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Post by CBT on Dec 26, 2008 19:40:19 GMT -5
What do you suppose people would remember from that PPV?
If it helps any let's go with the idea that Bret Hart understands he needs to lose, Shawn Michaels beats him cleanly be it by pinfall or submission. No disputes, no under-handed tactics.
What do you think people would remember from that PPV? The match itself? Stone Cold defeating Owen Hart in four minutes and four seconds? Any of the survivor series elimination tags? Or would it all be a blur?
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Post by pineappleexpress on Dec 26, 2008 19:46:14 GMT -5
These hypothetical questions are a little odd and hard to answer.
I'm guessing the match would be the lasting memory of the pay-per-view, but all in all it would probably not have been a big deal event.
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Post by HugoOne on Dec 26, 2008 20:01:21 GMT -5
It would have been remembered as an ultimately forgettable show.
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Post by Jimmy on Dec 26, 2008 21:21:52 GMT -5
it'd be remembered as BULL BUCHANAN'S FIRST WWF PAY PER VIEW
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Post by LeighD on Dec 27, 2008 13:35:28 GMT -5
Honestly, had the Screwjob not happened, I'l betting nothing would be remembered from that show. Maybe as Bret's last match in the WWF, but that is about it.
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Dwight
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 10, 2007 11:02:46 GMT -5
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Post by Dwight on Dec 27, 2008 17:23:43 GMT -5
I think the match itself is underrated. Its widely forgotten as a pretty decent bout because of the ending of course. It wasn't as technical as their WM bout but it was more of a slug fest which was great.
I'm actually still amazed that there wasn't a riot or something that night. In reality the fans were pretty calm if you think about what could have happen. And you consider how in WCW if the nWo interfered in a match it would be flooded with trash. I guess it was just a shock which is why nothing happened.
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Post by Next Man’s Knowing Rock on Dec 28, 2008 4:45:40 GMT -5
I think the match itself is underrated. Its widely forgotten as a pretty decent bout because of the ending of course. It wasn't as technical as their WM bout but it was more of a slug fest which was great. I'm actually still amazed that there wasn't a riot or something that night. In reality the fans were pretty calm if you think about what could have happen. And you consider how in WCW if the nWo interfered in a match it would be flooded with trash. I guess it was just a shock which is why nothing happened. Well, fans wouldn't have really known what was going on. As far as the crowd would know, Bret submitted. It would just be confusing as to why he was standing up and spitting and smashing stuff. If the screwjob hadn't happened, I don't know if big time wrestling would even still be around. The WWF would've been  ed without that happening. If Bret had just vacated the title before leaving, the WWF would have looked awful. The WWF would have had a tournament to crown a new champion, and the WCW commentators could call Bret the "unbeaten champion" of the other company. If they'd done the crapty DQ non-finish in Montreal and then he had lost it to a nobody (there were no viable candidates other than HBK for champion... Well, except Taker, but he was doing the Kane storyline) on Raw before leaving for WCW, the WWF would have looked awful as well. PPVs would have looked unimportant compared to TV. "Why should I buy the PPV? They'll probably do a count-out and then do a real title match on Raw." The evil Mr McMahon character would never have been created, and Stone Cold would not have had his nemesis in the feud that turned the company around. The WWF might have gone under. And WCW would've still run themselves into the ground. I think the real shame of the screwjob is that WCW didn't use Bret well. When he arrived there, he should've been the hottest thing in wrestling and he should've taken on the NWO. He could've been a hero that fans got behind and turned it into a real struggle (rather than NWO beating down WCW guys all the time). But because of politics, it all got screwed up and he became just another WCW character. |
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Dwight
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Joined on: Feb 10, 2007 11:02:46 GMT -5
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Post by Dwight on Dec 28, 2008 16:47:06 GMT -5
They could have vacated the belt and no one would have thought much of it. It sure as hell would have made the title look bad but by no means would the company had flopped. They've done tournaments for it and its been fine. They still would have had Michaels win it most likely and thus everything would have fallen into place. Cept the McMahon character.
Having Hart vs Michaels for the title on Raw would have been huge for ratings. Granted the ppv would have looked pointless but it wouldn't have mattered since people already bought it. After all, Hart won the title at the February In Your House and lost it the next night to someone that had nothing to do with the match so this would have been fine.
In the end, I fully believe that the only thing that would have happened is Raw would have been huge that night. Other than that, Bret would have still been used like crap in WCW and things would have worked out just fine.
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Post by markallenkellner on Dec 28, 2008 17:46:57 GMT -5
I laughed at the match between the DOA and the Truth Commission when Don Callis (the Jackyl) did a knee drop off the top rope onto one of the Harris twins, turned to the camera and went "Yeah!!!" like he'd done something spectacular, then got sidewalk slammed for the pin.
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Post by Next Man’s Knowing Rock on Dec 29, 2008 4:25:12 GMT -5
They could have vacated the belt and no one would have thought much of it. It sure as hell would have made the title look bad but by no means would the company had flopped. They've done tournaments for it and its been fine. They've never done tournaments for it where the previous champion left without losing the belt for the company that was brutally kicking their ass. I don't know if you were following wrestling at the time, but the WWF was very close to folding. The reason Bret left is because Vince McMahon couldn't afford to pay him. WCW having the "real" WWF champion who wasn't beaten for the title and just left for the better company could well have been the final nail in the coffin. Austin vs McMahon turned the ship around for the WWF. Without the screwjob, there was no Austin vs McMahon. The point is they'd be less inclined to buy future ones. If you make your PPVs look less important than your TV, and you are struggling to get people watching your TV in the first place, and you've got no champion because he's now wrestling for the best promotion so you have to do a tournament of Guys Who Couldn't Beat Him For The Belt When He Wrestled Here, and you've got no longterm rivalry for the next year because you haven't accidentally created the best wrestling heel of all time in the evil boss... Things would not be looking good. |
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Dwight
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 10, 2007 11:02:46 GMT -5
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Post by Dwight on Dec 29, 2008 16:23:48 GMT -5
Yep I followed this era and its actually my favorite year.
Guys like Michaels, Taker, and Austin alone would have been enough to build on considering their heat or popularity. They could have held a tournament for the gold at In Your House, build from that and be fine. If Bret came out and given the title up then that would have been terrible.
Had the DQ finish took place at the PPV then on Raw all they had to do is say "I dont want it to end this way" and have them have a rematch in which Michaels wins and they don't even mention Bret leaving. Then the next week Michaels dogs Bret and saying he embarrassed him and sent him down south with the rest of the old men. It would have been just fine of a ending.
If Bret getting "screwed" out of the company and the title didn't fold the company then Bret dropping the belt wouldn't have either. Having Bret lose on Raw would have been monumental. And yes, fans would have still bought the PPV's because fans have proven they'll still buy no matter what happens.
Having Michaels say he ran Bret out of the company would have been just as effective if not more so than the 'unbeatable' champion stuff that WCW probably wouldn't have been smart enough to do.
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Post by k5 on Dec 29, 2008 16:56:05 GMT -5
bret would not have turned the tides for wcw, and i'm a huge fan of him.
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Post by decadofdistruction on Dec 29, 2008 17:52:08 GMT -5
Stone Cold defeating Owen Hart
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