I decided to go back in time in my Wrestling with Paul watching to the last few months of 1987 and then through 1988 as 1988 is a year that I know less about overall than those following it. It is an interesting year that feels like a transition with many departures of old faces and new arrivals. Plus WrestleMania IV is a show that doesn’t seem to get revisited often for potential rebooking, probably for some of the reasons I am about to bring up.

I think the main problem with Mania IV is that it is hard to not do the tournament to get to where they want to get. It seems like many things were up in the air. Hogan was going to be filming his biography, that would be changed into No Holds Barred, and was probably going to drop the title. But if his schedule allowed him to still work weekends, there was a chance of keeping the belt on him. DiBiase was not getting over as strongly as they hoped, possibly in part due to him trying to buy the title rather than win it by being great in the ring. But it absolutely fit the gimmick to have him take more satisfaction from buying it than winning it. So there has always been a rumour that DiBiase was to leave Mania IV as champion, possibly to build to a title defence against Hogan at the first SummerSlam. Bruce Prichard claims the plan was always for Savage to leave Mania IV as champion, despite Honky’s repeated claims that he was asked to drop the title to Savage at Feb’s The Main Event (which you wouldn’t do if he was winning the World Title in 6 weeks), and in spite of the fact that the tournament bracket changed in a way that suggests Savage was not originally due to win it.

Anyway, the only way that I can see it working without the tournament is to have DiBiase’s purchasing of the title be accepted, but I really don’t like that – it was correct for it to be deemed illegitimate, otherwise the title is being devalued. You’d then have to have Hogan be willing to forego trying to reclaim the title to finish his deal with Andre and have Hogan/Andre III with no title involved and I’m not sure how well that really works.

You could try to make it an 8-man tournament, but it did make sense for Hogan and Andre to receive byes as the previous two champions. That would make it a 6-man tournament and guarantee one of Hogan or Andre in the final. You could do it so that DiBiase was trying to use Andre to get to the final and then Andre would step out of the ring in the final and be counted out to give DiBiase the title. So you’d need to have Savage over DiBiase and Andre in the semis and final, which is giving away both of those matches (the two obvious challengers for new champ Savage coming out of Mania) on the same show. To not completely fill the show with the tournament, you could make it the 14-man with Hogan/Andre bye as in reality, but have the first round on TV. So the champs are automatically qualified for the tournament as their advantage, rather than having to win one less match on the night itself. That is likely my preferred route, as if we do the Hogan/Andre double DQ or similar finish, then we get down to 6 tournament matches from 11. It frees up massive room on the card for feuds of the time.

But as a fun exercise, let’s first act as if we are accepting MDM as champion and doing him DiBiase vs. Savage for the title and Hogan vs. Andre III as a blowoff, possibly in a cage, and see what else may have been possibilities for a Mania IV card not dedicated almost entirely to a tournament. It almost goes without saying that we are not holding it at the Trump Plaza. I get why they did it, but I don’t want that dead crowd with plenty non-fans. They definitely could’ve run a stadium for IV and especially V, but III was cemented as incredibly special by them not returning to one for a few years. Let’s just say a nice big arena filled with a standard at the time, hot WWF crowd.

As documented here, Race vs. Duggan started in October 1987 with a meeting-in-the-aisle confrontation that ultimately led to Duggan stealing Race’s crown and cape. Then in late December, they brawled all over the Slammy Awards (one of the first bad examples of WWF overproduction where there are multiple cameras capturing all the right angles, when this should’ve been a handheld camera following them about). I know I am basically just about to steal what I plan to do the next year, but with Duggan lined up to win the Rumble anyway, it seems so obvious to have him last eliminate Race, who can be all “who can win a Royal Rumble but a King?” in the build, and this leads to their blowoff for the crown at Mania in a nasty brawl, which ends in some kind of non-finish so that Race keeps the gimmick. I know this isn’t the era for workrate or the guys caring about having good matches in the WWF and this card idea will be similar to my Mania V one in that it is a large number of shortish matches, with pre-match promos, video packages, spots getting the gimmicks/props over - more like SNME-type matches. But I’d be trying to convince guys to have better matches and I’d be wanting more Mid-South Duggan here, who could definitely have worked a great match with Race.

After leaving the Dream Team and turning face at Mania III, Beefcake was set to first feud with Adonis, whose hair he had cut. After Adonis left shortly after Mania, he moved on to the Dream Team manager Johnny Valiant and would mix in with the New Dream Team/Rougeaus feud for a while. Latter half of 1987, he was mainly taking on Valentine or his replacement Bravo. The New Dream Team last teamed together at the Survivor Series and Johnny V left, with Jimmy Hart becoming Valentine’s new manager. Then right through to Mania, Beefer was still feuding with The Hammer until it was blown off 2 weeks before Mania on SNME, as they were going to run Beefcake as IC challenger to Jimmy Hart’s other man Honky. I would blow off Beefcake vs. Valentine here instead in a Hair vs. Hair match. I’d have Beefer win by sleeper and then, when Jimmy tries to prevent the cutting, he gets put to sleep too and Beefer cuts his hair first instead and Hammer wakes and gets away with Hart, who has only had the back of his hair trimmed. So the fans did not get short-changed of a haircut and shaving Jimmy’s hair sets Beefer up perfectly to move on to Honky. It would be hard to argue in kayfabe that the contract of the match outcome had been met, with it clearly being Hammer’s hair on the line, so maybe I’ll just do this end without calling it a hair match. Or we could use the finish as a reason why Beefcake gets title shots against Honky. Maybe there is a fine or Valentine will get suspended or even all of Jimmy Hart’s wrestlers will get suspended unless Valentine allows his hair to be cut and the Mouth compromises by giving Beefer a title shot.

Speaking of Honky, with him having finished up his feud with Savage to free him up for the World Title and with me wanting to delay the Beefer feud, the obvious route would be to fire back up Honky vs. Steamboat and do a blowoff. In the few matches that Steamer wrestled in 1987 post IC loss, it was nearly always against Honky. Steamer claims Honky is not the greatest IC champ of all time and he deserves another rematch. Honky had just been claiming Liz was after him in the Savage feud. Steamer was bringing his wife and kid around. Could have Honky claim Bonnie wants him too for a bit of extra heat. While you would not want outright allusions to Savage as a heel, I could see doing an angle where Honky jabs at Steamer’s previously injured throat with the guitar in the build. Since the post-Mania feuds were going to be Honky/Beefer and Steamer/Valentine, you could tie this match in to Beefcake/Valentine and the post-match. Do a similar promo to the one we got post Beefer/Honky before this match with Jimmy Hart being embarrassed by his hair and Honky trying to cover it up. He can comment on Beefer (to sow the seeds for his next feud) before addressing Steamboat. Mouth of the South doesn’t come out with Honky due to the embarrassment and fear that Beefer will finish the job on his hair, but then Steamer is about to win so Jimmy comes in to interfere. This brings out Beefcake, who chases Hart to the back. But then Valentine (without Bruti to stop him) appears and helps Honky steal the win and sets up his feud with Steamer that will not happen as The Dragon leaves.

I will definitely keep Warrior vs. Hercules. Made sense as a pairing of musclemen and they did a nice angle coming in where Herc challenge Warrior to a chain tug-of-war at the start of their match and the chain broke and Herc attacked and beatdown Warrior with it. I might want to do a chain match but not sure. Mania is a great time for gimmick matches and with that angle coming in, a match featuring a “reinforced chain” would work well. It would need to be planned out to make the match watchable, with spots that Warrior could do and would be happy to do. Not sure if I’d do pinfall or touch the corners rules. The latter would save Herc doing a traditional job and 80s crowds go wild for that teased stuff.

Bigelow vs. Bundy was a big feud in late 1987. Bigelow was beating Bundy on the house shows and pinned him in their Survivor Series tag. Bundy left in early Jan (he returned to do a favour for one match at MSG in late Feb) and one reason given (from Bret’s book from memory) for him feeling comfortable leaving is that he had saved well. I’m going to act like I could convince him to stay through to one last big payday. I’d have these two big men in the Rumble, each considered the favourite by the respective face and heel announcers, and have Bundy (since he’d previously jobbed to him) toss out Bigelow. Bundy would be too busy gloating towards Bammer and 4-5 guys would team up to eliminate him. They could then brawl to the back. The animosity would result in Bundy challenging Bam Bam to a Loser Leaves WWF match at Mania.

Superstar Billy Graham’s first feud back from his injuries in 1987 was with Butch Reed. There were Graham posing vignettes, with Reed saying he wasn’t impressed and doing ones of his own. Graham/Reed feuded from June through to early November and were due to be on opposite Survivor Series teams. But Graham’s genuine injuries were too much so they ran an angle during a Graham/Reed match where another Slick man OMG interfered and splashed Graham multiple times to end his career, with Muraco (recently freed up from his tag team explodes feud with Orton Jr., who had been fired) coming to Superstar’s aid. This resulted in a Muraco vs. Reed feud with Muraco taking Graham’s Survivor Series spot and Graham would become Muraco’s manager by late December. Muraco and Reed feuded from November until March and were working opposite each other as late as 9 days before Mania. Perfect for a Mania blowoff, especially since Reed will be leaving. Puts Muraco, whose time is also short, over so that he can do the same for a new heel in the summer.

They ran a short Jake Roberts vs. Sika program in December, including a SNME match where Fuji had a big pot of mustard and Sika a comically long baguette, talking about eating Damien. I absolutely want that sort of SNME gimmickry on this show. This could’ve easily been a short feud to take Jake through to Mania and give him a nice win on the big show, with Sika departing after the show. Could’ve had it start with Sika coming out during a Jake match in early 1988, edging towards the bag, licking his lips exaggeratedly and trying to grab it. Do segments with Sika in various places, eating exotic animals, but he is not satisfied. Finish can basically be the same as SNME. Sika charges and misses, gets rolled up, and then, post-match, Jake DDTs Fuji (hat staying on!) and then gets Damien dumped on him.

Orndorff left Heenan in August 1987, turning face and taking on the newly debuted Oliver Humperdink as a manager, and a feud with Heenan’s new man Rick Rude, over who had the better body, began. They’d do matches on house shows with a posedown beforehand and were on opposite Survivor Series teams. But Orndorff abruptly left in January 1988. I know his nerve issue was bad at this point, but I’m giving myself the Rick Rude vs. Paul Orndorff blowoff that very well may have been planned, convincing him to stay through Mania.

Junkyard Dog vs. Ron Bass was on a few house shows in late 1987 and early 1988. They filmed an angle just before Mania that aired after, where they met in the aisle and Bass choked out JYD with Miss Betsy, who would later respond with his chain. Neither of these guys had any feuds going on coming into this show, so I have no problem bringing it forward a few months, having it start in Jan. I have plans to use the waning JYD to put over a shortly arriving heel at the first SummerSlam, but I’d maybe want this feud to continue a couple of months beyond Mania, so it may need to be a non-finish featuring the chain and Miss Betsy. It does seem like a feud primed for a Weapon on a Pole match, with each man trying to get their own weapon in alternate corners. With the possible Warrior/Herc chain match, maybe I wouldn’t run that here, but do it coming out of Mania on house shows to extend the feud. There is a concern with doing two angles featuring chains at the same time (maybe this is why they did the Warrior/Herc angle first and Bass/JYD months later) but this is an issue you have by having two guys with the same prop. It is interesting that the WWF let Hercules use a chain when it was JYD's thing.

After the dissolution of the New Dream Team, Dino Bravo was pushed as the World's Strongest Man after his Jesse-assisted unofficial World Record at the Rumble. Post-Mania, he would feud with legit Olympian strongman Ken Patera in arm-wrestles, tug-of-wars and ultimately matches. While I would be keeping that (it isn't an exciting feud but it makes sense and lets us put over Bravo before he puts over Duggan), I will move the start forward to start here since neither man has anything else to do on the show. An easy way would be to have Ken Patera challenge Dino Bravo to repeat the lift with him as the official spotter, given his weightlifting experience. I know it seems more like an angle suited to TV or a TV special (like the first Rumble was), but it gives the show a break from matches with something different. Plus it could set their feud up well. You wouldn't need to drag it out, with Bravo demanding the fans quiet down, like at the Rumble, since that's been done. It would be quicker, with his actions focused on Patera. Patera can be impressed, putting over the heel, as he goes up in weight. Then on the repeat of the supposed record, Bravo almost gets it, starts to struggle and looks like he isn't going to make it, so good guy Patera, concerned for his health like a good spotter, helps him get the bar up. Bravo goes mad and attacks him, maybe even hits him with a weight, claiming he had it and Patera interfered to rob him of glory.

Bad News Brown debuted in Jan and was in the build-up phase, so does not need to be on this show, but it would be good to squeeze him in. There are not many faces available, but Hillbilly Jim is right there so let's do Bad News vs. Hillbilly. Brown was always calling people “sharecroppers”, so that fits at least, as long as he leaves out the “beer-bellied” part. Maybe to give it a little something extra, we can bring back Little Beaver, who suffered Bundy’s slam and elbow last year. He was still accompanying Jim on some shows in July 1987, with heels trying to get at him. Hillbilly feels bad about last year and wants to give him a more happy memory of WrestleMania (oh God, could this become the first utterance of WrestleMania Moment?) and he will make sure to protect him out there. Match is short, Beaver is mocking Brown with angry-looking expressions (in the build, we can have Jim and Beaver talk about how Brown always look mad and he should smile more and have fun), Brown chases Beaver a few times and Jim lives up to his word and protects him, but eventually it leads to Jim getting caught with the Ghetto Blaster for the loss. In a post-match interview (or during the glut of interviews during intermission), Brown brings up that this is why he doesn't want or need any friends, they just cause you trouble. Bad News cares about one thing and that is himself, getting over his loner persona.

One Man Gang did not have much going on coming into Mania and neither did former monster heel, now long-time face George Steele. OMG vs. Steele was ran on a few house shows around this time and it would be an easy quick squash to put OMG over. Steele was close to the end and this would be a fine use of him.

Strike Force defeated The Hart Foundation for the tag titles in early November and they feuded through to Mania on house shows, with the big final TV rematch being at The Main Event in Feb. If it was building to a title change, then it would’ve been ideal for Mania, but they made the correct call moving to a fresh match and giving the belts to Demolition (who had been feuding with Patera/Haynes in late 1987 into early 88), so the Demolition vs. Strike Force title switch absolutely stays.

I would not be splitting the Hart Foundation up here post-Mania only to quickly shove them back together like in reality. I don’t want these aborted Bret singles runs. The Young Stallions had been surprisingly put over at the Survivor Series, with the Killer Bees, and had a little bit of juice in them, so rather than have them lose to the Islanders at the Rumble and peter out as a team, I would build to them jobbing to Bret and Anvil here. Young Stallions always struck me as Strike Force-lite, so they are perfect to switch to as an opponent. Plus, there was some history as back in September when Piledriver the album was released, the Young Stallions started using Jimmy Hart’s song “Crank It Up”, while the heel commentators complained they’d stolen it, in a brief feud with the Hart Foundation. It gives Jesse something to complain about on commentary during the Stallions' entrance at the least. So Foundation vs. Stallions it is.

The Islanders and Heenan stealing Matilda was a highly pushed angle in early 1988. Like they would do with the letters to Hogan after Quake injured him in 1990, it was a great ploy to replenish the address book for WWF catalogues by getting fans to write in for Matilda. So Bulldogs vs. Islanders is guaranteed, it is just whether I want to include Koko and Heenan like in reality. It made sense to get Heenan involved as he is the real villain of the feud, but you can still have him wearing the dog training jacket and get his comeuppance at the finish if he is just the manager. Koko made sense to join the Bulldogs and their mistreated pet, since he has his own in Frankie and he definitely needs to be featured since he had the Piledriver song, complete with music video, 5 months back. But could he just be putting on a live performance of that track to give Mania something a bit different? That already happened at the Slammys, so it would probably need to be a new song to make it worthwhile. Best just to stick to him in the match, along with Heenan

It has always been rumoured that a Rumble rematch of JBA vs. Glamour Girls was planned for Mania (maybe even stated in a Leilani Kai shoot) and that Moolah did some chicanery and convinced Japanese bookers to switch the titles as that’s what Vince wanted and when it got back to Vince, Moolah played innocent and it was seen as the wrestlers going into business for themselves and the whole thing was kiboshed. The timing definitely does not corroborate that. They worked a week before Mania and the title switch in Japan did not happen until June. So if we believe the general idea, maybe it was planned for SummerSlam, and actually it would work better there as there should be more room on the card, so let’s say we leave it until then.

Now to the people who were on the actual show (all in the Battle Royal) who we don't have room for. The Rougeaus, Killer Bees and Bolsheviks had nothing going on. Sure, you could just run an extra tag with one of those face teams against the Russians, but there is no point. There was talk of a Bees heel turn around this time but it never happened. I wonder if the imminent Rougeau heel turn, where they would claim they were nothing like fellow Quebecer Dino Bravo and loved the US, only to make obvious mistakes about monuments and such, came about because the Bees heel turn didn't happen. Sam Houston and Danny Davis were feuding with each other from late 1987 to mid 1988 but that is not a feud that needs to be near WrestleMania.

So without the women’s tag and those last few guys, we have 17 matches/segments. I should try to time it out at some point. Mania IV in reality had 16 matches, so maybe it would be about right.

WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION CHAMPIONSHIP
Ted DiBiase [Champion] with Andre the Giant & Virgil vs. Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth

STEEL CAGE MATCH
Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant with Bobby Heenan

LOSER LEAVES WWF
King Kong Bundy with Bobby Heenan vs. Bam Bam Bigelow with Oliver Humperdink

WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Honky Tonk Man [Champion] with Jimmy Hart vs. Ricky Steamboat

FOR THE CROWN
King Harley Race with Bobby Heenan vs. Jim Duggan

HAIR vs. HAIR
Brutus Beefcake vs. Greg Valentine with Jimmy Hart

Jake Roberts with Damien vs. Sika with Mr. Fuji

Paul Orndorff with Oliver Humperdink vs. Rick Rude with Bobby Heenan

Don Muraco with Billy Graham vs. Butch Reed with Slick

CHAIN MATCH
Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules with Bobby Heenan

Junkyard Dog vs. Ron Bass

One Man Gang with Slick vs. George Steele

Bad News Brown vs. Hillbilly Jim with Little Beaver

WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Strike Force [Champions] vs. Demolition with Mr. Fuji

Hart Foundation with Jimmy Hart vs. Young Stallions

SIX-MAN TAG
British Bulldogs & Koko B. Ware with Matilda & Frankie vs. The Islanders & Bobby Heenan

WORLD RECORD BENCH PRESS ATTEMPT
by Dino Bravo
with Ken Patera as official spotter

I should try to make this work with the reduced tournament.

Apr 23, 2021 8:30:43 GMT Strobe said:

I decided to go back in time in my Wrestling with Paul watching to the last few months of 1987 and then through 1988 as 1988 is a year that I know less about overall than those following it. It is an interesting year that feels like a transition with many departures of old faces and new arrivals. Plus WrestleMania IV is a show that doesn’t seem to get revisited often for potential rebooking, probably for some of the reasons I am about to bring up.

I think the main problem with Mania IV is that it is hard to not do the tournament to get to where they want to get. It seems like many things were up in the air. Hogan was going to be filming his biography, that would be changed into No Holds Barred, and was probably going to drop the title. But if his schedule allowed him to still work weekends, there was a chance of keeping the belt on him. DiBiase was not getting over as strongly as they hoped, possibly in part due to him trying to buy the title rather than win it by being great in the ring. But it absolutely fit the gimmick to have him take more satisfaction from buying it than winning it. So there has always been a rumour that DiBiase was to leave Mania IV as champion, possibly to build to a title defence against Hogan at the first SummerSlam. Bruce Prichard claims the plan was always for Savage to leave Mania IV as champion, despite Honky’s repeated claims that he was asked to drop the title to Savage at Feb’s The Main Event (which you wouldn’t do if he was winning the World Title in 6 weeks), and in spite of the fact that the tournament bracket changed in a way that suggests Savage was not originally due to win it.

Anyway, the only way that I can see it working without the tournament is to have DiBiase’s purchasing of the title be accepted, but I really don’t like that – it was correct for it to be deemed illegitimate, otherwise the title is being devalued. You’d then have to have Hogan be willing to forego trying to reclaim the title to finish his deal with Andre and have Hogan/Andre III with no title involved and I’m not sure how well that really works.

You could try to make it an 8-man tournament, but it did make sense for Hogan and Andre to receive byes as the previous two champions. That would make it a 6-man tournament and guarantee one of Hogan or Andre in the final. You could do it so that DiBiase was trying to use Andre to get to the final and then Andre would step out of the ring in the final and be counted out to give DiBiase the title. So you’d need to have Savage over DiBiase and Andre in the semis and final, which is giving away both of those matches (the two obvious challengers for new champ Savage coming out of Mania) on the same show. To not completely fill the show with the tournament, you could make it the 14-man with Hogan/Andre bye as in reality, but have the first round on TV. So the champs are automatically qualified for the tournament as their advantage, rather than having to win one less match on the night itself. That is likely my preferred route, as if we do the Hogan/Andre double DQ or similar finish, then we get down to 6 tournament matches from 11. It frees up massive room on the card for feuds of the time.

But as a fun exercise, let’s first act as if we are accepting MDM as champion and doing him DiBiase vs. Savage for the title and Hogan vs. Andre III as a blowoff, possibly in a cage, and see what else may have been possibilities for a Mania IV card not dedicated almost entirely to a tournament. It almost goes without saying that we are not holding it at the Trump Plaza. I get why they did it, but I don’t want that dead crowd with plenty non-fans. They definitely could’ve run a stadium for IV and especially V, but III was cemented as incredibly special by them not returning to one for a few years. Let’s just say a nice big arena filled with a standard at the time, hot WWF crowd.

As documented here, Race vs. Duggan started in October 1987 with a meeting-in-the-aisle confrontation that ultimately led to Duggan stealing Race’s crown and cape. Then in late December, they brawled all over the Slammy Awards (one of the first bad examples of WWF overproduction where there are multiple cameras capturing all the right angles, when this should’ve been a handheld camera following them about). I know I am basically just about to steal what I plan to do the next year, but with Duggan lined up to win the Rumble anyway, it seems so obvious to have him last eliminate Race, who can be all “who can win a Royal Rumble but a King?” in the build, and this leads to their blowoff for the crown at Mania in a nasty brawl, which ends in some kind of non-finish so that Race keeps the gimmick. I know this isn’t the era for workrate or the guys caring about having good matches in the WWF and this card idea will be similar to my Mania V one in that it is a large number of shortish matches, with pre-match promos, video packages, spots getting the gimmicks/props over - more like SNME-type matches. But I’d be trying to convince guys to have better matches and I’d be wanting more Mid-South Duggan here, who could definitely have worked a great match with Race.

After leaving the Dream Team and turning face at Mania III, Beefcake was set to first feud with Adonis, whose hair he had cut. After Adonis left shortly after Mania, he moved on to the Dream Team manager Johnny Valiant and would mix in with the New Dream Team/Rougeaus feud for a while. Latter half of 1987, he was mainly taking on Valentine or his replacement Bravo. The New Dream Team last teamed together at the Survivor Series and Johnny V left, with Jimmy Hart becoming Valentine’s new manager. Then right through to Mania, Beefer was still feuding with The Hammer until it was blown off 2 weeks before Mania on SNME, as they were going to run Beefcake as IC challenger to Jimmy Hart’s other man Honky. I would blow off Beefcake vs. Valentine here instead in a Hair vs. Hair match. I’d have Beefer win by sleeper and then, when Jimmy tries to prevent the cutting, he gets put to sleep too and Beefer cuts his hair first instead and Hammer wakes and gets away with Hart, who has only had the back of his hair trimmed. So the fans did not get short-changed of a haircut and shaving Jimmy’s hair sets Beefer up perfectly to move on to Honky. It would be hard to argue in kayfabe that the contract of the match outcome had been met, with it clearly being Hammer’s hair on the line, so maybe I’ll just do this end without calling it a hair match. Or we could use the finish as a reason why Beefcake gets title shots against Honky. Maybe there is a fine or Valentine will get suspended or even all of Jimmy Hart’s wrestlers will get suspended unless Valentine allows his hair to be cut and the Mouth compromises by giving Beefer a title shot.

Speaking of Honky, with him having finished up his feud with Savage to free him up for the World Title and with me wanting to delay the Beefer feud, the obvious route would be to fire back up Honky vs. Steamboat and do a blowoff. In the few matches that Steamer wrestled in 1987 post IC loss, it was nearly always against Honky. Steamer claims Honky is not the greatest IC champ of all time and he deserves another rematch. Honky had just been claiming Liz was after him in the Savage feud. Steamer was bringing his wife and kid around. Could have Honky claim Bonnie wants him too for a bit of extra heat. While you would not want outright allusions to Savage as a heel, I could see doing an angle where Honky jabs at Steamer’s previously injured throat with the guitar in the build. Since the post-Mania feuds were going to be Honky/Beefer and Steamer/Valentine, you could tie this match in to Beefcake/Valentine and the post-match. Do a similar promo to the one we got post Beefer/Honky before this match with Jimmy Hart being embarrassed by his hair and Honky trying to cover it up. He can comment on Beefer (to sow the seeds for his next feud) before addressing Steamboat. Mouth of the South doesn’t come out with Honky due to the embarrassment and fear that Beefer will finish the job on his hair, but then Steamer is about to win so Jimmy comes in to interfere. This brings out Beefcake, who chases Hart to the back. But then Valentine (without Bruti to stop him) appears and helps Honky steal the win and sets up his feud with Steamer that will not happen as The Dragon leaves.

I will definitely keep Warrior vs. Hercules. Made sense as a pairing of musclemen and they did a nice angle coming in where Herc challenge Warrior to a chain tug-of-war at the start of their match and the chain broke and Herc attacked and beatdown Warrior with it. I might want to do a chain match but not sure. Mania is a great time for gimmick matches and with that angle coming in, a match featuring a “reinforced chain” would work well. It would need to be planned out to make the match watchable, with spots that Warrior could do and would be happy to do. Not sure if I’d do pinfall or touch the corners rules. The latter would save Herc doing a traditional job and 80s crowds go wild for that teased stuff.

Bigelow vs. Bundy was a big feud in late 1987. Bigelow was beating Bundy on the house shows and pinned him in their Survivor Series tag. Bundy left in early Jan (he returned to do a favour for one match at MSG in late Feb) and one reason given (from Bret’s book from memory) for him feeling comfortable leaving is that he had saved well. I’m going to act like I could convince him to stay through to one last big payday. I’d have these two big men in the Rumble, each considered the favourite by the respective face and heel announcers, and have Bundy (since he’d previously jobbed to him) toss out Bigelow. Bundy would be too busy gloating towards Bammer and 4-5 guys would team up to eliminate him. They could then brawl to the back. The animosity would result in Bundy challenging Bam Bam to a Loser Leaves WWF match at Mania.

Superstar Billy Graham’s first feud back from his injuries in 1987 was with Butch Reed. There were Graham posing vignettes, with Reed saying he wasn’t impressed and doing ones of his own. Graham/Reed feuded from June through to early November and were due to be on opposite Survivor Series teams. But Graham’s genuine injuries were too much so they ran an angle during a Graham/Reed match where another Slick man OMG interfered and splashed Graham multiple times to end his career, with Muraco (recently freed up from his tag team explodes feud with Orton Jr., who had been fired) coming to Superstar’s aid. This resulted in a Muraco vs. Reed feud with Muraco taking Graham’s Survivor Series spot and Graham would become Muraco’s manager by late December. Muraco and Reed feuded from November until March and were working opposite each other as late as 9 days before Mania. Perfect for a Mania blowoff, especially since Reed will be leaving. Puts Muraco, whose time is also short, over so that he can do the same for a new heel in the summer.

They ran a short Jake Roberts vs. Sika program in December, including a SNME match where Fuji had a big pot of mustard and Sika a comically long baguette, talking about eating Damien. I absolutely want that sort of SNME gimmickry on this show. This could’ve easily been a short feud to take Jake through to Mania and give him a nice win on the big show, with Sika departing after the show. Could’ve had it start with Sika coming out during a Jake match in early 1988, edging towards the bag, licking his lips exaggeratedly and trying to grab it. Do segments with Sika in various places, eating exotic animals, but he is not satisfied. Finish can basically be the same as SNME. Sika charges and misses, gets rolled up, and then, post-match, Jake DDTs Fuji (hat staying on!) and then gets Damien dumped on him.

Orndorff left Heenan in August 1987, turning face and taking on the newly debuted Oliver Humperdink as a manager, and a feud with Heenan’s new man Rick Rude, over who had the better body, began. They’d do matches on house shows with a posedown beforehand and were on opposite Survivor Series teams. But Orndorff abruptly left in January 1988. I know his nerve issue was bad at this point, but I’m giving myself the Rick Rude vs. Paul Orndorff blowoff that very well may have been planned, convincing him to stay through Mania.

Junkyard Dog vs. Ron Bass was on a few house shows in late 1987 and early 1988. They filmed an angle just before Mania that aired after, where they met in the aisle and Bass choked out JYD with Miss Betsy, who would later respond with his chain. Neither of these guys had any feuds going on coming into this show, so I have no problem bringing it forward a few months, having it start in Jan. I have plans to use the waning JYD to put over a shortly arriving heel at the first SummerSlam, but I’d maybe want this feud to continue a couple of months beyond Mania, so it may need to be a non-finish featuring the chain and Miss Betsy. It does seem like a feud primed for a Weapon on a Pole match, with each man trying to get their own weapon in alternate corners. With the possible Warrior/Herc chain match, maybe I wouldn’t run that here, but do it coming out of Mania on house shows to extend the feud. There is a concern with doing two angles featuring chains at the same time (maybe this is why they did the Warrior/Herc angle first and Bass/JYD months later) but this is an issue you have by having two guys with the same prop. It is interesting that the WWF let Hercules use a chain when it was JYD's thing.

After the dissolution of the New Dream Team, Dino Bravo was pushed as the World's Strongest Man after his Jesse-assisted unofficial World Record at the Rumble. Post-Mania, he would feud with legit Olympian strongman Ken Patera in arm-wrestles, tug-of-wars and ultimately matches. While I would be keeping that (it isn't an exciting feud but it makes sense and lets us put over Bravo before he puts over Duggan), I will move the start forward to start here since neither man has anything else to do on the show. An easy way would be to have Ken Patera challenge Dino Bravo to repeat the lift with him as the official spotter, given his weightlifting experience. I know it seems more like an angle suited to TV or a TV special (like the first Rumble was), but it gives the show a break from matches with something different. Plus it could set their feud up well. You wouldn't need to drag it out, with Bravo demanding the fans quiet down, like at the Rumble, since that's been done. It would be quicker, with his actions focused on Patera. Patera can be impressed, putting over the heel, as he goes up in weight. Then on the repeat of the supposed record, Bravo almost gets it, starts to struggle and looks like he isn't going to make it, so good guy Patera, concerned for his health like a good spotter, helps him get the bar up. Bravo goes mad and attacks him, maybe even hits him with a weight, claiming he had it and Patera interfered to rob him of glory.

Bad News Brown debuted in Jan and was in the build-up phase, so does not need to be on this show, but it would be good to squeeze him in. There are not many faces available, but Hillbilly Jim is right there so let's do Bad News vs. Hillbilly. Brown was always calling people “sharecroppers”, so that fits at least, as long as he leaves out the “beer-bellied” part. Maybe to give it a little something extra, we can bring back Little Beaver, who suffered Bundy’s slam and elbow last year. He was still accompanying Jim on some shows in July 1987, with heels trying to get at him. Hillbilly feels bad about last year and wants to give him a more happy memory of WrestleMania (oh God, could this become the first utterance of WrestleMania Moment?) and he will make sure to protect him out there. Match is short, Beaver is mocking Brown with angry-looking expressions (in the build, we can have Jim and Beaver talk about how Brown always look mad and he should smile more and have fun), Brown chases Beaver a few times and Jim lives up to his word and protects him, but eventually it leads to Jim getting caught with the Ghetto Blaster for the loss. In a post-match interview (or during the glut of interviews during intermission), Brown brings up that this is why he doesn't want or need any friends, they just cause you trouble. Bad News cares about one thing and that is himself, getting over his loner persona.

One Man Gang did not have much going on coming into Mania and neither did former monster heel, now long-time face George Steele. OMG vs. Steele was ran on a few house shows around this time and it would be an easy quick squash to put OMG over. Steele was close to the end and this would be a fine use of him.

Strike Force defeated The Hart Foundation for the tag titles in early November and they feuded through to Mania on house shows, with the big final TV rematch being at The Main Event in Feb. If it was building to a title change, then it would’ve been ideal for Mania, but they made the correct call moving to a fresh match and giving the belts to Demolition (who had been feuding with Patera/Haynes in late 1987 into early 88), so the Demolition vs. Strike Force title switch absolutely stays.

I would not be splitting the Hart Foundation up here post-Mania only to quickly shove them back together like in reality. I don’t want these aborted Bret singles runs. The Young Stallions had been surprisingly put over at the Survivor Series, with the Killer Bees, and had a little bit of juice in them, so rather than have them lose to the Islanders at the Rumble and peter out as a team, I would build to them jobbing to Bret and Anvil here. Young Stallions always struck me as Strike Force-lite, so they are perfect to switch to as an opponent. Plus, there was some history as back in September when Piledriver the album was released, the Young Stallions started using Jimmy Hart’s song “Crank It Up”, while the heel commentators complained they’d stolen it, in a brief feud with the Hart Foundation. It gives Jesse something to complain about on commentary during the Stallions' entrance at the least. So Foundation vs. Stallions it is.

The Islanders and Heenan stealing Matilda was a highly pushed angle in early 1988. Like they would do with the letters to Hogan after Quake injured him in 1990, it was a great ploy to replenish the address book for WWF catalogues by getting fans to write in for Matilda. So Bulldogs vs. Islanders is guaranteed, it is just whether I want to include Koko and Heenan like in reality. It made sense to get Heenan involved as he is the real villain of the feud, but you can still have him wearing the dog training jacket and get his comeuppance at the finish if he is just the manager. Koko made sense to join the Bulldogs and their mistreated pet, since he has his own in Frankie and he definitely needs to be featured since he had the Piledriver song, complete with music video, 5 months back. But could he just be putting on a live performance of that track to give Mania something a bit different? That already happened at the Slammys, so it would probably need to be a new song to make it worthwhile. Best just to stick to him in the match, along with Heenan

It has always been rumoured that a Rumble rematch of JBA vs. Glamour Girls was planned for Mania (maybe even stated in a Leilani Kai shoot) and that Moolah did some chicanery and convinced Japanese bookers to switch the titles as that’s what Vince wanted and when it got back to Vince, Moolah played innocent and it was seen as the wrestlers going into business for themselves and the whole thing was kiboshed. The timing definitely does not corroborate that. They worked a week before Mania and the title switch in Japan did not happen until June. So if we believe the general idea, maybe it was planned for SummerSlam, and actually it would work better there as there should be more room on the card, so let’s say we leave it until then.

Now to the people who were on the actual show (all in the Battle Royal) who we don't have room for. The Rougeaus, Killer Bees and Bolsheviks had nothing going on. Sure, you could just run an extra tag with one of those face teams against the Russians, but there is no point. There was talk of a Bees heel turn around this time but it never happened. I wonder if the imminent Rougeau heel turn, where they would claim they were nothing like fellow Quebecer Dino Bravo and loved the US, only to make obvious mistakes about monuments and such, came about because the Bees heel turn didn't happen. Sam Houston and Danny Davis were feuding with each other from late 1987 to mid 1988 but that is not a feud that needs to be near WrestleMania.

So without the women’s tag and those last few guys, we have 17 matches/segments. I should try to time it out at some point. Mania IV in reality had 16 matches, so maybe it would be about right.

WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION CHAMPIONSHIP
Ted DiBiase [Champion] with Andre the Giant & Virgil vs. Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth

STEEL CAGE MATCH
Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant with Bobby Heenan

LOSER LEAVES WWF
King Kong Bundy with Bobby Heenan vs. Bam Bam Bigelow with Oliver Humperdink

WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Honky Tonk Man [Champion] with Jimmy Hart vs. Ricky Steamboat

FOR THE CROWN
King Harley Race with Bobby Heenan vs. Jim Duggan

HAIR vs. HAIR
Brutus Beefcake vs. Greg Valentine with Jimmy Hart

Jake Roberts with Damien vs. Sika with Mr. Fuji

Paul Orndorff with Oliver Humperdink vs. Rick Rude with Bobby Heenan

Don Muraco with Billy Graham vs. Butch Reed with Slick

CHAIN MATCH
Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules with Bobby Heenan

Junkyard Dog vs. Ron Bass

One Man Gang with Slick vs. George Steele

Bad News Brown vs. Hillbilly Jim with Little Beaver

WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Strike Force [Champions] vs. Demolition with Mr. Fuji

Hart Foundation with Jimmy Hart vs. Young Stallions

SIX-MAN TAG
British Bulldogs & Koko B. Ware with Matilda & Frankie vs. The Islanders & Bobby Heenan

WORLD RECORD BENCH PRESS ATTEMPT
by Dino Bravo
with Ken Patera as official spotter

I should try to make this work with the reduced tournament.

What's not to love about waking up to a Strobe post in this thread!?

With WM4 being relatively fresh in my mind after my WrestleMania WatchThru project, I readily recall a few immediate thoughts (in no particular order):

- It's tough to imagine WM4 without the tournament for the exact reasons Strobe so perfectly covered. That said, the tournament had room for improvement... whether those improvements are booking better matchups/finishes or just simple streamlining by expanding/narrowing the field of participants.

- It's tough to imagine Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, or Ted DiBiase not being at least potentially involved with the world title situation... so pulling Hogan/Andre III entirely out of the world title tournament mix seems like an interesting idea, but also potentially somewhat unrealistic? That said, I think I can get on board with the idea if we're pitching it as an added hook. We get Hogan/Andre III in a cage one hook guaranteed to draw. Then we get the added hook of a guaranteed brand new world champion, as 8-16 men who've never been world champion before will compete in a grueling one-night tournament for the vacant belt. To tie Hogan/Andre III back into the world title scene, just add a stipulation that the winner gets a world title shot (maybe at the first-ever SummerSlam in August)?

- Personally I think DiBiase could've/would've benefitted on the night from playing up his gimmick to the hilt. So, like, he starts out trying to bribe Duggan to outright throw their first round match... Duggan bats the cash out of Virgil's hand with his 2x4 to jumpstart the match and thus tournament, but ultimately eats the loss in the opening match to establish the danger of Andre in DiBiase's corner as well as DiBiase's advantage of having longer to rest by being in the first match of the tournament.

After DiBiase is deprived of his deadly cornerman Andre (thanks to Hogan), he tries bribery again... this time with Muraco. Superstar Graham scoffs at the offer, but Muraco surprises Graham by taking it, forfeiting the match, and laying out Graham with Graham's cane before exiting the ring (maybe the thinking here is we set up a Graham/Muraco program post-Mania if Graham's injury improves).

Then we reveal Slick's men, Butch Reed & One Man Gang, have been paid off to literally and figuratively do the job tonight: their mission is to either eliminate or at minimum soften Savage, even if it means getting themselves intentionally disqualified. So Butch does his damndest to eliminate Savage by just beating him in Savage's first match, and he at least exhausts Savage by putting up a competitive effort, but ultimately Savage advances to eventually run into OMG. OMG doesn't fuck around, and just straight up assaults Savage with Slick's cane from the opening bell, with Slick getting some licks in to add insult to injury. Maybe have DiBiase provide guest commentary, explaining he wants the best seat in the house to scout his competition for the finals. Then, after the dirty work is done, DiBiase can pay off OMG in the ring (with maybe Slick reminding DiBiase that DiBiase also agreed to cover any fines or suspension without pay that might result from this arrangement). Personally, I'd like this as the seed that eventually grows into Slick's Crime & Punishment tag team being DiBiase's henchmen replacements for Andre... and then eventually playing into Boss Man turning face against OMG. Anyway, where were we? Oh, yeah!

Before the finals, DiBiase starts fanning out his cash as if he's going to make a mercy offer to a beaten and exhausted Savage... but then says "nah, fuck it" and pockets the cash because Savage isn't even worth a single Washington. Besides, this win will be worth more if DiBiase "earns it the hard way"... but then Savage wins the title, with the same shenanigans in the closing stretch to set up the Mega Powers.

/////

So, now... with that rambling preamble now out of the way, looking at Strobe's proposed card, if I could recommend some edits to streamline things and incorporate the tournament:

CAGE MATCH
**WINNER BECOMES NUMBER ONE CONTENDER TO THE WWF CHAMPIONSHIP**
HULK HOGAN def. ANDRE THE GIANT (w/ BOBBY HEENAN, TED DIBIASE & VIRGIL)
*Hogan forgoes his title shot in the wake of Savage winning the belt and formation of the Mega Powers because he doesn't want to face his friend and would rather Savage have a moment to shine in the spotlight as the WWF's brand new world champion. Since Hogan has essentially forfeited his number one contender status, DiBiase gladly steps in as Savage's first challenger. We still end up with the main event of the first-ever SummerSlam pitting Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks.

/////

16-MAN TOURNAMENT FOR THE WWF CHAMPIONSHIP

FINALS
RANDY SAVAGE (w/ MISS ELIZABETH & HULK HOGAN) def. TED DIBIASE (w/ VIRGIL & ANDRE THE GIANT)
This stays the same as reality except perhaps with the added flourish of DiBiase feinting a mercy offer in a pre-match promo, as described in my rambling preamble.

SEMIFINALS
TED DIBIASE (w/ VIRGIL) def. DON MURACO (w/ BILLY GRAHAM)
So we still end up here, with a DiBiase/Muraco matchup, but I've sold at least myself on sticking with Muraco turning heel again by accepting DiBiase's bribe to forfeit the match despite Graham begging him to do otherwise. Muraco cements his heel turn by attacking the crippled Graham with Graham's own cane. Since DiBiase doesn't wrestle a match here, commentary continues to establish how rested he'll be headed into the finals. This also helps establish that even without Andre in his corner (perhaps Andre is MIA preparing for his match against Hogan, or perhaps he's MIA because he's just lost to Hogan... guess the rationale can depend on match order), DiBiase is still just as dangerous thanks to the strength of the U.S. dollar.

RANDY SAVAGE (w/ MISS ELIZABETH) def. RICK RUDE (w/ BOBBY HEENAN)
As much as I like the idea of planting seeds between Slick and DiBiase as touched on in my rambling preamble, I think it makes more sense to work a deal between DiBiase and Heenan given the shared Andre connection. The deal can be Andre is on loan to DiBiase as DiBiase's cornerman to help ensure DiBiase makes it to the finals. Meanwhile, if either of Heenan's men (on the other side of the tournament bracket) make it to the finals as well... Heenan has agreed they'll forfeit the match for a predetermined price. And, if for any reason Heenan's men aren't making it to the finals as well, their mission is to eliminate or at least soften the competition.

So, Savage advances over Harley Race in the quarterfinals... with Race clobbering Savage with his scepter after the match to soften Savage for Rude. Savage meets Rude here, and hopefully produces the best match on the card. Book it right so that Rude is kept strong enough even in defeat that he's a ready and logical challenger for champion Rude in the wake of 'Mania.

After the match, maybe have Rude make a pass at Liz to mentally mess with Savage and fuck up his focus headed into the finals? Maybe Rude just outright forces himself on Liz and steals a kiss, then takes off as an enraged Savage gives chase... only to lead Savage right into some backstage ambush by DiBiase, Virgil, and the rest of the Heenan family before security and officials can intervene? Savage is too angry and prideful not to continue on in the tournament despite his injuries and mental state, so he figuratively waives and literally waves off officials when they encourage him to take himself out of the tournament and seek medical attention.

QUARTERFINALS
RANDY SAVAGE (w/ MISS ELIZABETH) def. HARLEY RACE (w/ BOBBY HEENAN)
As mentioned above, Savage beats Race to advance... only for bitter sore loser Race to whack Savage with his scepter (or crown or whatever) after the match as a means of venting his frustrations and softening Savage for Rude (or DiBiase or whoever). Personally, I like the seed-planting of the future Macho King facing off with the previous-previous-previous King here.

DON MURACO (w/ BILLY GRAHAM) def. BUTCH REED (w/ SLICK)
Before turning on Graham in the semifinals, Muraco first avenges him by proxy in the quarterfinals by defeating Butch. I'm thinking it makes for a more interesting contract to have the high of Graham's vengeance/Slick's comeuppance here contrasted by the low of Muraco's betrayal later in the night. In a post-match interview, Graham talks about having been to the promised land before himself as a former W(W)WF Champion and thus having the know-how to guide Muraco back there tonight. Maybe Muraco foreshadows his turn with some faux humility by chiming in that "nothing's certain until it's certain" regarding his odds of advancing through the semifinals.

RICK RUDE (w/ BOBBY HEENAN) def. JAKE ROBERTS
One of the worst matches from the real life card. Long, boring, and a waste of two guys who could've/should've been better used IMO. I'd rather Jake do the job (ideally in a protected fashion) if it means the match is more exciting. Maybe a count-out finish with Jake confronting Heenan for fucking with Damian's bag? Maybe for a post-match feel-good moment, Jake DDTs Heenan on the outside as payback for fucking with Damian? Then maybe this takes Heenan out of the picture at least for Rude's next match, which can maybe be used to help excuse-explain away Rude's later loss to Savage? I'm also picturing a pre-match promo with Jake lecturing Rude on the perils of the Seven Deadly Sins... namely Rude's Pride & Vanity. Use this as a tie-in to Harley Race's Wrath (i.e., whacking Savage with the scepter), Rude's Lust (i.e., forcing himself on Liz), and the Heenan's Greed (i.e., accepting DiBiase's bribe). There's probably a way to work in Envy & Sloth, but I'm too lazy (-_-) to figure it out at the moment. Anyway...

TED DIBIASE (W/ VIRGIL & ANDRE THE GIANT) DEF. JIM DUGGAN
Keep this match as it was in real life. I think it was fine as it was, like the ghosts-of-DiBiase's-past aspect of facing Duggan, and personally like this as the opening bout since I think Duggan as one of the hottest faces and DiBiase as the top heel would really excite the crowd. Anyway, only minor tweak is adding the pre-match flourish I mentioned in my rambling preamble.

I'm thinking the quarterfinal match order goes DiBiase/Duggan, Muraco/Reed, Rude/Roberts (so we can tease the what-if of Heenan's men facing each other in the semis), and then Savage/Race (and emphasize how little time Savage has to rest compared to DiBiase). For the semifinals, DiBiase/Muraco then Savage/Rude with DiBiase/Muraco going 00:00 due to Muraco's bribed forfeit contrasting Savage/Rude going just shy of 20:00 and almost ending in a time-limit draw. Commentary continues to emphasize DiBiase's rested freshness vs. Savage's fatigue.Commentary also teases the what-if of Savage/Rude ending a time-limit draw and DiBiase winning the finals and thus vacant world title by a bye.

/////

COLOSSAL JOSTLE
BAM BAM BIGELOW (w/ OLIVER HUMPERDINK) vs. ONE MAN GANG (w/ SLICK)
Purely for streamlining purposes, if King Kong Bundy is gone prior to now... let's leave him off the card. Maybe run the Loser Leaves the WWF deal in Bundy's last match at MSG prior to 'Mania, and establish Bam Bam as the big bad face who stands up to bigger badder bullies in the WWF. After chasing Bundy out of town, Bam Bam sets his sights on OMG seeking payback for OMG's part in bullying poor old man Billy Graham. In real life, Bam Bam was injured here, which is why I think this tournament match was so short and weird. So maybe the Colossal Jostle ends in a double count-out here to spare Bam Bam from working through his injury but also continue this feud and set up a bigger/better blow-off down the line?

/////

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
THE HONKY TONK MAN (c) (w/ JIMMY HART) def. RICKY STEAMBOAT

HAIR VS. HAIR MATCH
BRUTUS BEEFCAKE def. GREG VALENTINE (w/ JIMMY HART)

WORLD RECORD BENCH PRESS ATTEMPT
by DINO BRAVO (w/ FRENCHY MARTIN)
with KEN PATERA as official spotter

REINFORCED CHAIN MATCH
THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR def. HERCULES (w/ BOBBY HEENAN)

Love Strobe's proposed tweaks to the card for all of the above, including the post-'Mania stuff with Beefcake leveraging the haircut technicality into a shot at Honky's belt. The only additional tweak I've made is ensuring the chain match is billed as "REINFORCED" to differentiate it as something special and different from your regular ol' plain Jane run-of-the-mill chain matches. Also, I'm personally loving envisioning this as a protected squash where Warrior runs to the ring... connects to the chain... the runs around the ring in Warrior fashion touching all four corners to just win while Herc looks on with an expression like "look at this goofy fucker"... not realizing the bell has rung while Warrior's music was still playing, thus not realizing the match was underway, and ultimately not realizing Warrior just won in record time with no resistance. Alternatively, if you want more of a real match, I like the idea/moment of Warrior breaking the reinforced chain en route to touching the fourth turnbuckle for the victory.

/////

WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
DEMOLITION (w/ MR. FUJI) def. STRIKE FORCE (c)

SIX-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH
THE ISLANDERS & BOBBY HEENAN def. THE BRITISH BULLDOGS & KOKO B. WARE

No change to these real-life matches/results. Only caveat is match order on the night, especially if I have Jake DDT Heenan during or after Jake's quarterfinal match against Rude. If we do go that route, this match clearly has to go on first. So maybe I don't bother DDTing Heenan after all, as I kind of like this match as a "breather" to help space out main events. In fact, now I'm liking the idea of Heenan's backfiring outside interference playing a role in costing Rude... and Heenan's excuse can be his mind is preoccupied with the thought of being bitten by Matilda during his match against the Bulldogs. Anyway...

/////

16-MAN BATTLE ROYAL
Bad News Brown, Junkyard Dog, Ron Bass, Sika, George Steele, Hillbilly Jim, the Young Stallions, the Hart Foundation, and six other bodies (including Paul Orndorff if you do want to keep him around) get tossed into the battle royal, which is mostly kept as-is in terms of main booking beats. I just now realized "16" has become a low key theme for this show, as it's now a 16-man tournament for the world title... there are 16 matches on the real card (and this card)... so, fuck it, we'll make this a 16-man battle royal to continue beating the "16" theme to death. Maybe another tweak is having this be the piss break match after intermission instead of sticking it in the curtain jerk spot. People returning from the bathroom or the snack bar won't miss much of importance if they're late getting back to their seats, and then hopefully most folks are back in time to witness the finish and post-match with Bad News and Bret.

Apr 23, 2021 16:06:24 GMT 🤯 said:

- Personally I think DiBiase could've/would've benefitted on the night from playing up his gimmick to the hilt.

I agree and I will be stealing this. Offering his opponents money before the bout, paying the heels to forfeit if they win or do the damage to the faces either during the match or after the bell.

Apr 23, 2021 16:06:24 GMT 🤯 said:

After the match, maybe have Rude make a pass at Liz to mentally mess with Savage and fuck up his focus headed into the finals?

I guess timing was the reason that this feud never happened, but if you think about the heat that the Jake/Cheryl feud generated, imagine Rude going after Liz.

Apr 23, 2021 16:06:24 GMT 🤯 said:

REINFORCED CHAIN MATCH
THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR def. HERCULES (w/ BOBBY HEENAN)

Love Strobe 's proposed tweaks to the card for all of the above, including the post-'Mania stuff with Beefcake leveraging the haircut technicality into a shot at Honky's belt. The only additional tweak I've made is ensuring the chain match is billed as "REINFORCED" to differentiate it as something special and different from your regular ol' plain Jane run-of-the-mill chain matches. Also, I'm personally loving envisioning this as a protected squash where Warrior runs to the ring... connects to the chain... the runs around the ring in Warrior fashion touching all four corners to just win while Herc looks on with an expression like "look at this goofy fucker"... not realizing the bell has rung while Warrior's music was still playing, thus not realizing the match was underway, and ultimately not realizing Warrior just won in record time with no resistance. Alternatively, if you want more of a real match, I like the idea/moment of Warrior breaking the reinforced chain en route to touching the fourth turnbuckle for the victory.

I'm gonna steal this too. Absolutely it should be called a Reinforced Chain match. Absolutely it should snap during a tug-of-war for the fourth corner and Warrior wins. Gorilla puts it over as Warrior’s incredible strength. Herc can try to save face by saying he is too strong and it was he who broke the chain. My worry is how to gimmick the chain so that it survives the match but can still break when required, especially with Warrior in there. I can see him just not being careful with how to use the gimmicked chain. I love the idea of a false finish early on with Warrior running around outside of the ropes (I guess he'd need to clothesline Herc back in with both men on the apron to get him on the outside, Herc on the inside and the chain over the top rope) and touching the buckles. Herc tries to pull him but the ropes are there so he is still balanced. I can even see Warrior throwing some rope shakes and arm pumps complete with jogging on the spot in just because he is the Warrior. Then Herc eventually realises just before the fourth that he needs to run towards him and knock him off the apron. Then when Herc is telling the fans how smart he is, Warrior can pull him over the ropes with the chain for a nice pop.

Apr 27, 2021 7:33:40 GMT Strobe said:

I'm gonna steal this too. Absolutely it should be called a Reinforced Chain match. Absolutely it should snap during a tug-of-war for the fourth corner and Warrior wins. Gorilla puts it over as Warrior’s incredible strength. Herc can try to save face by saying he is too strong and it was he who broke the chain. My worry is how to gimmick the chain so that it survives the match but can still break when required, especially with Warrior in there. I can see him just not being careful with how to use the gimmicked chain. I love the idea of a false finish early on with Warrior running around outside of the ropes (I guess he'd need to clothesline Herc back in with both men on the apron to get him on the outside, Herc on the inside and the chain over the top rope) and touching the buckles. Herc tries to pull him but the ropes are there so he is still balanced. I can even see Warrior throwing some rope shakes and arm pumps complete with jogging on the spot in just because he is the Warrior. Then Herc eventually realises just before the fourth that he needs to run towards him and knock him off the apron. Then when Herc is telling the fans how smart he is, Warrior can pull him over the ropes with the chain for a nice pop.

I think you just risk it and hope for the best with Warrior's excited incompetence. Worst case, the chain breaks early and you get a memorable botchamania moment that doesn't really affect the post-match story (over whose strength was responsible for the chain breaking). Frankly, part of me loves the idea of Warrior finally settling down and standing still to lock in to his end of the chain... The bell rings... Then Warrior goes back to being bonkers, yanks the gimmicked chain too hard immediately, breaks it, and proceeds to literally run circles around a shoot confused Herc, touching all four corners and shaking the ropes and pumping his arms like a mad man before sprinting off to the back, mission accomplished.

Wrong thread. Thanks, Strobe!

Oct 16, 2021 2:53:02 GMT Baker said:

King of the Ring 1998- Thought this would make my list for sure. I was so blown away by this show (or at least Taker/Mankind) that I bought a tape of it a day or two later so I could watch the Taker/Mankind instant classic whenever I wanted. Still remember the AOL handle of the guy I bought the tape from too- SychoIn98.  

But it kept dropping as I thought of more cool shows and eventually fell out of my Top 20 entirely. Might not even make my Top 30 at this point. But I am glad it was recognized by the good people of PW. It was actually getting shut out until the final two voters came through in a big way.

Anyway, the big draw here is the iconic Hell In A Cell match which was damnedest thing I had seen up to that point.....and is still the most brutal wrestling match I ever saw. Austin/Kane was also pretty good with a finish I could get behind.

But the rest of the show is extremely not good. It's a mix of bad wrestling, forgettable matches, and booking I didn't/don't approve of. The wrong guy won KOTR in hindsight. Owen losing to a member of DX is never a good thing. We had to suffer through matches involving Dan Severn and the New Midnight Express on pay per view. Good grief! How did this company ever win the MNW again? This dummy was actually super hyped for the Baker Boy battle between Too Much and Al Snow. It ended up being the worst match of the year and one that set the business back 20 years (tm Good Ol' JR).

Verdict- We all remember Taker/Mankind as the highest of highs, but tend to forget this show also gave us the lowest of lows. In an earlier post I called another PPV "a sneaky good show." Well, I'm starting to think this was a sneaky bad show I spent 23 years overrating.

Baker-man's post prompted an impromptu rebooking urge!

==============

KING OF THE RING '98: PITTSBURGH, BAY-BAY!!~

King of the Ring Semifinal: Intercontinental Champion The Rock def. European Champion Triple H (w/ Chyna)
- Clash of the champions to kick the tournament matches off while furthering the Nation/DX and Rock/HHH rivalries. Rock wins by DQ when the Nation comes out and creates a distraction, so Chyna low-blows Rock to counterbalance the situation, but the referee catches her interfering.

King of the Ring Semifinal: Ken Shamrock def. Dan Severn
- Fuck it, kill the intrigue by getting this match out of the way. Shamrock wins because he's the less boring ultimate fighter turned pro wrestler, duh. Maybe the finish is a knockout just to be different?

Six-Man Tag Team Match with special guest referee Jerry Lawler: Jeff Jarrett (w/ Tennessee Lee) & Too Much (Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor) def. Al Snow (w/ Head) & The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher)
- Pairing Al & Head with the Headbangers seemed like too much fun. Same for Jarrett and the Lawlers. Finish is something far less insulting than pinning a bottle of shampoo. I'm thinking Jerry just fast-counts for his son after Brian rolls Al up after a Headbangers accidentally babgs Al in the head with Head.

X-Pac def. Owen Hart
- No change except lose Chyna's involvement, as Waltman wins on his own. After the match, Owen complains about the Nation not interfering to help him win. The Nation was too busy nursing the People's Jewels back to health after the low blow from Chyna.

Gauntlet Match for the Light Heavyweight Championship: Taka Michinoku (c) def. Kaientai (Funaki, Dick Togo & Men's Teioh)
- Love all four of these guys. Let 'em shine! Sore losers Kaientai jump Taka after the match. Vader comes to Taka's rescue, and Kaientai runs from him like he's Godzilla.

Triple Threat Match for the WWF Tag Team Championship: The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg & Billy Gunn) (c) def. Terry Funk & Bradshaw and Faarooq & Scorpio
- Funk & Scorpio part ways and find new partners a little sooner than real life, and somehow both teams qualify for a title shot here. But the Outlaws outsmart their challengers when Road Dogg blind tags in and allows himself to be pinned by partner Billy Gunn to retain. Sorry not sorry for bumping you off the card, New Midnight Express.

King of the Ring NO DQ Final: Intercontinental Champion The Rock def. Ken Shamrock
- Rock pins Shamrock because Shamrock can NEVER get one up on Rock. Before the bell, Rock rope-a-dopes Shamrock into agreeing to the added No DQ stip considering Shamrock's record of snapping and getting himself unintentionally disqualified in their past encounters. But that just makes it totally legal for the Nation to interfere and assist Rock to victory in a defacto 4-on-1 handicap match. DX runs out after to chase off the Nation before Rock can celebrate his crowning.

Hell in a Cell Match: The Undertaker def. Mankind
- No change

First Blood Match for the WWF Championship: Kane (w/ Paul Bearer) def. Steve Austin (c) *TITLE CHANGE!*
- No change

Can never co-sign a rebook that has the opportunity to halt Kane winning the WWF Championship and chooses to do nothing. I mean, what's even the point of rebooks?

Oct 16, 2021 5:49:37 GMT Kilgore said:

Can never co-sign a rebook that has the opportunity to halt Kane winning the WWF Championship and chooses to do nothing. I mean, what's even the point of rebooks?

Tightening up the minor details!

And what was wrong with Kane in 1998? He wins via bullshit finish, and I think Austin had a pretty mean staph infection too... Right?

In fact, he's how crazy I am brudda... I'd even entertain letting Kane reign until Fully Loaded, where he drops to Undertaker (perhaps with Austin interfering or as special guest referee?), and turn SummerSlam into Austin reclaiming the title from Undertaker instead of just defending it against him.

Oct 16, 2021 5:49:37 GMT Kilgore said:

Can never co-sign a rebook that has the opportunity to halt Kane winning the WWF Championship and chooses to do nothing. I mean, what's even the point of rebooks?

This anti-Kane attitude is promoting the spite monster in me to want to broad stroke an alternate history where Kane gets as many world title runs as possible...

=====

1st REIGN

Late 1997 through early 1998 remains virtually the same as real life, establishing Kane as a real scary threat and powerful peer equal to or perhaps even greater than Undertaker. To protect Stone Cold, stick with the first blood screw job to get the belt to Kane. But then we start to have fun...

Instead of dropping the belt back to Austin the next night on RAW, we extend Kane's first reign to a month (which is just shy of an eternity during the Attitude Era). Bearer says Austin can get his rematch the next night on RAW so long as it's an inferno match. Austin has no problem with these stips, and says he'll finish what Undertaker started by burning Kane's big red retarded ass to a crisp en route to reclaiming the world title. But McMahonigans ensue, and Austin's heavily-bandaged staph-infected elbow catches on fire.

I'm of split minds regarding the next month and build to and main event for Fully Loaded.

The lazy copout feels like doing a clusterfuck fatal four-way with Kane, Undertaker, Mankind, and Austin to get the belt from Kane to Undertaker but with Mankind taking the fall to protect Kane and Austin.

The other idea is to run Kane vs. Undertaker with the world title at stake at Fully Loaded. Given his recent big win over Mankind as well as his high profile victories over current champion Kane earlier in the year, Undertaker is the natural next challenger after Austin "wasted" his contractual rematch clause in the inferno match.

Since Undertaker beat Kane in Kane's specialty of an inferno match, Bearer says Kane wants to right that wrong by beating Undertaker in Undertaker's specialty... a casket match! We then come sorta full circle from the Royal Rumble, with Undertaker sealing Kane inside the casket to win the title after some payback interference from Stone Cold.

Stone Cold goes on to defeat Undertaker in MSG at SummerSlam to reclaim the title. Undertaker turns heel, makes a deal with the devil in McMahon, and the Brothers of Destruction unite with Kane further relegated to monster pawn status.

=====

2nd REIGN

Fast forward to late 1999... Kane has turned face and broken free from the influence of mental enslavers Paul Bearer, Undertaker, and Vince McMahon thanks to the help of unlikely little buddy X-Pac. But then X-Pac and the rest of DX gets put in an uneasy predicament when through the power of date rape drugs HHH forms the nascent McMahon-Helmsley Regime. Forced to pick a side, X-Pac finds himself forced to turn on Kane.

As part of all of this, Kane gets the Big Show spot at Survivor Series 1999 after HHH orders X-Pac to run down Stone Cold in the parking lot. Kane wins the world title for a second time (first time as a face) in the triple threat, and then goes on to defend against ex-BFF X-Pac at Armageddon while we still get HHH vs. Vince (or swap Vince for Test if you'd like?) and Big Show vs. Big Bossman... because that's how you draw the dimes, babay!!~

HHH wins the title back on the first RAW of 2000 thanks to McMahon-Helmsley Regime interference. Post-match sees Kane clear everyone from the ring single-handedly though to get his monster heat back a bit.

Kane has now clocked approximately two and a half months as world champ across two reigns. He ends his rivalry with X-Pac at WrestleMania 2000 in an inferno match squash when he lights the little grease rat on fire.

Kane spends the middle of 2000 a little lost in the shuffle of a very crowded main event scene loaded with Rock, HHH, Kurt, ABA Taker, Benoit, Jericho, sometimes Rikishi, and eventually a returning Stone Cold. TBD whether Kane turns heel again or not during this time. I almost feel like he has to to help keep the sides balanced?

Anyway... Since it wasn't Rikishi running down Stone Cold in this universe, Kane gets his spot in the six-man HIAC at Armageddon 2000 instead. Kane takes the big bump, but rises from the dead because he's a bad ass. Then that following 2001 Rumble performance seals his status as bad ass.

=====

3rd REIGN

We forego the Katie Vick stuff in late 2002, and HHH retains the WHC at No Mercy... but Kane technically wins via DQ after HHH, realizing he can't keep Kane down, resorts to repeated sledgehammer shots to try to slay the Demon.

HHH subsequently does everything in his power to avoid a rematch against Kane as long as he can. He politicks to keep Kane out of the first-ever Elimination Chamber, but settles on a deal where at least Kane will enter first and HHH will enter last. Their paths don't cross, as the other entrants work together to take out Kane prior to HHH entering the fray.

Kane is the 2003 Royal Rumble runner up after matching his 2001 elimination record only to be tossed in the end by winner Brock. Kane subsequently wins a RAW Rumble to earn the WMXIX WHC Title shot. Meanwhile, poor Booker is relegated to a proto-MITB match for the reinstated IC title with RVD, Christian, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy if he's still around... otherwise Hurricane, and a William Regal-less Lance Storm. Anyway... To add intrigue, Kane vs. HHH is mask vs. title. Kane wins, keeps the mask for now, gets a third title reign as well as a big WrestleMania moment.

=====

TO BE CONTINUED!

Oct 16, 2021 17:35:54 GMT 🤯 said:

Oct 16, 2021 5:49:37 GMT Kilgore said:

Can never co-sign a rebook that has the opportunity to halt Kane winning the WWF Championship and chooses to do nothing. I mean, what's even the point of rebooks?

This anti-Kane attitude is promoting the spite monster in me to want to broad stroke an alternate history where Kane gets as many world title runs as possible...

=====

1st REIGN

Late 1997 through early 1998 remains virtually the same as real life, establishing Kane as a real scary threat and powerful peer equal to or perhaps even greater than Undertaker. To protect Stone Cold, stick with the first blood screw job to get the belt to Kane. But then we start to have fun...

Instead of dropping the belt back to Austin the next night on RAW, we extend Kane's first reign to a month (which is just shy of an eternity during the Attitude Era). Bearer says Austin can get his rematch the next night on RAW so long as it's an inferno match. Austin has no problem with these stips, and says he'll finish what Undertaker started by burning Kane's big red retarded ass to a crisp en route to reclaiming the world title. But McMahonigans ensue, and Austin's heavily-bandaged staph-infected elbow catches on fire.

I'm of split minds regarding the next month and build to and main event for Fully Loaded.

The lazy copout feels like doing a clusterfuck fatal four-way with Kane, Undertaker, Mankind, and Austin to get the belt from Kane to Undertaker but with Mankind taking the fall to protect Kane and Austin.

The other idea is to run Kane vs. Undertaker with the world title at stake at Fully Loaded. Given his recent big win over Mankind as well as his high profile victories over current champion Kane earlier in the year, Undertaker is the natural next challenger after Austin "wasted" his contractual rematch clause in the inferno match.

Since Undertaker beat Kane in Kane's specialty of an inferno match, Bearer says Kane wants to right that wrong by beating Undertaker in Undertaker's specialty... a casket match! We then come sorta full circle from the Royal Rumble, with Undertaker sealing Kane inside the casket to win the title after some payback interference from Stone Cold.

Stone Cold goes on to defeat Undertaker in MSG at SummerSlam to reclaim the title. Undertaker turns heel, makes a deal with the devil in McMahon, and the Brothers of Destruction unite with Kane further relegated to monster pawn status.

=====

2nd REIGN

Fast forward to late 1999... Kane has turned face and broken free from the influence of mental enslavers Paul Bearer, Undertaker, and Vince McMahon thanks to the help of unlikely little buddy X-Pac. But then X-Pac and the rest of DX gets put in an uneasy predicament when through the power of date rape drugs HHH forms the nascent McMahon-Helmsley Regime. Forced to pick a side, X-Pac finds himself forced to turn on Kane.

As part of all of this, Kane gets the Big Show spot at Survivor Series 1999 after HHH orders X-Pac to run down Stone Cold in the parking lot. Kane wins the world title for a second time (first time as a face) in the triple threat, and then goes on to defend against ex-BFF X-Pac at Armageddon while we still get HHH vs. Vince (or swap Vince for Test if you'd like?) and Big Show vs. Big Bossman... because that's how you draw the dimes, babay!!~

HHH wins the title back on the first RAW of 2000 thanks to McMahon-Helmsley Regime interference. Post-match sees Kane clear everyone from the ring single-handedly though to get his monster heat back a bit.

Kane has now clocked approximately two and a half months as world champ across two reigns. He ends his rivalry with X-Pac at WrestleMania 2000 in an inferno match squash when he lights the little grease rat on fire.

Kane spends the middle of 2000 a little lost in the shuffle of a very crowded main event scene loaded with Rock, HHH, Kurt, ABA Taker, Benoit, Jericho, sometimes Rikishi, and eventually a returning Stone Cold. TBD whether Kane turns heel again or not during this time. I almost feel like he has to to help keep the sides balanced?

Anyway... Since it wasn't Rikishi running down Stone Cold in this universe, Kane gets his spot in the six-man HIAC at Armageddon 2000 instead. Kane takes the big bump, but rises from the dead because he's a bad ass. Then that following 2001 Rumble performance seals his status as bad ass.

=====

3rd REIGN

We forego the Katie Vick stuff in late 2002, and HHH retains the WHC at No Mercy... but Kane technically wins via DQ after HHH, realizing he can't keep Kane down, resorts to repeated sledgehammer shots to try to slay the Demon.

HHH subsequently does everything in his power to avoid a rematch against Kane as long as he can. He politicks to keep Kane out of the first-ever Elimination Chamber, but settles on a deal where at least Kane will enter first and HHH will enter last. Their paths don't cross, as the other entrants work together to take out Kane prior to HHH entering the fray.

Kane is the 2003 Royal Rumble runner up after matching his 2001 elimination record only to be tossed in the end by winner Brock. Kane subsequently wins a RAW Rumble to earn the WMXIX WHC Title shot. Meanwhile, poor Booker is relegated to a proto-MITB match for the reinstated IC title with RVD, Christian, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy if he's still around... otherwise Hurricane, and a William Regal-less Lance Storm. Anyway... To add intrigue, Kane vs. HHH is mask vs. title. Kane wins, keeps the mask for now, gets a third title reign as well as a big WrestleMania moment.

=====

TO BE CONTINUED!

3rd REIGN (cont'd)

Scratch the mask vs. title added stip at WMXIX, as I'm thinking that might telegraph Kane's win? Anyway... Kane comes out of WMXIX with the WHC, and enters into a program with a returning Kevin Nash. Nash is tweenery as he refuses to outright align with HHH, but he also picks on face champ Kane with some inside reference insults like "there's nothing fake about Kane" and "take it from Big Daddy Cool, the Big Red Machine is definitely diesel-powered". Anyway... Nash's refusal to align with HHH leads to HHH interfering in the Kane vs. Nash title match at Backlash, where HHH attacks both champ and challenger to cause a double disqualification.

At Judgment Day 2003, Kane defends against Nash and HHH in a triple threat. HHH sneaks a stolen pin on Nash to take back his WHC without actually beating Kane.

So NOW we run title vs. mask INSIDE Hell in a Cell as the main event of the first-ever RAW-exclusive PPV Badd Blood... named in honor of Kane's PPV debut, and taking place a half decade after he won his first world title. For shits and giggles, Nash politicks to be appointed special guest referee to ensure no funny business. But funny business does ensue when Nash reveals he has finally allied with his ol' Kliq buddy and Jackknife Kane and fast-counts the pinfall for HHH. After the match, Nash helps HHH unmask Kane.

The unmasked, unhinged Kane goes after Nash. Kane "disfigures" Nash by cutting Nash's prized long locks (so that Nash can go film Punisher), and they blow off their rivalry at SummerSlam. Meanwhile, RVD slots into Nash's spot inside the Elimination Chamber.

=====

4th REIGN

Growing increasingly unhinged since unmasking, Kane turns tweener and reenters the WHC title picture in late 2003 targeting champ Goldberg just as much as he targets HHH and Evolution. Kane eventually turns full heel when he helps Vince McMahon bury Undertaker at Survivor Series, and is rewarded by being inserted into a WHC triple Threat at Armageddon 2003 with champ Goldberg and fellow challenger HHH. In a poetic callback to Judgment Day (which is a synonym for Armageddon by the way!!!) Kane pins HHH to "steal" Goldberg's WHC.

Kane defends against Goldberg, one on one, at Royal Rumble 2004 and retains after Goldberg becomes distracted by Undertaker's FUCKING GONG!!~ sounding. Everyone initially thinks it was a ruse concocted by Kane... but then we realize it isn't when the gong sounds again after the match, the lights go out, come back on, and there's a tombstone with Kane's name on it in the ring behind the champ.

We still build to the return of the Deadman at WMXX, where he essentially squashes Kane to win the WHC (and presumably move to RAW). Royal Rumble winner Benoit sends Lesnar packing to the NFL with a world title winning submission in the main event. Rock gets his win back from almost a year over a departing Goldberg after special guest referee Stone Cold stuns Bill... because WWF > WCW. HHH vs. HBK end their long-standing feud somehow in some match that's supposed to matter, Orton/Foley is fast-forwarded from Backlash, and Flair & Batista win/retain the tag titles in the four-way instead of Jindrak & Cade getting MSG Mania PPV air time.

And since I stopped watching in real time in real life after WMXX, no idea how or when to book Kane's next world title reign. But he's already a lot better off than a single 24-hour reign!

You're welcome, Kilgore.

I hate this so much.

Oct 16, 2021 18:33:07 GMT Kilgore said:

I hate this so much.

Better or worse than Luger's record breaking mid 90s title reign? What about Jeff Jarrett as the third man?

Oct 16, 2021 18:40:45 GMT Baker said:

Oct 16, 2021 18:33:07 GMT Kilgore said:

I hate this so much.

Better or worse than Luger's record breaking mid 90s title reign? What about Jeff Jarrett as the third man?

Luger is shockingly the least offensive, because who cares about the mid-90s wrestling. It was a wasteland, let's get fucking crazy. 

Jarrett as the third man has such a negative impact on the nWo, like the nWo might be dead by October '96 now, which is crazy to think about. Bunch of dominoes fall, or don't fall, I don't know, now realizing I have poor understanding of that idiom. Leaning towards this being the worst.

Kane sucks so much, like even worse than Jarrett. Which is crazy. They kind of suck in similar ways, too, where they're essentially cosplaying a much better wrestler, while that wrestler is not only still around, but often on the same roster. But Jarrett at least drifted off into his own path (I don't believe Ric Flair was ever a country singer) even if that path was really bad, so he's just inherently less offensive than Kane.

BUT. I think Kane's title reigns have less negative impact than Jarrett killing the nWo, so my final hater power rankings

1. Jeff Jarrett is the third man

2. Kane multiple time world champion

3. Lex Lugermania running wild on the new generation

I love Kilgore's Hate Power Rankings, and want to think of some other ideas to get him to round out a complete Hate Power 10 Ranking.

Oct 16, 2021 19:11:54 GMT 🤯 said:

I love Kilgore 's Hate Power Rankings, and want to think of some other ideas to get him to round out a complete Hate Power 10 Ranking.

-Austin remains The Ringmaster for another 2 years. Can't believe I forgot to mention this one earlier.
pwcom.proboards.com/thread/1159/ringmaster

-Mr. Wonderful: 1996 WCW main eventer. Though I recall Kilgore being surprisingly tolerant of this one.
pwcom.proboards.com/thread/3371/rebooking-wonderful-1996-main-eventer

-Dungeon of Doom becomes an even bigger thing. Sabu is a member.
pwcom.proboards.com/thread/937/dungeon-doom

Somebody please give me a billion dollars so I can show Tony Khan how it's done.

Oct 16, 2021 20:04:23 GMT Baker said:

Oct 16, 2021 19:11:54 GMT 🤯 said:

I love Kilgore 's Hate Power Rankings, and want to think of some other ideas to get him to round out a complete Hate Power 10 Ranking.

-Austin remains The Ringmaster for another 2 years. Can't believe I forgot to mention this one earlier.
pwcom.proboards.com/thread/1159/ringmaster

-Mr. Wonderful: 1996 WCW main eventer. Though I recall Kilgore being surprisingly tolerant of this one.
pwcom.proboards.com/thread/3371/rebooking-wonderful-1996-main-eventer

-Dungeon of Doom becomes an even bigger thing. Sabu is a member.
pwcom.proboards.com/thread/937/dungeon-doom

Somebody please give me a billion dollars so I can show Tony Khan how it's done.

Beautiful! Work 'em into your ranking, Kilgore. I'll try to dredge up 4 more ideas.

33 guests are currently viewing History of Wrestling. I'll take that as proof 🤯 and I draw dimes as bookers.

Oct 16, 2021 20:29:53 GMT Baker said:

33 guests are currently viewing History of Wrestling. I'll take that as proof 🤯 and I draw dimes as bookers.

We might even rate a whole silver dollar!

Oct 16, 2021 20:37:42 GMT 🤯 said:

Oct 16, 2021 20:29:53 GMT Baker said:

33 guests are currently viewing History of Wrestling. I'll take that as proof 🤯 and I draw dimes as bookers.

We might even rate a whole silver dollar!

Make no mistake about it, they're all waiting to hear the glass shatter, bah god, that's Kilgore's music. 

Oct 16, 2021 20:45:43 GMT Kilgore said:

Oct 16, 2021 20:37:42 GMT 🤯 said:

We might even rate a whole silver dollar!

Make no mistake about it, they're all waiting to hear the glass shatter, bah god, that's Kilgore's music. 

Now I'm wondering if you're right, and if I should've changed the finish of the world title match in my 1998 KOTR rebook... to Austin jobbing clean as a sheet!

The inaugural SummerSlam in 1988 was a relatively weak card overall, with plenty of thrown-together matches, as opposed to those from built feuds. I understand why they did it, as the drawing power of the main event was enough to fill MSG without having to give away other matches that they could run on house shows. But I think they could’ve run a far superior card without hurting any house show business.

Let’s have a look at the card as it happened.

Mega-Powers vs. Mega-Bucks: The clear choice for the main event stemming from Mania IV where Hogan helped Savage beat DiBiase, with Andre in his corner, in the tournament final. Savage/DiBiase was the World Title feud on house shows and with Hogan off filming No Holds Barred, Andre entered a mini-feud with Duggan because The Giant had interfered in DiBiase/Duggan at Mania. Ventura was the guest ref here and Elizabeth’s skirt removal distraction (hardly the itsy bitsy polka dot string bikini promised) helped the Mega-Powers prevail.

Jim Duggan on Brother Love Show: Brother Love debuted in mid-June and had announced a surprise guest for SummerSlam. According to Prichard, the original idea for the segment was for it to be Jessica Hahn, who had accused famous televangelist Jim Bakker of rape in 1987. Then it was supposed to be Ric Flair, with him wanting to get away from the financially struggling Crockett. But Turner was looking to buy and Flair being there was a major condition required for that, so the Nature Boy stayed. They pivoted to Duggan, which was not a surprise at all. Curt Hennig had joined in late July but would not debut on TV until September. Hennig had just been AWA World Champion for a year from May 1987 to May 1988, so he feels like a prime candidate to be the surprise. He was being announced as Mr. Perfect like 10 days after SummerSlam, so they likely had the name and gimmick ready to go too.

Honky vs. Beefcake Warrior - IC: Honky lost to Beefer at Mania by DQ, so retained his title but his manager Jimmy Hart got a haircut. Their feud continued post-Mania and they were due to face off at SummerSlam but 2 days before, in a famous angle with the censored X, Ron Bass attacked Brutus with his spur and put The Barber out of the match. Warrior, who had been feuding with Hercules and Bobby Heenan, facing the latter in weasel suit matches on some house shows, was the surprise replacement and squashed Honky to end his record-setting reign. Does anyone know when the decision was made to go with Warrior here?

Demolition vs. Foundation - Tag: Demolition beat Strike Force for the Tag Titles at Mania and that led to a feud between the teams coming out of the show. Martel needed time off for personal reasons so they ran an angle where Demo injured him. In fortuitous timing, The Powers of Pain had refused to work scaffold matches against the Road Warriors in JCP and left the company, joining the Fed and immediately taking Strike Force’s place on house shows, being accompanied by Tito Santana. This was not acknowledged on TV though and Demolition’s TV rival switched to the Hart Foundation. The WWF had been toying with a Bret Hart solo run in early 1988, with him smashing Brown’s battle royal trophy at Mania after Bad News had taken advantage of him to win. Post-Mania, Bret was feuding with Bad News and they were turning him face by having him not want Jimmy Hart in his corner, despite him being his contractual manager. After Jimmy’s attempts to smooth things over failed, this led to his being in the corner of Demolition, alongside Mr. Fuji, and Demo used Jimmy’s megaphone to get the win.

Powers of Pain vs. Bolsheviks: On TV, PoP debuted with no involvement of Tito and with no manager, with Fuji and Slick scoping them out. This was a nothing match to get them a win on a big show. Baron von Raschke debuted as their manager here but wouldn't even make it to November.

Bulldogs vs. Rougeaus: Post-Mania, the Rougeaus began a slow heel turn where they mentioned how they were not like Dino Bravo despite being French Canadian and would proudly state facts about the US but get them wrong and then bust out mini American flags. They were mainly working with the Killer Bees, initially in face-vs-face matches where the Rougeaus would cheat, as the heel turn progressed. The Bulldogs had continued their feud with the Islanders with High Chief Afi (the former Sivi Afi) replacing the departing Tama. In early June, Haku was pronounced the new King by Heenan with Harley Race legit injured from his SNME table spot, so the Islanders were no more and the Bulldogs would become Demolition’s challengers post-SummerSlam. Running this match with a newly-turned heel team and the next title contenders meant they felt they had to make it a draw.

Rick Rude vs. Junkyard Dog: Post-Mania, Rude debuted his Rude Awakening kiss gimmick using plants from the crowd. This to an angle where he picked out Jake’s wife Cheryl, leading to a feud between the two where Rude would tell everyone that Cheryl Roberts lusted after him. This was a big feud and a match you would have expected here in a different time period. Instead, Rude faced JYD and would pull down his tights to reveal Cheryl’s face airbrushed on tights underneath, prompting Jake to attack for the DQ. JYD had been feuding with Bass, with the two of them attacking each other with the chain and whip respectively.

Jake Roberts vs. Hercules: After the Rude/JYD match, Jake beat a different Heenan Family member in Herc in another non-built match. Herc had still been feuding with Warrior.

Big Boss Man vs. Koko: Bossman debuted in June and this was a non-built match to give him a win. Up until early June, Koko had kept teaming with the Bulldogs on house shows against Islanders and Heenan as Mania rematches.

Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco: Post-Mania, Bravo had been feuding with Ken Patera over who is the strongest man with a nationalist twist. They were having arm wrestling contests, tug-of-wars and matches on house shows. Muraco’s manager Superstar Billy Graham had been taken out by Greg Valentine’s shinguard-assisted figure-4 after Muraco & Graham had stopped the Hammer attacking a jobber post-match. Neither the Bravo/Patera or Muraco/Valentine feuds were featured on this show.

Bad News Brown vs. Ken Patera: As mentioned above, Patera was feuding with Dino Bravo. Bad News was working with Bret, and occasionally Anvil, on house shows, but the Hart Foundation were teaming again at SummerSlam, leaving Brown without a feud.

As as wrestlers not on the card goes, Haku had recently been made the King and wasn’t in a feud. The Rockers had debuted in June and were working with The Conquistadors. As said above The Killer Bees had mainly been working with the Rougeaus during their slow heel turn. One Man Gang was working with Bam Bam Bigelow, who left in late June and was replaced by Hillbilly Jim.

Greg Valentine was feuding with Muraco as explained already. George Steele had introduced his stuffed doll “Mine” and was working with Danny Davis in July and August. The Young Stallions were mainly working with the Bolsheviks after Mania, before moving on to the jobber pair of Barry Horowitz and Steve Lombardi. On his TV debut in early August, Terry Taylor teamed with Sam Houston and blamed him for their loss, attacking him and immediately establishing himself as a heel, but they didn’t start working against each other regularly until October.

Sherri was the Women’s Champion and mainly working with Rockin’ Robin. The story has always been that Moolah screwed the Jumping Bomb Angels and Glamour Girls, who faced off at the Rumble and a mid-May PTW, out of a Mania IV match by telling them to switch the belts in Japan when that was not what Vince wanted. The timing does not work out for that, as the switch happened in June, but perhaps it was a spot on the first ever SummerSlam.

------------------------

Fixing the card is relatively straight-forward for the most part. Keep the main event and surprise Warrior IC win. Put Jake and Rude in a match that would have molten heat with Cheryl involvement. Have Bravo/Patera and Muraco/Valentine on there, two built feuds. Duggan could use a match and Hercules, given Warrior is going to be Beefer’s replacement, would be an ideal opponent. They ran that match, with Andre in Herc’s corner, on the April SNME. Instead, you could run Duggan/Andre there with Herc interference. You could run JYD/Bass to finish off their feud, with Bass’ next opponent already lined up with the Brutus injury angle. But I also like the idea of doing Bossman/JYD to put the new heel over a big name nearing the end.

The tag scene is where it is interesting. I would have the Hart Foundation stay as a team and as heels in the Mania to SummerSlam stretch. Tease some problems with Jimmy, who could then inadvertently cost them their match here and that leads to them starting to out-right reject him and into that angle. They basically ran the same Foundation/Demo with Jimmy in Demo’s corner idea at the Oct SNME anyway, so there was no need to do it at SummerSlam. I really like the idea of having Tito with a new partner going up against Demo at SummerSlam. Maybe make it Sam Houston, after Taylor blamed him for their tag loss, with Tito believing in him. Then post-SummerSlam, Tito brings in PoP to keep going for revenge. At Survivor Series, Tito has a new partner (let’s say Scott Casey, the top of the jobbers) and he is involved in the PoP turn to make it more clear (maybe I’ll flesh this out later). When Martel returns, it makes more sense for why he wants to go solo and for why Tito is so desperate for them to team again.

The Hart Foundation don’t really have someone clear to work with then though. Maybe it needs to be Bad News/Bret in singles but I don't want that. It can’t be the Bulldogs, who they feuded with for ages before, or Rougeaus who they will be working with for a large stretch shortly. It probably makes the most sense to have the Bulldogs take over from Strike Force, post-Martel injury, as Demo’s new rival; Hart Foundation lose to new boys Powers of Pain (not introduced by Tito and with no manager) to start the Jimmy split proper and position PoP as legit #1 contenders; Rougeaus over Killer Bees at the end of the slow turn, fully establishing them as heels. In that scenario, maybe you use Tito in the corner of the Bulldogs, opposite Demolition. They teamed up at Mania III, nice little callback could be made.

King Haku could probably use a good win to establish himself in the new gimmick. Koko had been feuding with Heenan and the Islanders before Tama left, so that seems a natural fit.

MEGA-POWERS vs. MEGA-BUCKS
Randy Savage [WWF World Heavyweight Champion] & Hulk Hogan with Miss Elizabeth vs. Ted DiBiase & Andre the Giant with Virgil & Bobby Heenan
with Jesse Ventura as guest referee
As happened.

WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Honky Tonk Man [Champion] with Jimmy Hart vs. Brutus Beefcake Ultimate Warrior
As happened.

WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Demolition [Champions] with Mr. Fuji vs. British Bulldogs with Tito Santana
I don't like losing my Tito/PoP idea, but this gives us Tito opposing Demo and gives us a great PPV match that we never got (though we did get it on the April SNME).

Hart Foundation with Jimmy Hart vs. Powers of Pain
Jimmy Hart interference goes awry, giving PoP the win and accelerating Bret/Anvil wanting nothing to do with Jimmy.

Jake Roberts with Cheryl Roberts vs. Rick Rude with Bobby Heenan
Run an exciting sprint with Rude trying to entice Cheryl and Jake exploding with rage, before a non-finish where Rude just escapes the DDT and Heenan just escapes Damien, two things that Jake can bring up and promise in local promos for house shows into the autumn.

Jim Duggan vs. Hercules with Bobby Heenan
Run Duggan/Andre at the April SNME with Hercules interfering to set this up. Duggan can get the win, possibly uses the 2x4 to counteract the chain, since Herc is about to face turn when Heenan sells him to DiBiase as a slave.

Dino Bravo with Frenchy Martin vs. Ken Patera
Maybe run a bullrope match stemming from their tug-of-wars? I can't think of a better gimmick name to give it to utilise any strongman or nationalistic jargon. Perhaps just a flag match with Bravo winning but Duggan running out to stop the flag waving/raising.

Greg Valentine with Jimmy Hart vs. Don Muraco
Muraco should really get the win here to avenge Billy Graham's injury at the Hammer's hands. To protect Valentine, have Muraco use the shinguard as a weapon.

Big Boss Man with Slick vs. Junkyard Dog
I like the idea of prison guard Bossman cutting promos about JYD belonging in a dog pound and that Bossman is going to beat him like the dog he is.

King Haku with Bobby Heenan vs. Koko B. Ware
Win for the new king and concludes the Islander + Heenan feud with Koko.

Rougeau Brothers vs. Killer Bees
Exclamation point on the slow heel turn for the Rougeaus.

BROTHER LOVE SHOW
with surprise guest Mr. Perfect
Former AWA World Champion makes his debut and brags about his perfectness.

Not perfect, but reasonably happy with that. Bad News could probably do with a match somewhere. I'll have to think about who I'd want to pair him with after Mania instead of Bret. Maybe I need to pick my Mania IV with a tournament card (as opposed to the non-tournament card presented earlier in the thread) first as a starting point.

EDIT: It really isn't the best to do Foundation/PoP with almost no build, even if the Foundation are turning face so could handle a loss fine. Maybe it does need to be Bret/Brown as it solves my lack of Bad News problem as well. Then I can have Tito introducing PoP after SummerSlam.

Aug 24, 2022 7:05:13 GMT Strobe said:

Does anyone know when the decision was made to go with Warrior here?

Don't know the exact date the decision was made, but according to Prichard the plan was 'always' to sub Warrior in for Beefcake. 

I can't stop thinking about Kilgore's post...

Nov 12, 2022 5:10:31 GMT Kilgore said:

Nov 12, 2022 3:00:26 GMT Baker said:

Austin's coronation becomes even more satisfying to most since he'd win the title by scoring his first pinfall victory over the man he had been feuding with for over 16 months. After that Bret becomes Vince's Corporate Champion. Bret wouldn't even have to change his 1997 character. Then we get another 6-12 glorious months of Bret vs. Austin which is already my GOAT feud.

I could see Bret becoming a backstage problem due to him not liking the direction of the company. But even that could have a silver lining with Bret vetoing some of the more daft ideas we usually attribute to Russo. 

Shawn joins his buddies in WCW. He's happy to be free of Bret....at first. A minute later he realizes he's now swimming with sharks. Soon becomes an even bigger backstage problem than he was in WWF. Playing politics with Bret is one thing. Playing politics with the master Hogan is an entirely different ballgame. Maybe HBK doesn't get injured. But maybe he becomes another statistic due to combination of misery and the looser WCW environment. 

Bret winning the political battle over HBK would be rough on HHH. Perhaps he'd want out with all his buddies now in WCW? And maybe Vince would acquiesce since he was just another (upper) midcarder?

I can't see Bret & Shawn coexisting for much longer in WWF. One of them has to go. If both stay I can see them becoming irrelevant/expendable given the rise of Austin. Maybe Vince keeps them both on a shorter leash now that Austin is established as The Man?

An actually worked Screwjob finish for Bret vs. Shawn, where Bret goes over and becomes the first corporate champ would have been one of the coolest things ever. It really would have written itself. Vince making the decision because "the way Shawn Michaels has carried himself on television makes him unacceptable to be champion," then Bret can turn up the alter boy part of his gimmick while dialing down the anti-America stuff. Austin emerges as an even more belligerent challenger to finally go over Bret at WrestleMania 14.

It is true, though, it's difficult to imagine Bret/Shawn in the same place. But Vince, absolutely, never allows Shawn to go to WCW. Read this recently (okay almost two years ago, but two years fly and seem recent now), an exchange between Jim Ross and Conrad on his podcast:

Ross answered, “Vince loved [Shawn]. It’s proven. We paid Shawn $750,000 a year for about four years to do nothing because he was Vince’s guy. Every time we go over budgets and things, where are we at with the Shawn contract? Nothing, leave it alone. Ok”

Ross was asked, “When you say four years, are you saying ‘98-”02 that he was still on the payroll at that price?”

Ross responded, “That’s what I’m saying, Conrad. Here’s the deal. All Shawn wanted to do was go work and go play with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. So that would have been for WCW nice to get a gift of Shawn Michaels, wouldn’t you think? So Vince took good care of him.”

Vince would never let Shawn get away to WCW. He's getting his ass kicked by WCW, almost entirely because he let half the Kliq leave, so he would have been totally spooked to let who he saw as the best one join them.

I think if Vince chose to keep Bret, Bret remaining champion until Austin's coronation, Michaels is off the Mania card entirely, sent home, Vince in "we'll figure out what to do with Shawn some other time" mode.

Triple H can still start DX 2.0 in Shawn's absence (which would probably be Bret's next feud).

Bret, I think, fits in better in Attitude Era WWF than is often thought of. First of all, Bret was part of a lot of proto-Attitude Era moments (cursing, blood, tables, and so on), the only thing he would really object to is the T&A aspect, but that would just beautifully play into his heel persona. In the way that Kurt Angle, the ultimate square, fit into the Attitude Era, I think Bret would, too. WWF loved heel figures objecting to their content, Bret would have been awesome in that role.

PLUS.

Bret was just getting started working with Undertaker. He hadn't worked much with Foley. The Rock adores Bret for working with him when he was green and they would have done great stuff once The Rock becomes The Rock. There was so much there for him to still do. 

I think Shawn comes in and out, like he did "injured" as authority figures, only to work matches, sometimes. So, a better version of that. 

He and Bret are kept away from each other, and like Baker said, with Austin as the ace, neither feels buried by the other, they're merely doing different stuff, at the same level, just below Austin. There's no seething, "I can't believe HE is the ace and not me," because neither are the ace.

And every time Shawn acts out, Vince just sends him home again. He's got Austin now. He doesn't have to put up with it, anymore. 

And what WrestleMania XIV could've potentially looked like, which honestly could've taken a perfect card and somehow made it arguably even more perfect (IMO)...

WWF World Championship: Bret "The Hitman" Hart (c) vs. 1998 Royal Rumble winner "Stone Cold Steve Austin; special guest referee Mike Tyson
Upgrade by swapping Shawn out for Bret. Ignoring their IYH match with a DQ finish similar to how Austin/Rock from Backlash '99 often gets overlooked, here's hoping this match completes the Austin/Bret "trilogy" similar to Return of the Jedi by landing somewhere between Survivor Series '96 & WrestleMania 13 in terms of quality. I'm hard-pressed not to call Austin/Bret III the equivalent to Austin/Rock III from WMXIX... WrestleMan X-Seve will inarguably be regarded as the superior match, but the trilogy's end will be highly regarded as well because of the sentimentality bonus of Austin's first world title win. I have a hard time picturing a dramatic finish that's more iconic than a bloody Austin in the Sharpshooter at WM13 or Austin countering Sweet Chin Music into a spin-around Stunner at WMXIV, but I'm sure Bret will help come up with something genius and timeless.

The Undertaker vs. Kane (w/ Paul Bearer)
No changes from real life.

Ladder Match for the WWF Tag Team Championship: The Hardcore Legends (Cactus Jack & Terry Funk [f.k.a. Chainsaw Charlie]) (c) vs. D-generation X (Shawn Michaels & Triple H) (w/ Rick Rude & Chyna)
Upgrade by swapping the New Age Outlaws out for OG DX. Rude hangs around because the worked Montreal Screw Job doesn't upset him. Jack & Funk condense their feud with the Outlaws, winning the tag belts in their IRL WM14 dumpster match on RAW. Insert OG DX as the next logical challengers as we gradually work to officialize the Outlaws as members of the DX Army incarnation of the obnoxious stable. Add ladder stip after Foley & Shawn campaign for something special, preferably relating to Shawn, to make their tag match standout on a stacked card. Everyone takes crazy-ass bumps to make each other look good and to try to steal the show. Finish sees Shawn being the one to grab the belts because he demanded a win, but he's clearly got a don't-give-a-fuck boo-boo face on as he's unbuckling the belts atop the ladder.

WWF Intercontinental Championship: The Rock (c) (w/ The Nation of Domination) vs. Ken Shamrock
No changes from real life.

No Holds Barred Cat Fight for the vacant WWF Women's Championship: Sable vs. Luna Vachon
Go all-in on Sable with how much she's heating up. Trust Luna to lead Sable through a passable match with lots of gaga to keep it short, sweet, and highly entertaining. Arguably achieves a better effect than the mixed)intergender tag, and is arguably a better match... even if it ends up being so in a Brock/Goldberg WMXX trainwreck sense.

WWF European Championship: Owen Hart (c) vs. The British Bulldog; Jim Neidhart is in a neutral corner
Potential rehash that's been done to death by this point. Maybe the added twists of the Hart Foundation imploding makes it more compelling? Personally I like teasing the callback to King of the Ring & SummerSlam '94 with Jim out there, wondering whose side to take if such a need arises. Also, I'm thinking of reversing the face/heel dynamics here... Shawn fucks Bulldog in front of Bulldog's dying sister in the UK to win the Eurotitle, mockingly jobs it over to HHH as a D-Xmas gift... Owen beats TAFKA Goldust cosplaying as HHH (with Luna cosplaying as Chyna) for the title when Goldust subs for an injured HHH, and WWF Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter rules the title change official because Goldust's cosplay is so convincing. Bulldog is pissed about the prestige of HIS belt being besmirched, and demands his rematch that he never got. Anyway... Alternative card is HBK & HHH vs. Owen & Bulldog for the tag titles, and Cactus Jack vs. Chainsaw Charlie in a hardcore match here. Yinz weigh in on which option would be better.

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship: TAKA Michinoku (c) vs. Aguila
No changes from real life.

40-Man Tag Team Elimination Battle Royal for Number One Contendership to the WWF Tag Team Championship: The New Age Outlaws ("Road Dogg" Jesse James & "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn), L.O.D. 2000 (Road Warrior Hawk & Road Warrior Animal) (w/ Sunny), Too Much (Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor), D.O.A. (Crush & Chainz), D.O.A. (Skull & 8-Ball), The Nation of Domination (Faarooq & Kama Mustafa), The Nation of Domination (D'Lo Brown & Mark Henry), The Roughnecks (Bob Holly & Bart Gunn), The Godwinns (Henry O. & Phineas I.), The Quebecers (Jacques & Pierre), The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher), NWA Tag Team Champions The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson), Los Boricuas (Savio Vega & Miguel Perez), Los Boricuas (Jesus Castillo & Jose Estrada Jr.), The Truth Commission (Recon & Sniper), The Truth Commission (The Jackyl & Kurrgan the Interrogator), NWA North American Champion Jeff Jarrett & Barry Windham (w/ Jim Cornette), Bradshaw & Steve Blackman, Vader & Flash Funk, and The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust & Marc Mero
Only relatively minor changes from real life. Rebranded LOD still wins, but now by last eliminating the Outlaws to settle that feud for now. Crush is still around because of the worked Screwjob not making him mad enough to walk. Since Bret is still around, Truth Commission isn't handled as badly. We play up their angle with Jackyl berating Recon & Sniper and preferring Kurrgan. TAFKA Goldust & Mero are shunted to here as a strange bedfellows team, and no one misses them. There's no New Midnight Express. Instead, Bob & Bart are just a couple of Roughnecks to replace the split-up New Blackjacks and/or ol' Smokin' Gunns. Vader gets a WrestleMania payday tagging with BFF Scorpio. Did I miss any other changes? WM14 opens with the impressive visual of 40 dudes all already crammed into the ring.

Broad strokes then...

Hogan comes back in late spring. We finally get Hogan vs. Bret at SummerSlam '98 as a co-main event to Austin defending the title against Shawn. Hogan agrees to them match with Bret five years later than when it should've first happened because he's winning here and Vince is trying to push him as the cool face (whether it'll work or not). Shawn takes his ball and goes home on and off throughout 1998, but definitely after doing the J.O.B. to Austin here. Maybe run Brothers of Destruction vs. Hardcore Legends for the tag titles.

Fall of 1998 sees Vince trying to get the belt off of belligerent anti-corporate champ Austin. Screw Job recreation at Survivor Series '98 with Vince reverting to Hogan as his corporate ace, and Hogan thus reverting to his n.W.o.-style heeldom after fans clearly rejected his face schtick. Bret gives Rock the rub, and Foley jobs to Shawn in such a way that it makes Foley a truly made man as the proto-Daniel Bryan sympathetic face. Sable transitions from feuding with Luna to feuding with ex-hubby Mero to debuting Jacqueline.

WrestleMania XV becomes Austin winning his world title back from Hogan, Shawn jobbing to Rock, Taker & Kane ending their feud in HIAC, Foley beating HHH to retain his hardcore belt in a good match that just gets overshadowed on a stacked card, Sable vs. Chyna for the women's belt, X-Pac vs. Shane for the European belt, Shamrock defending the IC title against Jeff Jarrett (w/ Debra), and Owen & Bulldog vs. New Age Outlaws for tag titles in a dumpster match?

Add Bret vs. Vince to that WM15 card.

Really stretching out without thinking through too many details, but just curious what a WM2000 might then look like (assuming injuries cause Austin & Taker to still miss that show...)

WWF World Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) vs. 2000 Royal Rumble winner The Rock

McMahons Implode in a Mixed Intergender Father-Daughter/Mother-Son Tag Team Family Affair: Vince & Stephanie vs. Shane & Linda

Career vs. Career: Shawn Michaels vs. Mick Foley

Submission Match: Bret Hart vs. Chris Jericho

D-generation X (HHH, X-Pac, Road Dogg & Chyna [sub. for injured Billy Gunn]) vs. Radicalz ("WCW World Champion" Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko)

Godzilla vs. King Kong: Kane vs. Big Show

No Holds Barred Match for the Eurocontinental Championship: Kurt Angle (c)/(c) vs. Tazz

Tag Title TLC same as IRL...

Then maybe Rikishi being featured in a Stinkface and dance segment with Too Cool, and a jobber battle royal featuring the hardcore title?

For shits and giggles then, WrestleMan X-Seve...

We FINALLY get Austin vs. Rock for the world title. It's their real life WMX7 match but perhaps with a proper finish? Or maybe the IRL finish somehow now actually works even better?

Hogan vs. Vince from WMXIX

Street Fight: Shawn vs. HHH from SummerSlam 2002

Bret Hart vs. Kurt Angle, possibly a submission match?

Chyna vs. Steph for the women's title.

TLC II just like IRL...

Undertaker issues open challenge to any WCW wrestler who wants to be made famous... WCW World & United States Champion (and Houston hometown hero) Booker T surprises Taker and gives him a real run for the money before doing the J.O.B. for WWF's Gatekeeper.

Benoit runs through Eddie, Perry & Dean in a Radicalz Implode gauntlet match.

Same hardcore triple threat as IRL...

Jericho defends the IC title against Regal in the opener...

Fuck it, why not...

WrestleMania X8

"Austin/Rock II" for the Undisputed World Title: Austin (c) vs. Rock in their real life match from WMXIX

Final Chapter: Bret vs. Shawn

"10 Years Too Late" Retirement Match: Hogan vs. Flair

Brothers of Destruction vs. The Outsiders

Perfect Kurt/Curt: Kurt Angle vs. "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig

IC title ladder match: Y2J (c) vs. RVD

European title: DDP (c) vs. Booker T

Hardcore title payday schmozzz deal

Tag Team title battle royal or something

LOL, did I forget to book HHH?!

Let's make the world title main event a triple threat then with HHH in it.

WrestleMania XIX...

World Title: HHH (c) vs. 2003 RR winner Rock

Brock vs. Austin

Bret's Retirement: Bret vs. Benoit

HBK vs. Y2J same as IRL

OG King Kong vs. Godzilla: Undertaker vs. Big Show

Etc.