cawthon777

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.

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.

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

They had Austin doing guest commentary so ... while the match wasn't much, it was definately an entertaining segment.

The match that aired was this one, unless they cut it from IYH and spliced it in with the rest of the Raw episode. WWF @ Struthers, OH - High School - June 5, 1995 Monday Night Raw taping: 6/5/95: KOTR Qualifying Match: Davey Boy Smith fought WWF Tag Team Champion Owen Hart (w/ Jim Cornette) to a 15-minute time limit draw as Owen had Smith down in a backslide

Fondle Me Elmo has Russo written all over it.

Yeah, I understand what you mean. It's an odd combo of ECW-like rabid fans / poor lighting and complete wrestlecrap. The atmosphere reminds me a lot of the old Manhattan Center shows. Small crowd, but they all REALLY want to be there.