I'm sure that all of you have marked out for something in Wrestling - either recently, or so long ago that you can hardly remember.
Not being a WWF fan much from about '88 until the demise of WCW, I understand I have missed some of the great mark-out moments. I did go back and see the Michaels/Razor ladder match, and I have seen clips of Mick's match with UT.
But my Markout moments are, I guess, simpler.
One of the biggest was when Razor (Scott Hall) and Diesel (Kevin Nash) showed up on Nitro. Even though I was reading The News from Dayton at the time and knew they were coming, it was still a mark out moment for me. The cros promotional thing had almost never been breeched before, especially not like this. I remember when Nick Bockwinckle was wrestling Verne Gagne for the AWA title, it was like he was a relative newcomer, even though he had been in NWA and around, forever. Cripes - he was nearly as old and feeble as Verne at the time. But did old Tony let us know (this was Pre-Smark for me) that Nick had been an NWA champ? Nooooo. Even when Hogan came into the WWF in, what, '93? He was a young newcomer, not a star from the AWA.
Another Markout moment for me is good turns. Turns I don't see coming. Hulk Hogan's. Bischoff after he was powerbombed. One of the great ones of many years ago was a guy named Wilbur Snyder. He was the Bob Backlund of his day, but without the insanity at the end of his run. He "turned" and helped the Blackjacks win a match or two, became hated and then turned back. Of course, he was never really bad, just leading the Blackjacks on.
I don't markout much for great technical stuff, but enjoy the spots. That jumping drop kick while olding your opponent's shoulder thing that RVD does is cool. I am anticipating at least one markout moment move tonight from Jeff, prior to the run-in of doom. I do enjoy technical stuff, but it's the stories I mark out for.
This is the greatest post in the history of all great posts.
I'll mention the same two I always mention, because they are that cool.
1. The arrival of Paul E., Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose on WTBS and murdering the Midnights and Cornette hitting the Muta scale while wearing a white coat.
2. The infamous Eddie Gilbert/Russians ambush Bill Watts on UWF TV. If you go back and search through my old columns, you'll see an explanation of the angle, which is fairly complicated but great nontheless.
I asked Bobby Dylan, I asked the Beatles. I asked Timothy Leary, but he couldn't help me either.
My biggest markout moment will forever be the Milk Truck segment. That was the single dumbest/funniest thing I've ever seen in my life.
Rock coming back from something is always reason to markout.
I mark out like crazy whenever Booker and Goldust hit the screen.
I scream for joy whenever I see Storm or hear Storm's music hit. "STORM!"
I marked out for Hogan's enterance live, it's hard not too. But, I still hate the guy when he's on my tv. (Rock/Hogan is probably on my list next to the milk truck)
But, I'm preparing my biggest at home pop for the return's of Kanyon and Misterio.
I marked out when Stone Cold ripped Stephanie's shirt off, it was so unexpected.
Your continued obsession with Stephanie is frigtening....
The last time I sat down and really had one of THOSE moments was just seeing Scott Hall standing in a WWF ring (at No Way Out). I never thought I'd ever again see that man working - ESPECIALLY not on a national level.
I'm anticipating seeing the NWA TNA PPV though when I get back to Ottawa.
If I had to pick a moment from the last year or two, I'd have to go back to July 9th, 2001.
Kane/Jericho vs. Awesome/Storm. Seven minutes in, Tommy Dreamer and RVD run in, and I'll let CRZ's RAW Report take it from there:
It's four on two as the WCW guys team up with the ECW guys to take out Jericho and Kane... Here comes the WWF LOCKER ROOM - tonight I see Tazz, the Dudley Boyz, Justin Credible... wait a minute - Raven, Rhyno...oh no....oh no. "Staredown" in the ring as Paul gets jolly. "Feel it, JR - FEEL this moment!" The WWF guys slowly turn round - and look at Kane and Jericho. "For the rest of your life - feel it." And now THEY punk out Kane and Jericho. We've got a ten on two here - amazingly, Ross STILL hasn't figured it out...but the crowd has.
I did the mental math as it was happening, turned to a friend and said "What do all of the guys who just ran in have in common?" ...JUST as they spun around in their very best Slowly I Turned Step By Step Niagara Falls impression.
A beautiful moment, even if they probably wrote it three hours before.
"No society has managed to invest more time and energy in the perpetuation of the fiction that it is _moral, sane and wholesome_ than our current crop of _Modern Americans_." -- Frank Zappa
Originally posted by vspIf I had to pick a moment from the last year or two, I'd have to go back to July 9th, 2001.
Kane/Jericho vs. Awesome/Storm. Seven minutes in, Tommy Dreamer and RVD run in, and I'll let CRZ's RAW Report take it from there:
It's four on two as the WCW guys team up with the ECW guys to take out Jericho and Kane... Here comes the WWF LOCKER ROOM - tonight I see Tazz, the Dudley Boyz, Justin Credible... wait a minute - Raven, Rhyno...oh no....oh no. "Staredown" in the ring as Paul gets jolly. "Feel it, JR - FEEL this moment!" The WWF guys slowly turn round - and look at Kane and Jericho. "For the rest of your life - feel it." And now THEY punk out Kane and Jericho. We've got a ten on two here - amazingly, Ross STILL hasn't figured it out...but the crowd has.
I did the mental math as it was happening, turned to a friend and said "What do all of the guys who just ran in have in common?" ...JUST as they spun around in their very best Slowly I Turned Step By Step Niagara Falls impression.
A beautiful moment, even if they probably wrote it three hours before.
my pick too
to bad they eliminated the 3 team dynamic and merged WCW/ECW so quickly...
edit: yay, i'm a jobber, which offically means i post too much. [in the voice of that old Crank Yankers guy in the advert] yay, i'm going to hawaii, yay
(edited by rikidozan on 1.7.02 1555) "If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college." -Lewis Black
"Yeah, fuck you E.T. you ungrateful dick." -BigDaddyLoco 5/20/2
"MAY PRE HOUSE THE SEAMY SIDE VOLITATION!!!" Warning from a "Flying Goku" Dragon Ball Z toy
"I'm her sugar momma, which is ok, because I'm her sister." Connie French, and the funniest thing one of my customers has ever said to me
Well, you've already hit the milk truck and the ECW guys turning around, so I'm going to have to think back a little farther...
Mankind winning the title from The Rock was a big one. Of course, the spoilers were everywhere and I knew it was going to happen, but still... His return as Commissioner was up there, too.
Kurt Angle's first WWF title win (and the fact that I was there for his subsequent WCW and WWF title wins last year) also caused me to mark out like a sonofabitch.
Probably the last good one was when Shawn Michaels superkicked Booker T out of the nWo. Everyone knew it was going to happen, but it came so out of nowhere, you couldn't help but be shocked.
Um, I mean, the WWE hasn't done anything right in since forever! I hate everything about wrestling!!!
"It's a sad day when mocking one's opponent via midget becomes an acceptable form of entertainment." --Lance Storm
I haven't freaked out about anything in wrestling in a long-ass time. I guess the last time I got any sort of "emotional" charge out of anything in wrestling was when Flair challenged Sting on the final Nitro and the subsequent match. It was the only time, and the last time, WCW got anything right since around 1998. It was such a surprise to see them go out the right way since they consistently messed everything up till that point.
The biggest times I've freaked out are as follows (in no particular order):
* Warrior beating Hogan at WrestleMania 6. This story took three years to tell, with Hogan playing the unbeatable monster face that no one could beat, yet Warrior was climbing the ladder, just waiting to prove himself. The insanely-worded pre-match interviews said it all yet us mere "normals" still can't comprehend just how big this match truly was in the Golden Era of the Wrestling Boom. The only match that comes close to rivaling that these days was Austin vs Rock from WMX7, but that was ruined by overbooking and dumb decision-making.
* Sting coming down and beating the shit out of the nWo at Uncensored '97. For MONTHS, Sting would just sit there and watch on as the nWo beat the everloving crap out of WCW. Every once in a while, he'd interfere in very indirect ways that nobody could understand, but he never really did anything directly and decisively up until that point. With the nWo being so dominant at the time, seeing Sting come in and beat up Hogan/Savage/Hall/Nash in the prime of their power in WCW's darkest hour was a real rush.
* The Ultimate Warrior's return at WrestleMania 8 after months of WWF "We won't acknowledge his existence" obscurity. It was COMPLETELY unexpected and something many thought would never happen, but when it did, it was purely electric.
* "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the NEW World Wrestling Federation Champion... Bret 'The Hitman' Hart!" I'll never forget turning on Wrestling Challenge to suddenly see Bret walking down with the belt everyone thought belonged to Ric Flair at the time. Bret, who had been in the WWF eight years slowly working his way up the ladder had finally become a World Champion beating one of the best in Flair.
* Also of note is anything involved in Steve Austin's reign of terror after winning the title at WM14. This guy was on fire and he really ran with the ball once he won the WWF Title. While not EVERY one of his appearances was a "HOLY SHIT!" moment, just seeing him go out there every week and kick everyone's ass in every category in sports entertainment was a sight to behold and one we won't see probably for another decade, if ever.
Notice how all of these moments have long buildups over the course of months/years, building up anticipation with characters the fans legitimately like, and paying off in unexpected and decisive actions? Notice how we never see this stuff anymore? :)
I disagree with anymore. While in the last couple of months it has seemed like the WWE has pushed the panic button, but slowly but surely, I see them getting on track. With Brock's megapush, I see a start.
As for the months and years of buildup, there's just too much tv time right now. We're never gonna' have a feud build for a year anymore (ala' my favorite Savage vs. Hogan). AS much as it sucks, the longest it seems things will run is probably three months. But, who knows what lays in wait?
Originally posted by WhoBettahThanDeionI disagree with anymore. While in the last couple of months it has seemed like the WWE has pushed the panic button, but slowly but surely, I see them getting on track. With Brock's megapush, I see a start.
As for the months and years of buildup, there's just too much tv time right now. We're never gonna' have a feud build for a year anymore (ala' my favorite Savage vs. Hogan). AS much as it sucks, the longest it seems things will run is probably three months. But, who knows what lays in wait?
While it is true that we will have to wait through this to see if anything comes to fruition in the end, a clear direction is usually established somewhere in the early stages of the angle. For instance, after the nWo formed in July, by September (3 months later out of an 18-month angle), it was clear that Sting was the one who would ultimately confront Hogan. At some point, this Brock push is going to have to lead to something similar, where Brock's a clear threat that needs to be overcome by someone. WWE can do this right, or they can horribly mangle it.
Right now, Brock's push seems to be more of a "Let's push Brock, he's pretty big!" angle with no clear direction. Of course, we're in the early stages so we'll have to see if it goes anywhere. Brock's push ultimately can't be used to get Brock over (at least not Brock alone), but rather to get someone else over. It's the way Monster Heel pushes work. They're not the ones that draw. You build up the heel to launch the face. If they puth the kibosh on this angle in a month, we're back to square one. If they use Brock's push to keep feeding the HHH monster or, God forbid, the Goldberg monster, same thing. If they use it to get someone like RVD over with the fans as a top star, someone that the fans legitimately like, then we have a potential mark-out moment in the making (getting back to the point of this thread :)). But, as you said, who knows what lays in wait?
1. THAT'S GOTTA BE KAAANE! 2. Jericho beating The Rock last year for his first WCW Title run. 3. Michaels' return. 4. The Goldust Hunter skit. I promise you I will remember this and laugh for the rest of my life. 5. Jericho/Benoit beating HHH/Austin for the tag titles in what was probably the best, most heart-felt Raw match I've ever had the pleasure of watching. 6. Roddy Piper beating Bret for the IC Title. 7. TLC 3 8. Shane from the Titantron 9. Michaels kicking Jannetty through the Barber Shop window 10. Jake Roberts lets the cobra chew on Savage's arm
YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME!?! - The immortal, chilling words of...The Shockmaster!
Participating in the Canadian WrestleMania X8 Hogan Pop!!!! (and subsequently the entire match with Rock...)
Seeing Heenan and eventually Flair with the WCW belt on a WWF show back in the day...
And picture this future mark out moment: Wrestlemania X9, Texas... Brock Lesnar stands over The Rock's obliterated body. He has just retained his WWE undisputed title for the umpteenth time and Rock was the last face on the roster that had a chance. After months of totally blowing away all the face competition (even retiring Hogan) and really getting Brock over with as a monster heel he is left standing... JR and the King react heartbroken and question who (if anyone) will ever be able to defeat him...
1. Scott Hall and then Nash appearing on Nitro. I wasn't into reading the internet or anything like that so it caught me off guard. I remember vividly Hall saying i've got a bigggggg surprise for you.... and then pointing for Sting to turn around... rt into Nash.
2. Anytime HBK comes out. My favorite wrestler ever.
3. When the DX music hit.... it had been Kane & Undertaker against Austin... and Billy Gunn comes out. Unexpected.
4. Corporation and Nation parodies by Degeneration X. You dropped the ball shawn!
5. Owen Hart attacking after the Hart exodus.
6. Kane chokeslamming Hulk (Legion of Doom) during his destroy everyone bit.... and Hulk getting up TWICE!... just to be put down with the tombstone piledriver.
(edited by SerWolfe on 1.7.02 1739) I've torn myself apart.... and tried to figure out why... but the only answer i was ever given... that really fits..... is the fact... that women are crazy.
1. Milkamania 2. Austin turning heel at Wrestlemania X-7 3. Shane's Van Terminator at Wrestlemania X-7 4. The return of ECW 5. The debut of Mr. Socko and Austin's subsquent beatdown of Mr. McMahon at the hospital. 6. Brock beating up RVD at the end of last week's Raw.
"Catching Hitler was neato!" "Next stop, Hirohito!" Bart Simpson
I can tell you that WWE's pushing Ryback into title contention far faster than WCW pushed Goldberg. Goldberg's U.S. Title win over Raven was his 75th overall, and his World Title win was his 107th. (Those are official totals.