TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,631
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Nov 3, 2019 21:20:34 GMT -5
Apologies for the back-to-back topics, but my last subject got me thinking about Yokozuna and his leave of absence following Survivor Series 1994.
It is speculated that Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart were to win the WWF Tag Team championships in that tournament following the belts being vacated by Shawn and Diesel. Jim ended up getting fired from the company which left Owen stranded. They unveiled Yokozuna as his mystery partner at WrestleMania XI and the rest is history.
My question is, what do you think the original plans were for Yoko's return had he not came back as Owen's partner? The guy spent the last two years cemented in the title picture so he was a big deal. 1995 also proved to be a year where the company was extremely thin on main event heels so I wonder if they ever planned on having Yokozuna return to challenge Diesel for the big belt? The run he ended up having with Owen was fun and pretty successful, but I feel like it was another step down the ladder for a guy who was a top contender since the day he debuted.
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Post by The Brain on Nov 3, 2019 21:58:01 GMT -5
I could've seen him challenging Diesel for the belt post Mania. When he lost they could've started his babyface turn early after Cornette calls him a loser for failing to win the belt.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Nov 3, 2019 23:32:06 GMT -5
Wasn't the original plan to have Jim Neidhart and Owen Hart to win the Tag Titles??
Honestly though, I thought Yokozuna and Owen were more suited. Owen even said that his partner beat his brother for the WWE Title, something that even Owen himself couldn't have done.
If Yoko had come back on his own in 1995, I honestly don't know where or how it would have worked without it being with Owen.
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Nov 3, 2019 23:53:00 GMT -5
I was a huge fan of Yoko's work, but his time off had the opposite effect of the intended purpose. If memory serves, he took time off to heal and lose some weight. He actually gained a considerable amount in that time, and he struggled with his cardio from that point on. He started using the rest hold (nerve hold on the trapezius) quite often after that, particularly in singles matches. Had he been able to stay at 440lbs (or whatever he weighed as Kokina Maximus), he might have had more title runs and a much longer life. But with another 200lbs packed on, the WWF could only use him in tag matches.
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jking1979
Superstar
Joined on: Oct 3, 2019 20:00:02 GMT -5
Posts: 754
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Post by jking1979 on Nov 4, 2019 6:32:57 GMT -5
Yoko Zuna and Vader should have stayed as bad guys in WWE.
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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 Nov 4, 2019 16:56:17 GMT -5
I was a huge fan of Yoko's work, but his time off had the opposite effect of the intended purpose. If memory serves, he took time off to heal and lose some weight. He actually gained a considerable amount in that time, and he struggled with his cardio from that point on. He started using the rest hold (nerve hold on the trapezius) quite often after that, particularly in singles matches. Had he been able to stay at 440lbs (or whatever he weighed as Kokina Maximus), he might have had more title runs and a much longer life. But with another 200lbs packed on, the WWF could only use him in tag matches. Agreed. Yokozuna packed on weight since the day he debuted in 1992, but when he returned in 1995 after his hiatus he was significantly bigger which limited his in-ring abilities. That was when he became a one-dimensional wrestler which is a shame because he was initially super agile for a guy of his size. It still amazes me that he didn't kill any jobbers with those early Banzai Drops. Some of those looked absolutely brutal! |
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Post by rowdy1971 on Nov 4, 2019 17:20:21 GMT -5
Bruce Prichard just did a podcast on everything Yoko. It was really good. There were no real plans for him. They wanted him to lose weight but he just wouldn't do it. The deep fried turkey testicle story at Undertakers BBQ was gross to hear!
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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 Nov 4, 2019 17:24:30 GMT -5
Bruce Prichard just did a podcast on everything Yoko. It was really good. There were no real plans for him. They wanted him to lose weight but he just wouldn't do it. The deep fried turkey testicle story at Undertakers BBQ was gross to hear! I'm a simple guy. You had me at "deep fried turkey tesiticle story" so please feel free to share! |
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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 Nov 5, 2019 8:51:48 GMT -5
I was a huge fan of Yoko's work, but his time off had the opposite effect of the intended purpose. If memory serves, he took time off to heal and lose some weight. He actually gained a considerable amount in that time, and he struggled with his cardio from that point on. He started using the rest hold (nerve hold on the trapezius) quite often after that, particularly in singles matches. Had he been able to stay at 440lbs (or whatever he weighed as Kokina Maximus), he might have had more title runs and a much longer life. But with another 200lbs packed on, the WWF could only use him in tag matches. Agreed. Yokozuna packed on weight since the day he debuted in 1992, but when he returned in 1995 after his hiatus he was significantly bigger which limited his in-ring abilities. That was when he became a one-dimensional wrestler which is a shame because he was initially super agile for a guy of his size. It still amazes me that he didn't kill any jobbers with those early Banzai Drops. Some of those looked absolutely brutal! for sure on those banzia drops! he even sat there for a bit on some of them. just like andre standing on dudes. watch some of those, the ropes werent doing much at times and that was all of him standing on them. |
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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 Nov 5, 2019 8:55:53 GMT -5
LOVED him and owen as team. them vs sahwn/diesel triple threat IYH match was awesome.
fueds/matches with diesel, bundy, bigelow, and vader were prob on the radar. maybe tagging with vader, then an eventual split. yoko vs warrior in 96 woulda been cool.
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Post by Artie Kendall on Nov 5, 2019 9:13:24 GMT -5
Part of me finds it hard to believe that Owen and Neidhart were going to win the titles. But if that is the case, the whole Neidhart/Benoit situation was a blessing for Yoko. I don't see how he would have worked in WWF in 1995 in singles unless they just used him to put guys over. Like Yoko goes over on jobbers but when it came down to PPVs he would put the other guy over. He just wasn't Yokozuna from 93, he needed tag matches.
Interesting fact: Yokozunas last match was a tag match with Jake Roberts against King Kong Bundy and....Jim Neidhart.
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Post by rowdy1971 on Nov 5, 2019 10:34:07 GMT -5
Bruce Prichard just did a podcast on everything Yoko. It was really good. There were no real plans for him. They wanted him to lose weight but he just wouldn't do it. The deep fried turkey testicle story at Undertakers BBQ was gross to hear! I'm a simple guy. You had me at "deep fried turkey tesiticle story" so please feel free to share! LOL ok. Bruce talked about a BBQ in Texas the boys had after one of their shows that was close to the home of The Undertaker. Taker bought all this food to make and one thing he bought were bags and bags of turkey testicles because that was one of the things Yoko loved to eat the most after they were deep fried. Yoko proceeded to eat every single testicle while dipping the entire testicle in a huge jar of mayonnaise. Yoko just sat there and ate testicle after testicle after testicle with huge amounts of mayo on them. Made Bruce sick to his stomach to see it. And all this were during the times that the WWF wanted Yoko to lose weight and he just didn't want to do it. Vince even had it set up where Yoko could live, for free, at this one university where they could control his weight and make him healthy. Yoko just didn't do it and that's why he was released from the WWF. But yeah. Yoko loved his testicles! |
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Post by The Brain on Nov 5, 2019 16:17:24 GMT -5
Part of me finds it hard to believe that Owen and Neidhart were going to win the titles. But if that is the case, the whole Neidhart/Benoit situation was a blessing for Yoko. I don't see how he would have worked in WWF in 1995 in singles unless they just used him to put guys over. Like Yoko goes over on jobbers but when it came down to PPVs he would put the other guy over. He just wasn't Yokozuna from 93, he needed tag matches. Interesting fact: Yokozunas last match was a tag match with Jake Roberts against King Kong Bundy and....Jim Neidhart.The Heroes of Wrestling... 
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jeffro2000
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 16, 2011 14:23:29 GMT -5
Posts: 1,858
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Post by jeffro2000 on Nov 5, 2019 19:14:26 GMT -5
Bruce Prichard just did a podcast on everything Yoko. It was really good. There were no real plans for him. They wanted him to lose weight but he just wouldn't do it. The deep fried turkey testicle story at Undertakers BBQ was gross to hear! Lol. It wasn't/isn't Turkey Testicles. He referred to them as Turkey Asses but it's Turkey Tails. It's where the tail feathers connect. It's a gland and generally removed from turkeys in the US. I do see them on whole chickens sometimes but it's much smaller or in the giblet bag. Some grocery stores sell them usually already smoked and with the smoked Turkey wings/necks. They are generally used to season vegetables like greens, peas, beans,etc. Poultry farmers starting shipping the Turkey Tails to Pacific Island countries 50-75yrs ago instead of wasting them and thus the love for them by the Samoans like Yoko. |
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Post by rowdy1971 on Nov 6, 2019 10:06:00 GMT -5
Bruce Prichard just did a podcast on everything Yoko. It was really good. There were no real plans for him. They wanted him to lose weight but he just wouldn't do it. The deep fried turkey testicle story at Undertakers BBQ was gross to hear! Lol. It wasn't/isn't Turkey Testicles. He referred to them as Turkey Asses but it's Turkey Tails. It's where the tail feathers connect. It's a gland and generally removed from turkeys in the US. I do see them on whole chickens sometimes but it's much smaller or in the giblet bag. Some grocery stores sell them usually already smoked and with the smoked Turkey wings/necks. They are generally used to season vegetables like greens, peas, beans,etc. Poultry farmers starting shipping the Turkey Tails to Pacific Island countries 50-75yrs ago instead of wasting them and thus the love for them by the Samoans like Yoko. ass? balls? its' all gross. lol |
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jeffro2000
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 16, 2011 14:23:29 GMT -5
Posts: 1,858
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Post by jeffro2000 on Nov 6, 2019 10:12:41 GMT -5
I concur. I don't want either but the worse part of the story, to me, was the JARS of mayonnaise that he went through.
I can't imagine eating a jar of mayo as a dipping sauce and Prichard said Jars. He was maybe exaggerating but still.
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