Yeah that was cool but I loved the Ministry more..it wasn't just a stable they had people being abducted (Midion first I believe, then Farrooq and Bradshaw) and you didn't find out until 3-4 weeks later that it was the Undertaker turning them into something.

The nWo was the greatest but the WWE version was watered down and just never as great as the original WCW product. Also, DX was "it" back in the day too (HHH, Michaels, New Age Outlaws, etc)

Oh yea, I forgot to mention. For those who aren't up-to-date on the recent title histories, Bradshaw (or JBL, as he is called now) held the WWE Championship for 8 months, I believe, making him the longest reigning champion in the last decade. Bradshaw!!

Just more information on the decline in quality over the past 5 years or so.

That's exactly why I boycotted Smackdown. I don't care what the WWE says, JBL is NOT an 8 month WWE champion (nor is he from New York!)

What really sucks now is that 2 of my favorites (if not my 2 favorite) wrestlers are now on Smackdown: Chris Benoit & RVD. So now I won't be able to watch them, plus Booker T Jeez, the give the title to JBL but not RVD. Talk about lack of quality programming

I agree with Irishman on this one. RVD never got a chance to hold the WWE title while others got the chance(including from last year Eddie Gurerro). Of course, I've heard that Mr. "Triple H" will get drafted to Smackdown, which would make things more interesting for the title chase(which combined explains that Triple H will win that Hell in the Cell match). I can see him as champ for 8 months, but not "JBL". Then again, anyone remember his stunt last year when he gave the Nazi salute at that one house show in Germany?

Between the 3, who do you guys consider the greatest champion of all time?

1) Ric Flair
2) Hulk Hogan
3) Bret Hart

I'd say Bret is my favorite and I want to vote for him, but in all honesty I have to give it to Hulk Hogan. The man just did so much for the sport and put it on the map I think in ways Ric Flair never could/did. Flair did a lot too, but I feel Hogan had more of an international impact that really help the sport grow

Hulk Hogan, uncontested. Granted, Hogan is the least technical of the choices, but mention all three of those names to almost anybody in the world, and I guarantee more people know the name Hulk Hogan. Even non-wrestling fans know who Hulk Hogan is. He's a household name. You can't say that about anybody else in the business, not even The Rock.

I have to agree with Hogan. At his prime with the WWF, he was a superstar to his own of which even The Rock or Mr. Steve Austin haven't met with yet. Not to mention hes the most important for sure.

My problem with Hogan was that he always had that lame "finishing" move of his. I mean weak bodyslam then leg drop.

Ric Flair can easily be argued as the greatest, yet its hard for me to say this when he has the same "dance routine" in the ring for the last few decades.

Now Brett Hart was really great. Great Technical and Mat skills that he only could have learned from the legendary Hart Family. Too bad his "mic skills" was always mediocre at best.

When do you think the WWF/E was in its prime? Who were the main-eventers, who was champion, which kind of alliances/storylines were there, and so on?

Mick

For me, I think it was probably in its prime during the late 1980s to early 1990s (maybe 1988-1992). The main-eventers were Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Ric Flair, Macho Man Randy Savage with mid-carders such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Jake the Snake Roberts, etc. As for storylines, I did like the Corporate angle, as well as the original DX (HHH, Shawn Michaels, and Chyna). But the WWF did get a second wind during the late 1990s (1998+) with Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, New Age Outlaws, etc

What made the "nWo" work especially was that besides the really good tag team in the "Outsiders"(remember when Tag Team Wrestling was actually considered serious by its respective group?), was also how the unthinkable had occured: Hulk Hogan as the heel. Real brilliant coup there. What was odd about the tag team was that Hall was a decent good wrestler, but Kevin Nash(or we kiddies remembered him as The Diesel back in the WWF days) was never a good wrestler.

Too bad Scott Hall aka Razor Ramon had his never-conquerable problems with alcohol and drugs which got him kicked out of wrestling, and Nash....he just never worked for me as a serious heavyweight champ.

Now the WWF was powerful back in 1998/1999, to the point that when ABC's MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL tried to move its game time to 8 PM mondays at the time, WWF *whipped* it in the ratings. Ouch. Not to mention that as legend claims, the Walt Disney Corporation(parents of ABC, ESPN, etc.) tried to *bribe* the WWF into moving RAW to another night with about $100 million. Of course this was before Vince Big Mac's company deflated and the disaster that was the XFL.

I never heard that Monday Night Football tried to bride the WWF to move Raw Why didn't Monday Night Football just move?

Because they couldn't have Monday night football on a tuesday :rolleyes: :p :p

Sure they could have had "Tuesday Night" or even "Thursday Night" Football

Bah, now it's clear that MNF kills Raw, WWE's ratings have declined steadily over the past few years, especially since WCW went under, because now, without competition, the product has turned to shite.

Which is why I think ECW will be brought back under Paul Heyman- the buy rate for ECW one night stand was something like 3times what they expected it to be and was the highest buyrate in years if I remember correctly.

Vince needs ECW

[img]http://www.wwe.com/content/media/touts/feature/29062/603518[/img]

Well, its no secret that WWE has slowly and somewhat quietly been on the path of "resurrecting" ECW as of sorts a minor-league wrestling league(like say Arena Football or NFL Europe to the NFL) that would play at 5-10,000 seat buildings and appeal to an audience outside of the juvenile/adolescent kids that the WWE has been somewhat reaching out to for many years. I mean really.

ONE NIGHT STAND was intended to be WWE's "trial run" to see if ECW would sell again..and apparently it does. I expect to see ECW back up and running sometime in the new year. Now if they let "Tazz" wrestle regularly like he used to in ECW before he got benched, I would really be happy.

I want to see the One Night Stand DVD when it comes out (any ideas on when?) Altough I did just get The Rise and Fall of ECW-Disc 1 through Blockbuster Online and I plan on watching it tonight. I never watched it when it was on TV so I'm really looking forward to the DVD & The One Night Stand DVD

According to WrestlingNewsWorld.com, WWE is rushing the DVD out the door, with a scheduled release date of June 28. Here's the link.

ECW: One Night Stand

Wow! Grazie xxx, now I don't have to wait as long!

In regards to the question of Flair, Hogan or Hart, I would have to agree with you guys and say Hogan. He made wrestling mainstream, when it was thought of as a circus, attracting old ladies with canes, and illiterate fans. He also made all the headliners in all the territories more money due to the attention wrestling was now getting.

My favourite though is Flair. No one could cut a promo like him, and he was fantastic in the ring. Woooooooo! (even though he is almost 100% comedy now, he is still great!)

Bret was an underated champion. He had excellent skills and could carry a match. Too bad he will always be remembered as a whiner for the Survivor Series.

just my 2 cents (canadian money)

As regards Hart's whining for the Gang Rulez Survivor Series (at which, may I note, every single heel won, from which I still haven't recovered!), do people think he was right to do so? Or are you loving Vince McMahon all the way?

I still lament how Hart's career turned out. Luck (if we can be so bold as to call it that) hasn't been kind to him, with many sudden deaths in the family.

For me, he was always, and still is, and will always be the excellent of execution. And the best out of the Hogan, Flair and Hart contest would be Bret. Hogan may be more important for wrestling, but he could never wrestle. Flair was always a mere cartoon, though an excellent wrestler. But Bret was cool man. He was cool.

Mick

Don't get me wrong Mick, I love Hart. I just think his legacy is a little tarnished. Too many questions remain unanswered regarding the SS. I think it was all true, and no, i am not a big fan of Vince McMahon. He is an excellent promoter, but a lousy person.

A whiner!? The man spilt blood, sweet, and tears for that company. He put his body on the line night in and night out, was away from his family 200+ days out of the year, worked through injuries, etc etc. And all he asked for was to be treated with respect and to allow him to drop the title in the United States as opposed to his home country of Canada. VERY understandable in my book, nor do I think it's asking a lot (if anything at all). Bret has every reason in the world to "whine" as you so put it

Mick, I agree. Bret was and still is the best. IMO, he's probably one of the best "wrestlers" (wrestlers who can actually wrestler and not just a gimmick). He was the best technical wrestler I ever saw.

I guess I should try and write more clearly. I did not say "I" thought he was a whiner, but it has been seven years since the Survivor Series, and he still talks about it regularly, and when people discuss him, it is always brought up.
I repeat "I love Hart"

Me too! I heart him.

Mick

Har Har!

BTW, did you know that Brett Hart owns a minor league hockey team in Canada? Naturally, they are named THE HITMEN.

I agree 100% that Hart was the best wrestler of the above-mentioned wrestlers. While Hogan and Flair are more important in "wrasslin" history, Hart was the best wrestler of the bunch. Besides, he didn't repeat the SAME MATCH ROUTINE for decades like Flair. Hart's only problem as I've said before was that his mike skills methinks was a tad weak. Still, him and the "Hart Foundation" was pretty darn good.

As for his deal with that infamous SURVIVOR SERIES...ya he got screwed by Vince, and he was just never the same when he worked at WCW.

Oh and Maple Leafs, thanks for your 2 cents worth of Canadian money. I'll use it when I'm done wiping my bottom with some Mexican Pesos in the bathroom. JK!

Personally I think that the best time was shortly after they decided to make the show a little more adult. The Bret Hart screwjob at suvivior series got rid of the tradiontal fighter and gave every one a bad ass gimmick (ie Fighter Kama turning into Godfather and Triple H moving from a snob to DX sidekick/leader).
Id say between Wrestlemaina 14 and 15 was wrestling at its best, mainly summer to March. This time included Hell in a Cell, DX in its first and only entertaining run, the Corporation (Rock, Shammrock, Bossman, Test, Vince, and Shane). We also saw Rock as a bad guy, where in my opinion he was a better performer. Mick Foley held the title a few times. Stone Cold was against all odds with Vince. The Undertaker and Kane storylines. The middle card wrestlers were entertaining too. Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart with Debra, Val Venis, the Brood, the Oddities with ICP, Sable and Jackie.
damn if wrestling were still like that id still watch it all the time. suck it

Yeah, my favourite storyline was Stone Cold against all odds with Vince. I used to love looking forward to the Royal Rumbles with them.

With that in mind, what is everybody's favourite Pay Per View, and which one of them is your favourite?

Mine is the Royal Rumble, and my favourite of those was probably (either) 1995, with Michaels and Bulldog first and last two in (or) 1998, When Austin beat The Rock to win.

Mick

WrestleMania was always my favorite PPV. I know one of my favorite's was WrestleMania 10. Every match was awesome (especially the first ever ladder match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels). Not to mention Bret Hart going on to beat both Lex Luger and Yokozuna to win the WWF Title!