1991 Random Qs

1. Was there any serious thought into Andre returning to the ring in ’91? Just by looking at him, it should’ve been obvious he was in poor physical shape, but it seemed like they kept teasing it until he had to be written off with the Earthquake attack to have another surgery.

2. Before his heel turn and being rebranded “Typhoon”, what happened to Tugboat? He was pushed hard(ish) for all of 1990, teamed with Hulk in Main Events, and got one of the dozen of protected finishes at Survivor Series. Then a month before Mania, he just lands into the role of Koko B. Ware almost over night, jobbing to everyone clean and not even getting an appearance on a WrestleMania where it was almost a lock to get a spot on the card. They just figure the gimmick was done?

3. Biggest missed opportunity… giving Ricky Steamboat a meaningful push during his short return in ’91 (feuds with Perfect, Dibiase, or anyone for that matter), or giving the Bossman the IC Title at Mania 7 to conclude his feud with the Heenan Family?

Yeah, that was pretty random.

Better than more questions about the boring current product, my friend.

1. No, there was no serious thought to putting Andre back in the ring. Even around WM3 it was obvious that he was falling apart, and by 91 he could barely move. It was just a goodwill deal where they wanted to get him on TV, I’m pretty sure.

2. Tugboat was a weird one, where clearly he was getting a spot based on his relationship with Hogan, but then it got yanked from underneath him right away. I think it just wasn’t getting over and they decided to retool him, especially given the level of push he was getting as Tugboat. Sometimes the investment needs to be justified.

3. Bossman totally should have got the IC title. Steamboat clearly didn’t give a shit in 91 anyway and was just in it for the payday. Not blaming him, either. When the best idea Vince has for you is spitting kerosene and feuding with fucking Repo Man, the writing is on the wall.