cawthon777 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 For those wondering how good the "main event" matches at television tapings were, earlier today I obtained a fan cam of the July 22, 1996 Raw taping in Seattle, WA (the one where Farooq debuted and attacked Ahmed). Only a few of the matches are on the tape but many of those were the dark matches of the night. A run down ... Savio vs. Crush ... aired HBK vs. Owen ... aired 6 days prior to Summer Slam ... Vader attacks Shawn after the match The dark matches ... Immediately after HBK / Owen, there was this ... WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels (w/ Jose Lothario) pinned Vader (w/ Jim Cornette) with the superkick at the 21-second mark An exhausted Shawn runs back into the ring and lays waste to Vader in record time. In response to Farooq attacking Ahmed (this was after the battle royal had taken place, I believe), there was this ... WWF IC Champion Ahmed Johnson fought Farooq (w/ Sunny) to a double count-out at 1:08 when both men battled their way backstage And to close the show ... The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) defeated Mankind in a casket match at 2:20 after hitting a chokeslam and the tombstone I think the Mandible Claw and chokeslam were both used within the opening minute I timed the matches myself. It's really pathetic the lack of effort that went into them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeDirt 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 Interesting stuff. I guess they weren't too worried about putting on a good match, and just sending the fans home happy with a babyface going over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Papacita 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 July 22, 1996 Raw taping in Spokane, WA I know you'd know better than me, Cawthon, but I always thought that show was in Seattle. This was the same show that had HBK/Ahmed vs. the Gunns, right? As far as the post match stuff goes, that is pretty bad. It reminds me of a Thunder I went to in 98. All night long they had been hyping a match between Lex Luger and the Giant that would happen after the show went off the air. When it finally took place, Luger squashed him in a match that couldn't have been longer than a minute and a half. It was one of the things that turned me off to WCW...not to mention the fact that I fell asleep at the damn show. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MillenniumMan831 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 Hey, I went to a Thunder where the TV Main Event was Luger vs. Giant and we got ZILCHO after the show went off the air. The only bright spot was getting to see Jericho bellow about his Conspiracy Theory! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 July 22, 1996 Raw taping in Spokane, WA I know you'd know better than me, Cawthon, but I always thought that show was in Seattle. It was. I misspoke. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iliketurtles 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 I timed the matches myself. Well, aren't you special. Thanks for more useless information, Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 I timed the matches myself. Well, aren't you special. Thanks for more useless information, Graham. Dude, I'm going to kick you in the shin for that one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Your Olympic Hero Report post Posted May 5, 2004 That's how all of those matches are. When people sit through 4 hours of jobber matches and shitty TV main events, they want to see the stars fight at the end. Ridiculous to have Shawn go over Vader in 20 seconds when they were making it a PPV main event soon after. I went to a Nitro in '96 right when Hall and Nash started sitting in the crowd. Main event was the 4 Horsemen vs. Joe Gomez, The Renegade, and I think the American Males. So afterwards they had a "no holds barred" match with Flair vs. Savage. It lasted about 5 minutes with nothing worthy of calling the match no holds barred. The guy next to me told me that Savage was going over and exactly how it happens.... and sure enough, he was right. They had done the same match and same finish the night before at a different show. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JHawk 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 Hey, I went to a Thunder where the TV Main Event was Luger vs. Giant and we got ZILCHO after the show went off the air. The only bright spot was getting to see Jericho bellow about his Conspiracy Theory! Now now, that was also the first time Chavo Jr. actually got a shot in on Uncle Eddy during the "you'll do as I say" angle. It was still probably the worst wrestling show I've ever been to in in my entire life, and I never went to another WCW show again after that one. The ONLY extra thing we got was Kidman working the mic on behalf of the Flock. Yes, KIDMAN. No good matches, half the people listed in the program not even being in the building (including Goldberg, who was getting his name chanted during every single commercial break), and half the guys people paid to see that were nice enough to grace us with their presence were limited to doing mic work. I'm still waiting for my refund for that show. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iliketurtles 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 By the way, please don't ban me for insutling the All Mighty Cawthon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 By the way, please don't ban me for insutling the All Mighty Cawthon. Bobby, you're just desperate for heel heat tonight aren't you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JHawk 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 Nobody's getting banned just for insulting Graham. Although you might end up going to hell if you disrespect his website. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Askewniverse Report post Posted May 5, 2004 WWF @ Toronto, Ontario - Skydome - January 31, 1997 Rocky Miavia pinned the Sultan WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart and Psycho Sid by pinning Hart with a crossbody off the top rope Monday Night Raw - 2/3/97: Vader defeated Steve Austin via disqualification after Austin kicked the referee and hit the Stunner; before the match, Bret Hart attacked Austin Savio Vega (w/ the Nation) pinned Flash Funk after Funk missed a moonsault Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & British Bulldog via count-out after Owen injured himself after being thrown to the floor Crush (w/ the Nation) pinned Goldust (w/ Marlena) with the heart punch after Savio Vega interfered and hit a spin kick on Goldust WWF IC Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Marc Mero after using a foreign object; this was mentioned as Mero's last shot at Helmsley's title; both Sable and Mr. Hughes were banned from ringside for the bout The Undertaker & Ahmed Johnson defeated Mankind (w/ Paul Bearer) & Farooq (w/ the Nation) in a No Holds Barred match when Taker pinned Mankind with a tombstone onto a steel chair after Vader's interference backfired; moments earlier, Ahmed chased Farooq and the Nation to the back I remember reading about that triple threat match in Raw magazine. It made me wonder why the WWF didn't air it. I guess the WWF thought it woulde be better to show clips from the Royal Rumble instead. I timed the matches myself. Well, aren't you special. Thanks for more useless information, Graham. Dude, I'm going to kick you in the shin for that one. Come on, that's not cool. There's no need for violence. Haven't you seen those WWE PSAs that tell you not to try wrestling moves at home? Sweet Shin Music is deadly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
landy1987 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 Just wondering, in the dark matches are the WWF still filming these matches at ringside, or are these definitely exclusives for the fans (unless you had an illegal handheld!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 Just wondering, in the dark matches are the WWF still filming these matches at ringside, or are these definitely exclusives for the fans (unless you had an illegal handheld!) It's a pretty tight shot but I didn't see any cameras at ringside. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Frank_Nabbit Report post Posted May 5, 2004 The month before in Green Bay the 3 off air Raw main events were Vader losing to Warrior in 10 seconds A 3 min. Taker/Mankind match and a 15 sec Shawn/GoldDust match Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JHawk 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 What would piss you guys off more? Only having the three minute "main event" as an extra for attending, or getting nothing extra at all? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 Well obviously I would prefer something to nothing but when you have the fans sit there for hours upon hours as the WWF caters to the home audience ... a 20 second world title match and 2-minute casket match doesn't quite cut it, IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iliketurtles 0 Report post Posted May 5, 2004 I think they should be required for giving the live crowd something special after every live TV show. That's how Austin felt too and he was known for sticking around FOREVER and fucking around and doing stuff to entertain the crowd. I think in 1997 they used to have main events for the live Raw crowd after the show went off the air, like the 3 way match, to end the show on a good note and give it a more house show type feel...which is how it should be. Then again, if you end the live show with a match like Benoit/HBK...you probably really don't need to have another match after that...I'm more so saying if they end it with a REALLY short main event, an interview, an angle, etc. One example I can think of that was really cool was when Raw ended with Bischoff/Austin being announced for No Way Out 2003 and then Austin came out after the cameras went off the air which was his first apperance since he left...shit like that is what makes going to shows live feel more important. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
