Posted November 5, 20168 yr comment_5774485 http://placetobenation.com/titans-of-wrestling-71-wwf-december-1982/ The Titans are back and plum to the very depths of wrestling despair as they journey boldly into one of the WWF's very lowest periods. You don't know man, you weren't there. On the docket: 11-27 ROGERS CORNER: JIMMY SNUKA WWF TV 12-04 ROGERS CORNER: DON MURACO WWF TV 12-11 ROGERS CORNER: BACKLUND/GILBERT/SKAALAND WWF TV 12-18 BACKLUND/GILBERT vs SENZA/MARTIN WWF TV 12-18 ROGERS CORNER: JOHN STUDD/FRED BLASSIE WWF TV 12-25 JOHN STUDD vs EDDIE GILBERT WWF TV 12-28 PEDRO MORALES vs DON MURACO IC TITLE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN 12-28 BOB BACKLUND vs SUPERSTAR GRAHAM WWF TITLE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN 12-28 JIMMY SNUKA vs RAY STEVENS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN Highlights include: - With Titans morale at an all-time low dredging through the quagmire, will all four members make it to the bitter end? - To what extent had Vince Sr tapped out completely by December 1982? - In-depth analysis of ... the mechanics of the Big John Studd bodyslam challenge. - Gorilla Monsoon continues to be a dick to Vinnie Jr on commentary. - They are lumberjacks, and they're okay.
November 5, 20168 yr comment_5774495 Is the finish line the Backlund loss or Hogan win? Your not going to have that much fun with the bulk of 83 either
November 5, 20168 yr comment_5774508 I've always maintained that the end is the towel being tossed in for Bob, which has a nice symbolism to it
November 5, 20168 yr comment_5774530 I've always maintained that the end is the towel being tossed in for Bob, which has a nice symbolism to it Agreed, also has Titans fave Ivan Koloff's last WWF match as well
November 5, 20168 yr comment_5774536 I'm sure Parv isn't keen on it, but any chance of going back into the 1975-1978/Pre Titans era again?
November 5, 20168 yr comment_5774545 I've floated the idea of doing 77-78, Superstar as champ and Bob's first year on top. 75-76 is pretty much off the table
November 5, 20168 yr comment_5774550 I don't think there's enough 75-76 out there to do it the way you can 79 on. I'd love to see the Titans carry on and do all of 84 but maybe with a new member to transition to Hulkamania, maybe up to Wrestlemania. Because as others have said, 83 isn't all that terribly good overall. As for Vince Sr. tapping out, my understanding is that until payments from Jr were over he had control of booking the Garden, World Title and TV. Which given Vince Jr was in charge of booking the tag and IC titles before the buyout, really doesn't change all that much. It's not like you can book Boston or Philly to be THAT unique especially if you don't control TV. Conspiracy minded people have suggested Vince deliberately sank 83, giving Backlund a bunch of terrible challengers who were new OR good challengers who fans had been seen before (and that is true that it happened) in order to lower fan interest and make the transition to Hulkamania more accepted by devaluing Backlund. My only objection to this is it just seems risky for someone who doesn't even have total control of his own company to try. I think it's more likely Vince needed to wait until payments were done, and wasn't going to go out of his way to give Bob anything insanely awesome. As for Sr, yeah I think he had tapped out by this point and was just doing what he knew.
November 5, 20168 yr comment_5774560 The truth is that Backlund had been on top for almost five years and the fans were clearly tired of him by at least as early as the summer of 82, and there was no need for conspiracies to replace him. Snuka's arrival as the hot new star played a part in Bob losing favor with the fans. In a way it's comparable to Austin and Hart in 96/97, except Bob declined the heel turn
November 6, 20168 yr comment_5774610 Snuka is exactly as I remembered him at this time, just the biggest star and the guy we all adored. As a kid everything else was background noise compared to anything involving Snuka.
November 6, 20168 yr comment_5774619 Titans, you need to check out the recent episode of 6:05 podcast that played audio of Albano & Blassie on a Philly Radio show in 1983. It's an awesome look on "smark" perspective of Backlund at the time when he was running out of steam. Blassie and Albano are fucking awesome at keeping Kayfabe when callers ask about George Steele's teaching job and Ernie Roth's recent passing. Right down your alley.
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