From: ag725@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Rick Scaia) Subject: [INFO] The News From Dayton -- 10/21/96 Date: 1996/10/23 Message-ID: <54jnkc$69l$3@alpha.sky.net> followup-to: rec.sport.pro-wrestling Organization: The National Capital FreeNet Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling.info,rec.sport.pro-wrestling Welcome, kids... I won't BS you; the NFD this week is gonna be a bit sparse. I only have a certain number of hours per week which I can spend on my #2 hobby, pro wrestling, and those numbers were seriously curtailed by the various activities that were involved in cooridinating a trip from Dayton to Indy to witness WWF In Your House live and in person. So looking through my various notes and messages, it looks like I've got a bit less news than usual to expound upon here. Stick with me, and I'll try to do better next time. Also, you can always drop by the NFD web site (which is http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ag725/HomePage.news.html) for updates. As always, we start with a rundown of the weekly Alex Marvez wrestling column from the Dayton Daily News: * Top story is about WWF IYH Buried Alive. Alex correctly guesses that Undertaker would get the victory, but would sustain a run-in attack from Terry Gordy (who appeared with a new look and a mask on the show). In the semi-final match, Alex said he expected Vader to get the win over Sid and face Michaels at Survivor Series; as we know, Sid got the win and will receive the title shot. * Titan runs Superstars TV tapings in Cincinnati tommorrow night (Tues., 10/22) at the Gardens. I'd love to say I was going, but Tuesday night is one of the nights I have class. As usual, I encourage anyone who attends TV tapings to feel free to send me results! * With both WCW and the WWF pursuing Bret Hart (regardless of what Bischoff said, Hart has been on serious negociations with WCW), his final price is escalating. Alex quotes the Observer as stating Bret had a three-year, $9-million deal on the table from Bischoff/Turner/WCW, but that Bret is leaning towards an even more lucrative offer from Titan due to his family ties there (his brother and brother-in-law are currently tag team champs in the WWF) and his real-life dislike of Hulk Hogan. As we all know, Bret Hart will appear tonight on Monday Night RAW to discuss his future; it seems logical to believe that McMahon would not bring Hart out on TV if Bret wasn't committed to the WWF. * Alex runs down last week's superb ECW television show, which was highlighted by the ultra-realistic angle which saw Shane Douglas attacking Gary "Pitbull #1) Wolfe, who was wearing a halo-neck brace following an injury sustained at the hands of Douglas. Wolfe was stretchered out as the locker room emptied to come to the aid of Gary. [As a sidebar, the Wrestling Lariat Newsletter states that Wolfe's injury, which was a real life legit injury, has in fact been healing nicely. In fact, Wolfe had been told he could stop using the halo a couple weeks before the ECW Arena show at which this incident took place.] In addition to the "traditional" late Friday night Prime Network timeslot, SportsChannel Cincinnati has added a Monday morning (11a.m.) showing of ECW weekly TV, due to popular demand, and also to make up for Friday nights when ECW is pre-empted by a long-running high school football game. As I have reported previously here, low power Dayton TV station WUCT-51 also runs ECW weekly TV; channel 51 airs ECW on Saturday evenings, usually starting at or around 7p.m. (depending on college football games, ECW may be pushed back as late as 8pm on occassion). * Alex Marvez, despite a very time consuming job covering the Cinci Bengals for the Dayton Daily News (a job which will not be getting any easier in the wake of the firing of head coach Dave Shula), remains accessible to wrestling fans on the 'net. You can e-mail him at "Alex1Marv@aol.com" or sign on to America On-Line, and join him in his "Bodyslams" folder located in the AOL GrandStand Wrestling Area. Other news -- * As I said above, I attended "Buried Alive" in the flesh. I thought it was a very entertaining show in person, though when I watched the tape of the event that a friend who could not join us left for me, I thought it was merely a notch or two above mediocre. A solid opener and a solid main event made for a strong Thumbs in the Middle sort of show. Again, they seemed to be building to future events (in this case, to the live RAW and to Survivor Series) more than trying to pay off on the PPV at hand. Things that you did not see on the show but that I caught in person included a Barry Windham victory over Justin Hawk Bradshaw; Barry had a new Sandman-esque look that included red and blue Zubaz work-out pants and a WWF t-shirt, along with no face paint. Barry looked pretty sharp in this surprisingly OK match; Windham won with a superplex. There was VERY lame Godwinns/Rockers match; Godwinns won in short order, which is about the best thing I could say for this match. Our in-arena main event was Shawn Michaels defending against Goldust. Michaels won a very good (but kinda short) match. There were a number of memorable/funny moments. You can look for my long, in-depth report of the show elsewhere on RSPW or on my webpage. * The wrestler formerly known as 2 Cold Scorpio has signed on with the WWF for a long term contract. Reportedly, the way that Titan went about signing Scorp away from ECW angered Paul Heymann, which may mean the end of whatever co-promotional plans the two groups may have had. Some are stating that the early plans for Scorp's gimmick are beyond lame, and attribute that fact to Jim Cornette's total lack of understanding when it comes to booking/promoting African American wrestlers. Much like Terry Gordy, Dan Kroffat, and Doug Furnas, Scorp has got a few more ECW obligations to fulfill before starting with Titan full time. * The next hottest free-agent in wrestling is suppossedly Randy Savage. In the past week, random speculation that Savage may be through with WCW upon completion of his contract -- which is reportedly up in November -- has escalated to a widely-reported rumor. In fact, the "WWF Informer" (another of WWF Magazine Editor Vince Russo's fictional alter-egos) said that Savage may be coming back to the WWF in an AOL chat session. Also, WCW has incorporated elements of a "Savage may be leaving WCW" storyline into the existing angle that involves Savage, the NWO, and Elizabeth. WCW Hotline reports have also acknowledged the very real possibility that Randy Savage may be through with WCW following Halloween Havoc. I'm not sure what to make of it all, but my guess is that Savage will not return to the WWF, as Bischoff/Turner will find a way to keep Savage in WCW; in fact, I wouldn't be totally surprised if the decision has already been made by Savage to stay with WCW, and now WCW is just incorporating this stuff in the angle to play to the "smart" members of the audience and throw us off the scent. * Ratings told a very bad story for the WWF last week. Nitro was down a bit from past weeks (and continues to lose viewers over the length of the two hour show), but RAW nose-dived down to a 1.8; this is the lowest rating yet for RAW since the start of the "Monday Night Wars," and damned close to the lowest rating scored by either show since September '95. Whether this was because the main event match of Austin vs. Michaels was poorly promoted or simply because the results of taped shows are so well disseminated by the time the fourth show from a TV taping airs is unknown. What is known is that something has to be done to raise the ratings and sustain them in the 2.5-3.0 range. * With word that Public Enemy are unhappy in WCW, I guess it was only a matter of time before somebody started speculating on where they might go. Now, the speculation has begun, and a few sketchy rumors are saying TPE might be able (and willing) to return to ECW in early '97. Right now, the reason TPE is not on WCW TV is because both men are down with injuries that require surgery. -- Rick Scaia | I'm on the Web now! RSPW Posse Minister of OFFENSE | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ag725/ ag725@freenet.carleton.ca | Prepare to be Disappointed!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------