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Post by Aceorton on Jul 10, 2017 13:29:29 GMT -5
Looking back on his WWF tenure almost 30 years later, it's baffling just how much he was around, winning matches, but not really doing anything. He had a spark of something going in '88 after the bench press controversy, but by '89 he'd gotten slow and heavier, his matches were often boring, he seldom had an angle, he was never good on the mic (and Frenchy Martin was no better), and yet after the Duggan feud he was still regularly beating guys like Hercules, Ronnie Garvin, Neidhart, Santana and Snuka, who on paper had a lot more going for them. Then he got the spot as Earthquake's pal and challenged Warrior for the IC belt on house shows, by which point he really looked terrible. And he was STILL around a year and a half after that.
Has there ever been any explanation for why he was kept on as long as he was? Did Vince like him? (He was a "strongman" but got pretty doughy by '90.) Was it because he was tight with Patterson? Was it his connections to the Montreal territory?
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pegasuswarrior
El Dandy
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Post by pegasuswarrior on Jul 10, 2017 13:37:48 GMT -5
Good topic. And this probably isn't *the* answer and it's not designed to be rude, but all the guys you mentioned that he went over were babyface losers anyway. To me, those guys rarely really won anything in that time period except maybe the blowoff match of a mini-feud, and their whole purpose was to put mid-to-low-range bad guys over enough for someone that "mattered" to have viable candidate that they would just roll over. If I see Tito or Snuka or Duggan or Koko B Ware or the like in a match against a non-jobber, I always think it was a given that they were going to lose.
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lucas_lee
Hank Scorpio
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Post by lucas_lee on Jul 10, 2017 13:38:38 GMT -5
They just needed more mid card heels honestly and he was a glorified JJTS anyway.
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Post by Joe Neglia on Jul 10, 2017 15:32:25 GMT -5
Dude was still over huge in Canada. I think a match with Bravo there was one of the very first instances of an entire crown turning on Hogan.
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SmashTV
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Post by SmashTV on Jul 10, 2017 15:50:35 GMT -5
They just needed more mid card heels honestly and he was a glorified JJTS anyway. This. He was just in the roster as another bad guy, filling out the Rumble and Survivor Series numbers. Regardless, I always found him bland, even with the Earthquake partnership. |
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Post by DiBiase is Good on Jul 10, 2017 15:58:32 GMT -5
He's one of those guys who didn't do all that much but had a pretty good PPV record. He won at SummerSlam 88, co-captained his team to a win at Survivor Series 88, won at WM5 and survived again at Survivor Series 89. I think that WM6 was his first loss on PPV, in that he was the one beaten rather than his partners taking the loss in a match (like with The Rougeaus at the 89 Rumble or with Valentine at Survivor Series 87). He was protected a lot in that period, yet as you say, it never really meant much.
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Post by James Fabiano on Jul 10, 2017 17:29:23 GMT -5
Explain him?
He was the worst. The absolute worst.
Dino Bravo sucks.
(Sorry, wrong board again)
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Post by Citizen Snips on Jul 10, 2017 17:38:57 GMT -5
He had the Apter mags in his corner  |
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Cranjis McBasketball
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Knew what the hell that thing was supposed to be
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Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Jul 10, 2017 17:40:16 GMT -5
He was Canada's Strongest Man and then in the world. What's to explain?
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Post by 2coldMack is even more baffled on Jul 10, 2017 17:43:45 GMT -5
Dino was a guy who unfortunately just didn't fit in a post-territory world. In the 70's and early 80's, he was actually a pretty decent power tag team guy. But by the time the real wrestling boom hit, Dino was older, slower, and RIDDLED with steroids, and just didn't have any kind of spark anymore. Shame really.
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Johnny B. Decent
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Post by Johnny B. Decent on Jul 10, 2017 17:50:06 GMT -5
What happened to him is still one of the craziest things to ever happen in wrestling. Was there ever a positive ID on who murdered him?
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Post by mauled on Jul 11, 2017 4:16:53 GMT -5
What happened to him is still one of the craziest things to ever happen in wrestling. Was there ever a positive ID on who murdered him? I understand he was involved with Canadian Gangsters but what was the reason they murdered him for ? |
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Cranjis McBasketball
Crow T. Robot
Knew what the hell that thing was supposed to be
Peace Love and Nothing But
Posts: 42,003
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Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Jul 11, 2017 5:08:25 GMT -5
What happened to him is still one of the craziest things to ever happen in wrestling. Was there ever a positive ID on who murdered him? I understand he was involved with Canadian Gangsters but what was the reason they murdered him for ? Had to do with untaxed cigarettes. |
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auph10imitated
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Post by auph10imitated on Jul 11, 2017 5:29:49 GMT -5
He had the Apter mags in his corner In July 1989? I can't even remember what Bravo was doing in 1989 apart from that dull Mania match. He didnt do much other than start teaming with Earthquake late in the year |
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Jul 11, 2017 5:39:36 GMT -5
He was eliminated first in the 1991 royal rumble. It was nice to see 2 minutes of him vs Bret Hart.
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Post by jason1980s on Jul 11, 2017 7:38:04 GMT -5
I guess he was a reliable worker to Vince McMahon and I think that goes a long way with him. The time period also saw a number of other guys from that 1986-early 90s period that lasted a long time without really doing too much after an initial first push. By the early 90s, when other newer guys were coming in, those guys either left or were let go. Bravo was one of those guys. So without any addiction or personal problems, it's understandable Dino would be kept around to fill in PPV slots.
It is crazy how a murder can go unsolved. I'm sure there are a few select people involved with the murder who know about who killed him. A few shoots (I think Jacques and Rick Martel) suggest that there was no forced entry so it was most likely someone he knew, possibly even watching the hockey game with him.
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Jul 11, 2017 7:55:30 GMT -5
I guess he was a reliable worker to Vince McMahon and I think that goes a long way with him. The time period also saw a number of other guys from that 1986-early 90s period that lasted a long time without really doing too much after an initial first push. By the early 90s, when other newer guys were coming in, those guys either left or were let go. Bravo was one of those guys. So without any addiction or personal problems, it's understandable Dino would be kept around to fill in PPV slots. It is crazy how a murder can go unsolved. I'm sure there are a few select people involved with the murder who know about who killed him. A few shoots (I think Jacques and Rick Martel) suggest that there was no forced entry so it was most likely someone he knew, possibly even watching the hockey game with him. It often is someone known and trusted in mob hits. Whoever hit Chicago mafia boss Sam Giancana was someone he felt comfortable allowing into his home and (I believe) frying sausage and peppers presumably for this person. Given everything going on around Giancana at the time, I doubt there were many people he trusted. |
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SmashTV
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Post by SmashTV on Jul 11, 2017 9:05:05 GMT -5
He had the Apter mags in his corner I remember the slight push in the Apter mags. They also had him featured in the 'Looking At...' feature (I think) where several stars of yesteryear - Lou Albano, Ivan Koloff, Larry Hennig and three others - would give their verdict. They all favoured Bravo, and at one point he was something like their number two contender to Warrior's belt. Maybe it was a different Dino Bravo... |
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Nr1Humanoid
Hank Scorpio
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Post by Nr1Humanoid on Jul 11, 2017 12:07:38 GMT -5
He was Canada's Strongest Man and then in the world. What's to explain? You're one of the people that belive Jannetty was thrown through the window aren't you? |
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thecrusherwi
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Post by thecrusherwi on Jul 11, 2017 15:46:05 GMT -5
I just remember his French Canadian accent pronouncing Earthquake "Urtquake"
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