SHANE DOUGLAS MEANS MORE TO WRESTLING THAN THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR!
I suppose I should be thankful for the downtime of a Monday (and strangely a Friday). With a youth soccer tourney coming in next weekend, it is best to make use of my moments of sanity (especially after the kids from the Bar Mitzvah were discouraging my limited Yidish go to expletive phrases). Writing a new blog with this time is better than reloading the stats page to see if I got any views for the previous volume.
Tomorrow maybe a good time to watch the AAW matches to construct the opening scene to the pilot I am trying to write. Then again, its my one day off from making somebody else serious cash. Considering my stance that I am pro-wrestling’s premier Cubs fan, it may be best that I head up to Wrigley. Of course, as long a CM Punk is holding out on Colt Cabana, I doubt anyone would allow him to take that claim from me.
A writer has got to write, and piss people off in the Internet age, so again, do it when you get the chance and imagine the wage is going towards that.
This “Real World Champ” series may not be worth much if I do not get any discussion about it. Thankfully, I got a few likes on Twitter and amused the newest mark at my retail job. Otherwise the lack of discussion is not getting to me. Until I hear people tell me that Shane Douglas was not more important than the Ultimate Warrior, I will let my fingers march on about this topic with the knowledge that I am right.
When I left off the last blog, I stated that Shane Douglas had elevated the ECW World Heavyweight Championship to the most important belt of gold in professional wrestling. Some of you may agree with the circumstances for the claim to the title, but not for the length of his reign. I believe he did not have a title defense between May 3, 1998 and his loss of the title to Taz on January 10, 1999. I believe the self-professed critic KB from KB’s Wrestling Reviewswould agree with this (but his review of ECW Wrestlepalooza ‘98shows he may not have an understanding of context).
If we cut the reign off on May 3, your championship options would be Steve Austin (whose reign would end in a swap with Kane, to be followed up with a vacating of the WWF Championship), Hollywood Hogan (who would lose WCW’s Big Gold Belt to Goldberg, whom most marks would disqualify because of his limitations) and the NWA’s Dan Severn (if it is not being seen, is it happening?). I do not see any of these reigns as qualifying for the Real World Championship.
A way to recognize the importance of the so called Attitude Era would be to give the REAL title to Austin, who will lose it to Hogan. The hiccup in Austin’s reign makes it so you cannot put the belt back on him, so you give it to Goldberg, but he would lose it to Kevin Nash who would lose it back to Hogan via the finger poke of doom. The Rock could not take the title from Goldberg since his WWF title win was a sham, so Mankind could not with the REAL title from Nash.
Five hall of famers, but no great reigns. But through all this talk, the importance of Austin’s game-changing title win can be recognized if we include the most extreme American version of the World Heavyweight Championship.
1st Debatable Real World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s Steve Austin (1)- 5/3/1998 - 6/28/98
2nd World Champion - FTW’s Taz (1) - 6/28/98 - 12/19/98
This was Paul Heyman’s best way to keep your interest in the ECW Championship, by knowing that the baddest man would be his next contender, and have him not be afraid to prove it by claiming he was the champion. If your interim champ is not the top, but he is excelling, imagine what your real champ should be capable of.
The only problem with this debate is that Taz laid down for Sabu to assure he could challenge Douglas for the heavyweight championship. When will pro-wrestling adopt the Interim Championship concept?
Actually, that was 2003 when the NGW Light Heavyweight Championship was vacated. I felt justified in calling myself the NGW’s Interim Light Heavyweight Champion (complete with Jakks Pacific toy replica of the WWF’s Light Heavyweight Championship) since I was the ruler of Peoria’s division at the time of “Wrestle America’s” 2004 deadline for promotional submissions. Sadly, practicing a spot for the Unification match that afternoon with the man who won the eight-man tourney for the belt, IWA-Midsouth’s Ryan Phoenix, broke my wrist. So the angle did not work, but I tried.
If only WWE would have gone that route with Wrestlemania 31. Bryan v. Lesnar would not have delayed the never-to-be empire.
Until Vince McMahon watches a UFC event, we better stick to the path I have laid out thus far.
Philadelphia: The Center of the World.
25th Real World Heavyweight Champion - ECW’s Taz - 1/10/1999 - 9/19/99
More reason to dislike the WWE, the Network has made it difficult to find his “Living Dangerously '99” promo where he called out the WWF (Austin) and WCW (Flair) champions. This promo made me believe he was the real thing, and since ECW was not a land of giants, it was not until February 2000 that I realized he may suffer from leverage issues.
26th World Heavyweight Champion - ECW’s Mike Awesome - 9/19/99 - 12/17/99
He was the height and mass ECW needed.
27th World Heavyweight Champion - ECW’s Masato Tanaka - 12/17/99 - 12/23/99
No shame in swapping the titles over seas to the home countryman. Big Show’s title reign was a bit weird and the WCW title was either vacant/or being vacated twice during the reign.
28th World Heavyweight Champion - ECW’s Mike Awesome (2) - 12/23/00 - 4/13/2000
The Only Game in Town
Pun unintended: You know how many times that I had to say my gimmick, “The Student of the Game,” was not an homage to Hunter? The ECW championship was a booker’s nightmare. Tazz would briefly hold that belt and did the favor to Triple H in putting the WWF title above ECW’s. In WCW, the disastrous promotion for “Ready to Rumble” was occurring.
29th World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s Triple H (1) - 4/13/00 - 4/30/00
30th World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s The Rock (1) - 4/30/00 - 5/21/00
31st World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s Triple H (2) - 5/21/00 - 6/25/00
32nd World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s The Rock (2) - 6/25/00 - 10/22/00
33rd World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s Kurt Angle (1) - 10/22/00 - 2/25/2001
34th World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s The Rock (3) - 2/25/01 - 4/1/01
35th World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s Steve Austin (1) - 4/1/01 - 9/23/01
During this reign, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was introduce to the WWF, but was never placed higher on the card than the WWF.
36th World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s Kurt Angle (2) - 9/23/01 - 10/8/01
37th World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s Steve Austin (2) - 10/8/01 - 12/9/01
38th World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s Undisputed Champ Chris Jericho - 12/9/01 - 3/17/2002
39th World Heavyweight Champion - WWF’s Undisputed Champ Triple H (3) - 3/17/02 - 4/21/02
40th World Heavyweight Champion - WWF/WWE’s Undisputed Champ Hulk Hogan (5) - 4/21/02 - 5/19/02
Originally, I wanted to drop in Mixed Martial Arts legends who held the NWA championship. Hogan’s reign was meant to give the Undisputed title some sense of historic importance. Ken Shamrock was Jim Cornette’s answer to, “What if Bret won’t drop it?” Dan Severns is the Original Beast. But, Shamrock won a vacant belt and Severns was the one who vacated it. Hence, no legitimate monster champs at this time.
41st World Heavyweight Champion - WWE’s Undisputed Champ The Undertaker - 5/28/02 - 7/21/02
42nd World Heavyweight Champion - WWE’s Undisputed Champ The Rock (4) - 7/21/02 - 8/25/02
43rd World Heavyweight Champion - WWE’s Undisputed/WWE Champ Brock Lesnar (1) - 8/25/02 - 11/17/02
44th World Heavyweight Champion - WWE Champ The Big Show - 11/17/02 - 12/15/02
If The Big Show had a consistent character, or if they developed him like Andre instead of just being the semifinal boss of a video game (Goro before Shang Tsung/Sagat before M. Bison), I would not resist recognizing his title reigns. The World Heavyweight Championship was yet to be truly developed, just a way for Hunter to put himself over…and over…and over (should I repeat it two more times, SUCKER?)
45th World Heavyweight Champion - WWE Champ Kurt Angle (3) - 12/15/02 - 3/30/2003
46th World Heavyweight Champion - WWE Champ Brock Lesnar (2) - 3/30/03 - 7/27/03
47th World Heavyweight Champion - WWE Champ Kurt Angle (4) -7/27/03 - 9/16/03
48th World Heavyweight Champion - WWE Champ Brock Lesnar (3) - 9/16/03 - 2/15/04
No better way to end this blog than with the best trilogy since Flair/Steamboat. Hopefully, every 24 entries will be like that. Did WWE know how to book back in the oughts, or am I going to be glad I was too focused on my career to notice at the time?
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