Old School Observations/Questions 2022

[Epic Springs]

Melanie Pillman, Brian's widow, passed away.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1532128294715498496

I found Magnum TA;s ancestors!

--
I also just realized Sgt Slaughter follows me on Twitter. Now I wish I was interesting on there.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1532901187862896640

Macho Man, possibly more roided to the gills than even in 99?

 

[King Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1533211982702198785

Hulk Hogan has been spinning tall tales for (at least) 40 years. I always got the impression that Hogan (mildly) more chill in the early-mid '80s in that regard but apparently not.

 

[Valeyard]

Dude's kept kayfabe his whole career. I respect that.

 

[King Kamala]

Meanwhile, some might argue that the gimmick closest to his own IRL personality is his on again, off again BFF's first gimmick of "Dizzy" Ed Boulder

 

[Valeyard]

I mean going back, he has always maintained the Thunderlips edge, even when being an alpha super hero cockstrong good guy. Hogan's really kept gimmick roots.

 

[alkeiper]

I feel like I heard a commentator make the same “hates team sports” excuse about a different wrestler. That’s vague, but I really get the impression it’s common bullshit.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1533350247983988736

Lawler was last moving decent numbers in Memphis in 88 I believe, even though they had an ESPN deal and a good roster in 90.
SMW had a 50 some year old as his most viable babyface who worked every few months. (RnR Express were also not together when SMW opened)
Terry Funk was the heart of ECW, and Sabu was a phenom, but their was a lot in the whole package.
UWF and AWF had a slew of older talent. (Not the weekly towns concept either)
Dusty couldn't move tickets in 1989 in his former hot bed in Florida.
Global had a bunch of established dudes and young guys with potential. Patriot and Eddie Gilbert weren't going to draw week in and week out in Texas and whatnot.
Am I missing a good answer?

 

[LaParkaYourCar]

Here's my review of WCW SuperBrawl IX.

https://classicwrestlingreview.com/2022/06/05/superbrawl-ix/

 

[King Kamala]

1993 in Southern wrasslin' JYD! Sheiky Baby! Big Boris! Austin Idol, Plus SMW cameos and Well Dunn looking like they are in Demolition gear thanks to the VHS degrading.

Boris tries to put over escaping the figure four as a big deal. How quant in a world where ECW is forming. The Sheik of Iron is still clubbin! JYD is only a few weeks away from getting yet another WCW run. Wrestling is weird.

It's p. amazing that as thoroughly cooked JYD was almost a decade earlier that he was still an "indie draw" (and getting occasional comeback shots in WCW) through the mid '90s. It's a testament to his charisma.

Am I missing a good answer?

Wrestling was so toxic in North America in '93 that I don't think there IS a good answer. WWF and WCW were having their worst years ever. I honestly don't know if anything could have drawn. On a national scale, not only was its reputation damaged by scandal but just the fact that its peak in pop culture relevancy had passed. On a regional scale (more relevant to Austin Idol), they were probably still burnt out from sad decline and no-shows during the dying days of the territories.

 

[King Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1533483265037848576

this thread is a gift that keeps on giving. Thanks @BruiserBrody

 

[King Kamala]

Referencing Lenny Lane in the WCW thread got me wondering.

What was the last phantom title change? Seems like it's something that'd be impossible in the internet age but I feel like WWE did it for some minor titles in the '00s?

 

[Epic Springs]

I don't recall any recent phantom title switches but WWE occasionally still flips titles at house shows, the most recent being Andrade being Mysterio for the US title at MSG right before the pandemic.

Are there any noteworthy title switches that aren't documented on video? The most famous example is probably Patterson's IC title win (IF it happened).

 

[King Kamala]

Lenny Lane "losing" the WCW Cruiserweight Title to Psicosis in October '99. Which is a match that never happened. Turner Broadcasting just demanded WCW drop the West Hollywood Blondes angle then on the next Nitro WCW said Lane lost the title to Psicosis at an untelevised show the previous weekend. Poor Psicosis then immediately lost the title to Disco Inferno.


Poor Psicosis. Such an underrated cruiserweight and he only gets a BS reign that lasts less than a day!*

Lenny Lane winning the WCW Cruiserweight Title was IMO where the division jumped the shark. AND YET, Lenny Lane would look like Rey Mysterio compared to a lot of the people who would win the title after him...

*Looking at Wikipedia- it looks like Psicosis got another reign before this that lasted a week which makes me feel marginally better. He deserved more than a week but it's good knowing fake beating Lenny Lane wasn't his ONLY title win.

 

[LaParkaYourCar]

Here's my review of WCW Uncensored '99.

https://classicwrestlingreview.com/2022/06/12/uncensored-99/

 

[King Kamala]

The WCW Thunder rewatch podcast I listen to ("What's New?" reacts only) is in March of 1999 rn actually. People forget that weird, brief window in late winter and Spring of '99 that was WCW's last gasp of being mildly competitive. Nitro was getting creamed in the ratings but buyrates and live attendance were still strong. SuperBrawl IX got almost as good of a buyrate as St. Valentine's Day Massacre and the Hogan/Flair house show series got their best house show attendance ever IIRC.

Monday Night Wars Ratings

The following is a list of ratings in the Monday Night Wars between WWF Raw and WCW Nitro between September 4, 1995 and March 26, 2001. Monday Night War WWE WCW

prowrestling.fandom.com

Ratings didn't consistently poop the bed until the Summer of Suck and they didn't fall below 3 until Russo came in, which contradicts him saying he caused a mild resurgence in WCW ratings during his first run.


I'm assuming the reason 8-30 and 9-6 were so close is cause RAW was pushed to 11 PM for US Open?

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1535998577583046656

Supposedly the Briscos loved Jake in GA because they were all about that party life.

 

[King Kamala]

Armstrong Alley is killing it with the obscure territory uploads. Vancouver is thought to be the worst territory. Most famous person to come out of the territory is probably a teenaged Mauro Ranallo.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Armstrong Alley is killing it with the obscure territory uploads. Vancouver is thought to be the worst territory. Most famous person to come out of the territory is probably a teenaged Mauro Ranallo.

Tenta was there.

All Star Wrestling 1986 - John Tenta, featuring Mauro Ranallo

A 16-year-old Mauro Ranallo (The Fight Network, EliteXC) does color commentary on a 1986 Vancouver match. A surprisingly slim John Tenta ('Earthquake') & Ric...

www.youtube.com

and Hawk

https://twitter.com/allan_cheapshot/status/962833033140334593?lang=en

 

[King Kamala]

Obviously, more people than Mauro passed their way though Vancouver. I'm just talking about wrestlers who first established their presence in that territory.

Tenta started in All Japan I'm assuming he worked Vancouver as a low pressure hometown gig between Japanese tours.

It does look like Hawk had his first matches in Vancouver so good call there. It looks like Piper got his start in the Tomko territory too.

 

[alkeiper]

Piper got his start under Tomko but it was while Tomko was promoting Winnipeg under the AWA umbrella. Vancouver before '77 was run by Sandor Kovacs and Gene Kiniski.

 

[King Kamala]

More weird territories!?

I mentioned California Championship Wrestling in (IIRC) the AWA thread thread as one of the more obscure promotions to get national TV time during this '80s wrestling boom. And hey, they're using Afrika Bambaata and The Art of Noise as music so they're probably hipper than '86 AWA.

At the very least, @BruiserBrody and whoever else here watches Young Rock might get a gig out of this.

 

[Lazgistics Supervisor]

Zac Efron to lead A24 film about the Von Erich wrestling dynasty

Efron joins writer-director Sean Durkin's follow-up to his 2020 film, The Nest

www.avclub.com

Probably going to be Kerry, because I can't see him as Fritz or David. Maybe Kevin.

Freebirds casting is going to make or break, IMO.

 

[King Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1537786729436004353

 

[LaParkaYourCar]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1537786729436004353

Ah, yes! The Wild Salmon and the IRONSKEIK. Two of my favorites on one card!

 

[BruiserBrody]

Is there any reason they didn't make it to Summerslam as a match? Dibiase pivots to Dusty at the event and Bossman was plugged into Tugboat's spot.

 

[snuffbox]

They wanted to leave about half the roster off the Summerslam 90 card for some reason.

 

[King Kamala]

SummerSlam '90 is low key one of the oddest shows in WWF history. That awful Vince McMahon-Roddy Piper announce team, Ultimate Warrior being the first B show World Champion and getting overshadowed by Hulk's comeback, the weird backstage vignettes.

 

[LaParkaYourCar]

Here's my review of ECW Living Dangerously '99.

https://classicwrestlingreview.com/2022/06/19/living-dangerously-99/