Tonight, In This Very Ring: A Collection of Wrestling Timelines
- Thread starter Megafighter3
- Start date
Was watching the show for the first time with that episode. Great series BTW. But I was thinking of a storyline for here where Bart Gunn basically say screw this and the company by knocking out Butterbean, against the wishes of the higher up's in the company and leaves to be a singles star in WCW and later Pro Wrestling Noah. It kinda dumb but I like to see it happen.
Watching the episode actually made me feel sorry for Bart Gunn so I been toying with the idea for awhile. Bart had the talent and the fans did kinda cheer for him at during the Brawl for All tournament. (But I would have cheered anyways just for the fact that the tournament is done and dead now)
Wanna give it a shot @Megafighter3 ?
SonOfSharknado
Banned
I'm sorry, but Bart Gunn knocking out Butterbean is ASB. It would take an absolute miracle freak knockout for Bart to beat one of the most devastating knockout boxers of the era. Or if he brought a handgun to the ring and murdered Bean on live ppv.
Two low blow and a stiff as hell punch in the face would work perfectly. Fans would be behind Bart since they knew it wasn't gonna end good for Bart and Bart Gunn would make Butterbean look like a idiot for doing WrestleMania.
Oh course Vince and the other backstage would lose their **** and fire him on the spot. But atleast he get some credit as a guy who took down Butterbean on PPV. Plus WCW can capitalize on this by signing him to a contract to help his singles career, something WWF wouldn't do and was looking to bury the poor guy. It would be a good timeline story.
Yes it ASB but come on. I remember watching the match on VHS (since i didn't see it on PPV) and remember wondering why Butterbean knocked out Gunn so quickly. This was my first time seeing someone getting buried (in wrestling terms) on PPV and what worse.. It was at WrestleMania. His wrestling career in the US would never recover after that POS exhibition match of stupid.
Also, on a personal preference. I never got the appeal of Butterbean, he may look strong in the ring but he looks he was doing it for a paycheck and wan't to leave. I honestly think Ken Shamrock, Kurt Angle and (yes) Brock Lesner were good example of MMA or amateur background that worked in WWE. Dan Severn was good also despite his short run.
*Sits down and wait for comments*
SonOfSharknado
Banned
From everything I heard, Butterbean was genuinely excited to be there and was a fan of wrestling. He even went backstage after knocking out Bart and was all smiles saying "Hey, I'm one of the boys!" which meant he would never be accepted as such.
Also, what is a "stiff as hell punch" in a shootfight? Because it was a shoot, and that's why Butterbean knocked him out so quickly. Because he was bigger and stronger and knocked Bart's brain inside out.
Also, what is a "stiff as hell punch" in a shootfight? Because it was a shoot, and that's why Butterbean knocked him out so quickly. Because he was bigger and stronger and knocked Bart's brain inside out.
Honestly, I didn't know that. From what I remember (which was about 15 years ago and I actually don't have the VHS anymore sadly) I felt that he didn't want to be there. Again, I honestly didn't the match anyways so maybe i clouded my judgement on him being there.
Honestly. I will give Bart Gunn credit for putting himself on the line for it. But if I was Bart I would have walked out.
I don't hate Butterbean, if he was excited to be there then I'm happy for him. It just feel like WWE honestly didn't know what to with Bart Gunn from the idiotic outcome of the Brawl for All tournament. I just feel like Bart Gunn deserve better. Again personal opinion on all this. Plus I was a kid when I watch this and maybe i should give it another watch but honestly, Wrestlemania 15 (Outside of Rock vs Austin Part I) was not a personal favorite of mine. 14 was better and I think the best Wrestlemania of the Attitude Era was the last on of that era anyways, Wrestlemania 17.
Anyways, If you wanna continue talking about it then let's talk in DM since I don't want to overtake someones timeline. @Megafighter3 ,I can't wait to see what TL you will do next. Hopefully you will be able to the Ric Flair one i suggest months back someday.
Just a quick little answer for some questions.
Where's the Ric Flair GM TL? I was thinking on it and given how it happens right after the end of the Invasion, I decided that it and the 2002 iteration of nWo will be merged into the Invasion when I get to that.
Could Bart Gunn Knock Out Butterbean? Butterbean himself put it at a 50/50 if Bart had opted to fight like he had in the Brawl For All during the doc, so a future TL would most likely be built around managing that 50/50. Managing the surprise knockout on Butterbean that draws Bischoff's eyes to him.
Where's the Ric Flair GM TL? I was thinking on it and given how it happens right after the end of the Invasion, I decided that it and the 2002 iteration of nWo will be merged into the Invasion when I get to that.
Could Bart Gunn Knock Out Butterbean? Butterbean himself put it at a 50/50 if Bart had opted to fight like he had in the Brawl For All during the doc, so a future TL would most likely be built around managing that 50/50. Managing the surprise knockout on Butterbean that draws Bischoff's eyes to him.
The Bionic Redneck
The Bionic Redneck
Suggested by @Hulkster'01 and finally making its way to the top of my list, we're looking at if the SummerSlam 1997 piledriver spot went off without a hitch, not causing the neck injury that defined and ended his career. This one's gonna be interesting as I feel like most of what happened in OTL would've happened, just that Austin's style of wrestling would've stayed on the technical side. It's really more in the nature of Owen's career from, especially with the rest of 1997.
1997
After successfully claiming the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam, Austin would drop the WWF tag titles at Ground Zero: In Your House, thought saying Austin dropped the titles is misleading. He basically gave Dude Love a Stunner and left him to the wolves, resulting in a shorter tag match with the Headbangers winning. He would then go on to defend his IC title against Owen Hart later on in the night. Owen would reclaim the title at Badd Blood: In Your House, defending against Austin at Survivor Series. While he managed to keep his belt at that event, the same could not be said for Bret.
Owen would defend the title at D-Generation X: In Your House against the Rock while Austin made his intentions clear by attacking Shawn Michaels after his title match against Ken Shamrock, building up for a match at WrestleMania.
I'm more interested in the long term effects for Austin. No botched piledriver means no time off in 99-00 for him and his career would be longer. The question with a longer main event run, would people get sick of him the way they got sick of Hogan?
1) I still think Austin would take some time off around that time for general wear and tear instead of an incredibly risky surgery.
2) Perhaps, but not QUITE as rapidly as Hogan IOTL.
In fairness, Hogan had been in the main event scene between WCW & WWF/WWE for 13 years by the point we started ITTL (OTL he would remain so for at least another 8 years afterwards, probably longer but I never really watched TNA during my pro wrestling watching heyday.) Outside of his career renaissance as Hollywood Hogan and the nWo, we were kinda sick of the man hogging up the main event long before that point. Steve Austin on the other hand only took up that spot for about 3 years IOTL, before the nagging neck injury ended his career early.
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The Bionic Redneck: 1998
1998
The year 1998 remained relatively the same for the WWF at the start. Owen dropped the IC title to the Rock at the Royal Rumble PPV, Austin winning the Rumble Match. Following the Rumble would be the awkwardly-titled No Way Out of Texas: In Your House. There, Owen and Austin teamed with Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie to meet against DX Members Triple H & The New Outlaws plus Savio Vega in a non-sanctioned eight-man tag team match. WrestleMania XIV equally saw OTL results for the WWF European and World Championship matches, with Triple H keeping against Owen and Austin getting the big win. At Unforgiven: In Your House, Austin would defend against Dude Love, getting disqualified in the process while Triple H would keep again over Owen for the European Title.
However, rather than join the Nation, Owen stayed independent of the group and continued his run as the Last Hart, chasing the European title to Over the Edge: In Your House. There, he would win the title while the Nation (D'Lo Brown/Kama Mustafa) would try and fail to claim the tag titles against the Outlaws and Austin would successfully defend the World Title against corporate Dude Love. Owen would go on to successfully defend the European title against X-Pac, Stone Cold defending against Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere match, both overshadowed by Mankind vs. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell Match. Following that would be Fully Loaded: In Your House, where Austin defended his World title against the Undertaker, Kane and Mankind take the tag titles from the New Age Outlaws, The Rock and Triple H went to a time limit draw for the IC title in a two-out-of-three falls match and Owen kept the European Title against Ken Shamrock in a match held at the Hart Dungeon, with Dan Severn acting as the guest referee.
SummerSlam would see Mankind defend the tag titles in a handicap against the New Age Outlaws, losing the straps. Owen would also lose his European Title in a Lion's Den Match to Ken Shamrock while Triple H beat The Rock for the Intercontinental Title in a ladder match. The only champ to retain that night was Austin against the Undertaker. Breakdown: In Your House happens as per OTL, as would Judgment Day: In Your House.
The Deadly Game at Survivor Series, however, changed things. Rather than facing Duane Gill, Mankind was put up against Owen Hart, who beat him in the first round. Following that, Owen would defeat Al Snow and Stone Cold, making it to the finals against The Rock... only to end up in a recreation of the Screwjob, with Rocky locking in the Sharpshooter. Fans were livid at the sight of this and it made Rocky one of the most hated men in the company and put Owen on the same level as Austin in terms of popularity. He would attempt to get the belt again at Capital Carnage, once again losing the match due to shenanigans. The year ended with Rock Bottom: In Your House, where Rock beat Owen and Mankind in a triple threat match, Mankind eating the pin.
For Austin, things were business as usual, but Owen has finally broken through to main event status and his future in 1999 is looking bright.
SonOfSharknado
Banned
I can't imagine that Owen would be comfortable with redoing the Screwjob, to be honest.
Probably not, but promises of a future push probably helped.
A throwaway idea you could adopt: André the Giant undergoes pituitary gland surgery shortly after he's informed of his condition in the early 1970s, something he refused to do IRL. He doesn't become an absentee father, due to believing his daughter is actually his daughter and, in his WWF run, he's far more mobile, and he's able to keep being a technical wrestler, like here:
The early rivalry between André as a face and Hogan as a heel endures, and he becomes the WWF's leading man, a gentle giant and a wholesome figure both inside and outside the ring. By the mid-1990s, he's a manager figure who finds himself increasingly at odds with the rising Kliq and with Vince himself; he hangs around only due to a developing friendship with resident cool dude Mick Foley and with another person who went through some rough shit in her life, that is, Joan Marie Laurer - he basically rips her away from Triple H due to his own dislike of the Kliq.
These three are joined by Nick Dinsmore (who never leaves WWF) as an early version of Eugene, and create their own stable, the Freak Show, kayfabe and real life rivals of D-Generation X (Rick Rude, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac), whose whole thing is Deadpool-ing, a lot: for example, while Mankind is a rival of the group, the other characters portrayed by Mick Foley are not, and there may be promos involving manager André getting Mick Foley drunk to keep Mankind from taking over, Mr. Hyde-style.
D-Generation X and the Freak Show are later phased out, but at least André and Chyna (here, an André-like technical wrestler, who is quite good rather than just passably decent as in OTL) are alive and doing well from a mental health standpoint. Today, André is an actor - he loved portraying Fezzik in OTL so he probably keeps at it: I can see him as a cartoon voice actor too, especially in French - and is up there with Bob Ross and Mr. Rogers in the wholesomeness pantheon.
The early rivalry between André as a face and Hogan as a heel endures, and he becomes the WWF's leading man, a gentle giant and a wholesome figure both inside and outside the ring. By the mid-1990s, he's a manager figure who finds himself increasingly at odds with the rising Kliq and with Vince himself; he hangs around only due to a developing friendship with resident cool dude Mick Foley and with another person who went through some rough shit in her life, that is, Joan Marie Laurer - he basically rips her away from Triple H due to his own dislike of the Kliq.
These three are joined by Nick Dinsmore (who never leaves WWF) as an early version of Eugene, and create their own stable, the Freak Show, kayfabe and real life rivals of D-Generation X (Rick Rude, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac), whose whole thing is Deadpool-ing, a lot: for example, while Mankind is a rival of the group, the other characters portrayed by Mick Foley are not, and there may be promos involving manager André getting Mick Foley drunk to keep Mankind from taking over, Mr. Hyde-style.
D-Generation X and the Freak Show are later phased out, but at least André and Chyna (here, an André-like technical wrestler, who is quite good rather than just passably decent as in OTL) are alive and doing well from a mental health standpoint. Today, André is an actor - he loved portraying Fezzik in OTL so he probably keeps at it: I can see him as a cartoon voice actor too, especially in French - and is up there with Bob Ross and Mr. Rogers in the wholesomeness pantheon.
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The Bionic Redneck: 1999
1999
The year 1999 was considered by many to be the Year of Owen Hart, helped by his victory over Steve Austin at the Royal Rumble that year. Both men started at the #1 and #2 position and both men fought until the end, Owen dumping Austin out to win the Rumble and a shot at the WWF World Title. His victory meant that he stayed off the card for the following PPV, St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House. On that card, the New Age Outlaws defended their tag titles against D'Lo Brown and Mark Henry, Mankind and Rock went to a draw for the WWF Championship in a Last Man Standing Match, Ken Shamrock retain the IC title and Goldust defeated Bluedust, only to be attacked by Jeff Jarrett.
WrestleMania XV saw a lot of changes from OTL. The Outlaws retained the tag titles against D'Lo and Test, Hardcore Holly kept his Hardcore title against Al Snow and the Big Boss Man, Jeff Jarrett ended the Goldust gimmick for good, Butterbean still knocked Bart Gunn the fuck out, The Undertaker took down the debuting Big Show in a Hell in a Cell Match, Stone Cold beat Ken Shamrock for the Intercontinental Title and Owen Hart defeated the Rock in a No Disqualification Match for the World Title. This tremendous moment would be followed by Backlash, the company dropping the In Your House subtitle.
At Backlash, The Brood would defeat Ministry of Darkness members Bradshaw, Faarooq and Mideon with Mideon getting taken out of the group for taking the pin. The Ministry would make their presence known later after Stone Cold vs. The Godfather for the Intercontinental Title. After the Godfather lost, Bradshaw and Faarooq beat him down an carried him off. The New Age Outlaws would lose the tag titles to the team of Jeff Jarrett and Dustin Rhodes, shed of the Goldust gimmick. In the main event, Owen Hart retained against The Rock in a No Holds Barred Match in spite of Shane's position as the special guest referee.
No Mercy saw the Ministry defeat the Brood thanks to their newest member, Papa Shango, aiding Faarooq and Bradshaw while Stone Cold defended the IC title against Kane and Owen defended in an Anything Goes Triple Threat against Triple H and the Undertaker. At Over the Edge, Austin would drop the IC strap to Kane while Owen dropped the world title to the Undertaker. Ministry members Faarooq and Papa Shango took the tag titles from Jarrett and Dustin while Bradshaw defeated Al Snow for the Hardcore Championship.
Owen would go on to win his second King of the Ring, taking Viscera's place and beating Billy Gunn, Ken Shamrock, Kane and X-Pac to win the whole tournament. At Fully Loaded, Owen would use his title shot for another run at the Intercontinental Championship, beating Edge while Jeff Jarrett beat Ken Shamrock in a match thanks to interference by Steve Blackman. Owen would drop the strap to Jarrett at SummerSlam, win it back at Unforgiven, defend against the British Bulldog and then beat Jarrett in a Loser Leaves WWF match at No Mercy (at this point, the WWF has started playing into Owen's retirement contemplation for storyline purposes.)
Survivor Series 1999 would be the end of the Year of Owen as he dropped the IC belt to the debuting Chris Jericho in a classic. Owen, who had debuted at the 1988 event, felt this was the best way for him to go out, putting over an upcoming talent and finally getting to go home. Austin, who had been doing mostly OTL business from here, actually gets to be part of the advertised triple threat match, though this time Triple H retains after Rocky eats the pin. Austin would take time off the road to recover from the wear and tear, promising to be back sometime in the next milennium.
The last PPV of the year, Armageddon, ended with Triple H defeating the Big Show to retain his world title, promising that if 1999 was the Year of Owen Hart, then 2000 was the Year of the Game.
The Bionic Redneck: 2000
2000
The year 2000 runs the same as OTL up until Steve Austin's return, aiding the Rock in his title match against Triple H. However, rather than jump right back in to the title picture, Austin spent the following PPV, Insurrextion, giving a beatdown to Shane McMahon as a warm-up. The "match" lasted under three minutes. He would follow this up with a Falls Count Anywhere Match against the Big Show at Judgment Day. Austin would then take Chyna's spot in the King of the Ring Tournament, beating the Godfather and Eddie Guerrero on TV. At the PPV, he would go on to beat Val Venis and Rikishi before falling in the finals to Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle.
At Fully Loaded, Austin took up the role of guest referee for the Rock/Benoit match for the WWF title, calling it down the middle as the Rock kept the title. Stone Cold would finally have a main event match at SummerSlam, competing in a Fatal Four-Way for the WWF Championship against reigning champion The Rock, former champion Triple H and KOTR winner Kurt Angle. He would end up taking Angle out of the finish, sending them both over the ropes and brawling while Rock secured the win with a Rock Bottom on Triple H. His continued attacks on Angle resulted in him being banned from the following Unforgiven PPV, where he proceeded to show up anyway and Stunner Angle, costing the Olympic champion his match against Triple H.
At No Mercy, rather than Naked Mideon (*shudder*) William Regal fought a still-face Rikishi for the European title, keeping the strap. Austin? Well, he was warned if he interferes in tonight's main event, he'd be fired, thus Kurt Angle beat the Rock for the WWF Title clean. Didn't stop Austin from giving him a post-match Stunner ("Ain't interfering in the match if the match is over, ya sumbitch!") At Survivor Series, the main change is that instead of the weird grouping of Billy Gunn/Chyna/Road Dogg/K-Kwik, The Radicalz fought the Rock and Too Cool in a Survivor Series Match. The match ended with the Radicalz winning, Benoit and Guerrero as the survivors.
At the Rebellion PPV in England, Rikishi would win the European Championship off of Regal while Angle pinned Triple H in a Fatal Four-Way match which also featured the Rock and Stone Cold, keeping once again. The final show of the year was Armageddon, which saw Regal reclaim the European Title, The Radicalz (Dean Malenko/Perry Saturn) defeat the Hardy Boyz, Eddie Guerrero win the Intercontinental Championship and a huge Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship. Six men were entered into the match; Kurt Angle, Triple H, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Chris Benoit. Triple H would walk away with the belt, bragging about hw the year started and ended the same way, with him as the WWF Champion.