Primetime Disscussion Thread

[DrVenkman PhD]

Well, they DID have ownership in Zubaz pants.

 

Also mentioned on the show is "Jim Neidhart's return to the ring after being driven out of the broadcast booth by Bobby Heenan". I began watching wrestling shortly after Mania VII and don't recall this at all.

 

Anytime we get to see the Savage/Liz reception is good times in my book. JJ Dillon is there!

[Bruiser Chong]

What a slice of childhood for me. My mom started taping PTW for me right before Summerslam that year, so this was one of the first episodes I remember seeing. I must've worn out the part of the tape with Heenan's intro. Comedic gold. It reminded me of Lawler insulting everyone as he walked down to the ring with the microphone in hand.

[KingPK]

"Don't you own a dress?"

 

Heenan shooing Mooney into the stands before he mentions Flair will be on the show is great as well.

 

Holy shit, I didn't realize that Tim White was a ref back then. I thought he came in during the Attitude Era.

Edited September 11, 2008 by KingPK

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

The Heenan backstage stuff is on the first Ric Flair dvd as well.

[Enigma]

I like how the camera was pointed right up Sherri's dress as her and Dibiase exited the Barber Shop. Also, Sherri looked like she was about to spill out of that top.

 

When they were showing the footage of LOD stopping the Natural Disasters from getting to Andre the Giant, did it sound to anyone else like Animal tripped over his words and they just had the plant crowd cheer to cover it up?

[MillenniumMan831]

"Don't you own a dress?"

 

Cover something up someplace!

[MillenniumMan831]

Also mentioned on the show is "Jim Neidhart's return to the ring after being driven out of the broadcast booth by Bobby Heenan". I began watching wrestling shortly after Mania VII and don't recall this at all.

 

Monsoon, Heenan, & Neidhart hosted Wrestling Challenge for a few months in 1991 until Neidhart couldn't stand working w/ Heenan and decided to return to the ring. It became a bit of a running gag whenever Neidhart would wrestle on Challenge as Monsoon would always mention he was a former co-host of Challenge until he, like many others, had it w/ The Brain.

[DrVenkman PhD]

I like how they replaced the Hulk Hogan Hotline number with a 24/7 info line (1-888-699-9324) which is kind of redundant for subscribers. Looks better than blurring it, though.

[Darth Pipes]

The Heenan backstage stuff is on the first Ric Flair dvd as well.

 

Yeah, that was hilarious. Though I'm sure the guy on the ladder didn't appreciate Heenan shoving it.

[Enigma]

How about the obvious green screen Vince and Piper were in front of and the not-right distance between Vince and Piper walking to Flair?

[DrVenkman PhD]

It's actually a pretty good special effect for the time. In contrast, Paul Bearer's wedding album is just clearly an empty book with forzen video captures superimposed on the television screen - that's a bad effect.

 

There's a really bad green screen on the first Flair DVD where Jim Herd and Jim Ross are "in the control center", but when the camera zooms in on Herd, all of the TVs in the background move with the zoom.

[Darth Pipes]

The only saving grace of this week's TNT show is once again Bobby Heenan, as he trades a lot of sexual innuendo with Mean Gene.

[cabbageboy]

Haha, yeah. That TNT show was pretty funny stuff with all the lech Gene bits and Heenan mugging as well. Who was that chick that was supposed to be a shrink? Just one of Vince's skanks on the side?

 

Believe it or not I had never seen one of those studio audience PTW shows until today. I didn't watch wrestling at all in 1990-91, so this was new to me. I quite liked that setting, it was a bit like TNT but seemed more in the realm of a wrestling program. Dare I say Mooney wasn't actually too bad of a host?

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

Man Okerlund tries to stir up shit, and Cowboy Bob Orton wouldn't go for it.

[DerangedHermit]

Was that Shane McMahon being hassled by Big Bully Busick during that PTW episode?

[DrVenkman PhD]

No, but that was my first thought too.

 

You have to love how the opening match is a former world champ vs a former IC champ - not something totally common in 1991 - but neither "Col. Mustafa" or "The Dragon" are acknowledged as such in 1991 WWE canon.

[Black Lushus]

It saddens me everytime I see and hear "The Dragon" treated like a brand new WWF superstar.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

It saddens me everytime I see and hear "The Dragon" treated like a brand new WWF superstar.

Amen. I mean hell, he was Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. The gimmick wasn't like a complete repackaging, just an extension.

[Black Lushus]

During that small run, I don't think they ever once referred to him as Ricky Steamboat...hell Gorilla was calling him an "exciting new youngster". I know that was a usual Gorilla euphemism, but come ON!

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

During that small run, I don't think they ever once referred to him as Ricky Steamboat...hell Gorilla was calling him an "exciting new youngster". I know that was a usual Gorilla euphemism, but come ON!

I mean he was Ricky the Dragon during his initial run in the 1980s.

[Black Lushus]

Yes, I know, I'm talking about his 1991 deal.

[cabbageboy]

I do recall Piper simply calling him Steamboat during the 6 man tag from Summerslam 1991. Piper was refreshingly honest on commentary at times, like when he was supposed to call a Saba Simba match and he simply said "Ha, that's not Saba Simba...that's Tony Atlas."

[Darth Pipes]

No, but that was my first thought too.

 

You have to love how the opening match is a former world champ vs a former IC champ - not something totally common in 1991 - but neither "Col. Mustafa" or "The Dragon" are acknowledged as such in 1991 WWE canon.

 

Right. That much was better than I expected. That probably has to do with that fact that Shiek helped train Steamboat and they wrestled many times in many different territories and federations over the years.

 

Some Prime Time notes...

 

-I remember the studio setting quite well. It appears this was the first one. I liked the studio setting although it led to the end of the Monsoon/Heenan Prime Times.

-The studio audience is clearly being coached throughout the show. Always booing the heels and cheering the faces. All unconvincing. At least the old TNT crowd would cheer a heel like Piper and be greatly entertained by Savage and Heenan. Heenan got a few laughs but it's a total coached crowd.

-Von Erich/IRS wasn't a bad match and the claw spot with IRS hanging off the ropes was pretty cool.

-Some of that match footage hasn't aged well. The dark portions looked very dark.

-Flair's interview is different than what he usually cut but still pretty damn entertaining.

-Paul Bearer was a riot in his early days as the gimmick will all the bizarre facial expressions he would make.

-Speak of bizarre, that would be Hawk cutting another one of his strange promos. He may or may not have been high as a kite.

[Darth Pipes]

One other thing I noticed is that JJ Dillon is present at the Savage/Elizabeth wedding.

[DrVenkman PhD]

Yeah I mentioned that too. He's visible on the left when Mean Gene introduces the first dance.

[Darth Pipes]

Just reading Scott Keith's review and he noticed too that Hawk was wasted out of his mind. It's amazing they let him go out like that. Keith also noted how stiffly IRS kicked Von Erich in the face.

[DerangedHermit]

-The studio audience is clearly being coached throughout the show. Always booing the heels and cheering the faces. All unconvincing. At least the old TNT crowd would cheer a heel like Piper and be greatly entertained by Savage and Heenan. Heenan got a few laughs but it's a total coached crowd.

I liked the lightly scattered "WHOOOO"s that were heard in the crowd.

[Bruiser Chong]

Shane McMahon's one of the wedding guests, too. Catch him after Jake shows up.

[DrVenkman PhD]

I guess I just plain forgot about the Neidhart angle because here is is, hosting Challenge during a time I was watching:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPEGRvTWk6o

 

Here's an on-camera break by Heenan on Prime Time I must have missed (he covered it up well):

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPA7nJsqkbY

[Darth Pipes]

I had forgotten Neihart was an announcer until I saw him calling matches during MSG Classics. Talk about going in the opposite direction from Bret. He actually faced Flair in one of the Flair's first significant matches on Superstars and Flair won by submission. He kept attacking Neihart's knee. When the refs were helping Neihart back to the locker room, he was attacked by the Beverly Brothers and this set up the formation of The New Foundation with Owen Hart. I was always sorry to see that team not last longer.