flyonthewall2983

Not with me. He never had a better broadcast partner in WWE than Lawler, and that goes the other way too. They had a chemistry that rivaled Monsoon and Heenan or Ventura and McMahon, but you can tell they had a rapport that went beyond just being professional.

I'll be interested in reading what you have to say. I think the most possible of your doomsday scenarios is USA/NBC dropping off, especially if Vince asks for what he did this year the next time their contract goes up.

Whenever I read stuff like this I always remember Bobby Heenan's quote about how twisted the world is and people expecting to tune in to watch Brutus Beefcake destroy Ron Bass' cowboy hat, or something to that effect. So much shit has hit the fan in terms of world events for the last decade plus, that it's too big for pro wrestling to even quantify and bring down to that level. And when WWE tried the blowback was immense (the "terrorists" attacking Undertaker after the London bombing). Even before that when Slaughter did the turncoat angle, it's amazing nobody was at least attacked publicly for it (in a physical sense, the critics sharpened up the knives and rightly so for that one).

Hopefully they could relegate Taz to backstage interviews or something.

Fritz Von Erich probably qualifies. The guy just looked like someone you didn't fuck around with, even in his golden years. He physically reminded me a bit of my grandpa who was 6'3-4, and even on his death bed had a strong grip.

I'd argue that he pretty much went with whatever the company threw at him and performed the role he was asked to play throughout his time there. Whatever sense of individuality Ventura and Heenan before him brought to the table, wasn't there as much with Lawler. It's not to say he wasn't entertaining, but that he co-opted into a style that was more of McMahon's creation than his own. Bobby and Jesse told things from a strong heel perspective, but would give faces their due or point out if a heel screwed something up. Lawler removed that middle ground completely from his announcing up until he started coming into his own with Jim Ross.

The new doc is pretty good. Only disappointment is that Vince wasn't interviewed or that some more of his big feuds weren't touched upon.

The Flair-Pacino connection brings to mind a missed opportunity when WWE did all those Hollywood sendups leading up to WrestleMania 21. Their version of Glengarry Glen Ross with the Nature Boy as either Ricky Roma or Shelley Levene and Eric Bischoff as either the Alec Baldwin or Kevin Spacey character. I'd prefer Bischoff to the latter just to see Ric call him a see you next Tuesday over and over again.

Okay, now what?

HHH is an older guy, but he had one of his best matches ever with Daniel Bryan in New Orleans. Sting would need someone to carry him through, and yet be a kind of dream match. Trips is not the ideal guy overall, but with what they have to work with, it's the best option by far. They could even bring Shawn into the build-up a bit and get some good moments out of that.

Who would an ideal opponent be?

So it'll be Trips and Sting at WM then?

Vince McMahon has just been announced as a guest.

With WCW specifically, some versions have dubbed themes, some don't. Old WWF stuff is more consistent from what I've seen.

Link?

You can hear some animosity going both ways at the Halloween Havoc show they did together.

Too bad they disliked each other immensely when they were in WCW.

I think about that a bit too JvK but the Mr. McMahon character is so ingrained in people's minds now it would be weird to see him in the booth again. Honestly if Shane ever comes back I think he'd be great as lead announcer. I remember when he did it for awhile on their MTV show with Jim Cornette and he came off pretty well. As to the question, I don't think it's always been perfect. Their best people were Vince, Bobby, Jesse and Monsoon. I've often spoke about my dissatisfaction with Lawler as Heenan's replacement, and I really didn't begin to appreciate him until Paul Heyman replaced him who I hated in the booth then. This was probably one of my favorite moments of Raw ever. http://youtu.be/VsF2l8c5Os8?list=LLEJaY88iIto9lXe23XnHPuw

I believe this was discussed before here, but to just bring it up again, how good a chance is there of the Network being able to have Raw and Smackdown on-demand much sooner than what it is currently provided they end their deal with Hulu?

It seemed like Jake Roberts was going to do one for '91. He would have been a perfect choice.

I thought that was a house show.

I mentioned this in a related thread, but if I remember correctly, the audience was booing because nothing was being shown on their huge TV screen where they would normally have replays and such on. It was either not functioning or they just didn't show it to get a more negative reaction that could play well on TV.

Weren't the house lights down during the actual fall?