|
Post by hulksmash87 on Dec 23, 2016 18:50:36 GMT -5
Was there a working agreement between the two companies at one point? Rickey steamboat worked a cotton bowl show and David von Erich death was acknowledged on TV as well as a segment about the family it seemed odd for Vince to do this for competition
|
|
brody
Don Corleone
Posts: 1,463
|
Post by brody on Dec 24, 2016 6:58:02 GMT -5
Vince was buttering up Fritz in the early days because his kids were big draws and would not be easy to conquer as competition or be able to convince the boys to leave their father's promotion.
As far as 86 goes...IIRC George Scott orchestrated the brief talent exchange plan. WCCW was mortally wounded by then either way.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Neglia on Dec 24, 2016 13:40:59 GMT -5
While certainly not the only guy on the list (Dusty was another), Kerry was on the short list of guys Vince was eyeing in the event he couldn't get Hogan back or later that Hogan didn't work out for whatever reason. As brody said above, though, without total cooperation with Fritz, it would have been a hard sell, as Kerry was more than quite comfortable where he was.
Very importantly, though, Vince was also eyeing World Class' production team. WC was state of the art at the time, and ahead of Vince's stuff during the start of the Hogan era. I can't recall if he actually raided the production staff or just got on buddy-enough terms to find out what they were using and how they were operating, but his own production quality improved dramatically, turning it into the slick product that really launched the 80s boom.
Texas overall was problematic for Vince in the early years. His initial efforts to expand into the state were mostly fiascos, with stacked cards drawing in the high hundreds, not thousands. There were too many promotions still doing booming business in the 84-86 period - World Class, Houston (assisted by a strong presence from Mid-South), Southwestern getting on USA Network. Vince had more important things than trying to wage a war against all of them at once in that situation; better to try again when they aren't doing so hot. He was focused on his two strongest competitors, Verne and Crockett. Verne was starting to show cracks in part due to the raids, but Crockett was amping it up to 11. Texas could wait.
|
|
|
Post by N E O G E O B O Y S on Dec 24, 2016 14:38:41 GMT -5
While certainly not the only guy on the list (Dusty was another), Kerry was on the short list of guys Vince was eyeing in the event he couldn't get Hogan back or later that Hogan didn't work out for whatever reason. As brody said above, though, without total cooperation with Fritz, it would have been a hard sell, as Kerry was more than quite comfortable where he was. Very importantly, though, Vince was also eyeing World Class' production team. WC was state of the art at the time, and ahead of Vince's stuff during the start of the Hogan era. I can't recall if he actually raided the production staff or just got on buddy-enough terms to find out what they were using and how they were operating, but his own production quality improved dramatically, turning it into the slick product that really launched the 80s boom. Texas overall was problematic for Vince in the early years. His initial efforts to expand into the state were mostly fiascos, with stacked cards drawing in the high hundreds, not thousands. There were too many promotions still doing booming business in the 84-86 period - World Class, Houston (assisted by a strong presence from Mid-South), Southwestern getting on USA Network. Vince had more important things than trying to wage a war against all of them at once in that situation; better to try again when they aren't doing so hot. He was focused on his two strongest competitors, Verne and Crockett. Verne was starting to show cracks in part due to the raids, but Crockett was amping it up to 11. Texas could wait. What was so revolutionary about WCCW production? I always heard that they changed the product on tv, but never understood what exactly they changed
|
|
|
Post by 2coldMack is even more baffled on Dec 24, 2016 14:43:50 GMT -5
While certainly not the only guy on the list (Dusty was another), Kerry was on the short list of guys Vince was eyeing in the event he couldn't get Hogan back or later that Hogan didn't work out for whatever reason. As brody said above, though, without total cooperation with Fritz, it would have been a hard sell, as Kerry was more than quite comfortable where he was. Very importantly, though, Vince was also eyeing World Class' production team. WC was state of the art at the time, and ahead of Vince's stuff during the start of the Hogan era. I can't recall if he actually raided the production staff or just got on buddy-enough terms to find out what they were using and how they were operating, but his own production quality improved dramatically, turning it into the slick product that really launched the 80s boom. Texas overall was problematic for Vince in the early years. His initial efforts to expand into the state were mostly fiascos, with stacked cards drawing in the high hundreds, not thousands. There were too many promotions still doing booming business in the 84-86 period - World Class, Houston (assisted by a strong presence from Mid-South), Southwestern getting on USA Network. Vince had more important things than trying to wage a war against all of them at once in that situation; better to try again when they aren't doing so hot. He was focused on his two strongest competitors, Verne and Crockett. Verne was starting to show cracks in part due to the raids, but Crockett was amping it up to 11. Texas could wait. What was so revolutionary about WCCW production? I always heard that they changed the product on tv, but never understood what exactly they changed For a start? I'm not 100% sure what Madison's specifically talking about, but entrance music for every wrestler on the card? You can thank WCCW for that. That's just one thing.
|
|
|
Post by Milkman Norm on Dec 24, 2016 15:48:08 GMT -5
The easiest way is to see for yourself. If you have the Network watch a WCCW show from 82 and then go watch a WWF show from the same time period.
|
|
|
Post by hulksmash87 on Dec 24, 2016 16:08:41 GMT -5
Steamboat was an interesting choice to send as he was a babyface similar to the von erichs but looking at the roster idk who else could have been sent.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2016 17:22:39 GMT -5
Just an overall different production philosophy compared to simple pro wrestling shows at the time. More cameras, cameramen on the apron and occasionally inside the ring (during pre-match stuff mainly), wiring the ring for sound, etc. It was covered pretty well in the Heroes of World Class documentary (I think it's on YouTube at this point).
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2016 8:52:08 GMT -5
Just an overall different production philosophy compared to simple pro wrestling shows at the time. More cameras, cameramen on the apron and occasionally inside the ring (during pre-match stuff mainly), wiring the ring for sound, etc. It was covered pretty well in the Heroes of World Class documentary (I think it's on YouTube at this point). Yeah, you watch an AWA show from the early '80s, they'd have at most two cameras; the wide (hard) camera and one ringside they mainly used for promos (which was off to the side). World Class had a hard camera and up to 3 other roaming cameras. You were right there as the wrestlers were coming down the aisle (baby faces getting mobbed by fans), you heard the slaps and clubbing forearms of the action, a wrestler could seemingly be thrown right into your living room with the corner cam. Watch a WWF show from the same era, if wrestlers got tossed from the ring on the left or right, you couldn't see shit because it was so cluttered at ringside with all the chairs, announce table, timekeeper table, doctors, officials, etc.
|
|