Paid Members Statto Posted May 24, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 24, 2019 Doesn’t Foley say in one of his books that Owen was deliberately rigged in a way that he could release the harness a few feet above the ring (I’m assuming the plan was just under top rope height) so he could do a comedy stumble into the ring to play up the incompetent superhero gimmick? I’ve not listened to the podcast posted above so that may well be covered, but in the photographer’s post implies simply that they cheaped out, where if Foley’s account is to be believed it’s worse than that really - it was effectively a creative decision to rig him dangerously (or probably more accurately, a creative decision to have him do the comedy stumble and no-one having the guts to point out how dangerous that would be). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaitoRyo Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 1 minute ago, Statto said: Doesn’t Foley say in one of his books that Owen was deliberately rigged in a way that he could release the harness a few feet above the ring (I’m assuming the plan was just under top rope height) so he could do a comedy stumble into the ring to play up the incompetent superhero gimmick? I’ve not listened to the podcast posted above so that may well be covered, but in the photographer’s post implies simply that they cheaped out, where if Foley’s account is to be believed it’s worse than that really - it was effectively a creative decision to rig him dangerously (or probably more accurately, a creative decision to have him do the comedy stumble and no-one having the guts to point out how dangerous that would be). The rig was set up as such so that he could be released early, a few feet above the ring, and do a 'pratfall'. I watched a few Owen matches yesterday and he's event better than we all remember. A total natural, makes everything look effortless. Very, very selfless in the ring, too. He gives his opponents so much while still managing to shine himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 I think he's the most consistently best character of the New Gen era, and whilst a lot of big stars from that era were biding their time to show a bit more attitude, Owen actually fitted in and fed off it perfectly, I feel. The feel of that product at the time was perfect for him. Even on the worst In Your House cards in Buttfuck, Tennessee, the show would pick up when he came sneering down that poorly lit aisle, brandishing his slammys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted May 24, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 24, 2019 Owen vs. Kurt is in the running for the new "Holy Grail", surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Accident Prone Posted May 24, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted May 24, 2019 13 minutes ago, BomberPat said: Owen vs. Kurt is in the running for the new "Holy Grail", surely? I thought it would be Jeff Katz' Wrestling Retribution Project but that's a very good shout too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factotum Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Owen was great. Able to do serious and comedy better than anyone until Kurt came along. Reading all this just made me really sad again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted May 24, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 24, 2019 2 hours ago, BomberPat said: Owen vs. Kurt is in the running for the new "Holy Grail", surely? Got to be. You have to assume they have it as well, seeing as it happened before an episode of Raw. It’s not like it was on some random house show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_the_Lion Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 4 hours ago, wandshogun09 said: Got to be. You have to assume they have it as well, seeing as it happened before an episode of Raw. It’s not like it was on some random house show. Doubt they'd ever use it for anything, it'd just be rattling the Martha Hart tree and I think that's something they can do without Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 18 hours ago, garynysmon said: What's often overlooked is that Owen was in the doghouse at the time and its quite feasible he could have been released over the following months, given his declining place on the card. As mad as it sounds, the WWF weren't exactly struggling for talent at the time. This is something that's often occurred to me. I've seen someone in this thread mention him possibly going on to get the belt, which I find ridiculous. It's obviously a terrible shame what happened to him, and he seemed like a thoroughly lovely guy outside of wrestling, but I think in situations like this fans tend to overestimate the legacy that would have been left behind had nothing happened. He was a very talented worker from what I remember, and great at certain kinds of promo work, but back then with the talent kicking around? He was always going to be an upper-mid carder at best I think. His run as the Blue Blazer was decent enough with the promos of him appearing next to Jarrett who was wearing the Blazer costume and so on, but I don't think he'd have come through that angle and made a serious run at the belt. Maybe an Intercontinental run again at some point? Perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted May 25, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 25, 2019 (edited) You're saying this about a company which made Justin Hawk Bradshaw a world title holder Edited May 25, 2019 by Hannibal Scorch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 9 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said: You're saying this about a company which made Justin Hawk Bradshaw a world title Point still stands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted May 25, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 25, 2019 59 minutes ago, David said: Point still stands. So you are telling me, people like JBL, Swagger, Ziggler, Mahal were more worthy then The Nugget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said: So you are telling me, people like JBL, Swagger, Ziggler, Mahal were more worthy then The Nugget? Since when did getting a WWE world title run have anything to do with being worthy? EDIT: Also, we're talking about the late 90's/early 2000's here. Edited May 25, 2019 by David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted May 25, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 25, 2019 (edited) Yeah it’s a different ball game. By mid 2004 when JBL got the belt, there weren’t that many main event heels and Brock Lesnar had just left. On top of that, they’d lost Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and Goldberg within the one year span between WrestleMania 19 and 20. Probably a couple of other big names I’m forgetting as well. On Raw you had Triple H and Evolution doing their thing but Smackdown’s 2004 roster was the shits to the point Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki got a run as tag champs, Heidenreich and Luther Reigns were featured players and they did a storyline that went on for weeks where Billy Kidman legitimately injured Chavo with the Shooting Star Press and went around sulking about it, leading to the Kidman/Paul London team splitting. Smackdown was awful in 2004. The JBL title run was actually one of the better things about the show that year. Go back to the late 90s and Owen was never getting a look in with the big belt on a roster featuring Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Kane, Triple H and Mick Foley when they were all in or close to their prime. Owen was great but I never saw him as world champion. And that’s probably because there were always better options at every stage of his WWF career. His best chance would’ve been in 1994 during the Bret feud but he’d probably have dropped it straight back anyway or ended up being the one to lose it to Diesel instead of Backlund. If Owen was still around 6/7 years later when the roster was weaker then he’d have probably had a turn with the belt but sadly he was no longer with us so we’ll never know. Similar thing with Ken Shamrock actually. I’ve seen people say he should’ve got a WWF title run in the late 90s but why would he on that roster? He was great in his role but you’re not going with Ken over Austin or Rock in 98/99 are you? Edited May 25, 2019 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted May 25, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 25, 2019 (edited) Owen was never getting a title run during that era. If he'd have stuck it out until 2004, he might have gotten a respect reign with one of the 2 titles when they were handing them out to everyone, but on merit they'd have never given it to him to draw a house. The best time would have been if he'd have beaten Bret in 1994 and they quickly switched it to Diesel, instead of doing it with Backlund. But Austin didnt even want to work with Jarrett, he wasnt working a program with the bloke who broke his neck. Edited May 25, 2019 by IANdrewDiceClay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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