Today,I'm gonna be listing a bunch of my favorite Retro Wrestling Promos. And for the hell of it,I'll be listing various Interview Segments too. Like always,this list is in no particular order.
Hard Times - During his heated feud with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair,"The Anerican Dream" Dusty Rhodes cuts his famous "Hard Times" Promo. Dusty starts talking about hard times and how flair put him on hard times too. He then pleads for the fans help and then asks them to not let him down.
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Rhodes Rage - WCW In Late 1999,on either Nitro or Thunder,Dustin Rhodes returned to the company as a Dark and Sinister character,called Seven. And for his first promo,his rages against the terrible Russo-ruled WCW and the disrespect that they've shown his Father,Dusty. He even takes some pot-shots at WWF and Goldust. He then promises to make the WCW Bosses lives a living hell. Good stuff from WCW circa 1999 and 2000 were so very few and far between,but this promo amused me so much and Dustin was definitely speaking for all of us,who really hated the direction WCW was going.
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The TRUE birth of Mr. McMahon - The "Bret Screwed Bret" interview. A week after the Montreal Screwjob, on RAW, Vince McMahon did an interview with Jim Ross about the incident and Bret Hart's departure to WCW. Now,I'm not gonna go into the Montreal Screwjob here - That deserves it's own post,instead I'm gonna just say that McMahon screwed Bret at the 1997 Survivor Series, after he changed the planned finish behind The Hit Man's back. McMahon here played the victim and most Fans saw it as disgusting,so they began hating on Vince. To me,This was the True Birth of the Evil Mr. McMahon.
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I Own WCW! - In mid-to late March of 2001, The WCW was bought out by Vince McMahon and the WWF. McMahon did the opening monologue for the Final Monday Nitro,where he gloats about his Victory in the Monday Night Wars by Buying his competition - He Now Owns WCW.
McMahon goes on to tell the WCW fans that he will be addressing them and the Superstars of WCW later. He closes out by saying that the very fate of WCW is in His hands.
This moment was surreal for many wrestling fans,who never thought they'd see that day. Such a historic moment.
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WCW Gets Rowdy - Roddy Piper's WCW Debut near the end of Halloween Havoc 1996. Hollywood Hogan ,with the Giant's help,just defeated "Macho Man'" Randy Savage and retained his World Title. As Hogan was cutting his "Back Patting" post-match promo, he is interrupted by a surprise visitor - Rowdy Roddy Piper! Hogan is shocked to see him. Piper claims he came to break Hogan's "monotony". After warning The Giant to stay back, Piper cuts his promo. In said promo, Piper mentions that he is not there to represent WCW, his past with Hogan,and other things. He even mentions WrestleMania 1. Piper talks about how he is just as big an Icon as Hogan is.
Hogan gets to speak after and admits this. However, as Piper is about to leave the Ring, Hogan insults him. After a bit of back and forth between Piper and Hogan,the night ends with a stare down between the 2. I love this promo. And Piper's arrival in WCW was a nice surprise to everyone.
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Hulkamania is Pukamania - In one of his Final Pre-WrestleMania 5 promos, "Macho Man" Randy Savage raged against Hulk Hogan Here, he talks about Hogan not knowing where he's coming from, Pukamaniacs that he doesn't need,and more. Ending the promo by declaring that Hulkamania is dead.
You can really feel the hatred Savage had in this promo for Hogan. Amazing.
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The Heel Turn Seen and Felt Around The World - The Legendary Heel Turn of Hulk Hogan and the Birth of the nWo at WCW Bash at the Beach '96.
Team WCW was down one man and were getting beat by the Outsiders. Suddenly, Hulk Hogan arrives, seemingly to help "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Sting. But in a moment that Shocked the World, Hogan attacked Savage and joined the Outsiders. It was the Heel turn seen and felt around the Globe.
After the match, "Mean" Gene Okerlund questions Hogan about his decision. Hogan gives him the answer via a legendary promo, all while garbage was being thrown into the ring by the booing fans. Hogan talks about how he made Wrestling and how he was just using WCW and how he's happy to to associate himself with Hall and Nash. He also tells the fans that they can "Stick It, Brothers!". He then forms what he calls "The New World Order of Wrestling!"
After the promo, Hogan and his 2 new allies mock the fans by posing. And from that point on, WCW would begin it's nearly 2 Year winning streak against the WWF.
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Good Ol' Disgruntled J.R. - On a Monday Night RAW in September of 1996,Jim Ross cuts a promo on how the WWF and Vince McMahon had mistreated him. He even talks a bit about his bells palsy. After the promo,he introduces us to the Fake Razor Ramon.
This was supposed to be the start of J.R.'s heel turn,but his promo was so sincere,that the opposite effect happened and J.R. became one of the most beloved Announcers in Wrestling. Also the debut of the Fake Razor Ramon (played by Rick Bognar aka Rick Titan). I'll talk more about the "Fakes" another time.
Also, I think this was the first On-Air reference to Vince McMahon being the owner of the WWF.
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The WCW Madness - "Macho Man" Randy Savage arrives in WCW on December of '94 on WCW Saturday Night. Ooh,Yeeaahh!!! In his debut promo, "Macho Man" Randy Savage talks about various things, including WCW Champion Hulk Hogan,who he promises to confront at Starrcade '94 and either shake his hand or slap him in the face.
A good beginning promo from the Macho Man. Shame his WCW run wasn't nearly as great as his WWF run.
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Free Spirit - In the Dying Days of the USWA in '97, Rick Bognar, aka Fake Razor Ramon, cuts a promo rejecting not only his "Fake Razor" gimmick,but also Vince McMahon and the WWF. He then returns to being his true self - Rick Titan, the Free Spirit.
And a month after this, the "Fakes" would officially be faded out. I liked this promo because Rick was brave enough to reject a gimmick that was forced upon him by Vince McMahon on live TV. That took guts. Shame very few were watching USWA at this point.
R.I.P. Rick Bognar.
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The Stinging Aftermath - Now before I get to this promo,here's a little context - During the built-up to Fall Brawl War Games 1996, the nWo unleashed a Fake Sting to fool the WCW, all while the Real Sting was on tour internationally.
Soon many were convinced that The Stinger was now a member of the nWo... including his best buddy, The "Total Package" Lex Lugar.
When the Stinger returned at Fall Brawl, he tried to convince Team WCW that the nWo Sting was not him and was a fake.
Unfortunately, no one,including Lex Lugar, didn't believe him. So when the Fake Sting entered War Games, many felt betrayed, thinking it was the Real Sting. But the Real Sting entered as the final member of his team, shocking all.
Sting,feeling rejected assaulted the nWo and then left the match.
Next night on Nitro, Sting cut an in ring promo with his back turned to the camera giving a tongue lashing to those who.doubted him...especially Lex Luger,who he was good friends with. The Stinger then goes on tell those who believed in him,that he'll still stand by them,if they still stand by him. He then tells all who doubted him to Stick It.
Sting then declares himself to be a Free Agent,but promises to pop in when everyone least expects it. He then leaves the ring. Ladies and Gentlemen - The Genesis of Crow Sting!!! From that moment on,Sting would remain in the shadows or secluded,until 1997,where he would begin his assault on the nWo.
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You Wanna War?! - On a Late-May addition of Monday Nitro,Scott Hall interrupts a match between 2 guys no one cares for and cuts a promo. In the promo,he mocks WCW and some of it's stars. He then declares War on the company.
This moment changed Everything for WCW and American Wrestling in General. Here was Razor Ramon on WCW TV, and everyone was wondering if the WWF was waging War against WCW via an invasion.? Interest was piqued.
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The Changing Measuring Stick - 2 Weeks after his Iconic "You Want A War?" Promo, Scott Hall returned to harass Eric Bischoff in the broadcast booth. The previous week,Hall promised a "Big Surprise" and on this show he delivered. That Surprise was Kevin Nash,who cuts a promo of his own.
"So this is Where The Big Boys Play,huh?! Look at the Adjective - Play! We ain't here to play!"
Then,at the end of the promo, Nash gives us This gem of a line - "The Measuring Stick just changed around here,Buddy! And You're lookin' at 'em!!"
The Debut of the Outsiders!
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The Savage/Flair Affair Continues - A 2-fer. Ric Flair and Randy Savage cut intense promos after their title match at WrestleMania 8.
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair,enraged at his title loss to "Macho Man"Randy Savage,dares Savage to face him again. To quote Slick Ric himself - "Because One Time Means Nothing to My Career!!!!"
After Ric's unhinged promo. The Macho Man cuts one of his own. Saying that he just got a "piece" of Flair that night, but wants the rest of him - "The Whole Flair Package".
2 of the Biggest Icons of Wrestling Unhinged. I found these promos to be Entertaining and it helped continue the Savage/Flair rivalry in the WWF. Good stuff!
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Billionaire Ted's Biggest Get - Hulk Hogan arrives in WCW in June of '94. After a parade,Hogan gives a promo,signs the WCW contract,and takes questions. All taking place at Disney/MGM studios.
The most Iconic and Shocking moments in Wrestling history. The biggest Name in Wrestling,the man who helped Put WWF on the map,the man who was WWF personified for over a decade,was now part of the competition.
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Easy E Exposed - On a November '96 edition on Monday Nitro,Roddy Piper exposes Eric Bischoff as part of the nWo via a promo. Bischoff was set to interview Piper,but Piper decided to do his own thing.
As Bischoff was being exposed, The nWo assaults Piper and Hogan gloats about how Bischoff was indeed, was part of the nWo. Not only that,but he was the Boss.
From that point on Bischoff would become the Boss from Hell - A full Year before Evil Mr. McMahon was born. And 2 Years before McMahon became the WWF's own Boss from Hell.
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No Problem With The Rockers - On January of 1992,the Rockers break up on Brutus Beefcake's Barbershop. Now, on that edition of 'The Barbershop', Brutus Beefcake attempted to reconcile the Rockers,who have been having issues as of late.
But, just as things were getting better, Shawn Michaels Superkicked Marty Janetty though the class window and after a small beat-down on his,now-former,partner, Michaels mocks the situation and walks off.
The Birth of HBK!
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A Belt Worth a Million Dollars - In Late '88,Tired of chasing after the WWF Championship, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase decided to go out and create his own. And that's Exactly what he did.
On the Brother Love Show,Dibiase unveiled his Million Dollar Championship, a Championship Belt Worthy of a man like himself.
This belt was so cool looking and,for a short time, was treated as a Legit Title.
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Kick Ass or Kiss Ass - On Monday Night RAW in the Summer of '97, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin cuts a promo about his upcoming Intercontinental Title match against Champion,Owen Hart at SummerSlam.
In that promo, Austin talks about his Title Match and then Bret Hart's promise to never Wrestle in America again if he fails to beat the Undertaker at SummerSlam.
Not to be outdone by the Hit Man, in a moment of One-upsmenship, Austin vows to kiss Owen Hart's ass if he can't kick it..."And That's The Way It's Gonna Be!!!".
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The One-Upsmen - The week after Stone Cold's "Kiss His Ass,If I Can't Kick It" promo,The Hart Foundation decides to do a little one-upsmanship for Their SummerSlam Matches.
On RAW the previous Week, Bret Hart promised to stay in Canada if he lost his bid to become WWF Champion.
Well,on This Edition of RAW, The British Bulldog promised to eat a full can of Dog Food If he failed to defeat Ken Shamrock. Brian Pillman's goal was to rip out Goldust's heart at SummerSlam,but promised to wrestle in a dress for a while if he couldn't get the job done.
And Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart vowed to shave off his goatee if All 4 men lost their matches.
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The Crowning of the Macho King - The Great Coronation of 1989. The Macho Man becomes The Macho King. Presented by Savage's real life Brother "The Genius" Lanny Poffo and surrounded by some of the Biggest Heels in Wrestling. Savage is given a Gold Scepter by "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase.
Fun fact about this was that 3 Of the 4 Horsemen were present - Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson as the Brain Busters and Barry Windham as the Widow Maker.
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Betrayal of a Friend - That Piper's Pit in Feb of 1987,Roddy Piper presented Hulk Hogan and Jessie Ventura presented Andre The Giant,who to everyone's shock,came out with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
Andre the Giant then proceeds to threaten Hogan for a title match. Hogan can't believe this is happening. Andre rips off Hogans shirt and cross.
Feeling betrayed by his long-time Friend,Hulk Hogan reluctantly accepts the Giant's challenge at WrestleMania 3.
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The Giantless Weasel - At WrestleMania 6,Bobby "The Brain" Heenan blasts Andre The Giant for turning on him after his team,the Colossal Connection,lost their Tag Titles to Demolition.
"You Listen To Me,You Go To The Top! You Don't Listen To Me...You're Never Heard From Again!" - Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
Bobby was hysterical during that interview. The Brain was amusing as usual.
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Bruno in the Pit - A memorable 1985 MSG Piper's Pit with "The Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino. The interview starts by Bruno wanting "Ace Cowboy" Bob Orton to leave and even threatens to get one of his friends to watch his back.
Piper reluctantly sends Orton away. Once that's though, the interview begins. There are shots thrown by both men at each other and after things got heated, Bruno pushed Piper and was beaten down for it. Bruno was starting to fight back,which caused Piper to bolt.
My First Ever Piper's Pit segment. I watched this on a Tape that was all about Bruno Sammartino, in fact, it was an Official Colosseum Home Video release.
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Snuka'd - During this legendary Piper's Pit, Rowdy Roddy Piper had "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka as a guest. Piper was mocking Snuka and his Fijian Heritage, not letting him get a word in. Snuka asks if Piper was making fun of him? Piper answers Snuka with a Coconut to the skull.
Piper then proseeds to beat on Snuka and mocks him while doing so. But,once Snuka is ready to retaliate, Piper runs away fast.
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The Last Dance - Another 2-fer. On the Final Episode of Monday Nitro in 2001,Ric Flair cuts a passionate promo about WCW and his WCW career. He then challenges Sting to one final match later.
And Before their match,we get a cool promo from Sting,who says that he wouldn't miss this very special night for nothin' and agrees to finish things with Ric Flair before the WCW is gone. He then asks the fans if they're wondering about What the Future Holds for Him? And Sting gives us his answer - "Well, The Only Sure Thing About The Stinger - Is That Nothin's For Sure! It's Showtime ,Folks!!!
2 Excellent Promos, leading up to a Great Match. A Match that was a Worthy finale for WCW.
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The Greatest Moment with a Tear in His Eye - "Nature Boy" Ric Flair's Promo after becoming Champion at Royal Rumble '92.
This promo solidified The Nature Boy as a True Wrestling Icon. 'Nuff Said.
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Snapping Sid - At the WrestleMania 8 press conference to determine who Ric Flair will face at the event, Sid Justice snaps at WWF President Jack Tunney for choosing Hulk Hogan over him.
Short,but sweet and Sid was speaking for every disenfranchised star in WWF.
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The Taker Turns - In Feb of 1992,On the Funeral Parlor, Jake "The Snake" Roberts questions the Undertaker's loyalty after he prevented the Snake from striking "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Elizabeth with a chair backstage a week prior.
"Just Who's Side Are You On?!" - Jake "The Snake" Roberts.
"Not Yours!!!!" - The Undertaker.
Undertaker turns on Jake and becomes a Babyface. Jake assaults the Undertaker and traps his hand in a casket. He then beats up on Paul Bearer, all while insulting and taunting the Dead Man. The Undertaker struggles to fight back.
One of my favorite editions of the Funeral Parlor. Undertaker is a Super Legend!
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Hulkamania is Not For Sale - Hogan rejects Dibiase's offer to buy the WWF Championship from him.
In late 1987, "The Million Dollar" Ted Dibiase offered to buy the WWF Championship from Hulk Hogan. Hogan cut a promo thinking how Dibiase's money would benefit him,his family,and his Hulkamaniacs.
But then slowly realizes that the Hulkamaniacs would Never forgive him if he did that. So He rejects Dibiase's offer on behalf of his Hulkamaniacs. "HELL NO!!!!"
Hogan then proseeds to tell off Dibiase.
The Hulkster made it clear that Hulkamania was Not For Sale.
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The Warrior's Sensational Rejection - At Royal Rumble 1991,WWF Champion,Ultimate Warrior was doing an interview,talking about his match with Sgt. Slaughter. Sensational Queen Sherri arrives and pleads for the Warrior to give "Macho King" Randy Savage a title match.
She even tries to seduce him. But the warrior isn't having any of it so, in Warrior Fashion, rejects her pleas And her seduction tactics with a big loud "NO!!!!!" The Warriors answer scared Sherri a bit,but it enraged The Macho King, and as revenge He cost the Warrior his Title.
And thus begins the Savage/Warrior feud,which would lead to their Legendary Retirement Match at WrestleMania 7 (the best match of the night!).
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The 3 Faces of Foley - On RAW of 1997,Triple H was ready to fight Dude Love. Dude appears on the Titantron and refuses to fight,but brings in Mankind,who also refuses,then both bring in Cactus Jack,who accepts the fight and heads down to ringside with an enormous pop.
My All Time Favorite Mick Foley Promo!!! And Cactus Jack's WWF Debut!
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Million Dollar Jerk - In 1987,Ted Dibiase held a Dribble Challenge,where some lucky audience member would win $500 of his money, if they dribbled a Basketball 15x in succession.
So, a young boy named Sean accepted the challenge. The kid was doing great,until Dibiase kicked the ball away from the kid after he dribbled it 14 times. The Million Dollar Man then proceeds to mock the poor kid.
The moment that fully established Ted Dibiase as a Great Heel. He was "The Million Dollar Jerk" to everyone.
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The Honky Saga - A Series of Promos featuring the Honky Tonk Man,in late '86,as a Babyface and eventually becoming Heel once he found out that the fans don't like him via a poll.
When HTM came on the scene,he was a Babyface. And a month in, the fans started treating him cold. So Honky wondered what the issue was. Eventually a poll was taken and Honky did everything he could to please the fans,but to no avail.
When the polls final results came in,the Majority saw Honky unfavorably. A week after the poll, Honky turned Heel. And a week after That,he aligned himself with "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart.
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Hart Family Reunion - The RAW after Wrestlemania 13,Bret reunites with Owen and the Bulldog to form Hart Foundation 2.0.
During a match for the European Championship between Owen Hart and the British Bulldog,which turned into a brawl. Bret "Hit Man" Hart rushes down to the ring to stop the fight. He cuts a promo, which he tries to get them to stop fighting for the American Wrestling fans enjoyment. He then insults the American Wrestling fans and America in general.
He makes a heartfelt plea to his Brother and Brother-In-Law and talks about his past experiences with them,all while taking potshots at American Values.
The promo ends with the 3 hugging it out.
The look of disdain Bret gave the Fans during his group hug with Owen and the Bulldog was priceless. The Hart Foundation 2.0 was born that night.
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Hart Attack for America - The RAW After WrestleMania 13, Bret "Hit Man" Hart cuts a promo and turns heel on the American fans.
In the promo,The Hit Man apologies to his fans for his attitude at WrestleMania 13. He apologizes to Every Wrestling fan around the World..except for the American Fans. Bret Trashes the American Fans and America itself.
As a curious experiment, WWF decided to turn Bret Hart Heel in the U.S.,but keep him a Babyface everywhere else. It worked well, I must say.
Also note that The RAW after WM13 was first event to take place during a transitional era,I call the Pre-Attitude Era.
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He Feels Like God - Bob Backlund is doing an interview at Survivor Series '94, having just won the WWF Championship from Bret Hart in a Towel Match.
Backlund cuts a promo about how he finally regained the belt and then talks about what how he's gonna be a role model for everyone.
He finishes his promo with this gem of a line - "Because I Feel Like God!!!!!!!!"
One of Backlunds finest Promos. To me, at least.
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Backlund For President - In the Spring of 1995,after failing to gain traction as a Main Event Superstar again,Bob Backlund announced on RAW that He is running for The Presidency Of The United States.
Not much to say about this entertaining and memorable promo. But I'm gonna say This, Backlund would've made a Way better President than what we have (and what we'll be getting) right now.
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Special Mention: Billionaire Ted's Rasslin' War Room - These skits were funny. Basically,in early 1996,The WWF put out a bunch of skits taking big potshots at Ted Turner and his favorable treatment of old WWF Talent, mainly "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan.
The most famous skit being "The Wrasslin' War Room",where.Billionaire Ted,some Yes Men,Scheme Gene,The Huckster,and the Nacho Man were discussing ways to compete with the WWF and to get more WWF talent. What follows was comedy silver.
As part of this skit package,the WWF also parodied Larry King Live. Now,many people hate these skits,but I love 'em, So Screw The Haters!
Also, these skits led to the hilarious Geriatric Match at WrestleMania 12.
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That's was Long,wasn't it? Well,that's all she Wrote Wrestling Fans. What are some of Your favorite Wrestling Promos?
Until Next Time,Space Cowboys,Stay Gold and Resist Modern Attitudes!
The Retro King Has Spoken.
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