goldeneye86 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Does anyone here remember those tribute shows that use to be about around the uk in the back end of the 90's going into 2000's?  I remember seeing a couple of shows with people playing parts like...  stone cold steve austin the rock sting mankind undertaker sgt slaughter x-pac the legion of doom doink the clown the rock and roll express the nasty boy  was anyone here on any of these shows?  If my memory serves me right wasn't Klondyke Jake the main one promoting these shows or was it Brian Dixon?  Does anyone know much about them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_3165 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Dunno who promoted them but I hated them... Nothing redeeming at all!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windoesnot Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 There used to be shows like this in Preston, usually at the Guild Hall, not sure if they still run as I aint seen a flyer for one for some time now. Hopefully Preston City Wrestling, a proper promotion has scared them away  Went to one of them some years ago and it was absolutely god awful. I recall they had a fake Undertaker, Legion of Doom and Ultimate Warrior etc. Sure they dressed the part but the fact that these guys were usually under 6ft tall and were either some spindly pasty kid or a portly overweight guy kinda ruined the illusion. The wrestling itself was utter wank too, dont think they had much, if any training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members bAzTNM#1 Posted July 25, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Wasn't the "Rock and Roll Express" just one guy and not a tag-team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerously420 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I went to three in my time. Â One show Frankie Sloan played Xpac, Spinner McKenzie played Scotty 2 Hotty. One of the shows had PN News play The American Avalanche. All the shows had this horrid tiny ring with the full length turnbuckle pads in the corner similar to boxing rings so all the time the heels would simply unhook them and the ref would spend ages fixing it back on cue really terrible hammed up panto cheating going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonworden Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I went to three in my time. Â All the shows had this horrid tiny ring with the full length turnbuckle pads in the corner similar to boxing rings so all the time the heels would simply unhook them and the ref would spend ages fixing it back on cue really terrible hammed up panto cheating going on. Â Sadly they are still a staple of british wrestling as well to some extent. Â Never been to one of these shows although I have seen a few fake doinks in my time. Â I find that they really test the sport/ entertainment side of wrestling when they get brought up. You should be able to answer that its just like a rock band tribute etc (even though like the wrestling if a band is shit it is shit) or replacing a character in a soap or a play being done with different actors. Yet Wrestling is quite unique that in western countries a gimmick can rarely be portrayed on more than one person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Strangely, I was going to start a thread about this a wee while ago. Â I went to one when I was about 11 in the Leisuredrome in Bishopbriggs. For what it was, it was a good night. There was a fake Doink who incited all the kids to come to ringside to smash the piss out of some poor shitarse, which was huge fun. There was a fake Undertaker, a "Royale Rumble" and THREE Steel Cage matches, because it took too long to assemble and disassemble for one match. The wrestling was probably shocking, but when you're 11, it doesn't really matter. Â They still do shows at the Pavilion every so often, so it must be somewhat profitable. Then again, I doubt you would get many ***** Meltzer-botherers on the card, but seeing as there's going to be absolutely nobody over the age of 15 that isn't a parent there, it doesn't really matter. It's not really a UKFF concern. I would be interested to know if any of the resident wrestlers/industry bods on here have worked on the circuit in some capacity and what it's like, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannRead Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Does anyone here remember those tribute shows that use to be about around the uk in the back end of the 90's going into 2000's? I remember seeing a couple of shows with people playing parts like...  stone cold steve austin the rock sting mankind undertaker sgt slaughter x-pac the legion of doom doink the clown the rock and roll express the nasty boy  was anyone here on any of these shows?  If my memory serves me right wasn't Klondyke Jake the main one promoting these shows or was it Brian Dixon?  Does anyone know much about them?  There's been quite a few promoters to try this trick, I believe Shane Stevens was the most common and I *THINK* was the first.  I remember my Sister In Law telling me her friend was taking her kids to see WWE in Colchester. I told her it wasn't a real WWE show but like most people when talking to a wrestling fan she wouldn't have none of it because "what do you know - you're a wrestling fan??~~~~"  I'm absolutely shite with names this morning as so tired but I remember Johnny South playing Hawk and Ricky Knight playing Animal AKA The Legend Of Doom. I know there were a few people who played Doink (or occasionally Dunk) over here. I believe The Gangster (West-Country version) played Stone Cold Steve Austin on a few tribute shows.  Forever gutted that I never got to see The Welsh Rock....  Wasn't the "Rock and Roll Express" just one guy and not a tag-team?  Aye Blondie Barrett. He's not the only person to have taken on a known American name although in their defence in some cases the British wrestlers were taken American names long before they were on television over here. You had The British BushWhacker, Skull Murphy, Greg Valentine, The Wrecking Crew, The Road Warriors etc etc.  I went to three in my time.  One show Frankie Sloan played Xpac, Spinner McKenzie played Scotty 2 Hotty. One of the shows had PN News play The American Avalanche. All the shows had this horrid tiny ring with the full length turnbuckle pads in the corner similar to boxing rings so all the time the heels would simply unhook them and the ref would spend ages fixing it back on cue really terrible hammed up panto cheating going on.  Firstly I can TOTALLY see Sloan as X-Pac!  Secondly, PN Neus IS American Avalanche if you get me, it's has been Neuz's ring name over here for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted July 25, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Forever gutted that I never got to see The Welsh Rock.... Â The Boston Blackie? Ohhh, that was a rare treat indeed. Â Orig Williams used to promote a lot of tribute shows, and they were the only live Wrestling we had in North Wales. Â Not sure about the late 90's being the era of the tribute shows though, as I recall it to be around 1992. We had great fun in Holyhead Leisure Centre with Johnny South as Hawk, a fake Ultimate Warrior etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerously420 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I meant to add Frankie Sloan also played Matt Hardy later on in the night on the same show he played Xpac. One of the three shows was god awful. Â I actually had a tribute show take place in my local area at Eastwood Theatre. It was all advertised by fly posting. They conned the local paper into saying a steel cage match was the main event and on the day of the show the MC came out and said the cage was too high for the venue and the cage was locked up in their ring van. Â The people in the audience were not chuffed and even a 14 year old Tom thought when the promoter booked the venue if they wanted a steel cage match they would check the venue roof height before advertising a cage match main event in the local paper. This cued someone in camo gear with with sunglasses with the lenses popped out come out and laugh calling himself The Dudley. He said no cage match meant an easier match for him and would want a normal singles match. Out comes a small fat Mankind tribute and chased him around the venue. The MC then asked the crowd would they like to see The Dudley get beat up by Mankind? The kids got into it and it was settled the main event was to be a table match. It was horrid and the table was a MDF sheet with legs screwed to it. Mankind won and The Dudley arse bumped through the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I remember seeing one of these at Woodford Leisure Centre in Hull about 9 years ago. Â Yeah, the, 'It's Kane!' and out comes some skinny guy in a Kane outfit was lame but I seem to remember some of the action not being too bad. I know we got a couple of Cage matches - I think they had 'The Dudley Boy', 'The Undertaker' and 'Mankind' if I remember rightly and they were actually really good matches. Â Plus, my (then) 8 year old nephew really enjoyed the show so I guess it could have been worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sphinx Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I remember an advert for Legion of Doom at the local leisure centre despite Hawk being dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JNLister Posted July 25, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 To be fair, Rock N Roll Express was just a ring name. He wasn't copying the gimmick at all. Â As noted above, a lot of British guys used to take ring names out of American wrestling magazines that somebody had picked up while touring the UK. IIRC rightly, there was a day when Greg Valentine vs Blackjack Mulligan took place on both sides of the Atlantic. Â I once saw "Bubba Ray Dudley" do a leg drop of what must have been a legit 12-15 foot cage, then get the bus home. Â My favourite tribute show memory was a dad getting very upset that it turned out not to be the real guy, then his young son calmly asking "Taz was at Madison Square Garden on Monday. Why would he come to Stockport?" Â Second favourite memory being the sheer genius of Raymond Stereo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchiz Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Second favourite memory being the sheer genius of Raymond Stereo. Â Thats fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Your Fight Site Posted July 25, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 I saw a couple when I was about 10, before I get into the UK scene. One was at the Dolphin Leisure Centre in Darlington, and the other at Crook Leisure Centre. Â The Darlington show had the full cast of WWF rip-offs, with a couple of other non-WWF stars (Road Warrior Spike, and some massive guy who looked like Diesel). The Crook show had the Underfaker and I believe Ricky Knight playing Road Warrior Animal if I didn't know any better, amongst a plethora of Johnny Kickpads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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