If there’s one factor that the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling was recognized for within the Nineteen Nineties, it was losing completely colossal quantities of billionaire Ted Turner’s money. You might say that the media mogul may afford it, however WCW’s spendthrift methods have been as a result of it was all the time one thing of an arrogance challenge: Turner made his identify in cable tv and, whereas he valued the loyal viewers and promoting income of a WCW, his deadly flaw was being a wrestling fan.Thus have been born the so-called Monday Night time Wars of the Nineteen Nineties, the place WCW and Vince McMahon’s WWF (later WWE) went head-to-head: the distinction being that the WWF needed to wash its personal face financially, whereas Turner may (and did) bankroll WCW’s spending splurges. So one function of the period was high-profile former WWF stars like Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage leaping ship for obscene quantities of cash. One other was chronically horrible inventive selections.Which brings us to Glacier: a wrestling gimmick that, even by WCW requirements, made for horrible viewing and was an distinctive waste of cash. It was additionally an unashamed rip-off of Mortal Kombat’s Sub-Zero, concerned a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} being wasted on pyrotechnics and an appalling costume, and totally failed to realize any momentum earlier than Halfway’s attorneys went “erm maintain on” and WCW ran away from it as quick as the corporate may.Article continues under
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Within the mid-90s WCW had seen some success by taking ‘inspiration’ from well-liked films, similar to when it re-branded the clean-cut babyface Sting as a brooding, gothic character closely based mostly on Brandon Lee’s look within the Crow. In addition to being a massively well-liked videogame, and one which repeatedly made headlines, Mortal Kombat had been made right into a 1995 film, which regardless of being garbage was a business hit.Roll round 1996 and a wrestler referred to as Ray Lloyd got here on the scene, seeming like manna from heaven to WCW supervisor Eric Bischoff. Lloyd had spent the previous couple of years working in Japan for a promotion that blended martial arts and wrestling, was a respectable karate champion and black belt, and on his return to the US had been coaching on the identical health club as a number of WCW wrestlers. He spoke to Diamond Dallas Web page (DDP) about desirous to attempt a wrestling gimmick that was constructed round a great deal of martial arts strikes, DDP went to Bischoff (who beloved martial arts), and after a 3 hour assembly Bischoff signed Lloyd with out even seeing him wrestle.A fuller model of this story with extra behind-the-scenes particulars may be heard on the superb Wrestle Me podcast, the hosts of which have an especial expertise for bringing out simply how boneheaded and hilarious most of WCW’s decision-making was.
WCW’s Million-Greenback Catastrophe | GLACIER & the Spooky Boy Cinematic Universe – Wrestle Me Evaluation – YouTube
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WCW determined to spend a whole lot of 1000’s on this gimmick, with Lloyd himself later admitting that the thought course of behind the character was little greater than “let’s capitalize off the recognition of Mortal Kombat.” First, it spent $35,000 having the legit prop home AFX Studios design a Sub-Zero-style costume; it then determined that wasn’t practically sufficient cash to waste and requested them to give you a spectacular ring entrance.Preserve updated with crucial tales and the perfect offers, as picked by the PC Gamer staff.Glacier’s entrance actually was particular: blue lasers lined the sector, faux snow poured down from the ceiling, and blue lights illuminated him as he makes a present of taking off his costume. The associated fee? Lloyd later mentioned he was informed by WCW producer Keith Mitchell the complete setup price $400,000, and each time it was deployed one other $10,000 in charges for the technicians who set it up.Glacier was step by step launched to the WCW viewers in video vignettes that explicitly stole strains and imagery from the Mortal Kombat film. Glacier promo: “In every of us burns the fury of a warrior.” Mortal Kombat: “In every of us burns the soul of a warrior.” Burns. The character’s gimmick is ice. Anybody? By no means thoughts. Such promos have been the standard method of introducing a brand new wrestler that the corporate thought could possibly be a star, and Glacier’s ran from April 1996 till his debut in September that 12 months.Maybe probably the most unbelievable highway not travelled on this weird story, nevertheless, entails the identify. WCW knew what the gimmick was, they knew what they wished him to appear like, however they did not know what he can be referred to as. A listing of round 150 cold-themed names was made up, and one which got here beneath severe consideration was Stone Chilly.
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For the non-wrestling followers, the WWF’s ‘Stone Chilly’ Steve Austin was shortly going to turn out to be the largest wrestling star of the late Nineteen Nineties, and a key difference-maker within the Monday Night time Wars. By all accounts he got here up with the identify in 1996 after his spouse informed him to drink his tea earlier than it obtained “stone chilly.” In a parallel universe, WCW would have already chosen that identify for the ill-fated Glacier.For his half, Bischoff wished the identify Cryonic, which is by some means much more fucking silly than Glacier. Even WCW’s clueless creatives baulked at that, although they gave Bischoff the sop of Glacier’s ending transfer being the “cryonic kick.” Which is simply, like, a karate kick.Glacier was purported to make his debut in July 1996, however one other WCW gimmick kneecapped the character: Hulk Hogan’s notorious heel flip and the emergence of the NWO steady. For a time the NWO was WCW’s golden ticket, however it was additionally based mostly on the phantasm of authenticity and realism, with the likes of Hogan, Scott Corridor and Kevin Nash enjoying exaggerated variations of themselves: in such a context, the Glacier gimmick appeared as corny and cartoonish because it was.The debut was pushed again, however WCW had already sunk a lot cash into Glacier that there was no query of an about-turn. As a substitute he made his debut on one in every of WCW’s lesser exhibits towards a jobber referred to as The Gambler, earlier than starting a mid-card feud with Large Bubba Rogers (best-known for his time within the WWF because the Large Boss man).Then somebody at Halfway observed.”I’ll always remember it,” Lloyd would later recall, “‘Come to my workplace.’ It’s just like the principal calling you. I assumed I used to be in hassle! I walked into Bischoff’s workplace and was informed, ‘Halfway is threatening a lawsuit.’ I assumed my profession was over. and that it was good whereas it lasted.”I requested him if we have been going to struggle it. I keep in mind [Bischoff] answering, ‘You realize, there’s nothing I like higher than a very good struggle, but when we struggle this, we’re going to lose and lose huge.'”Nicely, no less than Bischoff was proper about that. Lloyd advised they modify the costume, and Bischoff shot again “I can’t afford one other thirty-five grand!” So Lloyd took the prevailing costume again to AFX and had it altered to a legally distinct Sub-Zero.After a mere 4 matches, Glacier’s look, entrance, and entrance music have been all modified. Unbelievably, WCW wasn’t performed, and determined the answer was to create a world-within-a-world of WCW characters who solely fought one another, with Glacier’s major feud being with… Mortis, a personality that’s principally a legally distinct model of Mortal Kombat’s Reptile. Presumably Scorpion would’ve been too on-the-nose.WCW started a ridiculous feud that revolved round Mortis stealing Glacier’s helmet, which culminated in a match the place Glacier gained in slightly below two minutes. The cash spent to get to a two-minute squash match was eye-watering, however possibly what’s much more wonderful is that WCW endured with the gimmick and saved throwing cash at one thing that was clearly by no means going to work.Glacier would see out the rest of his WCW profession on the decrease midcard as a part of a small steady together with Mortis, Wrath, and Ernest ‘the Cat’ Miller (the latter included purely as a result of he additionally did martial arts strikes). His previous couple of months on the firm would see the Glacier gimmick lastly deserted, and Lloyd showing as some form of sports activities coach.You might say that Glacier encapsulates every little thing that is nice and horrible about this period of wrestling. Proper in the midst of its hottest-ever interval, when the NWO has upended the enterprise and WCW ought to be flying excessive, it is losing what will need to have amounted to over one million kilos on a Temu model of a Mortal Kombat character, and simply refusing to confess that it is not working.And whereas Glacier has to go down as a horrible gimmick, Ray Lloyd himself looks like a beautiful bloke and admirably phlegmatic about the entire thing. Only a few wrestlers on this period had inventive management, and this comes throughout as a Bischoff self-importance challenge that obtained out of hand. There’s a terrific documentary referred to as Past the Mat that exhibits the WWF’s Vince McMahon talking to potential signing Darren Drozdov, and lighting up when he hears the poor man can vomit on cue. The gimmick McMahon got here up with for Drozdov was Puke, a wrestler who vomits on defeated foes.So it probably may have been worse for Lloyd.“Because of everybody who watched me carry out, whether or not you have been a fan or a critic,” mentioned Lloyd final 12 months. “I’ve realized on this lengthy, nice profession that the key to success goes on the market and doing all your greatest, and also you clearly can’t make everyone pleased on a regular basis.”For individuals who have been critics about my gimmick, nicely, god bless you for no less than watching it and having an trustworthy opinion. And those who have been followers of the gimmick, thanks as a result of it made my job price it each evening to go on the market and be cheered.”
