cawthon777

It was a little more subtle than that. More like "Macho Man and the Warrior won't be coming to the ring together." Then 2 days later during Prime Time is when Perfect was asked to be Savage's new partner.

WWF @ Las Vegas, NV - March 26, 1991 WWF Superstars taping: 4/13/91 - included the Ultimate Warrior as a guest of the Funeral Parlor in which he was attacked by the Undertaker and locked inside a casket before officials could break it open So 2 days after WrestleMania. Warrior's last TV match was against Owen on Raw in the summer of 96.

Plus, when the Union was around in the WWF, Sid was in ECW. Then jumped to WCW that June. Sid hasn't been on WWF TV since 97.

WWF @ Baltimore, MD - Civic Center - August 29, 1987 WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan & Bruno Sammartino defeated King Kong Bundy & the One Man Gang

Luger was super over, no question. His pops were on Bret's level if not a LITTLE below. As a Bret fan at the time, when I heard Luger's pop at the Rumble I was certain that he would get the Mania title shot one way or another. Savage was getting nostalgia pops, nothing more. Luger was easily the #1 or #2 face in the company for several months ... at least until he jobbed to Tatanka.

I don't think Bret involving himself in the match made Sting look bad at all. It was a good way for WCW to indirectly reference Montreal (although they would continue to do so for years to come) and it was a good way to introduce Bret to the top tier of WCW. But like I said, there was no follow through.

The only real problem I have with the match was the Nick Patrick fast count. While it did bring Bret Hart into the picture, I think it could have been done in a way that better protected Sting. The downfall occured in the aftermath of the show. IMHO, Bret should have been paired with Hogan since it was his intervention that costed Hulk the belt. Instead we had a few more months of Hogan / Sting before Sting lost the title to Savage just to lose the title to Hogan. THAT was when WCW was doomed to failure. Bret was almost an afterthought in the company.

Speaking of Flair, I loved how he would oversell a superplex - especially from Vader. Flair would hit the mat ... wait a second ... then scream in pain and roll around in the mat like it was the plane crash all over again.

Not really. This was before Shango started doing jobs to Jim Duggan. He just got done working a program with Warrior and was regularly facing Taker at house shows. Prior to Summer Slam 92, Shango put a "curse" on Bret which some saw as the reason why Bret lost the IC in London. Oh, and btw, Papa Shango ... best ... 90s gimmick ... ever.

I'd personally wait for Triple H to actually win the title (if he does which isn't a certainty despite the assumptions) before mapping out the rest of the year.

Yeah ... still haven't seen it ... 1999 blew. Thanks Russo.

Before even opening the thread, I had HBK and Hennig in mind. LOVED them selling punches where they would fly backwards and send a big wad of spit into the crowd.

I'll probably just blow up one of the pictures I took at MSG, frame it, and add some of the confetti from after the match. That's a lot cheaper.

So he's not yet ready to beat a guy who's been retired for 4 years?

I remember it well. For Tony's sake, I sure hope the cookies weren't laced with date rape drugs.

I believe so. Terry Funk won the NWA title with the spinning toe hold, IIRC (yep, really had to go back for WCW).

My impression of Inoki: "Please pay attention to me ... please ... c'mon ... "

A bad marketing strategy would be if people DIDN'T buy the PPV. They obviously did. Was it expensive? Sure. Did the high cost scare people away? Not so much.

They even edited on the WM disc?!!! God, that's fucking horrible. Only if the sole purpose for buying WrestleMania XX on DVD was to hear the Dudleyz' music...

Yep. Booker, Goldberg, Russo, Nash, Sting, Jarrett ... the other names escape me.

JYD did return but didn't stay long. The Barbarian won the US tag straps with Valentine in the spring, IIRC. The Malenkos, Benoit, Silver Kings, and Headhunters were only used for the NWA Tag Team Title Tournament. Benoit & Wellington represented Canada, Silver Kings represented Mexico, etc. Benoit didn't begin as an active member of the WCW roster until January 93 where he beat Brad Armstrong at the Clash. Shane came in around the summer, I believe. By the fall he was in a feud with Pillman which eventually turned into the Steamboat / Douglas vs. Hollywood Blondes rivalry.

And if that doesn't work (the CHV page does need updating), search the year in which it happened. WWF @ Utica, NY - December 1, 1993 WWF Superstars taping: Bret Hart defeated Shawn Michaels in a steel cage match by escaping over the top as Michaels had his feet caught inbetween the steel bars Shawn had an IC belt ... but it was the fake one he returned with following his suspension. The commentators say different but that's nothing new.

I know Jesse co-hosted in 93 when they were taped at MGM. I believe he did in 92 as well, thought I'm not certain. In 1992, Nikita Koloff returned, Jake Roberts made his debut (August), Muta and Jushin Liger did some spot shows, Greg Valentine returned, the Super Invader made his debut (Hercules under a mask), Masa Chono did some shows as NWA Champ ... that's probably a good start.

From listening to the WCW Internet audio show they had at the time, I think he was a truck driver for WCW.

1. Sam Houston 3. Sharpshooter 4. Fujiwara armbar? 5. butterfly suplex