WWF/WWE/ECW/WCW

Sword Of The Heretic wrote:

Ummm, have you seen the most recent pics of The American Dream Dusty Rhodes?

Wow! He lost a LOT of weight. Good for him!

I find the existence of this thread fascinating...   

DallasBlack wrote:

Sword Of The Heretic wrote:

Ummm, have you seen the most recent pics of The American Dream Dusty Rhodes?

Wow! He lost a LOT of weight.

And hair !

Watched the Best Of WCW Nitro Vol. 2 last night and it's amazing the difference in Scott Steiner after just a few years. There was a Steiner Brothers vs. Road Warriors match. Scott was ripped even at that time, but his bicep didn't have that weird lump at the peak and his chest didn't have that funky large gap in it, he also was moving fast and using a lot high impact moves. Once he became Big Papa Pump, his physique became grotesque and he ended up moving slower than Hollywood Hogan in the ring.

THEN:


and NOW:

I'm surprised Steiner's heart hasn't quit long ago from all he has done to his body.  I hated when they broke the Steiners up and Scott decided he was Superstar Graham.  The only other "transformation" I hated more was when Magnificent Muraco became "The Rock" in the 80's.  A hefty dude who could move (and was fun to yell beach bum at) and give great coked out interviews to a roided up freak who was about as active as his nickname with the personality to boot.  That was awful.  At least I see he is still alive thankfully.

So I've been watching WCCW on the Network.  It's just after the Von Erichs V. Freebirds started.  It's crazy how it plays in retrospect.  First they way over explain the slamming the cage door on Kerry.  It almost makes the 'Birds sympathetic by giving them all this rational for why it happened.  They take something so simple and make it incredibly complicated.  The funny part is they have an interview with referee David Manning who lays it all out better than the promotion ever does.  Kerry trying to explain it is just tragic.  The other thing in retrospect is how, outside of David, the Von Erichs come off like such whiners and suck-up gloryhounds.  Kevin (who was actually my favorite at the time) is especially punchable.  The Freebirds on the other hand seem like the coolest badasses walking.  But the greatest thing about these shows is Bill Mercer trolling the Freebirds for interviews.

I remember that Von Erich/Freebirds angle very well and it was great.  I was a big fan of Kevin myself and his barefoot style.  I thought the Freebirds were awesome and definitely were the cool heels of their day.    

I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and Ohio was a dormant territory back in the 70s and 80s.  Because of that, all of the other territories ran shows and TV there.  We actually got WCCW, WWF, NWA, AWA and Mid-Atlantic/Jim Crockett Promotions all on television.  I distinctly remember seeing Georgia Championship Wrestling and guys like Greg Valentine, Ronny Garvin, and The Road Warriors on Saturday mornings.  My Dad took me to see the WWF one Saturday and we saw Hogan, The Bulldogs and, believe it or not, Bobby Heenan actually wrestled.  As a kid I didn't know that Bobby The Brain had been a hell of a good wrestler in his younger days, so I was shocked to see him in a singlet taking bumps.  Ha!

Some funny wrestling quotes. First on Raw, Zeb Coulter (Dutch Mantel-for those who don't follow wrestling anymore) said to Paul Heyman (Paul E. Dangerously-ditto):

"You're just jealous because I have more hair on my back than you do on your head!"

Then Chris Jericho in reference to Undertaker's streak ending:

"Maybe The Undertaker decided that, 'I don't want to do this anymore'. And much to the fans' chagrin, who wish that he would wrestle until the day he dies at 90 years old and explodes into a puff of dust in the ring, sometimes you've got to make that decision."

I was hopping that Adam bullshit was just a joke, but I am seeing his debut right now. Even more stupid that I thought it would be. One of those things that make me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. With Fandango, Brodus Clay, and other dancing idiots that fall of the map, you'd think they know it wouldn't work by now. I didn't care for it 15+ years ago with Disco Inferno and Alex Wright, I don't care for it now.

My problem with those kinds of characters is that they don't give them any depth at all.  They just dance.  Having watched Adam Rose on NXT I like him but it will get old real quick.  I'll also say I find Russell Brand amusing in small doses too so that may be his initial appeal.  I wish more of these types of characters did more of the Honkytonk Man thing where you just couldn't wait to see him get his ass kicked.

The fact that Dutch Mantel is still in wrestling is so awesome to me.  One of my favorite live matches I ever saw was a Kansas Jayhawks vs. Ole and Arn Anderson in a Texas Tornado match at the Baltimore Arena (then Civic Center).  But even more memorable was Arn's local promo where he talked about taking a Bic razor to Dutch's hairy back.

Quote :

As a kid I didn't know that Bobby The Brain had been a hell of a good wrestler in his younger days, so I was shocked to see him in a singlet taking bumps.

I saw way too many live matches where Heenan was doing twice as much as the people he was managing. He sure could take a beating.

jstate wrote:

My problem with those kinds of characters is that they don't give them any depth at all.  They just dance.  Having watched Adam Rose on NXT I like him but it will get old real quick.  I'll also say I find Russell Brand amusing in small doses too so that may be his initial appeal.  I wish more of these types of characters did more of the Honkytonk Man thing where you just couldn't wait to see him get his ass kicked.

The fact that Dutch Mantel is still in wrestling is so awesome to me.  One of my favorite live matches I ever saw was a Kansas Jayhawks vs. Ole and Arn Anderson in a Texas Tornado match at the Baltimore Arena (then Civic Center).  But even more memorable was Arn's local promo where he talked about taking a Bic razor to Dutch's hairy back.

Quote :

As a kid I didn't know that Bobby The Brain had been a hell of a good wrestler in his younger days, so I was shocked to see him in a singlet taking bumps.

I saw way too many live matches where Heenan was doing twice as much as the people he was managing.  He sure could take a beating.  

When I was a kid, my grandfather would take me to this huge flea market and there were always several stands selling back issues of wrestling magazines.  Of course I always sought out the ones with gory covers and articles.  Bobby Heenan was featured in those all the time.  The one I'll never forget featured a color closeup of Heenan on the cover sporting the "crimson mask" with the lurid headline of "The Night Bobby Heenan Paid His Dues....IN BLOOD!!!"

Time for the annual release of WWE Superstars.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/483435-wwe-releases-8-year-veteran-in-locker-room-clean-out-body-count-rises-to-11

Biggest surprise is JTG (Cryme Tyme) who despite not being on TV in many years was thought to never see a release. People joked that WWE forgot that he was still there . Brodus Clay is not a suprise and neither is Curt Hawkins as neither have been on TV in quite a while (and neither were ones you waited on bated breath for). 3MB (minus the one man band) is kind of surprising as they were the one tag team you could depend on to put over other teams. I wasn't a fan of Teddy Long the GM, but the guy has been in wrestling since before NWA was WCW (as a referee). Man has paid his dues and they surely could have found something for him. Of course they also dropped Jim Cornette all those years ago (of course that was for slapping Santino) and he was also a part of the old NWA). In reality, there is nobody released that is a total loss to the WWE universe.

Correction, Evan Bourne was exciting to watch. Unfortunately, wellness violations and multiple injuries were against him.

From pwinsider.com

Mark Carrano, who works under Triple H in talent relations is the man who made most (if not all) of the calls today informing talent that they were released. It is being said that the cuts are not yet done and that there may well be cuts tomorrow, with releases set to be made on the administrative side as well. Basically, the cuts are looking to cut across all departments.

- The word around the company is that the WWE Network's current state is the cause for the cuts. As previously reported, the Network is projected to lose money this year.
Read more at http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/325692#MFLzrAijzAl6jalM.99

mikeinfla wrote:

From pwinsider.com

Mark Carrano, who works under Triple H in talent relations is the man who made most (if not all) of the calls today informing talent that they were released. It is being said that the cuts are not yet done and that there may well be cuts tomorrow, with releases set to be made on the administrative side as well. Basically, the cuts are looking to cut across all departments.

- The word around the company is that the WWE Network's current state is the cause for the cuts. As previously reported, the Network is projected to lose money this year.
Read more at http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/325692#MFLzrAijzAl6jalM.99

No surprise as the Network buys have been much lower than projected - 600,000 when they were projecting 1 million.

Essentially, WWE blew up their entire business model and bet everything on the Network. Talent aren't even getting the massive PPV checks they used to get. So I expect the WWE will be in for some rough times in the near term. It also doesn't help that their roster is as thin as tissue paper, and their in ring product is as stale as two week old bread.

The Network seems like a good idea. And reasonably priced too but I am one of those who decided not to get it because I just dont have time to watch old matches like I want. I have enough stuff already on my DVR to keep me busy for a long time. Might've worked out better if it was an actual NETWORK like on Cable or something.

mikeinfla wrote:

The Network seems like a good idea. And reasonably priced too but I am one of those who decided not to get it because I just dont have time to watch old matches like I want. I have enough stuff already on my DVR to keep me busy for a long time. Might've worked out better if it was an actual NETWORK like on Cable or something.

I have the Network and I think it's worth the 9.99 a month for the PPVs alone. I also think it's a very good model for them and will be successful in the long run. There are some problems with it - namely the lack of new, original programming - but they are off to a good start. Hopefully they can get their crappy current product sorted out.

Witchfinder wrote:

mikeinfla wrote:

From pwinsider.com

Mark Carrano, who works under Triple H in talent relations is the man who made most (if not all) of the calls today informing talent that they were released. It is being said that the cuts are not yet done and that there may well be cuts tomorrow, with releases set to be made on the administrative side as well. Basically, the cuts are looking to cut across all departments.

- The word around the company is that the WWE Network's current state is the cause for the cuts. As previously reported, the Network is projected to lose money this year.
Read more at http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/325692#MFLzrAijzAl6jalM.99

No surprise as the Network buys have been much lower than projected - 600,000 when they were projecting 1 million.  

Essentially, WWE blew up their entire business model and bet everything on the Network.  Talent aren't even getting the massive PPV checks they used to get. So I expect the WWE will be in for some rough times in the near term.  It also doesn't help that their roster is as thin as tissue paper, and their in ring product is as stale as two week old bread.  

It's time for WWE to drop this whole "PG" thing.  I mean, when you have matches like Hell In The Cell, TLC, Elimination Chamber, etc, etc and no one bleeds???  Gimme a break!  They don't have to be the second coming of ECW but I think one of the things that makes their product boring is the lack of believability.  A guy gets his forehead slammed into a steel ringpost and his skin doesn't split?  Yeah, right.

The lame-o storylines don't help either.  The only thing I find interesting in WWE right now are the Wyatts.  And they did their best to kill that gimmick by miring the Wyatts in a feud with Super Cena.

tohostudios wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

mikeinfla wrote:

From pwinsider.com

Mark Carrano, who works under Triple H in talent relations is the man who made most (if not all) of the calls today informing talent that they were released. It is being said that the cuts are not yet done and that there may well be cuts tomorrow, with releases set to be made on the administrative side as well. Basically, the cuts are looking to cut across all departments.

- The word around the company is that the WWE Network's current state is the cause for the cuts. As previously reported, the Network is projected to lose money this year.
Read more at http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/325692#MFLzrAijzAl6jalM.99

No surprise as the Network buys have been much lower than projected - 600,000 when they were projecting 1 million.  

Essentially, WWE blew up their entire business model and bet everything on the Network.  Talent aren't even getting the massive PPV checks they used to get. So I expect the WWE will be in for some rough times in the near term.  It also doesn't help that their roster is as thin as tissue paper, and their in ring product is as stale as two week old bread.  

It's time for WWE to drop this whole "PG" thing.  I mean, when you have matches like Hell In The Cell, TLC, Elimination Chamber, etc, etc and no one bleeds???  Gimme a break!  They don't have to be the second coming of ECW but I think one of the things that makes their product boring is the lack of believability.  A guy gets his forehead slammed into a steel ringpost and his skin doesn't split?  Yeah, right.

The lame-o storylines don't help either.  The only thing I find interesting in WWE right now are the Wyatts.  And they did their best to kill that gimmick by miring the Wyatts in a feud with Super Cena.

Getting rid of the PG would really help Dean Ambrose. I know a lot of people have not been impressed with him and think the crazy guy gimmick can only go so far. However, if he was allowed to more violent he'd probably gain some fans. Most people don't know this about him, but he became a sensation due to his insane hardcore matches. Yes ROH is one place he made a name for himself but before that he was in CZW which was basically ECW with the volume turned up. His intensity + a crimson mask would really add to the crazy gimmick. As it stands he just appears to be faking crazy because a crazy person wouldn't stop until he could draw some blood.

Agree with you on the Wyatts but that has more to do with Mike Rotunda's (IRS, Michael Wallstreet) kid, Bray. He came up with the gimmick and writes all of his speeches. For such a young wrestler (he's only 27), the man has charisma, ring psychology, believability, and natural ability of a long time veteran. A lot of people said that about Randy Orton (Orton, while a better in ring performer than Cena, like Cena he has become too comfortable with his abilities and refuses to evolve any), but Bray is already better than Orton was at this stage IMO. Luke Harper is the second stand-out and that's due to many years in the independents (he's already an 11 year veteran, more experience than the other two Wyatts put together-bray 5 and Rowan 3). Rowan is really the weak link with so little experience however, all he has to do at this point is beat people up and leave the fancy stuff to the other two.

Bray's mic work is just outstanding.  And that weird, crab-walking thing he does that he usually saves for PPVs is great.  The guy doesn't really look very athletic but he sure does a lot of stuff in the ring that other people don't. 

That + his great work on the mic have made him my favorite character in WWE at this point.

The best thing I've seen on Raw in the past couple of years was when HHH threw Lesnar into the ring steps (or ring post, I can'r really remember) and accidentally split Lesnar's skull wide open.  It was hilarious as the live feed went to black and white and the cameraman kept trying to stay on the side of Lesnar that wasn't bleeding.

But dammit, that was the most intense segment Raw has had in years.  A guy got thrown into a steel object and it split open his skull; aka "believability".

tohostudios wrote:

Bray's mic work is just outstanding.  And that weird, crab-walking thing he does that he usually saves for PPVs is great.  The guy doesn't really look very athletic but he sure does a lot of stuff in the ring that other people don't. 

That + his great work on the mic have made him my favorite character in WWE at this point.

With you there man! So are the crowds as he gets an insane amount of cheers despite being booked as a heel. Maybe it's being the son of Rutundo and the newphew of Windham that has made him so good, but so is Bo Dallas and I don't see him being a staple in the WWE universe (IOW, I DON'T Bolieve). No matter what, he is the best thing to happen to WWE in a LONG time.

BTW, if you haven't seen it, try to find the Bray match with Bryan at Royal Rumble. Best match of the year so far IMO. The action was fast paced and intense and every move was flawless. Most matches tend  to have me tuning in and out, while that one had me glued to the screen. It was so good, every match after it got booed out of the building. Actually, also find the Orton vs. Cena match after it and hear how vicious the crowd got (you can visually see how pissed Orton got at the crowds reaction-to his credit, Cena kept his composure and didn't let it get to him).

The best thing I've seen on Raw in the past couple of years was when HHH threw Lesnar into the ring steps (or ring post, I can'r really remember) and accidentally split Lesnar's skull wide open. It was hilarious as the live feed went to black and white and the cameraman kept trying to stay on the side of Lesnar that wasn't bleeding. wrote:

Yeah, that was great!

I've said it before. I'll say it again. Bray Wyatt is going to be the Undertaker of the next generation.

Haven't watched wrestling in a long time so I never heard of Bray Wyatt. Decided to look him up and looks like an interesting character.

I like when Bray does this: