Vintage Video Thread

[Monkey_Mania]

Oh KB don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to lambaste you for liking Raven. God no. I just don't see the appeal myself. I've always had the mentality that while bigger isn't always better it sure helps. This is what I was thinking was holding Raven back. In ECW he pushed the envelope. When he went other places he couldnt do that, but yet tried to be the same character. He needed to mix it up a bit. Which in my opinion he never did. That's just me though.

 

[klunderbunker]

I've never been sure how much of that you can really blame on his, at least in WCW. They tried to copy his ECW character, right down to him mentioning Dreamer and Beaulah's real names in promos from his childhood. It bombed for more than one reason. he was blaming people for his issues that no one had a clue who they were and they weren't coming. That's both his and their fault. The whole concept just bombed in WCW as he would do little more than sit in the front row and have his lackies do his bidding. That can work when the lackies are awesome like when he had Foley, the Eliminators, the Dudleyz and Brian Lee working for him. When a person can build an army that strong it makes him look that much stronger. Had WCW given him a similar army in WCW it could have worked much better. Instead he gets a bunch of jobbers and Saturn. What were they really expecting?

 

[Monkey_Mania]

You make a valid point. When your strongest link is Saturn or Kidman. You have a problem. But I still think he could have done a little more. Not follow the mold he was given and do something else with it. What? I dont know. He sure as hell couldnt do what he was doing in ECW. But he could have done a little more. Maybe a face run and feuded against some members of the NWO. Maybe a union with Sting when Sting was still the crow figure. I don't know. I think that could have been cool. But then again, that's just me.

 

[klunderbunker]

Today we go back 5 years to the 2004 Royal Rumble to see Evolution defend their tag titles against the Dudleyz in a tables match.

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This match is a great example of a team that's past their prime putting over a young star. Batista is easily the biggest focus in this match. Flair was put with Batista to help him mature and that worked wonders for the Animal's career. He was a champion when the belts still meant a little something and he was at a major pay per view against one of the best tag teams of all time in their "specialty match". On a side note, when's the last time they won a tables match anyway? But anyway, this match showcased Batista just like WWE was hoping for and the Dudleyz were pretty much living on their names by this point so they had nothign to lose. Great little match that kicked off the show.

 

[klunderbunker]

We are now at perhaps the most boring day in the history of wrestling, January 26. There have been no PPVs, and a grand total of 3 tv shows, the biggest of which was the 1998 Nitro. This show was two days after the Souled Out from Saturday, which had been nothing more than a PPV to bridge the time from Starrcade to Superbrawl and had one of the most lackluster cards that I can ever remember. One of those matches was Scott Hall vs. Larry Zbyszko, which ended with Dusty Rhodes turning on WCW to join the NWO. Here we have Scott Hall facing Lex Luger in the "main event" of Nitro.

[youtube]N2m6IKVKLhM[/youtube]

This match showed the biggest issue of WCW at the time: the show almost always ended on a clusterfuck. We have Sting and Savage, two guys not even in the main event fighting while Hogan, who Hall was allegedly mad at, taunt him? What in the hell am I watching? Luger is nowhere to be seen at the end of this match. The whole thing was just an excuse for a wild brawl, which by this time was rapidly losing its luster for WCW. Hope you enjoy it and tomorrow we go back to bad matches you had to pay to see.

 

[klunderbunker]

Today the flashback is just one year as we go back to the 2008 Royal Rumble to see Edge take on Rey Mysterio for the World Title.

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Now this match to me is interesting in that it was little more than a mini filler feud for Edge before the war with Taker continued. Few people that Mysterio had a chance but at the end of the day he put on a clinic and made us think for a few seconds that he could win. That to me is the sign of a good wrestling match: you don't know who is going to win. Wrestling is all about convincing us that something is real. In this match Rey convinced me that he had a chance to win a match that I didn't think he had a chance in. That to me is the sign of a good match out of both. Good 15 minute match that's well worth the time.

 

[klunderbunker]

For the 29th, we switch companies finally to see perhaps the two biggest stars of all time go at it again one on one on Monday Nitro to renew their rivalry again. The Real American against the Nature Boy, one on one.


This match from 13 years ago is pre NWO, which is where you can see one of my favorite eras of WCW. Flair was at an interesting time in his career here as he was going insane over the success of Hulk Hogan. This would ultimately lead to him joining with the Dungeon of Doom to form the Alliance to End Hulkamania to take on Hulk Hogan and Savage at Uncensored. That show was important in that it was so awful and Hogan was shoved so far down the fans' throat that the main event was booed out of the building. Depending on the sources you listen to, it was that night that the decision was made that a change needed to be made to Hogan, and three months later the NWO was born.

As for the match it's somewhat above average to me. These two always has the big match feel to it and this is absolutely no exception. Anytime you get them in the ring together it's just fun all around. Another great entry from these two and worth the time it's given.

 

[klunderbunker]

DUe to my internet being down on the 28th, today you get a double shot which I doubt people will read. Last year, the night after the Rumble, DX was unearthed again for another squash match, this time against Umaga and Snitsky.

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This was a classic example of why the latest incarnation of DX is just awful. What was the point in bringing them back at this time? This match was nothing more than a way to get some cheap ratings for the show by saying that DX is back. It's like calling the name of the band that released Chinese Democracy Guns N Roses. The lineup is so different now that it's the same in name only. There's a glimmer of the original in there, but that's it. DX isn't the contraversial group that they used to be. They're two main eventers that use the same music. Not a big deal at all and an annoying thing in the WWE right now.

 

[klunderbunker]

13 years this time as we see a match from WCW's C or D show, WCW Power Hour. It was a show that came on I believe Sunday nights at 6:05. As you can see the production values are pretty low at this point and the crowd couldn't really be less into this match.

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Orndorff just looks miserable here and I can't say I blame him. This is a feud that went absolutely nowhere as Orndorff was just dull and Cactus was being buried by WCW for not being good enough in their minds. So WCW just put these two into a feud on their lower level TV shows and I think they had a PPV match at some point. Even the commentators seem to be searching for something to care about in this match. It kind of represents the whole direction of WCW as they just didn't know what they were doing. This would go on for another year and a half until Hulk Hogan came over and changed wrestling forever. These years are called the dark years of pro wrestling and it's realtively easy to see why.

 

[klunderbunker]

11 years ago today at ECW's Hostile City Showdown, we had a handicap match featuring the superteam of Bam Bam Bigelow and Taz against the Triple Threat of Shane Douglas, Lance Storm and Chris Candido.


Triple Threat was one of the most powerful stables in ECW with a revolving door of members. This incarnation had Storm and Candido as the tag team champions and Douglas as the World Champion. Soon after this Bigelow would join the team after Storm was kicked out. They were the dominant heel team in ECW for a good while but this is in their twilight as a unit. Their opponents include Taz who was a monster in ECW. This was a grudge match I suppose you'd call it, but more just a big time heel vs. face match that I think goes over quite well. Have fun.

 

[klunderbunker]

Now that we're on the Road to Wrestlemania, I thought we should take a look at a match that helped to set the stage for one of the most famous matches in Wrestlemania history: TLC 2. This was in the middle of one of the funnest tiems in tag team wrestling since the 1980s and the glory days of the division. At the time the Dudleys were the reigning tag team champions and they were being challenged by Matt and Jeff Hardy who had won the right to challenge on the Monday Night Raw three days before this. The catch: it's the Dudleyz bread and butter, a tables match.

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This match is a solid tv match that is the division at its best. These two teams and Edge and Christian had some wars throughout the years and this is just a sampling of what was coming exactly two months after this. It's two of the best tag teams of the era going at it for the World Tag Team Titles on Smackdown!

 

[klunderbunker]

Just a fun little one here. This was when Goldberg was starting to get noticed big time and the Streak was starting to really pick up steam. It shows what WCW was capable of when it got ahold of something that worked. They were able to push him to the moon and beyond so it makes you wonder why they couldn't do it with anyone else, ever.

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This also shows the easily biggest flaw in the Streak: he beat mostly jobbers. Mark Starr? Sounds like a bad porn actor. It's one thing to do this once in awhile but it was the M.O. of Goldberg. He would just destroy a jobber in seconds and the commentators tried to make you think he beat Hogan every night. It worked at the time but now looking back it's starting to show just how weak it was.

 

[klunderbunker]

Now we're getting to some of the good stuff. For those of you that may not have heard of it, the WWF ran 5 shows called the Main Event. usually one or two a year, this was the forerunner to Monday Night Raw. It was on prime time during the week and usually drew insane numbers. This match was from the second of these shows and set the stage for the Main Event of Wrestlemania 5. Here we see Hulk Hogan and WWF Champion Randy Savage teaming against the Twin Towers of Akeem and the Big Boss Man.


This match is important because it was one of the best angles of the time. Hogan and Savage had been teaming together for months now and the tensions were beginning to build. At the Royal Rumble Hogan had accidently eliminated Savage when the Towers were in the ring, leading to this tag match. Keep your eye on Liz to see what happens here, sparking one of the best feuds of the era.

 

[klunderbunker]

Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to Raw we go. We go back to 2002 to a time when the NWO was about to step into the WWF for the first time to see one of the last main events before that took place. In this case, we see the ultra team of Steve Austin and the Rock squaring off with the American Bad Ass and Y2J.


This show was interesting because soon thereafter, the whole focus of the show went flying off in the other direction. The NWO showed up and whatever feud was coming here was thrown out in favor of Austin against the Outsiders and ROck vs. Hogan. Jericho went on to feud with HHH who earlier in the night had been told that his wife was with child. This show really began to set the stage for WM 18 which had some great and some not so great moments.

 

[klunderbunker]

It's rare in this series that I've put up a match with any historical signifigance, but this one should make up for it. 21 years ago Thursday, Hulk Hogan lost the world title after holding it over 4 years. Ted DiBiase manages to get Andre to steal the belt using an evil twin brother referee. The sight of DiBiase with the title still is almost chilling.


This show and match was a big deal for many reasons. A show like this was shown on prime time tv on a weeknight, which is more or less the ancestor of Monday Night Raw. You hear about WWE getting 3s in the ratings. This match got over a 15, the highest rating ever for a single show. It set the stage for WM 4 and eventaually 5 as well as stunned the world. Hogan losing on national television? Mind blowing.

 

[klunderbunker]

This match/feud is my answer to those that say WWE did nothing after the Invasion. Here we have perhaps the two best in ring technicians ever going at it in a rematch of perhaps the greatest match ever, as Chris Benoit battles Kurt Angle in a non title match on Smackdown.


What makes this match special is that while they just had a war a few weeks ago at the Rumble, they manage to pull out all new stuff here. These two are as crisp in the ring as you could possibly want and they're nothing short of a treat to watch. Both of them are men that I'd love to watch wrestle every day of my life as they're never boring. It's the crossface vs. the ankle lock in another classic.

 

[klunderbunker]

In the business of sports entertainment, there are three major aspects: in ring wrestling, character, and mic skills. As important as in ring promos are, a lot of characters are built up through segments that happen in the backstage area. Over teh years we've seen hundreds of them: some funny, some serious and some indifferent. This thread is to ask you what you think is the best ever. What promos/segments made you laugh or be interested in a character or upcoming match?

For me, the funniest segment that I've ever seen was at Cyber Sunday when DX was talking about how people should vote for various referees that night, and HHH says Shawn isn't contraversial anymore. A backstage guy comes up to them, and Shawn asks for his name. As for the rest, here it is.


So what are some of your favorites? Comedy or serious, up to you.

 

[Khalifa]

Yes that was by far the funniest backstage segment ever. I remember just watching that over and over because it was so funny. It just had that thing about it, for example Shawn saying "And you , you, you are controversial. You sleeped with whats her name." and Shawn superkicking every guy he saw. It was just a good segment. One of those many DX did when they got back together.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

One of the many encounters between Rock and The Hurricane in 2003. I love it because it helped Helms get over with the crowd and help solidify the Rock as a heel at the later stage of the career. I especially loved the beginning as the Rock always owned Coach.

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[agentmichaelscarn]

This maybe not be the best but its the funniest one for me that came to mind. Technically its not a single segment but they are all in 1 episode and have the same people so its close enough. Its Classic E and C with Angle. Also has HHH and Foley which is a plus. Hilarious stuff.

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[klunderbunker]

9 years ago Saturday there was a huge ten man tag from the WWF with DX and the Radicalz against the Rock and Sock Connection and Rikishi/Too Cool.


This match is a great example of the huge feuds that went on in the company around this time. This had three feuds put together for one megamatch that just kind of works. Instead of the individual feuds that are currently going on, the whole show had at least something that linked all the matches. Here, HHH had given the radicalz their contracts to screw of Cactus Jack, who HHH was feuding with. See what they did there? That would be something WWE could use today.

 

[klunderbunker]

Now we have a match that I had never seen before last night. 23 years ago, there was a guy in the WWF that had a lot of potential. He was named Randy Savage. Over the years he went on to many title reigns and championships, but here we see his first title shot: an IC title match with WWE Hall of Fame member, Tito Santana.


This match has a lot of good qualities. For one thing, the match is great. These are two of the best in ring workers you'll ever find anywhere and I almost defy you to find a bad match from either of them. The historic value is great as this match cememted Savage as a legitimate big named star. This reign went on for over a year and was ended by Steamboat in the classic we all know.

 

[klunderbunker]

In light of Regal's recent angle, I thought we'd take another look at him in one of his older matches as he was still Lord Steven Regal. His opponent 11 years ago is none other than DA MAN.

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This was after WCW shot itself in the foot at Starrcade 97, but their apparentl savior came in the form of a Steve Austin rip off known as Goldberg. This however is a very odd little match. Watch this match carefully and you'll immediately see that it's a strange one. The reason is very simple: Regal is shooting on Bill. He was supposed to go out and lose in an almost complete squash but instead he worked very stiff and made Goldberg look bad. Look at the spear and jackhammer. They look terrible. Regal sells them like a regular tackle and a suplex. He almost refuses to sell any of Goldberg's power and instead wrestles as well as he can. Not sure what his punishment was, but I can't imagine it was good.

 

[klunderbunker]

For all of those international enthusiasts out there in our audience, (and IC), I present you with one of the most brutal matches in the history of wrestling anywhere anytime. These two monsters have a legendary rivalry that has rarely been topped in any country at any time. I present to you, Stan "the Lariat" Hansen vs. Big Van Vader!

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While it's rare in Puroesu for two big men, especially Americans to have a big rivalry for a title, these two did it and did it as well as anyone. These matches weren't about wrestling. They were about brawling. There was another match where they spilled out into traffic and caused a jam, resulting in them being banned from wrestling each other anywhere in the country. Think about that for a minute before you watch this epic war.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

In the business of sports entertainment, there are three major aspects: in ring wrestling, character, and mic skills. As important as in ring promos are, a lot of characters are built up through segments that happen in the backstage area. Over teh years we've seen hundreds of them: some funny, some serious and some indifferent. This thread is to ask you what you think is the best ever. What promos/segments made you laugh or be interested in a character or upcoming match?

For me, the funniest segment that I've ever seen was at Cyber Sunday when DX was talking about how people should vote for various referees that night, and HHH says Shawn isn't contraversial anymore. A backstage guy comes up to them, and Shawn asks for his name. As for the rest, here it is.


So what are some of your favorites? Comedy or serious, up to you.

I was dying in a hospital when this PPV happened, so i have never seen this, and it was fuckin hilarious. Nice job by the newer DX, and the usual HBK-HHH rederick. The superkicks walking down the hallway were certainley different, and was an unexpected, funny, segment. Well done DX, ya still got it