K.C.
07-04-2009, 06:42 AM
I've been watching some old clips between '93-'94 on YouTube, which is probably my favorite year because I was at just the right age at that time when I really got sucked into watching wrestling.
Anyway, looking back, the way they put together Yokozuna's run was really fantastic (despite it being one of the worst periods for business in WWF's history...largely due to steroids, though).
He crushes Hogan...then takes out a string of mid-card guys week by week like Macho Man, Tatanka, Crush, and so forth. They build him as a complete monster where guys miss weeks of action from the banzai drop...
They add Jim Cornette as his "American Spokesperson" which was just pure genius, because who doesn't love to hate Jim Cornette. That turned him into an uber-heel.
Then they build up Luger to take him down...Luger loses to him at Summerslam by DQ, and doesn't get another title shot.
Meanwhile, they start hinting at the Bret/Owen feud during the fall...Owen flips out at the Survivor Series...he turns on Bret at the Rumble.
Luger and Bret co-win the Rumble so they devise a set up for WM10 where Bret fights Owen, Luger fights Yoko, and then Bret fights the winner of Luger/Yoko.
And then the best booked show ever...Bret loses to Owen, Luger gets screwed again, and Yoko, who's this unstoppable monster who's defeated everyone by this point, falls off the turnbuckle during his finisher, hits his head on the mat, and Bret beats him like that.
I don't know who wrote that entire bit, but it was some of the best scripting they've ever done in WWE.
Oh, and as far as being a wrestler goes, Yoko for his size was unbelievably agile and had more moves than most guys that big.
Anyway, looking back, the way they put together Yokozuna's run was really fantastic (despite it being one of the worst periods for business in WWF's history...largely due to steroids, though).
He crushes Hogan...then takes out a string of mid-card guys week by week like Macho Man, Tatanka, Crush, and so forth. They build him as a complete monster where guys miss weeks of action from the banzai drop...
They add Jim Cornette as his "American Spokesperson" which was just pure genius, because who doesn't love to hate Jim Cornette. That turned him into an uber-heel.
Then they build up Luger to take him down...Luger loses to him at Summerslam by DQ, and doesn't get another title shot.
Meanwhile, they start hinting at the Bret/Owen feud during the fall...Owen flips out at the Survivor Series...he turns on Bret at the Rumble.
Luger and Bret co-win the Rumble so they devise a set up for WM10 where Bret fights Owen, Luger fights Yoko, and then Bret fights the winner of Luger/Yoko.
And then the best booked show ever...Bret loses to Owen, Luger gets screwed again, and Yoko, who's this unstoppable monster who's defeated everyone by this point, falls off the turnbuckle during his finisher, hits his head on the mat, and Bret beats him like that.
I don't know who wrote that entire bit, but it was some of the best scripting they've ever done in WWE.
Oh, and as far as being a wrestler goes, Yoko for his size was unbelievably agile and had more moves than most guys that big.