WWF: Hulkamania era (1984-`1992)

[alfdogg]

 

[BruiserBrody]

New Wrestling History Grenade pod plays a clip where Roma and Powers are reunited late in the summer of 87. But they aren't dubbed the Young Stallions...they are called "The New York Power Company"

--
JYD cuts a promo mentioning how he got his start in the "Mid South area". Maybe with the UWF dead, he figured it was okay to bring it up again.

--
Tito cuts a promo and predicts Ted Dibiase will buy off a ref in his favor. Psychic!

 

[BruiserBrody]

Corny pod reports that the Rougeaus just did an interview with a Montreal radio station and claimed they quit at the start of 90 because they had been promised a title run and "Arn, Tully and Heenan politicked their way to it" Corny says Vince was never a guy to promise title runs so he doesn't buy it.
I would argue that when the Bulldogs and Rougeaus had their issues in the summer of 88, it makes sense that Pat Patterson would help smooth things over by promising to get them in the mix, but then Arn and Tully sign at the end of Sept and throw everything off.

 

[Valeyard]

80% of "Vince promised me x" is probably someone else promising shit assuming Vince cared. Always. That said the Rougeaus taking that spot doesn't feel out of place in the slightest and I'm a little sad Heenan didn't get to manage the all American boys.

 

[alfdogg]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1657835581458489344

 

[snuffbox]

They did p well with the Ultimate Warrior/Demolition 6 man tag formula for about 3 or 4 years there.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

The Warrior was one of the only people who was friends with Dynamite Kid (and vice versa).

I guess it might have been one of those instances where "Everyone else in the locker room thinks we're pricks so we should be friends. Also steroids."

 

[Valeyard]

Did Pillman cuck Warrior or was it the other way around?

 

[geniusMoment]

Warrior was with Melanie first. When Pillman married her the Warrior sent her a giant dildo as a wedding gift with a note stating she was gonna need it after marrying that pencil dick.

 

[Valeyard]

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1658595936602300417

So that’s what her, Macho King and Zeus were cooking in that cauldron that one time.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Some random oddities:

Ron Garvin's WWF TV debut was the Prime Time Wrestling the night before he wrestled on the AWA's SuperClash 3 PPV.
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Hulk Hogan cut several promos in the summer of 87 proclaiming his alliance with Oliver North. We should have known Hulk's dark side starting there.
---
WWF @ Tucson, AZ – Community Center – August 27, 1987
Nikolai Volkoff defeated the Dingo Warrior (sub. for Koko B. Ware)

Volkoff is losing the rest of the time to filler guys like Tito and HB Jim, so this was either done to test Warrior or the result is wrong.

 

[alfdogg]

Could have been a test I suppose but Warrior still hadn’t debuted on TV yet so it’s not that shocking. Rick Rude ate a fluke pin for TV jobber Jerry Allen around this time as well.

The Steiners worked a WCW/New Japan super show a week after appearing on Prime Time Wrestling.

 

[SuperMachine#1]

Could have been a test I suppose but Warrior still hadn’t debuted on TV yet so it’s not that shocking. Rick Rude ate a fluke pin for TV jobber Jerry Allen around this time as well.

The Steiners worked a WCW/New Japan super show a week after appearing on Prime Time Wrestling.

Also they taped two matches on Saturday Nights Main Event January 1988 where Rude wrestled JYD and the first match Dog went over Rude and in the second match Rude beat JYD. The reason why they taped the first match is because if Rude bolted and quit WWF Vince can bury Rude on tv by burying him with the washed up JYD. On YouTube there is an interview with JYD with a French announcer talking about him facing Rude on that show.

 

[strummer]

In early 1988 Beefcake is still feuding with Johnny V. and Valentine. Nearly a year after the Dream Team broke up. Beefcake's first year as a babyface was pretty underwhelming.

Also in early 88 you have Spivey, Sika, Bundy, Bees still around. Orndorf just left. Amazing the roster overhaul throughout that year.

 

[Valeyard]

They could've made Spivey into the Million Dollar Man.

 

[BruiserBrody]

In early 1988 Beefcake is still feuding with Johnny V. and Valentine. Nearly a year after the Dream Team broke up. Beefcake's first year as a babyface was pretty underwhelming.

Also in early 88 you have Spivey, Sika, Bundy, Bees still around. Orndorf just left. Amazing the roster overhaul throughout that year.

Beefer spent months working Johnny V around the horn. Valentine was annoyed with the Bravo team just running in place and threatened to jump to JCP in late 87, so he was branched off to work Beefcake to finally blow off that angle. Who knows if that affected Valentine getting a W at WM 4? He then got the big heat angle by crippling Superstar Graham to set up a Muraco run.

One of the old WM rewatch threads (Last year?) I listed all the name talent left off the card each year.

Spivey is an odd one. He came in as a raw, somewhat older prospect and replaced Windham in late 85. Then Rotunda quit, went to the AWA for a few months (long enough to miss a Mania payday but work Wrestlerock) and then came back to the WWF and Spivey for another run. (Spivey and Mike actually are part of the good guy squad that save Hogan in July after Orndorff turns heel and drops him with a couple of piledrivers).

Mike went back to Florida in early 87 and Spivey somehow turned heel. If you didn't watch Prime Time Wrestling, you may never have seen him.

Sika got screwed a little bit as Kamala quit over being asked to job to Hogan on SNME (Sika replaced him). Sika actually got a couple of SNME matches, so the Vince/Samoan love was shining through. \

IIRC Bundy quit due to movie opportunities (Richard Pryor's Moving) and Vince being mad about Bundy getting the CPU ad gig.

The Bees were definitely promised a push time and time again, but kept on that Hamster Wheel. Their SSeries win was likely to placate them after Strike Force beat the Harts in Oct and not them.

If Orndorff's arm didn't get messed up, we probably were heading for Paul/Rude at WM. Jake's angle with Rude was not done until AFTER Mania, which surprised me to realize a couple of WM threads ago.

 

[strummer]

If he had jumped I think Valentine would have got the Horseman spot instead of Windham. That's what he claimed a year or two back. He decided to stay after talking to Vince.

 

[Valeyard]

I love Valentine but he would've been a weak Horseman at that stage. He'd have fit but it would've been a total waste of a spot when Windham was ready.

Now it's always going to be too bad Orndorff never got to be a Horseman because he was made for it.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660846473133666305

 

[BruiserBrody]

1> Face Hogan being a dick isn't news, but GFA Live played a Rumble 89 era promo on their pod this week and Hogan declares he wants to win so he can be the number 1 contender. No wonder Macho Man was ready to punk him out!

2> An early Best of the WWF VHS shows a highlight reel of Hogan, Bruno, HN Jim, etc hitting finishers....in the middle of it all the WWF randomly tossed in Stan Hansen doing a lariat. They didn't plug any other non WWF talent.
By the time the video came out, there's a solid chance Hansen was in the AWA. (Came in Aug 85)

 

[BruiserBrody]

Per the Pro Wrestling Hand Grenade Pod:
WTF...apparently Paul Roma said in a shoot that Mr T was planned to become the Young Stallions corner man and in Aug 87, the announcers even mention Powers/Roma may need guidance to achieve the next level.... Could it be?

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

2> An early Best of the WWF VHS shows a highlight reel of Hogan, Bruno, HN Jim, etc hitting finishers....in the middle of it all the WWF randomly tossed in Stan Hansen doing a lariat. They didn't plug any other non WWF talent.
By the time the video came out, there's a solid chance Hansen was in the AWA. (Came in Aug 85)

I wonder if Hansen was on a very preliminary list of potential WrestleMania 2 opponents for Hogan.

That prompts a follow up question. How soon did WWF know that WrestleMania wasn't going to be a one off event? It looks like they didn't start hyping it up on TV until early March but WrestleMania I also only had a 3-4 week build IIRC.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Rose is probably headed nowhere because he was originally going to lose to Hillbilly at Wrestlemania.

I know I posted some Rose speculation in this year's WM rewind thread. There is some info from my notes on him.

"Vince wanted the Strong Machines-Cobra for the Wrestlemania show, but Inoki nixed it." - Mar 85 Eastern Wrestling News

The confused murmuring across the closed circuit arenas would have been huge.

I wonder if Hansen was on a very preliminary list of potential WrestleMania 2 opponents for Hogan.

That prompts a follow up question. How soon did WWF know that WrestleMania wasn't going to be a one off event? It looks like they didn't start hyping it up on TV until early March but WrestleMania I also only had a 3-4 week build IIRC.

Remember they wanted to start doing bi-monthly PPVs pretty quick after WM 1, so 2 would have likely been a tentpole event in the middle of lesser PPVs.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I assume the failure of The Wrestling Classic and general decline in later parts of '85 probably slowed their roll for a bit.

In addition, they only added a second annual PPV event over two and a half years later for the sole purpose of screwing with JCP.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1664361171036827648

A> Warriors overalls(!)

B> They tried to use a Savage/Warrior confrontation tease for the WBF PPV?

C> They plug Mike Quinn (? Already forgot if that is the right name?) having color and charisma, but do not have him cut a promo.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Special Guest - Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake - Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw

On this episode of Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, our hall of famers Gerald Brisco and John Bradshaw Layfield, welcome one of the most iconic WWE Hall of Famers to ever lace his boots, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

pca.st

@BruiserBrody cuts and struts.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Special Guest - Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake - Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw

On this episode of Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, our hall of famers Gerald Brisco and John Bradshaw Layfield, welcome one of the most iconic WWE Hall of Famers to ever lace his boots, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

pca.st

@BruiserBrody cuts and struts.

I have so many of these on back log and haven't watched a single one.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Sid Vicious and the 1992 Hercules Hernandez No-Sell Incident

The rise and fall of Hercules Hernandez in WWE culminated in a bizarre incident with Sid Vicious at Madison Square Garden in '92.

prowrestlingstories.com

Hercules no sold the power bomb like @BruiserBrody no sells my podcast suggestions.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1666937051273474048

Would Hennig on top in 93 changed anything? Nah? Might give him more good will not to leave a few months later and again in 97???