PeteF3

This. When I was watching the '98 Yearbook I was amazed all over again at how effective the WM14 build was, and not just the main event. Even Sable's in-ring debut was a big deal and it turned out to go as well as it possibly could (probably too well, leading to them going back to it way too often). Tyson got eyeballs on the product, but Vince helped engineer the MNW turnaround by sheer laser-like focus while WCW was, as usual, all over the map. WrestleMania III was also a brilliantly booked top-to-bottom card. Literally every single match served a specific purpose--either blowing off a feud, heating up an existing or new one, or establishing new stars. And sometimes all of the above.

I thought the Rock-Austin X-7 build would be near the top spot for Worst Builds, actually. Shoehorning Debra into the thing was pure death. I think it gets overly romanticized because a.) The match was great and historical, and b.) They had the sense to shitcan the Debra stuff before the event, which was the right move but also made the build even choppier and more haphazard. This match seemed like the start of the WWF deciding that having two huge stars face off wasn't enough and they had to overthink things to death.

Yes it is.

My memories and cursory re-examination over the years indicate that this place (in Loch Sheldrake, New York, apparently at the Community College) made the Fernwood Resort look like Cowboys Stadium.

The most notable thing about this show is that among all the tiny dumps the WWF taped television in from late '93-'95, this special has to be the absolute worst. It looks like it's coming from an industrial warehouse basement somewhere. That and maybe the surprise finish to Crush-Bret.

How much '90s MUGA is actually out there that we know of? I don't think even a certain eastern-PA tape dealer has much before the mid-'00s revival. I've seen lists of two tapes on the old KanD Match Listings site and on Lorefice's site, some of which has shown up on Jetlag's Youtube. And yet... https://youtu.be/jq-4-KJCIaQ I found Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Tully Blanchard from a '95 show on Nicovideo and threw it on my Youtube channel, as well as a match from the same card between two Brits out of the Snake Pit. I knew of this match, but had no idea that there was more MUGA actually taped. Edit: I should also point out that I've found a few pages of what appear to be Japanese match reviews of other not-circulating tapes from this era.

Were they still taping Rosemont Horizon matches in '85? I want to see Flair vs. Billy Robinson for the NWA title.

These dream World title matches all sound like pleasant little matches, but what I really want to see is Bret Hart trying to get something watchable out of Tom Magee.

Even would have set up Beefcake vs. DiBiase as a match for WM5 with a little something behind it, too, instead of just two guys thrown together. That said...they did want Studd as a B-show main eventer, doing a quick run around the loop with Ted before moving on to Andre, so I can see why he made sense at the time.

While I don't exactly see her being announced any time soon, Bull Nakano was a full-blown member of the roster for several months. If I got to see her work a half-filled Columbus Convention Center at a 1995 house show, she probably worked more than two matches. As far as Japanese women...going by the Tatsumi Fujinami precedent, I think there's a non-zero chance they work out some deal with Satomura if they ever try to buy out or form a relationship with Sendai Girls. Again, I wouldn't say either of these are likely, just that they're possibilities.

Was that an actual promo meant to be seen by everyone or one of those interviews with the enhancement talent that was usually filled on TV by local promos?

Not to speak for NintendoLogic but I'm pretty sure that was his exact point. It's a horrible gimmick for an ostensible star babyface.

Wasn't the consensus that there never actually was any WWE references for him to remove to begin with? Can I get a definitive answer on that? This does feel like a big deal, even accounting that WWE-contracted people are also appearing (Arn, Coachman, Lawler).

I'm assuming Flair-Valentine is 8mm ringside footage a la Flair-Rogers from the same venue. It would definitely be "new." Weird that the rest of that MSG show hasn't turned up since the main event aired on 24/7 years ago, not that it looks like an overly interesting card, but it does have Tatsumi Fujinami and Allen Coage working squashes.

There's film of that Thesz-Valentine match out there, but I'm pretty sure it's not 14+ minutes worth. Big find.

That may have been his first New Japan tour but he and Valiant worked All-Japan at least once as a tag team. This was some sort of talent exchange deal, because Fujinami also came to the MSC to face Lawler that same year. And either that year or the year before, Fujinami did a home-and-away series with the Grappler in Portland over their title.

Sean Ross Sapp reported that Orton is "willing to talk to" AEW, which is quite a bit different than assuming a jump is imminent or even a possibility. Any WWE star who's due for an extension would be stupid not to leverage AEW for all they can, and Orton's no exception. I don't see any real chance of him leaving. He'll get either the raise or schedule reduction that he doubtless wants, or both.

Konnan's match is against the lucha Rambo, working as "The Mercenary." And I believe the Razor match is him in his never-seen-on-TV long-tights gear.

Solie was more divisive among sheet-readers in the '80s than you'd think. Meltzer straight-up disliked him going back to the earliest Observer Yearbooks.

Reading comprehension, anyone? Has anyone "shit talked" Excalibur as an announcer? Anyone at all? Gordon Solie was a tangible and proven draw as a wrestling announcer--many complaints to TBS after Black Saturday were from fans wanting not Georgia or World Championship Wrestling back, but their "Gordon Solie wrestling." I'm not sure JR is all that far off from the level of '80s Solie, especially if he's used properly.

I feel like Ross has too much name value to be dismissed entirely, but keep him in some sort of Gordon Solie-in-1990-WCW type role, doing "Ross Reports" or sitting in on certain matches, instead of making him the face of the broadcast.