Rumor is 🤯 is that Apollo was friends with Bam Bam. Also rumor though not confirmed is Bam Bam is the one who snitched on Bourne to get him fired and Apollo in.

Jim Massenger looks like the Dink version of Diesel.

Aug 5, 2021 14:21:09 GMT UT said:

Rumor is 🤯 is that Apollo was friends with Bam Bam. Also, rumor though not confirmed is Bam Bam is the one who snitched on Bourne to get him fired and Apollo in.

I mean, I love Bam Bam but, no wonder he didn't have any supporters in the locker-room

🤯 Jason Knight is indeed ECW's Jason. I got a kick out of you going full Russo with that star pole studded Summerslam extravaganza.

Never heard the story of Bigelow getting Apollo the job as Doink. Thanks for the tidbit UT . I'm a little surprised the Bammer had that much clout. He never seemed to have much political power in WWF. Though it makes sense for BBB to bring in a friend if possible since he was going to be working with the guy for the next few months.

When it comes to fighting champions going 50/50 with midcarders, while he wasn't the first guy to make me suspend disbelief when I "knew" the lesser wrestler wasn't winning, Shawn Michaels during his 1996 Championship run is the guy I most associate with this trope. He'd suck me in against SO MANY Sultan-tier opponents by bumping all over the place and selling like their offense had him near death. Pretty soon I'd be talking myself into the impossible being possible. Jannetty, Cassidy, Bradshaw, Sincere....the list goes on and on. It's actually one of the big reasons I rate him so high. 

The Jobs Report for...

SUPERSTARS | S07 E28 | 07/11/1992

It's National Nude Day?

Rocco debuts in the arena. He's absolutely TERRIFYING. Lookalikes Barry Hardy & Kerry Davis are LODfodder in the opener.

Is this a rematch against HBK for Chico Martinez, or is Chico a doppelganger for another JTTS? Also, Vince's pronunciation of meera still kills me.

Macho Man Montage is... maybe okay for its day?

"Dadbod" Bruce Mitchell gets squashed instantly with a single-handed chokeslam courtesy of the Underweartaker. Then Zerk and Fooj ambush Take and Bear after the match... with salt to the eyes?! Yep, salt. Thank goodness Taker's eyes were rolled back in his head, so the salt didn't faze him.

Bull puns galore as Tito Santana and Dwayne Gill give us likely the "best match" squash of the episode. Tito was so underutilized.

Dublin Destroyer likely winning the Jobber of the Week award on look alone. Looks like the bigger, better version of Fit Finlay. Haircut included. And here's Tatanka debuting his new look, finally ditching the awkward tights. Looks MUCH better.

Never mind, Rick Johnson is winning on looks. He looks EXACTLY like a taller surfer STING, just without face paint. Shame he's wasted on a Nailz squash. I wonder what he's otherwise capable of. Good build, good look. He'd be a star in my JTTS fed. Anyway... RJ gets assaulted so bad he must be stretched out.

First official announcement SummerSlam will be in England. Wonder when we'll start the pivot to Bret vs. Bulldog?

Bobby Perez & Angel Vega looking like twin scrub schlubs. But I admire their matching ring gear as a JTTS tag team. I particularly like their knee pads. Matching looks isn't enough though to stand a chance against the fearsome Money Incorporated.

Razor Ramon gets upset over his restaurant tab. I wonder who in the WWF has been talking shit about the Cuban immigrant?

High Energy isn't as bad as they started out as. But man, they still blow.

Did Heavenly Bodies always come out with Angel Wings and I missed it? What the fuck is this?

JJ dressing as Doink and punking Dink. :lol:

Is Diesel beating Razor for the IC title the biggest match in Suoerstars history? At least to this point? I think so.

Aug 7, 2021 2:16:22 GMT UT said:

Did Heavenly Bodies always come out with Angel Wings and I missed it? What the fuck is this?

Not sure, but I hope so, because this is a sweet look...

Aug 7, 2021 2:24:38 GMT UT said:

JJ dressing as Doink and punking Dink.

Yes! Been waiting for you to get here. This is the moment I hinted at a few times. Best and most memorable thing Double J did up to that point.

Aug 7, 2021 2:34:26 GMT UT said:

Is Diesel beating Razor for the IC title the biggest match in Suoerstars history? At least to this point? I think so.

Excellent question. But I'm gonna have to say no. Just off the top of my head I think the following were bigger in terms of importance...

-Hart Foundation beating Bulldogs for the Tag Titles. This also paid off the slow burn Danny Davis angle which was a really big deal at the time.
-Honkytonk Man beating Steamboat for the IC Title kicking off the GOAT IC Title run.

*Then when it comes to star power you've got stuff like Savage vs. Steamboat, Hogan's yearly May appearance vs. basically any 'name' wrestler, Flair vs. Slaughter (battle of former world champs that I didn't even remember), and probably a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting. 

Here's a list of all the title changes that aired on Superstars...

Hart Foundation win Tag Titles from Bulldogs- aired 2/7/87
Honkytonk Man wins IC Title from Steamboat- aired 6/13/87
Strike Force win Tag Titles from Hart Foundation- aired 11/7/87
Demolition win Tag Titles from Brainbusters- aired 11/4/89
Colossal Connection win Tag Titles from Demolition- aired 12/30/89
Mr. Perfect defeats Tito Santana in the finals of a tournament to win the vacant IC Title- aired 5/19/90 (I'd also put this over Razor/Diesel)
Mr. Perfect wins IC Title from Texas Tornado- aired 12/15/90
Diesel wins IC Title from Razor Ramon- aired 4/30/94

Baker I mean they had big inflatable wings tied to their backs. It was not a good look.

Good points on those title changes , maybe I should amend to when I’ve started watching which was 1992 because The Cock doesn’t go back that far.

Wait, did the Savage/Flair title switchback not occur on Superstars!?

Aug 7, 2021 3:39:26 GMT 🤯 said:

Wait, did the Savage/Flair title switchback not occur on Superstars!?

Nah. At most we got highlights on Superstars. I'm not sure the full match aired on tv at all. May have been at a house show. Lemme check...

It aired 9/14/92 on Prime Time Wrestling. I never watched that show because cable. Not even sure I knew it existed until I got online in the late 90s.

Fucking Prime Time gets all the good shit.

Aug 7, 2021 3:20:04 GMT UT said:

Baker I mean they had big inflatable wings tied to their backs. It was not a good look.

Good points on those title changes , maybe I should amend to when I’ve started watching which was 1992 because The Cock doesn’t go back that far.

I need to find a pic of this Bodies outfit.

I'm afraid I've got some bad news. The Wikipedia entry I got those title changes from also informed me The Cock only has Superstars episodes up through 5/14/94. Meaning your journey is nearing its conclusion 

I think WWE selling out to The Cock will ultimately prove to be very bad for wrestling historians, but that's a rant for another day.

Aug 7, 2021 3:46:21 GMT Baker said:

Aug 7, 2021 3:20:04 GMT UT said:

Baker I mean they had big inflatable wings tied to their backs. It was not a good look.

Good points on those title changes , maybe I should amend to when I’ve started watching which was 1992 because The Cock doesn’t go back that far.

I need to find a pic of this Bodies outfit.

I'm afraid I've got some bad news. The Wikipedia entry I got those title changes from also informed me The Cock only has Superstars episodes up through 5/14/94. Meaning your journey is nearing its conclusion 

I think WWE selling out to The Cock will ultimately prove to be very bad for wrestling historians, but that's a rant for another day.

It’s on the 4/30/94 episode of Superstars. Can’t find a pic but you should find a way to check it out.

I know it’s ending soon. Sucks. I’ll just have to watch Raw.

Took a while but I finally found a video of the Bodies wearing their wings. It certainly is a look  :lol:



I imagine this would have got the Gunns over huge as babyfaces with UT

:lol:

Those are definitely it! Guess they weren’t as inflatable as much as cardboard… which is somehow even worse. What a look.

The Jobs Report for...

SUPERSTARS | S07 E29 | 07/18/1992

It's National Space Week! Space puns galore, including Perfect making reference to Vince's anus.

Legendary JTTS Brooklyn Brawler & Dwayne Gill are the jobber fodder for Disasters. Highlight is a sad looking fat kid holding Disasters action figures. Of course a fat kid is gonna look up to the Quakester & Phooney. Other highlight is IRS cutting the most lively insert promo he's ever cut.

Pre-Headbanger Glen Ruth gets to be the outlet for Ric Flair & Mr. Perfect's frustrations over Flair being SCREWED out of the SummerSlam main event. Papa Shango should be just as livid over not getting his match with Warrior. I wonder what caused this pivot IRL? Anyway, as a squash with a story, this match was pretty good for what it was.

Virgil squashes some dude who's name I missed, wearing a blue singlet with blonde dreadlocks. Did he ask Bret to stop including the Russian leg sweep in Bret's five moves of doom before picking it as his new finish?

Greg Star or Gregg Starr looking like the missing brother between 1-2-3 Kid and PJ Walker gives Repo a serviceable squash. Vince and Perfect continue to quibble over Flair (and thus Perfect) being FUCKED out of the SummerSlam main event.

A returning Big Boss Man gets the Mean Gene podium interview and drops a censored "ass". Is this the first instance of bleeped curse words in a WWF promo? Wondering why we don't get Boss Man vs. Nailz at SummerSlam if Boss Man is back now?

Holy shit, Jason Knight has spent the entire time since we last saw him in a tanning bed. And yet, despite his epic tan, he's not getting pushed over The Mountie here. Mountie ends it with a beautiful dropkick rendered all the more effective by his riding boots.

Razor Ramon kicks sand, not rocks.

Vito Krus is no longer a Von, but he pulls off a convincing foreigner look nonetheless. He eats Bulldog's offense well. Strangely, despite announcing SummerSlam in England, they're still seemingly sticking with Bulldog/Repo. Which reminds me, they've teased the pivot to Shawn Michaels/Rick Martel with earlier Prime Time footage. Maybe they were briefly considering doing Bret Hart vs. Tatanka for the IC belt at SummerSlam!?!?

Random thought... If we had to pivot to Warrior vs. Savage, why not keep some good things going and make Warrior a heel puppet under Papa Shango's voodoo curse control? We then avoid two face vs. face matches at SummerSlam, and then we can go back to rooting for Warrior afterward as he struggles to break the curse and regain his freedom. Maybe sets up Warrior vs. Shango as a WMIX co-main event?

/////

Double tap!

SUPERSTARS | S07 E30 | 07/25/1992

Just in time for Mick Jagger's birthday, and Rolling Stones puns!

Peter Motts looking like a biker pirate pro wrestler actually has a decent look despite that description. And he moves well bumping for Tatanka in the opener. I might consider booking him in my jobber Federation.

Disasters are the new tag Champs! When did that happen!?!?

Bam Bam Bigelow's BFF Phil Apollo looking like a schlubby Sopranos extra jobs to HBK. But all I can think about is "MEERAH!"

Razor vignette, then our first SummerSlam Report of the summer.

Other matches announced include Bret vs. Bulldog, and Bret reveals for the first time that Bulldog is related by marriage. In his reply to Bret, Bulldog mentions he's undefeated in England. What a random stat!

Then Taker vs. Kamala is announced... What happened to Zerk? And HBK vs. Martel is announced, which at least makes sense off of their Prime Time angle with Shawn costing Martel the IC belt against Bret. Poor Tatanka gets fucked out of a spot on the card, I guess.

Jason Speed looks like a Puerto Rican Carlton from Fresh Prince. He's got zero chance against the nightstick-wielding Nailz. Nailz's entrance has evolved to include being frisked before entering the ring. Is there a more notable case of great idea, terrible execution than Nailz? Wrong guy to play the character. Absurdly goofy lifts in his boots. Boring and slow as fuck with his beatdowns. And not big enough to fill his orange pajamas. Who else could we have given the gimmick to? My first vote is One Man Gang!

The regurgitated repeated promos are always a peculiar production choice. Last week's was Crush. This week's was Zerk, who's still angling for a deal with Taker.

Guess they've dropped Sarge vs. Mountie? They should've pivoted to Mountie vs. High Energy over a high voltage rivalry. That's the best I've got.

Face-to-face time for the faces Savage and Warrior! Despite not being totally on board with the pivot, Warrior vs. Savage is absolutely the right main event as these two are clearly the biggest names and personalities in the WWF.

Love the tension here, and both are teasing they are ready to get heelish to prove they're the best. And now here comes Flair & Perfect to the ring to cut an impromptu promo. Man... If only triple threats were a thing back in the early 90s. We could've had Hogan/Savage/Warrior, Savage/Warrior/Flair, etc.

Anyway... Overall awesome segment. They mean something here and felt special back then. The Attitude Era and later, particularly HHH's Reign of Terror era, made these kind of confrontations so humdrum run of the mill.

Red Tyler & Chris Duffy tagging against the Beverlys. We know how much I dig Red by this point. Duffy has a good look too, and would probably pick up a booking from me in my jobber Federation. Strikes me as Jerry Lawler meets Shane Douglas. Beverlys grow more and more on me with every appearance. And Red gets the LOS paint job this time. Poor Red!

Papa cuts a promo perfectly tying into my idea for Warrior. Wish they'd run with it!

No idea where else to post this random thought, but this thread feels appropriate considering the era...

I wish Barry Horowitz had indeed run with a Howitzer Horowitz rebranding. And then instead of Adam Bomb, I wish he'd been Adam Baum. And together they form a militaristic ICF-themed tag team as the Zealots of Zion. Since I'm not antisemitic, I'm pushing them as faces. But your mileage may vary considering the WWF's general fanbase and track record.

I have no idea what 🤯 even said just now.

These recent 🤯 posts have me wondering why they made such a hard left turn on the road to Summerslam '92. It's not something I would have noticed as a kid. Only story I've heard is the original plan was to run Summerslam in the Washington DC area with Bret/HBK for the IC Title. The move to Wembley would have affected that match, and a theoretical Bulldog/Repo bout, but that doesn't explain the drastic shakeup in the rest of the card. Only other theory I've got is maybe all those natural matchups PI mentioned had been running for months on the house show circuit and therefore would have already been seen by many of the diehard fans?

Agree with Savage/Warrior/Flair being ideal if Triple Threat Matches had been invented in 1992. There are several such instances in old school WWF.

I didn't remember Sarge being around this late in the game. Also drawing a blank on his feud with my man The Mountie. The way I always "remembered" it is Sarge's WWF career wrapped up soon after his face turn.

Everybody knows the biggest storyline ever to take place on Superstars was Men On A Misson laying waste to The Smoking Guns after a demoralizing defeat. I was almost shocked to tears.

This Volkhoff angle is a tough one. Didn’t know where the Kings Court segment was going the other week but now I vaguely remember Dibiase buying him.

Still weird to me running a Volkhoff angle in TNG.

I have one episode of Superstars left , sad day indeed. Guess it was a good thing I supplemented RAW in there otherwise it would have been over quicker. God The Cock sucks for not having them all.

Contemplating keeping going with TNG era because its been fun , or jumping to a new Era.

Agree on the Volkoff angle being an odd duck.

Please stick with the New Generation. I want to see how you react to my own personal golden age which begins around the summer of 95.

I really want to as well. It's been a ton of fun seeing these old gimmicks and wrestlers - plus The Dumpster hasn't even debuted in the ring yet!

Plus the search for Taker (sans Nielsen) has begun. The Hart Bros rematch. The Mable heel turn and KOTR win. Jarrett doing more things. Yankem. Yeah I'm sticking around for the long haul.

I'm going to get pissed time and time again though when they show cool happenings on Superstars and I miss them!

Seriously why don't they just go all the way with the episodes? There is legitimately nothing holding them back? I'm pretty sure no one is anticipating their big release aside from 🤯 , myself and Baker.

I initially liked the jump to The Cock because it looked like they were going for more original programming again with stuff like Icons and The Countdowns but now it's back to the same thing the WWE Network did and just relying on the catalogue - only that catalogue has less stuff in it and is harder to navigate.

At least I still have the Legends of Wrestling roundtables to throw on from time to time as well. One of my favorite series the WWE has ever put out.

I agree the Cock SUCKS!

Forgot to mention too that the last RAW (or second to last?) I watched was when the Headshrinkers beat the Quebecers for the titles. Fun angle , not a very good match but at least the year of the Headshrinkers comes into play. It's fun having Albano there with his connection to the OG's but I'm still not impressed much by them and always wonder what the hell happened to Sika after it was all said and done?

Kishi went on to have a great and steady career , Sika just vanished despite me not noticing a ton of difference in their talent.