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Post by warriorlynx on Jul 5, 2018 17:46:19 GMT -5
Do you think the WWF should've pushed Tatanka (Chris Chavis) in '93 rather than Lex Luger, especially since Vince once saw him as a possible world champion? I'm not saying Tatanka should become the WWF Champion. I know Tatanka wasn't as tall/cut as Luger, but could it have worked better than Luger's run?
Overview:
- Tatanka debuted in 1991, vs. Luger's 1993 debut (92 was for WBF)
- Tatanka won the 40-Man "Bashed in the USA" Battle Royal in '92
- Tatanka wrestled at Wrestlemania VIII and for the IC title at WM-IX
- Tatanka was still Undefeated by the start of July 93 and was billed as such
- Lex Luger was a heel by the start of July '93
How to push Tatanka:
- USS Intrepid Bodyslam Event: Crush weakens Yoko enough to give Tatanka a chance to beat on Yoko and attempt a Samoan Drop from an irish whip (may not look great, but even Lex's slam didn't look good). Tatanka doesn't necessarily bodyslam him but "wins".
- Jim Cornette rants on the following RAW that the rules stipulated a bodyslam and Tatanka doesn't deserve a shot at the title.
- Chief Jay Strongbow joins with Tatanka as his manager and pushes for him to become the No. 1 Contender for SummerSlam and no "American Hero" stuff
- Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow on RAW to determine a No. 1 Contender, Tatanka wins the match. Yoko gets involved after Bigelow beats down on Tatanka post-match and Yoko lands a bonzai drop. He goes for another, but Crush runs in to help.
- Yoko squashes Crush and "injures him" the next RAW episode.
- Chief Jay Strongbow gets an award, Cornette interrupts it and bashes Native American heritage. The Chief attacks Cornette, till Yokozuna runs in for the beatdown and drops a bonzai drop, hospitalizing Tatanka's manager.
- SummerSlam 1993: Yokozuna (c) (w/Fuji & Cornette) vs. Tatanka for the WWF Championship.
Who wins? Well probably Yoko. But if Tatanka did win the title, perhaps Tatanka vs. Narcissist Lex Luger at WMX?
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nibs92
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 29, 2008 5:47:21 GMT -5
Posts: 2,240
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Post by nibs92 on Jul 6, 2018 6:16:45 GMT -5
Personally I’d say no. He had a specific gimmick, which to me was a bit dated, and don’t think it would have the wide spread appeal to be champion. He wasn’t a bad interview but not great either.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Jul 6, 2018 11:06:29 GMT -5
No.
Tatanka was more suited to be the friend to the main man. He was the Orndorff to Hogan in the relationship he had with Luger.
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Post by Nivro™ on Jul 6, 2018 15:09:28 GMT -5
Lord no....Tatanka was a solid mid carder at best. He peaked at WM9.
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TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,629
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Jul 7, 2018 10:58:50 GMT -5
I'm the biggest Tatanka fan ever quite possibly, but even I'll admit he shouldn't have gotten the Lex push that summer. He was still a pretty hot babyface riding that undefeated streak until everything got screwed up.
Was lucky enough to meet him a few weeks ago and I told him how upsetting his loss to Ludvig Borga was as a kid. He said that they had huge plans for Borga, but by the end of the year they kind of cooled on him because of his backstage attitude. I think Vince & Co. realized he wasn't long for the WWF especially not as a main event talent. He was scheduled to have his big rematch against Tatanka at the Royal Rumble. That match got scrapped when Borga injured his ankle. Bam Bam took his place and Ludvig was never seen again in the WWF although it's strange that there were promo shots of a scheduled match between him and Earthquake at Wrestlemania X so I guess he was expected to return at some point.
Tatanka told me that he was booked to go over Borga with a clean win at the Rumble and although he loved working with Bam Bam, that last-minute swap killed his momentum as a babyface. He had this long undefeated streak only to lose it to a guy who would be done with the company a few months later. Tatanka was never able to get his revenge against Borga and that's why it has always felt like they totally wasted his streak.
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Deleted
Joined on: Apr 19, 2024 14:40:15 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2018 6:18:47 GMT -5
No, Tatanka was hurting from failing to win the IC belt at the time and he needed that. I think Crush could have got that push in all honesty, watch that video back. He lifted yoko with freaking EASE.
Bruce Prichard did say that Vince had massive plans for Tatanka though and wanted him to be a WWF champion but he didn't quite click with the crowd.
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Post by PJ on Jul 12, 2018 11:45:26 GMT -5
I liked Tatanka. I thought he was a fun character and solid mid-charter, but I didn’t then nor looking back now ever think he would make a good let alone great WWE Heavyweight Champion. Maybe a championship contender for a heel champion to go over at best.
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TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,629
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Jul 14, 2018 13:23:00 GMT -5
No, Tatanka was hurting from failing to win the IC belt at the time and he needed that. I think Crush could have got that push in all honesty, watch that video back. He lifted yoko with freaking EASE. Bruce Prichard did say that Vince had massive plans for Tatanka though and wanted him to be a WWF champion but he didn't quite click with the crowd. I really think he should've gotten a run with that belt at some point in 1993. The Shawn/Marty feud still had plenty of steam. Those two could've feuded the rest of the year and I think the fans would've eaten it up. Their split just felt so real that they didn't even need the Intercontinental belt to elevate their rivalry. It didn't help that Marty was constantly getting fired and rehired, but once he resurfaced in May he remained with the WWF for over a year so they definitely could've used most of 1993 to really milk that Rockers feud like they always intended to. A big rematch at Summerslam would have been much better than Marty getting squashed along with that extremely disappointing Shawn/Perfect dud. |
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Post by warriorlynx on Jul 14, 2018 20:19:50 GMT -5
No, Tatanka was hurting from failing to win the IC belt at the time and he needed that. I think Crush could have got that push in all honesty, watch that video back. He lifted yoko with freaking EASE. Bruce Prichard did say that Vince had massive plans for Tatanka though and wanted him to be a WWF champion but he didn't quite click with the crowd. I really think he should've gotten a run with that belt at some point in 1993. The Shawn/Marty feud still had plenty of steam. Those two could've feuded the rest of the year and I think the fans would've eaten it up. Their split just felt so real that they didn't even need the Intercontinental belt to elevate their rivalry. It didn't help that Marty was constantly getting fired and rehired, but once he resurfaced in May he remained with the WWF for over a year so they definitely could've used most of 1993 to really milk that Rockers feud like they always intended to. A big rematch at Summerslam would have been much better than Marty getting squashed along with that extremely disappointing Shawn/Perfect dud. As much as the Shawn/Marty feud was there, it wasn't the kind of impact that would've been made at Wrestlemania 8 if Marty didn't go and get himself fired. A missed opportunity for a PPV showdown just like with Tito Santana and Rick Martel. |
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