The SmarK Rant for AEW Dynamite – 03.15.23
OK, I’m finally home and not completely bagged from travel, so it’s time to document my Winnipeg adventure! Such as it was.
The SmarK Rant for AEW Dynamite – 03.15.23
Latest Wrestling Blogs
Morning Daily News Update
Vince McMahon Tried To Split Popular WWE Faction “Multiple Times”
A new report has revealed that Vince McMahon tried to split up one of WWE’s most popular factions multiple times.
Hulk Hogan Tried To Change The Finish Of Legendary Clash With Dwayne Johnson
Hulk Hogan wanted the clash between himself and The Rock at WrestleMania 18 to go down very differently.
Vince McMahon Laughed After Being Told Fans Hated Planned WrestleMania Match
Vince McMahon knew fans hated the idea of one WrestleMania match. His reaction? “F*ck em.”
Punk’s Return
Hey Scott,
After catching Revolution the signs seem to be pointing to Punk returning and the Elite leaving.
I mean the Elite dropped the belts just like that in their first PPV defense and seem to be playing out the string.
Couple that with MJF repeatedly referring to himself as the Best in the World and mocking his post PPV media scrum.
FTR returning also plays into all this as they’re tight with Punk and not with the Bucks.
Only thing is they lined up Hangman (new music is a major downgrade) as the next title challenger so that would have to end before Punk comes back.
Thoughts?
The fact that you called Ghost Riders a “downgrade” negates any other point you were trying to make here. SHAME.
Four Pillars
With the show on Wednesday, do you still consider those 4 the pillars? If not, who are your pillars?
For me, MJF and Jack Perry are there. I have Hangman replacing Sammy, and the fourth position goes back and forth between Mox/Darby/Orange.
Hmm, you could almost put some of those people on a mountain carving of some kind.
I’d say Orange, MJF, Moxley and Britt.
Saved by the Bucks
Hi Scott
Just one small question, really;
Why are we, the audience, supposed to give the remotest of craps about the Elite's really dull high-school drama about who gets to take Hangman Page to Prom?
Honestly, as much as I love AEW generally, this stuff just utterly bombs for me; I can't be alone in this, surely?
Cheers!
Man who stole the love out of your heart? That’s just cold.
What the World Was Watching: WWF This Tuesday in Texas! (1991)
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, live from San Antonio, Texas. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a sellout crowd of 8,000. The show drew a buyrate of 1.00, which roughly equates to 140,000 buys. Those were less than half of the number of households that bought Survivor Series, making the WWF quickly abandon this experiment of doing small, cheap, weekly pay-per-views.
A replay of WWF Champion the Undertaker and Paul Bearer’s promo at the end of Survivor Series is shown.
Flashback Friday: Survivor Series 88 v. SuperClash III v. Starrcade 88
As 1988 came to a close, wrestling fans were treated to three pay-per-views in 32 days featuring the top talent from every major promotion in the United States. Let’s do a deep dive, courtesy of Scott Keith’s reviews, a panel of experts, and some comments from those involved with the shows themselves.
The Survivor Series: November 24, 1988
From the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio, with Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura before a crowd of 13,500:
Impact Wrestling – March 16, 2023
Impact Wrestling
Date: March 16, 2023
Location: Sam’s town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt
Sacrifice is next week and the card, while is looking a bit stacked, is coming together. That means we are likely to get some more build towards Tommy Dreamer vs. Bully Ray this week, as that is likely headlining the show. Otherwise, the six man tag featuring Time Machine should see some more setup as well. Let’s get to it.
Evening Daily News Update
WWE SmackDown Heading To Puerto Rico
Ahead of Backlash, WWE will broadcast SmackDown from Puerto Rico!
Mandy Rose Was Supposed To Win The WWE SmackDown Women’s Title At WrestleMania
A former WWE writer revealed that Mandy Rose was once supposed to have a spectacular WrestleMania moment.
Huge Update On Scrapped WWE WrestleMania 39 Match
A new report provides an update on a rumored WrestleMania match that won’t come to pass.
WWE Biopic “Dead” Because Of Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon is the reason a planned biopic won’t see the light of day.
Cracking the Wyatt mystery.
It seems like the Maximum Male Models are trying to brainwash Otis, almost like a cult. I was talking about it with my best friend and it hit me – they ARE a cult, and it was THEM under the Firefly masks in the Pitch Black match. LA Knight knew the Models were in cahoots with Wyatt, that's why he bailed on them and changed his name back. This is all leading to Bray, Howdy and Otis (probably as Huskus) vs. Knight, Chad Gable and a yet to be determined third partner at Wrestlemania. IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES SENSE.
I’m glad something about Bray Wyatt makes sense.
1998
Has it been 25 years since the greatest year of professional wrestling from a memorable moments standpoint? If not, what year would you consider better than 1998 and why?
-1998-
Original form of DX at its peak
“Tyson & Austin!!!” altercation
WrestleMania 14 with Mike Tyson
Austin era begins the night after WrestleMania with new belt
The Rock becomes leader of Nation of Domination thus officially beginning his rise.
Triple H becomes leader of DX thus officially beginning his rise as well.
X-Pac becomes first guy to jump back over
DX invades Nitro
Austin vs McMahon
Bischoff open challenge to Vince for a fight
Undertaker/Foley Hell in a Cell
The rise of Goldberg
Malone/DDP vs. Hogan/Rodman
Goldberg/Hogan
nWo takes over the Tonight Show on NBC
….and that was just the first half of the year!
I'm curious others thoughts on this.
1987 says hi. Mega powers, WM3 and Wargames.
Morning Daily News Update
The Undertaker Almost Stormed Out Of WrestleMania Following Altercation With Vince McMahon
The Undertaker once threatened to walk out of WrestleMania.
Taya Valkyrie is All Elite.
Top Star Fined After AEW Dynamite Promo
A top AEW star has claimed they’ve been fined for an explosive promo on Dynamite.
Dynamite – March 15, 2023
Dynamite
Date: March 15, 2023
Location: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz
We’re in Canada this week and that means it is time for…well it doesn’t really mean much but the All-Atlantic Title is now the International Title with Orange Cassidy defending against Jeff Jarrett. Other than that we have MJF’s Re-bar Mitzvah, which should be quite the spectacle. Let’s get to it.
Evening Daily News Update
Triple H Bringing Back WWE Star’s Original Gimmick “By The End Of This Year”
According to a new report, Triple H is set on one WWE star reclaiming their original gimmick.
AEW & NJPW Confirm Forbidden Door 2
At long last, the date and location for Forbidden Door 2 have been confirmed!
Nikki Garcia (Nikki Bella) Addresses AEW Rumors
One day after confirming the former Bella Twins’ WWE departure, Nikki Garcia addressed rumors that the duo might become All Elite.
Major Match “Very Much On The Table” For John Cena At SummerSlam
A new report says a blockbuster match for John Cena is being discussed for SummerSlam.
AEW Canadian Tour
Plus Forbidden Door in Toronto. OH MY GOD. ITS HAPPENING.
What the World Was Watching: WWF Prime Time Wrestling – December 2, 1991
The roundtable of Vince McMahon, Gorilla Monsoon, Sean Mooney, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Perfect jump into an argument over whether WWF President Jack Tunney should have the right to digitally censor Ric Flair’s championship belt.
A replay of WWF President Jack Tunney’s Survivor Series announcement that Randy Savage is immediately reinstated and will face Jack Roberts at This Tuesday in Texas is shown. There is also a replay of Tunney announcing a rematch for the WWF Championship between the Undertaker and Hulk Hogan from the Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Owen & Bulldog vs. Furnas & LaFon vs. The Godwinns vs. Faarooq & Crush (and other Dream Matches!)
You know it’s 1997 WWF when THESE two show up!
Welcome back to more Dream Matches! This week, we have a wild assortment, as I found another Bowl Match from the WWF! A sequel to the “RAW Bowl” where everyone was in football gear, this one is classic 1997, as it’s Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs. The Godwinns vs. Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon vs. Faarooq & Crush in a 4-way elimination tag match!
A weird mish-mash bout from 1993 WCW sees a young BABYFACE Steve Regal take on The Barbarian! More of Devon Storm and Ace Darling as they form “The Extremists” and hit WCW as a pair of jobbers against The Public Enemy! A palette cleanser from that as babyface Kona Crush takes on “Dream Matches” MVP, Blake Beverly! And we end things with a great example of the Dragon Gate style as CIMA, Dragon Kid & Susumu Yokosuka invade Pro Wrestling NOAH to face Naomichi Marufuji, Ricky Marvin & Ippei Ota!
BOWL MATCH (4 corners elimination tag, anyone can tag and must accept tags):
OWEN HART & “THE BRITISH BULLDOG” DAVEY-BOY SMITH vs. THE GODWINNS (Henry O. & Phineas I. Godwinn, w/ Hillbilly Jim) vs. DOUG FURNAS & PHILIP LAFON vs. THE NATION OF DOMINATION (Faarooq & Crush, w/ Clarence Mason, PG-13 & Flunkies):
(WWF Superstars, Jan. 26th 1997)
* Wait, they ran ANOTHER Bowl? All I remember was the RAW Bowl! Where they all wore football uniforms and it was actually pretty dumb! This is another from the next year, with a smattering of oddball tag teams from the era- Owen & Bulldog are the tag champs, with Furnas & LaFon (in matching blue trunks) brought in from Japan as charisma-free challengers in an attempt to combat WCW’s perception as the “workrate promotion”, probably. The Godwinns are a fading act at this point (and oddly both in matching red shirts), while the Nation are rising stars, without Savio yet, I think.
Mike Rebooks WCW Starrcade 1993
Happy Wednesday Everyone!
Last week I rebooked WrestleMania VIII on the assumption that the owner of the promotion mandated a certain Main Event, thus ensuring I would be forced to mix up the card a bit. This week we’ll do the same with WCW Starrcade 1993.
In this universe, we’re going to assume that the scissor incident between Sid and Arn Anderson didn’t take place, thus meaning I’ll be expected to close the show with the previously planned Main Event of Vader Vs Sid.
Let’s see if I can be amendable to the WCW hierarchy whilst still putting on a fun Starrcade 1993.
If you wish to view the original card you can do so by clicking below;
Card with guide « WCW Starrcade 1993 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database
Turning Dave’s Ratings Into a 5 Star Scale
Hi Scott! I’ve been following you for decades, bought a few of your books in actual book form (hope you’re rolling in cash from the royalties) but never needed to contact you before. Well, after AEW Revolution I was fascinated by the controversy over Meltzer scores and decided to convert his scores into a 5 star scale, just to see how they’d compare if the top end was the same. The results:
Mark Briscoe & Lucha Bros. v Ari DaivarI & Varsity Athletes 3.25 *
Jericho v Starks 3.75
Cage v Perry 3.75
Elite v House of Black 4.25
Hayter v Soho v Saraya 2.75
Hangman v Mox 4.5
Wardlow v Samoa Joe 2
4-way Tag 3
MJF v Danielson 4.5
I wanted to see what Big Dave’s scores looked like on the same ratio everyone else prefers, so I ratio’d them out with Dave’s highest score being 6.25 (the one match with ******* being tossed as an outlier,) meaning a Dave score gets multiplied by .92 to give a 5 star score. Doing that seems to bring Dave into line with my own personal scores, even if Dave himself seems be grading on a 5-star scale with exceptions as needed. What do you think?
Sent from my iPhone
I can’t say I was ever that worried about the situation but I’m glad you were able to reconcile it for yourself.
Reigns Endgame
So two years later it looks pretty good; midcard reject/indie darling/“minor league” top guy Cody Rhodes beats Roman for at least one of the titles and is the conquering hero. Seems like it’s going to work out well. My question is: What happens if Cody never jumps? We are reaching the end of this storyline. It has resolved itself of its own volition, but lets face it, it was never going to be Sami, Jey is a tag team guy, and Dwayne has million$ of bigger fish to fry. So if Cody never jumps, who is beating Reigns at WM 2023?
No one. They throw money at Austin to do the job and carry on like a wayward son.