Did you know???
Macho Mans last WWF appearance was at a house show in a small town in Vermont.(Burlington)
There is something in wrestling that fans kindly call the Bundy effect, this is where a wrestler would main event Wrestlemania and then drop in stock by the next mania. It’s called the Bundy effect because he main evented with Hogan in a cage for the WWF title at Mania 2 and would be wrestling with midgets at Mania 3. But he is not alone and there are a few more examples:
Paul Orndorff-Was part of the tag team main event at Mania 1 and was opening with Don Muraco at Mania 2, it’s not really one of the matches you think of when you think of that show.
Ted DiBiase-Was in the finals to crown a new WWF champion at 4 and was thrown in with Beefcake at 5. In an added little fact, both Orndorff and DiBiase would go to a double count out in their matches.
Sgt. Slaughter-Lost the WWF title to Hogan at Mania 7 and was then part of a random 8 man tag at Mania 8.
Big Show-Was part of the 4 way elimination match at Wrestlemania 2000 and then was going for the hardcore title at X7.
The Miz-Defended his title against John Cena at Mania 27 and then was a background player in the Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy match.
You could also thrown in Bam Bam Bigelow who had a quick decline down the card after he main evented with Lawerence Taylor at Mania 11, Bam Bam wouldn’t even stay in the company for the rest of the year, leaving soon after losing to Goldust at Survivor Series 95.
In golf they say “never go full Camillo”, named for a player who leads an event after round 1 and fails to make the cut after round 2 (golf tournaments typically are 4 rounds with a cut after the 2nd to trim the field in half). I love this “Bundy Effect”
During it’s time as a developmental, there has only been 2 men who have held both the NXT singles and tag titles.
The first to achieve this was Neville, who was one half of the very first NXT tag champions (he would get a second reign teaming with Corey Graves) and would of course win the NXT title at NXT Arrival.
The second person contains spoilers so click if you are already aware.
Summary
The second (and this is spoilers but to be fair it’s been widely spread out) is Tomasso Ciampa, who won the tag titles as part of DIY (teaming with Johnny Gargano) and he’ll be winning the NXT title on next weeks show but that has already been taped.
No other NXT singles champion has won the tag titles and with the introduction of the North American title, these are the main 2 who are in with a shot of becoming a triple crown.
Did you know, this is very fitting, there have been 4 men who have been part of the 4 horsemen and the NWO.
Curt Hennig joined the Horsemen in August 97 but it was a trick and he joined the NWO in Wargames when he turned on his fellow Horsemen in September 97.
Lex Luger became a Horsemen in March of 87 and would become a key member in the NWO Wolfpac in 98. His fellow Wolfpac member, Sting was a Horsemen in December 89.
And finally, good old Double J Jeff Jarrett joined the Horsemen in February 97 and was a member of NWO 2000 when it formed in January of that year.
A “kayfabe only” Did You Know…
It’s possible that no wrestler could have changed Royal Rumble history more than Davey Boy Smith.
In 1992, he drew #1 and, less than five minutes into the match, he effortlessly lifted Ric Flair over his head in a gorilla press slam but chose throw him to the mat instead of over the top rope. Flair went on to last a then-record time of 60+ minutes and win the Royal Rumble and WWF Championship.
In 1995, Davey Boy Smith drew #2 and, less than five minutes into the match, he effortlessly lifted Shawn Michaels over his head in a gorilla press slam but chose throw him to the mat instead of over the top rope. Michaels went onto win the Royal Rumble, becoming the first man to win the match from one of the two starting spots.
In summary, Davey Boy Smith had terrible luck at drawing Royal Rumble numbers and also may not have been completely clear on the rules.
Reviving (or is it FTRing?) this thread…
Somehow, Hulk Hogan didn’t win a Summerslam singles match by pinfall until 2005. He was in tags (victorious, of course) in 1988, 89, and 91 and beat Earthquake by countout in 1990.
A few I have off the top of my head:
- Andre the Giant once fell asleep during a match with Big John Studd.
- Shawn Stasiak is a 15 time Hardcore Champion. All his wins and losses occurred at House Shows so he never appeared on TV with the belt.
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At least three wrestlers got a World/Universal Title shot in WWE before ever winning a singles match by pin or submission in a WWE ring.
Sting, Vince McMahon and Cain Velasquez. Any others?