The "I miss......" thread

flahavaj

This is a thread to all those things you miss about pro wrestling that just don't happen anymore.

I miss TV squash matches. A basic way to make anyone look like a threat. Also made PPV matches when two established guys collided seem all the more important as you didn't see them get their hands on each other till the actual blow-off match.

I miss WWF only having only 4 PPV's a year. They just seemed so much more must see and important when there was a 3 month build to a feud. Nowadays the same feud is rehashed ad nauseum just to fill a PPV up every month. It alost seem monthly PPVs are a inconvenience these days and you becom,e blase about even the bigger ones like Summerslam and SurSeries.

I miss Eddie.

I miss Gorilla/Heenan. The other thread says it all really.

I miss being spoiler free and being a mark. Sometimes i think we're too smart, nothing surprises us anymore, its like we can pre empt storylines before they happen.

I miss when the IC title seemed really important like when Bret and Bulldog main evented a packed Wembley, or Stemboat and Savage wrestled a classic over it or when you wanted nothing more than the honky Tonk man to lose the thing.

I miss cruiserweight wrestling in WCW when Rey, Juvi, Eddie, Jericho et al were actually given time to work their magic and every Nitro would have at least one cruiser match you had to see.

I miss Vader beating bitches to a pulp.

I miss the Rock cutting amazing promos every single week.

I miss the madness that was ECW.

Mossy Monk

Edge and Christians five second poses. Genius.

flahavaj

Oh and I forgot i miss Pipers Pit and the Funeral Parlour. Some great storyl;ines came from those segments. Who'll ever forget jake the Snake traqpping the Undertaker's hand in a casket, or Piper murdering Snuka with a coconut.

BrandonBlock

I don't even watch wrestling any more but I have good memories of the dudley boyz, d-von collecting for his church with the "deacon batista" lol..

jeffk

I miss:

ECW
Also the three promotions even though at the height of it i barely seen wwe(on sky one)!
Somewhat kayfabe!

flahavaj

BrandonBlock wrote:

I don't even watch wrestling any more but I have good memories of the dudley boyz, d-von collecting for his church with the "deacon batista" lol..

They had actuaqlly split them up at this point due to the first Draft Lottery and D-Von ended up on Smackdown with a pretty lame and short-lived Reverend D-Von gimmick. Hard to believe that Batista went from those humble beginnings to being a 3-time World Champ!!!

rossie1977

i miss stacy keibler, all i see is silicone bimbos on WWE tv today.

i miss WCW circa 1996

i miss the gobbledygooker, man he so much fun

The Sparrow

I miss The Rock and Trish Stratus!

EdK

" Of all the things he's lost he misses his mind the most"

Trivia Time:By who and about who?

Minto

I miss being a mark! God, I remember the days when I'd sit down, watch RAW on a Friday night, maybe break out the good ol' wrestling figs. Then on Saturday morning, I'd get up and watch SmackDown! Those were the days.

jeffk

EdK wrote:

" Of all the things he's lost he misses his mind the most"

Trivia Time:By who and about who?

Gonna guess jr on mankind!!

nacho libre

I think it was Lawler who said that about mankind.

jeffk

nacho libre wrote:

I think it was Lawler who said that about mankind.

was thinking lawler but then i thought mick an jr got on so well id assume jr would say it to try and put the character over more

nacho libre

"Will you stop!"
Heyman insulting JR:)
The Rock's promos
Kane's debut
Bruiser Brody
Stan Hansen
The Steiner Brothers
Fabulous flying Freebirds
The Legion of Doom
"Who is the man"
The Four Horsemen
Dan Spivey when he tagged with Syd Vicious
Brian Pillman

Forgot to mention Earthquake!

Ruu_Old

nacho libre wrote:

"Will you stop!"
Heyman insulting JR:)
The Rock's promos
Kane's debut
Bruiser Brody
Stan Hansen
The Steiner Brothers
Fabulous flying Freebirds
The Legion of Doom
"Who is the man"
The Four Horsemen
Dan Spivey when he tagged with Syd Vicious
Brian Pillman

Forgot to mention Earthquake!

Yep don't forget the Michigan State jackets.

Jim Cornette and his tennis racket (I don't keep up to date with TNA but Wiki says he is on there right now)
Papa Shango
Big Van Vader and Sting battling every week (also Vader's odd costume when he had his debut! )

Bubs101

I miss proper stables like D-X, the nation, corporation etc.
Miss tag teams that reak of awsommeness or at least have personallity
Miss the 24/7 hardcore division.
Miss the WWF logo
Miss car crash TV
Miss the Hurricane.
Miss Kane's mask.
Miss proper build up's to PPV's
Miss Heyman
And finally miss Morisson from ECW already

Mr.Nice Guy

This is a good idea for a thread.

Minto wrote:

I miss being a mark! God, I remember the days when I'd sit down, watch RAW on a Friday night, maybe break out the good ol' wrestling figs. Then on Saturday morning, I'd get up and watch SmackDown! Those were the days.

Ah yeah I remember that too except when I was younger we didn't have Sky so what I would do on Friday evenings would be put on the Sky Sports channel and just listen to the commentary. I remember one time being excited when I heard Hardcore Holly return around 2000. Damn, looking back I was so sad.

Some of the things I miss...

Wrestlemanias on Sky Sports
WWE Classics on Sky Sports
Rock's promos
Royal Rumbles which feature shock returns
When the tag team division meant something
The old King of the Ring format
Trish Stratus wrestling
Stacy Keibler simply standing there
Four Corner matches (love these but haven't seen one in years)

Minto

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

except when I was younger we didn't have Sky so what I would do on Friday evenings would be put on the Sky Sports channel and just listen to the commentary.

I remember doing that in my aunts house once or twice, but I could only do it for a few mins, cos it drove me mad hearing the matches, but not seeing them.

rossie1977

people were real "marks" when they were kids and believed everything interesting......

My first taste of pro-wrestling was on ITV circa 1982-83 and even at that young age I could still tell it wasn't real with people bouncing off Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks' bellies

Lita Forever

Lol, I also used to do that. Around 1999, we had Sky Sports sound but no picture. It was the time of King Of The Ring 1999, I remember looking forward so much to staying up and listening to the PPV. Good times lol.

In a way I miss the days when I was fairly oblivious to the " inside workings" of wrestling. I had watched it all my life, and was aware it was pre determined, but for the most part wasn't really up on the backstage politics, who was screwing who over, who no sold what move etc, mainly because I very rarely went online.

It was a lot better not knowing what would happen, not reading spoilers..PPV nights actually felt special. I used to get so into every single match..

Now years later, I'm always online. Every match and every move is dissected and ripped apart., it just seems to take the good out of things. There's very little unpredictability anymore. Everything is analyzed so much, so wrestling's not nearly as much fun anymore.

So yeah, that's what I miss. Lol.

ShawnRaven

I miss a lot of the old school stuff, especially as i'm watching a lot of it now but i think stuff like what i am about to list could help WWE in a big way.

I miss...
Four PPV's a year. Summerslam, Survivor Series, Wrestlemania and Royal Rumble were big deals for anyone watching between 1989-1992. Now they just get credit for being the longest PPV's going. Even Unforgiven got hyped up this year for being the 10th annual. That's probably the most worthless PPV going!

Brother Love: Jericho's Highlight reel, Carlitos Cabana and The Cutting Edge are nothing on this guy. Pritchard was at his best under this character (not forgetting that he was Undertakers original manager too pre-Paul Bearer!). Pritchard really doesn't get the credit he deserves for taking over Pipers Pit.

Saturday Nights Main Event:... when it actually meant something. When WWE were running 4 PPV's per year, SNME was a big deal in the sense that every match was a main event match. On Superstars and Challenge you had Superstar v Jobber 2 min squash match each week, so SNME was something to look forward to every second month in between PPV's. The 2006 revamp was utter cack and it hasn't been the same since.

Prime Time Wrestling!: (see Monsoon and Heenan) but on top of their hilarious hosting, you'd often see really rare house show matches from the likes of Boston Garden, Philadelphia Spectrum and of course, the mecca itself, Madison Square Garden!

Thats all i can think of for now really.
VR!

Fozzy

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

Ah yeah I remember that too except when I was younger we didn't have Sky so what I would do on Friday evenings would be put on the Sky Sports channel and just listen to the commentary. I remember one time being excited when I heard Hardcore Holly return around 2000. Damn, looking back I was so sad.

Haha, I'd do that too if I was ever bored on a Friday night. I was convinced that I was able to make out the picture sometimes too. I remember my mate tellin me that he was listening to it on the night that Justin Credible debuted, and he wanted to know what it was that the commentators kept describing as "just incredible!"

I miss when the tag belts meant something in WWE and TNA
I miss Eddie
I miss the days of getting up early on Saturday mornings for SD. Instead of 10am it's 1 or 3pm for the football these days!
I miss Kenta Kobashi, but he should be back next year!
I miss Paul Heyman booking/commentating
I miss the old Sting, the blonde-haired one
I miss hearing Tazz say "here comes the pain!"
I miss Curt Hennig, Brian Pillman, Owen Hart, too many to mention

Ruu wrote:

Jim Cornette and his tennis racket (I don't keep up to date with TNA but Wiki says he is on there right now)

He's a commissioner figure there, I just picture his blood boiling whenever he announces the next illogical gimmick match. Nowhere near his best unfortunately

flahavaj

I'm quite drunk now so forgive the incoherence or spelling mistakes but it looks like we all mis the days when kayfabe had a hold on us and for all our smartness, we still long for the days when a storyline would genuinely surprise us and inspire true enmotion. Like when Warrior had the slime run down his face, lord i nwas so freaked out at the time!

Which remnds me......i miss Mean gene and his interviews

krudler

i miss the unpredictability of raw, before the net ruined wrestling friday night at 10 on sky sports was unmissable, title matches on tv, hell in a cell matches, austin ruining something vince had planned,the rock slagging people off, dx when it was good, now raw is so predicable every week, the last time i even slightly marked out was when the rock appeared in a taped segment slagging off vince and trump

Vince135792003

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

Ah yeah I remember that too except when I was younger we didn't have Sky so what I would do on Friday evenings would be put on the Sky Sports channel and just listen to the commentary. I remember one time being excited when I heard Hardcore Holly return around 2000. Damn, looking back I was so sad.

Snap. I spent the best part of 1997 and 1998 doing the same.

I miss:

-every guy that entertained me who is no longer with us.
- Vince McMahon on commentary circa. 1995 shouting UN-BEL-IEVABLE.
-Pride FC.
- feeling like I did when I was young watching wrestling.

Double C

I miss:
- the days when both WWE and TNA were good. Its amazing to think how good they both were doing in the last year or so alone (pre WM/pre Russo) not to mention when they were at their peak.
- Chris Jericho being on my tv .
- the "straight edge means I'm better than you" CM Punk.
- Eddie and Pillman and all the others who went too soon.
- dare I say I miss Benoit? :eek:
- Stacey Kiebler. I find myself watching "What About Brian" just for her
- tag teams.
- crusiers.
- the time before I had a job, meaning I could stay up and watch ppv's live with a few mates. No matter how bad the shows were we made the best of them!
- Heyman. Rumour has it he's been 'released' from his WWE contract so he can work for other companies if he so chooses. Don't ask me for a link though, I've not got one.
- Low Ki, Shelley and Joe in ROH. Shelley mainly.

EdK

Answer was Jerry lawler on Mankind

razorblunt

President of WWF Jack Tunney!

chopperbyrne

A proper Tag division that meant something, not just two guys thrown together because creative has nothing for them.

Managers with stables.

Jesse Ventura on commentary.

The Monday night wars. Competition is always good for the fans.

When the IC title meant something.

Mean Gene Okerlund!

Ruu_Old

razorblunt wrote:

President of WWF Jack Tunney!

I am always reminded of Sid's comment when I heard the name, Jack Tunney.

At around 2:50...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59a_w2cYfzA

Terry

Double C wrote:

Stacey Kiebler. I find myself watching "What About Brian" just for her

E4 in 20 minutes.
Otherwise, Wednesday night.
She's in 6 episodes.
This one today.

I miss Scott Hall above all else.
I also miss Jericho,
Austin,
Owen Hart (was never a bret fan),
Piper,
All the above on the mic and in the ring.

Ruu's post above reminded me of something.
Does anyone have footage of Sid wrecking his ankle on Nitro?
The sight of that is something I will never forget.
I did the same to both my ankles and can empathise with the pain he would have felt.

I also miss Nitro in it's heyday.
I posted a link in the youtub thread to a guy whohas uploaded hours of great footage from back then. Should be in the last page or thereabouts.

Double C

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ_RR9WjUlI

Ouch!!! Double ankle break?? Double ouch!


And I totally forgot to say I miss stables and managers, chopperbyrne reminded me!

DerekSmalls

I miss the days of wrestling being good. I remember years ago, nothing would stop me from getting to see the next PPV or an episode of Raw Is War. Now, to be honest, I couldn't give a ****e if I missed an episode. I really only order 'Mania, the Rumble and Summerslam these days. The storylines just don't captavate me like they used to. And it's not because I'm "smart" now or whatever, it's because they're ****. I havn't watched a full episode of Smackdown in years. I've only watched 2 or 3 full episodes of ECW. Teddy Long getting married? Big titty V vs The Boogeyman? Khali? Why would you want to watch that? I'd be much happier to watch anything with Steve Austin, DeGeneration-X, The Hart Foundation, The Rock, Undertaker-Kane, Mick Foley rather than the rubbish they put on today.

rossie1977

^^^^ in fairness thats more the writers fault than anyone else. The quality of wrestling on display in the WWE has stayed relatively consistent throughout the years, just the angles have gotten worse.

in the summer of 1995, Big Daddy V (then known as King Mabel) was the number one contender to Kevin Nash's crown, he even headlined the second biggest pay-per-view that year!! People love to hate BDV (yes he is awkward and a bit dangerous at times), but show me another 6'7 32 stone guy that can do half the stuff BDV does in the ring without dying

The main problem with Khali is that he has the charisma of a tree Khali and Giant Gonzales were easily as mobile as Andre post 1985.

Terry

Double C wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ_RR9WjUlI

Ouch!!! Double ankle break?? Double ouch!


And I totally forgot to say I miss stables and managers, chopperbyrne reminded me!

That's the one.
Jesus. The pain.
That was basically the end of his career.

Double C

His comeback is on though, he even wants a WWE contract, and I want him to get it!

Minto

rossie1977 wrote:

people were real "marks" when they were kids and believed everything interesting......

My first taste of pro-wrestling was on ITV circa 1982-83 and even at that young age I could still tell it wasn't real with people bouncing off Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks' bellies

I always knew it was staged! Its just that he storylines weren't that predictable, cos i didn't have all the inside goss that i do now.

ec18

I miss The rocks promos on HHH and DX on Raw every week.......I remember seeing the first Finally The Rock has Come Back.....I miss the backstage stuff, the comedy and the angles the most

MikeHoncho

I miss surprise debuts and returns. They always heavily promote the returns or debuts of wrestlers now. Remember Ravens, Rhinos, Jerichos, The Radicals etc. It mad for much more excting TV because even though you knew these guys were on the way you were never sure exactly how or when it would happen. Even in Jerichos case everyone pretty much knew it was gonna be him but still you couldnt be 100% sure so when his name appeared on the screen everyone went banannas.

Fozzy

It's interesting, some of the stuff that people are saying they miss, like tag wrestling, unpredictable storylines, surprise debuts/returns, managers and stables, all those things are alive and well in good ol ROH! It was just funny reading them, as they didn't enter my head as things I miss. Makes me feel a little more grateful now!

Bubs101

I'm pretty sure that if I watched more ROH I'd miss production values

pingu_girl

I miss wcw

Melion

Having not watched wrestling in 2-3 years because of how poor it had got, ill tell you what i missed back then.

DX
The Rocks promos
Stone Cold
Any decent tag wrestling on WWE
Old Skool ECW with Heyman, Styles etc
Anyone getting a decent push, the main reason i stopped watching was because it was the same main-eventers every PPV

HorseRadish

I miss Sunny

Ph3n0m

I miss wrestling before the internet - for me it was more fun and less "insider"

Cactus Col

i used to miss smackdown not being on sky one on saturday mornings ... but I recently got the channels again.


I miss stables.

I miss managers.

I miss the old king of the ring format.

I miss fewer ppv's

slamman

Watching Bret Hart wrestle!(would have loved to see Hitman vs Angle)

slamman

slamman wrote:

Watching Bret Hart wrestle!(would have loved to see Hitman vs Angle)

Amen Brother !

ShawnRaven

slamman wrote:

Watching Bret Hart wrestle!(would have loved to see Hitman vs Angle)

I miss that too, i no longer have a cure for insmonia anymore!
VR!

chopperbyrne

validreasoning! wrote:

I miss that too, i no longer have a cure for insmonia anymore!
VR!

Amen brother!

Double C

validreasoning! wrote:

I miss that too, i no longer have a cure for insmonia anymore!
VR!

Boo, Hiss! :mad: