cawthon777

Not a clue. I don't have it listed anywhere on my site.

Couldn't he technically still appear on Raw the day after WrestleMania, which was the plan last I heard? If there are plans for he and Triple H to feud, they can still pull that off as is - it might just be a longer wait before the initial in-ring meeting. The injury can even be played up on camera.

93 was the first. Farooq wore the helmet from July to October. After he and Sunny split in September he soon joined with Clarence Mason. I don't believe it was until his entrance at the Survivor Series that the fans actually saw the "Nation", though it was probably spoken of before that point. That was PG-13's debut as part of the faction.

He did the double switch with Flair at Uncensored 99 and was cheated out of the title due to referee Nick Patrick. After that he took a few months off, came back, beat Savage for the belt, lost it to Sting, did the Havoc 99 angle ... came back after Russo left in Jan 00 ... feuded with Luger ... then had Kidman sent after him upon returning in April 2000.

They worked house shows through that January but were never again used on TV. I'm not even sure if it was the same people playing the Knights. Probably Barry Horowitz and Jeff Gaylord but I doubt Valentine worked any other bouts with the mask. That was probably just a one shot for him.

The best idea I can come up with would be that they were protecting Savage for the Retirement Match with Warrior. If Savage was in the Rumble, someone would have to eliminate him as he obviously wasn't winning it. This way no one would have that claim.

Despite Russo being over the top from a storyline perspective, I think we can safely say that if he was in Steph's position then Benoit wouldn't be booked so weak. From the moment Russo showed up in WCW, Benoit (who had just lost the TV title to RICK STEINER of all people) did a complete 180 turn - not only being moved to top world title contender status but beating a host of top guys clean (including Scott Hall) with the Crossface. Say what you will about his run in WCW but he did a lot for the talent that Bischoff largely ignored or simply didn't know how to use - Eddie, Kidman, Benoit, Bret, etc. Another era like that would really be refreshing right about now.

The WWF was doing so bad, there was actually thought of putting the belt on Rude at Summer Slam as a transitional champ for Hogan.

Flair was injured, Savage just held the belt, and Warrior was in contract negotiations (which obviously didn't work out). Bret was the next best thing.

1. It wasn't a house show - as so many believe - it was a TV taping. Bret found out earlier that day. 2. They were building for the world title push that came in 98. 3. Taker was world champion at the time ... so it kinda makes sense. 4. Probably had an attitude problem. 5. Took time off. I remember on some WWF syndie in 94, Jim Cornette was asked why Yoko wasn't on the Summer Slam card and he tried to downplay that it might have been because of Taker's return. 6. I'm sure Warrior didn't just come back to job to Hogan and let that be it but he and WCW clashed and he was gone. He probably wasn't even under contract - just being paid per appearance.

IIRC, Steamboat either missed a simple crossbody - or something to that effect - and was stunned enough for Flair to cradle him and get the pin. I don't remember it being a very memorable match and the outcome was pretty obvious.

I can't say with any certainty as to if it was clean or not but I did recently come across this result. Taking the timeframe into consideration, with Rude being a major player in the Heenan Family and getting a handful of shots against Hogan at this time, it's conceivable the win was mostly clean. WWF @ Richfield, OH - Coliseum - December 28, 1987 Rick Rude pinned the Ultimate Warrior

Section 13, Row A, Seats 4 and 5 - first row above the floor.

Yep, which resulted in Steamboat getting the quick rematch.

DDP became a face because he turned down the nWo That cemented it. He had been getting Stone Cold-like pops for several months prior.

He didn't pin him, he beat him via count-out after Windham interfered on the floor.

Because he wanted revenge on the Revolution, IIRC.

Not with just 3 weeks of buildup. The story of this year's WrestleMania is Benoit's chase for the title. You could argue that it began at the Survivor Series - so that's a good 4 months right there.

Was the the first show of the new WCW Saturday Night set with the automatic door and everything? I believe it was and I also think that was the first match of the show. Thanks. I'm thinking it may have been the 2nd week of that format (or at least one of the very early ones). I remember already being annoyed with it by the time this particular episode aired. The Bossman / Rude match went on last. They had been hyping Davey Boy Smith vs. Rude but indicated late in the broadcast that Smith may not show.

Here's the thing. In Flair's case, as well as many many others, he put up a large amount of his own money as a deposit on the championship belt. So until he lost it, I guess you could argue it was technically his. I know for a fact Bret has a number of WWF title belts framed and hanging in his home. The same is true for Hogan and I'm sure countless others. So I don't understand the issue about being afraid to have a champion jump with the belt (it couldn't be stopped) - unless of course the company is afraid of having no IC title, world title, etc to show on TV.

Basically. Savage became somewhat of a tweener (leaning towards face) color guy beginning shortly after the PPV. Jake had nothing to do with anything at that point.

Bossman didn't actually leave the WWF until late 93, right before he showed up in WCW and pinned Rude in a non-title match on Saturday Night. I'm not sure what his situation was with being off TV during that time but he was used as a guest referee in a series of Bret vs. Jarrett matches in November 93. Nailz still had his monster heel image going for him, despite the loss to Bossman. If you watch the match, he totally no sells the sidewalk slam and is up almost immediately after. I'm thinking that was to keep some heat on him and portray the win as a fluke.

I could have called this one. It has nothing to do with being ignored, it's that he and Vince clash on so many levels. Bruno is the (very) old school, Vince is the sports entertainment. Bruno coming back would - from a historical perspective - way overshadow Superstar Billy Graham or Bret Hart, for that matter, making their WWE return. Bruno thought the WWF was trash when he left in 87! Imagine what he thinks of it now.

Who here has seen either Kane or Taker bleed when facing one another? ...Anyone? ...Bueller?

IMO, this match WILL be the final bout of the night. It's been more or less signed since the day after the Rumble and has received the most heat over the past few weeks. They certainly won't give it to Taker / Kane. Eddie / Angle was just formally made a few days ago. Goldberg / Brock ... give the main event spot on the biggest show of the year to a guy who's leaving? I don't think so. So it basically boils down to how does the WWE want to close WrestleMania. Do they let Triple H go over on a screwjob and have Benoit get post-match redemption from the crowd (ala Rock at WrestleMania 2000)? Do they have Shawn go over, offically saying we would rather put the belt on a guy who hit his prime 10 years ago? ... Or ... and this is just a hypothetical, do they go the normal WrestleMania route and pass the torch to the new guy? Last year it was Brock ... this year it's Benoit. While the WWE has let the wildcard walk out of the big match with the belt (Foley at Summer Slam 99), WrestleMania is not the time nor the place for that kind of booking. I hope someone with authority realizes this.