It's the lapsed fan wrestling podcast with Jack and carn s e O and JP Sorrow.
He's a lapsed fan and all my years and wrestling.
I never seen anything.
And it's the laps fan man like the one in the ring.
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When the bell.
Goes in the kick like me throwing in the corner, but gets rash like stick.
Even Jerry King gets take off. The crowd nodded in.
His head like its Steve low Brown. Would you get low down?
We go even high up?
Flipp you on your head, But you know cool driver, you speak more and Dragon spits fire give you more shock than when he treats higher drop a more truth than the con of sniper unless you with a coconut, Roddy Pipper Jack a JP. He like j h D drop the cupcakes and gold the brain Bob means the best podcast Frost start the close cloud if you are It's a classic.
And polls took.
Us long enough to get to the show that we were supposed to deep die for the Sid tribute, didn't it, Boss?
No?
You know what it took us exactly the right amount of time.
Oh man, I love to hear that, and I'm sure the solar system would agree as we arrive on the February seventeenth, nineteen ninety seven edition of Monday Night Raw. Of course, the last time we were with you here in the Lapsed Fan Were Wrestling podcast breaking down a
life in times of Sid. We were talking about how this night, the second time he captured the Wwfavueight title, was one of rejoicing for you because you had had enough of the man he defeats with a strap on this live edition of Raw, the ship Man.
Yes, absolutely, I was done with the Shipman. It was time. It was enough, was enough, it was time for a change to a borrow phrase.
And so when we sat down to think about how we'd pay tribute to Sid when he passed away earlier this year, it was sort of a it was sort of a tough decision because there was no low hanging fruit. There was no show that was really you know, that really bespeaked his entire career. Sid, of course, passed way in August twenty sixth, at the age of sixty three.
But hey, if his two world title wins in the WWF are representative of his high points, if it's what caused him to headline his second WrestleMania against the Undertaker of the only WrestleMania he defended the title, and then this is this is definitely not only going to have to do, but it turns out to be I don't know how you felt looking back at it, kind of a lovely show to go back and watch as they try to find a way to compete with Nitro.
I absolutely loved this show. I thought it was so great. It was I will say I had I had watched it more recently, you know, back a couple of years ago on the network. But that time and this time it really it it It might my my memory wasn't tampered. My memory didn't feel tainted. My memory didn't I didn't say to myself, Man, I really remember that better, like
it feels the same. It felt the same. I think this is one of the great e like it's in this period that I that I wasn't expecting to really love when I did go back and watch it, This ninety six to early ninety seven stuff that is just it's just outstanding. It's so easy to watch television and you get you want to see what happens next, even now.
They don't do too much, they don't do too little. It's kind of like they go into a TV show with a mission and a game plan and it's not a meandering mess and it's not a formulaic it's like, well, we're going to see if this works this week. We're
going to see if this works this week. And they were still taping in bulk at the time, so it's sort of like, we're going to try in the live show to get something really hot launched so that when we tape the next two weeks of raw or the next week of Raw and follow up on it, we hope it caught, because if it did, we're going in that direction anyway, which, of course, as we've learned over ten years of doing the show, that instills great discipline
and a wrestling booker is knowing that you've got to put the shows in the can. So you better book hot angles. You better not get lazy and assume that just next week we have a chance to fix it because we're live again.
Yep, yep, that's I mean, that's it. I mean, you know, and in many ways too, it's I mean, it's also you know, you're also forced to do what you have to do. You know, it's like, okay, you know, yes we did book this, but it's like having having shows in the can in many ways is better because it forces you to stay on a track at least for
a month. Yeah, you know, as opposed to the booking on the fly mentality of changing up whatever happens week to week because you are live and nothing really matters. Go ahead, please, I don't think because like you know, they you know, as we've seen in the past, like this week to week booking and like changing things on the fly, and it's it was one of the most depressing parts.
Of that of that post w CW purchase Adult rooms. Yeah, it really was, because you had all this correction going on based on nothing. But you know, Vince's last minute sort of whatever attitude, fucking little hissy fits he used to throw and that's not in service to the fan, and we all caught on pretty quickly that that's what was happening. Of course, a lot more discipline now in that category in WW. Ironically not so much in a
W would appear in sometimes. But all that's to say that going back and watching this stuff really is really is wild because you're seeing them having to figure out what with the compliment of wrestlers that they have. I mean, this is before Steve Austin became somebody that you could bank on to sill out an arena. Before he was someone you could bank on to win you a Monday Night rating or even come close. But they didn't have
anybody that was bankable in that way. In a lot of ways, I think that's why Sid ends up having a moment in the spotlight here is because he was just as well. There there was nobody that.
I know as well as no one else, and who gives a shit? He was? He was, you know, he was Sid Hogan, Hulk Hogan two. Maybe he can be Hulk Hogan three.
Maybe he can be Hollywood Hogan two. Because at this point over on TNT, Hollywood Hogan the nWo are reigning supreme, but Sid the second title win for him. Where do you remember this fitting in terms of your sense of Sid.
We've talked a lot, including in this tribute, about that night in Madison Square Garden at Survivor's Series nineteen ninety six when he first won the strap off Shawn Michaels and all the all how that was all wrapped up and how the fans felt about Shawn's nineteen ninety six campaign at that point.
Does this title win feel to you.
Like definitely less important by a mile or is it kind of commensurate with the magnitude of that win when you think about Sid's career.
No, I definitely think. I mean, I can tell you it felt as important at the time. I do think it's as important now. I've always I've always in kind of the like since late late late nineties until now. I mean not so much now when we started having long title title reigns again. But you know, one of the things that for me really solidified a guy who was thought of as being a champion in again late nineties through I don't know, maybe the last five years
or something like that, is two title reigns. To me, you meant business if you won the title twice. If you won the title once, eh, you did it, Okay, it could have been a fluke, you know, you weren't relied upon to do it again. But when you won it twice, it means they said, you know what, let's go back to this guy. No matter what the reasons were, they went back to him. You know that to me, was always a sign of like, Okay, this guy, this guy's legit, this guy's a real main eventor yeah, yeah,
that's really and I stand by that. I stand by that with him.
So often when they go back to somebody the second time, it is because something else just just ended up paling by comparison the next phase they thought they were moving into when they took the strap off, the guy just wasn't there. And the fact that, you know, considering all options, it's not some other direction that they take entirely knew, but in fact that they end up going back to somebody is a vote of confidence in a strange way.
It's like a it's an endorsement of your staying power as in terms of being over, because you're still there
and still a candidate even though you've lost it. And that's that's a great point and I think one that's always worth talking about when you think about that huge litmus test when a guy first wins the world title is when he comes out for the first time with the belt and when he walks through that curtain with a strap around his waist, does he feel like Ronnie Garvin or does he feel like Steve Austin, then I'd have to wrestle May fourteen.
Exactly. Those are the twos a huge difference.
And when you went it the second time, that's not the overwhelming energy of the title reign. That's not something that's on an albatross around your neck. You know, it's like you're walking out and you already can carry yourself as someone that's proven themselves as championship level because you've already wont it. So it's not like you're watching this person walk out with the belt for the first time. Like remember when Diesel came out on RAW nineteen ninety four,
how hard it was to deal with. I mean, I know you're excited at home.
I was. I was totally that with it.
You watch it back now and those people are like, yeah really, yeah, wow, okay, and uh I think that the nineteen ninety five returns on Kevin Nash's WWF title reign bespeak that. But here second time, no, you know, I have to worry about that. That's not the messaging. And yeah, I guess the title win that puts him in the position to to main event WrestleMania instead of just you know, be the guy that Sean beating his hometown in a similarly sized stadium much bigger actually, but
I mean similarly sized to wrestleming E eight. I guess it is just as big because of the position that puts sit in. And we were able to say when he passed away that he actually, you know, wrestled for the world title in a Mania main event against the Undertaker's part of Hundertaker's streak, you know, right, We wouldn't be able to say that if things didn't play out this way.
As we've talked about.
You know, it's pretty clear that the Michael's Heart Wrestling thirteen match was still on the table until he lost his smile a week before this show, and that is Shaun Michaels and gave up the title. And so suddenly the sid Undertaker match, which was clearly on the docket for the show just non title, ends up being the
world title match, and Steve Austin gets plugged in. Instead of wrestling British Bulldog, he wrestles Brett Hart and pretty much the most transformative match WWF has ever done in terms of, like overnight, we're in business with Steve Austin and we're in business with Brett as a heel right to say nothing of how brilliant the matches sort of artistically move from move. So yeah, exactly, we're on the cusp of a lot of really important things that take
a while to pay off. You know, we talked about this, of course when we did the ninety seven journey. As good as this TV might go back might be to go back and watch, you can't forget that it all landed with a dud in terms of competing with WCW at the time, right and Nitro had almost nothing going on. We'll talk about what happened on the February seventeenth Nitro as well. You want to talk to TLFX boss. How about a return of at this time in WCW for you, Hey,
I'm down with that. That used to be a fun one, and it makes sense when you're looking at an addition of raw, which we rarely get the chance to do because you know, usually just one isolated raw is it's
usually not momentous enough to justify a deep dive. There are some, and we've done several, but this is one that really is only I think on the docket like this for this close examination, because it makes sense for the sid tribute because we've already done Survivors Series ninety six in the archives, right and it ended up just
taking on a life of its own, of course. But I think we'll start with a passage from The Observer where Meltzer I think, really puts into clear focus how crazy of a time period this was for the WWF. I mean, we're a week, we're a month out rather from WrestleMania, and no one has any fucking idea what's going on.
Like the fan has crazy. I mean that must have. That must have been about it, like, yeah, you didn't really know. Like it's again, what what you saw at the rumble? None of that is none of that is here, right, you know, none of that's come to pass, And that's what's so wild about it. Yep.
Yeah, it was the most up in the air thing they've ever done. We talked about it last week. They go all the way up to that you know famous Raw where Brett shoves down Vince and said, this is bullshit. That's the week before Wrestling thirteen. That show, you know, a completely new look for Raw is basically the go home show for WrestleMania, and all the stuff is being decided on the night just so different than every other WrestleMania in terms of how they've built it up just
about everyone. I'm sure there might be some exceptions to that, but here's how Meltzer put it. Despite performing in good matches most nights and great matches on the big shows, and more importantly from the top man position, howse show business with him is the key draw and headliner being the best in years. So the point being there, how show business was great under Shawn's champion compared to what he adherited, and he had good matches and great matches
on big shows in the top man position. Everything he dreamed about being important on paper was going exactly according to plan, Meltzer writes about Shawn Michaels. But suddenly everyone focused on TV ratings. That must have been a kick in Shawn's ass, right, yep, Yeah, that's that's there's the big difference right there, TV ratings. I mean, Diesels out there floundering his champ, but nobody's talking about why isn't
he beaten Nitro? No One that hadn't set in yet as a debate, and of course he had been the champion for what nine months before Nitro even launched, but it just wasn't. The TV rating of Monday Night wasn't a referendum on the title holder, and Sean I bet was plugged in to get the championship at a time that that still wasn't the prevailing mentality because Nitro hadn't edged so far ahead of WWF. That created kind of
like an existential crisis for WWF. And all of a sudden, Sean gets the belt and now nobody cares that the houses are better under him than they were for the past what eighteen months. No one cares that the match quality and the title matches, the WWF title matches had
just grown exponentially. It's not that nobody cares, it's just like, that's not that's not the thing that's determining the mood and the sense of how the company is doing, and that sense is what determines how well the champion is doing.
It makes sense.
So he's going to kick the balls, and what's even worse is it's two of his best friends kicking his ass on Nitro.
I know, I you know, I think I don't think enough attention is put on that, you know, the idea that that that when he's doing his thing over in WWE, you know, and he's champion and he's not doing the you know, he's not hanging really with his own buddies over in Nitro, and ironically it's the guy that fucking tanked the company essentially. Yeah, you know, like that's what's always so funny. And I don't know, does he ever.
I mean, I'm sure he's been asked that and he yeah, you know, he blows it off as nah no for all of us.
Well, Sean, it was always pretty uh open about like I'll leave tomorrow. Remember that thing where he was going to go to Nitro because he was in Hartford. He's like so pissed off night. I think it was the night he had the backstage fight with Brett where Brett pore out some of his hair and he like stormed out of the building. And people actually thought that by the time Nitro went off the air, he make it to the building and show up on their TV, and
that he was pissed off enough to do it. And I feel like he actually literally threatened that at certain points during nineteen ninety seven. And this is the Sean we're observing here at play beginning to crest here in his second title reign and then the you know, the forfeiting the championship. But I mean, yeah, it was always
it was a constant thing. There was that famous picture where he had an outsider's T shirt on while he was the top guy at w W. Yeah, yeah, yeah, And it was this constant fear honestly that like it just made too much sense for him to join Kevin Ashann, Scott holland WCW, and to say nothing of Sean Waltman. That Yeah, I think a prevailing thing around Sewn in ninety seven was he could leave, and we can't afford to have him leave, just like Vince told himself he
couldn't afford to have Brett leave him either. So yeah, he was very open about the fact that, you know, WCW, with his buddy's kicking his ass, really put him in a place of wanting to go with them, you know, but he just you know, when those moments of truth came, Vince was able to talk him into staying.
Plus he had all these issues. You know, if you got to come there's actually you know, you know, listen, I'll tell you, pal, I would be if you really wanted to go, I'd let you go, no problem. The problem is he should have done it a couple of weeks ago because because you know, I know this for a fact, because I you know, I've had conversations with with Turner about this, and he he doesn't like hiring talent who's lost their smile. Right, it's just a thing.
I Listen, if you hadn't done that, I'm saying you'd have my blessing. But you can't now because you lost your damn smile.
Ted, this is Vince McMahon. I'm leaving this message to let you know that my champion has a pill problem. So if you hire him, you're inheriting the pill problem. Pal and Ione has to tate to let shareholders know about it.
Tell you Ted, Ted musick man, I just want to give your heads up and listen. You know you got to do what you got to do in the situation. But you know, free enterprise, Sean, Sean, what free enterprise is, what it is? Free enterprise? You know this is it's all about free enterprise and all about you know, listen, you know we're not in a you know, we're not
in a battle to the death. We're here to to you know, have friendly competition, right, And I just want to say, you know, in good faith that if that my champion, Shawn Michaels, he's interested in in in maybe jumping to w c W and I've said it's totally fine, but I wanted to give you a heads up that if he comes out, he's got a major pill problem. Like we're talking, we're talking, he just takes a bottle of pills and he just chugs it down like like
a like a glass of water. And and also I and I just want you to beware of this for your own personal You know, he he likes older men as well, and he's mentioned your name a number of times, and I don't know, you know, maybe that's your Listen, if you're into that, that's totally fine, but I know that you are married, and so he may. And when he sets a sight on a man that he wants, right, he's trying to get it. Take it for me, Pale. I mean, listen, we've all input in precarious situations. I'm
just looking out for you, Pale. Don't get yourself. That was Shawn Michael's situation.
We've had our difference as Pale. But I think in a lot of ways we're more alike than we are different, and it's a fellow titan of American industry. I just want you to know, Pale, that there are also unattended deaths and yet to be explained.
Let me ask you this also, Do you like you know? If if, if, that all is fine? I just you know, one more thing I just wanted to throw out there, because this is actually a fun thing. Do you like do you like hunting humans for sport? Right? Is that something you have to do? You like to do? You have to hunt men in the forest, because that's something that Shawn Michael's demands that he does on a weekly basis. He I am forced to. It's it's in his contract now and that I have to go out with him
and hunt man in the woods. And it's just let me tell you, we're talking murder, and he'll right and he'll talk you into dark thinking, plane plane, cold blooded murder.
So let me ask you, Pal, are you interested in luring away a murderer?
Are you a murderer? Dead turner? That's correct? Can you be a murderer?
I can't imagine why Shawn never went to WW, but everything he dreamed about being on paper was going exactly according to plan, but suddenly everyone focused on TV ratings,
and suddenly he was a failures champion. He was the standard bearer, the quarterback of sorts on a team that people wrote was on a thirty three game losing streak, going downhill fast despite it really being the most successful it had been in years, and being a perfectionist to his craft in an imperfect world where others make mistakes often. His immaturity showed tricularly when his big buddies left him
m one day before the match. The rules of the Final Four were amended to being Battle Royal Rules one day before Final Four the pay per view the night after this edition.
Oh no, it was always Battle Royal rules. That was always the way. Are you sure that I'm I'm I mean, listen, I I because I remember them building it up as such. I remember that, I remember, and I didn't get the show. That I know. I did not get the show, but I remember them saying, you know, that was the kind of the uniqueness of the match, And to me, the selling point of the pay per view was that it was over the top rope. Plus it was yes pinfall or submission controversy.
It is almost like a mini rumble, right, yep, Well that's what mals reading here. I'm not sure after a celebration that didn't really come off as.
A very celebration the day before that it was for the title? Was that what it was for the title?
Yeah?
True, Yeah, yeah, he had the impression. I guess that, you know, everyone expected to be pinneror submission.
See, I don't think, well, I don't know. I mean I truly didn't, because they were talking about how it was going to be like, because all this should happen in the Royal Rumble, it was going to be a mini Royal Rumble. Yeah.
Yeah, and that, you know, that was definitely the That was definitely the thrust of what they were presenting. I think probably in our final four show when we did it as part of our ninety seven journey, we got a little more granular on this question. But hopefully remember the Solar System will be able to pin down precisely what episode of TV they announced this, because you know,
usually the contemporaneous stuff from Meltzer is pretty good. It's not like he's it's not like he's talking about some backstage thing he heard. It's like what he's observing just watching the TV. So so after a celebration that didn't really come off as very celebratory. He's talking about Brett winning the title at final four of the night before this Raw, Sid hit them ring and he and Heart did a stare down to build up the Raw match
the next night as the show went off the air. Now, the Thursday Raw Thursday episode where Sean relinquishes the championship tearfully and steps away, that was to be Sid wrestling Sean in the main event of that show ended up being Sid and Steve Austin, as we talked about, did a two point three rating in a three point six
share at the time. Now, that rating was higher than what the USA network usually did on Thursdays against strong NBC competition, I mean Thursday nights in nineteen ninety seven, friends, Seinfeld, I fuck you don't Yeah, you understand the chance must see TV. But it's basically a typical Raw for all this buzz or on Shawn's announcement, typical Raw, you know.
But the nuance there is that even as recently as the Superstars before, the most devout watchers of WWFTV would have had no idea that Thursday Night Raw Thursday was going to open with Sean giving up the belt, so it wasn't like you could tune in knowing this is going to be a Newsy show. But him defending the title against Sid should have been enough of a draw that they didn't do this kind of relatively meandering rating for Thursday Raw Thursday. So that's kind of the plight
of WWF that we keep talking about. In nineteen ninety seven, Meltzer writes, in fact, this was hyped more than most clashed the champions in recent years, and was hyped on par with the pay per view show in the same week had advertised Sean v. Sid rematch on top. Yet the show did a rat that would be considered an absolute disaster had WCW pulled that number for a clash. It's amazing how quickly that those fortunes turn around. Me yep, yeap,
it takes a year. It takes less than it ticks like eight months.
Yep.
Elsa does point out that they're channing for Sid and Lowell the whole time Sean is tearfully talking about stepping away. And what I found interesting is China and her book talked about how Rocky my Via beating Triple H for the title the Intercontinental title in the opening match of the show was basically like an audible that was called because of the concern that Sean dropping the belt and not wrestling for the title would leave a sour taste
in fans' mouths and leave them kind of bluebald. So Vince was like, we need something big, we need something big, and so he had Triple H to lose the championship to Wow to rock For that reason, it was kind
of abrupt Rockies title win. I do remember that it was a big part of the reason the Die Rocky Dye stuff started, because like he just I mean, he was doing well on television and winning matches, but it wasn't like anyone really was like getting behind him and you win the icy Strap after you get over, not before you get over, right, So that was that was rather abrupt, and and the way she frames it was, you know, she was she had met Triple H and they were working out, and she had met some of
the WWF personnel when they had come through, like Blackjack Lands I think was the first kind of person she talked up in a hotel one time about maybe coming in, and Lanza kind of pawned her off on Sean and Triple H who happened to walk by at the time, and so they got to talking, and eventually, of course Triple Ah in China became workout partners and an item, and there was sort of like a bug in their ear at WWF that you know, there's this big bodybuilding
woman out of Massachusetts trained by Killer Kowalski that wants to get in once again, In wants to get in and to hear China sort of frame it up in in Triple H two in his book, Vince didn't really
see it. He didn't get the whole beat up guys at ringside, while Triple H's wrestling thing didn't really think there was much of a future, and having someone come in as Jack as she was beating up some of the guys on roster, I thought it would kind be a nightmare of convincing the guys to do it, which in the early days it seemed to kind of be. But what ends up happening according to China is that you know, Vince needs this not a favor from Triple Ah.
I mean, he could have forced them to lose the belt. But the way he kind of sweetened that bitter pill is that you're going to lose the icy strap to Rocky, but we can also bring in that girl you keep talking about. Ah, and that's Vince, you know. Vince's when Vince is like, I don't think so, I don't think it'll work. In the back of his mind, he's like, Okay, I'll do that when I need something from this son of a bitch, you know, this piece of shit in front of me. I make them want it so bad.
I want them. I want them to build it up in their head as something they can never have, that I'll never go for. But it's just it's just something he puts in the bank when he when he needs you to do some kind of bidding and and wants the pill to go down smoothly. So that's uh, that's a big part of the lead up to this show. Mark Merrow tore his acl I believe on this episode of the show. You know, Uh, during his match, he comes up limp.
Well, is this is that? Yeah? I guess so yeah, is this so? This is when this thing happened.
He had been hurt before. It wasn't like this was he was fine one day and he got hurt this day, but this was kind of like the one. This is the tweak that did it. And he was never as far as wild Man Mark Merrill. And what does that open the door for? That opens the door for Sable too.
That's right step and you know, potential and honestly divorce and yeah, you know, and her being much more important than he ever will be.
And this is also the Steve Austin knee brace Sarah, because his h his knee injury was concurrent with Marks in some ways. He had a partial tear of his PCL and was said to at the time of this episode of Rough Every seventeenth be out of action until WrestleMania, And it wasn't even sure as of a month out if Steve Austin could even work WrestleMania. Do you imagine if he didn't make the show? Ah, a fucking different world we'd be in right now.
I mean it would come to be shit. Yep.
I knew he came in work. I mean he came in limping. And that's part of why there's such heat when Brett attacks him with the chair and the knee after the match, and why the Sharpshooter was so much more devastating because he had knee injury, and they worked around that, and they worked too towards that, and I'm sure part of the reason it was a submission match, honestly,
part of the reason they incorporated so much brawling. You know, Steve and how crazy he gets about right now being able to put on a great match, I'm sure he was all about switching it up so that they could do more brawling and chair shots and things that didn't require him to push up off that knee in a highly athletic event. So that's that's all in the sauce around this at this point in time.
I mean, because you know, honestly, I'm sure he favored I'm sure he favors any match he had with fucking Savio Vego over his Brett Hart. Yeah, we've talked about that.
So, according to Meltzer, both Steve Boston and Mark Merow went to the doctor after this episode of Raw, just before they were scheduled to leave for Germany. Remember that Germany Raw taping from Berlin is still to air, where Davy Boy wins the first European title in the tournament over Owen and we talked about that last time when we were kind of bridging the gap to get to
Wrestlming in thirteen. In Sid's title reign, that episode of Raw happens from Berlin and the next one they come back is live and it's uh the first Raw is War. All of a sudden, with that new entrance in that new uh new video package at the beginning, I'm at Johnson was also all.
This stuff, just like, you know, I missed a bunch of these raws. I don't know why I missed them, but I just I didn't see after this one. I like, I didn't see the one in Germany. Yep, I didn't see the one up you know that happened before Wrestling at thirteen, the go home show, so much of it I missed. And then all of a sudden, I started washing again after WrestleMania, and it's like Raw is War?
What I know still say fine? Well these years later, let alone at the time, I mean, it's just like but but even just that, not even the confusing of that, but more like the show changing, the whole format changing. I was like, what what the fuck is going on here? What right? What happened? What is this big giant screen. Yeah.
Yeah, that's one thing about this raw and Sid winning the title, it's it's still like, you know, the bright blue apron. They kept the blue apron in the first few raws Wars, but the entrance way is still just that, you know, dressed down kind of modest thing. And the next week they do the fucking crazy ass ECW Invasion RAW at the Manhattan Center.
Oh my god, yeah, I see that. Although that one I think I did. I did see, Yeah, I did. I think is that did Is that the one where the ld comes back? Yes, that's like the first thing on the show, yep, I've seen that. Yeah, I definitely saw that one, and it was I think. I don't think I knew what the fucking ECW Invasion was though at the time. I don't think. I like, I remember that. The only I remember is the lod coming back. Yeah. Huge.
The last fan wrestling podcast, the Wrestling Pot podcast that knows the boys need their candy. It's the Lapsed Fan. He's the Lapsed Fan Wrestling podcast with Jack and Carno.
MJP soro in undertaking Farruk I think was the main event, and Ken Shamrock was there for the first time, uh doing an interview in the crowd and then he got involved in something physical. Uh Taz wrestled on the show. I remember they had I think the eliminators where the Raven showed up, Saboo jumped off the r on the Raw ri a W set. It was all kinds of
crazy shiites, like what the fuck is going on? Like because it's not that it happened, it's that all the this is the next week, like this this Raw isn't crazy enough. The next one is fucking DC and we're three weeks out from wrestle Mania, Like this is the kind of thing you do after Mania to get interest in the off season.
And there's no right and there's no you know. That's what there was. So the focus was completely schizophrenic. Yeah, it was nuts.
It was like because they were just trying anything. Anything was fair game to see if it worked. At this point, and we see a fair amount of hype during this episode of Raw. For that one Paul Hayman phones in and has an argument over the telephone with Jerry Lawler,
setting that whole heat up. And let's not forget what's coming up right around the time of WrestleMania is ECW's first pay per view barely legal, So that's part of why there was so much co promotion thing because ECW is really keen to get on WWAFTV to tell people that they had the first pay per view coming up, and there was no shortage of a promotion for that. When ECW got wwa fair time, but just the weirdest time. You can never imagine being a WW fan how controlled listen.
It was weird, But I did love it. Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I loved it. It was like because it was different for the first time, everything felt different. It wasn't just the stait I was used to, you know, everything was changing and I love that.
So Feby seventeenth, the first live had to head two hour week. This is also this episode where Sid wins the belt the first two hour raw, and that's significant because they play it out as we as we telegraph last week. They formatted out to where you know you're gonna get Sid and Brett for the title, but you don't know when, and they pretend it's going to open the show and it comes out and then Steve Austin fucking attacks everybody.
So they can't do it, then, Jenny, I think this is a brilliant it's a brilliant ratings ploy.
Yes, yes, we'll see, we'll see if it worked. I'll give you one guess. No, top of the hour, they tried again and something else happens. Well, well, of course, deep dive it all and then at the end it finally does happen. But that's you know, that's how you write a TV show, your first two hour Raw, that's how you write it right when you're worried that will
people stick with us for the one hour? It's always been what do we need to do to keep people on the hook based on the biggest attraction we think we have on the show, which is this this title match and of course indeed the first ever WWF title change on Monday Night Raw and one of the few that's ever happened. So yeah, they're going ahadhead against Nitro. There's no more of this, Like one one show is on an hour, the other show isn't you know, there's no eight to nine and then nine to eleven.
No, pardon me, what was it?
It was nine to ten and then Nitro was on nine to eleven or something like that. Because they had already changed something something.
With Nitro already. I found eight Nitro was eight to ten to ten, thank yeah. Then Raw was nine to ten, nine to ten. I'd always watched Nitro. I watched the first hour of Nitro and then I'd switch over. Yeah, yep.
And then they moved Nitro to nine, right, yeah, yeah, and then they did eight fifty seven for a while.
Yeh, fighting for two minutes. We'll talk about that in a second.
But no, this februs seventeenth, nine ninety seven head to head show Nitro two point ninety six, Raw two point zero eight.
Wow.
That's that's that's not as far of a gap as you were a custom is seeing. You know, there's clearly a difference there in in WWF trying extra hard, but I mean if you do a show like this, and if when I read off what happened on Nitro, it's like God, I would be so dispirited. You know that we can't even close.
We can't.
They're almost at a three and we're just at a two, and we fucking brought all the big guns out. You know, we did as much as we can do. Yep, Meltzer wrote Feby seventeenth was really strange from a ratings perspective. W CW held a two point five to two point two lead off the blocks, with Ray Mysterio Junior versus Super Colow opposing the first tease of the Bart Harbert SID title match. So w CW beat the first Brett Sid T's with Ray Misterios.
Just wow, that's pathetic. Yeah, it's not against Ray, but super super Clown whatever. Super Clown.
Yeah, that's another guy that's actually a wrestler, you know, Triple A. That's pretty funny. Actually, Psycho Clown is another one. Speaking of SID, Oh my god, and speaking of Halloween, it's scary movie season. Can we stop with the serendipity here?
Yeah?
Yeah, But I mean that was it because that's how hot WW was, man, because we've talked about this endlessly. It's not just what's in the ring, it's in all going to show up, right, because they'd show up it, you know, matches. You wouldn't think they'd have any business showing up in. Or something would happen that had to do with the nWo in a segment that they weren't even booked on. But you had to listen to hear what like Shavani was talking about or whatever. WW maintained
the lead. Meltter wrote throughout with the Weaker Show, w w's number steadily increased as the show went on.
Well, WW has.
Declined most of the Wow. Not only did it not beat Nitro that the string them along. It led to declining ratings as they set more hooks to see Sid and Bread. So yeah, put this in the SID was actually you show what you will about the guy, but he drew put it put this one in there. Fucking declining ratings to see him wrestle Brett for the title on a live Rauh, give me a break and not the op is it of a draw? I mean, I'm just right, I'm no mathematician.
Isn't that a failure? Isn't that you know?
It's like the biggest night he could possibly have on television and no one gave a fuck wow relatively speaking. At the start of the second hour, Meltzer rights when WCW had Nick Patrick versus Randy Anderson and Chris ben Wah versus Roadblock opposing the second tease of Hart versus Sid. Yeah, WCW had a three point two to one point nine lead. No Chris ben Wah versus roadblock referees wrestling each other AH or a WWF World title match between Sid and
Brett Hart. They lost ratings for all that, for that fucking garbage. Clearly the idea Meltzer rights of teasing the match throughout the show was a ratings negative once they did it the second time, because ratings sputtered for the remainder of the second hour until Hart and Said finally get into the ring and started their match. The Brett Hart vers Sid match itself did pick the rating up to a two point four, still trailing WCW's three point zero.
For a giant handicap match. Okay, the Giant in a handicap match, and it's not. It's against Top Gun and Johnny Swinger.
I don't even know who the fuck they are. Exactly who the fuck are those? Who's Top Gun?
Top Gun was, Oh god, let me look. I can picture him, but I don't remember his name. Fidelsierra. He was the Cuban Assassin. Sorry what, I don't know what he was doing on roster at the time. And Jericho versus Jeff Jarrett in nineteen ninety seven over a nitroh Man too much. I mean, just so weird. And there was an WO angle too with the Lex Lugar Nurk Bischoff on the show. It was they had let me let me get this right. This is the Nitro rundown from the observer Nitro. Well'll have you read it if
you don't mind. Actually, yeah, nice little call back to the at this time in WC w in Away. Sure, this is the report and the observer from that Nitro just to break down the show. So this is what this is what banked the pants off of Sid's Big Night in Nashville.
Nitrol on February seventeenth, was held before a sellout three thousand fans at Steinbrenner Hall at the Tampa State Fairgrounds. About fifteen hundred fans paid ten dollars ahead to get premium seat. Ten dollars ahead. What the fuck? Ten dollars ahead to get premium seats, and the rest of the seats are filled by fair goers who I pay fair more like unfair goers. What's going on? Oring we get hey, you know we got the fair. I'll tell you what.
Go to the We'll do the tilted whirl. Wait, well, wait a minute, that guy did a tilt the World Basket place ten dollars ahead. Well, well what I never understood fucking WCW at all?
Yeah, you know, and a lot of things they did what was for atmosphere because they made all lot of money on pay per view and stuff and.
Mar Yeah, but man oh man, where was I there?
Uh?
Had to pay fair admission? There were a lot of problems live, yeah, because a lot more people had paid to get into the fair, largely to attend Nitro, and then couldn't get in because the place was packed. They opened with an angle of nWo coming to the ring and suddenly, off camera someone laid Big Bubba out. The implication was that it was Diamond Dallas Page, who did an interview later in the show pretending not to know
what was going on Page versus Bubba. Well, we replaced at the Cow Palace show by Steve Regal versus Ultimo Dragon. Where do we sign up? Huh? Where do I sign up to see that one? Seriously? Oh my god? Who gives a fuck? Ay Maysteria with a noticeably tender knee toned down, but super super Clown did an incredible series of moves before Mysterio Junior got the pin with the springboard Harkin Rana and five minutes fifty seven seconds. Steve
McMichael looked surprisingly decent in beating Hugh Morris. When Morris moon salted the briefcase Deborah had thrown in the ring, McMichael injured his knee to the mite. Ray's injured. McMichael's injured.
Now, well you got you got marill In Austin with knee injuries on this.
Yeah.
The other side with Jesus Christ Dean Malenko beat Robbie Brookside in a match where the matt wrestling was good, but it had no build nor any crowd reaction. Brookside and Doc Dean are too what the fuck is this shit?
Are we sure, by the way, that both sides weren't just hiring Tanya Harding's heavy to go smash people on the knee?
I mean, hey, you know what that might have been?
It?
I would Can you imagine if fucking Jeff Galuley was doing that shit, just fucking whacking? Is that who? I think? You're right? Yeah, Jeff Coilully.
If you read that name on this nitro result, I wouldn't blink an eye like thinking that was just a wrestler they used to use that I forgot.
About Jeff Goaloser and uh with Brookside and Doc Dean or two British wrestlers brought in by Regal. Six came out and had a verbal confrontation with Malenko, building the feud around the fact that it was Dean's father who originally trained six. Holland Nash came out and had a confrontation with Larry's Abisco that got great heat. Public Enemy beat French Canadians in a bad match with a good finish. Pe got a good reaction to their oh public Enemy
to their crowd mannerisms. Prince Ayakia, a Malenko student, won the TV. Okay, what does that matter?
I think they're trying to explain why the fuck this guy would get a title.
But he didn't. Oh okay when the TV off Okay okay from Regal in three into thirty seconds when Regal was distracted by Mysterio Junior and Iakeia got him from behind, brother right, wonder he wasn't there? What do you do doing finishes like that? Dude? For the pin Ia Ka is expected to drop the strap to Mysterio Junior at the Cow Palace. The idea is that the undercard belts would be held by Malenko or six Eddie Guerrero and Mysterio Junior, which pretty much guarantees three hot title matches
at the house show and pay per view cards. Randy Anderson beat Nick Patrick in twenty one seconds. When referee Jimmy Jett gave Anderson brass knucks. Eric Bischoff came out and said, because of what happened, that not only has Anderson fired, but so is Jet Chris ben Wah destroyed Roadblock in two minutes thirty one seconds. Boy, that would
have never happened in the eighties. For all the people who always vote Mankind or Tommy Dreamer or sand Man as the best brawler in wrestling, ben Wah is in a league way above any of them when it comes to brawling. That's funny. I never you don't consider ben Wata be a brawler. Don't he can do it?
I mean remember those Kevin Sullivan matches from sure, but like, yeah, that's just crazy.
Uh. They aired a video of Holland Nash running the Steiners off the road and rolling their what do you mean rolling?
Dude?
Is definitely dude. Dave Brother, you're writing about this ship. You make me very nervous. I just want to say, dude, you know when you when you put this stuff and you write down the night for reports. Brother, I would appreciate, dude if you would not use the term roll up or go from behind?
Did somebody put you up to using roll in that sentence?
Dude? I mean that's just kind of too convenient for me. I mean, like, where are you coming from with this? Dude? Right? Did someone talk to you about like what verb to use? Did to me? I would say the car flipped over. I wouldn't say roll over like that. I mean, you bishoff, come and talk to you about this.
I mean did he say anything to you? I mean I know you talk sometimes.
Brother. I want to ask question. Dude. Just be honest with me. Brother, I don't have to swear, you know, cross my heart, man, I will keep this, you know between you and me. Brother, you're talking to Linda dude.
Right, because he's been a little pissed off at me lately and she's made threat.
She's you know, she's been a little on edge with Hogan. The next thing, not Terry Terry Bland, Brother, Terry, you know she can't tarry your cool dude.
Next thing, I know I pick up the Observer and you're talking about, you know, sneaking up from behind. You're talking about Big Bubba disappearing. Brother, I'll tell you, sponge, dude, I mean what Bubba is disappearing?
Where's Bubba coming from? Where's he going? What's you know? I'll tell you. Linda has been threatening brother to tell to tell people that well the pull Cogan from behind.
She said she was gonna talk to Meltzer. I mean her saying she.
Said, I'm gonna tell Meltzer to roll you up from behind?
He said, Brother, what so I'm on the phone right now, Dissave, I'm looking for an answer.
Dude, dude, Dave, miss Brother, I'm talking about the miss look miss Elks tune of mis ELTs Brother, Tuna Meltzer? What's going on?
Right?
Fucking tell me, dude, do you wanted to go? Do you wanted to pin? Linda? Brother?
She's coming from a belt, Jerry, I really suggest you stop reading the Observer using a Ouiji board.
Exactly.
He had no idea that anybody knew he did that. That one stopped him dead in his tracks.
Now what do you think it says someone's gonna roll you up because you you roll the circle over an ass and then over a Oh, I don't know, there's something just guide.
In my hand, dude. I'm I mean, who's got my hand? Brother? Who's a guiding hand? Dude?
It's not done, callous brother, because then he thinks for a second, wait, maybe it just don callous.
I didn't, but I think we'll be in total with callous dude.
Don Kallos and callous.
What I got a Calus on my foot? Dude?
Do you know what the French Canadians were that you read off there in the results? Yeah, it's the It's the the Quebecer's unbelievable, all right?
So where do we go from here? Fucking jokes? W w uh okay is here in the car?
Uh?
They used some jump cuts, a ramp then erased from video, what a ramp then erased from video? And a stunt driver friend of Hogan's to put together the video, which was a creative idea, but it could have been used a lot more effectively. It was announced Steiner's were off the pay per view in the four corners match would become a triangle with the faces of Fear, Public Enemy and Harlem heat boy. That's a keeper.
Pretty pretty pretty weird that Hall and Nash weren't charged with, oh, I don't know, attempted homiciding.
Yeah, yeah, I'll tell you what. I got an idea, you know. I mean it's safe to say, yeah that I know the roads better than anybody else in this company, so I'd be able to run them off the road because I know them better. Look, if you're a mark, look if you're going to be a fucking mark about it, you know, but I'm telling you this is the way it is. Yeah, just fucking have me run them off the road. Be totally legit, fuck it, fuck it. Then
I'm say Sunday Feace is a fear. Kevin Sullivan b Doc Dean in a match highlighted by Jacqueline beating up Dean, including body slimmon and suplexing him. Eddie Guerrero beat Conan via DQ in a US title match when Guerrero hit the Big Hit the frog splash and Meng and Barbarian interfered. Match was solid, but Chris Jericho's run in left something to be desired, as his timing of his kicks didn't look good, made worse because Meng and Barbarian didn't sell
worth crap for the Little Guy. Giant destroyed Top Gun, Dave Cannel aka Dave Sierra, and Johnny Swinger. After the match, Lex Luger came out with a doctor's release, but Bischoff said he needed it by last week, so Lucer said he was buying a ticket and going to San Francisco anyway. They did a creative Roddy Piper promo said to be live from Alcatraz, except it was sunny at a time when Alcatraz was cloudy and the sun going down, and it was sunny again when it was dark in San Francisco.
Piper talked into the toilet bowl at Hogan. Typical Piper intensity and lack of sense, but overall a great hype piece. It was funny because Piper said that this isn't a wrestling promo. Jercho beat Jeff Jarrett when McMichael ran in and clocked Jarrett with a briefcase, causing his wife to get mad at him. Hogan did an interview Stinging in Savage came out, but nothing much materialized phenomenal so yep, you.
Can see just the match results didn't really tell the story as to what people would have been tuning in for. But yeah, Jacqueline, I'm glad you mentioned her because she had debuted in January and she was doing the China thing already and they don't talk about it.
Ah.
Yeah, no, it's so revolutionary blah blah blah.
Meanwhile, Jacqueline's getting huge pops body slamming like Disco Inferno and stuff, and they copy it in the net like they revolutionized. But yeah, so that was pretty much the rundown of what Nitro had to offer. Again, the maneuvering around what time the shows were on and such was key in being covered in the press electronic media. On March twenty fourth of nineteen ninety seven, ran this piece
a cable wrestling Brawl. The match between USA Networks ww FRAW and Turner Network Television's WCW Monday Nitro wrestling shows has been anything but civil. The latest half Nelson comes from You, Oh My God, Come On comes from USA, which has quietly pushed up the start time of ww FRAW to seven fifty seven pm to get a three minute jump on TNAZPM start time for Monday nightro. Ww fraw also has begun to end four minutes late.
As well.
That's that Brett one we talked about. Yeah, that was the big overrun at ten oh four pm. Although it cuts into the ad time for shows before and after w w FRAW, USA hopes its strategy of seamless program transitions will keep audiences tuned into the wrestling program and the drama that follows it. What show boss in this time period in nineteen ninety seven followed Monday Night Raw?
U Is it the blue? Nope? I was a little that was a ninety eight? Was it still silk stocking? Close? Nikita? Correctikita? And it actually did.
The overrun did benefit them quite a bit because you know that's that's like over a million, you know, two million viewers that are sticking around for the first five minutes of what of a block.
You get credit for? You know that exactly.
Nikita would get credit for those overruns. So the piece concludes, Now, in response to USA's move, T and T has began airing WCW Nitro at seven fifty five pm.
Oh my god, I don't remember that at all. That's funny two.
Minutes before w BIFF Raw. Could a seven to fifty three start for w biff Rob be close behind? Bonnie Bonnie Hammer's office. A Bonnie, listen, I have an idea. Let's start raw at four thirty pm Eastern time.
Ment Bonnie, and I get an idea. All right, all right, it's it's Tuesday, all right, I got an idea. Let's start next Monday's raw now and just keep going because until eleven pm Monday.
Night, they can't beat us out by a couple of minutes, and then can they full week?
Full week? All right, we're starting next, we're starting if you know, today's the seventeenth, if we're let's start the twenty fourths raw right now on the fifteenth or the eighteenth, rather the eighteenth, and we just keep going. And so no, I can't do that.
I mean, I'm willing to give you two more minutes maybe, why not?
Why not? I have all these we're the highest rated program on this television network.
But that's not what people bought. I mean, that's not what people that's not what I'm you buy.
What I fucking tell you? How I know what this didn't end? Well, I'm I'm USA.
And the best I can do is give you maybe seven fifty three, get a two minute jump, and you can put where you want in those two minutes. No, no, I want seven days, not seven fifty three. I want seven days. So let me get the straight Vince. You want Raw to air all day every day so they can't beat you by two.
More four hours, and you'll see a fucking rating on Monday night.
And thus the ww networking notion was born. It's like the whole reason memory. They just have that live channel.
And let me tell you this is the thing too.
We are live, yes, for seven days, twenty four hours, seven days live in front of the sound crowd.
That's far to twenty fourteen, Vince. So glad I could reach you. This is BONDI yet. Look, I just wanted to congratulate. You want to launch in the network. And you know how you know how long we're on now, Bonnie, you have any idea?
You know how long our entertainment is valued.
Now you recall poo pooing a twenty four to seven coverage Raw?
Do you recall that? Remember when I said doing Raw for twenty four to seven? Now the fans get w w ee anytime he want.
That's right, Fuck you, Bunny, it's over the top. Monnie, you're an asshole. Yeah, she goes, I can only give you two more minutes, seven fifty three. It's best I can do. And you can put whatever you want on there. Flash forward to that Monday. Two minutes of fucking porn.
It puts on there, all right, and you want I'll tell you what, all right, and you give me two minutes. I'm gonna give you two minutes. You'll never forget, right, that's him. Yeah, It's just it's not there's no there's no build up. It's like a personal sex tape of Vince McMahon too. It's not even like real porn.
There's no build up, there's no like fake acting. It's just immediate balls slamming an ass. It's anonymous.
You just see it. Well, I'm just screaming.
That won his identity very well.
Is big shaved ass, the pasty white ass of his Oh my god? So yeah, that that's uh, that's that's all over. What if? That's tremendous. So let's let's get started, shall we.
This is he's a huge edition of raw and it's it's a key part of our of our sid tribute and making sure we observe the key milestones in his career. A key milestone for us in every episode, of course, is reminding you that this isn't free, and if your bitch ass things for a second it is, then you're as good as under the river as far as we're concerned.
UH and patreon dot com slash the lapsed fan is the way to put money where your mouth is, to support the enterprise, to make this show continue to be what it's been for ten years. And UH constantly humbled by the amount of folks who buy into that proposition and who join us each and every month on Patreon. Coming soon, of course, one of our seasonal quarterly mail bags, we're going to give proper shout outs to everybody who's new in the inner circle of the Solar System since
we last join you. When were the holidays approaching? I think that might be an extra fat Santa's sack, Boss. I think you are correct. You talk about the holidays approaching, you talk about another thing that's bursting at the seams, our fucking po box.
Talk to him about Oh God, I'm got me tell you something. I have a tower of packages that's been building up since April, by the way, well actually technically has been building up since last year because there were some that we didn't get to last year. But yeah, like I've got one, two, three, four or five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, I don't know, fifteen fifteen packages, unbelievable something like that. It's insane all around the water.
And this is you know, with a little bit of time left, I will say that by the time you hear this, you got to go to the post office the next day with a shot at getting in under the under the wire. We're pretty much locked in on what date we're going to record the thing. We don't like to tell you exactly what it's going to be,
but you'll be you'll know. And if you want your gift to be part of what we open for the TLF Annual Christmas Show, the Unwrappening, as we gather around the hearth and exchange your gifts and react in real time on the pod, you want to be part of
that very special gathering of the co chairman. You do want to get your gift in the mail post haste and huge thanks to everybody who was really on the ball this year to make sure that I don't know, you didn't get together and then all the stuff comes afterwards. That would be a bad situation and that you'll miss that warmth. That's what's special about the Christmas Show, so
is that in person casting. So agreed very much look forward to being able to do that and bring you what's become an absolute holiday staple around these parts, the tlf unwrappening as part of TLFX, so that's coming fast and furious. If you don't know the po box by now, you should. We've posted it several times on x so if you need to be able to look at it and see precisely what it is. But for your edification one last time, I would say, this year we're going
to list it out for you. It's seven ten Main Street, South Peobox one one nine, Southbury, Connecticut zero six four eight eight. It's the Lapsed Fan. Seven ten Main Street, South Pobox one one nine, Southbury, Connecticut zero six four eight eight, and we very much thank you for making another special holiday around here. I think it's a TLFX mess.
I think you're absolutely right, a talf triple X mess.
Folks who are already treating themselves over at cameo dot com slash the Lapsed Fan. Oh man, that's always a great way to give to the lapsed fan in your life.
Put any of these lapsed characters, any of these guys and gals inside the TLFX games brackets, which we'll talk about in just a second, to work, you know, where the puppets, you're the puppeteers, and that continues to be a great way to tap the brilliance of the solar system and bring it on home to somebody that might appreciate it, or even just get a treat yourself to a little what if scenario around some of the characters and boss you were put to work recently in a
very tremendous way by Zach and Uh He is definitely the beneficiary for it.
It was, it was absolutely it was maybe the most I don't know, there was something about it that really I want to say it was the most clever, but I think there have been some that have been extremely clever and bizarre, but this one was just so like it really struck me and I needed to just record it right away. And it was basically, you know that that that he was the hul Cogan's lawyer and in this in this part in this universe, that he was
that that he created. It was that the giant actually died when he fell off the roof and he was he was, you know, talking about like he was talking with him about what a scenario. It was just absolutely bonkers and was so funny. It was great, absolutely great.
That crowdsource element is such a key part of why we are what we are is like as much as the bounds of our creativity just it's almost limitless, Like we could just keep coming up with shit all day. What will we include the solar system suggestions, Yeah, little ideas along the way that you might suggest on a comment on a Patreon post, or on a post on acts or or if we you know, happen to interact with you in person or on a you know, a
Hopper show or whatever the case may be. These little seeds that get planned, these cameo suggestions, they just add so much richness because we're like, we're turning to the big brain and the TLF solar system for guidance, for new rocks to turn over, for new chances for these characters unfold, and man, just help them leave one hell of a voicemail. Dark times here, dark times and well we're talking about Patreon and we're thinking about ways to
you know serenade the many different tiers over there. I will tell the fine folks in the moat tier, which of course is the tier of our highest supporters. Our rider dies, those who by hook or by crook find the way to support us in a denomination that is truly humbling and amazing. And therefore those closest to our heart, closest to family, that we do have a we have quite an idea on the cameo front that you might want to This is the time necessarily to think about
dropping down a tear. Let's put it down, yeah, yeah, or shedding shedding a tear that's right as it were. But right below them and they get this short show of course too, but right below them and this executive producer tier, and that is the teer, ladies and gentlemen that titles you to the series that has had an absolutely unbelievable twenty twenty four truly in TLFX fashion under the cinemat, coming off Scury Movie season.
Boss.
By the time they hear this, they would have heard the Halloween surprise and tell them all about that and where we're headed for the rest of TLFX season.
Well, you would have heard just the main event for Scary Movie Season. I'm not going to spoil it, but it was an absolute treat.
One of the best ones. I mean, just so great to get into a movie without much meat on the bone.
Yeah, it was. It was so good. Again in case for those who haven't heard, I don't want to spoil it just yet, but it was. It was, absolutely it was. It was a wild ride. I'll just say that it was a wild ride. And the the the ultimate wrestling connection is is honestly, it's worth the price of admission right there, because it's something so bizarre. It's something so out of left field that you wouldn't even you know.
I I'm I'm curious if anybody, if anybody, I'll tell you this part, if anybody in the UK has heard of this guy, all right, if anybody in the UK has memories of this, I need to know, because it's such a fucking random, random thing. So but it was, it was wild and UH and we will be coming back now, back to the UH, back to the journey. Carneies are forever. The time is right, The time is now for us to close the final, the final chapter
of this journey. As we move into the Daniel Craig Era, the most recent bond Era and and that's where we're gonna leave it.
And then heading into Christmas movie season.
Of course, Christmas movie season for sure.
Unbelievable, so many ornaments on the TLFX Christmas Tree. Yeah this year and yeah, under the Cinemat just an absolute must, even if you're not a cinephile like myself. Like I mean, I love movies, but I'm not like an encyclopedia of movies, and I never claimed to be. And this series has allowed me to get acquainted with so many canonical classics, so many movies that are just like the ones when
I've had to say in my lifetime. And I'm sure there are a lot of people listening to this who are hardest of hardcore wrestling fans who can associate with this.
Na I never saw it what? No, never saw what? And yeah, how many? How many weeks have you gotten? Matt for me?
As the years go, Man, I'm just not only am I checking those off, but I'm coming with such a due to the research you do, such a depth of knowledge on these films that I hadn't even seen, and now I don't. I not only see, but I see so much more in than just what the naked eye would observe watching these these classics and.
Classics, yeah right, and not so classics. And part of the fun too for me is the fact that even with movies that I know, I know inside and out, you know, learning more about them as we as I as I dive into them, and it's it's crazy. It's crazy. The stories that that that you know, we uh that we find crazy, the stories that happened, stuff that maybe
people don't know about it. I mean, honestly, to me, the biggest treat finding wrestlers that nobody knows about for sure, Finding wrestlers that that.
You know have that's something you know, you're adding uniquely to the story of the film. You know, no one's ever looked at that and as much depth as you will, and and and and.
And also you know, it's it's rediscovering people that that that just sadly are you know, just because of the way the world was in you know, at the beginning of the last century. You know, we didn't we you know, people get lost to time because some of their stuff is only in news stories. And if those new stories aren't recovered, it's you know they get that no one, no one hears about them. Yeah, and uh, these are
it's it's it's absolutely incredible. It's amazing the stuff sometimes that is out there that I'm able to kind of grab and and put together. So it's fun.
Yep, high highest recommendation for absolute sure. What a wonderful flip side of the coin it is to uh the tlf experience you all love and cherish so much. Pro Wrestling Teas dot com is the place to go slash the lapsed fan. Oh yes, for any T shirt needs you may have this holiday season for you or anyone wants to buy a gift for you or the Solar System member in your life.
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They're fucking, They're fucking, They're out there, they are They are a beast. Chop Teas is a beast. Yes, all right, you don't know what's going to hit you.
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It's going to take you a surprise to so many times. You've got the Letterman jacket. I can't wait to lay eyes on it when we get together.
To record show. Oh yeah, shautiful solar system as well the.
LAPS Fan Wrestling podcast, the wrestling podcast that knows the boys need their candy. It's the Lapsed Fan. He's a Lapsed Fan wrestling podcast with Jack and Carnacio and Jpisorro.
You're gonna have that fire ready to burn a gift? Oh fuck, yeah, yes, yeah, we're gonna. I'll tell you what if if if if if I'm if we're graced with one of those awful things that I know is coming our way, it's gonna get burned.
As we're recording, set off a fire alarm. Yeah whatever, I won't turn off the record.
I'll let it go. Yeah, let it go.
Get the firefighters there. And another being recorded walking through the basement like what the fuck.
Is up with this guy? Like what are these fucking idiots do? Hot Mike pal and more ways than one.
Yeah, so yeah, definitely pro wrestling teas and chop teas for your apparel needs this holiday season in support of the cast that makes your world go round. It's very simple. It's a very simple proposition, very simple. In the words of Sid, it's all very very simple. I found myself saying that way too much as we examined Sid.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and that kind of makes sense. So there you go. Feel simple.
And then the backdrop, I mean, here's how Meltzer puts it.
As we get into the deep dive.
Perhaps the strangest week in World Wrestling Federation history ended up with three WWF title changes, the teas of the end of Sean Michael's career, a strange twist, and the working relationship with ECW, the beginning of the Live Raw, a television special, a pay per view event, a surprise Intercontinental title switch, numerous long term plans switched, steroids appeared back to being somewhat in vogue and perhaps not even limited to the male performers, and the beginning of WrestleMania
hype all crammed into five days. Oh my God, settled, Meltzer wrote, said was back with the WWF title, about that Seohn Michaels never lost, and that Brett Hark never beat anyone for in becoming a one day wonder, and probably wondering himself if he made the worst career move of his career, as second guessers and many in the industry were seeing by the end of the week, that is to say, turning down WCW and going.
With him a few more months, give a few more months exactly.
But Hey, at this time, if you were like begging for him to go away, that's not the reaction you want a fan position like you were in nineteen ninety seven to have to a guy that you just signed to this astron high.
I wasn't begging him to go away. I just didn't want him to be the guy, or at least I didn't want him to be a babyface guy. Yeah, I was if he you know, him being a heel, I was all about it. I was like, give me that, that's fucking money.
It was the.
It was the the the unbeatable babyface that really bugged me. Yeah.
Yeah, and that those hands, that hand will be forced. I mean, for Vince, he's looking at this kind of outlay on that contract and he's gonna he's going to do what it takes to tell himself that Brett is drawing him money. And if baby Face squeaky clean Brett, the one that he spent so much to retain, isn't the ticket, then he'll switch it up because he's not going to pay this guy to do something that's not working or not at least producing revenue to his to
his mind. So it's definitely a poetic moment and time in the career of Brett Hart as well as it is Sid. It's kind of wonderful how their paths intersect in a way because Brett kind of ends up needing Sid to get this positioning right and to get the belt kind of transitions smoothly out of the picture. So he can really go head to head with Steve Austin and it's not all about the belt the whole time.
An Undertaker can have his rain and have his opponents without it being like, all right, when's Brett going to get it, culminating in the Brett Undertaker SummerSlam classic that is just so memorable in so many ways. So we open this edition of Rob with Sid's music immediately. So this already I was feeling good about choosing this for the tribute show the break first thing you hear is his music.
If you hear the music, I was kind of disappointed that there was no in I would like to assume whatever the intro was at the time. Yeah, they did the cold open.
There was no intro in this one because they were trying to get right into the action to keep people hooked because they had that one minute advantage or two three minute advantage.
Crazy.
So they jump right in media res as they say, we start this one, and Jim Ross welcomes us on. We're live from the Nashville Arena and they have the uh, the bubbles projected on the carpet. That's the shower bubbles right.
Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, I mean that's I can't believe that that that is a real thing, that that that the idea is that it's the shower, the shower water that.
Is so fucking from Psycho. Yeah, it never sunk in with me watching back then. I mean I knew that that song was from the movie Psycho, but that the touch of actually, you know, designing the lighting to to evoke the shower scene in Psycho was was detail I didn't appreciate till I was watching this one back and it's sit on the walk, black leather vest, water flying everywhere,
because you know, that's a key part to the presentation. Yep, screaming I'm the man, extra enthusiastic, fist bumps, feels big league for sure. Definitely an entrance where I'm like, okay, he's He's definitely one of the biggest stars on the show.
Oh, no question. And I never you know, again, I never thought otherwise. I mean, he was, he was important to me at that time. Yep. For sure. I definitely wasn't necessarily a fan of him being champion the first time, but you know I was. I was all about it, you know, and I I never hated him as a wrestler and.
Of course, as the show gets kind of a grittier approach, and to get even grittier and the look changes. That old WWF yellow and blue logo on the bottom left stayed a long time.
It overstayed. It's welcome in some ways. Yeah, I would say it definitely did. It's it's certainly you know it's missed now, but at the time it was like it was time to go yep, go ahead.
Lawler has to share that, you know, the worst news you possibly could share. Brett Hart ladyes Generals once again World Wrestling Federation champion, having won the final four main event the night before in pay per view, So they get the fans up to speed on that right away. Yeah, and they talk about how that could come to a screeching halt before it even gets started. This latest reign of the Hitman. The fourth title rain for Brett Hart sid takes the apron red, white and blue row.
I remember like it just like you know again, I I ask you to imagine someone who missed Thursday Raw Thursday, right what a fucking trip, didn't get the fucking pay per view either, And here I am and like I'm like what the fuck? Like oh, like I'm thinking, I'm I'm preparing myself to like, here we go again, another fucking Bredheart title reign. Just miserable.
Did you hold out any hope though watching this that Sid would win the belt on this episode?
None? None, It never happened. You know, I knew. I was soaked. I was conditioned. Oh, after over four years of watching Raw that a title change is not going to happen.
Sence, just not the way it works. Sensible, absolutely sensible.
You know they didn't do it. They won't do it. I mean because every time, I mean, listen, let's not just say I didn't get excited when I saw that it might happen, but I also was like, yeah, that only it's going to happen, right, you know, I went into every title match that happened on Raw as it's not going to happen, But when it came close, I got excited. I didn't think this was going to happen at all. Yep.
Absolutely, And that incredible Sid Pyro hanging over the ring sets off as well as Sid makes the big entrance, So you're you think this is it, They're going for it.
You know they're not. I really did. I really thought that they were going for a title, like like they were going to open up with the show me all right, yep, I guess this is the thing. I mean, even watching it back, I didn't remember that they did the tea. I'm like watching thing. Oh wow, I guess we're getting the Sid tribute done pretty early.
I was actually had a moment of panic because if the match I remember Sid beating Brett was the first match on the whole show, then it's got a stupid to do the rest of that edition of RAW. I agree, And then it's about, wow, do I remember this being the last thing?
Thing?
Like I was like, oh god, if we had the like, what's the point of watching the whole other thing if we if it's right here in the beginning, like I don't. I mean, I honestly like sat there. I don't remember it being at the beginning, But you know, I don't know. Maybe maybe it is, Maybe that part of my memory is a little, uh is a little fuzzy.
One thing we've learned over ten years as the lapsed gods look much more favorably upon us than to do that to us.
So of course I agreed all works out.
Jim Ross's Bad News and good news is doctor James Andrews update on Seawn Michaels is to come and there's both sides of the coin. Is it regard Sean Michael's health? More on that later on the show, Sid absolutely screaming with who's the man and fist pumps. Yes, he's six's nine, three thirteen. He is the challenger.
Jr.
Says he is hungry and what condition is Brett hard? And that is the question Jr. Ex after hit Man had to go the distance in a brutal foreway. You know, there's all that blood on Vader's head and yep.
Well it's even funny too because because Lawler does talk about that, uh and he he talks about the state of Vader's face.
We got some highlights. Let's go a little bit later on tonight.
What well, I mean he was eating hamburger His face looked like hamburger meat because it was covered in hamburger meat.
That's right.
It's like three hours after the match.
Was over, after the event was over. These pictures of.
Vader taken at a at a restaurant in Nashville after the match exactly, so you get the.
Eat my face.
The face looks like hamburger. Vader, Oh, it's the cheeseburger. Actually, if you can see the.
Cheese, I'm so good, dude. Why are you yelling? Vader? What is your face look like chopped cheese?
I'm talking.
I said here it is.
It's exactly how it sound with a dew rag on.
Vader a big fan of places that have like this flat spatula and scoop the meat into the HOGI.
I want to hear that on the grill. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, the chinking, it's crucial. Speaking of the ting, ting ting, it's wrestling time. It's true.
So the s I isn't sparking and elevating towards the ceiling. It Sid hits the ring awesome row Ray and Psycho sid in the lower third. The way he used to write ra A W and those bevil silver letters.
I used to like that. Yeah, yep, I liked him too, so j R.
And Lawler Ringside and commentary. No Vince on commentary here. Interestingly, as we see the crown.
He wasn't that was he was. He was still doing it too. That's I didn't even think of that.
Yeah, that was the whole thing of him getting so worked up over Brett Hart punching Pat Patterson on that raw we keep talking about is he was on commentary and that's how he's able to scream that dirt. He Wrott in the Son of a and eventually gets up. So you heard a little bit of it and that Lawler sound bite. But the Brett screech music kicks off that guitar riff and here.
Comes the hitman weird. It's beautiful. Oh, such a great entrance song. It's like it's it's it's it really is just absolutely spectacular, always works and not everybody was.
Sourpuss about his title win at the time, and I signed this sys congratulations Brett Hart.
He makes his way to the ring.
Jer said, we're as live as you could be, and he says that with all the voice of somebody who is you know, very much aware that being live is a huge part of this night, you know, and getting that across the fans is important. Like this is not something that Bischoff can reveal the results of on the air like he had done already on Nitro Raw letters on the entrance R A W and read not much longer for that. I mean, there's like a week left.
This is probably like the last one. They go to Germany, and I don't think they bring that set with them that they use it for the Manhattan Center Raw for ECW, they do do that. That's part of it too. One part of the reason that that show was just so like crammed in there and all so random is because a lot of the guys were already preparing to travel for the European tour.
Oh maybe, yeah, that's true.
It's like, let's just film out with the ACW wrestlers. Who gives a fucking put Stevie Richards on raw? Yeah, right, but there they are pop gun fire work over the entrance.
It does.
Yeah, it does kind of feel like this is like a last raw of its type. It feels like Ra's about to change in a way that the old set can't somehow the old look can't accommodate, you know what I mean?
Yeah, that is very true. I wonder if that if that really was, Like if I wonder if there was an element of like.
We're about the change things here swan song.
Of the of the old, of the old the old show.
Like can you picture Steve Austin doing everything he did to Vince and to everybody else he feuded with in ninety eight ninety nine with the Monday Night Ross set behind him.
No, you can't, no, not at all. It doesn't work. It doesn't work at all. You need you need the Titan Tron, you need all that stuff that was that was there. But it's crucial, pretty wild.
So yeah, Brett gets that pop gun firework entrance overhead as he makes the walk in shades and the title strapped around his waist, hits the ring, the lights fade out. He makes the walk to all four sides of the ring with his arms extended, as Brett was prone to do. Four time champion he was as a result of that victory at Final four.
Jr.
Says the big news, however, is the Undertaker will meet the WWF Champion, whoever he may be, at Wrestlmania thirteen. So this match not only for the title, but for the main event slot against the Undertaker.
As he lies in wait, so so okay, so he so because he lost because he was the last one with Brett that nix and then a more contender for WrestleManias.
It's so stupid. It's like, why does the Undertaker have this title? Shot exactly. He lost to Vader at Royal Rumble.
It's like he lost Vader, he lost the Royal Rumble and he lost the other that he's having the worst format year of his career. Huh, he's having the worst year of his career and it's ironically the best year of his career.
Yeah, they didn't do a whole lot of planning why Undertaker got the title shot. You're right about that, just because he's screamed up to Sid one time.
I guess, well, I think because it makes somewhat sense, because I guess he's you know. It's also like, you know, when you when you look at all the way it was, it was like because because Sid lost the world title, he was given this, you know, and because of Shawn Michaels,
he was given, you know, a title shot. Yeah, I guess, and I guess the same thing could be said for the Undertaker that he's you know, because he because he was the runner up of the big the Big Final four match, that he is worthy of WrestleMania main advantage, which.
Is pretty wild because, as we talked about on that Rob with the cage match would sit in breath. They switch it all up again the week before WrestleMania, and it's up in the air again.
Who's going to get what?
Because if Brett beats Sit in that cage, it's Brett Austin for the title. An undertaker's shit out of luck as far as the title shot goes right, right, So they change even that from the representations made here the night after Final Four, Earl Heavner presiding he hoisted the title that matters, the winged Eagle belt. Yes, and Brett handsome shades over to a young girl on the front row here in Nashville with a Hitman shirt and her
teeth all over the place. Wonder if she got one for the road, said Jef Psycho said versus Brett Hart. Apparently he's gonna kick us off here on Monday Night Raw. They go face to face while Brett's music is still playing in the center of the ring. Sid towers over the hit Man there.
It really does.
They're trash talking. It looks like it's gonna go off, and then.
Austin hits the ring.
Is he showing Is he showing behaviors that that excite your loins back?
Then?
Yes, yes, he is showing exactly what he needs to get me excited to be a wrestling fan, such as, all right, I mean he's just come the way, his attitude, Yes, just walking down there, it's like you know he was he was excitement because when he was there, all bets were off exactly. That's what made him fucking money is that they booked him in such a way that anytime he came to the ring, you knew, like you knew
to expect anything. You knew to expect the unexpected. You knew that wait a minute, this is not like here I am thinking that it's gonna be a regular time match. Steve Austin comes down. Oh shit, what's he gonna do now?
Yeah, there's like, no, there's no formality that would keep him in the back, just like you know, grinding his teeth but not attacking.
You know, there's no there's a title match. I better just sit my ass down and watch it. No fuck, no fuck.
If he sees fucking Brett Heart's face, he's going it doesn't matter.
He's gonna He's there to eat it. It's great.
So he hits the ring and they're going at it, exchanging as only they can. Bretton Austin, what a tre see those two throw right hands.
Ah, there's nothing better than the two of them fighting like it just it's like the and now, like knowing knowing kind of more. At the time, it's like you you you love watching them fight because it was so intense. Now you watch it because you know how much they respect each other. Yes, and you see them like that. There is a there's a passion there that is missing from most of their other opponents because they respect each other so much, so true, and they enjoy working together so much.
Yeah, this is one of the rare ones where it's like learning about the the backstage happenings. It only enhances it, you know, doesn't detract from it at all. So they're exchanging is only they can.
J R.
Says Austin has become obsessed with bart Hard. I remember that they played that sound bite a lot. Steve Austin has become obsessed with Brett and he's a rabbit animal.
Jr.
Is fucking off the leash too, by the way. Ye oh yeah, no, Vince. Here he's allowed to really show what he can bring to a broadcast and a presentation and in the intensity of an angle, especially when his buddy Steve Austin's getting over and then suddenly Sid, while these two brawling, comes over the top with a clubbing shot on Austin.
So Sid doesn't want to be left out of the fun. No, not at all. He comes over like a fucking madman. He's so fucking nuts.
And he get that from those windmill shots. Those why no, yep yep. And in the Franks, Steve Austin chopped blocks Sid's knee and takes that out, and that'll play.
That's the clip.
That's the clip we talk about. That was a clip clip of the clip, and Bredhart mount Steve Boston and starts peppering away with shots Renne let My Kyota, Pat Patterson, Joel Brisco, I'll hit the ring trying to break. The whole crew comes down and Sid is screaming, Oh my god, listen to him, listen to him. Okay, this this is, this is this is let's just listen to him.
Off here, look at that, Sid. It's hard.
Oh, Sid, Sid, we'd like to get we'd like you to get across the idea that you're really frustrated that he just goes.
I can do that. I can do that alone. This is a fucking maniac, and he's such a goofball.
He's the only guy that can scream and still somehow be monotone, right.
I know, he's the only man who can yell at the top of his lungs and not emote right and not makes me feel like he's reaching a different level. He's like, it's no different than him cutting a promo. It's the exact same, you know, kind of volume and intensity. There's no added emotion to it at all.
And I guess what hyper ironic is. When he actually snaps his leg and half in WCW in two thousand and one, he doesn't.
Scream at all that there you go. That's the sign right there.
Herer He is clutching his knee as they get over the idea that Sid's chances of becoming champ tonight are going to be a casualty to the fucking warpath of stone cold Steve Austin, who's just striking anything that moves, and Austin starts peeling off the officials. They're all over him, and they go I think they go to the rails. You see that red white stencil WWF logo on the apron on that kid friendly look is this fucking bloodthirst plays out.
No, he's just fucking yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs here and it's like, here's kid friendly telling vision.
Sid selling the knee huge as he rises in the corner and he's waving Brett on. He can't even stand up, but he wants to still do the match.
Mm hmm.
Jr ss Brett Heart is not a cheap shot artist, so he's very unlikely to take advantage of this situation.
J R.
Says it was stone cold Steve Austin, that rabbit animal that put everybody in this position. And I love the idea that anytime Brett lifts his head up, it's like a groundhog showing it. You know, It's like Austin pounces or like you know the wa.
Yep, just like it. It's like I'm getting ready.
Said that motherfucker hit in my leg. He screams that motherfucker. Yeah, he says, a motherfucker in yours.
God, that's hilarious.
Its just like when he says, uh, i'n't here ship, you know what is it?
I don't I don't know ship. He said. It's like, Okay, Sid, that's that's kind of what I thought. You know, Damn, I don't know.
Shit, I gotta get it. If you don't have it, I absolutely have to get this. Let me, let me pull this up, entertain the people somehow.
I don't know.
So now let me how about this when when you're watching this, do you think you're not getting the match?
No?
No, no, I knew. I mean, wait, you mean originally yeah, originally that ninety Um, I don't remember. I don't remember. I feel like I feel like they you know, if anything, I would imagine that I felt like, and this is just speculation, but I would imagine that I felt like, oh, okay, they did it here, and they're going to tease it out and we're gonna get into the at the end of the show.
You thought end of the show, not like a pay per view or something.
No, I thought like an end of the show. They would do it? Would this be season three Boss? Season three of what of Monday Night Raw? According to Peaking Oh I know two? Season four? Do you know?
On Peacock they have a picture of Sean Sean's crying face for this raw?
Of course they do well. They do show a clip in a moment give it.
That is that that is not the defining thing that happens on this show.
I mean, did they ever really show the defining thing? I don't think they do, But yeah, I I I didn't think they would wait for pay per view. I thought for I knew. I was pretty commid they were going to show it tonight. But it was like, you know, I was. You get excited when it when a when a when a title match opens the show, and then
it's like, oh, no, they're just fucking you know. I don't think I realized that they were, you know, trying to get a rating, but it just was like, oh, like I guess, I'm oh, they're trying to get me to watch the show. Duped again, Yeah.
It feels like a kind of a ploy. It feels like a ploy a little bit. So let's see what we can hear here.
The top awesome, we're getting it on here in Music City.
This feels good just hearing it. Yeah, it does.
It sounds layoffs here. Look at that cent it's.
Hard set tellus rain of the camera, tic.
Wo be Matchest yet officially Austin being us going out with a bevy of security and officials. But the big story here is bobly injured. Here's the Challenger w w F title.
Say it, it's Lincoln, say it.
This is this is not right now, Wait a minute. Sent you not have to wrestle in that condition? Well you're right about that, but say it. I'm not sure what's gonna happen here.
It's gonna wave them on now in the corner.
The matches yet to be up before. Yeahficially, artist, Prett Heart, you'd.
Love to get your hands on him now when you you love to have him already nice and set up for your sharp shooter.
That's not right. Well, Brett Hart is not a cheap sharp artist? Can you said? Know that as well as anybody? It was Stone Coll Steve Austin got rabbit animal Austin so obsessed. Doctor hit me. It doesn't see this is not to take place at this at this moment.
I heard that again, Doctor hit me.
It doesn't seem.
Money night raw. I mean it's like you know, I always wonder too, like when they swear like that, like like you're not really hurt. Yeah, you don't actually hurt your leg, dude, Like I know it's forgivable if you actually hurt your leg. Yeah, I can understand that if you actually, like if there was a shoot injury. But he's is a total worked injury and he's so fucking screwed the top like he's swearing on television like he was method. I guess that's what he was.
There's a method to the madness. So the official is still in there to keep them apart. Sid Chant breaks out a bit. Jail reflects on what had happened on Thursday, broth Thursday, bringing us to this moment, and Sean Michaels forfeiting the title due to a severe knee injury. As Sid leaves the ring with a knee injury of his own, they replay Sean's remarks from Thursday Raw Thursday.
I have that because absolutely, you know, you know we haven't done that show, so absolutely hear it.
But this is this is all I've ever wanted to do, and over the last year I got to do it. And whether you like me or not, I just want to tell you that last year was the most wonderful year of my life. And if I never do get to do it again, it'll be okay because I got to live one full year. Has been the number one guy in this business and it was a single most greatest year.
Of my life.
That I have you to thank, and I have everybody here to thank and it means a lot to me. And I want to go home now.
Okay, yeah, I'm gonna go home now. Well, can someone let's sit and and Brett go home without interference?
That would be nice. Nope, Nope, not this night. So Jr.
Says, HBK A class act all the way, and they show us the final four finish.
For the US titles the.
Lapsed Fawn Wrestling Podcast, the wrestling podcast that knows the boys need their candy, It's the Lapsed Fan. He's the Lapsed Fan Wrestling Podcast with Jack and Carnacio and JP Sooro.
For the the Worldviews title, I said, show us, so US is in my mind? Sure So it's a Brett taker Steve Austin invader of course in that match. And it's the freeze frames. Remember they would only do the freeze frames at the time.
Well for the first until the until they replay aired, right.
I always used to love how the freeze frames were brought to you by WWF magazine. Like WWF magazine is publishing freeze frames of the video, Like is.
There a photographer there or not? Right, What does the magazine have to do? I mean, also, you wouldn't see those fucking photos in the magazine either, those kind of freeze frames. Of course, the actual photographs.
It's so weird as they was courtesy of w F Maga. Use the If you're gonna use freeze frames, just use some of the picture as you're in house photographers too, right, I guess they didn't have the turnaround time they needed for that.
They show Vader with.
That bloody eye, which was famous. They also put that on the cover of one of the early Raw magazines. I'm sure you remember that one. Yes, I do remember that one. That was a big only I got it, but I do remember it.
I had that one.
I jumped off the page, big bloody face of Vaders. Now that Raw magazine is hugually but Russo of course in charge of it, and he talks about that as being a real point of diversion in getting Vince McMahon to embrace a more attitudinal and riskue kind of a product direction. Is that Raw magazine and the way it hit And I remember they had an interview with with Vince about Kevin Nash leaving yep, yep, when you weren't
supposed to even talk about that on television. Jar and Lawler narrating over the stills from Final four, a match that Jim Ross calls thirty minutes of hell. They show how Austin had been eliminated by Brett Hart and getting his knee hyper extended as he hit the floor, which indeed turned out to be a legitimate injury that Steve was wrestling with at the time. They show Brett's suplexing
Vader in his freeze frame. That's something to see. Taker lowlowed Vader to eliminate him, and they emphasize that to sort of, I don't know, I guess protect Vader a bit, and that leaves Brett and.
Taker one on one. As mentioned, I mean, after the whole fucking you know, dealing with Sean Michaels, there was no protecting Vader anymore. Right, it's over.
We should mention too like Taker is now full transitioned out of the look. I mean, he does bring it back for one night at Wrestling thirteen with the gray Yeah, so weird, but yeah, this is post Buried Alive where we left you before we started the CID campaign. Yep, but now he's in all black that he debuted at Survivors Series ninety six. Austin comes up back out later and that final four matches Undertakers lifted, has lifted Brett Hart up for a tombstone, but Austin peels Bret off
of the hole. Taker turns his attention to Austin and then Brett clothes lines him out. So you know, Taker has a claim. It's not like he just lost in the match clean, he lost the match because a bullshit.
All right, So they're they're there, that's that's your claim right there for the yes for your title shot. That makes sense.
And the whole time they're playing this club music that just screams late nineties. They really knew how to pick that stock music back then.
Oh, I know, they really did.
They make it sound like the best match ever, just the way they use the stills and the way it was a great match. But Jesus, like you really felt like you missed something watching the way they presented this thing the night after.
Yeah, I mean they did a good job with that. I mean it was you know, it's good, I mean, and you know, in a weird way, was really it was important for the time it was, you know, it really dictated the next few months.
What's important for our time here is anything and everything that Sid does on this show. We go backstage to Kevin Kelly, who's holding a microphone, but that's about all he's doing because Sid has a lot to say.
Oh yes, he does. Shut up.
I want to tell you, absolutely perfect, what a show to serenade this guy, and that's all his greatest hits.
He can fuck this is Sid. Shut up.
He can't fucking.
He's already said, motherfucker. He's already said damn it, damn it, damn it. Oh man, Sid, shut up.
I want to tell you something right now. I'm gonna make you simple, not even if my leg was broken.
Not sleep. So right on, hell, water or.
Stove, ghost, forget.
The wall.
They federate your champions.
And that statement says that I am the man, the man, I'm the ruler of the world. All right.
That's like the post office slogan, neither sleet nor rain will stop, but I'm delivering the mail. Must have saw that commercially.
I just had to send the guy a picture a picture post Office. He sent my church in Vienna's I'm gonna give him an homage. I loved.
I loved on the last episode when people were like sending us little little bits of their favorites and someone some some guy said he spit out his water whatever one, Sid says, let me ask you something.
Do you grow viennas the farmer? But what kind of condition to Sid's mee in? That is the question?
Is we continue on this episode of Monday Night Raw, the classic raw music still playing?
Yes, and J and Jr.
Says one way or another that match will happen tonight. So they're not throwing your scent off the trail. They're not making me think that that match is off. They go to break to come back, some guy strumming a guitar at his Nashville after all, and Whiler asks, the question, is that the honky tonk man?
Ohion, Wow, this whole fucking thing sh don't wow.
It's time for Sable and Mark Merrow of course and Mark Merrow, Yes, I'm surprised to see him still walking as wild man this far in in ninety seven.
Ten minutes in when we have our first match. Yeah, I know he was, you know, he only was a wild man after he he only stopped The wild Man after he got injured and left right and then when we came back in the fall, he was marvelous coming off a tough victory. Jr.
Says last night off the extra capable Leaf Cassidy, I.
Mean, what the fuck Marrow and Cassidy were on pay per view even though it was it in your house, Like, come the fuck on, that's not a fucking pay per view.
Spinning Sparkler is a company, The wild Man, the ring Jarr says, there's a darker side we're finding to Sable as well, and Oler says, she's got those shades and all of a sudden, she's she's swinging at people. She hit leaf Cassidy last night at Ringside, allowing Mark Merrow to suicide dive onto leave Cassidy, which I believe also tweaked hissnee. And yeah, they say, what's up with Sable is the real question? So it's starting to become more and more about saving Yeah.
Yeah, Now, did I mean was that did Merrow know that? Was he okay with that? Was he fine with that? He was fine with that? Yeah?
Yeah, he thought it was. So there's a win for the family, right, It was a win for the joint bank account. Whatever wasn't till it wasn't until she thirsted for more.
That's right, till first for Mark, that's the question, where is she thirsty?
And we haven't seen her in fucking twelve years. She's up there in the snow somewhere. Brock's got her locked away.
And I think I feel like he keeps under a tighter lock and key than Randy Savage keptualizething.
So yeah, yeah, I remember they did a countdown UFC when he was in UFC and they showed her a little bit and she had like this like really fancy white puffer coat, like you'd wear it like a chalet in Switzerland or something. Of course, walking around in the snow up there and wherever he lives, Saskatchewan, God, can't you imagine what happens but Saskatchewan, what happens by like campfire up there on the bearskin rug?
Like can you imagine? Like just okay, just think yourself, Okay, she just she doesn't like it, She just gives it. I think.
We're learning a lot about Brock through the lawsuit and everything, and it's pretty fascinating, Like and they kind of tell the story on the Netflix stock as well. It's like Vince, you know, why did Vince give Brock the keys to the castle. It wasn't just that UFC leverage that he had. It was respect for the fact that Vince thought he could have Sable And oh three, he's trying to make out whether her on TV yep, makes her his general
managers for all that. So all the pretense he needs to get his rocks off and uh and Brock ends up with her. Brock ends up and they they.
Share and they also they share you know, similar sexual appetite.
Yep.
I mean Vince is like, you know, offering to just send send him nudes if he resigns. I mean, yep, not out of himself, but of his Uh. I suppose we could call his girlfriend at the time unbelievable. Yep, unbelievable. So here comes up, speaking of unbelievable.
Pg.
Thirteen A K A. J. C. Isen wolfy D of the Nation of Domination. We're still rapping for to the ring at this point in time.
I was here, I got I got this whole fucking yeah. Yeah, they were just still doing the fucking rap thing. I mean, you know, actually, in retrospect, it kind of worked more than I think I gave it credit for it. Back then we all day color differently.
Simple.
I'm saying real scul got the power.
Quick love two together fe face on the bat podcasting. There's for reping dot Clarens Mason. What are they doing up? There's like he's a king looking over his kingdom. No offense. They're a key. Well, he's just ahead of a nation. It's like a nicktat, that's what he is. Jasey I said, we be fat Sisa.
Dot cat because up.
Give me the wraps fan wrestling podcast, the wrestling podcast that knows the boys need their candy. It's the Lapsed Fan. He's an lapsed fan wrestling podcast with Jack and car MJP Soo.
Clarence Mason is the man crossing t's and dot ns. What's the He's such an odd individual, Clarence, Yes, very odd.
Yes, yeah, his story was never a big fan of his. Now it's just a Tony Cochran thing. They thought it would be funny, yeah, to have their own version of that.
So was it though? No, it absolutely was not.
And I remember we did one brief thing on where he came from before, like he's an actual lawyer.
A lawyer. Yeah, I knew that he was an actual lawyer.
How he got in I don't remember, but for him, the bow ties everywhere as they're going for that aesthetic. You can imagine crushing di lo or in the nation at this time, fat ass d lo. This is a three hundred and thirty pounds d low. Fuka gets the fist up in the air and they respond in kind. The rest of the crew. Savia Vega, by the way, he joined them as well. By this point in time, Yes, this was that three. This was the three man nation.
Right before they would, you know, then break up and have their their little you know, their little factions, their little gangs.
It's pretty wild that they led a Puerto Rican into the fray. That is not in keeping with some of Malcolm Ex's philosophies. The organization of Afro American Unity in fact, differentiated Puerto Ricans as people who weren't enslaved, so therefore weren't necessarily positioned as the rest of the members of the Nation of Islam. So I'm sure that definitely went through their minds, and including Savia.
I'm sure, I'm sure they were definitely you know, I can imagine that they were. That kind of detail was very important.
Definitely wasn't as simple as his his skin isn't white. So we'll put them in the nation because you know, they put Owen in the nation. They put Crush in the name.
That's true, that is true. Well you know crushes Awaiian with a face tattoo. Yeah, so he's you know, it was in jail.
So he's JA calls this an elaborate street gang. It's just such a put down. It's like there's supposed to be these revolutionaries, you know, I know, and he likes but their heels though, so you get a you know, you get a bad mouth them.
Absolutely, they can't celebrate them. If they were, if they were a babyface group, then then you know for sure they would, Yeah, they'd celebrate them as being revolutionaries.
So it's mac Merrow versus Savia Vega. And you better believe this is the one thing. Steve Austin stops his pillaging to watch Savio is in the ring man best of all time.
Also, can I tell you what the I Savio Vega is wearing the same fucking ring gear that he wore a baby face. It's not okay, like he should have changed it up, Like why is he wearing that fucking red shirt?
Still gotta ask him that if we ever see him, idiot, we saw him at starcast. I had no idea what to ask. That'd be a good one. When you join the Nation, did you still wear the baby face?
Why don't you wear your lame mass fucking clothes?
Savio takes over with clubbing shots and takes Marrow into the corner. Savia, by the way, at the time, was the newest member of the Nation of Domination. We're told that Mark Maro with some arm drags and drop Kicksaveo out of the ring. And here's that flip dive that takes out a bunch of national members and hurts them. This gets us our PlayStation one double feature featuring Crash Bandicoot Boss. Oh, I can't all blocky and low res on the image, Like what a weird I mean.
It's kind of funny like that, it's you know, it's still it's like the newest thing is like those graphics weren't even bad. I mean, obviously they are bad now for compared to you know, other you more modern consoles, but like it's so wacky to think that that that was best in class.
Yeah, yep, and it really was revolutionary, really for an eight bit Nintendo kid, Are you kidding me?
Yeah? Absolutely. Station one was like fucking delivered from another planet. And it was so small.
We think about the size of consoles now, think how small and you could hold the PS one controllers and you can still you know, like the almost like you can hold it like a steering wheel, you know.
Yeah, I mean no, now you get you need to. It's like it's almost It's just kind of funny in terms of video games. It's like the uh it works backwards from you know, regular computers. It's like they grow bigger as you get older. Like, assume we're gonna have a fucking PlayStation. It's the size of a fucking room.
Well, they just packed some much more compute because they find so many things to do with them that require intense computing, like all this AI like chip sets, it's all from gaming. Yeah, you know, gaming was the one. It's like, okay, like, what's the most ridiculous fucking compute demand you can imagine in one form factor one device?
It's scaming, you know, crypto minding, I guess, but yeah, they push the limits, and the more they stuck in there, the bigger processors they stuck in there, and the more chips you had to make it bigger. On like cell phones, where it's like, you know, you don't need it to at a certain point, a cell phone only needs to be so powerful because it's never gonna do you know, like really high intense computing, you know, right, it's not going to need to display as big and all that. Anyway.
High Risk Personified is Mark Merrill j R. Sa'samed is released from Saint Memorial and Lowell, mass where he had been since last Thursday. So yeah, I'm ed hurt by the way too. Boss just doesn't stop.
Yeah, but you know what I love is that he's been released, like he's talking about it. He got released as if he got released today, right, Yeah, he shows up with this fucking show. How fast can you get from Lowell to Nashville? I mean, I I just don't know. He took the just don't know, took the.
Dustoy Express apparently, right, So yeah, Merrill comes up moving gingerly on the knee and come to find out he was hurt. And it's actually a fateful injury when you consider the career trajectory of Sable. She comes in and kicks jc Ice as he tries to pounce on Merrow.
It was kind of funny, you know, here they are saying that there a triple as in China, talking in retrospect about how Vince was kind of looking at the with the side eye at this gimmick idea for China beating up on guys and Sables kicking everyone's ass.
I mean that might have been it, like, well, we already got one, Yeah, why would I want two women?
And I'm sure that was them seeing what Jackie was doing on Nitro and copying it too, because when Jackie comes in, who does she feud with?
Right?
Yeap, So they're I think they they definitely saw her as they definitely saw what Jackie was doing and had Sable do the same thing. And then when they came in,
they made natural allies or natural opponents. So a Sable kicks jc Ice as he tries to pounce on Mark Merrow's Sable in full leather body suits by this point, by the way, instead of just like the demure dresses she used to wear, Sable now is in the ring and she's being closed in on and then Mark Merrill covers her and the referee calls for the bell before anything even happens to her or Mark Merrow or anybody.
And that's I'm at Johnson's cue as you mentioned, to hit the ring and the loosest pink painter's outfit you've ever seen.
Oh I know, I know, I know what are these? By the way, wrote out To, wrote wrote, then I'm at Johnson wearing a salmon sweatsuit. Salmon runs to the ring, having just run all the way from Lowell.
Ha ha.
Like.
Also, by the way, the the the it's actually the Saint's Medical Center, not sat Memorial Hospital. Oh very good, all right?
In Lowell wo also wearing also wearing a salmon sweatsuit, Vader, but in the sense that Lady Gaga.
Flavor and then flavored sweatsuits for those who like to sweat it out and then eat it out. I like that.
I do that.
I like eating out pussy.
There's definitely no problem with fish smells as a regard to the Chairman, So I celebrate.
I celebrate the scent of fish pussy. I definitely think he prefers it like to have a certain tang to it. Oh I believe. I definitely, yes, I definitely. I don't believe he is a he likes it too clean, right, he likes a little a little rough around the edges.
There, unless it smells like sanitation. Biggie once said, yeah, definitely not, definitely not what Vin subscribes to. So two by four like a madman amed swinging, and Jay are is saying they're like yellow dogs talking about the nation. They're like yellow dogs. I love how the yellow dogs when the odds are just like even a little bit even, and no other yellow dogs were running away when it's like, well they could be unmatched here.
Like yeah, I mean, also, he's got a he's got a fucking weapon, you know, could have splinters.
Are so many thirteen heat heat, that's what they decided on. Don't ask me what that was about.
I have no idea. I mean I do remember that. I have the magazine where they kind of you know, that was the it was the it's a great cover. Actually it was it had like huh, it was I remember it. All four faces, all four faces it was you know, black, and their faces were kind of faded in and the you know heat and that's actually that's the magazine where they where they coin attitude at the end. Wow, they talk about attitude if that one's yeah right?
So yeah, they're talking about heat as WrestleMania's theme Shytown Heat, I guess, presented by PlayStation with the Flaming Ar thirteen.
Here comes Leave Cassidy SummerSlam, Feel the Heat go backstage. Brett is there?
Well, it just seems every time I turn my back stone Hold turns sticks his nose in my business.
Here I got, I got this one here for you. Why Brett incoming? Yep?
Well, just seems that every time I turned my back stone Cold stick his nose with my business.
And uh, I better get used to it, you know.
But all I can do is focus on now, you know, every battle and try not to worry about it. You know, Psycho Sid's got a title shot. I'm assuming it's going to be a tough fight and he's going to be There'd be no excuses when he loses. And after I get done with Psycho Sid, I'll just look to the.
Next match and the next match.
In the next match, you're brushing off.
Psychos, enough, brushing off anybody. As far as I'm concerned, They're all great contenders, but that's all they are.
You know, you can only look out for number one.
If you don't stop looking out for number one, you start stepping on number two. And I'm not gonna let any of that happen. I am the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. And this proves it for the fourth time very quickly.
Here, what about wrestle many at thirteen?
You could be facing the Undertaker if you're successful here.
Tonight, bring them on, Bring on the Undertaker. I'm not afraid of the Undertaker.
I wasn't afraid of them yesterday, and I'm not afraid of them tomorrow, and I'm not afraid of them today.
I'm not afraid of anybody.
Yeah, I bet you're real glad that stone Cole, Steve Austin injured, Psycho sids leg Aren't you hot up?
Lawler?
Ha?
Ha?
I do love I love that the that the Lawler Brett hartfeud is still going on.
Good Get the Laptrong Wrestling Podcast, the wrestling podcast that knows the boys need their candy. It's the Lapsed Fan. He's The Lapsed Fan Wrestling Podcast with Jack and Carnacio and JP sorrow.
Four years later.
They can't stand the sound of each other going on. Huh, they can't stand the sound of each other's voice.
Yeah, like like the fact that you know, even even he I don't think even Brett would be that rude to any other heel commentator. But shut up, Lawler. So awesome.
Yeah, that's that was a good promo from Brett because he you know, he wasn't fully whiny yet he was whining, but that was like, yes, that's kind of what you would expect a respectable babyface to say about the predicament he was in. Yeah, I agree, he's not He's not you know, crying foul quite yet. He's not talking about
how everything's corrupted. He's just trying to He's trying to countenance it as somebody that has, you know, dignity even when under fire, and of course that would crack as nineteen ninety seven continue.
Did he say he get after the Royalm thing? Did he say gets screwed? Is that when he did he coim that? Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, he talked about it a lot. I remember if he used the word screwed or not. I think he did actually because.
I remember I remember him. I remember him starting to use the word screwed in early ninety seven. Yeah, I remember when exactly, but I do remember him saying he gets screwed a lot.
I guess there's new law the World Wrestling Federation. Scratch my back and I'll stab yours.
Welcome the fucking real world, Brett. It comes Rocky from the South Pacific to reaction the Rocky the South Pacific wonder glad they didn't use that one, The South Pacific wonder Rocky might via I'm surprised they didn't use that.
One, the South Pacific wonder why he's on the roster.
Yeah, exactly, there it is.
He's out there with a strap, glad handing ja Or says he's a fine young man. A blue chipper, no doubt about it.
Oh my god, the blue chipper comment. Shut the fuck up.
Yeah, when I'm on the plane, I always prefer the regular chips. Yeah, blue tortillas or so had just become the champion. Back when they actually looked back to this bad as I noted, this is back when rock actually looked Polynesian, before all the work made it look like some some Germanic.
Like you know, it looked like a fucking you know, just a piece of rock. Yeah, like a fucking like something fucking chisel out of stone on the marble as he is now, like he's not he's not human at all. It's not his skin, it's just covering. It's it's like it's like for a sausages casing speaking of a German chasing around his giant fucking physique. I mean, if he.
Didn't have those tribal tattoos, like if he still was like tattoo free, the guy would not even look some owen to me.
He was, oh, not at all, No, not at all, No, he looked. No, he does not look simone at all. He looks I mean he's got because you think about like you look at him here, he's had that fucking baby.
Fat face and he hadn't had the bitch yet, so he still yeah.
Yeah, and then he waves his hands like a goof when he fucking does a baby face move.
And the hair, oh god, that hair man, what was he thinking?
I would love, you know what, I would love for Rock to grow his hair out. I probably can at this point, but I would love Rock now to grow his hair out like it was. Can you imagine, like you know, you go see a movie and there he is with that fucking hair like that. I would kill looking for it, if I mean, it would ruin his career. I think Duwaye Johnson needs to go as Rocky my Va for Halloween. I think so too.
So Okay, I don't know what I wrote. I know you want me, Oh say Sonny, Okay.
Oh, here comes Sonny, Here comes Sonny. Yep. Sonny is the guest timekeeper. And guess what if Sonny's coming down? Even in ninety even in early ninety seven, King is going after her tits.
Hot center before. I don't know what the seven wonders of the world are, but Sonny's got too.
I'm a beautiful such a fucking king. Why don't should talk about her tits? Talk about her? Say there, say their natural cair shot King, Say they're natural wonders of the world, and say how much you want to put your face in them? Call them luscious, call them luscious, call them luscious. Uh uh sensuous memory, Oh my god, compliment on her luscious sensuous memory. Glands glandular activity like worry my glandular base glands.
I thought it was about brands. Okay, the gland extension. That was the first personal amusement that wasn't for the roster.
We've got the Raw Land and the smack tone Gland.
This is them trying to figure out what to do with Sonny after the Faruk headgear thing didn't work out, by the way, which is nothing.
There's no idea I think about what Sonny was like, Sonny was nothing. She didn't wrestle. She was just an attraction if.
Somebody kept around for photo shoots, honestly, like because yeah, a magazine photo spread.
Sure she'd make weekly appearances on Raw, but like she wouldn't she like go out like do commentary or do like this ring announcing like she would. She did nothing. She didn't manage anybody again until the Legion of Doom. But it is kind of a map. That was great. Yeah, well that was a ninety eight.
Yeah, but that was a peak of this peak of the attitude era in that like they're just like, Okay, she's hot, put her on TV, whereas before, yeah, she was always hot, but it was like she's got to be a manager, she's got to be involved in a tag team program, she's got to have a wrestler that she's involved with. Or something or a program. But here they're just putting her out there, you know, yeah, Willie Nilly. They're just like, show her.
That was the Yeah, yeah, exactly, that's kind of what it was. So what yeah think?
Introduces her the One and Only Sonny. She comes out in a pink dress with a white boa lallor perving.
As you mentioned. She throws the boa around.
Rocky's neck and he just looks at her like she disgusts him really kind of a kind of a heel reaction to her a bit.
But I know it's kind of a dick move too, like what was he doing that for?
And then suddenly they show her backstage shooting a feature for Entertainment Tonight, actually on being the Queen of Cyberspace, the most downloaded celebrity, nail or his history.
The most downloaded celebrity. That's that's the term they use. That's wild. Did you ever look at like, so what does that mean? Actually? I don't notice him what that meant, like downloaded celebrity?
I think what they what they mean by that? And if I'm remembering how the AOL interface used to work, you know, if you downloaded a picture, you had to go into like you didn't look at a website. You had to go into like a like a server room almost, and like it was like a master list. There wasn't even thumbnails, Like you just had to kind of guess what the picture was going to be by reading the text description of it.
Wow, and then you would.
I think, what's key is that it it wasn't like it wasn't like the WWF pictures were in like a discrete kind of room. I thought they were all congealed together. But the interface looked the same if you were downloading a WWF picture or a NBA picture or anything like that.
So I think they actually used to just keep track of like how many downloads each picture got on AOL, and it was it was easy for them to do that because you couldn't I think what I'm trying to say is you couldn't view a picture without downloading it. Does that make sense?
Yeah? Yeah sure.
And so when you hear most downloaded, you're like, well, what about like, are you really like view it measuring how many times someone laid their eyes on this picture.
Of son right? Right? I mean, well, you know, I mean, I yeah, it was such a weird. I didn't really know what that meant at the time, even I mean I still don't know what it means. Like it just it doesn't make any sense. It's a weird I mean, I'm sure the terminologies is different than what it was, but it's like, like, again, what do people do take like take the pictures? Do they?
Did?
They keep them for themselves?
Yeah, you would just download it to your hard drive and if they were revealing enough, it would be a really hard drive. But yeh, that's how you did it, man. Like I said, you couldn't really view there were images that would kind of be embedded in like the keyword, a keyword WWF landing page. Yeah, but before most people thought of the Internet is the World Wide Web and thought more of it as the AOL design environment. Like you just if you wanted to view pictures, you had
to go into a room and download it. You couldn't just look at them otherwise. I just went on your computer and then you could open it right and it took minutes download a single image. It wasn't like instantaneous. I think that that's kind of what it was. Even if you designed a website to just display one hundred images like we have today, it would take an hour to load it, so it didn't even make sense to
design your website that way. But if people wanted to see pictures as they wanted to do, when they would type in a company's keyword, you would send them to the picture room. Then they would download the pictures. It's so weird to think about now, man, it's so fucking weird.
Souse.
I can remember it. And the thing is not only that I remember. I remember thinking it was the coolest fucking thing in the world. I remember, being, of course so enticed, like, oh my god, I get pictures of these wrestlers, and I had a collection of wrestlers holding title belts. I remember like, if anyone ever had a belt, I wanted a picture them with the belt. I was like obsessed with that, using like different software to capture
images and things that that would have come across. And yeah, the etpiece they're talking about, uh, and they show her looking over some of the picture she took in the photo shoot actually aired on Entertainment Tonight. And if you want to get an idea how Sunny was presented at the time, here you go. This is the piece as it aired on ET back then.
Okay, okay, gang, forget the pins. The fans of pro wrestling want to pin up. They call her Sonny, and she is quickly rising through the ranks of the ring.
Oh.
One word crazy.
You've got to be crazy to do.
What I'm doing.
When you think of the backbreaking, bone crushing world of professional wrestling, these guys usually leap to mind. But wrestling's brightest star is only five to six and weighs one hundred and twenty pounds.
Ryan.
People who can't get over restless, look at me, here's a better you.
She's known as Sonny, and she's winning over fans as the World Wrestling Federation sexy color commentator.
Unbelievable man on a mission.
Absolutely, some people tell me they love me, some people tell me they hate me.
They want to want me to have their told her and everything.
When New York's Penn Station was taken over for a live wrestling match, Sonny was there to get pulses racing.
Take to get out there and do your thing and have them tant your name.
It's a pretty wild rush.
You can even find Sonny on the internet. These sexy shots have made her the most downloaded, thin up girl in history.
Hey, tee.
Here we are with an exclusive photo suit just for you who are at one point five million downloads.
And hopefully this sheep will make it too mean. Hey watch that angle, buddy.
And as this blonde bombshell continues to dazzle her fans, you can bet there will be more sunny days ahead.
I'm having a good tire, you.
Well believe it or not. Working in the wrestling ring was not Sonny's original dream when she was just a budding little sunbeam.
She wanted to be a doctor, a budding little sunbeam. Yes, nineties, that presentation, it ends the music, the whole fucking thing. They called her the biggest star in wrestling. I hope Sean didn't hear that a little late.
You know, it's like in ninety six, you know, she was a phenomenon, but by now it's kind of like, what's she doing here?
Yeah, it wasn't as good. I agree.
She's kind of like running on the fumes of all that ninety six buzz that she had. You know, one point two one point four million pictures downloaded. I wonder what was I wonder what use those pictures were put to? You know, that's what That's something I always wanted, of course.
I mean, well I know exactly what they were put too, just the sound.
Of oh my god, many packard bells stained. Oh as a result, you know it. I mean, that's what they're saying. They're saying. What they're saying is one point four million people masturbated.
To Susy exactly what it was, which is crazy dial up speeds. You know, man, it was a time. It was a time.
And to think where she ended up, you know, all this titillation. Oh my god, I know she ends up, you know, getting absolutely blitzed on camera in the throes of you know, a tough spot, I mean the gravelly voice, tough spot.
And now she's in prison. I mean, what the fuck is going on?
What is such as Lawler says he'll see her in his dreams, and she'll probably see you Jr.
In her dreams if she eats too much.
Okay, she rings the bell, I swear to god, she rings it.
Ding ding ding, ring the fucking bell.
Rocky versus Leaf Cassidy.
Here As j R.
Gives the third generation history lesson, which is of course obligatory.
Back then for rock what's that a main event? Nowhere?
Yeah, that one calls Rocky the luckiest kid on Earth.
Rock with the rock right hands you know those go oh, I know, I fucking you you want you you? The right hand goes way back, yep, the front arm goes way forward so much. Yeah, and then like he's also gonna have his legs like yep, his feet have gotta be further than his shoulders apart. And then just fucking throw its soe like he's thrown in football. Really is what it is?
Yeah, Yeah, it's take a football stance and he doesn't spit on his hand yet to finish the thing off.
No, no, I mean also it's not nearly as clean as that would be to become too. It's just this weird, sloppy, stupid thing that he does.
Right.
It's actually punctuated with the clothes line out of the ring leaf. Cassidy hits the floor leaf then flips it over a rock drop down, but Rocky with a crossbody in an arm draggedcounter cut a Triple H watching in the split screen on the back. He's asked his thoughts on the new Winter Continental Champion, and Triple H says he's nothing but the luckiest punk in the world. You couldn't beat me again in a million years. Fascinating considering where these two would go. I know right he said
gold dust got the better of him last night. Because of gold dust, he tripped over towards there. I think a bit lightest.
Did I get this? I did? I did? I did take this one here. Listen to game talk.
My thoughts on Rocky Maya Beer. He's nothing but the monkeyest punk in the world. Monkey is Rocky Maya be you beating me, You couldn't beat me again in.
A million years. And now my focus is set on you and what I want. I get Rocky Maya Beer. You have my intercontinental title and I'm coming after you. And Hunter Hers Townsman always get he wants.
Say that again.
It's yeah, I'll say, Lightest, go Rocky go chant you've ever heard here in the building, And Leif has came no shit out of Rocky For a minute, Lawler compares Rocky to Tiger Woods, who apparently had just lost some big golf match that past weekend. Signed behind Jay and Lawler reads e c W rules and oh yeah, and this is Nashville.
I don't think that's it, and King takes that for a yeah, uh uh, you know it takes that sign and sees it and does this shit on it.
It's nineteen ninety seven for sure. And this being Nashville as opposed to Philly. Something tells me that sign is exactly organically placed. There probably some strategic sign making there from the company. And yeah, they're talking about rogging back to the Manhattan Center, which of course is where it
all started. And then they plug the Berlin show. There's some serendipity as we were rolling into the Berlin pay per view as we started this thing, Go Rocky Go Chance from two rather suss fans in the front row in Sean Michael's T shirts. I don't I'm not entirely. I know you got to leave open the possibility. Leaf works the arm for days on Rocky. What are they noting this on television?
I mean right like.
They still hadn't worked this part of it out of their system where it's like, Okay, we can do crazy stuff, but we gotta.
Slow it down.
After that, we got to get people right back down to like, you know, some hammer locks and it's like why, like why do you have to do that? And they were still doing it here. That's the kind of the things Vince Russo would be most frustrated about. I mean when he took it, when he got full reins, matches were fucking two and a half.
I know, they were so short.
Guys hit the ropes like six times in a minute. You know, they just hit the ropes over and over again. It's all they had time for. Jared says, it's all about the tension on the elbow joint, so that makes.
It more interesting. I suppose, Well, thanks Jr.
They literally split screen the whole time because the match is so boring to show Sonny's cleavage to keep people interested, and that's kind of what they would do. They were like, Okay, now we got to have a match, because this has to be a wrestling show. It's going to get us through a couple of segs. But what we'll do is we'll split screen and cut away all kinds of other titillation during the course of it, be at backstage interviews, be it women.
That's that's how they would do it.
And you see that really you see that strategy really start to come into relief on this show. I feel like it's like every time the action slows down, they've got something to show you.
Commensurate with it.
So a leaf clamp's top rope, Rocky cuts them off and kind of gives them the work flair toss off the top rope. They cut to Lawler jaw jacking another example, right, you got Lawler yep engaged with the ECW fanholder sign holders during the course of this match. They cut away to that the rock they called on the rock doesn't he on commentary, he does.
I don't even I didn't even hear that, he says, I don't hear that one at all.
And then he goes up top. The rock goes upstairs and uh, he hits a huge cross body and he bounces up before one.
I know, the fucking the fucking crossbody. That's that's his. Uh you know, that's his, that's his that's like his go to move at this time.
Well, that's what kind of weird about it, because he hits it perfectly and he doesn't cover him. He just gets up Like that move is like devastating as opposed to like a Penning predicament move.
I mean, especially given a guy he said, well, he was like what two sixty at this point, Yeah, and he took flight. Yeah, you know, he was huge. I mean it was part of the whole.
It was fucking great when he did it wrestle, meaning against John Cena. When he came back. I yeah, it's huge. That was such a good idea to bring that one back.
Uh.
And then after that he has to do his actual finisher, which is that whack ass shoulder breaker he used to do.
I mean, come on, what do you do? What a dumb ass move? What you don't you know?
Paw?
You know what I think is really the movie you should do. I mean, I know you can do this high flying stuff, and that's great for a guy your size. I think that's great. It's a nice you know. What that is is kind of the special attraction about you. But when you come down to it, you've got to have a real grounded move base. And what I think you should do as as a as a finishing maneuver is I think the nerve hold. You got some nerve hold.
You know, you can call it. We can call it the the Samoan squeeze or something, the uh, the the the Samoan power sucker or something.
The Rocky my Via just realized his family's lifelong dream. He's become wif champion to wrestle me, and you're using the Samoan power sucker. That's a wrestling maybe a moment.
He just puts the nerve hold on somebody and the guy Samoan it's a stronger hold, right, so you know you can order. There's see these Samoan submission maneuvers.
So yeah, the shoulder breaker is good for the one two three. Rocky might via pens leave Cassidy here. On the February seventeenth, nineteen ninety seven edition of Monday Night Raw Sunny rings the ball and holds up a Sonny for President's sign. YEP, good for her, I vote for Dwayne Johnson would hold up a Rocky for President signed some years later, cut T Lawlor on the sign.
Boy, here we go. Listen to this, listen and go.
I want to take just a second here because that you saw Sonny there, you get.
You got some kids, you got some people in the stands with all of these signs and everything, and I.
Get I get every Let me tell.
You, oh yeah, you think for one.
Minute anybody knows anything about these w Do you ever know what he CW is.
Ross I guarantee ninety nine percent of the people in the world have never heard of dc W WE do.
Let me tell you no, I'm just hang on a second.
Did you ever see that movie Escape from New York HU, where Manhattan Islands was turned into a like a prison, a place where a bunch of thugs and misfits.
Well, that's what ECW is. It's just a place where a bunch of misfits and.
A bunch of hatspins who couldn't think.
It in the WW had migrated you and it's up. It's Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And every week I'm sick and tired of idiots like this coming and waving signs in my face and waving them on this TV show.
I'm sick coming. Well you know what, Well, I'm not taking out on you.
I'm telling everybody, Hey, I in a friend of mine go to a w c W match down in my hometown of Memphis.
He trying to take in a sign that said Jerry.
Lower on it.
Thank took it away from me.
Well, we don't leave.
A freedom means you.
Believe in freedom of speech, but I don't.
I think this duff in the front of crap awesome. He was good at that. He was He was very good at that he's.
A rapt wrestling podcast, the wrestling podcast that knows the boys need their candy. It's the Lapsed Fan. He's the Lapsed Fan Wrestling podcast with Jack and Carnacio, m JP Soro.
And then he he challenges him and he says, yeah, come on down, let's see if you got anything. I think you're a bunch of goofs. And next week show us what you got. So that's the plug for the show. We mentioned that famous ECW invasion Raw We take a Break, We come back. Goldust music is playing and they inform us that last night at Final four in the pay per view, Marlena was attacked by a fan who is that fan boy.
China Yes Yea.
During the course of the match with Triple Ah and gold Dust, Marlena kind of wandered over to the edge of the guardrail and that's when China rises up from the front row and a muscle shirt and just starts choking the life out of her. And that was in fact the WWF fans int introduction to China, and they show gold Dust getting distract. There was actually Goldlest versus Rocky.
I think it was Goldiest versus Rocky that this happened during and Rocky German suplex is triple H. Maybe it's maybe it's Rocky versus Triple H. I don't fucking know. But Rocky does a German suplex and it's hilarious.
That's all I mark it.
I know.
Kevin Kelly's in the ring with Goldust and Marlena Goldust drops to drops to a knee and calls her mom. And Goldust as everyone knows, I'm from the hills of Hollywood. But this is not the hills of Hollywood, is it? This is reality here?
I got this one too for you. This, this is a this is a yeah, this is interesting.
This is reality, hung Goldust, who wants to tell him?
Here we go.
I think there's a lot I need to clear up tonight. From the beginning, from the very first premiere of gold Dust to Nina, there's been speculation.
Such passionate your voice too by the great promo.
And a whole lot of question about gold dust masculinity, yeah, and about his manhood for lack of Granted, we play a.
Lot of games, but tell me more, please right what coming games you play?
What?
What?
Let me go on record right now and say that from his precious golden head to his golden feet.
He is all man because of course if he was gay, he'd be a heel.
Well, and what makes him all man is he fucks the shit out of her. That's what we're supposed to.
Yeah, she sounds like she.
Knows from experience, and Hunter Hurst Helmsley, he is more of a man than you will ever.
Ever be me.
And you take that out of context, it sounds like she's saying Hunter Hers Helmsley is more of a man than gold Dust ever will be.
It's very true.
Actually, if you just cut that one little bart out, you know. And she blows cigar smoke and she blows dustin as well around him. And here's Triple H. He's pointing at gold Dust. If I want her, I'll take her. God, all this takes off the way Triple H throws water at his face and Triple H gets on him and beats his ass, and pedigrees who are already starting to learn how things work around you.
He's already paid on listen listen right you know? Uh, this is this is the this is the future right here. Okay, this is what we have.
Yeah, I kind of the soft launch of the triple H dominates fucking motif.
You ever did he do that to uh gold Dust like in two thousand and two? Did he do that too?
I think he had his Yeah, I think he got his hands on him during that Reign of Terror. Yeah maybe three remember yep. And so he lays him out with the pedigree and Marlena slaps him to a pop and then you know a time it is China and slips into the ring and there's that woman again, that Amazon and this is the famous thing where she grabs her by in the waist like in a wastelock and rag dolls her.
Yeah. Here I got this one too.
Here there's a moment again, huge moment, Helena secular.
And squeeze a whole light a little more Lena.
There.
That's the same moment that was a tip the last night, protacking more Lena.
Her over.
She may have just busted up Marlena's rips. Just squeezing the life Lena's a huge moment.
And amos on the woman attacking mar Lena for the second time in twenty four hours.
Who is this?
Who is this person?
That's the question?
Yeah, that she did a great job, Marlena did taking that rag doll thing.
Oh oh yeah, oh god, how how look I don't even know how the fuck she did what she did. It's so crazy how she how she just like flails around like and makes it look like she's getting murdered.
Yeah, she just thrashes about in the way she uses her long hair. She's like floating almost to her feet are not touching the ground, and she's being like manipulated at the waist, tilting left to right and just thrashing left to her She's like a yep, Elizabeth whatever in us in a Showgirls in the pool?
Oh my god, Elizabeth by Berkeley. Yes, yeah, it's getting fucking dominated by was it? I mean, not even dominated, she's dominated. Oh yeah.
Uh Kyle McLaughlin, she gets him in the pool and she gets exactly what she came for, basically exactly what we all what she needed, what we all need.
Great scene.
Yeah, and uh here Martolena going for a different kind of ride and gets laid out. And she was, you know, obviously so petite and so like, Oh my god, the size differential was such a great visual, such a great idea.
Oh you do this. She's so tiny, especially you know, compared to to China.
Absolutely, And you know, I don't know surprisingly little set about this, like it's not called out in the book or anything.
China did.
Uh.
Marlena did once to do a sit down and interview I think it was for a video with Tommy Dreamer, and she did say that she couldn't move the next day after doing this thing, but asked for that she wanted that she she would. She talked about how like when China came in, I'm like, please make it look good, like she wanted to do things on television that looked real, and even if that came, it a a bit of personal expense to herself.
So she definitely was sore the next day from this one.
But yeah, I'm sure they keep calling her that Amazon, which is the same thing I said when electric delivery truck whirs down my street for the sixth time in the afternoon. So then the head Bangers now on their way to the ring. And who are they facing, unbelievable the Hardys. Yes, as a team as the Hardy Boys.
As as if I didn't need to suffer enough here.
SIS air traffic controller is needed to monitor this matchup as the head head Banger is about to embark on pretty much the biggest push they would get. They'd win the Belts at rust May thirteen, right in that fatal four way.
No, they win a shot at the belts. Shot at the Belts. Yeah, they wouldn't win the Belts. They win the Belts later.
They're facing off against the Heart when they win, they know they wanted a later.
I don't remember when they wanted because it was Bulldog and Owen until Austin and Michaels beat them. Then they were up for grabs. Never won them. They did win them. I know they did win them. I think it was in the fall, uncomfortable because I feel like they get round zero. Maybe they did a ground they had a very short rain. But I do remember that the that them winning it actually got me into them for a moment. Sure, like it actually sparked interests.
Yeah, they were over. They weren't the ships at all.
They kind of were. But you know, I do remember, Yeah, I remember that being a thing.
I remember their finisher, the power bomb leg Drop Combo thought that was pretty cool. Chazz power bombs.
Yeah, I like that.
I like that too, so Jeff, it's a great flying clothesline to get the match started. I remember them as individual jobbers on Raw the Hardy's, but as a tag team not so much before the It's pretty wild. The push with Michael Hayes split screen for Roop backstage watching on interesting. When they did the split screen must have been when matches were happening exclusively, because they they do the split screen much longer after this, says, I finish everything I start and with.
I'm mad.
He comes out here saying that he's gonna do this and this for his people. He's he's a big front. He says, if I met Johnson living in the high rise penthouse over Houston, driving two cars, three bedrooms, I'll tell you what the streets is like. Two roomhouse, seven kids having a rewash underwear each day.
Sir, they got this one, O you, that's weird. I got this one too. This is just so fucking ridiculous, especially when there's a match going on. Eight you know, just don't do the match.
He's timing. He knows what the streets is like. I'll tell you what the streets is like. The streets is like being raised up in a two room house with seven kids, having to rewash on there each day, just to have something to wear to school. They're having two miles to walk to test the buffs. All right, let me tell you something you've got an advantage over. But everyone on earth, see, you don't have to die and go to Hell.
You're in it, naw. And I'm the temple and here.
Oh my demon's right here. And when I get you in that room, it's Chicago. I'll tell you what we do. Let's just make this a Chicago street fight. Why so, everyone in the world, what the streets that's really like? Because you're looking at that table right by any means, nes.
A sery there it is that would happen, of course against l O D and Ahmed at WrestleMania. The Chicago street fight where they actually used the kitchen sink?
Do they do?
That was the key thing right there, They used the kitchen sink by any means.
Jared's's Chicago street fights are so well talk about violent. And then back in the ring, Marsh with a springboard clothesline over the ropes, takes out Matt on the apron. They say, the w FA Championships up next, like it's an announcement, like it's uh uh, like it wasn't expected to happen inter news, it's news, yep.
I guess.
I wonder if they were monitoring Nitro to decide one exactly to put well ahead had to put sid and Bread back out there. I mean they did the top of the hours are probably not but.
I think yeah, I was gonna say, I don't think so. They definite did it at the top of the hour, and that was that was key.
They wait a while before saying when you can see it. They don't say like right away, which makes sense. They don't say it right away, like at the top of the hour, We're going to do this, because then the next forty five minutes would be kind of lame duck. So they just like leave it unset as to when
the match might happen. And then they springing on you right here, and Jay says, I guess they are disciples of that lady Marilyn Manson, that is to say, the Headbangers, So of course we're supposed to be a play on Marilyn Manson's.
Popularity at the time. Sure, sure, I guess.
Jeff Hardy gets a hot tag dropkick kills. He gets killed with a clothes line dropped directly on his head as he tries to backflip to sell. Jeff Hardy arrives in the building and decides, you know, if I'm going to be worth a shit, I need to almost die out there, and thus begins a long and fruitful career.
No I I.
I wish they edited it right there.
Our bomb and leg drop combination, as aforementioned by the Headbangers, gets the one two three over the Hardy's here on the February seventeenth, nineteen ninety seven edition of Raw, JR. Says they're only going to find that kind of impact right here in the WWF. So a little shot there ww which had plenty of impact.
By the way, well impact wasn't even around then.
Yeah, Jeff would thrive an impact as a matter of fact, true exactly, he listened, he was modest to the top.
Mash spits and catches it in his mouth. So there's that.
But what's more important sit his backstage, warming up, swinging at God knows what come on? He is, Yes, he is, he's ready, shadow boxing is only he can hit?
What is wrong with him?
Looking for the chance? New Nashville Arena here brought to you by TwixT cookie bars. Two for me, none for you you remember that slogan, Yes, I do so good, I do remember that one look for it. Look for the US Army hyper link on the w w F A O L site.
They say tremendous. I mean, it's it's, it's it's. It is funny seeing them speak about the Internet and they have no fucking idea what the Internet is really exactly.
You know, if the Army's willing to pay us, it's fucking great. But wrestling is always you know, that is such a shoot, that wrestling is always a year or two ahead of where technology is going. Yeah, like they're the first to try technology because they're just trying anything they can to get, you know, something going.
That feels innovative.
Pay per view over the top streaming network. Of course this DVDs. They're way out in front of DVDs. Yeah, so Sid's music hits and.
Here he comes, here he comes. H Is it going to happen? I don't know.
Water's flying again. Fist bumps are happening, Jr. Says bread hard as a man's man, not intimidated by the six nine and thirteen pounds monster, Jerr reminds us for the second time tonight that it reminds us that this is the second time tonight that we've tried to get this spout underway. Sid with his baby face shirt, says, rule the World. I'm sure that would sell with thirty bucks today. Use actually three hundred, I should say.
I'm sure, say myself are way more.
Yeah, they come back to earlier the night and show you what happened to Sid and uh Brett's music.
Kids.
He steps out of the locker room, or at least they cut to the back. You expect to see him come to the curtain, but they cut to the back.
They're doing the Goldberg Walk, yep, and for good reason, good reason. What's that here? We got for good reason or good reason?
But great minds thinking like on that phrase backstage with the tile that there's tile everywhere is just like a totally underdone backstage area. Brett looking burdened and stressed as he makes the walk, and as he turns the corner back backstage near where they had Gorilla set up to go to the ring. Steve Austin real.
Hardest ruddy for war, no doubt about it. And that's exactly what it's gonna be.
Fight.
Oh god, oh my god, Hard tacking the tap of talking, the taping right here, knocking.
It's sit back, it's gonna said, they're trying to separate these guys.
Put the hands in there too.
Nord said, what's this tunnel man?
Who?
It is absolutely knotic. Here, my gosh, how back there?
Wrong?
You stay here? What alway?
Starting all the way? We'll be like that.
Wow chaos. Oh, I love it. I love it. It's so great. It's so exciting, like there just was so much happening you couldn't you know. It's it's the it's very ironic that that nobody was watching and that they were all watching w CW, because what is happening here is so goddamn exciting and off the chain that it's like, it's really they they're they're just it's it's the classic thing where what's cool becomes what you want to watch versus you know, what actually is.
Good, and if there's something demonstrably more entertaining, like yeah, you would rather be you rather not miss what everybody's watching, then watch something more well made at the time, So and for what it's worth, And I don't remember that next week, but apparently Nitro bounces back in a big way and has a phenomenal show the next week. So maybe they're feeling a bit of the sting of what you're talking about.
Maybe maybe they aren't, because like it's it's really.
I mean ww it puts a show on like this, it's like, okay, like they're really going to try to win the ratings here, like we have to actually have a good show.
We can't just coast. I mean, it is, it is kind of you know. The the one from it did kind of hit me was that there is some desperation here because they're really focusing on, you know, the same two people, the same three people the whole show versus w CW, which has such a massive roster that you know, there's no there's no challenge in them anyway, you know. But at the same time, a more focused show is better. Yes, yeah, they could take it every way. They could use less
people on roster. A w's hurt good, Yes, so I get your point.
So Austin, they're blindsiding him, And yes that is Vince you heard in there at some point, stop at stop it, god dammit. So Vince is getting physically involved in angles here, as well as a lot of the other agents and Gorilla.
Man, it was so dressed down. Then it's just like a table face on the wall. It's yep.
There's no big, you know, elaborate lit room with the monitors and everything like they have now and they show all the time on TV. So uh yeah, Sid gets back there and tries to break it up to preserve as title match, and they're all swinging there. Sid is actually swinging over Vince's back. Vince actually comes close to
a few story bullets here. Yes, they go and they go and they go, and you know, you can you get this sense that well they're yeah, they're trying to break up the fight, but they're also trying to preserve the main event. Like all these WB officials, yes, are doing this because there's money on the line, not just because they don't want to see a fight happen.
Yeah, there's still there's a lot. You know, you don't want to, you don't want to, uh, you know, just let it. You gotta be careful, you gotta be very careful with this fucking thing, because this is the main event, this is the champion, this is the number one contender. You can't, you know, you can't just like take them down and knock them unconscious, you know.
Right exactly, these are cash cows here, and Sid is reaching like a total psycho, clawing over the referees backs. So we're trying to break this thing up. He's got a real tapped look in his face. I'm sure he went I'm sure he went back. Is it regards nineteen ninety three and side.
Ah, So it's it's wild.
All this is happening. Austin and Bred are still entangled. So yeah, don't don't under sell Sid's role in the legendary Brett Austin early days.
Yeah, he's crucial here.
He's yeah, he's like somebody that gets over indirectly, how intensely these two hate each other because he's out there trying to chase money and glory and fame, and he's he's like the bystander while these two can't stay out of each other's way, and he's in there in the way. He's like intensely having to engage with their intensity kind
of ratches it up. You know, he's not just standing there almost laughing at them or pat It's like, you know, he's in the mix and they're not stopping, they're not afraid, they're not backing down, and Sid brings a credibility to a street fight.
You know he does. I mean just his size and the way he throws shit. You know, it is very true. He does make a fight, you know, seem more intense, even though you know what he does in a fight is complete garbage.
And you realize going back at it, like we're doing, like, yeah, Austin was attacking Brett first and foremost, but Austin attacks Sid. You know, Brett attacks Sid. It's not it's not like Sid is a.
It's not a cut and dry, black and white situation. It's like, you know, there's there, you know, there are shades of gray, and then I see Pritchard in there. It's it's it's it's all kinds of of characters. They're breaking this thing up. They take a break, they come back, they replay the attack Steve Austin had perpetrated. And Kevin Kelly is now with Grilla Monsoon, who was still WW
president at the time. Yes he was, he's not, he's he's actually full president, right, he's not in interim president. I don't remember when that happened where they finally declared him. I don't know either to be the full the full champiost Jack Toney, did you have this or should I read it off? I don't have this one.
Yeah.
He just talks about however since the Brumble, Steve Austin's really had a vendetta and he's this close after tonight going over the edge. We're not like other people, he and of course referring to w c W, he says, we don't tease you with stuff and not deliver.
So therefore, what are they referring to that time? Just how you know, Nitro would.
Say in the main event, we'll have a big match and then it would go thirty seconds and someone wouldrun in and you wouldn't get the match. Oh okay, So they're like saying, you know, we're not like them. Even though there's a million reasons to cancel the Sid Brett match, We're still going to do it. So it's kind of to baby Face, not only Gorilla, but the company. And Gorilla says, we promised you a defense and that's exactly
what we're going to have. I guarantee it, and so much urgency, so live the way they did it, Like, yeah, you have to immediately seek an opinion from Gorilla he doesn't come to the ring two segments later to his entrance music. You know, they chase him down backstage. That's how it right to be done. That's I agree. I mean, you know, not everyone needs to have an entrance like you can. You can just let things happen, let things be. Yes, that's you know, it's it's it's realer that way so.
Much, you know.
Yeah, and when you see you now, they put a little graphic on during raw that shows the announced team and their pictures. It's like a commentator, commentator, reporter, and ring announcer. So they consider the person backstage holding the stick a reporter, not just somebody that interviews people, but someone that's like chasing down who to interview, and and so in that in that sense, these people should be getting comment from the top executives.
You know, that should be their job, right they shouldn't. Yeah, exactly, So Flash.
Funk hits the ring. In case you were getting too excited there, JR. Calls out the explosive new generation here in the w w F. There's the Funk Cats. I dared define those two ladies today.
I know, I was actually wondering who they were. Were they up to yep.
I'd love to love to know what a song they came up with for this fucking flash funk gimmick. Oh my god, flash, he's so funk flash of bad funk, some bad. So we all sit around and while he dances under these lights, and of course it's always music.
Yeah, and uh.
Ded Dean d.
De Beanie meanie deep bean be deep be sounds good to me. Man.
Yeah, I know, I'm fine, I'm comfortable here. I loved his high energy theme. Oh yeah, you know, that was so great. I like that he had it.
I really hated it when he changed it to the you know when it was the first the the the police siren, the international police siren. Right, no, no, no, no, no out working No, this one was great. It should not have ever changed em.
And bulldogs still have the tax straps from Buried Alive when they want it from the smoking guns as we talked about.
That's right.
Yes, Clarence Mason, which is odd since Clarence was also in the Nation of Domination earlier.
Yes, he's got quite a I mean that is interesting because like they don't actually, you know, he's got this whole extended stable but nothing really, but they don't like the Bulldog and Owen don't commune with the Nation at all.
No, I mean Clarence Mason came in as the lawyer for Camp Cornett, which was Vader, Owen and Bulldog, and so that's kind of why I'm still there. But then the Nation comes along and they think Clarence will make a nice fit for that group, and they don't bother to kind of reconcile the two. He just comes out separately. I mean, Owen of course eventually would join the Nation, But I don't think they really had anything to do with Clarence Mason necessarily.
No, I mean he was long gone by that point.
Anyway, I don't think the idea came from a while. We have Clarence, of both of these guys, we got to figure this out. So Jair informs us that Marlena was coughing up blood backstage as a result of the attack from China, and she'll be going to a Nashville hospital.
Later.
Jerris says that the lady who attacked Marlena, and then Lawler cuts him off immediately and says, give me a break, that's not a lady. Jared says, I'm not going to go there, they talk a little bit more about it. They talk about rumbl a month ago and how Owen had purposely eliminated his tag team championship Parkner the British Bulldog from the Rumble match, and then tried to wave it on stone Cold. And last night they show Lafun in Furnace wrestling Owen and Bulldog and Owen accidentally quote
unquote kicked Bulldogs. So they're starting to build tension in the ranks. They didn't consummate that breakup, but they are. They are kind of looking ahead to you know that the European Title tournament final will be between the two, right funk first Owen and they were and weren't they going in that direction until the brett Heel turn.
Yeah, yeah, it was. Yeah.
I think eventually Austin feuding with Bulldog would have had something to do with Owen uh costing Bulldog to match or turning on them or something, and then they would have gone Bulldog Owen, I think, and they ended up changing.
Hu Man, I mean, Jesus, I would have been so great for Steve Austin.
Yeah, I know, I know that would have been different, I know, And instead we get Bulldog and Owen versus Vader and Mankind at WrestleMania.
What a weird match that was?
That was?
That was so fucking weird too. I don't think i'd ever see I mean, I guess we saw it buried alive, but like two heel tag teams, and but I mean especially because the Mankind and Vader one was such a fucking like, what a weird pairing.
Yeah, they had nothing to do with each other and their hired WWA fronts and then all of a sudden they're.
Well, they were both managed by Paul Barr at the time. I don't know how the fuck Vader became got involved with Paul BarreR instead of Cornette. I don't know where that fucking happened.
But didn't didn't Paul Barr come out en route to Undertaker losing to Vader at Royal Rumble. Didn't he come out and hit Vader and hit Undertaker? And that's where I realized he was aligning with Vader. Maybe there was something like that because Vader had you know, he'd never really formally left Camp Cornet, but Camp Cornett kind of fell at heart. Cornett became just a TV announcer then I.
Mean, and then he really wasn't even on TV for a while.
Absolutely, let's slash Funk for someone heart. Lots of kip ups early, as you can imagine with these two in the ring. They got a slammy on the ring steps who already won his Slammy Award. They get an over the shoulder shot of the trophy Funk proving too quick for Owen in the early going. And no one still goes woo during a stalemate like he somehow triumphed even though flash Funk totally got the better of it.
There is nothing fucking better than that. That is that is key. That is fucking prime Owen Hart right, that's actually correct.
No one, no one picked a better moment to celebrate undeservedly than he.
Oh, he was so fucking brilliant at that.
It just looks so I'm gonna say it, you know, I'm gonna say it. Owen's face at this stage. I want you to picture it, breathing heavy, with his hair all stringy. Yep, yeah, looking so uh distastefully in other people the scowl. Ah, it was so funny. His face is hilarious.
I really, you know, I just I didn't appreciate O one heart nearly as much as I should have. I know me too, I mean because you know why. I mean, I was so annoyed with him. I was so pissed off at him all the time because he was so annoying. But he's so brilliant.
Turns out he's really good at that and keeping your guest off exactly exactly he was doing his job.
Jr. Says.
A rep of VCW is on the phone, So I guess you can just call Monday night raw and what are what the number is?
I mean, yeah, here I got I got the representative phone called one.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we've just been informed Ken, you've got a phone call. I'm talking about Oh Appairly, there's a representative of the of E c W on the phone that would like to.
Speak to you.
You gotta be kidding me, not kidding, tell me the truth, that's what for what I'll talk to him.
Hello.
Unlike Vince McMahon, I don't need to hide behind representatives. This is the owner operator, an executive producer. I'm Extreme Championship, Pressley King, Pauline, Paul Haymon, dangerously call me what you like, but seeming. Next Monday, Manhattan sent up with all the athletes Extreme Chimpionship Wrestling who has educated as you may be, you'll claim never to have heard of.
A paul E. Are you telling me that you're gonna accept my little challenge?
Huh?
You're gonna bring some of your big name stars down and visit us superstars next week at.
The Manhattan Centers. That what you're telling you?
He Wait a minute, Wait a minute, quitted, Paulie. You're gonna bring some of the big boys, like the Blue Meat or maybe the sand Man.
You ever heard of that?
Huh?
Sandman or Samboo signed.
You sideways, maybe Chess. Maybe you'll have a whole different respect for Extreme Championship Pressley.
They have absolutely zero respect for you e c W and all of the misfits and has bins.
And no talent bombs that are in ECW. Do you understand that if you would let.
The police and the security let us sit next week and as long as the Neighborhood Watch doesn't have to be informed that you're in the neighborhood, I'll see you face che face with the e c W stars alongside of me next week, Live Manhattan. Come on down, Come on down.
You probably won't recognize the place because of Manhattan Centers and arena.
Not a bingo hall were you used to performing? You'll stand out hour, Let's not lookout. Ask him if you ring out down anymore. I'm thinking I want to talking about I'm trying to watch this man.
Jesus, Oh the Neighborhood Watch. Did you get that reference?
Yeah?
No, basically like he's a sex offender and can't be Oh okay, And that, apparently, according to the Observer, was a low blow that Lawler was not expecting.
Oh that'ls of reports.
There was real heat on the February seventeenth Raw between Paul Hayman and Jerry Lawler when Hayman brought up the Neighborhood Watch program, alluding to Lawler's legal problems a few years back, and Lawler shot back about cracking his jaw, which he did with a punch in Haiti, Missouri, in
nineteen eighty seven, when Hayman was a rookie. Although both sounded like they hated each other on the Feby twenty fourth Raw, and both probably meant the majority of what they said, everything on that show was worked out beforehand. Is WWF talked with Hayman on February twentieth about why what he couldn't say about Waller on the air, and that the two were to.
Act professional with each other.
Wow, it's aiming for you give him a live situation and he's gonna do something like that.
Yeah, or sure that makes sense.
So Flash Funk gets a plancha to the floor with a bit of hangtime Happy birthday. Michael Jordan Jr. Says, So there's that.
Okay.
Bulldog comes out and gets in Clarence Mason's face, and Bulldog is saying Clarence is going to costo in the match. They take a break, they come back and Owen bridges up from the bottom and Funk hooks at backslide for two. Owen with the Germans souplex that absolutely fold scorpio and half for two. Owen could Germans, Yes he could. Yes, he learned a lot working for Otto Vaughan, so I'll
tell you that, yes he did. It's fun how they're going nuts about bootleg EACW talent while Flash Funk is in there, who just came fresh off ECW, to say nothing of Steve Austin, Brian Pillman and a lot of other guys they had under contract at the time. Ron Simmons had come through. There they do a split screen again. Austin is backstage. Man, they just do not let you watch more than two minutes of this match.
It's well, I mean, that's the thing like there, there's so much I mean, think about what you know in every in all these matches in the past see here, Oh yeah, the past three matches. The only one that's been clean was the curiously the first fucking match with Marilyn Vega in terms of interruptions with other people commenting on ship.
That's because they had Sable out there, which they thought checked the box of you know, Sideshow to focus on.
I guess, yeah, but you know, here's here's uh, here's Steve. Austin, Steve, are you have you lost it?
What's going on?
What do you want?
Time? You were you gonna ask me a question?
Or why?
Why?
What is what's wrong with you?
If you what's wrong with me? Guerrilla Montsus is on this far from going over the edge. I done went over the edge. I'm about this far from women his ass. He makes up the final four match of which I'm a participant and I was not never supposed to have.
I won to roll rumble Ferris.
Square throwing twenty nine piece of trash over the top row. There ain't no such thing as a mister replay rule in the WWF.
Sean, Michael's getting a little hurt knee, so he quits. By all right, that should make me the WWF champion.
And that's the bottom line.
You hold me back.
This whole organization holds me back because I ain't full of glitzen blammer and big smiles for all the publicity shots.
The bottom line is open.
I'm opening up a whole keg of whoop ass and I'm serving it to everybody in the WWF.
And that's the bottom line. Costole Cole sets all right, well, thank you.
I guess the web wrestling podcast, the wrestling podcast that knows the boys need their candy. It's the Lapsed Fan. He's the Lapsed Fan Wrestling podcast with Jack and Carno and JP Sorrow.
I mean, that's a breakthrough problem right there. That is absolutely I mean, first of all, I mean I never even thought of the logic of the fact that he's the number one contender and Michael's you know, forfeits the belt. You know, I would imagine that Austin does have a legitimate class. I want the royal rubbo what the fuck?
Right?
Yeah?
And then I love that he also plays the uh he plays the Sid card. If we're fucking paying tribute to Sid him talking about you know that he's being held down because he's not out there being all mister publicity. And it's the same thing, is it because I'm not a big movie star like Hulcos?
Wow?
Same thing?
Huge point there, huge point. This is a fucking important raw.
It really is. I mean it's a game changer. I mean I think it also, you know, it just it really establishes what they were going to do moving forward.
Right, how they were going to try to hold your attention every single segment.
Because they really had to. I mean they were, they were completely they were outgunned by w CW in terms of the unpredictability factor for so long.
And he says so much of that promo that's like foundational to his character. It's not just about the circumstance he finds himself in at that point in time and the opponent. Right, he says things about opening cans of what bass he talks about attacking Gorilla Monsoon. He's saying a lot of things that like what would be characteristic everything he would do going forward, not just to these wrestlers.
Yeah, exactly.
His neck veins are bulging and he's oh, he's so, he's so pissed off all the time, all the time, Like you're gonna ask me a question, you idiot?
Like yeah, instant fucking piece of shit, redneck awesome.
They you know how it started? How think about this, how it started when he got heel heel against Triple Ah to the Buried Alive show. Remember we talked about that, yep, And how the people are like, holy shit, like if he's wrestling a heel, we're now allowed to chant for this guy who's just who just doesn't give a fuck and is just starting to show that he didn't give a fuck because they were building the Brett Survivisories match.
Yep. Oh my god. Now we're here just several months later, and it's.
Like, this is the guy.
This is the fucking guy. He goes from wrestling Triple Ah in a replacement match on the opening match Buried Alive in October to when they're getting together to shoot the uh, the the the opening for the new Raw is War title sequence. He's the one walking through the sparking doors.
Right in the exact warehouse.
Absolutely perfect timing for him to just go off like this because the company was ready to build around what he was doing, instead of putting it in a corner, you know, or making it just like one little piece of the presentation. It's like, no, what Steve Austin is doing is not just gonna be his thing. It's gonna be the whole fucking identity of the whole company now.
Right exactly, it's gonna again, it's going to change the whole fucking face of the business.
And a lot of it is right there the raw material. So Owen back of the ring, misses a corner charge and gets crotched on the top rope like he was going almost for a bronco buster and a standing opponent, which is a strange idea because if he hit it, I don't know what he would have accomplished. Anyway, Now
what's he done? Then he kind of hurts himself more than he hurts his opponent with the body slam, goes up top and swords with a cross body for two and then another slam climbs again and he moon salts, this time to slash Funk.
That gets to.
You know, flash makes they can't believe it eyes that Owen kicked out of that one. The whip is reversed. Tavy Boy Smith with a with a Slammy Award trophy hits the back of the head of a flash Funk from the ring apron behind the referees back, and then Owen hits a spinning heel kick and then Davy Boy holds down flash Funk's leg from outside the ring.
One. Jesus, is flash Funk that much of a threat? Now? I mean Jesus Christ, weapons and three guys to beat this guy.
One, two, three, It's over Owen hart Plint's flash Funk here and raw Every seventeenth, nineteen ninety seven. Jerry Lawler plays it up like they're on the same page. Owen and Davy Boy and Davy Boys all smiles and hoists the tax Tam Championship, but Owen is clearly visibly pissed that a bulldog interfered in his behalf. Russell MANI promo every great athlete aspires to perform on the ultimate stage.
They're still in that stage, the big I mean of stage. It sounds like you're gonna die.
Oh my god, the big soaring emotion. Emotions pour from unrestrained places where memories are indelibly etched in the annals of time, Jesus Christ. And when you si calm down at this calm down, they don't just call you great, They call you a legend. And then they go back to triple h. She's coming to the ring, to his classical music, and they.
Reach it's a fucking Beethoven. Finally, Yah, the Beethoven music.
They replay China grabbing Marlena, and it's kind of money to watch the fans who are right next to it making faces like whoa Like they want to smile about this, sunny.
Games, but it's not.
They take a break together that a little bit, isn't it, folks. They show the ninteen ninety seven Slamy Awards presented by Full Metal. The album This is the Entrance Music album They did that I got in the mail as a as a as a send away present for sending a copy of my cable bill to them.
Oh my god, did you really Yeah, that's tremendous.
They talk about how on March twenty. First, the Slammy Awards are actually going to be live on the USA Network, And that was an interesting slammyes. That's the one where Triple H calls Sonny the slut basically and uh, really, I don't know that, Yeah, he says. He says a few things like ribbing her, but like a little too harshly.
And I think that's the one where under Taker like calls out his ex wife as like, oh my god, really speaking, it calls out the wrong It mentions her like she's there and he's like he's talking as the Undertaker and these like cryptic biblical terms, but it's like, you are the one that I would go to the Fiery depths for or something.
It's so weird.
And then they have that's one where Steve Austin's up there and says all he talks is shit big time on that Slammy Awards. Maybe we'd do that show one day.
It's a good one. Should Yeah, maybe a.
Christmas present for everybody. So Hockey Talk Man's with Jerry Lawler guarantees he'll take home a Slammy.
Jr.
Was with Triple H at the announced position and says Are you associated with this woman? This, of course didn't have a name for it. Yet they're talking, Oh here I got I have yeah, I have this here for you. It's kind of funny.
Are you involved with this woman? It's attacked Marlene or twice?
Did you?
Are you associated with her?
Yes?
Or no?
Jim Ross, I don't know who she is. You know, women all over.
The world go crazy for me of all shit, sizes and colors.
It's not my fault. I don't know who this woman is. Women, Frankly, I don't care.
I don't know who this woman is.
You got to strike when the horses mount. I'm just wonder. I hope he's telling the truth.
But be that as it may. I don't know who this woman is. Okay, trips and I don't care.
Yep, Yeah, he says they go crazy for me in all shape, sizes and colors. And then the honey talk man says China might fit into the honey talk man's category. And I'm thinking, what a long ragining intercontinental champion? Well she did women the title, but she sure did.
She didn't really have a long rain.
So ton Ofhurse Helmsverus Bart gun here if you want to make sure people keep their TVs on USA Network.
It's pretty god like, you know. I mean, look, I'd rather go see Randy Anderson and Nick Patrick go at it all right, then this shit.
Honkey talk men still on that disastrous campaign to find a protege which resulted in Rockabilly, of course, which went nowhere fast. He's talking on the mic about uncommentary about having narrowed down his candidate's a list.
Of two or three.
Nobody cares he got a couple he was eying not around anymore his recruits, and the lawer says, so the top one on the list was Triple H and pleads his case, and Bart in the ring quickens the pace and hip tosses and dropkicks Triple Ah. Jurly Jr. Says we're keeping updated on the superstar line about a unique negotiation that has been discussed from some top superstars here in the WWF. I don't know what he's referring to, but I'm sure there was no fraud involved, Jr.
Says.
Jim Andrews the surgeon who's who's looking at Steve Austin and other people's knees. That's well so, of course, Michael Michael, remember Bo Jackson, He says. Hockey tonk Man says, whatever happened to him, he got operated on by this doc. So uh, Instead of the line being James andrews helped Bo Jackson, it sets up a line of hockey tonk saying he's gonna end his careers looking into Bo Jackson's let's.
Let's talk about let's you know, let's let's let's take Jim.
Hockey talk Man also says, by the way, set Michael was one of the wrestlers on his list to become his procours, was pretty fine that he actually presumes that he could get him.
Yeah, that he could freaking like like as if. I mean, it's like who gives a ship to be on the hunt? I mean I was happy to see the honky tonk Man there. Don't get me wrong, I've said it before. I was happy to see the honky Tonk Man there because to me, okay, anybody from the past is good. But really, like, who the fuck wanted to work with him? It's so true, who want to be associated with him?
He just he was one of the first to take a big body slam from China. So there's that that was like the only impactful thing he did on this run. Actually was kind of launched that whole idea that when she attacked someone it would be it would be great and be over and no one would shit on it. I remember if people thinking Disco Inferno was going to come to WWF to be the.
To be the protege. I don't know why why I remember that, but yeah, I feel like, because you know what, I think we talked about it.
They were playing it up like it was going to be a real thing, Like the person he picked was going to be a new star, not an existing guy with a new name. And I'm pretty sure, yeah, I'm pretty sure it's settled that they picked. They picked repackaging Billy Gunn. It's like a option B. That's somehow that wasn't the design the whole time.
Anyway.
That was one of the intrigues going on at the time. Bart with an arm dragon screeches like a cowboy, banshee bitch when he hits it. Triple H ducks and hits a high knee. Talk about Triple H as a ladies man and getting letters from Wilt Chamberlain. Honky Talkman says he can't help even in that category.
A ladies man. I know he's getting letters from Wilt Chamberlain. It's not really making a ladies.
Man getting letters in as Wilt Chamberlain did. I think they're trying to say, I see Goldas hits the ring and gives chase at ringside because he's now looking for revenge for what happened to mar Lne. He goes over the rail after Triple H and almost wipes out.
By the way, it was option six for that negotiation.
For those of you wondering, maybe I'll save you ninety nine cents. So he chases Hunterhurst into the aisles, up into the people, and Lawler says, these people are interfering again, arrest them all. As Triple Ah tries to make way, the bell sounds and Howard Finkle announces that bart Gun is the winner over Hunters Helmsley by count out great stuff title matches next Ladies and Gentlemen, And they got the graphic and the music going.
Into the break to prove it.
Sid and Brett Hart, I remember this music and and and and look of the show, and yes, I just remember not matching how big of a deal they were making these matches out to be like, we didn't see matches like Brett Sid for the title with this raw set and this music. It's just it didn't it did still didn't seem possible. It still seemed like a bait and switch we did.
I know, I agree with that. I mean, it certainly didn't seem like it was going to be an actual title to.
Me an angle at the end ultimately just be an angle, right, you know? Right they did that Sid Shawn match one time on Raw, like.
You'd have like you'd have Atome come out again, given that you've seen him, yes, there the whole time, and that he would uh because of his qualifications and it'd be.
Over absolutely yes, and that was that was acceptable. You know you're interested in that, but it's what you expect. You didn't expect like a clean finish or a finished, decisive finish, I should say, right, tight shot of some woman who actually bought a shotgun Saturday Night T shirt.
He exists. Want I want one to? Of course?
I do.
To James Andrews, doctor James Andrews, the surgeon working on Shawn's knee.
Of the interview. Here here you go. You want to listen to James Andrews talk about Sean Michaels in his wrastling career.
I examined Sean today, and Sean's injury to his.
Knee not what I thought doctor James Andrews would sound in Alabama. I've never actually heard him. I've never heard him before, and I never thought he'd I ain't. No, that's wait, you know. And now I examined Sean Michael Kay and he said that I cannot examine him anymore.
Dates back to about five years ago when he tore the anti cruide ligament in his knee joint. Excuse me, it's the athletic ligament that stabilizes your knee. So the injury he had recently relates back to that chronic problem that's been lingering with him for many years. Uh.
He has a degenerated area on the.
Sore and and the twist that he had a week or so ago, UH.
Sort of set that off.
We recommended to him that he not have surgery at this point.
Uh.
We're going to rehab him at his home in San Antonio, Texas, and we're going to reassess him in about six weeks, four to six weeks to see how he's progressing surgery is not absolutely ruled out. We feel and we believe that that he'll respond and then he'll be able to resume his rastling career.
Wow, I think his rastling career. And I'm also going to tell you what I want to do around here with Seohn Michaels to get him rehab properly. What I plan to do is throw him into the pen with the pigs and I'm gonna then I'm gonna get down on top of and I'm gonna roll myself in the mutton and see how Sean Michaels reacts to that.
A Lapsed fan wrestling podcast, the wrestling podcast that knows the boys need their candy. It's the lapsed fan. He's the Lapsed Fan wrestling podcast with Jack and Carno and JP Soro.
He's not It's not him, it's Heim h e y u him. He's right, Homer him hung Hum.
Sounds like one of Truma Truma Campodi's relatives and h Christmas memory.
So it's great stuff.
Sean, Like fucking four days after losing a smile and never coming back. They got the dog on TV saying he'll be back, He'll be back.
You resume his wrastling career.
Oh my god, soh jay I promises more on Shawn and WW Television Network coming up this week and Saturday Morning Live Wire, Sunday Morning Superstars and all the rest.
Sid.
Sid Now down to Championship business. There's that T shirt. That T shirt again, that SID T shirt. He's wet again. Imagine how many times he doused himself with water on this tape.
I mean, yeah, well, I don't understand how much times I have to water?
Am I?
Oh said this, I'm gonna go out there again. Here's here's your spray gun. Said, you know, week we got to you know we're gonna be out there three times. What do you mean three times? Well said, I told you you're gonna have to you know, we're gonna kind of do a Payton switch? Do I have to take three showers? Vince? Are you telling me I have to wrestle three times?
No?
Sid, I said, you're just gonna go out there three times. You're gonna wrestle one time, but you're gonna go out you know, as if the matches happen.
I understand it's not real simple.
Will you're telling me right now?
Is not simple?
Polls said said it actually shyes. Does you look at me, little man. I'm gonna tell you one thing, and I'm gonna ask you a question, and you're gonna look me straight in the eye and tell me the truth. If I'm going out there three times, does that mean I have to take three showers?
Uh?
Well, uh, I said, that's you know what, that's your progative bell.
What do you mean my progres those college words with me.
Don't you sit there and use your fucking Connecticut words with me. You think you're so hot and mighty because you live in New England. You live in the northeast, outside of New York. You don't know shit. I don't know shit. Yeah, there it is.
So he asks the kid who's the man, and the kid pointed like fuck yeah right back at him.
Pretty awesome.
Yeah, you gotta love that dripping down the back of his black leather vest.
It's so it's like, where does this you know, who produces so much water? It's so hydrated when he goes, I mean, like, where does this water come from? It seems like a waist.
They replay the first tussle with bretton Austin and they went pretty nuts when Sid went after Steve. When you see the replay, you know when he jumps into it. They think it's awesome that Sid attacks Steve Austin, which is pretty cool it is. They show backstage the backstage attack again as well, and Brett comes out, this time with the championship with no jacket, just the title over his shoulder. Yep, he's sick of getting ready.
It's like, come on, what was there here? I've been out there a million times, like come.
On, yeah, to tell he's going to lose the strap. There's no pomping circumstance whatsoever to his walkout or any of that, and he hoists the strap there for the only time in this title reign. We take a quick break and we come back so we can show you the entirety of this WAF Championship match. They tell us that's Brett Pyro. Brett's Pyro pops off above them ring. We come back to Sid versus Brett Hard for the WWF Championship in the main event of the February seventeenth,
nineteen ninety seven edition of Monday Night Raw. The bell sounds upon return from break, and Jr. Thanks us for inviting them into your home, lock up and breath.
Well, well you did that the night before. This is not in your house.
It's just aw, it's a little late, Jim. I mean, yeah, you know we invited you in our home like an hour and fifty minutes ago.
I know, Like what you should say?
That first off only counts now, Yeah, that's far out. Lock up and Brett goes for rights in the corner.
You know how that goes.
He goes off with those rights ah and then starts stomping the gut of Sid. Sid grabs him and turns him around and goes off with some body shots of his own. Sid with those big bolo shots.
I'll tell you you know this is it like like Sid Sid fucking like the way he it's just absolutely phenomenal. Like watching him thunder.
Away, the way he used his wingspan to make his punches look like crazy was pretty cool.
But he doesn't different in this particular match, Like it's very different, Like he really upped his game in this match.
He had spots with Brett that he didn't have to anybody else where. He would really show like different looks. That's true.
Yep.
So there's rapid fire hooks to the gut by Sid corner to corner whip and then Brett hits hard and collapses said with the forearm with the small the back of the Kidney's working on the back of bread, of course, to soften him up for the power bomb. Double axe sledge down on the back of the hitman, Sid raining down the punishment on a felled hitman. Brett then fires out of the corner with right hands and he hooks
a side Russian leg sweep. Kind of a weird struggle at first, like he was thinking to do something else and Sid wasn't in the correct position, but he does hit it. Sid then awkwardly stands up and stays overhead, clubbing the back and goes to the throat of the hip man.
And King King wants Sid to win. Do you know why I want so? That's doing Hell will be miserable.
I don't want to see a big smile on the face of stewing Helen Hart.
But they had last night ten sometime every time they're the matches, Prett Hart seemed.
The burks Victoria's. I saw him it. Later on they were ordered chair Paula on the rocks at the bar.
They were so happy, Oh, my god, Lawler. You can hear Sid fucking literally breathing during that clip.
By the way, he's so labored.
So he goes back to the overhead and clubbing, and then he goes to the throat and Brett rolls into the corner and kicks a pursuing Sid to keep him at Bay fires out of the corner with some punches, and then Sid grabs the wrist and hits Brett with a short arm clothesline that drops bred heart cold as he tries to rally. Brett's so good at like those hope spots where he kind of gets opening and then
gets cut off. No one bettersolutely accurate, whifted on the first outreach, but then he finally snatches him does Sid, and somehow worked, somehow worked. When Sid missed a spot, it was like, yeah, it wasn't like a big fuck up because it was like, yeah, he's nuts, Like of course he's gonna and.
He's huge and he's lumbering right, so it's like, you know, you kind of expect that he's not going to be perfect, he's not going to be completely clean exactly. It's rare. It's not often that you have a guy who who you know, you can kind of it works. That kind of shit works, right.
Like if you give if you give Sid a spatula and try to have him kill a fly, it's going to kind of look like this, you know.
Yeah, right exactly. I mean if you if you imagine, I mean, forget having an actual thing, what about thinking about Sid like trying to kill us a fly with his hands?
Right?
Even better? You know, like he's just going around like swatting the walls with his bare hands, and.
It's gonna look like he doesn't know what he's doing, but he's going to catch that fly by virtue of his size.
Yeah.
Yeah, his hand is so much bigger than yours that he doesn't have to be strategic about it.
Exactly. You can afford it like an idiot well while doing it. So yeah.
Clubbing shots on a floor of Brett Hart, they recall Sid beating Sean Michaels at Survivor series, and Jerr says the speculation is Sid caused Sean michaels knee injury to some extent. That's interesting way to throw it together.
Yeah, yeah, I'm with that.
Sid is now springing off the bottom and stomping on Brett getting some airtime. Sid pops him in the corner and Jair says he is not as refined a technical wrestler as Brett Hart.
But here we go, here we go the fucking bullshit, you know, like the.
He doesn't know how to do a hammer lock.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know it's not only going to be you know, be high impact. Okay, thanks j R.
Brett grabs A, grabs the waistband of Sid and starts throwing to the gut, right hands and then aside backbreaker scores with the hit man as he gets the big Sid off of his feet. Brett then tries to go to the sharpshooter, but no, it looks like he's going to. Instead, he does the head butt to the sternum up to the gut that he used to do.
Yeah, it's kind of I always wonder why he did that tea. I mean, I guess for the for the the idea that it is a tease. Yeah, for the hold and not you know.
But ye get people a little bit more excited when he does put it on. I guess is the thought middle rowe elbow drop at the head man. Lawler said Brett's parents were doing jaredital on the Rocks. Yeah, you talked about that. Brett now headbutting the back of Sid, which is a cool thing.
He used to do.
Throw head butts to the body. Yep, I like that too, writes an elbow to the head, Jr. Says the road wrestling it starts tonight.
Wow, it's a little late. I know, I thought it started out the Royal Rumble.
Jerr says, maybe the greatest of all time. The Undertaker awaits this one is Sid is first back to the gut and Kidney's hauling off. Now on the hit man. Brett falls to his knees. There's a lot of talk about Brett's lower back after last night. They mentioned being particularly vulnerable as he had been choked slammed by the Undertaker during the Final four. Sid then lifts Brett up and drops him with a front back breaker that gets a clean two count.
Sign.
If you can't run with the big dogs, then stay off of the net. I must have something to do to the Internet, the Internet, healthy online discourse. No doubt behind that sign. Sid choking bread across the middle rope Earl heavnerson Sid's face about it. Brett was so under siege in these matches, you know, oh yes, everything he did, for sure, everything he did. He seems like he walked out like expecting a bomb to drop on his head.
Every ding, yeap, yep.
Always Sid lifting off the bottom and stomping down on Brett quite a bit, drags him to the center of the ring and covers him for two. Brett retreats to the corner and starts kicking the knee of Sid and drops him, and the crowd reacts to that as he gets ahead, Girls in particular start chanting loudly for Brett as he pulls ahead here attacking the weekend knee. He then snaps down on the leg of Sid and drives down an elbow to the knee. He drapes Sid's leg in the bottom rope and sits.
Down on it.
Yep, stomps the leg. Classic, oh classic, Brett taking apart a bigger opponent. Absolutely what he do with Sid or Kevin Nash or Undertaker. And then he drags the leg to the corner post and slam sids nee into the post itself.
Jr. Says the world title is Brett Hart's life. You know what a shoot that was. We didn't even know it. Yeah, that's for sure.
He's going to do anything to get it back or to retain it. Brett almost loses the leg as he tries to figure four in the ring post.
Jr.
Goes off like he's never seen that before? Is this the first time Brett did the figure front of the post?
I was wondering that myself, like, I I don't know. I think it is.
I mean, I feel like we've seen it before, but maybe not. I'm sure somebody will know, But there it is. It's called out of the broadcast? Is the first time Jim has seen it? They over break, they come back, Brett is still cranking. They talk about foot action featuring Airflight Turbulence from Nike Brings You foot Action rewind. Oh yeah, it was last night Undertaker kicking the chair in Invader's face that busted his face open, and they show Vader tuning off Austin on the floor and.
The guess we're finally seeing that footage they were talking about in at the beginning of the show, right you know, Yeah, they finally deliver on it. Yeah we haven't seen this shit at all, but okay, got to.
You by the airflight Turbulence for every action. There's foot action so good. Yeah, its logan.
They show the mall. God help us. I love it.
You come back, get it at your local shopping up there, sit on the canvas. Brett is in pursuit.
Jr.
Tells us Bread has been relentlessly focusing on the leg. During the commercial break, they go to the corner and Brett puts the leg over the middle rope and starts cranking on it and pulling on the ankle.
Brett kicks away the leg as well.
He then cranks it and Sid lifts the fist up and he delays, He delays, raining the shot down, and then he finally goes down with it, raining down. Bowlos on the chest goes off, Brett gets free and.
Not sure what that is.
There's a reversed Irish whip to the corner and Sid hits a huge downtown clothesline that drops Brett and collapses the crowd as they're just starting to rally for the hit man.
I know of the way. Sid shuts that down. He looks so good in this mass.
It's Brett man, that's Brett. He makes everyone look like they know what they're doing. Yeah, it was his hidden talent. He's like, okay, Like, I know, you do these five things and they always look like ship. So let's not do those, Let's do these instead. Just follow my lead. Sid is limping now as a result of all the work on his leg, but he still hits the ropes and is able to drop a high leg drop. I mean a fucking full on hull Cogan leg drop here
from Sid brother exactly. That only gets too Why well, Sid got so much high is a bad wheel. I don't know if that was the best psychology in the world, but it looked cool.
What do you mean look cool?
Dude?
What do you mean look cool? Was great leg drops like he used to be able to do for the week. You're telling me, is Sid hulk Hogan?
I mean he's dropping the leg but people are kicking out people are people are kicking out a leg drop. So either he's not hule Cogan or what he used to.
Sid hulk Hogan. Yes, absolutely shocked, shocked at that answer.
He thought I was going to say no, because of course he's not Hulcoke. That is the respectable answer to give to that question, the intelligible one. So another cover by Sid that gets to Jared losing it. Ah, I want to match up, and you know he doesn't deploy that without really feeling it. So Sid lifts the front slam after a delay, bringing down the hitman. Then Sid
goes to the middle rope. Oh man, that's not a good position for him to be in, historically almost losing it trying to get up there at all.
Yeah, no, no, I got nervous. I'm like, oh my god. You know, it's funny when when you see it, when you see it happen one time, you're like, you feel like it can happen anytime, even though this show happened way.
Before before and unlike it Sin he's actually going for a guillotine leg drop where he's going to land in his ass instead of a flying kick.
Right.
So he hits the leg drop off the middle, which is just crazy to see. I mean I remember him ever doing that.
Sid taking off of the middle rope leg drop not an industry that made at all. No, Sid says, oh yeah, I can't work.
Take a look at this. He said that to the camera. You see it's better than damn it, damn it, damn it. So he gets two on the cover, literally like a broken record on you know, caught.
Pretty wild guys. Sid's size can only get two on a guillotine leg drop off the middle rope, but we'll take it back up. Sid goes to the gut and gooseles the hit man. He signals to the crowd that he's gonna go for the power bomb or the choke slam, but Brett breaks the eyes to get free, and you can hear the girls still want Brett.
The girls have not turned on him, of course they still want it.
Brett fires off on the ropes, ties up Sid in the ropes and hits the opposite side and then takes flight. But Sid gets out of the entanglement and there's no one there. And does anyone throw their self fucking recklessly into the ropes with a crossbody better than Brett Hart, No, he knows how to hit those ropes and get entangled in them, and they take a hard landing and it was awesome. Jerius's bread is not normally a risk taker, so that's kind of cool. It gets over when I know it.
It doesn't hold up the scrutiny. But he's a constant fucking risk taker. He's always been a risk.
Especial aginst bigg opponents. Yeah, takes off and but I thought it was goodde dives and all that shit.
Like, come on, He's always doing.
Risky stuff planches, yep, piscatos. But it kind of gets over how hard it is to topple Sid. You know, the idea that he did something uncharacteristic, because while he does do dives to the floor, that that one where he ties a guy up in the ropes and tries to jump at him. I'm not saying he never does it, but yeah, it's a little different than the usual high
risk we see from him. So now Sid is clubbing Brett and pursues it, but he's back dropped out to the floor, and then who materializes but stone cold Steve Austin. Here we go and Sid drops him with the right hand out on the blue mats, and Austin covers up near the chairs and j R. Says Austin needs to be shackled. Sid gets up on the apron and then does Sid or does he not do a sunset flip from the apron into the ring? What the fuck am I watching?
Exactly?
I'm a baby face, right, So he does a slingshot sunset flip on Brett Hart like, why, I guess, what are you doing creative way to get to the sharp shooter. I don't know, because Bren goets through and kicks the legs and then he steps through, struggles to turn over the sharp shuter, but he finally gets it. Hepner's at eye level with Sid. Sid is pushing up trying to break the thing and chairs doing the big dramatic No one's ever broken the sharp shutter. He's gonna do what he's gonna do.
Here, I got it. I got this whole last thing because it's just so fucking money, so money. Here comes Austin with a chair by the way, get ready.
Nobody gets out of the short shooter in the shorter often him real hard on the face on steel tear.
He was done.
I don't con Sid him and realized that often does get even this sense.
Oh no, oh, I said those.
Times I go sad.
This one's a day.
Unbelievable.
I mean, it's just fucking scenes, absolute scenes as Sid is once again the champion. The wait, the way Austin gets on that fucking apron. I want you to talk to me about it?
Oh, I mean, he.
Just like.
You know.
That he.
Is going to commit harm by watching him the way that he climbs up, Yes, just the force, the the swagger he has, like he is just saying, oh, what a fuck things up?
Exactly. He does it with like a cockiness. But he's also like the guy he picks a fight. He starts throwing first, he gets dropped, and then the guy turns away like see that's what you get. And as the guy's walking away, he still runs up behind him and cheap shots him exactly exactly, just won't stop until he gets the last word in the form of a fist or chair or some act of violence.
Yep, and that's agreed.
That's what Brett was made the victim of. So here a little extended version of what we just heard. Just the the celebration, the jubilation in the way this banner night in the career of sid went off the air in Nashville. What a power bone too, huh It brow fell.
Up for those.
I say that's time it Si sap. This one's again. I'm telling you to tell you about chap In.
A couple of kids in the front row with Shawn Michael's T shirts like throwing their hands up a that result it's kind of funny.
Sid, don't say it deadlocks again.
No man sight gonna said, I'm gonna make me undertaker.
That's not so many of thirteen. F Up said, looked up.
You you have Chapin rap art him light in the face by stone coll Steve Austin with a steel chair and the referee.
And Nicco said, we're neither one or lot of the feet.
Yeah, come right there he's riding as he's.
Just daunts him on the head. Yep. Yeah right here, just like the most deliberate shine the verse. Yeah, we got a car bomb.
I don't around the raised to sing bob oh comment that doesn't starts is concerned.
The Undertaker is here, obviously trouble.
Yeah, we got trouble like exact sit as aw w w M Champion and the Undertaker.
He is here the house.
Oh the right, Sid lays the belt having him on the map between the two yep, and they come to center pace to face thurteen brill.
That's the man turn. The Undertaker become a man once again. Look at fawn ride. He's darn right into the want to Wrestle Mania thirteen. It's gonna be tampion M. We'll see you next week from New Guard City.
I want to finish. Oh it's tremendous. Finish, absolutely tremendous.
So you have Sid with with a with a short but sweet celebration, with the championship providing the bridge, providing the glue to getting to WrestleMania thirteen and his eventual last reign there as w F champion, really his last run in WWF of yeah, of any consequence well, lying on the mat, collecting himself woozy as all hell, being tended to by Earl Hebner's of course Brett Hart, who's on his way to the heel turn of a lifetime and uh, the heel turn that would spark the most
consequential babyface run for WWF of all time in the form of Steve Austin and all he did and put out there. But before it got there, it was working with Sid, and it was making this thing go across the finish line and making it look good. And Brett certainly did as part as he always did in that ring with Sid. And so as we pay tribute to Sid and we build it in no small part around this banner night for him winning the championship in Nashville.
We decided that maybe it would make some sense to get some perspective on who and what we lost from the man who went up for the power bomb that night himself. And after this, we'll see you next time for a continuation of our tribute to Sid.
Hey, this is Break the hite Man Heart, and I'm going to do the best to answer your questions JP. Sid was actually was a pretty nice guy. Everybody I think kind of like him for just being a big, strong, kind of funny guy. He said some funny things sometimes. He was pretty much liked by everybody. And all I can say is that night with the after the Final four, when I had that short run with my title, I had no problem with what the outcome was going to be,
and I I was all set up. I thought Sid was an interesting guy to work with, and I thought the match we had was really good.
And I always got on well with Sid. He was one of those kind of guys that could.
Be taken advantage of sometimes because he sometimes didn't seem to understand the business really well. When you know, he was one of those kind of guys that would often come to me for advice and stuff like that. And I would always try to steer him in the right direction and pointing towards being a big star.
And he always was a big star.
And I feel bad for him and his family, but I do know that you know he had been sick for some time, and I'm I'm glad he's finally in peace. And I hope those answer your questions was Sid was a good man and it's too bad that.
We lost him so early.
God bless.
I think it was at Pertain Nails when as a Tea J.
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