From: ag725@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Rick Scaia) Subject: [INFO] The News From Dayton, 4/15/96 Date: 1996/04/19 Message-ID: <4l6n80$o44@alpha.sky.net> Organization: The National Capital FreeNet followup-to: rec.sport.pro-wrestling Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling.info To start things off this week, here's a recap of the weekly Dayton Daily News wrestling column (by Alex Marvez): * Main part of the column is about the WWF's recent resurgence in the War For Monday Night. WWF RAW, on 4/8, received a 4.7 rating, and a 6.8 share. In layman's terms, that means that almost 7% of all households watching cable were tuned to RAW. Not only did this rating make the 4/8 RAW the most watched RAW of all time, it also registered as the highest rated wrestling program of any kind since a 1990 WCW Clash of the Champions (headlined by Sting vs. the Black Scorpian). It needs to be noted that RAW was *not* opposed by WCW Nitro on 4/8, but it also should be noted that the 4.7 earned by RAW is a full point higher than *any* past unoppossed episode of RAW or Nitro since TNT began competing with RAW on 9/4/95. * Further proof of a WWF resurgence, as interpreted by Marvez is the success of WrestleMania XII. WM garnered 350,000 buys (a full 120,000 more than the last WCW PPV, which, BTW, was WCW's most bought PPV in over a year!), which, if we are still using an estimated PPV "universe" of ~23 million homes, works out to around a 1.6 buyrate. That would be the most buys for a wrestling PPV since -- oh -- about WM10. This can only be a good thing, IMODO. I mean, WCW is back up to it's marks of a year ago (in *their* Hogan hey-days of the ~1.0 buyrates), and the WWF is doing the type of business they did alomst 2 years ago. Are we finally riding out of the valley? * Marvez says the WWF success is due to better in-ring product, which is only amplified when WCW is putting together storylines that "don't make sense and place too much emphasis on Hulk Hogan and the Booty Man." * Yokozuna's injury on RAW is going to be used to explain 4-8 week absence while Yoko attempts to drop some of his excess weight. * There is talk of Nitro moving it's start time up "officially," to match RAW, in lieu of RAW's success. Nitro has traditionally started a couple minutes early any way, but I guess they want to make it official. Also, to try to stop the WWF's recent upsurge, there is talk of a former WWF star making surprise appearance on Nitro tonight. Marvez says it could be Lanny Poffo, doing a Gorgeous George gimmick. [I will reserve my pithy comment about just what an amazing show-stopper Lanny Poffo would be, lest it be construed as my WWF-bias showing through.] * Marvez quotes the WON as saying that part of the Piper/GOldust brawl were taped a *month* in advance. Piper broke his hand legit in the pre-taped segment, but worked the live part of the brawl without a cast to maintain continuity. Also, it is reported that Piper used a stunt double for getting "run over" by Goldust. * Mr. Perfect will be wrestling again this summer, likely feuding with Shawn Michaels. * Smoking Gunns return on May 10. Buddy Landell should be back sometime this fall, after sustaining a bad knee injury after only only 3 WWF matches. There isn't much this week from other sources, but here are few morsels of info: * First up, I'm glad my exhortation to try Georgie's Chatterbox web site has been followed by so many... to those of you e-mailing me wondering why Georgie hasn't added any new info in a while, I'm sorry, I can't answer that. I usually got my info from her AOL folder, and don't know how the logistics of the web site work. * Oh, for those of you still positive that Demolition is reforming to join the WWF, I've got bad news: not even the WWF Magazine's "Insider" feels like baiting you along with that rumor. It's not gonna happen. * Here is the full line-up of WWF PPV dates and sites for the rest of 1996 (I, for one, may very well be attending 2 of these shows -- SS in Cleveland and the October PPV in Indy -- as well as any conveniently located post-PPV TV tapings): - In Your House Omaha, NE April 28, 1996 - WWF PPV Spectacular Florence, SC May 26, 1996 - King of the Ring Milwaukee, WI June 23, 1996 - WWF PPV Spectacular Vancouver, BC July 21, 1996 - Summerslam Cleveland, OH August 18, 1996 - WWF PPV Spectacular Philadelphia, PA September 22, 1996 - WWF PPV Spectacular Indianapolis, IN October 20, 1996 - Survivor Series MSG, New York City November 17, 1996 - WWF PPV Spectacular Lakeland, FL December 15, 1996 Later.... -- Rick Scaia | I'm on the Web now! All of a sudden, I'm relatively sane | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ag725/ ag725@freenet.carleton.ca | Prepare to be Disappointed!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------