Damn, that was a decent hook for being 70+. Read some backstory on the grudge and reads like Mosca was a really dirty player who finally got his long overdue receipt.

SuperBrawl, Starrcade, The GAB, WrestleWar, Fall Brawl... wCw just had the right branding man. PPV names that just reek of pro wrestling STANK.

"aT uNfOrGiVeN..." - fuck outta here. When you can't mistake the PPV name for rasslin' you know it's the good shit.

Sept 10, 2024 23:51:48 GMT @ness said:

SuperBrawl, Starrcade, The GAB, WrestleWar, Fall Brawl... wCw just had the right branding man. PPV names that just reek of pro wrestling STANK.

"aT uNfOrGiVeN..." - fuck outta here. When you can't mistake the PPV name for rasslin' you know it's the good shit.

You're not wrong but it's not as if WWF was a slouch in this department with Wrestlemania, Summerslam, King of the Ring, Royal Rumble & Survivor Series.
============
TIL Hulk Hogan never successfully defended the WWF Championship on PPV after Wrestlemania III and only had 3 successful PPV defenses, period.

Sept 10, 2024 23:51:48 GMT @ness said:

SuperBrawl, Starrcade, The GAB, WrestleWar, Fall Brawl... wCw just had the right branding man. PPV names that just reek of pro wrestling STANK.

"aT uNfOrGiVeN..." - fuck outta here. When you can't mistake the PPV name for rasslin' you know it's the good shit.

It was never more apparent than when WWF copied WCW's every month PPV model and could only come up with adding numbers and then subtitles to In Your House, an already putrid name.

In Your House 3 in the same month as Fall Brawl War Games.

In Your House 4 in the same month as Halloween Havoc.

In Your House 6 in the same month as SuperBrawl.

In Your House: Beware of Dog in the same month as Slamboree.

Embarrassing. WWF really was so washed in 1995/1996, it's kind of a miracle they got their juice back in 1997.

Sept 11, 2024 1:35:27 GMT Kilgore said:

It was never more apparent than when WWF copied WCW's every month PPV model 

WWF actually beat WCW to running a PPV every month. WCW would inexplicably skip a month or two every year (January & August 95, January & April 96). 1996 WWF was the first time a promotion ran a PPV every month in a calendar year and WWF from May 95-May 96 was the first time a promotion ran a PPV every month for any sort of one-year stretch. 

Sept 11, 2024 2:08:30 GMT Baker said:

Sept 11, 2024 1:35:27 GMT Kilgore said:

It was never more apparent than when WWF copied WCW's every month PPV model 

WWF actually beat WCW to running a PPV every month. WCW would inexplicably skip a month or two every year (January & August 95, January & April 96). 1996 WWF was the first time a promotion ran a PPV every month in a calendar year and WWF from May 95-May 96 was the first time a promotion ran a PPV every month for any sort of one-year stretch. 

Getting pedantic with me! I will admit defeat and say WWF copied WCW's "running more than 4 pay per views a year" model. 

WCW should have always skipped January! The late December Starrcade with an early February SuperBrawl was a perfect gap. 

Sept 11, 2024 3:38:18 GMT Kilgore said:

Sept 11, 2024 2:08:30 GMT Baker said:

WWF actually beat WCW to running a PPV every month. WCW would inexplicably skip a month or two every year (January & August 95, January & April 96). 1996 WWF was the first time a promotion ran a PPV every month in a calendar year and WWF from May 95-May 96 was the first time a promotion ran a PPV every month for any sort of one-year stretch. 

Getting pedantic with me! I will admit defeat and say WWF copied WCW's "running more than 4 pay per views a year" model. 

WCW should have always skipped January! The late December Starrcade with an early February SuperBrawl was a perfect gap.

To throw WCW a bone, PPV was one area they had my beloved WWF beat in 93-94 just because they ran more of them. The more wrestling the better! in those days.

This has me thinking of what the ideal PPV schedule would look like. Honestly think early-mid 90s WCW hit on the winning formula- 7 or 8 PPVs a year with the off months featuring a Clash of the Champions. 

I was tickled pink when WWF went to a PPV every month in 1995. Again, the more wrestling the better! in those days. BUT I think they should have scaled back after winning the war. Those post-Attitude brand split pay per views could be pretty brutal. Maybe go to the 1999 ECW route of a PPV every two months? Or perhaps the happy medium of a PPV every 6 weeks? Of course, I, an idiot, was out there ordering more WWF/E pay per views than ever in 02-03. Not to mention a good number of TNA's weeklies! Ah, to be young, stupid, wrestling obsessed, and have money to burn...

Watching from afar, I thought AEW had it right when they started, but it seems like they're running more and more PPVs nowadays. 

Verdict: 6-8 a year supplemented by "super shows" like Clash of the Champions or Saturday Night's Main Event seems like the ideal 

I was curious to discover who the first wrestler with those classic WWF vignettes happened to be...

Looks like it was Brutus Beefcake: Male Stripper strutting his stuff onstage in August-September 1984.

The best part? Meltzer and his crew were freaking out because none of them could identify the guy lol. Took 'em weeks. Beefcake had been working 5-7 years by that point. Hit up a lot of territories, too- Memphis twice, Mid-South, AWA, Portland, New Japan, Otto Wanz's CWA, and even a prior WWF run as "Eddie Boulder." Safe to say he was already a master of reinvention if he could fool that Wrestling Observer crowd.

Sept 15, 2024 16:10:42 GMT Baker said:

Watching from afar, I thought AEW had it right when they started, but it seems like they're running more and more PPVs nowadays. 

It actually kind of backfired because there would be large swathes of time where they'd keep their powder dry and run a bunch of aimless TV until they entered a PPV cycle. So there would be weeks of Dynamite where hardly anything would happen and the main event would be something like Dustin Rhodes vs. a student from the Nightmare Factory. Usually fans would be all fired up coming off a hot PPV, only for the TV to meander for weeks at a time.

Not only were the brand split PPVs a rip-off, they started adding more shows. I actually didn't mind the original concept of having B-PPVs with a 6-8 week build per brand since it made those shows feel significant. Then they started adding more shows in 2004 despite the roster getting weaker and the shows were notoriously bad.

What do you guys make of the five match PPVs the WWE are currently running? Yay or nay on the IYH type shows?

Sept 16, 2024 11:44:31 GMT Big Pete said:

What do you guys make of the five match PPVs the WWE are currently running? Yay or nay on the IYH type shows?

I love it. I get burned out on wrestling matches pretty quickly given how excessive they all are, so I stop enjoying match after match pretty quickly. AEW PPV cards are incredibly overwhelming, 10+ matches and most of them are running 15 minutes or more.

Are these shows going ~2 hours or is it still within the 3* hour timeframe? I recall back when I watched not a lot of shows went the full 3 anyway, usually closing @ 30-45. Still I think a solid show with only demanded matches is better than filler just to eat time.

AEW shows are like 4-5 hours? Recent WWE shows are closer to 3.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}
weqweqwqw

A wrestler's specialty match, who comes to mind first? Usually I'd say the Dudleyz and tables. One thing I always noticed as a kid was how untrue it actually was. They used to say the Hardyz were the masters of the ladder match, I assume based on their high flying offense... and yet it was E & C who won all the major TLCs that made them major stars. Taker was always touted as the master of these hardcore gimmicks but he always lost them. It made sense because it was a way to instill fear and for them to best Taker without really getting a decisive W but it doesn't make sense to always lose your match. Wassupwithdat?

Sept 16, 2024 11:40:37 GMT Big Pete said:

Sept 15, 2024 16:10:42 GMT Baker said:

Watching from afar, I thought AEW had it right when they started, but it seems like they're running more and more PPVs nowadays. 

1. It actually kind of backfired because there would be large swathes of time where they'd keep their powder dry and run a bunch of aimless TV until they entered a PPV cycle. So there would be weeks of Dynamite where hardly anything would happen and the main event would be something like Dustin Rhodes vs. a student from the Nightmare Factory. Usually fans would be all fired up coming off a hot PPV, only for the TV to meander for weeks at a time.

2. Not only were the brand split PPVs a rip-off, they started adding more shows. I actually didn't mind the original concept of having B-PPVs with a 6-8 week build per brand since it made those shows feel significant. Then they started adding more shows in 2004 despite the roster getting weaker and the shows were notoriously bad.

3. What do you guys make of the five match PPVs the WWE are currently running? Yay or nay on the IYH type shows?

1. I can see this. You always need to be building to something. On the other hand, who among us can forget all those Batista/Edge/Cena/JBL programs that were drawn out just because you have to have a PPV every month, brother? (Batista & Edge are the ones I most associate with this)

2. Yes! Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday, New Year's Revolution, One Night Stand, etc. WWE out there cramming in more pay per views of lesser quality. It's no wonder I largely went off WWE pay per views in 2004 and would only watch the occasional show at a sports bar in following years.

3. Eh I'm leaning towards not "for me, brother." 7-9 matches on a 3-hour show is the PPV sweet spot.  Five 20+ minute "epics" in a row would likely burn me out. I assume that's what WWE is doing nowadays?

Sept 17, 2024 23:23:57 GMT @ness said:

A wrestler's specialty match, who comes to mind first? Usually I'd say the Dudleyz and tables. One thing I always noticed as a kid was how untrue it actually was. They used to say the Hardyz were the masters of the ladder match, I assume based on their high flying offense... and yet it was E & C who won all the major TLCs that made them major stars. Taker was always touted as the master of these hardcore gimmicks but he always lost them. It made sense because it was a way to instill fear and for them to best Taker without really getting a decisive W but it doesn't make sense to always lose your match. Wassupwithdat?

Hulk Hogan and the Cage Match. Was that even a thing or did it only exist in my head? Mainly due to Hogan/Kamala in a cage being the first match I ever saw? Let's see...There was also WM 2, Orndorff, Bossman, one of the Summerslams, multiple house show blowoffs. Yeah, I'm inclined to think Hogan's specialty being the Cage Match was a thing. Also helped that there weren't as many gimmick matches back then so the Cage was used as THE big blowoff match.

HHH & Taker in Hell In A Cell also came to mind.

You have a point about Undertaker and other "masters" of the match often losing their own specialty. 

Now I'm reminded of Cactus Jack lobbying to go over Van Hammer in a Falls Count Anywhere match by playing to booker Dusty Rhodes' ego. "Hey, I have an idea. How about I get positioned as master of the Falls Count Anywhere Match like how you were master of the Bullrope Match and then I'll lose Dustin somewhere down the line?" Dusty couldn't resist that double ego stroke. And they say Foley didn't play politics...smh

Who knew early Brutus Beefcake could be so interesting? Recently heard Honky Tonk Man was originally penciled in to play the Brutus Beefcake character. Honestly not sure I buy this one despite it coming from a trusted source. HTM did dozens of shoot interviews over the years, and not once did I ever hear this from him (or anybody else) prior to this week. Would have been interesting if true though. Could Honky have made the male stripper thing work? Yeah, I think so just because he was great at playing a character. Dude was "Punk Rock Wayne" long before adapting his more famous musical gimmick. Honk would have been to male strippers what Jimmy Del Ray was to Gigolos.
=========
Think Big Pete is the only HoW regular who can help me out here. How bad was TNA RVD and why?

Now, as I mentioned in another thread the other day, RVD always had a vocal cult hatedom. They were small, vocal, and easily avoided. The average fan liked RVD, and the slightly more hardcore fan loved the guy. Yet it seems like EVERYBODY hated his TNA run. Remember coming back to the IWC after a 3-year absence and now even the normies were bashing RVD. Marky D, who basically does an Average Wrestling Fan gimmick, never tires of bashing "No Job Rob." Remember seeing somebody somewhere call him a "poor man's AJ Styles" and I'm honestly surprised my head didn't explode right then and there. Also remember Nobi & I being pumped when he came back to WWE in 2013 or 14 and a lot of other people being downright upset about this. 

So, Pete, how bad was it? 

Oh, and another thing I recently discovered is RVD was a most unlikely Friend of Hogan. What a weird friendship! Those two seem like polar opposites. Did that play into the RVD backlash? Was he viewed as Rob Van Beefcake?

Fwiw I think the only RVD TNA match I ever saw was against Matt Hardy. Might have been the show where Matt's brother showed up in no condition to perform? That RVD/Matt match was....fine. Perfectly cromulent wrestling iirc. 

I once watched RVD vs. Jerry Lynn. In TNA. I remember almost nothing about it. So, maybe that says a lot about RVD's TNA run.

RVDs run gave us Sting in a Sting mask!

Sept 19, 2024 3:20:38 GMT Baker said:

Think Big Pete is the only HoW regular who can help me out here. How bad was TNA RVD and why?

Now, as I mentioned in another thread the other day, RVD always had a vocal cult hatedom. They were small, vocal, and easily avoided. The average fan liked RVD, and the slightly more hardcore fan loved the guy. Yet it seems like EVERYBODY hated his TNA run. Remember coming back to the IWC after a 3-year absence and now even the normies were bashing RVD. Marky D, who basically does an Average Wrestling Fan gimmick, never tires of bashing "No Job Rob." Remember seeing somebody somewhere call him a "poor man's AJ Styles" and I'm honestly surprised my head didn't explode right then and there. Also remember Nobi & I being pumped when he came back to WWE in 2013 or 14 and a lot of other people being downright upset about this. 

So, Pete, how bad was it? 

Oh, and another thing I recently discovered is RVD was a most unlikely Friend of Hogan. What a weird friendship! Those two seem like polar opposites. Did that play into the RVD backlash? Was he viewed as Rob Van Beefcake?

Fwiw I think the only RVD TNA match I ever saw was against Matt Hardy. Might have been the show where Matt's brother showed up in no condition to perform? That RVD/Matt match was....fine. Perfectly cromulent wrestling iirc. 

It was painfully average. It wasn't the worst return you'll see, but Rob was coasting, working the exact same style of match he had been through out his WWE run except he was even sloppier.

It doesn't help that the only things that I remember was his bastardized theme music and his horrible debut. To refresh your memory, they had him debut against Sting which should have been this massive match. Except it was right in the middle of Impact and RVD won in 10 seconds with a Rolling Thunder. Just a complete nothing match buried in the middle of the show. To make matters worse, Sting completely no-sold the match and proceeded to beat the piss out of RVD, only for Hogan to make the save, so the whole segment was poor.

I definitely think coming in during the Hogan era hurt him. Fans wanted to see guys like Desmond Wolf and D'Angelo Dinero pushed, they didn't want to see another ex-WWE guy instantly rocket-strapped to the top of the card. I also think in general, fans just hated the direction the company was going in and there were very few segments that actually got over. Meanwhile as soon as RVD landed in the WWE, fans seemed more receptive to him. Maybe he was more motivated and fans recognised that and he wasn't as over-pushed in TNA but it also seemed like a case where fans liked him because he was on 'their' side once again.

In light of AEW and how they cater towards smarks, I wonder how TNA actually would have gone if they did the same thing? TNA 2010 was trying really hard to appeal to the lapsed fans who enjoyed watching WCW and ECW back in the day. It was total car crash booking and while it's viewed as a failure, if they booked it more like AEW would it have been more popular or better? The jury is out.

When you commission, participate, and influence a documentary about yourself and still end up looking like a piece of shit lol

Absolutely hilarious coincidence posted on wreddit last night: some dude’s uncle gifted him an old DVD of ECW One Night Stand and it has a signature on it. He posted asking if anyone could identify it for him.

The signature belongs to Chris Benoit.

www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/s/sDLDuw3r0W

Over here thinking about the Birth of Heel and chuckling. I know Shootist first heard the word 'heel' in its wrestling context on an episode of The Flintstones. This is my story...

OK, so I can't actually pinpoint exactly when I first heard the word in its wrestling context. I can only narrow it down to sometime between August/September 1996 (discovered wrestling radio show) and February/March 1998 (got internet at home). Growing up they were good guys and bad guys. Then fan favorites and rulebreakers in the parlance of the Apter Mags. Guessing I learned the word heel sometime in 1997. Do remember the term being HUGE with me and the local lads. For a few months, maybe years, practically everyone was a HEEL. You're a heel. He's a heel. She's a heel. I'm a heel. Everywhere's a heel heel. We just liked saying heel. Loved it even! The pattern would repeat itself in the early 2000s with my next clique. Only this time jobber was the word du jour. You're a jobber. He's a jobber. She's a jobber. I'm a jobber. Everywhere's a jobber jobber. Spammed the heck out of both terms.

I was so bad at spamming insider wrestling vernacular that to this day, my mom, who was never a wrestling fan to begin with, only watched occasionally to humor my brother and I for a few years in the late 80s-early 90s, and has likely only watched about 2 minutes of wrestling since the early 90s (Jacobs vs. a Briscoe on ROH tv- "why are they kicking so much? I thought this was wrestling? Looked more like kickboxing to me.") still calls incompetents jobbers and jabronies. You love to see it.

I was a good boy in school. Vast majority of the time I'd just sit there in the back of class diligently working away or quietly daydreaming, often about wrestling. I won good conduct awards!  My dad embarrassed me on 6th grade back to school night by telling my math teacher something like "You won't have any trouble with this one. He's so goodie goodie I'd give him money if he did get in trouble! Har har har!" Hah! Jokes on you, dad! I did get sent out in the hallway one time that year for talking to my friend Garrett. Pay up, pop! And sometimes, as I got older, I would cut up just a wee bit when I was in class with Matt The IRS Fan (common, as we did a pretty good job of synchronizing our schedules) or younger local lad Adam (two classes).

Anyway, in what I presume to be 1998*, Matt The IRS Fan and I were chatting away in the back of English class, likely about basketball or football, when the teacher called on me. I was caught out. Could feel my face turning red. No idea what he had been talking about. I asked for clarification. He said something like "It's a simple question. Yes or no?" "Yes?" I guessed. "No!" the teacher said. "Wrong! The main character doesn't have to be the protagonist. The antagonist can be the main character. For example, Pal Joey was a heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel!"



Oh. My. God. Matt and I were DONE. Uncontrollable laughter for minutes. I had tears in my eyes. He said the word! And wtf was a "Pal Joey?!?" You have understand this teacher had one of the two WEIRDEST accents I had ever heard (ironically another teacher, 10th grade AP History, is his chief competition here). First of all, he spoke with a serious lisp. Secondly, he had this (possibly fake) British-style accent. I tried and failed to emulate this teacher's singular manner of speech over the years. And then he said THE WORD! In THAT accent! You had to be there.

But the story doesn't end there. That day, and more than once over the subsequent decades, I asked my mom if she knew who, or what, a "Pal Joey" was. She answered in the affirmative before adding, "Pal Joey was a heel." Dead. Then, around that same time, while watching Seinfeld as usual, I popped huge when Jerry dropped a "pal Joey" during the Crazy Joe Divola episode. 

So I guess this veered off into a Pal Joey post? I'm cool with that. What's the deal with this guy? Why is he the only non-wrestling figure to be called a heel since the days when women were called dames and "I says to Mabel, I says?" I'm sure I looked for a tape of Pal Joey at the video store once I learned it was a movie. That seems likely. They must have been out. And then I moved on. I feel like Kilgore would have seen Pal Joey. Give me the scoop, brother. I see it's up on DailyMotion. Might have to watch that next time I have 2 hours to kill. 

*Matt wasn't even a wrestling fan by '98. He was the exception to the Rule of 95 in that his fandom waned during that glorious year (perhaps due to WWF losing IRS?) while everyone else's fandom skyrocketed and he would be done with wrestling by September '96 if only because, as a fellow non-cable haver, that's when WWF left free tv in our area. Shotgun came back to free tv in our area no later than 6/20/98 but he had long moved on by that point. Yet still he knew all about HEELS....because of me. 

I've never seen Pal Joey, I'm sorry to say (musicals not really my thing). It is very funny that embodies the term heel to an entire generation, apparently.

I had a 9th grade English teacher who had an affected accent, which might not be the same as your teacher, but goddamn, did it make me think of that asshole. My teacher was basically doing a 1940's transatlantic accent even though he was from fucking Long Island, New York. Just think William F. Buckley, that's how he was talking. The worst. I actually organized not one, but two walkouts of that guy's class, for valid reasons not worth getting into. I got everyone but 3 people to walk out. On the last day of school, he dismissed everyone except those three one minute early, then shook only their hands as we watched from outside the classroom because he was still sore about it. A true heel. 

That's right. 

Bret, the gift that keeps on giving.

Sept 25, 2024 2:01:02 GMT Kilgore said:

I've never seen Pal Joey, I'm sorry to say (musicals not really my thing)

I had a 9th grade English teacher who had an affected accent, which might not be the same as your teacher, but goddamn, did it make me think of that asshole. My teacher was basically doing a 1940's transatlantic accent 

I didn't even know Pal Joey was a musical.   Should have guessed given I did know Sinatra played the titular character.

As a George Plimpton enthusiast, transatlantic accent was the very term I had initially used to describe my teacher's bizarre way of speaking before editing because I didn't think PW would know what I meant. Should have known I could count on you.

Haven't watched Pal Joey yet. I've been very busy since July when I began engaging in a post-work activity most days that sort of doubles as a second job (but all for a good cause!) and wanted to slip in a little PW posting tonight, but I do plan on watching it sometime within the next week. 

Sept 25, 2024 1:30:59 GMT Baker said:

ironically another teacher, 10th grade AP History, is his chief competition here

And shame on me for forgetting the 'louse' story! Gotta slip this one in real quick. I remember bodyslam once saying he called somebody "BOSS HOGG" because it was the harshest insult he knew. Well, this sophomore year social studies teacher, who is in my all-time Top 5 (albeit likely #5), once called somebody a LOUSE. I don't even remember if it was a student or a historical figure, but it had me rolling. Who is out there calling people a LOUSE in the 90s?! This guy, apparently. So long before jobber, before even heel, this guy's LOUSE was the big insult in my neighborhood. Call somebody a louse? OOH! Dem's fightin' words. King of the Insults. 
===========
This is normally where I'd veer back on topic with an actual wrestling thought, but I got nothin' tonight. Sorry, you buncha louses.

EDIT: D'oh! I also have a "drunk at an Oriole game" story about 10th Grade History teacher guy. Was going to post that one in the "Live Sporting Events" thread a few months back before losing interest after my first mega post there bombed. Maybe one day...

Sept 26, 2024 1:11:37 GMT Baker said:

Sept 25, 2024 2:01:02 GMT Kilgore said:

I've never seen Pal Joey, I'm sorry to say (musicals not really my thing)

I had a 9th grade English teacher who had an affected accent, which might not be the same as your teacher, but goddamn, did it make me think of that asshole. My teacher was basically doing a 1940's transatlantic accent 

I didn't even know Pal Joey was a musical.    Should have guessed given I did know Sinatra played the titular character.

As a George Plimpton enthusiast, transatlantic accent was the very term I had initially used to describe my teacher's bizarre way of speaking before editing because I didn't think PW would know what I meant. Should have known I could count on you.

Haven't watched Pal Joey yet. I've basically been working the equivalent of two jobs a job and a half since July and wanted to slip in a little PW posting tonight (and probably tomorrow as well) but I do hope to watch it within the next week. 

Sept 25, 2024 1:30:59 GMT Baker said:

ironically another teacher, 10th grade AP History, is his chief competition here

And shame on me for forgetting the 'louse' story! Gotta slip this one in real quick. I remember bodyslam once saying he called somebody "BOSS HOGG" because it was the harshest insult he knew. Well, this sophomore year social studies teacher, who is in my all-time Top 5 (albeit likely #5), once called somebody a LOUSE. I don't even remember if it was a student or a historical figure, but it had me rolling. Who is out there calling people a LOUSE in the 90s?! This guy, apparently. So long before jobber, before even heel, this guy's LOUSE was the big insult in my neighborhood. Call somebody a louse? OOH! Dem's fightin' words. King of the Insults. 
===========
This is normally where I'd veer back on topic with an actual wrestling thought, but I got nothin' tonight. Sorry, you buncha louses.

its been about 45 years and he still calls me Nick and he's still Boss Hogg or just Boss

Sept 18, 2024 23:16:40 GMT Baker said:

Who knew early Brutus Beefcake could be so interesting? Recently heard Honky Tonk Man was originally penciled in to play the Brutus Beefcake character. Honestly not sure I buy this one despite it coming from a trusted source. HTM did dozens of shoot interviews over the years, and not once did I ever hear this from him (or anybody else) prior to this week. Would have been interesting if true though. Could Honky have made the male stripper thing work? Yeah, I think so just because he was great at playing a character. Dude was "Punk Rock Wayne" long before adapting his more famous musical gimmick. Honk would have been to male strippers what Jimmy Del Ray was to Gigolos.
=========
Think Big Pete is the only HoW regular who can help me out here. How bad was TNA RVD and why?

Now, as I mentioned in another thread the other day, RVD always had a vocal cult hatedom. They were small, vocal, and easily avoided. The average fan liked RVD, and the slightly more hardcore fan loved the guy. Yet it seems like EVERYBODY hated his TNA run. Remember coming back to the IWC after a 3-year absence and now even the normies were bashing RVD. Marky D, who basically does an Average Wrestling Fan gimmick, never tires of bashing "No Job Rob." Remember seeing somebody somewhere call him a "poor man's AJ Styles" and I'm honestly surprised my head didn't explode right then and there. Also remember Nobi & I being pumped when he came back to WWE in 2013 or 14 and a lot of other people being downright upset about this. 

So, Pete, how bad was it? 

Oh, and another thing I recently discovered is RVD was a most unlikely Friend of Hogan. What a weird friendship! Those two seem like polar opposites. Did that play into the RVD backlash? Was he viewed as Rob Van Beefcake?

Fwiw I think the only RVD TNA match I ever saw was against Matt Hardy. Might have been the show where Matt's brother showed up in no condition to perform? That RVD/Matt match was....fine. Perfectly cromulent wrestling iirc. 

Rob is still a Top 5 favorite of mine. I just really liked his style, the stoner aesthetic, the badass singlets, the JVD cosplay, etc.

But yeah, his TNA run was mostly the drizzles.... Stupid Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Random Friday thought:

D’Lo Brown would be a tippy top guy if he was in his prime right now.