...... Ok I'll be honest, I mostly remember Bret vs Benoit because Bret locking Benoit in the Sharpshooter was used in Malcolm in the Middle's opening credits...
My wife isn't a wrestling fan. When we were first started dating, I asked her what she knew of wrestling. She said, "Name a wrestler." I said "Sid Vicious." She said, "I am twice the man you are. I have half the brain you do." I think that was the moment I knew she was a keeper.
Finally BZ covers the only PPV I've ever been to, and can actually add some of my observations and insights: - the WWE, then WWF held a house show the night before at The Skydome (now Rogers centre) right across the road from the ACC. TO was definitely pro-WWE but having both WCW and WWF in the same city was big - my buddies and I had driven 9 hours from the north to attend both shows. Both were great in our books but between travel and being young and dumb, it was the weekend as a whole that was great and both events probably weren't top level - The Rock was live at Much Music (Canada's MTV) and Chris Benoit was signing autographs at a PizzaPizza. We decided to meet Benoit - my buddies and I waited an hour or so to meet Benoit. Everyone wished him good luck for the PPV even though we all knew Bret was taking the belt home. - Woman was with him. Got an autographed pic and chatted. He asked if I had good tickets for the PPV. I made a Canada joke about getting poor tickets as the phone lines froze while I purchased my tix and made he and Nancy laugh, a memory that always stayed with me - the show came off better live then the broadcast. I had a good time with my buds and was really there to see Bret. Being my only PPV (though tons of house shows and RAWs/SDs) I've always been happy to know I saw Bret win a world title in Canada - One time during the fan commotion there was a hot blond who sorta looked like Torrie Wilson near front row getting a lot of attention. She pretended she was going to pull off her top which got huge reactions. She never did, but was a good spot about getting cat called by everyone. It wasnt Torrie Wilson btw. - the whole fan hitting Malenko angle with the flag was missed by the camera. They made a big show of the 'fan' getting ejected, and I guess we were supposed to think it was a master plan by Malenko to return under the guise of the fan. Either way it was dumb. - Goldberg/Sid was confusing. From our vantage point it looked like Sid had been injured and the match was called short - There was a fan dressed as the Rock (yeah, I know) who got a lot of cheers doing a constant Rock impression. I don't think he made camera tho, hard side. Great coverage BZ! Never thought I would see this event covered. Brought back great memories.
One of many hilarious lines that made this an instant favorite episode in this series, despite the lengthy love-hate explanation toward Russo in the beginning, haha
@@closethockeyfan5284 Burying Russo at any and all given opportunities should always be top priority. I will say that maybe 3% of the guy's ideas were good, but the other 97% were fucking garbage shit, if garbage became an animate object and had the ability to defecate.
"F--k this match and everyone involved. Zero stars." I'm pretty sure there was at least one match in every WCW PPV written by Russo you could have said that about.
go head n' feeel ...0.07 seconds later: thass eenuf WCW should've made this into a gimmick. Have Konnan surrounded by beautiful buxom ladies. Have him say his lines. Make it into a shirt. $$$
As wrestling commentators go, you'd be the last one I'd accuse of burying Russo. On the contrary, I think you're very lenient, and your emphasis about how he would try to create angles for everyone, not just the top stars, is spot on.
It's like me and my friends discussing Rob Liefeld he was an absolute shitty, derivative, and repetitive artist, but he did introduce us to Cable, Domino, and Deadpool...
@@idonteatcheetos As he put it perfectly, his booking is perfect for "teenage boys", which is why it never stands the test of time. Also, on a very immediate level, teenage boys don't usually have jobs to pay for your merchandise or buy your pay-per-views. That's why, ultimately, he fails. And continues to fail. And will continue to fail...
Jim Cornette is gonna disown Brian Zane! Corny: No son of mine is gonna speak about that lousy sumbitch Russo! Zane: But Dad! Corny: OUTTA MY HOUSE NOW!
Vince Russo: "Thanks for coming out to support this brand-new WCW Mayhem for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation, bro. Oh yeah.... and don't forget the Pay-Per-View, bro."
Considering JR was on hand when Oklahoma debuted in WWF, and even took part in the segment himself, I have to wonder how he felt about taking part in hindsight.
I like Vampiro IN THEORY (actually, he was one of my favorites growing up), I like the Berlyn gimmick IN THEORY, I even like David Flair IN THEORY (sure, he's a crappy worker but I enjoyed the shtick with Daffney and Crowbar and he pulled off the demented look well) but BY GOD the booking for them all was atrocious.
He had good intentions with the Brawl for All: he wanted to knock Bradshaw down a couple pegs, since we was tired of hearing Bradshaw talking about how tough he was. ...Yes, seriously.
Russos tournament gives me a migrain & tumor. Its NEVER based on actual sport competition. Literally EVERY match ends with some bullshit. Never just a good or great match TOO over the top.
@Ronit Banerjea By God you're right! I mean, it's not like I was joking or something. It's not like I simply think it's amusing that Bret Hart and Sting's iconic moves are the same. No, no, no. I was wrong all along. You, sir, are a genius!
@@bigbadseed7665 Sharpshooter-opponents legs tangled tightly, while you sit on their back. Far more pressure on the opponents lower back Scoprion death lock-opponents legs aren't tangled as tightly, while you are in a "standing" or crouching position. Less pressure on opponents lower back. They're similar, but not the same... Applied with real pressure, a Sharpshooter would be significantly more painful.
@@bigbadseed7665 Also, Sting, he uses the opposite leg to Bret to tangle the opponents legs with. Really, both are variations of a "modified Boston crab" or "entangled Boston crab"
If I remember correctly, in the build to the Kimberly/David Flair match, we got to witness the amazing "Bam Bam Bigelow being counted out of a falls count anywhere" match.
yes, this is 2 years old, but wanted to note not only are you correct, but there's a bryan and vinny rant about that match up on youtube (person has it with video, and you are correct that it happened).
Screamin Norman was one of the few things I loved from this era of WCW . I wish we would've got a Crash Holly vs Norman Smiley feud after WCW was bought out that'd been golden.
I also loved the Revolution and The Filthy Animals. The things a competent booker could have done with this roster. Or even just not an imbecile booker.
Russo always receives too much credit. He became prominent as a writer in WWF after the Attitude Era was already underway, and he was part of a team. Yeah, he had some good ideas (and I do love the concept of trying to give everyone on the roster their own thing, as my faves tended to be mid-carders and upper low carders), but they really only turned out well after everyone else polished them. The times they weren't refined by others is when stuff flopped. The proof is really how pretty much everything he was responsible for after leaving WWF sucked. Most of what he did in WCW was crap, and his input for TNA kind of killed their momentum as they were starting to hit their stride (yes there were other factors, but he was a big part of it). Not to mention, his own promotion, in which he had total control, was a steaming pile.
Give me a single member of WWF's writing team who would have started an Attitude Era of their own volition. Cornette, Jim Ross and Bruce Pritchard have all had their eras away from Vince Russo and none of them ever liked to write in that style. EVER. They were all old school guys, favouring either the 80s cartoonish style or good ol' Southern wrassling. Vince McMahon has never written like Vince Russo: he loves big, beefy slobs and loves his cartoonish, carny wrestling style. How does an Attitude Era ever evolve from that? The Attitude Era would NEVER have happened without Vince Russo, no matter how much you hate him! You can hate him to hell and back and play your PC censorship game all you want: Vince Russo saved WWF by forcing them to change how they write and how they book, giving us the Attitude Era. The only reason all those other creatives I mentioned (except Vinnie Mac, who just hates him for switching to WCW) hate Russo is because he introduced an edgy product that they all despised because of their Southern sensibilities. How would an Attitude Era develop for those old carny prudes? Use logic before you post next time. Smh.
Buff Bagwell - the all-time king of ** matches. He’s never had a good singles match. Russo had good ideas, but too much of him is like eating junk food for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
It's amazing how many wrestling fans misspell the four letter name of one of the all-time greats. It's always Bret's name, too...you never see misspelled comments about Sean Michaels or Rowdy Randy Piper 😂
Looking back, WCW's '99 roster is amazing on paper. Hogan, Hall, Nash, Sid, Goldberg, Sting, Steiner, DDP, Bret Hart, Booker T. Benoit and Malenko. Unbelieavable they failed this hard.
@@blackrose8418 Why would we even TRY to convince you otherwise? You wanna chock up $60 for a shitty and/or incomplete product and then DEFEND the people that sold you said lazily-slapped-together-for-a-quick-buck product, by all means. Go right ahead. It's your money. Just be aware of what a naive mark that makes you look like as a consumer.
I think Corny put it best when he said that in World Wrestling, Russo would throw out 10 ideas, and McMahon would pick the one that worked. In WCW there wasn't anyone to overrule the other nine.
BZ, I have been a fan since I first saw one of your videos a while back. I go back to the network to rewatch some of the events you cover/grade and it just brings back great memories!!! The pops, the themes, and just the raucous crowds is something the WWE will never be able to recreate. Too bad Vince McMahon won't leave the company to Triple H so they can push the younger guys/gals. I feel like the WWE thinks that EVERY match/rivalry had to be based around a title. They can create so many different rivalries, give the stars an opportunity to shine even though we already know what most of them are capable of, and so like in the old days, make rivalries personal, don't let the stars beat each other up right away. Like when Batista left Evolution, he and Triple H didn't physically attack one another (I only remember Batista putting Trips thru a table at a contract signing, I believe) and kept us fans in anticipation as to what was gonna happen at 'Mania!!! Do more of that, build suspense, anticipation, 'create' rivalries that existed in other companies/indies and just let them WRESTLE!!!! BTW, WWE should consider hiring BZ as a writer, at the VERY least!!! I'm sure BZ can come up with way better stories than WHOEVER is writing these days...God bless, thanks for another great video, and hope you're year is full of joy and positivity!!!
Vince Russo always struck me as a guy that worked well when he had other people to rein him in...which is, I understand, what happened in WWE (And seems to be a big failure of Vince McMahon since WCW went away). In WCW he was able to do what he wants...and it sucked! He really needed somebody to shoot down stupid things, and ESPECIALLY the times he wrote his own dumb ass into the storyline, bookers/writers having themselves as a character (almost) always doesn't work and just strokes that persons ego.
@@indiglo1971 Paisely Park, the name of the now late Prince's physical estate. Also I can't help but laugh at the OSW lads constantly calling her "Parsely".
Brian, you don't need to explain anything to Vince Russo's stans (or anyone's stans for that matter). You're entitled to your own opinion. The fact is, there is a large enough sample size of Vince Russo's writing in the WWF, WCW, and TNA to come to the conclusion that he has had far more misses than hits over the last 20+ years. Vince Russo was never as good of a writer as he thought he was.
Creative got busy using a WWF mid carder to bury Hogan, Nash, DDP, Sting, Goldberg, Booker etc... to realize they were burying the only guys who kept them employed.
Never understood why Bret shits on Russo. He was literally a nobody in WCW for 2 straight years and then Russo came in and made him heavyweight champion within a month and leader of a new nWo a month later.
Antwan Fields hahaha that’s so stupid. 😂 Yeah it’s Russo’s fault he put him in a match with Goldberg in late 1999.....Goldberg was over 2 years into his WCW career at that point he wasn’t some green rookie anymore. It was just an accident.
Goldberg was completely untrained two years into his career or not. There's numerous stories of him hurting people and AN UNTRAINED WRESTLER THREW A SUPERKICK OUT OF AN IRISH WHIP. You tend to forget that part in this zealous defense of a scumbag.
Antwan Fields I’ve seen the kick many times and it was pretty innocuous. It’s clear Bret’s career was ended by cumulative injuries rather than that one kick which in the match didn’t look like a dangerous spot at all.
WrestleMania 2000: great game, meh PPV WrestleMania X8: meh game, great PPV WrestleMania XIX: good game (if only because of Revenge Mode), good PPV WrestleMania 21: bad game, good PPV
I had the Playstation version of the game and it was quite good for it's time and the limited power of the console. A cool part was you were able to create many WWE main event stars. All the wardrobes and masks we're available, like for Kane but you had to name them something else than their WWE copyrighted names. People would visit and we'd drink beer and play the game, fun stuff. :-)
I like a lot of what you said about Russo. I have to respect the fact that the guy kinda fell into his job as lead writer and actually did a lot of cool things that, like you said, kinda got me interested in wrestling in the first place. Russo is marred by the Brawl for All and by his many odd bookings in WCW. Overall, Russo is a figure that I think certainly holds a place in wrestling history, but it's hard not to criticize some of the things he's done. Plus he still comes off as a really smug douche.
Wrestling With Wregret- To this day, I still laugh at what Brian Zane said around 31:38-31:41 when it came to Diamond Dallas Page delivering 'The Diamond Cutter'. Too funny!... It was hilarious when this episode was first posted onto UA-cam & in my opinion, it still is, today.
Yes thank you, I asked for this ppv. Ok how many times can you see my yellow signs right of the announcers lol... 7:17 we want puppies because its jarrett, 10:53 again puppies because madusa's puppies, 17:40 Im on ppv and your not, 17:51 ecw rules because douglas, 18:21 announcer says it dont matter who you are that hurts, Hennings next loss he leaves sounds like Flair next loss leaves, Oh come on!!! 20:14 right after he crashes into the barricade in front of me there is an awesome shot of me shoving my face into the camera, 29:14 the crowd was looking at a woman fighting with her man then takes off her top to stick it to her man, 32:09 take it off chant was for Kimberly did you see what she was wearing, again awesome shot of me holding up replica wcw heavyweight title right before the Bret Benoit match
Gotta be honest, it’s one of favorite WCW PPVs of this era. The Benoit/Hart match isn’t quite as good as the Owen tribute match, but it’s f’n amazing! For me this was the also the near beginning of Benoit’s best period in WCW. (Yeah, I cheered and maybe cried when he won the championship despite what was going to happen shortly afterward-his defection, I mean.)
"Must have been a cheap night for Luger." That line was brutal, but funny and accurate. Lugers matches in WCW were always underwhelming. Zane wrapped it up perfectly with that one line.
Nothing makes me laugh like Vince Russo era WCW!! Or late era WCW!!! He did some good stuff when he was with the WWF and if he had stayed with them he probably wouldn’t have had as much shit thrown at him as he has. Plus the way he told McMahon that he was leaving the WWF left a sour taste.
To be honest Brian, I've never really known you to 'knock' or diss anyone, really. Your opinions on anything wrestling related, have always been pretty level headed and reasonable, without having to resort to too much negativity. Always respected you for that.
I didn't watch a lot of WCW when it was on, so I didn't know about the WCW Mayhem pay per view but I heard of the video game. I was more of a WWF fan, ah yes those were during the days where it was either RAW or Nitro and you couldn't watch them at the same time it was either one or the other. Now you can watch wrestling 24/7 but that wasn't the case in 1999. So for those of you who missed The Monday Night Wars, thank goodness you did because wrestling was harder to access back then than it is right now, UA-cam wasn't around yet.
...... Ok I'll be honest, I mostly remember Bret vs Benoit because Bret locking Benoit in the Sharpshooter was used in Malcolm in the Middle's opening credits...
yeeeee
I love that show
@@truly_sonic7410 Yes, no, maybe.
I don't know, can you repeat the question?
@@truly_sonic7410 I love that show as well.
Yes! Thank you for reminding us lol
You're not the boss of me now
My wife isn't a wrestling fan. When we were first started dating, I asked her what she knew of wrestling. She said, "Name a wrestler."
I said "Sid Vicious."
She said, "I am twice the man you are. I have half the brain you do."
I think that was the moment I knew she was a keeper.
This was beautiful.
Finally BZ covers the only PPV I've ever been to, and can actually add some of my observations and insights:
- the WWE, then WWF held a house show the night before at The Skydome (now Rogers centre) right across the road from the ACC. TO was definitely pro-WWE but having both WCW and WWF in the same city was big
- my buddies and I had driven 9 hours from the north to attend both shows. Both were great in our books but between travel and being young and dumb, it was the weekend as a whole that was great and both events probably weren't top level
- The Rock was live at Much Music (Canada's MTV) and Chris Benoit was signing autographs at a PizzaPizza. We decided to meet Benoit
- my buddies and I waited an hour or so to meet Benoit. Everyone wished him good luck for the PPV even though we all knew Bret was taking the belt home.
- Woman was with him. Got an autographed pic and chatted. He asked if I had good tickets for the PPV. I made a Canada joke about getting poor tickets as the phone lines froze while I purchased my tix and made he and Nancy laugh, a memory that always stayed with me
- the show came off better live then the broadcast. I had a good time with my buds and was really there to see Bret. Being my only PPV (though tons of house shows and RAWs/SDs) I've always been happy to know I saw Bret win a world title in Canada
- One time during the fan commotion there was a hot blond who sorta looked like Torrie Wilson near front row getting a lot of attention. She pretended she was going to pull off her top which got huge reactions. She never did, but was a good spot about getting cat called by everyone. It wasnt Torrie Wilson btw.
- the whole fan hitting Malenko angle with the flag was missed by the camera. They made a big show of the 'fan' getting ejected, and I guess we were supposed to think it was a master plan by Malenko to return under the guise of the fan. Either way it was dumb.
- Goldberg/Sid was confusing. From our vantage point it looked like Sid had been injured and the match was called short
- There was a fan dressed as the Rock (yeah, I know) who got a lot of cheers doing a constant Rock impression. I don't think he made camera tho, hard side.
Great coverage BZ! Never thought I would see this event covered. Brought back great memories.
I was there too. The blonde was the most over person there.
That's cool to hear
Great comment, nice to hear the aside of making Chris and Nancy laugh, fair play mate.
Very cool story! Thanks for sharing
Cant believe I read this long ass comment.
Happy I did though.
Pretty cool story.
Without hesitation, the greatest review of a match ever:
"What can I say? Fuck this match & everyone involved! Zero stars!"
One of many hilarious lines that made this an instant favorite episode in this series, despite the lengthy love-hate explanation toward Russo in the beginning, haha
31:57 And that fan’s reaction is the just the best.
@@closethockeyfan5284 Burying Russo at any and all given opportunities should always be top priority. I will say that maybe 3% of the guy's ideas were good, but the other 97% were fucking garbage shit, if garbage became an animate object and had the ability to defecate.
Short, sweet, and all true 😂
@@jeremyc9593 This was absolutely AMAZING to read.
Good on you sir lol. Excellent analogy hahaha
Michael Buffer got paid a lot of money to announce him as Bret “Hitman” Clark once.
Bashcrash 914
haha the Clark Foundation.
Who? You mean Bart Hart? He faced the Dtinger! (Now let's see the obscure reference folks get that one.)
He should've faced the King of Hulkmania next
I hate Buffer
I know talk about burning money. Let's pay a guy 100k to announce or millions for a guy that is famous for a catchy phrase...
We need an Italian guy...let's name him Tony Marinara lol
Most Wcw thing ever..
He's a saucy fella 👍
Che cazzata 😆
They may as well have a Mexican named El Taco Guapo. I mean, Jesus.
Might as well have called him Tony PIzza
“Folks Welcome to WcW Mayhem...Brought to you by Electronic Arts!”
Shit.
“SHUT IT DOWN!!”
oooof
My poor, poor childhood
The N64 version does have very good sound for an N64 game.....I'll give it that.....the crowd gets nice and loud
Hate to be “that guy” but Daffney was the second female cruiserweight champion. Im just so excited that I knew something obscure!
🖒
You get a no prize! :)
You’re good, I could talk about daffney all day
Calcifer Boheme marvel comics letters section reference?
Hate to be "that guy" then totally becomes "that guy" lol
"F--k this match and everyone involved. Zero stars."
I'm pretty sure there was at least one match in every WCW PPV written by Russo you could have said that about.
"I gave the Renegade matches 0 stars out of 5 a while ago and there is no way this matches are better those."
Daaaaaaamn
RIP Renegade
No way this matches are better those! Couldn't have said it better :)
No idea why but the way Konnan said "that's enough" cracked me up
Even better when Jamie Kellner said it a year or so later.
THAS' ENOUUUGH!
go head n' feeel ...0.07 seconds later: thass eenuf
WCW should've made this into a gimmick. Have Konnan surrounded by beautiful buxom ladies. Have him say his lines. Make it into a shirt. $$$
I remember when Mike Sanders did it in 2000 and Gene called him a prick....
jelehu the exact thing I thought of when konnan said that
As wrestling commentators go, you'd be the last one I'd accuse of burying Russo. On the contrary, I think you're very lenient, and your emphasis about how he would try to create angles for everyone, not just the top stars, is spot on.
Bit of a differents between commentary and reviewing
Stephen Campbell Love him or hate him you gotta admit Russo had a unique view of booking. it wasnt always good but at least it was interesting.
It's like me and my friends discussing Rob Liefeld he was an absolute shitty, derivative, and repetitive artist, but he did introduce us to Cable, Domino, and Deadpool...
snatchadams69 Liefield will be remembered far more favorably.
@@idonteatcheetos As he put it perfectly, his booking is perfect for "teenage boys", which is why it never stands the test of time. Also, on a very immediate level, teenage boys don't usually have jobs to pay for your merchandise or buy your pay-per-views. That's why, ultimately, he fails. And continues to fail. And will continue to fail...
"I think it's happy garbage.."
Story of my life
“Go ahead feel it, that’s enough.” - Konnan
That’s what she said..
"must have been a cheap night for Luger" jesus man, you killed him
I laughed so damn hard at that crack at Luger! 😂
*(Vince Russo voice)*
"I never knew this was also a PPV, I just remember the game bro!"
I too remember the game but knew I watched the ppv when it happened.
Just forgot about it completely since then
Hi...again lol😃🖐
Also sorry for the asking the latino thing I had no bad intentions but thanks for answering🙈😁
Same for some reason I thought he was going to review the game for a minute
@@michaelrivera8360 Did you see Joe's stream?
Brian: I am a fan of Russo's.
*(angry southern swearing intensifies)*
Schu1tzey the Yeet King Jim Cornette has entered the chat
Jim Cornette is gonna disown Brian Zane!
Corny: No son of mine is gonna speak about that lousy sumbitch Russo!
Zane: But Dad!
Corny: OUTTA MY HOUSE NOW!
Somewhere Cornette Shudders
Schu1tzey the Yeet King Dadship ended with Brian Zanr, now MJF is my only son
@Michael
A month later and you were right. Corny has blocked Zane on Twitter.
Vince Russo: "Thanks for coming out to support this brand-new WCW Mayhem for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation, bro. Oh yeah.... and don't forget the Pay-Per-View, bro."
"Also wrestling fake in case you forgot that bro"lol
Michael Rivera “Except What we are doing right now, bro”
@@JohnWilliams-wl9px "Bro I know"
Michael Rivera “Bro it wasn’t my fault, bro. It was the internet fans, bro.” lol
@@JohnWilliams-wl9px "it was standard and practice bro and talent wouldn't listen to me bro"
Man, all this outside interference caused a lot of...mayhem!
Jacob Cameron get out!!
Ayyyyyyyyy
Kudos
*(rimshot)*
Sit down and be quite
“Madusa and Jacqueline were the only Cruiserweight Champions...”
*looks over to Daffney”
Lmao
🎵The man called MEEEEEENGGG🎵
Can we make this a reality like the Braun Strowman song? I love this already 🤣
Drakeo yes I want this as well
Drakeo “He does this and does that, he’ll choke you out faster than a cat”
@@BigEOT3 YES! :D
Oklahoma was terrible and mean spirited.
Absolutely no difference when Vince McMahon did it.
Considering JR was on hand when Oklahoma debuted in WWF, and even took part in the segment himself, I have to wonder how he felt about taking part in hindsight.
Everytime I heard the term “Referee stoppage” now, my heart skips a beat
Come on, you're better than this!
book a doctors appointment. heart problems aren’t to be messed with
Just remember: ref stoppage used to mean "A man looks like he's about to die, let's stop before he does."
@@1krani damn when did this happen
@@og3777 Austin vs. Hart at WrestleMania 13 is the most famous instance.
I like Vampiro IN THEORY (actually, he was one of my favorites growing up), I like the Berlyn gimmick IN THEORY, I even like David Flair IN THEORY (sure, he's a crappy worker but I enjoyed the shtick with Daffney and Crowbar and he pulled off the demented look well) but BY GOD the booking for them all was atrocious.
Their gimmicks, might have been good, but they sucked in the ring. I am glad none of them got pushed too well.
Hart/Benoit from this PPV was later used in the Malcom in the Middle intro
+Danny Cruz
I remember seeing that.
You’re not the boss of me now
Life is unfair
“You’re not the boss of me nowwww and you’re not sooo biiig”
Life is unfair
The one where Hal kills all the kids and his wife
@@ReanimatorsMutilations Lmfao haha
Walter White was almost as bad of father as Chris Benoit...
Malcolm in the Middle
"There's probably a few more Russo tournament bookings I'm forgetting."
You mean the f#&$ing Brawl for All?!
To be fair, everyone who saw that erased it from memory.
fuusing?
He had good intentions with the Brawl for All: he wanted to knock Bradshaw down a couple pegs, since we was tired of hearing Bradshaw talking about how tough he was.
...Yes, seriously.
Whenever I think of Russo tournaments I think of that clusterfuck tag tourny that led into Sacrifice 2008.
Russos tournament gives me a migrain & tumor. Its NEVER based on actual sport competition. Literally EVERY match ends with some bullshit. Never just a good or great match TOO over the top.
Is this the PPV match which features in the Malcolm in the Middle opening?
Yep
Brian Knobbs looks like he could be Captain of a female softball team.
LMFAO 😂😂😂
I think back to my aunts softball team from 20 years ago. Nasty knobbs would fit right in with them
"Bret Hart reverses the Scorpion Death Lock into the Sharpshooter."
So...the same move?
@Ronit Banerjea By God you're right! I mean, it's not like I was joking or something. It's not like I simply think it's amusing that Bret Hart and Sting's iconic moves are the same. No, no, no. I was wrong all along. You, sir, are a genius!
They're not the same move.
@@Jay-we2ek Seriojsly? How are they different?
@@bigbadseed7665
Sharpshooter-opponents legs tangled tightly, while you sit on their back. Far more pressure on the opponents lower back
Scoprion death lock-opponents legs aren't tangled as tightly, while you are in a "standing" or crouching position. Less pressure on opponents lower back.
They're similar, but not the same... Applied with real pressure, a Sharpshooter would be significantly more painful.
@@bigbadseed7665
Also, Sting, he uses the opposite leg to Bret to tangle the opponents legs with. Really, both are variations of a "modified Boston crab" or "entangled Boston crab"
If I remember correctly, in the build to the Kimberly/David Flair match, we got to witness the amazing "Bam Bam Bigelow being counted out of a falls count anywhere" match.
yes, this is 2 years old, but wanted to note not only are you correct, but there's a bryan and vinny rant about that match up on youtube (person has it with video, and you are correct that it happened).
@@mfm4205 Its my favorite rant from them haha
"I've been fuming about this for hours. Hours. HOURS!"
@@dougdrazga4461 I HAVE A VERY LARGE BRAIN!
Screamin Norman was one of the few things I loved from this era of WCW .
I wish we would've got a Crash Holly vs Norman Smiley feud after WCW was bought out that'd been golden.
Bruh, Smiley & Earnest "The Cat" Miller had 2 of the best mid card gimmicks ever!!!
Would have been hilarious.
I also loved the Revolution and The Filthy Animals. The things a competent booker could have done with this roster. Or even just not an imbecile booker.
@@Thor-Orion Right! Literally EVERYONE in the filthy Animals was over (besides Disqo)
@@mazsax999 Yeah they did.
Russo always receives too much credit. He became prominent as a writer in WWF after the Attitude Era was already underway, and he was part of a team. Yeah, he had some good ideas (and I do love the concept of trying to give everyone on the roster their own thing, as my faves tended to be mid-carders and upper low carders), but they really only turned out well after everyone else polished them. The times they weren't refined by others is when stuff flopped. The proof is really how pretty much everything he was responsible for after leaving WWF sucked. Most of what he did in WCW was crap, and his input for TNA kind of killed their momentum as they were starting to hit their stride (yes there were other factors, but he was a big part of it). Not to mention, his own promotion, in which he had total control, was a steaming pile.
I agree. I feel like the reason why he wasn't as bad in WWF is because he had more filters.
@@aaronsass9265 He's basically just an idea guy. And there is nothing wrong with that, the creative process needs all kinds.
Give me a single member of WWF's writing team who would have started an Attitude Era of their own volition. Cornette, Jim Ross and Bruce Pritchard have all had their eras away from Vince Russo and none of them ever liked to write in that style. EVER. They were all old school guys, favouring either the 80s cartoonish style or good ol' Southern wrassling. Vince McMahon has never written like Vince Russo: he loves big, beefy slobs and loves his cartoonish, carny wrestling style. How does an Attitude Era ever evolve from that? The Attitude Era would NEVER have happened without Vince Russo, no matter how much you hate him! You can hate him to hell and back and play your PC censorship game all you want: Vince Russo saved WWF by forcing them to change how they write and how they book, giving us the Attitude Era. The only reason all those other creatives I mentioned (except Vinnie Mac, who just hates him for switching to WCW) hate Russo is because he introduced an edgy product that they all despised because of their Southern sensibilities. How would an Attitude Era develop for those old carny prudes? Use logic before you post next time. Smh.
@@manniking233 Make sure you wipe your mouth and swallow, Russo will appreciate it.
😂😂😂 anything to downplay Russo's contribution. He's not a genius but he definitely made a huge impact
Buff Bagwell - the all-time king of ** matches. He’s never had a good singles match.
Russo had good ideas, but too much of him is like eating junk food for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
I will always respect Jim Cornette for popping Ferrara for that garbage impression of JR.
I guess cornettes shows were to lame or you never saw them but he had way more disrespectful gimmicks then Russo
"And Brett celebrates with his wife and kids"
Me: dam thats alotta kids
@@SusanPDavis fuck off *edit* i swear there was a comment i replied to
nah.
-heath slater
Bret needs this job
Brude mare, like his mom. You have to really hate your life to spend it raising kid after kid.
It's amazing how many wrestling fans misspell the four letter name of one of the all-time greats. It's always Bret's name, too...you never see misspelled comments about Sean Michaels or Rowdy Randy Piper 😂
As a DDPY guy, I gotta admit. That cutter call almost killed me lol
@i blocked ads to watch this video DDP Yoga
a 40 minute Brian Zane PPV Review? Today's gonna be a good day...
Hardcore Ninja Gamer right? I might go and make some snacks
didn't they actually ADVERTISE Mayhem as "a night of run ins"?
holy shit, no false advertising there, for better or for worse, obviously for worse smh
saturn was underrated
“right into the labia”
Russo will always be the biggest Joke in wrestling
I loved “fuck this match and everyone involved: 0 stars!” Hilarious.
Looking back, WCW's '99 roster is amazing on paper.
Hogan, Hall, Nash, Sid, Goldberg, Sting, Steiner, DDP, Bret Hart, Booker T. Benoit and Malenko. Unbelieavable they failed this hard.
I’m actually writing a fantasy booking set of storylines from like 96 onwards because of how ridiculous the wcw roster was from 96-2000.
Not unbelievable if you watched it. It was a mess
Guess this wasn't "TOO SWEDE" for you, huh?
(In case the dude changes his DP, his original DP is/was the Swedish flag)
Half of the names you said were past there prime and paid way too much to care
What did everyone say on the season premiere episodes of Raw and SmackDown?
VAM-PYRO! VAM-PYRO! VAM-PYRO!
EDH *Slow Golfer Clap*
At first I thought you were gonna review the game from the title because “at least it’s not as bad as 2K20 at launch”
I never judge a game nowadays on launch
@singularon1 you ain't gonna convince me otherwise just so you know
@@blackrose8418 Why would we even TRY to convince you otherwise?
You wanna chock up $60 for a shitty and/or incomplete product and then DEFEND the people that sold you said lazily-slapped-together-for-a-quick-buck product, by all means. Go right ahead. It's your money.
Just be aware of what a naive mark that makes you look like as a consumer.
@@blackrose8418 It's still bad though
@@jop2663 its not even close I've been playing and its fun
The idea of never seeing the face of "The Powers That Be" was inspired by Seinfeld's use of George Steinbrenner.
Or Inspector Gadget
I'll get you next time bro! Next time!
Russo cosplayed as Dr. Claw. All that was missing was a fat purple cat on the table.
SS 98 is one of the few things i’ll defned russo over
Great ppv
Everything was perfect in WWF at that time
Russo has stans? . . . God, that's one of the saddest things I've heard.
James Nettum Shouldn’t they be called the Russo Bros?
I thought he said stands and was hoping for a Jojo reference lol
There are people who honestly believe that Vince Russo is a genius...how depressing is that?
@@solo13th wow, that's even sadder. I look at Russo like this, a broken clock can be right twice a day.
I think Corny put it best when he said that in World Wrestling, Russo would throw out 10 ideas, and McMahon would pick the one that worked. In WCW there wasn't anyone to overrule the other nine.
when i click on this i thought it was N64 game
Is Vince Russo why Vince McMahon hates tournaments?
mgunter if only we had a tournament in the last month
Poor medusa, never has a wrestler had so many promises broken.
Still surprised she never went into porn.
There's this guy named Bret Hart.....
Persill 1892 he can fuck off
Ryback...
Brody Mack think rybaxel made most of them up
13:14 “It’s A Rubbah Shaaark!
He’s beating a man with a rubber shark...”
Do, do, doo, do do do
Beating the SHIT outta him with it.
Tournaments were what he was known for...like brawl for all 🤐
4:40 Man, the WWF must have had a lot of confidence in this "Bye" wrestler if he was gonna take on Undertaker and Kane one after the other
It’s actually short hand for Vacant, the wrestler who holds the record for most title reigns ever.
Kudos on the subtle move to Wednesday’s
A man called meng had me in tears
He does this, he does that.
He’s as slow as a boat, and he’ll punch you in the throat...
Haha. I didn’t catch that
sclSolitarium ... yeah it was at 26:53 lol
BZ, I have been a fan since I first saw one of your videos a while back. I go back to the network to rewatch some of the events you cover/grade and it just brings back great memories!!! The pops, the themes, and just the raucous crowds is something the WWE will never be able to recreate. Too bad Vince McMahon won't leave the company to Triple H so they can push the younger guys/gals. I feel like the WWE thinks that EVERY match/rivalry had to be based around a title. They can create so many different rivalries, give the stars an opportunity to shine even though we already know what most of them are capable of, and so like in the old days, make rivalries personal, don't let the stars beat each other up right away. Like when Batista left Evolution, he and Triple H didn't physically attack one another (I only remember Batista putting Trips thru a table at a contract signing, I believe) and kept us fans in anticipation as to what was gonna happen at 'Mania!!! Do more of that, build suspense, anticipation, 'create' rivalries that existed in other companies/indies and just let them WRESTLE!!!! BTW, WWE should consider hiring BZ as a writer, at the VERY least!!! I'm sure BZ can come up with way better stories than WHOEVER is writing these days...God bless, thanks for another great video, and hope you're year is full of joy and positivity!!!
Vince Russo always struck me as a guy that worked well when he had other people to rein him in...which is, I understand, what happened in WWE (And seems to be a big failure of Vince McMahon since WCW went away). In WCW he was able to do what he wants...and it sucked! He really needed somebody to shoot down stupid things, and ESPECIALLY the times he wrote his own dumb ass into the storyline, bookers/writers having themselves as a character (almost) always doesn't work and just strokes that persons ego.
Dead right, any story Russo pitched with himself in it should be shot down instantly
I was at this event and still own the arm rest from my chair that broke off when I popped after Bret won the Big Gold. I’m proud of that.
Missed opportunity by not having Prince Iakeua in The Revolution.
Trivia question....
Where did the Paisley name come from?
@@indiglo1971 Paisely Park, the name of the now late Prince's physical estate. Also I can't help but laugh at the OSW lads constantly calling her "Parsely".
I remember watching this when I was nine damn time flys by lol starting feel lil old now 🤣😥🤣
👈23 at the time. Im feeling absolutely Precambrian
I always thought jimmy Hart was so underrated in what he did. Some of the things he used to do were great. Had to smile at some of the stuff he did!!
Man knows his craft, absolutely.
Russo was amazing when he had someone to tell him no, or help him filter his ideas.
Exactly, like McMahon did.
Brian, you don't need to explain anything to Vince Russo's stans (or anyone's stans for that matter). You're entitled to your own opinion. The fact is, there is a large enough sample size of Vince Russo's writing in the WWF, WCW, and TNA to come to the conclusion that he has had far more misses than hits over the last 20+ years. Vince Russo was never as good of a writer as he thought he was.
"Fuck this match and everyone in it; zero stars."
I literally lol'ed.
1. (25:15-25:20; 31:59-32:02; 34:26-34:29; 35:24-35:26; 37:46-37:51)
*Another rare f-bomb by Brian Zane*
2. (34:11-36:02)
*What we've ALL been waiting for*
When he rants he swears a lot actually lol
@@michaelrivera8360
Yep!
"Let's see how they fuck it up" was my favorite one in this review lol
Torrie Wilson is so hot at this time
And yet Torrie Wilson is in the Hall of Fame.......WTF😑😡
"The man called Meng!" Should have been his music when Crow Sting arrived!
The man called Meng vs. This is Sting
Genuinely one of the best wrestling series online at the moment. Well done Mr Z
18:18: a low blow to a woman should be called a taco shot, or a shot to the taco
I'd argue Jeff Jarrett killed WCW. That dude was so annoying and was seemingly at the forefront of every storyline in 99-00.
That’s what happens when your butt buddies with Russo
As Mike Graham famously said constantly in WCW main events never drew a dime
Creative got busy using a WWF mid carder to bury Hogan, Nash, DDP, Sting, Goldberg, Booker etc... to realize they were burying the only guys who kept them employed.
Never understood why Bret shits on Russo. He was literally a nobody in WCW for 2 straight years and then Russo came in and made him heavyweight champion within a month and leader of a new nWo a month later.
...because Russo set up the match that ended his career and made the business into a joke? Screw Russo.
Antwan Fields hahaha that’s so stupid. 😂 Yeah it’s Russo’s fault he put him in a match with Goldberg in late 1999.....Goldberg was over 2 years into his WCW career at that point he wasn’t some green rookie anymore. It was just an accident.
Goldberg was completely untrained two years into his career or not. There's numerous stories of him hurting people and AN UNTRAINED WRESTLER THREW A SUPERKICK OUT OF AN IRISH WHIP. You tend to forget that part in this zealous defense of a scumbag.
Antwan Fields I’ve seen the kick many times and it was pretty innocuous. It’s clear Bret’s career was ended by cumulative injuries rather than that one kick which in the match didn’t look like a dangerous spot at all.
@@MrRyanlennie2005 ua-cam.com/video/jHt84CaBe68/v-deo.html
Let's try looking again.
I polish the crowbar whenever there’s a new video
23:53 Thank you Brian for making a reference to my favorite band of all time! RAMMSTEIN!!!!
I love Torrie Wilson 😍😍😍
In wcws last 2 years in existence I don't remember very many matches that had a clean finish
I’m so fascinated with Vince Russo and 1999-2001 WCW
WCW Mayhem: a basic game disappointing PPV
WWF No Mercy: a great game that the great pay-per-view
People wonder why WCW failed so badly
WrestleMania 2000: great game, meh PPV
WrestleMania X8: meh game, great PPV
WrestleMania XIX: good game (if only because of Revenge Mode), good PPV
WrestleMania 21: bad game, good PPV
Both No Mercy and Mayhem had great intros to their games.
Cause of their video games?
I had the Playstation version of the game and it was quite good for it's time and the limited power of the console. A cool part was you were able to create many WWE main event stars. All the wardrobes and masks we're available, like for Kane but you had to name them something else than their WWE copyrighted names. People would visit and we'd drink beer and play the game, fun stuff. :-)
I like a lot of what you said about Russo. I have to respect the fact that the guy kinda fell into his job as lead writer and actually did a lot of cool things that, like you said, kinda got me interested in wrestling in the first place. Russo is marred by the Brawl for All and by his many odd bookings in WCW. Overall, Russo is a figure that I think certainly holds a place in wrestling history, but it's hard not to criticize some of the things he's done. Plus he still comes off as a really smug douche.
He holds a shitty place in history, he actively made wrestling worst
Wrestling With Wregret- To this day, I still laugh at what Brian Zane said around 31:38-31:41 when it came to Diamond Dallas Page delivering 'The Diamond Cutter'.
Too funny!...
It was hilarious when this episode was first posted onto UA-cam & in my opinion, it still is, today.
Yes thank you, I asked for this ppv. Ok how many times can you see my yellow signs right of the announcers lol... 7:17 we want puppies because its jarrett, 10:53 again puppies because madusa's puppies, 17:40 Im on ppv and your not, 17:51 ecw rules because douglas, 18:21 announcer says it dont matter who you are that hurts, Hennings next loss he leaves sounds like Flair next loss leaves, Oh come on!!! 20:14 right after he crashes into the barricade in front of me there is an awesome shot of me shoving my face into the camera, 29:14 the crowd was looking at a woman fighting with her man then takes off her top to stick it to her man, 32:09 take it off chant was for Kimberly did you see what she was wearing, again awesome shot of me holding up replica wcw heavyweight title right before the Bret Benoit match
That guy's face when David runs though the crowd 😂
35:39 I just realized; that's the shot they used in the Malcom in The Middle intro!
Taking a drink every time you say “the powers at be “ would be quite the drinking game 😂😂
Tony marinara was said alot too but yeah powers at be would kill ya
Gotta be honest, it’s one of favorite WCW PPVs of this era. The Benoit/Hart match isn’t quite as good as the Owen tribute match, but it’s f’n amazing!
For me this was the also the near beginning of Benoit’s best period in WCW. (Yeah, I cheered and maybe cried when he won the championship despite what was going to happen shortly afterward-his defection, I mean.)
"Must have been a cheap night for Luger." That line was brutal, but funny and accurate. Lugers matches in WCW were always underwhelming. Zane wrapped it up perfectly with that one line.
Luger was a lot better in wcw than wwf.
Pillman vs Luger at Halloween Havoc 89 was pretty great
@@spiffy8576 Pillman was a great wrestler. Shame that he died so young.
At least he was better in wcw than he was in wwf. Jesus, what a mess that run was.
Nothing makes me laugh like Vince Russo era WCW!! Or late era WCW!!! He did some good stuff when he was with the WWF and if he had stayed with them he probably wouldn’t have had as much shit thrown at him as he has. Plus the way he told McMahon that he was leaving the WWF left a sour taste.
To be honest Brian, I've never really known you to 'knock' or diss anyone, really. Your opinions on anything wrestling related, have always been pretty level headed and reasonable, without having to resort to too much negativity. Always respected you for that.
Russo has stans?
See. I just kicked Stan.
Dumb question
I didn't watch a lot of WCW when it was on, so I didn't know about the WCW Mayhem pay per view but I heard of the video game. I was more of a WWF fan, ah yes those were during the days where it was either RAW or Nitro and you couldn't watch them at the same time it was either one or the other. Now you can watch wrestling 24/7 but that wasn't the case in 1999. So for those of you who missed The Monday Night Wars, thank goodness you did because wrestling was harder to access back then than it is right now, UA-cam wasn't around yet.
A lot of what Russo wrote was complete garbage he deserves harsh criticism
When listing Russo’s history of booking tournaments, Zane forgets to bring up Russo’s crowning achievement in booking tournaments … the brawl for all.
Love your classic ppv reviews! Thank you sir.
I just realized that Norman smiley has a oddly shaped big Head
Norman Smiley 😂 one of the few "highlights" of Russo WCW
Life is unfair....
The Real Eh See YES NO MAYBE, I don’t know can you repeat the question?
Curt hennig definitely should have been world champion at some point, to see him lose that easily to buff bagwell is pretty disappointing
He was AWA champion but should have been WWF or WCW champion for sure
@@michaelrivera8360
#FACT
Tony marinara. Lol. The most greaseball goomba name ever.