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PWINSIDER Q&A: STEEL CAGE, HALL OF FAME, WWE HIRING VETERANS AND MORE

Answered on 8/31

Has there been any word on adding ECW to the next WWE game?

From what I understand, WWE has every intention of including ECW talent in their licensed products, including future video game titles.  

My question is about the WWF In Your House Final Four pay per view from February, 1997. The final four competitors were Bret, Austin, Taker, and Vader, but I was wondering how they were chosen. I *think* that I remember four way qualifying matches, but I cannot find any info on them. Was there a sort of tournament to decide who was in the finals, or was it just the one match for the vacant title? If there was a tournament, what were the results and was anyone eliminated by pinfall/submission (as all eliminations in the PPV main event were of the over the top rope variety)?

The Final Four PPV concept was created, in the storylines, because of Steve Austin winning the Royal Rumble despite having been eliminated by Bret Hart (because of a Mick Foley-Terry Funk brawl outside the ring, the referees were all distracted and missed Austin being thrown out).  So, the participants were Austin and the men he had "illegally eliminated" after getting back into the ring, which were Hart, Vader and Undertaker.  The match was to determine a Wrestlemania challenger, but when Shawn Michaels "lost his smile" and gave up the World Title, the match was changed into a title bout to fill the vacancy. 

Do you see WWE ever bringing back the old-school steel cage with the blue bars?

While WWE likes their current cage for TV and PPV, as recently as three years ago, the "blue bar" cage was used on non-televised shows.  I think we could see it return at some point.  The original reasoning behind the cage was, in part, because it was felt that the steal mesh cage didn't look good on television, and the other was because heavyweights like Hulk Hogan were able to climb the blue bar cage a lot easier. 

I know that Bruno Sammartino will not be inducted into the WWF/E Hall Of Fame even though he held the WWF/E World Heavyweight Title longer than anyone in WWF/E history. But what about the longest (in my eyes, not the greatest) WWF/E Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, The Honky Tonk Man? What about the longest reigning WWF/E World Tag Team Champions, Ax and Smash, Demolition? What about the longest reigning WWF/E European Champion and one of the greatest wrestlers in WWF/E history Davey Boy Smith "The British Bulldog"? Do any of these wrestlers have a chance to be Inducted into the WWF/E Hall Of Fame?

Of the names you listed, Davey Boy Smith would be the most likely to be inducted, especially with his son Harry now working for the company.  Honky Tonk Man has had a lot of derogatory things to say about WWE, so I don't see him going in anytime soon.  As for Demolition, Bill Eadie (Demolition Ax/Masked Superstar) filed a lawsuit against WWE trying to claim ownership of the Demolition gimmick, ultimately losing (although he still used the gimmick on indy shows), so that might hinder the team getting in.  However, if WWE can "forgive and forget" with Sable, I imagine over time Demolition will get in eventually. 

Am I correct in assuming that by bringing back older superstars ie: Tatanka, Animal etc... that the WWE is saying "thank you for what you contributed when you were in your prime, come back for a while and here's a few bucks" I really don't see the likes of Tatanka contributing to the overall product passed his nostalgia appeal. I think when they give these guys 1 year or 6 month contracts they are just giving them paycheck as payment for past contributions. Not saying they don't deserve it either, I think they deserve whatever they get, maybe a way of compensating for a pension plan that doesn't exist for most of these guys.

Actually, I don't think it is as much a "thank you" as WWE seeing something valuable in them.  In the case of Animal, it allowed WWE to have him under contract while pushing the Road Warrior DVD, and to milk the Legion Of Doom legacy for "one last pop".  With Tatanka, he worked some matches, and WWE felt the veteran could be a solid mid-card performer on a brand (Smackdown) that was short on talent.  In the case of a "one-shot" appearance, like they've done with others, I think it is more a "thank you, here's a payday" gesture, but with the guys who get worked into storylines, WWE obviously sees something more in them, whether it is the chance to give someone a "rub" or just a guy who always seems to get a pop from the crowd (like Hacksaw Duggan). 

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