House Show/TV tapings random happenings

[air_raid]

May 1994

This is the year of, of course, Bret Hart vs Owen Hart for the WWF title nearly all year. They're all over the shop, still doing O'Conner Roll finishes, and do you know what? Business is looking decidedly UP. 10,900 at the Pond in Anaheim is more than double when they were there last before Mania. 7200 in San Jose is up. 15,000 at MSG is fucking huge, WAY up from the 9000 that turned up for the eve of Rumble show and within touching distance of what WrestleMania drew. The Palace is up, the Rosemont is up.... "Bret Hart didn't draw" - you can go fuck yourself. They take it to Guam and Japan mid month, then Germany and Switzerland end of the month for YET ANOTHER Euro jaunt. In Japan, our main events are Bret vs Macho Man (shiiiiiiiit!!!!!) 9th in Yokohama, Bret vs Bam Bam Bigelow 8th in Nagoya with NOT the Victory Roll finish, an 18-man Rumble won by The Undertaker 9th in Osaka (Bret & Macho Man vs Owen & Adam Bomb underneath), and Bret vs Yokozuna 11th in Sapporo.

B shows, on nights where they bother, are a total jumble. Either side of Japan, there is an extended run of Lex Luger vs Crush. We get only one round of the planned Earthquake vs Yokozuna as a main event on 1st in Fall River MA, and when Tenta throws his toys out of the pram, Yoko is on top with Tatanka in Fort Myers, Typhoon (how about that!) in Palmetto, at Sunrise Musical Theatre and in Columbus OH.

C show!! There is a matinee at MSG the afternoon before the main show, the same day as Palmetto - its a free ticket as part of the annual Mayors Benefit show and raises money for handicapped children. What's your main event here? There isn't one really, technically Mabel vs Kwang is the last match but... come on.

THE CARDS - GOD HELP ME
Lex Luger vs Crush happens every night. Scheduled matches with Crush for Earthquake (while Yoko is abroad) are fulfilled by - here's a sub - Barry Horowitz. Diesel vs Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental title goes on most of the month until Kev gets a knock and sits out nearly all of the two weeks left until the PPV. Tatanka vs IRS is an on-going feud at home and in Europe. Mabel vs Bam Bam Bigelow runs through the States, but when they go back to Europe, the worlds largest love machine is bumped up to Yokozuna. The Headshrinkers vs Quebecers rematches take place all month in the USA and in Europe, at MSG, the Palace and the Rosemont Afa and Johnny Polo get involved making it a six man. Doink and Double J are swapping wins.

1-2-3 Kid loses his run with Adam Bomb domestically but abroad he's having babyface matches with Sparky Plugg. Bobcore had been losing to Kwang every night after Japan. Kwangs run before Japan was back to beating Koko B Ware. Mid month, they're in Florida so OF COURSE there is work for The Genius, losing to Koko again like its 1990. Did you know Lanny was still about in 1994? Liar. Alundra Blayze spends a week or so with further Leilani Kai rematches before going back to Luna Vachon. Mid-month we have - check this - a bizarre run of Bushwhackers vs Smoking Gunns matches that all seem to end with Bushwhackers winning by count-out. I'd walk away from that too. Butch and Luke end up in Europe too, beating were friends-now enemies Adam Bomb & Kwang. Duke Droese has a run of wins over Dave Heath (yes, that one). Bastion Booger works Cuban Assasin. Nassau Coliseum and MSG are "treated" to the "bonus" of the Fink vs Harvey Whippleman tuxedo match.

VARIATIONS
Kid vs Kwang, Dumpster vs Adam Bomb, Sparky vs Booger and Bob Backlund vs PJ Walker all take place on 1st as the end of the previous runs. In Fort Myers, Booger drops a match to a one-off Greg Valentine (!) when he's distracted by hot dogs thrown into the ring by Koko - who had just won HIS one-off, against Bomb. In McMinnville TN and Owensboro KY, there are two Mabel vs IRS matches and in Kentucky Sparky is in there with Double J. The Quebecers aren't at Anaheim or San Jose so its Headshrinkers vs Smoking Gunns. That benefit show I mentioned has Mabel vs Kwang on last, Double J and Sparky, Doink clowning around with Johnny Polo and two singles with each Headshrinker pinning a Quebecer. When Kev hits the bench Razor works the last two nights with Double J - immediately following Jeff beating Doink. Dumpster ends up back with Booger, Backlund's going over Brooklyn Brawler, the Gunns are with those reformed Turtles, the Executioners.

The Japan/Guam/Honolulu shows are too random to list everything of note so here's the highlights - Macho Man wrestles, including tag matches, the Bret match and losing to Genichiro Tenryu in Sapporo. The Undertaker takes a break from his sabbatical, including a tag with Tenryu where they defeat Yoko & Bam Bam when Taker pins Yoko after Bigelow accidentally hits him with Mr Fuji's cane. The Model subs for Shawn Michaels in all of his bookings, including a couple of losses to Savage. Owen wrestles matches against both the Headshrinkers and the Gunns where he's forced to partner babyfaces (Doink, Tatanka) with obvious results. Alundra drops a non-title match to Bull Nakano in Yokohama, beats Sakie Hasegawa in Nagoya, Bull in a rematch in Osaka, Kyoko Inoue in Sapporo, then Bull again in Mangilao and Honolulu. They also get their first look at Jinsei Shizaki who eventually will be brought in as Hakushi, in matches with Tatanka, Taker, Doink and best of all, Kid.

TVS
23rd Raw taping we have Bret & Lex vs Owen & random IRS, Doink and Double J, Irwin doing double duty with Tatanka, Mabel vs Yoko and the Razor vs Bam Bam match from Razor's Coliseum release with the finish they recycle at King of the Ring. 

Youngstown Raw taping also features the first squash defeats for both Hardy Boys - I bet you don't need reminding at this point that Matt was with Nikolai Volkoff and Jeff was with Razor. Challenge taping in Canton, there's Bret & Lex vs Owen & Crush, a squash for Fake Undertaker, a tryout for Vladimir Koloff (Ivan's pretend nephew), Doink/Jarrett again, Koko actually winning a match against Barry Horowitz, and the Razor/Yoko match that made Razor's tape. Finally at Erie Superstars taping, there's Razor vs Jarrett, Doink & Tatanka vs Jeff & IRS, Luger vs Crush, Bret vs Owen for the belt, the fun Yoko vs Kid match that ended up on the Slamfest tape, and a random as fuck outing for Barry & Reno Riggins against Virgil and.... Ray Rougeau????
also

DEPARTURE
Somewhere along the way, Earthquake gets wind of or is told that part of the Yoko feud will involve him eventually losing a "Sumo" match which as a legit former Sumo unbeaten in 24 matches, he didn't want to do, to the fake Sumo from California. Presumably because he'd deem it disrespectful to everyone in that sport that he was involved with - coaches, stablemates etc. Which is about the only thing I could imagine a stand-up guy like Tenta having an issue with, everyone always describing him as a nice guy and consummate professional. So he does two jobs in Anaheim and San Jose, the latter of which has footage airing on Raw as him getting "injured."

Here's MSG ;

Here's Yokohama because you need to see Bret vs Macho Man ;

 

Here's Nagoya because Bret vs Bam Bam is worth a look ;

 

And here's Osaka if you're an addict for Rumbles ;

 

 

[The Reverend]

Just to once again say that this thread is awesome, definitely one of the best on here, a big thank you to @air_raidfor all the hard work in compiling these posts. 

A big question though is - how much of this stuff is languishing in the vaults? I know these are house shows, but it wouldn't surprise me if there is a fair bit. With new characters etc. it may have been that some of the main suits weren't in attendance personally so would want to watch back at Titan Towers to check out performance, reaction etc. if only from a hard cam.

Also the infamous Dynamite Kid back injury was a house show - yet fan footage clearly shows a camera man in attendance. If they were filming back in 1986, then no reason they wouldn't have done in later years too.

[air_raid]

24 minutes ago, The Reverend said:

A big question though is - how much of this stuff is languishing in the vaults? I know these are house shows, but it wouldn't surprise me if there is a fair bit. With new characters etc. it may have been that some of the main suits weren't in attendance personally so would want to watch back at Titan Towers to check out performance, reaction etc. if only from a hard cam.

Also the infamous Dynamite Kid back injury was a house show - yet fan footage clearly shows a camera man in attendance. If they were filming back in 1986, then no reason they wouldn't have done in later years too.

They definitely taped more than they used. There are obvious occasions where they got a video camera in because they knew they wanted to use footage on TV - international tours, MSG shows where something was going to happen that they wanted to show later e.g. title changes etc, but I think it was more common than people think that stuff was taped. Example - Yoko and Crush beating up Earthquake as described above, in San Jose. They decided "Shit, Earthquake's quitting, better get a cameraman to California and tape him getting squashed" - or they had one there anyway? The latter.

Edited July 22, 2022 by air_raid

[air_raid]

June 94

THE MAIN EVENTS

Bret Hart vs Owen Hart for the WWF title rumbles on for the rest of the European tour and every A show until the PPV - 5000 at the Spectrum halts the trend of declining attendance in Philly, it’s clear the WWF has a match people want to see. On the 25th over 12,000 turn up to see it at the Montreal Forum.

Lex Luger vs Crush continues as the domestic main event until the end of the tour and when Lex moves to Brets cards the B show suffers badly from the injury to Diesel, leaving Fayetteville and Richmond with Headshrinkers vs Quebecers and Razor Ramon vs Barbarian - quite a surprise he must have been. Big Daddy Cool is back for Newark, likely as a last minute check if he’ll be ok for King of the Ring. Diesel vs Razor continues until the end of the month and through a Cali loop, they put a cage on it in Sacramento and Fresno.

THE CARDS

Razor Ramon you know about, apart from a couple of nights early month where he’s on with Double J, running double duty after his now-nightly win over Doink - that one was originally slated to go on at SummerSlam, if you can imagine. Tatanka vs IRS is all month, Tatanka winning in Europe but getting himself disqualified at home. Mabel vs Yokozuna concludes in Europe and back home Vis returns to Bam Bam Bigelow and Yoko to (usually) beating Typhoon. Headshrinkers vs Quebecers rematches go on all month but come to a crushing halt when Pierre & Johnny Polo turn on Jacques in - of all places - Montreal. This is meant to engineer a face turn so Jacques can retire upon the return - let's see how that turns out. In Toronto Samu & Fatu go over Pierre and Polo, then all involved get the rest of the month off.

Alundra Blayze vs Luna Vachon continues all month. 1-2-3 Kid comes back from swapping wins with Sparky Plugg in Europe, to being back with Kwang except now he's winning. Between Europe and TV, HollyBobs does a few demoralising losses to Nikolai Volkoff, then after TV he's back in the winners' circle as they're having an extended look at Louie Spicolli. Nikolai moves up - if you can call it that - to Virgil. Duke Droese goes over Bastion Booger before the PPV then Adam Bomb every night. The Smoking Gunns continue wrestling the Executioners every night until the PPV, they are supposed to pick up the Heavenly Bodies thereafter but Del Ray gets injured when his jobber fucks up positioning on the moonsault at TVs, so it's a make shift team of Dr Tom and Reno Riggins. For the last few days of the month on a Canada loop, the Executioners start losing to the Bushwhackers - Luke & Butch having been beating Bomb and Kwang on the Euro tour. Bob Backlund vs Brooklyn Brawler runs domestically during the tour.

No bookings this month for Rick Martel, who's really starting to wind down. Macho Man isn't used either, nor The King apart from at the PPV although both will be back on the road in July - with each other!

VARIATIONS
Not much here this month. Bam Bam misses Fayetteville and Richmond so they make a call to The Genius to job to Mabel in a real culture clash. Literally that's the only exception to anyone wrestling anyone different from what I write above. Finally.... the Spectrum plays host to the final of the tuxedo matches between The Fink and Harvey Whippleman.

TVs
White Plains Raw taping we've got yet more Razor/Diesel and Jarrett/Doink plus another Bret & Lex vs Yoko & Crush. Same dark matches next night in Wilkes-Barre except its Owen & Crush, plus IRS vs Tatanka. In Poughkeepsie there's a ton of tryouts (including Johnny Gunn/Tom Brandi), Jarrett/Doink, Tatanka/Irwin, Yoko vs Mabel, Luger vs Crush and Bret vs Owen in a cage.

In Wilkes-Barre Chris Canyon does a job for Big Sexy - Kanyon, yes. We also start seeing Ted DiBiase managing Bam Bam instead of Luna. Anvil is back on board filming matches, run-ins and seconding Owen. Fake Undertaker is also taping squashes and remarkably, a clean win over Tatanka you may not have seen from an episode of Superstars, that you can easily find on YouTube. Interesting historic note - first TV recordings of Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler as a broadcast team. Otherwise, not much else to say here either.

For novelty, here is a fancam of one of the Razor/Diesel B shows - this is held at Epicenter Entertainment & Sports Complex in Rancho Cucamonga - known today as LoanMart Field - a minor league baseball stadium. You can get 6500 in the stands for a ball game but here, you can see they've positioned the ring in one of the corners with floor seating only on the other two sides, so your guess is as good as mine as to how many are there. Without doubt, the configuration would have been determined by sales, so this is probably a disappointing turn out for one of the 30 biggest cities in California.

 

 

[air_raid]

July 94

THE MAIN EVENTS 
Bret Hart vs Owen Hart naturally continues although 5000 at the Meadowlands was probably a disappointment, likewise 3000 at Nassau Coliseum for the marathon match, although 7000 in Los Angeles (Great Western Forum, not LA Sports) is OK, also for the marathon match. They squeeze in a brief tour of Asia and draw 10,000 in Manilla, 15,000 in Kullang (Singapore) and 4000 to the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong - dont let the name fool you, I suspect this was capacity for what amounts to little more than a basketball court.

Diesel vs Razor Ramon continues to main event both B towns at home and - prepared to be shocked - ANOTHER European tour, of Austria and Germany. They’re still sparing with the cage but it appears in Tampa and Miami, local boy Razor still unable to win back his belt, thanks to HBK sticking his face in.

When Scott & Kev get added to the big towns near month end there’s a loop through some smaller Canadian stops headlined by the Tatanka v IRS strap match and Yokozuna vs Typhoon.

There are four C shows that defy belief at Valley Forge Music Fair (PA), two tiny towns in New Jersey, and Crete Civic Center in Plattsburgh NY (800 attend). You won't believe the cards bore the WWF banner, and their dusty main event was Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine which... when other towns are watching Bret vs Owen.... I..... 

THE CARDS
Lex Luger vs Crush continues in July, 30th in Oakland “Made In The USA” wins the first of the stretcher matches. Tatanka vs IRS continues in straight matches with DQs or Irwin winning via briefcase, then they start finishing their run with strap matches which of course, the Native American wins all of. Yokozuna vs Typhoon is a constant. Doink and Double J swap wins all month as do Mabel and Bam Bam Bigelow. 1-2-3 Kid vs Kwang is similarly even. After Europe Adam Bomb is working Pierre, then for the last few nights of the month, Bomb and Kid swap heels. There are a couple of interesting runs at the Capital Centre, Meadowlands and Nassau Coliseum - The Model is back to do jobs for Duke Droese, and Randy Savage vs Jerry Lawler. The rest of the month its Dumpster and The King, off the back of their TV feud.

JDR is still injured early month so The Headshrinkers defend against those Double Trouble fellas early month until Asia and when they're back, Jim's recovered so they're retaining over the Heavenly Bodies as scheduled. Dr Tom & the Gigolo kill time with the Smoking Gunns waiting for Fatu & Samu to return. Through the Canada loop month end, the Gunns end up with Well Dunn. 

Alundra Blayze vs Luna Vachon goes on every night through the US, Europe and Canada. Sparky Plugg works Bomb every night abroad and when he comes back, he's losing to Fake Undertaker every night. No idea why Nikolai Volkoff vs Virgil is still wasting everyone's time. For reasons I can't fathom, the Rock N Roll Express are on the European tour doing jobs for the Gunns.

VARIATIONS 

Dumpster vs Bomb gets one repeat at Melody State Fair in North Tonawanda NY. 

Those C shows I mentioned…. imagine what part of the New Generation audience this was going for? Jim Powers vs Damien Demento is ok for an opener, if a bit “early 93”, but… Iron Mike Sharpe vs Glenn Osbourne (who?), Heidi Lee Morgan vs Rusty Thomas (who?), Little Leopard vs Mighty Doom (yup, little people) and…. Pierre vs Sgt Slaughter. Oh yes. Plattsburgh is reported to also have had Nikolai Volkoff vs Virgil which in comparison to the rest probably seemed like the MegaPowers exploding all over again.

Conversely, the jumbled card in Asia is amazing. Yoko vs The Undertaker (the real one), Tatanka vs Barbarian (which feels like it belongs in 1992), Jim Powers vs The Model (which could be even older), Headshrinkers vs Well Dunn and a complete "making up the numbers" of Koko B Ware & Bushwhacker Luke vs Barry Horowitz & Reno Riggins.

Yes, Shawn Michaels is still off the road.

TVs
1st in Bushkill is a pretty famous Raw taping, they record the Bret/Kid match that airs on the 11th. The match was trimmed for TV, Waltman reckons there is about ten minutes that didn't air and that he used to have a tape of the whole match. The mind boggles. There's also dark matches of Bret vs Owen, Tatanka vs IRS and Razor vs Crush. Next night in Bethlehem it's Bret vs Owen, Diesel vs Razor, Luger vs Crush, Tatanka vs IRS again and... Raymond Rougeau & Jim Powers winning a squash?? A tryout for the Fabulous Stallions? The mind boggles that Ray was randomly back in there again. Finally 3rd in Ocean City MD its Bret vs Owen again, Tatanka vs Yoko, Luger vs Bam Bam and Diesel vs Razor again, but most interesting is they tape the Bret/Bob Backlund match for Superstars after which Bob immediately turns heel. Bob's already taping squashes where he wins with the crossface chickenwing as quickly as... err, two nights earlier in Bushkill, according to Ziggy. OH BOY.

DEPARTURE
He was barely around apart from making up numbers abroad and doing a few TV jobs for Yoko, IRS and Double J, but those shots in Asia are the end of the road for Koko B Ware.

Here's Nassau ;

This is shaky from Innsbruck but still interesting

Unsure which month or venue but here’s one of the marathon matches;

https://youtu.be/UR6Y0M-XK9U?feature=shared

Edited May 24 by air_raid
Whoo!

[air_raid]

August 1994

THE MAIN EVENTS
Bret Hart vs Owen Hart still goes on for the first couple of weeks but attendance takes a sharp fall. Less than 2000 at the Spectrum for the marathon match, even with the Intercontinental title underneath - WTF. The WWF buck their trend of not doing a title match on the road the month of the title match on a PPV main event and I think people knew they wouldn’t see a switch so close to SummerSlam. Possibly the lure of rematches has died and a lot of towns that already saw Hitman beat The King of Harts won’t pay to see it again. Possibly some kids (or their parents) want to watch a match last an hour. Maybe a combination of the three. For a regular singles, 6000 at the Calgary Saddledome to Hart vs Hart for a World Championship must have felt deflating. There’s a mid month switch to Bret Hart & Razor Ramon vs Owen Hart & Anvil …. apparently only 4300 make the trip to MSG??? Fucking Neidharts ruin everything clearly. 1500 at Nassau and 2000 at the Meadowlands are equally awful, and that's with the new tag title feud supporting. All the hardcores in the WWF strongholds bought SummerSlam so decided they couldn't be bothered going to the live shows?

B towns are a bit messy. Lex Luger vs Crush through the Southern states in the stretcher matches, but that comes to a screaming halt when Crush takes a knock that will bench him for a month. Diesel vs Razor Ramon as a standalone main event (rather than supporting Bret) goes down 7th in New Haven, right before a further shuffle where Bret's going to be off for a week (just as well, he's suffering from strep throat). A Texas run through Dallas, Houston and San Antonio has the Total Package putting old enemy Yokozuna on the stretcher - and what a site that must have been! - with the IC belt supporting, as the A show without Bret, but when they get to Springfield MA on 14th Razor's absent too so we get Diesel vs Lex instead, with Yoko back against Mabel. Once Razor returns and gets added to Bret's tag as the A show main event, Luger vs 'Zuna carries on as the B show main event through small towns in Mass and Connecticut.

25th in Omaha we have the first in a lengthy run of The Undertaker vs Yokozuna in a casket match (again), so "Made In The USA" drops down to wrestling our favourite sub underneath - The Barbarian. He's earned himself another run! Interestingly Ted DiBiase and Fake Undertaker come out to fight Yoko on those shows before real Taker and Paul Bearer rock up and scare them off. Bit spoilerish for the PPV - YES, THERE ARE TWO UNDERTAKERS.

When Yoko has been moved off the B shows, it leaves a run of musical theatres/small towns in CT, Rhode Island and MA with a replacement Typhoon vs Bob Backlund main event but stunningly Owen Hart supports against 1-2-3 Kid (and in Springfield too) - the results read as a split of wins, or in Warwick, Owen winning but then a restart, with the match then won by Kid, which I suspect is what happened every night, and I imagine was a popular result. One final variance to B show main events, 14th in Springfield and in Hyannis Port (Ted DiBiase's "summer residence") the cards are a bit jumbled and Mr Backlund isnt there, so its Typhoon vs Bam Bam Bigelow.

THE CARDS
Half the roster you already know who they work. The Headshrinkers have their last month as tag team champions AND as their current incarnation, a little all over the place. They do one week with the thrown-together frenemies Bam Bam Bigelow & Bastion Booger, then a week with Well Dunn on the joint Lex/Razor cards, then after mid-month TVs, its a whole different game! They're losing by DQ for the rest of the month to Diesel & Shawn Michaels (yes, HBK is back on the road at last) except 28th in Indianapolis the night before SummerSlam, they go down and lose the tag titles. Cracking story here - Samu is fucked and they need to lose the belts anyway, but the whole build up to SummerSlam they've been planning to move the belts at the PPV to DiBiase's lads, but at some point Vince decides that if Kev's got to lose the Intercontinental title, he still wants Big D and HBK to be in a prominent spot, so he's going to make them tag champs. Corporation, fucked before its even started.

Tatanka vs IRS in a strap match is all month right up until SummerSlam. First half of the month Tatanka wins but for the last two weeks, with no need to protect Tatanka as a babyface any more, he loses to Irwin, except at Nassau and the Meadowlands. Doink vs Double J is still a pretty even feud and happens most nights. Mabel vs Yokozuna starts off the month but then he's back with Bam Bam Bigelow when Yoko is moved to Lex. After TVs the small shows have big man doing the job for Mr Bob Backlund, then in the MSG/Nassau/Meadowlands shows there's a cross-feud tag of Mabel & Doink vs Bam Bam & Double J. When Bob isn't beating Typhoon or Mabel, he gets nights off. In Pittsburgh Anvil distracts Mabel causing him to lose to Yoko, your guess is as good as mine why.

Adam Bomb, full blown babyface now, pins Kwang every night (including dark before SummerSlam). Alundra Blayze vs Bull Nakano is the new Womens title run (often with Luna Vachon in Bulls corner), The Smoking Gunns bookend their month against Well Dunn, and while Tim & Steve are upgraded to the champs, on the B shows there's a job for those Executioners again with the Gunns. Bushwhackers vs Heavenly Bodies is back on.

1-2-3 Kid, after Owen, works the rest of the month with the renamed Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz (previously MVP, the dumb baseball gimmick lumbered on Steve Lombardi) - these were advertised as The Model but Rick pulls out. We're at the end of Martel getting real runs, and soon we'll call time on him wrestling for the WWF ever again. Abe actually had an early month series of wins over young PJ Walker. 

Another opener early month is a continuation of Nikolai Volkoff going over Virgil until Curly Bill gets badly injured - thereafter, PJ's jobbing for Nikolai. Duke Droese works The King early month, still, then Pierre through the Texas loop, and he's supposed to have Martel in Canada but gets lumbered with Steven Dunn instead before returning to Lawler in the States. Sparky Plugg starts and ends his month with Pierre, inbetween he's on the little shows losing to Fake Undertaker. 

VARIATIONS
In San Antonio we have a fantastic sub - The Bad Guy doesnt make it so Diesel drops a DQ to Macho Man - get the tissues out, this is the LAST match on US soil for Randy in the WWF. The night before in Dallas, Irwin doesnt make it so HBK, being in the building anyway, jumps in and drops a strap match to his old nemesis Tatanka (who beat the Boy Toy more than nearly anyone in 93-94).  In Richfield for reasons unknown there's a one off swap of opponents and Diesel goes over Dumpster, Razor beats The King. As well as New Haven being a standalone main for Razor/Diesel, Owen is there too besting Dumpster.

Springfield/Hyannis jumbled mess plays out like this, on top of main events and un-jumbled matches - in Springfield three matches do a merry-go-round of swaps and Sparky pins Pierre, Dumpster does a job for IRS and Tatanka repeats his televised job to Fake Undertaker. The Heavenly Bodies cross crews to challenge the Headshrinkers ; in Hyannis its Gunns vs Well Dunn.

In Tacoma, the replacement for Yoko against Typhoon is - who else?? - Barbar. And you know what? Antlers beats the big Tugster! Always go out on your back (see Departures). In Calgary, Razor unbelievably drops a singles loss to Anvil, to add a reason for him to interfere in Bret vs Owen later, I guess. PJ misses a few so Volkoff beats Bruiser Mastino, who will be in later as Mantaur. Billy Gunn doesnt make Des Moines, so Kid pulls double duty and tags with Bart to beat Well Dunn. Indianapolis has a few wrapping up from last loop - Kid vs Pierre, Dumpster vs Kwang. Finally Alundra misses North Charleston so Bull actually gets to win a match, over Heidi Lee Morgan. 20th at my favourite small venue, (not Terry) Conners Ice Rink at Cove Island Park on the Long Island Sound in Stamford, King Kong Bundy is back from the wilderness squashing a ham n egger, and he'll be taping TVs month end too.

TVs
Raw taping on the 1st we've got the regular stuff - Bret vs Owen, Diesel vs Razor, Tatanka vs IRS, Dumpster vs King. Live, its a great episode with the first Blayze/Bull televised match and a BLINDER between Razor and.... HBK. He's barely been in the ring for four months and he's still one of the best in the world, doing an awesome match on live TV from a standing start. Busy night for the Kliq, Big Daddy goes over Typhoon in a forgotten fun match for Sunday Night Slam. They also tape good wins for the tag champs elect, Bam Bam & Irwin, over both Tatanka & Doink and future champs Kid & Bob Holly (going by that for TV, at last). Next night in Wheeling is much the same except The King is moving on to Doink and Lex is beating Crush in another stretcher match. Next night in Cincinnati is a few repeats but Doink goes over Double J, Razor pins Lawler, Diesel vs Luger goes to a non-finish and for some reason they tape (and never use) Pierre beating Johnny Polo even though Polo sided with Pierre when the Quebecers split.

15th in Lowell I’ve mentioned before - Luger wrestles Fake Undertaker and beats him by DQ when Bam Bam runs in - this is while DiBiase is trying to make us think Lugers with him, remember - then Fake Taker has a stare down with REAL Taker (umm, spoilers lads?)  who promptly squashes Bigelow in 90 seconds. This is all dark! A battle royal that appears on Coliseum serves to persuade the live crowd that new baddie (and winner) Bob Backlund is to be taken seriously. Same night they’ll tape the show where Bob mauls WWF Magazine writer Lou Gianfriddo and Macho Man gets involved in breaking it up… potentially this is to build to something which we’ll get to in later months, that never ends up happening. Next night, still in Lowell, Million Dollar Taker beats Mabel, Bret beats Owen again, Pierre is back managed by Polo and going over Scott Taylor, the Headshrinkers go over the random team of Yoko and IRS when Irwin gets a taste of his own briefcase, there’s a tryout for Brian Armstrong who you will all know (oh, you DIDNT know?) will be in soon as The Roadie, and most interesting, Taker beats Diesel by DQ when HBK interferes. Finally next night Lex beats Underfaker and legit Taker beats Diesel again with the same finishes as previous, Tatanka beats IRS, and Bret beats Owen in the famed lumberjack match with the false Owen title win just 3 minutes in. Bret would have looked a total loser if that had stood.

We’ve got time to squeeze more TVs in after the PPV, In Milwaukee Lex replaces the newly-heel Tatanka in beating IRS, it’s Bret/Razor vs Owen & Anvil, Taker vs Yoko in the casket match, Lawler and Dumpster, and Shawn & Diesel get a DQ defence in against the Headshrinkers as seen on Shawns Unreleased. Next night in Green Bay we’ve got much the same except the tag is split into Bret vs Anvil and Razor beating the King of Harts, plus Mabel vs Bam Bam and Kid & Holly vs Well Dunn. Of course, Tatanka is taping squashes as a heel now and the best news in the history of Our Great Thread - Davey Boy Smith is also taping squashes, back for his third and most tumultuous run Oop North.

DEPARTURES
TVs after SummerSlam are the last appearances on TV for ages for Samu - his back's fucked. Hilariously they are so far ahead of getting taped matches in the can that a squash of Barry Horowitz & Ron Hagen for Superstars doesn't air until 8th October. Vince's explanation of "well..err... he's back" before mumbling something about keeping Shawn and Diesel "off guard" by not knowing which two of the three Headshrinkers they'll be wrestling, like they're fucking Demolition in 1990, is so shit that you'd swear he was adlibbing and hadn't had time to prepare. Or better yet, NOT use a match that contradicts the fact you've already introduced the chap's replacement on TV. He’ll wrestle a couple of matches in September but I mention it here because TVs tell a better story.

Virgil's also fucked. After being a reliable loser for years, they won't call him back after the injury that puts him out in Hyannis, save a few jobs for a certain pirate in May/June '95. Shame, he'd have done a great job for Sid around the same time, to Ted's delight. Opportunity missed.

We've also hit the end of the road for Bastion Booger, he's heading back to the indies. Where, funnily enough, he'll feud with Typhoon, who's also outlived his usefulness. 18th in Tacoma is his last date, since Yoko's with Luger now and Crush is crocked, Fred's the odd man out and an easy cut.

Here's MSG ;

Here's the unreleased Diesel/Shawn v Headshrinkers rematch ; mute the fanmade commentary, mind.

 

[wandshogun09]

I think the uncut Bret vs Kid match is my new holy grail now. 10 more minutes of that? 

[air_raid]

28 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

I think the uncut Bret vs Kid match is my new holy grail now. 10 more minutes of that? 

The weird thing is, when I saw the Monday Night Raw version of this a year or more later on the Brawl In The Family tape and they showed the false pin with Kid's foot on the ropes "while we were at commercial break," I could have sworn that I'd seen a version at the time round a mate's house on one of the weekend shows where that spot seemed to air in real time, and we genuinely thought the match had ended in (accidental) injustice, and we didn't know if the match was going to be restarted or not, THEN adverts happened, and either his tape ran out or we had to go out or something before ever seeing the resolution. Or it could just be a Mandela Effect.

[SpykeDudlei1]

Been said before but I’ll say it again, arguably the greatest ever thread in the long and illustrious history of the UKFF.

@air_raidyou are an absolute legend for the time, effort and detail you put into this. 

I salute you! 😀👋🏻

[air_raid]

SEPTEMBER 1994

THE MAIN EVENTS
Bret Hart VS Owen Hart is a big grudge match 1st in Winnipeg then we’re off to Germany for Bret & Macho Man VS Owen & Anvil. These are the LAST MATCHES for Randy in the WWF, Rostock on 13th is the end of the road. When they get to the UK Brets partner becomes the British Bulldog for obvious reasons. After Europe Brets one on one with Anvil for the belt (lol) thankfully supported by little brother chasing the other gold and a casket match. 8000 in Anaheim is still good but 4300 at Boston Garden is terrible. After TVs it’s largely the same, 7700 at Pittsburgh sounds OK but it was massively papered, allegedly over half were comps.

Mabel VS Bam Bam Bigelow heads up some small New Jersey towns right before the tour and Wisconsin after it and Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs The Headshrinkers gets added to a fundraiser at Du Bois High School in Penn. A run through Quebec after TVs has 1-2-3 Kid vs Owen Hart as the “biggest” match but the draw for locals is probably Razor Ramon vs Pierre for the belt.

THE CARDS
Undertaker VS Yokozuna in a casket match is a near constant. Shawn Michaels & Diesel VS Razor Ramon & Lex Luger is a bit of a random but nonetheless fun tag title run in Europe, either side for HBK/BDC it’s meant to be the Headshrinkers but who that actually comprises… see Variations. Otherwise for Razor it’s Owen Hart, beating him usually but losing by count-out in Boston to set up a rematch - in every other market the match is restarted and ends with the Razors Edge.

1-2-3 Kid does loads of jobs to IRS in Europe, then back home has a random spate of tags with Bob Holly going over Well Dunn before post-TVs run with Owen. New baddie Tatanka finally goes back on the road month end, going over Duke the Dumpster Droese. The (both very even) feuds of Mabel vs Bam Bam Bigelow and Doink vs Double J continue at home and abroad right up until TVs ; thereafter Mabel has to make do with Kwang, Jarrett starts beating Bob Holly, Doinkster is now really slumming it with Nikolai Volkoff and Bam Bam has a few nights off with a knock. Bigelow will eventually move on to Adam Bomb, who finishes his run with Kwang and in lieu of Bam Bam spends a few nights knocking around former manager Johnny Polo. 

Alundra Blayze vs Bull Nakano of course happens every night. The Smoking Gunns start and end their month with the Heavenly Bodies but a planned run in between with Well Dunn is scuppered when Billy goes on paternity leave so weirdly that leaves the Bodies and WD with each other. The Bushwhackers are with the Bodies on the mid month Wisconsin loop then Well Dunn on the post TVs A shows. The early month opener runs of Holly vs Knuckleball and Nikolai squashing PJ Walker come to an end, so inevitably this lands PJ in the spot of losing to the Brooklyn Baseball. Mid month, Schwartz gets to beat Louie Spicolli. Davey Boy Smith only works Europe, Bob Backlund is used at TVs but not on the road, likewise King Kong Bundy.

VARIATIONS
A surprisingly tight month. For reasons unknown Yoko doesn't make it to Germany, only the UK, so Crush is his sub, in his last bookings of 94. Winnipeg has Luger doing a one-off with Irwin, advertised as IRS vs Tatanka but of course, he's Irwin's stablemate now. There are a couple of matches closing off last month's runs too - Kid vs Kwang and Dumpster vs Pierre. A small number of Headshrinkers matches still involve Samu, but there are subs. Early month its Barbarian, and later on they'll decide "hey, thats a fit" and by Providence on 29th he's a full blown Headshrinker complete with Sionne name. In between, when Samu can't go, Kid subs in, subbing out of his scheduled tag which leaves Bob Holly vs Steven Dunn as a singles and Timothy with a night off from bumps. At Boston Garden instead of Spicolli, Lombardi-as-baseball is in their with perennial opponent, your favourite and mine, Jim Powers. Jim also loses a few to Kwang when Bomb gets benched for a few nights.

TVs
Utica Raw taping has Luger vs Tatanka with the walk off count-out finish, Razor vs Owen, Taker putting Yoko in the box, and Bret pinning Mr Backlund. Next night in Poughkeepsie we've got Bret vs Anvil, Lex/Tatanka and Taker/Yoko again, and HBK and Big Daddy Cool going over Fatu & Sionne. Next night in White Plains is a huge night with lots of guys with their working boots VERY securely on. Adam Bomb vs Kwang happens yet again, Bret & Smithers do not their first tag over Owen & Anvil and not their last, and for Coliseum we have an Undertaker/Jerry Lawler casket match and Lex & the Gunns vs Tatanka, Shawn & Diesel... plus the first two main events for the Action Zone are recorded, which are the "final" WWF title match between Bret and Owen, and the now legendary Razor & Kid challenging Shawn & Kev for the tag team title - sewing the first seeds of dissent and slow burn towards turning Big Daddy Cool into a babyface, two months ahead of time. You'll be pleased to know in Poughkeepsie they tape the first appearance for Wink so the multiple little men bullshit has started already.

DEPARTURE
To close up what I wrote yesterday, 22nd in San Jose is the last gig for Samu before he gives up to the back injury and bows out ; this will be the last match for him in the WWF for over a year although he'll eventually be involved again on TV as a ringside presence for Fatu's storyline when he's "making a difference" - whatever that meant.

 

 

 

[CavemanLynn]

8 hours ago, SpykeDudlei1 said:

Been said before but I’ll say it again, arguably the greatest ever thread in the long and illustrious history of the UKFF.

@air_raidyou are an absolute legend for the time, effort and detail you put into this. 

I salute you! 😀👋🏻

Absolutely seconded. Surely there's a coffee table book to be made from all this? I don't know what the rights are re: images and branding though. This thread has been absolutely brilliant, just the right blend of nostalgia, insight, and WTF commentary.

[DavidB6937]

Genuinely the main reason I come here every day now. Always the first thing I read. Just a real pleasure.

[air_raid]

Thanks for the feedback. It's a lot of fun but obviously its good to know I'm not just doing it for myself.

OCTOBER 1994
The double main event of Bret Hart vs Anvil for the belt and Undertaker vs Yokozuna casket match rolls on - 7500 in Niagara Falls NY is remarkably an uplift from June's 5000 for Bret vs Owen but 2500 at the Palace is a bit wank and 5000 in Baltimore should be marked "should do better." In Montreal on 21st they sell out the Forum, over 15,500 paid, but its not a fair representation as its advertised as Jacques Rougeau's retirement match against Pierre. Being wrestling, does he bollocks stay retired. Maple Leaf Gardens on 23rd is an exception to Anvil - Bret's going over Mr Bob Backlund. Business has declined lots since Bret vs Owen finished, 2300 at the Meadowlands, 3800 at Nassau and a half full MSG (9600) for Hart vs Neidhart and the casket match, in the WWF's top 3 strongholds.

Cornwall Ontario on 2nd is the last of the Canada loop with Razor Ramon vs Pierre for the Intercontinental belt (Pierre wins by count-out!) then Owen Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid on last. We then get a run through five high school gyms in Pennsylvania and New York state where a pretty "B" card is topped by Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs The Headshrinkers (now full time Fatu & Sionne). After TVs a new B crew through the North East and into Canada runs a stable British Bulldog vs Owen Hart with support that rotates between the Intercontinental match and Lex Luger vs Tatanka.

THE CARDS
Razor Ramon continues his run with Owen Hart for a couple of weeks, does two nights with Bob Backlund, then launches into a feud that will run and run with Double J. You know what to expect - what they do at the Rumble, except Jarrett runs into a Razors Edge to regret his restart demands. Lex Luger vs Tatanka goes to a double count-out most nights which based on their Coliseum matches is every bit as boring as it sounds. Adam Bomb is beating (!) Bam Bam Bigelow most nights, at MSG its only a DQ and at the Meadowlands Bigelow gets one back. There are a couple of gyms mid-month where Adam has to lower himself to Nikolai Volkoff. Mabel finishes up with Kwang, does a week or so with Double J, then a few nights with IRS, then isn't booked for two weeks. 1-2-3 Kid is losing to the opposite heel to Mabel - firstly Irwin, then Jarrett. Doink has to continue wasting his time with Volkoff, then 15th he becomes a nightly victim for King Kong Bundy until the big three WWF home venues where he's with his real feud, Jerry Lawler.

Alundra Blayze vs Bull Nakano still happens every night in some lucky, lucky towns. The Smoking Gunns vs Heavenly Bodies happens every night for two weeks then Gigolo blows out a knee so it becomes Bart or Billy vs Dr Tom. Bob Holly spends most of his month beating Kwang, three nights losing to Irwin on the A shows then moves to the B crew to lose to Bundy. Duke Droese works a week with Pierre early month then ends the month with Irwin, losing to him at the big 3 but beating him in Scranton PA. The Bushwhackers are back to a full road schedule, beating Well Dunn every night except in Brandon, Manitoba where they let the two losers beat them. Mo from Men On A Mission is finally back on the road end of the month... and he's losing, to Kwang.

Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz endures, beating PJ Walker for most of the month but managing to lose to him in Sudbury, Ontario. Knuckleball vs Jim Powers is an unlikely feud but they swap wins for the last four nights of the month.

VARIATIONS
Half the month Shawn's out again so Diesel works one Headshrinker or the other, usually Sionne but not always. Davey Boy only works one night where it isn't Owen - in Toronto he's with the Anvil. You'll be pleased to know that at MSG its Doink & Dink vs King & Queasy. Sault Sainte Marie (Ontario) is Kid's last booking, with Knuckleball, before he has a week off. Same night, Backlund works one of his sporadic house shows, with Dumpster. 2nd in Cornwall wraps up the last of Duke's jobs for Tatanka. Adam Bomb has a couple of subs - in Niagara Falls its the Executioner (not Gordy, although Bam Bam in for Bam Bam would have been neat), the Palace its back to former manager Johnny Polo, a couple of the Canada loop before the big strongholds, he's temporarily back with Kwang. In Sunrise FL, there's a tryout for everyone's favourite tank, Scott Norton, losing to HollyBobs.

TVs
Nothing that interesting to report from Raw taping in Burlington - Bret vs Anvil, Lex vs Tatanka and a Diesel vs Sionne match that got written up in WWF Magazine for some reason. Next night they're still in Burlington for Superstars taping and they get into the can a Taker/Yoko casket match, Bret/Smithers vs Owen/Anvil, Razor vs Backlund as you saw if you bought the (pretty decent) UK Fan Favourites tape, and Alundra vs Bull from Wham Bam Bodyslam - which is really recorded in earnest next night in Albany, the Harts tag, Luger/Tatanka and Razor/Jarrett from that tape all happen on the same night as well as another casket match. Also of interest in Albany, they tape a Mabel/Yoko match for an early November airing on Action Zone where Yoko essentially beats him clean, which is a fairly decent indicator of "OK, we're not going with Mabel as a big singles star (for now)." October is when shows start featuring the eternally excited Charlie Minn, and you'll pleased to know all the mini clowns and kings are now doing their crap. Yay.

DEPARTURES
This is a tough one - after a couple of false dawns, this actually is the end for Jim Powers. After the 3 big venues, he puts Knuckleball down 30th in Scranton PA, and thats the last match he works for the WWF, ever, before heading to the indies. What a fucking trooper.

Here's Taker v Yoko casket match from MSG ;

And here's one more of your favourite sprint and mine - Kid vs Owen from Cornwall, Ontario ;

 

 

[JNLister]

On 7/28/2022 at 9:00 AM, air_raid said:

Alundra Blayze vs Bull Nakano of course happens every night.

Except at Wembley where it turns out Brent Council has never legalised womens wrestling since it was banned London-wide during the war and then returned to individual boroughs to govern in the mid-80s.

[air_raid]

NOVEMBER 1994
What an oddball month this is. 3 different WWF Champions and a host of transitions. Almost overnight it transforms from "This was 1994" to "This is 1995" with turns, title changes and debuts. Apart from Anvil not QUITE getting sacked yet.

THE MAIN EVENTS
Bret Hart vs Anvil for the belt and Undertaker vs Yokozuna in the casket match continues as the A show double main until TVs then - here's a shock - a European tour happens!! Bret defending against King Kong Bundy is the main all over Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Taker carries on as he was except at Boston Garden for reasons unknown he's pinning IRS in front of just 5000. Rosters combine again only on 18th at the Saddledome where Bret/Anvil and Yoko/Taker only draw 4000 even with little brother going for the Intercontinental title too. Post Survivor Series - imagine this - Mr Bob Backlund vs British Bulldog for the gold is the main event with Taker and Irwin underneath in Youngstown OH and in Pittsburgh (4000) - Davey Boy does the handful of defences for the caretaker just as he did three years earlier for the Undertaker! MSG on 26th Diesel famously snatches the belt in 8 seconds in front of just 7300 - it was supposed to be a very different match with a special ref, which we'll get to. There are no more A shows in November.

British Bulldog vs Owen Hart B show main events continue early month before the crews are mixed into the split Taker and Europe crews then either side of Survivor Series a Canada run has Lex Luger vs Tatanka as perhaps the biggest match but Adam Bomb vs Owen Hart often goes on last.

THE CARDS
Razor Ramon vs Jeff Jarrett carries on either side of Europe ; while Double J is out of the country The Bad Guy keeps himself busy with Owen Hart, whose month we otherwise covered above. Lex Luger is still sometimes beating and sometimes drawing with Tatanka. Davey Boy Smith is with Anvil every night in Europe. Diesel vs Fatu happens every night domestically and in Europe while Shawn stays out. 

Adam Bomb spends two weeks swapping wins with Bam Bam Bigelow then a few losses to Bob Backlund prior to Survivor Series, although he does beat him in Calgary. Mabel is with King King Bundy every night before Europe then Double J every night of the tour ; when he comes home it's virtually a different opponent every night. 1-2-3 Kid comes back from a break to resume beating Knuckleball then swaps wins with Kwang all over Europe, before two nights with Pierre in the States then two babyface broadways with frequent partner Bob Holly in Canada. Holly otherwise loses to IRS in the States then on the tour beats Pierre. Spare a thought for Doink - after starting November brightly with wins over Kwang he spends most of his month losing to The King, then on the post-PPV Canada loop he has to do jobs for the Anvil.

Alundra Blayze vs Bull Nakano continues for one week then for the second week of the month each picks up a partner for a tag - Heidi Lee Morgan and Luna Vachon respectively, with Luna doing the honours. 20th at Big Egg Wrestling Universe in front of 32,000 paid at the Tokyo Dome, Bull relieves our Debs of the belt so when they get back to the States, she's winning on the house shows - cheating, obviously. Unfortunately early December Bull will fail a drugs test for cocaine, wind up suspended and thus miss out on her Mania payday as a consequence, Maddy having told the Japanese press already that she'll be getting the belt back then. Tag team division on its arse, Smoking Gunns vs Heavenly Bodies and Well Dunn vs Bushwhackers are happening every night. No wonder they didn't want to pick anyone to actually dethrone HBK and Big Daddy Cool. Duke the Dumpster spends most of his month swapping wins with IRS then wraps up with a few wins over Brooklyn Brawler, probably happy to be out of the baseball makeup. Aldo Montoya debuts the jockstrap gimmick, working most of the month with the Brawler.

VARIATIONS
MSG has the only Bulldog match not covered above - he starts his run with Bundy to a predictable non finish. Undertaker vs Irwin (revenge from Survivor Series!) is also an MSG one off. At the Spectrum Dumpster has to slum it with Nikolai Volkoff. 13th in Springfield Doink does a lone job to Backlund. First three nights of the month Pierre steps in for Bam Bam and loses to big Adam. 

On the two oddball shows (Youngstown and Pittsburgh) between Survivors and MSG, apparent babyface Diesel goes over Bundy. Mabel vs Bam Bam is back on in Youngstown, in Pittsburgh its Steve Dunn stepping in, and at MSG its Pierre getting squashed. Pittsburgh has a truly random one off babyface match between Duke and Mo. In Belleville (Ontario) and MSG its Aldo beating Kwang. There's also a one off Bob Holly vs Brawler in Belleville, and both there and at MSG, the Headshrinkers work a replacement for the defunct Shawn/Diesel team - our favourite former Turtles, the Executioners. There are a couple of early month Tom Prichard vs rotating Gunn in singles as we wait for Del Ray to recover from knee injury.

TVs
Bushkill Superstars taping on the 8th has nothing exciting - Bret vs Anvil, Luger vs Tatanka, Bushwhackers vs Well Dunn. Next night in Bethlehem Luger/Tatanka again, Doink vs King, Taker and Yoko in their millionth casket match, Smithers vs Anvil and Hitman putting a pin on Mr Bob, plus Dumpster vs Bundy, Kid & Aldo (X-Factor!!) vs the Bodies, and a tryout for The Vampire (Dave "Gangrel" Heath) against Reno Riggins - they allow real life better half Luna to manage him too. Raw taping post PPV in Poughkeepsie, we've got Taker vs IRS, Diesel squashing Bundy, Razor vs Tatanka and one dark look at Hakushi with Riggins - next night they start taping his TV squashes. Also, Luger works double duty against The King (!) and IRS, plus Diesel vs Double J and Taker vs Tatanka. Finally next night in Lowell, Taker/IRS, Luger vs Bundy and Mabel vs Tatanka. We're also taping squashes for everyone's favourite pig farmer, Henry Godwinn. Finally interesting note - they're taping a good three weeks in advance at the early month shows and in Bushkill they record a Shawn Michaels & Diesel squash of two jobbers, which ends up never being used. Suggestion that the split and turning Diesel was only decided for definite closer to the PPV, or just a scheduling gaffe? Who knows. Also of note, three semis are recorded month end in the tag team title tournament with Bam Bam & Tatanka, the Bodies and the Headshrinkers all advancing over Men On A Mission, the Bushwhackers and Owen/Anvil respectively - the last quarter will be filmed next month, which is a story in itself. Poughkeepsie also has the first taped appearances of The Roadie.

DEPARTURE
Famously this is the month that Macho Man Randy Savage departs for WCW when his contract expires, allegedly without ever giving Vince the chance to make a counter-offer. There's no hiding the fact, and regular readers of my digests will see it plain as day, that the value in Randy as an in-ring wrestler had been considered waning (at least) by McMahon for a while - it's in dispute by many sources within the company as some still argue the toss that Savage was actively asking to step back into the commentary role and wind down, and yet he jumped for a deal brokered by frenemy the Hulkster where clearly he was going to be used as a wrestler in a featured spot. The fascinating detail is that early in November, the advertisements in the local area for Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund at MSG (which ends up kiboshed by Bret being storyline injured) told the punters that Macho Man would be the special guest ref, no doubt built in part by Savage involvement on Raw in prising Backlund off various babyfaces or innocent writers/retirees etc. In my mind, the thought process there is towards an eventual match. Obviously, not to be.