Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 18:45:51 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199704062245.SAA13300@freenet5.carleton.ca> From: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca (Rick Scaia) To: nfd@aimnet.com Subject: The News From Dayton -- 04/07/97 Reply-To: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca Sender: owner-nfd@majordomo.aimnet.com Precedence: list THE NEWS FROM DAYTON For the week of April 7, 1997 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hall a Question Mark / ECW PPV Countdown! This Edition Published: Sunday -- April 6 -- 5:00pm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ The News From Dayton is compiled weekly by: Rick Scaia (ag725@freenet.carleton.ca) _________________________________________________________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News -- For the Week of April 7, 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 ALEX MARVEZ COLUMN * WCW is putting on Spring Stampede tonight, and may not be able to deliver on the promised main event match of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall vs. the Steiners. After two weeks of ring absences for what Alex now states are "personal reasons," Hall still does not have a set return date, and will likely miss the PPV (note: Alex is only saying the odds are Hall will miss the show... at least one other 'net sheet is saying Hall is going to work tonight, then take some more time off). In Alex's words, if Hall does not appear tonight, "it will mark the second consecutive PPV show that featured false advertising from WCW." If you recall, the pre-Uncensored Nitro heavily teased that Ric Flair would return to the ring on PPV, but Flair never even appeared. In this case, WCW has had ample time to choose and advertise a replacement, but has chosen to continue hyping Hall, despite the good chance he will not appear. * Dayton area wrestling fans are in the same boat as many cable TV subscribers when it comes to Extreme Championship Wrestling's first ever pay-per-view event... Continental Cablevision (which controls just about all cable homes in the metro area, except for those in downtown Dayton) uses Viewer's Choice for it's PPV service, and ECW Barely Legal is available exclusively on Request PPV. Because some cable companies that do use Request are not offering the ECW show, and because some companies that use Viewer's Choice *are* offering the ECW PPV on an "al a carte" basis, it is clear, however, that if you, the bill-paying consumer, let your cable company know what you want, you just may be able to change their minds. The same goes for those of you making use of satellite services. Contact your local cable company, be firm (but polite, at least to start), and let them know that you'd like a chance to see ECW, and think that others would, too. According to "The Wrestling Lariat" newsletter, ECW is already in preliminary negociations to air a second PPV in August (providing this one goes off well), and Viewer's Choice may well be on board the second time. So bug your local cable company, and make sure they know that putting ECW on PPV is a good idea. * Alex next relates the fact that Sports Illustrated recently ran an blurb about pro wrestling being de-regulated in New Jersey, and how SI took some cheap shots in relaying the information that wrestling is "fake." The WWF didn't help the cause either, as one of their spokesmen went on record as saying, "We never try to insult anyone's intelligence. Do these guys take a hit and get punched? Yes. But is some of it choreographed? Of course." Call me crazy, but "choreographed" is not a word I'd like to go on record using to describe pro wrestling... I'm not sure what word the guy should have used, but unless he was talking strictly about some of the AAA Lucha matches, I think he picked the wrong one to use in front of a reporter. BTW, I've noticed that some folks are attempting to stage some sort of a response to SI, both by writing letters and using the feedback area of SI's web page... and as much as I admire the idea of telling SI they're wrong to run down wrestling, the fact of the matter is that even though pro wrestling (when done right) takes as much or more athleticism and skill than many of the sports SI covers as legitimate sporting ventures, it won't matter as long as everyone from the WWF to the USWA goes on record saying "Nope, you're right, it's fake" just to avoid being regulated like a real sport. * It hasn't been announced on TV yet, but Alex is reporting that the main event for the WWF's return to Dayton (May 24 at the Nutter Center) will be headlined by a big six-man tag match pitting the Undertaker, Sid, and Steve Austin against the New Hart Foundation (Bret, Owen, and Bulldog). Undercard matches include Ahmed Johnson taking on Faarooq, Goldust facing HHH, and Rocky Maivia defending his IC Title against Savio Vega. I'd imagine that most of the other house show cards for late May will have the same line-up. * Despite being a taped show, last week's Monday Night RAW scored a very strong 2.7 overall rating, according to Alex. While the WWF is making in-roads on regaining strong cable ratings, they didn't convert with WrestleMania 13, as the buyrate for that event appears to be around a 0.8. While that's pretty good compared to most wrestling PPVs these days (a good show is lucky to score in the .7-1.0 range), it's a far cry from what is expected out of WrestleMania, the "granddaddy of them all." Even last year's WM did a 1.2 buyrate, and the year before that, it was up around 1.7, I think. It's clear that the glut of wrestling (and other combat-sports) PPVs available has rendered WrestleMania a lot less special than it used to be. * If you're interested in getting ringside seats for the June 2 Nitro here in Dayton, you probably need to attend WCW's April 18 show at Hara Arena; Nitro tix will go on sale at intermission of that show. But be forewarned: there will be at least three changes to the 4/18 card that are NOT currently being advertised on the WCW radio ads that started a few weeks back. * 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 lurking about 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... * Above, Alex discussed the troubles some people are going to have in seeing ECW's first ever PPV, Barely Legal... and that's a shame, too, because this is probably one PPV that would really be worth paying for. ECW weekly TV traditionally has some of the most exciting wrestling action of the week, and that's FREE. I can only imagine what they'll deliver on pay-per-view. For those of you who are able to purchase the PPV, and are curious about what to expect, here's the line-up for the show: + Sabu vs. Taz -- The hostility between these former tag team partners goes back almost two years (when Sabu broke up the team by no-showing an ECW event), and has been on a slow build towards this first-ever confrontation ever since. + Terry Funk vs. Stevie Richards vs. the Sandman -- These top contenders for the ECW World Title will face off in a three way dance at Barely Legal, with the winner getting a title shot against ECW champ Raven that very same night. Originally, Tommy Dreamer was suppossed to be in this match, but he gave his spot to his mentor Terry Funk. + Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull #2 -- Douglas' ECW TV Title will be on the line in this match, as he defends against the powerful Pitbull #2. The angle between these two goes back to last summer, when Douglas broke Pitbull #1's neck with a single-arm DDT. Recently, a mysterious masked man has begun tormenting Shane... and while Douglas and almost all fans believe it is Rick Rude under the hood, we will all find out for sure if Shane manages to win this match, as it is stipulated that the man MUST unmask if Pitbull #2 loses. + The Dudley Boys vs. the Eliminators -- I don't care what anyone says: I believe the hype when Joey Styles calls the Elims that best tag team in the world. The only problem is that the Dudleys recently beat them for the ECW Tag Titles... the Elims are on a mission to regain the gold here, and the Dudleys will try to use thier AWESOME Dudley Death Drop finisher to keep that from happening. + Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Lee -- I don't know if this one is officially announced yet, but it looks like a lock to occur, especially after Lee interfered against Dreamer on TV this week. Lee is in the employ of Raven, and has recently caused a lot of trouble for Dreamer's mentor and friend, Terry Funk. Dreamer will try to settle the score here. + Michinoku Pro Six Man Tag (Great Sasuke, Gran Naniwa, and Gran Hamada vs. TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, and Terry Boy) -- There was a preview of this match on ECW television last week... let's just say that these six super-talented high-fliers could steal the show on April 13. + Chris Candido vs. Rob Van Dam -- Again, I'm not sure if this has been officially announced... there had also been rumors that Candido would face Louie Spiccoli on PPV, and now it is possible that a muscle tear will keep Candido off the PPV. If Candido is out, then look for Van Dam to face Spiccoli. No matter what actually happens, expect some combination of these three men to provide a solid early-card match to warm up the crowd. * Tommorrow's Monday Night RAW (is WAR?) is already shaping up to be an intriguing show. While Steve Austin is scheduled to compete, the WWF is not announcing his opponent... instead, they are opting to hype Austin as having an open contract which all the WWF stars are afraid to sign. There is a lot of speculation about who might stand up to challenge "Stone Cold," and most of it revolves around the possible appearance of a fourth member of the New Hart Foundation. Jim Neidhart has been mentioned extensively, and Brian Pillman was rather complimentary towards the Harts on Shotgun Saturday Night this week (and it's worth noting that he's also a product of the Hart family dungeon). [On a side note: it's interesting to remember that "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig is also a Hart brother-in-law (or was at one point)... and he's been in fresh negociations with the WWF recently. I'm not saying anything is for certain (or even remotely close), but it's just an interesting thing to keep in mind. Just in case.] Also on RAW, Ken Shamrock will be performing an Ultimate Fighting Exhibition, which will likely serve to further educate wrestling fans with the more submission-based reality fighting Shamrock has done. It could also provide the WWF with an opportunity to start or further an angle for Shamrock to compete in a WWF ring (against someone like a Billy Gunn, or perhaps against another UFC fighter). The RAW main event will be Sid taking on Mankind; with Mankind being built back up to take on the Undertaker April 20 on PPV, I'm sure we can expect some surprising twists during this match. Also, HonkeyTonk Man may respond to Jesse James' decision to smash HTM's "hair-loom" guitar last week by unveiling his new protege (now rumored to be a "former WWF champion," rather than "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher). Tommorrow's RAW is actually being taped tonight in Muncie, IN, as a result of the WWF's upcoming overseas touring schedule; I'll be getting results in tonight, and will *try* to make them available tommorrow afternoon. However, since I'd only be providing them a few hours ahead of time, I'm not gonna go too far out of my way to sneak around the office updating my page while people aren't looking. Also, since the WWF will not be returning to North America until April 15 or so, NEXT Monday night's RAW will also be taped. At this time, it's unknown whether it will be taped as part of the Muncie taping tonight (that's the last US show until April 18), or if the 4/14 RAW will be made up of footage taped in the Middle East (such as the crowning of the Kuwait Cup winner). * Speaking of the Kuwait Cup, the 16-man tournament gets underway this Wednesday, and is highlighted by a first round match pitting Steve Austin against Bret Hart. As you know, crowd reactions to these two overseas is still hugely in favor of Hart, so it'll be interesting to hear how they book that match. The other first round matches are all squashes... while this tourney does mark the debut of Tiger Ali Singh, it'd be almost too big of a surprise if he won (especially as he's got Mankind in his half of the bracket, and I can't see Mankind doing a job to a rookie just before getting a world title shot on PPV). Instead, I'm hearing that Vader may win the Cup, as the mission to build him back up continues. * Disco Inferno, who is now one of the hottest free agents on the market despite being a lifelong mid-card jobber, won the MEWF Title from Stevie Richards over the weekend. Disco, who was fired from WCW about a month ago by Eric Bischoff, has been reported to be on his way to the WWF since then. However, he's also appeared on a number of eastern indie cards, and has now (apparently) made a commitment to the MEWF (which is based in Maryland, I believe). * There is a TON of innuendo circulating about a "more than meets the eye" arrangement between the WWF and SEG (the promoters of the Ultimate Fighting Championship PPVs). I don't have any concret word that there is quite as tight a relationship as some are reporting (i.e. the WWF now has an interest in UFC, and will get a cut of future UFC PPVs), but obviously, the WWF has taken a very pro-active role in making sure the UFC name is being promoted on their shows to a greater extend than is strictly necessary to get Ken Shamrock over. This may not indicate the WWF has taken a stakeholder position in UFC, but may merely be a bit of promotion done in exchange for access to footage of Shamrock (and other incoming UFC fighters, if appropriate). * Last week, I inlcuded a quick blurb about Rob Van Dam... [BTW, on a total tangent, two things I NEVER said last week were that Rob Van Dam was one month away from debuting in WCW and that Ludvig Borga was for sure headed back to the WWF. But for some reason, both those statements were attributed directly to me.] The essense of the Van Dam blurb was to say that his talents are enough to have earned him attention outside of ECW. In a Prodigy chat last week, Rob confirmed that he attended a Nitro taping to visit friends, and was pulled aside for a quick chat with Eric Bischoff. However, Rob also says that all it was was a quick chat; his current plans include working with ECW with occassional trips overseas to work in All Japan. But he didn't rule anything out. Rob was also strangely hostile regarding the ECW PPV. I think he was just joking around, but I didn't really understand why that should be funny... * One last note: I got the latest "RAW Magazine," and all I'm going to say is "Oh My God!" (with all due respects to Joey Styles). In addition to plenty of cool features (on the Rockers' "lost" tag title reign, on Terry Funk, and on a bloody Vader), there is also a rather remarkable photo spread featuring Sable. I'll leave it at that. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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