From: ag725@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Rick Scaia) Subject: [INFO] The News from Dayton, 11/12/95 Date: 1995/11/13 Message-ID: Sender: ag725@freenet2.carleton.ca (Rick Scaia) Organization: The National Capital FreeNet Reply-To: ag725@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Rick Scaia) Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling Good week for news and stuff... here are the highlights from this week's Dayton Daily News column by Alex Marvez to start things off: * Most interesting item is that Bam Bam Bigelow has quit the WWF. Marvez suggests more of the mid-carders will be soon to follow. This is because the WWF is not running as many house shows, which is making it difficult for the mid-carders to make a decent living working for Titan (as house shows are where they make their money). Did the WWF recently cut B-shows again? And what does this mean for Survivor Series (Bigelow/Goldust)? * Marvez's lead story, however, is that Hogan is going nowhere for the time being. He isn't taking time off to make a movie or anything, as had been planned. Instead, his feud with the Giant will remain pushed at the top, and a mini-program with Sting is forthcoming. Basically, Hogan and Sting will face off on the 11/20 Nitro, but Horseman interference will result in a Hogan/Sting vs. Arn/Flair Nitro main event down the line. However, note that WCW plans on building to February PPV main event of Hogan/Savage vs. Sting/Luger. Marvez didn't really spell out how this was all going to happen, but if you ask me, it's mighty bizzarre; I'm still not sure anyone there understands how to tell a good story. * The original idea of WCW having 3 giants (one in each ring) at the WW3 battle royal is being revamped. Now, they are going to push Hogan as a giant ("The Giant of Wrestling") along with the Yeti (Ron Reis) and The Giant (Paul Wright). This is because El Jorge Gigante Gonzales has been hospitalized with diabetes-related illness and sent back to Venezuela. * Randy Savage will undergo elbow surgery ASAP. * Mention is made of Rick Rude's lawsuit (suing WCW) asking for compensation for what Rude is now considering a "career ending injury." That said, marvez is quick to point out that should Rude decide to return to the ring anyway, it would either be in the WWF or with his buddy Paul E. Dangerously in ECW. As always, I go the extra mile and scoure a few other sources for info you, the home viewer, can put to good use. So here it is: * The new WWF Magazine arrived, and once again provides a few (more than likely inaccurate) hints about the future. First the "Informer" did a major tease of Jeff Jarrett returning somewhere down the line (saying a "GREAT" former champ is coming back to reclaim what is rightuflly his). Also, the "Informer" made a vague mention to Ted DiBiase getting his hands on a legitimate Million Dollar tag team. No idea what that's about. Also revealed by the WWF Mag: Ahmed Johson's football career included a stint as a Dallas' Cowboys lineman. Interesting.... but true? Maybe our Texas contingent knows more. * On the Action Zone, Jim Ross once again did a fabulous job intro-ing some more of the All Japan Women. This week, we first met the 4'9" Chipparita (?) Asari, and saw the Sky Twister Press (which Ross accurately called the Sky Twister Press). Next, was an AJW who retired a few years back, spent time as a TV analyst for golf and martial arts, and now at the age of 32, has returned to wrestling; I think this was Lioness Aska (Asuka?). I think he mentioned and featured one more, along with Kyoko (for the 2nd week in a row), but it is getting late and my memory is going. Anyway, good stuff, and Ross is perfect for announcing it. * Also on the Zone, they had a piece on Roddy Piper. Don't know what the point was, but it painted him as a respected old timer, who is having great success in movies. Didn't really build to a return or anything, IMODO. Then again, maybe just getting his name back on WWF TV is considered a start to building to a return. Who knows? * The WWF Online section of AOL didn't have any info of note secreted away that I could find (although for you perverts out there, there is now a WHOLE FOLDER of pictures of the lovely and talented Tammy "Sunny" Fytch for you to download... go nuts, kids!). However, Johnny B. Badd's folder did include one interesting tidbit. While he would not (could not?) make any difinitive comment on Sabu's status with WCW, Johnny B. Badd *did* say that Sabu was noticeably absent from the Disney tapings. Make of that what you will. * A final note on WCW's inclusion of New Japan television on their own TV. If you were getting excited by this possibility, maybe thinking about taping some WCW (or is that NJ?), then don't bother! I taped WCW Pro on Saturday morning, hoping that the NJ would be something fresh or different, or at least good. But no... half an hour into the show, we cut to a regular old WCW Disney set, complete with the cattle-for-fans (who, after being herded into this torture, lose all individuality or capacity for rational thought, and merely boo and cheer on command), along with the mildly annoying Chris Cruise and the embarrassingly bad Sonny Onoo (not a typo, that's how it was spelled). We get to see three NJ guys Masa Chono in singles, and Kensuke Sasaki and that big, old guy (if you've seen NJ vids, you know the face) in tag action. In both cases, they were pitted against caucasion jobbers, which allowed Winky the WCW Ferret (or whatever their mascot is) to prod the helpless crowd in "USA, USA" chants. The matches were pretty much squashes, and the commentary, especially the crap from Onoo, was dreadful. If WCW wanted to excite its current fans with a new and different form of wrestling, they aren't doing it. If they just wanted to rope in the 'cores, and give them 30 minutes of stuff they'd like per week, they sure as hell aren't doing that, either. Unless I hear of more interesting uses for the NJ guys, I won't bother wasting an hour of tape every Saturday morning anymore. [Special note: long time SMW/WWF/WCW jobber Chris Canyon got a win over Disco Inferno on Saturday Night.... I would not mind seeing Canyon pused a bit. Especially because it was 2 years ago when I, after seeing Canyon as a SMW regular jobber, and occassional WWF jobber, voted for Canyon in the "Jobber of the Year" category in Herb's awards. He looked like a guy who was *not* going to be a career jobber, and if his move up the ranks starts with a win over the Disco Inferno, it sure makes me look like a genius, doesn't it? :) ] -- Rick Scaia | "Barkeep... Run as you may, you cannot escape! | Another whiskey!" ag725@freenet.carleton.ca | - The Infamous BlueKid ------------------------------------------------------------------------------