Time for another thread about a random old school wrestler. Todays wrestler, Irwin R. Schyster otherwise known as IRS. You can feel free to discuss Mike Rotunda, Michael Wallstreet, or VK Wallstreet if you like, but Im going to talk about Irwin R. Schyster. You know the routine. I give a history lesson and ask about your general thoughts. Lets get to it.
Irwin R. Schyster entered the WWF in 1991 shortly after WrestleMania VII. He seemed to have a pretty lame gimmick. He was a wrestling accountant that worked for the IRS (pretty coincidental considering his initials, right?) and was in the WWF to expose the wrestlers that cheated on their taxes. It was a gimmick that seemed destined to fail. Gimmicks like this usually last a few months, the joke gets old quickly, and the wrestler is either repackaged or fades away. That was not the case with IRS. Mike Rotunda was a very talented performer and he made the IRS gimmick work. He was IRS for four years and was a successful mid card and tag team wrestler during his time in the WWF.
Irwin first established himself by going over aging veterans like Jimmy Snuka and Greg Valentine before entering into a feud with The Big Boss Man in the fall. He and Boss Man captained opposing teams at the Survivor Series. Early in 1992 IRS formed a partnership with Ted Dibiase and the pair quickly won the tag team titles from The Legion of Doom with the help of new manager Jimmy Hart. It turned out Jimmy Hart took a payoff from IRS and Dibiase (now calling themselves Money Incorporated) to take the title shot that The Natural Disasters had earned. This did not sit well with the Disasters as they parted ways with Hart and became number one contenders to Money Incs titles. The teams faced off at WrestleMania VIII and while Money Inc didnt look like champions taking a voluntary count out loss they did leave the Hoosier Dome with the titles. Money Inc eventually dropped the titles to the Disasters during an overseas tour in the summer before losing to The Legion of Doom at SummerSlam. In the fall Money Inc regained the tag titles from the Disasters but in a case of déjà vu another Jimmy Hart team, The Nasty Boys, were not happy that Hart was overlooking them in favor of the team with the money.
Money Inc feuded with The Nasty Boys in late 1992/early 1993 before entering a major angle going into WrestleMania IX. The popular Brutus Beefcake was returning to the WWF after being out of action for nearly three years. In his first match back Beefcake took on Ted Dibiase. During the match IRS brutally attacked Beefcake by repeatedly smashing his briefcase into Beefcakes surgically repaired face. This prompted Hulk Hogan to return from his year long absence to team up with his friend and challenge for Money Incs tag titles at WrestleMania. Id say it speaks pretty highly of IRS that he was chosen to take part in the angle that brought Hulk Hogan back to WrestleMania. Money Inc was able to overcome the odds and defeat Hogan and Beefcake at mania, albeit by disqualification. Throughout the spring and summer of 1993 Money Inc would trade the titles back and forth with The Steiner Brothers with the Steiners eventually winning the feud. Shortly after, Money Inc split up and Ted Dibiase left the WWF after SummerSlam 93.
Dibiase was the bigger name in Money Inc but IRS benefited from the partnership and was viewed as an equal. Some wondered how the gimmicky IRS would fare without the more established Million Dollar Man by his side. It turned out IRS did just fine on his own. He still had the accountant gimmick and wrestled in the tie and suspenders but after two years IRS had established himself as a legit competitor in the WWF. Throughout the rest of his career he feuded with Razor Ramon over the IC title, Tatanka, and even The Undertaker before leaving the WWF in the summer of 1995. IRS wasnt ever going to be a main event guy but I think he did a great job overcoming the gimmick he was given by making it his own and letting his talent shine through.
You may not have ever thought much about IRS as a performer but think about his gimmick. An IRS accountant that wrestled in a tie and suspenders and was looking for wrestlers that cheated on their taxes. That has six month low card wrestler written all over it and Mike Rotunda turned it into a four year success. Ted Dibiase gets a lot of love here but we hardly ever hear about IRS. They were partners for a year and a half and the top team during that time. I dont have a specific question. Just give me your general thoughts on IRS and how Mike Rotunda did with the gimmick.
Irwin R. Schyster entered the WWF in 1991 shortly after WrestleMania VII. He seemed to have a pretty lame gimmick. He was a wrestling accountant that worked for the IRS (pretty coincidental considering his initials, right?) and was in the WWF to expose the wrestlers that cheated on their taxes. It was a gimmick that seemed destined to fail. Gimmicks like this usually last a few months, the joke gets old quickly, and the wrestler is either repackaged or fades away. That was not the case with IRS. Mike Rotunda was a very talented performer and he made the IRS gimmick work. He was IRS for four years and was a successful mid card and tag team wrestler during his time in the WWF.
Irwin first established himself by going over aging veterans like Jimmy Snuka and Greg Valentine before entering into a feud with The Big Boss Man in the fall. He and Boss Man captained opposing teams at the Survivor Series. Early in 1992 IRS formed a partnership with Ted Dibiase and the pair quickly won the tag team titles from The Legion of Doom with the help of new manager Jimmy Hart. It turned out Jimmy Hart took a payoff from IRS and Dibiase (now calling themselves Money Incorporated) to take the title shot that The Natural Disasters had earned. This did not sit well with the Disasters as they parted ways with Hart and became number one contenders to Money Incs titles. The teams faced off at WrestleMania VIII and while Money Inc didnt look like champions taking a voluntary count out loss they did leave the Hoosier Dome with the titles. Money Inc eventually dropped the titles to the Disasters during an overseas tour in the summer before losing to The Legion of Doom at SummerSlam. In the fall Money Inc regained the tag titles from the Disasters but in a case of déjà vu another Jimmy Hart team, The Nasty Boys, were not happy that Hart was overlooking them in favor of the team with the money.
Money Inc feuded with The Nasty Boys in late 1992/early 1993 before entering a major angle going into WrestleMania IX. The popular Brutus Beefcake was returning to the WWF after being out of action for nearly three years. In his first match back Beefcake took on Ted Dibiase. During the match IRS brutally attacked Beefcake by repeatedly smashing his briefcase into Beefcakes surgically repaired face. This prompted Hulk Hogan to return from his year long absence to team up with his friend and challenge for Money Incs tag titles at WrestleMania. Id say it speaks pretty highly of IRS that he was chosen to take part in the angle that brought Hulk Hogan back to WrestleMania. Money Inc was able to overcome the odds and defeat Hogan and Beefcake at mania, albeit by disqualification. Throughout the spring and summer of 1993 Money Inc would trade the titles back and forth with The Steiner Brothers with the Steiners eventually winning the feud. Shortly after, Money Inc split up and Ted Dibiase left the WWF after SummerSlam 93.
Dibiase was the bigger name in Money Inc but IRS benefited from the partnership and was viewed as an equal. Some wondered how the gimmicky IRS would fare without the more established Million Dollar Man by his side. It turned out IRS did just fine on his own. He still had the accountant gimmick and wrestled in the tie and suspenders but after two years IRS had established himself as a legit competitor in the WWF. Throughout the rest of his career he feuded with Razor Ramon over the IC title, Tatanka, and even The Undertaker before leaving the WWF in the summer of 1995. IRS wasnt ever going to be a main event guy but I think he did a great job overcoming the gimmick he was given by making it his own and letting his talent shine through.
You may not have ever thought much about IRS as a performer but think about his gimmick. An IRS accountant that wrestled in a tie and suspenders and was looking for wrestlers that cheated on their taxes. That has six month low card wrestler written all over it and Mike Rotunda turned it into a four year success. Ted Dibiase gets a lot of love here but we hardly ever hear about IRS. They were partners for a year and a half and the top team during that time. I dont have a specific question. Just give me your general thoughts on IRS and how Mike Rotunda did with the gimmick.
