cawthon777

Yoko made his TV debut less than 3 months before the Rumble. How many people do you know made their TV debut then a few weeks later - without really beating anyone along the way - won the Rumble? That was somewhat of a shocker. A lot of people at the time were actually betting on Savage vs. Hart at Mania with Bret going over. It's easy to look back now and say "So and so was the obvious winner" but it wasn't so obvious at the time.

Eh, I don't know about that. The Rumbles, unlike World War 3, aren't known for their reliance on undercard talent. And I think the talent involved in the 95 edition by far was the worst collection. For several, it was one of their earliest WWF matches (Godwinn, Montoya, Blu Twins, Mantuar, etc) and when you add that to the tag team guys who of course had no chance (Gunns, New Shrinkers, Bodies, Bushwhackers, etc), that doesn't leave too many names left to be possible winners. When you compare that to 89 when just about everyone in the match was built up ... Hogan, Bossman, WWF Champion Savage, Dibiase, Andre, Jake, Bad News, etc - with Big John Studd of all people winning ... or compare that to 90 when you had Perfect, Warrior, Hogan, Rude, etc ... I think you get where I'm coming from. In the days before winning equalled a title shot, any number of wrestlers could have logically walked out the winner. Since that time, *I* think several in particular had a selection of wrestlers where almost any number of them could have won. In 93, there was Savage, Flair, and the Undertaker, and none of those names won. In 94, Luger, Bret, Savage. 96, Diesel, Shawn, Vader. Etc. Even in the more recent years ... 2002 had a great selection ... 2003 could have gone to anyone competing for Triple H's title. I remember just a few months back where 2004's winner was predicted to be Orton, Goldberg, Angle, etc.

I think he started being pushed as a singles, rather than just part of the Corp, around late May or June. Leading into the KOTR, there were tensions between he and the Undertaker. He then interfered in the Taker / Rock match at KOTR. That same month, before Taker dropped the belt, they had the Summer Slam press conference in Minneapolis. Triple H had already been named the #1 contender at that point and was trash talking Taker during the event, thinking he would still have the belt in August.

I called once in 1995. I had moved and didn't have cable for about 2 weeks (which was the equivalent of the sky falling) so I had to call to figure out what was going on. This was immediately after the October In Your House so I had no clue what was going on with Shawn, the IC title, plans for Survivor Series, etc. I remember Jim Ross putting over Avatar in his Raw debut. That's about it. I also selected the trivia option, where you could win a WWF prize pack for answering a few questions. "How many 6-man tag team matches took place at Summer Slam 89?" That was the quality of the questions. I won a WWF hat and some other items I apparently can't remember.

Rock won the match.

I think he meant took some time off TV. After WrestleMania, we didn't see Shawn until he made a surprise appearance at the July Raw from the Meadowlands (the show where Kane / Mankind won the tag belts). I think putting him back on Raw had something to do with Goldberg winning the title on Nitro the week before and Nitro beating Raw in the ratings. After that point, Shawn made sporadic appearances - even guest commentating on the Heat preceeding Summer Slam. He finally turned heel on DX in November during an X-Pac / Rock match, IIRC.

The amount of World Class matches I've seen probably amounts to less than 10 but if the price is good, I'll get the DVD.

They mentioned it was him. Pettingill was outside and talking about the real estate situation in NYC and he started putting over this collection of cardboard boxes as a nice home to live in. It was kinda lame at first - Pettingill was trying too hard and being the annoying DJ character that he did so well - but when Nikolai was actually seen living in the boxes it made everything work. Then he sent it back to Vince and Sunny inside and they thought it was pretty funny too, IIRC.

The last time I acted like a mark was on March 14, 2004 when I was on the floor of Madison Square Garden, standing on top of my chair to see Chris Benoit win the belt. To be there live, that entire night is what wet dreams are made of. When did I really lose the mark persona? I think for a good percentage of us, some of it happened with Montreal. I followed that up two months later when I got the Internet and read everything I could find regarding what really went on.

I was watching the Shotgun episode a few weeks back. When Pettingill was outside and Volkoff popped out of the cardboard boxes I absolutely died laughing. Then I pulled a Jesus and came back to life.

The Raw at the Manhattan Center in which ECW invaded could have been because of the European tour but the overall angle - which lasted for months in both the WWF and ECW - was basically Vince throwing a bone to Paul E by putting over ECW during WWF broadcasts. Lawler made some appearances in ECW, where the angle finally ended.

This past weekend I was fortunate to speak in-depth with WWE Hall of Famer 'Handsome' Jimmy Valiant. He's retiring on Christmas Day after 40 years in the ring, has been running his own wrestling school for the past 12 years, and is writing a book scheduled for release in 2005. The interview is broken into three parts. I'll be posting a new section after every few days. Here's a link if you're interested: An Interview with Jimmy Valiant

He's working on a local TV deal and, if everything goes through, he offered me a spot as the head play-by-play / interviewer. It would be after the first of the year; no specifics as of yet. It would be a great opportunity if it happens. I graduate college in the spring so my only issue is what to do so I can stay in the area and work with BWC. Maybe grad school at VA Tech, we'll see.

Someone needs to remember to give Christy her ridilin before the show goes live.

Part 3 is up for those who are interested.

Let's welcome Bruce from Connecticut ... So what you guys are saying is ... Taboo Tuesday is going to be great TV?

The two Fan Favorite tapes came out in 89 and 92 respectively. I think the finish is included on Greatest Champions (91), which may be the tape you're referring to. I don't know of it being on any others. They had a match on one of the Supertape videos but it's from Toronto; not the title change. Some of the other matches on the tape included: Savage vs. Andre from MSG Harts vs. Power and Glory Perfect vs. Bulldog And a whole bunch of clipped footage

I seem to remember Kevin saying in an interview that going to jail would've been perfect for Kerry. No everyday worries, no responsibilities and all the time in the world to work out. He violated the probation he was on so he probably would've gone to jail. I don't think anyone, Kevin included, can claim to know why Kerry took his life. Those statements came from Kevin's RF shoot so you may be right.

I don't recall that but Bobby Heenan did MC a wedding proposal in the early days of Raw.

Kerry only lost the belt 3 days before the PPV. It's not that big of a deal and it's a leap to compare it to the Worldwide tapings where things would be taped to air two months down the road. Vince takes the belt off Kerry because he's suicidal ... eh. Let's say that is the reason. He still has to deal with the problem of one of his big stars killing themselves. I don't think the media would really care if Kerry was a guy who lost the belt 2 weeks ago or a guy with a belt. It's big news regardless. Kerry wasn't suicidal. The only reason he did what he did later on (2 and a half years later on, for the record) was because he was depressed and drugs were involved. According to Kevin - who thought he had talked Kerry out of doing it hours earlier - Kerry wasn't going to jail. Jail time wasn't why he shot himself. He was just down. I feel bad for the lot of them. They - both the dead and the living - have had very hard lives.

I just recently got tapes of the infamous nightclub Shotgun episodes. Since info from these shows is so hard to come by on the Net, I thought I'd post what I have thus far. 4 down, 2 to go. WWF @ New York City, NY - Mirage Nightclub - January 4, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night - debut episode of the nightclub series that ran exclusively on Channel 55 in NYC; hosted by Vince McMahon and Sunny; included Todd Pettingill visiting with Rocky Miavia, Goldust, and Marlena in the VIP area, with Bob Backlund taking offense to Marlena's clevage; included Sunny announcing that the following week she would provide one of her own personal sex tapes to counter Marlena's flashing and to prove that Sunny was the sexiest woman in the WWF: The Flying Nuns - Sister Angelica & Mother Smucker (the Headbangers) defeated Henry & Phinneas Godwinn (w/ Hillbilly Jim) at around the 12:30 mark when Angelica pinned Phinneas after Brother Love hit Phinneas in the head with his book of love; during the match, the crowd chanted "Holy shit" and "Go to Hell" towards the Nuns; at one point in the contest, Pettingeil interviewed Hillbilly at ringside about the Nuns; mid-way through the bout, Brother Love made a surprise appearance at ringside to manage the Nuns; after the bout, Todd Pettingiel interviewed Brother Love and the Flying Nuns in the ring, with Brother Love renaming them the Sisters of Love (Brother Love's first appearance in over a year) Goldust (w/ Marlena) defeated the Sultan (w/ Bob Backlund) via count-out at 9:31 after Marlena climbed on the ring apron, as Goldust was about to be caught in the Camel Clutch, and flashed Goldust's opponent; following the incident, Backlund threw his jacket on Sultan so that he wouldn't see and the two left ringside; during the bout, Pettingill interviewed Backlund at ringside regarding his comments about Marlena's clevage earlier in the show; late in the contest, Backlund went to the commentary table and berated Vince McMahon, Sunny, and Pettingiel Ahmed Johnson defeated Crush (w/ Clarence Mason, D-Lo Brown, and other members of the Nation) via disqualification when D-Lo interfered as Ahmed attempted the Pearl River Plunge; during the bout, Pettingiel interviewed Mason at ringside; after the bout, the Nation held Ahmed for Crush to hit him over the head with a steel chair; moments later; Goldust, the Godwinns, and Hillbilly cleared the ring and, after he regained his senses, Ahmed led the chase outside of the areana onto 56th St. where he eventually hit the Pearl River Plunge on D-Lo on the hood of a car Mascarita Sagrada Jr. pinned Mini Vader at around the 6:30 mark with a missile dropkick; prior to the bout, footage was shown of Jim Cornette picking up Mini Vader at the Port Authority Bus Terminal after Mini Vader was driven in from Mexico; before the match, Sunny danced the Macarana as Pettingill sang "Mascarita" to the tune of the dance song; Jim Cornette did guest commentary for the bout before going ringside; after the match, Cornette verbally berated Mini Vader before both minis stripped Cornette of his pants WWF @ New York City, NY - All-Star Cafe - January 11, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night - included an opening segment of Marc Mero & Sable arriving to Times Square in a limo; featured footage of the Sisters of Love being arrested outside of the Disney Store at 42nd and Broadway for solicitation; included Sunny's sex tape featuring someone in a life-size Elmo costume named Fondle Me Elmo; featured Todd Pettingill and the Honktyonk Man singing a duet; included Pettingill outside in Times Square in which Nikolai Volkoff was unexpectedly seen living in a pile of boxes; featured the announcement by Vince McMahon that Goldust was pregnant and would give birth the following week on Shotgun: Diesel II pinned Marc Mero (w/ Sable) with the powerbomb at around 13:30 after Mero became distracted by the Honkytonk Man who was talking to Sable on the floor; during the bout, Todd Pettingill interviewed Sable at ringside after Diesel attempted to confront Sable on the floor and she responded by throwing cake in his face; later in the bout, Razor Ramon II came ringside and attacked Mero on the floor before Rocky Miavia make the save; during the contest, Pettingill interviewed the Honkytonk Man who was watching the match; after the contest, Mero blamed Sable for the loss; after Mero left ringside, Honky came back to the ring as Sable was crying, with Miavia coming back out to rid Honky from the ring; moments later, Mero returned ringside, took exception to Miavia helping Sable, and the two came to blows Farooq (w/ PG-13, D-Lo Brown, Clarence Mason, and other Nation members) pinned Savio Vega with a spinebuster after Savio hit the corner at around the 8-minute mark; during the bout, Pettingill interviewed a fan about who he thought would be in Sunny's sex tape; the match saw interference mid-way through from PG-13 Rocky Miavia pinned Razor Ramon II at around the 7:30 mark with the shoulder breaker, despite interference from the Honkytonk Man who was at ringside during the bout Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon defeated the Headbangers (sub. for the Sisters of Love); only about 8 minutes of the match aired as the show ended before the conclusion of the contest WWF @ San Antonio, TX - Denim & Diamonds - January 18, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night - included Jim Ross doing commentary alongside Vince McMahon; featured Sunny leading the crowd with the Macarena; included the Honkytonk Man cheating to beat Mini Mankind and Histeria in a game of blackjack; featured George and Adam at the AlamoDome waiting for the next day's show; included Todd Pettingill conducting a surprise in-ring interview with Terry Funk in which Funk said he wanted to be #1 in the Royal Rumble so he could be in there the whole night, said there was no one in WCW that wanted a piece of him, called Pettingill's mother a whore, said Vince was a Yankee bastard, said the word asshole, and then urged Steve Austin to fight him in the ring, which they did briefly: Rocky Miavia defeated WWF IC Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley via count-out in a non-title match at around the 12-minute mark after Goldust and Marlena came ringside and Helmsley ran off, with Goldust chasing him; on his way to the ring before the match, the champion was was interviewed by Todd Pettingill; during the bout, Jake Roberts made a surprise appearance and cleared the ring with his pet snake before joining the commentary team for the rest of the match Mini Mankind & Histeria defeated Mascarita Sagrada Jr. & Venum at 12:00 when Histeria pinned Venum with a sit-down powerbomb after Venum missed a leap off the top; before the match, Vladimir the superfan could be seen in the front row; Pettingill attempted to interview Mini Mankind before the bell but the mini didn't speak English; during the bout, Steve Austin joined the commentary team Farooq (w/ Crush, D-Lo Brown, Clarence Mason, & other Nation members) pinned Jesse Jammes at 1:55 with the spinebuster and Dominator Steve Austin defeated Goldust via disqualification at around the 5:30 mark when Terry Funk interfered and attacked Austin; after the bout, a brawl ensued involving the Headbangers, Rocky Miavia, the Godwinns, Farooq, and several others; the show went off the air as Hunter Hearst Helmsley choked Goldust with a pool cue while Funk and Austin fought their way around the ring WWF @ New York City, NY - Webster Hall - January 25, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night: Bret Hart defeated Mankind (w/ Paul Bearer) via disqualification at around the 13-minute mark when Owen Hart - who was doing guest commentary for the bout - interfered and attacked Bret as Mankind was caught in the Sharpshooter; prior to the bout, Todd Pettingill interviewed Paul Bearer at ringside; before Hart's entrance, Mankind was attracted to the female dancers and cornered them until Bret made the save; after the bout, Bret battled Owen to the back Savio Vega defeated Rocky Miavia via count-out at around the 14:30 mark after Miavia injured his leg after being thrown to the floor; prior to the bout, Todd Pettingill interviewed Savio about turning on Ahmed earlier in the day at Madison Square Garden, with Savio apologizing - blaming his latin temper for the incident - and denied the rumors that he had joined the Nation; mid-way through the bout, Farooq and Crush came ringside, prompting Savio to be more aggressive in the ring; after the contest, Savio continued to attack Miavia's leg, with Crush and Farooq joining in triple teaming Rocky Jake Roberts pinned Salvatore Sincere with the DDT at 3:05; WWF IC Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley did guest commentary for the bout; after the match, the Nation was seen looking on from the balcony; after coming back from commercial, footage was shown of Triple H hitting the Pedigree on a dazed Salvatore Sincere during the break Crush defeated Psycho Sid via disqualification at around the 8:30 mark when, after hitting the powerbomb on Crush, Sid grabbed a steel chair and swung it at Farooq and Savio Vega - before they could interfere - and then hit Crush over the head with it; Farooq and Savio arrived ringside mid-way through the bout

Wha?!?! I know it's Duggan but Shawn bumped like crazy for him. I remember watching the lumberjack match live on TV and, even though I didn't like Duggan too much and I HATED Shawn, it was obvious that the match had heat if nothing else. I thought it was pretty decent.

Bought this tape as well as some great compilations on Backlund (pre 93), Muraco, and Superstar Billy Graham when I was at the NWA Fanfest last weekend. Spent most of yesterday going through the remainder of the tapes and they were well worth the combined $30 I spent. The guy that sold them to me is a regular on eBay. I don't know his username but he has over 1000 or so positives and a lot of rare footage.

JR and Heenan also re-did commentary for the Disasters / Money Inc match on the same tape, which also took place in July 92. Why this was done is beyond me. I notice they did take some subtle jabs at Typhoon in the match. Keep in mind that the video came out right after Typhoon's infamous debut in WCW as the Shockmaster; I think the commentary reflected that. I believe Heenan said something to the effect of, "No, he never trips. He's a very agile man." This was said with a great deal of sarcasm.

And the final 2 ... WWF @ New York City, NY - Mirage Night Club - February 1, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night - during the broadcast, Todd Pettingill was shown backstage trying to get to know the Headbangers, with Mosh at one point throwing up during an interview: Ahmed Johnson defeated Vader (w/ Paul Bearer) via disqualification at around the 8:30 mark after Mankind interfered with a chair, which Vader eventually used on his opponent; Mankind did guest commentary for the bout, despite Sunny's objections; after the match, Ahmed cleared the ring with the chair Mankind pinned WWF Tag Team Champion Davey Boy Smith at around the 9:15 mark after Vader twice dropped Smith across the ringside barrier before rolling him back into the ring; prior to the bout, Mankind remained at the commentary table, refusing to wrestle until Smith pulled him out of his chair, dragged him to the ring, and stripped him of his overshirt; during the bout, Todd Pettingill attempted to interview Savio Vega but Vega told him to go away; Paul Bearer and Vader joined Mankind at ringside mid-way through the match; after the contest, Vader and Mankind double teamed Smith until Ahmed Johnson cleared the ring with a 2x4; following the bout, Pettingill interviewed Paul Bearer about his tag team as Smith and Ahmed argued in the ring Saivo Vega pinned Jesse Jammes with a spin kick at 8:35; Phinneas Godwinn did guest commentary for the bout Henry & Phinneas Godwinn fought the Headbangers to a no contest at around the 9:30 mark when all four men began fighting into the crowd and through the bar as the show came to a close WWF @ New York City, NY - Penn Station - February 8, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night - included an opening segment in which the Undertaker was seen driving an Amtrack train into the station Saturday Night; featured Todd Pettingill interviewing the founder of the Guardian Angels: Farooq & Crush (w/ Clarence Mason, D-Lo Brown, and the Nation) defeated Henry & Phinneas Godwinn at around the 11:30 mark when Crush pinned Phinneas after Farooq interfered behind the referee's back and hit a clothesline as Phinneas attempted the Slop Drop; during the bout, Mason did guest commentary; mid-way through the contest, Savio Vega came ringside WWF IC Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated the Undertaker via disqualification at around the 10-minute mark when the challenger stole the title belt away from Helmsley, who tried using it as a weapon, and hit it against the title holder's head; prior to the bout, the champion arrived to Penn Station in a limo and was interviewed on his way into the building by Pettingill; during his entrance, Helmsley did a short soundbyte for Entertainment Tonight, who was on hand doing a piece on Sunny; after the bout, Taker hit a chokeslam on Helmsley, chased the champion up the stairs, and hit the tombstone on the top of the escalator, with Helmsley going all the way down until he was assisted from the area by referees Savio Vega, Farooq, & Crush (w/ Clarence Mason, D-Lo Brown, & the Nation) defeated Aldo Montoya, Henry & Pinneas Godwinn at around the 9:30 mark when Savio pinned Montoya with a spin kick; the match was originally Savio vs. Aldo but turned into a 6-man tag when the Godwinns appeared at ringside at around the 10-minute mark; during the bout, Mason did guest commentary; as the show came to a close, Phinneas attempted to slop D-Lo in the production area but accidentally slopped Pat Patterson instead