Travicity
03-16-2011, 10:12 PM
The Twilight View- Part IX
By Greg H.
The second big event to reshape wrestling in the 80′s was as is often the case a stolen concept. The NWA traditionally had a show around Thanksgiving. In the early 80′s the NWA got the brilliant idea to make that Thanksgiving show a mega-card which they called Starcade. The first was in 1983 and it was an awesome card and very successful. So the next year they offered it on a closed circuit TV which was a predecessor of PPVs where people went to a movie theater kind of setting to watch a live event in a remote location. I remember watching my first Starcade in the Beacon Theater in Manhattan and it was incredible. The crowd was hyper-amped and it was almost like being at the event. Since prior to this the NWA had never appeared in New York and wrestling fans only saw the NWA on cable TV as the only local wrestling was the WWWF which was not particularly exciting. The NWA hit a homerun with Starcade. Needless to say the WWF felt the need to come up with their own mega-show. So after the 2nd successful Starcade the WWE offered the first Wrestlemania in New York City and it was carried on closed circuit TV. This was a spectacular success with all sorts of mainline celebrities appearing including Muhammed Ali, Liberace and even wrestling the colorful Mr. T. The main event included the wrestling star of the 80′s Hulk Hogan teaming up with Mr. T versus the entertaining duo of Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff. I wouldn’t say that this event topped Starcade but it did equal it. However in future years due to spectacular promoting and creative booking and great production values Wrestlemania became the Super Bowl of Wrestling. What really put it over was maybe the best booked and promoted match in wrestling history in WM III when the Indomitable Hulk Hogan met the Juggernaut Andre the Giant a match that I referred to in an earlier column. I had the thrill of my wresting life watching that card and that match on closed circuit TV in Madison Square Garden. It was a wonderful time. The combination of Hulk Hogan and Wrestlemania was an extraordinarily successful combination that propelled the WWF to new heights in the 80′s.
One of the things that I love about ROH is that it has grasped the concept of special events and it has named some of them and offers them every year with anniversary shows, Glory by Honor, Survival of the Fittest and others. But the show above all that stands out as the ROH spectacular is Final Battle. For ROH fans Final Battle is always a glorious affair and it is usually the perfect way to end the year. Even thoug we are clearly talking about different levels of scale Final Battle is ROH’s Wrestlemania. I missed the first one but not one since. I adore Final Battle. The fans are great and especially spirited The wrestlers are psyched and the show is always something special. I love it that ROH has Final Battle and glad that it too has grasped the idea of one show above all others because it is the ultimate climax to the year and it is indeed the year’s Final Battle.
ROH
By Greg H.
The second big event to reshape wrestling in the 80′s was as is often the case a stolen concept. The NWA traditionally had a show around Thanksgiving. In the early 80′s the NWA got the brilliant idea to make that Thanksgiving show a mega-card which they called Starcade. The first was in 1983 and it was an awesome card and very successful. So the next year they offered it on a closed circuit TV which was a predecessor of PPVs where people went to a movie theater kind of setting to watch a live event in a remote location. I remember watching my first Starcade in the Beacon Theater in Manhattan and it was incredible. The crowd was hyper-amped and it was almost like being at the event. Since prior to this the NWA had never appeared in New York and wrestling fans only saw the NWA on cable TV as the only local wrestling was the WWWF which was not particularly exciting. The NWA hit a homerun with Starcade. Needless to say the WWF felt the need to come up with their own mega-show. So after the 2nd successful Starcade the WWE offered the first Wrestlemania in New York City and it was carried on closed circuit TV. This was a spectacular success with all sorts of mainline celebrities appearing including Muhammed Ali, Liberace and even wrestling the colorful Mr. T. The main event included the wrestling star of the 80′s Hulk Hogan teaming up with Mr. T versus the entertaining duo of Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff. I wouldn’t say that this event topped Starcade but it did equal it. However in future years due to spectacular promoting and creative booking and great production values Wrestlemania became the Super Bowl of Wrestling. What really put it over was maybe the best booked and promoted match in wrestling history in WM III when the Indomitable Hulk Hogan met the Juggernaut Andre the Giant a match that I referred to in an earlier column. I had the thrill of my wresting life watching that card and that match on closed circuit TV in Madison Square Garden. It was a wonderful time. The combination of Hulk Hogan and Wrestlemania was an extraordinarily successful combination that propelled the WWF to new heights in the 80′s.
One of the things that I love about ROH is that it has grasped the concept of special events and it has named some of them and offers them every year with anniversary shows, Glory by Honor, Survival of the Fittest and others. But the show above all that stands out as the ROH spectacular is Final Battle. For ROH fans Final Battle is always a glorious affair and it is usually the perfect way to end the year. Even thoug we are clearly talking about different levels of scale Final Battle is ROH’s Wrestlemania. I missed the first one but not one since. I adore Final Battle. The fans are great and especially spirited The wrestlers are psyched and the show is always something special. I love it that ROH has Final Battle and glad that it too has grasped the idea of one show above all others because it is the ultimate climax to the year and it is indeed the year’s Final Battle.
ROH