WWE Vault Appreciation Thread

[Snitsky's back acne]

1 hour ago, TheScarlettChad said:

ECW matches will have dubbed themes, if they ever upload the rare Scott Hall ECW matches, he can't use Ready or not. Just loses a bit of the appeal. 

It's why the fancams on YouTube are such a fun watch. Completely in their original form.

Plus, it made me realise Lance Storm is deadpan funny as hell.

He comes out at one show to zero reaction, looks into the camera and enthusiastically goes 'Wow, what a pop!'.

My favourite though is one from a show in Staten Island. He comes out and goes 'Damn, this place is cold. Gabe, go get Tammy, we need some heat!'. 

Brilliant. 

[wandshogun09]

Haven’t even watched the full thing yet but…

Love it.

It’s from this upload of ECW stuff they’ve found…

 

Edited December 27, 2024 by wandshogun09

[FLips]

Yeah I watched about half of that ECW footage one yesterday and it’s fascinating. The above Rick Rude rib is great, there’s handcam footage of wrestlers going to the ring during the infamous chair throwing incident, raw backstage promo outtakes and footage from Paul Heyman and Cactus Jack.

It’s like watching home movies, it’s oddly comforting and because none of it is really produced for TV it really takes you back to the moment.

[Snitsky's back acne]

The chair throwing incident in this video was actually another time it happened in Florida. Crazy footage. I loved ECW. So gritty and raw and, as a teenager at the time, MUCH cooler than the Dungeon of Doom in WCW and the likes of Doink, Isaac Yankem and Duke the Dumpster Droese in WWF. 

[FLips]

7 minutes ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

The chair throwing incident in this video was actually another time it happened in Florida. Crazy footage. I loved ECW. So gritty and raw and, as a teenager at the time, MUCH cooler than the Dungeon of Doom in WCW and the likes of Doink, Isaac Yankem and Duke the Dumpster Droese in WWF. 

TIL it happened more than once!

In hindsight the lighting and arena looks totally different but I just figured it was the way it was shot.

As a bunch of kids trading tapes in the early 2000s ECW was enthralling because "WWF and WCW is fake but ECW is real". It sounds stupid now, but going from 90s Hogan stuff to barbed wire and big highspots, it had to be real didn't it?

[The Gaffer]

The guys in front of the Hammerstein Ballroom for One Night Stand being asked why they're there and invariably getting worked up into doing full blown promos are the most New York thing ever. Loved that one guy explaining how people have travelled from far and wide, with another bloke behind him chiming in "I DROVE FROM JERSEY!" 

Also all this ECW themed content is making me realise ECW's main ring announcer (Stephen DeAngelis?) was bloody good, and probably didn't get his flowers. He had a wonderful way of genuinely showing his emotion/delight with certain calls without it spilling over into I'm-a-character-on-the-show-too! hyperbole. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

5 hours ago, FLips said:

TIL it happened more than once!

In hindsight the lighting and arena looks totally different but I just figured it was the way it was shot.

As a bunch of kids trading tapes in the early 2000s ECW was enthralling because "WWF and WCW is fake but ECW is real". It sounds stupid now, but going from 90s Hogan stuff to barbed wire and big highspots, it had to be real didn't it?

100%. It's grittiness and low budget made it seem cool and alternative. Plus they would bleed, and swear, and The Sandman smoked and drank beer and they brawled in the crowd and smashed tables (all stuff that I had never seen before so was cool as fuck). Plus, the Taipei death match!? Are you kidding!? That was the craziest shit ever!!! ...and they used thumbtacks! Holy shit! 

It's why ECW will always hold fond memories. It was so unique and different to everything else and provides me with so many 'wrestling firsts' that can never be replaced. 

[TildeGuy~!]

They’ve uploaded Johnny Gargano Vs Shingo Takagi from Dragongate today.

 

[Devon Malcolm]

The fuck. I just assumed Khan owned the Dragon Gate catalogue.

Even I don't hate myself to watch a 35 minute Johnny Gargano match though.

[DavidB6937]

Just now, Devon Malcolm said:

The fuck. I just assumed Khan owned the Dragon Gate catalogue.

Even I don't hate myself to watch a 35 minute Johnny Gargano match though.

At least it's not against Ciampa though.

[tiger_rick]

I watched this the other day. I remember it being a bit of a gem from the time - which is 20 years ago, because we're old - and it holds up. I enjoyed it on a re-watch.

This is going to be a shocking observation given the roles these two guys currently hold in the industry but you can absolutely see the blueprint for the WWE TV style here. The "throw the guy out of the ring so we can go to commercial" spot didn't seem as obvious as it does after 20 years. The telling the story of the match out loud at times, the facials , the selling and the near falls are an absolute hallmark of their work. It's just way better here. These guys are two of the great workers and it's also not as played out but you can see it. 

The finish and post-match is them hitting you over the head with Eric Bischoff's character. All the subtlety of a Chubby Brown gag.

JR is a huge part of why it works. He's absolutely excellent. You forget sometimes when you listen to the ghost he sounds like now. He sells the enormity of the occasion, the history of both characters, the excitement of the crowd and catches everyone up who might just have stumbled upon Raw for the first time without an ounce of premeditation. He's utterly authentic and his voice is incredible. Lawler is very good too. They're a big reason why even the formulaic stuff works. Things like recognising the commercial breaks and selling that they're done with them. They may be the company shills but they still feel like they're covering a wrestling show for TV not just part of the wrestling TV show. The production looks like Raw did for a long time but the camera work is great - this was long before it became a headache inducing mess.

Michaels is great. I'm not a huge fan of him and his influence and it sours my opinion of his work, in all honesty. I need to go back and watch him sometimes to remember, without bias, that he's bloody brilliant. Enjoyed this match as much as I did back then.

[BomberPat]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

This is going to be a shocking observation given the roles these two guys currently hold in the industry but you can absolutely see the blueprint for the WWE TV style here. The "throw the guy out of the ring so we can go to commercial" spot didn't seem as obvious as it does after 20 years. The telling the story of the match out loud at times, the facials , the selling and the near falls are an absolute hallmark of their work. It's just way better here. These guys are two of the great workers and it's also not as played out but you can see it. 

I think a huge part of is that Shawn Michaels made the big melodramatic story points a hallmark towards the end of his career - "I'm Sorry, I Love You", and then a ton of moments in the two Undertaker matches - and Triple H desperately tried to emulate that, kept reaching for what he hoped would be equally big symbolic moments and just couldn't do it.

There's one that sticks in my mind, from his match with Kevin Nash in 2011 - Nash is on his knees selling, and puts up the Kliq hand gesture, then Triple H crotch chops and hits him with the Pedigree. It's so contrived to be him doing one of those Moments, and from when Triple H went into part-time Legend mode, his matches were just full of them. 

[wandshogun09]

Definitely the best match they had against each other for me. They had so many between 2002-04 and were always trying to force it as this epic rivalry of classic matches but it’s really only that Raw match and the SummerSlam 02 match that I really loved. Right in the middle of Triple H’s worst run as well. Couldn’t stand him at the time but I remember that match in particular serving as a bit of a reminder that he could be fantastic when things clicked (no pun intended). 

[air_raid]

Worth remembering that this match was so good they then followed it with a Last Man Standing match at the Rumble the very next month ; dreadfully boring, finish booed.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah that was shit. And the never ending Hell In A Cell match they had at Bad Blood later that year was absolutely rotten. I know a lot of people like the Taboo Tuesday match but I wasn’t nuts about that one either.