I do wonder how much of it was Bad News being difficult to deal with booking wise. Did he ever take a pinfall or submission loss on TV?
I do agree they did miss the boat on him, but I also wonder once he found out he wasn't going over Hogan or Savage in programs that he just wasn't interested in putting guys over and would be OK in lower feuds where he goes over or more non-finishes.
Hogan pinned him on SNME. The tease before the ad break was BNB going to get a snow shovel to use as a weapon. As a 7 year old, I was absolutely mortified.
You can imagine I am still in therapy over the end of the Genius SNME match.
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Honestly, Bad News was older by the time he signed on in 1988, and he had a belly, which makes him being pushed/signed at all a bit of a surprise, since he was just chubby and not money drawing obese monster size.
JCP was already a clusterfuck in late 87, so signing there probably was not a hot option for BNB. However, had he waited a few weeks into Jan for Big Bubba to quit over Starrcade money, News could have been a solid choice to be Corny new bodyguard. Jim could have easily played up the legit judo background, and News would just have to stare menacingly in a suit.