BurningBeard Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 6 hours ago, L_W_P said: Flair jumping to Vince in the early 90's... Would WWE look any different if this didn't happen? ON the whole I don't think so, due to the steroid trial and Bret's popularity in Europe he was always destined to get that run. I think you're right about WMVIII, it would have still been Hogan v Sid on top but I don't know how you get there. I suppose Hogan v Undertaker could go the same leading to the title being held up, then Sid wins by turfing Hogan leading to a slow burn feud and eventual Sid heel turn. But as I mentioned, with the steroid trial I still think Sid was destined to have that turn and disappointingly short run which is a shame as I really think he could have been the face of the company if the stars had aligned. Looking back, I get the impression Vince really wasn't impressed with what he got with Flair and was happy to be rid of him in the end 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintedbynumbers Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 For WrestleMania IX it could have been Razor Ramon going against Bret for the title. Change the Rumble Main Event around and make Razor/Bret at IX if need be. Or have Perfect win 93 Rumble and go with Perfect-Bret at Mania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyld Samurai Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 5 hours ago, BurningBeard said: ON the whole I don't think so, due to the steroid trial and Bret's popularity in Europe he was always destined to get that run. I think you're right about WMVIII, it would have still been Hogan v Sid on top but I don't know how you get there. I suppose Hogan v Undertaker could go the same leading to the title being held up, then Sid wins by turfing Hogan leading to a slow burn feud and eventual Sid heel turn. But as I mentioned, with the steroid trial I still think Sid was destined to have that turn and disappointingly short run which is a shame as I really think he could have been the face of the company if the stars had aligned. Looking back, I get the impression Vince really wasn't impressed with what he got with Flair and was happy to be rid of him in the end According to Bret - Vince didn't "get" Flair. He saw that he did the same thing every night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 I have this weird feeling that if they had put the belt on Tito in 92, they would have turned him. And I'm not just saying that because we unearthed the one heel Tito match in existence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
For Great Justice Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 Morbid but as we are discussing the Gronk Mania spot as well as the Owen Dark Side episode. What if Vince demonstrates the Over the Edge spot before the show, as he tended to do, and the worst happens? Who takes over the company? In 1999 neither Stephanie nor HHH are in the picture, Shane didn't want it per reports. Do they sell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evidence Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 With "Flair not going to WWF", I wonder how it affects WCW during that same time. I know the talk was that Flair was to drop the belt to Luger at the 91 Bash before everything fell apart. I wonder if they still try to go with Luger as a heel and do a double turn or if Luger gets the run as the babyface ace of the company. Do they bring back Steamboat and bring in Rude? Also with Flair still there, is there even a Dangerous Alliance or a Vader as a top heel? Behind the scenes, I'd have to imagine that Herd ends up lasting a bit longer if he doesn't lose not only Flair but also the World title that ends up on WWF TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evidence Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 9 minutes ago, For Great Justice said: Morbid but as we are discussing the Gronk Mania spot as well as the Owen Dark Side episode. What if Vince demonstrates the Over the Edge spot before the show, as he tended to do, and the worst happens? Who takes over the company? In 1999 neither Stephanie nor HHH are in the picture, Shane didn't want it per reports. Do they sell? Boring pick, but I'm going with Linda running things and Shane playing the on screen heel boss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintedbynumbers Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 22 minutes ago, evidence said: With "Flair not going to WWF", I wonder how it affects WCW during that same time. I know the talk was that Flair was to drop the belt to Luger at the 91 Bash before everything fell apart. I wonder if they still try to go with Luger as a heel and do a double turn or if Luger gets the run as the babyface ace of the company. Do they bring back Steamboat and bring in Rude? Also with Flair still there, is there even a Dangerous Alliance or a Vader as a top heel? Behind the scenes, I'd have to imagine that Herd ends up lasting a bit longer if he doesn't lose not only Flair but also the World title that ends up on WWF TV. I know the match was supposed to be Flair-Lex but in Windham's 91 WCW Timeline shoot he says Flair had agreed to drop the belt to him. Not sure how true it is seeing as how Barry never had the WCW world title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evidence Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, paintedbynumbers said: I know the match was supposed to be Flair-Lex but in Windham's 91 WCW Timeline shoot he says Flair had agreed to drop the belt to him. Not sure how true it is seeing as how Barry never had the WCW world title. I remember in Flair's book and I think on the DVD, he talked about how it was to be him vs Luger but then Herd decided to have him drop the belt to Barry at either a house show or TV taping and then changed his mind and fired him. I swear a book with the detail of the Nitro book needs to be written for the 88-94/95 WCW era 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 20 minutes ago, paintedbynumbers said: I know the match was supposed to be Flair-Lex but in Windham's 91 WCW Timeline shoot he says Flair had agreed to drop the belt to him. Not sure how true it is seeing as how Barry never had the WCW world title. Flair may have agreed to drop the belt to him but Windham, at the time, was nowhere near that level. I was at that show and remember it well and the thought was "why the fuck is Barry Windham in this match?" He was booked in a mixed tag with Rick Steiner and Missy Hyatt vs Paul E and whoever. He wasn't even within throwing distance of the top of the card and there he was wrestling for the vacant world title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 At one point wasn't there a rumor that WCW was going to bring in Lawler in 91 when Flair left? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningBeard Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 Now that would have been interesting. I like Flair but trying to give him a spot in late 91-92 WCW makes my brain hurt. They needed a break from each other and having new top heels was such a breathe of fresh air Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintedbynumbers Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 We wouldn't have had the Dangerous Alliance, but imagine a new Horseman with Flair, Arn, Rude, and Austin. Would have tormented Sting and his friends for a long time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolCB Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 20 minutes ago, paintedbynumbers said: We wouldn't have had the Dangerous Alliance, but imagine a new Horseman with Flair, Arn, Rude, and Austin. Would have tormented Sting and his friends for a long time. I don't know about anyone else, but I would've gladly sacrificed not having the Hollywood Blondes around if we got that version of the Horsemen. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 4 hours ago, evidence said: Boring pick, but I'm going with Linda running things and Shane playing the on screen heel boss Even if it's boring, I think it would also tie into the "would they sell?" question. Even if Linda runs things, Shane had no interest in running the company, and Stephanie was just out of college and wouldn't have been able to step right into that role in 1999- it's likely it's temporarily run by Linda/Shane/Stephanie, with the goal to eventually find someone to buy. (Considering Mandalay Bay was willing to pay 500 million for WCW in 1999 and WWF would have had the more recognizable name, higher ratings, and a lot of bigger stars in 1999, it's likely that WWF not only would have sold easily, but could have gotten higher.) Indeed, that'd make things different further, since suddenly, you have the "there's a precedent for a big sale price" that would make WCW likely get A higher price tag, but likely also have the question mark if WWF is purchased (since there's the question of whether the "WWF gets first refusal in a WCW sale" clause WWF won in the Hall/Nash lawsuit would have transferred over, and indeed if the new company to purchase WWF would have realized they had this ace in the hole)- and suddenly when the AOL/Time Warner merger is completed and AOL's first order of business is "get WCW off our books, no matter what it takes", the ownership there is even more of a question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolCB Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 6 minutes ago, SorceressKnight said: Even if it's boring, I think it would also tie into the "would they sell?" question. Even if Linda runs things, Shane had no interest in running the company, and Stephanie was just out of college and wouldn't have been able to step right into that role in 1999- it's likely it's temporarily run by Linda/Shane/Stephanie, with the goal to eventually find someone to buy. Mark Cuban buys the WWF instead of the Mavs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyld Samurai Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 3 hours ago, Infinit said: At one point wasn't there a rumor that WCW was going to bring in Lawler in 91 when Flair left? Was there any particular reason why Lawler never bothered to have a run in the NWA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 3 minutes ago, Wyld Samurai said: Was there any particular reason why Lawler never bothered to have a run in the NWA? He was supposed to get an NWA/WCW title run but it fell through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olythegreat89 Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 2 hours ago, paintedbynumbers said: We wouldn't have had the Dangerous Alliance, but imagine a new Horseman with Flair, Arn, Rude, and Austin. Would have tormented Sting and his friends for a long time. I don’t know if Flair and Rude’s egos would’ve allowed them to coexist. Rude left the WWF with a chip on his shoulder because he felt he was misused so I don’t see him playing second fiddle to Flair. Maybe we get a Dangerous Alliance (Rude, Eaton, Zbyszko, Austin) vs a babyface Horesmen (Flair, Arn, Pillman, Tully?) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 Re: the Lawler/WCW thing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16KPlsneIdAY16uaDHkHqALQmOgLk8NgA/ This is just one page of an Observer from 91 which takes from a Wrestling Spotlight radio interview Eddie Gilbert with but I'm going to leave it here. Just zoom a few times and you can see it fine. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 1 hour ago, L_W_P said: Otherwise I would think Patterson or Brisco take the reigns for a while until a suitable buyer is found? Geez... would Turner buy WWE at that point? Merge the WWE and WCW under Bischoff and things get INSANE... There might be a number of big buyers in 1999, but it seems likely Turner would be the last buyer. Given that the AOL/Time Warner was already announced and was in the mix, it's clear Time Warner wouldn't allow Turner to purchase WWF due to freezing purchases, and even if they didn't freeze purchases, the two-pronged attack of "AOL didn't want WCW to begin with" and "if you have two very big companies making a merger and trying not to attract the attention of antitrust lawsuits thinking a monopoly was forming, the exact worst thing they could do is make a purchase like WWF that would give WCW a monopoly." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thee Reverend Axl Future Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 1 hour ago, Matt D said: Re: the Lawler/WCW thing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16KPlsneIdAY16uaDHkHqALQmOgLk8NgA/ This is just one page of an Observer from 91 which takes from a Wrestling Spotlight radio interview Eddie Gilbert with but I'm going to leave it here. Just zoom a few times and you can see it fine. I remember reading this. It seems like a dozen lifetimes ago, both in my wrestling world and in my life. Also, EGilbert was one of the smartest peoples ever about the business and he was helpless against the politickers. - RAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Well, the joke of Mark Cuban buying WWF instead of the Mavericks is...closer to the truth than it looks. Even if Hogan was worth a lot of money (he wouldn't be worth that much in 1999), the quoted prices are in the "no 'rassling name' has a fighting chance at it. Again, the big number to look at was Mandalay Bay's attempt to buy WCW for $500 million in 1999, and it becomes clear that $500 million would be the likely low end price for a WWF sale in 1999. Considering that WWF is the more well-known brand than WCW and WWF was winning in the ratings war at the time, plus much more mainstream success than similar WCW names had gotten at the time, it would likely be a higher pricetag than that. The endgame that seems most likely: Viacom picks up the WWF as a whole when they purchased the rights to Raw/Heat for MTV/Spike TV. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneybrown Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 5 hours ago, Wyld Samurai said: Was there any particular reason why Lawler never bothered to have a run in the NWA? Pretty sure Lawler was promised an NWA title run in 1985 too. He had a whole "if I don't win the championship, I retire" angle going. And then it was dropped. And then he ended up losing a "loser leaves town" match anyway that killed business. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MavsFan77 Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 5 hours ago, PetrolCB said: Mark Cuban buys the WWF instead of the Mavs. Hey don’t make the Mavs suffer like that. Cuban buying them was the best thing to happen to the team (other than trading for Dirk). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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