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Post by rinaldo on Sept 23, 2017 11:24:26 GMT -5
Just thinking about random topics and this came up. What are some of the biggest coincidences in wrestling history?
- HHH not winning the 1996 KOTR due to punishment over the Curtain Call, thus giving Austin the spot which led to the Austin 3:16 promo.
- 'Taker keeping the streak alive all those years for no reason other than creative and Vince just giving him a win, even by DQ. Really, they only started talking about the streak around WM X8.
- WCW being bought on the last Raw before WM X7, giving a little more edge to the Shane/Vince match which, frankly, I don't even remember how it started prior to Turner selling.
What about you?
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Post by Christian Small on Sept 23, 2017 13:37:25 GMT -5
I think the streak is a really interesting one as John has mentioned several times the amount of times that it could have been broken before becoming a thing. 9, 12 and 17 all have legit arguments as to why his opponent should have won.
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Post by rinaldo on Sept 23, 2017 15:11:52 GMT -5
12 not really. Nash was on his way out anyway.
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Post by rocketking on Sept 23, 2017 17:35:20 GMT -5
Diesel was about to be the first major opponent for HBK as WWF Champion. Would have made a ton of sense for him to win at Wrestlemania. The fact that he was leaving and the winner was possibly changed as a result is exactly what makes it a coincidence.
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Post by RKing85 on Sept 23, 2017 23:16:48 GMT -5
I am a firm believer that Austin would have reached the heights he did even without winning King of the Ring 96. He was a complete after thought until October-ish even with the 3:16 promo.
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Post by Christian Small on Sept 24, 2017 2:36:10 GMT -5
As mentioned Nash was headlining the next PPV for the title with Shawn, it would have made sense for him to beat Taker and then challenge for the title.
I agree RKing85, I think if anything pushed Austin beyond mid-card it was Bret's return and that feud. He was in pretty meaningless feuds until Bret returned and called him out.
Not 100% sure if this would be a coincidence but could the fact the fans hated the babyface Rocky Maivia so much that they chanted "Die Rocky Die" lead to the transformation into one of the biggest stars ever?
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Post by Milky on Sept 24, 2017 8:49:33 GMT -5
Just to add the to the Steve Austin rise, another coincidence played a major part too. Originally Bret Hart was going to face Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 13 in a rematch of their Ironman encounter from the year before, this time with Bret Hart going over. But Shawn Michaels didn't want to do the honours for Bret, so he "lost his smile" instead and wouldn't have a match at that year's WrestleMania.
Bret had to be satisfied with a comparatively lesser match at WrestleMania that year. Instead of a title bout he went up against Steve Austin, who was a rising star at the time but still below Bret Hart in terms of overall star power. But we all know what happened and Bret Hart made a star out of Steve Austin that night.
I agree that Steve Austin probably would have risen to great heights anyway, but you never really know. You still need to be given the opportunities to shine, and through a series of coincidences he was given those opportunities in the WWE. It's actually quite amazing to look back on with hindsight, because it just as easily could have been very different for Stone Cold if Triple H won KOTR and Bret Hart faced Shawn Micheals at WM13.
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Post by rocketking on Sept 24, 2017 9:19:36 GMT -5
It's funny how many of these have an element of "the guy probably would have made it anyway" about them.
- Shawn losing his smile and the Curtain Call lead to Austin having his iconic match at WM13 and then winning the 1996 King of the Ring
- Bret Hart wins his first World Title, in part, because of the steroid trial (not a coincidence by definition, but still a circumstance he had nothing to do with)
- Honky Tonk Man refuses to drop the Intercontinental Title to Savage, who ends up winning the WWF Title a month later at Wrestlemania IV.
And I'm sure there are plenty of others from promotions and time periods that I don't know that well. I think the moral of the story here is that generational talents like Bret, Savage and Austin will (health depending) always make it to the top. It's the next tier of talents that sometimes need to get lucky with situations like these.
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Post by rinaldo on Sept 25, 2017 14:59:15 GMT -5
You nailed it, bro. "Lucky". Nowadays it's all about what they write for you. Luck is not permitted.
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