JRH Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Not sure if this was a rumor or not, but apparently the original plans for WM4 were for Dibiase to win the title, while Savage would have beaten Honky for the IC title on the Main Event Special where Andre beat Hogan and sold the title to Dibiase. However, Honky threatened to jump to Crockett with the IC belt, so they changed it so that Savage wins the title. What if Honky had no issues with dropping the IC title, and they went with the original plans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersonic Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Not a rumor. https://youtu.be/f6fH4vesle4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamthedoctor Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Not sure if this was a rumor or not, but apparently the original plans for WM4 were for Dibiase to win the title, while Savage would have beaten Honky for the IC title on the Main Event Special where Andre beat Hogan and sold the title to Dibiase. However, Honky threatened to jump to Crockett with the IC belt, so they changed it so that Savage wins the title. What if Honky had no issues with dropping the IC title, and they went with the original plans? Would Beefcake have been in the finals instead against Dibiase? I've heard this story from various shoots about Dibiase supposed to win but back in 1988 would Vince really have let a Bad Guy win the Mania Main Event? Back then Vince wanted to send the fans home happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Not sure if this was a rumor or not, but apparently the original plans for WM4 were for Dibiase to win the title, while Savage would have beaten Honky for the IC title on the Main Event Special where Andre beat Hogan and sold the title to Dibiase. However, Honky threatened to jump to Crockett with the IC belt, so they changed it so that Savage wins the title. What if Honky had no issues with dropping the IC title, and they went with the original plans? Would Beefcake have been in the finals instead against Dibiase? I've heard this story from various shoots about Dibiase supposed to win but back in 1988 would Vince really have let a Bad Guy win the Mania Main Event? Back then Vince wanted to send the fans home happy. Always wondered that myself. Would have been a real departure for the WM finale, even though it was only the fourth one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 I'm sure the PPV would have ended with Hogan coming out and crushing everyone and celebrating in the win even though Dibiase had the title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRH Posted May 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Savage as IC champ likely means that we dont get Warrior's title win at Summerslam 88 as well, which means that Warrior's push is either stalled or never happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 how do they handle the house shows? Have DiBiase get dq'd every night or have him go over midcard type guys (Duggan types)? Or put him in tags so he could get pinned without losing the title Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 how do they handle the house shows? Have DiBiase get dq'd every night or have him go over midcard type guys (Duggan types)? Or put him in tags so he could get pinned without losing the title After Savage's turn in 89, they did a lot of Title vs Title matches with Ultimate Warrior that ended in countout wins for Savage (I think with Rude distracting Warrior). At least one of these isn on youtube because it was at MSG. They also did a bunch of Harlem streetfights with Bad News Brown which sound kind of fascinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Bottom line: Honky Tonk Man did the WWF and all of us, the viewers, a gigantic favor in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 In some ways, the more interesting What Ifs are What If Steamboat Doesn't Take Time off? or What if Butch Reed becomes IC Champ instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 on lapsed fan Dave said the original WM 5 main event was Hogan v Dibiase. So Ted was going to be champion for a year. I still don't see how they handle house shows for a whole year without Dibiase going over at least sometimes (non screwy finishes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 If this bracket is the original and correct, then I'd assume either DiBiase beats Hogan by some kind of robbery or Jake is the guy who DiBiase beats in the finals. If DiBiase beats Hogan, you can bet that Hulk, when he returns, will quickly be getting his win back. I just have trouble seeing Vince getting cold feet on waiting until WM5. But, to be honest, I'm not sure it changes a lot. To end WM4, Hogan likely would still pose at the end, just like Vince got him to do at Survivor Series '87. And Hogan would chase and win back the title. The only really tricky things involve complications from how long that Hogan re-conquers the WWF and smashes his rivals would take. Specifically, if Hogan's chasing the title and smashing down DiBiase takes long enough, then maybe Vince's love of Zeus and/or Warrior prevents Macho from getting the title, a nice run with Hogan, or forces him into a quick a transitional champ type role. I'm guessing Vince puts the title back on Hogan fairly quickly in 1989, either Summerslam or Survivor Series, and Hogan then vanquishes DiBiase again at another show. Maybe they do Andre/DiBiase vs. Hogan/partnerto blow things off, since that could still make sense and Andre's too beat up for another singles match. Then they'll go into a Hogan's tag partner turns on him, which was basically their original idea and the same thing they did for most Hogan programs (even the megapowers, though that had great little tweaks to that formula). I just don't see Brutus getting that spot over Savage, even if Hogan would've pushed for it. But if the original plan was something like: SummerSlam - Dibiase vs. Savage; Hogan vs. Andre; Survivor Series - Hulk's team vs. DiBiase's team, Royal Rumble - tag match Hogan/partner vs. DiBiase and Andre, then WM5 Hogan vs. DiBiase...I can see how maybe Vince's Zeus boner throws things off a lot, but then again business might not be as strong so Patterson and Bruce can talk Vince out of that idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyin' Brian Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Zeus didn't come in until after WM5, so he would probably still show up, it would just be Dibiase that brings him in instead of Savage. The other domino that fell in the original timeline was that after Honky threatened to jump ship and was placated with keeping the IC title, Savage was mad and they gave him the HW title instead of DiBiase with Ted being a team player and going along with the change without much issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dooley Posted June 1, 2017 Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 Dibiase is champ for a year, feuding with Duggan and Savage. Hogan comes back at WM5 to reclaim the title to the chagrin of Savage, who figures he should have got the shot at WM instead. The tension builds and we get Hogan-Savage at WM6 instead of 5. interesting to think what would have happened to the Warrior in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted June 1, 2017 Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 I'm imagining the year at the top on the big shows looks the same - same Summerslam main event, similar Survivor Series main event, Royal Rumble probably looks the same. The hitch is that if Savage is the IC champ doing house shows with Dibiase, what's the B-show main event? Honky vs. Beefcake was doing okay business, I believe, but probably doesn't work without the title. The Warrior question I think depends on how the belt is moving from Savage. They clearly want to push Warrior. Maybe he even squashes Honky at some point. But I'm having trouble seeing how they get to a big moment for Warrior that matches Summerslam. Does Savage drop the belt to Rude and Warrior takes it from him? Andre? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRH Posted June 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 I'm imagining the year at the top on the big shows looks the same - same Summerslam main event, similar Survivor Series main event, Royal Rumble probably looks the same. The hitch is that if Savage is the IC champ doing house shows with Dibiase, what's the B-show main event? Honky vs. Beefcake was doing okay business, I believe, but probably doesn't work without the title. The Warrior question I think depends on how the belt is moving from Savage. They clearly want to push Warrior. Maybe he even squashes Honky at some point. But I'm having trouble seeing how they get to a big moment for Warrior that matches Summerslam. Does Savage drop the belt to Rude and Warrior takes it from him? Andre? While thinking about this, I thought about maybe Savage dropping it to Greg Valentine a few months after WM4. Valentine was doing nothing at this point, so giving him one more run with the belt wouldnt hurt anything, and it frees up Savage to go after Dibiase (maybe even have Ted interfere to cost Savage the belt). Then you can do the Warrior squash at Summerslam (while Valentine wasnt nearly as hated as HTM was, Warrior coming out and destroying him would still get a huge pop), and move on from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cox Posted June 2, 2017 Report Share Posted June 2, 2017 I think Savage drops the IC title to Rude, no later than WMV, and Rude drops it to Warrior at SummerSlam '89, as he did in real life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted June 2, 2017 Report Share Posted June 2, 2017 I think Savage drops the IC title to Rude, no later than WMV, and Rude drops it to Warrior at SummerSlam '89, as he did in real life. I would think it's faster than that - Rude gets the belt in the fall after he's done with Roberts, posedown at the Rumble, Warrior gets the belt at WM V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRH Posted June 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2017 I wonder what the Rude/Savage feud would be like. Probably decent matches, but would they go with the obvious angle of Rude hitting on Elizabeth, especially if the Roberts feud still happens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted June 2, 2017 Report Share Posted June 2, 2017 The Hogan/Andre dq was designed to get Hogan out of there without having to beat him. So, if they're going all the way with Ted, who is he beating in the finals? Based off the brackets, the only one who seems to make sense to me is Steamboat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamthedoctor Posted June 2, 2017 Report Share Posted June 2, 2017 Savage as IC champ likely means that we dont get Warrior's title win at Summerslam 88 as well, which means that Warrior's push is either stalled or never happens. I suppose logically that means Hogan/Zeus headlines Mania 6 if Warrior's push never happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruiserBrody Posted June 4, 2017 Report Share Posted June 4, 2017 I thought Dibiase's win was designed for Hogan to recapture the title at Summerslam, giving the new PPV a major selling point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dragon Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 n;.?jkj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dragon Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 G8ff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted December 1, 2019 Report Share Posted December 1, 2019 On 5/31/2017 at 12:38 PM, BrianB said: If this bracket is the original and correct, then I'd assume either DiBiase beats Hogan by some kind of robbery or Jake is the guy who DiBiase beats in the finals. If DiBiase beats Hogan, you can bet that Hulk, when he returns, will quickly be getting his win back. I just have trouble seeing Vince getting cold feet on waiting until WM5. But, to be honest, I'm not sure it changes a lot. To end WM4, Hogan likely would still pose at the end, just like Vince got him to do at Survivor Series '87. And Hogan would chase and win back the title. The only really tricky things involve complications from how long that Hogan re-conquers the WWF and smashes his rivals would take. Specifically, if Hogan's chasing the title and smashing down DiBiase takes long enough, then maybe Vince's love of Zeus and/or Warrior prevents Macho from getting the title, a nice run with Hogan, or forces him into a quick a transitional champ type role. I'm guessing Vince puts the title back on Hogan fairly quickly in 1989, either Summerslam or Survivor Series, and Hogan then vanquishes DiBiase again at another show. Maybe they do Andre/DiBiase vs. Hogan/partnerto blow things off, since that could still make sense and Andre's too beat up for another singles match. Then they'll go into a Hogan's tag partner turns on him, which was basically their original idea and the same thing they did for most Hogan programs (even the megapowers, though that had great little tweaks to that formula). I just don't see Brutus getting that spot over Savage, even if Hogan would've pushed for it. But if the original plan was something like: SummerSlam - Dibiase vs. Savage; Hogan vs. Andre; Survivor Series - Hulk's team vs. DiBiase's team, Royal Rumble - tag match Hogan/partner vs. DiBiase and Andre, then WM5 Hogan vs. DiBiase...I can see how maybe Vince's Zeus boner throws things off a lot, but then again business might not be as strong so Patterson and Bruce can talk Vince out of that idea. If you look at the Survivor Series 98 tournament, Austin came out and Stunner'd the heels and even Foley to end the show. I don't think a lot would change, I can imagine Dibiase defending against Savage all summer and winning by cheating. Savage calls in Hogan to even the odds at Summerslam and Hogan pins Dibiase. Bossman still attacks Hogan, but maybe Slick is paid by Dibiase. Ted probably feuds with Hercules on the house shows and gets some wins, as Hogan feuds with Bossman and Savage defends the Intercontinental Belt against Bad News Brown. Savage still turns on Hogan on NBC, to set up the post Mania feuds. The real mystery is what becomes of Warrior. I suppose he can feud with Honky during summer of 88 and he beats Savage for the IC belt at Wrestlemania V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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