ClassicFan2
Main Eventer
Joined on: Oct 22, 2010 15:25:00 GMT -5
Posts: 3,257
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Post by ClassicFan2 on Apr 1, 2024 16:52:36 GMT -5
wrestlemania is closing in so im gonna do 1 of these a day til sunday wm9 is another many dont care for, but i loved it. its ahead of wm 1,2,7,8,10 for me. i was looking so forward to it, that even tho many matches werent super great it didnt matter to me. i dont always need 5 star matches to love them. sometimes just seeing my favs goin at it is enough for me. i LOVED this being at caesars palace. it made it special and different for me. heenan was hilarious in this event Rating: a solid B (alot due to how hyped i was for it) Matches: bret/yoko was good match. and even tho it sucked in the long run, i was pumped and freaking out when hogan ran in and won the belt. i always liked hulk way more than bret so it didnt hurt my feelings at all. perfect/luger was match i wanted to see most. mr perfect is my fav so i was bummed when lex cheated and got the pin. i was hopin for a double DQ or CO to be honest as i disnt want either to lose. taker/gonzales: again another match most hate, but i loved. i love giants and never expect them to put on matches like bret or shawn, so i love it for what it was: the deadman vs the biggest giant ever  shawn/tatanka was great, just wish tatanka won the belt and thought for sure he was gonna money inc vs mega-maniacs was also good, but again bummed hulk/beefer didnt win the belts and also thought for sure thay would doink/crsuh was decent and i was into this fued alot steiners/shrinkers was best match on the card for sure very bummed no bigelow/kamala match. would sooo rather seen that then razor/backlund which was only an ok match but just made no sense and had no build upo for it    so lets here thoughts on this one peoples! |
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Post by JokerFC on Apr 1, 2024 17:26:52 GMT -5
Strange event for me but I often enjoy the Steiners only WM moment.
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Post by MKSavage on Apr 1, 2024 18:26:49 GMT -5
It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't good. They had some nice matchups, but most of the matches just didn't click. The best match on the card was definitely the Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers, after that, I'd give it to the Bret/Yoko match, then the Mega Maniacs/Money Inc. match - sorry The Brain , I didn't mind the match all that much. But a number of the other matches were pretty boring. Even the Tatanka/HBK match was rather boring to me. It could have been a better event. The stage/setting was cool, though. That's a cool poster with Hogan, Bret and Yoko on the cover. Where is that from?  |
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Post by PJ on Apr 1, 2024 19:07:21 GMT -5
Steiners vs Headshrinkers is one of my “Top 3” All-Time favorite matches. And my “All-Time Favorite WrestleMania match.” So I guess it’s a Yay for me.
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Post by The Brain on Apr 1, 2024 19:16:59 GMT -5
Steiners/Shrinkers is def best match. I also liked the IC match and Bret/Yoko for only being what 8 minutes was still good. And yeah the set was awesome
But still a nay for me overall
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ClassicFan2
Main Eventer
Joined on: Oct 22, 2010 15:25:00 GMT -5
Posts: 3,257
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Post by ClassicFan2 on Apr 1, 2024 19:23:55 GMT -5
It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't good. They had some nice matchups, but most of the matches just didn't click. The best match on the card was definitely the Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers, after that, I'd give it to the Bret/Yoko match, then the Mega Maniacs/Money Inc. match - sorry The Brain , I didn't mind the match all that much. But a number of the other matches were pretty boring. Even the Tatanka/HBK match was rather boring to me. It could have been a better event. The stage/setting was cool, though. That's a cool poster with Hogan, Bret and Yoko on the cover. Where is that from? i found the image online |
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Post by MKSavage on Apr 1, 2024 19:28:38 GMT -5
It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't good. They had some nice matchups, but most of the matches just didn't click. The best match on the card was definitely the Steiner Brothers vs. The Headshrinkers, after that, I'd give it to the Bret/Yoko match, then the Mega Maniacs/Money Inc. match - sorry The Brain , I didn't mind the match all that much. But a number of the other matches were pretty boring. Even the Tatanka/HBK match was rather boring to me. It could have been a better event. The stage/setting was cool, though. That's a cool poster with Hogan, Bret and Yoko on the cover. Where is that from? i found the image online I looked around a bit too, they are selling it on the WWE shop. I think I'm going to get one and have it signed by The Brain's favorite, Hulk Hogan, as a gift to him for the 2nd annual Weasel Whacker Weekend... |
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Post by The Brain on Apr 1, 2024 19:40:24 GMT -5
I looked around a bit too, they are selling it on the WWE shop. I think I'm going to get one and have it signed by The Brain 's favorite, Hulk Hogan, as a gift to him for the 2nd annual Weasel Whacker Weekend... |
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Post by PJ on Apr 1, 2024 20:15:27 GMT -5
I looked around a bit too, they are selling it on the WWE shop. I think I'm going to get one and have it signed by The Brain's favorite, Hulk Hogan, as a gift to him for the 2nd annual Weasel Whacker Weekend... Brilliant!!! The Brain will absolutely LOVE it!!!! |
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TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,631
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Apr 1, 2024 20:51:29 GMT -5
From a nostalgia perspective, I absolutely love WrestleMania IX. The awkward growing pains transitioning from the glory days of Hulkamania to the New Generation is an era that I will gladly roll around in all day like a pig in mud.
While I can still enjoy revisiting this event, it absolutely has some major flaws. Too many matches end in either a DQ/countout or have some kind of interference involved which is criminal for the biggest show of the year.
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Post by hbkjason on Apr 1, 2024 23:50:52 GMT -5
This was the first WWF PPV I saw where the bloom started to come of the rose a little for me. I had seen VI to VIII as they happened and IX was by far my least favorite. It is not a bad event and there was some stuff I was into, plus the set looked amazing. It is hard to say exactly why this event did not click for me like the other WrestleMania's did. I actually need to watch this event from start to end again to see if I like it more now. EDIT: Something just poped into my mind and it could be one of the main factors why WrestleMania IX is not one of my favorites. In the UK, all of the WrestleMania VHS's even WrestleMania IV with its big ass double box had the same style, it was blue/purple with lightning, but for WrestleMania IX they changed the style of the packaging and even as a kid I had OCD with collecting stuff and it bugged the hell out of me |
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Post by The Brain on Apr 2, 2024 2:26:15 GMT -5
I also wanna shout out JR,Mach and Bobby in the booth. Enjoyed the hell outta their brief run during this era
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Post by hbkjason on Apr 2, 2024 3:10:37 GMT -5
I also wanna shout out JR,Mach and Bobby in the booth. Enjoyed the hell outta their brief run during this era Looking back now, Savage was completely wasted on commentary in his later years in the WWF, especially when he showed that he could still go in WCW. However, I always enjoyed his work as a commentator and thought that he was fun, had a lot of energy and with the right guy, he could have some fun and witty back and forth too. |
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sinfony
Jobber
Joined on: Jul 25, 2023 4:22:29 GMT -5
Posts: 38 
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Post by sinfony on Apr 2, 2024 5:11:22 GMT -5
The first WM I actively followed in real time, so I will always have a real soft spot for it. The venue looked fantastic, the only downside being that it all had to be done during the daytime because of the west coast location - the main event and Taker's entrance would have looked incredible in darkness, with roman torches as illumination. I'll always be sorry that they didn't do the Hulk angle with Savage jumping into the ring from the commentary booth, after having gotten heat with Yoko/Fuji over the previous months on Raw. Having WM end with Hogan once again champion felt unoriginal and somewhat out of date, even back then. I'm not a Hogan hater, but was never a Hulkamaniac and I really liked the shift in trend to having just had wrestlers like Savage, Flair and Bret as champion. For me, they simply guaranteed a much better quality title match, even if Hogan undoubtedly created the bigger crowd pops back then. Not many matches really paid off with quality on the night itself. Perfect/Luger really wasn't what it could have been and the outcome did very little to push either guy. Michaels/Tatanka was merely ok imo. Backlund/Razor was predictably pathetic, a match that belonged on Superstars, not the biggest show of the year. A lot of the booking feels slapdash in retrospect and they really could have created a much stronger card if they had played the long game and built up the storylines that had been started earlier, but once it got to late 1992, you have the feeling that they were just throwing things out there and scrambling stuff together on the fly as the business hit stormy waters. Long gone were the days of building up to a Mania pay-off like they had done with the Mega Powers exploding, for example. They could easily have had a card like: Bret vs Yoko, with the Savage pay-off, opening up the potential of Savage v Bret at Summerslam, rather than ending the show with a guy holding the belt who has absolutely no intent of ever getting into the ring and putting over the "New Generation" you're supposedly building. Flair vs Perfect as the loser leaves the WWF angle... you just gotta ask Flair to work one more month than he actually did! Come on, it's in Las Vegas! What's more "the bright lights, the glitz and glamour, the limousines, styling and profiling" than Slick Ric cruising into Vegas?! It was made for him to be there. Hogan/Beefcake vs Money Inc. - and just let Hogan win his belt here. All the Hulkamaniacs/Vince are happy. Tag title doesn't need to feature prominently on TV every week so it's not such a strange aftermath with Hogan vanishing from view for most of May despite being champion. If Hogan signs up long term afterward, THEN you can think about putting him into the title picture, but not before. In the end, the DQ finish here did nothing but add another unclean finish to a show full of them, and Money Inc fell apart within a few months anyway. Furthermore, keep Jimmy Hart heel with Money Inc., you don't nee d a manager to do the talking for Hogan and Beefcake, that's their own forte. Have the briefcase come into play here
Even working on short-terms deals, they could have got Hogan from there to Summerslam: Have the Mega maniacs lose the tag titles at KOTR to the Headshrinkers, when Yokozuna and Fuji, tired of Hogan's jibes against "Japs" and Samoan savages come to ringside and put Hogan out of the match, leaving Brutus to struggle alone to the inevitable loss. Then Hogan can have his favourite match of facing the monster Yoko at Summerslam, you don't need the title involved though. He would probably have been open to staying with that match in store, rather than essentially quitting knowing that he would have to take on one of the "New Generation" at Summerslam.
Taker vs Bigelow - way better quality match possible. Gonzalez did look intimidating, but man, he really could not do anything in a wrestling ring, and guaranteed two stinkers for Taker. They could have had a strong Bigelow match, which builds him up even more for his run to the final at KOTR, yet ends in a DQ to open up a Summerslam rematch, guaranteeing another better match at Summerslam. Savage vs Razor - this never had any real pay-off, except them both being involved in a tag match at Survivor Series. I mean Razor essentially costs Savage the title in September 92, yet they never actually have any one-on-one match as a result? Meanwhile Savage is more concerned in January about regaining his hat from Repo Man?! Come on, and you're wondering why ratings and buyrates are sliding?
Let's try it another way:
Have Razor in the Rumble, rather than in a title match at RR (that could have been a Bret vs Flair rematch), let Razor get close to winning the Rumble until he and Savage end up going at it hard, both eliminating each other and brawling back to the dressing room. Razor immediately losing to Bret in his first real shot at gold weakened him and relegated him to the pointless Backlund squash at Mania. He could have been looking much stronger with this booking. Put this as the opening to WM9 so Savage can join the commentary booth later in the show and have Razor sneak the win somehow after a ref bump. Savage is already fuming on commentary later about injustices, and the referees being duped, than he sees the title change right before his eyes thanks to Fuji and the referee not seeing it, he's really irate now, now Yoko wants to banzai squash Bret after the bell to boot, he loses it and storms the ring to pull Bret out of there and then you get the challenge from Fuji... this also opens up a future Savage vs Razor title match at KOTR. Michaels vs Jannetty - just bite the bullet and bring him back for the big event. They had an excellent match just one month later, which should have had the big stage it deserved. Luger vs Tatanka - build the Narcissist by him being the one to finally end Tatanka's unbeaten streak. It can be with the forearm to protect Tatanka's honour of not losing fairly. Steiners vs Headshrinkers - no complaints, was excellent.
(I wouldn't really miss Crush vs Doink not being on the card as I always found Crush utterly lame, no matter whether he was face or heel, but the two clowns angle was actually quite original and cool, so I don't mind it being here too much. For me, it would be the match you save as potential filler that you can cut if you're running overtime or you just schedule as a dark match to be shown later on TV).
All in all, just for personal nostalgia I have to say "yay", but it really could have been much better with more care. I can fully understand why many people dislike it though and I don't dispute that is a Mania without a single classic match. The roster had suffered hugely over the preceding year, but you now had an in-ring Mr Perfect, two rapidly climbing elite talents in Bret and Shawn and a couple of great new additions in Razor and the Steiners. If they had put the pieces in better places they could have created a very credible Mania and also set up the rest of the year. As it was, they had nowhere to go afterwards thanks to Hulk's one night stand and Razor's immediate demotion to IC level matches, so they had to do the Real American Part 2 with Luger vs the nasty foreign monster, which I found "okay", but it all a bit meh and felt like something you had already seen umpteen times, plus Yokozuna was just champion for far too long a period for his in-ring limitation and lack of real charisma (the addition of Cornette at his side did help at least).
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TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,631
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Apr 2, 2024 8:10:10 GMT -5
I also wanna shout out JR,Mach and Bobby in the booth. Enjoyed the hell outta their brief run during this era It was definitely a unique pairing for its time. Heenan was the glue since he slotted right into his usual heel role, but the other two were a different story as this was their WWF commentary debut so there wouldn't be an immediate chemistry. Jim Ross and his southern WCW drawl took a while to get used to, but he is so good at calling the action that it was a quick transition. Savage brought a massive wave of energy as expected although he kind of went off the rails a few times on this show with some bizarre/nonsensical statements where it sounded like he was just rambling to himself. "They're hanging from the rafters!!!................ The Roman Colosseum doesn't have rafters............ But they have columns and they are hanging from the columns!!!" 😂 By the time they were onto their second PPV as a trio at the inaugural King of the Ring, I thought their chemistry got much better and the flow of the conversation just seemed more smooth and natural. I know Gorilla was dealing with a bad cold during this event. You have to wonder if there were plans to have him as part of the commentary team had he been healthy. He had called every WrestleMania from the booth up until then so the chances were no doubt likely. |
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Post by MKSavage on Apr 2, 2024 8:14:04 GMT -5
The first WM I actively followed in real time, so I will always have a real soft spot for it. The venue looked fantastic, the only downside being that it all had to be done during the daytime because of the west coast location - the main event and Taker's entrance would have looked incredible in darkness, with roman torches as illumination. I'll always be sorry that they didn't do the Hulk angle with Savage jumping into the ring from the commentary booth, after having gotten heat with Yoko/Fuji over the previous months on Raw. Having WM end with Hogan once again champion felt unoriginal and somewhat out of date, even back then. I'm not a Hogan hater, but was never a Hulkamaniac and I really liked the shift in trend to having just had wrestlers like Savage, Flair and Bret as champion. For me, they simply guaranteed a much better quality title match, even if Hogan undoubtedly created the bigger crowd pops back then. Not many matches really paid off with quality on the night itself. Perfect/Luger really wasn't what it could have been and the outcome did very little to push either guy. Michaels/Tatanka was merely ok imo. Backlund/Razor was predictably pathetic, a match that belonged on Superstars, not the biggest show of the year. A lot of the booking feels slapdash in retrospect and they really could have created a much stronger card if they had played the long game and built up the storylines that had been started earlier, but once it got to late 1992, you have the feeling that they were just throwing things out there and scrambling stuff together on the fly as the business hit stormy waters. Long gone were the days of building up to a Mania pay-off like they had done with the Mega Powers exploding, for example. They could easily have had a card like: Bret vs Yoko, with the Savage pay-off, opening up the potential of Savage v Bret at Summerslam, rather than ending the show with a guy holding the belt who has absolutely no intent of ever getting into the ring and putting over the "New Generation" you're supposedly building. Flair vs Perfect as the loser leaves the WWF angle... you just gotta ask Flair to work one more month than he actually did! Come on, it's in Las Vegas! What's more "the bright lights, the glitz and glamour, the limousines, styling and profiling" than Slick Ric cruising into Vegas?! It was made for him to be there. Hogan/Beefcake vs Money Inc. - and just let Hogan win his belt here. All the Hulkamaniacs/Vince are happy. Tag title doesn't need to feature prominently on TV every week so it's not such a strange aftermath with Hogan vanishing from view for most of May despite being champion. If Hogan signs up long term afterward, THEN you can think about putting him into the title picture, but not before. In the end, the DQ finish here did nothing but add another unclean finish to a show full of them, and Money Inc fell apart within a few months anyway. Furthermore, keep Jimmy Hart heel with Money Inc., you don't nee d a manager to do the talking for Hogan and Beefcake, that's their own forte. Have the briefcase come into play here
Even working on short-terms deals, they could have got Hogan from there to Summerslam: Have the Mega maniacs lose the tag titles at KOTR to the Headshrinkers, when Yokozuna and Fuji, tired of Hogan's jibes against "Japs" and Samoan savages come to ringside and put Hogan out of the match, leaving Brutus to struggle alone to the inevitable loss. Then Hogan can have his favourite match of facing the monster Yoko at Summerslam, you don't need the title involved though. He would probably have been open to staying with that match in store, rather than essentially quitting knowing that he would have to take on one of the "New Generation" at Summerslam.
Taker vs Bigelow - way better quality match possible. Gonzalez did look intimidating, but man, he really could not do anything in a wrestling ring, and guaranteed two stinkers for Taker. They could have had a strong Bigelow match, which builds him up even more for his run to the final at KOTR, yet ends in a DQ to open up a Summerslam rematch, guaranteeing another better match at Summerslam. Savage vs Razor - this never had any real pay-off, except them both being involved in a tag match at Survivor Series. I mean Razor essentially costs Savage the title in September 92, yet they never actually have any one-on-one match as a result? Meanwhile Savage is more concerned in January about regaining his hat from Repo Man?! Come on, and you're wondering why ratings and buyrates are sliding?
Let's try it another way:
Have Razor in the Rumble, rather than in a title match at RR (that could have been a Bret vs Flair rematch), let Razor get close to winning the Rumble until he and Savage end up going at it hard, both eliminating each other and brawling back to the dressing room. Razor immediately losing to Bret in his first real shot at gold weakened him and relegated him to the pointless Backlund squash at Mania. He could have been looking much stronger with this booking. Put this as the opening to WM9 so Savage can join the commentary booth later in the show and have Razor sneak the win somehow after a ref bump. Savage is already fuming on commentary later about injustices, and the referees being duped, than he sees the title change right before his eyes thanks to Fuji and the referee not seeing it, he's really irate now, now Yoko wants to banzai squash Bret after the bell to boot, he loses it and storms the ring to pull Bret out of there and then you get the challenge from Fuji... this also opens up a future Savage vs Razor title match at KOTR. Michaels vs Jannetty - just bite the bullet and bring him back for the big event. They had an excellent match just one month later, which should have had the big stage it deserved. Luger vs Tatanka - build the Narcissist by him being the one to finally end Tatanka's unbeaten streak. It can be with the forearm to protect Tatanka's honour of not losing fairly. Steiners vs Headshrinkers - no complaints, was excellent.
(I wouldn't really miss Crush vs Doink not being on the card as I always found Crush utterly lame, no matter whether he was face or heel, but the two clowns angle was actually quite original and cool, so I don't mind it being here too much. For me, it would be the match you save as potential filler that you can cut if you're running overtime or you just schedule as a dark match to be shown later on TV).
All in all, just for personal nostalgia I have to say "yay", but it really could have been much better with more care. I can fully understand why many people dislike it though and I don't dispute that is a Mania without a single classic match. The roster had suffered hugely over the preceding year, but you now had an in-ring Mr Perfect, two rapidly climbing elite talents in Bret and Shawn and a couple of great new additions in Razor and the Steiners. If they had put the pieces in better places they could have created a very credible Mania and also set up the rest of the year. As it was, they had nowhere to go afterwards thanks to Hulk's one night stand and Razor's immediate demotion to IC level matches, so they had to do the Real American Part 2 with Luger vs the nasty foreign monster, which I found "okay", but it all a bit meh and felt like something you had already seen umpteen times, plus Yokozuna was just champion for far too long a period for his in-ring limitation and lack of real charisma (the addition of Cornette at his side did help at least).
I agree with this. The card would have to be rearranged for a better show. I like having Bret face Flair at RR93, with Savage and Razor battling it out in the Rumble match. Savage and Razor eliminate each other which sets up their match at Mania. Perfect can help Bret win the match against Flair which sets up their match at Mania. Yoko wins the Rumble which sets up his match with Bret at Mania. I also like Savage being the one to come out and win the belt from Yoko after the screwy finish. Let Hogan & Beefcake win the tag belts, they can either drop the belts to the Headshrinkers like you suggested, or they can drop them back to Money Inc. Luger vs. Tatanka also sounds good, with Luger being the one to end Tatanka's year+ winning streak. This will set Luger up to be the guy to face Bret in the fall, after Bret wins the belt back from Savage at Summer Slam. Also, Bam Bam vs Taker sounds way more interesting than Taker vs. Gonzalez. |
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fabulous1971
Mid-Carder
Insert Price is Right losing horn here. :)
Joined on: Apr 1, 2022 12:29:07 GMT -5
Posts: 414
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Post by fabulous1971 on Apr 2, 2024 8:42:39 GMT -5
LOL, I was at this one too. The atmosphere was amazing during the show and the day before. I met The Undertaker and he was just so massive in height! Also saw Gorilla Monsoon in the high limit poker table and he was just so nice as well. It was only a quick hi.
The show itself was mediocre. It being outside was cool and seeing all the entrances.
Luna with Shawn was a nice surprise.
Everyone popped for the two Doinks.
During the tag match when Jimmy Hart turned his jacket around, a lot of people thought he was going to turn on Hogan and Beefcake. I caught one of the W2 forms that were thrown in the air, I threw it away when I left that venue lol.
The Main Event was ok, nobody, and I mean nobody saw that ending coming. Once Hogan won everyone in my area just groaned.
It was a fun trip as well, I won $3400 at Caesars that evening in a slot machine so that paid for me and my dads whole trip and left a lot to bring home!
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ClassicFan2
Main Eventer
Joined on: Oct 22, 2010 15:25:00 GMT -5
Posts: 3,257
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Post by ClassicFan2 on Apr 2, 2024 8:44:37 GMT -5
The first WM I actively followed in real time, so I will always have a real soft spot for it. The venue looked fantastic, the only downside being that it all had to be done during the daytime because of the west coast location - the main event and Taker's entrance would have looked incredible in darkness, with roman torches as illumination. I'll always be sorry that they didn't do the Hulk angle with Savage jumping into the ring from the commentary booth, after having gotten heat with Yoko/Fuji over the previous months on Raw. Having WM end with Hogan once again champion felt unoriginal and somewhat out of date, even back then. I'm not a Hogan hater, but was never a Hulkamaniac and I really liked the shift in trend to having just had wrestlers like Savage, Flair and Bret as champion. For me, they simply guaranteed a much better quality title match, even if Hogan undoubtedly created the bigger crowd pops back then. Not many matches really paid off with quality on the night itself. Perfect/Luger really wasn't what it could have been and the outcome did very little to push either guy. Michaels/Tatanka was merely ok imo. Backlund/Razor was predictably pathetic, a match that belonged on Superstars, not the biggest show of the year. A lot of the booking feels slapdash in retrospect and they really could have created a much stronger card if they had played the long game and built up the storylines that had been started earlier, but once it got to late 1992, you have the feeling that they were just throwing things out there and scrambling stuff together on the fly as the business hit stormy waters. Long gone were the days of building up to a Mania pay-off like they had done with the Mega Powers exploding, for example. They could easily have had a card like: Bret vs Yoko, with the Savage pay-off, opening up the potential of Savage v Bret at Summerslam, rather than ending the show with a guy holding the belt who has absolutely no intent of ever getting into the ring and putting over the "New Generation" you're supposedly building. Flair vs Perfect as the loser leaves the WWF angle... you just gotta ask Flair to work one more month than he actually did! Come on, it's in Las Vegas! What's more "the bright lights, the glitz and glamour, the limousines, styling and profiling" than Slick Ric cruising into Vegas?! It was made for him to be there. Hogan/Beefcake vs Money Inc. - and just let Hogan win his belt here. All the Hulkamaniacs/Vince are happy. Tag title doesn't need to feature prominently on TV every week so it's not such a strange aftermath with Hogan vanishing from view for most of May despite being champion. If Hogan signs up long term afterward, THEN you can think about putting him into the title picture, but not before. In the end, the DQ finish here did nothing but add another unclean finish to a show full of them, and Money Inc fell apart within a few months anyway. Furthermore, keep Jimmy Hart heel with Money Inc., you don't nee d a manager to do the talking for Hogan and Beefcake, that's their own forte. Have the briefcase come into play here
Even working on short-terms deals, they could have got Hogan from there to Summerslam: Have the Mega maniacs lose the tag titles at KOTR to the Headshrinkers, when Yokozuna and Fuji, tired of Hogan's jibes against "Japs" and Samoan savages come to ringside and put Hogan out of the match, leaving Brutus to struggle alone to the inevitable loss. Then Hogan can have his favourite match of facing the monster Yoko at Summerslam, you don't need the title involved though. He would probably have been open to staying with that match in store, rather than essentially quitting knowing that he would have to take on one of the "New Generation" at Summerslam.
Taker vs Bigelow - way better quality match possible. Gonzalez did look intimidating, but man, he really could not do anything in a wrestling ring, and guaranteed two stinkers for Taker. They could have had a strong Bigelow match, which builds him up even more for his run to the final at KOTR, yet ends in a DQ to open up a Summerslam rematch, guaranteeing another better match at Summerslam. Savage vs Razor - this never had any real pay-off, except them both being involved in a tag match at Survivor Series. I mean Razor essentially costs Savage the title in September 92, yet they never actually have any one-on-one match as a result? Meanwhile Savage is more concerned in January about regaining his hat from Repo Man?! Come on, and you're wondering why ratings and buyrates are sliding?
Let's try it another way:
Have Razor in the Rumble, rather than in a title match at RR (that could have been a Bret vs Flair rematch), let Razor get close to winning the Rumble until he and Savage end up going at it hard, both eliminating each other and brawling back to the dressing room. Razor immediately losing to Bret in his first real shot at gold weakened him and relegated him to the pointless Backlund squash at Mania. He could have been looking much stronger with this booking. Put this as the opening to WM9 so Savage can join the commentary booth later in the show and have Razor sneak the win somehow after a ref bump. Savage is already fuming on commentary later about injustices, and the referees being duped, than he sees the title change right before his eyes thanks to Fuji and the referee not seeing it, he's really irate now, now Yoko wants to banzai squash Bret after the bell to boot, he loses it and storms the ring to pull Bret out of there and then you get the challenge from Fuji... this also opens up a future Savage vs Razor title match at KOTR. Michaels vs Jannetty - just bite the bullet and bring him back for the big event. They had an excellent match just one month later, which should have had the big stage it deserved. Luger vs Tatanka - build the Narcissist by him being the one to finally end Tatanka's unbeaten streak. It can be with the forearm to protect Tatanka's honour of not losing fairly. Steiners vs Headshrinkers - no complaints, was excellent. (I wouldn't really miss Crush vs Doink not being on the card as I always found Crush utterly lame, no matter whether he was face or heel, but the two clowns angle was actually quite original and cool, so I don't mind it being here too much. For me, it would be the match you save as potential filler that you can cut if you're running overtime or you just schedule as a dark match to be shown later on TV).
All in all, just for personal nostalgia I have to say "yay", but it really could have been much better with more care. I can fully understand why many people dislike it though and I don't dispute that is a Mania without a single classic match. The roster had suffered hugely over the preceding year, but you now had an in-ring Mr Perfect, two rapidly climbing elite talents in Bret and Shawn and a couple of great new additions in Razor and the Steiners. If they had put the pieces in better places they could have created a very credible Mania and also set up the rest of the year. As it was, they had nowhere to go afterwards thanks to Hulk's one night stand and Razor's immediate demotion to IC level matches, so they had to do the Real American Part 2 with Luger vs the nasty foreign monster, which I found "okay", but it all a bit meh and felt like something you had already seen umpteen times, plus Yokozuna was just champion for far too long a period for his in-ring limitation and lack of real charisma (the addition of Cornette at his side did help at least).
great post! some good ideas in there. perfect vs razor and newly found good guy perfect gets a win luger beating tatanka sounds great as you said his 1st loss with the forearm to save fave then micheals/jannetty or backlound even. old school guy vs the showstpper. backlund could be all i hate this flashy new style of today and im bring old school back i love tkaer/gonzales so wouldnt want that changed, buit really wish we got kamala/bigelow (which was scrapped due to time restraints) instead of razor/backlund |
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Apr 3, 2024 19:47:12 GMT -5
At the time it was good but looking back...one of the worst lol. The hype was very good tho back then.
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Post by TheSystem 1.5 on Apr 4, 2024 15:41:39 GMT -5
Scott Steiner has almost died on atleast three PPVs and I don’t think any of the three have been looked back at foundry
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