WrestleMania Profile: ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage

When you think of WrestleMania, you would normally think of men like Hogan, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and perhaps John Cena. One man whose history is often overlooked, especially in today’s climate, is Macho Man Randy Savage.

Savage, real name Randy Poffo, had a history enriched in wrestling. His father, Angelo, was also a wrestler and promoter. Freakishly enough though, Angelo’s claim to fame was his uncanny ability to do sit-ups for endurance time periods, thus necessitating an appearance on Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

Savage’s notoriety in the territories made him an instant heat magnet in the WWE. In 1985, Randy debuted against ‘Quick Draw’ Rick McGraw, and beat the jobber to a pulp. His presence was immediately felt in the WWE Universe.

By the time 1986 rolled around, Savage’s momentum was on an upward swing. In February of that year, Savage won the Intercontinental Championship from Tito Santana. This would lead to Savage’s first ‘Mania program with George Steele.

Steele, whose personality primarily revolved around acting like a heelish animal in earlier times, resorted to acting like a benevolent animal in 1980s WWE. Savage taunted him while flaunting his belt. Steele would lose his match, but not his fans.

Savage’s title reign would last over a year. It had a great array of matches ranging in opponents ranging from Steele, to Jake Roberts, to Ricky Steamboat.

Steamboat was injured at the hands of Savage on Saturday Night’s Main Event in November of 1986 as Savage dropped the axe-handle from the top turnbuckle onto a prone Steamboat on the guardrail. Ricky returned a couple of months later to challenge Savage for the IC gold at WrestleMania III. In front of the historically large crowd of 93,000+ people at the Pontiac Silverdome, Steamboat won the gold in a match where the game changed. This contest influenced a generation of new wrestlers, from the high-flying to the multiple near-falls.

The sunset of 1987 brought an about-face to Savage’s character. A feud with Honky Tonk Man led to Savage turning good, something that the fans had been dying to see by this point.

For 1988, a brand new challenge would surface itself. After a controversial decision forced Jack Tunney’s hand, the WWE Championship was vacated in favor of a 16-man tournament to crown the new champion.

After Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, the two men originally embroiled in controversy, lost the big match to a double-disqualification, the field was left wide open. Savage, after winning three grueling matches earlier in the night, was left to face Ted DiBiase, whose night was slightly less enduring. With help from Hogan, Savage got the edge and become champion! All was right in the world as the Mega-Powers formed from the ground to rule the WWE with an iron fist.

Things would fall apart though. Savage accused Hogan of being jealous of both Elizabeth and his WWE Championship. This would lead to the Mega-Powers colliding and then exploding at WrestleMania V, where Hogan won the title again in a hard-fought battle.

Of all the ‘Manias Savage was in, only VI was his real clunker. A forgettable tag match in the undercard of this mammoth event was not what Savage needed, but the next year would provide perhaps Savage’s greatest wrestling moment period.

Savage’s feud with the Ultimate Warrior stemmed from Warrior not allowing Randy to get a title shot. Randy ultimate screwed Warrior out of the WWE Championship by slamming him in the head with his scepter, thus allowing Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter to win the gold. Two months of bizarre happenings would ensue, leading to the announcement of the loser retiring following the bout. The two went hard and heavy during the course of the bout. Savage even went so far as to provide FIVE flying elbows to Warrior! None of those put him down! Warrior charged back with his shoulder blocks. The third one was so forceful that Savage needed to be dragged back inside the ring to be counted down! (Read the match histories below to view what happened post-match.)

Going into WrestleMania VIII, Savage had returned to the WWE to fight off challenges from Jake Roberts. After the Rumble, it was revealed that Ric Flair alleged he had relations with Liz. Therefore Flair’s gold was up for grabs. Savage would defer Flair’s tricks, and came up golden for the second time in his WWE career.

In a strange turn of events, Savage went to commentating for WrestleMania IX. Chalk it up to injury, subpar card placement, whatever you will. At least he looked only like Macho can as he was dressed in his ‘traditional’ outfit amongst a sea of togas!

Lastly, WrestleMania X saw him get out of the booth, and battle his former friend Crush. In the Falls Count Anywhere stip of 1994, the referee has a minute to count-out either of the combatants. Crush was unsuccessful in taming Savage, but Randy’s masterful plan worked. Crush was hanging around so to speak as Randy ran back into the ring to win the match. A unique albeit average match, it ended Savage’s WrestleMania career on a whimper.

In the long run though, Savage’s WrestleMania trials and tribulations would be summarized as legendary. Many great matches and opponents would help Randy elevate his game. A two-time WWE Championship winner on the grandest stage, and even retained the IC belt once. Savage is often overlooked for helping contribute to WrestleMania’s legacy, and that is a shame.

Savage would work for WCW and TNA while retiring quitely later in the 2000’s. He died in the year 2011 after suffering a heart attack while being behind the wheel. His wife may no have been able to save him, but she drove Savage’s car to safety without hitting other vehicles.

Hopefully by reading this, you’ll see that Savage belongs to the long list of greats at this historic event. He has had more than his fair share of great moments, and some of matches are right up there with the best of the rest. Savage will always be a part of wrestling folklore, and this proves it.

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CONTESTS

WrestleMania II: Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth) def. George 'the Animal' Steele via pinfall to retain the Intercontinental Championship as he used the ropes for leverage. Steele went chasing the referee post-match. (7:08) *1/4

WrestleMania III: Ricky 'the Dragon' Steamboat def. Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth) via an inside cradle pin. George Steele was in Dragon’s corner, and would prove substantial as he stopped Savage from beating in Steamboat’s larynx with a ringbell. Steele and Steamboat celebrated post-match. (14:35) ****1/2

WrestleMania IV: Randy Savage won the 16-Man WWE Championship Tournament to become the new WWE Champion. He defeated Butch Reed (4:09), Greg Valentine (6:07), One Man Gang (4:37 via DQ), and Ted DiBiase (9:17) to win it all. Overall: ****, mainly because of the execution of the title win.

WrestleMania V: Hulk Hogan def. Randy Savage via pinfall to become the new WWE Champion. Elizabeth, whom the feud revolved upon, was sent backstage although she stayed in a neutral position. (17:54) ****

WrestleMania VI: Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire def. Macho King Randy Savage & Sensational Sherri when Sapphire rolled up Sherri off a distraction by Elizabeth. (7:31) *

WrestleMania VII: Ultimate Warrior def. Randy Savage in a 'Retirement' Match after pinning Savage on the last of three shoulder blocks. After the match, Sherri became enraged with Savage for losing. This prompted Elizabeth to rush into the ring and stand by her man, although things looked estranged. Savage accused Elizabeth of jumping him, but she ultimately persuaded him it wasn't her. After a brief stare-down, Savage embraced Elizabeth to start his 'retirement' right. Savage took a bow while holding the ropes for Elizabeth. (20:46) *****, for everything from the match to the emotionally draining post-match angle.

WrestleMania VIII: Randy Savage def. Ric Flair (w/Mr. Perfect) via reversal of figure-four to inside cradle pin to become the NEW WWE Champion. Flair kissed Liz, only for Savage to pounce on him while still feeling the effects from earlier. (18:01) ****

WrestleMania IX: Savage arrived in grand style to assume his seat at ringside to commentate on the show.

WrestleMania X: Randy Savage def. Crush in a 'Falls Count Anywhere' match after Crush was hanging upside down backstage, and couldn't answer the referee's count back to the ring. This would be Savage's last in-ring performance in the WWE.  (10:00) **1/2

Overall Record: 7-4* (*: All four of IV’s tournament matches counted separately.)

Overall Combined Length In-Ring: 1:52:05 (1 hour, 52 minutes, 5 seconds).

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For more WrestleMania Profiles, please click on the following:

Shawn Michaels 

Bret Hart

Steve Austin

The Rock

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Montreal Screwjob Retrospective

How do you make an otherwise forgettable event the most infamous pay-per-view in professional wrestling history?

A simple answer: screw over the man who is about to go over to the competition!

The real answer is much more complicated. It’s fallout would ultimately impact the professional wrestling scene forever.

Raw emotion struck during this time wouldn’t be fully resolved until well into the new millennium. Today, on the 15th anniversary of the most infamous wrestling double-cross ever, this piece will reflect the decisions and the trauma behind the most argued piece of shoot ever devised. This will feel almost as cold as a normal winter’s day in the Canadian province of Quebec.

If anyone wants to doubt how bad the financial state the WWE was at this time, look no further than the Screwjob.

Vince McMahon, in full-out desperation, signed Bret Hart to an exclusive 20-year contract just the year before. McMahon did it because not only would it ensure Bret’s loyalty, but Vince also knew that WCW wouldn’t know what to do with a Bret Hart.

The terms of the contract stipulated that Bret would be paid “x” amount one year, then as time went on, he would get a somewhat smaller sum. Keep in mind that this is upfront costs, and does not the additional bonuses Bret would most likely accrue from merchandise plus other odds and ends.

Sadly for Vince, this was a contract he wasn’t able to keep.

In the summer of 1997, right after the Summerslam event when Bret won his fifth World Wrestling Federation Championship, Vince talked to Bret. McMahon laid out his folly, and told Bret he was free to look at other employment opportunities.

Behind the scenes, Bret didn’t want to go. While he has had his fair share of personal drama and bullshit with members of the roster (i.e: Shawn Michaels), the WWE had primarily been his home base for well over a decade. He was built from the ground up, and pulled through every rank there was. Bret was looked upon as a leader to the boys, and inspiration when times got rough.

For the state of the company though, times were indeed VERY rough.

WCW came from the trenches and established itself as the dog to beat. Between the Ric Flair and Randy Savage angle at the end of 1995, to the not-so-humble beginnings of the nWo, the Georgia-based juggernaut was growing exponentially.

Almost to the point of putting the Connecticut-based WWE out of business!

Vince had to cut Bret because not only was WWE losing money, but also viewed Bret as a growing liability due to age. Bret had just turned the big 4-0, while other men in their twenties and early thirties were just starting to hit their stride.

As noted, Bret was given the option to look for other work. Bret had sent his notice, and uneasy tensions were quickly surfacing.

The 1997 Survivor Series was heavily hyped around the rematch from WrestleMania XII. Only this time, Bret and Shawn were not only enemies on screen, but they were even worse at odds off it. Without getting too far into it, let’s say that most of the locker room was firmly on the side of Bret while Shawn and his Kliq were viewed as outcasts of power.

Originally, the outcome of the match was seen to have Shawn and Bret battle to a double-disqualification. It seemed as if everyone had agreed on the plan…

Until Vince called a meeting.

In a nutshell, this was where the Screwjob was orchestrated. Shawn was in on it, but had no hand in the decision making. Shawn, as much as as he despised Bret, didn’t really want to go through with this because the locker room hated him to begin with, and the reaction to this would be an upheaval of the guard.

Shawn told Earl what to do, and from Shawn’s autobiography, it was described as if Earl aged many years during this transaction.

Before the match started, Shawn turned into the most heinous dick ever conceived in Canada. He had consecrated the Canadian flag in many fashioned, into up and including simulated humping. Of course this was in design to make Bret look like a proud hero in his home country.

The main flow of the match was a brawl, interrupted with a few sound technical maneuvers. Then Shawn put Bret in the sharpshooter…

In the main script of the match, Bret was going to go to the ropes, and the match would continue on until the DQ.

As we all know, Vince McMahon (who had been at ringside the duration of the contest) ordered Earl to “RING THE FUCKING BELL!”

Bret looked confused, lost, and shell-shocked when the bell rang. Shawn had a startled face himself, but in reality was a mask of knowing that the plan had worked.

Vince handed Shawn the belt, and with many legitimate road agents at hand, they all walked behind the curtain the masterminds of the greatest shoot in wrestling history.

Garbage filled the ring like a blizzard, and Bret went around destroying the tables at ringside not unlike the nWo did on WCW earlier in the year.

The shit really hit the fan (and I don’t mean the forum) backstage. Vince McMahon was confronted by Bret, and was socked in the face. Vince was struck down in vain, but let’s not forget that all Vince was trying to do was cover his ass so his champion couldn’t defect to WCW with the title at hand. It was only the year before were Alundyra Blaze, aka Madusa, went to Nitro and threw the not-so-prestigious WWE’s Women’s Championship in the trash can!

Shawn and the Kliq had to fight off multiple threats, and even more of “the boys” threatened to no-show the following night’s RAW.

And they did!

The albatross known as RAW in Toronto took place live the following night. Seriously, I’m not telling going to tell you the synopsis of the show because it was so bad. Shawn looked drunker than drunk, the ever-eloquent Commissioner Slaughter was babbling needlessly, and it seemed like jobbers were all over the show. This was the absolute lowest point for the WWE, not just for ratings but also in morale. It could not have looked worse for Vince and company.

Slowly but surely, WWE climbed out of its hole. Ironically, the man who legitimately screwed Bret Hart became the biggest heel by doing working screwjobs on a semi-regular basis.

As for Mr. Vincent K. McMahon, he stated that “Bret screwed Bret” the RAW after Survivor Series, and the fans gravitated towards him. He was evil, seedy, plus his intentions were biased one way or another. No one was safe in his path of destruction. The clientele includes names amongst the likes of Steve Austin, Goldust, Undertaker, Kane, etc.

In another note of irony, another plot of double-cross worked to great effect in one of the highest points of 1998. At THAT Survivor Series event, the Deadly Game tournament culminated in The Rock, long-standing Corporation enemy, versus Mankind, a fully-made-over character perceived to be in cahoots with Vince. Rock put Mankind in the sharpshooter…

And it was revealed that Rock was a patsy for the Master Plan of Vince’s! It signaled the arrival of Dwayne Johnson in the upper echelon of the WWE, and Mick Foley was hot in pursuit. The Deadly Game solidified the future of the WWE, with establishment of the main event secure.

As for Shawn Michaels, he would pay the price of winning the WWE title, but in a different fashion. Over the next little while, Shawn would experience back pain getting a little more intense. Add in the casket bump from the Royal Rumble the following January, and we have a champ who was damn near immobile.

Go to 11:45 in the video!

Shawn lost the belt to Austin at WrestleMania in March, and then disappeared. While he would show up every now and then on WWE television, it would be more than four years before he made an in-ring return. With his life in order, Shawn is a man of faith and dignity.

As for Bret Hart, he would pay the price of going to WCW almost immediately. Hart was misused from day one. A botched introduction at WCW’s Starrcade would only be ominous of signs to come. Numerous injuries took their toll, and a brutal kick from Goldberg sealed the deal.

 

Bret would also suffer a stroke, one that forced him to relearn how to talk. WWE and Bret Hart did put aside their differences to make a career retrospective. That DVD is (as of this moment) the best WWE compilation ever made.

Bret’s feelings towards Shawn wouldn’t budge, even with the revelations of Shawn’s lifestyle revamp. At WrestleMania 22 weekend in 2006, Bret was inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, Bret only did it with the knowledge he couldn’t see Shawn in the audience, and that he kept away from Shawn during the show. Bret’s no-show of the big show gave him heat that rivaled almost all the heels on that event!

It wouldn’t be until 2010 where the past finally came to rest. Shawn and Bret aired their dirty laundry for all to see on national television, capped off with an emotional embrace. The two became friends, and even agreed to do a DVD based on their rivalry. It’s an excellent production, and if you want to purchase that, click here.

How do you make an otherwise forgettable event the most infamous pay-per-view in professional wrestling history?

A simple answer: by orchestrating an event that would shake the very foundation of the business for years to come.

The legacy of the screwjob has, and will always be, measured in how the business has changed. Vince McMahon was able to make a smashing positive out of what should have been a crushing negative. Viva La Attitude!

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The Top 5 Biggest Influences of Wrestling in the 1990s, Birthday Blog Post of 2012

(Author’s Note:In the last article, I mentioned I’d be doing a match to celebrate my birthday on the blog.

I was wrong.

Sometimes writers have that ‘developmental hell’, where pieces are started, but never finished. This originally was one of those articles, but after skimming it over, I thought it had potential. Here is the final result of that ‘hell’, and I will say this: I really love writing about this era.)

Although professional wrestling had a successful boom period in the 1980s, the decade that would soon follow would completely turn the business on its head.

Between multiple changes of the guard, new styles, and new ideas when it came to producing a product, the 1990s is a decade that quite frankly is one of the more creative entities in sports-entertainment history.

On this countdown, with no particular order of importance, we’ll all look at what made the 1990s such a happy, nostalgic, angry, ruthless, but nonetheless, passionate era.

While “the big three” (WWE, WCW, & ECW) are the major players in the story, the foundation of today was built during this time period. WWE may have ‘won’ the war so to speak, but it turns out the fans were the real winners in how the decade shaped up. So let’s not waste any more time, and let’s see how a whole business changed dramatically over the course of this time!

1. ‘Changing of the Guard’

Almost right out the gate, Wrestlemania VI in April of 1990 to be exact, this first reason sheds light. Hulk Hogan, the perennial WWE Champion of the 1980’s, just lost his title to the raging Ultimate Warrior. Although the reign would not be as fruitful as the ‘Immortal’ one, Warrior’s subsequent title win would mark the decade full of change and prosperity (but not before the shit hits the fan moments).

WCW also had it’s fair share of change. Starting with major corporation changes, it tried (and failed miserably) to pattern it’s darker material after the more kid-friendly WWE. DING DONG! Ted Turner wasn’t going to let this money-bleeder die sitting down, so in a meeting of the minds, he allowed Eric Bischoff to take charge and become the biggest game in town. This would end horribly after multiple screw-ups, on-screen and off. Those malfunctions allowed the WWE to steamroll momentum, and then purchase it’s main competition for pennies on the dollar.

Another sense of the guard changing can be from a previously outside source with a fresh sense of enthusiasm.

It can be something so new and in your face that even the big-wigs from multi-million dollar corporations have to stand up and notice.

Enter in Extreme Championship Wrestling!

Although it’s peak wouldn’t be until much later in the decade, ECW was a smaller-time wrestling promotion that relied on mainly no-nonsense atmosphere with some of the most passionate fans anyone could ever ask for.

Doesn’t help that the newly-instated blood ban in the big leagues made the liquid spill in Philadelphia that much more “shocking” either.

ECW however relied on its “kool-aid” in order to get further ahead. For example, ECW was the first of the big three to enlist major Mexican and Japanese stars in it’s promotion. Although the fans were “extremely smart”, they would be given an awakening in one or two matches with these insane performers. No weapons (for the most part) were needed, as the amazing technical displays were all that was needed.

Another example was that ECW was the first of the big three to rip open that proverbial “fourth wall”, and proceed to bust it down over and over again. Not insulting it’s fan base, the promotion would regularly make personal lives of the roster known. Who knew that Sabu had his neck legitimately broken, or who knew that Raven pissed off the fans so bad he had to apologize somewhat out-of-character? This was happening at a time where if a guy on WWE or WCW television was injured, they’d be written out of storyline because of a “convenient occurrence”.

While ECW will be featured prominently in this list, this is just a taste of how important this promotion would be.

To cap off this part of the chapter, it should also be noted that both WWE and WCW took ECW to their advantages. Both companies raided talent at different points, and even began to soften up strict programming policies with more violent tendencies. By the end of the 1990s, ECW was sadly starting to look like an imitator to the game it innovated. Paul Heyman wasn’t willing to change his ‘baby’ for the mainstream, and therefore ECW would die as a promotion that probably had the most promise to take down the big guys.

2. Steroids (Or lack thereof, but they’ll never completely go away.)

Back in the 1980’s, the World Wrestling Federation made physique an important concept in character creation.

Instead of men like The Crusher whose beer guts were practically synonymous with their alter ego, new blood like Road Warriors Hawk and Animal (yes I know they’re NWA at the time) were ripped, fresh, young, and primed with potential.

Of course getting that six-pack abs and the sick traps would mean getting a little extracurricular help.

Although not an entirely new phenomenon, the injections of anabolic steroids would undoubtedly be the biggest tool (in addition to regular workouts) in helping shape new/muscular bodies.

Instead of Nick Bockwinkel...

...We get WARRIYAH!!!!!

The shit would hit the fan soon enough on this craze.

The man in the WWE largely responsible for handling the injections, Dr. George T. Zahorian III, would be tailed by the federal government. This led to the doctor’s arrest, and a humiliating court case for the WWE. Between 1989-1994, the WWE had it’s name pretty much destroyed, while losing a lot of money with all-time low revenue.

As a direct result, the whole roster got “smaller”.

Heading the charge of talent would be Bret Hart, a 6’0” 230 pound Canadian who would usher in “The New Generation” in later 1992. In his wake, men like Shawn Michaels, chicken-legged Diesel (Kevin Nash), “fat-ass” Undertaker (as opposed to the skinner one that’s been in action for the last decade), amongst others, would grab the spotlight instead of men like Hogan, who jumped ship to WCW. Never mind the fact Hogan looked like an ass in federal court.

While steroids are always going to be a part of wrestling, at least the major crackdown in the 1990s led to “healthier” looking performers. The Wellness Policy WWE has in place today is an evolutionary stance on this belief, and there have been people suspended because of the juice (Orton, I’m looking at you!).

3. The Monday Night Wars

Wrestling on television is one area where the profession has really evolved over the years.

From your DuMont Channel bouts with Freddie Blassie to Jim Crockett’s NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) on TBS at 6:05, professional wrestling has always had a spot at the proverbial dinner table (I mean tube).

Most of the matches shown until the mid-1990’s where primarily bigger names going over jobbers. Very rarely were there epic title clashes shown on television, outside of big name programs like Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions. Those weekly programs were designed for character evolution and hyping the local market cards. 

The radical turn of history occurred when Eric Bischoff, pretty much the main guy in WCW on a whim and a prayer, was asked the question, “How do you combat WWE?” Bischoff’s response was to put themselves head-to-head with WWE on Mondays, because WWE had RAW. Turner gave the okay, and Bischoff went IMMEDIATELY to work.

On September 4th, 1995, at the Mall of America, Monday Night Nitro premiered on TNT to huge ratings. Ric Flair and Sting head-lined the show, but the major attraction would be the appearance of one Lex Luger.

Luger, who had been with the WWE since his stint in the fledging WBF (that crappy bodybuilding promotion that died off quick) in 1992, was in contract negotiations with Vince McMahon. Although Luger was with WWE the night before, the contract was never renewed, and therefore the big man showed up completely unannounced. This left the announcers dismayed, but the paying audience were in a frenzy!

This would the first amongst a series of bombshell/landmark moments for the fast-rising Nitro brand.

Between throwing out the “trash” (which would be Medusa chucking the WWE Woman’s Championship in the can on live air), and the formation of what would be the nWo , a refreshed WCW would soon take over the ratings from a stale WWE.

While it’s been said Vince was really close to losing his company, it’s also true that Vince decided to go where no man has boldly gone before.

With a little ‘Attitude’.

After a particularly disastrous episode of RAW from Europe in early 1997, which saw Owen Hart become European Champion in an epic match with Davey Boy Smith, Vince completely re-modeled the program. From the TitanTron, to the ring skirts, to the theme song (which was Marilyn Manson briefly before turning over to Thorn in Your Eye), and then right down to the script, RAW’s transformation became an edgier product.

It would be another year before fans would see the realization as WCW was still kicking ass and taking names, even if the show was a little repetitive.

April 13th, 1998 would be a massive turning point in the war. Stone Cold Steve Austin, former WCW wrestler who had been given a complete re-christening in WWE, was WWE Champion defending his title against one Vince McMahon, chairman of the board and boss to Mr. Austin. Although the contest would be marred by other activities, the sheer spectacle of it all gave a surging RAW it’s first win in the ratings since 1996.

With a few exceptions, like Goldberg’s title win and Ric Flair’s return, WWE would win just about every week until the end, which was 2001.

What REALLY cemented WCW’s burial was one fateful night in 1999, January the 4th to be exact.

During the Nitro broadcast, which was up against the taped product of WWE, Tony Schiavone was told by Eric Bischoff to announce to the WCW audience that Mick Foley, who had wrestled as Cactus Jack for the company, is going to win the WWE Championship on their broadcast. “That’s gonna put some butts in the seats,” Tony quipped, which was another forced line into the mic.

Sure WWE showed their broadcast, and Foley’s title win was glorious. A NO-DQ match per stipulation, it was a wild brawl. While Rock’s Corporation stable mangled with Foley’s supporting D-Generation X stable, Austin’s music hit and the place EXPLODED!

Watch for potential Wellness fines! Remember, 2K a chair shot to the skull!

Waffled with a chair shot, Rock was pinned and, “Daddy did it!” exclaimed the newly crowned albeit exhausted champion Foley.

Turn over to the WCW broadcast, which booked a last-minute title match with Kevin Nash (who beat Goldberg at Starrcade with help of a tazer gun-toting Scott Hall) and Hulk Hogan, who had only returned earlier that night.

 Both men looked ready to do battle, but did a fake-out to the crowd. Hogan finger-poked Nash, and therefore became new champion. Outraged and delirious, fans were sure never to see this promotion again and the ratings proved it.

Although the War would end in 2001, the way the conflict revolutionized television is still with us today.

For example, WWE’s production values are very high-class, where in 1995 it was somewhat low-budget. Also there are high-end main events every week, while beforehand you’d be lucky to see a big star squash a jobber just a few years before. It’s small, but very noticeable, in the grand scheme of things.

4. VINCE f’ing RUSSO

Okay, put down the pitchforks and sawed-off shotguns.

Long before Russo would be credited (along with Ed Ferrera) for killing WCW, Russo was just a magazine editor.

With an imagination!

Russo’s hand at writing in the WWE Magazine, under the pseudonym Vic Venom circa 1995 or so, was mainly featuring fantasy feud articles.

Apparently it caught the other Vince’s attention.

As a “reward”, or really trying to see what would stick, Vince (McMahon) gave Vince (Russo) and Ed the task of writing RAW in early 1997.

As noted before, the transformation would take time to see results, but what would result was glorious television.

Unlike the bland era of once before, this new colorful era would feature complex storylines (some of which didn’t make sense), swearing, sexual content, swerves, and other notables that eventually would all become trademarks under the Russo bandwagon.

D-X’s antics? Russo.

Kane and Undertaker’s feud, all the way from the beginning in 1997ish? Russo.

Beaver Cleavage? Russo.

Survivor Series 1998? Russo.

But with prime power comes prime responsibility.

The editing/molding of Vince McMahon helped Russo reign in the writer’s talents, and thus made Russo’s exaggerations a great tool for the tube.

In 1999 though, after being handed SMACKDOWN to his plate, Russo resigned from WWE and headed to the “greener pastures” of WCW.

Less said the better.

5. THE GIMMICKS

Perhaps the biggest evolutionary change of the 1990’s was perhaps how gimmicks, aka character traits, were handled.

At the start of the 90’s (and this is speaking strictly of the WWE), most men had a character and played to that character. Hogan was an All-American hero, Ultimate Warrior was a high-strung fanatic who believed in the power of the Gods above him, and Mr. Perfect was, well, PERFECT!

In the mid-1990’s, WWE TV was going down the tubes and creative tried to do something, well, creative.

These were some of the following gimmicks used in this time: a pirate (Jean-Pierre Lafitte), a garbage man (Duke Droese), MANTAUR, KWANG, a friar/flatulent rotund man (Mike Shaw, bless you sir), WHO, WHAT (oh wait, that’s later in 2001), and other men whose lives who would be laced with failed characters.

(I’ll save you by not posting videos of those hideous creations.)

In conjunction with ‘The Wars’, WWE’s program was under fire like it had never been before. While the storylines were picking up steam in later 1996, the characters were still just that, characters. Men had to portray whatever was in front of them.

Fast forward to later 1997, and ‘Blaze of Glory’ just happened. To those new to the business, that term is used to describe an infamous Shawn Michaels promo where he stuffed gauze down his pants and made somewhat-obscene gestures to Jim Ross, all the while setting up that GREAT Hell in the Cell encounter with Undertaker. Vince originally fined Shawn $10,000 for the endowed on-air display, but later reneged the penalty.

Instead, this ushered in another piece of ‘Attitude’. Now in addition to more violent matches and raunchier storylines, the character development changed dramatically. Instead of trying to clear-cut defined characters on a piece of paper, men were told just to act like themselves.

This led to New Age Outlaws telling your ass to call somebody, Edge being ‘Broody’, and Mick Foley (in any of his alter egos) owning everyone on the microphone with his world-class promo ability first seen in ECW.

 

 

And that’s before we get to Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H, who quite frankly, were starting to do their own thing before that promo took place.

While character gimmicks starting to take shape again in the mid-2000’s, it is important to note that of all the elements in the 1990’s that made that decade so special, the gimmicks may have had one of the more profound changes. Going from a concrete portrayal to acting like yourself allowed the men (and women for that matter) to display a personal side that mainly complimented the character while adding depth and charisma.

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CONCLUSION:

Although professional wrestling had a successful boom period in the 1980s, the decade that would soon follow would completely turn the business on its head.

Between multiple changes of the guard, new styles, and new ideas when it came to producing a product, the 1990s is a decade that quite frankly is one of the more creative entities in sports-entertainment history.

This article was a grand look back at some of the reasons why the 1990s were such a radical departure from the wrestling culture of the past. Chalk it up to imagination, competition, desperation, you name it. The landscape of wrestling forever changed in the 1990s thanks in small part to ‘keeping up with the times’.

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HAPPY F’ING BIRTHDAY TO ME!

How ECW Changed Professional Wrestling, Ahem, Sports-Entertainment.

ECW.
Those three letters meant that some of the most outrageous material ever filmed in the realm of professional wrestling was about to take place.
Although there could be a backstory to all this hubbub, instead I am giving you a DVD to watch and a book to read.
The Rise + Fall of ECW, #3 on my list of the best DVDs WWE ever made, is a three hour tour-de-force of the history of the company. Of all the documentaries that Vince and company made, this was the best one, and that is saying something. All of the major players are interviewed, and all the major events (both in and out of the ring) are covered. Heck, it even has that “Mature Audiences Only” screen because for PPV, the documentary was rated TV-MA!

As for the book, it’s a gem entitled Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW. Authored by Scott E. Williams, this feels like a research project that went beyond the normal “tall tales”. It’s a book that of all the tomes published about ECW, this one tells the best story, with minimal sensationalist/revisionist history (not like WWE).
ECW, as noted earlier, was practically synonymous for creating controversial material. Their way of doing business in the ring would be so influential that the big leagues took notice. It also inadvertently was the heart of the Monday Night War.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some different ways ECW changed the game.

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The Talent
Extreme Championship Wrestling wasn’t tied down with corporate voodoo like a World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling.
Essentially, this meant that the small-time promotion in Philadelphia could take a bunch of chances.
One of these areas was hiring the talent that WWE/WCW wouldn’t normally bat an eye on.
For example, would WCW or WWE hire a man with as many visible scars as Sabu in 1994? I mean, look at the guy:

Terry Brunk, the man behind the alter-ego, is so tough he would fight you to the death. With his expertise being death matches of more varieties than Heinz, it’s no wonder this man could definitely be the face of a renegade promotion.
Another odd-looking superstar in ECW at this point definitely had to be Sandman.

Here’s a guy who looked like a regular Joe. A man who may very well have been at your workplace (minus beer and kendo stick of course). Hell, its been well-known this man wasn’t in the best of shape…EVER. Jim Fullington however became a fan favorite by being an ass-kicker who threw everything he had into his matches. This is a prime example of how ECW went against the status quo in choosing its talent.
In a cut against the grain, ECW also gave international superstars (not the WWE synonym for wrestler) a platform to go nuts.
Men like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, amongst many others, were able to showcase their worldly abilities in front of rabid fans every week.

To those fans watching in attendance, it was as if  they were being christened the first amongst a new breed of wrestling fan.
The revelations were eye-opening to the point where Eric Bischoff, trying to find ways to beat WWE, did a ‘raid’ and hired all these men.
While ECW had the spotlight and the spirit, WCW had the lucrative contracts. Contracts equal $, and that dough was what wrestlers needed in order to provide for their families.
In addition to the ‘guarantee’, these newly termed ‘cruiserweights’ were one of the primary reasons why WCW got a leg up in the beginning of the Monday Night War. Their platform the big league provided would be miniscule in comparison, and due to politics, most would never advance in the company.   

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The Gimmicks
When ECW was first starting to gain popularity in the underground, mainstream WWE and WCW had garbage on the tubes.
Playing to the “kid-friendly” demographic, there were Ding Dongs, plumbers, race car drivers, “evil foreigners”, etc. The gimmicks were what drove the wrestling at the time, and the gimmicks were what drove the ratings down.
ECW had gimmicks, there’s no denying that, but the tools at their disposal were much different than their upper-class brethren.
Sure, there was a rapping tag team who put opponents through tables.

Sure there was a legitimate bounty hunter on the loose, and whose theme music would play during the whole duration of the contest.

Sure there was a man chugging beer with the audience, while smacking himself in the head with said can of suds.

Yes I know this was from ONS in 2005, but dammit this is too awesome to ignore!

Sure there was a man who was referred to as, “Homicidal, Suicidal, (&) Genocidal”, and would cause physical harm to himself in order to get his point across.

BTW, this match took place on exactly my eighth birthday!

There was a bigger meaning to all this.
The hint was that those men behind the characters were just playing as themselves.
ECW didn’t have a creative team or script writers, so what appeared in the ring was what you got. WWE and WCW may not have had much in terms of creative either, but they did give their characters strict guidelines to follow, and thus it became apparent those gimmicks wouldn’t be (for the most part) very entertaining.
In 1997, WWE ushered in it’s “Attitude Era”. Although there could be several distinct points used in describing when it started, one could use Shawn Michaels’ “Blaze of Glory” promo as a big example. Shawn, full-on Degenerate at this point in his career, came down to the ring to do an interview segment with Jim Ross. Only Shawn though was sporting biker shorts with a tube of gauze exposing his, um, junk.

Making a near mockery of the interview, Shawn went to the back only to get his ass chewed out by Vince McMahon. This should have cost HBK about $10,000. In a weird swerve of fate, Vince reneged the fine, stating that he needed to go ‘there’ in order to compete against WCW. This allowed the WWE superstars to act more like themselves, and therefore added a spark of perceived originality to the product.
ECW could be given credit for starting a revolution for how characters were conceived in wrestling. In this instance, they may have not been a direct cause to the change of direction, but inspirational they sure were. Hell, Paul Heyman was on WWE’s payroll at the time!
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THE STORYLINES
For every “Austin vs. McMahon”, there was about twenty cases (or more) of “Jean-Pierre-Lafitte stole Bret Hart’s jacket.”
WWE and WCW in the mid-1990’s were throwing proverbial crap at the figurative wall trying to see what stuck. At this point in time, the gimmicks were corny and the audience was being driven away. Keep in mind there were corporate masters to please, and gates to meet.
Enter in ECW.
There was a creative freedom in this small promotion not experienced in either of the big-named companies.
Not only could the men play as themselves, but the storylines concocted were as edgy/dark as stories could get.
For example, there was an angle about Tommy Dreamer blinding the Sandman. At the time, it was controversial for two reasons. One, it featured both good guys and bad guys caring about this one person, the one being Sandman. That was considered taboo, and almost a break of kayfabe. Two, the man behind Sandman (Jim Fullington) stayed true to the angle to the point where he didn’t leave his house during the duration of the sit-out!

There was also an angle revolving around Sandman’s family, whose love and affection for him were deserted in favor of the dastardly Raven. Again, it was one of those angles that WWE and WCW at the time wouldn’t touch with a broken stick. It wasn’t even that it was so dark and edgy, but the angle had legitimate emotion from not only the actors involved, but the paying people in the audience too. This was considered radical, and in the later years, the big guys would try their hand at heavy-hearted storylines.

While again the change may not be 100% linked to ECW, it should be noted they were the first to do so.
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THE MATCHES
In addition to unique gimmicks and edgier storylines, ECW changed the perception of how a match should be as well.
For example, did anyone notice that later on in WCW and WWE that wrestlers took a lot more chances than they did previously?
That’s because ECW made it cool.
As time went on in ECW, the “regulars” at the ECW Arena knew what to expect from the wrestlers.
So the wrestlers of course had to keep changing it up.
Whether it was a new spot, or a new move altogether, one of the best things about ECW was how there weren’t many boundaries on how a match was performed.
Instead of having a flow of “x does this” and “y does that”, it was more like, “THIS IS AWESOME,” and, “YOU FUCKED UP!”
That’s right. In addition to your normal heat segments and ‘hulking up’, the smarks in attendance will notice how well the wrestlers work each other. If a match’s flow is consistent and fluid, then the fans will be positive. Have a rookie in there who botches a few segments, then bring out the tar and feathers!
Since WCW and WWE saved the big moments for their bigger events (i.e: PPV’s), ECW always gave their faithful more than their fair share. Whether it was a high spot, a convoluted technical spot, or even when the bad guy gets his, ECW fans react to everything that goes on.
Sure enough, the major leagues caught on to this, and their matches starting taking more risks. The crowds weren’t as vocally rambunctious, but they did voice their opine.

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CONCLUSION: As wrestling stagnated in the mid-1990’s, there was a promotion that shook the foundation the ‘extreme’ way.
Extreme Championship Wrestling ushered in what many of us took for granted today.
With a diverse talent pool, fresh gimmicks, edgy storylines, and a whole new way to view matches, ECW’s philosophy of accentuating the positives while hiding the negatives would eventually bring radical change in the mainstream companies of WCW and WWE.
These changes would be a major part in the ‘Monday Night War’’. The highest ratings, the highest crowd participation, and the most accelerated change, all happened because one company wanted to out-do the other.
In the background lied a company whose innovations and ideals would change the very landscape of sports entertainment forever. The one whose ideas would trickle down, and inspire the higher-up companies to follow in their path.
It would be unfair to say ECW was the direct cause of edgier programming, but it is fair to say ECW was definitely an inspirational tool for it. Between talent raids and creative liberties, ECW could also be known as the first victim of the Monday Night War.

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