The 3rd Annual Hall of Shame
Sadly, we weren't able to do a grand induction gala this year. Why? Well, you know ...we....ran into some difficulties with the venue. I'm not saying someone didn't send the check for the rental space but......Rick didn't send the check.
Anyway, we have an interesting Hall of Shame class this year, and I think you'll enjoy our list. As always, feel free to check out the other entries here.
And don't forget to stop by the gift shop on your way out! We need to move our "WHERE'S ROMAN" merchandise.
Shameful Booking: Most of The Summer of Punk
We mentioned this entry way back in our first Hall of Shame entry in 2017, and we've honestly been avoiding including it in our Hall of Shame because, to a person, we have cited Punk's Pipe Bomb promo and his subsequent match at John Cena at Money in the Bank as catalysts for us getting back into wrestling. But, how CM Punk was booked through the rest of 2011 is really rather shameful -- in fact, with a few exceptions, every moment Punk had post-Money in the Bank was shameful. And while we don't need to highlight the worst moments of the Summer of Punk -- *cough* Kevin Nash and cell phones *cough* -- we can only think of how different this could have been and SHOULD have been if the WWE would have had a bigger vision for Punk and the patience to see through a larger narrative.
Shameful Match: The Mega-Powers vs The Alliance to End Hulkamania
As Wrestling Shame's resident expert in WCW and ECW, I've struggled at times to defend some of the crappier elements of both promotions. Case in point: the booking of Hulk Hogan prior to his NWO-turn. Indeed, until his Bash at the Beach heel-turn in 1996, WCW's approach to booking Hogan was, in essence, to replicate what put Hogan over in the WWF. Shamefully, what put Hogan over in 1987 was not working in 1995 (and hell, had stopped working in the WWF by 1992), but that didn't phase WCW. One of the lowlights of this was the triple-level steel cage match at Uncensored that pitted Hogan and Randy Savage vs The Alliance to End Hulkamania (Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, Lex Luger, The Dungeon of Doom -- more on them later -- Jimmy Hart, Elizabeth, and I think the starting line-up of the Atlanta Braves). Not only was WCW recycling the Mega-Powers as a tag-team, but this match is the worst of the "Hogan wins against all odds" narrative.
Also, god this match is boring. Like, super-boring. The best part of this clip is the commentary team feigning interest -- especially Bobby Heenan when he says "oh, uh Hogan and Savage have uh powder all over the ring" -- and Dusty Rhodes desperately trying to make this seem interesting.
Shameful Wrestler / Stable: The Dungeon of Doom
Serious question: we've been doing this blog for almost three years and this is the first long mention of the Dungeon of Doom??
For those unfamiliar, the Dungeon of Doom (TDOD) was the extension of The Three Faces of Fear (also led by Kevin Sullivan), who existed to put-over Hulk Hogan (see above). And god was TDOD shameful. Imagine taking the corniest aspects of late-1980s WWF, mix-in the worst aspects of early-1990s WCW, and adding in the inventory of one of those pop-up Halloween stores.
Obviously, at some point, I need to do a feature-length piece on TDOD, but among the group's highlights / low-lights:
-The 170th different gimmick for Hall of Shame member Brutus Beefcake
-That infamous spot where Hulk Hogan goes to TDOD's lair and yells "THERE ARE NO HULKAMANICS HERE!"
-Making Vader wear a really weird, Masters of the Universe-style helmet
-The Yeti
-Re-christening John Tenta as "the Shark"
-Have I mentioned the Yeti? Because that's amazing
And this summer, I will do a Hall of Shame special exhibit on TDOD. Book it.
Shameful Promo: DX in Blackface
I hate HHH.
I hate DX.
I despise white people donning blackface.
Yeah, this is an automatic entry in the Hall of Shame.
And you're not going to see this clip in their Hall of Fame induction.
Shameful Theme Music: The Big Show
As Rick pointed out before, you can't convince us that this isn't really the theme from Roseanne.
And while we would love to hang out with The Big Show, this music is bad.
Shameful Pop Culture Moment: King Kong Bundy on Married With Children
Earlier this year, King Kong Bundy passed away. And I was reminded of not only his work with the WWE, but also his guest-starring roles on the Fox sitcom Married With Children. He actually appeared twice on the show, once in 1987 as a relative of Peggy Bundy; the second time, as himself who ends-up wresting Bud through a series of shenanigans. It's this later episode I want to induct to our Hall of Shame.
While my family and I enjoyed the show when it was on, I now look at this show with shock at 1) how bad it was and 2) how horrible the comedy is, especially toward women. And the show's regressive comedy toward women is on full-display in this episode: women are either sex-fiends or sex objects; as well, there's the standard homophobia in this episode too. So shameful, of course. But Bundy himself had already played a fictional character on the show, and was brought back to play himself. That shit happened a lot on 80s sitcoms -- especially character actors playing different roles in different seasons -- and that always bothered me.
Shameful Fans: These Guys
We have no idea who these two are, but they are pretty great right? Right?
I really hope no one figures out it's Rick and I.
Shameful Match: The Mega-Powers vs The Alliance to End Hulkamania
As Wrestling Shame's resident expert in WCW and ECW, I've struggled at times to defend some of the crappier elements of both promotions. Case in point: the booking of Hulk Hogan prior to his NWO-turn. Indeed, until his Bash at the Beach heel-turn in 1996, WCW's approach to booking Hogan was, in essence, to replicate what put Hogan over in the WWF. Shamefully, what put Hogan over in 1987 was not working in 1995 (and hell, had stopped working in the WWF by 1992), but that didn't phase WCW. One of the lowlights of this was the triple-level steel cage match at Uncensored that pitted Hogan and Randy Savage vs The Alliance to End Hulkamania (Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, Lex Luger, The Dungeon of Doom -- more on them later -- Jimmy Hart, Elizabeth, and I think the starting line-up of the Atlanta Braves). Not only was WCW recycling the Mega-Powers as a tag-team, but this match is the worst of the "Hogan wins against all odds" narrative.
Also, god this match is boring. Like, super-boring. The best part of this clip is the commentary team feigning interest -- especially Bobby Heenan when he says "oh, uh Hogan and Savage have uh powder all over the ring" -- and Dusty Rhodes desperately trying to make this seem interesting.
Shameful Wrestler / Stable: The Dungeon of Doom
Serious question: we've been doing this blog for almost three years and this is the first long mention of the Dungeon of Doom??
For those unfamiliar, the Dungeon of Doom (TDOD) was the extension of The Three Faces of Fear (also led by Kevin Sullivan), who existed to put-over Hulk Hogan (see above). And god was TDOD shameful. Imagine taking the corniest aspects of late-1980s WWF, mix-in the worst aspects of early-1990s WCW, and adding in the inventory of one of those pop-up Halloween stores.
Obviously, at some point, I need to do a feature-length piece on TDOD, but among the group's highlights / low-lights:
-The 170th different gimmick for Hall of Shame member Brutus Beefcake
-That infamous spot where Hulk Hogan goes to TDOD's lair and yells "THERE ARE NO HULKAMANICS HERE!"
-Making Vader wear a really weird, Masters of the Universe-style helmet
-The Yeti
-Re-christening John Tenta as "the Shark"
-Have I mentioned the Yeti? Because that's amazing
And this summer, I will do a Hall of Shame special exhibit on TDOD. Book it.
Shameful Promo: DX in Blackface
I hate HHH.
I hate DX.
I despise white people donning blackface.
Yeah, this is an automatic entry in the Hall of Shame.
And you're not going to see this clip in their Hall of Fame induction.
Shameful Theme Music: The Big Show
As Rick pointed out before, you can't convince us that this isn't really the theme from Roseanne.
And while we would love to hang out with The Big Show, this music is bad.
Shameful Pop Culture Moment: King Kong Bundy on Married With Children
Earlier this year, King Kong Bundy passed away. And I was reminded of not only his work with the WWE, but also his guest-starring roles on the Fox sitcom Married With Children. He actually appeared twice on the show, once in 1987 as a relative of Peggy Bundy; the second time, as himself who ends-up wresting Bud through a series of shenanigans. It's this later episode I want to induct to our Hall of Shame.
While my family and I enjoyed the show when it was on, I now look at this show with shock at 1) how bad it was and 2) how horrible the comedy is, especially toward women. And the show's regressive comedy toward women is on full-display in this episode: women are either sex-fiends or sex objects; as well, there's the standard homophobia in this episode too. So shameful, of course. But Bundy himself had already played a fictional character on the show, and was brought back to play himself. That shit happened a lot on 80s sitcoms -- especially character actors playing different roles in different seasons -- and that always bothered me.
Shameful Fans: These Guys
We have no idea who these two are, but they are pretty great right? Right?
I really hope no one figures out it's Rick and I.
Shameful Debut: The KISS Demon
If we are being honest with ourselves -- well, that might be a first -- there are probably a lot of wrestling fans who are also fans of the "band" KISS. And in the late-90s, KISS was enjoying a bit of a cultural renaissance. So, it stood to reason that WCW would try to capitalize on the nostalgic interest in a shitty band. And hence, we have the KISS Demon. Now, there's a strong case to be made for the KISS Demon to be an entry as a Shameful Wrestler -- but let's instead focus on his initial debut. In all honesty, you can just skip this clip to roughly 4:20 seconds when the Demon's casket appears. The casket -- which looks like it's from an upcoming He-Man / Stranger Things cross-over episode -- opens to reveal the Demon.
However, if you don't see this and think of This is Spinal Tap, well, we can't be friends.
If we are being honest with ourselves -- well, that might be a first -- there are probably a lot of wrestling fans who are also fans of the "band" KISS. And in the late-90s, KISS was enjoying a bit of a cultural renaissance. So, it stood to reason that WCW would try to capitalize on the nostalgic interest in a shitty band. And hence, we have the KISS Demon. Now, there's a strong case to be made for the KISS Demon to be an entry as a Shameful Wrestler -- but let's instead focus on his initial debut. In all honesty, you can just skip this clip to roughly 4:20 seconds when the Demon's casket appears. The casket -- which looks like it's from an upcoming He-Man / Stranger Things cross-over episode -- opens to reveal the Demon.
However, if you don't see this and think of This is Spinal Tap, well, we can't be friends.
Leave a Comment