JRH

So the next episode takes place in 1996 WWF:

Yet another bump. That weird wedding from last week was billed as a "commitment ceremony". They have used Wedding before, so I dont know why they went with that.

With Aries also working with the NWA, is anyone worried they might just merge with the NWA? I'd like to think Corgan wouldnt allow that, but stranger things have happened.

Re: Super Astros Kind of weird the WWF kept Essa Rios around after the show was cancelled. He got a very minor push in the early months of 2000, but once the Radicals came in and the Eddie Guerrero feud ended, he was relegated to Jakked and Heat, yet was still kept around until fall 2001. Wonder why he was kept around for so long if they didnt have any major plans for him.

I think there was also an ep with wrestlers during the Comedy Central era. The scene I remember most was Randy Savage saying "When I win, it's real, when I lose, it's fake"

It's a dark horse induction, but how about Haku/Meng? He's pretty much achieved a status as a memetic badass due to all the stories about him, so he's got that going for him.

So is there any news on potential other HOF members? I could see them putting Dick Ebersol in the celebrity wing (for SNME), but he may be too obscure for the average fan (plus, SNME hasnt been on the air for years, even the short-lived revival was still over 10 years ago, it's not like something like RAW or Smackdown).

Definitely an oddball pick, but I'd put ICP in the celebrity wing. They have a deep respect for wrestling after all (even having their own promotion), and while their WWF run was a blip all things considered, they've put in others for doing less. Only problem is who could induct them, Luna and Golga are no longer with us, not sure how on good terms Vampiro is with them, maybe Kurrgan?

Is he still employed by WWE?

I can see the Steiners going in, I heard a rumor that Scott's open to working with them, and with Bron likely going to be the next big thing,,

They'll probably do something with the Warrior award just for good PR reasons (Personally, I'd give it to Shad Gaspard).

Dont know if I've asked this yet, but has anyone read this book? https://smile.amazon.com/Promised-You-Great-Main-Event-ebook/dp/B083SN46B8/?pf_rd_r=AWH366EH5W618AECE6KR&pf_rd_p=d354a71e-4af2-4a8e-9056-a9aaf2f0328b&pd_rd_r=806dae71-3ce9-4e92-ba8b-deb3e8667e76&pd_rd_w=Q6PYT&pd_rd_wg=Cl1ma&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m The only other "history of WWF/E" book I've read was Sex, Lies, and Headlocks (well, that, and the Titan Sinking/Shattered/Screwed trilogy), is this similar, superior, or inferior? (and on a side note, has James Dixon ever considered doing any more books in his Titan series? A series on the WWF during the attitude era would be interesting)

I wouldnt be surprised if Shawn eventually gets cut.

So has anyone taken the plunge and picked up that Jericho book that lists all his matches yet?

Odd that there were no clips of Lex Luger.

And the next loss, the WWE Home Video division: https://www.wrestlingdvdnetwork.com/wwe-dvds-cancelled-in-united-states-beginning-2022/200766/?fbclid=IwAR3xxcgGuY3FRKcDEX_s0v4E-xeRgUhn5b9poFfLO2IdRMirC5Qhf4MfGgo

I've said this elsewhere, but I'd argue that 1986-87 was a definite transition period for the WWF. 86 was when they got rid of most of the remaining 70s stars, even Blassie and Albano (the latter partially due to his drinking problems), while 87 was when all of the top heels from 84-85 were either gone (Studd, Piper (who turned face before leaving), Iron Sheik (we all know why, but he was probably going to just put over Duggan and be phased out anyway, Bob Orton, Adrian Adonis)), or shunted way down the card (Bundy, who ended up leaving before Wrestlemania 4, Orndorff, who also turned face before leaving). Meanwhile, the new top heels were Race, Honky, Dibiase, and former mega-face Andre, while Jake, Savage, and Beefcake turned face and became the top babyfaces after Hogan. Kind of interesting turnover.

Would the Oklahoma Stampede qualify? The way Steve Williams did it, he would get the guy in the powerslam position, slam the opponent's back against a turnbuckle, then finish it.

I wonder how Warrior's title win would have been received if he had beaten Savage for the title instead of Hogan at WM6.

Hoopla (certain libraries support it) just added some more wrestling titles, including The Periodic Table of Pro Wrestling (wha?), Benoit: Wrestling With the Horror That Destroyed A Family and Crippled A Sport, Between The Ropes: Wrestlings Greatest Triumphs and Failures, Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, Wrestlecrap the Book and the Wrestlecrap Book of Lists, World Wrestling Insanity, and Wrestling Babylon. Most of these books are from the mid-2000s, which is kind of strange.

Here's an interesting suggestion for the Dynamite after Full Gear

What's forgotten is that several UPN affiliates didnt even air that episode. I lived in New Hampshire at the time, and the local UPN affiliate just aired more news broadcasts (they did recap most of the episode on the Saturday Night recap show Excess that Saturday, that's how I saw it).

The Best of the WWF vhs series never made it to the Network proper.

I'm kind of worried about what happens to the tape library if someone other than Hunter gets it. At least we know Hunter respects old school wrestling, someone else may just figure that older content doesnt matter and stop uploading it to the Network/Peacock (or worse yet, remove it).

Aside from Nitro, I think they meant wrestling's mainstream popularity among casual fans. Sure, every year has great matches, nobody is denying that, but as someone who was there, being a wrestling fan in 92-96 wasnt exactly going to get you friends (I had friends who still watched throughout those years, but I found only a handful of other people who also watched). Even the NWO was never a big deal in my High School (it took until the rise of Austin for more people to admit to being a fan). Although, surprisingly, the video games were still popular, at least RAW and Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game