Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997 17:15:49 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199704282115.RAA01422@freenet3.carleton.ca> From: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca (Rick Scaia) To: nfd@aimnet.com Subject: The News From Dayton -- 04/28/97 Reply-To: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca Sender: owner-nfd@majordomo.aimnet.com Precedence: list THE NEWS FROM DAYTON For the week of April 28, 1997 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hart's Out for 2 Months / Vader's Back after 11 Days Read on for more on today's Headline Stories! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News From Dayton is compiled weekly by: Rick Scaia (ag725@freenet.carleton.ca) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE NEWS -- For the Week of April 28, 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 * First off, I'd apologize for being so late with this latest NFD Weekly update... but for once, it's not my fault!! The edition of the Dayton Daily News that we get at my house down at U.D. printed page 7 of the Sports section twice; once on page 7, and once accidentally in place of page 9. As it turns out, page 9 is where Alex's wrestling column was. So this morning before work, I went out to my parents' house in south suburban Dayton to check their DDN. And luckily enough, they had the proper page 9, complete with Alex's column. The trouble I go through for you people... :) * Alex's top story is the injury sustained by Bret Hart over in Kuwait (but worked into storylines as part of last week's incredible RAW is WAR). Steve Austin's intense focus on Hart's knee both at RAW and on the previous day's PPV event, followed by a brutal inside-the-ambulance attack, have provided the cover for Hart's injury. Bret had surgery last week, and is expected to recover in 6-8 weeks; it is possible Bret could be back by King of the Ring. Also in question is the state of Hart's right wrist, which according to reports does not require surgery, but which is also injured. The WWF was fortunate to have Brian Pillman in the wings, as the "Loose Cannon" surprised viewers last week by returning to the ring to attack Steve Austin at the end of RAW. If all goes well, Pillman will be replacing Bret Hart on the house show circuit (including May 24 here in Dayton, call 775-4789 for ticket info; main event is Pillman/Owen Hart/British Bulldog vs. Sid/Undertaker/Austin) starting with a May 18 house show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. * As I reported here last week, WCW played to a packed house here in Dayton last Friday, April 11. All available tickets were gone well before gates opened, resulted in a crowd of over 6,000 fans paying almost $90,000. WCW also did $50,000 in merchandise sales here in Dayton, which just goes to show how rabid we Dayton fans are. Over 2700 tickets for WCW's June 2 Monday Nitro here in Dayton have been sold, which is probably about half the available seats; and that's with no matches announced. For ticket info, call 278-4776. * Vader was granted travel privileges Wednesday, and finally was able to leave Kuwait following a bizarre ordeal. On "Good Morning Kuwait," Vader tossed around some furniture and grabbed Bassam Al Othman (the host) by the tie and tossed threats and profanities at him after he was asked if pro wrestling was fake. The charges of public humilation and aggression followed. In related info from other sources: Vader made the comments that Al Othman basically saw this as a chance to make a quick buck at his press conference Friday, noting that his first asking price to drop charges was $35,000, but that escalated to $400,000 before Vader could once again travel. Vader chose not to apologize to anybody for anything at that press conference. While he has been freed to travel, Vader has NOT been cleared of the charges. When his case goes to court on May 13, Vader may still face fines or jail time if convicted. In the meantime, word is that Vader will get a huge push as a heel, possibly as soon as tonight's RAW is WAR; Vader had been scheduled for a push after WrestleMania, but an injury meant postponing that. This incident will provide a great impetus for that renewed mega-bad-ass role. * JJ Dillon, the man who was the brains behind the first incarnation of the Four Horsemen, returned to an on-camera role for the first time since his departure from WCW over 8 years ago last Monday on Nitro. He'll be WCW's figurehead commissioner and a foil to Eric Bischoff and the NWO. * WWF RAW will likely have a chance to capitalize on ratings success started last week... WCW Nitro will be shortened to one hour and will be airing at 7pm (eastern) for much of the next month due to NBA playoffs on TNT. This means RAW will be unopposed. * Sunny, well-known as the WWF's "most downloaded superstar," appeared on ECW television this past week. After "getting permission from their lawyers" to run the footage, ECW aired an incident in which Sunny was walking into a building with her real-life significant other (reported by Marvez as her HUSBAND), Chris Candido, and talking about Chris' role in ECW and his injured arm and whatnot. As they were walking, Rob Van Dam came out of the shadows and grabbed Sunny's ass from behind. Candido, injured arm and all, did not like this, and attacked Van Dam; the incident required the locker room to clear to break it up. While ECW never refered to her as "Sunny," it was clear to anyone watching who she really was. For his part, Van Dam has been superb in his new role as "Mr. Monday Night" or "Pay-Per-View Superstar". I thought he was OK before, but his recent interviews are so good that I fear ECW may be doing the same thing the WWF did with Diesel last year: build him up so well for his farewell match that you're actually making him MORE valuable for the next company he works for. And rumors persist that Van Dam will jump to WCW by June. * 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... * With WCW Nitro shunted off to a different timeslot, everybody is expected the WWF to continue to put on solid shows while they have the stage to themselves. Many expect Vader to "steal the show" much as Austin did last week. Scoops goes so far as to speculate about Vader destroying Vince McMahon (much as he did Gorilla Monsoon a year ago), though that is far from a firm rumor. Also, Brian Pillman will be on hand, probably to take the next step towards his scheduled in-ring return to action. And Goldust takes on Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a match that COULD see the return of Dustin Rhodes; after last week, WWF commentary, especially that of Pillman on Shotgun Saturday Night, has hinted strongly at a return to his real-life identity for Goldustin. Sid is also expected to return to TV for the first time in over a month. * The reason why hopes are up for the WWF is because they actually made a major dent in WCW Monday night rating lead last week. In fact, they also scored their most decisive quarter hour segment win in almost a year, as they outrated Nitro 3.4 to 2.8 during the time when Bret Hart and Steve Austin were having their street fight. Also, after ratings dipped back down for RAW, they started rising again, all the way to a 3.2 during the final quarter hour; this occured while Nitro lost viewers over the last half-hour. The full ratings were RAW with a 2.8 (2.8/2.8 for the hours) to Nitro with a 3.4 (2.9/3.8 for the hours). Quarter hours were 2.4/2.5/3.4/2.7/2.5/2.5/2.9/3.2 for RAW, and 2.6/2.9/2.8/3.3/4.0/4.1/3.9/3.5 for Nitro. * If you missed this in the update, this is a story brought to my attention by NFD Reader Rob Cornelius... Tommy "Wildfire" Rich and Doug Gilbert were arrested after attempting to skip out on a charity show they were scheduled to wrestle on. They received their payments and snuck out before performing, only to be caught by state troopers 15 miles away. This took place in West Virgina (the show was scheduled for a place called Sisterville). After being caught, Rich and Gilbert were also found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana. They received a citation for the drug possession, but were arrested for acting under false pretenses in regards to the charity event they skipped out on. They pled guilty and were fined $2000. Rich is a former NWA World Champion, and is currently best known for his work as a manager of the "Full Blooded Italians" in ECW. Gilbert is Eddie Gilbert's younger brother, and a former USWA mainstay; he also competed in the 1996 WWF Royal Rumble. * The WWF injury list does not get any thinner... already, Shawn Michaels and Marc Mero have been sidelined for much of 1997 (with Michaels set to return sooner than Mero). Faarooq should be on the shelf for a couple more weeks as he heels up from injuries sustained at WM13. Steve Austin has a nagging knee injury that he works through. Same with Mankind and a bad back. Sid's absence has been reported as a result of a back injury (the legitimacy of which is questioned by many). Bret Hart is now knocked out of action till June. And even though it's not as big a deal, the Sultan is now sidelined for a while. One of the 2"x4" shots he took from Ahemd on RAW last week broke some ribs. Talk about the walking wounded.... * The reports of internal power struggles at WCW remain strong... Mike Mooneyham even made it the topic of his Charleston Post and Courier column (available at many other reputable wrestling web sites). The Nash Contingent of the NWO seems to be at the crux of most of the issues, as Kevin Nash has had run-ins with Kevin Sullivan recently, mostly related to Nash choosing not to follow Sullivan's orders and Nash's opinion that Sullivan should not be pushing himself while he's acting as booker. Also, Nash has had words with Roddy Piper and Ric Flair... the veteran duo questioned the wisdom of having Syxx in a PPV main event, while Nash defended his friend by saying Syxx would have to do all the work to carry the two old men to a good match. This political feud has gone public recently, as Nash did a semi-shoot on Piper/Flair on the last Nitro, as did Syxx. Piper and Flair responded in kind. Some are questioning how long this situation can go on... back in '95, the "Clique" had a lot of backstage clout that led to power struggles behind the scenes in the WWF; in many cases, Vince McMahon himself would have to go out on the road to make sure morale stayed up. Things didn't settle down till after the "Clique" was broken up by the decision of Hall/Nash/Syxx to move to WCW. Those same troubles may be in the offing for WCW, some suggest. This is only the NFD Weekly Edition. Be sure to make frequent stops at the NFD Web Site for the latest breaking stories and results in the Daily Updates section! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News From Dayton is Copyright 1995, 1997 by Rick Scaia. This document, as well as all other contents of the pages on the NFD Web Site, 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