The Cornette Call: A Pro Wrestling Timeline

[Megafighter3]

When is this timeline going to be over?

I think its going to end in 2001.

May 19th...

 

[eldandythedoubter]

May 19th...

Oh you got jokes.

 

[volantredx]

I think Vince had the right to make the first bid if WCW ever became available (it was part of settling the lawsuit over intellectual property when the nWo first showed up). As circumstances in this timeline were different, WCW's free to move to another network.

That's actually just a rumor, there's little evidence Vince ever got such a deal in the lawsuit.

 

[Megafighter3]

WCW Living Dangerously 2001

10000 in the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum with another returning ECW PPV, in place of Uncensored and OTL's Greed. Nine matches on the card.

1. Air Raid d. Elix Skipper/Kid Romeo. We have the PPV debut of Air Paris and Air Styles, plus Kid Romeo, but we give Styles the chance to shine here, getting the win after a pin to Romeo after the Spiral Tap.
2. WCW Cruiserweight: Shane Helms d. Nova. Just another bit of fun cruiserweight action, Shane keeping after the Vertebreaker.
3. WCW TV: Rhino d. Justin Credible. Rhino tears through the new Outsider, taking him out with a Gore to the satisfaction of the crowd.
4. Jeff Jarrett d. Dustin Rhodes (w/Dusty Rhodes) Jarrett and Dustin explode after their brief reunion, Dusty joining his son at ringside. Jarrett gets the win here after the Figure Four.
5. Diamond Dallas Page (w/Chris Kanyon) d. Triple H (w/Sean Waltman) DDP trades a win with Triple H because that sounds like a fun feud to run.
6. Scott Steiner d. Booker T. And Steiner gets Booker in the Steiner Recliner tonight as their feud continues.
7. WCW Tag: Rob Van Dam/Sabu d. Chris Candido/2 Cold Scorpio. Candido teams up with ECW alumnus 2 Cold Scorpio to a losing effort against the tag champs. Five Star Frog Splash to Scorpio keeps it for RVD and Sabu.
8. WCW US: Shane Douglas (w/Bam Bam Bigelow) d. Billy Kidman. And the Franchise keeps over Kidman, playing underdog as he takes the Pittsburgh Plunge.
9. WCW World: Goldberg d. Mike Awesome in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. We get a huge rematch here, with both men going mad with plunder to make this a hell of a scrap. Goldberg spears Awesome through the barricade and finishes with a Jackhammer on the ramp.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania XVII

68000 in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas for the biggest, and I mean the biggest, match of the year. Nine matches on the card.

1. Heat: Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay/Rikishi) d. Steve Blackman/Albert.
2. Kane/Paul Wight (w/Shane McMahon) d. The Godfather/Val Venis. Shane, coming back from selling the table spot in December, puts himself in-between the long going TV feud of Kane and Paul Wight, making an offer to the men. See, Kurt decided that he needs to prove he can win without a manager, so Shane needs new clients, so he pushes for the two to work together, promising he could sign an easy WrestleMania victory for the both of them if they can work as a team. That brings us to this match, where they tear through Supply & Demand, Chokeslams all around and victory for the towering giants, Shane raising their arms before the giants attack each other.
3. WWF Light Heavyweight: Rey Misterio Jr. d. Eddie Guerrero. And finally, Rey reclaims the title after another amazing performance between him and Eddie. Just give them 15 minutes of pure lucha action. Rey wins it with the West Coast Pop.
4. Bradshaw d. Ron Simmons in a Texas Death Match. Just two Southern boys in a brutal brawl. I really have no idea what to do with these two as they never really got the APA name that helped them out, even as they ran the gimmick, so let's just have them break up and get Bradshaw going after knocking Simmons' head off with the Clothesline From Hell.
5. WWF European: Test (w/Lance Storm) d. William Regal. And Test finally wins gold, managing to outpower Regal, but also uses some of Lance's advice on how to escape from certain holds to his advantage before hitting the Pumphandle Slam. Stephanie comes out to celebrate with her kayfabe husband, the two embrace in a hug and kiss... and then Test hits her with the Pumphandle Slam, turning heel. Boo this Test! Boooookay, maybe the crowd will cheer this since I imagine Stephanie was a bit annoying and kind of a shit manager, but Test and Storm are heels now and hey, ya got a WrestleMania XVII heel turn that makes sense.
6. Kurt Angle d. Chris Benoit d. Tazz. Throw Tazz into this match to take the loss and make it all sorts of suplex fun. Angle wins it with the Angle Lock here.
7. The Undertaker d. Hulk Hogan. This takes the Triple H match from OTL and it's a risky proposition, but fuck it, I've got like... five PPVs left to book before this TL is over. It may not be a believable claim, but I'd like to think the experience of Heroes of Wrestling humbled Hogan, so he came back to do a job for Vince since Vince needed a 'Mania opponent for 'Taker and Vince welcomed him back rather cordially (though he was keen to have commentators refer to Hogan as the "Hero of Wrestling" during his TV appearances to rib the Hulkster) And while Hogan's probably in better condition due to having done a lot less wrestling than OTL (he basically did no TV during his previous WWF run and the same is true here, so since 1998 he's done a total of eight matches in all) it's clear that's he looking at retirement and who better to put the Real American away than the American Badass? Hogan takes the Chokeslam and the Tombstone and walks away, the crowd hot for the Undertaker but giving some cheers to Hogan out of respect as its clear that his career is done.
8. WWF Tag: Edge & Christian (w/Trish Stratus) d. The Dudley Boyz (w/Spike Dudley) d. The Hardy Boyz (w/Lita) in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match. We switch out Rhyno with Trish, so this match is a lot sexier (or less sexy if you have some weird taste) but its the OTL match all the same. Although consider Trish Stratus taking a 3D through a table for this match instead. Really, it's the match you love no matter what, the greatest bit of collision course wrestling you'll ever see.
9. WWF IC: Chris Jericho d. Owen Hart in a Submission Match. And we wrap up Owen's career now. Owen was never destined to go too far after survival, he wanted to retire after his contract ran up to spend time with his family and we finally give him that opportunity after a match with Jericho for the Intercontinental strap. It's the last great match in Owen's career, Owen giving all he has and Jericho more than ever to keep up, ending it all with a Walls of Jericho. The two shakes hands then hug as the crowd is left with "Please don't go" chants. But the show's not over yet.
10. WWF World: Steve Austin d. The Rock in a No DQ Match (Special Ref: Mick Foley) We have this OTL match, though with Foley reffing the match as well and no stupid Stone Cold heel turn. Just two men wanting to prove which of them is the best in the company and in the wrestling world, Austin winning with the Stunner to finish off WrestleMania to explosive cheers.

 

[Megafighter3]

So, having watched a documentary on the UFC that SB Nation released, I will be opening up the possibility of once again, Vince buying UFC ITTL. There was a point in 2000 where he'd have to beat out Dana White and the Fertitta brothers for it, but given that UFC cost IOTL less than what Vince paid for WCW, I can see Shane arguing that it'd be loose change for Vince to get an important brand for the TitanSports umbrella. Thoughts?

 

[Megafighter3]

WCW Spring Stampede 2001

12000 in the Orlando Arena for WCW's first PPV after the massive WrestleMania. Nine matches on tonight's card.

1. Air Raid d. Jamie Noble/Jimmy Yang. We continue the push of the young Air Styles, hitting the Spiral Tap on Jimmy Yang.
2. WCW Cruiserweight: Evan Karagias d. Shane Helms. In a surprise outcome, Karagias takes the Cruiserweight title after a Courageous Corkscrew following another high-spot display.
3. WCW TV: Rhino d. Dustin Rhodes. Dustin brings an old school style but falls to the Gore. Rhino is unstoppable as the television champion.
4. Jeff Jarrett d. Chris Candido. Give Jarrett some more momentum by putting Candido away with the Figure Four. He's gonna get his title shot yet.
5. Triple H d. Diamond Dallas Page. Neither man has their seconds at ringside, but it all goes to Triple H after another Pedigree.
6. Booker T d. Scott Steiner. The ongoing war between the former tag team specialists continues with Booker winning off a scissor kick.
7. WCW Tag: Rob Van Dam/Sabu d. Kid Kash/Jerry Lynn. Just some ECW aerial excitement in the tag division, Five Star Frog Splash to Kid Kash keeps it for RVD and Sabu.
8. WCW US: Shane Douglas (w/Bam Bam Bigelow) d. Sting. The Franchise looks to prove himself with another win against WCW icon Sting, getting the win with the Pittsburgh Plunge.
9. WCW World: Goldberg d. Raven in a Raven's Rules Match. Raven comes after Goldberg tonight and he comes so close to taking the title, but falls to the Spear and Jackhammer. Jackhammer through a table is the one to wrap it up for tonight. Nothing major, but the fact that WCW is still a thing is a good sign.

 

[Jearom]

Dana and the Fertittas really changed UFC a lot to make it more appealing to mainstream sports fans and improve the image. Before hand UFC fights were almost no-holds-barred, there were no individual weight classes, and most PPVs were tournaments where fighters had to fight multiple times a night. So would Vince keep this format? Would he try to cross promote and bring certain fighters into the WWF or send WWF superstars to fight in the UFC? If he did so I think a lot of people would question the legitimacy of MMA and the UFC in particular, the danger is it will just be dismissed as another work and not a real athletic competition.

 

[Megafighter3]

Dana and the Fertittas really changed UFC a lot to make it more appealing to mainstream sports fans and improve the image. Before hand UFC fights were almost no-holds-barred, there were no individual weight classes, and most PPVs were tournaments where fighters had to fight multiple times a night. So would Vince keep this format? Would he try to cross promote and bring certain fighters into the WWF or send WWF superstars to fight in the UFC? If he did so I think a lot of people would question the legitimacy of MMA and the UFC in particular, the danger is it will just be dismissed as another work and not a real athletic competition.

Plans would be ostensibly for Shane to be the man in the chair for UFC while Vince continues to run the WWF, so there would be some early press worrying that UFC was purchased out of nepotism. Kayfabe has been slowly burning out (slower than OTL's complete tearing of the wall) but I imagine Ken Shamrock's WWF title run back in late '98-early '99 did help the UFC's image in terms of mainstream appeal and added an air of legitimacy to the WWF when they needed it the most.

 

[Jearom]

Plans would be ostensibly for Shane to be the man in the chair for UFC while Vince continues to run the WWF, so there would be some early press worrying that UFC was purchased out of nepotism. Kayfabe has been slowly burning out (slower than OTL's complete tearing of the wall) but I imagine Ken Shamrock's WWF title run back in late '98-early '99 did help the UFC's image in terms of mainstream appeal and added an air of legitimacy to the WWF when they needed it the most.

The other thing I forgot to mention, if you want UFC to be take seriously as a sport then they have to work with the state athletic commissions. OTL UFC was on the verge of being de-certified (or already had been?) by the Nevada State Athletic Commission until Dana went to them and worked out all the changes they needed to make. So if the McMahon's are serious about it they will sit down with the Nevada and maybe Massachusetts commissions to work out what they need to do and it will likely look something like what Dana negotiated - separate weight classes, new rules banning things like kicks and knees to the head of opponents when they are not standing, and most importantly drug testing. That will be a big issue especially with WWF's history of drug use.

 

[Megafighter3]

Backlash 2001

16000 in the Allstate Arena (the former Horizon) in Rosemont, Illinois for the first WWF PPV after WrestleMania. Eight matches on the card.

1. Paul Wight/Kane/Shane McMahon d. The Dudley Boyz in a Six-Man Tag Match. I popped open the Pringles can of Shane bumps and now I can't stop. He just gets beaten on by the Dudleyz (and I'm also thinking there's a spot where Paul Wight throws him like a projectile weapon at the Dudleyz) and he takes a whipping in the ring. Paul and Kane win after Chokeslams to Bubba and D-Von after Spike and Shane wipe each other out (Spike took some sick bumps for this too) and the two stare each other down after but Paul then hoists Shane over his shoulder and carries him off.
2. WWF Light Heavyweight: Rey Misterio Jr. d. Super Crazy. Just let them have some high-flying action here, ten minutes should be good. Eddie runs in after the match to beat on Rey for a bit. He wants his title back, damn it.
3. Lance Storm (w/Test) d. Albert. Lance comes out for a match to prove his technical superiority over the "hairy lummox" Albert. He does outwrestle, Albert, but Albert brings the power, taking control only for Test to come in and get Albert from behind with a forearm to put Albert out for an easy pin.
4. WWF European: Test (w/Lance Storm) d. Bradshaw (w/Stephanie McMahon) Stephanie hires Bradshaw to get revenge on her ex, but thanks to Storm's advice, he outdoes Bradshaw's brawling tactics and gets him with the Pumphandle Slam.
5. Chris Benoit d. Kurt Angle in an Ultimate Submission Match. Same match from OTL.
6. WWF Tag: Edge & Christian d. The Hardy Boyz. Just throw in some more tag fun from the Hardyz and E&C. Spear to Jeff finishes.
7. WWF IC: William Regal d. Chris Jericho in a Duchess of Queensbury Rules Match. Same match from OTL, but now it's for the Intercontinental strap. The Duchess makes it impossible for Jericho to get the win, Regal cracking him with a steel chair to win.
8. WWF World: Steve Austin d. The Undertaker. Just a straight good ol' fashioned brawl from two Texas boys. Austin and 'Taker just go at each other with hard fists, ending with a Stunner to the Deadman.

 

[Megafighter3]

The other thing I forgot to mention, if you want UFC to be take seriously as a sport then they have to work with the state athletic commissions. OTL UFC was on the verge of being de-certified (or already had been?) by the Nevada State Athletic Commission until Dana went to them and worked out all the changes they needed to make. So if the McMahon's are serious about it they will sit down with the Nevada and maybe Massachusetts commissions to work out what they need to do and it will likely look something like what Dana negotiated - separate weight classes, new rules banning things like kicks and knees to the head of opponents when they are not standing, and most importantly drug testing. That will be a big issue especially with WWF's history of drug use.

It's possible that drug testing would be an issue, but if Shane can talk his dad into it, that means we'd get the Wellness Policy (or something like it) six years earlier than OTL.

 

[Garbageman]

At this point in the timeline, who are the commentary teams for the two promotions?

 

[Megafighter3]

At this point in the timeline, who are the commentary teams for the two promotions?

JR/Cornette on PPVs, Michael Cole/Tazz on TV for WWF. WCW has Joey Styles/Don Callis on PPV with Tony Schiavone and newcomer Jerry Lawler on TV.

Edit: Okay, slight correction. Gonna go with Kevin Kelly and Tazz, make Michael Cole the interview guy. Maybe have Schiavone as WCW's interview guy so you get Tenay/Lawler, which sounds like a good time.

 

[MonsooN]

It will be a shame we won't get JR and Hetman in this TL. They were brilliant together during OTL 2001.

 

[Megafighter3]

Insurrextion 2001

16000 in the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre in London for our last WWF PPV of this timeline. Nine matches on the card.

1. Paul Wight/Kane (w/Shane McMahon) d. The Holly Cousins (w/Molly Holly) It's a squash, for a bit of fun, maybe Shane hits on Molly and she hits him with a move in response. The Hollys get destroyed with chokeslams, though.
2. Eddie Guerrero d. Grandmaster Sexay. Same match from OTL.
3. WWF Light Heavyweight: Rey Misterio Jr. d. Psicosis. Another successful Rey defense with Eddie coming out afterward to demand a rematch. This is pretty much the feud of the light heavyweight division for the early 2000s.
4. Lance Storm d. Dean Malenko. This time Lance wins without interference, getting Malenko in the Canadian Maple Leaf to win.
5. WWF European: Test (w/Lance Storm) d. Perry Saturn (w/Stephanie McMahon) Stephanie's new hire, Perry Saturn, also falls to Test. Lance pretty much has Test study his opponents, learn ways to counter anything that comes up. And sure enough, Perry falls to the Pumphandle Slam.
6. Chris Benoit d. Kurt Angle in a Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match. Same match from OTL.
7. WWF Tag: Paul Wight/Kane (w/Shane McMahon) d. Edge & Christian d. The Dudley Boyz d. The Hardy Boyz in a Four-Way Elimination Match. The match was supposed to have Scotty 2 Hotty and Rikishi, but they got demolished by Paul and Kane backstage and then the two giants took their spot. They boss everyone here, tossing around the Hardyz with ease and leaving Jeff pinned up Paul's foot. The Dudleyz put up more of a fight, but Edge makes the mistake of Spearing D-Von and pinning him, leaving the Canadians vulnerable to two giants. They both take Chokeslams and both get pinned. Shane's new clients have won the tag titles (their first WWF ITTL, if I'm not mistaken) and at first, they stare down, then Paul offers a hand. Kane stares at it, then shakes it and they lift Shane on his shoulders while Shane holds a belt in each hand.
8. WWF IC: Chris Jericho d. William Regal. Jericho reclaims his Intercontinental Title in what is their OTL contest.
9. WWF World: Steve Austin d. The Undertaker. And the American Badass fails to take the title once again, but now he's getting a lot more agitated, getting up and brawling with Austin post-match. He's not full heel yet, but he's getting there.

 

[Megafighter3]

Slamboree 2001

And here we go, the final PPV of the timeline. 15000 in the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Eight matches on the card.

1. Air Raid d. The Outsiders (Sean Waltman/Justin Credible) Air Raid get the win in front of AJ's home crowd. Spiral Tap to Credible gives it to them.
2. WCW Cruiserweight: Devon Storm (w/Daffney) d. Evan Karagias. Fuck it, let's just switch a few belts. Daffney helps Storm get the win here thanks to interference.
3. WCW TV: Chris Kanyon d. Rhino. And Kanyon gets the TV title, fighting from underneath, dodging the Gore and hitting a Kanyon Kutter.
4. Diamond Dallas Page (w/Chris Kanyon) d. Scott Steiner. And Page also gets a win off the Diamond Cutter.
5. Triple H (w/Kevin Nash) d. Booker T. Triple H gets a win thanks to his buddy Nash, hitting the Pedigree.
6. WCW Tag: Shane Helms/Shannon Moore d. Rob Van Dam/Sabu. Just some good high-flying action in the tag division, Sabu taking the fall as the Omega boys win the tag straps.
7. WCW US: Billy Kidman d. Shane Douglas (w/Bam Bam Bigelow) And Kidman gets the underdog win here against the Franchise, catching him with the Shooting Star Press.
8. WCW World: Goldberg d. Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett comes in with the gameplan of working Goldberg's leg, cutting off his momentum, but Goldberg powers out of the Figure Four and even with a wounded leg manages the Spear and the Jackhammer. Triple H comes in for the post-match attack, attack Goldberg's leg with a chair to try and put him out commission.

 

[MatthewFirth]

I’m sorry but I feel you have to end on a PPV which sees the end of the era. Unless events that followed your last PPVs does that, then the end will be too abrupt.

 

[Megafighter3]

I’m sorry but I feel you have to end on a PPV which sees the end of the era. Unless events that followed your last PPVs does that, then the end will be too abrupt.

Yeah, 'Mania probably would've been a better end point, but the idea was to get to five years in the TL. I will be doing epilogue posts detailing the futures of all the champs to make up for the weak ending.

 

[Megafighter3]

Epilogue, Part 1: WWF World Champions

As I promised, I will be doing a multi-part epilogue covering the champions and their futures in this TL, starting with the WWF and their world champion lineage first up.

Shawn Michaels: The Heartbreak Kid would return to the ring after a few years in retirement, along with training a number of young talent, getting them their starts in WCW and their future developmental league, Ring of Honor. His career would end for good in 2011 at Starrcade in a match against his protegee Bryan Danielson.

The British Bulldog: Bulldog no longer gaining a painkiller addiction in late '98, his rehab in late '99 and his retirement in 2000, gave him some extra time on this Earth ITTL, but he would sadly pass away on May 19th, 2004. He mostly stayed out of the ring around that time but did work the occasional tag match with his son Harry.

Bret Hart: Bret would continue to run the Hart Dungeon until his stroke in 2002. He has not returned to the ring in any capacity but did receive a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame and has been living a peaceful life up in Canada.

The Undertaker: The Streak would come to an end much earlier than OTL, going 13-1 at WrestleMania XXI against Randy Orton (going through his "Legend Killer" phase) Orton was hesitant to do so out of respect for the Deadman, but Undertaker insisted that he had little left to prove. This would soon lead to Undertaker retiring after a Casket Match against Orton at Survivor Series 2005.

Steve Austin: Austin would continue to raise hell as Stone Cold, but as the 2000s went on, the wear and tear began to get to the Rattlesnake and the change from Attitude to Ruthless Aggression (and subsequent departure of many Attitude Era stars) left Austin as the last of his kind. He would opt to retire at WrestleMania XXII, once again putting over Randy Orton on the way out (Rattlesnake vs. Viper was how it was sold) and being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Ken Shamrock: Shamrock would eventually go over to WCW in 2004 on the advice of his good friend Jeff Jarrett (who happened to be world champion at the time, fancy that) and would do about a year there, eventually being fed to Jarrett before returning to his MMA career, which went about as well it does IOTL.

Hulk Hogan: Hogan mostly did special appearance jobs for Vince, putting over Orton at SummerSlam 2006 for example, but he spends most of his time trying to get Heroes of Wrestling off the ground, with an abysmal run from 2001-2003 (think World Wrestling All-Stars but in the US and run by Hogan) or an attempt at training d-list celebrities to wrestle (think Tough Enough but with Dennis Rodman. Only this one happened in OTL) all of which were money pits. One time in 2009, he teamed with lottery winner Jonathan Vargas to bring the most over-the-top eighties camp version of the promotion. This bombed too. And there was the tragic death of his son Nick in 2007 and the sex tape... yeah, Hogan hasn't been doing well ITTL.

The Rock: The Rock is still the Rock, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Career goes about the same as OTL.

Owen Hart: Owen would take over the Dungeon after Bret's stroke and like Bret, he would stay out of the ring, opting to be with his family.

Kurt Angle: Angle would have his OTL career and eventually jump ship from WWE to WCW around the time he went to TNA in OTL. There he would breathe new life into the promotion with a stellar run in the top, working with a lot of the younger guys like AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk and most famously, his feud with Samoa Joe. Kurt's body would eventually break down, leading to his retirement at Starrcade 2014, losing to Samoa Joe.