Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 00:23:34 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199703240523.AAA02645@freenet6.carleton.ca> From: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca (Rick Scaia) To: nfd@aimnet.com Subject: The News from Dayton -- 03/24/97 Reply-To: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca Sender: owner-nfd@majordomo.aimnet.com Precedence: list THE NEWS FROM DAYTON For the week of March 24, 1997 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- WrestleMania and More! Read on for more on today's Headline Stories! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News From Dayton is compiled weekly by: Rick Scaia (ag725@freenet.carleton.ca) However, I do not work in a vacuum... by virtue of being much more dedicated to to regular, insider updates on breaking news than I am, the following informative online personalities and forums provide key corroboration and details on the stories I report here the NFD counts on them to make sure only the most reliable information is printed here in the News From Dayton: Alex Marvez and his Weekly Dayton Daily News Wrestling Column The Wrestling Lariat The Newzfirst Folder (on America On-Line) and the brand new WrestleSite The Bagpipe Report and MiCasa's Daily News WWF On-Line (on America On-Line) and of course... My Many Top Secret Sources Whose Names I Cannot Divulge --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News -- For the Week of March 17, 1997 The News From Dayton, as always, remains a combination of the weekly Dayton Daily News pro wrestling column, penned by Alex Marvez, and other pieces of information I feel are unique and worth passing on to you, the Home Viewer. If you are reading the NFD on one of the RSPW newsgroups, or anywhere on the web other than the revamped News From Dayton Web Site, or if you are linking directly here without checking out the main News From Dayton Headlines Page, I strongly encourage you to make the jump to the NFD on the web at http://homepages.udayton.edu/~scaiarij/wrestling.nfd.htm I think you'll find the trip worthwhile, as there are many exclusive features to the NFD Web Site, along with updates on breaking news, so that you don't have to wait a full week for the NFD's take on the latest rumors. THE MARVEZ COLUMN... * This week's headline reads "WWF falls to 2nd," and Alex's top story is in regards to the "loss of luster" for the WWF's (and the sport's) premier show, WrestleMania. Tonight's PPV, even though many critics (including Alex) expect a good show, does not seem to be generating the usual interest among wrestling fans, and this could be due in part to the WWF entering the show as the second-most-popular US promotion for the first time in WrestleMania's 13 years. Alex also theorizes that the over-abundance of wrestling on PPV and cable made it inevitable that the biggest shows would lose their special feel. Tonight's PPV features a title match between champion Psycho Sid and the Undertaker (many expect a win for the Undertaker) and a Submission Match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin (with Ken Shamrock as the special ref). Alex says that it had been planned that Hart would win the WWF Title last week on RAW, but that when word got out among fans, they changed the finish so that Sid retained. Either way, expect Hart's semi-heel turn to be furthered tonight. * Alex's second story is a confirmation that WCW "ripped-off" (his word, not mine) fans with the way they teased the return of Ric Flair for last weekend's WCW Uncensored PPV. Not only did Flair not wrestle on Roddy Piper's team, but he did not even make an appearance on the entire PPV. Flair will not return to the ring until May. Alex also adds a couple of thought on the rest of the show, noting that the main event was mostly memorable only for the interference of NBA star Dennis Rodman. Also, the appearance by Sting at the end of the show electrified the crowd, and left no doubt that he is WCW's #1 commodity right now; expect Sting to win the title at an upcoming PPV. * This week's ECW television show featured three absolutely amazing move... to start of the show, a huge brawl was being cleared from the ring when New Jack of the Gangstas dove from the top of a lighting platform onto both the Dudley Boys and the Eliminators. This was a 20 foot dive, and even more insane than the 15 foot dive through a Dudley and a table that New Jack did last month. Next, Terry Funk, a 53-year-old man, performed an Asai Moonsault onto Bulldozer Brian Lee. There aren't many men half that age who can or will do that move, and Funk landed it. And to close out the show, Sabu performed an extremely rude legdrop through a table on Taz's manager, Bill Alfonso. Taz then came to the ring, and the two pay-per-view headliners brawled as the show faded out. * A couple of quick "Grappling Gems": Eddie Guerrero tore his pectoral muscle at Uncensored against Dean Malenko; it might take up to six months for him to heal. In Alex's words, "The Guerrero-Malenko feud is the best thing WCW has going." The injury does cause a change in the card for the upcoming Hara Arena show here in Dayton, as Chris Jericho will replace Eddie in the ladder match against Malenko........... Monday Night RAW ("the best wrestling show on television" according to Alex") continues to lose to Monday Nitro in the ratings war. Alex notes that ratings were up from the recent averages for RAW last week, but they were still beat by 800,000 households by Nitro. * Alex Marvez's column appears every Sunday in the Dayton Daily News. In addition to sharing his wrestling thoughts there, Alex is also once again back in the America OnLine Grandstand Wrestling Area, and can be e-mailed with questions at "alex_marvez@coxohio.com". Also, Alex can also be heard on Mondays and Fridays on WING-FM (102.9) at 7:20 a.m. talking about wrestling and other sports. IN OTHER NEWS... * There is a ton of speculation that the WWF has some sort of surprise lined up for tonight's PPV. The more wild guesses involve the Ultimate Warrior, or Curt Hennig somehow being worked into the Hart/Austin submission match. However, the more likely surprise appearance would probably come from UFC star Dan Severn, who has been in negociations with Titan, and may finally have reached an agreement. We won't know for sure till tonight, though.... * More details on Monday Night ratings from 3/17: the final tally was a 3.5 for Nitro and a 2.4 for RAW. The quarter hours indicated that RAW's audience really picked up at the end (Hart/Sid and Hart's tirade) after starting very slow (once again, the first quarter hour was below 2.0). Nitro was pretty solid all the way through, but did have a stronger second hour than their first hour. * The Slammy Awards were given out as part of WM13 Weekend on Friday night. The big winners were the Undertaker (3 awards, including Superstar of the Year), Sable (2 awards, including Miss Slammy), and Shawn Michaels (2 awards, including Match of the Year). Also at the show, there was a symbolic end of the WWF targeting a young audience, as Doink the Clown was destroyed by Steve Austin and other WWF stars. While still kind of entertaining (hell, any show with Sunny, Sable, Marlena, and the Funkettes in a swimsuit competition is cool with me), this year's show wasn't quite as serious or smart-oriented as last year's Slammy's were. * The ECW Hotline is reporting that Mikey Whipwreck's recent knee injury might be career-ending. However, they've done this before in the past, as a way to build up their wrestlers in the fans eyes, so that their returns are that much more impressive. Mikey has the same injury as Marc Mero (torn ACL) and *should* be able to return within 6 months. However, it would be a shame if this really was the end of Whipwreck's wrestling career, as he always showed more promise than his image as the underdog/loser of ECW allowed him to. * After nearly four years, the WWF is returning to Dayton, OH, with a live show on May 24, 1997. The last time the WWF was in town was for King of the Ring 1993 (the first KotR PPV). The card will take place at the Nutter Center; tickets go on sale on March 29 at 10 a.m. While no matches have been announced, all the top stars are slated to appear (Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Sid, Undertaker, LOD, and more were all announced as appearing). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News From Dayton is Copyright 1995, 1997 by Rick Scaia. This page, as well as all other contents of the pages in the NFD hierarchy, are the intellectual property of Rick Scaia. Please refer to the "Thanks and Acknowledgements" page for full copyright information. In short: You are not to reproduce the content or style of these pages for financial gain. -- 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!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - List: nfd - Majordomo v1.94.1 - Aimnet, Santa Clara, California, USA