strummer 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 What led to Jim Cornette being fired as head booker for WWF in 97? I've always heard it was for the disastrous "South Africa" Raw. Anything else? What led to Russo getting the job?, as he had no previous experience writing wrestling I've also heard Shane McMahon was involved and got in Vince's ear about firing Cornette and hiring Russo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter's Torn Quad 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 Cornette was never head booker for the WWF. He was on the writing team, like a bunch of others were, but he was never head of it. Russo got the job because Vince liked his crazy ideas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 Not sure as to what led to that but I can safely say that Cornette hates Russo as much as Heyman hates Bischoff. What was so bad about that Raw? Sure, it wasn't anything special but I don't remember it being THAT bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter's Torn Quad 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 The problems with the SA Raw had nothing to do with the booking, though one of the matches was horrid as I remember. The problem had to do with the production on some of the segments, as the lighting and/or audio was terrible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
strummer 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 but wasn't Cornette fired right after that Raw aired? Supposedly that was the "last straw" for Vince. Wasn't Cornette the main booker along with Vince for most of 96, into 97? He may not have been head booker, but he was the guy with the most clout. I also believe Jake Roberts was on the booking team at the same time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter's Torn Quad 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 Cornette had some clout, but not more than any of the other people on the booking team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeDirt 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 There's a really noticeable shift in creative around Survivor Series 1996, and I'm guessing Russo started to really get creative control around then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Arnold_OldSchool Report post Posted February 23, 2005 WWF @ Johannesburg, South Africa - April 9, 1997 (13,000) Aldo Montoya defeated TL Hopper Flash Funk defeated Salvatore Sincere WWF World Champion the Undertaker defeated Crush Raw is War - 4/14/97: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/ Chyna) pinned Jesse Jammes at 14:52 with the Pedigree after the Honkytonk Man, who was doing commentary for the bout, tripped Jammes; after the contest, Honky revealed that his new protege would be at In Your House the following Sunday; moments later, Jammes challenged HTM to a fight then and there but Honky thought better of it Savio Vega (w/ Crush and one other Nation member) pinned WWF IC Champion Rocky Miavia in a non-title match at 17:35 with a roll up and using the ropes for leverage after avoiding the shoulderbreaker; after the bout, Ahmed Johnson made the save against the Nation Goldust defeated the Sultan (w/ the Iron Sheik) via disqualification at 13:00 when Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna interfered and, with the Sultan, triple teamed Goldust Ahmed Johnson pinned Crush at 11:30 with a roll up after Crush missed the heart punch; after the bout, Farooq challenged Ahmed to face both he, Savio, and Crush in one night and if Ahmed were victorious the Nation would disband Is this the Imfamous RAW? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1234-5678 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 I think things changed because the ratings for this show were so abysmal. Perhaps even below a 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter's Torn Quad 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 That got a 2.2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 WWF @ Johannesburg, South Africa - April 9, 1997 (13,000) Aldo Montoya defeated TL Hopper Flash Funk defeated Salvatore Sincere WWF World Champion the Undertaker defeated Crush Raw is War - 4/14/97: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/ Chyna) pinned Jesse Jammes at 14:52 with the Pedigree after the Honkytonk Man, who was doing commentary for the bout, tripped Jammes; after the contest, Honky revealed that his new protege would be at In Your House the following Sunday; moments later, Jammes challenged HTM to a fight then and there but Honky thought better of it Savio Vega (w/ Crush and one other Nation member) pinned WWF IC Champion Rocky Miavia in a non-title match at 17:35 with a roll up and using the ropes for leverage after avoiding the shoulderbreaker; after the bout, Ahmed Johnson made the save against the Nation Goldust defeated the Sultan (w/ the Iron Sheik) via disqualification at 13:00 when Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna interfered and, with the Sultan, triple teamed Goldust Ahmed Johnson pinned Crush at 11:30 with a roll up after Crush missed the heart punch; after the bout, Farooq challenged Ahmed to face both he, Savio, and Crush in one night and if Ahmed were victorious the Nation would disband Is this the Imfamous RAW? They also spliced these matches into the show. WWF @ Muncie, IN - Worthen Arena - April 7, 1997 (3,353) 4/14/97: Henry & Phinneas Godwinn defeated the Legion of Doom at 9:00 after Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith interfered and Bulldog hit Road Warrior Animal with his title belt Vader & Mankind defeated the Headbangers via disqualification at 5:45 when Mosh sprayed a substance into Mankind's eyes, blinding him to the point where he mistakingly applied the Mandible Claw on his tag team partner Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brighty 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2005 WWF @ Johannesburg, South Africa - April 9, 1997 (13,000) Aldo Montoya defeated TL Hopper Flash Funk defeated Salvatore Sincere WWF World Champion the Undertaker defeated Crush Raw is War - 4/14/97: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/ Chyna) pinned Jesse Jammes at 14:52 with the Pedigree after the Honkytonk Man, who was doing commentary for the bout, tripped Jammes; after the contest, Honky revealed that his new protege would be at In Your House the following Sunday; moments later, Jammes challenged HTM to a fight then and there but Honky thought better of it Savio Vega (w/ Crush and one other Nation member) pinned WWF IC Champion Rocky Miavia in a non-title match at 17:35 with a roll up and using the ropes for leverage after avoiding the shoulderbreaker; after the bout, Ahmed Johnson made the save against the Nation Goldust defeated the Sultan (w/ the Iron Sheik) via disqualification at 13:00 when Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna interfered and, with the Sultan, triple teamed Goldust Ahmed Johnson pinned Crush at 11:30 with a roll up after Crush missed the heart punch; after the bout, Farooq challenged Ahmed to face both he, Savio, and Crush in one night and if Ahmed were victorious the Nation would disband Is this the Imfamous RAW? the match time for those bouts is insanely long, considering who's involved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dobbs 3K 0 Report post Posted February 24, 2005 Cornette was never head booker...but after that period Vince definitely gave Russo a lot more control. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter's Torn Quad 0 Report post Posted February 24, 2005 From Meltzer at WC, about when Russo got power: "It was the week after an early 1997 Raw that had Foley vs. Sid, which did a horrible rating. May have been the show with Owen vs. Davey having the great match in Germany (week after) but I'm not sure. I just remember Sid vs. Foley did an incredibly bad rating. Nitro tripled it, and Vince realized his direction was really wrong." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BruteSquad_BRODY 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2008 Worst part of that rating, was that the horrible Piper vs Jobbers tryouts is what beat the Sid/Foley main event so badly head to head Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chazz 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2008 I remember reading in the sheets at that time that McMahon let Russo sit in on one of his writers meetings.(Russo was writing for WWF Magazine at the time.) Russo wasn't apparently shy about expressing his feelings, and spoke up for things that he thought the writing team was doing wrong. Instead of being angry,(which would probably be his reaction today), McMahon was said to have been impressed with Russo for having the balls to do what he did. Shortly thereafter, Russo was promoted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haws bah gawd 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2008 Worst part of that rating, was that the horrible Piper vs Jobbers tryouts is what beat the Sid/Foley main event so badly head to head Was that the tryouts where Piper was building his team for the WCW Uncensored stable match? I think Piper even had a very green Goldberg (with hair) on his team. A week later, even WCW realized Piper's team wouldn't amount to much and gave him the Horsemen. Sid vs Foley should've been an entertaining match but I can see why people might have tuned-out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BruteSquad_BRODY 0 Report post Posted October 11, 2008 It was Horshu/Luther Reighns.... not Goldburg. But the rest is a yes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cabbageboy 0 Report post Posted October 11, 2008 From watching 24/7 of late I recall that the goofy Piper/Jobbers show was opposite Bulldog vs. Owen on Raw for the Euro title. And it was THAT show that tripled Raw's number? Wrestling fans are an ignorant lot sometimes. That said I didn't watch either show that week since there was a major flood in town and I had to stay at my grandma's house, and she didn't have cable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dobbs 3K 0 Report post Posted October 12, 2008 One thing to remember...it's hard to believe, but Piper was SUPER OVER in his WCW run during that period. Looking back it seems kind of silly, but I remember lots of people on the 'net being very excited when he showed up to oppose Hogan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cabbageboy 0 Report post Posted October 12, 2008 I will give Piper and Hogan this much. When Hogan was the uber face and Piper was a heel in the 80s the feud clicked and made a ton of money. And a decade later when Hogan was the dick heel and Piper was the underdog babyface the feud once again drew big money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haws bah gawd 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2008 I gotta say I was slightly pissed that after everything, Piper didn't win the gold at Superbrawl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
