odessasteps Posted April 3 Posted April 3 After his OJ promo in SMW, New Jack should have started saying he was from Brentwood. 3
Elsalvajeloco Posted April 3 Posted April 3 15 minutes ago, twiztor said: if Jericho had to suddenly retire after his 1998, he would be one of those mythical "what ifs" in the business. i don't know that i'd necessarily call it his absolute peak, mainly due to the perceived limitations of being "stuck" in the cruiserweight division, but if we never saw what came after, it would change the conversation completely. match wise, i think the three way feud with Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit would rank pretty highly. I'm now envisioning if he had been swapped in to be part of the Smackdown Six after the initial brand split, and i think he would have thrived there. Instead, he (checks notes) had a bunch of filler one month feuds that held no significance. If he was in Smackdown Six, I can see someone on the Raw creative team trying to break that shit up immediately somehow. I've went back and watched random Raw episodes from that time, and they're shockingly not that bad. There are also some Smackdown shows from that time period that don't hold up. However, having Jericho, Rey, Edge, the Guerreros, Benoit, and Angle on the same show feels like cheating. That's not even considering all the underrated underneath guys/vets. 1
Elsalvajeloco Posted April 3 Posted April 3 13 minutes ago, odessasteps said: After his OJ promo in SMW, New Jack should have started saying he was from Brentwood. I am surprised that we didn't get week to week OJ trial updates/thoughts from New Jack cause even WWF had a "Do you believe OJ did it?" poll on Raw before the verdict. The Gangstas were in SMW for a decent while so I am sure there is some decent overlap timeline wise.
Cobra Commander Posted April 3 Posted April 3 4 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said: I am surprised that we didn't get week to week OJ trial updates/thoughts from New Jack cause even WWF had a "Do you believe OJ did it?" poll on Raw before the verdict. The Gangstas were in SMW for a decent while so I am sure there is some decent overlap timeline wise. Smoky was also taping 4 hours of TV in one night and New Jack was in ECW by the time they did the failed glove-fitting in June 95 the amount of time from the crime to the verdict was around the length of Hulk Hogan's WCW title reign (crime in June 94, verdict in October 95, Hogan won the WCW title in July 94 and lost it at the end of October 95) 1
Elsalvajeloco Posted April 3 Posted April 3 5 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said: Smoky was also taping 4 hours of TV in one night and New Jack was in ECW by the time they did the failed glove-fitting in June 95 the amount of time from the crime to the verdict was around the length of Hulk Hogan's WCW title reign (crime in June 94, verdict in October 95, Hogan won the WCW title in July 94 and lost it at the end of October 95) I am thinking a coal miner's glove match in some backwater WV town would have been a hell of a sendoff out of the promotion for Jack and Mustapha centered around the glove actually not fitting and them not being able to use it in the match. Who was the announcer then? Whoever it was he was way too overdramatic. However, him shouting "THE GLOVE DOESN'T FIT! THE GLOVE DOESN'T FIT!" would have sent me. 4
Elsalvajeloco Posted April 3 Posted April 3 12 minutes ago, odessasteps said: I presume it would have been Ross and not Caudle by then. No, apparently, I was thinking of Chip Kessler. People need to go watch when Al Snow and someone from the Rock N Roll Express(?) were having a cage match, and they did the bait and switch where it looked like Unabomb had left ringside before the match but he was actually underneath the ring and assisted Al Snow (his tag partner) in winning the match. Kessler was absolutely stupefied to the point where it strained credibility. He needed to bring it down at least 10 or 11 notches. Late era Smoky Mountain...just an absolute coffin on roller skates and the commentary wasn't helping.
odessasteps Posted April 3 Posted April 3 Glen hiding under the ring. That would never happen again when JC was booking.
Elsalvajeloco Posted April 3 Posted April 3 9 minutes ago, odessasteps said: Glen hiding under the ring. That would never happen again when JC was booking. Found it! Timestamped as well. Crestfallen would be an understatement. Like I get what they were going for since it had been done in like Georgia and Memphis (in front of much much bigger crowds). However, Kessler doesn't have enough range as a commentator to get it over in a serious, dignified like a Lance Russell or even a Jim Ross. So as a result, he sounds like a guy who just came home and found his entire family as well as all the family pets murdered in the living room one night. You would think he needs years and years of therapy and grief counseling to get over what he just witnessed. It is just a bit too much. 1
Cobra Commander Posted April 3 Posted April 3 Chip Kessler sounds like the name of the guy who is commentating the 5th most important SEC football game of the weekend 1 5
Elsalvajeloco Posted April 3 Posted April 3 And oh, did they give Glen a box cutter like Taker and Mankind when they did their hijinks? It takes him a whole three minutes to get through that material. You can tell he was struggling mightily to get it to come apart. So it looks like some shit from the film Tremors. 1
StevieNippz Posted April 3 Posted April 3 8 hours ago, The Natural said: In its first year alone, the Austin 3:16 shirt generated $12 million in merchandise sales, according to Kurt Angle, who said Vince McMahon told him the figure directly. Austin himself said in a 2023 interview that his total earnings from the shirt alone have reached eight figures. --- Read that today. The Austin 3:16 shirt is my pick for the best wrestling shirt ever made. I still have the same one I got back in 1998 when I was 12. Luckily I wore all my shirts baggy back then so it still properly fits me as an adult. Pretty sure it's a bootleg because of the logo on the back but I still love rocking it 2
twiztor Posted April 4 Posted April 4 10 hours ago, The Natural said: IThe Austin 3:16 shirt is my pick for the best wrestling shirt ever made. nWo shirt for me. personal favorite is the version with the Syxx ball on the back, but the simplicity of the OG makes it #1 best. 3
username Posted April 4 Posted April 4 20 hours ago, SirSmUgly said: Chris Jericho is 55 now. He peaked at 28 and started wrestling at 20. From the perspective of his career, he didn't peak in high school, I must admit. He peaked in middle school. So honest question: wouldn't most people say the same of Rey Mysterio? Yeah he had great work afterwards but he was never working at that "I can barely believe what I'm watching" level again (knees are useful to have folks). 3
The Natural Posted April 4 Posted April 4 4 hours ago, StevieNippz said: I still have the same one I got back in 1998 when I was 12. Luckily I wore all my shirts baggy back then so it still properly fits me as an adult. Pretty sure it's a bootleg because of the logo on the back but I still love rocking it I prefer baggy clothing to tight any time. Cool yours still fit from childhood. Need to pick up that Austin 3:16 shirt at some point. 2 hours ago, twiztor said: nWo shirt for me. personal favorite is the version with the Syxx ball on the back, but the simplicity of the OG makes it #1 best. I'd have nWo second. Third would be Hot Rod or the Macho Man lilac shirt. 1
The Natural Posted April 4 Posted April 4 12 hours ago, The Natural said: In its first year alone, the Austin 3:16 shirt generated $12 million in merchandise sales, according to Kurt Angle, who said Vince McMahon told him the figure directly. Austin himself said in a 2023 interview that his total earnings from the shirt alone have reached eight figures. --- Read that today. The Austin 3:16 shirt is my pick for the best wrestling shirt ever made. I also think Austin 3:16 is the greatest promo of all time. Can't believe it's 30 in two months time. 1
JLowe Posted April 4 Posted April 4 (edited) On 4/2/2026 at 5:30 PM, Elsalvajeloco said: I cannot quite say Jericho peaked in 1998. Keep in mind, the guy had already been wrestling since the beginning of the 1990s. There are folks right now that in ring wise aren't as good as say 1995 Chris Jericho. I think what might hurt Chris in people's eyes is he got more notoriety as an entertainer than he did in almost ten years as a good worker and good wrestler. So of course, that means I have turn the entertainer mode up x500 especially once I get to the big dance of the WWF. In addition, he has always been pliable to doing different things which has allowed him to sorta recreate himself over various periods. That has helped him make a lot of money in the pro wrestling industry, but I dunno if creatively that allowed him to find something that actually connects with fans in the most authentic way. By the time he had the run to open up the Dynamite era, he was over with the fans but no longer in the physical condition to maintain. Hell, screw 25 year old Jericho. If he were 35-40 years old, he would still be in the hunt with the rest of the top guys in AEW. He would have never been off TV. IMO I think because he never found something that connects with fans in that way he wouldn't have change things up every 2-3 years, he keeps trying to fish for something that's never going to garner anything more than a decent 6-10 months before he has to do something new again. But there is also a fair point that he hasn’t really done much to elevate the younger talent he’s worked (in terms of being in a faction) with in AEW. The only thing I’ll give him is Danny Garcia, which was doing his best work as part of the JAS feuding with BCC. They didn’t stick the landing though, because honestly Matt Menard is annoying as fuck, like a helicopter dad. Big Bill is further down the card than he was before Learning Tree, and Bryan Keith was always just the pintaker. Sammy Guevara is an interesting case, in that he was definitely elevated as part of the Inner Circle but he can’t stop getting in his own way. Of course, there is an argument that Jericho can sometimes be that way as well (not to the Cody levels). ETA: I see this was already discussed, apologies for not reading through before posting. Edited April 4 by JLowe Didn’t read through thread to see that point had been made 3
tbarrie Posted April 4 Posted April 4 5 hours ago, JLowe said: Big Bill is further down the card than he was before Learning Tree, and Bryan Keith was always just the pintaker. Is Big Bill further down the card? I don't recall his doing anything of note before the Learning Tree. And I'd argue Bryan Keith has moved up slightly, but he was so low on the pecking order before that it's kind of hard to notice.
SovietShooter Posted April 4 Posted April 4 17 hours ago, The Natural said: I prefer baggy clothing to tight any time. Cool yours still fit from childhood. Need to pick up that Austin 3:16 shirt at some point. I'd have nWo second. Third would be Hot Rod or the Macho Man lilac shirt. The greatest wrestling shirt of all time is "I Broke Wahoo's Leg". I will not be taking questions at this time. 7
SovietShooter Posted April 4 Posted April 4 2 hours ago, tbarrie said: Is Big Bill further down the card? I don't recall his doing anything of note before the Learning Tree. I believe he held the tag titles with Richard E Starks. 1 1
Zimbra Posted April 4 Posted April 4 9 minutes ago, SovietShooter said: The greatest wrestling shirt of all time is "I Broke Wahoo's Leg". I will not be taking questions at this time. Better than "Dusty sucks eggs"? 1
Technico Support Posted April 4 Posted April 4 Nothing is better than the tie between AJ Styles’ jizz shirt and the Mistico cock shirt. The Triple H-designed ACH sambo shirt goes pretty hard, though.
tbarrie Posted April 4 Posted April 4 15 minutes ago, SovietShooter said: I believe he held the tag titles with Richard E Starks. Oh yeah! Thanks. Oddly forgettable, though.
SovietShooter Posted April 4 Posted April 4 Not seeing any discussion of this over in the Puro area, so someone tell me how to feel about Callum Newman as IWGP Champ....
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