along to the TNT studio for some steel drum action. Vince gives us his ultimate Vince throaty voice "TUESDAY NIGHT TITANS". How exciting. Our first guest tonight: Tiger Chung Lee. Vince asks him why he relies so much on karate moves. Lee talks about how important Tae-kwondo is for defence. Vince disagrees, and says that he's mainly used it for offense to date. We get a clip of him in action now. Tiger Chung Lee vs. Steve Lombardi Okerlund is on commentary. Some armdrags by Lombardi to start. Lee gets on top with the martial arts. Very soft chop. Lee's offense is incredibly pedestrian. He wins with a Scorpion deathlock which Okerlund calls a "reverse Indian deathlock". Not a very good outing for Lee here. Back in the studio and Lee has a "Japanese samurai sword practice stick". He has some bricks in front of him, he's going to chop the brick in two and does so. "Very impressive" says Vince. Solid oak now. "Very impressive". Two bits of solid oak board now. He does it, although his hand is bleeding. THREE solid oak boards now. Lee tells Vince to shut up for a while because he's concentrating. Hi-YAH. He does it. Vince introduces another clip of Lee now in action with Mr Fuji, he teases some "dissention in the ranks" of the Japanese tagteam: Mr Fuji and Tiger Chung Lee vs. Afa and Sika Joined in progress. Lee is getting beaten up and Fuji keeps turning his back on the tag. Fuji walks away from the ring and leaves Lee high and dry to take the pin. Okerlund and Dick Graham are appalled. Fuji comes back now and grabs the mic chord and chokes out Lee! He's fully turned on his partner here. Lee grabs his kendo stick. Fuji bails. So is this meant to be a Tiger Chung Lee face run now? The Philly crowd are cheering for him. Back to the studio. Lee says that there's no way he's getting back with Fuji now and wants to face him in a singles match. Vince and Alfred wish him luck. Up next ... the feature match up, but first Vince needs to shill some upcoming tour dates: This is a rematch from an issue these two gentlemen had in St. Louis. It's ... B. Brian Blair vs. Paul Orndroff! This is from the Meadowleads Arena with Monsoon on commentary with *I believe* Red Bastien. Gary Michael Capetta in full on Capetta mode. Dick Woehrle and Orndroff argue. Orndorff wants Blair back in his corner so he can de-robe. Orndroff now argues with the ring attendant about how exactly to carry his robe back to the lockerroom. The Paula chants break out. Dick Woehrle and Orndroff keep having issues. Blair has been waiting pretty patiently for this match to start. I like his standard-issue-1984-moustache. Orndorff has now spent at least 7 minutes stalling. It's good stalling though. He doesn't seem to want Blair to actually touch him. He eventually suckers him in and takes advantage. "A pearl harbour number". I've always liked Orndorff, he works with good intensity. Big bodyslam. Up to the top rope. Misses. Blair goes to work on Orndorff's injured knee immediately. Good psychology by B. Brian here. Decent little stretch of offense from him here now. Pretty much stays on this knee for the next 8-10 minutes until Orndroff hits an inzaghuri (yes!). He sells the leg very well here after he's back on top. Dick Woehrle is wearing some pretty funky 70s flares here. Orndroff dumps Blair outside. King of the Mountain now. Blair comes back in and hits a big crossbody. Just a hope spot, Orndorff snyches in a chinlock. This match is going on quite a long time now. Nice backbreaker by Orndroff for 2. Orndroff thinks it's a slow count and gets in Woehrle's face again. Another 2, more jawing with the ref. Blair starts his comeback now. Scoop slam? No reversal. REVERSAL. OHHH Blair thought he had it. Irish whip. Blair SKINS THE CAT. Blair a house of fire now. Big knee lift. Second rope elbow. Blair is getting decent pops here. Bodyslam. Nasty knee drop on the forehead. Tries to roll him up, no. Slam -- no Orndorff reverses into a small package and that's it. He's still selling that leg. I must think about structure: 1. Sneak attack to start by Orndorff. 2. LONG section with Blair on top working on a body part (could call this a delayed "shine") 3. Now Orndorff gets his heat segment 4. Comeback and finish Now, as focused and decently worked as the second segment was here, I am starting to think that outside of AWA, a longish shine sequence at the start of the match is there for the sole purpose of eating up time. The stuff on Orndorff's leg didn't actually go anywhere here, but that's ok, it was Blair's gameplan but didn't work. But it would have been nice for Blair to remember the leg was injured during the comeback instead of going for the bodyslams and turnbuckle elbows. If he was working on the leg as his strategy, why not go back to it? It just exposes that segment with Blair on top for what it was: a time kill. Anyway, back to the studio. Far too much wrestling on tonight's TNT for my tastes. Lord Alfred thinks that Dick Woehrle was a bit tardy in that match and criticises his positioning. Vince agrees that positioning is crucial. After the break, they are going to be discussing referees further as Dick Woehrle is going to be the next guest! A bit short on guests this week Vince? Whilry? Seriously? Lord Alfred has a very negative view of refs because they make snap decisions which are often wrong. Vince thinks it is a thankless job. Alfred agrees but at the same time looks for perfection in everything. Vince says that the verbal abuse they take can be a bit much. Dick Woehrle is here now and LMAO he gets heel heat from the studio crowd. They loudly boo him. Ha ha ha. Woehrle looks like he's in his 60s. They talk about an angle with George "The Animal" Steele. This is rather dull stuff. Woehrle is wearing a matching red and white spotted tie and handkerchief. Some tape footage now of Greg Valentine and Rocky Jonhson. Johnson is blatantly using the fists. Vince wants to know why the ref didn't DQ him. Woehrle pretty much says it's up to his discretion. This segment has been woeful. Vince wants to talk about the POWER of the referee in the ring. Woehrle talks about trying to stay objective while letting certain things go for the good of the match. I really like the IDEA of talking about refs like this like they do in real sports, but by god this was boring as fuck. Woehrle says that he's been chased down alleys with chains and bottles. Thankfully this interview is done. Now it's TIME FOR THE MUSIC and coming up next, "SD Jones remembers the Islands ..." Special Delivery Jones now gets a polite but muted applause. Vince says that "as of late, your career has catapulted, it's been taking giant strides". So SD Jones must have been on the receiving end of a push some time in 1984. SD Jones says he's been there for 10 years and "somehow it's going pretty good now". Awww, he's so humble. He says he's been watching tapes, studying refs and learning from his mistakes. He says he's happy to have brought his band to TNT tonight. Vince asks him when he was last back in Antigua. "1969 ... this is my life, I have to do it. But when I get back home, I'm gonna have some good good times". Vince asks him how he got into wrestling. Jones says he used to be into boxing and weightlifting. But he had to stop hitting the weights so much because he "looked like a big rock". We have a clip of Jones in action now ... SD Jones vs. "Danny Green from Rooster, Kentucky" Green has a big Dylan Waco beard. He gets into some jobber offense before being pinned after a headbutt. SD Jones has still got it! Jones talks about beings 15-20 years in the business and recovering from a broken shoulder. Jones says he's never going to give up, he still has title ambitions. He's wrestled all over the world and in every arena going. But he wants a championship belt. Dream on SD. But for now he's excited about his band from Trinidad who play some kettle drums. SD Jones does a bit of shuffle dancing. Time for everyone's favourite feature now in what has been a pretty putrid show so far: THE MAIL BAG. Topical (Miley Cyrus): Vince has the giant Hulk foam finger and both he and Alfred think it's hilarious. Parkersburgh, Wyoming (WHERE?!): There's nothing to do here except wait for our favourite show TNT to come on. We're going to be taking a trip to LA soon. Do you have wrestling matches in LA? Vince: (cracking up) Well, as a matter of fact, our next guest might well have been in Parkersburgh, Wyoming once: Tony Altomare! Did they make up Parkersburgh?! And what, that's it for the mail? Mannn.. This is a nostalgia bit now, Altomare says he's been around so long that he was a fan of Lord Alfred Hayes. Hayes says that he's younger that Altomare. We're about to head into this week's classic clip which this week is Chief Jay Strongbow & Sonny King vs. King Curtis & Baron Mikel Scicluna from 1972. They talk about King Curtis for a bit now. Lord Alfred claims that he had an English mother. We join the match with Strongbow doing his war dance hulk up. The heels cut him off though. Scicluna has a really shitty nerve hold on Strongbow and at one point he and Curtis do a DOUBLE shitty nerve hold. King Curtis has hair here and looks not unlike a fat Bruiser Brody. Sonny King gets the hot tag and it looks like the heels get the win. We don't see the three count because it's back to the studio. That match looked AWFUL. We see a pic of Altomare from 1962 now. I do like these "nostalgia files" segments. Vince says that his life would change when he starting teaming with a young Lou Albano. We get a pic now of Albano, looking young and slim with Altomare in 1963. The two of them were tag champs in the 1960s. Altomare says that after about 13 years, Albano got too obsessed with money and thought there might be an easier way in the profession. Altomare has decent charisma. More music now from SD Jones and his band. Jones is actually playing the drums now. You can see in this setting that SD Jones was actually quite a big guy, he's about twice as wide as the average drummer here. This Trinidad band segment is going on for some time. It's in moments like this I start to think about what I'm doing with my life. I guess if those LJN action figures went into production around this time to ship in 1985, I can see why Jones had one. The tape runs out now as is my patience with the disc seller. Andre was meant to come out in the final segment. I better check the 07/24/84 disc now to see if it's got the 07/17/84 show on it. EDIT: So the 07/24/84 disc has the exact same TNT show on it, but taped from WWE 24/7 instead of taken from a VHS taping. How annoying. This does mean that I have the last 10 minutes of the show with Andre on it however ... Lord Alfred has Andre's jacket on and is naturally swamped in it. Video footage now ... Andre vs. Alexi Smirnoff Basic squash but Smirnoff does get an armbar on at one point. They welcome Andre to the studio now. They talk about Big John Studd. Andre has tremendous charisma. Andre says he recently lost 100lbs. Vince notes that when he went to Japan he gained a lot of weight, and asks him why. Andre says the Japanese just wanted to feed him all the time. Andre says all his clothes are from Japan apart from his boots which are from El Paso, Texas. He puts his massive boot on the desk. It is absolutely massive. Andre has been one of the best interviewees on the show so far. He just oozes charisma and star appeal. Andre puts his hand over Alfred's face. Vince: "That's the best you've ever looked!" Vince asks Andre if he's ever been to Antigua. He said yes, he's been there 9 months ago. Andre says he wants to sing a song. He said last he was in Japan they all wanted him to sing a song ... THE FISH SONG. Oh my ... so Andre and SD Jones's Trindidadian band now with ... The Fish Song. They take a while to get the tempo right. "Too fast. Too loud". He wants it just right before singing. Andre wants someone called Betty to come. This woman Betty comes now. He asks her to hold the mic. What the fuck is this? lol Andre starts doing fish motions now. SD Jones's band starts cracking up. "I'll be back with the whale song" My god. That was quite funny, highlight in a pretty bad show. As if things couldn't get any better ... KAMALA vs. Jose Luis Riveria Christ, that's all I wanted. Kamala. Freddie Blassie leads him out with Friday. This looks like Kamala's debut from the way Vince is talking on commentary. "What has Fred Blassie found here?" Someone called "Tony" is on commentary with Vince. He has a smooth voice. I think it's Tony the Tiger from the Frosties ads. Kamala starts strong with some chops. Belly slaps. Chop. Big Splash. Big Splash. 1, 2, 3. Blah. I still hate him. Back in the studio, Vince and Alfred are still reeling from the fish song. Reeling, get it? NEXT WEEK: Crusher Blackwell!! RE-EDIT: Unbelievable. There is a ANOTHER disc labelled 07/24/84 and ... yip, it's the same show. So I have three discs here with this same edition of TNT on it. The seller really messed up this run in July. Was he sleeping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted September 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Given that I own this pretty terrible TNT 07/24/84 show three times, I might as well take some screengrabs before taking a sledgehammer to one of them. Taken from the 24/7 version because VQ is better: Tiger Chung Lee chopping a brick. B. Brian Blair making Paul Orndorff's leg humble: Old boring as fuck ref, Dick Woehrle: SD Jones dances as the steel-drum band from Trinidad do their thing: They were very amused by this. Me, less so: The Nostalgia files on TNT are really interesting and worth tracking down: He had this boot custom made in El Paso: Betty holds the mic for "The Fish Song": Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted September 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2013 I've got a bus ticket with your name on it. The destination? Cheeseville. It's time once again for TNT. July 31st, 1984. Lord Alfred is wearing a ridiculous pink suit this evening. He might have made a decent Mad Hatter if Vince ever decided to do Alice in Wonderland. Oh shit I have to pause this now for some fantasy casting: A 12-year old Stephanie as Alice. Fred Blassie as the Caterpillar. Ok, let's not do this. On with the show. Coming up on the show, we're going to Adrian Adonis's birthplace and where he grew up in New York city. He'll be showing Dick Murdoch around. I can't wait. In other news, recently Fabulous Moolah defended her women's title against Cyndi Lauper's choice, Wendi Ritcher. Alfred talks for a minute without saying anything I could feasibly note down. Moolah lost, Richter won. Here's Lou Albano to account for what happened. Vince says that Moolah hasn't lost in 20 years, so the differentiating factor has to be Albano. That's right, twist the knife Vince. Albano wants to go to commercial break to steady himself before he answers. They do so. Albano: First of all, any time you're involved with a woman, you're a loser. I said before they should be at home raising kids. He argues that Moolah technically pinned Richter. That her shoulders were up and Richter's were down. He wants a rematch. Vince says, gleefully, that at this stage Moolah probably doesn't want Albano managing her. Albano: I'm the manager of 14 tag-team champions. I'm the manager of MEN. Professional wrestlers. Not women, they belong in the kitchen like I said. I was not a manager, I was a technical advisor! They argue about what he was doing on the apron in that match. Albano said he slipped. He rants and raves and Vince throws over to Gene Okerlund. Mean Gene is at Wendi Richter's victory party. It's like that club from Scarface. Gene says there are MTV dignitaries everywhere, and Hogan is on his way. Here he is. Right in the middle of this party he cuts a full-on pumepd up promo. Is it the right place for this Hulk? People are eating canapes here! A kid with a big Hogan finger comes in ... where was Cyndi Lauper? Where was Wendi Richter? Back in the studio, Albano runs through all his bullshit again about how he made Lauper. All the same stuff as last time we saw him. Back at the party with Okerlund and Wendi Richter is there now. She's proud for women, and proud she won the belt. Cyndi Lauper is there too! And the Wild Samoans. And David Wolf! Nooooo. Wolf has shaved off his groovy moustache. Tragedy. Okerlund asks Afa what he thinks. He spots lipstick marks on his cheek. Cyndi Lauper has been giving him "victory kisses". Who else is here now. Sgt. Slaughter! Out of uniform! Slaughter looks like he's been on it. He calls it an "historic day" -- 26 years Moolah has been champ. Albano storms out of the studio and Vince shills WWF Magazine. Vince and Alfred talk about Adonis and Murdoch now. But first, let's see a match of them taking on Terry Daniels and Sgt. Slaughter. ... However, for whatever reason, the matches on this particular DVD have been edited out. How odd. Now why would someone edit out the matches? So we go straight back to Vince and Alfred talking about the match, which the champs won by targeting Daniels. Now it's time for my favourite weekly segment: THE MAILBAG (*weak cheering*). A Native American (Vince says "Indian") is hiding behind the sofa with it and delivers it to Alfred. From Minneapolis, Minnesotta: I was recently in vactaion in Hawaii, and I could have sworn I saw Don Muraco surfing. It was quite a shock. Does he really live there and does he like surfing? Diana Pearson. Vince says he enjoys both so it was definitely him. From Baton Rougue, Louisiana: We always watch TNT and like the interviews, but when are you going to have our favourite, Tito Santana, on again? We think he is cute. We also like Hulk Hogan very much. Francis Lerner, Janet Prior, Candy Nadine Vince says that Tito is very busy as IC champ so scheduling him is difficult, but they'll have him back on again as soon as they can. From Corpus Christi, Texas: Dear TNT, my parents come from Spain. Some time ago, a wrestler called Crusher Verdu was here. Could you show an old film of him for my mother and father. Rosa Lambane Vince says they are going to show some Crusher Verdu in the nostalgia files against Mario Milano. Going on Graham's site, it looks like this was a Boston match from July 18th, 1970. No commentary. Oh good, they haven't clipped this out. Verdu is fat as fuck. Didn't look bad at all. Vince asks Alfred if he ever wrestled Verdu or Milano in his career. He says that he never did but saw Verdu alot in Europe. He was from Barcelona. He saw him wrestle at the Le Palais des Sports in Paris on two occasions -- and a 17 or 18 year old Andre was there at the time. And then he left Europe and came to America and he hasn't seen him since. I think the Nostalgia bits of TNT are one of the best parts of it. It's a little surprising that Vince was keen on giving it 5 minutes of airtime every week. Now, back to present matters and Jesse Ventura and Ivan Putski have had some issues. Putski had a polka party at which Vince was quite the raver by all accounts. But Ventura took exception to the type of music being played and wanted rock n roll. So, of course, the two of them had ... an arm wrestling match! Jesse loves his arm wrestling. Oh goodie, we get to see it. Polish Power is still over with the crowd and his bigger and more roided up than ever. He also looks like he's spent the best part of a month under a sun bed. He's the colour of a deep fried turkey. Ventura is wearing a glittery thing on his head with rasta dreads coming down off it and shades. The crowd boo him. Ventura inspects the table. Posing and flexing from Putski and Ventura now. I don't like Putski's body. His arms are weird. Ventura says he's going to "bust" Putski. Ventura is complainging about every single detail before locking up. And they do so. Ventura quickly breaks. He's not ready. A lot of stalling and psych-up stuff from Jesse. They lock up again and he breaks again. Putski is getting pissed off. Ventura is complaining about something. They lock up again. This time Putski breaks. Crowd goes wild. Ventura throws a tantrum and slams a chair on the floor. Putski does something cool now. He points to himself: the crowd cheer. He points to Ventura: the crowd boo. Cheer. Boo. Cheer. Boo. You can't argue with this, it worked. Ventura is hot. Finally they lock up. Ventura has Putski almost down. A lot of struggle. Putski is fighting back. Ventura cheats by grabbing the side of the table to bring it back. The ref didn't see it. He's almost got Putski. POLISH POWERRRRRRR. Ventura cheats again to bring it back. Are you blind ref? Putski fights back again. Jesse has had enough and drops an elbow across his head. He grabs a chair and slams him on the back of the head over and over again. Stomps now. He slams the ref down. He spits on Putski and flexes his muscles. Knee drop. Knee drop. Crowd boo. Say what you want about these two, ladies and gents, that was pro wrestling distilled into a 5-minute arm wrestling match. And it was more over than most probably 85% of matches you'll ever see. This was the sort of shit Vince was good at. Vince and Alfred talk about who they think would have won if it been allowed to go. Alfred is very grave: "in the long run, Ventura is going to have to pay for those sins". Now it's time for our guests: Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch. Adonis walks in like an extra from William Friedkin's Cruising. Dick Murdoch is wearing a baseball cap and wouldn't be out of place on King of the Hill. That's what they were going for with this team, so it worked. A true odd-couple, North and South. Special report now and Okerlund is on location in some back alley in New York. Graffiti on the door. Empty whisky bottles on the floor. Could this be the home of Adrian Adonis? Okerlund can't believe that this is where Adonis lives. Can't get an answer. So Okerlund goes looking elsewhere. A random guy comes walking down the street. He has a graffiti'd t-shirt and appears to be gay. He asks him where he lives: "somewhere over there". Okerlund finds another place now. A black woman answers the door. Okerlund: Excuse me, does Adrian Adonis live here? Woman: Huh? Okerlund: One half of the world tag-team champions, Adrian Adonis? Does he live here? Woman: I don't know. Oklerlund: Do you speak English? Comprende Anglais? Woman: Eh no. What the hell is this? Ha ha ha ha ha. Another location now and Adonis is leaning against a doorway. Adonis: Where've you been? 266 like I told ya Oklerund: You've gotta be kidding me. Adonis takes Okerlund on a little tour of New York now. This guy is from the streets man. They are standing right in the middle of the street and Adonis starts shouting at drivers. "Ah, they'll move around. Go on, move it! This is my neighborhood, not yours!" As if this couldn't get any stranger, Adonis claims that he's in the Guinness Book of World Records for touching the most sewer caps in the shortest amount of time. And, of course, we get a live demonstration. This is fucking ridiculous. He runs to one and then does a cartwheel to the second one. Meanwhile, Murdoch rocks up in a yellow cab. Murdoch: Here ya go partner, ten, that outta cover it. Taxi Driver: Ten? That'll be 42 dollars. Murdoch: 42 dollars?! You only took me around the block! Jay c'mhere I need some money. We only went six blocks, forty-two! Jay! Jay! That was funny. There is an old woman sitting in the street. Okerlund: Do you know Adrian Adonis, world tag-team champion? Woman: No. Okerlund: He grew up in this neighbourhood, do you know him. Are you from around here? Woman: All my life. I never saw him. Okerlund: Adrian Adonis! I thought this was your Aunt Sophie! Woman: No I'm not. Ha ha. What the fuck am I watching here. Amazing. There's an outdoor wardrobe now which Adonis, Okerlund and Murdoch peruse. Adonis claims this is his back yard. An old man turns up now. Okerlund: Who is this? Adonis: Uncle Joe. Uncle Joe!!! Adonis tries to shake his hand. The old man no sells. He exchanges some words with Oklerund. Adonis: "He looks good for 53 doesn't he?" This guy must be in his 70s at the youngest. There's another old man there who comes along and says he saw the two of them win the titles. I have no idea what this whole special report was meant to be but it has been awesome. They are next to a fire hydrant now and Adonis claims he used to use it to shower. There's a dog there. Adonis says that's "old Red". Murdoch says this is a whole new world for him. They go to a hotdog stand now. They order three hotdogs. Murdoch wants mustard on there like back in Texas. He likes it. They have a motorbike now. Murdoch rides in the back and they are headed to MSG. I can't believe I just watched that. Maybe one day Chad can come to London and we'll try to recreate this. Back in the studio and Adonis says that they have the best basic wrestling skills in the world. Murdoch says some stuff too. Adonis uses the line "Even when I'm lying, I'm telling the truth". Back from the break and Chief Jay Strongbow is here as a guest. Murdoch and Adonis are still on the sofa. Murdoch: Get to the back of the bus boy, we're the world champions! Strongbow looks at him icily. Vince wants them to move down by they will not budge. Vince calls Strongbow one of the all-time greats and Murdoch bursts out laughing. Strongbow starts mumbling something and Murdoch says "what's the point in having him out here, you can't even hear him speak!" He has a point. Alfred looks uncomfortable sitting next to Murdoch and calls him an "empty barrel". Murdoch: Well you wouldn't know coming from England, you've never won a war, have you. Sir! Read your history. Vince is upset with Murdoch and Adonis being so disrespectful. Strongbow: I wish they'd go back to the swamp. Ouch. That's a zinger Chief! Sick burn. We get a clip of Strongbow vs. Tony Russo now. This is actually from July 12th 1983. I refuse to recap this sub-par action. The choice of match is particularly poor because Vince and Bruno spend the whole time talking about Lou Albano signing a title match for the Samoans against Atlas and Johnson. Some bad oversight considering they've spent the entire episode building up Adonis and Murdoch. Strongbow wins with a sleeper in 3 minutes. Back to the studio and Adonis thinks it was a chokehold. Mudoch: Was that camera in slow motion? Vince: No the replay was Murdoch: Oh I thought the whole match was. It must have been in black and white too. Vince: How do you think Jay Strongbow's sleeperhold compares or contrasts with that of Adrian Adonis? Top journalism by Vince here. Good, hard-hitting question. Murdoch: Well, number one, my dad was the most famous guy in the world to ever use the sleeperhold. And he taught me and I taught Adrian. Case closed. Some Native American chanting comes from off-stage now. Oh god. A "Pow Wow" now, with members of Strongbow's "Indian heritage". I can only imagine what is about to happen. Murdoch and Adonis immediately start poking fun of this. Adonis asks "where's the corn?" A lot of fairly racist jokes from them now. Strongbow gets up to go to the Pow Wow. More jibes from Murdoch and Adonis. Alfred is still just sitting there in his stupid pink suit. Alfred argues that they are privileged have "people like this on our programme". They go over to a teepee now and various tribe members are dancing and chanting. Jesus Christ, Strongbow is just a barrel of laughs isn't he. Zero charisma seemingly. Strongbow: What a lot of people don't know is that the teepee was like a trailer. The Indian believed in not destroying the land that he lived on. So when the food dried up, they'd pick up the tee pee and move along. Vince: So it was the first mobile home then? Strongbow: You might say that. And also, the teepee was used by plains Indians. I'm a Cherokee; we never had teepees. Strongbow totally miserable during this segment. Blandly stating facts about the buffalo hides. This is quite educational. Like a Sesame Street segment. Vince wants more war dancing. There are three or four different tribes being represented. Strongbow couldn't be less enthused about all this. Thank god, Murdoch and Adonis turn up now in their car. Vince is disgusted and wants them gone. Adonis calls them "clowns jumping around in Turkey feathers". Alfred is there too. So what, he got in the car with them? Vince wants to talk about how the dancing is symbolic. Alfred assures Strongbow not to worry about those two, that he has too much dignity and pride to waste time worrying about the likes of them. Strongbow is upset at the lack of respect. More of this war dancing goes on. Strongbow talks about how proud he is of his heritage. He can't explain his feelings. Vince is happy that they are outside in the stars. Strongbow starts war dancing too. Vince is pumped about it. And the show ends. Executive producer: Kevin Dunn. Is it wrong I really want Murdoch and Adonis to come back and deck the shit out of Strongbow's boring ass? I think I hate the guy. Join us next time for more TNT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted September 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2013 Screenshots for this surreal edition of TNT (07/31/84): Alfred sitting next to Albano in his ridiculous pink suit. Wendi Ritcher's "Victory Party". Crusher Verdu. Putski vs. Ventura, Over the Top style. Adonis and Murdoch. Okerlund with random New Yorker 1. Okerlund with random New Yorker 2. Okerlund with random New Yorker 3. Adonis doing the "sewer touch" challenge. "$42??!!!" "Uncle Joe" and a random guy. Adonis and Murdoch order hot dogs. Racial abuse. Adonis and Murdoch crash the Pow Wow. Strongbow: most boring man in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 The Cheese-mobile is back in action, but we're taking a break from TNT and jumping forward like Quantum Leaping Lanny to November 11th 1991 for Prime Time Wrestling!And what is the significance of this date? Well, it's the first edition of PTW that featured the roundtable format. What better way to get back into the cheese!Vince with the classic shouty intro. Love that. Vince is our presenter but he's struggling to be heard over the arguing.To our left, we have Roddy Piper and Gorilla Monsoon, and to our right, it's Bobby Heenan and Mr. Perfect. It's the eve of the Survivor Series and Vince says that there are many important issues to discuss!They need to discuss the injury to Sid Justice. Roddy Piper is more or less pro Sid here and just says that the WWF is the toughest of the tough and that he's got hurt. Piper wants him to wrestle with the cast on. Heenan thinks he's just scared of Jake the Snake.Sid gets a promo now in the cast. He's been injured by Jake Roberts. Sid demands that Jack Tunney needs to reinstate Randy Savage because it's the "just" thing to do. Get it, Sid JUSTICE.Monsoon thinks Tunney needs to reinstate him too and that he needs to get his finger out to do it.This opening segment was awful. People talking all over the place and not in a good way.1. Big Bully Buswick (w/ Harvey Whippleman) vs. Jim DugganOver to SEAN MOONEY now and Lord Alfred Hayes now for this all-star match up.Mooney and Hayes mainly discuss what will happen if Jim Neidhart is injured for the Survivor Series and call for Jack Tunney to make a decision. A lot of pressure on Tunney this week!This is an exceptionally poor match. Duggan wins after a 3-point stance but this has got to be one of the worst televised matches of 1991. In the -** region.2. The Berzerker vs. Eric FreedomFreedom is a CLASSIC looking early 90s jobber. One for the Kelly files.I can't help but think watching this demolition of Freedom by The Berzerker that this dude should have headlined Wrestlemania!He keeps going over to Mr. Fuji. Some nice slams and Ernie Ladd leg drops.He throws Freedom out of the ring for a count out win. Ha ha.Side note: this is very late for Fuji to be in the hat with the cane, it's not long before he would transition to the Yokozuna version.Gene Okerlund has been at the WBF!! Bodybuilders, hmmm.More news: Sid is out of the Survivor Series. Bret Hart and The Mountie have issues. The Mountie calls Bret a coward. Bret says he could never give a title shot to a jailbird and The Mountie ZAPS him.Studio promo by Jimmy Hart and The Mountie now. "You might say I shocked you into a title match".3. Ric Flair vs. Jim NeidhartNeidhart in the awful Owen Hart "High Energy" gear. Flair is wearing the actual NWA title and it isn't digitised out.Savage, Piper and Vince are on commentary. Piper calls Vince a "jerk" after he claims he's not paying attention to the action.This match was from Superstars.Neidhart misses a big leg and Flair goes to work on the knee. Piper: "what am I? Chuck D?" Piper is hot with Vince tonight because he's insinuating that Piper can't beat Flair.Meanwhile, Flair is destroying Neidhart's leg. Figure-four. And that's it. Wow, Neidhart really in JTTS mode here.Post-match, Flair keeps working on the leg. Piper has been shouting for about 5 minutes straight now. Commentary is a real shit show with him and Savage AND Vince all talking.Flair puts on the figure-four AGAIN. He's using the rope for leverage, trying to break his leg. Officials come out to break it up. Savage says that he doesn't recognise that belt. Piper is just ranting and raving.And now a video package from Sgt. Slaughter outside the Statue of Liberty, I can't believe he turned his back on Iraq.Jim Neidart is being escorted back to the locker room by officials and The Beverley Brothers are on their way to their match ... they just turn around and DECK Neidhart. Ha ha ha, such completely random heel dickery.4. Mark Wilson and Dan Robbins vs. The Beverley BrothersThese are the sorts of jobbers who really need Gary Michael Capetta to draw out their complete shitness.Savage: "Look what's going around in the WWF, and I can't get reinstated, unbelievable!" - ha ha good point Randy. Tunney should suspend the Beverleys!Piper and Savage keep talking over each other, might be the most annoying commentary team of all time. Piper makes a quip about Liz that goes down very badly with the Macho Man.The match is already over.----We're back to the studio and the debate is in full flow. Monsoon says it's highly unlikely that the figure-four would work on "the likes of the Hulkster". Heenan comes back: "it worked on the Anvil!"Vince asks Piper if he's ever lost by submission.Another awful segment. Too much talking over each other in general on PWT so far.Vince shills a hotline number to talk to The Hulk. $1.99 a minute!5. Rock Werner vs. Repo ManMike McGurik with the intros, Mooney and Hayes on commentary. They don't make wrestling like this anymore.Mooney openly starts laughing at the idea of Werner matching up with Repo Man.Sean doesn't like the truck tires on Repo Man's tights.Mooney and Hayes debate what he uses the rope for. Mooney thinks that he uses it to tow away repo'd vehicles, Hayes suggests he just breaks into them and drives them away. Mooney says, well maybe he uses the rope if the engine can't start. LOL that actual exchange took place on national TV.The match is already over. Werner submitted to a basic leglock. Repoman ties him up to the ropes.Back to the studio. Vince asks Perfect if his payments are up to speed. Perfect: "I don't know where this Repo guy came from but he looks like his Range Rover got run over by a semi"Vince talks about training techniques and nutrition. Says Heenan as a manager must have knowledge of this. Soon, the WBF champion Gary Strydom will be here to tell us about it.Heenan claims that Strydom has no calfs. Ha ha ha.Strydom is doing some weight training. Tito Santana has just got back from Mexico where in becoming El Matador he got his "mind right", but now he wants to get his body right and who better to turn to than Gary Strydom!Stydom gets Tito to do some weights. Pump! Pump! Pump! This is pretty homoerotic."What a difference when you do it right". What? That was it? That was the special training by WBF champ?Strydom suggests that Tito could show him a move or to one day too. Pathetic hype segment for the WBF.Sid Justice is out of the Survivor Series, so it might be 4 vs 3. Jake, The Natural Distasters and IRS are here. Jake does the talking.Jake: "What's the two things you can always count on?"IRS: "Death and taxes"Best bit of this entire episode so far. Gene Okerlund in very forceful tones makes an appeal to Jack Tunney to REINSTATE Randy Savage. Do it now! It makes sense! He can sub for Sid, you see. Makes it a fair fight.What about the gravest challenge? Hulk Hogan cuts a promo in front of a metal bolted backdrop. Hogan mentions his title win in 1984. Says he's going to dig a 6-foot hole just for Taker.Paul Bearer cuts a promo with Taker there looking grim, he has his hat down over his eyes. Taker talks: "Hulk, the future is at hand, it's at the hand of the Undertaker. Prepare to meet your maker"Excellent pair of promos there.Back to Mean Gene, previewing Flair's team against Piper's team. Promos from Piper and co now.Virgil: "People of Detroit, I am not a thief, I'm a very honest gentleman!"Bret: "I'm just going to say one thing: when I get my hands on The Mountie at the Survivor Series, he's going to be the one that'll be in for a shock!" oooooh, you tell him Bret!Bulldog: Warlord! You wanna slap that full nelson on this big shoulders in two weeks time ... well just you try it" -- least menacing promo ever!And Piper rants and raves about Flair. He can't control himself.Flair's team is so swank, but we don't get a promo from them.Oklerund goes through the rest of the card, which changed massively of course in the two weeks left. Col Mustafa's team had THREE changes.-------The discussion conintues at the roundtable. This is getting tiresome. A lot of talk of Jack Tunney's decisions now. He has a lot to make.Piper has just been awful so far on this show. He's doing my head in.6. The Legion of Doom vs. The Nasty BoysTitles on the line here. Jimmy Hart is managing the Nasties.Hayes claims that The Nasties are "great tacticians in the ring". Hmmm.LoD dominate until Hawk blows his shoulder and Knobs uses a chair on him. They double team him outside.Mooney: "Hawk is one massive superstar, but no man can take that amount of abuse"Some great Mooney unnaturalness there. No one in the world would say that sentence but him.Hayes speculate that this is part of a preconceived plan by LoD, that Hawk will take this beating in order to draw energy from both Nasties and Animal is kept fresh. Is Lord Al actually trying to deconstruct the concept of Face in Peril on air? lolAnyway, he rubbishes those suggestions himself when the Nasties cut off a tag to Animal. "No, he's just trapped".Animal always seems to work as the hot tag in WWF. Always.Knobs uses the helmet, but Hawk gets it and clears the ring. LoD win by DQ.Nothing spectacular, but I think the Nasties kept this interesting-ish.More talk in the studio now. They want Jack Tunney to step up now.Heenan: "All you got to do is grease his palm. That's the way you do business with Tunney"*pointing at Vince* "You been doing business with him for years. So have you [Gorilla]. So have you, so have you"AWESOME semi-shoot moment.Monsoon lambasts Heenan for being cheap now: "you never went into your pocket for anything!"More talk of Savage being reinstated now. They've been discussing this for 58 fucking minutes now!!! Vince shills the hotline with Savage and Liz, you can hear how he feels about it himself.7. The Undertaker vs. Texas TornadoWow, this is quite a big match up for PWT. Taker's intro is awesome, kids in the crowd clearly in awe of him, clearly. Vince must have seen the potential even at this point.Gorilla and Heenan are on commentary here. I like Prime-Time partly because you basically get to see the all the shows in one package."He's colder than a mother-in-law's kiss, colder than a pawnbroker's heart" "WILL YOU STOP" Classic.Monsoon says he can always smell formaldehyde around him, a preservative. I think Monsoon just wanted to let us know he knows the word "formaldehyde".Taker makes very short work of the Tornado with a tombstone. The former IC champ on the way out here clearly.Back to the roundtable. Monsoon is angry at Heenan. Perfect says that Taker will end Hulkamania. Heenan references Taker's win over The Texas Tornado, which is no mean feart. "I mean the guy's [Tornado's] mind is like silly putty, we all know that, he's got one white sock on and one brown sock and thinks he has a pair just like em at home!" Heenan laying it in tonight!Monsoon says that he thinks, very gravely, that this Sunday could we the last night we see Hogan as champion. Piper is more optimistic. I think that's really neat: two face voices, one has doubts over Hogan to win, the other confident. I like the idea of two fans sitting at home having the same concerns. Kayfabe is the greatest thing ever.It's time for The Funeral Parlour. Bearer's special guest is ... Macho Man Randy Savage!!Crowd is pretty pumped for him. Mooney and Hayes go on and on about the idea of him being reinstated and that Jack Tunney needs to make a decision.Savage wants to repay Sid for a favour he did for him. Savage wants to even up the odds to lead LoD and the Bossman against Jake and the rest of the Snake Pit!But he has one big problem: President Jack Tunney!Come on Tunney, every single person wants him back. What are you playing at?Savage says he's begging Tunney right now. "I've been a Survivor all my life, and not being at the Survivor Series, that's not living ... that's a living hell!"I can't help but wonder what the hell happened with this angle. They've spent 70 minutes shilling this now and I know that match ends up being 3 vs 3.Back to the studio and Vince asks "what happened to the Doctor of Stlye?" we're about to find out ...We get a clip of Warlord vs. Bulldog and Davey Boy drags in the Slickster. Running Powerslam on Slick!!Lord Al: "We'll never see The Slickster again if he does this!"Warlord carries a DEAD Slick out. I always did wonder what happened to Slick in 91.Vince says that The Slickster has seen the light, allegedly, and is going to become an evangelical preacher. Wow, I never know that was announced in 1991.Piper wonders about whether his heart is in the right place. Heenan: "it doesn't matter if his heart is in the right place, it matters if the collection plate is". Monsoon says he's been given a license to steal. Perfect CLEARLY doesn't give a shit about this and just chews some gum.Vince wants to give Slick a fair hearing and says that people can change.8. The British Bulldog vs. IRSThis is another PPV calibre match on TV here in 1991. Big match! I can't imagine anyone is going over clean here.This is from an MSG house show, I can tell: Finkel is there, pitch black backdrop, aisle down the middle. Unmistakable.IRS: Tax cheating seems to be a way of life in New York! But I want you people to remember this: sooner or later you're going to get caught! And when you do get caught IRS is going to make you pay!"Monsoon to Heenan: And you got caught before I understand. Ha ha. Lord Alfred is there too.Bulldog comes out to no music.It's strange how at home I feel watcing an MSG match.Monsoon wonders why Bulldog doesn't grab Irwin's suspenders or his tie.This has been all Davey Boy so far. Standing dropkick, Irwin bails.Wow, a commercial for a GAME GENIE. Bill and Ted rip offs! I never got a Game Genie, cheating is for losers.Now a commercial for a Big Mac ... Finest Designer Fabrics in Nashville! by Betty Jan! ... Santa is coming to Hendersville, A.C.E. hardware by helicopter ... We're back at the studio. Vince shills All American hosted by Mean Gene with Randy Savage.We come back and Irwin is on top now. He hits ... the write off cheque! Although no one ever calls it that, it's a clohesline. Bulldog kicks out. Irwin takes a big bump to the outside.This has been quite a long match.Monsoon mentions that this is a 20-minute time limit match and there's only 3 minutes remaining. I think that tells us what is going to happen here.Irwin counters the running powerbomb for a 2-count. High back bodydrop, gets 2. Heenan starts talking this up as a tremendous match.Irwin finds some rope under the ring. Sneaks it into his pocket. Front facelock. Irwin chokes Bulldog with the rope. Monsoon claims the ref sees it and should have called a DQ. Bulldog finds another piece of rope. Both guys out here.Inside cradle!! No, time limit draw!!Hmmm, about a **1/2, a bit too meandering, the guys struggled to fill the time.More roundtable now, and more talking over each other. Vince returns us to Taker vs. Hogan discussion, The Gravest Challenge.9. The Rockers vs. Barry Horrowitz and Marty Miller [????]Quick squash but ... some tension between Shawn and Jannetty here, they are TEASING the eventual heel turn already. Nice long-term booking.Hmmmm, this was a pretty shitty episode of Prime Time, Piper was AWFUL in every role. Bad on the panel, bad on commentary, bad in the promo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.