|
|
Post by powderedwhig on Aug 25, 2023 15:18:48 GMT -5
I know this topic -- why didn't Vince do Hogan-Flair when he had the chance? -- has been discussed and debated to death but my question involves why Hogan was announced as the #1 contender before it was switched to Savage. I am aware of Bruce Prtichard's version of events; Hogan/Flair wasn't drawing in a house show run and I know Hogan was going away after WM8, thus there was "no way" to have him face Flair, win in Indianapolis, and leave with the belt. I have also seen explanations in the interwebs of Vince wanting to do the match but only switching things up once Hogan insisted on going over Flair cleanly, which Vince couldn't do with Hogan leaving.
My question, again, is with Tunney's initial announcement of Hogan facing Flair in Indianapolis. Was this, at that time, the legit plan for the event? Or was it the plan all along, a way to storyline expand on Justice's jealousy and hatred of Hogan over the #1 contender shot?
I have been re-watching early 1992 shows recently and this whole storyline seems clumsy. Trying to understand some of the nuance of how WM8 ended up being what it was.
|
|
cjh
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,582
|
Post by cjh on Aug 25, 2023 15:39:49 GMT -5
It was an angle. When they were trying to get Sid to sign a year earlier, him vs. Hogan at WM 8 was what was pitched to him.
|
|
|
|
Post by powderedwhig on Aug 25, 2023 15:56:01 GMT -5
It was an angle. When they were trying to get Sid to sign a year earlier, him vs. Hogan at WM 8 was what was pitched to him. So then Hogan-Flair was never really in play? The booking post-Royal Rumble is so disappointing considering the talent involved. Macho Man-Jake Roberts, an incredible feud largely built on a top 3 heel run of all time quickly being blown-off on a SNME was another odd occurence. |
|
|
|
Post by James Fabiano on Aug 25, 2023 16:06:35 GMT -5
It was BOGUS!
|
|
Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,069
Member is Online
|
Post by Mozenrath on Aug 25, 2023 22:32:41 GMT -5
It was an angle. When they were trying to get Sid to sign a year earlier, him vs. Hogan at WM 8 was what was pitched to him. Unsurprising. Sid was often very over and easily could have been a face longterm somewhere, but he always preferred being a heel and felt there was more money in it for him as a top heel, probably since booking a great big face is often difficult since you can't easily get sympathy on them. |
|
4real
Wade Wilson
Posts: 27,695
|
Post by 4real on Aug 26, 2023 10:55:43 GMT -5
Considering Sid’s reaction at the press conference to being passed over for Hogan then yeah I think it was definitely an angle. By rights that match should have been Sid’s anyway even if Hogan v Flair was the obvious match everyone wanted.
|
|
|
|
Post by powderedwhig on Aug 26, 2023 12:47:24 GMT -5
This whole period of WWF is weird. Sid also left right after WM8, so 3/4 of their double main event was gone within 9 months (although Hogan would later return for 120 days in '93). Arguably their hottest heel in years - Jake Roberts - was fed to a now-face Undertaker in the second match on the show before he, too, bolted. And then, of course, the end of the Hogan-Justice match at WM8; a total cluster that was saved from eternal damnation by Warrior returning.
I'm up to TV immediately following WM8. It's clear the Warrior return (in painted body suit!?) was supposed to be the saving grace.
|
|
|
|
Post by powderedwhig on Aug 26, 2023 12:50:58 GMT -5
Considering Sid’s reaction at the press conference to being passed over for Hogan then yeah I think it was definitely an angle. By rights that match should have been Sid’s anyway even if Hogan v Flair was the obvious match everyone wanted. Yeah thats true. It just struck me as odd re-watching all this that the Main Event at WM8 was changed in storyline from Hogan-Flair to Hogan-Sid because Sid left Hogan high and dry in the SNME tag match. (That's all it took?) |
|
|
|
Post by Brandon Walsh is Insane. on Aug 26, 2023 21:18:14 GMT -5
This whole period of WWF is weird. Sid also left right after WM8, so 3/4 of their double main event was gone within 9 months (although Hogan would later return for 120 days in '93). Arguably their hottest heel in years - Jake Roberts - was fed to a now-face Undertaker in the second match on the show before he, too, bolted. And then, of course, the end of the Hogan-Justice match at WM8; a total cluster that was saved from eternal damnation by Warrior returning.
I'm up to TV immediately following WM8. It's clear the Warrior return (in painted body suit!?) was supposed to be the saving grace. Yep flesh colored suit with muscles, an idea that they liked soo much they used for Giant Gonzalez too . |
|
thecrusherwi
El Dandy
the Financially Responsible Man
Brawl For All
Posts: 7,656
|
Post by thecrusherwi on Aug 28, 2023 8:19:42 GMT -5
It was definitely an angle. Was Flair even at the press conference? It was clearly a vehicle to build for Hogan Vs Sid.
Summerslam 91 to Wrestlemania VIII is one of my favorite times in WWF history, but I do think that Wrestlemania kind of falls flat. That fall and winter, the WWF booked more like the NWA than traditional WWF style, with their guys having multiple feuds going on at once. It made for a really interesting product and was perfect for the Royal Rumble Title match. But once they finally had to pair off for Wrestlemania, it felt underwhelming. Also didn’t help that Wrestlemania VIII was reduced to two hours and 45 mins instead of the 3 hours+ it had been since 1986. It made for a rushed show that was short on matches and didn’t give that great period a worthy climax.
|
|
Renslayer
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
every time i come around your city...
Posts: 16,573
|
Post by Renslayer on Aug 28, 2023 8:29:44 GMT -5
This whole period of WWF is weird. Sid also left right after WM8, so 3/4 of their double main event was gone within 9 months (although Hogan would later return for 120 days in '93). Arguably their hottest heel in years - Jake Roberts - was fed to a now-face Undertaker in the second match on the show before he, too, bolted. And then, of course, the end of the Hogan-Justice match at WM8; a total cluster that was saved from eternal damnation by Warrior returning.
I'm up to TV immediately following WM8. It's clear the Warrior return (in painted body suit!?) was supposed to be the saving grace. I've never known why Jake left in 92? Was it because he got offered more money by wcw? |
|
Sephiroth
Wade Wilson
Surviving
Posts: 28,917
|
Post by Sephiroth on Aug 28, 2023 8:47:19 GMT -5
It was BOGUS! The most bogus thing he ever pulled!
|
|
thecrusherwi
El Dandy
the Financially Responsible Man
Brawl For All
Posts: 7,656
|
Post by thecrusherwi on Aug 28, 2023 8:51:30 GMT -5
This whole period of WWF is weird. Sid also left right after WM8, so 3/4 of their double main event was gone within 9 months (although Hogan would later return for 120 days in '93). Arguably their hottest heel in years - Jake Roberts - was fed to a now-face Undertaker in the second match on the show before he, too, bolted. And then, of course, the end of the Hogan-Justice match at WM8; a total cluster that was saved from eternal damnation by Warrior returning.
I'm up to TV immediately following WM8. It's clear the Warrior return (in painted body suit!?) was supposed to be the saving grace. I've never known why Jake left in 92? Was it because he got offered more money by wcw? More money and a booking role. But by the time he got there, Watts was in charge and Watts didn’t like Jake so he rescinded the booking role. Jake had already burned his bridge with the WWF so he was stuck. At least that’s been Jake’s version of the story. |
|
|
|
Post by powderedwhig on Aug 28, 2023 12:09:40 GMT -5
It was definitely an angle. Was Flair even at the press conference? It was clearly a vehicle to build for Hogan Vs Sid. Summerslam 91 to Wrestlemania VIII is one of my favorite times in WWF history, but I do think that Wrestlemania kind of falls flat. That fall and winter, the WWF booked more like the NWA than traditional WWF style, with their guys having multiple feuds going on at once. It made for a really interesting product and was perfect for the Royal Rumble Title match. But once they finally had to pair off for Wrestlemania, it felt underwhelming. Also didn’t help that Wrestlemania VIII was reduced to two hours and 45 mins instead of the 3 hours+ it had been since 1986. It made for a rushed show that was short on matches and didn’t give that great period a worthy climax.
It's crazy to think how different things would be in just a year, with the '93 Rumble match being a flop. I watched it this weekend and in one inane stretch (in order) Terry Taylor, Damien Demento, IRS, Tatanka, Jerry Sags, Typhoon, Headshrinker Fatu, Earthquake, Carlos Colon, El Matador, and The Model entered the ring. (I am a fan of John Tenta but by January '93 that Earthquake character needed a break.) Also included: parachute-panted Owen Hart, Skinner, Repo Man, Max Moon, and Tenryu. You can almost count on one hand the number of guys that got like any sort of reaction coming out: Flair, DiBiase, Perfect, Undertaker, Tatanka (kinda?), Yoko, Savage. Bob Backlund got crickets, total indifference from the crowd. Compare this to just one year earlier!
|
|
XIII
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,440
|
Post by XIII on Aug 29, 2023 10:51:25 GMT -5
SID should have powerbombed Jack Tunney’s ass back to Toronto
|
|
|
|
Post by jason1980s on Aug 29, 2023 11:55:08 GMT -5
SID should have powerbombed Jack Tunney’s ass back to Toronto That would have been a good way to write Jack off because I don't recall very much of what he did the next few years. Why not get a president who was more with the times. Even at late 50s in 1996, Gorilla Monsoon came off better than Jack. Jack was only in his late 50s in 1992 but looked ancient. I feel like anything physical would have killed him, even if Sid protected him. I wonder what Gorilla and Bobby were thinking watching Royal Rumble 93 compared to 92. It was such an obvious dip from the previous year. |
|
|
|
Post by Hit Girl on Aug 30, 2023 2:04:06 GMT -5
Sid was right, there was no logical justification for it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aceorton on Aug 30, 2023 20:28:12 GMT -5
Sid was right, there was no logical justification for it. It's almost comical how you can look back now and understand why all those guys turned on Hogan. The Sid one was the most egregious because of how Hogan behaved at the Rumble and in the aftermath with undeservedly getting the title shot, but Orndorff, Andre and Savage also had legit grievances, even if they handled it poorly. Hogan was a selfish glory hound who treated his "friends" as afterthoughts. (Tugboat should have beaten the hell out of him, too.) I think it's an alarming window into the kind of people Hogan and Vince are in real life that they booked it so that no matter how bad a friend and partner Hogan was, he was always the victim and always more deserving than the other guy. |
|
|
|
Post by Vice honcho room temperature on Aug 30, 2023 21:49:06 GMT -5
Sid was right, there was no logical justification for it. It was bogus |
|
|
|
Post by Milkman Norm on Aug 31, 2023 8:55:33 GMT -5
I'm with Bruce Prichard on this. Given that it's all fake why would you have Sid dump Hogan fairly if the result you want is a Sid heel turn?
|
|
