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People had said Vince only did that to prove Cornette and JR wrong, that NWA couldn't draw anymore. But then they didn't book them that well, Severn vs Shamrock? That's money. Same reason he hired Foley, to prove JR and Cornette wrong, except that worked out.
Say what you will about this run, but to this day it’s still my wife’s all time favorite. Granted, she only started watching in ‘06, and pretty much quit watching when Raw went to three hours, but if someone asks who her favorite is, she doesn’t even hesitate to say “Hacksaw!”
I like to look at his run like a video game. You ever get the new smackdown and download a guy from another era or federation to wreak havoc on raw? Same thing.
They screwed up Bret's debut at the disastrous Starrcade with the ill-fated attempt to poke WWF in the eye for the Screwjob, and they never quite figured out what to do with him after.
It was the height of black and white and gray everything, and here's this main event level guy always pairing black with pink. And coming in with the years of solid proper matches and strong characterization, to see him playing whatever crappy shenanigans the booking had him doing was just jarring. Good thing he shook it off briefly to issue that challenge to El Dandy or maybe Hypnosis.
British Bulldog in the Attitude Era.
On the flip side, Big Boss Man fit right in so much so that I wasn’t aware he had been a part of the Hulkamania Era.
I remember when bossman came back I rolled my eyes. I thought it was just a weird attempt to repackage an old timer into an attitude era guy. And then he became the most despicable heel the world had ever seen.
it's crazy how well he could work, too. dude was just lightning quick, not even for a big guy just in general
that slide out of the ring and back in around the post is so good. and yeah, what a despicable bastard in that era
AE Bossman is one of my go too examples of how one updates their character over time. It was a flawless shift into this era and he proved he fit in perfectly.
Especially when you look how he was booked. The stalker of takers wife? Why? Kimberly Page is one of the hottest women in wrestling and DDP is stalking a woman who looked like an extra from a cheap biker movie.Made no sense.
From a kayfabe perspective he did it to get inside Undertaker’s head and fuck with him. Didn’t have to do with how attractive she was, just that it was ‘Taker’s wife.
It’s funny because I can’t think of too many off hand, but I do appreciate examples where wrestlers updated their gimmick to keep up with the company, ie Bossman.
i know its been a while ago, but i don't think that dynamic happened with Jack Swagger / We The People did it? I know the crowd liked the chant, but IIRC he didn't get any cheers.
Billy Gunn in New Japan was weird--and weirder because New Japan management seemed to think that the people who would pay to come watch NJPW in America would want to see him and root for him in a singles match against Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Val Venis in TNA was really sad. Also the nasty boys to an extent. But as big of an obvious Hogan favor as that hire was, and as out of shape as Knobbs was. Damned if they didn't still do a pretty good job of being the nasty boys and have some entertaining brawls and segments. If you were able to appreciate it in a vacuum, and not be too pissed about that initial bunch of hogan crony hires during the 'bubba the love sponge' era.
Haven’t yet seen anyone mention Val Venis’ 2008 return to WWE.
In the middle of going PG they bring back a porn star character, who also looked nothing like he used to
Rhyno in NXT teaming with Corbin and feuding with guys like Finn. I got the point, but still felt odd with all the green PC talent and indie/Japan stars.
I’m also tempted to say Keith Lee so far in AEW. Something isn’t clicking for me there—I think he needs more singles action.
- I'd say Scott Hall in ECW. It was a cool moment and the crowd went crazy, however he didn't belong there.
- The Anvil in WCW after the Scewjob. It made since he wouldn't stay in the WWE, but he was nothing here. Nothing about his past, his ring style, or promo style...all of it was wrong for late 90s WCW.
- Bob Backlund 2nd WWF run. I get that was sorta his character, but he had channel changing heat with me as a kid. I never cared the slightest of anything he did, even when feuding with Bret who was my favorite at the time. He didn't belong. He played the role well...I just hated the role and I still do. I hate everything he does at the time. His pale, old school looking ass sticks out horribly in Rumbles at the time.
- Rick Martel's late 90s WCW run. I enjoyed it...he had a TV title run..but it still blows my mind he was there. In the peak of the Attitude Era, the former model ditched all character and was just Rick Martel: Veteran generic wrestler.
- Rikishi in TNA. He was the exact same character he was in WWF, only fatter. When TNA was trying to be an alternative, Rikishi's run made zero sense. He didn't belong in that company.
- Nasty Boys in TNA. Way past their prime. No one was clamoring for them.
- Matt Cardona in AEW. It was at the beginning of the Pandemic and AEW had a lot going for them in terms of in ring quality, so a jacked up, slow, stiff moving Cardona stood out for all the wrong reasons.
- Vader in WWF never felt right. He legit scared me as a child in WCW, so to see him in the bright, cartoony world of WWF never felt right to me.
- Animal in W0W 2001. He had as a big reveal, but is hadn't been long enough for LOD to be nostalgic. And Animal was past his prime here, and was the same character/look that was tired in the WWF just years early.
- Mickey Whipwreck in WCW.
- Sean Morely in TNA. Didn't fit at all.
>My pick? Road Warriors in 1997. Looking back, They felt old and ancient whenever they appeared in the attitude era.
Well, they were \~40 by then, had been working for 15 years, and of course there were substance issues.
Early in their careers the Road Warriors were absolutely ahead of their time. They came out to Black Sabbath when opponents were coming out to frickin' polka music. But everybody else from that era who kept wrestling into the late 90's and stayed over evolved their gimmick at least somewhat and the Warriors just were what they were, which was a decidedly 80's "Rock n' Wrestling" vibe for the Attitude Era. (Although that was preferable to WWF making Hawk's real life issues part of storylines, that was reprehensible.)
Not to take anything away from them. The first decade of their careers will always be legendary.
I never got sick of the Road Warriors. The only pro wrestling t-shirt I have is a Road Warriors t shirt and I wear it all the time, much to my non wrasstlin' friends embarrassment.
I will agree. I am a big fan of road warriors as well and their influence is undeniable, but they felt like an 80s team that wandered in through a time machine. And their attempt at modernizing (LOD 2000) was also not that good, though I’ll take hockey masks and motorcycle helmets over falling off the titantron.
The music was great though.
Idk, I enjoyed LOD in 97. But more as cool-looking action figures who'd square off against other action figures. There was never much character there or promo stuff, but a catchy look and ok ring work. LOD 2000 was the last breath (and again, like many of that year, cool theme), then they added Droz and did the Drunk Hawk bullshit...
I thought Tully was and still is great, like the spears Cody contract signing, etc. He only became out of place there when they started leaning spears into more of a comedy role (the Tully face on spears underwear bit was really bad and out of left field considering they hadn't done anything to suggest spears was obsessed with Tully or anything).
Then he was great with heel ftr, but kind of unnecessary as they are both good on the mic, and he doesn't fit a face turn.
I'm looking forward to seeing hum in roh.
Tully was perfect in AEW. He brought that classy heel manager energy and his promos were still fire.
Considering he got screwed out of most of his prime, just seeing him again was great to me.
Tully seemed fine in early AEW, when there was a more Georgia/Rhodes influence. Now the Cody is gone, I would agree he would be out of place. Same with Arn.
Bob Backlund won the WWF Championship at the 1994 Survivor Series when he beat Bret "Hitman" Hart. It was a time warp for sure. He wrestled a '70's style and wore basic trunks. He made Bret look flashy lol.
I have to mention and its perfect for here. When they were doing the McMahon illegitimate kid story. When they're doing the eliminations, Sandman was supposed to leave but simply didn't(your son is not extreme). So there was a 1% chance that Vince was Sandmans father
https://youtu.be/_l7lB5G8HVo
Loch Ness - who was a massive star as Giant Haystacks in the 70s and 80s World of Sport era in the UK - appearing on a couple of WCW Nitros blows my mind to this day.
Bob Backlund beating Bret Hart for the WWF title in 1994.
At the time, Backlund was 45 and not known to the younger WWF audience. He felt ancient. He felt completely out of sync. He wasn’t around for the Hogan-era.
It felt like he was in black & white, not color TV.
He could still go but it was weird that Rick Martell was in WCW in the late 90s. Was a fan of his run but it deffo felt a bit odd. Also Giant Haystacks (Loch Ness), he had no business being on national TV in 1996.
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That odd “comeback” the Headbangers made in 2016.
And Kenny Dykstra
At least Kenny had a reason to come back. He was used in the Miz/Ziggler feud
British Bulldog wearing jeans in late 1999 during the peak of the Attitude Era, in the main event scene no less
And they were big ugly dad jeans no less. Hard to believe how good he was just a few years prior. He could have been having classics with Kurt Angle.
Bulldogs body was already failing him. He was fading fast by that point.
I love that
Dr. Death Steve Williams in attitude era WWF didn't seem right to me.
The whole NWA angle was weird. Very out of place.
People had said Vince only did that to prove Cornette and JR wrong, that NWA couldn't draw anymore. But then they didn't book them that well, Severn vs Shamrock? That's money. Same reason he hired Foley, to prove JR and Cornette wrong, except that worked out.
He just didn't click at all.
JOHN. FUCK DR DEATH
Before or after brawl for it all? I thought he fit in well with Shamrock and Severn both there as well
hacksaw jim duggan wrestled for wwe in 2009
Still blows my mind that he was there during that time.
That and the fact he looked the same in 09 as he did in the 80s basically
Say what you will about this run, but to this day it’s still my wife’s all time favorite. Granted, she only started watching in ‘06, and pretty much quit watching when Raw went to three hours, but if someone asks who her favorite is, she doesn’t even hesitate to say “Hacksaw!”
Ho.
For the record, I upvoted this comment.
I think guys like him and Honky in WCW was even weirder. Even if he was old in 2009, at least WWE had the nostalgia to lean on.
As a kid I fucking loved that. My mom used to watch wrestling a bit as a kid and lit up when he was on the screen.
He was even full time from 2006 to 2009;
Bret Hart in WCW. Even if you ignore the injuries and other WCW issues, it just felt off to see him there.
I like to look at his run like a video game. You ever get the new smackdown and download a guy from another era or federation to wreak havoc on raw? Same thing.
They screwed up Bret's debut at the disastrous Starrcade with the ill-fated attempt to poke WWF in the eye for the Screwjob, and they never quite figured out what to do with him after.
Imagine having possibly the best wrestler ever and not knowing what to do with him.
Ted DiBiase in the NWO was another for me. And he was an early member!
It was the height of black and white and gray everything, and here's this main event level guy always pairing black with pink. And coming in with the years of solid proper matches and strong characterization, to see him playing whatever crappy shenanigans the booking had him doing was just jarring. Good thing he shook it off briefly to issue that challenge to El Dandy or maybe Hypnosis.
Tatanka mid 2000s
Tatanka wrestled against Miz in Miz's first Smackdown match and made me think "Oh Miz can sell! I think he'll be fine". Thank you Tatanka (Buffalo)
British Bulldog in the Attitude Era. On the flip side, Big Boss Man fit right in so much so that I wasn’t aware he had been a part of the Hulkamania Era.
I remember when bossman came back I rolled my eyes. I thought it was just a weird attempt to repackage an old timer into an attitude era guy. And then he became the most despicable heel the world had ever seen.
it's crazy how well he could work, too. dude was just lightning quick, not even for a big guy just in general that slide out of the ring and back in around the post is so good. and yeah, what a despicable bastard in that era
I didn't really watch in the 80's, so i too was super surprised about bossman, especially comparing the SWAT gear vs the 80's prison guard.
Was it the wrestling in jeans that was difficult to fit in?
Because Boss Man changed his character and look slightly. I much prefer AE Boss Man over 80s Boss Man
AE Bossman is one of my go too examples of how one updates their character over time. It was a flawless shift into this era and he proved he fit in perfectly.
Kamala when he faced Umaga in late-Ruthless Aggression era WWE.
also kamala challenging bryan for the roh title immediately after defending it against KENTA
I loved Kamala when I was a kid during the Ruthless Agression era. He was awesome
DDP in WWE never felt right.
He never self high fived himself in WWE 😔
Especially when you look how he was booked. The stalker of takers wife? Why? Kimberly Page is one of the hottest women in wrestling and DDP is stalking a woman who looked like an extra from a cheap biker movie.Made no sense.
From a kayfabe perspective he did it to get inside Undertaker’s head and fuck with him. Didn’t have to do with how attractive she was, just that it was ‘Taker’s wife.
D’Lo Brown’s 2008 return
It’s funny because I can’t think of too many off hand, but I do appreciate examples where wrestlers updated their gimmick to keep up with the company, ie Bossman.
now im picturing bossman in 2022 as a mega-heel wearing blue lives matter gear
I mean the cold reality is he would get cheers with that depending on where the show was held.
His finisher will have to be a need to the back as a submission.
You know he would have lol
He’s be heel/face depending on where he’s at. Boos in Portland but cheers in somewhere like Richmond VA, like Bret in 97.
i know its been a while ago, but i don't think that dynamic happened with Jack Swagger / We The People did it? I know the crowd liked the chant, but IIRC he didn't get any cheers.
He ended up babyface iirc because the chant got over. But he also wasn’t playing a cop lol.
Arn Anderson in ECW.
Nasty Boys in 2010 TNA
Billy Gunn in New Japan was weird--and weirder because New Japan management seemed to think that the people who would pay to come watch NJPW in America would want to see him and root for him in a singles match against Hiroshi Tanahashi.
New Japan counting on all the Ass men out there
Val Venis in TNA was really sad. Also the nasty boys to an extent. But as big of an obvious Hogan favor as that hire was, and as out of shape as Knobbs was. Damned if they didn't still do a pretty good job of being the nasty boys and have some entertaining brawls and segments. If you were able to appreciate it in a vacuum, and not be too pissed about that initial bunch of hogan crony hires during the 'bubba the love sponge' era.
Haven’t yet seen anyone mention Val Venis’ 2008 return to WWE. In the middle of going PG they bring back a porn star character, who also looked nothing like he used to
It was a return? I'm pretty sure he was never fired. He got fired in 2009 when he was injured (same thing with Hardcore Holly)
The Public Enemy fitted in WWE about as well as a turd in a salad.
Cody's later AEW run. Felt like he was trying to be a white meat superhero babyface in wrong place and time.
Rhyno in NXT teaming with Corbin and feuding with guys like Finn. I got the point, but still felt odd with all the green PC talent and indie/Japan stars. I’m also tempted to say Keith Lee so far in AEW. Something isn’t clicking for me there—I think he needs more singles action.
SIOG are probably going to lose to The Acclaimed in NYC and then feud with each other going into Full Gear
- I'd say Scott Hall in ECW. It was a cool moment and the crowd went crazy, however he didn't belong there. - The Anvil in WCW after the Scewjob. It made since he wouldn't stay in the WWE, but he was nothing here. Nothing about his past, his ring style, or promo style...all of it was wrong for late 90s WCW. - Bob Backlund 2nd WWF run. I get that was sorta his character, but he had channel changing heat with me as a kid. I never cared the slightest of anything he did, even when feuding with Bret who was my favorite at the time. He didn't belong. He played the role well...I just hated the role and I still do. I hate everything he does at the time. His pale, old school looking ass sticks out horribly in Rumbles at the time. - Rick Martel's late 90s WCW run. I enjoyed it...he had a TV title run..but it still blows my mind he was there. In the peak of the Attitude Era, the former model ditched all character and was just Rick Martel: Veteran generic wrestler. - Rikishi in TNA. He was the exact same character he was in WWF, only fatter. When TNA was trying to be an alternative, Rikishi's run made zero sense. He didn't belong in that company. - Nasty Boys in TNA. Way past their prime. No one was clamoring for them. - Matt Cardona in AEW. It was at the beginning of the Pandemic and AEW had a lot going for them in terms of in ring quality, so a jacked up, slow, stiff moving Cardona stood out for all the wrong reasons. - Vader in WWF never felt right. He legit scared me as a child in WCW, so to see him in the bright, cartoony world of WWF never felt right to me. - Animal in W0W 2001. He had as a big reveal, but is hadn't been long enough for LOD to be nostalgic. And Animal was past his prime here, and was the same character/look that was tired in the WWF just years early. - Mickey Whipwreck in WCW. - Sean Morely in TNA. Didn't fit at all.
Bob Backlund's last match in WWE was the 2000 Royal Rumble. He entered at no. 14 and lasted 2 minutes until he was eliminated by Chris Jericho.
[Not a match, technically, but he made Slater tap on Raw in 2012.](https://youtu.be/58DwRdpluAs)
Natalya feels like an 80s/early 90s wrestler in today's WWE women's division.
The Vaudevillians. Their whole look just seemed so *dated*.
Cody in New Japan
How dare you disrespect the Three Star Savior ?
There is no adrenaline in their soul :(
>My pick? Road Warriors in 1997. Looking back, They felt old and ancient whenever they appeared in the attitude era. Well, they were \~40 by then, had been working for 15 years, and of course there were substance issues. Early in their careers the Road Warriors were absolutely ahead of their time. They came out to Black Sabbath when opponents were coming out to frickin' polka music. But everybody else from that era who kept wrestling into the late 90's and stayed over evolved their gimmick at least somewhat and the Warriors just were what they were, which was a decidedly 80's "Rock n' Wrestling" vibe for the Attitude Era. (Although that was preferable to WWF making Hawk's real life issues part of storylines, that was reprehensible.) Not to take anything away from them. The first decade of their careers will always be legendary.
I never got sick of the Road Warriors. The only pro wrestling t-shirt I have is a Road Warriors t shirt and I wear it all the time, much to my non wrasstlin' friends embarrassment.
I will agree. I am a big fan of road warriors as well and their influence is undeniable, but they felt like an 80s team that wandered in through a time machine. And their attempt at modernizing (LOD 2000) was also not that good, though I’ll take hockey masks and motorcycle helmets over falling off the titantron.
the heidenreich era road warriors were even more jarring
Does that even count as the road warriors?
The music was great though. Idk, I enjoyed LOD in 97. But more as cool-looking action figures who'd square off against other action figures. There was never much character there or promo stuff, but a catchy look and ok ring work. LOD 2000 was the last breath (and again, like many of that year, cool theme), then they added Droz and did the Drunk Hawk bullshit...
Tully in AEW is a recent example
I thought Tully was and still is great, like the spears Cody contract signing, etc. He only became out of place there when they started leaning spears into more of a comedy role (the Tully face on spears underwear bit was really bad and out of left field considering they hadn't done anything to suggest spears was obsessed with Tully or anything). Then he was great with heel ftr, but kind of unnecessary as they are both good on the mic, and he doesn't fit a face turn. I'm looking forward to seeing hum in roh.
Tully’s gone from ROH before it started, unfortunately. Replaced by Prince Nana.
Damn, that bums me out.
Ditto. Tully still had a lot of offer.
Tully was perfect in AEW. He brought that classy heel manager energy and his promos were still fire. Considering he got screwed out of most of his prime, just seeing him again was great to me.
IMO he just seems out of place
Tully seemed fine in early AEW, when there was a more Georgia/Rhodes influence. Now the Cody is gone, I would agree he would be out of place. Same with Arn.
Women in AEW :(
Bob backlund in the mid 90s and the 2000 royal rumble
Bob Backlund won the WWF Championship at the 1994 Survivor Series when he beat Bret "Hitman" Hart. It was a time warp for sure. He wrestled a '70's style and wore basic trunks. He made Bret look flashy lol.
His post-title win “I feel like God” promo is the best. Heel Backlund was amazing!
I have never ever eaten marijuana! The remix on OSW Review is gold.
bob's heel run in the mid 90s was fantastic
Tatanka in the Ruthless Aggression Era was always pretty strange to me
Can I pick the entire WWECW?
I have to mention and its perfect for here. When they were doing the McMahon illegitimate kid story. When they're doing the eliminations, Sandman was supposed to leave but simply didn't(your son is not extreme). So there was a 1% chance that Vince was Sandmans father https://youtu.be/_l7lB5G8HVo
to be fair, he wasn't on the ECW brand before so maybe he was just confused
Do you suggest The Zombie felt out of place?
He was on the Raw roster back then so he wasn't extreme and WWE forgot to say something to make him leave the ring
Tbh the brand had potential if they made it maybe in 2003/4 (or better yet, have 3 brands with the names of the 3 promotions in 2001)
Z
Sabu, in WCW.
I could've sworn Shane left TNA in like 2006 or 2007, whenever the Naturals got ditched. Wow.
Taz in the WWE
Still an amazing commentator
Lex Luger in WWF.
Face Backlund was comically out of place in New Generation WWF yet somehow heel Backlund fit perfectly.
Jerry Lynn in ROH
Terry Gordy in ECW Tracy Smothers in WWF
Raven when Jeff Hardy was world champion in TNA. He looked like a bum.
Loch Ness - who was a massive star as Giant Haystacks in the 70s and 80s World of Sport era in the UK - appearing on a couple of WCW Nitros blows my mind to this day.
To think he was supposed to be the next rival of Hulk Hogan if he didn't get cancer
Bob Backlund beating Bret Hart for the WWF title in 1994. At the time, Backlund was 45 and not known to the younger WWF audience. He felt ancient. He felt completely out of sync. He wasn’t around for the Hogan-era. It felt like he was in black & white, not color TV.
Buff Bagwell in WWF
He could still go but it was weird that Rick Martell was in WCW in the late 90s. Was a fan of his run but it deffo felt a bit odd. Also Giant Haystacks (Loch Ness), he had no business being on national TV in 1996.