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Old School Observations/Questions Thread 2020-21

snuffbox

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What was the plan for Roddy Piper if Jesse Ventura hadn't left in August 1990? You could still hear Ventura in some clips on Summerslam Fever, one of those cable preview shows they used to do, a week before the ppv. I don't think Piper had done much/anything since the first round of the IC tournament a few months prior. Than Ventura left and Piper filled in all his broadcast spots until Flair arrived about a year later.
 

King Kamala

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Piper was dealing with some lingering injuries in '90-'91 so I'm not sure things would have been that different. I think maybe an earlier attempt at the goodwill ambassador role they used him for in New Generation era? Maybe they attempt to bring back Piper's Pit again a few years earlier?
 

BruiserBrody

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What was the plan for Roddy Piper if Jesse Ventura hadn't left in August 1990? You could still hear Ventura in some clips on Summerslam Fever, one of those cable preview shows they used to do, a week before the ppv. I don't think Piper had done much/anything since the first round of the IC tournament a few months prior. Than Ventura left and Piper filled in all his broadcast spots until Flair arrived about a year later.
One of the surprising things for me getting the internet 22ish years ago was finding out Piper worked a bunch of matches during his hiatus as commentator. I would have said he was gone from the summer of 90 until the fall of 91 based on my TV viewings. He was out the summer of 90 getting his first hip replacement IIRC, which was covered on air by saying he had a motorcycle accident. Why/how he was still hobbling around on TV with Virgil while somehow working major arena matches was kept in kayfabe is beyond me.
 

Brocklock

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One of the surprising things for me getting the internet 22ish years ago was finding out Piper worked a bunch of matches during his hiatus as commentator. I would have said he was gone from the summer of 90 until the fall of 91 based on my TV viewings. He was out the summer of 90 getting his first hip replacement IIRC, which was covered on air by saying he had a motorcycle accident. Why/how he was still hobbling around on TV with Virgil while somehow working major arena matches was kept in kayfabe is beyond me.
Wasn't he still helping book with Portland around that time? Maybe that was around 88 or 89.
 

King Kamala

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I think that was during the eras between when he retired at WrestleMania III and when he returned at WrestleMania V. So yeah, '88/early '89 basically. He transformed Art Barr into the Juicer.
 

BruiserBrody

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WCCW Christmas Night Star Wars 1985
From the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

Bill Mercer tells us the headliner is the Dynamic Duo vs. Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez. He tries his best to play it up as a big event, but this feud had been going on for over a year and that HAD to be at least a part of why attendance started to collapse as 1986 unfolded.

Some dude warbles through "God Bless America". I'd prefer Glen Goza in a heartbeat. W-R-A-S-S-L-I-N'!

Missing Link vs. Jack Victory

Victory bumps all over the place for Link's assortment of headbutts. Victory turns to choking to try and slow down the wild man, but more headbutts put Victory into a daze. Link hits a powerslam and a diving headbutt for the quick win.

Percy Pringle and Rick Rude come down. Pringle tries to cheer Link on and perhaps calm the beast down. This is all a ploy so Rude can sneak around back with a chair and attack the Link. Sunshine rushes to the ring to aid her....friend?... Rude tries to offer her some of his sex package, so she maces him! Pringle attacks the valet and wrestles the mace from her. He is about to mace the wee lass, only for the Link to make the save. Okay, the post match stuff was actually a hell of a lot of fun!

The fans are allowed to rush past the barricade as the Freebirds come to the ring.

Mark Youngblood and David Peterson vs. Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts

Peterson would go on to be known as D.J. Peterson and find work in JCP, WWF and AWA. He has a good look, with a Magnum P.I. like stache and some obvious chemical enhancements to his body. Youngblood was probably still reeling from the untimely death of his brother Jay months before. The Freebirds were all over the place in 1985 as Florida, the AWA, Japan, Memphis and the Mid-South area all saw the Freebirds in action.

Youngblood outwits both heels with his speed. Gordy is downed and Peterson takes over the attack. Since I mentioned earlier how the Von Erichs main event scene was stale, I should note that Mercer puts over the Von Erichs and Freebirds reigniting tensions.

Would working a jabroni tag match in Dallas really pay better than working the AWA's Xmas show? Gordy headlined AWA's December show in Chicago against World champ Rick Martel and Gordy and Roberts had an intriguing match against Freebird ally Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal in an AWA tag title match on a different show. The Freebirds were also wrapping up their feud with Crusher Blackwell.

Anyway, the faces run wild for a bit, but the heels cut Peterson off, and Gordy finishes things with a powerslam off the top rope. A perfectly acceptable formula tag match.

Kerry and Kevin Von Erich vs. Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez

These teams had a hair vs hair match in a stadium two months earlier and yet the feud goes on. Kerry and Kevin are "the Cosmic Cowboys" and listed as unknowns but neither are wearing masks and Mercer is just calling them Kevin and Kerry. Without context this seems really goofy.

Kerry is working barefoot (while he still has two feet to bare). The guys hit high spots to kick us off as Kerry is sent to the floor via an Adams superkick and Von Erich responds by dropping both Gino and Adams with a discus punch.

The Von Erichs use mat work to keep Adams down. The heels do eventually take over as Kerry is battered for several minutes. Kerry, being a MAN, makes his own comeback and locks both heels in the CLAW at the same time. Kerry doesn't bother tagging out and tries to take Gino out with a sleeper. Gino escapes and begins to work Kerry over again.

Mercer covers for the men calling spots as he explains they are trash talking one another while in close quarters. Gino misses a charge and Kerry again doesn't go for the tag. He tries to make his own comeback again, but then goes over and tags Kevin anyway which the crowd doesn't pop much for at all. Weird psychology by Kerry....

Kevin hits some splashes but can't score the pin. Adams tries to tag out, but Gino won't do it. Adams is frustrated so he tosses Kevin over the top rope for a DQ. Despite a DQ normally being a title change in WCCW (????) this one isn't???? I'm confused.

Adams is annoyed at Gino and slaps him post-match to finally, maybe, possibly end this feud with a whimper.

More to come....
 

BruiserBrody

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Iceman Parsons and Brian Adias vs. The Grappler and The Great Kabuki

Kabuki and Adias does a feeling out process, so the crowd amuses themselves by calling Percy Pringle a "homosexual". (Edit- I see TSM has a word filter) The Grappler doesn't fair well either as he winds up grounded when he gives Adias a go. Both faces work headlocks as the Grappler fails to grapple with them.

Pringle earns his money by hootin' and hollerin' to rile up the fans as Kabuki and Parsons keep things in neutral. More headlocks lead to me being annoyed at the heels for not working to escape the hold, instead just sitting with arms dangling. Even MORE headlocks follow. Kabuki finally hits a back suplex and tags out to the Grappler. Grappler hits some blows, but quickly tags Kabuki back in. Kabuki is still shot so he gets his butt kicked, only to hit a side kick and tag the Grappler back in.

Adias becomes the face in peril as somehow the heels have over come being trapped in headlocks for 5 minutes. Things break down and the Grappler is cradled from behind as he tries to load his boot and the faces get the duke. The heels lay Adias out afterwards for good measure. Blah.

Lance Von Erich vs American champ Rick Rude

Rude slaps Von Erich and Von Erich responds in kind. Lance scores a series of quick arm drags to start things out hot. Rude has air brushed tights on even here in his infancy as a top heel.

These guys have a good scrap, with both men showing aggression and hate as they trade blows. Rude bumps around big time to make Lance look like a stud. Ref David Manning gets too close to the action and has his eye poked. Pringle takes advantage of this and puts his cane up for Rude to toss Lance into. Manning doesn't quite see it but calls for the DQ anyway. Manning gets on the mic afterwards and cuts a brief promo on Pringle for being a cheater. This was brief but fun.

According to wikipedia, the DQ as a title change rule came and went off and on before WCCW finally made it LAW when they left the NWA in February of 1986.

Scott Casey and Sunshine vs. Jack Tatum and Missy Hyatt

If I recall Jim Cornette's story correctly, Hyatt started screwing Tatum because she thought he was a rich and successful wrestler, meanwhile Tatum thought Missy was related to the Hyatt hotel millionaires and was hoping to score that money. Neither were correct. I'm sure the fact that Hyatt had big fake knockers and was blowing his co-workers didn't hurt his interest going in.

Sunshine debuting as Jimmy Garvin's valet and fawning all over him in 1983 is really creepy when you watch that stuff with the knowledge that they are cousins.

Sunshine is wearing street clothes/track suit. Hyatt is in a bathing suit and has very very obviously already been to the enhancement shop. Tatum stooges and bumps to thrill the fans. The men give way to the ladies, with Tatum cheating a bit to make sure Hyatt is able to get the advantage. The heels pose together and I love it.

Tatum and Casey go head to head once more. Tatum tries to hold Casey back so Hyatt can slap him. Casey reverses the full nelson and drags Tatum to his corner so Sunshine can get a slap in to pop the crowd. Hyatt runs in and swings at Casey, but he pulls Tatum in the way, leading to Hyatt slapping her lover. The crowd eats it up and so do I.

The heels try to regroup but things go awry as Sunshine knocks Tatum off the top ropes and Casey scores the win. The heels squabble as we see there is trouble in paradise.
 
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Valeyard

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The creepiest part of Garvin and Sunshine is how they had MUCH better chemistry than Garvin and Precious. It's startling.


Some good peaks and valleys in this promo. Jamie Pressley won an Emmy for this.
 

JN News

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Does anyone know if there's any video footage where the late Harley Race becoming the very first NWA United States Heavyweight Champion on YouTube? Was it a tournement to crown the very first champion in NWA History?
 

Brocklock

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Baby Shoes

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Oh man, the Henry Godwinn comeback teaming with pre-BISCUITS AND GRAVY Slammaster J needs to be shared with the world
 

BruiserBrody

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snuffbox

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I've been watching a lot of 1990 WWF lately. I didn't remember that babyface Big Boss Man was still handcuffing jobbers to the ropes and doing extracurricular activities after the match. Hulkamania-era babyfaces could be as bad as the worst heels.

I also didn't realize/remember how rushed Hercules' heel turn and the formation of Power & Glory was. One week Roma was still a plucky babyface and Hercules a mid/upper midcard face, the next they were a flamboyant heel tag team trying to cripple Shawn Michaels. The only hint leading up to it was Herc changing from blue to black trunks.

And it seems like half the roster was left off the Summerslam card that year.
 

BruiserBrody

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I've been watching a lot of 1990 WWF lately. I didn't remember that babyface Big Boss Man was still handcuffing jobbers to the ropes and doing extracurricular activities after the match. Hulkamania-era babyfaces could be as bad as the worst heels.

I also didn't realize/remember how rushed Hercules' heel turn and the formation of Power & Glory was. One week Roma was still a plucky babyface and Hercules a mid/upper midcard face, the next they were a flamboyant heel tag team trying to cripple Shawn Michaels. The only hint leading up to it was Herc changing from blue to black trunks.

And it seems like half the roster was left off the Summerslam card that year.
I peeked at Herc's 1990 results. He spent Jan and Feb working jobbers on even house shows. Akeem was mixed in a few times and some six man matches with the Rockers vs. Fuji and the PoP. After Mania he worked mostly Haku.

Prime Time Wrestling - 3/12/90: Hercules & Paul Roma defeated the Brooklyn Brawler & Black Bart at 7:31 when Roma pinned Brawler after being thrown from the top by Hercule
Prime Time Wrestling - 5/14/90: Hercules & Paul Roma defeated Kenny Johnson & Buddy Rose at 7:22 when Roma pinned Johnson with a crossbody off the top as Hercules held Johnson up in a suplex
Prime Time Wrestling - 6/18/90: Rick Martel pinned Hercules at 6:46 by blocking a sunset flip into the ring and holding onto the ropes for leverage; after the match, Hercules attacked Martel and shoved the referee to the mat before being sprayed with Martel's Arrogance, shortly thereafter, Paul Roma made the save and checked on Hercules
July 8th: The Orient Express (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeated Hercules & Jim McPherson at 1:46 when Sato pinned McPherson with the sit-down powerbomb; after the bout, Hercules was double-teamed and attacked with Fuji's cane until Paul Roma made the save; it was announced during the match that Hercules was a sub. for McPherson's partner who didn't show up and Hercules volunteered himself for the match
July 21:
Dino Bravo (w/ Jimmy Hart) pinned Paul Roma at 1:58 with the side suplex; after the bout, Bravo attacked Roma from behind with Hart's megaphone; Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty then came out for their match but Roma argued with them, thinking they may have attacked him, and shoved both of them down; Hercules then came out to try and back Roma up and all four then ended up brawling with the Rockers clearing Roma & Hercules from the ring
Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Al Burke & Bob Bradley at 3:18 when Michaels pinned Burke following double flying fistdrops off the top; during the bout, Hercules & Roma did an insert promo with Vince McMahon asking them if they were jealous of the Rockers, with both saying no but they are sick of the Rockers getting all the cheers and they will become a team themselves
---

I was randomly thinking about the Indy show "Anarchy at Piper's Pit" that Piper helped put on right after WCW died. This is a fun write up on the event.
 

strummer

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Hercules was doing jobs to the Genius in early 90. They had clearly given up on him as an upper midcard face. He desperately needed a heel turn
 
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