WWE 24/7 July-September 2007 Thread

[Guest *FH*]

The Benoit edits on the Legends Roundtable Monday Night Wars show are amazing.

[Strummer]

Looking at the recent Nitros from 97 really shows how WCW was treading water at this point. The horrible Horseman stuff, Eddy/Malenko/Ultimo running in circles in 4 minute matches, Madusa back on TV, the tag team mess, Piper being Piper post 87. They were in a serious creative rut and I can't believe how awful the shows look in retrospect.

 

It's funny because changes were made around August of 97 when Midcard matches started getting all sorts of time and the titles all of a sudden were treated as life and death possessions. I believe it was Terry Taylor who fought for these changes.

 

People always talk about the cruisers "getting 25 minutes" on Nitro every week but that really didn't start until late 97 going through all of 98 until basically Russo came in. 97 was basically all 4 minute specials. It's funny because people complain about the lack of wrestling on RAW but it wasn't like Nitro was all bell to bell action

[Al]

The last 6-7 minutes of the Boot Camp match between Sgt. Slaughter and the Iron Sheik are on the Iron Sheik retrospective. The Backlund/Sheik title change is also there in its entirety.

[Mad Dog]

Tape damaged beyond broadcastabilty?

 

Seems like that was it, there's a couple parts in the show that abruptly cut out like that. I've never seen it happen on a NWA episode before, Turner seemed to take such care of their tape library.

 

Still, you gotta love how in the middle of what's essentially the go-home show for Starrcade they have an all-jobber six man tag team match.

 

They had Fernandez/Landell which was a pretty good match.

[sek69]

Man, that Regal/Finlay match in the Shorties section is all kinds of stiff. Regal ends up with the SHOOT~! crimson mask from it getting MMA-esque in its stiffness.

 

You also get Finlay with the mullet/porno stache combo and Dusty on commentary. That's pretty much wrestling defined.

[Mad Dog]

We finally get the big Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich rematch on WCCW. Hopefully this means they'll stop skipping weeks. Same with World Championship Wrestling now that the Horsemen stuff has started.

[Bix]

Is it just me, or is the audio pitch of the WCCW show too low (presumably due to whatever issues the master tape has)?

[Mad Dog]

The master seemed pretty screwed up and almost borderline unplayable but I've noticed with a lot of these shows from the 80s that sound quality takes a huge dive when they show big arena footage.

[Mad Dog]

Nice selection in shorties for once. Ultimo Dragon vs. Jushin Liger for the IWGP Junior Title. Rocca vs. Thesz and Billy Robinson vs. Don Kernodle.

[sek69]

After watching Bruce Hart stomp Dynamite's face until his nose bled, I can only surmise they must have been having a dispute over ring rats or coke money.

[sek69]

Man, it's hella creepy watching Vengeance and hear the announcers talk about the "late" Mr. McMahon and the plans for a 3 hour Very Special RAW considering what was going on probably at the exact same time.

[Guest *FH*]

Rocca vs Thesz was pretty cool. I honestly didn't know Thesz did any type of "sports entertainment" type stuff like the heeling he did in that match.

[Bix]

Liger and Ultimo doing what would become the INDY RESPECT sequence makes me hate the world.

[Guest *FH*]

Liger and Ultimo doing what would become the INDY RESPECT sequence makes me hate the world.

Yeah, I watched about 3 minutes of that match, FFWD'd another 5 minutes, then just turned it off. It's been cosplayed so many times by wannabes that the original has lost any uniqueness and just doesn't need to be seen again. Talk about aging poorly.

 

Hey Bix, how'd McMahon get hold of footage like the aforementioned Thesz/Rocca?

[Bix]

Jim Crockett Sr. & Rocca were running NY as opposition at the time, so I guess it came from the WCW buyout.

[Guest *FH*]

I think Kollision in Korea is gone now, but I really enjoyed Bischoff on commentary essentially shooting on the Steiners being hard to work with.

[Mad Dog]

Rocca vs Thesz was pretty cool. I honestly didn't know Thesz did any type of "sports entertainment" type stuff like the heeling he did in that match.

Could possibly be public domain now.

[Indikator]

Jim Crockett Sr. & Rocca were running NY as opposition at the time, so I guess it came from the WCW buyout.

I think I read an article about the promotion in an old issue of RING magazine where they stated that although Rocca said they were going to bring in Dick The Bruiser and Thesz neither appeared for the promotion at all. (Or maybe it was a thread on WCMB/KFM). Does anyone have Career Records for both guys?

[Guest *FH*]

When did WWE switch to mostly scripted promos? I just had to be sometime after WM13, right? Because I just watched the Raw that was 2 weeks before that and the promos were just godawful. Fuck dudes who bitch about scripted promos. 97% of these meatheads need all the help they can get, seriously.

[kjh]

I believe Vince Russo started being more heavily involved with scripting Raw after the dismal April 14th 1997 episode. He's been quite open though about only scripting word for word the wrestlers who needed that and weaning wrestlers off full scripts and only giving them bullet points as their confidence improved and they got to know their characters better. I think that system was probably better than the one they've got now.

[Bix]

That actually makes me respect Russo a little bit.

[khawk20]

Scripted promos were an evolutionary sort of thing. Remember 80's WWF TV? Most of those insert promos that you saw during the squash matches (wrestlers in the upper left or right corner of the screen in a box) were scripted.

[Guest *FH*]

Anything is better than:

 

*Ahmed Johnson starting every sentence with "you know what?"

*Vader trying to stick "the pain game" into a promo 3 times in a hamfisted attempt to start a catchphrase

*Sid's promo being made up of meandering nonsense just to fill time getting to the end of it and his catchphrase

*Bret talking about how the "king of the jungle in the WWF isn't a giraffe, it's the excellence of execution!" WTFFFFF?

[sek69]

*Sid's promo being made up of meandering nonsense just to fill time getting to the end of it and his catchphrase

I have to object, this rules and always has ruled because you never knew what he was going to say.

[sek69]

Watching the latest Monday Night War, there's already been one uncensored mention of Chris Benoit along with Arn's promo about Kevin and Ben Sullivan with the punchline of "no one wants to bury their child, but it looks like your child buried you" being left intact.

 

WWE lightening up on the editing, or just an oh-shit-we-missed-that-one moment?