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WWE NETWORK GENERAL DISCUSSION THREAD


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Another Network thought:

The trashing of Jack Tunney on the authority figure episode of the Countdown was weird. They were bashing him for not being there every week? Poor Jack.

Considering being a promoter is kind of a cash in envelope business (or would have been in the era he and his brother ran Toronto), it makes me wonder if the whole "On The Take Tunney" thing Jesse and Heenan used to needle him with had half a grain of truth in it.

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Was it in a nondescript envelope? And yeah, that crowd was such a disaster. They weren't great for WrestleMania 2000 either and the WWF was at its hottest period.

 

The acoustics in that building are ass.

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Another Network thought:

The trashing of Jack Tunney on the authority figure episode of the Countdown was weird. They were bashing him for not being there every week? Poor Jack.

Considering being a promoter is kind of a cash in envelope business (or would have been in the era he and his brother ran Toronto), it makes me wonder if the whole "On The Take Tunney" thing Jesse and Heenan used to needle him with had half a grain of truth in it.

 

Tunney also left WWF on *really* bad terms, and we know how Vince loves to hold a grudge.

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Another Network thought:

 

The trashing of Jack Tunney on the authority figure episode of the Countdown was weird. They were bashing him for not being there every week? Poor Jack. 

 

Wow.  The best thing about Jack Tunney was that he was barely there at all.  3-4 asinine decisions a year is a hell of a lot better than the 3-4 we seem to get every month.

 

I just realized Fuji Vice is on the Network.  That really is one of the greatest awful things WWF ever did. 

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Thoughts on Tuesday in Texas

 

I've never seen this show before! I guess "Supertape 92," which contains the entire PPV, never came to my local Blockbuster. 

 

Jake Roberts had nuclear heat after his attack on Randy Savage and Elizabeth. I'm stunned that Savage went along with an angle in with Liz was smacked in the face. Savage should have chased Roberts until WM 8, where they could have had a steel cage match. Instead, Savage got diverted into winning the WWF title from Flair (good for him) while Roberts was fed to the Undertaker (not so good for him).

 

Poor Warlord had to lose to Davey Boy Smith again. Warlord never seemed to get that big win, whether he was managed by Fuji, Slick or Harvey Wippleman.

 

Ted DiBiase & Repo Man actually worked great as a team in their win over El Matador & Virgil. They even pulled off TWO Phantom Audio Tags (one of my favorite calls when I do commentary). Virgil had the win in the bag when Sherri accidentally KO'd DiBiase with her shoe. So instead of pinning his unconscious former boss, Virgil went after Sherri and lost just seconds later.

 

Ric Flair didn't wrestle on this show, but he actually wins the MVP award. He got absolutely waffled by Hogan's chairshot, and it didn't look like he could see it coming. He protected Jack Tunney, helping him take the only bump of his WWF career. Then Flair dragged Tunney to his feet so he could witness Hogan cheating to win the title. I guess it takes a cheater to know a cheater.

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Thoughts on Royal Rumble 92

 

The New Foundation may be the best "New" team in WWF history. They were certainly better than the New Blackjacks, New Rockers and New Midnight Express (Bob Holly & Bart Gunn). I'm amazed that Owen Hart getting whipped into Mr. Fuji's cane (breaking it) wasn't the finish.

 

Bobby Heenan insulted Jamison 32 times during the Beverly Brothers-Bushwhackers match. My favorite line was that Jamison's wardrobe came from the "Marquis de Slop."

 

Lord Alfred Hayes prepared to do a Coliseum video exclusive video with Hulk Hogan. The dressing room door had a piece of paper with the word "HULK" on it, just like at SummerSlam 91. This time, Hogan was actually there!  Ric Flair also did a Coliseum exclusive, revealing that he drew No. 3 and stating that he would win anyway.

 

Flair is the obvious MVP winner, turning in one of the best wrestling performances in history. The Rumble field was arguably the strongest ever, and many wrestlers came right after him. He got a breather in the middle of the match, but then he gave a perfect "Oh no...." look when Piper came out. The final four were himself, Savage, Sid and Hogan, and he played them against each other perfectly. Bonus points for his "with a tear in my eye" promo after the match.

 

However, I also have to give an MVP award to Heenan for the greatest performance by a color commentator in history. From the first match on the card, he started worrying about what number Flair got. He explained that Flair was budgeted for 30 minutes and he was hoping Flair would come in around No. 18. Near the end of the match, Heenan was begging for a drink of water, desperately asking Monsoon how long Flair has been in the match, and crediting Flair not only for staying in the match, but for going on the offensive. 

 

Here's a question: if this is the best color commentary performance ever (and it is), what is the best play-by-play performance ever?

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For best commentary I want to lean toward one of the big matches that JR called.  While not a great match, 'Taker/Mankind HITC was a spectacle.  And JR did his damndest to make Mankind seem like the toughest guy ever.  Lots of people still remember the match and JR's call, whether they still watch wrestling or not.

 

As for Rumble 92, holy crap that was the best Rumble match in history.  And Heenan was perfect in what he did.  What a masterpiece.  It's just unfortunate that I saw it last right before this year's Rumble which was not good.

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Heenan having a heart attack any time Flair is nearly eliminated is amazing. He's the true MVP of that Royal Rumble. The Benoit Rumble came close as far as a wrestler's performance goes, but it lacked Heenan. 

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Speaking of Royal Rumbles, I was always fond of the 2002 Rumble for the random Mr. Perfect return and him making it to the final 3

Three things I'll forever remember about that Rumble:

 

1. HHH winning it after his comeback.

2. Mr. Perfect in the final 3.

3. Hurricane trying to chokeslam HHH and Austin.

 

Come to think of it that was a fun Rumble match.

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Speaking of Royal Rumbles, I was always fond of the 2002 Rumble for the random Mr. Perfect return and him making it to the final 3

Three things I'll forever remember about that Rumble:

 

1. HHH winning it after his comeback.

2. Mr. Perfect in the final 3.

3. Hurricane trying to chokeslam HHH and Austin.

 

Come to think of it that was a fun Rumble match.

 

 

I was in Atlanta live for that one, and Perfect was my favorite wrestler growing up, so you can imagine how surreal and awesome that was for me. That was also the year Maven eliminated Taker, which was awesome.

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Man, the best thing about Perfect in the 2002 Rumble was someone, I forget who, trying to throw him out over the top rope, and as Perfect is holding onto the rope to prevent himself from being tossed, he spits his gum out and still swats it away...perfectly.

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Just noticed that the "What Are You Watching" thread was locked.

 

Anyway, decided to watch WM 19 today because, thinking about it, it was a great Mania with a lot of great matches. Found it interesting that the Undertaker match was the 2nd match on the card. I remember at the time that I thought they were going to end the streak here because it really wasn't that built up at this point, having just been something mentioned in passing the year before when he hit 10-0 against Flair. I figured Nathan Jones was going to cost Taker the match and lead them in to a feud for the summer. What a non-factor Nathan Jones ended up being in the long run. Funny how he left the business, too. Went with them to Australia for their tour there, and then just refused to come back to the States with them. Weird guy, that Nathan Jones.

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That would explain things.

 

It must be hell to book a date in the Staples Center in late March/early April anyway. 

 

 

We do have one less playoff team nowadays.

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Thoughts on WrestleMania VIII

 

For some reason, Reba McEntire sang the national anthem instead of "America the Beautiful," the traditional WrestleMania opening song.

 

Four things I like about early heel Shawn Michaels:

 

1. Sherri (not Shawn) singing his theme song

2. Teardrop suplex as the finisher

3. "Ladies and gentlemen, Shawn Michaels has left the building"

4. Pointing (not flexing) during the signature pose

 

At the next PPV, he adds another thing I like: walking down the aisle with one finger in the air

 

Bret-Piper and Flair-Savage really saved this show considering the clunky Hogan-Sid finish. We knew Flair-Savage would be a hate-filled brawl, but Piper and Bret barely kept things civil for a minute before tearing into each other. They can share the MVP award for this show.

 

Paul Ellering was a total dud returning as the manager of the Road Warriors. They had already proven to be the toughest team in the company and they already had a long reign as champions. What exactly was he supposed to do?

 

On the other hand, Lex Luger was fantastic in his interview with Bobby Heenan. Even though Luger was talking about the World Bodybuilding Federation, he had his future Narcissist character nailed. I don't understand why WWF didn't just pull the trigger and put the title on him, whether he was a heel or a face. He seemed like the company's perfect idea for a champion.

 

Flair and Mr. Perfect didn't really think their plan through. They said Savage would look up and see Mr. Perfect flashing a centerfold of Miss Elizabeth on the big screen. However, Perfect was at ringside, interfering throughout the match. Also, why wasn't Elizabeth at ringside at the beginning of the match, and why were the officials trying to prevent her from coming to the ring?

 

Owen Hart foreshadowed the main event by kicking out of Skinner's Gator Drop. At least they got to wrestle for 70 seconds. Poor Davey Boy Smith and the Berzerker had their match dropped.

 

I can't believe the main event ended in a DQ. This overshadowed the fact that Sid kicked out of the legdrop. Not even Andre the Giant could do that! Not sure why Papa Shango was attacking Hogan. He could have been any heel wrestler, really, before Warrior came to the rescue.

 

Watching these shows sometimes with my 11-year-old, her favorite wrestler is Piper (probably because he's nuts) and her least favorite is Savage (because he made himself king). I guess I didn't explain to her that he won the crown from Duggan fair and square.

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We knew Flair-Savage would be a hate-filled brawl, but Piper and Bret barely kept things civil for a minute before tearing into each other. They can share the MVP award for this show.

That wasn't the psychology of that match at ALL.

The psychology was Piper, who never started a match in his life without throwing a hundred punches, actually tried for the first 5 minutes to play it clean. Only after Bret almost suckers him into a near fall does Piper finally lose his cool and start brawling. But neither of them throw a single punch until then.

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