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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Sept 11, 2020 20:38:07 GMT -5
Was just talking about the missed opportunity we got of not getting to see Brian Pillman have a truly great run in WWF due to his injuries. The what might have been bums me out: just the thought of him vs Austin, Foley, HHH and The Rock...man.
Or my personal biggest missed opportunity, think of how cool a Taker/Pillman Mania match could have been.
What would y'all have liked to have seen?
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Milkman Norm
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Post by Milkman Norm on Sept 11, 2020 21:27:29 GMT -5
See.... & now I gotta go back and watch some Hollywood Blondes matches to be sure but to me as good as Pillman was as a heel due to his promo skills he was a natural babyface when he was wrestling. I mean it would have been cool either way but I'm not sure we get the 1996 version of Pillman in the first place If he's healthy.
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Post by Aceorton on Sept 12, 2020 0:10:06 GMT -5
Politically, I think it would have been a powderkeg. Pillman showed up just a couple of months into Shawn Michaels' "Boyhood Dream" title run. Bret wouldn't be back until October. That means you'd have Pillman uncompromised as a worker, with HBK likely feeling threatened by his skills and charisma and either not wanting to work with him at all or insisting on beating him soundly.
Best-case scenario for the rest of 1996, Pillman either rekindles his WCW feud with Austin (with the Loose Cannon gimmick making him a tweener/babyface) or the two of them reunite as a heel team and end up with the tag belts. Either would be great stuff, and Austin certainly had nothing hot going between KOTR and Survivor Series.
Worst-case scenario, HBK buries Pillman early and he's then also used to put over guys like Sid and Ahmed.
I could also see him treading water in a dumb feud with Savio Vega or something.
Once Bret was back, he'd be in better shape, although I still think Michaels/HHH would be actively trying to keep him down.
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Sept 12, 2020 0:43:53 GMT -5
I think he could have easily slid into a 1-2 month Austin title program in 98-99.
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Post by Wieners=$$$ on Sept 12, 2020 1:28:00 GMT -5
I think he could have easily slid into a 1-2 month Austin title program in 98-99. Shorten the Dude Love feud to 1 month, and dedicate Austin's first month as champion to beating once-ally, now bitter enemy Brian Pillman. The money writes itself.
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Post by Alice Syndrome on Sept 12, 2020 7:10:22 GMT -5
I wanna see Pillman with working legs vs Owen Hart
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Post by zrowsdower on Sept 12, 2020 7:34:46 GMT -5
I wanna see Pillman with working legs vs Owen Hart A leg out of your leg match.
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Post by sungod2020 on Sept 12, 2020 10:35:52 GMT -5
Politically, I think it would have been a powderkeg. Pillman showed up just a couple of months into Shawn Michaels' "Boyhood Dream" title run. Bret wouldn't be back until October. That means you'd have Pillman uncompromised as a worker, with HBK likely feeling threatened by his skills and charisma and either not wanting to work with him at all or insisting on beating him soundly. Best-case scenario for the rest of 1996, Pillman either rekindles his WCW feud with Austin (with the Loose Cannon gimmick making him a tweener/babyface) or the two of them reunite as a heel team and end up with the tag belts. Either would be great stuff, and Austin certainly had nothing hot going between KOTR and Survivor Series.Worst-case scenario, HBK buries Pillman early and he's then also used to put over guys like Sid and Ahmed. I could also see him treading water in a dumb feud with Savio Vega or something. Once Bret was back, he'd be in better shape, although I still think Michaels/HHH would be actively trying to keep him down. A tag team between the two would be epic, especially considering that the two would have completely different characters from their WCW run. Though I am curious to see how Austin would break out into the megastar of the company we know him as today since that would possibly butterfly away his feud with Bret Hart which helped catapult his career(think the Royal Rumble win and his match at Wrestlemania XIII). Maybe they can have a time-killing feud with tag champs Bulldog and Owen, while Austin focuses on Bret Hart as his main priority(same as before).
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Crappler El 0 M
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Post by Crappler El 0 M on Sept 12, 2020 12:42:03 GMT -5
If he's healthy, his ace in the hole could have been Austin's rise and Shawn's hiatus. It's easy to say Pillman would not have advanced beyond midcard or Intercontinental levels because The Rock, Mankind, Triple H, and Austin are emerging and Undertaker and Kane are also in the mix with them. But a healthy Pillman might have had a chance to help fill the Shawn Michaels void, and Austin might have lobbied for him to be one of his big opponents. Not only would Shawn simply be gone from cards, but he's also not there to politic behind the scenes to try to keep Brian in check.
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Post by Aceorton on Sept 13, 2020 16:03:52 GMT -5
Politically, I think it would have been a powderkeg. Pillman showed up just a couple of months into Shawn Michaels' "Boyhood Dream" title run. Bret wouldn't be back until October. That means you'd have Pillman uncompromised as a worker, with HBK likely feeling threatened by his skills and charisma and either not wanting to work with him at all or insisting on beating him soundly. Best-case scenario for the rest of 1996, Pillman either rekindles his WCW feud with Austin (with the Loose Cannon gimmick making him a tweener/babyface) or the two of them reunite as a heel team and end up with the tag belts. Either would be great stuff, and Austin certainly had nothing hot going between KOTR and Survivor Series.Worst-case scenario, HBK buries Pillman early and he's then also used to put over guys like Sid and Ahmed. I could also see him treading water in a dumb feud with Savio Vega or something. Once Bret was back, he'd be in better shape, although I still think Michaels/HHH would be actively trying to keep him down. A tag team between the two would be epic, especially considering that the two would have completely different characters from their WCW run. Though I am curious to see how Austin would break out into the megastar of the company we know him as today since that would possibly butterfly away his feud with Bret Hart which helped catapult his career(think the Royal Rumble win and his match at Wrestlemania XIII). Maybe they can have a time-killing feud with tag champs Bulldog and Owen, while Austin focuses on Bret Hart as his main priority(same as before). That's pretty close to what I was envisioning. Austin and Pillman team up and beat the Smoking Gunns for the belts by SummerSlam, then deal with the challenges of Owen/Bulldog and eventually Furnas/Lafon (those matches would be outstanding). Once Bret is back, Austin has a chip on his shoulder as the KOTR winner and targets him the same as he did, only Pillman shows a reluctance to get involved, as if he's unwilling to go against Bret. Austin pushes on in his vendetta nonetheless, cheats to win the Rumble, etc., and makes the tag belts an afterthought, which leads to Austin/Pillman losing them to Furnas/Lafon or Vader/Mankind at the February In Your House PPV or a random RAW before WrestleMania. Austin does the I Quit match and double turn with Bret at WM13, and when the New Hart Foundation forms two weeks later, Pillman of course betrays Austin and joins the Harts.
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Post by koreycaskets on Sept 13, 2020 16:35:25 GMT -5
I think Pillman as part of the Corporate Ministry would have been fun.
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Post by fw91 on Sept 13, 2020 17:15:54 GMT -5
Perhaps a random IYH title match main event against Taker in 97.
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Post by nickcave on Sept 13, 2020 23:54:53 GMT -5
A healthy Pillman would have been a great first feud for Austin after he beat Michaels
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2020 0:59:29 GMT -5
Would've loved it. I think he is one of the most interesting wrestlers who you never really get bored to learn more about.
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Post by BRAINFADE on Sept 14, 2020 3:24:39 GMT -5
A healthy Pillman without question would have been one of Austin's big money programs as champion, perhaps at KOTR 98 instead of Kane so they didn't have to book themselves into a corner with the First Blood match.
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Post by jobber316 on Sept 14, 2020 7:59:24 GMT -5
If there was ever someone built for the Attitude Era it would be Pillman as the Loose Cannon. I think he would have been an ideal challenger for Austin if you want to have Vince be a huge hypocrite (Austin isn't family friendly but Pillman is?). Then of course once he fails there you can always turn him kinda face on Vince and Co. and have him be an uneasy ally of Austin.
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Post by sungod2020 on Sept 14, 2020 13:06:22 GMT -5
A healthy Pillman without question would have been one of Austin's big money programs as champion, perhaps at KOTR 98 instead of Kane so they didn't have to book themselves into a corner with the First Blood match. I didn't see it as them booking themselves into a corner, it seems more like purposely rigging the odds against Austin so he dosen't(or can't) win, given the fact that Kane wore a mask and had sleeves to completely cover himself. I can also see Pillman be Mr. McMahon's kiss-ass hired gun the same way Mick Foley was in the Spring of 98.
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salz4life
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Post by salz4life on Sept 14, 2020 13:41:49 GMT -5
I think he could have easily slid into a 1-2 month Austin title program in 98-99. and it would've been absolute GOLD!
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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Sept 14, 2020 17:10:42 GMT -5
Was he actually physically big enough to get into WWF's main event scene at the time? Austin was kinda small compared to his peers.
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Post by sungod2020 on Nov 24, 2020 8:36:29 GMT -5
Was he actually physically big enough to get into WWF's main event scene at the time? Austin was kinda small compared to his peers. HBK was around the same size as Pillman, so there's no reason The Loose Cannon couldn't have had a brief program with his former tag partner.
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