WWE Vault Appreciation Thread

[TibBo]

On 6/24/2025 at 9:19 PM, WyattSheepMask said:

It’s believed it was meant to air on either the October 11th 1986 or November 22nd 1986 edition of Wrestling Challenge. They were 3 different Snake Pits with Hogan on it filmed between those dates, one of which is rumoured to have had Hogan taking the DDT. So the story goes the DDT got a massive face reaction for Jake, and plans for a feud were immediately cancelled and the segment was pulled from the episode.

You can quite easily find the two segments that aired were the feud is teased but ultimately they don’t come to blows, and the November 22nd segment is also on the Jake Roberts ‘Pick Your Poison’ DVD

I think it supposedly only aired on the version of Challenge which was aired in the area where the matches were going to be held?

Like how the UK version of Challenge would get Sean Mooney doing promos for Whitley Bay Ice Rink. So you need to find the right episode, which also aired in the correct market to get the snake pit segment…if it even aired.

[Chili]

10 minutes ago, TibBo said:

I think it supposedly only aired on the version of Challenge which was aired in the area where the matches were going to be held?

Like how the UK version of Challenge would get Sean Mooney doing promos for Whitley Bay Ice Rink. So you need to find the right episode, which also aired in the correct market to get the snake pit segment…if it even aired.

Yeah I think it's the Providence, Rhode Island area that received and by all accounts clearly nobody in that area was recording that markets feed of shows.

Doesn't mean it's completely lost as the famous Bret Hart/Tom McGee match was found in some old tapes and aired on a Kuwait feed.

Edited June 25, 2025 by Chili

[JNLister]

22 minutes ago, Chili said:

Yeah I think it's the Providence, Rhode Island area that received and by all accounts clearly nobody in that area was recording that markets feed of shows.

Doesn't mean it's completely lost as the famous Bret Hart/Tom McGee match was found in some old tapes and aired on a Kuwait feed.

And would have been on ITV on a Saturday afternoon but the tape was lost in transit!

[Chili]

For those asking about the Bret/Hogan tug of war, here's what Tom Buchanan had to say 

"This seems to be one of those odd questions that fascinates the internet. From what I gather, Bret claims there was a plan for a PPV match of some sort with Hogan, and they even did a photo shoot where the two were engaged in a tug-of-war, but then the match was cancelled. I don’t remember that shoot, and know I didn’t take the photo. At that point in time a major PPV promotional like that probably would have been shot by Steve Taylor. Sometimes it was hard to get the main talent together due to schedules, so we occasionally shot that kind of photo in two pieces, then stitched it together, so it may exist that way. I can’t resolve this one definitively either way, but I lean heavily toward yes - the photo was probably made, just because I trust Bret Hart. Steve Taylor would have the definitive answer. Maybe."

[simonworden]

15 hours ago, Chili said:

Yeah I think it's the Providence, Rhode Island area that received and by all accounts clearly nobody in that area was recording that markets feed of shows.

Doesn't mean it's completely lost as the famous Bret Hart/Tom McGee match was found in some old tapes and aired on a Kuwait feed.

All these different tapes, feeds, versions must have been an absolute nightmare for the team back in the day. I wonder if when they had somewhere overseas they just grabbed the nearest tapes between fags and used them. 

[The Dart]

16 hours ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

How did Mistico v Dean Malenko become a rumour of a match that happened?

This is how it goes.

Mistico is invited to a WWE show.   Not an official tryout as he's under contract to CMLL, but while he's there he works out in the ring with Jamie Noble and they have a 5 minute match.  This is not unusual.  The kind of thing you'd see at any training school.  WWE hold tryouts before nearly every TV taping in those days (these days they just do them at the PC) and they usually include the wrestlers having tryouts having 5 minute matches with agents or other wrestlers or more likely other people trying out.   The "matches" are usually picked out randomly with quick instruction given about who is face/heel who will win, how they will win with no prep time, to see how the people trying out can put a match together on the fly with no planning.   The WWE roster, agents, anyone who is just knocking about act as the audience.  Dean Malenko "agents" the match Mistico has with Jamie Noble (the agent probably very often acts as the referee).

All the live reports from that Smackdown do not mention this match at all (because it didn't happen) and mentions another pre-show dark match that takes place.   At that time it would have been very unusual for there to be more than 1 pre-show dark match.   So, there's no evidence of it being an actual match.  One report mentions Mistico had a tryout before the show, which someone mistook as meaning he had a match before Smackdown, ie a pre show dark match and tells Cagematch.   However tryout match/dark match are completely different things.

To add to it, at some point soon after Mistico mentions he had a tryout match at this show and in a lost in translation situation, it is misreported that the "match" was with Malenko instead of Noble.  Cagematch for whatever reason, list Mistico vs. Malenko as a pre-show dark match for 15 years until finally Dean Malenko is asked about it and says it didn't happen and somehow it is confirmed it was Noble (still not a dark match though).  Cagematch change it to Noble, but that's still wrong.   But because of both these errors, when the WWE Vault launches - starts posting dark matches - starts taking requests - the comments on every video are filled with people asking for Mistico vs. Malenko and people correcting them and saying no it was Mistico vs. Noble to the point the admin have got fed up and confirm the match never happened and finally Cagematch have removed that match from their listings.

Edited June 26, 2025 by The Dart

[gmoney]

It's really shit they don't do dark matches anymore. I want to see Otis kick fuck out of Saxon Huxley or Kid Lykos or someone if I turn up early to a UK WWE show. 

Edited June 26, 2025 by gmoney

[wandshogun09]

They’ve uploaded the Danny Doring and Roadkill vs FBI dark match from MSG. You know, the one where Heyman stitched them up with his ‘helpful advice’ before they went out there. 

 

[Chili]

3 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

They’ve uploaded the Danny Doring and Roadkill vs FBI dark match from MSG. You know, the one where Heyman stitched them up with his ‘helpful advice’ before they went out there. 

 

Owed them money and fucked their potential shot at gainful employment. Thanks Paul. What a cunt.

[wandshogun09]

I wish I could find the clip of Doring talking about this match in his shoot interview years ago. It used to be on YouTube but I can’t find it anymore. His description of it and his impressions of Heyman and Tony Garea cracked me up at the time. 

[NavigatorFan]

1 hour ago, Chili said:

Owed them money and fucked their potential shot at gainful employment. Thanks Paul. What a cunt.

What's the story here for those of us not in the know? 

[BigJag]

Heyman has long been lambasted for shorting many people on their payments. Has he ever made good on these payments?

[wandshogun09]

22 minutes ago, NavigatorFan said:

What's the story here for those of us not in the know? 

Doring says they (him, Roadkill and the FBI) were told by Tony Garea backstage at MSG before their dark match to not do anything crazy and just have a basic match. Then they were approached by Heyman. He gave them the old Paul E pep talk and convinced them to go out and go “balls to the wall”, ECW style. Of course, he knew damn well that’s not what the agents or Vince were looking for at a tryout and he knew it would bury them with the office and basically kill off any chance they’d have of getting hired at the time. Absolute BO ponging shitbag. 

[Cannibal Man]

1 hour ago, wandshogun09 said:

I wish I could find the clip of Doring talking about this match in his shoot interview years ago. It used to be on YouTube but I can’t find it anymore. His description of it and his impressions of Heyman and Tony Garea cracked me up at the time. 

Yeah his Garea impression comes out like someone doing an old Italian bloke, doesnt he suggest "maybe you do a BEEEEEEEG A HIP TOSS!!!!" for the finish? the only thing I associate with Tony Garea still is BIG HIP TOSS

I've been asking for this since day one so i'm really glad they've found and uploaded this, exciting to see it. I remember reading about it in Power Slam years back. 

[wandshogun09]

35 minutes ago, Cannibal Man said:

Yeah his Garea impression comes out like someone doing an old Italian bloke, doesnt he suggest "maybe you do a BEEEEEEEG A HIP TOSS!!!!" for the finish? the only thing I associate with Tony Garea still is BIG HIP TOSS

Yeah that’s the one. Really entertaining shoot interview in general from what I remember.