The What If Topic...

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I don't know...if he (Douglas) had managed to stick around into 1997, I could have seen them having him come out on RAW one night and renounce the "Dean" gimmick, and revert to being Shane Douglas "The Franchise" (or something similar). By that point, WWF was big on having guys revert their gimmicks to try and seem more gritty and less cartoonish (look at the transformations of Mankind and Goldust, etc). I think ultimately he still would have been kept down by Shawn Michaels and Triple H, though, and ended up going to WCW anyway.

[Guest the_last_rites]

But then again 97-98 was the time the midcard was also something that was worth caring about, so I can see a possible worthwhile IC run materializing from the said 'character denouncing pseudo shoot' that Douglas does. Knowing Douglas the promo would have been forceful enough for people to care more than Jarrett's one

[cabbageboy 0]

How should Raven have been pushed to the world title in late 1998 and early 1999? The guy was hitting the skids at that point, was on a major losing streak after the Flock disbanded, etc. Now if we're talking late 1997 and early 98, then I might agree.

[King Kamala 0]

Sorry if this has been asked but what if....

 

Jim Ross is appointed executive producer of WCW in 1993 instead of Eric Bischoff?

[Diamonddust 0]

Sorry if this has been asked but what if....

 

Jim Ross is appointed executive producer of WCW in 1993 instead of Eric Bischoff?

 

Probably would have ran things in a similar fashion to the way Bill Watts did.

[Timmy8271 0]

Sorry if this has been asked but what if....

 

Jim Ross is appointed executive producer of WCW in 1993 instead of Eric Bischoff?

 

He wouldn't have lasted a year. Wasn't the Watts era a huge failure ratings and buyrates wise?

 

With Raven as a main eventer, He would have had to join the NWO and probably change his gimmick.

[Guest Floridian Cool]

What if...the TitanTron had never been invented?

 

Personally, I think that this thing totally killed off the in-ring promo and I hate all of the backstage crap on RAW these days. I wish that it had never been invented.

[King Kamala 0]

Sorry if this has been asked but what if....

 

Jim Ross is appointed executive producer of WCW in 1993 instead of Eric Bischoff?

 

He wouldn't have lasted a year. Wasn't the Watts era a huge failure ratings and buyrates wise?

 

 

True enough about Watts but Bischoff's first year or two in charge wasn't successful by any stretch of the imagination.

[Diamonddust 0]

Sorry if this has been asked but what if....

 

Jim Ross is appointed executive producer of WCW in 1993 instead of Eric Bischoff?

 

He wouldn't have lasted a year. Wasn't the Watts era a huge failure ratings and buyrates wise?

 

 

True enough about Watts but Bischoff's first year or two in charge wasn't successful by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I thought Watts was doing a good job at cutting expenses, even though his methods in doing so were questionable to the talent at the time.

[Diamonddust 0]

What if...the TitanTron had never been invented?

 

Personally, I think that this thing totally killed off the in-ring promo and I hate all of the backstage crap on RAW these days. I wish that it had never been invented.

 

The one thing I like about the Titan-Tron is that it gives the live audience a chance to see any backstage promos or things like that. Back in the day, especially on a PPV, when they'd do a stand-up promo with Mean Gene or someone... the live crowd didn't get to see that.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Watts did cut expenses. Trouble was, he cut morale far worse and was woefully behind the times..

[Guest Garbageman]

My take on what would happen if Owen didn't die:

as the Blue Blazer, he gets the Intercontinental belt off the Godfather at Over the Edge, and spends most the summer trading it back and forth with Jarrett, D-lo and Edge, until he holds the record for the most reigns for the IC belt. In the fall, he gets programmed for Jericho's first big feud, and loses the belt to him. At Survivor Series 99, he puts his mask up in the rematch, and loses again, once again going by Owen Hart. Jericho goes to lose, then regain the IC belt from Chyna, where Owen goes on a losing streak angle, where he loses to Kurt Angle at the December PPV. After this, he decides to take Kurt's advice, and becomes a firm believer in the Three Is.

After Angle gets choked out by Tazz at the Rumble, Kurt decides to send Owen after Tazz as he picks up the European belt, then goes after Jericho's Intercontinental. On the Smackdown before No Way Out, there is a tag match between Owen/Angle and Jericho/Tazz where the winner of the fall gets the European belt. Owen gets a cheap pin on Jericho for his second European championship, and defends it against Tazz at No Way Out, winning by countout. Angle pins Jericho to win the Intercontinental.

At the Raw after No Way Out, Angle demands Owen return the European belt to him (which Angle was after all, never pinned for). Owen finally has enough, and responds by clocking Angle in the face with the belt. This leads to Wrestlemania, where there is a four way match for the Intercontinetal title (only one fall, Euro belt is not on the line) between Owen, Angle, Benoit and Jericho. Benoit probably wins, and Owen moves into a feud over the European title with Eddie Guerrereo.

By autumn, the feud with Eddie is over, and Owen gets put into the Right to Censor (not sure whether it's in addition to the lineup they had, or replacing Stevie Richards as the leader or Venis as the faction's techincian), he stays there until the faction splits up in Spring 2001.

Owen drifts for a few months until the summer, when he joins the Alliance. Most of his time there is spent alongside Lance Storm, trying to talk Helms out of the Hurricane costume. When that doesn't work, Owen and Lance team up to kick the Hurricane out of the Alliance, and into a face turn with the WWF. The Owen/Lance team stay together for the rest of their run in the promotion, becoming the anchors for the tag division of whatever brand they find themselves on. Their last match is at the 2004 Great American Bash, dropping the belts to Kidman and Paul London in a match where the losing team splits up. Both men quietly retire to spend time with their families after this.

I also have an idea for what would happen if the Radicalz never left WCW, if people are comfortable with a scenario with Chris Benoit at the center of a promotion.

 

[Richard 0]

I think we're big enough to handle it.

[King Kamala 0]

It would have been Benoit and Sid doing the "tag team partners who hate each other" bit fighting off the nWo 2000 until Goldberg returns. The rest of the Radicalz would have continued being a part of the Revolution Vs Filthy Animals feud as IIRC, that feud didn't really have a blowoff.

[Guest Garbageman]

I think we're big enough to handle it.

 

Okay. Don't know how realistic this is since this supposes that whoever replaces Sullivan as head booker thinks like I do, but here goes:

The new WCW booker convinces the higher ups at Turner to run with Benoit as World Champ a couple of months to see if things pick up: if not, he gets unceremoniously demoted.

On the first Nitro after Souled Out, Benoit's first title defense is against Sid to resolve the controversial finish over their match. Benoit's about to put him away clean, when the nWo interferes and throws the match out. They both get beat down, and the new Commissioner Kevin Nash says that no one's getting the belt off Benoit but him.

The next Nitro, Benoit comes out first thing and demands that Nash face him, right here, right now. Nash reminds Benoit who's in charge, and says that match will happen, but not until Superbrawl. Until then, Nash is going to make Benoit's life a living hell, and books him in a Guitar on a Pole match against Jeff Jarrett (Benoit wins by the skin of his teeth).

On the next edition of Thunder, Benoit's in the back, lacing up his boots, when the Harris brothers burst in:

Ron: Hey, Benoit! Nash says its you against the two of us tonight, handicap match!

Benoit: Okay. (finishes lacing up his boots, stands up to walk past the two).

Don: You deaf or something? Two against one! You're all alone!

Benoit (turns back and smiles): Well, looks to me like you're outnumbered. (pats Don on the shoulder, and walks out calmly).

This marks a shift in Benoit's promo style, where instead of coming in over the top with downright horrible lines, he starts talking more like Batista: calm, collected, knowing he can kick your ass, so why bother bragging about it? Benoit wins the handicap match, and every show until Superbrawl follows the same pattern: Nash stacking the deck, and Benoit pulling out the win, until he convinces Nash to put up the Commissionership along with the belt. At Superbrawl, it's No DQ, and Nash gets his best match since Shawn Michaels. Benoit kicks out of the Jackknife, and makes Nash tap clean to the Crossface.

The next night, Benoit announces he's going to take on all comers, which means everyone starts gunning for him: the Filthy Animals, the Revolution, Jarrett, Sid (who never got a clean rematch), Luger, everyone healthy. Benoit gets Booker T to watch his back, saying that since they put each other through hell, they can trust each other. DDP expects the same deal from Benoit, and turns on him as well. There's some sort of contender's tournament, with people fighting for spots to be in the main event at Uncensored (Benoit against three other men). Benoit pulls out the win here too.

Now the trial period is over: if ratings have picked up (I think there's a good shot: Benoit winning the belt could be enough to reenergize the roster, the new direction could generate some buzz and the main angle of everyone gunning for the world title would freshen up the programs), Benoit keeps the belt for longer, and our theoretical booker holds on to power longer. If not, he gets squashed by one of the guys WCW trusted to carry the promotion (probably Hogan) the next night on Nitro, and never rises above US title level again.

Meanwhile, in the WWF, the Radicals' absence means a bigger push for Tazz than what he got in the real world: I imagine you could plug him in for Benoit for most of the year. Saturn and Malenko probably get the Tag belts in WCW, and Guerrereo is turned into one of Benoit's biggest adversaries, and tries to usurp leadership of the Filthy Animals from Konnan, with Rey and Kidman trying to pick a side.

Assuming that Benoit's run with the title is a success, someone's going to be built up as a major heel he can't beat, I think Steiner, Mike Awesome and Guerrereo are the best candidates. This heel takes the belt off him during the summer, then loses to Goldberg: the promotion then builds to a showdown between Goldberg and Benoit at Starrcade, with the winner cementing themselves as the true superstar in WCW.

Either way, we'd probably get Benoit and Storm at the August PPV in Vancouver, and if WCW folds in a similar fashion, I imagine we'd see Benoit and Booker T for the world title at the last Nitro (which makes for a much better Invasion, I'd imagine).

[The Buzz 0]

Making Raven the world champion would require him to use his flock, problem was Hogan and the nWo were running the same gimmick when Raven was in WCW. Not to mention you had Sting, Goldberg, and a few others ahead of Raven in the grand scheme of things.

[Guest snortrumble]

What if Frank Williams would have shot on Roddy Piper in Piper's Pit?

[Timmy8271 0]

What if Frank Williams would have shot on Roddy Piper in Piper's Pit?

 

He wouldn't have gotten out of the building without at least a broken leg.

 

Here's one, What if Heroes of Wrestling was actually a success and had a second card, What would the card have been? I know it's Fantasy booking but what the hell?

[King Kamala 0]

They probably would have gotten slightly bigger legends. Let's see since Lane and Blanchard's match didn't have a clean finish I'd do The Midnight Express (Lane and Condrey e since Eaton was a road agent with WCW IIRC till near the bitter end) Vs Tully Blanchard and Barry Windham. I'd have Tito Santana Vs Greg Valentine, 2 Cold Scorpio Vs someone in the token "guys who aren't that old" match (let's say Tracy Smothers even though he may have been in ECW at the time), Marty Jannetty and Tommy Rogers Vs The Rock and Roll Express. For shits and giggles, do Jake Roberts Vs The Iron Sheik as the semi-main and in the main event, hell given the event is a success, bring in The Warrior to take on Jim Neidhart (the guy who looked the least shitty in the main event of Heroes of Wrestling).

 

 

Still a pretty crappy looking show but at least most of the guys on this card could freaking move.

[Guest Smues]

What if Frank Williams would have shot on Roddy Piper in Piper's Pit?

 

He wouldn't have gotten out of the building without at least a broken leg.

 

Here's one, What if Heroes of Wrestling was actually a success and had a second card, What would the card have been? I know it's Fantasy booking but what the hell?

 

Odd fact: The Heroes of Wrestling organizers contacted Scott Keith after the first show and if enough people had bought the PPV to do a second one he would have had some input on the second one. I guess that means it would have been BONZO GONZO.

[Boxer 0]

What if The Hart Foundation took on The Clique in 1997?

 

Diesel/Razor/1-2-3/HHH/HBK vs. Hitman/Owen/Bulldog/Anvil/Pillman

 

This obviously assumes Diesel and Razor didn't leave for WCW in 1996.

[Diamonddust 0]

What if The Hart Foundation took on The Clique in 1997?

 

Diesel/Razor/1-2-3/HHH/HBK vs. Hitman/Owen/Bulldog/Anvil/Pillman

 

This obviously assumes Diesel and Razor didn't leave for WCW in 1996.

 

That's a whole combinations of "what-ifs" right there since Hall and Nash leaving was the catalyst for the biggest events that happened in the Monday Night Wars.

 

If Hall and Nash don't leave, you don't have Austin winning King of the Ring (HHH wouldn't have been punished since the Clique incident wouldn't have happened), which means he wouldn't get the feud with Bret Hart, which means the match at Wrestlemania 13 never happens, which means he doesn't turn heel and align himself with his family again.

 

 

[Boxer 0]

True about all those What If's in relation with the Kliq. So speaking about them, what if they all decided to play ball and no politics.

 

So we see them jobbing all over the place.

 

What affect would be there if no kliq existed?

[Timmy8271 0]

True about all those What If's in relation with the Kliq. So speaking about them, what if they all decided to play ball and no politics.

 

So we see them jobbing all over the place.

 

What affect would be there if no kliq existed?

 

All would go to WCW and cause havoc there.

 

What if Ric Flair had not been fired in 1991 by WCW? Would he still have been champ?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

What if Ric Flair had not been fired in 1991 by WCW? Would he still have been champ?

Flair would have dropped the title to Luger and won it right back when Luger flopped. After that, probably the same deal with Sting before finally losing it to Vader for Vader to get his long run as champion.

[Diamonddust 0]

What if Ric Flair had not been fired in 1991 by WCW? Would he still have been champ?

Flair would have dropped the title to Luger and won it right back when Luger flopped. After that, probably the same deal with Sting before finally losing it to Vader for Vader to get his long run as champion.

 

If the showdown between Herd and Flair happened and Flair stayed in the company, Herd would have been removed earlier than he was as well.

 

Still, Luger would have flopped. If Sting was saddled with a bad World Title run, Luger's would have been very similar.

[King Kamala 0]

What if Flair jumped ship in '98 and went back to the WWF like it was rumored?

 

 

[Angle-plex 0]

What if McMahon couldn't convince Andre to come back at Wrestlemania 3 and face Hogan? Who subs for Andre and does Hulkamania take off as much as it did?

[King Kamala 0]

What if McMahon couldn't convince Andre to come back at Wrestlemania 3 and face Hogan? Who subs for Andre and does Hulkamania take off as much as it did?

 

Paul Orndorff was the contingency plan if Andre was too injured. IIRC, that's why the had the draw in the cage match at SNME a couple months prior. I think Hulkamania had already taken off, the Andre match only cemented it.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

What if McMahon couldn't convince Andre to come back at Wrestlemania 3 and face Hogan? Who subs for Andre and does Hulkamania take off as much as it did?

 

Paul Orndorff was the contingency plan if Andre was too injured. IIRC, that's why the had the draw in the cage match at SNME a couple months prior. I think Hulkamania had already taken off, the Andre match only cemented it.

Indeed. Hulk Hogan was a phenomenon before he even stepped foot in the WWF.