"If the match ends during the break..."

[Pooh Carlson]

"...we'll show you what happens when we return!"

Watching the Nitro DVD made me wonder ... did a match ever actually end during the break?

[fuzzywarble, squat cobbler]

I hated when JCP would show the beginning of a main event (like the 4 Horsemen vs. Windham/Luger/Rhodes or something) and then end their program right before the match would start

[Sajoa Moe]

Reminds me of a Botchamania which featured Mr. Perfect winning during the break.

[darthpipes]

The Best of Monday Night Raw DVD does indeed feature a match where Hennig beat Rick Martel during the break.

[Bob Schlapowitz]

Why do they put commercial breaks in the middle of matches during pre-taped show? Happens on Smackdown all the time and pisses me off.

[nerdinitupagain]

File this under Little Things that Made Wrestling Feel a Little Less Scripted. I actually liked it when that happened. It happened at least once a month on Nitro.. usually during one of the first three matches when they went three hours. Now, with WWE, I'm almost positive commercials during matches equal momentum change for the heel so the face is in distress when they come back.

[Tyfo]

I want to say on Raw when Marty Jannetty and the 123 Kid won the tag team titles from the Quebecers, the match ended during a commercial and when they came back, Jannetty and Kid were celebrating in the ring with the belts and they had to show a replay.

[Pooh Carlson]

Jul 3, 2011 0:09:45 GMT -5 Bob Schlapowitz said:

Why do they put commercial breaks in the middle of matches during pre-taped show? Happens on Smackdown all the time and pisses me off.

For ratings purposes and advertising purposes, I imagine. If they put a commercial break in the middle of a match, you've already seen the first half so you're hooked and you want to see what happens next, so you're gonna sit there through the commercial break and wait and see.

[lildude8218]

I remember Larry Zbyszko losing a match on WCW Saturday Night during the commercial break.

In fact I think I just found it

WCW Saturday Night, 8/8/92

Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton (w/ Paul E. Dangerously) defeated Larry Zbyzsko & Brian Pillman via referee's decision at around the 21-minute mark as Zbyzsko was caught in an armbar by Eaton after Eaton his a kneedrop onto Zbyzsko's already injured arm; the off-the-top rule was waived for the match, allowing the wrestlers to come off the top without it resulting in a disqualification; the match ended during the commercial break; when the show returned, Zbyzsko was being attended to by medics in the ring before the finish was shown


I remembered it half correctly.

[thegame415]

On a side note, who remembers the time when Giant vs Hogan happened during the breaks of, I want to say, Mortal Kombat on TNT?

[Steveweiser]

I think there was a premiere of Robin Hood or something like that, and in order to get big viewing figures for that show, they stuck a Hogan match during all the commercial breaks.

[mrmulluk]

Jul 3, 2011 4:33:10 GMT -5 thegame415 said:

On a side note, who remembers the time when Giant vs Hogan happened during the breaks of, I want to say, Mortal Kombat on TNT?

Now you mention it, Hogan DOES sound like Scorpion. GET OVER HERE, BROTHER.

[Steveweiser]

Just watched the match back...

Heenan: "If the Giant wins here at the Superdome, the reaction will be bigger than if the Saints win the Super Bowl... and that'll never happen."

Cue 13 years later, Bobby.

[Deleted]

Jul 3, 2011 4:33:10 GMT -5 thegame415 said:

On a side note, who remembers the time when Giant vs Hogan happened during the breaks of, I want to say, Mortal Kombat on TNT?

It was "The Adventures of Robin Hood". Jim Ross and Vince McMahon had a field day picking on WCW for that gaffe the next week.

Jim Ross (talking about some guy in the ring, then the segue): "Robin Hood's arms aren't very big."
Vince: "Not compared to 'La Femme Nikita'." (Vince gets a dig at the competition while plugging the USA Network's counter-programming.)

Vince (Raw was going to re-air the entire 1997 Royal Rumble): "You will get to see the whole match. No bait-and-switch tactics. No 'maybe something'."
Jim Ross: "And you won't have to sit through 'Robin Hood' to see it!"

(Wade Keller made a comment that he "could picture Eric Bischoff sitting there saying, 'Yeah, we deserved that.' ")

(Funny enough, all they did was show highlights of the Rumble match. No bait-and-switch, my butt!)

[SHAKEMASTER TV9 is Don Knotts]

Jul 3, 2011 0:09:45 GMT -5 Bob Schlapowitz said:

Why do they put commercial breaks in the middle of matches during pre-taped show? Happens on Smackdown all the time and pisses me off.

Yeah, it is annoying. I remember a few years ago, for Raw, a live show obviously, that when they had commercial breaks in a match, you can watch on the WWE website. I did time to time. I guess it's good for a breather there since the wrestlers usually are on the outside collapsed from exhaustion.

[wwefan71080]

It happens once in a blue moon, but it actually happened more often in the mid 90s

[Cactus Jack]

Jul 3, 2011 13:00:58 GMT -5 SHAKEMASTER TV9 is Don Knotts said:

Jul 3, 2011 0:09:45 GMT -5 Bob Schlapowitz said:

Why do they put commercial breaks in the middle of matches during pre-taped show? Happens on Smackdown all the time and pisses me off.

Yeah, it is annoying. I remember a few years ago, for Raw, a live show obviously, that when they had commercial breaks in a match, you can watch on the WWE website. I did time to time. I guess it's good for a breather there since the wrestlers usually are on the outside collapsed from exhaustion.

Yeah, that was awesome, I think it was called "WWE.com Unlimited" or something. I read that they had to end it because USA felt that people weren't watching their commercials.