ben. Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 That is weird to me as for Mania IV that is understandable as the whole tournament thing seemed lackluster but I would have figured V had a hot enough angle to bring a crowd to sell it out. Does that mean that WWF handled the tickets then and sold off a bunch to Trump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneybrown Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Not sure how it worked, I just remember PWI saying (and Meltzer confirming later) that a lot of the tickets were reserved for the "high rollers." So I would guess a certain allotment were set aside for them ahead of time. FWIW, they actually added more seats for WMV expecting a sellout and according to Meltzer's numbers they were still 600 seats shy of that. So technically, WMV might have sold out otherwise. I do know that WrestleMania V was the most-watched WWF PPV until the Attitude era, so the real crowd was there watching it at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 As to the question of "why did Crockett run big stadiums that they had no shot at selling out?" remember that these guys were pretty fucking crazy as far as overspending and acting way too big for their means went. This was just before Crockett bought out Watts for no real benefit (and paid too much in the bargain), moved their offices to a much more expensive location in Dallas just for appearance purposes, and took private jets everywhere. Crockett was ballin' out of control before ballin' out of control was cool. This is kind of what I imagine Crockett's accountant said after reviewing the books: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Was it agreed that WM V would take place at Trump plaza before WM IV even took place? I think they could have got a stadium crowd for Hogan vs Savage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Was it agreed that WM V would take place at Trump plaza before WM IV even took place? I think they could have got a stadium crowd for Hogan vs Savage. That was what lead me into thinking about these questions. I feel like Hogan/Savage could've drawn in a stadium atmosphere, especially the buyrate that it got showing that could've been the case in a better environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I also imagine that any attendance issues at Trump Plaza could be explained by the fact that the WWF, which was largely marketed to children at this point, was having its biggest shows in a casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Sweetser Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I recall that WM4 and WM5 (or at least WM5) had some pretty crazy gates comparatively due to those high-roller seats going for high-roller prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneybrown Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 I recall that WM4 and WM5 (or at least WM5) had some pretty crazy gates comparatively due to those high-roller seats going for high-roller prices. I don't have the numbers in front of me but I know WWF made more off the 18,000 people at WMV than the 78,000-93,000 in attendance at WMIII. EDIT: WrestleMania V did $1.63 million on 18,946. WMIII did $1.6 million with at least 4x the crowds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoKnowsWrestling Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Wow I just watched 4 and 5 and wondered these exact same questions. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Mann Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 It's also worth remembering at the time that thanks to Mike Tyson being such a presence there, that the ACCC had a genuine big-fight atmosphere. But I get why they went back. It was really too good an offer to say no to if Trump could get them a $1M gate with minimal effort on WWF's part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister TV Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 It's also worth remembering at the time that thanks to Mike Tyson being such a presence there, that the ACCC had a genuine big-fight atmosphere. But I get why they went back. It was really too good an offer to say no to if Trump could get them a $1M gate with minimal effort on WWF's part. Location wise it made a lot of sense to since Philly is only a hour drive and NYC, Baltimore and D.C. were all drives under or around 3 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playa Shunna Ver 3.0 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Was there a reason Bob Holly and the Kid won the tag title tournament after replacing the Smoking Gunns in 95 only to lose the titles the next night...to the Smoking Gunns? Bob Holly mentioned it in his book. And no, there was no given reason. When he asked why they were dropping the belts they had no real answer. I would guess the Gunns were originally scheduled to win the tourney and Billy's injury made them unable to compete, so the Gunns winning the next night just returned to the status quo. Isn;t the old school theory/rule that if you sub a babyface into a title match they have to win. Send the fans home happy even if they didn't see what was advertised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeball Wizard Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Was there a reason Bob Holly and the Kid won the tag title tournament after replacing the Smoking Gunns in 95 only to lose the titles the next night...to the Smoking Gunns?Bob Holly mentioned it in his book. And no, there was no given reason. When he asked why they were dropping the belts they had no real answer. I would guess the Gunns were originally scheduled to win the tourney and Billy's injury made them unable to compete, so the Gunns winning the next night just returned to the status quo. Isn;t the old school theory/rule that if you sub a babyface into a title match they have to win. Send the fans home happy even if they didn't see what was advertised. There is some truth to this, but it's not as if Holly/Kid just stepped in to the finals of the tournament. They replaced the Gunns before the first round started, so it's a bit of a stretch in that respect. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I always figured it was one of two things. A) The Gunns were injured when the tournament started, but were cleared some time before it was over, or 2) They didn't want the LT/Bam Bam stuff to overshadow the Gunns' first tag title win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 How much Windy City (Pro) Wrestling from the 90s/early 00's exists on tape? I know it aired on Sportschannel for a time, but have no idea on dates or availability. I found a random episode on Dailymotion and it was a fun watch. Always like watching the Texas Hangmen and some team called the Dream Warriors had a truly abysmal promo. Would love to see more if it's out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I still want to know if anything from Dusty's TCW is up anywhere on the net. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playa Shunna Ver 3.0 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 How much Windy City (Pro) Wrestling from the 90s/early 00's exists on tape? I know it aired on Sportschannel for a time, but have no idea on dates or availability. I found a random episode on Dailymotion and it was a fun watch. Always like watching the Texas Hangmen and some team called the Dream Warriors had a truly abysmal promo. Would love to see more if it's out there. I feel like we used to get that show in NYC for a while. I remember Chris Daniels from that show. We were lucky enough to get JAPW and a local indy that used guys like Low Ki and the like in the late 90s. I have a bunch of those on VHS. Really need to back up the tape collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovchunky Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Are you thinking of early 90s Windy City when Heyman was booking? That was definitely on Sports Channel. 2001 or 2002 Windy City aired on WJYS and was largely terrible. I remember RVD worked a show after ECW closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebreaker Chip Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Trained workers: how does one perform a bridging German suplex on a 200+lb man without his weight smashing your own head into the canvas with lethal force? The answer to that is probably just "with great difficulty", but Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 So, was looking at old Observer awards listings (at this very helpful site put together by Chris Harrington: https://sites.google.com/site/chrisharrington/mookieghana-prowrestlingstatistics/wo_awards_history#TOC-1992 I was shocked at how poor WCW did across the board. I mean, I watched the NWA tag tournament at COTC and GAB recently and enjoyed it, that year was the rise and fall of the Dangerous Alliance, and Vader was wrecking people. As a an 11 year old, 1992 is one of my fave years in wrestling for WCW. I recall there just being great wrestling across the board. I understand business sucked and Watts was divisive but a few results really stand out, though I'm looking back from 23 years: Vader not being in Top 5 for Wrestler of the Year War Games with Stinger's Squadron against the DA being 7th in MOTY (It might be one of the most North American matches of the decade) WCW finishing second in Worst Promotion I know business was rough and Observer awards can be finicky but that just strikes me as odd. I'm in the same boat. The Dangerous Alliance/Vader/tag team stuff was really what hooked me on wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumanChessgame Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Did Jack Tunney actually have an executive position in the WWF or was he just some random actor/office guy they brought out when things needed to get serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Guy Eddie Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Tunney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelcanvas Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Were there penalties in the 70s for wrestlers who worked renegade territories? Were such wrestlers still able to get NWA bookings without difficulty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tromatagon Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 You'd get blackballed man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelcanvas Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Right. That's what I figured. But how did Ernie Ladd headline in IWA (which I assume was non NWA, right?) and then move to other places without issue? Mil Mascaras was another IWA guy. Also, is it true that Mil Mascaras has been holding on to and defending (?) the IWA title for the last 40 years???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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