stab posted:

Wasnt he also in ECW like a month before or something nuts?

El Gallinero Gros posted:

Let's remember that a somewhat unknown Chris Jericho got a 300K/yr deal despite only being a known quantity in Japan.

Hedgehog Pie posted:

I think maybe the confusion arises from Jericho saying in his first book that he could have gotten $300k had he asked for it, and in hindsight regretted not doing so. At the time he thought he was being sensible, before he realised just how much money Bischoff was throwing around and that "WCW" and "sensible" didn't really go hand-in-hand.

Speaking of Jericho books and on-topic, was it in one of them that he described HBK showing up backstage on the go--home Raw for WM17 in 2001 (the simulcast show)? He was wearing the Doink make-up and HBK sees him:

HBK: "So you're Doink now? I don't like it, they never should've made you Doink."
Jericho: "No, it's just for tonight, I'm ambushing Regal as part of an angle."
HBK: "Hmm, I don't like it. They never should've made you Doink."

Then he just wanders off and eventually passes out in Vince's office? Or is this just a funny untrue story I heard elsewhere?

quote:

The angle continued as I constantly outsmarted Regal with my immense babyface cunning. When a Legends Battle Royal was booked for WrestleMania, featuring such household names as Typhoon, Duke “the Dumpster” Droese, and Doink the Clown, Regal was doing an interview and was interrupted and attacked by Doink, who ended up being me in disguise.

I had just applied the intricate clown makeup and was waiting to do my run-in when Shawn Michaels walked past me, gave a double take, and walked back.

Shawn was one of my all-time favorites, and (along with Owen Hart and Ricky Steamboat) was my main inspiration to get into the wrestling business. I came to the WWE with the hope of working with him even though he was only with the company part-time at that point and still battling the demons that were holding him back in his life.

Shawn got in my clown face and gave me a Larry David–esque suspicious stare, and I noticed he was pretty wasted.

“What’s going on, Chris?” he said, his eyelids drooping and his speech slurring. “Are you doing the Doink gimmick now?”

“No, I’m just doing it for tonight. I’m ambushing Regal.”

“So you’re gonna be Doink now?”

“No, no. I’m just doing it for one night as a way to surprise Regal.”

“But why do you have to be Doink?” he asked again, slowly swaying back and forth.

“But I’m not Doink, Shawn. It’s just for tonight.”

“But why would they make you Doink?”

I felt like Abbott and Costello, except instead of Who’s on First, the routine was Who’s on Drugs, and it wasn’t me.

“I’m not Doink. It’s just an angle for tonight.”

Shawn shook his head and waltzed away. “I don’t like it, they should never have made you Doink.”

He passed out in Vince’s office later that night and was fired.

disaster pastor posted:

It's in chapter 10 of Undisputed:

Hedgehog Pie posted:

Why was HBK even there?

Hedgehog Pie posted:

Thanks! I was almost certain that it was from one of his books but I'm never sure of anything these days.

Why was HBK even there?

MassRafTer posted:

I have no problem believing Shawn was mouthing off before the match and Undertaker acted like a tough guy, Shawn was so hosed up that it was the first time Undertaker could have beaten someone in a fight, he was probably very excited.

Royal Updog posted:

Without a TV slot, how much was WCW really worth? Like how many people sub to the network for archive stuff as opposed to the PPVS? Is it even half a million dollars worth?

Hedgehog Pie posted:

Speaking of Jericho books and on-topic, was it in one of them that he described HBK showing up backstage on the go--home Raw for WM17 in 2001 (the simulcast show)? He was wearing the Doink make-up and HBK sees him:

HBK: "So you're Doink now? I don't like it, they never should've made you Doink."
Jericho: "No, it's just for tonight, I'm ambushing Regal as part of an angle."
HBK: "Hmm, I don't like it. They never should've made you Doink."

Then he just wanders off and eventually passes out in Vince's office? Or is this just a funny untrue story I heard elsewhere?

Royal Updog posted:

Without a TV slot, how much was WCW really worth? Like how many people sub to the network for archive stuff as opposed to the PPVS? Is it even half a million dollars worth?

Vagabundo posted:

The story I heard was that he was supposed to play a part in the finish of the Taker v. HHH match at WM17, but turned up at the venue so hosed up that the ending of the match had to be changed on the day.

Cheese Thief posted:

Can this thread believe that WCW really sold for 2 million? Jesus. You'd think Bitchoff could have went ahead and bought it on his own for that price.

About Rude, I'm too young to remember him. All I know is he and Bobby didn't get along.
The rumor was Rick shot up viagra into his penis and it got infected. I won't continue the story in full but, yea, probably not true.

DeathChicken posted:

Rude also open hand slapped Ultimate Warrior into unconsciousness when he wouldn't stop being stiff in their matches. Making a former champion armwrestler mad is dumb, turns out

Breitbart Is Rightbart posted:

Konnan was just kind of weird in general.

I'm watching Nitros from the same time period. What happened to The Leprechaun who joined the Dungeon for one episode then never appeared again?

Hirez posted:

davidbix posted:

This reminds me: Did Kathie Lee Gifford REALLY blame Rude for her miscarriage or was that just a weird misunderstanding of something she DID say?

SatoshiMiwa posted:

Piper honestly was probably more full of shite than Hogan and Inoki at times

quote:

It was billed going in as the "Nitro you would never forget," and after the 3/3 show from Atlanta's Omni, WCW would just as soon hope to God that slogan isn't the case.

In front of the first legitimate turnaway crowd at the Omni for pro wrestling in so long that nobody can even remember the last time (even for the live Starrcades in 1985 and 1986 when Starrcade was considered the NWA card of the year, the Omni didn't actually sellout so I think you'd have to go back to the 70s), it was the night when Roddy Piper proved himself to not be bullet proof and WCW unleashed an ill-fated angle that failed by Loch Ness proportions, a failure that virtually everyone in the organization immediately recognized as it was going on.

....

In a 20-minute long angle which was Piper's idea to introduce his four-man team for the Uncensored three-team cage match main event, Piper brought out six men and said he'd ask the fans to vote thumbs up or thumbs down on them and that they could pick his team. To say the idea was a catastrophe would be putting it mildly. The shock was that the fans picked up on how bad it was with Piper--the man who could give interviews that were total nonsense and his personal charisma was such that fans would think they were classics--the man who could go out and do almost nothing in the ring and his presence was such fans thought they were seeing a classic match--and the man who could do the world's most embarrassing pretty boy music video on a wrestling show and still get over as a tough guy with absolutely no negative effects on his popularity--as the main focal point. The original plan for the Uncensored main event was a three-team deal with the NWO team, the WCW team, and finally introducing Sting's team. However, with Piper getting such a huge reaction and the success of the show at the Cow Palace with Piper's name clearly being the key one in making the difference and popping the huge event, WCW decided to prolong the Sting angle once again and use a Piper team as a replacement. Piper's idea, that they decided to accept since he has full creative control of his own angles under contract, was to do the show that he originally wasn't scheduled to be part of provided he could pick his team as a shoot to give some of his friends work in wrestling. So he outdid Hogan in that regard. Piper wanted to pick John Tenta, who was his friend who he wanted to help get back into WCW as a shoot since WCW had stopped using him, and also get work for his bodyguard/gofer and a friend of his from his straight-to-video action movies. The idea was a disaster from the start.

The segment started with Piper saying that he would fight six guys, one at a time, and he wanted the fans to pick which four he kept, although in typical Piper fashion, he didn't quite make that clear either. The first guy brought out was a huge bodybuilder from the Power Plant in Atlanta, who Piper wasted in a matter of seconds and the fans voted thumbs down. The second guy was an even bigger bodybuilder from the Power Plant (it's good to see what the future of WCW wrestling looks like) who in his 40 seconds of fame showed real potential before getting wasted. Another thumbs down--as planned. This is where the problems started. After two huge bodybuilders, they followed it up with a cross between Gabe Kaplan (how's that for a dated reference) and a Leprechaun wearing boxing gloves. This was the man joked behind-the-scenes in WCW as being Piper's "Bruti" (in reference to Ed Leslie as Terry Bollea's permanent sidekick, gofer and what have you)--his real life traveling partner and bodyguard. After some of the worst fake boxing sequences you'll ever see, with Piper trying to make his buddy look good, the fans booed it roundly--but they were supposed to cheer. So Piper said he thought the fans were being too hard on him and they went at it again. By this time, the guy was totally blown up so he had to take off his gloves because he couldn't even lift his arms. The fans booed it worse even though he was supposed to be cheered. Then Piper brought out a tall guy doing a martial arts gimmick, who was an actor friend of his in real life. By this time, Piper was totally blown up and the guy's acting skills in doing a live kick boxing fight scene made Glacier look like Peter Aerts. By the time Tenta came out, billed by announcer Mike Tenay as a former sumo wrestler (which is a shoot), the segment was gone, but it wound up with all three members of Piper's team fighting each other with about as much intensity as little girls pillow fighting. Backstage while this was going on, the thought process was largely that they were in danger of not only ruining their upcoming PPV, making it a trifecta for the Uncensored gimmick, but of destroying Piper's future drawing power. There was talk of changing the planned finish of the show, where all three teams would be in the ring brawling with each other as the show went off the air, to having Piper's team destroyed and end the gimmick right there. But for whatever reason, probably because nobody could figure out how to exactly break the news to Piper, the originally planned show ending took place.

The plan, and this can certainly change on seven days notice since it requires Piper's okaying it, is to attempt to get Piper to agree to dump the teammates from the show, and have Ric Flair and Arn Anderson go to him and give him Chris Benoit (whose injury angle will be shortened), Jeff Jarrett and Steve McMichael, which would pull the latter two away from their scheduled match with Public Enemy. As to whether any of this or all of this happens, stay tuned Monday. As of press time, Piper's team is still slated to be Tenta, the boxer who will be named Craig (his real first name) and the kick boxer named Layton (real name Layton Morse), who will be billed as some sort of a tough man contest champion. The NWO team will be Hogan & Hall & Nash & Savage, while the WCW team will be Luger & Giant & Steiners.

SatoshiMiwa posted:

Piper honestly was probably more full of shite than Hogan and Inoki at times

Tato posted:

Piper holding tryouts for his team of loving losers is one of my favorite bad Nitro segments of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro60nB6TzRc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZOKYLcwtEM

Ganso Bomb posted:

God, it's even worse than I remembered. I have almost zero fond memories of Piper in WCW.

Royal Updog posted:

almost all of piper's promos were incoherent because he was mentally unwell