The Ichi
Patti Mayonnaise
AGGRESSIVE Executive Janitor of the Third Floor Manager's Bathroom
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Post by The Ichi on Dec 22, 2016 16:51:48 GMT -5
It did make sense though. Crazy, past his prime vet who comes from a more traditional wrestling era going up against someone who's straight up no-nonsense. Kind of like the wrestling equivalent of that Indiana Jones gun vs sword scene.
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Post by tigermaskxxxvii on Dec 22, 2016 17:09:02 GMT -5
It deprived us of more of these promos so that's a shame but when 28k are in the Garden what can you do? Backlund's line about being champion since 1978 (in reference to him only losing the title because Skaaland threw in the towel) and all beating Bret did was give him back the title belt to prove it had me thinking if this was Vince's way of burying the previous generation of stars by having Backlund basically invalidate their title reigns. Kind of a restart button where once again a Backlund defeat in a title match at MSG results in a new era for the WWF.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2016 17:14:08 GMT -5
It deprived us of more of these promos so that's a shame but when 28k are in the Garden what can you do? Backlund's line about being champion since 1978 (in reference to him only losing the title because Skaaland threw in the towel) and all beating Bret did was give him back the title belt to prove it had me thinking if this was Vince's way of burying the previous generation of stars by having Backlund basically invalidate their title reigns. Kind of a restart button where once again a Backlund defeat in a title match at MSG results in a new era for the WWF. Holy shitsnacks I never thought about that.
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Phil Parent
El Dandy
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Post by Phil Parent on Dec 22, 2016 18:00:16 GMT -5
It deprived us of more of these promos so that's a shame but when 28k are in the Garden what can you do? I've been thinking this was one of the best promos ever, ever since I first saw it. It's crazy how this shows you never know what might happen in wrestling. For decades, Backlund was seen as this boring howdy doody with no personality. Well, once he let loose... Mr. Backlund was AMAZING. It was 100% believable. This character would still work today.
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Squirrel Master
Hank Scorpio
"Then the Squirrel Master came out of left field and told me I'm his bitch!"
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Post by Squirrel Master on Dec 22, 2016 23:43:32 GMT -5
I was there and let me tell you the crowd went apeshit!!!
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Perfect Timing
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Perfect Timing on Dec 23, 2016 5:05:17 GMT -5
I was 10 years old so Backlund was creepy to me and I loved seeing the badass with the shackles off take the title off the old man.
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Squirrel Master
Hank Scorpio
"Then the Squirrel Master came out of left field and told me I'm his bitch!"
Posts: 6,646
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Post by Squirrel Master on Dec 23, 2016 14:46:04 GMT -5
Now that I think about it I was at MSG both times Backlund lost the World Title. The first time around I was 13 years old.
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Post by Sir Woodrow on Dec 24, 2016 16:20:22 GMT -5
It deprived us of more of these promos so that's a shame but when 28k are in the Garden what can you do? Backlund's line about being champion since 1978 (in reference to him only losing the title because Skaaland threw in the towel) and all beating Bret did was give him back the title belt to prove it had me thinking if this was Vince's way of burying the previous generation of stars by having Backlund basically invalidate their title reigns. Yeah, f*** you Sgt. Slaughter!
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Post by Citizen Snips Has Left on Dec 24, 2016 16:26:46 GMT -5
The title match was fine.
Having Diesel come out all shucks and smiles on Monday Night Raw is what started the snowball rolling down Mount Assmore.
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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Dec 24, 2016 20:47:40 GMT -5
I hate squash matches for titles.
A squash match for your biggest title, on a non-televised show? f***ing lunacy from where I'm standing.
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Post by eDemento2099 on Dec 25, 2016 5:21:24 GMT -5
Diesel was a low drawing champion because there was no way he could have drawn money in those circumstances. He didn't beat a true top guy of that era, wasn't as over as guys like Bret or Undertaker, and the 1995 era WWF roster was horribly lacking in heels. It got even worse after WM when Shawn turned face. The Sid/Diesel feud sucked in 1995 (so of course WCW tried redoing it in 1999). So really who did Nash even beat? He never beat Bret as champion, did beat Shawn but Shawn stole his thunder and turned the next night, he had the crappy feud with Sid, then Mabel, a dubiously heel turned Bulldog (who he also did not beat), before finally losing to Bret. I think you're right about there being a lack of 'quality' heels in the WWF circa 1995. I think Jeff Jarrett was at his peak around that time, but Double J was never meant to be a main event guy. HBK had long been a VERY effective heel, but as you mentioned, he made a face turn around that time. Except for Sid and Bam Bam Bigelow (who was in something of a funk once he became a part of Ted Debiassi's jobber stable), I think the strongest heel I can remember in the WWF from that time is Hakushi, and I can't imagine a Hakushi-Diesel match going very well.
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Mozenrath
FANatic
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Post by Mozenrath on Dec 25, 2016 5:24:55 GMT -5
Diesel was a low drawing champion because there was no way he could have drawn money in those circumstances. He didn't beat a true top guy of that era, wasn't as over as guys like Bret or Undertaker, and the 1995 era WWF roster was horribly lacking in heels. It got even worse after WM when Shawn turned face. The Sid/Diesel feud sucked in 1995 (so of course WCW tried redoing it in 1999). So really who did Nash even beat? He never beat Bret as champion, did beat Shawn but Shawn stole his thunder and turned the next night, he had the crappy feud with Sid, then Mabel, a dubiously heel turned Bulldog (who he also did not beat), before finally losing to Bret. I think you're right about there being a lack of 'quality' heels in the WWF circa 1995. I think Jeff Jarrett was at his peak around that time, but Double J was never meant to be a main event guy. HBK had long been a VERY effective heel, but as you mentioned, he made a face turn around that time. Except for Sid and Bam Bam Bigelow (who was in something of a funk once he became a part of Ted Debiassi's jobber stable), I think the strongest heel I can remember in the WWF from that time is Hakushi, and I can't imagine a Hakushi-Diesel match going very well. Same Yokuzuna wasn't healthier, but it's not like he could have powerbombd him, anyhow. Probably would have had to finish him with a big boot if Yokozuna tried to use a chair, or a countout.
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Post by eDemento2099 on Dec 25, 2016 5:28:16 GMT -5
Fans loved [Diesel / Kevin Nash] as this ass kicking trucker when he plowed through a good amount of the field at the 1994 Royal Rumble... Hahahaha! It's funny, because I have NEVER seen a trucker who could kick much ass! In real life, most truckers are no shape to put up a fight because their job requires them to spend too much time sitting in one place, and ESPECIALLY because it's VERY, VERY difficult to eat healthy when you're mostly limited to patronizing truck stops. But your post makes a lot of sense. I never thought of comparing Nash to Roman Reigns before.
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Ben Wyatt
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Are You Gonna Go My Way?
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Dec 25, 2016 6:25:31 GMT -5
Backlund's line about being champion since 1978 (in reference to him only losing the title because Skaaland threw in the towel) and all beating Bret did was give him back the title belt to prove it had me thinking if this was Vince's way of burying the previous generation of stars by having Backlund basically invalidate their title reigns. Yeah, f*** you Sgt. Slaughter! I laughed harder at this than I should have.
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Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Dec 25, 2016 7:57:31 GMT -5
Well, it was certainly better done than that Sheamus/Bryan at WrestleMania XXVIII.
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Post by tigermaskxxxvii on Dec 25, 2016 11:30:46 GMT -5
Yeah, f*** you Sgt. Slaughter! I laughed harder at this than I should have. It's even better if you do what I do and imagine Vince saying it at Gorilla with a crestfallen Sgt. Slaughter just within earshot.
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Post by horsemen4ever on Dec 25, 2016 12:11:18 GMT -5
Somebody had to beat Bundy record. Vince did not want Bundy to have that record anymore.
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Post by cabbageboy on Dec 25, 2016 12:23:14 GMT -5
Surprised no one has discussed my point about this title change burying Bret in a roundabout way. He went forever against Backlund and Backlund essentially outwrestled him and took him apart with the crossface chicken wing, but Diesel simply beats Backlund in 8 seconds. During that time it seemed like Bret was the go to guy once Vince's pet projects tanked. Hell, Bret got the belt in Oct. 1992 because business was tanking with the combo of Savage/Flair/Warrior on top (which is sad since that isn't a bad top guy combo). Bret got the belt back at WM X once Vince abandoned the Luger experiment and got the belt off Yokozuna. Bret got it from Nash since Diesel's run was a flop. I'm actually not sure why Bret got the title at Summerslam 1997. It almost seemed more of a catalyst for the HBK/Taker feud and Bret's win was secondary. One does wonder how different history would be if Bret didn't win the title there. The Taker/Shawn HIAC would have been for the world title and Montreal wouldn't have happened the way it did.
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Post by gatordone on Dec 26, 2016 21:52:12 GMT -5
One could say it was the original Finger Poke of Doom.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Dec 27, 2016 5:31:30 GMT -5
Not really, because it worked. People were into it, and it made him look like a complete badass.
The relative failure of the run that resulted doesn't change how it was received initially.
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