Q&A thread - Your Questions Answered! **no chat**

gerrybbadd

Are Maddox and Vickie still GM's or has that angle been dropped quietly, replaced by the authority?

gnfnrhead

gerrybbadd wrote: »

Are Maddox and Vickie still GM's or has that angle been dropped quietly, replaced by the authority?

Maddox was still GM fairly recently (~three weeks ago). Not sure what Vickie's official role is now.

Mr.Saturn

He popped up on the RAW pre-show this week to announce the Sheamus/Christian match.

Ape Lincoln

Kolido wrote: »

Are there any instances of a wrestler failing to kick out when he should have maybe where he had a legitimate injury or a lapse of concentration?

Hogan kicked out late during the match against Andre at Mania 3, his shoulders were down for the three count.

At Survivor Series dark match before the PPV Bradshaw was pinned, kicked out at two but the ref counted the mat for three.

There was a screwup at the hardcore battle royal at Mania 2000 where Hardcore Holly pinned Crash I think, the ref counted three but I think it was only suppossed to be a two count with the time limit running out. Cue lots of confusion on Bob's face afterwards as he's announced champ.

I know there are others including instances of exactly what you describe happening where someone does kick out and the ref doesn't count three but moves into a different position, calls an audible for the kickout. But I can't remember.

Penn

Ape Lincoln wrote: »

I know there are others including instances of exactly what you describe happening where someone does kick out and the ref doesn't count three but moves into a different position, calls an audible for the kickout. But I can't remember.

Yeah I've seen a few times where just as the ref is about to hit 3, he stops, shoves his hand under the shoulder of whoever was being pinned as if to say "His shoulder was up" even though the guy hadn't moved.

Whosthis

Have the WWF/E ever used a printed ring canvas? Like the WCW target logo.

Ape Lincoln

Whosthis wrote: »

Have the WWF/E ever used a printed ring canvas? Like the WCW target logo.

Very rarely. They did at WreztleMania XII and later cut the ring up and sold it for about $100 for a rice crispie square sized piece. ECW in 2005/2006 had one.

rovert

Apparently that is one of Vince McMahon's pet peeves, Whosthis. He isn't a man for clutter. It is one of the reasons you don't see cameramen at ringside. If you watch the Beyond The Mat documentary there is a scene that covers Dude Love's debut. The shot is backstage soley focused on Foley's boots and legs. Vince orders the shot to be redone as there are wires visible on the ground where Dude Love is strutting.

In Mexico they sell the mat as ad space a lot of the time featuring Corona beer.

jaykhunter

That's very interesting although odd as WWE sets are elaborate, WWE logos on the turnbuckle/branding/marquees everywhere. Same with elaborate production/video packages etc.

rovert

jaykhunter wrote: »

That's very interesting although odd as WWE sets are elaborate, WWE logos on the turnbuckle/branding/marquees everywhere. Same with elaborate production/video packages etc.

The uniformity from what ex-Creative writing say is Executive Producer, Kevin Dunn's deal - a person often described as the second most important person in the company.

Hence for example WWECW eventually having the same look as Raw and Smackdown.

Little if any differences between Raw and Smackdown besides the colour scheme when brand spilt was around.

Kevin Dunn also shot down/sabotaged any idea for Raw and Smackdown have separate Executive Producers.

Ape Lincoln

During the Raw preshow the locked off camera area was visible as well the empty seats surrounding it. Dunn must've done his nut in

Hangballlouie

listening to the Austin podcast with Regal and the steamboat/savage match briefly came up. Regal said he loved that match until he heard something after. Austin said he knew what he was talking about but they just moved on from it as they said it was an inside thing. Anyone have any ideas what this was about?

rovert

hangballlouie wrote: »

listening to the Austin podcast with Regal and the steamboat/savage match briefly came up. Regal said he loved that match until he heard something after. Austin said he knew what he was talking about but they just moved on from it as they said it was an inside thing. Anyone have any ideas what this was about?

To understand it you have to understand the mentality of 1987 vs now as the Culture has changed so much.

In 2014 everything is SO scripted and Wrestlers going over the match backstage move by move. Back in 1987 the opposite was the case. Heels and babyfaces had separate locker rooms so not to expose the business. Although notes were passed between the locker rooms outside of the finish of the match and key spots (like say a manager inferring or a foreign object being used) the match would be improvised in the ring. Not being able to call a match in the ring was a sign of a bad wrestler in wrestler's eyes.

Now Savage-Steamboat. Randy Savage wanted the match to be perfect so Savage wrote an itemised list of the sequence of moves he wanted in the match for Steamboat to memorise. Savage and Steamboat would practice that match on house shows numerous times. In a shoot interview Ricky told the story that Savage would come up to him out of the blue and quiz him - "move #67 what is it." Many old timers viewed this approach as taking the skill out of Wrestling.

linvoysblues

Not sure if this fits the heading but here goes...

Are there any websites out there that sell replica wrestling gear? Namely I'm looking for Sandow's robe. The one on WWE Shop is nothing like the one he wears, not even the same colour. I've tried generic bathrobes across the interwebs but nothing seems to match the navy and white trim that he wears. If anyone knows of where to find such an item, please let me know.

Hangballlouie

rovert wrote: »

To understand it you have to understand the mentality of 1987 vs now as the Culture has changed so much.

In 2014 everything is SO scripted and Wrestlers going over the match backstage move by move. Back in 1987 the opposite was the case. Heels and babyfaces had separate locker rooms so not to expose the business. Although notes were passed between the locker rooms outside of the finish of the match and key spots (like say a manager inferring or a foreign object being used) the match would be improvised in the ring. Not being able to call a match in the ring was a sign of a bad wrestler in wrestler's eyes.

Now Savage-Steamboat. Randy Savage wanted the match to be perfect so Savage wrote an itemised list of the sequence of moves he wanted in the match for Steamboat to memorise. Savage and Steamboat would practice that match on house shows numerous times. In a shoot interview Ricky told the story that Savage would come up to him out of the blue and quiz him - "move #67 what is it." Many old timers viewed this approach as taking the skill out of Wrestling.

Thanks for that. For some reason I thought it was something sinister. Strange mindset but you can kinda understand it. Regal must be ingrained in that mindset for it to change his view of that match. I wonder when he's mentoring in NXT does he try and instill that old school way of calling it in the ring and/or is he allowed to?

DEFTLEFTHAND

How many times have TNA been referenced on WWE TV? I remember two occasions, the first one was Low Ki in a NXT promo. The second one was in the summer of 2011 when Cena told Vince in the ring that if he made him walk he'd join another organisation because he loves the business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4ZTZXVdKNY

Has there been any other TV mention over the years that I'm missing?

gerrybbadd

I've been listening to the Steve Austin Show podcast on the Podcast One website on my Android device. It's strange because, with the "Unleashed" shows, I can download these direct to the device. However, the likes of the Cena & Regal shows will only stream, and won't download.

Does anyone know of a good Podcast App that may stream these kinds of shows? Bonus points for the Figure 4 / Wrestling Observer stuff!

Ape Lincoln

I was able to download the Cena and Regal episodes on an Android though I think it's been a bit tempermental at times like the download button isn't there or it won't work and then you refresh a half hour later and it works.

Only way to get the podcasts from Figure4Online are either subscribe or get the freebies afaik. Unless you can listen to the live broadcasts on Sports Byline via the Tune In Radio app. I couldn't listen to more than one of them a week tbh. Only so much you can say about the same news.

Donegal Dan

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

By all accounts, Vince hates JR, and would have gotten rid of him long ago had he not feared backlash from fans and the backroom.

But why that hate? JR seems harmless and is in the all time top 4 three commentators with Heenan, Ventura and Monsoon.

krudler

rovert wrote: »

Apparently that is one of Vince McMahon's pet peeves, Whosthis. He isn't a man for clutter. It is one of the reasons you don't see cameramen at ringside. If you watch the Beyond The Mat documentary there is a scene that covers Dude Love's debut. The shot is backstage soley focused on Foley's boots and legs. Vince orders the shot to be redone as there are wires visible on the ground where Dude Love is strutting.

In Mexico they sell the mat as ad space a lot of the time featuring Corona beer.

Vince has always fancied himself a movie producer, it's why so much of the WWE production is so cinematic. Sure look at how other sports use promos now, UFC does it, boxing does it, hell even soccer and rugby do it and they use big orchestral themes and editing, rugby even has pyro now. I'm not saying WWE started this, but it's a huge part of their product and their video production team is one of the best in the world.

Lord TSC

Donegal Dan wrote: »

But why that hate? JR seems harmless and is in the all time top 4 three commentators with Heenan, Ventura and Monsoon.

Would be a very long post if we went into the whole story. Long story short, Vince knew JR was a coward backstage, and in the super-macho world, that means he's a target to be bullied. They'd constantly mock JR on the show (see: Every show in Oklahoma ever). They'd rib him (see: JR being drafted to Raw; JR had NO clue about this ahead of time and was furious). In a way, I think they wanted to see how much he'd take before he quit, and because he never did, Vince continued the torture.

That, and he "looks funny".

Palo Alto

Donegal Dan wrote: »

But why that hate? JR seems harmless and is in the all time top 4 three commentators with Heenan, Ventura and Monsoon.

I get the impression Vince doesn't like people he thinks might be smarter or more knowledgeable than himself.

krudler

Palo Alto wrote: »

I get the impression Vince doesn't like people he thinks might be smarter or more knowledgeable than himself.

Vince is an oddball in fairness, he lives in a WWE bubble and has barely any knowledge of pop culture, I'd say he has no idea who most of the guest hosts on Raw over the years are aside from a few.

Rjd2

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Would be a very long post if we went into the whole story. Long story short, Vince knew JR was a coward backstage,

If he ever stood up for himself then it would have stopped ages ago, Vince does not mess with Lawler because he knows he will be told to **** off and Lawler will go home and count his money. Its harsh on JR but he could and should have nipped this in the bud a long time ago.

Lord TSC

Vince is weird like that though.

I remember reading that when Batista started sleeping with Melina, John Morrison's then girlfriend, he basically thought Morrison was a coward for not trying to fight Batista over it and started jobbing him out. Likewise, when Booker gave Batista a black eye in a backstage fight, reports seemed to suggest Vince loved Booker's willingness to fight.

krudler

Rjd2 wrote: »

If he ever stood up for himself then it would have stopped ages ago, Vince does not mess with Lawler because he knows he will be told to **** off and Lawler will go home and count his money. Its harsh on JR but he could and should have nipped this in the bud a long time ago.

tbh I find it hard to have sympathy for JR, he could have told Vince to go **** himself at any stage and walked, but he always came running back for a Mania announce spot or guest appearance or whatever. Same with Foley, who gets on his high horse when it suits him but would turn up to the opening of a portaloo with a WWE logo on it.

Palo Alto

I agree. Borderline stockholm syndrome.

A Primal Nut

Donegal Dan wrote: »

But why that hate? JR seems harmless and is in the all time top 4 three commentators with Heenan, Ventura and Monsoon.

A lot of it comes from the Executive Producer Kevin Dunn as well. Both he and Vince are more into the Sports Entertainment/Social Media/Mainstream Entertainment buzz, whereas JR is more of an oldschool Wrasslin' guy. He knows the names of moves (shocking for a wrestling commentator, I know) and generally likes to talk about the match.

Compare that with Michael Cole, who prefers to talk about WWE, the show as a whole, constantly bicker with the other commentators about storylines; rather than talk about individual matches. He calls suplexes "throws", etc. Most importantly Jim Ross does his own thing and talked just this week about often making Vince mad by not saying what Vince or Kevin was telling him to say in the headset.

On the other hand, Cole is a yes man who will say whatever Kevin/Vince ask him to say.

The biggest shame of all is in JR's role as Head of Talent Relations. He ws in that role from mid 90's to 2005, during a period when WWE produced main eventer after main eventer. The likes of Stone Cold, Mick Foley and The Rock credited Jim Ross with playing a key role in their career and all those guys wanted JR on commentary for their big matches. This included Austin-Rock at WMXV, and even Triple H, along with Undertaker and guest referee Shawn Michaels, apparently asked for him to call their match at WMXXVIII. From a talent devlopment point of view, he was great at emphasising a talent's strengths and hiding their weaknesses.

Since he left and was replaced by yes man John Laurinites, the only main eventer they have produced is CM Punk, who succeeded in spite of being held back. Daniel Bryan is a similar story. But that's it, for the last 8 years.

Of course there are other reasons for their lack of main event talent, but there is no doubt JR played a key role in the past.

It's strange because as someone said, Vince likes a bit of confrontation among the wrestlers (as with Morrison/Booker stories above) but he just doesn't like when people disagree with him. All reports about WWE, especially in talent development and creative, talk of a bunch of yes man doing their best to tell Vince what he wants to hear.

Hematocyte

Q: Goto around 7:20 on this clip (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12cps6_wwf-in-your-house-7-good-friends-better-enemies-part-3_sport)

Diesel throws his jacket at Vince McMahon. McMahon's reaction (or sort of 'non reaction') seems something genuine more like a real boss whose employee is ****ing with him, rather than something that was part of the show.

Anyone know was this just part of the show or 'real'?

Ape Lincoln

Hematocyte wrote: »

Q: Goto around 7:20 on this clip (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12cps6_wwf-in-your-house-7-good-friends-better-enemies-part-3_sport)

Diesel throws his jacket at Vince McMahon. McMahon's reaction (or sort of 'non reaction') seems something genuine more like a real boss whose employee is ****ing with him, rather than something that was part of the show.

Anyone know was this just part of the show or 'real'?

It was a work, part of the show. It might not have been preplanned as in Nash saying "hey, is it ok if I throw my jacket at you" but Nash was a heel and heels in 96/97 would sometimes target McMahon who was the perennial babyface commentator. Prior to the match they aired a promo from the pre-show Free for All where Nash told McMahon that he "had something special planned (for the match)" .


1996 was the start of the WWF kind of bending the 4th wall wrt kayfabe while they were trying to compete with WCW. Michaels does a Hulk Hogan pose after winning for example and they had just done the Nacho Man Billionaire Ted thing.