theafricandream
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Jan 15, 2014 15:56:38 GMT -5
Posts: 265 
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Post by theafricandream on Mar 25, 2020 22:42:19 GMT -5
I’m doing some network binge watching and I’m on Survivor Series 1996. I just finished the match involving Vader and it has me thinking: did Vader sell way too much for his opponents? In this case he is bumping like crazy for Flash Funk and a past his prime Jimmy Snuka. It’s one thing to make an opponent look credible but did Vader’s generosity hurt his “aura” as a believable monster? I’m a big Vader fan but it’s always been a nagging criticism of mine. We all know his booking from the get go was questionable at best but the way he works didn’t seem to do him any favors.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Mar 26, 2020 1:15:58 GMT -5
He was probably told to make Flash Funk look good, plus they were friends too.
As for Snuka, probably just out of respect.
Or maybe Vince told him to do that, who knows, anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation!
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Post by LA Times on Mar 26, 2020 16:24:19 GMT -5
Vader wasn't exactly utilized the best way in the WWF
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Post by hbkjason on Mar 26, 2020 16:33:17 GMT -5
Vader should have been an absolute monster, but it never happened, unfortunately. I wonder how much of it was down to HBK pitching a fit about him being so stiff? Perhaps that is why he toned things down?
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Post by K5 on Mar 26, 2020 18:15:22 GMT -5
Vader was too generous, but not just with selling. he compromised his entire character in his time with the wwf.
honestly shame on Vince for Vader’s wwf career. brutal.
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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 Mar 27, 2020 16:24:03 GMT -5
Vader was a great talent before his WWE career. It didn't help that Shawn Michaels complained about his style. I did like that one match with Razor Ramon.
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Post by Mongo Bears on Mar 28, 2020 7:12:45 GMT -5
Wcw Vader was the monster.
Wwf made Vader into a jobber
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Post by PJ on Mar 28, 2020 15:59:09 GMT -5
Honestly I have blocked his time in wwe out of my mind.
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mrassbillygunn
Main Eventer
WF 10+ Year Member
Joined on: Jul 23, 2011 19:35:48 GMT -5
Posts: 4,299
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Post by mrassbillygunn on Mar 28, 2020 16:27:26 GMT -5
Certainly not with washing his kit by all accounts.
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Post by The Brain on Mar 28, 2020 16:46:26 GMT -5
Vader WCW/Japan> WWF any day of the week.
Shame on Vince for not using him to his full potential.
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Post by HandsomeHollywood on Mar 28, 2020 17:56:42 GMT -5
Vader, especially when packaged with Cornette, is a massive missed opportunity for Vince and WWF. I think he may have definitely been too naive or generous. By all accounts he was just a nice guy. I remember hearing he cried after his match with Michaels over HBK yelling at him in the ring.
A big teddy bear.
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Post by JokerFC on Apr 2, 2020 17:38:21 GMT -5
It was all over for Leon in WWF when he was booked to run from HBK @ IYH International Incident. It killed any interest in the Summerslam 1996 main event STONE DEAD. Ridiculous.
RUN....from HBK. FFS.
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Post by cordless2016 on Apr 2, 2020 23:20:20 GMT -5
It was all over for Leon in WWF when he was booked to run from HBK @ IYH International Incident. It killed any interest in the Summerslam 1996 main event STONE DEAD. Ridiculous. RUN....from HBK. FFS. The way HBK was booked in 1996 was ridiculous. He was booked to be more intimidating than a monster like Vader. More hardcore than Mankind. More powerful and resilient than Davey Boy. It’s no wonder fans didn’t give a crap about his run, and this isn’t even factoring in the nWo. |
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Post by JokerFC on Apr 3, 2020 5:54:59 GMT -5
It was all over for Leon in WWF when he was booked to run from HBK @ IYH International Incident. It killed any interest in the Summerslam 1996 main event STONE DEAD. Ridiculous. RUN....from HBK. FFS. The way HBK was booked in 1996 was ridiculous. He was booked to be more intimidating than a monster like Vader. More hardcore than Mankind. More powerful and resilient than Davey Boy. It’s no wonder fans didn’t give a crap about his run, and this isn’t even factoring in the nWo. HBK was having great matches in 1996 as champ but the booking wore thin on the fans. It's one of the reasons he was booed against Sid. Crowd was sick of the Superman routine. |
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Warriah'
Main Eventer
Joined on: Dec 22, 2019 19:46:02 GMT -5
Posts: 3,261
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Post by Warriah' on Apr 5, 2020 17:12:37 GMT -5
It was all over for Leon in WWF when he was booked to run from HBK @ IYH International Incident. It killed any interest in the Summerslam 1996 main event STONE DEAD. Ridiculous. RUN....from HBK. FFS. The way HBK was booked in 1996 was ridiculous. He was booked to be more intimidating than a monster like Vader. More hardcore than Mankind. More powerful and resilient than Davey Boy. It’s no wonder fans didn’t give a crap about his run, and this isn’t even factoring in the nWo. Watched Shawn vs Owen from IYH6 the other day and the way Vince salivated over him on commentary was so offputting. |
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Post by JokerFC on Apr 5, 2020 18:01:23 GMT -5
The way HBK was booked in 1996 was ridiculous. He was booked to be more intimidating than a monster like Vader. More hardcore than Mankind. More powerful and resilient than Davey Boy. It’s no wonder fans didn’t give a crap about his run, and this isn’t even factoring in the nWo. Watched Shawn vs Owen from IYH6 the other day and the way Vince salivated over him on commentary was so offputting. Vince on commentary about HBK took me out of several matches....vs 123 kid in Feb 96 is awful too 🙈🙈🙈 |
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Warriah'
Main Eventer
Joined on: Dec 22, 2019 19:46:02 GMT -5
Posts: 3,261
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Post by Warriah' on Apr 6, 2020 6:27:45 GMT -5
Watched Shawn vs Owen from IYH6 the other day and the way Vince salivated over him on commentary was so offputting. Vince on commentary about HBK took me out of several matches....vs 123 kid in Feb 96 is awful too 🙈🙈🙈 Doesn't help that Shawn was a bit of a dud face for me, WAY better as the smarmy bunghole heel. 93/94 Shawn is the best. Vince's commentary just makes the face thing feel more forced. He never had to verbally put Hogan or Bret over like that! |
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Post by JC Motors on Apr 14, 2020 12:44:31 GMT -5
Certainly not with washing his kit by all accounts. I heard that he was a very smelly and dirty wrestler to work with. |
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Apr 14, 2020 23:11:34 GMT -5
Certainly not with washing his kit by all accounts. I heard that he was a very smelly and dirty wrestler to work with. To be fair, he was hardly alone. Practices are surely different now, but there have been numerous stories about wrestlers from the past who rarely/never washed their gear. There is a video somewhere of Kane on a TV game show in the early 2000s (I think it was the Weakest Link) where he tortured Terri Runnels with his odor. When asked about it, he said, "This is my only suit, and I never wash it."  |
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Apr 14, 2020 23:24:10 GMT -5
It was all over for Leon in WWF when he was booked to run from HBK @ IYH International Incident. It killed any interest in the Summerslam 1996 main event STONE DEAD. Ridiculous. RUN....from HBK. FFS. The way HBK was booked in 1996 was ridiculous. He was booked to be more intimidating than a monster like Vader. More hardcore than Mankind. I'm sorry, but I have no idea how you came to such a conclusion. Diesel, Vader, and Sid all tossed HBK around like a rag doll. His matches from that year, especially with the big guys, was that he absorbed their offense until he wore them out, then made his comeback. While I would have definitely preferred Vader to have been the one to end HBK's reign rather than Sid, the fact is that he had an uphill battle even before he debuted. Vince wanted to change Vader's name because this was at a point in time where Vince still didn't believe that WWF fans watched any other promotions, and they subsequently didn't know who guys like Vader were. So while it's true that Shawn was protective of his spot in 1996, and rightly so, had Vince had the same confidence in Vader that he had in Sid, Vader would have been booked more effectively. |
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