WWE Royal Rumble 2002

There is a moment, just minutes into the opening encounter of the 2002 Royal Rumble pay-per-view that sums this whole event up pretty well. The bout features Tazz and Spike Dudley against The Dudley Boyz for the WWE Tag Team Titles, and with the contest barely started and with The Dudleys already firmly in control, the crowd break into a hearty chorus of “we want tables”. Disregarding the fact that the Dudley Boyz were the heels and that the tag team titles were on the line in a match that had barely began, the fans were calling for them to fast-forward, past their pursuit of the belts and in contradiction to their disposition as heels, to using their most over spot. Like a rock band, past their best, and being heckled to play the hits of yesteryear rather than the material they’re attempting to promote from their most recent release, in this moment it was clear that The Dudley Boyz were no longer relevant beyond the nostalgia of their biggest hit. The feeling of staleness wasn’t helped by the concept behind the opener which would see Bubba Ray and D-Von on the opposite side of the ring to their kayfabe brother Spike, and Tazz; a combination of rivals which had been seen before in ECW, and even in this different setting, still felt like a rehash. The lack of fresh ideas and the sense that those involved were trying to recapture former glories is the abiding theme of this show.

WWE King of the Ring 1998

During his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker, Mick Foley, wrestling under his Mankind moniker, performed what remains the defining act of hardcore wrestling in the history of the business. Sure, since that day there have been other acts performed, in or around a wrestling ring with a higher degree of risk. There have undoubtedly been moments where an individual has fallen from higher platforms and there have been hundreds of wrestling matches with bloodier visuals than that of Foley at the end of this one. In truth, there were even matches before the 1998 King of the Ring that, it could be argued, were ‘more’ hardcore than this. What ensures that this match stands out from the crowd, however, is the stage on which he did it, the moment in which it came and the way in which it was performed. Here Mankind takes a flying fall off of the roof of the Cell, another crash through it and then a double portion of drawing pins (or thumb tacks, as they are called in the US) to his back, all in front of a mainstream pay-per-view audience much more used to the brightly coloured hair metal wrestling of the 1980’s and early 90’s, than to the dark, grunge based fare that had been saved for regional US promotions and niche Japanese groups up to this point. Not only that, but he did it at a moment when pro wrestling was on the crest of a wave, and just entering a 2-year period of peak popularity.

WWF Madison Square Garden December 1982

If you were a wrestling fan at the end of 1982 it is likely that you had no idea what was about to become of the pro wrestling business in the coming years. As Christmas came and past, and WWE put on it’s regular show from Madison Square Garden, the business didn’t appear to be changing significantly from what it had been during the previous 2 decades, at least outwardly. The NWA was still the chief governing body of the sport in America and, with the exception of the American Wrestling Association, which had ceded from the NWA in the 1950’s, all the major promotions were still affiliated with the Alliance (yes, even the WWF, that had crowned Buddy Rogers as it’s first World Champion in 1963, was still part of the NWA, having quietly re-joined the organisation in 1971). What’s more, the territories system that was such a defining feature of the period, was almost entirely untouched by this point- there had been some alterations to the boundaries over time due to certain promotors going out of business, or contracting in order to maximise the business from a smaller area, but in general the affiliates kept themselves to their small corner of the country. To fans as well, the infrastructure underpinning pro wrestling looked the same- the McMahon’s were still in control in New York, Texas was home to the Von Erichs, Verne Gagne had control of the AWA and the Crockets were the custodians of Mid Atlantic.