Tonight, In This Very Ring: A Collection of Wrestling Timelines

[Megafighter3]

The 1992 Royal Rumble​

#1: The British Bulldog
#2: Ted DiBiase

Doing the Rumble this year, finally. And just the Rumble, rest of the card is OTL. Due to shenanigans at their live Tuesday in Texas event, Savage is stripped of his WWF title, which is put up as the prize for winning the Royal Rumble Match We start off with the Bulldog and the Million Dollar Man

#3: Ric Flair

WHOO! Flair coming in with the chops, baby!

#4: Jerry Sags

Sags charges in, and he's the first one out (30, Sags)

#5: Haku

Haku starts adding onto the pounding the Bulldog is getting here. Davey Boy's running face here, fighting against the odds.

#6: Shawn Michaels

And here comes Shawn, having broken up with that coward Marty Jannetty, who jumped through a barber shop window. He goes after Bulldog as well.

#7: Tito Santana

Arriba! Tito starts going for Shawn while Bulldog manages to send out Haku (29, Haku)

#8: The Barbarian

Barbarian charges in to replace Haku.

#9: Kerry Von Erich

Thankfully, Bulldog now has Kerry to help him, taking on DiBiase and Flair while Bulldog fights off the Barbarian. Shawn and Tito keep things going on their end before Bulldog sends out the Barbarian (28, Barbarian)

#10: Smash

No, he's not a repo man. He's still Smash of Demolition and he's coming for the Bulldog.

#11: Greg Valentine

Valentine comes in, joins in one the beating of the Von Erich, but actually gets sent out (27, Valentine) while Bulldog tosses out Smash (26, Smash)

#12: Nikolai Volkoff

And here comes Volkoff to be fed to the Bulldog as well. Bulldog racking up a lot of eliminations tonight! (25, Volkoff) Meanwhile, Kerry gets sent out too by the combination of Flair and DiBiase (24, Von Erich)

#13: Big Boss Man

Boss Man here to give Davey Boy some hard times!

#14: Hercules

And Herc is going after the Bulldog too! Things aren't looking good here for the faces as Tito finally manages to send out Shawn (23, Michaels) before getting sent out by Flair and DiBiase (22, Santana)

#15: Roddy Piper

Piper comes in for the save, taking on DiBiase and Flair on his own. Bulldog continues his run of eliminations by sending out Hercules (21, Hercules)

#16: Jake Roberts

Damien guides Jake to face off against Piper. The faces are gonna need some help.

#17: Jim Duggan

HOOOOOOOOOOOO! Hacksaw charges in and Bobby Heenan is livid as he makes motions for Flair. Duggan instead goes for DiBiase, leaving Flair and Roberts to match up with Piper before Bulldog tosses out Boss Man (20, Boss Man) and peels Flair off. Currently we've got Roberts/Piper, DiBiase/Duggan and Flair/Bulldog. Nice little set of matches going on.

#18: Irwin R. Schyster

IRS comes in to make the save as Duggan was about to send out the Million Dollar Man. Instead, Rotunda takes the elimination here (19, IRS)

#19: Jimmy Snuka

And here comes a rare appearance by the Superfly, who I mainly just replaced in cards with Steamboat. Instead, he's here as the Phenom (in place of that Dice Morgan guy in Japan) and he comes to help out former enemy Piper deal with Roberts while Flair manages to toss out the Bulldog (18, Bulldog)

#20: Bret Hart

And in place of the Deadman, we have the Hitman. He and Flair square up here, making for a good sequence while DiBiase takes out Duggan (17, Duggan) and Roberts sends Snuka out (16, Snuka)

#21: Randy Savage

OOOOH YEAH~ Former two-time World Champion Randy "Macho Man" Savage coming into the ring as we reach the third leg of the Rumble! He helps Piper fight Roberts and Bret fight Flair before going right for DiBiase!

#22: The Berzerker

The Berzerker charges for Savage and he's out! (15, Berzerker)

#23: "Soul Train" Mike Jones

Sorry, buddy. I got you out of the gimmick to give you this spot. It starts with Piper suddenly putting him in a sleeper while in a frenzy fight Roberts. As soon as Piper realizes the mistake and lets go, DiBiase jumps in with a Million Dollar Dream before throwing him to Jake for the DDT. Bret and Ric stop fighting to give him a Sharpshooter and Figure Four, arguing over who has the better hold while Savage goes up, hits the elbow and DiBiase tosses his former manservant out (14, Jones)

#24: The Iron Sheik

We don't get Sheikie Bubbah for long as Savage sends him out as well. We never did the Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter, so it's just the Iron Sheik (13, Sheik)

#25: Rick Martel

Martel runs for Savage, being an upstart wanting to prove himself against a former champ. He doesn't last long because here comes...

#26: Ricky Steamboat

The Dragon runs in to save Savage, fighting off Martel. It's here things start to thin out as Flair sends out Bret (12, Hart) Macho Man takes out DiBIase (11, DiBiase) the Snake sends out the Rowdy One (10, Piper) and Ricky gets some help from Savage to dump out Martel (9, Martel)

#27: Skinner

Yeah, you can just get out now (8, Skinner)

#28: Sgt. Slaughter

Slaughter comes in and brings a bit of a fight here, but doesn't knock anyone off. Instead, Savage and Steamboat dump him (7, Slaughter)

#29: Sid Vicious

Sid makes his way here and makes an impression by tossing out Steamboat (6, Steamboat) while Savage sends out DiBiase (5, DiBiase)

#30: The Warlord

Sid makes short work of him (4, The Warlord) before Savage surprises him and dumps Sid out (3, Sid)

Now, it comes down to this. Flair vs. Savage. Just the way you want it. Except, no. Sid comes back in and tosses Savage out (2, Savage) leaving Ric Flair to win the 1992 Royal Rumble and the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Whoo~

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania VIII​

62,000 load up the Hoosier Dome to see a dream match, the Macho Man vs. the Nature Boy. For all intents and purposes, this was WWF vs. NWA happening before their eyes. The match went thirty minutes, scripted by Savage and then executed impressively by both men (though Flair was fined after the match for blading) with Sid Vicious aiding Flair on the outside for added tension. Soon, Savage was able to overcome the odds, hit the elbow and become a three-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion, a record not seen in WWF history. Along with that, the card featured Owen Hart scoring a win over the departing Jake Roberts. Shawn Michaels beating Tito Santana. Money Inc. keeping their tag titles against the Natural Disasters after Kama, Ted's newest acquisition, clocked Earthquake with a chain-wrapped fist to knock him out and Bret Hart reclaiming the Intercontinental title over Roddy Piper.

Over in WCW, they managed to spring back from the GAB controversy with Sting winning the WCW title over Lex Luger, who was looking to depart for the WWF. And while they removed controversial head Jim Herd, he would be replaced by "Cowboy" Bill Watts. Watts, formerly of Mid-South Wrestling/UWF, was an old school mind and his way of running things very much was like he hadn't left Mid-South; banning top rope moves, removing the protective mats outside the ring and making the wrestlers land on concrete floors among many others. WCW had been losing footing under Herd and Watts only seemed to make things worst after their initial run of fighting back against the WWF, who had begun something of a turnaround.

 

[Megafighter3]

SummerSlam 1992​

100,000+ in Wembley Stadium in a rare showing as the main event is not Savage/Flair II for the World Title, but Bret Hart and the British Bulldog for the Intercontinental Title. The match is the same as OTL, helluva match from bret, carrying a very not there Bulldog to a huge victory. Right below it, Ric Flair won the WWF World Heavyweight Title, beating Savage in the Figure Four. The Road Warriors make their departure from the WWF on this PPV, losing to Money Inc in a match for the tag team titles while Kama wrecked "Soul Train" Mike Jones and Demolition finally exploded with Crush defeating Smash. Along with that was the Natural Disasters beating the Beverly Brothers and Shawn Michaels going to a double count-out with Rick Martel.

Over in WCW, they had their Great American Bash show last month, mostly comprised of a tournament for the NWA Tag Titles, but also featuring Vader demolishing Sting to claim the WCW World Championship because it's time. Oh, it's Vader Time.

 

[Megafighter3]

Survivor Series 1992​

Vince is feeling his massive grapefruits again, boys! Finally, after putting the plan on ice back in 1987, Vince has given us the Thanksgiving tradition of the Survivor Series! While the first ever Survivor Series match itself (Natural Disasters and the Nasty Boys vs. Money Inc. and the Beverly Brothers) wasn't anything to write home about, this still was a really good card, featuring the arrival of the Headshrinkers and Yokozuna, who demolished the team of Koko B. Ware/Kamala and Owen Hart in respective tag and singles bouts. Along with that, Big Bossman put away the unhinged criminal Nailz in a Nightstick on a Pole Match and uh....

OH! Oh yeah! The big two matches, the ones everyone remembers from this show! First off, you have the tag team match of Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. The match is considered a four-star classic with both teams playing off each other well, and a 1992 match of the year candidate. The other match? Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. An excellent match between two ring generals, going almost twenty-seven minutes and ending with Bret reversing the Figure-Four into a Sharpshooter to win not only his first WWF World Title, but become a Triple Crown Champion and begin the true turn of the 90s, a move made all the more necessary as five years after it ended, Hulk Hogan published a tell-all book about his time in wrestling that opened up some trouble for Vince and the WWF.

What did Starrcade have to offer? Well, there was BattleBowl II, their weird battle royal where wrestlers who won matches that night wrestled again and... WCW World Champion Ron Simmons. Yeah, Starrcade got its ass kicked hard that night as the WWF brought the better show overall, finally knocking Starrcade from its spot as a November PPV while the WWF secured the top spot it began to lose in the late 80s.

 

[Megafighter3]

The 1993 Royal Rumble​

It's 1993. The WWF has launched Monday Night RAW on USA and Bret has just defended the World Title against Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels kept the IC title against Marty Jannetty. It's Rumble Time!

#1: Ric Flair
#2: Bob Backlund

Two former WWF World Champions and two talented wrestlers to start things off.

#3: Kama

And here comes Ted DiBiase's personal enforcer, getting in a few shots before Flair throws him out (30, Kama)

#4: Ted DiBiase

And here comes Ted to make this a three-way.

#5: Brian Knobbs

Knobbs doesn't make it long as DiBiase sends him out after a minutes (29, Knobbs)

#6: "Soul Train" Mike Jones

And DiBiase gets his payback on his former manservant, sending him out as well (28, Jones)

#7: Jerry Lawler

And here comes the King of Memphis! He comes in to make the fight for Backlund even harder.

#8: Max Moon

¡Oye chicos! Es Konnan! (¡HURRA!) Yep, instead of the overdesigned nightmare that was the Max Moon costume, we instead go for a much simpler costume to get Konnan to run the gimmick. We gotta get him on a a really good deal to get him to go between here and Mexico given how big lucha is getting but damn it! Let's grab some of that sweet lucha pie here! Moon brings some solid speed and athleticism to the Rumble here, getting the crowd going

#9: Genichiro Tenryu

And let's have some Japanese style in there too! New Generation! We got quite the mix here of Backlund's amateur flavor, Tenryu's puroresu, Moon's lucha flying and the various blends of southern from Flair, Lawler and DiBiase.

#10: Mr. Perfect

Perfect charges right for Flair, since things ended badly for them while Backlund meets off against Tenyru and DiBiase is left working with Max Moon.

#11: Skinner

And here comes the gator man! We start with a Million Dollar Dream from DiBiase, then a powerbomb from Tenryu. As Skinner gets up, he takes a Perfectplex, leaving him prone for a combination Chickenwing and Figure Four while Lawler goes up. Lawler pulls down the strap, hits the flying fist drop and tosses him to Moon, who jumps up and ranas Skinner out (27, Skinner)

#12: Koko B. Ware

Bird! Bird! Bird! Lawler goes right for Koko, knocking him around for a bit before dumping him out (26, Ware)

#13: Samu

Samu throws his big self around, knocking down everybody before fighting and sending out Tenryu (25, Tenryu)

#14: The Berzerker

Here comes the big stupid viking guy, going for Samu for now while Lawler and Backlund duke it out.

#15: Paul Diamond

Another ex-Michaels tag partner! And also, he was... Kato of the Midnight Express! Also, he was in Worse Badd Company. Anyway, let's just keep rolling here as Diamond joins the midcard scuffle going on, DiBiase manages to send out Max Moon (24, Moon)

#16: Terry Taylor

Oh good, it's that ol' Rooster. Terry goes after DiBiase while Lawler tosses out Backlund (23, Backlund) and Perfect dumps Flair (22, Flair)

#17: Damien Demento

Demento joins the midcard scuffle, Perfect and Lawler going at it.

#18: Irwin R. Schyster

IRS and DiBiase come together to send out Terry (21, Taylor) before going for Hennig.

#19: Tatanka

Tatanka, being a babyface, runs in to help Perfect out.

#20: Jerry Sags

Sages gets in one the mass of midcarders fighting. Gonna need to clear that out a bit...

#21: Typhoon

There we go. Typhoon tosses out Paul Diamond (20, Diamond), Damien Demento (19, Demento) Jerry Sags (18, Sags) and the Berzerker (17, Berzerker) leaving only Samu to fight.

#22: Fatu

Here comes Fatu to help out his partner.

#23: Earthquake

And evening up the Disasters/Headshrinkers fight comes Earthquake.

#24: Carlos Colon

Colon goes for Lawler, allowing Tatanka to toss out IRS (16, IRS) before being sent out by DiBiase (15, Tatanka)

#25: Tito Santana

Santana comes in with all his babyface fire, but he's soon joined by an old friend.

#26: Rick Martel

Martel goes right for Tito as we got the following fights in the ring: Perfect/DiBiase, Lawler/Colon, Headshrinkers/Disasters and Tito/Martel.

#27: Yokozuna

Oh man. Here he comes to make some changes. He sends out Tito (14, Santana), tosses out Typhoon (13, Typhoon) but that doesn't stop Earthquake from sending out Samu (12, Samu) but Yoko helps send Carlos out (11, Colon) before Perfect makes a surprise elimination to the King (10, Lawler)

#28: Owen Hart

Owen goes after Martel while Perfect and DiBiase keep things up and we get Earthquake fights two-on-one against Samu and Yokozuna.

#29: Smash

Smash comes in to help Earthquake, the two sending out Fatu (9, Fatu) only for Yoko to toss out Smash (8, Smash) followed by Quake (7, Earthquake)

Meanwhile, Owen tosses out Martel (6, Martel) and DiBiase tosses out Perfect (5, Mr. Perfect) leaving only him, Owen and Yokozuna.

#30: Randy Savage

Oooooh yeah~ Macho Madness hitting at #30! Final Four are DiBiase, Owen, Yoko and Savage!

DiBiase is the first to go, sent out by Owen (4, DiBiase) with poor Owen getting sent out by the big Samoan (3, Hart) with Yoko and Randy ending things here. However, rather than go for a pin, Savage fights from underneath and manages to hoist Yokozuna out with a bodyslam (2, Yokozuna)

Randy Savage has won the Royal Rumble! Randy Savage will be guaranteed a shot at Bret Hart's title for WrestleMania IX! Macho Madness is going wild at the Rumble!

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania IX

Venue: Caesar's Palace in Paradise, Nevada
Attendance: 25,000
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Bobby Heenan​

The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) d. Tito Santana/Brutus Beefcake

We throw two midcard babyfaces together to get wrecked by the Headshrinkers to start off the show. Bob Backlund storms the ring about how even with age, he's still just as good as any clown in the WWF, which brings out Doink.

Bob Backlund d. Doink the Clown

Have a little comedy here with Backlund taking a water lapel before putting Doink away in the Chickenwing. Keep it short.

Yokozuna (w/Afa) d. Tatanka

We feed Tatanka's undefeated streak to Yoko here. Bansai drop does it here.

Razor Ramon d. Crush

And we also feed Crush to Razor here. Talk about some real demolition here, Chico. Tonight, Crush, Razor gonna crush you. Razor's Edge does it here as we showcase the better parts of the New Generation tonight.

Owen Hart d. Jerry Lawler

I noticed I had seven matches on the card, so I'm throwing Owen a bone here since we're wrapping this up. Owen and Lawler have a young boy vs. veteran feud going here and Owen wins with victory roll when Lawler teases the piledriver.

The Steiner Brothers d. Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase/Irwin R. Schyster) (c) (w/Kama) for the WWF Tag Team Championship

The Steiners toss IRS around, toss Kama around, toss Ted around. Suplexes all over before a Steinerline to IRS wins them the straps.

Shawn Michaels (c) d. Mr. Perfect for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

New Generation keeps running as Shawn and Perfect meet here. Hennig had sent Flair out of the company and looks to do the same with Shawn, but his back has been pretty much shot and HBK pretty much controls the match. Wins with Sweet Chin Music.

Bret Hart (c) d. Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

And the pendulum swings in full with Bret and Savage putting on the best match they can for the crowd in Caesar's Palace. Give them twenty-five minutes to work here, ending it with the Sharpshooter, Randy giving up and the two shaking hands as Randy puts the belt on Bret, passing the torch for good.

Now, you may have noticed someone missing: Lex Luger. See, I mentioned that Hogan wrote a tell-all book. In that book, he brought up the drug culture of wrestling and in particular, WWF's trafficking of steroids. Dr. Zahorian was mentioned quite a few times. With this, the trial goes worse for Vince, though he had the good sense to talk Ric Flair into taking up the booking spot so Vince could step down. The trial ended with Vince's indictment and wrestlign companies having to enforce strict anti-drug policies to survive the wave of investigations to follow. Plans to bring in Luger were dropped and Lex headed for Japan, ICOPRO was dropped, the WBF folded, but the WWF survives, though is now fighting the uphill battle of the New Generation.

WCW? Doin' alright, Sting and Vader main evented SuperBrawl III in a White Castle of Feat Strap Match. They're looking to replace Bill Watts with someone else, some commentary guy by the name of Eric Bischoff...

But this is where we step off the TL. The way I figure, this was the last time Hogan made much of a presence in WWF, so I figured it would be a fitting end to the tale of how one accident changed the landscape of wrestling for the 80s and 90s. Sure, there's WCW to talk about, but for now I'm satisfied with this.... Ah, what the hell? One more update after this.

 

[Megafighter3]

1993 King of the Ring Tournament Results​

Just gonna do the 1993 King of the Ring real quick.

First Round

Owen Hart d. Crush
Razor Ramon d. Tito Santana
Mr. Perfect d. Doink the Clown
Mr. Hughes d. Kamala
Jim Duggan d. Kama
Bam Bam Bigelow d. Typhoon
Yokozuna d. Bob Backlund
Tatanka d. Rick Martel

Quarterfinals

Owen Hart d. Razor Ramon
Mr. Perfect d. Mr. Hughes
Bam Bam Bigelow d. Jim Duggan
Yokozuna d. Tatanka

Semifinals

Owen Hart d. Mr. Perfect
Yokozuna d. Bam Bam Bigelow

Finals

Owen Hart d. Yokozuna.

And there ya have it! Owen beats Yoko to become the 1993 King of the Ring! Also at the PPV, we take DiBiase out of the eight man tag and have him lose to Bret for the World Title. Put Kama in place of him. There, now that wraps up the TL.

 

[Megafighter3]

A Thanksgiving Tradition​

So, I was gonna do the Anonymous RAW GM, but since there wasn't really a decisive choice (names have gone from Vince, Triple H, Kevin Nash, JBL and Hornswoggle) I figured I'd take that one off the list. It's also one of those ideas that doesn't have a lot of leeway to really effecting a card. So, let's have something a little fun, a look at how the Gobbledy Gooker should've been used way back at Survivor Series 1990.

1990

Gooker does his little dance to the cheers of... well, no one. Then out comes DiBiase's team to fill the ring. Immediately, Gooker is jumped by Power & Glory, given a brutal Power-Plex and then put into a Boston Crab by Rick Martel. Martel gets off him lets Warlord do a Full Nelson to the suffering turkey before he gets put to the sleep by Ted's Million Dollar Dream. He stuffs a hundred in the beak for good measure. And with that, a new thanksgiving tradition is born. Welcome to the TL of beating up the Gooker. Before the main event, every year, the Gobbledy Gooker comes out to dance, gets a reaction, then the heels beat him up.

1991

Same as before as IRS and the Natural Disasters come out. Double splash in the corner followed by a Write-Off.

1992

This year, it's a singles guy as Shawn comes out and hits the superkick and a teardrop suplex.

1993

The Foreign Fanatics really don't like this icon of American excess, so Crush puts him in the Cranium Crunch before tossing him to Jacques for a sleeper. Borga puts him in a backbreaker rack before dropping him into a corner for Yokozuna to hit the Banzai Drop.

1994

And another Banzai Drop for poor Gooker. Yokozuna is really pissed that this turkey is too big to eat.

1995

Diesel hits the Jacknife here, gets a nice little tweener pop.

1996

Sycho Sid hits the powerbomb here.

1997

Another Sweet Chin Music for the Gooker, just before the Screwjob.

1998

So, instead of doing a pre-main spot, we actually have him be a minor roadblock for Austin. Instead of a bye, he fights the Gooker, pops off a quick Stunner and pins him after a bit of pleading from the turkey.

1999

Big Show charges in, since Austin got run over, and gives Gooker a big Chokeslam as we wrap up the 90s.

 

[Megafighter3]

A Thanksgiving Tradition: The 2000s​

2000

Triple H kicks off the new millennium by giving the Gooker a Pedigree.

2001

Gooker does his dance and is interrupted by... Wildcat Willie? Yeah, y'all remember Wildcat Willie? That WCW mascot? Well, he's here too! The two do some pantomime, looking like they're gonna fight, with the crowd somehow hot for even this. But then out come Team WWF and Team Alliance. Team WWF surrounds Willie while Team Alliance go after the Gooker.

Shane starts off the attack on the Gooker with a Shane O'Mac Shuffle, sending him into an Angle Slam. Meanwhile, Wildcat Willie takes a double chokeslam from Kane and Big Show. Booker does a Spinaroonie while the Gooker gets up, hitting the Axe Kick to set up for a Five-Star Frog Splash. Jericho hits the Lionsault to Willie and lets Undertaker work in a Tombstone Piledriver. Finally, Rock hits a Rock Bottom to Willie while Austin snaps off a Stunner on the Gooker. The mascots clear out as we go to the Winner Takes All Survivor Series Match.

2002

Triple H gets his second Pedigree on the Gooker.

2003

Goldberg hits the Spear and Jackhammer here since we probably won't have a lot of opportunities for that and Triple H has already gotten his turn.

2004

And speaking of Triple H, his whole team goes for poor Gooker. A Spear from Edge, then a pumphandle slam from Snitsky, then a Batista Bomb and finally a Pedigree. Hunter going for the Gooker beating record.

2005

Gonna make this a trade-off between Teams Raw and Smackdown. Batista starts things off with a Batista Bomb, then double chokeslam from Kane and Big Show. JBL hits the clothesline from Hell and tosses him to Lashley for the Dominator. Masters keeps Gooker in the Master Lock for a while, then tosses him to Carlito for the Backstabber, bouncing him into an RKO from Orton before Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music and leaves him dangling on the ropes. 619 finishes things off.

2006

King Booker hits the Book End to rid himself of this fowl (heh) jester.

2007

Batista hits his third Batista Bomb on the Gooker. Been a close race between him, Shawn and Triple H. All got three on him.

2008

Chris Jericho hits the Codebreaker here.

2009

Shawn hits the Sweet Chin Music and Hunter lands a Pedigree, making them tied for first at four each as we wrap up the 2000s.

 

[Megafighter3]

A Thanksgiving Tradition: 2010s​

2010

Wade Barrett takes the first one for the 2010s with the Wasteland.

2011

R-Truth hits the Shut Up. Miz hits Skull Crushing Finale. All good here.

2012

Give this one to Ryback. If there's anything Ryback hates more than Panera, it's a giant fake turkey he can't eat.

2013

Randy gets him with the RKO this time. Sorry, Show. No third Chokeslam for you.

2014

Kane starts things off for Team Authority with a Chokeslam before tossing him to Harper for the discuss clothesline. Then a World's Strongest Slam from Mark Henry (Took him 18 years to beat up the Gooker!) and an Accolade from Rusev. Finally, Seth nails the Pedigree before Team Cena arrive.

2015

I was gonna give Reigns and Ambrose this, but what the hell, let's have the Wyatt Family mess him up. Harper hits the Discus Clothesline, followed by a Side Slam from Rowan. Braun gets him in the triangle sleeper to set the Gooker up for the Sister ABigail.

2016

Goldberg does another Spear and Jackhammer, with Brock throwing an F5 for good measure.

2017

Another Team RAW vs. Team Smackdown. Shane kicks things off with a Shane O'Mac Shuffle into an Angle Slam. Braun hits the Running Powerslam, leading into an RKO, followed up with a Pedigree (HE GOT HIS FIFTH!) Roode hits the Glorious DDT, followed a Kinhsasa. Cena drops Gooker with an Attitude Adjustment, followed by a Coquina Clutch, leaving him down for the Coup de Grace.

2018

D-Bry goes in with kicks, hitting the Solid Knee+ before Brock F5s the Gooker.

2019

And for our first women's Gooker killing. Bayley starts off with a Bayley to Belly, followed by an Ace of Spades from Bayzler before Becky takes over with the Dis-arm-her.

And that wraps up three decades of viciously mauling the Gobbledy Gooker for the entertainment of the wrestling audience. Easiest TL ever.

 

[Megafighter3]

The Highest Paid Jobber​

Suggested by @Unknown, we're looking at how a remark by Brian Pillman sent him out of WCW and into the WWF.

May 1992​

Tensions were high in the office of Bill Watts as he and Pillman continued to argue over his contract. Watts had felt the smaller, more athletic Pillman, was being paid way too much for his status. The Cowboy gave Pillman an ultimatum, either take the pay cut or lose out on his incentive bonus by losing night after night. "Fine, I'll be the world's highest-paid jobber." Pillman spat out. This was the final straw for Watts, ended the meetings and would wait until after Pillman dropped the WCW Light Heavyweight title to Tom Zenk at WrestleWar to fire him on the spot. Pillman, a graduate of the Hart Dungeon, was encouraged by Bret to meet with Vince McMahon. Over several meetings, Pillman would sign with the WWF.

The early idea for his arrival was under the moniker "Nailz" an ex-convict who claimed to have been abused in prison by the Big Boss Man. Pillman didn't like the ridiculous name or the jumpsuit he would have to wear, so he hammered out the details for his new persona as Brian Pillman. Pillman was still an ex-con, but rather than being out for revenge against Boss Man for mistreatment, Pillman opted to play the character as much more unhinged. Knowing he would have to abandon his usual high-flying style for a more grounded, brawling style, Pillman accepted the challenge. Thus, the "Ticking Time Bomb" Brian Pillman, signed to the WWF.

 

[Megafighter3]

SummerSlam 1992​

Well, ain't this a familiar sight? Much as it would be fun to dip in and do things like before, I'm gonna leave most of this card the same, just one exception and that's the debut of Brian Pillman, facing off against Virgil. The Ticking Time Bomb pretty much showcases his skills working a style built early on around technical wrestling before descending into chaotic brawling. He pretty much makes Virgil into a demonstration of what he can do in the ring. In place of Air Pillman, his finisher is a Russian legsweep into the combination cross armbreaker/neckscissors, dubbed the Pillmanizer by commentary. He puts Virgil away in little time and refuses to release the hold, forcing referees to pry him off. Pillman is dragged kicking and screaming from his first victim, yelling at fans as he's brought up the entrance ramp.

Ladies and gentleman, Brian Pillman has arrived.

 

[Megafighter3]

Survivor Series 1992​

Another one-match changeover, this time the Nightstick on a Pole Match. Boss Man talks all the way to Survivor Series about how Pillman was the scariest bastard in that prison, how Pillman would always start the riots in the lunchroom. Boss Man has the size advantage, and overpowers him, but Pillman manages to work around him and gets the nightstick. He batters the prison guard with it even drawing blood before locking in the Pillmanizer to end the match. He keeps going with the nightstick after the match, even clocking the ref when he tries to stop Pillman and takes a few swipes at security before he finally gets pulled away from Boss Man.

 

[Megafighter3]

The 1993 Royal Rumble​

Doing the '93 Rumble AGAIN!

#1: Ric Flair
#2: Bob Backlund

Yep. So far, so same.

#3: Papa Shango

Oh hey, it's the spooky Voodoo man! And out he goes (30, Shango)

#4: Ted DiBiase
#5: Brian Knobbs

Knobbs comes in gets taken out next (29, Knobbs)

#6: Virgil

Virgil goes right for DiBiase, won't do him much good, put points for effort (28, Virgil)

#7: Jerry Lawler
#8: Max Moon

Okay, so this time it is Paul Diamond and he gets sent out by Lawler pretty quickly (27, Moon) before, DiBiase and Flair have their fun with Backlund.

#9: Genichiro Tenryu
#10: Mr. Perfect

Tenryu goes for DiBiase while Perfect sends Ric out, like he did in OTL (26, Flair)

#11: Brian Pillman

And here comes the Ticking Time Bomb himself! He charges right for Hennig, sending them both over the ropes and onto the floor. (25, Perfect) (24, Pillman) Pillman goes apeshit on him, forcing security to break it up again. Backlund, meanwhile, dumps out Lawler (23, Lawler) and goes to help Tenryu with DiBiase,

#12: Koko B. Ware

Tenryu ends up going out (22, Tenryu) so Koko goes after the Million Dollar Man.

#13: Samu
#14: The Berzerker

Samu and the Berzerker come in and start in on Backlund, leaving poor Koko on his own and leaving him to be eliminated (21, Koko)

#15: The Undertaker

And out come 'Taker to get rid of The Berzerker (20, Berzerker) and Samu (19, Samu)

#16: Terry Taylor

Taylor goes for DiBiase, but he fails and gets tossed out (18, Taylor) before Backlund and Undertaker take over.

#17: Damien Demento

Yep. This jobber. Goes right into the Million Dollar Dream, followed by a Crossface Chickenwing, then Undertaker dumps him out with a chokeslam (17, Demento)

#18: Irwin R. Schyster

IRS comes in to help his boss, pulling Backlund off.

#19: Tatanka

Tatanka comes in to help Backlund fight IRS.

#20: Jerry Sags

Sags looks for revenge for his tag partner, but it doesn't go all too well for him (16, Sags)

#21: Typhoon

This isn't looking good for Ted as Typhoon joins up with the Deadman. Backlund and Tatanka finally dump out IRS (15, IRS) leading to DiBiase being the next to go out (14, DiBiase)

#22: Fatu

Goes right for Typhoon while the Deadman eyes his targets and throws a few bones

#23: Earthquake

Quake comes in to help his partner.

#24: Carlos Colon

'Taker goes ahead and takes care of that "youngster" Carlos (13, Colon)

#25: Tito Santana
#26: Rick Martel

These two get right at it.

#27: Yokozuna

Yoko comes in to help out Fatu, knocking off Typhoon (12, Typhoon) though Fatu goes in the process (11, Fatu) leaving Yoko vs. Earthquake, Martel/Santana and Undertaker tossing out Backlund (10, Backlund)

#28: Owen Hart

Martel throws out Santana (9, Santana) while Yoko dumps out Earthquake (8, Earthquake)

#29: Repo Man
#30: Randy Savage

Yoko tosses out Tatanka (7, Tatanka) and Owen sends Martel out (6, Martel) leaving the final four of Yokozuna, Undertaker, Owen Hart and Randy Savage once he dumps Repo Man (5, Repo Man)

Yoko and Undertaker fight it out, with Yoko getting the better of the Deadman (4, Undertaker) and Savage sends Owen out (3, Hart)

And once again, Savage wins the Rumble again, sending out Yokozuna (2, Yokozuna) Randy Savage gets a title shot for WrestleMania! Who's gonna win? Will I ever book something other than Bret/Savage for IX? Why would you want that?

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania IX

Venue: Caesar's Palace in Paradise, Nevada
Attendance: 17,000
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Bobby Heenan​

Tito Santana/Tatanka d. Papa Shango/Doink the Clown

POC babyface team beats Men of Questionable Facepaint after End of the Trail to Shango. Just a solid tidy tag match to kick things off.

Shawn Michaels (c) (w/Sensational Sherri) d. Bob Backlund for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Shawn, ever the cocky heel, clowns on the veteran Backlund. Story is simple enough as Backlund never won the IC title and doesn't much care for this young upstart Michaels. Michaels plans to send Backlund back to the old folks home he escaped from. HBK keeps here with Sweet Chin Music.

Brian Pillman d. Mr. Perfect

Pillman, the Ticking Time Bomb, he craves violence. He wants to destroy anyone he can find and he's set his sights on Mr. Perfect. Maybe have him jostle Heenan before the match to mess with Curt and get Brain to say the "F" word on PPV. Fun times! The match is the best of Pillman's career so far as Hennig, while nowhere near as good as he used to be thanks to the back injury, is capable of working a great match with Brian. It ends with a Pillmanizer and more punishment to the Perfect's back.

Razor Ramon d. Crush
The Steiner Brothers d. Money Inc (c) for the WWF Tag Team Championship

You saw these matches last TL. Same as before, though with less Kama for Ricky and Scotty to toss around.

Lex Luger d. Hulk Hogan (w/Brutus Beefcake)

So, minor miscalculation last time, the steroid trial didn't happen until November of '93, but we can say that the process was sped up when Hogan released the book. Here, we have the end of Hulkamania. Hogan losing to Luger to sell him as a new monster heel and because we haven't got a lot of Hogan left. He passes out in the Torture Rack rather than submit.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) d. Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji)

And because I'm not booking Giant Gonzales ever, let's have this match. Two unstoppable monsters going at it, ending with Tombstone from the Deadman.

Bret Hart (c) d. Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

You know the drill, guys. Match of the night, the main event of WrestleMania IX. Elbow drop missed, Sharpshooter, pass the torch.

 

[Megafighter3]

King of the Ring 1993​

First Round Results (Television)

Owen Hart d. Brian Pillman
Razor Ramon d. Tito Santana
Mr. Perfect d. Doink the Clown
Mr. Hughes d. Kamala
Jim Duggan d. Papa Shango
Bam Bam Bigelow d. Typhoon
Lex Luger d. Bob Backlund
Tatanka d. Giant Gonzales

Venue: Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio
Attendance: 10,000
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Bobby Heenan​

(Dark: Papa Shango (c) d. Crush for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship)

You know this match happened? It was Shango/Hart OTL, but still. Crazy times.

Owen Hart d. Razor Ramon in a King of the Ring Quarterfinal Match
Mr. Perfect d. Mr. Hughes (w/Harvey Whippleman) in a King of the Ring Quarterfinal Match
Bam Bam Bigelow d. Jim Duggan in a King of the Ring Quarterfinal Match
Lex Luger d. Tatanka in a King of the Ring Quarterfinal Match

Really, the only difference here is Luger/Tatanka went to time limit, but given how we booked Luger to beat Hogan clean, there's no reason to buy that Tatanka could do the job. Owen's working with some sort of kayfabe injury due to Pillman, so he's fighting from underneath.

Owen Hart d. Mr. Perfect in a King of the Ring Semifinal Match
Lex Luger d. Bam Bam Bigelow in a King of the Ring Semifinal Match

Luger advances over Bigelow here while Owen continues to fight his way for the crown.

Shawn Michaels (c) (w/Diesel) d. Randy Savage for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

It's the Randy Savage retirement tour! We have him come off the table for PPVs leading up to WrestleMania. Whatever we can have him do, we'll do it. This time, he's wrestling Michaels in an awesome match for the IC strap, really getting HBK over as a rising star. Plus he's got that big guy next to him, Diesel. He seems like a real bad dude with attitude. Cut the eight-man tag to make room for this.

Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) d. Hulk Hogan (w/Jimmy Hart)

No title, but this is it for Hulkamania. Banzai Drop sends him down south. In case you're wondering, the Hollywood Blonds (Steve Austin and Dustin Rhodes) are doing pretty good. They're tag champs and all.

Bret Hart (c) d. Ted DiBiase (w/Irwin R. Schyster) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

Give them as much time as we can to make Bret be a fighting champion. Just a good technical wrestling bout here. Nice slice of workrate to get over the New Generation.

Lex Luger d. Owen Hart in the King of the Ring Final Match

And just when you think Owen's gonna overcome the odds, having beaten Pillman, Razor and Perfect, Luger overpowers him. Decimates him. Owen survies a forearm shot and holds out of the Torture Rack, then gets hit with the Guillotine (F5) and it's all over. All hail King Lex Luger!

 

[Megafighter3]

SummerSlam 1993

Venue: The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 24,000
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Bobby Heenan​

Razor Damon d. Ted DiBiase
The Steiner Brothers (c) d. The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) for the WWF Tag Team Championship
Shawn Michaels (c) (w/Diesel) d. Mr. Perfect for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

So, we have three OTL matches to start off, though Michaels beats Perfect cleanly as that wraps him up.

The 1-2-3 Kid d. Irwin R. Schyster

The Kid wins this here in a reverse of the OTL match. New Generation!

Owen Hart d. Doink the Clown (w/Jerry Lawler)

After King of the Ring, Lawler took to taunting Owen, dubbing him the Almost King. As King of Memphis, Lawler claims to know what a real king is like and that Owen's lower than a court jester, bringing us to the Doink match, which Owen wins. And since he beat Doink, he gets a match with Lawler.

Owen Hart d. Jerry Lawler by disqualification

And he almost wins, but then out comes Pillman to crack him with a chair, drawing the DQ. Pillman and Lawler beat on Owen.

Ludvig Borga d. Marty Jannetty

One more OTL match.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) d. Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon)

Just two big hosses going at it. The unstoppable Deadman vs the acrobatic Beast from the East. Tombstone victory after a fun match.

Yokozuna/The Headshrinkers (w/Mr. Fuji and Afa) d. Tatanka/The Smoking Gunns in a Six-Man Tag Team Match

Put the Samoans together and have them wreck the team that I just realized is literally Cowboys and Indians. What the fuck was the New Generation? Banzai drop to Tatanka ends the bout.

Bret Hart (c) d. Lex Luger (w/Jim Cornette) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

Bret overcomes everything King Luger can throw at him. He recovers from the forearm shot, holds out in the Sharpshooter and even kicks out of the Guillotine. Sharpshooter seals the deal for Bret as he heads for Survivor Series as champion for a year.

 

[Megafighter3]

Survivor Series 1993

Venue: Boston Garden
Attendance: 16,000
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Bobby Heenan​

(Dark: The Smoking Gunns d. Brooklyn Brawler/Barry Horowitz)

The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) d. The Rock 'n' Roll Express (c) for the SMW Tag Team Championship

I think this'll be our only OTL match because everything else is brand new.

Lex Luger (w/Jim Cornette) d. Marty Jannetty

Just to get Luger on the card. Marty bumps around for Luger before getting taken out with the Torture Rack.

New Demolition (Crush/Blast) (w/Mr. Fuji) d. Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon) in a Handicap Match

Here comes the Crush! Here comes the Blaster! New Demolition! Total Disaster! Pain and Destruction are their middle names! Yep, Adam Bomb is now Demolition Blast as these two fight Bam Bam. Bam Bam's a tough bastard and is willing to take on two giants, but it actually ends badly for him. Demolition Decapitation ends the match.

Razor Ramon (w/1-2-3 Kid) d. Diesel (w/Shawn Michaels)

It's a Kliq lovefest here as the Bad Guy and Big Daddy Cool meet up. Plenty of interference from the Kids (heh) before Razor wins it with the Razor's Edge.

Brian Pillman d. Owen Hart by Count-Out

We play up the connection between Pillman and the Harts here, retconning that "ex-con" thing from last year. The match starts going in Owen's favor, so Pillman takes desperate measures. The rest of the Harts are in the crowd to see Bret defend against Yoko tonight, but Pillman rolls out and grabs a nearby chair. Without even a second of hesitation, he strikes Stu Hart with the chair, eliciting some great heat. Bruce, who tagged with Pillman in Stampede, gets in Brian's face about the chair shot and takes one too. Keith Hart takes a shot before Owen finally runs out. The two fight outside, Owen getting tossed over the rail before Pillman slides in for the count-out victory. Then he slides out to keep beating on Owen while security goes to grab him.

The All-Americans (Randy Savage/The Undertaker/The Steiner Brothers) (w/Elizabeth and Paul Bearer) d. The Foreign Fanatics (Jacques Rougeau/Ludvig Borga/The Headshrinkers) (w/Afa and Johnny Polo)

So, we switch some folks out for this match. Borga goes out first, thanks to a Tombstone. The Steiners and Headshrinkers do some trade off with Rick going out first, followed by Samu, then Fatu managing to take out Scott to end that off. However, he's left exhausted and falls to the Tombstone. A Tombstone followed by a Savage Elbow Drop ends it for the Fanatics.

Shawn Michaels (c) (w/Diesel) d. 1-2-3 Kid (w/Razor Ramon) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

And after Razor beat Diesel, you'd think that the Kid would beat Michaels, but instead it goes to Michaels. Good match with more fun interference from the seconds. Sweet Chin Music to keep for HBK as he continues his run as IC champ.

Bret Hart (c) d. Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette)

The big, dominating force of Yokozuna goes up against the master of technical wrestling, the Excellence of Execution, Bret Hart. Hart does get tossed around easily, but keeps getting up and overcomes the big Samoan, even after a racket shot from Cornette. Bret escapes the Banzai Drop and goes into his Five Moves of Doom, ending with the Sharpshooter to retain his title for what is now over a year in.

 

[Megafighter3]

Royal Rumble 1994

Venue: Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island
Attendance: 14,500
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Ted DiBiase​

Brian Pillman d. Owen Hart in a No Holds Barred Match

And we give Pillman a big win here to kick off the show. It starts off with some hold exchanges, then a bit of high-flying action before it finally descends into a brawl. Pillmanizer wins it for the Ticking Time Bomb, who looms over the beaten Owen and screams insults at the poor guy.

The Quebecers (Jacques Rougeau/Pierre Oulette) (w/Johnny Polo) d. The Steiner Brothers (c) for the WWF Tag Team Championship

Sadly, the Steiners don't make it to a year with the belts with the Quebecers taking the straps here.

Shawn Michaels (c) (w/Diesel) d. Razor Ramon (w/1-2-3 Kid) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Michaels manages to sneak away with the belt again, beating the Bad Guy. Almost there, but not yet. But now this means Shawn also has held the IC title for a year. Good stuff all around from the New Generation.

Bret Hart (c) d. The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) in a Casket Match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

And instead of Yoko, we get Bret vs. Undertaker. Undertaker's been dominant all year, beating Yokozuna, Bam Bam, taking out half of the Foreign Fanatics. But Bret has been no slouch since winning the title, keeping against Michaels, Savage, DiBiase, Luger and Yokozuna. And he adds Undertaker to list of beaten opponents, tossing him into the casket and shutting it. That wraps up the non-Rumble card.

Soon, the Royal Rumble.

 

[Megafighter3]

The 1994 Royal Rumble​

#1: Scott Steiner
#2: Samu

Match starts off with Steiner and Samu going at it with throws.

#3: Rick Steiner

And here comes Rick to help his brother out as Scott dumps Samu (30, Samu)

#4: Kwang

Here comes the Puerto Rican ninja and out he goes quick! (29, Kwang)

#5: Owen Hart

Owen proves despite the beating he took earlier to be a lot tougher and holds out against the Steiners.

#6: Bart Gunn

Gunn comes in to help Owen fight off the Steiners, Owen sending out Rick (28, Rick)

#7: Diesel

And here comes Big Daddy Cool to make an impression by dumping out Scotty (27, Scott) and destroying Owen and Bart, sending him out as well (26, Bart)

#8: Bob Backlund

Backlund comes in and gets dumped out by Diesel. (25, Backlund)

#9: Billy Gunn

And there goes the other cowboy. (24. Billy)

#10: Virgil

Heh. No. (23, Virgil)

#11: Randy Savage

Owen is almost about to go, but Randy makes the save, the two fighting to try and get rid of Diesel.

#12: Jeff Jarrett

Here comes Jeff Jarrett. He's not a country singer as in OTL. Instead, he's sold as a star of the Memphis wrestling scene, personally signed by Lawler. He comes in after Owen while Savage takes on Diesel alone.

#13: Crush

Crush goes in on Savage.

#14: Doink the Clown

Doink goes for Owen, but instead he gets tossed out (22, Doink)

#15: Bam Bam Bigelow

Bigelow comes in throws hands with damn near anyone.

#16: Mabel

Mabel goes right for Bigelow. Fights are now Owen/Jarrett, Randy vs. Diesel/Crush and Bigelow/Mabel

#17: Bob Holly

BEEP BEEP, YOU SON OF A BITCH! LOOK WHO IT IS! BOOOOOOB HOLLY!

#18: Shawn Michaels

Here comes the Intercontinental Champion to shake things up! Holly gets the first Superkick out (21, Holly) followed by Mabel (20, Mabel), then goes for Owen, but misses and sends out Jarrett (19, Jarrett)

Owen goes for HBK, Bigelow going for Crush while Diesel and Randy keep fighting.

#19: Mo

Bam Bam pulls away to clobber Mo and send him out (18, Mo)

#20: Greg Valentine

Greg goes for Randy, but Randy tosses him out (17, Valentine)

#21: Tatanka

Tatanka comes in and goes for Crush and Bigelow, the two beating on him.

#22: The Great Kabuki

Kabuki comes in and blasts mist right at Crush, leaving him prone to elimination (16, Crush) before going after Shawn and Owen.

#23: Lex Luger

Luger and Bigelow go in on Tatanka, beating him down and sending him out (15, Tatanka) while Savage finally tosses out Diesel (14, Diesel)

#24: Genichiro Tenryu

Tenryu's back! He comes in to help Kabuki in fighting Owen and Shawn while Randy takes on Luger and Bigelow.

#25: Norm the Lunatic

Norm goes for Bigelow, splitting off Luger and Savage on their own.

#26: Rick Martel

Martel goes for Luger, but doesn't get anything for it (13, Martel) while Owen sends out Kabuki (12, Kabuki) and Shawn takes out Tenryu (11, Tenryu) while Bigelow takes out Norm (10, Norm) and Savage ducks an oncoming forearm to send Luger out (9, Luger)

#27: Brian Pillman

Pillman runs right for Savage, sending both of them spilling out of the match (8, Savage) (7, Pillman)

Thus, we have Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart and Bam Bam Bigelow.

#28: Fatu

Fatu goes for Bigelow because more hoss fighting. At this point, we'll say Bigelow is a tweener because I dunno what I'm doing with him.

#29: Marty Jannetty

Oh, poor Marty. First comes the Superkick from Shawn, sending him into a Samoan Drop from Fatu, then a moonsault by Bigelow and then Owen just mecry tosses him (6, Jannetty)

#30: Blast

Blast comes in and sends out Fatu (5, Fatu) leaving the final four of Owen, Shawn, Bigelow and Blast.

Bam Bam gets tossed out by the New Demolition Member (4, Bigelow) before Owen and Shawn team up to kick Blast out (3, Blast)

So, we end on Owen and Shawn. Shawn and Owen. Two young, hungry men looking to get that coveted title shot at Bret. Tonight, Owen surprises everyone by taking Shawn out with the dropkick (2, Michaels)

Owen Hart is going to WrestleMania! Owen Hart is gonna face his brother at WrestleMania!