Hey, as somebody who started the debate on “variety” show with @Bdubz I fully appreciate his examples. I think there is a larger debate of WCW pre-98, and I’d also note the following from my initial statement:
Citing Georgia Championship Wrestling - hey I get that, but that is ancient and before the seal was lifted on pro-wrestling. Once the genie was out on “fake” wrestling, the idea of presenting a straight forward show was done (in my view) and companies had to get creative. Also cable TV really exploded in the late 90s and frankly I’ve been shocked FOX allows WWE to be as carny/corny as it can be at times on SD which is not cable.
I honestly think MMA took the genie out of the “fake“ bottle even more. If I want to watch 2 guys in a real fight I now have that option. So if I’m watching wrestling I am looking for more than the fight. Now what that something is, is different for different people. The only question is how much do current wrestling programs hit what I’m looking for.
Jericho was on the Le Batard Show today (hour 2) and said the musical number only received approval 22 minutes before it aired due to technical and rights issues. Also, he was influenced by the below Vince/Hogan performance at the '87 Slammy Awards, which makes complete sense.
No, he didn’t mention. While I’m sure there were such issues along the way, to me it sounded like a pretty typical Jericho exaggeration to entertain the audience. It probably wasn’t as dramatic as that.