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Post by The Brain on Apr 1, 2019 15:38:08 GMT -5
I totally agree. Savage is underrated - he really was the best performer for years in the WWF. Imagine if he had stuck around and they let Savage wrestle Bret in 94 or 95 as a heel. I think those guys could have had amazing chemistry. Or Shawn, like he wanted to. According to Lanny, Savage wanted to have a feud with HBK that lasted a few PPV's, in the end Shawn would beat him and retire Savage and then Savage would go back to being an announcer full time. Vince didn't want to do that so Savage left the WWF for WCW to prove he could still go. I think Savage would have done well working with some of the younger guys coming up, helping to put the spotlight on them (look what he did for DDP in 1997). He could have worked with Triple H, Mankind, Austin, the Rock, etc. Would have been odd but I could definitely see a feud with Goldust, the androgynous guy vs. the Macho Man, it kind-of writes itself. Also, back to your point, I think both Bret and Lanny have said that after there brief moment at the 1989 Survivor Series, Macho Man took Bret by the arm and led him to Vince's office and said that he really wanted to work a program with him, sadly, it never came to be. If only Bret would have went solo in 1990 while Savage was still the King, maybe then they could have had a run/program with each other - after Savage/Dusty but before he and Warrior started having matches. I also thought I read somewhere that Savage filled in for one of Bret's opponents at a number of house shows after WM10 with Savage playing the heel in the match, then, after losing, being gracious and raising Bret's hand. I liked Savage in the booth but man Vince really dropped the ball with not letting him compete anymore. Terrible move.
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Post by The Brain on Apr 2, 2019 19:37:24 GMT -5
Coming soon... 
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Post by The Brain on Apr 5, 2019 13:08:32 GMT -5
WrestleMania IX 
Your Hosts-Jim Ross,Bobby Heenan and Randy Savage
Shawn Michaels vs Tatanka for the WWF IC Title-Luna Vachon makes her WWF debut as she's in the corner of HBK. Sherri is in the corner of Tonto err I mean Tatanka.Tatanka got the shot after defeating Shawn in a tag match on a Raw and a non title match on Superstars. Very good opener here with both guys meshing well with a hot crowd on top of it. Finish comes when Shawn gets counted out even though the ref doesn't call for the bell right away. Tatanka even hits his end of the trail finisher and when he goes for the pin that's when the ref calls for the bell. To say the crowd was confused would be an understatement. Post match Luna attacks Sherri on the floor. Great debut for her here. Bad/confusing finish aside, This is a great title match that's often forgotten about since this Mania is so low on the totem pole.All these years later I'm still shocked they never gave Tatanka the belt here considering how over he was plus with his undefeated streak and all.
Headshrinkers vs Steiner Brothers-15 minutes of pure hard hitting action. Some of the highlights include a double Steiner-line from the top, Scott taking one hell of a bump to the outside as one of the shrinkers pulls down the ropes, and Rick Steiner belly to bellying Fatu off Samu shoulders!! Finish comes when Scott hits the frankensteiner on Fatu for the win. As PJ can attest this match is an underrated gem and a must watch for fans of classic tag wrestling. Great stuff here.
Crush vs Doink- Big feud during this time as Doink has been a thorn in Crush's side for the past few months with him even costing a spot in the Rumble match.Bad match here and the start of the downward spiral for Crush that would last until the Summer. Finish comes when we get a ref bump with a 2nd Doink(played by Skinner here) coming in and hitting Crush with a loaded fake arm with Doink getting the win soon after. Only positive I can say about this match is heel Doink was AWESOME.Matt Bourne played this character to a tee and it showed.
Razor Ramon vs Bob Backlund- HUGE Razor chant here as you could tell he was a star on the rise. Backlund after his MVP performance at the Rumble was just ''there' afterward until they did his infamous heel turn during the Summer of 94. Pure filler with Razor getting the easy win after a small package. Heenan-He beat the wrestler with wrestling!''
Money Inc. vs The Mega-Maniacs for the WWF Tag Titles-Hogan here is wearing a shiner from an ''accident'' he had prior to the event. Jimmy Hart is newly turned babyface as he joined the babyfaces after the whole incident on Raw where Money Inc smashed up Beefcakes face with the briefcase.Terrible match here that went wayyyy to long as it just edges out the IC match as longest of the night.We get another confusing finish as we get a ref bump, with Jimmy Hart making the count as the crowd pops thinking they just saw new champs but no! Danny Davis comes down and officially DQ's the babyfaces leading to the champs retaining. Post match Danny Davis gets abused and the babyfaces celebrate by stealing Money Inc's briefcase that has loads of cash in it. Some babyfaces huh? I sense we haven't seen the last of Hogan tonight....
Mr. Perfect vs ''The Narcissist'' Lex Luger-This is Luger's 1st WWF PPV match as he made his debut at the Rumble in January.Another bad match here with both guys just not clicking. Finish comes when Luger backslides Perfect for the pin even though Perfect's feet were on the ropes. Post match Luger loads up the forearm and nails Perfect who sells it well perfectly. Post match Perfect goes backstage to look for Luger and finds him only for Shawn Michaels to attack him. Here we have the seeds planted for the eventual SSlam match which had classic written on it but in the end flopped.Luger's heel run would end by July as he would be penciled in as the new all American babyface which to this day still ticks me off. His Narcissist gimmick had so much potential and they just threw it away.
Undertaker vs Giant Gonzales- Gonzales would make his debut at the Rumble the previous January and to quote the Brain''Manhandeled and mauled'' the Deadman. TERRIBLE match here and by far Taker's worst Mania match. Finish comes when Gonzales gets DQed for smothering Taker with a chloroform soaked rag. Post match Gonzales chokeslams the future Fonzie as Taker is stretchered out. Not long after we hear the infamous gong and out comes Taker from the dead! he clears the big man from the ring to end this mess. These two would continue to feud up until SSlam where they would have another God awful match in the RIP match.
Bret Hart vs Yokozuna for the WWF World Title- Yoko is top contender here after winning the Rumble. For the 8 minutes they were given this actually wasn't bad as I always thought these two blended well together. Finish comes when Bret has em in the sharpshooter only for Mr. Fuji to throw salt in his eyes behind the refs back leading to Yoko getting the pin. Bret would try to regain the belt over the next several months but would end up short until he finally got his revenge a year later at WM X in MSG. Decent main event albeit short but wait... Here's Hogan!! Fuji challenges Hogan to step in the ring with his ''Yokozuma'' and they'll even put the belt on the line!!
Yokozuna vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Title- Fuji accidently throws salt in Yoko's eyes leading to a clothesline and legdrop for the win in about 20 seconds. History has been made!! This ending always left a sour taste in my mouth as by this point the WWF was entering in a new era and the last thing they needed was have Hogan as champ again. He would go on and have one of the most worthless reigns in history as for the next 2 months he didn't make any TV appearances sans a few beach interviews leading into KOTR where he would lost the belt back to Yoko. I also felt bad for Bret here as he felt like an afterthought after the dust had settled. Pyro and posing take us out.
Final Thoughts- This is often on everyone's Worst Mania list but to me it's not. To me what saves this from the trash heap is the first 2 matches, a decent but too short World Title match plus I loved the whole roman theme with the whole set looking great. Also gotta give a shoutout to JR,Heenan and Savage as they blended so well all show One of the very few 3 man teams I liked. That said we do have a lot negatives as well with the Taker/Gonzales, Tag Titles,and the mess that was Hogan winning the belt being the standouts.Verdict- Mild Recommendation(but have remote handy)
Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids |
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
Posts: 2,335
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Post by jason1980s on Apr 5, 2019 15:32:19 GMT -5
I also liked the Macho, JR, Bobby Heenan grouping. They did a few coliseum videos during the mid 1993 time period (Ross and Heenan did at least one, just them) and they all worked well together.
I wonder if Fuji calling Yoko Yokozuma was a rib considering his history. Though around 1992 and even in early 1993, it seems a few commentators and other wrestlers didn't know how to say his name.
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Post by The Brain on Apr 5, 2019 15:41:19 GMT -5
I also liked the Macho, JR, Bobby Heenan grouping. They did a few coliseum videos during the mid 1993 time period (Ross and Heenan did at least one, just them) and they all worked well together. Invasion of the Bodyslammers comes to mind right away. I also liked JR/Heenan's brief run on Challenge that year. |
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Post by MKSavage on Apr 5, 2019 15:47:13 GMT -5
It's not my favorite WM, not even close, but I don't hate it like others. I really wish Bret would have been able to retain the title, I liked him as champion but he just didn't have a lot of top contenders to work with. For god sakes he wrestled Virgil for the title on Superstars in late 1992. I wouldn't have minded Yokozuna keeping the title after he beat Bret Hart, then have Hogan come out and challenge Yoko for the title at KOTR. Have Hogan lose to Yoko then have Bret vs. Yoko in a rematch at Summer Slam 93 with Bret regaining the belt. I think if Hogan wasn't going to put Bret over by losing to him, it could have helped Bret to beat the guy for the title that Hogan couldn't (at KOTR). I liked the match with Yoko and Bret at Mania, I thought they worked well together. I thought Bret did a real good job of keeping Yoko strong, making him look unbeatable. Had Bret actually won, he would have won because he rammed Yoko's head into the exposed turnbuckle. I agree the best matches on the card are the 1st two, the only match I really didn't like here was the Taker/Gonzalez match. The others were okay but not great. I didn't mind the tag team titles match nor the Perfect/Luger match, but it has been a long time since I've seen either. Interesting side notes, according to Tatanka he was told (by both Bret and Taker after the fact) that he was supposed to win the IC title here over Shawn Michaels, but Shawn Michaels bad mouthed him to Vince about his attitude and in-ring work and Vince changed his mind, probably putting an end to his run as he didn't really do anything of note until he turned on Lex at Summer Slam 1994. Also, Razor was supposed to beat Backlund with the Razor's Edge but Backlund refused to take the finish because he thought it was too dangerous so Vince told Razor to end it with a small package (at least that is what Brother Love said on one of his podcasts). The dark match for the show was Tito Santana vs. Papa Shango, Tito was wearing new gold tights for this event. And, Bam Bam Bigelow was supposed to wrestle Kamala but that match was cancelled, never heard why. Also, I really liked the pairing of Macho Man, Heenan, and JR, I thought they did a real good job together, wished this could have lasted.
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Post by The Brain on Apr 5, 2019 15:52:17 GMT -5
It's not my favorite WM, not even close, but I don't hate it like others. I really wish Bret would have been able to retain the title, I liked him as champion but he just didn't have a lot of top contenders to work with. For god sakes he wrestled Virgil for the title on Superstars in late 1992. I wouldn't have minded Yokozuna keeping the title after he beat Bret Hart, then have Hogan come out and challenge Yoko for the title at KOTR. Have Hogan lose to Yoko then have Bret vs. Yoko in a rematch at Summer Slam 93 with Bret regaining the belt. I think if Hogan wasn't going to put Bret over by losing to him, it could have helped Bret to beat the guy for the title that Hogan couldn't (at KOTR). I liked the match with Yoko and Bret at Mania, I thought they worked well together. I thought Bret did a real good job of keeping Yoko strong, making him look unbeatable. Had Bret actually won, he would have won because he rammed Yoko's head into the exposed turnbuckle. I agree the best matches on the card are the 1st two, the only match I really didn't like here was the Taker/Gonzalez match. The others were okay but not great. I didn't mind the tag team titles match nor the Perfect/Luger match, but it has been a long time since I've seen either. Interesting side notes, according to Tatanka he was told (by both Bret and Taker after the fact) that he was supposed to win the IC title here over Shawn Michaels, but Shawn Michaels bad mouthed him to Vince about his attitude and in-ring work and Vince changed his mind, probably putting an end to his run as he didn't really do anything of note until he turned on Lex at Summer Slam 1994. Also, Razor was supposed to beat Backlund with the Razor's Edge but Backlund refused to take the finish because he thought it was too dangerous so Vince told Razor to end it with a small package (at least that is what Brother Love said on one of his podcasts). The dark match for the show was Tito Santana vs. Papa Shango, Tito was wearing new gold tights for this event. And, Bam Bam Bigelow was supposed to wrestle Kamala but that match was cancelled, never heard why. Also, I really liked the pairing of Macho Man, Heenan, and JR, I thought they did a real good job together, wished this could have lasted. Just watched the Tito/Shango match on the Network the other day. JR was solo for it. Not bad actually considering it was a Shango match.
Regarding Bigelow/Kamala I remember on the Coliseum version at the end of the tape they showed Kamala hanging out with a elephant backstage with text scrolling on the bottom explaining why the match didn't happen.
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nibs92
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 29, 2008 5:47:21 GMT -5
Posts: 2,357
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Post by nibs92 on Apr 6, 2019 4:33:27 GMT -5
9 was a wrestle mania I really didn’t mind and first I saw live. Reading the review the most annoying part is how many screwy finishes there were, either through dq/count out or cheating.
To this day I hate the Hogan’s involvement. His 93 comeback served no purpose and if anything held the WWF back. Bret got screwed out of the title, then pushed out of the scene. That made no sense. The fact he had Yoko beat until Fuji interfered should have set up a revenge storyline. Granted he took the belt back the following year but he would have been nowhere near if Luger had been the success Vince hoped for.
I’m probably one of the few who liked the Undertaker match. Granted not a match classic but there was something about the Gonzales character that really appealed to me.
Not seen the event in a while but The Steiner match was enjoyable too.
Was never a fan of tatatatanka (sorry for stealing your line Heenan) so could take or leave the opener.
Might have to revisit this one soon
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alexxx
Superstar
Joined on: Dec 27, 2008 15:54:38 GMT -5
Posts: 790
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Post by alexxx on Apr 6, 2019 14:08:41 GMT -5
I like Luna attacking Sherri at end Shawn’s match’s
could review wrestlemania 11 next please isn’t wrestlemania x review done already?
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Post by The Brain on Apr 6, 2019 15:35:34 GMT -5
WM XI it is. Far as WM X goes no. For a refresher of all the shows I've covered check out page 1  |
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Post by mikey1974 on Apr 6, 2019 19:38:07 GMT -5
IX certainly wasn't the best Mania, but it wasn't the worst either ( see WM2 . WM 13, and WM 27 for my main contenders).
That being said, I'm still convinced to this day that the Headshrinkers attempted to kill Scott Steiner with that throw/suplex from the middle of the ring to the floor head first.
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Team Madness
Mid-Carder
Joined on: May 4, 2015 18:30:26 GMT -5
Posts: 403 
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Post by Team Madness on Apr 7, 2019 0:07:16 GMT -5
I recently watched WM 9....I didn’t hate it. As cheesy at it sounds I really enjoyed the whole outdoor vibe / toga theme. Crazy for it being wrestlemania and so many matches had DQ / Countout / no contest finishes.... also where did the Razor / Bob Backlund match come from, was extremely random. Lastly I recently watched all of 1993 and I really enjoyed the Narcisist gimmick from Luger. It was definitely intriguing. With the talent they did have in the beginning of 1993 they could have definitely put together a better Mania card IMO.
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Post by The Brain on Apr 8, 2019 16:46:01 GMT -5
Digging into WM XI. This is one Mania that is on my worst list.Oh boy wish me luck.
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Post by The Brain on Apr 9, 2019 17:46:34 GMT -5
Speaking of bad events. Coming soon.... /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29686209/14-wm11.0.jpg)
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Post by The Brain on Apr 18, 2019 17:49:04 GMT -5
Well humanoids this is it. WM XI will be my last review in this thread as going forward I just wont have the time like I used to with watching and reviewing these shows.
What a great run though. Over 50 shows covered. To all you who ever read/gave feedback to any of the shows I reviewed I thank you. Never say never on a return but for now I will continue on with the gimmick retrospective.
Thanks again everybody!
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
Posts: 2,335
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Post by jason1980s on Apr 19, 2019 7:26:36 GMT -5
I'm thinking WrestleMania was just drug money for Lawrence Taylor but I also wonder if he was a wrestling fan. I remember one of the 1991 WCW shows showing a short video of him partying with Ric Flair and other wrestlers. I know WWF only had two months or so to prepare for the show but they should have spent more time creating a back story other than Bam Bam pushed LT because that really doesn't cut it as a reason for a main event at WrestleMania.
Bam Bam was an amazing athlete but in 1995 he just wasn't a main eventer. Maybe 1988 if no Macho Man and maybe 1993 if Yokozuna but definitely not in 1995 after a '94 Doink feud and being put in the Million Dollar Corp because "creative had nothing..."
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nibs92
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 29, 2008 5:47:21 GMT -5
Posts: 2,357
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Post by nibs92 on Apr 19, 2019 15:36:15 GMT -5
Well humanoids this is it. WM XI will be my last review in this thread as going forward I just wont have the time like I used to with watching and reviewing these shows. What a great run though. Over 50 shows covered. To all you who ever read/gave feedback to any of the shows I reviewed I thank you. Never say never on a return but for now I will continue on with the gimmick retrospective. Thanks again everybody! Aw will be sorry to see this thread go but sometimes life takes priority. Been an absolute blast though man and relived some very fond memories through it. |
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Post by The Brain on Apr 21, 2019 16:14:06 GMT -5
WrestleMania XI 
Your Hosts- Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler
Lex Luger/British Bulldog vs Blu's Brothers-Terribly bland opener here with a dead crowd to boot. Finish comes when Davey Boy(who is the illegal man btw) sunset flips one of the twins from the top for the win. For some reason we get pyro after the match. I was never a fan of the Luger/Bulldog team but I am surprised they never got a run with the belts. The babyfaces would stick around until the end of the Summer in which Luger would leave the company for WCW. The Blu's Brothers would last until the Fall as they would leave for a stint in ECW before returning to the WWF in 97 with a totally new gimmick.
Razor Ramon vs Jeff Jarrett for the WWF IC Title-This is a rematch from the Rumble when Jarrett would win the belt. 123 Kid is in the corner of the bad guy here.Not a great match here but it was better than the Rumble match IMO. Finish comes when Razor has the champ in the Razors Edge only for the Roadie to come in to cause the DQ. Razor would get the belt back briefly in May but would lose it just a few days later. Decent outing here but nothing to write home about. Razor was OVER like rover here though.
King Kong Bundy vs Undertaker- This was the continuation of Taker's feud with the $ Corporation that would last until SSlam. I'm a Bundy fan but man he did not fit in with this time period. Finish comes when Taker slams the big man with him then following up with a jumping clothesline. 4-0. During the match Kama Mustafa would come down and steal the urn which would lead to them melting it down to a gold chain. Terrible feud for the dead man here in terrible time period in his career. As far as Bundy is concerned he would gone by the Fall.
Smokin' Gunns vs Owen Hart/ for the WWF Tag Titles-Owen's tag partner is....Yokozuna!! Who is making his return after being tossed in a casket at the previous SSeries. Decent match here but again nothing to write home about. Finish comes when Yoko squashes Billy Gunn leading to Owen getting the pin. This is Owens first taste of gold in the company which I remember marking out for. I really enjoyed the team of Owen/Yoko. Thought they blended well together. Jim Cornette as their manager was the cherry on top.
Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund in an I Quit match with Roddy Piper as Ref-Terrible match here with even Bret saying years later in his book that's his least favorite match of his career. It also felt rushed at not even 10 minutes long. Finish comes when Bret has em in the chickenwing with Backlund screaming incoherently leading to the win. If you wanna see better matches between these two check out the match on Superstars from August 94 and the match they had at SSeries the previous November. As for as this match goes yeah this sucked. Crazy heel Backlund was gold though.
Diesel vs Shawn Michaels for the WWF World Title- Jenny Mccarthy is in the corner of Diesel while Pam Anderson is in the corner of HBK. This was a great built feud that started at SSlam the previous August when HBK cost Diesel the IC belt. From there they would implode officially at SSeries. HBK would win the Rumble and this is what brings us here. I also gotta mention Sid as the bodyguard here of HBK. Very good match and definitely the best match of the night. This was the match that really solidified Michaels as a main eventer. Finish comes when Diesel hits HBK with a boot then a jackknife to retain. A night later on Raw they would officially turn Michaels babyface after Sid would attack him and powerbomb him a good 3 times in a classic moment. Shawn would eventually reach the mountain top a year later against Bret in the iron man. PWI would name this match of the year which wouldn't be my choice but still this is the best match of the night by far and well worth checking out.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Lawrence Taylor- This feud stems from the Rumble in which Bigelow shoved LT. This is pretty much a lumberjack match as on one side you have the Corporation in the corner of Bigelow and the NFL All star team in LTs corner including Steve McMichael. Pat Patterson is the ref here. Oh yeah Salt n Peppa sing ''What a Man'' for LTs entrance. Not my cup of tea but I can see why they brought em in. This is not the worst main event in Mania history as LW did try with Bigelow helping out big time along the way but I still feel this should've went on before the World Title match. LT picks up the win after hitting a big forearm from the middle rope. This could've been a lot of worse but for what is was I'll give it a pass.
Final Thoughts- This is still on my Worst Mania list as while some of the matches are decent, it's still a chore to sit through. Definitely check out the World title match though as both guys delivered in that one. As far as the LT match goes, I give em points for trying but seeing a football player in the main event over the World title still leaves a bad taste in my mouth even though I understand why they did it.Verdict- Pass
Well we hit the end. See ya down the road...
Stay Classic Humanoids
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Post by MKSavage on Apr 21, 2019 23:03:15 GMT -5
I agree with you, this one is pretty bad. I cannot believe that they gave Shawn/Diesel match of the year, it was a good match but it must have been a bad year match wise if this won. Then again, they gave Andre/Hogan from the Main Event in 88 match of the year over Sting/Flair from Clash of Champions or even some of the Savage/DiBiase matches. Funny thing about the face turn for Michaels on Raw the next night, until Diesel comes out it sounded like the crowd was behind Sid more than Shawn. As for the show, I liked Davey and Lex as a face team, I thought for sure they would have gotten the tag titles in the summer when they were facing Yoko and Owen. I wonder if Lex not having a long term contract was the reason why they never gave them the tag belts. I believe he was working on either a hand shake agreement or a week-by-week arrangement, which was why he was able to show up on Nitro without having to wait the traditional 60 days after the contract ended. I always wondered why they had a team called the Blu Brothers and made them mountain men instead of something like the Blues Brother's movie characters. I was watching one of the Bruce Prichard podcasts and he said that Vince really wanted King Kong Bundy to beat Taker at WrestleMania, however, no one else did so he went with Taker getting the win instead. Seems odd to think about it now that Bundy could have been the one to stop the streak from even becoming a thing, especially at that time - you're right, he never seemed to mesh with the new generation. I didn't mind the main event, I thought LT did a good job all things considered, major props to Bam Bam for making that match not look as bad as it could have.
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alexxx
Superstar
Joined on: Dec 27, 2008 15:54:38 GMT -5
Posts: 790
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Post by alexxx on May 8, 2019 15:45:58 GMT -5
So you going to anymore at all? Not even a random one of your choice I still would like you to have done reviews on wwf ppv’s from late 80’s to mid 90’s
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