Legends Programming

[BUTT 0]

From JR's blog-

 

Cowboy Bill Watts is set to be a panelist on the next round of the WWE Legends Roundtables to be produced in December.

I'll look forward to seeing that next July!

[Boner Kawanger 0]

One of the shows they filmed with him was on African Americans' contributions to wrestling, so maybe we'll get on by February.

 

Did anyone get the new episode in their updates today?

[Boner Kawanger 0]

New episode is finally up for me.

 

EDIT-This is a pretty sucky episode. They're supposed to talk about the significant moments of wrestling history, and so far they've shown a self indulgent Vince promo and Vampiro/Berlyn with Oklahoma on commentay. Seriously.

[Diamonddust 0]

Flair's bitterness towards WCW really comes across in this episode.

 

And it's HIGHLY ironic that Flair and Foley get into a discussion about how there is only one promotion to make money at now (When discussing the purchase of WCW). The funny thing after that is that Flair and Foley don't mention TNA... but Flair does later on when he's ranting about Russo.

 

The episode does end with Flair doing his "Black Scorpion" voice, so you can't be disappointed with that.

[cabbageboy 0]

You know, the more I see of Flair on these shows the more of an asshole he seems like. If he disliked the Oklahoma character that's fine, but Flair gets entirely carried away with his utter hatred for guys like Hall and Nash. Having seen or heard some shoots with those guys they don't seem anywhere near as mean when it comes to discussing Flair. Quite honestly I don't even agree with a lot of what Flair had to say about those guys, like Hall was mostly lousy and Michaels had a great match with a ladder while he was in the ring, or Nash had zero talent (has Flair watched any of Nash's 1994-96 work?).

 

Further, what is with Flair (and WWE in general really) ranting about guys leaving the WWF in the mid 90s and stabbing the company in the back. Didn't Flair do something similar to WCW in 1991 when he left with the title belt? I don't recall Hall, Nash, or Luger doing anything like that. At most, Luger just didn't give any notice but he hardly showed up in WCW while still under WWF contract. Hell, Hall was doing an angle where he was queer bait for Goldust in early 1996....can anyone blame the guy for having enough and wanting out? Nash had been jobbed out of the world title scene and largely had done what he was going to do, so a fresh setting was the best thing for him. People have opportunities, guys change promotions, it happens.

 

Add to all of this Flair's off topic stories about his rampant infidelity and drunken road antics and he really comes off like a sad man.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

You know, the more I see of Flair on these shows the more of an asshole he seems like. If he disliked the Oklahoma character that's fine, but Flair gets entirely carried away with his utter hatred for guys like Hall and Nash. Having seen or heard some shoots with those guys they don't seem anywhere near as mean when it comes to discussing Flair. Quite honestly I don't even agree with a lot of what Flair had to say about those guys, like Hall was mostly lousy and Michaels had a great match with a ladder while he was in the ring, or Nash had zero talent (has Flair watched any of Nash's 1994-96 work?).

 

Further, what is with Flair (and WWE in general really) ranting about guys leaving the WWF in the mid 90s and stabbing the company in the back. Didn't Flair do something similar to WCW in 1991 when he left with the title belt? I don't recall Hall, Nash, or Luger doing anything like that. At most, Luger just didn't give any notice but he hardly showed up in WCW while still under WWF contract. Hell, Hall was doing an angle where he was queer bait for Goldust in early 1996....can anyone blame the guy for having enough and wanting out? Nash had been jobbed out of the world title scene and largely had done what he was going to do, so a fresh setting was the best thing for him. People have opportunities, guys change promotions, it happens.

 

Add to all of this Flair's off topic stories about his rampant infidelity and drunken road antics and he really comes off like a sad man.

 

Ric Flair was fired and felt he owned the belt when his deposit on it wasn't returned.

[Enigma 0]

This is why the Flair story is different. According to Meltzer, Jim Herd sent Ric Flair's attorney a fax while Flair was on a 2-week, company-approved vacation, saying that Flair needed to fly to Macon, GA immediately and drop the title to Barry Windham on 7/2/91. Flair's attorney called him and told him about the fax. Flair got to a phone and called Herd. He told Herd he wasn't going to do it because he was on a vacation that he approved. Herd accused Flair of holding up the company and fired him. Since WCW made the world champion put a $25,000 deposit on the belt in case something happened to it, Flair told him to get his money back to him as soon as possible. Herd told Flair to fuck off and that he wasn't getting a dime of it back. Flair said, "Fine then" and took the belt to the WWF with him. Herd resigned from WCW in February 1992 and replaced with Kip Allen Frey. Frey really didn't care about getting the title back. Frey resigned to take another job in Turner Broadcasting in May 1992 and was replaced by Bill Watts. They didn't get it back until June 1992 when Bill Watts was in charge.

[Darth Pipes 0]

You know, the more I see of Flair on these shows the more of an asshole he seems like. If he disliked the Oklahoma character that's fine, but Flair gets entirely carried away with his utter hatred for guys like Hall and Nash. Having seen or heard some shoots with those guys they don't seem anywhere near as mean when it comes to discussing Flair. Quite honestly I don't even agree with a lot of what Flair had to say about those guys, like Hall was mostly lousy and Michaels had a great match with a ladder while he was in the ring, or Nash had zero talent (has Flair watched any of Nash's 1994-96 work?).

 

Further, what is with Flair (and WWE in general really) ranting about guys leaving the WWF in the mid 90s and stabbing the company in the back. Didn't Flair do something similar to WCW in 1991 when he left with the title belt? I don't recall Hall, Nash, or Luger doing anything like that. At most, Luger just didn't give any notice but he hardly showed up in WCW while still under WWF contract. Hell, Hall was doing an angle where he was queer bait for Goldust in early 1996....can anyone blame the guy for having enough and wanting out? Nash had been jobbed out of the world title scene and largely had done what he was going to do, so a fresh setting was the best thing for him. People have opportunities, guys change promotions, it happens.

 

Add to all of this Flair's off topic stories about his rampant infidelity and drunken road antics and he really comes off like a sad man.

 

I think he is a sad man living a sad life. He's a sixty-year-old man who acts like he's twenty who has pissed off all his money, can't stay married, and is now making a living whoring himself on the independent circuit.

 

Why would anyone criticize Hall and Nash for leaving the WWF in the mid-90s? Ignoring the fact that it led to the big wrestling boom, their contracts were up and they took better offers to work elsewhere. They gave the WWF months notice and the WWF jobbed them out of all their matches. Hall's star in the company had cooled off and he wasn't doing anything major and Nash didn't have much mileage left in the company. They moved on, made more more, revitalized not just their careers but the whole industry.

 

There's no law saying you have to stay with the company that made you a success. Guys leave teams and companies all the time and in wrestling, it's a common business. Hall and Nash were offered more money and a gigantic push. Who wouldn't have taken that deal? Flair should talk about loyalty. The WWF gave him a great, months-long sendoff complete with a DVD and a spot in their Hall of Fame. They then gave him a nice, cushy public relations job and hoped Flair would give back to them by promoting the company and 24/7. So what does Flair do? Get out of his contract so he could whore himself in the independent promotions. He even stated in an interview he was getting to the point when he couldn't leave that kind of money on the table anymore. So money was more important to Ric then loyalty and that's fine. This is America and he's looking after himself. Just like Hall and Nash were.

 

I think Flair is bitter because it was the NWO storyline, not him or the Four Horsemen, that made WCW the number one company in the country for two years.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Just to clarify something Enigma wrote, the $25,000 deposit was actually from the National Wrestling Alliance. That came from the days of Lou Thesz.

[Enigma 0]

I could see Flair's gripe over Luger leaving because he shook Vince's hand and said he was staying. Then he shows up on Nitro the next night.

 

But he has no beef over Hall and Nash. Hall and Nash both gave their notices months in advance. I could see someone having a problem with Hall because there were some drug issues with him when he left. But overall, Flair's problem with them goes way deeper than how they left the WWF.

[Darth Pipes 0]

I could see Flair's gripe over Luger leaving because he shook Vince's hand and said he was staying. Then he shows up on Nitro the next night.

 

Sounds like Bobby Petrino, the former coach of the Falcons. After being hired and having a lousy season 13 games in, he told the owner of the Falcons, Arthur Blank, that he was "his guy" and that he would remain coach of the Falcons. Blank then had a press conference where he mentioned this and the next day, Petrino flew down to Arkansas to take over the job of head coach. That was a real chicken**** thing for him to do. If Luger did this, then it was just as much of a chicken**** thing to do.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

IIRC, according to Luger's shoot, he had been trying to get a new contract worked out during the summer of 95 since it had expired. Vince kept brushing him off. According to him, he just wanted some job security so he went to WCW . . . for less money than he was making in the WWF according to Bischoff.

[Darth Pipes 0]

Just finished watching the new Legends program and I really enjoyed it. They did get off track a number of times but overall, fascinating conversation.

 

-Flair indeed does come off like a bitter prick. He can't admit the success of the Monday Night era and is insanely jealous of Hall and Nash. Get the hell over it. They made WCW numer one...not you. It's a laugh that he criticizes guys for leaving the WWF to get more money. There are no unions or guarenteed contracts in the business. It's every man for himself and he should know that. He goes off on those guys for not being loyal to the company who made him. Just how did he repay Vince for that great sendoff? By becoming a goodwill ambassador for the company and then promptly leaving that role to chase more money on the independent story.

 

-The censoring of the language is really annoying me. "Ass" and "pissed" gets beeped out. It's really ridiciolous. I know they're all "family friendly" now but I've said this countless times, WWE 24/7 Classics is a channel that caters to the older fan. It's not a young person's network. The fact that I'm paying over $80 a year to watch heavily censored WWE Monday Night War footage is absolutely ridiciolous.

 

-There's been a longstanding rumor that Shawn Michaels didn't want to drop the title to Steve Austin at WM14. The story goes that the Undertaker approached him and told him that if he didn't, he would beat the living crap out of him. Supposedly, he waited in the back during the title match with his fists taped in case Michaels backed out. This story has never been confirmed but JR says at the end of this program that there was a lot of drama involving this main event "with Shawn's back, with Shawn's bad attitude" so it makes me wonder if the Taker story is true now.

[Enigma 0]

I think we've all known that the Taker/HBK story is true and any attempt to say it wasn't has always been pretty weak because no details were given.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

-The censoring of the language is really annoying me. "Ass" and "pissed" gets beeped out. It's really ridiciolous. I know they're all "family friendly" now but I've said this countless times, WWE 24/7 Classics is a channel that caters to the older fan. It's not a young person's network. The fact that I'm paying over $80 a year to watch heavily censored WWE Monday Night War footage is absolutely ridiciolous.

 

I understand the point you're making here, but I've mentioned this before - just about every bit of language censorship on MNW episodes aired so far was originally put there by the USA Network based on old recaps I've read.

[Darth Pipes 0]

-The censoring of the language is really annoying me. "Ass" and "pissed" gets beeped out. It's really ridiciolous. I know they're all "family friendly" now but I've said this countless times, WWE 24/7 Classics is a channel that caters to the older fan. It's not a young person's network. The fact that I'm paying over $80 a year to watch heavily censored WWE Monday Night War footage is absolutely ridiciolous.

 

I understand the point you're making here, but I've mentioned this before - just about every bit of language censorship on MNW episodes aired so far was originally put there by the USA Network based on old recaps I've read.

 

We'll find out for sure when Austin and Rock start cutting their interviews. If they're being beeped, then it's the WWE for sure that's censoring them.

 

[MillenniumMan831 0]

To speak for Legacy, they beeped out Lawler's references to Bad Ass Billy Gunn from Survivor Series 1997. Though the crowd chanting Faggot made it through.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Maybe it's the panel or Gene as the moderator, but the last several episodes have been a general waste of time. There's little direction, which you could attribute to Gene. But then you consider Flair seems determined to continually lead the conversation astray to indulge his own exploits. Gene's visibly irritated by Flair in this latest episode and I can't blame him. Gene's trying to actually push along the show's topic and all Flair wants to do is talk about getting laid at the Marriott.

 

I like Tazz, but he's utterly worthless on these shows.

[Enigma 0]

I like how Flair didn't seem to understand that just because Tazz thinks the MSG thing was important doesn't mean he liked it.

[Darth Pipes 0]

Maybe it's the panel or Gene as the moderator, but the last several episodes have been a general waste of time. There's little direction, which you could attribute to Gene. But then you consider Flair seems determined to continually lead the conversation astray to indulge his own exploits. Gene's visibly irritated by Flair in this latest episode and I can't blame him. Gene's trying to actually push along the show's topic and all Flair wants to do is talk about getting laid at the Marriott.

 

I like Tazz, but he's utterly worthless on these shows.

 

Like I said, Flair's a 60-year-old man who thinks he's 20. It's really pathetic.

[Boner Kawanger 0]

Tazz wouldn't be worthless if he could get a sentence in on Flair.

[Darth Pipes 0]

Yeah, Flair kept cutting him off whenever he would bring up something about stuff that happened recently. Just more bitterness of the new era I guess.

[Darth Pipes 0]

The Orndorff HOF profile was pretty good. They showed when him and Piper broke up. Good segment but God...between Piper's kilt and goofy behavior and Orndorff's booty shorts, those two gave off serious homoerotic undercurrents.

[Boner Kawanger 0]

Why do Orndorff's trunks say "O.P." instead of "P.O." in the Sarge match?

[cabbageboy 0]

Pipes, believe me I know about how big of a douchebag Bobby Petrino is. Still, there was a pattern at U of L before he even went to the Falcons. He negotiated with Auburn behind everyone's back, then begged forgiveness once Auburn kept Tommy Tuberville. He flirted with LSU the year after that when Nick Saban left, but he was shamed into staying and they hired Les Miles. Then he flirted with the Oakland Raiders after that, then finally left for Atlanta.

 

In regards to Luger, he maybe left WCW for the WWF in early 1992 and spent a whole year screwing around in the WBF. Then he went back to WCW in Sept. 1995. Unlike Petrino he didn't have multiple valid contracts he was blatantly not fulfilling.

[Darth Pipes 0]

The Jerry Lawlor HOF profile features his empty arena match between him and Terry Funk. It's been on 24/7 alone but good God, Funk was all kinds of awesome. Nonstop cursing and screaming throughout the segment (with an hysterical, hyperventilating voice), Funk was definitely a sports entertainer before the WWF started using that phrase. I remember during the ECW One Night Stand two years ago people were wondering if he had really injured his eye. I knew he hadn't...his been doing that "MY EYE! OH GOD, GET A DOCTOR!" rountine for 25 years.

[Timmy8271 0]

Too bad WWE doesn't have the No DQ match between those two. It's even better than the Empty Arena match.

[Promoter 0]

I think we've all known that the Taker/HBK story is true and any attempt to say it wasn't has always been pretty weak because no details were given.

 

I always questioned this story although I heard it straight from Taker's mouth on OTR.

 

The reason being is HBK had a bad back. Why would he want to hold the title and not be able to wrestle? It doesn't make sense. His condition he had to lose the belt. You can tell in the match with Austin he was hurt.

[DerangedHermit 0]

I think we've all known that the Taker/HBK story is true and any attempt to say it wasn't has always been pretty weak because no details were given.

 

I always questioned this story although I heard it straight from Taker's mouth on OTR.

 

The reason being is HBK had a bad back. Why would he want to hold the title and not be able to wrestle? It doesn't make sense. His condition he had to lose the belt. You can tell in the match with Austin he was hurt.

The WWE belt is the One Ring?

[Darth Pipes 0]

I think we've all known that the Taker/HBK story is true and any attempt to say it wasn't has always been pretty weak because no details were given.

 

I always questioned this story although I heard it straight from Taker's mouth on OTR.

 

The reason being is HBK had a bad back. Why would he want to hold the title and not be able to wrestle? It doesn't make sense. His condition he had to lose the belt. You can tell in the match with Austin he was hurt.

 

Yeah, he was all right the first few minutes but when he started bumping around, you could see how much pain he was in.