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Re: Hulk Hogan the star of the...AWA...1983
I blinked. I had actually stopped watching wrestling already and didn't get back into it until late 92/early 93. Tail end of the Ron Simmons title reign.
NWA lost me as a fan in 1989 with that horrific Ironman concept for Starrcade. What the fuck were they thinking? I was 14....their prime demographic basically....and washed my hands of it the moment they announced that. We had just had classic Flair Steamboat matches, the Flair-Funk feud, the debut of Muta, etc. and then they try feeding their audiences this horse shit and asking us to pay for the privilege?
WWF lost me in 1990....kinda funny as I preferred NWA over WWF. They started losing me in 88-89. Even though I was only 13-14, I could see a mile away what Mcmahon was doing....he was setting up Warrior to be a second rate Hulkamania clone and I thought he was worthless. I stuck around for the Megapowers storyline of course as it was brilliant soap opera but as that faded and Warrior continued to rise, I checked out. From 1990-93 only thing I saw was the lame Hogan-Warrior match and Hogan-Slaughter. When I found out later that Flair came to WWF to challenge Hogan, I about shit myself but as we all know, Mcmahon didn't pull the trigger on it properly.
One of his few mistakes. Flair vs Hogan THE ultimate dream match. Deserved a massive buildup to a Wrestlemania. If hyped properly, would've sold out a stadium just like WM3 and been a spectacle. Having said that, we found out in WCW why Mcmahon was right in not pushing the dream match to the moon.....
It looks good on paper.....the hype and actual match itself pure shit. Flair and Hogan do not gel. Their styles too different and besides...you knew Flair had less than zero chance of winning and it needed a suspension of disbelief to work. I'll never forget that massive hype of Hogan coming to WCW and Flair immediately starts pissing and moaning about him. I knew he was burnt toast and they were gonna hand the belt to Hogan at jump street...which is exactly what they did.
Flair wrestled another 20 years or so but he never truly recovered from this. He didn't understand he had leverage even though Hogan had the giant contract. If I'm Flair, Hogan is losing at least one of those...preferably the first one for shock value and to keep the audience guessing. However, the Hogan character doesn't work in that setting.....like I said...nothing about it works.
Back to the Von Erichs....
Their whole story is fascinating. The tragedy and spectacle of it all. I lived in Texas for awhile in 82 but didn't start watching wrestling until 84. I would have loved to experience that firsthand. The Von Erich story deserves to be a major film. Shocking that it still hasn't materialized all these years later. If done right you're talking Oscars material.
The story is also very disturbing. This may be a reason nobody touches it. You don't have to know very much of it to realize that there is a very dark undercurrent to it that is yet to be fully known. I also find the fan reaction to the unfolding tragedy(especially with hindsight) to be perplexing. One dies....chalk it up to a one time tragedy and keep on keeping on...I get that. Here comes another...disgraceful how they forced Mike back in the ring when he is clearly brain damaged....he offs himself....then another....Kerry's accident which sidelines him......and then here comes another.....the runt of the litter blowing his brains out because he cant wrestle at his brothers level.....and of course the grand finale of Kerry's suicide.
Where was the outrage? A media or fan intervention? Yeah I know of the Penthouse expose but that wasn't enough. People just kept filling the Sportatorium and chowing down on those french fries and watching wrestling as if oblivious to the unfolding tragedy. By the time they did say, "Hey, wait a minute!".....too late.
World Class went into steep decline before it had all played out but that was because of the talent fleeing to NWA, UWF, etc. and not as a reaction to the Von Erich deaths. The fact people in Dallas could watch a brain damaged Mike beg people to come to the Cotton Bowl and they oblige....disturbing.
The art of wrestling (at least since I've been watching) has always been about making you give a shit about the outcome of a fight.
Yeah and a big part of it is the suspension of disbelief. Once they gave that up and let the crowd in on the joke, I stopped caring.
stars that take years to cultivate can fizzle out with one loss (see Ronda Rousy) decimating mainstream appeal
I dont watch that stuff(or modern wrestling) but I know why she fizzled out....
she wouldn't shut up. People in this era wont stop talking. The constant need to trend in our social media culture gives us too much info about these people. There's no mystery. I don't even know the bitch, never watched a match, yet I cant stand her.
Movie stars suffer from this to an extent as well and I find very few celebrities appealing anymore. When Emma Roberts was tweeting asking about where she could buy good frozen yogurt, I knew she was no different than any other early 20s twittering zombie. She just makes a fuckload of money starring in mediocre films...only difference between her and the others.
Someone like Natalie Portman knows how to keep that mysery and aura alive. She's not informing the world every time she eats a hamburger, picks her nose, etc.
I'm going off on a tangent....
Re: Hulk Hogan the star of the...AWA...1983
<quote>WWF lost me in 1990....kinda funny as I preferred NWA over WWF. They started losing me in 88-89. Even though I was only 13-14, I could see a mile away what Mcmahon was doing....he was setting up Warrior to be a second rate Hulkamania clone and I thought he was worthless.</quote>
That was all on purpose though...cuz Hulk was mentally checking out...didn't want to be a wrestler anymore...at least not full time. McMahon needed a grinder to accept the schedule of replacing Hulk...or he needed Hulk to commit....the later not being an option in reality. The irony was....Warrior wasn't a grinder either. Such a fool that man was in real life...it almost makes me sad.
<quote> One of his few mistakes. Flair vs Hogan THE ultimate dream match. Deserved a massive buildup to a Wrestlemania. If hyped properly, would've sold out a stadium just like WM3 and been a spectacle. Having said that, we found out in WCW why Mcmahon was right in not pushing the dream match to the moon.....
It looks good on paper.....the hype and actual match itself pure shit. Flair and Hogan do not gel. Their styles too different and besides...you knew Flair had less than zero chance of winning and it needed a suspension of disbelief to work. I'll never forget that massive hype of Hogan coming to WCW and Flair immediately starts pissing and moaning about him. I knew he was burnt toast and they were gonna hand the belt to Hogan at jump street...which is exactly what they did. </quote>
It was supposed to happen...and almost did....check it out
This is as good as it gets Lofton...check out how pissed Sid is LOL
Something happened behind the scenes....and I think I know what it was...egos....refusing to job to one another...Hulk being part-time...Flair was full-time....why should Flair lose to Hogan? he's doing shitty movies by this point.
<quote> celebrities are annoying as shit these days....but here's the thing...Ronda Rousey had a deep relationship with Roddy Piper. Check it out Lofton
If you're interested...in the last interview Roddy ever gave...on the Rich Eisen show...he called Ronda a daughter...
