3. WWF Shotgun Saturday Night Debuts - January 4, 1997
So, yeah. Ever wonder when the WWF initially went from a TV show that rarely had all-over-the building brawls, questionable moral content, strong sexual content and profane language on a regular basis came from? Well, look no further than "Shotgun Saturday Night." Initially started as a late-night TV program meant to rival Extreme Championship Wrestling's oftentimes late-night broadcast "Hardcore TV," the initial episode goes as far as having Terri "Marlena" Runnels fully expose her breasts to The Sultan, allowing Goldust to win a match. Featuring brawls in shopping malls, fights involving automobiles, and loose morality on display from commentators like Brian Pillman, the program was a harbinger to pretty much what happens every few segments on Raw - even in today's "TV-PG" era.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
