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WWF: Hulkamania era (1984-`1992)

Valeyard said:
Piper and Marshall having a travel show in 1989 sounds awesome if only because you know he'd put Robin Leach in the sleeper.
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Update from the old newsletters:

Verne mucked up the deal by trying to make the show AWA-centric.
Why he had any say isn't mentioned. But I will stick with this is all Piper working the system to get a better deal with WCW or WWF.
 
snuffbox said:
30+ years later and it's still crazy to me they didn't put their first match on ppv.
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I know the official line was "Hogan-Flair didn't draw" except the first time through the circuit they did, plus I know many (including my dad) decided not to go because there was no way they weren't pushing it until Mania.
 
Brother Bruce has to be the lead waterpail carrier on that excuse, right?
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1992397690307489851

I was 4 years and 4 months old when this aired and I can remember watching this.

It's possibly my 1st true "memory" that locked in. I watched the Hogan/T/Piper/Lauper stuff in 85 but I only have vague memories of that era in compared to knowing I was horrified watching Savage's attack.
I can remember talking Hogan vs Andre with my friends in the neighborhood, but I don't actually remember seeing the angle itself.
- I remember the Team Andre promo with the heels stretching a Hogan stretch armstrong style figure *which terrified me) more than I can recall anything else regarding the SSeries build. I can't even recall seeing the Mega Powers form offhand, but I certainly watched it.
- Matilda being dog napped bothered me greatly.
- Man, after that it nothing may stick out past the Mega Powers splitting, which I relieved with my WWF thumb wrestlers for months afterward.
- When Bad News Brown brought out the snow shovel to attack Hogan on SNME, I can remember the terror I felt in the moment.
- Zeus no selling Hogan's chair shots stuck with me on the July SNME
- I think I almost cried when the Genius beat Hogan by CO in October. I remember when Mr Perfect rolled in the ring at the end of the match I thought it was a DQ since he had smacked Hogan with the scroll. Then NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Hogan lost!!!
- It's kind of weird the Earthquake squashing Hogan angle is not stuck in my psyche.

And all that crap was before I even turned 8.
 
So according to Steve Beverly's Sept 88 newsletter, Arn didn't want to quit JCP but Tully badgered him enough to quit along with him.

Remember, it boiled down to JCP's payoffs as much as it was Tully being sick of Rhodes' booking.

Single Tully feels kind of DOA in the WWF. Almost more likely to get over in a Genius like role of quasi wrestler given his size.

Maybe we get some alternative Brain Buster gimmick where new signees Terry Taylor or Hennig get put with Tully.
 
I may have covered this in my history pieces but I was just listening to an Aug 84 Between the Sheets....

- The Road Warriors were offered a WWF deal worth an inflation adjusted 1.5 million dollars to go with Vince. Verne put the AWA tag belts on them to try and butter them up.
- I'd guess Ellering would be part of the package deal. Supposedly WWF was in talks to find a role for Eddie Sharkey in order to get the Warrior's buddy a contract to suck up.
- I see the Warriors having a lot of the same issues they did with Verne with no shows to protest pay and booking. Who knows if they sniff a Baba deal and get antsy?
- They would be heels and basically slip into the Murdoch/Adonis slot. The Briscos would have to put up with the stiff work and no selling.
- Once Vince got the US Express and wanted a title switch... would the Warriors balk?
- The Warriors also mess up the work rate heavy tag team matches. They did historically draw better vs smaller heels, so there would be potential for things to work themselves out.
 
Try again with a little more money at the end of the year. Put them over the US Express at Wrestlemania in a better match. To keep Sheik/Volkoff a viable midcard tag team, put them over the Briscos down the card at WM, an additional better match, and a big-card sendoff for Jack and Jerry.
 
Interesting that they chose Davey for this handful of matches in Taker's first title reign. Also check that face pop for Taker! Obviously didn't fall of deaf ears.

 
Greetings from Allentown uncovered a forgotten feud: 2 weeks after Hogan gets squashed there's an inset promo from Rick Martel calling out Rugged Ronnie Garvin, who hadn't sniffed relevance since being squashed by Quake himself like 4 months earlier.

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Tugboat shames us for not writing to the Get Well Hulk yet on the same show: "Many of you have written in, but a lot more have not!" "We need millions of the little Hulksters to write in to help convince Hulk Hogan to come back"
 
When was Hogan in the right last, anyway? In the right, not on it.
 
BruiserBrody said:
Greetings from Allentown uncovered a forgotten feud: 2 weeks after Hogan gets squashed there's an inset promo from Rick Martel calling out Rugged Ronnie Garvin, who hadn't sniffed relevance since being squashed by Quake himself like 4 months earlier.

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Tugboat shames us for not writing to the Get Well Hulk yet on the same show: "Many of you have written in, but a lot more have not!" "We need millions of the little Hulksters to write in to help convince Hulk Hogan to come back"
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AI lied to me when I typed Martel Tugboat into my google bar to "save" it as I was heading to work and wanted to remember to post this hot news later. AI said something like "A picture of Rick Martel on a Tugboat is creating a viral joke as commentors discuss the WWF heel persona of Martel standing on a tugboat, which is also the name of a WWF professional wrestler from the time period"

I hit google images and nothing appeared of the sort
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2 weeks after the most famous Brother Love segment (Hogan being squashed) the guest was..... BORE-US ZUHKOFF!
 
This Andre/Warrior match from SNME is ugly as sin but the action is kinda nonstop with Andre especially working way harder than he usually was. It's pretty fun stuff. I'm positive I've seen it, probably many times over the years, but it's hitting right now
 
Valeyard said:
This Andre/Warrior match from SNME is ugly as sin but the action is kinda nonstop with Andre especially working way harder than he usually was. It's pretty fun stuff. I'm positive I've seen it, probably many times over the years, but it's hitting right now
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Yeah that card is loaded but that match is brutal. IIRC that's pretty much the strongest SNME card overall.

It's Andre's only high profile TV match from WM 5- until he leaves at 6. They knew Andre needed to be shielded in tag bouts. Hell even SSeries he lasts seconds.


I picture their 89 matches to be some how worse
 
June 23rd 90 Superstars not only has the debut of the Hogan tribute after getting squashed aka the greatest video WWE ever produced....but it has 2 heel team turns with no angle.

Power and Glory turned heel on Prime Time clips (and their face team run never made Superstars) and here they debut as heels shilling the WWF ice cream bars.

And the Demos big heel turn is..... Crush walks to the ring with them. Jesse Ventura laughs and knows his name.... and that's the turn.

They should have ran Demos vs Harts on SNME with Crush doing the switcharoo screw job to debut..... it would make the Summerslam story full circle.
 
I noticed your previous post of the early 1992 SNME first, Brody, and started thinking about how they did several turns (including Sid), debuts, and returns between fall '91 and spring '92. Along with Sid, there was the heel turn for Jake and the Undertaker going face, Piper returning to action (on TV), Flair comes in, Warrior returned at WM.

Go back less than 2 years and it was kind of a mess considering all the technology, experience, etc. 1990 was riddled with gaffes and self-inflicted dumbness for both companies. The two team heel turns mentioned above, not putting Bulldog on Survivor Series after being on TV for more than a month, etc...and of course WCW was racing them to the bottom the whole way. So many great wrestlers, hours of combined TV time every week, NBC and TBS specials, but I think the booking of 1990 probably factored into the overall downturn a bit.
 
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