[1992-05-30-WWF-Superstars] Big Boss Man and Nailz

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

DOC 902174. Nailz debuts and attacks Boss Man. Vince at the booth and Boss Man in the ring put this over about as strong as humanly possible. He puts handcuffs behind Boss Man's back, which is pretty wild and chokes him with his nightstick. It is preposterous to me that it takes forever for the Dave Hebner/Rene Goulet types to try to put a stop to this, yet Elizabeth simply walking to ringside at Wrestlemania VIII brings out the whole brigade. This went on way too long.

[flyonthewall2983]

Was there a reason why they put Boss Man on the shelf for so long? I seem to remember he came back on television that October or something. Was it just to maximize Nailz as a heel, or something behind the scenes?

[Tim Evans]

This was a pretty hardcore angle for the time in WWF. Too bad it was all downhill from here for Nailz.

[shoe]

This was a strong angle that could have used some blood. It's so funny watching the WWF doing a hardcore angle with all the gimmicks. If this happened to Dusty by the Horseman people would still be talking about it today and how much money it drew.

[Kevin Ridge]

Started off well with Nailz just beating on him with the night stick but was too unbelievable that nobody was coming to the aid of Boss Man since Nailz wasn't exactly a wrestler on the roster. You think they would be all over this guy coming out of the crowd and attacking a wrestler in the ring.

[Zenjo]

I couldn't believe how brutal and violent this came off, especially considering the era. Awesome beatdown.

 

I mark out for Nailz. He was a crazed madman!!!

 

No really he was.

[WingedEagle]

Pretty memorable angle from the era with Nailz jumping Bossman during a squash and absolutely destroying him with the nightstick as Bossman is cuffed to the ropes and then his hands behind his back. Pushed as a really big deal, much moreso than other mid-card angles.

[RCS1988]

Intese angle. Funny, that you hear Nailz' actual voice saying "Come On", then later, you hear him say it in the deep voice, I guess someone forgot to adjust the mic, to make him sound like a monster.

[PeteF3]

I think this would be the last hardcore, adult WWF angle in a series going back to the previous fall. It is too long of a segment, and I don't know if the WWF even tried to explain why an unsigned, ostensibly untrained maniac just out of the slammer would be handed a WWF contract. But the beatdown itself is sold great and the crack of the nightstick shots to the leg is pretty chilling. Vince and Perfect put this over huge on commentary, too. I hope the segment showing the Boss Man's photos from WWF Magazine is on this set, as that was one of the most effective articles in that magazine's history.

[MikeCampbell]

Pretty hardcore stuff, considering the fed and the time frame. Agreed about how unrealistic it was that nobody came to help. An ex con in a prison jump suit is beating the tar out of Bossman, and nobody lifts a finger to stop it.

[ajtroma]

Once again, I might be remembering this wrong, but did they tape this like mere days after the LA riots?

[flyonthewall2983]

They were in April of '92.

[ajtroma]

I just looked it up. This angle was taped in Syracuse on 4/29/92, the same day as the Riots in LA. Coincidence??? Yeah, probably.

[C.S.]

Tremendous debut angle for Nailz, but he peaked right then and there.

 

Anyone remember him coming in for one shot as "The Convict" or "The Prisoner" (or something like that) to face Sting on a WCW PPV? What the hell was that about?

[PeteF3]

Sting was scheduled to be in a "bounty match" against Scott Norton. Norton balked for whatever reason--money, doing a clean job, whatever--so I guess Walcholz was the biggest "monster" name they could get on short notice.

 

The LA riot thing is freaky, but it was probably coincidence. DiBiase accused the Boss Man of beating prisoners right after his babyface turn (1990--the Rodney King attack took place in March of '91) and it wouldn't surprise me if they were sitting on the Nailz gimmick for a couple of years just like they did with the Ringmaster.

[flyonthewall2983]

Bobby Heenan and Mr. Perfect allude to the Rodney King incident at WrestleMania VII too.

[(BP)]

Apparently Nailz would thank Norton whenever he saw him, since being brought in for the Sting match led to him accidentally getting paid by WCW for years.

[garretta]

You can certainly tell from the way this was sold on commentary that Vince had big plans for Kelly. The very fact that beating Bossman half to death was his first official act was a big deal; the last guy to debut this way (that is, other than in a scheduled match) that I can remember was Earthquake back in '89. Kudos to Bossman for selling this the way he did; most guys in his position would at least want to go down fighting. Bossman got absolutely no offense in whatsoever.

 

Curt's right; the crack of the nightstick on Bossman's leg sounded horrible, even if that was mostly due to how it was mic'd. That might be the loudest weapon shot I've heard in quite some time.

 

Nice job by Vince explaining why none of the officials tried to stop the beatdown. If you were in your late forties/early fifties and your body was battered from years of punishment in the ring, would you risk further injury by trying to subdue this wildman? What I don't understand is why someone with some beef, like Duggan or even Warrior, didn't get involved. Then again, maybe I do; this is the WWF we're talking about, where faces don't make saves for other faces unless either a feud is ready to transition from the savee to the saver or a tag match is being set up.

 

Does Vince pay attention to his own vignettes? Nailz clearly stated in the one we saw that he was in jail for a crime he didn't commit and wanted revenge against Bossman when he got out. So how is it that Curt only offhandedly mentions that as a possibility at the very end of the segment? That should have been the first thing out of Vince's mouth once he recognized who it was, instead of a bunch of bleating about what a disgrace this is to Bossman, the WWF, baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. Sloppiness and inattention to detail didn't just start happening in the WWF/E last month, boys and girls.

 

Curt's getting the hang of commentary. He was excellent here, and he seemed especially pleased that Bossman (whom the Heenan Family feuded with while he was a member, and whom he'd faced at Mania VII) was finally getting what he deserved. I hust wish we could hear some match analysis from him; I want to see how he's progressed in that respect.

[dawho5]

Good and violent (strange for WWF TV), but way, way too long.  Even if those suits don't want to get in the ring and mix it up with the guy they would have to do something resembling their job.  Not only that, why would Nailz not even change out of the convict uniform before coming to the taping?  I did catch J. J. Dillon (JoJo?) at ringside.