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WWF: Hulkamania era (1984-`1992)

BruiserBrody

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[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6
Branching off another era to post random shit about since we have the New Gen and Austin eras


Solid proof that the post WM 4 Bret Hart singles matches w/ BN Brown were meant to the start of a featured role as a single.

Leaving Neidhart behind with Owen about to debut as the Blazer as the New Foundation a few years early isn't the worst thing for Bret and Jim.

Hart may not get his world title runs this way though as he'd wind up behind too many faces in 88/89. Once the roster thinned in 91 Hart was prime for a fresh start as a single.
Heading to WCW with Owen in 1990/91ish seems plausible if Hart winds up staying a single in 88.
 

King Kamala

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Bret had a bunch of aborted singles pushes. Between WrestleMania IV and VI, they really couldn't decide whether or not they wanted to keep him and the big Anvil together or not. Hence them being on separate teams at Survivor Series '89 too.

If Anvil had never gotten into that huge legal fracas with US Air which coincided with the roster thinning out, they may have played the "will they break up and go singles or should they stay together?" act until Bret got annoyed and went to WCW. Timing just worked out well. Anvil became unmanageable just as the roster thinned out enough to see the appeal of a Bret singles run.
 

BruiserBrody

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[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6
The Hart Foundation are pretty much slumming it at WM 4 considering the past year they had been in a big tag title feud with the Bulldogs, got to beat down Macho w/ Honky, Bret gets the big SNME showcase with Savage and then they headline a bunch of house shows teaming with Honky vs Strike Force and Savage in cage matches before WM 4..

Although had it been a traditional WM and not a tourney I'm not sure where they'd fall in line. Maybe a Rougeau tag match where Jimmy Hart does the double turn? Maybe a workrate six man vs Steamboat and the Young Stallions or Rougeaus (I'm going to say they worked the Bees too much the past 3 years to try and make anything fresh out of it) vs the Harts and Valentine or Danny Davis?

Some "Matches you didn't know existed" heading into WM 4:

WWF @ Manchester, NH - JFK Coliseum - March 1988
The Ultimate Warrior & Don Muraco defeated Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart

WWF @ Toledo, OH - Sports Arena - March 4, 1988
Randy Savage, Sam Houston, WWF Tag Team Champions Rick Martel & Tito Santana defeated WWF IC Champion the Honkytonk Man, Danny Davis, Bret Hart, & Jim Neidhart in a steel cage match; the last two men in the ring were Savage and Honky; Savage escaped over the top after hitting the flying elbowsmash
 

BruiserBrody

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[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6
Sam Houston sticks out like a sore thumb in that 8-man
Yeah it is odd that they ran Strike Force/Savage vs Harts/Honky in cage matches around the horn except for that night.

Even if it was something like Houston/Davis came late, they didn't need to be added to the show to make the fans not upset.

And Ohio wasn't exactly a place Houston would have been a "draw" of any sorts from his JCP days.
 

Valeyard

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Ew. Wash it before you post in it again.
 

Valeyard

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I always liked that someone thought the coolest thing for the kids would be cursive writing.
 

BruiserBrody

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[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6

10 year old Brody and my neighbor thought this was gross since we read the Apters and knew Sherri's last name was Martel. Obviously cousins/siblings! (Yes she went by that name in 87-88 but I think I was too young to recall and I'm not sure how often WWF Superstars would have spoke of her. )
 

King Kamala

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ICYMI...a week or two ago, I promised not to do any of those posts since they annoy everybody except @BruiserBrody . If any post would get me to break that promise, it'd have been that one.

Also how amazing is it that someone as fugly as The Hammer banged Madusa and Sherri Martel.

I guess the wrestling ring wasn't the only place where The Hammer needed 20 minutes to warm up.
 

Hawk 34

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Just promise me when The Hammer does a mukbang, I’m the first you come find.

Also, you don’t get the nickname Hammer for nothing. Who you think Flair learned from, pal!
 

Valeyard

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Fuckin' good for him. Dude's probably got the body count Flair says he does.
 

Hawk 34

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Should be noted that given the audience he typically involved himself with, looking like your lesbian aunt allowed him to cast a wide net.
 

King Kamala

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Thinking about the dark years for women's wrestling in WWF got me wondering...has it ever been explained why Rockin' Robin sang "America The Beautiful" at WrestleMania V?

Was it a case like Mean Gene at I where an actual famous singer dropped out last minute? A way to make up for her Vs Sensational Sherri not making the card? I'd like the full story behind the worst "America The Beautiful" in WM history.

I think about the way she phrased "And crown thy good with....brother hood." at least once every few months.
 

BruiserBrody

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[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6
I'm listening to an older Between the Sheets ep and they are elaborating on the WWF's original PPV plans.

Wrestlevision was supposed to take place every other month starting in Feb of 1986. It was going to be 12 dollars a PPV. Wrestlemania would still be in April.
That would have likely burnt out the Hulkamania era even quicker. Although one would think Hogan would only work half the PPVs???
Piper and Andre were both going away by the summer of 86, so the headliners would be interesting to see. Maybe WWF would have been forced to keep TIto stronger? The B show main events would have to carry a couple of PPVs in that scenario.

--
They also covered the fact that the Road Warriors met with Vince in Aug of 1987 but Vince would not give them a $$$ guarantee and Crockett was going to let them work Japan and promised them Starrcade would be the start of a big PPV money influx.
If the Warriors come in Sept/Oct 87, do they just wreck Demolition right off since this is before Demolition caught fire? The knock off gimmicks can be washed out to something new maybe? Strike Force likely is bypassed as champs then so Vince can hot shot it to the Roadies? The WWF tag teams were largely workrate guys at that point so the Warriors may have trouble finding opponents to draw serious money with for a bit.
That also creates a Butterfly effect as with the Road Warriors around, maybe the Ultimate Warrior will have to be repackaged. He was still a C show goof at this point but he had the muscles and war paint that would be too close to the Warriors.
 

alkeiper

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I think Hulkamania probably stays on the same path. The problem IMO isn't the pace of the opponents as much as where do you go after you've slayed Andre?

Road Warriors probably get the belts and that hurts Demolition as far as their long reign. I could see both teams co-existing though. Demolition was a take on the Lord Humungus character and they looked a little distinctive from the Road Warriors. The Powers of Pain looked like a straight Road Warriors knockoff
 

King Kamala

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It's fun to imagine some of the dumpy main events we would have gotten if the monthly PPV era started in '86.

More of a New Generation/Random WCW thread/Old School Observations posts but it's really weird that the monthly PPV era started in a creative and commercial low point for North American wrestling (ECW aside).
 

King Kamala

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Except I'm an idiot who can't read and @BruiserBrody /BTS was saying that BIMONTHLY PPVs would have started in '86. Tbh...that seems manageable. Hogan probably could have feuded with anybody in
86-'87 and gotten it over but he did have a very successful house show loops with Harley Race, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Killer Khan, etc. IC Title scene was also hot as hell and more than capable of headlining whatever second tier shows Hogan couldn't do.

I bet they could have pulled 6 PPVs off a year from 1986 to 1988. Maybe the decline would have started a year earlier but maybe not. They would have been more sure of whether or not to transition from Hogan to Warrior if they saw how Warrior could do as a headliner in a lower pressure situation.
 

Tino Standard

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If they went to bimonthly shows, odds are good that one of my favorite pieces of trivia would no longer be true: Hogan never had another successful WWF/WWE title defense on PPV after beating Andre at WM3.
 

Valeyard

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I don't know that the business could've supported that model at the time. PPV still wasn't as widely available as it would be and I don't see that price point sticking because of it, especially if you're still running SNME at the same time. Those shows would also put a big dent in the home video market, I think.

Road Warriors would have to wind up heels at some point if they came in in 1987. Otherwise it would just be Demolition, Rougeaus, and Islanders matches all the time.
 

Hawk 34

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Wait, let me get this clear.

There is a negative to having the Road Warriors repeatedly slap the piss out of Jacques?
 

Valeyard

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Absolutely not. It's a dream match for me. But the more it happens the less special it is, and the more the likelyhood of Jacques getting pissy happens so it could happen even less.
 
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