The TRN Time Machine podcast is hosted by myself and Jason Gross as part of The Retro Network. I’ve not had time be very involved over the last couple of months, but I hate to let those great old episodes just sit there gathering dust. So I’m going to start presenting them here for a new audience to discover and enjoy.
In this episode, the TRN Time Machine travels back to the ’90s as we select random Things We Loved About 1993. Everything from movies we saw, TV shows we watched, albums we listened to, and sports moments we witnessed are included in the discussion. Join us for a fun trip back to our high school years and the pop culture that influenced us.
In this episode of Wax Pack Flashback, Adam and Jason from The Retro Network both open a pack of Fleer Batman Forever cards from 1995. This 120-card set featured promo shots and stills from the movie. Unfortunately, there were no chase cards produced with the set, but the guys find some very fun cards and share their memories of Batman Forever to kick off the video.
Wax Pack Flashback is a series that appears on TRNTV on YouTube, hosted by a rotating cast of Mickey, Jason, and Adam. See all of the various trading card opening videos on TRNTV.
I’ve always been a big fan of trading cards. Ever since I first laid eyes on my brother’s collection of Elvis cards when I was really young, I’ve been fascinated by them. That fascination only increased when my friends were bringing the original Garbage Pail Kids cards to school.
I think my first foray into that world was actually Panini sticker albums instead of cards. The first one I remember having was the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe one. I followed that up with several others including more licensed ones and even the generic ones like the exotic animals album.
If my recollection is right, the first packs of actual trading cards I bought for myself were Awesome All-Stars and Greatest Gross Outs. These were imitation baseball cards that depicted weird aliens as baseball players in comic form. I loved those things, and my passion for cards only grew stronger.
Fast forward a few years and I was an avid collector of cards of all types. Baseball, basketball, football, non-sports, Panini stickers…if it was out there, I was interested in it. But 1992 may have been the peak of my fandom in my early years. It was that summer that a group of friends and I spent most days just trading cards amongst ourselves. It was also the year Topps released the 1992 version of their iconic baseball cards.
I was buying a couple of packs every week, and would proudly proclaim to my card trading friends that I was going to get the whole set. They were behind me and even gifted me their doubles on a regular basis. But what I didn’t calculate at that time was the sheer size of the set. Combine that with a meager allowance and you have the recipe for a failed attempt at collecting a whole set. Needless to say, I didn’t even come close.
Fast forward many more years to where I got on eBay and picked up a few packs of some random non-sports cards. Just the act of opening those packs once again got my juices flowing, and I started buying more and more old unopened packs. Before I knew it, I had an impressive collection of them. Figuring that there were more people out there in the world like me who enjoyed that feeling of ripping open a pack of cards and rifling through them to see what they had got, I took to filming the openings and sharing them on YouTube. You’re probably familiar since I’ve posted several of those videos here on Retro Ramblings.
One of the packs I happened to pick up then was the 1992 Topps baseball. When I opened a pack of those cards, so much nostalgia came flooding back to me. Memories of summer days and a promise I made long ago. Now we’re about two years removed from that day, and I had the itch to not only open some more cards but try to assemble a set.
The cards I started opening were Dick Tracy cards based on the movie from 1990. I had about 25 packs of them and I thought I might have a whole collection there. I opened them, put them in pages, and came up really close. It turned out to be a really fun evening, and then a thought hit me. What if I once again tried to assemble the complete 792 card set of 1992 Topps baseball cards?
All of my original cards are long gone, but what I did have was about ten unopened packs, plus the cards from three packs I’ve opened recently. I ran the idea by my friends at The Retro Network, and they’ve been really supportive. So much so that Karen’s dad has offered to send me a bunch of his doubles from the set!
So I’m going for it. It’s a project that I’d consider to be 30 years in the making. I ordered 100 trading cards pages from Amazon, bought a heavy-duty 3-ring binder, decorated the cover of it with a package from a pack of the cards, and wrote all 792 numbers down in a small notebook for keeping track of the cards I’m still looking for when I’m out and about.
While this is mostly just a personal goal of my own, I thought I would share it with you in case you’ve got something you’ve been holding off on starting for a while. Don’t wait. Go out and get started! As this project matures, I’ll probably share more of the journey with you here on Retro Ramblings. But for now, I’m going to go open another pack of cards.
Post cereals have made some real winners in their time, and possibly at the top of that list is Fruity Pebbles. And maybe right behind that is Cocoa Pebbles. The combination of those little sweetened flakes of rice and the pitchmen duo of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble is a nearly unbeatable combination.
Fruity Pebbles has been a staple of my complete morning breakfast as far back as I can remember. Except when I would stay the night at my grandmother’s house. Oh, she had Fruity Pebbles in the house, but those were just for Stevie. The rest of us kids couldn’t eat those. We had to eat oatmeal those mornings while watching Stevie enjoy a big bowl of that multi-colored goodness. To which sometimes he would pour Mountain Dew over instead of the traditional milk. That kid was something else.
But anyway, these Dino Pebbles came out in 1990 and turned the breakfast game on its head. Now there have been variations on the classic Fruity Pebbles theme in the past like when they change the colors to all red and green at Christmas. But this was a huge departure from the norm. The flakes were all one color and with a vanilla flavor instead of the multitude of fruit flavors. Then, they went and added multi-colored marshmallows to it! Think about that for just a second. They added marshmallows to Pebbles cereal. That’s a nearly unbeatable combination.
Unfortunately, these Dino Pebbles didn’t stand the test of time. However, the box art is still strikingly gorgeous and makes my mouth water just looking at it. Man, I wish someone would hurry up and invent time travel so we could go back and have all these cool cereals again. I know one of you out there reading this is smart. Get started on that asap, please.
Being a big fan of old-school wrestling, I sometimes go back in time and old wrestling shows via the WWE Network on Peacock. Over the holiday weekend, nostalgia got the better of me and I decided to go back and re-watch what I remember being a great summer-themed show, WWE’s SummerSlam ’98.
In 1998, the then WWF was in the middle of its Attitude Era, and the storylines and action leaned more towards the controversial than it had in previous years. As an example, it was just two short months prior to this event that The Undertaker threw Mankind off the top of the Hell in a Cell cage in a scene that is still held up as a symbol of the Attitude Era.
I have to admit, I was guilty of enjoying trashy, crash-style television at the time including Jerry Springer, the WWF, and other offerings. I watched Monday Night Raw religiously every week and caught every PPV event the WWF offered, so I was pumped heading into this event. SummerSlam is one of the traditional big four events of the year, so extra emphasis was put on this show.
Most of the hype for SummerSlam ’98 was centered on the rivalry between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Undertaker, and with the World Heavyweight Championship being on the line in the main event, the hype was off the charts. They even produced a pretty swank video package set to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell to hype it even more:
Just because they put a lot of effort into hyping the main event didn’t mean they ignored the rest of the card. Vince McMahon, Vince Russo, and the rest of the gang put together a solid card from top-to-bottom with plenty of intrigue throughout:
WWF World Title: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker
WWF Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: The Rock vs. Triple H
WWF Tag-Team Title Falls Count Anywhere Match: Mankind & Kane vs. The New Age Outlaws
Lion’s Den Match: Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart
Mixed Tag Team Match: Sable & Edge vs. Marc Mero & Jackie
Hair vs. Hair Match: X-Pac vs. “Double J” Jeff Jarrett
4-on-3Tag Match: Kaientai vs. The Oddities
WWF European Title Match: D-Lo Brown vs. Val Venis
I don’t intend to run down every match detail by detail, nor do I intend to give you the winner in every match either. If I did all of that, it wouldn’t leave you much incentive to go check it out for yourself. Instead, what I intend to do is kind of review it through a few lists I came up with while watching. So without further ado, here we go.
The Five Best Matches From SummerSlam ’98
In my own personal opinion of course.
The Rock vs. Triple H Intercontinental Title Ladder Match – it featured plenty of drama, high-risk moves with the ladder, and a satisfying ending to not only the match itself, but the storyline that had been running for months involving Degeneration X feuding with the Nation of Domination.
D-Lo Brown vs. Val Venis European Title Match – Even though this was the show opening match and it wasn’t designed to take the spotlight from other, higher profile matches on the card, it did. The chemistry was incredible and the two performers put on a clinic in how to get a crowd pumped up for the rest of the action they will be seeing.
Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker WWF World Title Match – This was the main event, and it certainly had a big-fight feel to it, but the action felt a little underwhelming in comparison to the first two matches I mentioned.
X-Pac vs. Double J Hair vs. Hair Match – Both of these men have been excellent performers since they first got in the business, and with several years to perfect their craft under their belts, they came out and gave an electrifying performance filled with great back and forth action.
Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart Lion’s Den Match – In what was a brutal mix of pro wrestling and UFC, the Lion’s Den match was pretty great seeing Owen and Shamrock going hold for hold and shot for shot.
My Five Favorite Performances From SummerSlam ’98
Owen Hart – getting to see a true master of his craft lead a less experienced opponent through a cool match concept was a treat.
Mankind – From his interview at the beginning of the show bemoaning his destroyed hearse, to his promo with Vince McMahon later on, the the performance he gave taking a beating from the New Age Outlaws, Mankind turned in a fine night.
Val Venis – Val was still a relative newcomer, but he had his gimmick down to a science, and he and D-Lo pulled out a heck of a match to open the show.
X-Pac – Like I said earlier, X-Pac had been perfecting his craft for years up to this point, and he put his many talents on display in his match on this show. Even watching it twenty-fours years after it happened, it still felt fresher than anything I’ve seen in modern wrestling in a long time.
Mark Henry – in the early stages of his “sexual chocolate” gimmick, watching him try to put the moves on Chyna was just flat out entertaining.
My Five Favorite Spots of the Night
The Undertaker driving Austin through a table on the floor by deliverying a leg drop frm the top rope of the ring.
The Rock giving an early People’s Elbow to Triple H while Triple H was on a ladder.
Triple H attempting a move from the top of the ladder only to be caught with a Rock Bottom.
Edge’s dive over the top rope onto Marc Mero on the floor.
Jeff Jarret using an atomic drop to crotch X-Pac on the post on the floor.
The Ten Most 1998 Things About SummerSlam ’98
The Rock’s sideburns.
The Insane Clown Posse being involved.
Val Venis and his aggressive porn star gimmick.
X-Pac using the terms “biotch” and “suck it” during his pre-match promo.
The mass of Austin 3:16 and DX shirts in the crowd.
The quote, “My name’s not Elmo, but you can tickle me any time”.
Both of the New Age Outlaws wearing Southpark shirts in their match.
Jim Ross having to apologize for saying “son of a bitch” on the air.
The announcers talking about the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. FYI, McGwire led on this date 55-54.
Jim Dotson and his hat.
Other Thoughts I Had While Watching SummerSlam ’98
D-Lo claiming to be from a different home town in Europe every week while European Champion was a great touch.
The referee in the opening bout was one tough son of a gun for taking Val Venis’ moneyshot finisher.
I could have done without seeing Kurrgan dancing.
The Godwins going from hillbillys to Dixie Mafia-esque tough guys called Southern Justice was one of the better make overs of the year.
The fiery gates of hell entrance way was a great setup.
The New York City buses being wrapped with ads for this SummerSlam in the week leading up to the show was great.
The hair clippers for the hair vs. hair match didn’t work. I don’t believe the clippers have ever worked in any hair vs. hair match ever.
Howard Finkle doing the crotch chop was not needed.
Seeing Edge make his pay-per-view debut and realizing he is main eventing shows today is surreal.
The “Marvelous” Marc Mero gimmick wouldn’t get over in today’s world.
Jackie was so far ahead of her time as a female wrestler.
The Lion’s Den match concept needs to be brought back. Maybe bill it as “Pit Fighting”.
The greatness of Owen Hart was not fully appreciated by the masses until it was too late. We lost him just nine months after this show.
Ken Shamrock being billed as a former “UFC Superfight” champion feels so out of place in today’s world.
I wonder how they Kane in that dumpster?
The ladder match made both The Rock and Triple H bonafied wrestling superstars for good from that point on.
Steve Austin and The Undertaker didn’t have great chemistry in their first high-profile match together. That would change.
So that’s it. I re-watched SummerSlam ’98 and thoroughly enjoyed it. You should go check it out on Peacock if you’re a fan of old school wrestling. Now I just have to decide what my next old school wrestling rewatch should be.
