cool arrow Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Presumably they would've been brought back to the WWF in 2002, as the NWO were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overly Critical Man Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Wasn't the rumor that they were going to do Eddy/HBK at Mania 22 if he was still alive? Also, we would have gotten more Kerwwwwwwinnnnnn White Which would mean no Dolph Ziggler. That's the best result of a what if I've read so far in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirSmUgly Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Vince did a prototype of Mr. McMahon in Memphis in '93, so it's not totally inconceivable that the character might get used eventually anyway. I'm gonna look that up because it sounds wonderful. It was, as were Bret Hart and Macho Man cutting ridiculous heel promos on Jerry Lawler/the people of Memphis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS81177 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Yeah, the whole McMemphis thing is terrific. Vince even showed up at a couple of the big Memphis shows to second some of his henchmen (Giant Gonzales, Tatanka, Bret, Savage) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 What if outside buyers purchased and saved both WCW and ECW? Likely TNA wouldn't have started when it did, but would one or both still be around today? WCW still dies when Jamie Kellner pulls it off television. The same token- I don't think WCW dies if Kellner pulled it off television- we can assume that Jarrett would have been one of the core guys in a outside-bought WCW, and since TNA did start when it did, it's likely that Jarrett (or even Russo, who was close to doing the same in 2001) would have brought up the possibility of going to weekly PPVs like TNA did (and WCW's name brand probably could have gotten a WCW TV deal quicker than TNA got one.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 What if outside buyers purchased and saved both WCW and ECW? Likely TNA wouldn't have started when it did, but would one or both still be around today? WCW still dies when Jamie Kellner pulls it off television. The same token- I don't think WCW dies if Kellner pulled it off television- we can assume that Jarrett would have been one of the core guys in a outside-bought WCW, and since TNA did start when it did, it's likely that Jarrett (or even Russo, who was close to doing the same in 2001) would have brought up the possibility of going to weekly PPVs like TNA did (and WCW's name brand probably could have gotten a WCW TV deal quicker than TNA got one.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirSmUgly Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 OK, here's my "What if," which approaches a discussion going on right now from a slightly different angle: What if Jamie Kellner could see into the future: a future where live programming is at a premium because it is the only thing that can get a viewer to actually watch live television and avoid DVR, going online to view, etc? Because of this, he keeps WCW Nitro and Thunder on the schedule and Eric Bischoff and Fusient complete the sale and take possession of the promotion. What does the wrestling landscape look like right now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I always sorta wondered, "What if Warrior was the 3rd man in the nWo?" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Double post due to board hiccup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool arrow Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I always sorta wondered, "What if Warrior was the 3rd man in the nWo?" He would've lasted two matches like he did in '98 and they would've bought out his contract, just like in '98. But maybe we would've gotten the Battle of the Blade Runners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS81177 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 OK, here's my "What if," which approaches a discussion going on right now from a slightly different angle: What if Jamie Kellner could see into the future: a future where live programming is at a premium because it is the only thing that can get a viewer to actually watch live television and avoid DVR, going online to view, etc? Because of this, he keeps WCW Nitro and Thunder on the schedule and Eric Bischoff and Fusient complete the sale and take possession of the promotion. What does the wrestling landscape look like right now? Bischoff would've run it out of business by now, or Fusient would have abandoned ship before he could and it would have folded becasuse of that. Hogan would never have come back to WWE while Bischoff was running WCW, and I don't think Goldberg would have either as I think Bischoff could have kept it going until at least 2008-09. Hall and Nash I think would have still returned to WWE when they did so they could go make money working with Austin and Rock. Once Bischoff finally killed it because he didn't have a billionaire's pockets to reach into anymore, I think you still would have seen Jarrett start TNA just a few years later than he actually did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Here's a big "What If?" What if MTV or TNN or some other newer cable network in the early 1980s had decided to start a wrestling company as a means of generating revenue through cheap programming? For the sake of argument, let's say that MTV just skipped the middle man and scooped up Hulk Hogan to start a company in 1983. I would assume that MTV would've raided the territories to build their roster. What becomes of the wrestling world in a situation where national expansion is done by a media conglomerate and not Vince McMahon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tromatagon Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 It flops because the big business people don't know how to run wrestling or who to raid 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool arrow Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Exactly. Look at WCW: the latter with Watts, the former with Bischoff, and both with Herd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Exactly. Look at WCW: the latter with Watts, the former with Bischoff, and both with Herd. Does it change McMahon's plans? At the time, I would imagine that its failure would be attributed to a national wrestling company not being a viable model. I wonder if there's any chance that MTV would actually convince a good booker/wrestling guy to work for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I don't think it flops, I think it runs right until it starts to cool off, and then MTV closes it down because the fad is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 (Since I'm stuck in class and bored, I'll take a stab at fleshing the idea out): Assuming the idea succeeds, it would probably have had a profound impact on wrestling working conditions. Since it's a company started organically by a TV company and not a takeover of a wrestling company (like Turner did to Crockett), it would likely have a different business model than your typical wrestling company. I imagine that an MTV company would be focused on TV ratings and not attracting live gates. Given that, I wonder if we would see more of a model that would come 12 years later with Nitro with big matches on TV. The house show schedule would be lighter and pay would be higher than what anyone could get on the territories. If MTV could lure a wrestling guy to run the wrestling side of it, it would be interesting to see how it develops. It would exist purely as a profit generator or time slot filler for MTV so I imagine they'd be like Turner and almost completely hands off. in terms of raiding, I assume they'd grab Hogan and make a play for Flair and other top territorial stars. MTV figured out how to spread their network nationwide and air videos that appealed to different groups of people, they might have been better at most than figuring out which wrestlers would appeal to enough people to make this idea a success. The biggest question would be the fate of the company when MTV got tired of it. The best case scenario is that MTV just sticks it on VH1 when the fad dies and it continues to function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS81177 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Guys MTV DID start a wrestling promotion. Remember? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Guys MTV DID start a wrestling promotion. Remember? That was well after MTV starting a wrestling promotion would've been interesting. "The War To Settle The Score" was actually a big deal in 1985, but no one really cared about the WWF's return in 2000. The limited options on cable in early 1980s changes the landscape dramatically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooseCannon Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 It'd still be going strong and the Miz would be its champion? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muhammedboehm Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 OK, here's my "What if," which approaches a discussion going on right now from a slightly different angle: What if Jamie Kellner could see into the future: a future where live programming is at a premium because it is the only thing that can get a viewer to actually watch live television and avoid DVR, going online to view, etc? Because of this, he keeps WCW Nitro and Thunder on the schedule and Eric Bischoff and Fusient complete the sale and take possession of the promotion. What does the wrestling landscape look like right now? Wrestling still isn't immune to dvr and watch later like other sports. Look at any raw thread to the number of people who post about watching it Tuesday or watch it on an hour delay so they can skip over acts they don't like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 WHAT IF: There was some sort of computer program that eliminated any discussion of HHH burying people (and/or related activities) from pro wrestling discussion forums? Would any exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muhammedboehm Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 WHAT IF: There was some sort of computer program that eliminated any discussion of HHH burying people (and/or related activities) from pro wrestling discussion forums? Would any exist? Wouldn't the program eliminate that post also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kafkonia Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Talking about the first EC in the other thread... What if RVD is a little further off with his dive onto HHH in the first Elimination Chamber and Hunter dies of a crushed windpipe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muhammedboehm Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Talking about the first EC in the other thread... What if RVD is a little further off with his dive onto HHH in the first Elimination Chamber and Hunter dies of a crushed windpipe? Then there's a debate about if the first EC should be on the Network 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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