I seem to remember a rumor in '97 that Ricky Steamboat would return to WCW and play a part in the Savage/DDP feud.

Wasn't Val Venis supposed to be returning to WWE last year?

I seem to remember during the DDP-Raven feud there were more than a few mentions of "The Snake" being someone's mentor and then that was quietly dropped.

We all know the best rumor that year was every week HBK was going to be on Nitro joining the nWo especially after the infamous pic hit the news boards.

Which pic was that?

 

I seem to remember during the DDP-Raven feud there were more than a few mentions of "The Snake" being someone's mentor and then that was quietly dropped.

DDP even went as far to call him "Jake" at one point, but no....nothing further.

I seem to remember during the DDP-Raven feud there were more than a few mentions of "The Snake" being someone's mentor and then that was quietly dropped.

I think the story was that Jake trained both of them or something, which I have no idea is true or not. Wasn't Jake, you know, too busy wrestling 300 days a year to have trained anybody during that time? And I'm not sure if it was building to something or just typical WCW shoot stuff.

 

Not sure if it has been mentioned yet, but Jake as the Higher Power in 1999 was a pretty prevalent rumour.

We all know the best rumor that year was every week HBK was going to be on Nitro joining the nWo especially after the infamous pic hit the news boards.

Which pic was that?

Michaels in a NWO shirt.

I think the story was that Jake trained both of them or something, which I have no idea is true or not. Wasn't Jake, you know, too busy wrestling 300 days a year to have trained anybody during that time? And I'm not sure if it was building to something or just typical WCW shoot stuff.

I seem to recall DDP managing Jake during his AAA stint, so it's possible that Jake acted a mentor or gave Page some pointers for his in-ring career. But DDP officially started wrestling in '91 or '92 when Jake was still working for Vince. But Raven has always been rather upfront about his training. He trained at the Monster Factory with Larry Sharpe for a month or two, and then got thrown to the wolves when it came to actually learning how to work.

Wasn't Val Venis supposed to be returning to WWE last year?

It turned out to be that they were only bringing him back to try out for an agents role. Dunno if he's still thear or how long he lasted if not though.

Speaking of Raven, there was that rumored feud with Roddy Piper that never materialized.

 

Regarding the Higher Power, wasn't there a rumor that it was supposed to be Mick Foley and he turned it down?

I remember at the time thinking it was Foley. Since he had a clear connection to Bearer and Taker and had a reason to hate Vince. Plus he could pull off the promos of a deranged master mind.

Stone Cold Super Star

Huh? I assume a Billy Graham reference?

I remember at the time thinking it was Foley. Since he had a clear connection to Bearer and Taker and had a reason to hate Vince. Plus he could pull off the promos of a deranged master mind.

I think at the time, Foley would have felt like a disappointment too. I was there live that night and anything less of a surprise/reveal than Jake would have been disappointing.

 

http://www.oocities.org/joziejones/hpall62.html

 

amusing thing google dragged up.

Stone Cold Super Star

Huh? I assume a Billy Graham reference?

 

Yes.

 

One of the previous times this came up:

 

* Stone Cold Superstar

 

At some point while Austin got over as a super hot babyface, Superstar Graham thought "that could have been me in 1978!" And from that he created a myth that he pitched a babyface turn to Vince Sr. back then, that it could have made a ton of money off it, and he got very depressed and deeper into drugs when it didn't happen.

 

It's bullshit. Utter, complete bullshit.

 

Dave buys it. To the point that he now says he heard about it in the 80s. I've pointed people to read Dave's classic long interview with Graham in 1992 and try to figure out how something that cornerstone to the end of Graham's career (and his depression and drug taking) didn't come up, either asked by Dave as he "knew" about it, or Graham tossing it out because it was so important to him.

 

I don't know why Dave buys it, but he does... and now it's been late written into history.

 

So when Dave pulls a new story out of the air 5+ years after the fact, I tend to see if it fits into the timeline and what he was writing at the time. There are times when he sits on something he knows for confidentiality reasons: Brody flushing the dope down the toilet... though it's always hard to figure out why he didn't print that in 1988 after Brody died because the other person involved in the story was also obviously dead as well. But he does that on occasion, such as some of the stuff with Pillman.

I still would love to hear the excuse for why it wasn't in the classic 1992 interview (which was at the time one of the best things ever in the WON) didn't mention it if:

 

* it was so critical to Graham's (reimagined) story

 

From his (reimagined) perspective years later, Graham pointed to it being a major cause for his drug useage going off the deep end and his depression

 

* Dave has already heard about it at the time of the interview

 

Dave ate little stories like that up. How many times have we read/heard the story about the Dory/Brisco/Harley title change? I've seen him talk to wrestlers... there's no way in doing a formal (for him) interview and not bring it up when Graham got to that section of the interview. It's just Dave's nature.

 

Anyway, Graham's "turned down" face turn story in the WWWF is bullshit. I tend to enjoy tossing out the Stone Cold Superstar riff simply because of who bought it.

 

 

John

You have to admit the idea that Graham would WANT to turn makes some sense, but he would have never gotten past the wall of...

 

Wait, is(are) Vince Sr's promise(s) to Backlund true?

Meltzer and Graham's story (accepted fact?) is Vince Sr had the exact day of the Backlund title win (Feb 20, 78) set by around Oct 76 or so, after Bruno "gave his notice".

Meltzer and Graham's story (accepted fact?) is Vince Sr had the exact day of the Backlund title win (Feb 20, 78) set by around Oct 76 or so, after Bruno "gave his notice".

That's pretty much what I'm talking about. Though the other one is on the LENGTH of the reign, which was set in stone from the beginning too.

 

So now Bix can come in and debunk or confirm to the best of his knowledge.

I don't think the length of Backlund's reign was set in stone. What if he had bombed on top? I think another Meltzer story (from the issue he did years back on WWE history from 74-83 IIRC) is that Patera was ready as a back-up plan if Backlund failed to draw. Maybe Dylan has better info on that one.

I don't think the length of Backlund's reign was set in stone. What if he had bombed on top? I think another Meltzer story (from the issue he did years back on WWE history from 74-83 IIRC) is that Patera was ready as a back-up plan if Backlund failed to draw. Maybe Dylan has better info on that one.

Don't you know he did bomb on top and was paranoid about Superstar Graham ?

I've heard that rumor about Patera as the "backup plan" before and I don't buy it. Heel champs were the exception not the rule up there. I refuse to believe they would have even tried to turn red hot heel Patera face at that point.

I had heard years ago and never got confirmation but there was an urban legend that Tommy Rich was going to come into WWF in 1981 as a heel with Grand Wizard as his manager and was going to take the title from Backlund hence why Tommy turned heel in Memphis as a dry run on whether he could handle the heel persona.

I refuse to believe they would have even tried to turn red hot heel Patera face at that point.

 

I think the plan (if one even existed) was Patera would beat Backlund and have a run as champ until Vince Sr had a new babyface ready to headline, who would beat Patera, not for Patera to turn face at any point. Not to get all Marvel Comics "What If" here, but I think it is interesting to speculate who Vince Sr would have groomed for this hypothetical new headline babyface with Backlund out of the picture. I wonder if, given the right deal, Rhodes would have worked New York full time at this point, because he was certainly over enough to be a long-term headliner.

 

And Tommy Rich as a pretty boy southern heel in New York would have been pretty awesome.

You have to admit the idea that Graham would WANT to turn makes some sense, but he would have never gotten past the wall of...

When Dave interviewed Superstar in 1992, there was no indication that Superstar *ever* thought of or wanted to turn face in 1977/78.

 

Superstar only wanted to turn face after seeing Stone Cold. After more than a decade of (rightfully) taking credit for the greatest thing to come along after him (Hogan), Superstar wanted to recast himself as "I coulda been Stone Cold before Stone Cold".

 

Superstar was quite happy to brag that he made more money the year he dropped the title rather than the year he held the title for most of the year. As a continuing heel. There wasn't nothing there along the lines of:

 

"And I could have made even more if Vince Sr. let me turn face!"

 

 

John

Graham coming back in as a face in 1979 would've been big business for Vince.

Kind of a random question here: When the hard liners were feuding with the Steiners in WCW, WCW's syndicated show promised a match between either The Steiners vs Hardliners as a main event or a Rick Steiner vs Murdoch 1 on 1 match... Then the next week the match was canceled (Was this Scott's arm injury? I don't remember the time frame) and from what I remember (I was 8 or 9) WCW made it up to the fans by having the whole show be competitive matches instead of squashes (The only match I remember is OMG over Big Josh w/ Gang winning after Josh took a shot with his axe handle to his back)... Anyways... Anyone have a full line up or any idea why the match was canceled? Am I totally remembering this wrong???

You should be able to find the listing somewhear on here

 

http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/WCWresults.htm