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Post by "Sweet & Sour" ImSoFudginGreat on Jul 1, 2022 17:39:42 GMT -5
When you think about your fandom of wrestling, what is your year? As in, everything just clicked and you enjoyed 99% of what you saw.
For me, it was 1998. I was a fan basically from birth in 1986, one of my earliest memories was watching Summerslam 88, but I stopped watching after Wrestlemania 9 (we never had Sky TV and my aunt stopped taping the shows for me). I came back in August of 1997 and despite Bret leaving I made it to Royal Rumble 1998, which I still watch fondly to this day (I recently resubbed to the Network and it was the first show I watched). The rise of Stone Cold, Kane vs Undertaker, rise and feuds of The Nation and DX, and pretty much the entire roster is/was top tier for me.
A close second would be 2016, I rediscovered my love of NJPW, and ROH, got into NXT (DIY vs Revival from Takeover Toronto is on my all time favourite list) and started dipping into Stardom, TJPW and DDT. 1991 is another favourite now that I think about it.
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MolotovMocktail
Grimlock
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Post by MolotovMocktail on Jul 1, 2022 17:45:46 GMT -5
1992. It was the first year the WWF didn’t have Hogan, and the second year WCW didn’t have Flair. Both companies were forced to try new things and elevate new stars, and we got some unique feuds out of it. All 4 WWF PPV’s were good to excellent, and showed Survivor Series could work outside just the team format.
The year was also bookended by two memorable heel turns and tag team breakups: the Rockers in January and Barry Windham turning on Dustin Rhodes around Thanksgiving. Plus Undertaker became a face for the first time, Razor Ramon debuted, the Dangerous Alliance dominates WCW.
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HeyYo
Trap-Jaw
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Post by HeyYo on Jul 1, 2022 17:54:06 GMT -5
1997.
nWo, Sting, the war really picking up, wrestlers switching companies, what felt like must see tv, and for as much flack Bret Hart gets for saying he was a Canadian hero, he really was to the kids in my school/town. It felt like everyone I knew was a fan and really into it.
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Post by Bob Schlapowitz on Jul 1, 2022 18:31:38 GMT -5
2000. That year was amazing.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2022 18:40:12 GMT -5
Easily 1992.
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john84
Fry's dog Seymour
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Post by john84 on Jul 1, 2022 18:46:30 GMT -5
Hmm...I'll have to go with 1996 personally.
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Post by buckethead on Jul 1, 2022 18:58:53 GMT -5
It's a tie between 85 and 86.
NWA and WWF were firing on all cylinders here.
AWA still has life in it thanks to The Road Warriors and Martel as champs.
World Class has not fallen off the cliff yet.
This is also the only period where I bought most of the magazines each month and those I didn't buy I read at the store.
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Mr Captain Falcon
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Post by Mr Captain Falcon on Jul 1, 2022 19:16:28 GMT -5
97. Both companies were on fire ad far as storytelling. NWO vs Sting. DDP vs Savage. Eddie Guerrero being a double. Austin being prepared. Hart Foundation. DX origin. Paul Bearer was somehow the most entertaining and compelling person on either roster. Kane origin. Just great from both companies. The worst storyline was the ECW invasion. I recently watched all the raws from 97 and that was the only pure trash storyline.
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fw91
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by fw91 on Jul 1, 2022 20:07:39 GMT -5
1999 in real time. Everything just seemed like it was the coolest.
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Post by ChitownKnight on Jul 1, 2022 20:27:58 GMT -5
For more recent Pro wrestling wars I’d say this year. Punk winning a world title, Cody (the guy that helped start up AEW) being the first major deflection, Mox in a prominent role again, Seth and Roman killing it
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Post by Instant Classic on Jul 1, 2022 20:47:27 GMT -5
2002-2007 is what I always go back to and watch and think to myself, these were my peak years as a fan.
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Post by cuppacoffee - slight return on Jul 2, 2022 1:26:48 GMT -5
2000. That year was amazing. Seconded. That’s when being a wrestling fan was an essential part of my social life. Every week, Raw and Smackdown were must-watch beer-and-pizza TV. Every PPV had at least one memorable or good thing on it that we’d be talking about for days after. And the Royal Rumble that year remains one of my favourite shows ever. Ah, to be young, drunk, full of pizza and marking out as Tazz debuts. It was a very good year
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2022 8:26:27 GMT -5
If I had to rank them
1. 2000 2. 1998 3. 1996 4. 1999 5. 1997
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Post by jason1980s on Jul 2, 2022 11:41:13 GMT -5
Even as a kid watching old VHS tapes or tapes from the video store, I liked the 1986-1990 time period more than anything I grew up watching in real time. As a kid I liked 1988 the best but I think 1987 or 1990 were probably the best for talent which was evident at the Wrestlemanias from those years.
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Post by Mid-Carder on Jul 2, 2022 11:48:07 GMT -5
Another one for 2000. It moved a little bit away from the smut of the 90s, the shows were fun and I was smarky but not so much that it ruined the shows. I had loads of wrestling fan friends at school too which helped
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Squirrel Master
Hank Scorpio
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Post by Squirrel Master on Jul 2, 2022 12:00:31 GMT -5
1986 UWF 1986-1988 WWF and JCP 1989 JCP 1992 WCW
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Post by Citizen Snips Has Left on Jul 2, 2022 12:11:09 GMT -5
I’m going to say 1988 edges out 1996 for me. ‘96 had the rise of the nWo and was probably the height of ECW for me but the babyface WWF roster in 1988 was like the wrestling equivalent of the ‘27 Yankees for a little kid like me.
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Post by nakedmideon on Jul 2, 2022 13:26:12 GMT -5
2000. That year was amazing. Seconded. That’s when being a wrestling fan was an essential part of my social life. Every week, Raw and Smackdown were must-watch beer-and-pizza TV. Every PPV had at least one memorable or good thing on it that we’d be talking about for days after. And the Royal Rumble that year remains one of my favourite shows ever. Ah, to be young, drunk, full of pizza and marking out as Tazz debuts. It was a very good year Absolutely.2000 was my all time favourite year.still go back and watch the Rumble regularly.it was at its absolute peak in 2000 in my opinion and it gave me some of the best childhood memories
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tafkaga
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Post by tafkaga on Jul 2, 2022 13:32:56 GMT -5
I'm going to go Summer 1991-Spring 1992, which is technically one year.
The buzz around Summerslam '91 is one of my favorite periods. Heel Jake Roberts. Flair and Sid in the WWF. The rise of the Undertaker.
The post-Flair period of WCW was real cool too, with the main event centering around Sting, Luger, Ron Simmons. Rick Rude jumping ship. Ricky Steamboat returning.
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Post by ANuclearError on Jul 2, 2022 13:54:03 GMT -5
2006 for me, Smackdown specifically. Was about 12 years at the time, having sorta fallen away from wrestling for a while (still played the games though). It sorta caught on a bit for a brief period in school, so I was given New Year's Revolution on VHS and liked it, so I kept watching.
Due to being a school kid in the UK, watching Smackdown was my own easy way to keep up, with Sky's recap show for Raw being how I mainly kept up with that.
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