5 Retro Wrestling Shows That Should Be Revived, And 5 That Absolutely Should Not

Avoid (4.) – Bunkhouse Stampede

What exactly is a Bunkhouse? Where is a Bunkhouse? Why is it stampeding? Dusty Rhodes answered none of these questions back in 1985 when he unveiled his latest brainstorm – the Bunkhouse Stampede. Rhodes is credited with some of Jim Crockett Promotions’ most influential concepts, including Starrcade, the Great American Bash, and WarGames. The Bunkhouse Stampede has never joined those in the pantheon of memorable pay-per-views.

Wikipedia tells us that a bunkhouse is the name given to an old cabin or ranch where cowboys used to rest or work. So, it fits the working class, common man aesthetic that Rhodes developed for himself. As for the event itself, it was a series of house show battle royals where wrestlers wore their own clothes (a bit like a mufti day at school) and were allowed to use weapons (not like a mufti day at school). With straps, bats and chains flying about they were bloody affairs. The winners would convene in a final Bunkhouse Stampede for a championship.

The event took place annually from the mid-to-late 1980s, but only once (1988) on pay-per-view. Oh, and one more important detail – it was won by Dusty Rhodes. Every. Single. Year. Even with “The American Dream” treated as the godfather of NXT, they would be best advised to steer clear of this one.

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Revive (4.) – Canadian Stampede

Canadian Stampede (technically, In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede, for the purists). It was the greatest WWE show of all time. So why not bring it back? Simple as that. The Canadian contingent of NXT and WWE’s main roster may not quite be what it was, but you could definitely scramble together a decent five-man team hailing from the Great White North to face off against five dastardly Americans.

Imagine an uneasy alliance of top US NXT stars laying down a challenge to their northerly neighbours – Kross, Cole, Gargano, Theory and Ciampa – while struggling to co-exist with each other. Kyle O’Reilly who has recently proven his worth as a singles star captains the Canadian team, calling on Roode, Owens and Zayn from the main roster for help. Chris Jericho and Brian Pillman Jr are all tied up with AEW so maybe we look further afield for a fifth man. Davey Boy Smith Jr has been rumoured to be on his way back in for a while and would make perfect sense, and receive a very emotional reaction, especially if accompanied by friends and family such as Tyson Kidd and Natalya. Or how about Edge?

Elsewhere on the original card, Triple H and Mick Foley had a wild brawl, so Uncle Paul could help build up the event on NXT by giving a heartfelt promo about… himself. And his career. Again.

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