|
It's hilarious to me how we have the PPV introduction to one of the silliest wrestling gimmicks of all time and Rarity's all, "Yeah, that's great. WHY IS VALENTINE HERE?!" Luckily, there's an even more ridiculous repackaged gimmick coming up in a couple shows.
|
#
?
May 7, 2018 01:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 07:39 |
|
|
Gavok posted:It's hilarious to me how we have the PPV introduction to one of the silliest wrestling gimmicks of all time and Rarity's all, "Yeah, that's great. WHY IS VALENTINE HERE?!" I’m having a hard time remembering what you’re referring to so I’m going to wait with baited breath!
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2018 02:49
|
|
|
Nystral posted:I’m having a hard time remembering what you’re referring to so I’m going to wait with baited breath! I've already come up with at least two potential gimmicks and there's probably a few that I'm not remembering. The early-to-mid 90's made your head spin when you only saw the Pay-Per-Views. "Who's that now? Why are they teaming up? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?!"
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2018 03:11
|
|
|
Nystral posted:I’m having a hard time remembering what you’re referring to so I’m going to wait with baited breath! Hint: Look at Emilio Estevez's IMDB page.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2018 03:48
|
|
|
Gavok posted:Hint: Look at Emilio Estevez's IMDB page. Gotcha. (Although I'm now I'm imagining Greg Valentine getting chased by a Green Goblin truck around the ring)
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2018 03:57
|
|
|
Gavok posted:It's hilarious to me how we have the PPV introduction to one of the silliest wrestling gimmicks of all time and Rarity's all, "Yeah, that's great. WHY IS VALENTINE HERE?!" It was a very pressing question 
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2018 05:33
|
|
|
The Trapezoid of Trepidation vs. Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior Special Guest Referee: Sid Justice Jesus loving christ. Is this feud actually still happening? I thought this I'd run out of incredulity after they gave Greg a PPV match but apparently not because here we loving are. Even though Hulk won the Gulf War by beating Slaughter at WM7 these guys are still mad at each other. Just to provide you with context, in the real Gulf War peace was officially declared on 11th April 1991, four months before this show! This is what happens when we don't get a Backlash, we end up with feuds being extended for an extra four months. As the guest ref Sid comes out first while Heenan keeps on implying that Sid is going to screw somebody over. What is he even doing here? That's what I want to know. At no point has anyone mentioned a reason for Sid being involved in this match besides Jack Tunney writing his name in there as a joke while on a coke bender. The Iraqis come out and they've recruited a new member to their army, Colonel Mustafa. Now I really feel like I know this guy from somewhere but I'm probably just confusing him with the Iron Shiek and I don't want to be racist. They don't all look the same. Help me, Wikipedia! NO WAIT HE IS SHIEK I KNEW IT!  But why is Shiek, an Iranian, a fully recognised member of the Iraqi army? The faces make their way out and Hulk's pop is notably bigger than Warrior's. Ah, there it is. It might have taken him a year but he finally managed to leech away all of Warrior's heat. Top work. The crowd starts out with “USA” chants as the match begins while Heenan instantly issues another challenge to Hulk on Flair's behalf. Now this should imply that we're starting to build to Hulk/Flair at WM8 but my vague recollections of history tell me that this isn't the case. Slaughter and Hulk square off and Slaughter rips his belt off but Sid grabs it from him. It's almost like he's calling it right down the middle! Hulk and Warrior get the early advantage as they beat on Slaughter and connect with a double clothesline and a double big boot. Hulk shoves Slaughter into the turnbuckle hard and hits a second rope axe handle but Mustafa comes in and nonchalantly drags him off of the cover. Hulk takes Slaughter into the corner where Sid has to pull him off to prevent a five count and this gives Slaughter a chance to get in with an eye rake. Adnan comes into the match for the first time and oh my god, this guy stinks so bad. We're talking Sapphire levels of bad. It's worth noting at this point that Sid is still making all his decisions completely down the line. It's almost like he's calling it down the middle. Shiektafa locks on the Camel Clutch on Hulk but Warrior makes the save. And now that I've seen all three of the heels in the ring I've decided that Slaughter is the workhorse of the team. This is not intended as a compliment. Slaughter whips Hulk straight into Sid and if you didn't think Hulk would use this as an opportunity to get mad with undeserved moral indignation then hi, welcome to the thread! You sure took your time getting here!  Sid's attempts to start a Hulk Rides business were not going well On commentary, Heenan points out that Sid is letting Adnan get away with a lot of biting and scratching. I think Sid's just taking pity cause he realises Adnan doesn't have anything else going on in the way of offence. Slaughter goes up top but Warrior runs up and shoves him off and Slaughter takes a fairly hefty bump. This lets Warrior get the hot tag and he goes on a tear until he accidentally runs into Sid. Warrior processes this the only way he knows how and roars in Sid's face. It's a really good thing Warrior didn't walk one door on past the wrestling club in high school, he might have ended up in the debate club instead. Warrior seems to have everything under control but Slaughter manages to get in a cheap shot and the heels take over. Everyone starts to get mad at Sid because he's missing poo poo but it's coming from both sides and look guys, refereeing is hard, ok? There's lots of rules, Sid's never done it before, let's all cut him a little slack. Warrior nails a shoulder tackle on Slaughter and makes the tag so Hulk can follow up with a finger point and a big boot. Warrior takes out Adnan and Shiektafa while Hulk... grabs some powder and throws it in Slaughter's face? The gently caress? Hulk hits the Leg Drop and wins the match with the help of a fast count from Sid.  The match is over but Warrior's chased Adnan and Shiektafa off to the back which means wouldn't you know it? Hulk's just going to have to stay and take all the applause for himself. Oh, such a terrible burden. It's a hard job but somebody's got to do it. It's a really long celebration as well and seriously, Warrior was right there you could at least let him come back and take some of the credit. Hulk does indeed call out to the back but it's not for Warrior, it's for Sid! He walks back out and Hulk tears his shirt off and the two men pose. Yes, great ref job Sid! Completely down the middle!  Heeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrreeeeeee's Sid! loving hell, this match was so bad. It was a slow boring mess that I'm shocked to discover only went for 12:40 cause it felt like about three times as long. The feud is outdated, Warrior's ability has regressed which I didn't think was possible and Adnan and Shiektafa both contributed nothing. But worst of all, what the gently caress was that finish about? Ok, we've talked before about Hulk wrestling a heel style which is out of place but normally there's at least some shallow justification. Here we ended up with the story of three honourable Arabs bravely defending their country from an overwhelming powerhouse that achieved victory through diplomatic subterfuge and illegal weaponry. I somehow doubt that was the intention. Addendum: Settle in, folks, this one's a doozie. So this is the end of somebody's run and it's going to take a little bit of an explanation. Before this show the Ultimate Warrior went to Vince McMahon and demanded a whole load more money to appear in the main event. Warrior claimed that this money was owed to him but Wikipedia doesn't say if this was corroborated. Vince paid out because the WWF needed to fulfil its advertised obligations but after the show Warrior was fired. (This is why Warrior ran off before the celebrations). And just like that, the second biggest face of the company has disappeared. The entire landscape of the WWF just shifted. To me, that's mind blowing. So there's a lot to dissect here. Firstly there's the issue between Warrior and Vince. Personally knowing Vince and the way he regularly screws talent over I can't blame Warrior much for what he did. Whether he was legally owed the money he claimed or not, I'm sure he deserved a whole lot more than he was getting paid. Now when it comes to looking back over Warrior's run it comes out surprisingly positive. Even though he wasn't a good wrestler he was good at providing spectacle and managed to look great when working with the right opposition. His trio of matches with Rick Rude and his battle with Randy Savage are some of my favourites from the entire era and beyond his title wins against Hulk Hogan and the Honky Tonk Man are both memorable for very different reasons. His presence also helped limit the extent of Hulk's screen time and that's also appreciated. All in all I'm glad he was around but I'm also glad that he's gone so that others can start rising to the top. It's going to feel weird for a little while but I'm sure we'll get used to it.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 08:25
|
|
|
That's a pretty good description. If that had been the entirety of Warrior's run in wrestling I'd probably still have fond memories of a limited but exciting musclehead from my childhood who didn't quite outlive his welcome.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 11:58
|
|
|
Rarity posted:
Say what you will about Sheik, but no one's ever had a better Camel Clutch than him
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 14:43
|
|
|
As far as I know Adnan was largely a manager, not a wrestler (he retired as a wrestler in like the mid-80s), so I can excuse him being pretty bad
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 14:52
|
|
|
Davros1 posted:Say what you will about Sheik, but no one's ever had a better Camel Clutch than him I need to point out Scott Steiner under threat of imminent bodily harm.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 15:09
|
|
|
DeathChicken posted:As far as I know Adnan was largely a manager, not a wrestler (he retired as a wrestler in like the mid-80s), so I can excuse him being pretty bad He's also a former WWF Tag Team champion (as Billy White Wolf) exploded mummy posted:I need to point out Scott Steiner under threat of imminent bodily harm. Sheik would break Scott Steiner
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 15:22
|
|
|
Davros1 posted:He's also a former WWF Tag Team champion (as Billy White Wolf) This dude’s nipple stars are very distressing
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 15:43
|
|
|
Davros1 posted:He's also a former WWF Tag Team champion (as Billy White Wolf) Davros1 posted:People tend to forget just how good The Iron Sheik was I'ma quote you at yourself in order to possibly make a case that Sheik and Scott are same person. I mean, have you ever seen them in the same room together?
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 16:03
|
|
|
remusclaw posted:I'ma quote you at yourself in order to possibly make a case that Sheik and Scott are same person. I mean, have you ever seen them in the same room together? Amateur backgrounds, Master of Suplexes, roid bodies, Camel Clutches, headresses, crazy facial hair, nonsensical rantings. Holy poo poo, I think you're on to something
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 18:52
|
|
|
Gavok posted:Hint: Look at Emilio Estevez's IMDB page. I'm pretty sure the Young Guns weren't in WWF.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 19:22
|
|
|
Davros1 posted:Amateur backgrounds, Master of Suplexes, roid bodies, Camel Clutches, headresses, crazy facial hair, nonsensical rantings. My theory currently involves alternate universes and time travel resulting in a Superman Red Son style thing going on. I don't know which came from the alternate universe though. The time travel is somewhat tragic as well as it resulted in us losing all chance of the worlds greatest never to be tag team, "The Sheik and Peak* Connection" *Freak?
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 19:28
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__HBBf_eDLM
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 19:30
|
|
|
As a palate cleanser for that crap main event, enjoy the only actual GOOD match that Hogan and Slaughter actually had, which was actually several months previous--a DESERT STORM match in MSG which as usual, is like bizarro WWF compared to TV and PPV at the time in that the top guys actually put in workrate. Hogan actually doesn't even do his formulaic Hulk Up match, and the match actually makes his heelish moveset make sense in context. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvC1XB543bo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toZR5NkmKPc
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 19:35
|
|
|
Shiki Dan posted:As a palate cleanser for that crap main event, enjoy the only actual GOOD match that Hogan and Slaughter actually had, which was actually several months previous--a DESERT STORM match in MSG which as usual, is like bizarro WWF compared to TV and PPV at the time in that the top guys actually put in workrate. I thought we skipped something with Hogan vs. Slaughter, turns out it was this MSG match and not a PPV like I assumed.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 20:39
|
|
|
I've always considered Summerslam 91 to be the season finale to the Hogan Era. It's that era's WrestleMania X-7, albeit not so much in quality. I feel like what follows is an interesting stretch of time where the company is trying to find a new identity, but can't quite figure itself out. I can't list everything due to spoilers, but there's stuff like Warrior leaving, Andre's final PPV appearance, the fact that after years of the tag division revolving around Road Warriors ripoffs the actual team won the titles, the first major step in Bret Hart's singles career, the way we're starting to see more names from yesteryear repackaged with silly gimmicks, and even Hogan shifts in a meaningful way. I mean, he's still bullshit, but it's definitely a different stage in his career.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 22:00
|
|
|
Actually yeah, this seems to mark the beginning of the weird thing where WWE was filled with guys with actual vocations moonlighting as wrestlers. I suppose that started with Bossman being a prison guard slash wrestler, but then the Mountie turns up as...well, a Mountie slash wrestler, and now here's IRS, wrestling tax agent...
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 22:52
|
|
|
Honkeytonk Man kind of is an early example of this. Is he the first?
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 23:00
|
|
|
Oh okay so Jake's heel turn was before this even on their tv? I saw the mention of Jake and Taker hanging out and thought it was weird that Rarity didn't comment on it.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 23:48
|
|
|
edit: weird first time in awhile i've seen a double post
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2018 23:48
|
|
|
KungFu Grip posted:Oh okay so Jake's heel turn was before this even on their tv? I saw the mention of Jake and Taker hanging out and thought it was weird that Rarity didn't comment on it. Yeah, I didn't want to talk too much about the Warrior/Undertaker feud because Jake's heel turn was the end game. Even with Jake turning heel, they still shoved Warrior into the Slaughter feud for this PPV and then he got fired. In the end, Warrior and Jake never had a match against each other, even in terms of house shows.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2018 00:24
|
|
|
That was a really well done turn. Jake just steadily went insane after Damien got killed, got morbidly fascinated with death, and well...the logical conclusion is being friends with a zombie
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2018 01:18
|
|
|
remusclaw posted:Honkeytonk Man kind of is an early example of this. Is he the first? Considering that Dr. B.F. Roller wrestled 80 years prior, no. If I remember right, he wore gloves when he wrestled, so as not to damage his hands. (Roller did actually go to medical school.)
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2018 02:24
|
|
|
Again, it's not so much the "wrestlers with jobs" thing that's the flavor of the time. It's taking guys we already know and repackaging them in ridiculous ways. Mike Rotunda becomes an evil tax guy. Ricky Steamboat is now Drago Sr. One of the Rougeau Brothers is a loud-mouth Canadian lawman. The Iron Sheik is Slaughter's Iraqi sidekick and we aren't supposed to make the connection. We're only a few months after the disaster of Saba Simba!
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2018 03:33
|
|
|
Gavok posted:Again, it's not so much the "wrestlers with jobs" thing that's the flavor of the time. It's taking guys we already know and repackaging them in ridiculous ways. Mike Rotunda becomes an evil tax guy. Ricky Steamboat is now Drago Sr. One of the Rougeau Brothers is a loud-mouth Canadian lawman. The Iron Sheik is Slaughter's Iraqi sidekick and we aren't supposed to make the connection. We're only a few months after the disaster of Saba Simba! THAT'S TONEE ATLASSS
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2018 04:04
|
|
|
Right, Ricky Steamboat is literally The Dragon. He comes out with this reptile poo poo and breathes fire because he's literally a dragon.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2018 04:06
|
|
|
DeathChicken posted:That was a really well done turn. Jake just steadily went insane after Damien got killed, got morbidly fascinated with death, and well...the logical conclusion is being friends with a zombie And I hated it because Jake was my favorite wrestler growing up. Little me never understood the turn and looking back I’m having a hard time recalling anything beyond the turn. Im going to be very interested in how things play out in Rarity’s Retrospective.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2018 23:33
|
|
|
I fee like Rarity is missing out a bit on Jake as he seems to have, outside of very few instances, most of his interesting character beats and matches off PPV.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2018 23:35
|
|
|
It's a sad moment, friends. It's time for our final trip report from Evil Jacques! Putting this whole self-indulgent gimmick aside all of these scenes with Evil Jacques were just fabulous. I really wasn't expecting them to go as hard with this as they did. I figured he'd lose and get dragged off and that would be that but they kept on going and going and going and they really made the most of it. Most importantly, Evil Jacques was amazing throughout. He was so hilarious and committed to the angle all the way. For the first time I could see the Jacques Rougeau that I know and love shining through and giving all his comedy talents to this new character. I really hope that they keep on going in this direction because the Mountie as a pompous jackass who keeps getting clowned on is something I can get behind. Before we dive into our main event we get a recap video for Randy Savage's proposal to Elizabeth. They're in the ring with Zombie Mean Gene and Savage explains he's been thinking of returning to the ring for Summerslam. Zombie Mean Gene reminds him that by contract his career is over but Savage says that nobody tells him what to do and he's got some words for the fans and for Elizabeth. AND HE SAYS HE LOVES HER. Aww. Unfortunately the moment is somewhat ruined by Vince McMahon on commentary predicting everything that's about to happen. Dude, some moments you just let breathe. So Savage looks like he's about to have second thoughts for a moment but then he drops down to one knee, pulls out a ring and ASKS HER TO MARRY HIM. Zombie Mean Gene is right there to push Elizabeth for an answer and she seals the deal with a beautiful “OH YEAH”. Oh my god, that was super sweet.  If only we had the 'YES' chant in 1991 Right, let me say right off the bat that I love that the wedding is main eventing over Hulk and Warrior. I feel like for years Savage didn't get the respect and spotlight that he was due and it's great to see that the WWF have finally twigged how much people care about him and Elizabeth. This is certainly far more important and exciting to me than any Hulk/Warrior tag match could ever hope to be. Now while I'm excited I also know that this is a wrestling wedding and so basically a magnet for soap opera shenanigans. I hope we can at least get the ceremony over with before any craziness happens. We kick things off with a tribute video to Savage and Elizbaeth that's made up of cuts from moments throughout their career all the way from Elizabeth taking him on to their reconciliation at WM7. It's so drat amazing and really sells just how special a partnership these two were. And they really were. These two are iconic and the video gets that across so well. Man, I'm gonna miss both of them so much. I really want one of these for all of my favourites when they go into retirement. It's such a lovely way to say goodbye. Coming back from the video we find the ring has now been all decked out for a wedding. The ropes are down and there's a little dais in the centre surrounded by flowers. 'Pomp and Circumstance' rings out as Savage walks out and he looks loving amazing. He's gone for a gold tuxedo version of his normal ring gear combined with white and gold tights and a gold hat with a huge fuckoff feather in it. Just one look at this man and you see a megastar. There's a full wedding party as well including a flower girl and a pageboy and Savage has a best man but it's not the Genius. Boo, I call bullshit. You can't even get your brother back for your special day, Savage?  Even when he's getting married Savage still brings the Macho Madness With everyone assembled the only thing we need now is the bride and the Wedding March plays as Elizabeth walks out. She's wearing a very tasteful, ornate dress with a high lace collar and puffy shoulders and it's very early 90s but even so she looks lovely. She joins Savage in the ring and the priest starts the ceremony. Somewhere in the world a young Slick is mad that he missed out on the booking. But jokes aside, this is all super sweet and super emotional and just wonderful. The priest asks Savage if he takes Elizabeth's hand in marriage and he responds with a hearty 'OH YEAH'. The priest asks Elizabeth if she'll take Savage's hand AND SHE WILL. Savage puts the ring on her finger and THEY'RE HUSBAND AND WIFE AND THEY KISS AND AWWWWWWWWWWWW. And nothing bad happened! Awww, that was pure adorable. I was so sure that it would be interrupted by some kind of soapy bullshit but no, this was just two of the most beloved characters in wrestling getting the emotional send-off that they deserved. It wasn't about the drama, it wasn't about the surprises, it was just about allowing Savage and Elizabeth to be happy. If WM7 was the final chapter in their story then this made for a beautiful coda to really send them off for good. We've already seen a lot of people drop off the radar as they leave the company and every time it's passed without comment. How great would it be if these characters were able to end their careers with proper resolutions like Savage and Elizabeth were allowed here? I realise that the nature of the industry makes that difficult but it would be so cool if they could pull it off.  Here's to the greatest (greatest!) love I've ever known! After finishing this show I found it very difficult to form an opinion on the show as a whole. That's because the majority of the show was so loving turgid but the highlights were really drat high. The worst matches of the night are among the worst I've seen in this entire run and really hit my overall perception of the show. However, the wedding was beautiful and touching, the prison adventures of Evil Jacques always kept me entertained and Bret/Hennig delivered on the hype I felt going in. It feels really unfair to give a show with those moments a low rating but the rest of the crap surrounding it means I can't allow myself to give it more than four Kanes.  /10So that's Summerslam 1991 finished which means Survivor Series 1991 is just around the corner but first we're going to have a little pitstop. The next entry is going to be a little experimental, I hope you guys will be happy to come along with me.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2018 07:52
|
|
|
Rarity posted:We kick things off with a tribute video to Savage and Elizbaeth that's made up of cuts from moments throughout their career all the way from Elizabeth taking him on to their reconciliation at WM7. It's so drat amazing and really sells just how special a partnership these two were. Assuming you watched this on the network, they replaced the music in this video, and I'll never forgive them for it. The original is cheesy as hell but I love it so, so much. Thankfully WWE have it on their YouTube even though they cut the song out of the PPV on the network. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64e2EbkO4Cg Also, here's the highlights of the wedding reception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSbYbe-iVfU
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2018 11:01
|
|
|
The end of the wedding didn't air on the actual PPV? Huh
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2018 12:42
|
|
|
The hell with Chuck and Di, this was the true greatest wedding of the late 20th Century 
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2018 12:50
|
|
|
DeathChicken posted:The end of the wedding didn't air on the actual PPV? Huh It's another example of the 1991 WWF storytelling style that Gavok talked about in this post: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3827692&perpage=40&pagenumber=50#post483179627
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2018 12:59
|
|
|
In a way, it's smart booking. You get to send everyone home happy, and you can still get the booking results you want in order to drive the story forward. Would it work nowadays?
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2018 13:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 07:39 |
|
|
Jerusalem posted:The hell with Chuck and Di, this was the true greatest wedding of the late 20th Century  So I guess this is the time to address Jake's heel turn and I didn't comment on it during the show because... I didn't even realise. Seriously, you can watch the entire show and never realise he's turned. It's only cause of seeing the next show that I'm aware it's even happened.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2018 13:12
|
|