Tag Archives: Hulk Hogan

Speak to me, Warriors….A look back at Halloween Havoc 1998

  By Franny | October 31, 2011 - 4:32 pm | Flashback, Wrestling
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 It’s Halloween, woop-dee-doo. I don’t usually buy into holiday nonsense, but a post over at Feminine Smark inspired me. I didn’t realize it until now, but Halloween Havoc 1998 showcased a few of my absolute FAVORITE wrestling moments as a kid. Sting vs Bret Hart was a dream match for me (Sharpshooter vs Scorpion Deathlock?!) and the thought of it still gives me wrestling-mark-goosebumps. I recall Diamond Dallas Page vs Bill Goldberg being a huge deal as well. Face vs face, the people’s champ vs the unbeaten Goldberg. Diamond Dallas Page was the type to never quit or give up at any cost, and Goldberg was an unstoppable force. This match pretty much sold itself.

As if these two  marquee match-ups didn’t sell the event on their own, we also had “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan versus old rival The Ultimate Warrior. This match has since become a punchline and it’s the first thing people think of when Halloween Havoc 1998 is mentioned, sadly. I didn’t even realize Bret-Sting and DDP-Goldberg were on the same event, either! It’s hard to say who is to blame for that but it’s not really necessary to blame anyone. It was an attempt to cash in on something well-known, even if many years had passed. We all know Bischoff is known to do that from time to time. It’s hard to blame him for trying, and I don’t think it would be treated with such disregard had the flash-paper incident not happened. It was all a questionable storyline at best but I’m sure plenty of people bought the pay-per-view to see Warrior in action. I for one have never been a fan of Ultimate Warrior, and probably never will be. However, as much as I’d like to pin this train wreck on him, I just can’t.

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My thoughts on current wrestling: TNA, No Surrender, storylines, Kevin Nash vs the world

  By Franny | September 12, 2010 - 12:25 pm | TNA, Wrestling
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In yesterday’s article, I said WWE programming was on an upswing. Today’s article explains why TNA is on its own upswing. A slow, but steady upswing. Call it ‘Thomas the Wrestling Promotion.’

Styles saw Dreamer drivin' 'round town with a girl he loves, and was like, "fork you."

No Surrender:
First off, No Surrender 2010 was a pretty good pay-per-view. Spoiler alert: here’s a breakdown of the results and my thoughts on each:

  1. Motor City Machine Guns def. Generation Me, Tag Team Championship
    Originally this match was supposed to be the Guns versus London Brawling, but they were pulled out due to ‘personal reasons.’ Generation Me subbed in for what would easily be the match of the night, and turned heel afterwards. Max and Jeremy are currently in a program with the Guns, so I wonder if this was the plan from the start?
  2. Douglas Williams def. Sabu, X Division Championship
    I was looking forward to this match mostly due to the contrast in styles. Williams retains in a decent match and Sabu can STILL GO. I hope he’s careful and planning to retire soon, though, as I doubt his body can take many more years of his high-risk style.
  3. Velvet Sky def. Madison Rayne
    It seems a bit odd to have a Knockouts match on pay-per-view without the title being involved, but given that they have the highest rated angle going on, why not?
  4. Abyss def. Rhino, Falls Count Anywhere match
    I didn’t pay much attention to this match as I didn’t have a very high interest level in it, but I did catch the part where they were fighting under the stage and Rhino was thrown through a ‘perforated’ wall in the base of the stage. I wasn’t a fan.
  5. Jarrett/Samoa Joe def Sting/Nash
    I’m not a big fan of this angle, though I am vaguely intrigued as far as where they plan to take this. As much as I hate making this comparison, it unfortunately reeks of 2000 WCW ‘worked-shoot’ Russo segments. I guess I don’t like it as much this time around since I’ve become an ‘internet fan,’ so I’m immune to the edginess of that type of angle.
  6. AJ Styles def Tommy Dreamer, I Quit match.
    Not too many comments on this one. Physically, AJ Styles is the Shawn Michaels of TNA, and can work a good match with anyone. A good way to get heel heat is to stick a fork in someone’s eye. The 2010 equivalent to breaking Dusty Rhodes’ arm after a parking lot ambush. The lovable, blue-collar fat guy gets beaten down by the Horsemen. I suppose it’s a sad time when the Dusty Rhodes of your era is Tommy Dreamer.
    Sidenote: AJ’s TV Title was not on the line, does this mean it’s literally just a title for television broadcasts?
  7. Kurt Angle vs Jeff Hardy went to a no contest, World Championship tournament semi-final match.
    Great match despite Jeff Hardy botching his spots and Angle attempting spots when he doesn’t need to do moonsaults to be over. Extending the time limit only to extend it a second time defies the logic of just having the match go on until there’s a winner, but it reminds me too that sometimes we shouldn’t ‘over think’ and be so critical. It was well-planned, well-executed, and it went over well with the crowd.
  8. Mr Anderson def. D’Angelo Dinero, World Championship tournament semi-final match.
    Great match with a win-win scenario, as either will make a great world champion if and when that day comes. Anderson’s post-match banter was very entertaining too. Anderson posed in all four corners, and dare I say it was reminiscent of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s post-match celebrations. (more…)

Jan 4 Impact semi-live report: “Time for Change” …and Hulkamania!

  By Franny | January 6, 2010 - 11:03 pm | TNA, Wrestling
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You know the hype, so I will just jump into the action.

Asylum Cage: "Oops."

Impact began with an 8 person Asylum cage match. A lot of people seem to dislike the Asylum cage, and I can understand why, but I don’t mind it. Aside from looking like an Elimination Chamber ripoff, it reminds me of the old blue WWF cage. What they have to remember, though, six sides of anything is going to need extra reinforcement compared to four sides, so this means more obstructed views from the fan’s perspective in the crowd.

The match ended with Homicide taking out the other secen participants, which prompted a ‘no contest’ decision from the referee. Much to no one’s surprise, the decision earned a ‘bullshit’ chant from the crowd, which was bleeped out every time. This got pretty annoying. Overall the point of the finish was to end it without burying any of the X-Division stars by not actually putting anyone over (although no one gets buried if it’s an escape finish).

Homicide failed at escaping the cage (as anyone probably would) and dropped back into the ring. The remaining participants ‘came to their senses’ and attacked Homicide, basically having to improvise. Jeff Hardy jumps the barricade and Homicide attacks him. The attack included an unprotected chair shot, which is really not necessary in this day and age of wrestling. Too many reports of brain tissue analysis are coming out that describe horrific effects of constant head trauma from this profession, so hopefully TNA/Homicide/Hardy don’t make a habit of it.

A lot of people complained and nitpicked on various forums and reports I’ve read, about that debut and everything about it, but I really thought it was pretty good considering a lot had to be improvised. Even Mike Tenay had to make an effort to cover up Homicide’s inability to escape the cage: “Oh, now he’s just showing off.” When I watched it live, I thought Tenay caught something that I missed, so I bought it. Effective emergency control on an announcer’s part. Still, if such a mishap can occur so early in your most important broadcast, maybe they should have gone with a regular WRESTLING match, or Ultimate X. (more…)

January 4: The First Battle of the Second Monday Night Wars?

  By Franny | December 29, 2009 - 2:06 pm | Flashback, TNA, Wrestling, WWE
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With the help of Hulk Hogan, TNA looks to be a Monday-Night-Throne Hopeful.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Sitting on the floor at the foot of my father’s bed on a Monday night in July. With no school in session, there was no reason I couldn’t stay up to watch WCW Monday Nitro rather than tape it and watch it the next day. Of course, my Dad didn’t have the same luxury of a summer vacation, so I had to try to contain my excitement as I watched then-undefeated United States Champion Bill Goldberg challenge the ‘immortal’ Hollywood Hulk Hogan in the Georgia Dome. That’s right, I even remember the arena. I also remember it being the peak of entertainment in my young-adult days. Never before (and I don’t think I was ever again) was I that engrossed and drawn into a TV show (perhaps my childhood favorite ‘Power Rangers’ would be the only exception) in my life.

Fast-forwarding over ten years later, a lot has changed. If you’ve been reading this blog, you might have gotten the impression that I am still a wrestling fan. That assumption is correct, but it’s not a statement that can be written without asterisks at hand. A lot has changed. The lines of real and scripted are no longer as blurred as they once were to me, and many names have come and gone since. Even that said company has gone; gone into the clutches of Vince McMahon. Wrestling has not been the same since World Championship Wrestling closed, because there is no competition for World Wrestling Entertainment, the ‘number one’ in the business.

That may change over time, as the ‘number two’ in the business, Total Non-stop Action Wrestling, has signed the most well-known and popular star in the history of professional wrestling: Hulk Hogan. Love him or hate him, everyone and their uncle knows the Hulkster. Not everyone knows TNA, however, and while one man can’t automatically make TNA a contender, it sure will help a lot. (more…)