Paid Members tiger_rick Posted July 22 Paid Members Posted July 22 Fantasty booking challenge #2. I've gone with this one because it's topical on here of late and because my other 50 ideas are all based in 1993. How would you bring in Hogan, Hall and Nash to the WWF in 2002? I say Hogan, Hall and Nash and not the nWo because you don't have to bring them in as the nWo or even together. Is there more value in them separately or is the value in the nWo brand that the WWF had acquired and they just dropped the ball on the execution? Was the real problem that Stevie Ray and Vincent weren't there for the debut? Or more seriously, Eric Bischoff? Quote
Paid Members BomberPat Posted July 22 Paid Members Posted July 22 Start at Survivor Series 2001. The Alliance defeat Team WWF. Do whatever heel turns and run-ins and swerves and twists and turns you need to protect the WWF in that match, but the end of that show is Jim Ross screaming about not knowing the future of the WWF, that it could be all over - that's your hook for RAW. RAW the next night, cold open. Shane and Stephanie McMahon in the ring. They brag about winning, and about putting their dad out of business. They raise the question of what the future is for the WWF, teasing shutting it down, tease rebranding, but eventually announce that they are keeping the name intact so that Vince has to suffer watching his creation in the hands of his children, unable to exert his control. Over the course of the episode, Shane and Stephanie are taking applications from "WWF" talent begging for a job, some of them desperately sucking up, some of them clearly not happy with the situation. I haven't thought who yet, but a WWF guy will have won the Immunity Battle Royal at Survivor Series, rather than Test. All titleholders kept their jobs by default - so for "WWF" talent, that means The Rock, Edge, Tajiri, and Trish Stratus are still under contract in kayfabe. The Undertaker turns heel in a similar fashion to how he turned heel in reality, though by selling out to gladly work under Shane and Stephanie. By contrast, the McMahons are taking Steve Austin's loyalty for granted, and he starts to resent them, leading to him turning face by the December PPV. At the end of that RAW, whatever the main event was, it's turned into a clusterfuck, and Shane and Stephanie's loyal wrestlers clear the ring, standing tall with them, once again gloating about how they now run the WWF. They're interrupted, either by Linda McMahon revealing that Shane and Stephanie only won Vince's share of the company, not Linda's, and introducing Ric Flair as the new co-owner, or just having Flair debut and reveal that himself. Much of the next month or so plays out similarly to how it did in reality, with the title tournament at Vengeance, with Flair as babyface co-owner, just with Shane and Stephanie in the Vince role as his business rivals. Ric Flair having authority is then the kayfabe mechanism by which all of the ousted WWF babyfaces are allowed to return to the roster. Heading into the 2002 Royal Rumble, for ease's sake let's say that the title match is still Jericho vs. The Rock. In place of the Vince/Flair Street Fight, it's Shane vs. Ric Flair; this could be Shane getting cocky and putting his share of the company on the line, or else he ends up taking a massive Shane McMahon bump that writes him off TV for a month or two, meaning that he's still technically a co-owner but isn't around to enforce that authority. As in real life, Triple H returns and wins the Royal Rumble, and from the next night on RAW that story becomes tension between Triple H and Stephanie - with Shane out of the picture, the power dynamic is shifting, and Triple H is headed for a Wrestlemania main event, yet is butting heads with all these other heels that Stephanie has had doing her bidding in his absence. All he wants is to focus on the World Title, but Stephanie has to juggle whatever she's promised to The Undertaker, and has to put up with Chris Jericho, who she has been favouring over The Rock and Steve Austin, now having to defend his title against her husband. At the same time, Ric Flair is Triple H's hero, and he's reluctant to take up arms against him as much as Stephanie wants him to. We get to February 2002. In an inversion of the "old Stone Cold" angle, Steve Austin has sought out Vince McMahon. Austin hates Vince, but tells him that while Stone Cold can do the ass whoopin' in the ring or anywhere else, it's up to Vince McMahon to sort his personal life out and whip his kids into shape. We end that episode of RAW/Smackdown on Vince contemplating what he's going to do next. The next week, we get Vince's "lethal dose of poison" promo. He can't sit back and let his kids destroy the WWF....so he's going to destroy it himself. This isn't what Steve Austin or anybody else wanted. The nWo are coming to the WWF. Shane and Stephanie don't necessarily turn face, but they become a little more neutral for the next couple of weeks, admitting that they're panicked, calling a truce with Ric Flair amid the realisation that the WWF has bigger things to worry about than their power squabbles (though Stephanie continues to manipulate in the background, working not only against Flair, but subtly undermining Shane too) No Way Out 2002, the nWo are set to debut in the main event. (Let's say the title match is Chris Jericho vs. a babyface Kurt Angle, something like that, in the semi-main). The main event of No Way Out is Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall & Kevin Nash vs. The Rock, Steve Austin & Triple H, the best that the WWF have to offer putting their differences aside to face an even bigger threat than the Invasion. We might have seen some taped promos, but this is the first time the nWo actually appear in the WWF - maybe even lean into announcers questioning whether it's real, whether Vince could ever really have been crazed enough to bring those three in. The match is short, and a bit of a clusterfuck brawl. There are individual matches that need protecting in there, so Rock and Hogan only share the ring for long enough to plant the seeds for the Wrestlemania match. Triple H is taken out with an injury, with Stephanie having to help him to the back, leaving Rock and Austin isolated in the ring, and ultimately defeated. Wrestlemania X8 is then on the horizon. The Rock vs. Hollywood Hogan comes together, and there's a question mark over whether Triple H will be fit to compete in the main event, but he defies doctor's orders to push through and still fight, winning the Undisputed Title from Chris Jericho in the main event. The next night on RAW, The Rock extends an olive branch to Hollywood Hogan, points out how much the people still love him, and Hogan shakes Rock's hands. The nWo jump Hogan, kicking him out of the group, until Triple H runs out with a sledgehammer to fight them off. Nash and Hall bail, Triple H helps Hogan to his feet...and then drills him with a sledgehammer to the head. Triple H has joined the nWo! From there, Triple H is the de facto leader of the nWo, reunited with his old buddies. Maybe they still bring X-Pac into the fold, probably not Big Show. When Shawn Michaels returns in the summer, the nWo assume that he will be on their side, but he stands up to them, and we get to Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels at Summerslam as it took place in reality. The alternative is that Triple H doesn't join the nWo, and stays babyface, teaming with Shawn to do a DX vs. nWo match at some point, though I think that's something to keep in the back pocket for the future - the only viable version of that match for me is Shawn & Triple H vs. Hall & Nash, and no amount of fantasy booking is keeping Scott Hall under contract more than a few months, so I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket. There's still some loose ends I'm figuring out - what happens to Stephanie McMahon with Triple H turning heel for the nWo and the Shawn Michaels feud? I don't want her hanging around the nWo, but I don't think there's much mileage in a babyface turn for her either. I'd come up with a way to write her and Shane off TV for the duration of the nWo run, which probably involves bringing Vince back into the fold. It's probably overkill having so many "control of the company" stipulation matches, but maybe the nWo win a big match somewhere along the line that officially gives power back to Vince McMahon, given he was the one who brought them in. Whenever that happens, the very next show I would have the nWo beat up Vince and bring in Eric Bischoff - though, again, finding ways to do all this without babyfacing the McMahons is a challenge. Quote
TibBo Posted July 22 Posted July 22 It's summer 2002 and the nWo are lounging on a pebbley UK beach - Let's say Llandudno if budget is an issue. Hall and Nash are playing in the rockpools with some of those nets with the bamboo handles. Hall has lost one of his jelly-sandals coz he's necked 4 Kestrel Super. Hogan is sitting in a deckchair wearing a yellow 'Hulk Rules' string vest, and has tied knots into each of the four corners of his bandana to make a rudimentary hat, like Albert Steptoe would with a hanky. He has rolled-up his wrestling tights to the knee, so his legs can get a bit of the sun. Out of nowhere Clarence Mason appears, wearing a full three-piece suit, and one of those hats that says 'Damn Seagulls' with the splatters of paint to look like bird shit (or Brets tights from Rumble 94). Mason has been spending the summer going through the paperwork from the WCW merger (akin to the start of Weekend at Bernies), and has discovered that the nWo are still under contract to WWE and therefore Vince owns them. To emphasise this, Vince changes all the nWo merchandise to say oWn by simply flipping the artwork, and ignoring the fact that the rest of the text is now backwards. Enraged by this, and confused by the fact that their shirts all seem fine whenever they look in the mirror, they all fly off to Cornwall and just smash into the sea in a big ball of flames... Quote
Paid Members Supremo Posted July 22 Paid Members Posted July 22 I think there’s a sweet spot in the spring/summer of 2002 where they could have made some serious money with an nWo vs. DX feud. Hall, Nash and Hogan smash up Triple H, and so he returns with X-Pac and Shawn fucking Michaels. Imagine that being Shawn’s return, to even the odds! Coming out of retirement for the ultimate Faction vs. Faction Dream Match. Not very often a six-man tag could headline a pay per view, but that’s definitely one of them. Ultimately though, considering how self-destructive Scott Hall was and how flimsy Nash’s quads were, they probably got as much out of nWo 2000(+2) as they ever could have. I can’t think of anything I could suggest that delivers a bigger and more successful match than Hogan vs. Rock. Considering how little juice was left in the nWo, they struck gold with that match. In retrospect, they may as well have just offered Hulk a contract. Save your money. Instead, bring Richards, Meanie and Nova in a few years earlier. Quote
Paid Members Carbomb Posted July 22 Paid Members Posted July 22 7 minutes ago, Supremo said: I think there’s a sweet spot in the spring/summer of 2002 where they could have made some serious money with an nWo vs. DX feud. Hall, Nash and Hogan smash up Triple H, and so he returns with X-Pac and Shawn fucking Michaels. Imagine that being Shawn’s return, to even the odds! Coming out of retirement for the ultimate Faction vs. Faction Dream Match. Not very often a six-man tag could headline a pay per view, but that’s definitely one of them. Ultimately though, considering how self-destructive Scott Hall was and how flimsy Nash’s quads were, they probably got as much out of nWo 2000(+2) as they ever could have. I can’t think of anything I could suggest that delivers a bigger and more successful match than Hogan vs. Rock. Considering how little juice was left in the nWo, they struck gold with that match. In retrospect, they may as well have just offered Hulk a contract. Save your money. Instead, bring Richards, Meanie and Nova in a few years earlier. Loving Pat's booking, but this is a good idea too - X-Pac and HBK would make the match work by bumping around for the nWo and not requiring the big lads to do too much. Quote
Paid Members Supremo Posted July 22 Paid Members Posted July 22 (edited) Yeah, in my head time it’s the pay per view main event version of this match, where all the Kliq lads make each other look good. If this was the work they were willing to put in on Action Zone, imagine them closing out Summerslam! Extra funny to imagine all the Kliq buddies bouncing around for each other, only for Hogan to get the pin at the end. Levels to this game, boys. Levels. Edited July 22 by Supremo Quote
Chico Torres Posted July 22 Posted July 22 You bring all 3 in but you don’t bring them in as the nWo, it has already become diluted and passé by 1997 with all the various factions and teams let alone every subsequent terrible revival; I think there was a Russo one with Jarrett and the Harris brothers. It’s Hulk Hogan returning to the WWF after 9 years, their icon and biggest star ever, especially in the WWF context he existed in a different stratosphere than Diesel and Razor Ramon. Most importantly of course, Master Fuji is involved somehow and the only question is whether it’s The Fuj with the old school bowler hat and cane or barefoot dressing gown Fujster? Your destiny is inevitable Hogan-san. Quote
AshC Posted July 22 Posted July 22 Got the Orient Express music in my head now with the nWo vocal samples over the top. 😂 Quote
Paid Members Carbomb Posted July 22 Paid Members Posted July 22 There's only one thing missing from these alternative storylines: Booker T & Goldust. Probably the only good thing to come out of what we actually got. Quote
Paid Members BomberPat Posted July 23 Paid Members Posted July 23 I think you had to bring them in as the nWo, especially if they're all coming in together. Otherwise chances are you just get the Kevin Nash singles babyface run against Triple H, and who knows what for Scott Hall. Yes, the nWo had been watered down by years of rehashes in WCW, but it was fresh in WWE, and the perfect (and arguably only) opportunity to hit the reset button and turn it back into being the three original members without having to acknowledge any of the rehashes and fluff and other members added to the group since then. We know now that Hogan was going to get massively over for a babyface nostalgia run, and that they could have afforded to bring him straight in for that. But I don't think that was necessarily a done thing in 2002. Hogan had been phoning it in for years, and there was absolutely no guarantee that the audience would embrace him coming in as a returning hero, or that he would be able to deliver at a main event level. The nWo was the best way of working with Hogan as he was. Quote
Paid Members Carbomb Posted July 23 Paid Members Posted July 23 I remember at the time being a little surprised they were bringing Hogan back as part of the nWo, simply because I hadn't watched that much wCw - I think I thought something like "Wow, his star really must have fallen - probably THE godfather of the WWF, and they're not bringing him in by himself?" Especially as they'd brought Flair in separate from the Invasion. I really thought they'd been saving Hogan's homecoming for a much bigger moment. Quote
Paid Members Supremo Posted July 23 Paid Members Posted July 23 He felt positively worthless in those dying days of WCW. It’s no surprise at all that they didn’t have faith in bringing him back solo. It still beggars belief that this absolute loser, knocking about with Billy Kidman, is the same megastar who walked down the aisle at Wrestlemania 18. It’s like a completely different dimension. Arguably the greatest example of why WCW died. Quote
Chico Torres Posted July 23 Posted July 23 1 hour ago, BomberPat said: I think you had to bring them in as the nWo, especially if they're all coming in together. Otherwise chances are you just get the Kevin Nash singles babyface run against Triple H, and who knows what for Scott Hall. Yes, the nWo had been watered down by years of rehashes in WCW, but it was fresh in WWE, and the perfect (and arguably only) opportunity to hit the reset button and turn it back into being the three original members without having to acknowledge any of the rehashes and fluff and other members added to the group since then. We know now that Hogan was going to get massively over for a babyface nostalgia run, and that they could have afforded to bring him straight in for that. But I don't think that was necessarily a done thing in 2002. Hogan had been phoning it in for years, and there was absolutely no guarantee that the audience would embrace him coming in as a returning hero, or that he would be able to deliver at a main event level. The nWo was the best way of working with Hogan as he was. nWo already felt like such a relic even by that point, one of those mid 90s things that was so of its time and was already completely out of place by the 2000s. Them coming back to the WWF in 2002 felt like a very weary “suppose we have to put the t shirts back on again lads” moment. And bless ‘em but our Scott and Kevin really were exposed as massive over achievers for how they were perceived in WCW when one was very firmly at IC level and the other a failed WWF champion during a low point. Bring back specifically in the WWF next to Hogan exposed the huge gulf in stardom between them and our Terry. All it would have taken is the first few bars of Real American to hit and having the biggest star of all time mix it up with Rock and Austin. Hall and Nash felt like an irrelevance by then. Like the WCW version of Hogan going back to the red and yellow but with the much more significant context of being back on home territory Quote
Chico Torres Posted July 23 Posted July 23 11 hours ago, AshC said: Got the Orient Express music in my head now with the nWo vocal samples over the top. 😂 Fuji was the architect behind introducing the real 3-man terror squad to the WWF Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.