Author: M. Swift

We’re getting into more first month WCW Monday Nitro as we look at the second episode from September 11, 1995. It’s on the road to WCW Fall Brawl 1995. Last week, we had Hogan taking on Big Bubba and the return of Lex Luger. At the end of that show, Hogan accepted Luger’s challenge for the World Championship—which will be on this episode. We also have Sabu’s WCW debut against Alex Wright and Sting defending the U.S title against VK Wallstreet (formerly IRS from WWE). Hogan’s team is down a man since Vader bounced on WCW. Sting and Jimmy Hart are pushing for…

It’s February 1996 and we’re looking at ECW Big Apple Blizzard Blast as we head Into the Vault! That is such an early 90’s name for a super card. I’m not going to knock it too much because those ECW faithfuls made it to Lost Battalion Hall for this one! We have further developments in the Dreamer-Raven feud, Shane Douglas’ in-ring return in ECW, and developments on Cactus Jack in sell out mode. He and Mikey Whipwreck are Tag Team champs and it’s trouble in paradise, folks. Not only that, it looks like The Sandman is done with Woman and won’t be going to WCW with her. It…

Yeah, we’ll just go on ahead and get through the first four episodes of ECW Hardcore TV. We’re looking at episode two which continues the back and forth with “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert and color commentator Terry Funk. The episode also continues the tournament to crown the first ECW Television Champion. Low-Tier In tag team action we had Larry Winters and Tony Stetson against Samoan Warrior and Chris Michaels. Nothing special about this contest really. Samoan Warrior really showed out in this match with his bumping but that tandem move to put Chris Michaels away wasn’t bad either. Now the entire…

I loved outdoor wrestling events and as a kid Road Wild was a favorite. Of course, now we know that the PPV series made no money for WCW. Let’s see if WCW Hog Wild 1996 holds up twenty-four years later! The first show in the Road Wild series took place on August 10th at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. Low-Tier The tag team of Fire & Ice shattered and we got Scott Norton vs. Ice Train. Separately and as a team, both wrestlers were good, rough big man-type wrestlers. You know, power brawlers for the most part. However, the two of them facing off…

We’re getting into more WWE 1996 with WWE In Your House 9: International Incident from July 21. WWE had a few storylines going on here. What was most interesting to me was that the WWE Champion and IC Champion—HBK and Ahmed Johnson—getting a shot at the Tag Team titles the following night on RAW. Mid-Tier The opening match was a solid tag bout between The Bodydonnas and The Smoking Gunns. Yeah, they’ve faced each other several times so it was no surprise that this was at least a decent bout. Mind you, those aren’t always guaranteed but both teams had safe enough styles that…

The ins and outs of booking and promoting have always interested me. Hot-shotting World or heavyweight titles were always a curious piece of booking. As explained before, hot-shotting is when the belt doesn’t stay on a champion for a significant period. What constitutes lengthy or “significant varies. I always went with three to six months minimum. The question of hot-shotting the belt arose while I was researching the WCW and WWE World Championships. Stats are my jam and looking at the reigns of the belt as you get into the mid-90s, you notice that reigns are shorter. It seems like something…

We’re back with WCW in 1996—In Your House 8 stomped me for a moment—with WCW Bash at the Beach 1996 from July 7. We got the crab camera, the Four Horsemen’s theme, and Joe Gomez having one of WCW’s best generic themes since Brad Armstrong and first-year Chris Jericho. There was also an awesome Ric Flair promo, the iconic Hulk Hogan turn, and the formation of the nWo. Low-Tier The Carson City Silver Dollar match between Big Bubba and John Tenta was something that WCW could’ve run on a Nitro or something. Years earlier, both men were known as big men with some nimbleness to them.…

I figured while we’re into the summer of 1996 with WWE and WCW on Into the Vault, let’s bring in ECW and catch things up with the Philly-based promotion. We’re diving into the first big show of the ECW House Party 1996. This show is significant as Public Enemy’s last ECW match until House Party 1999. The crowd did chant “You’ll be back” at them during their promo. There are a lot of other things worth catching on ECW House Party 1996. While I tend to rate shows on matches, you have developments in the Dreamer-Raven feud with Beulah being pregnant by Tommy…

So, we got past WWE In Your House 8 which was just…split in two because of technical difficulties. Now, we’re getting into WWE King of the Ring 1996 in this Into the Vault. This is one of the significant WWE PPVs of all-time and of 1996. As you probably guessed, it features the iconic “Birth of Austin 3:16” victory speech. However, how was the show as a whole? Low-Tier The second match for WWE King of the Ring 1996 saw Jake “The Snake” Roberts take on Vader. I forget what Jake’s path through the KOTR was supposed to be. Was it that stretch towards redemption? Is this supposed…

In the back channels of The Overtimer, we often talk about wrestling then and now. One thing that a couple of us enjoyed was how WCW television was presented. Nothing showcased that more than the announce team in the company. Depending on who was on the team—since they swapped out and brought people in—the team came off as laid back for most of the show. Of course, once a heel did something rotten or the new World order popped up to derail WCW Nitro, they responded in kind. Let’s look at the company’s five best commentary teams. Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay &…