Opinion

Cook’s Top 5: 1991 Wrestling Memories

Take a trip with Steve Cook down memory lane! Reminisce with some of these 1991 memories!

Published

5 years ago

May 15, 2020

Welcome back to my Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration! In case you missed it last week, I decided to celebrate thirty years as a wrestling fan by listing my top five memories from each year. Last week we kicked it off with 1990, so this week we’ll take a look at my 1991 memories.

Your 1991 memories may be different than mine, if you were watching (or alive) back then. My pro wrestling viewing was limited to WWF Superstars & WWF Wrestling Challenge on Saturday mornings. Prime Time Wrestling was on after my bedtime & All American Wrestling was up against Sunday Mass services. Other federations? I didn’t know anything about non-WWF wrestling until 1992. We’ll talk about that next week.

This week we’re looking back at the best of 1991. Most of it was scary stuff! It makes me wonder if current feds are missing the boat by not having their bad guys do a wider variety of dastardly things, since that’s a lot of what I remember of the first couple of years. Something to think about as we count them down.

5. Sgt. Slaughter burns a Hulk Hogan poster

The Sgt. Slaughter Iraq stuff played a lot better with me in 1991 than at any other point I’ve watched it. Like most youngsters during the first Gulf War, I was proud to be an American, and ready for the Hulkster to take the WWF Championship off the evil turncoat. Slaughter had a bunch of TV promos where he’d bury America and the February 24th Wrestling Challenge featured a classic example. Slaughter even went to the trouble to burn a Hulk Hogan poster, which meant that he meant business, by cracky.

As it turned out, people weren’t really buying into WWF’s attempt to profit off of the war. I dug it at the time. Thirty years later, I see what the critics were talking about.

4. Randy Savage proposes to Elizabeth

I’ve always been a sucker for a good love story. I didn’t get to see Randy & Liz’s entire story play out, but video packages helped fill in the blanks for me, so when the July 6th WWF Superstars rolled around and Randy popped the question, it was an exciting moment. The Match Made In Heaven…which wound up ending a couple of years later and might have colored my view on the validity of true love.

Maybe if I knew they had been married since 1984 I wouldn’t have taken it quite as poorly.

3. Ric Flair attacks Roddy Piper at the announce booth

Chris Jericho wasn’t the first top star to make a habit of appearing on commentary. 1991 saw both Randy Savage & “Rowdy” Roddy Piper spend several months in the WWF Superstars announce booth, calling the action alongside Vince McMahon. The boost of star power helped Superstars’ status as the top Saturday morning show. It also led to both of them getting provoked into action by their rivals. The September 28th edition of WWF Superstars saw an appearance from the man that Piper had recently begun bad-mouthing on commentary, Ric Flair. Of course, Flair & Piper had a long-running history with each other that I was unaware of, but their WWF feud kicked off with quite the beat-down by Flair on Piper that immediately hatched my interest in the feud.

Also of note was McMahon getting waffled with a chair by Piper in the first time I’d seen him get physically involved. Vince was just the play by play announcer to me at that point, there’d been no hint of him being anything else on the shows I’d seen. Vince’s involvement was a big part of making that angle memorable.

2. Jake Roberts’ cobra feasts on Randy Savage’s arm

For his part, Savage had become an announcer after being forced into retirement due to the results of WrestleMania VII. The involvement of Jake “The Snake” Roberts at the wedding reception at SummerSlam led to the Macho Man requesting that he be reinstated so he could wrestle Roberts. Jake wasn’t impressed, and orchestrated an attack on Savage during the November 23rd WWF Superstars that aired days before the Survivor Series. After tying Randy in the ropes, Jake brought out a king cobra and had him take a bite out of the Macho Man. At the time, a big red x appeared, but viewers got the gist of what happened.

The Roberts/Savage feud didn’t last long, but it featured some memorable moments. I didn’t see This Tuesday in Texas until years later, so I can’t honestly feature Elizabeth getting slapped as a memory of mine from 1991. The parents were never big on buying PPVs.

1. Undertaker locks Ultimate Warrior in a casket

Obviously the cobra moment was a pretty heavy deal. Something about the Ultimate Warrior being locked in a casket was even creepier to me though. April 13th’s WWF Superstars featured the Warrior making an appearance in Paul Bearer’s Funeral Parlor. It was always a sinister locale, made even more dubious when the Undertaker attacked Warrior from behind & forced him inside the casket while Paul Bearer locked it. As a kid that believed all this stuff 100%, watching people fail miserably at getting Warrior out of the casket for several minutes was a scary situation. As silly as it sounds now, it’s one of those memories that has lingered with me for nearly thirty years.

Heck, for years I was afraid that somehow I would wake up in my casket after being declared dead, and be trapped inside like the Ultimate Warrior. That’s some good nightmare fuel provided by pro wrestling. One wonders why I kept watching the stuff…

There’s some of my best memories from my second year as a wrestling fan. Join me next week when we look back at 1992! If you’re feeling nostalgic, feel free to chime in with some of your own favorite memories in the comment section or on the social media!

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

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Classic POD is WAR

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1