@GC-Maniac @jmb27 @Josh @Mr_Nostalgia @RockyMaivia
Beyond the Mat has just dropped on Netflix
(A bit old but still good)
Havenāt see this, will give it watch when the missus goes to bed. Cheers 
for that one @DavidHillier
Rewatching some '97 RAW episodes and Bret Hartās heel run is some of the best body of work in the history of wrestling.
I think 1997 is the best year in wrestling. You had Sting, the build up to Hogan-Sting, nWo peaking in 1997, the rise of Steve Austin into a mega star, the Hart Foundation, DX, the Nation of Domination, Undertaker produced some amazing matches, Mankind had a nice rise.
Such a golden year.
Itās a damn shame WCW didnāt know how to use Bret properly and once Vince Russo got in made him the main heel, he gets concussed and has to retire. He still had a few more years left in him.
Love booker t but I dunno how to feel about your Avi change.
Haha Iāve been watching WCW 2000 lately after plowing through 2000 WWF. Bookerās Tās babyface run is one the few redeemable things done in that period in an absolute sea of crap. The other one being Scott Steinerās push.
HHHās racist rant towards Booker T was deplorable.
Donāt start me on that angle, letās not even talk about the finish to that match 
everything wrong about HHH in a performer post-2000 summed up right there.
Yeah the only good thing about WCW in 2000 is Scott Steiner and Booker T. They had a good match at Mayhem in 2000 and in general their feud was good.
Bret hit the nail on the head when he said HHH has never had a truly great match.
I include the match with Mankind at RR2000 in that estimation. Vastly overrated
The New Blood vs Millionaires Club is a good idea failed by some of the worst execution Iāve seen by a promotion ever. Overbooked crap left right and centre.
Also, Jeff Jarrett was just not the guy, what a boring wrestler. Of all people to get pushed.
What a massive unbelievable cunt move for going over on booker t that match.
Really showed what the WWE was (and is) about.
Jarrett never drew a dime and is just a solid worker who should never have been champion.
1999-2000 the company should have been built around;
Steiner, Booker T, Bret Hart, Benoit, Goldberg as the main event guys with Nash in and around the scene because he actually drew pretty well in 1999 and Sting was still important too.
But they botched it all and put the belt on shitters like Jarrett and kept rehashing the nWo storyline and then did stuff like the fingerpoke of doom
DDP deserves mention too, that Halloween Havoc 98ā match where he made Goldberg look so good and got the crowd off their seats when he landed a diamond cutter sold me. He had the goods.
On that note, how sick was that set btw. One of the best sets.
Presentation matters so much in Wrestling, its a shame that art is dead in the water.
How truthful do you reckon Bischoff is being on 83 weeks when he talks about corporate interference post 99?
Bischoff is so full of shit it infuriates me. Donāt you get the vibe listening to him that heās always finding excuses for his failings and never able to really own what went wrong.
The fact he tried to defend the Hogan-Sting debacle in 1997 by claiming Sting wasnāt prepared for Starrcade because he didnāt show up with a tan instead of just admitting Hogan didnāt want to let Sting go over clean.
But I know there was a lot of corporate interference and a lot of it had to do with the big chiefs at Turner never wanting wrestling on the station and the fact the WCW was very badly managed so it was essentially just haemorrhaging money.
But even with the interference it doesnāt change the fact that Eric was hugely responsible for the poor position WCW was in that gave the corporates a reason to get involved.
Absolutely. Iād say heās making shit up on the spot about 60% of the time. But heās entertaining which is why I keep going back.
Think youāve got the nail in the head, yes there was a lot of interference but he never critically examines why that was, just plays off the dislike of the brand from a corporate view as if that explains everything.
Havenāt listened to all of it, but I do sympathize with Bischoff on the introduction of WCW Thunder, he never wanted that and neither did the wrestlers. Unnecessary overload given Nitro was 3 hours.
Incidentally that was a Ted Turner decision.
@SRCJJ That Sting/Starrcade stuff still gets me. What Stingās āmotivationā had to do with making sure the right decision was made and telling Hogan to get a grip I have no idea.
Good point Rocky makes though about Thunder. At one point theyāre producing 3 hour Nitro, 2 hour Thunder and then some other shows thatās an insane amount of TV to be producing in a week.
Then on the flip side you can say how can they have 5 hours of prime time TV a week and still not find time to get newer talent over and actually conclude storylines properly.
They gave Goldberg the belt on a regular Nitro episode in what would have been a huge PPV match and then proceeded to have his title reign relegated to virtually nothing status because Hogan was still the focus of the card with the big celebrity match ups.
They just fucked up so much.
we were deprived of a Bret Hart / Sting program which could have been Bret Hartās first meaningful program against the newly crowned champion after Starrcade.
I could go on and on about the stupid decisions Eric made that put them where they were.
Also Eric actually phoned me as part of that podcast I signed up to lol. I was driving and I got a random call from a Beverly Hills number I picked it up and it was Eric Bischoff. Was very polite, asked me a heap of questions and was happy to talk about anything I just wasnāt really sure what to ask him at the time haha.