So i was reading about The Kliq on Wikipedia & i found a very intresting article that i'd like to share with you .
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One of the more talked-about actions involving The Kliq took place on May 19, 1996 at Madison Square Garden.At the time, Hall and Nash were about to leave the WWF for rival WCW and this was their last contractual obligation for the WWF.At a major WWF live event, Levesque (as the villainous Helmsley) wrestled the fan favorite Scott Hall (as Razor Ramon). Later that night, Michaels, then a fan favorite, wrestled Nash (as the heel Diesel) in a steel cage match. Immediately after the match, Scott Hall entered the ring and hugged Michaels, which is not seen as a problem as both were fan favorites at the time. However, Levesque and Nash both joined the hug, despite working their matches as heels.
Paul Levesque was the sole member of The Kliq punished for the MSG incident.
Their actions, also dubbed the "Curtain Call", scandalized WWF management, who at the time wanted to maintain the illusion that the antipathy between fan favorites and villains was real and that they were not friends outside the ring, a backstage rule which was carried over from the days when wrestling territories were regionally based. The rule was in place as a means of maintaining storylines and feuds between wrestlers, which sometimes lasted for years, and could unravel in seconds if the two feuding wrestlers were associating as friends in public.WWF Chairman, Vince McMahon was reported to be initially okay with the incident, but did not expect them to take it so far.McMahon also did not expect a fan in the audience to sneak a camcorder into the event and capture the entire incident on tape, which was later procured by the WWF and aired on the October 6, 1997 episode of Raw is War by Michaels and Levesque who, in storyline, used the footage to irritate McMahon. Because Michaels was the WWF Champion at the time and was one of the promotion's biggest drawing cards, he could not be punished.[8] Hall and Nash were soon to leave for WCW, so they also escaped punishment.[9] The punishment fell solely on Levesque, who was demoted from being a championship contender to wrestling inexperienced or lesser experienced wrestlers.[11] He did, however, win the WWF Intercontinental Championship five months later. The Undertaker stated in HHH: The Game DVD that when Levesque first arrived in the WWF, he saw him as an arrogant person who only looked out for himself, but when Levesque took his punishment and did not complain, he earned his respect. This punishment turned out to have a major impact on the WWF's future. Before the "MSG Incident", Levesque had been booked into the finals of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament during the following summer, but his place - and the push that usually went with it - would instead go to Steve Austin, igniting his rise toward mainstream superstardom and helped the WWF defeat WCW in the Monday Night Wars.Levesque's punishment only delayed his rise to prominence in the business, as he would go on to win the following year's King of the Ring tournament and later went on to become a thirteen time world champion, beginning with his WWF Championship victory over Mick Foley the night after SummerSlam in 1999.
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opinions ?
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One of the more talked-about actions involving The Kliq took place on May 19, 1996 at Madison Square Garden.At the time, Hall and Nash were about to leave the WWF for rival WCW and this was their last contractual obligation for the WWF.At a major WWF live event, Levesque (as the villainous Helmsley) wrestled the fan favorite Scott Hall (as Razor Ramon). Later that night, Michaels, then a fan favorite, wrestled Nash (as the heel Diesel) in a steel cage match. Immediately after the match, Scott Hall entered the ring and hugged Michaels, which is not seen as a problem as both were fan favorites at the time. However, Levesque and Nash both joined the hug, despite working their matches as heels.
Paul Levesque was the sole member of The Kliq punished for the MSG incident.
Their actions, also dubbed the "Curtain Call", scandalized WWF management, who at the time wanted to maintain the illusion that the antipathy between fan favorites and villains was real and that they were not friends outside the ring, a backstage rule which was carried over from the days when wrestling territories were regionally based. The rule was in place as a means of maintaining storylines and feuds between wrestlers, which sometimes lasted for years, and could unravel in seconds if the two feuding wrestlers were associating as friends in public.WWF Chairman, Vince McMahon was reported to be initially okay with the incident, but did not expect them to take it so far.McMahon also did not expect a fan in the audience to sneak a camcorder into the event and capture the entire incident on tape, which was later procured by the WWF and aired on the October 6, 1997 episode of Raw is War by Michaels and Levesque who, in storyline, used the footage to irritate McMahon. Because Michaels was the WWF Champion at the time and was one of the promotion's biggest drawing cards, he could not be punished.[8] Hall and Nash were soon to leave for WCW, so they also escaped punishment.[9] The punishment fell solely on Levesque, who was demoted from being a championship contender to wrestling inexperienced or lesser experienced wrestlers.[11] He did, however, win the WWF Intercontinental Championship five months later. The Undertaker stated in HHH: The Game DVD that when Levesque first arrived in the WWF, he saw him as an arrogant person who only looked out for himself, but when Levesque took his punishment and did not complain, he earned his respect. This punishment turned out to have a major impact on the WWF's future. Before the "MSG Incident", Levesque had been booked into the finals of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament during the following summer, but his place - and the push that usually went with it - would instead go to Steve Austin, igniting his rise toward mainstream superstardom and helped the WWF defeat WCW in the Monday Night Wars.Levesque's punishment only delayed his rise to prominence in the business, as he would go on to win the following year's King of the Ring tournament and later went on to become a thirteen time world champion, beginning with his WWF Championship victory over Mick Foley the night after SummerSlam in 1999.
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opinions ?
