Downend2005

I absolutely loved this show and found myself agreeing with most of it. The chat at the end of the podcast as to the state of the business was excellent. When the three of you are delivering shows like this, for me there isn’t a better podcast out there. More of this, less rebooking please!

This is a fantastic post. Also, the number of posts in this thread saying that Dave must be on the spectrum is actually pretty offensive.

I just listened to this show as soon as it got posted as I was very curious to see what you would do. As I’ve said on numerous occasions I’m a huge fan of the podcast but Ive also said that I think your rebooking shows are consistently your weaker efforts. Sadly this was no different, and the booking was all a bit haphazard. The fact that you all admitted on air that the reason for the long break mid show was that you got tied up in your booking speaks to that fact. I think also Liam reading out contributions from the listeners for long periods of time also just showed that you really didn’t know what to do and you actually snookered yourself at the start. I actually enjoyed the Hogan talk at the start of the pod, there was an interesting debate in there but in the end I felt that it came across a little bit hollow as it seems more a case of you all trying to take a short cut by cutting Hogan and Warrior and not factoring them into your plans rather than considering any sense of realism. In reality cutting Hogan would have gotten you a fat lawsuit and lost you a lot of money. The rebooking shows more often than not drift into overbooking, and this was no different, as you’ve got your massively over top face, the newly crowned champion, being taken out of the ring with a phantom injury after just one PPV defence, and then a tournament to crown a placeholder champion in his absence, before he comes back for a mini feud with Jericho, before winning a battle royal to build to Starrcade and him rewinning a belt he’d never lost. It’s all very busy, and as you even said at the end, by getting rid of Hogan, it’s like it’s a completely different company. Hogan is still a massive ratings draw at this point, so why do away with him? I also don’t think you really dealt with the end of the nwo sufficiently as Hogan is gone before you even start, and all of a sudden a lukewarm Bret is your de facto top heel being pushed into a world title run and the Wolfpac are still floating around even after nwo Hollywood are gone. Right, wrong or otherwise, the nwo were the biggest part of the show from 1996-99 so it needed to be addressed and ended properly. In fact, I’m not even sure it was blown off at all during the show. I appreciate that you are all booking on the fly, but I think the format doesn’t help. For future rebooking shows I would much prefer each of the panellists presenting a scenario and then discussing the merits of each. Say in a two hour show Liam, Karl and Kieron have 30 minutes each, then maybe devoting some time to the contributors? I apologise if I sound hyper-critical, because I am a huge fan of your podcast and have downloaded your entire Monday Night War timeline to relisten to again for the umpteenth time when I go on holiday this week, but this show was a bit of a swing and a miss for me this week.

This is actually the hardest rebooking project to think about just because the roster is so stacked and top heavy. That being said I would actually build to Goldberg/Hogan 2 at Starrcade. Whilst I think that having their first match on PPV instead of free tv would have made for a monster buy rate, there is a still a hell of a lot of money in the rematch. It’s still at this point possibly the biggest match you have. Goldberg should be built as the main man in the meantime, beating Giant, Hall, Nash etc in PPVs leading to the DDP match at Halloween Havoc and then the Hogan match at Starrcade. Giant, Hall and Nash make for perfectly good gatekeeper defences until Bret, Sting and Flair can be built up for bigger matches in 1999. For me, the NWO civil war angle didn’t really have a conclusive blow-off. To say that the nWo became bloated over the course of their run is an understatement. I would actually bring the formation of the NWO supergroup that happened the following January forward by having the Wolfpac (Nash, Sting, Savage and Luger) vs Hollywood (Hogan, Hall, Steiner and Giant) at War Games to finish the feud once and for all. Team Hollywood would go over when Nash and Luger turn on Sting and Savage, booting them from the NWO. The heel turn of Nash and Luger and super group of Hogan, Hall, Nash, Steiner, Luger and Giant is justified by the NWO claiming that their civil war caused them to take their eyes off of Goldberg, and by accepting Sting into the group they became soft and pandered to the fans. Cue the next few weeks of them beating down and kicking out all the rank and file left from the Black and White and the Wolfpac groups, where they will either be released (Adams, Horace etc) or phased back into the midcard. As for the Hogan/Goldberg match, Goldberg wins again conclusively and the NWO are finally disbanded. Hogan can take a sabbatical until it makes sense for him to come back in If the Warrior is signed by this point, the natural way to bring him in would be as Stings backup fighting the NWO on a short term deal. Sting was always a weird fit for the NWO and I prefer Randy Savage as a wronged baby face out for revenge. I envision a wild feud between Savage and Scott Steiner, both cutting cocaine and steroid fuelled promos and beating the shit out of one another, kicking off Steiners elevation that will eventually see him up against Goldberg at Starrcade 1999 (and winning). I like the idea of Flair having to go through the Giant to get to Bischoff, and Giant being fired when Flair beats him, freeing up his move to the WWF. Flair is then given a reduced schedule as a special attraction. Due to the bloated main event scene, I see Bret in a high midcard role for the remainder of 1998, maybe as a long reigning US champion having longer work rate type matches with your better workers to appease him for his lack of prominence. Bret is eventually dethroned by Benoit or Booker T at Starrcade 98 and then Bret moves into the title picture in early 1999 now Hogan and the NWO are gone. As for the those I’d want to push? I’d love for Vicious and Delicious to have a run with the tag titles, I always liked them together. I’d also put Jericho and Eddie together as a loose association, and program them with Rey and Kidman and/or Benoit and Malenko. Id want Raven to be featured prominently too. I like DDP around this period too, but I can’t find a logical place for him. Maybe him and Raven have a longer feud. Im very interested to see what you come up with!

How does this make that shitty booking make sense? If part of the deal with the Saudis was a title change on the show. So is sacrificing the main event of your biggest show of the year worth it for a show where they are holding seven title matches?

I saw this on another forum, but it bears repeating. The "anti-establishment" guy that called out Vince McMahon for giving special privileges to certain performers, who then was suspended for talking about it on the air, and was then dominated in the build up before being bloodied and pinned clean as a sheet in the middle of the ring to end the fourth Wrestlemania that he has main evented in a row, has now been granted an instant rematch after less than 24 hours.

I don't think the Luger comparison is completely apt, given that Reigns has gone over both Triple H and The Undertaker clean in the previous two WM main events. He also had Lesnar beat at WM 31 before the Rollins cash in. Not being able to win the big one isn't the issue. I'll grant you that Roman has been made to look like shit during the build and during the match this time round though.

Would a screwjob have been better? I'd have gone with the Bret/Piper WM8 finish when Charlotte countered the Asuka lock personally.

Finn is older too. If they were smart, they would build around Ronda, and make sure that she doesn't get wheeled out every week and suffer from the same overexposure and 50-50 booking. Having her wrestle on a random Raw against Dana Brooke or Alicia Fox won't do anything to keep her special. Slightly off topic, but I can see WWE building to Ronda-Charlotte as the main for WM35. If that is the case, then Charlotte beating Asuka was the right move. I would have preferred it being via pinfall though, so you could still play up the fact that Asuka had never been submitted, and it would protect her own submission specialist billing. I also think a Asuka/Rousey submission match for the right to face Charlotte at WM would have had some money in it too.

Daniel Bryan had already won the WWE title and was feuding with The Authority before The Shield had even split up. Bryan was already over and established before Reigns was pushed. I'll grant you that the fans wanting Bryan in 2015 after his return from injury but getting Reigns instead probably did hurt Roman, but not beyond repair. I can also think of several instances where fans have turned against booking plans in the 90s... Sid being cheered over Hogan at Royal Rumble 1992 Bret being cheered over Luger at Royal Rumble 1994 Michaels being booed throughout 1996 and his boyhood dream WWF Title run Sid being cheered over Michaels at Survivor Series 1996 Rocky Maivia being booed throughout the start of 1997

I will forever maintain that when the initial Shield split happened back in 2014, both Rollins and Reigns should have turned on Ambrose and aligned with The Authority, and basically from there they should have copied the Batista face turn in 2005 with Reigns. I think the slow burn turn and push would have stood a far greater chance of working, rather than Romans immediate push into the main event scene. Roman looked cool as fuck cutting the 'baby girl' promo after a Shield/Wyatts match on Main Event. That guy could have been THE guy. Also, thinking historically about some of WWF/E's top guys, namely Austin, Rock, Cena and Batista, all started out as heels and had the fans desperate to cheer for them before they were eventually turned (and I know Cena has been polarising since 2006, but the point stands regarding his initial turn). Roman has had fleeting moments where this was the case, but not a sustained run to the point where the people were dying to cheer for him, which is why his push feels forced and inauthentic.

I actually just rewatched this too. Not much to add that hasn't always been said, and it's by far the best Runble of all time. However the pedant in me has always been slightly bothered by the claim that this is the most star studded match in history. I would argue that the 90 Rumble had even more star power going for it... Hogan, Warrior, Savage, Piper, Andre, Dusty, Dibiase, Rude, Jake, Perfect, Demolition... don't get me wrong, 1992 is stacked, but the 1990 match doesn't usually get the same recognition. This match also contains my absolute favourite Heenan line after Flair blatantly low blows the Undertaker - "He just tried to lift the Undertaker!" - it gets me every time, even when I know it's coming!

Just listening to the podcast now, and it was interesting to hear the direction you took. Sadly I found myself disagreeing with a lot of your booking, although as always, I did enjoy listening to the show itself. I don't know if you've quite hit the mark in giving WCW the major shakeup you alluded to in your earlier post. The Blonds, Douglas and Benoit all get big pushes, but I don't think that is enough to shake things up. I appreciate you are booking on the fly but I think the Blonds are over pushed in your scenario, and Douglas and Benoit were nowhere near ready for the level of push you've given them. Having the Blonds captain a Wargames team including Benoit and Douglas and expecting them to be competitive against Sting, Simmons, Dustin and Steamboat was a bit of a reach too. I mentioned before in an earlier post that WCW was a tough year to book in 1993, but Bulldog is given a title win and then nothing, Rude drops down to a feud with Badd, Steamboat is tied up with Douglas, Dustin and Benoit in a Bullrope match at Starrcade, Sting is tied up in a tag feud for most of the year and goes through multiple partners and losses, Windham drops the NWA strap and is then jobbed out, Scotty Flamingo gets a long TV Title run whilst Lord Steven Regal and Paul Orndorff were largely ignored. I did like your Flair/Vader arc a lot and the almost year long build was a great improvement. I always find the rebooking shows interesting, even if I feel they generally suffer from the panel more often than not strongly pushing their favourites (The Blonds here, Shelton Benjamin in WWE 2006, Power and a Glory in WWF 1991), and marginalising others (Simmons here, Slaughter in WWF 1991). To end on a more positive note, I'm really looking forward to the next show and the RuView, especially with Matt Holt being back!

The Boiler Room Brawl made far more sense than this offering and was nowhere near horrendous. The Taker/Mankind match felt more gritty and organic than the overproduced nonsense that was House of Horrors. That actually felt like a fight, whereas the Wyatt/Orton match felt hollow. With the Boiler Room Brawl, both Taker and Mankind just trying to escape the boiler room had to be earned. But for all of the music, editing, gimmicks and special effects chucked at House of Horrors, there wasn't any sense of struggle, just generic brawling and here's Bray leaving the house and turning it red afterwards for some reason. There was no sense of drama in Orton trying to free himself from the fridge and playing up the risk that if he couldn't escape, he'd risk 'forfeiture'. No drama in him trying to get to the arena to catch up with Wyatt. Just Bray walking down the aisle with his lantern he'd gotten hold of somewhere and then Orton teleporting to the arena. No drama, no suspense, no struggle. By them presenting something similar to the Boiler Room Brawl, they would have also avoided the obvious continuity issue. The boiler section of Taker/Mankind may have been prerecorded, but at least it transitioned seamlessly into the live portion of the match. The difference between the two is night and day.

The House of Horrors match is the single worst thing that WWE has ever produced for entertainment purposes. They've done things more tasteless and more offensive, but in terms of pure entertainment value, this was the shits. They basically tried to ape Total Deletion, but they should have gone down the route of Undertaker/Mankind in the Boiler Room Brawl at Summerslam 1996, especially with the 'match' having to end at the arena anyway. Bray should have been in his element and have the upper hand, but instead he looks like a chump in his own environment. The acting throughout, the mood music, the editing, the special effects, all of it was absolutely dreadful. And then part two, with Orton teleporting back to the arena and Jinder Mahals run in was also a waste of time. Jinders belt shot was Gerald Brisco at Survivor Series 1998 level weak. I enjoyed Bayley and Alexa, and what could have been an awkward finish with the ring post actually came off quite well. The tag title match was fun and I liked the turn well enough. My favourite moment of the show was actually Jericho putting that fan on the list and signing an autograph for him. Jericho clearly got a kick out of seeing Owens name on the list before he signed too. Still working my way through the rest of the show.

1993 is very tough to book in truth. Although the top of the card was loaded on paper, they had all worked against each other in some form or fashion at length. Sting had already feuded with Vader on and off since mid 1992. He had feuded with Rude in 1991-92. Flair on and off since 1988. Rude had already feuded with Steamboat in 1992 as well. The Blonds were a hot act for sure, but nowhere near hot enough to be at the top of the card at that point. Dustin wouldn't be ready until mid to late 1994 after the Studd Stable feud, and Windhams time had come and gone. The only fresh act was Bulldog (and I suppose Cactus, if he counts), but they wouldn't be major ratings grabbers in 1993. I honestly think the best WCW could hope for in 1993 is to get all of the pieces put in place ready for Hogans arrival. They may not have been able to do red hot business based on that, but they could have easily have served up better than what they did in real life whilst Ina holding pattern. I suppose WCW could have made a play for Hogan after he leaves the WWF in 1993 instead of 1994, which may have been the answer you're looking for. In that scenario with Hogan joining in 1993, you could still do most of what of I laid out in my earlier post, running Vader/Flair at starrcade as that was the best available story to be told, and having Hogan win Battlebowl to become the number one contender to the World title. Then because of Hogan now being the number one contender, you have a little bit of extra intrigue added to the Flair/Vader match as any outcome would lead to a big (and fresh) main event (Hogan/Vader or Hogan/Flair). Flair wins the title, but then turns heel on Hogan after becoming increasingly paranoid as he sees him as a threat to his position as top babyface and his title. You then go with Flair/Hogan at Superbrawl 4, and also keeps a Hogan/Vader match in your pocket for Starrcade 1994.

In my scenario, you have Vader, Windham, Rude and the Hollywood Blondes running amok at the top of the card throughout 1993. To combat this, Sting and Davey Boy Smith are aligned as a unit, and Flair also returns as a babyface, forming a babyface Horsemen team of Flair, Arn, Dustin and Steamboat, leading to Vader, Windham and the Blondes versus the babyface Horsemen at War Games. Vader enjoys a long run as champion throughout 1993, turning back challenges from Sting and Davey Boy at the start of the year, Cactus in the Spring and then maybe even Dustin, Steamboat and Arn at Clashes. This builds to Flair winning the title as he did at Starrcade 1993. After dropping the title, Vader is kept strong for a future series with Hulk Hogan by going over Sid at Superbrawl 4. Sid then leaves the company, as I can't see him a logical role for him beyond that. Vader also goes over the Bossman and Ron Simmons, amongst others, throughout the year in an attempt to keep him strong for the eventual Hogan feud, building to Hogan/Vader at Starrcade 1994. The Hollywood Blonds drop the tag titles (after a long run) to Sting and Bulldog in late 1993 (maybe around Halloween Havoc) and then split, leading to a match at Starrcade between Austin and Pillman. Both then transition into the US Title picture in 1994. Having Sting and Bulldog as Tag Champs keeps them near the top of the card and gives the belts even more credibility. The NWA Title is retired at the earliest opportunity, Barry Windham wins the US Title from Dustin Rhodes early in the year (maybe at Superbrawl 3) and unifies the belt with the NWA title. Rhodes and Windham have a proper feud culminating in Rhodes winning the title and establishing himself as the US Champion. Flair turns heel as Champion sometime in early 1994, wIth Arn in tow. This leads to a short series between Flair/Arn and their former stablemates Dustin and Steamboat, and if time allows, also a run against Sting/Davey, with Dustin and Steamboat being replaced in the Horsemen with Austin and another (maybe Orndorff or Regal). Hogan comes in and then feuds with Flair, winning the title and building to the aforementioned Hogan/Vader match at Starrcade 1994. Most importantly though, there is no Erik Watts, no Shockmaster, no Lost in Cleveland and no Paul Roma in the Horsemen!

I got bored and the girlfriend went to bed, so here's 8,9,10 and 11 Wrestlemania 8 Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair Flair wins by DQ after Perfect interferes, return of the Warrior then takes place here. Basically the planned Hogan/Justice finish. Randy Savage vs Jake Roberts (Cage Match) Savage wins here. Undertaker vs Sid Justice Taker wins. Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper (IC Title) Natural Disasters vs Money Inc (Tag Titles) Both as happened in reality Legion of Doom and Big Boss Man vs Mountie and Nasty Boys Win for LOD/Boss Man. Rick Martel vs Tatanka Tatanka wins. British Bulldog vs Berzerker Bulldog goes over. Shawn Michaels vs Tito Santana No reason to change this. A 9 match card as opposed to 10 matches, with some slight changes in personnel. I toyed with an LOD/Disasters vs Money Inc/Nasties match, but instead went with the tag title match and a six man tag to pad out the card. Bulldog/Berzerker is added, showcasing Bulldog for a push to the IC title. Savage/Roberts should have been blown off at a PPV, and Hogan/Flair not being at mania was criminal. Michaels and Bulldog are readied for IC Title pushes with wins. Apart from that, not much is set up for the future with Hogan, Sid and Jake all leaving after the show, so all do the favour here (albeit Hogan losing by DQ). Difficult show to book in truth due to lack of depth and the exodus of main eventers going forward. Wrestlemania 9 Bret Hart vs Randy Savage (WWF Championship) Bret wins in a face vs face match, handshake and endorsement from Savage in the end Money Inc. vs Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake Money Inc win by DQ Undertaker vs Bam Bam Bigelow Undertaker wins Mr Perfect vs Lex Luger No reason to change this Shawn Michaels vs Marty Jannnetty Michaels retains in screwy fashion Yokozuna vs Jim Duggan Yokozuna crushes Duggan Steiners vs Headshrinkers Steiners win to heat them up for their tag title push Razor Ramon vs Crush Razor wins Doink vs Bob Backlund Doink goes over using double Doinks to confuse Backlund A show very heel heavy in wins, but the babyface roster was appalling in early 1993. Razor, Doink, Luger, Michaels and Yokozuna are all heated up with wins, and Bret is cemented as the top guy after beating Savage clean. I didn't include the Hogan/Yokozuna deal for obvious reasons. I was running out of viable babyfaces to book when it came down to the Razor and Doink matches. Wrestlemania 10 Owen Hart vs Bret Hart Lex Luger vs Yokozuna (WWF Championship) Bret Hart vs Yokozuna (WWF Championship) Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon (IC Title ladder match) Randy Savage vs Crush (Falls count anywhere match) 123 Kid vs Diesel Steiners vs Quebecers (Tag Titles) Quebecers win by DQ Alundra Blayze vs Luna Vachon (Women's title) Blayze retains. Bam Bam Bigelow vs Doink Doink throws water over Lawler at ringside, leading to Lawler interfering and assisting Bam Bam to win. Not a lot changed here, Bam Bam vs Doink becomes a straight singles match with Luna facing Alundra Blayze for the women's title. Diesel beats the Kid to begin his IC title push, and as the Steiners were still under contract, they are plugged into the tag title match instead of MOM. Wrestlemania 11 Diesel vs Shawn Michaels (WWF Championship) Diesel wins Owen Hart and Bob Backlund vs Smoking Gunns (Tag Team Title) Owen and Backlund win the tag titles Bret Hart and Lawrence Taylor vs Jerry Lawler and Hakushi LT pins Lawler Razor Ramon and 123 Kid vs Jeff Jarrett and the Roadie Razor and Kid win Undertaker vs Sid Taker wins Lex Luger and British Bulldog vs Tatanka and Bam Bam Bigelow Allied Powers go over after miscommunication between Bigelow and Tatanka causes Bigelow to be pinned Wrestlemania 11 was only a 7 match card in reality so I've only dropped one match, but I think I've improved the show as a whole, although it probably wouldn't have done well at the box office. It's very tag heavy, but the roster is at its absolute weakest, so booking singles matches that are Mania worthy is a challenge. Luger continues his feud with the corporation with Bulldog as his partner. Kid and Roadie are added to the Ramon/Jarrett match, I could have made it a single to pad out the card, but I don't think that would have been mania worthy. Bret as the biggest star of the company would be unveiled as LTs partner after Taylor and Lawler get into it at the Rumble, plus Lawler and Hakushi had a loose association around that time. I could have gone with Taker/Yoko, but wanted to give Taker a fresh opponent. Owen and Backlund were associated at the time, so I put them together in the tag title match and left Yoko off the card.

After rewatching some old wrestlemanias on the network, I'd thought I'd have another crack at some rebooking. I've tried to keep things as realistic as possible, whilst reducing the number of matches and cutting out the bloat. Wrestlemania 5 Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage (WWF Championship) Ultimate Warrior vs Rick Rude (IC Championship) Rude wins, just as he did. Demolition vs Powers of Pain (Tag Team Championship) Straight tag here, Demos win. Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant No reason to change this. Greg Valentine vs Ronnie Garvin They fight to a double count out to progress their angle. Twin Towers vs The Rockers Showcase win for the Towers. Ted Dibiase vs Brutus Beefcake Dibiase wins by count out when Virgil prevents Beefcake from getting back into the ring. Mr Perfect vs Bret Hart Bret plugged in here rather than Owen. Brain Busters vs Strike Force Busters win after Martel walks out on Santana. 9 match card here rather than 14. Perfect gets a nice showcase win, both the Busters and the Towers are set up as challengers for Demolition. Garvin/Valentine is progressed too. Maybe a little heel heavy in terms of victories for the time, but I still think this is a tighter card than the real thing was. Wrestlemania 6 Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior (Champion vs Champion) Demolition vs Colossal Connection (Tag Team Championship) The Demos win and Andre turns face, just as he did. Ted Dibiase vs Jake Roberts Dibiase wins with his feet on the ropes, but Roberts gets his heat back by DDTing Virgil after the match. Tito Santana vs Rick Martel Martel wins by count out after spraying Santana with Arrogance. Randy Savage vs Dusty Rhodes (with Miss Elizabeth) Dusty wins after Elizabeth prevents Sherri from interfering. Earthquake vs Jim Duggan A quick showcase win for Quake over Duggan, who was a bigger name than Hercules. Rick Rude vs Roddy Piper Ideally I'd have Rude win, but taking into account Pipers reluctance to job clean back in the day, a DQ or count out win will have to do. Mr Perfect vs Brutus Beefcake This match was set up at the Rumble that year, and with a lack of alternative options available, I've gone with it, but I'd reverse the result. Perfect wins (after the Genius distracts Beefcake) to set up a strong IC title push. The Hart Foundation vs The Rockers The Harts win to become number one contenders for the tag titles at Summerslam, leading to the Demos heel turn. Big Boss Man vs Akeem Boss Man squashes Akeem Going with a 10 match card and cutting out a lot of the rubbish. I think I've turned out a pretty balanced card here. Whilst some of the finishes are screwy, Rude, Dibiase, Perfect and Earthquake all get wins to set them up for pushes into the summer. Boss Man gets a showcase, and Dusty gets the feel good win over Savage without all of the Sapphire involvement. I was concerned about booking two count out heel wins at first, but the real Mania 6 had two countouts AND a double count out so at least I've bettered that! The Rockers and The Harts being put together is a much better use of them than what did actually happen too. Wrestlemania 7 Hulk Hogan vs Sgt Slaughter (Bootcamp Match, WWF Championship) I'd transport the MSG Desert Storm match in here, Hogan wins the match and the 'war' and ends the Gulf War angle here. Ultimate Warrior vs Randy Savage (Career Match) Absolutely no reason to change this. Legion of Doom vs Nasty Boys (Tag Team Championship) in my 1991 booking, the Nasty Boys win the tag team titles from the Hart Foundation at the Royal Rumble, then the LOD beat the Nasties at Mania for the belts. Basically, things would play out the same way they did, just brought forward. Mr Perfect vs The Big Boss Man (IC Championship, if Boss Man wins he gets five minutes with Bobby Heenan) Boss Man wins by disqualification, Perfect keeps the title, but Heenan gets his comeuppance to blow off the Boss Man/Heenan family rivalry. Ted Dibiase vs Virgil (with Roddy Piper) Virgil wins by count out after Dibiase takes a powder. Sets up Summerslam 1991. Jake Roberts vs Rick Martel (Blindfold Match) Jake wins, and it plays out just as it did, no reason to change things here. Bret Hart vs Haku Short showcase match for Bret to set him up as a future IC Title contender. British Bulldog vs Warlord Bulldog wins, just as he did. Undertaker vs Texas Tornado Showcase win for Taker against a name. Tornado was higher on the card than Snuka at the time, and would be a more impressive win on paper. Rockers vs Power and Glory The Rockers vs Hercules/Roma match would position the Rockers for a tag title shot at Summerslam 1991, where they then begin their breakup angle after losing to LOD. I've gone for a 10 match card again and trimmed a lot of the fat. I'm actually quite pleased how this card turned out. The matches are all logical, faces primarily go over (as was the norm at the time), but Taker is set up for the future with a strong showcase victory, and other angles are started and/or progressed and the Hogan /Slaughter, Roberts/Martel, Boss Man/Heenan, and Savage/Warrior feuds are finished up nicely. Might come back in to do 8,9 and 10 later.

After reading through old threads and seeing this be declared one of the best matches of all time, I decided to give this a rewatch. I thought it was fine on first watch, but I actually came away with a lot more negatives on second viewing. The thigh slapping was in full force here, with Sami and End being the most blatant. It actively took me out of the match. The kick ducking sequence between Sabre Jr and End also wasn't great. I actually thought it was worse than the Ricochet/Ospreay flip sequence, because at least Ricochet and Ospreay are both presented as flyers, but Sabre Jr managing to keep up and avoid kicks from End (who on commentary was labelled as the best striker around) looked completely choreographed. The ZSJ in peril segment didn't really go anywhere and wasn't all that compelling. I thought that Hero was the best thing about the match by about a million miles, but when Sabre had End trapped in the arm bar, for me he didn't show enough urgency to try and break the hold. I would have preferred him frantically kicking and stomping away or even just diving on him to break up the hold (especially as Sabre was defenceless). Instead we got the melodrama of Hero just staring blankly at ZSJ as he applies a submission to his partner. The match then went into the your turn/my turn finishing sequence, which while not as long as other Indy efforts, still dragged. The double foot stomp looked awful. I didn't sound too convinced by the authenticity of the 'this is awesome' chants either. I don't give star ratings, but this wasn't even the best tag match of the year, let alone one of the best matches of all time. Nothing that I would watch again.

Whilst I'm not the biggest fan of Luke Edwards (He does generally provide some good insight, but I find him a little bit overbearing and try hard compared to the others), this was another great listen. SCG is my favourite podcast out there and for me is a must listen, looking forward to the next one! Also, what has happened to Chase?

From the original post; The entire premise of this show is based on inviting listeners to submit and justify their nominations. The panel then discuss the merits of each nomination. Yes, the Rock n' Rolls and the Road Warriors are legit great, but you could very easily and justifiably banish their 1998 WWF runs to Room 101 though.

The Shane Twins. The poor bastards had not only one, but two shitty tag runs which make them worthy of consideration. First of all, they were The Johnsons in TNA. Thats right, their entire TNA gimmick was them wearing full latex bodysuits to resemble a pair of large penises (that Vince Russo is really edgy isn't he?) Actually come to think of it, they probably felt like a pair of pricks in that gimmick, so maybe the name was apt after all. They then went on to have a run in WWE after that as the Gymini. Not Gemini you understand, but Gymini, a really clever pun combining both the mythological Gemini twins and Simon Deans fitness instructor gimmick. Oh yes, remember? They were paired with that world beater Simon Dean. Actually, that stable could be worthy of nomination too, come to think of it. Sticking to the twins though, they were called Gymini #1 and Gymini #2 at first, because they were that shit that no one had bothered to even think to name them individually. Eventually, they were named Jake and Jesse, which I'm sure everyone can agree was far more creative. So did that actually mean then that Gymini was now supposed to be their surname and not just a play on words? What are the odds, your surname being Gymini and also being paired with a fitness instructor. How convenient! All they did the entire time they were there was squash jobbers (badly) on velocity. They had no memorable matches or angles. Their gear was boring black trunks, and their theme music could have easily been mistaken for one from a 2006 C show. Even WWEs own YouTube account declared them as being boring. Not only were they useless, but they were pointless as well.

Lex Luger should have absolutely won the WCW Title in 1990 at Wrestle War. Whilst Ric Flair wanted to drop the title to Sting, Luger was coming off of a very strong 1989 and had a lot of momentum behind him, even with his rushed face turn. And with Sting hurt until later that summer, it would have an ideal time to switch the title and strike whilst the iron was hot. Flair and the Horsemen chasing World Champion Luger until Stings return would surely have been better for business than Flair slumming it against the Junkyard Dog on a Clash waiting for Sting to recuperate. After already coming up short at both the Great American Bash and Starrcade in 1988, not winning at Wrestle War and then later failing again at Capitol Combat, Luger had acquired the rep of not being able to win the big one, and by the time he did eventually win the title in 1991 (against Barry Windham, not Ric Flair, lest we forget) the bloom was very much off the rose (to borrow an Old Man Jones catchphrase) and his reign was anticlimactic. For a more modern one, I also think that instead of Alberto del Rio, Roman Reigns should have been the man to eventually end John Cena's US Title open challenge last year. I wouldn't have gone with the Seth Rollins/Jon Stewart stuff in the summer either, and would have kept the belt on Cena until the time came for Reigns to beat him. Roman wasn't damaged beyond repair at this point and not nearly as hated by the fan base. If Vince and co were absolutely intent on keeping Reigns as a face, allowing him to build up some equity as a upper midcarder with a secondary title, and then progressing to the main event scene organically may have helped.

I think the Desert Storm match should have been at Wrestlemania earlier in the year personally. As for Summerslam 91, I also suggested a Hogan/Warrior vs Taker/Jake match (but with Savage instead of Sid as guest referee) when discussing rebooking 1991 for the SCG podcast. As for Slaughter, I'd have slid him down the card for a match with Duggan. The way I picture it, Adnan and Mustafa could interfere causing a DQ, and proceed to beat down Duggan. With the crowd chanting USA, Slaughter then sees the error of his ways and turns face, saving Duggan and waving the flag, leading to the Slaughter/Duggan alliance that actually happened later that year anyway.