Picking Up the Pieces/WWF 1994

Darbicus · August 17, 2017

(Opening Note: I am shifting backward some things in order for this to fit with my own timeline. In case it is not obvious, I am playing the role of Jerry Jarrett.)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RYquyyZ8JaU/Tb_Hmn2w3II/AAAAAAAAAMU/4OH_dZ29_P0/s400/WWFLogo94-98.png

Scene: Federal Courtroom in New York City

The whole courtroom was abuzz with the scene unfolding before them that hot July day. Word had come the night before that the jury had reached a verdict, but given time constraints they would reveal it in the morning. All in the room were supremely confident in what the outcome would be.

None more so than a neck-braced, smiling Vincent Kennedy McMahon. He sat in the defendant's chair next to his lawyer, Jerry McDevitt, with his wife and children in the gallery immediately behind him. Several other of Vince's friends and colleagues had arrive for moral support as well, including Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson. I myself sat near the back of the room, I didn't feel comfortable enough with this group yet to sit so close to them. I was eager to see what would happen, but almost as certain of the outcome as Vince himself was.

Despite the mountain of evidence the prosecution seemingly had against him when he was indicted the previous fall, but legal missteps on the part of the prosecution had resulted in two of the three counts against him being thrown out of court. While there was still a good amount of circumstantial evidence for distribution of steroids, which could see the wrestling impresario sent away for nearly ten years, the Prosecution's case had by all accounts been sloppily presented. Their "star" witness of Hulk Hogan, newly signed by our rivals WCW, had given mealy mouthed testimony designed to protect his own image versus anything to do with Vince. The only witness who had directly linked Vince to the steroids was Kevin Wacholz, Nailz, and even I could see that guy was crazier than the average guy on the street corner (even up here in New York). Jerry had thrashed the Prosecution's case and, at least to me, there wasn't nearly enough there to convict.

"All rise..."

I was awoken from my reminiscence by the baliff, who called the court to order as the judge for the proceedings entered the courtroom. A moment later, and the jury also filed into their box, seemingly eager to get this over with. Vince stood stoically, but you could tell from the look on his face he was ready for the inevitable acquittal.

"You may be seated..."

As the judge went through some pre-verdict mumbo jumbo, I remembered briefly how I had been called upon to enter Vince's madhouse of fun. He had approached me specifically to "watch over his baby" in case anything bad should happen to him, but that had been before his case had been turned into a laughing stock by the US District Attorney's office. I admit I was shocked that he had asked me, given we had been competitors for a long time. But then again down south, I guess I was isolated from his expansion somewhat, given that he had bigger fish to fry in Crockett and the other two big players, Watts and Fritz, had kind of blown themselves out of the water. Maybe it was because I had survived against him that he trusted me to look after the business if he went away. Not that it would happen now...and once he was acquitted I figured I might find myself back down in Memphis (I had given Randy Hales the job of running things down there with Jerry while I was away) if I was lucky.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have your honor."

I laughed to myself as I barely heard the jury foreperson hand the verdict to the judge. The surprise to Vince would be that I had no intention of being a caretaker. I would ensure the company would not only succeed, but thrive, where he had been creatively spinning his wheels the last year and a half without Hogan. People liked to joke that if I ever took over, Jerry Lawler would be WWF Champion in a New York Minute. Not true, honestly. I would find someone who was best for business. Bret wasn't a bad choice as champion, and we had a few other good talents to pick from (though lord knows the personalities in that locker room are starting to get a bit too big for their britches). But I saw myself doing more than just staying the course for the company.

"The defendant will stand and face the jury as the verdict is read..."

It wasn't even worth paying attention to such ideas now. After all, Vince would be acquitted soon enough and everything would be back to normal. Probably meant he would put the belt on that big guy Kevin Nash by next year. Might not be bad short term, but long term...

"In the case of the United States v. Vincent K. McMahon..."

I'm sitting back here looking at Vince, not a bead of sweat dripping down his brow. He seems to know his fate before anyone else does. The media focus on this has been bad for us to be certain, but we can over come it...

"...on the charge of distribution of anabolic steroids, pursuant to US Code..."

...only Linda looks a bit worried. I guess I would answer to her if anything came of this...

"...we find the defendant...Vincent Kennedy McMahon..."

The next few moments are a blur to me. I can remember audible gasps from the crowd. The sound of cameras clicking. I can remember the cries from Stephanie even. But what I remember most is the sudden look of shock and disbelief on Vince's face when that word was uttered...and only one thought crossed my head in the silence that followed...

"Guilty."

Where do we...where do I go from here.

More to follow...

SomeLazyMagic · August 17, 2017

Been dying to see something like this done. I can't wait.

Darbicus · August 17, 2017

Scene: Titan Towers, Stamford CT.

"We're doomed!"

For the fifth time that day, I sighed to myself and rubbed my temples in frustration. Pat may have a mind for the business, but his predictions of doom and gloom had long gone past getting on my nerves.

"Vince planned for this Pat. We have to trust in his judgement."

Count on Geno to be the voice of reason. Hell the only reason I was here was probably because Monsoon had said that he didn't want the job months ago.

"I get it Geno, I do. But I think Pat's gotta point. We need to have a plan of attack and strategy."

Sgt. Slaughter, Bob Remus, the newest member of this ad hoc "booking committee" that had me at the head of the line. The word stooge was becoming to come to mind as far as he was concerned.

"If we're gonna have a strategy, then I suggest starting with a complete overhaul of the system. No one is buying this Say Your Prayers stuff anymore, we need a new direction going forward."

I glared at the young kid named Vince from across the table, and it seemed to shut him up for the moment. Vince Russo had been put on board at Shane's suggestion. It seemed like he had "the fan's perspective" in mind. In reality, I didn't think he knew a headlock from a head of lettuce.

"I say just leave it to Jerry, I'm sure he has a plan..."

Jim Ross wasn't a member of the committee, per se, but he was a close right-hand man to me. I had met him back in the days we worked with Bill Watts in Memphis, and liked his work. I was shocked to learn Vince McMahon was threatening to fire him, had all this blown over.

Of course, it didn't. Vince was found guilty and then sentenced to an obscene number of years in jail. There was talk of an appeal, and I thought he had a good shot given the flawed case against him. Nevertheless I would leave that to Linda and the legal team. I had been given a simple job, keep the ship steady for, at the most, five years. Hard to believe but I was in charge of the largest sports entertainment...

No...no that's not right...

I was in charge of the largest wrestling company in the world, and I was going to make good use of the time. Finally, with all of the five other men staring at me, I decided what we were going to do.

"I do have a plan. It's to make this company what it always should have been. A great wrestling promotion first and foremost. We have an image to clean up, and we're going to have to do that by putting out the best product we can." I glanced at Russo. "I appreciate that you may have ideas, but now is not the time for a drastic change of approach. And while I understand this is Vince's baby..." A quick look at Pat and Bob..., "you should also understand that he left me in charge for a reason. We will work together to make this company the best it can be. And for that, we need to hold true to its values for the moment. But as we can, there will be some changes made around here..."

The only question is, where to start making those changes. We had a Raw taping tonight, thankfully in nearby Hartford. And Vince had already been planning on going to 12 PPV's with a new In Your House Model in between the big 5 shows of the year. The first one was in three weeks. I guess we should start with where we are, and what we have going forward...

Roster, Champions, to follow.

Darbicus · August 17, 2017

<div style="text-align:center;">WWF Roster, July 1994

1-2-3 Kid • Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz • Adam Bomb • Agony • "The Beast from the East" Bam Bam Bigelow • Barry Horowitz • Bart Gunn • Bastion Booger • Bert Centeno • Billy Gunn • Bob Backlund • Bret "The Hitman" Hart • Bushwhacker Butch • Bushwhacker Luke • Chris Kanyon • Crush • Diesel • Doink the Clown • Double Trouble I • Double Trouble II • Duke "The Dumpster" Droese • Fatu • George South • Irwin R. Schyster • Jacques Rougeau • Jeff Hardy • "Double J" Jeff Jarrett • Jerry "The King" Lawler • Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart • Jim Powers • "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray • Johnny Polo • JW Storm • Koko B. Ware • Kwang • Lex Luger • Mabel • Matt Hardy • Mike Maraldo • "Iron" Mike Sharpe • Mo • Nikolai Volkoff • "The King of Harts" Owen Hart • Pain • Pierre • PJ Walker • Randy "Macho Man" Savage • Razor Ramon • Reno Riggins • Rich Myers • Rick "The Model" Martel • Ricky Morton • Robert Gibson • Samu • Scott Taylor • "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels • Steven Dunn • "The Native American" Tatanka • The Barbarian • The Black Phantom • The British Bulldog • The 'Undertaker' • The Undertaker • Thurman Sparky Plugg • Timothy Well • "The Doctor of Desire" Tom Prichard • Tony DeVito • Typhoon • Virgil • Yokozuna

Women Wrestlers

Alundra Blayze • Luna Vachon

Managers:

Afa & Capt Lou Albano (Fatu & Samu)

Dink (Doink the Clown)

Harvey Wippelman (Kwang, Timothy Well, Steven Dunn)

Jim Cornette (Jimmy Del Ray, Tom Prichard)

Mr. Fuji (Yokozuna & Crush)

Oscar (Mabel & Mo)

Paul Bearer (The Undertaker)

Ted DiBiase (Irwin R. Schyster, The 'Undertaker', Nikolai Volkoff)

Champions:

WWF Champion: Bret "The Hitman" Hart [2nd Reign]

- Yokozuna [2nd Reign]

- Hulk Hogan [5th Reign]

- Bret "The Hitman" Hart

- "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair [2nd Reign]

- "Macho Man" Randy Savage [2nd Reign]

WWF Intercontinental Champion: Diesel

- Razor Ramon

- TITLE VACANT

- Shawn Michaels [2nd Reign]

- Marty Jannetty

- Shawn Michaels

WWF Tag Team Champions: The Headshrinkers/Fatu & Samu

- The Quebecers/Jacques & Pierre [3rd Reign]

- Men on a Mission/Mabel & Mo

- The Quebecers/Jacques & Pierre [2nd Reign]

- Marty Jannetty & 1-2-3 Kid

- The Quebecers/Jacques & Pierre

WWF Women's Champion: Alundra Blayze

WWF European Champion: New Title Activated

1994 Royal Rumble Winners: Lex Luger & Bret "The Hitman" Hart

Reigning King of the Ring: "The King of Harts" Owen Hart</div>

Darbicus · August 17, 2017

A quick look over the roster gave me an idea of where we stood. Lord knows WCW had been making some headway towards some of these guys, but hopefully they would wind up staying if the money was right. And I had a few guys in mind as well. Jim had put in a good word for a guy from Japan, and I knew some of Cornette's workers in SMW would fit in well here. We also needed to overhaul the Women's Roster drastically.

There were some contracts immediately to deal with, JR among the rest. And a couple of cuts to make, but all in all, not a bad group of guys. If there personalities don't conflict. In the meantime, I have a show to book. I decided to wing this one on my own as we build to the first In Your House. But it's a start.

Card for Monday Night Raw, Week 2 July (Taped Tuesday Week 1)

WWF Championship Match

Bret "The Hitman" Hart © vs. Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart

"Double J" Jeff Jarrett vs. Bob Backlund

The Smoking Gunns [billy & Bart Gunn] vs. Well Dunn [Timothy Well & Steven Dunn] w/Harvey Wippleman

Razor Ramon vs. Nikolai Volkoff w/Ted DiBiase

Ted DiBiase will be on The King's Court to Discuss the situation with Lex Luger & Tatanka

CM_Punk21 · August 17, 2017

Following this for sure!

to4sty · August 17, 2017

WWF Championship Match

Bret "The Hitman" Hart © vs. Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart

"Double J" Jeff Jarrett vs. Bob Backlund

The Smoking Gunns [billy & Bart Gunn] vs. Well Dunn [Timothy Well & Steven Dunn] w/Harvey Wippleman

Razor Ramon vs. Nikolai Volkoff w/Ted DiBiase

Ted DiBiase will be on The King's Court to Discuss the situation with Lex Luger & Tatanka

Tatanka's entire heel run was the drizzling s##ts.....I'm looking forward to the day someone instills Luger into the Corporation instead, Luger would have been a much better fit with Deebs than Tatanka

Good backstory, looking forward to this

Beejus · August 17, 2017

This should be pretty cool, I look forward to seeing where you take the WWF.

Bret Hart

Jeff Jarrett - Of course Jeff is going to get quite the push here.

Smokin' Gunns

Razor Ramon

Uncrewed · August 18, 2017

WWF Championship Match

Bret "The Hitman" Hart © vs. Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart

"Double J" Jeff Jarrett vs. Bob Backlund

The Smoking Gunns [billy & Bart Gunn] vs. Well Dunn [Timothy Well & Steven Dunn] w/Harvey Wippleman

Gotta go with my boys!

Razor Ramon vs. Nikolai Volkoff w/Ted DiBiase

CM_Punk21 · August 18, 2017

WWF Championship Match

Bret "The Hitman" Hart (c) vs. Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart

"Double J" Jeff Jarrett vs. Bob Backlund

The Smoking Gunns [billy & Bart Gunn] vs. Well Dunn [Timothy Well & Steven Dunn] w/Harvey Wippleman

Razor Ramon vs. Nikolai Volkoff w/Ted DiBiase

Darbicus · August 20, 2017

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="latest?cb=20091208034649" data-src="https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/prowrestling/images/6/64/WWF_Monday_Night_Raw.png/revision/latest?cb=20091208034649" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

In a pre-show Matchup, Chris Kanyon d. Matt Hardy by pinfall

Razor Ramon vs. Nikolai Volkoff

Monday Night Raw kicked off with a match between the Million Dollar Man's First Acquisition, the veteran Volkoff, against the Bad Guy Razor Ramon. Despite a newfound meanstreak in Volkoff since joining with DiBiase, his veteran in ring ability was no use for the power of Ramon, who has been on a winning streak as of late. Razor polished off Nikolai in about eight minutes flat, scoring the pinfall with the Razor's Edge. After the match though, Razor was attacked by Shawn Michaels and the Intercontinental Champion Diesel. Razor was laid out by the pair, leaving Michaels to grab a microphone and yell down at Razor saying that he would never get another shot at Diesel's IC Title, unless he went through him first.

The King's Court with Ted DiBiase

As we come back from break we find Jerry Lawler standing by with Ted DiBiase. DiBiase once again gloats that everyone has a price for the Million Dollar Man, and that includes the hero of the USA himself, Lex Luger. DiBiase's taunting brings out Luger, who continues to insist that he hasn't sold out. Tatanka joins the fray, remarking that he's seen all the evidence he needs to see. He doubted Luger up until now, but he will give Lex one chance to look him in the eye and prove that he didn't sell out. Lex and Tatanka stare at each other, mouthing words the fans can't hear, when DiBiase grabs the microphone and says that of course he owns Lex Luger. He owns whatever he wants! Lex and Tatanka have heard enough though, and they proceed to smack the microphone away from DiBiase. Standing tall, the two men chase DiBiase away from ringside, apparently having settled their issues.

The Smoking Gunns vs. Well Dunn w/Harvey Wippleman

In what was billed as a #1 contenders match for the tag team titles, The popular Gunns looked to be well on their way to securing a title shot against The Headshrinkers and the upcoming first ever In Your House. However, they didn't count on the interference of Harvey Wippleman. Just as they seemed to put away one of the Well Dunn members with a sidewinder, Harvey interjected himself in the match and threw a package of something at his proteges. Whilst Billy tried to take care of the interfering pipsqueak, Steven Dunn grabbed the package and threw powder in the face of Bart, before planting him with a DDT. He rolled his partner over on Bart, and the unknowing referee counted the pinfall, giving Well Dunn a not so well-earned victory.

In between segments, we get a vignette for gambler Reno Riggins, as he is set to make sure that everyone in the WWF comes up rolling snakeeyes.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Bob Backlund

Both Jarrett and Backlund appeared to be evenly matched in this contest, their technical prowess on full display for this match. For every hold that Jarrett attempted, Backlund seemed to have a counter for, on account of the two of them having pretty decent chemistry in the ring. The end, however, came in a rather underhanded fashion, as Jarrett rolled up Backlund from behind and used the ropes for leverage in order to score the pinfall. After the match, Backlund appeared obviously disappointed with himself.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs. Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart

The WWF Title was on the line in the battle of the Hart Foundation, the first ever one on one meeting between Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart. The two former friends and brother-in-laws certainly had taken their time together to heart, as each person had a counter for any hold that the other tried. For 12 minutes the two vied for the richest prize in the game, but the ending was spoiled by the appearance of Owen Hart just as it appeared Bret had Neidhart locked in the Sharpshooter, resulting in a DQ win for the champion. Owen and Jim continued to put the boots to Bret, however the crowd went electric as The British Bulldog came running from the back to save Bret from the 2-on-1 attack. The show ends with Davey Boy and Bret standing tall in the center of the ring.

<img alt="250?cb=20120130015623" data-src="https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/logopedia/images/d/d6/WWF_Superstars_0006.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20120130015623" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Doink the Clown d. Bert Centeno by pinfall

The Rock N' Roll Express d. Matt & Jeff Hardy by pinfall

Thurman Sparky Plugg d. The Black Phantom by pinfall

Bam Bam Bigelow d. PJ Walker by pinfall</div>

Darbicus · August 20, 2017

Titan Towers, Stamford CT

"Alright folks," I said, speaking to my ad hoc booking committee, "seems like everything went smoothly at the Raw and Superstars tapings this week."

"Yeah, about that..."

I groaned. Vince Russo had another one of his brilliant ideas I suppose. I had already shot down a couple of ideas involving celebrities in the ring. If we didn't nip that in the bud we might get Jay Leno winning the world title or something...

"Bro, I think we need to be going live every week on Raw."

"Live? I think that's about..." Pat wasn't exactly the hottest on Mr. Russo either, apparently.

"No, think about it. We're always saying anything can happen in the WWF, and up till now we've been able to stick to that. But pretty soon, this Internet thing is going to be huge, and taped results are going to be spoiled in a matter of minutes."

"I think maybe you're overestimating things." Geno was jumping in as the voice of reason, but he did nod his head slightly at Vince. "But I don't see a reason why we can't do Monday Night live every week. We're not taping multiple shows a night, so it's not like we're saving money with the tapings."

He did have a point there. While there's something to be said for being able to edit after the fact, which is what Bob and Pat were arguing for (more for the sake of arguing against Russo), I think the benefits outweigh the risks, ultimately. So the decision was made to go live every week.

Moving forward, we talked about the talent comings and goings. Apparently WCW was sniffing at the contracts of Koko and Rick Martel. Koko I was happy to let go honestly, he doesn't have any long term fit here even if he is a able-bodied hand, but I always felt Martel could have been better used. I've offered him as sweet a deal as I can, but Linda has put a cap on how much money I can offer. Right now it's up in the air, but my gut tells me Rick is probably gone.

On the plus side we've expanded our women's roster, signed a couple of veterans and a Japanese worker to keep things lively. We've also got Al Snow from SMW lined up to come in, at some point. Our working agreement with SMW and USWA is staying in tact, for the moment, though that may come back to bite us as it keeps us from locking down some workers long term. We've given a preliminary contract to a kid named Alex Porteau who has a good look. We've also signed a couple of old names, and that other guy JR was singing the praises off too.

All in all, not a bad start to the run. We have a PPV in about a week, but one more Raw show before that, so let's keep our eye on the prize.

<div style="text-align:center;">Card for Monday Night Raw, Week 3 of July 1984

Lex Luger vs. Irwin R. Schyster

WWF Intercontinental Title Match

The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Kwang

WWF Tag Team Title Match

The Headshrinkers vs. Men on a Mission

Plus The Heartbreak Hotel with Special Guest, The King of Harts Owen Hart</div>

Uncrewed · August 20, 2017

Lex Luger vs. Irwin R. Schyster

WWF Intercontinental Title Match

The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Kwang

WWF Tag Team Title Match

The Headshrinkers vs. Men on a Mission

CM_Punk21 · August 20, 2017

Lex Luger vs. Irwin R. Schyster

WWF Intercontinental Title Match

The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Kwang

WWF Tag Team Title Match

The Headshrinkers vs. Men on a Mission

KnowYourEnemy · August 20, 2017

Lex Luger vs. Irwin R. Schyster

WWF Intercontinental Title Match

The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Kwang

WWF Tag Team Title Match

The Headshrinkers vs. Men on a Mission

to4sty · August 21, 2017

Lex Luger vs. Irwin R. Schyster

WWF Intercontinental Title Match

The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Kwang

WWF Tag Team Title Match

The Headshrinkers vs. Men on a Mission

Beejus · August 21, 2017

Lex Luger - It looks like you've killed off the "Luger joining DiBiase" storyline, which isn't a bad route. I've read that it was a story to mimic the steroid trial, where Luger was being accused of something he wasn't guilty of like how Vince saw himself. With the trial going a different route in this world.... yeah, better off to scrap it.

Diesel

123 Kid

Headshrinkers

Sign In

Picking Up the Pieces/WWF 1994

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Archived