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Different sides of different rings: Wrestling PODs and such
- Thread starter Qaz_plm
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Looking forward to "Brawl Out", the infamous cancelation of the WWF's popular Brawl For All tournament following Vince Russo's firing in 1999.
Oh,or what if the worst case scenario happens and Bradshaw wins,making the whole point of why it happened pointless.
Worse,Bradshaw is gonna be even more embolden by this to continue his bulling.
Got nascent ideas starting to percolate for a New World Order, Plane Ride From Hell and Slam Heard Around the World. Brawl For All should be easy enough. Other ideas could be to take gimmick names - ultimate opportunist, showstopper, legend killer - and apply them to other wrestlers.
No fear. I'm never writing any story or tl where JBL prospers.
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We're in the TL where he prospered most because Hunter didn't want to work Tuesdays.
What a fantastic period, Reign off Terror-uh on Raw and JBL on Smackdown.
I occasionally wonder why I stopped paying attention. Then posts like this remind me.
Oh,here’s a good one: apparently The Rock was in talks with Jarrett to appear in TNA in 2005 when his contract with WWE came up and Vince just forgot to renew it,if of course his schedule allowed it because he was busy promoting Be Cool at the time of his early movie career.
Personally I can see him just doing what he’s doing in the WWE since 2010 OTL,wrestling from time to time there and being a guest referee. Hell,maybe he wins the belt once and then loses to Double J/AJ Styles/Monty Brown,which eh,I don’t mind.
Personally I can see him just doing what he’s doing in the WWE since 2010 OTL,wrestling from time to time there and being a guest referee. Hell,maybe he wins the belt once and then loses to Double J/AJ Styles/Monty Brown,which eh,I don’t mind.
Smackdown in 2004 was just awful. JBL was a decent character but getting pushed right to the top of the main event after being on the lower Midcard for years was insane. They had the hottest face champion for a long time in Guerrero and completely squandered him. Not to mention GAB 2004 and The Undertaker kayfabe killing Paul Bearer which is one of the worst PPvs I’ve ever seen.
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List of WrestleMania IX matches:
WWF Intercontinental Championship match: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Randy Savage[1]
Handicap match: The Natural Disasters vs. Yokozuna[2]
Singles match: Bob Backlund vs. Doink the Clown[3]
Singles match: Owen Hart vs. Mr. Perfect[4]
Singles match: Rick Martel vs. Razor Ramon[5]
WWF Tag Team Championship match: Money Inc. (c) vs. The Steiner Brothers[6]
Singles match: Lex Luger vs. Tatanka[7]
Singles match: Hulk Hogan vs. The Undertaker[8]
WWF Championship match: Bret Hart (c) vs. Ric Flair[9]
[1] At the 1993 Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship over his former tag team partner Marty Jannetty after Michaels's former valet, Sensational Sherri, inadvertently hit Jannetty with her shoe. Jannetty attacked Michaels, who had confronted Sherri in the middle of a post-match interview, seemingly indicating that their feud would continue, perhaps to WrestleMania IX. However, rumours began that Jannetty had been intoxicated during the match and, worse, it was why it did not live up to expectations. Jannetty continues to deny he was under the influence, and blames Michaels for starting the rumours. This left the Intercontinental Champion without a program for WrestleMania, and with an already depleted roster, before an opponent was sought that had fulfilled a similar role at WrestleMania VIII when a planned title program fell through. Randy Savage had primarily served as a colour commentary since the debut of Monday Night Raw in January 1993, a role he chafed at behind the scenes. He nevertheless came runner up in the Royal Rumble, being last eliminated by Ric Flair with help from Mr. Perfect, whom Savage had already eliminated earlier. Michaels laying his hands on Sherri during an episode of Raw prompted Savage to leave the commentary position and chase off the heel. The former Macho King and Queen Sherri were thus reunited in 1993 as babyfaces. Though they never readopted their former gimmicks, but it did inform their costumes at WrestleMania IX. Befitting the Roman theme, Savage and Sherri rode to the ring in a chariot, both wearing white with Savage as Macho Caesar. Michaels did not have so ostentatious as entrance, though still ostentatious, but did introduce Luna Vachon as his new valet. Vachon and Sherri worked to prevent each other from interfering during the match, the crowd chanted for Sherri several times too. Inside the ring the match was state of the art for the WWF in 1993, much as the contest between the two men had been at WK Rampage in Sheffield, England, the year prior. It ended when Luna was able to slip the belt to Michaels, who struck Savage in the head with it as the challenger attempted a springboard crossbody. In full view of referee Joey Marella, who called for the bell immediately. Since the match ended in disqualification, the title did not change hands and Michaels immediately scooped up his belt and stomped off to the back. Vachon remained behind to attack Sherri until she was chased off by a recovering Savage.
[2] Yokozuna made it to the final four of the Royal Rumble, when Bob Backlund, Ric Flair and Randy Savage made a temporary alliance to eliminate the Anoa'i family member. This prompted an outraged Mr. Fuji to deliver promos announcing an anti-Japanese conspiracy by the WWF wrestlers. Fuji challenged any group of wrestlers to face Yokozuna in a match where two or three on one was not cheating. This was answered by The Natural Disasters, who were in the midst of splitting after Typhoon deliberately targeted Earthquake in the Royal Rumble. Perhaps they hoped a project together might help their relationship. Earthquake and Typhoon walked to the ring carrying a trident and a thunderbolt, respectively, and were referred to as Poseidon and Zeus, apparently Greek gods gate-crashing a Roman WrestleMania, by Bobby Heenan. The former Tag Team Champions overpowered the kayfabe sumo wrestler for the start of the match, but soon found themselves being beaten back separately. After being tossed out of the ring, Typhoon did not return but watched on warily as Yokozuna pinned his partner. Fuji confirmed Yokozuna's, and Japan's, superiority over America.
[3] Bob Backlund stepped into a position intended for Brian Adams (Crush) after the latter suffered a shoulder injury the week before the Royal Rumble. The WWF simply ran the same setup they had before, with Backlund warning off Doink from pranking children at ringside. Doink would then begin to interfere in Backlund's matches and a match to be called for WrestleMania. This inadvertently created one of the campest, most unintentionally hilarious programs in wrestling history. Clean-cut, straight-laced babyface overacted the hell of being somewhat disturbed by Doink. He would be further disturbed during their match and would follow victim to the old fake Doink switcheroo. Backlund never looked more disturbed than when he began to stare at his own hands having pummelled the fake Doink following the match.
[4] A rift had been growing between Ric Flair and his on-screen "executive consultant" and manager Bobby Heenan for months. Randy Savage had coaxed Mr. Perfect into returning to the ring for Suvivor Series 1992, only to turn on Savage and remain aligned with Flair and Heenan. After Heenan joined Flair in the Royal Rumble, the two men worked together throughout until Perfect was pulled in front of Flair and eliminated by Yokozuna in the progress. Perfect continued to accompany Flair throughout the latter's program with World Champion Bret Hart. The unfair numbers advantage provoked the interference of Bret's younger brown Owen on the behalf of his brother. Naturally, Flair and Heenan began to make complaints to WWF President Jack Tunney about Owen's interference giving Bret and unfair advantage, and demanded he be officially banned from ringside for the WrestleMania main event. Owen called out the group for decrying their own tactics, and said Perfect should be banned from ringside instead. With banning both of them seemingly not being an option, a match was set where the loser would not be allowed at ringside for the main event. This was actually a rematch from WrestleMania V, where Perfect defeated Hart under his Blue Blazer gimmick in a five-minute sprint. Their rematch four years later was just as energetic but with twice the time allotted. The finish saw Perfect roll through a sunset flip into a Perfectplex for the pinfall. This was a good showing for Hart, who had only recently began a singles run after a short-lived tag team with Koko B. Ware. Hart would not be along to second his brother in the main event, but implicitly Perfect was now free to stand at ringside for Flair.
[5] The reduced roster again reared its head in the booking of this contest. Razor Ramon had been getting cheered for months despite his continuing heelish tactics. Plans were being made to have him turn babyface after WrestleMania, but he would still appear on the PPV itself in a dominant fashion. The problem was a surfeit of suitable lower mid-card babyfaces to be the disposable opponent for Razor. In the end, Rick Martel was inserted into the spot and Razor wound up babyface by default with Martel being both more of a heel and nowhere near as popular. Martel originally used his speed to fluster Razor and fihgting back and forth in and out of the ring. Razor made his comedback and pinned Martel following the Razor's Edge. Razor was de facto babyface in his losses to the 1-2-3 Kid, but that relationship and facing Ted Biase would make it official.
[6] The original plan for the Tag Team Championship match had to be torn up after the relationship soured again between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon. Instead, the Steiners were announced as facing Champions Money Inc. following a television win over The Headshrinkers. This change in pairing actually shorted the title reign of Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster, as the decision was then made to put the belts on the former University of Michigan amateur wrestling teammates. The two teams would trade the belts back-and-forth several times throughout 1993.
[7] Bobby Heenan unveiled Lex Luger as "Narcissus" at the 1993 Royal Rumble, though he was soon renamed to "The Narcissist". He became another component of the Heenan orbit appearing alongside Flair and Perfect. Luger was offered the undefeated (on television) Tatanka as an opponent by Heenan. Vince McMahon was so enamoured with Luger as a potential star he had him go over in a dominant fashion, leveraging the metal bar in his arm from a (real) motocycle accident to knock Tatanka silly and then lift him into a torture rack. Luger would slam Tatanka from the rack and win the pinfall, continuing his own undefeated streak. For Tatanka, the streak had ended at WrestleMania.
[8] Hulk Hogan had taken a leave of absence from the WWF following an interview on The Arsenio Hall Show in which he categorically denied having taken steroids. He was noticeably slimmer upon his return in February 1993. Hogan returned to a very different WWF than the one he had left. Increased scrutiny on the magnificently musclebound roster of the Fed led to smaller wrestlers moving into a better position than they had been previously. Along with the gigantic but not particularly Charles Atlas-like such as Yokozuna, The Undertaker, and Giant Gonzalez. It was the aggravation of an old knee-injury by the latter that would give Hogan his program for WrestleMania. Originally, Hogan had tried to pitch his participation in the World Championship match to no avail. Though recognising his value, McMahon still remembered how it had been Hogan's testimony that had forced the government mandated drug tests upon his company. When that did not work, Hogan pitched winning the Tag Team titles with either Brutus Beefcake or Randy Savage. Already having Savage in mind for the program with Michaels, it seemed Hogan's best friend would be the perfect fit before concerns over returning to the ring following his facial skeleton being crushed in 1990 ended it. With both The Undertaker and Hogan at a loss, the decision was made to pair them. This was nothing new for Hogan, he had gone over big monsters at WrestleMania before, and even gone over The Undertaker too. Only he was told that he was not winning. The resulting argument resulted in Hogan demanding to be placed back into the Tag Title match with Savage, but McMahon would not budge citing the popularity of Michaels and Savage together at live events. McMahon flexed his muscles forcing Hogan to lay down for The Undertaker. Hogan, again aligned with Jimmy Hart as a counter to Paul bearer, did six different comebacks in a match he was to lose decisively. He also kicked out at 3.0000000001 after taking two tombstone piledrivers. It would wind up being Hogan's last match in the company, he would return to New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1993 where he would face The Great Muta before returning to the US to film Thunder in Paradise. He would get his win back off The Undertaker, after luring "Mean Mark " Calaway back to WCW in 1996.
[9] Ric Flair had a verbal agreement that if he was not being used in a main event capacity and had an offer to go elsewhere that he would be released from his contract. With Hogan's return in question and with The Ultimate Warrior fired towards the end of 1992 McMahon needed bona fide stars at the top of his card, so promised Flair that he would be used in a main event program. This delayed too the planned babyface turn of Mr. Perfect, allowing him to continue acting as Flair's enforcer for the feud with Champion Bret Hart, the man who had taken the World Championship from Flair in October 1992. Flair became the first person to win a shot at the world title for winning the Royal Rumble in 1993, he also became the first man to win the Rumble from the number one entry. Flair, Perfect and Lex Luger would follow and assault Hart between the Rumble and WrestleMania, occasionally being chased off by Owen Hart or Tatanka. In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, Flair would defeat Owen and Bret would defeat Perfect on television. With Perfect accompanying Flair to ringside, and Luger presumably somewhere too it seemed the odds were truly stacked against the Champion. All the usual Flair and Hart tropes happen at least once during the match: the flop, the tunrbuckle figure four, the begging, the five moves of doom. Even the Flair blood, turning his blonde hair crimson. It shocked and appalled many and by rumour Flair did it without McMahon's knowledge after telling Hart it had been okayed. Still, hope seemed lost when Perfect slipped a chair to Hart whilst the referee was checking on Bret, only for Perfect to pull it away as Flair's fingers brushed it. Another set of five moves of doom saw Hart lock in the sharpshooter and a bloodied Ric Flair telling he referee he submitted in the centre of the ring.
Flair, and possibly Bret, got away with the blade job. Hogan finally having left seemingly never to return, there was simply no way McMahon was about to fire or punish his two biggest stars. Hart moved into a program with Yokozuna after WrestleMania, eventually dropping the title with Yokozuna at King of the Ring that year. Flair moved into a feud with Perfect, which likewise culminated at King of the Ring with the latter winning the first edition of the titular tourney to air on PPV. Perfect would take World Championship at SummerSlam after managing an impressive Perflectplex on Yokozuna, albeit aggravating his back in the process and leading to his title reign ending relatively early and it going back to Flair at a house show in the Carolinas. The PPV also reinvigorated the career of Randy Savage who began appearing more in matches or promos on Raw than behind the commentary desk. Savage would eventually win the World Championship at the Royal Rumble in 1994, the same event that saw Hart win the Royal Rumble match and go on to main event WrestleMania and win his title back. What WrestleMania IX achieved for the WWF was to create a new upper card scene that would dominate for the next four years as the "New Generation": Bret Hart, Ric Flair (until September 1995 when he would jump ship for a surprise appearance on the first WCW Monday Nitro), Mr. Perfect, The Undertaker (until June 1996 when he went to WCW), Lex Luger, Razor Ramon, Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, and later by The 1-2-3 Kid (from April 1993), Diesel (from June 1993), and The British Bulldog (from September 1994).
The New Generation helped the WWF maintain the lead over WCW and possibly prevented Vince McMahon from going to jail by drawing less aside glances over steroid use. The tide began to turn when "Mean Mark" Calaway formed the Bone Street Krew in WCW at Road Wild 1997, bringing in the defecting Kevin Nash and Lex Luger and turning perpetual WCW babyface Sting heel in the process. They were joined by Calaway's real-life friends Brian Adams (né Crush), Mark Canterbury (né Henry O. Godwin), Dennis Knight (né Phineas I. Godwin), and Charles Wright (né Papa Shango). The combination of main event level talent and defections from the upper midcard of the WWF made the BSK one of the most popular acts in WCW and eventually professional wrestling. The tide turned in favour of WCW whilst the WWF continued pushing their technical champions in the shape of the Harts, Shawn Michaels, and "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin. This started the cyclical battle between the WWF and WCW for the #1 spot in the United States that sees one side hold it for three or four years before swapping over, whilst Ring of Honor maintains a distant third having taken over the niche of ECW but with more of an emphasis on technical wrestling than hardcore.
The gaudily decorated WrestleMania sets continued until the Millennium. For instance, next year WrestleMania X saw ringside at Madison Square Garden decorated with motifs of New York City including the wrestlers seemingly entering the ringside area through the door of a taxi. For another, even a few years later WrestleMania XII was still given the theme of an Oscar party and saw the Slammy Awards integrated into the program for the first time.
More fantasy booking than alternate history, wanted to take perhaps the most reviled WrestleMania of all time and rebook it into a better iteration. Only rules I set myself was that I couldn't have more matches than the OTL card and everyone that featured had to be employed by the WWF as of Royal Rumble 1993, I then booked the card and worked backwards for the AH. There is a slightly worse steroid scandal the year before the trial, which leads to even more concern around pushing the inflated giants of yore and a desire to keep big names but with smaller or less muscular physiques.
WWF Intercontinental Championship match: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Randy Savage[1]
Handicap match: The Natural Disasters vs. Yokozuna[2]
Singles match: Bob Backlund vs. Doink the Clown[3]
Singles match: Owen Hart vs. Mr. Perfect[4]
Singles match: Rick Martel vs. Razor Ramon[5]
WWF Tag Team Championship match: Money Inc. (c) vs. The Steiner Brothers[6]
Singles match: Lex Luger vs. Tatanka[7]
Singles match: Hulk Hogan vs. The Undertaker[8]
WWF Championship match: Bret Hart (c) vs. Ric Flair[9]
[1] At the 1993 Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship over his former tag team partner Marty Jannetty after Michaels's former valet, Sensational Sherri, inadvertently hit Jannetty with her shoe. Jannetty attacked Michaels, who had confronted Sherri in the middle of a post-match interview, seemingly indicating that their feud would continue, perhaps to WrestleMania IX. However, rumours began that Jannetty had been intoxicated during the match and, worse, it was why it did not live up to expectations. Jannetty continues to deny he was under the influence, and blames Michaels for starting the rumours. This left the Intercontinental Champion without a program for WrestleMania, and with an already depleted roster, before an opponent was sought that had fulfilled a similar role at WrestleMania VIII when a planned title program fell through. Randy Savage had primarily served as a colour commentary since the debut of Monday Night Raw in January 1993, a role he chafed at behind the scenes. He nevertheless came runner up in the Royal Rumble, being last eliminated by Ric Flair with help from Mr. Perfect, whom Savage had already eliminated earlier. Michaels laying his hands on Sherri during an episode of Raw prompted Savage to leave the commentary position and chase off the heel. The former Macho King and Queen Sherri were thus reunited in 1993 as babyfaces. Though they never readopted their former gimmicks, but it did inform their costumes at WrestleMania IX. Befitting the Roman theme, Savage and Sherri rode to the ring in a chariot, both wearing white with Savage as Macho Caesar. Michaels did not have so ostentatious as entrance, though still ostentatious, but did introduce Luna Vachon as his new valet. Vachon and Sherri worked to prevent each other from interfering during the match, the crowd chanted for Sherri several times too. Inside the ring the match was state of the art for the WWF in 1993, much as the contest between the two men had been at WK Rampage in Sheffield, England, the year prior. It ended when Luna was able to slip the belt to Michaels, who struck Savage in the head with it as the challenger attempted a springboard crossbody. In full view of referee Joey Marella, who called for the bell immediately. Since the match ended in disqualification, the title did not change hands and Michaels immediately scooped up his belt and stomped off to the back. Vachon remained behind to attack Sherri until she was chased off by a recovering Savage.
[2] Yokozuna made it to the final four of the Royal Rumble, when Bob Backlund, Ric Flair and Randy Savage made a temporary alliance to eliminate the Anoa'i family member. This prompted an outraged Mr. Fuji to deliver promos announcing an anti-Japanese conspiracy by the WWF wrestlers. Fuji challenged any group of wrestlers to face Yokozuna in a match where two or three on one was not cheating. This was answered by The Natural Disasters, who were in the midst of splitting after Typhoon deliberately targeted Earthquake in the Royal Rumble. Perhaps they hoped a project together might help their relationship. Earthquake and Typhoon walked to the ring carrying a trident and a thunderbolt, respectively, and were referred to as Poseidon and Zeus, apparently Greek gods gate-crashing a Roman WrestleMania, by Bobby Heenan. The former Tag Team Champions overpowered the kayfabe sumo wrestler for the start of the match, but soon found themselves being beaten back separately. After being tossed out of the ring, Typhoon did not return but watched on warily as Yokozuna pinned his partner. Fuji confirmed Yokozuna's, and Japan's, superiority over America.
[3] Bob Backlund stepped into a position intended for Brian Adams (Crush) after the latter suffered a shoulder injury the week before the Royal Rumble. The WWF simply ran the same setup they had before, with Backlund warning off Doink from pranking children at ringside. Doink would then begin to interfere in Backlund's matches and a match to be called for WrestleMania. This inadvertently created one of the campest, most unintentionally hilarious programs in wrestling history. Clean-cut, straight-laced babyface overacted the hell of being somewhat disturbed by Doink. He would be further disturbed during their match and would follow victim to the old fake Doink switcheroo. Backlund never looked more disturbed than when he began to stare at his own hands having pummelled the fake Doink following the match.
[4] A rift had been growing between Ric Flair and his on-screen "executive consultant" and manager Bobby Heenan for months. Randy Savage had coaxed Mr. Perfect into returning to the ring for Suvivor Series 1992, only to turn on Savage and remain aligned with Flair and Heenan. After Heenan joined Flair in the Royal Rumble, the two men worked together throughout until Perfect was pulled in front of Flair and eliminated by Yokozuna in the progress. Perfect continued to accompany Flair throughout the latter's program with World Champion Bret Hart. The unfair numbers advantage provoked the interference of Bret's younger brown Owen on the behalf of his brother. Naturally, Flair and Heenan began to make complaints to WWF President Jack Tunney about Owen's interference giving Bret and unfair advantage, and demanded he be officially banned from ringside for the WrestleMania main event. Owen called out the group for decrying their own tactics, and said Perfect should be banned from ringside instead. With banning both of them seemingly not being an option, a match was set where the loser would not be allowed at ringside for the main event. This was actually a rematch from WrestleMania V, where Perfect defeated Hart under his Blue Blazer gimmick in a five-minute sprint. Their rematch four years later was just as energetic but with twice the time allotted. The finish saw Perfect roll through a sunset flip into a Perfectplex for the pinfall. This was a good showing for Hart, who had only recently began a singles run after a short-lived tag team with Koko B. Ware. Hart would not be along to second his brother in the main event, but implicitly Perfect was now free to stand at ringside for Flair.
[5] The reduced roster again reared its head in the booking of this contest. Razor Ramon had been getting cheered for months despite his continuing heelish tactics. Plans were being made to have him turn babyface after WrestleMania, but he would still appear on the PPV itself in a dominant fashion. The problem was a surfeit of suitable lower mid-card babyfaces to be the disposable opponent for Razor. In the end, Rick Martel was inserted into the spot and Razor wound up babyface by default with Martel being both more of a heel and nowhere near as popular. Martel originally used his speed to fluster Razor and fihgting back and forth in and out of the ring. Razor made his comedback and pinned Martel following the Razor's Edge. Razor was de facto babyface in his losses to the 1-2-3 Kid, but that relationship and facing Ted Biase would make it official.
[6] The original plan for the Tag Team Championship match had to be torn up after the relationship soured again between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon. Instead, the Steiners were announced as facing Champions Money Inc. following a television win over The Headshrinkers. This change in pairing actually shorted the title reign of Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster, as the decision was then made to put the belts on the former University of Michigan amateur wrestling teammates. The two teams would trade the belts back-and-forth several times throughout 1993.
[7] Bobby Heenan unveiled Lex Luger as "Narcissus" at the 1993 Royal Rumble, though he was soon renamed to "The Narcissist". He became another component of the Heenan orbit appearing alongside Flair and Perfect. Luger was offered the undefeated (on television) Tatanka as an opponent by Heenan. Vince McMahon was so enamoured with Luger as a potential star he had him go over in a dominant fashion, leveraging the metal bar in his arm from a (real) motocycle accident to knock Tatanka silly and then lift him into a torture rack. Luger would slam Tatanka from the rack and win the pinfall, continuing his own undefeated streak. For Tatanka, the streak had ended at WrestleMania.
[8] Hulk Hogan had taken a leave of absence from the WWF following an interview on The Arsenio Hall Show in which he categorically denied having taken steroids. He was noticeably slimmer upon his return in February 1993. Hogan returned to a very different WWF than the one he had left. Increased scrutiny on the magnificently musclebound roster of the Fed led to smaller wrestlers moving into a better position than they had been previously. Along with the gigantic but not particularly Charles Atlas-like such as Yokozuna, The Undertaker, and Giant Gonzalez. It was the aggravation of an old knee-injury by the latter that would give Hogan his program for WrestleMania. Originally, Hogan had tried to pitch his participation in the World Championship match to no avail. Though recognising his value, McMahon still remembered how it had been Hogan's testimony that had forced the government mandated drug tests upon his company. When that did not work, Hogan pitched winning the Tag Team titles with either Brutus Beefcake or Randy Savage. Already having Savage in mind for the program with Michaels, it seemed Hogan's best friend would be the perfect fit before concerns over returning to the ring following his facial skeleton being crushed in 1990 ended it. With both The Undertaker and Hogan at a loss, the decision was made to pair them. This was nothing new for Hogan, he had gone over big monsters at WrestleMania before, and even gone over The Undertaker too. Only he was told that he was not winning. The resulting argument resulted in Hogan demanding to be placed back into the Tag Title match with Savage, but McMahon would not budge citing the popularity of Michaels and Savage together at live events. McMahon flexed his muscles forcing Hogan to lay down for The Undertaker. Hogan, again aligned with Jimmy Hart as a counter to Paul bearer, did six different comebacks in a match he was to lose decisively. He also kicked out at 3.0000000001 after taking two tombstone piledrivers. It would wind up being Hogan's last match in the company, he would return to New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1993 where he would face The Great Muta before returning to the US to film Thunder in Paradise. He would get his win back off The Undertaker, after luring "Mean Mark " Calaway back to WCW in 1996.
[9] Ric Flair had a verbal agreement that if he was not being used in a main event capacity and had an offer to go elsewhere that he would be released from his contract. With Hogan's return in question and with The Ultimate Warrior fired towards the end of 1992 McMahon needed bona fide stars at the top of his card, so promised Flair that he would be used in a main event program. This delayed too the planned babyface turn of Mr. Perfect, allowing him to continue acting as Flair's enforcer for the feud with Champion Bret Hart, the man who had taken the World Championship from Flair in October 1992. Flair became the first person to win a shot at the world title for winning the Royal Rumble in 1993, he also became the first man to win the Rumble from the number one entry. Flair, Perfect and Lex Luger would follow and assault Hart between the Rumble and WrestleMania, occasionally being chased off by Owen Hart or Tatanka. In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, Flair would defeat Owen and Bret would defeat Perfect on television. With Perfect accompanying Flair to ringside, and Luger presumably somewhere too it seemed the odds were truly stacked against the Champion. All the usual Flair and Hart tropes happen at least once during the match: the flop, the tunrbuckle figure four, the begging, the five moves of doom. Even the Flair blood, turning his blonde hair crimson. It shocked and appalled many and by rumour Flair did it without McMahon's knowledge after telling Hart it had been okayed. Still, hope seemed lost when Perfect slipped a chair to Hart whilst the referee was checking on Bret, only for Perfect to pull it away as Flair's fingers brushed it. Another set of five moves of doom saw Hart lock in the sharpshooter and a bloodied Ric Flair telling he referee he submitted in the centre of the ring.
Flair, and possibly Bret, got away with the blade job. Hogan finally having left seemingly never to return, there was simply no way McMahon was about to fire or punish his two biggest stars. Hart moved into a program with Yokozuna after WrestleMania, eventually dropping the title with Yokozuna at King of the Ring that year. Flair moved into a feud with Perfect, which likewise culminated at King of the Ring with the latter winning the first edition of the titular tourney to air on PPV. Perfect would take World Championship at SummerSlam after managing an impressive Perflectplex on Yokozuna, albeit aggravating his back in the process and leading to his title reign ending relatively early and it going back to Flair at a house show in the Carolinas. The PPV also reinvigorated the career of Randy Savage who began appearing more in matches or promos on Raw than behind the commentary desk. Savage would eventually win the World Championship at the Royal Rumble in 1994, the same event that saw Hart win the Royal Rumble match and go on to main event WrestleMania and win his title back. What WrestleMania IX achieved for the WWF was to create a new upper card scene that would dominate for the next four years as the "New Generation": Bret Hart, Ric Flair (until September 1995 when he would jump ship for a surprise appearance on the first WCW Monday Nitro), Mr. Perfect, The Undertaker (until June 1996 when he went to WCW), Lex Luger, Razor Ramon, Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, and later by The 1-2-3 Kid (from April 1993), Diesel (from June 1993), and The British Bulldog (from September 1994).
The New Generation helped the WWF maintain the lead over WCW and possibly prevented Vince McMahon from going to jail by drawing less aside glances over steroid use. The tide began to turn when "Mean Mark" Calaway formed the Bone Street Krew in WCW at Road Wild 1997, bringing in the defecting Kevin Nash and Lex Luger and turning perpetual WCW babyface Sting heel in the process. They were joined by Calaway's real-life friends Brian Adams (né Crush), Mark Canterbury (né Henry O. Godwin), Dennis Knight (né Phineas I. Godwin), and Charles Wright (né Papa Shango). The combination of main event level talent and defections from the upper midcard of the WWF made the BSK one of the most popular acts in WCW and eventually professional wrestling. The tide turned in favour of WCW whilst the WWF continued pushing their technical champions in the shape of the Harts, Shawn Michaels, and "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin. This started the cyclical battle between the WWF and WCW for the #1 spot in the United States that sees one side hold it for three or four years before swapping over, whilst Ring of Honor maintains a distant third having taken over the niche of ECW but with more of an emphasis on technical wrestling than hardcore.
The gaudily decorated WrestleMania sets continued until the Millennium. For instance, next year WrestleMania X saw ringside at Madison Square Garden decorated with motifs of New York City including the wrestlers seemingly entering the ringside area through the door of a taxi. For another, even a few years later WrestleMania XII was still given the theme of an Oscar party and saw the Slammy Awards integrated into the program for the first time.
More fantasy booking than alternate history, wanted to take perhaps the most reviled WrestleMania of all time and rebook it into a better iteration. Only rules I set myself was that I couldn't have more matches than the OTL card and everyone that featured had to be employed by the WWF as of Royal Rumble 1993, I then booked the card and worked backwards for the AH. There is a slightly worse steroid scandal the year before the trial, which leads to even more concern around pushing the inflated giants of yore and a desire to keep big names but with smaller or less muscular physiques.
Destination: Suplex City
"Hello, I'm very pleased to welcome an absolutely legendary guest to the channel today, the Mayor of Suplex City himself..."
From his debut in November 1999, it was clear that WWF management were strapping the rocket to Kurt Angle. A man with unparalleled amateur wrestling chops, he was also reputed to be a phenomenally fast learner of the pro business. No better show of faith was there than the fact that Angle was given a six week unbeaten streak on his debut, even though he had been forced to turn heel due to poor crowd response to a genuine Olympic champion.
Then came the Royal Rumble. Angle stood in the middle of the ring, and dared somebody worthy, anybody worthy, to come out and face him. Not that anybody in New York could stand up to him. Tonight, Angle promised, he would show Madison Square Garden what real wrestling looked like. He would turn New York City into Wrestling City. The music that hit was a new one on WWF audiences, but Taz (while McMahon gave him a second z, it was later dropped) was well known, even outside of the ECW faithful.
A fast, explosive, technical bout followed, with the Tazmaniac cutting off every Angle comeback with a wide variety of throws and suplex, some of which had rarely been seen (if ever) on WWF television. The short bout ended when Angle - visibly shook by Taz's offense - slipped to the outside to have a breather. Taz followed, and the Olympic hero went for a cheeky clothesline. Taz ducked and caught Angle in a huge t-bone suplex, which sent him straight through the announce table. Taz went back to the ring, leaving Kurt lying in the debris. The ten count came, and Kurt frantically slipped under the bottom rope at about 10.2. This slightly odd finish was booked in a way to make Angle look strong, which the powers that be feared would not be the case with a clean win. Kurt, after the result was announced, followed the referee out of the ring, complaining bitterly, until he was dragged to the back by "security" - a group of local wrestlers and trainees.
Normally, this would leave the winner somewhat overlooked, but Taz, despite his stature, is rarely overlooked. He took a microphone and started to talk. He started by introducing himself as somebody who needed no introduction, playing to the local crowd and running down Angle. When the irate Olympian tried to push his way through the security to confront Taz, the New York native dropped the line.
"You promised to turn New York into Wrestling City? Well we've forgotten more about wrestling in this city than you ever knew in your Olympics, punk. This is Madison Square Garden. Tonight, your Olympic bullshit got you nowhere. Welcome to Suplex City. I'm the freaking mayor."
Angle's rebuttals were drowned out by a massive crowd pop, and Taz's music. A new star was born.
Angle, of course, wasn't much hurt by the match, as he used the fact he hadn't pinned or submitted to big up his whiny heel persona. A couple of dominant victories over lower mid card talent showed he was still a threat as he moved onto the European and IC titles, followed by King of the Ring. At the same time, everybody not called Kurt Angle knew that Taz had wrecked the Olympic gold medalist, firmly putting the newcomer on the map. In the centre of that map was Suplex City, and every week, a new victim was given a one-way ticket. An ad-libbed line got massively over, and soon Suplex City signs were found in every arena. Taz was a certified killing machine, and he gained gold later that year when Inctercontinental Champion Val Venis was the latest visitor to Suplex City, just one week into his reign.
While Taz would never hold the top prize in the Fed - at 5'9", he was never going to get Vince's world title - he carved out a solid niche as a multiple time secondary champion, a demolisher of cocky heels and complete human wrecking ball. The fact that Paul Heyman pretended to have beef with Taz for "deserting" him kept the Mayor of Suplex City in team WWF during the invasion, which helped Taz avoid the worst of that booking mess, while also keeping him face. After that angle had died an awful death, his explosive entrance to the 2001 Royal Rumble is a perfect demonstration of just how he could fire up a crowd, as JR screamed on the mic about the latest visitors to Suplex City.
While Taz would transition to a commentary position over the next five years, his legacy was complete. He was feared and respected across two companies, and even twenty years later, commentators will still yell out that an unfortunate wrestler has "just been taken to Suplex City". Many performers have now visited, but most have not been personally taken there by the Mayor himself, for which they are no doubt eternally grateful.
In recent years, however, some in the business fear a political dynasty is in the making. While he has not yet claimed the mayoralty, a new, dangerous man with the name Senerchia appears to be shining off the chains of office...
"Hello, I'm very pleased to welcome an absolutely legendary guest to the channel today, the Mayor of Suplex City himself..."
From his debut in November 1999, it was clear that WWF management were strapping the rocket to Kurt Angle. A man with unparalleled amateur wrestling chops, he was also reputed to be a phenomenally fast learner of the pro business. No better show of faith was there than the fact that Angle was given a six week unbeaten streak on his debut, even though he had been forced to turn heel due to poor crowd response to a genuine Olympic champion.
Then came the Royal Rumble. Angle stood in the middle of the ring, and dared somebody worthy, anybody worthy, to come out and face him. Not that anybody in New York could stand up to him. Tonight, Angle promised, he would show Madison Square Garden what real wrestling looked like. He would turn New York City into Wrestling City. The music that hit was a new one on WWF audiences, but Taz (while McMahon gave him a second z, it was later dropped) was well known, even outside of the ECW faithful.
A fast, explosive, technical bout followed, with the Tazmaniac cutting off every Angle comeback with a wide variety of throws and suplex, some of which had rarely been seen (if ever) on WWF television. The short bout ended when Angle - visibly shook by Taz's offense - slipped to the outside to have a breather. Taz followed, and the Olympic hero went for a cheeky clothesline. Taz ducked and caught Angle in a huge t-bone suplex, which sent him straight through the announce table. Taz went back to the ring, leaving Kurt lying in the debris. The ten count came, and Kurt frantically slipped under the bottom rope at about 10.2. This slightly odd finish was booked in a way to make Angle look strong, which the powers that be feared would not be the case with a clean win. Kurt, after the result was announced, followed the referee out of the ring, complaining bitterly, until he was dragged to the back by "security" - a group of local wrestlers and trainees.
Normally, this would leave the winner somewhat overlooked, but Taz, despite his stature, is rarely overlooked. He took a microphone and started to talk. He started by introducing himself as somebody who needed no introduction, playing to the local crowd and running down Angle. When the irate Olympian tried to push his way through the security to confront Taz, the New York native dropped the line.
"You promised to turn New York into Wrestling City? Well we've forgotten more about wrestling in this city than you ever knew in your Olympics, punk. This is Madison Square Garden. Tonight, your Olympic bullshit got you nowhere. Welcome to Suplex City. I'm the freaking mayor."
Angle's rebuttals were drowned out by a massive crowd pop, and Taz's music. A new star was born.
Angle, of course, wasn't much hurt by the match, as he used the fact he hadn't pinned or submitted to big up his whiny heel persona. A couple of dominant victories over lower mid card talent showed he was still a threat as he moved onto the European and IC titles, followed by King of the Ring. At the same time, everybody not called Kurt Angle knew that Taz had wrecked the Olympic gold medalist, firmly putting the newcomer on the map. In the centre of that map was Suplex City, and every week, a new victim was given a one-way ticket. An ad-libbed line got massively over, and soon Suplex City signs were found in every arena. Taz was a certified killing machine, and he gained gold later that year when Inctercontinental Champion Val Venis was the latest visitor to Suplex City, just one week into his reign.
While Taz would never hold the top prize in the Fed - at 5'9", he was never going to get Vince's world title - he carved out a solid niche as a multiple time secondary champion, a demolisher of cocky heels and complete human wrecking ball. The fact that Paul Heyman pretended to have beef with Taz for "deserting" him kept the Mayor of Suplex City in team WWF during the invasion, which helped Taz avoid the worst of that booking mess, while also keeping him face. After that angle had died an awful death, his explosive entrance to the 2001 Royal Rumble is a perfect demonstration of just how he could fire up a crowd, as JR screamed on the mic about the latest visitors to Suplex City.
While Taz would transition to a commentary position over the next five years, his legacy was complete. He was feared and respected across two companies, and even twenty years later, commentators will still yell out that an unfortunate wrestler has "just been taken to Suplex City". Many performers have now visited, but most have not been personally taken there by the Mayor himself, for which they are no doubt eternally grateful.
In recent years, however, some in the business fear a political dynasty is in the making. While he has not yet claimed the mayoralty, a new, dangerous man with the name Senerchia appears to be shining off the chains of office...
Last edited:
- Location
- NYC (né Falkirk)
- Pronouns
- he/him
Glad to see these return!
A lot could go different in the intervening twenty years, but one can imagine instead of Team Taz any such stable being called the Suplex City Council or similar...
Hook in charge of parks and wreck.
As you can probably guess, the seed for this one is simply WI they hadn't screwed Taz on day one of his run with the "illegal chokehold" bollocks?
I tried to think of a different schmoz finish, and Angle just falling to answer a count was the best I could think of. That way, he hasn't been pinned or submitted, which gives him plenty of ammunition for a complaint (possibly including false accusations of a fast count), but at the same time Taz looks like a boss, because he put Kurt Angle down for ten. I also think it plays into Angle's aggrieved heel who deserves better schtick. How dare this Brooklyn thug from a bingo hall outlaw show throw him, an Olympic champion, through a table?
I was originally going to write this as a sit down shoot interview with Taz, years later, where he was bigging up Angle for giving him such a hot debut, but I couldn't quite get the voice settled.
Taz deserved better. As Paul E said in his "you made wrestling a dirty word" promo, he was a killer, a machine. And by the time the invasion came around, it had all been squandered.
Last edited:
- Location
- Sandford, Gloucestershire
- Pronouns
- She/They
I wrote this back in 2021. My main regret with this is it does away with Bayley and Sasha as the two women Power Trip, I think I'll try and update it to 2023. There are a few nods to other changes I'd make too
Elimination Chamber 2019-Wrestlemania 35- The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection (Sasha Banks and Bayley)
Def Elimination Chamber: Nia Jax and Tamina, The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan), Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, The Iiconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay), Carmella & Naomi
Def Fast Lane: Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville
Wrestlemania 35-Extreme Rules 2019: The Iiconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay)
Def Wrestlemania: The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection (Sasha Banks and Bayley), Nia Jax and Tamina, The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya)
Def Stomping Grounds (via countout): The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya)
Extreme Rules 2019-Summerslam 2019 The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya)
Def Extreme Rules (Lumberjack match) The Iiconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay)
Sumerslam 2019- Smackdown 8/11/2019: The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane)
Def Clash of Champions: The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan)
Def Hell in a Cell:
Smackdown 8/11/2019- Survivor Series 2019: Fire and Desire (Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose)
Def Smackdown: The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane)
Survivor Series 2019-NXT 15/1/20: Team Kick (Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox)
Def NXT UK Takeover Blackpool II: Jinny and Jazzy Gabert
Relinquished titles following split up of Team Kick at NXT UK Takeover Blackpool II: NXT 15/1/20
Elimination Chamber 2020-Wrestlemania 36: Nicki Cross and Alexa Bliss
Tournament finale, Def, Elimination Chamber: The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan)
Wrestlemania 36-Clash of Champions 2020: Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke
Def Wrestlemania 36: Nicki Cross and Alexa Bliss
Clash of Champions 2020-Survivor Series 2020: Retribution (Nicki Cross and Mia Yim)
Def Clash of Champion: Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke
Def Hell in a Cell: The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan)
Survivor Series 2020-Elimination Chamber 2021: Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke
Def Survivor Series: Retribution (Nicki Cross and Mia Yim)
Def TLC: Retribution (Nicki Cross and Mia Yim)
Elimination Chamber 2021-Present: Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart
Def Elimination Chamber 2021: Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke
Elimination Chamber 2019-Wrestlemania 35- The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection (Sasha Banks and Bayley)
Def Elimination Chamber: Nia Jax and Tamina, The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan), Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, The Iiconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay), Carmella & Naomi
Def Fast Lane: Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville
Wrestlemania 35-Extreme Rules 2019: The Iiconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay)
Def Wrestlemania: The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection (Sasha Banks and Bayley), Nia Jax and Tamina, The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya)
Def Stomping Grounds (via countout): The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya)
Extreme Rules 2019-Summerslam 2019 The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya)
Def Extreme Rules (Lumberjack match) The Iiconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay)
Sumerslam 2019- Smackdown 8/11/2019: The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane)
Def Clash of Champions: The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan)
Def Hell in a Cell:
Smackdown 8/11/2019- Survivor Series 2019: Fire and Desire (Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose)
Def Smackdown: The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane)
Survivor Series 2019-NXT 15/1/20: Team Kick (Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox)
Def NXT UK Takeover Blackpool II: Jinny and Jazzy Gabert
Relinquished titles following split up of Team Kick at NXT UK Takeover Blackpool II: NXT 15/1/20
Elimination Chamber 2020-Wrestlemania 36: Nicki Cross and Alexa Bliss
Tournament finale, Def, Elimination Chamber: The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan)
Wrestlemania 36-Clash of Champions 2020: Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke
Def Wrestlemania 36: Nicki Cross and Alexa Bliss
Clash of Champions 2020-Survivor Series 2020: Retribution (Nicki Cross and Mia Yim)
Def Clash of Champion: Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke
Def Hell in a Cell: The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan)
Survivor Series 2020-Elimination Chamber 2021: Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke
Def Survivor Series: Retribution (Nicki Cross and Mia Yim)
Def TLC: Retribution (Nicki Cross and Mia Yim)
Elimination Chamber 2021-Present: Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart
Def Elimination Chamber 2021: Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke
- Location
- Sandford, Gloucestershire
- Pronouns
- She/They
O_O
- Location
- Sandford, Gloucestershire
- Pronouns
- She/They
I'm tempted to write "What if AEW had more than one women's match" from the first dynamite onwards out of spite
ASB!
- Location
- Sandford, Gloucestershire
- Pronouns
- She/They
If @RyanF Can have Hogan put someone over clean (juuuuust)
- Location
- NYC (né Falkirk)
- Pronouns
- he/him
Why do you think he brought Mean Mark back to Atlanta?