This Day in Pro Wrestling History

[BruiserBrody]

This is right up there with Hogan/Warrior II for “most disappointing rematches of all time”.

For someone who is was one of the most beloved performers in pro wrestling, Hogan has done a really poor job of reading the room for the past 30 years (besides first year of the nWo).

I'm not sure what you mean in this context. The first match a year earlier was epic, but from what I recall even the TSM of the day wasn't feeling this rematch. Then they added Sylvian to the mix, and we all got to speculate if he got the gig for pegging Pat Patterson.
For the WWF, it does make sense to try and catch lightning one more time and run a rematch. Hogan/Vince got more build for their ill fated WM main event.
This match also correlates with what I believe is my final WWF/E card I attended as my buddy who loves the Rock went with me to a SD! taping and we figured he would see Rocky and I'd finally see Hogan in person. Then all we got was a Rock pre-tape.
Sadness.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1629109433681817602

cc @Valeyard

 

[Valeyard]

Groundbreaking gimmick though.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1632394722059714564

Couldn’t know it then but this was the beginning of the InVasion tbh. I really like ‘01 JR and Heyman together.

 

[strummer]

I still remember that night. I had just come back from a night class and turned on Raw about 45 minutes in and heard Heyman's voice. I can't remember if I knew he was going to be on (2001 Dave def. would have known). An exciting time maybe for the last time in the attitude era.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I think the reason why I love X-7 so much is it cause it feels like the series finale for the Attitude Era. Heyman showing up was the third to last episode and the last night of the Monday Night Wars was the second to last episode where everyone is like “Oh snap. WTH is gonna happen in the LAST episode!?”

 

[Valeyard]

I was pissed Lawler was gone at the time, but man Heyman was the best. He brought out the best in JR.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Outside of a few moments here and there, JR was never really the same once they brought King back IMO. It was a gradual but steep decline (which continues to this day)

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

JR/Heyman is my GOAT WWF/E team.

 

[Valeyard]

JR acting legit angry at Heyman for not even doing anything too bad to yummy yummy fruity my ass era JR is crazy

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1632394722059714564

Couldn’t know it then but this was the beginning of the InVasion tbh. I really like ‘01 JR and Heyman together.

Best Twitter reply was that Andrew Dice Clay wrestling gimmick who said something like "No one was more surprised than the wrestlers counting on paying their bills that month"

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

From what I remember, there was a brief 1-2 month period where Paul worked for WWF but was still trying to keep ECW together. I don’t think ECW was officially done until May ‘01. He may have even still been trying to do a March PPV when he debuted on RAW.

That’s cold comfort for the ECW guys who had their checks bouncing though.

 

[Epic for the Summer]

I think everybody knew ECW wasn't coming back once Heyman showed up on Raw.

Heyman's debut was actually spoiled on the dirtsheets during the day of the show and I remember calling on my wrestling buddies asking them to tune in.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

So reading those Observer recaps on Reddit.

The March ‘01 ECW PPV was supposed to be the weekend after Heyman appeared but the website quietly announced it was canceled a few days before the show.

The bankruptcy proceedings which ended ECW were in late April 2001. Thing that blew my mind about Dave’s notes were that ECW only had about 1% of the market share in 2000. I knew they had a small fraction of what WWF or even death throes WCW did but I was genuinely shocked to find out it was that small of a fraction. So I guess maybe Eric Bischoff’s rants about ECW’s significance to the business being overrated have a point.

(Runs away from @Laz )

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Significance =/= popularity.

 

[JHawk]

I think everybody knew ECW wasn't coming back once Heyman showed up on Raw.

I was actually the opposite. I thought when Heyman first showed up that he made some sort of deal with Vince to save the PPV.

Which I knew was wrong when it wasn't mentioned at all during the show.

But my first thought was "Son of a bitch, he pulled it off!"

 

[Valeyard]

I remember the rights to ECW were tied up a long time, too. Pretty sure that's why it was called the Alliance.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

So reading those Observer recaps on Reddit.

The March ‘01 ECW PPV was supposed to be the weekend after Heyman appeared but the website quietly announced it was canceled a few days before the show.

The bankruptcy proceedings which ended ECW were in late April 2001. Thing that blew my mind about Dave’s notes were that ECW only had about 1% of the market share in 2000. I knew they had a small fraction of what WWF or even death throes WCW did but I was genuinely shocked to find out it was that small of a fraction. So I guess maybe Eric Bischoff’s rants about ECW’s significance to the business being overrated have a point.

(Runs away from @Laz )

Using market share to prove/disprove is an awful way to argue ecw's impact. It's obvious in everything WWF/WCW did in the late 90's. AJPW had no market share in North America but that doesn't mean an entire generation of workers wasn't influenced by the 4 Pillars.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I mean sure but it still seems weird and hard to believe that ECW only had 1% of the market share in its last two years. They were outdrawing WCW in some markets at that point.

 

[Sex Machine Gun]

In 2001 I'm obsessively checking sites like wrestlingplanet.com, 1wrestling.com, and another I can't remember but it was my true go-to. That day I saw the Heyman news in the computer lab at school I went nuts.

Even during the peak boom period when so many people I knew were watching Raw and Nitro, I was always the one who was showing my friends this ECW thing. Being like, teenage boys, they always thought it was so cool and insane.

I remember the WCW acquisition night. It was on a weekend and late at night when it broke but damned if I'll ever forget the initial quickly slapped together splash image on wwf.com saying "WWF BUYS WCW" with the logos substituting for the abbreviation there. It was like, 11:30, midnight.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I mean sure but it still seems weird and hard to believe that ECW only had 1% of the market share in its last two years. They were outdrawing WCW in some markets at that point.

You also have to consider how absolutely HUGE the Fed got after WM14. Market share is about total income of the market, so ECW putting on shows in small venues (like the WORCESTER PALLADIUM) and actively losing money with the TNN deal hurts that figure. WCW was failing from summer '99 onwards, ECW hadn't turned a profit since 1997 (maybe even 1996), and the WWF was growing larger and larger from Montreal onward. 2000 alone saw its profits dwarf anything before it, and wouldn't be matched until 2008ish when the company was solidified as a permanent piece of Americana.

So if the US wrestling market from 1999-2001 was worth $1.5bil (and when the WWF went public in October of 1999 that figure seems fairly realistic, since Vince himself became a billionaire out of it), I don't think ECW being valued at $10-15 million is really that far out of reach.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1633481674511237121

I think that would have been the only match with Bruno vs Hogan.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Pre ‘82 Hogan would have been a great Bruno opponent. It is too bad that he didn’t get into his business until Bruno was in semi retirement. And if we are talking time travel scenarios, Hollywood Hogan Vs Bruno? It don’t get much better than that from a spectacle standpoint (“MINUS FIVE STARS!”)

 

[Valeyard]

I wish they'd run anything with Hogan and Bruno going into 1986 or thereabouts. Hogan and Bruno against Piper and Orton, or the Dream Team, or Bundy and Studd. I dunno. Then you let them main event MSG in a respect match where Hogan probably gets booed.

Bruno was awesome and I can't believe it took me so long to get into him.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

They really should have involved Bruno in WrestleMania 2 more than a cameo appearance in the WWF/NFL Battle Royal. Piper Vs Bruno would have been a better main event than the stupid boxing match.

 

[Valeyard]

Bruno/Savage with Steele kidnapping Liz so Savage can be counted out. They can to a hell of a ten minute match and build to more Savage/Steele stuff at house shows and big TV shows.

 

[BruiserBrody]

I wonder if they just figured it was best to keep Hogan away from Bruno's pops so the crowd didn't over shadow one or the other.

Bruno and Hogan's one tag match in Baltimore 8/29/87. Let's see if it was done to counter JCP:


JCP @ Baltimore, MD – Arena – August 15, 1987
Steve Cox defeated Thunderfoot #1
Lazertron fought Nelson Royal to a draw
Jimmy Valiant defeated Angel of Death
Sting defeated Eddie Gilbert via disqualification
Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy defeated Manny Fernandez & Shaska Whatley
The Road Warriors defeated Ivan Koloff & the Barbarian
NWA World Champion Ric Flair fought Ron Garvin to a draw at the 50-minute mark

JCP @ Baltimore, MD – Civic Center – September 5, 1987 (9,000)
The preliminary matches were drawn out to allow time for NWA World Champion Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and JJ Dillon to arrive from Philadelphia; the main event didn’t start until after 11:30 p.m.
Ron Simmons defeated the Barbarian
NWA US Tag Team Champions Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane defeated UWF Tag Team Champions Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner (sub. for the Freebirds) after Jim Cornette hit Armstrong with his tennis racket
Sting & Chris Adams defeated UWF TV Champion Terry Taylor & Rick Steiner when Sting pinned Steiner
UWF Western States Heritage Champion Barry Windham pinned Eddie Gilbert
UWF World Champion Steve Williams defeated Ivan Koloff via disqualification after Paul Jones interfered
NWA TV Champion Nikita Koloff fought NWA US Champion Lex Luger to a draw in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match after the 42-minute mark
Dusty Rhodes & the Road Warriors defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, & Tully Blanchard in a steel cage match when Road Warrior Animal pinned Blanchard

---
That first card is nothing special. The top 2 matches in Sept are excellent on paper, but JCP looks like it shot itself in the foot.
JESUS 42 mins of Nikita.

 

[strummer]

Bryan Danielson was cleared to return to the ring 5 years ago today.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Today is the 50th Anniversary of Andre The Giant's MSG debut.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

50 years ago TONIGHT at Madison Square Garden, Andre the Giant made his debut there! I shot the only known footage of this historic event. It was also... | By John Arezzi's Mat Memories | Facebook

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