Cackling Co Pilot Kamala
Integral Poster
According to Cagematch, it is Prince Iaukea's older brother who also wrestled as Prince Iaukea in Portland and New Zealand in the '80s & early '90s.
Chat! culturecrossfire.slack.com
Kamala's Random WCW Bullshit thread
- Thread starter Cackling Co Pilot Kamala
- Start date
One Epic Winter (OEW)
Epic Reine
I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that WCW pushing Prince Iaukea in the late 90s was a direct response to WWE pushing Rocky Maivia right out of the gate. WCW wanted their own Islander star.
Cackling Co Pilot Kamala
Integral Poster
Yeah. Iaukea's push was a rare, huge misfire from '96-'97 WCW. Not that Rocky's initial push was great but at least, from the start, he was pushed as this great new superstar. Prince Iaukea suddenly went from random C/D show job guy to unstoppable new up and coming phenom.
One Epic Winter (OEW)
Epic Reine
I remember he was wrestling in street clothes right before he disappeared but don't remember him acting like Raven.
Cackling Co Pilot Kamala
Integral Poster
He feuded with Kwee Wee, who Paisley left him for. I vaguely remember it but I think it was more of just a generic Vince Russo era tough guy wrestling in street clothes deal more than an outright Raven ripoff.
Big Papa Paegan
L. A. Z.
Apparently, Iaukea's last match was vs. Big Vito on the 8/19/2000 Worldwide.
One Epic Winter (OEW)
Epic Reine
Cackling Co Pilot Kamala
Integral Poster
I got to say the “Purple Rain” knockoff was good by WCW knockoff theme standards.
BruiserBrody
Integral Poster
- Messages
- 31,469
- Reaction score
- 3,310
- Points
- 293
Is Kidman the only other C-show scrub that was eventually built into something meaningful? Not counting the last year when the training class went from Worldwide to Nitro headliners.
DDP was a JTTS, but he was never at that Nasty Ned level.
There's probably a good answer I'm blanking on.
Fake edit....Oh...Mero....
IIRC Scott Studd did some jobs from the USWA before being given the Riggs gimmick and the tag belts.
alkeiper
Welcoming our new insect overlords
Does Kenny Kaos count? He ended up being Rick Steiner’s partner.
Cackling Co Pilot Kamala
Integral Poster
At risk of getting #yelledat cause obviously he had a deep extensive career pre WCW but the first year or so of Norman Smiley’s WCW run, he was decidedly presented as a dull C show scrub before they were like “Hey! He’s FUNNY!” and became the comedy midcard great he is known as today. To the chagrin of some of the nerdier subsections of the IWC.
BruiserBrody
Integral Poster
- Messages
- 31,469
- Reaction score
- 3,310
- Points
- 293
That's kind of funny. Despite not being able to recall High Voltage getting any particular wins (or PPV spots) I've always put them a notch ahead of the State Patrol, Disorderly Conduct, Power Company level teams.
Looking them up... they wrestled EVERYONE on TV upon their debut. Heels and faces. They are several months in before a tag match with Enos/Slater as partners would suggest they were heels...but the opponents were the Dungeon of Doom! The very next day they work a TV match w/Renegade and Joe Gomez as partners to face the Horsemen. Same taping has Renegade removed and replaced with Jimmy Powers to take on the Dungeon.
There first win was months into their run against...the Starbuck Brothers????????????????
GOOGLE FU:
Same goes for Joey Maggs. Guy was a scrub on WWF and WCW, but then they put him with Teddy Long and..... and.....
I just looked it up. After Maggs joined Long, he had like 8 matches in all of 1996. No wins other than a dark match w/Disco. He was doing better in the lead up to getting long as he beat DDP, Disco and got over 5 mins on TV with US champ Kensuki Sasaki.
The results bring up another question.... Leilani Kai was in WCW? I totally blanked that out.
Cackling Co Pilot Kamala
Integral Poster
Leliani Kai was in WCW off and on for years IIRC. I think she worked Madusa for the WCW Women's Title in '96/'97 and lasted long enough to have a "VINCE RUSSO SUCKS" story.
One Epic Winter (OEW)
Epic Reine
It's really astounding how quickly WCW bailed on their women's division. Medusa returned with a ton of momentum by trashing the WWF woman's title and have a working relationship with several Joshi promotions. They crowned their first champ in Dec. '96 and deactivated the title 6 months later.
I think they planted the seeds of resurrecting some type of women's division in '99-'00 by hiring Molly Holly and Rhonda Singh but that quickly went nowhere.
I think they planted the seeds of resurrecting some type of women's division in '99-'00 by hiring Molly Holly and Rhonda Singh but that quickly went nowhere.
alkeiper
Welcoming our new insect overlords
I already love Leilani Kai but that’s god tier stuff right there.
Valeyard
Retarded sexuality and bad poetry.
- Messages
- 15,858
- Reaction score
- 7,431
- Points
- 253
WCW would never have had a good women's division. Zero faith despite access to the best talent in the world, especially coinciding with the cruisers and nWo. Best case would've been Liz winning it and it fading away until Russo brought it back to drop it to Lenny Lane or some shit.
I will say that I think ECW could've supported a women's division, though.
I will say that I think ECW could've supported a women's division, though.
alkeiper
Welcoming our new insect overlords
WCW never had an women’s act over enough to justify giving them time over dozens of other talents they also kept off tv.
BruiserBrody
Integral Poster
- Messages
- 31,469
- Reaction score
- 3,310
- Points
- 293
Back re-enforcement surgery to support the giant fake tits.
--
Add Kanyon to the scrubs who were then pushed list.
---
30+ years after the fact, it annoys me Funk did this here, and vs Flair at either the Clash or the Bash, without all the after effects that Flair suffered from the table spot.
alkeiper
Welcoming our new insect overlords
“Man With a Harmonica” was such a great theme to use for a wrestler.
BUTT
Kreese
- Messages
- 5,726
- Reaction score
- 965
- Points
- 218
Observer in '97 reports that they were considering making Madusa a valet for the Horsemen. Later there was talk of her becoming Bischoff's bodyguard. It seems like they retired her as a way to shut down the women's division as they felt it wasn't worth the money to keep flying women in from Japan. I assume her deal expired in December '97.
Surprisingly Dave reported in '98 that there was some talk between her and WWF about her being Mero's valet and feuding with Sable, the role that went to Jacqueline. And I absolutely believe Vince would have taken her back just to bury her and make her regret throwing the belt in the trash. But it didn't happen and she resigned with WCW in April of '99.
Surprisingly Dave reported in '98 that there was some talk between her and WWF about her being Mero's valet and feuding with Sable, the role that went to Jacqueline. And I absolutely believe Vince would have taken her back just to bury her and make her regret throwing the belt in the trash. But it didn't happen and she resigned with WCW in April of '99.
Madusa in a bikini would have absolutely gotten babyface reactions from attitude era crowds. I'm not saying it would have hurt Sable's push but I could see Sable not wanting to work with her for that reason or because of her being stiff in the ring
Big Papa Paegan
L. A. Z.
Ehhhh...not too sure on that one. Would Madusa have come in? I know Luna was doing great during her stint in '95, and Jazz was solid as hell in '99/'00, but was there enough of a talent pool to draw from who would've been willing to do the hardcore stuff (that they would've had to do lest they just get the usual Mutant chants)? The only FMW talent that were regularly being used in ECW were Masato Tanaka and Mike Awesome, with Megumi Kudo having retired in 1997 and most of their women being gone by then.
I just don't really see too many joshi stars wanting to do that kind of work in the States, and I don't think there was enough of the "women's wrestling BUT GOOD" mentality going on in the West until the Trish/Victoria/Lita days (which was after ECW closed). SHIMMER didn't even come along until 2005, and mainstream (used loosely) fans didn't really see women's wrestling as serious until the Gail Kim/Awesome Kong feud of 2007.
Was Sherri's and Madusa's segment in late 93 ECW supposed to lead to a match? Sherri had just been fired from wwf a few months prior and would sign with wcw a couple months later and Madusa was just about to sign with Vince. It was so a Paul E segment and I'd imagine Madusa did it as a favor to him. It was like an R rated version of the Madusa/Missy segment a year and a half earlier in WCW
Valeyard
Retarded sexuality and bad poetry.
- Messages
- 15,858
- Reaction score
- 7,431
- Points
- 253
I don't see it as any different than bringing Japanese or Mexican talent like they'd done previously. It doesn't need to be standard ECW shit, just working good matches and getting over. I think that happens enough, the crowd gets won over easily, at least in Philly. Lita's around, get her moonsaulting the shit outta people and she gets over. There was definitely young talent to tap into in the states as the next year alone showed as well as established acts in Mexico. It wouldn't be exactly a thriving division but it could've easily had traction compared to the big two.
Cackling Co Pilot Kamala
Integral Poster
BruiserBrody
Integral Poster
- Messages
- 31,469
- Reaction score
- 3,310
- Points
- 293
Who plays the Demon on RAW?
