The Attitude Era Thread Vol 1

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1757890594330787849

I can't help but picture this as Luke in full Bushwacker mode during all this.

"TEN BLOODY YEEZZAS, MATE! WHOOOOOA! YEAHHH!"

 

[Valeyard]

I thought it was common knowledge the end goal was always to have him end up in the WWF. Figured it was Hogan making sure he created the one guy Vince could never ignore and also who would potentially back Hogan coming back if the need presented itself.

 

[King Kamala]

Hogan had a meeting with Vince during the weekend of the August ‘96 COTC. Even if it was to drive his WCW contract up, it is kind of insane to flirt with the competition as you are just starting your massive creative revival.

Thank God that it was non serious flirtation (on both ends. Vince knew he couldn’t afford Hogan at that point.) because Hogan coming back to WWF in 1996 is one of those things that seems like a massive win but would probably dramatically negatively alter the history of pro wrestling.

 

[Lazgistics Supervisor]

The WWF goes bankrupt by '99 if Hogan jumps in '96.

 

[King Kamala]

In this scenario, WCW wins the Monday Night Wars but even if they win, Idk if they survive past the early-mid ‘00s. Pro wrestling looks way different if Hogan jumps during the Monday Night Wars.


Possibly more niche like roller derby since Hogan jumping to WWF would prevent Austin and Rock from becoming mainstream superstars.

 

[Valeyard]

Hogan gets screwed instead of Bret. Hell maybe Bret and Shawn help make it happen. Hogan goes back to WCW by 1998 anyway but the WWF is just a wasteland, at best running the larger ECW venues all the time. But I definitely get Hogan wanting to make as much money as possible while being the most talked about person in the business, so he'd be a fool not to negotiate with Vince to drive the price up.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1758189430588756412

Can you imagine telling a WWF fan in Feb 97 that the Feb 98 PPV would be headlined by Jesse James, Rockabilly, HHH and Savio Vega?!?!

Vega was such a let down, even at the time. They probably should have figured out a legend or big name to come in for a one shot. (Sabu is the best name off hand in my head) Hell, drag out the bloated wobbly old man Abby the Butcher to counter Cactus Jack.

 

[King Kamala]

As a 9 year old, I thought it was going to be SID, Yokozuna or King Kong Bundy.

As a 35 year old, I’m having a hard time grasping the concept of Bundy in ‘98 WWF.

 

[Valeyard]

I thought it was bullshit but Savio made perfect sense given the history with Austin. Hell, if you wanna kayfabe it further, since Savio was Razor's friend and Razor was Shawn's friend it even made sense. It bothered me more that it didn't lead to anything because Savio could've been great in DX.

 

[Lazgistics Supervisor]

Savio should've gotten a better push, but Russo had to do his GANGWARZ shit and we had multiple factions that were racially motivated and Los Boricuas got shafted.

 

[Epic Springs]

Vega was a let down but made perfect sense in kayfabe as Los Boricuas were hired guns of DX at the time. I think at the time I was like "Vega? Eh, whatever". All anyone remembers in Austin stunning Chyna anyway.

 

[Valeyard]

Savio would've thrived in the Attitude Era. I have a theory Savio/D-Lo would have some hidden gems across the summer.

 

[King Kamala]

WWF’s mistake was advertising it as a mystery partner. They should have just announced it was Savio before.

Granted, Shawn did drop off relatively last minute (maybe even weekend of the show) so I don’t think any of options we discussed were realistic but still, mystery partner implies something way more exciting than Savio.

 

[Epic Springs]

There was at least a week or two before the show where Shawn dropped. I remember the voiceover in the PPV report on one of the weekend shows saying Shawn was out with an injury and a mystery partner will take his place.

 

[Valeyard]

They were in Texas. Bound to have someone worth calliing in an emergency if they wanted a credible replacement. My memory is of not knowing until the night of the show, but that's likely incorrect.

Savio is also a brilliant heat move, too. You can't say you didn't want Austin to hurt Shawn all the more for him bailing and his hand-picked replacement being a guy who hadn't sniffed beyond the third match on a show since 1995.

 

[BruiserBrody]

I struggled to see Savio as more than a JTTS guy. He was doing the Bob Holly level face work on RAW. He was a fall guy for the NOD and then the Los Boricuas were in the never ending DOA snoozers.

 

[Valeyard]

Savio's face run was awesome and he put in work, though. He was really over for a while. Heel turn nuked him forever, Rikishi-style.

 

[King Kamala]

Who said AI couldn’t be used for good?

 

[King Kamala]

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[King Kamala]

WWE legend 'almost got divorced' over life threatening wrestling stunt

One of wrestling's most shocking moments.

metro.co.uk

He’s a bad, bad man.

 

[StrongMachineMark]

Mero/Foley was originally slated for WM 13 but Mick turned it down. It didn't matter anyway because Mero blew out his knee.

Mero was originally supposed to go heel and go against Rocky Maivia at Wrestlemainia 13 for the IC Title. They did an angle on the nightclub edition of Shotgun Saturday Night where after a Mero match Rocky helped Sable up after the match and Rock was supposed to wrestle in the next segment but Mero got pissed at Rock for helping her and attacked him. Mero hurt his knee a week later and needed surgery was out for 8-9 months and The Sultan was plugged into the IC Title match instead.

 

[strummer]

Mick said on his show that Cornette called him up and pitched the Mero program for Mania. Mick turned it down. I assume Mero going against .Rocky was the plan after that. Then of course Mero blew his knee out.

 

[Epic Springs]

They also ran a Mero/Taker match on TV around this time where Marc played the heel even though he was still a face at the time.

 

[Valeyard]

To be fair there is NO way anyone would cheer Mero over Taker. Sable, maybe, but not Mero.

Rock/Mero is way more interesting, I think. If Mero goes Marvelous back when he has good (or better, at least) knees, he could be one of Rock's best opponents in the early years and is probably one of the very few to get Rock face heat.

 

[Lazgistics Supervisor]

Mero is one of many "what if's" of the era, for sure. I can't fathom him in the ME of a Mania, but I can totally see him headlining an IYH/B-tier show and having a solid uppercard run.

 

[King Kamala]

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How many celebrities appeared in WWF and WCW? Shaq, Mr. T, Sasso and…? That is one hell of a trio.

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This is honestly great stage direction. RIP Ravishing Rick Rude.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1762455307584680331

I'm pretty sure watching this live at the bar we thought it was a contrived bump and pretty lame compared to Foley's.

The splash on Venis off the cage was probably more dangerous for blowing out his knees.

 

[Valeyard]

It's not fair comparing any bump to Foley's, though. That's still a blind trust fall that has a lot of room for error done by someone who doesn't take those kind of bumps.

 

[alkeiper]

Rikishi probably doesn't get enough credit for that bump. The truck setup probably made us think it was safer than it actually was.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Rikishi probably doesn't get enough credit for that bump. The truck setup probably made us think it was safer than it actually was.

Farm kids took that bump at the end of every summer when the hay mow was stacked high with bales and the straw pile for beddin' was at it's peak next to it. Sometimes a tarzan rope vine was involved.

Edit.... ok there was no metal bars to murk us.

--
Was it Fatu or Samu who decided doing the splash to the MSG floor to a Gunn was a good career choice?