OOOLD SCHOOOOL

[wandshogun09]

While we're in this timeframe, is Muta vs Austin from Spring Stampede '94 as good as it sounds on paper? I've never seen it or even really seen much mention of it.

[air_raid]

Christ, who let Thunder & Lightning on a pay-per-view? Were Joe Gomez & Renegade busy?

 

I thought their Irish whip/top rope clothesline was excellent at killing jobbers, mind.

 

While we're in this timeframe, is Muta vs Austin from Spring Stampede '94 as good as it sounds on paper? I've never seen it or even really seen much mention of it.

 

In a word, no. Didn't really mesh for me. As I always did, I found Col Parker an unwanted distraction, and the finish sucks. But then, it's been years since I watched it. Maybe it warrants a rewatch.

[wandshogun09]

Shame. Looking up Muta vs Austin, I just found another match between them from New Japan in 1995. Muta's just in Mutoh mode for that one. I guess that was the tour where Austin got the injury which led to Bischoff sacking him over the phone. I think I'll give both matches a watch tomorrow when I'm more alert and see what's what.

[Mr Butternut Squash]

Starrcade 1983, A Flare For the Gold

 

Got a load of NWA/WCW shit recently. Might as well start from the beginning. I ain't got round to watching all of this yet.

 

This is the first close circuit wrestling event (or whatever that means). There's a charm about the presentation of these pre- Wrestlemania events. The arena's unlit and looks like some smoky dive with ten dunks in attendance. In between one of the matches the ring announcer tries his best to introduce "former NWA world champion . . Dusty Rhodes!" through a dodgy mic, the crowd pops huge, and then there he is, Dusty, jukin' and jivin' like playdoh. Oh wait . . you don't even get to see him. He's probably sitting in the front row. In the dark. Then there's lovely Barbara, who's like the Starrcade Todd Pettengill, and she nervously asks creepy hillbilly families from the crowd dull questions about the event and she has a habit of pulling the mic away from them before they have a chance to answer or infect her with their weird lurgies (I'm guessing). Later we finally get to see our Dusty with Barbara as she's interviewing him now but the mic cuts out again. But instead of grabbing a new one and starting over Dusty is left to dribble his charming wigger bollocks to nobody as commentator Gordon Solie chimes in with " . . .well, if you can read his lips then you can tell what he's saying". And then there's the thing that this whole event is built around, the crowning of the new superstar of this wrestling. A Flare for the Gold.

 

 

There's loads of tag stuff. Mark Youngblood and Wahoo McDaniel vs the cool as fuck team of Bob Orton and Dick Slater is the most notable so far. The cowboys dominate the match, kick the shit out of Youngblood and continue to destroy Wahoo's arm after they've won the match clean. I was quite impressed with Orton and his back breakers and power moves. Funny to see him pouting through a headlock just like his son. Slater's resemblance to a young Terry Funk is quite striking.

 

One of the best things so far was a backstage interview with Angelo Mosca. After Kevin Sullivan/Mark Lewin win their match vs Scott McGhee and Jonny Weaver they start to go into the babyfaces, slicing McGhee open with the trusty 'spike'' (courtesy of Gary Hart). Angelo Mosca's outside to support the face team and he comes in for the save but the bastard heels cut his arm up as well. Later Mosca cuts a brilliant, impassioned promo, vowing for revenge. It's intense and it's shouty and realistic. When he finishes chatting shit the camera pans out and it reveals a bloody McGhee slumped next to him, motionless in the chair. He looks fucking dead.

 

Abdullah The Butcher fighted Carlos Colon in a match between two legends that I wish went longer. Uncle Paedophile Jimmy Valiant (in his daft Charley Brown gimmick) took on The Great Kabuki in a match that was highlighted by three claw holds, including two . . FROM THE TOP ROPE.

 

I'm up to Valentine vs Piper which is classic. Valentine's quite something. With his woofter blonde locks and his fancy robe he looks like a fat Goldust. Yet, somehow he's the toughest looking bastard in the room. Piper should never be babyface as he has one of them mugs that you just want to slap. This match is brutal and hasn't aged a bit. Greg messes up Piper's ear the hardway(?) and Solie does an excellent job in putting it over. He's equilibriums fucked and you'd think Piper wouldn't ever piss straight again. Piper wins but Greg beats the shit out of him after anyway. I cheered. I love how Solie's coarse, 60 a day throat contrasts with Bob Caudle's cute, droopy puppy dog voice. I should probably comment more on the matches but I watched it all the way back yesterday and I'm tipsy so fuck off.

[JNLister]

This is the first close circuit wrestling event (or whatever that means).

 

It meant that other venues in the territory had the match shown in the arena on a big screen (hence the circuit of video is closed rather than open to everyone by being on TV). The idea came about from a match at an earlier Greensboro show that had legitimately thousands of people turned away. Having all the venues airing the show meant that at the time Starrcade 83 was the most people to pay to see the same show.

 

The early WrestleManias were also closed circuit, with WrestleMania 1 being the first really successful closed circuit show nationwide as opposed to just shown in one territory.

[PowerButchi]

Was it you that told of the Closed Circuit showing of WM1 in some arena in Texas and it was just a normal sized telly?

[Mr Butternut Squash]

This is the first close circuit wrestling event (or whatever that means).

 

It meant that other venues in the territory had the match shown in the arena on a big screen (hence the circuit of video is closed rather than open to everyone by being on TV). The idea came about from a match at an earlier Greensboro show that had legitimately thousands of people turned away. Having all the venues airing the show meant that at the time Starrcade 83 was the most people to pay to see the same show.

 

The early WrestleManias were also closed circuit, with WrestleMania 1 being the first really successful closed circuit show nationwide as opposed to just shown in one territory.

 

Oh right, cheers. Funny how much things have changed.

[Professor Paul's Bin]

Been watching WWF 1999 for a few months and to be fair it's abit of a shite year. One of the worst parts comes as when they turned mosh heel into Chaz as a woman beater. I just found that really offensive and one of the worst gimmicks I've seen in many of days. Thankfully the whole terrible gimmick is dropped and they reform the Headbangers later on in 1999. They really thrown out all kinds of shite around this period, of course earlier on you've got the horrific LOD 2000 bollocks which is very uncomfortable to watch which adds to the tasteless shite (I'd like to wonder what awful gimmicks were probably in the works but later dropped around this time). From such a strong year in 1998 it's a shame they didn't have the same magic in 1999 as the majority of it is fairly dull. Only thing I've really enjoyed from the year is Bossman/Al Snow, Triple H/Vince, Hardy's/E&C and Rock/Austin. The rest is just rather bleak.

[JNLister]

Was it you that told of the Closed Circuit showing of WM1 in some arena in Texas and it was just a normal sized telly?

 

Yeah, it was in Dallas. A big telly (by the standards of the time) but not exactly sufficient for a major arena. It also didn't help that the sound wasn't working and that some people had got confused and thought the matches were happening live in the building. Still better than Memphis where they cancelled the airing because they'd sold 9 tickets in advance.

 

Great trivia note is that the first closed circuit wrestling show was actually a Royal Albert Hall show in 1966 which Jarvis Astaire (who did all the closed circuit boxing shows) showed in about 11 cinemas round the country. Some of the cinemas were charging the equivalent of

[wandshogun09]

I only found out recently that Chaz's valet Marianna/Mrs Cleavage, died of breast cancer quite young. She died in 2004 and was 35 according to wiki. That's really sad.

[Loki]

John, how would closed-circuit have been distributed in those days, out to the cinemas for simulcast? As a television broadcast, or over phone lines, or what?

[Professor Paul's Bin]

I only found out recently that Chaz's valet Marianna/Mrs Cleavage, died of breast cancer quite young. She died in 2004 and was 35 according to wiki. That's really sad.

 

That's terrible to hear. She was a right cracker. Where did hear career in this business go once they dumped the awful Chaz storyline?

[wandshogun09]

Wiki says she retired in 1999, the same year she debuted so it was a short-lived thing for her. She was a fitness model primarily judging by her pictures.

[JNLister]

John, how would closed-circuit have been distributed in those days, out to the cinemas for simulcast? As a television broadcast, or over phone lines, or what?

 

We really need Remlap here, but as best I can tell it was either straightforward relays of ordinary TV signals (albeit at a frequency you couldn't pick up at home) or via satellite. Apparently Coventry City showed an away game at Highfield Road once in the 1960s and stuck mirrors on the floodlights to redirect the signal into the middle of the pitch.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Did they have a WrestleMania Axxess event at the showing of WrestleMania I when it was a few Texans stood around a telly? With a booth where you could play a demo of Pro Wrestling on the NES against SD Jones.