Note to Bruce: if you wanted your audience to embrace and care about DDP, you probably shouldn't job him out to Sara Calaway. Page got a HUGE reaction when he debuted, y'all sunk his momentum.
I was thinking exactly that while listening. The moment he pulls that mask off, the pop was undeniable. He wasn't some jobber, he was a wcw world champion long before The Rock held the title.
I was there live as a fan at WrestleMania X8! I was seen holding a Shut Up Angle sign during when Kurt Angle was cutting a promo before his match with Kane. Then after Mania, I flew back home from Toronto to Charlotte NC and I was 2 seats behind The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young God rest their souls. When we land in Charlotte, they went on a flight to Columbia SC and we were on a flight to Greenville SC. What an experience! I still have those signature folding chairs with the Wrestle Mania X8 cushions on them.
When Bruce says "brands have their fans" it took me back to the night I found wrestling on Monday nights...I remember watching 2, 3 episodes of Nitro then I found out there was another show on USA at the same time called RAW...at 12 years old I could tell after only 3, 4 weeks that WWF had more edgy characters. I LOVE DDP but compared to Taker, Rock, Austin, Kane, Foley he was "safe"
One of the things that I think adds to the excitement of the Rock/Hogan match (and doesn’t get talked about) was whether or not Hogan was going to put over the Rock. I remember at the time people debating whether Hogan was going to come in and put over the younger guys or would it be business as usual. So every false finish was more exciting because there was an element of “will he or won’t he”.
Which funny because he got pinned or submitted often in WCW. He did both a total of 26 times. Way more than piper did, yet it's rarely mentioned how piper was very hard to get to put people over even as a heel,
@@Son96601 Exactly. It was pretty clear that night that the MAJORITY of the people in that building as well as people back home did not want Hogan to lose that night. I never heard a single comment about Hogan's reputation of not putting people over during this time. WWF fans were simply happy to see him back in the ring. The smartfan was and always will be the minority.
This is one of those shows that would have been better back in the glory days of STW when Bruce could give Connie his undivided attention. This easily could have been one of those classic marathon episodes. There was too much going on around this time for a rush job like the shows we have been getting since Bruce made it back to the big time! This show needed A LOT more time.
"That guy" Steve Wright that Tom Prichard worked with in Germany is actually the father of WCWs Alex Wright. And Scott Halls name in CWA was not "Big" Scott Hall (that was his AWA name), but Texas Scott (for reasons not known to mankind)
Watched Hogan/Rock for the first time last week. With or without sound when Hullk told Rock to ' bring it' that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The look on Hogan's face had the intensity of anything from his first title reign.
I absolutely hate when people say "was it good without the sound" it's just dumb. It's like saying "was it good with the tv off" or "would it be good without the ring". The fans are the 4th member of the cast in wrestling match. That's where the word "working" comes from. Because they are "working" the crowd.
If you wanted to convert a non-wrestling fan, Rock/Hogan WM18 is the match! The greatest ever imo. Silly, if you watch any match with the sound off it's terrible. The crowd reaction is the reason you watch
Im usually in Bruce's corner but this time....and I was never a fan of his in wcw but it's pretty obvious why DDP didn't work in wwf. It's PAINFULLY obvious. To say the wwf crowd wasn't into it is ridiculous. The wwf crowd was a mixture of both brands. Especially after Vince absorbed the competition. They turned DDP into a stalker? No....he was buried cause Vince didn't like him. But he felt the pressure to bring him in, either that or he wanted to bring him in for the purpose of burying a wcw guy. Whatever the case....anyone can see why DDP didn't work in wwf.
I've been waiting about 4 years for this one...!!!! Hogan vs Rock was the best match, just for the crowd...!! It should of 100% been the main event. Bruce says it was never a main event, yeah right.. HHH had his own way and got to go on last.! But..... could you imagine if it was Austin vs Hogan.
The DDP argument from Bruce is total BS. Go back and watch his debut and Raw and tell me with a straight face that WWF fans didn’t know who DDP was. The guy was a top name and over. What killed him was saddling him with a stalker gimmick (despite being married to Kimberly Page), claiming he wanted to be famous (despite already being famous), and jobbing to Taker and his wife for months with literally no offense in there matches what so ever.
Agreed. The crowd RAW crowd did pop for Page but Prichard claims WWF fans didn't want to know. Then Undertaker absolutely destroyed him and did not sell for him. It was disgraceful. It was like watching WWF burn money on screen. nWo also got big pops (even when fueding with Rock and Austin) but again, Prichard claims WWF fans didn't want to know. Vince turned them into boring, basic heels that just got beat and ran away all the time and put them in storylines that went nowhere.
The way Big Show did imitate DDP later and make fun of him is probably how WWE fans looked at him. There was something about DDP that didn't seem genuine. He was more laid back in WCW but when he joined WWE it was said he suggested a people's vs people's champion match against the Rock. Not only had his peak been over for years at that time but even I who watched Nitro regularly at its peak couldn't remember his people's champ gimmick. The Rock was on another level and about to leave for Hollywood while DDP thought it was 1998 again
It wasn't like how the rocks "people's champ" was, like rock would call himself that in his promos and everything was the people's elbow and people's eyebrow etc.. "the people's" was completely apart of his gimmick, where DDP was the people's champion in that, he'd celebrate in the crowd after the match and he was an everyman type guy.. he referred to himself as the people's champ from time to time but it always was more like he's one of us, he's a man of the people, and the rock did it for the adulation of the people
But yea Rock v DDP wouldn't of been it at all,I think Babyface DDP feuding with that heel Austin would of worked or maybe even a feud with Foley, have him and Mick buddy it up and try and get Mick to bring cactus back to WCW and instead he brings mankind back to the wwf.. or something along them lines
I was at 18 in Toronto. There was nothing like that Hulk Hogan pop.. I'm a huge Jericho fan & was since '97... but I didnt understand the mainevent. In hindsight, HHH needed to be boosted in 2002. Have nWo show up after the Rumble--let them ruin a mainevent match for Jericho. He could look strong by challenging the entire nWo and defending his title on Raw. Let Nash take the belt(s) from him & drop the to HHH at the main event of mania 18. Rock vs Hogan. Hall vs Austin. HHH vs Nash. Could've easily added big show, xpac and Mr perfect to the nWo for that mainia.. Angle vs Perfect & Xpac/BigShow vs Acolytes for a tag title match.. keeps everyone happy. Frees up Jericho and Kane to have other matches that night too.. If Poppa Pump was cleared he could've also been added to the nWo invasion
Concerning DDP and why he didn't "get over," it's curious to me that Bruce - who has told us in previous casts that the wrestling audience crossed over from WCW to WWF and back (ratings) would think that the audience wasn't familiar with DDP and his character. From what I saw from the people I knew - we knew who he was. We all watched both programs. Some liked one better than another, but we knew who was who and what was what. What WAS perplexing to us, the audience was when DDP - a guy who had been an underdog good guy - ripped off his hood revealing himself as a stalker - a bad guy move if ever there was one. Listening to the live audience - they knew him as well. The pop he got even as a revealed stalker was huge. So why then didn't his WWF character get over? I don't think it had anything to do with a guy who embraced whatever was thrown at him by the WWF to such a degree that he cut a promo about how he was ready to go to the next level upon the folding of WCW and who opted to not ride out his contract and get paid for doing nothing. I do suspect it had a lot to do with some really crappy writing and really bad booking. Just a stab in the dark though.
Rock going away hurt the ratings until he returned in 2001 also Austin didn't need to win the belt at WM X-Seven it made no sense as it was The Rock's time to win the main event for belt now as he was the lead face now of WWE by that time but of course politics dressing room still. Austin could've won the belt on the raw after WM.
2002 was definitely a transition year; Rock was heading more in the movie making direction, Austin's popularity was dwindling, Hunter just wasn't THE guy & younger new talent like Lesnar & Cena were on the rise
What’s soo Vince crazy, & proves Bruce is Full of S….. The Wrestlemania 18 cover always features Hogan vs the Rock…Icon vs Icon as the ME!! Meaning the reason to by this PPV!! Not Triple H vs Jericho & yet these guys never once considered the main match they promoted to sell this PPV as the ME, makes sense if your living in Bruce’s world I guess
Conrad what are you talking about?? Triple Hs return was one of the biggest pops in history! Regardless of whether his mania match was the best on the card he was clearly the guy to anyone with a brain! There is no “ehhh wellllll…”
I don't get Bruce's perspective of the fans not buying DDP. Watch DDP's debut in WWF; the roof blew off. Most fans I'd wager knew who he was. That's why Jericho's debut was crazy. That's why the Radicalz were crazy popular upon debut. And I haven't watched recently, but I feel like fans popped over Booker T's KOTR 2001 debut. So many fans had dreams of WWF v WCW rivalries and matches, which they had because they watched both shows. I also think it's contradicting himself as he'll say, based on the ratings decline in 2001/2002, that there really weren't as many fans as the ratings indicated since much of the numbers between the two were people switching between both programs, which means people know who DDP is if they were also watching WCW.
Ok, no, Bruce don't get a pass for that DDP bologna he just spewed.. to say WWF fans didn't know ddp is a total lie or complete ignorance of your own fans.. we 100% knew who DDP was, WCW had less than a handful of guys who we as WWF die hards respected, and that was DDP, Sting and Booker, later Scott Steiner.. where we made fun of Goldberg, flair and hulk were old, luger was whack, and razor and diesel were our guys at heart still... The creative was the problem with DDP hands down, and not even that it was bad, because it actually was an interesting storyline, and obviously Bruce doesn't watch their own programs cause the crowd went nuts when the lights come on and the mask came off revealing DDP.. but then.. undertaker beats the shit out of him like he's a scrub J Brone, he never gets any wins or offense... we wanted to see the working mans people's champ DDP, not this character that actually should of gone to Dustin Rhodes...DDP plays it very well, he is believable and has little nuances he'd do like lick his teeth when he'd see Sarah.. the fans didn't wanna see John Wayne play a lacky to the bad guys... Had DDP come in as DDP Babyface man of the people with all his swag and coolness in tact and maybe have Him and Booker be that first title match instead of buff, let DDP win the wcw title and then have him and heel Austin feud, then we could a got behind it..but to sit here and say DDP didn't bring it to the role or that the fans didn't know him is a slap in the face..
In my opinion Austin/hogan wouldn’t have worked. It would have been similar to hbk/hogan. An unscripted, off the leash Austin would have decimated hogan on the mic. Then in the ring, Austin goes 1000 mph. You have to keep up with him. He doesn’t slow down for you. He would have made hogan look 65 in 2002.
This guy gets it. Exactly. 1000%. Austin would have wrestled circles over old man Hogan, even in 2002. Steve was a machine even in his final days in the ring, he gave it his all. And anybody who thinks the fans would have booed him in Toronto is a moron. Austin never lost the fans, ever. Never sold out like Rocky did. The crowd would have been pretty even in an Austin/Hogan match.
Bruce loves to hang on to the WWE fans didn’t know WCW guys cop out. Plenty of people knew of both, I know back in the day people would watch one and record the other and watch later on, not everyone was a one side or the other fan. If that’s the case why the fuck did you bring Flair in with the Big Gold belt? Imagine if WCW had that logic “nah fuck Nash and Hall WCW fans don’t know em”. Dur WWE fans didn’t know the NWO even though their shirts were everywhere, they were massive in pop culture Dur
The world title main event was destined to be a flop. HHH had been on the record in the passed bashing Canadians in general, and many believed at the time, later confirmed, that he had a hand in the Montreal screwjob. Even with how poorly they booked Jericho, none of the Canadians in the skydome wanted to see Hunter win over a fellow Canadian.
As a Triple H fan, I felt screwed in this show. It was Hunter’s time to main event the show and cap off the emotional come back with a World Title win, and all anyone ever talks about, & rightfully so, is Rock vs Hogan. Triple H would have a chance to repay the favor to Rock when he stole the show with “End of an Era” vs The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell @ Wrestlemania XXVIII. It’s sad that Triple H had to shutdown his career without a final sendoff match. Hopeful
@@jackwei22 Who said anyone is bigger than Austin or Rock? The “biggest guy” doesn’t always win…if so Austin would have 1 title run and no one else would have ever won during his 3:16 ERA. HHH was a pillar of the Attitude Era…Undertaker, Rock, Austin, Mankind…those were the top guys…all of them had title runs…why? Because you have to change up the story and different people have to win.
Prichard isn't fooling anyone. Jericho was (purposely) overshadowed by Stephanie, the whole angle was horrible and every one knows it. Also Bruce claiming they were trying to get DDP over, yet moments later laughing at Booker T's expense for the Japanese shampoo commercial storyline. They were burying WCW stars. It was blatant and disgusting, not to mention, shortsighted. WWF again burning money. Lastly, Bruce's impression of Scott Hall sounds like a young Stu Hart? Definitely not his best.
People talk alot of shit about wrestling fans but i dare anyone to find a group of people thats more open and forgiving of people with substances abuse issues. There may be a few but it doesnt take long to get to our name
Austin would have wrestled circled around Hogan, even in 2002. Hulk couldnt keep up with Steve in the ring, no way. And the crowd would never turn on Austin like they did Rocky. Austin never sold out like Rock did. X8 was what it was, but Steve deserved better than a mid card match with Hall. They should have put him with Angle cuz of their history and made it for the title. Jericho was not a champion or booked like one. I also love that people were walking out during HHHs big comeback. Love it. Couldnt happen to a nicer guy!
The Rock never sold out the WWE as they let his contract run down on purpose with no contact with him for renewal as the company claims it was a clerical error which is bollocks. Would Austin with his Superman booking be able to accept that crowd turning on him and would he put Hogan over if they ever had a match sometime both political Characters them two.
So I'm DC comics and I just bought marvel.. Hey we are gonna do DC vs Marvel.. and I'm thinking we'll have wolverine obsessed over Lois Lane and he's gonna be a member of magneto's brotherhood and in a red suit instead of yellow.. *comic fans don't like it* .. well that's just cause DC fans don't know who wolverine is 😑
Flair and Undertaker tore the house down, my favorite moment, was when Undertaker sits up from the Figure 4, both look at each other, great moment. The Best match of the night. Hogan vs Rock is soo Overrated, Match quality sucked, I never liked Hogan, I didn't really care about Rock at this time, so it hurts my reviewing of this match, it's that hard to watch.
@@michaelreed6849 how would it be better for business? Hogan losing turned him face and then he had the title months later. If he stayed heel, then what? He beat Rock, Austin wasn’t gonna wrestle him.
Note to Bruce: if you wanted your audience to embrace and care about DDP, you probably shouldn't job him out to Sara Calaway. Page got a HUGE reaction when he debuted, y'all sunk his momentum.
If you want to bring over the wcw audience. You DONT job out the wcw stars.
Came here to post this. Agreed!
I was thinking exactly that while listening.
The moment he pulls that mask off, the pop was undeniable. He wasn't some jobber, he was a wcw world champion long before The Rock held the title.
Taker pulled backstage politics on the WCW guys coming over unfortunately
According to Bruce us WWE fans didn't know who the WCW stars were.?!?! Yeah right we knew exactly who they were.! FACTS
I was there live as a fan at WrestleMania X8! I was seen holding a Shut Up Angle sign during when Kurt Angle was cutting a promo before his match with Kane. Then after Mania, I flew back home from Toronto to Charlotte NC and I was 2 seats behind The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young God rest their souls. When we land in Charlotte, they went on a flight to Columbia SC and we were on a flight to Greenville SC. What an experience! I still have those signature folding chairs with the Wrestle Mania X8 cushions on them.
Heck yeeah , right on man
Hell yeah!
1:04:01 Wrestlemania 18
It's crazy; I listen to you guys every day but somehow missed you guys the whole time till today. Thanks for this new episode.
Once a month
@@eddead4235 More like twice a year now
: (( ur used to be every Friday
@@armanirza
Bruce became too busy in the the last two years
I agree. Lesser shows and more compilations buuuut...... being an understanding fan, I'm loyal no matter what. Bruce and Conrad are worth it.
woot woot!! The only event on this podcast I was at :-) I am super stoked to listen!! Thank you Conrad and Bruce
You live in Toronto 🇨🇦?
@@scottalderson8673 I live in Thunder Bay, ON - my buddies and I did a road trip (1400km) to attend. Fan Axxess was awesome as well :-)
I was at the No Way Out return of the NWO that discussed at the start of this podcast :)
When Bruce says "brands have their fans" it took me back to the night I found wrestling on Monday nights...I remember watching 2, 3 episodes of Nitro then I found out there was another show on USA at the same time called RAW...at 12 years old I could tell after only 3, 4 weeks that WWF had more edgy characters. I LOVE DDP but compared to Taker, Rock, Austin, Kane, Foley he was "safe"
Had you started tuning in during 1997 instead of 1999 it would have been the other way around for you.
@Trzn 2 he was immediately put in feud with taker... That's about as good of a push as It gets in 2002.
Really??
Was part of that crowd... Bruce I want to say thank you for putting on an amazing wrestlemania....
One of the things that I think adds to the excitement of the Rock/Hogan match (and doesn’t get talked about) was whether or not Hogan was going to put over the Rock. I remember at the time people debating whether Hogan was going to come in and put over the younger guys or would it be business as usual. So every false finish was more exciting because there was an element of “will he or won’t he”.
This would have only been for people smart to the business back then. Not the casual fan.
Which funny because he got pinned or submitted often in WCW. He did both a total of 26 times. Way more than piper did, yet it's rarely mentioned how piper was very hard to get to put people over even as a heel,
@@Son96601 Exactly. It was pretty clear that night that the MAJORITY of the people in that building as well as people back home did not want Hogan to lose that night. I never heard a single comment about Hogan's reputation of not putting people over during this time. WWF fans were simply happy to see him back in the ring. The smartfan was and always will be the minority.
This is one of those shows that would have been better back in the glory days of STW when Bruce could give Connie his undivided attention. This easily could have been one of those classic marathon episodes.
There was too much going on around this time for a rush job like the shows we have been getting since Bruce made it back to the big time! This show needed A LOT more time.
Yeah i don’t know why they didn’t tbh it was weird they went from WM17 to WM19 and skipped over WM18
Show ain't been the same since Bruce went back to work for Vince
Can’t be selfish, Bruce has an insane schedule with wwe, we’re lucky he still finds time to keep going with the podcast
"That guy" Steve Wright that Tom Prichard worked with in Germany is actually the father of WCWs Alex Wright.
And Scott Halls name in CWA was not "Big" Scott Hall (that was his AWA name), but Texas Scott (for reasons not known to mankind)
They may not be known to mankind, but I bet Dude Love knows why...
@@MrRadical87 the dude always has the scoop daddy. Ooowww have mercy!!
Watched Hogan/Rock for the first time last week. With or without sound when Hullk told Rock to ' bring it' that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The look on Hogan's face had the intensity of anything from his first title reign.
I absolutely hate when people say "was it good without the sound" it's just dumb. It's like saying "was it good with the tv off" or "would it be good without the ring". The fans are the 4th member of the cast in wrestling match. That's where the word "working" comes from. Because they are "working" the crowd.
Man , and that Hoagn chest flex to the Rock was something else...
How coincidental that this is episode 317 and the topic is Wrestlemania X8 which took place on March 17th
R.I.p Scott Hall aka Razor Ramon.
Literally just finished relistening to episode #27 about the NWO coming into WWE.
Funny how things align
The shows are so much better on UA-cam! I used to listen on Spotify and the ads made it unlistenable.
The last WWF wrestlemania dam I miss those days
I liked the hardcore championship thing at this event. I liked it then and I like it now. FDM
My favorite WrestleMania of all time. I feel like I'm the only one, nonetheless, thanks for covering it guys
might actually be mine as well. This and x7 were the best
It was a really good ‘Mania!
1:32:37 Like to know how the road led to that Fatal Four Way and was it the only way.
Hogan/Rock holds up!
I still love the Warrior/Hogan match!!!
Top 2 match of Hulk’s career along with Warrior match. I’d say Hulk vs Rock is #1.
@@adam-thesportsguy6147 I forgot; WMV Hogan vs Macho is my FAVORITE Hulk Hogan match!
If you wanted to convert a non-wrestling fan, Rock/Hogan WM18 is the match! The greatest ever imo. Silly, if you watch any match with the sound off it's terrible. The crowd reaction is the reason you watch
Skip 23:50
Im usually in Bruce's corner but this time....and I was never a fan of his in wcw but it's pretty obvious why DDP didn't work in wwf. It's PAINFULLY obvious. To say the wwf crowd wasn't into it is ridiculous. The wwf crowd was a mixture of both brands. Especially after Vince absorbed the competition. They turned DDP into a stalker? No....he was buried cause Vince didn't like him. But he felt the pressure to bring him in, either that or he wanted to bring him in for the purpose of burying a wcw guy. Whatever the case....anyone can see why DDP didn't work in wwf.
I’m gonna be there live for WM this weekend! You’re damn right Steve is gonna get the same treatment!!
The show that made me a wrestling fan again
35:55 Diamond Cutter and RKO are NOT the same damn thing Conrad!!! Obviously they’re very similar but they’re not the same!
I always hated the diamond cutter.
Wait! I do think the RKO and Diamond Cutter looked the exact same.
DDP granted Orton permission to use the move.
1:03:53 WM 18 begins
You know…
Conrad and Bruce slip into Gorilla and Brain and it’s glorious.
I've been waiting about 4 years for this one...!!!!
Hogan vs Rock was the best match, just for the crowd...!! It should of 100% been the main event. Bruce says it was never a main event, yeah right..
HHH had his own way and got to go on last.!
But..... could you imagine if it was Austin vs Hogan.
People forgot how big Scott Hall actually was (6'7" 290lbs) because he spent most of his prime time years standing next to Kevin Nash (6'11" 300lbs)
In the event they say he's 7' crazy how much they adlib.
1:13:30 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Connie throwing shade at Meltzer
How come they didnt answer fan questions?
The DDP argument from Bruce is total BS. Go back and watch his debut and Raw and tell me with a straight face that WWF fans didn’t know who DDP was. The guy was a top name and over. What killed him was saddling him with a stalker gimmick (despite being married to Kimberly Page), claiming he wanted to be famous (despite already being famous), and jobbing to Taker and his wife for months with literally no offense in there matches what so ever.
Agreed. The crowd RAW crowd did pop for Page but Prichard claims WWF fans didn't want to know. Then Undertaker absolutely destroyed him and did not sell for him. It was disgraceful. It was like watching WWF burn money on screen.
nWo also got big pops (even when fueding with Rock and Austin) but again, Prichard claims WWF fans didn't want to know. Vince turned them into boring, basic heels that just got beat and ran away all the time and put them in storylines that went nowhere.
The way Big Show did imitate DDP later and make fun of him is probably how WWE fans looked at him. There was something about DDP that didn't seem genuine. He was more laid back in WCW but when he joined WWE it was said he suggested a people's vs people's champion match against the Rock. Not only had his peak been over for years at that time but even I who watched Nitro regularly at its peak couldn't remember his people's champ gimmick. The Rock was on another level and about to leave for Hollywood while DDP thought it was 1998 again
It wasn't like how the rocks "people's champ" was, like rock would call himself that in his promos and everything was the people's elbow and people's eyebrow etc.. "the people's" was completely apart of his gimmick, where DDP was the people's champion in that, he'd celebrate in the crowd after the match and he was an everyman type guy.. he referred to himself as the people's champ from time to time but it always was more like he's one of us, he's a man of the people, and the rock did it for the adulation of the people
But yea Rock v DDP wouldn't of been it at all,I think Babyface DDP feuding with that heel Austin would of worked or maybe even a feud with Foley, have him and Mick buddy it up and try and get Mick to bring cactus back to WCW and instead he brings mankind back to the wwf.. or something along them lines
Call the dog by her name Lucy.... and i havent thought about that for almost twenty years.. cmon conrad
Hogan vs Rock was special in the sense it was icon vs icon in a good match in a special atmosphere
the part with the forklift had me laughing!!!!
Austin Hogan should have been the Match at Wrestlemania 18
Thats far bigger than Hogan Rock
So strange and very wrong to see Stone Cold Steve Austin so far down the card
Rock had been a bigger deal than Austin for 2yrs by WM18.
@@kmr8592 Thats subjective
@@mikepitt8437 is saying Austin vs Hogan is “far bigger” than Rock vs Hogan not subjective?
my favorite Wrestlemania Show 😍
I was at 18 in Toronto. There was nothing like that Hulk Hogan pop.. I'm a huge Jericho fan & was since '97... but I didnt understand the mainevent. In hindsight, HHH needed to be boosted in 2002. Have nWo show up after the Rumble--let them ruin a mainevent match for Jericho. He could look strong by challenging the entire nWo and defending his title on Raw. Let Nash take the belt(s) from him & drop the to HHH at the main event of mania 18. Rock vs Hogan. Hall vs Austin. HHH vs Nash. Could've easily added big show, xpac and Mr perfect to the nWo for that mainia.. Angle vs Perfect & Xpac/BigShow vs Acolytes for a tag title match.. keeps everyone happy. Frees up Jericho and Kane to have other matches that night too.. If Poppa Pump was cleared he could've also been added to the nWo invasion
Concerning DDP and why he didn't "get over," it's curious to me that Bruce - who has told us in previous casts that the wrestling audience crossed over from WCW to WWF and back (ratings) would think that the audience wasn't familiar with DDP and his character. From what I saw from the people I knew - we knew who he was. We all watched both programs. Some liked one better than another, but we knew who was who and what was what. What WAS perplexing to us, the audience was when DDP - a guy who had been an underdog good guy - ripped off his hood revealing himself as a stalker - a bad guy move if ever there was one. Listening to the live audience - they knew him as well. The pop he got even as a revealed stalker was huge. So why then didn't his WWF character get over? I don't think it had anything to do with a guy who embraced whatever was thrown at him by the WWF to such a degree that he cut a promo about how he was ready to go to the next level upon the folding of WCW and who opted to not ride out his contract and get paid for doing nothing. I do suspect it had a lot to do with some really crappy writing and really bad booking. Just a stab in the dark though.
1:04:53-Ummm…i KNEW the Rock would be boo’ed like crazy!
Turning Austin heel killed the business sooner rather than later, 02, 03 would of been even better if stone cold was still anti estab
Giving Stephanie Creative control is what killed the business. Austin was a great heel, unfortunately his health deteriorated rapidly by 2002.
Rock going away hurt the ratings until he returned in 2001 also Austin didn't need to win the belt at WM X-Seven it made no sense as it was The Rock's time to win the main event for belt now as he was the lead face now of WWE by that time but of course politics dressing room still. Austin could've won the belt on the raw after WM.
Please get Jim Ross to do the WM 18 because all getting is him ducking shit.
Lmao, pretty much. This show was neutered the second Bruce went back to work for Vince.
2002 was definitely a transition year; Rock was heading more in the movie making direction, Austin's popularity was dwindling, Hunter just wasn't THE guy & younger new talent like Lesnar & Cena were on the rise
Dwindling 🤡
RIP Scott
What’s soo Vince crazy, & proves Bruce is Full of S….. The Wrestlemania 18 cover always features Hogan vs the Rock…Icon vs Icon as the ME!! Meaning the reason to by this PPV!! Not Triple H vs Jericho & yet these guys never once considered the main match they promoted to sell this PPV as the ME, makes sense if your living in Bruce’s world I guess
Conrad what are you talking about?? Triple Hs return was one of the biggest pops in history! Regardless of whether his mania match was the best on the card he was clearly the guy to anyone with a brain! There is no “ehhh wellllll…”
I work a block away from the Friendly tap
I don't get Bruce's perspective of the fans not buying DDP. Watch DDP's debut in WWF; the roof blew off. Most fans I'd wager knew who he was. That's why Jericho's debut was crazy. That's why the Radicalz were crazy popular upon debut. And I haven't watched recently, but I feel like fans popped over Booker T's KOTR 2001 debut. So many fans had dreams of WWF v WCW rivalries and matches, which they had because they watched both shows.
I also think it's contradicting himself as he'll say, based on the ratings decline in 2001/2002, that there really weren't as many fans as the ratings indicated since much of the numbers between the two were people switching between both programs, which means people know who DDP is if they were also watching WCW.
Ok, no, Bruce don't get a pass for that DDP bologna he just spewed.. to say WWF fans didn't know ddp is a total lie or complete ignorance of your own fans.. we 100% knew who DDP was, WCW had less than a handful of guys who we as WWF die hards respected, and that was DDP, Sting and Booker, later Scott Steiner.. where we made fun of Goldberg, flair and hulk were old, luger was whack, and razor and diesel were our guys at heart still... The creative was the problem with DDP hands down, and not even that it was bad, because it actually was an interesting storyline, and obviously Bruce doesn't watch their own programs cause the crowd went nuts when the lights come on and the mask came off revealing DDP.. but then.. undertaker beats the shit out of him like he's a scrub J Brone, he never gets any wins or offense... we wanted to see the working mans people's champ DDP, not this character that actually should of gone to Dustin Rhodes...DDP plays it very well, he is believable and has little nuances he'd do like lick his teeth when he'd see Sarah.. the fans didn't wanna see John Wayne play a lacky to the bad guys... Had DDP come in as DDP Babyface man of the people with all his swag and coolness in tact and maybe have Him and Booker be that first title match instead of buff, let DDP win the wcw title and then have him and heel Austin feud, then we could a got behind it..but to sit here and say DDP didn't bring it to the role or that the fans didn't know him is a slap in the face..
We knew WCW
Man I loved WrestleMania 18 I thought it was great last match was dull but that's not because they did a bad job
I hate when Conrad takes issue with non pc angles. If the Attitude era were promoted under 2022 PC Culture, the WWE would never have survived.
In my opinion Austin/hogan wouldn’t have worked. It would have been similar to hbk/hogan. An unscripted, off the leash Austin would have decimated hogan on the mic. Then in the ring, Austin goes 1000 mph. You have to keep up with him. He doesn’t slow down for you. He would have made hogan look 65 in 2002.
Wouldn't have mattered, Austin would have been booed out of the building in Toronto.
This guy gets it. Exactly. 1000%. Austin would have wrestled circles over old man Hogan, even in 2002. Steve was a machine even in his final days in the ring, he gave it his all.
And anybody who thinks the fans would have booed him in Toronto is a moron. Austin never lost the fans, ever. Never sold out like Rocky did. The crowd would have been pretty even in an Austin/Hogan match.
Go out off your way underated
Honestly WWE dropped the ball with DDP great debut tho
Side note Kymberly was hot as fuck
WWE Won't have allowed any wcw star to get over.
If DDP wasn’t given that terrible story line, and had he come in as a babyface, his career would back been much longer in wwe
Stephanie was hardly so featured because she 'was such a strong character'.
She was featured, because Daddy says 'sell'.
And Chris Jericho got buried.
Bruce loves to hang on to the WWE fans didn’t know WCW guys cop out. Plenty of people knew of both, I know back in the day people would watch one and record the other and watch later on, not everyone was a one side or the other fan. If that’s the case why the fuck did you bring Flair in with the Big Gold belt?
Imagine if WCW had that logic “nah fuck Nash and Hall WCW fans don’t know em”.
Dur WWE fans didn’t know the NWO even though their shirts were everywhere, they were massive in pop culture Dur
When you see hulk shake rocks hand he is favoring the ribs
The world title main event was destined to be a flop. HHH had been on the record in the passed bashing Canadians in general, and many believed at the time, later confirmed, that he had a hand in the Montreal screwjob. Even with how poorly they booked Jericho, none of the Canadians in the skydome wanted to see Hunter win over a fellow Canadian.
As a Triple H fan, I felt screwed in this show. It was Hunter’s time to main event the show and cap off the emotional come back with a World Title win, and all anyone ever talks about, & rightfully so, is Rock vs Hogan. Triple H would have a chance to repay the favor to Rock when he stole the show with “End of an Era” vs The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell @ Wrestlemania XXVIII. It’s sad that Triple H had to shutdown his career without a final sendoff match. Hopeful
That Undertaker match was painfully awful. If that stole the show for you it's only because you're a Triple H mark.
Triple H had no business being anywhere near the main event picture at any stage.
Stopped reading at "As a Triple H fan"
HHH isn't as big as Rock, Austin or Hogan plus he had no business winning WM 2000.
@@jackwei22 Who said anyone is bigger than Austin or Rock? The “biggest guy” doesn’t always win…if so Austin would have 1 title run and no one else would have ever won during his 3:16 ERA. HHH was a pillar of the Attitude Era…Undertaker, Rock, Austin, Mankind…those were the top guys…all of them had title runs…why? Because you have to change up the story and different people have to win.
Prichard isn't fooling anyone. Jericho was (purposely) overshadowed by Stephanie, the whole angle was horrible and every one knows it.
Also Bruce claiming they were trying to get DDP over, yet moments later laughing at Booker T's expense for the Japanese shampoo commercial storyline. They were burying WCW stars. It was blatant and disgusting, not to mention, shortsighted. WWF again burning money.
Lastly, Bruce's impression of Scott Hall sounds like a young Stu Hart? Definitely not his best.
I gotta rewatch the Hulk vs Rock match ..because I remember the match sucked but to be fair I kind of stop watching the product by then
28:51 Come Together!!!
People talk alot of shit about wrestling fans but i dare anyone to find a group of people thats more open and forgiving of people with substances abuse issues. There may be a few but it doesnt take long to get to our name
We used to get 3 4 hr shows you can't cram a WM in 60-90 show come on brah
My favorite matches on this card RVD vs William Regal. Undertaker vs Flair. The four corner tag match. HHH vs Jericho for the WWF title.
Austin would have wrestled circled around Hogan, even in 2002. Hulk couldnt keep up with Steve in the ring, no way. And the crowd would never turn on Austin like they did Rocky. Austin never sold out like Rock did. X8 was what it was, but Steve deserved better than a mid card match with Hall. They should have put him with Angle cuz of their history and made it for the title. Jericho was not a champion or booked like one. I also love that people were walking out during HHHs big comeback. Love it. Couldnt happen to a nicer guy!
The Rock never sold out the WWE as they let his contract run down on purpose with no contact with him for renewal as the company claims it was a clerical error which is bollocks. Would Austin with his Superman booking be able to accept that crowd turning on him and would he put Hogan over if they ever had a match sometime both political Characters them two.
Wwe was stupid for doing that and that was hhh getting in Vince ears
Flair v undertaker was a good match
But Hogan rock easily stole the show.
Bruce, DDP was over when ya'll brought him in. You guys buried him after by making him a stalker.
So I'm DC comics and I just bought marvel.. Hey we are gonna do DC vs Marvel.. and I'm thinking we'll have wolverine obsessed over Lois Lane and he's gonna be a member of magneto's brotherhood and in a red suit instead of yellow.. *comic fans don't like it* .. well that's just cause DC fans don't know who wolverine is 😑
Austin should have either gone away for a long time or replace Hogan as head of NWO lol
Flair and Undertaker tore the house down, my favorite moment, was when Undertaker sits up from the Figure 4, both look at each other, great moment. The Best match of the night. Hogan vs Rock is soo Overrated, Match quality sucked, I never liked Hogan, I didn't really care about Rock at this time, so it hurts my reviewing of this match, it's that hard to watch.
scott hall was a good guy playing a bad guy and maybe at times he played it too well
You guys have no answers!
Conrad Thompson even laughs like a mark
Jericho vs HHH was crap. Triple H's return wasn't exciting to me.
hOgAn nEvEr lOsTeDed derppppp
This episode was rushed tbh ….
WCW
Wwe creative are always shit when you get over w/out them
Hogan Warrior > Hogan Rock
average show
Hogan should have gone over. No one on the planet can watch that match and think Rock should have won.
No way. Rock lost three straight main events. Hogan was the older guy and he still came out a winner by putting rock over
I can and did
Hogan should have won. It was what the crowd wanted and would have been right for business.
Bahahahaha🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@michaelreed6849 how would it be better for business? Hogan losing turned him face and then he had the title months later. If he stayed heel, then what? He beat Rock, Austin wasn’t gonna wrestle him.