|
My favourite gimmick from this era makes his debut at this PPV. I can't wait. no spoilers, what the hell
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2018 00:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 08:12 |
|
|
“I can cultivate her into something even I would want”. Goddamn Jake was an awesome, scary motherfucker. Of course now he's unleashed.... THE MADNESS! so RIP Jake.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2018 02:12
|
|
|
Savage's family for real hated Jake because he did such an amazing job with this storyline. They had every reason to know it was all just a show and they still loving lost it lol.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2018 02:40
|
|
|
I've always thought that Hogan, Savage, Warrior and Sid were made of the same kind of cartoon fiber that made them larger-than-life coke/steroid lunatics, but Savage really had what the others lacked. He could convey human emotion without seeming completely ridiculous. We saw it with WM5, WM7 and this whole feud with Jake. He could show real outrage, anger and sadness in ways Hogan never could. Unfortunately, it'll be a while before we get to what I feel is Savage's best promo ever. Savage vs. Jake is such a good feud because it has one of the most hateable villains in the company's history up against a guy who can react with that level of hate in return.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2018 03:19
|
|
|
It was a pity that Savage was so inextricably linked to Hogan throughout his career. Like in WCW, using Savage in Ed Leslie's spot was ridiculous and added up as one of the reasons I quit watching wrestling around 94. That and cartoon hero Hogan ruining my program when I just wanted to see poo poo like Flair and Arn vs The Hollywood Blondes. Macho should have been top face of WWF for awhile is all.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2018 08:00
|
|
|
The unaired matches prior to Tuesday in Texas was always interesting to me and always hoped they'd post them on the Network. Has a bunch of tryouts of several future WWF wrestlers https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=1771&page=2
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2018 08:41
|
|
|
Jake's promo and the Jake/Savage feud in general are what I was talking about when I said 1991 was a weird mix of cartoony and violent. It's honestly one of my favorite WWF years ever, discounting the dumb Gulf War poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2018 14:30
|
|
|
I don't know which version you're watching, but on the original (unedited) Coliseum Video version, there were actually some very loud boos at the end of the Savage/Jake match, simply because it ended so quickly and abruptly. Of course this was out of necessity, since the post-match angle had to take up a good chunk of time and this was a sub-2hr PPV, and by God, we have to give Skinner 20 loving minutes!
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2018 20:21
|
|
|
Yeah, that was an...oddly set up match. Savage pretty much thumped Jake in the match itself, and then Jake is like "So you won a match, I will now beat the dogshit out of you and slap your wife. Go you"
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2018 07:49
|
|
|
The Warlord w/ Harvey Whippelman vs. British Bulldog Oh come on! For gently caress sake, can we do something to rescue these two? They've been stuck in a worthless feud with each other now for the entirety of 1991! Do you guys remember that feud between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio that kept on going for months and months and months? Well, those two guys have got nothing on the Warlord and Bulldog. The worst part is it's not doing anything for either of them. Nobody's getting over here. In fact, this feud has killed any interest I had in Bulldog on his return as a singles guy. Now I just want both of these to go away. The match gets started as the Warlord asks for a test of strength but when Bulldog locks in the Warlord kicks him in the gut. In response Bulldog uses some dirty play of his own as he headbutts the Warlord straight in the dick. Meanwhile, Gino describes this confrontation as “the irresistible force meeting the immoveable object”. I'm assuming the Warlord is the object in this analogy. Bulldog goes for a plancha but the Warlord botches catching him out of the air and they both collapse to the deck. Godammit, dude. You'd better be careful because with the dead weight we've managed off the roster this year you are rapidly rising up my hitlist.  I've heard about embracing the gimmick but there's no need to start sniffing crotches, Davey Having hosed up the spot, the Warlord picks Bulldog back up and drives him into the ringpost as was originally intended. Bulldog replies with a missile dropkick and gets the Warlord trapped in the ropes. He goes for a dropkick but Harvey frees the Warlord and he winds up crotching himself on the ropes. You know, it would be hilarious if Bulldog started no-selling any dickshots on account of getting neutered. The Warlord hits a back body drop and slaps on a bearhug which he soon ends to deliver a belly to belly suplex. Whoa. The Warlord did a grapple thing! Who coulda seen that one coming? With Bulldog taking a beating the crowd starts up a small “DAVEY” chant and he nails a sunset flip but the Warlord breaks free and locks on the Full Nelson. Gino starts getting really mad that the Warlord's holding onto Bulldog's hair instead of locking his hands although that's giving Bulldog a chance to escape so I don't see why he's complaining. Heenan replies that “if he had hair like Whoopi Goldberg he'd be in better shape” and follows up with “the limey's giving up like every war his country's ever been in!” Hey! I'll have you know that here in Britain we have a grand military tradition. Whenever we want to win an international conflict we just launch an unsanctioned airstrike on Syria, always works a charm.  We've replaced the Warlord's trampoline with the British Bulldog, let's see if he notices So the Warlord has Bulldog in the hold for ages but he's not giving up so in the end the Warlord just throws him down to the mat. At this point Heenan begins discussing the issues of dog obedience and decides the only method of education is to advocate for animal cruelty. You've got to hand it to Heenan, he's so good at being a heel he makes PETA look like the good guys. Bulldog connects with a second rope flying clothesline and goes for the Running Powerslam but the Warlord grabs hold of the ropes and collapses down on top of him. It's all good though because a few moments later Bulldog applies a crucifix pin to get the win. Well, this match was better than their WM7 outing so I guess that's a positive thing I can say about it but overall I still wouldn't exactly call it good. Like I said, we really need to break these two guys apart because Bulldog is dying out there. I've always heard him being talked about as somebody with some real quality about him but this feud has been just abysmal for him. The only cool thing he's done since returning was bring Winston out that one time and that's not really something where he gets the props. Please don't ever let me see these two in the ring together again. We journey to the back where Mooney is with Randy Savage, who is distraught at the recent turn of events. He's mad that Jake degraded Elizabeth and calls it the worst day of his life. Which is big talk for a man who once had to wrestle in a match including Sapphire. Savage takes the responsibility for Elizabeth getting hurt and blames himself. That's right, Savage. You perpetuate the myth that husbands are responsible for their wives because women are objects rather than independent creatures, good job. He's going to get Jake and there won't be stopping him. He pronounces that “it ain't over, it ain't even started”. By this point he's so upset he's rolling around all over the floor, it's kinda funny.  Savage was devastated to hear that Roger the Dodger had stolen his look Ted DiBiase and Repo Man w/ Sensational Sherri vs. Virgil and El Matador Well, well, well, look at what we got here. Don't think you can hide yourself behind that mask, Repo Man, I'd recognise that goatee anywhere. Yes, this is in fact the redebut of Smash from Demolition who has traded in the facepaint and abandoned the sex dungeon for a life of respectability with a new career of repossessing people's poo poo. He's wearing a coat covered in tyre tracks and skulks around like a villain in a silent movie. It's an... interesting choice for a gimmick, I'll give them that much. I'm assuming it comes from whichever mind devised IRS. Are we now at a point where all our new heels will be hate figures from daily life? If so then I can't for the wrestling traffic warden. Besides from the recent changes in Repo Man's life there's not a whole lot to comment on here. Probably because once again we've got two guys who have been feuding for AN ENTIRE loving YEAR. What the gently caress, did the booking team get caught in temporal stasis for all of 1991 and everyone's just trying to stall until they align back to our timestream? This is not how any feud should go but especially not DiBiase/Virgil. This shoulda been a short thing till WM7 where Virgil got a feelgood victory and then everyone moved on but instead they've been following the same routine long past the point of people caring. Please can we end tragic borefest and get some new storylines going so that DiBiase has gone back to being interesting and Virgil has just gone. The only bright side to this whole mess is that for the first time I've not got a bad word to say about my girl Sherri's outfit. She legit looks stunning tonight. WORST HAIR  Unlike Tito and his doofy ponytail As the match begins Heenan suggests that Repo Man will be coming for Gino's stuff soon. Uh oh, shouldn't have pissed away all your paycheck on hookers and blow, buddy! Repo Man and Tito begin by exchanging wristlocks with Tito coming out on top. Heenan continues working hard on commentary as he explains that Repo Man once reclaimed a home from a couple in their 70s although I think the bad guy here is less Repo Man and more our society's failing capitalist structures. Repo Man and Tito exchange a series of reversed hiptosses until Tito sends him to the outside. It looks like Repo Man has improved a bunch since his Demolition days. He always looked like the only member in the team to be really making an effort but now it seems like he's actually got picked up some moves as well. I'm going to take a guess that the gimmick was holding him back. When DiBiase tags in for the first time he gets a ridiculous amount of heat from the crowd, so much that Sherri turns around to scream at them. Virgil connects with an atomic drop that sends him to the outside. He climbs back in only for Virgil to clothesline him straight back out again. Hehehe, poor DiBiase. Meanwhile, Heenan says that Repo Man spends so much time sneaking around because “he loves his job”. Hey, you got to love what you do. And if what Heenan says is true then Repo Man really does love it, the whole time he's not tagged in he's creeping around like Dick Dastardly. The heels work together to isolate Virgil and DiBiase nails a gutwrench suplex. Virgil replies with a neckbreaker and manages to reach Tito for the tag. Tito comes in with a couple of dropkicks and hits the Flying Forearm on Repo Man but when he goes for El Paso Del Monte he gets tripped up by DiBiase. Serves you right for having more than one finisher, Tito. No need to be greedy! DiBiase shoves Tito and into the stairs and back in the ring he and Repo Man follow up with a double hiptoss. Tito and Repo Man collide in a double clothesline and both men go down. Virgil makes the tag and cleans house as the match breaks down. Sherri goes for Virgil with her shoe but he ducks and she takes out DiBiase. To everyone's credit, they don't try to sell a smack with a high heel as a knockout blow. Instead Virgil grabs Sherri but Repo Man hits him from behind and... DiBiase gets the pin. Ahahahaha, get back in your box, Virgil. Get back in your loving box.  You know where you belong This was a total nothing match which only existed to pad out time on the show. I get that they need to put on a few extra matches so that fans feel like they're getting more than just Warrior/Jake and Hulk/Taker but they could at least go to the effort of making these matches feel meaningful. This just feels like a bunch of guys being shoved together arbitrarily based on past connections with no stakes. These guys really need something fresh to get things going again. I suppose Repo Man showed that he can work just a little bit so that's something.
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2018 21:06
|
|
|
Repo Man is one of those gimmicks that should not work in any way, but Barry Darsow committed himself to the role so much that it worked better than it had any right to. I’d almost wish he got more of a push, but then I remember how limited he was as a worker.
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2018 21:33
|
|
|
I don't know if he got any direction, but his decision to channel Frank Gorshin's Riddler for his Repo Man gimmick is an inspired one, imo. Repo Man has to be one of the best re-packagings of all time, given his previous run as Demolition Smash.
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2018 22:59
|
|
|
Huh, if WWE hadn't abandoned the women's division at this point, I assume there would've been a wrestling meter maid gimmick.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2018 00:47
|
|
|
Rarity posted:Do you guys remember that feud between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio that kept on going for months and months and months? NYO! 
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2018 01:16
|
|
|
If you count the Royal Rumble match, Bulldog and Warlord are 5-for-5 in fighting each other at PPVs in 1991. Other than El Matador, the tag match isn't as thrown together as you'd think. The reason Dibiase got his Million Dollar Championship back was because Repo Man interfered in the match. Why Repo Man wasn't involved in Survivor Series is beyond me. And I'm glad to see that Rarity is able to point out the exact moment that Virgil's push was absolutely loving dead.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2018 02:16
|
|
|
TL posted:Repo Man is one of those gimmicks that should not work in any way, but Barry Darsow committed himself to the role so much that it worked better than it had any right to. I’d almost wish he got more of a push, but then I remember how limited he was as a worker. He was given... You dress like the Hamburgler, and burgle things.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2018 21:43
|
|
|
To the back we go where Zombie Mean Gene is with Hulk and announces that “we are in Texas, this is Tuesday”. Is it, Zombie Mean Gene? You don't say! Wow, this PPV name sure worked out appropriately, didn't it? Hulk thinks that this will be the most beautiful day in all of Hulkamania. He fet Taker stalk him the squeeze the life out of him and when he lost it was “the shot heard around the world”. Did he really just imply that him losing the WWF title is more serious than the American Civil War or World War I? I believe he did. However, the real survivors are the Hulkamaniacs who kept their heads high with smiles on their faces. He warns Ric Flair to stay away and promises to win back the title for the Hulkamaniacs. By the sounds of it they didn't seem to mind that you lost, Hulk, so how about you just not bother? WWF Title Match Hulk Hogan vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer Geez, I don't know how much I can say to you guys about this one. I mean, we had this exact same match six days ago and it was pretty atrocious so it's not like I'm expecting this one to suddenly set the world on fire. If it's better than the previous one then I think we can call it a win. Taker is out first despite being the champion so that's some marks knocked off already right there. He's rejigged his theme though and it sounds a bit more like the classic Taker theme we all know and love. It's not fully there yet but it's on its way. Hulk comes out to a solid pop but it's not as good as it really should be for your top guy. MOST INCORRECT PREDICTION Gorilla Monsoon: “This could be one of the shortest lived reigns in the history of the World Wrestling Federation”  Now you're just rubbing it in, Gino Taker jumps Hulk before the bell can ring but he quickly turns things around and clashes Taker and Bearer's heads together. Over on commentary Gino points out that despite promising to be at ringside to uphold the law Jack Tunney is nowhere in sight. Godammit, Tunney! YOU HAD ONE JOB! A few moments later Tunney, much like a good RKO, shows up from outta nowhere but I'm not letting him off the hook for this one. Tunney, you are the worst at your job. Mike Adamle was a better authority figure than you. Now that he's firmly in control Hulk starts going wild on Taker as he connects with an atomic drop and a body slam but Taker sits right back up. Hulk knocks him out of the ring and ok, now the crowd is hot with big “HOGAN” chants going round the building. Taker chokes Hulk on the outside as Heenan tells the Hulkamaniacs they should have a bonfire with their Hulk merch. Are you sure that's a good idea, Bobby? I'm pretty sure that burning meat shoes would create toxic fumes. They return to the ring where Taker closes in for more choking. Hang on a sec, I should probably just check something... Nope, I'm not accidentally rewatching Survivor Series. This genuinely is a separate match.  Taker, this isn't what they meant by autoerotic asphyxiation Hulk breaks out of the chokehold, picks Taker up and rams him into the corner but when he runs in he meets a big knee. Taker grabs his arm and climbs to the top rope and – eeeeeeeee! - ROPE WALK! IT'S THE ROPE WALK! New school! New school! Sensing my interest in the match might have risen to above zero levels Taker dutifully pushes it back down again with even more choking and a long claw hold. And I do mean long. Hulk whips Taker away and we get the amazing sight of one of the most celebrated wrestlers in the industry botching RUNNING OFF THE ROPES. Somewhere in the world a young Kelly Kelly feels strangely validated. While such failures may prey on the mind of lesser men Taker comes back strong and nails a leaping clothesline. He goes for another rope walk but Hulk pulls him down to the mat only for Taker to give another sit up. Hulk begins the typical hulk up routine but hang on! Who's this making their way down to ringside? Why, it's only the real world champion, Ric Flair! We all know what this means don't we, boys and girls? That's right, say it with me... ~*SHENANIGANS*~ In a rare moment of competence Tunney sees Flair coming and stops him from getting any closer. While this is happening Hulk clotheslines Taker out of the ring but then he sees Flair at ringside. While Flair and Tunney continue to argue Hulk sneaks up from behind with a chair and blasts Flair in the back, sending him sprawling into Tunney on the way down. Oh god, this can't be ending well. Hulk hits an axe bomber on Taker and they continue to brawl while Flair recovers. Once he's back on his feet he picks up the chair and climbs the apron except Hulk sees him coming and shoves Taker into the chair face first.  ~*SHENANIGANS*~ With Taker staggering from the chair shot he turns around right into a big boot from Hulk. Nooooo! Not like this! But wait, Taker sits right back up and smacks Hulk in the throat! drat! Bearer comes in with the urn and he goes for Hulk but accidentally hits Taker instead! Hulk grabs the urn and empties it out, spilling ash all over the mat. He grabs a pile of the ash and hurls into Taker's eyes then rolls him up to get the victory. Except uh oh, Tunney is back up on his feet and Flair's forcing him to watch this whole ending sequence. Godammit, Tunney. You had one job. So much ~*SHENANIGANS*~ Hulk is announced as the champ by Finkel and he gives Taker a big smack with the belt for good measure before celebrating. Meanwhile, Tunney is in deep discussion with the ref but Gino insists that there's nothing Tunney can do about the result. Are you sure about that, Gino? I mean, the dude's the ultimate authority over the company so there's not much anyone can do to stop him. As for Hulk, he keeps things to a short celebration and heads to the back in a timely manner. Probably because this is a short PPV and they were all out of time. I'm not exactly complaining here. So that was a huge drat clusterfuck. I'm guessing that this mess of an ending is how we wind up with the WWF title being on the line at the Rumble next month. Hopefully this means that my boy Vacant is getting another run with the belt. As for the match itself it wasn't great but it was still light years ahead of their previous encounter. And that's all down to the ending which was all over the place but in a very entertaining way. I think leaning hard into overbooking is the only way to get something watchable out of a Hulk match so good on them for what they came up with. It's clear that this PPV was very much an experiment for them and all in all I can't really say that it was successful. Between the ending of Hulk/Taker and the post-match angle of Savage/Jake the two main matches sorta delivered but at the same time not really and the rest of the card was a total shitshow. Between this show and Survivor Series it feels like the two main storylines have completely overwhelmed everything else that's going on and the undercard is stalled out hard. As we head into 1992 I really hope that we can start mixing things up a bit so that we don't the majority of each show with matches that don't matter. Three Kanes!  /10
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2018 22:21
|
|
|
A 20 minute Skinner match, the Repo Man's PPV debut and you're saying this was a failure? Sounds far from it to me 
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2018 22:31
|
|
|
One thing I always found interesting about this rematch is Hogan winning by roll up, and not by leg drop. Even then, they seemed to be protecting the Taker gimmick.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2018 22:32
|
|
|
Definitely, the rollup is the most devastating finisher in WWE history.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2018 22:48
|
|
|
Davros1 posted:One thing I always found interesting about this rematch is Hogan winning by roll up, and not by leg drop. Even then, they seemed to be protecting the Taker gimmick. Yeah in retrospect the way they handle Taker here really does feel different to the monsters Hulk's beaten in the past. It's not a definitive win. Looking back on it now it's clear this was a really smart choice but I wonder how that decision came to be made at the time.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2018 22:50
|
|
|
Oh christ, I just looked up the undercard for the Rumble... 
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2018 23:06
|
|
|
Oh man Rarity finished a year time to write up some Observer awards 
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2018 23:40
|
|
|
Oh cool, we got to 1992. 1992 is a really good year
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2018 23:47
|
|
|
1989 saw no-longer-that-young Rarity experience the first ever Royal Rumble, Hogan having issues with The Twin Towers, Dusteh Rhodes Babeh, The Megapowers Exploding, and most importantly, the greatest terror of J-Ru's childhood, Zeus. So it is with great honor I bring to you... A special alteration to past posted Observer Awards, given that Rarity has just finished 1991 rare Magic card l00k posted:1985 The winner of the 1985 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award for Most Washed Up was Sgt. Slaughter. Yes, 6 years after being the most washed up wrestler in the world, Slaughter had a main event heel run in WWF. To everyone who goes "Oh no, I can't wait, I must post spoilers now", I waited 8 months to post this result specifically because of 1991, you can wait too. Ok, now that that is out of the way, time for the... 1989 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Wrestler of the Year went to Ric Flair, with Akira Maeda taking home 2nd, Terry Funk taking 3rd, Genichiro Tenryu taking 4th, and Ricky Steamboat taking 5th. Most Outstanding Wrestler also went Flair's way, with 2nd place going to a "Jushin Riger", 3rd to Ricky Steamboat, Terry Funk 4th, and Tenryu 5th. WWF, as always, dominated Best Babyface as Hogan winning again and Warrior pulling 2nd, with Maeda 3rd, Flair 4th, and Sting 5th. Best Heel went to Terry Funk, with WWF's Randy Savage getting 2nd, and Lex Luger getting 3rd. WWF would round out the top 5 with Rick Rude and Ted Dibiase. Feud of the Year would go to Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk, with Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat finishing only 9 points behind for 2nd. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu would be 3rd, Jushin Riger vs. Naoki Sano 4th, and Hogan vs. Savage repping WWF in 5th. Of note is 6th place going to Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard vs. Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty. These two would feud into Tag Team of the Year, with The Rockers winning over The Brainbusters by TWO POINTS. Finishing third would be the team of Samson Fuyuki and Toshiaki Kawada, which had another incredible tag team name: Footloose. Fourth would go to The Steiner Brothers, and fifth would go to Dan Krofatt and Doug Furnas. Most Improved would go to Lex Luger, with second going to Scott Steiner. Rick Rude represented WWF in taking 3rd, with Naoki Sano taking 4th and Dan Krofatt taking 5th. Most Unimproved would return WWF to the promised land though, thanks to the efforts of one Jim Duggan. The Red Rooster would bring home silver for WWF, with Barry Windham taking the bronze. Fourth would go to Jerry Lawler, and fifth would be a tie between Dick Murdoch and Rarity Favorite Akeem. Most Obnoxious would go to The Dream, baby. Dusty Rhodes would take home another negative award, beating out Vince who pulled second. Ed Whalen of Stampede Wrestling took third, Ultimate Warrior took 4th, and Hogan took 5th. Best on Interviews once again went to Ji-wait no, Jim Cornette was dethroned by Terry Funk! Cornette did manage 2nd, with Flair taking 3rd, Randy Savage bringing home fourth for WWF, and Paul E. Dangerously taking 5th. The Hulkster returned to his throne in winning the Most Charismatic award, with Akira Maeda taking 2nd, Ultimate Warrior taking 3rd, Sting taking 4th, and Ric Flair taking 5th. Best Technical Wrestler would go to Jushin Riger, who barely beat out Ric Flair (who actually had the most first place votes!), with Ricky Steamboat taking 3rd, Nobuhiko Takada taking 4th, and Akira Maeda taking 5th. Best Brawler has been renamed The Bruiser Brody Memorial Award because the Observer needs to pretend its readers were actually bothered by Brody's murder. Terry Funk would win in a landslide, with Genichiro Tenryu taking 2nd, Terry Gordy taking 3rd, Ric Flair taking 4th, and Stan Hansen taking 5th. Riger would add Best Flying Wrestler to his trophy case, taking home both it and Best Technical. Naoki Sano would take 2nd, The Great Muta 3rd, Owen Hart 4th, and Brian Pillman 5th. Most Overrated would be given to The Ultimate Warrior, with Hogan, being a top babyface, of course taking 2nd. Dino Bravo would take 3rd, Dusteh Rhodes Babeh taking 4th, and Eric Embry taking 5th. Most Underrated would go to Dan Krofatt, with Bret Hart taking 2nd, Chris Benoit 3rd, Brad Armstrong 4th, and Eddie Gilbert 5th. Promotion of the Year is so Japan-heavy it'll make your head spin. The Japanese UWF took first, All Japan took second, and New Japan took third. The NWA took 4th and WWF ended up on the board in 5th. Best TV Show went to All Japan Pro Wrestling, winning a fairly close one over NWA's World Championship Wrestling. New Japan Pro Wrestling would take 3rd, Portland Wrestling 4th, and WWF Superstars would bring in 5th. Match of the Year was all about nature and dragons. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat in New Orleans on April 2nd took home first. Flair vs. Steamboat at the first ever WrestleWar on May 7th took home second, and Flair vs. Steamboat at Chi-Town Rumble took third. Flair wouldn't be done though, as Flair vs. Funk in Troy on November 15th would take 4th. The lone non-Flair match in the top 5 was Jushin Riger vs. Naoki Sano out of Osaka on August 20th. The top WWF match would be a Rockers vs. Brainbusters match on February 17th out of Hershey, PA. Rookie of the Year would go to Dustin Rhodes, narrowing edging out Wayne Bloom (who would later wrestler in WWF as Beau Beverly). New Japan would run many Russian invaders in 1989, with Salman Hashimikov taking 3rd. Stampede's Larry Cameron would take 4th, and the most important person on this list, and arguably one of the most significant wrestlers ever, would finish 5th. That would be Victor Zangiev, who would be the inspiration for Street Fighter mainstay Zangief. Jim Cornette would win yet another Best Manager award, with Bobby Heenan taking 2nd, Paul E. Dangerously taking 3rd, The Sensational Sherri taking 4th, and Theodore Long taking 5th. Congrats Teddy! Best TV Announcer would go to Jim Ross, with Tony Schiavone taking 2nd, Lance Russell taking 3rd, our good friend Vince McMahon taking 4th, and Gordon Solie taking 5th. Worst TV Announcer would go to Most Obnoxious Contender Ed Whalen, Hillbilly Jim would take 2nd, Gorilla Monsoon would take 3rd, Lord Alfred Hayes 4th, and Vince 5th. Seeing Vince on both lists brings a smile to my face. Best Major Wrestling Card is an NWA dominated one. Baltimore Bash took first, WrestleWar took 2nd, New York Knockout 4th, and ChiTown Rumble 5th. The only non-NWA card in the top is a Tokyo Dome show from All Japan. There isn't even a WWF show in the Honorable Mentions so I can't tell you what WWF show people liked the most. Luckily, Worst Major Wrestling Show exists! Wrestlemania V won this award by a huge margin, with Survivor Series finishing 2nd, and Summerslam 3rd. AWA SuperClash III took 4th, and NWA Halloween Havoc took 5th. Best Wrestling Move went to Scott Steiner's Frankensteiner, second to Muta's Moonsault, third to Riger's Somersault Splash, 4th to HULK HOGAN SUPERPLEX OFF CAGE, Scott Steiner's Blockbuster Suplex. Hardest Worker, the dumbest category, went to Terry Funk. Flair took 2nd, Riger 3rd, Steamboat 4th, and DiBiase 5th. Biggest Shock Of The Year always brings unreal things, and this year is no different. The winner was Dusty Rhodes joining the WWF, second place was Noted Murderer Jose Gonzales Turning Babyface, third was New Japan introducing Soviets, 4th was the NWA not resigning Ricky Steamboat (yes, that's how it is in the Observer, don't get mad at me), and Arn and Tully quitting the NWA took 5th. Of special note in this category is that we can now officially begin the Little J-Ru Tracker. In the Honorable Mentions, with 16 first-place votes, was Hulk Hogan defeating Zeus at Summerslam. So we can safely say that Little J-Ru had 16 Observer subscriptions. You could have spent that money at an arcade! Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic went easily to Jose Gonzales: Babyface, second place would go to an angle in what I think is World Class where Toni Adams, wife of wrestler Chris Adams, was spanked by heels, third would go to Dusty Rhodes doing toilet bowl skits (as he is the son of a plumber, just a common man), 4th would go to Hogan's manhandling of Sherri, so WWF does get on the board, and 5th would go to something just really weird. Apparently Derrick Dukes and Colonel DeBeers in the AWA had a match where the loser got painted yellow, and the match was cut from TV for some reason. If anyone has video or details on this, please enlighten us because it sounds dumb and wonderful. Best Color Commentator went to Jesse Ventura, with Jim Cornette taking 2nd, Scotty The Body taking 3rd, Paul E. taking 4th, and Michael Hayes taking 5th. I lied about Hardest Worker being the dumbest category. Strongest Wrestler went to Steve Williams. Second went to Rick Steiner, third was a tie between Animal and Doug Furnas, 5th was a tie between Scott Steiner and Davey Boy Smith. Readers' Favorite Wrestler went to Ric Flair. Second went to Funk, third to Riger, fourth to Maeda, and fifth to Piper. Readers' Most Hated Wrestler went to Ultimate Warrior, second to Dusty Rhodes, third to Hulk Hogan, fourth to Murderer Jose Gonzales, as not even a babyface turn could outdo the horrible crime of being a top babyface in a successful company, and Duggan took fifth. Worst Wrestler went to Andre, with Warrior taking 2nd, Duggan 3rd, JYD 4th, and Dino Bravo 5th. Worst Tag Team went to one of Rarity's Favorites, The Powers Of Pain! The Bushwackers took 2nd, Andre & Haku 3rd, infamous terrible gimmick idea The Ding Dongs (a team of wrestlers who would wear bells on their gear because kids would like it), and the team of Slaughter and Baron Von Raschke would take 5th. Worst TV Show went to ICW Wrestling, which around this time apparently had amazing gimmicks like "Super Duper Mario" and segments hosted by kids. I need this in my life. Oh uh, 2nd place went to AWA on ESPN which only barely lost, 3rd to USWA Challenge, 4th to WWF All American Wrestling, and 5th to Southern Championship Wrestling. Worst Manager was easily won by Mr. Fuji, 2nd went to Gary Hart and Sir Oliver Humperdink in a tie, 4th went to Samuel F. Kent and 5th was a tie between Percy Pringle (ohhhhhh noooooooooooo) and Abdul Wizal (who I'm not sure who this is). Worst Match of the Year went to Andre The Giant vs. The Ultimate Warrior from a Saturday Night's Main Event on October 31st. Second place went to the debut of The Ding Dongs vs. George South and Cougar Jay. Third went to Andre vs. Jake Roberts from Wrestlemania V. Paul Jones vs. Ivan Koloff from December 7th of 1988 (as these awards go December to December) got 4th, and Dusty vs. Honky Tonk Man from Summerslam took 5th. Worst Feud went to Andre vs. The Ultimate Warrior. Second place went to Andre v.s Big John Studd. Third went to Ronnie Garvin vs. Greg Valentine (which is bullshit btw). Fourth was a three-way tie between Lex Luger vs. Tommy Rich, the feud with the Yellow Paint match Colonel DeBeers vs. Derrick Dukes, and The Brooklyn Brawler vs. The Red Rooster. Hogan/Zaus wasn't even top 5 (it was sixth)! Worst on Interviews went to Ultimate Warrior, with Kerry Von Erich taking 2nd, Jimmy Snuka taking 3rd, Andre taking 4th, and a three-way tie between Zeus, Steve Williams, and Woman for 5th. Worst Promotion went to the AWA, with USWA taking 2nd, WWF taking 3rd, WWC taking 4th, and ICW 5th. Nothing special there. Best Booker went to All Japan's Shohei Baba, 2nd went to Len Denton (who I think was booking Portland), 3rd to the duo of Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson, 4th to Akira Maeda, and 5th to Ric Flair. Promoter of the Year went to Akira Maeda, 2nd went to Vince McMahon, 3rd to Baba, 4th to Inoki, and 5th to NWA's Jim Herd (the mind behind the Ding Dongs). Best Gimmick went to Jushin Riger's gimmick of Being An Anime. I'm not joking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jushin_Liger_(anime) Second went to Beetlejuice, where the gimmick was being the character from the movie. Third was Woman, fourth went to Mr. Perfect, and fifth The Genius. Worst Gimmick went to The Ding Dongs, WWF took second with the Red Rooster, third went to P.Y. Chu Hi, an American pretending to be Asian who was one of the men who spanked Toni Adams in the angle mentioned earlier, fourth went to The American Dream Dusty Rhodes, and fifth went to Norman The Lunatic. The last category is Most Embarassing Wrestler, which went to Andre The Giant. Dusty Rhodes would take second, the Red Rooster third, Ultimate Warrior fourth, and Zeus fifth. WWF would also take sixth, seventh, and ninth. Whole lotta people mad about WWF. rare Magic card l00k fucked around with this message at 05:41 on Jun 6, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 01:42
|
|
|
rare Magic card l00k posted:Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic went easily to Jose Gonzales: Babyface, second place would go to an angle in what I think is World Class where Toni Adams, wife of wrestler Chris Adams, was spanked by heels, third would go to Dusty Rhodes doing toilet bowl skits (as he is the son of a plumber, just a common man), 4th would go to Hogan's manhandling of Sherri, so WWF does get on the board, and 5th would go to something just really weird. Apparently Derrick Dukes and Colonel DeBeers in the AWA had a match where the loser got painted yellow, and the match was cut from TV for some reason. If anyone has video or details on this, please enlighten us because it sounds dumb and wonderful. Actually, as it turns out, the notes on the DeBeers/Dukes feud were incorrect at the time; the truth may, in fact, actually be worse! The match wasn't where the loser would be painted yellow; instead, if Dukes lost, he, a black wrestler, would be painted white by South African White Supremacist Colonel DeBeers. If he won, not only would he get $2,500, but...well...I'll let Derrick tell you and AWA announcer Larry Nelson his idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiTSYpktauE
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 02:16
|
|
|
Dino Bravo being 3rd in Most Overrated is hilarious because, who would rate him to begin with? Also a lot of those sound like they're from 1989, not 1991. Still interesting, though!
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 04:43
|
|
|
Jason Sextro posted:Dino Bravo being 3rd in Most Overrated is hilarious because, who would rate him to begin with? I have no idea what you're talking about, friend, I definitely didn't typo and accidentally type 1991 instead of 1989. As you can clearly see, it always said 1989.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 05:42
|
|
|
WWF had 3 of the top 5 wrestlers from 89 on PPV in 1991, and managed to do basically nothing with them (except using Flair as a prop in the Taker-Hogan feud).
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 05:57
|
|
|
They got handed the actual real belt from their competitor and managed not make a hot angle out of it which is amazing but also 100% Vince since he can't seem to let hot draws from other companies come in hot without changing something.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 06:46
|
|
|
SKINNER got more PPV time in 1991 WWF than Ric Flair.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 06:49
|
|
|
I, like, knew the Flair/Funk I Quit Match was in 1989 as was the Flair/Steamboat trilogy, but it never hit me that they were in the same year until now. If that makes sense.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 07:10
|
|
|
The only reason I remember is because I rewatched the main event of WrestleWar 89 about 1000 times and that ended with Funk losing his mind and attacking Flair after the match when he wouldn't give him an automatic title shot.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 07:31
|
|
|
Jerusalem posted:The only reason I remember is because I rewatched the main event of WrestleWar 89 about 1000 times and that ended with Funk losing his mind and attacking Flair after the match when he wouldn't give him an automatic title shot. It's all coming back to me now...
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 08:02
|
|
|
Jerusalem posted:The only reason I remember is because I rewatched the main event of WrestleWar 89 about 1000 times and that ended with Funk losing his mind and attacking Flair after the match when he wouldn't give him an automatic title shot. Why did you have so many Observer subscriptions?
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 08:12
|
|
|
rare Magic card l00k posted:The winner of the 1985 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award for Most Washed Up was Sgt. Slaughter. Yes, 6 years after being the most washed up wrestler in the world, Slaughter had a main event heel run in WWF. To everyone who goes "Oh no, I can't wait, I must post spoilers now", I waited 8 months to post this result specifically because of 1991, you can wait too. rare Magic card l00k posted:Wrestler of the Year went to Ric Flair, with Akira Maeda taking home 2nd, Terry Funk taking 3rd, Genichiro Tenryu taking 4th, and Ricky Steamboat taking 5th. Wait, Tenryu? As in WM7 Tenryu? Wut? rare Magic card l00k posted:Best Heel ... WWF would round out the top 5 with Rick Rude MAH BOY! rare Magic card l00k posted:These two would feud into Tag Team of the Year, with The Rockers winning over The Brainbusters by TWO POINTS. These are both great options! rare Magic card l00k posted:Most Improved would go to Lex Luger, with second going to Scott Steiner. Rick Rude represented WWF in taking 3rd Yeah, Rude really hit another level in '89. Also  at Luger.rare Magic card l00k posted:Most Unimproved would return WWF to the promised land though, thanks to the efforts of one Jim Duggan ... fifth would be a tie between Dick Murdoch and Rarity Favorite Akeem. Too loving right. rare Magic card l00k posted:Most Underrated would go to Dan Krofatt, with Bret Hart taking 2nd, Chris Benoit 3rd, Brad Armstrong 4th, and Eddie Gilbert 5th. Dang, I didn't realise Benoit had been going for that long. rare Magic card l00k posted:Rookie of the Year would go to Dustin Rhodes Seriously? Ok, I know we only got one appearance from him but when showed up in '91 he looked like he'd been learning the business for about two weeks. rare Magic card l00k posted:Best Manager award... The Sensational Sherri taking 4th Bah! Observer audience don't know what quality is. rare Magic card l00k posted:Worst TV Announcer ... Lord Alfred Hayes 4th All right which of you is responsible for this I WILL CUT YOU rare Magic card l00k posted:Luckily, Worst Major Wrestling Show exists! Wrestlemania V won this award by a huge margin, with Survivor Series finishing 2nd, and Summerslam 3rd. Bahahaha, holy poo poo. That is a shocking run. rare Magic card l00k posted:Biggest Shock Of The Year always brings unreal things, and this year is no different. ... second place was Noted Murderer Jose Gonzales Turning Babyface  What the actual gently caress? Who would think this was a good idea? Why would anyone-rare Magic card l00k posted:Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic went easily to Jose Gonzales: Babyface Well that makes sense. rare Magic card l00k posted:4th would go to Hogan's manhandling of Sherri, so WWF does get on the board I knew I was right to find that weird! rare Magic card l00k posted:Worst Wrestler went to Andre, with Warrior taking 2nd, Duggan 3rd, JYD 4th, and Dino Bravo 5th. I heartily endorse all of these options. rare Magic card l00k posted:Worst Match of the Year went to Andre The Giant vs. The Ultimate Warrior from a Saturday Night's Main Event on October 31st. Second place went to the debut of The Ding Dongs vs. George South and Cougar Jay. Third went to Andre vs. Jake Roberts from Wrestlemania V. Paul Jones vs. Ivan Koloff from December 7th of 1988 (as these awards go December to December) got 4th, and Dusty vs. Honky Tonk Man from Summerslam took 5th. Yeesh, I am so glad we missed out on that Andre/Warrior match. And I knew I was right to find Dusty/Honky a load of shite! rare Magic card l00k posted:Worst Feud went to Andre vs. The Ultimate Warrior. Second place went to Andre v.s Big John Studd. Third went to Ronnie Garvin vs. Greg Valentine (which is bullshit btw). Again, very happy to miss the two Andre feuds. And Greg/Garvin was automatically bad cause it meant we had to see more Greg Valentine. rare Magic card l00k posted:Worst Gimmick went to The Ding Dongs Every time I see the Ding Dongs I think their gimmick is like the Dicks rare Magic card l00k posted:P.Y. Chu Hi, an American pretending to be Asian Jesus! rare Magic card l00k posted:Most Embarassing Wrestler, which went to Andre The Giant. Dusty Rhodes would take second, the Red Rooster third, Ultimate Warrior fourth, and Zeus fifth. WWF would also take sixth, seventh, and ninth. Whole lotta people mad about WWF. Let me guess... Akeem, Hacksaw and one out of Demolition?
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 08:24
|
|
|
Rarity posted:Wait, Tenryu? As in WM7 Tenryu? Wut? The very same Tenryu! And you were one for three, 6th was Akeem, seventh was The Bushwackers, and ninth was Hogan.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 08:43
|
|
|
rare Magic card l00k posted:seventh was The Bushwackers, and ninth was Hogan. I'll allow it
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 08:52
|
|
|
Luger had a *really* brief span in WCW where he was solidly bringing it. It manages to turn the rest of his career into a big "Why couldn't you do this some more"
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 11:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 08:12 |
|
|
rare Magic card l00k posted:The winner of the 1985 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award for Most Washed Up was Sgt. Slaughter. Yes, 6 years after being the most washed up wrestler in the world, Slaughter had a main event heel run in WWF. To everyone who goes "Oh no, I can't wait, I must post spoilers now", I waited 8 months to post this result specifically because of 1991, you can wait too. Speaking of that, a while back someone said that upon hiring Legion of Doom, Vince gave them "just another guy" booking. I think we're far enough in their career that I can call bullshit on that. - Summerslam '90: Make their first PPV appearance to antagonize Demolition in what is, on paper, a dream match in the Spider-Man-pointing-at-Spider-Man sense. - Survivor Series '90: Lose, but are protected in the sense that they're DQ'd for non-stop brawling. - Royal Rumble '91: Eliminated the Undertaker. - WrestleMania VII: Easily cut through Power and Glory, the guys who cheaply prevented them from becoming #1 contenders. - Summerslam '91: Won the tag team championship. Also came to Andre the Giant's rescue by confronting the Natural Disasters. - Survivor Series '91: Main-evented the show and came out as the two survivors. So at this point, their only losses have been getting disqualified for fighting too much and getting screwed during a battle royal. I think they did just fine.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2018 11:57
|
|