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What if? Topics

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I don't think there's a thread to discuss this at the moment, so I'm starting one.

The first scenario I have is two step:

1) What if Paul Heyman doesn't leave WCW at the end of 1992 (for whatever reason?)

2) (And this is the far-fetched part) He gets tapped as the replacement for Bill Watts the following year?

How does Heyman do with access to a deeper talent base and stable finances? Does he still go extreme? Does he try to be family friendly like Turner probably would want him to, or go after the older demographic? Who would he push? How long does he last in charge, and if (probably more like when) he gets fired, where does he go?

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Triple H would have stayed on top. Not so dominant of course, but people have a tendency to forget HHH was well on his way to becoming THE man before he & Stephanie got together.

 

Agreed. Many have mentioned in the pass how calculating and status climbing Triple H was right from the start.

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I don't think there's a thread to discuss this at the moment, so I'm starting one.

The first scenario I have is two step:

1) What if Paul Heyman doesn't leave WCW at the end of 1992 (for whatever reason?)

2) (And this is the far-fetched part) He gets tapped as the replacement for Bill Watts the following year?

How does Heyman do with access to a deeper talent base and stable finances? Does he still go extreme? Does he try to be family friendly like Turner probably would want him to, or go after the older demographic? Who would he push? How long does he last in charge, and if (probably more like when) he gets fired, where does he go?

 

1. Heyman would have left the moment Bischoff took control in '93.

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What if:

 

Vince re-signed Bret in 1997 and decided to put him over Shawn Michaels in Montreal?

 

WCW quite possibly would have left him in the dust.

 

Without Vince "screwing" Bret, we'd never have Austin vs. McMahon. Austin would have still been big, but he wouldn't have had the perfect heel to fight against. Bret leaving the way he did was one of the best things to ever happen to the WWE.

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-Heyman stays with WCW, and gets named as WCW's head booker. He lasts only a few months, but gains a following with the boys in the back for listening to them and helping them develop their gimmicks into characters, aiding them in accenting their positives while hiding their negatives. Bischoff swoops in with the coup he has done, albeit a little later than he actually did. WCW goes from the semi-extreme (think family-friendly ECW) they were turning into directly into the Hogan show Bischoff created by signing the man. Heyman, now with an uber-personal vendetta against Bischoff (because not only was he fired by him, but because Bisch went over his head to do it), goes to ECW and history continues on as it did. ECW may even get a little bit more popular earlier than it did, but ultimately fails anyway. WCW still gets sold.

 

-McMahon re-signs Bret, and Michaels throws a fit during the main event of SurSer '97 (but finishes the match). HBK demands his release and is granted it, and then bolts off to join the nWo. Bret/Austin headlines WM14 (thus giving us a better main event ring-wise), but Hart soon finds himself at odds again with McMahon and Russo. HHH is given a strong push throughout '98 (stronger than he received IRL) to keep him from jumping to WCW with the rest of the Kliq. Austin/Hart is the primary focus of the main event for the year, with Austin still immensely popular but not as much as he was thanks to the McMahon feud that pushed the WWF beyond WCW. Owen doesn't die due to having a sustained upper-mid spot and not having to do the Blue Blazer '99 angle, and Kurt Angle debuts in much the same fashion as he actually did. Tag division continues growing throughout late '98 and '99 until it reaches its true peak in 2000, with the Hardyz/Dudleyz/E&C feud still the highlight (although occasional matches against the Hart Foundation and DX consistently round out the scene).

In WCW, Bisch keeps the nWo in the main, but HBK goes toe-to-toe with Hogan backstage for political control. Hogan disappears earlier in the year than he did IRL, and Goldberg's streak is ended by HBK (who shares booking control with Nash) at Starrcade (though the match is much closer and, overall, eons better than the Goldberg/Nash one we got). The main event in WCW has improved dramatically from a match quality perspective, but the fans still want somebody new there. Flair is shown a slight bit more respect politically, but not much.

WCW still dies due to HBK's drug problems ending his career (possibly his life) and Hogan returning to take the spotlight back, drawing away more and more fans in the process. WWF pulls ahead thanks to the Radicalz (and others in WCW) leaving to join McMahon. Austin's neck stays the same, as he spends almost all of 2000 at home rehabbing as HHH/Rock is the top feud of the year. Benoit/Jericho rise to prominence quicker than they did IRL thanks to HHH not having as much political power as he actually did, and the WMX7 main is still Austin/Rock II. Semi-main is Bret/Benoit in Bret's retirement match (Benoit ends his career to the MotN and a standing ovation), and Owen/Jericho/Angle for the IC belt proves slightly disappointing. TLC2 remains intact, and ECW stars show up sporadically here and there.

WCW is bought out by McMahon, who hires just a select few from the roster and begins to utilize the tape library on DVD releases. ECW is resurrected in November as its own show (the first "brand split" per se) where Heyman is given the book with McMahon overseeing everything he does, and booking with a much smaller roster.

 

...wow...

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I'd say the biggest "What if?" would have to be if Bret Hart ended up going to WCW in early '92. That would've changed the wrestling landscape whose effects might still be felt today. Who would've been The Guy to carry the ball during those rough years? Would Hogan even bother going to WCW? Austin might have stuck around WCW if there was no Hogan running things. Would Nitro have been created? No screwjob means no Mr. McMahon, what would turn the WWF around? Would the WWF have folded without their heard of cash cows? There could be more possibilities, I just can't think of them off the top of my head.

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What if Chris Benoit didn't, well, you know. I always wondered what would have happen with Punk and Morrison on ECW.

 

There would have been no scrambling to shift the product to a PG/kid friendly audience.

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I'd say the biggest "What if?" would have to be if Bret Hart ended up going to WCW in early '92. That would've changed the wrestling landscape whose effects might still be felt today. Who would've been The Guy to carry the ball during those rough years? Would Hogan even bother going to WCW? Austin might have stuck around WCW if there was no Hogan running things. Would Nitro have been created? No screwjob means no Mr. McMahon, what would turn the WWF around? Would the WWF have folded without their heard of cash cows? There could be more possibilities, I just can't think of them off the top of my head.

 

The WWE would have survived without Bret, and someone would have been put in his place. WCW would have found a way to screw it up, much like they did when he did jump in 1997. The WWE would have just accelerated Michaels' push, firmly placed Undertaker on top, or something along those lines. They might have also kept Savage around a bit longer than they did as well, but I doubt it.

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What if Brian Pillman hadn't gotten injured in the car crash and was still alive?

 

What if Brock Lesnar doesn't develop a fancy for the NFL and UFC?

 

What if Eddie Guerrero (or Chris Benoit) died one week later - possibly after winning a world title?

 

What if Owen didn't break Austin's neck?

 

What if Bischoff bought WCW instead of Vince?

 

What if Chris Benoit didn't, well, you know. I always wondered what would have happen with Punk and Morrison on ECW.

 

There would have been no scrambling to shift the product to a PG/kid friendly audience.

 

It was still heading that way anyways...pretty much since 2002.

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What if...

 

HHH didn't tear his quad?

 

Savage had stayed with WWF in '94?

 

Hogan stayed with the nWo after Mania 18?

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What if Brian Pillman hadn't gotten injured in the car crash and was still alive?

 

What if Brock Lesnar doesn't develop a fancy for the NFL and UFC?

 

What if Eddie Guerrero (or Chris Benoit) died one week later - possibly after winning a world title?

 

What if Owen didn't break Austin's neck?

 

What if Bischoff bought WCW instead of Vince?

 

-Pilman would have probably been a good secondary PPV feud for Austin after he won the title.

 

-It wouldn't have meant much more if Benoit died while holding the ECW title, they still would have erased all traces of him. As for Eddie, I imagine a tournament or quick title contender match would have been held... the quicker, the better.

 

-If Owen didn't break Austin's neck, Owen probably would have had a nice top-level feud with Austin, much like Pilman would have had if he had lived.

 

-Whoever bought WCW was inconsequential. The product was virtually worthless (With the exception of the tape catalog, which is what Vince probably wanted all along) without the time-slot on TNT/TBS. Unless Bischoff had a television deal lined up to replace the one that just got yanked, he would have been holding a wrestling company with no way of promoting itself on television.

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What if...

 

HHH didn't tear his quad?

 

Savage had stayed with WWF in '94?

 

Hogan stayed with the nWo after Mania 18?

 

-Which time in regards to Hunter?

 

-If Savage stayed, eh, I don't see much changing in the long term side of things. Maybe a program with Hart and or Michaels? After that, Savage would have probably taken the money and ended up in WCW anyways.

 

-The NWO would have still run its course and fizzled out... Hogan would then go back to being a face.

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What if...

 

HHH didn't tear his quad?

 

-Which time in regards to Hunter?

I'm pretty sure 2001.

 

The only thing that changes is probably that HHH and Austin join Shane and WCW. Then Angle, Jericho, Benoit and later Rock do battle against WCW (and ECW). You probably don't have Steph as the owner of ECW but you have an uneasy alliance between ECW and WCW. I could see a Triple H/Jericho feud throughout that summer (and a Benoit/Austin feud that transitions into Angle/Austin).

 

So the only thing that really changes is probably Jericho doesn't turn heel as fast and Angle never turns.

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What if Edge never fucked Lita? Does he make the main event if that never happened?

He makes it yes, as he was always heading that way. However it might have taking slightly longer as Vince seemed reluctant to give him that final last shove to the world title picture. Yeah I think it might have taking (up to) another year for it to happen.

 

Thank god for Lita being a whore, Edge is a great addition to the main event scene.

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