Post by sungod2020 on Oct 14, 2021 8:57:23 GMT -5
As pro wrestling fans, being shocked by an event is part of the experience since we didn't see it coming and can leave a lasting impact not just on us, but on the industry as a whole. Notable examples include Hulk Hogan's heel turn, The Montreal Screwjob, Eric Bischoff showing up on RAW and hugging his sworn enemy Vince McMahon, etc etc.
However, not everything that is shocking can be considered good and if there's no substance to it nor any decent follow up. What are examples in your fandom that you can think of that would be just that? Here are mine...
Vince McMahon as The Higher Power - For months, The Undertaker has tormented WWF Chairman Vince McMahon with psychological mindgames, such as burning his daughter Stephanie's teddy bear, kidnapping her and forcing her to marry him until "Stone Cold" Steve Austin saved the day, hanging Corporate Lackey Big Bossman, breaking into his home and placing a burning cross in front of it.
The Chairman even got the police involved and wanted them to pull a gun on the Dead Man. He even got chokeslamed and tombstoned for all his efforts. But it wasn't The Undertaker's idea to do all this. He was getting messages from a Greater Power to commit all these acts of evil and it would be revealed to the World on an episode of RAW.
On the June 7th, 1999 edition of RAW, the WWF Universe's curiosity was finally answered when the hood was pulled down....revealing the man behind Taker's evil deeds to be none other than the Chairman itself. His reasoning, to keep Austin away from the WWF championship, even at the expense of his immediate family. Famously exclaiming "it's me Austin, it was me all along!" negating the previous week he revealed himself to The Texas Rattlesnake in secrecy.
The segment was immediately nixed as his wife Linda and daughter Stephanie relinquished their shares of the company and gave it to Austin, resulting in a handicap match against McMahon's Vince and Shane at the King of The Ring AND a title shot the next night against The Undertaker(which he won). Maybe Vince shouldn't have shown Austin who he was in the first place and all that could've been avoided.
This whole 15 minute segment negated 6 months worth of storyline as Vince, Shane, and Undertaker were acting in ways that conflicted with the idea that Mr. McMahon was behind this all. And while the smark in me hated the reveal, the kayfabe fan in me appreciated the great lengths The Chairman would go to to make Austin's life a living hell, even putting his immediate family in danger.
The only thing truly shocking about all this was it took nearly 20 years for it to be inducted into the wrestlecrap Hall of Shame!
wrestlecrap.com/inductions/greater-power/
Rikishi As The Man Who Ran Over "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - Also "Stone Cold" related, the dancing Samoan revealed to be a homicidal maniac by running over The Texas Rattlesnake at the 1999 Survivor Series, putting him on the shelves for nearly a year. When he returned, it was like the second coming of the messiah with the audience welcoming him back with open arms.
Austin vowed to get revenge on the man who tried to end his career(and possibly life) and put the WWF locker room on notice. For weeks Commissioner Foley was doing an investigation and having every roster member interrogated until Rikishi confessed to the World after a tag team match(with The Rock being his tag team partner). His reasoning? He did it for his cousin The Rock and the Samoan people saying that the "Island Boys" were held down by "the great white hope" and by taking Austin out of the equation, it would allow The Great One to flourish freely, forgetting that when he attempted vehicle manslaughter, The Rock was already a three time WWF champion and the biggest name(alongside Austin) in the company.
This resulted in a feud with his target where Rikishi got owned at every turn. The angle was so bad, they had to salvage it by making Triple H the mastermind behind Rikishi's hit and run reducing him to a hired goon. So basically he did it for The Rock....because Triple H told him to.
To me and many on these boards, this is the beginning of the creative downturn for the WWF/E and they never fully recovered since.
Any examples you can think of?
However, not everything that is shocking can be considered good and if there's no substance to it nor any decent follow up. What are examples in your fandom that you can think of that would be just that? Here are mine...
Vince McMahon as The Higher Power - For months, The Undertaker has tormented WWF Chairman Vince McMahon with psychological mindgames, such as burning his daughter Stephanie's teddy bear, kidnapping her and forcing her to marry him until "Stone Cold" Steve Austin saved the day, hanging Corporate Lackey Big Bossman, breaking into his home and placing a burning cross in front of it.
The Chairman even got the police involved and wanted them to pull a gun on the Dead Man. He even got chokeslamed and tombstoned for all his efforts. But it wasn't The Undertaker's idea to do all this. He was getting messages from a Greater Power to commit all these acts of evil and it would be revealed to the World on an episode of RAW.
On the June 7th, 1999 edition of RAW, the WWF Universe's curiosity was finally answered when the hood was pulled down....revealing the man behind Taker's evil deeds to be none other than the Chairman itself. His reasoning, to keep Austin away from the WWF championship, even at the expense of his immediate family. Famously exclaiming "it's me Austin, it was me all along!" negating the previous week he revealed himself to The Texas Rattlesnake in secrecy.
The segment was immediately nixed as his wife Linda and daughter Stephanie relinquished their shares of the company and gave it to Austin, resulting in a handicap match against McMahon's Vince and Shane at the King of The Ring AND a title shot the next night against The Undertaker(which he won). Maybe Vince shouldn't have shown Austin who he was in the first place and all that could've been avoided.
This whole 15 minute segment negated 6 months worth of storyline as Vince, Shane, and Undertaker were acting in ways that conflicted with the idea that Mr. McMahon was behind this all. And while the smark in me hated the reveal, the kayfabe fan in me appreciated the great lengths The Chairman would go to to make Austin's life a living hell, even putting his immediate family in danger.
The only thing truly shocking about all this was it took nearly 20 years for it to be inducted into the wrestlecrap Hall of Shame!
wrestlecrap.com/inductions/greater-power/
Rikishi As The Man Who Ran Over "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - Also "Stone Cold" related, the dancing Samoan revealed to be a homicidal maniac by running over The Texas Rattlesnake at the 1999 Survivor Series, putting him on the shelves for nearly a year. When he returned, it was like the second coming of the messiah with the audience welcoming him back with open arms.
Austin vowed to get revenge on the man who tried to end his career(and possibly life) and put the WWF locker room on notice. For weeks Commissioner Foley was doing an investigation and having every roster member interrogated until Rikishi confessed to the World after a tag team match(with The Rock being his tag team partner). His reasoning? He did it for his cousin The Rock and the Samoan people saying that the "Island Boys" were held down by "the great white hope" and by taking Austin out of the equation, it would allow The Great One to flourish freely, forgetting that when he attempted vehicle manslaughter, The Rock was already a three time WWF champion and the biggest name(alongside Austin) in the company.
This resulted in a feud with his target where Rikishi got owned at every turn. The angle was so bad, they had to salvage it by making Triple H the mastermind behind Rikishi's hit and run reducing him to a hired goon. So basically he did it for The Rock....because Triple H told him to.
To me and many on these boards, this is the beginning of the creative downturn for the WWF/E and they never fully recovered since.
Any examples you can think of?
