Chat! culturecrossfire.slack.com

Old School Observations/Questions Thread 2020-21

strummer

Integral Poster
Messages
8,016
Reaction score
872
Points
218
I don't think Vince hated Dusty or anything but Dusty was arguably number 3 babyface in 89/90 (You could argue Beefcake before injury) and lost the blowoffs to his two biggest feuds in Savage and Dibiase. Did Dusty get any tv pinfalls over either? He did get to pin Bossman on tv I guess. What I mean is for a babyface company and a relatively highly featured babyface Dusty lost a lot and didn't go over anyone of much importance most of the time
 

King Kamala

Integral Poster
Messages
60,424
Reaction score
8,295
Points
293
Location
Vacationland
He was the American Dream because he overcame his working-class background and achieved fame and fortune as a world-class athlete. In WWF he was just a poor person who worked a bunch of odd jobs. Not my idea of the American dream...
Yeah but you know that's Vince (and Trump's) concept of what everyday Americans think is the American dream. LOL.

I'll maintain that "The American Dream" run was best usage of Dusty at point of his career when he was just about completely washed. Reestablishing WWF's top heels was better than being presented as a badass in WCW or running shit in Florida indys with Uncle Fred.
 

BUTT

Kreese
Messages
5,583
Reaction score
856
Points
218
Come to think of it, if he had his own pizzeria, butcher shop and plumbing business he probably was doing well. It’s just too bad he was unable to use his WWF-owned name in promoting the businesses, thus explaining why his customers were always so surprised to see him working there.

BTW a lot of TV stations got viewer complaints for showing a shit-filled toilet during the plumbing vignette.
 

BruiserBrody

Integral Poster
Messages
29,366
Reaction score
2,930
Points
293
Location
[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6
I'm sure Vince thought it was funny that Dusty hated wearing the polka dots, but I can also imagine him looking at this 44-year-old obese man in plain black trunks, knowing that he was popular but not understanding why, and thinking "he looks boring. He needs a gimmick!"

Dusty's charisma carried him throughout his WWF run but it was clear the company didn't really understand the character. He was the American Dream because he overcame his working-class background and achieved fame and fortune as a world-class athlete. In WWF he was just a poor person who worked a bunch of odd jobs. Not my idea of the American dream...
Don't forget the casual racism of using Rhodes' jive promos to justify him doinking an elderly black woman in storyline. (And yes on a SNME, Rhodes does mention a sexual innuendo about he and Sapphire (a racist name in and of itself) getting it on.
 

King Kamala

Integral Poster
Messages
60,424
Reaction score
8,295
Points
293
Location
Vacationland
BTW a lot of TV stations got viewer complaints for showing a shit-filled toilet during the plumbing vignette.
Yeah, I was surprised to see how shitty that toilet was when I rewatched that Primetime Wrestling a few weeks ago. Idk if I even ever seen that gross of a depiction of a clogged toilet on TV outside of maybe an R rated movie or HBO show.
 

Epic Springs

Epic Reine
Messages
12,608
Reaction score
1,878
Points
253
Location
NYC
Curiosity got the better of me and I just watched the segment. Damn you guys!

 
Last edited:

Valeyard

Retarded sexuality and bad poetry.
Messages
14,069
Reaction score
6,653
Points
253

giphy.gif
 

Valeyard

Retarded sexuality and bad poetry.
Messages
14,069
Reaction score
6,653
Points
253
WCW in 1996 at one point had the Steiners, Road Warriors, Sting and Luger, the Horsemen, Harlem Heat, the Nasties, and the American Males in their tag division all at once, with the Outsiders on the way in the second half of the year. I didn't realize how stacked they were when it felt like Heat vs Nasties every month.
 

King Kamala

Integral Poster
Messages
60,424
Reaction score
8,295
Points
293
Location
Vacationland
Plus they had the Faces of Fear, various iterations of Four Horsemen, Rock N Roll Express (albeit somehow seeming more washed up than they do, Wayne Enos & Mike Bloom, Fire & Ice, The Blue Bloods, and The Stud Stable. I feel like even the teams I mentioned that were C and D show would be Title Contenders in WWF at same period

Only reason why '96 WCW doesn't run away with GOAT tag team division praise is cause as Valeyard alluded to it was actually thoroughly mediocre for the most part in reality.
 

snuffbox

Integral Poster
Messages
9,396
Reaction score
1,266
Points
218
I thought Nastys/Harlem Heat was more of a 1994/95 thing.
 

Valeyard

Retarded sexuality and bad poetry.
Messages
14,069
Reaction score
6,653
Points
253
Flair and Arn had some great stuff with the RNRs. It was the first time I ever saw them and I was too put off by Gibson's googly eye to appreciate them fully.

Fire and Ice are one my favorite WCW teams ever. I can't believe I forgot them.
 

King Kamala

Integral Poster
Messages
60,424
Reaction score
8,295
Points
293
Location
Vacationland
Steiners/Harlem Heat was the "this match again?" of '96/'97. Their matches were generally decent to good but never quite as good as you wanted them to be IMO.
 

Epic Springs

Epic Reine
Messages
12,608
Reaction score
1,878
Points
253
Location
NYC

Hey anyone remember Vince Russo outing Dok Hendrix as Michael Hayes on Livewire? Also features the first (only?) on-air confrontation between Russo and Corny.
 

King Kamala

Integral Poster
Messages
60,424
Reaction score
8,295
Points
293
Location
Vacationland
How did I forget Public Enemy on my list of teams @The Valeyard forgot? They were my favorite tag team in '96 and I marked out so hard when they randomly won the titles from Harlem Heat. I was so pissed they lost them a week later and we missed out on PE/Outsiders at Halloween Havoc '96. I wanted to see what it would like if Scott Hall and/or Kevin Nash went through a table.

IIRC, I didn't see NASH didn't go through a table until TLC 2011 and Idk if Scott Hall ever went through a table (in wrestling. He probably crashed through one drunkenly at some point in the '90s/'00s)
 

King Kamala

Integral Poster
Messages
60,424
Reaction score
8,295
Points
293
Location
Vacationland
Hard to think of a more random (pre Vince Russo era) cage match than Jake The Snake Vs Akeem. Was there any semblance of a feud to justify this, @BruiserBrody ? I thought Akeem was jobbing his way out of WWF by the Fall of '90.

Also I'm surprised WWF was still running three crews in late '90s. And even the Jake-Akeem C show looks good by WWF C show standards.
 

BruiserBrody

Integral Poster
Messages
29,366
Reaction score
2,930
Points
293
Location
[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6
Hard to think of a more random (pre Vince Russo era) cage match than Jake The Snake Vs Akeem. Was there any semblance of a feud to justify this, @BruiserBrody ? I thought Akeem was jobbing his way out of WWF by the Fall of '90.

Also I'm surprised WWF was still running three crews in late '90s. And even the Jake-Akeem C show looks good by WWF C show standards.
I'd have to look when Bad News actually quit because the best answer I can surmise is that Jake vs News was going to be the match (in a cage so News could avoid a clean job) but gave notice with enough lead time for Akeem to be subbed in.

My back up guess would be a market specific angle at the show before, with the cage gimmick tossed in to try and scrounge up extra ticket demand.
 

King Kamala

Integral Poster
Messages
60,424
Reaction score
8,295
Points
293
Location
Vacationland
I'm surprised they didn't have Dusty Rhodes Vs Ted DiBiase in the cage as main event and Akeem/Jake as semi-main event considering that was actually a hot angle and Dusty's past as a FLORIDA MAN.

Looking further at Cawthon's, Bad News Brown's last match was SummerSlam '90 and you're exactly on the money. Akeem was his replacement but they had enough lead team to advertise him.

Also while looking up Fall '90, I found this card from 30 years ago today.


WWF @ Oakland, CA - Coliseum - September 22, 1990 (8,000)
During the show, a backstage fight between WWF IC Champion Mr. Perfect and Boris Zhukov took place; Blackjack Lanza had to break it up
Koko B. Ware pinned Boris Zhukov
Tugboat pinned Dino Bravo
The Big Bossman pinned Jerry Monti (sub. for Haku)
Earthquake defeated Hulk Hogan via count-out at around the 8-minute mark after Dino Bravo and Jimmy Hart interfered; after the match, Tugboat made the save
Shane Douglas pinned the Brooklyn Brawler
Mr. Perfect defeated WWF IC Champion Kerry Von Erich via count-out at 3:03
WWF Tag Team Champions Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart defeated Greg Valentine & the Honkytonk Man via reverse decision; the challengers originally won the match and titles when Bret was pinned after being hit with a guitar but another referee came out and reversed the call


Mr. Perfect and Boris Zhukov has got be the most random backstage fight! I'd never heard of this!
 

snuffbox

Integral Poster
Messages
9,396
Reaction score
1,266
Points
218
I wonder if Perfect injured his hand hitting Boris's HUGE CRANIUM and then compensated for the injury leading to messing up his back. Another Russian hoax?
 
Top