More Early PPV Landscape Questions + WM2 Confusion.

[slabinski611]

I know this must have been answered at some point earlier so forgive me. My first question is about the length of wwf ppvs up until 1992. Wrestlemania 2/3 were 3hrs each plus longer intermissions. I believe intermission was between 15-30 minutes for these shows. That means they would need to secure 4hrs of ppv time. WM 4-7 ran about 3hrs 45 minutes with shorter intermissions so they would have had to secure 4 hrs 30 minutes with the pre show. They also ran long at Royal Rumble 91 with a ppv length of about 3hrs 20 minutes which meand another 4hrs of ppv time.

 

In 1992 all ppvs were under 3hrs and it would stay that way until they expanded wrestlemania at wm16. My question is : what happened that made them shorten thier ppvs in 1992. Why did they only have wrestlemania run long every year ? Why no extended summerslams. Why have the Rumble extended one year and not others ?

 

 

My second topic is Wrestlemania 2. How was this produced for ppv ? I heard once that the matches were taped ahead of time and that they were being shown on pretape. It all looked live with all of the mass confusion throughout the show. Was the idea to have a card with 4 matches and for the live crowd to watch the rest on live circuit ? I can't see anyone paying to go see Piper vs Mr T have a fake boxing match with 3 of the poorest excuses for wrestling prior to it.

[Bix]

WM2 was live in NY and Chicago, as well as on PPV/CCTV from the Midwest on east. In LA and on PPV/CCTV on the west coast, they aired LA first, a Hogan post-match interview, and then the earlier matches.

[Johnny Sorrow]

I didn't even know Mania 2 was on PPV. We watched it closed circuit at a firehouse.

[Smack2k]

Johnny, I have the original PPV VHS we recorded….definately on PPV, but many issues during the show…they'd cut to something, you'd hear nothing, and they'd cut back. Then go back and it would be OK….

[Johnny Sorrow]

Well, we didn't even have cable yet in our town. And my buddy who I went with, Wolfman, had cable but it didn't carry it I guess. So for us it was,

Nassau, then Chicago, then LA with no problems I can recall.

[cowboy hats]

In what town did wolfman live?

[Johnny Sorrow]

We both lived in central New Jersey, me in Ringoes which had no cable, and Wolfman lived in the next town over, Flemington, which did have cable but no PPV of Mania 2.

[MFoy]

I don't know the answers, but I have a couple of observations about the intermissions.

 

Even on the shows with the 5 minute countdown clock, they still had 15 minute intermissions in the building, because they had 5 minutes of promos before and after the clock.

 

The last WWF ppv with an intermission was WM 8. When I watched Summerslam 92 on PPV, I knew it was pre-recorded so I assumed that they just edited out the intermission, but then they never had one again.