OOOLD SCHOOOOL

[bAzTNM#1]

I'd love to have seen Bischoff's face when he watched that Loch Ness vs Scotty Riggs match. He would have been absolutely raging. No way Haystacks should have been anywhere near a live TV ring at that point. Somebody was ripping the urine right out of him.

[garynysmon]

I still can't comprehend what they were thinking with the finish. The fans knew by 1993 that a babyface winning by countout was not a cause for celebration. They all knew it was a cop-out finish used to cheat the babyface out of the title and to continue building to the eventual title change. They completely cut Luger's balls off and made him look like a retard with his reaction and celebration after the countout. Why would anyone want to cheer him after that? Even if they didn't want the belt on Luger there were other ways of doing it without making him look like a complete idiot.

 

As a 9 year old kid at the time, it was still a big deal to see Yokozuna being beaten somewhat clean (Wrestlemania 9 being an anomaly) after almost a year of squashing everyone like flies. I was under the impression that Yokozuna could kick the shit out of Andre the Giant or anyone (especially with him having been dead for 6 months).

 

I can kind of understand the logic of building it up to something bigger at Wrestlemania, but Lex had long since lost his steam by then.

[AshC]

Somewhat tying each of these topics together, whatever happened to Yoko's move to WCW that Power Slam was touting in the mid-90s? I got the impression back then that him coming in to work with Hulk was pretty much a lock.

[Max Power]

These last few pages have been superb, thanks to Air Raid for the write ups. I've been watching a lot of Raw from the Summer of 1998, and I've just finished the post Survivor Series episode and the week after (which is quite topical because he current D Bryan/McMahon feud is very similar to goings off back then). I'm not as skilled a writer as Mr Raid, but a few notable happenings are as follows (I'm not meaning to rip off Raid's style or ideas, but if you get pissed off then I can stop).

 

- Rock is crazy over. Everyone hates his guts. I know in general crowds were louder then than now, but the heat is still eye opening.

 

- Austin gets kidnapped by Undertaker and Paul Bearer who knock him out and drive him in a hearse to a graveyard. They think this is too good for Austin and then drive to a mausoleum or something to embalm him. I like the visual of the Undertaker in full wrestling clobber driving around like this is a normal everyday occurance. Viewing things back though, its all a bit Russoriffic and daft. Kane turns up, and then Austin escapes with his pants round his ankles. He gets crucified next week I think, so that should be fun too.

 

- Shawn Michaels makes his on screen comeback as Comissioner and gives his pal Xpac a title shot. But then swerves on him during the match and belts him with a chair. It's all a bit rushed, and I don't think Old HBK is under the legal limit for most of it. He had the stubble straight away on his return, so that probably gave away his turn before hand.

 

- Hawk is in the middle of his losing-the-plot gimmick after Droz has taken his place in LOD. Its shit. He's just climbed the Titantron and got shoved off by the latter. All a bit uncomfortable and the 'something-real-is-happening' voices that JR and King put on are a bit cringeworthy - especially with what would transpire in the next 6 months.

 

- Speaking of Owen, the Blue Blazer keeps turning up and jumping Steve Blackman. JR thinks its Owen. But the Blazer attacks The Lethal Weapon during a backstage segment with Owen present which is enough evidence for King to shoot JR down. Owen kicks Blackman in the balls and Lawler makes a crack about that being the end of the Lethal Weapon.

 

- Sable is hot as hell.

 

- I don't know where HHH is. I skipped a bit of the episode, so I might have missed him. He comes back soon though I think for the I Quit match on Raw with Rock.

 

- I don't like Mankind. I know its probably a lot of revisionism, but I just find Foley's character to be stupid and shit and hard to get behind. Watching at the time, it would probably be different. Still, I get to see Rock kick the shit out of him in the next three months.

 

Quote of the week - After being offered Godfather's proposal of a night with his ho's rather than fighting, Steven Regal exclaims: "I'm no Elton John, I'll take the broads". Regal looks fat and pilled off his face. He's a real man though,

[air_raid]

- I don't know where HHH is.

 

Out with a knee injury.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, I think Triple H cocked his knee up just after SummerSlam didn't he? I remember he was advertised to be facing Mark Henry at Break Down but it never ended up happening, and he was replaced in the Deadly Game tournament. He was back in December though, facing Jeff Jarrett at Capital Carnage.

[Twatters]

Yeah, I think Triple H cocked his knee up just after SummerSlam didn't he? I remember he was advertised to be facing Mark Henry at Break Down but it never ended up happening, and he was replaced in the Deadly Game tournament. He was back in December though, facing Jeff Jarrett at Capital Carnage.

 

At the time i was gutted we didn't get the Triple H vs Rock rematch from Summerslam at the tournament.

 

Did they advertise that match knowing Triple H was never gonna be able to wrestle in it?

[wandshogun09]

Memory is hazy but I think so, yeah. Then at Survivor Series they brought Bossman out instead and Rock beat him in about 4 seconds with the small package. It all played into Rock's heel turn perfectly in the end though.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I suppose this is more appropriate for the youtube thread, but this interview ... fucking hell. Coke induced mid-80s loveliness. Hulk Hogan and The Crusher in the WWF. It doesn't get any more old school mental than this.

[air_raid]

Yeah, I think Triple H cocked his knee up just after SummerSlam didn't he? I remember he was advertised to be facing Mark Henry at Break Down but it never ended up happening, and he was replaced in the Deadly Game tournament.

 

The best thing about that was, the news sites reporting in the weeks preceding the PPV that nobody knew the condition of Trips' knee and whether or not he'd be good to go, also reported that if he was, there were rumours that it might be made a ladder match. Just think about that for a second - forget that it would have been overkill so soon after SummerSlam - you've got a guy whose knee was bad to render him touch-and-go for the show... vs Mark Henry. Not even Mark Henry now, but bumbling, uncoordinated, 1998 not-knowing-his-arse-from-his-elbow Mark Henry. What a ladder match that would have been!

[bAzTNM#1]

Somewhat tying each of these topics together, whatever happened to Yoko's move to WCW that Power Slam was touting in the mid-90s? I got the impression back then that him coming in to work with Hulk was pretty much a lock.

Couldn't pass a medical in most of the states WCW were running in. WCW also tried to get him to "run in" during the Nash vs Hall match at whatever PPV that was too. Wasn't happening due to his size.

 

All a bit off when you consider Giant Haystacks was in two years earlier.

[AshC]

WCW also tried to get him to "run in" during the Nash vs Hall match at whatever PPV that was too.

Halloween Havoc '98? That's deliciously random.

[air_raid]

WCW also tried to get him to "run in" during the Nash vs Hall match at whatever PPV that was too. Wasn't happening due to his size.

 

All a bit off when you consider Giant Haystacks was in two years earlier.

 

If it is the Nash/Hall match at either Havoc '98 or the planned rematch for World War 3 that this rumoured appearance would have happened, there's a subtle difference. Have a look at Haystacks in his WCW appearances - OK, he's out of shape and not hugely mobile, but is he much bigger than normal "big fat wrestler" size - a Gang, Earthquake or Mabel? Yokozuna at the peak of his WWF "we're worried about his weight" stage legitimately weighed 804lbs. I might even go through my Raw mags later and find the exact quote as I'm fairly sure that's where I read it, shortly after he didn't appear for his scheduled appearances on the '96 UK Xpress tour.

 

Even during his active years, Yoko was stupidly fat, often fatter than his announced weight. Says Lex of Yoko in a certain mag this month :

 

He was a sight to behold. I had him sit on a truck scale in an airport in Germany one time as we were waiting for our bags. He was 627 pounds.

 

.... and the only time Yoko and Lex toured Germany together for the Fed' was in 1994 when he was never announced as anything over 568lbs. Fuck knows how heavy he really was when he came back at Mania XI looking his fattest yet and billed at 641 shortly after.

[air_raid]

Here are the final three episodes of Nitro on the way into Uncensored 1996, a time of transition in WCW. We are about to enter a couple of months of post-Hulkamania but pre-Outsiders. There's some pretty rewarding stuff, as pre-nWo WCW free of the shackles of constant Hogan & Savage v Horsemen & Dungeon nonsense produces some excellent wrestling matches, although it remains fairly eclectic. But anyway, three weeks left of buffoonery before we get there.

 

Feb 26th

 

** Eric refers to Booty Man as "the spy" to cover his face turn and defection from the Dungeon in as much detail as you really need. Forget about the Starrcade '94 main event, I guess. All part of Hogan's devious plot.

 

** Bischoff kicks off with his spiel that you've probably seen on a couple of WWE's DVD retrospectives :

"Right off the bat I want to let all you fans know, with remote controls in your hands, over at the World Whining Federation, here's how it goes down. DQ, Yokozuna in a handicap match. Jake the Snake Roberts - talking about digging up some bones here - over Isaac Yankem, and Diesel over - Bob Holly is still around? OK, now we got that out of the way, you are where the action is, and the action is live!"

 

** Sting pastes Big Bubba with an old-school "dropping to the knees" piledriver. You didn't see many of them by 1996, never mind today. He relies on the crossbody from the top rope that he occasionally used against bigger guys. It's made the "Pep Boys Power Pin Of The Week", even though it's the first match of the night. After the match Mean Gene conducts a face to face between Sting & Luger and the Road Warriors. It's refreshing to see that this one doesn't degenerate into violence. Animal refers to Stinger as a "brother in paint" but tells him he doesn't know where his head is hanging around with a cunt like Lex. Luger : "We're the champions! Tell 'em Stinger!!" Luger waves both belts at the fans, with shit-eating grin. Some fall for it and cheer for him. Gene tells Luger the Chicago Streetfight is signed, Luger : "What does that mean, anyways?" Great stuff from Flex.

 

** Luger next struts down the aisle for his match with the Renegade. He shows his tag belt off a lot, occasionally pausing to check he's holding it the right way up, poses and smiles a lot. When he gets down the ring, he shows concern for fighting Renegade, which MUST be taking the piss. Bischoff : "I'm telling you - anything can happen in WCW, and especially at Uncensored." Wow, that sounds familiar. Luger needs help from Jimmy Hart to beat Renegade. That seems wrong. Sting comes back out, furious. "I don't know what he was doing out here!" protests Lex. Sting backs Luger to the ropes and is really animated in his shouting. "You are pathetic!" he says. Proper lovers' quarrel here. It's one or the other Lex, decide what side your bread's buttered.

 

** The Road Warriors vs Harlem Heat match is a bit dull and pedestrian and worse, the finish is weak. Booker is complaining that the ref wasn't in position when he had Hawk covered after the Harlem Hangover, Animal boots him in the face from the apron, Hawk pins. Some fans boo, likely because Harlem Heat were robbed. The Roadies have looked really weak since coming back.

 

** Kevin Sullivan looks creepier than usual following Ric Flair down the aisle complete with Liz & Woman, in his little yellow dressing gown. Mongo suggests Hogan has read The Art of War by Sun Tzu - Really??? - with reference to the importance of having spies on the opposition camp. Bischoff jokes that he's read that one himself a few times. That's quite funny. Kimberly comes down to watch the Booty Man, and my suspension of disbelief goes out the window. Hogan, Savage and Beefpiece go over Flair, Arn & Sully when Hogan pins Double A after the legdrop. All good things. After the match Liz handcuffs Hogan to the corner so Flair can whip him with a belt. I probably shouldn't get this excited watching Liz handcuff someone.

 

March 11th

 

** Mongo on tonight's strap match : "For all you little kiddies that's never been behind that woodshed, and your daddy pounding on you, you're gonna find out what it's like." What an unfortunate choice of words.

 

** Hacksaw Duggan comes out. Aww, shit. But he's fighting the Giant, yay!! That means he's going to die! Punch him in the kidney! Oh wait, that hasn't happened yet. During the match Brian Pillman tries to clamber over the railings but security deals with him. Bischoff temporarily leaves the commentary desk during the chaos. Giant doesn't sell for Duggan, nor should he. Giant misses a Stinger Splash in the corner, and it's amazing watching Giant hurl himself around. Just when I think they're going home, Giant slaps on another bearhug. This is too long for a match between a bona fide star and someone as inconsequential (by this point) as Duggan. Giant is only able to beat Duggan (with a pretty hefty Chokeslam) after Jimmy Hart's distraction. I would say that was a well-booked match in that it made Duggan look strong, but it's a waste because they weren't going to do anything with him, and it's stupid that a guy of Giant's dimensions and power needs to cheat against an "enhancement talent." Second week in a row the opener is PepBoys Power Pin of the Week.

 

** Mean Gene interviews Team WCW driver Steve Grissom again, complete with footage of the weekend's race. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh fuck off.

 

** Two Harleys come through a black curtain in front of the entrance way.... and it's the motherfucking STEINER BROTHERS. Fuck yeah. Awesome surprise. And they're wrestling..... The Road Warriors?? Fuck me, surely you save that for a PPV?? Never mind. Scotty throws Hawk around and works the crowd, who respond favourably. Hawk responds with a clothesline from the top rope, a big boot and a neckbreaker, but puts his head down and falls victim to a Tiger driver, before Scotty tags the gremlin in and Hawk tags Animal. Animal rocks Rick with a powerslam and a dropkick, but Rick rebounds with two Steinerlines and a release German suplex, then a belly to belly from the second strand. This is great. Scott comes back in and hits an overhead belly to belly, then they start working over Animal and tagging in and out.

 

Double hot tag off a double clothesline and Hawk goes nuts. He clotheslines Scott out then pounds Rick with a shoulder tackle and a powerslam. Rick absorbs the Doomsday Device but Scott makes the save. Rick recovers and gives Hawk a release German. Animal saves Hawk from an attempt at the DDT off Rick's shoulders. Scott tackles Hawk off the top, Animal tackles Scott off the top. Rick clubs on Hawk, Scotty pounds Animal with the Frankensteiner! Hawk is able to make the save. Rick nails Hawk with the bulldog off Scott's shoulders, but when he regains his feet Animal smacks him in the head with the spiked forearm pad off their ring uniform, and Hawk pins him. That was great. Another tainted win for the Road Warriors, but the Steiners looked fantastic. Scotty tells Gene the Road Warriors haven't seen the last of them. Shame it never made it to a PPV.

 

** Bischoff announces that new TV champ Luger is wrestling Alex Wright instead of a rematch with Johnny B Badd because Badd "didn't feel up to it" and later adds "Johnny B Badd had a chance to not only talk the talk but to walk the walk, make his way to the ring, and get the rematch, but instead he blamed a woman" and "evidently Johnny B Badd couldn't hang where the big boys play" and "I guess he figured enough was too much." Basically five days earlier they taped Badd losing the TV title to Luger thanks to interference from DDP - extending the feud that was meant to go all the way to Uncensored, but clearly by this point, Eric knew Mero was off. Luger engages full-on asshole mode and really beats the shit out of Das Blunderkind, before again needing a Jimmy Hart distraction before getting the pin after a really rubbish Stun Gun. Luger pretends to chastise Jimmy for his interference, then poses, natch.

 

** Flair, Arn & Sully come out for their lumberjack strap match with Hogan, Savage & Beefpiece and of course Slick Ric has Liz & Woman on his arms. Maybe it's my imagination, maybe she's just better supported and wearing a tighter dress than usual, but Liz seems bigger in the chest department this week. The Dungeon try and attack the faces before the match. Loch Ness accidentally hits the Giant, and they start fighting each other instead. DDP and the Dungeon beat up Savage for a bit, Regal takes a few licks from both Road Warriors. If that wasn't enough distraction, Kimberly comes out to perv at Booty Man again. Ugh. The match is reasonably chaotic for a bit and enjoyable then just as I think it's calmed down, Hogan pins Flair with the legdrop out of nowhere.

 

** Mean Gene interviews the heels afterwards and Sullivan issues a confusing statement where he mentions Hogan having to go through "four cages" and having to face himself, Arn, Luger and Flair. Arn makes slightly more sense in declaring that between them and the MegaPowers it's "'til death do us part." Flair rants a bit, and Liz looks terrified of her own man! You know, I complimented WCW in an earlier post about paying attention to what's happening NOW instead of constantly shilling the PPV, but two weeks before Uncensored and if Nitro is the only WCW I had access to, the only match I know for the Uncensored card is Sting & Luger vs The Road Warriors, which of course doesn't end up happening.

 

** March 18th starts with Giant beating up Loch Ness in the aisle while Jimmy Hart eggs him on. Lex Luger comes out, oblivious, poses, and walks to the ring like everything's normal. Good stuff. The bell rings despite Nessie not being in the ring, Randy Anderson counts Ness out, the bell rings again. Luger is ecstatic. The Mouth tries to celebrate with Lex, but Luger half-heartedly shoes him away. The Total Package comes over to the commentary desk to celebrate. "Am I on a roll, or am I on a roll Bobby? That's the shortest title defence in WCW history! I'm peaking just at the right time! Yes!! Watch out Hogan!!" Luger's hilarious here, but he's wrong : as we have already discussed, he's going to peak next week in the American Males match.

 

** Tony Schiavone is in the aisle to interview the MegaPowers. Tony mentions the Doomsday Cage, but we still don't know what it means. Hogan tells Savage he wants to call him the dirtiest player in the game. OK. Savage says "the tip of the iceberg is going to happen, nitro-glycerin style, in a little while, oh yeah!" What?? These pair are always entertaining to listen to in a "they're on drugs, ain't they" manner. We learn later incidentally that Mean Gene has the flu, that's why it's Tony with the interview.

 

** Oh fuck, here come the Public Enemy. They bring a table to the ring, but I'm guessing they fall victim to it themselves. Steinerized starts up, and the barking is deafening. Over like fucking Rover. Road Warriors wish they had the crowds in the palm of their hands like the Steiners. In particular when Rick tags in and Scott appears to polish his head before he starts running his circles round the ring, Chattanooga goes mental. To give TPE credit, they bump like mad for Rick's Steinerlines. When the get the advantage, Rocco actually nails quite a nice moonsault from the middle rope. Unfortunately for him he dives off the top into a powerslam. Scott comes in and gives Rocco a t-bone suplex from the middle rope, but Rock rebounds with a quebrada. Rocco's looking decent again. Things slow down when Grunge comes in but he still nails a decent short-arm flying clothesline. Scotty overhead belly-to-bellys him and tags the gremlin back in. Rocco tries to put Rick through a table but he moves and Rocco crashes and burns. Steiner Bulldog finishes Grunge off. They kept things moving, and it was decent. Scotty points into the camera and shouts "LOD!" before adding "Hawk! Animal! You got problems!" They sure did. The twin spots of Rocco wiping himself out and the finish are PepBoys Power Pin of the Week. Quite right.

 

** Horsemen music brings out Arn Anderson, complete with Woman in sparkly dress. God, she' still my favourite. Booty Disciple Barber is his opponent, and I have a horrible feeling I know how this one ends. His music borrows liberally from "Shake Your Booty" by KC & The Sunshine Band, and is annoyingly catchy. After talking about Booty v DDP for the PPV, Eric decides he might as well tell us some other matches for Uncensored - Konnan v Eddy G, Madusa v Col Parker, the main event and the Sting & Booker T v Road Warriors match, about which Bischoff mentions the "bizarre series of circumstances" that have lead to Sting & Booker teaming. That's all you're getting. Kimberly comes down to have another look at BM and Woman takes a shoe off and instantly goes around to scare her off. Good girl. Arn goes out to calm Woman down then when he gets back in the ring, Beefpiece catches him with a kneelift on his way back in and pins him. Drat.

 

** The Road Warriors come out (or simply "ROADWARRIORS" as the on-screen graphic reads). Their opponents are the Nasty Boys. I see a chair... this could be good. Both Nasties are taped up - selling injuries from last week's sneak attack perhaps - but the taping around Knobbs' ribs is outside his ring gear. That makes no sense. LOD sensibly works the wounded midsection. Sags tags in but Hawk cuts off the comeback. The Steiners attack both Hawk and Sags, Animal clobbers Knobbs with the forearm pad to get another dodgy win. Chattanooga was a lot more into the Roadies than many towns have been, but it's clear they prefer the Steiners. Match started hot then lulled a bit, but it was OK.

 

** Flair and Sullivan come out for the main event and the World title is over Woman's shoulder. Her surreptitiously stroking the belt gives me a semi so I look at Sullivan instead. Hogan and Savage come out for the fight (a tornado rules tag match), and I just notice Savage STILL has the left arm all taped up - this being the arm that Luger and the Dungeon injured back in NOVEMBER. Flair has the Figure-4 on Savage but instead of saving his partner, Hogan slaps one on Sullivan. Selfish bastard. Eric mentions again - as they're nearing 10PM - that the C in WCW stands for commitment, and they'll stay with it. Remind me how long that Savage/Giant match lasted, Uncle Eric? Whatever. I'll be honest, it's hard to get into because these four have been feuding for about six years.

 

Arn comes down, and Brian Pillman comes over the guardrail to double-team Savage, but since it's Pillman, Sully hits him with a chair. Pillman even gets in the ring until Savage clears him out. Beefpiece gets involved again and the heels seem to back off until Zeus with "GANGSTA" on his head, and Lugwrench from No Holds Barred come down, and the babyfaces run off scared. Sullivan introduces "Z-Gangsta" and then refers to "The Final Solution." That name didn't stick even the six days to the PPV, for obvious reasons. The table is set for Uncensored - Hogan and Savage vs eight guys. What's even sillier than the sound of that, is that we all know the goodies will win. As progressive as Bischoff wanted to be with the direction of WCW, I'm not sure what he was thinking with this crap.

 

That's the go-home for Uncensored.... I don't know if I'm prepared to watch it, to be honest. As good as Regal/Bruiser is, I'm not sure I want to put myself through Konnan, Brutus The Butcher Zodiac and the longest tag team title match of all time. Although the unintentional hilarity of the Doomsday cage match (the star of which is Luger) might just make it worthwhile. Plus, I'm sure three more hours of Dusty will generate some sound bites.

 

 

 

On-going feature #1 :

 

Head to head comparison (and my opinion on which was the better show, having seen each and every one) :

 

26/02 Raw - Jake v Yankem, Diesel v Bob Holly, Ahmed v Shinobi, Yoko v Owen/Bulldog. Nitro - Sting v Big Bubba, Luger v Renegade, Road Warriors v Harlem Heat, Hogan/Savage/Booty Man v Flair/Anderson/Sullivan. 6-2 Nitro.

 

04/03 - no Nitro, no comparison. Shame, it was a really strong Raw too. Would probably have won that week.

 

11/03 Raw - Vega v Stone Cold, Godwinns squash, Hunter squash, Undertaker/Yoko v Owen/Bulldog. Nitro - Giant v Duggan, Steiners v Road Warriors, Luger v Wright TV title, Hogan/Savage/Booty Man v Flair/Anderson/Sullivan lumberjack strap match. 7-2 Nitro and that one wasn't even close.

 

18/03 Raw - Jake v Bulldog, Goldust v Fatu, footage of Diesel heel turn from MSG, Diesel v Horowitz, Hitman v Tatanka. Nitro - Luger v Loch Ness non start, Steiners v Public Enemy, Booty Man v Anderson, Road Warriors v Nasty Boys, Hogan/Savage v Flair/Sullivan tornado match. 8-2 Nitro, but only just.

 

On-going feature #2 :

Towns in which babyface Hogan gets booed

Atlanta, Las Vegas, Canton (OH), Lakeland (FL), Salisbury (MD), Winston-Salem, Chattanooga (heavily!!)

- That may be the end of that feature, since I believe that's the last Hogan appearance on TV until his heel turn. I think you get the idea.

[AshC]

That Steiners vs Public Enemy match is lots of fun.