From: ag725@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Rick Scaia) Subject: [INFO] The News From Dayton -- 11/11/96 Date: 1996/11/11 Message-ID: <56690i$cl4@freenet-news.carleton.ca> Organization: The National Capital FreeNet x-given-Sender: ag725@freenet5.carleton.ca (Rick Scaia) Reply-To: ag725@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Rick Scaia) Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling Welcome folks.... another week, another News From Dayton. If you're familiar with all the schtick, please feel free to skip to the News, proper. If not, the usual miscellania: the NFD starts off with highlights of the weekly Alex Marvez pro wrestling column (in every Sunday's Dayton Daily News), and then moves on to other bits of info I feel that you, the home viewer, would be interested in reading about. If you're checking this out on the NFD Web Page (which, by the way, is located at http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ag725/HomePage.news.html if you want to make a note), then check back regularly and scroll down to the Update section. If you're seeing this info on RSPW or mirrored at MiCasa's superb news page, then please take the time to stop by the official NFD Web Page, where you'll always get my updates first, and where there are tons of other cool features that are exclusive to the page. And now, onto Mr. Marvez -- * The top -- and *only* -- story this week is covering fallout from the Pillman/Austin RAW incident. Alex calls it "extreme even by 'rasslin standards," and runs down the major plot points. The upshot of the whole deal is that Steve Austin twice was confronted by a gun-wielding Brian Pillman, and the language throughout the piece (though particularly at the end) was pretty graphic. We are all familiar with Titan's semi-apologetic statement issued through AOL (and it should be noted Vince McMahon, on LiveWire this week, was *much* more apologetic than that initial statement indicated, taking full blame upon himself). But Marvez also solicited the following statement out of USA Network spokesman David Schwarz: "As a network, we apologize for letting it run. We do not approve of it. But it's a live event. There was no way we knew that was going to happen." That should pretty much put to rest the ridiculous rumors that some had been circulating about the WWF and USA Network were in cahoots and allowing Pillman to say "fuck" on national TV. * Marvez next runs down the ratings fall-out from the incident. In short, RAW did very well for the first night in a new timeslot with only one week of lead time to publicize the time change. RAW actually drew a 2.3, which was *higher* than the rating they drew the previous week in their old timeslot. What's more, they actually built viewership over the course of the show, with the first half hour averaging a 2.0, but then scoring a 2.8 and a 2.5 in the final two quarter hour periods. The competition posed by Hour One of Monday Nitro scored a 2.9, which while still higher than RAW's ratings, was down from previous Hour One scores from recent weeks. While Nitro fluctuated between 2.5 and 3.2 during Hour One, it didn't appear that their ratings were being impacted by RAW gaining viewers. Marvez notes that when you look at the demographic break-outs of the quarter hour ratings, RAW's number of viewers ages 2-11 dropped by over 100,000 in the final quarter hour, while Nitro gained just about as many kids, marking the first time Nitro outscored RAW in that demographic group. Also, while Nitro's Hour One ratings may have been a bit disappointing, they rebounded big time in hour two, such that their average rating for the whole two hour program was a 3.4. * Finally, Alex looks at the disturbing trend of these morally questionable angles, including this gun angle, the NWO's spray paint and baseball bat sneak attacks, and ECW's recent crucifixion angle. Marvez takes the stance that what children see on TV influences the way they behave (and he cites the example of a very upset mom complaining to WCW offices that a 5-year-old spraypainted NWO on his 1-year-old sibling). However, in the case of Titan's gun angle, response has been 75% positive, with most people finding it to be compelling TV. And in the case of the crucifixion angle, even ECW recognized its mistake and won't be making use of that footage at any time in the future. * Alex is currently busy covering the suddenly resurgent Cincinnati Bengals for the Dayton Daily News, but can be reached both via his "Bodyslams" folder located on the AOL Grandstand Wrestling Area, and via e-mail at "Alex1Marv@aol.com". Some other stuff (and I'll warn you, there's another opinionated rant coming...) -- * Line-ups for upcoming PPVs.... for WWF's Survivor Series, we've got the three lead singles matchs (Shawn/Sid for the title, Bret/Austin, and UT/Mankind), along with two announced tag team elimination matches (Mero/Henry/Windham/Maivia vs. HHH/Goldust/ Crush/Lawler and Yokozuna/Savio/Scorpio/Mystery Partner vs. Vader/Faarooq/Razor/Diesel) for the PPV. Also, on the Free For All, Billy and Bart Gunn will head up opposing teams in another elimination tag match (Bart/Jesse James/Holly/Montoya vs. Billy/Bradshaw/Sultan/Sincere). It is expected that a final elimination bout will be added featuring WWF tag teams (likely pitting Godwinns and newcomers Kroffat and Furnas against Owen/Bulldog and the Grim Twins, now that it looks like Marty Jannetty is once again on the outs)...... for WCW's World War 3 -- which, goddammit, should actually be World War 4, unless they are admitting that last year's World War 3 PPV was nothing more than a lame skirmish -- we've got conflicting reports on the top match; originally, Jeff Jarrett was supposed to get another shot at the Giant in a singles match. Now, some are saying Roddy Piper will face the Giant, as Jarrett has been injured and may not be able to perform at the PPV. Also, Hall and Nash will defend against the Nasty Boys, while two potentially fantastic cruiserweight bouts will pit Rey Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon and Malenko vs. Psicosis. Of course, topping it all off will be the three-ring, 60-man battle royal, likely to include such top contenders as Jimmy Powers, Ice Train, Renegade, and Jimmy Graffiti........ finally, for the WWF's December In Your House event (as yet no byline, though the next WWF Tour is being billed as the Holiday Hell Tour), there are reportedly the following six matches slated: Sid vs. Bret, Michaels vs. Mankind, UT vs. Executioner (in a Armageddon Rules cage match), Austin vs. Goldust, HHH vs. Mero, and Owen/Bulldog vs. the new Razor/Diesel. It sounds like an interesting card; we'll have to see if it pans out (and which of the above six matches will be relegated to being a dark match). * If you missed it, the latest on the Randy Savage situation is that he's as good as done with WCW. Savage does not necessarily have to take a job with Titan, as he's financially secure, but the WCW Hotline reported that he *would* be surfacing there as soon as his no-compete clause from his WCW contract expires. This would mean Savage could first appear in the WWF at the December PPV/TV tapings. We shall see. * Alright, you want another morsel of info about the Pillman/Austin thing? Well, you'll get it. But first, I'm gonna rant about it. And about the response to it. I haven't really expressed my opinions on the topic much, other than to say I thought the gun angle was fundamently a good idea for some riveting television, but that it was poorly executed. Putting a gun in Pillman's hand certainly created the opportunity for some drama and excitement. But once they put it there, Titan didn't seem to know what to do about it. So they went with a lame "we've lost our satellite feed" storyline that really resulted in the whole angle coming off flat and contrived to me. That is coincidence beyond coincidence, and rates right up with some of the Undertaker's more amazing feats of the supernatural to me. What could/should they have done? Well, how about instead of mysteriously loosing power and the feed, they have the cameraman, in a fit of sanity, deciding to dive out of the way of Pillman's raised gun, somehow injuring the camera? Same basic idea, but much more realistically explained... then instead of the whole "the lights are out, and we don't know what's going on," they could have had Kerwin Silfes in the truck on the cel-phone to Vince explaining that he did hear two shots after the cameraman went down, but that he also spotted Steve Austin running from the house. The lack of live footage could be explained by no one from the truck having the guts to run a replacement camera of cable or whatever into the house where shots were just fired. Finally, they could get their act together and get the live feed back just in time to go off the air. Does that work for you? Well, it would have made for a slightly more enjoyable angle for me.... That said, I still thought this was a bold move, and does a lot of good for both getting Austin over for his SSeries match, and for making sure that the fans will care when Pillman finally gets back in the ring. This is the kind of toeing-the-line entertainment I like in a wrestling angle; which is not to say I thought they at any time went over the nebulous "line." Well, Pillman swearing was probably unnecessary, but I doubt that was planned at all. To me, the people complaining about the inappropiateness of the angle lose their argument as soon as they stop talking about how doing this angle at the earlier hour was a bad move. Cuz I'll grant that; doing such a "hardcore" angle at 8p.m. wasn't the best way to ingragiate themselves with an earlier crowd. But to say it doesn't belong in wrestling or on TV at all? I don't know... to me, that's right up there with the people who bitched about Beavis and Butthead being the anti-Christ and the end of Western Civilization as we know it. The problem with five-year-olds burning down houses with disposable lighters is not that Beavis and Butthead are on MTV talking about fire.... it's that parents (a) let 5-year-old kids watch Beavis and Butthead and then (b) leave lighters laying around the house when they aren't around watching their kids. It's the same damned story here. Regardless of the fact it's a cartoon, Beavis and Butthead, by the admission of its creator, is for teens and older. And pro wrestling, by nature of being a "sport" where the goal is to beat the other guy into submission (and in Titan's case, by their own admission, as seen by the use of the "Viewer Discretion Advised" disclaimer at the start of all shows for the past year), is also not meant for 5 year old kids. Whatever past claims McMahon or any group have made about being family entertainment, it seems that recent months have marked a step away from that... while pro wrestling, in most cases, is still something that is suitable for families with older (over 8-10 years, maybe) kids, it's not for the second graders anymore. If parents haven't taken time to take a look at what their kids are watching, it's their lookout. Titan does what it can by warning people at the top of every hour of TV their air that it ain't for kids anymore. I welcome that move, and don't think Titan crossed any line in trying to provide entertainment for an older, more mature audience. Unlike Joe Pedicino, who thinks that this angle will mark a downward spiral for pro wrestling's success in this country, I would argue that it's the downwardly spiralling success over the past few years that has forced both major companies (as well as one smaller company trying to be a bigger company) to realize that playing to the kiddies is not effective. It's the older kids (with allowances and jobs) and adults who've got the money to pump into buying PPVs. If you make them happy -- and I think more mature angles like the gun angle, while not making fans "happy" per se, will entertain this crowd and keep them coming back -- they'll spend their money, and wrestling might enter a renaissance of financial success. Who knows? And if you stuck around this long, you will know discover a highly shocking piece of information regarding the Pillman/Austin incident: thanks to NFD Reader and Long Time Internet Wrestling Guru (not to mention Firearms Expert) Cal Jewell, I have learned exclusively that, despite Brian Pillman's claims, the gun he was using was *not* a Glock. More likely a starter pistol. Now, don't you feel stupid for reading this whole damn rant for *that* nitpicky little piece of minutiue? :) * Here's some little bits off the NFD-Wire that don't deserve their own subsection........ Kimberly Page says in her AOL Grandstand message board that we can expect to see her back on TV in December; she also hinted that her husband (Dallas Page) will likely surface as an associate of Hall and Nash, and therefore the whole NWO........... Gene Okerlund has finally agreed to terms with WCW; he could be back as soon as tommorrow's Nitro; unknown at this point is whether he'll come back as an NWO announcer, or as a WCW announcer.......... Mark Henry's injury -- sustained during training for the SSeries -- is apparently not as serious as originally thought; he'll be recovered in time to compete at Survivor Series............. WCW has taped footage with "Syxx" Waltman carrying the Cruiser Weight Title........... NewzFirst claimed earlier in the week that the house used for the Pillman/Austin angle was in actuality the home of Vince McMahon in Connecticut; however, every other source of info I can uncover indicates otherwise; so I'll maintain that the house in question really was Pillman's........... Yet another Grant Hill/Fila commercial has appeared featuring George "the Animal" Steele; this time, George "breaks character" by having several extended speaking parts. -- 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!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------