WWE Vault Appreciation Thread

[SuperBacon]

38 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Todd Pettingill proclaims a million New Yorkers are in attendance,

Such a brilliant lie, I absolutely love it. Pettingill was fantastic wasn't he?

[tiger_rick]

2 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

Such a brilliant lie, I absolutely love it. Pettingill was fantastic wasn't he?

He was very good. Absolutely fits that era of the WWF like a glove. His OTT enthusiasm would have been so out of place either side but is the perfect New Gen attitude.

[TheScarlettChad]

Wonder why they've never brought him back. 

[Chili]

9 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Wonder why they've never brought him back. 

Money and the fella was working morning radio in New York during his Fed run, so probably a bit knackered after nearly five years on that treadmill. I think morning talk radio was his real passion or thing he enjoyed more so probably, and didn't seem like a mark for it.

Edited April 17 by Chili

[tiger_rick]

He's only 59 so could still main event Mania next year.

[gmoney]

I never really took to Pettengill. He was a big step down from Sean Mooney, who had been a big step up from Craig DeGeorge. It's a case of we didn't know what we had though, as Doc Hendrix, Michael Cole, Kevin Kelly et al were all much worse. 

[WyattSheepMask]

A brilliant lie, but I suppose there are millions of people walking the New York streets at any one time, so there was “potentially” a million people in attendance. 
(Sorry Todd, I tried)

They weren’t running MSG as much in 95 for House Shows, running a PPV would’ve them cost more and as they were in their arse financially it could’ve been more damaging to run it there. 
Running Hartford, a little over 100 miles away, I’d imagine would’ve been way cheaper to rent the building and I suppose you’re got the “don’t go to them, make them come to you” aspect for the few people that were willing to come to the show.

I do like though how that setup is right outside 1501 Broadway, which is the building that houses the Hard Rock Cafe which used to be WWF New York

Edited April 17 by WyattSheepMask

[BigJag]

7 minutes ago, gmoney said:

I never really took to Pettengill. He was a big step down from Sean Mooney, who had been a big step up from Craig DeGeorge. It's a case of we didn't know what we had though, as Doc Hendrix, Michael Cole, Kevin Kelly et al were all much worse. 

Pettengill had this way of saying "WWF" EVERY sentence. That was incredibly annoying.

Edited April 17 by BigJag

[gmoney]

Too forced and zany for me. Coupled with him being around when WWF was getting shitter and shitter, I just have very little nostalgia or affection for him. 

[Chico Torres]

On 2/22/2026 at 7:45 AM, Chico Torres said:

Todd was great and important to UK fans because we didn’t get Monday Night Raw until later in 1995 so WWF Mania on Friday night at 8pm was our chance to see the highlights of the hot new show which was very different to Superstars and Challenge (at some point the first showing became Saturday).

His chemistry with Macho Man was great and he talked to fans in the UK and mentioned Sky frequently so it felt like a show “for us” and he actually seemed relevant and off that current time which WWF never really was, in a very early/mid 90s WACKY morning radio kind of way. Where WWF always felt so slick and tightly produced, Mania felt more spontaneous with Todd and he did his bits with George and Adam.

Dare I say in a pretentious way that Todd captured the cultural zeitgeist in the same way that The Big Breakfast did here at the time, a little chaotic and subversive compared to the norm. There’s a lot of talk about the wrestlers who made the New Generation but Todd was also a big part of that vibe with his look and presenting style and energy, the DIY-ish nature of the show, the graphics…I guess you had to be there but it was so different from WWF in 1992 and before.

This was my love letter to Todd Pettingill and WWF Mania. 

Apologies I’m quoting myself from earlier in the thread but it’s not often that our Todd comes up and he was awesome.

[tiger_rick]

8 minutes ago, WyattSheepMask said:

unning MSG as much in 95 for House Shows, running a PPV would’ve them cost more and as they were in their arse financially it could’ve been more damaging to run it there. 
Running Hartford, a little over 100 miles away, I’d imagine would’ve been way cheaper to rent the building and I suppose you’re got the “don’t go to them, make them come to you” aspect for the few people that were willing to come to the show.

They paid for 857 celebrity appearances and 47 NFL players!

1 minute ago, gmoney said:

Too forced and zany for me. Coupled with him being around when WWF was getting shitter and shitter, I just have very little nostalgia or affection for him. 

While true, that's why he fit that time perfectly. Mooney was way better but very dry. He always looked out of place doing the whacky stuff for Colliseum videos. He wouldn't have fit this mad new era of colour and daft characters. Pettingill did. He was also a brilliant pro. He never missed a beat, he carried full TV shows, he teed up promos, he narrated video packages. He was OTT, as I mentioned, but the whole product was OTT to try and fake it till they made it. He bowed out at a time where his delivery would have completely betrayed the edge the product had. Deifnitely a perfect fit, even if he wasn't on the level of the likes of Gorilla, Mean Gene and Mooney.

[Merzbow]

Imagine him still being around in to 1998 and 1999 at the height of the sleaze era?

But to his credit he already had the Attitude Goatee as early as Royal Rumble 1997.

[JNLister]

I was trying to figure out the "why not MSG" question and looking through all the attendance figures (4,300 for a show in the summer of 94!) and then when they made the decision to run the building and then I realised the answer is more obvious.

It's because the previous WrestleMania was at MSG and unlike Trump Plaza, they weren't getting a site fee to return.

[Chili]

9 minutes ago, gmoney said:

Too forced and zany for me. Coupled with him being around when WWF was getting shitter and shitter, I just have very little nostalgia or affection for him. 

I think like @Chico Torres I liked that he was my access to Raw before we got the UK airings, Mania was a big watch for me as a kid. He's one of those types that I think you look back on more fondly for the effort, as @tiger_rick said, he was an outsider and a real pro at handling live TV and fans more in retrospect than at the time. Plus he seems like a good egg which in wrestling is bonus points.

Edited April 17 by Chili

[gmoney]

Just now, tiger_rick said:

They paid for 857 celebrity appearances and 47 NFL players!

While true, that's why he fit that time perfectly. Mooney was way better but very dry. He always looked out of place doing the whacky stuff for Colliseum videos. He wouldn't have fit this mad new era of colour and daft characters. Pettingill did. He was also a brilliant pro. He never missed a beat, he carried full TV shows, he teed up promos, he narrated video packages. He was OTT, as I mentioned, but the whole product was OTT to try and fake it till they made it. 

Yeah, I understand all that, but for me personally I found it irritating even as a kid. As someone mentioned Big Breakfast above, there's a personal level of wackiness and irreverence that can be great (Johnny Vaughn) but when it's crossed (Chris Evans) it can be deeply annoying. TP was in the second camp for me.