if you could book any period ever?

[Guest thebooker]

Hey guys newbie here, just spent the whole day catching up on the forums, amazing

what you think you know and don't still.

 

Anyway my question is this, taking it to account the talent, the audience and the demands of the schedule, which era would you have loved to have booked.

 

I would go for the period in the 90s before the net played a part and you could pull stuff

like shawn michaels kicking janetty through the window. then it was new and fresh and certainly easier to shock. . In addition the ppv view demands were nowhere as extensive and wrestlers didn't burn-out as much.

[deancoles 0]

WCW 92 would be my pick, with a roster of Sting,Vader,Rhodes,Steamboat,Windham,Steiners,The Dangerous Alliance,Cactus Jack,Pillman,Simmons,Roberts,Bagwell(promising at the time) and the NJPW guys you had years of potential feuds.

[Zack Malibu 0]

December '97 WCW onward. That way Hogan/Sting and Bret's debut, amongst other things, wouldn't have gotten so fucked up.

[Guest JMA]

WWF in 1987, starting after WrestleMania III.

[zyn081 0]

WWF from WMX onwards.

 

WCW from 1992 onwards.

 

WWF from 1996 onwards.

 

WCW from 1997 onwards.

 

TNA any damn time.

 

Those are the times I would have loved to have picked up the book.

 

Btw, good thread, welcome aboard.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Most of the ones that I'd have wanted have already been said (WWF, 1987; WCW, 1992, for just two examples). So I'll pick something different and say WWF, 1992. Just the chance to do the "dream feud" between Hogan & Flair, and do it right, would have been enough for me to choose that era.

 

Of course, I'm doing so under the pretense that things like "creative control" and Hulk's ego are controllable.

[iggymcfly 0]

I'd say the WWF, starting in 2001. At that point, "peak-level" business was still completely salvagable if they hadn't screwed everything up so terribly. The Rock's return could have been done right. (i.e. he beats Stone Cold or the title), and the Invasion wouldn't have had to drag on into the terrible boring crap that it ended up being.

[Dangerous A 0]

I'd go with WCW right before Starcade 97 (like Zack said) in order to not screw up Bret's debut or stopping the Sting/Hogan debacle.

 

or

 

WWF 2001 to do the Invasion angle properly.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

The NWA from 1987 to stop Dusty Rhodes from killing JCP.

 

The NWA from 1989 to stop George Scott from screwing up the promotion of Clash VI, as well as to head off Jim Herd, who was as bad as Vince Russo when it came to having a clue.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

WWF from Wrestlemania X-Wrestlemania 14.

[BHK 0]

WWF from KOTR 96-April98. Solely becasue I'd have wanted Hart/Austin for the title as a blowoff to the Hart FOundation/Austin feud.

[Tony149 0]

NWA 1989 -- Awesome roster to work with, singles and tag

 

WCW 1992 -- I'm a huge fan of WCW in this time period. Sure, they made some mistakes, like everybody who ran the promotion did, but they still had some great talent.

 

WCW 1997 -- Many botched opportunities.

 

WWF 2001 -- For the invasion.

[Carnival 0]

WCW 99

[Darthtiki 0]

WCW 1998-2001 and WWF 2001-present

[The Kid 0]

May 1999 *sigh*...

 

But I guess I'd go with the WCW Invasion era, so much more could have been done.

[Zack Malibu 0]

I'd also give a shot at the era of the original brand split, just to see if I could have drawn some good stuff out of the split rosters and make it worthwhile, as opposed to stuff like Buh Buh Ray Dudley vs. Triple H.

[Guest thebooker]

i think it's pretty clear that the invasion has to be the most messed up angle in history.

I know you can't please all of the people all the time, but was anyone really that happy with with

that angle. I don't think there's one person, even within wwe, who would admit it that was done well.

[claydude14 0]

It wasn't done as well as it could be; but for some reason I mark for the InVasion era. I really didn't like it while it was going on; but what happened to the WWE afterward just set me the wrong way so much that I appreciated the InVasion (after HHH's return in MSG with the 15 minute entrance and nonsensical squashing of Angle, I was ready to stop watching). At a high school musical rehearsal in Febuary or so I had a bad flu/cold and took too many different medications but still tried to go to practice. It resulted in me telling my friend on stage in a middle of a scene that I liked the InVasion; which totally threw him and the whole scene off subsequentially. At least I got to sleep on the floor the rest of practice.

Anyways, I'd like to book either Smackdown! or HeAT at any time since the brand split. HeAT desperately needs a wrestler who declares it his show, ala Raven and Steven Richards. I'd have it be Eugene; or Val Venis (HeAT is pretty much his now but he's always doing the job).

[zyn081 0]

i think it's pretty clear that the invasion has to be  the most messed up angle in history.

I know you can't please all of the people all the time, but was anyone really that happy with with

that angle.  I don't think there's one person, even within wwe,  who would admit it that was done well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It blew big time, but if you put a gun to my head, I think that given what they had, WCW dropped the ball in 1992 and the WWF in 1997 (they hit more than missed, but Vader was misused and Montreal should have been avoided for example).

 

And always, Id love to have been able to book TNA for the last 3 years. Me, Magus, RedJed, natey2k4 and TNABaddoi that is, and the new MikeSC as a consultant.

[Si82 0]

I would have to liked to have booked WCW in 1999 from the point Russo came in so I could have made somewhat of a fresh start with them. I would have totally changed the whole thing. So many possibilities...

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

NECW from March '04 onwards.

[Papacita 0]

WWF 2000 from Fully Loaded onward.

[The C Man 0]

WWF 2001, but without the InVasion. Maybe from around King of the Ring. IMO there was a lot of potential there - you had a great heel champ in Austin (some may disagree but the guy was gold), Regal as Commish with his houseboy Tajiri, the breakup of E & C, The Rock's return, Triple H's return, almost everyone on the roster was over (excluding X-Pac of course).

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Wrestlemania III to Wrestlemania VI. Between those two benchmarks the following stars were on the roster at some point: Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase, Rick Rude, Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat, Curt Hennig, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Dynamite Kid, Greg Valentine, Paul Orndorf, Roddy Piper, Ultimate Warrior, Andre the Giant, Honky Tonk Man, Arn Anderson, Bam Bam Bigelow, Tully Blanchard, Davey Boy Smith, Barry Windham & Dusty Rhodes. Basically every big superstar of the time, except for Ric Flair, Lex Luger & the Road Warriors were in the WWF at some point during that time frame. It was the most stacked roster in the history of WWF, and possibly the best in North American wrestling history with the possible exception of 1995-1998 WCW.

 

It was also the Golden Age of tag team wrestling. Any time you have the British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Rockers & Brainbusters all in the same match like at Survivor Series 88, you know you have a good tag division.

 

In addition, famous managers like Bobby Heenan & Jimmy Hart were at their peak in this era.

 

You don't even get the burden of having to do a weekly show like RAW. Just jobber matches and house shows with a SNME about once a month and a PPV four times a year.

[zyn081 0]

Wrestlemania III to Wrestlemania VI.  Between those two benchmarks the following stars were on the roster at some point:  Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase, Rick Rude, Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat, Curt Hennig, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Dynamite Kid, Greg Valentine, Paul Orndorf, Roddy Piper, Ultimate Warrior, Andre the Giant, Honky Tonk Man, Arn Anderson, Bam Bam Bigelow, Tully Blanchard, Davey Boy Smith, Barry Windham & Dusty Rhodes.  Basically every big superstar of the time, except for Ric Flair, Lex Luger & the Road Warriors were in the WWF at some point during that time frame.  It was the most stacked roster in the history of WWF, and possibly the best in North American wrestling history with the possible exception of 1995-1998 WCW. 

 

It was also the Golden Age of tag team wrestling.  Any time you have the British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Rockers & Brainbusters all in the same match like at Survivor Series 88, you know you have a good tag division.

 

In addition, famous managers like Bobby Heenan & Jimmy Hart were at their peak in this era.

 

You don't even get the burden of having to do a weekly show like RAW.  Just jobber matches and house shows with a SNME about once a month and a PPV four times a year.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

When was Dusty in the WWF? :S

 

I wouldnt describe Lex Luger as a big superstar and then not go on to mention Sting.

 

Wouldnt not doing a weekly show be a cop-out though? Surely, the build would add to the excitement.

[Just John 0]

WCW during the NWO era.

 

WWE Smackdown right before the re-draft 2005.

[Fökai 0]

If there was anything in the wrestling scene that I could've done better, without suffering a nervous breakdown from handling so many angles or matches (WWF's Invasion), I'd have to go with the three month period leading INTO the Invasion.

 

From the night after Wrestlemania X-7, if I ruled with an iron fist, there would've been alot of changes in that time period.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I think I would pick World Class Championship Wrestling, circa 1985. I think if things had been done differently, they could have survived into at least the mid '90s, if not even 'til today. It would be nice to book things differently and avoid the problems with the Von Erichs, etc.

[snuffbox 0]

Id want to book WCW from January '91 on. I would definitly keep Flair around...his WWF run proved he still had it. Flairs departure about killed WCW and his return in 1993 saved it. Just imagine that roster that they had in '92 plus Flair still on top of his game.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

When was Dusty in the WWF? :S

 

He showed up after he got fired for blading heavily on television after a Turner mandate that banned blood from their shows. He was around from the summer of 1989 until Royal Rumble 1991 when he and Dustin lost Dibiase & Virgil.

 

I wouldnt describe Lex Luger as a big superstar  and then not go on to mention Sting.

 

Lex Luger mainevented for almost a year against Ric Flair in 1988 and had a very high profile feud with Ricky Steamboat in 1989. Sting was a minor player until the very tail end of the timeframe we are talking about. He broke out with the draw agianst Flair at Clash of the Champions, but didn't become a true main event until the end of 1989 when he asked Flair for a title shot and got turfed from the Horsemen. Then he got injured. The best thing that Sting did in this period was feud with Muta over the TV Title.

 

Wouldnt not doing a weekly show be a cop-out though? Surely, the build would add to the excitement. 

 

There were still weekly shows with storylines, but they were much simpler and most of the matches were of the star/jobber variety.