I was in a really great twitter thread a few days ago about some old NWA stuff that carried over into a discussion on smaller wrestling companies operating today and whether or not between them and the indies out a new territory system could be forged. Which led to an episode of the Rant with … Continue reading Bring back the territories?
Retro Recap – Summerslam 1988
With Summerslam going down on Sunday I thought it would be cool to look back at the original show, Summerslam 1988. Summerslam was a further expansion of the WWF into the pay per view world. WrestleMania had been established in March/early April, and the Survivor Series was put up in November to stick it to … Continue reading Retro Recap – Summerslam 1988
Retro Recap – No Way Out 2004
The February Pay Per View show is often a nothingburger, little more than a placeholder between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. In this case things were a little different. We were over a year into the brand split, and this was a Smackdown roster only show. WWE Tag Team Title Match: Rikishi and Scotty 2 … Continue reading Retro Recap – No Way Out 2004
Retro Recap – Great American Bash 1990
The 1990 Great American Bash was the second one since Ted Turner bought out Jim Crockett, and for the second year in a row there was some heavy roster turnover. Ricky Steamboat, Terry Funk and the Great Muta, three guys who were a big part of the previous years' ring action, were gone. And the … Continue reading Retro Recap – Great American Bash 1990
Retro Recap – WWE Armageddon 2000
I was a little bored today, so I checked out WWE Armageddon 2000 on the WWE Network. Armageddon took place in December of 2000, about a month or so after Stone Cold Steve Austin returned to the ring after almost a year out of action. And things had changed a lot during his absence. The … Continue reading Retro Recap – WWE Armageddon 2000
Retro Recap – SuperBrawl II
SuperBrawl 2 took place in 1992, at a very tough time for WCW. Just eight months earlier the company fired Ric Flair, it's longtime standard bearer and World Champion, and was struggling along with Lex Luger as champion. They had one gimmick that was working well for them in the form of manager Paul E. … Continue reading Retro Recap – SuperBrawl II
What if Undertaker became the man in 1993?
With all the features that the WWE has been doing to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Undertaker's debut, I was left wondering recently about what might have happened if the company had run with him as the top dog in 1992 instead of trying with Bret Hart. In case you don't know, Hart was … Continue reading What if Undertaker became the man in 1993?
Missed Opportunities
Hulk Hogan vs Rick Rude Rude came to the WWF in 1987, right after Hogan beat the last guy on the company's list of credible challengers in Andre the Giant, and had a good run until he left late in 1990. He would have been a physical match for the Hulkster, and having longtime Hogan … Continue reading Missed Opportunities
Retro Recap: WCW Souled Out 1998
Souled Out 1998 was the second edition of what started as an NWO pay per view event during the WCW/NWO angle that ran from late 1996 through 1999-ish. It was the first show after Starrcade 1997, which was both WCW's biggest show ever and it's biggest failure to deliver. After an event that left most … Continue reading Retro Recap: WCW Souled Out 1998
Retro Recap: Capital Combat 1990
Capital Combat 1990 was a one shot pay view event that took place during another rough patch for the NWA. After 1989 saw a lot of mainstays leave and get replaced by a bunch of new faces, 1990 wasn't starting out so good. Sting was supposed to be doing a program with Ric Flair but … Continue reading Retro Recap: Capital Combat 1990
Stroke of Genius 