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Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard


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The SummerSlam '98 episode wasn't anything special, but it was okay overall. Another week without any Meltzer rant, so at least there's that.

I have to know if they ever actually sold WWF condoms in the late nineties. Because those people dorky enough to buy them are precisely the sort of people who should be kept from reproducing.

I've heard Bruce use it several times now, but the "Maybe a new gas station opened up down the street." line has to be the dirt worst, most out-of-touch excuse I've ever heard for declining ratings or poor numbers. That's some SERIOUSLY outdated shit right there.

The casino/hotel story has been told (in detail) what feels like four or five times on the show now. Total retread. But Bruce always talks up how great it would've been to have former wrestlers working there as greeters, putting on daily performances, etc. I can't help but wonder if he seriously buys that line, or if he understands just how silly that shit sounds.

I'd love to hear those suggestions fully formed & fleshed out more. What were we going to get? Greeter Greg Valentine holding your door? Honky Tonk Wayne singing in the lounge? I'm not saying EVERYONE would turn down a payday of any kind, but come on. Some of these guys have some self-respect and an ounce of pride. Suggesting that they show up and work 8-hour shifts in customer service is a far fucking cry from wrestling at the Garden or whateverthefuck in their heyday. The whole thing just seems like a condescending idea to me.

I thought the exchange about WWF's programming and its advertisers was funny. Bischoff asking how they could sell Super Soakers and M&Ms, but then show half-naked women and swear. Vince's reply? "Adults buy candy, too." Tremendous.

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56 minutes ago, SomethingSavage said:

Another week without any Meltzer rant, so at least there's that.

You don't say. Maybe Bruce is finally getting tired of it.

The show was pretty nondescript, which was a surprise considering the era we're talking about. It's notable Conrad didn't go into weeks of build-in before tackling down the show, which I guess did not help this time around, there was not much in term of context. Still a funny story, JR getting pissed off because Bischoff was holding his fridge hostage. 

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The Smackdown episode is highly recommended, like most of the time an episode is all about behind the scenes and production stuff. The whole argument about the word "wrestling" is another deep dive in Vince's psyche. Really good stuff this week, best episode in a long time to me.

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On 8/19/2018 at 4:17 PM, SomethingSavage said:

I've heard Bruce use it several times now, but the "Maybe a new gas station opened up down the street." line has to be the dirt worst, most out-of-touch excuse I've ever heard for declining ratings or poor numbers. That's some SERIOUSLY outdated shit right there.

I haven't heard it mentioned on the podcast, but this was a line Bobo Brazil used to say as a joke whenever they drew a bad house. "They must have all been at that new all-night gas station." Given Vince's affection for Bobo it's easy to see how that caught on among the WWF front office.

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I really enjoy this podcast. I didn't get into it till probably about 6 months ago, but Bruce comes across pretty good. Conrad is a good host but I really love the whole the interaction with Bruce's hatred for dirt sheets. I mean of course he will hate them but hearing him fuss about it usually always gets a crack out of me.

I've got about halfway through the smackdown episode. I don't know how to feel about Thrasher being a clown with Bruce as his manager.

Also I really wish we could have seen Bobby Heenan JR. He has mentioned it multiple times on the podcast, but I kinda wish that would have happen.

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17 hours ago, flyonthewall2983 said:

Bruce coming back in the late 90's as a con-man type manager is one of those things I actually would have liked to have seen in the Attitude Era

Haha. I made my last comment before listening to the latest podcast, so I didn't even realize you were referencing the same deal. Bruce has spoken about both in the past as if they were uniquely separate ideas (or maybe I just assumed they were), but I guess not. Either way, yeah. That would have been interesting to see. Bruce doing a Don West-type pitchman routine for deceivingly dangerous toys and merch could have been incredible.

Anyway, I listened to the new episode covering the first SmackDown. Great show. There's plenty to really absorb and digest over the course of this conversation. There's one small mention of Meltzer, but Conrad quickly steers away from it & keeps things on track. And I'm glad. It feels like they've turned a new corner since they've focused more on the actual topics and less on that stuff.

It is so very Vince to send a handwritten letter to Entertainment Weekly, suggesting that they surely must have mistakenly failed to realize that Bill Goldberg was neither Steve Austin nor even a WWF contracted worker. Tremendous.

Do people shit on the SmackDown set design or something? Is that a thing? Because Conrad seemed to double down on getting Bruce to talk specifically about the "fist" setup. I always dug it, especially in those old SmackDown video games. But I could easily see the neckbeards snickering and making sexual innuendos about it, so maybe there's that? I don't know.

The Hardy Boyz in DX sounds absolutely awful. Their undecided emo-goth, late 90s Hot Topic look just didn't gel with what DX was ever about. They would have stood out like the quiet weird kids in the corner.

I don't know why Russo had this obsession with adding members to every group & faction all the time. There would never be a definitive lineup for any group under his watch, if it were left up to him. DX would have included the Hardys, Test playing Diesel 3.0, neon green Kane, and whoever the fuck else he could shoehorn in there.

Thankfully, the actual performers themselves take things like chemistry into consideration when making these moves. Because Russo doesn't have a clue and simply believes gangs get guys over, because I don't know. Maybe it worked on a movie once.

At that point, Matt & Jeff were better off running and gunning with Michael Hayes - who could show them how to superglue sporks & spoons onto their trenchcoats and their armpit-high JNCO jeans or whateverthefuck P.S. was rocking in '99.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The SummerSlam '88 show is nothing to write home about, but I'm not going to blame Conrad for half-assing it with Starrcast this past weekend and a million other things going on. I don't think Bruce is a great fit for the watch along format. It works for Schiavone, but I think it's maybe too unfocused for Prichard.

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  • 3 weeks later...
5 hours ago, El-P said:

Bruce playing dumb about the independant contractor status on the last episode was pretty embarrassing... Not a good couple of shows the last two weeks.

Agreed. Conrad tried pushing back but Bruce was feigning ignorance.

 

5 minutes ago, flyonthewall2983 said:

What was Bruce's response to the whole thing of Stephanie saying 9/11 was like living through the federal trial?

He said something like none of us know what it was like for her to have her family and their business attacked so no one should be judging her. Didn't really address the inappropriateness of the comparison/timing/etc... 

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Woof. These past few weeks have had some rough patches. First, Bruce defends Stephanie's tone deaf viewpoints. Then, he plays dumb to the independent contractors issue. It's off-putting.

Bruce taking shots at Marty for being Rock's errand boy is amusing & at least a little ironic.

Pretty cool to hear how highly Prichard thought of Kendrick around this time though. He was spot on about Big Mark putting the pieces together and finally clicking this year, too.

Looks like the rest of the year will be saturated with wayyy too much 97/98 stuff. It's going to take some work to keep all the stories, reports, and rumors from bleeding together and sounding so samey.

I *am* looking forward to some of the profile pieces they've got coming up though. Carlito, Rikishi, and especially Regal could make for interesting topics.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Quietly, they've really started to cut down on the run times of these podcasts. They used to go over three hours every week, and would sometimes bump up against four hours, but they've generally been in the 2 to 2 and a half hour range the last few months, which is one of the reasons I put this back in my rotation, because it's easier to fit in a 2 hour weekly podcast than a 3-4 hour podcast. It was probably a necessity when they were also doing the WWE Network show, and then when Conrad was organizing Starrcast, but I think it works better as a tighter show.

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Agreed. I can appreciate the longer shows if the subject matter is worthwhile. Some of the profile pieces are especially great. But I prefer these shows covering one specific card to be kept short & sweet.

I hope the upcoming Regal show is given adequate attention, for instance. And so a 4-hour run time wouldn't bother me a bit there.

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  • GSR changed the title to Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard

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