cawthon777

So this is the thread where we prove we're being sincere? Hey, if you think we're all just sentamental dumbasses...I really don't give a damn. Nor do I feel I have to justify my previous posts regarding Hennig's passing and my thoughts.

I had to pick Dennis Miller simply because he encouraged education. *Dennis Miller tells a joke* "...I know that's funny ... I just don't know why ... I have to go read 5 books to understand the pun."

The Rap is Crap Tour '99

When I was able to spit the gum out and slap it in mid-air, I was the king of the world ...Of course, I'm not very coordinated

I remember watching the face turn on Prime Time. Great TV...just great TV. I also loved the Raw where he jumped HBK outside the Manhattan Center and threw him into the windsheild of a car - with fans swarming all around them. That night, HBK had to defend the IC title against Jim Duggan in a lumberjack match and came out to the ring on crutches ... until Perfect punked him and thus proved that the "injury" was a fake anyway.

Ugh ... Now with all due respect to both men, that has to be my least favorite Perfect match. An awesome feud with a pitiful blow off. A count-out???? A count-out???? Were I a few years older, I'd bet money that he would three-peat!

I'm going to guess that's what most people will pick. Hennig had a lot of good to great bouts with everyone from Tito Santana to Hulk Hogan to Flair to Bret to Piper...and the list goes on and on. But that bout with Bret is in a class all its own. Even in WCW, while most of the established guys sat back and collected their paychecks, he had some quality bouts with Flair, DDP, Benoit, Malenko, Jarrett, etc. If I didn't pick Summer Slam 91, I'd go with the Loser Leaves the WWF bout with Ric Flair from the Manhattan Center. I have the distinct privilege of having my high school graduation held in the same arena Curt claimed to have his best match ever in - the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, AK. The year was 1989 and his opponent that night was Bret Hart.

Damn the foot on the rope ... damn it And for all you guys who don't find this upsetting or sad, at least have the courtesy to not voice your opinion right now. We really don't care what you think.

You know what would be interesting and would completely change my mind about this whole feud? If Brock loses the belt back to Angle after Mania.

FUCK That's the only word that seems to fit the situation for me. I will never forget the first house show I went to. Landover, MD - Cap Center - May 93. Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels for the IC strap. They tore the house down. 20-minute time-limit draw. Beautiful match. This friggin blows. Perfect was one of my top faves of all time.

I'm not saying it needs to be this way everytime - just that Angle needs a lot more credibility on his side right now - especially considering it's WrestleMania.

<------ Has seen the videos in question. It's interesting ... and very entertaining.

This really isn't anything new. When was the last time a WrestleMania had even 3 matches that had been building up for about 6 months? Just off the top of my head: Jake the Snake vs. Ted Dibiase Jake the Snake vs. Rick Martel Jake the Snake vs. Andre the Giant hmmm... I see a trend Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage TLC 1 & 2 (not a strong backstory though) Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat I'd say about 75% of even the more memorable WrestleMania feuds didn't get started until the January time-frame and - to get a little old school - the first TV taping following the Royal Rumble. I think the major issue now is the amount of talent the WWE has. They've got the monopoly on major league pro wrestling. There are so many guys that are talented enough to be featured at WrestleMania - but there are only so many slots to go around. From a financial standpoint - do they bring back the big guns that are a proven draw or do they rely on the new crop of young guys? As good as Jericho, Benoit, RVD, Guerrero, and Edge are - guys like Hogan, Rock, HBK, Austin, and Triple H are going to bring in the buyrates. But if the WWE is smart (which is debatable), they better elevate that younger talent fast or they'll just be losing more money. That's why I like the HBK / Jericho buildup.

I remember when Raw Magazine came out in 96. I think the cover story for the first issue dealt with "Why did Kevin Nash leave the WWF?" Actually looked pretty good (yay controversial topic!), ESPECIALLY since WWF Magazine was catering towards 8 year olds. Okay, if you think Raw Magazine is bad, check this out... In one issue from spring of 96, there were two "Letters to the Editor" that stand out as a great example of how stupid young and / or casual fans can be. One asked "Isn't Mankind scared about using the Mandible Claw? He could get AIDS." and another wondered "Is the Ultimate Warrior wrestling today the same guy that was around back in the 60s?" So, in comparison (even though it is propaganda), Raw isn't sooooo bad.

The face HAS to be the underdog ... otherwise, who the fuck cares? That's why Goldberg was such a disapointment. Okay, he comes in and kills the heels ... big deal. However, if you have the monster heel as the favorite in the big match at WrestleMania - then it means a lot more when the face wins. Okay, I know this is generally regarded as the worst WrestleMania ever - but think back to 9 (for those who were watching back then). Bret had beaten EVERYONE ... he held off Flair, Bigelow, Razor, HBK, and all the lesser mid-carders. Everytime they put him up against a big guy, he was the underdog...but he always came out on top. And Yoko had killed EVERYONE he faced. From the nobodies like Virgil to the psuedo-nobodies like Jim Duggan. Hell, he even went over Randy Savage clean going into the PPV. So you take the underdog face who seems to always pull off the win at the last moment and you put him up against the monster heel who is undefeated. Basically, what I'm saying is ... Angle should be face and Brock should be heel. Damn ... the WWE messed up again ...

Did you bother to see where the show was held? San Diego. And Havoc 97 is one of WCW's last great PPVs for one very good reason - Rey vs. Eddie. They were merely trying to put on a good show by showcasing the hometown boy. It's nothing new to bring a few guys over to another brand's house show. Brock whipped Team Angle's ass about a week ago at MSG during a Raw show.

Dennis Miller Mike Myers Phil Hartman Dana Carvey Will Ferrell Chevy Chase Adam Sandler Dan Akroyd Bill Murray Chris Farley

Yoko was pretty scary - not for what he did to the developmental talent but what he did to the established guys. 1) just about killed Jim Duggan ... sent him out of the ring on a stretcher, coughing up blood 2) beat up my hero Bret Hart at the contract signing for WM 9 3) ate Randy Savage 4) ate Hulk Hogan

Well most of his matches do smell of the hogpen.

Scariest moment without a doubt - the Undertaker's ascension at Rumble 94. With the lightning and lights and fog and the freaky promo on the big screen... *shivers* The runner-up is any promo by Nailz where he started foaming at the mouth. "BOSSMAN ... YOU'RE GONNA SERVE HARD TIME, BOSSMAN!"

I second Warrior / Savage at WrestleMania VII. One of the best Mania matches of all time. Others worth mentioning: Bret vs. Owen ... WrestleMania X ... Owen had hardly been able to shine prior to this match so it was basically "former world champion vs. glorified jobber" ... I figured it would be a throw-away Furnas, LaFon, & the Godwinns vs. Owen, Bulldog, & the New Rockers ... Survivor Series 96 ... any match with the Godwinns can't be that great - but the offense from Furnas & LaFon and the great selling from Owen & Bulldog not only made the match a lot of fun but created a pretty decent and underrated rivalry for the next few months I was going to add Taker vs. Kane at Mania XIV but now that I think about it ... just about any *** bout involving Kane (Austin at KOTR, Angle at Mania, etc).

Ah, the best version. Didn't much care for the remix in 94.

I got several souces of results for that show and - oddly enough, I think the guy that sent in results to Wrestling Observer had one too many to drink. Either that or everyone else is wrong (including LOP). I checked the posted line-up on WWE.com and it looked like Triple H's injury fucked up the whole card. Steiner was to have met Batista, Booker was to have met Triple H, and so Christian wrestled twice.

Gotta go with Bret. Sure, they're both fairly "by the numbers" - but so was Ricky Steamboat and all three are regarded as some of the best ever. You knew Bret would work on the legs - especially since 90% of his opposition were big guys (Yoko, Bigelow, Diesel, Taker, etc). You get the big guy on his back and he can't do squat. Bret was more business, Flair was more show. I didn't know psychology from astronomy when I was 10 years old, but I still bought into Bret's every move and knew exactly what he was doing and why (okay, I probably did know the difference ... just making a comparison). Flair's matches usually included him getting the tar beaten out of him, then getting a thumb to the eye to turn the tide ... then chops ... suplexes ... knee out of the corner ... work on the leg. I wouldn't call Bret predictable. I'd call him focused.

January 01, 1996: Billy and Bart Gunn defeated Razor Ramon and Savio Vega, Sid Vicious and The 1-2-3 Kid, and Owen Hart and Yokozuna in a "RAW Bowl"... In a match shown from IYH-5, Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Henry O. Godwinn...Diesel pinned King Mabel. January 08, 1996: Jeff Jarrett defeated Hakushi with the figure four submission. Ahmed Johnson pinned Jeff Brettler...Goldust pinned Aldo Montoya. In a match shown from IYH-5, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart defeated The British Bulldog. Source: The Wrestling Information Archive