Liam O'Rourke Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 (edited) I love that discussion around "letting them be the ECW version of themselves", which was a carefully crafted hyper-protected push. One of my favourite debates I ever saw between wrestling fans was a guy giving a passion-filled ten minute speech about how WWF were wrong not to have Tazz come in, choke everybody out in the company with a monster push, treat him as the ultimate killer for a run opposite Austin or Triple H. And the guy listening just waited and said - "Take all that and apply it to the Big Show when he debuts." Edited June 20, 2021 by Liam O'Rourke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted June 20, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 20, 2021 @WyattSheepMask Yeah thatâs a stretch. Another thing with Douglas, Iâm sure he was saying in an interview that the plan when he came in was for him and Shawn to do their thing with the IC belt in late 95, leading to them headlining WrestleMania 12 the following year for the WWF title. Utter bollocks, isnât it? How would they have got the IC belt thing sorted and off them both and somehow got the big belt on one of them in time for WrestleMania just 6 months later without it just seeming like a disjointed mess and falling on its arse? Not to mention, surely the plan was always to do Bret vs Shawn anyway. He also swore that after Shawn got battered by the marine(s), he saw Shawn backstage when he came back to relinquish the belt at In Your House and Shawn never had a mark on him. Then he went into makeup and came out with his eye all fucked up. Even though all accounts from people who were in the company at the time say he was legit messed up after that arse kicking. No doubt Shawn was a right prick back then and thereâs always been doubts about what happened but I donât think Iâve heard anyone else dispute that he did actually get battered. Just how many guys did it and why. Only Shane seems to think it was all made up. Just now, Liam O'Rourke said: I love that discussion around "letting them be the ECW version of themselves", which was a carefully crafted hyper-protected push. One of my favouritr debates I ever saw between wrestling fans was a guy giving a ten minute speech about how WWF were wrong not to have Tazz come in, choke everybody out in the company with a monster push, treat him as the ultimate killer for a run opposite Austin or Triple H. Yeah, it was never gonna happen. Vince McMahon was never having a little orange munchkin rolling over his top stars. And I liked Tazz. Again though, on a roster that had Rock at his peak, Austin, Triple H at his best, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho on the rise, Undertaker, Kane and so on, it just wasnât happening. His best bet wouldâve been a strong upper midcard spot as technical submission/suplex shooter type. But then the Radicalz came in a week or two later and Benoit was better at that than him and the writing was on the wall. By the time he started wearing that awful boiler suit to hide his tits it was a wrap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gmoney Posted June 20, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 20, 2021 Just another mad thing to think about when talking about Shane Douglas, he made his wrestling debut in the same year the Arn Anderson did. Granted Arn started older, but it's still a bit mind boggling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 (edited) I always thought Douglas got an overly hard rep as worker. He was average but as said before with the right guys and when his body wasn't falling apart he was capable of having some alright stuff and contributing, but it kinda hits a roof for him in 1994. But yeah, there isn't much else to him. When he stank a match he was utterly horrible. Honestly he did a bit of announcing in ECW in 1998 and might have been best Ventura'ing into that. He didn't have a bad voice, just in promos he sounded like a bloke with no actual friends. Like Toby Young. Edited June 20, 2021 by Chili Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted June 20, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 20, 2021 3 hours ago, wandshogun09 said: But he benefitted massively from being paired with Steamboat almost the entire time he was there and wrestling Austin and Pillman, who were absolutely on fire at the time, for most of his stay there. It sounds harsh but you couldâve slotted a Tom Zenk or even Bagwell into his spot and got the same result. They literally did that for the blow-off match of the Steamboat&Douglas/Blondes feud because Douglas had left the company. That's why Steamboat was the only one of "Los Dos Hombres" that was unmasked during the cage match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted June 20, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 20, 2021 I knew there was a reason Zenkâs name popped into my head first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam O'Rourke Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Been rewatching WCW Worldwide in 1993, takes me right back. Forgot the odd period where Rick Rude had to wrestle in plain black tights and do none of his usual mannerisms since they were in Disney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted June 22, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 22, 2021 Have you got to the Colossal Kongs, Ice Train and Charlie Norris yet? Where are you watching Worldwide actually? Is it on the Network yet? Wouldnât mind going through some of that stuff again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnum Milano Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 40 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:  Where are you watching Worldwide actually? Is it on the Network yet? Wouldnât mind going through some of that stuff again. They're in the Classics section of a certain Xtreme torrent site if you happen to be a member. There's a sizeable free leach pack featuring the vast majority of episodes of Worldwide from the end of 1983 all the way through to 1995. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam O'Rourke Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 @wandshogun09 Yep, what @Magnum Milano said. All those stiffs are around, along with Thunder and Lightning and ample servings of The Equalizer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted June 22, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 22, 2021 5 hours ago, wandshogun09 said: Have you got to the Colossal Kongs, Ice Train and Charlie Norris yet? Where are you watching Worldwide actually? Is it on the Network yet? Wouldnât mind going through some of that stuff again.  4 hours ago, Liam O'Rourke said: @wandshogun09 Yep, what @Magnum Milano said. All those stiffs are around, along with Thunder and Lightning and ample servings of The Equalizer. Absolute flashbacks like you wouldnât believe. Gordon Solie describing the 450 from Scorpio as a âone and a half off the topâ, Ron Simmons & Ice Train running out time against Tex Slazenger & Shanghai Pierce, being promised the finish next week and never seeing itâŚ. Thunder & Lightning having what I legitimately thought was the best finish since the Power-Plex. Lovely stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam O'Rourke Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 There's just so many moments that I remember vividly despite not seeing them since I was 6 or 7, it's bizarre. That Ice Train/Simmons finish I saw and remember exactly as you describe and never finding out who won. I remember Rude selling huge for Brady Boone and taking a rana from a jobber. I remember Ricky Steamboat playing possum in a match against a Cuban heel...insane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted June 22, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 22, 2021 I was often left befuddled at things like the above. Youâd turn it on one Saturday and go âoh, Anvilâs in WCW now!â Or the time Scott âFlashâ Norton was just mowing through jobbers in seconds on Worldwide in mid 93 and seemed to be being primed for a monster run. Then nothing. He just disappeared. It was years and years before I knew the story of him refusing to lose to Sting at Slamboree and pissing off back to Japan. Not getting the PPVs or Clashes over here didnât help with keeping up with comings and goings either. I have fuzzy memories of a cracking Windham vs Regal match from that brief period where Regal was the pre-Lord Steven babyface in 93 as well. Might have to seek that out and see if itâs as good as I remember. Even my old man got into that one and he hated everything that wasnât Vader or the Steiners folding jobbers necks with reckless abandon. Probably just because Regal had a Union Jack on his pants though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 4 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: I was often left befuddled at things like the above. Youâd turn it on one Saturday and go âoh, Anvilâs in WCW now!â Or the time Scott âFlashâ Norton was just mowing through jobbers in seconds on Worldwide in mid 93 and seemed to be being primed for a monster run. Then nothing. He just disappeared. It was years and years before I knew the story of him refusing to lose to Sting at Slamboree and pissing off back to Japan. Not getting the PPVs or Clashes over here didnât help with keeping up with comings and goings either. I have fuzzy memories of a cracking Windham vs Regal match from that brief period where Regal was the pre-Lord Steven babyface in 93 as well. Might have to seek that out and see if itâs as good as I remember. Even my old man got into that one and he hated everything that wasnât Vader or the Steiners folding jobbers necks with reckless abandon. Probably just because Regal had a Union Jack on his pants though. Yes, I remember the Regal match too. Found it, great TV match. Barry Windham in 1992-93 is something awesome.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted June 22, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 22, 2021 Cheers thatâll be it. Iâll give it a watch in a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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