|
|
Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Apr 14, 2021 14:21:22 GMT -5
I’ve been reading a little about WWF/WWE’s show history in India and this was their first ever main event there.
Given how unremarkable Tatanka’s 1996 was for the most part, you’d think Vince just got his Indians mixed up or something. But it kind of makes sense. Hart was a huge international name and Tatanka had been pushed heavily in prior years despite being an after thought by 1996.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aceorton on Apr 14, 2021 16:59:10 GMT -5
I can't recall them ever facing each other besides this. Did they have a RAW match or anything? Considering they were both fixtures of a fairly pared-down roster for the better part of three years (including a year and a half when Tatanka was a heel) it's kind of weird they didn't work together more.
|
|
fg
Unicron
Gaming
Posts: 2,920 
|
Post by fg on Apr 14, 2021 18:11:19 GMT -5
I can't recall them ever facing each other besides this. Did they have a RAW match or anything? Considering they were both fixtures of a fairly pared-down roster for the better part of three years (including a year and a half when Tatanka was a heel) it's kind of weird they didn't work together more. They did have a match on Raw in 1996 where Shawn Michaels watching from ringside. |
|
|
|
Post by BlackoutCreature on Apr 14, 2021 19:59:45 GMT -5
So I looked up the show on thehistoryofwwe.com. The WWF did five shows in India on consecutive nights from 2/2/96 to 2/6/96. Two shows in Bombay, a big show in Bangalore in front of 30,000 people, then a show in Calcutta then Delhi. It looks like this match happened at the Bangalore show. Here were the results -
It's also possible they also had the match in Calcutta and Delhi as thehistoryofwwe.com doesn't list results for either of them.
I'm not sure why they went with Tatanka. Looking at the card it wasn't exactly the WWF's deepest at the time, but they had more interesting options for Bret. Also, I didn't realize anybody was still doing the Doink gimmick at the time.
|
|
|
|
Post by mauled on Apr 14, 2021 20:23:45 GMT -5
So I looked up the show on thehistoryofwwe.com. The WWF did five shows in India on consecutive nights from 2/2/96 to 2/6/96. Two shows in Bombay, a big show in Bangalore in front of 30,000 people, then a show in Calcutta then Delhi. It looks like this match happened at the Bangalore show. Here were the results - It's also possible they had the match in Calcutta and Delhi as thehistoryofwwe.com doesn't list results for either of them. I'm not sure why they went with Tatanka. Looking at the card it wasn't exactly the WWF's deepest at the time, but they had more interesting options for Bret. Also, I didn't realize anybody was still doing the Doink gimmick at the time. Damn, you know both Owen and Yoko had gone down the Card when they're losing to Bart Gunn and a Billy Gunn substitute 😟🙁 |
|
|
|
Post by evilone on Apr 15, 2021 8:44:17 GMT -5
Funny thing is I remember Tatanka from 1993 and then I went on to WCW and haven't paid much attention to WWF. I turn on RAW one night and there's a main event promo Bret Hart vs Tatanka and I was like damn gotta watch this. Then Tatanka got small packaged and it was an easy victory for Bret and I was like wtf how did he go from 93 untouchable to 96 jobber
|
|
|
|
Post by jason1980s on Apr 15, 2021 9:38:16 GMT -5
Funny thing is I remember Tatanka from 1993 and then I went on to WCW and haven't paid much attention to WWF. I turn on RAW one night and there's a main event promo Bret Hart vs Tatanka and I was like damn gotta watch this. Then Tatanka got small packaged and it was an easy victory for Bret and I was like wtf how did he go from 93 untouchable to 96 jobber The heel turn really hurt Tatanka. The problem is that he is a genuinely nice guy and just didn't know how to do a good heel character. It also didn't help that WWF was so down in the dumps at the time so it's not like he had a chance at many great storylines, feuds or partnerships. It also hurt badly that he was accused of sexual assault and removed from shows in mid 1995, assault it turned out was done by Jimmy Del Ray. Tatanka pretty much disappeared mid summer 1995 until Royal Rumble 1996 and the few months afterwards was used as a jobber. He lost cleanly to Jake Roberts on the Feb. In Your House pre show and I can't remember much else other than a makeshift tag team with 123 Kid which probably ended in losses. I'm glad he gets the occasional appearance and I'm sure WWF appreciated him not making waves during his first run. I can also imagine Bret liking to work with him. Again, he is a good guy and probably easy to deal with. He could give a good match but also probably let Bret lead as the veteran. |
|
Cranjis McBasketball
Crow T. Robot
Knew what the hell that thing was supposed to be
Peace Love and Nothing But
Posts: 41,889
|
Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Apr 15, 2021 18:31:39 GMT -5
Once he failed to beat HBK at Mania 9, he was done. Even though his undefeated streak carried on longer, he basically choked at his chance and there was no reason to get behind him anymore
|
|
fw91
Patti Mayonnaise
FAN Idol All-Star: FAN Idol Season X and *Gavel* 2x Judges' Throwdown winner
Tribe has spoken for 2024 Mets
Posts: 38,900
|
Post by fw91 on Apr 15, 2021 19:00:00 GMT -5
Wasn’t Tatanka gone pretty early in 96? Like entered the Rumble but that was it.
|
|
|
|
Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Apr 15, 2021 19:18:12 GMT -5
Wasn’t Tatanka gone pretty early in 96? Like entered the Rumble but that was it. The aforementioned Hart/Tatanka match on Raw happened in March and that was the last of Tatanka in WWF/WWE for sometime. Even then he was only featured sporadically on TV going into March. He was completely absent during the rest of the Monday Night War. Seriously, John Nord was more present in the Monday Night Wars than him after that. It always struck me as odd he disappeared for that boom era. I always figured he was making better money some other way like selling supplements, which he at least did at one point. I had no idea about the sexual assault allegation mentioned in this thread. Maybe even despite his innocence the big promotions were hesitant to use him for a while after that. I mean it just doesn’t make sense. If he was super well off financially it might make some sense why he was completely absent in the big companies for so many of what were wrestling’s most financially rewarding years for talent up to that time. But then he popped up in CZW in 2003 of all places and some even less notable places throughout the actual Monday Night War years. I don’t buy that it was for the love of the game. |
|
|
|
Post by BlackoutCreature on Apr 15, 2021 19:39:12 GMT -5
Wasn’t Tatanka gone pretty early in 96? Like entered the Rumble but that was it. The aforementioned Hart/Tatanka match on Raw happened in March and that was the last of Tatanka in WWF/WWE for sometime. Even then he was only featured sporadically on TV going into March. He was completely absent during the rest of the Monday Night War. Seriously, John Nord was more present in the Monday Night Wars than him after that. It always struck me as odd he disappeared for that boom era. I always figured he was making better money some other way like selling supplements, which he at least did at one point. I had no idea about the sexual assault allegation mentioned in this thread. Maybe even despite his innocence the big promotions were hesitant to use him for a while after that. I mean it just doesn’t make sense. If he was super well off financially it might make some sense why he was completely absent in the big companies for so many of what were wrestling’s most financially rewarding years for talent up to that time. But then he popped up in CZW in 2003 of all places and some even less notable places throughout the actual Monday Night War years. I don’t buy that it was for the love of the game. Supposedly Bischoff made a play to bring him into WCW in 1996, and even had plans for him to show up on an episode of Nitro (sounds like they were prepping him to be part of the nWo). But between technically still being under WWF contract and just wanting to spend more time with his family, Tatanka backed out of the deal. |
|
Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,032
|
Post by Mozenrath on Apr 15, 2021 19:45:45 GMT -5
I’ve been reading a little about WWF/WWE’s show history in India and this was their first ever main event there. Given how unremarkable Tatanka’s 1996 was for the most part, you’d think Vince just got his Indians mixed up or something. But it kind of makes sense. Hart was a huge international name and Tatanka had been pushed heavily in prior years despite being an after thought by 1996. I honestly wonder if it was just them thinking, "Tatanka is physically imposing next to Hart, this should be a quick "David and Goliath story", but you figure there still would have been better options by the time of 1996. Then again, perhaps not, this was a very awkward period in wrestling. |
|
|
|
Post by jason1980s on Apr 15, 2021 22:41:39 GMT -5
Speaking of these two and Tatanka at Wrestlemania. I wonder if a Tatanka/Bret main event title match would work. It keeps him completely undefeated with a rumble win. And he was just as over as Yokozuna at the time. Yokozuna was an imposing force and a great talent but was more of an oddity to the fans. Plus, with so many rumors of Bret/Warrior at the rumble and Bret/Savage at Wm it keeps with the face/face main event. Of course that makes Hogan worthless for the ending but that's a good thing. Maybe Tatanka does win and then goes on to deal with Yokozuna during the summer.
|
|
