Other
Wrestlers on the WWF Roster from 1/97 to 3/98
John: Here’s a comprehensive look at some of the
WWF’s other stars during their rise that we already haven’t
mentioned. Since we discussed Austin, Hart and Michaels
previously we won’t discuss them here but we will talk about
the WWF’s other individuals.
Note: John’s comments will be the
ones immediately following the name and Matt’s comments will
be the ones after his name
The Undertaker: Definitely one
of the greatest characters in WWF history and among the WWF’s
top four wrestlers during this time. He held the WWF title from
March to August and participated in memorable matches with
Austin, Hart, Michaels and Kane. He is possibly the best big man
ever and ’97 was his last year in which he had a clean bill of
health. One of the WWF’s most respected wrestlers ever by his
peers and fans worldwide, a key contributor to the rise of the
WWF.
Matt: While I wouldn’t
consider the Undertaker to be anywhere near the league of Vader
and Bam Bam Bigelow in terms of the best big men ever, I would
say that this time period is what I think he was the most
enjoyable. The WWF has phased out a lot of the cartoon-ish
aspects of his gimmick, and while he retained some aspects, he
was largely "humanized". Also, he did have some very
good matches with Bret Hart, Mankind, Steve Austin and Shawn
Michaels, as John mentioned, along with taking part in the
classic Hell in Cell match.
Rocky Maivia: After wrestling as
the babyface Rocky Maivia to start out this young superstar
turned into The Rock in the summer of 1997. His feud with Austin
in late ‘97 vaulted him from star to definite future
superstar. He enjoyed an 8 month IC title reign through most of
’98. Austin probably made the most progress during this time
but The Rock was very close behind.
Matt: Talk about a turnaround.
Rocky went from a despised, corny, overpushed babyface who never
failed to give it everything he had in the ring, despite being
greener than grass, to a wrestler who’s incredible charisma
and great mic work would eventually make him the WWF’s top
heel, as he slowly realized that he didn’t need to work that
hard in the ring to get great reactions. It’s a shame it works
that way, but his transformation over the 15 months in question
is rather astounding.
Mick Foley: Foley played the
role of Mankind, Dude Love and Cactus Jack effectively known as
the "Three Faces of Foley." Went from being the
deranged Mankind to the loveable dude and then the hardcore
legend Cactus. Made the transition from heel to face smoothly
and began receiving admiration from fans for his hard work in
and out of the ring. His best WWF year was probably ’98
although he made great strides in ’97 before becoming a legit
main eventer.
Matt: ’97 was the year that
saw Foley unveil Dude Love and then eventually bring Cactus Jack
to the WWF, and he gave several great in-ring performances, and
his mic work was at his usual standard of greatness. His feud
with HHH was largely unspectacular, due to HHH, but his in-ring
efforts and interviews were always first-rate.
Owen Hart: Held the IC and tag
title as well as being a key part of the Hart Foundation.
Excellent worker who garnered tremendous heel heat during the
feud with Austin. The two time Slammy award winner was in top
form always and will be remembered as the best wrestler never to
hold the WWF world title.
Matt: While Owen was no longer
in his physical prime, he was definitely still a great worker
and got to show it on a few occasions during this time. He had
several memorable matches, with his European title match with
Davey Boy being the best of them, and his feud with Austin
producing several enjoyable matches and encounters. His work as
a cocky, cowardly heel was also very good, although his mic work
was something he was never renowned for.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley: After
being punished in ’96 because of the "MSG Incident"
he won the KOTR in ’97. He held the IC title as well as the
European title. He also was HBK’s right hand man in DX before
HBK’s retirement which meant he was the leader of DX. In the
summer of ’97 he was still the arrogant snob Helmsley but as
the autumn of ’97 approached he transformed into the
degenerate Triple H you all know today.
Matt: I can’t say I was much
of a fan, but his feud with Foley saw him put forth some solid
efforts and his character development during this time was
taking place rapidly, as everything that has led to him being
the WWF World champ today was set into action during this time.
British Bulldog: Tag champ and
the first ever Euro champ as a part of the Hart Foundation. Left
the WWF in November along with Bret Hart in a decision that he
would later regret. Owen and Bulldog were one of the best tag
teams ever, no doubt about it. Much like Owen he was a great
worker who has been set back by injuries now although he was in
top form during this period.
Matt: Davey Boy was in the tail
end of being a good, competent worker at this point, and
although he would quickly fade after jumping ship, his
performances up through the end with the WWF were usually very
good. His feud with Shamrock never produced the matches it was
capable of, but he had a superb match with Owen to win the
European title and his match with HBK at the UK PPV in September
was also excellent.
Faarooq: Led the Nation of
Domination for over a year and was a high mid-carder throughout
that time. Feuded with people like Ahmed Johnson, Savio Vega and
Crush throughout most of the year and was part of the
disappointing gang wars. Had a title shot against Taker at KOTR
but always had a problem getting over.
Matt: Definitely one of the
bigger disappointments in the eyes of most fans, although I
never expected much from the former WCW World champ. His
involvement in the gang wars was more than forgettable, and
after the Nation moved away from that, he was pushed into a
lesser role by Maivia.
"Psycho" Sid: Lost the
WWF title to HBK at Royal Rumble ’97, won it from Hart and
lost it to Taker in a short span. Left the WWF in ’97 and I
haven’t missed him at all.
Matt: Sid was definitely one of
the lowlights during this period, despite Shawn and Bret both
getting a couple decent to good matches out of him (a definite
testament to their ability). His match with the Undertaker at
WrestleMania XIII ranks up there as one of the worst matches
I’ve seen, and when he left, I was definitely pleased.
Kane (Glenn Jacobs): Debuted at
the Badd Blood PPV in October as Taker’s brother seeking
revenge on Taker for "burning" him as a child. After
pissing Taker (the face) off for nearly 5 months he lost to
Taker at WM14 but looked unbeatable before and after that
moment. One of the most memorable debuts in the history of
wrestling that led him to become a main eventer. Pretty good for
the former "Mr. Yankem." Wrestled as the new Diesel as
well in ‘97 which was just a horrible decision on the WWF’s
part.
Matt: Kane’s involvement was
pretty significant at the time, although it seems nearly
forgettable now. His debut was a major one, although I’d cite
it as preventing Hell in a Cell #1 from being a ***** match.
Personally, the storyline surrounding this one was a little too
much for me, and the return of wrestlers with supernatural
powers is one of the things that started signifying the turn
downhill.
Brian Pillman: Nobody played the
role of a psycho better than the "Loose Cannon."
Another member of the Hart Foundation. Passed away the night
before the Badd Blood PPV in October while in his hotel room.
One of the most exciting and unpredictable wrestlers ever and a
very good technician too.
Matt: While he was one of the
best in the ring during the first half of the decade, after
suffering several injuries, his in-ring ability took a big hit,
yet he developed a persona that was just amazing. The Loose
Cannon/Human Time Bomb was one of the greatest gimmicks ever and
nobody was better suited to play it.
Ahmed Johnson: A good natural
athlete who is the best example that having natural ability does
not make a good wrestler. He hurt people in the ring, he did a
terrible job of selling and his mic skills were atrocious.
Usually was the butt of jokes in the WWF locker room because he
had no idea what he was doing, definitely has not been missed.
Matt: Seeing him do a tope con
hilo was a pretty nifty sight, but that’s really the only
positive thing I can say about him. The sad thing is, if the WWF
hadn’t handled him so poorly, and if he wasn’t such an
injury prone egomaniac, he’d probably be a huge star today.
I’m thankful that isn’t the case.
Vader: Went from being
originally scheduled to win the WWF title in November ’96 to
being placed in jobber country through the latter stages of
’97. Another wrestler who should have had a world title reign.
Was misused by the WWF throughout his tenure which is the reason
why he wasn’t around for too long. Along with Taker, he’s
one of the best big man ever.
Matt: In my eyes, he is the best
big man ever. A great natural talent, but he was just incredibly
misused and is now better off in All Japan. He had a good debut
in ’96, but things just went downhill after his feud with
Shawn Michaels ended.
Goldust: Original heel run ended
in ’96 so he turned face but had a tough time getting over so
wasn’t used in a prominent role at all. He was a part of the
classic 10 man tag at Canadian Stampede as the replacement for
HBK.
Matt: His character was quite
risque at it’s onset, but once the WWF raised the bar in that
area, nothing about him stood out. His role during ’97 and
’98 was surely forgettable.
Ken Shamrock: Referee for the
classic Hart/Austin WM13 match. First match, which was pretty
much a shoot, was a victory over Vader at the May PPV. Made an
excellent transition from the UFC to wrestling and surprised a
lot of people with his adaptation of the wrestling business.
Matt: He did make quite a
transition from the UFC to the US pro-style, but never became
the star that the WWF expected, as he never got entered into a
program with Bret Hart that everyone expected and his feud with
Shawn Michaels never got off the ground, as the WWF had to move
onto the Michaels/Austin feud.
Mr. McMahon: After the Bret Hart
incident in November he took a role on screen in which he was
the mean owner who didn’t want Austin to be the world champ.
The feud only just began in the early parts of ’98 but his
character was an important part in the WWF’s rise to
prominence.
Matt: Outside of Steve Austin,
no character was as important to the WWF regaining the top spot
in the ratings than Vinnie Mac. That’s pretty sad in my book,
but the fact of the matter is that the first time that Raw won
the ratings in 82 weeks is when the show’s scheduled main
event was Vince McMahon vs. Steve Austin.
The Patriot: The man who carried
the American flag to the ring and is basically remembered as the
guy Bret Hart slapped around throughout the summer. Did not
deserve a world title shot but got one anyway at the September
PPV and of course lost.
Matt: I think the Patriot was
put to good use, and he had a very good match with Bret Hart at
Ground Zero. He’s one of the few wrestlers that the WWF has
brought over from AJPW who has actually had some success, and
although his success was short term, he had the right gimmick
for a mini-program with Bret during the time period.
Jim Neidhart: A part of the Hart
Foundation, he wasn’t used after the group disbanded because
without them there was little use for the "Anvil."
Matt: No comment…
Terry Funk: Wrestled under the
name "Chainsaw Charlie" as part of a tag team with
Cactus. Used occasionally by the WWF.
Matt: He didn’t come in until
the end of the time which our time period covers, but he did
make a bit of an impact, participating in very good matches at
back to back PPVs in February and March of ’98.
D’Lo Brown: Started wrestling
in the WWF in late ’97 and was 50 pounds heavier than what he
is today. Started out in the Nation of Domination as he
developed into a fine worker.
Matt: The former SMW worker
debuted with the WWF during the gang wars, but had no role
outside of taking an occasional bump. His presence during this
time really isn’t the least bit notable.
Mark Henry: Joined the NOD later
and basically he has always sucked in the ring.
Matt: Basically, his ten year
contract was a real big mistake.
Savio Vega: Left the NOD and
formed Los Boricuas then saw his career go down the toilet.
Matt: Basically, everyone
associated with the gang wars is more than forgettable, as the
feud had as little crowd interest as anything else in wrestling
at the time. In ’96 he had a rather enjoyable, albeit
forgettable feud with Steve Austin, but that’s a different
time period. He’s not a bad worker, just could never get over.
Crush: Left the NOD and formed
the Disciples of Apocalypse then saw his career go down the
toilet aka joined the NWO in WCW.
Matt: Part of the gang wars, so
you know he did nothing of any value.
X-Pac: Appeared on Raw March 29,
1998 after he was fired by WCW. Gave a memorable shoot interview
on Raw that night in which DX was officially reborn.
Matt: Definitely a wrestler
whose appearance sparked even more interest in the WWF when the
product was gaining a lot of momentum.
Rick Rude: Part of DX although
in a non wrestling capacity. He appeared on Nitro and Raw on the
same night which is unprecedented in this business. Was known as
HBK’s "insurance policy" as a part of DX.
Matt: He was never given any
direction, and was just like a male Chyna, although he actually
got some mic time, as I noted earlier.
Marc Mero & Sable: Sable had
two breast implants during this period vaulting her into the
position as top female in the business. Marc fell into obscurity
and was buried mainly cause his wife was not easy to work with.
Those are about the nicest things I can say about these two.
Matt: Things were looking up for
these two, but Mero got injured and was never the same, as he
couldn’t get over. Meanwhile, Sable became the biggest female
star in wrestling history, but developed and ego that now finds
her out of the industry.
Sargeant Slaughter: Played the
role of the WWF commissioner often being the subject of many
jokes by DX.
Matt: When you saw him you knew
you were either going to laugh at him, for being so bad on
camera, or you were going to laugh at the jokes DX played with
him. His "boot camp" match with HHH was definitely
something I’ve been trying to forget about, but luckily it was
his only match during this time.
New Age Outlaws: Formed in late
’97 after "The New JJ" and "Rockabilly"
were flops as singles. Wrestled as heels to start out but made
the face turn when the new DX was formed in March ’98. Much
more enjoyable as heels, no doubt about it.
Matt: Not a group with a lot of
talent, but Roaddogg brought his charisma to the table, and Gunn
brought his looks, physique and ability to look credible, so
they went on to become the top tag team in the WWF in the later
stages of this time before joining DX, turning face, and
becoming huge fan favorites.
Owen/Bulldog, Headbangers, NAO, LOD,
Godwinns Tag teams in the WWF. The tag titles were held by
the Owen/Bulldog most of the time but the other four times all
had runs as champions.
Matt: By and large, the tag team
scene was extremely weak during this time.
Taka Michinoku, Brian Christopher
The two men who the Light Heavyweight division was to be built
around. Taka is the WWF’s best worker while Brian is a good
worker and very charismatic wrestler. Although the concept was
good the idea fell through and the division basically went into
obscurity.
Matt: They just never put the
time into this concept to get the wrestlers over. Basically a
sign of Russo’s "brilliance" being overrated. Had
they put the resources into really getting this division going,
it could’ve been a success. However, they never really even
tried.
Midget Wrestlers The WWF had a
lot of midget wrestling on during this time to make up for a
thin roster after McMahon supposedly lost money. The matches are
somewhat funny but because of no storylines it just didn’t
work out.
Matt: The matches usually got
good reactions with the highspots mixed in with comedy spots,
but proved to not be ratings draws and they were eventually
dropped.
Sunny: Wasn’t used much in
’97, a definite waste of her talents.
Matt: Wasn’t used, my ass! She
got to be a special guest ref in a mini’s match!
Chyna: Look at a pic of Chyna in
’97 and I swear it’s a different person. She must have a
damn good plastic surgeon.
Matt: Triple H’s bodyguard and
even more manly during this time than Asya is now.
Other: I am sure that we are
missing some people who were a part of the WWF during this time
period but none of them had significant roles so they weren’t
mentioned. If you have any questions about anyone mentioned
above or anyone that we missed be sure to mail us and we’ll
see if we can answer your question.
The
Good and Bad Moments During the Rise of the WWF
John: In this section I’ll take a look at the good and
bad moments during the WWF’s rise to the top.
Five
Bad Things About the Rise of the WWF
5. The use of gangs like NOD, Los Boricuas, DOA, Truth
Commission
I’ll admit that the Nation was okay at certain times but the
other three groups mentioned here were absolutely horrible.
Stables can work but too much of a good thing often backfires
and in this case that’s exactly what happened.
4. The back injury that ended Shawn
Michaels Career
During the match against the Undertaker at the Royal Rumble the
WWF’s top performer for many years realized that his back
injury was so severe that it ended up being one of his last
matches ever. Shawn retired at the age of 32, it’s a shame
that he couldn’t continue because often times wrestlers
don’t hit their peak till that age so who knows how good Shawn
could have been. Shawn’s injury was a loss to the WWF but more
importantly it was a loss to wrestling fans everywhere who
appreciated the excellent matches that Shawn provided throughout
his glorious career.
3. Wrestlers refusing to job
In #4 for this section I said some good things about Shawn but
now I’ll mention that off camera Shawn wasn’t the greatest
employee the WWF had. He refused to job at WrestleMania 13 to
Bret Hart, he refused to appear at the Canadian Stampede PPV
where once again he was scheduled to job and he also wasn’t
liked by his peers because he still was pushed to the moon
despite his unprofessional behavior. There were other moments
when wrestlers refused to job but none of them were as bad as
what Shawn did and that’s why many people despise Michaels
despite all the success he had in the ring.
2. The Bret/Vince situation
Since we vowed not to talk about this in detail I won’t say
too much other than the relationship between Bret and Vince
deteriorated so abruptly on a live PPV that it’s something the
wrestling public will never forget. This is a situation that
wrestling fans will never forget but it was not the worst thing
that happened because there is something that was even more
tragic and that was…
1. Brian Pillman’s death
Nothing in this world is worse than death and on October 4, 1997
the WWF lost Brian Pillman and it’s something that’s not
easy to forget. Whether you liked or disliked Pillman you had to
respect his work ethic which was appreciated by many people
throughout the WWF as he continually gave them everything he had
in every match he participated in. He was very close to the Hart
family and was probably Steve Austin’s closest friend in the
business so his loss was not easy on the wrestlers nor was it
easy on the fans. You may disagree with putting this in the #1
spot but if you can tell me something that is worse than death
I’d really like to know what that is.
Five
Good Things About the Rise of the WWF
5. Innovative matches like Final Four, 10 Man Tag, I Quit and
HIAC
One thing that the WWF provided was original matches that turned
out to be spectacular because of their innovative approach to
the contests. The final four match was a battle royal type match
which ended 30 minutes after it started while the ten man tag
lasted for forty minutes and had one of the best crowds I’ve
ever seen at a wrestling event. The "I Quit" match was
the best I’ve seen of it’s kind even though it has been
happening for decades the concept still can work but on that
night in March the match went up another level of excellence.
The match I anticipated the most was the HIAC battle between HBK
and Taker that provided many insane bumps by HBK in what will be
one of the most memorable matches ever, to me anyway. My point
to all this is that creativity is what wrestling fans crave and
if you are able to do something creative every PPV then it will
provide fans with extra incentive to watch the culmination of a
great feud.
4. Strong stables like DX & The
Hart Foundation
We talked about this previously and the reason it’s in here is
because the heat that the HF received was the genuine heel heat
that wrestlers crave. DX was innovative in that they played the
roles of heels but as time went on they were thought of as cool
by the fans and eventually made the switch to being faces. Great
job by both stables as they were able to sustain heat for a long
time, which provided many memorable feuds.
3. The Start of the McMahon/Austin
feud
If we were looking at events past March of ’98 this one may be
at number one but since the feud only really started at the
beginning of ’98 I think this is where it should be rated.
After Austin won RR ’98 McMahon was asked if he’d like to
have Austin as the WWF champion, his reply was a very emphatic
"Oh hell no" and from that moment the feud of owner
vs. employee was on. The WWF’s dominance was benefited greatly
by this feud and there’s no way anybody could overlook such a
thing.
2. Giving the Rock and Owen/Bulldog
long title reigns
The Rock was given the IC title in December and didn’t lose it
until the memorable Summerslam ladder match he had with Triple
H. The most important part of the whole experience was that the
Rock was able to sustain heel heat throughout his reign because
of his arrogance as the champion. Austin is the one who was
pushed the most during this time period but after him The Rock
is easily second. In the tag team scene, Owen Hart and the
British Bulldog dominated for over eight months mainly cause
there wasn’t really a great team to give the titles to so that
these two could wrestle just in the singles ranks. I think
technically there isn’t a better tag team that Owen/Bulldog so
in my eyes having them as your tag champs for a long period of
time made this period that much more greater. An 8 month title
reign will never happen during this day an age so that’s what
made their run even better.
1. Building the company around three
fantastic wrestlers like Austin, Hart and HBK
I won’t go into details since we covered this already but I
figure since they are in this spot they need to be discussed.
These are the three best wrestlers of this decade in all aspects
of the business and to have them lead your company at the same
time is why the company rose so quickly to the top again. Every
PPV main event the WWF had was good. Matches like the Final
Four, I Quit, HIAC and 10 Man tag are not always going to be
successful but because at least one of these men were a part of
those matches they were better than even the critics suspected
they would be. I think it’s safe to say that in the future
there will never be three men with this much talent at the top
of the company. You are supposed to build your company around
your top stars and that’s what the WWF did; that’s why they
were so successful.
Conclusion to Part Four
John: Doing the section on the rest of the roster was
quite enjoyable. It gave us the chance to remember our feelings
for certain wrestlers who aren’t there now and it brought back
a lot of good and bad memories. Making the lists were not easy
to do because there were many things to choose from but after I
narrowed each part down to five ordering the lists were much
easier to do. Although they lost the ratings battle to WCW I
believe that ‘97/’98 was a very productive for the WWF. They
did a tremendous job building for their future which is why they
are sitting on top of the wrestling world today.
John
C. and Matt Spence
