Author: M. Swift

So, I tend to knock Acclaim on wrestling games but they did produce WWF Raw, WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game, and the first two Legend of Wrestling games. They can do decent work depending on which studio was handling it. However, if you want to really get into a messed up duo of games, let’s talk EA delivering WCW Mayhem in 1999 and WCW Backstage Assault in 2000.  Background of the Deal  WCW was supposed to stick with AKI and THQ to develop its games. However, WWE was no longer pleased with Acclaim’s performance—surprise—and enlisted THQ and its regular development partner AKI.   I’m guessing either they wanted a…

We’re back for more Into the Vault 1995 with WCW Great American Bash ’95 from June 1995. Now one thing I just love about doing this—besides going back and watch the matches—is looking up the shows and seeing the dark matches. I love some tag team wrestling and yes, The Fantastics weren’t setting the wrestling world on fire in the late-90s but I would’ve watched Harlem Heat or The Nasty Boys vs. The Fantastics.  It would’ve been better than the first tag match of the night.  Low-Tier  Oh boy, well the arm-wrestling match between Dave Sullivan and DDP—didn’t care about it. It might make for…

Towards the end of Extreme Championship Wrestling’s run, we got a glimpse of what could’ve been its future. Starting with Rob Van Dam’s Television title reign in 1998, we saw a number of new talents file into the company. Out of those wrestlers, a few would go on to become World Champion. Of course, the guy who should’ve taken the company through the 2000s would never get the opportunity as ECW folded in 2001.  Rob Van Dam: ECW’s First True Superstar  While ECW had many stars, Rob Van Dam was the first one who looked as though he wouldn’t be out of place in a bigger promotion near or at the top. He had the…

We went into the heavyweights to watch in Major League Wrestling, now let’s look at six wrestlers in the Middleweight division of the company. Keep your eyes peeled for these guys if you want to dive into MLW Fusion.   Myron Reed: Major League Wrestling World Middleweight Champion  Reed is part of the Injustice faction in MLW and excels at fast-paced bouts with a flashy, high impact approach to match. What I like about Myron Reed is that while he can fly—and he’s good at it—his counters and impact moves outshine those. He has one of the best Ace Crushers not being…

In June 1995, WWE King of the Ring 1995 took place at the Spectrum—in ECW country. Things might get hairy for WWE here, folks. Now, King of the Ring 1995 is often remembered as one of WWE’s worst PPV events. Is this all overblown or is it that bad of a show? The card is a mix of “No thank you” and “This could be good” but how was it? Let’s check it out.  Low-Tier  Savio Vega defeating Yokozuna wasn’t a bad match but it doesn’t go further than adequate. The Roadie vs. Bob Holly wasn’t an awful match but I didn’t care about these two facing off…

The Natural Born Thrillers was one of WCW’s popping fresh stables in the final year. Comprised of Sean O’Haire, Mark Jindrak, Mike Sanders, Chuck Palumbo, Reno, Shawn Stasiak, and Johnny Stamboli, they looked like a young group of heavyweights who could probably carry WCW forward in the years to come.  WCW Didn’t Really Lay The Groundwork  That is if WCW hadn’t already ruined its own future so effectively. When I discussed Dustin Rhodes as a World champion, that was starting at the early end of the 90s. The youngsters in that generation didn’t all have the larger than life appearance as The Natural Born Thrillers but they had the talent and charisma in spades over the young lions.  Also, this was WCW’s next generation. Paul Orndorff worked with these guys in the…

Acclaim had deals to develop wrestling games for two promotions during the 1990s. WWE was its longest business partner with the company with it publishing Rare’s WWF WrestleMania in 1989. It wouldn’t be until 1994 that Acclaim actually developed a game for the promotion with 1994’s WWF Raw.  That relationship ended with WWF Attitude in 1999. As much as I get on the defunct company’s case—we’re getting to that—WWF Raw wasn’t a bad game at all. It was actually really fun. WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game topped that and is something WWE should just drop a sequel to in the upcoming generation. Sometimes, working outside of the…

In May 1995, WWE presented a new PPV series: WWF In Your House. Now it’s called WWE In Your House: Premiere. The best thing about this show is that it was kept tight with six matches. Also, these PPVs were cheaper than the big four you’d purchase.   WWE should’ve kept that same energy because between the Attitude Era and now, the company has come up with a number of throwaway PPVs and event series that are no longer around. Actually, even today anything that isn’t Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, or Survivor Series should just be an In Your House with a subtitle event. That’s just me.  Let’s get into this…

Even though he would leave ECW for WCW in 1998, The Sandman would return a year later and continue the legend. However, that’s getting ahead–plus his time in WCW wasn’t really worth mentioning. Let‘s get into his further evolution of the gimmick when Raven starts to stir things up in ECW.  Swinging Canes and An Unexpected Alliance  He would set his sights on up-and-comer Tommy Dreamer and Cactus Jack. Foley was already over but, in the process, he managed to push himself and Dreamer further as major attractions in ECW. The brunt of rage was against Dreamer who was a bit…

It was 1995 when I first took notice of Kevin Sullivan. The guy had been in wrestling 25 years by that point and had racked up belts throughout the NWA. By 1995, he had just returned WCW several months earlier and while he was involved in storylines, he wasn’t a regular threat to the singles titles. What caught me about Kevin Sullivan was his evil but overproduced and hokey Taskmaster gimmick in the Dungeon of Doom. Kevin Sullivan’s Second WCW Run As The Taskmaster The Taskmaster gimmick was essentially this guy who originally came to WCW to protect his…