Tuesday, April 11
Question: What is your favorite WCW Spring Stampede memory or match?
@HeelWillMahoney: Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne Vs Nasty Boys from Spring Stampede 94. VERY CLOSE second is Blitzkrieg Vs Juvi from Spring Stampede 99.
@allan_cheapshot: Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat Spring Stampede 1994 (****1/4)
@At_DGC: DDP Vs Savage of course
@gphillips8652: Cactus and Maxx vs the Nasty Boys. So memorable.
@LeeConlane: The whole 1999 show. Especially the opener between Juventud Guerrera and Blitzkrieg.
Andy Halleen: Came across 94 on VHS at Suncoast; one of the only WCW videos I saw in stores. Always loved that show. Ordered 97- my first WCW PPV. I’d say the best moment is 99-Nash leapfrogging a spear and NOT tearing his quad.
Jay Hinchey: I gotta go with the first Spring Stampede in 1994 with Flair/Steamboat, the Street Fight with Cactus/Maxx Payne against the Nasty Boys, Sting/Rick Rude, Vader & The Boss. I think even Steve Austin & The Great Muta was solid. A couple other mentions are DDP winning the World Title in 1999 which was probably the last really good WCW PPV, For some reason even though it’s in the Russo Era is the 2000 edition isn’t bad actually. I remember 1998 being pretty decent too.
Matt Souza: I love the Bunkhouse Brawl between Bunkhouse Buck and Dustin Rhodes from 1994. It’s such a great, old school, bloody fight.
Jimmy Borden: Spring Stampede 94 immediately jumps out as an all time show with Flair and Steamboat and the wild Nasty Boys vs Catus and Payne street fight. Raven vs DDP from 98 is a guilty pleasure match of mine I really thought those two had a fun Us title match. Lastly 99 in my opinion was really the last top to bottom good show WCW did with DDP finally winning the strap and Juvi and Blitzkrieg had one of the best ppv openers in WCW history.
Tim Capel: Well, there’s always the tournament in 2000 after the infamous RussoMania Nitro reboot.
Louis Dufresne: DDP vs Savage or DDP winning the world title, I also always loved the cowboy/western look and feel of those events.
Andrew BigSky Dunson: Benoit/Booker T best of 7 comes to mind. I was the right age at the time and that’s when I realized Benoit was unreal. DDP-Savage in 1997. Just watched that show a few months ago, and the match and angle still hold up incredibly well.
Scott Shifflett: Sting vs Rude at Spring Stampede 94. Loved it as a kid and love it now.
Rob Kinler: Diamond Dallas Page defeated Ric Flair (c), Hollywood Hogan and Sting Four Corners match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Up that point I was not sure if wcw was for real behind DDP or if he was going to stay on midcards.
David Schletty: Flair vs Steamboat and The Nasty Boys vs Maxx Payne and Cactus Jack at Spring Stampede 1994.
Mister Ooh-La-La: Spring Stampede 94 one of the best all time WCW ppvs and a window into where the company was going had Hogan not come in.
Wednesday, April 12
What is your favorite year in wrestling history and why?
@ZemboMosca: 1983: I discovered wrestling on TV. No family watched it, it was all new to me. I was 8, and it was so much fun learning how it all worked.
@Neil_McNerlan: NJPW, AJPW, FMW and AJW on fire, AAA still strong coming off of 1994 peak, ECW’s best year, good year for SMW, WWF and WCW both fun.
@NINaylor: 1986, WWF angles Hulk/Orndorff, Macho/Dragon, Piper/Adonis. Peak Dusty NWA – Warriors, 4HM, Midnights, RnR. Memphis – King, Dundee, Dutch, Buddy, Awa Wrestlerock. Gordy early title run in UWF (v Duggan, Dibiase & Doc). Continental had a good year – Gordy, Rude, Adams in WCCW. 95 – Peak ECW. Weekly Pro Dome show. Fun early Nitros. Kawada v Albright. WWF ppv gems (Bret/Pierre, HBK/JJ). Michinoku Pro & FMW solid year. NJ Juniors
@gphillips8652: Probably 1997 overall. WCW at its peak, WWF catching fire creatively. But I gotta give love to 2000 and (yes) 01 also. Great in-ring/promos.
@harryaaron: 2005. Personal connection being the year I started watching, plus ROH, NOAH & CMLL were all killing it.
@allan_cheapshot: 1994 – NJPW / AJPW / FMW / AAA all on FIRE.
ECW coming in to its own, WCW PPVs being fun until Hogan arrives. WWE PPVs bar KOTR fun.
@AaronOMeara: 1997 was very enjoyable for me up until the day the music died. 1992 once I revisited it also.
@deadheadish: 1998. Love the attitude era, wcw had one of its better years and ajpw was having great matches. Love/austin & kobashi/misawa
@stomperspc: 1992. 3 of my top 15-ish fav matches are from ‘92 (War Games, Dandy/Casas, Kobashi/Kikuchi vs CanAm). Plus Sting/Vader and DA matches early.
Steve Bennett: 1987. I was the perfect age (6) to enjoy the product for what it was without any cynicism. When Andre ripped Hogan’s shirt and cross off I felt the blood. I cried myself to sleep for Steamboat’s throat. Wrestlemania III, first Survivor Series, best year of SNME by far. Easily my favorite year.
Jason Greenhouse: 1989. It was headlined by one of the biggest feuds in WWE history with Hogan and Savage. The roster depth overall was at it’s peak, including a tag division that might have been the best in company history. Oh, and down south, we had a little feud with Flair and Steamboat.
Neil Trama: 1997. Definitely the peak of my pure fandom, as I was right at the age where I was still a big mark for everything, but just learning enough about the business that I could understand backstage happenings along with on screen stuff. I was always a WWF fan so I got to watch the company rise back to prominence, plus I was a huge fan of Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation as well as Undertaker. You had WCW just a channel change away, plus ECW right there too. This was also the peak of my best friend and my backyard/action figure wrestling federation AND (I think) the year Coliseum Video went out of business, so my dad let me pick like 20 videos from their closeout sale for Christmas, expanding my every day wrestling viewing from the 3-4 tapes I owned, a few PPVs taped off TV, and weekly Blockbuster trips.
Scott Criscuolo: Tie between 1989 and 1997. Rosters were stacked, competition was top notch and TV was must see.
Jason Sherman: This is a really tough one. As much as I would like to be nostalgic and go back to my beginning years of 89-91…I have trouble not picking 2001. I was at my absolute markiest of marks stages here. Completely tuned in. Loved The Hardys, Kurt Angle, Jericho. There was so, so much good. And yes, while booking kinda fell off a cliff in the second half, the in ring quality was still top notch.
Kevin Bowers: 2001 – the first 3 months are all time and it may not be looked back on fondly but the Invasion stuff was really cool “I remember Marking out Hard when they introduced ECW into it.
Andy Halleen: Ohhh man!! That’s a toughie, 1997 and 2001 are my personal faves… BUT, the second half of 2001 isn’t as good. 1997- here’s why! It’s the year when I became OBSESSED! My number 1 guy was always Bret Hart. My new favorite in 1996 was Steve Austin- he just seemed cool and didn’t play by any rules. So the two of them in a heated feud was amazing- the WM match is still my all time fave to this day. Then on top of that you add in Bulldog, Owen, Pillman, even Anvil! All the attacks and brawls, Pillman praying on Raw. Great, classic stuff! Bret-Owen-Bulldog even hugged on RAW IN PEORIA and I missed it!!! Some say Raw had a lot of stinkers still around like The Sultan, and stuff like Rock-A-Billy… but that doesn’t lessen the amazing moments like Mankind becoming a face and also two other personalities, DX, the Outlaws, the first Hell in a Cell, RAW IS WAR with the big stage and pyro and the Manson song, lots of big things shaped up in 1997 that have still stuck around all these years later.
Ashley Cruse: Overall, it’s between 1989 and 1998. Talking strictly WWF, the period from Armageddon ’99 to Mania 17 is the best.
Steven Joseph Ferrari: The year between WrestleMania IV and V – the Mega Powers story, the rise of the Warrior, great PPVs, I was a happy little kid.
Kevin E. Pittack: 1998:- I became more clued in on the Internet to follow backstage goings-on, got to interact with other wrestling fans, and the creativity and greatness of the industry as a whole was just something that can’t even be explained today if you hadn’t lived through it. I was flipping between RAW and Nitro, and it was also the year I discovered ECW on the MSG network.
James Morgan: That’s a hard one to answer. One year that really sticks out would have to be ’05. All the major promotions had something to offer: WWE had that awesome WrestleMania and the ECW revival. ROH had some of the most brilliant technical wizards in wrestling history. TNA was actually attempting to be an alternative instead of WWE lite. I attended my very first WWE PPV, Survivor Series, with my now wife of 7 years. That was a great show that I’ll never forget. The epic last man standing match, the Benoit vs Booker T match, the. RAW vs SMACKDOWN main event that concluded with the return of The Undertaker. All in all though, I gotta say, besides the untimely death of the legendary Eddie Gurerro, that was my favorite year in wrestling
David Schletty: 1989–Mega Powers Explode, Hogan is champ for most of the year, Brain Busters win the tag belts in WWF, Rude beats Warrior. Great PPVs that year for WWF.
But…NWA/WCW was really really awesome, they had a banner year as all their major shows were outstanding. Plus the Flair vs Steamboat trilogy was that year, and the Flair vs Funk feud. Muta and Sting were also both awesome that year as well.
Matthew Drysdale: 1989 because that was when i first became a full time wrestling fan, mainly because of the mega-powers explode angle.
Josh Gaby: I can’t choose between 1987 (nostalgia, height of the ’80s golden era, 1997 (all three companies raising their game to compete with each other) and 2000 (WWF roster and booking at an all-time level).
Taylor Keahey: My brain tells me 1989, but my nostalgia tells me 1993. I understand it was a down year for business and maybe even the product, but I was I was devouring everything from both major promotions. I even started tape trading that year, so lots of weird international stuff made its way into my VCR. Such a weird year for WWF, a tale of two halves, really. The first half with Bret working hard on top, followed by the Hogan wackiness. The beginnings of Raw and a shift in how we consume wrestling. Then the Luger push during the summer and second half of the year. I’m a Luger apologist. He should have won the stupid belt. WCW had a highly underrated year. Vader had some of his best ever matches on US soil, Rick Rude had a killer little title run, the introduction of the Hollywood Blondes, great stuff.
Jay Hinchey: I have to say 1997. The beginning of the turn around for WWF/E, WCW was on fire, ECW was making noise. Not to mention the Hart Foundation vs The USA. I mean come on who doesn’t love a heel Bret Hart and company. I think another year ive really enjoyed as time has gone on is 2005. The rise of John Cena & Batista plus the Batista/HHH feud is pretty awesome, Smackdown vs RAW heading into Survivor Series, The Undertaker/Randy Orton feud, ECW’s return with One Night Stand, the Eddie/Rey Feud on Smackdown, etc.
Steve Riddle: It’s hard to go against 1997, but I personally would choose 1998 since that was when I was completely invested in the WWF as the Attitude Era began and they would regain control of the Wars against WCW.
Mike Thomas: 1989…I was 8 and loved the mega powers and hated hogan when they broke up…loved flair and then hated him at the beginning of 90 when he turned on sting…I was all in on the rise of the warrior too.
Mike Eller: It’s either 2000 or 2008. 2000 was great because of the great years that Rock and HHH had combined with the rise of Angle, the Radicalz, and the awesome tag team ranks. 2008 had a lot of guys hitting their peaks and it produced some amazing matches. Undertaker-Edge and Jericho-HBK were two all time great feuds.
Patrick Fenton: I’d say 1997. WWF was coming back strong, building everything back to take over WCW. Austin/Harts/DX. WCW had a strong year. The nWo was still strong, a huge build Starrcade. Sting vs Hogan. ECW was still strong, the first PPVs, strong roster, hot invasion angle.
Jordan Duncan: Thought about it for a while and I am going 1996. WCW had the nWo and Hogan heel turn plus the birth of the cruiserweights and was on fire. WWF had some really good in ring stuff plus the birth of Austin 3:16 ECW was still doing pretty well and hadn’t totally been raided yet. All Japan was phenomenal and New Japan had a lot of really good stuff too. I think it was an excellent year for a lot of promotions.
Thursday, April 13
What is your favorite type of gimmick match and why?
Matthew Michalovic: Not sure if it counts, but the Royal Rumble is the best. Even shitty Rumbles have something to watch again. Also, Hell in a Kennel, just for the vast difference between how awesome it sounded versus just how crap-tacular it actually was.
Mister Ooh-La-La: Probably good old Steel Cage, and all the variations therein.
Matt Priser: War Games. 2 rings, huge cage, 2 teams and usually a hot crowd.
Kevin E. Pittack: Hell in a Cell, mostly for the brutality that the first decade of the gimmick featured. It was a great device for displaying the hatred of two combatants locked in a blood feud.
Greg Phillips: Probably two out of three falls. Easy built-in drama, and you can play with the formula. Plus it helps with the pacing of longer matches. Also a sucker for a great ladder match. It’s always fun to see what creative new ways guys can come up with to utilize the gimmick.
Lewis Dacombe: Ladder match – the chaos, unpredictability, the innovation, the risks.
Marc Clair: War Games, because “It’s fucking WAR GAMES”
@SWManor: Dislike to loathe most gimmick matches, but War Games was excellent. Saw one live, and that was even MORE amazing to witness.
Friday, April 14
Who was your first favorite wrestler and why?
Stephen Adcock: Hulk Hogan was mine, too. I remember when Earthquake did his finisher on him like 5 times and he was “in the hospital” with broken ribs and they gave an address to send a get well card to I begged my mom to mail one I had made. Also, wrestlemania 6 and the ultimate challenge brought me to tears. Broke my 10 year old heart when he lost the belt to Warrior.
Greg Phillips: Generic answer, but Hulk Hogan. My earliest wrestling memories are from 87 and he was the coolest to a 3 year old.
Jeffrey Walker: Mine would be Kane. I started watching in the attitude era and I always thought it was cool how he wore a mask when I was younger.
Lawrence Miles: Michael Hayes, Georgia 1981. Coolest looking guy in the world, and he could talk you into the building.
Jason Sherman: First wrestlers that I was instantly drawn to was the Rockers. Die hard Rockers fan.
Todd Weber: I liked Jumpin’ Jim Brunzell. All I had access to was AWA in 1981, and he had a great dropkick.
Scott Criscuolo: Jimmy Snuka, because he was the first babyface I saw in 1983 feuding with Muraco.
Alex Hush: Kane!! Insane character through out the years!!
Logan Crosland: Bret Hart. Because he was on all of the tapes I had when I was really young and he usually had the best match regardless of which one I watched.
Billy McNeil :Demolition – They looked awesome and beat the crap out of people
Eli Garcia: Jake Roberts. The man had such a unique way of doing business in and out of the ring. His promos were so credible because he spoke so calmly yet so bold. He was Jake the snake from the time he walked through the curtain and into the ring, and back. This is what so many new talent in any organization are missing. It’s a lost art that he had perfected and that is why he was my first favorite wrestler. He made me a wrestling fan for life.
Lucia Morano: John Cena, because he’s HOT!
Charles Russell Alloway III: “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson. He is the greatest professional wrestler to never be world champion. No one can deliver a spine buster better than Double A. Lastly, he was the heart and soul of the Four Horsemen.
Robbie Sims: Blackjack Mulligan. The big, rough, tough Texan.
Dan Stapleton: Dutch Savage, Portland Wrestling. Because he came to the aid of I think it was Playboy Buddy Rose being pummeled by a couple of dudes. He came straight from the shower, with shampoo still in his hair.
Andy Halleen: Bret Hart. I started watching in 1993 and he had the rivalries with Lawler and then his brother that seemed to tap into some intense drama and they seemed real to me, dammit!! One of my very first WWF memories is Lawler heckling Stu and Helen, then Bret hauling ass up there.
Glenn Butler: Probably Rey Mysterio or Eddie Guerrero. Even before I got hooked into Hogan or Cena, they were lighting up TV every week.
Jason Greenhouse: Randy Savage in ‘85 Most of my friends were on the Hogan bandwagon and I wanted to be different.
Matt Souza: Randy Savage. I loved everything about him. His look, his entrance music, his mannerisms. Still my favorite wrestler of all time.
Brian Huff: Nick Bockwinkel. He was the first wrestler to really grab my attention with just his promos, and then I saw him in the ring and was forever a fan.
Anthony Brennan: Owen Hart as The Blue Blazer. He was like a real-life superhero, I never saw anyone move like him before.
Martin Posey: Demolition. Loved there face paint and entrance theme and the gear they wore to the ring.
Scott Phillips: The Crusher, the man who made Milwaukee famous.
David Schletty: Hulk Hogan-larger than life character and easy to get behind and cheer on.
Josh Gaby: Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. I liked the sleeper finisher and the constant threat of someone getting a haircut, but I also really liked his ring gear.
Lauren Dettore Grady: Hulk hogan. I liked the way he talked.
Jason Martin: Flair because as a kid I loved talking trash and he was the best and where I got most of my lines from lol. Plus him and Dusty/Steamboat/Ronnie Garvin/Sting had some of the best matches I’ve ever seen.
@might_be_a_mark You Might Be A Mark Retweeted PlaceToBeNation
Sting (blond version) or Tracey Smothers. I was a Smoky Mountain kid.
Brandon Hunter: Hulk Hogan, growing up he was life comic book hero.
Todd Coleman: It was about 1982, Ric Flair. First time I saw wrestling, he had just finished beating some nameless slob, and Harley Race was talking with Gordon Solie when Flair came over, and in typical Flair promo style, proceeded to challenge him for the world’s heavyweight title. I was HOOKED!!!
Andy Placko: Jake “The Snake” Roberts because he brought a huge friggin snake to the ring. And the DDT was my favorite finishing move.
Eric Battle: Hulk Hogan, because of his take your vitamins, drink your milk persona. And the fact he helped mainstream Pro Wrestling popularity in the ’80’s.
@WallyWallcakes: Hogan. He was larger than life, and awe inspiring. He WAS wrestling.
@MoeSquare: Eddie Guerrero. His ability to charm a crowd was second to none
@taeksguy :Kurt Angle, he is a fantastic wrestler and he makes me laugh.
@RickNashtag: Bob Backlund cause I thought Adrian Adonis was gross.
@ChrisNovakBECB: Austin, because it was the cool thing to do
@WheresChungy: Kane because on the first show I ever watched Triple H talked for a half hour and then Kane came out and beat up people with ladders.
@_AdamLangton: Piper. Absolutely captivating. I carried his action figure around with me.
@thegnc: Marty Jannetty. My friend wanted to be Shawn Michaels and I’m a polite boy.
@nolanwhyte: The Macho Man, during his big feud with that lowdown dirty Honky Tonk Man.
@STRIGGA: DDP because he became the one to say no to the nWo.
@CrystalPepsi: Hogan because I was a mark-ass 6 year old the first time I saw wrestling
@MattsWorld: Hulk Hogan like every other three year old in 1984.
@thisisjrose: Batista cause of his theme, pyro, and sick spinebuster, spear, powerbomb combo
@_RigelG: Jake the Snake Roberts. He was super cool when he talked and had the DDT. 2nd place: The Road Warriors
@TheManFromMars_: Lesnar in his first run. To see a guy built like that as a ten year old destroy everyone was awesome and that ironman match on SD was great
@ProwresHero: The Steiner Brothers, I’m guessing because they wore colorful shit and threw people around and little me wanted headgear like Rick had.
@tvtimelimit: Jushin Liger. I was young, he wore a bright red costume and flew. Never bettered for me.
@JDerbyshireBWFC: Michaels (I liked his red tights) & Austin (obvious reasons). ’97 WWF kid.
@S_ATL_Wrestling: Probably Hogan even though I grew up on NWA on Saturday nights. I was in 1st grade, he was like a real-life superhero.
@WCWLion: Sting. After I started to watch weekly, I watched more WCW than WWF. And Sting was in a match with Flair before the last Clash before Hogan.
@IYQbd: First was Macho Man. second, swear, was “Hands of Stone” Rugged Ronnie Garvin. I still love him to this day
@keisertroll: Ricky The Dragon Steamboat, because my 4 year old self appreciated his name, looks and workrate.
@RetepAdam: Rey Mysterio Jr. Was channel-flipping and saw him doing cool things on Thunder. Decided to investigate this wrestling thing further.
@OjwUk: Bret Hart, he seemed authentic but also felt like a superhero to me. I even wanted him to beat Davey Boy at Summerslam 92
@Russell_Sellers: Sting. My dad and granddad were big NWA/WCW fans so I saw way more of that than WWF/WWE. Played right into my love of superheroes.
@JakesBadTweets: The Rock bc he was the first wrestler I ever saw and I decided “if he’s this cool and he’s a wrestler, wrestling must be cool” or something
@BigHec01: Ricky The Dragon Steamboat cause I didn’t like Ric Flair as a kid…
@TheMikeFrizz: Hulk Hogan. You had to love Hulk as a young boy in the mid-80s. It was law, brother.
@HarjivS 26s27: Shawn Michaels because he had better gear than anyone else and called himself the Sexy Boy
@QueMarlon_: Stone Cold. He was the star of the show when I first watched at like age 7 and he was the fucking man
@trillyrobinson: I think it was Warrior but I was a big time Bossman, Jake the Snake and Sting fan
@KeithPittdog13: Jimmy Snuka. 1st heel I liked as a kid in 1982. 10 year old me saw a guy fly in Boston Garden. 1st face turn that impacted me as a fan.
@MikeStocks19: My brother was watching Nitro and I saw Goldberg destroy Hugh Morris. Monster good guy. He was like the Terminator to me as a kid
@ElPascoTexas: Bret Hart. Little kids are frontrunners and plus he was undersized which probably made him more relatable
@s1rgoth: First was Kerry Von Erich. WCCW shows first got me hooked
@jsay38: I really liked Koko B. Ware for some reason…I … I don’t know why. I was 8.
@Abbottude: Kane. Because he was awesome and still is.
@At_DGC: Ultimate warrior. His colorful outfit, face paint, and entrance drew me right to him. I was 7 when I started watching in 1990.
@DrDavidStarsky: Tito Santana, though I’m pretty sure every tape I got from Blockbusters had him losing on it. That babyface fire I guess.
@GloverGraps: I started watching wrestling in September 2013 so it was immediately Bryan. Secondary was actually Cody; that angle ruled.
@StarOfSavage: Macho Man, because I’ve always had good taste.
@ChrisSKreager: Kane. Because he really caught my eye with his look and his scariness.
@shlocko77: Randy Savage because he was so fucking intense in his feud with the Honky Tonk Man.
@OverlordDood: Hulk Hogan because he slammed the 80,000 pound stinky Giant in front of 1 trillion screaming Hulkamaniacs, brother.
@hopsanddrops: CM Punk. I saw the pipebomb promo before I even watched wrestling. He was so captivating it didn’t matter that I didn’t understand it.
@ZaQ5322: Bret Hart. He won his matches by outsmarting, outworking, and being more clever than the bigger bad guys.
@theblanketparty: Sting. His face paint was cool.
@ScottyTres: Stone Cold Steve Austin. I’m not entirely sure why other than because I was a child and just thought he was super badass.
@RyanClingman: Probably Rey Mysterio after seeing him on a 2004-2005 SmackDown, but the Batista Evolution turn probably made me a fan for life. I then went through another Mysterio phase followed by a Matt Hardy phase and God knows what else. But Mysterio & Batista were key figures. Oh! And Eddie Guerrero, definitely Eddie Guerrero. An Eddie Guerrero poster was probably my first piece of wrestling merchandise!
@IAmDylanPeschel: It was DDP and it was because he was a rebellious, inspirational hero with a great finisher and taunt.
@mrtom28: Hogan. I was born in 84. Lol
@wilkysox: Macho Man…my fandom started with the mega powers
@DGNR8Esq: Hulk Hogan was the guy I started watching wrestling for. I moved onto Warrior pretty quickly and then Savage once I started watching regular
@timtetreault: Bruno Sammartino and Tony Garea. They were my mom’s favorite wrestlers, so that’s how I got hooked.
