WWF New Generation Thread III

[BruiserBrody]

Is there a reason the Phantasio match made it to TV? Were they actually high on the gimmick or was it a weak taping cycle or something?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1874611472820822381

 

[Valeyard]

Dude should go on the indies as Danhausen's human father.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Lots of fun stuff here. Dustin the video game nut. Shawn trying to die on the edge of the roof. Bret Hart keeping it 100 by telling the cameras he's burnt out on this shit. Taker and Kama chillin'. Balding Dan Spivey in the corporate offices. Taker's camera look after watching the video game being played. "Goo Goo Dolls" playing sending this video right to the heart of 1995. Razor playing with Zombie Taker while Callaway tries to sink into kayfabe. Love seeing the little kid mark out for Razor in the hallway. Yoko having his hair did up by Fuji. Bucky Beaver cameos. Bret breaks kayfabe and chats with Lawler.
All that time and money spent for the intro (Sept 95) and Nash is about to be ousted as champ, and Dean Douglas and Mercy won't make it to January.
Poor Yoko having to climb ALL those stairs at his girth. Ditto Fuji with his knees.

 

[AA484]

I wasn't sure where to put this and I hate tagging people in posts but I'm sure he wants a distraction from the ring of fire that is next door to him. I thought this may be of interest to you, @909:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1876366418360537512

 

[909]

Yeah for sure I'm gonna pick that up.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Topic on the Stick to Wrestling FB page was why the Million $ Corp didn't work. I liked this answer:

The thing about the Million Dollar Corporation is, it's hard to define what they were doing.
The Four Horsemen--they're banding together to make sure Ric Flair keeps the World Title at all costs, with everyone working together to get the other belts and consolidate the power.
The nWo--They're a group of interlopers who basically snuck into WCW and are now working to tear it down from the inside as revenge for the fans being disrespectful to Hulk.
The Million Dollar Corporation's whole thing was DiBiase makes the "money" gesture with his fingers, the guys join his stable, and we hate them for selling out. How are they selling out, though? And how is being aligned with Ted DiBiase as your manager any more lucrative than being aligned with another manager or no manager?
Also, nobody was really different by aligning themselves with Ted DiBiase, they were all basically the same characters they would have been without him. Sid was Sid, King Kong Bundy was King Kong Bundy. Imagine Bundy coming to the ring in a tailor-made suit and sunglasses with a cigar and a woman on each arm. THEN you have something; DiBiase's influence actually changes the guy.
Tatanka is the best example of this. He turned heel and he was still the same guy, in the same tights, and really the same gimmick, except now he sneers. When he turned heel at Summerslam '94, the very next night on RAW, Ted DiBiase should have introduced "The new member of the Million Dollar Corporation...CHRIS CHAVIS!" And he should have walked to the ring with a suit and a crewcut and diamonds on his fingers and just conducted himself like a white Wall Street asshole and completely betrayed the heritage he was no longer proud of.

Volkoff did do the humiliation angle, but otherwise this is pretty accurate.

I'll always like the idea of Duke the Dumpster getting paid off to turn heel and show up clean shaven in a suit. (As he did in a WWF mag fluff piece)
The logical angle would be for Dibiase to be mad that his UnderFaker was exposed and destroyed and move into Taker vs Bigelow etc but Taker spent until December feuding with Yoko. Then the IRS angle kicked in with PAINFUL vignettes with IRS going to "John Dough's" grave to repo flowers. Which transferred right into the Bundy feud...into the Kama feud and the saga of the stolen Urn.

Kama actually had a look (not sure about needing the white shirt over the singlet (was that to cover up Shango tats?) and maybe had the best chance to actually be elevated from the Taker rub.

The whole product was so lame, who knows if ANYTHING would have gotten properly over.

----
This whole house show is horrifying, but Volkoff vs Mantaur has to have caused some sort of suck vortex Iowa has never fully recovered from

WWF @ Sioux City, IA – Municipal Auditorium – August 27, 1994
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Abe Schwartz (sub. for Rick Martel)
Jerry Lawler vs. Duke Drose
Lex Luger vs. the Barbarian (sub. for Crush)
The Smoking Gunns vs. Well Dunn
Nikolai Volkoff vs. Bruiser Mastino (sub. for Virgil)

 

[Valeyard]

The problem is that Dibiase stopped doing Million Dollar Man things in 1989, really. At latest 1990 when he bought Sapphire that coat.

The bigger problem is that he could never get comeuppance due to his injuries and thus there would never be a satisfying moment for literally any feud. Even forgetting he was a shockingly shitty manager, he needed to eat a forearm or a tombstone or a flying headbutt for any satisfying end to work. It was just sad.

 

[BruiserBrody]

I main evented Raw and starred in Die Hard before ditching it all for art career

Phillip Thies may not be a household name but, to a generation of WWE fans, Damien DeMento is the stuff of legend. His professional wrestling career was startlingly brief – at least in the big time…

talksport.com

 

[BruiserBrody]

I didn't realize the Rougeau Bros have been estranged since 1994. It was at least partially due to Jacques retiring in a special show in Oct of 94 (beating Pierre in Montreal in front of 18K) and then turning around 2 months later and trying to get himself booked in WCW, leading to the WWF countering his efforts since he was under contract.
Ray came out publicly against his brother and gave a WWF rah rah speech since they were signing his paychecks.

Ray and Jacques will do conventions, but aren't really talking.

 

[BruiserBrody]

I think about Mr Perfect's aborted comeback in 1996 way too often. I think it may have something to do with it being during my WWF dark period after Superstars left syndication in Sept 96 until I started getting RAW and PPV tapes from my cousin in March of 97.
--
There's a solid chance the only plan was to try and get HHH some heat and all the speculation about Hennig doing this or that is overblown. They used Mr Hughes for a hot second before Chyna came on.

There could be a situation where it DOES lead to HHH annoying Perfect (his consultant) with a few too many comments about being the greatest IC champ of all time. Finally during one promo HHH mentions he's even better than Mr. Perfect ever was and we get a brief side eye from Hennig to set the stage. Perfect can turn on HHH to help set Miavia win the title, leaving HHH to face Hennig at WM.

Another scenario could be Perfect gets switched out for Chyna after a couple of months. Maybe Hennig can seek Chyna as a replacement to deal with Marlena's antics since he can't smack a woman. Or Hennig gets weirded out by Goldust and bows out.
---
With Perfect floating around in 97, anything is possible with Russo, but perhaps instead of Honky, we get Perfect looking for his Perfect protege and instead of a shitty Rockabilly, we get a more serious Billy Gunn push. That could mess up the New Age Outlaws and DX, we'd be none the wiser.

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

His aborted comeback in 1994 is even funnier. He costs Luger the match at Wrestlemania, does a promo on Raw and decides "nah..." and disappears for over a year.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Heel Perfect being smarmy with Owen and working Kid, Bulldog and Bret sounds fun. Maybe he can get the token World title run from Bret to Diesel.

 

[Valeyard]

I'd put money on HHH/Perfect being pretty much what HHH does until September. Variations on Perfect/Mero and Perfdct/Rock until a WM match with HHH. A Perfect feud fills the space of the Goldust and Foley runs, unless the matches are embarrassing, which they wouldn't be. Rock probably doesn't get the IC title until the fall, too. Face Perfect could also fill the Patriot's role super easily. But Corporate Perfect is what's up.

1994 needed him, though. You can definitely make a case for his bailing derailing Tatanka's career, honestly. 1995 and a Diesel program go without saying.

 

[Hawk 34]

Razor and Perfect feuding again but switched also rocks in 94 also probably sends Shawn into a tizzy to the point they may cut bait for good this time so we get Shawn in WCW in 95.

 

[Brocklock]

Shawn in the Dungeon of Doom in a Heart themed lucha outfit named Heartbreak please

 

[Valeyard]

Did Perfect not get along with the Clique? For some reason I thought he was on the nice list with them

 

[Hawk 34]

Did Perfect not get along with the Clique? For some reason I thought he was on the nice list with them

No doubt that they enjoyed their trips on
Lake Have-a-Soma equally but Shawn probably eventually would have done Shawn shit and lost favor if Perfect was in his spot.

 

[Valeyard]

I'm not sure. Like if it transitions to Razor/Perfect they just pull the trigger on the Diesel feud at the same time. Probably get some banger pre Outsiders/PerfectShawn shit along the way. But I think more likely Jarrett loses his spot in the Razor feud at the end of the year.

 

[Valeyard]

Basically as long as the Clique work each other in the upper card i don't think it's as bad.

 

[BruiserBrody]

No doubt that they enjoyed their trips on
Lake Have-a-Soma equally but Shawn probably eventually would have done Shawn shit and lost favor if Perfect was in his spot.

I think the Rockers and Curt bonded in the AWA. Larry Nelson's book spoke of a certain motel on the loop that turned into an orgy of sex, drugs and booze every month.

 

[alfdogg]

Was there any interaction at all on TV between Perfect and Flair in 2002?

 

[BruiserBrody]

Was there any interaction at all on TV between Perfect and Flair in 2002?

Looking at results, there doesn't seem to be a opening for such a thing. Other than a match with Austin, Perfect is hanging out on the bottom 3rd of the card.

I enjoyed seeing he finished up the run having AWA rematches with Lawler in mixed tags.

 

[Valeyard]

Not putting them together again was a big mistake. Perfect had nothing to offer as a full time guy, so why not make him Flair's stooge? Let him get pissed on instead of Arn.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Not putting them together again was a big mistake. Perfect had nothing to offer as a full time guy, so why not make him Flair's stooge? Let him get pissed on instead of Arn.

Maybe they figured out quick Curt was coked up or whatever and didn't bother moving him up the importance level where he could be a liability.

2002 was still a loaded loaded loaded roster.

 

[Valeyard]

Oh he was pretty worthless from an in ring perspective but as an occasional guy and corporate stooge character, he works. He could still be funny and bump, which is all you need for that role.

 

[alfdogg]

The IWC was hyped for that Austin-Perfect match when it was announced. Sad neither guy was into it at the time.

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

Perfect had some fun matches on Heat during this time. He wrestled Edge and actually got to redo the iconic Perfect Plex with Big Show.

Glad Hennig got one last big payday at Mania 18 even if it was on the pre-show.

 

[BruiserBrody]

New from the Vault:

4:33 - Crush vs. Berzerker - Erie, PA, Nov 23 1992 14:45 - Earthquake vs. Repo Man - Dayton, OH, Nov 24 1992 23:26 - "Cooking for the Single Man" with Yokozuna 37:45 - Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (Ladder Match, I-C Title) - Portland, ME, Jul 21 1992 56:13 - Bret Hart vs. Kamala (WWF Title) - Louisville, KY, Oct 28 1992 1:10:28 - Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart (WWF Title) - Saskatoon, SK, Oct 12 1992 1:44:00 - Undertaker vs. Razor Ramon - Beaumont, TX, Jan 4 1993

 

[strummer]

Just watched that. There's an odd exchange during Bret/Flair where Alfred questions what the business arrangement between Flair and Perfect is about. They had been aligned on TV for a year at that point. No idea what Alfred was thinking there and Gorilla just directly answers him. "He's his executive consultant!"

 

[Valeyard]

That just sounds like Alfred not knowing what to say or if he's a heel so he says some random shit. It's his Coliseum Video default.

Posting these in full is the best thing they've ever done and I hope they get the library up, because I don't see these things making the jump to another streaming service they don't own.