WWE Network Conversation

[Cobra Commander]

On 7/23/2023 at 2:37 PM, Curt McGirt said:

This is something I've always wondered but never asked: when Kimona "danced atop the ECW Arena", did she actually get nekkid? 

without having actually seen that.. I'm thinking "no"

Watching 1987 Prime Time Wrestling (8/17/1987) and we're deep in the Battle for Bam Bam as Jimmy Hart is out of the running. Also, Mr. T is around for reasons. Don Muraco and Bob Orton are fighting. Ted DiBiase has a promo with Mean Gene.

edit: well, I didn't know that Humperdink debuted as a face before he won the Battle for Bam Bam

also, there's a Leaping Lanny/Don Muraco commentary team for some of these matches is certainly a duo

Edited July 27, 2023 by Cobra Commander

[odessasteps]

IIRC, her outfit is shear enough to see her breasts but nothing else.
 

Odds are in 2023, you can likely find the clip on most of “those” type of websites. Hashtag incognito mode 

[Cobra Commander]

Rick Rude V1 was from Minneapolis and used a slingshot suplex (holy hell trying to do that move on WWF ropes).. a few things were changed later

I'm not sure if Dick Graham didn't know moves or if Scott Casey's moves were that shitty that Dick didn't know what he was doing

also... 4 years after Bill Watts spun JYD's weight gain.. Gorilla Monsoon is spinning JYD's weight gain too

what the hell... Jake Roberts and Don Muraco on commentary here.. was there a giant void for commentators and they were trying out anybody who had the time?

Edited July 27, 2023 by Cobra Commander

[Cobra Commander]

watching the 8/24/1987 Prime Time Wrestling

On the 8/17 episode, we saw One Man Gang laying out like 5 people with front suplexes, which was an unintentionally hilarious visual. This big mohawked dude beating people with the Gourdbuster, one move that doesn't involve his weight really dropping on the guy.

This week, it's One Man Gang vs Outback Jack. I don't know how much Outback Jack I had seen. Jack looked like he had a diet mainly consisting of cigarettes. I guess that the front suplex is a good finisher when you consider it's taking a bump on your knees in those hard WWF rings

Also, more Lanny and Don Muraco for a Rougeaus/Shadows match

Lucious Johnny V is out of the running for Bam Bam!

A look back at Paul Orndorff firing Bobby Heenan in favor of Oliver Humperdink. To be fair, Heenan might have had a point with Rude having a better body than Orndorff since I think Orndorff's messed up arm was sorta apparent if you knew to look for it. Obviously something is messed up if you're firing Bobby Heenan for Oliver Humperdink in 1987.

Ted DiBiase having to lay it on thick for all the people in La Crosse, Wisconsin who don't quite get his gimmick. DiBiase pays one job guy to take his spot vs another job guy. Then he takes the money back after he loses. Much like stealing money intended for welfare recipients in Mississippi, allegedly.

Don Muraco yelling "GRAB THEM CAKES" is probably the headlight of a JYD/Ron Bass match. Did Ron Bass do anything memorable in the WWF aside from getting Brutus out of Summerslam 88? Lanny getting Muraco to say 1987 JYD was in the best wrestling shape of his life is some real work. Lanny's voice is just a little too distinctive for being a play by play guy, and that's in a world where the WWF would hire random AWA announcers to fuck over Verne. We got JYD in non finishes in back to back weeks. Last week double DQ with the One Man Gang, this week double countout with Ron Bass.

Gorilla and Bobby covering for Muraco's commentary by pondering if his throat is injured due to Bob Orton.

Rick Martel beats Barry Horowitz, gets attacked by the Islanders, and Tito Santana makes the save. Love Jesse's indignation that Tito would make a save. heel commentary lately just isn't as willing too stand up for the right of two Islanders to beat up Rick Martel 2 on 1. Now will Santana and Martel come some sort of strike force?

more great Jesse the Body work about how if Superstar Graham had a bad hip, he shouldn't have gotten into a posedown with Butch Reed. I kinda want 1980s Jesse the Body hosting a podcast and insisting that his POV on various matters is absolutely the right one. Which.. is actually how podcasts work, so.

Harley Race insisting on taking his trademark bump to the floor on a clothesline over the top and his trademark slide down the ringsteps. Harley putting his work in with Brutus Beefcake. Like I expected a good amount of this, I had seen Harley Race vs the Ultimate Warrior from early 88. Lanny and Muraco are on commentary for this one too. Harley takes another trademark bump to the floor. When I was growing up, a few years before I started watching wrestling, I had heard of the sleeperhold (two of my cousins were wrestling fans) and the whole concept of the sleeper was terrifying to me for some reason. Anyways, Brutus loses but puts Bobby Heenan in the sleeper. Bobby tapping into his deep expertise from the AWA of claiming the babyface sleeperhold is a choke.

PTW episodes make up for some of how much 1980s WWF isn't on the network due to various reasons (and the trademark problem with Superstars of Wrestling) because Gorilla/Bobby are just tremendous at this time.

[Gorman]

4 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

DiBiase pays one job guy to take his spot vs another job guy. Then he takes the money back after he loses.

My brother and I marked out for the jobber (Chris Curtis!) actually winning a match.

[twiztor]

11 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

I kinda want 1980s Jesse the Body hosting a podcast and insisting that his POV on various matters is absolutely the right one. Which.. is actually how podcasts work, so.

i would 100% listen to a 1980s Jesse Ventura podcast. Anything after 2001ish? you couldn't pay me to listen.

[Cobra Commander]

Watched some 1983 World Class (11/26/83) the other day with the match of the Freebirds beating the Von Erichs due to Buddy Robert's headpiece of death. Also a Kevin vs Flair match ending in a screwjob.

But let's watch WCW now..

WCW Saturday Night (4/17/1993)

We start off with Jesse referencing "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith and Run DMC as they talk about the musical tastes of the Ron Simmons/Van Hammer team. Jesse speculating that Shanghai Pierce is wearing a mask because he didn't pay his taxes or he's an illegal immigrant. We got a DQ to end this match as Ron Simmons is not exactly winning from the regime change.

Johnny B. Badd takes on Todd Zane. Todd Zane looks like someone who aspired to look like pre-charisma Ted DiBiase. Later tonight a look at Scott Flash Norton. Zane gets to kick out of a powerslam before jobbing to a left hook (the kiss that don't miss)

Scott Flash Norton is a huge man. He beats up on Scott McKeever and pins him by putting his hand on McKeever's face. Scott Norton looking like the buffest member of the Armstrong Family is a different look from his time in the nWo in 97/98

Arn Anderson challenged Barry Windham last week. Chick Donovan is 11 years older than Arn Anderson. We got Chick Donovan working Arn's knee and Arn Anderson doing Anderson arm work. Arn wins with the Spinebuster. Ric Flair shows up in a stripped shirt to do an interview with Arn and Tony Schiavone. Arn interrupts Ric to say that it's time for him to step up and not be a walk-behinder (not in those words, of course). Of course we know which one of those two is the one that beats Barry Windham for the NWA title.

Paul Orndorff doesn't want people to chant Paula. He's facing Gunner, who doesn't have a last name and looks like a generic Georgia indy guy or a Power Plant graduate. Jesse invoking the concept of being guilty of murder by association in regards to Tony Schiavone causing people to chant Paula. Gunner is dressed like someone who aspires to be the 3rd member of The Patriots with Firebreaker Chip and Todd Champion. Orndorff wins with the piledriver.

Steven Regal isn't a lord yet. He's facing Bobby Baker. Fans briefly chant "USA" as Regal is wearing UK tights. Jesse thinks Regal is too nice, so this is before he's a heel. Regal wins with a butterfly suplex.

Dustin Rhodes does an interview, his Dusty voice is lighter by this time. He invites babyface Steve Regal in to talk up Davey Boy Smith. Well, this is different from what they're gonna do in a few months.

The Hollywood Blondes take on Chris Sullivan and Italian Stallion. Somehow Chris Sullivan's mustache makes him look as italian as the Stallion. Jesse with a Marge Schott reference. Upon further reflection, Chris Sullivan's mustache makes him look like Howard Finkel with hair. Tony sees the opening to talk about the movie Jesse is working on with Stallone and Wesley Snipes (Demolition Man). Blondes win with a double team body vice/dropkick

The Cole Twins take on Bob Cook and Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. Okay. The Cole Twins have Brian Bosworth haircuts if you're not familiar. Jesse gets to mention being a Mayor during this match. Coles win. They're congratulated by Scorpio and Bagwell and they all dance post match.

Dusty gets to talk a bit because Slamboree is coming up

Barry Windham beats up on Tommy Angel. The fans chant for Arn. Barry wins with a DDT. Jesse talks to Barry Windham postmatch.

The main event, Cactus Jack vs Vader in a rematch from The Main Event (which will be preempted this week). This is the first of two matches involving these two on this show, for the record. Doesn't take long for Vader to forearm Jack's nose into his skull in the corner. The early part of this match is built around the psychology of Vader hitting Jack directly in the face. We go to the outside, the rail is involved, Harley bumps, we take a break and come back in the ring. Vader starts punching Jack directly in the face some more. Vaderbomb. We go back to the floor. Vader accidentally clotheslines Harley. Gotta love this insane brawl where they also have to avoid getting counted out of the ring. Vader splashes the rail. Jack somersaults onto Vader. Jack beats the count and wins by countout. Surely this won't lead to anything wild next week.

Vader challenges Jack for a rematch next week.

I had seen Jack/Vader 1 before and it rules hard, and it's even more wild in the context of a show that had a lot of enhancement matches and assorted 1993 WCW. And then there's a match with Mick Foley reminding us that he's a crazy person.

I'll watch the attempted murder of Cactus Jack sometime later.

[Gorman]

Thoughts on November to Remember 1997

This is the only ECW show I ever attended. Pittsburgh was a hot market for ECW, as my brother and I were part of the largest crowd in ECW history. In fact, the Pittsburgh fans loved ECW so much, that when I would announce for Steel City Wrestling, I would get chants of "You're not Joey!" That only lasted for a couple of YEARS.

Speaking of Joey, before the Dreamer-RVD flag match, Styles said he would never work for the WWF. Never say never, Jojo.

Even though I was there, I totally forgot that Bam Bam Bigelow was the ECW champion. Good for Bammer winning a World title. Shane Douglas got the big hometown win, capturing the ECW title on PPV for the second time in a row, so he's the MVP. This match reminded me of Flair-Vader at Starrcade 93, only without the retirement stipulation.

When I was in the crowd watching the Sabu-Sandman match, I was asking myself, "Is this a good match?" Nearly every move was a crazy dive involving a ladder or table, and only half of the moves landed properly. It was like eating a six-course meal, with every course being cake, and only three of the cakes were good. The best part of the match was the instant replay package at the end, where they showed all of the big moves that worked.

 

 

[Cobra Commander]

WCW Saturday Night (4/24/1993)

Last week, Cactus Jack beat Vader by countout, the rematch is tonight

2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Bagwell open the show and dance with some fans as Scorpio's the King of Center Stage. They take on Tony Vincent and Paul Lee. You likely know of Paul Lee, but if you don't, imagine if someone that looks like Buddy Landel made his living off of vaguely looking like Ric Flair. Bagwell pins Paul Lee with the Fisherman's Suplex. The Cole Twins arrive postmatch to dance with Scorpio and Bagwell. Then we get Tex Slazenger, Shanghai Pierce and the Wrecking Crew to beat up on the faces a little

Cactus Jack emerges to go to ringside to talk to Tony. If I recall Have A Nice Day, he was to beat on himself a little in the car on the way to Center Stage for this match. This promo rules and he mentions Collette and Dewey. 

Jesse Ventura is in an another part of the area telling us that Shane Douglas isn't there to team with Ricky Steamboat vs the Wrecking Crew. Well, they can always put Tom Zenk under a mask. Fury wins the coin toss to take on Ricky Steamboat one on one. Jesse also gets to ask "Who would marry Cactus Jack?" during this match. Rage beats up on Ricky Steamboat a little behind the ref's back. Steamboat beats Fury with a schoolboy roll up after Fury accidentally hit Rage in the corner.

Ravishing Rick Rude takes on Ben Jordan. Rude relays a message though Cappetta that Center Stage isn't worth the Rick Rude prematch spiel. Jordan jumps Rude and takes a beatdown. Rude wins with the Rude Awakening quick. Rick Rude talks postmatch and the computerized challenge gave Kensuke Sasaki a match with Dustin Rhodes.

Eric Bischoff tells us about Slamboree: A Legend's Reunion. We'll see Vader vs Davey Boy for the WCW title (heywaitaminuteisntthereatitlematchlatertonight), Barry Windham defends against Arn Anderson. Eric passes it over to Gordon Solie, who is seated. Gordon tells us that Lord James Blears, Dusty Rhodes, The Assassin, and Blackjack Mulligan will be there. Mulligan will offer fans some free money from the family press at Slamboree. We take a look at Blackjack Mulligan from 1981.

Bobby Eaton taking on the Master of the STF Erik Watts (Tony used that nickname for Watts). Several fans have Paula pennants and gear awaiting the Orndorff match. Chris Benoit emerges to spare us from watching Erik Watts apply the STF. Arn Anderson makes the save for Erik Watts. Bobby Eaton probably had better mic skills than Benoit. Also gonna note how ridiculous Benoit's shirt was when he made the run-in. Arn Anderson cuts a promo and tomorrow night, Arn Anderson takes on Shanghai Pierce (don't worry, that match is online https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrJ8NhKOEhU ). Anyways, Arn Anderson thinks Erik Watts is his own man now.

Paul Orndorff vs Ron Simmons. Pretty amazing how this "don't chant Paula at me" thing is getting over in 1993. Also pretty sure the Paula script/color scheme is ripped off from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Center Stage also loves Ron Simmons. Looking at Wikipedia, we're close to the Summer of Whoomp There It Is (which is released as a single in May 1993) and there was Whoot There It Is released in March 1993, but Whoomp There It Is was playing in Atlanta strip clubs in the summer of 1992. It wouldn't surprise me if there was some overlap between Magic City and WCW wrestlers, because we're in a world where Ron Gant and Raven knew each other. Anyways this crowd is hot and Simmons has to win in the first 10 minutes. We get a time call at the half way point. I think Paul Orndorff using a DDT might be a good example of that move getting watered down a little. Simmons backdrops out of the piledriver as we do a countdown. Orndorff kicks out of the powerslam and rolls out of the ring. We go past 10 minutes and the match will continue with the title not at stake. Dustin Rhodes shows up to help Ron Simmons win a (non-title) victory. Dustin Rhodes certainly has an interesting shirt in this episode. Anyways, Paul Orndorff is back in his happy place as a heel after not really doing much for 5 years post-WWF.

Scott Flash Norton is taking on Johnny Gunn. Johnny Gunn is one of the more Joe Manchin pro wrestlers we've ever had. Scott Norton wins with a powerslam.

A few words from The Assassin about Slamboree. Nice open shirt and medallion on the Assassin this week as he looks like he's going out to a strip club after this card.

The Hollywood Blonds take on Larry Santo and Joey Maggs. Nice that Larry Santo gets to see his former tag team partner Cactus Jack wrestle for the title. Holy hell, they put LEDs in the Blonds boots that light up when they walk, the Blondes are the coolest kids in elementary school in 1993. LA Gear is near Hollywood afterall. There's still time before the heat death of the universe for somebody to steals this idea but the LEDs don't really show up well on TV. Blonds win with the Atomic Blonde which is sorta like the Rocket Launcher, if it involved Steve Austin doing a splash. We hear some words from the Blonds and Ricky Steamboat comes out. Eventually punches are exchanged and Shane Douglas arrives with his briefcase. Fiery babyface Shane Douglas! What a world!

Now it's time for the main event, buckle the fuck up.

Cactus Jack vs Vader. Cactus Jack bodyslams Harley Race before we start. Good to see Harley getting his exercise in. Time to fight past the entrance at Center Stage. Lots of fighting at the entrance. Vader dropped chest first on the rail. Race takes a slam and the elbow on the floor. The fans go Whoomp/Whoot there it is for this brawl. Vader dropping Jack hard on a front slam (which looked more brutal than the safe way of doing that move). Unlike last week, Jack can counter the corner assbeating at least once. Vader takes control, Samoan Drop, Vader Bomb, another Vader Bomb. Jack rolls out of the way of.. a top rope stomp? Jack takes control and clothesline to the floor. Jack bodyslam on the mat. Vader moves out of the way of the somersault. And Race pulls up the mats. And Cactus Jack takes a powerbomb on the concrete and that's the match. Turns out this wasn't the closest Mick Foley came to killing himself in front of an live audience, but by the standards of 1993 wrestling. Holy fuck.

And we return from the break to see Jack being put on the stretcher. The crowd is, obviously, really stunned to have seen a guy get powerbombed on the concrete. Scaring the fuck out of children, a fine wrestling tradition. We close by seeing Jack wheeled to the ambulance, somebody being filmed taking the bag off of the turnbuckle, and we fade out.

Of course, certain things happen to fuck this up, you already know that, but the Havoc match ruled, so let's pretend they didn't do goofy stuff before Havoc.

As noted for the 4/17 episode, pretty big gap between the squash matches and other goings-on in WCW, and Mick Foley showing that he is a goddamned maniac that we're lucky to still have with us after all these years.

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEIx_5y4tcE

Yeah, well, that happened...

[Cobra Commander]

Anyways, I was watching Captain Planet in the early 90s but never noticed the wrestling on TBS back then. I suspect that Vader was the scariest guy in the world to random kids around the time he was breaking Joe Thurman’s back and powerbombing Jack on the concrete

Also, I can see how people would prefer Techwood over Center Stage due to the product being better during Techwood but Center Stage had better crowds

[SirSmUgly]

I was a Surfer Sting hater as a kid, so I rooted hard for Vader against him. 

I remember Vader/Cactus and those "Lost in Cleveland" vignettes, which I found dumb even as a kid who thought that Papa Shango causing Warrior to have black blood drip from his head was cool. I just remember thinking "I hope these two weird violent dudes beat the crap out of each other for my entertainment, no matter who wins." 

[Cobra Commander]

watching RAW (8/2/1993) 

Last week Doink challenged Randy Savage and 2 other Doinks appeared

We are in "way upstate New York" (Alexandria Bay, New York) in what appears to be an aircraft hangar. The early years of RAW occasionally decided to bring the show to random upstate New York vacation destinations (see: the RAW from the Lake Placid Olympic Center in 1997). The crowd looks large enough on TV.

The Steiners are taking on Duane Gill and Barry Horowitz. They have an open contract for Summerslam (more on that later?). Scott gets the pin with the Frankensteiner.

WHO IS LEX LUGER? (hey we gotta build this guy as a face after having him be a heel for 6 months until turning him on the 4th of July)

Hey, it's Adam Bomb with Johnny Polo. He's facing Tony Roy. We get shots of random kids staring at Adam Bomb. Johnny Polo certainly has a look for this match. Adam Bomb wins with a powerbomb.

Next week: Tatanka vs Mr. Hughes!

It's time for the clash between Doink and Macho Man Randy Savage. Macho Man is dedicating this match to Crush (more on that in a few months). Savage is wearing a USA outfit because we don't know what country this Doink is from. Just imagine if Doink had slammed Yokozuna on the 4th and the Doink Express travelled America going into Summerslam. Savage snaps and grabs a nonfolding chair and that sets up Doink to jump him. I think Jericho's the only guy in the last 20 years to actually get a Boston Crab over because it's a move that can legit hurt and it's not used a lot. Nice belly to belly suplex by Doink. Doink misses the whoopie cushion but cuts off a Savage comeback. Randy Savage goes under the ring and a midget comet comes out of the other side and this is hilarious. Doink chases the little feller and Savage ambushes Doink. Savage wins with a small package. "Doink has been outdoinked". Tiger Jackson (Macho Midget) unleashes the main self-defense mechanism of tiny pro wrestlers by biting Doink on the ass. Randy lifting Tiger Jackson like he's the new Miss Elizabeth.

ICO PRO! with Lex Luger. Slim Jims with Macho Man. The Summerslam Report with Mean Gene. Summerslam Report is brought to you by Chevrolet and this truck parked near Titan Tower. I'm guessing Monday August 30th was during the US Open, hence they're running a PPV that night. Yokozuna/Luger, Bret/Lawler, Shawn Michaels/Mr. Perfect, Undertaker/Giant Gonzales. Only four weeks from tonight!

Ted DiBiase is "on the phone". We don't get wrestlers doing interviews "through the phone" any more since apparently it's bad for people in the arena. Anyways, 123 Kid beat Ted DiBiase recently. If they show that footage, DiBiase will hang up. (They show the footage from Wrestling Challenge)

Hey, Jim Cornette just wanders to the ring after that clip and Bobby Heenan goes to the ring to greet him. "Do you have any idea who this man is?" (New York vacationeers boo Heenan). Jim's here for one reason: to blatantly promote his company answer the Steiner's challenge for Summerslam. Gonna get Heavenly Bodies vs Steiners in 4 weeks. Judging by the amount of sweat on Jim's face, those TV lights must be like 120 degrees (and it's also a big moment worth sweating over). Just like any good mission, that one reason evolves into 2 reasons once they realize that Jim Cornette is a better promo than Mr. Fuji.

Mr. Perfect takes on Barry Hardy. Barry is a very Tiger King looking guy at this time. Jim Cornette is at the table and they eventually get him a headset. Vince was probably fed a line or two (like he knows who the Rock'n'Roll Express is) or his line that he's in the WWF fleeing the Smoky Mountain area (which was a concern that the company was going under when he arrived). Perfect wins with the Perfectplex.

The Lex Express is approaching Erie PA. He's talking to a radio host! He poses with another dude. Next week, the Lex Luger/Yokozuna contract signing. We close at the table with Cornette saying the Bodies will be on next week's show.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Cobra Commander

[Cobra Commander]

non-detailed notes on the 8/5/96 RAW

Lawler actually wins a match in the WWF with the Piledriver (two piledrivers) and officials can't stop him from pouring Jim Beam down Aldo Montoya's throat

There's an endless New Rockers vs Bodydonnas match with at least 3 different cutaways (Sunny/Farooq, the Godwinns acknowledging the camera as they watch the match on a tiny monitor, and Gorilla Monsoon with Clarence Mason). Some of the match is as good as you'd expect but this crowd does not give a fuck about the match. Then the match ends on a DQ as there'll be a four way match for the tag team titles at Summerslam.

Kevin Kelly talks to HBK on a scenic roof somewhere

Guessing "Ahmed Johnson is in this match with a ruptured kidney against doctor's orders" means "we taped this match before he got hurt"? (match was taped on July 22nd, one night after International Incident, he started missing matches on July 24th)

A Raw Invitational Battle Royal? isn't every battle royal technically invitational? Undertaker and Mankind eliminate each other quickly. Savio eliminates himself with a spin kick in the corner. Stone Cold still has a logo on his trunks. Undertaker and Mankind keep fighting all during this match. We cut away from the battle royal to see them fighting, not even a splitscreen. Love the Ahmed Johnson thighpads. Sid gets eliminated by Austin with the help of Owen/Bulldog. The final 2 are Ahmed and Goldust. Ahmed Johnson wins the battle royal in an amusingly awkward fashion and he will face the WWF Champion in 2 weeks (no he won't)

The Battle Royal was fine (if you ignore it was leading to a match that didn't happen). But you can see why the WWF was getting their shit kicked in by WCW around this time. There were good parts of 1996 WWF and i'm sure it's better than 1995 WWF but this episode was.. yeah.

and lemme watch ECW Hardcore TV (8/6/96) after that

JT Smith! Stevie/Meanie/Nova/etc in Kiss makeup! I'm gonna guess they're doing their best to not stream the actual music being played during this segment. Speaking of actual music that gets removed on the Network, Sandman shows up to cane everybody

Raven emerges on crutches with Lori and Tyler. A Steviekick saves the day and Sandman gets caned in the eye ("directly in the eye" says Styles, as opposed to what Joseph). Got some pretty good blood out of the whole thing.

ECW is also doing a 4 corners tag team match, but can it beat Bodydonnas/Gunns/Godwinns/New Rockers?

We got a D-Von Dudley vs Axl Rotten match which takes a few minutes to get going as they just swing chairs at each other. This is when D-Von is feuding with all the other Dudleys and we get D-Von and Buh Buh brawling. We are in the golden age of unprotected chairshots to the head if you didn't notice. D-Von won't hit Big Dick with a chair. I guess the match is cover, which is probably for the best.

We go back to Raven with Lori and Tyler. The Sandman is a coward for not facing Raven after being caned in the eye. But Raven's foot is too hurt to wrestle anyways. Stevie says that he signed to wrestle the Sandman in Raven's place and Raven DDTs him. Sandman comes out, Raven uses Tyler as a human shield, we get another ambush Steviekick. Gotta love that we have this serious match with a guy wearing KISS makeup wrestling as a proxy what a promotion. Going from 1996 Vince McMahon to 1996 Joey Styles is a slight change in annoying announcing habits. Meanie and Nova accidentally do moves to Stevie but he keeps kicking out of pin attempts. More chaos and a loaded boot. Raven uses Tyler as a shield again. Stevie hits Sandman with the boot and Raven shoves Stevie away to make the pin himself.

Four Way Tag Team Match: Eliminators vs Bruise Brothers vs Samoan Gangsta Party vs the Gangstas. The Natural Born Killaz replacement music is in full effect. The Samoans are handcuffs. This is basically a schmozz. Samoan Gangsta Party gets eliminated first. Got some fighting outside too. Bruise Brothers go out second. So it's Eliminators/Gangstas. Gangstas win the titles after a powerslam/chairshot off the top. We get a Joey Styles speech during the celebration.

So... slight difference between WWF and ECW at this time.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Cobra Commander

[Cobra Commander]

Had a much longer post of the 8/5/1996 WCW Nitro that was eaten by the malfunctioning board.

To summarize things-

Wrestlers are at ringside and they take about an hour before noting that Meng will kill you. Pretty sure this is the only week that they do the "WCW Wrestlers as School Resource Officers" storyline to prevent nWo runins because they certainly never work together that well in the 1997/98 episodes I was watching when they happened.

Harlem Heat beats the Rock'n'Roll with some Parker/Sherri stuff on the side. A match that's probably as good as you'd expect but never really got better than you'd expect because it's the Rock'n'Roll Express in 1996.

Malia Hosaka beats Madusa with the Rude/Warrior Wrestlemania 5 finish. Is that the only time that Malia Hosaka got a big win in a major promotion? Remember the Madusa vs Bull Nakano match that had a "smash your opponents bike" stip for Hog Wild?

Alex Wright beats Chris Benoit by countout as Benoit fights with Malenko on the outside. Alex Wright probably should have been appreciated more when we had him. Alex Wright also cranked up the stiffness a little. Benoit irishwhipped Malenko in a palm tree.

Randy Savage beats Steven Regal (w/ Chives) in a match with some fun to it. Sting and Lugar get to the limo and there's a wreath "Condolences on the death of WCW". Randy Savage kicks the flowers like it's a field goal

Booty Man beats Flair by DQ as the Horsemen beat up the Booty Man for being Hogan's friend. Arn delivers a great promo that speaks to the hearts of WCW fans who believe barcodes are satanic.

There's a paid announcement from the nWo that Sting and Luger go to the production truck to stop. The only time that happened?

Giant squashes Pittman. Giant chokeslams Teddy Long postmatch. Jimmy Hart and Giant promo. Apparently Jimmy Hart was the only one telling Hulk the truth. I think this is close to the last time that Jimmy Hart was doing important stuff on TV for WCW instead of his "just showing up to draw his check" phase for the last few years

Lugar and Sting beat the Nasty Boys in a match where the Peacock tries to end the show early but I fastforwarded past that. The limo is back and this time the door closes and leaves. There's a note in a bag (post-show exclusive)

Also, a look back at the legendary angle from the week before. Bobby Heenan shows up late during the Flair match but doesn't commentate. Tony and Larry do all two hours. Bischoff never shows up (foreshadowing). WCW wrestlers hang out at ringside to provide security against the nWo as the nWo angle really had the best wrestling version of post-9/11 paranoia... done in 1996! People who aren't in the nWo but are life friends of Hogan are getting targeted for retaliation after last week because the monsters are due on Maple Street.

WCW's sorta in an interesting tier where there's the nWo, there's non-nWo heels who are faces against the nWo but heels against WCW wrestlers, and faces who are faces all the time. Flair is working Eddie Guerrero and he's a heel for that (although the fans won't boo him) but he's a face in regards to the nWo. Of course the nWo thing goes deep into mission creep later but the beginning ruled.

We're at Disney/MGM and the setting is amazing (how did they do outdoors shows in Orlando without rain messing it up at least once). RAW is in the Key Arena, a big place, and Nitro is in a theme park and WCW smokes the fuck out of WWF this week. Big unifying angle when it was still fresh means a reason to keep watching, instead of the show being in the can on the other channel.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Cobra Commander

[Gorman]

Thoughts on Living Dangerously 98

ECW showed a video for W*ING Kanemura, who did not appear for his match against Masato Tanaka. Then the Sabu-Sandman "dueling canes" match was declared "too extreme" by the pay-per-view censors and taken off the show. So it seemed like ECW was having massive problems on only its fourth PPV. Everything had to hit perfectly in order to compete with the big monthly shows from the WWF and WCW.

But then one moment happened that showed us that ECW would give us something crazy that we can't see anywhere else. Bam Bam Bigelow fell backwards onto Taz and they crashed through the ring. Bigelow dragged Taz out of the hole and pinned him to end Taz's long winning streak and win the TV title and the MVP award in his hometown of Asbury Park, NJ.

Now ECW had to finish the show with a broken ring. Paul Heyman elected to show the censored Sabu-Sandman match, inciting a hilarious on-air argument with Joey Styles, who was terrified that ECW would be banned from PPV. The match wasn't even especially extreme, and the "dueling canes" barely came into play.

While that match was airing, ECW passed out mannequin heads to the fans, but there was no time for Al Snow's match against John Kronus. Fortunately, Lance Storm chose Snow as his mystery partner and he pinned champion Shane Douglas to send the fans home happy with their souvenirs.

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Gorman

[Cobra Commander]

12 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

Had a much longer post of the 8/5/1996 WCW Nitro that was eaten by the malfunctioning board.

hey, I ended up on the "Not Secure" http version of the board which had my half-assed 'as I watched it' post which was eaten by the board, so i'll put it in spoilers to save space

Spoiler

Time to watch some WCW Nitro (8/5/96)

We're still at Disney/MGM Studios. Last week the Outsiders attacked Rey and others. This week, various meaty wrestlers are hanging around to provide security, Is there a 4th man in the nWo?

Off-topic: when did babyface Hogan leave the Nitro intro? he's still there for this episode

The Rock'n'Roll Express vs Harlem Heat. Meng is one of the wrestlers handling security tonight. Insert joke here. The Barbarian, Scott Norton, and Big Bubba are also on security tonight. Half of those 4 security members would be in the nWo by the end of the year. Match goes through one break, there's some Sherri/Parker drama on the outside. Hot tag to Gibson, but Gibson gets distracted by punching Parker and he gets taken out and Harlem Heat retains

Mean Gene is joined by the Nasty Boys. People are accusing the Nasty Boys of things because they're friends of Hulk Hogan. They're facing Sting/Luger later.

Glacier!

Malia Hosaka (with Sonny Oono) vs Madusa: Aw yes, a match at Hog Wild where the winner gets to destroy the other's motorcycle. Eventually the fans chant USA against the foreign menace that is Hawaiian born Malia Hosaka. A black limousine is here, using emergency flashers. Will the use of proper lights indicate it's a babyface? Malia Hosaka wins with Sonny Oono doing the Wrestlemania 5 Rude/Warrior finish. I'm gonna guess that's the biggest and only notable Malia Hosaka win in a major promotion?

3 weeks ago: Dean Malenko attacked Chris Benoit from behind for some reason

Alex Wright vs Chris Benoit: Some woman is teaching her kid to do a 4 fingers down towards Benoit, like they're cheering against the Texas Longhorns. We see Alex Wright unleashing some stiff offense early in this one. The limo is still parked. This is a pretty good match and maybe we should have appreciated Alex Wright more than we did at the time. Jimmy Hart is trying to convince Woman to get away from Benoit GOOD IDEA JIMMY. Dean Malenko has also come out and Benoit gets counted out fighting with Malenko outside of the ring. Benoit irish whips Malenko into the palm tree.

Lord Steven Regal vs Macho Man Randy Savage: Regal is accompanied by Chives for this important match. Some fun back and forth. We get a countdown for hour two (lets set off pyro for hour two) and apparently we don't have Bischoff or Heenan so we get two hours of Schiavone and Larry. Meanwhile here comes Luger and Sting. Sting and Luger take 2 of the 4 vacant seats at ringside. Macho Man wins with the elbow. Sting/Luger/Macho Man are approaching the limo and there's a wreath ("Condolences on the death of WCW"). Mean Gene is in the ring. Macho Man will get the first shot at the Hog Wild winner. "I see a very long and healthy life right here at WCW" (nah). Yeah, Sting's delivery of these lines makes the "who's side is Sting on" thing more fun. Macho Man kicks the flowers towards the crowd. The limo is leaving.

No word on if Tony gets time and a half for unexpectedly working a second hour.

We're taking a look back at Eddie Guerrero saving Chavo from Ric Flair.

It's time for The Booty Man (with the Booty Babe) vs Ric Flair: the rare WCW valet who isn't with the Horsemen at this time. Ric Flair is with Woman, Elizabeth, and Debra McMichael. The scenery behind the hard cam is neat how did they manage to hold so many outdoors shows in Orlando without rain fucking it up at least once. Arn Anderson is working security for this match.  Mongo and Benoit are guarding the palm tree in the entrance way. Tony and Larry remind us that Meng will fuck you up. Bobby Heenan has arrived. He has no idea what is going on and there's no Bischoff (foreshadowing!). Benoit and Mongo run in to beat down the Booty Man as we enter the Monsters Are Due On Maple Street phase of this angle. Kinda amazing how the best post-9/11 paranoia angle ever done in wrestling came in 1996 WCW. Mean Gene shows up to demand that they stop beating down Ed Leslie. Slight gap between Arn doing an amazing promo and Benoit/Mongo getting mic time after that. Flair gets some mic time to remind us that they're beating the fuck out of Hogan's best friend to get revenge. Arn's promo really speaks to WCW fans who think that barcodes are satanic.

Looking back on last week on a legendary angle. If you can get people to call the cops in reaction to an angle, it's probably working. Meanwhile Larry just drops a "Lake of fire is awaiting you Hulk Hogan" rant.

We got a paid announcement from the nWo which is stopped by Lex Luger and Sting in probably the only time that these announcements were stopped. Lex and Sting are in the production area. This is America, you can't play those announcements here.

Craig Pittman vs The Giant: Larry insisting that Jimmy Hart knows the weaknesses of Hulk Hogan. Larry also thinking that the other WCW wrestlers will keep providing security, which of course doesn't actually happen. GIant beats Pittman with a chokeslam. Teddy Long talks the Giant out of chokeslamming Pittman again and gets chokeslammed. The Giant, a very "enemy of my enemy" hero (until he turns in a few weeks). Jimmy Hart insisting he always told Hulk Hogan the truth unlike others. The Limo is back. The Giant talking about wanting to be the Champion "of the greatest organization" when he was growing up is a nice easter egg for the people who know he's from South Carolina.

Glacier! he's doing KARATE! (I guess Ray Lloyd had the good timing of being paid more for being in WCW at this time, but this gimmick was so obsolete)

Let's take a look back at the Nasty Boys taking on Sting and Macho on Saturday Night. With appearance of the Haliburton of Death.

The Nasty Boys vs Sting and Luger: The background of this arena setup rocks so hard, they're at a theme park instead of the Key Arena like Raw and this atmosphere is better. The Steiners show up to provide extra security. Rick Steinerlines Knobbs on the outside and Sting wins with the Scorpion. For some reason, the Peacock tries to end this episode during the main event and it took some work for me to fastforward past that.

Mean Gene talks to Luger and Sting after the main event. Sting and friends approach the limo. He opens the door, the door closes shut, we're outta time. But there's an "After the Show Exclusive" and Sting found a note from the nWo in the bag.

So yes, it's all happening on this show, isn't it?

Extra Summer 1996 WCW note: Did Duggan just come off as more sincere than the Nasties and the Booty Man and therefore nobody decided to fuck around with him for being a Hogan friend? or did Duggan have to do something to prove his loyalty?

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

Why did anyone think it was a good idea to have Jerry Lawler in his wrestling gear commentating from a studio or even ringside for twenty odd years?

A fifty year old man in tights with his weird ass salami nipples out obsessing over the ladies for three hours really goes in that "embarassed to be watching around non fans" pile

[Dolphman 3000]

16 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

 Is that the only time that Malia Hosaka got a big win in a major promotion?

Herb Abrams' UWF, baby!

 

[Cobra Commander]

1 hour ago, Dolphman 3000 said:

Herb Abrams' UWF, baby!

Malia Hosaka, a formidable pro wrestler in outdoors shows. Unfortunately big promotions don't run a lot of outdoors shows.

1 hour ago, GuerrillaMonsoon said:

Why did anyone think it was a good idea to have Jerry Lawler in his wrestling gear commentating from a studio or even ringside for twenty odd years?

how many times did Lawler work taped matches on RAW on the same night that he worked live matches in Memphis? although they were gone from the Coliseum after June 1996

I know that Lawler had limits on how much he would work Raw during the years when Memphis ran every Monday night

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

I mean in fairness - a lot of these were studio shows taped in Stamford (Superstars in 1993), and he was doing it well into the 2010s till they seemingly forced him into wearing his Ed Hardy knock off gear.

[Cobra Commander]

Lawler's not the only WWF guy who would be walking around on TV in his gear even if he's not wrestling on the show.

But since anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation, anybody could wrestle at any moment.

When did they stop emphasizing that anything could happen in the World Wrestling Federation? early 1998? (when literally anything could happen)

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

Pretty much when Vince went off commentary I guess?

[SirSmUgly]

7 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

hey, I ended up on the "Not Secure" http version of the board which had my half-assed 'as I watched it' post which was eaten by the board, so i'll put it in spoilers to save space

  Hide contents

Time to watch some WCW Nitro (8/5/96)

We're still at Disney/MGM Studios. Last week the Outsiders attacked Rey and others. This week, various meaty wrestlers are hanging around to provide security, Is there a 4th man in the nWo?

Off-topic: when did babyface Hogan leave the Nitro intro? he's still there for this episode

The Rock'n'Roll Express vs Harlem Heat. Meng is one of the wrestlers handling security tonight. Insert joke here. The Barbarian, Scott Norton, and Big Bubba are also on security tonight. Half of those 4 security members would be in the nWo by the end of the year. Match goes through one break, there's some Sherri/Parker drama on the outside. Hot tag to Gibson, but Gibson gets distracted by punching Parker and he gets taken out and Harlem Heat retains

Mean Gene is joined by the Nasty Boys. People are accusing the Nasty Boys of things because they're friends of Hulk Hogan. They're facing Sting/Luger later.

Glacier!

Malia Hosaka (with Sonny Oono) vs Madusa: Aw yes, a match at Hog Wild where the winner gets to destroy the other's motorcycle. Eventually the fans chant USA against the foreign menace that is Hawaiian born Malia Hosaka. A black limousine is here, using emergency flashers. Will the use of proper lights indicate it's a babyface? Malia Hosaka wins with Sonny Oono doing the Wrestlemania 5 Rude/Warrior finish. I'm gonna guess that's the biggest and only notable Malia Hosaka win in a major promotion?

3 weeks ago: Dean Malenko attacked Chris Benoit from behind for some reason

Alex Wright vs Chris Benoit: Some woman is teaching her kid to do a 4 fingers down towards Benoit, like they're cheering against the Texas Longhorns. We see Alex Wright unleashing some stiff offense early in this one. The limo is still parked. This is a pretty good match and maybe we should have appreciated Alex Wright more than we did at the time. Jimmy Hart is trying to convince Woman to get away from Benoit GOOD IDEA JIMMY. Dean Malenko has also come out and Benoit gets counted out fighting with Malenko outside of the ring. Benoit irish whips Malenko into the palm tree.

Lord Steven Regal vs Macho Man Randy Savage: Regal is accompanied by Chives for this important match. Some fun back and forth. We get a countdown for hour two (lets set off pyro for hour two) and apparently we don't have Bischoff or Heenan so we get two hours of Schiavone and Larry. Meanwhile here comes Luger and Sting. Sting and Luger take 2 of the 4 vacant seats at ringside. Macho Man wins with the elbow. Sting/Luger/Macho Man are approaching the limo and there's a wreath ("Condolences on the death of WCW"). Mean Gene is in the ring. Macho Man will get the first shot at the Hog Wild winner. "I see a very long and healthy life right here at WCW" (nah). Yeah, Sting's delivery of these lines makes the "who's side is Sting on" thing more fun. Macho Man kicks the flowers towards the crowd. The limo is leaving.

No word on if Tony gets time and a half for unexpectedly working a second hour.

We're taking a look back at Eddie Guerrero saving Chavo from Ric Flair.

It's time for The Booty Man (with the Booty Babe) vs Ric Flair: the rare WCW valet who isn't with the Horsemen at this time. Ric Flair is with Woman, Elizabeth, and Debra McMichael. The scenery behind the hard cam is neat how did they manage to hold so many outdoors shows in Orlando without rain fucking it up at least once. Arn Anderson is working security for this match.  Mongo and Benoit are guarding the palm tree in the entrance way. Tony and Larry remind us that Meng will fuck you up. Bobby Heenan has arrived. He has no idea what is going on and there's no Bischoff (foreshadowing!). Benoit and Mongo run in to beat down the Booty Man as we enter the Monsters Are Due On Maple Street phase of this angle. Kinda amazing how the best post-9/11 paranoia angle ever done in wrestling came in 1996 WCW. Mean Gene shows up to demand that they stop beating down Ed Leslie. Slight gap between Arn doing an amazing promo and Benoit/Mongo getting mic time after that. Flair gets some mic time to remind us that they're beating the fuck out of Hogan's best friend to get revenge. Arn's promo really speaks to WCW fans who think that barcodes are satanic.

Looking back on last week on a legendary angle. If you can get people to call the cops in reaction to an angle, it's probably working. Meanwhile Larry just drops a "Lake of fire is awaiting you Hulk Hogan" rant.

We got a paid announcement from the nWo which is stopped by Lex Luger and Sting in probably the only time that these announcements were stopped. Lex and Sting are in the production area. This is America, you can't play those announcements here.

Craig Pittman vs The Giant: Larry insisting that Jimmy Hart knows the weaknesses of Hulk Hogan. Larry also thinking that the other WCW wrestlers will keep providing security, which of course doesn't actually happen. GIant beats Pittman with a chokeslam. Teddy Long talks the Giant out of chokeslamming Pittman again and gets chokeslammed. The Giant, a very "enemy of my enemy" hero (until he turns in a few weeks). Jimmy Hart insisting he always told Hulk Hogan the truth unlike others. The Limo is back. The Giant talking about wanting to be the Champion "of the greatest organization" when he was growing up is a nice easter egg for the people who know he's from South Carolina.

Glacier! he's doing KARATE! (I guess Ray Lloyd had the good timing of being paid more for being in WCW at this time, but this gimmick was so obsolete)

Let's take a look back at the Nasty Boys taking on Sting and Macho on Saturday Night. With appearance of the Haliburton of Death.

The Nasty Boys vs Sting and Luger: The background of this arena setup rocks so hard, they're at a theme park instead of the Key Arena like Raw and this atmosphere is better. The Steiners show up to provide extra security. Rick Steinerlines Knobbs on the outside and Sting wins with the Scorpion. For some reason, the Peacock tries to end this episode during the main event and it took some work for me to fastforward past that.

Mean Gene talks to Luger and Sting after the main event. Sting and friends approach the limo. He opens the door, the door closes shut, we're outta time. But there's an "After the Show Exclusive" and Sting found a note from the nWo in the bag.

So yes, it's all happening on this show, isn't it?

Extra Summer 1996 WCW note: Did Duggan just come off as more sincere than the Nasties and the Booty Man and therefore nobody decided to fuck around with him for being a Hogan friend? or did Duggan have to do something to prove his loyalty?

Duggan explicitly ran "Terry" down in multiple interviews for changing and threatened to beat the prima donna out of him 

Leslie said nothing, and the Nastys openly said that they had no problem with Hogan for doing what he did and flirted with joining the nWo.

[Robert S]

For those living outside of the US, i.e. are using the "real" Network, not Peacock: the new app for PS4 is complete crap. A lot of stuff is not listed anymore, i.e. you have to search for things explicitly instead of browsing through stuff. Also the app is full of very obvious bugs, like the stuff you would maybe see in an alpha version of a software (for example in some menus the select bar is completely broken or in most views instead of a number of totally available videos you get (obviously not working) code {voidCnt} (or something like that)). It seems to be mostly a front-end issue, as the web-thing looks fine (the structure is still shit, but the bugs are not there and you can find things if you know how instead of having to use the search function).