cawthon777

Thank you. It's WRESTLING ... don't take it so seriously. If it turns out that Hassan drives away more fans than he attracts, obviously they'll drop it altogether. But there's no way to know for sure unless it's tried. For all we know, it was a one-time deal to begin with.

Fine. Put him in a program against Batista. Just make sure Batista wins.

Brock got the same treatment at the press conference a few days before the show, after word got out he was leaving.

It has nothing to do with the title picture. It's because Lesnar was built up as being Mr. Unbeatable and was given convincing wins over every big name on the roster ... just to walk out when things weren't going his way. So everyone laid down for him and he just up and left before he could return the favor. I'm all for Brock coming back. But it would be stupid of WWE to push him before he proves himself all over again.

It worked when they did it for Batista.

Just signed up earlier today. http://www.myspace.com/gcawthon

The car chase footage was taken from the OJ Simpson police chase in June 94. The only reason Bret dropped the belt was because he wanted some time off. It did help that George Foreman recently regained the heavyweight title; it gave Vince something to talk about when it came to selling Bret / Backlund.

But when did they work in the same promotion, aside from Konnan's super brief stint as Max Moon?

The trial ended before Summer Slam. I'm pretty certain Patterson was back by then. I believe it might have been Bill Watts; I know he was the one that pushed for the world title change at MSG 3 days later.

I timed it out a long time ago. The match itself went 35:14.

It was 9 minutes.

Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund (6/12/93) Flashback June 1993: What was once old is now new again. Bob Backlund, who was in possession of the WWF World Title from 1978 to 1983, returned to the WWF during the tail end of 1992 and began his quest to regain the title he proudly once held. Classic battles against Superstar Billy Graham, Sgt. Slaughter, Ken Patera, Don Muraco, and Jimmy Snuka solidified Backlund as a legendary figure. But to the fans of the modern day WWF, he was a forgotten relic. For many, wrestling is a religion. And much like the ‘Before Christ’ aspect of the Christian calendar, Backlund was ‘BH’ … ‘Before Hogan’. For all the kids that grew up on the Junkyard Dog, Demolition, Brutus Beefcake, and the Legion of Doom, Bob Backlund’s amateur wrestling style and soft-spoken demeanor were prehistoric in comparison. That’s not to say that Bob didn’t have his supporters; he certainly did. But the diehard fans that were familiar with Backlund’s heyday as champion and still watched the current product were few and far between. While Backlund had some early success against the likes of Rick Martel, Shawn Michaels, and Papa Shango, as well as a record-breaking performance in the 1993 Royal Rumble, he soon found himself in a slump. He was being matched up against guys who were much younger, stronger, and faster and it was clear he no longer had the fan support he once enjoyed. Around this same time, I attended my first live event, held at the Capital Centre in Landover, MD. During intermission, Howard Finkel ran down the card for the following month’s event at the nearby Baltimore Arena. And my ears immediately perked up when it was announced Bob Backlund, former WWF World Champion, had signed to meet Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, my favorite wrestler and the man who just recently held the same championship belt. Though I assumed Bret would win, I very much wanted to see the match live and in person. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to be one of the 3,000 fans on-hand for that event (obviously not a strong drawing card). However, a few months ago I was able to track down a fan cam of the MSG event held the very next day with the very same lineup. This event took place 24 hours before the first King of the Ring pay-per-view. Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund Madison Square Garden Saturday, June 12, 1993 Joey Marella is the referee for the contest. The Fink introduces Backlund to the ring first, wearing a red, white, and blue jacket. Bret comes out second, in full Hitman attire, glasses, jacket, and all. The Hitman hands his glasses to a ringside fan while Backlund disrobes and loosens up in the ring. A hesitant Backlund reluctantly shakes Hart’s hand to begin the contest. Bret seems much more at ease during the opening moments. The two men test each other out and block one another’s hip toss and take down attempts before once again shaking hands. Backlund soon takes Hart down but Bret uses both legs to kick away. Seconds later, the roles are reversed and Backlund kicks Hart away. This is a spot also seen in several of the Hart / Curt Hennig battles. A handshake follows. With 4 minutes in, Backlund reverses a take down into a head scissors. Hart soon escapes to apply a headlock but Bob quickly reapplies the head scissors. The Hitman escapes and reapplies the headlock, which eventually becomes a test of strength into an armbar from Hart. A few ‘boring’ chants and boos can be heard at the 7-minute mark as Backlund has a headlock applied in the middle of the ring. Hart tries several reversals into pinning predicaments but can’t keep his opponent down for the 3-count. After a brief exchange, Backlund reapplies the headlock, keeping Hart down on the mat. The fans continue to get restless. The next few minutes go in the format of headlock – run the ropes – back to headlock. And while Backlund does cinch up on the hold, there is very little attempt on his part to actually pin Hart. After 5 minutes of Backlund and his headlock of doom, Bret eventually regains control of the bout with an armbar. Bob attempts a bodyslam to free himself from the hold but Hart holds on and rolls through to keep the armbar in place. Hart works the armbar in similar fashion to how Backlund worked the headlock; simply applies the hold and cinches up every minute or so but fails to go beyond that basic formula. With both men back to their feet, Hart extends his hand for Backlund to shake. When Bob does, Bret executes a go-behind into a waist lock but Backlund reverses into a take down. Not long thereafter, Bret is back in control with the armbar. With nearly 17 minutes elapsed (yep, you heard me), Backlund hits the first high impact move of the bout by trapping Hart in a bearhug, as Hart has the armbar applied, and hitting a belly to belly suplex. However, he must not have had much power behind the suplex because seconds later Hart is back with the armbar. Backlund soon gets Bret on his back and looks to the crowd for approval as he goes to work on the abdomen. Moments later, Backlund implements a Bret Hart style offense as he begins to target the legs and ankles. A Boston Crab soon follows. …As a side note, one of the most awkward things about watching a Bob Backlund match from this time period is when he would look to the crowd for approval to hit, kick, stomp his opponent and the crowd just didn’t care. In a very nice exchange, the two men trade 5 near falls, after Bret is able to actually power out of and reverse the Boston Crab into a roll up. A few moments later, Bret has Bob down on the mat, once more in the armbar. More than 23 minutes have elapsed in the match as Bret applies an arm scissors. Backlund repeatedly and impressively pulls himself up and is able to get Bret down on the mat for several 2-counts, but cannot break the hold. Bob is finally able to lift Bret onto his shoulder but Hart rolls through and drops Backlund back down on the mat to keep the hold applied. All the while, the crowd seems to be on the verge of a riot. Backlund eventually lifts Bret up and gently places him on the top turnbuckle. Hart leaps off for a 2-count but soon sustains a big back suplex from his opponent. A lackadaisical cover follows for a 2-count. Moments later, Bret hits his patented backbreaker and follows with a headbutt and bodyslam. Hart goes for the Sharpshooter but Backlund escapes before the hold can be applied. The two trade suplex attempts, with Bret gaining a near fall with an inside cradle. A legdrop and side Russian leg sweep follow. Bret hits the elbow off the middle turnbuckle for a 2-count. Moments later, Backlund scores with a sunset flip at the 29-minute mark for his own 2-count. Immediately thereafter, Hart tries for the Sharpshooter but is kicked away. At this point, the crowd seems to be much, much more into the contest and the ‘boring’ chants have fallen by the wayside. Bret pulls Backlund into the corner and hits a number of European uppercuts. Backlund retaliates with a forearm blow to the ear that knocks Hart to the mat. Bob follows with a pseudo heel tactic of raking the heel of his boot across Hart’s head. Bob then slams Hart’s face into the mat and follows with a huge atomic drop, Backlund’s finisher in the old WWWF. He neglects to make the cover and instead connects with a piledriver. After a brief pause in which both men are down, Backlund gets a near fall. With both men back to their feet, Hart reverses a suplex attempt into a go-behind and connects with a roll up off the ropes. Backlund emerges on top for the 2-count but Hart is able to use a roll over for the 1-2-3. Winner at 32:21: Bret Hart The crowd pops for the finish. Backlund has a look of frustration on his face over his first pinfall loss at MSG but raises Hart’s hand in congratulations before leaving the ring. Hart sticks around and plays to the fans before leaving ringside himself. My View By no means did this match start out on the right foot. Something just wasn’t right. But to both men’s credit, the crowd was hot for the last few minutes of the bout as well as the finish. Hart and Backlund forced the fans to stop booing and to get wrapped up in the match. This bout has a similar tone to the Bret / Benoit bout from Kansas City. However, Bret / Backlund lacks the killer instinct of the more recent match. While Hart and Benoit actually went out there looking to win a match and looking to surprise their opponent with reversals into pinning combinations, Hart and Backlund seemed content just to keep their opponent on the mat in a headlock or armbar for minutes on end. Personally, I think Hart and Backlund went out there to put on a 1970s St. Louis match in front of a 1990s WWF crowd. And up until the last 5-10 minutes, it didn’t work. But if you can find a copy of this, I would still recommend viewing the match at least once. It’s quite different from their later battles in 94-95.

I'm sure that played a part, depending on the city. I just recently saw a fancam of their title win in Philadelphia and that crowd popped huge for the finish.

My theory, and it may very well be wrong, is that Magnum would have faced Flair for the title at Starrcade 86. Flair / Nikita - basically heel vs. heel - seems like it was booked at the last minute. I'm sure they had a face other than Dusty scheduled for that spot.

I've seen most of that show via a fancam. Steiners / Shrinkers, Savage / Gonzalez (dud), Hughes / Taker (dud). But the cage match was pretty solid. This is probably the best all-around show I've been to. WWE (Raw) @ Washington DC - MCI Center - June 28, 2002 William Regal & Christopher Nowinski defeated Bubba Ray & Spike Dudley when Nowinski pinned Spike with a full nelson slam WWE Women's Champion Molly Holly pinned Trish Stratus by blocking a monkey flip out of the corner and putting her feet on the ropes for leverage Shawn Stasiak pinned WWE Hardcore Champion Bradshaw to win the title after Steven Richards interfered Spike Dudley pinned WWE Hardcore Champion Shawn Stasiak to win the title with the Dudley Dog Steven Richards pinned WWE Hardcore Champion Spike Dudley to win the title with the Steven Kick Bradshaw pinned WWE Hardcore Champion Steven Richards to win the title with the Clothesline from Hell D-Lo Brown pinned Justin Credible with the Sky High Matt Hardy pinned Raven with the Twist of Fate Brock Lesnar pinned Ric Flair with the F5 after Chris Benoit distracted Flair from ringside WWE IC Champion Rob Van Dam pinned Eddie Guerrero with the Five Star Frog Splash after Ric Flair prevented interference from Chris Benoit; the bout was to have been a ladder match but was changed to a normal match with no explanation given Steven Richards pinned Tommy Dreamer by avoiding the DVD and hitting the Steven Kick Booker T & Goldust defeated the Big Show & X-Pac when Booker pinned X-Pac with the Book End WWE World Champion the Undertaker pinned Hulk Hogan with the chokeslam after a chair shot

I believe I downloaded it from the Death Valley Driver forum. As far as to how it ranks ... it's more similar to Summer Slam than KOTR. I might even call it a smarter match than Summer Slam, but that's certainly up for debate.

Just put this together and thought I would share. Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (w/ the Genius) October 2, 1989 Wheeling, WV Without a doubt, Bret Hart and Curt Hennig are two of the most accomplished and respected talents over the past 25 years. There’s not much I can say about them that hasn’t already been said a million times over. While their two most well known bouts are from Summer Slam 91 and King of the Ring 93, they had quite the rivalry in 1989 when Perfect was slowly climbing up the ladder of world title contention. Along the way he had faced off challenges from a long line of solid midcard talent, among them Brutus Beefcake, the Blue Blazer, Hercules, the Red Rooster, and the returning Jimmy Snuka. Hart, on the other hand, was looking to parlay his tag team accomplishments into a successful singles run. While he had yet to compile a list of victories as impressive as Perfect’s, his in-ring ability was undeniable. Their handful of televised matches from MSG, Boston, etc aren’t difficult to find. However, I recently downloaded a match of theirs that originally aired on Prime Time Wrestling late in the year. As of now, my best guess is that it took place at the WWF Superstars taping in Wheeling, WV, October 2, 1989. The Match The Genius introduces his new protégé to the ring as ‘Exodus’ plays throughout the arena. Hennig, with a cocky smile on his face and a mouth full of chewing gum, confidently walks to the ring wearing a multi-colored singlet. The Hitman soon follows, wearing his original silver wrap-around sunglasses, and receives a very strong reaction from the crowd. After the bell rings, Bret rolls to the floor and hands his glasses to a young girl in the front row. With Hart back inside the ring, the two men circle one another before locking up. On two occasions, neither man can take control. On the third try, Hart takes a headlock. Hennig grabs the hair and sends Bret to the ropes but is shoved to the mat. Hart runs the ropes a second time, Perfect attempts a hiptoss, but Hart spins it around and sends his opponent down with his own hiptoss – a spot also seen in their IC title contest from 91. The momentum sends Hennig sprawling out to the floor to the delight of the crowd. With a look of frustration on his face, Hennig cautiously reenters the ring and is again caught in a headlock. The two men try the exact same exchange as before – Perfect grabs the hair, Hart knocks him to the mat on the way off the ropes, Perfect goes down as Hart comes off the ropes a second time, but then Hart simply hops over Hennig before turning to the fans and facetiously clapping in acknowledgement of Perfect’s skills. All Hennig can do in response is stand there speechless, his hands on his hips. Another lock up and Bret grabs the arm. Perfect reverses into a waist lock before selling a hard elbow to the face which breaks the hold. The two lock up once more, with Bret taking Hennig to the mat with a side headlock into a hard take down. Hennig grabs the hair to try to regain the advantage and it takes referee Earl Hebner a good 10 seconds to notice the infraction. Perfect gets to his feet and tries to send Bret off the ropes but Hart twice grabs onto the hair to keep the headlock applied. Perfect’s third try is the charm but the Hitman comes off the ropes with a crossbody for a 2 count. Hennig kicks out, sending Hart out to the floor where Bret immediately regroups, drives his shoulder hard into Hennig’s mid-section, and hits a sunset flip into the ring for another near fall before once again taking Perfect down with the side headlock. Curt hits the first heelish move of the bout when he leans Bret against the ropes and lands a knee to the midsection to break the headlock. Hennig sends Hart to the ropes and attempts a clothesline but Bret reverses into a crucifix for a 2-count. And the second Hennig stumbles to his feet, he’s taken down once more with a headlock. Perfect puts Bret against the ropes again and lands a chop to the chest and a blow to the back of the head. Curt throws him to the ropes and lifts his leg to attempt a kick but Hart grabs the foot, sweeps the leg out from under him, and connects with a boot to the midsection. The same spot done 2 years later would have received a much larger ovation as it would have clearly teased the crowd for the Sharpshooter. However that move was not yet in Bret’s repertoire. Hart eventually hits the corner and walks into a bodyslam from Hennig. And here comes another familiar spot between the two as Hart uses both feet to kick Hennig away, then hits a bodyslam of his own, before Hennig kicks Hart away in the same fashion. A clothesline clips the dazed Hennig in the side of the head and he takes a hard tumble over the top to the floor. Perfect stumbles all over himself on the floor, trying to regain his senses while at the same time trying to slow down the pace of the match. “Don’t worry, he’s just taking a brief hiatus. He’ll be back in the ring and I guarantee victory. I prophesize victory for Mr. Perfect. This is the Genius talking!” – The Genius to the cameraman Back inside the ring, Hennig has a visible look of frustration on his face over how the match has progressed thus far. The Hitman corners Perfect but, as Hebner tries to get between the two to break the lock up, Hennig connects with a hard punch to the face that levels Hart. Curt follows with a series of stomps and a kneelift. A football punt to the ribs sends Bret out to the floor, mere feet away from the Genius. Perfect jumps over the top to the floor and follows Bret around the ring, landing a big chop before reentering the squared circle and posing as the crowd gives him the very audible thumbs down. Back out on the floor, Perfect slams Bret chest-first across the guardrail. As the action returns to the ring, Bret regains the advantage with a sudden burst of offense, only for that to end suddenly as he hits the corner sternum-first and allowing Hennig to score a near fall in the process. Now in full control of the bout, Hennig grabs two big handfuls of hair and flings Bret across the ring (and I thought the women’s division had the exclusive rights to that move). A snapmare and flip-over neckbreaker follow, with Hennig using a double leg roll over to gain a near fall. A hard punch to the face follows. ”Now I’m gonna finish this piece of shit off.” – Mr. Perfect to the crowd (…Way to sell the ‘wholesome family entertainment’ aspect of the WWF) With the match seemingly at hand, Hennig climbs up top. However, he spends a little too much time posing and ends up being caught by Bret, who lands a blow to the midsection that results in Hennig crotching himself. As Curt gingerly attempts to ‘walk it off’, Hart takes full advantage and kicks Hennig’s leg out from underneath him. A series of punches, an inverted atomic drop, and a regular atomic drop follow. Hart twice grabs Perfect by the hair and flings him across the ring as was done to him moments earlier, with the second attempt resulting in Hennig landing hard with the post between his legs. The Hitman connects with a snap suplex for a 2 count and takes exception to the referee not counting to 3. An inside cradle follows for another 2 count. A backbreaker again gets Hart a near fall. However, as Bret again argues with Hebner over the count, Hennig comes up from behind with a roll up off the ropes. Hart is able to kick out at 2, sending Curt falling out of the ring in-between the ring ropes. With the crowd on their feet, Bret goes out to the floor and begins pummeling his opponent. Hennig counters with a blow to the face and is able to reenter the ring first. A chant of “Let’s go Bret” can be heard as Hart climbs on the ring apron. Perfect goes to meet him and sets him up for a suplex into the ring, however Hart flips over and uses a roll up for a 2-count. Perfect grabs the tights to gain the momentum, rolls on top of the Hitman, and gains the controversial victory at 17:20. My View Wow. Quite the contest for free TV, especially during this era of the WWF. A lot of similar spots from their more famous contests and just an incredible match that certainly stands the test of time. I would very much recommend tracking this one down.

I'd have to very much disagree with that. I've dropped several hundred $ since I started my little venture. Video tapes, magazines, newsletters, etc.

I probably wouldn't purchase a copy myself but you're more than welcome to use whatever info you need from my research.

1) Their match from The Main Event was basically the blow off. 2) My guess ... it still would have been LOD as the survivors. Maybe Roberts and Sid going to a double DQ or count-out to be eliminated. 4) No clue as to when Hogan was finalized to be at WrestleMania. If that came before the Rumble, then it's a safe bet Yoko was always booked to win and then lose the belt. 5) They had many during the summer of 1990 against Warrior and the debuting Kerry Von Erich.

Yep, it was basically a squash too.

I think the plan is to do a lot of these type dark matches and to heavily advertise them in order to help with attendance.

Off the top of my head, I don't believe so.

And Eddie won that match, so if it was his finisher - which I don't remember it being - it obviously didn't work there

The Samoans were default babyfaces in that match. Not sure if they had officially turned face.