Hello there and here we delve into another thread. Whether you're sipping on some Mountain Dew at 2 in the morning in your house, or you're stealing a quick 5 minute glance on the work computer during your shift, I want you to do me a favour. Ready? Ok. I want you to cast your mind back to 1995. Ah. A glorious year, no?
A great time in Human History right? eBay is founded! A strange new format known as the DVD is announced! Braveheart wins Best Picture at the Oscars and more importantly, Casper the Friendly Ghost is released! Coupled with a masterful turn of Coolio with "Gangsta's Paradise", one might say that Human History had never reached such peaks. But if you were to look at the wrestling world, you would be wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
In another galaxy thread far far away, a man known as Tenta on these forums had this to say
And he is right in many respects. One could say that the seeds of destruction were laid with a weak start to the 90's, and Yoko's reign perhaps didn't help. But does this make 1993 the worst year of the WWF? I'm not so sure. They still had Hogan to fall back on, as did they have Savage still snooping around. Who did they have in 1995? I'll tell you who they had. They had freaking Mantaur. Oh yes my dears, Mantaur. We had Diesel with his year long reign as Champion (which I didn't mind really), you had Mabel as your King of the Ring and you had Lawrence Taylor main eventing your Wrestlemania.
Wrestling at this time wasn't the cool thing anymore. It was the transitioning period for the WWF moving out of the Golden Age of Wrestling and into the Attitude Era, and to get them there, they had to rely on their two biggest stars, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, along with a small plethora of others to get them through it. As time has shown, these two simply did not draw, and we had a serious downturn in wrestling. Steve Austin was still in his Ringmaster gimmick until 1996, and instead, we had a whole bunch of colourful cartoony gimmicks thrown at us to plug the gap. Little did they know that this just wasn't going to cut it anymore. Because we weren't exactly going to fall in love with Phantasio, the wrestling magician.
I'd love to hear some peoples thoughts on 1995 as a whole, as I know WCW wasn't in great shape either, with such spectacular events as The Dungeon of Doom and The Yeti running amok.
Well, actually RAW still had wrestlers like Lex Luger (at the beginning of 1995 , prior to his debut at Nitro), Razor Ramon, Diesel, Bret Hart, HBK, Undertaker, Sid...Perhaps that was not the RAW golden era with Stone Cold and The Rock... but I believe people often forget those years. Perhaps the critical era for the WWE were 1996, when Nitro had nWo (what was WCW befaure that???); and now, with Hornswoggle tearing RAW apart.
I do not comprehend why this era was looked down upon so much by fans who were not shareholders considering Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels really were involved in so many battles of technical wrestling that just was not emulated quite to the extent of them even fourteen years later during this phase when talented performers like Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and Kurt Angle are a few of the more crafted wrestlers out there.
They were not drawing too much money for business because society was geared more towards either the drama and interaction of characters that did not come into play until later in the era of attitude or towards the excessive violence of flaming tables and barbed wires of ECW or towards both of those things and the World Wrestling Federation still was feeling the effects of having planned the catering to young kids for several years which had already passed by the time of the departure of Hulk Hogan. I still did not see the ideas of Doink, Lex Luger or even the "family-friendly" hitman as things which were too bad compared to the bland performances of the midcarders during the hyped duration of the latter years.
If I recall, the midcard was quite stacked with Davey Boy Smith, Owen Hart, Undertaker, Goldust, Jeff Jarrett, Roadie, Billy, Sid, the people I listed up there above this sentence, and a few other wrestlers like Triple H and Razor Ramon in the mix. On the side of the main events, action was limited to Lex, Bret, Diesel and maybe to Shawn Michaels if he was considered to be on that level. Otherwise he was more than decent to the middle class after even winning the Royal Rumble surprisingly for a person of that size as when Bret won he also shared that spotlight with Luger and was built towards being accepted as fighting with heavy weights. Now a lot of fans would think that these characters were ridiculous with the gimmicks that resembled the cartoons but I honestly do not think that the performances in the ring were graded as letting viewers down.
It could be gotten about the children who followed the Hulkamaniacs, who were growing up and who wanted to see more realistic issues but the fights were pretty solid and included classic times when the Intercontinental title was contested for. I also think of the throwback to old times when Bob Backlund and Bret Hart just got in the ring at Wrestlemania Eleven and gave followers like Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit something to learn from in regards to a showdown at what was meant to be the biggest show of sports and of entertainment. Bring on the criticism if you desire to do so but keep in mind and I am not downplaying the importance of what they did at Wrestlemania Seventeen and instead was just bringing up some of the nicer times of this questioned year.
Would a match between Bret Hart and Diesel or among solid workers like Jeff Jarrett and like Jesse James rather be seen as opposed to the years of attitudes when the shows were mostly known for somewhat decent bouts among Rocky and Steve Austin that headlined and let the tens of unimpressive tag team matches with Headbangers, "Goodwinns" and the nation be forgotten? I do not mean to get off of the topic to discuss the later years but wanted to just show the opposite ends of the spectrum to really convey that hindsight of the future was not available in nineteen ninety-five so it really gets thought of poorly because most people just know what was to come after it in terms of the battles for WWF and WCW.
Another key to remember is that while these concepts were used sparingly they helped to limit the saturation of shots with chairs and of broken tables. Every match was not about "outdoing" something that had been done earlier. An example was seen instead of going to fight in the crowd at almost each event of "Pay-Per-View" for so many minutes like when Vince Russo was booking in the subsequent years, and participants were frequently counted out on a regular basis to aid the fixed rules in seeming more legit and the usage of weapons was limited to when big feuds would culminate. These small things that most currently impatient fans who I am not singling out with names were ideas that they can not seem to live without but helped to put over basic performances such as the taking over by Owen Hart and Yokozuna who just simply "outwrestled" the division of "tag teams".
I don't know what led the audiences to disrespect these wrestlers through a lack of appreciation for skills but maybe they wanted more brutality and soap operas as they really led things to turn around in the federation after this less popular series of months.
I've read the reviews of the "In Your House" series and the major PPVs from that era where the poster feels the same way. I have to agree and disagree. They had great talent at this time...Shawn Michaels, Bret, Owen, Diesel, Razor, Sid, Undertaker, Davey Boy, 123 Kid, Bam Bam, Yoko, HHH, etc. But they were just booked so lousy. The matches put on the cards were sometimes horrendous due to injuries or fillers, but if you look at that list of names you'd think they would have torn the house down. A lot of it had to do with Vince giving guys jobs as gimmicks to use as filler heels or faces low card matches. They weren't doing anything deep story line wise. It was basic stuff with the main guys staying up on the card. Shawn was out for a lot of 1995, other guys were in and out due to injury and other reasons, and Vince was pushing guys like Mabel, Doink, Duke the Dumpster, the BodyDonnas, and the Godwinns on the card. They had the talent, but Vince, Pat, and the others weren't pulling it on their end and the shows came off as cheesy and bad. A lot of the WWF's worst PPVs came during this period and looking at the list of wrestlers its hard to believe.
I'm pretty sure this was the absolute worse year in WWF's history. I can count the amount of good moments on 1 hand (Royal Rumble with Shawn Michael going #1, Kiss my foot match from King of the Ring, Bret Hart vs Diesel at Survivor Series, and Diesel as champ wasn't too bad, Yoko and Owen as Tag Champs) and all the wrestlers that were good were put together with wrestlers that couldn't really put on anything really memorable. the characters were god awful (Man Mountain Rock, The Goon, Issac Yankem DDS, Xanta Claus, ect.). and these were the guys wrestling the Bret Harts and Shawn Michaels a lot of the time, no one wanted to see Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon feud with Dean Douglas or Bret Hart to feud with Jean Pierre Lafitte because he stole his leather jacket. The matches on a weekly basis were just terrible because it was mostly guys like Mantaur and Barry Horowitz (side note: want to know how bad it was, Barry frickin Horowitz was getting pushed a guy who jobbed for years in the WWF.) on the shows like Raw for the most part, to put it simple the WWF was absolute trash and it had almost zero redeeming qualities.
I'm pretty sure this was the absolute worse year in WWF's history. I can count the amount of good moments on 1 hand (Royal Rumble with Shawn Michael going #1, Kiss my foot match from King of the Ring, Bret Hart vs Diesel at Survivor Series, and Diesel as champ wasn't too bad, Yoko and Owen as Tag Champs) and all the wrestlers that were good were put together with wrestlers that couldn't really put on anything really memorable. the characters were god awful (Man Mountain Rock, The Goon, Issac Yankem DDS, Xanta Claus, ect.). and these were the guys wrestling the Bret Harts and Shawn Michaels a lot of the time, no one wanted to see Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon feud with Dean Douglas or Bret Hart to feud with Jean Pierre Lafitte because he stole his leather jacket. The matches on a weekly basis were just terrible because it was mostly guys like Mantaur and Barry Horowitz (side note: want to know how bad it was, Barry frickin Horowitz was getting pushed a guy who jobbed for years in the WWF.) on the shows like Raw for the most part, to put it simple the WWF was absolute trash and it had almost zero redeeming qualities.
Well, in all fairness, plenty was going on in the WWE that was beyond the control of the wrestlers. For example, Vince was facing his Steroid Trial. Multiple cases of sexual harassment were filed against men like Pat Patterson. And it was just a horrific point to have a vested interest into the company.
Having said that, I feel the WWE didn't jump shark until 1993. And let's consider why.
But does this make 1993 the worst year of the WWF?
You bet your sweet ass it does. Because, mainly, all of the important wrestlers that would shape the WWE's identity weren't there at this point. not only that, but the WWE was left with perhaps one of the worst main event lineup the WWE had to offer.
I'm not so sure. They still had Hogan to fall back on,
Well, not so fast, MRC. Did they really have Hulk? Or did he appear for A Wrestlemania, King of the Ring, and then disappear? Those were the only two things about his reign I remember, and for that matter, the only things that, to my best knowledge, happened. He never wrestled on television, only cut a promo once a month, and really only swooped in when the moment was right. Can we constitute that as actually being there? It's a sad truth, but the thing is, their World Champion for three months wasn't reliable to even work a Champion's schedule.
Well, that'd be right, if they actually used Savage. Because while it's true, that Savage draws, the fact remains that he just wasn't used properly. And a wrestler is only as good as how he's used. Period.
Who did they have in 1995? I'll tell you who they had. They had freaking Mantaur. Oh yes my dears, Mantaur.
I'm going to stop you right here. I know where this is going.... 1995 Had the "out there" gimmicks, right? This is where Creative went mad, and piled along these crazy gimmicks, hoping that something would hit the wall, right?
Wrong, good sir. This actually did start in the year of 1993. That's when gimmicks such as Max Moon, Men on a Mission, and Tekno Team orginally started to hit their stride, shall we say. Even worse, all of the wrestlers in which could have carried the WWE were stuck in the mid card, and couldn't have half the matches they eventually would. But we'll get stuck in that later. Anyway, the fact is, that this was the origins of WWE's creative going ape shit nuts.
We had Diesel with his year long reign as Champion (which I didn't mind really), you had Mabel as your King of the Ring and you had Lawrence Taylor main eventing your Wrestlemania.
1. Why is it there no complaint when Mr. T headlines Wrestlemania, yet LT is so looked highly down upon? it's not like celebs wrestling at Wrestlemania had this unfound precedent. No, it was done in the First Wrestlemania. Football players took part in one of the main events of the next Wrestlemania. So while LT was far from a good worker, this wasn't half the bad decision everyone made it out to be.
2. I really struggle to wonder where Diesel is any worse of a champion than Yokozuna. While Yoko was slow, plodding, and flat out horrendous in the ring, at least Diesel could be carried to a decent championship match. While Diesel wasn't perfect as champion, his best matches, in which admittedly he was carried by better workers, surely were better than Yokozuna's. Compare the two matches. One is from 1995, with Diesel facing Bret Hart. The other, from 1993, is Yoko facing that same exact competitor. Now, tell me, which match did you enjoy more?
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Now, the point of me presenting this is simple: While Diesel could be carried to good matches, Yokozuna just couldn't be. He was too fat, and there was just so much you couldn't do with him, due to his size. Diesel had great matches with Shawn and Bret. Where were Yoko's great matches as champion?
3. Mabel is still a creation of that 1993 Era.
Wrestling at this time wasn't the cool thing anymore. It was the transitioning period for the WWF moving out of the Golden Age of Wrestling and into the Attitude Era, and to get them there, they had to rely on their two biggest stars, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, along with a small plethora of others to get them through it.
Do you see the bold there, MRC? Because while, in 1995, Vince did rely on them, he didn't in 1993. Shawn was still in the mid card, and nowhere ready to be the star he'd become. Bret wasn't particularly in the main event; he was stuck in a mid card with Jerry Lawler, and that took up most of his time. Even The Undertaker lacked direction, mainly feuding with the Giant Gonzlaes. That's three great workers who were pivotal to 1995, not in the spotlight in 1993. The men in the spotlight were Yoko, Lex Luger, and that was pretty much it. Those were the only things the main event have to offer. And people just flat out hated that.
As time has shown, these two simply did not draw, and we had a serious downturn in wrestling. Steve Austin was still in his Ringmaster gimmick until 1996, and instead, we had a whole bunch of colourful cartoony gimmicks thrown at us to plug the gap.
Those same colorful gimmicks that were also present, rather, born, in 1993. Men on a Mission came from 1993. So did Doink. So did most of the gimmicks you're thinking of. Tell me one gimmick that was colorful that didn't start in 1993.
Little did they know that this just wasn't going to cut it anymore. Because we weren't exactly going to fall in love with Phantasio, the wrestling magician
Touche, sir. Phantasio was bad. Really bad. Though in all fariness, they gave it one run, and never went with it again.
I'd love to hear some peoples thoughts on 1995 as a whole, as I know WCW wasn't in great shape either, with such spectacular events as The Dungeon of Doom and The Yeti running amok.
OK the guy that wrote this thread should learn to write... but ya, 95 wasn't that bad up until many (not all) started jumping ship.
With that said it was still entertaining but also we sould look at the fued that led to many of these people jumping=> McMahon thinking he was in no need to thing WCW was a threat until many of his talent started to jump ship.
I said this to Tenta in a PM and I'll say it again. Life would be so much easier if he just agreed with me. Sigh.
Well, in all fairness, plenty was going on in the WWE that was beyond the control of the wrestlers. For example, Vince was facing his Steroid Trial. Multiple cases of sexual harassment were filed against men like Pat Patterson. And it was just a horrific point to have a vested interest into the company.
I agree. All these factors contributed to the major slump in wrestling that would be to come. But I don't believe that the full effects of 1993 were felt until the years following. McMahon had to pay out millions of dollars, but he still managed to scrape by in 1993. It was only in the following years where the revenue had dried up that created some of the stalest product ever.
You bet your sweet ass it does. Because, mainly, all of the important wrestlers that would shape the WWE's identity weren't there at this point. not only that, but the WWE was left with perhaps one of the worst main event lineup the WWE had to offer.
I did mention some luminaries such as Hogan and Savage, but you were quick to put out the burning flame of opinion I had. Lets see what you have to say.
Well, not so fast, MRC. Did they really have Hulk? Or did he appear for A Wrestlemania, King of the Ring, and then disappear? Those were the only two things about his reign I remember, and for that matter, the only things that, to my best knowledge, happened. He never wrestled on television, only cut a promo once a month, and really only swooped in when the moment was right. Can we constitute that as actually being there? It's a sad truth, but the thing is, their World Champion for three months wasn't reliable to even work a Champion's schedule.
Well, that'd be right, if they actually used Savage. Because while it's true, that Savage draws, the fact remains that he just wasn't used properly. And a wrestler is only as good as how he's used. Period.
But the fact of the matter was, when people asked who the WWF champion was, they were told it was Hulk Hogan, the biggest name ever. His presence in the company alone gave them the advantage over their 1995 counterpart. And this is a point I will try to put across. Yes, Savage was used poorly. But the fact of the matter is, they had him in the company. They could have utilised him if need be, they just chose not to. Just having him commentating was a way for him to be on TV and to keep the WWF at the top, via association with one of the best wrestlers in the world. Having such a name to your company boosted your standing.
But in 1995? they had no one they could turn to, even if they wanted to utilise them. They had no one to fall back on, and no veterans for name recognition. They called in the New Generation, because that's all that was left. Some new guys.
I'm going to stop you right here. I know where this is going.... 1995 Had the "out there" gimmicks, right? This is where Creative went mad, and piled along these crazy gimmicks, hoping that something would hit the wall, right?
Wrong, good sir. This actually did start in the year of 1993. That's when gimmicks such as Max Moon, Men on a Mission, and Tekno Team orginally started to hit their stride, shall we say. Even worse, all of the wrestlers in which could have carried the WWE were stuck in the mid card, and couldn't have half the matches they eventually would. But we'll get stuck in that later. Anyway, the fact is, that this was the origins of WWE's creative going ape shit nuts.
But here's the thing. When they introduced such train wrecks as Max Moon, MoM and Tekno Team, they had real superstars backing them up. They had actual main event superstars around in order to cushion the failures of these gimmicks. They didn't have to risk it all on these gimmicks because they knew they still had bigger draws up their sleeves. In order to prove my point, I'm going to compare 1993 to 1995, more importantly, I'm going to compare the line up for the Royal Rumbles of that year. All credit to Wikipedia boi!
Lets see: 1993
Ric Flair, Bob Backlund, Papa Shango, Ted DiBiase, Brian Knobbs, Virgil, Jerry Lawler, Max Moon, Genichiro Tenryu, Mr. Perfect, Skinner, Koko B. Ware, Samu, The Berzerker, The Undertaker, Terry Taylor, Damien Demento, Irwin R. Schyster, Tatanka, Jerry Sags, Typhoon, Fatu, Earthquake, Carlos Colón, Tito Santana, Rick Martel, Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Repo Man, Randy Savage
Now lets look at 1995 shall we?
Shawn Michaels, The British Bulldog, Eli Blu, Duke Droese, Jimmy Del Ray, Sionne, Tom Prichard, Doink the Clown, Kwang, Rick Martel, Owen Hart, Timothy Well, Bushwhacker Luke, Jacob Blu, King Kong Bundy, Mo, Mabel, Bushwhacker Butch, Lex Luger, Mantaur, Aldo Montoya, Henry Godwinn, Billy Gunn, Bart Gunn, Bob Backlund, Steven Dunn, Dick Murdoch, Adam Bomb, Fatu, Crush
Are you kidding me? Good lord. In 1993, you had bonafide superstars wrestling. Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage. Even your favourite, Yokozuna. You even had John freaking Tenta man!
Who was in the 1995 version of the Royal Rumble? Your two biggest stars were HBK and The British Bulldog. Thats it. Then you had tag teams thrown in to fill up the gaps that were clearly evident such as The Bushwackers and *groan* Well Dunn.
I understand that Bret Hart and Diesel weren't in it for their Championship match. But look at it this way. The undercard of 1993 was stacked also, with Razor, Hart and HBK all involved in matches.
Three Things.
1. Why is it there no complaint when Mr. T headlines Wrestlemania, yet LT is so looked highly down upon? it's not like celebs wrestling at Wrestlemania had this unfound precedent. No, it was done in the First Wrestlemania. Football players took part in one of the main events of the next Wrestlemania. So while LT was far from a good worker, this wasn't half the bad decision everyone made it out to be.
I hate to have to repeat points, but the fact of the matter was, their were other superstars to fall back on. Lawrence Taylor was in the ring with Bam Bam Bigelow. Mr T was in the ring with Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper. It was an experiement the first time around, yet it still involved the biggest superstar in the comapny, the one with the title, in the main event. As for Wrestlemania 2, I would argue that the Steel Cage match against King Kong Bundy was the real main event. I would still argue that HBK vs Diesel should have gone on last.
2. I really struggle to wonder where Diesel is any worse of a champion than Yokozuna. While Yoko was slow, plodding, and flat out horrendous in the ring, at least Diesel could be carried to a decent championship match. While Diesel wasn't perfect as champion, his best matches, in which admittedly he was carried by better workers, surely were better than Yokozuna's. Compare the two matches. One is from 1995, with Diesel facing Bret Hart. The other, from 1993, is Yoko facing that same exact competitor. Now, tell me, which match did you enjoy more?
I wouldn't argue with you that Diesel was the better champion. I know he was. But a better champion isn't always able to make up for an atrocious company at that time. You couldn't argue otherwise that the companies at various times were at a downturn, but 1995 was rock bottom.
Do you see the bold there, MRC? Because while, in 1995, Vince did rely on them, he didn't in 1993. Shawn was still in the mid card, and nowhere ready to be the star he'd become. Bret wasn't particularly in the main event; he was stuck in a mid card with Jerry Lawler, and that took up most of his time. Even The Undertaker lacked direction, mainly feuding with the Giant Gonzlaes. That's three great workers who were pivotal to 1995, not in the spotlight in 1993. The men in the spotlight were Yoko, Lex Luger, and that was pretty much it. Those were the only things the main event have to offer. And people just flat out hated that.
Thats just the thing. In 1993, he put Shawn Michaels in the mid card. Bret Hart, a former WWF Champion, was in the mid card. Undertaker, also a former WWF Champion. The mid card. He did this out of choice because he had Lex Luger, who was supposed to be the next big thing, running around and winning fans over. He consciously pushed Luger and he had a choice in the matter. 1995 Vince McMahon was backed into a corner with no way out, and pushed guys like HBK and Hart out of necessity. But a great point to your advantage..
Those same colorful gimmicks that were also present, rather, born, in 1993. Men on a Mission came from 1993. So did Doink. So did most of the gimmicks you're thinking of. Tell me one gimmick that was colorful that didn't start in 1993.
Isaac Yankem was rather bad. As was The Goon. I'm split on Aldo Montoya. Either way, as I said, they actually relied more heavily on cartoony gimmicks in 1995, because they had no choice. They were allowed into the midcard. Although I didn't mind Adam bomb. He seemed popular.Also, in terms of Doink, he was supposed to be a serious, mentally unstable heel.
1995; surely a down year. But certainly better than 1993.
1995 wasn't the best year, but I don't think it's necessarily the WORST time ever. Is it possible that in memory it SEEMS that bad just because of the year that followed it? 1996 saw Stone Cold's Austin 3:16 speech, and Hogan forming the nWo. These two events changed the history of wrestling forever. I think that maybe some people just remember 1995 as being so bad because the business changed so much for the better a year later. Not saying that 1995 was an awesome year for the WWF, but it wasn't the worst one either.
But isn't this more fun, MRC? I like debating you. You give out facts that are relavent, and you do your research. If I had to name you a Pokemon, you'd be a Kangaskhan. Very tough to take down, and very sturdy.
I agree. All these factors contributed to the major slump in wrestling that would be to come. But I don't believe that the full effects of 1993 were felt until the years following. McMahon had to pay out millions of dollars, but he still managed to scrape by in 1993. It was only in the following years where the revenue had dried up that created some of the stalest product ever.
Yes, but they also had the benefit of better publicity. By 1993, no one wanted a part of the WWE. By 1995, it was ok to be a fan of the WWE, and people seemed to forget the Steroid Trial. It's no coincidence the 93 Era had no celbritities particpate in their shows; no one wanted any part of it. And as you know, bad publicity makes for bad business. As was the case for the WWE.
I did mention some luminaries such as Hogan and Savage, but you were quick to put out the burning flame of opinion I had. Lets see what you have to say.
But the fact of the matter was, when people asked who the WWF champion was, they were told it was Hulk Hogan, the biggest name ever. His presence in the company alone gave them the advantage over their 1995 counterpart.
But what good is that name when you know nobody's there? I mean, you can go to Burger King, because you're told they don't have the Big Mac. But you're thoroughly dissapointed when you hear the Big Mac is there by that point.
That's the plight of the wrestling fan in 1993. Anyone who thought they were getting Hogan on the card was a moron.
Also, by that point, Hogan's name had taken a huge hit. Everyone knew him as a liar now. The training, prayers, and vitamins were all for not. Hogan had taken a massive blow from a PR stand. So to be honest, having Hogan there wasn't that important, at all.
And this is a point I will try to put across. Yes, Savage was used poorly. But the fact of the matter is, they had him in the company. They could have utilised him if need be, they just chose not to. Just having him commentating was a way for him to be on TV and to keep the WWF at the top, via association with one of the best wrestlers in the world. Having such a name to your company boosted your standing.
Oh, MRC, the fault of your logic. Again, it really didn't, unless he was in the ring, working with angles that are meaningful. There's a line in wrestling... "Wrestlers are only as good as their last match." And the fact is, Vince not booking Savage made him extremely irrelevant.
But in 1995? they had no one they could turn to, even if they wanted to utilise them. They had no one to fall back on, and no veterans for name recognition. They called in the New Generation, because that's all that was left. Some new guys.
Bret Hart.
Shawn Michaels
The Undertaker
Razor Ramon
What's so new about these guys? And that's dicounting Diesel, who is a bit of a toss up.
But here's the thing. When they introduced such train wrecks as Max Moon, MoM and Tekno Team, they had real superstars backing them up. They had actual main event superstars around in order to cushion the failures of these gimmicks.
Who supprted MoM? What main event name worked with them? Or Max Moon, even? Again, I'm failing to see these main event names. And people still remember these as failures, MRC, otherwise they wouldn't be mentioned at all.
They didn't have to risk it all on these gimmicks because they knew they still had bigger draws up their sleeves. In order to prove my point, I'm going to compare 1993 to 1995, more importantly, I'm going to compare the line up for the Royal Rumbles of that year. All credit to Wikipedia boi!
Lets see: 1993
Ric Flair, Bob Backlund, Papa Shango, Ted DiBiase, Brian Knobbs, Virgil Jerry Lawler, Max Moon, Genichiro Tenryu, Mr. Perfect, Skinner, Koko B. Ware, Samu The Berzerker, Undertaker, The Undertaker, Terry Taylor, Damien Demento, Irwin R. Schyster, Tatanka, Jerry Sags, Typhoon, Fatu, Earthquake, Carlos Colón, Tito Santana, Rick Martel, Yokozuna, Owen Hart Repo Man, Randy Savage
Now lets look at 1995 shall we?
Shawn Michaels, The British Bulldog, Eli Blu, Duke Droese, Jimmy Del Ray, Sionne, Tom Prichard, Doink the Clown, Kwang, Rick Martel, Owen Hart, Timothy Well, Bushwhacker Luke, Jacob Blu, King Kong Bundy, Mo, Mabel, Bushwhacker Butch, Lex Luger, Mantaur, Aldo Montoya, Henry Godwinn, Billy Gunn, Bart Gunn, Bob Backlund, Steven Dunn, Dick Murdoch, Adam Bomb, Fatu, Crush
Are you kidding me? Good lord. In 1993, you had bonafide superstars wrestling. Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage. Even your favourite, Yokozuna. You even had John freaking Tenta man!
You know, there's that research again. Very well done. A very well read subject there. And my goodness, all from Wikipedia, too? Mein Gott! I think I should walk over there myself to see some facts.
*Goes to Wikipedia*
Well, MRC, I'm back, and you're boned! Because while there were better names in the 1993 Royal Rumble, what you seem to be neglecting was the horrendous card built around it, as opposed to the 1993 Rumble. That undercard featured:
The Steiners and Beverly Brothers, with the Steiners absolute shells of themselves.
A still green HBK, nowhere near ready for the spotlight, and Marty Jannety
Bam Bam Bigelow and Big Bossman, both out of their primes, at this point.
Now, let's compare that to the 1995 Undercard of the Royal Rumble:
An over Razor Ramon and Jeff Jarrett (Who was becoming important)
The Undertaker and IRS
Diesel and Bret Hart
Bob Holly and 123 Kid and Tatanka and Bam Bigelow
The point being, MRC, that the WWE actually decided to book their undercard this time around, and built up strong matches, knowing no one was going to pay $49.99 to just watch one Rumble. Consequentially, their Royal Rumble suffered.
Who was in the 1995 version of the Royal Rumble? Your two biggest stars were HBK and The British Bulldog. Thats it. Then you had tag teams thrown in to fill up the gaps that were clearly evident such as The Bushwackers and *groan* Well Dunn.
Yes, because the WWE decided to actually book an undercard. Besides, you're being very selective of your shows right now, MRC. So here's what I want you to do: Go make a comparison of the 1993 Survivor Series and the 1995 Survivor Series. Then, tell me who had the better event.
I understand that Bret Hart and Diesel weren't in it for their Championship match. But look at it this way. The undercard of 1993 was stacked also, with Razor, Hart and HBK all involved in matches.
Yes, but if you think these versions of these men were even close to the greatness they'd late achieve, you're dead wrong. Wrestlers grow with experience and ring time. As is the case for all three men.
I hate to have to repeat points, but the fact of the matter was, their were other superstars to fall back on. Lawrence Taylor was in the ring with Bam Bam Bigelow. Mr T was in the ring with Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper. It was an experiement the first time around, yet it still involved the biggest superstar in the comapny, the one with the title, in the main event.
It's still allowing your best workers to work with celebrities. Again, you let them in the ring, and they putz around a bit. Plus, LT wasn't actually half as bad as MR. T.
As for Wrestlemania 2, I would argue that the Steel Cage match against King Kong Bundy was the real main event. I would still argue that HBK vs Diesel should have gone on last.
You'll get no arguments, except that celbrities are what they are; they're meant to draw. They're not meant to put on clinics, they're there to pull in more viewers. That's the only reason.
I wouldn't argue with you that Diesel was the better champion. I know he was. But a better champion isn't always able to make up for an atrocious company at that time. You couldn't argue otherwise that the companies at various times were at a downturn, but 1995 was rock bottom.
Again, from a business standpoint, maybe. From a wrestling standpoint, and production standpoint? Still better than 1993. Also, in most businesses, one has to wait a couple of years for depressions to be felt.
Thats just the thing. In 1993, he put Shawn Michaels in the mid card. Bret Hart, a former WWF Champion, was in the mid card. Undertaker, also a former WWF Champion. The mid card. He did this out of choice because he had Lex Luger, who was supposed to be the next big thing, running around and winning fans over.
Ok, let's be real about this, MRC. I'll give you three choices, and I want you to tell me who you'd take to be a part of your company. Ready? Go.
Shawn Michaels, or Lex Luger?
Ok, how about:
Bret Hart, or Lex Luger?
And last one;
The Undertaker, or lex Luger?
He consciously pushed Luger and he had a choice in the matter. 1995 Vince McMahon was backed into a corner with no way out, and pushed guys like HBK and Hart out of necessity. But a great point to your advantage..
He booked them because they were now ready. Something they weren't in 95.
Isaac Yankem was rather bad. As was The Goon. I'm split on Aldo Montoya. Either way, as I said, they actually relied more heavily on cartoony gimmicks in 1995, because they had no choice. They were allowed into the midcard. Although I didn't mind Adam bomb. He seemed popular.Also, in terms of Doink, he was supposed to be a serious, mentally unstable heel.
But isn't this more fun, MRC? I like debating you. You give out facts that are relavent, and you do your research. If I had to name you a Pokemon, you'd be a Kangaskhan. Very tough to take down, and very sturdy.
Well thanks man. I initally likened you to Snorlax, a behemoth that can't be stopped until he logs off. But I think you'd just be a pokemon trainer. The most dangerous prey of all!
Yes, but they also had the benefit of better publicity. By 1993, no one wanted a part of the WWE. By 1995, it was ok to be a fan of the WWE, and people seemed to forget the Steroid Trial. It's no coincidence the 93 Era had no celbritities particpate in their shows; no one wanted any part of it. And as you know, bad publicity makes for bad business. As was the case for the WWE.
But he was still the champion. I mean, we are looking at the period before IYH, so Pay Per Views were few and far between here. In fact I'm quite sure that the KOTR came right after Wrestlemania, hence, he technically didn't miss a PPV.
Also, by that point, Hogan's name had taken a huge hit. Everyone knew him as a liar now. The training, prayers, and vitamins were all for not. Hogan had taken a massive blow from a PR stand. So to be honest, having Hogan there wasn't that important, at all.
I would have been persuaded to believe you Tenta, I really would have. But then I woke up and realised that we were talking about Hulk Hogan, the biggest superstar wrestling had ever seen. Sure, his name had taken a hit in the public eye, but at the end of the day, the fact was that Hulkamania still lived in the hearts of all the fans and they didn't really give a damn. Case in point? Listen to the roar when he gets the three count.
[youtube]UUTLoNGJBzE[/youtube]
Oh, MRC, the fault of your logic. Again, it really didn't, unless he was in the ring, working with angles that are meaningful. There's a line in wrestling... "Wrestlers are only as good as their last match." And the fact is, Vince not booking Savage made him extremely irrelevant.
Touche in that regard Tenta, touche. He still made a few appearances here and there, such as Survivor Series, but I understand what you are getting across.
Bret Hart.
Shawn Michaels
The Undertaker
Razor Ramon
What's so new about these guys? And that's dicounting Diesel, who is a bit of a toss up.
It's not that they were new, but after quick shots at the main event, Hart and Taker had been cast aside down to the midcard throughout 1993. Hart regained his position in 1994, but Taker still wallowed in meaningless feuds. Yay King Kong Bundy. Perhaps new was not the right word, but not ready for the big time might have been closer. The best person they could turn to was Hart really.
You know, there's that research again. Very well done. A very well read subject there. And my goodness, all from Wikipedia, too? Mein Gott! I think I should walk over there myself to see some facts.
*Goes to Wikipedia*
Well, MRC, I'm back, and you're boned! Because while there were better names in the 1993 Royal Rumble, what you seem to be neglecting was the horrendous card built around it, as opposed to the 1993 Rumble. That undercard featured:
The Steiners and Beverly Brothers, with the Steiners absolute shells of themselves.
A still green HBK, nowhere near ready for the spotlight, and Marty Jannety
Bam Bam Bigelow and Big Bossman, both out of their primes, at this point.
Bret and a in Razor Ramon.
Now, let's compare that to the 1995 Undercard of the Royal Rumble:
An over Razor Ramon and Jeff Jarrett (Who was becoming important)
The point being, MRC, that the WWE actually decided to book their undercard this time around, and built up strong matches, knowing no one was going to pay $49.99 to just watch one Rumble. Consequentially, their Royal Rumble suffered.[/quote]
What can I say Tenta? Youve got my ass in this point. Sure, Ill accept that the undercard was stronger, but admit it. This rumble was pathetic and had no right being on the Shawn Michaels DVD.
Yes, because the WWE decided to actually book an undercard. Besides, you're being very selective of your shows right now, MRC. So here's what I want you to do: Go make a comparison of the 1993 Survivor Series and the 1995 Survivor Series. Then, tell me who had the better event.
But here, are we not looking at years as purely arbitrary means of ameasurement. I agree that my thread title limits the WWF to just 12 months, but I think that over this certain time period, they were worse. Realistically, 1995 Survivor Series was closer to what the WWF would become in 1996, whereas 1993 Survivor Series was a company on it's way to a down period in the mid nineties. Of course, being the shrewd devil that you are, you would say the same about the Royal Rumble of these years. Well I have a solution. Why dont we just draw a median point of both years and compare. Because whilst I will admit that Survivor Series 1995 was better than 1993, could you say the same about the Summerslams of both years?
Actually. You may have me on this one too,. 1993 Summerslam wasnt that top notch. But you had some good matches on the card and it wasnt a bust. But when Im comparing Summerslam 1995, I find one thing to my credit, and that is that there isnt much to be gleaned from the card. You have Barry Horowitz getting a 10 minute match on the second biggest pay per view of the year for christsakes. You had Bret Hart, your former WWF champion against a dentist in Isaac Yankem. You have Mabel, sorry, King Mabel in the main event with Diesel for the WWF title. On the 1993 version, everyone sort of a had a purpose and there werent as many jobbers that were used to plug the gaps. Say what you want about Luger, but he was getting a push and he was well liked by some fans. Mabel was not.
Yes, but if you think these versions of these men were even close to the greatness they'd late achieve, you're dead wrong. Wrestlers grow with experience and ring time. As is the case for all three men.
True. But Hart was still Champion at the time.
Again, from a business standpoint, maybe. From a wrestling standpoint, and production standpoint? Still better than 1993. Also, in most businesses, one has to wait a couple of years for depressions to be felt.
No arguments from me. Im not saying 1993 was great by any stretch of the imagination. Just slightly better than 1995.
Do you hear yourself right now?
Ok, let's be real about this, MRC. I'll give you three choices, and I want you to tell me who you'd take to be a part of your company. Ready? Go.
Oh come on now Tenta, don't be so mean. It wasn't my choice anyways, and we have the benefit of hindsight to see what these guys would become. But with the Lex Express in full motion, McMahon was building him to be the top guy and eventual champion.
You even have a thread yourself about how Luger missed out on the Title because of blabbing about it, and true or false, I still firmly believe that Luger was very close to being champion.
He booked them because they were now ready. Something they weren't in 95.
But do you think if McMahon had a choice, he still would have put them into the title picture? If Hogan and Savage hasn't jumped ship, do you think he would have put the belt on Diesel? Genuine question.
Because all of the good workers were working on top, as should have been, and made the shows much better, plain and simple
He needed a monster that couldn't be stopped so he used Yoko. A big fat sumo wrestler. Whats scarier than that? I think Yoko worked well. We all hated him at least.
You're not bad yourself.
Maybe you can show if you think highly of me by voting me over Lee in the Bar Room Tourney?
Well thanks man. I initally likened you to Snorlax, a behemoth that can't be stopped until he logs off. But I think you'd just be a pokemon trainer. The most dangerous prey of all!
It's more than that. LT, the NFL gang was around at that point with him. Icluding a young(er) Steve Mongo McMichael. Also, just a couple months before, they brought in Chuck Fucking Norris. Top that shit.
But he was still the champion. I mean, we are looking at the period before IYH, so Pay Per Views were few and far between here. In fact I'm quite sure that the KOTR came right after Wrestlemania, hence, he technically didn't miss a PPV.
No, but he missed plenty Raws, House Shows, and plenty of other things champions just didn't do. Ever. Period.
I would have been persuaded to believe you Tenta, I really would have. But then I woke up and realised that we were talking about Hulk Hogan, the biggest superstar wrestling had ever seen. Sure, his name had taken a hit in the public eye, but at the end of the day, the fact was that Hulkamania still lived in the hearts of all the fans and they didn't really give a damn. Case in point? Listen to the roar when he gets the three count.
I don't know about you, but I heard confusion after that. After the immediate pop, people thought "What the fuck? He hasn't been here for a year, and he's champion?" I guarantee you plenty of people were thinking that.
Touche in that regard Tenta, touche. He still made a few appearances here and there, such as Survivor Series, but I understand what you are getting across.
It's not that they were new, but after quick shots at the main event, Hart and Taker had been cast aside down to the midcard throughout 1993. Hart regained his position in 1994, but Taker still wallowed in meaningless feuds. Yay King Kong Bundy. Perhaps new was not the right word, but not ready for the big time might have been closer. The best person they could turn to was Hart really.
In case you haven't noticed, Undertaker's career has been based off pretty frivolent feuds, honestly. However, point accepted.
What can I say Tenta? Youve got my ass in this point. Sure, Ill accept that the undercard was stronger, but admit it. This rumble was pathetic and had no right being on the Shawn Michaels DVD.
Pathetic? Perhaps. Better if they didn't build a generally better overall pay per view? I can't agree with that.
But here, are we not looking at years as purely arbitrary means of ameasurement. I agree that my thread title limits the WWF to just 12 months, but I think that over this certain time period, they were worse. Realistically, 1995 Survivor Series was closer to what the WWF would become in 1996, whereas 1993 Survivor Series was a company on it's way to a down period in the mid nineties. Of course, being the shrewd devil that you are, you would say the same about the Royal Rumble of these years. Well I have a solution. Why dont we just draw a median point of both years and compare. Because whilst I will admit that Survivor Series 1995 was better than 1993, could you say the same about the Summerslams of both years?
1993 Summerslam wasnt that top notch. But you had some good matches on the card and it wasnt a bust. But when Im comparing Summerslam 1995, I find one thing to my credit, and that is that there isnt much to be gleaned from the card.
And yet it was all still better than the 1993 Summerslam. Michaels/Razor was better. Kama/Taker was better. And that Skip/Barry Horowitz match was actually good. Plus, you forget a gem in Hakushi and the 1-2-3 Kid. That match was gold
You have Barry Horowitz getting a 10 minute match on the second biggest pay per view of the year for christsakes.
Really just a side to the Lawler feud. This was mainly Hart/Lawler, which was a great feud.
Oh, and by the way, that was Kane in there. Don't tell me they didn't work a great match. Bret and Kane would be absolute gold.
You have Mabel, sorry, King Mabel in the main event with Diesel for the WWF title. On the 1993 version, everyone sort of a had a purpose and there werent as many jobbers that were used to plug the gaps. Say what you want about Luger, but he was getting a push and he was well liked by some fans. Mabel was not.
Well, I just told you the purpose for two matches. Mabel won KOTR. And while he's shit, he's just as bad as one Yokozuna.
Yes, but if you think these versions of these men were even close to the greatness they'd late achieve, you're dead wrong. Wrestlers grow with experience and ring time. As is the case for all three men.
You're entitled to an opinion. But after this thread, maybe we should put up a poll to see how people feel.
Oh come on now Tenta, don't be so mean. It wasn't my choice anyways, and we have the benefit of hindsight to see what these guys would become. But with the Lex Express in full motion, McMahon was building him to be the top guy and eventual champion.
And that champion flat out failed. Period. End of stroy.
You even have a thread yourself about how Luger missed out on the Title because of blabbing about it, and true or false, I still firmly believe that Luger was very close to being champion.
Alas, it came down to one thing in the 1994 RR. The pop off. Bret's pop was bigger. He got the nod. Plain and simple.
But do you think if McMahon had a choice, he still would have put them into the title picture? If Hogan and Savage hasn't jumped ship, do you think he would have put the belt on Diesel? Genuine question.
Actually, yes. He was trying to phase out these men for years. He'd been trying to find Hulk's replacement since Wrestlemania 6, MRC. So yes, I believe Diesel would have gotten the strap.
He needed a monster that couldn't be stopped so he used Yoko. A big fat sumo wrestler. Whats scarier than that? I think Yoko worked well. We all hated him at least.
We hated him because he was shit in the ring, boring, and yet he still kept the belt. Because there were no better options at the time. That's why we hated. As soon as there were better options, he was shoved to the mid card. In 1995
I would argue that WWE got much worse in 1996-7, reaching a climax with the atrocious 1997 Royal Rumble won by Steve Austin that turned me off to WWE for nearly two years. 1996 saw perhaps the worst storyline of all time, a fake Razor Ramon and a fake Diesel presented by JR after a five minute rant against WWE fans. The pool of talent was so bad that a past his prime Jake Roberts played a prominent role in the Summer of 1996. The Ultimate Warrior defeated HHH in about five seconds at Wrestlemania. The Iron Man match was a slow, plodding affair. The top heel during this year was possibly a homoerotic movie buff that wore a gold suit. While the seeds of greatness were planted in 1996-7, sometimes an organization has to take two steps back in order to see what sticks. For me, that was 1996-7.
And another thing, where is the hatred for Yokozuna coming from? Yoko was a rarity, a heel champ that could carry the main belt for nine months and not do damage to the company. He feuded with Hart, Hogan, Luger and Taker and I would say had as successful a run as any heel champion before Randy Orton.
And i would argue 1994 was also worse than 1995 because that year was centered around the Bret v Owen feud that was shoved down our throats. Seriously, go back and watch their steel cage match from SummerSlam, it lacks any rewatchability compared to todays standards. Undertaker was gone from January to August, and if anything the most watchable wrestler from 1994 was Bob Backlund!
What was also so bad about Mabel? He did not even win the belt and much less credible contenders like Monty Sopp, Ray Traylor and Sheamus who used a name by the government which I was not aware of, would contend for it after him anyway during the horrible booking of the era of attitude and during the time after the splitting of the brands. It was certainly believeable for a man of that size to at least try to fight for it and to be able to defeat two or three people in one night for a tournament of the king of the ring. The effect of him simply being featured as a guy who was hard to knock down was kind of amazing as he really only needed to get a chop, a hold, a slam or a splash to put away most rivals too. I don't even think he would use up too much time for bad promos or be prominently featured on a lot of advertising, shirts, toys and other forms of merchandise.
I agree that 1995 was definitely one of the weakest years for WWF. The company was still with the Doinks, Duke the Dumpster Garbage man, Aldo Montoya, and Jacob and Eli Blu, not even Vince knew how to tell those two apart. It was annoying.
Also 1996 was not very good for WWF. They lost Nash and Hall, and Bret went on an 8 month vacation.
But a few things stood out for me in 1995, such as Sid's 3 powerbombs on Michaels that led to the babyface turn, and Bulldog turning on Diesel to become heel.
I dont think it was until mid 1997 that Vince woke up and realized he had to make some drastic changes. He had to quit those silly gimmicks if he wanted his company to be taken seriously. For example he had clowns, hockey players, teachers, farmers, plumbers, "stalkers" I mean c'mon for fucks sake.
Just to name a few theundertaker hbk razorramon brethart owenhart bulldog lexluger sid smokingguns 123kid ahmedjohnson bambambigelow jerrylawler diesel yokozuna jeffjarrett teddebiase hakushi goldust triple-h & mr bob baclund come on how many more names do you want yes there was errors like doink but by 95 he was pretty much done and l.t.'s wrestlemania main event but you know how many non wrestling fan's purchased that event just for l.t. the duke the dumbster there's no excuse for that.that was just terrible mabel was not a maineventer but the dude had size and was scary to kids vega was not a bad talent what so ever steve austin was just coming in once again part of the million doller team which had kama tatanka bundy kid sid austin irs and even nikolai volkoff lol which was great to see you missing the big picture 95 was a great year in the wwf i loved michaels and diesil at mania michaels and razor at summerslam michaels and jarrett at iyh wildcard match at survivor series diesil and bret at the rumble and at ss by 1997 all the big new generation stars where off to wcw or somewhere else 95 was the peak year for the new generation !
Well, to be honest, I've never considered any year the "worst" year in WWE. Sure there's some years where there's been some real crap to deal with. For example, this year, seeing Triple H vs Orton and Cena vs Orton repeatedly. But we also had some great stuff. A superb No Way Out, HBK vs Undertaker, CM Punk's heel turn, Bragging Rights which turned out to be surprisingly good.
Yeah, 1995 had some real crap. It had Diesel... Oh god, the horrible-ness of Diesel. And arguably the worst Wrestlemania in history. But it also had Michaels developing as one of the best ever, especially with his superb perfomance at the Royal Rumble, which is one of the most memorable moments ever let alone of that year. And the start of Bret Hart's 3rd reign, which was a pretty huge deal for a guy his size.
Yeah, when we take a closer look, the bad stuff may outweight the good. I mean, Mabel headlining Summerslam? Come on....
But there's a surprising amount of years that had more bad stuff than good. 1995 is just one of them. Was it the worst year ever in WWF? Possibly. But it's definately not the only nomination.
1. People bring up Lex Luger as the star for 1993. The points that are brought up about about 93 revolve around him. But thats all second half. The 1st half of 93 was actually good. I saw you guys comparing Rumbles. Not sure how Steiners were "shells" of themselves since they had just debuted, but a green HBK is still better than a lot of guys in '95. And Bossman and Bam Bam were both past their primes? Maybe Bossman was past his wwe prime, though he'd wrestle for another 10 yrs. And Bam Bam? He had just returned. But lets say he was past his prime. What does that say about 95 when he was MAIN EVENTING ppvs, including WM? Thats bad for 95. But he wasnt past his prime, I think he peaked in ECW, but thats another story.
2. As someone who was a huge wrestling fan of the 80's and Hulkamania, the fact that he was back in early 93 was great. I think 93 and WWF went downhill when he left because they had nobody to replace him. Everyone who loved Hogan may not have been loving the program, because after he left, it wasn't the same. Thats when things went downhill. MOM and Lex Express came after that.
The main point I'm trying to make is that 95 as a whole was bad, while only half of 93 was. The beginning of 93 still had Flair, Savage, and a retutning Hogan, which tops anything in 95. Hulk Hogan leaving started the downward trend towards '95. He left, Dibiase retired, Bossman left, Savage wasn't being used, so a lot of 80's guys left or retired about the same time, leading to the dark days of WWE.
I do not even appreciate "tag team wrestling" too much but I remember the allies of Davey Boy Smith and Lex Luger who were decent in this year. Since they were more impressive individually most people don't really care a lot for this team but they were actually somewhat impressive. Also, I thought that Jarrett and the Roadie might have wanted to contend for the Tag Team Title as well since both of them were partners and it was just another case of each wrestler being more skilled in matches against single competitors. Still, that division was not as bad as it is now so maybe that was a positive point for the WWF at that time.
Most users did not post a lot of things about the Smoking Gunns nor those twins either. I guess Billy and Bart cheated too much to win and maybe did not use enough credibility as being tougher. Eli Blu and Jacob Blu were like Phineas and Henry but bigger and I really thought they would do damage as a unit.
1995 was indeed the worst year in WWE history. You had bad matches, storylines, champions, ppvs, gimmicks, everything. I mean you would have matches on RAW like Taker vs. Brookyln Brawler. And that would be the main event of the show too. Its bad enough back then cause RAW was a 1 hour show they would have only 3-4 matches, but all of them would be bad and short too. Then you had stuff like Lawrence Taylor main eventing Wrestlemania, which was the wrong move, should of been the first match of the show. You had the whole Taker vs. Million Dollar Corporation feud which was stupid from the get go. Kevin Nash as World Champ for most of 1995 sucked real bad. Cause most of his matches were bad. And the tag division was just not a factor at all. Terrible year, WWE may be lackluster these days but its not like 1995 thank god.
To me 1995 would have been the worst but it was saved by Bret Hart. Somehow, even with vince throwing ridiculous and silly storylines at Bret all year he had enough great matches to pretty make that year worth watching for me. His matches with Hakushi, Lawler, Glen Jacob, Jean Pierre Lafette, Nash and the bulldog were all 4 to 5 star matches. No matter how stupid the storyline (like a pirate stealing his frikin jacket) he somehow managed to have great to amazing match despite the sillyness. So NO, i dont think 95' was the worst.
Then you had stuff like Lawrence Taylor main eventing Wrestlemania, which was the wrong move, should of been the first match of the show. You had the whole Taker vs. Million Dollar Corporation feud which was stupid from the get go. Kevin Nash as World Champ for most of 1995 sucked real bad. Cause most of his matches were bad. And the tag division was just not a factor at all. Terrible year, WWE may be lackluster these days but its not like 1995 thank god.
I can not really say things to defend Diesel as the champion during that time when Bret Hart was the guy who I thought would carry the belt for an extended reign. It was pretty silly to let Bob Backlund get it again despite the fact that he was a great wrestler because he did not seem to be able to stay with the same stamina as the other guys used. Anyway Diesel was not bad but just did not become the top draw as the main wrestler usually was considered to be.
Now I want to know if King Kong Bundy was a part of that "Million Dollar Corporation". It seemed smart to try and get to Undertaker by sending different people at him slowly because there was that small chance of him letting the guard down and becoming upset at the idea of a group which wanted him to go away.
As for the "Tag Team division", I hardly ever cared too much about it but still think that Owen Hart and Yokozuna almost re-introduced a concept of letting one person get by with sheer strength while the partner would be able to fight technically. I almost remembered them when I read about Big Show who was the mysterious partner of Jericho and they copied that similar story too because Yokozuna was the unannounced member of the team before the show was live. If the "Smoking Gunns", the "Allied Powers" and the "Blu Brothers" were also considered then I think the level of talent among those guys was more impressive than the likes of "Cryme Time" or even MVP and Mark Henry although Legacy and D-Generation X might contend with them. That additional team in the group was like the slight edge for letting me think that it was not as bad as the tag teams were in this year with the exceptions of Jerishow, Legacy and DX.
wwe worst year in 1995 definatley!!! it was crap, undertaker, bret hart were used in the midcard,the main event feuds(diesel vs anyone was crap)king of the ring 95 was the worst ppv ever(vicsera kotr complete shit)matches had no epic intense feel to it, they looked just thrown together ,worst wrestlemania of all time, a kiss my foot match!!!!! WTF!!!! nothing great happened.
I would say 1995 was indeed a bad year, but not the worst. I have been watching wrestling for just over 20 years now, and I have watched tape and researched wrestling going back to the late 60's, and I can truthfully say that RIGHT NOW is the worst era. In 1995, you had guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. You had the Undertaker, Diesel (underrated), Razor Ramon, Sting, Flair. YOu had tag teams like Harlem Heat and the Steiners. Today, we have nothign that compares to that. AJ Stylez, Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho are great, and Triple H is still going strong. But you don't have anyone who has the "wow" factor anymore. John Cena is a bum. He is a hard worker and a nice guy, but if he didn't sell millions of dollars worth of merchandise to children each year, he would still be mid-carding. Batista... even worse than Cena. At least you can tell Cena cares about what he does (even if it's terrible). But most of all, I think the creative dept. is to blame more than anyone. Storylines are almost non-existent today. Personal feuds have been taken over by competition-based segments, where one guy yacks for ten minutes about how many wins he has over another guy who he has no personal issues with. Personal storylines made wrestling what it is. The feuds that were so personal (like Austin/ McMahon, Hart/Austin, Michaels/Hart, nWo/WCW, Flair/Savage) are no longer around, and it is hurting the overall product. When dealing with professional wrestling you have to remember that at the end of the day, it is fake. The winners and losers are hand picked and EVERYONE knows it. In-ring ablility is the most important part of wrestling, but it is not ALL wrestling has to offer. Riveting storylines are important, and unfortunately they seem to be few and far between in todays wrestling scene. So based on what I have just written, it is impossible for me to agree that 1995 was the worst year in pro wrestling history. Unfortunately, I think we have seen worse years, between 2003 and 2009, and it may get worse before it get's better.
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