JakeRobertsParoleOfficer

Any cause yet? 

Sounds awsome

Wasn't Barbarian still on payroll as well (and maybe even rude) ? 

Wcw could have literally just opened up the door on live TV,  and sent out Ric Steiner, Meng, Barbarian and rude to fuck dx up. 

Would have been tv gold. 

Dx undoubtedly would have either had to pussy out or get a collossal kicking on live tv. 

Either way the damage to wwf would be irrevocable! 

Eric really missed a chance to finish wwf off there!

Always made me laugh when on the wwe dvds they'd have bischoff they're blatantly lieing ( and you can see it in his delivery) about everyone warning him if vicne turned up he'd get a kicking or of. Vince crew came over they'd have got walloped!! 

Like fuck!! Wcw paid even low card guys like Stevie. Ray 1m+ a year. 

Alot of guys on that roster could have fucked up Vince crew and some would have delighted in it! 

5 hours ago, air_raid said:

Mania VII had already happened when Warrior left. At the point Warrior got himself the push, they’d already started the transition to Sid as Undertaker’s road opponent. That was his Mania match if the Hogan/Flair/Savage reshuffle hadn’t happened.

Sorry meant wm8

1 hour ago, AndiRush said:

The Warrior not getting sacked and sticking around timeline is one which definitely would've changed the course of wrestling as we know it.

I've just typed a few paragraphs before I posted this and my mind is completely blown when you weigh up the permutations of this scenario. Who wouldn't have been signed? Who would've been released? Who gets relegated or stuck in the mid-card role and never reaches their full potential as we know it in this world? Does the wage bill cripple the company as they head into the mid-90s and poor gates? Who leaves for WCW/ECW and do they (promotion/wrestler) grow earlier as a result? Or do they vanish into obscurity?

Totally agree. 

Its like his decisions in 92, 96 and 98 totally changed the course of wrestling as we know it. 

Hell could even factor in 91 when he held Vince up. If he'd stayed it could have ended up Warrior vs Taker at WM7 assume Warrior goes over and streak never happens. 

Could even have had warrior vs flair  for the title at wm8 instead of Savage.

Lets say warrior doesn't piss Sid off, then we've got warrior potentially versus sid at ss for the title. 

Totally changes landscape as potentially Bret, Shawn don't get elevated about IC level as youve got Vince preferred type in the main event. 

Main event lot could end up warrior, sid, Taker, diesel, lex

Yoko remains a headshrinker

Smaller guys never get pushed. 

Hogan doesn't come back in 93, due to declining business vince brings him back in 95 or 96 meaning no wcw run or nWo. 

Does Hulks return save wwf?? 

Unlikely... Vince goes out of business, leaving wcw as the big one!! 

It really is 'sliding doors' stuff! 

Amazing that Warrior's actions were so pivotal to wrestling outcome 

Do we know why Vince was so keen to retire Savage in 93/94??

He was only 41, could still work like a bastard and was only a year or so removed from his last world title reign?? 

With the exiting of Hogan (for good in 93), piper (92), Warrior (92), Savage (94), Flair (93) he was seriously down in star power come end of 94 (regardless of match quality). 

Very true Tommy 

Always makes me laugh that Bret was considered the new younger blood when infact he was 2 years older than warrior and a pro about 10 years longer. 

Never knew the whole Warrior vs Flair gig. 

Warrior not leaving definitely throws a tangent version of 93. If warrior wrestles flair for the belt at RR and wins it, where does that leave Bret? Vs Shawn for ic title at mania?

If warriors there does Hogan still come back? 

Who does warrior face for the title at wm? 

It's mad but there's at least 2 occasions whereby warrior staying almost causes a major change in wrestling history.

93: of he's there Bret may still be stuck in IC land, and we get an almost total change in direction 

98: warrior comes back to Wwf on mega money. Does that throw attitude era off totally?? 

Mad but alot of wrestlers benefitted hugely from warriors mad decisions at times 

Have u see all the pics of venue and reception??

Guys image is limousine riding, jet flying, kiss stealing son of a gun. 

Custom from head to toe. 

And he goes and has a reception in what looks like a community centre!! 

Your telling me if he wasn't skint he'd be getting married somewhere like that? 

C'mon it's not like he hasn't live the gimmick... Or tried to his whole life.

There isn't Richard fliehr and ric flair, there is only ric flair!! 

That's what's sad about it! 

Kinda sad to see old Ric, legit wrestling legend, prob top 5 of all time, getting married and celebrating in a venue most of us getting married would pass on. 

I think its all relative to what you consider 'hard' + substantiated stories. 

Personally ill go with Rude. Substantiated in multiple shoots (all stories playing out the same), arm wrestling champion, sparking guys 1 armed. 

Every wrestler interviewed from the 80s has a 'rude cunted xxx one armed' story. 

When you've got hard cases like Spivey saying "I just left it to Rude to fuck the 6 guys up" 

That's enough for me. 

The Puder thing along with his injuries is why I was so unsure of Angle in MMA. Either Angle was genuinely caught out, his hardest of hard cunts rep is a sham or maybe abit if both?? 

Always thought Batista did the whole mma thing to erase (either in his own mind, the fans or both) the whole 'cunt Booker T off' and get massacred debacle. 

Always thought the Barbarian would be a hard cunt in real life. No evidence but doesn't look the slightest like a guy you'd want to fuck with. 

37 minutes ago, IronSheik said:

Ken Shamrock had the shoot credentials, the size and does come across like he has a screw loose. Wouldn't imagine any one would mess with him.... (apart from Jerry Sags)

Kurt Angle had a confidence and a belief that he could take down and stretch any cunt on the planet in his prime and I've heard a lot of people say how insanely tough he was. Like so many guys, he worked through fucking horrendous injuries which would have side lined many mortals.

Steve Blackman seems like a hardy bastard too. Albeit maybe doesn't have the devil in him as he seems a stand up dude.

Angle is a good one. Hard as fuck and a pain threshold with or without the pills I imagine few have. Only issue I have is his striking prowess has never really been shown which is why I'd always have doubts. 

Big Shown is a massive, insanely strong fucker so whilst he obviously doesn't have the takedown shit of an Angle, "whack" on paper of a Rude, or evil cuntiness of a Haku  i sure as hell don't think many would stand a chance if he grabbed them and ragdolled/fucked around with them! 

Orndoff is another who is legitimised  through multiple shoots. 

Vader would have had a legit age, size and health advantage over Mr Wonderful  + a cheap shot and still took a monumental kicking after trying his luck. 

Sadly Piper seems the opposite. A mega old school rep + his own self promotion and yet I cant remember one shoot where anyone legitimised Pipers hard man status??? 

Hell there's plenty of stories to back old Koko B Ware being abit of a hardcase (though prob the last man to ever brag about it) yet no one seems to back Pipers rep. 

Not sure where I heard it but wasn't Tony 'ludvig borga' halme a legit hard cunt?? 

I also really want to say Dan Severn. Love the guy but striking was his weakness. 

Wasn't it around the tune of Savage 's short stint in TNA where Hogan was a free agent and Savage having slated Hogan for years and mouthing off how he'd f**k him up bumped into him at TNA when they were trying to bring him in and Hogan was like "let's just settle this now outside" and Savage basically legged it, drove off and said he'd never attend if Hogan was there again?? 

Isnt RVD meant to be a legit hardcase who fucked Tazz up when Tazz was buying into his gimmik a lil too much?? And wasn't someone anyone in Ecw or wwe wanted to fuck with? 

 Ric Rude and Haku

I don't know whether it's revisionist history or rose tinted spectacles  but every single shoot interview with the 'older' generation of wrestlers over the last 20 odd years seems to put them 2 at the top and have a story that's corroborated in someone else's shoot. 

There's a million stories of Rude in a sling, or in a cast just sparking guys out with slaps! 

Interestingly I don't think I've heard a story about either steiner's hardcase antics that weren't abusing jobbers, backstage personnel or obvious easy/non threatening targets. Which does make you think. 

27 minutes ago, WeeAl said:

I can't think where that would have ended, other than in the same ditch, just a little bit further along the road. You can feed him another mid card or upper card heel, but the second you have a different plan for Warrior, than what he has in his head, he's going again. What was his reasoning supposed to be for leaving that time, just before International Incident?

Vince story is that Warrior used his dad dying as an excuse to. No show events. 

Warriors is that Vince reneged on his promises and separation of interlectual properties. 

Prob never know the exact deal. There's a 83 weeks podcast where Bischoff discusses warrior at length. 

The common narrative if you look at all the interviews etc seems to be that warrior saw his character transcending wrestling and becoming a cartoon, comic, video game film character, and when this didn't come to fruition things didn't go well. 

It's all a matter of perception, however as much as I love the Warrior, he didn't have any success (outside the obvious financial gain) after 91. His 1992, 96 and 98 runs were all a bust. 

3 hours ago, Cod Eye said:

I say this everytime a photo from this era is posted, but just look at the characters in that photo. 4 distinct characters, 4 distinct body types, 4 distinct looks.  If that sort of angle would be run now, they would all be a similar height, body type, all wear their ring gear with their t-shirt over. 

Basically, everything that drew us to, and made us fall in love with pro-wrestling has been stripped away and made almost unrecognisable.

Heartbreaking... 

It's why I don't even watch anymore!

Check out 1984 Hall

Massive!!! 

There's a few that at times or at least 1 stage in their career they were huge!!! 

Totally agree. 

Had charisma, the working ability, the look, the hair and what a physique!! 

Here he is rocking a body that prime BIG Poppa Pump would envy! 

Such a shame with the MH, drugs and foot issue. Guy was only 33 when he passed. Shoulda been an utter megastar. 

Did Hennig ever look better than this? 

And chilling with Bret

9 hours ago, The Cutting Edge said:

I think because he along him Hennig, Bossman, Anvil and a lot of 80s/early 90s guys were ancient due to how much things had changed.

Back then 2-3yrs could change a whole roster, now 5-10 yrs creates little change in a lot of ways.

Was thinking about HHH and Rocks evolution and feuds from 97-2000 and how much they grew and changed in that time, lower mid-card 97 then solid upper 98 to proper bonifide top guys 99-2000

What's mad is that if you look at the last 15 years fuck all has changed, if you look back at classic wwf 15 years takes you from 1987 wwf to. Post attitude and monday night raw wwe.

Davey Boy in 1999 despite being only 36 just felt like a man out of time.

Too young to be passe but too much legacy to be fresh. 

Didn't help there was something obviously wrong. See below:

2 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Didn't really help that Austin spent a significant portion of his heel run doing the best comedy in wrestling history either.

It was fantatsic

https://youtu.be/eIRVxrNDvJs

Sting - going heel in Wcw for all of 2 minutes

Goldberg - see above 

2 baby faces you have to cheer! Never bought either them as a bad guy

The other one tbat immediately comes to my mind was Perfect in 93. I just never bought him as a good guy, having spent spent the previous 3 years loving his heel persona. 

Angle when