Step into the wayback machine and take a trip down memory lane. When wrestling was younger and simpler. Or maybe that was just you. Was it the best of times or are your memories failing you? The Ring Crew explores it all in the Retro Review!
What was the first successful shot taken against the World Wrestling Federation? Was it Monday Nitro? The return of Ric Flair? Hall and Nash? It actually took place in the late 80s when NWA was reeling after the WWF pushed Starrcade off of cable providers and then the WWF went ahead and gave away the first ever Royal Rumble free to USA viewers during an NWA Pay Per View in January. The NWA's response? Clash of the Champions, featuring Ric Flair vs. Sting in a 45 minute main event for the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship. The result was an impressive 5.6 TV rating and a good chunk out of the Wrestlemania IV buyrate. Bubs, Harvey and Dubya look back on this edition of the Ring Crew Retro Review.
The Ring Crew Retro rides in to talk about the topical subject of St. Valentine's Day Massacre! How was the show leading up to Wrestlemania XV? How was the second last In Your House event? Does Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon deliver as the main event in a (black) steel cage? How did Paul Wight look in his debut? Was WCW's response in Superbrawl IX better or worse? All these questions answered by Dubya, Bubs and Chazy T!
It's Rumble month! With the 2013 Royal Rumble on our minds we thought it would be fun to take a trip back almost two decades into the past for two major battle royale style matches: WCW BattleBowl 93 and WWF Royal Rumble 94! These were events that took place when both companies were in a bit of a transition, and unlike in 2013, when Hulk Hogan was nowhere to be found to ruin shit. We also run down the cards and see if there were any hidden gems, how the matches stack up and see if maybe something was better than we remembered it. Also, could the team of Erik Watts and Paul Roma be the worst two wrestlers to get together until Garrett Bischoff met Wes Brisco? All this and more with Bubs, Dubya and Chazy T!
10 years have passed since the inception of the Brand split and we take you back to where it all began. On March 25, 2002 the WWF (soon to be E) would change forever. Journey back with us as we break down the choices Ric Flair made for RAW and Vince McMahaon made for his Smackdown, the lost potential of such a cool concept, where it all went wrong and how we got to what's left of the brand split today. If that's not enough, we also had a triple threat match for the Undisputed Championship as HHH defended against Chris Jericho and wife Stephanie McMahon, one will be banished forever if they lose....find out who. Or not. It's cool. They come back in a few months anyway.
It was the beginning of the end for both WCW and the WWF. While some point to the Steve Austin heel turn as the moment which lead viewers to stop watching after an immensely popular Attitude Era/Monday Night War, it was this Raw is War in Tacoma, Washington that certainly solidified in the minds of many that the good days were over. Take a trip with the Ring Crew Show as we see how the WWF screwed up a can't miss angle: the Invasion. While most like to point to the ECW/Alliance episode a few weeks after, it was this night they decided to openly allow WCW to have the main event of Raw. Booker T defends the WCW Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Buff Bagwell in a match so horrendous it caused the WWF to scramble and figure out what the hell to do with a crumbling acquisition. Also, Vince McMahon tries to get it on with Torrie Wilson on an episode of Raw that wasn't so bad... until it got beyond bad.
It's a Retro Retro show. 2 years ago before Wrestlemania 26 we sat down and discussed the good, the bad and the ugly of Wrestlemanias 1-25. Packed full of goodies including interviews with WWE time keeper Mark Yeaton and former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas about their Wrestlemania experiences. So take a look back with us before the big show this weekend in this great Wrestlemania Retro Review.
