Technico Support Posted March 3 Posted March 3 1 hour ago, Swift said: WWF @ Dublin, Ireland – Point Depot – April 21, 1993 (4,000) Virgil defeated Terry Taylor Doink the Clown (Keirn) (sub. for Razor Ramon) defeated Tito Santana Rick & Scott Steiner defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Ted Dibiase & IRS via disqualification The Bushwhackers defeated the Beverly Brothers Tatanka defeated Papa Shango The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna via disqualification Bret Hart defeated Bam Bam Bigelow I was 12 and really only remember seeing Undertaker and Bret Hart to be honest. We were sitting fairly well back in the stands but for every wrestler entrance and exit we'd see hordes of kids run to the aisle to try to get a handslap from a wrestler. We were begging my dad to let us do it but he was (rightfully) not having any of it. Anyway, after Bret's match, excitement got the better of me and I made a run down to ringside, my dad shouting at me in the distance. I make it to ringside as Bret is doing his rounds. I'm jostling with others, arm outstretched and... my fingers just missed Bret's. So disappointed and I got in trouble for it too. Fast forward years later and I live in Calgary so I've stumbled across Bret randomly a couple of times. Once was at a Chapters. As we were walking in we were wondering why the parking lot was so busy only to get inside and see a long lineup of people getting their copies of his autobiography signed by him. I'm not one for chatting to strangers and at this point I was out of wrestling fandom so I didn't bother buying the book and joining the queue. Last time was a couple years ago picking up someone at the airport on a quiet evening. Suddenly I noticed he was just wandering around where I was sitting in arrivals. It was a bit of a sad sight unfortunately. He looked really worn down, physically and mentally. Maybe he'd just gotten off a long flight but he looked very tired and a little bit lost. Noticeable wear and tear on his body by the way he was walking/hobbling. It was really sad seeing a childhood hero appear so beaten down Jesus, this is like a melancholy three act play. Swift encountering Bret Hart at three distinct periods in his life: at the height of his power, just after retirement, and as an old man. Now I'm depressed. 2 1 1
Hamhock Posted March 3 Posted March 3 My first show was: WWF @ Philadelphia, PA – Spectrum – August 4, 1984 (12,908) Bob Backlund pinned Salvatore Bellomo at 10:56 (Backlund’s last WWF match for 8 years) Gama Singh pinned Dave Barbie with a missile dropkick at 5:46 Mr. Fuji pinned Tiger Chung Lee at 14:33 Andre the Giant defeated Big John Studd via count-out at 9:47 WWF Champion Hulk Hogan pinned Greg Valentine at 11:18 The Freebirds (w / David Wolff & Cyndi Lauper) defeated Ron Shaw, Rene Goulet, & Charlie Fulton at 5:12 (the Freebirds’ debut) Haiti Kid pinned Dana Carpenter at 3:51 Iron Mike Sharpe pinned Jose Luis Rivera at 5:11 Jesse Ventura defeated Rocky Johnson via count-out at 4:46 Kamala (w/ Freddie Blassie & Friday) pinned Fred Marzino at 3:10 Ken Patera pinned Steve Lombardi at 5:43 IC Champion Tito Santana pinned the Iron Sheik at 7:51; Freddie Blassie was the special referee 2
SovietShooter Posted March 3 Posted March 3 3 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said: 4,000 in Riverfront Coliseum (the present day Heritage Bank Center) and Hogan is on the bill? That seems way down from what you would expect. Looking at other shows listed around that time, no one was really drawing that great. JCP was running the Gardens almost monthly, and looks like they were consistent in the 2000-3000 range. The GAB stop at Riverfront Stadium only did about 4500. After this show, the WWF did come back for a year, and drew 6000 with Savage defending against Andre on top. 1 1
Casey Posted March 3 Posted March 3 1 hour ago, odessasteps said: Kurt Angle vs Teddy Hart sounds like something for the Vault to post. I'm not even sure if it was Teddy Hart, but the timeline does match. Kind of crazy I was at an event with a pre-debut Angle match, but I don't remember it at all so it doesn't really matter tbh. I do remember thinking that this show sucked because people like the Undertaker only appeared for interview segments. I don't think The Rock or Austin were even in the building, I could be wrong. I have vague memories of Triple H being interviewed by Jim Ross. I believe his "I am the Game" promo would be about a month after this (also, weirdly, on Sunday Night Heat).
Elsalvajeloco Posted March 3 Posted March 3 It's totally understandable why you wouldn't remember pre debut Kurt Angle. I don't remember WWF really playing up his signing all that much on TV. Keep in mind, by the time he debuts, a new Olympic cycle is about to begin. Had that been three years earlier, it would have been the Mark Henry push in 1996 x5000 since he actually won a gold medal. They understood they had a real blue chip prospect and a natural so they didn't want to mess it by putting something out there too soon and took their time with everything. The WWF had a lot of debuts and re-debuts that absolutely fell flat over the last few years prior to Kurt Angle so it's kinda amazing they didn't get in their own way. 2
odessasteps Posted March 3 Posted March 3 Especially he wasn’t really gung ho on the business at the start, given his experience at that ECW show.
Elsalvajeloco Posted March 3 Posted March 3 11 hours ago, odessasteps said: Especially he wasn’t really gung ho on the business at the start, given his experience at that ECW show. I saw that show (at least the Hardcore TV version) during my rewatch, and it's very surreal how they treat Angle. It's very un-ECW like. There is a lot reverence there especially when he has an interaction with Taz (super ironic considering how Taz debuts in WWF years later) when they were portraying Taz as a killer and allowing Taz to also basically verbally shit on everyone alike. Taz is super respectful to him. You can clearly tell Heyman wanted to sign Angle and wanted to present him as a super big deal. That said, the Kurt Angle doing commentary with Joey Styles is very much real life, humble Kurt Angle. That's a major styles clash with ECW. I dunno if Paul creatively could get around the inevitable pushback and the crowd eventually booing him. WWF was clever enough to start him off trying to get real heel heat.
odessasteps Posted March 3 Posted March 3 And, as I recall, Angle was not good when he tried being a sportscaster in Pittsburgh. Funny to think now, with 20 years of Angle promos. given how he reacted at the time to the Cruxifixction that night, I can’t imagine he would have wanted to be there as a regular gig,
colonial Posted March 3 Posted March 3 First show I ever attended was an independent show in December 1986 at Wallkill Valley High School in New Jersey. It was a benefit show for a school club. Main event was Ivan Putski vs. The Hangman with the semi being "Dr. D" David Schulz against Johnny Rodz. A Hulk Hogan lookalike accompanied Rodz and mocked Schulz in a promo. Five matches overall -- another match had the Cheetah Kid, who later became Rocco Rock. 1
Pete Posted March 3 Posted March 3 Quote WWF @ New York City, NY – Madison Square Garden – January 21, 1985 (16,000) Televised on the MSG Network – featured Gorilla Monsoon & Gene Okerlund on commentary; the scheduled Junkyard Dog vs. Buddy Rose match was cancelled: Prime Time Wrestling – 9/22/86: Moondog Rex (sub. for David Sammartino) pinned Terry Gibbs with a reverse neckbreaker at 10:14; prior to the bout, Howard Finkel announced that the Junkyard Dog would be Jimmy Snuka’s partner later in the show, substituting for the Tonga Kid All American Wrestling – 2/24/85: Bret Hart defeated Rene Goulet via submission with a sleeper at 14:32 (Hart’s MSG debut) All American Wrestling – 2/10/85: Jim Neidhart pinned Tony Garea with a powerslam at 12:05 (Neidhart’s MSG debut) All American Wrestling – 2/17/85: Don Muraco (w/ Mr. Fuji) pinned Swede Hanson at 10:54 with the tombstone; prior to the bout, Pedro Morales was introduced to the crowd Blackjack Mulligan pinned Moondog Spot at 6:40 with a small package; Rita Marie made her debut as referee for the bout and was billed as the first ever female referee Prime Time Wrestling – 3/5/85: Andre the Giant defeated Ken Patera (w/ Bobby Heenan) via disqualification when Heenan came off the top onto Andre, hitting him with a pair of brass knuckles and causing the referee to be knocked down; moments later, Patera came off the top onto Andre, with Andre lifting his boot into Patera’s face before sending both men out of the ring (Andre the Giant VHS, Andre the Giant DVD) Prime Time Wrestling – 3/5/85: Big John Studd (w/ Bobby Heenan) pinned George Wells at 7:19 with a backbreaker; the referee made an obvious fast count to end the match Roddy Piper & Bob Orton Jr. defeated Jimmy Snuka & the Junkyard Dog (sub. for the Tonga Kid) in a Texas Tornado Match at 8:45 when Orton pinned JYD after Piper tripped JYD from the apron (The WWF’s Most Unusual Matches) Prime Time Wrestling – 3/5/85: The Spoiler pinned Rick McGraw at 8:59 with a butterfly spulex Tito Santana defeated WWF IC Champion Greg Valentine via count-out at 20:21 when a flying forearm from the challenger sent Valentine out of the ring This was a belated birthday present/party with 5-6 of my friends after I broke my wrist playing football a few months earlier. Random thoughts: The crowd was HOT HOT HOT for Andre getting revenge on Patera after the haircut angle. Heenan bumped like Heenan for Andre afterwards, which is absolutely insane in retrospect knowing that he was taking these disgusting bumps with a broken (freaking) neck. Tonga Kid stupidly no-showed MSG, which was the literal kiss of death for his first WWF run until he came back as Tama a couple of years later. A shame because I imagine Buddy Rose would've been ridiculously fun bumping for JYD. Doors close, windows open: Neidhart's WWF debut and the Spoiler winding down his career with one of his very last MSG matches. Interestingly Neidhart went back down to Florida a few nights later to finish his run there. No Hogan - he worked the B-show in Hartford that night (same show where Windham/Rotunda beat Adonis/Murdoch for the tag straps). 1
bobholly138 Posted March 3 Author Posted March 3 My first WWF show was whenever they finally ran Biloxi. Main event was Rick Rude defending the IC title against Warrior. And from what I remember Warrior won and was handed the belt. I was excited thinking fuck yea this weekend on Superstars,Spotlight and Wrestling Challenge I bet they show clips from this. Nope next Saturday I'm watching Spotlight Rude still has the belt. Still no clue what happened. Also same show Barry Horowitz beat Boris Zukoff. Years later when I met Boris,he was driving an 18 wheeler and a buddy was his roommate,I asked him about all this and seems Barry was beating Boris all over on house shows. 1
Stefanie Sparkleface Posted March 3 Posted March 3 15 minutes ago, bobholly138 said: My first WWF show was whenever they finally ran Biloxi. Main event was Rick Rude defending the IC title against Warrior. And from what I remember Warrior won and was handed the belt. I was excited thinking fuck yea this weekend on Superstars,Spotlight and Wrestling Challenge I bet they show clips from this. Nope next Saturday I'm watching Spotlight Rude still has the belt. Still no clue what happened. This must be the fault of Jack "On The Take" Tunney. 1 4
twiztor Posted March 3 Posted March 3 My first WWF show was a Raw taping in '99 that ALSO had pre-debut Kurt Angle, where he beat Rob Conway. This show also saw Jarrett beat Goldust for the IC Title, the Acolytes beating Kane & X-Pac for the tag titles, and was the first appearance of the "Higher Power". He revealed himself to Austin, but the audience didn't find out it was McMahon until a week after it aired (this was a Tuesday Raw taped for the following week). Also the in-ring debut of ol' Beaver Cleavage. i have no memory of any of this except for the Higher Power bit. 1
The Natural Posted March 3 Posted March 3 My first live show was WWE, 12th April 2015. Neville beat Finn Balor. WWE Tag Team Championship. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd retain against Kofi Kingston/Big E. R-Truth defeats Xavier Woods. Jimmy Uso wins over Fandango. Daniel Bryan/Dolph Ziggler/Erick Rowan beat Bad News Barrett/Sheamus/Bray Wyatt. Natalya/Emma/Summer Rae defeat Alicia Fox/Rosa Mendes/Cameron. Damien Mizdow wins against The Miz. Main Event, Leeds Street Fight: Roman Reigns beat the Big Show. --- The show was moved from Monday 13th April 2015 to Sunday 12th April 2015, a rare matinee one. I watched Daniel Bryan on Sunday, two days later he wrestled on Smackdown and was taken off the European tour, that was his last match for nearly three years. Daniel Bryan was cleared to return to wrestling in March 2018. So glad I got to see the GOAT live! 1
SirSmUgly Posted March 3 Posted March 3 That version of the Intercontinental Championship is sinfully ugly. Penta was made for WWE. He's all catchphrases, taunts, and signature moves. That'll take you a long way in that company. 4
The Natural Posted March 3 Posted March 3 (edited) 2 hours ago, SirSmUgly said: That version of the Intercontinental Championship is sinfully ugly. Penta was made for WWE. He's all catchphrases, taunts, and signature moves. That'll take you a long way in that company. Yes, that Intercontinental Championship is awful. Bring back the classic Intercontinental Championship design. Penta is made for WWE with all that you say but he still annoys the fucking piss out of me with the taint spamming. I'm keeping that autocorrect in. Edited March 3 by The Natural 2 6
supremebve Posted March 3 Posted March 3 This stream of 1st wrestling shows has shown that I have no idea how old any of you are. 1 3
The Natural Posted March 3 Posted March 3 (edited) 1 minute ago, supremebve said: This stream of 1st wrestling shows has shown that I have no idea how old any of you are. 41 this very Friday. Edited March 3 by The Natural 4
Technico Support Posted March 3 Posted March 3 (edited) 31 minutes ago, SirSmUgly said: That version of the Intercontinental Championship is sinfully ugly. Looks like an 80s arcade token. Who came first in the "let's find another islander to replace Snuka" plan? Tonga Kid or Sivi Afi? Probably Afi, since I saw a taping where he inexplicably came to the ring to "Theme From Shaft." Edited March 3 by Technico Support 4
Nice Guy Eddie Posted March 3 Posted March 3 (edited) I don't remember the exact date of my first show. It was post WM6 and before Beefcake's parasailing accident, as he defeated Mr. Perfect by DQ in an IC title match. I was 9 at the time. I'm 45 now. And yes, the current IC title design is butt ugly. Edited March 3 by Nice Guy Eddie 4
Technico Support Posted March 3 Posted March 3 (edited) I mentioned my first ever wrestling show in general, which was WWF in January of 86. My first Crockett show was later that year, part of the Bunkhouse Stampede tour. I'm a spry 51 now: JCP @ Baltimore, MD – Arena – December 13, 1986 (just under 10,000) (matinee) Brad Armstrong defeated Shaska Whatley Bobby Jaggers & Dutch Mantell defeated Ivan Koloff & Krusher Kruschev Big Bubba defeated NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion & NWA US Tag Team Champion Ron Garvin in a streetfight The Road Warriors defeated Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey Dusty Rhodes won a Bunkhouse Stampede match NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated NWA US Champion Nikita Koloff Edited March 3 by Technico Support 4
Robert S Posted March 3 Posted March 3 WWF @ Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion – May 28, 1994 Sparky Plugg defeated the 1-2-3 Kid Adam Bomb & Kwang defeated the Bushwhackers IRS defeated Tatanka Yokozuna defeated Mabel WWF Tag Team Champions the Headshrinkers defeated the Quebecers WWF World Champion Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart Let's see what I remember (I was 13): the opener was a clean, nice babyface match, Holly was pretty new in the Federation at that time, so I was a bit surprised about the result the Bushwhackers tag was all stick and lots of head licking (including for the poor girl who got to be guest ring announcer) I am remember being shocked that IRS won as Tatanka still was relatively protected at that time (Rotundo hit Tatanka with his briefcase before the pinfall) Yoko vs. Mabel was basically just sumo spots, no real work (I guess that was what Yoko was doing with Tenta on the circuit before he left). I remember Oscar trying to get a "whoomp there it is" chant running. No luck as the crowd was full of kids that barely spoke any English. I don't remember much from the tag team title match, I think the Quebecers missed the cannonball, followed by a hot tag and finish Bret won doing a standard house show finish (crossbody rollthrough) And yes, there were also lots of kids running to the entrance aisle for every match. 3
Shartnado Posted March 3 Posted March 3 I have 4 live wrestling shows under my belt at 48 and counting. 2002 WWF (SmackDown) debut show in Finland. Ridiculous amount of talent on that show, so I saw pretty much who's who of WWF at the time, aside from people on RAW side at the time (except Booker T, who was subbing for Undertaker against Brock). In 2003 there was a short-lived indy fed in Finland that used 85% of international talent. AJ Styles, Shane Douglas, Steve Corino, Kid Kash among others. I saw their second (and close to their last, probably big event). 2017 I saw Over The Top Wrestling's Wrestlerama with Jordan Devlin, Ricochet, Matt Sydal, The British Strong Style, Jeff Cobb, War Machine and a couple of cancelled guys, who were both wearing pretty cool goth get-up during their respective entrances, you can probably figure out who those guys were. This January, I saw Slam Wrestling's Frost Bite event with some current Finnish indy stars as well as some current European indy stars, who I didn't know previously. Most impressed with "The Orbit Breaker" Daz Black. So, not that much, but I have seen many big stars for such a few shows, so I consider myself lucky. 2
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