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Morning Glory RCC:
Recycling Angles
I was looking back at some old
WWF tapes the other day, and looking past the dodgy gimmicks, and characters that some of
the wrestlers were given, behind some of the goofy booking, there were a few good angles
around. Angles that could easily still draw viewers and elevate people today.
So…since the WWE is in a rut right now, why not steal some of these old school
angles, give them a modern twist, and use them now? What I’ve done here is taken some
of these old angles, and tried to make them into stuff that would get over in the
wrestling climate of 2002…..who knows, Bryan Gerwitz might just be reading...... ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
-Billy Kidman as the 1-2-3 Kid
THE ANGLE: One of the WWE’s biggest successes with characters and angles in the early
90’s was Sean Waltman as the ‘1-2-3 Kid’. Waltman came into the WWE in
1993, and wrestled a few matches as a jobber going by the name of the Cannonball Kid. When
the Kid was booked in a match with Scott ‘Razor Ramon’ Hall, the fans expected a
total squash. Instead, the Kid upset Razor, pinning him one, two, three. Ramon snapped,
offering the Kid loads of money for a rematch….but when the Kid accepted, he beat
Ramon again. By this point, not only was the Kid being seen as more of a threat, he was
also one of the WWE’s most over babyfaces. Eventually, Ramon turned face and formed a
partnership with the Kid, before Kid went on to win the WWE tag titles with Bob Holly. Kid
turned heel in late 1995, then followed Hall to WCW in 1996. He is, of course, now nWo
member X-Pac.
HOW IT COULD BE DONE NOW: Billy Kidman is a top babyface waiting to happen. He can
basically do a lot in the ring, as one of the less spotty cruiserweights, and also
innovates a hell of a lot of moves, including the ‘Kid Krusher’, the inverted
Pedigree move that he used in the summer. Kidman was injured, but returned from injury
earlier in the year. The fans have already chanted his name sometimes, so why not allow
him a decent angle to work with? In this case, KURT Angle. Kidman could go over Angle
cleanly, and afterwards Angle could snap, claiming that he made the mistake of being
complacent. Of course, Angle would goad Kidman into a rematch, preferably on PPV, and go
into his mean streak style. However, at the PPV, Kidman beats Angle again. By this point,
Kidman is super-over as a babyface, and you could either blow the feud off by having a
heel make fun of Angle, causing a face turn ala Ramon, or they could have Angle close the
feud by cheating to win. Whatever the choice, doing this angle would make Kidman into a
huge underdog babyface, something which the WWE could do with.
-Nation reformation ala Four Horsemen
THE ANGLE: One of the best loved angles in wrestling from the late 80’s-early
90’s was the Four Horsemen angle. The original and best incarnation of the Horsemen
was made up of Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson and Arn Anderson protecting the heel NWA
champion Ric Flair. They would use totally heel tactics to stop Flair from losing his
belt, something which drew well for the NWA. These were the top heel stable ever until the
original nWo, and are still remembered as a great stable today, with many smart fans
calling for a reformation. The Horsemen basically invented the gang beatdown, and their
feuds with guys like Sting, Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA were probably the best thing the
NWA ever produced.
HOW IT COULD BE DONE NOW: The Nation of Domination began as a stable lead by Faarooq, back
in 1996. It’s original incarnation had Faarooq, D-Lo Brown, Savio Vega and Crush.
However, the real heights of the Nation came in 1997. Faarooq kicked out Crush and Vega,
bringing in Kama, and Ahmed Johnson, and turning the stable into a black militant group.
Johnson was kicked out, replaced by The Rock, and Mark Henry joined up in late 1997.
Eventually, The Rock became the biggest star of the group, kicked out Faarooq and brought
in Owen Hart, and at this point the black militant side of things was forgotten as The
Rock became a huge star. But what if the black militant angle was toned down slightly, and
brought back today?
The WWE right now needs strong, over heels. It seems like The Rock should be back for at
least a short while. He plays an awesome heel, and the WWE could use him in that role
right now. So why not turn The Rock heel, and reform the Nation, with Brown, Faarooq, and
Henry? The best members of the Nation, sans Kama who sucks, back together. The WWE title
could be put onto Rocky, and Brown, Faarooq and Henry could play the old Horsemen role of
protecting their champion. Just like the Four Horsemen, but the 2002 black version. With
good faces such as Chris Benoit, Booker T and Rob Van Dam chasing the champion, I’m
convinced that this could do as well for the WWE as the original Horsemen did for the NWA.
-Paul Heyman as Jimmy Hart, and Rhyno and Lesnar as the Nasty Boyz and Money INC
THE ANGLE: Jimmy Hart was a classic late 80’s-early 90’s heel manager. ‘The
Mouth Of The South’ originally showed up in the WWE managing the Hart Foundation, and
his loud high voice, coupled with the loud jackets and his megaphone, plus his cheating
ways made him a great heel manager. When the Hart Foundation turned face, Jimmy took over
as manager of the Nasty Boys, and quickly they won the WWE tag titles, and became the #1
heel tag team in the promotion. When they lost the Tag Titles to the Legion of Doom at
Summerslam 1991, and Hart began to manage the Natural Disasters, as well as the Nasties.
But things still went smoothly. However, when Jimmy turned on the Disasters, and took over
Money INC (Ted Dibiase and IRS), the Nasties weren’t so impressed. It became obvious
that Money INC were Hart’s #1 team and #1 priority, so by Summerslam 1992, the
Nasties were getting pretty angry. At the PPV, they asked Hart to get them a title shot.
Hart blabbered about Money INC, but said yes anyway. He didn’t get them the shot, and
of course, this turned the Nasties face, although the blowoff feud never really happened.
HOW IT COULD BE DONE NOW: Paul Heyman is probably the only true old school heel manager in
the WWE right now, and his current charge is the ‘next big thing’ Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar is basically a tool for his manager right now, although he is getting a huge push
up the card. Rhyno is on the shelf with a neck injury, but upon his return, this angle
could easily be played out to help Lesnar get over as a face, and Rhyno and Heyman over as
heels. Rhyno, upon return, could go under the wing of his former ECW mentor Heyman, as
Heyman has a ministable involving Rhyno and Lesnar. Of course…the angle could play
out that Heyman seems more pre-occupied with Rhyno than Lesnar. Things like Heyman’s
lack of concentration could cost Lesnar matches, then something big, such as a
Nasties-esque lack of a title shot could cause him to turn face, feuding with Heyman and
Rhyno. Instant mega-face.
-Lackey turns on boss
THE ANGLE: Ted DiBiase’s ‘Million Dollar Man’ gimmick was one of the
greatest heel gimmicks ever. He would use his money to get his way, cheating in matches
and even buying the WWE title at one point. One of the best aspects of his character was
Virgil. Whether Virgil was simply a ‘butler’ character, or a racist throwback to
the days of slavery and segregation, he was a character who the fans at first hated, but
started to follow. Virgil was badly mistreated by DiBiase, until the point came where the
fans were DESPERATE for him to turn on his ‘master’, and break free of
DiBiase’s evil clutches. The turn finally came in 1991, as Virgil was reprimanded by
DiBiase after a match with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes at the Royal Rumble. As DiBiase ordered
Virgil to get his ‘Million Dollar belt’, Virgil decided enough was enough, and
clocked DiBiase to the delight of the fans. Eventually the feud was blown off at
Summerslam, where Virgil won the title from DiBiase. He remained one of the most over
babyfaces well into 1992, even when he became a JTTS.
HOW IT COULD BE DONE NOW: The WWE had a perfect opportunity to run this angle in 2001,
with William Regal and Tajiri. They were probably planning this, but the angle, like many
angles of 2001, it was cut short by the InVasion. The InVasion angle turned Regal face
through loyalty to the WWE, and although he did feud with his former lackey in the later
months of the year, it wasn’t the same. However, the WWE could easily run this angle
now, with Reverend D-Von and Deacon Bautista. Why not have D-Von use the Deacon as a total
lackey, putting him into matches to replace himself, and all other manners of things. Once
the fans had gotten behind Bautista, the WWE could turn him face, finally breaking him
away from D-Von, and he would be a monster face. Of course, this would also mean that he
could drop the gimmicky ‘Deacon’ gimmick, and take up a normal character.
IN CONCLUSION…….The WWE has had some classic angles in the past that
haven’t been used in a while. Creativity is running low right now……so why
not look to the past for inspiration? And look further than the ‘Attitude’ era.
Any feedback would be appreciated, and you can either drop a reply here, give me an email
at scott.newman@ntlworld.com, or catch me on AIM as thesuperstar24.
What’s the story? Morning Glory!
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