KTID

A point about this Hall of Fame... Firstly, a story. A few years ago, the football (soccer) team i support failed to qualify for any European competitions. Our league position at the end of the season wasn't good enough to qualify. Our team as a whole simply weren't good enough that year. A problem many of you can presumably relate to. Fast forward a couple of weeks, and we learn that we have been entered into the EUFA cup due to being the recipients of UEFA's "Fair Play Award". I was genuinely appalled to learn that such a back-door into the competition existed. The WON Hall of Fame criteria allows a similar back-door entrance for those who aren't qualified. A (hypothetical) wrestler can train for years, turn pro at 19, wrestle all over the world, be a world-class worker, be considered one of the best of all time even, having a career spanning 14-years. A (similarly hypothetical) individual can have no interest in wrestling whatsoever, receive no training, have no ability, and wrestle one single individual wrestling match, likely of negligible quality, at the age of 36. When voting commences for that years WON Hall of Fame, only one of those hypothetical people are eligible for entry. As you'll surely agree, that is very wrong, and exposes a flaw in the voting system. It is this particular flaw which allows Kurt Angle and HHH to be in the Hall of Fame, and which has us all debating for 3 pages whether or not the latter deserves such an honour. Now, in answer to the question of whether or not HHH should be in the Hall of Fame, no he shouldn't. If the second part of the voting criteria didn't exist then it wouldn't be an issue now. If, in a few years time when HHH (and later Kurt Angle) meet the first part of the criteria, they are still considered HOF worthy, then they should be voted in at that time. Not sure if this made any sense, so please hit me with the feedback.

^ What has one got to do with the other?

JR'S ASS!!

The only reason Michaels was allowed to get away with his backstage antics in the mid-90s was because the company was doing shit business-wise, and McMahon thought that losing him would be a fatal blow and gave in to him on every little thing. Once business picked up, with the popularity of Steve Austin and the "Attitude"-era, the company was no longer dependent on any individuals. (He had the same attitude about the prospect of Bret leaving, which is why he gave him an unsustainable 20-year contract to keep him and later changed his mind and let him go.) There is no way that, during the peak-years of the late 90s, Vince would have allowed Michaels to continue to manipulate him. Michaels would then have either done as he was told, or throw a tantrum and be sent packing. Either way, he would not be impeding other guys progress or ruining storylines.

Why would that be interesting? The only reason Shawn got to do as he pleased all the time was that McMahon was scared of losing him. If Hogan was back, Shawn would have been right back in his place.

From experience, i find that those who hate Oasis are the snoby sensitive indie types for whom Oasis remind them of the type of kids that bully/bullied them at school.

Thats right. Russo is now an honest man cos Jesus said so.

You're right that he gave several wrestlers creative control causes, which was one of the reasons for WCW's death. But thats only one of the many reasons. He can't be blamed 100%.

It really wasn't as clear cut in WCW as it is in WWE, where Vince McMahon is the one man in charge and all decisions are ultimately his. In WCW, Eric Bischoff, or anyone else for that matter, was never in *complete* control of the company. He was probably the nearest thing to a figurehead they had, but he still had to answer to superiors, had Turner people with no wrestling knowledge hanging around, and even had wrestlers like Hogan and Flair going over his head to have decisions made. So while Vince McMahon accepts all credit/blame for WWE's successes/failures, Eric Bischoff cannot do so for WCW.

This is absolutely hilarious. Russo is so full of shit. I bet he doesn't even know truth from lies. Comedy gold, i say.

While the hummer angle was indeed stupid, its got nothing on Sid's winning streak! From The Death of WCW... "The next main event feud was to feature Sid versus Goldberg. In order to promote the eventual encounter, Sid came out on Nitro one week and claimed that he was 55-0. Never mind that he hadn't had fifty-five matches on WCW TV since coming back. Or, while we're at it, the fact that he'd lost several times on TV over the past few weeks alone. By midway through the show, he was at 59-0 despite not having won any matches. Bobby Heenan explained this by saying he'd already beaten up nine men. Nobody was sure how 55 plus 9 equalled 59. The next week, despite losing at every house show the company ran, he was suddenly up to 68-0. Then he pinned Juventud Guerrera, Lenny Lane and Lodi. This made him 70-0. Again, do not ask how 68 plus 3 equals 70. Three days later, on Thunder, Sid said he couldn't wait to get six more wins so he could break Goldberg's 176-0 streak. And, ummm...yeah. Once he did this, Sid explained, he was going to "shake all over." Sid, at 176-0, lost to Saturn via DQ when Rick Steiner ran in. On Nitro the following Monday, however, he was billed as being 177-0. So yes, losses were now counting as wins in this streak. Shockingly, the Sid winning streak didn't stop the downward spiral."

Thread bumped for those interested in the article.

Thread bumped for those interested in the article.

IV. THE TALENT The following is an overview of the main talents that constituted Mid-South’s ranks at the beginning of 1984. To say it reads like a “who’s who” of wrestling in the decade would not just be a cliché; it would also be a gross understatement. Junkyard Dog - The gilt was starting to flake from the golden goose as 1983 drew to a close. In addition to losing steam as a drawing card, the Dog was starting to feel the ill-effects of his famous substance abuse problems, stemming from a nasty divorce and the death of his infant child. His weight had ballooned out of control, and although Watts explained the excess tonnage by claiming the Dog was simply bulking up to face superheavyweights like King Kong Bundy and Kimala, it was clear that the Dog had lost his edge. His interviews ceased to be as inspired, a feud with Butch Reed in late-1983 failed to draw the expected returns, and Watts could only figure out ways to maintain the Superman-type appeal for so long. Jim Duggan - Cut from the same cloth as Watts -- big, rugged, and a charismatic talker -- Duggan was fast emerging as Mid-South’s biggest draw as 1984 began. In fact, his popularity had by that point already surpassed the Junkyard Dog’s in some areas on the circuit. A young, Bruiser-Brody-influenced Duggan had joined Mid-South in 1982, at which point he was immediately plugged into a fearsome three-headed stable known as the “Rat Pack,” with Ted Dibiase and Matt Borne. He frequently served as Dibiase’s tag team partner over the next year-and-a-half, comprising one of the most famous tandems in the history of the territory, before splitting with the Million-Dollar-Man-to-be in late-1983 out of “disgust” that Dibiase had commiserated with United-States-antagonistic manager Skandar Akbar. Thereupon, Duggan adopted his now-familiar American patriot role, albeit in a form much less obstreperous than that which he would later assume in the WWF and WCW. “Hacksaw” possessed enormous babyface charisma at the time, with perhaps only Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair being his superiors in that regard, and was on the brink of the greatest run of his career as 1984 dawned. Ted Dibiase - One of the premiere performers in the business at the time -- if not ever -- Dibiase had been one of Mid-South’s top five stars for well nigh half a decade by the time ‘84 rolled around. Exceptional in some aspects of the business and very good at all others, Dibiase was, like Watts, almost a reflection of Mid-South itself: A great worker who cut very good promos and had exceedingly few frills, but who never quite got his rightful due. Unfortunately for Dibiase, the one wrestler who was better-rounded than he at the time, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, invariably prevented him from winning the NWA World Title for which he had once been earmarked. He actually plied his wares alternately in Georgia and Japan, as well, in late-’83 and early-’84, but his presence remained felt in Watts’ group, and it was not long until he returned on a full-time basis. Mr. Wrestling II - Real name Johnny Walker, the masked Wrestling II was one of the business’ true legends. As the tag team partner of Tim Woods -- aka Mr. Wrestling I -- in Georgia Championship in the 1970s, he achieved his greatest career success. The 5’9”, 215-pounder continued to wrestle primarily in Georgia until 1983, before going to work for Watts, and immediately getting over based on his still-top-flight interviews and name value -- which he was, at this time, lending to Magnum TA. Mangum TA - Blessed with matinee-idol good looks and a wealth of physical charisma, TA was one-half of the Mid-South Tag Team champions as 1984 began, and he was starting to catch fire in the role of venerable partner Mr. Wrestling II’s protege. Real name Terry Allen, TA wrestled from 1979-1981 as a lower-mid-carder in various Southern circuits, before receiving his first career break in 1982 upon arriving in Florida, where Dusty Rhodes took him under his wing. But it was in mid-1983, when TA arrived in Mid-South, that he developed into the business’ newest mega-star-to-be. His interaction with Wrestling II provided him the rub necessary to develop into one of the two top babyface in Mid-South, and the Atlanta-area legend even went so far as to say that TA was capable of becoming the greatest wrestler who ever lived. Wrestling II even put him on a stringent diet and training regimen -- which was ironic, given that II himself was hardly a model of physical conditioning at the time. But the proof in the pudding, as II would say, came in October of ‘83, when the duo wrested the tag straps from Butch Reed and Jim Neidhart, thereby establishing them as one of the hottest acts in the company. The Midnight Express and Jim Cornette: In late-1983, Watts packaged together a 23-year-old mama’s boy named Jim Cornette and two talented but under-appreciated veterans of the Southern wrestling belt named Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton. The dynamics of the union worked to perfection: Cornette was one of the three best orators in the business by that juncture, while Condrey and Eaton -- particularly Eaton -- wore the tag as the two best workers nobody had ever heard of. As 1983 came to a close, the Midnights had several weeks of squash match victories under their belts, and their innovative quick-tag, high-risk style broke new ground in the territory. Meanwhile, Cornette’s tawdry attire (replete with head-to-toe polyester and a tennis racket), sissified Body English, and liberal references to spending his mother’s money were starting to get under the skin of the mostly-rural-class Mid-South faithful. He was the first manager without a past as a wrestler in the history of the territory, and his heat-drawing skills were unparalleled. The stage was set for the Express to explode as the hottest tag team in the business, this side of the Road Warriors, in ‘84. Rock ‘n’ Roll Express - By 1984, 23-year-old Ricky Morton and 26-year-old Robert Gibson had already forged solid names for themselves on the Southern wrestling circuit, but it was not until Memphis booker Jerry Lawler had put them together as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express -- in hopes of attracting young female fans to his cards -- that they demonstrated signs of becoming drawing cards. Watts previously had shied away from the developing trend of featuring his wrestlers in rock ‘n’ roll music videos, but with the Express, he made a notable exception. Morton and Gibson were first introduced to Mid-South followers through cheesy montages set to such popular hits as “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, “Rock ‘n’ Roll is King” by the Electric Light Orchestra (which was their entrance theme for the better part of the next three years), and, later, “Jump” by Van Halen. Before, they had just been great workers without the benefit of a gimmick; now, they had found a persona that complimented their real-life personalities perfectly, and they immediately became one of the biggest-drawing acts in the entire industry. ”Hacksaw” Butch Reed - Long before he become known nationally as the blanched-haired “Natural” in the WWF from 1986-1988, Reed was one of the ten best workers -- and possessed one of the five best bodies -- in the industry. He had owned a premiere physique and been tremendously agile for his size ever since breaking into the business in the late-’70s, but major promotions were reticent to push him, largely due his skin pigmentation. That said, he did gain a modicum of nationwide celebrity early on, partially stemming from a photo that became widespread in the Apter magazines in 1980 that depicted Reed press-slamming the even-more-massive Hulk Hogan. Reed got the first big push of his career when he went to Florida in 1982, and he got an even bigger break in 1983 upon arriving in the more broad-minded Mid-South, where the color of his skin actually worked to his advantage. He was introduced on-camera as the Junkyard Dog’s storyline protege, but it was only a matter of weeks before he turned heel out of coveting the Dog’s North American championship belt. Reed had a good run as the promotion’s top heel at that point, but it was one marred by the fact that his big Superdome showdown against JYD drew a sparse 8,000 fans. “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel - Always a very talented worker, the not-yet-bleached-blonde Landel lacked the charisma to warrant a push early in his career. But he donned the “Nature Boy” guise while on tour in Puerto Rico in the early-’80s, and before long he was a break-out heel-superstar-to-be. As with so many young wrestlers at the time, Landel got his biggest career break from Watts, who gave him a big push in late-’83 and made gave him an agreeable slot as Butch Reed’s tag team partner. Thereupon, he was even involved in one of the most heated angles in Mid-South’s history when, in 1983, Reed and Ernie Ladd had held JYD down on the mat during a Superdome show, allowing the lily pretty-boy “Nature Boy” to paint a yellow stripe across his back. Terry Taylor - Taylor -- he of the simple blue trunks, olive skin, and sun-bleached hair -- had floated around between several territories since 1979, but none of the major offices ever saw in him the potential to be a major name. Watts did, however, and gave him a major push upon his arrival in Mid-South in 1984. It would be wrong to label Taylor a major gate attraction at any point, but he settled comfortably into a consistent niche as one of the top six or seven stars in the territory for most of the rest of its existence. His workrate was one of the 20 best in the industry, and his understated promos were straightforward but effective. What’s more, he was a favorite among the promotion’s suddenly-blossoming female demographic. Nikolai Volkoff and Krusher Kruschev - An arrant xenophobe, Watts legitimately despised Russia, and he frequently preyed on area fans’ nationalistic zeal with his heel creations. Kruschev -- formerly known as Barry Darsow, later known as Demolition Smash, the Repo Man, and the Blacktop Bully, amongst other aliases -- was little more than a large but nondescript, albeit talented-for-his-size, worker when he arrived in Mid-South in 1983. Watts repackaged him as Krusher Kruschev, an American turncoat, and his progress was immediate. Volkoff, on the other hand, had employed the Russian gimmick dating back to the ‘70s, but it was “Cowboy” Bill who invented the gimmick of singing the Russian National Anthem before his matches, which “The Russian Menace” parlayed into the greatest stardom of his career. Steve Williams - A four-time All-American wrestler and football standout at Watts’ old stomping grounds of the University of Oklahoma, Williams was one wrestler for whom “Cowboy” Bill had a natural affinity. The Mid-South owner-operator liked his babyfaces large, sturdy, and athletic, and the mighty Williams fit the prototype better than anybody else in the industry at one point. He had broken into Mid-South in the summer prior to his senior season at OU, and Watts had always taken great pains to protect his credibility, including having him adopt “Cowboy” Bill’s old Oklahoma Stampede powerslam finisher. By late-1983, several months after he had graduated and taken up wrestling full-time at the age of 23, Williams would soon develop into a worker commensurate with his push. Kimala - One of the great character heel creations of the decade and the brainchild of Jerry Lawler, Kimala arrived among the influx of new talent to Mid-South in 1983. He was managed by long-time Watts in-ring-rival-turned-manager “General” Skandar Akbar, a heel of fictitious Middle-Eastern descent. Tommy Pritchard - The vastly underrated Pritchard -- now commonly known as the co-host of “Byte This” and a WWF trainer -- was no more than a jobber when he arrived in Mid-South in 1983, but he benefited greatly from being in the presence of Watts and his bevy of great workers. Among other famous area “enhancement wrestlers” included Lanny Poffo, who was Randy Savage’s brother and would be known six years later as “The Genius” in the WWF, and, later in 1984, an 18-year-old Shawn Michaels. Rick Rude, King Kong Bundy, and Jim Neidhart - Although all three had greater things in store for them, Watts made a shrewd move when he “traded” them to the Memphis circuit. Bundy and Neidhart had emerged as future stars due to Watts’ nimble involvement of them in his product, but they had both run their course in Mid-South and desperately needed a change of scenery. The late Rude, for his part, was on the verge of superstardom, but he had yet to get over in the LA-MS-OK-TX-AK area, and he, too, stood to benefit from changing residences. V. OTHER TRAPPINGS Mid-South Announcing One of Mid-South’s greatest strengths was its first-rate team of broadcasters -- Jim Ross, Boyd Pierce, and Bill Watts -- and, later, Bill’s step-son, Joel Watts. Ross had become acquainted with Watts while doing odd jobs for Leroy McGuirk in the ‘70s. His first tour of duty as an announcer was for McGuirk, which was an especially valuable experience because the blind McGuirk also served as the color commentator; thus, Ross learned to paint explicit verbal portraits of the action he saw before him in the ring. He joined Mid-South after Watts bought out McGuirk in 1982, at which point he worked predominately as a referee and a ring announcer. His first full-time break into Mid-South’s announcing booth came in 1984, when Watts went with an alternating three-man announcing team of himself, Pierce, and Watts. Even then, JR had a knack for making wrestling seem like a sporting event, thereby greatly enhancing its believability. What’s more, he had a unique command for when to let the action speak for itself and when to project his announcing onto the action. The late, then-58-year-old Pierce was a veteran announcer of several Southern circuits, but the promoter whom he held in the greatest esteem was Watts. Known for his loud outfits, smooth and homely announcing style, and great respect for the business, Pierce was a tremendous asset to Mid-South telecasts until his departure in the middle of ‘84. Bill Watts himself was also an excellent commentator, which is no surprise given the great verbal skills he demonstrated throughout his in-ring career. He did a bang-up job of describing the intricacies of every storyline and the personality quirks of his performers, largely because he, as the mastermind behind them, understood said nuances so well. He was especially fond of discussing the performers’ athletic backgrounds, a trait he passed down to Ross. The gangly, then-20-year-old Joel Watts was not nearly the level of announcer as his step father, and he was barely even passable when he first entered the booth, but he developed into quite a solid commentator in his own right within a few years. His first on-camera position for Mid-South was as a referee in 1983 (he was known as “Joel Armstrong” at that point, because Watts was initially reluctant to divulge his true identity), but his greatest impact on the operation was as its lead producer. He produced every music video the promotion featured starting in ‘83, and he remained the man in the truck until its dissolution four years hence. Oftentimes, Ross and Watts -- particularly in 1985-1987 -- would speak out on the air against the abscess of the “macabre cartoon wrestling,” as they were wont to put it, of rival promotions. In the April 1986 edition of Inside Wrestling, Watts did credit Vince McMahon with being “very smart, very brilliant in his gameplan,” but he neither liked nor respected the type of product McMahon promoted, and he sought to rouse the passions of those loyal to the Mid-South brand of wrestling by directing pejorative statements at the competition. The Superdome Prior to the accession of pay-per-view as wrestling companies’ preferred means of netting a huge pay-day, most promoters based their operations around a single large facility at the hub of their territory. The WWF had Madison Square Garden, Mid-Atlantic had the Greensboro Coliseum, GCW had the Omni, etc. Mid-South’s unrivaled local popularity, though, afforded it the opportunity to book a much bigger facility for blow off matches of major feuds -- the 60,000-seat Superdome in New Orleans, LA. Leroy McGuirk was the first area promoter to capitalize on the proximity of the Dome, which opened in 1975. New Orleans was one of the largest cities in the region, but the local Municipal Auditorium only seated around 8,000, which was not enough to meet the ticket demand of a hot promotion. When NWA World champ Terry Funk came to town to defend his belt against local hero Watts on July 17, 1976, McGuirk stood to gain from booking the new, larger facility. The result was a crowd of upwards of 20,000 and one of the biggest gates in the history of Southern wrestling up to that point. McGuirk would book three more Superdome spectaculars -- invariably with Watts as the headliner -- before “Cowboy” Bill siphoned off from him in 1979. At that point, Watts assumed the mantle as the Superdome’s wrestling superintendent, and the facility would house all but a handful of Mid-South’s biggest cards and matches over the next seven years. Drugs and Travel That drugs have always constituted a prevalent, if unsavory, element of wrestling is an irrefutable truth, but they reared their ugly head in Mid-South more than in most promotions. The travel schedule on the circuit was absolutely brutal, including regular seven-day weeks with two cards on both Saturdays and Sundays, and Watts was an extremely demanding boss. In particular, there was Junkyard Dog’s aforementioned cocaine addiction, and several other mainstays suffered the ill effects of chemical dependency during the period. “Matchmaker” Grizzly Smith It was customary for promotions at the time to employ figurehead “matchmakers,” many of whom, in actuality, had little to do with the booking process in their given promotion. A one-time superstar of the Southern scene, Smith filled that role for Mid-South and appeared frequently on-camera to make official proclamations regarding the group’s administrative activities. He also had two sons in wrestling -- Sam Houston and, of course, Jake Roberts. VI. STARTING WITH A BANG -- FROM A TENNIS RACKET Mid-South’s second TV show of 1984 could not have been more apt. It was marked by the first of many salvos Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express would fire at Mid-South Tag Team titlists Magnum TA & Mr. Wrestling II, as well as a confrontation between Cornette and the still-retired Bill Watts. Speaking in his trademark machine-gun style, firing off debasing one-liners at will, and interrupting the legendary and respected Watts at every turn, Cornette was incredibly effective at getting under the skin of those he antagonized in the following segment, which opened that telecast: (Jim Cornette, decked out in red-and-white polyester, stands in contrast beside Bill Watts, dressed in a simple gray suit and a cowboy hat to match. They are stationed in the blue Mid-South interview area.) Bill Watts: I’m standing here with Jim Cornette, the manager of the Midnight Express. And, Mr. Cornette, I’ve watched Skandar Akbar manage his troops, and Skandar Akbar was a former North American champion himself, a tough athlete in his own right. I’ve been against Gary Hart and his armies, and Gary Hart was a pretty good-sized street guy from Chicago. Rock Hunter, who was formerly a great athlete, managed the Assassins. You’re the first athlete I’ve ever seen -- or, first non-athlete -- who is arrogant, audacious, flamboyant, rude, and a mama’s boy that brags about how you use your mother’s capital to accomplish what you want. Jim Cornette: Well, Bill Watts, first of all, let me just say one thing: People with money do not have to sweat. Why should I work for something when all I have to do is call my mother and she buys it for me. Do you understand? Do you comprehend? Watts: Well, short sleeves and two generations, you know, or whatever, I still respect the people who earned on their own right. Now, last week Reeser Bowden was interviewing Magnum TA and Mr. Wrestling II, congratulating them on winning Christmas night the Mid-South Tag Titles, and you came out and interrupted that interview. Let’s go to the footage of that… (Footage airs from the previous week’s program.) (Mr. Wrestling II): Well, like I told you before, it was just a matter of time. When you stuck with me, you obeyed the things I tried to pound into your head, and it all came true. Right here is the proof in the pudding, man… (II pats his half of the Tag Titles; TA pats his belt, as well, and grins.) Let me just explain one thing to ya’… (Cornette walks onto the interview set.) (Cornette): Hold up just a second; could I interrupt here for just a minute? I heard a lot of names being bandied about out here a minute ago about top competition, but one name that was conspicuous in its absence was the Midnight Express. Now, can you explain just what the problem is? We’ve been trying to get a title match with you two for a long time, I’ve offered any amount of my mother’s money that you want, and we can’t get the contract signed. What’s the problem? Could either one of you happen to tell me? (Wrestling II): Hey, pal, there is no problem. Anytime you feel you’re qualified, we’ll be ready for you. The Mid-South is the one who determines that. (Cornette): Well, I feel like I’m qualified, and I feel like my men are qualified; I don’t feel like you two are qualified. What you done: This guy (points to TA), he was a frustrated sex symbol, (motions to II) and you were just frustrated. You’ve taken him from a frustrated sex symbol and turned him into a coward (TA and II take a menacing step toward Cornette). And I think I’m just gonna’ back up here just a step… I think what the problem is in getting you two in the ring is that you are chicken. Both of you are chickens, both of you are cowards, and if you don’t give us a title match, what we’re gonna’ have to do is prove to all these people who love you so much, is prove to them in a way that they’ll never forget exactly how chicken you are (leaves). (Wrestling II): (pauses) Can you imagine that pip-squeak calling men chicken? (Magnum TA): I think that man would be very at home in a hen house -- and not as a chicken, either. (Wrestling II): No, he’d probably be sitting on a nest, warming the eggs. (Return to the interview set with Watts and Cornette.) Cornette: I like to watch myself… (giggles) Watts: Well, I think at that point that they thought you were just another smart-aleck with a lot of rhetoric. I think they didn’t realize that when you were talking about them being chicken that you were going to take such drastic action to make a visual reminder about something that I think went out when the Ku Klux Klan was riding roughshod over a lot of scared folks, and -- Cornette: I’ve heard rumors of that group, but I am a man of integrity; I warned them, Bill Watts. I warned them of what I was going to do, and nobody can say no different. (More footage of the previous week, when TA and II were wrestling a squash match. Cornette enters the ring, carrying a burlap sack.) (Cornette): You know, I believe I told everybody that Mangum Ta and Mr. Wrestling II are a couple of chickens, because they won’t defend the Mid-South Tag Team belts against the Midnight Express (the crowd heat swells)!. Well, my mother and I have gotten together, and we’ve gotten a little surprise for you; we’ve got something to make an example out of you, and to show you that we don’t tolerate cowards around here at all… (The Midnight Express ambush TA and Wrestling II from behind with a foreign object. With II unconscious, the heel team holds down TA face-first on the mat. Cornette reaches into his bag and pours a dark, adhesive substance across TA’s back. Cornette pours a bag of chicken feathers across TA’s back, until he is completely covered in them. The crowd appears on the verge of a riot. Steve Williams and Rick Rude run in for the save as the Express and Cornette flee the ring. Cornette derisively flaps his arms like a chicken as he walks back to the dressing room.) (Back to Watts and Cornette at the interview set.) Cornette: Hahahaha. Bach, bach, bach. Hahahaha. Watts: Well, you know, I can say I’ve been in wrestling some twenty years, and I’ve been proud to be called a professional wrestler, and I’ve had a lot of beefs with a lot of people. But I always thought that there was something about the king of sports that you always should have a certain amount of honor, that you took on your opponents head-- Cornette: --The only honor that I have, Bill Watts, is that when I want something, I get it one way or the other! That’s the only honor I have: What affects a Cornette and what affects my men, the Midnight Express. That’s all I care about, that’s all I think about, that’s all I wanna’ hear about (slams his racket down on the podium.) Watts: Well, we kept the camera’s running, and we wanna’ see back as the wrestlers were helping Magnum-- (Footage roles of Rick Rude and Lanny Poffo helping a fuming TA, still saturated with feathers, to his feet and to the backstage area. Cornette and Watts provide running commentary this time.) Cornette: --Hahaha! That has got to be the single funniest thing I have seen in a week or two. Look at TA there, he looks like the big chicken that he is, wallowing around in a puddle of feathers. Look at this Rick Rude, that guy trying to help him up. There’s “Limpin’” Lanny right there. This is the greatest thing that I think I have ever done. You know, Bill Watts, I can match you, by the way, multi-syllabic term for multi-syllabic term -- and that, right there, is a “masterpiece.” What do you think? Watts: There’s a man in agony, in turmoil right th-- Cornette: -- There’s humiliation, right there! And I told him, I warned him; like I said, I am a man of integrity. I warned him what I was gonna’ do; he didn’t pay attention to it, he wouldn’t pay heed to it, so he paid the price for it. And where’s Wrestling II? I believe he might be back in the back someplace with an ice pack on his head by this time, because he (laughs)… he took a blow. Watts: You know, that’s right, on a hot night, it only takes a small spark to ignite a whole forest fire, and you may have just lit something that you can’t put out. Later on, we had Wrestling II and Magnum TA, and we got ‘em out to say a few words. And you were right, they were humiliated; TA thought he’d been made a total fool of. Let’s listen to their words. Cornette: (laughs) Okay… (More footage of last week’s program, with Watts interviewing Wrestling II and TA at ringside.) (Wrestling II): Let me tell you something right now, Bill Watts… They pulled a trick -- this time! But let me tell each and every one of you out there: There’s gonna be some plucking go on around here! You talk about chicken; when we through with ya’, we’re gonna’ pluck everything out of ya’! We’re gonna pick, until you can’t be picked anymore! TA (In a low, earnest tone) I’m here to tell each and every one of you right now: You might find something remotely humorous about this. But to me, this is the most degrading, humiliating thing anybody could have possibly done to me. (Becoming more impassioned, his voice quivering) And this will not be the end of this. Midnight Express, Cornette, this… If you wanted me attention, you got Magnum TA’s attention! And now that you got my attention, let’s see what you’re gonna do about it! Where are you now?! I’ll be up anywhere you wanna’ be! I can’t put up the Tag Team Titles; Mid-South’s gotta’ do that! But I’ll wrestle you anywhere, any time, under any conditions! Don’t walk the streets and turn your back! Because this is some old medicine that should have been forgotten a long time ago (motions to the feathers covering his body). Tactics like this should never, never, ever be used on any human being on this earth! And I’ll make you regret the day you ever thought about feathering Magnum TA -- mark my words! (Returns to Watts and Cornette in the interview studio.) Cornette: Wrestling II want s to talk about plucking somebody? Why don’t you pluck your partner; he’s the one wearing feathers -- I don’t have any. You know, you drew an interesting analogy about a forest fire. Well, Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton, the Midnight Express, are about the best candidates I can think of to play Smoky the Bear on Mr.Wrestling II and Magnum TA. Now I can tell you one thing right now: Up until now, we’ve been having a little fun. We’ve been playing around, just trying to get a title match. But if they want to get serious, let me tell you something: We can get serious. And if you don’t give us a title match before long, we’re gonna’ do something that we won’t regret… but you probably will. Watts: Well, Mr. Cornette, I’ll say one thing about Grizzly Smith and Mid-South Wrestling: You can’t come in here with your back-alley tactics and force title matches -- that’s up to Grizzly Smith and Mid-South. So, you’re gonna’ have to prove that you have the right in another manner. But, I will tell you something that you have earned: Grizzly Smith has placed probably the largest fine ever in Mid-South. You have been fined five-thousand dollars for that action last week! Cornette: Oh, is that right? You’ve probably bankrupted a lot of these ordinary, run-of-the-mill people in Mid-South with fines, but you know what $5,000 is for me, Bill Watts?… A phone-call home to mother (laughs and walks off the set). Watts: (pauses for several seconds and casts a brooding stare in the direction of where Cornette once stood) I am at a lost for words. You know, that’s the kind of guy… that your hands just get kind of sweaty and clammy and itchy… to backhand him! We’ll be back after these messages from Mid-South. The angle drew remarkable heat -- particularly Cornette’s performances. Later in the broadcast, TA and II were performing color commentary during a match involving the Midnight Express. A fine for leaving the broadcast booth to attack an in-ring performer was $2,500 in Mid-South, but Cornette was so belligerent that they he still provoked them into charging the ring -- and receiving a welt-inducing beating from James E.’s “loaded” tennis racket for their troubles. It was one of many angles -- many of which were even better -- that would set Mid-South’s box office ablaze like never before.

IV. "Black Saturday" and the Mainstream Furor If his sudden change in creative direction, his relatively-new-sprung cable TV exposure, and his numerous talent raids hadn't roused the ire of his fellow promoters, Jr. McMahon's next maneuver certainly did. He had purchased the local time slot and broadcasting rights to the NWA St. Louis program -- called "Wrestling at the Chase" -- for $2,100 a week, and, on December 27, 1983, the WWF's "Superstars of Wrestling" emanated from the famed Chase Hotel. Hulk Hogan was there, Roddy Piper was there, newly-arrived ex-AWA broadcaster "Mean" Gene Okerlund was there, and so were most of the Fed's other stars -- both new and old. It was McMahon's first significant strike in the TV marketplace since purchasing the USA Network slot, and the remainder of the NWA promoters were now hyper-aware of this new, undeniable threat to their very survival in the industry. The impact of this incursion cannot be overstated. St. Louis had been the epicenter of the NWA for decades. The city's one-time promoter, Sam Muchnick, had been the most powerful man in the business since the middle part of the century. And, although the recent incarnation of the local promotion -- fronted by the collective of Verne Gagne, Bob Geigel, Harley Race, and Pat O'Conner -- was struggling at the time, it was still considered one of the most sacred (and profitable) markets in the country. McMahon now had control of it, and when he began running regular cards at the Kiel Auditorium, he dealt the NWA a major financial and psychological blow. For its part, the Alliance didn't back down and continued to send all its big guns (Ric Flair, Race, etc.) to its own Kiel cards in an effort to compete with the WWF. Nonetheless, Hogan, Piper, and company consistently managed to outdraw the competition there for the remainder of the "War of '84" -- largely due to the Federation's superincumbent TV exposure. Next, McMahon made another brilliant strategic move when he employed ex-GCW promoter Jim Barnett as his new right-hand man in attempting to expand his nationwide syndication network. Barnett, who had promoted in Georgia for nigh on two decades before Ole Anderson ousted him from power, was bitter at his fellow NWA promoters and shared in Jr. Vince's expansion-at-any-cost ambitions. The newfound allies went to work in haste, foisting the WWF's product on one market after another across the country. When possible, they bought out the timeslot of whichever regional promotion was already entrenched, and they often paid more than $100,000 a year to broadcast in pivotal locations like Los Angeles, Chicago, and the aforementioned St. Louis. "Superstars of Wrestling" and, generally, this was the centerpiece of the syndication package, and, generally, the program on which the company's major angles took place. Initially, these broadcasts were taped from the old Felt Forum, which was adjacent to Madison Square Garden, before they moved to Glen Falls, NY. Of all the outlets which the company acquired during this period, L.A. may have been the most important. By wielding almost total autonomy over the market, McMahon was able to win over the extensive local media, which was second only to New York's in terms of size and influence. When the WWF began its full-throttle media blitz, its leverage in the "City of Angels" became especially important. In fact, the general public had already begun to take notice of the WWF's success, and, in early-1984, the promotion had already garnered a reputation for running the hottest programming on cable TV. In actuality, as impressive as the Federation's numbers were at the time, Ole Anderson's Saturday night Georgia Championship Wrestling broadcast had actually been the highest rated cable program in the country for three of the previous five years. However, numerous print articles, radio programs, and TV newscasts had been propagating the notion that the USA Network wrestling shows were the number one ratings juggernauts in the country, so McMahon received virtually all of the credit for the business' staggering TV success. GCW was still every bit the national powerhouse the WWF was at that point, though, and, as evidenced by his previous plundering, McMahon was bent on eliminating it. For McMahon, the timing of his onslaught on Anderson could not have been more auspicious. GCW had been reeling throughout 1983 and 1984, thanks to a string of incompetent booking decisions, the defections of Piper and (to a lesser extent) Orndorff, and a stale and/or paling batch of remaining stars -- including Ole himself, Buzz Sawyer, and former NWA World champion Tommy Rich. During the period, the company's only saving grace was a muscular, face-painted, and highly-charismatic rookie duo, the Road Warriors, who became the group's top stars virtually from the first moment they set foot in the promotion. However, the Roadies were unable to carry the promotion single-handedly, and its house show business was fading -- even if its ratings were not. Jr. McMahon sensed that Anderson was struggling regardless, but he also knew that if could somehow undermine Ole from within, he would be able to eradicate his threat that much more efficiently. On that account, while everyone's back was turned, Vince undertook a hostile takeover and began buying out one GCW minority shareholder after another, while also purchasing the shares still held by Jim Barnett. It's almost unfathomable to think that McMahon was able to continue an appropriation of a private company for so many weeks, without Anderson's having the slightest inclination of what was going on, but he succeeded in doing so nonetheless. By May, he was poised to gain majority control of the promotion, but, in order to do so, he needed to persuade the legendary Jack and Gerald Brisco to sell him their own sizable allotment. The Briscos Brothers were the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team champions at that point, and they strongly represented the tradition of wrestling every bit as much as any of their contemporaries. Jack was a former NWA champion, and both men (Jack in particular) were stand-out NCAA collegiate stars. However, Jack was the older and more famous of the pair, and, after some 25 years on the road, he was burnt out on the business. Moreover, McMahon offered him and his brother $750,000, which would have been nearly impossible to refuse, especially since GCW was faltering as it was. So, although both men were no doubt somewhat hesitant to accept the proposal, the opportunity for a decent measure of financial security outweighed whatever qualms they had otherwise, and they promptly dumped their shares off to Vince. Afterward, they even briefly joined the WWF, but the fatigued Jack retired only months into his Federation tenure. Gerald followed suit, before cropping up as a member of the WWF front office in 1994 and attaining arguably his greatest stardom as "Mr. Mac-Mahon's" dutiful on-air associate in 1998. Almost immediately after completing the purchase, McMahon flew to Georgia to inform Anderson in person that he had been outstripped. Interestingly enough, Vince brought the late Gorilla Monsoon along to serve as his "bodyguard" during the encounter. The shocked Anderson managed to obtain a restraining order against the WWF, but he didn't possess enough resources to sustain what would have been a protracted legal battle against Vince, who was steeped with financial backers and the millions of dollars he had borrowed over the previous few years. In late-June, Anderson conceded his fight, McMahon folded GCW, and a handful of the promotion's wrestlers accepted jobs in New York. The next, almost inconceivable step: The WWF was about to start airing in the vaunted Saturday night timeslot on WTBS. To this day, July 14, 1984, lives in infamy to diehard wrestling fans nationwide. It came to be known as "Black Saturday," and its impact -- much of which was psychological -- was so far-reaching that it definitively merits an "AW Chronicle" all of its own. Gene Okerlund opened up the show, instead of legendary long-time host Gordon Solie, and the matches were not taped in the studio in Atlanta -- but, rather, in an auditorium in the northeast. Almost immediately, fans across the country inundated TBS with phone calls and letters demanding that GCW be reinstated to the station, although it took quite a while for their influence to be felt. The quality of the WWF's shows on WTBS themselves left much to be desired, and, to McMahon, his position on the station became little more than an afterthought. The Atlanta-based program was mainly a vehicle for him to claim credit for running four of the top ten programs on cable, as well as a means of ensuring that he received all of the commendation for wrestling's nationwide success. "Superstars of Wrestling" and his USA Network broadcasts ("TNT," "All American Wrestling," "Special Wrestling Events") remained his primary concerns, and they also remained the locus of the Federation's principal TV angle and match efforts. By this time, McMahon's product was already starting to take on more family-friendly overtones, but his most dramatic attempt to strip away the vestiges of the old-style pro wrestling image came with another new television venture, "Tuesday Night Titans (TNT)." The wrestling-talk show hybrid program, which debuted in May 1984, aired on the USA Network every other Tuesday night. Vince himself was the host and star and assumed a mock Johnny Carson role, while long-time Federation announcer/ex-wrestler-manager "Lord" Alfred Hayes acted the part of Ed McMahon. The WWF's performers themselves acted as guest (Hulk Hogan was a very frequent one, of course) and also participated in a number of goofy skits which attempted to portray the jovial side of the industry. Hardcore fans, along with numerous long-time wrestling employees, chafed at the program; to them, it was a disgrace to the profession and made a mockery out of the "sport" whose integrity they had championed so tenaciously over the years. They weren't the only ones who rejected the show, either: The show alternated weekly in its Tuesday slot with a program called "Special Wrestling Events," which aired recent house show matches from arenas like Madison Square Garden and the Meadowlands. Lo and behold, TNT's ratings were appreciably lower than the more traditional, wrestling match-oriented format, and this would-be revolutionary concept in wrestling TV was actually a Titan-sized disappointment. However, one of the most common adages in pro wrestling is that "perception is reality," and to the general public, the program was nothing short of a resounding success. And, although the ratings were somewhat disappointing, it served its intended purpose extremely well. McMahon had embarked on a year-long campaign to convince NBC President Dick Ebersol that pro wrestling could take on a fun, family-friendly form, and TNT was his main means of doing so. Doubtless, Ebersol was even more impressed by the WWF's now-full-fledged mainstream media campaign. In mid-1984, it had become a la mode to run wrestling stories, and, to the masses, the terms "pro wrestling" and "WWF" were synonymous. Thanks to the Federation's brilliant manipulation of the New York and Los Angeles press outlets -- which was every bit as important as any other facet of its expansion -- the great multitude began to view McMahon's brainchild as the latest fad, and the numerous still-thriving regional NWA pockets seemed like the "minor leagues" of wrestling. Gradually, Vince became an eccentric genius and the "Walt Disney of Pro Wrestling," Sgt. Slaughter became a modern American hero, and Hulk Hogan was a pop culture celebrity on par with Michael Jackson, Mr. T, and Madonna. Everyone from Newsweek to People to Time to Forbes ran these token fluff stories. The company was even the focus of the first wrestling article in Sports Illustrated, and, with Hogan on the cover, that issue was the publication's second best seller of the year -- trailing only the swimsuit edition. Indeed, McMahon's application of his monopolistic plans had worked to perfection, but he didn't succeed merely because he was a shrewd, aggressive businessman. The rest of the time, he doubled as a nimble promoter and booker. V. "Rock 'n' Wrestling" is Born Vince, Sr. finally succumbed to Cancer in early-May, 1984, in the midst of the WWF's full-scale national invasion. Before he departed, he left his son with a list of people whom to take care of for the rest of their lives -- including Gorilla Monsoon, Arnold Skaaland and former Philadelphia promoter Phil Zacko -- and, naturally, he was also sure to leave Vince Jr. himself in good hands. The WWF's head booker from 1984-1986 was a gentleman named George Scott, a legendary Carolinas wrestler whose greatest previous booking success had been as the foreman for Mid-Atlantic during its late-'70s, early-'80s Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Wahoo McDaniel, Greg Valentine heyday. Scott first came to the WWF because of the importuning of long-time friend Sr. Vince, and had been involved in brokering the deal with TBS in July. As inconceivable as it sounds today, the WWF planned out all of its matches and storylines six weeks ahead of time at that point, and Vince was involved in the storytelling and matchmaking on only a fringe basis, save for the main event feuds. With Vince and Scott at the helm, Hulk Hogan roared on in feuds with Paul Orndorff, John Studd, Nikolai Volkoff, and others. However, unquestionably the hottest program in the WWF in early-mid 1984 involved Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka. Piper had just completed a feud with Rocky Johnson when Snuka appeared as his guest on Piper's Pit for the second time, and what ensued was an angle so potent that it still carried enough weight nearly 18 years later to warrant a snippet in the "Lonely Road of Fame" WWF "Desire" video two months ago. Piper opened the famous segment by addressing complaints that he hadn't been cordial enough to many of his guests, including Snuka; so, to make up for it, he was now going to do his utmost to be an accommodating host. He then pulled out a brown burlap sack, which included "gifts" like bananas and, of course, coconuts. "The only thing I didn't get for you was a tree so you could climb -- up and down, up and down," he said. Snuka, who was generally a man of few words, did an excellent job of conveying a kind of brooding irritation. When finally given an opportunity to speak, the "Superfly" asked slowly, "Are you making fun of me?" "Am I making FUN of you? Oh, no!" was the reply, at which point Piper smashed a coconut over Snuka's head, sending him hurtling into the set. He then daubed a banana in his helpless rival's face, before putting his finger against his own nostril and blowing his nose on Snuka (a trick that Chris Benoit revived for a short time in WCW about 13 years later). Finally, the "Superfly" recovered, started wailing like a banshee, and went after Piper like a madman. Several members of the babyface locker room came out to restrain Snuka, and, with that, one of the hottest feuds in wrestling was born. The two men drew huge gates throughout the Northeast, both for singles matches and for Snuka & Tonga Kid vs. Piper & Bob Orton tag team matches. As great as Piper vs. Snuka was -- and it was arguably the hottest feud in wrestling that year, behind the Von Erichs vs. the Freebirds in Texas -- its impact paled in comparison to that of the "Rowdy One's" next major rivalry. The first angle in the history of the WWF that truly transcended pro wrestling was the fabled "Rock 'n Wrestling Connection," and it, more than anything else, catapulted the company to its heretofore-unattained level of mainstream acceptance. It's a fairly well-known fact that, when he first formulated his plan to dominate the industry, Jr. McMahon was fixed on fashioning a wrestling-rock 'n roll hybrid entertainment form, such as that had existed in Fritz Von Erich's World Class promotion in 1982-84. Ironically, though, the last time he and his father had been presented with an opportunity to incorporate celebrities into their product, they had chafed at the very notion. Only two years earlier, the late, eccentric comedian Andy Kaufman -- of "Taxi" and "Man on a Moon" fame -- had pitched the Vinces the idea of using him as part of a worked-shoot storyline that would, in theory, generate them a deluge of media publicity and lead to his defending the Intergender World Title throughout the Northeast. When the McMahons balked, Kaufman went to Memphis with his concept, and it was a few weeks later that he and Jerry "The King" Lawler performed a legendary worked-shoot on the "David Letterman Show." Following the success of the famed Memphis angle, McMahon apparently had a change of heart. In 1984, he opened negotiations with David Wolff, the manager of one of the hottest pop music stars on the planet at the time, Cyndi Lauper, via "Captain" Lou Albano, who was a good friend of the singer's. By then, McMahon had was fixed on landing a spot on the now-three-year-old MTV, which would be the most chic and easiest access route to the hip audience he craved, and, with one of the most famous pop divas in the country in his corner, the odds were great that he would be able to do so. The WWF first planted the seed for Lauper's appearance when Albano appeared as her curmudgeonly father in the MTV video for her number one hit single, "Girls Just Wanna' Have Fun." Soon, rumors abounded that Albano was actually her business manager, and publications as venerable as Rolling Stone printing this misinformation as fact. Next, the company made its first attempt to capitalize on the publicity when Albano appeared on a mid-1984 edition of Piper's Pit. There, Piper engaged the "Captain" in a discussion of his relationship with Lauper and asked -- without the slightest hint of irony -- whether he might be able to book her as a guest on his "show." Initially, Albano told the "Rowdy Scot" he would have to wait and see, but, over the next few weeks, the prospects seemed to brighten as the "Captain" came back with more and more favorable reports of the negotiations. One week, he even vowed that he would, in fact, deliver Lauper to the "Pit" the very next week -- much to Piper's delight. Albano failed to produce as promised, which, naturally, vexed Piper to no end. On the installment of the Pit on which Lauper had been scheduled to appear, an exasperated Roddy did a boisterously entertaining parody of the "Captain," replete with moussed back hair, squalid attire, and multi-colored clothespins and colored bands plastered all over his body. Much to Piper's surprise, though, Lauper finally did show up on the Pit a few weeks later, at which point she finally revealed that Albano wasn't really her manager. An enraged Albano, apparently feeling betrayed, stormed the set and began rattling on about how ungrateful Lauper, because it was he who made made her a success. Piper, of course, sided with Albano -- the heel. Not one to back down, Lauper got into a shouting match with the "Captain," ripped Piper's shirt, and fumed off the set. The next week, Lauper appeared once again -- this time to lay down a challenge. She propped up Wendi Richter as her charge and demanded that Albano answer her dare by delivering a female wrestler of his own, so that the two women could meet in the ring. Albano selected the Fabulous Moolah, the WWF Womens champion, and so the match was made. Dubbed the "Brawl to End it All," it would air on July 23, 1984, live on MTV, as a one-hour special. Accompanied by Lauper and entering to "Girls Just Wanna' Have Fun," Richter won the match -- and the title -- thereby briefly time sparking a female wrestling renaissance of sorts. The match itself was actually quite poor and featured a terribly botched finish, but it garnered the WWF tremendous crossover publicity, and Hulk Hogan -- who had successfully defended his own championship against Greg Valentine on the undercard -- even turned up for the backstage celebration. The broadcast drew a tremendous 9.0 rating, and the "Rock 'n Wrestling Connection" had begun in earnest. In an effort to keep the momentum alive, Lauper and Wolff continued to make regular appearances on WWF TV for the next several months, and Richter continued to have successful almost-weekly title defenses against the likes of Judy Martin and Velvet McIntire. However, the best was yet to come for this storyline, which reached its zenith on December 28, 1984. Then, at a Madison Square Garden card which was taped partially for MTV, Lauper, Richter, and Wolff came to the ring to accept a gold record. Lauper took the house microphone and invited Albano out to "bury the hatchet," and the tuxedo-clad "Captain" came out and embraced the "classy gesture." One of the company's longest-running heels had just turned babyface, and all appeared right with the world, except to one man: Roddy Piper. Piper promptly hit the scene, and, initially, he also appeared to be undergoing a change of heart. At first, he assured everyone involved that he came in peace, gently grabbed the plaque, and claimed, "I just wanted to personally present this record to Ms. Lauper." With that, Piper turned and smashed the record over Albano's head as the crowd let out a giant "oooh." Lauper dove headlong after him but got a kick in the face for her efforts, and the Rowdy One also laid out Wolff. It was a groundbreaking storyline, and the crowd was in shock -- genuinely speaking, the last thing they expected was for the WWF's two honorary celebrities to become physically involved. Of course, who else but Hulk Hogan should show up to make the save, and the legendary Hogan-Piper rivalry was born. Not only was this segment plastered all over WWF programming for the next several weeks, but it also aired in full on MTV, where it drew a massive response. It was apparently several weeks prior to this angle that McMahon conceived WrestleMania. As legend has it, Vince was on a rare vacation with his wife, Linda, somewhere in Florida, and he suddenly announced his idea to stage a Madison Square Garden spectacular which he would beam across the country via closed-circuit, in addition to hosting several major celebrities and resolving numerous of the company's major feuds. Vince was not the first man in wrestling to attempt to capitalize on the burgeoning closed-circuit market; in fact, the WWF itself had featured an ill-starred CC venture in 1976, the headline attraction of which was a famously-wretched Antonio Inoki vs. Muhammad Ali match. Most recently, Jim Crockett's Mid-Atlantic had held a pair of Thanksgiving night extravaganza known as "Starrcade," in both 1983 and 1984. However, McMahon would be the first to hold such an event on such a massive scale. With his promotion's business faltering (as we'll see later), this was to be his make-or-break card, and the "Rock 'n Wrestling" saga was to be its central storyline. The next major RNW progression was the "War to Settle the Score," on February 18, 1985, which was to feature Hulk Hogan against Roddy Piper live on MTV. Madison Square Garden was abuzz that night, sold out to the tune of 22,000 fans, with 4,000 more watching on closed circuit in the Felt Forum. Gene Okerlund and Gorilla Monsoon handled the play-by-play for the historic broadcast, and the added energy in their voices was unmistakable. It was the most important card in the history of the WWF up to that point, and, for once, Monsoon's familiar appeal to the audience to "feel the electricity!" did not seem the slightest bit out of place. A cadre of celebrities was on hand, including Danny Devito, Andy Warhol and Mr. T The opening four matches did little to sate the crowd's appetite for top-shelf excitement. In a triumvirate of unannounced bouts, Moondog Spot quickly disposed of Rick McGraw, Johnny Rodz topped the feckless Jose Luis Rivera in a battle for jobber supremacy, David Sammartino bested Moondog Rex, and Nikolai Volkoff overpowered Swede Hanson. Next up, though, was Hillbilly Jim, who got a big rise out of the crowd in toppling petulant-looking veteran lower-carder/jobber Charlie Fulton. Next, the audience had its first genuine mark-out moment -- as well as the first major booking WrestleMania angle primer -- when out popped Wendi Richter and Cyndi Richter received a tumultuous babyface reaction, but her opponent, Lelani Kai, managed to scratch, claw and hairpull her way to victory -- thanks to the Fabulous Moolah's interference. The Womens Title had changed hands, and the feud would be settled in a rematch at WrestleMania. Paul Orndorff vs. Tony Atlas followed, and Orndorff continued his destructive path to WrestleMania main event superstardom by quickly dispatching Atlas, who played the part of a veritable jobber in the match. Another mismatch followed, as Don Muraco topped Salvatore Bellomo in a short match, thanks to the piledriver, before Roddy Piper surrogate Bob Orton took on Jimmy Snuka in the best match of the night. Snuka received the largest pop on the show up to that point, then proceeded to tear the house down against "Ace" Bob, winning with the Superfly Leap. This bout also served as a prelude to a larger issue that was to be resolved at WrestleMania. Tag champs Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo anchored the undercard by beating the Assassin and the Spoiler, without a great deal of trouble. Then came the main event... After months of build-up that brought the tension between them to a crest, the WWF's two top stars, Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper, squared off in front of the electric MSG crowd and two million viewers on MTV, which cut away from its regular programming and joined the card in progress prior to the introductions for the main event. Orton accompanied Piper, who was bedecked in his customary kilt, a now-familiar yellow "Hulkamania" T-shirt -- which he mockingly tore to shreds upon reaching the ring -- and an electric guitar -- which he smashed to smithereens on a ring post, in an affront to the musically-inclined audience watching at home. With the crowd now thoroughly riled by Piper's antics, Hogan stormed the ring to a huge reception -- flanked by Lou Albano, Cyndi Lauper, and Lauper's boyfriend -- and stopped to greet Mr T at ringside. After a period of stalling, the match got underway, following a familiar pattern for the two men: Hogan opened up early with a bodyslam, a clothesline, and a succession of punches, before Piper resorted to underhanded tactics to gain the advantage and locked on the sleeperhold at about the three-minute mark. This was the Hulkster's opportunity to "hulk up," as he suddenly began trembling with adrenaline, shaking his fists around frenziedly, and no-selling everything the "Rowdy Scot" threw his way. Hogan set up for the big boot, bodyslam, legrop combo; the crowd was geared up to witness the emphatic conclusion of the feud; and the MTV executives were hoping that the WWF was about to deliver an ending that was commensurate with the massive hype. However, Vince McMahon had a closed-circuit extravaganza to sell, and he wasn't about to job Piper out for free. Instead, the referee took a bump, Orton hopped into the squared circle, followed by several wrestlers from the undercard, and the match ended in a DQ. In the middle of the ruckus, Mr. T hopped the guard rail, assailed the ring, and got into it with Piper, before "MSG security" and WWF officials broke up the melee. As trite as such an angle would seem today, its impact was immense. Because of his legitimate tough-guy credentials that stemmed from the hard-ass characters he played in movies and on TV, T caused a lot of hitherto-skeptical fans take stock in the credibility of "fake pro wrestling." The old-line of promoters was furious and fearful that the likes of T and Lauper would bring ruin to the business if they ever divulged its true, predetermined nature to the public. Many veteran wrestlers felt similarly and considered it a personal slap in the face that, after years of arduous road trips, an outsider like T would receive main event treatment. Even many long-time WWF fans were adverse to these unconventional proceedings and cheered for heels who maintained that "rock 'n roll don't belong in pro wrestling." What's more, the Hogan vs. Piper match itself, which clocked in at just over four minutes, was a major disappointment and left a number of fans -- not to mention MTV management -- feeling burned. Ultimately, though, T's involvement in the post-match may have been the single most important angle in the history of the WWF. It had to be. Otherwise, the WWF, which was limping along on a hand-to-mouth basis by that point, likely would have gone extinct. VI. The Rocky (III Stars') Road to WrestleMania An all-new swarm of publicity resulted from the "War to Settle the Score" angle, and the WWF reached even more dizzying heights of pop culture awareness. For those in the company, who only two years earlier had placidly plied their trade in the relative obscurity of the decidedly-nonmainstream pro wrestling business, this level of attention was almost surreal. Suddenly, their names and faces were plastered all over the pages of magazines, newspapers, and television broadcasts across the country. To them, it was almost like they weren't pro wrestlers anymore. Vince McMahon had done away with the industry to which they had dedicated their professional lives and transformed them into "sports entertainers" -- a term which had an almost entirely different connotation from that of "pro wrestlers." Of course not all of the WWF's mainstream publicity painted a rosy picture of this unique, le dernier cri business; in fact, many media pieces centered around the "phoniness" that characterized it, and they chaffed at the sudden popularity of what they perceived as a categorically low-brow entertainment form. None of these features did the industry any real harm, however; nor did they really intend to cause any substantive damage to the Federation's aspirations. However, one piece which certainly did strive to sabotage the company's momentum leading into WrestleMania was ABC's 20/20. On February 21, 1985, the popular nightly newsmagazine program attempted to "expose" wrestling in a piece which, to this day, remains every bit as notorious as Vince McMahon's famous escapades on Bob Costas' show sixteen years hence. Long-time ABC consumer reporter John Stossel hosted this expose and, as part of his three months of WWF research, had ventured backstage at the "Brawl for it All" card at Madison Square Garden, where he hoped to interview several of the company's most famous wrestlers. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of attempting to strike up conversation with David Shults, who was legendary within the business for his temperamental, neurotic behavior. Shults, having just returned from his match against Antonio Inoki, was drenched in sweat, high-strung, and clearly resented the presence of the "intruder," who was attempting to expose the business. The shocking scene that ensued aired in full at the end of the "20/20" piece: Stossel: Is this a good business? Shults: (Curtly) Yeah, it's a good business. I wouldn't be in it if it wasn't. Stossel: Why is it a good business? Shults: Because only the tough survive; that's the reason you ain't in it. And this punk holding the camera, (that's) the reason he ain't in it, (that's) the reason these rednecks out here ain't in it. Because it's a tough business. Stossel: That's terrific. Shults: Why, is that all you got? Stossel: I'll ask you the standard questions, you know. Shults: The standard question... Stossel: I think this is fake. Shults: (incredulously) You think this is fake?! (hits Stossel on the left side of his head, knocking him to the ground) What's that, is that fake?! Huh?! What the hell's wrong with you?! That's an open-handed slap, huh? You think it's fake, you -- (hits Stossel on the other side of the head). Background voice: Easy, easy. Schuls: Huh, what do you mean, fake?! What the hell is the matter with you?! Stossel was understandably enraged by the abuse and was dead-set on "embarrassing" the WWF leading into its monumental, make-or-break card -- particularly because McMahon, Jr., failed to fire Shults in connection with the incident. As a result, the reporter spent the majority of the piece focusing on the farcical "real vs. fake" issue and airing footage of ex-wrestler (including in the WWF and the AWA) Eddy "The Continental Lover" Mansfield demonstrating how to execute basic moves like body slams, arm drags and punches. Mansfield even went so far as to say, "If somebody believed that (wrestling is real), they'd be stupid." In addition, Stossel provided a forum for an ex-wrestler of far less repute, Jim Wilson, to levy allegations of homosexual coercion against a promoter. Ultimately, Stossel's attempts to smear the WWF backfired, and the company actually benefited from the publicity of the piece -- which was one of the highest rated in the history of "20/20." The legitimacy of the athletic competition in the Federation at that point was about as much in doubt as the innocence of a prostitute, and while the company certainly did have a seedy underbelly that, if exposed, could have caused it real harm, by harping on the real vs. fake debate, ABC wasn't revealing something that most wrestling fans didn't already realize. Consequently, the general public only became more curious regarding this unconventional sports-entertainment hybrid product following the "20/20" piece, and "Dr. D's" indecorous outburst may actually have been a blessing in disguise. The Schults saga didn't end there, however. He was more vocal than anyone in his umbrage over celebrity involvement in wrestling. In an apparent attempt to "prove" that wrestlers are legitimately tough, he attacked Mr. T backstage at a house show in Los Angeles, less than two weeks before the "War to Settle the Score." This time, of course, McMahon fired him. Even with the glut of publicity, the WWF was in dire financial straits by the time the big MTV angles arrived. As unbelievable as it sounds, Hulk Hogan's drawing power was floundering after his ultra-successful first few months as champion. Traditional fans were not yet conditioned to his brief, formulaic, brawling-style matches, and many of them left house shows feeling gypped when he disposed of his heel foes so quickly. As a result, gates waned every time the WWF returned to a given market with Hogan as the headliner. When the company attempted to invade the Mid-South, the Mid-Atlantic, and Texas, it met with disaster. Despite losing his main cash cow, the Junkyard Dog, Bill Watts had the greatest run of success in his promotion's history in 1984, and he handily outdrew the Federation's cards in Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and East Texas. Dallas' Fritz Von Erich was also . Mid-Atlantic, which remained NWA World champion Ric Flair's homebase, was going strong, thanks in part to the run-away success of new booker Dusty Rhodes, and McMahon's cards in the Carolinas largely flopped. The Federation did manage to draw well in Canada, California -- both in Los Angeles and the Bay Area -- and a few other pockets throughout the country, and shows in St. Louis and Hogan's old mid-west stomping grounds drew reasonably well. However, of the company's northeastern strongholds -- including New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh -- were also drawing inordinately poorly. Shockingly, even ticket sales at Madison Square Garden were the most sluggish they had been in years. The promotion only managed to sell out the building four times all year in 1984, and one of those was on the strength of the drawing power of Roddy Piper vs. Jimmy Snuka, rather than Hulk Hogan's. The August attendance figure at the historic building of 14,500, which was only two-thirds of capacity, was the lowest in at least several years and an outright embarrassment for the company. Even the "Brawl for it All" in December only managed to draw 15,000, which was an atrocious figure for the time. The Rock 'n Wrestling phenomenon had helped business rebound in early-1985, but the fact remained that the WWF wasn't drawing very well, and it was losing a substantial amount of money. Because the company was now running substantially more cards than ever, it was, in fact, grossing more money than ever, but McMahon's self-imposed enormous payroll, exorbitant syndication package, expensive production values, and added travel costs combined to wreak havoc on the company's bottom line. He was losing money hand-over-fist, and if he hadn't been able to secure a couple of new, emergency investors at the last minute, he may have never made it to WrestleMania. To compound the already-tense situation, McMahon had Ted Turner breathing down his neck because TBS had been inundated with viewer complaints regarding the quality of the WTBS show. In addition, Turner was upset with Vince for taping the shows in the northeast -- instead of the more traditional, southern-friendly Atlanta studio, as the agreement between the two sides dictated. By late-1984, McMahon probably already wanted to sell the rights to TBS slot, if only to wash his hands of the entire situation, but he still held down the fort to ensure that the WWF was the only game in town in the eyes of the mainstream. Much to the Federation's chagrin, though, Turner proceeded to make a moot point out of McMahon's stubbornness, first by giving a short-lived Ole Anderson restart promotion a new early-Saturday morning timeslot, then by passing it over to Bill Watts' flourishing Mid-South. To the added discomfiture of Vince, even in the discommoding timeslot, the Watts promotion soon wrested away the WWF's stranglehold on the top of the cable ratings chart. McMahon's other primary source of stress was that his competition had finally formed a strong (and ultimately short-lived) united front, called "Pro Wrestling USA." First, they pooled their resources to put on as strong of cards as possible in close proximity to WWF shows in a given area. When that tactic succeeded fairly well, they were making preparations to invade New York, if only to make Vince's life as difficult as possible. In fact, Jim Crockett had even managed to draw a crowd of upwards of 10,000 in New Jersey the previous April, with a trusty old Flair vs. Steamboat match as his main event, and Mid-Atlantic was starting to draw strong houses in the Federation's old Baltimore stronghold. McMahon's desperation reached its apogee in the month leading up to 'Mania. He had booked WrestleMania in over 200 large closed circuit locations across the country, and he anticipated an initial upswell of interest in the show in connection with the WWF's massive "War to Settle the Score" exposure. Conversely, early ticket sales were alarmingly poor -- even in the northeast -- and the event was rapidly shaping up to be a disaster. The company's front office was mystified -- as well as quite dejected, presumably -- and, with less than two weeks to go, live events coordinator Ed Cohen went to work canceling the venues that were showing the most cataclysmic returns. It's no exaggeration to say the WWF was in a state of unadulterated panic at this point, and Vince even caved in and sold the coveted TBS timeslot, to Jim Crockett, for a much-needed $1 million. Tensions were running high throughout the entire industry in the days preceding the big show. Throughout 1984, the "Pro Wrestling USA" promoters had scoffed at McMahon's audacious business practices, and several of them had even held a meeting ostensibly to plot strategy to counter the all-out assault on their territories. However, by all accounts, the rendezvous degenerated into little more than excuse to whoop it up at Vince's expense. By that point, it almost appeared as though they wanted Vince to cherry-pick their top stars at exorbitant prices, simply because they felt doing so would work against him in the end. Following the MTV specials and the Mr. T angle, though, they were no longer so convinced. Most of them were flabbergasted by the WWF's unparalleled level of mainstream acceptance, and they were at a loss for how to counter it. One promoter even attempted to convince Bruiser Brody, pro wrestling's ultimate outlaw, to buy a ticket to Madison Square Garden and attack T during his ring entrance, just to embarrass the Federation and ensure that its big show was a major embarrassment. Brody declined the offer, but such outlandish notions were surely not uncommon, and they only served to underscore the high-strung disposition that diffused the industry at the time. Even when absolved of the pressure from Turner and his audience, McMahon's situation really was more hopeless than ever before. If WrestleMania was a huge failure, not only would he lose a huge amount of money at a time when he was already on the brink of insolvency, but he also possibly stood to lose his agreement with NBC. His empire was crumbling, and he needed something -- anything -- to bail him out of the frantic situation. Luckily for the WWF, it had one last media surge remaining -- and this one turned out to be the most fruitful of all. Hogan and Mr. T embarked on a promotional tour de force, making countless TV and radio show appearances and taking full advantage of the company's NBC connection. In the week leading up to the big show, it was impossible not to notice the two: Most notably, they appeared in tandem on the "David Letterman Show" on comedian Richard Belzer's "Hot Properties" talk show, on which Hogan demonstrated a front-face lock on Belzer and accidentally dropped him to the floor -- resulting, amazingly enough, in a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Then, on the night before the card, the original host canceled out of a scheduled appearance on "Saturday Night Live," and Hogan and T -- who, naturally, were near the program's New York taping site at the time -- were major successes as the last-second replacements. The last-moment hype was phenomenal, and the Federation was riding a crest of mainstream prominence heading into the big card, on March 31, 1985. Partially because of the quality and sheer preponderance of Hogan's and T's promotional jaunt, and partly because closed-circuit patrons -- unbeknownst to the WWF at the time -- almost always buy their tickets at the last minute, the nearly-200 remaining closed-circuit auditoriums were beginning to sell much more briskly, in most locations. Still, tensions remained at peak levels for Crapshooter Vince and his colleagues on the day of the show, and, to the very moment the card when on the air, it remained uncertain whether the show would be a financial success. One overriding fact was clear, though: Madison Square Garden was sold-out, the crowd was spirited, and New York's privileged few celebrities and press corps were out in full force. To mint a phrase, if the WWF was going down, it was going to go down in a blaze of glory -- and with all eyes fixed upon it. It certainly wasn't the Federation's most aesthetically-pleasing fare, but to the new, chic audience it was only starting to attract, the quality of the in-ring action was of secondary importance. In the opener, Tito Santana downed the masked Executioner (Buddy Rose) in a decent match that got the crowd sufficiently acclimated to the historic proceedings. Santana had just recently lost the Intercontinental Title, and, at that point, he certainly stood to regain it down the road -- if the belt still existed by then. Next, King Kong Bundy continued his new-sprung monster push and demolished SD Jones in all of nine seconds -- a WrestleMania record. The next bout pitted newcomers Ricky Steamboat and Matt Borne against one another. Borne had been a top star in Georgia, and, although he never achieved anywhere near the same level of success in the WWF, he'll always be able to boast that he was involved in the best match at WrestleMania I. Although it was relatively short, he and Steamboat threw a bone to fans of strong in-ring action by putting on a quality athletic bout -- which should have come as no surprise, given who was involved. In the end, "The Dragon" won with the bodypress. Although the in-ring quality of the next match was abortive, it provided the MSG throng with some of its favorite moments of the night. Brutus Beefcake, accompanied by Johnny Valient, battled David Sammartino, but the unquestioned highlight was extracurricular: Bruno Sammartino -- then the most revered performer in the history of the promotion, evened the odds by throwing down with both of his son's enemies. The bout ended in a double-DQ after an unsightly gaggle of moves, but, for New York wrestling diehards, it was a rousing several minutes. Next, Greg Valentine defended the Intercontinental Title against the Junkyard Dog. Once again, the ending was disappointing (Valentine walked out, earning JYD a count-out win), and so was the match, despite Valentine's best efforts. The card then got a healthy dose of old-fashioned nationalistic fervor -- and the match didn't even involve Sgt. Slaughter. Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo attempted to wrest the Tag Team Titles from the Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff, who were accompanied by Freddie Blassie. After a decent match -- the majority of which saw the heels methodically work over Rotundo -- the malfeasance of Blassie's cane came into play, and Volkoff pinned Windham after the Sheik had struck the babyface with the foreign object. The famous $15,000 "Bodyslam Challenge" was next, involving Andre the Giant and "Big" John Studd. The incensed Andre had suffered through the indignity of having his locks trimmed at the hands of Stuff and his manager, Bobby Heenan, about a month before the bout. After a short match, in which Studd made several failed attempts to lift Andre, the Giant wielded "Big" John into the air like the proverbial "sack of potatoes" -- as color commentator Jesse Ventura observed -- and slammed him to win the big purse. Much to everyone's disappointment, Heenan filched the money from Andre, right as he was throwing it out to the crowd. "The Brain" would get his comeuppance later on. It was all "Rock 'n Wrestling" from there. Wendi Richter, with Cyndi Lauper by her side, then attempted to extract revenge against Leilani Kai, with the Fabulous Moolah, in a Womens Title match. The "Girls Who Just Wanted to Have Fun" got the biggest reaction on the show at that point and, of course, there was only one logical way to end this match: Richter regained the title, after rolling through on a Kai flying bodypress. The best was yet to come -- at least as far as the audience at large was concerned. With the crowd sufficiently atwitter, the pre-main event ceremonies got underway. First, long-time company ring announcer Howard Finkel introduced multi-time Yankee manager Billy Martin as the guest ring announcer. Liberace, meanwhile, served as the guest timekeeper and the guest co-referee was Muhammad Ali -- who had played such an integral role in MSG's only other closed-circuit divertissement nine years earlier. The New York Rockettes also partook in the festivities, and they even took a moment to kick their legs up in the air in center-ring with Liberace, in an oft-replayed moment on newscasts throughout the country. By this point, every single one of the main event wrestlers were celebrities in their own rights, though, and the heat for Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton, Jimmy Snuka, Mr. T, and Hulk Hogan dwarfed that of the others. Hogan's presence stole the show, and he made T -- whose Hollywood reputation was that he had unmatched size and muscularity -- look comparatively puny, as the press noted in their coverage of the event. MSG was agog with the proverbial nuclear-level of heat, and the match itself was surprisingly passable -- mostly because Hogan, not T, handled the bulk of the in-ring activity for his team. In the end, Bob Orton's interference backfired when he accidentally smashed Orndorff across the head with his cast, the Hulkster made the cover, and special co-referee Pat Patterson made the pin. The Piper feud had ended relatively unresolved (largely because the "Rowdy One" legitimately refused to do any jobs for the entirety of his WWF tenure), but it was of no matter. Live, the event had been a major success. All that was left was to see if, somehow, the business side of the event had been commensurately fruitful. VII. The Aftermath Several well-worn cliches apply to WrestleMania's overwhelming prosperousness. It succeeded in the face of adversity. It overcame the overwhelming odds against it. And all things good to know are difficult to learn. Between closed-circuit, video tape, live, and merchandising sale, the event drew over $5 million in revenue, which was more than five times the record for any previous single-event wrestling gross. The last-minute rush of closed-circuit customers had been enormous -- and absolutely imperative. The mainstream media reported the success of the card en masse, serving further to solidify the WWF's faddish popularity and officially marking Hulk Hogan's arrival as a household name. Two months later, the Federation achieved even greater success when it embarked on its "Saturday Night's Main Event" era on NBC. Several licensing deals, a Saturday morning WWF cartoon show, and still more newspaper and magazine stories were to follow. In 1985, the company grossed an unheard-of sum of $90 million. Its next-closest competitor barely pulled one-sixth as much. In retrospect, Vince McMahon succeeded largely because he contrived a brilliant sleight-of-hand in regard to the media. The press picked up on the WWF's boom in popularity long before it even took place, which, ironically, was what created the company's resonant popularity. In a sense, Hulk Hogan became a superhero for millions of children before he really was, and McMahon proved his mettle as an ingenious promoter long before he actually had. Even though he was relatively inexperienced as a promoter at that point, even then, Vince was a master manipulator. The wrestling war wasn't officially over at that point, but, for all intents and purposes, it became a two-horse race after that point. Now solvent for the first time since he embarked on his expansion, McMahon conducted even more raids and gained even greater syndicated exposure, and, now, the WWF really was the hottest draw in the country in almost every market. Trying to combat the WWF was like standing in the face of hurricane winds at that point: Territory after territory was obliterated over the next few years, and even Bill Watts' Mid-South/UWF failed was unable to delay the inevitable for long. Over the next three years, the Ric Flair-bolstered Mid-Atlantic, with its new TBS timeslot, was the only true obstacle in Vince's path toward a total monopoly over the business. One of the most exciting periods in the history of the wrestling industry was about to commence. But that, of course, is another Chronicle altogether.

The article was from alternativewrestling.com which no longer exists. I also saved several articles from the site and will post them here.

But you said they were the only good band to come out of the UK. Not just "the best".

Still doesn't eliminate The Music, The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Delays, Razorlight, Kasabian and Bloc Party.

One of the many great bands to come out of britain in the last 5 years.

G Money, you'll be glad to know that i've ammended my first response to this topic.

How nice of you to mention T In The Park. Despite my reservations about this list after seeing you mention the Download festival, I feel that it is overall a good list of the best UK festivals.

To keep discussion going....what's your favourite track on the album? Breakin' would happen to be my personal favourite.

I completely agree. I own both their albums and i've seen them live three times. Welcome To The North is in my opinion the album of the year (so far) and they are definitely one of, if not the, best band in the world right now.