The Rise of the Dragon: An Altered History of the World Wrestling Federation
- Thread starter The Walkman
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Random thought of the Day Sting as the Undertaker make Mean Mark Callous Kane sadly that kinda derails Glenn Jacobs but it's a out there idea that Vince might have.
Crockett may have made some dubious decisions that accelerated his departure from pro wrestling, but outright releasing Sting immediately after an injury seems like a bad call even by his standards. Especially with three viable domestic landing spots for him.
Possible explanations: 1. The "various reasons" include issues that would make his continued employment a nonstarter (showing up to work drunk, indictment or conviction for a major crime, something along this lines). 2. The shoulder injury turned up something career or life-threatening (in which case the optics of releasing an wrestler immediately after an injury, which are already bad enough as it is, become absolutely horrifying).
Taking it at face value, I'd think McMahon would jump on Sting quickly. Even if he had to wait out a protracted recovery, McMahon wanted him OTL and would line him up to either be the next Hogan or the next Steamboat. If so, it'd certainly alter the Ultimate Warrior's trajectory, for better or worse. Gilbert would push to bring Sting in; they go back a ways, though would Lawler be willing to let him be the face of the company? Unless you're doing something dramatic with the AWA, that's probably the least likely solution.
Or it could be as simple as letting Sting recover and then re-signing him when he's healthy, though again that wouldn't be a smart move to leave him free to sign elsewhere.
Possible explanations: 1. The "various reasons" include issues that would make his continued employment a nonstarter (showing up to work drunk, indictment or conviction for a major crime, something along this lines). 2. The shoulder injury turned up something career or life-threatening (in which case the optics of releasing an wrestler immediately after an injury, which are already bad enough as it is, become absolutely horrifying).
Taking it at face value, I'd think McMahon would jump on Sting quickly. Even if he had to wait out a protracted recovery, McMahon wanted him OTL and would line him up to either be the next Hogan or the next Steamboat. If so, it'd certainly alter the Ultimate Warrior's trajectory, for better or worse. Gilbert would push to bring Sting in; they go back a ways, though would Lawler be willing to let him be the face of the company? Unless you're doing something dramatic with the AWA, that's probably the least likely solution.
Or it could be as simple as letting Sting recover and then re-signing him when he's healthy, though again that wouldn't be a smart move to leave him free to sign elsewhere.
Unfortunately, the next update is coming along more slowly than I'd hoped due to real-life circumstances. Still, I hope to have it ready by the end of this month. Until then, time for some Q&A!
Unfortunately, I don't have much knowledge of that game series, but maybe I'll see what I can do.
Yep. And sadly, since you wrote that, RIP to Mean Gene Okerlund, Pedro Morales, and King Kong Bundy--all important figures ITTL.
You guys are on the right track--it has something to do with the CTA! We'll hear more about it come 1990.
If you want to believe Bruce Prichard, Vince gave him the gimmick of a rooster because he was "cocky" backstage, and Terry just decided to play it as an actual rooster because he "didn't get it". No offense to Prichard, but I'm not buying it...
If he does join forces with Steamboat, he certainly won't be called "The Fighting Rooster".
No.
I've already established that Leon White still gets the Vader gimmick in New Japan, so that option for Sting is unfortunately out the window.
It's an interesting idea for sure. However, I have something else in mind for Sting...
You're very close with explanation #1 (thankfully it isn't crime- or alcohol-related, though). All will be revealed in the next update!
Unfortunately, I don't have much knowledge of that game series, but maybe I'll see what I can do.
Yep. And sadly, since you wrote that, RIP to Mean Gene Okerlund, Pedro Morales, and King Kong Bundy--all important figures ITTL.
You guys are on the right track--it has something to do with the CTA! We'll hear more about it come 1990.
If you want to believe Bruce Prichard, Vince gave him the gimmick of a rooster because he was "cocky" backstage, and Terry just decided to play it as an actual rooster because he "didn't get it". No offense to Prichard, but I'm not buying it...
If he does join forces with Steamboat, he certainly won't be called "The Fighting Rooster".
No.
I've already established that Leon White still gets the Vader gimmick in New Japan, so that option for Sting is unfortunately out the window.
It's an interesting idea for sure. However, I have something else in mind for Sting...
You're very close with explanation #1 (thankfully it isn't crime- or alcohol-related, though). All will be revealed in the next update!
Oh man, why am I suddenly picturing the Stinger as the Razor Ramon of this universe?
That would require Vince to have seen Scarface as the only reason Hall had that gimmick is cause he did an Al Pacino impression when he was trying out for Vince and Vince saw money not realizing ya know he was ripping off Scarface. For Sting, if there is no Warrior at this point then that is what he might get cause him and Warrior were a tag team when they started.
Very true, it was a bit of a brain fart to forget about those pieces, but that's why it was only a momentary vision. Given that early 90s Sting already had his surfer-bro persona with the similar facepaint, him filling in UW's position in the world is a lot more likely.
I love how the description of the video says “This is the entire reason that Hollywood exists.”I think the real travesty is the loss of this scene of cinematic masterpiece.
While doing some research about a possible TL I wanted to do about anime going big in the 1980s (which will probably never happen), I came across some unpleasant information. There was a considerable amount of anti-Japanese hysteria in the USA during the 1980s, mainly because they became an economic superpower then.
With Japanese cars displacing American cars on roads, Japanese manufacturing doing the same to American ("Made in Japan" anyone?) plus Japanese firms buying out American icons like Columbia Records and Rockefeller Center, there was a fear in that decade that Japan would take over the United States and possibly the world. Also many WW2 veterans were alive in the 1980s, many of which who fought against Japan and were holding grudges. This has since declined as the 1980s bubble economy of Japan crashed in the early 1990s and even today, Japan still hasn't returned to the prosperity levels of the 1980s.
ITTL, with Japanese creations airing on American television (Hello Kitty, Dragonball, etc) and wrestling's megastar/hero/pop cultural icon being half-Japanese, how are the anti-Japanese sentiments running in Eagleland?
Is it about the same? Is Steamboat weakening this prejudice? Or is he just fanning the flames?
With Japanese cars displacing American cars on roads, Japanese manufacturing doing the same to American ("Made in Japan" anyone?) plus Japanese firms buying out American icons like Columbia Records and Rockefeller Center, there was a fear in that decade that Japan would take over the United States and possibly the world. Also many WW2 veterans were alive in the 1980s, many of which who fought against Japan and were holding grudges. This has since declined as the 1980s bubble economy of Japan crashed in the early 1990s and even today, Japan still hasn't returned to the prosperity levels of the 1980s.
ITTL, with Japanese creations airing on American television (Hello Kitty, Dragonball, etc) and wrestling's megastar/hero/pop cultural icon being half-Japanese, how are the anti-Japanese sentiments running in Eagleland?
Is it about the same? Is Steamboat weakening this prejudice? Or is he just fanning the flames?
An update for my readers!
All apologies about my absence, but it was for two very good reasons. The first: I got a promotion at work, which ate up a lot of time and effort for me, and unfortunately forced me to take a short hiatus from this site and several others which I frequent. And the much more exciting second reason: after a long time living in a small, slightly cramped apartment, I have finally been able to move into my own, rent-free house! I'm stoked to be able to be free from the shackles of monthly rent payments, and I'm even more pleased to be back to writing this timeline.
I am proud to announce that Rise of the Dragon will be returning at the beginning of next month! Three updates are on tap for June, and after that, events will come on at least a monthly basis. I hope you all are ready for some much more frequent updates!
Here's a taste of some of the stuff I have lined up:
All apologies about my absence, but it was for two very good reasons. The first: I got a promotion at work, which ate up a lot of time and effort for me, and unfortunately forced me to take a short hiatus from this site and several others which I frequent. And the much more exciting second reason: after a long time living in a small, slightly cramped apartment, I have finally been able to move into my own, rent-free house! I'm stoked to be able to be free from the shackles of monthly rent payments, and I'm even more pleased to be back to writing this timeline.
I am proud to announce that Rise of the Dragon will be returning at the beginning of next month! Three updates are on tap for June, and after that, events will come on at least a monthly basis. I hope you all are ready for some much more frequent updates!
Here's a taste of some of the stuff I have lined up:
- We head to the first Summerslam, where Ricky Steamboat faces one of his toughest challenges yet
- The second Survivor Series, featuring two prominent debuts and one of the most brutal matches in WWF history to this point
- We focus on the NWA and JCP, and follow them into their new ownership
- WCW continues to grow, and we crown the first (and second!) WCW Heavyweight Champions
- Tragic demises in both England and Puerto Rico
- Reports on movies, music and TV
- And Steamboat faces one of his toughest challenges yet, resulting in perhaps the greatest match in WWF history
Maybe he's killing Colon. Or Invader 1. Or Tony Atlas. My guess is he worded it that way to deliver THE ULTIMATE SWERVE! (of the week)
Given recent events of the past week, I'm going to be mildly disappointed now (well, not really) if one of the backstage scenes with Vince doesn't have him randomly screaming at someone, "This is such good SHIT!"
Also, many congrats on no longer renting a place! I can't imagine that's an easy way to live, and it's one of my biggest fears and reasons for not finding a dwelling of my own yet.
Also, many congrats on no longer renting a place! I can't imagine that's an easy way to live, and it's one of my biggest fears and reasons for not finding a dwelling of my own yet.
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