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Post by Oh Cry Me a Screwball on Feb 18, 2015 3:50:39 GMT -5
... doing so as Lenny Lane & Scotty Riggs make their entrance... yeah. Maybe a couple people switched channels to watch the reveal. If they switched channels at that point, they still wouldn't see the Higher Power, or Raw at all, because this was during the unopposed hour. If you are wondering what WCW actually counterprogrammed against the opening of Raw (which contained the reveal), it was The Jersey Triad dropping the tag team titles to Benoit and Flair Saturn. Also, this week's Monday Night Raw was historic for both sides, as while Raw revealed the Higher Power, Nitro's big main event angle involved contortionists, buckets of shit, and most well known of all, HUMMERS! Yes, this was the day of the infamous White Hummer Saga! Man, at least the higher power angle had an ending.
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adamclark52
El Dandy
I'm one with the Force; the Force is with me
Posts: 8,139
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Post by adamclark52 on Feb 18, 2015 3:55:12 GMT -5
I'll forever prefer WCW over WWE, but shit like this was (obviously) extremely unprofessional. I still cringe watching him give away the results of Raw. I'll agree (well, I love both), but WCW and their schenanigans just has that air of desperation that's just sad. Oh, LENNY LANE!!!!!!
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Post by Hit Girl on Feb 18, 2015 3:57:07 GMT -5
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've just been informed that Vince McMahon, the most powerful man in wrestling, has formed an alliance with the Undertaker, the lord of all darkness, and will together embark on a reign of terror over the WWF with only Stone Cold Steve Austin standing against them bravely.......now if you're thinking about switching to RAW and watching them, you need to think again, because up next, Silver King is facing Villano IV"
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Post by Chip Chipperson on Feb 18, 2015 4:07:05 GMT -5
But you said it happened with the Foley winning the title incident, did you not? No. Foley is the time it backfired in a big way and that's common knowledge (WWE talks about it all the time) but early on when the ratings were really close and both companies were on equal footing? I think it probably would have helped WCW win a lot of those nights in the early days.
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Post by thegame415 on Feb 18, 2015 5:53:41 GMT -5
Apparently, Bischoff didn't even know if this was true or not. He was essentially making an educated guess, and afterwards people backstage were nervously watching Raw hoping he was right. Ah, the Summer of Suck in WCW. It's the reason I'm such a cold, cynical bastard today. Of course he didn't, Raw was live full time by that point. Raw was actually taped, usually every other week, in June 1999. It wasn't until August they went live every week, with the addition of smackdown. In 1998 and early 1999, they'd do a live raw, then tape the next weeks on Tuesday.
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Post by Oh Cry Me a Screwball on Feb 18, 2015 5:57:36 GMT -5
Of course he didn't, Raw was live full time by that point. Raw was actually taped, usually every other week, in June 1999. It wasn't until August they went live every week, with the addition of smackdown. In 1998 and early 1999, they'd do a live raw, then tape the next weeks on Tuesday. I didn't realize they went with the alternating live-taped format that long into 99. Either way, Raw was very much live that week.
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Post by somsta on Feb 18, 2015 8:19:14 GMT -5
I remember on an episode of WCW Live that week, Madden saying that Bischoff must have had a mole in the WWF to know it was going to be McMahon revealed as the higher power.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2015 8:50:36 GMT -5
Bischoff telling the world that Mankind was going to beat Aldo Montoya and Justin Hawk Bradshaw was going to beat Bob Holly worked because the WWF, contrary to revisionist history, was straight up trash in 1996. Once the WWF product started to improve, and definitely when they started winning the ratings war, spoiling results was counter productive.
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Post by Confused Mark Wahlberg on Feb 18, 2015 9:02:19 GMT -5
Of course, Taker called him the 'Hower Power'
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2015 10:34:34 GMT -5
The value of giving away the results in the early days was not in spoiling the competition's show, but in creating an atmosphere of controversy and "anything can happen" on Nitro. That, and the fact that Nitro was just a far superior program in '95 and '96, is what kept the audience parked on TNT. Once Nitro became predictable and old hat, giving away the results was the same as advertising for Raw.
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DjZonk
Don Corleone
Where's my cat?
Posts: 1,325
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Post by DjZonk on Feb 18, 2015 10:40:33 GMT -5
Nothing says don't change the channel to Raw and see Vince McMahon, one of the most over guys in wrestling ever, than Lenny Lane.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Feb 18, 2015 17:39:02 GMT -5
"They just keep re-hashing the same old crap over and over again."
Out of all the things to say, in 1999 on Nitro.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Feb 18, 2015 17:40:09 GMT -5
"They just keep rehashing the same old crap over and over again" Meanwhile, here comes the NWO. Ha! That's what I get for not scrolling down, as I posted damn near the same thing.
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cjh
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,605
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Post by cjh on Feb 18, 2015 17:48:05 GMT -5
I thought the Higher Power reveal was taped for some reason. It was. Raw didn't go live every week until Smackdown debuted Raw aired live the night of the GP reveal (June 7, 1999).
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hassanchop
Grimlock
Who are you to doubt Belldandy?
Posts: 14,796
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Post by hassanchop on Feb 18, 2015 17:55:43 GMT -5
One of the comments on that video:
wcw found out that it was Vince Mcmahon because Shawn Michaels told Kevin Nash who than told Eric. Its said that shawn later apologized to Vince remember reading it at the time in the dirt sheets most likely dave meltzer
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Post by Confused Mark Wahlberg on Feb 18, 2015 17:57:41 GMT -5
One of the comments on that video: wcw found out that it was Vince Mcmahon because Shawn Michaels told Kevin Nash who than told Eric. Its said that shawn later apologized to Vince remember reading it at the time in the dirt sheets most likely dave meltzer These days, thanks to technology, Nash could just text himself that information.
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chazraps
Wade Wilson
Better have my money when I come-a collect!
Posts: 27,988
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Post by chazraps on Feb 18, 2015 18:12:12 GMT -5
Why didn't Eric just lie about results? Was that somehow too far outside of his moral compass?
"Raw isn't even airing on USA tonight, so keep your remote in that fold between your pelvis and your thigh."
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Post by Confused Mark Wahlberg on Feb 18, 2015 18:25:30 GMT -5
The other thing is, was he the 'Higher Power', or the 'Greater Power'?
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Post by Confused Mark Wahlberg on Feb 18, 2015 18:37:22 GMT -5
This whole saga just reminded me of how goddamn boring Linda is, holy shit
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2015 18:39:36 GMT -5
I thought hat it was taped as well for some reason.
As for the spoiling that was about the time that I went full on snark towards WCW, I suspect that I wasn't the only one. They just kept doing hilariously dumb things that even TNA would shake their head at from then on out.
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