
garretta
Members-
Posts
3562 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Everything posted by garretta
-
[1992-03-14-SMW-TV] Interview: Ron Wright & Dirty White Boy
garretta replied to Loss's topic in March 1992
Tony's back in his real element here, as he's a great natural heel just like Ron. The great thing is that this partnership would last even after Tony turned face in '93, which is a rarity for wrestler/manager combinations, and they were just as good on the face side fighting Tammy Fytch and Corny. For now, though, they're focused on making enough money to get Ron his various operations and taking Tony to the top of SMW. I really enjoyed them on Will's SMW set, and I'm looking forward to doing so again here. Pete, I asked this question once on Kayfabe Memories, and I was told that there was little to no overlap between Memphis (USWA) TV and Knoxville (SMW) TV. Memphis is West Tennessee, Knoxville is East Tennessee. If there had been a whole lot of overlapping markets, I'm sure they would have had Tony at least mention why he was with a heel like Ron, especially when his wife was still being terrorized by the likes of Eric Embry back in Memphis.- 11 replies
-
I don't see what was so horrible about Kim's promo here. What was she supposed to be, a female Dusty Rhodes who spellbinds the crowd with her peerless gift of gab? She had a message and she delivered it like someone who's really not used to doing much talking (which she isn't), but she pulled it off perfectly well. Give her a break, for heaven's sake. I agree with Dave; two kisses from Embry to Kim was too much, and Kim never got to really slap the taste out of his mouth or even retaliate verbally (no, "Tony's gonna kill you!" doesn't count). One kiss and a resounding slap would have been sufficient, or maybe the jobber Embry was supposed to squash could have come to Kim's aid. I loved Dave showing a little backbone and refusing to let him rant. I'm not sure about the "She liked it!" routine. Yes, it made Embry look a little thick, but the alternatives (such as physical violence after Kim inevitably slapped him) were way worse. I notice what segment's next. Maybe Tony and Ron could have made a side trip to Memphis and Tony could have used Ron's wheelchair to run Embry down!
- 10 replies
-
[1992-03-07-USWA-TV] The Moondogs vs Jerry Lawler & Koko B Ware
garretta replied to Loss's topic in March 1992
Yet more wildness, this time with what looked like the men's room door. I'm not sure if they were intending to turn Kamala face or not, but he looked really good beating up the Moondogs. I don't think we get the follow-up to this, but it looks like it was supposed to be either a tag or a six-man with Kamala with some combination of Jeff/Koko/Lawler against the Dogs. News flash for Corey: The reason why Richard Lee won't call off the Dogs is because they're vicious, mean, and don't care about following the rules. In other words, they're not nice people. -
I get the feeling that even if Sting had accepted Rude's toast, the drink would have been thrown in his face anyway. The brawl was well-done and looked totally spontaneous, even though it almost surely wasn't. I didn't notice what shoes the DA may have been wearing, but sneakers and wrestling boots with tuxes is a weird combination unless they were looking for a fight, which of course they were. I loved Jesse calling Tony over, then cutting him off before he could say a word. I'm not sure if it was planned that way or not, but it was brilliant regardless. Some of the journalists may have been legitimate, particularly the ones from Japan. If the guy who asked the first question wasn't Japanese, I'll eat my next month's phone bill. Nice to see Nikita come in to help out. Hopefully he'll have a more productive run here than he did last year. I wonder if they'll even bother to mention last year's feud between Nikita and Sting. I'm surprised they aired the question asking Sting to compare Luger to Flair. Could that have been a subtle signal that all was forgiven in the company's eyes and that Flair was free to return if and when he wanted to? I wonder how Vince felt about that. Rude's outfit was unique, to say the least.
- 12 replies
-
- WCW
- Saturday Night
-
(and 6 more)
Tagged with:
-
[1992-03-07-WCW-Saturday Night] Public Service Announcement: Brian Pillman
garretta replied to Loss's topic in March 1992
I liked this one, too. Pillman goes into greater depth than Arn did; I wonder if he really knew someone who'd been suspended for steroids as far back as 1992? This may be the first direct shot WCW has fired at the WWF over steroids, as Pillman references Dino Bravo's "world record" bench press attempt. Maybe he was talking about others as well, but I'm sure Vince took it as a personal insult, whether it was meant to be one or not. Did anyone ever take any verbal shots at Luger in the first few weeks after his title loss? It sure seems like they had reason to, considering how bad Luger looked at SuperBrawl (and, to be honest, as far back as Halloween Havoc) and where he was going next. They took it too far when they did a promo like this with Heyman. His character is so obnoxious that if he told me not to take steroids, I'd run out and buy a caseful because he told me not to. There are types of heels that can be used for something like this, but odious, spineless psycho yuppies aren't one of them.- 8 replies
-
- WCW
- Saturday Night
-
(and 4 more)
Tagged with:
-
[1992-03-07-WCW-Saturday Night] Public Service Announcement: Arn Anderson
garretta replied to Loss's topic in March 1992
I guess steroid abuse was one thing that faces and heels could agree was bad. I applaud WCW for having heels do these announcements. First, there were heel fans out there, whether they liked it or not. Second, it reinforced the message that even those wrestlers whose ethics you could question cared enough about their livelihood and their health not to mess with steroids, which was definitely a message children and young adults needed to hear. Arn was perfect for stuff like this because he always told it straight, whether what he was saying was popular or not. I'd listen to him before people like Larry Z or the Freebirds.- 13 replies
-
- WCW
- Saturday Night
-
(and 4 more)
Tagged with:
-
It almost seems like DDP was supposed to manage or be affiliated in some way with Doc and Bamm Bamm, at least at this time. Why else would he be so confident that they were coming? I liked Jesse playing the low-key interviewer while he talked to Sting. The pre-match gaga that Sting didn't want to talk about may have been something like this: Luger: "Hey, Steve, did you order those fifty extra dumbbells we need down at the gym?" Sting: "Took care of it before I flew here, brother." Luger: "Good deal, man. Say, you sure you don't wanna come with me? Vince would flip over you." Sting: "Nope. I wanna be champ for a while without Flair breathin' down my neck. You ready for your butt-whippin'?" Luger: "I guess so. Hey, watch the pecs, okay? Vince doesn't want 'em covered in welts." Sting: "You got it. Let's go!" I think Bischoff's actually trying to channel Sean Mooney here, and I can't decide if that's good or bad. If they wanted to show a clip from Pillman/Liger, why not show the finish? Why a random crucifix that most likely (I haven't seen the full match yet) led to nothing? I liked Jesse's quip about Liger looking like the Predator, and I can't quite figure out if JR deliberately no-sold it (with accompanying "Will you let me call this sporting event, please?" stare) or whether the action prevented him from responding. I can't wait to see the DA crashing Sting's press conference. It sounds like a super-hot angle. Nice teaser for the next edition the following night. I'm guessing that Barry's obsession was sending Zbyszko to the hospital.
- 9 replies
-
- SuperBrawl
- Diamond Dallas Page
-
(and 4 more)
Tagged with:
-
I guess we're supposed to believe that Rip's remark about how he's going to spend all of Horner's money was justification enough for what Horner did. I think the reason we didn't get an attack from Rip was that we were too close to the end of the show. Still, I would have loved to see Rip actually complete his task, then slap Horner or something as Tim puts his hand out for a handshake. That would have been much more effective in terms of both getting a crowd reaction and establishing just who the face and heel were supposed to be in this scenario. Maybe Corny was so busy with a thousand and one other things that he just forgot to write it, but surely professionals like these two could have improvised something. Still, all is not lost, as we get a match between the two the following week. I can't wait to see it! The comedy moment of the segment was Rip counting each squat as six while Bob was trying to close the show. That's about what you would expect from a man who calls himself "Hustler".
- 17 replies
-
I wonder how many people watching SMW TV thought that Corny had convinced Bobby Eaton to come in and reform the MX with Stan Lane. Of course, the Bodies aren't bad as a substitute, considering that Dr. Tom Prichard was the one who Corny wanted to replace Dennis Condrey when Condrey left JCP. Corny hasn't really gotten rolling yet here; this is more of a JCP/WCW promo than some of the classics he delivers as SMW progresses. Still, it's great for what it is, and it's got the whole promotion buzzing over who this mystery team could possibly be. Excellent work.
-
Tremendous stuff from a pair of old hands who knew what to do and how. I'll bet they had a laugh or two over this after the taping as well. Bullet Bob may be the most effective authority figure I've ever seen in wrestling. He probably wrestled a little too much for his position, and his feud with Corny lasted way too long, but it wasn't either man's fault that that feud was literally the only thing SMW could count on to draw money that didn't involve a WWF star on loan for a one-shot. Bullet Bob was in a thankless position and he knew it, but he still brought the goods every week, whether on the mic and wearing the commissioner's tie or in the ring in trunks and boots. Add his advanced age to the equation and you may just have one of the top face runs of all time. Ron was excellent as always. This was a nice setup for the eventual debut of the Dirty White Boy.
- 11 replies
-
Nice way to add a little juice to the squats angle. Horner was one of those guys Corny pushed specifically because he wasn't going anywhere; he was an East Tennessee boy and content to stay there, having already washed out in the Big Two. I'm sure Corny knew that he wasn't the best talker or most charismatic worker in the world, but with a heel like Rogers to play off of, he'd be passable at least. Only time will tell if that's true or not.
- 10 replies
-
[1992-03-07-SMW-TV] Interview: Rip Rogers & Dutch Mantell
garretta replied to Loss's topic in March 1992
I know the squats gimmick has been done before, but you wouldn't expect it from the likes of Rip Rogers. It'll be fun to see where this goes. I liked the crowd shots too. The contrast between the obvious fitness of Rogers and the fat toothless wonders they chose to show on camera couldn't have been more striking. Rogers is so disgusted he even channels Rick Rude briefly. Were they pushing Brian Lee or what? Everyone seemed to want him out of the way including the color commentator!- 10 replies
-
Not only a great promo, but one with a good point: Tanaka complains about Embry's use of weapons, then turns around and demands a type of match where weapon use is not only legal, but encouraged. How screwed up is that? I liked Embry tying this feud into the Moondogs/Jeff and Lawler feud, even claiming that the Dogs' violence inspires him. I like Richard Lee, but I'll bet Embry would have been a hoot and a half as the Dogs' manager. Embry showing off his weapons didn't bother me, but hearing constant cracks about Tanaka's "China-lookin' head" sure did. So did the insinuation that there's an affair going on between Tanaka and Kim, although that's not on moral grounds so much as the fact that it's a pretty blatant copy of the Flair/Liz angle. I didn't think Embry's eye looked all that bad, but maybe that's because he was squinting both eyes into the sun, which meant that the damaged eye wouldn't stand out as much.
-
I think they may have been going for some kind of voice distortion thing, which Nailz is doing so the "authorities" don't catch him making threats to Bossman and extend his sentence, thus depriving him of the chance to get his revenge. As most have said before me, this wasn't much in itself, but it did function as a sort of preview of coming attractions, for both better and worse.
-
This really isn't a promo, as all Savage does is repeat "UNTRUE!" four or five times while Gene seems more and more disturbed. From the looks of this, Flair's mind games seem to be working to perfection. I would have much preferred the slightly calmer but no less intense Savage that we got during the Jake feud. I mean, if the whole thing isn't true, why is he so upset? Is he really that paranoid that he thinks Liz might actually desert him now, that the article's putting ideas in her head? It's just odd that Savage doesn't say much here, although the sight of him looming over Okerlund certainly makes for a powerful visual. Maybe we'll get more of an actual response from Randy or Liz as Mania draws closer.
-
A lot of the same stuff as in the previous promo, but Jake sounded a little more focused here. We didn't get a rehash of "Snakespeare", but there was a great line about how hitting Taker with the chair felt "almost" as good as punching Liz. That's the kind of line that makes Jake Jake. I don't think a Bret/Jake program would have worked too well; Bret was simply too earnest on the mic to keep up with Jake, and Jake wasn't nearly the in-ring worker Bret was. Maybe Jake could have aligned himself with Papa Shango in a bid to take down the returning Warrior instead, along with the odd title match against Savage to break up the Flair series.
- 10 replies
-
[1992-03-14-WWF-Superstars] Update: Wrestlemania Press Conference highlights
garretta replied to Loss's topic in March 1992
Another incredible Flair promo, the kind of which he should have been doing all along in WCW, in style if not content. Vince is an even more effective moral policeman than Gene was in the earlier interview, but nothing and no one can stop The Champ when he's on a roll. The fresh opponents and fresh setting of the WWF have revitalized him, and being part of an angle that wasn't practically ended before it started (did anyone really believe that Vince was going to recognize the NWA belt in any way shape or form?) doesn't hurt a bit either. I wonder how thrilled Vince was to have TNT brought up, even briefly. He sure couldn't get away from it fast enough when it was tanking in the ratings. I know it really couldn't (and shouldn't) have happened, but can you imagine what the heat would have been like if Liz had acknowledged a (fictional) past relationship with Flair as part of the angle, and maybe even admitted that they'd been happy together at some point? Pete said above that he thought that not having Flair-Hogan at Mania was a major "ball drop", as he put it. Not to me it wasn't. I know MSG matches weren't really a part of the WWF's televised narrative, but the fact remains that I saw Flair destroyed like a jobber and tossed to the floor of the Garden to lay there like a piece of garbage, not even worthy of being pinned by Hogan. You're telling me that I'd be more entertained by something like that than a Flair/Savage match that has so far been exquisitely set up with one of the most intriguing angles the WWF has run in years? Sorry, pal. For once, I'll take what Vince is giving me and be glad. The robe over the suit was an odd look for Flair, I'll admit, but he pulled it off with aplomb. Hogan on the bus might have been the inspiration for the Lex Express; I'll leave it to each individual to decide whether that's good or bad. The Hogan-Sid "confrontation" was just as phony (even by wrestling standards) as any of the ones you see today at boxing weigh-ins. They ceased to impress me after about the second one I saw.- 10 replies
-
[1992-03-08-WWF-Wrestling Challenge] Interview: Jake Roberts
garretta replied to Loss's topic in March 1992
Other than the term "Snakespeare", which was a stroke of genius, I didn't like this one very much. I like Jake when he's talking straight and hard, be it for good or evil. Hearing all sorts of flowery imagery and outlandish threats out of his mouth doesn't do a thing for me; in fact, it sounds like this promo was scripted for him so Vince wouldn't have to deal with him saying anything out of line so close to Mania. Clubbing baby seals? Roasting Taker and Percy on a funeral pyre? Give me a break. And where's the cobra? Is it still banned by Jack Tunney? This feud has so much potential, but it looks like most if not all of it will go to waste.- 10 replies
-
- WWF
- Wrestling Challenge
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
If this had been five years earlier, Hogan vitamins would have sold like hotcakes and maybe actually made Vince some money. Now, the very idea of them was a joke and an embarrassment. All the commercial needed was Vince saying in a voiceover, "Needle sold separately. Please consult your doctor for information on proper cycling." Why couldn't he have just stuck to his lousy ice cream bars?
-
[1992-03-07-WWF-Superstars] Interview: Ric Flair & Mr Perfect
garretta replied to Loss's topic in March 1992
This is in my top five Flair promos of all time. I loved the fact that he played it cool; his smugness and sleaziness were absolutely off the charts, and it made what he was saying more believable. Compare this angle to the Jimmy Garvin/Precious angle from '87, where he sounded like a fugitive from the loony bin, screaming and slobbering all over a stupid mannequin. It seems like he learned his lesson from that one. The best part of this is, even if nothing "happened" (which of course it didn't), it's an excellent mind game to play with a jealous maniac like Savage: Let him sit up nights becoming paranoid over his woman instead of focusing on winning back the title and take advantage of the man when he's far from his best mentally and physically. After seeing Flair as the desperate quarry for so long in WCW, it's nice to see him finally play some of the mind games that he's supposedly had up his sleeve all along. Curt doesn't add much to this, but he doesn't need to. Of course, Gene elects himself the head of the moral police, which is exactly what you'd expect from him and what the piece needed. He doesn't overact, though, allowing Flair to have his moment in all its sleazy glory. Before I forget, kudos to Savage for doing this angle right on the heels of the Jake feud, where Liz was both emotionally and physically terrorized. I couldn't have blamed either one of them if they'd said that Liz was done, that she wasn't going to be a party to yet another angle where Randy's opponent was so fixated on her. But she was the trooper one more time, although I'm wondering if having two such intense angles involving her back-to-back was one reason why she left for good right after Mania VIII. I can't wait to see how this one plays out over the road to Mania!- 10 replies
-
This was all right, nothing more. It was a pleasure to see Horowitz actually show what he could do after seeing him as nothing but a punching bag for so many years, but I couldn't get over the stupidity of the pre-match stuff. How in the hell does any ref allow himself to be pulled away during an official weigh-in, and why doesn't the GWF have a backup referee or other official available just for cases like this? Stupidity abounds in wrestling, but to see the referees and other so-called officials being this actively dense ruins matches and angles. If they had to run something like this (and trust me, they didn't), why not have Horowitz actually score the pin after the brass knucks shot, then "find" the hidden-camera footage and use it as an excuse to strip him of the belt? At least then Beard would have known he was duped and would have had revenge of a sort on Horowitz and Gilbert As it is, everyone except Eddie looks too stupid to come in out of the rain, which was probably just how he liked it (in real life as well as kayfabe). Could Craig have made any more tortured references to "The Winner"? The segues he had to make back into the match after them were downright painful to listen to at times. Even fellow heels like Eddie have no patience for Barry's touchy-feely routine. That was acceptable in 1992, but the rejection of his hugs today would probably turn him babyface in 2016's more gay-tolerant society. Jerry Lynn isn't knocked silly by a knucks shot to the forehead? A 207-pound shrimp? Either he's got a special new skull imported from Samoa or someone really forgot to think the finish through. It's a shame too, as Lynn did his usual fabulous work throughout, including besting Horowitz in several punch exchanges.
- 10 replies
-
- GWF
- February 14
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
I didn't hear much of Larry's verbal antics like most of you seemed to, mostly because I was paying more attention to JR and Jesse. At any rate, this basically broke down into two separate singles bouts for the most part: Austin vs. Dustin and Barry vs. Larry Z. I didn't see a whole lot of tag team work, mostly because they wanted to keep Barry and Larry apart as much as possible until the finish. So we got about 60% of a non-title match between Dustin and Austin, 20% normal tag wrestling, which really stood out because you get close to 0% in most tag team grudge matches, and 20% revenge match between Barry and Larry, a lot of which took place on the ramp while the cameras were focused on the ring. Austin may have been at the bottom of the list when it comes to workers in this bout, but he still held up his end, and it says something that he was the one with the killer move (the clothesline, which stopped Dustin in his tracks every time). I thought they might be trying to set up an Austin/Dustin feud for the TV title, but it seems like Windham got that feud instead, if I remember the match listings right. It's kind of a shame, because Austin works just as well with Dustin. The Barry/Larry stuff was nice, but it didn't carry the day like it probably should have, given that it was the feud that made this match possible in the first place. I loved the segment where Dustin and Barry were trying to break Larry's hand, which caused Jesse to lecture us about how vengeance has no place in wrestling. Dustin really is becoming the new Ricky Morton with his FIP work. The problem is, he's too big to pull the role off for much longer. Once he gains a little more experience, he needs to become more of a Robert Gibson type when he's in a tag setting, at least most of the time. What actual teamwork we saw favored Austin and Zbyszko, and they looked really good. Too bad they didn't team more often. Medusa looked fine, but I agree with Jesse; Heyman needs to be at ringside more, especially when he's banned for a later match like he was here. The only time Medusa should be out by herself is when she's going to have a major physical spot in the match (slapping, choking, etc.) JR did fine setting up Jesse here, at least for the most part, but Jesse needs to realize that he can't bait super-serious sports announcer Jim Ross into arguments the way he could (supposedly) Harvard-educated non-athletic Vince McMahon. Case in point: JR and Jesse are debating Austin's father playing in the Cotton Bowl, and Jesse makes what I'm sure he intended to be a final remark about how players from Oklahoma take a pay cut when they go to the NFL. JR responds with, "I'm sure you know a lot about pro ball, but being from Minnesota college ball isn't your forte.". That, needless to say, shuts the future Governor up good and proper. Jesse will be fine as long as he focuses mostly on wrestling strategy and insider knowledge, like his explanation of how the sleeper is easier to apply on guys with thick necks. He can't argue football with JR, because JR takes it too seriously (especially his Sooners) and will probably start treating him like he treated Heyman, which was basically to crap all over him every time he opened his mouth. In other words, they need to create a Gino-Jesse vibe. I liked how Jesse got on Nick Patrick's case about his slow counts, but I didn't actually see a lot of it, so it was probably heel gaga for the most part. Jesse also had a common sense answer to JR's whining about two referees in tag matches; how many refs are enough, anyway? It's going to be interesting to see where they go with Barry/Larry after Barry got such a clean pin on a pay-per-view, even if it was in a tag match.
- 16 replies
-
- WCW
- SuperBrawl
- (and 9 more)
-
I liked this, but it was a tease for SuperBrawl and not much else. Still, we got two things I never thought we would: a short but spirited Sting-Rude confrontation (much to the DA's chagrin) and a clean pinfall finish, as Steamer beat Larry Z clean in the middle with the flying bodypress to establish momentum for the faces going into the pay-per-view. I liked the Dustin FIP stuff, which is another thing we seldom get from the DA in these televised matches. Dustin probably won't sell the leg at SuperBrawl, but it would certainly be understood if he did. Rude and Sting were great here, and it was nice to see them go at it, but it would have made more sense if the match had been Dustin/Windham/Steamer/Rick or Scott vs. Rude/Larry/Austin/Arn or Bobby. Austin's absence in particular was mystifying; I hope he had a title defense that week. JR had to do kind of a thankless job here; he had to call what was going on in the ring and make it sound important, but at the same time keep reminding the fans that the really big stuff was going down at SuperBrawl. He managed to walk that particular line quite well. Taylor wasn't bad on commentary, but succumbed to HDD (Heel Dipshit Disease) when he "wondered" if the fans' chant of "We Want Sting" was "Taylor Made" instead. That was such a reach it's a wonder he didn't break his collarbone. He did make one excellent point, though: Why would Sting get involved when his match at SuperBrawl doesn't involve anyone in the DA? I know he's still got a score or ten to settle with them, but he can certainly have do that after the pay-per-view once he's safely World champion. Then again, that's part of what makes the Stinger who he is: he fights the good fight where he finds it, regardless of the potential cost to himself. Who was Steamer's ninja friend supposed to be? Overall, I'm just glad that this wasn't the five-minute double schmozz pull-apart that most matches between warring factions this close to a pay-per-view usually are. For WCW's sake, I hope this inspired a few people to lay their money down and see what happened next.
- 22 replies
-
- WCW
- Saturday Night
- (and 14 more)
-
[1992-02-24-WWF-Worcester, MA] Ric Flair vs Roddy Piper (Cage)
garretta replied to Loss's topic in February 1992
This match is everything bad about the WWF cage rules in one short bout. Not only is there no blood (which we were used to by now), but there's almost no action. Other than a few chop exchanges and Piper's half-hearted attempt at a sleeper, this match was nothing but two men in a maze trying to figure a way out. Not only that, the idea of Flair dropping non-title matches to a man who would be retiring from wrestling after Mania VIII strikes me as mind-boggling, close friend or not. If Vince wanted to book a series of cage matches like this, Flair should have wrestled Savage, his opponent at Mania VIII. I thought using the iconic Hogan-Orndorff finish was ludicrous under these circumstances. These two had barely engaged each other, so why shouldn't they both be able to escape whenever they damn well pleased? Was it my imagination or did the outside referee slam the door in Piper's face about two minutes near the end? Rod sold it better than he did anything else in the match. I thought maybe Curt had done it, but Vince wasn't sending managers on the house show circuit by now. I mentioned this up above, but the lack of anything resembling contact for most of the match floored me. Okay, so they couldn't bleed, but these two had a hot feud just a couple of months ago, and now they were both champions. Surely that combination could have led to a more spirited match than this. I know most WWF guys tended to half-ass house shows, but there had to be a reason that we didn't even get an eighth of an ass here. My guess is that either someone was hurt or the show was running obscenely long. Given that (according to Graham Cawthon) we only had a little under forty-three minutes of timed in-ring action plus a Rick Martel opener that a time wasn't given for, the only way the show could have run long was if there was a half-hour between each match. Ergo, someone sure as hell better have been hurt. By the way, according to Graham it was Martel who slammed the door in Piper's face. In typical WWF fashion, this was never followed up on; Piper didn't wrestle again after Mania VIII, although he was booked to wrestle at least once (against Martel, of all people) and did several Piper's Pits that never made the air. -
[1992-02-29-WWF-Superstars] Funeral Parlor: Jake Roberts & The Undertaker
garretta replied to Loss's topic in February 1992
This has to be one of the most incredible no-selling performances I've ever seen from anyone, and I have no idea in hell how Mark Calloway did it. Maybe no-selling isn't quite accurate, but he sells as little as humanly (zombily?) possible. Repeated chair shots, tough punches, and you get the feeling that if Jake had DDTd him on top of the casket, it would have only stopped him for a second or two. All the while, he's dragging a coffin that's been closed on his hand, and even if he wasn't in pain, that thing must have been hard to haul around. For one of the few times in his life, Jake openly shows fear as we close the segment, because he now knows that Taker is truly nothing human. Jake's clearly secondary here, and though his performance isn't bad, he's not anywhere near the level he was at just a couple of weeks ago. Most of that's by design, but I think Jake already knew he was going to be gone or close to it after Mania; what else could they have done with him? He wasn't going to challenge Savage for the World title after just having lost a feud to him, Hogan and Piper were both gone, and Bret and the IC belt would have been a bit of a comedown. I've heard the story that he demanded Patterson's job, and he may very well have, but he had to know that he wasn't going to get it with his personal history. It would have been an almost suicidal risk for Vince to take, and particularly at such an uncertain time, it simply wasn't going to happen. I agree with Pete about Percy; now he's speaking entirely in falsetto, and he's becoming difficult to understand. Who the hell told him to play Paul Bearer that way, anyway, especially when it made him look and sound like a total idiot next to Calloway, who was playing Taker with the utmost seriousness and to the utmost effect? I'd almost have rather had Fuji and "You very dead, boy-san!" I'll give him credit for taking a DDT on the platform, though. To announcer Vince, "very interesting" was code for "We have to show this, but I don't like it. In fact, I strenuously object to it as immoral, illegal, and unlawful. Save us, Hulkster, please!" Curt's flat as a pancake here. No wonder in his voice, no "How in the world is he doing that?", no nothing. I haven't heard him call a match yet, but if he's like this all the time the WWF is still searching for Jesse Ventura's replacement and getting further away from the mark with each try.