Ron Wright Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Watts insists that he wasn't "forced out," as he was fed up anyway and quit around the time the comments came to light. Judging by the way he quit the WWF a few years later, I see no reason not to believe him. Fair enough. So what if he didn't choose to leave and had the financial backing that Bischoff had? It's odd when you think about it. Turner gives money to Frey and Bischoff, two guys with little to no experience running a wrestling company, while telling Watts to cut costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeball Wizard Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I get the feeling Watts wouldn't have been able to adapt to the times. He has a very specific idea of what wrestling should be and anything that doesn't jibe with that he writes off. I can't imagine him trying to book with the racier themes of the mid to late nineties, its like your grandpa trying to write an episode of the Wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningBeard Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Watts in WCW was really bad for that company IMO. Completely killed any momentum they'd made in 92, and of course his salary was reliant on how much money he saved the company, essentially taking it from the boys pockets, hence why he fired/low balled so many stars. That and his emphasis on house shows as opposed to TV... despite working for a major network who probably didn't give a shit about house show numbers, just ratings, didn't make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS81177 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 What if RVD hadn't been arrested on drug charges when he was getting his mega push (when he held both the WWE and ECW titles)? Also what if Regal hadn't had a wellness violation during his big push? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy-O Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 RVD was supposed to turn eventually right? Probably hurts Edge's push, he really benefitted from that feud. He doesn't main event SummerSlam, though he still seemed destined to ascend to the main event scene. I think the arrest hurt Sabu more, he wasn't sticking around out of usefulness as much as he was because he was an ECW guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuttsy Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Here's a what if along those lines: What if Watts didn't leave the WWF in 1995? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 You know what would have been awesome if that had happened? They ended up going with that crazy WWF magazine interview about his neglected childhood, and brought in......trying to think of veteran black worker from the time.....lets say the JYD, as his abusive estranged father. A hotdogs on a pole match would have been magnificent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L_W_P Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 What if Hunter stayed in WCW for a couple more years to try and break through there? His move to WWE couldn't be timed any better for him personally and he obviously has had a huge impact on the industry as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraylo187 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 What if Hunter stayed in WCW for a couple more years to try and break through there? His move to WWE couldn't be timed any better for him personally and he obviously has had a huge impact on the industry as a whole. Becomes a Horseman, marries Bischoff 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tromatagon Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 The question isn't if, but how many times we consummated the marriage...Tedddd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tromatagon Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 The question isn't if, but how many times we consummated the marriage...Tedddd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 652,028. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanBeard Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I've always wondered what would have happened if Hogan/Sting at Starrcade 1997 had essentially followed the format of Austin/Dude at OTE 1998. For me, that match was the one that truly solidified Stone Cold as THE guy in the industry. Imagine the same match layout for Hogan/Sting, with Eric Bischoff in the Vince-as-guest-ref role, Scott Hall as timekeeper, Kevin Nash as ring announcer, and a debuting Bret Hart keeping things in check as Taker did. I daresay that if such a thing had come to pass, based on what OTE 1998 did for the WWF, that WCW could have won the wrestling war there and then. Of course, we got something rather different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petey Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 The one problem was that neither Hogan or Sting, especially in 1997, were gonna be able to work the match like Austin and Mick did in 1998. Sure, the outside influences helped take the match over the top, but Austin and Mick really tore the house down. Sting and Hogan weren't gonna be able to duplicate that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuttsy Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Right. Not only could Hogan and Sting not work a physical, wild match like Austin and Foley did (which is what really made it memorable more than the guest stips and run ins) but also WCW could never PRODUCE segments like that as effectively as WWE could/can. I get what you are going for but it would've just been an overbooked mess w Hogan, Bischoff, Nash, etc having their hands on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraylo187 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 That 'what if HHH stays in WCW' has burned a Horsemen vs nWo Wargames into my head featuring a Horsemen lineup of LeVesque, Benoit, Malenko, and Hennig with Flair and Arn stepping aside as managers/advisors and I really want to see thhat match against The Outsiders, Syxx, and Konnan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Or if Vince doesn't offer him anything initially when his contract expired in WCW. Tags around with Regal as another version of the Blue Bloods before getting released in early to mid 1996. Clique never take him under their wing. Ends up becoming another Freddie Joe Floyd/Goon type (maybe even tags with Jannetty as the New Rockers instead of Al Snow), before being loaned out to ECW. HHH gets the Justin Credible gimmick instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoy2j Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Or if Vince doesn't offer him anything initially when his contract expired in WCW. Tags around with Regal as another version of the Blue Bloods before getting released in early to mid 1996. Clique never take him under their wing. Ends up becoming another Freddie Joe Floyd/Goon type (maybe even tags with Jannetty as the New Rockers instead of Al Snow), before being loaned out to ECW. HHH gets the Justin Credible gimmick instead. At least HHH is good enough to warrant actually having one of my favorite bands play his theme music. Justin Credible getting to use a Prong song was a traveschmockery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thee Reverend Axl Future Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 I really enjoy the identification of many of pro wrestling's key moments in this thread more so than I like the fantasy extrapolation of what-might-have-happened. It's impressive to realize how many possible turning points there have been (and there are) which could have brought us a different landscape than the current one. - multiverse, RAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 What if Rick Rude and Ricky Steamboat don't have career ending injuries in the space of a month of each other?Does Hogan have a mandate to bring in all his friends? Would the nWo have worked, had they done it in 1994, a few months after Hogan's arrival and hear the negative reaction he was getting against Flair?Have Hogan/Savage/Tenta/Bossman/Duggan/Brutus as your NWO against Flair, Sting, Vader, and the Nasties. Either bring in Luger later in the year as another NWO guy, or the difference maker for WCW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spritenaut 32 Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I can't picture Tenta and Duggan being "cool" nWo heels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 perhaps a different dynamic - have it more Dungeon of Doom like than the cool heels, but the dynamic of having this hostile takeover by opportunistic heels who see an opening - Hogan to get advantage of Turner's open chequebook, and then with Steamboat and Rude going down, manipulating Bockwinkle into bringing his friends in to fill the gaps, and slowly taking over and turning WCW away from what it was into something more New Yorkish.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Web Conn Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 I have one. So Flair leaves WCW in March of 98 but instead of returning in September he shows up in ECW during a SHane Douglas promo. What happens? Other then the ECW fans losing their shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 ECW loan him money, and take the NWA title as collateral, leading to about 30 guys claiming it in lieu of unpaid salary when the company closes down. Nowadays, you too, can go to Wrestlefest and get your photo taken with The Musketeer and the original NWA title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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