WWE Vault Appreciation Thread

[Statto]

1 hour ago, BigJag said:

Is that Tornados original music? 

It is. A great one too IMO.

[Merzbow]

Nice to see Ultimate Warrior numbers 1 & 2 tagging, Kerry did a good job after the first one died. (No idea who the racist number 3 ever was though).

[tiger_rick]

On 6/15/2025 at 7:57 AM, BigJag said:

Matches without commentary are very strange. The commentators always would add context. Hate the dubbed music they've used for Rude. Is that Tornados original music?  It's a shame we didn't see more of these types of pairings at the time.

Watched this last night. Kerry was still fucking great in August 1990. Just a ball of fire every time he was in. Great music. Incredible look. Super over. The drop off was huge but I do wonder if they could have got way more out of him if they'd just had more faith in him and had him doing something meaningful with the IC belt. 

It's pointed out in the YT comments but there's a moment at about 11:40 where Perfect goes to pull Kerry by his foot and very quickly realises, or is told, that it's the "wrong" foot.

Edited June 16, 2025 by tiger_rick

[WyattSheepMask]

I clearly haven’t seen enough of Kerry in the WWF because that’s the music I always remember and what I thought he always had.

 

[mim731]

2 hours ago, WyattSheepMask said:

I clearly haven’t seen enough of Kerry in the WWF because that’s the music I always remember and what I thought he always had.

 

It is, it's Rude's music that's been dubbed over. 

[air_raid]

But how many people knew that the one Rude has had dubbed over here, the one that featured on all our Silver Vision tapes, wasn't even his first WWF theme?? The first sounded even more like The Stripper.

[tiger_rick]

I'd forgotten about this kid pulling his shirt over his head and doing the Rick Rude thrust. Little legend. 

[davertfnewman]

Probably missed by the UK audience because he and Bundy come out to it at Survivor Series '87, but we got the edited version that even takes out the British Bulldogs being eliminated from the prior match.

A lad does the same in this video much to Vince's disgust.

 

Edited June 18, 2025 by davertfnewman

[Olly1984]

On 6/18/2025 at 3:45 PM, tiger_rick said:

I'd forgotten about this kid pulling his shirt over his head and doing the Rick Rude thrust. Little legend. 

Little legend as opposed to the Brother Love dude deffo having his mam locked in the basement!! 

[tiger_rick]

11 hours ago, Olly1984 said:

Little legend as opposed to the Brother Love dude deffo having his mam locked in the basement!! 

Poor fella just bought zit cream off Zack.

[Snitsky's back acne]

On 6/16/2025 at 10:27 AM, tiger_rick said:

Watched this last night. Kerry was still fucking great in August 1990. Just a ball of fire every time he was in. Great music. Incredible look. Super over. The drop off was huge but I do wonder if they could have got way more out of him if they'd just had more faith in him and had him doing something meaningful with the IC belt. 

It's pointed out in the YT comments but there's a moment at about 11:40 where Perfect goes to pull Kerry by his foot and very quickly realises, or is told, that it's the "wrong" foot.

I always saw it more as Kerry wanting to make a good impression and being motivated due to getting a push.

I think it was Bruce Prichard who said that WWF 'knew what they were getting' with Kerry at that time. He was a big time drug addict by this point who, by all accounts, was an absolutely lovely bloke but lived life in a constant pilled up daze. Had he been clean then the sky absolutely could have been the limit for him. 

[Chili]

Kerry was never going to be anywhere above where he was at the time. As mentioned he was a mess and while it was an astonishing feat as an athlete in wrestling that he wrestled on one foot, asking anything more would have been too much. He was perfectly fine where he was. Even with the drug issues it's a huge what if you imagine what a fully mobile Kerry could have gone on to do though. As a kid I loved The Texas Tornado. Hard to explain but even as kid you just look at him and the vibe he's a nice bloke. Yes, he did have a banging little entrance theme too.

 

 

Edited June 20, 2025 by Chili

[wandshogun09]

Even without the drug issues and having one foot, I think IC title was probably as high as he was going. He certainly had the look Vince loved but it’s kind of like when fans go ‘Ken Shamrock should’ve had a run as WWF champion’ or ‘Owen Hart should’ve got the big belt’. It’s a nice idea and in another time maybe they would’ve been given a little run with it. But they had zero chance of getting a look in when you had the likes of Shawn, Bret, Undertaker and peak Austin and Rock about. As good as Shamrock and Owen were, why would you go with them over that lot? Likewise, Kerry was never getting to that level in the Hogan, Warrior, Savage heyday. His ceiling was always gonna be third or fourth top babyface at best, depending on which side of the face/heel divide Macho fell on at any given time. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

I'm sure I read that Kerry was being considered, along with Dusty Rhodes, as Vince's "All American Superstar babyface' prior to him getting Hogan.

No idea how true it is but Kerry had the looks, the charisma (and I don't mean mic skills he just had a presence to him that screamed 'star') and talent to be that guy if used right (and I am talking early 80s pre-bike crash here). Women absolutely threw themselves at him and he was tough enough for the men to support him too. Plus, as has been said, he seemed like a thoroughly nice bloke.

He was also a high level athlete who was denied his Olympic dream, so had a great, built-in "USA! USA!" story that people could get behind at the time as well.

In a parallel universe, Kerry could have been a huge star for Vince. Sadly, it was never meant to be. 

 

[tiger_rick]

I'm not suggesting he could have been higher than the IC Title. It's just that he came in, won the belt at SummerSlam in a great moment and then had easily the most pointless and forgettable IC Title run to that point. The only things anyone will remember of him as IC Champ were losing the belt and the Survivor Series match with the team of Warriors. 

His promos were rough and probably didn't help, but when you see him here or are at SummerSlam 1990, he's still a ball of fire and that IC Title run just looks a massive waste. The only feud he had was based around Teddy costing him the belt.