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Post by eudypfohl on Dec 28, 2021 18:43:58 GMT -5
The WWF was circling the drain in 1996. Talent was depleted, pro wrestling was nowhere near as hot as it was in Warriors prime. Crowds dwindling. WCW was gobbling up all the major players (regardless of whether or not they knew what to do with them) Warrior immediately became one of if not THE biggest name and star in the WWF. I'm totally fine with him squashing Helmsley at Wrestlemania. A more memorable comeback would've been a surprise run in somewhere (much like WM8) the pop after being gone for 4 years would've been insane. However announcing his return helped sell tickets for a Wrestlemania that was in danger of not selling out.
After that it would've been best to position him vs a monster heel...perhaps someone like Vader. Have Vader as an indestructible unbeaten heel going around injuring everyone. Build it up like they did with Yoko. Have Vader stretcher Warrior, make people think that there's somebody out there who could dominate Warrior and make him seem vulnerable, then have UW beat him on a PPV.
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Post by Citizen Snips Has Left on Dec 29, 2021 19:27:36 GMT -5
There were a lot of reasons that Ultimate Warrior didn't work in 1996, but this is the biggest reason to me. Even as an 8-year-old, when he came out wearing a baseball cap, I was like "this is just a weird guy with facepaint." He didn't have any of the mystique of his original run at all. Brian Zane, Wrestling with Wregret, did a video bout Warrior's 1996's return. Very enjoyable. He says he heard Warrior didn't "trust" Lawler with the frame smashing so he wanted the extra head protection. Good video to check out if you got 15 minutes youtu.be/SK2z9zBUWv0And while we're at it, why not a different video on his WCW run youtu.be/FceGU6vPrQYTo be fair, Bret Hart said Lawler legit hurt him at both King of the Ring and Summerslam 1993 when attacking him with props, so that might have been a wise move on Warriors’s part.
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Post by Bang Bang Bart on Dec 30, 2021 16:16:03 GMT -5
He seemed more interested to promote his university/wrestling school (which had WWF-produced ads shown for it during Raw) and his baffling comic book (to the point that WWF were forced to buy copies to give away for free at live events).
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